Cliff's Corner

Ok its been a long time sense I have up dated this blog but here are a few pics from the inside of the treehouse. I will get some more updated pics of the outside.

 

Happy Thanksgi

Hey all I just wanted to give you an update on the tree house. I was planning on being done by my B-day on 4-17. With all the rain that we have been getting I'm behind schedule. So the new date to finish will be late may. So here are a couple of pictures so that you can see how things are coming along

 

 

Hey everyone, I figured it was time to up date you as to how things are going. Last time I put a post on my Blog I was having a hard time getting started with regards to training. So here is what I have been doing sense late November.

One of my last post talked about my Next food network star audition that I had. I got an e-mail about a week ago and I will not be making it to the show, but it was a lot of fun trying out and I learned a lot about myself. The biggest thing that I learned was that I talk a lot. It was funny to see myself on camera and have to edit the footage down to 3mins. I took about 25 mins of cooking/talking footage. Ok it was more like 20 talking and 5 cooking to 3mins of footage. Even though I was not selected for the show it reminded my how much I enjoy food and cooking.

So just last week I entered a culinary competition in Vancouver BC. This was my first time in downtown Vancouver. I was very impressed with the city and the food, it was the best food that I have had out side of San Francisco. Me and Natalie ate and one of the hotels and it was one of the best meals I have ever had. It makes my top 5 list for best meals ever. After all of the eating that I had done in Vancouver it was time to get to the competition, it was a 1 hour timed competition and the main ingredient was Striped Sea Bass. I put my dish to getter an felt like I had out done the rest of my competition, but the judges didn’t agree I finished with a bronze medal and I slightly bruised ego. It was my first food competition in 6 years and I cant believe I haven’t done more of them they are tons of fun and a great why to meet other chef’s that are into food as much as I am.

So other the food competition and the next food network thing I have been building a tree house, yeah you heard me a tree house. No it not one of those run down put a couple of boards together tree house that we made when we were kids. This is more like and elevated studio. It is about 10 feet of the ground in a cluster of 5 pine trees in our back yard. I have planed on building it for the last year or so and sense I wasn’t being very active in the training/racing world I figured that now would be a good time to get it going.

Last fathers day Natalie got me 4 books that are about building tree houses, most of our friends and family figured that I would grow out of the phase and just talk about doing it and never actually build it, but any one that knows me know that the more that you don’t think I can do it the more I will work to prove you wrong . So with my crazy schedule at work I have only have on average one day a week most of those being rainy days to work on it but as of this weekend things are coming along pretty good. I will add a few photos so you can see how things are going. My plan is to be finish by my birthday 4-17. The tree house is about 170sf with a front deck that is about 70sf. Almost all of the lumber used of the tree house is all salvage or reclaimed lumber that I had collected during the winter via Craigslist. It will have power, electric fire place , surround sound with flat screen T.V., WIFI, cable and a built in mini beer refrigerator an a few other things for comfort.. Here is a link to one of the book that I got that help with the planning and build stage of this project. I have to say this the most fun I have had in a while. I have learned how rewarding it can be to make something with your hands and see it come together week after week. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140259988/patrickfultonstr So if any of you are interested in coming by and checking out my project drop me an e-mail, I plan to have an open tree house once its done.

 

 

Cliff

Ok its been a week or so sense the last post. This past weekend the Team (Missinglink) put on the Rico Challenge, this race was the Brain Child of Eric "Rico" Abraham and Robin "Make it Hurt" Smith. This race took place in Issaquah starting at lake Sammamish. I was tasked with cooking the food for the post race feed. There were about 8 or 9 teams of 3 along with a dozen volunteers. It was great seeing everyone out having fun, it looks like the next race that’s not really a race will be Primal Smith to take place some time in 2008.

