Where's Ultraman? Boogie 2010

As I entered the main aid station at the church, 30 miles into the race, the ladies volunteering asked me how I was feeling and what did I need. I replied that I needed a good reason to keep running because right now I was not feeling very motivated . So Susan Dummar says, Where is Ultraman Joey? What are we going to call you now? I said I guess TRFKAU or The Runner Formerly Known As Ultraman.

Little did Susan know but that is exactly what I had been asking myself as I slowly dragged myself up 1.4 mile Bethel Church Hill for the 3rd time in the still, muggy, hot hours just after midnight. Things were not going as I had hoped and planned and now I was just slow, hot and tired and wishing I could just stop running , cool off ,have a cold drink and eat. I was looking for a good reason not to quit.

But then why was I here anyway? It has been over two years since the last time I have run over 50K. The last two 100 milers and a 24 hour run had all ended in DNF's and I was physically and mentally burned out on the sport and a long break was needed. During that break I achieved what I had wanted. I am now injury free, I've qualified for Boston, I've finished an Ironman and this January I ran a 50K Pr. And I was ready to once again be Ultraman Joey. Or was I? I'm hoping to go run 100 out West next summer, probably at Tahoe Rim with Jenn. What if I can't even finish another 50 miler? I drop out now and just go ahead and tell her to forget it? That I'm done with Ultra's?

As I slowly trudged up the hill, I kept asking myself why I should keep going. I certainly have nothing to prove to anyone but then it's never been for anyone but myself anyway. And that was the answer. I would go on because I am Ultraman Joey and I wanted to finish this thing for me. So, even before kidding around with Susan and Tammy and Ms. Wright at the aid station I was already committed to going on.

Susan told me to eat something while I sat to take a short break. I grabbed a cookie and she told me I needed to eat something more substantial next time through.( I found out later Jenn had told her to make me eat.) I am so lucky to have my wonderful Angels and Princesses to look out for me and encourage me.

So after a few minutes I stood up and headed out into the dark for lap 4. This would be the slowest and loneliest lap of the night. I ran the whole evening with out a light and it was very dark and remote most of the evening but that is the way I like to Boogie. It was a little strange but I actually felt better running than when I was taking walk breaks. I made it over to the dog pen aid station and sat for a few minutes kidding around with the helpers over there. It seemed like forever before I finally made it back around to the main aid station at mile 40.

I grabbed some baked potato and sat to try and eat it but as soon as I put it in my mouth I got a gag reflex so I spit it into the trash and said I guess I want be eating anything this last lap. I was able to take a gel with no problem though so I was still able to get in some calories. Just as I was about to leave, Laura The Trail Angel came in finishing first woman and 4th place overall. I went over and gave her a congratulatory hug and then headed out for my last lap.

And strangely enough I began to feel a little better on the last lap. I still took a short break at the dog pen again but then when I passed the church at mile 46 I just kept running on down the hill for the last time. As I made the last turn and started up the hill it began to get light as dawn was beginning to break. And finally it was over. there at the finish was one of the things that make this sport and especially this race so great. There greet me at the finish and checking to see if I needed anything were the race winner Jonathon Savage and Laura the womens winner along with Mike Walsh who had shared the ride down with me.

So how was it? Hot, humid, long and hard. But I found Ultraman Joey and I'm happy to report that he is alive and doing very well.

Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie 50 miler

Moonlight Boogie V2 0001

No doubt about it , I was born to Boogie

What is it that causes us to want to return to the Boogie? On one hand it is a beautiful setting. A low-key event with many friends with a great race director and wonderful volunteers. There is something magical about running on those sparsely populated roads into the wee hours of the morning with the lightning bugs and sounds of the night.

On the other hand it is usually very hot and muggy on pavement and the other biting bugs of a southern summer evening.

Well, I can't explain why but I'm looking forward to returning to test myself on this course with it's unique challenge. And a test it will be with realy high temps for this years race. The predicted high for today in Ellerbe is 97F. At least after the first lap we'll have shade and cooler temperatures but still hot and humid. The last time I ran here was in 2008 with very disappointing results. I had been struggling with my hip and hamstring pain and dropped out after just 10 miles. The pain had gotten so bad I couldn't run up the hill the first time and was nearly in tears from the pain. It was then that I began steps to began my rehabilitation.

It has now been over 2 years that I have run over 50k so it will be interesting as I attempt to move into the long ultra world again. Although I have not been doing any ultra-specific training, my running has been going very well. I have focused mainly on marathon training and most of my ultra pr's were set after similar training in 2005 and 2006.

My plan has been to try for a 50 mile pr. Of course I was hoping for a bit milder weather so I may have to back off on what I was planning to aim for but with luck I may sill have a chance. Most of my 50 mile races have been on tough single track or mountain runs and my 50 mile pr is actually the 50 mile split on my way to my 100 mile pr at Rocky Raccoon in Feb. 2007.

For those of you new to the blog here is a video I made for the boogie.

Andrew (AJ) Johnson Memorial 5K

Everybody knows the best way to train for a 50 miler is to race a 5k the week before. Right? Well, maybe not but for some reason I had the urge to try another 5k. Since last June and my focus on marathon training I have improved my 5 k time every race going from 23:26 last June to 21:33 last month which was my fastest since Oct 2005. This is without doing any training for racing 5k's so I am happy to see the speed improvements. Now I'm curious to see how much faster I can get at the shorter distances as a GrandMaster but that will have to wait. But for now I was hoping to see if I could possibly get close to that 2005 time.

Well I should have known better than try on a hot humid weekend like we had today. With the late 9am start, the sun bearing down on a cloudless muggy morning there would be no fast times for anyone. I chose this race because its a short drive from home, has a relatively flat course and it is for a good cause. It is a memorial for Andrew Johnson , a firefighter that was killed and the proceeds go to several relief groups for Fallen Firefighters.

I arrived early and walked from the remote parking area to the Archers Lodge VFD where the race would be held. It was already in the 80's and I was sweating just walking to the registration area. Not a good sign. I did a 1.25 mile warm -up and wasn't feeling too zippy then did a few strides and then lined up with 113 others.

I was surprised to pass the half mile in 3:19 because I didn't feel that fast. I had heard it wasn't a certified course so i was wearing my garmin and the half was dead on. Got to the 1 mile and was already slowing down to 6:57. As I approached the turn I saw Raleigh friends David Meeker and Kimberlie Fowler running in a lead pack of four with two teenagers. Gave them a cheer and pressed on.

Passed mile two which was also exactly 2 on my garmin in 14:16, a 7:19 mile and way off my hoped for pace. The last mile was pretty much painful suffering as I tried to maintain as fast a pace as possible. I was able to at least get under 23 with a 22:47 final time, so it was still about 45 seconds faster than last June and I was able to grab 2nd in the 50-59 age-group. Final Garmin measurement was 3.07 so it is probably very close to being a true 5K.

