Success at Tussey Mountainback 50 !

   Right up until Thursday night before  the race I was about ready to just cancel the trip. The hamstring had finally began to show some improvement after over a week off but then would start to hurt all over again just as bad as before and I was getting very discouraged. As bad as I wanted to go and get the WS qualifier, I surely didn't want to go and have yet another dnf and make the injury worse. But the race was paid for as well as advance payment on the hotel so Friday morning I threw the stuff in the car and headed north.

  Woke up Sunday am to a perfect day for a race. At least I wouldn't have the weather conditions to worry about derailing my plans.  It was a chilly 40ish so I stayed in my car until a few minutes before the start. When it was time to get ready I headed over to the start and found Jim Plant who was in the same situation as me needing to get in one last chance to qualify.

   The sun was not yet risen as we began. I started very slow and easy to see how the leg would feel. No pain for the first few minutes and I was thinking just maybe it would be ok but no, within half a mile I could feel the pain coming on and by the 1st mile I was already hurting quite a bit. All I could do was suck it up and hope for the best. I stopped to stretch it out for minute and Jim passed by with some concern for me. I told him I was just doing some preventative maintenance before it got any worse. Well it didn't help. I was just going to have to deal with the pain.

  We finished the first climb which was about 3 miles long but not steep and was  runable the whole way although I did take a few short walk breaks. I soon passed Jim on the downhill and then settled in for the next several miles that were pretty easy with short easy ups and downs and lots of nearly flat sections. Normally I would have been pushing those downhills but today I was being careful  to save the leg for as long as possible so I just joggy jogged as Laura Frey would say !  I was moving along well and enjoying the gorgeous morning but every step was hurting. I just took pictures, took in the views and thought of my friends and family back home that I knew were supporting me to try and take my mind off of it.

 I did the first 10 miles in 1:47:22 and even with the beginning climb it was the easiest 10 mile section of the race. The next  aid station was around mile 11 at a State park and then we began another climb.  Jim caught up to me about mile 13 and after a few words of encouragement I let him go needing to stick with my own plan.  I was pretty much alone from that point on as far as other ultra runners because we were so spread out and there were only about 150 of us. The next 10 were pretty uneventful. Other than the pain I was actually feeling very good.

  I think it was around mile 18 that the first of the relay runners went flying by. They started in several waves beginning an hour after us. I normally don't like being passed but knowing they were fresh and only doing legs of 5 miles or less  made it easy to take. I did that 2nd 20 miles in 2:02, still well ahead of the pace I needed and feeling good.

  The next section had the hardest climb of the day, from about mile 20.5 to 25 was all uphill and 2.5 of that was fairly steep so I just settled in and not worrying. So far the leg had been  holding up but now it was flaring up for a few minutes every now and then. I was talking out loud to it and praying, just hang in there leg. We got this if you just hold up. It never got tight though and would soon just go back to the normal pain.

 I finally topped the hill and shortly after passed the halfway point in 5:07. My energy level was still good so I was feeling confident as long as the hammie held up. I had a pretty simple nutrition plan. I was drinking water in my bottle and Heed at the aid stations. I had taken 2 gels and eaten about 4 cookies and 4 small hand fulls of M&M's and the stomach was very happy. I normally have no problem eating or drinking whatever I want when it's cool. By now it had warmed up into the middle 50's  and the wind had kicked up a bit.

  I passed mile 30 in 6:09 slowing to a 2:19 for the last 10 and most of that slowdown attributable to that long climb from 20-25.

  The next 10 had some up and down with another long 2+ mile climb but it wasn't nearly as steep as the previous long one.  I was actually looking forward to the relay runners and their support vehicles passing me at this point. Nearly all of them were very supportive of us ultra runners, cheering and telling us how awesome and amazing we were. Just before the 40 mile mark we came out of the forest for the first time and ran on some paved road for awhile past some farms and homes with beautiful views of the Fall foliage on the mountains in peak color.  I did that 10 mile section 2:13.

 As I was passing he 40 mile I was doing some multi-tasking. Tried to take a picture of the 40 mile point with my phone to post to FB and somehow screwed up the phone address to FB. I was also taking pictures of the beautiful scenery with my regular camera and then texting Amy an update. Dropped my phone and then a few feet later dropped the camera and the battery popped out. Ok, time to get going here. Anyway the update I texted was I had passed mile 40 in 8:22. A little over 2.5 hours to do 10 more miles. One more big climb to go. I think I got this !

  There was another aid station just before the 41 mile point and  as I  begin to run again I noticed that my leg pain had actually subsided quite a bit and was now just a mere nuisance. My confidence was high now. I felt pretty sure it was going to let me get through this and once i got the last climb behind me it was nearly 4 miles of downhill to the finish.

