31 December 2011

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A hand crafted and very unique RFH50K finisher's award.
Pre-Race
Having torn the pereneal tendon in my right ankle at Dizzy Fifties and subsequently having rolled it during my last training run just 2 days prior to RFH50K, I decided I needed to something else beside the ankle brace I had been wearing. I started looking at YouTube for some clips on how to tape your ankle. After a brief search, I decided to follow along with a clip posted by an athletic trainer at Bellevue University. Having checked out different clips, they all seemed to follow along the same techniques, unless they used KT tape instead of athletic tape. I opted for athletic tape, even though every one seems to feel that KT tape is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Why, you ask? Well, I tried to use KT tape and only managed to tape my fingers together while trying to tape my ankle. I basically suck at taping anything. The tape just keeps getting all tangled up and wrinkled. Since athletic tape is cheaper and apparently easier to manage, I chose that method. I still screwed it up, but I managed to stabilize my ankle. I followed my tape job with Injinji socks. I also put the ankle brace over the tape and the sock to get even more support. I'm happy to report it worked!

Race Day
I headed to the Cross Country course at Huntsville Running Park off of Airport Road at 7:30AM. The race started at 8AM, but I live just 10 minutes from the park. I arrived just in time to pick up my bib, sort out my gear and have a quick chat with Richard and a bunch of other local runners. The weather was perfect. This event has grown significantly in the last few years and this year, almost 150 runners registered. While RD Eric Charette has billed this race as a "no frills" event, he has certainly run it like any other full-blown ultra I've participated in. In fact, he has the most original finisher's award I have received and at any ultra. Agreed, I've only being running ultras for two years, but come on, look at the picture. These handcrafted "medals" are cool.

I decided before the race that I would try to hold back my pace as much as possible. Due to my ankle injury, I have just not been getting in my long runs and I wanted to avoid another blowup like the one I had at the Rocket City Marathon just a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, Richard was feeling good as he usually does on race day, and no matter how much I reminded him to slow down to avoid a blowup later on (by the way, he had trained even less than me;-) he just wouldn't back off, not really anyway. Thanks Rich, really. If he hadn't continued to push until mile 20, I would have never been able to do as well as I did. We weren't really flying, but we were steady. Steady enough to keep me within reach of a 50K PR. However, I continued to doubt that it would be possible and while Rich continued to dream of a sub 5 hour finish, I just wanted to finish in under 5:30. My PR was 5:18 and I just knew I would falter late in the race. I just didn't have the legs. I know, I know, lots of negativity. I just wanted to be realistic with my goal.

If I remember correctly, Richard backed off the pace right around mile 19 or 20 and I was feeling okay, so I continued on at our previous pace. Until mile 24, I was still okay, but that changed very quickly when I exited the aid station at the start & finish area. As soon as the trail changed from flat to slight grade, I was pooped. I started walking for the first time on a section other than the hill on the backend of the course. Just two tens of a mile before the turnaround point of this out & back course, there is an extremely steep hill that I use for a "walk break" allowing me to take a gel, some salt and liquids. I only walked through the aid stations to grab a gel and refill my bottles. I did not linger one time, always moving through without stopping other than to refill my bottle. This strategy worked very well all day, but when I started to walk on other sections of the course starting during the 8th of 10 out & back loops, I figured I had lost any chance to PR. But I forced myself to run as soon as the climbs ended and I was able to maintain some pace, if not my target pace.

The weather stayed perfect throughout the day and when I entered my final lap, I was tired but committed to dig deep, if needed...or so I thought. I was barely hanging on, huffing and puffing with each and every step, but when I saw Richard coming out for his last lap half a mile before I reached the finish, shouting at me to finish this thing strong and get it done, I actually started to push. I had been slightly nauseated for the last 6 miles or so and I thought that this might get ugly if I completely exhaust myself. Oh well, I did not want to come up short by mere seconds, so I put the pedal down. I ended up running an 8 minute mile which at this point of the day was pretty amazing. I kept thinking, how can I still be running, in the last two months I didn't get in half the training that I needed, or even any long runs. I kept pushing and as I ran the final loop around the field just before the start/finish area, I started looking for the race clock. With about a tenth of a mile to go, I realized that I could PR, maybe just by a few seconds, but I could PR. I pushed some more. I crossed the finish line in 5 hours 17 minutes and 45 seconds, beating last year's time and PR my one minute. I know it isn't much, but a PR is a PR. I'll take it. What a great way to finish out the year.

Post-Race
Because I was undertrained and because I was hurting pretty good after the Rocket City Marathon a few weeks ago, I figured I'd actually try to take an ice bath once I got home. I would drink low fat chocolate milk as well to assist with the muscle recovery. In addition, Ibuprofen have become a regular part of my routine as well since I messed up my ankle. My doc suggested to use it to assist with the inflammation. The ten minutes in the ice bath were absolutely miserable. I had never been so cold in my life, but I think it actually helped with my recovery. I think I will do this after every ultra moving forward.

Thanks to RD Eric Charette and his crew of volunteers for putting on a great season ending ultra event. Hopefully, I can continue my PR streak at this race next year;-)

28 December 2011

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After work today, I met up with Richard at his house for another trail run. Wow, the second run this week already (insert sarcastic undertone here)? He had worked out a nice trail loop which would take us mostly uphill before descending the mountain on the road again to save my ankle.

26 December 2011

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I finally got my tail out of bed early this morning to meet up with Rich for a nice long overdue trail run. We chose our usual Pratt Ave to Monte Sano Ranger Station out & back trail run, but we made one slight adjustment for the return leg back down from the mountain. Instead of running down on the trails, we chose to head down the old & new Bankhead Parkway to accommodate my ankle injury. I've found that I'm mostly okay running trails uphill, but that I am much more likely to roll my ankle on downhill trails.

23 December 2011

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Today was my first training run since Monday, not what I would call a rigorous training schedule. I had been pretty busy with work and christmas errands for the most part of this week, but I finally managed to squeeze in a run.

19 December 2011

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The days are getting shorter and busier and it shows in my ability to find peeps to run with me:-( I've been finding plenty of excuses not to run, so it's always helpful to be held accountable by a friend. Luckily, James was up for the challenge and ready to give his tender ankle a try. He'd spent most of last week on crutches after rolling his ankle on our last training run together. We decided to give the ol' Redstone Federal Credit Union loop a try. It's a one mile loop circumventing the credit union lot on what could be described as a flat cross country course as it consists of .5 miles of asphalt sidewalk and .5 miles of semi-marked cross country trail.

