Michael's Blog

Hollywood Trip: Day 2

2011-06-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

Day 2 started out with a trip to Santa Monica Pier, about a 20 min drive west of Hollywood. First we had to drive through Beverly Hills, which we visited again later in the day during a driven tour.

Later in the day, we decided to go on a open top driven tour. The tour lasted 2 hours and brought us through Beverly Hills to see many of the movie star homes, some of the fancy shopping stores, Hollywood Hills, and finally to the Hollywood sign.

"Father of the Bride I"

"Halloween" House

The Viper Room (use to be owned by Johnny Depp)

Wolfgang Puck

Elton John in the Penthouse on top floor

David Spade

Christina Aguilera (Use to be The Osbournes)

Dr. Phil

Ringo Starr

Al Pacino

Yes, that is a $1 million dollar car outside of this furniture store...

Stores on Rodeo Drive $$$

LA Ink Studio (Tattoo Studio on TV)

Jim Henson

Johnny Depp

Quentin Tarantino

Hollywood sign in the background

After the tour, we decided to go to the Chinese Theater to check out some of the signature stones. In order to get your name on one of these stones, each person has to have their opening night at the Chinese Theatre and pay $30,000.

Melody and Marilyn Monroe

Hollywood Trip: Day 1

2011-06-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

Some pictures of Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles, California:

The Great Hans Zimmer Star

Grauman's Chinese Theater

Kodak Theater

Hollywood Sign

ISSA Certified Training/Nutrition Certified Now Available!

2011-04-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, incase you haven't heard yet, I recently received my certifications in both personal training and fitness nutrition through the International Sports & Sciences Association (ISSA). If your interested in getting training advice, nutrition advice, personal training, triathlon/running training programs, check out my website at UltraFit Fitness & Nutrition. I'll be doing some weekly podcasts coming up, but in the meantime keep an eye out for discussions on fitness and nutrition!

A View Into 2011 Race Season

2011-04-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

Running From an Angel 50-mile 2011:

This year started out with a bang, with a 2nd place finish overall at the Running from an Angel 50 mile Ultramarathon, which took place January 8th, 2011! Total time was 7hrs and 32mins (click here for race results). The next big race was going to be the Twin Peaks 50-miler, but due to a horrible amount of rainfall this year, the course is destroyed so the race will be postponed until Oct 2011. Unfortunately, a deployment got in the way before I could get a second race in.

IT Band Problems:

One issue that I have been fighting since November has been IT Band Friction Syndrome. Not a pleasant experience! In Feb, we attempted a cortisone shot to the right side of the knee which gave relieve for about a month and a half, but here I am back to fighting the issue. I have recently began a new mobility/stretching program and a IT Band Fix training program, which should last about 6-8 weeks, so we're going to see how things progress. Let me know if your having the same issues and I'll let you know what I'm working on.

Upcoming Races:

Upon the end of this deployment, I'll be preparing for Leadville Trail 100 and the Wasatch Trail Front 100. Goals this year will be to complete Leadville in less than 25 hours, to get the silver buckle, and for Wasatch will be just to finish! If things go well, then I may attempt the Juveline Jundred in Nov, but we'll see if my legs can handle that many 100's in a year.

Stay tuned and I'll keep you up to date with progress on races!

Leadville Trail 100 Ultramarathon

2010-08-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

Pre-Race Brief and Medical Check-In:

Friday, the day before the race, is a mandatory briefing and weigh in at the 6th Street Gym. Each runner recieves a medical bracelet that informs medical staff of weight before the run, medications and allergies, so that throughout the race, each runners weight is monitored to ensure you not losing too much. A loss of 7% or more, may result in disqualification so knowing how to refuel during the run is extremely important in order to continue to the finish. I had the opportunity to see Christopher McDougall, who wrote the book Born to Run which really gave a lot of publicity to the Leadville Trail 100 Ultra and Vibram shoes. The creator of the LT100 also gave the speech, Ken Choulber, who created the race 28 years ago to save this small mining community of Leadville, CO.

(Ken Choulber)

Race Day:

Saturday morning at 0400AM, race start. Eight hundred and fourty-five runners line up for a 30 hour cutoff run through the Colorado Rockies.

Getting a quick snack and changing my shirt at the second aid station, Fish Hatchery (mile 23.5).

The next aid station I met my crew was at Twin Lakes, around mile 39.5, just before Hope Pass.

(Mom meeting me at the bottom of Twin Lakes Mountain)

Here are the mountains I got to climb after Twin Lakes.

(Twin Lakes Mountain)

(Hope Pass)

To view a map of the course, you can click on the blue hyperlink which will automatically open the map in pdf format.... click here.

Below is the race elevation profile. This is a 50-mile out and back, so you run this profile twice!

Starting at mile 40, you have to cross a swamp and then a river before climbing the 3000ft Hope Pass, which is was the most painful part of the entire race. After you get to the top, you must descend all the way back to the bottom in order to weigh in at an Aid Station named Weinfield and the re-climb Hope Pass again.

