The Dream Season

Although some of this is old news, I just had to make comment about what is perhaps the best ever season that a female high school track athlete has had in Montana.  No diminishing the performances of some greats of the past like Julie Brown, Laurie Sax, Loni Perkins, Heidi Lane and Zoe Nelson - I would argue that Dani Aragon's 2012 season surpassed them all.

No wanting to overlook the fact that she ran a 4:53 mile or a 10:58 2-mile during the season; but, wanted to focus on her 800 meter performances starting with the Eastern AA Divisionals on May 19th.

At Divisionals she won the 800 meters in a stellar 2:10.33.  This time was within site of the all class record of Julie Brown from the 1970's and had people excited about what she could do at the State Meet.

Which then brings us to the state meet at the mile-high altitude of Butte.  With less than stellar weather (cold, wind, snow, rain) she smashed the 800 Meter record with the first ever sub-2:10 perfromance in running 2:08.31.  (On top of that she got 2nd in the 400 at 57.23, won the mile in 4:56.43 (just off the state record of 4:55.18) and won the 3200 in 11:09.28.)

But, all of that was a mere warmup for the biggest and best part of her senior season.  In mid-June, she headed to Bloomington, Indiana for the USA Track & Field Junior Championships.  She ran solid in the preliminaries with a 2:10.45 that qualified her for the finals.  Then, in the finals is where she had her real breakthrough performance.  Running 2nd to Ajee Wilson, she ran an incredible, 3 second PR with her 2:05.06.  But, even bigger than that was the fact that her performance qualified her for the World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain in mid-July.

Once she got to Barcelona, Dani kept on rolling.  In the heats, she ran a 2:07.84 to qualify for the semi-finals.  In the semi-fnals (held the day after the heats), she ran another PR in 2:04.19. That's 4 performances under 2:10 in a 6 week span - AMAZING.  Unfortunately, that's where Dani's run ended.  It took a 2:03.18 to qualify for the finals; and, that was just beyond Dani's time.  But, what an amazing run she had.

Now, Dani will take her talents to Notre Dame to join her junior to be sister Alexa (and to follow in the footsteps of their Dad Chuck - a ND alum and former school record holder in the mile).

I've had the pleasure of knowing the Aragon family since the girls were infants (during my time in Billings).  Dani (and the rest of the family) is a pleasant, intelligent and talented young girl.  She has a bright, bright future indeed.  My daughter Zoe was between Dani and Alexa during their junior high years at Lewis & Clark JH in Billings.  Zoe always thought that Dani was going to have a great career - guess she was right.

So, consider this my tip of the cap to the amazing spring of Dani Aragon.  I wish her all the best as she continues with her running and her time at ND.

The Muddy Buzzard.

The Buzzard Goes Bionic

So, finally sucked it up and followed the doctor's recommendations.  Went in on Wednesday and had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) put in.  So, what does that mean????

Well, as part of my reduced heart function (left ventricular ejection fraction of 35% +-), I'm at an increased risk of Sudden Cardiac Arrest.  Even though their underlying heart conditions were different, SCA is what struck down Ryan Shay at the 2008 Oly Trials and Micah True (Caballo Blanco from Born To Run).  Alberto Salazar suffered through an SCA episode (but got lucky due to very quick medical attention and survived).  Two international soccer players recently suffered SCA episodes on the field.  One survived, the other wasn't so lucky. 

Although the risk of an episode in my case is less than 1% in any given year, - there is a risk.  And, if you have an episode, it's usually fatal unless you happen to be somewhere with trained responders and/or an AED.   But, an SCA episode can also be treated by and ICD.  Under the right conditions (which have been programmed into the device), your heart will get a jolt or other form of electrical signal to bring it back into the correct rhythm.

The device is implanted on the left side of my chest, below my collar bone and above the breast.  Here's a pic with the dressing over the incision.

I was pleasantly surprised because I expected there to be more of a protrusion/bump from the device.  It will probably be a bit more evident once the dressing is off; but, it's not as bas as I thought that it might be.