17 December 2011

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A cool design, both the shirt and the "medal/ornament"!
Another quest for a sub 20 minute 5K foiled. But this one didn't sting quite as bad, because I was accompanied by my best bud, my "soon to be a teenager" son Mace, who turns thirteen on Christmas. I wasn't even going to run this race, but he decided Friday night after I picked him up from his mom's house that it would be cool to run a 5k again. He hadn't done it in a while and just felt like it. I was glad to hear it, I'm ALWAYS up for a race;-)

We slept in as long as possible and left our house at 7:30AM just 30 minutes prior to the race start. The race started and finished in downtown and we were just 5 minutes away. We got lucky and snagged up a parking spot that became available just as we pulled into the otherwise packed parking lot. Over 1000 runners had registered for the race, so parking could have been a lot worse.

We made our way to the race start with 5 minutes to spare. The temperatures were barely above freezing and Mace opted for track pants and a long sleeve shirt with gloves and a hat, while I went short sleeves and shorts with gloves and a hat. 'Twas cold. I spotted Jason and a few other of the usual suspects. I felt ready to go, but I knew that it would close as usual. I lined up in the third row while Mace line up somewhere in the middle. He wanted to run a steady race and work on pacing himself. He did a great job, finishing steady and strong. It helped him not to have his dad tagging along and annoying him along the way;-)

Not my strongest finish, but a second place age group win nonetheless.
I started slightly faster than I should have, but coasted back just in time to average 6:17 minute per mile pace. I clocked the second mile in 6:30 and felt like I was still on track, but I dropped off too much to stay in contention for a sub 20 minute finish. In the end,I crossed the finish line in 20:12, missing a sub 20 minute finish as close as ever. Oh well, while this was my last chance in 2011 to run sub 20, I managed to do it in October at Spooktacular 5K, so I know I can do it and it's just a matter of time for me to do it again. In the end, I finished 24th overall and second in my age group. Plenty of opportunities to do reach new PRs next year and hopefully run many more races with my son;-)

Me and "Mini-me" (my son Mace).

14 December 2011

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Second recovery run day. I logged 8 miles at a slow 8:30 minute per mile pace with Rich running the UAH figure 8 loop a couple of times this morning. It has been perfect running weather the last couple of days with temperatures in the high 40s to low 50s.

13 December 2011

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Today was my first run since Saturday's disappointing performance at the Rocket City Marathon. While I did finish, I didn't get anywhere near any of my goals, oh well. Better luck next time. With that in mind, I'm ready to get back into training. My next big event is the Fuego y Agua 100K race in February in Nicaragua, but I have a couple of ultras and possibly another try at a BQ at a local road marathon before then. I plan to shift my focus to distance and time on feet rather than speed. I do plan to continue to do the speed work, but I will be extra diligent in ensuring that I get my long runs in. In other words, if you have to skip something, skip the speed work but not the long run.

10 December 2011

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Cool race swag for finishers!
If I had to sum up today's events in one sentence, I would say: "The last 6 miles were just plain ugly!" But this wouldn't be my race report, if I said it all in one sentence;-) Due to the ankle injury I suffered about three weeks ago at the Dizzy Fifties 50K (tear/strain of right peroneal tendon), I had already taken the goal of attempting a BQ off the table before I even toed the starting line on Saturday morning. As the race went on, my secondary and tertiary goal had to be tossed out as well.

My better half was kind enough to roll out of bed at 7AM to take my butt to the starting line at the Holiday Inn in downtown Huntsville. Luckily, we only live 2 minutes away. I arrived at the hotel with plenty of time to spare, so I went into the lobby as usual, mingling with the other 1300 or so runners. I saw a couple of familiar faces, some first timers and some veterans getting ready to race. I double-checked the shoe strings on my Brooks Defyance 3's and my ankle brace to make sure nothing was rubbing. I had opted to use my cushioned road runners rather than my minimalist Brooks Green Silence to give myself some extra cushion for my battered ankle. I had also picked up an old long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of cheap gloves at the marathon expo the night before, so I could toss them during the race once I warmed up. I actually remembered to bring a yard trash bag to use as a heat blanket at the starting line and that worked like a charm.

As I walked towards the starting line ten minutes before eight, I started looking for the 3:25 pacer. After letting go of the BQ goal of a sub 3:15 marathon, 3:25 was my "A" goal. I spotted him very quickly along with a follow coworker of mine, who was attempting this race as his second marathon in preparation for the Kona Ironman next year. I also had a brief chat with Christian Griffith, who had his own handicap to deal with for this race, coming back from quite a serious ankle injury. As it turned out, he did hit his target. Congratulations, buddy, well done!

When the start of the thirty-fifth Rocket City Marathon was signaled with an old fashioned riffle, I embarked on my third running of this event in the last 4 years. I decided to stick with the pacing group as long as I could, or, in other words, as long as my ankle would let me, hopefully all the way to the finish. I was feeling pretty good, breathing well and chatting with fellow racers in the early miles. After 3 miles, I had warmed up enough to drop the long sleeve t-shirt. Pacers were instructed to take fluids at every water station, so I decided to follow this regimen by taking just a few sips at every aid station. Our pacer kept it pretty steady all the way and I never felt like I was struggling except for a couple of slight course inclines were I did have to push to keep up the pace.

The miles ticked by and I felt good. I took my first gel at mile 12 and continued to run loose without any muscle or joint pains. I reached the half way mark at 13.1 miles right on pace. If I could maintain this pace until mile 22, I felt I would definitely PR, e.g. run under 3:36. Everything continued to go great, until around mile 15. This is the part of the course where runners turned back towards downtown Huntsville. Unfortunately, the weather served runners a very strong headwind all the way to the finish and that was an unexpected obstacle on tired legs. I continued to stick with the pacing group for another 4 miles when my ankle started to flare up. I also started to realize why my legs started to burn.

I had run a 50 miler in early October with a lengthy recovery period. Afterwards, I decided to focus on shorter distances and speed work mostly on roads. I wanted to get faster. My last big races were all long ultras and I felt I had slowed significantly over the last 6 months. It was time to get faster again, especially if I wanted to try to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Unfortunately, I realized that I had not spent enough time on long runs. Somehow, there was always some reason why I could not make it, so when I rolled my ankle at Dizzy Fifties just a month before the Rocket City Marathon, I had only done two long runs since the Firetrails 50 Miler in October...bummer. My speed work had paid off, but now 19 miles into the marathon I was paying the price for having neglected my long runs. Lesson learned.


Around this time, I spotted Jason Shattuck along the course. He stood on a street corner a couple of yards from his house cheering on the runners. While I never like to show weakness in front of my fellow running buddies, he wasn't running this one anyway, so I didn't get the motivation I had hoped to get from spotting him on the course;-) I slowly dropped off my target pace and I started to forget about my "A" goal and focus on my "B" goal, a finishing time under 3:36 to achieve a new PR. I kept slowing down and before I knew it the 3:30 pacing group passed me.


