I will....

So Xmas 2011 was pretty awesome, as usual e created the magic of Santa for all to enjoy. In recent years this has included me, mostly to make up for the whimsical childhood Xmas's I did not have. This year I got a bike under the tree, 42 years and finally a bike. Not just a bike mind you a black Trek special Beach Cruiser, easily my best gift in years, maybe forever. I have been seen smiling bright (with my helmet on) traversing the neighbourhood for the last few days, can't wait to actually get to the beach.

Ain't she a beauty

Santa was also kind enough to give us all stickers that say "I will..............". I am still the only one, except maybe the 6yo who has not filled mine out yet. E reminded me it is supposed to be something seemingly out of reach or else why is it a goal. I certainly have my thoughts on my first answer and it relates to a certain bad desert out west if so fortunate to visit again this year. I say my first answer because life really needs to be a series of  "I wills..." Without pushing your limits there really is no growth in many ways.

Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his brother.
- Kahil Gibran

 

 

 

Morale of the story is believe in in your possibilities and achieve them. Acknowledging they are possible is the first step.

 

Say, I will and do it!

 

 

Learning and living

"Clarity affords focus"
  - Thomas Leonard

Sounds so simple really, with everything crystal clear we will be able to focus. I have realised now after a life of learning that gaining clarity is very difficult. I love the saying that there is the life we learn with and the one we live with. I believe it too, I just don't think it is quite that simple.

I sit here today a successful physician, father of beautiful healthy daughters and husband to a beautiful wife with an amazing and very old soul. I have had the fortune of education and the tools to succeed. More than that I have had the fortune of being clothed, fed and never wanting for anything in my life. There are currently over 16million American children living in poverty, think about that. Over the last few years I have been privileged to compete in some of the most incredible Ultra events on the planet and give back as able through charitable efforts. Success, success, success. Yet inside of me breeds a powerful fear of failure, yes that is true. For me it is a product of difficult and ongoing personal (mostly family) struggles from childhood, not unique to many others really. I have spent the majority of my life as a people pleaser, why not I love the people I love very much. I have also spent much of the past few years disappointed in the world around me, silly really. Yes there is lots of hardship and badness in the world but so much beauty as well. You can react and withdraw from the badness, critique it or you can work to change it.

People often ask me, what is failure. Well that is up to you. Personally, I think we allow physical limitations to much power over our potential successes. With every bit of suffering comes growth but you have to suffer to grow, a bit sadistic maybe but I believe it. As my good buddy Ray says "It is 90% mental and the rest is all in your head". One thing I have learned over the past years is that mental can outlast physical every time but it is has to be afforded the power and belief to do so. I personally have never DNF'd a race, does that make me awesome, not really. For myself, it is at least proof that I refuse to give in to physical limitations within reason. Yes, it led to some slower more difficult finishes but I sit here stronger for it. My childhood was a series of "great, now do better". A lot of resentment gets built up in relationships like that, one of the many reasons I strive to be a better listener and understanding supporter of my own children.

Bottom line, life is difficult for everyone on their own level. Why do I run, what am I running from or to....something for sure. As an Ultrarunner, I know the demons that abound: difficult childhood, addictions of all kinds, personal and family struggles with cancer, prior obesity, past relationships (maybe a combination of several). The point is, we have all been there or are there and are trying to get somewhere else wherever that is. We need to step out of our "story" as e would say and find out who we really are and what we are truly capable of. There is no one else that can do that for you than yourself, it is "your story" after all. Lucky for me mine involves an amazing Yogi who has taught me many life lessons. We can use our past as a crutch or as a building block. I for one am standing on a block with one crutch in hand but trying to get rid of it.

What I know for sure is I am surrounded by an amazing group of core people and family who have all done remarkable things in their life. I seek inspiration from all kinds of sources and hope to provide some of my own along the way. We are all capable of greatness and can all act to "be the change" if we so choose. I am working very hard to learn from that old life and live this new life because it is pretty awesome. Just trying to look into the well, smile a little more and gain some clarity :)

Oh what a year (and a half) !!!!

Western States finish June 2010

In simplest of terms the last 17 months have been a whirlwind. Who would have thought that getting my Sub24hr buckle at Western States would just be the beginning and who would have thought I would be standing next to my Western States pacer Terry Sentinella at Badwater just over a year later, heck I did not meet the guy till mile 62 of Western States.



