Thoughts after the Bighorn DNF and whats the plan ?

 After napping in my car for a couple of hours after they brought me down off the mountain, I went and got some breakfast and then returned to the park to watch the finishers from all of the races and wait for Dave.

 It turned out to be a long day since Dave didn't come in until about 8:45pm and I had a lot of time to think about things. All dnf's are hard to take but I've been getting a lot of practice at it lately and no that isn't a good thing If there is one good thing in any of them it's that it wasn't due to my fitness. I am running as well as I ever have and in some ways I'm in better shape than ever. And that makes it all the more frustrating.

  As I sat there and walked around and  sat there and walked around  and repeated during the day I was thinking perhaps it is just time for me to give these 100's up. It gets really expensive to do these things and not finish them. Why am I spending  all this money and beating my body up anyway. Perhaps it's time to concentrate on what I am doing well now and that is to focus on my speed at shorter distances. It's something that I enjoy and I don't  have to worry about dnf's and they are a lot cheaper.

 But one thing that was really eating at me was the fact that I missed out on getting my Western States Qualifier. I really want to have a chance to go back one time to make up fro my stupid race in 2007 and do it before I get too old to have a chance to finish. But now I had no qualifier and my travel budget and previously scheduled races for the rest of the year is full so i guess that is just a dream I was going to have to let go of. Yep , my mind was made up.

 The next morning I attended the pancake breakfast and awards ceremony and it was really hard watching everyone come up and get their buckles and finishers shirts. Nothing I could do about it but put it behind me and concentrate on recovering and getting ready for the next events I have planned. And you know, I am ok with that. I have plenty of other goals and dreams to work on. If I never go to WS that will be ok. I went 4 years without doing 100 miler and I can be happy if I never do another one. So many things out there to do and as long as it's running I love it.

  Well, anyway I decided to take a look and see what qualifying races may be still available and it seems like I found one that I can actually squeeze into  my schedule and not spend a fortune on travel to do. It is my one last shot and if I can do it then it will keep me in the 100 miler game for at least one more year. It's the Tussey Mountainback 50 miler in PA in Oct. I just need to run it in under 11 hours which should easily doable for me if I stay healthy between no and then.

  So what's the next step. Keep doing what I am doing. I will stay focused on my goals for the year which is mainly a marathon pr at Wineglass and get a BQ. I plan to run as many miles with my wonderful Angels as possible and along the way help them to achieve their goals as they help keep me motivated to achieve mine. I have been having the best years of my life training with my average miles higher for the past 3.5 years than in anytime in my 37 years of running. And you haven't seen anything yet ! I am going to train even more and harder to be sure that when I look back in a few years I can't say that I didn't give it my best shot. Yep, I want to do things that amaze myself !

Bighorn Wild and Scenic 48 miler

I'll make this short since my race was short.

 Awesome race, gorgeous scenery. A postcard view around every turn. Felt great and ran amazing 1st 50k.

 Got dark, freezing cold and things went really bad very quickly.  Struggling to move fast enough to warm up. Knew I was in trouble. Stopped a remote aid station and tried to warm up a little and drink some hot broth by the fire but knew I had to make it the next 4.5 miles to the top at mile 48. Had them get me a trash bag to help block the wind. Headed out but was soon stumbling like a drunk. Nearly fell off a log bridge over a swift flowing creek and had to crawl on all 4's. Using what mental capacity I had left to force myself to keep moving to stay alive. Shoe sucking mud slowed me more. Teeth chattering and uncontrollable shivering and finally I could see the aid station.

 Stumbled inside and was soon under the care of a couple of awesome nurse angels. They removed my shoes and socks and dried my feet and put dry socks on me. Put a heating pad on my chest and heated gel packs under my armpits.Finally set up a cot and covered me in about 6 blankets. After about 15 minutes after I was in there they took my temp and it was still only up to 94. They took turns working on me, sitting me up and forcing broth and coffee into me until I finally stopped shivering. After an hour  I was transported back to town.

 The end.

 PS. Everything about the event is top notch with wonderful organization and volunteers and support from the local community. highly recommend if you are looking or a beautiful but tough race.