  I settled into the climb and somewhere around mile 43 I caught up to Alana Garrison-Kast , a friend of Jim's that I had met at breakfast after Hinson Lake. Shortly after that the grade of the climb increased substantially. I really haven't trained much for climbing up long hills and I was a lot slower than usual but at this point I wasn't worried knowing if I was moving I was going to make it.

 I made it to the aid station about the 45.5 mile point and was disappointed  to find they were out of Coke. I like to wait until the last 3rd of the race to drink the soda but beginning from about mile 33, they had been out at every aid station.  As I was heading back out to do the last leg, Alana caught up to me and somehow she had snagged a bottle of Coke and offered to share it with me. Thank you ! It definitely hit the spot.


  We walked together up the next small hill and then with the downhill I took off. I was afraid it might be a quad pounder  but it turned out to be a sweet gradual downhill on pavement.  I welcomed the pavement because it was easier on my feet than a lot of the gravel had been over most of the course. I was still feeling great and was cruising along easily at a relaxed 10 minute mile pace.  With about 1/2 mile to go the course merged with the first half mile that we had started earlier. There was a woman at the intersection stopped and I could tell she was confused on which way to go. She looked back and I just waved her in the right direction. She was so happy she didn't go the wrong way. I saw her afterwards and she thanked me again for sparing her who knows how many bonus miles !

  With about 1/4 mile to go we came out of the woods and there was a slight uphill grade to the finish. As I approached I suddenly began to choke up and was fighting back tears of  relief joy. For that one brief moment I was almost happy one of my Angels wasn't there at the finish because I know I would have been boo hooing. But then I just got happy and was smiling big time as I crossed the finish to  lots of cheers and good job ultra. ( The relay folks called all of us ultra )

  As I crossed the line and got my medal , a group of young lady's handed me a water bottle and asked if I was ok and if I needed anything. I said yeah, I think I need one of you to take a picture. One of them said sure and was about to snap one when I said wait a minute and let me get ready and then I dropped down and started doing my pushups. They were all like OMG I can't believe he's doing that. After a few snapshots she said she had the shot and I could quit  but I said no got to do 50. All the other spectators were  cheering and amazed. I guess they just don't know who I am ;)

 I was so happy to have accomplished my goal, feel good and almost more so , glad that the leg held up on me so that I could do it. I fired off a text to the Angels and then found Jim. He had finished about 10 minutes before me with a pr and of course he was elated and while we were there Alana came in just squeeking under 11 hours.

  Other than running out of Coke way too early in the race everything else about the race was 1st class and I would recommend  it to anyone looking for a moderately challenging  50 miler.

  Now, I just have to take care and make sure the leg heals so I can get back into regular training and be able to race hard again.

  The lottery for Western States is on December 7th and I will have 3 tickets in the hat this year. wish me Luck !

  Here is a link to the pictures I took on this beautiful day in the Allegheney Mts of PA

Tussey Mounainback 50 miler preview

 It's not that I haven't thought about running this race eventually but it was certainly not on my schedule for 2013. After my DNF at Bighorn 100 miler due to hypothermia I was about to give up on doing 100's after a streak of bad luck causing  string of dnf's. But deep inside I knew I was not yet ready to call it quits. I still know I can one day improve on my pr and more importantly I still have the desire to fulfill my dream of completing the Western States 100. And that is where this race comes into the picture. Because of my DNF at Bighorn I had no qualifier to enter the lottery and without one I would have to start the whole process over again. I know if I don't get in soon I will be too old and slow to finish so I really need to get back while I am still running strong.

  Due to time and budget restraints I was having a hard time finding a suitable qualifying race but then I saw this one. Not too close but driveable and I could do it without missing a day of work.  I begin to get excited and was looking forward to coming up here and running a fast time knowing if I blew, up I could still finish under the 11hr cut-off. I even signed up for the USATF because the race is the National 50 Mile Championship and although I doubt I would have placed  I was looking forward to the age-group competition.

 Well, that was before I got stupid one weekend in early August and ended up with a hamstring injury that was avoidable. It's been hampering me ever since and most recently screwing up my BQ attempt two weeks ago. I have not run a step in the past two weeks in hopes that the leg will just get me to the finish line in under 11 hours. So, rather than race I will go conservatively and just try and enjoy the day and I guess that's not a bad thing  sometimes. I will take advantage of the slower pace and take in the views and take lots of pictures. It would be nice if an Angel or two could have made the trip to keep me company. I don't know anyone in the race except for Jim Plant who like me dnf'd in the summer and is running just to keep his name in the WS lottery.

