Start Slow, then Taper

Harbison 50k race tomorrow

2012-01-06T19:38:00.000-05:00

Wondering what causes people to DNF, or more particularly, not start an event. I understand being completely under trained, work/family priorities, serious sicknesses.
Why do I bring this up today, 12 hours before my 50k?
I have a cold.
Started trying to fight it off Tuesday after my 4.3miles in 24° weather. (Didn't feel too cold)
It was a draw thru Thursday morning. Someone asked what would it take to Not start on Saturday? Not sure, but I was not close to that.
I have only not started 3 or 4 races, I have limited knowledge.
1. My 1st Half ever. Sept 2000, Asheville Half. Was ready enough, but got into some poison ivy that week and was absolutely miserable. Drove up to get my shirt and drove right back.
2. Reedy River Run 10k 2003 or 2004. Think I had a cold and it was a cold rainy morning. May have been injured/under trained?
3,4. Marine Corps Marathons back in 2000 and 2001 or 2002. Completely under trained/injured. Fought injuries for Years until I tried the right shoe (Asics 2120's and such) back in 2007 - after 7 years of running. How ridiculous is that?!

So I got a little worse yesterday - moved more down into my throat/chest, head ached, even had achy teeth. Fever, stuffy/runny nose (and bloody noses), chills, constant tickle int he throat and annoying cough. Have mostly had an appetite though, and have gotten some sleep. The 5hrs Mon night and only 6 Tuesday night probably didn't help. Rested much of today and felt a bit better - but it gets worse as the sun goes down.
No goals for tomorrow. Hope to not have my 1st DNF. Surely this isn't enough to do it. My 50k PR streak may be over.
Good luck to all those out there and to the volunteers - you are appreciated!!

No idea how tomorrow will feel.

2011 Year in Review

2012-01-02T14:02:00.001-05:00

So 2011 was a year in which I ran a bit more in mileage, but fewer races and more long distance events. Had a few times where I had to stop running for more than a few days at a time, but I jumped right back into it each time and kept it going. Didn't cross train much - mostly yoga again, but serious injuries stayed at bay. Did have a bad bout of Poison Oak after my May 50k that kept me from running for the longest amount of time since December 2007 - 10 days off - from anything.
Had two runs with my brother as he ran his 1st Marathon in 17+ years and his 1st ultra - both were nice in their own way.
I did run more on trails this year (the 1st half anyway). I also did alot of speedwork in prepping for Chicago. Ran half-marathons on consecutive weekends. Ran a 40miler and a 50k in the same month (doing the 50k second made it seem super-short!!)

Random stats/info:
-Total miles for year: 1507 (+14 miles than 2010)
-Fewest events (9, by design) since I had zero in 2008. 3-half-marathons, 2-full marathons, 3-50k's, and 1-40miler.
-My farthest run/race ever: 40 miles
-Successive PR's in my three 50k's (From 7:23 to 6:38 to 6:34 to 6:19)
-Only 196 days working out (Run, walk, yoga, etc)
-8 weeks of under 20 miles (low of Zero, see Poison Oak above)
-I did have my highest weekly mileage (Mon-Sun) ever in late April = 50.9 (included my 40mi run!)
-I averaged almost 35mi/wk for the 15 weeks leading up to the October Chicago Marathon (so included the whole summer)
-I thought last year's heat was bad - this year was Much worse. How about 78° at 5:30am??
-Ran on all but 4 weekends (1-injury-1st weekend of the year, 1-poison oak, 2-scheduled)
-Changed to Smart Wool socks (for trails) and size 12 shoes.

Races:
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8-Jan-11	Harbison 50k Trail Race	6:38:05
19-Feb-11	14th Myrtle Beach Marathon	4:14:14
1-May-11	2nd Enoree Passage 40 Mile	8:30:28
29-May-11	2nd Long Cane 50k	6:34:30
11-Sep-11	6th Parks Half Marathon	1:51:26
17-Sep-11	12th Asheville Half Marathon	1:48:56
9-Oct-11	34th Chicago Marathon	4:07:53
12-Nov-11	2nd Camp Croft Half Marathon	2:03:21
17-Dec-11	3rd Seashore Nature Trail 50k	6:19:16

2012 Goals:
See upcoming post!

50k - 1 week later

2011-12-26T13:59:00.000-05:00

So after looking at my recovery after my last knee issue (1 year ago) - I took off 4 days from running, and by that time - my knee felt fine. Aside from a little muscle soreness in my hips - no other problems. Not one blister or toenail issue - thank you smartwool and size 12's!; I did wear my road shoes for this as my new trail shoes weren't quite broken in and the trail was not technical at all).
I began with a 6 miler outside my work (around ICAR), followed by 4 more there the next day. Worked out for me to run Christmas day after lunch and got a good 10 miler in. Took me 2-1/2 weeks to get that many miles in after Harbison.
I wore my watch (basic Timex Ironman) and my brother's Garmin he's letting me borrow. I wanted to check my route and see if the mileage I have been writing down was accurate (or at least as accurate as the Garmin). Turned out - my distance was exact! Whew - I've always been a little worried that my actual mileage was not true. I adjusted it down once a year or two ago - but now I can worry no more.
Oak Grove Lake: 1 lap = 0.85mi.
One lap + hill loop = 1.15mi

During my nice 10 miler yesterday - I was also thinking about the Mount Mitchell Challenge. I am still undecided...full refund by the end of the year, or only $30 lost if I wait to cancel by the end of Jan. Guess I'll wait to decide. I like the challenge, but want to see how my knee holds up at Harbison. Maybe I'll take a trip up there in Jan to look at the course.
With my motivation back - looks like I'll keep my current schedule for 2012 - running thru early June before taking the summer off from races.

My year in review is coming up soon! Will I break 1500 miles finally? (Not telling!)

3rd Seashore Nature Trail 50k Race Report

2011-12-26T13:26:00.000-05:00

The 3rd annual Seashore Nature Trail 50k took place at First Landing State Park just outside Virginia Beach, VA on Saturday December 17th. My brother Pat and I were going to run this together. After running the Chicago Marathon together in October, he thought he'd get an ultra under his belt (in his LAST long race) while the distance was somewhat recent. No long (over 12) training runs for him since, and my running has been up and down the last 3 weeks. Were not really sure how this would go.

Where it began

Before the start

We arrived for packet/chip pickup at 7am for the 8am start and debated about tights or shorts. It was around 40° after a night of rain, with it staying in the 40's for the day, maybe some sun later. Definitely shorts and the weather turned out perfect! About time - but too bad I was not in condition to take advantage. So - chip, bib, bumper sticker, fleece vest all received quickly and we hung out for a bit, gathering our drop bag items. We'd leave this at an Aid Station we'd pass 4 times - at 5, 8, 20 and 23. There were additional aid stations at 12.5, 16 and 27.5.
Planned on stowing my jacket/gloves after 5 miles and that worked out well. (Ended up getting my gloves later on as my hands got cold on and off).

start/finish on road

And we're off (after a few pictures and leaving the drop bag in a truck)! I was not going out too fast, so we settled in as people moved ahead of us. We stayed in the last 30% of the runners all day, which was fine with us. The initial road section was short (maybe a mile) and towards the turn off onto the trail, I realized my hands were free. Huh? I Always run with a water bottle - even when I was running 5k's. I don't believe I just left it at the start!! Wow - what a mistake. I actually debated going back for it, but running 31 (and not 33) was enough for today. With Aid pretty close together, I would be ok, but just not what I'd prefer. We came upon an aid station for later in the race and I asked if anyone was in contact with the start and if they could ask about my bottle. Sure enough - at the 1st AS - it was there. Whew! Felt normal again. Not sure I'd ever run 5 miles without anything in my hands before.

Some long, flat sections

Panoramic of boardwalk/marshland

Few mud areas - easily avoided

So the course was very nice. Early on, I was already thinking this would be a good course/race to run again. Some gentle rollers, some flats (although the long flat straightaways were not my favorite). Pine straw, packed dirt, some boardwalk, thru marshlands and swampy areas - all great to run on/near. There was a "main" trail (Cape Henry) that we ran on, then do a side loop (King Fisher/White Loop), then an out and back on the main trail to a turnaround. We'd return the way we'd come and back near the start, take a different side trail loop (Bald Cypress & Osmanthius). Then do it all over again.

first of a number of Aid Stations

Aid Stations were, as expected, perfect. My typical stop consisted of refilling my water (if needed), maybe sipping some Gatorade, then grabbing M&M's, PB&J triangles, potato chips, pretzels, and small choc. chip cookies. Yum. I'd walk out eating and not start running until my hands/mouth were empty. One different thing I saw - the bag drop area had all the bags spread out on a tarp, so you could stand back and see your bag easily. Very organized.

More leftover water.

So we stayed a pretty slow/steady pace, not really knowing our speed, but assumed it was about 11min/mi based on the approximate AS mileages. Under 6:00 hr pace. Our goal of the day was, if we did not break 6, then to get me another PR (under 6:34). Early miles felt good - best I'd felt in 3 weeks with no leg issues, feeling pretty strong. We ran near some people on and off, but after 8-10 miles, it was mostly just us, even with ~250+ starters.

beautiful moss

Some gentle rollers

Nothing too serious thru the halfway point for either of us. We knew we'd slow down some. Did not expect it to be partially because of me or my right knee. Near the turnaround (~Mile 22), my knee quickly went from being slightly sore, to being very painful to run. Really, the only other time this had bothered me was almost a year ago around Mile 21 of the Harbison 50k. Why??? (Cold/cooler weather + slow running?) Until the finish, I could not run more than 100-200 yards of flat (could run downhill fine and felt nothing when I walked; we were walking the gentle uphills at this point). So strange. At this point, we were running for just over 4 hours, so we were still looking good for beating my previous best. 6 hrs was definitely out. Pretty much decided that my Mount Mitchell Challenge attempt was off (for Feb - more on that in another post)

Little bit of boardwalk

So the last 9 miles was run until it made me cringe, walk (where the pain disappeared instantly), then run again on any downhill or where I thought I could try it again. Our splits (according to my brother's Garmin after the fact) were mostly under 12 min/mi until mile 20 or so, then it became 13:15's or so. Once we came out of the last side trail loop, we knew we had a mile or so left, mostly on pavement. I tried running it in, but just couldn't - two short walk breaks, then I was ok and we ran to the finish side by side - finish time: 6:19:16!

The Goal

Finishers!

Picked up our finisher's medal (nothing special), paperweight (solid!) and a nice finisher's hat. Grabbed a few snacks, took a few photos, and we headed back home. Very happy to have done this with my brother - he did great. I can see doing this one again (Alone - as I said before - my brother is DONE with long runs!) if we come up for a visit in mid-December. I would recommend it to anyone.
Thank you to the Race Director (very detailed website/emails) and all the volunteers!!

Results

2011 Course

Photos

Catching up

2011-12-12T23:02:00.000-05:00

Have been too busy to post - so here is a quick summary of the last month.
Seashore 50k this Saturday. Not ready.
More ready than my brother.
Barely.
Last weekend's long run: 8.5 and heavy legs from the start.
Weekend before that: 14 or so. Not so great.
Before that I actually had a good 20 miler on trails (got me 42 miles for that week!)
Not the best lead-up to a race, especially not an ultra.

Two treadmill runs last week in El Paso (work trip) - hated to do it, but the only option. Been what, a year??

Not making any bets on time for this race. Expect breaking 6 is out for Harbison...only 3 weeks between these. Oh well.

Motivation is low these days. May take another break from distances...we'll see. Just need more sleep (nightly).
Obviously too busy to write on my blog...sorry (if anyone is still out there)

Next Races; Speedwork update.

2011-11-16T21:59:00.001-05:00

So I am now signed up for the Seashore Nature Trail 50k. This will be on Dec 17th in Virginia Beach, VA and I'll be running again with my brother. Since he just finished his 1st marathon (Chicago) in 17 years, and he never wants to run, well, train for, another one - he thought he'd get an ultra under his belt. No real chance of us losing each other at this one!
I don't expect to be in the best shape, but as this is relatively flat, I should be ok. My brother on the other hand - he'll survive, with even more limited training.

While I was at it - I went ahead and registered for the Harbison 50k in Columbia, SC on January 7, 2012. I have a goal to break 6 hrs there, beating last year's time by 38 minutes. With my odd knee injury for some 6 miles or so last year, I think it's possible - just have to see how I recover from Seashore.

As an aside - my speedwork session yesterday was interesting. Slogged thru my 2 mile warmup, then was to do a reverse ladder: 1200k, 1000k, 800k, 600k, 400k, with 200m Rest Intervals. I still had it on my schedule with 3:40 marathon goal times. I hit these during my Chicago training.
1200k: 23 secs slow. Wow this is bad.
1000k: 6 secs off.
800k: actually felt I could Run again! 5 sec off.
600k: Guess my legs needed a reminder. 1 sec off.
400k: 3 seconds under goal pace.

Camp Croft Half Marathon Race Report

2011-11-15T21:22:00.000-05:00

So the 2nd Annual Camp Croft Half Marathon took place Saturday November 12, 2011 at camp Croft State Park in Spartanburg, SC. Weather was almost exactly like last year - about 35° at 7am and warmed up to, I'm guessing, low-50's soon after the finish. Sun came in thru the trees with the biggest difference from last year being the muddy conditions (and there was water in the lake this year!).

Hung out before the race with my co-worker Marty after getting my packet (nice bag with the logo on one side and course map on other and another nice shirt). Saw just a few others I knew, said a quick congrats to Jason and we were about set to start. I'm not familiar with the park only having run there two other times, but it was the same course as 2010. (I did read my Race Report from last year...brought back some recollections).
I tried not to start off too fast, letting Marty and plenty of others go ahead. The "strength" my legs felt the previous weekend was gone and my cardio was still absent. (Please come back!!). The course had strung everyone out and frequent sections of mud (and a continuous carpet of beautiful leaves) made almost every step interesting, and dangerous. The first couple of miles is the toughest with some rolling terrain. I ran as long as I could before relegating myself to walking some uphills. Oh well.

I had noted my 2010 splits for the 3 aid stations, so I could at least compare myself to last year's event. Ran thru the 1st one at mile 4.75 (had my handheld water bottle) in 42...dead on last year's. I thought I felt worse than I should have, but after ramping my mileage up the last few weeks post-marathon (12, 15, 13, 24, and 30 including this half) and having an 8 day exercise hiatus in there, I shouldn't complain. It'll come back - it always does.

Marty stayed 30-40 seconds ahead of me for many miles, I just tried to keep him in my sights thru the undulating and twisty trail. Removed my long sleeve GTC shirt (what was I thinking wearing that over a t-shirt??). Took a Gu. Looked forward to the nearing of my 2010 time of 1:11 for aid station 2 at Mile 8.1. I did catch him for a few minutes at the Lake, but he was soon ahead again. Hit Aid Station 2 at 1:11 (3 seconds off last year). Marty left as I entered and I had a quick fill-up and continued out thru some sandy trail. A nice change from the single and double tracks.

Somewhere thru here I started feeling a bit better. I wasn't completely out of breath, my legs weren't exactly "weak", but I was still having a recurring groin/hip issue that goes back to my Asheville Half Marathon in Sept., must be those hills. What am I thinking still contemplating the Mount Mitchell Challenge?? Even with time off - it's still there...
Took my 2nd Gu and tried to remember to drink.

So I eventually caught Marty and I stayed within 5-10 seconds of him til the finish. Hit Aid Station 3 (Mile 11.5) in 1:43, 20 seconds faster than the 1st Camp Croft Half. Am I consistent or what? These last few miles are where I pushed hard last year (with someone right on my heels) and I chipped a bone in my right foot. I never felt strong at all this day, but was satisfied with my run with the training I had (or had not) done. I finished in 2:03:21, still 20 seconds ahead of last year. Heard the course is actually closer to 13.5 miles...either way - another one in the books!
Marty finished 5 seconds ahead of me (beat him by 1 minute last year).
Joe passed us a few miles from the finish and just beat Marty.

Only at Mile 3 or so and already out of breath

Seth (RD) did another fantastic job putting this race together. Plenty of volunteers, course well marked (although I almost turned the wrong way after the one stream crossing...but only because I did not look first!), nice food (Bagels, Clif bars, fruit), already mentioned the bag/shirt. A pint glass with the logo on it was a surprise (to me) finisher prize. Then there was the giveaways...last year, I got nothing. This year, a $25 gift certificate from REI (just opened this month in Greenville) and another glass! Sweet! I actually went to the store that afternoon before heading home and picked up a membership and pair of gaiters. Finally got some gaiters...now to test them out. Next weekend - back at Paris Mountain. Next year - back at Camp Croft Half Marathon!

Leaves everywhere!

2011-11-06T20:00:00.001-05:00

I finally got back to my trails at Paris Mountain State Park: my friends Brissy Ridge, Kanuga, North Lake, and Pipsissewa. Yesterday I started my trail running/training season that will hopefully go on thru May or so. My renewed park pass is such a good deal....$50 for a years worth of free access. Small price to pay to support a local trail system.
My foray back onto the trails went well. Once I got out there - I remembered how tricky this season can be as leaves covered practically every rock and stick out there. Surprisingly - made it thru unscathed except a little left ankle twist. This first loop felt so easy (similar to the post-Asheville Half run). Not that there is that much climbing on the loop I do, but I got so used to walking some stretches last year. This time - I think I ran my fastest loop ever (under 56 minutes). A 2 minute break to swap water bottles, and back out for loop 2. Legs felt it a bit, but can't complain with only a ~2 minute longer loop.
Random notes: Quite a few people out (2 runners), upper lake was quite low, but beautiful. Trees were still turning yellows and oranges.
Shout-outs:
-Very happy for Jason for completing his 2nd 100 miler at Pinhoti this weekend!! I'm in awe of the dedication and determination...congrats.
-Jason for a distance PR at Pinhoti! What an effort!
-Dan and Charles at Pinhoti...tough luck Dan (and I still don;t knwo what ahppened to Charles, but he always makes the best of everything!)
-Team D.N.R. for another SOLID performance at Ragnar Tennessee!! What was I thinking that I didn't joi in this time?! Looked like so much fun - as it always is....next time - Guz is in!
-My co-worker who completed her first Half marathon this weekend in Savannah! Yes - it was tough, but you did it!

8.5mi - where did my cardio go?

2011-11-01T20:49:00.001-04:00

Seven days off with no exercise at all following a post-marathon recovery week really showed that fitness is negatively affected with time off. I went out for ~8 miles on Sunday after my test run on Friday. Started off fine, speed was decent, although I probably should have gone slower. Felt slow, but stayed steady, took my standard walk breaks. Never felt great, and never felt poor until the last .1mi when my knee became sore. Lucky for me - I was stopping at 8.5 miles anyway. I was doing 8:50/mi but my cardio was really lacking.

Hoping it comes back soon.

This week planned 25+ miles (6 today was just fine) including 12-15 on trails this weekend (just not sure where).

So many races this weekend:
Paris Mountain 15k
Shut In Ridge Trail Run
Pinhoti 100
and lastly - Team DNR is back and going to Tennessee for Ragnar. Go Goons!!
Best of luck to all those runners!!

Return to running

2011-10-29T12:17:00.000-04:00

So my scheduled week off - no running, no walking, no exercise period (FYI - had a small procedure, doctors orders to rest - all is fine)- went by too slowly. So yesterday morning, I got back into it by going to the track and easing back into running. 4.5 miles, walking .25mi, then running .75 mi. repeat. No issues at all, so tomorrow I'll go out and see how 8 or so feels. The Camp Croft (Trail) Half Marathon is only 2 weeks away, so next weekend I will be be back on the trails...and hopefully most weekends until next summer!
Still waiting to decide on the Seashore Nature 50k (7 weeks away). Still need to register for the Harbison 50k (10 weeks out). Mount Mitchell Challenge still scares me.

The Spinx Runfest here put on by our Greenville Track Club is going on right now....lots of first-time marathoners today. Almost perfect weather - why can't I be that lucky...about 42° at the start, sunny and almost 50° ~4 hours later. Looks to be a bit windy though. Good luck to those running!

So next week - start slowly ramping up the miles, and will skip speedwork one more week.

Post Marathon Recovery

2011-10-18T20:19:00.000-04:00

So it has been just over a week since Chicago. Plane ride home was fine...my brother got me an early X-mas present at the expo: Compression socks. Wore them at the airport and overnight and I can say I had no calf issues. Legs felt decent overall that night too. However - Monday, I noticed some bruising below my left ankle, right down the outside of my foot. It was tender to the touch and walking made it hurt. Can't remember doing anything particular to it that weekend...just put some road miles on (5-Fri, 5-Sat, 28 or so Sun). Put some Arnica on it 2x/day and nothing else.

By Tuesday, decided to skip my planned Wednesday run. Thursday felt a good bit better, but not 100%. Friday I ran even though I was not yet at 100%. Bruising was practically gone and my 4.3 miler was good. Surprised how fast my pace was.
Sunday's run was not great. Didn't get out until noon, under the sun and 78°. Went out too fast (and added some small hills), so I struggled for most of my 8+ mile run. No foot issues and I am saying it is gone, whatever it was.

Today - Nice easy-paced 6 miles thru the ICAR campus, my "hill" workout, that I hope to make my more normal route. Felt so good, will do it again tomorrow and hopefully Thursday. Then - I am taking a planned week off...got some things to do. Then - Camp Croft Trail Half Nov 12 and registering/training for Seashore Nature Trail 50k in December.

Chicago Marathon Race Report

2011-10-16T22:08:00.000-04:00

A full report from the Expo and the race - and everything in between!
The 34th Chicago Marathon took place Sunday October 9, 2011.

Intro to the Expo Area

After flying up from Greenville Friday morning, I went straight to the expo. Granted - not the most direct way as I did not realize the shuttle busses ran from the "L" where I got off. So I walked the 30 minutes in the beautiful sunshine to McCormick Place. Let's Run Together was this year's slogan - with close to 40,000 runners, it certainly was appropriate.

After getting my Bib, wandered into the Expo itself. Very spacious, lots of booths, lots of freebies, samples, and of course, things to buy. Carried my luggage the whole time; luckily, I pack light! Got my shirt and bag of stuff and wandered up and down each aisle. Checked out who was doing signings, etc (Dean K, Scott J, Ryan H, Abby W, Abby M, Hal H and a few others. Snacked some and eventually say down to wait for my cousin Becky. While I waited, watched (on a large screen) highlights from the 2010 Event. Incredible seeing two runners racing, sprinting (if going faster than their standard 4:45/mi is "sprinting!") at mile 25.8 of the marathon! I was getting excited...