Bighorn Wild and Scenic 100-Preview

Time to head off for another big adventure, this time in the remote Bighorn National Forest of Wyoming. I  love to take my summer vacations and head West into the mountains. This is a tough one with 17,500 ft of climb and 18,000 feet of descent on an out n back course up and down through canyons on the way to the high point around 10,000 at the turnaround. Along the way I may encounter all kinds of wildlife from moose elk, bears, cougars, rattlesnakes and who knows what else.

  Temperatures can range from 100f in the canyons to sub freezing at night in the high country. This years forecast is looking like one I would prefer. Range of 77 to 42 at the start finish area which is around 4090 ft. So I expect it will not get too hot in the canyons hopefully but I imagine it will be freezing at night in the higher elevations. Oh yeah !

 My only goal for this one is to finish, get my buckle and a WS qualifier, have fun and take a lot of pictures along the way. There is a 34 hour cutoff and I think I will shoot for about a 30 hour time if things go well. The race is going to try to have live runner tracking this year with check points at about 13, 30 48, 66 and 82 miles and of course the finish. I hope to reach that 48 mile point in about 13-14 hours but we will see. Start time is 11am on FRIDAY ! and that is Mountain time . If you go to the race website, you will see a link in the left border that says current results. just click on there. I will be sharing part of the trip with another triangle area friend. Dave Cockman so you can track him Also  Doug Blackford from Todd NC and Mohamed  (Sultan) Idlibi from Charlotte are racing.

 Stay tuned !

Whirli Run 5k

Sometimes things just go better than I could even hope for and today was one of those times.

 I made the easy drive over to Wilson and found the park easily. It was already a bit warm and humid which I don't really like but is usually not an issue in a 5k . In fact my pr was set on the 4th of July and in the 80's. I picked up my race number and then waited until 30 minutes before the race to begin my normal pre- race routine. Warm up an easy mile. Then 10 minutes before the start run another half mile with 5 or 6 short 10-15 second pickups. The soreness and tightness I had felt most of the week was gone but I was feeling flat during the warmup and a bit concerned I might not be running very fast.

  This was a small race with that small town feel and I estimated about 100 or so were lining up at the start. I was sizing up the competition and noticed a few likely competitors for my age group and saw a couple that looked pretty fit. Overall I was thinking I may have a shot at a top 10 finish if I ran well.

  The race started on time and I took off at a comfortable pace and when we made the first turn after a couple of hundred yards I counted the runners in front of me and I was in 11th place. I was guessing  and hoping that I was  close to the 6:45 pace I had for my fantasy goal and just settled in.  It didn't take long before I passed a couple of runners to move into 9th and then after about 1/2 mile I passed a group of three and moved into 6th place. I could see the lead police car ahead with a group of 3 and 4th and 5th were a ways behind them and maybe 150 yards in front of me.

  Finally approached the 1 mile mark and I was eager to see if I was anywhere close to pace. When I looked down and saw 6:35 I'm sure a smile came over my face. This was just to awesome to be real. I was ahead of pace and feeling very comfortable and I was now already confident I was going to break 21 minutes ! I also noticed that the two runners ahead of me were slowing down so I focused on trying to reel them in. They were both high school runners from Wilson and as I caught the first one at the halfway mark, I wanted to tell him I'd be glad to teach him about pacing after the race ;). Yeah, I was having fun !

  The course was mostly flat and fast but not the pancake that Selma has. But nothing you could call a hill either. Just some slight up and downgrades. Heading up to the 2 mile point was slightly up and I slowed a little to 6:48, but I was still feeling good and had a few seconds cushion so I kept pressing.  Finally at about 2.5 miles  I caught the 4th place kid. As I pulled along side him, he tried to hold me off so I put in a little surge and blew past him to totally demoralize him. Tee hee hee  ! ( Why Amy ? Cause I'm an @#%&^ )

 Now I could smell the barn and was pushing it hard. 4th place locked up and almost assured of a sub 21 !!!

 Hit mile 3 in 6:39. Yes !!! Strong to the finish and a 20:48 ! The last time I ran under 21 was in 1990 and the last time I ran faster than today was in 1987, in a race which I won. Actually the only race I ever won.  When I turned 50 in 2006, I was in really good shape and set my marathon pr plus several course prs and I ran a 21:11 5k in Selma. If you had asked me last year if I would ever beat that time 7 years later at age 57 I would have said there is no way that would ever happen.   But this past year has been simply amazing and I keep surprising myself and my confidence continues to grow. I think I have quite a few good races in me for awhile to come. It makes me wonder just how fast I could get if I were to focus on training for shorter races. Well, that's not going to happen anytime soon. After all, this was just training for my next 100 miler in 2 weeks :)

 There were 117 finishers and I was 4th overall and 1st in my age group. Beat all the 40 year olds too except for the overall winner who is 42 years old. Here is a link to the results. Woohoooooo !

