Ouachita Trail Adventure Mile marker approx 188 - 192 (Lake Sylvia to Hwy 9)

Well last weekend it was time for another trail adventure on the Ouachita Trail (OT), this adventure would take me from Lake Sylvia to the Hwy 9 trail head.  The distance was around 5 miles out and back.  I didn't really know what to expect going into this run/hike, but was looking forward to it.  The trail started off going uphill on a gradual slope towards the Nancy Shelter.  Most of the trail was bench cut with the "valley/creek" below you.  The trail was very clear to follow and well marked.  It was not that rocky and only had a couple of trees down on it.  The first 2.5 miles were uphill and then you dropped back down towards Hwy 9.  The views of the creek were great.  There were no sweeping vista views for this hike, but still it was nice to be on the trail. 

52 Places to go in 2014 Article

So where do you want to go?  Pretty good article on places to go visit.  A few of these are my list - Nepal being one of the top.  I thought seeing Indianapolis and Downtown LA on the list were different. 

http://nyti.ms/19iFvGz

Ouachita Trail from Mileage 187 to 183 OAB

On Sunday Jan. 5th, I went out to Lake Sylvia to run/hike a section of the Ouachita Trail from Lake Sylvia parking area to about mile marker 183.

To get to the OT, you take an approx .5 mile trail spur from the Lake Sylvia parking lot.

The trail begins with an uphill climb for around 3 miles to the Flat Side Pinnacle.  The trail heading up to this area is bench cut and easy to follow.  I had no trouble locating the trail even when some trail markers were hard to find.

Once you reach the Flat Side Pinnacle you can scramble your way up to the top to get some good views of the Ouachita mountains.  The day I went it was pretty cloudy and windy, but I was till able to enjoy the views.

From here you have approx 2 miles downhill towards Brown Creek Rd/FR 805.  Again the trail here was well marked and easy to follow.  There were a couple of flat sections, but it was mainly pretty clean trail with some rocky spots.

At the turnaround area below:

This was a very enjoyable hike.  It was a lot of up and down, but I took it easy on the trail and enjoyed the day.  I think my next hike/run will be from Lake Sylvia east to Hwy 9.

Overview Picture

Yes it's cold outside

Clear and cold weather make a great sunsrise!

Trail Running the OT Mile Markers 202 to 198 approx.

One of my goals for the new year is to increase my trail running for the first part of the year.  Trail running gives me new places to explore and new challenges.  The first part of my trail running goal is try to run as much of the Ouachita Trail as possible.  So far, I've run the trail from the Pinnacle visitor center west to just past 300 a little ways.  Last weekend, I decided to go ahead and try to run from Hwy 10 west working my way to Hwy 9.  The plan was for an 8 mile run, 4 miles out and 4 miles back.  This part of the trail follows the Maumelle River for most of the miles.  The first 3 miles followed the river and was flat and easy to follow.  As I approached mile 3-4, the trail was a little overgrown, but not too bad along the river, before heading more into the woods where it was easy follow again.  The views over the river were great and the change into the woods was nice also.  Miles 3-4 were also uphill.  This was a change from the overall flat of most of the route.  Overall, it was a great run. 

The mileage for the trail was from Mile 202 to Mile 198 approx. 

Trail Head at Hwy 10

Turnaround Mile 4.1 or so, at the top

Before you make your goals for 2014 watch this

Very cool video.  Makes sit back and think.  This video doesn't just apply to sports, but applies to all aspects of your life.  They could have used other images to portray that.  You just have to think about the words and go out and achieve. 

The Dialect test

Everyone has been taking this on facebook, so I figured I would go ahead and see where my answers put me.  The test was 25 questions on how you refer to certain items or say different words.  My results came out as the following for most similar, Jackson, Shreveport, and Lubbock.  I lived in Mississippi for about half my life, so this one made sense to me.  Shreveport because I'm from the south.  Of course, Lubbock was the confusing one.  I guess my words and speech span the south.


Results here - 
http://nyti.ms/1hCPBCl

Beautiful Earth - Looking for A Purpose

Awesome video, love the landscapes and the meaning! Find your purpose!

Ice Adventure Run

Arkansas was hit with an ice storm on Friday.   I usually try to get out and explore after the winter storms and today was no exception.   I went out on a 5.5 mile run with the goal of running too the top of the Ridge.  I was hoping to get a nice photo.

The roads were a mix of ice and clear.  The best spots to run was the grass.  The ice on the grass gave you a nice base to run on.  I managed to make it to the top and took a nice picture.  Overall it was a fun run, walk, and slide with one fall.

Run Anywhere

Never leave home without them!   Run Anywhere!  

Thought I had posted this, guess not.  Been traveling a lot for work llately and never leave the shoes at home!

Road Trip

20 hrs and close to 1400 miles ahead of me.

Ironman Wisconsin 2014

On September 16th, I made the decision to sign up for Ironman Wisconsin in 2014!  I have been wanting to complete an Ironman for awhile now, but just would never take that leap to sign up.  I finally felt that I was ready to go and registered the day it opened.  Good thing because it was filled about 3 hrs after it had opened. 