Terry and I Pre Badwater



As I strode up the Squaw Valley summit early that morning I had a sense of urgency as well as a sense of rebirth. Not only was I fulfilling this dream but just 3 weeks later I would be fulfilling another one crewing for Tony Portera at Badwater.

After a successful Western States and a few near death experiences on the climb up Towne's Pass with Tony it was time to rest. Actually it wasn't, in September I had the fortune of running the Erie Canal with my buddy Sam Pasceri. We covered the 344 miles of beautiful upstate New York in just over 6days running from Albany to North Tonawanada. This was my first multiday adventure and was not to be my last. A few lessons learned about tendinitis and fueling but a grand success at the end of the day. Hopefully Sam will hold this as an official race in years to come.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTZgOKL0NbI


Time to rest, not hardly. As I have grown closer and closer with my extended Ultrafamily over the last few years I have come to one good realization. I have a lot of very good friends with very bad ideas. So fresh from the Erie Canal my phone rings, Tony, hence a bad idea. His plan: to run Brazil's Caminho da Fe (all 340+miles of it) from Cravinhos to Paraisopolis over 7+ days. Kicker, run the Brazil 135 in the middle of it, sure why not. Along with Tony and Jarom Thurston and with the help of an amazing crew (Lynne Hewett, Glauber Santos) and the support of Mario Lacerda and the Caminho da Fe's founder Clovis we pulled it off.

Final day Caminho da Fe

Alix Shutello was kind enough to document the story in Runner's Illustrated here: Running the Caminho da Fe.

“These multiday journeys help redefine the spirit’s ability to push past the physical….that part I love.  Life  should begin as you completely leave your comfort zone.  If not, you are not living!”
—Chris Roman

Fresh off this there was one more task at hand, apply for my favorite race in the world, the Badwater 135. The Badwater 135 is considered by many to be the world's toughest footrace. When I got accepted I was ecstatic, when I got placed in the 10am wave I was humbled and a bit scared to be honest. Lucky for me I was trained by one of my best friends and  i2P founder Ray Zahab. With the help of a stellar crew we managed a 16th place finish. Ironically just 17m behind Terry, amazing :)


Ray and I Gatineau Park


What's on tap for 2012 and 2013, well wheels are always turning and there are countless BAD ideas. For now recovering from Javelina last week and planning a return to Iron Horse 100 in February. Also in February, applying with hopes for a reunion in the desert come July.

As we enter the holiday season I give thanks. Thanks for my amazing wife and family who support these efforts unconditionally. Thanks to all of my extended ultrafamily, each one of you is very special to me in your own way. Live life with zest and vigor each and everyday and "Be the change"

Me and my BFF :)

JJ100 2011

To blog or not to blog that is the question. After quite a bit of consternation the answer is blog. Oh well there goes my few minutes of spare time :)

This weekend I had the privilege of joining my brother Tony Portera and many other friends at a race that has been on my radar for several years, the Javelina Jundred. Given my love of deserts  running 100miles in the Arizona desert was right up my alley. After an amazing Badwater journey in July, great recovery and training this was shaping up to be a fine day in the sun. Unfortunately for me the "virus of death" caught me one week earlier and dropped me 6 pounds in one day. I did my best to rest up and made it to Arizona the day before the race but was very uneasy overall. Visit and dinner at the hotel with Tony and friends than an early morning wake up call for the race.

After a 4am wake up, some coffee and assembling myself into a male version of Shannon Griefer we headed off to the start. Not surprisingly the costume got quite a bit of attention, even a pic with eventual women's winner Liza Howard who did so in record crushing fashion. The course is 6 15.4m loops with a 7th 10m loop.

Loop 1: Off to a good start, slow and steady nice pace running with Tony P and Brad Fenner (Brad would eventually rock a 10th place finish and Tony another course PR as he does every year). The leaders passed us coming back and Hal Koerner looked like he was on cloud nine floating around the course. He also rocked to a 1st place and record crushing men's time. Did a quick strip show at the turn around and got quite a bit of cheers and clapping. I told Shannon later that she had officially now stripped at the Start/Finish of Javelina.

Loop 2: Still feeling good, rocking strong till a spill down the rocks mile 27.5. Ever scrape your knuckles on pavement, yeah it hurts. Actually it still hurts :( Got some well needed attention from the medical team thanks to some advice from Jimmy Dean Freeman. Smartest move I made all day. Came out again in good time and started on Loop 3 optimistic.