Over the last couple of weeks sense I ran down in California I have been in that post race funk that we all seem to deal with. You train to reach a goal (race) and once its over you look for the next form of motivation to keep going. I have been hitting Matt Harts track work outs and you guys have to check them out lots of fun and the hurt like heel, but other then that I haven’t done much. I have even missed half of my swim classes. So now I’m struggling to find the motivation to train. I even tried to buy my self a new toy in the form of a GPS running computer/Heart rate monitor and I have to admit that it is still in the box. For most of use this is the time of year that week take some time off but for me I plan to train all year round but I’m having a hard time getting the body started. All I want to do is sleep and by the time I’m done with work it is cold and wet and all I want to do is to go home.

My plan was to schedule a race a month to keep my training on track, looks like I will be missing my November race that I have planed Rogers 50k in granite falls, sorry Roger maybe next year. So at this point I need to find a way to get going again. I think part of the problem was that I tried to come back to soon after the 50 miler. I felt good after but I have been sick sense that time and my body has been in pain for that last few weeks. I guess I’m just getting old but what ever the reason is I need to witch gears and get moving again. So I’m putting a challenge out to everyone out there. Lets make a plan for 2008 to go faster, further, longer then we ever have. You find something out there that you feel is beyond what you think you can do and make plans to get it done. Set the goals high but attainable. I want to see all of use continue to grow and achieve and the only way we can do that is to go out side of our comfort zone.

For me I have a few goals for 2008. For me I want to go further on foot I want to complete my first 100 miler. I have signed up for western states and will know in December if I get in if not I will find another race out there that can take me to the 100 mile distance. I also what to try my hand again at the 24 hour mountain biking last time I did a 24 race I got cold and feel a sleep for about 6hur and still did 10 laps I want to know what I can do if I ride the entire time. Then I want to race faster then I eve have in march I will try to qualify for the 2009 Boston Marathon with a 3:15 marathon or better and to get out side of my comfort zone I plan to try the world of Triathlons , most of you know that I sink like a rock so this should be fun but at this point I just need to get out and get going again. Non of these things are going to happen if I don’t train.

Ok it been a couple weeks sense my last post. Last time I posted a Blog I told you about the great time I had running my first 50 miler. Actually almost all of my post over the last month or so have been tied to that race. Now that that is done I want to catch you all up on some of the other things that have been going on.

 

When I headed down to California on the 12^th I got a phone call from food network. Not sure if all of you remember or have read my earlier blog about this but about 6 weeks ago I went to downtown Seattle to do an open casting call for the Food Network, for there show “Next Food Network Star”. It was a fun experience and I thought I had done pretty well but after about 6 weeks of not hearing from them I figured it was something that I had have to chalk up to a fun life experience. Until the 12^th of this month, while me an Natalie were getting on the plan to head to California for the race. I got the phone call form Food Network.

 

I got the message that they wanted me to submit an 3 min audition tape to be to them by the 10-26. I have to say I was pretty thrilled that I would be moving to the next level, but I tried to say realistic. I listen to the voicemail 5 or 6 time to see if I could read anymore in what they were saying, but at the end I figured it was just one of those chain voices mails that they sent to everyone. That was until I got back home and check my e-mail and read the e-mail that they had sent requesting the audition tape and at that point I figured I may have a chance at this.

 

So for the next week or so I do the taping and edit of the footage to get it down to 3 mins. Man I never realized I talk so much. It was hard to figure out what to keep and what to get reed of but at the end I was pretty happy with what I ended up with. Then the fun really starts now that I’m done with all the editing of the footage all I have to do now is to copy it to a DVD and send it in. Sounds easy enough right? After about 15 hours over 3 days and about $50 of additional equipment I finally got it in the mail and off to the people at Food Network. I have to say, that video has become the longest 3 mins of my life.

 

Now that part of it is over it is time to wait again. If they like the footage that they taped at the casting call along with my 3 min audition tape. They will contact me again to put together 30 recipes to see my style of food and my ability to explain the things that I make. So at this point all I can do is wait but as I said earlier this is one for the life memoir files. It has been a fun experience that has allowed me to look at what being a chef really is. For me being a chef is my way of communicating and taking care of people. It allows me a level of self expression that helps balance a crazy and hectic life. So for those of you that will be doing the Rico Challenge you will get a chance to see what I can do with food. Granted I will only have a BBQ grill and a camp stove but trust me this want be your ordinary post race AR food.  