After issues in the past with the weather (specifically, heat, 4 out of the last 5 years), you could not miss the signage everywhere with the Moderate condition notice. It would stay that category throughout the race.

Becky showed up, we got her packet, etc - and our Hospitality passes for race-day) and wandered more. Right before we left - we did get to see Ryan Hall and got a few autographs. Nice guy who said he was ready for Sunday. After 3.5 hours at the expo - I was ready to leave - and we took the bus! I did end up walking another 2 miles to the hotel after lunch. Too much time on my feet hauling luggage around that day.
Saturday
My brother Pat came in Friday evening, we ate and rested. Saturday - we had all day to kill - so we walked around, went to the expo again. I did buy some cold/wet weather Nike gloves (to prevent an occurance of this magnitude) and we both had our strides reviewed at the Nike area. They had a huge section of the expo, with some outside walls imprinted with all the names of this year's runners. That was kind of neat. The result of the review - mild pronation, a stability shoe would be beneficial. It's what I am in now (Asics 2140's), but the Nike Lunarglides version is 1oz less in weight and feels worthy of another test run.
Rest of the day was spent watching college football, playing ping-pong in the lobby of our hotel (Hard Rock Hotel) and walking/relaxing. Got to bed around 1030pm and had a 5:30am wake up call set.
Sunday (Race Day)
Nothing out of the ordinary as we got dressed, I ate my bagel, and walked to the start area in the dark. Took a bit to find the hospitality tent, but it sure was nice: food, drinks, aid tables set up, plenty of chairs, music, few dozen port-o-johns with no lines and our own bag drop.

Pat, Becky, and me!

Took advantage of the aid station as I applied suntan lotion and grabbed extra water for the 30min before start time. Met up with our cousin as we rested - the excitement was building so relaxing wasn't easy. Decided pretty early on that my throwaway shirt ($1.50 from Goodwill) could be kept and put in the drop bag for use at another event. Most of my throwaways hang around longer than expected. Got my stuff together: 4 GU's, handheld with water, visor, bib-belt, small ziplock with an aleve and some S!caps, and my camera. And chapstick. Soon enough, we said bye to Becky and got led to our starting corral entrance. We were in "C" and it was a mob getting into the corrals. Once we got there - there was plenty of room. So the countdown started for the 7:30 start. Our plan was to go out between an 8:45-8:55 pace as long as we could.

Heading towards the start line

I can run a pretty consistent pace and Pat left his Garmin at the hotel after charging it all night. Oops. Once we made it to the start line (only 3 minutes or so after the gun), we began to run. It was pretty crowded, but not quite elbow to elbow as it could have been. Good crowds out as we wound thru the downtown area and crossed the river 3 times in the first 3 miles. Placing carpet over the grating on the bridges was a nice touch. It takes me 5-6 miles to start feeling good, not that I felt bad at the beginning. We started off just on pace though:
Mile 1- 8:54
Mile 2- 8:44 (17:39)
Mile 3- 8:51 (26:30)
Mile 4- 8:34 (35:04)

I was keeping Pat from going too fast, it seemed he was often ahead of me by a few steps...this was good though because he knew he shouldn't go to fast - not with a 26.2 mile run. This worked well for us. We stayed in the same vicinity, chatted a bit, and ran. I honestly was not too aware of the changing neighborhoods, or which neighborhoods we would be running thru

Mile 3 or 4, spreading out across wide roads. (Pat in yellow)

The aid stations were also perfect...frequent, well prepared, well advertised, and long. Seemed a good 1/4 of a mile or more for each one with Gatorade and Water separated. Didn't often hear people thank the volunteers, but that is sadly typical. We carried our own, but after the first few, got drinks as needed and refilled when our bottles were near empty. So we headed north for miles 2-7.5 but couldn't see too much of the waterfront as I had hoped.
Mile 5- 8:47 (43:51)
Mile 6- 8:45 (52:36)
Mile 7- 8:35 (1:01:12)
Mile 8- 8:47 (1:10:00)

The course was flat as advertised. It was interesting seeing the signs on peoples back showing their hopeful pace. With the different start times for these groups - you never knew what pace they were at. At mile 8, we headed back south until Mile 13. It's not a full (or half) marathon without me needing a pit-stop, but I held off until after halfway. Old Town (Miles 10-11) had great signs and a nice shopping area - pictures didn't turn out. Photo-wise, not much struck me...buildings everywhere, constant people cheering 2-3 deep and with the temps near 65° at the start and the sun out, had 2 places where sponges were given out. More races need to do that as it was wonderful! And between the aid stations, residents would have hoses out cooling us down, tables of food (pretzels, licorice, even beer at mile 20).
Mile 9- 8:48 (1:18:48)
Mile 10- 8:53 (1:27:42)
Mile 11- 8:49 (1:36:32)
Mile 12- 8:44 (1:45:16)
Mile 13- 8:56 (1:54:13)

So we hit halfway in 1:55:08...and 8:47/mi pace - so I'd say we ran consistently so far! Thankfully, the sun was mostly behind buildings for the first half and the temps weren't too bad (low 70's). But the 2nd half had the sun directly overhead and little shade to be found.
Mile 14- 8:52 (2:03:05)
Mile 15- 8:57 (2:12:02)
Mile 16- 8:55 (2:20:58)

So right near the Mile 15 marker (part of a little west-east section) I took a pit stop by some hedges. Pat had taken the next corner and was about a minute ahead. He was relatively easy to pick out and I ran "hard" to catch him...faster than I needed to and faster than I really wanted to. Should have told him to slow down just a hair...but I caught him before Mile 16 - meaning I was doing about an 8:00/mi pace thru there. Whew...catch my breath. I wish that was the end of the excitement, but it was just about to start...

Smile for the photo! Alone at Mile 18.

Why would it start with me stopping during a marathon to have some random person take my photo? It actually started a few minutes before when Pat had to take a pit stop midway thru Mile 17. Saw a port-o-john available and hopped in. As soon as he did that, I began walking. And walked. And walked. And walked. Where was he?? 4 minutes later - still wondering. A 3:50 pace group passed me. A 3:55 pace group passed me. Was he OK? He couldn't have passed me? I walked and filled my bottles still along the left side where he stopped. After 8 minutes or so - during which I walked backwards some, had the photo to the left taken, and kept turning around looking. I finally decided that maybe he passed me somehow, so I ran ahead. I still was hesitant. I finally got desperate after passing the 30k timing mat, knowing there were people following both of us, and that was the 3rd of four times that would be sent out (10k,half and finish being the others). Desperation to me meant calling out if anyone had a cellphone.

Two or three tries and a guy nearby (running) asked what I needed...I told him my situation and he handed over his cellphone. I called my wife, who happened to be back at home and had just refreshed our computer showing our times...

My 30k time: 2:50:41

Pat's 30k time: 2:45:48

WHAT!?!

Quickly hung up, thanked the guy (who was running beside me while I called) yet again, and decided I had to catch my brother. We had been planning this for a year or so, and I already felt bad he was having to run this far "alone". So now I ran hard. At least hard for me at mile 19 of a marathon. The next 3 miles or so were a blur. I didn't quite know where I was on the course, which made figuring out how much time I had to catch Pat difficult. I missed my Mile 20 split. Times and splits were going thru my head and I was constantly looking out for him. I knew 5 minutes ahead meant if he slowed to 10's, I had some work to do to catch him, but I was going to try. My splits tell the story:

Mile 17- 12:08 (2:33:07)

Mile 18- 12:15 (2:45:22)
Mile 19- 8:32 (2:53:54)
Mile 20/21- 18:29 (3:12:23)
Mile 22- 9:21 (3:21:45)

Yep - I had an 8:32 mile at Mile 19. Very proud of that. Sure, I was a bit rested after two 12 min miles, but still. I slowed a bit after that though and had my doubts about catching him. Not knowing how his body would respond after not doing over 16 miles during this training (so not doing more than 16 miles since his last marathon in 1994), of course I would wonder. But, as my thighs were beginning to talk to me (hmmm, maybe we'll make him think we want to cramp...), I saw him. Somewhere (early?) in Mile 23. I caught him soon enough as his legs were talking a good bit and walk breaks were present for the remainder of the race. I am very familiar with that as we caught up on the last 6 miles and turned north (at mile ~23.5) towards the finish line.
He was getting mad thinking I was in front of him. Guess we should have had a plan...oops.
(35k split shows he was still 2:03 ahead of me)

together again-mile 24.5

So now it was all about moving forward, walking from one point to another (to that lamp-post) and running from one point to another (let's go to that bridge and we'll then walk in the shade). It worked. My legs felt ok, pretty tight in the thighs, but never cramped. For all those "issues" I had experienced and worried about leading up to this race: My groin/upper thigh never had any issue nor did my right foot/toe. I did feel the start of a blister on my right pinkie toe near the halfway, but that stayed quiet after that. Again, I was so caught up in things, I missed the Mile marker 24.

Mile 23/24- 21:54 (3:43:40)

Mile 25- 11:13 (3:54:53)

We obviously knew breaking 4 was out of the question (unless we could run a 4 minute mile )now the goal was to run four-0-something. Yeah - we can do that.
We ran/walked the same pace/frequency as we got closer. The last walk was at mile 26 or so (missed that split too) to the top of the bridge, then we ran the rest of the way in.
Mile 26.2- 13:00 (4:07:53)

Happy Finisher (again - after 17 years)

Thank You Chicago!
(On the plane 5.5 hrs later heading home)

Last post before Chicago Marathon. Predictions!

2011-10-05T21:06:00.000-04:00

Runner Tracking is up:
http://tadpole.textingforward.com/bacm/

This will text you 3 splits (10k, half, 30k) and the finish time during the race on Sunday.
I am bib 8219 and my brother is bib 8509 - we should be nearly identical.

Weather update: keeps getting warmer: expected start temp: ~60°. High temp: 75°
Not quite records temps (88°), but still warm enough to make me a bit miserable.
Windermere Marathon 2009 temps? Sunburn again too? Hoping not.

Had a wonderful speedwork session Tuesday. 6x400m @ 1:39 goal pace. Averaged 1:36. Very happy. Tomorrow's final run is an easy 3.4 mi (with 2mi at 8:23).

Plan and Prediction:
Plan: Run around 9:00min/mi as long as we can, Running with the 4hr pace group once they catch us, then holding on as long as we can!

As I will likely be limited by my brother, here is what I foresee:
Start with slowest pace group in our Corral (C): 3:50 (8:46/mi), but let them get ahead as we run closer to 9min/mi.
We'll do that (with or without the pace group) thru at least 16 miles, hopefully 18. We'll stay under 10min/mi thru 21 or 22. Finish close to 11's. Final Time: 4:09
(Just like Marine Corps 2010)

If things go better - I can see us finishing aroud 4:04.

One more week before Chicago Marathon

2011-10-02T20:46:00.000-04:00

So I started getting things together 3-4 days ago - I just couldn't help it, even thought he race is still 1 week away. My Gu's, bib-belt, few more little things, and socks. 3 pair as I could not decide yet which will be my race-day pair. My Balega standard ones, my newer Balega (geared more for trails), or a pair of my smart wool. After today's run - I've made my decision (but I'll still likely bring all three - just in case).
On tap for today was 10 miles at an 8:23 pace. Coldest temps so far with it being ~48° at 8:30am. No complaints from me. I still thought I was overdressed (after removing my outer shirt and gloves after 1 mile) and thought I would have been fine in a t-shirt instead of a long sleeve with my shorts...

Started out on pace, feeling average. I had a thought after my 1st mile that I should slow down in order to run a negative split. Didn't happen (the slowing-down part). Three or four miles in felt good and I cruised from then on. Halfway (5.1mi) in 43:13. I mostly ran each of the last 7 laps as fast or faster than the previous one...last lap being my fastest. Total time of 1:24:38 gave me a 41:25 2nd half and I was feeling good! (Smart wool it is!)
Looking back to just before my marathon PR in Charlotte (Dec 2009) - Same distance, 20 seconds faster this time around. I believe I am in PR shape, but with no plans to test it out - we'll never know! Maybe I'll try to fit one in March/April 2012.

Counting down until Chicago Marathon

2011-09-27T22:10:00.000-04:00

Starting to make plans for Chicago and I'd like to go ahead and start packing, but it is still 10 days before I leave. I am however already looking at the 10 day weather outlook - I never learn.
This morning, it showed a low of 57 and a high of 79. This evening - it is showing a high of 67 and a low of 52. Why do I bother?

Lining up some family visits while we're there (my dad's side of the family is from there), wondering about dinners and where to catch some college football Saturday afternoon.

And, oh yeah - the race.
Been thinking more about running with my brother (and with people in general). I ran a 5k completely with someone for their 1st one and that was good. That was 9 years ago and ~6 minutes slower than my previous 5k's. I have run with my brother two other times - the Xterra 10k Scramble back in 2004 (was pretty comfortable the whole time) and the 2009 McDonald's Richmond Half Marathon in which we were well matched.
I know I am better prepared for longer distances right now than he is (his long runs have been minimal), and I have no idea how he'll handle the extra distance, but there is no telling how the race will go for us. Either way - I'll run with him as much as I can - even if it comes to walking us in.
I'm thinking we'll start at a 9:00-9:15/mi pace and see how long we can hang on. First of all - I am curious how starting that slow will effect my later miles.
I usually start off comfortable, but faster than I should, hang on as long as I can, and then slowing by a minute per mile from ~15 to mile 21 or so on. Let's see if that is true!

Myrtle Beach: Mile 15 - 9:06; Mile 21 - 10:23
Marine Corps: Mile 14 - 8:49; Mile 19 - 9:41
Charlotte: Mile 19 - 8:59; Mile 22 - 9:50
Windermere (Spokane): Mile 15 - 8:51; Mile 20 - 9:40
NYC: Mile 14 - 9:24; Mile 21 - 10:19

I'd love to run a near-even split one day. Doubt this will be the event for that.

Running since the Asheville Half has been so-so. Heavy legs one day, speedwork in a complete downpour (and still didn't have to think too hard choosing that over the treadmill) and a mediocre 13 miler on the weekend. At least my speedwork this morning was decent...hit my times (5x1000m at 4:16), but was only just a hair faster than the same workout 11 weeks ago.

Still wanting to pack...

Asheville Half Marathon Race Report

2011-09-24T14:44:00.000-04:00

Race Website Results

So my 2nd half-marathon in 6 days ( see my previous post) was in Asheville, NC. I ran this back in 2008 in 1:58:35 and although I felt I was in good shape this time around, I was only expecting around 1:50-1:55. I would have been happy with that as I had not really been running hills worth mentioning. At all!
Had my packet mailed to me and it was waiting for me on Thursday after 9.5hrs driving down from DC. Nice shirt (interesting color this year!) and a bib (#846).

Race day: drove the 1hr 20min from Greenville with no issues and found street parking (fed the meter for 2 hrs and hoped I'd be ok. I was.). Light rain was expected and it was a cool morning...50°. I was liking it.
GTC l/s tech shirt (only wore long sleeves for the GTC support), race-ready shorts, hat, 2 Gu's (vanilla) and my trusty Ironman water bottle. Asics 2150's (with very little mileage).

Did a little warmup and found a 1:50 pace group (8:23/mi) in the middle of the crowd just before the start. After my wonderful pacer in Maryland, I had high expectations here.

Race start:

Was pretty crowded (28 secs to pass the starting mat) thru the 1st few turns, but I stayed with my pacer and began to chat with him. I recognized the name and we talked about some other races and then the course. I heard it had changed in 2009, so I was unfamiliar with what was different except the out-and-back rose garden area was no longer a part of it. I soon heard "Cherokee", and will not soon forget it. Having recently watched "Band of Brothers" for the 2nd time, "Currahee" came to mind.
So we're running along and the pace feels fast to me, but the pacer says we're on track. I miss the Mile 1 sign. I miss the mile 2 sign. Still feels fast. Pacer is questioned on it yet again, but says we're right on track. We pass a Mile 2 marker, but the time is way off and I expect it is from the 5k? This is all hills...up and down. And up. This is where we hit Cherokee. It's a climb. Steep. I let the pacer go (still too fast?) but do well on the way up. I am trying to work on my descents, let me body go with the momentum and it seems to get better as the run progresses. Miss the Mile 3 marker. Huh? Do they have Any at all??
I start running near a girl named Trisha (who had some fans along the way) and we chatted on and off - that seemed to help us both. I pulled ahead soon though. We went thru the 4mile mark (I saw the marker!) in 30:11. Was that fast? YES! 1:20 faster than last weekend and that was mostly downhills. The 8:23 pacer was nowhere to be seen ahead of us and I was at a 7:32 pace? Are you kidding me? I guess I was too preoccupied with my pace to notice I was running by/near the Grove Park Inn.

So I backed off a little as we made turn after turn (45 turns in this race). I had remembered some of the course so far, but I distinctly remembered the park by the Asheville Country Club. It's a nice section between Miles 5 and 6. Somewhere along here - I felt a little twinge in my right leg/groin. Just enough to notice it.
Splits:
mi.4: 30:11
mi 5: 9:09 (39:21)
mi 6: 7:57 (47:18)

At mile 7 - we turned onto the Beaver Lake trail and it was nice to get off the pavement, if only for a bit. I could tell I slowed thru here, but I was ok with that. I stayed pretty steady the next few miles and was still only 1 minute off last week's race thru 9miles, but I felt that I could sustain this pace for a few more miles.
mi 7: 8:40 (55:59)
mi 8: 8:26 (1:04:24)
mi 9: 8:26 (1:12:51)

Trisha caught back up to me thru here and we stayed close to the end. It was a big help and definitely helped pull me along. And looking at the elevation chart above - this is where you needed all the help you could get! A hill that kept going and going...but we kept at it and hit the next mile marker. The rain started coming down a little more heavily thru here.
mi 10: 10:29 (1:23:20).

Whew! Now the downhill. As I said I thought I was getting better, and the next mile I think showed my improvement. Going so fast I guess I missed the fact that we were right beside UNC-Asheville.
mi 11: 7:05 (1:30:26)

Then, a pretty constant uphill on Broadway/Lexington all the way to mile 13 and the finish. That last half mile is where the wheels fell off before...wasn't going to let that happen this time. I will say now that the volunteers, water stops and people cheering outside their houses & on the side of the road were numerous and wonderful. 12 aid stations - that's how you do it!!
mi 12: 8:27 (1:38:53)

Kept it steady, even on the last uphill in downtown.

Don't know this runner, but it "almost" captures the incline

There are a few more turns after this hill and then a slight downhill thru a crowded "chute" of people cheering.
mi 13.1: 9:34 (1:48:28)

Finished 284/1259 (right about the exact same finishing percentage as the Parks Half)

I was obviously very happy with my time. For a day or so - I thought I had actually "beat" last weeks time by 30secs, instead of being 30secs slower. Either way - 10 minutes faster than 2008 and faster than I was expecting.
The rain stayed constant as I got some water and looked for food. Not a huge selection, but I grabbed a banana and pretzels and walked a bit. Grabbed my camera from my car and cheered on runners over the last quarter mile.
Overall: good course (if you don't mind hills!), great volunteers, decent shirt/finishers medal, poor pacer (mine at least - he finished more than 4 minutes ahead of his expected pace)
As a cool-down and to get in more miles, I decided to stop at Paris Mountain State Park on the way home (after 2 hrs with my aunt & uncle). I did my typical 6mi loop on the upper trails. Ran it strong and finished in 57 minutes...one of my fastest times for that route. :-)
Looking forward to more runs out there in November!

6th Parks Half Marathon Race Report

2011-09-19T22:14:00.000-04:00

It only took a few minutes of looking at the website (www.parkshalfmarathon.com) to see this was a good race to enter. Put on by the Montgomery County (Maryland) Road Runners club, it goes from Rockville to downtown Bethesda - which just happens to be less than two miles from my in-laws house where we were staying.
2+ miles of road, followed by ~9 miles of the Rock Creek Hiker/Biker Trail and 2 miles of the Capital Crescent/Georgetown Branch Trail. The point-to-point course winds thru numerous parks and finishes thru the Air Rights tunnel into a festival in the middle of downtown Bethesda. Throw in many pacing groups and a full post-race party and we've got a great event!
Short packet pickup note: Said there was no race-day pickup, but that was not the case. I had gotten mine the day before, which worked out well as I found my the newest model of my trail shoes (Asics 2160T) for a decent price.
Race day:
Got dropped off at 6:30am for the 7:00am start and checked my bag, drank some water and warmed up a bit. The 2,000+ runners were spread out and I found my pacing group - 1:45. Wasn't quite feeling up for a PR, but thought I'd give it a try on this net-downhill course. Couple of vanilla Gu's in my pockets, sleeveless Brooks shirt (~69° and 90% humidity), my Ironman handheld water bottle, and I was ready. They started in well spaced, small, divided waves every 2 minutes and ours was the 3rd wave to start. (This being 9/11 made the pre-race playing of our national anthem a little more reflective than usual). It was new (and kind of nice) to start at the very front and have somewhat of an open road ahead of us!

3rd Wave Start: I'm in the white shirt/hat 2 ppl behind the pacer (#40)

Pacer Ken E. was the absolute ideal pacer. Great splits, constant chatter, loud, constantly joking - he made you push a bit harder just to hear what he was going to say next. Our "group" of 5-6 stayed with him quite a while before breaking up.
The Course:

I feel the "net-downhill" is deceiving. The first 2 road miles didn't feel particularly as "downhill" as the 182' drop looks, even though our pace was a bit quick. We turned onto the paved trail which at times had some mud/water on it from the recent heavy rains from Tropical Storm (Hurricane) Lee. Miles 4-6 were rolling hills and included the "Silencer" hill around mile 4 - it was tough, but short, and I was still doing fine. I did wonder how long I was going to be able to stay with him. I was enjoying the trail and the group.
Splits:
1: 7:42
2: 7:51 (15:33)
3: 8:03 (23:37)
4: 7:53 (31:30)
5: 7:59 (39:29)
6: 8:03 (47:32)

Still at or near my PR pace thru 6. Three very flat miles along the trail thru more parks (Dewey Park, Ken-Gar Palisades Park, supposedly named for Garth Brooks and "famous" runner Ken Early) and I was at my limit...
7: 8:04 (55:37)
8: 7:56 (1:03:34)
9: 8:09 (1:11:43)

Even though the next mile was still pretty even, I slowed and needed a walk break. The humidity/temps got to me as they typically do and my legs got heavy. Mile 10 began my foot (right toe) pain that I've been experiencing lately. I watched the remaining 1-2 runners go ahead with Ken as I made the best of it. I was 30secs under my half-marathon PR from Spinx in Oct 2009 thru 9 miles and I knew that was out the window. I was excited to have been able to keep the pace I did for that long. Miles 11, 12 and 13 were all up...