The device really isn't that big.  It's a bit bigger than my Garmin 405 GPS Watch; and, about the thickness of a USB thumb drive.  Here's a few pix of a device sample that they gave me at discharge (it's an actual device, sans battery and leads.)



From the plastic piece on the top of the device are a set of leads that they thread through a vein and into the heart.  In my case, there is a lead to the atrium and a lead to the ventricle.  There's a very, very small "screw" that attaches to the wall of the heart. 

So, basically, here's how it works.  The ICD continuously monitors my heart rate.  If, for some reason, it starts to beat too fast (an indicator of the onset of Sudden Cardiac Arrest), the ICD tries to "pace" the heart back to a normal heart rate.  If that doesn't work, then, the device sends a shock to the heart to shock it back into a normal rhythm.  In my case, the "fast" rates have been set at 190 and 210 beats per minute.  (That shouldn't be a problem with running for me.  Since I've been on some of the heart meds, my max HR is now at around 155 to 160.)  Again, the risk of experiencing SCA is pretty small; but, this device is a good insurance device just in case it does happen.

The procedure went well.  Dr. Simone Musco from St. Patricks International Heart Institute did a great job.  He's been great to work with and has been really flexible in setting this whole thing up in a way that will minimize the impact on my day to day lifestyle; and, will still allow me to run.

They don't put you completely out during the procedure.  You are sedated; and, I don't really remember much of the 90 minute surgery.  I think I slept through most of it; but, I do vividly recall them forming the skin pocket and putting in the device.  It didn't really hurt; but, man, this thing doesn't gently slip under the skin.  There is some serious pushing to get the damn thing in place.

I came out of the procedure wide awake and ready to go.  Seems like I kind of get amped up on the back side of the sedative.  I was talking and visiting and all kinds of awake.  Within about an hour, I was pretty well back with it; and was already sending out some texts and making calls.   

I didn't seem to have any significant after effects of the sedatives; but, my left chest was pretty sore.  Finally wore down about 10:00 at night and was hopeful of getting at least some sleep.  But, it was not to be.  First, there was the IV antibiotic that they hooked me up to at midnight.  Then vitals at 2:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.  And, they wanted to do a chest X-ray at 5:30 a.m.  But, that wasn't the worst of it.  The bed in the room had an air mattress and was set up to almost continuously adjust the air pressure within the mattress (I'm sure to help avoid bed sores).  Every 30 seconds a small air pump would come on and pump air into or out of the mattress.  And, this wasn't some quite little pump.  It was like the battery operated pumps that you can use to blow up air mattresses for home or camping.  With that going on twice a minute, there was no sleep in my night.

Yesterday, my chest was still a bit sore; but, manageable with just Tylenol.  But, I was quite tired with no sleep.  Was able to get a bit of work done in the morning (email mostly)  Was home by about 2:00 p.m.  Took about an hour nap and did some more work in the early evening.  Then to bed pretty early.

So, here it is on Friday.  The pain is pretty minor.  Took 2 Tylenol early this morning; and, that's been it.  I'm still a bit fatigued; but, was able to get in a full days worth of work.  With a full weekend of rest, I should be back at it full force by Monday.

I do have a few short term restrictions.  I can't run for 5 or 6 days (although I can walk or do recumbent bike before that).  I can't shower or get the incision site wet for a week.  I do have an appointment on Wednesday to check the wound site and to double check the device programming.  Once that is done, I should be able to get back to regular running and normal activities.

But, for 4 to 6 weeks I can't lift my left arm above my shoulder; and, I can't lift more than 10 to 15 pounds with my left hand.  That's to make sure that the lead wires "set in" properly and don't move out of place.  After that, there should be no real restrictions on my previous lifestyle.

The ICD doesn't fix the underlying problem; and, I still expect that my performance/racing will be limited by heart function.  But, it does give me some peace of mind knowing that the risk of kicking over and dying out on a run has been significantly reduced.

At any rate, it's now another part of this big journey; and, I'm hopefully that the future road blocks are minimal. 

And, in just a few more days...............................I'll see you back out on the roads, tracks and trails.