What? Another 5 k Already ?

 Yeah, I know. After not running a 5k for over two years, I am racing another one less than 2 months since the one in April. That last one went very well, even exceeding my hopes and expectations with my  21:24 being my fastest 5k  since 2006 and about the 2nd fastest since my 30's. What was really great about that is that I had not done any 5 k training, I had just gotten in such good shape in the past year with good consistent mileage and all the marathon training and cross-training.

  So , why another one now? Well, after doing so well that day on a course with a nasty hill in the first mile, I have been wondering what I could do on a really flat fast course. The hard part has been trying to find one to do  that fit the bill and I could squeeze into my schedule. I do have a tough mountain 100 miler coming up in two weeks out in Wyoming. Since that 5k in April I haven't done any  real speed work but I have done two fast 50 milers, the last one just 3 weeks ago.

  The only thing I have done resembling speed work was two marathon pace type workouts with Amy  the past two weeks, not even close to 5k pace. But I did do a workout this past Monday that I like to do in the week before a race that lets the body know what it's about to be in for and wake up the few fast twitch fibers I have in my legs. The workout consist of 1 mile at 5k goal pace, 1/2 mile at mile race pace and then 2 x 1/4 mile pretty much all out or at least all I have left in me. Each of these repeats has a 1/4 mile recovery run in between so I am always moving.

 Before the April race I ran 6:58, 3:17, 1:33 and 1:34  and was really happy with it. This week I ran 6:47, 3:12, 1:32 and 1:32 !  Sweet !

  So what is the goal. Primary goal is to beat the 21:11   I ran in 2006. Fantasy goal is to go under 21:00.

 Here is the race website.

MyPrediction ? I think Clubber Lang said it best.

 

Hot times at the Nightmare

  I certainly would have preferred cool weather like we have had for nearly all of the Spring of 2013, but it wasn't to be with a forecast for the warmest day of the year. So, there was nothing to do but work with what you have and try and make the best of the situation. When I saw the forecast was for 86F mid afternoon, I knew I would have to change my goal by at least an hour if I was still going to have a shot at a pr.


  I arrived at the trailhead about 1:45 and saw Lee Watson and Mike Walsh were waiting for me and  I was pleasantly surprised to see THE Marathon Princess, Karla Werner pull in right behind me.We made last minute preparations and right at 2pm we started off at a nice and relaxed pace. At this time of day the sun was bearing down and most of the greenway was exposed. I was being careful to keep my pace slower than normal and hope to stay fresh by the time the sun went down and things begin to cool off. Karla was already feeling the heat by mile 5 and told us to go ahead but I said it was time to do some walking and so she was able to hang with us I had some water stashed at mile 6.5 and we stopped long enough to refill before heading on.  I had hoped to do the first lap in 1:35 but having to slow down to keep the core temp down made it take 1:39:30 which was fine for my new more conservative goal.

  Karla called it a day and after just a short break I headed out. Lee caught up with me after about 1/2 mile. Kept waiting for Mike to catch up but he was struggling with the heat. He finally caught us around 11.5 but by 13 he backed off and Lee and I continued own having a good time getting to know each other better and sharing old hippie stories and running stuff. Lee started struggling around mile 17 right in the middle of me telling him all about how Karla and I began training together and how she became the Princess. He told me to go ahead so he wouldn't hold me back but I finished the story and then left him behind at mile 18.  As I made the last turn going back up to the parking lot I was greeted by cheers from, Kara Labella and Brad Broyles and Laura Frey and her sweet daughters.. That lap took  1:49:58 including the aid station stop between laps which was what I was hoping to hold for at least the next 2 or 3 laps. The last 5 miles had more shade but it was still in the mid 80's. Laura and the girls brought a cooler with cold cloths for me to wipe down and cool off with and they felt oh so refreshing. Thanks !