~Mile 12: Capital Crescent/Georgetown Branch Trail

mostly gradual with one big hill at Mile 11 taking us off one trail and onto another. (Later I would see a resident spraying down runners with his garden hose - where was he when I went by?!)
Mile 10: 8:47 (1:20:31)
Mile 11-12: 17:38 (1:38:09)
Mile 13: 9:04 (1:47:13)

Just before Mile 13, there was a group of boy and girl scouts passing out small American Flags (another 9/11 tribute) and we hit the Air Rights tunnel. Coming out of there was a good crowd, announcer and an easy final kick to the finish line. Finish time: 1:47:52

Finish Line

Got my finisher's stocking hat, bottle of water and checked out the festival tent. Watermelon, muffins, cookies, brownies, pasta, bananas, oranges...so many options! What a treat.
Misc stats:
333' elevation Gain, 440' elevation Drop
458 out of 2320 overall; 60 out of 209 age group (40-44)
Results
Photos
Garmin data (obviously not mine)

Post-race!

Finish Line Festival

Post race: Took a leisurely jog/walk to the house, but instead of the short route - doubled back on the course 2.5 miles and got back on the Rock Creek trail into Rock Creek Park. I know it may be disheartening for some runners to see a finisher coming back toward them, but I cheered every runner on (at least those without headphones!). The ~6 miles home included 2 on (real, unpaved) trails, and the last road mile was all uphill. Felt surprisingly good that afternoon and even the following day!

Catching up

2011-09-18T16:00:00.000-04:00

Three weeks until Chicago. Since Sept 1st - My weekday long run of 15+ miles went well. Even pace, last mile was fastest. My 2nd toe hurt on the last lap - not sure what to do about it. Looks like that week's track work may have been my last SC training run of the season with temps in the 70's - Thank You!! Couldn't quite hit my times for that run, but it was still good to attempt it. The next run (tempo) was down to 62° and was much better. 6mi at 7:55 pace.
Then came a trip to DC visiting family and friends. Being only 1 mile away from the trails at Rock Creek Park is always a good thing and I went out for a 6 mile jaunt early the next morning after arriving. even with some residual wetness from the Lee-rains, and high humidity - it was very enjoyable. I always say this after time off the trails - but I do miss them. After Chicago - I'll be there much more often.
So that Monday - I heard from my mother-in-law about a race up in Maryland on 9/11 (Sunday). Even though it was just 6 days before my Asheville Half Marathon, I looked it up. Parks Half Marathon put on by the Montgomery County Road Runners. A point to point course from Rockville to downtown Bethesda, mostly run on a paved trail called the Capital Crescent Trail. Sounded very nice, and reasonably priced for just a week before the race, so I signed up (see next post for Race Recap).
I obviously was not going into this with the freshest of legs, and although it was technically net-downhill, it was rolling, with a steep section around Mile 4 and the last 3 miles with a constant, slight uphill. I had initial thoughts on setting a PR (1:45:35), but wasn't quite sure I was ready for that.
So - did it happen? Stay tuned!

Skipping the long slow weekend run...kind of...plus: 10k-a-day!

2011-09-01T20:38:00.000-04:00

Yep - Chicago is coming up on 5 weeks away and I am skipping my long run this weekend. Why? Because I am doing it on Friday morning (tomorrow) instead. I'm heading to Atlanta Saturday morning, returning Sunday evening visiting with my sister (lives there) and my wife's sister (there from Colorado) - and running will not happen.
So my alarm is set for 3:30am and this will be the longest weekday run before work. I've done 11 a few times, including yesterday and last week. I'm not looking forward to getting up, but with a pace 5-10 secs per mile slower than my 11 miler, it doesn't seem that hard on paper (of course tomorrow may turn out to be terrible...you never know).
My work is doing a "step" thing again, where they give you a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps a day (10k-a-day). I've worn it this week to test it out. (We did this last year, starting just before I ran Chattooga. Was that really only a year ago?!?). The 11 miler was about 15000 steps, but using their calculations based on the type of exercising you're doing - it would equate to around 27000. My run tomorrow will get me started on the right foot with about 40000. Too bad 25000 is the max you can "earn" in a day - I think it is biased against marathoners.
One more long run (20mi) while I'm in DC the following weekend, the Asheville Half-Marathon after that - then 2 easy weekends until it's time to go race!

Going Long...again and again

2011-08-27T23:30:00.000-04:00

I had to take a few days off after my last post - the start of a cold before a 3-day trip to Pennsylvania. Still ran speedwork up there, but my tempo run never happened. Last weekend's run was not the best either. Started struggling early, but still ran 17 of my scheduled 20. Oh well - it happens. You never know how thew run is going to be...just have to go out and hope it's going to be a good day!
Got my running in last week. I am having a little foot issue that crept up the last few days...almost like a bone-bruise just under the base of my 2nd toe, right foot. Just an infrequent annoyance right now. while I'm nitpicking about pains - my left knee just below the kneecap has been a little tender too the last few weeks. Also just an annoyance at times.
Got an invite for a run this weekend...

This ~20 mile trail run at Camp Croft was to celebrate the birthday of a Pirate (AKA Charles, AKA Raff, etc). After of few days of thinking about it - I decided the group already going made this one not to miss...Psyche, Jason, Seth (Croft Half RD), Joe, Joy, Terri, and of course - The Pirate!
Sadly - Seth could not make it and the rest of us started off at 8:30ish. After some initial conversation with Charles and Psyche, they dropped back to run with Terri, and the rest of us stayed together for the duration. (Never get enough time with them - such nice people!)
We never pushed too hard, steadily moving, walking much of the uphills, chatting the whole way about anything running and non-running.
Dodged some horses, had to navigate a stretch of mud that almost ate Joy's shoes, put up ribbons so the other group could follow us, stopped ~halfway to refill our water that Jason had stashed (He also provided us with goody bags - awesome!)
We ended up running 3:33 for about 19 miles and I think we all felt great afterwards. My long runs have been very good overall and I may be getting too confident. I am so looking forward to getting back on the trails after Chicago.
PHOTOS:

the uphill mud section (after the stream crossing)

Lake Johnson

Joe and Jason finishing up

2 more weeks closer...

2011-08-15T20:05:00.002-04:00

Hmmm, guess I missed a week or two's update! The hot weather is still sticking around. I thought last year was hot, but this one is the 3rd hottest ever (from I read on the news). I think I may actually be aclimating somewhat, although I still don't like it! :-)
So another long run: 20miles. 78°. Steady pace of 9:15's. Last mile same as 1st.
Following weekend (Aug 6) was a drop down mileage week - so only 13. 8:33 pace and felt good with medium effort.

Nothing too exciting about my weekday runs: some hills, tempo runs, some speedwork (I did 12x400's just under my 1:39/400 plan, last one being 1:28. Huh? Where did That come from?!)

Then this past weekend for my 18 miler. Skipped running on Saturday as I wasn't feeling so good. Little aches (right foot, calf, and just tired). Was feeling a bit run down. Sunday morning came and I felt the beginnings of a cold...little tickle in my throat and maybe a slight fever. What to do? Run it out.
Ended up being a great run. No real pains and plenty of fluid (and 72° overcast skies) helped! 8:50 pace pretty steady the whole way and finished it up with an 8:22 last mile! Plenty left in the tank too.
So that makes 5 out of the last 6 weekends running 17-20 milers for my long run. It is making a big difference. Never had that many that close together. Am feeling very confident in my fall/winter schedule of events, and I may have just added another one: Seashore Nature Trail 50k in Dec. My brother, now that he is in pseudo-marathon shape, wants to add a 50k to his resume.

8 more weeks until Chicago...

Oh - almost forgot the big news: We got Hospitality Passes for the marathon! It's good to have family high up with the race sponsor (Bank of America)! What this means:

-Covered venue in the case of sun, rain or wind
-Accessible location with venue positioned close to Start and Finish Lines
-Private Gear Check
-Private changing areas
-Massage Therapists
-Access to restroom facilities
-Light breakfast (water, Gatorade, bananas)
-Lunch (including beverages and beer)

I'll be spoiled...

Chicago Headliners....Daughter's 1st "run"

2011-07-29T21:01:00.000-04:00

More big names coming to run the Chicago Marathon...
Ryan Hall and Hope Solo (No relation to Han or the guy that's afraid of snakes) (and other US Soccer teammates Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach maybe?)
I sure don't expect to see them during the race - not so unlike NYC in 2008. Maybe a pre-race thing somehow...

Will be interesting flying back to SC a mere 4.5 hrs after I finish...maybe I'll learn I shouldn't do that!

Been getting a little antsy having Not run a race since the end of May. I did have a wonderful moment this week though. Took my little girl (who is 2yrs 7+ months old to her first run "event": The Greenville Track Club's All-comer's Track Meet. They've been going on forever, are free to kid's under 17 and GTC members (and only $3 for non-members). After a little group job, they have a kid's (5 and under) 50m dash. It's called a dash, but many of them walk, with prodding from parents, most without tears. My little girl ran and was so happy with her ribbon.

On the way home she decided she wanted to go back the following day. Too bad we waited until the last one of the 2011 session! We'll certainly head back out in June/July next year.
She also decided she wanted to add it (and her purple wrist band) to my wall collection of finisher medals...

Happy kids and proud parents...

Surviving the Heat

2011-07-24T19:54:00.000-04:00

It's summertime. I'm in South Carolina (~Greenville) and although I've been running down here for 11 years or so, I am still not acclimated to the heat. The temp Saturday for my long run was 78°, but the best it was that day as it reached ~94 or so. I would chose 42° if I had my preference, but I do not.
How do I cope?
Other than obviously running slower - this is what I did Saturday for my 18 miler:
1. Start at 5:30am. I knew I'd be running for 2hrs 45 minutes, so the earlier the better. I've started as early as 4:45am.
2. Hydrate. I carry a 20oz bottle of water with ice/water. I have another 20oz bottle, plus a 32oz bottle, plus a bottle of Gatorade - all in a cooler with ice packs. I drank it all - I need my fluids!
3. I did something different for this training run, something I have only tried once before - and I will do it again. I brought two bandannas and put them in the cooler. Added some ice in each and some water too. After 1 hour, I wrapped one around my neck held by a large safety pin - I learned my lesson after using a bib (ie: small) safety pin at Enoree. The first one always helps the most! The ice lasts about 3 miles or so, and I replaced it with #2 about an hour later.
Guess that's all I really did. My socks/shoes got a bit squishy after 2 hours, so a sock change would have been nice, but no blisters, so no issue. I forgot to buy more Gu, so after 1 at 45 minutes, I was without food. Forgot my Power Bars too. Ooops.
I always wear a hat/visor (even in the dark) and occasionally dump some water on my head. I've been running without a shirt, but am careful about how long I am in the sun.
Anyone have any other tips - please share!!
Next weekend's 20 isn't looking pleasant either...Low 75° Sat, High 97°

Early long slow runs

2011-07-18T20:49:00.000-04:00

Twelve weeks until the Chicago Marathon and I have just completed my first 20 mile training run for it. Last weekend was 6 Friday and another 17 on Saturday. After a tough speedwork session Monday (5x1000), my tempo run on Wednesday gave me a scare. Coming around a corner not considered "tight" by any stretch of the imagination, and one I have run by a thousand times or so, my ankle twisted somewhat. Didn't hurt initially and assumed all was fine as I finished up. The next morning though - a couple of inches up from my ankle - a tender spot. This has happened to me before and I thought I remembered it going away pretty quickly. I skipped my planned "extra" run Friday and put off my long run from Saturday to Sunday. I was a bit worried as I started out Sunday for my 20 miler, but my leg was feeling much better and have not felt a twinge since. Whew!
My 17 last weekend was wonderful...even pace-all the way to the end, slightly under goal, and felt Great!
This weekend's 20 - planned to be 15 secs/mi slower - was also Very good. Steady pace the whole way (didn't really slow down at all!). Overcast skies helped a bit, even with 69° temps.

This was my earliest 20-miler in training....not that I have too many to compare to (and then that I actually had a lengthy training plan for). Am still close to my Charlotte Marathon Training, in terms of mileage/distance. Just a little off of speed, but that is ok - I think I'm in good shape!
Coming up soon: 18 mile long run, followed by 20 #2.

Running away from home

2011-07-03T12:12:00.000-04:00

It's always a little more difficult to run while away for work. I always say I'll get some rest while I'm away form home, but that never works out. Going to bed late doesn't help with a 5am wake up call to run. Since I will not run on the treadmill at the hotel - I go outside. I run around the hotel, thru the parking lot of the office park it sits in, I run thru a small neighborhood nearby, and I run thru the Parx casino parking lot - up and down empty aisles. For my speedwork session - I do laps around a particular office building. ~1.75laps make up 800m (determined by running my normal warmup pace and going from there). I am glad I don't have to go more than 6 miles on these runs..it's a challenge to find just 6 miles there.
I am back home now and another long run completed. 15.3 miles just under my scheduled pace. No complaints other than a 75° starting temp at 5:45am.
14 weeks until Chicago Marathon. I got my plane ticket today to match my brother's leaving time of Sunday 5pm. Quick turnaround (We'll finish by 11:30am), but that will get me back home to the family faster!

Chicago Marathon Training - 16 weeks and counting

2011-06-21T23:11:00.000-04:00

I am cleared of the poison ivy madness and have run a few times. The 10 day break I took was the longest since Dec 2007 (also a 10 day break). I didn't run and it felt odd - especially since I wasn't "injured", just completely miserable.
My runs since have been fine...2 longer runs of ~11 and ~14. Some speedwork and medium-lengths runs. Today started the 16 weeks leading up to Chicago.
I am using the FIRST plan again ("Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training" - look them up). 3 basic runs planned, but I am adding a 4th the day before my long run. The 3-day plan worked for me before (3:53 - 2009 Charlotte Marathon), so I'm sticking with it.
Today's first real scheduled workout was not quite completed as required...3x1600m@7:02. I'm doing the 3:40 marathon training in order to hit 3:55 or so - yes, my training is going to be hard. After my warm-up miles, hit the 1st two in 7:12 and 7:08. That was all I had and I gave up. I jogged the last one and my cool down mile in about the same pace. I call that close enough. My legs were dead. It was ~72° this morning at 5:30am...anyway, I am also still getting my legs back after my 10 day break.
Next 2 weeks will be spent in Florida (Vacation - yep, even hotter down there) and Philly (work), so back to running in a not-so-great area for running. Will still avoid the treadmill up there like the plague.

Other Chicago Marathon news:
Lance Armstrong is planning to run Chicago (3:30 is what I think I saw?), as well as 25 or so high quality runners, including the 2nd fastest marathoner ever (2ns at Boston, Moses Mosop) at 2:03:06

I do miss the trails...my long road runs have not been as pleasant, and it is not just the 70°+ temps before the sun rises. Achy arches at times that I hope subsides on my longer runs.
Stay tuned!

Still waiting...

2011-06-07T20:11:00.000-04:00

So this is what my legs looked like after 8 days. May not look that bad - but I was absolutely miserable. Walking up and down stairs was unbearable - clenching my fists and tensing up my whole body did little to help. My ankles were the worst, just above where my shoe ended. Of course - the outside part of my leg had it the most, but I also ended up with the rash on the inside of my lower legs too. It is just now getting to the point where I can consider running again and I am wondering how much I will have lost after not doing Anything for 11 days. Granted, my last run was 31+ miles...we'll see soon. I am choosing to test it all out on Thursday and am hoping for the best. Plan for next trail run (where poison ivy is known/unknown): gaiters, compression socks, running tights, some lotion/block - any or all of them. I do Not want to go thru this again!

Long Cane 50k Race Report

2011-06-04T23:25:00.000-04:00

Sunday May 29th was the 2nd Long Cane 55M/50k race as part of Terri's http://www.ultrasontrails.com/ South Carolina Ultra series. She knows exactly how to put on a low-key but very enjoyable ultra event. The 4am wake up call came too soon as my daughter kept me up until ~11:30pm. Lack of sleep was never an issue, and I grabbed my bagels, water bottles and gear and left for Abbeville, SC. I got 2 minutes away and realized I didn't have my watch. Oops. I turned around, parked in the driveway and made my way up the stairs from our basement. Lying there was one of my handheld water bottle holders. That would have been disastrous with the expected 91° high temp.

With watch in hand - no trouble getting to Parsons Lake Recreation Area. Followed 2 cars the last 20 miles or so and saw some familiar faces as a line of cars formed behind us at the pay station. Parked, got my bib and got ready for the expected 7am start. Chatted with William, Seth, Chad and Viktor as we waited for Terri's pre-race banter. Ended up being a 7:30am start - great, 30 more minutes of the sun higher in the sky and beating down on us. Her instructions highlighted the figure-8 loop the 50k runners would have, and the additional outer CCW 23 mile loop for the 55M runners. Signs at the junctions, aid every 5 miles or so (plus an extra water drop), a few creek crossings and a "bridge" where you would get your feet wet.

We start off on the trail by the lake for a quarter mile or so - most of this I did my fast walk/shuffle as it was quite crowded. Hit a road before getting on the real horse trail. We were warned about possible poor trail conditions with a heavy rain Thurs/Fri and then many horses on the trail Sat. Turned out to be just fine. A few sections of pure mud that had you stopping to scrape off the bottoms, but for the most part, the moisture made the ground just a little forgiving - so much better than hard and horseshoe formed.
The first few miles had many trees down and a narrow trail as we ran single file. After starting off immediately behind one other, I passed him and stayed just beyond another group of 3 or 4. The guy right ahead of me was the same one I ran near at Enoree for many miles after the turnaround - Mark H. We'd again run together at times today and had some good conversations. It was easy to tell when he was close as his music offered a little reprieve to the sounds of nature.

After a quick stop at AS1 (~5 miles in, ~50min), the rolling singletrack trail continued. It was already borderline hot as I pulled my shirt over my head for the duration of the run. I was trying to take in most of my 40ozs of water from my 2 handhelds between aid stations, plus I carried 3 Gu's, a pocket of some S!Caps (note - lost my tiny ziplock before the race so I had them loose. After 4+ hours, they were mush and useless), and a bandana. Of course I also had my camera! I was super careful when it was time to cross the streams, but did get pictures.
Came into AS2 (~10 miles, ~1:45). Took time for photos, refilled, snacked and was out. Was soon right behind Mark and another when we got to the biggest stream where you would get wet. I darted past the other two guys but was unconcerned with getting my feet wet...need to practice sometime, and I knew my smartwool socks would be dry in the next mile, and they were!
I knew early on that I was not feeling as good as at Enoree. The ups and downs weren't an issue, legs just didn't "have" it. Kept going along though and seemed to be pretty steady. Had practically no issues with signage, so staying on the trails wasn't an issue. Only 2 times were the flags at crossroads not readily seen (and that was in the last 7 miles), but I was near people on and off most of the day.
AS3 (~15miles, ~2:40) came quickly and took a little extra time there, snacking, refilling. Got my bandana out and put a cupfull of ice in it, folded it over, and wrapped it around my neck. Pulled off a safety pin from my bib and had a volunteer attach the ends together. I'll go ahead and give a HUGE thank you to all the aid station workers. Giving up your time to help those choosing to run does not go unappreciated. Numerous "Thanks" were given out at each station. (They had the std ultra-fare: PB&J, potatoes, M&M's, chips, so much...and so wonderful!). Going out of that aid station I had to actually think - was that really the halfway? I feel too good. Interesting how mentally different (ie: easier) it is than Enoree (where halfway is at 20 miles).

Sadly - the mental boost was not enough as I soon had minor issues. Left arch became sore and the bottoms of my feet became a bit tender for miles before fading away. The arch-thing stayed around much longer. The heat, hills began to get to me too. After trying to stay with Mark H and company in the last section, I was mostly on my own for the next 10 miles and I slowed down.
AS4 eventually appeared (~19.5 miles, ~4:00) and I repeated my neck-ice thing. The ice hadn't lasted 20 minutes, and even though it initially helped a lot - it was not the constant reprieve I had hoped for. I was going to continue it - better than nothing.
I knew early on in this section as I began to crumble that breaking 6 hrs was not possible. Was having to walk long sections here - the familiar, twisty, center section of the figure 8 before a 2 mile stretch on new ground into AS5 (~25miles, ~5:05). There was a short out and back on the trail to get to the Aid station, and I saw Mark again here. Saw a few familiar faces sitting down at the AS (I assumed they had finished and came back out to relax) as I took in calories and re-iced before heading out.
Not 1 minute out of the AS - stopped for a photo op: Nice black snake crossing the trail.
Quite a few runners were pretty close to each other thru here as some faded faster than others. I alternately walked and shuffled as 3-5 of us stayed in proximity with each other and others went ahead or fell back. Seemed to take forever - and I was wanting it to be over. I was able to run some downhills, but again, had mentally given up. This wasn't frustrating as Enoree was, just uncomfortable due to the heat. To tell you how out of it I was - probably less than a half-mile from the final aid station (~1/2 mile for the finish), there was a guy directly behind me and he asked if my water bottles were empty as I held them both in one hand. I said pretty much so, but there was a few swallows left. Didn't hit me until the aid station that he had been out and likely needed some. So sorry (Julian) - I was just out of it! Refilled just a little and you could almost see the finish.
Finish time: 6:34:30 - a new PR (~5 minutes over Harbison). I still think breaking 6 is a reasonable goal. After flopping down on the ground for a minute, headed for the lake to join a few others in a dip. Was that a great idea! All ultras (at least during the summer) should end near water.

Ended up 14th out of 59 in the 50k. Only saw 2 heading back out for the 55M (no telling how many dropped down from the 55M to the 50k), but 13 finished it! Kudos to them in those conditions! 16 DNF's (sadly) included Psyche/Charles and William.
Thanks you again Terri for a well organized event! She does a tremendous job with all her races.

-Post race recap:
No soreness whatsoever. Small, tender blister on pinkie toe of right foot that I didn't even notice until I got home. Few little scratches. But then - ~2 days later - the obvious signs of poison ivy appear. Welts, Rashes, oozing blisters still has me miserable 6 days later. Painful to walk for 4 days, but think I am on the mend. Cortisone shot Tuesday didn't seem to do much. Due to this - no running since the race - zero. Maybe early next week I'll see if I can manage it. Then it is all about Chicago and my quest to break 4 hours again.