The Muddy Buzzard

Running At The Bottom Of The Lake

Okay - so my love fest with Missoula running is going to continue into this post.  But, I can't help it.  That's what happens in the afterglow of an event like last weekend's Missoula Marathon. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again - it is perhaps the best overall running event (dare I say festival) in Montana.  It's a 3-day celebration of running.  With the Run Wild Missoula Beer Run and packet pick up on Friday evening; the Missoula 5K and Kid's Marathon on Saturday moning; the expo on Saturday; and, the main event (full and half marathons) on Sunday - there's some level of running event for anyone and everyone.

Run Wild Missoula and the marathon race committee do an outstanding job of putting the race logistics together.  The Missoula community get's solidly behind the event.  And, when you combine in all of the local markets and weekend community events - you get a weekend full of energy, excitement and a "buzz about town" that is unmatched in the region.  Trust me - it's an event that is well worth puttig on you calendar.

And, on top of that, there's the little matter of the races themselves. Top to bottom, the marathon and half marathon have developed into highly competitive races with excellent fields.  (And, with an enhanced focus on the Missoula 5K, I expect that event to grow and become even better in the next couple of years.)

In the half marathon, high schooler Chiara Warner (Townsend/Broadwater HS) was a suprise at the front with her 1:21:59 win.  While a talented and accomplished HS runner, there was nothign to suggest her ability to step up to the 13.1 distance and beat some accomplished runners like defending champ Emily Schertzer, Meg Lerch and Brooke Andrus.

For the men, Matt Shyrock of Missoula jsut snuck under Casey Jermyn's course record as he pulled of a sub-1:10 finish with a winning time of 69:51.  A sub-70 Half is pretty impressive; and, it gave him an 80 second win and took the scalps of runners such as pre-reace favorites Devin Cowan, Jacob Naegeli and Adam Peterman.  In all there were 5 total men under 1:15.  Not a bad race.

At the full distance, the pre-race favorites were Jimmy Grant and Collin Fehr - and they lived up to the billing.  Both were looking for performances in the 2:30 or under range.  Collin took things out hard with a 1:14 opening half, opening a 2 minute + lead on Jimmy.  Race reports later had that lead up to about 3 minutes.  But, over the last 10 miles, Jimmy slowly chewed into the lead.  But, in the end, Collin held on for a 44 second win, 2:32:38 to 2:33:22.  Pretty competetive racing over a full 26 miles.

On the women's side, it was all Trisha all the way.  Running under her newly married name of Drobek (nee Miller), Trisha had one of the finest women's performances in recent Montana history.  Coming off a sub-2:50 win at this January's PF Chang's Marathon in Tempe/Phoenix, AX, Trisha pulled off her second super fast time in 6 months and smashing the course record with her win at 2:49:33.  This gave her a dominating 14 minute win.

All in all a great, exciting weekend in the Garden City.  Already looking forward to 2013 and seeing if the race festival can exceed the 6,000 runner mark and improve again on the level of performances.  Based on what I've seen over the last couple of years, I'm predicting yes to both of the above.

See you on the roads, tracks and trails.

The Muddy Buzzard

Happy #11 To RE

Let me start with full disclosure.  The Brooker family (Tim, Carol, Anders [and soon to be Meg]) are friends of mine.  But, that friendship has little bearing on my comments below.

Yesterday (July 13th), the Runner's Edge celebrated their 11th Anniversary as Missoula's (and western Montana's) running specialty store.  That's a big deal for a small business - to fight off the competition, economic turmoil and a myriad of daily challenges to success.  But, here they stand after more than a decade.  But,, the question begs - why have they been successful and survived when so many other small businesses (in Missoula, Montana, and throughout the country) have folded up their tents???

Because they "get it".  They know the sport.  They know their customers.  They provide unparallelled customer service.  They've developed partnerships with other local and regional events, organizations, businesses and individuals.  They are actively (and I mean actively) involved in all aspects of the sport in the Missoula region.  Sponsorships, classes, coaching, group runs, donations, etc.  If there is something going on with running in the region, you can almost be certain that Runner's Edge will be somehow connected.

They have great products and a full selection of shoes, clothing, gear and accessories.  They know the products they sell.  They stand behind their products. 

