Yes, I have decided it's time to change my focus, training and racing and the new plan doesn't not include any ultra's for awhile.
Ok, let me explain. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, after failing to get any faster at the marathon in 2010 and 2011 I had given up on ever coming close to my Pr of 3:35:15 set in 2006 when I was 50. and it made sense in a way. You are not suppose to get faster once you get my age. So I decided to quit chasing after that goal but felt like I still had a shot at a 50 mile and 100 mile pr if I could just get everything to fall into place on the right day at the right race. And that became the focus of my training leading up to the 2012 Umstead 100. As you may recall lousy warm humid weather de -railed that attempt.
It was right after that race that Amy and I began to train her to get faster and get a Boston Qualifier. I had no plans at that time to go to Boston but our qualifying times were about the same so we could train at the same paces. I knew from past experience in 2005 and 2006 that I ran most of my best ultra's off of marathon training so it seemed reasonable to do the hard workouts with her while focusing on my ultra's. Of course over a period of a few months things were going great I began to feel that I actually had a legitimate shot at going for the marathon pr and added that to my list of goals.
Well, a couple of attempts and I fell short, most recently at Myrtle Beach due to the very windy conditions. But as I shared , I do my best ultras during the marathon training and it proved to be true again. During the training I shattered my 50 mile pr last year by an hour. and then this year after MB I have knocked an hour and seventeen minutes off of my 100 mile pr. and then I have just followed that up with a dream goal of 211 miles in 3 Days at the Fair and a course pr at the Boogie 50 miler. And also during that training period I have raced my fastest 5k in over 20 years and my fastest Half marathon since 2006 !
Ok Joey, then get to the point !
Well, the point is after running MB I had already decided that I was going to give myself every chance to get myself one more marathon pr before I turn 60. It already seems ridiculous to think I can do it at 58 but I have the confidence in myself that I will do it. I had planned on going for a 24 hour pr in the Fall and also another 100 mile pr but those plans were change after MB and the schedule has already been changed. I have already gotten the ultra pr's I wanted and now it's time to concentrate on the marathon.
I know it is a difficult challenge I am facing but I thrive on the challenges and training for them ! I also know that in order to do it I need to drop the ultra's for awhile. The recovery from them just
doesn't allow me enough time to train properly and I think that is the edge that I need to reach the next level. 6-8 weeks is just not enough time after an ultra so they are out of my life for at least the next 10 months. Ok, yes I still plan to run Derby at Thanksgiving as always but it is seriously just a long marathon and it will be an over distance training run.
I could just wait until after September and slow down and still get a BQ due to aging up for the 2016 event but this is not about Boston. It's all about the pr and actually I want to go sub 3:30 so there you have it !
Actually this is time away from ultra's is not without precedent since I began ultras in 2002. After Derby in 2008 I went an entire year without running an ultra before returning to Derby in 2009. The big difference this time around though is that in 2008 I was struggling with painful nagging injuries for the entire year and after taking 5 weeks off completely from running or biking, I began a slow re-building with biking swimming and just a little running as I returned to triathlon. After doing the Ironman Couer D'Alene in June 2009 I once again returned my focus to running. This time around not only am I not injured but I am in my best shape probably since my mid-30's !! And I am hoping that fact is what will allow me to push the barrier back just a little more before time does finally take it's toll on me an my speed.
So that is my announcement for the next phase of the runner formally known as Ultraman. It will be awhile before you get to follow along on any of my crazy ultra adventures but don't worry there will be more to come. Hopefully I will get lucky in the lottery and a year from now will be in the final days of training for The Western States 100 and if not I'll be looking for a qualifier to keep my name in the hat. And there are still so many more challenges out there I want to do. They will just have to wait awhile.
Stay tuned and I'll have an outline of how the training and racing the next 10 months will be looking like.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Sunday, June 08, 2014
Boogie 2014.
I was coming into the race this year full of confidence that my course pr from 2011 was going to fall based on how well my training and racing have been going this first 6 months of the year. Of course I did have some reservations about that with the lingering effects of the 72 hour race remaining as an unknown until I actually got out there and put things to the test. The weather forecast was looking like it would be about as good as can be expected for a night of Boogie.
I lined up near the front and while everyone was wondering exactly where the starting line was located Doug yelled go so we just took off from where we were standing. My plan was to run well within myself the first lap and not get over-heated knowing that after the first lap we would be in the shade and the temperatures would begin to slowly drop. It was about 86-87 but that is mild compared to some years. I fell into a comfortable pace and enjoyed some light conversation with the runners around me in those first few miles. I have to say that as I approached the house where the Devil Dog attacked 2 years ago I had a bit of an adrenaline boost but no sign of him around.
We came around the first 6 mile loop and I was pleased and a little surprised at the pace because it felt easy. I stopped at my car which I was using as my personal aid station and took a gel and refilled my water bottle . The water at the aid stations is pretty nasty here every year so I had brought my own. In fact I never stopped at the aid stations but once the entire race and I'll tell about that a little later in the report. Normal aid station fare just doesn't have much appeal to me any more and whenever its possible I provide most of my own nutrition.
I was quickly back out on the road and headed down the hill. This is about the only time in the race on this out and back spur that you get to see the runners in front and behind you in the daylight to know who they are. Lots of friends and familiar faces and lots of encouragement along the way. I ran strong up the hill and finished the lap a couple of minutes faster than I had planned and feeling good while looking forward to no more sun and cooler temps.
As I headed out for lap 2 I stopped at the car once again and slammed a Carnation breakfast shake. I found these to work better than the Kellogs that I used at Umstead because these do not have the 5 grams of fiber which lets just say adds up to way more than my body can tolerate in a 24 hour period !
Refilled the water and off I went. Still feeling good and moving well but I was having a bit of foot pain, so far the only thing I was feeling left over from 3 Days. I also noticed my ankle tendonitis which I have had since before Umstead 100 was being bothered by the camber of the roads, ,especially in those first couple of miles each lap so I was trying to find the flattest part of the road as possible.
Lap 2 was rather uneventful. By the time I was down to the river it was getting dark and I was having to keep my mouth shut to keep from eating so many bugs along the swampy area. I was not running with a light and as I was climbing the hill I was surprised at how many people were recognizing me and offering words of encouragement and calling my name. I could hardly recognize anyone but I did at least know most of the voices !
BD Sechler caught up to me just as we crested the hill and we ran the next 6 mile loop together. These were some of the most enjoyable miles of the night but I think as we got caught up in the conversation we ended up running a lot of the spots we should have been walking ! As we finished the lap I stopped at my car as he went on to the aid station. We had planned to continue on together but I was never able to catch him. I found out later he had dropped 4 miles later.
I had been feeling very good but as I took off down the hill things began to turn on me quickly. I was feeling tired, my hip flexors were aching, the pounding was hurting my feet and the ankle was flaring up and I was forced to take several walk breaks going down. Still lots of runners speaking to me in both directions in the dark. We did have a nice moon, just over half of one that was offering some good light but still nearly pitch black along the tunnel of trees by the swamp. By now it had cooled off into the low 70's but it was slimy sticky feeling as the humidity continued to rise. A haze in the sky prevented many stars from being out at this point.
I made it back up to finally complete mile 30 in a slow disappointing time for the lap and took time for a pitstop and then another re-fuel, refill stop at the car and hoping I would feel better now. But, I continued to struggle and things just kept getting worse. I was breathing way to hard, having to take frequent walk breaks on the easy downhill grade that I normally run the whole way. Life was beginning to stink for me and I was doing a lot of moaning and groaning. It was not going to be much fun to have to go on in this condition. I knew I could keep going but the motivation was fading.
With half mile to go before reaching the dog pen aid station I was telling myself, ok get it together. Think what you need to do to try and turn this around and be prepared when you get there. I finally shuffled in and immediately sat down and asked for some chips. That was one thing I knew was missing was any sodium other than the little bit in the gels. After about 5 minutes I got up and grabbed a cookie to go to tide me over until I could get to my car.
After finishing off the cookie I started to run again and in a few minutes was very pleased that I felt a whole lot better, running all the sections I normally do. No more gasping, moaning and groaning. I just hoped that the feeling would last. When I got to my car I was ready for the rocket fuel so I downed half a bottle of pepsi in addition to the gel. As I headed back down the hill I was very pleased that the hip flexors were relaxed and not aching nearly as much and once again I was able to run all the way down and to the turn. The only real problem was that the feet were still not liking the pounding. I was able to do some decent running coming back up too and I knew now that I could make my goal of a course pr even if I walked the remainder of the evening.
As I came through for mile 40 I could see that I had lost an awful lot of time in the those first 4 miles of the previous lap and my other goal of a sub 10 hour was going to be nearly impossible but I decided to give it my best shot and keep pushing. As I headed out on that last lap, it had cooled down into the mid to upper 60's, still slimy humid though. but the haze in the sky had cleared and more stars were visible now as the moon was getting low on the horizon.
Crusied by the dog pen and took a gel from my pocket and thanked them for being out there all night for us and moved on. Really enjoyed the now nearly star filled sky along the former dirt road which is the best part of the course for sky-watching . Although tired I was still moving well or at least it seemed that way and I pushed on in hopes of getting that sub 10 finish. But , when I made it back around to the car and just a hair over 4 miles to go I saw my time and the reality was there that I had no chance of doing it. My pace and perceived effort in the dark just didn't match up and I was moving a lot slower than I had hoped. More pepsi and off I went to get it over with. A huge pr was mine now and I thought to myself no need to push it but it's just not my style. As long as I was able I would go for as fast a time as I could.
Fortunately I did feel good but tired. As I ran all the way down once again I was making up stupid rhymes and making noises in rhythm to make the time pass and keep my mind from telling me to slow down or walk. And then I was at the turn and just two miles to go ! Anyone can run two miles I told myself, but then usually 2 miles don't include 1.4 of Bethel Hill ! I did run as much as I could, more than the past few trips up and then I could tell as I reached the last little pitch before the curve when you can see the lights of the church. And just at that moment as the church came into view a meteor flashed by to my right seemingly just above the treetops burning brightly ! That brought a smile to my face and then a minute later I crossed the finish line. I was so happy that I had been able to turn things around and feel so much better the last 16 miles or it could have been a real suffer-fest and I probably not have attained my goal.
I chatted with the folks there and got my mug while my heart rate dropped and then it was time for me to drop and do 50 pushups. Tada ! Time of 10:14:11 and the course pr by about 32 minutes. 97 runners started out of 120 that had signed up and of those, 50 finished the 50 miles and I placed 16th overall . Another 32 got credit for 30 miles and I guess that leaves 15 that were dnf's before reaching at least the 30.
Thanks to Doug and Brandon and all the volunteers for another awesome version of the Boogie !
 | |
| the start. |
I lined up near the front and while everyone was wondering exactly where the starting line was located Doug yelled go so we just took off from where we were standing. My plan was to run well within myself the first lap and not get over-heated knowing that after the first lap we would be in the shade and the temperatures would begin to slowly drop. It was about 86-87 but that is mild compared to some years. I fell into a comfortable pace and enjoyed some light conversation with the runners around me in those first few miles. I have to say that as I approached the house where the Devil Dog attacked 2 years ago I had a bit of an adrenaline boost but no sign of him around.
We came around the first 6 mile loop and I was pleased and a little surprised at the pace because it felt easy. I stopped at my car which I was using as my personal aid station and took a gel and refilled my water bottle . The water at the aid stations is pretty nasty here every year so I had brought my own. In fact I never stopped at the aid stations but once the entire race and I'll tell about that a little later in the report. Normal aid station fare just doesn't have much appeal to me any more and whenever its possible I provide most of my own nutrition.
 | |
| mile 6 |
I was quickly back out on the road and headed down the hill. This is about the only time in the race on this out and back spur that you get to see the runners in front and behind you in the daylight to know who they are. Lots of friends and familiar faces and lots of encouragement along the way. I ran strong up the hill and finished the lap a couple of minutes faster than I had planned and feeling good while looking forward to no more sun and cooler temps.
As I headed out for lap 2 I stopped at the car once again and slammed a Carnation breakfast shake. I found these to work better than the Kellogs that I used at Umstead because these do not have the 5 grams of fiber which lets just say adds up to way more than my body can tolerate in a 24 hour period !
Refilled the water and off I went. Still feeling good and moving well but I was having a bit of foot pain, so far the only thing I was feeling left over from 3 Days. I also noticed my ankle tendonitis which I have had since before Umstead 100 was being bothered by the camber of the roads, ,especially in those first couple of miles each lap so I was trying to find the flattest part of the road as possible.
Lap 2 was rather uneventful. By the time I was down to the river it was getting dark and I was having to keep my mouth shut to keep from eating so many bugs along the swampy area. I was not running with a light and as I was climbing the hill I was surprised at how many people were recognizing me and offering words of encouragement and calling my name. I could hardly recognize anyone but I did at least know most of the voices !
BD Sechler caught up to me just as we crested the hill and we ran the next 6 mile loop together. These were some of the most enjoyable miles of the night but I think as we got caught up in the conversation we ended up running a lot of the spots we should have been walking ! As we finished the lap I stopped at my car as he went on to the aid station. We had planned to continue on together but I was never able to catch him. I found out later he had dropped 4 miles later.
I had been feeling very good but as I took off down the hill things began to turn on me quickly. I was feeling tired, my hip flexors were aching, the pounding was hurting my feet and the ankle was flaring up and I was forced to take several walk breaks going down. Still lots of runners speaking to me in both directions in the dark. We did have a nice moon, just over half of one that was offering some good light but still nearly pitch black along the tunnel of trees by the swamp. By now it had cooled off into the low 70's but it was slimy sticky feeling as the humidity continued to rise. A haze in the sky prevented many stars from being out at this point.
I made it back up to finally complete mile 30 in a slow disappointing time for the lap and took time for a pitstop and then another re-fuel, refill stop at the car and hoping I would feel better now. But, I continued to struggle and things just kept getting worse. I was breathing way to hard, having to take frequent walk breaks on the easy downhill grade that I normally run the whole way. Life was beginning to stink for me and I was doing a lot of moaning and groaning. It was not going to be much fun to have to go on in this condition. I knew I could keep going but the motivation was fading.
With half mile to go before reaching the dog pen aid station I was telling myself, ok get it together. Think what you need to do to try and turn this around and be prepared when you get there. I finally shuffled in and immediately sat down and asked for some chips. That was one thing I knew was missing was any sodium other than the little bit in the gels. After about 5 minutes I got up and grabbed a cookie to go to tide me over until I could get to my car.
After finishing off the cookie I started to run again and in a few minutes was very pleased that I felt a whole lot better, running all the sections I normally do. No more gasping, moaning and groaning. I just hoped that the feeling would last. When I got to my car I was ready for the rocket fuel so I downed half a bottle of pepsi in addition to the gel. As I headed back down the hill I was very pleased that the hip flexors were relaxed and not aching nearly as much and once again I was able to run all the way down and to the turn. The only real problem was that the feet were still not liking the pounding. I was able to do some decent running coming back up too and I knew now that I could make my goal of a course pr even if I walked the remainder of the evening.