PS - will have to add photos later - having uploading issues!

Long Cane 50k Tomorrrow and still undecided.

2011-05-28T17:48:00.000-04:00

Weather update for tomorrow: 67° at 7am (start time). 76° at 10am. 83° around 1pm. So - not horrible. Hope the trail is shaded.
Been debating all week about my camelbak, 1 handheld or 2 handhelds...still undecided.
Dropbag? (or at least something to pick up at the halfway point?) Maybe.
Definitely only doing the 50k and not the 55mile, although I am sure I could do it.

Runs this week have been fine. Speedwork Tuesday was nice...on my 6x400m - was 6secs faster per lap than 4 weeks ago.
I keep saying I'm taking it easy after this race - and I still am, but I kinda wish I wasn't! I keep reading about trails, trail running - but I am still going to hit the roads until October. Maybe once a month I'll go out to Paris Mtn and run 12-ish miles. I think if I keep hitting 17 miles or so every other week at a minimum, I'll be fine.

Heat and Wild Hogs!

2011-05-24T22:15:00.001-04:00

Sun May 29
Mostly Sunny
91° HIGH
67° LOW

This is what awaits me in Abbeville Sunday. Went from a high of 83, to 88, now 91. Yuck. I just hope they have lots of ice at the race.

Then there's this from the trails website ( www.greenwoodmtb.com):

"Feral Hog Alert: Multiple wild hog sightings are being reported along the LCHT primarily but not excluded to low lying creek areas. Wild pigs are generally afraid of humans but may attack if they feel threatened (Particularly a Sow with babies). Many SC Hogs have been reported to carry Swine Brucellosis which is contagious to humans. When you are using the trail the best way to avoid an encounter is to make a lot of noise while riding, especially near creek areas. Please email us any sightings as the USFS is keeping a log in an effort to concentrate on problem areas."

Even more pleasant!

Let the suffering begin Sunday morning.

Back to the roads

2011-05-20T21:01:00.002-04:00

Finally getting time to write with too much work going on lately (last 6 months, but whatever). Last weekend was my first Long road run (over 10 miles) since the Myrtle Beach Marathon in mid-February. Huh, really?? Turns out I have been to the Paris Mountain trails (or the trail races elsewhere) 11 times in the last 11 weeks. I thought I'd take another weekend off the trails as I thought I was prepared enough for the upcoming Long cane 50k on May 29th.
Started at 6am and 58° temps, so not bad. I run laps at Oak Grove Lake (I use 0.85mi/lap) and I was to do 20 laps. So how did I fare on a 17 mile road run?
You decide.
1st 4 laps: 7:46,7:15,7:52,7:53 = 30:48
2nd 4 laps: 7:44,7:43,7:46,7:42 = 30:57 (total time=1:01:45)

3rd 4 laps: 8:10,7:36,7:38,7:54 = 31:20, included water refill (total time=1:33:05)

4th 4 laps: 7:34,7:37,7:36,7:33 = 30:21 (total time=2:03:26). Hmmm, picked it up some.

5th 4 laps: 7:35,7:30,7:26,7:09 = 29:41 (total time=2:33:07)

I still felt great when I finished and had alot left. Wonder how log I could have gone on. I'm thrilled with a 9min/mile pace. Within a minute (faster) than Myrtle thru 17, but I was already going downhill there. Within a minute (slower) than Marine Corps, but again, went downhill fast. What I want to compare myself to is Charlotte...my pace there was 8:32/mi - so although I am happy - still a ways off that time and easily breaking 4 hours.
I am quite sure I will get there.
(Did have some minor rt foot/arch pain that lingers a bit from the Enoree run or before)

1 week befiore Long Cane. Kind of a dulled excitement as I truly haven't had time to think about it. Terri's (RD) email blast yesterday got me going though and I am looking forward to checking out the maps and details soon. With ~100 total runners and I'd guess it being split with the 55mile option - it'll be interesting.
Seeing the winners time last year (Brian Kistner at 5:13, and Byron Backer at 6:28) - maybe breaking 6:00 - or even 6:30 isn't even possible for me. Extrapolating from the 55 mile times - 6:45 is more likely. We'll see!!

Enoree Passage 40 Miler Race Report

2011-05-08T21:47:00.001-04:00

Sunday May 1st, 2011 was the first race of the SC Ultra Series put on by Terri Hayes as part of her http://www.ultrasontrails.com/ adventure. The Enoree Passage 40 miler was to take place in the Sumter National Forest, a 20 mile out-and-back from the Brickhouse Rec Area heading north. I'll go ahead and tell you - the course is nice and varied...you're never more than a few miles from a change of scenery and a good mix of ups and downs - nothing too significant, but still ~4300ft of elevation change (according to one runner's Garmin).
Another runner, Viktor, had taken me up on giving me a ride to the start (Thanks!), and we got there just before 7am. Not too terribly long before the 7:30 start, but enough time to see some friends

Psyche and Me (Guz)

and get ready.
Before you knew it - we were off thru a small trail, to a short gravel road, up the main road and onto the trail. The first few miles were about finding a good pace, not pushing much, and keeping someone in front of me. As I followed people, I realized there was a noticeable trail most places, and marked as they should be - but I was still wary of letting myself lose the runners in front of me

Following Chad down the boardwalk

I enjoyed the early miles, taking in the scenery. Boardwalks and marshlands were quite pretty. The 1st aid station was a quick stop as I checked out what they had. I had carried a single handheld water bottle and an "extra" 8oz flask in my RaceReady shorts pocket. Quick fill up (Heed instead of water I think) and some munchies, and out of there ~47 minutes - think that was a bit less than 5 miles!

1st Aid Station
(rest of the photos at the bottom)

The 2nd 5 miles was a continuation of keeping runners in sight. About a mile of road and some stare downs for a barking dog, then lots of trail. Passed Dan after the aid station as he had an aid station issue - but once he caught back up - we ended up running together (or pretty close to each other) for the next ~10 miles. Very enjoyable company and we'd chat some, then just let the miles slip away. Neither of us felt great, but not bad either. At the 2nd AS around the 10 mile mark - more munchies (I think the young volunteer there was a little surprised how much I was able to constantly cram into my mouth) and refill and out in 1:42 (55min section). Never seemed far from other runners thru the often narrow, almost overgrown trail. Quite a variety of surfaces: roads - gravel, pavement, jeep - a little sand, pine needles, dirt, grass, boardwalk, leaves. Roots were not an issue for the majority of the race.
The following 5 miles into Mile 15 went quick as we started getting closer to my drop bag (extra socks shoes, just in case, extra Gu, my 2nd handheld water bottle). Ran with Dan and we crossed the Enoree River and the large bridge they had constructed, and a lengthy boardwalk afterwards. He pulled me with him the the AS in 2:32 (50min section). I skipped my handheld water bottle and drop bag completely, got a few more snacks and then we were gone.
As we headed out towards the 20mile turnaround - I knew I'd slow down thru here and let Dan slowly get ahead. Wasn't too concerned about finding my way as people weren't too far from me. Kept expecting to see the leaders come thru anytime, but as we got closer and closer to the AS, after thinking maybe they got off trail - here comes a few spread out, maybe a mile or 2 from the turn. Still moving decently thru here, rounded a few lakes, the last one having a gazebo-type deck over the water that was the halfway mark. Took a little extra time, drinking, eating, getting a photo taken and headed out (ahead of Dan) in 3:39 (1:06 section).

Taking stock of my condition at the halfway - no real pains or issues. My left quad had an instant where it wanted to cramp for a little bit - but never did. The "taper-madness" of calf/ankle aches never appeared - -not once - during the entire race. My right ankle was a little sore at the top of the shoe - but manageable so far. Taking in 20ozs (plus my 8oz when needed) between stops, S-caps every hour or so. No calories other than a Gu early on and aid station food. So far, so good - and being halfway - I was fairly sure to finish! Wasn't keeping much track of time (and certainly not the time of day). Actually got a bit overcast earlier, but by mile 17 or so-the sun was out in full force. Was not looking forward to that.
Heading home.

Run pretty much the entire 20 miles back alone. Did keep my eyes open ahead of me for friends coming up the trail (Psyche/Charles), Weezy, Jason, Mike R...) and had more time for photos. Being thru halfway when I was (too fast!) - knew I was Not going to run under 8hrs, but it could have been closer under better circumstances I think. 2nd set of splits heading "IN":
(Mileage, 5mile split, "OUT" split) :

Miles 20-25 - 1:12 (4:51) (1:06). Only 5 minutes slower than the first time thru that section. Little proud of that I must say. Picked up my 2nd handheld bottle here and also check my cell phone for coverage. None - but did have a text from my wife that morning saying they'll see me soon. I was very excited that my wife and little girl would be at the finish. They had not seen me finish either of my two previous ultras.

Miles 25-30 - 1:10 (6:02) (50). 20 minutes slower. Starting to lose energy. Had no appetite at any more aid stations after the turnaround. Dan caught and passed me at the Enoree River Bridge. Others would catch me and go by - but I wasn't interested in trying to hang onto anyone. Wanted to break 6 hrs for 30 miles - no particular reason, but with my last 50k of 6:38 - a 6hr 50k is my PR goal.

Miles 30-35 - 1:19 (7:22) (55). 24 min slower. Knew this was the longest section of the last 15 miles. Had very little motivation to run. Started with the negative thoughts...."Never doing this again". "Why did I ever think doing a 50 miler would be fun??" but you know one good thing to perk you up is seeing food on the ground - that means one thing - an Aid Station is near!! I was out of water again so that was a relief. Motivation was still low, but I knew getting to this last section would bring me home. More roads on this section didn't help (and no sign of the dog). My right ankle was still an issue, so I finally (after 10/15+ miles?) loosened up my right shoe. Made a big difference in comfort level, no explanations why I didn't do that earlier.

Miles 35-40 - 1:08 (8:30) (47). 21min slower. Knew as I walked the last section of road that 8:30 was close and not likely. Did run all the way in once I got on the gravel road, peeking over to see my wife's car in the lot. Not much to say about this section except I was glad it was over! Did finish strong though and immediately picked up my little girl.
Post race - Still no appetite, but got a wonderful foot massage from Denise. Not one blister (smart wool socks) and very little (if any) muscles soreness, just tender feet. Few leg scratches, but nothing serious. Waited a bit for my stuff from AS#3/5, but saw a few other friends finish and caught up with Dan, Charles and others. Looked like quite a few DNF's - mostly due to the heat. Overall finished 24th out of 61 finishers (77 starters)
Post race info: Best recovery to date (so far, and it's been a week. 22 miles and no real lingering issues).
Next Race: Long Cane 50k May 29th. (Assuming the next 3 weeks go ok!)

RD Terri with last minute instructions

Early gravel road

An early trail

Along boardwalk

Follow the leader

Little road section

Enoree River

Turnaround/Aid Station #4

Halfway (20 miles)

40 miles: 8hrs 30 min 28 secs

Ahhhh

The last few days...

2011-04-26T21:34:00.000-04:00

Sunday - I will hopefully complete my 40 mile run, about 6 weeks before my 40th birthday. That is really just one of many reasons to run it - not that the others make much sense to that many people.
My concerns for the event:
1. Right calf. Been tight lately during 2 hr runs. Could flare up and stay.
2. Left front/top ankle. Not sure what's going on with that. It is usually sore a day or two after marathons...lately, I've felt it after longer runs. And even when I don't run.
3. Right big toe/arch area. Was sore a couple of weeks ago, but get a twinge now and then.
4. Heat. Trying not to think about it and do the whole mind over matter thing. Didn't think about it once during Chattooga and it was brutally hot. Not that bad considering this weekend .Forecast is low that morning around 56°, high of 84°. I'm hoping much of the trail is in the sahde. Maybe a nice (tail) wind (both directions).
5. 2 days later - I'll be walking a golf course in Charlotte to watch my old HS classmate (PGA Championship winner Rich Beem) practice for the PGA event in Charlotte. Hope I won't be wobbling too much!
Goals - still between 8 and 9 hours. Probably closer to 9 hours. I bought a camera (real digital one instead of the typical disposable I've been getting), so that should be nice to hep document the adventure.

Looking forward to seeing other friends (and new ones) out there.
Finally - having my wife and little girl see me finish an ultra for the first time!!!

less than 2 weeks

2011-04-18T21:11:00.000-04:00

Enoree 40M is less than two weeks away. I'm nervous about the distance...have some decent runs and then my right calf wants to act up. I ran ~23 on the trails at Paris Mtn a week ago and wondered how another 17 would feel. I know that is not the way to look at it, but I can't help it. The other two 50k's I ran, I ran aid station to aid station and that was about as far as I looked. That's my plan again too...aid stations to the turnaround point, then the same thing back.
Tossing around the idea to use 2 handhelds for the first 10 miles or so, then pick it back up the last 10 miles, when I suspect it will be much warmer (I still don;t like the heat - but after ignoring it during Chattooga last year - I can manage it I think).
Another idea I'm considering is running 5 miles twice the week of the race (Race? Ha - it's an "Event"!), that would give me 50 for the week for the 1st time ever. That's right - didn't hit my 54-mile-week goal I had set out for this training cycle. What's done is done.

Taking it somewhat easy this week as I am traveling to Philly tomorrow for 2 nights. These 2 weeks of "tapering" won't really be too much different from the last week anyway. My legs don't feel fatigued. We'll see after tomorrow's speedwork session.

Recovery week

2011-04-08T21:28:00.001-04:00

Taking a little bit of an easy week after hitting 40+ miles last week. ~28 miles over the weekend all at Paris mtn - but felt pretty sluggish the last few on Sunday. The resulting (big) toe soreness hasn't stopped me this week with with speedwork Tuesday and 8.5 miles yesterday morning before work (with a 4:20am alarm). Will get back out there Sunday - but I am revisiting plans for next weekends final long runs for the 40miler training. Back to back or one longer run?

Other notes:
Barkley was last weekend - amazing even to follow the tweets/updates. 10th finisher ever and lots of fun runners! Congrats for making it out there Charles, Byron and everyone else. This falls into the Badwater category for me - no inkling at all to attempt. However - the FHT...in the back of my mind - I can see doing a serious attempt at that. No time soon - but that doesn't mean I'll go out at some point and get some time on there...

Stronger on trails?!

2011-03-29T21:29:00.000-04:00

2 hours (~12 miles) at Paris Mountain on Saturday in a miserable rain. Ok - I wasn't that miserable - I was on trails and I was running. A bit cold (~46°) and wet, but it was enjoyable being out. I was thankful I have 2 pair of running shoes, jackets, etc - dry gear is nice! Back out Sunday for ~13.4 miles (2:13) and felt great. My left calf was a bit tight initially, but that warmed up quickly and did not bother me. Stayed cloudy, but no rain. Trail wasn't quite as wet as Saturday, when Many places had large puddles, and saw two ice formations.
For the weekend, I basically ran 4 laps: 2 each day, plus an extra lake loop on Sunday, with my last lap being the fastest. Am quite happy with that! I was supposed to be running 18 Sunday, but I cut it short due to a late start - life gets in the way sometimes and you have to do what needs to be done. My 40+ mile week will have to wait until this week.
Speedwork today (2mi warmup, 1.2k, 1k,800m,600m,400m, 1mi cooldown) went well at 5:30am. 6-7 miles Thursday and another weekend of back to back trail runs. Two more doubles after that, then a "recovery weekend" with one run before the Enoree 40miler! Getting nervous and excited about it. Hope things continue feeling this good; am already looking ahead to the 2012 Harbison 50k (Shhh - I want to break 6 hours).

More trails!

2011-03-21T19:22:00.000-04:00

After a decent week with some more speedwork - I've reverted back to the Beginning of a 16-week training plan instead of jumping right into the last 8 weeks of marathon training speedwork sessions) - I was back at Paris Mountain for another ~15 miles. I was happy the temps were better and the sun stayed away, so I was much more comfortable. Loop 1 (with the extra lap around the north lake) was completed in about 57 minutes. Pretty standard for me these days and I felt I took it pretty easy. 1:17 break to refill my handheld and I was back at it. Wasn't as "easy", but no pains at all. I did stop and watch two very large turkey buzzards perched on a branch while on the Kanuga Trail. I had to dodge a few more bikes this loop as it was Sunday (mountain bikes are not allowed on the trails on Saturday's). Didn't seem like it - but a minute slowed on each section equalled a 1:05 loop.
It's the day after and my I could surprisingly feel my legs. It's been awhile. Not terribly sore, but I could tell I ran yesterday. Next weekend's plan: 12 on Saturday; 18 on Sunday. That will be tough. I am working out of town this week (outside Philly), so having to get my runs in around the hotel. Will Not run on the treadmill here! I had wanted to get together with some other Ultra friends and do ~50k from Bad Creek to Oconee State Park (on the Foothills Trail), but I just don't have the time. Being away from my family all week (and a rescheduled dinner Sat night) won't work. They are a great group of people - would've been such fun!!
On another note...
My size 12 ASICS 2150T trail shoes seem to be no better or no worse than the size 11.5. No info on toenails as that issue only appeared after a 32 mile run. I bring this up because I finally lost a toenail from the Harbison 50k. My little toe - and the new nail is already completely in. Not a big deal - and I have two others that are still hanging on!

Trails! Shoes!

2011-03-10T21:31:00.000-05:00

Got back to Paris Mountain last weekend for the first time in almost 10 weeks. I ran 2 loops of my usual course and was very surprised and happy to feel so well during it all. ~12 miles and no issues. The ground was quite wet from rain and a steady light rain the whole 2 hours, but it was still very nice to be back.
Still ramping my mileage up in preparation for the 40 miler on May 1st. My training goal is a new weekly mileage high of 55 miles, besting my 47.7 I ran a few weeks before the Chattooga 50k. That week in another month or so will include back to back 20 milers, on trails, likely back at Paris Mtn. I may see about getting down to Enoree Passage sometime and get some miles in...being somewhat familiar with most of the Chattooga run sure helped.
Speedwork this week was not pleasant. Enough said. Some minor shin pain has gone away.
I did get new shoes this week: another pair of ASICS GT-2150T - the trail version of my road shoes. Same color/style as my current pair (300+ miles on them so far, but I went up 1/2 a size to 12 to see if that helps the small blisters I get sometimes on the tips of my toes (and the 3 toenails I still haven't lost, but they are still hanging on at the edges...). 1st test run tomorrow on the road ,then back on the trails for an 18 mile test this Sunday (so I'll have to dodge bikes)

How to run an Ultramarathon

2011-03-03T20:52:00.000-05:00

After reading Jason's post - I decided I'd do the same thing: post about how to train for an Ultramarthon. There are bound to be more people like myself who looked for help on how to run an Ultramarathon (any distance over the 26.2 standard marathon).
I hope you don't mind numbers and/or math. I'm an engineer, so be prepared.

For my 1st one back in June 2010 (days before my 39th bday), I had a pretty solid base of running ~25 miles a week for a couple of months. I had been training for a marathon (that got canceled), and then jumped right into 50k training. Those weeks consisted of 3 runs per week, using the FIRST method of "Run Less, Run Faster". One speedwork session (4-7 miles total), one tempo run with total mileage averaging 6-7 miles, and the obligatory long run of 10-15 miles. Remember - I started with nothing just a few years ago...tried to be smarter about my running, got the right shoes fitted, and ran consistently 3-4 days a week for a long time, slowly building mileage and stamina.
I did a somewhat standard 16 week marathon training plan for the 50k, but used basic ratios to up the mileage:
For standard marathons I had run:
Average Mileage per week (16 week training): 30 Miles
Longest Training Run: 20 miles
Maximum Weekly Mileage: 34 Miles
(FYI - My marathon time for this training was 3:53, a PR by 8 minutes 7 months since my last marathon).
With my Longest training run 76% of my marathon goal distance (20/26.2=.76), My longest training run for the 50k should be ~24 miles (~.76*31)
With my Weekly Max equal to 1.3 of my marathon goal distance (34/26.2), My weekly max for 50k training should be ~40 miles (1.3*31).

Over those 16 weeks - I ran 3-4 days a week. 3 of the runs were usually 4-8.5 miles, with the long weekend runs like this: 10(race), 13, 8.4, 17.9, 18, 24, 12.8, 13.1race, 10.3, 23, 18.2(3 runs over 24 hrs),16.2, 21.3, 17, and 9.8 the weekend before the race. All but 3 of these were part of back-to-back runs. The 2nd runs (either the day before or after) were 4.3 miles up to 10.2. Most 2 day total was 30 miles (6+24).
As far as my goals were concerned:
24 mile max distance - Met
Weekly Max: hit my personal max of 47, with 3 other weeks over 40 miles (all three were 44 miles)
Wasn't a goal, but my average mileage over the 16 week 50k training was ~34.

I trained with a camelbak on and ran on trails for just a few of my long runs. I have modified that now and run more trails for my long runs. (Paris Mtn State park in Greenville, SC)
Only real cross-training I did was 30 minutes of Yoga 1-2 times a week.
I got by on a little less sleep, doing all my weekly runs before getting to work at 7am. My weekends runs were also done before the start of the day. I would get my runs out of the way early, getting home around 8am most of the time in order to spend time with my family, including my ~6 month old! (Also to avoid the heat of the south, being in SC, it was often 67° and humid at 5am).

I did run a few races for speed (10 miler PR and 10k PR), but the others just for fun. The long training runs were SLOW, but so very helpful.

The 50k I ran was wonderful. And I am now hooked!
I took photos, enjoyed myself (the views, the experience, the company) but moved forward as much as possible. The aid stations were Heaven (practice eating during runs; I typically have no issues with this). For training runs - my fuel was Gu (1 every 6-7 miles), and I started taking Succeed S-Caps! at that 50k and continue to take them on runs of 20 miles or more, ~ 1/hr).
I drink alot anyway, but hydration is very important. I am never without a water bottle or camelbak. Sometimes both.

Remember - you can do it. There are so many other people who had doubts, but overcame them and finished.

I could go on about what a fantastic, inspiring, kind group of people I have met thru this - but I won't. It doesn't take long to figure that out on your own.

Updates on timing/running

2011-02-28T21:44:00.000-05:00

I did finally get my results entered in the official results. They were wrong, but I got them!
They gave me my "Chip" time (4:14:14) as my "Gun" time (actually 4:15:33 according to the finish line video available on Brightroom.com - use bib #547 in the search to see me). So they had my finish time as 4:13:56 for some unknown reason.
Whatever.