Awards Ceremony:

Race results was 26 hours and 3 minutes which put me in 113th place. Out of the original 845 that started, only 363 runners crossed the finish line.

Leadville Trip

2010-08-20T07:45:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Leadville, CO, Monday afternoon after a 11 hour drive through Nevada, Utah and then Colorado. Temperatures went from 108 deg in Las Vegas, NV to 55 deg here in Leadville, CO. Over the past few days we visited the small town of Leadville, seen a lot of the country side and old mining area, and attended a few race events.

Mineral Belt Trail
The first morning here in Leadville, I went for a run and found an amazing trail, called the Mineral Belt Trail, that runs around the city of Leadville and through the mountains. The total distance of the trail is 12.5 miles that runs through the a lot of historic sites which are marked with signs to tell you about the history at each spot. The trail itself is a smooth paved asphalt trail, which makes riding a road bike perfect, especially on the downhill sections which you can get up to about 30 mph coasting.

Running the Mineral Belt Trail

Bicycling the Mineral Belt Trail, overlooking the town of Leadville, CO

Old Tabor General Store located next to an old mine on the Mineral Belt Trail

Matchless Mine/Baby Doe Tabor Cabin
On Wednesday, we visited the Matchless Mine and Baby Doe Tabor's cabin. This is a very interesting story, so check out the website from the hyperlink provided. This is a true story of rags to riches and back to rags.

Leadville Train Station
We also had the chance to visit the old Leadville train station that use to service this small mining town by taking ore deposits out to be smelted and bringing supplies into town.

Mount Charleston Training Run

2010-06-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I am training for the Leadville 100 Ultramarathon in August. Check out my fundraising site at www.firstgiving.com/michaelveltman. Today's training run was a mixture of high altitude training and hill training all-in-one. Today's run started out at 8,400 ft and went to 10,000 ft. Total elevation change for today's run was 9,500 ft.

Looking over Mt. Charleston at 10,000 feet around mile 3.

Cliff edge off of Mt. Charleston.

Taking a break after 4 hours of running at 9,400 feet looking over the backside of Mt. Charleston.

Griffith Peak

2010-06-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

The beginning of Griffith Peak, 8350 ft

Cujo, cooling off in the shade along the route. Temperature on the route was about 80 degrees, still to warm for his style.
Cujo on top of one of the lookout points overseeing Mount Charleston, 9400 ft, at the halfway point (2.7 miles). Unfortunetly this had to be the turn around point due to Cujo overheating and drinking up all the water.

Las Vegas "Rock N Roll" Marathon

2010-01-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

December 6th, 2009

Bib Number: 9180

Finish Time: 3:52:26

Over 28,000 runners attended this years Rock N Roll Las Vegas marathon. Approx 20,000 did the half marathon and 8,000 ran the full 26.2 marathon. Below are a few pics from my race....

Picture after finishing with a Las Vegas Show Girl

Passing through mile 20!!

Here's a good picture of me and Monty running by New York New York on the Las Vegas Strip.

On the Way to Afghanistan...... Baltimore, MD

2009-05-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

On our short stop in Baltimore, we had the opportunity to walk around the city. We stayed in a hotel right inside the inner harbor in Baltimore so I snapped a few good pictures overlooking the harbor.

USCG Taney: The last US Coast Guard Cutter used in WW II.

USS Torsk: Submarine from WW II that scored the final German U-boat kill.

USS Constellation: The last all-sail ship of the U.S. Navy now rests in Baltimore's Inner Harbor and is open as a museum.

Pride of Baltimore II: Rebuilt after its predecessor when down in Puerto Rico in 1986, this schooner is Maryland's goodwill ambassador. Moving from port to port in Maryland and around the world, the ship develops a schedule of public day sails, field trip opportunities and tours every year.

Mi-24 Hind

2009-03-22T08:54:00.001-07:00

The Mi-24 that visited us during Red Flag 09. I had the opportunity to fight this helicopter in a helo vs helo battle, which we shot him down both times! (2 points for the HH-60G!)

Valley of Fire (14 Mar 09)

2009-03-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

The Valley of Fire derives its name from red sandstone formations, formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of the dinosaurs. Complex uplifting and faulting of the region, followed by extensive erosion, have created the present landscape. Other important rock formations include limestones, shales, and conglomerates. Prehistoric users of the Valley of Fire included the Basket Maker people and later the Anasazi Pueblo farmers from the nearby fertile Moapa Valley. The span of approximate occupation has been dated from 300 B.C. to 1150 A.D. Their visits probably involved hunting, food gathering, and religious ceremonies, although scarcity of water would have limited the length of their stay.

The Mouses Tank: Named for a renegade who used the area as a hideout in the 1890's. Mouse's Tank is a natural basin in the rock where water collects after rainfalls, sometimes remaining for months. Written on the walls are prehistoric petroglyphs from the people who use to stay in this area.

The Beehives: Unusual sandstone formations weathered by the eroding forces of wind and water.