Training Log - Friday, September 30, 2011

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.

Race Report - 2011 Georgia Jewel 100 Mile Race

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:-)

Training Log - Thursday, September 22, 2011

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.

Race Report - 2011 All-You-Can-Eat Century Bike Ride

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?

Training Log - Friday, September 16, 2011

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.

Training Log - Wednesday, September 14, 2011

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.

Training Log - Tuesday, September 13, 2011

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.

Training Log - Monday, September 12, 2011

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!

Race Report - 2011 No Limits 5K

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.

Training Log - Friday, September 9, 2011

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.

Training Log - Wednesday, September 7, 2011

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.

Training Log - Tuesday, September 6, 2011

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.

Race Report - 2011 Disneyland Half Marathon & Coast To Coast Challenge

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:-(

Training Log - Friday, September 2, 2011

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.