Just as I wanted to give in and walk, I spotted Jon Elmore about 100 yards ahead of me. I didn't expect to catch him...ever...in any race, so I knew he had some type of problem. I had to push to catch him and when I did, he told me that he was struggling with cramps. Luckily, I had a couple of SCaps to share. Now we just needed water. When we arrived at an aid station just past Airport Rd, they were giving their last bottle of water to the runner ahead of us. Really, I couldn't make this up. So Jon was still cramping, not able to get any water to wash down the salt pills. We finally got fluids at the next aid station, but by this time, the 3:40 pacing group had passed us as well. Ugh! Well, I actually blurted out something else under my breath. So long, PR, it was nice thinking about achieving you:-(


Thankfully, Jon pulled me right out of my funk. "Well, we are definitely gonna finish and we will finish under 3:45." He was right about that. When I spotted the final turn and the clock indicating the final quarter mile, I pulled out a final push. As always, I crossed the finish line completely exhausted and extremely elated with my better half Anya waiting on the other side of the finish line. 

Are my eyes closed? Weird!

09 December 2011

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Last run before the big race tomorrow. Schedule called for 2 easy miles, so I met up with Richard after work for an out & back from his house at Five Points. That little hill near his house combined with the cold air made my lungs burn, even on that short 2 miles. Felt good overall. Gonna give it my best shot tomorrow, as long as my ankle holds up.

06 December 2011

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Today was my second to last training session before the 2012 edition of the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, Alabama this Saturday, and before I took to the streets for my workout I made a tough decision. My sub 3:15 hour BQ attempt that I had trained for so diligently (until my ankle injury at Dizzy Fifties) was off the table. Instead, I decided to set myself three different goals. First, I would shoot for a 3:25 hour finish. If I felt good after 20 miles, I would try to pick up my pace. If I felt bad, which was much more likely considering I hadn't been able to do a long run in almost 4 weeks, I would just try to PR (which meant any time under 3:36 would suffice).

03 December 2011

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Cool winter themed t-shirt, a gift card and a medal...success!
I recently read a great article on Twitter called "How to Be a Greener Runner" by Runner's World and in an effort to be "more green" myself, I decided to share a ride to the Frosty Freeze 5K in Decatur with Jason Shattuck. Both of us have old Jeep Cherokee gas guzzlers and this would save both money and contribute to a greener environment on a very small scale;-)

01 December 2011

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Rather than risk another annoying encounter in the hotel gym, I decided to go for a run outside and instead of driving to the beach, I opted to just run from the hotel in an effort to follow Runner's World's advice in its latest "go green" tips for runners.

30 November 2011

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My newest accessory...courtesy of a strained peroneal tendon.
Unfortunately, I keep accidentally rolling my ankle when I'm just walking around and forgetting that I still have a weak ankle, but it isn'r really painful. I'll just continue to "actively" rehab my ankle. I didn't get to get my run in today until after it was dark and since I didn't know the local area very well, I decided to just hit the treadmill for the workout of the day.

26 November 2011

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Another cool T, a medal and a gift card...nice!
I had almost forgotten about this race as it was one of those events I registered for during one of my race registration frenzies. I get into those about 3-4 times a year when I'm looking for new motivation. Well, I'm glad that I did register.

25 November 2011

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First long sleeve T-shirt and a first place trophy for my age group.
After rolling my left ankle at the Dizzy Fifties last Saturday, my expectations for this race were pretty low. Actually, I was just happy to be able to toe the line. Then again, every time I do, I try to lay it all out there and that's what I did, injury or not.

23 November 2011

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Success! I took my first ginger steps this morning on an easy 4 miler. I met up with Rich at 6:30AM for a slow 4 miler around the UAH campus. This would be the first test of my ankle and the new ankle brace. I am happy to report that I was able to run only with slight discomfort that was mostly caused by the actual brace, not by the injury. However, I also realize that I will not be able to run without a brace or some other stability device any time soon. I just hope I'm able to continue to run and train, period.

20 November 2011

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Can you tell something's amiss? Right, the finisher's swag!
Three words or an acronym describe my third consecutive Dizzy Fifties participation: "Did not finish" or "DNF". However, as much frustration as this has caused, there really was nothing I could have done to prevent this. I was properly trained and ready to attempt a new PR and my first sub 5 hour 50K race. Unfortunately, things turned out very differently.

17 November 2011

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I definitely needed my music today. It's been kind of a crutch for me, since I hadn't been doing a lot of solitary running workouts until just recently, when I started to training for a BQ marathon time at Rocket City.

16 November 2011

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My training schedule called for a slow 8 miles at sub 8:30 pace. I had waited until after I got home from work to get today's run in. The weather was not pleasant in the morning with showers, thunderstorms and tornado warnings looming, so I opted for an afternoon run.

15 November 2011

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First off, I'd like to thank AC/DC and Die Fantastischen Vier for providing the entertainment during today's workout and for pushing me to complete the workout as required. While most of you are familiar with the first reference, the second reference will only be familiar by my friends & family back home. The last few weeks I have been relying more heavily on music to keep me going during my speed workouts. While in the past I've been running with my usual running buddies without the use of music, the usual suspects (you know who you are) have either been slacking or busy doing other things or just taking a well deserved break. As a result, it's been "back to my roots", doing my training runs on my own most of the time and utilizing music to keep me going through the tougher workouts.

11 November 2011

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A Brooks finisher's shirt AND a medal, very nice!
My marathon training schedule actually called for a half marathon as a training run two weekends ago, but I shuffled my schedule around so I could do the Huntsville Half Marathon that I hadn't done in two years. While I had done other halfs since then, I had my last PR at the 2009 event. With my new marathon BQ goal, it was time to get serious again and try for another PR. Since my marathon goal was already very ambitious, the pace my training plan called for for the half marathon distance was just as ambitious when compared to my 2009 performance. I actually needed to go at least 22 seconds per mile faster than my previous PR just to stay within my target pace. This would be fun!

10 November 2011

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I was struggling to make it out of the door for my run this morning. Temperatures had dipped into the 30s and I wasn't really digging the cold just yet. After a short internal discussion between myself and I, it was decided to just get it done. My training plan called for a one mile warm up and a 4 mile brisk run at sub 7:18 pace followed by a one mile cool down.

09 November 2011

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Today called for a slow 9 miles at sub 8:30 pace and luckily, James texted me last night to see if I was up for an early morning run. Everyone else was tied up otherwise somehow and we were both confident we could run 9 miles at the target pace together.

08 November 2011

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Alarm went off at 5:30AM, I was out the door at 6AM. Rich was a no show due to stomach problems. Mt training schedule called for 3x 2 miles at sub 7 min pace with 400m recovery jogs and a one mile warm up and cool down.

