Training with Amy Part 4 or what's in it for me?

  2008 was a sub par year for me as I was in almost constant pain running. I had dnf'd  couple of races and finally in December after running Derby I took 6 weeks off completely from running and cycling to finally heal. 2009 was a re-building year and I mostly swam and biked while slowly building up my running to do my Ironman at Coeur D Alene in June. After that my goal was to get back into shape for a fast marathon so so that I could qualify for Boston in early 2010. I needed to get my qualifier so that I could go with Karla back to Boston and celebrate our 5th anniversary of that special day in 2006 when we ran together. I worked hard and got a 3:45:00 which just barely got me in since I needed at least 3:45:59 at that time. Later that year after more training which included the track work that we were doing when Amy joined us as I mention in a previous post, I ran the Lehigh Valley Marathon in Sept to try and get a faster time. I succeeded but just barely with a 3:44.

  I continued to train hard and focused on running a pr at Boston but for some reason I still don't understand I had a terrible day and my race was a flop from mile 6 and I never even got up to race pace. I was very disappointed with that and knowing how hard I had trained to qualify and just barely doing it, I was resigned to the fact that at my age I would never again approach my 2006 pr time. I spent the next couple of years focusing more on ultras again although not trying to do nearly as many as before. Just trying to have some quality runs. I was no longer doing much on the way of speed work and content to run easy most days. Yes, occasionally I would do a tempo run or maybe some mile repeats but never in an organized way with a goal to focus on. I figured just with good mileage and the occasional quick run I could get a 50 mile and 100 mile pr before I was too old.

  And then Amy tells me after Umstead that she wants to qualify for Boston. A quick look at the qualifying standards shows that we need the same time, a 3:39:59. I had promised her I would get her there but in doing so I was going to have to  run my second fastest marathon ever, 7 years after my pr and believe me when you are in your 50's , 7 years is a lot of difference. At first I had not planned on going and really thought I didn't have a chance of going anyway. I would just train her and plan on returning with Karla in 2016 when I could get in with a 3:55.

  As we began to get serious with the training and we were having so much fun with it I began to entertain thoughts of just maybe I could make it after all. I have always enjoyed doing speed work and running fast and sharing the tough runs with Amy made me realize just how much I had been missing by not doing it regularly. It wasn't too long into the training that I knew I had to be all in. We were a team and we were going to go to Boston ! I still find it hard to believe how well I am running right now but the past 3 years have been my highest mileage years ever so I had a great base to build on.

  In addition to the running, last Fall I had decided I wanted to start back doing some core work and a little strength training. I had just been doing a little bit for a couple of weeks when Amy put down a 30 day plank challenge. That was more motivation and we actually went about 40 days on that before moving on. I have kept up the core and as soon as the planks were over I began my 100 pushups workouts and a couple of weeks later began the 200 situps challenge and began adding pullups and dips to my routine.

  Over all the last several months Amy has been going to Arrichion Hot yoga for yoga and circuit training and now I have been inspired to add yoga to my routine also for the past month or so.

 So, although I get a lot of happiness and satisfaction in seeing Amy come so far over the past  few years we have known each other I want to say THANK YOU AMY !!

 Thank you for showing the toughness and spirit and love of running. Thanks for sharing the miles with me. Thank you for giving me a new goal and the inspiration I needed to dream big again. Thank you for pushing me harder than I would have ever pushed myself over these last 6 months and most of all, THANK YOU for your friendship !!

Training with Amy- Part 3

  Moving into December it was now time to get the faster stuff done to prepare for the race pace workouts in Jan and Feb.  This is also where I decided we had to break one of the cardinal sins of training. All the experts say to train at your current condition and not at your goal pace. Well, I knew if we trained based on the current 4:00:00 range that we would have no shot at a BQ by March so I planned on running at the paces needed for the 3:40. I found out pretty quickly that even  holding Amy back to that pace was going to be nearly impossible.

  One of the great things that has worked for us is that I am able to run all of the key workouts with her as well as the occasional easy and recovery runs so I know her very well. I am always monitoring her breathing and effort as we run along and because of our friendship I can keep up with her other activities and plan around them. Some days when I can sense she's struggling, I'll change the workout mid-run and other days when she has had some hard yoga or circuit I'll just re-schedule a hard run. But then some days she unexpectedly is feeling good and pushing the pace so I'll just hang on and go with it and then other days I just let her go.

   For example one day I had planned 800's at 3:40 which should have been about our lactate threshold pace but Amy took off  on me. I just went along and the first one was 3:28. It felt good so we just kept it up. She dropped back on the last two but I didn't back off since she had set the tone for the workout. I could tell from that one that the training was going very well and was gaining more confidence. Then on Christmas Eve we met and I was hoping to do some mile repeats at tempo pace , about 7:30's. Once again she felt good and took off on me crushing the first mile in 7:10. It felt good so I just went with the flow but this time she held strong and killed the last one in 6:52 while I struggled  3 seconds behind her.

 A week later it was time for more 800's. I had decided we would do the same pace as the last time and go for about 3:30 average. Well, she took off like there was a fire and I just let her go and didn't even try to stay with her. She ran a crazy 3:18 while I nailed the 3:30. As expected she paid for it. The next couple were right on pace but by the 4th one she was struggling to recover and by the last two she was finishing about 8-10 seconds behind me. Of course when I had added those two extra repeats, which really I didn't because I had planned them from the beginning, but for some reason Amy thought we were doing 4 instead of 6, she got to call me her favorite nickname giving me the chance to sing the song to her again while I laughed !!  You have to love her spirit and exuberance ! The good thing that came from that workout was that from that point on she did a much better job of sticking with the planned pace on most of the workouts but it didn't stop her from pushing me on some of the other days when I was expecting an easier pace. And I'm really happy for that because I enjoy being pushed myself and it showed me that the overall plan was working if she could recover and feel good on those days.

  I had my 50 mile race a week and a half later and shattered my pr by over an hour ! Proved to myself again that I run my best ultras off a strong marathon training plan . I was even amazed at how quickly I recovered and another week and a half later Amy and I started working on the hard marathon and half marathon pace workouts. I must say that these went even better than expected for both of us. We did a very good job of running the paces within a few seconds per mile and the one workout that stands out was a 3x3 mile mp run that went so well that Amy beat her half marathon pr by 10 minutes with the warm up and recoveries included. That was a huge confidence boost and another sign the training was on track.

  The next few weeks went very well and then it was time for the test at the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon. What a perfect run ! It went exactly as I hoped with perfect pacing and a stronger than hoped for finish. When we first started this we were able to get together 2 and sometimes 3 times a week to run together but over the last couple of months we have been able to meet 4 and some weeks 5 times.

Getting in all the extra miles and quality workouts has really shown what she can be capable of doing and now with the race coming up this weekend. I feel very confident that she will get that Boston qualifier. But this is only the beginning. She has so much potential to run pr's at every distance for years to come and I know one thing for sure. She will give it everything she's got !  I just hope I can continue to hang with her for at least awhile longer !

Training with Amy-Part 2

   After finishing the 100 miles at Umstead , Amy told me that she now wanted to back off of the ultra's for awhile and get back to some speedwork with the next big goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. We had a lot of discussion over how and when she wanted to accomplish this over the next few weeks of recovery runs and it was decided that the first attempt would be at the Tobacco Road Marathon in March of 2013. We both knew going into this that being ready that soon was going to be very difficult and in reality was a long shot at best. Not that she didn't have the potential to do it as I have mentioned many times before, but due to the fact that her best time was 4:06 and her qualifying time is 3:40.

  I told her to just make sure she was recovered well, have some fun over the next couple of months and try to build up her mileage as much as possible over the the summer with  trying to add at least one more day a week of running. Consistency was going to be crucial for the plan to work. We had already added a normal Tuesday afternoon run together and with the Thursday night Social series runs she just needed to try and add at least one more run to her schedule. In the meantime I was working out a schedule for our training to come later on and also we planned on doing the OBX Marathon in November to see how things were progressing and then a test at the Myrtle beach Half Marathon in Feb 2013 as a final test to see if we were on track.

   I was of course now in the Grand Experiment 2 which for those of you not up to speed meant I was going to try and get myself back into 3:40 marathon shape while still having a couple of 100 milers, a 24 hour race, a 50k and then a 50 mile pr attempt mixed in with the training.  Of course both of us encountered a huge setback after the dog attack at my 100 mile  Double Boogie attempt in June and it was late July before I was back to running my normal pace again without feeling worn down.