As I came through for mile 40 I could see that I had lost an awful lot of time in the those first 4 miles of the previous lap and my other goal of a sub 10 hour was going to be nearly impossible but I decided to give it my best shot and keep pushing. As I headed out on that last lap, it had cooled down into the mid to upper 60's, still slimy humid though. but the haze in the sky had cleared and more stars were visible now as the moon was getting low on the horizon.
Crusied by the dog pen and took a gel from my pocket and thanked them for being out there all night for us and moved on. Really enjoyed the now nearly star filled sky along the former dirt road which is the best part of the course for sky-watching . Although tired I was still moving well or at least it seemed that way and I pushed on in hopes of getting that sub 10 finish. But , when I made it back around to the car and just a hair over 4 miles to go I saw my time and the reality was there that I had no chance of doing it. My pace and perceived effort in the dark just didn't match up and I was moving a lot slower than I had hoped. More pepsi and off I went to get it over with. A huge pr was mine now and I thought to myself no need to push it but it's just not my style. As long as I was able I would go for as fast a time as I could.
Fortunately I did feel good but tired. As I ran all the way down once again I was making up stupid rhymes and making noises in rhythm to make the time pass and keep my mind from telling me to slow down or walk. And then I was at the turn and just two miles to go ! Anyone can run two miles I told myself, but then usually 2 miles don't include 1.4 of Bethel Hill ! I did run as much as I could, more than the past few trips up and then I could tell as I reached the last little pitch before the curve when you can see the lights of the church. And just at that moment as the church came into view a meteor flashed by to my right seemingly just above the treetops burning brightly ! That brought a smile to my face and then a minute later I crossed the finish line. I was so happy that I had been able to turn things around and feel so much better the last 16 miles or it could have been a real suffer-fest and I probably not have attained my goal.
I chatted with the folks there and got my mug while my heart rate dropped and then it was time for me to drop and do 50 pushups. Tada ! Time of 10:14:11 and the course pr by about 32 minutes. 97 runners started out of 120 that had signed up and of those, 50 finished the 50 miles and I placed 16th overall . Another 32 got credit for 30 miles and I guess that leaves 15 that were dnf's before reaching at least the 30.
Thanks to Doug and Brandon and all the volunteers for another awesome version of the Boogie !
A Short Boogie Quiz.
Question 1.
A. My feet are killing me
B. My quads are trashed
C. My butt hurts.
D. All of the above
Question 2.
A. Did anyone get the license tag of that bus that hit me?
B. Oh God, I am sooooo tired !!!
C. Just shoot me now and get it over with.
D. All of the above
Question 3.
A. I am never running another ultra.
B. I may never run again ! Well maybe a 5k every now and then.
C. when can i sign up for next year?
D. All of the above.
Bonus Question.
The best thing about the Boogie is
A. Doug and all the wonderful volunteers.
B. Running with all the wonderful like-minded runners and the support from each other.
C. Running in the dark with just the light of the moon and stars.
D.All the sounds of the night creatures, especially down by the swamp.
E. And the lightning bugs
F. Boogie Burgers !
G.Finishers Mugs.
H. Seeing the lights of the church as you round the last curve and reach the top of the hill on lap 5 and knowing you can stop !
I. All of the above !
Answers. 1. D
2. D
3. D
Bonus. I
Question 1.
A. My feet are killing me
B. My quads are trashed
C. My butt hurts.
D. All of the above
Question 2.
A. Did anyone get the license tag of that bus that hit me?
B. Oh God, I am sooooo tired !!!
C. Just shoot me now and get it over with.
D. All of the above
Question 3.
A. I am never running another ultra.
B. I may never run again ! Well maybe a 5k every now and then.
C. when can i sign up for next year?
D. All of the above.
Bonus Question.
The best thing about the Boogie is
A. Doug and all the wonderful volunteers.
B. Running with all the wonderful like-minded runners and the support from each other.
C. Running in the dark with just the light of the moon and stars.
D.All the sounds of the night creatures, especially down by the swamp.
E. And the lightning bugs
F. Boogie Burgers !
G.Finishers Mugs.
H. Seeing the lights of the church as you round the last curve and reach the top of the hill on lap 5 and knowing you can stop !
I. All of the above !
Answers. 1. D
2. D
3. D
Bonus. I
Thursday, June 05, 2014
Boogie 2014 Preview
I am excited and looking forward to returning to this 50 mile night time run after having to miss it last year while I was out in Wyoming. This of course is one of the MTC events and is always a lot of fun despite the heat and hills.
I made my debut in 2005 and actually just ran the marathon in the first year that Doug had added it as an option. I ran it with Karla, our 2nd together as I had just began training with her. It was tough and my slowest marathon to date. However I must mention I had just raced 41miles in an 8hr overnight run the week before !
I returned in 2006 for the 50 miler and despite having run the Old dominion 100 miler 2 weeks before I actually ran fairly well just taking it easy finishing in 11:03.
In 2007 I had to skip running since I had Western States coming up 2 weeks later but went and volunteered.
I returned in 2008 but I was really banged up that year with nagging injuries and was forced to drop after just 10 miles barely making it up Bethel Church Hill my legs were in such pain.
I came back again as a volunteer in 2009. After finally taking off a month to heal the previous December I was in a re-building mode and cross-training and had my first Ironman coming up a week later.
After the Ironman I was ready to re-focus on running and was excited to return to Boogie in 2010 ready to race. Well, it turned out to be one of the hottest ever with about 97F at the start. A slow miserable 11:32 that had me wandering to myself at mile 30 as to whether I was really wanting to be an ultra runner again. I decided I did and went back out and actually felt better the last lap.
By 2011 I was much stronger again and running well and set my course pr of 10:46 on a fun night including an epic thunderstorm.
And then the madness of 2012. I surprised everyone with my plan to do a double Boogie, the first Boogie 100. I started at 6am with my then training partner Amy and within the first 1.5 miles we were attacked viciously by the dogs. We continued on after the attack and Amy left after 26miles and I continued on but was forced to drop after 62 miles and go to the hospital.
And then I had to skip last year of course as I mentioned due to the Bighorn 100 out in Wyoming.
And that brings us to this year. I am in great shape and looking forward to giving my course record a beating ! But although I seem to be running well and recovering nicely, it has only been 3 weeks since the 72 hour race and the 211 miles . I have been running well with almost normal mileage but I'm sure it will be well into the 50 before I find out if or how much lingering fatigue there may be. And my feet are still a long ways from being back to normal and I just hope they hold up ok.
I made my debut in 2005 and actually just ran the marathon in the first year that Doug had added it as an option. I ran it with Karla, our 2nd together as I had just began training with her. It was tough and my slowest marathon to date. However I must mention I had just raced 41miles in an 8hr overnight run the week before !
I returned in 2006 for the 50 miler and despite having run the Old dominion 100 miler 2 weeks before I actually ran fairly well just taking it easy finishing in 11:03.
In 2007 I had to skip running since I had Western States coming up 2 weeks later but went and volunteered.
I returned in 2008 but I was really banged up that year with nagging injuries and was forced to drop after just 10 miles barely making it up Bethel Church Hill my legs were in such pain.
I came back again as a volunteer in 2009. After finally taking off a month to heal the previous December I was in a re-building mode and cross-training and had my first Ironman coming up a week later.
After the Ironman I was ready to re-focus on running and was excited to return to Boogie in 2010 ready to race. Well, it turned out to be one of the hottest ever with about 97F at the start. A slow miserable 11:32 that had me wandering to myself at mile 30 as to whether I was really wanting to be an ultra runner again. I decided I did and went back out and actually felt better the last lap.
By 2011 I was much stronger again and running well and set my course pr of 10:46 on a fun night including an epic thunderstorm.
And then the madness of 2012. I surprised everyone with my plan to do a double Boogie, the first Boogie 100. I started at 6am with my then training partner Amy and within the first 1.5 miles we were attacked viciously by the dogs. We continued on after the attack and Amy left after 26miles and I continued on but was forced to drop after 62 miles and go to the hospital.
And then I had to skip last year of course as I mentioned due to the Bighorn 100 out in Wyoming.
And that brings us to this year. I am in great shape and looking forward to giving my course record a beating ! But although I seem to be running well and recovering nicely, it has only been 3 weeks since the 72 hour race and the 211 miles . I have been running well with almost normal mileage but I'm sure it will be well into the 50 before I find out if or how much lingering fatigue there may be. And my feet are still a long ways from being back to normal and I just hope they hold up ok.
Sunday, June 01, 2014
3 Days At The Fair, some final thoughts.
It's been 2 weeks now and I am still struggling with putting the final words on this experience so I'm just going to ramble a little bit while I have some free time on my hands.
First of all I would like to say thanks to Rick and Jennifer McNulty , their family and all the volunteers. An awful lot of hard work goes into putting on an event like this. I imagine their were a lot of runners that got more sleep than the McNultys did.
I would love to be able to tell all about what an almost spiritual experience this was or how I had these epiphanies on the meaning of life. How I left a big part of myself out there or how I had to dig deep into myself and discover things I had hidden inside to push myself on. But even if I had the writing skills to do it I couldn't because none of it happened.
No, I am very happy to say that as long as I was out there, I never really entertained the thought of not continuing, even when I was so sick of the rain and even when my feet were killing me. I had come with a purpose and a challenging goal and for those long 72 hours I was able to keep my focus on what I came to do. Yeah, there were a few rough patches but I kept a positive attitude and kept moving. I have had quite a few races over the years that I have given up mentally as well as physically. There have been many times I have questioned why I was continuing to put myself through an ordeal and many times in distances from 50K to 100 miles made up my mind to never do another one. That did not happen here. I don't know if it is just that I was well trained for this or I did a great job of listening to my body and had a well thought out plan for success and was able to roll with the punches and adapt that plan as needed. Whatever the case, things just went amazingly well for me to be able to still be knocking off some fast laps in the final hours.
As I said in the reports there was really not a lot of self-exploration or deep thoughts going on. I was so focused on the goal that I was able to keep count of all 211 laps and I was constantly going through the numbers of how much time I had left, what pace I needed to maintain, how long I could allow for a rest break, etc and that really didn't leave much time for wondering in my mind. The one thing I did allow myself to think about was one of the main things that helped with my motivation and that was of my many family, friends, followers and of course the Angels that were out there supporting me. I really looked forward to reaching a milestone or something special that I wanted to share with the FB updates and text. I couldn't allow myself much time to see the likes and comments on FB but I was aware of them and when I would check and see a text checking on me from one of the Angels it would bring a smile to my heart. Thank all of you that cared enough about me to follow along. It was huge in helping me to perform as well as I did knowing you were out there thinking of me and pulling for me.
I do wish I could have spent more time talking to some of the other runners but it is really a hard thing to do when you have a tough, tight scheduled goal. I had to keep my own pace and it was just very rare that anyone was around that was moving at the same pace or wasn't running when I was walking or vice versa. There were some really cool people out there.
I have to say that I was a bit surprised and almost amazed at how little soreness I had and how well the recovery has gone. I was pretty much walking normally the day after once I got moving other than the very painful blister. By Tuesday that pain was nearly gone and I was walking normally with practically zero soreness I allowed myself another day for the swelling to go down and was running my normal easy pace by Thursday and ran everyday for 8 days straight afterwards with some strong fast miles mixed into some of those.
One thing that took a little longer was getting over the sleepiness ! I was sleeping my normal routine all week afterward but by mid afternoon everyday for the first week I was groggy and all I wanted to do was take a nap which I couldn't do . I was glad that was finally over. And eating ! That was a good thing. All I could think of beside sleeping was eating. Lots ! And I did !
So, is there another 3 day or other multi-day in the future plans? The first few days I was thinking no way of course. My feet hurt and I knew I had put myself through quite a beating. And I had achieved my goal so really what would be the point? Well, there would be none other than if I just ever have the desire to do another one and I can't answer that question now. I don't see anything anytime in the near future but who knows what another year or two or three may bring.
So thanks for reading and your support. Stay tuned and find out what I do have planned coming soon !
First of all I would like to say thanks to Rick and Jennifer McNulty , their family and all the volunteers. An awful lot of hard work goes into putting on an event like this. I imagine their were a lot of runners that got more sleep than the McNultys did.
I would love to be able to tell all about what an almost spiritual experience this was or how I had these epiphanies on the meaning of life. How I left a big part of myself out there or how I had to dig deep into myself and discover things I had hidden inside to push myself on. But even if I had the writing skills to do it I couldn't because none of it happened.
No, I am very happy to say that as long as I was out there, I never really entertained the thought of not continuing, even when I was so sick of the rain and even when my feet were killing me. I had come with a purpose and a challenging goal and for those long 72 hours I was able to keep my focus on what I came to do. Yeah, there were a few rough patches but I kept a positive attitude and kept moving. I have had quite a few races over the years that I have given up mentally as well as physically. There have been many times I have questioned why I was continuing to put myself through an ordeal and many times in distances from 50K to 100 miles made up my mind to never do another one. That did not happen here. I don't know if it is just that I was well trained for this or I did a great job of listening to my body and had a well thought out plan for success and was able to roll with the punches and adapt that plan as needed. Whatever the case, things just went amazingly well for me to be able to still be knocking off some fast laps in the final hours.
As I said in the reports there was really not a lot of self-exploration or deep thoughts going on. I was so focused on the goal that I was able to keep count of all 211 laps and I was constantly going through the numbers of how much time I had left, what pace I needed to maintain, how long I could allow for a rest break, etc and that really didn't leave much time for wondering in my mind. The one thing I did allow myself to think about was one of the main things that helped with my motivation and that was of my many family, friends, followers and of course the Angels that were out there supporting me. I really looked forward to reaching a milestone or something special that I wanted to share with the FB updates and text. I couldn't allow myself much time to see the likes and comments on FB but I was aware of them and when I would check and see a text checking on me from one of the Angels it would bring a smile to my heart. Thank all of you that cared enough about me to follow along. It was huge in helping me to perform as well as I did knowing you were out there thinking of me and pulling for me.
I do wish I could have spent more time talking to some of the other runners but it is really a hard thing to do when you have a tough, tight scheduled goal. I had to keep my own pace and it was just very rare that anyone was around that was moving at the same pace or wasn't running when I was walking or vice versa. There were some really cool people out there.
I have to say that I was a bit surprised and almost amazed at how little soreness I had and how well the recovery has gone. I was pretty much walking normally the day after once I got moving other than the very painful blister. By Tuesday that pain was nearly gone and I was walking normally with practically zero soreness I allowed myself another day for the swelling to go down and was running my normal easy pace by Thursday and ran everyday for 8 days straight afterwards with some strong fast miles mixed into some of those.
One thing that took a little longer was getting over the sleepiness ! I was sleeping my normal routine all week afterward but by mid afternoon everyday for the first week I was groggy and all I wanted to do was take a nap which I couldn't do . I was glad that was finally over. And eating ! That was a good thing. All I could think of beside sleeping was eating. Lots ! And I did !
So, is there another 3 day or other multi-day in the future plans? The first few days I was thinking no way of course. My feet hurt and I knew I had put myself through quite a beating. And I had achieved my goal so really what would be the point? Well, there would be none other than if I just ever have the desire to do another one and I can't answer that question now. I don't see anything anytime in the near future but who knows what another year or two or three may bring.