    Lee and Mike called it a day but Kara and Brad headed out with me for lap 3. We had had a great time and were maintaining the pace fairly well and were enjoying even more shade now. Pretty uneventful lap other than the nice companionship. With about 2.5 to go we saw John Adamoff running toward us. I paced John a lap at Umstead this year and he wanted to come out and support me and get in a long training run for Western States coming up next month.  That lap including the transition took 1:57:15. I had taken a longer break and a potty stop but it was still slower than I wanted. I was still feeling pretty good but I knew I needed to keep up with the calories and hydration so I once again took a longer than hoped for break before heading back out.

  Brad and Kara left  and John and I headed out for lap 4 as the sun began to set. It had cooled off a little but we could feel the humidity rising. As I had done on each lap, I took advantage of gravity and ran the whole 1.2 miles down to the river and then another .5 to the bridge before beginning to start the walk breaks. I was still moving at a decent pace but the stride was getting shorter as expected. The bugs were coming out now and bouncing off of us and in our faces and the frogs were  serenading us along the river. It was now getting dark but it had become overcast and light reflecting down made it possible to run without our lights which I prefer to do whenever possible.

  But without the lights I missed the turnaround point. I noticed some things that didn't seem just right and sure enough we soon came to the county line which is exactly 1/4 mile past the turn point. Not really a problem. We would just turn at the sign 1/4 mile before the turn the next lap to even it back out. We were about a mile and a half from the finish of the lap when we saw a headlamp coming towards us. We figured it must be Sean Flannery who was planning on running through the night with me. Other than a cyclist with the brightest headlight I'd ever seen we had the trail to ourselves that whole lap. I was still running fairly well running most of the uphill back to the lot again.

  That lap with the extra half mile took 2:25:44. Even with the extra distance I was beginning to worry about the pace. I didn't want to be that slow until the lst couple of laps but now my cushion for the pr was already disappearing.  I knew as I headed out that if the pr was going to happen I couldn't slow down anymore. I started out and John and Sean quickly caught up to me. It didn't take me long to realize things weren't going too well and it didn't take long for the guys to notice too. My legs were feeling fine and for brief moments I could run a decent pace but was soon back to a shuffle. I couldn't pinpoint anything in particular that was wrong. I was just tired.

  I took some S caps and ate another gel and felt better for just a short time but the pattern continued of short burst of decent running followed by shuffling and more frequent walk breaks. We made the short turn and I was actually feeling a little better the last few miles as we headed back but although I was beginning to feel better the pace was still way to slow. I tried to push as much as I could up the hill to the lot but when I checked my time I knew it was over. Even with the short 9.5 mile lap it took 2:2846.   Even if I could hold that pace for the next 5 laps, I was going to be over the pr and the reality was I would be slowing more each lap. I really hated to do it but the only sensible thing to do was to call it off. I felt bad that I couldn't keep going and run the next couple of laps with John and Sean and I was expecting a few more folks to join me for the finish in the morning.

  With long and frequent breaks, yeah, I probably could have finished 100 miles but it would have not been pretty and it would have been meaningless. Been there and don't have anything to prove to anyone or myself  there. This was all about the pr or bust. I gave it my best shot which is all I could do. Much wiser to shut it down and save myself for the next big thing which will be the Bighorn 100 next month.

  My time for the 50 was 10:21. In contrast at C&O two weeks ago I went through what should have been 50 in about 9:15. In contrast to feeling weak, tired and slowing way down here I was still holding pace at C&O. Just shows you how much difference the weather can make. I have never performed well in heat and the difference was about 40F cooler at the start two weeks ago with the high only reaching the low 60's.

 A big THANK YOU to all that came out and also to so many at home that were keeping up with my progress and keeping me in your thoughts and prayers I feel truly Blessed that you care !

Nightmare On The Neuse 100

    The C&O 100 doesn't deserve a report and I really don't want to talk about it other than to say I was really frustrated to be in great shape on a day of perfect weather and have things turn out the way they did. 

so a couple of days later I began to look for another 100 miler that I could go to to take advantage of my training and have a legitimate shot at the pr. Really nothing out there and the only things later this year would conflict with my other plans. I didn't want to have to wait another year to give it a shot in the early Spring again so I decided to create my own event, below is what I posted on Facebook. 

Join Ultraman Joey as he attempts to run a 100 mile pr.

