A run for Arden

Below are the details of my Philly marathon on Sunday November 18th. It's a race I've run 6 or 7 times, but this one was different than all others...

When I first decided to run this race as a fundraiser for Arden, almost instantly I knew that I wanted to have a special shirt made to wear during the race. During my 23 previous marathons (and numerous shorter races), I've encountered vast numbers of people wearing shirts dedicated to those in need, those who are ill, and those who have passed on. As focused as I get during my races, I still take the time to say a prayer when running by someone wearing a shirt like this. Its hard to not feel something when you see these runners and just as hard not to wish them peace or whatever it is they seek. In addition to the obvious physical benefits or running, the emotional ones can be just a significant. You can run for introspection, to relieve stress, to plan to conquer the world, to cope with loss, or to escape your pain and demons. But to run for someone else...that is something entirely different.

Over the summer, I trained for a race where I'd be running with a teammate for the entire race. 5 days. 108 miles. That was pressure. I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure that I trained hard enough so that I would not let my teammate down. It dominated my thoughts and my life for nearly three months. But running for Arden was not the same. Since I learned of her illness, rarely do I go more than a few hours without thinking of her, Amy, and Rick. For those of you who know me, you know I like to be in control of things. I also like to help people whenever I can. I try to be there for my friends when they need me. But what can I do for Arden? Pray, visit, offer support. I don't feel like I'm doing enough. I can't do enough. If I could run another marathon on Monday to help Arden, I would. If I had to run on Tuesday, I would. If I had to run until they carried me away on a stretcher, I would. Like my summer race, this, too, has dominated my thoughts yet I feel powerless to do anything. Running is the one thing I excel at and can control...the least I can do is try to turn it into something to help Arden. This race is for all of us who care and pray for Arden and want to whatever we can to help.

In many ways, Sunday morning began like most other marathon mornings. An anxious and restless night's sleep followed by a reluctance to remove myself from the warm comfort of my bed. It also began like every morning has for the past five weeks since I heard the news about Arden. Saying a prayer as I glance at the picture of Arden that I've placed next to my clock radio. Today's race will be different. Regardless of the time that I finish with or the runners that I pass, it will be a great race. Though I did have a goal time in mind (3:02:32, 7:00/mile) that would not be today's metric for success. To borrow the often corny cliche 'Just getting to the start line is a victory', today, for the first time in any race EVER, I felt that way. I always have a goal time that I strive to achieve. Even if I'm running a race 'just for fun', there is a goal. Today was different. The generosity that all of you have demostrated made the day a success regardless of my finish time. My goal of helping all of you help the Buchers has been achieved.

Approaching the city through the morning's drizzle and gray clouds, I allow my thoughts to begin focusing on the race. My excitement finally begins to build as I exit the Schuylkill and enter Drexel's campus. There is a brief moment of reminiscing, both of my time on campus and of my previous Philly marathons. I park in my usual area, along 31st Street next to the seemingly endless tracks of 30th Street Station. Almost immediately after exiting my car, two women who are running the marathon ask me "Who's Arden"? I join them in their light warm-up run to the start and tell them Arden's story. Both obviously have children of their own and have shed tears before we even get off of 31st Street. I then remember that I'm holding a giant black magic marker with which to decorate my legs. I ask one of the women to write "God Bless Arden" on the backs of my legs and she gladly obliges. After a final exchange of good luck for the race and well-wishes for Arden, we go our separate ways.

Walking around the start area was very different today. Overall 12000 people are involved in the marathon, half marathon, and 8k. There are probably another 12000 friends, family members, and volunteers. Most runners blend anonymously into the crowd. Maybe one out of fifty catch your eye. The really old, or tiny, or large, or outlandishly dressed stand out. Those who 'look fast' draw my attention. And then there are those who are wearing shirts detailing their cause. I normally like to imagine that people see me and think "That guy is fast"! But today, I am not that guy. I have a darling little girl's face on the front and back of my shirt. A few people approach me to inquire about Arden and wish her well. Most runners simply read the shirt, make eye contact, a give a solemn nod before going their way. These silent exchanges, though brief and seemingly cold, are warming. Many of us are in our own world as the start time approaches but these people have read my shirt and wished Arden well. They have ever so briefly added their thoughts and prayers to the rest of our's in Arden Nation.

The race start is delayed until about 7:15am as the police are busy removing illegally parked cars along the course. Conditions, in my opinion, are ideal. About 42F, threat of rain, and not a ray of sunshine in the sky. I'm attired in a hat, gloves, a long sleeve T under Arden's T, and shorts. It hasn't rained at all, yet, which means that we're at least starting the race dry and didn't have to stand around in the rain. The horn sounds to start the race and I'm standing off to the side. I'm watching hundreds, then thousands of people begin their journey. My mind wanders. How many are experiencing their first marathon today? How many are running their last? Trying to qualify for Boston? Running for a cause like myself? Everybody has their unique story. I wish them all success and a happy ending.

Five minutes have passed and I don't see myself starting any time soon. Seven minutes go by...still no indication that I'll be running soon. With over 10000 marathoners and half marathoners sharing the same course, I'm beginning to get somewhat anxious about what I've gotten myself into. Trying to scamper through the throngs of people at the back of the pack is not going to be easy. As the eighth minute passes, the crowd has become very thin. I'll be starting momentarily. At almost exactly nine minutes after the start, I adjust my attire, double check my shoelaces, start my watch, and cross the start line. Hold on! Its going to be a bumpy ride trying to navigate the crowd.

All of us at one point in our lives have been running through a crowd people people who are standing still or walking slowly. While doing so, you're simply hoping that nobody makes a sudden, unexpected move or change in direction because if they do so, its going to be messy. You all know that feeling, right? Well, now imagine doing it for over an hour and you can get a feel for the adrenaline, nervousness, and excitement that I felt for about the first eight miles of the race. My first three miles were significantly impacted by the crowd's density as I plodded through 7:38, 7:51, and 7:25 splits. There were times that I actually had to stop and walk. At this point, I'm very thankful that I have the message "Passing you raises $$ for Arden's cancer" on my back to help these people who are running 11, 12, and 13 minutes miles why there is some jerk who, at times, is running sub-6's at the back of the pack.

By mile five, the crowd has thinned out enough that, though I'm still weaving constantly, I can keep my pace pretty constant. From mile 5 through 15, my splits on the eight 'flat' miles are all between 6:45 and 6:51. I'm thrilled with this and really feel good. Around mile 16, I actually get passed by someone for the first time in the race. I'm very surprised and worry that I'm slowing down now. My next split indicates that my pace has remained the same. I catch up to the guy who passed me and tell him that he should hold back a bit, that its too early for him to be speeding up and he'll pay for it later. He thanks me for the advice, but does not heed it. I make a mental image in my head of him as I know I'll be seeing him again, running much slower at some point later in the race.