Loop3: Tony made a point Loop 1 to tell us the rocks multiply every loop, they do. I never saw who was scattering them but they were multiplying for sure. Mile 40, HALT.....boom just like that, dizzy weak and feeling generally like crap. It was official, my energy stores were depleted before even getting to the start. in fact let's just say going into a 100 mile race underweight is not a good thing. Those were my cards, they were on the table and this was going to be a grind. I managed to stick with Brad at this point. Bad news for me he was looking stronger and stronger and I was feeling weaker and weaker.

Loop 4: Let the pain begin. Brad and I made it to mile 50 together, he did the happy dance when he saw it on his Garmin then we pushed forward. As the loop wore on he went bye bye and I needed to go into mental  lock mode. Legs felt weak but my mind was strong. The rocks were multiplying and my shoe choice was beginning to bite me in the tail. Kicking rocks with  Inov-8 F-Lite 230's does not feel good. Saw happy faces at the Start/Finish and learned I would be blessed with a pacer loop 6 and 7, thank god!

Loop 5: OK, there were 40miles to go but in my brain only 2+ loops. Anyway that's what I told myself. Lots of walking/running and then a dead headlamp. Just when I felt like running my headlight started to go out and I was forced to walk 3 miles to the next aid to change out the batteries. 7 miles left to the turn around all slightly downhill and I found my legs all of a sudden. Funny how you can die and be reborn so many times during these races. I actually ran the next 4 miles and pretty fast, at least it felt fast. The people I passed looked at me like I was an Alien. One guy said he thought i was a bike coming at them. Either way, felt good. After that I was once again cooked, a slow 3miles to the turn around and got my pacer Lisa. Let me just say, without Lisa things would have been A LOT different down the stretch, I owe her big time.

Loop 6: Lisa and I headed out. 15 miles of mostly walking with some running in between. Forward progress is forward progress and I am quite the power walker. The rocks were my evil enemy at this point and I cursed each and every one I saw. Although I had never met Lisa before this point we had some great conversation and it was like we had known each other for a long time. Funny how that is at Ultras, nice people and more nice people. Best part of this loop was getting to see one of my favorite people in the world Amy Dodson. Check out Amy's story sometime, she is the real deal and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. I knew at this point that my sub 20 finish had gone bye bye. Actually I knew that a long time before but finally admitted it. Goal now to get as close to 21h as possible. We had been warned of rain but had only seen some drizzling and shooting stars at this point.

Loop 7: 10 more miles.....Cool thing at JJ is that they give you a glowing necklace for your last loop. You know you are almost done and so does everyone you pass. Queue the rain, really really hard rain and lots of muddy washout. Why not, lots of fun right. My right IT band had been tweaking all day but now it was fully ticked off. My running was limited to about 30 or 40 feet max at a time and I was actually walking faster so why bother, just wanted to be done. Took a tequila shot at the turnoff but did not help, nice try at least. We walked it in at 21h7m for a strong 24th place finish despite one of my hardest days to date.

All in all a great race in every way, shape and form run very very well. Always nice to have a little family reunion in the desert. At the end of the day my mental strength was there to carry the physical being who was only partially there. I have found over the last few years that suffering is relative and there is no easy 100mile race. Next stop Iron Horse 100 in Feb and hopefully a chance to visit Death Valley again in July :))

Badwater 2011

Me and my BFF :)

Wow, where to start, problem with Badwater is that it is truly impossible to translate to paper, even to film, kind of like those colors you see when scuba diving that do not exist. Well here goes. As all of you know I have great love and respect for my Ultrafamily, at the pinnacle of that is the magical place and race called “The Badwater Ultramarathon”. There really is nothing I wanted to experience more than that race, I had been there to crew my brother Tony Portera but never to run it obviously. The word “raw” comes to mind, the place is raw and even something out of make believe (Star Wars was filmed there you know). The participants are stripped raw to their core, trust me they are. What makes it so beautiful is the love and genuine camaraderie exhibited throughout the entire event. I kid you not when I say my time could easily have been around an hour faster but in that case I would have missed some of the most precious moments of my life. This included time spent with Shannon Griefer, Dan Marinsik, Dan Jensen, Terry Sentinella, Ferg Hawke (of course he didn’t run but he was there on the way to Stovepipe, I know this because it was way to early for a hallucination), Cheryl Zwarkowski, Tony Portera , etc, etc. There is not a person on that list that I am not a better person because of and I say that with incredible sincerity. For me this was an event not a race, a good result simply a bonus but we had already won just by being there. True = I have never experienced so much raw emotion, pain and suffering at one time, also True = I have never smiled more in 32hours in my life. Now that my friends is awesome.