06 November 2011

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Thanks to daylight savings time, I got an hour of extra sleep Saturday night and it was much needed. My alarm went off at 5AM. I had devised a plan that allowed me to get my long run in without interfering with my family activities. My son had a state cup soccer game that morning in a neighboring city so I figured I'd get a head start on the trip and run to the game.

04 November 2011

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After I completed my toughest workout to date at 7PM last night, I received a text from Rich asking our running crew to meet at 5AM for our favorite Monte Sano "hill workout", starting our run at Five Points up Bankhead Parkway and onto Tollgate Trail all the way to the Ranger Station on top of Monte Sano State Park for a nice 10 mile out and back. This run is basically 5 miles up the mountain followed by 5 miles straight down the mountain on some seriously technical trails.

03 November 2011

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Today was the toughest workout yet on my current marathon training schedule. The plan called for 12 miles at sub 7:36 pace, which is actually faster than my previous half marathon PR from 2 years ago. Yes, it has been indeed two years since my last half marathon. I have been running at least one ultra marathon per month over the last two years, but road half marathons and marathons have been few and far between.

02 November 2011

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The workout for this morning came at me faster than expected. Even though I did yesterday's workout in the evening, I had no choice but to do today's workout in the morning due to other family activities this evening. That meant a shorter than usual break between workouts.

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I decided to move Monday's session to today. Thankfully, it was a fun. My training plan called for 6 mile Fartlek plus one mile warm up and 1 mile cool down for a total of 8 miles. I decided to do it after work to give myself yet another opportunity to sleep in just a little in the morning.

30 October 2011

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Today's workout called for a slow 20 miles at minimum 8:30 minute per mile pace. Not what I would call slow, but I neeed to stick to my marathon schedule. Richard wasn't in the mood for 20, so I decided to run from my house to his to add 4 miles and to do the same on the way home to add another 4. That left us to run 12 together.

29 October 2011

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A very cool and appropriate tech shirt!
What an awesome race! This felt like my most important race in the last 2 years since I started racing "seriously", obviously aside from my first ultra marathon, my first 50 mile race and my first 100 mile race. Why, you ask? Why would a 5K road race be that important to me? Let me explain, I'd been trying for two years to better my official PR of 20:10 that I set at the 2009 Frosty Freeze 5K in Decatur, AL. Two years, also referred to as eternity.

27 October 2011

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Once again, I opted to run in the afternoon. That also allowed me to convince Rich to join me. Little did he know that my training plan called for a fast one, one mile warm up followed by 4 miles at sub 7:18 minute pace and a one mile cool down.

26 October 2011

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Today, I waited until after work to get my training run in. I hate procrastinating and postponing my runs from the morning to the evening, but I just didn't feel like it this morning. I got home just before 5pm, changed into my running clothes that I had already laid out, grabbed my old and trusty 305 and took off.

25 October 2011

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5:30AM came fast this morning, even though I'd adjusted my sleep schedule to ensure a full 8 hours of sleep. It didn't help that it was getting colder by the day. Then again, today's training plan would require hard effort and colder temperatures would probably help us not overheat too quickly.

24 October 2011

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Today kicked off the second week of my "accelerated" sub 3:15 marathon training in preparation for the Rocket City Marathon in December. Since I was unable to get in the easy 4 miles required on Sunday, I shifted my entire training routine by one day, eliminating my off day this upcoming Thursday. Oh well, who needs rest days anyway, right?

22 October 2011

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A cool tech shirt, an even cooler beer glass and a nice 3rd place medal.
Race Day
I signed up for this one on a whim, just earlier in the week. I had never participated in the XTERRA Trail Race Series and figured this 15K would be a great replacement for the half marathon my marathon training schedule called for today. I met up with Jason in the parking lot of the Monte Sano State Park main picnic area and we lined up to pick up our race packet and bib with disposable timing chip at 7:45AM, 45 minutes before the race would start.

There were many of the usual local suspects around, as well as a lot of non-locals that were here to garner points for the Alabama Trail Series (one of a series of trail races in Alabama, Georgia and possibly other states culminating in a "Championship Race" in Hawaii), so I very quickly decided that there was no need to worry about finishing in the top three of my age group as it wasn't going to happen...or was it?

Race start: I'm moving too fast (bottom left corner) for the photographer.

The race was started at exactly at 8:30AM and we were off. I had checked the course online and realized that we would enter single track trail very quickly and with a major descent in the first 2 miles. I figured I'd
do my utmost to get out front with the faster runners, so I wouldn't get stuck in a Congo line going down the single track trail. My plan worked like a charm, but I was clearly going way too fast to be able to maintain this pace for the entirety of this race. So when I hit the first climb to the "Stone Cuts" after running the first mile at 7:14 pace, I decided to slow it down to a more manageable pace.


We were still bunched up during the first mile.

The field spread out very quickly and I continued to try to figure out my game plan for the race and while the course was marked very well, it appeared a couple of folks ended up doing some bushwhacking rather than run through the Stone Cuts. I'm still not sure if they missed a marker or if that was an alternative bypass of the Cuts and I think they still don't know either;-)

After about three miles, I did something I had never done before. I made the decision to forget about my pace and to forget about elevation changes as race tactic indicators. Instead, I would monitor only my heart rate. I decided to try to keep it steady and to keep it at 175 bpm, roughly 20 bpm below my maximum heart rate. I figured if I could maintain that heart rate, I should be able to continue to move at a decent pace without blowing up while also allowing me to save some energy for a final push on the final stretch of the race (including the final climb).

I continued with this new plan while passing a couple of guys in the process, just before the only aid station on the course at 5.5 miles. Prior to arriving at this aid station, I had to climb up Warpath trail, which is extremely steep. This was the only section that forced me to walk for just a moment just to make sure I kept my heart rate in check.

Once I reached the top of Warpath and the aid station, I did squeeze down a chocolate Gu that I washed down with a small cup of Powerade and a cup of water before continuing on my run. That very short break gave me new energy, just in time to pick up the pace as we headed down a section of the Mountain Mist trail. I knew there was one last climb to go and I wanted to make sure I had time to spare when I got there.

The final climb was very familiar to me. After all, my running buddies and I run this section as part of our favorite hill trail workout (Pratt Ave Ranger Station Out & Back, look it up on Garmin Connect and you know what I mean) almost weekly. As I climbed up this final hill, I spotted a photographer on the side of the trail. Obviously, I couldn't walk with this guy snapping my picture, so I continued to shuffle up the hill.


