Tempting the Triangle

I tempted fate today.
Took my life in my hands, really.

Today, I dared Sasquatch, the Turner Beast, the Leeds Loki, and the Turner Triangle to tangle with me.

Laced up the running shoes and did what used to be my favorite on/off-road bike ride via my own two feet.

Ran up along the south end of Pleasant Pond, where I was disappointed to find that the dirt road ended with a house. No matter.
I bushwacked up to 117, ran down over the hill by the golf course, and linked up with 219 for a few miles.

Ambling past what used to be Twin Bridges Market in Leeds and admiring the new tar, I was reminded of a few nights prior. I was tooling along that road at 1am on a bike ride from Ellsworth to Turner, and happened to look over and see a nice buck with super long tines on his rack. Pretty awesome.

I hit the crossing of the powerlines and took a right, and followed them all the way to the intersection, where I could've gone to Landry's store, Addington Hill, or the Androscoggin River. I chose river, bub, hoping I wouldn't have to swim across to get back onto the Turner Flats.
Sure enough, I took the trail that dumped me out on the river. A trail went to the left, but a sign said "Keep out"...

Luckily the water was really low. I mucked it along the edge of the river, baffled at how many different types of animal prints were embedded in the sand. Raccoons, squirrels, deer, rabbits, etc. After a 1/4 mile of mudding and some wet shoes and feet, I cut across someone's property until I was on the main road.

Crossed the bridge, jogged down Cobb Road and memory lane as I ran by my aunt and uncle's old place, where I spent a lot of time as a kid. Weird how I remembered the the road and houses being so much bigger then compared to now.

Finished up on the road. 117 and back down Pleasant Pond road. No better way to spend an afternoon.

24 HOGGin'

Just spent the weekend riding the mountain bike.
Literally, the whole weekend.

I was foolish enough to sign up for the 24 Hours of Great Glen, located...well...on the side of Mount Washington.
A lot of people do it in teams of 2 or 4, but some are dumb enough to try it alone. It's a test of will and skillz.

Trail description:
Lots of dirt road, interspersed with some singletrack. 8.3 miles.

Cool.
I figured, I've done a lot of biking...why not?
If it's a lot of dirt road, I should at least be able to pull off a lap an hour, right?
WRONG!

Cannon was fired at High Noon on Saturday.
I held a pretty good pace for 5 laps, but then the singletrack started really frustrating me and kicking my ass. It's not exactly a strength of mine.

It really is an art that requires good balance, technique, focus, and short bursts of high power.

I...um..have none of those. Just the ability to zone out and go for long periods. Can't really do that on a mountain bike.
I tried at one point around midnight in the race, and did a header into a pine tree.
Good Times!
Also, the amount of climbing was unbelievable...and I even like climbs.

BY 1am, I was COOKED and totally out of my element. Went to bed for 40 minutes to try and get some consciousness back, but had the usual "lay there and think about the race" thing going on. Falling asleep on impact of pillow is something I have yet to perfect in my Ultra races. It's frustrating to be tired and not sleep, knowing that it's going to help.

Came out of the tent totally pissed off and not in the mood to ride.
Did a misery lap. Got passed every 2 seconds. Seemed like every time I'd get a rhythm established, a relay team dude would yell "on your left!".
This compounded my frustration....even though most offered the seemingly standard "Good Job Solo!".

Rolled into the camp 2 hours later(mind you, this equates to a 15 minute mile). I could've easily run faster, and knowing this REALLY pisses me off.
I tell Nicole, Mom, and Dad(kick ass crewing job, by the way) "I'm going to bed, and not getting up until I sleep".

A couple hours later, they're opening my tent. Time to go.
Spent the next couple hours riding, saying I'm gonna stop after this lap.
I said that a few times.. but with each lap, I kept getting more inspired. Around 10:30am Sunday, I told the gang. "Well, I'm so miserable now, might as well go and make myself more miserable."

I am SO glad I chose to do the last lap. Met up with a ton of other Solos.
It was really a celebratory lap and an awesome end to a tough event.
We shared battle stories of the experiences of the 24 hours, and enjoyed the hot sun after the chilly night.

I'll definitely be back next year. At least I'll know what to expect!

Starvin Marvin

I haven't updated in a long time.

Been BUSY. Busy TRAINING.

Holy moly.

I'm so far ahead of last year at this time that it's unreal.
I feel good. I'm fitter than ever. Now I just have to be smart....and now that I have more time on my hands(now I'm part time at work), I can BE smarter. Little things like injury prevention and weights are the things I just never had time for when I was working all the time.

It materialized like this:
Mark and I were working together. Both full time.
Store has slow months from now until November.
I have a mental breakdown, and realize: oh my word, I'm making the same mistakes as I did last year prior to the Triple.
Working too much. Not training enough. Not taking care of myself.
I propose that I take a small pay cut and work 25-30 hrs per week TOPS.
Done.