 

So if you can all send positive vibes my way on the food network thing I will keep you all posted on what happens next. Below is the e-mail the send.

 

Dear Clifton:

 

My name is Sarah, and I am Jennifer Sullivan’s casting assistant.  I am writing because we would like you to send in a 3 minute demo for The Next Food Network Star by October 26^th.  In this demo we obviously want to see you and your amazing personality while you cook; but also we are looking for insight into who you are and where you come from.  So definitely show us your family, your home, your restaurant, etc… whatever you think the Food Network should see (and know) about you. 

 

Please send it in by October 26^th

 

 

P.S.

Happy Anniversary baby it has been a great first year. Here’s to a lifetime of years just like this one!

 

Love You.

 

 

Well its done I ran the 50 miler this weekend and man it was a lot of fun. It is called the FireTrail 50 miler if you look at the Elevation profile you will see what it is called fire trails.

I think I want to be an ultra runner now (ok maybe not full time).  Me and Natalie went down to the bay area for the race on Friday, one of the reasons that I decided to do this was so that I can see Mikayla my oldest daughter.

We got in to the bay area around 1:30 and it was raining hard. I thought I had left the rain back in Seattle, but no luck it rain for most of the day but cleared in the late afternoon. After checking in to the hotel we caught up with Mikayla and had dinner then back to the hotel to get to bed early for the 6:30am race start. I slept pretty good surprisingly but 5:am can way to soon.  We got up and dressed and we were on the road by 5:45 and need to be at Lake Chabot in Castro Valley for race checking by 6:15. We got to the lake at 6:05 and it was still dark and unlike me I didn’t have a head lamp with me so I walked to the check in the dark. Natalie headed back to the hotel, and I went to the start line. The race director gave us a brief history of the race it was the 25^th annivsery of the race. He started telling us the story when Dick Collin the race founder came to the lake and questioned how long it would take to run to Berkley and back. I almost chocked when I heard that, I know that I had signed up to run 50 miles but I had no idea that I would be running to Berkley and back.

At that point I was thinking man I don’t know if had trained enough for all that. But with in the next 2 mins it wouldn’t matter because we were off and racing.  The first couple of miles it was still dark but there were enough people that had light so that most of us could still see the trail. There was a mile marker pointed out that we had just completed the first mile, like a good little runner I checked my watch to see my pace and I had run the first mile in 8:mins.  Not going to be my over all race pace but it was an ok pass in order to get out of the crowd of runners at the start. From that point on the next 10 miles is kind of a blur. I had made to wrist band that had my splits to each aid station. This race was set up with 14 aid stations over the 50 miles, so it help break the race up in to small pieces that I could focus on. I was on pass to all aid stations until the 15mile mark I was 10 mins up so I stopped and took of all the extra cloths that I had on from the cold morning start (you all know I hate to be cold). So after this I grab some food at the aid station for the first time. I was set to do the race like it was an AR I had a small pack that had my water and food and I would eat and drink what I had and refill when needed. So this break at 15miles started a trend of stopping at aid station that I didn’t plan on when I started the race.

So I head out of the aid station at mile 15 and I’m back on the pass that I had set for the run. Pull in and out of mile marker 21.7 still on pass. I head for the turn around point at mile marker 26. This part of the race had a 1400 drop and I had planed to be able to run it at a pretty good pass. On the course profile it looked all down hill, but there was still quite a bit of climbing to do. I pulled in to the turn around point at 5:00 hours on the noise which was 5 mins behind what I had planed. Lucky I gave myself 5-10mns at this AT in case I was fried and need to regroup, but I was feeling good so I only stayed a couple mins to put me back on pass.