  What seems a little strange is that under the new qualifying standards for WS only certain races are eligible and about all are trail with many road ultras dropped from the list. But this is a road race, about 75% dirt and 25% paved. I assume that it is due to the fact that it is the championship 50 miler. The course has about 5,000ft of climbing in the Allegheny Mountains of central Pennsylvania. It is one big loop with a short section at the beginning and end that is run in both directions starting at the Tussey Mountain Ski Resort outside of Boalsburg PA, which is just outside of State College PA.

 Here is a link to the website:

Wineglass Marathon 2013

  My travels to Corning went well on Saturday with no issues. I drove straight to the expo from the airport and was happy to see The Werners just 2 cars ahead of me heading into the parking lot. Talk about perfect timing. We picked up our race packets and just before leaving we found Ronnie Jones, a CRW racing teammate that was running the marathon also. We walked over to the downtown area and found Rebecca Sitton, the last of the group and went to find some dinner before heading to our separate rooms for the night.

  I woke up an hour early with excitement of the race just ahead. I wasn't too happy with the weather which was about 20 degrees higher than normal for this area. It was mid 60's with chance of rain and humidity near 100%. Oh well, you do the best with what you got. My main concern was whether or not the legs would hold up to the pace and distance I was hoping to run. They had felt a bit better and I was hoping for the best.

  I hitched a ride with Ronnie to the start about 3 miles from the hotel and there we waited for Karla to arrive. Frank and Rebecca were doing the half which started , well halfway on this point to point course from Bath to Corning. We made our last minute preparations and then headed up the hill to await the start. Then it started to rain with 3 minutes to go. Not but a sprinkle and with the high humidity and warmer weather I actually wouldn't have minded if it rained later.

  The first half mile was downhill which allowed me to run at about my planned race pace with the effort closer to my training pace. The course then flattened out and I hit the first mile in 8:09. Pr pace is 8:12 so I was pretty happy to be right there. But I wasn't happy because the right leg was already tight and hurting. It wasn't too bad and all I could do was hope it got a little better and I could keep going. The 2nd flat mile was an 8:07 and with that I decided that yes, the pr attempt was on.

 I relaxed a little too much mile 3 in 8:21 but was right back where I needed to be with an 8:09 fourth mile. Mile 5 had the first significant uphill which slowed me down a bit to 8:23 bu tfor 5 I was 41:12 and right on pr pace. Mile 6 had some more climbing and then from 6.5 to 8.5 I was surprised to find that it climbed the whole way. It wasn't steep but it still took an effort and my pace was slowing to the 8:20's. At that point I realized with the warm conditions and a few more hills to come that I would not be making that time up so I switched to plan B which was to just get the  Boston qualifier of 3:40 which is an 8:23 pace. I was steady clicking away the miles at 8:20 to 8:22 and feeling very good other than the constant pain. It did seem to ease off a bit for a couple of miles but never went away like I had hoped.

 I passed through the half marathon point nearly dead on 1:49:00 which gave me a one minute cushion to work with, or about exactly where I needed to be.  There was a nasty hill just before mile 15 and I backed off the effort a little bit. It was then that the 3:40 pace group went by. I wasn't worried because I knew they were slightly ahead of pace and as soon as we crested the hill I was reeling them back in and ready to settle into pace behind them over the next several flatter miles. Well that was the plan but my leg had other plans.

  Just before reaching the 16 mile point the leg just suddenly gave out on me. The pain sharpened and I had to limp and just could not extend the leg anymore. I walked into the water stop and tried to massage it and stretch it a bit but as soon as I began to run it was obvious that my race was over just that fast. Even my hopes of at least going for my 2nd fasted time were shattered. It was all very frustrating knowing there was really nothing I could do to change things.

  I saw a sign that said next medical tent 1 mile so I kept moving forward and figured I would drop out there. But as I got nearer I knew I really didn't want another DNF. I had plenty of time to finish but I did not want to have to walk the whole way or make the injury any worse.  The pain had eased of enough that I could run at a much slower pace without limping so I just went into my ultra shuffle  pace and mindset. As long as I could keep moving and not limp I was going to get to the finish and get my medal !

  It didn't help matters when the sag wagon with a few casualties inside came up behind me near the 18 mile mark but I resisted and kept moving. By now I was walking backwards a lot and looking to see if Karla was coming. I had been hoping she would run a sub 4 hr and doing the math in my head I knew that she should catch me sometime before mile 19 if she was on pace. Well, I didn't see here and by mile 20 it was obvious she was not going to do it today. Not long afterwards she finally caught up to me. I ran about 1/2 mile with her before I had to walk some more.