Course Details : 10 x 10mile out and backs on the Sam's Branch and Neuse River Greenways. 100% smooth asphalt surface. The course starts with a slight gradual downgrade to the river to the 1.2 mile point. From there it is flat with just two small hills. One is the ramp up the bridge over the river near the 2/8 mile points and another small hill at about the 2.5/7.5 mile points

Aid: None unless you bring your own. Don't expect anything from me since I'm running and no plans to stop. I plan to use my car for my aid at the end of each lap.

Crews: Are welcome. Besides the S/F there is easy access at about the 2.2/7.8 mile mile from Covered Bridge Road and several more from the Riverwood Subdivision. Google it. I'm not doing all the work for you.

FAQ's

Why?

Because I couldn't find a real race anytime soon to go for the attempt while I am in shape to do it and didn't want to wait another year or screw up the rest of my plans later this year.

Why a 2pm Friday start?

Because that' when I want to. And it will give me all weekend to rest. And it will avoid more runnnig in the warmest part of the day although it will probably rain all day anyway. 

Will I need a light?

A. How well do you see in the dark?
B. Are you afraid of stepping on snakes?

Are there snakes?

Yes, I see one nearly every time I run here in warm weather including today. Most in one day so far was 4 on a long run.

What kind?

Copperheads, Brown Water Snakes, Black Snakes, King Snakes and Worm Snakes and Garter Snakes have all been seen.

Will there be awards?

Yes, Unique Handmade awards to all finishers.

Are there intermediate distances?

Not really. I'm going for a pr and anything less will be a dnf. However it is a FA so you can go as far as you want and count it anyway you like. If you want to stop at 100k all you have to do is 6 laps and then run down to the river and back one more time. Awards only go to 100 mile finishers.

Are pacers allowed ?

Of course not, but you can have anyone run with you for as far as you like at anytime from the beginning to end. I hope to have some Angels along for at least part of the run.

Is there a cutoff time?

 No, you can run all weekend if you want to. Just don't expect me to hang around too long after I get my pr.

Is there a waiver?

No it's a FA ! And besides if you wanted to sue me all you would get is disappointed. Put my net worth in one hand and spit in the other and see which one fills up the fastest.

 The location for Sam's Branch greenway can be found here.

Whats with all the cross training ?

 If you just read my blog, then you probably don;t know what I'm talking about but if you follow me on Daily Mile or Facebook then you have been seeing an awful lot of other workouts besides running lately.
Lets take a short look into the wayback machine for a little history.

 As a child I was always around sports but being scrawny and  not very talented I wasn't good at much of anything but enjoyed the exercise. At some point we had some boxing gloves and a speed bag so me and my brother mostly but some other friends would beat each other up on a regular basis. Sometime when I was around 9 or 10 dad bought us a 110lb  Ted Williams weight set from Sears ( which I still own) and we had a good exercise book from the NFL coaches and trainers. Of course it was used sporadically and then interest was lost just like when we read Ken Cooper's Aerobics book in 1968 that had us experimenting with running for a short while.

 Fast forward to when I was just past High school and working for the drugstore downtown. My boss and friend and mentor was into body building and got me started with it as well as doing some yoga. I was really enjoying that stuff and worked out hard for over a year with the weights working up to 6 workouts a week plus extra pull ups and dips at work. I went from a scrawny 128 lbs to about 142 of muscle before I began running and you know how that story goes.

 Not much cross training went on after that until my knee injury in 1998. I joined the Y to help with the rehab and started biking and swimming eventually getting into tri's in 1999 until 2005. By then I was full bore into ultra's and quit swimming and biking for another 3 years when I got talked into doing a sprint try and then in a moment of insanity entered an Ironman exactly a year later. So I was back to the Y  and swimming more than ever and added core work and weights  about 3 days a week for about a year. I was in pretty good shape at that point but soon after the Ironman in 2009 I quit the Y again and haven't been on my bike or in the pool since and not long after my core program was neglected once again.

  So, I noticed last Fall that I was feeling pretty weak other than my running and my weight had been in the upper 140's for a long time. I felt soft and I noticed I was slouching a lot and some  pictures of me running showed me hunched over when I was tired. I decided it was time to do something about it. I begin working on doing my core routine for 15-20 minutes and had done that for  awhile when I decided to  begin doing the 100 pushups challenge. Just before I began with that though, Amy  put out a  30 day plank challenge. I decided to wait to begin the pushup until after that was over. We actually did the planks for about 37 days and then I moved onto the pushup beginning in  December.