 So by August it was time to begin doing  some hill work and throwing in some strides every now and then to get our legs prepared for the hard work to come. By this point Amy and I have running a lot together for a  3 years and in fact for the year of 2012 she ended up with one if not her biggest mileage years ever and about 60% or more of those we ran together. We had become the best of friends and I had shared a lot of advice with her but now I was going to more a less take on the role of her coach over the next several months prescribing the phases of her runs and specific workouts to achieve the goal. I would find out very quickly that it was a very good thing that I do know her so well and understand her because I learned right from the beginning that I was going to have to be very flexible and adaptable with the training as you will see.

   And I had to be flexible and adapt from day 1 ! Yep, right when I was hoping she would be piling on some miles, she decided to do a 3 week "cleansing diet" and was not suppose to do any running or working out during that period. OK.  Soooo, instead of going from a strong base, we'll just pretend she has a good base and is going into the next phase well rested and ready to work hard. Fortunately she did do some running as well as some of her cross-training after all so she wasn't completely stale.

  I had my 24 hour run which turned out for me to just be 13 hours and 60 miles on Labor Day weekend and just a week and a half later we met for our first "official" workout for our goal.  We met for the first of several gut busting hill repeat workouts that we would be doing over the next couple of months. These were not your normal hill repeats but max effort runs for 1/4 mile up a fairly steep hill so that "when " we made it to the top we were gasping and about to throw up. Fun Stuff !  This is just of of the many things I love about running with Amy. She thrives on this kind of stuff. That's one of the great things about coaching her is I don't have to  worry if she is going to give 100% effort to a workout. We would  usually end up nearly dying on some of these but would still be joking around and loving it.

  But right in the middle of this I had to make another one of those adjustments. Hinson Lake was coming up and although I felt we needed to stay focused on the marathon training , she wanted to run her age in miles since her birthday fell in the middle of the run. So I went to Hinson and ran with her at midnight as she crossed over and got her birthday miles in. Then after just a week to recover she had a 5k race so when we finally got together a few days later she was sore but I was in taper mode for my upcoming 100 at Oil Creek so we just ran a few times together  the next couple of weeks taking it easy and planning the next phase.

 I was able to recover very quickly from the 84.5 mile beating I took at Oil Creek and we were both ready to resume the hard training a week and a half later with another torturous hill session. I did pretty good  considering I was still in recovery and actually ran faster than the last time we did them but Amy was well rested and I noted in my journal, "she was on fire" and smoked me on all of them.

 Just a couple of weeks later we were at OBX and basically running it with no taper other than a couple of easy days before the race. I had a disappointing race but not really unexpected with the hard race a month before and hard training in between. Amy was a little disappointed not to go under 4 hours but she too had been working hard and she still had a lot of  positives from the race including a pr by a couple of minutes and she was able to push it hard the last 10k after not feeling too well in the middle miles.

 The next couple of weeks were for recovery and we met for a few easy runs and then I did the Derby 50k for a long training run as part of my planning for the 50 mile pr attempt coming up in January while Amy ran an 8k Turkey Trot for Thanksgiving.  No recovery allowed for me. Just three days later we ran a 5 miler and then the next day we were right back at normal pace.

 Let me step back here for a second and explain a little about the training plan. Normally after a base period, there is a strength phase, a stamina phase and then speed work followed by the taper. I chose to try something different that a lot of the Kenyans coaches use which puts the speed work before the stamina, which in theory makes it easier to maintain   race pace in the final phase because for the marathon holding the pace for a long time is the most important thing.

  The next couple of workouts are pretty typical of how our training sessions go. We had done a long run in Umstead and Amy just wasn't feeling it so we walked some of the hills. Well, on Monday , the first week of December, I really wanted to start us off on the speed training but planned to ease into it with a fartlek type session just to get the legs used to moving faster and go through a range of paces. We were early into the workout and I was trying to get us to do a mile at marathon goal pace but I could tell Amy was working too hard to hold the pace so I shut it down at the half figuirng she needed a little more warm up. Then we did a qtr at tempo pace and then a mile at marathon pace. She was tired but as we came to a little hill in our cool down I made her do a hill sprint. She gave me a look that could kill and I just laughed and giggled as we finished our coo ldown. She has a word for me when i do those things which I won't repeat here but I have a song that I sing to her  that fits the name. So the next day we are running into Umstead from the Art Museum and thnking it's going to be an easy day. Well, no. Amy is feeling good and she gets her revenge on the run back up by putting the hammer down the last uphill mile which ends up being at tempo pace. I couldn't hang with her the last qtr and ended up about 5 seconds back and gasping thinking if I had to run another ten yards my heart would burst. Yep fun stuff !

 Stay tuned for part 3 and the final phase

amosmotor "runnin' happy": Myrtle Beach Half Marathon - February 16, 2013

 This is Amy's Version of our race at the Myrtle beach Half Marathon. Just click on the link to read it on her blog.


amosmotor "runnin' happy": Myrtle Beach Half Marathon - February 16, 2013: I registered for this race several months ago as part of the marathon training plan for Boston Qualifying attempt.    The timing of...

Training with Amy- Part 1 the Beginnings

 I first had the pleasure of meeting Amy at the August Umstead series which I was in charge of back in 2009. A group of us met for dinner as usual after the run and the conversation of course was mostly about running and what events we had recently finished and had scheduled for later. She had run a couple of trail half marathons in respectable times considering the courses.   Now she  was in  training to run her first marathon later that Fall. I think she was a bit surprised to find that half the folks she was sitting with were very experienced at marathons and ultra's.

  We got to know each other a little bit over the next few weeks and then one day she asked if it would be ok to join Karla and I on one of our long runs. I'm not one to usually say no to a pretty lady so I said she was welcome to meet with us. So, on Saturday Oct 17, we met for a long run at Umstead. Amy had never gone more than 15 miles and her marathon was just 3 weeks away so this was going to be a challenge for her. We began at an easy pace and were having a great time but after about 13 miles in she began to struggle a bit and we would have to slow and wait for her. This happened a few times so as Karla and I headed up Powerline for the last time, Amy fell behind again. Just before we got to the end however there she was working hard to catch back up. 20.7 miles on a very difficult course which we ran faster for the 2nd half and she was giving it all she had. I knew then that there was something  special about her and definitely Angel material.

 I decided soon after that I would go to the marathon and run the last part of the race with her at City of Oaks. Race day turned out to be a miserably rainy cold and windy mess as I watched the race from a couple of different spots. I estimated when she might be coming out of Umstead and began running backwards on the course and finally met her just as she exited the park at mile 19. The rain had stopped and was now just an off and on sprinkle as I began to run with her. She was tired but in good spirits and moving along at a decent pace.

  Over the next several miles I tried to keep her entertained just like when I run with Karla, even singing to her to keep the mood light and take her mind off the work still ahead. I could tell she was  hurting but she was determined to keep running and as we neared the last miles I saw once again first hand the toughness and determination that makes her so special. And after she crossed the finish line and met her family I got to see the true nature of her sweet spirit as she held her then 3 year old Ashlynn in her arms and crying. I just walked away to give them their special moments as a family, knowing that yes, she was truly someone special.




  After the race she joined several of us for another long run but then other things were going on and she wasn't focused on another race for awhile so we didn't run anymore but would just see each other at other NCRC events. Then in August  of 2010 as Karla and I were beginning to run on the track in preparation for the Boston marathon among other things, Amy asked if she could join us on the track.

 I don't think she had been doing a lot of running over the summer and at first it was hard for her to keep up with us. She would fall behind but still give 100%. After several repeats she might need to sit one out but then she would be right there trying again. Over the next few weeks she would continue to go and push herself to the limit showing me time  and again the grit and determination that I had grown to love and admire in her. In no time she was not only keeping up with us on the workouts but hanging right with us and pushing the pace. I noted after our Sept 20th workout that Amy had improved a lot. By now she was joining in on most of our weekend long runs and this would continue on up to this day.