Mile 20 marks the turnaround point in Manayunk and from there its a beautiful 6.2 mile stretch along Kelly Drive and boathouse row back to the finish at the Art Museum. But, at this point I've already started to feel fatigued. A little earlier than I had hoped. I know this is likely due to this being my 4th marathon in 5 weeks, but I'm still not looking forward to the impending discomfort that I'm going to feel. For the first time since the crowded start, I have a slower than 7:00 split (7:01) at mile 19. 7:09, 7:08, and 7:06 follow. My glutes are screaming. Though I've been thinking of Arden for almost the entire race (except for the moments when I was narrowly avoiding some major collisions), its not until now that I am relying on her for strength. I think about her and the long stays in the hospital, about all of the crappy chemicals that her body is subjected to, and about all of the 'ouchies' she has to withstand. No way am I going to slow down now. This discomfort is nothing compared to what Arden is facing. I am in control of this and I will not relent. My rate of passing runners has decreased as the crowd thins and I've approached runners with comparable abilities. But with about a mile and half to go, I am able to accelerate. During this time, I've sped up to about a 6:30 pace and the discomfort is barely perceptable. I cross the finish line and say yet another prayer for Arden. I'm overcome with emotional so much so that one of the finish line volunteers approaches to see if need medical attention. I smile and tell her that I'm fine, thanks, knowing deep within me that Arden is going to be fine, too. How can she not be with all of the wonderful people like all of you praying for her and doing everything you can to help?

Final race stats:
Clock time: 3:12:38
Clock ranking: 502nd of 6677 finishers
Chip time: 3:03:44 (7:00.45)
Chip ranking: 287th (top 4.3%)

From the race, I drive straight to the Buchers' house. After all, I promised Arden at the hospital on Friday night that she could have her t-shirt once I finished the race. Within moments of walking in the house, Arden was showing me all her toys and was very outgoing and happy. I probably spent the first 20 or 30 minutes playing with her. It was wonderful to see her so happy. Most of my visits to the hospital have been when she was feeling crappy and not in a very outgoing mood. Today was truly a delight to see her happy and playful. If I let my mind wander, I could even forget for a while the battle that she was facing. I spent the next couple hours with Rick, Amy, Kerry, and Carin. Every time I see them it amazes me to see how strong Rick and Amy have been. I don't know how they are doing it. I know that I got in the car, and just like when I leave the hospital, cried for the first few minutes of my ride home in disbelief that this is happening.

I spent the rest of my day relaxing at home. I actually allowed myself to pig out for the first time in a while and it felt goooood. Two big pieces of lasagna and three beers. As I (gingerly) climed into bed, my day ended just as it began...looking at Arden's picture and praying for her to get better.

Thank you all so much for the support you've given to the Buchers through your prayers, support, and generosity.

The t-shirt:
(yes, they did correct the spelling error before making the shirt)

And yes, I did end up passing the one runner who passed me. He was going slow around mile 24 and I flew by him.

USMC marathon success

I enjoyed the marathon much more than the first time I ran it. It was much better organized this time and the people were nicer. Was aiming for 3:10 and ran 3:10:13. I'm definitely satisfied with that time as its just 2 weeks since my last two marathons. Plus, I started at near the back of the pack, about 20 minutes after the official race start. Lots of time spend trying to pass those people back there and lots of energy wasted in doing so. I probably wasn't able to run at a constant steady pace until around mile 12.

Well, it has been a while...

Ok, so I need to find something better to do with my time, right? Earlier this week, I realized that I didn't have a lot going on this weekend so I looked for a race to run. Perfect. The USMC marathon is this Sunday. Granted, the race long ago reached capacity and closed registration back around May. But, I went on an on-line bulletin board and found people looking to get rid of their entries because they have decided they won't be running this weekend. So, I get to pay somebody for their number and run as them. (However, I will not be running with their timing chip and therefore not effecting their personal history or the placings in the race. I just get my tshirt, medal, and the enjoyment of running another marathon.)

I ran USMC around 2001 and swore I'd never run it again. Too crowded and disorganized. I hope that I've grown more tolerant in my old age...

2 for 1

The Baltimore Marathon went well. I felt so comfortable, that within the first couple of miles, I decided to stray from my 3:20 plan and run a little faster. This plan changed again around mile 5. And again a couple miles later, and again. Eventually, I found myself wondering around the half way point if I could pull off a Boston qualifying time and still feel like I was running comfortably and not pushing myself. The weather was perfect, I was barely breathing heavy (heart rate in the low 130s up until that point), and I felt great. So, I ramped up my speed yet again. The 16 to 22 mile stretch is very similiar to Boston, which is to say, quite hilly for a road marathon with increasing inclines before a gradual decline near the end. I crossed the line in 3:08:10 with very little discomfort. I felt like I could have easily run another 8 to 10 miles. And, though I had run a BQ time back in May, it felt good to qualify with so little effort. (Only later did I realize that, now that I'm older, 3:15 is the BQ time!).

At that point, the idea I had in the back of my mind came to the front. Can I run the Atlantic City marathon tomorrow?! There was race day registration, so I could get up in the morning, see how my legs feel, and decide then.

The rest of my Saturday contained Costco, Acme, yardwork, a quick 20 minute run to loosen my legs, some drinking at Tony and Brad's, and retiring to bed around 11:00. I felt fantastic all day...more like I ran a 10 mile tempo run than a relatively quick marathon.

Sunday morning, I ran down the stairs and through my living room. Legs felt good. Off to AC!

Again, the weather was perfect, almost identical to yesterday, 50F at the start, sunny, and light winds. Unfortunately, I realized about 2 minutes into the race that my legs were not as fresh as I thought. They didn't really loosen up until around mile 18. It wasn't painful, just uncomfortable. I continued to get faster throughout the race, increasing my speed much less quickly than yesterday. I was in 51st place at the 1/2 way point, 33 place at ~20 miles, 24th place with 3 to go, and finished 16th in 3:25:03 (out of just 216 runners). My goal was a 3:29 (8min/mile) as I've never run a road marathon on my own at >=8/mile. Afterwards and for the rest of the day (and still today actually) I finally felt like I ran a marathon. Soreness, fatigue, really sore quads...it all felt like it normally does after 26.2. I feel great that I was able to do 2 in one weekend. Odds are, I'll never be in good enough shape to do this again and even if I am, having the races be located so close geographically and having the Sunday one have race day registration is unlikely. It feels great to have been able to do this, to feel great while doing so, and to not get hurt (which would have turned it into something stupid rather than something impressive and a moment to be proud of).

Hopefully another marathon or two before winter will be on my schedule...

PS...I don't recommend the AC marathon for anybody except for those looking for a fast time. Its extremely flat and straight. However, it can be boring. 2 out and backs. Half along the boardwalk, half along Atlantic Ave. Go back to the start. Repeat. Frequent, well stocked aid stations. You get a nice long sleeve cotton T and a medal. The big problem is the finish. The last several miles, you're zipping through boardwalk crowds, praying that a collision is not imminent. Crossing the finish line, you're handed a bag with your post-race food and beverages. A bottle of water, one banana, one bagel. That's it. No tables with more water or gatorade. No sugar/simple carbs besides from your bag contents. Asking for more water I was told to take another bag (and thus deprive one of the back of the packers what they would need). Yeah, sure. You'd think that $65 for such a small race would get you more than that.