  The pushups were working well and then I bought a power tower in Feb and added pullups and dips to the program as well as leg raises to the core. About the same time I began the 200 situps challenge to add to the core. So by now I was getting in a lot of extra work and starting to see results in the way I feel and look. I also started losing the extra weight as I cut back on snacks along with all the extra work and other quality running. so just about everyday I was doing core one day and body weight strength the next in additon to the running.

 I was also influenced by Amy to begin doing yoga again to try and get back some long lost flexiblitly. She had been taking yoga classes for awhile at Arrichion hot yoga so I pulled out my old yoga book and begin working on  some beginner stuff. Not long after that I came across a 21 day beginner challenge from Yoga journal online with videos so I have been doing that and now I am near the end of the 21 day intermediate challenge. Really enjoying doing these routines nearly everyday which has me up to 3 or 4 workouts a day now. I can really feel the results and I think people can see the results too. I am enjoying doing all the extra work and look forward to getting up every morning and getting started. Here I am at 57 and in nearly the best shape of my life !

 Speaking of Arrichion, I would like to give them a plug. I took advantage of a 20 day intro special so I could see what it was all about that Amy was enjoying so much. In addition to the hot yoga they do a circuit training class several times a week that I wanted to check out.   I really enjoyed the circuit class. A great high intensity workout that works cardio with weights, core, plyometrics, body weight strength, kettle bells, medicine balls and other stuff that gives you a great full body workout.. I am not going now because I am tapering for a 100 and then I'll need to recover before doing anything else with that much intensity but I hope to make it to some classes every now and then when I can fit it into my schedule. And the hot yoga? not so much. Seems people either love it or hate it. hate is a strong word but lets just say I am not a fan. I hate being hot, don't like sauna's so I'll stick to doing my yoga at home with the fan blowing on me ! they do have some really good instructors so if if you think you might like hot yoga , give them a try.

Cary Road Race 5k 2013

  Other than the pine pollen invasion we had a near perfect morning for the race with cool temps and low humidity. Nice to know that was one thing not to worry about. The way my running has been going lately I was feeling pretty confident of having a good race but a nasty hill in the first mile had me a bit worried about achieving my goal of a sub 22. I did my usual warmup routine and then lined up with Amy and the rest of the Surrette family. We were not planning to run together since we each were aiming for a test of how fast we could run and hopefully both make it to the podium. She certainly didn't need me to pace her for a 5k ! I was hoping we would be very close for most of the race though.

  Amy and her son Drew got off to a fast start but I stayed focused on my own run and by 1/4 mile I had pulled even with Amy, feeling smooth and hoping we could stick together. We hit the hill at about the 3/10 mark and I settled in for the climb. It starts off fairly steep for a couple of hundred yards but then eases off the incline a bit. I was surprised at how well I was running up and quickly pulled ahead of Amy. There was a man right with me but I didn't recognize him. I hit the 1 mile mark in6:54 which shocked me. I was expecting to run around 7:30 with that climb. The turn around came shortly after the mark and I began to push the pace.

  I could see Amy was not too far behind running strong. As I reached the steep part of the downhill I was letting it all out and hit the turn onto the lake at about 1.7 miles. I was working hard and came up on mile two in 13:16, a 6:21 mile ! I haven't run a mile that fast  in 30 years ! I was now having visions of actually running faster than my Selma 5k time from 2006 which is my fastest since 1991. I continued to work hard and as usual it probably sounded like I was dying to anyone that could hear me. I felt like I was holding pace but I hit mile 3 in 7:24 which makes me question if they had the timer at the right spot for mile 2. It was a certified course but to adjust for the 2 lap 10 k the turn around was a little different so the 2 mile marks were different too.

 Kicked it hard to the finish and was ecstatic with my time of 21:24 ! I waited for Amy and she came in about 45 seconds later in 22:12 ! Woohooo !

  We waited for the rest of her family and then got ready for the awards ceremony. I was able to win 1st Grandmaster and a $40 gift card. And that guy that was with me at mile 1 ? He turned out to be Tim Beck, a strong runner in my age group that I don't recall ever beating until today was 2nd.

As promised Amy not only made the podium but instead of an age group placing  She was 3rd woman overall !!!!!! Her son drew was 3rd in the 13 and under and her husband Andy was 2nd in the 40-44 group. great day for all of us !