The final climb to the finish and I'm still too fast for the photographer;-)
When I reached the top and made my final turn, I noticed a line of runners just behind me. The first of them was breathing down my neck very soon after and I decided to let him pass. However, that would be the end of it. I realized that me letting one guy pass would encourage the others to try the same. Instead, I stayed on the heels of the guy that had passed me. This in turn made him speed up..and soon and so on. When we finally crossed the finish line after 1 hour 25 minutes, everyone seemed to be in an all out sprint. What a fun way to finish a 15K trail race. At the end of the day, I walked away with 20th overall and 3rd in my age group (40-44), which appeared to be the largest age group. The final results can be found here. This race did make me feel like I am on my way to faster trail times in general. I just need to figure out how to transition these faster times to the ultra distances.

21 October 2011

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Rich and I met up at my house at 6AM for an easy 5 miles at 8:30 pace. It was the coldest day of the year so far with temperatures in the high 30s. We headed towards UAH for one loop. I was actually bundled up too much, as I always do when the weather turns cold for the very first time. I figured I'd give a pair of running tights that is supposed to speed recovery a shot. Aside from the difficulty involved in putting on those darn things, they worked pretty well.

20 October 2011

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For the past 4 days, I've been watching my diet (calories) in an effort to finally drop the dreaded 10 lbs. that keep me from reaching the next PR;-) In any case, I've been trying to drop the weight and this is the umpteenth time that I am trying. No German chocolate or gummi bears until I accomplish my goal. Part of this effort and my  current goal to PR at the Rocket City Marathon in December has also been my new cross training program consisting of "Muscleworks" and Pilates two times a week each at my local university gym. Obviously, the main focus of my training schedule is still the running.

18 October 2011

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Today's training session called for 8 "slow" miles. After running an ultra just about every month for the last 2 years, I think I've lost some of my speed. Suddenly, 8:30 minute miles didn't feel quite as slow as I would have expected, which doesn't bode well for tomorrow, when I am required to run 10 miles at a minimum 7:20 minute per mile pace. Considering the weather forecast for tomorrow along with the need to maintain a fast pace (if at all possible), I'll probably opt for the dreadmill tomorrow.

17 October 2011

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With 8 weeks to go until the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, Alabama, I decided to give it another go at a marathon PR. Initially, I had planned to try to qualify for Boston, but since I did not stick to the actual 16 week marathon training program, instead opting for an ultra per month with lots of tapering and recovery periods in between, I am going to shoot for "just" a PR, instead. The goal is a time of 3 hours 29 minutes and 59 seconds. Anything faster than that is just icing on the cake.

16 October 2011

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Cool tech shirt provided by  my employer.
Race Day
A great race for a great cause. The eighth edition of the Liz Hurley Ribbon Run 5K set a new participation record, with over 5500 registered runners. For the first time, event organizers actually had to turn away runners due to public safety reasons once the maximum capacity was reached. I believe this was actually the largest organized race ever in the city of Huntsville. Hopefully, organizers can find a way to allow for larger participation next year, as it would be a shame if the event could not grow any further, thereby limiting the effort to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer.

A coworker of mine had once again stepped up to solicit runners to create a corporate team of runners for this race. And Again, our employer Emerson Network Power had stepped up and paid the registration fees for employees and their family members along with providing free tech shirts with a nice logo designed by another coworker for all participants (see picture above). It was nice to see every one step up again for a great cause. In addition, a lot of the runners got together at the office the week prior to the race, raising almost $1,800.00 USD with a bake sale.

Just before the race, I met up with my coworkers for a quick team picture before heading to the starting line with Jason Shattuck in time to get a spot towards the front of the field.Once again,I planned to break the 20 minute barrier and I figured I'd try to stick with Jason as long as possible to make it happen. I had never before attended this race and I wasn't familiar with the course at all. I only hoped it wouldn't have a lot of hills.

Race organizers had separated the race by gender with men starting at 8AM and women following with a 9AM start. After an intro by Liz Hurley, a local TV anchor and namesake for the cause and the race, the race started at 8AM. I stayed just behind Jason as we made our way through a slightly congested field of runners early on. I was feeling pretty good early on. I normally slowed down during the second mile only to pick up the pace again on the last mile. To try something new, I decided to push through the second mile and to try to hold the pace of the first mile. Overall, I was able to maintain the average pace I had targeted through mile 2.

Unfortunately, I ended up paying the price very soon after. There were a couple of hills between mile 2 and 2.5 and while I did slow down just a bit to save my energy during the climbs for the last .5 mile downhill section, I was exhausted when I hit 2.5 miles. At this point James pulled away and I was struggling to keep my heart rate in check. I had already maxed out at 192 with another half mile to go, which was not a good sign. I opted to back off and to settle for whatever I would end up with. What I ended up with was another   finish just above 20 minutes, oh well.

Some of my fellow co-workers and I just before the start.

Final Comments
Starting next week, I plan to focus on marathon training with lots of speed work and cross training. There are plenty of local 5K races and I will continue to go for it. Hopefully, the speed work will help. I ended up 5th in my age group and 36th overall in the men's race with upwards of 700 runners participating.

11 October 2011

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I woke up at 7AM this morning and met up with Mike Mulligan to go for a quick run. We met up in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency hotel in Santa Clara, California where we are staying for a conference at 7:30AM. I had mapped out a nice trail run starting out just behind our hotel on the San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail and leading onto the San Francisco Bay Trail before looping back around.

08 October 2011

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Lots of cool swag at this race, but runners had to finish first.
Pre-Race
I registered for the Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Miler on a whim. I had just completed the Georgia Jewel 100 Mile race two weeks prior and I must have been riding the runners high still when I signed up. They also offered a point to point trail marathon on the same course and on the same day, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to run an ultra on the West coast while on business.

Race Day
I had set my alarm for 4:15AM on Saturday morning to make the drive from my hotel in Fremont, California to the race start and finish location at Lake Chabot Regional Park in Castro Valley, California just Southeast of San Francisco and Oakland. The race course was an out and back run that started at the Lake Chabot Regional Park to Anthony Chabot Regional Park to Redwood Regional Park to Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve to Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve to Tilden Regional Park and back. It is mostly run on the Macdonald Trail, Stream Trail and Bay Area Ridge Trail. The race started and finished at the beautiful Lake Chabot.

I arrived at the registration area at 5:30AM to pick up my race bib. This race was a little more unusual than others in that racers would not receive their swag bag until they crossed the finish line. I thought that was a nice touch, just in case anyone was lacking motivation to finish;-) Even though the race would start in the dark, race organizers did point out on their website that while runner could opt to use headlamps or flashlights, they were barely required as the first section of the course was run on an asphalt trail section. By the time runners would hit the actual fire trails, the sun would be up. I chose to follow their advice and went without a headlamp and had no problems.