Rest? I don't need no stinkin' rest!

So...the race I've focused on for so long is over. Now its time for the usual funk and general malaise to set in. What to do with all this time? What do I focus on? What is my next goal? This is always a difficult time for me.

For the short term, I'm thinking that I'll try at least one marathon to see what running at sea level, without hills, for just 3:15 to 3:25 feels like. Last Friday, I signed up for the Baltimore Marathon. It's this Saturday. I'm guessing it won't be too challenging, so long as I stick to my plan of running it 'just for fun' and not pushing myself. That means a ~3:20 finish (+/- 3 minutes for a 7:30 to 7:45/mile range). I think that will feel pretty comfortable. The big question is regarding how I'll feel Sunday morning. With my legs having primarily run on nice and soft trails and treadmills all summer, the impact effect could be huge. We'll see...

TransRockies Run

After the Imogene Pass Run, I spent the following week in Mueller State Park outside of Colorado Springs. The elevation was 9800 feet and I had a very secluded campsite with a stunning view of Pike’s Peak. I made it a point to either hike or run for at least an hour each day to get some activity at this elevation. I had zero problems with the altitude. A half day atop Pike’s Peak (14100’) and a 2:15 run from the summit, down ~4.5 miles, and back up was challenging, but very rewarding. My confidence and excitement for the TRR was growing each day.

Then came the curve ball. Some last minute discussions among all of the Gorons had the pairings in question. For the entire summer, the plan was for me to run with Erin. But, we had some late additions to the team and we decided as a team to put together an excellent ‘open’ men’s team and an excellent ‘over 80’ (combined age) team. I was on board with the decision we made, but devastated. I wasn’t even excited to run the race any more. Nothing against my new running partner, Bob, but I had planned and trained and pushed myself to be ready to run with Erin. Now, I would not be running as hard or pushing myself as much. I was on the ‘2nd best’ Gore team. It was definitely the right thing to do, but I was disappointed.

My mood improved and my excitement returned once we arrived in Beaver Creek, started going through registration, meeting all the runners and volunteers, attending the opening ceremonies, etc. By race morning, I was pumped. I knew it would be amazing.

The first day was Sunday. A 15 mile run with a decent climb over the first several miles, some flat running along I-70 for the middle of the race, and then a big 4 mile climb to the top of a ski mountain in Vail to conclude the day. Bob and I were 3rd for most of the race but slipped to 5th over the last 1-2 miles. 3 minutes behind the ‘Flying Monkeys’, the only 80+ team in front of us. Erin and Dustin finished comfortably in second with a huge gap in front of the 3rd place team and an equally large gap behind the first place Skaggs brothers. The finish atop the ski mountain was beautiful. Sunshine, great views, and excitement for the rest of the week were plentiful. But within an hour of finishing, the weather abruptly changed…hail, lightening, and thunder rolled in and it continued until about 90 minutes into day two’s run.

Sunday night’s sleep was horrible. I didn’t fall asleep until 4:40 am and was up by 5:15. The rain fell all night and was still coming down hard at the start of the race. Unfortunately, the start of the race was delayed. We needed to take a Gondola to the top of the mountain and they would not allow it to operate until the lightening ceased. Due to the later start and concerns regarding the slower runners being on the course after dark, the course had to be shortened. The organizers did a fantastic job adjusting and we were off after an hour. Day 2 was supposed to be the most difficult with some massive climbs and descents and a total of 26 miles. It was shortened to 19 and the most difficult part was eliminated. This was very disappointing at the start but by the end of the race, I was quite happy with ending earlier. We started in the rain and as we climbed the mountain it changed to sleet then snow. There was a good 2 to 3 inches of snow on the ground and we were running along the top of the mountain and through the back bowls of Vail. Spectacular views! Then the sloppy descent began. It was a nasty, muddy, wet mess. Bob and I were the 7th team to cross the finish line and dropped to 7th overall and lost another 4 minutes to the Monkeys.

Day 3’s course was very similar to day 2. 24+ miles and similar climbs. Like the first two days, I was getting ahead of Bob on the uphills and waiting for him at times. But, we were well matched on the flat and downhill sections. Unfortunately, we finished 7th again, were 7th overall, and lost another 6 minutes to the Monkeys. At this point, we were 12:58 behind them and I was not optimistic that we’d catch them. We were comfortably ahead of the 3rd place 80+ team (which was the other Gore team) but it looked like the Monkeys would win the category.

On Day 4, I was hoping that we’d be able to cut the Monkey’s lead in half and maybe have some hope of catching them on the final day. Speaking to Bob about our strategy for the day, I received the same response from him that I’d heard all week...”I’ll just run my race and we’ll see what happens.” Bob is totally laid back and much less competitive than me. Two different personalities you won’t find. So rather than convince Bob that we had to go hard and make up some time, I was resigned to having to just run what felt best for us and not worry about the Monkeys. Frustrating at times, but it was good for me to be patient and helped to calm me down. The course for Day 4 consisted of a somewhat steep climb over the first 10 miles up to 12000’ feet at Hagerman Pass and the Continental Divide. Then the descent would begin. 18 miles of gradual downhill. During the ascent, we stayed 1 to 2 minutes ahead of the Monkeys for the first 6 to 8 miles. But, I often found myself running too fast in relation to Bob. There were several times where I got ahead of him and had to wait. As the first aid station approached, I paused to wait and the Monkeys passed me. At that point, I pretty much wrote off any hope I had of catching them for first place. Bob and I approached the first aid station and were joined at the hip for pretty much the final 20 miles. I decided to forget about the competition and just enjoy the run. About an hour later, a funny thing happened. Bob and I passed the first place co-ed team. Then we passed another team. And then we passed the Monkeys about 18 miles into the race. Hmmm. That was good news, but at that point, I assumed that they had just decided to take it easy, keep us in sight, and preserve the huge cushion that they had on us. Bob and I ran hard during the entire downhill and were well matched. At no point was I tempted to run ahead of him, nor could I have done so even if I wanted to. At the end of the day, we trimmed 4 minutes off the Monkey’s lead and had it down to 8:58 going into day 5. We were back in 6th place overall after finishing Day 4 in 4th place.

During the ceremonies on Day 4, one of the Monkeys was highlighted during the day’s video clips saying that they ran their asses off and still got beat. That got me thinking that maybe they weren’t taking it easy and sitting on their lead and might actually be in trouble. After hearing this, along with whispers about the Monkeys being tired and not in great shape, my hope for finishing first returned. Bob still felt good. He was popping the Advils, but wasn’t in bad shape and I felt like I could run another 3 or 4 days if necessary. It was truly amazing how great I still felt.