So thanks for reading and your support. Stay tuned and find out what I do have planned coming soon !
Saturday, May 24, 2014
3 Days at the Fair. Day 3
After eating I headed back around to my car. I didn't really want to stop now at the beginning of another day but I felt like I really needed another nap so I set my alarm for 30 minutes and snoozed in the cool morning air. As I headed out there were more runners on the course than at any other point in the weekend with the 24 hour runners now on the course as well as another bunch of marathoners.
Once again after a 1/4 mile walk it was time to test the running legs again and once again they surprised me and responded well and I was soon clicking off some good miles. I say surprised because to be honest I was expecting probably the 2nd half of the race to be a painfully slow death march but here I was into the third day and still running well and the legs were still feeling good. My feet were not feeling too good but amazingly I had not gotten anymore blisters since the 1st day and even after running in the rain for most of the 2nd.
The air was still cool as I moved around in the morning and a breeze was still blowing so I kept on my long sleeve shirt. The sun was now high in the morning sky and a welcome sight. I sent a text to the Angels at 51:53 that I had passed mile 160. I said I had a little over 20 hours to run another 50 miles to get my goal. It sounded easy but I'm sure it won't be ! By now the brain was not functioning too well. I was trying to figure out what I needed to get my goal and somehow the numbers just didn't add up. I badly needed a 5th grader to help me with some simple math like figuring out how I kept coming up with 21 hours in a day but somehow I knew there had to be 24. Finally gave up on that one and just decided to keep moving,
I took a quick break to eat some more and headed back out. By now it was still feeling cool on one half of the course with the breeze but on the other side the breeze could not be felt and with the sun bearing down it felt very hot. I had put on my straw wide brim hat to shade my head and face and was getting a lot of compliments with folks saying I had the coolest lid on the course. Bill said I reminded him of David Carradine and he was expecting me to throw down some Kung Fu any minute !
Moving steady and I hit 170 in 54:37. I texted the Angels that it was sunny and hot but after the miserable day before in the cold rain I was finding it hard to complain ! Sat down long enough to eat an amazing cheeseburger !
As I said the 24 hour runners were out with fresh legs so I was being passed frequently. About mid afternoon I had a funny experience. There was one young pretty petite lady that seemed to be passing me nearly every lap. And then once she came up to me and slowed down and asked, " Are you Joey Anderson ?" That caught me by surprise and I said why yes I am. She said her name was Melissa and she was from Raleigh. She said every time she mentions that she runs ultra's to someone then they ask if she knows Joey Anderson so she figured I must be some kind of local legend ! How cool is that !
After hitting mile 180 at 58:30 I was ready to eat some more and get in hopefully one last nap. I had only taken the two so far for about 1:45 and was a bit surprised I hadn't struggled more with sleep deprivation. Unfortunately I just couldn't get comfortable and with so many more runners and crews around now it was still noisy at 8pm so I probably just dozed for about 15 minutes and then got on up and went back out.
With the sun going down it was cooling off quickly so I soon had my jacket and gloves on. It was still a bit breezy but not nearly as much as the night before. Once again the legs responded and I was soon adding on the miles and as best as my feeble mind could calculate I was still on pace with a little cushion. I was not happy with my feet though and I got really frustrated when I felt I was getting a blister on the right forefoot. I stopped and added a double layer of socks and hoped that would reduce the friction and keep it from getting worse. And it did seem to help.
It seemed now that time had stood still and the miles were passing so slowly but I just couldn't think about it. One mile and one lap at a time and repeat and slowly add up the mileage. I passed 186 just before 11pm and texted the Angels good night. I told then them it was getting colder and I was adding another layer and putting the ear warmers back on. One of them was so excited that she asked me to let her know when I hit 200 no matter what time it was. I told them it was time to get this thing finished now with about 10 hours and 24 more miles to hit the goal. I had no doubt in my mind now that I was going to do it.
I don't know, maybe it was just because I was brain dead and probably sleep running half the time but during the darkest hours of the night it seemed the miles were getting shorter. That was cool. It made it a little easier to face heading out for each lap.
Finally just after 4 am I passed through mile 200. I stopped at the car to wake up the Angel that there was her 200 and to go back to sleep . Then I tried posting the 200 mile FB update. Whoops. I dozed off right n the middle of it. I thought I had sent it but there I was holding my phone and some gibberish typed in. I cleared it and started again. Boom, nodded off again. Finally on the 3rd attempt I was able to post it. I had planned on going straight through to the end but that wasn't going to happen so I set my alarm for another 30 minutes and was out in seconds.
Much too soon the alarm was going off. A quick mental calculation and I decided I could afford to rest another 20 minutes. After waking then I knew I had to get moving and it was so tough to head back into the cold. I did get moving and once again ran pretty well but my feet were really hurting. I made it another 5 miles and had to get some relief. My feet had swollen so much and with the double layer of socks that they were throbbing. I didn't want to take a break but something had to give so I stopped and took off the shoes and socks and propped my feet up and massaged them for about 15 minutes.
Once I put back on one thin pair of socks and the shoes it did feel much better. It had worked to prevent the blister but I was just going to have to take a chance now that I could cover 5 miles without the double layer. About 2 hours and 5 miles. Can I do it? Normally that question to myself would sound ridiculous but right now I was serious in wondering if it was possible. Well it didn't take long to answer that as I was soon putting up some of the fastest mile splits in the last 30 something hours. Not only would I get the 210 but could easily get an extra mile for icing on a deliciously successful cake !
When I came around I still had about 11 minutes on the clock but I didn't want to put in the effort to try and beat the clock for another one so I rang the bell for the pr and waited for Bill to come across. He busted out an incredible 21:30 last 3miles to finally achieve his goal of 200 with a final tally of 205. We sat down with Alanna to wait for the final tick of the clock when Bill mentioned something about pushups. I had forgotten so I immediately got up and did 72, one for each hour just before the end of the 72 hours.
What an amazing experience ! Texted the Angels and then enjoyed a wonderful breakfast while we awaited the awards ceremony. After the awards I called The Marathon Princess to give her all the details before taking a badly needed nap before I could drive to my motel. I slept for about two hours and then got up and packed up the tent that I had emptied and left drying in the sun while I slept. Drove into town and had a chili cheese dog and the best chocolate milkshake ever ! Then on to the motel where I crashed and had a 3.5 hour nap of the dead. Got up long enough to find a Boston Market and stuffed myself with half a chicken and all the good sides and then back to sleep like a baby til the next morning.
Look for some last words in another post coming soon
Once again after a 1/4 mile walk it was time to test the running legs again and once again they surprised me and responded well and I was soon clicking off some good miles. I say surprised because to be honest I was expecting probably the 2nd half of the race to be a painfully slow death march but here I was into the third day and still running well and the legs were still feeling good. My feet were not feeling too good but amazingly I had not gotten anymore blisters since the 1st day and even after running in the rain for most of the 2nd.
The air was still cool as I moved around in the morning and a breeze was still blowing so I kept on my long sleeve shirt. The sun was now high in the morning sky and a welcome sight. I sent a text to the Angels at 51:53 that I had passed mile 160. I said I had a little over 20 hours to run another 50 miles to get my goal. It sounded easy but I'm sure it won't be ! By now the brain was not functioning too well. I was trying to figure out what I needed to get my goal and somehow the numbers just didn't add up. I badly needed a 5th grader to help me with some simple math like figuring out how I kept coming up with 21 hours in a day but somehow I knew there had to be 24. Finally gave up on that one and just decided to keep moving,
I took a quick break to eat some more and headed back out. By now it was still feeling cool on one half of the course with the breeze but on the other side the breeze could not be felt and with the sun bearing down it felt very hot. I had put on my straw wide brim hat to shade my head and face and was getting a lot of compliments with folks saying I had the coolest lid on the course. Bill said I reminded him of David Carradine and he was expecting me to throw down some Kung Fu any minute !
Moving steady and I hit 170 in 54:37. I texted the Angels that it was sunny and hot but after the miserable day before in the cold rain I was finding it hard to complain ! Sat down long enough to eat an amazing cheeseburger !
As I said the 24 hour runners were out with fresh legs so I was being passed frequently. About mid afternoon I had a funny experience. There was one young pretty petite lady that seemed to be passing me nearly every lap. And then once she came up to me and slowed down and asked, " Are you Joey Anderson ?" That caught me by surprise and I said why yes I am. She said her name was Melissa and she was from Raleigh. She said every time she mentions that she runs ultra's to someone then they ask if she knows Joey Anderson so she figured I must be some kind of local legend ! How cool is that !
After hitting mile 180 at 58:30 I was ready to eat some more and get in hopefully one last nap. I had only taken the two so far for about 1:45 and was a bit surprised I hadn't struggled more with sleep deprivation. Unfortunately I just couldn't get comfortable and with so many more runners and crews around now it was still noisy at 8pm so I probably just dozed for about 15 minutes and then got on up and went back out.
With the sun going down it was cooling off quickly so I soon had my jacket and gloves on. It was still a bit breezy but not nearly as much as the night before. Once again the legs responded and I was soon adding on the miles and as best as my feeble mind could calculate I was still on pace with a little cushion. I was not happy with my feet though and I got really frustrated when I felt I was getting a blister on the right forefoot. I stopped and added a double layer of socks and hoped that would reduce the friction and keep it from getting worse. And it did seem to help.
It seemed now that time had stood still and the miles were passing so slowly but I just couldn't think about it. One mile and one lap at a time and repeat and slowly add up the mileage. I passed 186 just before 11pm and texted the Angels good night. I told then them it was getting colder and I was adding another layer and putting the ear warmers back on. One of them was so excited that she asked me to let her know when I hit 200 no matter what time it was. I told them it was time to get this thing finished now with about 10 hours and 24 more miles to hit the goal. I had no doubt in my mind now that I was going to do it.
I don't know, maybe it was just because I was brain dead and probably sleep running half the time but during the darkest hours of the night it seemed the miles were getting shorter. That was cool. It made it a little easier to face heading out for each lap.
Finally just after 4 am I passed through mile 200. I stopped at the car to wake up the Angel that there was her 200 and to go back to sleep . Then I tried posting the 200 mile FB update. Whoops. I dozed off right n the middle of it. I thought I had sent it but there I was holding my phone and some gibberish typed in. I cleared it and started again. Boom, nodded off again. Finally on the 3rd attempt I was able to post it. I had planned on going straight through to the end but that wasn't going to happen so I set my alarm for another 30 minutes and was out in seconds.
Much too soon the alarm was going off. A quick mental calculation and I decided I could afford to rest another 20 minutes. After waking then I knew I had to get moving and it was so tough to head back into the cold. I did get moving and once again ran pretty well but my feet were really hurting. I made it another 5 miles and had to get some relief. My feet had swollen so much and with the double layer of socks that they were throbbing. I didn't want to take a break but something had to give so I stopped and took off the shoes and socks and propped my feet up and massaged them for about 15 minutes.
Once I put back on one thin pair of socks and the shoes it did feel much better. It had worked to prevent the blister but I was just going to have to take a chance now that I could cover 5 miles without the double layer. About 2 hours and 5 miles. Can I do it? Normally that question to myself would sound ridiculous but right now I was serious in wondering if it was possible. Well it didn't take long to answer that as I was soon putting up some of the fastest mile splits in the last 30 something hours. Not only would I get the 210 but could easily get an extra mile for icing on a deliciously successful cake !
When I came around I still had about 11 minutes on the clock but I didn't want to put in the effort to try and beat the clock for another one so I rang the bell for the pr and waited for Bill to come across. He busted out an incredible 21:30 last 3miles to finally achieve his goal of 200 with a final tally of 205. We sat down with Alanna to wait for the final tick of the clock when Bill mentioned something about pushups. I had forgotten so I immediately got up and did 72, one for each hour just before the end of the 72 hours.
What an amazing experience ! Texted the Angels and then enjoyed a wonderful breakfast while we awaited the awards ceremony. After the awards I called The Marathon Princess to give her all the details before taking a badly needed nap before I could drive to my motel. I slept for about two hours and then got up and packed up the tent that I had emptied and left drying in the sun while I slept. Drove into town and had a chili cheese dog and the best chocolate milkshake ever ! Then on to the motel where I crashed and had a 3.5 hour nap of the dead. Got up long enough to find a Boston Market and stuffed myself with half a chicken and all the good sides and then back to sleep like a baby til the next morning.
Look for some last words in another post coming soon
Friday, May 23, 2014
3 Days At The Fair. Day 2
At the end of the first 24 hours and with 90 miles and a bit of a cushion , I allowed myself my first extended break having breakfast with the feet propped up on a picnic table under the shelter near the start/ finish. Sent out updates to the Angels and FB. I must say it felt good and it was oh so tempting to just stay there but I still wanted to go for as many miles as possible. I wanted at least 60 for the day and every minute sitting was a minute lost. It's tough to balance how much rest and how many miles to push especially if you've never done anything like this before. Finally after about 30 minutes I got up and headed out to walk a complete lap before resuming the running.
It wasn't much later that the rain started coming down harder and it was getting chillier. I hit the 100 mile mark in 27:40, or 12:40 in the afternoon and took a short break in my car to dry off and put on some dry clothes and put on a poncho. I told the Angels I was sick of rain and my left foot was a blistered mess. But as soon as possible I was back out on the loop.
By this point it was almost like I was living in a time warp. The rest of the world was pretty much forgotten. and all that mattered was trying to move as fast and as comfortably around that same old one mile loop, one step at a time. I had wondered what kind of things I may think of being out there for so long. Well, I have to say there was not much deep thinking going on. It seems nearly all my thoughts were just doing mental calculations of how fast I was moving, how long could I afford to take a break and still stay on pace, when should I eat again etc. Life had become very simple for me.
And it rained. And it rained. And the wind blew and swirled. And it sucked ! I was getting so miserable. And to make matters worse, as I went by my tent around 2 pm I saw that the wind had blown it half over and it had gallons of rain in it. No sleep yet and I would not be relaxing in my tent any this weekend. :(
Mile after miserable rainy mile we trudged on. Lots of runners were taking shelter and waiting it out but those of us with big goals just kept going. You don't know how easy it would have been to just say forget this, I'm done but I had no excuse not to go on other than I was wet , cold miserable, tired and my feet hurt !
Finally around 6:30 pm I noticed that I felt ok running but as soon as I begin to walk I was woozy and having a hard time not staggering. My run had turned into more of a shuffle too so I knew it was time to take that first nap and get out of the rain for awhile. The car was already crammed full of stuff but I was going to have to make some room to stretch out. This was not going to be the ideal sleeping arrangement but at least I would not be worrying about getting too comfortable. I changed into dry clothes again, texted the Angels I was at mile 115, set the alarm for 45 minutes and was soon nodding off. I woke up at the alarm and decided to give myself another 15 minutes of rest before heading out.
It was tough to pry myself out of the seat but I had a long ways to go. The rain had slowed to a sprinkle so I was hoping it would be over as I headed back on the loop. I walked about 1/4 mile before trying to run. I was dreading the attempt to get moving again but was pleasantly surprised that some zip had returned to my legs and I was running along at a good pace once again. I was not happy that it started raining hard again and I was soaked by the time I got back around to the car to get the poncho back on.