The staff is great.  Anders, Tim, Vicki, Mike, Tyson, John, Colleen, Meg.  Pleasant - Knowledgeable - Committed  They bring their best to the table every day to make sure you have the best possible products to help you enjoy the sport.

Time Out Sports in Billings is Montana's first running specialty store and has been around for over 20 years.  Bozeman Running Company has taken over the old Fleet Feet store and is on the upswing.  And, Tread Lightly in Helena and Southwest Sports in Butte are a couple of the new kids on the block.  They all do a good job and it's great to have that many running specialty stores in our little corner of the world.  But, in my mind, they all take a back seat to Runner's Edge.  RE has set the gold standard in the Big Sky for running specialty stores.

In fact, they may be one of the best running stores in all of the Western U.S.  During my travels, I like to check out running stores in the various cities that I visit.  And, quite honestly, RE can run toe to toe with pretty much any of the stores I've ever set foot in.

So - congratulations Anders and all of the Runner's Edge crew on 11 years of service to the Missoula running community.  Thanks for all that you do for the sport; and, here's to hoping for a strong, successful 2nd decade of business.

See you on the roads, tracks and trails

The Muddy Buzzard

The Wulf Howls Again

Nice weather, good trail conditions, great competition and amazing race organization – that’s what makes for a great event.  All those things and more were to be found at the 5^th Annual Wulfman’s CDT-14K Trail Race.  The race takes place on the Continental Divide Trail between Homestake and Pipestone Passes east of Butte, Montana.  Named in honor of John “The Wulfman” Wulf, the Godfather of Butte’s Piss & Moan Runners, the race is held each year on the Saturday closest to the summer solstice, the anniversary of The Wulfman’s final group run.

Run in opposite directions every other year, this year saw the race in the southbound direction between Homestake and Pipestone.  Although not considered a technical trail, the course makes up for it with a combination of climbs and altitude.  With a starting elevation of 6,250’ the course rises 1,300' in a series of steps/climbs (high point around 7,500’) over the first 8.5 kilometers.  From there, it’s mostly downhill over the last 5.5 kilometers to a finish elevation of 6,350’ (net uphill of 100’).  Those last 5.5 kilometers are deceptively challenging though, with a couple of uphill “bumps” in the last 3 kilometers that really make you work.  As a result, finish times and runner comments suggest that this is the more difficult race direction.  

Being a single track trail all the way – the race start has to be adjusted to accommodate the 240-person field.  Based on predicted times and consideration by the race director (Ray Hunt), the runners are seeded to go out on the course in 10-second intervals.  With the faster runner’s going out first, this allows all of the runner’s great access to the trail with limited needs for passing or other potential conflicts.

Race day was mild, dry and sunny.  But, the shade of the trees and some well timed breezes kept the conditions reasonably comfortable.  The lack of winter snows and spring rains were evident when the couple of notoriously swampy spots were, at worst, a bit damp.  That made for probably the best trail conditions in the event’s history – and the result was some great racing.

The men’s race this year was a bit more of a question mark than it had been in the past.  Two time defending champion Lynn Reynolds was skipping this year.  Also absent were some top runners from the past such as Keifer Hahn, Alan King, Pat Judge, Scott Creel and Mike Telling.  But, that meant some new faces, some new blood and some new excitement. 

The one thing that went directly according to plan was the performance of Jimmy Grant of Missoula.  The 33-year old was granted the first starting slot as the top returning performer from last year.  He took his 10 second starting gap and never looked back.  Never really challenged during the race, he pushed on to a 43 second win with a time of 57:27.  Post race, Grant commented that in many ways he preferred a later starting position and liked doing the chasing.  But, it’s evident that he also does pretty well with the fear of being the hunted and running hard to stay in front of the pack.

Grant was a bit surprised at how well the run went today, having just competed in the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon over Memorial Day Weekend (May 27^th).  His 2:31:44 time brought him home in 4^th place and just off his goal of a sub-2:30 performance.  But, buoyed by his performance today, he’s thinking about taking another marathon shot in two weeks at the Missoula Marathon.