Badwater Check-in

Terry Sentinella and I reunited :)





Badwater Ben

Basin to Furnace creek (mile 1-17): The start was amazing; saw so many great people and even friends that travelled to see the start. I was crazy nervous, flanked by a 140lb Brazilian former winner on one side and my pacer from Western States on the other with Zach hanging in the corner with his long bright shorts and frightening humility. Zach strode through the parking lot in flip flops pre race chugging a 2 liter bottle of diet coke, go figure. Actually felt sluggish most of the way, passed Pam Reed about mile 7 (gulp) and made it to the first stop in good time in complete fear of the next leg to Stovepipe.

Off to Furnace Creek

Furnace Creek to Stovepipe (mile 17-42): Here my NASCAR pit crew (see party video), got me on the road again. We stuck with stops every 3 miles, about 30oz every 31-32 minutes with very few walk stops. Finally started feeling ok at around mile 30, yep finally got warmed up. Luckily for me the heat seemed to be the least of my issues. I guess living and training in a place where you cut the air with a knife helps. Here is where I saw Ferg, just standing on the side of the road. He looked at me, called me by name and smiled. I stopped to chat and he said what ya doing, eh,you look great so  keep running and I did. I also spoke with him a few days before the race during a chat with Ray Zahab. It was kind of surreal to actually meet him where I did but one of the greatest moments and sources of inspiration I have ever had. A bit of cramping, nasty winds in the Devil’s Cornfield and into Stovepipe in really good time. Feeling some hot spots so needed to check out the feet. No blisters, decided to give the feet a good grease and make my first and last sock and shoe change. Learned there were many people resting in the hotel. Most because of GI issues. Sooooo many people had GI issues, I was so lucky not to. My biggest fear in this race was getting to Stovepipe in a reasonable time and far more importantly in a reasonable state of well being. As Kevin Costner says at the end of “The Untouchables”, “Here endeth the lesson”, for many that is often the case but we had beaten the hottest part of Death Valley and were still standing strong. And so we climb…..

Entering Stovepipe Wells

Stovepipe to Towne’s Pass (mile 42-60): This is a relentless 18mile uphill climb. Good news we got a friendly 25mile headwind (seriously). We managed to power hike this straight through without stopping. This is also about the time we started to witness all the carnage that is the Badwater Ultramarathon and forced many rookies and veterans to be slowed to a stop or simply withdraw. It was personally difficult for me to see Shannon struggling because she is my favorite and craziest of all my crazy friends. We are all our own unique personality, but there is only one Shannon. I could go into detail all the great things she has done for my family but she has probably done the same for many of you. One bright note was that seeing Shannon always means getting to see Amy Dodson (you can find Amy in the dictionary under courage). Finally made it to the top under a beautiful starry sky and even got to run a little with Erin, boy had that been awhile, kind of special really.

Towne’s Pass to Panamint (mile 60-72): Weeeeeeee a downhill and away we went running the majority of this leg with Dan Rose and Dan Hartley straight into Panamint Springs. Saw Cheryl Z and Dan Marinsik on the way going through their own battles but both smiling as usual. Cheryl said we would cross paths on this stretch and she was right but only by about a mile or so. Dan was a little scared of the new cutoff so set PR’s in the first 2 legs. He earned a 30min nap and ended up with a 45min race PR, congrats Dan!

Panamint to Father Crowley to Darwin (mile 72-90): Another long slowww climb up to Father Crowley. Here is where I somewhat reluctantly caught up to Tony. In grand Tony fashion he greeted me with a moon and I think a middle finger but it is hard to say. He is a lawyer so he will deny all of that anyway. We had some good laughs but were both pretty much in sleep deprivation mode so hopefully I did not say anything he can hold against me in a court of law. The moon (actual moon) had dropped so the stars were out in full force; I also think I counted 8 shooting stars, unbelievable. So a moment of beauty and the good thing about the dark is you cannot see the cliffs that you see during the day, hairy road for sure. As we closed in on Darwin I realized something really cool, I was going to hit a sub 24hr 100miler. This led to a DMB shuffle, lotttts of running and the 100mile mark in 22h30m. Stopped for about 2sec at Darwin check in at mile 90 and then ran right through.