After a few more hours the rain finally stopped about 11pm but I kept the poncho on for another hour just to make sure. It stayed windy all night and cold too. I put on my jacket and I was very happy that at the last minute I had packed some ear warmers ! The cold and lack of rain kept me motivated to keep moving and I was able to put in another night of good mileage. As usual most of those were lonely miles as I watched the fast guys from the 48 hour pass me regularly and I would pass the slower runners, mostly walkers at this point in the 72. I have to say I was very pleased that I was still running well and sticking with my marks to start walking and when to run.
I wish I could tell you the thoughts that went through my brain but I'm afraid there still wasn't much wisdom going on in there. Sometimes in long races I have designed houses, written stories and songs, planned vacations started business etc, but now I was really just counting very slowly one mile at a time and doing those same mental pace calculations over and over.
I was so happy when daylight began to return once again and I could see the clouds moving out and an actual sunrise ! I pushed on until I was done at the 48 hour mark and was elated to hit 153 miles, 3 over my goal pace at this point. I continued around to my car and texted the angels and updated FB and then headed back around for some more breakfast.
To Be Continued.
It wasn't much later that the rain started coming down harder and it was getting chillier. I hit the 100 mile mark in 27:40, or 12:40 in the afternoon and took a short break in my car to dry off and put on some dry clothes and put on a poncho. I told the Angels I was sick of rain and my left foot was a blistered mess. But as soon as possible I was back out on the loop.
By this point it was almost like I was living in a time warp. The rest of the world was pretty much forgotten. and all that mattered was trying to move as fast and as comfortably around that same old one mile loop, one step at a time. I had wondered what kind of things I may think of being out there for so long. Well, I have to say there was not much deep thinking going on. It seems nearly all my thoughts were just doing mental calculations of how fast I was moving, how long could I afford to take a break and still stay on pace, when should I eat again etc. Life had become very simple for me.
And it rained. And it rained. And the wind blew and swirled. And it sucked ! I was getting so miserable. And to make matters worse, as I went by my tent around 2 pm I saw that the wind had blown it half over and it had gallons of rain in it. No sleep yet and I would not be relaxing in my tent any this weekend. :(
Mile after miserable rainy mile we trudged on. Lots of runners were taking shelter and waiting it out but those of us with big goals just kept going. You don't know how easy it would have been to just say forget this, I'm done but I had no excuse not to go on other than I was wet , cold miserable, tired and my feet hurt !
Finally around 6:30 pm I noticed that I felt ok running but as soon as I begin to walk I was woozy and having a hard time not staggering. My run had turned into more of a shuffle too so I knew it was time to take that first nap and get out of the rain for awhile. The car was already crammed full of stuff but I was going to have to make some room to stretch out. This was not going to be the ideal sleeping arrangement but at least I would not be worrying about getting too comfortable. I changed into dry clothes again, texted the Angels I was at mile 115, set the alarm for 45 minutes and was soon nodding off. I woke up at the alarm and decided to give myself another 15 minutes of rest before heading out.
It was tough to pry myself out of the seat but I had a long ways to go. The rain had slowed to a sprinkle so I was hoping it would be over as I headed back on the loop. I walked about 1/4 mile before trying to run. I was dreading the attempt to get moving again but was pleasantly surprised that some zip had returned to my legs and I was running along at a good pace once again. I was not happy that it started raining hard again and I was soaked by the time I got back around to the car to get the poncho back on.
After a few more hours the rain finally stopped about 11pm but I kept the poncho on for another hour just to make sure. It stayed windy all night and cold too. I put on my jacket and I was very happy that at the last minute I had packed some ear warmers ! The cold and lack of rain kept me motivated to keep moving and I was able to put in another night of good mileage. As usual most of those were lonely miles as I watched the fast guys from the 48 hour pass me regularly and I would pass the slower runners, mostly walkers at this point in the 72. I have to say I was very pleased that I was still running well and sticking with my marks to start walking and when to run.
I wish I could tell you the thoughts that went through my brain but I'm afraid there still wasn't much wisdom going on in there. Sometimes in long races I have designed houses, written stories and songs, planned vacations started business etc, but now I was really just counting very slowly one mile at a time and doing those same mental pace calculations over and over.
I was so happy when daylight began to return once again and I could see the clouds moving out and an actual sunrise ! I pushed on until I was done at the 48 hour mark and was elated to hit 153 miles, 3 over my goal pace at this point. I continued around to my car and texted the angels and updated FB and then headed back around for some more breakfast.
To Be Continued.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
3 Days At The Fair. Day One
I had chosen to get a good nights sleep in a motel about 25 miles away from the race site knowing I was going to be dealing with sleep deprivation over the next 72 hours. I woke up refreshed and had a nice waffle for breakfast before heading over too the fairgrounds.. Unfortunately the stomach bug that had hit me Tuesday morning was still not 100% over so I was really hoping it would not be too much of an issue during the race. I had really concentrated on staying hydrated..
I arrived at the site and saw a few familiar faces while I made my final preparations. I was feeling excited but also a bit apprehensive having never done anything of this magnitude in my years of ultra-running. 72 hours is a long time and I had a rather lofty goal in mind which even under the best of conditions would be a difficult challenge for me and would not allow for any lolly-gagging. I knew I was putting myself under pressure but I wouldn't have it any other way.
It was a bit foggy, upper 60's and humid as we began. My plan was to go out a bit hard on this first day and go for some intermediate goals and then hope to hang on for day 2 and 3 and hope I hadn't run myself into too deep of a hole. I was also prepared to back off of that plan as soon as it begin to look like things weren't going well. Well, what I wasn't expecting was to lead the first lap. I began at what felt like an easy pace and noticed after the first 1/4 mile that I was only about 10 yards behind a group of 4 runners By the half the distance was still the same and that's when I decided it would be pretty cool to be in the lead after the 1st mile so at 3/4 I made my move And 50 yds later I missed a turn ! There was an arrow pointing straight but it was from another course apparently but the guys behind me yelled for me to come back so I had to work a bit harder to pass them all again. Crossed the line in 8:32 and immediately backed off to recover and then settled into my real pace.
It was warm and humid and the MTC shirt came off after the 2nd mile. The course is not flat by the way. I would guess it's about 1/3 upgrade, 1/3 down grade and the other 1/3 flat with the grades varying from 1 to 2%. For most of the early miles I was running nearly the whole lap for the first hour and then began experimenting with and timing while taking walk breaks at different points to see how it affected the over all pace. I soon figured out what seemed to work best and settled in to that pace.
Things were going very well for me. My legs felt good, the energy level was good and I was right on pace to get a 100 mile pr for the 1st day. I was working the nutrition and hydration strategy and everything was clicking. The only issue was it was still very humid and getting warmer into the mid 70's. Thankfully it stayed overcast the entire day other than a few moments a couple of times when the sun would peek through. The miles were sliding by and I felt good but it wasn't much longer that I could tell I would not be setting a hundred mile or 24 hour so I made the decision at mile 25 in 4:32 to shut it down. I stopped to take my first break and eat some lunch and texted the Angels an update.
That would kind o f be my routine for the remainder of the race. Take about a 15 minute break with my feet propped up about every 10 miles or so, get some food in me and then walk all or most of a lap before resuming the running. I was soon back out on the course and was able to share a few miles with Bill Gentry and Bob Ring. They were on a set pacing plan but every now and then over the next days if they were starting a lap as I was getting up from a break I would join them for a couple or 3 miles. These were some of the best miles of the weekend with these guys I've known since I first began running ultra's 12 years ago.
At some point a pretty lady pulled up beside me that I thought looked familiar. She said we had met at Beast of Burden last summer. Turns out she had given me a ride back to the start after I had to drop with the injury. Her name is Maryka and she set Canadien age group records for the 48 and 72 hour distances.
I was very disappointed that before I even got to 50 mile that I was getting some blisters. I had one rather painful one on the left forefoot, one on the left outer heel and one on the right inner heel. Great ! Normally if I get blisters at least I'm over halfway done but here I am looking at another 66 hours of dealing with the pain. Oh well, suck it up and stay focused.
Despite backing off I was still running well and went through 50 miles in 11:05. I could have probably tried to push it for a sub 24 100 but it would have been meaningless and just worn me down so I let that thought go. At mile 57, around 10 pm I texted the Angels and told them I felt I could get 90 for the 1st 24 hrs and I would update them in the morning. I took time to pop the blisters and put on some new socks. When I had taken off the socks I discovered another blister between the pinkie and 2nd toe of my left foot that I was unaware of. I didn't need to tend to it. It had already popped and was a nice bloody little mess. Oh well, I don't have time to mess with them or worry about them. I'm a man on a mission.
I headed out into the night ready to settle in for some relaxed miles. The course is well lit with street lights so no worries there. I was hoping it would cool off but it never got lower than the mid 60's and still very muggy. I was not planning on sleeping any this first night unless I was struggling. I really wanted to get in as many miles as possible while staying relaxed. Everything was still going well as planned. I was still taking a short break about every 10 miles, posting a FB update, eating a little and back out on that by now very familiar loop. I did get a bit groggy around 4am but I was maintaining pace and I knew from experience that a soon as daylight would come back around that I would perk up for awhile.
I was a bit surprised that it begin to get a bit light by 5 am. And then at 6am I begin to perk up just as the rain started. The first few hours it was a light rain and sprinkle and it was still warm so it was not really an issue just yet. By now the 48 hour runners were assembling to begin their race. I hit mile 90 just a few minutes before 9am and the end of the first 24 hours just as i had predicted to the Angels.
To be continued !.
I arrived at the site and saw a few familiar faces while I made my final preparations. I was feeling excited but also a bit apprehensive having never done anything of this magnitude in my years of ultra-running. 72 hours is a long time and I had a rather lofty goal in mind which even under the best of conditions would be a difficult challenge for me and would not allow for any lolly-gagging. I knew I was putting myself under pressure but I wouldn't have it any other way.
It was a bit foggy, upper 60's and humid as we began. My plan was to go out a bit hard on this first day and go for some intermediate goals and then hope to hang on for day 2 and 3 and hope I hadn't run myself into too deep of a hole. I was also prepared to back off of that plan as soon as it begin to look like things weren't going well. Well, what I wasn't expecting was to lead the first lap. I began at what felt like an easy pace and noticed after the first 1/4 mile that I was only about 10 yards behind a group of 4 runners By the half the distance was still the same and that's when I decided it would be pretty cool to be in the lead after the 1st mile so at 3/4 I made my move And 50 yds later I missed a turn ! There was an arrow pointing straight but it was from another course apparently but the guys behind me yelled for me to come back so I had to work a bit harder to pass them all again. Crossed the line in 8:32 and immediately backed off to recover and then settled into my real pace.
It was warm and humid and the MTC shirt came off after the 2nd mile. The course is not flat by the way. I would guess it's about 1/3 upgrade, 1/3 down grade and the other 1/3 flat with the grades varying from 1 to 2%. For most of the early miles I was running nearly the whole lap for the first hour and then began experimenting with and timing while taking walk breaks at different points to see how it affected the over all pace. I soon figured out what seemed to work best and settled in to that pace.
Things were going very well for me. My legs felt good, the energy level was good and I was right on pace to get a 100 mile pr for the 1st day. I was working the nutrition and hydration strategy and everything was clicking. The only issue was it was still very humid and getting warmer into the mid 70's. Thankfully it stayed overcast the entire day other than a few moments a couple of times when the sun would peek through. The miles were sliding by and I felt good but it wasn't much longer that I could tell I would not be setting a hundred mile or 24 hour so I made the decision at mile 25 in 4:32 to shut it down. I stopped to take my first break and eat some lunch and texted the Angels an update.
That would kind o f be my routine for the remainder of the race. Take about a 15 minute break with my feet propped up about every 10 miles or so, get some food in me and then walk all or most of a lap before resuming the running. I was soon back out on the course and was able to share a few miles with Bill Gentry and Bob Ring. They were on a set pacing plan but every now and then over the next days if they were starting a lap as I was getting up from a break I would join them for a couple or 3 miles. These were some of the best miles of the weekend with these guys I've known since I first began running ultra's 12 years ago.
At some point a pretty lady pulled up beside me that I thought looked familiar. She said we had met at Beast of Burden last summer. Turns out she had given me a ride back to the start after I had to drop with the injury. Her name is Maryka and she set Canadien age group records for the 48 and 72 hour distances.
I was very disappointed that before I even got to 50 mile that I was getting some blisters. I had one rather painful one on the left forefoot, one on the left outer heel and one on the right inner heel. Great ! Normally if I get blisters at least I'm over halfway done but here I am looking at another 66 hours of dealing with the pain. Oh well, suck it up and stay focused.
Despite backing off I was still running well and went through 50 miles in 11:05. I could have probably tried to push it for a sub 24 100 but it would have been meaningless and just worn me down so I let that thought go. At mile 57, around 10 pm I texted the Angels and told them I felt I could get 90 for the 1st 24 hrs and I would update them in the morning. I took time to pop the blisters and put on some new socks. When I had taken off the socks I discovered another blister between the pinkie and 2nd toe of my left foot that I was unaware of. I didn't need to tend to it. It had already popped and was a nice bloody little mess. Oh well, I don't have time to mess with them or worry about them. I'm a man on a mission.
I headed out into the night ready to settle in for some relaxed miles. The course is well lit with street lights so no worries there. I was hoping it would cool off but it never got lower than the mid 60's and still very muggy. I was not planning on sleeping any this first night unless I was struggling. I really wanted to get in as many miles as possible while staying relaxed. Everything was still going well as planned. I was still taking a short break about every 10 miles, posting a FB update, eating a little and back out on that by now very familiar loop. I did get a bit groggy around 4am but I was maintaining pace and I knew from experience that a soon as daylight would come back around that I would perk up for awhile.
I was a bit surprised that it begin to get a bit light by 5 am. And then at 6am I begin to perk up just as the rain started. The first few hours it was a light rain and sprinkle and it was still warm so it was not really an issue just yet. By now the 48 hour runners were assembling to begin their race. I hit mile 90 just a few minutes before 9am and the end of the first 24 hours just as i had predicted to the Angels.
To be continued !.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
3 Days at the Fair Preview
This will be the 5th year this event has been held at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in NJ.. The course is nearly all asphalt on a 1 mile certified loop with chip timing. It's go as you please and try to cover as many miles in the 72 hours. I can take naps, eat, leave the area or whatever but the clock is ticking. I will be setting up a tent and canopy along the course Hinson Lake style. Pacers are not allowed and I don't have any crew but from what I have heard the care they give the runners is second to none.
So what is my plan? As Mike Tyson said, everybody has a plan until they get hit in the mouth. To be honest I really don't have much of a plan and will just take what each day brings me. Ok, maybe a bit of a plan. Keep hydrated, keep the nutrition going, run when I can and walk when I have to. Stay warm, stay dry, stay cool, whatever.
Pacing? I have no idea how one spreads their energy over three days so I will just go how I feel. I hope I feel good.