   That November Amy would move to the Darkside and run her 1st 50k at Derby. I would have loved to have run it with her but I was trying to go for a pr.  By now we were running together on a pretty regular basis and our friendship had grown as well. A few months later she asked me if  I  thought  doing "The Boogie" as her first 50 miler was a good idea. Without hesitation I told her yes. At this point let me explain, that Amy had run very well and done some very good  races on very limited mileage. Due to her family obligations, job and  volunteer work at church, she was lucky to get in 3 runs a week so I knew she had great potential.  Lots of folks thought it was a bad idea for her to try and run Boogie but after all the running I had done with her and getting to know her as well as I do, I never had any doubts that she would not only finish it but do well. And I was proven right as I ran a course pr and she was only a couple of minutes behind me and running strong.

  I was a little surprised when she told me soon after that she wanted to run the Umstead 100 the following April. We had talked about her running it someday but I had suggested she wait until 2013 and give herself more time to build up her mileage but once she made up her mind I knew she was going to do it so I just told her I'd help get her ready the best I could.  I must say I was a bit disappointed too because I had hoped she would run a lap with me since I was running it and planned on letting all my Angels share a lap if they could.

  Over the Fall and Winter we continued to run a lot together with Karla and Lisa and Jenn. Amy went to a 24 hour race in Virginia and despite sub freezing temperatures put in a very respectable distance of 83 miles  which would go a long ways in showing her what she had to expect at Umstead.

  As Umstead rolled around on March 31st 2012, I once again had no doubt that she was going to finish. I knew she was probably going to suffer more than I would want to see due to her low overall mileage but I was going to support her in anyway I could. We started off together for a couple of miles but then I had to say goodbye since I was going for a pr and she just wanted to finish. I think she really wanted a sub 24 but that would have been very difficult. I know she has the potential to run much faster than that but not on 20 miles a week. It did turn out to be a tough day for both of us. By the mid point she was really hurting and having major blister issues. I got  to see her a few times on the out and back portions and I would stop and just give her a hug and some encouragement. I hated to see her in such pain but I also knew there was no quit in her. After I finished I calculated about when to expect her to finish and took a nap and had several people make sure that I was up in time to see her finish.

  Seeing her come up that last little hill to the finish was a very emotional moment knowing that she had really suffered out there but nothing was going to stop her. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I am extremely proud of her for what she has accomplished as well as just the person and friend that she is.    

 Stay tuned for part 2 and the road to Boston !

The Grand Experiment Two. Late February Update

 Our last update in late January had us just completing a tough 4x2 miles at half marathon race pace a  little over two weeks before our test at Myrtle Beach. Just for fun and a change of scenery we did our medium long run that weekend with Jenn at Umstead and felt very strong on the hills. As we approached the half I wasn't going to have us do a full taper but keep training for the BQ so with a little less than two weeks to go we did a step down pace workout of 4 miles at MP, 2 miles at HMP and finished with a mile at about 10k ace, or 7:25. Yeah, it hurt but I told Amy we were doing just in case we needed to do that in the last mile of the race. This was after a pretty hard run the day before on House Creek when I had to remind Amy to save a little for the next days real workout. She is so eager to do well when she feels good and I could tell she was about to put the hammer down the last mile.

 The week heading up to the race I had one more workout in the bag of tricks. we did 8 x 400 at tempo pace and then took a mini taper the remainder of the week. Obviously everything is going well because we shattered her pr again by another 6.5 minutes and exceeded our goal by 1.5 minutes at Myrtle Beach.

 This past week has been a recovery week and we didn't get a chance to run any together. I put in some decent mileage, 38 for the week with 2 days off, all at an easy pace. Glad I could get in a run with my other Angels Karla and Lisa on Thursday.

 We have a big week of training coming up and then we will taper the last two weeks but there will still be some hard workouts in there, just at a bit lower volume and intensity.

  Another thing that is going well as we get close is that  my weight has come down to within 2 miles of my pr weight of 2006. I have carried normally around 145 pounds the past 6 years or so but had crept up to about 148 last year. The only thing I have done differently ios keep my hands out of the snack box in my car and eat smaller portions of the snacks when i do. Otherwise my diet has stayed the same. Running consistent mileage and a lot more of it at a higher intensity these few months along with starting back with some core and strength work last November has really made a difference not only in the weight loss but how I feel.

 So, with 3 weeks until the big attempt I am thrilled to be in my best shape in 7 years and even more thrilled to see Amy doing so well. I can't express just how proud and amazed I am at her determination and hard work with not just the running but with yoga and circuit training which helps her handle the hard work.

 Stay tuned, it won;t be long now !

Myrtle Beach Half Marathon, Pacing Amy

  This one was all about Amy and our ultimate goal of getting her qualified for Boston. The only reason we signed up for this one was as a test to see how the training was progressing and get a good idea if we were on track. Well, she passed the test with flying colors and according to the race prediction calculators we are not only on track but ahead of pace. Short Version, we were hoping for a 1:45 and ended up with a 1:43:29 !!!!

  As I have recently reported on the training updates, things have really been going well and we seemed to be ahead of where I had expected but workouts are one thing. Performing on race day is another.

 We were very lucky to have near perfect running conditions with the starting temperature of about 43F. We had discussed our strategy several times over the past few weeks and now was the time to execute. First, I had to make sure Amy didn't go out too fast. Then we were going to try and maintain 7:55-8:00 pace up to mile 10. And at that point if she had anything in the tank, she could open it up for the last 5k. Check, check and check.

  We started off comfortably and I only had to tell her to calm down once around a half a mile in when her garmin was showing our pace was too slow. I told her trust me we were fine and sure enough we went through mile 1 in 8:24 which was about perfect for my plan. We then settled in as planned and hit mile 2 in 7:58. Perfect.

  Over the next few miles I was feeling great and setting the pace. I was slightly worried because Amy kept dropping back a few strides so I was hoping that she was feeling ok and just holding back a little. I slowed down and ran beside her and we repeated that a few times. I was just trying to stay on pace but I didn't want to push her too hard this early. Mile 3 was an 8:00 and then mile 4 was a little fast in 7:50. At that point I let her catch back up and stayed by her side.

 I think the 5th mile mark was off because we hit it in 8:18 and didn't feel like we had slowed  and then at mile 6 we hit 7:42 and I know there was no way we had fluctuated that much. I'm usually very good at holding steady pace, especially on a flat course like this.   Shortly afterwards we passed some timing mats which they said were the 10k point but that was way off and closer to 6.5.

  We went through mile 7 in 7:51 and at that point it just seemed to me like I was floating. The pace up to this point had felt fairly easy to me but now I was talking like we were on a training run and singing as we past a band playing "Crossroads" along the course. I was thinking to myself that if I was racing for myself I could easily go 1:42 or better which would be my fastest since 2006. Amy seemed to be doing fine as we continued to click off sub 8 miles and I was  already confident she was going to get the 1:45.

 We hit mile 8  in 7:56 and mile 9 in a quick 7:48 which for the first time had us under 8mp overall and making up those 24 seconds we were behind at the first mile. Now I was eager to get to that 10 mile mark and let her know we were under pace and the time was in the bag. Sure enough we hit mile 10 in 7:55, and overall 1:19:48, 12 seconds ahead ! Woohooo. Perfect pacing !

  Now it was go time. Amy was definitely working but seemed to be doing fine so I pushed a little bit and kept checking to make sure she was right there and doing ok. We were joking about anybody could run a little 5k so I knew she was good. Mile 11 was a 7:44 and then Mile 12 was a 7:41 !  I told Amy we had a 1:44 in the bag.  One mile to go and I'm feeling fantastic ! I pushed it up another notch and Amy was right there and then finally we made the turn into the ballpark with about .2 to go.

  Just before mile 13 I told Amy, "this is why we did that 7:25 mile at the end of our last  pacing workout" and then we went through it in 7:33  ! The mark was right before the final turn and as soon as we went around it Amy put it into her passing gear and surged ahead. I was just I hoping could answer her younger legs and natural speed and fortunately I was able to respond. Amy looked up and saw the clock showing we were going to go well under1:44 and was smiling and nearly laughing. We were able to cross the line to gather and celebrate her amazing PR !!!!!

 I am so happy and proud of her and the hard work that has gotten her to this point and in the process I am in my best shape in years.

Myrtle Beach Half Marathon 2013 Preview

 Looks like I am heading back to MB for the first time since 2010, which was the snow year that caused the race to be cancelled. I had entered the half that year  for the first time and was planning to use it as a test and training run in my quest to re-qualify for Boston at the Tobacco Road Marathon a month later.After the race was cancelled I hadn't really planned on returning any time soon as there are so many races that I love to do around the same time of year. Funny thing is that I almost never ran at Myrtle Beach to begin with but thanks to some special friends I ended up deciding to go run the marathon in 2005 which began a string of 5 years in a row.