After leaving the turn around point I was still in the same group of racers that I had been racing back and forth with the first half of the race. At this point in the race there is a big climb with over 1400 of climbing of the next 4 miles. So a lot of the runners in the group started running up the hill at this point I had a slight panic my plan was to walk this hill almost all the way back to the next Ta just over 4 miles away. So when these Guys started running I was thinking that I may have planned to run this part to slow and that it would effect my finish time. Everyone in my group were all shooting for a 10 to 11 finish. Seems that everyone was looking to be able to get into the Western States lottery. So when as the started to run I told myself to just stick with the plan and walk this section. With in 10 mins everyone in the group that had started running up the hill had slowed to a walk and I just powered by them on the climb. I didn’t see any of them again until the finish. So I think that I did the right thing by walking that section.  So when I got to the next aid station I was behind my pace that I had planed the walk up the hills, my have been faster then the other runners I was with but not ass fast as I had planed to walk it. So at this point I’, at mile 3 and I’m a few mins off pace but not to far at this point and then I stop at the aid station. This becomes were I start to loss more and more time. The aid stations were very well stocked, almost to well. I had a grill cheese (hot) at the aid station a little of this a little of that talked to a few of the other runners and a few people watching the race and the next thing I know I go from 3-5 mins off pass to 10mins where did the time go?. So I get out of there and hall but to the next aid station just over 3 miles away. I run in to the next aid station and I was back on pace I made up the 10 mins that I had lost and was looking good again. Then I made a stop at the next aid station and in and out in 2 mins so I’m now 2 mins back but not the 10 that I had been.

The Next section of the race was mostly rolling hills nothing major, but some how my mins start to fade , I ran this section about 3.5 mile alone not another runner in sight that plus the push to make up the 10 mins to the last aid station had me pull in to the 37 mile aid station 9 mins back. Again I grab some food and loss track of time and stay longer then I should I leave the aid station now 14 mins back. I start of the first mile or so trying to make up some of the time but by the point he legs don’t have the same speed that the had earlier so. I go back to the wrist band with my splits and start to see that I have folllen to far back on my pass to make up all the time to get in at 10 hours. So at this point I go back to running the slits that I had planed to run and not worry about the finish time as much. So with a new foucs, on splits and not a finish time. I get a little more energy to push on a run on tired legs. I pull in to aid station a mile 41 and yes again I stay to long at the aid station. But now I’m focuses on my spits not my over all time as long as a stay under the 11 hours qualifying time to do a 100 miler. So as I run to the next aid station my spit time start to fall off, and the breaks at the aid stations get long. At this point I know I have plenty of time to finish under the 11 hour window and run a comfortable race the last 7 miles or so.

I get to the last mile or so and start to run hard I’m over 10 hours in and I’m ready to be done so my last mile I run a sub 8 min mile. After 49 miles I know this means that I didn’t run hard enough during the race to have this much energy left, but it’s my first 50 miler and I know that I ran a very safe race.  I get to the finish and I can see Natatlie there with the camera taking a shoot of me as a run down to the finish line. I cross the Finish line with a finishing time of 10:31 to a very tough 50 miler. I didn’t set any land Speed records but I did have fun and I learned a lot. I plan to do a lot more ultras over the fall and winter for training and I do plan to run a lot harder and faster now that I kind of know how to run a race that long.

 

For all of you adventure races out there you have to run a 50 miler. The training is no more then you would do for a 12 hr race. If you check my Attack point I train on average about 10 or so a week with a few weeks of about half that much. Now that I have started training for longer runs I know that when I get in my next AR and see a 30 mile trek section I will know that I will be able to run that if I needed to (ok maybe run walk) and still have enough left for the  rest of the race.

Ok now that, that its done I’m on to the next challenge and more training, I have put in for the Western States lottery for next year we will see what happens with that. So next up is The Tank a lot 50k, I hope to see a lot of you out there it should be a fun race.