  It really stinks having so many people pass you in a race like this and especially knowing I was fit enough to be way ahead of where I was at but I just sucked it up an kept moving as fast as I could without making the leg any angrier with me. When Karla had passed I told her it would probably be a 4:45 finish for me but I was able to move a bit faster than I thought and I soon figured out I had a shot at going under 4:30. Really a meaningless goal at this point but it gave me something to focus on and yet another goal  to shoot for.

   I was so happy to finally see the bridge crossing the river and into downtown because I knew I had about 1/2 mile to go and I would break the 4:30 barrier. The crowds along Market Street were great cheering for us and despite the disappoint of the injury I was able to smile and wave to the crowds and enjoy the moment. I saw Rebecca taking a picture just before the finish and then it was over in 4:28:44.

  I felt pretty rough in the finish area for a few minutes but soon Frank and Karla and Rebecca came by and before long I felt a lot better. As I was getting up from the curb where I had been resting, Rebecca made some comment in joking about my pushups. So I dropped down and gave 50 which she recorded. That was a lot easier than running the marathon.

 So now it's time to heal and hope it won't be too long before I can get back to running again.

Wineglass Marathon Preview

  There are a several reasons why this race ended up on my schedule. I had been to the area with my family when I was about 14 years old and had fond memories of the trip and the area. I took my younger son Jeremy there when he was the same age on one of our vacations too. Two of my training partners, Karla and Lisa had expressed an interest in going to run this one and I was  excited to plan on going with them and sharing the experience and re-visiting Watkins Glen, one of my favorite places to see. After a couple of years we decided that this would be the year to sign up. It fit my schedule and I was looking for a fast Fall marathon to either run for a fast time or Boston qualifier so we signed up and began to make plans.

  Unfortunately, Lisa had been struggling with her training over the summer and decided she wouldn't make the trip.  Karla and I will be running the full, Frank, Karla's husband is running the half and our friend Rebecca Sitton will also be running the half.

  I had been hoping to go for a marathon pr with my training going great over the summer and running faster than I have in years at the shorter distances but a hamstring problem cropped up in August and September training was way off and things are still not 100%.  Right now  after a forced taper I will just have to see how things feel when the race begins. Hoping for the best but I just don't know and  I'm not feeling too confident . I will just go with the flow and if I feel great, I'll go for the pr. If I just feel good then I will go for the minimum BQ pace and if I don't feel like I can hold that then I may drop  back and run with Karla  and hope I can hang with her.

 When we signed up we were hoping for normal Autumn NY weather in the mid 40' to mid 50's  and dry during the race. But it looks  now like it will be 60- 75f during the race with humidity near 100% . Booooo !

  Here is a link to the race website.

and their facebook page.

 The race will be doing live tracking but I don't know how often it will update or at what points on the course. I have it set up to post to my facebook page. You can go to this link to sign up to get updates from ChronoTrack and have it sent to you FB or to a phone.

Run For The Fallen 1/2 Marathon

 Lets start with the good news. I ran 1:42:20 which is my fastest time since 2006 for a half marathon. It was a beautiful morning with cool temps and dry air. A bit windy but I'll take those conditions anytime for this time of year.My hamstring felt pretty good and was not  an issue in the race.

 The bad news? The other leg came up with a mystery pain within the first half mile causing me to suffer significant pain and discomfort and kept me from having a shot at breaking 1:40 !

I met up with Lisa, Karla and Frank before the race. Went for an easy 1/2 mile warmup and felt great with no pain. I was feeling very confident that it would be a good day. There was not a large field with only 85 finishers in the half so I lined up very close to the front. I didn't want to go out to hard and just ease into a good rhythm and stuck to my plan. At first the pain was not too bad, just annoying and I was hoping it would go away after I got warmed up well into the race. I passed mile 1 in 7:29 and it felt easy so I was now thinking I could go for the sub 1:40.

 Just before mile 3 the leg flared up petty bad and I was getting worried and had to back off a little but then it eased off to just painful again and I was dead on pace again with a slight cushion.. Miles 4 and 5 were exposed as we ran along beside the runway and directly into the head wind and a slight upgrade. I backed off the effort a little bit until just after the 5 mile mark when we turned out of the wind and into some trees. I only lost a little bit of time there and by mile 7  I was exactly dead even on 1:40 finishing pace and other than the pain I felt fantastic.