After runners were led to the actual starting line in somewhat complete darkness (aside from some bobbing headlamps and handhelds), race organizers kicked off the race at 6:30AM sharp. After stopping at the local running shop "Zombie Runner" in downtown Palo Alto, California the day before the race and getting some advice from one of the shop owners, an experienced ultra runner and previous participant at the race, I decided to line up in the back of the pack. After all, this was a "recovery run" for the Georgia Jewel 100 and I needed to be sure to start very very conservatively.

As we ran alongside Lake Chabot and the sun started to rise, we all got to enjoy absolutely amazing views of the lake and the surrounding areas. I continued to be in awe as we climbed one ridge after another. The views from some of these spots along the course were absolutely astonishing. Even the course itself was absolutely beautiful, with pine needle covered fire trails and single track trails that were just fantastic. For most of the first quarter of the race, I kept my overall average at 12:30 minute per mile pace. After about ten miles, I experienced another first. At this point, I was still part of a train of runners traversing another hill on some beautiful single track trail, when I felt a severe sting in my right calf. I had just been stung by a wasp and 4 out of the 5 runners with me received the same treatment, one of us being stung 4 times. Thankfully, there was a good Samaritan with us, a local runner, who had experienced this many times before and who readily handed out Benadryl pills to everyone to minimize the pain and  swelling and to prevent any allergic reactions.

What a great day for a run!
After cruising for about 12-15 miles, the climbing started to take a toll on me and my average pace started to slow and continued to slow to an average just under 14 minutes. The field had thinned out significantly by now and I ran pretty much by myself at this point. To make matters worse, I took a wrong turn down a fire trail after 20 miles. This one mile detour put be behind on my target pace and I was now running at an average pace of over 14 minutes per mile. I continued to chug away until someone mentioned that we might actually be getting close to the 26 mile cut-off time of 6 hours and 15 minutes at the turn around point. That started to get me slightly nervous as I had never ever been close to a cut-off at a race, let alone been told that I had to get moving or else I would get pulled, but that's exactly what happened when I arrived at the turn around aid station and the aid station marshal announced that we had 5 minutes to get out of the aid station or else we would not be allowed to continue.

There was about 5 runners at the aid station, all rushing to get in and out. I refilled my two bottles and took off. I decided that I would try to push over the next 10 miles (next cut-off) to make up some time by the time I'd get to the 37 mile aid station. I basically flew through the next two aid stations, running most of the course including much of the uphills, before arriving at the 37 mile aid station. By this time, I had made up an hour on the cut-off. I felt much better than I did at the turnaround and I had actually been experiencing a second wind for the first time ever in an ultra. I felt much better during the second half of the course and my pace reflected it.

I continued to push, passing at least two to three runners between every aid station starting with the 26 mile turn around point. I was hurting and started to develop blisters on both feet once again, but I felt good mentally allowing me to continue to push. I also didn't want to risk finishing after dark. After all, I didn't have a headlamp with me. I really picked up my pace for the final two miles and when I finally crossed the finish line in 12 hours and 4 minutes, I had accomplished a new PR (by barely 5 minutes). It wasn't pretty, but I'll take it. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I was directed to a couple of tables to pick up my finisher's awards and race swag. They handed out some great stuff (see picture on top). This was an amazingly beautiful course with  plenty of aid stations and great race organization.

Final Comments
First, I'd like to thank all of the race volunteers and park staff for putting on an amazing ultra event. I will be happy to recommend this event to my fellow ultra runners in the Southeast. Second, I'd like to thank all my running buddies and friends for their encouraging comments. Finally, I need to figure out the blister problem. The Hoka One One Mafate trail shoes worked great for me (proper personal product review will follow), but I still blistered in the usual spots. I even wore two pairs of socks (Injinji liner socks with Drymax trail socks) and I used BlisterShield foot powder. At my next race over 50K, I will need to pre-tape my feet to see if that will fix my problem. That's gonna require practice, practice, practice as it seems nearly impossible for me right now to tape the bottom of my feet by myself. Next, it is time to really rest, letting my feet heal and muscles recover. I plan to really refocus my training and to set some serious goals. You can find the latest results here.

05 October 2011

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Today, James and I were joined by my colleague and friend Mike Mulligan from Ireland, who is here visiting me on business. We picked him up at the Westin hotel and went for a nice and easy 10K run around Bridge Street Town Centre and Research Park. James worked out a route last night, trying to incorporate some of the more interesting sections of this industrial area. He managed to have us run along a small lake, across some walking bridges on the Adtran campus, across the DNA path behind the Hudson Alpha building and finally up an escalator in the wrong direction (how's that for a hill/stair workout;-).

03 October 2011

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I'm not sure what to call this week, recovery week or taper week. As I still reminisce about my Georgia Jewel 100 finish a week ago, I am attempting to rest/taper for the Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Miler this weekend in California, which I signed up for on short notice, because I am in town on business as this event takes place. How could I not jump at the opportunity to run an ultra without having to make additional travel arrangements?

01 October 2011

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Unfortunately, my performance did not match my bib number.
Well, I really wasn't going to run this thing, but when I picked up he race packet at FleetFeet Huntsville last night (just in case), they had assigned bib number #1 to me. Not because I was seeded, I wish, but because I probably registered first. I didn't really care. I just thought it would be poor etiquette to not at least show up and run, even if I couldn't quite race yet because of last weekend's 100 miler. I know, I know, I keep mentioning the Georgia Jewel 100. Sorry, but I'm going to keep bringing up this race as either an accomplishment or an excuse for quite some time to come.

30 September 2011

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So I decided to put on my running shoes for the first time since finishing my second 100 mile race last weekend. I took my son to his soccer practice and decided to "break the law". The City of Madison just completed paving a new greenway connecting Palmer Road right across from Palmer Park with Mill Road. From there, I took a right turn for a quarter mile before getting on the Mill Creek Greenway. Once reached the end of that one, I turned around.

25 September 2011

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The Coveted Inaugural 2011 Georgia Jewel 100 Mile Finisher's Award Belt Buckle.
Pre-Race
On Thursday, I started my logistical planning for the Georgia Jewel 100. I'm not ready physically, so I'm hoping a good logistics job will take me just a little further down the course and closer to the finish line. I purchased three 35L Outdoor Products Dry Bags from Walmart for under 10 bucks each to use as my drop bags. The race handbook asks runners to use small bags, so I decided against using the Home Depot buckets I used for my first 100 mile attempt at the Pinhoti 100:-)

22 September 2011

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I did some serious tapering over the last few weeks, but especially this one. Hey, maybe it will improve my performance after all. I've had lots of little nagging issues that have all but disappeared now, so why not try to run a 100 miler this weekend;-) Actually, I am as nervous and anxious as I've ever been prior to any sporting event.

