The Road to Cactus Rose 100

I'm starting this blog to share my experiences on the trails.  My journey started in January 2010.  After gaining a bit of weight and a routine physical revealed high cholesterol, I decided to start running on the treadmill to get in shape.  At first, I'd run one song at twelve minutes a mile and walk another, slowly building up my fitness. 

Two books really influenced my running, the first of which being a second-hand copy of Jim Fixx's The Complete Book of Running. Fixx wrote so beautifully about the experience and community of running that it inspired me to get over my self-consciousness of running outside and take to the roads. 

I joined my wife in a few 5Ks and worked on getting my time down. I took the plunge and entered a marathon, going out too fast and staggering to the finish with cramping legs.  The marathon bug got me and I ended up running six in 2011 and 2012.

Another find at Half Price Books changed my running career, Dean Karnazes' Ultramarathon Man.  I've always been a fan of The Lord of the Rings, and the way Dean wrote about ultrarunning, and in particular the Western States 100, made the journey seem like such an adventure.  Inspired, I began to explore Ho Chi Minh Trails in the Houston area.  Since moving to The Woodlands, Texas, I mostly train in the George Mitchell Nature Preserve.

I signed up for the 2012 Grasslands 50 Miler and repeated my first marathon mistakes, going out too fast and DNFing.  Since that debacle, I've finished eight ultras, my best race being the 2013 Bandera 100K.  I mostly race the events put on by Tejas Trails.  I'm pretty much a midpack runner and just race to challenge myself.

My focus now is to train for the Cactus Rose 100.  I ran the 50 mile version of this last year and am looking forward to, and fearing, the unknown of the 100 mile distance. 

I'm using the Tejas Trails Captain Karl's 60K series of night races for training this summer.  I DNFed the first race as I tried to race Pedernales Falls sick, but finished the other two.

I'm heading out for the final race in the series this weekend, the Reveille Ranch 60K, so hopefully I'll post a race report soon.

Thanks for reading!