What are my goals? Well number one is to survive and not hurt myself. Other than that I do have several goals for overall and some intermediate distances and times but I think I will keep them to myself ;)
Ok, I didn't pay all this money and drive over 500 miles just to lollygag around the loop. You know I am too competitive with myself for that to happen so I am going o go as hard as I can and if all goes well some personal records may fall. I even have one goal that is just too ridiculous for me to even think about but I am anyway.
There will be no online tracking but during breaks I hope to post some updates on FB. I will also be texting some of the Angels so maybe they can help with the updates too.
Here is the race website.
Stay tuned. If I survive there will be a report soon !
Sunday, May 04, 2014
Flying Pirate Half Marathon
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| The Schwag |
This didn't go quite like I had hoped but despite blowing up I'm happy that I still gave it 100% effort. Well, I'm getting ahead of myself so lets go to the start. It was a beautiful morning for the race, probably 60F while we were waiting around. I went for a one mile warmup as I usually try to do about 30 minutes before and then with about 10 minutes to go I head back out for a few short strides to get ready to move fast before finding a spot in the first corral.
My plan was to try and go out at a 7:30 pace and try to hold onto that for the first 10 miles knowing I would slow down in the dirt hills of the last 5k and that should get me about the 1:40 I had for a goal. I felt very relaxed as we began and was patient and like magic I pretty much nailed that first mile in 7:28. I felt very happy with that and settled in. Mile 2 was a 7:25 so I knew I just needed to relax and not push it for now. The sun was getting above the trees by now and I was noticing it was really a bit warm for optimal racing but at least the humidity was low and there was a breeze which fortunately was a tailwind for most of the morning.
Miles 3 and 4 were uneventful in 7:37 and 7:37. There was a guy leap-frogging with me since the 1st mile that looked like he could possibly be in my age group so I was happy to just stay close to him at this point. I was feeling ok but there was no way I could push the pace anymore and was just going to have to be content with the slightly slower miles which would still get me close to my goal.
Mile 5 has one short hill and I felt very weak going up it, not a good sign and I was surprised at how much distance I lost on the guy I was keying off of but I was able to slowly began to reel him back in on the flat after coming down the backside. A 7:39 mile 5 so the hill didn't slow me as much as I was afraid it did, mostly thanks to running strong down the backside.
For most of the race up to this point I could hear a loud voice behind me yelling out to the spectators and anyone else that would listen. As he got closer I heard him say to someone he was running next to that it was his first half. He obviously was pacing himself well because I could barely gasp a word between breaths !
I thought I was moving well now so I was pretty disappointed that mile 6 was a slower 7:45. Not good ! I went through 10k in 46:57, still on pace to go 1:40 but also knowing the woods and hills were coming. I tried to push the pace back up again and was successful with a 7:36 mile 7 but it was not feeling easy. A whole lot different than how I felt back in March at TR Half.
We finally made it to the Wright Bros. Memorial and just past the slow 7:50 8 mile mark the loud guy passed me. He was a young guy and offered encouragement but I was hurting by now and the older guy I was trying to hang with was putting on a big gap. I lost sight of him by mile 9 which was a bad one in 8:03.
At this point I knew a 1:40 was out of the question but I still wanted to run as fast as possible and try to get an age group award so I dug deep and kept pushing. By now I was into my sounds like I'm dying , gasping phase which is usually just in the last mile when I am close to a good time. I'm sure it is disconcerting to people around me but it keeps me pushing through the pain. We entered the woods with the 10 mile just ahead near the top of the first hill and I passed in 8:13 giving me a 10 mile split of 1:17:11 or about 2 minutes slower than I had hoped for and a minute slower than the pace for a 1:40. Now the best I could hope for would be around 1:42 but at least no old guys had passed me yet !
I pushed and moaned and groaned my way to mile 11 still slowing to 8:33, very discouraging as hard as I was working. And now the grey hairs started passing me and I was not happy at all. First one, then two and then at mile 12 a third one ! Mile 12 was an 8:44. One more mile and the single track ahead. Oh, please let this be over ! I pushed hard to try and catch back up to the old guys but it wasn't there and when we made the turn up the steep hill on the trail I was just totally spent and had to walk it.
To add insult to injury I was being harassed by horse flies !! The last mile was a total misery with every ounce of energy gone. 10:14 ! Booooo !
Crossed the finish in 1:45:33, way off what I wanted but I have to say that although I am disappointed in my time I am proud of the effort I gave. It would have been so easy to back off and not hurt when it was obvious the time would be way off but my competitive nature just wouldn't let me do that today.
As it turns out I was only passed by one person in my age group. At 10k I was in 3rd and I finished up in 4th. Of course if I had run close to my target I would have been on the podium but it was not my day and congrats to the guys that were !
So not the day i wanted but I have say that this is a very well organized race. The folks at Outer Banks Sporting Events put on some quality races.
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| post race dip. A little brisk ! |
On to the next adventure. Stay tuned !
Friday, May 02, 2014
Flying Pirate Half Marathon -Preview
This one wasn't even on my radar at the beginning of the year, let alone on my race schedule but things change and I'm raring to go ! I was planning on doing something between Umstead and 3 Days at the Fair but was really looking at a return to The Promise Land 50++, one of my favorite trail ultra's. The main reason I decided against it was because I really want to do well at 3 Days and beating myself up at Promise Land less than 3 weeks before really just wasn't a smart thing to do. In addition I wasn't sure how recovered I would be from Umstead with just 3 weeks . Kind of sad I couldn't go and it sounds like they had a near perfect day for fun on the trails but I'm sure it was a smart decision to skip it.
But anyway, my training partners Karla and Lisa were going to run at Flying Pirate as well as Karla's husband Frank so I decided it would be fun to go hang out for a weekend at OBX with them and get in a race. At almost a third of the distance and nearly flat for most of the time the recovery will be a lot easier !
I was waiting to see just how well I was recovered from Umstead before making a decision on whether to race or just run it for fun. Well, the recovery has gone better than expected and I've been able to get in a few good hard workouts, hill repeats, mile repeats, tempo and race pace and felt strong in all of them so I guess I'm ready.
The course is the same as the first half of the OBX Marathon which I have done 6 times now so I am very familiar with it. The 1st 10 miles are almost all flat except for one short hill around mile 4. The last 3 miles are in Nags Head Woods on dirt for the next two miles with rolling hills and then the last mile is mostly on a single track trail over ancient sand dunes. I plan to try and build a bit of a cushion in the first 10 and then hold on as well as I can the last 3. I'm not sure I can duplicate the effort I had in March at Tobacco Road but I am going to try. With the slightly harder course I think a 1:40 would be about equivalent to my 1:39 I ran then. This is the 5th year for this race and in every year but one previously a 1:40 would have easily gotten 2nd place in my age group. That is my goal for this year but there are a lot more entered this year so the competition could be tougher.
The race will have runner tracking so if you're interested you can go to the race website and sign up for alerts via text or to FB or Twitter. My bib # is 32. Race starts at 7am Sunday am.
here is the link to the website.
Wish me luck !
But anyway, my training partners Karla and Lisa were going to run at Flying Pirate as well as Karla's husband Frank so I decided it would be fun to go hang out for a weekend at OBX with them and get in a race. At almost a third of the distance and nearly flat for most of the time the recovery will be a lot easier !
I was waiting to see just how well I was recovered from Umstead before making a decision on whether to race or just run it for fun. Well, the recovery has gone better than expected and I've been able to get in a few good hard workouts, hill repeats, mile repeats, tempo and race pace and felt strong in all of them so I guess I'm ready.
The course is the same as the first half of the OBX Marathon which I have done 6 times now so I am very familiar with it. The 1st 10 miles are almost all flat except for one short hill around mile 4. The last 3 miles are in Nags Head Woods on dirt for the next two miles with rolling hills and then the last mile is mostly on a single track trail over ancient sand dunes. I plan to try and build a bit of a cushion in the first 10 and then hold on as well as I can the last 3. I'm not sure I can duplicate the effort I had in March at Tobacco Road but I am going to try. With the slightly harder course I think a 1:40 would be about equivalent to my 1:39 I ran then. This is the 5th year for this race and in every year but one previously a 1:40 would have easily gotten 2nd place in my age group. That is my goal for this year but there are a lot more entered this year so the competition could be tougher.
The race will have runner tracking so if you're interested you can go to the race website and sign up for alerts via text or to FB or Twitter. My bib # is 32. Race starts at 7am Sunday am.
here is the link to the website.
Wish me luck !
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Training for the pr or how it happened that at 58 years of age I'm running better than I have in over 8 years
Stuff like this is not really suppose to happen. After running for 37 years and at my age , you just aren't suppose to improve like I have the past year and a half. Of course I can't even imagine coming close to my prs at the shorter distances which I set in my late 20's and early 30's. That is just impossible, but since I only began running marathons and ultra's back in 2002 at age 46 I had a little room for improvement. Well that improvement came in 2006, eight years ago and at that time I was training hard and putting in a lot of miles and being age 50 then I knew that I would soon be slowing down. And I did after my pr 100 in Feb 2007 at Rocky Raccoon.
A few years and an injury had caused me to slow down but after a strong comeback in 2009 I began to train hard for another marathon pr and BQ. Although I did BQ twice in 2010 it was just barely and nowhere close to my pr. I resigned myself to the fact that I would never be able to improve at the marathon or shorter but I felt that I still had one more shot at the 50 and 100 mile pr's. I set my sights on going for it at Umstead in 2012 and was in really good shape for that race but bad weather de-railed that effort.
It was shortly after that race that one big thing changed that had a big effect on how my running would improve over these past two years. I began training Amy for a Boston qualifier. We had been running for a couple of years once or twice most weeks but as we got into the training some weeks we ran 4 and 5 times together. I had no desire to run Boston again at that time as I was focused on still trying to get a 50 and 100 pr. Well, in the process I learned a lot as I tried to get her in. I remembered that for my marathon pr I had actually improved in my ultra-running so I decided that would be how I would focus my training this time.
Another thing from the experience training her was due to the fact that we both need the same qualifying time. I had always used pace calculators like Daniels and McMillan and they always had you training based on recent race times. That hadn't been working the past few years and I was finding it impossible to slow Amy down on days she felt good anyway, so with limited time to get her ready we started doing the speedwork and tempo and pace work based on our goal instead. And it was working ! For the first time in years I was seeing improvements ! Last Jan 2013 I finally not only set a new 50 mile pr but shattered it by an hour and three minutes.
So from that came confidence that I could improve and believing in yourself is a huge part of it. Another big thing is I have run consistently the highest weekly average miles for the past 4 years straight with only a minor injury late last summer that thankfully I recovered from quickly.
So then, how did I train for the pr and in the process miss a marathon pr this year due only to atrocious weather conditions and then run my fastest half since 2006?
1. Confidence !
2. Averaged about 55 miles a week over the Winter. And a lot of those miles were high quality runs 2 or 3 times a week. the more I did the more I loved it ! Ran in all kinds of nasty weather but stayed focused !
3. Mile repeats at 5k race pace.
4. Tempo runs. This is something I had not done much of for years but added a 4 or 5 mile tempo run to my regimen. They work ! I was seeing improvements in faster times at the same effort over the weeks.
5. Lots of miles at half-marathon and marathon pace. One really killer workout I would do would be 2 miles at tempo pace and then instead of a slow recovery I would do 3 miles at marathon pace and then 2 more at tempo and other variations like that. Brutal runs !
6. No long runs over 20 miles. I never have done long training runs for ultras and stuck with that.
7. Cut way back on the number of races. I did a 50 miler back in Oct and the Derby 50K in November. After that no racing until the BQ attempt at MB, then the Half and then Umstead.
8. Lots of core and body weight training , usually 30 -45 minutes at least 6 days a week.
So, there you have it. I do believe I can still improve on that 100 pr and I will get a marathon pr but both of those are another story. But right now I got a few of other things to get done between now and July. Stay Tuned ! It is going to be a fun year as I continue to try and amaze myself !
A few years and an injury had caused me to slow down but after a strong comeback in 2009 I began to train hard for another marathon pr and BQ. Although I did BQ twice in 2010 it was just barely and nowhere close to my pr. I resigned myself to the fact that I would never be able to improve at the marathon or shorter but I felt that I still had one more shot at the 50 and 100 mile pr's. I set my sights on going for it at Umstead in 2012 and was in really good shape for that race but bad weather de-railed that effort.
It was shortly after that race that one big thing changed that had a big effect on how my running would improve over these past two years. I began training Amy for a Boston qualifier. We had been running for a couple of years once or twice most weeks but as we got into the training some weeks we ran 4 and 5 times together. I had no desire to run Boston again at that time as I was focused on still trying to get a 50 and 100 pr. Well, in the process I learned a lot as I tried to get her in. I remembered that for my marathon pr I had actually improved in my ultra-running so I decided that would be how I would focus my training this time.
Another thing from the experience training her was due to the fact that we both need the same qualifying time. I had always used pace calculators like Daniels and McMillan and they always had you training based on recent race times. That hadn't been working the past few years and I was finding it impossible to slow Amy down on days she felt good anyway, so with limited time to get her ready we started doing the speedwork and tempo and pace work based on our goal instead. And it was working ! For the first time in years I was seeing improvements ! Last Jan 2013 I finally not only set a new 50 mile pr but shattered it by an hour and three minutes.
So from that came confidence that I could improve and believing in yourself is a huge part of it. Another big thing is I have run consistently the highest weekly average miles for the past 4 years straight with only a minor injury late last summer that thankfully I recovered from quickly.
So then, how did I train for the pr and in the process miss a marathon pr this year due only to atrocious weather conditions and then run my fastest half since 2006?
1. Confidence !
2. Averaged about 55 miles a week over the Winter. And a lot of those miles were high quality runs 2 or 3 times a week. the more I did the more I loved it ! Ran in all kinds of nasty weather but stayed focused !
3. Mile repeats at 5k race pace.
4. Tempo runs. This is something I had not done much of for years but added a 4 or 5 mile tempo run to my regimen. They work ! I was seeing improvements in faster times at the same effort over the weeks.
5. Lots of miles at half-marathon and marathon pace. One really killer workout I would do would be 2 miles at tempo pace and then instead of a slow recovery I would do 3 miles at marathon pace and then 2 more at tempo and other variations like that. Brutal runs !
6. No long runs over 20 miles. I never have done long training runs for ultras and stuck with that.
7. Cut way back on the number of races. I did a 50 miler back in Oct and the Derby 50K in November. After that no racing until the BQ attempt at MB, then the Half and then Umstead.
8. Lots of core and body weight training , usually 30 -45 minutes at least 6 days a week.
So, there you have it. I do believe I can still improve on that 100 pr and I will get a marathon pr but both of those are another story. But right now I got a few of other things to get done between now and July. Stay Tuned ! It is going to be a fun year as I continue to try and amaze myself !
Sunday, April 06, 2014
Umstead 100 2014 AKA the Big PR !
21:58:10 !