Darwin to Lone Pine (mile 90-122): This is the point where you write down the miles and go really, I mean really. Spoke with Ray on the phone somewhere in here and he said 1. How proud he was 2. Get to Lone Pine with your tank on empty, because a walk up the mountain is a walk up the mountain. I’ll get to that in a bit. I met up with Dan Jensen here and got one of the greatest smiles I have ever seen as he told me how much the new race leg he got last year changed his life and this race for him, awesome. This was gut check time. There is a lot of rolling downhill on this stretch but it is lonnnng and straight and the balls of my feet were now killing me with every step. It hurt worse to walk than run but was so hard to muster the energy to run. The miles ticked by very slowly, but thanks to some good sign post counting, bad humor and the back and forth company of my buddy Terry Sentinella we got by. Terry paced me selflessly at Western States last year, we have since become good friends and I am happier for him than anyone for the awesome result he had, love the hair buddy. Dan Rose guilted me into another ½ mile run at the end by telling me a story of this amazing guy who ran a ½ mile as he was beaten and bloodied…..how could I rob him of that memory. Lone Pine check in, mile 122, honey badger was about done…..and now we climb again.

Always sure of e

Lone Pine to Whitney Portal (mile 122-134.2): Yes the race is actually only 134.2 miles, got a problem with that, didn’t think so. Let’s just put it this way 12.2miles, 4h27m in a delirious stupor. There is nothing harder I have ever done. Amazing fact, I stopped twice for a total of about 30sec. Terry passed me at the bottom and never looked back, this guy ran Hardrock last year,  think I was going to try and keep up. Stripped raw, there’s that word again. Ask E, my level of suffering was so intense she actually could not walk with me. I finally got a little testy over the last few miles because of a disagreement between the mileage left, yes .2 miles is worth getting upset about at this point. Either way I apologized to my crew before the race for everything and anything I might do or say during the race so am absolved. We agreed to walk across the finish, I really do not think I could have run 2 steps anyway and managed to do so at 32h27m19s and 16th place, “leaning” as usual. Getting the buckle from Chris was amazing, taking pics with him and then my incredible team, priceless. That was my proudest moment in many ways, the Champagne bath that followed would have been ok if the Champagne was not iced and caused me to go hypothermic, lol. Watching all the people inching up that hill as we descended put everything about this race in complete clarity. Why climb 12.2 miles after running 122, because this IS the hardest footrace on the planet for a reason. As Charlie would say we all deserve some suffering here and there, well I got mine for sure. We limped back to the room (my left groin had cramped so I thought I was about to give birth) for some beer and pizza then zzzzzzz….of course after we learned Tony P made it home in 39:59:14 for a sweet Sub40h finish. Oh yeah I forgot there is someone who runs that mountain, he does.

We came, we lived, we suffered, we grew :)

Wednesday was reflection time and pizza party. Got to hang out with Tony P and his crew chief extraordinaire Eric Gelber (a man who I hope fulfills his own Badwater story next year). This year there was no van cleaning for me. Good news, crew was so meticulous I think that job was not to bad. One of the Comfort Inn employees is going to mark that day on his calendar next year for sure, post Badwater Walmart giveaway day. It was great to see lots of folks at the party and realize all the up and downs of everyone’s various journeys. It is a family I am very proud to be a part of, actually they are a lot cooler than my own family (minus my brother) so it works to my benefit. Off to Vegas and fun, fun, fun. This part needs to be excluded and stay in Vegas.

Thanks go out to all my amazing crew members first and foremost and my amazing coach Ray Zahab. We had an awesome race plan and flawless execution. None of this was possible without all of you. Ray, I love you, and am so thankful for what we have embarked on as friends and brothers. I especially thank the love of my life E, together I do believe we are “being the change”. Additional thanks to Drymax, Phix and of course Chris Kostman and the amazing Adventure CORPS staff for the chance to live this incredible journey.

Best comedy: everything that is the Honey Badger, ok I am officially now the Honey Badger, watch the You Tube video narrated by Randall, it is hilarious. All I know is he is “badass” so I take it as a compliment.
Honey Badger

Best purchase: $5dollar Green Lantern ring, you could see it from over ¾ mile away

Best feeling: giving back to CAF and i2P and raising money for something E and I love so much
i2P
Challenged Athletes Foundation

Best lesson: I get “it”

Best thing I knew before but know even better now: I have amazing friends and family and am surrounded my many people that I inspire (see E I accepted a pat). Truth is I am equally or more inspired by all of you, that is what keeps the train moving and opens the doors in the brick walls.