 

 

Ok I’m less then a week away from the 50 miler, and don’t feel like I’m ready.  Or I just don’t know what you should feel like getting ready to do a 50. Over the last couple of weeks I have been fighting some serious IT band issues. I have heard of people having problems but this is the first time that I have ever had any issues with It. I have to say it sucks.  So not only are my IT Bands giving me problems but for the last week my knees have been stiff, sore and swollen.  When the weather starts t change this happens for a few weeks but never like this. This is normally the time of year that I take it easy but not this year. I plan to have big 2008 season and it’s not going to happen if I take the winter off. So I cold wet winter with a lot of running will be had this year.  

So with all the knee issiues that I have been having they could not come at a worst time, They last couple of weeks I haven’t been able to get the miles in that I would have liked, but at this point I don’t think a few more miles of training would make that big of a deal. Its more the mental part of my training that has been effected. Right now I know that I can run the 50 I’m not really worried about that its more how fast cab I run the 50. Now that I will be sitting out PQ 08 the plan for this race s to run a sub 11 hour 50 to qualify for some of the 50 milers for next year, Western States would be great if I get picked in the lottery. Or Cascade Crest 100 local would be nice to. So the question in my mind is do I run the fastest race I can run and hope I don’t blow p before its over or run safe and stay under 11 hours?

 

I planed to do this race kind of last minute, I signed up before I had really log any miles this way I had something to train for but as you get closer to the race you question if you did enough.  That’s about were I am now did a do enough? The lake of miles over the last week have made me question that fact I didn’t follow any of the training programs I just went out and did what I do train hard and lessen to my body, this has always worked for me in the past and I’m sure it will again. I asked Glen and Roger about the amount of miles I should log and they both told me what works for them. So my training for this race became a lot of what works for me. It started with a mix of running biking and other light cardio while training for the 24 AR race last month. Then went to all running all the time and my knees paid the price. But I needed to know what the legs could do when they were dead at the later miles in the race so that’s what I did. So a week ago I felt that I was right were I wanted to be and I knew just what I would do for this race. Then after a couple fast runs early in the week the wheels feel of and the knees where shoot.

A week ago I had it all planed out what my time to each aid station would be and what my Finish time would be 9:42. Now I have no idea what will happened. But I know that I will run until I’m I still feel confident that I will make the 11 hour cut off but that is about all I know at this time. Sport are some much mental that something as small as missing a few days running will have you questioning everything that you have dome to this point. So for me this post is my therapy, it’s out there I said it and now onto getting my mind right for the race.

I will run aid station to aid station with an ETA for each aid station, I will run the flats and rolling hills and downs hills and I will hike the up hills. I will eat and drink often and by the end I will have finished my first 50 I’m sure there will me more to come after the first one but right now I have to concord this one first . Then we will make plans to run the 100 miler next year.

I haven’t posted a blog in over a week so I guess its time to get back at it. A little over a week a go I did the 4^th Dimension AR adventure race, put on by Roger and Glen. It was a great race, there was some last minute changes that had to be made do to permitting. The trekking section was taken out of the race. That is always my favorite part of the race. Plus all the running that I have been doing I wanted to see how fats our team could go. The team for the is race was a group of PQ Vet’s Me, Robin, Jen and Scott.

This was a great group to race with, we all know what it took to get to the finish. Our race started out ok we did ok on the water, I think we would have done much better in better Boats but we still finish in the top half of teams. From there we went on the bikes this bike section was crazy started with some fun single track from there some hike a bike. Ok a lot of Hike a bike, this were Robin hurt his ankle, this guy has had a ruff year from the problems in Montana to this race But Robin is the type of guy that will never quite. So ge toughed it out till we got to the Rogaine section of the race. He was unable to walk to me , Jen and Scott tried to do the Rogaine section. Sad to say that we all need work on our nave. It’s a good thing that we are all runners we were able to make up some ground with speed.