  Here is an excerpt from my blog post from late 2005 about how I ended up running that first one with Karla....

"Jerry had introduced me to Karla Werner at the NCRC meetings but we were just casual aquaintences until this past Jan. Jerry told me that Karla was attempting her first marathon at Myrtle Beach in Feb 2005 and that she wanted to run 4 hours and qualify for Boston. I thought that was quite a lofty goal for her 1st. They were following an 18 week training program and Jerry was asking my thoughts on the program. I met them for one of their long runs on Jan.1st. We were joined by Margherita Scott (Margo) , another lady that Jerry had introduced me to. This was the beginning of special group in my life.
Jerry had been trying to talk me into running the Myrtle Beach Marathon, his favorite race but I had declined because it didn't fit in with my ultra schedule. When I learned that he was planning to pace Karla then I changed my mind. Jerry is a very good runner and a great friend but he runs with his heart. He really has no sense of pace and pays no attention to split times. I knew in the excitement that he would lead her out too fast and I couldn't let him ruin Karla's debut.
I told Karla I wasn't going to be able to run the whole race with her. I had already run two ultra's in Jan. and was running the Uwharrie 40 mile two weeks before MB so I wasn't expecting to run a PR. I knew I could get her off to an even pace for the first 15-18 miles and then she would be on her own, with Jerry for company.
Myrtle Beach turned out to be a great day. I was able to pace Karla evenly for 24 miles. She got her Boston Qualifier in 3:58 and I was able to continue and get a PR 4:00:40."

 This of course was the beginning of a wonderful friendship with THE Marathon Princess as I begin to call her during our training together to get me to Boston with her. If you are interested you can get that whole story from this link.

  Which brings us back to this year and why I am returning.You probably already know  if you follow my blog regularly but in case you didn't know, last April after the Umstead 100, another of my "Angels" and training partners, Amy Surrette told me she wanted to back off the ultra's for awhile and make a goal of getting faster and qualifying for Boston. I told her I would do all that I could to make sure she was able to achieve that goal. We talked about it a lot , making plans on when she would like to make the first attempt and it just worked out that Tobacco Road  this March was the first logical time to give it a try. So I begin planning our training and working with her so that it would fit into the other things she had going on for the remainder of the year and just as it did for me in 2010, it made sense to plan on a half at MB.

  So with the training going even better than expected we are prepared to go and take that test this weekend. We figure that for her to have a reasonable chance for the BQ next month that she needs to be able to run about 1:45 at MB and I am confident that she can do it. Stay tuned for the results ! 

De Grote Experiement Twee. Late January Update

Ok,our  last update was a week before I headed out to Nevada for the 50 mile pr attempt that obviously went very well. I never dreamed I would shatter my pr by over an hour. I have always thought that targeted marathon training has worked best for my ultra running and in this case as in 2006 it seems to have been proven correct.

 While I was out there Amy continued with some quality training with a tough run up a mountain in Boone followed later in the week by a tempo run as her dog dragged her around Lake Lynn (-;

  I recovered quickly taking just 3 days off before resuming running and by the end the week I was right back to normal paces with no soreness. The following week it was right back to business with the marathon training with a great goal marathon pace workout. We did 3 x 3 miles at a little faster than mgp and in the process even with the recoveries were able to shatter Amy's half marathon pr by 10 minutes. I felt great and it was  not only a great workout but a big confidence boost for both of us, especially her.

 Put in some long runs this past weekend and then a hard 6 tuesday followed by a half marathon goal pace run. We ran 4 x 2 miles at ghmp and I nailed the workout, feeling great and running very consistent splits. Amy struggled a little on the last set but then she did run a total of 26.2 miles just 3 days before. At this point I am extremely happy with our progress. I am a bit surprised but very pleased to see how far Amy has come over the past several months and I know she is going to do  great when we race at the Myrtle beach Half Marathon in two weeks. I was a little worried if I was going to be able to hit our target of 1:45 in this test effort but the way things are going now I don't think it will be a problem.

 stay tuned !

Running From An Angel (and into a new pr)

 After all the planning, and preparation I couldn't believe I was going to let myself be late to the race. It was just an easy 3 miles from the hotel to the start but I had let time get away from me and now I had 15 minutes to get to the car and get to there. It's a good thing I had everything ready. Headed out in the dark and cold (30F) and drove down to the starting area and parked the car with 5 minutes to go. A brisk walk and I was at the line with 1.5 minutes to spare. Nothing like cutting it close for no reason other than I wanted to minimize my time standing around in the cold wind.

   We headed out into the darkness and since the 1st quarter mile was uphill I just began walking and by the time I reached the main road almost everyone was in front of me. Although it was dark I didn't need my light and by the first mile I had adjusted to the darkness. That mile was 10:21 even with the uphill walking start and now we were running into about a 10mph headwind. The entire course is rolling with various grades from 1 to 8 percent, some 1/4 mile and some climbs a mile or longer.  This first section was about equal up and down and I passed mile 5 in 49:07. I was very happy with that because it felt very easy and I wasn't pushing the pace and the last half mile was a pretty stiff climb.

  After touring the course the day before and knowing that it has twice as much elevation climbing as Boogie and a little more than Umstead, I was wishing I had spent more time on the Umstead hills instead of the greenway. But so far I was feeling good with the climbing but with 45 miles to go a lot can change. About this time the sun was coming up behind the mountains behind me. I was still running in the shadows but the high peaks in the distance in front were bathed in golden light making for an awe inspiring view. What a gorgeous place to be !

  At mile 7, the first rays of the sun shown on my back and by now I was warmed up and comfortable and it seemed the wind had died down to about a 5 mph breeze and would not be an issue for awhile. I continued with the easy pace and came by mile 10 in 1:38:11, 47:04 for that 5 mile segment. This was awesome! For the first time I was running with my phone so when I came to a walking spot which came soon after mile 10 with a long steep climb out of a river valley, I texted Amy and Jenn so they could track me and post updates for my friends and family on facebook. It was really nice to be able to keep up with them that way and I loved getting their encouraging text back. As beautiful as the desert scenery was, it was very lonely out there. The race had a very small field and we were very spread out I never had anyone to talk to on the course. but for a couple of brief moments.

  I passed the half marathon in 2:10 and texted that to the Angels as I climbed the hill just past that point. Just as I started running down the other side Amy called ! I almost didn't answer but I did and said Hey I'm running ! The next mile was a gradual downhill and I wanted to make time because I knew some serious climbing was coming up. We talked briefly  while I ran and she was so supportive but I had to go and get down to business. The split at mile 15 was 2:30:45. The 5 mile split was a 52:34 ! And that included an 8:47 mile !

  By now I was having visions of a sub 9 hour actually being a possibility and not just a fantasy but I also knew I had a very long way to go and the toughest parts were coming. The next 5 miles were almost all uphill but it was a very gradual climb and quite runnable so I ran all but a few short sections when the grade would tick up a bit. Still ,when I hit mile 20 I was shocked to see that I  had run that 5 mile section in 48:53 ! 3:19:38

   I thought that was going to be the high point of the course but I was wrong ! The next two miles continued climbing but at a much steeper grade and I was forced to take more and longer walk breaks but I was still feeling very good. Finally I topped out at 22 but the next 3 to the turnaround were a series of steep rollers similar to going up and down cemetary in Umstead over and over again. I was now counting the runners coming back toward me from the turn and by the time I got there I was in 11th place overall. My time for that 5 mile split was 57:22, (4:17:16) the slowest by far and the first one that was slower than the pace need for sub 9. In and out of the aid station quickly as always and was now looking forward to some easier running for awhile.

 But first I had to get through the steep rollers. The marathon wasn't marked but with my average up to that point I was about 4:30. I made it through the rollers and was looking forward now to mostly 7 miles of downhill with only a few short upgrades the wind had picked back uo to around 10 mph and was mostly in our faces now. I was definitely beginning to feel the effort and I knew my pace was slowing down. I doubted I would make up any of the time lost over that past 8 miles but hopefully I could at least maintain. I was able to do that and in the meantime enjoy the gorgeous desert views around me. I was able to pick up the pace a little and did that 5 miles in 54:38 passing 30 miles in 5:11:17. 