My running went well this week. 4+ miles Wednesday; 6 hilly miles in heavy wind/rain on Friday; 8.5 miles Sunday that felt very good. Recovery complete!!
This week's (starting tomorrow) highlights - speedwork resumes after a LONG hiatus, then a 12 miler back on the trails at Paris Mountain! So looking forward to that!

Chicago Marathon has less than 5,000 entries left. Sending in my qualifying time to be in Corral C tomorrow. Under 3:55 for the full marathon since early 2009. My 3:53 for Charlotte counts! With my brother's 1:44 half-marathon time - we can both be in that corral.

Marathon Timing issues

2011-02-23T21:35:00.001-05:00

It seems the story of this year's event was the timing. Not sure what all the issues are (aside from people actual start times being either completely off or exactly the gun time), but I am having my own set of problems. One of their big deals this year was live results being updated every few seconds, and after the race - you could print out a little slip of paper to get your finish time. As part of their going "green", this made perfect sense.
After about 15 minutes after finishing, I found myself by the tent with computer screens set up. Typed in my bib....nothing. 30 minutes later. Nada. Another 30 or so minutes later as I was leaving: Zilch.
At that point, a female was asking how she did not place in her age group when she was the 4th finisher overall (or something similar). I wasn't hanging around to hear their answer.
The awards were held up by at least 30 minutes (if not an hour), which was good for me as I got to see the overall winner get Her award...yep - a woman won! :-) And earned a trip to the US Olympic Marathon Trials.
Until Sunday morning, my buddy could not view the results. I got home Sunday evening and got online. Had a message from my co-workers (and his 3:58) asking if I got DQ'd. Huh?
Then I found the results - and I was missing. Nowhere to be found.
I sent off an email with all the info I had (bib, splits, etc) including the fact that I had video of me crossing the line. I will give them this - they did reply back quickly saying they didn't have me crossing the finish line and they'd have to check their videotape.

3 days later (tonight) I emailed again and got a quick reply back: "would you please send me a clip of your finish video?"
I did that, but have to wonder...did they have finish line video?

Hope to get it resolved. I know I finished, but that isn't the point right now...

2011 Myrtle Beach Marathon Race Report

2011-02-22T06:36:00.000-05:00

My expectations for this event were pretty low. Not enough training (one run over 12 miles since my 50k 6 weeks ago) and coming off a cold that had me struggle to run 3 miles on Tuesday, not go into work on Wednesday morning, and 90% sure I was Not going to the beach for the weekend.
Once I had a glimmer of health back Wednesday evening, I was back on for the attempt. Anywhere from 4:10 to (hopefully) 5 hrs was likely, with a 4:18 goal to beat my 1st marathon time from 2001 out in San Diego.
Drove from Greenville Friday afternoon and went straight to packet pickup. $3 parking fee was a surprise. Expo is not much to behold unless you want Gu, gloves or stickers. I did pick up an extra 50K sticker for a dollar, so it wasn't a total waste.
I picked up 2 other bib's (relay-Todd who was running the full and my co-worker who was skipping the fun) which was easy: Sign your name and their name and here you go!
Picked up shirts, bags and towels too. All with some shade of green as this was a "green" marathon. Towel for the beach made sense, and soon came in handy as my 2yr old fell on her back in 2 inches of ocean water!

Skip to that evening and a later than expected dinner of pizza with the relay crowd & family, hoping the pizza wouldn't sit too heavily with us.
Got my bag ready before a 10:30-ish bedtime. 4:40am alarm for a quick bagel and we were out the door from the Surfside-Beach-party-house soon after 5am.
Parking was a breeze and other than dozens of port-a-johns and a couple of tents, saw nothing but people everywhere getting ready for the full or half marathons. We made our pit stops, got our bags ready to drop off (so much for making it "green", supplying a garbage bag to hold everyone's drop bag. Ridiculous.)
My 1st mistake was forgetting to take out my powerbar. Oops. Had 3 Gu's, disposable camera, chapstick, and four S-caps. Mistake 2: no sunscreen. With temps already approaching 60° at the 6:30am start time and sunny skies with a high near 70° - I'd pay for that one. With it supposed to be windy, I opted for my sleeveless shirt, a long sleeve throwaway (that didn't even last 1 mile), my thin gloves (didn't last half a mile), plus my Race-Ready shorts and some compression shorts underneath. Decided against my new Balega socks and stayed with one of my worn pair. Asics 2140's rounded it out (same pair as Marine Corps, still plenty of miles left in them). Used my hand held Ironman water bottle - as usual.

Ran into fellow relay goons Kerrie and Kathrin as Todd and I settled into the pack near the 4hr pace group sign.
In no time, we were off as the glow from the upcoming sunrise was behind us. I ran with Todd for just a few minutes before letting him go and settling down into my own pace, not quite sure what that would be. It was crowded, but very manageable. Cardio seemed fine as my pace was fairly consistent over the first few miles.

Mile 1-9:04, Mile 2-9:08, Mile 3-8:59, Mile 4-9:03

Running down deserted King's Highway was interesting for a bit. Then the smell of breakfast (Mmmm, bacon...uh, please no, not now!) hit you as you pass Pancake House after Pancake House. Out past the airport (Hooter's girls manning the aid stations?) and turned up for a loop around Market Common. Some full and halfers were already exiting as I came in, 2+ miles behind them. I started looking for familiar faces and saw relay-Dave cruising. Hit the 10k (?) timing mat with the same pace. Soon came across a few fellow Greenville Track Club runners doing the half, Guenter and one of my older rabbits, Bobby. Ran with him for a bit, so that was nice.

Mile 5-8:58, Mile 6-9:07, Mile 7-8:51, Mile 8-8:53
Should have taken one more pit stop before the start, and waited until the right opportunity at Mile 9. Saw many guys run off to trees a good 50 yards out of the way to take care of business. Why run that far more than you have to?? I wasn't going to (and didn't). Anyway...
The half marathoners split off near mile 11 and I took advantage just after that to refill my water bottle.

Mile 9-9:25, Mile 10-8:56, Mile 11/12-17:55, Mile 13.1-10:10

Hit the halfway mark at ~1:58 or so. I wasn't pushing, but I knew I couldn't hold that pace for too many more miles. Hips were already making their presence known, but nothing from my knee(s). Hitting around 9min/mi thru 16 or even 18 would be wonderful, and give me a good cushion to finish closer to 4 hrs than 5 hrs.
Gu's at 5mi, 10mi, 15mi had me expecting to have 1 or 2 more from an aid station at 16 & 22. No luck. Why would they only have 2 flavors? and not vanilla? Come on! Really had me wishing for my power bar. Did have a quarter of an orange along the way.
Forgot my S-caps after the 1hr and 2hr capsules (didn't break open this time! yippee!! Hmmm, never did that Paris Mountain 20k report, did I?). Oh well.
So - kept my consistent miles thru 16, where I decided I would start walking for 1 minute at each mile marker. These 8 miles along Ocean Boulevard were fine. Glimpses of the ocean between the high rise hotels were nice. Very thankful the sun was hidden behind them as well. Wind started picking up around mile 15, and running directly behind someone did not help against the headwind.
Around Mile 17, the hotels ended and began blocks of houses. Then the only obvious bit of elevation change in a slight downhill followed by the full-on heat from the sun.

Mile (13.1to)14-7:59, Mile 15-9:06, Mile 16-9:12, Mile 17-9:42
As we headed into the out-and-back section, I started looking at the runners coming back from the turn around. Soon enough, saw another co-worker well under his 4hr goal pace, followed immediately by Todd. Snapped a few photos and hit the aid station at 18 for another refill. Yet another GTCer, John (Race Director for many events, including the Paris Mountain Trail Races) was leading the 4hr pace group and came upon me. I quickly said No as to whether I was trying to break 4 hours. At this point, I knew 4:18 was a reasonable goal. 8 miles left and I was already doing the math. I would continue the math for the next 8 miles. (a 14min/mi pace for the last 4 miles would put me here...). Kerrie flew by me at mile ~19.5 looking strong. No more familiar faces after that. Did leap frog quite a few of the same people the last miles as we alternately ran/walked.
My will began to wane at 21 miles. From 16-20, I decided to walk 1 minute twice a mile. That dropped my pace down to ~10:25 or so. At 21 though, that combination wasn't appealing either. Run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute. That was my plan and I (mostly) stuck to that for the final 5 miles.

Mile 18-9:55, Mile 19-9:37, Mile 20-9:53, Mile 21-10:23

Had started dumping a water over my head at the aid stations, which led to an important discovery: look what is in the cup BEFORE you dump it over you. I thought I had asked if it was water. Then I look down and my white shirt is now pink and wanting to stick to me. Oops. Bet I looked funny. Felt kind of silly, but it did interrupt the monotony for a few minutes.
Running on the bike/walking path was a nice diversion, but it seemed more like 2-3 miles than the actual ~1 mile it was. Making that turn onto it though was a high point - it meant we were really heading back towards the finish line! We soon had one more short out-and-back (by another water stop) I could have done without.

Mile 22-11:01, Mile 23-11:15, Mile 24-12:24

Mile 25 and I knew I needed to do better than the previous mile, so I pushed myself a little more. I walked up on a happy younger girl who declared she needed someone to run with her and decided I was it. It was her 1st one and she had much more left than I did. I had to stop at an aid station for some vaseline (I remembered a few miles earlier this was the shirt I had an issue with at Marine Corps, chafing under my arm. another oops). With the reminder not to eat it, I applied the gob under my arm and continued on. 4:18 was going to happen, but what about 4:15? Let's see...
Ran a bit more that last mile, Saw a right hand turn and the 26 mile marker as we went into the finishing chute. This really was nice...made you run to the end. Kept my eyes open for my wife/daughter, and ran pretty strong thru the finishing mat in ~4:14:14. Whew!

Mile 25-11:39, Mile 26-11:32 last 0.2-1:54

Got my medal and there was my family - they had seen me finish (and had a 2 second Flip video clip to prove it!). I was beat and my hips/thighs were done. No cramping, although my right arch and right calf "almost" showed some signs. Stomach didn't feel quite right the last 2 miles. Wasn't nauseous, but just not right.
Post-race: food (hot chicken noodle soup - Good!) and lots of water/gatorade as I rested and chatted with our group. No serious pains, but did get a little sunburn. 2 days later and I feel on the mend and can see myself running in another day or two. Not sure where I'll go from here, but that 40 miler is still calling...
Pictures to come (eventually)!

Fighting

2011-02-13T13:16:00.000-05:00

Less than a week before Myrtle Beach and I am fighting off a cold. Fever, throat, nose, aches, blah blah blah. Tried going out for my planned 13 mile run yesterday and the first 5-6 miles were decent. Under 9 minute/mile pace. Then it all caught up to me. Legs not feeling it, cardio gone. Ran during my daughter's naptime, which also turned out to be too soon after lunch (had been ok in the past, but it was almost 60° by the time I finished), so that didn't help matters. I gave up after 10 miles and went home feeling like next Saturday would be totally unpleasant.
Hoping it is just the sickness. Hoping I feel better soon.
I didn't feel 100% prepared last year and it was canceled - no chance of that this year. Lows around 48° with a high Saturday of 64°. It's going to get warm! That won't help me either.

2011 Plans - 4 months out.

2011-02-08T21:06:00.000-05:00

Whoa - back to back posts!
Just some thoughts on my 2011 racing plans. As of today, anyway. I try to do ~12 events a year in order to keep time for family and that seems to work out pretty well. Some weekends are harder than others to get the time out (even at 5am), but I do what I have to.
Jan: Harbison 50k (done!)
Feb: Skipping my usual Green Valley 10 miler this Saturday as I have Myrtle Beach Marathon 1 week later.
Mar: Likely skipping my usual, and longest consecutive running event (only 5 in a row, but I ran No races in 2005) in the Reedy River 10k.
Apr: Close to having an 8 or 9 person team for the Southern Blue 200 mile Relay across Northern Georgia. Looks like a good course, challenging, especially with ~9 people. Means 4 legs and ~22-33 miles.
May: Enoree Passage 40 miler. Still in the plans - will have to see how MB goes and my recovery from that slow race. Also signed up for the Long Cane 50k at the end of the month. 4 weeks between these two, so we'll see!
After that - a break and start Chicago Marathon training (speedwork!) to break 4 hours with my brother in October!

My long(ish) Most-Miserable run.

2011-02-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

This really was the most miserable run I have ever had. No muscle pain, legs were mostly fine. I didn't fall or anything. Didn't get lost. What was the cause of this?? Cold Rain and nothing else.

I had headed to Durham Friday evening with plans for a run in the morning before a concert in Raleigh Saturday night. Expected temps were 38° and rain ending that morning. (The drive Friday night took about an hour longer due to heavy rains and traffic). I had planned my run on the Al Buehler Trail at Duke University.

I had run this before, but it had been awhile. I remembered it being a nice surface, with some hills. Wasn't interested in the hills as Myrtle Beach is completely flat, but I was about 2 miles from the course so it worked out well. The rain wasn't too fun to start out with at 6:15am, and plenty of hills heading over there. Started Loop 1 at the intersection of the Connector Trail after dropping off my large bottle of water (to be used to refill my handheld). Slow going, walked the major hills as I knew my plan for 16 miles was farther than I'd run in a month and I wanted to get the distance in. Loop 1 in just under 29 minutes (looking back in my records, March 2008 had the 2 loops each in ~26). Refilled my water and at this point, ~50 minutes in, I was soaked all the way thru everything I had on. I need to re-think gloves as I took my cotton ones off soon after as they did nothing for my hands. Wrung them out and into a pocket they went. 2nd lap felt better, faster. Same ~29 minutes, but there was a stop involved. Actually saw 1 person on this loop walking. As wet as I was, the run so far was ok. I usually do not mind the rain. Cold rain is the worst (other than heat!). 3rd loop - the rain came down in buckets, rarely letting up. I was cold. Hands were up in my sleeves of my jacket, but the contact with the air left them hurting to any kind of touch. Was holding my water bottle by a finger as it got lighter. Parts of the trail were completely under water, not that my feet could get any wetter, but that cold Hurt! Was planning my shortened route as I neared the decision point. 3 more miles? Could I handle more pain (legs still ok, and times still right at 29 minutes)? Did I want to only do 13 miles instead of 16?

I kept going. Slowed more due to just being uncomfortable. Rain actually lightened up, but hands were not happy. Saw a few other runners earlier, but either they turned off or didn't run more than a lap. Last lap in ~30 minutes. Emptied out my large water bottle, and held each of them by a finger, hands still curled up in my jacket for the hills back to the house I was staying at. 2 hrs 45 minutes total - so slow, but no running pains.

Practically my whole body was red. Across my knuckles (where the air contacted my hands) was sore for a couple of hours, but by the afternoon, I was warm again and ready for my concert!

Knowing a few people attempting the complete 77 mile Foothills Trail run (Byron, Psyche, Charles, others) this same weekend made my wallowing in the cold rain a little more in perspective. Would love to be out there to attempt that feat one day, but that is far in the distance. I am nowhere near ready to begin building mileage up to that. (but hmmm...Sept 4th?)

12 miles

2011-01-30T21:17:00.000-05:00

Another short post as I am just updating my progress in deciding whether or not to go thru with the Myrtle Beach Marathon in 3 weeks. Right now I am 80% "Yes". Two 6 mile runs with no knee pain during the week and 12 miles this morning (in shorts again even with 38° at 6:15am start time) that were a bit slow compared to my typical pre-marathon pace, but I made it. Legs felt decent for a few miles in there (~6-9), but twinges here and there makes me wonder how another 14 will feel. It will hurt, but I can get thru it. I think. Thoughts on race pace (as of today, before any real soreness creeps in, if it is going to): would be happy with 2:00 for the halfway, then a struggle to finish by 4:30. I think I'd push it if possible to not be slower than 4:18, my finish time at my 1st one in 2001.
The way the weather has been - wouldn't surprise me at all if another snow storm hit. Marathon isn't even sold out, so alot of people seemed to be avoiding it on purpose.

Running!

2011-01-25T05:18:00.000-05:00

Got thru 4.6 miles Sunday with no knee pain, and my hamstring only slightly sore (but tolerable), so I am going out again this morning for another "test" run. Felt slow and my cardio was non-existant - but it'll come back.
34° as I head out at 5:15am...

Slow start

2011-01-22T20:11:00.000-05:00

So I have not been running since last weekend when I tried to run 7 miles. Got thru 4 before my right knee and hamstring started acting up. Walked the last 3 home. Blah.
Will try it again tomorrow!
Not sure about anything right now (Myrtle Beach in 4 weeks?!) or any goals for the year except to break 4 hours at the Chicago Marathon in October with my brother. Registration opens Feb 1st (midnight CST), entry fee costs $145 and closes at 45,000 runners. We are there.

Haven't even been motivated to go to the gym except once this week. Yes, I have had more injuries this year than then last 2, and my mileage has gone up 20%...thinking I need a longer/higher base before I jump into more 50k's (or longer), even though they do seem to go decently (injuries aside)

2010 Year in Review

2011-01-16T20:50:00.000-05:00

Finally getting to this, only 2 weeks into 2011.
It was a wonderful year for me running wise, more miles than ever before, longer distances than ever before. Wasn't concerned with time/speed for the most part, just focused on more distance. I did have a couple of injuries that had me take a few weeks off here and there, but overall - a good year!
TOTALS:
-1492 miles (injury the last 2 weeks saw me miss my 1500 mile year, but still, a 20% increase over 2009)
-12 events (for the 4th time out of the last 5 yrs - there was a 14-event year in 2008)
-1-10k (PR at Reedy River, breaking my 9 year PR by 40 seconds); 2-15k trail runs, 1-10miler, 1-20k, 3-trail half marathons, 1-marathon (Marine Corps, with Myrtle Beach being canceled due to snow), 1-50k trail races, and 2-200+ mile (12 person team) relays.
-Yes, my 1st 50k at the Chattooga River. An amazing experience and the highlight (with my 10k PR) of my year.
-238 days total running, walking, working out (241 last year)
-Ran on 50 weekends (Either Sat or Sun); missed 2 consecutive weekends due to semasoiditis.
-Weekly mileage range was from 0 the last partial week of the year (also had 4 & 7), or 5 weeks under 10 miles, to 47.7 (4 runs over 5 days) and 7 weeks over 40 miles.
-Injuries of note: 1. Seamsoiditis on left foot, appeared few days after Chattooga 50k. Lingered for 6 weeks where I ran a total of 81 miles. Began wearing off the shelf orthotics since then. 2. Inflamed tendon in right foot, almost jeopardized my 1st race of 2011 but did cause me to miss my 1500mile-year goal.
-Just one note about the summer - it was BRUTALLY HOT compared to the last few years.
-Relays and relay teams were both wonderful, amazing, tiring, but so fun!
-Increased my trail running and hope to continue it in 2011.

Still re-living the Harbison 50k

2011-01-10T21:25:00.000-05:00

...and still feeling the pain. Trudging thru 6+ inches of snow this morning made my knee ache some more. Hopefully I can get back to something soon. Not sure what the cause was...Many twists and turns on the course, uneven footing, brand new (generic) orthotics, the last 3 weeks with 2 runs, starting up the stationary bike during that time, 7 times for a total of 75 miles?? Not enough of a running base? Shoes only have 200 miles on them. Hmm, who knows?

Random tidbits:
34th out of 93, with 20 DNF's. I knew there were alot of 1st timers out there. Wonder how many passed me in the first 5 miles and dropped...
Looked like alot of close finishers to one another. 3 within 46 seconds of me too (Guess I did hear footsteps!). I never paid any attention to which runners were at the aid stations. Guess that is where I passed Ty & David. They were Very happy when they finished (Ty's longest before this was Shut in at just over 18 miles I think - awesome!!)
Some amazingly fast runners/times: 4:11 for Mark Lundblad, 4:14 Jim Sweeney! Anne Lundblad in 5:03 to win the females by almost an hour.
Was happy to cheer on some people finishing and see how happy they were...I know the feeling! (But that log in the final stretch - why?? I went around it.)
And the wind? Yeah - it blew down the finishing clock.

Running alone:
Not sure what it is about me and running alone. It happens more often than not, and I assume since I train alone, it doesn't affect me as much as it may affect others. I certainly enjoy the company during races (still hesitate to call any of these events "races"), but my pace just must be that odd. Whether it is a 20 mile training run alone or 20 miles in an event, especially on trails - I am just enjoying being out there. New trails or old trails - it's just peaceful.

Harbison 50k Race Report

2011-01-09T23:22:00.001-05:00

(Apologies to those waiting for the Paris Mountain 20k Race Report - I will get to it! Promise.)

The 2011 Harbison 50k took place Sat January 8th at Harbison State Park, near Columbia, SC. Never been there, but it is only 1 mile from I-26. Very convenient. Got there too early soon after 6am while it was still dark out and one single planet shining down on us. (Note to self - bring headlamp for these early morning events). A campfire was going, which was a very nice touch to keep the runners and volunteers warm. Got my bib (#48), tshirt and goody bag (Ultrarunning and Trail Runner Magazines) and got my stuff situated warm in my car. Got my drop bag ready with extra shoes, socks, some Gu, some warm clothes for afterwards as this aid station was the halfway point and right at the finish area.