 Then around mile 7.5 was when the leg really began to fail on me. Lots of pain and I had to shorten my stride and back off the pace. Over the next several miles I was a bit erratic with the pace as the pain would ebb and flow. I was really getting angry that I was feeling like I could run so fast but the leg just wouldn't let me and I helplessly watched the group of runners that were going for the same 1:40 disappear in front of me. I knew I was till on pace to run my fastest since 2006 so I just gritted my teeth and ran with a grimace and pushed as hard as the leg would let me.

 Finally around mile 11 it eased off some and I was able to get the pace back to around 7:40-45 ish for the remainder of the race. Finished up with a good time but so frustrating to have another injury now. It was really strange to run a good time and still feel like without the pain I could have kept going at that pace easily for several more miles :(

  Karla ran well and ended up with 1st womens grandmaster award and 4th woman overall. Lisa was happy with her effort after struggling with her training for a long time now and Frank had a very good day too. We had a great time hanging around after the race eating burgers and hot dogs for breakfast !

Run For The Fallen 1/2 Marathon- Preview

 I'll be heading out to race a rare half marathon this Saturday Sept. 14th at 6:30 am. The race is at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro and is a fundraiser for The Wounded Warrior Project . I found out about it several months ago from a flyer they dropped off at Capital RunWalk and saw that it fit my schedule in my build up for the Wineglass marathon in Oct.

  Yes, I  did run The Myrtle Beach Marathon this past February and oddly enough although I wasn't "racing" it, it was my 2nd  fastest half since 2006. As you may know I was pacing Amy in MB and had a fantastic run in 1:43:29 and felt like I could have gone quite a bit faster on a near perfect morning. The last time I raced was way back in March of 2011 when I ran 1:43:03 at Tobacco Road.

  When I signed up for this I was excited to run on this flat fast course and test myself because I really feel like I'm in even better shape than  I was in 2011 but the past few weeks I've been a bit worried. Due to my hamstring issue before and during the Beast of Burden, I don't feel like I have been able to do the training that I would have liked. The good thing is that after an easy week with just one short run after BoB, I have at least been able to get back to my weekly average mileage of about 50 mpw. I have been especially encouraged in just the past few days. Although the leg is not even close to 100% yet, I have been able to get in some good quality workouts and no problem with any pain while running. Amy and I just did some mile repeats this past Tuesday at about the pace I hope to be racing Saturday and  now t looks like it's going to be a pretty cool morning.

 Not going to make any predictions on time but I do intend to give it a good solid effort and if things go well I do expect to beat that time from two years ago. When I signed up I was hoping to go under 1:40 but I'm not going to hurt myself trying if that pace is too fast.

 Race website

 Stay tuned !

Beast of Burden Summer 100

 Sorry it has taken so long to post about this one. For those that don't know already it was another DNF and I really hate writing about DNF's. I will spare the gory details but the race deserves a little report at least.

 Overall this is an excellent event and I can highly recommend it for the organization and volunteers. They put on a top notch event with good aid stations, especially the main one at the start/finish where they had and were cooking a large variety of food as well as many of the usual aid station far.  The only downside is that the course gets really boring very quickly. It is a flat out and back, 25 miles round trip that is repeated 4 times. There are a few nice views along the way and the bridges and small villages are interesting but mostly just the canal , the towpath and trees. Unfortunately the trees offer no shade for 23 of 25 miles each lap. This could be a very fast course in ideal weather but even with the somewhat mild 80F day, it felt VERY hot all afternoon with the sun bearing down.

  My race started out ok but I was in pain from the first step. I had tweaked my hamstring two weeks before getting ready for a 5k, racing it and then doing speedwork two days later. Yes, it was a very dumb thing to do especially considering that I was aiming for a pr here . But anyway, I was hoping it would hold up for the distance and the pain would ease off after I got warmed up for a couple of miles but sadly it never stopped hurting. I was running quite well despite the pain for the first 25 miles and on pace for the pr but as I headed out for the second lap it just kept getting weaker. By 31 I could barely run at all and even walking fast was now hurting it quite a bit. My pace slowed so much over the next 6.5 miles that at the rate I was moving I would not even be able to move fast enough to make the 30 hour cutoff even with the nice cushion I had built the first lap. So I  reluctantly gave up at th 37.5 mile turn around aid station not wanting to do further damage for nothing.

  Jenn the Ultra Angel of course accompanied me on this trip and she was still in the race so I became her crew. She had really struggled with the heat and was having a tough time getting in calories. But she is tough and hung in there and even picked the pace back up on the last lap to finish strong in just over 25 hours.

 Here is a link to some pictures I took from the race.