    The next 5 was mostly a slight downhill but I still took a few walking breaks so I wouldn't wear myself down. I had gone through the 50k in about 5:23, slightly faster than I ran at Derby. Amazing since this course has 3 times the climbing of derby and I was feeling a lot better ! I had really hoped to run this section a little faster but at mile 35, my 5 mile split was a 53:28 (total 6:04:35) which was the fastest since mile 20 and I was still on pace overall to come close to cracking 9 hours.

  I was now heading into probably the toughest 5 miles of the day but my spirits were high I was having fun and loving life. My Angels and I had been in contact every 5 miles and at this point a pr was in the bag unless something serious happened.  Shortly after I did hit a little low energy spot and the steep long hills over the next few miles were working on me. I tried running as well as I could on the downs but my stride was shorter now and I could feel myself slowing down. Mile 40 comes just as I began a long climb back up from the river valley and I texted the Angels my time and said "tough 5 miles" My split for that 5 was a very slow 1:03:32 (7:08:08). I figured at this point my fantasy of  sub 9 was gone but I still was feeling ok and I had a huge pr in the bag.

  Just before I finally reached the top of the climb and mile 40.5, Amy called again to tell me how happy she was and proud for me. I told her I now estimated my finishing time would be about 9:10 at the pace I was moving unless the last 9 were a lot easier than I remembered. We hung up and I looked around as I topped the hill. I noticed that the lake was a pretty good ways below so It had to be predominately downhill but I also knew there were several more hills in the way. so, I thought, ok you have a pr in the bag and could almost  walk it in but you came here to go for a big one so just go for it. and that's what I did. I took off running as fast as my feet would go without going into oxygen debt. When I got to an uphill I was still able to do some decent running and when I did take a walk beak it was only for about 30 seconds and then I would run some more. Came into the 45 mile aid station with a 5 mile split of 53:56, 10 minutes faster than the last 5 and that included that nearly half mile climb from the river.(8:02:04 total) There was an 8:50 mile from 44 to 45 !


  I texted the time to the Angels and said I was going for it !  I flew down the next hill and then I had one more steep half mile hill to go. I  alternated power walking and running and got that one behind me.
Soon after I could see the finish area nearly 4 miles away. Normally this would be discouraging but today it was a beautiful sight. I knew I had the sub 9 now if I just kept moving. There were no more real hills ahead, just a couple of short upgrades so I was able to run most of the way including a couple of more at 9mp.   I hit the final downhill 1/4 mile and nearly sprinted to the finish in 8:55:03, a huge pr by an hour and 2 minutes ! that last 5 mile split was 52:58.

   I knew my training had been going very well but after my pre- race tour of the course and knowing how much harder it was than some of my other 50;s I would have been pleased just to get a pr by a few minutes so as you can imagine I am overwhelmed with how well this race went for me. My results in the past have shown that I do my best ultra's when I am training for a fast marathon but at my age I never imagined I could shatter my pr like this. I have to give a lot of credit to my Angels and especially Karla and Amy. Ever since I barely qualified for Boston  after intense training in 2010 and then my poor performance there in 2011, I had given up on ever running any faster. I had been content to run easy pace nearly all the time with rare occasional faster paced runs. But then after Umstead this April , Amy stated that she wanted to qualify for Boston. It just happens that our times needed are the same so I decided to help her get there and in turn it has given me the motivation to get back into some serious hard running again.

  I have really enjoyed the training with her, the hill repeats, the intervals and long repeats and now we move into long tempo and marathon pace stuff.  So many times over the summer and into the Fall when I would run with Karla, thinking it was going to be an easy day, she has made me work a lot harder than I would have on my own. The result has been that my average daily pace is much faster than it has been in years and it feels easy and good doing it. My intervals times with Amy are faster than they were several years ago so I am obviously in great shape. I have also been able to run consistently higher daily mileage for the past 3 years now with the past two being my biggest years ever so I guess I can expect to keep running well for awhile longer.

 For those that care about such things my nutrition plan for this race was very simple. I ran with one 20oz water bottle, I drank a small cup of Heed at each aid station and I took one gel every 5 miles. that is all the calories I took in other than one handful of caramel popcorn at mile 15 and a small cup of coke at each of the last 4 aid stations. It seemed to work because my stomach stayed happy and the energy level was pretty consistent the whole way.

  here is a link to some photos along the race course.
 and here are more from the drive around the rest of Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
and here are some from Valley of Fire State Park just outside  Lake Mead

Running From an Angel 50 miler -Preview

  Anyone that knows me can tell right away that there is something wrong with the name of this race. You'll find me running with an Angel or running towards an Angel but never running from an Angel.

  The main reason I am heading out to Lake Mead National Recreation Area is to attempt a 50 mile PR.  It seems every 50 miler I have raced over the years is either a very tough trail course or in the case of the Boogie, in hot humid conditions along with the hills. I learned the hard way after a couple of attempts there that it is not a pr course.( I missed out on the  rare cool weather this past year).  Due to this, all my previous 50 mile pr's have been in the halfway point of a hundred miler or 24 hour race. Until this year my previous best was halfway through the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler back in 2007, a 10:15. Rocky is still my 100 pr in 23:15. This past year I lowered it to 10:02 halfway through Umstead and then lowered it to 9:57 (50.22 miles) on the track during the Badgerland 24 hour.

 It was after that event that I decided to try and find a 50 mile road course where I might have a shot at a 50 mile pr under favorable weather conditions and this race seemed to fit the bill. The average temperature is a low in the upper 30's and highs around 55F. Sounded good to me and at a good time of year for me too. My 50k pr was also set in January.  Well, I should have paid a little more attention to the elevation profile. Hmmm, I was hoping it was about the same amount of climbing as the Boogie course but no luck. Boogie has about 2250 ft. RFAA has 4277. Whoops. Thats a little more than the 50 miles at Umstead.

  OK, so I set the pr this Spring at Umstead under some miserably warm and humid conditions with rain for the first 35 miles so it should be doable.  I am  also in much better condition right now compared to the Spring so I am still confident I can set a pr. Just probably not quite as fast as I was hoping.


 Oh, and the other reason for entering was so I could make another trip out West and see some beautiful desert scenery. and maybe play a little craps in Vegas (-;

 here is the race website.

 Stay tuned for the results

Die Grande Experiment Zwei. January update

 In the early December update we were just getting started on a speedwork phase and looking forward to over a month with no competition. This was the first full month where we could  fully recover from November races and focus solely on the training.  I had a great mileage month in December and even with the holidays, Amy was able to put in a very good month for her.

  We continued with the speed work with 800's and mile repeats at a pace which surprised me. I was really not expecting things to go as well as they did for either of us. All the miles have been paying off and in Amy's case she seems to really respond well to the workouts.  In addition to the speed, we were able to get in a few good strong long runs and some faster paced mid week runs.

  We began this month with the last of the speed sessions which went very well and now it's time to move into the stamina phase which will include a lot of longer efforts at 10 miler and half marathon pace as well as long intervals at marathon race pace. Or least that's what we should be doing. I hope that Amy can stick with the program while I am actually tapering for a 50 miler next weekend. It was kind of a funny conversation last week when I told her we were right on track and not to do anything stupid. Like run a 50 miler and go for a pr ! But after all, that's what the Grand Experiment 2 is all about isn't it?  

100 Pushups. The challenge begins

 A couple of years ago I came across this program  to get you to the point where you can do 100 pushups. About  a year and a half ago I started the program and I got up to 84 before I lost interest and got away from doing anything but running. I noticed a couple of months ago that I was slouching a lot and I knew that it was time to get back to doing some of my core workouts. I got started on that in November and shortly after that , Amy put out a 30 day plank challenge. I took it on and it was a big help in keeping me motivated to get back into doing more core stuff on a regular basis.  I didn't miss a day for about 40 days and I did get back to doing at least some of more core routine 3 or 4 days a week. I can already feel and see some results.

  So a few days ago I decided it was time to get back onto the strength phase and so I am going to start at the beginning with the 100 push-up program and this time I am determined I won't quit until I get to  at least 100 consecutive pushups. And hopefully after I reach that goal I can stick with the maintenance program. I know it is not going to happen in 6 weeks but I will keep repeating the last 2 weeks of the program until i achieve success. 

here is a link to the program.

Looking ahead to 2013

I don't ever make New Year's Resolutions but I do like to set goals and make plans. At this point there are still a lot of holes and maybe's in the schedule so here is what I have already entered and some of what I plan to do if possible.

 To begin with I really hope I can run as many or more miles with The Angels this year.

