Samsonite is in 8th place and continues to be running strong. He has completed 55 miles in roughly 8 hours and 25 min. That’s about 9:11 pace (a little down from a few hours ago when he was dead on 9 min pace).

Samsonite is running in the NorthCoast 24-Hour Endurance Run which is also the 2009 US National 24 Hour Road Race Championship. This is the designation that we are hoping to get for the 24 The Hard Way for 2011.

Currently he is in 9th place out of 85 men running. He has completed 50 laps totaling 45 miles in 6:42:19.

We will keep you posted from here, but you can also follow the race by clicking the picture above and then clicking on “WEBCAST“

Well, the Pirañas went to Turkey Mountain today. The day started at 3:30 when Mav showed up at T3’s and with Sweet Tee in tow they left to meet BFG and Weeble at the Cracker Barrel near the turnpike. Once the team was together they headed east on the turnpike and with a single break for biological necessities, they arrived at the race start around 5:40. The 50K was set to start at 6:30, with the 25K following at 7:00 and the 10K at 7:30.

After some last minute prep….

….Mav and T3 started their day on Turkey Mountain. About 30 minutes later Weeble and BFG got their start.

Then it started to rain. Of course, it had already rained a lot the few days before, so the trails were already nice and damp, but now they turned into small muddy rivers. Into this wet and wild system of goat track like trails, Sweet Tee took off on the 10K while the rest of the brothers slogged out their miles.

Sweet Tee had a great day. Finishing 7th overall and 3rd in the 0-30 age group, he ran a strong race under difficult conditions and then spent the rest of the day crewing for the rest of the Pirañas. (If you see Sweet Tee around, asked him who the two people were who got 2nd and 1st in his age group.)

Mav and T3 came through after their first loop and Sweet Tee was ready with dry shoes, bananas and a helping hand. Unfortunately, what T3 needed was a new left leg. In the last couple miles of trail during a rather slippery and steep descent, T3’s legs got out from under him and in the attempt to remain upright he pulled something. Always brave and rarely bright, T3 decided to continue. Mav was also struggling with back pain that could be an indication of more kidney stone issues.

On the way out for their second 25K, T3 and Mav met Weeble and BFG coming in to complete their 25K. They ran into BFG first and after some high fives and hugs they promised to tell Weeble that BFG was waiting for him (he wasn’t) and told BFG that he had a mile to go (he had at least 2!). They then ran into Weeble farther up the trail and told him that he had a mile to go also!

BFG finished in about 3:15 and Weeble in about 3:30.

Happy but tired they were eating some well deserved food when T3 walked into the start/finish area. Turns out that Mav and T3 had really turned up the pace headed back out to the first aid station and by the time they got there, T3 was limping. In a rare moment of maturity (or maybe just wimpiness) T3 decided to call it a day. Mav went on and T3 hobbled back using the 10K route to complete the day with 35K and a DNF.

In spite of the failure to finish, T3 was a good representation of what everyone at the race looked like:

The wait for Mav was punctuated by watching the male and female 50K winners finish and lots of camaraderie and some food. And then Mav showed up as he always does, finishing faster and stonger than he predicted.

Everyone cleaned up as best they could

and after saying goodbyes they began the trek back to OKC.

But the story doesn’t end there. Of course, when little boys play hard, they get tired:

But the story really got interesting as they made their way west. Mav’s pain continued to get worse. By the time they were off the turnpike he was climbing around the car and making some really unique sounds and was obviously in a LOT of pain. He wanted to go straight to the ER, so the boys drove directly to Mercy and checked Mav in. T3 tried to take his picture in the lobby, but the Nazi Nurse wouldn’t let him, so once in the room they snapped the pic anyway:

Mrs. Mav had already been called, so she arrived soon and the boys left Mav in her capable (and much prettier and cleaner) hands. After drugs, a CAT scan, and more drugs Mav called to let the Pirañas know he had another kidney stone that was getting ready to pass. He is at home on drugs and waiting for the inevitable. We will let you know how that comes out!