As light began to break, there were a good number of runners in the 50k (~90 or so signed up) and 10k. Met up with Mark C whom I ran with at Chattooga. We were both unsure of our fitness level going into this, but we weren't putting pressure on ourselves and just out there to see what we could do and enjoy it all.
Race started right at 7:30am, with a 0.2 stretch up to the 50k/10k split. We entered the Lost Creek section for 5.8 miles of twisty rolling trails. Leaf coverage wasn't too bad and the single track trail had you watching your footing for roots and rocks. Mark and I ran together this whole section and the miles went by rather quickly with us both feeling pretty good. The day was not as cold as we had expected. The day was windy (and we could hear it often), but we were mostly shielded. I had removed my gloves after 15 minutes and my jacket after 4 miles or so. It stayed around my waist until the halfway point. We hit the Aid Station #1 at 5.8 miles in ~1:03. Took me a whole 30seconds to fill my water bottle and grab a handful of potatoes, peanut M&M's, pretzels, chocolate covered graham crackers, a saltine and potato chips. The volunteers must have thought I was a madman the way I grabbed it all and took off, saying bye to Mark as I walked quickly out of there.
Next section was ~3.4 miles long, starting on the Stewardship Trail and Middle Connector Trail. This section was nice, still rolling along, with fewer tight turns than section 1. Popped an scap and a Gu during this stretch and tried to drink plenty of fluids. A girl running behind us in the first section came upon me thru here and took her a moment to realize I was the one who had been wearing the bright orange jacket. (It sure makes me easy to spot!). She eventually went past and was gone. For the majority of the rest of the event, I was alone. It was kind of nice being in the middle of nowhere for hours and hours...but the miles go by faster when you're chatting with someone, or just being behind someone. Got a glimpse of the Broad River and some rocks in the water thru the trees which was unexpected. Got to AS #2 in another 37 minutes (9.2 miles, 1:41 overall). Did my usual fill up/grab and was out of there. No point in wasting time standing around and not moving forward.
Section 3 was 3.3 miles, technical and twisty starting out straight up the Midlands Mountain Trail (no switchbacks here, just up), a little out and back down each side of a riverbed, then a 0.75 loop on Spiderwoman II, which was the hardest section with some steep hills. One section here (or was it just after AS #3?) was tight up on a ridge, covered with leaves making it slippery too. Aid Station 3 came up soon after and the volunteers there took the water bottle from you and filled them up! Very nice!! At this point, I felt I had taken too much advantage at the aid stations as I felt full. Never took more than 1 or 2 different foods from here on out (mostly the chocolate graham crackers, potatoes and at the last one before the finish - a chocolate brownie). Time here was 38 minutes (2:19:29 thru 12.3 miles). Still felt good. My right hamstring had a little twinge here and there, but nothing serious and not affecting my stride at all. My initial goal was to get out of Aid Station #4 and start my 2nd loop. Then I would be pretty certain of a finish. 1 more section to get thru first.
Section 4 was interesting...Back onto the Mountain Midlands section, followed by a "bike section". Taking a sharp right, we hit a wide service road for a bit of a climb. Saw a couple of people ahead of me and was slowly making time on them. Another turn and ran thru a firebreak section, with most of the underbrush gone from a controlled burn (didn't notice the signs on the first pass). Another flat/downhill section, an uphill, a turn onto another service road, then a nice path towards AS #4.
Jason was supposed to be at #3, but he was here instead. Ditched my jacket, picked up 2 more Gu packs, a small handful of goodies, and off I went - ~15.8 miles in (37 min section; 2:56:42 thru the halfway).
At this point I was feeling confident in finishing. There were 2 guys (Ty and David) ahead of me and I caught up to them at the 10k split. Spent the next section either right behind them or within sight. We walked every uphill and the miles slowly ticked off. Slowly. My right knee began to bother me somewhere thru here. Running, especially anything downhill got difficult fast. I started (too soon) doing the math and counting down the miles. Got to the aid station in 1:19 (Mile 21.6, 4:16:12), a good 16 minutes slower than round 1. The sun was overhead now and there were a few sections where it was right in your face. Had to shield my eyes a few times to see where I was going. That also made it warm and I took off my long sleeve shirt and tied it around my waist. Eventually took off my head band too and pushed my sleeves up on my technical shirt.
This next section I was able to shuffle at times, but running was not fun, so I mostly walked this. May sound odd, but I tried skipping and it felt just fine. Didn't do it much as roots would have made that more interesting, plus, I was really trying to keep a normal gait. I did pop an Advil (or whatever they had) at the next aid station (25.0, 5:04:25) after a 48 minute section. So I was slowing down about 3min/mile from the first pass. It was sort of easy to predict these sections as they all took me about the same time the first time thru (37, 38 and 37mins). Did the math and was hoping to come in before 7 hours. I knew the third section would be tough and I walked it almost entirely. I never really knew where I was in relation to the next aid station and I only had my watch to guide me. Clueless on my pace as well, just knew it was slow. One girl had passed me (last aid station?) and on the out and back along the riverbed, she was ~3-4 minutes ahead. Another guy was ~3 minutes behind me. That was motivation enough to stay ahead, keep moving forward. My muscles really felt fine and walking could have been just a nice stroll in the forest, but that stupid knee thing. Every blue moon or so, I'll have a random knee thing, but it's so rare I don't even qualify it as recurring.

So here I come into AS#3 at 28.5 miles, 5:56:50 into the race (52min section, 14 min slower than earlier in the day). The guys refill my bottle for me again (so many thanks!), I grabbed a muffin and out I went. Something happened thru here. I was able to run. I had it in my mind that 20 min miles would be pushing it to break 7 hours, or to even break 7:23. The way I had been going, it could've happened like that. But no. I was able to run!! Still walked the uphills and the bluffs section, but on the flats and even gentle uphills, I ran and felt fine. I was watching my back the entire time on the straightaways, assuming someone was going to come up on me with the pace I had been going at for so long. Eventually - I saw the girl that had passed me earlier, and a guy in front of her, a good minute ahead after making the turn off the firebreak. I soon came up to him as he has definitely walking more that I was (at the moment). I gained on her up the hill and caught her walking just past the last service road. We knew we were close. She was fine, and she was going to run at the finish.

Finishing the Harbison 50k in 6:43

I did see two more guys coming up quickly behind me, so I kept going and put it into another gear I didn't realize I had, 31+ miles into an event. Thought I heard steps behind me and saw the finish ahead, there was no stopping me. Got into the finish chute, thumbs up to Jason and company, and ended in 6:38:04. A 41 min ending section was only 4 minutes off my earlier time. So a 45 minute PR on what I'd call a moderate course (more on that in a later post).

Post race notes:

Can't say enough how well organized everything was. Course was marked with flags, ribbons and signs. Aid stations had Everything (I skipped the hot soup, PB&J, and so much more), all the volunteers were excellent/cheerful/encouraging. Dan did a fabulous job and should be proud! The course is excellent and I would recommend this to anyone who likes trail running.

Hung around and saw Mark (and others) finish. Missed Psyche and Charles before and afterwards. Nice chats with Byron, Jason, Joe and Seth. It'll be a little bit before I get my photos developed from the race (I took ~15 photos during the run. I'll add them then).

Physically, next day right now - feel good other than my right knee - up and down stairs are an issue. Muscles: hips slightly sore. That's about it. No blisters, no cramps. May lose a toenail or two (haven't really had that happen before, so we'll see!). A few days off (snow storm coming and temps down in the teens) to recover and I'll take it from there.

Funny - during the few miles of walking, I had it in my head that I didn't need to do anymore of these, but again, not 10 minutes after finishing, I was already talking about the Enoree 40 miler.

Random musings I recalled later:
-into an aid station calling out #38. When they said a female's name, I remembered I was #48. Was a little out of it at that point (2nd time thru AS #2?).
-No falls, and only 2-3 trips/stumbles. Unlike me (but thankful) not to fall.
-Jason offered up telling us our positions on the course halfway in, but the two of us there didn't want to know.
-Handful of bikers out there to dodge.
Results are up at http://www.ultrasignup.com/. 34 out of 72 finishers. Not sure how many DNF's.

Doctor Results are in

2011-01-06T22:07:00.000-05:00

I had a tough decision to make, that took all of 30 seconds to decide. After hearing the doctor say I can run, that I only had an inflammation of the tendon (at least that is what I heard thru all the medical jargon), I knew pretty quickly I was going to try to run the Harbison 50k this Saturday. It didn't matter that I hadn't run at all since Christmas Day or that I also had a chipped bone in my 2nd toe (the one that doesn't bend, likely the result from that kick that almost stopped me in my tracks during the latter miles of the Camp Croft Trail Half Marathon a while back). I was excited, giddy almost - ready to start preparing and analyzing how it was going to unfold - my quest for a 2nd ultramarathon finish.
So today I ran. 4 whole miles. Quite a bit slower than normal. Foot didn't hurt (until tonight, just barely). Cardio was obviously affected and my legs were slightly weak. Minor little annoyance from my right calf, but I survived. Now - only 7 more of those after the first and I'll be fine. Yikes....what have I gotten myself into. Remember the last time I took off some extended time, then immediately ran a trail half? Time wasn't horrible, but I felt like I struggled from mile 3 on.
My plan now is to go out slow, stay with the pack, relax and let the miles go by. Aid stations every 4-5 miles for so will help. Getting to the halfway point - and then heading back out for a 2nd loop will mean I will finish (hopefully within the 9 hour cutoff). Not so positive I will finish, but don't want to make it too easy to quit, you know? I do have the 24 mile training run at Chattooga and my one 50k - those went great as I ran what I could and kept moving otherwise.
There will be a great group out there...it will be interesting to get lapped by the likes of Anne and Mark Lunbald and see how they run for the minute it takes them to drop me. Good people out there from Chattooga: Byron, Psyche & Charles, Mark, and of course Jason (only Volunteering, but already cheering me on - thanks!). Can't wait! There will be pain, but still, can't wait!

stress fracture?

2010-12-27T20:25:00.000-05:00

So that minor foot pain that cleared up for a couple of days? I went out for 5-10 miles last Saturday (before the snow fell, we got ~3"!), yes, Christmas Day, and didn't get 100 yards before I felt the pain in my foot. Not bad, but there. I ended up only running 7 from my house. It's now Monday evening and the pain is still there. I can pinpoint it exactly, and it flares up (slightly) when I walk on it. After last week - it is obvious I need more than 3-4 days off of it. I was back in the gym this morning like I did twice last week, just to keep some sense of shape, even if it is not running shape.
Now the question's are:
1. Do I go to the doctor and spend the $100? (Thinking yes, but after Jan 1st when the FSA kicks in).
Assuming I do need to take off ~4-6 weeks...
2. Harbison 50k? Thinking not right now. Sad.
3. Myrtle Beach? Doubtful. Blah.

Really has me feeling this whole year coming up will be shot. Ok - maybe just the first half. I'll be just shy of 1500 miles for 2010 and disappointed my only long races were a marathon and a 50k. I know not running for 4 weeks really affected my stamina back in the summer.
Happy Holidays.

I'm back - 5 week recap!

2010-12-24T13:52:00.000-05:00

So after 3+ weeks with no internet - a quick post to catch you up - then my Paris Mountain 20k recap will be next. Hmmm, my last post was Nov 21st? Well, Just over a week after the Camp Croft Half, I was recovering from a temporary bout of plantar fasciatis. I did crank up my mileage from 9.5 to almost 37, including a 16+ mile run. Felt decent, bu tthe 1pm start had me hungry, so much so I almost stopped after 12 to go eat. The following week (11/29) led up to the Paris Mtn race. Temps had mostly been in the 40's until December hit. Dec 2nd, my long mid-week run of 10.2 miles it was 30°. Read about Paris Mtn in my next post (but it went well for me). Hit 32+ miles for the week.
Recovery went well, No real soreness, only a bit to the touch a day or two later, but no affect on my running at all! Each run that week had a temp of 22°. Brrrr. Those 3 runs that week led to my LONG training run at Paris Mountain (on the trails) in preparation for the Harbison 50k coming up Jan 9th which I registered for the day after Paris Mtn. 19.5 miles out there in 3:35. My ~6 mile laps were 1:00, 1:01, 1:10 (extra time for an extra lake loop and water bottle refills). Was happy to get that done. 41 miles that week! That's alot for me.
I moved inside on the treadmill 2 days later as it was 15° outside. 6 miles and the next few days I tended to a sore heel. Not going to do that again. Even my next run 2 days afterwards had 32° with rain/sleet, but those 6 miles were so much better than being on the treadmill. I decided against being away from family for the 5+ hours it would take to run 24 miles (my longest run before Chattooga), and opted for back to back 15 milers on the Paris Mtn trails. (Mostly during naptime, so I'm not really missing anything). Both days were nice (36°, cloudy, but wet & then 42°, sunny but still wet out). Never really felt like I had energy on my 1st one, finished in 2:30. (each 6 mile loop in 1:00 and 1:01). Next day, felt better actually early on. 1st loop was 59 minutes, 2nd was a bit slower as my legs were fatigued at times - 1:05. These loops were actually 7.5 miles each as I added on the full north lake loop, so each 6 mile loop became 7.5 miles, but I was only giving out the 6 mile times. The extra lake-loop added anywhere from 13-15 minutes to each full loop.
Another 36 miles that week and I thought I came thru pretty well from 3 straight weeks averaging 15 miles, to 4 weeks averaging almost 37.
Took it easy this week as my right foot had some pain, I assume associated with the long runs, not likely from some new work shoes I started wearing. Either way, it seems better today and I'll get back out there this weekend for another 15 or so. Technically, I am "tapering" now, even though I am not really on a strict training plan. Harbison is 2 more weeks away. Eeek!

Training setback, but recovering!

2010-11-21T17:27:00.000-05:00

Had to attend Greenbuild in Chicago Tue-Fri last week, working a booth. Long days on my feet, very little time to work out. My foot issue did Not get better and I still wasn't sure what was wrong. Tues, Wed and Thurs were spent standing at the booth with a couple of free moments hobbling around the expo. The pain was on the bottom (reminiscent of my single 1 week bout with what was likely Plantar Fasciatis), but also along the outer part and just below the ankle.
Was getting a little restless as each day passed. Got back home Friday, that being my 6th straight day of not working out. Strangely, for no real reason, my foot pretty much stopped hurting.
Saturday I went for a run, doing 6+ miles of hills. My legs certainly did Not have what they did the last few weekends. Cardio has suffered too. Foot? Just fine - go figure. Other than some soreness in my right hamstring, came thru it ok. We'll have to see how quickly I can start really training for Myrtle Beach and the Harbison 50k. Was supposed to crank it up this weekend into next week.

The toe that won't bend

2010-11-15T20:36:00.000-05:00

Don't worry about that - it is nothing new.
5 years or so ago, I broke/dislocated the 2nd toe on my right foot playing softball. There's a story about that, but I'll skip it this time. The end result (even with physical therapy) was that the middle joint will not bend much at all. Doesn't hurt - that is just the way it is.
So, that last root-kick I did at the Camp Croft Half Saturday around mile 12 that almost stopped me in my tracks? Yep - that was the toe that took the brunt of it. That afternoon it was already turning colors. Purple at the bottom of the nail, then a light brown color with a darker ring at the joint. Hurts a bit to the touch, but I think the fact that it doesn't bend, even though that likely played a part in it hurting Saturday, also makes it not hurt when I walk. I barely feel it - so that is just fine!
BUT - the bottom (outside) part of that same foot is sore to even walk on. Started Sunday, and made me skip my run this morning. Heading to Chicago tomorrow until Friday morning, with likely very little time to run anyway, so I may have another 5-6 days off in a row. Can't say I like the sound of that. Bringing some treadmill-ready running clothes just in case I feel better. 10+ hours a day on my feet may not help the situation though (working a booth at Greenbuild).
We'll see.
Still have 2 weeks to register for Paris Mtn 20k and ~3 weeks before Harbison 50k. (To beat the early entry fees anyway!).

Inaugural Camp Croft Trail Half Marathon Race Report

2010-11-13T14:36:00.005-05:00

Never had been to Camp Croft, but it is certainly well known to local mountain bikers. We stayed on hiking paths and horse trails for the whole race, and it was beautiful out there in the fall leaves. Once the sun came out just before the race start at 8:30am, it warmed up quickly from the 34° it was earlier that morning. Saw a few people I knew before the race (Jason, Beth, Sam, Byron, coworker-Marty, relay-Kathrin), and once the gun went off, we headed down the trails.
I started out pretty conservatively; at least, I meant to. Ran with Sam the first mile or two before she started picking off people. It was good to chat with her - it's been awhile! I took a fall pretty early on too (mile 2 or so). Landed on my left knee (drew some blood that I noticed after the race) and hands (water bottle), but hopped up and kept the pace going. 1st aid station at mile 4.75 (42:00 minutes) and there was finally a break in the long cascade of runners ahead/behind me. I skipped the first water stop and kept going on a straight path up to the radio tower. 2-3 runners ahead of me and a couple a little behind me. Up until this point, the course was gently rolling, with maybe only one section to power hike. I had heard the first 3-4 miles were the toughest and that was accurate. The 2nd half was certainly easier.
So I took my Gu and kept a steady pace as Marty passed me and continued motoring on ahead. A sharp left at the tower and a nice downhill headed towards Johnson Lake (pretty much completely dried up, but I bet would have been beautiful). I was running with a group of people thru here. One obviously knew the course and frequently called out obstacles: root, rock, horse (manure). Another had a watch that beeped every 2-3 steps. I didn't want to let him pass and I wasn't up for speeding up, so I listened to that on and off for 3-4 miles. Ugh. Not ideal for being out in the woods on a trail run. My breathing wasn't labored at all and I felt good. Still surprised at myself for my hill running thru here, even with a short break or three. There was one real water crossing. Can't remember exactly where on the course, but after landing on the first rock with my left foot (and thankful it was Not slippery), I put my right foot right in - maybe ankle deep. After 1-2 minutes - I thought nothing more of it.
Little uphill (power hiked just a bit) to aid station 2 at mile 8.11; 1:11:00 overall.
Filled my water bottle and off into the sun for a section, before heading for the last 4 miles. I ran near/with this one girl for most of miles 8-12. Her 1st trail race (run?) and didn't want to be out there alone as it was just us for a couple of miles. She was pretty strong and stayed right behind me. We started seeing people ahead of us, including Marty, whom we eventually caught up to. I had three good rock incidents that I almost fell at, and all three hurt much worse than the fall. The last one at ~mile 12 almost made me stop. We ran along the winding path, up and down (mostly downs).
So I ran thru Aid Station 3 at 11.53 miles in 1:44:30, and Marty tucked in behind me. Didn't think at this point under 2 hours was likely, but I had No idea of distances for any of the race - just that there was water/Gatorade at around 4, 8 and 11. Still moving well with another mile or two to go and I get a side stitch. Ran thru it and had another guy behind me pushing me along all the way to the finish. I did not want to get passed at this point, so after one short hike for the both of us, we knew the finish wasn't to far (2 minutes said the volunteer). Once I saw the finish thru the trees, I ramped it up and cruised thru the line in 2:03:43. Marty was right behind me. Sam finished just under 2 hours, Kathryn in at 2:30 and Jason finished with his wife Beth (finishing her 1st Trail 1/2) in 2:56 or so!! Byron - ? but I am sure faster than any of us by a decent amount! Talked to all of them at the finish and it was nice hanging out (and being the only one of us who stayed without being raffle winner - Blah!). Byron gave some advice on ultras, Sam boosted my confidence about the difficulty of the Chattooga 50k (not sure how to compare that to other 50k's out there). Always good seeing the others.
So I feel good about registering for the Harbison 50k in January where I'll see some familiar faces. Time to start ramping up the mileage!
PS-Good luck to Team DNR in the HOPE Relay (42miles) in Greenville today!

Kathrin finishing. Read her race report: HERE!

State Park Entrance

Marty, Kathrin and Me

Kathrin's relay report should be up soon: Here!

Post Race recovery

2010-11-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

So I took off 4 full days after the Marine Corps Marathon. After a tour around the National Zoo the day after the race and another full day of soreness, I took 2 more days just to be safe. My next run (Friday) was a very easy 5 miler. Felt a little rusty and sluggish, but no real pains, so that was encouraging. Times weren't really that bad at all, even though it felt like I wasn't moving at all.
Sunday, I finally made it back out to Paris Mountain to run some trails. With the Camp Croft Trail Half Marathon coming up in another week or so (at that point) and my desire to do another trail 50k, the sooner I got back out there, the better!
Wow - it felt good to be out, running alone with beautiful leaves on the trees and the trail, dodging hidden rocks and roots. And my legs?!? Fresh. Can't say I've ever felt that strong running this ~6 mile loop. I usually power hike up some sections, but I never felt the need. I know I was a good 4-5 minutes off my typical time. Go figure.
Of course, a little ankle-twisting episodes caught up to me a few days later with some tenderness on the outer part of my calf. After another 6 miler early this week, I skipped my run today and it feels much better. No more of that!!
Camp Croft Half in 2 days! Not looking for anything other than a nice run and seeing some of my Chattooga 50k friends. Congrats to Dan and Weezy for finishing their 1st 100 mile runs last weekend at Pinhoti (Alabama). So excited for them...what an amazing accomplishment.

2010 Marine Corps Marathon Race Report

2010-11-08T20:57:00.001-05:00

Here's another race report detailing the 35th Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday October 31, 2010. Bits of useless info among how my "race" went and anything else that happens to come up!

Woke up 30 minutes before my 5am alarm and was a little restless. Had a bagel w/ butter and got dropped off at the Metro at 5:20am or so. Met a guy while waiting (one of 3 other runners waiting) - Guido from PA running his first. We stuck together thru the transfer and Long walk from the Pentagon to the bag search. Was nice passing the time, discussing running (trails, training, etc). It was a mass of people following signs and each

other in the dark under a bit of moon peaking out from the clouds. The walk (and people) seemed endless. ~1 mile? The bag "search" was surprisingly not too invasive. I say surprising because the race was to have extra security after numerous shootings in the area - all directed at recruiting stations, the Pentagon and others. No people were targeted - if they had, would not have been surprised to have the race canceled. Thankfully - the race went off safely; other than a few snipers on buildings at the finish festival and lots of helicopters, security was pretty normal for a race.

Eventually made it to a large open parking lot. Two tents for cover/prayer/music, a long line of portable toilets (made more interesting by the fact that the Rally to Restore Sanity was the day before and a "war" was on over the use of the port-o-johns. MCM vs Jon Stewart), a long line of UPS trucks and that was about it. Throw in over 22,000 runners, a few thousand supporters/volunteers and we have the beginning of a race! Plenty of open space, so I sat on a curb, ate a power bar and clif bar and drank almost a full bottle of water. I had worn my sleeveless shirt (after being out in the warmth at 11am in a park I knew I'd be overdressed in anything

more) under my throwaway from at least 2 prior marathons. Shorts of course as it was only 50° and expected to reach about 60° by noon. I had brought 2 long sleeve shirts (1 technical, 1 cotton) and my wind breaker running jacket. During the 15-20 minutes in the line for the bathroom, I put my jacket on under my throwaway. The 15 minutes I had before the start were a little hurried...vaseline on the toes, shoes tied, running hat on, Gu, Scaps, disposable camera, etc in assorted pockets. Gloves on. Bag to the UPS bag-check, quick photo and off towards the start - somewhere headed under an overpass. Filled my water bottle at a station on the way and another long walk. ~0.5mi at least.

Where I started

Start was on Hwy 110 and the right lanes of the divided road were for those running over 4:30. Left lanes were for those faster and had a decent amount of space forward of the "slower" runners. I tucked into the group around the 4:00-4:10 sign and waited. Missed the flyover somehow. I could see the starting arch and saw/heard the cannons go off at 8:00am. Then I just stood there.