 In January I will be heading out to Nevada once again, this time to Vegas where I will be running the Running From an Angel 50 miler and hopefully set a 50 mile Pr. After that it's back to marathon training.

 In February I will be heading to Myrtle Beach to run the half-marathon with Amy as a test run and workout as we prepare for her hopeful Boston Marathon Qualifier at the Tobacco Road Marathon in March .

 After Tobacco Road, I quickly convert back to ultra's with a PR attempt at The C&O Canal 100 miler the last weekend of April. Since I will have been concentrating on marathon type training for most of the past several months leading up to this I am hoping that it will be like 2006. That was one of my best years ever and after training for and running Boston I set many distance and course pr's for the next year in ultra's.

 Right now I have nothing planned for may and June as I wait on a couple of things.

 In July I do plan to return to one of my favorites, the Grandfather Mountain Marathon. Hoping to run it with Amy and /or some of the other Angels.

 Nothing for August or September at this point.

 October 6th I am heading up to Corning NY to run the Wineglass Marathon. Lisa, Karla and Frank are also making the trip and hopefully another Angel or two(hint hint).  This is a fast course and should be good weather so I hope to continue with the mostly marathon type training over the summer and go for a fast time here.

 The only thing I am sure of after that is that I will be returning to the Derby 50k for my 10th finish.

 That's it for now. Stay tuned as other things will be added to the calender soon.

2012 A Look Back

The year is nearly over now with no major events planned so I guess it's time to take a look back and see how things went with the running.

  The year got off to a great start with the Weymouth Woods 100k. A cold day but very comfortable for running and I was able to finish in a time (13:53)  that gave me a qualifier for Western States. The best part of it was that I felt strong and was able to actually pick the pace back up over the last lap. Beats doing a death march finish anytime! I finished up the month with some fun at the NCFA 50K on the All American Trail at Fort Bragg. Just used it as a long training run and some time for socializing with a bunch of MTC friends.

  In February I made the trip to Pilot Mountain State park with Margo and Tony for the Pilot Mt Payback Trail Marathon. It was a gorgeous day and I ran strong and met my goal of feeling good and going sub 5 hours. Great day with several MTC friends.

 After that I just spent the rest of the month and most of March training for the Umstead 100 until March 24th when I ran  a 5k cross country race. Not the smartest thing to do a week before a 100 miler. I wasn't going to run hard but ended up going just about all out on a rainy muddy slick course. Lots of fun anyway.

 A week later I attempted a 100 mile pr at Umstead. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. After raining most of the first 35 miles, it got very warm and muggy which are the worst conditions for me. I went on to post my 50 mile pr in route but things went downhill from there and the 2nd half was pretty miserable. I don't use pacers but since this is the home course I was happy to have my friend Jerry run lap 5 with me and then Angels Lisa and Karla ran the last two so at least I had company in my misery. Still finished in a respectable time of 25:52.

  Recovery went well and by the end of April I was ready to go for a fast time at Promise Land 50k, one of my favorites. I had the unexpected pleasure of running the entire race with a college girl from VT that was running in her first ultra. Beautiful day until around mile 20 when thunderstorms came and turned the course into a mudslide and the temps dropped and we almost went hypothermic. Although no way near my pr, I felt great and ran well despite the tough conditions over the last 3rd of the race.

  After once gain recovering quickly and getting back to training, I went down to The May Madness 50k, Boogieman Doug's Wild Card run of the year. Ten 5k's , one every hour in sand and heat and humidity. Had a lot of fun there but those last couple of 5k's hurt !

  In June, I was ready to spring my surprise and  waited until  the day of the race to announce my intentions of doing a Double at the Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie. Doug and a few of my Angels were the only ones in on the plan. Amy came to run the first 26.2 with me and things went great until the 1.5 mile mark. That's when we were attacked by the dogs. Oh well, only another 98.5 to go right? I gave it my best shot but the loss of blood and pain caught up to me and I finally had to drop at mile 62 and head to the hosptial for treatment.

 It took another week before I was able to resume running and still had a lot of pain for a couple of more weeks. I was also very worn down from the effort and ordeal and the antibiotics so when another of my favorites, the Grandfather Mountain Marathon rolled around 4 weeks later in mid July I was almost tempted to not run it knowing I was not anywhere near condition to run it well. despite miserably warm and muggy conditions, I felt better for longer than I expected but then reality set in and I suffered mightily to finish. Fortunately I didn't have any more racing planned until September so I was able to recover and train

 Sept and Labor Day weekend I flew to Milwaukee for The Badgerland 24 hour run on the track at Germantown high school. I was hoping  for a new distance pr but my dumb race strategy combined with a blustery warm day prevented that from happening. I did bring home a new 50 mile pr though as I passed 50.22 miles in 9:57.

  I once again recovered quickly and although there was no more racing until mid October, Amy and I begin the start of training for her to get a Boston qualifier next Spring which at this point was mostly trying to get her more consistent with her mileage and  Max effort hill repeats once a week.

 On October 13th I attempted the Oil Creek 100 miler in Titusville PA. Although I felt great, I was not prepared for the mostly single track, steep hills and once the cold rain hit in the dark of night, near hypothermic and in the ensuing mud, I just couldn't move fast enough and missed a cutoff at 84.5 miles.

   Although I felt pretty good within a week of that effort,4 weeks  was obviously not enough time to recover and run a fast marathon as I found out at OBX on Nov 11th. I was running with Karla and Amy and things were going well and according to plan but inevitably the wheels came off around mile 22 and I didn;t get to finish with either of them.

  I finished up my competitive year with a very non-competitive effort at The Derby 50K. I just wanted to get my ninth finish, get in a good training run and have fun doing it which I accomplished. The remainder of the year has been focused on getting Amy and myself in the best shape I can for the BQ attempt. We have been doing speedwork for the past 3 weeks now and it is going much better than I expected.

 So despite a couple of dnf's and less than hoped for results, it was still a pretty good year.  I can't complain when I get a 100k pr,  lower my 50 mile pr twice in one year and earn another buckle in a 100 miler.

La Grande Experience Deux. December update

Things seem to be progressing well with the Grand Experiment 2 at this point. Although I was not quite where I wanted to be at OBX due to being worn down from Oil creek and no speedwork, I recovered well and was able to get in a great long training run at the  Derby 50k. I had practically no soreness or fatigue after that so with an easy recovery week I was ready to move on with the training. Amy was a little slower recovering from OBX but we were able to get in some good mileage for her over the next couple of weeks and I was right back to  my normal 50ish per week

 We waited until the first week of this month to start with some speedwork, easing into it the first time with a fartlek type running at various paces over distances from 1/4 to 1 mile with a stride and hill sprint thrown in just to get some dormant muscle fibers warmed up  for what is coming. We followed that up this week with some quarter mile repeats at tempo pace. That went very well and she was feeling strong as we acually ran a little faster than I had planned but still in the correct range so it was all good. The pace on the long runs is getting a little faster now as we prepare for the faster near race pace long runs to come in Jan and Feb.

  One thing that is going to help her a lot is getting in a mid week mid -long run of 10 -12 miles which is something that has been lacking in her training. I usually get in one or two of those when things are going well. We had a really nice 12.12 miler this week on 12-12. We have a long ways to go and a lot of work to do but at least things are on track now. We have the next four weeks with no races to do so we can really stay focused on the training,

Diet and Nutrition

 Disclaimer : the following is not to be construed as advice on nutrition or diet. I am not a nutritionist and in fact would  likely be a nutritionist or dieticians worst nightmare. Anyone trying to emulate my dietary habits or take this post as advice would have to be completely stupid and I will bear no responsibility for any harm that befalls anyone with no better sense than to try and eat like me.

  In my lifetime I have actually followed two diets, both which I have had great success with. The first diet, I call the " Eat whatever my mother made me or allowed me to eat diet"  Although the diet did seem to work quite well I did not care to much for the things I really liked being rationed and the things I hated being forced upon me. However the majority of the time the diet was quite good actually as my mother is an excellent cook and did make me some very wonderful cakes and pies and other yummy treats and continues to do so when I visit.

  About the time that I got my driver's license I begin with the diet that I am currently on. I call it the   "Eat whatever I feel like eating whenever and in whatever quantities that I would like to eat it diet"

 So, exactly what is included in this diet you may wonder ?