17 September 2011

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Very cool event t-shirt design!
110 miles complete, 100 miles to go! When I completed my first metric century bike ride (71 miles) last month more than tripling my lifetime cycling mileage as an adult, I didn't think I was going to be doing something like this again any time soon. Not because I was hurt or I didn't want to but because I didn't even know of the "All-You-Can-Eat Century Bike Ride" (AYCE). When a coworker told me about this event, I waited until a week before the event and finally signed up. I though it would be an interesting personal challenge to sign up for both a 100 mile or so bike ride and a 100 mile trail run all in the span of just over a week (8 days to be exact). I didn't feel prepared for the trail race, so what's one more event that I wasn't prepared for, right?

16 September 2011

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Today was a great training run. I set a new FTK ATM (Fastest Known Time...according to Martin;-) for one of our favorite trail runs by beating our previously recorded fastest time by over 10 minutes. Granted, I had only been tracking our times on this route for the last 2 years since I started joining the guys on their training runs, but I'll claim FTK until Mike, Richard or James show me proof of a faster time. Actually, I will settle for one of them telling me that they'd run it faster before.

14 September 2011

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Mile repeats was on the agenda again for today. James initiated the idea of us all refocusing our training and reintroducing speed work into our weekly schedule again. Having been chasing a sub 20 minute 5K for almost two years, I didn't object at all.

13 September 2011

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Richard came over at 6:30AM this morning for a quick and easy 4.5 mile loop around the UAH campus. The weather was perfect for running, a nice and breezy 62 or so degrees Fahrenheit. Unfortunately, Richard's knee started locking up and we had to reduce the pace a little. Oh well, we did get some miles in hich is always better than no miles at all.

12 September 2011

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Having run only limited mileage over the last few weeks due to fatigue and other issues, I really wanted to start off the week with a nice training run. Rich had decided to do the Drake run, so I met up with him and James and his house bright and early at 4:45AM. The night before, Richard had placed some Gatorade and G2 at strategic locations along our route the night before, so we wouldn't need to carry anything. Nicely done, Rich!

10 September 2011

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Nice bright T-Shirt and a $15 gift card for 2nd place age group finish

I decided to sign up for this one last minute, with the goal to finally break the 20 minute barrier. I picked up my race packet with my bib and timing chip at FleetFeet on Friday and I got up nice and early Saturday to have enough time to drive to Decatur.

The No Limits 5K is a new event hosted by the Dream Center of Decatur, AL a faith based organization supporting underprivileged families and women struggling to get on their feet. They provide meals, housing and even free hir cuts and are a true blessing to their local community.

It was a rather small field of runners and you could kind of tell right away who would be leading the field. There were a little under 100 runners at the start and I lined up in the second row, firmly having a finish time of 19:59 in my sight. I started running at just under 6 minute pace and settled in at 6:15. I held that pace for the first mile and while I slowed down some during the second mile, I was finally able to maintain my second mile pace during the third mile. I even managed a flat 5 minute pace for he final .1 mile. However, once again, it just wasn't  enough. finished in 20 minutes and 15 seconds, missing m goal by a mere 15 seconds.

It was good enough for 7th overall and 2nd in my age group and as 10 seconds faster than during my last attempt, so can't really be too upset. Overall, the race was great, the race director and the volunteers were fantastic and the actual course was perfect. It was nice and flat with plenty of turns to keep it exciting ad plenty of shade as well, a true PR course. as an interesting side note, Antoine Batiste, 2011 800m World Champion, won the race followed closely by Eric Charette. Antoine is currently living in Huntsville, AL and training for the 2012 800m Olympic Trials and I obviously hope he'll make it. I definitely know who I'll be rooting for. While I have been lucky enough to un e same events and some elite ultra marathoners, this was the first event where I toed the starting line alongside a World Champion track star;-)

By the way, I will be breaking that 20 minute mark shortly, I have not given up that quest. Hopefully, there's another one just around he corner. I eed to break soon, otherwise I'll have to start sneaking out of the house on Saturday mornings to pursue this goal.

09 September 2011

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I woke up at 4:30AM and picked up Richard at 5:15AM for what was to be an easy 8 miler on the Flat Rock Connector Trail. However, when we arrived at the hikers parking lot at Monte Sano State Park, we realized that daybreak was still at least a few minutes away.

07 September 2011

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James decided to announce "Speed Work Wednesdays" last night to get all of us back to doing some much needed speed work on a regular basis again. Rich stopped by my house on his bike at 6:15 this morning and I got on my recently acquired vintage (i.e. old as dirt) Peugeot road bike to ride the 2 miles to Redstone FCU's asphalt/trail loop around its facilities. The loop consists of a sidewalk section and a somewhat overgrown trail section that forms a nice one mile loop for speed work.

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The weather today didn't look very inviting this morning or during my lunch break, so Rich and I decided to meet at my house for a nice and easy 4.5 miler around the UAH campus. The temps were in the low 60s, perfect for a run and our overall pace showed it as we were able to carry on our conversation for most of the run at a comparatively speedier than usual pace.

04 September 2011

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Some pretty cool heavy metal bling and a nice tech shirt.
Pre-Race
Anya and I arrived at LAX Friday afternoon around 4PM local time. After an interesting shuttle ride to our hotel in Anaheim just outside Disneyland, we dropped off our bags before turning around to get on yet another "shared" Disneyland/Anaheim bus shuttle to the Disney Helath & Fitness Expo, where we needed to go to get our race packets, e.g. bibs, tech shirts and other free goodies.

After picking up our race packets and browsing the Expo for more running stuff to buy (we learned our lesson at the Disney World Expo in January, where all event related gear was gone before the event even took place), we left with a couple of new t-shirts ("Coast to Coast Challenge" t-shirt plus a running hat that I later added) to find a place to eat. We opted for one of the express service restaurants at Downtown Disney before we headed back to our hotel to rest. Anya had a big day at the parks planned for Saturday.

We got up bright and early on Saturday, had our free breakfast at the hotel and headed to the parks. We managed to visit both Disneyland Park and California Adventure Park, but spent most of our time at California Adventure Park with the plan to experience Disneyland Park to its fullest on Sunday after the race. We decided to head back to the Expo for a brief period Saturday afternoon before getting a pre-race pasta dinner at Napolini, a nice pizza & pasta express restaurant at Downtown Disney. We chose to eat early, so we could head back to the hotel to get our running gear ready for the next day and get some much needed rest before our 3:30 AM wakeup call.

Race Day
3:30AM came quickly and Anya really, really didn't want to get up any earlier than absolutely necessary. We wanted to get on one of the race shuttles around 4:15AM, which to her meant she still had 45 minutes of sleep;-) I managed to fix a couple of cups of coffee before we headed to the nearest bus stop, where about 10 fellow runners had already assembled waiting for the bus. We arrived just in time, boarding the arriving bus just 2 minutes later.