The actual starting line

And stood there. A little longer. The "slower" group to my right were moving, and there went the 4:30 pace group. Some people jumped the median to start running. I waited...there was plenty of running to do. After 4-5 minutes, we began to move and I crossed the line at a jog at about 8:08am.

It was crowded and you continuously had to dodge people and weave your way by. That lasted a few miles. I missed the Mile 1 sign, and the Mile 2 sign. I knew it felt slow and someone commented we were over 10 minutes for mile 1. I didn't worry, just kept moving at my own pace. Picked it up here and there and kept the same pace up the hills that already had some people complaining, and only 2-3 miles into the course. Miles 2-4 were nicely shaded with few spectators.

some front runners

around the Georgetown reservoir

Many nature calls here and I took advantage as well after I hit the 5k timing mat in 27:59. The turn onto the Key Bridge at mile 4.5 saw larger crowds appear that grew enormously as we skirted the edge of Georgetown. I skipped all water stops until my bottle was empty again. Missing that craziness was so worth carrying my own fluids! Had my first Gu around this point. The turn off the bridge was the first of 2 places we would double back on other runners. At this point, I saw what was likely a group close to the leaders, already 3.5 miles ahead of me (That extra 8 minutes helped them just a little I guess).

Splits: 5k overall- 27:59. Mile 4-8:47

Miles 5-8 were around the Georgetown Reservoir, nicely shaded and from 6 to mile 8, uphill. The "out" portion overlooked the C and O canal while the "back" portion was a nice residential area. Moved well on the downhill section re-entering G'town and the crowds on M street were excellent!

Splits: Mile 5-8:55, Mile 6-8:37, 10k overall-55:46, Mile 7+8-17:30.

from the Key Bridge

M Street

Took another Gu, made a couple of turns, gave a shout out to some fellow Clemson Tiger fans on an overpass with a flag, passed by my wife's old workplace on Thomas Jefferson and headed on to Rock Creek Parkway past the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Memorial before heading out to Hains Point. Miles 8-10.5 were good. My wife was supposed to be around the Lincoln (mile ~10.5) with our daughter and her mother. I had already snapped some photos and got my camera out to take one of them. The road split and I took the left branch and slowed to take in more faces on each side of the street.

Splits: Mile 9- 8:27, 15k overall- 1:22:31, Mile 10-8:29.

Looking at my splits, I "thought" I had slowed, but miles 9 and 10 were my fastest of the day.

After realizing they were not to be seen, I trudged along Miles 11-15 around Hains Point. I had been warned crowds were sparse and it was just the road, the water, and National Airport across the water for this stretch. I had never been out there before, so it was nice in that regard. The sun had been out all morning, but this part was not shaded and I began to feel more than just warm. I did take another Vanilla Gu at Mile 12ish and some sports beans before mile 13 but struggled to get them out of the small package and into my mouth. After just a few, I gave up. I also finally remembered my Scaps, so I took one around mile 14.

Jefferson Memorial

Splits: Mile 11- 9:01, Mile 12- 8:59, 20k overall- 1:50:10, Mile 13- 9:01, 1/2 marathon overall- 1:56:12, Mile 14- 8:49, Mile 15- 9:11

So you can see I am pretty consistent in blocks. I was wearing a 4 hour pace band on my wrist and I was always well ahead of my intended pace, but I knew that would not last.

Washington Monument

I was not very familiar with Miles 15 and 16, coming back towards the Lincoln from the opposite direction. My wife was going to try and be there again for a 2nd pass. Camera out again, slowed down again. Huge crowds again a couple of people deep and No luck. (She saw me, but I missed her and obviously couldn't hear her).

At this point, I was starting to feel like I had been running. Some abdomen/groin soreness and I willed myself to keep running until the next mile marker (17). I wasn't out of breath, my calves and thighs felt great. No lower back issues (good posture - running in the daylight helps I think) and my shoulders had stayed relaxed. But still - my energy was dropping. By Mile 17, we were heading around the Mall almost in front of the White House. It had thinned out somewhat, so you didn't have to worry anymore about stepping on someone.

Splits: 25k overall- 2:18:07, Mile 16- 9:19, Mile 17- 9:19

We took a little detour onto the actual Mall around 17.5 for a mile or so. They even built ramps up and off the curbs to help us out...talk about taking care of runners! (and this was a last minute change!). Made a few sharp turns after Mile 18 to go in front of the Capitol and a few more to head back the way we had come, just on the opposite side of the Mall. Other than the Monuments and the Capitol/White House - I paid very little attention to the other buildings.

I was a little out of it for the turns, and had begun walking once per mile, taking in water, another Scap and Gu. I had filled up my water bottle at least three times by now. My wife's last plan to see me before the finish was around Mile 19.5, just before the turn to take the 14th Street Bridge over into VA. I slowed again, camera out...I was a little discouraged after the first two misses, but there they were!! I spotted them first and went to them (I got my picture of them as I wanted to).

me taking a picture

wife/daughter taking picture

Told them I was fine, hot. Gave them my jacket that had been around my waist for the last 19 miles. Kisses to my girls and maybe 45 seconds later, I was on my way. This was the first marathon they'd seen me run, and one of the few times they've ever seen me mid-race. I got a huge boost though - I felt so much better seeing them! Of course that lasted about half a mile, then we were on the bridge that wouldn't end starting at Mile 20.

Splits: Mile 18- 9:40, 30k overall- 2:48:08, Mile 19- 9:41. Missed mile 20 (a little distracted I guess).

So you are pretty much on the bridge into VA for 2 miles. Not a large rise, but in spots enough to make you want to walk if you really feel like like it. There was a guy behind me dressed as the guy from the Incredibles, on a bicycle blaring a radio. That was very nice, but again, didn't last. I walked as I felt like it, urging myself to run once I hit specific landmarks (ok, that lamp post) after not too much of a rest.

Was still sore (groin/abdomen) while running, and the bottomn of my feet got a little sore, but when walking, I felt just fine, like I was out for a leisurely stroll. It was very peaceful. Somewhere thru here, I did have to grab a stick of vaseline. Seems my sleeveless shirt was chafing my arm. (I remembered in a Runner's World article Not to eat what was on the stick!). It helped.

Crystal City

The turn for the Crystal City loop started large crowds the rest of the way. My run/walk continued here and I really didn't feel like pushing that much, so still, I didn't. Wasn't interested in time and I wanted to be sure I would recover. Great crowds thru here - can't say that enough. One last fill up of my water bottle and I headed for the last couple of miles.

Splits: Mile 20 + 21-20:25, 35k overall- 3:20:00, Mile 22- 10:41, Mile 23 + 24- 22:33

It all was running together at this point. Counting down the miles/minutes before I'd finish. By this point, I was playing leap frog with a number of other runners who were alternately walking/running while I was running/walking. When I was running, I seemed to be running faster than quite a few people, and at times, I would wonder how many dozens (hundreds?) of people were passing me as I walked...

We finally hit somewhere around Mile 26 - another marker I seem to have missed - as we finished on a decent climb towards the Iwo Jima Memorial. It narrowed and twisted and I ran the whole thing. I stopped once before the finish banner to snap a picture, then crossed the line.

Splits: 40k overall- 3:55:24, Mile 25- 11:42, Mile 26- ~11:23

The Finish Line!

My finish time: 4:10:35. Close to the 4:08 I had thrown out there. Good thing I wasn't going for an even split as that was my worst one ever (18:11).

The super-crowded line shuffled to some aisles where Marines presented you with your finisher's medal. Nice to feel like it was being resented and not just a "here you go" kind of thing. Back into the crowd shuffling along for a food bag. Then keep going at a snails pace. I eventually ended up at my wife's side (with her mom and our daughter in tow) and we continued toward the finisher's village. Yes - there were snipers on the rooftops! I got my USAA commemorative coin (Being a longtime USAA member and Very loyal customer, I was hoping to get one). Made my way to the UPS trucks for my bag (Ran into the Bunny ear's runner, it was her 1st and she had a great time). Also saw my Metro friend - he ran ~3:45 and enjoyed it also. We had no reason to stick around, so we went to the Metro for the trip home. Madhouse that was, holy cow! A little patience though and we were fine (other's weren't so patient and there was some yelling going on).

My legs weren't feeling too bad at all. 2 hours later and I really couldn't even tell I had ran. Had a fun time trick or treating that evening, but the next morning - yep - there was the soreness! Upper/outer thighs were sore as well as the left front ankle (which seems typical for me after marathons). Didn't stop me from walking around the National Zoo for 3+ hours on Monday. Tuesday was the ~8 hour drive home. Soreness was practically gone Wednesday morning. I'd say I was Very happy with the recovery, especially if that was the worst of it!

Happy to be finished!

Done!

Marine Corps Marathon quick results

2010-10-31T15:51:00.000-04:00

I finished!
4:10:35 - so about what I was expecting. No serious pains, some constant groin ache (both sides) for the last 7 miles or so, but now, 3 hours later - feel excellent!! You wouldn't know I even ran today.
Notes:
-Was warm. Ran on my sleeveless shirt from mile 1 on.
-Had a wonderful boost from my wife/daughter at mile 20!! Stopped for photos, etc. Found out later mu daughter cried after I left, but I got a great deal of energy from the visit. She missed her daddy.
-Few costumes, none too spectacular. Saw a handful on and off for many miles.
-4 Gu's, some sports beans, 1 cup powerade, lots of water
-(prerace) bagel (early), clif bar, power bar, water
-(postrace) Regen (chocolate = wonderful), pretzels, water, powerade.
-lots of walking before and after. At least 2 miles before to get to the start and 1-2 afterwards.
-walked a good bit and slowed the last 6-7 miles, but my plan wasn't to run for time and as good as I feel, I am Very pleased.
-Good crowds scattered, Georgetown, the mall, Crystal City were all Packed and loud!!
-Great organization/volunteers all the way around.

4 more days to MCM 2010

2010-10-26T22:13:00.000-04:00

I'm in that lull of the final week counting down to the marathon. Trying to hydrate, not do anything silly like trip and sprain an ankle, and trying to get some good sleep. Did my last speedwork session. Being at the hotel just north of Philadelphia, I had to choose between the exercise room here at the Courtyard by Marriott or venture outside. I've run on the treadmill here before and it was Not fun. Too hot and the treadmills are old. I checked it out at 5:30am just in case things had changed. They hadn't.
It was still very dark around the hotel (except the Casino across a parking lot - I have a photo, but no cord to transfer it at the moment. I'll add it later). There is a group of office buildings together beside the TGIF's on the opposite side from the Casino. I walked over there as it was well lit. I ran around the block (= 1 lap) around there and timed it. Seemed just over a lap on the track, I'll say 500m. I did my warmup and then 6x400m. Not too bad. A tweak beside my right knee and a little tenderness on my left calf, but they faded.
I am still torn on what to wear. Weather outlook has not changed much, so a t-shirt will work, just don't know which one. I mostly packed for the race before this trip - Gu's (plan to try and work one in every 5 miles thru 20miles), an S-cap or two, my disposable camera, an energy bar (for before the race?), my hat/visor, Race Ready shorts, Balega socks, my throwaway shirt. Have about 4 different shirts packed right now and will need to add my water bottle and my shoes of course. Not much time left...I'm as ready as I can be.

Taper Madness

2010-10-24T14:22:00.000-04:00

Well - a week ago I was not in such good spirits. I had a 13 mile run to do that morning (the 17th) and was planning on 16. Legs still felt fine, so I thought "why not?". (I had done something different a few days before at the gym - walking on a treadmill for 5 minutes, raising the slope from 5% to eventually 10%. Next day realized I shouldn't have when my left shin became very sore during the last two miles of my 7 mile tempo run. I walked the last 2miles. Luckily - the pain passed quickly.)
So, back to Sunday - I was on a good pace thru 9 or 10 miles. The my groin became sore again. Didn't have to stop, but it wasn't pleasant. Thought that the marathon could be a disaster if it happened that early on race day. Needless to say - I stopped at 13 after slowing dramatically at the end. I had stopped at one point to chat with a (former) runner who mentioned he had a hernia at some point, and that got me worried. I knew others that had surgery and thought I should get it checked out.
Turns out the doctor saw no indications on Tuesday. Better safe than sorry, guess my mind was on overdrive. Wed had a good speedwork session (5x1000m) and Friday had a decent 6mile tempo run. Today's last long run (10 miles) went well too as I met my 8:46/mi specified pace. Had a twinge somewhere in the middle of the run in my left calf that lasted a whole 4 minutes. Last lap I sped up and felt good. With temps pretty much the same as expected right now on race day - I thought I knew what to wear, but after being out there, I decided to forgo a layer next weekend.
Race prediction:
Current race day temps 1 week out are looking like mostly sunny and a high of 62 degrees. Lows around 45deg - so almost ideal for me. With the sun showing itself around 8am (and a few degrees above the low temp), I am thinking a t-shirt and a long sleeve throwaway for the race start. Maybe one other layer for the ~2.5 hours before the race I'll be out. I expect I'll wear my thin gloves for just a couple of miles. I'm just a little worried I may get cold later on if I do have to walk for one reason or another, but I'll deal with that then (or just not walk).
I think a 9:00/mi pace will be comfortable enough for me. I was under that by ~20 secs/mi With walking each lap. I hope to be able to hit the half in 2 hours (1:58?) and keep the pace thru 16-18 miles. If I start my inevitable slow down there and keep it under 10min/mi thru 23 or 24, I'll be happy. I'm expecting it to go downhill due to a calf issue or my groin and struggle the last 2-4 miles. Time may be around 4:08? Stay tuned!!
Traveling to PA for a couple of days before heading up to VA/DC.
Best of luck to all those running their 1st Half & Full Marathons here in Greenville next weekend during the Spinx Runfest. (And of course those who have run them before!)

Taper time? Do I have to?

2010-10-14T20:42:00.000-04:00

I am in the Taper. I am - but should I be? My running week runs from Monday thru Sunday. That how I total my weekly miles and plan everything around. So - Marine Corps is Oct 31st (Sunday - the end of my week). Is three weeks out this week then? Should this coming weekend be my final 20 miler or was it last weekend? I'm saying it's not this weekend and have always said no to that.
Anyway - I don't do much different anyway. Long runs drop from 20 to 16 this weekend and then 10 or so. (Total miles: 39 to 31 to 22. Then 38 marathon week.).

I honestly have not been looking forward to the taper this time. I'm not exhausted or drained like I have been in the past. I'm often tired, but I haven't seen it affecting my running or how I am feeling during my runs. My legs haven't felt "weak" - just some random tightness. Not sure why I feel so good. It's very strange though.
I think it was those 5 out of 6 weeks I did very little running after Chattooga (and my semasoiditis). I had been training it seemed for pretty much 10 months straight. Hmmm, I guess that will do it and make you look forward (to put it mildly) to 2.5 "easy" weeks.
I'm there now, anxious for the run and my destiny with the "wall". Hoping the crowds keep me going a little bit longer than normal. It won't be NYC, but it will be wonderful.

20 miler

2010-10-12T20:15:00.000-04:00

Didn't start off feeling that great this past Sunday. Not necessarily tired, or have weak legs - just didn't feel "on" like I have on some of more recent longer runs. I still tried to keep my intended pace of 7:40/lap. I was only able to keep that pace for 14 miles. That was when I stopped to refill my water bottle and took too long to get back going. Few miles later, my right groin/thigh got pretty sore. That lasted until lap 21 or so, when my calf tightened up. That only stuck around a mile or so. By that point, I was burned out. My run became a shuffle and I felt like a zombie. I ended up just shy of 20 miles at 19.8 at 3:06.
I knew my friend Dan and cousin Becky were running the Chicago Marathon that day, so maybe my energy was keeping them going. Who knows. My MCM prediction is now about a 4:10-4:15.

Marine Corps Marathon Training Update

2010-10-09T13:26:00.000-04:00

I can finally catch everyone up on my running since Blue Ridge and Riverbound. Basically - it's been....good! 3 weeks before the Marine Corps Marathon and I am not tired, not exhausted, and not particularly feeling the need to taper.
I didn't fall at Riverbound, but did twist my ankle once. Hurt for a moment, kept running and surprisingly, never noticed it during the rest of the run. I walked 2 miles afterwards back in Greenville at Cleveland Park. The next day, just above my ankle, I was pretty sore. It stuck around Monday too, enough so that I skipped/moved my Tuesday run. Finally, Wed it was feeling better and I did my prescribed speedwork (3x1600m @ 7:21). My tempo run Friday: 11 miles. My longest weekday run. Temps finally came down - it was 65 degrees and it was the most wonderful run (on roads anyway). After 2 of my 13 laps, every lap afterwards got faster. My breathing was not labored whatsoever. No pains. My pace was supposed to be 7:27/lap (or 8:46/mi). Last lap: 6:34. Ended with an overall pace of 8:30/mi. Can't say enough how great I felt. Certainly makes me re-think what is possible during the marathon. The long run that weekend (2 days later) was good also. 17.8 miles (that was on 10-3). 55 degrees to start and summer is over!! Was able to sleep in a bit not needing to beat the heat. Ran about the right pace, 9:05/mi and felt fine. My left front ankle was a bit sore the night before for some unknown reason, but was only a mild thought as I ran. Pace was consistent throughout and, again, felt good afterwards. That was the last run of those shoes I believe. Over 400 miles on them, so I brought out the next pair of 2140's on my list - the Flames. They got broken in just fine with speedwork on Tues (10x400's), a few hills on Wed, and 8.5 miles on Friday. Should be fine for my 20 tomorrow.
MCM Training:
I've hit/beat every planned speedwork time the last 7 weeks now.
Averaging ~33 miles/wk the last 9 weeks.
Will hit ~40 this week with my 20 on Sunday. My most since the 50k.
Taper technically starts Monday.

Chicago Marathon is tomorrow. Dan (blogging on the Chicago Marathon website) is running as is my cousin Becky, running her 1st one!! I'm so excited for her. I've been keeping tabs on her training and trying to give her tips/motivation along the way. Wish I could be up there to cheer them both on!

River Bound Half Marathon Trail Race Report

2010-10-06T20:57:00.000-04:00

This goes back to September 25th. The first running of the River Bound Half Marathon on the campus of the US National Whitewater Training Center. I'd previously run the 15k (back on July 17th) where I struggled - but for good reason. This time, I had no excuse.
Weather was a good bit more humane than before, just reaching "warm" during the run. I was very glad the entire course was tree covered. I was looking forward to running some of the same trails as before, plus some new trails. Not that I know any names except the "Green" trail was to be a part of this one and the "Figure 8" trail was having some work done.
Started off at a comfortable pace with a nice group. We stayed together for a few miles once the initial spreading out occurred. I didn't seem to recall the hills being as bad as they were (not that they were really that bad), but I started taking walk breaks after only a few miles and thought it could be a long day (few hours) ahead. Was glad I had my (small) camelbak as I cruised thru the water stops, just grabbing a cup and dumping it over my head after a small sip.
This time - I actually saw mile markers. Did I just completely miss them last time?? (Anyone?). It helped mentally as I saw my pace was consistent, staying around 9:30 with a few fliers. For awhile - it was just me out there and I was quickly reminded how enjoyable it is out on the trails.
The 2nd half is definitely easier and I felt better as I went along. I knew breaking 2 hours was Not going to happen, but I wasn't really running for a goal time. I did make sure I broke 2:10 though.
With the Figure 8 trail closed, they re-routed us at mile ~12 near the starting line before a 0.5 mile (or so?) out and back on the trail we started on before finishing. You could hear the finish line as we took the turn away from it. And of course there was a nice hill just before you got out into the open. Luckily - there was no one watching the group I was with walking at that point. A guy who had been right behind me at that point came up beside me in the open and we chatted as we headed to the finish. I did pick it up to get in front of him, if only to make it easier on the girl having to decide who finished first out of us two!
My finishing time: 2:08:12
9:47/mi pace assuming the course was 13.1 miles; a full 38secs/mi faster pace than the 15k race on the same course. No complaints about that!
Next Race: Marine Corps Marathon on Halloween.

Blue Ridge Relay Race Report (Full)

2010-10-05T21:32:00.001-04:00

This is my perspective being a runner in Van #2 for Team DNR (Do Not Resuscitate). We have two vans that leapfrog each other every 6 legs. 12 runners total doing 36 legs. Started in Grayson Highlands State Park, VA and ended in Asheville, NC 207.1 miles and 30+ hours later.
Part 1: Pre-Race

Joel, Jeff, Chris and Kerrie (laying down the law)

Misc shot of NC

Van 2 met up at 4pm Thursday and headed up to our hotel in Blowing Rock, NC. Pretty uneventful ride. Caught up on each other's lives and races, commented on the construction that slowed us last year, had our Subway dinner and arrived around 8:30? (Oh, we did drive a bit of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the reverse direction of which I and Kelly would be running). Got our rooms straightened out and just hung out.

The Todd, Kathrin, Alex & Kelly

Stayed up too late for no real reason, but we slept in - skipping the start line and the beginning of Van 1's legs. Todd saw Van 1 off at 6:30am and didn't really sleep after that. We ate, mingled with other teams, and got antsy enough to leave at 9:30am for the 10 minute drive to our starting location. Didn't do much there. Kept track of van 1's progress and watched the cloudy sky eventually turn into sunshine.

Part 2: Our 1st legs

The 1st Exchange Zone

Dave finishing his 1st leg

Dave was our first runner (Runner 7 on Leg 7) getting the hand off from Joel at 12:42pm. (On these handoffs - they can be tricky. Many occasions to lose valuable seconds if you are actually racing. We dropped them, over-ran them, some teams weren't ready for the handoff and had to wait for their next runner).

We still use our handy-dandy spreadsheet that shows each leg, elev change, predicted and actual start/finish times, and some general notes on each leg. His leg was 5.4 moderate miles, with some decent climbing (594' down/367' up). He made excellent time as usual (being one of our fastest/strongest runners).

Kerrie

Kerrie got the handoff and set off for her 4.6mi easy run. 361' down/148' up.

Runner 8 on Leg 8. We noticed on the drive to the next exchange zone that the course was slightly different. We ended up at the same little store in Todd, but arrived from a different road. It was already getting warm out (can't possibly call it hot after surviving the Palmetto 200 this year). Will have to remember in future years that the New River the run goes along has an access point by the store (across the field). Kerrie came in not feeling the best (She'd been having injury issues for a while now) and we soon realized we'd have to adjust our plans on the fly.