Beast of Burden Summer 100 mile Preview

  In case you've been wondering why I have been posting all the Niagara Falls pictures on my facebook page, here is a little bit of an explanation. It seems I have a little 100 miler to run just a little Northeast  of Niagara this weekend.

   This may come as a bit of a surprise to most of you. Usually I have races on my calender and talk about them quite a bit leading up to race day but for  a couple of reasons this time I decided to lay low and keep my plans on the quiet side. There are a few people I have mentioned it to that probably don't really care and of course the Angels are in on it. In fact one of them, Jenn the Ultra Angel Ennis is running it too !

  It's kind  of odd that I ended up picking this race to began with as I really hadn't planned on doing another 100 this year but there were a couple of factors that played into the decision. For one, I was very frustrated with my attempt to get a 100 mile pr. First it was the the problem with the stupid race that shall remain nameless with their extra 5miles and a ridiculous bushwhack up and down hill on a "flat fast" course. Then in May I  decided after having to drop from said nameless race,  that I would go for the pr in my own event, The Nightmare on the Neuse. The  only nightmare was the weather throwing a wrench into my plans. After an extra cool Spring and running all my miles in the 50's to the low 70's with low humidity, it turns 86 and humid. I still ran a lot better than I expected considering I had no heat acclimation but I slowed too much for the pr so I shut it down at mile 50.

  The other reason involves the Ultra Angel. We had originally planned to go to  out West but she was unable to make the trip to Bighorn. So we were considering something else closer and looked at Burning River but it was getting close to race day and no decision was ever made for sure and I decided  I really wanted to go for the pr one more time without having to wait until next Spring so I looked at this one. When I mentioned it to Jenn I was surprised that she actually wanted go  because I figured a flat course  would have no appeal to her.  But she said lets do it so we signed up and booked our flights.

  Signing up for this one in the hopes of going for a pr is kind of a crapshoot with the weather. I would not have even considered a race in August for a fast time but when I looked at the historical weather review, the average  high for Lockport NY where the race is held is only 78F. If I got lucky and it was average or lower I may have a legitimate shot at running a pr. But, the record high is 98F and we could get anything in between. I decided it was worth a shot and committed to it figuring if it was too hot I would just run to finish and if we got lucky and it was cooler then I could go for the pr.

   Well, right now the forecast is for 80F high and 59f  for the overnight low so it's game on ! That is still pretty warm but it should be a bit less humid and I am well acclimated by now with two back to back big mileage months with many days of running in the 80's and 90's with afternoon runs with the heat index well over 100.  I know not to go for the fantasy goal but if things go well and I keep it smart there is a good chance I can finally beat the pr of 23:15 from 2007 at Rocky Raccoon.

 There is no runner tracking on their website but I hope to be in touch with Awesome Angel Amy and she will try to give updates on my fb page throughout the day and evening and I will try to post on fb myself after she goes to bed.  The course is flat along the Erie Canal towpath. We go out 12.5 miles and back  4 times so I will try to update every 12.5. Cool , just like Umstead but no hills !

 Stay tuned !

Dog Days of Summer 5k

 Wow, another 5k? That's three this year after going over two years without running one. Well, I really had nothing going on so I  thought it would be fun to do another one to keep things interesting. Back when I ran the Whirli Run on June 1st  I had targeted my training for several weeks hoping to crack 21 minutes but I knew that was not going to be happening here. Ever since my dnf at  Bighorn in mid June , I have been piling on a lot of miles with June and July my two biggest months of the year and in the top 10 months all time so I wasn't expecting to run very fast on this day. Combine the miles with  a hillier course and one of the nastiest muggiest days of the summer and I knew it was going to be tough.

  Despite that, I still wanted to give the race 100% effort with what I had so I prepared with my normal pre-race routine before heading to the starting line. There were about 250 runners so I expected a little more competition this time around.

  We headed out on a gradual downhill that continued for nearly all of the first mile. I got into a nice comfortable groove early and was trying to spot any competition. I noticed two guys that appeared to be close to my age move past me and by the 1st mile in 6:41, they were both about 30 yards ahead and seemed to be pulling away slowly. The next mile was several rolling hills. At the turnaround I started counting and saw I was in 18th overall. Pretty happy with top 20 in a race this size.

  I also noticed after the turn that I seemed to be gaining on the two competitors so I focused on trying to reel them in. Just at the two mile mark one of them started walking and just as I passed he began to run again but soon I could not hear him breathing behind me. One down one to go. Hit mile two in 7:08 and began the long uphill grind to the finish. Just before making the turn back onto Blount Street with a little over half mile to go I made the pass of the other age grouper.