All in all it was a fun race I got a change to see all my race friends and a chance to race for 27 hours. To me that is a great weekend. From that race I had to regear my training for the upcoming 50 miler in Cali. I have mixed my training up over the last few months but at this point it all running all the time. I had a chance to get out for 23 miles at tiger on Friday. The legs still felt heavy less then a week after the race, but I needed to get the miles in. This Friday i’m heading back out to Tiger to get in my last long run before the race. This time plan is to clock 35 miles after this I will be slowing the training down . The next week I may log about 25 miles for the week and the week of the race a couple light runs maybe 5 miles total. Nothing like the 65 miles that I will have to log this week.

My plan for this race it to run a smart race, try not to go out to hard to early and maintain a nice even pass. This will be my first 50 milers so this race is all about gaining experience and to run a sub 11 hour 50 so that I can qualify for some of the 100 milers for next year. I’m pretty sure that I shouldn’t have any problem running the sub 11 hour, but from there I have no ideal what my race time will be. I should have a better idea after Fridays 35 miler. I will be running Friday on pretty fresh legs so I plan to run it at race pass. Last weeks 23 miler had a lot of elevation gain for 5000ft this Friday I will try to lay out a course that will give me about the same amount of elevation over 35 miles so I should be able to run more of it then last week. The 50 will have 7800ft total elevation gain. So the 5000 feet should be close to what I will see at the race over that distance.

So now I have to see if I can find anyone that wants to run with me on Friday ether all or part of the way. The one thing that I’m not enjoying about running this long is that it can get boring at times. Most times I’m fine but it will be interesting to see how I do with 10 hours or straight running. The great part about the race is that there will be 14 aid stations, this way I will just focus on running from aid station to aid station not running 50 miles.

As for the rest of life, I still haven’t herd from Food Network yet. They are still on the road doing casting all over the country so I plan to hear from them in the next couple of weeks when the finish up. Or not you never know it was a fun thing to do but I’m not holding my breath on this one there are thousands of people trying to get the 10 spots to get on the show and you never now what there looking for these things.

Primal Quest is not looking to good the two people that me a robin had set up to do the race have backed out. I understand there reasons this race is a Hugh commitment and is something that you have to be totally committed to doing. So still not sure that PQ 2008 will happen for me it not I’m OK with it, sometimes you just have to pay attention to the signs.

 

 

 

Fame or flop

 

Man this has been a crazy week. I stared of with me and Robin doing one of Eric Bones 10 mile trail runs on Sunday and then from there I had to run off to work. The day was so crazy I didn’t even make it to Patrice and James party sorry guy! Then form there had to head back home to get Camille and meet up with her mom, then back home, and all of that was just on Sunday from there It kept getting crazy, the 24 hour race is this week so there is the pre race prep that goes along with that and did I mention work yet. We are in the pre opening part at the University school starts back up of the 24^th and there is a mad rush to get things up and running. So did I say that I’m only midway thru Monday at this point.

 

So I get a call from Natalie mid day on Monday and apparently the Food Network is in town and there are casting for there Show “Next Food Star”, and the tryouts are on Tuesday. So as if I didn’t have any thing else going on I had to drop everything I was doing and get some stuff together to try out for the casting of the next show. I spent most of Monday night thinking about what I would do or say, I have to get a resume, bio and some pictuers together before I head downtown to see if I have a chance to make the show. I have to tell you I slept like crap that night so many things to think about the race, work and now trying out for a cooking show. How crazy am I?

 

So the big day comes and I get up early of should I say climb out of bed I didn’t really get any sleep so it’s not like I had to wake up. Get everything ready that I worked on the night before and head into Seattle. I get there and I’m one of only about 5 people that are there, as I set there waiting to find out what is going on the number of people stat to climb. They start to pass out information packets that we have to fill out with our numbers I’m lucky number 11. After filling out the information packet which is the size of a small book my number is called and I go meet with the casting director, I’m in and out in less then 10 mins but what ever I said must have worked because I was invited back the next day to do an on camera interview along with a taped cooking demo.