Another reason for optimism…Day 5’s course. It was a sprint. Just 18 miles of gradual ascent (less than 2000 feet). All on a paved bike trail going into Aspen. This definitely favored Bob and I as we were among just a handful of people who spend any time running roads. Conversely, the Monkeys had let their displeasure with the significant amount of ‘non-technical’ terrain be known throughout the week. And it was hot. Having trained in Philly heat and humidity all summer, I was confident I was going to be able to handle the heat better than them. Hopefully Bob would fare as well.

As the run began, Bob and I went out fast. Within 5 miles, we were in third place overall. We ran hard the entire time. Bob and I were well matched on this relatively flat terrain and though I could have maybe gone 5 to 10 seconds per mile faster, I was quite happy with our pace. When we passed the second aid station around mile 10, we were told that we were in third place and just 4 minutes behind the Skaggs brothers (who had been demolishing the field all week). I was excited because that told me we were doing really well, but also scared because I thought we might be pushing it too hard, especially with the way the weather was heating up. It was in the low 80s at this time (my guess) and the high for the day was 90F. Bob and I went hard the entire time. Towards the end, he started to tire and I was constantly looking ~50 yards behind me to yell encouragement to Bob. He did a tremendous job that day and I’m convinced he gave it everything he had. We crossed the finish line in 3rd place, just 10 minutes behind the stage winners. At that point, we just had to wait and hope that the Monkeys came in 8:58 after we did. It was definitely the longest 9 minutes of my life. Just a couple minutes after we finished, the emcee announced that another group was approaching the finish line (there was a spotted about a ½ mile back). My heart sank, but it was a different team. A minute later, another group. Still not the Monkeys. This scene repeated itself several more times and all the while the emcee was describing to the crowd the situation we were in with the Monkeys. And the crowd was into it. Soon, 8:58 came and went and Bob and I won! What an awesome feeling. The crowd cheered and I was euphoric. I was convinced that the placing was going to be decided by 10 or 20 seconds. It turns out that we beat the Monkeys that day by 25:36!

The rest of the day was a huge celebration. Not just because we won 1st and not just for us. For everybody. It was such a huge, satisfying, wonderful accomplishment. Every time a team crossed the line, the crowd went crazy. It was a celebration for everybody. The festivities continued that night with a huge banquet, drinking, awards, and picture and video highlights. This was a first class event and was executed with such expertise that you would have never guessed that this was an inaugural event. I can’t say enough about the people that pulled this off. Huge thanks to the organizers, sponsors, volunteers, and Bob! Though I actually found the race much easier than I thought it would be, the training was brutal. I’d love to say that I’ll be back next year, but the thought of training that hard again just scares the hell out of me. I can’t imagine doing that again. But as hard as it was…it was all so worth it!

Imogene Pass Run

Time will tell, but the Imogene Pass Run might just be one of my favorite runs ever. I was a last minute entrant. My running mate for the TransRockies Run, Erin, has done this race 9 of the last 10 years and turned me on to it. The Imogene Pass Run (IPR) is a 17.1 mile point-to-point mountain race within the western San Juan mountains of Colorado, run along a route which connects the towns of Ouray (7810 ft.) and Telluride (8820 ft.) by way of 13,120 foot Imogene Pass. Its pretty much straight up, then straight down. The ‘up’ part has an average grade of over 10%, about 8% for the first 7.6 miles and then it increases from there.

The weather was great. About 45 at the start and sunny. Somewhat chilly at the top and windy. On the descent, it actually warmed up enough, due to rising temps and decreasing altitude, that for most of it I was shirtless.

With Erin as my running partner for TR, I was very anxious about my performance in this race. My initial goal was to finish within 5 minutes of Erin if I had any hope of being a good match for him for TR. However, he talked me out of that. He thought that the best barometer would be my ascent for the first 7.6 miles (to Upper Camp Bird). After that, the grade increases significantly and the altitude becomes a huge factor, too. Even the winners of the race walk much of this section and should I struggle there, its not a big deal. Especially since those conditions are worse than anything we’ll encounter at TR. Then, on the downhill, he didn’t think there’d be much point in worrying about my performance there.

I met my goal. Erin’s time to Upper Camp was 78 minutes and mine was 80. Perfect. He kicked my butt over the final ascent by 10 minutes and another 10 minutes on the downhill, but we weren’t concerned about that. I was pretty disappointed when I first finished, but the crowd we were hanging out with quickly changed my attitude. Erin finished 10th overall and 1st in his age group. I was 56th overall and 10th. 1200 total runners, so top 5%. A little lower than I’m used to, but I’ll take it. It was just 6 days after the Monster Marathon, 36 hrs after driving across the country and arriving at altitude, and my first run of its kind. I just missed breaking 3 hrs (apparently a huge deal, just like the 3hr mark in a marathon) by a little under 3 minutes.

The views were spectacular. Actually, I should say ‘breathtaking’. With the scenery and altitude, it was definitely breathtaking. For the first time in my running career, I actually had to walk during a race. A HUGE blow to my ego at first, but then I looked around, saw EVERYBODY walking, and also remembered Erin’s advice. So, I walked, took in the magnificent views, and wondered what the hell I am doing up here?

I’d love to do the race again. What a challenge. Plus, I feel like I got off a bit easy with the beautiful weather…very uncharacteristic compared to previous years.

Final Entry?

I leave today for CO. I'll be zig-zagging across the country over the next three days and arriving in CO Thursday night. Saturday is the Imogene Pass Run and also the day I finally get to meet Erin, my running partner for the TransRockies Race who works at Gore Flagstaff. After that, I'll look for a bar on Sunday to watch the Eagles game, then spend the rest of the week relaxing and camping at altitude in preparation for the race. Hopefully, any ill effects due to altitude will have disappeared after my week of acclimation.

I'm not sure if I'll have an opportunity to make any entrees during my travels. Definitely not before the race. Maybe I'll have access during race week?

Over the weekend, I looked back at my training records for the summer. OMG! I can't believe what I pushed my body to do. I would have never thought that I could push myself this far. Not that I didn't respect those crazies who did ultras before, but I am even more impressed than ever. Prior to this summer, in training, I had only run more than 25 miles once in my entire life. This summer, I did it six times. Even more surprising, I had only run training runs of longer than 2:45 12 times and longer than 3:05 once. This summer, it was 16 times and 10 times! With three of those being over 4 hrs and 2 of them being over 5 hours. How did I do that?!

May the Force be with me.

Week 3 Summary (08/26-09/01/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 9:30
Running 4x, 30.1 miles
Biking none
Swimming 2x, 2400 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 157.8
Body Fat (%) 5.1%

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3223/day
Consumed 3455/day
Fat 59(15%) CHO571g(66%) P140g(16%) ROH 11g(2%) Fiber66g
Delta +232 cal/day

The Monster Marathon

The Monster Marathon
Organized by the Finger Lakes Running Club

So my original plan for Labor Day weekend was to drive to New Hampshire and run up Mount Washington. About a week ago, I thought that sounded a little too far and little too boring and wasn’t really feeling very motivated. I decided to look on-line for a trail race that I might be able to use as a long training run. My search yielded the Monster Marathon, less than 4 hours away in Central NY with the claim of being the toughest marathon on the East Coast. Two half-marathon out and backs with a total climb of 5600’. Nice. Minus the altitude, this will match the most challenging day of my TransRockies Run. This will be wonderful. Less than half the distance compared to NH, plus the motivation that goes along with participating in a race. But, I keep telling myself “Not a race, just a training run, don’t overdo it.”