Team Piraña will be in attendance at the annual Turkey’N’Taturs trail race tomorrow.

T3 and Mav are tackling the 50K, BFG and Weeble are doing 25K and Sweet Tee is racing the 10K.

It should be an interesting day as the area has received a lot of rain and it may be raining tomorrow. The Pirañas are going to get muddy! Pictures and stories will be posted later Sunday so stay tuned.

Brother BFG had to go to Aspen on business. Poor thing. Forced to fly to Colorado and then drive up into the mountains. Forced to gaze upon the beautiful scenery. Pity him.

That in itself was bad enough. But that is not all. Not even close to all. It gets much worse. He went on a run with Trail Runner magazine August covergirl, Megan Lund:

9 miles on the trails. Terrible….Wait a minute. That does not look bad. Way to go BFG!

You’ve got your whole life to do something, and that’s not very long.”

We appologize for the terribly long break since our last posts. It is funny how life gets in the way of all kinds of things. Turns out life is the important thing and all the other stuff is, well, just stuff.

Summer has been good for the Pirañas. Not much real racing, but a lot of training and a lot of fun.

One of the ‘fun’ things that happened was Brother Mav and wife Angie running the Tulsa Route 66 Quarter Marathon and 5K (they ran both) together. Not satisfied to run two races in one day, on their anniversary, they decided to dress the part:

Currently the team is training for the Bourbon Chase Relay in Kentucky.

The Bourbon Chase is a unique, overnight relay adventure in which teams of runners cover 200 miles of scenic byways along the famous Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Participants will experience the best of Kentucky. Starting near Bardstown, the Bourbon Capital of the World, and wrapping up with a festive finish in downtown Lexington, the Horse Capital of the World, The Bourbon Chase will treat runners to gorgeous horse farms and the rolling Bluegrass countryside. And, as the event name implies, the featured attraction of the race will be the Kentucky Bourbon Trail which links the state’s legendary distilleries.

So, the race is for teams of 6 to 12 people. We are taking 5! Each piraña will be running about 40 miles. We will be bloging during the race, so stay tuned!

Meanwhile, we train. Tomorrow is 2 runs of 8 miles each.

So, after the 24 Hour Brigade Samsonite’s focus shifted to the Sandhurst competition. It’s an international military skills medley that has taken place at WP since 1967 (so close to ’69…). This year was the largest competition to date. Each of the 32 cadet companies has a team. Then there’s Navy and Air Force… Texas A&M… Several ROTC programs, including the University of Hawaii. And then the international teams – England, Canada, Chile, and Afghanistan.

The competition was about an 8 mile movement, but with lots of skills sites in the middle. Medical, weapons (US and foreign), Zodiac boats, 1-rope bridge…

The competition was 2 days, actually. Friday was marksmanship and Saturday was the course. Samsonite’s team – F2 – won the marksmanship competition. They started Friday in 1st place – the team to beat. It was quite an euphoric feeling.

They were rockin’ all the obstacles and sites, making all sorts of great time. Land nav – there were mandatory points that you had to get or be DQed and there were optional points that you could get for a time bonus. And here’s where the story gets painful: they missed a mandatory point. It could be said that there were a lot of reasons, but it basically comes down to Samsonite’s roommate thinking that Point O was optional and not mandatory, so they didn’t take the 3 minute jaunt off course to go get it. Well…one map check too late the squad leader and pace man realize that they had missed a mandatory point. This was at the bottom of Bull Hill – the highest physical point on West Point proper. Yeah. So, no pissing and moaning, they turned around to go get the point. It took 26 minutes back up and 18 minutes back down to get to where they were when they realized the screw up. 44 minutes.

And this is where Samsonite begins to slowly die: they lost to the first place team – Canadians – by 39 minutes.

They would have won…the whole competition…by 5 minutes. A West Point team hasn’t won the competition in recent memory. It would have been… Well, there are a lot of “would have beens…”

Samsonite has run through the gauntlet of emotions, and this is what he rests upon: Sometimes you miss a land nav point… It doesn’t mean that you weren’t the best team in the competition. There will always be Point O’s in life. No matter how many minutes they take away from the goal, you’ve just gotta turn around – no pissing or moaning – and go back up Bull Hill to get it.

