Training Log - Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Nice and easy run with my wife this afternoon after laying off for a week. A couple of nagging aches and pains made me take it much easy and rest more than usual. Hopefully, this was the right decision in anticipation of the Pinhoti 100 this weekend. We just logged 3.5 miles at an easy pace. Temps are starting to be very cool, which has actually been kind of nice for a change.

Training Log - Tuesday, October 23, 2012

I've been taking it easy for a couple of weeks, so it was time to stretch my legs again. My sciatica was still acting up, but I needed to do something. Rich and I met up at my house to do an easy 4.5 miler around the UAH campus at 6AM. We went at an easy pace. The weather was a littler cooler with temps in the low 50s.

At 5:30PM, my wife decided it was time for her after work run and since I took it easy this morning, I figured I'd join her on a short run. We did 3.5 miles on the UAH campus and temps were much milder at this point, probably in the 70s. My legs felt good, but sciatica is ever present.

Race Report - 2012 Gunter's Grunt 'N' Grind Urban Adventure Race

Team M&M was race team #8.

This was my first adventure race in a while and my very first event ever where I have teamed up with my 13 year old son. It was a lot of fun. My son participated in his first big endurance event and he did absolutely fantastic.

This adventure race is an urban event, meaning we didn't race on trails or off-road but rather on city streets. The race organizers had split teams and single participants into two waves with the first group starting at 8AM and the second ground starting at 8:15AM. We were in the second group, while Pteam Pterodactyl, a team including James Duncan and Dan Brooks who have raced and trained with me many times, took off at 8AM. Gunter and is wife sent us off in "authentic" traditional German dress.

A bit cold but still all smiles just before the race.

The picture above shows us just before the race start. The first challenge consisted of collecting our map and clue sheet to figure out where to go first. The first leg had us riding our bikes to the first challenge site, a Crossfit-esque workout. While my son struggled a bit with the cycling and hill climbing on our bikes, he handily beat me in the Crossfit challenge.

We got back onto our bikes to proceed to our next challenge, but first we had to head back to the start for a couple of challenges, including a game of "beer pong" which I managed to win (I think i was the only one or one of to actually complete this challenge). Next was an Angry Birds-style slingshot challenge and Mace took care of that one. A quick chicken dance with Gunter and his wife and were were off on foot for the first time, though I can't exactly remember, if the chicken dance came before or after the other challenges.

We headed to our next two challenges, purchasing a cup at a farmer's market and continuing on to the pavilion named after the only female Alabama governor. There we had to climb a nice steep trail and hole-punch our map before engaging in a math/physics challenge. With some help from a fellow team, we managed to get the right answer.

Now, we ran back to home base again, before taking to our bikes and continuing on to the next challenge. This time, we headed to the chamber of commerce (see pic below), before leaving our bikes and heading into town on foot. 

The host city for the Grunt 'N' Grind.

The picture below shows Mace near one of the sites we had to take a picture of. Our next stop was the post office in the center of Guntersville's main street. Once there, we had to solve a riddle to find out our next destination. We were headed straight for the harbor. That meant we would be canoeing next. Awesome!

One of the "clues" we had to locate.

But rather than just get into our canoe and take off, we had to carry it down the pear to "port it". At least I think that's what it's called. We had to paddle across Lake Guntersville to arrive at our next challenge, a short 75 yard swim followed by a 1.5 mile trail run. Once we completed this part, we got back into our canoe to cross Lake Guntersville once more.

The Map.

Once we arrived back at the harbor, we ran straight for our bikes and on to our next challenge. But first we had to bike back to home base for a fun little beer keg roll challenge. We got back onto our bikes once I completed that challenge and on to the final stretch of challenges. While we had been pretty much in the back of the field early on, we were now firmly in the middle of the pack of racers.

We pedaled to the local high school stadium, where we had to complete a football throwing challenge (dang, being a soccer player, I had really hoped for a field goal challenge). Thankfully, Mace hit the target right away. We had to run the stadium stairs before getting back on our bikes and moving on to the local museum, where we had to find a particular item before moving on. We kept  steady pace and arrived at our next stop, where we would leave our bikes before continuing on foot on a levee towards the local fire station. Once we arrived, we had to do a few physically challenging tasks to earn our race bracelets. Once again, we passed with flying colors, even though we had to drag a gigantic tire across the field for one challenge. This tire was bigger than Mace and I together.