In fact everyone I knew at the race won something. David was just out kicked by one of the kids and was 2nd overall. Kimberlie was 3rd overall and first female. Crystal Moore won her age-group, Val Price won the 60 to dead age-group and a young man that is a new runner and just joined the NCRC, Jordan Duvall was 3rd in the 20-29 group. Interestingly, he runs in the Vibram 5 fingers and has never run in regular running shoes before.

So anyway, despite the suffering in the heat, the pain was short-lived, I had fun and got in a good run.

Here is a link to the race.

and here are the results.

No pictures form this one but they will have a lot on the website I'm sure.

On to the next one.

The rest of the Ohio Trip- Serpent Mound

One of my favorite things to do when I travel to a race is to get out and explore the surrounding area. My interest is usually oriented more towards the natural and scenic areas and I also have an interest in the historical sites. Although I do occasionally enjoy some of the modern attractions I especially like to get a feel for an area and try to imagine what it was like long before my arrival. Exploring questions about why a town or city ended up where it is, looking at the old architecture, what drew people to the area. Of course with Cincinnati , the Ohio River was the main influence for it's development.

So on the Monday morning after the race with Jerry already back in Raleigh and the Werners back in Dayton, I set out by myself to check out the area. My first destination was to Serpent Mound Historical Park which is located about 60 miles east of Cincinnati. This is an archeological site,that was built about 1,000 years ago by the best estimate of the scientist that have studied the area. I have known about the existence of the park for many years and always wanted to visit if I got the chance. The drive over was pleasant with little traffic as the region is very rural once you leave the city of Cincinnati. It is mostly flat with the occasional rolling hill, green with pastures and farm and woodlands that could easily pass for the eastern peidmont area of NC.

Upon my arrival at the park I started over to the small museum but as seems to be normal with my luck it was closed for renovations but most of the information about the site is on the signs around the area. It is a beautiful area with the mound winding around a parcel of land on a small hill with cliffs on two sides overlooking the Ohio Brush Creek Valley. The mound itself is quite large and is nearly 1/4 mile in length from head to tail. They have an observation tower that you can climb up to get a look over the whole site. At the end past the head there is an overlook with great views of the surrounding countryside.

After checking out the mound I hiked down a trail that leads to the base of the cliffs and passes underneath the overlook. There is a small creek at the bottom that flows into the larger Ohio Brush Creek that was very pretty and there were numerous wild flowers in bloom and a small waterfall across the creek. Due to heavy rains over the weekend the creeks were high and the trail was flooded after a short distance so I hiked back up to the mound. Just past the serpents tail , the trail goes down the other side so I decided to see if I could get a better look from the bottom on that side.

The first thing I saw as I started down was a green snake lying across the trail. I got a few pictures and wondered if his ancestors were the model for the mound. Further down the trail you can see small caves in the cliffs and just before reaching the flooded portion of the trail I could see up to the overlook.

After hiking back up to the top I walked around to explore the rest of the grounds. There is one effigy mound in the park but there are many more in the surrounding area on private land. The park keeps a meadow maintained for wildlife and I saw another large brown snake sunning himself. He didn't seem to mind me taking his picture or walking around him and he hadn't moved as I continued on. The Buckeye trail passes through the park on it's long 1400+ mile journey around the entire state of Ohio. Anyone up for a real long run?

After leaving the park I headed South for about 30 miles until I came to the Ohio river at Aberdeen Ohio, with Maysville Kentucky on the other side. The river was swollen from all the rains and an amazing amount of debris was washing downstream. I took Highway 52 West from here back in the direction of Cincinnati. This is the same Hwy 52 that passes through NC from the Virginia border , into Winston-Salem and on South.

Lots of nice sights and views as the Hwy meanders along side the mighty Ohio River. I stopped along the way at another historical park, the site of a village that was built for the families and workers of one of the many locks that were on the river from Pennsylvania to the Mississippi. This one was called Chilo #34. Several of the original buildings remain including the power house which is now a museum and of course it is closed on Mondays. The locks here were replaced when a newer and more modern dam was located about a mile downstream and the area where the locks and the promenade were located is now under 30 feet of water.(A few more feet on this day with the flooding).

My next stop was the birthplace of U.S. Grant in Point Pleasant. And of course it is closed on Monday and Tuesdays. It is a very small white wooden home with an interesting story to it. You can read it on a placard that I photographed. They have a small park along the river here and although I was a bit tired and sore from the marathon I wanted to get in a little run and this looked like a good place to do it. Most of the area you are either running flat parallel to the river or if you head away from the river you have to do a lot of climbing up the bluffs. I was hoping to avoid the hills so with Big Indian Creek flowing into the Ohio here I thought maybe I would run on the road beside the creek.

It was about 82F but no humidity and as I hoped the road was a very gradual climb with some flat and a little downhill. I felt ok and was glad I chose this route to run. Not far along a small creek passed under the road several times and it was one of the prettiest I have ever seen. It is called Col Colzater Run and is named after one of the first trappers/explorers that settled in the region. The creek flows in little falls over the shelf of layers of sedimentary rock until it flows into the larger Big Indian Creek a mile before ending in the Ohio River. After my run I drove back up the road to get a few pictures before heading back to Cincinatti and a good nights rest.

Here is a link to all the photos I took on this day.

Catch Me If You Can 5k, Garner NC 5-9-2010

I really hadn't planned to run this race this year mainly because I didn't think it would be too smart to race a 5k just a week after the Flying Pig Marathon. However, after a couple of easy running days and a day off for a massage, my legs have actually felt very good this week so I began to consider maybe going anyway. Other than feeling good I actually had a couple of other good reasons to go. Number one is that the race is held 2 miles from where I grew up and Mom and Dad still live in the same house so it is convenient for me to come race, and then go to church with them for Mother's Day. And two, I get a free entry since I work part-time for the sponsor giving out the awards cards, The Athlete's Foot -Cameron Village.

The race is three years old now and I have run each year. The race has been lucky to have nice weather each year. Just yesterday we had a very warm muggy morning but today was in the mid-50's and lower humidity, perfect conditions for racing.

I arrived in plenty of time to get in my usual warm-up routine so I was very relaxed. I have had several of my usual running friends here each year but none of them showed up this time around for various reasons. I did get a pleasant surprise when I saw that Susan Karnatz was running. She has been mostly out of the sport the past 2.5 years due to having two fine sons with husband Tom but she has been training and getting back into shape. Also Gavin Coombs one of the very fast young men I work with at TAF and winner of the Tobacco Road Marathon was there to go for a fast time in the 10k.