It was a great weekend, great competition, great experience nonetheless. It is Samsonite’s opinion that Sandhurst is the greatest developmental experience that West Point has to offer – and the tragedy is that it’s not even mandatory curriculum. Only about 300 cadets experience Sandhurst every year. The rest of ’em aren’t tough enough.

The above pics make sense in light of the competition and all, the next one does not. Care to elaborate Samsonite?

In other news, next weekend Samsonite is running 50 miles in the DC/VA area with one of his best good friends. (http://www.theskylinechallenge.com/) He’s not out for blood on this one, just going to pace his buddy on towards the finish line of his first 50 miler. It’s not all about our PRs or race stories. Sometimes it’s all about getting our best friends to the finish line, too.

If you call Samsonite’s cell phone (we won’t post it here on the internet, again, out of deference to his privacy) he most likely won’t answer. He is usually too active (notice we didn’t say busy, there is a difference) to notice the phone. So, you will get his voice mail and get to hear his message which tells you he is out “living the dream”.

What would you do if you knew you could not fail? What will it take to achieve your dreams?

This morning at a local church the pastor did a great job of summarizing what stands in the way of most people fulfilling their dreams, or life’s calling, or whatever you want to name it. He painted it in religious terms (of course) and it is very true in that sense. But it is also true in many other ways too.

We only steal the good stuff, so here is the outline (with the scripture verses from the sermon for those so inclined):

1. Living the Dream requires FAITH.

We can’t always see the complete path from start to finish. We can’t always know all the possible outcomes or issues or whatever. Sometimes, achieving your dreams means stepping out in faith and just doing the next thing. (Hebrews 11:8)

2. Living the Dream requires FACING YOUR FEARS.

There is a good chance you will be misunderstood, criticized, and ridiculed. You may have to go somewhere you do not know how to get to, you may have to do something you have never done, and you may have to change and get out of your comfort zone. (Mark 5:36)

3. Living the Dream requires STRENGTH BEYOND YOURSELF.

The greatest accomplishments in life are never lone ventures. We all receive countless amounts of help and support from those around us. Sometimes the difference between success and failure is simply acknowledging that you need someone else’s help, and accepting it. Can you say “brotherhood”? (2 Corinthians 12:9)

4. Living the Dream requires A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.

If you have hit a wall, look for a door. If you can’t figure out why no one is following you, try serving people instead of pushing them around. Often, dreams and their ultimate realization include a completely different viewpoint than we normally have. Learn to look at the world around you from a new vantage point as often as you can. (Mark 9:35)

5. Living the Dream requires A CHANGE OF FOCUS.

If you are swimming in circles, you need to practice sighting. Achieving anything worthwhile in life means getting that object in sight and not taking your eyes off it. You have to be focused to get the most our of life. That doesn’t mean you have to be obsessive about everything, but you do need to keep your dreams and goals clearly in mind and sight at all times. As BFG says, “Dog who chases two hares catches none.” (Hebrews 12:2)

Hopefully you too can tell people, “I’m out living the dream!”

Piranas like popcorn.

Not only does popcorn taste good, it is good for you, but you have to be careful. Movie popcorn is loaded with fat and salt. So what is a healthy boy (or girl) to do? Make sure you select low fat microwave popcorns at the store, sneak your own into the movies, and if you want to save a lot of money…make your own:

Pirana Popper

1/4 cup good quality popcorn
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or popcorn salt
your favorite seasoning mix
Paper lunch bag

Toss the popcorn with the olive oil, salt, and seasoning mix in the paper bag. Fold the top of the bag over to close. Place the bag in the microwave and microwave on high for 2 minutes to 3 minutes, or until there are about 5 seconds between pops.

(NOTE: Popcorn salt is a super-fine salt that is designed especially for sticking to food such as popcorn. It has the taste of regular table salt, but its granules are much finer.