The Clue Sheet.

We ran back to our bikes, passing a couple of teams on the way. We knew we had just one challenge left before heading back to the finish and that gave us both extra energy. We headed to a pumpkin patch, where we had to scour through a bunch of pumpkins to identify one that contained our final clue.  As soon as we found it we headed straight for the finish. Unfortunately, that straight line included a serious climb. But we pushed on to the finish, crossing the finish line in 4 hours and 40 minutes, 9th overall. Not bad for a first time father-on team:-) I can't wait to register u for next year's event.

Happy Finishers, 9th out of 17 overall:-)

Training Log - Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Richard, James, Ed and I met up at 6AM to run the Cotton Row Run 10 K course in reverse. The temps were in the low 50s and our pace was anything but fast, but it allowed all of us to catch up with each other as it had been a while since we'd all run together. Ed's still recovering from a foot injury, but I expect him to be ready to rock his first 100 miler at Pinhoti. I plan to continue to take it very easy to allow myself to recover and "reload" for Pinhoti.

Training Log - Monday, October 15, 2012

Ed, Rich and I met up for a short 5 mile trail run this morning. We took off just before 6AM to run a trail loop Richard had worked out around the Railroad Bed Trail on Monte Sano Mountain. During the entire run, all of us continued to wonder how in the world an actual train has used these now extremely rugged trails to transport people and goods up and down the mountain. I had a hard time imagining mules pulling wagons along these trails, let alone an actual locomotive. Unless I see actual footage of this train, I continue to be suspicious;-) We ended up having a very fun, very slippery run with mild temps in the low 60s. Thankfully, we didn't have to deal with any additional rain during our run.

Race Report - 2012 Fleet Feet Monte Sano 15K

Very nice new tech shirt this year...and the 15K State Championship no less.

Yet another perfect day for a race atop the beautiful Monte Sano Mountain. However, unlike my usual adventures on the local mountain, this 15K race course is run entirely on roads. It starts and finishes inside the Monte Sano State Park. Runners are lead on a couple of out and back sections on State Park roads before exiting the park and entering the adjacent neighborhoods. While this is a road race, it is definitely a challenging course that leads runners along rolling hills throughout the entire race.

Me on a picturesque road section inside Monte Sano State Park just after the race start.

Anya and I had registered for this race a couple of months ago as part of Anya's training for her first 25K race in Nicaragua in Februrary 2013. While she had been dealing with severe bone bruising and swelling in her right knee along with severe plantar fasciitis in her right foot, she still wanted to toe the line. I had offered to pace her, but she wanted to stick it out alone at a pace comfortable to her. I had sincerely hoped she would let me pace her as the alternative meant that I had to battle it out with my usual "foes".

Anya looking very relaxed early in the race.

When we arrived just about 30 minutes before the race start, the place was already buzzing with tons of people warming up and getting ready. It was foggy and just a little chilly, perfect temperatures for the race. I quickly spotted Jason Shattuck as well as Mike DeHaye. Oh boy, I really had hoped I wouldn't have to "man up" and try to race these guys. As it turned out, it wasn't much of a race anyway as both guys left me in the dust very early on in the race.

As the race start approached, I decided I would try to stay with Jason as long as possible and if I couldn't maintain pace, I'd lust drop off and take it easy. However, I was still running with him with a mile to go, I was going to give him a run for his money. RD Mike O'Melia signaled the race start with the traditional musket (or whatever that riffle is called) and we were off. BTW, it was absolutely great to see Dink Taylor out there looking just like his old self (minus a few pounds). From what I hear, his recovery is going rather well and I am extremely glad to see and hear that.

I was feeling pretty good very early on running sub 7 min pace. Jason was just ahead of me and Kathy Youngren and Dana Overton were just behind me. I figured it would only be a matter of time before they'd pass me. As usual, Mike had taken off like a rabbit. He never faltered and had a strong race. Congrats Mike! I kept Jason right in front of me, but at just 3 miles into the race, I started to feel pooped already. I immediately turned inside and started to argue with myself. "Why am I even out here? I just ran a 50K and a 100 miler just 3 weeks ago. I have neither the pace nor the mental fortitude right now to turn it on, so why don't I just walk it in. Seriously, who cares." Well, I care, so while I slowed down significantly, I decided to treat this as a tempo run. I allowed myself to slow my pace to at least talk to fellow racers or shout words of encouragement, but I more or less maintained this pace til the finish.