About 166 of us lined up for the start of the 5k and since there weren't too many fast looking runners I lined up right near the front. Once we started Sue,took off like a rocket. I felt I was going fast enough so I let her go and stuck to my plan. I couldn't believe how good I was feeling in the early going. It is flat and slightly downhill so you can really get a good start. I never saw a sign or mark when I got to the area I thought should be the one mile mark, and when I checked my watch I saw nothing that looked right and I thought I must have pushed the wrong button at the start. Oh well , I would just have to run by feel but I doubt it would have made a difference. I run by feel anyway but like to have some feedback on my pace. I had passed Sue just before this and she wished me luck.

Just after the one mile mark the course climbs a little hill and the next mile is gently rolling. About halfway , I looked down at my watch and then I realized I just had it on the wrong screen and it was actually working. My overall pace there was about 6:57 and I still felt great. Mile 2 is at the top of a little hill and at that point I was at 14:00 so I had slowed down just a little over the hill. The last mile is mostly flat with a couple of small rises which slowed me just a little but as soon as I hit the top I was pushing hard again.

I passed several people in that last mile and was able to go strong to the end and held off a late challenge from a 32 year old guy, unlike getting out kicked two weeks ago in Asheboro. When I saw my time of 21:33 I was very happy to see more improvement over the past year. This was the 2nd fastest time I have run a 5k since the 1980's and the fastest since Oct. of 2005 when I ran 21:12 in the Selma Railroad Run. Despite coming in 10th overall and running this fast, I was 2nd in my age-group. That's OK though, I'll take the time and be very happy with it.

Sue was the overall womens winner and Gavin was the overall men's champion in a smoking time of 30:16.

So what's next? Well the plan is to hit the hills and get ready for the Boogie 50 miler next month. Strange to go from 5k to 50 miler? Well, it seems that most of best ultra times have come during marathon training and when I was running well at the shorter distances so we'll see. And maybe, I could jump into another 5k between now and then if the urge strikes me.

Here is a link to the race results

Gettin' Jiggy with the Piggy

The big question on everyone's mind was how bad was the weather going to get? Rain was a given, but hopefully no thunderstorms and high winds to go along with it. The band of storms that had caused flooding and havoc in Tennessee looked like it might be heading our way.

We awoke about 4 am Sunday morning to a steady rain and about 62 degrees so being in no hurry to stand in it too long Karla , Frank, Jerry and I lingered a bit longer in the Millenium Hotel lobby before walking the 6/10ths of a mile to the start at Paul Brown Stadium on the riverfront. I had a disposable poncho just for the occasion and it was great to keep me warm as we finally headed down to find our places at the starting line. I had made the decision to race it after looking over the course so I wished my friends luck and made my way close to the front near the 3:20 pace group. I had no intention of running that fast but it seemed folks were reluctant to fill in the space and I didn't want to get trapped behind a lot of slower runners with a crowd of 18,000 in both races.

There was some lightning in the area but the race was in direct contact with the weather service and with assurances that the severe weather would stay well to the south of the city, the race began on time. Despite the large crowd, I was able to run without any problems early other than dodging a few idiots that were walking who had lined up at the front and one woman trying to avoid getting her feet wet ( in the pouring rain !) nearly bumped me off the course. My plan was to take it easy until things thinned out a little bit and soon enough I was stepping onto the bridge heading over to Kentucky and the one mile mark which I hit in 9:30. Not too bad with the congestion so far and now I was able to run at my on pace.

I guess I picked it up too much and passed mile 2 in 7:55 so I quickly backed off the pace and settled into a relaxed but steady run. Our visit into Kentucky was a short one and we hit the 3 mile point as we began climbing up the bridge back to Ohio. It was here that a runner from Raleigh named Jim came up and began talking to me. He was a lot younger and a bit faster but like me was planning to wait until we got over the HILL before pushing the pace so we stayed together for most of the next 8 miles.

By now I was settled into pace and was enjoying the sights around me and the large cheering crowds in town that had come out and braved the rain . By now the rain had slacked off quite a bit and would just be an off and on light rain for most of the remainder of the day. Actually the rain felt good and helped to keep the temperature down and allow for a faster pace than if the sun had come out.

A quick mile through downtown on 7th street and everything was going along perfectly. Now with the HILL looming just ahead I should get a real test of how the day was going. My plan was to just take it easy going up and pretend I was just on a training run in Umstead. Jim and I were taking about just that as he trains out there regularly too. The real climbing begins just at the 6 mile mark and my time was just :33 seconds off of my goal pace for a sub 3:45 for the day. The good thing about the climb is it is never very steep and every half mile or so it levels out a little bit and there are even a couple of very short downhills to break it up a little.

At mile 7 I felt fine and was satisfied with the time and at 9:27, the slowest mile since mile one. I high fived Elvis there at the Krohnn Observatory and then crested the first part of the hill and entered into the little park and overlook of the Ohio River below. This was one of the breaks and I felt great. The worst of the climb was already behind but it would still be an uphill for about 2 more miles. Mile 8 was 6:55 and although I forgot to hit a split at 9, my average for 9 and 10 was 8:30, so I was right back to goal pace now as we began running mostly downhill.

I was still holding back some even with the downhill and was planning to wait until halfway to pick it up some and see just how fast I could go. This course seems to be ready made for running a negative split and that's what I was intending to do. Then just before the 11 mile mark there is a slight incline and then the course makes a sharp left turn up a steep hill but it is only about half a block long. But that's when I knew something was wrong. Jim begin to pull away and I felt I had no strength to run up the little hill. Very strange. I had been drinking plenty and was well hydrated, the weather was cool and I had already had a couple of gels so where was my energy suddenly?

The next few miles are predominately downhill but the best I could do was about 8:50 pace. No matter how I tried to pick it up. I had no zip in the legs. I can usually run this fast or faster on my training runs at home and here I was just nearing the halfway point and I couldn''t run goal pace going down a hill !!!!

The half-marathon point is on a sweet gradual downhill and I passed it in 1:53:11, Just 41 seconds slow but I was already slowing more instead of picking up the pace. I wasn't too worried just yet. It is still mostly flat or downhill and the energy level does return sometimes in these things for me so I just tried to relax and keep going as fast as I could comfortably run. Several more miles passed by an still I could run no faster than 8:56 -8:57. I then accepted that there would be no fast time for me today but hopefully I would be able to maintain what I was doing and hang on for at least a 3:50 or so.

And then when I knew I had nothing but downhill for a few miles after the 18 mile mark the wheels started coming off quickly. A 9:55 mile and the race was over for me. Now I was wishing I had just run with Karla for fun after all. I tried to keep my spirits up but the miles were passing so slowly now and finally at mile 21 , feeling like I was doing the Ultraman shuffle, I began to take walk breaks. Now I was running a while then walking backwards looking to see if maybe Karla was going to have a great day and catch up to me so we could run it in together. The difference between this and OBX though was that on that day I had gone out at a suicidal pace and blew up big time. Today I was just slowly deflating so at least my finishing time would be a lot faster and would be much less painful than in November.