  I tried to make it a strong move but shortly after the turn was a block long steeper portion and I didn't want to push too hard and blow up. Once things leveled back out a little more  I tried to pick up the pace a little and thought I had the 1st in age wrapped up but suddenly my competitor pulled up beside me and the race was really on. I matched strides for another 100yards but then he put on a surge and I had nothing and watched helplessly as he pulled away taking 1st by 5 seconds. But I pressed on and was able to be happy with beating my pre-race goal of sub 22 with a 21:52 official time and 18th overall and 2nd age group.

 Had a nice talk with the first place guy. Turns out I knew him as a customer from Capital RunWalk, Mike Martino. Congrats Mike !

 Onto the next adventure. Stay tuned !

Grandfather Mountain Marathon

  Had a great trip up to Boone this year and had a lot of fun and got in a great workout.  I've been running very well recently and the idea of racing it and maybe going for a sub 4 had crossed my mind, but I decided to go ahead and stick with my original plan and run with Jenn. After dropping at mile 48 at Bighorn , I only took one rest day and then ran 50, 64 and 64 mile weeks leading up to the race and only took the Friday off before the race so it would not have been smart to race it anyway.

  Jenn had accompanied me down the mountain when I did my double back in 2010 and I had always hoped if she ever got around to actually running in the race that I wanted to share it with her. Two other of the Angels, Amy and Margo were also running it for their first times  and I was hoping that we could all stick close together for as long as possible. Lisa was back again too but Karla and Laura were not here this year.

 We lined up on the track on a nice cool morning, about 59F and were soon circling the track and out onto the roads. I had really expected Margo to be way ahead and pushing the pace but she was right in front of us as Jenn, Amy, Lisa and I were all together. Just past mile 2 we began the first climb and I could tell Amy was working too hard for the pace. I was a bit sad that by mile 4 she and Lisa were both dropping behind. I had hoped to stay together at least until mile 10 so we could get a picture at the traditional spot. After this year , all of the Angels have run the race with me at least once and had our pictures taken there but Amy will have to wait  until another time.

  Jenn was running well and we were having a great time and I was happy that Margo was able to run quite a bit with us. We did stop at mile 10 for the photo but with the fog once again there were no views of the mountain this year. Soon after we were on the parkway and enjoying the nice downhill to the halfway point. I was feeling great and the pace felt very easy to me. We passed the half in about 2:13 and then began the climbing again. Once we got to the mile 15ish aid station Margo began to pull head of us and not long after we lost sight of here.

  Just before 17 hill we caught up to my young cousin Andy Sicard who is a park ranger at Grandfather Mountain State Park. He used to run a lot but quit competing 7 or 8 years ago but decided he wanted to run the marathon for the first time.   Talked to him for a minute and introduced him to Jenn and then we were off again.

  Jenn continued to move along at a good pace as we hit hwy 221. I was still feeling great just enjoying getting in a great workout and sharing the miles with her. The weather was great this year. It was quite a bit humid but the temperature stayed in the mid 60's and there was a breeze most of those last  7 or 8 miles. We were on pace to run about 4:35 I guessed but by mile 22 Jenn began to walk a lot more on the hills that earlier we would have been running.

 Finally made it to the games and ran strong to the end finishing in 4:41:42. Despite  the easy pace and a lot of walking in the end, that was still my 2nd fastest time by 10 seconds 8 finishes ! That just shows how well my training has been going. We walked down to the finishers tent and I got a cup of gatorade and then headed back out on the course to go find Amy. I was really a bit surprised at how great I felt as I ran back looking for he. This would have been a great year for me to do the double. I was 15 minutes faster finishing the race, I felt a lot better and the weather was cool compared to the mid 80's in the afternoon of 2010.

   I was happy that I didn't have to go too far  to find Amy. She had about 3/4 mile to go when  I found her and she had a big smile when she saw me. Although she was hurting a bit from the effort, she ran strong all the way to the end  and I was happy to at least share the finish with her. Got to finish one of my favorite events twice with two different Angels in one day !

  Wonderful weekend with friends and the next day I had practically zero soreness, no more than a normal long run. I took off Sunday and right back to normal training on Monday. A very good sign that my training is on track for some big things to come ! Stay tuned !  

Looking ahead to the remainder of 2013

 So, what 's coming up next you might ask ? Well a lot but not much really.

 July:
 I have Grandfather Mountain Marathon coming up on the 13th. I'm not planning to race it though. Just hoping to run as many miles of it as I can with some of the Angels and use it for a long training run. Amy, Jenn  and Margo will be running it for the first time and Lisa is coming back. I expect Laura will be there as always. It's too bad Karla isn't running this year or it might have been the first race with all of them at one time.