I email the race director early in the week about the logistics of camping up there versus just showing up race morning. The director, Becky, tells me that either is fine, but that if I do decide to come up the night before, a bunch of them are meeting at a restaurant called Jeremiah’s (where the race starts) for their pre-race dinner and then camping there afterwards. Sounds good to me.

I arrive about a half hour late and am surprised to find the restaurant closed. Hmmmm. I drive around the back and there are probably 30 people gathered, hanging out and chowing down on a ton of food that they all brought. Crap! I assumed we’d be eating at a restaurant, having a normal pre-race pasta dinner. And, I didn’t bring anything. I park and approach the group slowly, wondering how the heck I’m going to introduce myself. Fortunately, I must have looked out of place because Becky spotted me right away and yelled over “You must be John, right?” Whew. That made it easy. She introduces me to a group of about 10 of the 30 people. All are incredibly friendly and kind and VERY talkative. I’m led to the ‘buffet’ and eat things I’d never ever had the night before a marathon. 3 different kinds of lasagnas, a black bean salad, brownies, two excellent fruit cobblers, and I can’t remember what else. I did manage to stay away from the beer though. Everything was great. I can’t say enough about how friendly these people were. Oh, another thing. About an hour after getting in my car I realized I didn’t bring any warm clothes…all I had was my race outfit for Sunday and the shorts and t-shirt that I was wearing. I was instantly concerned knowing that with it getting into the low 60’s in DE, it would probably be in the low 50’s? in central NY. Well, at 6:30pm when I arrived, it was already in the 50’s. With the sun setting and no humidity, I was already shivering. No problem…in addition to feeding me, they also clothed me. A blanket was soon fetched to keep me warm.

Camping that night was brutal. I froze my ass off! I was in my sleeping bag and wrapped my bath towel around my head like a turban! Low 50’s? Ha. My car said 39 degrees when I got up that morning! What a horrible night. I was so cold that 10-15 minutes into the race, my feet were finally starting to warm up and were getting itchy like your fingers and ass get when you come in from shoveling snow!

Now to the race, I mean, training run. Another thing that was attractive about the race was the price. Only $17 for pre-registration and $25 for day-of registration. Wow! That is like 5k prices! It’s a small race. I think there were only 36 entrants for the marathon and 56 for the half marathon. Coffee, water, and breakfast type foods before the race. Sandwiches, newtons, pasta salad, Gatorade, water, nuts, M+Ms, and fruit after the race. A simple, homemade medal awaits the finishers and it really stands out next to all my others. No free t-shirts or other race wear, but there are t-shirts, hats, and technical t-shirts available for $3, $6, and $12. Extremely reasonable. What a fantastic bargain. I highly recommend this race to anybody looking to get into the woods, challenge themselves, and meet some great people.

Another thing that was a little different was the staggered/handicapped start. The marathon clock starts at 8:00 am, which is the same time that men 37 and younger start. As your age increases, you get to start earlier and earlier. For example, a 45 year old man might start at 7:45 and a 55 year old might start at 7:30. Everybody’s time starts at 8:00 though and the first one to cross the finish line is the winner. For the ladies, they get a 20 minute head start on their same aged male counterpart. Pretty unique.

I broke a streak during this race. For the first time in 5 races, I wasn’t off-course! It was extremely well marked and the people who were supposed to know where I was going actually did know! Wow. What a concept.

I started with the last group at 8am. There were about 8 or 9 men under 36 who started with me. The first ~0.9 miles are on a two lane country road and then an access road to the trail. Once you hit the trail, you go straight up. The climb is about 800 feet in under a mile. That is almost a 20% incline. And, since we’re all bunched up at the start, we’re all pushing each other up this hill at a pretty fast pace. Surprisingly, I don’t find it too bad but I’m definitely not looking forward to the second time around! At the top of the hill, I’m second out of the group that I started with and third and fourth are not far behind me. Over the next several miles, they are close enough to hear and nip my heels, but never pass me. As I get about 10 minutes from the turnaround point, the guy in front of me in our group passes me going the other way. Holy crap he is flying! This is actually good. With a small group of entrants, I’m wondering in my head “Any chance at winning this thing?” Hell no! The only chance I have of catching that guy is if he DNFs for some reason. This helps me rein in my effort a little and get more in the training run mode instead of race mode. But, I’m still pushing and trying not to get passed.

I reach the 13.1 mile mark and my splits are pretty close, 1:00:56 and 1:00:25. Hmmm…can I break four hours? Also, there a 6 people in front of me at this point. I know that I’ll pass two of them within a couple of miles and that two others will not be caught. So the best I can do is third. I can’t tell if I’ll be able to catch the other two guys.

I do pass two rather quickly. About 10 minutes before the 2nd turnaround, the two fast guys pass me going the other way. I was right…no way to catch them. They are racing for first. Up the giant 0.25 hill to the turnaround and one possibly catch-able guy is coming down the other way…maybe about 0.5 miles total in front of me. At the top at the aid station the other possibly catch-able guy is there. He is finished and will not continue. Didn’t stay long enough to find out why, but I hope he is ok. My split for that leg was 1:03:13. Definitely not finishing under 4 hours. With nobody chasing me, I slower down and, despite starting at 41 degrees, the temps are heating up now and its getting warm. I’m starting to fatigue and get my first hunger pangs at about 3:05. I’ll survive and probably finish pretty strong, but 26.2 will be enough.

On the final leg, as I’m passing people going the other way, I’m trying to find out how far the guy in third place is in front of me. Sometimes I get “1-2 minutes”. Other times it is “about a mile”. So I have no idea. Finally, around the 24 mile mark, I spot him. It takes me a while to catch him and when I do, he picks it up a bit. I’m thinking to myself the whole time “He is toying with me. He’s going to keep me in striking distance and catch me at the end.” For a good while, he stays within about 30-40 seconds of me. I hope that I can make it down the hill and be tied with him. Once we hit that final 0.9 miles on the road, I’m confident I can out-kick him to the end. He is maybe 10 years older than me and I assume his technique on the hills will be better than mine but that being younger I’ll be able to out sprint him. Fortunately, it never comes to that. I have about a minute lead on him at the bottom of the hill and still add some kick just to be safe. I think I finished about 2 minutes in front of him. Final split was 1:05:51 and total time was 4:11. 1st and 2nd place were waaay in front of me. 3:34 and 3:38, I think.

The race was a great mental boost for my Rockies race. I’m very happy for that reason as well as for the fact that I got to do a wonderfully organized trail race and meet some great people. If you’re up for a challenging trail marathon, I highly recommend this race. And I can’t say enough nice things about the people I met. Becky and Finger Lakes Running Club…Thanks for an extremely rewarding experience!!!