My previous pr was 23:15 set way back in 2007 At Rocky Raccoon. Some setbacks and injury in 2008 along with burnout from racing too much and it would be 2011 before I would run and finish another 100 but the races and courses were very tough and not conducive to pr attempts ! By 2011 my training was better than it had been for years and actually the highest mileage averaged consistently of my running life. I began to believe that even in my mid 50's, a time when improving is not suppose to happen that I had a 100 mile pr in me. I just had to find the right day on the right course under the right conditions.
I chose to make that attempt here at Umstead in 2012 and was running quite well and on pace through 50 miles but the weather was too warm and humid and on lap 5 I really began to suffer. I would have dropped but for the first time I was going to use a couple of my Angels, Lisa and Karla as pacers and I didn't want to miss out on sharing it with them. Those last 2 laps were a sufferfest and I am so glad I had them with me and that put up with me when I was at my worst.
A year later in 2013 it was time for another attempt at a race to remain nameless. I was well under pace and feeling great physically but it was a very screwed up situation and I dropped at 50 miles in what was a 50 mile pr at the time. Two weeks later I attempted at FA style 100 with some friends to run with me but freakishly untimely heat and humidity de-railed that attempt so I set my sights once again on giving it a shot at The Beast of Burden 100. Another injury just two weeks before forced a dnf at mile 37.5 It was just not looking good for another pr as father time was ticking away.
But the training was still going great after the injury finally healed and it was time for one more shot at Umstead this year. I knew I was fit and ready and was just praying for good weather so I could have a legitimate shot at it.
Race morning was actually warmer than expected but the humidity wasn't bad and the forecast was for just some slight warming during the day and really nice night time running so it was on. My mantra for the day would be " This is my Day ! Of course my goal was a pr but I had a fantasy goal of running 21hours and had a pacing plan that would get me there. Once again I was looking forward to sharing the day with some of my training partners, the Angels.
I began the race in a singlet due to the warmer upper 60's start but brimming with confidence. I've done literally dozens of practice laps over the years and know every spot along the course and how long I will cover it at different efforts and walking strategies so I felt sure I could hit my planned lap times at least for the early laps.
By 2 miles I was warmed up and in the groove enjoying the morning. The pace was dialed in and the plan was a go. I had a few nice conversations in the first lap and met a couple of new people. On Turkey creek I crossed Amy's "smelly bridge and with the damp cool morning air it was nice and smelly and with it some good memories of many miles shared in the park. The remainder of the lap was uneventful, I was feeling great and I nailed the pace I had planned which was a 2:10 start.
I slammed a kellogs protein drink, took off the shirt, grabbed my sunglasses and then went through the aid station in about 1 minute and back out for lap 2. It was already warming as the sun was rising in the morning sky. I was feeling great and having a blast and continuing to run strong. It was wonderful to see so many friends running and volunteering all around the course and the support was amazing with so many kind words of encouragement. My plan was to run lap 2 in 2:20 and hit 25 miles in 4:30. Well, my 25 mile time was 4:30:02 ! I don't think it gets any better than that !
Once again I slammed protein shake and back in and out of the main aid station very quickly. Just some cheez-its for sodium and a little chocolate and I was on my way. The nutrition strategy was to just keep it simple and not over eat. I just don't handle "real" food in long ultra's unless I am going very slow and very hard like a mountain 100 that's going to take 30+ hours. I would repeat the same thing at the end of each lap and supplement with one or two gels each lap and just drink water and gatorade.
Out on lap three and it was beginning to feel pretty warm for this un-acclimated runner. My main concern with the warmth was staying hydrated which can be an issue for me and also the stomach can go bad and not want to process calories when it gets too hot so I didn't want to push it but I wanted to still try and hit my splits. Some shade and a nice breeze in places kept it reasonably comfortable and I was able to maintain my strong running. My plan was for a 2:30 lap and I hit it once again dead on pace in 2:29:37 for a 6:59 37.5 mile time.
In nearly every ultra of the 80 + over the past 12 years there has usually been a downtime somewhere around 30ish miles when things started to get a bit hard and I began to have doubts but today there was nothing like that. Just the normal little aches and soreness that come with pounding and pushing all the miles. I still felt great and was running strong but there were some spots out on the course that felt powerful warm in the sun. Just as I was coming down the final hill to the aid station I saw my friend Laura Frey. I would have loved to have her pace me a lap but as hard as she has trained for Boston it would not have made sense for her.
I had hopes of repeating another 2:30 lap but I missed it. Yeah by a whole 2 minutes ! Mile 50 in 9:31 right where I wanted to be for the fantasy goal and feeling strong.
I had hoped that the Trail Angel, Laura MacLean was going to be able to join the pacing team this year. I have hardly seen her the past two years as she has been in school and very busy. I contacted her a couple of weeks ago and asked if she might be able to find the time to run lap 5 with me. She said she would try and would confirm later. Well as of race morning I didn't hear from her so I assumed she wasn't coming so you can imagine when I came into the aid station that I was elated to see her ready to run. Shared a big hug and as always I was quickly back out to began lap 5.
I told her I had allowed myself the luxury of slowing down another 15 minutes for this lap so we were able to relax and enjoy the beautiful afternoon as we ran and got caught up on whats going on in our lives. I was still feeling just amazingly awesome, running strong and no problems at all. This was certainly one of the most enjoyable laps I've had in this race and was sad for it to end in a way but I had another 3 to go ! Plan was for 2:45 and we were a little quick in 2:42 giving me a pr for a slightly long 100k of 12:13:38.
I had been looking forward all year to having Karen Martin pace me on lap 6. We ran 11 miles last year during the race in between volunteering duties but a foot injury and practically no running all winter was going to make that impossible for her so I was on my own for lap 6. I put on a shirt and grabbed my light since the sun would be setting soon. I was still feeling better than I could have hoped for. I wanted to run another 2:45 lap and everything seemed to be working as I still ran strong. But it just seems that the pace slows down in the dark and although I was moving well, it was hard to push myself now out there alone and the pace fell below what I needed. I finished up in 3:01:50. It was a bit disappointing as the fantasy goal was now pretty much impossible but I was still feeling great and 100 % confident that a big pr was still in the bag.
My dear friend and training partner Lisa Howell was waiting for me to head out on lap 7. She had done the same in 2012 during my sufferfest so I assured her it would be a different experience this time around. The plan for this one was 3 hours and I was just hoping I wouldn't lose anymore time. Once we got the airport spur she began pushing and I was just hanging on ! I was going to tell her to slow down but I was doing ok and I thought just maybe we could get some time back. Things were going great and we were slightly ahead of pace for the first 4 miles but then it got slower. I didn't even check any splits until we got to mile 10 of that lap and was quite a bit disappointed at how slow we were. I really felt like the effort should have produced a better result. A potty break cost me some more time and although we ran strong the last couple of miles we lost more time overall with a 3:12 lap.
Karla THE Marathon Princess was waiting to bring me in the last lap once again. By now I was getting tired and the legs were feeling the effects of 87.5 miles of pounding on the hills but compared ot 2012 I felt like a million bucks. Karla saw me at my worst that year as I struggled through a most miserable 4:50 lap ! Lots of sitting, gasping moaning, groaning, whining and staggering that year and yet here she was ready to go out again this year. What real friends are made of !
Karla and I have shared thousands of miles together since we began training together over 9 years ago now and still every run is a wonderful time shared with great conversation. Things got pretty slow but she kept me going. I did take the luxury of sitting for about 3 minutes at aid station 2 while I waited for my drop bag and to drink one last protein shake. Other than that I had not spent more than 2 minutes in an aid station all day which can really save a lot of time.
NorthTurkey Creek was a real time drain. It is amazing how slow your overall pace can be late in these things even when you keep moving and still run strong on the downhills. Karla gave me our split for mile 10 and I was hoping maybe I could squeak under 22 but at mile 11 it seemed it would be about 22:05. I just wasn't going to be content to let that happen with out a fight so we started pushing once we crested cemetary hill. There was no reason to hold back and save energy by now with just one mile to go and I was very happy that the body responded and I was able to crush that last mile and get the 21:58 and a new pr.
Once you reach 58 years old and after running for so many years, things like that aren't suppose to happen. But it shows once again what a bit of passion for running, a strong desire to succeed and the will to put in the hard work along wiht a little luck and the support of some great friends can do.
Dream Big my friends !
( thanks to John Price for the pics ! )
My previous pr was 23:15 set way back in 2007 At Rocky Raccoon. Some setbacks and injury in 2008 along with burnout from racing too much and it would be 2011 before I would run and finish another 100 but the races and courses were very tough and not conducive to pr attempts ! By 2011 my training was better than it had been for years and actually the highest mileage averaged consistently of my running life. I began to believe that even in my mid 50's, a time when improving is not suppose to happen that I had a 100 mile pr in me. I just had to find the right day on the right course under the right conditions.
I chose to make that attempt here at Umstead in 2012 and was running quite well and on pace through 50 miles but the weather was too warm and humid and on lap 5 I really began to suffer. I would have dropped but for the first time I was going to use a couple of my Angels, Lisa and Karla as pacers and I didn't want to miss out on sharing it with them. Those last 2 laps were a sufferfest and I am so glad I had them with me and that put up with me when I was at my worst.
A year later in 2013 it was time for another attempt at a race to remain nameless. I was well under pace and feeling great physically but it was a very screwed up situation and I dropped at 50 miles in what was a 50 mile pr at the time. Two weeks later I attempted at FA style 100 with some friends to run with me but freakishly untimely heat and humidity de-railed that attempt so I set my sights once again on giving it a shot at The Beast of Burden 100. Another injury just two weeks before forced a dnf at mile 37.5 It was just not looking good for another pr as father time was ticking away.
But the training was still going great after the injury finally healed and it was time for one more shot at Umstead this year. I knew I was fit and ready and was just praying for good weather so I could have a legitimate shot at it.
Race morning was actually warmer than expected but the humidity wasn't bad and the forecast was for just some slight warming during the day and really nice night time running so it was on. My mantra for the day would be " This is my Day ! Of course my goal was a pr but I had a fantasy goal of running 21hours and had a pacing plan that would get me there. Once again I was looking forward to sharing the day with some of my training partners, the Angels.
I began the race in a singlet due to the warmer upper 60's start but brimming with confidence. I've done literally dozens of practice laps over the years and know every spot along the course and how long I will cover it at different efforts and walking strategies so I felt sure I could hit my planned lap times at least for the early laps.
By 2 miles I was warmed up and in the groove enjoying the morning. The pace was dialed in and the plan was a go. I had a few nice conversations in the first lap and met a couple of new people. On Turkey creek I crossed Amy's "smelly bridge and with the damp cool morning air it was nice and smelly and with it some good memories of many miles shared in the park. The remainder of the lap was uneventful, I was feeling great and I nailed the pace I had planned which was a 2:10 start.
I slammed a kellogs protein drink, took off the shirt, grabbed my sunglasses and then went through the aid station in about 1 minute and back out for lap 2. It was already warming as the sun was rising in the morning sky. I was feeling great and having a blast and continuing to run strong. It was wonderful to see so many friends running and volunteering all around the course and the support was amazing with so many kind words of encouragement. My plan was to run lap 2 in 2:20 and hit 25 miles in 4:30. Well, my 25 mile time was 4:30:02 ! I don't think it gets any better than that !
Once again I slammed protein shake and back in and out of the main aid station very quickly. Just some cheez-its for sodium and a little chocolate and I was on my way. The nutrition strategy was to just keep it simple and not over eat. I just don't handle "real" food in long ultra's unless I am going very slow and very hard like a mountain 100 that's going to take 30+ hours. I would repeat the same thing at the end of each lap and supplement with one or two gels each lap and just drink water and gatorade.
Out on lap three and it was beginning to feel pretty warm for this un-acclimated runner. My main concern with the warmth was staying hydrated which can be an issue for me and also the stomach can go bad and not want to process calories when it gets too hot so I didn't want to push it but I wanted to still try and hit my splits. Some shade and a nice breeze in places kept it reasonably comfortable and I was able to maintain my strong running. My plan was for a 2:30 lap and I hit it once again dead on pace in 2:29:37 for a 6:59 37.5 mile time.
In nearly every ultra of the 80 + over the past 12 years there has usually been a downtime somewhere around 30ish miles when things started to get a bit hard and I began to have doubts but today there was nothing like that. Just the normal little aches and soreness that come with pounding and pushing all the miles. I still felt great and was running strong but there were some spots out on the course that felt powerful warm in the sun. Just as I was coming down the final hill to the aid station I saw my friend Laura Frey. I would have loved to have her pace me a lap but as hard as she has trained for Boston it would not have made sense for her.
I had hopes of repeating another 2:30 lap but I missed it. Yeah by a whole 2 minutes ! Mile 50 in 9:31 right where I wanted to be for the fantasy goal and feeling strong.
I had hoped that the Trail Angel, Laura MacLean was going to be able to join the pacing team this year. I have hardly seen her the past two years as she has been in school and very busy. I contacted her a couple of weeks ago and asked if she might be able to find the time to run lap 5 with me. She said she would try and would confirm later. Well as of race morning I didn't hear from her so I assumed she wasn't coming so you can imagine when I came into the aid station that I was elated to see her ready to run. Shared a big hug and as always I was quickly back out to began lap 5.
I told her I had allowed myself the luxury of slowing down another 15 minutes for this lap so we were able to relax and enjoy the beautiful afternoon as we ran and got caught up on whats going on in our lives. I was still feeling just amazingly awesome, running strong and no problems at all. This was certainly one of the most enjoyable laps I've had in this race and was sad for it to end in a way but I had another 3 to go ! Plan was for 2:45 and we were a little quick in 2:42 giving me a pr for a slightly long 100k of 12:13:38.
I had been looking forward all year to having Karen Martin pace me on lap 6. We ran 11 miles last year during the race in between volunteering duties but a foot injury and practically no running all winter was going to make that impossible for her so I was on my own for lap 6. I put on a shirt and grabbed my light since the sun would be setting soon. I was still feeling better than I could have hoped for. I wanted to run another 2:45 lap and everything seemed to be working as I still ran strong. But it just seems that the pace slows down in the dark and although I was moving well, it was hard to push myself now out there alone and the pace fell below what I needed. I finished up in 3:01:50. It was a bit disappointing as the fantasy goal was now pretty much impossible but I was still feeling great and 100 % confident that a big pr was still in the bag.
My dear friend and training partner Lisa Howell was waiting for me to head out on lap 7. She had done the same in 2012 during my sufferfest so I assured her it would be a different experience this time around. The plan for this one was 3 hours and I was just hoping I wouldn't lose anymore time. Once we got the airport spur she began pushing and I was just hanging on ! I was going to tell her to slow down but I was doing ok and I thought just maybe we could get some time back. Things were going great and we were slightly ahead of pace for the first 4 miles but then it got slower. I didn't even check any splits until we got to mile 10 of that lap and was quite a bit disappointed at how slow we were. I really felt like the effort should have produced a better result. A potty break cost me some more time and although we ran strong the last couple of miles we lost more time overall with a 3:12 lap.
Karla THE Marathon Princess was waiting to bring me in the last lap once again. By now I was getting tired and the legs were feeling the effects of 87.5 miles of pounding on the hills but compared ot 2012 I felt like a million bucks. Karla saw me at my worst that year as I struggled through a most miserable 4:50 lap ! Lots of sitting, gasping moaning, groaning, whining and staggering that year and yet here she was ready to go out again this year. What real friends are made of !