 All the hard training, running as well as all the strength, core and yoga are really paying off. The result today almost makes me want to concentrate more on some speed. Almost. But next I got a 100 mile pr to shoot for followed by a marathon pr attempt but don;t be surprised to see a few more road races  in the training mix.

5k? Yeah, every now and then.

 This Saturday I'll be heading over to the Cary Road Race for a 5k. As you probably know if you follow my running at all, I don't do many 5k's these days. In fact it was 2 years ago in March that I last raced in one. It's not necessarily that I don't like them. As a matter of fact I take a perverse pleasure in the pain of racing fast. It's just that they don't often fit into my schedule and I really prefer doing the longer stuff that I have focused on for the past 11 years now. My pr is from 1983 and I'm not even running in the same time zone as that now. The photo above is me on the way to setting that pr at the Zebulon Freedom run 5k on the 4th of July

  Back around the first of the year as Amy and I were deep into the marathon training I took notice of how fast she was becoming doing the intervals and repeats as well as her overall strength. I knew that another one of her goals is to make a podium in a 5k. A near miss last October had gotten under her skin so I suggested that within 3 or 4 weeks after the marathon she should take advantage of her fitness and race a 5k. I told her she would probably be ready to race her fastest time since her HS XC days and would almost guarantee a podium finish. And I would also get a good test of how my speed is holding up. Getting harder and harder to do these days ! And if things go well every now and then I can give the road racing guys a run for their money and get an age group award also.

 I had planned on about 3 workouts to focus on after allowing some recovery time but it didn;t quite happen. Amy went on a mini vacation and is taking a "warrior" challenge at Arrichion which means at least 3 circuit training sessions each week. With that intensity and  hard work she really didn't need to do the hard running I had planned but she will do fine.  s I was able to get in two of the panned workouts and was hitting interval times faster than I have in many many years so stay tuned and see what happens. I hear training and racing a 5k is great 100 miler training !

The Grande Experiment Two. Continues !

  The GE 2 began last summer with the plan to qualify for Boston at Tobacco Road Marathon along with Amy while still training for a 50 mile pr in January. I got the pr but the BQ attempt didn't go as planned for either of us. That however doesn't mean that it's over. No, not by a long shot. With the past 3 years having my best mileage ever and my training with Amy going so well the past several months I am more excited than ever to push on with pr attempts at both the marathon and 100 miles in the next few months !

 A lot of the future plans are still up in the air at this point but Amy and I are both committed to attaining our goals. A few things are certain though. I am going for the 100 mile pr in 4 weeks at the C&O Canal 100 in Maryland and in June I will be running the Bighorn 100 in Wyoming to get a Western States qualifier. And I plan to go for at least a BQ if not a marathon pr at the Wineglass Marathon in Corning NY on Oct.6th. What I attempt will be determined on how the training goes.

 As I have said before, I seem to run my best ultras off of solid, fast marathon training and thats what I will continue to do. The only thing I will do differently for the 100's will be to add a weekly run/walk for the next few weeks and then after C&O I will be adding more single track leading up to Bighorn. I learned that lesson by not running trails enough before Oil creek last October. Otherwise, in the meantime it will be more of the type of stuff that got us ready for the MB half where Amy shattered her pr. Hills, intervals, tempo and pace work.

 Of course the last two week running wise have been mostly recovery. I took it real easy the first week after the marathon and gradually built up the miles and ended up with 50 for the second week capped off by a strong 20 miler in Umstead. And that was in a crazy cross-training week too but I'll give more detail about that in another post.

 Stay tuned !

Tobacco Road Marathon 2013

 Writing about disappointments is harder and not nearly as much fun as writing about the big successes and I have certainly had a ton of blowups and dnf's over the years. And while it's hard to call a 3:52 marathon, my fastest in 3 years a disappointment,  I didn't accomplish what I came for and what I felt I was conditioned to do. But for me the biggest disappointment was not my failure but that I was not able to miraculously pull Amy along to her Boston qualifier. Yes, after all we had been through to prepare for this I was looking forward to going to Boston and sharing the experience with her but it was always about getting her there and helping her achieve a dream.