Lost

Not really anything to talk about. I'm a week into my taper and the usual feelings of malaise, aimlessness, and lethargy have set in. Even the slightest ache or tightness leads to concern. Mentally, it is nice to have the break from a huge running schedule, but the lack of direction and focus is always difficult to cope with. After being so disciplined and regimented for months, it is a challenging adjustment.

Hoping to run the Monster Marathon on Sunday but a slight ache in my right hamstring has me second guessing myself.

Week 4 Summary (08/19-08/25/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 14:45
Running 5x, 68.8 miles
Biking none
Swimming 1x, 3100 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 155.8
Body Fat (%) <= 5.0% (Tanita pegged)

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3932/day
Consumed 3588/day
Fat 71(18%) CHO571g(64%) P128g(14%) ROH 19g(4%) Fiber57g
Delta -344 cal/day

Comments - Final

I've actually received some supportive comments over the weekend. There were some that were not quite so supportive, but at least they were civil. And, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, some that were just nasty and childish. So...all comments are getting removed and I'll be ending my attempt to moderate any new ones. Thanks to those of you who were able to provide your views and opinions maturely. Those who weren't, please think of all the better things you could be doing with your energy instead of chanelling such hatred and venom into blog comments.

Oh, and Mike...I received your comment about Barkley. I still think its a crazy idea and there is no way I could do something like that! Good luck to you there.

Aaahhhhhh!

Today was my final run on the trails at FH. Though I loved my return to the trails, I'm definitely ready to bid farewell to FH for a while. Today I did 6 of the orange loop sections for the first time. Though I've spent longer amounts of time and covered more distance at FH, today's run was the most challenging and, fortunately, most rewarding. Repeating these loops has been a challenge mentally as well as physically. It has been inspiring to see my progress. When I first began training this summer, this section of the orange loop was a real killer. Today, its become just another hill that I've climbed and conquered.

I've been debating when to begin my taper. Its usually 17 days out before a marathon. What do I do for something like this? I'm still 25 days out. It feels right to begin the taper now. Mentally, I'm definitely ready. Each run this week has been a mental challenge to prepare for. Granted, some of that is due to the repetitiveness of my runs. But some is due to mental fatigue, too. Physically, the runs have been getting easier, too. I'm finding them less challenging and I'm recovering quicker than ever, despite the increase in volume.

For my marathon p.r. in May, the taper began 29 days out. This was due to having major races for the 3 weekends preceding the marathon. A similar schedule is being put in place for the TRR. Last weekend, I spent 5 hours running the App Trail in MD. The goal was to increase the length of my uphills and downhills from 'sprint-size' to something much more substantial. AT MD was the first step.

This weekend, the AT in Northern Mass should be the second step. The following two weekends will be the Monster Marathon (hopefully) and then the Imogene Pass Run. Well, that is my 'ideal' schedule. I'll have to take one weekend at a time and see how that works. But for now, I'm smiling...the taper has begun.

Sleep...I just want to sleep. Please!

Thank God the taper begins soon. Honestly, it could start any day now. I do want to get a few more big workouts in, but if I don't, I'm within 3 1/2 weeks of the beginning of the race. For my last marathon, I tapered for 4 weeks (normal is 17 to 21 days) and I got a p.r. Mentally, I just don't know how many more huge efforts I have left in me. And physically, this is my 3rd day in a row up at 3 a.m. The end is definitely near. Either my mind or my body will be saying "Enough!" very soon. Yesterday's attempted treadmill workout was a harbinger. I was hoping for 2 hrs at 13% inclince (avg) and, though my legs felt great, my brain kicked me off of there after just 30 minutes. I don't have any big treadmill workouts left in me.

In a couple of hours, I'll be heading to FH for what is hopefully going to be my last really long workout on that course. I should be fine physically, but will my mind allow me to do 6 loops there for the first time?

Wish I was still home and in bed.

Who is this guy and what have you done with DiMeo?

Well, week 5 is complete and week 4 is off to a great start. The goal for the week was 4 challenging runs, a day off, and then a run on the Appalachain Trail (AT). Monday and Wednesday were both 21+ mile runs at Fair Hill. I've increased the number of loops I do there from 4 to 5. With the cooler weather, both felt great. Tuesday and Thursday were hill repeats with some incline (11-15%) treadmill work immediately afterwards. They were less enjoyable, but successful.

Saturday was going to be my camping weekend in Western Maryland. Though my trail runs are incredibly hilly with probably <10% 'flat', the duration of these ascents and descents are brief. Nothing more than 5 or 6 minutes without changing direction up or down. I'm definitely building the leg strength that I need, but I'm worried about sustaining one direction for significant amounts of time. During a 4 hr run at FH, I might be ascending for 110 minutes but that is the culmination of, for instance, 35 3-minute ascents. How will I do if I have to do 110 minutes continuously? That is where the AT comes in. Looking at elevation profiles of the AT and looking for something relatively close, I found some terrain near the WV/MD border. Though not providing me with super long ascents and descents, I did get some that were in the 30 to 40 minute range...not 'up' the entire time, but some steep sections paired with gradually rolling upward/downward sections. A great test. Definitely more challenging than FH. FH's 'sprints' up and down only last 200-300' per shot. The AT peak to valley was closer to 1000' and it was repeated often. The most trying aspect of Saturday's run was how rocky it was. For probably 80% of the run, I had to watch every single footfall for fear of tripping over the rocks. I actually went down four times and probably came close 20 other times. My goal was to run about 3.5 hrs Saturday, camp, then run 2.5 Sunday. But Saturday felt so good that I went for 5:00:00 hours and 28.5 miles. Very satisfying. And, my legs weren't even that tired. It was my back, knees, wrists, and neck from the falls, as well as my ankles from turning them so many times. I definitely wanted to stay in my own bed that night and drove home.

Sunday morning I got up and went for a 'flat' 15 miler. Ironically, this 'flat' route is the one I used to consider really hilly! It was a piece of cake. My legs felt great, nothing like I had run for 5 hrs the day before. To think that for 3 or 4 days after running a marathon, my running would be horrible, and now I can go out and run 15 miles and feel great!? What the hell is going on with me? Is this really happening? Then, on Monday, I did 4 loops at FH...18.1 miles in 2:48:00. The temperature was 59 degrees with rain and cloud cover and it was spectacular. This pace (9:17) was 10 and 25 seconds faster than the last 2 times that I ran this course when I was better rested (though it was hotter). My legs felt fantastic and I could have done 6 loops had I not needed to return to work by 8:30am. At this point, I am EXTREMELY confident that my body will be able to take the pounding in the Rockies. Well, for the most part. I am still worried about the downhill pounding in the Rockies. One good sign, I think, is that prior to last week, the muscles that fatigued first and most severely were my 'downhill' muscles. But last week, this discrepancy disappeared and my downhill and uphill muscles fatigued equally. I just hope that this means my downhill muscles are getting stronger and not that my uphill ones are getting weaker/overtrained!