I crossed the finish line in 69 minutes, about 4 minutes slower than my goal. Oh well, it was still a course PR and a fantastic race nonetheless. I actually got to enjoy the scenery this time, able to take it all in. The view just after the start with the sun breaking through the fog and the trees and hitting road and us runners below was amazing. I look forward to running this race for the fifth time next year and hopefully, I get to battle it out again with my running buddies, cause this time it was no contest! Congrats to Jason, Mike, Andy, Kathy and all the other runners who finished this race.

A special congratulations goes out to my wife and better half Anya for completing her first 15K road race and for doing it not only in style, but extremely well. Running negative splits on a challenging 15K road course like this one is no small feat. I am extremely proud and excited to see that her training and hard work is paying off. Nicaragua, here we come!

Anya crossing the finish line looking strong!

Training Log - Friday, October 12, 2012

Ed and I met up with Richard at his house for a nice 6 mile trail loop that Richard worked out. Of course, as soon as we entered the trail it started pouring down. Oh well, we hadn't been on a sloppy muddy trail run in a while and the temps were just right as well. Since I was wearing racing flats, I had to watch my step on the slippery rocks, but my shoes were surprisingly grippy on this terrain. The weather combined with the technical terrain did affect our pace, however, and it took us well over an hour to complete the 6 mile loop. Tomorrow is the Fleet Feet Monte Sano 15K and I'm not sure if I have my legs back yet to actually "race" it. Either way, I will treat it as a tempo run.

Training Log - Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Finally got together with half of my usual running crew, James and Richard, to do an easy UAH loop this morning. We met up at my house at 6AM to "stretch out" out legs. James has been taking it easy and Richard just rode 400 miles on his bike in three days, from Orange Beach to Huntsville. And I, well..., I was clearly still recovering from the Jewel, because the StumpJump50K last Saturday still kicked my butt and my upper hamstrings (sciatic nerve) were still bothering me.

We ran 4.5 miles at an easy pace and the temps were nice and cool. Im going to keep my runs easy to allow myself to recover properly for the Pinhoti 100 in three weeks. I decided to opt out of the Mystery Mountain Trail Marathon, even though I've been wanting to do that one for the last couple of years as some very special peeps organize and run that event....next year for sure!

Race Report - 2012 StumpJump 50K

Nice swag, tech hat, tech shirt and finisher´s medal.

I don't know why I ever think a race is going to be "easy" or that it can't be "that difficult", but I do. Maybe it's because I figured I couldn't push the pace anyway because I was still recovering from the Jewel 2 weeks earlier, or maybe I figured if I'd just take it easy, it was going to be easy, I'm not sure. Needless to say, I was wrong...again.

Don't misunderstand my comments here, please. While this race was tough on account of its technical terrain with lots and lots of climbing, it also provided some of the most beautiful single track trails and vistas in the Southeast.

The first challenge began before I had even left my house on race morning. Even though I lived more than 2 hours away from the race start, I decided to drive up the morning of the race rather than stay at a hotel to save some money. I knew I had to be at the race start by 7AM at the latest in order to pick up my race packet, so I set my alarm for 4AM, giving myself an hour to get ready before leaving the house. Incidentally, I woke up at 3:45AM. I almost decided to turn around to go back to sleep when it dawned on me...Crap! Crap! Crap! I turned to my wife who was dead asleep as any normal human being would be at 3:45AM. "Honey? Is Chattanooga on EST or CST time?" "EST" she responded half asleep and not happy with me right now. "S___, f___, d___" (edited to protect innocent ears, but feel free to enter expletives of your choice in English or German). That's just great, so much for a relaxed start to an early morning that was going to be anything but to be gin with.

Pack your racing stuff (yes, I am that much of a procrastinator when it comes to packing), take a shower, have a coffee, get dressed, TCB. 10 minutes later, I was on the road to minimize the amount of time I needed to make up on my drive.