The last several miles are back close to the riverfront and with about 3 miles to go I could see the Baseball Stadium where the race finishes. Wow, it sure looked a long ways away. I continued to look back for Karla now not caring about the time as each mile continued to be slower and slower and now even a sub 4 was beyond my reach. There is one last climb just before the finish and after one last look back and no sign of the Marathon Princess I dug in to get it over with ,picking the pace back up a little bit. The rain had come back a little heavier too and I was relieved to finally see the Finish Swine ahead.

My time was 4:06:44 and after getting my medal I waited just over the line under an overpass to wait for Karla. She finally came in at 4:22, after not having a great day but with a smile on her face.

Jerry would have a miracle race considering he had surgery last December and didn't start running again until sometime in February and was as happy as ever after a marathon. Frank had run the half but the hills slowed him down a few minutes over his normal time.

Despite the disappointing time for me, it was a great event. The have a great organization, great volunteers and everything went very smoothly. Even with the rain the city came out in large numbers to cheer us on. I doubt I return since there are just too many other things I would like to do, especially in April and May but I would recommend that everyone put this on there bucket list and do it once just for the fun of it.

Here is the race website with the results and some photos that show just how wet it was.

I didn't run with my camera for two reasons: I was planning to race so taking pictures would not be very easy and it was raining but I did take some pictures touring the course and a few others around town. Here is the link to the pics

Time to get my oink on

It's a bit odd I guess that I ended up coming to run this marathon. I usually don't travel this distance for one, usually saving my travels for ultra's with the exception of Boston. I usually don't go for urban marathons with big crowds either, preferring smaller low=key races. I know that Karla and I had talked about this one a few years ago because it looked like fun and she really liked the cute Flying Pig theme. Years went by and nothing else was ever mentioned.

Late last year as I was making our plans for trying to get our Boston qualifiers, I was going over the schedule at marathon guide.com . We had already chosen Tobacco Road as our primary choice but I was looking for a back=up just in case around this time of the year. So when I saw that the Flying Pig was around the first of May, and usually had cool weather I mentioned it to her and she was all for it.

So we signed up and here we are. Frank and Jerry are here too with Frank running the half and Jerry joining in , woefully under-trained in the full. Since we have both gotten into Boston I was debating with myself on how I wanted to run it. A part of me would love to run alongside Karla as I have done in 10 others and her first 50K. But I'm in good shape right now and focusing on the marathon so I also want to race it and see how fast I can go. I didn't make up my mind until this afternoon after Jerry and I drove over the course. It has a serious climb, from mile 6 to9 but is mostly flat or downhill on the remainder of the course. I'm going for it. No guts no glory right ? But I still wish I could run it with her. She will be deciding after she gets going whether to go for her pr. Either way it looks like we'll have a lot of fun.

Randolph County 5k Health Run

I was hoping to find a little speed and I guess I found it.

I met Frank and Karla in Cary to ride with them the rest of the way to Asheboro early Saturday morning. The trip passed quickly and we had no problem finding parking at the race site, Memorial Park. Despite having over double the normal number of entrants, packet pick-up went quickly. Karla and I then went for a warm-up mile about 30 minutes before the race start.

We were going to be really lucky with great weather for the race with the thermometer around the mid-50's and mostly overcast. It looked like they were going to have a timely start so after a few strides we lined up near the front. With 390 entrants, it didn't look like there were too many fast runners so we lined up near the front. Mark Long from the Mangum Track Club was there, the only other person we knew in the race. Mark is now in my age-group so it looked like he may be my main competition.

The course was a little hillier than I remembered but nothing too steep or really long but there was a little rise at the start. I began easily , not getting caught up in the excitement. There were a bunch of young guys in front of me but I figured they would burn out quickly and most of them did. They had the half-mile of this certified course marked and I went through it in 3:29, right where I wanted to be. Mark passed me then and I just let him go and stuck with my planned pace. If he was feeling better than me then he could have 1st place. I wasn't going to blow up early trying to race him.

As we headed down a nice hill, I was steadily passing people that had gone out too fast. Mark had moved about 20 yards ahead but as we neared the mile mark I was closing the gap. I passed the mile in 6:54 and felt great, feeling confident I could achieve my sub 22 goal unless there were some really tough hills ahead. The course made a little climb to the halfway point where they had a water stop, totally unnecessary in a cool 5k and it was here I eased by Mark. I know he has had some injury issues lately so was not in top shape. We had a nice downhill again now and I finally passed the last of the kids that had started out so quickly. At about 1.75 we hit probably the steepest hill but it isn't very long so I just eased off the effort slightly. However, this is the beginning of a gradual rise for about the next 3/4 mile. The course flattens a little then climbs a little more. Even with the nice downhill portions, I still slowed down the 2nd mile to 7:06, or 13:58 for 2 miles.

And of course like all 5 K's the last mile starts to hurt if you are racing and giving it all you have. The good thing is that the pain only last a little while. I was looking forward to getting through Downtown Asheboro knowing I had a sweet 1/4 mile downhill finish ahead. As usual I probably sounded like I was dying to anyone nearby but I was still passing a few people. I went by the 3 mile mark in 21:14, (7:16 for mile 3) so I knew I had the sub -22 in the bag as I passed a young 20-something guy. As we neared the line I could hear him trying to come back on me so I kicked it up a notch but then just before the finish he found an extra gear that doesn't exist anymore in the legs and he nipped me at the line. Sprinting is not what I had wanted to do and I paid for it with a minute of dry-heaving inn the chute but I got what I came for.

Then it was time to wait for Karla. Mark had come in about 30 seconds behind me but no Karla in sight. I finally spotted her but there would be no PR for her today. She crossed the line in 24:23, which is still a great time for her on this course. I'm pretty sure she could have done it on a flat course. I told her I was pretty sure she won her- age-group because I hadn't seen many women finish and none looked 50 but then neither does she. We waited for Frank to come in which he did in a very good time for him , especially considering how little training he has been doing and then made our way over to the park for refreshments.

Karla and I went for a 2 mile cool-down and then waited for the results and awards. As I thought, she not only won her age-group but was 1st place Masters female. I won the 50-54 age-group and Mark was 2nd. And Frank was 3rd in his. Even with 390 finishers I was amazed to come in 21st place overall. This is a very nice race and the local running club, the Randolph County Roadrunners does a great job. Here is a link to the club and race website where you can check out the results.

One really cool thing is that my time of 21:54 was exactly 1 minute faster than I ran here in 2002, the last time I was here.