Why Wisconsin, well I knew that this has been described as a great course that is spectator friendly and numerous and a challenge also.  I was not looking for a flat course and this is not one of those courses.  It has a lot rolling hills that will challenge you all day.  Another reason, is that it is reasonable to get to.  I have family that live in Chicago, so I could fly in there and drive up from there.  Also, they know people in Madison, so I have some places to stay and even chances to head up there before the race and pre-ride the course.

I'm looking forward to challenge of the training and race day in September 2014! 

My always too late Race Reports - Toad Suck Tri

Well here it is September 9th, 2013 and I'm returning for another crack at my home town tri the Toad Suck Tri.  The Toad Suck Tri is an international distance race in Conway, Arkansas.  The event is run along with  CATS sprint tri.  The great thing about this race is that it is close to home.  No worrying about 1.5 drives and I know the course!  The race is a 1500m swim, 40k bike and a 10k run.

I woke up around 4:45 am for the race which was to begin at 7:00.  I had a PB bagel, some OJ, and a gel.  I usually eat smaller meals before shorter races.  I already had everything packed up, so I was onsite by 6 am.  Transition was already bustling and I got everything set up quickly.  From there, I relaxed and talked with friends that I knew.  Once it got light outside, I headed down to the lake and did a short warm up swim.  The weather was calling for a warm day.  The high for the day was to reach around 92, so it was already in the 70's. 

The goal for this was race was to hopefully do a 2:30:00. In 2012, I did a 2:34, so I knew had to swim around 30:00 minutes for this to happen. I have been feeling faster on the bike, and my run has held steady. 

This was my third year in a row to do this race, so I knew what to expect.  The first thing was the swim!

Swim

With the race starting at 7:00am, this meant that the sun was going to be directly in your face just coming over the horizon.  Sure enough it was bright enough to block out sighting pretty well.  The race started and I began my usual slow swim!  I couldn't see the buoys, but I was able to follow the pack pretty well.  I was comfortable through out the swim.   I came out of the water feeling pretty good and ready for the bike.  I do not keep time during the swim, so I didn't know my time.  It always leaves me to a guessing game.

2011 - 31:34
2012 - 31:03
2013 - 35:39 8/10 in my AG

I will say I was surprised by my slow time!  I did hear someone mention that they thought the swim my had been a little long, but still I was slow and it reminds me that I need to get into the pool more than twice a week and even get some more open swims.

Bike
Now comes what now has become my stronger suite over this year.  My bike has always allowed me to gain back some time.  Over the last two years, I've put a lot of work into the bike and now is the chance to see it pay off.

Knowing the course, helped me a lot.  I knew where the hills, and false flats were.  After hitting the flat in the Cadron Creek area, I was warmed up and ready to ride.  I was feeling great throughout the ride.  I was actually a little concerned that I may be pushing a little too hard, but I knew I needed to make up some time and this was a chance to do it.  The course is an out and back, so approaching the turnaround I was about 2-3 minutes behind the main group.  The second half of the bike went well also.  I backed off a little upon reaching the flats again and prepared myself for the run. 

2011 - 1:21:04, 18.6mph
2012 - 1:13:30, 20.5mph
2013 - 1:11:32, 21.1mph, 3/10 AG, 8th OA

Again over the last years, the course for this race has been exactly the same.  I've been really happy with my improvement and feel there is still much more room!

Run
Just because you have a great bike, doesn't mean you finish the race well.  You need to maintain some control on the bike at this distance because you still have a 10k to go.  Some could finish 6 minutes behind you and if you were running 9:00min/mile pace and they were running 8:00min/mile, you will be run down.

The run course is fairly fast the first 2.5 miles are a gradual overall uphill with some rollers thrown in and then head downhill until the turn around at 3.1 miles and then return with the uphill and then gradual downhill to the finish.  Even though it is overall downhill to the finish it doesn't feel like it after all the work you've already put in.

The first two miles started at well with my paces at 7:40 and 8:03 min/mile.  I was feeling good and the pace was good.  Now was not the time to burn out.  The plan was to push hard to the end after climbing the hill following the turn around.  Mile 4 came in it at 8:25 min/mile which cleared the hill, so I knew it was downhill from there.  As began to push the pace, I felt that there really wasn't much in the tank.  I was able to hold the pace around 8, but couldn't get any faster! Mile 5 came in it a 8:12 and Mile 6 was 8:03.  I finished the final .2 with a 7:33.  Overall I was happy with the run, but wish it could have been faster. 

The only difference with run this year was that they had the turn around at the intersection which mad the run a true 6.2 mile.  The previous years were coming in closer to 6 miles. 

2011 - 48:10
2012 - 47:26 
2013 - 49:58, 3/10 AG

Overall I'm seeing a pretty steady pace for the run with no overall improvement.  I will focus a little more on running this winter to gain a good base before the big event next year!  Overall I am happy with this race.  I finished 11th overall and felt that with some work I could really have a great year next year!

2011 - 2:43:50, slow bike
2012 - 2:34:42, overall great paced race
2013 - 2:39:41, the difference was the swim, slow swim, fast bike, avg run.

Next up may be the Heber Springs Tri on Oct. 13th, but I'll see how I feel.  I will be doing the Big Dam Bridge 100 this weekend and will see if I can get a sub 5:00:00 ride! The goal is beat last years time of 5:14:00.

A big 2014 announcement is coming next weekend so stay tuned!