2 hours later, I arrived at Signal Mountain Middle High School, the venue for the 2012 StumpJump 50K. I had made this trip alone, but I expected to see many familiar faces from Huntsville and the surrounding areas. While I still missed quite a few of them both before and after the race, I did manage to meet up with Cary "Bartman" Long (once again, edited to protect you know who, the innocent. Cary, your actual nickname rhymes with Bartman, let's just leave it at that). Christy Scott, and Megan Nobriga has also arrived already and Christy's husband Tony was nice enough take a quick pic of all of us just before the race got underway.

There must have been a total of 800 runners lining up for the 11 mile and 50K distances and there really is just one way to truly capture all of that excitement at the starting line...you guessed it, via helicopter. Oh, you didn't? Well I didn't either until the downdraft of the chopper or whatever it's called messed up my perm while it was hovering above us, taking video footage and pictures. Very cool indeed!

As promised by the RDs, the race started on time and the first couple of minutes consisted of walking across the starting line. Thank goodness for timing chips, cause every second counts in these short distance events. Christy pretty much took, Cary tried to fall in behind her and I did the same with Cary. Megan settled into her own race pace pretty much rigght away, which really is the proper strategy for any runner, especially a first time ultra racer. Congrats on your finish, Megan!

Christy set a decent pace and at least to me it felt pretty fast. I was clearly not fully recovered yet from the Jewel 2 weeks earlier and it would become evident later in the race. Cary settled in behind her and before we knew it, we had hit single track trails working our way towards some beautiful vistas. I tried to stay relaxed and focus on just that. Having Cary to run with made time fly very early on and before I knew it, we had completed the first 10 miles. The scenery was beautiful and most of the trails were actually pretty runable, but there were some very technical sections. The rock garden comes to mind as well as some rocky and extremely slippery and slanted section of single track trail along the ridge. 

We continued to maintain pace and I kept reminding myself to keep something in the tank for the final 10 mile leg that included the return across Suck Creek and Suck Creek Road, a course section that included a quad busting steep downhill section as well as the climb back out of that "gorge" (that's what I call it anyway). The final 10 miles were indeed the toughest part of the race for me. Exhaustion started to overcome me rather quickly 22 mile into the run. I started to barter with myself. "it's okay to walk some, especially the uphills. No need to run everything, you don't want to be completely spent when you get to the finish." Who was I kidding, I was going to be spent no matter what. I was spent already. My legs were heavy and now it was time to convince myself that if I moved just a little faster and I tried to run most of the smaller hills, I could be done sooner. Ahh, that sounded so good! I remembered Cary talking about some amazing cheeseburgers at the finish. When I arrived at the aid station at Suck Creek, I downed about 4 cups of Coke before moving on. It was time to dig deep, starting with this "little" climb out of here. I passed a couple of guys and was passed by a couple of guys during this section and I was wanting for it to be over. I enjoyed the scenery, but I really wanted to be done running. 

I was lost in thought when out of nowhere, I got chicked! 3 miles to go and I am getting chicked? You've got to be kidding me! "Wait a minute, I know you. I've seen you before. You're from Huntsville, too! No way you're going to chick me now." It was Beth Barry and she was looking a heck of a lot fresher than me. Ugh, I gotta run. I started to push on the hill and Beth decided to walk. "Catch you on the downhill" she shouted. No way, I am going to run this pace all the way to the finish and no one is going to pass me. I passed another couple of guys that had just passed me minutes earlier and I was now on a mission...no more getting passed and no more slowing down. Then I came to the road crossing and a volunteer does the unthinkable. He shouts "just a little under 2 miles to go". Say what? This is a joke, right? You must be mistaken, I am certain I am almost there. I basically sprinted the last 15 minutes and I must have covered a lot more ground than that. 

And them I slowed down....and Beth passed me...again...this time for good. I continued to move, trying not to slow down too much. When I finally turned left for the half mile road section to the finish, I was feeling much better mentally. My body was tired, but I was excited to be completing this race. I crossed the finish line in 6 hours 30 minutes and 9 seconds, exactly my goal time to the minute. Not as fast as I would've hoped for a 50K race, but the right pace during my recovery.