Looking for a fast time in Asheboro

With marathons, ultra's and the occasionally triathlon being my focus for the past 8 years, I haven't entered very many shorter road races but every no and then I like to race one just to see how much speed the old guy can still produce. normally in April I would be looking forward to running the Promise Land 50k on this weekend or maybe the Bull Run Run 50 in April but with my focus on getting faster the past year I decided to enter more road races.

Back in 2001 and 2002 when I was mainly concentrating on tri's and a few road races for fun but with my mileage and conditioning much less than it is now, I went to Asheboro to run the Zoo Run 5k. It was a great little low-key local race and was sponsored by the NC Zoo. It made a great excuse to go run a race and then spend a nice Spring afternoon walking around the zoo. It was great to be able to take my then teenage son Jeremy along for a fun father-son outing. the race is no longer sponsored by the zoo but that doesn't mean you can't still go and see the zoo anyway. I had talked about it several times with my running partner Karla but it never worked out that we could go but this seemed to be the perfect chance. She and Frank have never been to the NC Zoo and she loves meerkats so that was all it took to make plans to make this the year.

The race, now called the Randolph County 5k Health Run is held at Memorial Park in Asheboro. It is a relatively flat course considering how hilly the Asheboro area is, at least I seem to remember it that way. And that's what I had told Karla, but looking back in the journal I seem to have noted that the 2nd mile was hillier than the first. Hmmmm, We'll find out tomorrow I guess.

Anyway I'm just looking to run as fast as possible. I hope to run under 22:00 for the first time in almost exactly 2 years. Karla will be shooting for a Pr and Frank will hope to run well and maybe get an age-group award.

Look for report soon

Here is a link to the race website

Tarheel 10 Miler

As I was making my plans for racing in 2010, this event was not in the plan. The focus was on getting ready for the Tobacco Road Marathon and then going to Cincinnati in May for the Flying Pig Marathon as a back-up in case I didn't qualify at TR. It's not that I don't like 10 milers. In fact in my younger running days it was my favorite distance. It's just that a hilly 10 mile race didn't fit the plan. But then Karla was featured on the cover of Endurance Magazine promoting the race and along with that was a comp'd entry for her. And since the proceeds were going to the Cancer Hospital she was excited about it so I decided I would enter to run with her.

We thought it would be a good chance for her to go for a 10 mile PR and the pace she needed was just slightly faster than my current marathon race pace so it would be a good workout for me as well as enjoying running with her again. We had actually run her first 10 miler together back in 2005 at the Dash for Cash in Greenville on a very flat and fast course. She ran 85:07 that day, just two months before being diagnosed with cancer. Her comeback seems to be complete now with her qualifying at Tobacco Road but it would take a great effort to PR on the hilly Chapel Hill course.

I met with her and Frank and our friend Jerry who is on the comeback trail now at 6am in Chapel Hill but Lisa was sick and wouldn't be joining us. Too bad because I know she would have run great on this course. We were very lucky to have perfect weather for running with the start in the upper 40's and only reaching a high of near 60F.

Despite our early arrival we didn't plan too well and had to line up without a warm-up but that didn't turn out to be a problem. We lined up with the 8:30 pace group and in just a few minutes the race began. The first mile was a loop with some downhill, some uphill and several sharp turns and with the crowd we were having to be careful making those turns and dodging around other slower starters but amazingly we passed that 1st mile in exactly 8:30. Wow, I'm good at pacing.

The next couple of miles went well but were a little frustrating with the narrow streets and crowds and already the leaders were coming back toward us after doing another small loop. Despite that and more little hills we were building a little cushion with `an 8:24 2nd mile and then once the crowd thinned out we ran mile 3 in 8:16. The next couple of miles were relatively flat for this town and we were cruising now. Karla was looking great(as always)and feeling fine. We hit mile 4 in 8:19 and then turned onto Franklin Street.

I was enjoying a great workout and trying to entertain The Princess with stories of my visits to CH over the years and pointing out landmarks along the route. we passed the halfway point in 41:42,with mile 5 in 8:13. At that point she said she was getting a side stitch so I told her we would back off the pace a little for her to recover since we had a nice cushion to work with. Mile 6 took us 8:39 and included a hill so we really didn't lose much time.

Mile 7 is awesome, all downhill. We took advantage to relax but not push too hard because we knew that we would soon have to be making up that elevation. Mile 7 was 8:16. Mile 8 was mainly flat with a little rise and we hit it in 8:35 just as we hit the beginning of Laurel Hill Road. This mile would be almost all uphill with a very short little break about halfway up. It is through a beautiful residential area of older homes with large wooded lots. It was cool that we were passing people and I was trying to keep Karla's mind off the pain of the hill by pointing out things along the way. I knew if we could get her to the top without losing too much time that the PR should be in the bag.

That 9th mile took 9:15 and like that the cushion was gone but she still looked strong and after letting her relax for minute once things leveled out I started to push. Normally I run beside her but now I was running ahead and looking back trying to get her to chase me. This last mile was almost all flat and downhill with only a small rise just before turning toward the football stadium and I knew we were making good time. We finally entered into the stadium but I was unsure of the time it would take to get around so I kept pushing. She responded like the Champion she is and we ran that last mile in 7:58 ! Woohoooo. Pr by 36 seconds by my watch with a time of 1:24:31.


We waited and soon Frank and Jerry came into the stadium. Frank had a great race for him and Jerry did well considering how little training he has been able to do this year after having some elective surgery.



Overall it was a fantastic day and a wonderful run with my amazing training partner. The race itself needs a few tweaks but overall they did a good job too.

Tobacco Road Marathon=Ticket to Boston

3:45. That was the magic number. My finish time? 3:45:00. How sweet is that !?!?

We're going to Boston in 2011 !!

As race day approached I had no doubt that Karla an Lisa were going to qualify but I have to admit, I knew that for me to make it I would have to have nearly everything fall in to place perfectly. Good weather, a good strategy, good hydration and a lot of luck.

Well, the weather cooperated. It was a cool and dry morning and with all but the last three miles in the shade overheating would not be a problem. The strategy was to go out easy on the rolling hills in the first three miles to the trail. Did that successfully hitting 3 miles in 25:21.

Once on the trail the plan was to use the slight up and down grade to my advantage. Most of the time the ups and down are almost imperceptible but at times it is noticeable if you are paying attention and if you are familiar with the trail you can adjust the effort accordingly. Soon after turning onto the trail I noticed a group of 5 or 6 runners that all seemed to be aiming for about the same time as me. When I would notice a slight incline I would back off the effort a little and they would pull ahead but then when the trail started going down I would slowly pick the pace back up and gradually reel them in.

The first turnaround was about the 7 mile point of the race. It was a little hectic for a few minutes with runners trying to figure out which side of the trail to run on to avoid the runners coming in the opposite direction but soon the crowd thinned out and was never a problem again. I was enjoying looking to see who I knew in the race in front and behind me but waiting to see where my ladies were at. When I spotted them they were hanging with the 4:00 pace group and looking great. Our friend Eric Nesbit was running with them at this point too.