 Aug;

 I'm planning on running The Dog Days of Summer 5k on the 3rd for fun and to test the legs for speed again. Hope to do well but it will probably be warmer and muggier than the Whirli 5k I ran on June 1st and not as flat either. But, I will give it my best.

 Sept:

 Run for the Fallen Half Marathon at Seymour Johnson AFB. Flat fast course should e a good test of my fitness before the BQ attempt next month.

 Oct:

 This is the biggie. All the training this Summer is geared toward getting a BQ and if things go really well and the weather cooperates, maybe even a pr at The Wineglass Marathon in Corning NY on the 6th.  Karla and Lisa will be going on this trip too and Frank is running the half.

On the 20th I will be heading North once again to Pennsylvania for The Tussey Mountainback 50 miler. I hadn't planned on doing this but after failing to finish Bighorn, I need a qualifier for the Western States Lottery. I should be able to get it here if I just run smart.

 Nov:

 I'm going back to the OBX Marathon and plan to run it with Karla. How fast depends on a few things, mainly if she is up for going for a pr. She may already get it at Wineglass and be content to run easy. We'll see .

 I'll finish up the month with The Derby 50k. This will be my 10th and if things go well I would like to celebrate it with a 50k pr.

 Dec:

 No races but I may have something planned that I can let you in on later. It may involve a 50 mile pr attempt ;) .

 Oh, and there may be , ok there IS another biggie in the works but I don't intend to talk about it so don't ask if you don't already know. You will know soon enough.

 In the meantime, I am working out nearly every day , twice a day with core, body weight or yoga and I am trying to get my average mileage up from the 50ish that I have been running the past few years up to 60 miles per week at least. and I would like to get in as many 70 mile weeks as possible before Wineglass to give my self the best chance of going for a pr there and then again at Derby.

 Stay tuned !

Mid year review 2013. How's it going ?

 So far this year I have had some great successes and unfortunately several failures but overall I am pretty happy with the way things are going.

 Got the year off to a great start at the "Running From An Angel" 50 miler at Lake Mead Nevada. Exceeded my own expectations and shattered my pr by over an hour with an 8:54:57 finish and 1st Grandmaster.

 Recovery went very well and I was right back into marathon training with Amy. We ran the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon together and I ran my 2nd fastest half in 7 years while pacing her to a huge pr in 1:43:29. A very proud and happy day for me to see her come so far since we met.

 In March it was time to go for the Boston qualifier at the Tobacco Road Marathon. Things didn't go as well as planned. We had hoped to run together but had to separate at mile 5. I missed the BQ but still ran a 3:52:50. Amy missed also but was still able to get a pr so progress was being made.

In April, I started off volunteering at the Umstead 100 again and had a great time and got in a lot of miles over the weekend Got to run for the first time with Amy's sister  Karen, paced John Adamoff for a lap and then  ran another lap with THE Marathon Princess. A week later it was time to test out my speed after all the months of marathon training. My first 5k in over two years at the Cary Road Race. I had a great day and ran a 21:24, my fastest in several years and won 1st Grandmaster !

 Finished up the month going for a 100 mile pr at a race which doesn't deserve to be mentioned here. I was running great on a perfect day weather wise but some personal issues and one stupid screwed up race made it easy to drop halfway even though I was well ahead of pr pace.

May brought the Nightmare on the Neuse 100 miler, my own creation to take out my frustration and go for the 100 mile pr. Even though it was only two weeks after the last attempt, I felt great and was running well but de-railed by the weather. After weeks of below average cool weather it decided to get up to 86 and humid and with no acclimation to the heat,  I couldn't maintain the pace needed so I shut it down at 50.

 In June I started off the month with a great run at the Whirli Run 5k in Wilson. On a flatter course than Cary, I was able to run a 20:48. The first time under 21 in almost 25 years ! First Grandmaster and 4th place overall out of 100 + . Then  it  was time to head West for a vacation and the Bighorn 100 miler. Not a pr course. Stunning beauty and a wonderful event but I made a critical mistake in planning and ended up getting myself in a jam with some bad hypothermia that ended my race at mile 48. Disappointing especially as well as I was running up to that point.

 So that's it for events so far.  Despite the dnf's I have really been enjoying this year so far. Lots of miles with my Angels, Amy, Karla, Jenn and Lisa and that is the best thing of all. I continue to run well and keep surprising myself at just how well at age 57. I am still doing all the body weight, core and yoga workouts nearly everyday and look and feel better than I have since my early 30's. And I am on pace right now to have my highest mileage year ever !

 Stay tuned !

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.