Thanks to a great team of organizers and volunteers, who kept this entire event running smoothly without any bottlenecks whatsoever, which is an amazing feat considering the distance and the large amount of racers. Thanks also to my fellow racers for adding entertainment and conversation to am amazingly scenic course and congrats to all finishers. Finally, a shoutout to Joe Fejes, who I had the pleasure of meeting very briefly before the race. I've been following his amazing ultra performances of late, especially his participation in the 24 Hour World Championships in Poland last month. Due in no small part to his performance, the men's US National Team was able to win the Bronze medal. I wish I had had more time to pick his brain before the race, but I'm sure that feeling was not mutual;-) No worries Joe, I will chase you down at the Pinhoti 100 next month (before or after the race, of course) to make up for that.

My Garmin FR showed almost 6000 feet of climb, but that must've been a mistake, right?

Training Log - Wednesday, October 3, 2012

It was time to say hello to the local mountain again. Richard and Mike kicked off their annual 500 mile bike from the gulf coast back to Huntsville, AL and James was out of town as well. Thankfully, Ed was still in town and rearing to go for a run as well. We met up outside Richard's house just after 5AM to run our usual Ranger Station out & back run. Since I was still in full recovery mode from the 100 miler just 10 days ago and Ed was dealing with an ankle injury and plantar fasciitis, we decided on an easy pace. For this purpose, it actually helped that Ed forgot his headlamp as it kept us from going to fast. We did, however, discover another use for the Samsung Galaxy phone as Ed used its video camera light as his trail light. It got him all the way to the top of the mountain. Yet another reason never to leave your home without your cell phone when going on a trail run;-)

The temps were almost a little chilly to start, but I quickly started sweating in my half-zip top that I chose to wear over a short sleeve tech short. Still, I kept it on. Temps never got above the high 50s or low 60s on this run and when it was all said and done, Ed and I had completed close to 10 miles in just over 2 hours. Slow and leisurely, but fun. I have the StumpJump 50K on the agenda for this weekend, but it will be a mere recovery/tapering effort for me with the Georgia Jewel 100 just behind me and the Pinhoti 100 just ahead of me. It's going to suck not to be able to push, but I have to be smart about and keep my eyes on the big prize.

Training Log - Monday, October 1, 2012 (Washington, D.C.)

First stop, White House!

After having laid off from running for the last 8 days after completing the Georgia Jewel 100 Miler last weekend, it was finally time to get my legs moving again, even if ever so slowly. What better place to do so than the capital of the US of A, Washington, D.C.?

Second stop, The Capitol!

This run has to be my second most favorite big city run of all time. My favorite run of all time was a similar run in the center of Berlin, the capital of Germany, my home country. Yeah, I know, not really a fair comparison when you're biased like that. My third favorite city run of all time was a run through Central Park in the center of New York City.

Third stop, the Washington Monument!

Only the run in Berlin felt as awe-inspiring in a historical sense as the National Mall loop in Washington did. Every building and every site along this run was an important part of U.S. history in every sense of the word.

I had worked out a 10K loop that started at our hotel just one mile north of the White House and would lead past and around the Washington Monument as well as past multiple properties of the Smithsonian Institution (including the Museums of Natural History, American History and Air & Space and the Smithsonian Castle, to name a few). At one end of the loop, I stopped to take a picture of the US Capitol.

I continued my loop on the other side of the National Mall, this time passing the Washington Memorial, this time to my left. I stopped yet again to snap a picture. I had picked the perfect time for my run. At 7AM, almost all sites were still closed and there was very little traffic at any of the monuments, yet. I continued my run past the Word War II memorial and the reflecting pool until I reached the Lincoln Memorial. Again, it was time for a quick pic before moving on.

Final stop, the Lincoln Memorial!

On the way back to the hotel, I passed many other culturally historical sites, but rather than just continue to keep listing them here, I strongly encourage you to take this memorable trip to D.C. and to make time for a "once in a lifetime" run along the National Mall. It is well worth it as I am sure others that did this run before me can attest to. And one last thing, I have never in my life seen that many people out for a run, ever. Throughout the day, I would see a runner every few seconds. DC is definitely one of the more active cities I've ever been to. The one thing I wondered about the most: Are most of these runners visitors like me or are they locals that are lucky enough to get to do this every day, week in and week out...