Karla and I have shared thousands of miles together since we began training together over 9 years ago now and still every run is a wonderful time shared with great conversation. Things got pretty slow but she kept me going. I did take the luxury of sitting for about 3 minutes at aid station 2 while I waited for my drop bag and to drink one last protein shake. Other than that I had not spent more than 2 minutes in an aid station all day which can really save a lot of time.
NorthTurkey Creek was a real time drain. It is amazing how slow your overall pace can be late in these things even when you keep moving and still run strong on the downhills. Karla gave me our split for mile 10 and I was hoping maybe I could squeak under 22 but at mile 11 it seemed it would be about 22:05. I just wasn't going to be content to let that happen with out a fight so we started pushing once we crested cemetary hill. There was no reason to hold back and save energy by now with just one mile to go and I was very happy that the body responded and I was able to crush that last mile and get the 21:58 and a new pr.
Once you reach 58 years old and after running for so many years, things like that aren't suppose to happen. But it shows once again what a bit of passion for running, a strong desire to succeed and the will to put in the hard work along wiht a little luck and the support of some great friends can do.
Dream Big my friends !
( thanks to John Price for the pics ! )
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Tobacco Road Half Marathon. Success !
Yes, I must say I am very very happy with the way this turned out !
Leading up to this race my training had been going well but as I mentoned in the preview, I didn't taper other than 3 fairly easy days before the race and I had just completed a hard BQ attempt at Myrtle Beach 4 weeks ago and a pesonal best course run at Umstead Trail marathon 2 weeks ago. With these things on my mind I was reasonably confident I could at least have a shot at a sub 1:40 but also aware that it would not be easy no matter what happened and there was always the possibility that some lingering fatigue would de-rail my attempt in the latter stages of the race.
With that, I was very happy that the weather forecast was looking to be ideal for running hard. I did a one mile warmup and then worked my way to the start and lined up right behind the 1:40 pace group led by Jeremy Hong and Matt and Meghan Craver. I don't usually pay much attention to pace groups and will run faster or slower depending on how I feel but today I thought I would at least try ad keep them in sight for awhile. Well as soon as the race started I fell behind them in the large crowd of runners and as always there seem to be too many people that like to line up near the front that really have no business being anywhere near the front.
After the first half mile things spread out enough that I could get into a rhythm and settle into what felt like a comfortable pace. I hit one mile in 8:00 , about 23 seconds too slow but I wasn;t worried and thought with the congested start that I was currently running closer to goal pace. The pace group was still a pretty good ways ahead of me an I just relaxed and didn't worry about it. Sure enough mile 2 was dead on 7:37. I had plenty of time to chip way at the deficit in the first mile.
We turned off of the road and onto the trail around the 2.5 mile point and by now I was getting comfortable with the pace and put it on cruise control. I was very happy to hit mile 3 in 7:17. It felt easy and with that one mile I was close to making up the deficit. I still had not made up any ground on the pace group but shortly after that I noticed the gap was beginning to close as Jeremy must have backed off the pace a little. That first mile or two on the trail is pretty quick in the direction we were going and I hit mile 4 in 7:24. This was awesome. I felt great and was now moving ahead of goal pace.
I clicked off another good one hitting mile 5 in 7:27 and by now had closed the gap and was right behind Jeremy. Matt and Meghan had moved on ahead a ways at that point. Shortly after that I moved ahead of Jeremy and just decided to go for it. However the next mile is on a slight upgrade and I backed off the effort just a little. Maybe a little too much because mile 6 was 7:46 but when I made the turn at the halfway point I was still ahead of pace and moving well.
Things suddenly got very crowded with the two way traffic and the bulk of the 2,500 runners coming towards us now. I had caught up to Matt and was running right behind him but it was shoulder to shoulder and large groups coming towards us 3 and 4 abreast made it very tight and nearly bumping runners squeezing by. This is an awesome event but it is just a bit too crowded to have that many runners on such a narrow course.
Mile 7 was a quick 7:22, enough to make up for the slow mile 6 and keep me with a cushion. I felt strong through mile 8 in 7:25 and was now beginning to believe I may have a shot at not just the sub 1:40 but maybe even cracking 1:39 !
Mile 9 was slightly upgrade again but I passed it in 7:35 and was finally beginning to feel the effort but I still was sure I was not going to fall apart.. But mile 10 was getting tough and I was beginning to feel a stitch coming on and had to back off the effort a little. It was a disappointing 7:48 but then things leveled out and I was able to pick it up again. We turned back onto the road at 10.5 and the push was on now. Mile 11 was 7:38. I was digging deep now and focusing on trying to reel in a couple of guys up ahead that looked like they could possibly be in my age group.The time I was aiming for would have gotten me close or onto the podium for an age group award in just about all the previous races so I was trying to go for every second.
Mile 12 was even better with a 7:23. Oh yeah, one more to go. Sub 1:40 well in the bag but how close to 1:39 ? One more hill and then a turn back into the park with about 1/2 mile to go. I caught up to Meghan again and we ran together the rest of the way. Passed mile 13 in 7:23. I was thinking I would be closer to 1:39:30ish so when I saw I actually was going to finish in1:39:03 I was of course wishing I had been able to find just a little more speed somewhere. Ha ! Actually I am super satisfied and happy with the result !
During and after the race I had quite few people, some that I know and others that were strangers running in close proximity comment on how smooth and relaxed I looked and how I made it look easy. That makes me feel good of course and the fact is I felt great nearly the whole race.
I ended up 5th out of 56 in my age group so I am pretty happy with that being an old ultra runner that has been focused on the Umstead 100 since finishing Myrtle Beach. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures !
Leading up to this race my training had been going well but as I mentoned in the preview, I didn't taper other than 3 fairly easy days before the race and I had just completed a hard BQ attempt at Myrtle Beach 4 weeks ago and a pesonal best course run at Umstead Trail marathon 2 weeks ago. With these things on my mind I was reasonably confident I could at least have a shot at a sub 1:40 but also aware that it would not be easy no matter what happened and there was always the possibility that some lingering fatigue would de-rail my attempt in the latter stages of the race.
With that, I was very happy that the weather forecast was looking to be ideal for running hard. I did a one mile warmup and then worked my way to the start and lined up right behind the 1:40 pace group led by Jeremy Hong and Matt and Meghan Craver. I don't usually pay much attention to pace groups and will run faster or slower depending on how I feel but today I thought I would at least try ad keep them in sight for awhile. Well as soon as the race started I fell behind them in the large crowd of runners and as always there seem to be too many people that like to line up near the front that really have no business being anywhere near the front.
After the first half mile things spread out enough that I could get into a rhythm and settle into what felt like a comfortable pace. I hit one mile in 8:00 , about 23 seconds too slow but I wasn;t worried and thought with the congested start that I was currently running closer to goal pace. The pace group was still a pretty good ways ahead of me an I just relaxed and didn't worry about it. Sure enough mile 2 was dead on 7:37. I had plenty of time to chip way at the deficit in the first mile.
We turned off of the road and onto the trail around the 2.5 mile point and by now I was getting comfortable with the pace and put it on cruise control. I was very happy to hit mile 3 in 7:17. It felt easy and with that one mile I was close to making up the deficit. I still had not made up any ground on the pace group but shortly after that I noticed the gap was beginning to close as Jeremy must have backed off the pace a little. That first mile or two on the trail is pretty quick in the direction we were going and I hit mile 4 in 7:24. This was awesome. I felt great and was now moving ahead of goal pace.
I clicked off another good one hitting mile 5 in 7:27 and by now had closed the gap and was right behind Jeremy. Matt and Meghan had moved on ahead a ways at that point. Shortly after that I moved ahead of Jeremy and just decided to go for it. However the next mile is on a slight upgrade and I backed off the effort just a little. Maybe a little too much because mile 6 was 7:46 but when I made the turn at the halfway point I was still ahead of pace and moving well.
Things suddenly got very crowded with the two way traffic and the bulk of the 2,500 runners coming towards us now. I had caught up to Matt and was running right behind him but it was shoulder to shoulder and large groups coming towards us 3 and 4 abreast made it very tight and nearly bumping runners squeezing by. This is an awesome event but it is just a bit too crowded to have that many runners on such a narrow course.
Mile 7 was a quick 7:22, enough to make up for the slow mile 6 and keep me with a cushion. I felt strong through mile 8 in 7:25 and was now beginning to believe I may have a shot at not just the sub 1:40 but maybe even cracking 1:39 !
Mile 9 was slightly upgrade again but I passed it in 7:35 and was finally beginning to feel the effort but I still was sure I was not going to fall apart.. But mile 10 was getting tough and I was beginning to feel a stitch coming on and had to back off the effort a little. It was a disappointing 7:48 but then things leveled out and I was able to pick it up again. We turned back onto the road at 10.5 and the push was on now. Mile 11 was 7:38. I was digging deep now and focusing on trying to reel in a couple of guys up ahead that looked like they could possibly be in my age group.The time I was aiming for would have gotten me close or onto the podium for an age group award in just about all the previous races so I was trying to go for every second.
Mile 12 was even better with a 7:23. Oh yeah, one more to go. Sub 1:40 well in the bag but how close to 1:39 ? One more hill and then a turn back into the park with about 1/2 mile to go. I caught up to Meghan again and we ran together the rest of the way. Passed mile 13 in 7:23. I was thinking I would be closer to 1:39:30ish so when I saw I actually was going to finish in1:39:03 I was of course wishing I had been able to find just a little more speed somewhere. Ha ! Actually I am super satisfied and happy with the result !
During and after the race I had quite few people, some that I know and others that were strangers running in close proximity comment on how smooth and relaxed I looked and how I made it look easy. That makes me feel good of course and the fact is I felt great nearly the whole race.
I ended up 5th out of 56 in my age group so I am pretty happy with that being an old ultra runner that has been focused on the Umstead 100 since finishing Myrtle Beach. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures !
Friday, March 14, 2014
Tobacco Road Half Marathon Preview
Well, I'm sneaking another race onto the schedule this weekend. It's not that I hadn't thought about it but it really didn't fit into my other plans for this year. Last year the full marathon was the target race for me and Amy as we had trained really hard to get a Boston qualifier but things didn't turn out quite like we had planned. So this time around it was decided to go for it a month earlier in Myrtle Beach. Well that didn't turn out so well either due to an injury that caused me to be a bit behind on the training and then race day turned out to have really nasty windy weather. Now it's looking like an extra month of training and some better weather would have been better but it is what it is.
So anyway, training for Boston is on the back burner for awhile as I am now focused on three big ultra's in the next 3 months. But then I was thinking that I would really like to take advantage of the great training I have been doing to put some speed to the test. There is no way I could give a quality effort at another BQ right now but a half is another story. I think I can put in a solid effort and still be able to recover and train for the Umstead 100 coming up in 3 weeks.
So, I remembered that last year at the expo, Steve Hite, owner of the title sponsor for the half, BAYSIX had offered me a complementary entry if I wanted it so I contacted him last week and I was happy to find that he was still willing to get me into the race! Thanks Steve !
The course is a fast one, the weather is looking pretty good temperature wise for good running and my training is going well. Despite running hard at MB last month and then again at the Umstead Trail Marathon I'm feeling pretty good and feel confident I can run well. Last September at the Half at Seymour Johnson AFB I was on pace to crack 1:40 for the first time since 2006 but my hamstring injury that I had been battling since early August flared up during the race and caused me to slow down to a 1:42 finish. I actually feel I am in better shape now so I am going ahead and saying it up front that I am going for the sub 1:40. wish me luck !
here is a link to the race website
So anyway, training for Boston is on the back burner for awhile as I am now focused on three big ultra's in the next 3 months. But then I was thinking that I would really like to take advantage of the great training I have been doing to put some speed to the test. There is no way I could give a quality effort at another BQ right now but a half is another story. I think I can put in a solid effort and still be able to recover and train for the Umstead 100 coming up in 3 weeks.
So, I remembered that last year at the expo, Steve Hite, owner of the title sponsor for the half, BAYSIX had offered me a complementary entry if I wanted it so I contacted him last week and I was happy to find that he was still willing to get me into the race! Thanks Steve !
The course is a fast one, the weather is looking pretty good temperature wise for good running and my training is going well. Despite running hard at MB last month and then again at the Umstead Trail Marathon I'm feeling pretty good and feel confident I can run well. Last September at the Half at Seymour Johnson AFB I was on pace to crack 1:40 for the first time since 2006 but my hamstring injury that I had been battling since early August flared up during the race and caused me to slow down to a 1:42 finish. I actually feel I am in better shape now so I am going ahead and saying it up front that I am going for the sub 1:40. wish me luck !
here is a link to the race website
Saturday, March 01, 2014
Umstead Trail Marathon 2014
This is a great race put on by the Carolina Godiva Track Club and today was the 11th edition. I ran the first one back in 2004 as a training run for my 1st 100 miler in Umstead and had a very enjoyable day. I returned each of the next 3 years but since that time it just hasn't seemed to fit into my schedule. This year I am once again running the 100 and that combined with the fact that I would be able to run with a comp entry thanks to sponsor Great Outdoor Provision and the CGTC ,I was excited to have another chance to participate.
My original plan was to just use it as a training run and with it just being two weeks after a hard effort in the Myrtle Beach Marathon I wasn't expecting to run all that well anyway. Just get in the miles and have some fun. As expected there were quite a few of my friends running as well as volunteering and I was enjoying the pre-race socializing. The weather was looking great with the chance of rain now at nearly zero and the temps in a good range for running long.
Just before the start I spotted one of my dear friends and Angels, Margherita Scott so we lined up together and began the race together. She has not missed a single one of these ! The pace began easy enough and we were enjoying some good conversation. The trail was a bit crowded and after a mile or see we had to work our way around some folks so we could run our normal stride. Soon we came to the first section of single track and slowed down a bit. I used to run on these trails a lot but the past two years with my focus more on road running I've spent most of my time on the green ways and bridle paths. After mile 3 I moved on ahead of Margo and was feeling pretty good so I decided that maybe I would go for a course pr. Well as close as possible. The course has changed slightly since I ran in 2007 and includes another section of single track making it a little tougher.
Ok, I know I said it was a training run but it is really hard for me not to run my best unless I am pacing someone else. I just can't help it ! We came off of Company Mill trail and onto Reedy Creek before turning onto Graylin, running down the hill and then onto Sycamore Trail. By now the instincts had kicked in and it felt like home once again on the single track and I was dancing over and around the rocks and roots like I had never been away. The next aid station and the first one I stopped for some water was in the B&B lot just past 5 miles. My average pace was close to what I would needed for the record but I wasn't too concerned with just another 1.5 miles of single track to go and it was a bit flatter than the previous 2 sections had been.
Soon I was back on that section of the Sycamore trail and really enjoying myself. A young lady behind me commented on my hot pink dirtygirl gaitors so I proceeded to tell her the short version of how they came to be with the Karla story which she really enjoyed hearing. She then complemented me on how well I seem to float over the single track so then I had to tell her how I ran my first time on these trails back in 1979. Soon after that the trail came back to Graylin and we would be on the B&B trails for the remainder of the race. Up and down over every hill and some of them twice.
