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.