Over the next many miles everything was going well and really quite uneventful. My strategy was till working well and my energy level was smooth. I passed the halfway point in 1:50:57, about a 1:30 minute cushion over what I need to run and I was still doing the yoyo thing with the others around me since mile 3. I got a great boost at about mile 16 when I saw The Trail Angel out cheering and taking pictures. As I passed by I was feeling great and now I just had to maintain for another 10 miles. Easier said than done but I was very confident now with everything going so well.

I was cruising along the next few miles but as I approached the turnaround at mile 19 I noticed I was feeling a bit tired but when I checked my split I was almost shocked to see that I had slowed down so much that mile. 9:08 for that one and just like that I had lost a 3rd of my cushion. This was not good. I couldn't begin to fade this fast with 7 more miles still to go. I grabbed some water and a Gu and walked around the turn barrel while I mentally prepared myself for the push to the finish. This was beginning to look like a repeat of Myrtle Beach 2006 and I knew that I needed to keep my focus. Once again I thought about Karla and how important it was to both of us to get back to Boston. I thought about my parents that I knew were watching the clock at home and praying for me. I thought about Lisa and all my friends that were out there pulling for me. And I began to run again knowing that I had to go for it whether I felt good or not.

Fortunately once I began to run I did feel good again and despite the short walk break I still ran mile 20 in 8:20. Now if I could just hold on, stay calm and relaxed and keep moving. I backed off the effort a little not wanting to push too hard now.

I saw Eric again about a mile behind me. He had left the ladies and was pushing the pace now. When I saw him at the finish he said I looked intense when I ran by. A few minutes later the ladies went by , still hanging with the pace group and looking strong. I waved to them gave them a bit of encouragement on then re-focused on my race

I was beginning to feel that my hamstrings were starting to cramp up and I knew if they did my qualifying bid was over. I was praying and asking God that if he would just let me run without cramping, I would do my part and run my heart out to make it in time. I backed off the pace slightly hoping to hold on and not lose too much more time until I could get back on the road and the mostly flat and downhill finish. I once again passed by Laura and told her it was going to be close as she cheered me on. But I was still losing time and my energy was waning. I turned onto the road with less than 3 miles to go but mile 24 was a slow and painful 9:24 and like that my cushion was gone.

It would have been so easy to give up now. I was slowing down every mile, I was tired, and I was hurting, but I was not going down without a fight. I had a mission to complete and if I was going down I was going down in flames. 2.2 miles of pure pain to look forward to but I had to go for it. So I picked up the pace one more time determined to hold it as long as I could. I know everyone I passed by in the race or spectating must have thought I was dying the way I was gasping and groaning with a look of near death on my face. Every fiber of my body was begging me to stop and walk but I knew I couldn't . I had to qualify and then be there to wait at the finish to celebrate with Karla when she would come in soon behind me. So I pushed and groaned and gasped fighting off nausea and cramping until finally when I could see the 26 mile mark ahead and checked my watch I finally knew I had done it.

What a relief to cross that line and know I had done it. And what a difference in 4 years. In 2006 I finished in tears knowing that my dear friend was facing surgery and months of chemotherapy and radiation and may not even be able to make the trip to Boston that we had trained so hard to do. This year there was only sheer joy and celebration. I quickly joined with Frank who had run the half, Jerry who was out to cheer for us and Belinda, who had also run the half to wait for Karla and Lisa.

We didn't have to wait too long before we spotted Lisa making the turn for the finish. Not only did she qualify and set a pr but also broke 4 hours with a 3:59:03, good enough for 3rd in her age-group. And not too far behind was the Marathon Princess finishing well under the qualifying time in 4:00:49, her 2nd fastest marathon. The 3:45 was also my 2nd fastest marathon.

What a great day. All three of the training team are Boston Bound.

Here is a link to my photos. Jerry used my camera, Frank took some and a couple of friends took some at points along the course.

And here is a link to some that Laura took.

Race results can be found here

Another Boston Qualifying Attempt Coming Up

Well, actually the last attempt was pretty lame. I knew going in I didn't have a realistic chance but this time I am hoping things will be different. Karla and I had made the decision it was time to get serious about getting back to Boston last year since she was finally getting back to normal and I was getting over the injuries. We began training on a regular basis and after I finished my Ironman last June it was time to focus on running.

Since June I have increased my weekly mileage considerably and tried to stay consistent. We began going to the track again in the Spring but really got focused on that in the summer. Looking back over the training log I was actually surprised how well we had done, only missing three workouts since last August and all three of those were the weeks after racing a marathon and two 50 K's. We have been meeting on Tuesdays doing a mix of interval workouts from 330's, 1k's and 2k's in the summer to mostly 800 and mile repeats over the Winter. I have seen steady improvement and it's been really fun to watch Karla reach a new level with her running.

We picked up a new running partner early last year too, Lisa "Mountain Girl" Howell who is in the picture of the three of us at Grandfather Mountain last July. She joins us on our Saturday long runs and we occasionally get together for about 10 miles on Thursdays. If I don't run on Thursday with the ladies I usually do a tempo run. I've also been doing a marathon pace workout on Mondays.

I feel good about my chances for qualifying this Sunday morning, especially since I now can run 10 minutes slower ! I need a 3:45 now. The plan is to go out conservatively and get the qualifier and worry about running faster and shooting for a marathon pr later.

The ladies are both running exceptionally well too and I expect them both to qualify easily. They both need 4:05 and they will also be running just for the time. If she is successful it will be a pr for Lisa. Karla could probably run a pr too but like me she will save that for another day.

Here is a link to the race website

Stay tuned for the results !

20,000 visits

Today I had my 20,000th visitor to my runjoey blog. I originally started the blog in 2006 simply as a place to record my race stories to make it easy to share them friends and family that may be interested in reading of my little adventures in running. It really hasn't changed too much from that although I occasionally post on other things.

I know many people do a search for a report on races they are interested in running but sometimes it seems that others stumble upon it by accident. The funniest ones to me are the ones that are obviously looking for porn when searching for "dirty girls", thanks to my link for Dirty Girls Gaiters.( I will now be getting dozens more hits over the next few days since I mentioned it again).

I really appreciated the comments I receive from some people that they were inspired by one of my stories or races to go out and push themselves on to bigger things. And it is really cool to have people recognize me at races from them having read my blog. But most of the hits I think are due to a bunch of my regular readers and friends. Thanks Mom and Dad !

Well this past weekend I was suppose to be racing and have a report for you but Mother Nature had other plans. I headed down to Myrtle Beach to run the half-marathon with Mountain Girl, Ultra Angel, Marathon Princess and Mr Minimalist, also known as Lisa, Jenn, Karla and Frank. Frank was running for fun, Karla and Lisa were aiming for PRs' and I was going for a fast workout while Jenn was running the full and hoping for a Boston Qualifier.