One more long FH run (hopefully 6 loops tomorrow), a hill/treadmill session on Thursday, off Friday, and then running some REALLY challenging terrain on the AT in Northern Mass on Saturday will wrap-up week 4 and begin my taper. Oh, how I can't wait for the taper!

Week 5 Summary (08/12-08/18/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 17:45
Running 5x, 87.8 miles
Biking none
Swimming 2x, 2200 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 155.9
Body Fat (%) 5.4%

Caloric Averages:
Expended 4234/day
Consumed 3539/day
Fat 67(17%) CHO593g(67%) P116g(13%) ROH 7g(1%) Fiber63g
Delta -695 cal/day

When exactly did this happen?

So this is what has happened to me. I've been running so frequently and for such large amounts of time, that what is considered a long or challenging run to most people (or even to myself before this summer) is now just an 'easy' run or off-day in my mind. It used to be that, mentally, I'd consider anything longer than ~2hrs a long run. During marathon training, I'd probably do one long run per week. If any of the runs were >=16 to 18 miles, they were spaced out by at least 7 days to properly recover, both mentally and physically.

My training schedule for last week was:
'Easy' on Tuesday and Thursday. 10 repeats up and down Market Street and 10 on North Adams street (two of the steeper, longer hills in the flat city of Wilmington. After the repeats, head into the YMCA for 45 minutes on the treadmill at 11-15% incline.
'Hard' on Wednesday and Friday. 3 hrs on the trails at FairHill. A 2.5 mile warm-up and cool-down sandwiched around 4 repeats of the steepest sections of the park.

What?!
The 'hard' workouts were 18 miles and well into what qualifies as a hard run. But the 'easy' runs of hill repeats and treadmill inclines totalled 13.0 miles and almost 2hrs. When did I suddenly start thinking that qualified as easy? I have no idea when it happened, but it feels great. Seeing what I've been able to push my body to do, what I've been able to shape it into both with respect to appearance and performance has been incredibly satisfying (and incredibly tiring as well!).

Last week was also supposed to be the first time that I strung together 5 challenging runs. But, I was exhausted by Saturday. My legs had nothing left and I stopped my run just 80 minutes in. 5 days was asking a bit too much.

This week is off to a tough start, too. Last night at FH I increased my trail workout from 4 loops to 5 loops. This brought the total workout to 21.5 miles and 3:23:30 for the time. My run ended at 7:45pm. My goal this morning was to accomplish my 'easy' workout...12 repeats on Market and Adams streets followed by 60 minutes on a 15% treadmill incline. But, with my run starting at 4:40am, that gave my body less than 9 hours to recover and get ready. In the past, I'd normally wait a full week before attempting another challenging run. I'm in immensely better shape right now, but not in shape enough to reduce that time to 9 hours. I could have slogged through the workout, but that would have had significant repercussions for my workouts later this week (and possibly longer if I got hurt).

With today being an 'off' day, I'll return to the schedule tomorrow: Repeat Monday's workout tomorrow morning; Thursday morning attempt today's scheduled workout; off Friday; running on the Appalachain Trail in Western Maryland on Saturday and Sunday.

Week 6 Summary (08/05-08/12/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 14:45
Running 6x, 73.5 miles
Biking none
Swimming 1x, 2200 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 156.8
Body Fat (%) 5.8%

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3662/day
Consumed 3864/day
Fat 77(18%) CHO574g(59%) P125g(13%) ROH 39g(7%) Fiber59g
Delta +202 cal/day

North Face Endurace 50k Trail Run

I was going to type up a very entertaining review of Saturday's fiasco, but 1) its late, and 2) I wrote a long email to my TRR partner Erin this morning with the highlights. I'm being lazy and just cutting and pasting the email below. Enjoy.



Hey Erin. I survived the 50k and the roller coaster ride that are the thoughts inside my head. Let me take you through my thought process that day. I think you'll find if entertaining.

The race begins on-time at 7am Saturday. Temps are 73F and the humidity is high. Almost immediately, my legs are saying "WTF are you doing? You just made us run 27.3 miles on Wednesday. We're not ready for this." I'm cautious, but not scared. My legs of late typically feel fatigued and tight for the first 45 to 60 minutes of most of my runs. After that, they're loosened up and feel fine. I'm hoping today will be the same but for that first ~hour, I really restrain myself and play it safe. After the first hour, I'm about 2 minutes behind the lead pack of 5 guys, in a pack of about 10 runners that are spread out over 1 to 2 minutes. After about 65 to 70 minutes, I've made my way to the front of the second pack, arrive at the second aid station, and am told that the 5th place guy is a little over a minute in front of me. I down a water and an Accelerade, and make my turn. I'm feeling good at this point and decide to try to join the lead pack. As the race course makes severals swings past the start area early in the race before heading out for a LOOOONG out and back, I'm making what I believe is my final loop past the start area. I leave the 3 volunteers at the aid station and turn around. About a minute later, I pass another volunteer who is directing runners to the aid station that I just departed. I try to confirm with her that I'm going in the right direction and she says that she doesn't know anything about where people go once they pass her the first time. She's confused about where to direct the 50 mile runners vs the 50k runners. I proceed past her and encounter the race director (yes, the F-ing race director) about 3 minutes later and he assures me that I'm on the right path. I then get to another volunteer about a minute later and she, too, sends me along this path. I don't feel good about this but how can all of this people be wrong? Well, they were. I'm not catching the lead pack and I'm not seeing any other runners. I got about 11 or 12 minutes and I'm telling myself "F them. There is no way this is f-ing right. I'm getting screwed again." So I turn around, head back to where I just came from and am pissed beyond belief. I am screaming and cursing in my head like you would not believe. This is my 4th distance race in a row that I'm getting screwed on. At the Lewes 1/2 marathon in April, I was in 2nd place and got off-course twice thanks to a cop who was supposed to be directing runners and let me run straight past him off-course. At the DE marathon in May I went off course 3 separate times and was also hit by the race director in his van, costing me a 4th place finish. And last month in a 23k trail run, I get totally lost after being in 2nd place. I am f-ing sick of training hard, doing everything within my power to get ready for races and then getting screwed by the stupidity of others. I'm calling Erin when I get finished and telling him to partner with Fredrik. There is no way I want to put another five weeks into the TRR only to inevitably get screwed by some moron(s). I'll still partner with Erin if he can't get Fredrik...I committed to that, but if this race was just for me...screw it. I'm out. I'll run it for fun with someone else at Gore, but I'm not wasting the rest of my summer training hard to get screwed.

I get back on course, 2.35 miles and 21:05 later and have dropped from 6th place down to last, 61st place. F-ing BS. I am so angry you would not believe it. Throughout the rest of the race I feel pretty good. I'm passing runners pretty frequently after ~2 1/2 hrs. I'm feeling tired by the end but not so tired that I couldn't continue. Like most of my runs these days, the heat (it was 93 at the finish) and dehydration are the limiting factors. My legs are fatigued, but not dead. I still could have ran a few more miles.