Made the turn at the "T" and then a quick mile down corkscrew before making the long 1 mile climb up to the gate. The next aid station was there and I was glad to see Pauline there to fill my refillable cup they had supplied us with while taking a gel. This was around mile 10 and I felt ok. Not great but no problems. I started of down South Turkey Creek and soon found myself alongside Jim Wei. It was nice to talk to him and the next 1.5 were the fastest of the race for both of us. Now my overall average was right about where I wanted it. I just had to maintain !
I've run this park so many thousands of miles now over the years so I knew the next 2.4 up N Turkey Creek were going to be some of the slowest so I just settled in and didn't try to push it and soon enough I was back at the B&B lot for another gel around mile 14 and still feeling pretty good. The next miles were pretty uneventful as I just tried to remain steady and only walking short periods up the steepest of the hills. I was actually a bit surprised at how well I was still running the ups.
I made it back up S Turkey Creek and back into the aid station at about 19.7 miles and by now I was pretty confident that there would be no meltdown today but there were still 3 major hills to go and a few more minor ones. I enjoyed the long downhill past the lake and then prepared for corkscrew. I ran well and was happy to be passing people in these later miles rather than being passed. Now there was Cedar Ridge. I almost never go down this one and the uphill return really stinks since it is back up to the 24 mile mark. I tried to run strong down to the bottom to make up a little time because I was expecting a slow climb. By now I had the course pr in the bag so no worries there. I was actually still running up that nasty hill pretty strong too and once at the top I rewarded myself with a bit of Coke for the push up the final two miles.
I continued to run strong to the finish with a nice smile, crossing the line in 4:33:57, a new race pr by nearly 5 minutes. The really cool thing about that is one, I am 7 years older and two, after just a recovery week after MB, I ran 44 miles in the 5 days leading up to this race with the workout on Friday at Marathon BQ pace ! Sweet ! All the hard work is still paying of and there will be some good performances in the months ahead.
Stay tuned !
My original plan was to just use it as a training run and with it just being two weeks after a hard effort in the Myrtle Beach Marathon I wasn't expecting to run all that well anyway. Just get in the miles and have some fun. As expected there were quite a few of my friends running as well as volunteering and I was enjoying the pre-race socializing. The weather was looking great with the chance of rain now at nearly zero and the temps in a good range for running long.
Just before the start I spotted one of my dear friends and Angels, Margherita Scott so we lined up together and began the race together. She has not missed a single one of these ! The pace began easy enough and we were enjoying some good conversation. The trail was a bit crowded and after a mile or see we had to work our way around some folks so we could run our normal stride. Soon we came to the first section of single track and slowed down a bit. I used to run on these trails a lot but the past two years with my focus more on road running I've spent most of my time on the green ways and bridle paths. After mile 3 I moved on ahead of Margo and was feeling pretty good so I decided that maybe I would go for a course pr. Well as close as possible. The course has changed slightly since I ran in 2007 and includes another section of single track making it a little tougher.
Ok, I know I said it was a training run but it is really hard for me not to run my best unless I am pacing someone else. I just can't help it ! We came off of Company Mill trail and onto Reedy Creek before turning onto Graylin, running down the hill and then onto Sycamore Trail. By now the instincts had kicked in and it felt like home once again on the single track and I was dancing over and around the rocks and roots like I had never been away. The next aid station and the first one I stopped for some water was in the B&B lot just past 5 miles. My average pace was close to what I would needed for the record but I wasn't too concerned with just another 1.5 miles of single track to go and it was a bit flatter than the previous 2 sections had been.
Soon I was back on that section of the Sycamore trail and really enjoying myself. A young lady behind me commented on my hot pink dirtygirl gaitors so I proceeded to tell her the short version of how they came to be with the Karla story which she really enjoyed hearing. She then complemented me on how well I seem to float over the single track so then I had to tell her how I ran my first time on these trails back in 1979. Soon after that the trail came back to Graylin and we would be on the B&B trails for the remainder of the race. Up and down over every hill and some of them twice.
Made the turn at the "T" and then a quick mile down corkscrew before making the long 1 mile climb up to the gate. The next aid station was there and I was glad to see Pauline there to fill my refillable cup they had supplied us with while taking a gel. This was around mile 10 and I felt ok. Not great but no problems. I started of down South Turkey Creek and soon found myself alongside Jim Wei. It was nice to talk to him and the next 1.5 were the fastest of the race for both of us. Now my overall average was right about where I wanted it. I just had to maintain !
I've run this park so many thousands of miles now over the years so I knew the next 2.4 up N Turkey Creek were going to be some of the slowest so I just settled in and didn't try to push it and soon enough I was back at the B&B lot for another gel around mile 14 and still feeling pretty good. The next miles were pretty uneventful as I just tried to remain steady and only walking short periods up the steepest of the hills. I was actually a bit surprised at how well I was still running the ups.
I made it back up S Turkey Creek and back into the aid station at about 19.7 miles and by now I was pretty confident that there would be no meltdown today but there were still 3 major hills to go and a few more minor ones. I enjoyed the long downhill past the lake and then prepared for corkscrew. I ran well and was happy to be passing people in these later miles rather than being passed. Now there was Cedar Ridge. I almost never go down this one and the uphill return really stinks since it is back up to the 24 mile mark. I tried to run strong down to the bottom to make up a little time because I was expecting a slow climb. By now I had the course pr in the bag so no worries there. I was actually still running up that nasty hill pretty strong too and once at the top I rewarded myself with a bit of Coke for the push up the final two miles.
I continued to run strong to the finish with a nice smile, crossing the line in 4:33:57, a new race pr by nearly 5 minutes. The really cool thing about that is one, I am 7 years older and two, after just a recovery week after MB, I ran 44 miles in the 5 days leading up to this race with the workout on Friday at Marathon BQ pace ! Sweet ! All the hard work is still paying of and there will be some good performances in the months ahead.
Stay tuned !
Monday, February 24, 2014
Myrtle Beach Marathon 2014
Windy
Well, there is a little more to the story than that I guess. Training had gone very well in the weeks leading up to the race and I was feeling confident that even if I couldn't get the pr I would at least be able get the minimum BQ needed which would be a 3:39:59. The weather forecast was looking great a couple of days out but then things changed. Rain would move into the area around 4am and with it heavy winds.
I had arrived on late Wednesday afternoon because of the snow and ice storm and wanted to make sure I was there and not have to deal with any possible problems if I waited until Friday. It was cold and Thursday was windy but Friday was a very pleasant afternoon.
I slept fairly well and was up at 4:30 to prepare. It's about a 1 mile walk from the hotel and I was happy to have an emergency poncho to stay dry as I walked to the start in the dark. I found my spot near the 3:35 pace group and luckily the rain stopped just as the race began. My target pace was 8:11 and even with the crowded start my first mile was 8:15 and it felt easy so I was pretty happy at this point. I was on pace and in a groove but around mile 3 was when the wind began to get noticeable as the crowd thinned out. It was blowing in the teen's at this point and I just backed off the effort a little but was still able to stay within a few seconds per mile of target pace.
Around mile 6 we went into the shopping area with several turns and got a bit of a break from the wind and I knew that soon we would predominantly have a tailwind for awhile. Unfortunately the wind had increased and was now gusting into the 30+ mph range and swirling. With the tailwind I was cruising along a few seconds per mile faster than goal pace with an easy effort and tried to take advantage by just relaxing knowing that I would need the energy later. I went through the half in 1:46:30, a one minute cushion , still feeling good and confident.
The next 4 miles were uneventful and I was still building the cushion by a few seconds per mile. Then the course turned and the wind was now either at our side or slightly in the face and my pace slowed slightly but still with the cushion it was no problem. No, the problem was when we turned again just before the 19 mile mark and now we were straight into the wind tunnel. I was soon feeling the effects of the previous miles efforts and now it felt like I was being shoved backwards. Just put the head down and push on.
At mile 20 the pr was gone but still a shot for the BQ but I was wearing down fast and by 22 I knew there was no way I would be going to Boston. I still didn't want to give up so I dug deep and pushed harder but I couldn't maintain the pace but for a short distance before slowing down again. By 23 I was just hoping I could run my 2nd fasted marathon ever and I was giving it all I had to push into the wind but by mile 24 even that goal was gone. At that point I just wanted it to be over. It was so tempting to just walk it in but I was determined to do my best despite the disappointment so I trudge on running as fast as my dead legs could turnover which was not very fast I'm afraid.
So I ended up in 3:49:50. a respectable time for me especially I guess under the conditions. Another thing that may have played a part in slowing so much is that I was probably dehydrated. Arriving 3 days early and staying in the hotel most of that time I was out of my normal routine and probably didn't drink nearly enough and probably started the race with a deficit. I did go through the normal routine before the start but I never had the urge to pee as most of us usually do and at the faster race pace I was not able to drink enough since I was already behind on the hydration. But, nothing can be done about that or the conditions. Just happy I gave it my best shot.
Now it's time to move on.
Well, there is a little more to the story than that I guess. Training had gone very well in the weeks leading up to the race and I was feeling confident that even if I couldn't get the pr I would at least be able get the minimum BQ needed which would be a 3:39:59. The weather forecast was looking great a couple of days out but then things changed. Rain would move into the area around 4am and with it heavy winds.
I had arrived on late Wednesday afternoon because of the snow and ice storm and wanted to make sure I was there and not have to deal with any possible problems if I waited until Friday. It was cold and Thursday was windy but Friday was a very pleasant afternoon.
I slept fairly well and was up at 4:30 to prepare. It's about a 1 mile walk from the hotel and I was happy to have an emergency poncho to stay dry as I walked to the start in the dark. I found my spot near the 3:35 pace group and luckily the rain stopped just as the race began. My target pace was 8:11 and even with the crowded start my first mile was 8:15 and it felt easy so I was pretty happy at this point. I was on pace and in a groove but around mile 3 was when the wind began to get noticeable as the crowd thinned out. It was blowing in the teen's at this point and I just backed off the effort a little but was still able to stay within a few seconds per mile of target pace.
Around mile 6 we went into the shopping area with several turns and got a bit of a break from the wind and I knew that soon we would predominantly have a tailwind for awhile. Unfortunately the wind had increased and was now gusting into the 30+ mph range and swirling. With the tailwind I was cruising along a few seconds per mile faster than goal pace with an easy effort and tried to take advantage by just relaxing knowing that I would need the energy later. I went through the half in 1:46:30, a one minute cushion , still feeling good and confident.
The next 4 miles were uneventful and I was still building the cushion by a few seconds per mile. Then the course turned and the wind was now either at our side or slightly in the face and my pace slowed slightly but still with the cushion it was no problem. No, the problem was when we turned again just before the 19 mile mark and now we were straight into the wind tunnel. I was soon feeling the effects of the previous miles efforts and now it felt like I was being shoved backwards. Just put the head down and push on.
At mile 20 the pr was gone but still a shot for the BQ but I was wearing down fast and by 22 I knew there was no way I would be going to Boston. I still didn't want to give up so I dug deep and pushed harder but I couldn't maintain the pace but for a short distance before slowing down again. By 23 I was just hoping I could run my 2nd fasted marathon ever and I was giving it all I had to push into the wind but by mile 24 even that goal was gone. At that point I just wanted it to be over. It was so tempting to just walk it in but I was determined to do my best despite the disappointment so I trudge on running as fast as my dead legs could turnover which was not very fast I'm afraid.
So I ended up in 3:49:50. a respectable time for me especially I guess under the conditions. Another thing that may have played a part in slowing so much is that I was probably dehydrated. Arriving 3 days early and staying in the hotel most of that time I was out of my normal routine and probably didn't drink nearly enough and probably started the race with a deficit. I did go through the normal routine before the start but I never had the urge to pee as most of us usually do and at the faster race pace I was not able to drink enough since I was already behind on the hydration. But, nothing can be done about that or the conditions. Just happy I gave it my best shot.
Now it's time to move on.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Myrtle Beach Marathon Preview
I am looking forward to going for a pr and a BQ this weekend. I made the decision to return here shortly after failing to get the BQ last year at Tobacco Road but I had one more chance in October at the Wineglass Marathon. Injury caused another failure there so it was on for MB. The problem was I needed to begin the training but first I had to get over the injuries that had been cramping my running plans since August. I still had a couple of events to complete, most importantly the 50 miler at Tussey Mountainback to get the Western States qualifier. Miraculously the legs held up and it seemed that the injury actually began to improve at the 40 mile mark of that race and continued to get better over the next month.
I was still having some issues and although I could still run I could not do anything at a fast pace. I was afraid if I could just get through Derby 50k in November without further aggravating things that I was going to have to take off the month of December to let it heal and if so there would be no chance for a fast time here at MB. Well, I am very happy to say that I ran Derby practically pain free, recovered quickly and within a week I was back to my normal training volume of about 50 miles per week. I tested the legs out with some tempo pace runs and had no problems so I have been able to get in some good quality training despite having to do so many in some truly atrocious weather.
I haven't even attempted to follow any particular training schedule but in a lot of cases just made up the workouts as I was starting off depending how I felt that day. Plenty of miles at tempo pace and marathon goal pace. I was able to do this while building my mileage in January up to 60 mile per week before finally doing a two week taper.
The main reasons for choosing MB is the fact that it is a very fast course and usually the weather is going to be in a range conducive to running well. Looks like we get lucky with that this year with lows in the upper 30's and high in the low 50's and sunny !
This will be my 6th time running the full marathon here. The first time I came and paced Karla in her first. I returned the next year and ran my pr at age 50 and qualified for Boston so I could run Boston with her. The next 3 years I just ran it with her for fun. I hope this year will be fun but its all about going FAST !
Here is the race website:
If anyone cares to follow along there are apps available for iphone or android. Just search for the MB marathon app.
I was still having some issues and although I could still run I could not do anything at a fast pace. I was afraid if I could just get through Derby 50k in November without further aggravating things that I was going to have to take off the month of December to let it heal and if so there would be no chance for a fast time here at MB. Well, I am very happy to say that I ran Derby practically pain free, recovered quickly and within a week I was back to my normal training volume of about 50 miles per week. I tested the legs out with some tempo pace runs and had no problems so I have been able to get in some good quality training despite having to do so many in some truly atrocious weather.
I haven't even attempted to follow any particular training schedule but in a lot of cases just made up the workouts as I was starting off depending how I felt that day. Plenty of miles at tempo pace and marathon goal pace. I was able to do this while building my mileage in January up to 60 mile per week before finally doing a two week taper.
The main reasons for choosing MB is the fact that it is a very fast course and usually the weather is going to be in a range conducive to running well. Looks like we get lucky with that this year with lows in the upper 30's and high in the low 50's and sunny !
This will be my 6th time running the full marathon here. The first time I came and paced Karla in her first. I returned the next year and ran my pr at age 50 and qualified for Boston so I could run Boston with her. The next 3 years I just ran it with her for fun. I hope this year will be fun but its all about going FAST !
Here is the race website:
If anyone cares to follow along there are apps available for iphone or android. Just search for the MB marathon app.
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