 Salads: Are you kidding me? Salads are for rabbits and other rodents. Well, I have been known to eat one or two a year but only if I can have it with oil and vinegar. No dressing. yuk !

 Vegetables: Yes, I do occasionally eat vegetables. French Fries are one of my favorites of course but I like potatoes cooked many ways. And there are quite a few others, mostly peas, beans and other legumes, corn and whatever other things Mom sends home with me every now and then. Must be cooked Southern style.

 Tried to expand on the veggies variety a few times but nearly always a failure. I thought broccoli with cheese might be good. Broccoli always tasted like dirt to me. Broccoli and cheese taste like dirt with cheese on it. What a waste of good cheese.

 Which brings us to dairy: CHEESE ! Yes ! Lots of CHEESE and in many varieties ! Milk is good too although I don't drink much anymore except with cereal and post run I use chocolate milk as my recovery drink of choice.

 Fruits: yeah, bananas, an occasional apple  some grapes and watermelon every now and then. Don't want to overdo the healthy stuff you know.

 Meat: Ribs and BBQ. Oh yeah. Turkey, chicken, pork chops. all of the above cooked to yummy perfection.   Love steak too but don't eat it very often. Too lazy to cook it and most of the time I don't eat in restaurants that make it a specialty and can't afford the places that do.

  Bread and grains: Oh yeah, now we are talking ! Paleo my butt. Give me bread ! Biscuits, all kinds of rolls, french, italian, white, pumpernickel. Pasta ! Macaroni (and CHEESE).

  Of course the staple of my diet is PEANUT BUTTER ! Thank you George Washington Carver ! And none of that so called healthy natural stuff. Jif, Peter Pan or Skippy if it's on sale.

 Breakfast is very important so I usually start the day off with Juice and  a few vitamin supplements. This is followed by a bowl of cereal (good stuff like cocoa puffs) or oatmeal with brown sugar, or grits with butter and toast, On rare occasions I'll make pancakes on Sunday. Most days I am too lazy to make breakfast so I make a sandwich to eat while riding to work. Usually I rotate between turkey, ham and bologna. WITH CHEESE !  and then a little snack of cookies or Lil Debbie cakes. On Saturdays before long runs I usually have a brown sugar iced pop tart or a peanut butter and marshmallow creme sandwich.

 Lunch is normally a peanut butter sandwich and a banana with more yummy cookies !

Dinner is whatever is most convenient to throw in the microwave or the toaster oven. Sometimes  I like the breakfast that I am too lazy to cook in the morning, scambled eggs and bacon ! If I am working late then whatever fast food joint is convenient or sounds yummy. Taco Bell, McDonalds, Wendys, KFC, Bojangles, Chick Fil A, Burger King. I'm not picky. I like them all.

 To supplement my meals I always have within reach a wide variety of healthy yummy snacks. There is always a box in the back seat of my car with Cheeze-its, pringles, corn chips, peanuts, cashews, oreos, moon pies, Lucky Charms etc. Used to be Hostess cupcakes and Twinkies but sad to say they are not currently available.

 Foods to avoid: If I have never heard of it or can't pronounce it. I see all these recipes in the running mags for stuff and I've never heard of half the ingredients.Has anybody else? No ! And besides it would be too much trouble to find all that stuff and take all day to prepare it and would cost a fortune. That's why Stouffers is conveniently located in the frozen section of your favorite grocery store.

 So there you have it. Yes, like I said it's not for everybody but it works for me. For those that may be concerned that this is not a healthy diet I say, rest your worried minds. I am 5'9" and weigh 144lbs. I have BP of 110/60 and the bloodwork of a healthy college student. I have been to the Dr for an illness exactly ZERO times in over 25 years and since 1977 when I was 21 years old I have been twice total. Once for the flu in 1981 and an ear infection in 85 or 86.   I've missed two days of work in that time from not feeling well. I may get a mild cold every other year that doesn't slow me down but a bit.  I sleep well 99% of the time and you already know if you are reading this blog that I can run pretty well and  pretty far , especially for a 57 year old.

 Hmm, time for some Ice Cream. Think there is Mint chocolate Chip in the freezer.

Derby #9

 Running smart is not something I am  often known for but I decided to make a rare exception at Derby this year. It was a beautiful morning with temps in the low 40's and warming into the 50's with abundant sunshine which would make for great running conditions. I had a great time seeing amd greeting many friends inside the Derby Community Building until just a few minutes before start time.

  I lined up near the front with Jenn but only because no one else seemed to want to be up there. At this point I was still going with Plan A which was to run comfortably to the first aid station around the 4 mile mark and then assess the situation. If I felt good and was near pr pace, then I would go hard. If not then revert to plan B. We ran along nice and easy with Bill Keane and a few others in those early miles and I got over the hills feeling alright the first time .

  I arrived at the aid station just about 10 seconds per mile over pr pace which I knew I could easily make up if I felt great. Well, I felt ok but I knew in my heart that I could not come close to that today. The next segment is my favorite with a nice long gradual downhill along Sycamore Lane and to the dirt road so I decided to maintain pace at least until aid station two at about mile 7 and then re-assess my condition. The downhill mile went great in about 8:36 but once we turned onto the dirt road, a fairly stiif headwind greeted us and it was a lot harder to maintain pace and I quickly decided then that I would be switching to Plan B.

  Once at the aid station, I wished Jenn well and stopped briefly to speak to the "Professor", Frank Sherrill and then headed out to implement Plan B. That plan was to make today's event a training run for my upcoming 50 mile race and PR attempt coming up in January. I was going to slow down the effort, switch to a run/walk strategy while trying to maintain an average pace  faster than 11 minute per mile and get to the finish feeling like I could keep going comfortably at the end.

  Everything for the next few hours was going just as I hoped. I was making sure to keep up with the nutrition and hydration and just relax with the effort. The first lap was soon over and the 2nd lap went perfectly with my average pace about 10:15 as I headed out for the last lap.. I was able to chat with a few people occasionally even though we were really spread out by now. I made it over the hills with no problem just losing a few seconds on the pace and through the aid station 1 for the last time. I was feeling good and very happy to be confident that I would not be going into Plan C which would be doing the survival shuffle and suffering to the end. I do know for sure that if I hadn't shut it down at mile 7 that I would be in a lot of pain by now and not having much fun.

  As I headed down Sycamore the last time and onto the dirt road my pace had slowed just slightly and I was very happy to think that I had never had to resort to a shuffle. Other than the planned short walk breaks, when I was running , it was still a decent easy run pace. I came into aid station 2 and thanked them and told Frank I just had an easy 3.5 to go. Woohooo !

  Came into the finish in 5:27:38, a 10:26 average pace and although I was a bit tired , yes I could have easily maintained that pace for several more miles. Looking ahead, when I race in Nevada in January, I will not have beaten myself up with 84.5 miles of tough trail just 6 weeks before and I won't have raced  a marathon just two weeks before so I should be in better shape and a lot fresher. This was a big confidence builder for me that I am on the right track. Maybe next November I can come back to Derby for my 10th finish with fresher legs and be prepared to race it hard.

  Big thanks to Mark Long and the MTC volunteers for putting on this wonderful low key event once again.

Derby 50k 2012 Preview

 Saturday November 24th I will heading down to Derby NC for my 9th running of this wonderful little race put on by Mark Long of the Mangum Track Club. This is the only race that I have somewhat of a streak going. Bill Keane and I have both run 8 and the only person to have run all 9 previous versions is Tony Rouse. I was at that first year event but as a volunteer. I was still a novice at ultrarunning and didn't feel I was ready to run another 50k at that time. I did  at last get to run one lap with my friends Jay and Anita Finkle.

 Most years I have used this course to attempt a 50k pr. It is not an easy course with several hills on each of 3 laps but since it is a rare road ultra, at least it is faster than most other 50k's out there. I have usually run a pr here only to break it in January at Frosty 50k but last years attempt which I shared the first 20 miles with my friend Margherita ended with me blowing up halfway through the last lap. Nothing unusual there. I almost always blow up but each year I was getting a few minutes faster. A couple of other years I just ran for fun with friends including Karla's first ultra.

