The Surgery Date is Set

I will be having surgery on my foot July 21st. This will allow me enough time so I will be out of crutches before school starts.

I used Laramie as a 'foot test' and it failed to an extent. I made it 34 miles before the foot and respiratory virus my daughter gave me:) kicked in. The foot was aggravated when I step on a unidentified object that layed beneath a four inch thick section of mud. There were three such sections on the 5.9 mile loop. It wasn't ideal on the foot. I also came down with a fever when I arrived home. My whole family was infected with this virus at the same time on our vacation and my son, Nathanael, even broke out in some sort of pox. We are all healthy now but the timing of the race couldn't have been worse. It however, served as a good training run.

Since I am having the surgery on the 22nd of July. I plan on running the Tahoe Rim 100 a few days before. I have nothing to lose. I will use the 2 1/2 weeks of altitude training I am receiving on my vacation. (Wyoming 6,000 ft, Aurora 5,000ft, and Albuquerque 5,000 ft.) We will see how it goes.

Congrats to Jasper on a great 4th place finish and everyone else who finished. From what I heard it was a tough day. I wasn't that far off on my prediction considering he was in 2nd place for a portion of the race. Well, I hope to get back to WS but we will see. Health is the most important part at this point. I have one more week of vacation, then we will be back in Modesto. Wish us a safe journey home and wish me good luck at TRT.

Off to Laramie

I just wanted to wish everybody luck who is running or pacing at WS this weekend. I will be getting updates from wife throughout the race Saturday. I would appreciate any prayers out there that I may get through this 100 mile race in one piece. There is a pun in there somewhere. I will try to post something on my vacation otherwise, you will hear from me in 2 1/2 weeks. By the way, I predict that the rocket engineer will win in his first attempt. Bold statement I know, but I just have a feeling on this one.

Top Five Reasons Why I am Running the Laramie 100 Over the WS

5. You get more elevation for the buck. Why run five miles above 8,000 ft elevation when you can run the whole 100 miles between 8,100 and 8,700 ft.

4. You won't see any runners from Oregon. At this elevation their skin changes from green to brown and then finally they disintegrate into a fine dust which is a great surface to run on for my foot:) Actually you won't see any runners from Oregon because they are too freakin fast! Darn you bastards! I wonder what they put in their bark.


3. I get to see the same great Laramie mountain side 17 times during the race. With that kind of repetition I will be able to photograph, in my mind, the ENTIRE course. If anyone wants a breakdown of every inch of the course after my race, just give me a call.

2. The race starts at 9 a.m. as opposed to 5 a.m. With all the grey hair I have, I can use as much beauty sleep as I possible can get.

1. The number one reason why I am running the Laramie 100 mile race over WS is because it is forty miles from where we are staying for our family vacation. Location! Location! Location!


If you are extremely bored and want to follow my race, which is the day of WS, the race director will be updating the results a few times during the race. I may have my wonderful wife, Doobie, post my progress.

I know I have received many great pieces of advice after my decision to back out of WS. I appreciate all your support. I am truly blessed to have such great friends in the ultra running community. With that being said, I have decided not to rest but instead race the Laramie 1oo. I am opting to use a custom made orthodic instead of rest because I hope the orthotic will relieve my pain in and around my foot. Recently, I have had pain on the inside and outside of my foot as a result of supinating. I have no pain, as a result from running, in the injured area. The injured area, however, has caused my gate to change and in return other injuries have occurred. My shoes and over the counter orthotics haven't helped enough. My podiatrist has talked me out of surgery because he feels the fourteen weeks of no running will cause severe mental damage to me and my family:) I agree. Unfortunately, the orthotics won't heal my broken bone but they will put my foot in the correct position that will prevent me from having these continuous gate issues.


I was casted for today, but I won't have them before I go on vacation next Wednesday. I will begin breaking them in the week after I get back. If the orthodics do not give me the results I am looking for, I will opt for surgery in December. I would wait this long because I would be on crutches for three weeks and I would use the two weeks I have during Christmas, I love being a teacher, to recover from the surgery.


Some people are wondering why I just wouldn't rest. As the doctor told me today, it would take twelve weeks to heal this fracture abnormally, and rest means no bending down or taking long strides or running. I would have a tough time adhering to these instructions and one false step could tear the fibrous tissue between the two bones. I would be back to square one again. So, the plan is to use the orthotics and run on the broken bone as long as it causes no pain or gate problems. If I have any setbacks, I will opt for surgery.

Some people are probably wondering why I wouldn't run WS instead of the Laramie 100 mile. The fact is, WS is a much more demanding course for my foot and the training runs I have done on the course have proven that. Also, it makes my wife happy that she can spend five more days with her grandmother. Compromise, compromise, compromise. Moreover, my wife told me that she couldn't be around me if I DNF'd. There is just no way I would hold back. If I run WS, I am there to race and not just finish. Laramie gives me a pressure free test on the foot. I can be very conservative and give me an opportunity to run a 100 mile race with no pacer. I have never finished a race under those conditions.


Wish me luck. Craig T., I am sorry that because your "metabolic meltdown" category couldn't be filled because of my WS absence:) The wasp juice would not let that happen this year.