2^nd place was wrapped up by Butte native Clint Choquette.  Having made a big jump in his training volume this year (from 20+ miles per week to 50+), Clint has also made a big jump in performance.  Now living in Billings (and set to compete for MSU-Billings this fall in cross country – using his one available year of eligibility), Choquette moved up from his #4 starting position to compete the course in a fine time of 58:10

Helena’s Thomas “Big-Bird” Jodoin (the 2008 and 2009 champion) continued his 5 year string of top 3 finishes, hitting 59:03.  Rounding out the top 5 (and the sub-1 hour performers) were race-newbie Devin Cowan of Helena in 59:32; and, race director and master’s stud Ray Hunt (Deer Lodge) in 59:52. 

The women’s race held a little more to form.  But, the big question at the start was who was going to have the best comeback.  Would it be defending champion Sarah Graves of Ballantine, returning to competition after the Olympic Marathon Trials in January?  Or, would it be 2009 champion Nicole Hunt of Deer Lodge – who gave birth to twin boys Roam and Ember last fall (October)?

Graves was out first, with Hunt starting just 20 seconds back.  Although she indicated that she didn’t feel really sharp, Graves took it out hard over the first half of the race – she’s a racer through and through.  Hunt got out a bit easier over the first 5 kilometers; but, then began a big charge leading to the 2^nd big climb at about 7 kilometers – where she made contact with Graves.  They continued to run in this order until a bit past the 40:00 mark (near 8K), when Nicole went around and made a big push over the top and through the downhill last 5K.  The result, a 42 second win over Sarah 67:58 to 68:40.  As the topping on the day, her time set a new course record by 78 seconds (and with it, the $75 record bonus).

Nicole has made some big forward progress on her racing fitness over the last two months and looks to be well on her way back to being one of the top master’s women in the US.  Who knows how amazing she could be if the boys would just let her get a full night’s sleep J

Another Wulfman newbie was master’s runner Jenny Newton of Missoula.  Her 72:35 placed her third, about a minute ahead of 17 year old (and high school senior to be) Olivia Wood of Anaconda (whose 73:27 replicated here 4^th place performance of last year).  The top 5 was wrapped up by Michele Bazzanella of Butte in 74:07 (who once again made up several batches of incredible chili for the post race feast).

The master’s races are based on two criteria.  There are the traditional age-group results.  But, the primary awards are based on age-graded criteria.  In this format, your time is adjusted based on your age – trying to equalize your time against those of the younger, under-40 crowd.

For the women’s master’s – the age group ace was Nicole Hunt.  As the overall winner, her 75:58 gun time was also clearly the top master’s time.  The top 5 in the 40+ division also included Jenny Newton of Missoula (3^rd overall @ 72:35), Julie Gilchrist of Missoula (6^th overall – 75:39), Kathy Peterson of Dillon (7^th overall – 75:57) and Megan Regnerus of Bozeman in 82:48.

Nicole also “owned” the age-graded division.  Her adjusted time was 64:40, smashing the old record by 2 ½ minutes; and, again, bringing home a $75 record bonus.  Next on the list was ageless Debbie Magilke of Billings.  Setting the age graded record for the northbound course in 2011, she had a whopping 24 minute + age adjustment from 91:50 to 67:19.  Following Debbie in the age-graded results were Jenny Newton (69:35), Julie Gilchrist (70:46) and Kathy Peterson (71:38)

The men’s master’s race was just as cut and dried, with Ray Hunt’s 5^th overall place giving him a clear (3:23) win over Steve Bruner’s (Bozeman) 63:15.  3^rd and 4^th masters went to a couple of 50+ runners in Marvin “Mad Dog” Speece of Butte (67:29) and Kirk Keller of Three Forks in 67:59.  Clint May of Bozeman garnered 5^th place honors with his fine run of 68:12.

On the age graded front, Ray kept the top slot there as well.  His adjusted time of 54:20 didn’t quite hit his 53:48 record of 2010 (where he literally ran himself sick).  But, it was good enough to pull in the $75 prize money for the sub-56:00 age graded premium.  The rest of the top 5 age graded looked a lot like the overall 40+ results.  Keller was #2 with his 58:16 adjusted time – followed by Speece at 58:19, Bruner at 59:32; and, Phillipsburg’s Kyle Klickir at 59:48.