Always let life begin at the end of your comfort zone, extend to others as you would hope they would extend to you, it works, I promise!!!!!!

I love this place, I love this race :)

Running the Caminho da Fe Jan 2011

I will start by saying that this event turned out to be more than any of us could have imagined. It was more amazing, difficult and gratifying in every way. Believe it or not this a very brief synopsis which is good as my brain is still a little mushy. Good news as always we continued to raise awareness for the Challenged Athletes Foundation along the way.

We started Sunday in White Plains NY where Tony and Ginette graciously held a pre "run" party - the words run/running became fairly amusing later into this journey. Great food, company and lots of Belgian beer. Off to the airport where we failed to get upgraded and therefore sat sardined with all the other Brazilians who apparently manage to get all of there belongings onto a flight, longgggg trip. We landed in Sao Paolo Monday morning and met up with Lynne. Lynne came selflessly to crew for us and also compete in Brazil 135.  In classic "Brazil time" fashion we waited over 2 hours to finally meet Jarom, Glauber and Monica. Another hour spent signing my life away at the car rental place and several sign here, initial here and we were off to Cravinhos.

Several hours later and after some good meat on a stick and Brahma beer (please note Brahma beer was an essential dietary component to our success) we made it to Cravinhos and the first of many 5 star hotels, lol. We met up with Clovis (the founder of the Caminho da Fe) and his wife and went off to a Brazilian barbecue to fuel for the morning - dangerous choice for sure. Clovis stayed with us for the first few days. He and every Brazilian we encountered were so proud of what we were doing, it made us feel amazing. We stopped by the Pousada where the CDF began, got our passports to be stamped along the way and were off to bed.

Day 1 - 620am Jan 18th, the journey began. Plan was 50-60miles, simple right. Wrong, nothing is simple about the CDF. 6 hours in we were flying, too fast it turns out. Jarom got dehydrated and spent a good part of the day returning to mother nature what he had drank and eaten earlier. Trail was muddy but no rain. Yes no rain, according to everyone this trip would be all rain, turns out it was scorching sun for 98% of the time. I'll discuss the 2% much later (1% Day 3 and 1% Day 8). Glauber took full advantage of the 4x4 through the puddles and mud, felt like something out of monster trucks. We all managed to push through for 56miles on the first day which we were very proud of. As ended everyday, discussions in Portuguese regarding Pousadas and I really have no idea what else.  This was followed by showers, meal (usually Pizza with, well I am really not sure outside of cheese), skype and bed. It was very important to find internet access so we could skype with family and Charlie E, without that we would have been lost. Actually we were blessed to see Mario and all his peeps who drove several hours to see us. Mario seemed a little worried about us pushing miles and impressed that BR 135 was just part of the journey, not a race for us. Turns out he should have been worried, we had no idea how hard this was going to get. A good hearty dinner, beer and zzzzzzz.

Day 2 - Plan was 40-50 miles, sense a trend.....We all felt OK and that is relative for sure. Jarom got some food in and our feet felt good. This was a very long very very hot day. Most of it spent on dirt road with no cover, hence some seriously sunburned calfs and scalps. Motto after Day 2, you can never use to much sunscreen in Brazil. We plugged through to mile 40 where we  came to a farm and Pousada, for me hot spots were well on their way and no those don't go away just get worse. We went through several  muddy, sh#!%t filled cow pastures. lots of fun. Our support crew had to divert to meet us on the other side. We unfortunately continued through a rocky, mud filled grass field up hill (both ways - yes that is possible in Brazil). At the end we pushed for 46 total miles into the dark, lucky for us just a marathon to go to the start of BR 135., hah easy right :(

Day 3 - Torrential downpour starting around 3am which luckily stopped except for a drizzle by the time we started. Breakfast, sore feet, a few Jarom dry heaves and we were on our way. Let's just say that every step that was not on a "flat" hill as we called them was an uphill. We stopped by a small Pousada in the mountains and were greeted with kisses and hugs as always. The first 1%. About 1 mile from our crew the skies opened up and this is no joke in Brazil. We slogged through torrential downpour to our vehicle, completely soaked and now frozen from the rain. Tony and Jarom laughed as I shrugged my shoulders upward and pulled my shirt away from my body to maintain warmth. Lucky for us we had reached our endpoint. A little drying off under cover and off to the pre-race meeting. Thank god!