 

So now another night of no sleep I have to now figure what I’m going to make, what I’m going to talk about and what angel should I use to try to stand out.  After a few hours I plan out what I want to do and how to do. Sense there will be no real cooking for the on camera part all the food has to be cooked before and you talk about how you made it and present it as if you were on your own cooking show. So I prep all the stuff I will need for the next day and again no sleep that night.

 

I make it to day two of casting I have all my stuff ready, I have my show idea in mind and I’m ready to show what I can do. I get a call 2 hours before my schedule time to hear that they are two hours behind and that I will need to come later. You know how things like this can mess up your mind. So I try to brush it off and go on with my day. I get there and find that there are about 6 other people that are there and we are trying to get on the show and for the first time you get to see your competition. Everyone there seem nice and any one of use would be able to put on a great cooking show if we where picked.

 

So the moment of truth comes it is my turn to go up and go n camera, and I have to say that I felt pretty relaxed. I was looking at it as a great opportunity but I ad nothing invented in it. So if it didn’t happen I was ok with that but it had been a fun experience. So I’m in and I do my on camera interview and I do my on camera cooking (not really cooking) and it goes great, I had a lot of fun I felt comfortable and I think I do pretty good. They seemed to think so to, but you never know what they are looking for. So if that is as far as I get to go with this I’m ok what because it has been such a cool experience, but I hope to get a call go to the next level and if that happens even better.

 

So if all of you out there and put out some good vibes for me that would be great. If there are any of you out there that what to try out it’s not to late here is a link that will give you all the info you need.

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/audience_input/article/0,1904,FOOD_9785_5694382,00.html 

Till I Collapse

Over the last month or so I have been focused on the training I put in order to better my performance. This sounds like as basic concept but trust me its never that easy. I have to say that I have been a lot more focused and I seem to learn something every time I’m out and the hope that all of those little things add up on race day.

In addition to training I have set a series of goals around racing and my race performance, I found out back in 2005 that I’m a much better and stronger racer when I’m racing at least once a month. Training is just that training but nothing can replace racing. That is when you really know all the training has paid off or not. I also found that by the end of the season I was much stronger, fast and wiser. Now my journey to PQ 2008 is underway with our team goals set and the training and racing need to prepare has started. The first race on the road to 2008 was the MAR race and if you have had a chance to read Robins Race report you will see that the God were not on or side in that race. So we gear up and try it again with 4^th dimension 24 hr race on the 15^th.

Those of you that don’t know our team for 2008 will be Me, Robin Smith, Shane Gibson (Wicked AR RD) and Renee Seker. We currently don’t have a team name right now, but we are hoping to get a sponsor that can help with that. Maybe we can be MPGear.com again, Erik got quite a bite of coverage after that race. But until then we are racing as Missing Link AR and as I race in my upcoming solo event races I will be racing as Clifton Lyles "Till I collapse" title of an Eminem song if you don’t know it you should check it out, if you know me you will know why it has become my new theme.

Yeah and big ups for Matt Hart that guy is a machine, he just finished his first 100 miler. He placed second at the Grand Teton 100 miler this past weekend. Check out the link to the race http://www.grandtetonraces.com and like a true AR guy he had the best transitions at the aid stations of any racer. Way to go Matt!!!

As I set out in the world of running ultras I will have to get some serious training help form Matt, I have my first 50 miler set for 10-13-2007. I know that I’m not ready for it but I know if I don’t start running in ultras now I will loss another year before I start. So my goal for this ultra was 9:30 to 10:00 hours after looking at the course a little more and my training I may need to push that time back. Over all the goal is to make the 11 hour qualifying time for western states, but will still be running for my 9:30 to 10 hour goal that I set earlier. Ether way it will be a fun race I’m racing in the Bay Area where my oldest daughter Mikayla lives so it will be a fun weekend, Natalie is going also. The race features great view of the Bay Area and San Francisco, so it will be like going back home.