We arrived at Disneyland Resort just 5 minutes later, beginning our 15 mintue walk to the start area that would lead us between the two parks, through Downtown Disney and past the Disneyland Hotel. The pre-race area for runners was very similar to the Disney World setup up last January. After getting some water and trying to warm up (it was a little chilly) we slowly walked towards corral D.

Due to about 15000 registered runners, the race start was broken up into 7 seperate start corrals A through G. While I was listed in corral A, I lined up in corral C with Anya so I could pace her (the rules allowed for faster runners to line up in a lower corral, but not the other way around). The differences in start times were not as extreme as at Disney World. We started just about 15 minutes after the first corral took off.

Just before Anya and I took off, she let me know that she was having some serious stomach troubles. Unfortunately, this would set the tone for her race and she had to deal with some serious stomach pain (and later back pain) for the next 13.1 miles.

The race started at Downtown Disney going south on Disneyland Drive before turning left on Katella Drive and again on Harbor Boulevard. After just a little over a mile, we ran briefly through California Adventure Park before entering Disneyland Park. Between miles 2 and 3, we encountered the first special moment that is o so typical when running any runDisney event. Yes, you guessed it, we ran through the castle before running another mile or so through other parts of the park. Once we exited Disneyland Resort, miles 5 through 9 were pretty uneventful. There were numerous cheerleeding squads and bands from numerous surrounding schools and other local dance and music groups and their enthusiasm was not only very much appreciated, but also very helpful in making those miles pass just a little faster.

Anya and I exiting the Sleeping Beauty Castle.
The sun finally started to increase the temps just a little bit, but that really didn't make this race any easier for Anya. She continued to struggle with the same problems she started the race with. Only now, there was another problem. Because she was running tense for most of the race due to her pain, she now had to content with back pain, which had never been a problem for her before. We now needed to add very short breaks to allow her to at least try to stretch her back and provide some relief.

Just before mile 9, we entered the narrow but welcome Santa Ana River Trail before experiencing what I consider the second highlight of the race. After 5 miles through some of the lesser known part of Anaheim, we entered the grounds of Angel Stadium of Anaheim, home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. After running past first base, home base and third base and watiching ourselves on the jumbotron, we exited the stadium again, heading into the "final" stretch of the race, leaving us just a little over 5K to cross the finish line.

Anya and I passing home plate at Angels Stadium.
Those last miles were extremely rough on Anya and I am so proud of her sticking it out and making it across the finish. There was jsut no way that she wasn't going to finish this thing and get that coveted "Coast To Coast Challenge" medal reserved only for finishers of an East Coast Disney World Half/Full Marathon and a Disneyland Half Marathon in the same calendar year.

The 2011 Disneyland Half Marathon course.

We crossed the line after an exciting (for me) yet painful (for Anya) 2 hours and 45 minutes, which is amazing to me. Having only finished her second ever half marathon and doing it barely 15 minutes slower than her very first half marathon after dealing with the issues she had to deal with is absolutely amazing and something I am very proud of her for. I was also very pleased to hear that she is already planning for another half, wanting to redeem herself (although there really isn't anything she needs to redeem herself for). In only her second race, she managed to overcome something no one can ever train for. I had a great time and I cannot wait to pace my better half in another race in the near future. For full race results, please click here.

Two very happy "Coast To Coast Challenge" Finishers.

Post-Race
After a quick nap at the hotel, we headed back to the parks for some additional excitement. I had decided even before the race that I would reward myself with one of the famously ginormous turkey legs for lunch. Anya couldn't muster more than a corn on the cob in butter, but we were both pretty happy. We knew we had another treat coming at dinner time at the Blue Bajou, were she had made reservations for us months ago. Dinner didn't disappoint either as I enjoyed a fantastic filet mignon with veggies. The only thing that would've made this meal even better would have been an ice cold beer, but (as I found out that evening) that is not on the menu:-(

02 September 2011

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Before flying to LA to run and pace Anya at the Disneyland Half Marathon in Anaheim, CA, I wanted to get one last training run in. After all, I still have the Georgia Jewel 100 on my calendar for the end of this month.

31 August 2011

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Once again, I've been dealing with little nagging injuries, so I've been trying to dial back my training without completely letting myself go. So when Anya got home from work today, I joined her for a treadmill workout at our local university gym. She wanted to do a 30 minute workout just to get the legs moving once more before our half marathon on Saturday.

29 August 2011

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Since I had to skip my long run yesterday after playing a tough competitive soccer match at noon, I knew I had to get my run in today. While I would have preferred an AM run, Rich and I decided to join his brother Mike on a lunch time run. We met up at their office at 11AM and had decided to head towards Rainbow Mountain, running anywhere between 7 and 11 miles.

27 August 2011

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Pretty cool awards for top three age group finishers.
Once again, I missed my goal of a sub 20 minute finish in a 5K road race. It wasn't for any external factors. The course was a flat greenway out & back near Hampton Cove Middle School in Owens Cross Roads, AL that was mostly shaded and the temps and humidity levels were much lower than in recent weeks. However, you can't be too disappointed when you come away with a top three age group finish.

26 August 2011

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Rich (in back) and myself (in front) coming up the power line cut.
4AM came early this morning. I crawled out of bed straight to the coffee pot and got to brewing. By the time I had downed the coffee and a bottle of water (for pre-hydration, as I wasn't going to take a bottle on my run) and gotten my running gear on, it was 4:45AM. I headed out the door and drove over to Richard's house to meet up with him and James for what we refer to as a "Drake Run".

US STATES WITH 100 MILE RACES COMPLETED (15)

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COUNTRIES WITH ULTRAMARATHONS COMPLETED (13)

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RACE CALENDAR

  • Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker 50M (Old Fort, NC) - March 23, 2024
  • Oak Mountain 50K (Birmingham, AL) - March 30, 2024
  • Southern States 200M (Delta, AL) April 12-16, 2024
  • Cocodona 250M (Black Canyon City, AZ) - May 6-11, 2024
  • Mohican 100M (Loudonville, OH) - June 1, 2024
  • Bighorn 100M (Dayton, WY) - June 14, 2024
  • Crazy Mountain 100M (Lennep, MT) - July 26, 2024
  • Eastern States 100M (Waterville, PA) - August 10, 2024
  • SwissPeaks 360 (Valais, Switzerland) - September 1-8, 2024
  • Indiana Trail 100M (Albion, IN) - October 12, 2024
  • Rim To River 100M (New River Gorge, WV) - November 2, 2024 (WAITLIST #99)
  • Charleston 100M (Mount Pleasant, SC) - December 27, 2024
  • The Montane Winter Spine 268M (Edale, UK) - January 12-19, 2025

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