Our ever-positive captain (Chris)

Chris left on his scenic 5.2 mile easy run. 85' down/226' up. The climbs seem bad even when driving them. We parked at Green Valley Community Park (very nice, real bathrooms, covered shelter with picnic tables) and waited for Chris. He came in at 3:15pm quite warm (mid-to-upper 80's I'd say), but feeling good.

Leg 10 (for runner 10) was next - the longest and hardest ("Very Hard" according to the race directors' guide) so far at 8.2 miles, 417' down/551' up. This was Todd's leg that started out by the river and eventually crossed a highway and ended just short of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We typically give the runner some time to get down the road, so if they need anything as we pass, we can help them out. It's also a good idea to have water bottles available for other runners needing assistance. We learned alot from the Palmetto 200! Todd did just fine, no surprise there.

Todd looking strong

Just before Kelly's run on the Parkway

Leg 11, runner 11 = Kelly. She ran the BRR last year for another team as runner 8 and we needed a replacement for Mike. She fit in perfectly. Todd sent her off on her way, onto the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) for a very scenic hard 6.3miles. 407' down/551' up. Finally I was seeing the alternate driving section for this leg I ran in 2009. She cruised as we knew she would and I got the handoff after her final uphill.

Leg 12, Runner 12. 7.9 very hard miles with 482' down/663' up. Back to the BRP, there were a number of runners behind me. I was not going to give it my all on this first leg knowing my last leg was going to be tough. Some may say it is playing it smart, but I felt kind of bad resigning myself to walking quite a bit of the hills so early. I'd do a walk/run thing with the lines in the pavement while 4 people passed me on this leg. I could tell I did not fuel enough as I took a Gu 25 minutes into my run. Not sure what it is, but I usually do not get side stitches. Here I do though (even last year). Can't explain it, but not even 3 miles running and there it was. I am thankful it went away. The views were wonderful, especially with the moon just over the mountains.

Won't forget that sight for a while. I borrowed Dave's handheld bottle holder for a 2nd bottle of water and I was glad I did as the sun was up and warm. Calves were a little tight, but otherwise felt ok. I must have made decent time as the exit for the parkway came up quicker than I was expecting. I actually thought the mileage was short as my time was about 1:12. I passed two people in the last stretch coming into the Tanger Outlets. I just kept thinking about the burgers I had there last year. Yum! I overran Alex but got him the wrist band and Van 1 could now rest. It was 6:34pm and we had about 5-1/2 hours to rest and be ready for our 2nd legs. 1st stop - Food!

New River, near community of Todd

View over the Blue Ridge Parkway

Part 3: Rest #1

After a nice meal, some light stretching for me and a change of clothes, we got in the van and headed to the next Transition Zone. We didn't get lost this time and got there pretty quickly. Parked and tried to sleep, Dave and I headed outside for a grassy area where others had set up "camp". Grass was wet, but we managed with that minor inconvenience. Our other teammates got some rest in the van. Being outside had it's problems. Headlights of the vans coming in and going out would hit you in the face depending on which way you faced. It eventually got pretty cold out for some (I was fine with a fleece blanket over my jogging suit. Longer socks would have helped). The volunteers helping park the vans had walkie-talkies, so I heard all of their conversations as we were close to the entry. Van horns kept going off too. The worst part of being outside was the noise from other teams. So much for the rules of having Quiet Hours. Teams would cheer loudly every time a runner came in. I heard about this one girl who ran her fastest 5k pace ever and this was closer to a 10k distance for her. I was happy for her and could appreciate her excitement. However, I decided that our team was now virtually in first place as every other team there was "Disqualified" for noise violations. After an hour of lying there, we gave up.

(No photos during our night legs)

8/12's of our team! (Van #1 + Kerrie/Chris)

2010 Blue Ridge Relay Race Report - Part 2
12:07am Saturday morning and Van 2 was starting up again. Surprisingly, we seemed well rested. Dave started out for us again - Leg 19, Runner 7. He had an easy downhill 4.3 miler with no turns. 138' down/69' up. Nice little 30 minute run. Having no turns is a good thing, particularly at night.

So - here's where it got a little bit more interesting for us. Yes - we bent some rules, but it's not like we were breaking any course records or anything. Kerrie was worried about her remaining legs (7.5 very hard and 9.4 very hard), so we moved things around a bit. I moved into runner 8's slot on Leg 20, Kerrie took Chris' spot as runner 9 (Leg 21), and Chris got my spot (Leg 24 as runner 12). Got it?

Now it was my turn as Runner 8, Leg 20. 7.5 very hard miles, 476' down/673' up. Todd said it was a fun route with rolling hills and he was right. I really enjoyed it! It got the worst with going up from mile 4.75 to 6.25, but I walked when I needed to and made good time otherwise. 2 guys FLEW past me early on and were gone! There was one team car that kept passing me and stopping ahead to wait (their runner wasn't too far behind me; team name was Who's Your Momma, with kid's photos on their windows). They gave me encouragement every time they passed - it was appreciated! I was glad the road wasn't foggy like last year, but I tried to enjoy it all. Calves were a little tight still, but no major issues. I finished that leg in 1:09. So 15.4 miles (in 2:21 with a 6 hour break) and one more run left.

I passed off to Kerrie for an easy 2.4 miler (Runner 9, Leg 21, 338' down/ 23' up). We couldn't wait around so we headed off to Ingles in downtown Spruce Pine, NC for the next transition zone.

Kerrie still cruised even with not feeling her best and Todd headed out. We took the opportunity to clean up some in the store, brush teeth (so refreshing!), change clothes, and buy some food (pop tarts for me).

Todd's run as #10 was 5.6 hard miles with 282' down and 535' up. Similar to my leg, rolling with the worst of it at the end, finishing at the Penland School. Parking was always a breeze with people directing us at almost every location. I was starting to wind down at this point. It takes about an hour for me to calm down after my run and the lack of sleep was starting to hit me. I thought about laying down in the back, but decided it was pointless and went out with Kelly and the others to wait for Todd. It is quite a bit different here (as we can attest from last year) than other transition zones as the runner coming in is on an uphill turn and the handoff is immediately on the runner's left, plus it is 3:48 in the morning, so you have about 10 seconds to realize your runner is coming in before you head out. We always tried to notice which runners left around the same time as our runner, or who was ahead of them as we drove by, but we weren't very good at that. Knowing what your runner is wearing in terms of what color/number/type of blinking lights, kind of reflective vest, etc always helps. Kelly was pretty easy as she had a green light on her wrist (I think that's right).

So we waited just a few minutes (always expect your runner sooner than you think) and here comes Todd with his blinky lights (no safety thong this year).

Kelly was now off on her 5.6 mile hard leg #22 as runner 11. I did this last year in the Heavy fog, seeing halos as I ran down a long downhill driveway before realizing I was off course. This year was much better with just a little fog, but still, for safety's sake and to make sure she went the right way, we kept close to her until she made the last major turn. 423' down/463' up for this leg. The gravel on this leg is tricky at times too.

Chris finished off our 2nd legs as runner 12, leg 24, 3.2 easy miles, 515' down and only 52' up, finishing in Bakersville. There were a handful of turns, and sure enough, similar to Terry last year, he missed one. Cost him at least 5 minutes, but he showed up in good spirits and Alex started his last leg.

2010 Blue Ridge Race Report - part 3 (final)

Van 1 was doing their last legs, we had just finished up our rearranged legs at 4:24am and we headed from the Bakersville Fire Dept to the next Exchange Zone, some 30 minutes away. We ended up following the first leg of van 1 exactly, passing Alex on the way (Dave didn't even slow down). Passed the next exchange zone, then soon turned off course to drive a more direct route. I'm riding shotgun passing along directions when I see a guy with flashing lights. Ummm, he shouldn't be here. We pull up to him and ask him what leg he is on, then reluctantly tell him he made a wrong turn a mile or so back (Should have been on 197 North, not South). We offered him a ride back, but he refused, saying it was his fault, and off he went. We were glad to have saved him an even longer return route. There's no telling how far he'd have gotten.

So we got to the church and got settled before we had to do it one last time each. It dawned on me as we got there and parking was very limited that this was a big difference than last year. We were only an hour or so behind last year, but the difference was huge in terms of the number of runners we were running near and how full the parking lots were as we were pretty late arriving at each one. We heard there were only 18 or so teams behind us...I know the 1st van would have to get up a little bit earlier, but starting early has it's advantages (safety being one of them).

Anyway, I headed to sleep inside the church this time with Chris following too, the others stayed in the van. We missed this whole scenario last time. Walking into the church (past the people eating pancakes), the floors and pews were littered with sleeping people. They were everywhere. I hope someone was wise enough to get a photo. I found a spot on the altar (I believe) and tried to get comfy on the carpet. It was 5:35am. I was tired enough to sleep, or so I thought. My legs were already a bit sore from the runs, mostly my outer thighs. It really is a shame that the door into/out of the church had a ridiculous squeak to it every time it opened. For 3 hours, I layed there, listening to the door squeak every few minutes, people getting up to go prep for their run, use the toilet, whatever. Every now and then, someone wouldn't notice the "Quiet - Runners Sleeping" sign and would have a Loud conversation right outside the door. Oh well. I somehow felt rested with no sleep.

We were expecting Dave to start his leg around 10:30am (30 minutes behind our rough estimate going into this relay). With 2 hours to kill, we chatted with some people and tried not to let on we changed runner's around - no point in advertising it during the race. Walked around, snacked, cleaned up the van.

Once he started, we said our goodbyes to Van 1 (we'd see them at the finish) and tried not to think about the fact that they were done.

Kelly, Kathrin, Kerrie and KTodd
before Dave's leg

Yes, the legs get harder as you get closer to Asheville. Out of the final 6 legs: 1 Moderate, 1 Hard, 2 very hard, and 2 Mtn Goat hard. Van 2 is up to the challenge!

We expected Dave to do well on the climb up, switchback after switchback, and he did very well. (I took video of this section; I'll have to post sometime). 6.5 Mountain Goat-Hard miles. 10' down/1398' up. Ouch.

Now the leg-changing began: (Dave kept his original legs). Kerrie gave her leg to Kelly (who loved this leg last year) so she was Runner 8 again for Leg 32). Chris was back to Runner 9. Kerrie took over Todd's leg, becoming Runner 10 for Leg 34. Todd replaced Kelly for Leg 35/Runner 11, and I was still the finishing runner.

View on the way up the Mtn.

Kelly heading down the Mtn.

Kelly did have a blast running down the mountain. 2093' down/20' up over 9.4 very hard miles. At this point it is 12:41pm and we knew we only had another 3-4 hours left. We were all getting anxious. We joked with Todd about how difficult his leg was, but Chris' was just brutal.

Chris on his way.

5.2 miles, Mtn Goat Hard, 683' down, 883' up. Steepest climbs And descents of the relay. Up to 13% grades each way (and that is the mapmyrun average I assume over the 0.25mi section, so it must be worse than that). Chris was looking forward to the challenge. Madman. Looked good on the flatter section before the climb. We always see everyone struggle. This time we were flagged down for water by a runner, with their van in sight at the top of the hill. By the time Chris came in, we were almost worrying about him. Seems legs cramps hit near the top, and coming down is not any easier. He made it though - and ran more in 24 hrs than he ever had! Way to go captain!

Chris and Kelly had the shortest turnarounds between their 2nd and third legs, whereas I had the longest. (The time between my 1st two legs was very short - only 7+ hrs). This time I had over 13 hrs between runs.

Kerrie always strong despite a sore leg.

Kerrie continued to take it easy on her leg and ran the Moderate 4.2 miler. 246' down/262' up. Ran a good time, but for Kerrie, it was a little bit slower than her normal, healthy self.

That left 2 more legs.

Todd starting his climb.

Todd ran my Blue Ridge Parkway section from last year that we scared him over and over again about. It starts at the bottom of a hill and the 1st two miles are ALL uphill, to an 11% grade. Only rated Hard, but covers 285' down/951' up over the 4.2 miles. (There are still some discrepancies with some of the ratings, but at least the elevation charts and a few ratings have gotten a little more appropriate from 2009).

As nervous as we were making Todd, he handled it just fine and we waited for him just off the BRP (Craven Gap Exit) where I would take over for the final leg, mostly running on Town Mountain Rd.

Van 2 (Minus Todd) on Last BRP leg.

I was nervous I'd not have anything left for the 6.7 very hard miles. 1276' down/240' up. The "up" comes in the first mile, and the majority of the down comes from mile 4.5 to 6. I knew one guy was behind me soon after I started, and he caught me as I walked up some of the early uphills. My outer quads were sore before I even started; Not a good sign. That's a new one for me. Anyway. When the guy was getting close to me, I was running next to a guard rail on my left. Just down the embankment was a house. I heard some rustling. Saw nothing. Heard it continue. Kept looking over. The house gave way to a patio. I saw a bear looking up at me. Seriously? A bear?! I stopped and we looked at each other. The other runner came by and I pointed and said "That's a bear". I had never seen a bear in the "wild" before and I was excited. Was a decent size. Needless to say, I kept my eyes open the remaining 5 miles into downtown Asheville! So I continued plugging along, taking walking breaks as my legs dictated. The other runner got a decent bit ahead of me and I tried to keep him in sight. I eventually started feeling better and knew I was speeding up. The downhills helped of course. As I ran over I-240, with ~0.5mi left, I knew I could probably catch him. Running thru town I hit a traffic light perfectly. With 0.1mile left, I slowed dramatically and gave the other runner some time to enjoy the finish as I ran up to my teammates. My wife and daughter came this year to cheer me on. (Of course, an untimely diaper change again. Guess I ran too fast). Cooled off in the fountains with my little girl.

Race Report from teammate Kathrin in Van #1

Final Team stats: 33 hrs, 3 minutes, 9 seconds for 207.1miles. (9:32/mi avg).

My Final Stats: 22.1 miles (2234' down/1576' up). 7.9mi in ~1:12. 7.5mi in ~1:09. 6.7mi in ~55min.

Post race: Sore Sunday & Monday. Woke up Tuesday feeling just fine. Swapped my Tuesday speedwork with my Thursday tempo run and it all worked out. Didn't push too hard as I had a race the following weekend. RiverBound Half Marathon Race Report to follow!

2010 Blue Ridge Race Report - part 3 (final)

2010-10-05T21:26:00.000-04:00

Once he started, we said our goodbyes to Van 1 (we'd see them at the finish) and tried not to think about the fact that they were done.

Kelly, Kathrin, Kerrie and KTodd
before Dave's leg

Yes, the legs get harder as you get closer to Asheville. Out of the final 6 legs: 1 Moderate, 1 Hard, 2 very hard, and 2 Mtn Goat hard. Van 2 is up to the challenge!

View on the way up the Mtn.

Kelly heading down the Mtn.

Chris on his way.

Kerrie always strong despite a sore leg.

Kerrie continued to take it easy on her leg and ran the Moderate 4.2 miler. 246' down/262' up. Ran a good time, but for Kerrie, it was a little bit slower than her normal, healthy self.

That left 2 more legs.

Todd starting his climb.

As nervous as we were making Todd, he handled it just fine and we waited for him just off the BRP (Craven Gap Exit) where I would take over for the final leg, mostly running on Town Mountain Rd.

Van 2 (Minus Todd) on Last BRP leg.

Final Team stats: 33 hrs, 3 minutes, 9 seconds for 207.1miles. (9:32/mi avg).

My Final Stats: 22.1 miles (2234' down/1576' up). 7.9mi in ~1:12. 7.5mi in ~1:09. 6.7mi in ~55min.

2010 Blue Ridge Relay Race Report - Part 2

2010-09-28T13:59:00.001-04:00

12:07am Saturday morning and Van 2 was starting up again. Surprisingly, we seemed well rested. Dave started out for us again - Leg 19, Runner 7. He had an easy downhill 4.3 miler with no turns. 138' down/69' up. Nice little 30 minute run. Having no turns is a good thing, particularly at night.
So - here's where it got a little bit more interesting for us. Yes - we bent some rules, but it's not like we were breaking any course records or anything. Kerrie was worried about her remaining legs (7.5 very hard and 9.4 very hard), so we moved things around a bit. I moved into runner 8's slot on Leg 20, Kerrie took Chris' spot as runner 9 (Leg 21), and Chris got my spot (Leg 24 as runner 12). Got it?
So now it was my turn as Runner 8, Leg 20. 7.5 very hard miles, 476' down/673' up. Todd said it was a fun route with rolling hills and he was right. I really enjoyed it! It got the worst with going up from mile 4.75 to 6.25, but I walked when I needed to and made good time otherwise. 2 guys FLEW past me early on and were gone! There was one team car that kept passing me and stopping ahead to wait (their runner wasn't too far behind me; team name was Who's Your Momma, with kid's photos on their windows). They gave me encouragement every time they passed - it was appreciated! I was glad the road wasn't foggy like last year, but I tried to enjoy it all. Calves were a little tight still, but no major issues. I finished that leg in 1:09. So 15.4 miles (in 2:21 with a 6 hour break) and one more run left.
I passed off to Kerrie for an easy 2.4 miler (Runner 9, Leg 21, 338' down/ 23' up). We couldn't wait around so we headed off to Ingles in downtown Spruce Pine, NC for the next transition zone.
Kerrie still cruised even with not feeling her best and Todd headed out. We took the opportunity to clean up some in the store, brush teeth (so refreshing!), change clothes, and buy some food (pop tarts for me).
Todd's run as #10 was 5.6 hard miles with 282' down and 535' up. Similar to my leg, rolling with the worst of it at the end, finishing at the Penland School. Parking was always a breeze with people directing us at almost every location. I was starting to wind down at this point. It takes about an hour for me to calm down after my run and the lack of sleep was starting to hit me. I thought about laying down in the back, but decided it was pointless and went out with Kelly and the others to wait for Todd. It is quite a bit different here (as we can attest from last year) than other transition zones as the runner coming in is on an uphill turn and the handoff is immediately on the runner's left, plus it is 3:48 in the morning, so you have about 10 seconds to realize your runner is coming in before you head out. We always tried to notice which runners left around the same time as our runner, or who was ahead of them as we drove by, but we weren't very good at that. Knowing what your runner is wearing in terms of what color/number/type of blinking lights, kind of reflective vest, etc always helps. Kelly was pretty easy as she had a green light on her wrist (I think that's right).
So we waited just a few minutes (always expect your runner sooner than you think) and here comes Todd with his blinky lights (no safety thong this year).
Kelly was now off on her 5.6 mile hard leg #22 as runner 11. I did this last year in the Heavy fog, seeing halos as I ran down a long downhill driveway before realizing I was off course. This year was much better with just a little fog, but still, for safety's sake and to make sure she went the right way, we kept close to her until she made the last major turn. 423' down/463' up for this leg. The gravel on this leg is tricky at times too.
Chris finished off our 2nd legs as runner 12, leg 24, 3.2 easy miles, 515' down and only 52' up, finishing in Bakersville. There were a handful of turns, and sure enough, similar to Terry last year, he missed one. Cost him at least 5 minutes, but he showed up in good spirits and Alex started his last leg.

2010 Blue Ridge Relay Race Report - Part 1

2010-09-26T14:27:00.033-04:00

Joel, Jeff, Chris and Kerrie (laying down the law)

Misc shot of NC

The Todd, Kathrin, Alex & Kelly

Part 2: Our 1st legs

The 1st Exchange Zone

Dave finishing his 1st leg

Kerrie

Kerrie got the handoff and set off for her 4.6mi easy run. 361' down/148' up.

Our ever-positive captain (Chris)

Todd looking strong

Just before Kelly's run on the Parkway

New River, near community of Todd

View over the Blue Ridge Parkway

Part 3: Rest #1

(No photos during our night legs)

8/12's of our team! (Van #1 + Kerrie/Chris)

Night and day; Blue Ridge Relay

2010-09-14T20:41:00.001-04:00

I thought drastic differences in long runs 3 weeks apart was something. Amazing the difference one week can be. Too bad this was in the wrong direction. Was just starting to feel better when I woke up Sunday for my planned 20 miler, but it didn't show. I am blaming my head cold, but really, it could be anything. I like creating reasons just to make myself feel better. And that's what it's all about anyway, right? :-)
I knew from the start my legs weren't into it. They never really felt up for it. Not exactly heavy or tired. Maybe just weak? Even with taking Friday off from running (Friday was pretty miserable), my legs didn't feel "recovered".
I made it thru 14 miles or so before I let myself slow down. I had already dropped my pace after 2 miles to about 10 seconds slower than my planned pace, but at this point, I dropped it even more. I split each lap walking/running (5 min each). I trudged along though and completed 18.7 miles in 3 hours and 10 minutes. Ugh - that was rough. No real pains though, so I'll take that good news.

Blue Ridge Relay starts Friday...recap next week!

The head cold and a sore calf

2010-09-11T11:42:00.000-04:00

Been taking it easy since Wednesday morning's hill run. Noticed my left calf was getting more sore as I ran, so I slowed way down the last 2 miles. That made it a little easier to skip my 6 mile tempo run Friday, but the main culprit was a head cold that started up, also on Wed. Friday was the worst so far...I needed the extra rest that morning. Still planning my 20 miler Sunday...calf seems better today.

Comparing two runs, 3 weeks apart

2010-09-05T18:12:00.000-04:00

3 weeks ago, I ran 17.9 miles on my loop course (21 loops of 0.85mi each). It was Hot. 74° and 97% humidity, and that was at 5am. I did ok until the last 3 miles, where my feet were sore and just ran out of energy. 2:55 minutes. Fastest lap was 7:40, and that was my 2nd lap. Legs were getting heavy as the week progressed and I skipped a long run the following week while on vacation in Kiawah.
Fast forward ahead to this morning.
60° at the start (I didn't have to start super early either - 6:10am) and low humidity. Was quite cool - coolest it's been in many months. Even after a long day Saturday (5am wake up and all day in Atlanta, coming home at 10:30pm), I still felt rested as I started off. My plan called for a 9:10/mi pace (or 7:53/lap). I think I went over that twice - both times when I stopped to refill my water bottle. Other than that, it was typically around 7:30, with my fastest lap being my Last at 7:05! Legs felt Great. Only started feeling my hips the last 2-3 laps. Was tempted to add on a mile or two, but was so satisfied, I stopped when I was supposed to. My finish time: 2:42. Only 13 minutes faster than 3 weeks ago! Looking back - it was the exact time I ran back in March, but still 5 minutes Slower than just before my PR in the Spinx Half Marathon. Still, I like where I am right now.