Well, it snowed a little bit and the city decided to cancel the race at 10:30 pm Friday night but that didn't stop us from getting in a run. We headed out about 8:30 am from the Breakers Resort for our own Half Marathon on Ocean Blvd. It was about 32F, a little windy but felt great after we warmed up. Mark Dowd was with us for the first 9 miles and pushing the pace a little bit. The roads were clear except for an occasional slushy spot so running was not a problem. It was great to see hundreds of other runners out on the course too and many people were handing out water bottles from their cars and cheering us on. The police cruised by several times but never said anything to anyone about running in the streets.

After dropping Mark off at the Breakers we headed out the other direction for a couple of miles. We were enjoying the beautiful landscaped beachfront homes covered in the rare snow. Just before turning around we spotted Mike Walsh and he joined us for the last two miles. A great run but it would have been nice to race.

While eating lunch at the usual place, we found out they were handing out the medals for finishers over at the Ballpark so we stopped by to pick those up on the way home.

Thanks to all of you for reading and I hope to be a little more prolific in my writing this year.

more snow running

After work I was able to make my way over to Umstead Park this afternoon for another run in the snow. I was looking forward to getting into the park and having a peaceful run. I knew the roads would be treacherous today with cars getting out and about and the slush and ice getting more slippery.

The gate to the Reedy Creek entrance was closed so I parked on Old Reedy Creek Road. When I ran the half mile to the bridle trail I was a little surprised at how many others had already been out in the park this weekend. Lots of foot prints and bike tracks had made for a rough running surface in the snow. Once I got to the fountain footing was a little better as I begin to run in the tracks the Park Ranger's truck had made but I still had to be very careful, especially running downhill.

The forest was beautiful as I expected and it was a wonderful day to be out but it took a lot more than my normal effort to run and my pace was about a minute per mile slower than normal. I practically had the place to myself for the 10.4 miles I ran. I only saw a couple of people walking dogs and four other runners. That was a bit funny. I waved and said "good Afternoon" to the first two I saw. No response. Twenty yards behind them was a woman. I wave and say "hey". No response. The 4th runner was another woman another 20 yards back. Same result. Hmmmm, either these are a bunch of self-absorb snobs or I had forgotten my Ultraman Joey powers include invisibility.

I took some more pictures while I was out there and added them to the photo web album from this weekend. Here is the link again.

January Running

The year has gotten off to a great start so far. I've put in 226 miles for the month while staying healthy and pain-free. Things are going as planned with each workout having a purpose. After starting off with a good 5k and a week later setting a 50K pr, I've recovered well and back on track. Having fun is still top priority and there has been plenty of that with lots of running with my normal training partners a couple of times a week. Karla and I get on the track every Tuesday for some quality running with the emphasis now on some 800 meter yasso's to get ready for the marathon in March. Lisa usually joins us for our Saturday long runs and occasionally we get in a Thursday afternoon run together. And on a really good day Jenn gets a chance to run with me too.

We just had the first real snow in a year so I've had the weekend to relax at home and get caught up on some stuff around the house. And some running. Since it didn't look like we could get to the trail to run together on Saturday, Karla and I met Friday afternoon for a nice 20 miler on the American Tobacco Trail. Just as promised the snow began Friday night and by Saturday morning there was about 5 inches on the ground and it was sleeting. I waited until late afternoon before heading out for a little run in the snow. I took the camera along and here is a link to the pictures.

It was overcast, cold about 22F and very windy for that 4 miler. On Sunday the sun was out the wind had calmed to a little breeze and it warmed up to about 32F making for much better running conditions so I went for 6. I was lucky that so few cars have traveled out on the roads in my area that the roads were not slippery as I ran along on the crunchy snow.

Looking forward to a great February now!

Salem Lakeshore Frosty 50K 2010

I think the worst thing about running on a cold winter day is thinking about the cold. But once you get going and warmed up a bit it's not so bad and you can think about other things.

I met with Karla, Jenn and Lisa in Cary at 5am for the drive down to Winston-Salem and we made good time and were able to snag the best parking space in the lot, directly across from the port-a -potties and 50 ft from the starting line. With the temperature at about 17F there was very little socializing before the race and we spent most of the time sitting in the car staying warm while we prepared to run. With 5 minutes to go we finally headed over to the start and the beginning of the days journey.

My plan was to go out for the PR attempt but I knew I needed to hold back a little until I got warmed up and not push it too much the first half of the race. So at the sound of Don Besse's bugle we headed out onto the trail. I was running along very comfortably sticking to the plan at just under 10 minute pace until the hill at 1.3 miles in and after reaching the top I gradually picked up the pace. By the time I reached the 1st aid station around the 3.6 mile mark I was ahead of pace and feeling great. I just grabbed a cup of water which I poured half down my chest and was quickly on my way.

The next 3 miles I knew I was going a little too fast but I was having a hard time slowing down. Quickly into the 6.5 mile aid station, I just grabbed some gatorade, spoke to friend Charles West who was crewing and helping out and then I began the next section on the paved greenway. This is a good place to make time but it is also a pretty section ,especially where a creek goes through a rock cut between bluffs with the railroad up on the hill. When I got to the 1st turnaround, I was just a little over a minute ahead of pace averaging about 8:50 ( shooting for 9:00) so I made a real effort to back off the pace on the return trip. Three minutes after making the turn I saw the ladies, Lisa, Jenn and Karla and I stopped just a few seconds to snap a picture and took off again.

Back at the aid station I grabbed a couple of chocolate chip cookies and ate them as I walked up the short, steep hill from below the dam back up to the lakeside and then took off running again. The next several miles were uneventful as I settled in and relaxed. I was maintaining a very even pace, feeling good and enjoying the day. It was nice to see many friends on the out and back course and to offer and receive encouragement. I had several people tell me that I looked strong and relaxed but looked like a man on a mission. Normally I do a lot of talking but not when I'm racing for PR's !

I reached the halfway point exactly on pace in 2:20:10 and was quickly on my way out again. The race was really just beginning now and a lot can happen in the second half of an ultra, but I knew if I could just stay relaxed and stick to the plan I should be able to hold it together. A little less than 5 minutes out I saw the ladies once again still smiling and looking great. But I knew they were still too fast and told them to slow down as I snapped another photo.

