Tussey Mountainback 50 Mile Ultramarathon Race Report

I ran my first "ultra" yesterday at the 17th annual Tussey Mountainback.  There's no way I could have done it without the support of my loving wife, Erin.  She helped me get out and train when I wasn't feeling motivated and she drove my support car during the race.

If you want to get data on the 12 stages of the course, my times, the elevation changes, etc., then check out this google spreadsheet.  Upshot:  my goal was 9 hours, but I finished in 7:48:03  If you want data on the results, click the link above for all options or see overall ultra (not including relays).  Upshot: I placed 22/92 overall, 8/23 in my age group, and ran faster than a lot of relay teams.

This race was really great for a number of reasons.  It was the USA Track & Field 50 mile championship so there was a lot of talent present.  For one, it's a hometown race and always benefits a charity.  For another, it brought Erin and I together with some of the best friends we made in State College when we joined On the LUUse 7-member relay team (Erin drove) in 2013 with Jenny & Travis Tennessen, Dave & Suzan Brinker, and Kelsey & Charlie Spanjers.  That team finished in 7:24:03, so I ran the 2016 race faster than that team if you only count the time I spent running which is fair because relay teams don't take any time for transition.  Kelsey, Charlie, and I ran on the 3-person "slow pokes" team the following year while Erin drove again.  That team finished in 6:41:09.  I planned to do the race last year, but didn't register because I hurt my achilles tendon and found training with an infant harder than I expected.  This year, Erin drove again and Suzan joined my support team (along with her daughter and my son).  Things are way different now compared to our first relay in 2013...the Tennesens and the Spanjers moved out of town and we ALL had babies.  I think this race was a driving force in uniting us.

Training went really well.  I found a lot of things that work for me from apparel to nutrition to gear.  In the process of training for this race, I have topped my all-time record for number of miles run in a calendar year (and I surpassed 2002's old record of 1128 miles in October!).  I'm currently over 1200 miles for the year.  I think I'm going to cut back on the mileage for a while and I'm definitely not running again next year (expecting another baby!).  I'm going to volunteer at the race in 2017 since I'm not running it.

Pick #435

Dreams and Bones - "Slow Down"

Pick #434

Jim Croche - "Age"

Pick #433

Yael Naim - "New Soul"

Picks #431 and 432

John Prine - "Please Don’t Bury Me"

Elvis Crespo - "Suavemente"

Pick #430

Liz Phair "Fuck and Run"

Pick #429

Lissie - "When I'm Alone"

Pick #428

Dan Schatz - “Song of the Artesian Water” (an Australian folk song)

Pick #427

Family Force 5 - "Cray Button"

Pick #426

Jack Garratt - "Worry"

Pick #425

Broods - "Mother and Father"

Pick #424

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - "See Her on the Weekend"

You may know Andrew from Jack's Mannequin or Something Corporate.  I was planning to see him perform in State College, but got the date wrong!  The new stuff is a bit different, but it really grew on me.

Pick #423

Bon Iver - "Skinny Love"

Picks #421 & 422

Klingande - “Jubel"

Steve Vai - "Tender Surrender"

Sweet Fat Biking

I had my first crash on the fat bike today.  I was riding home along the railroad bed and there is a portion that is flooded/frozen over.  I've ridden over it several times without incident and perhaps I got a bit too comfortable.  The bike came out from under me then the machine and I slid forward.  I don't have studded tires right now, but check out what you could do with studded tires in this video below.


Clarity: An Ice Biking Session from Aaron Peterson Photography on Vimeo.

Picks 418-420

I was out of the country and didn't have a chance to post my picks.  Guess I should have scheduled them in advance.


Florida Georgia Line - "Cruise"
Seinabo Sey - "Younger"
Vaults - "Premonitions"

Pick #417

Magic! = "Let Your Hair Down"

Pick #416

Sonique - "It feels so good"

Pick #415

Here's the perfect storm leading to this pick:

Over Thanksgiving, my brother showed me this video: and I had never heard that song before.  I thought the fake lyrics sounded pretty good.

Today I read an article claiming that Bill Gates offered Young Thug $9 million to stop making music.   After reading the headline and before reading the article, I didn't realize that Young Thug was actually a person's name.  I thought that article had to be fake, so I looked into it more (and it is).

Rich Gang - "Lifestyle" ft. Young Thug, Rich Homie Quan

Picks #413 & 414

Beyond  - "Guang Hui Sui Yue" this version has a translation... but this version is live and I like it better.

Francesco Yates - "Call"