  I was kind of hoping to go for the pr once again this year but my previous schedule and the type of training I've been doing are not really  geared toward having a great performance here. The pace I would hope to run is about the same I was hoping to run at OBX two weeks ago and that didn't work out too well.
 So I will just go and hope to have fun. If I find myself close to that pace after a few miles and I feel good, who knows? Maybe I'll go for it until I blow up again. You never know. It could happen. But I expect I'll be no where near that pace and if so I'll hope to find someone to run with for fun. I might end up running with Jenn. IF I can stay up with her. Funny thing is that I usually run  lot faster than her at every distance up to 50 k but at 50 and 100 miles she has run faster than me. She just has one speed and doesn't slow down or blow up like I tend to do. Well, no matter how things turn out, I intend to have fun. Stay tuned !

OBX Marathon 2012. The year of the Kilt

 Headed down to OBX late Friday afternoon and arrived just after the power outage which had the entire Island and Manteo in the dark. It was a little tricky navigating without stoplights in the darkness but I soon found my way safely to the Howell home and within minutes the power was restored.

  Enjoyed a very relaxing and beautiful day on Saturday with temps in the 60's including breakfast with the Werners, a visit to the Surrette campsite and a short run. Everything was looking perfect for a great day of racing.

 Up in time Sunday morning for the short drive to get on the shuttle and then a few minutes over to the start from there.  I met up with Karla and Amy was along in a few minutes while we visited with some other friends before making our way over to the starting corral. All three of us were wearing our kilts at Amy's suggestion which sounded like a good idea since we had planned to run together as much as possible.

  We got off to a good start , just trying to stay relaxed and not get caught up in the excitement and stick to the pacing plan. Amy got a little ahead of us in traffic but we caught up right at the mile mark which was a little faster than I had wanted but still a few seconds slower than the 4 hour pace so everything was good. Amy was having a hard time holding back and began to pull away so we just let her go and hoped she wouldn't go too fast and burn out early. By mile two we had already decided the most popular word of the day would be kilt. It was amazing how many comments and compliments and questions we heard about kilts and /or skirts. this would continue for the whole race.

   By mile 3 we were settled into about perfect pace and feeling very comfortable with it. Amy remained within sight  but every now and then we would lose her as the road would turn or curve. Just past the 7 mile point on a narrow bike path that connects to the Wright Brothers Memorial we had a little excitement as a deer sprinted at top speed just in front of us and behind the runner just ahead. It would have done some serious damage if it had bumped into anyone.

  As we came into the open just before entering the Memorial I could see Amy about a minute ahead but then we lost sight of her. We saw her family cheering for us as we ran around the Memorial and then we headed out and towards Nags Head Woods at the 10 mile point. We passed it in about 1:30:30 which was just about perfect and was what I had hoped for minus the 30 seconds or so that it took for Karla to refill her water bottle a mile or so back.

  I was feeling good on the gentle rolling hills in this section and was thinking they felt easier than the past couple of times I ran here but Karla was falling back a little. I tried to keep the pace up just enough and hoped she would catch up to me. Around mile 11 I caught up to Amy. We were a little behind pace so I tried again to pick it up a bit and hope they would stay up but by 12 they were still behind a little so I stopped at a tree to take a whizz and then slowly caught back up to them.  When we began the short steep climb up the single track section I took it real easy but then tried to get back up to pace but the ladies were still hanging back so I eased off the pace and let them catch back up and as we exited the Woods at mile 13 we were about 30 seconds over 4 hour pace.

  We were now back onto the flat roads which was a good thing except it was getting a little warm and there is zero shade on the 2nd half of the course. The single track mile had been about 10:15 where we lost all of our cushion and then the next mile was a too slow 9:40 as we were now onto the highway. My legs were beginning to feel a bit tired but I decided to give it one more shot at getting the pace back up. I begin to push it a bit and I didn't look back hoping that the ladies would be hanging on but when I reached mile 15, I looked back and they were way behind. I had gone too fast in 8:44, hoping for 9  so I stopped and waited until Karla caught up to me. She went through it in about 9:20 and Amy was another 10 seconds back. We just plugged along around 9:20-9:30 pace for the next few miles. Amy would catch up and then fall back a bit and I was worried each time that she was going to struggle but she again showed  the toughness I had admired when she first started running with us just before her first marathon several years ago.

  Just around the 20 mile point Amy asked if I thought she could still get a pr (sub 4:06 for her) and I figured in my head we were on about 4:05 pace so I  just told her, yes, but she couldn't slow down. At that she slowly begin to pull ahead of us. Karla and I continued on slowling few seconds each mile but still moving well. Around mile 22 I stopped for a gel and  ran to catch back up to Karla but just after I pulled up beside her , my stomach felt a little sick and I felt as if all the energy drained from me. I told her I was going to have to let her go and I begin to walk.

 It was very frustrating to see her pull away. I had really hoped to finish with her and just a mile back I felt confident that I would. I ran again until halfway up the bridge and then walked to the top. Running down the other side I felt a resurgence and was moving at a decent pace and for a moment I thought I may actually catch back up to her but as soon as I hit level ground again the pace once again slowed  and from that point on I just did a run/walk to the finish. At this point there was no need to make it any harder than necessary.

  I finally made it to the finish in 4:14:23. Karla had slowed a little but still made it in around 4:09 which is her fastest time in her 7 years on this course. Amy not only didn't slow down but ran a strong finish and got the pr in sub 4:05.

 Although my time and especially not finishing with Karla was disappointing , I still enjoyed a wonderful weekend of friends and running. I can't say the result was unexpected. I imagine my body was still tired from the 84.5 mile beating I inflicted on it at Oil Creek 4 weeks ago and I had put in some pretty big miles in training since then. This one was for fun anyway but now the speedwork phase of training for the BQ attempt next March begins after some recovery time this week. Oh, and in the meantime along with the speedwork, I still have a 50k after Thanksgiving and a 50 mile PR attempt in January. Stay tuned. It may be interesting.

OBX Marathon 2012 Preview

    I'm looking forward to returning to the OBX Marathon for the 5th time this coming Sunday Nov 11th. Back in it's first year, 2006 I had not planned on running it but my training partner ,Karla The Marathon Princess had signed up right away. Of course at the time she signed up she didn't know that she would be battling cancer for nearly the entire year. After we ran Boston, she had hardly ran at all over the summer but she still wanted to run OBX despite the fact it came just after completing chemo and she was now into radiation therapy. I decided I would go and run and support her and have some fun.

  The weather was nasty with high winds and heavy rain for about half the run but we had a good time and she actually ran faster than she had at Boston. Here is my report for 2006.

   In 2007, I did a double running the Richmond Marathon for a BQ attempt on Saturday and then drove to OBX to run with Karla on Sunday. By now she was back to training well and getting close to her pre cancer condition. We were both surprised how well she ran that day and I was having to work to stay with her on my tired and worn out legs. Here is that report.

  I didn't run in 2008 but returned in 2009 and 2010. In both of those years I ran on my own to attempt Boston qualifiers but blew up and failed miserably both years. This year, I am not nearly in shape to go for the BQ and the only reason I signed up for the race so that I could once again run it with Karla. This will be our 12th time running a marathon together but it has been two years since the last time we've been able to  schedule one. Karla has not raced since OBX last year due to a foot injury that kept her from running most of last Winter and she only begin to get back to normal training last Spring. I would like to say I can easily keep up with her but she has been running very well lately and I will be very happy just to keep up.

 And as you should know , Ultramom Amy  and I are training together now to get her in shape for a BQ next Spring. She will be running with us Sunday for fun and as a test to see where we are in the training. The goal is to go for 4 hours. wish us Luck !

Another "Miles stone" 40,000 and counting

 Yes, during my first long run after Oil Creek while running in Umstead with 3 of the Angels, Amy, Jenn and Karla I passed my 40,000 lifetime mile.  Seems like a pretty big number but I have been at it for 35 years now. Funny thing is that over half of those have come in the past 10 years. During my first decade of running I only hit 1,000 for a year on a few occasions and my best was about 1600 in the early 80's. The miles really dropped off in the 90's and it wasn't until after the knee injury from soccer in 1998 that  I re-dedicated my self to running.  From then until 2002 I was still fairly low mileage, about 20 a week and concentrating on triathlon but after jumping in on my first ultra on a whim, things begin to get serious .

  The really cool and amazing thing now is that I am not only running more but enjoying it more than ever, especially having the privilege of sharing a lot of the miles the past 7 years with the most wonderful training partners that I call my Angels and Princess.

 The picture above was taken finishing my first 10k at The Natural Run in Winston-Salem in March 1978 in 48:59. If you look closely at my left hand I have just grabbed my finishing place popsicle stick from the man on my left. After that day I was hooked for life.