A HUGE weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
While I may have had some creeping doubts before about Mexico, those are long gone. I don't think anyone wants it as bad as I want it, and I mean that.
I wake up and think 5x.
I daydream about it all day.
I do every workout imagining I'm in the middle of the race.

I'm GLAD for those DNFs.
They've made me so hungry.
Shit, I'm starving...and in a few months, I'm gonna eat like a king.

Epics

My name is Kale, and I have an addiction.

I can't stop thinking about the next Epic. It's all I can think about.
It pulls me through this mundane life of work, sleep, repeat.

For some people, escape is sex, drugs, or rock'n'roll.

Mine is food, bike, or run.

I know I'm different than the other endurofiends because they don't need it like I need it.
Like, NEED it.

I got humbled at the Green Mountain Relay. Thought I could stick out any problems, as long as I could walk. Turned out, when I was thrown into that situation, I didn't want to participate on terms that were less than my own high expectations...ie, walking. I put 16ish hours on my feet and said screw it.

Enter the next logical step: 24 Hours Around The Lake Race.

No distance per se, just time...running. I can deal with that.

It makes so much sense. This leaves out the negative mental talk of unfavorable pace projections, and sets me up for just doing my best for 24 hours....and I'm going solo. I need to find that mental toughness...that place in my head where nothing else matters but the finish, and that comes with having no one to talk to or lean on.

Perfect for getting my run game back on track for November, and it'll be my last long workout before 24 Hours Of Great Glen, a mountain bike race 2 weeks after that.

I'm happy about my fitness right now. I'm way ahead of where I was last year.
More ultra runs under my belt than any other year for this time of year.
My biking is WAY stronger than last year already.

Only thing slightly lacking is swim, but that comes rather quickly for me.

I'm ready for my next escape.

(hi)atus

I bet you thought I forgot about The Path Less Taken.

My time during the TentMan Experience has forced me to reflect on this blog a little bit.

I've come to realize that somewhere along the line, this blog took a negative tone. Maybe I just needed somewhere to vent.

I took something really awesome, that only a handful of people in the world can do, and turned it into a major negative thing in my life.

That being said, it doesn't surprise me that the Tentman Blog has way surpassed the Path Less Taken in popularity.

Tentman is cool-headed and fun.
Endurance Geek is moody, negative, and serious. No one wants to read about someone bitching all the time.

I'm so glad I've moved to a tent. It's been great for my training and given me a new perspective on life. Having a slight hippy mindset might not be a bad thing, after all.

I'm reminded of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Michael Johnson and Maurice Green were set for this "clash of the titans" in the 200 meter dash. Trash talking and acting like jerks, they both came to the line fueled with anger.

Neither made it to the finish line.
Both pulled muscles on the world stage and came up as losers.

Each of my last 3 races I approached as: I need to finish this or else.
Negative.

May the peaceful mindset of Tentman and the drive of Endurance Geek combine!

krp

rebirth

The sun is out.
The birds are singing.

Today, folks, is a great day.

In reading a few of my last posts, one would probably wonder why the hell I'm doing this at all. I could almost agree. The first 6 months of this year have given me nothing but heartache and stress.

Luckily, my major running events are done for the year. Those are the ones that take the largest toll on my body. I'll still do a few longer runs of 50-75 miles, but nothing major. From here on out, it's about getting Bike Nasty and Swim Hardened.

I am stressed financially, physically, and mentally, in getting to Mexico, but I always remember this.
In any movie...any book that has to do with the pursuit of dreams, things are always terrible for a long, long time...until they get better.

William Feather once said:
"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go"

There's a reason only a few people on the planet do this. It is so far from easy just GETTING to the start line...let alone what happens after the gun goes off.

Less than 5 months now, and I'm starting to visualize how sweet that finish line is going to be. I feel good and ready to start putting some monster bike mileage in.

Enough failure, it's time for success.

Thanks for reading.
krp

Three Times, No Charm

I need to write this...for my brain.

This was kind of my worst nightmare.

I'd never DNFed before the Triple. Here I am now, DNF number 3, clinging to my back like King Kong on the Empire State.

A DNF in an Ultra has a much longer story than "I couldn't do it." Unfortunately, to outsiders of the sport, that's what it might look like: just excuses.

You know what it makes me feel like in their eyes? A bullshitter.

I believe in myself...and some people might say that's all that matters. Unfortunately, it's not at this level.
When you have people that have sponsored you with their product, time, services, or money, the expectation is rightfully some sort of result.

I'm extremely disappointed and humbled. This is the "fight or flight" moment.
My back's against the wall. I certainly don't feel excited about asking for sponsorship. I have zero results this year, thus far.
It's time for me fight. I have to focus on my limiter: flexibility. That's the ONLY thing stopping me in these races.
No structural issues. No mental weakness. Just tendons and muscles.

If you've supported me and continue to support me no matter what, I thank you. You are the true friends and my inspiration to keep fighting.

Thanks for reading.

krp