I have to stop and say our crew Lynne and Glauber were amazing. Crewing three cranky people through these conditions especially when Glauber spoke no English and Lynne no Portuguese is a miracle. We never wanted for anything and they did an amazing job of anticipating our needs along the way. Words cannot express the gratitude the three of us share for them. Thanks guys, you rock and more thanks coming :))

So we get to the pre race meeting about 10 min to late and most people are already gone. Luckily Mario, Eliana and several others were still there. We were told later that many remarked about how bad we looked, yes I agree. We did an interview for a Portuguese adventure mag, pickup up our stuff then weighed in. We made quite a mess of the weigh in station as we removed our soaked mud covered shoes and stepped on the scale with dripping mud covered socks. More confusing Portuguese conversing then eventually off to a hotel. At this point we had realized to wash our dirty things and try and reuse them because anything actually worn on this trip was not making it home. I have never seen so much dirt and sh#!%t come out of one sock in my life. Off to all you can eat pizza and a few more Brahma. Jarom was officially back, turns out after dinner he ended up eating an entire second meal, appetite back. Tony and I did some serious foot damage control at the hotel (this was slowly becoming a problem, hot spots, blisters, etc., etc.). Lynne got all her things ready to rock for BR 135 and we were off to another warm restless night of sleep.

Day 4,5 and 6 or the Brazil 135. First of all starting this part as Day 4,5 and 6 is just wrong. So we all arose, non rested but ready, dressed, did some foot prep then off to the start. I have participated in a lot of great events but have never witnessed such genuine excitement and pride as I saw here. Met up with lots of folks including David Wronski, Cheryl Z and Ray Sanchez. Cheryl asked me how I felt, I said all in all ok, she said well to be honest you look pretty bad. She was right of course. Quick interview with a local TV station (we were spotted later in the day and told by some locals we were actually on TV) then the Brazilian National Anthem with Mario standing stiff and proud, few words of encouragement then go time.

Race started off pretty well, we were actually running for the first time in days and managed to get along fairly well. As time wore on everything slowly then quickly caught up with us.We did manage to tackle Pico Do Gaviao well early and even shared a Brahma watching the hangliders take off. Lynne battled a bad meniscal injury and amazingly pushed through into the evening despite the obvious pain. It was clear outside of the injury that she was extremely strong in mind and body and will be back to tackle this course again. As evening set in so did muscle tightness, especially for me and Tony. Believe it or not this was the first time we had any issues outside of our feet, maybe those Succeed recovery caps did the trick. Most of the evening was a struggle with lots of crazy ascents, some over a 40% grade. Oh and who stops for a photo op on one of these hills, Mario apparently, yes all in "Brazil time". Around 4am we were walking Zombies and had to lay down, unfortunately we were no where near a town hence the great idea to spoon under our blue tarp. Not exactly the highlight of the trip and as soon as we stopped moving our core temp dropped so it was a frigid attempt at a nap. Day 2 continued with ups/downs and more downs but we managed to keep pushing into the evening. We stopped at a gas station late in the day and as usual saw people camped out, showering, eating, etc. There was an amazing buffet so we chowed down. The participants in this race truly view it as a mini pilgrimage of the Caminho da Fe, something very unique to BR 135.

Into the evening the sleep deprivation started to take full hold. I for one spent about 20hours hearing everyone speak as if it were coming from a background speaker and could not be sure of what was said or heard around me. In the early morning Jarom's blister on the ball of his feet ballooned painfully. Ever had a blister under a callous, enough said. After some quick medical aid "bush" style it actually started to feel a touch better, so he says. I will take this opportunity to say I have never, yes never ever ever seen an athlete with a stronger spirit and drive then Jarom. My hat is off to you my brother. We made it to the last checkpoint with just over 24 miles to go. Average time for this section 8-9 hours, yes 8-9 hours for less than a marathon. That speaks only partially to the weariness of the competitors and more to the ruthlessness of the terrain. Every time we reached another hill  we blamed Clovis' wife, not sure why really we just did. So you would see someone turning a corner only to be greeted by another hill and then hear "Clovis' wife, arrrgh". We tackled this stretch after a quick cat nap and actually managed to run some, when Tony gets an energy spurt it is all over for everyone, my feet hurt just thinking about it. As we walked into town a "dreaded" cobblestone descent (much much worse than any climb on battered feet) the finality was there. We planned on sitting on a bench just before the finish but it was taken. None the less we did the most appropriate alternative, walked across together slowly..... 55h24m. So much genuine affection from other racers and staff. Marco Farinazzo gave me a bottle of the local liquor Cachacha after learning I did a shot on top of Pico Do Gaviao. Mario joyously gave us and our crew our rewards and reminded us the journey continued. Thanks Mario, always encouraging :(

So guess what happens after you run 3 days along the Caminho da Fe followed 55+ straight hours on your feet and stop. All, I mean all the pain, swelling, blistering, etc. catch up at once. We hobbled around that town like wounded animals on their last leg. Walking to the post race party was awful, lucky for us it did not last long and we were off to bed at a reasonable hour. We did manage to watch a little of the Steelers-Jets game, yeah Steelers.