  Although neither of us were successful in achieving our goal we hopefully have learned something in the process and are determined that we will get there. It was long shot from the beginning for her to improve on her marathon time so much in such little time but as I shared in the previous posts of our training, I couldn't be more proud of how hard she has worked and how far she has come. I know going forward that we are both going to continue to train hard and stay focused as we are "Running down A Dream ". She will get to Boston, set a lot of pr's in the process. and I will do all I can to defy the odds and the years and get one more marathon pr before I am done. We don't really know right now exactly when it will happen but the work is just started as well as the fun that we will share in the process.

  In the meantime, we are both going to run a 5k in 3 weeks to take advantage of our condition and get Amy her first age group podium finish and for me hopefully my best 5k in several years and maybe a podium for me too. Oh, and right now I am back in ultra mode for awhile with a 100 mile pr attempt coming up in 5 weeks. But have no fear, the training is going to continue like we have been doing. I have proven to myself that for me I run my best ultra's when I am training for a fast marathon. I know there is no way I would have shattered my 50 mile pr in January if I had not been doing this type of training with Amy.
  The only thing that will be done differently is that I will  add a run/walk workout about once a week just to get back to practicing being able to walk fast and strong. Otherwise the tempos, intervals, marathon and half marathon pace runs, the strength training , core and yoga will go on.

 Oh, you were expecting a race report ? Ok, here is the Cliff Notes version.

 With much excitement but knowing we had a tough task before us, Amy and I lined up together a few minutes before the start with the intentions of sharing all 26.2 miles. We had a plan,the training was done and now we just had to make it happen. Things started off perfectly as we stayed calm and relaxed and hit the 1st mile a little slower than what we needed to allow a good warmup. By mile two were were right on track. The pacing for the next couple of miles was perfect also but in mile 5, Amy dropped back a couple of seconds. No problem since we were running about 5 seconds over goal pace so I dropped back to her. But she once again dropped back again and when I checked the 6 mile split, we had slowed to 15 seconds slower than what I needed. I looked back to her and knew I had to go so I turned my attention forward and picked up the pace.

  I was sad to leave her so early but all I could do was try to stay focused on my race. I was now hoping  and praying she could settle into a pace that would still get her a 3:45 and a BQ for her. My pacing continued  perfectly for the next several miles and shortly after making a u turn around the 9 mile point I began looking for her. I saw she was maybe a 1:30 minutes back but I knew she had been planning a pit stop and she was running well so I was hoping she would stayed locked into that pace. I was still crankimg out the miles like clockwork and feeling pretty good.

 I saw Amy's family around mile 11 -12 and told them to let her know her new goal pace was 8:33's as I continued on. I went through the half in 1:49:05, right where I had planned it with almost a minute cushion and still pacing dead on. Even through mile 17 I was doing ok and feeling confident but then mile 18 was a little slow. I wasn't too worried because it was a slight upgrade but by 19, I was slowing more and not feeling good, I saw Gene Meade working the turnaround and told him I was losing it.

 And at mile 20 I lost a full minute and knew it was over. The worst thing though was when  I saw how far back Amy was and she did not look happy and she didn't even see me as I passed by.  I knew the Boston dream was over but I was still hoping to salvage something from the race and try to hold on for my 2nd fastest marathon and I was able to pick it up slightly the next mile but by mile 22 I was alternating between a jog and a shuffle and each new time goal slowly ticked away. Now I just wanted to get it over with. With about a mile to go a friend, Tony rode up to me on his bike and he told me that Amy and Margo were going to be close to sub 4. I knew that was a disappointment for her but it would be a pr at least and something positive to take from it.

 I crossed the finish and then waited in the finish area for Amy. I had to stay out of the way so I lingered by the medical tent so they wouldn't run me off . I was determined to be there for her when she finished. Margo came in under 4 but I couldn't see Amy and I was praying for her to come on and sure enough a few seconds later she came into view and I could see she had the sub 4. As I expected she was in tears so I quickly made my way to her and we just  hugged and shed a few tears. Like I said was disappointed but my heart was breaking for her. And that's about it. Time to move on now to more adventures with fun along the way.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Training with Amy- Part 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Training with Amy-Part 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Stay tuned for part 3 and the final phase

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

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


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

Training with Amy- Part 1 the Beginnings

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Stay tuned for part 2 and the road to Boston !

The Grand Experiment Two. Late February Update

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

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

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

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

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

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

 Stay tuned, it won;t be long now !

Myrtle Beach Half Marathon, Pacing Amy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Myrtle Beach Half Marathon 2013 Preview

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

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

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

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

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

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