My split to the next aid station was exactly the same as the last time through and dead on 9 minute pace. A quick gel and gatorade and out I went. The next 3 miles I began to slow slightly but was maintaining the same effort. I reached the final turnaround about 2 minutes behind 9 minute pace but still ahead of pr pace. I felt a surge of energy and excitement and ran the 1.25 miles back to the next aid station in 8:40 pace and then walked up the dam hill again. Just as I crested the top I saw Karla and Jenn. I could tell they had finally slowed down but they looked great. Of course being the beautiful ladies they are they always look GREAT ! I was sad to hear that Lisa had taken a fall and had decided to call it a day after about 20 miles.

At this point it looked like I had the pr in the bag as long as I didn't fall apart so I backed off the pace a little again just trying to stay comfortable until I reached the last aid station. Including the walk up the hill I averaged 9:39 pace to the last aid station where I took one last gel. All I had to do now to guarantee the pr was maintain at least 10 minute pace the last 3.6 miles. I hit the split on my garmin and over the next several miles I was very happy to see that I was not only well below the 10 minute pace but was actually speeding up a little.

I finally came to the last hill and knew when I reached the top I had less than 1.5 miles to go and so I started to push the pace knowing I didn't have to worry about bonking now. And it was amazing. Although a much slower pace, I was pushing the effort like I was finishing up a 10k and as I crossed the line I had set the new pr by 2:47 in a time of 4:44:11. Lisa was there to greet me and then we waited for Karla and Jenn to finish. I was eagerly watching the clock and hoping to see them come out of the woods in good shape and sure enough they finished strong and smiling. It was Jenn's 2nd best ever and Karla improved from her Derby debut by 3 minutes.

Here is a link to the results. I was 31st place out of 137

I am very happy and proud to have come back so far in the past year to be able to set a 50k pr at age 54. It was also amazing because I did not do any Chi running or any Pose Method. I have not done any Cross-fit classes or leg weights. And most amazing of all I actually wore shoes !!!! So how did I do it? The old fashioned way. I ran a lot and trained hard and smart. And most of all I have to thank God for giving me the strength and health to do what I love and for wonderful friends and family to support me.

Here are some pictures that Alan Wiggs took with Ben Dillons camera on the course.

And here are the few I took.

I didn't want to stop and take many since I was trying to run fast. I only paused for 2:30 seconds the entire race at the aid stations, to snap the two photos of the ladies and to pee one time so I obviously wasn't lolly-gagging around or wasting time .

Frosty 50k Preview

2007 when this picture was taken I called it the Not So Frosty 50. As you can see from the short sleeves, things were a bit warmer than usual in January.

My first time running this race was in 2003 and it was my 2nd 50k and 2nd ultra so my time then of 5:56:49 was a pr for me. I returned in 2004 running in a couple of inches of snow and set a new pr of 5:50:52. I returned for my 3rd visit in 2005 on a cold day that never climbed out of the mid-20's and lowered my pr again to 5:34:40 in my 17th ultra.

These times seem so slow to me now but at the time I was very pleased with my improvement. I had to skip the race in 2006 as I was focusing on trying to get in a Boston qualifier in February. I had just lowered my 50K pr by a huge amount at Derby in 4:55:53 as my training had reached a new level. I really hated to miss it that year because it was the ultra debut of my dear and lovely friend Jenn now known as my Ultra Angel and I really wanted to run it with her.

In 2007 , the warm year I returned once again and this time shared the run with Jenn. It was a wonderful day despite Jenn having some lower leg pain issues.

I returned again for my 5th time in 2008, hoping to go for another pr which had since been lowered twice more at Derby and was now at 4:46:58. I made a good effort for 20 miles and was slightly ahead of pace but by 22 I was beginning to slow and nothing I did could turned it back around. After tripping at mile 26 I knew there was no point in pushing it anymore but I was still able to manage a course pr of 4:59:09.

I had to miss it again in 2009 due to my injuries and taking off the whole month of December. Part of the plan for my recovery and comeback was to take a complete year off from running ultra's and I did that, going back to Derby this past November which I ran with Karla.

But now it's time to go for it once again. At age 54 and after 32 years of running and going into the 8th year of running ultra's I will be running my 6th Frosty 50K and my 53rd ultra (not counting a few dnf's over 50 miles) I will be going once again after a PR ! The training is going great, I feel better than I have in years and feel confident I have a good shot at running faster than ever.

The only thing I don't like is that I can't run with the ladies. Jenn will be going with us, Karla has the bug and is ready to run her 2nd ultra and Lisa is making an attempt to cross over to the darkside for her ultra debut.

Stay tuned to see how Ultraman Joey and his Angels and Princess's perform. It's definitely going to be Frosty this year with the starting temperature forecast to be in the teens Brrrrrr.
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Starting the New Year off right

What better way to kick off the New Year 2010 than with a race? Well, for most of the past several years I have started it off as a volunteer at the NCRC Resolution Run 5K but I decided I wanted to give racing it a shot and get an idea of how the training has been going so far.

The race is held on NCSU's Centennial Campus and is by no means a flat fast course. You don't expect to run a pr here unless you've never run a 5k before. Of course I'll never set a 5k PR again but it is fun to see how fast I can push myself and occasionally do well in age-group placing.

We were really lucky with the weather, in the mid-40's and the rain from last night had stopped. I arrived about an hour before the start and with about 30 minutes to go I went for a warm-up mile with Jenn for company. A few last minute preparations and we headed over to the starting line. A quick look around revealed a lack of some of the really speedy runners from the area so we lined up right at the front with a couple of hundred others behind us.

NCRC president Brad said go and I took off at what felt like a fast but reasonable pace. The first half-mile is downhill so it's important to get a fast start but not too fast because the hills are coming. Before the race I had wondered if I might be able to break 23 minutes here. I felt confident of going under 22 on a flat course but I knew this would a difficult and painful race. At the last minute I decided to go ahead and aim for 22:30. If I couldn't do it at least the pain would still be over quickly. Blowing up in a 5k is a lot different than blowing up in a marathon or ultra.

I passed the one mile mark 6:46 which was about right considering that it was mostly downhill. I could count the runners ahead at the turn and I was in 38th place. Mile two was a different animal altogether. A short uphill, a short downhill and then continuous climbing. I backed off the pace trying to maintain the effort but it was still hurting and I huffed and puffed that mile in 7:28.

The course continued to climb and by the time it finally leveled off I was gasping but as soon as I made the turn I quickly recovered and was able to get back up to speed and began the push to the finish. I was now in 35th place at the turn and steadily moving by people on the downhill and with a 10th to go I found a bit of a sprint. It's nice to have zip in the legs again ! Woohoo !! 22:20 !!!

I'm not sure what my overall place was but it was in the top 30 and that was good enough for 3rd in the 50-59 age-group. I feel the effort was my best since 2005 when I ran 21:12 on a flat course in Selma. Obviously the hard work, higher mileage and track runs are paying off and I believe as good as I felt today that there will be a lot of good times in the year ahead. Now lets see how it pays off when I go 10 times the distance at the Frosty 50k next weekend !