Day 7 - We awoke feeling slightly better than the night before but clearly hobbled at this point. While all the other racers enjoyed there well deserved rest, we put our things back on and headed out again. Our first mile pace 27min, not a good sign when you have around 40miles to cover. We hobbled the first 12miles or so till we got a small town at the base of what is known as the "hill of the broken leg". Knowing how many crappy climbs we had already faced, the fact that this climb got that designation was, well absurd at this point. Our crew stayed while a nice lady prepared a feast for us. About 3/4 up this ridiculous but beautiful climb (surrounded by banana trees the whole way) our crew came with a meal. I had just run out of water prior and was reminded by Tony that fresh mountain water that comes out a rusty pipe is still water out a rusty pipe, he said you can't smell Giardia ya know. We scarfed down the plate of pasta, steak, beans, rice and veg in minutes. We plugged through the rest of the day into the early evening then stopped at the best Pousada along the Caminho da Fe. Greeted by a shot of Cachacha and a Brahma, nice. Payment was all on the honor system love that. More pizza, kind of over that meal at this point, skype and bed. Charlie E told us we looked, well as bad as you would expect and our families gave some last day encouragement, few more Brahmas, off to bed.

Day 8 - 43 miles to go...... So this day started early after some attempted foot restoration, to be honest all our feet were pitiful at this point. Solution stop running, well stop walking really. We had the joy of running (sorry walking) along a railway followed by the most unpleasant rocky descent yet. Yep, feet loved that one. The remainder of the day was spent on roads, good maybe but not when it is basically a highway with no care for pedestrians. Tony complained to Mario about it after and he gave some explanation about the symbolism of  birth to death along the CDF. We didn't really buy it but came a little to close to the death part a few times. Within 10km of the finish we were actually running, 1 pole then 2 then 3, etc. Then came the other 1%. Tony joked that rain would finally hit right near the finish and he was right. This was more like something out of the "Ten Commandements" or "Twister" though, absolutely one step away from a true hurricane. At least it felt that way. Lucky for us we had a bit of shelter outside one of Brazil's famous "love motels". Jarom may have more info on those but they seemed rather well protected from the outside :) Mario joined us (after the rain of course) and seemed somewhat happy with our misery as always. The last few miles were such a relief and the walk up and into the shrine at Aparecida was impossible to put into words. Our Lady of Aparecida was more beautiful than expected. Our amazing journey was complete, 7d14h, over 530km and the Brazil 135. Personally I sit here days later not coming to grips with it.

As we received our certificates of pilgrimage the following day there was much relief and pride. Jarom asked if anyone else had finished this in 7 or 8 days. The lady replied, a few, by bike.......

Best hallucination: Hands down our friend Maria who came screaming down the  mountain in the middle of the night chased by what she called a "zombie" from the woods. At least, I hope it was a hallucination.

Amazing: our crew. Lynne and Glauber took such good care of us from start till finish. There is NO way any of this would have been possible without them, so thank you again

Amazing: the pride and joy the Brazilians, particularly Mario/Eliana, Clovis and wife, Glauber and all of Mario's staff took in what we were doing. I am honored to be a part of their family

Amazing: the fact that we somehow, albeit narrowly avoided any disastrous outcome after run ins with animals particularly bulls. Just wait for the video footage from Tony.

Amazing: our families for allowing us to take part in this journey. E said...go, live, suffer, grow....that we did

Amazing: I now have a true understanding for the strength of spirit. Don't ever think for a minute you cannot achieve something that seems beyond reason. Life definitely begins at the end of your comfort zone.

Reality: most of Brazil is very simple and impoverished. We need to learn from the gracious giving exhibited by those with nothing to give.

Thankful: for my brothers that stuck with this team effort from start till finish. Love you guys. Yes we can and yes we did :)))