 As I’ve noted previously – the great course, fantastic organization and superb competition will continue to make this a must-do event on the Montana race calendar.

As for the Buzzard himself – it was a nice run.  My fitness levels right now didn’t make it realistic for me to race.  So, I enjoyed the course and had a good trail run.  Plus, I got the opportunity to touch base with all kinds of friends (old and new) and acquaintances.  Add in a pint of good post race beer and some warm sunny weather – what more could an old bird ask for?

A full complement of race results (cumulative, male, female, age group, age graded, etc.) can be found at http://www.buttespissandmoanrunners.com.  A good selection of race comments (and photos coming soon??) can be found on the Wulfman’s CDT 14K Trail Race Facebook page.  Make sure to check them out.

See you on the roads, tracks and trails

The Muddy Buzzard

Stanford Invitational

The big, early season distance carnival that is the Stanford Invitational took place last night.  And, we had some good Montana reprsentation.

In the women's steeplechase Alexa Aragon (Billings Senior) of Notre Dame ran 10:25.82 for 3rd place in her section.

In the men's steeplechase:

• Lynn Reynolds (Dillon) of UM ran 8:55.60 for 2nd in his section.
• John Ricardi (Gardiner) of Club Northwest ran 8:59.99 in his section (which was the top seeded section of the night)

In the women's 5K:

•  Lois Ricardi (Gardiner) of Club Northwest ran 16:36.77 in her section.
• And, in the top seeded section, Katrina Drennan of UM ran 16:12.60

And, in the top seeded section of the men's 1,500, Patric Casey (Laurel) (and who switched from MSU to Okalhoma this winter) ran 3:43.17 (about a 4:02 mile).

Some pretty stellar performances for our home-grown, big sky talent.

Full Stanford results can be found at http://www.rtspt.com/events/stanford/invite2012/

Comin' Around

Well, the old Buzzard seems to be coming back around on the running front.  Last week was 25 miles, this week should be 28 (woo hoo - a whole 4 miles per day).  The foot seems to be holding up just fine.  And, the areobic conditioning seems to be progressing pretty well also.  Both pace and heart rate are dropping nicely; and, seem to be getting really quite comfy down to 7:30 pace.  Hope to be getting comfy pace down to 7:teens in the next couple of weeks. 

The big news for the week was venturing out on the roads for the first time.  In my recovery to date, I've been doing everything on the treadmill.  It's a nice forgiving surface that allows for a uniform, consistent foot placement every time.  That really minimizes the risk of a bad foot fall that could tweak the metatarsal. 

But, as with everything, you eventually have to take the first bit of something new.  So, I headed out with my track kids for a short workout on Wednesday.  And..................the foot felt fine.  No twinges, no tweaks, no nothin'.  Felt - well - normal.  And, man, was I happy with that.  I was really quite anxious about how things would feel when I hit the pavement - especially when you condider that I hadn't run on pavement since the 1st of December (4+ months).  But, it looks like I did the right things in coming back from the stress fracture and I think that the foot is pretty solid.

The workout entailed 1.5 miles warm-up, then 1.5 miles at tempo effort.  This meant around 9:00 to 12:00 of hard effort for the kids (but not all out) ------ or, about the time that they are working during the 2-mile.  Wanted them to get used to the longer, sustained effort and to work on their concentration and maintaining a strong pace.

As for me, I ran with our 2nd group of guys at 6:30 pace.  And, it went all right.  I was reasonably comfy until the last 400 meters.  Then, the effort caught up to me a bit.  Still held pace; but, it became a bit of extra work to stay there.  Considering that I hadn't really run at sub-7:00 pace since MT Cup last fall, I was pretty pleased.

Hoping to gradually get back to some level of fitness and strenght over the next couple of months.  While I know I won't and can't be competitive at Wulfman in mid-June, I would like to be able to get through that race with only mild discomfort :-)

See you on the roads, tracks and trails

The Muddy Buzzard.