I cross the finish line. 5:15:26. Subtract out the 21:05 and my time is 4:54:21.
Want to guess where that would have placed me?
2nd! First place was 4:53:10 and second was 4:54:42. I spoke to both of those guys...neither got lost. Both pushed each other hard until the end and were pretty beat. I still felt good (even after 33.45 miles) and still had energy remaining. I am VERY confident that with somebody in front of me to catch (5th place was 9 min in front of me) I would have won the race.

Another bad thing is that the terrain was not challenging enough. There were portions that were hilly, but it was about the same level as what I've been doing here at FH. I was disappointed it wasn't harder. If the temps would not have bothered you too much, I'm sure you would have won this thing.

I ran for 30 minutes yesterday and actually felt pretty good. Wanted to see if I had to run one of the 'easy' TRR days, could I do it? Yes. My legs weren't happy, but they loosened up after a bit and I could have gone for 2-3 hrs if necessary.

Week 7 Summary (07/29/07-08/04/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 17:00
Running 4x, 69.2 miles
Biking 2x, 29 miles
Swimming 2x, 2800 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 158.8
Body Fat (%) 5.8%

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3603/day
Consumed 3729/day
Fat 65(15%) CHO655g(70%) P127g(14%) ROH 14g(3%) Fiber70g
Delta +125 cal/day

Sure, what the hell. Sign me up.

Rejuvenated by my 10 days 'off', I go to work early on Wednesday (5am) with plans for a long lunch and many hours of running on the trails at Fair Hill. With my legs fresh from their longest respite in months, I begin my run and feel fantastic, despite the 81F temperature at my start time of 9am. My goal was to run for longer than 4 hours and I succeeded. 4:18:00 and 27.3 miles with both totals being more than anything I've ever done before. The last ~80 minutes were a real struggle though. The temperature had sored to 89F by the finish and the last ~80 minutes were a real struggle. My legs didn't feel too tired, but dehydration was a major factor. I have actually started to stash fluid bottles on the course...something I've never done before this summer. However, I only had 40 ounces and know that I lost well in excess of 100 ounces during the run. I wasn't heating up too badly in the shade, but during the 3 mile stretch back to the FH parking lot, there isn't a spot of shade and that is when my core temperature really took off. It was bad enough that my sweat rate actually dropped off significantly and my pulse rose about 10-15 bpm even though my pace had slowed. Another 5 or 10 minutes and I would have had to stop, find some shade, and cool off immediately to avoid heatstroke. Fortunately, I, as usual, pushed myself as hard as I could without going too far and am stronger for it now.

Speaking of going too far...
I then get an email from NorthFace advertising their Endurance Challenge Series. I usually delete commercial emails but thought that maybe there'd be something in there that is close by and suitable as a training run for the Rockies race. I visit the site. Hmmm...one of the locations is DC. Its a trail race. Its supposed to be really hilly, rocky, and super challenging. Sounds like a good training run. Wow, its this Saturday. How far is it? What?! 50k! Let me think about it. Ok, I'm all in.

Dammit, something else I'm going to have to find time for...

Late last week and early this week was a time to relax; the midpoint of my training season for the TRR. I actually gave my legs six days off from strenuous training. I still biked, swam, and lifted weights during that time, but didn't do any 2, 3, or 4 hour runs. Oh, I also participated in my first two triathlons on Saturday and Sunday!

They were a great success. My swimming lessons paid off. I neither drowned nor was disqualified in either swim. The first swim was a half mile swim in a lake. I was terrified at the start, standing on the shore with dozens and dozens of people ready to sprint into the water. The gun went off, I hung back, and casually walked into the water at the back of the pack. Knowing that my swim time was going to suck, I just wanted to survive and not get kicked in the face. I went at my own pace and found it incredibly easy. Much easier than swimming in a pool, in fact. Not having to change directions every 25 yards really allowed me to get into a rythym and time flew by. I finished the swim in just under 18 minutes which is great considering I was thinking it would take me closer to 22 or 23 minutes. Granted, I was 204th out of 244 finishers, but I didn't care.

The bike went well, too. I averaged 21.0 mph for the 16 miles and actually finished 89th during that portion. I would have been happy with anything above 19.0. Then came the 4.0 mile run. That was the REALLY fun part! Seeing as how I'd been exercising for only about an hour at that point, I wasn't even close to being tired. Going out for 3 to 4 hour runs in the middle of the summer made this feel like a warm-up. So, I start the run and I'm flying by people like they are standing still! Over that 4 mile stretch I passed 35 runners and finished 14th for that portion. My final stats were: 82nd out of 244 finishers, 11th of 29 in my age group, and I missed winning the 'first-timer' category by just 42 seconds. Crap! Oh well. It was a great time and I'm very happy I did. I'm looking forward to doing more at some point in time.

That point in time was the next morning in Hagerstown MD. Another sprint distance triathlon. This time it was a 300 mtr pool swim, 12 mile bike ride, and 5k. The pool part sucked. First, because I registered so late, I was in the last wave in the pool. That means that even though the race started at 7:00am, the race proceeded with a staggered start of 12 people in the pool every 10 minutes. With 240 racers, that means the last wave (mine), didn't start until 10:20. Ugh. Not sure I'd do that again. My stats were similiar to yesterday...slightly slower pace for the swim, 20.6 mph for the bike, and virtually the identical pace for the 5k. The competition was definitely not as fit/athletic at this event compared to yesterday. Lots of first timers, I think, due to the easy 300 mtr pool swim. I finished 16 out of 196 finishers. I was 4th in my age group and just missed placing by 46 seconds! Crap! Crap! Crap! And, I'd have placed in any of the other age groups but the times in mine were the best. Now I'm really annoyed because I'm now of the mindset that I might actually do well at these things and have to prove to myself that I can place and excel.

Anybody out there have some extra time in their day that I can borrow? I really don't think I have time to actually work out more than I already do.

Big thanks to Haynes for getting me to do these and lending me all his shit!

From despair to elation (and then terror)

One of the biggest uncertainties about the TransRockies Race is who will end up as my partner. There are 150 teams of 2 runners. Each 2 runner team is required to run the entire race together. Needless to say, getting matched with someone of comparable ability is a priority.

Early on, I was put in touch with a guy a Gore Flagstaff, Erin Hutchinson. Big-time trail runner/racer. Erin has finished 8th out of 800 at the Pike's Peak Marathon. Couple that with my 6th out of 600 at the DE Marathon, and we both excel at what we do. But, I've not run much on trails or at altitude. Erin, on the other hand, has rarely run two days in a row. While training for DE, I actually ran something like 83 out of 84 days. We spoke a few times and agreed that there might be something there with respect to partnering for the TRR.

Weeks elapsed without the two of us conversing. During this time, our race coordinator worked to find non-Gore matches for Erin and I since the rest of the Gore athletes are not at our level. Erin was very concerned about finding the best possible teammate (not too slow, not too fast, but just right) and had been in touch with two other guys. Over the past few weeks, he had begun to feel obligated to pair with a guy from Sweden, Fredrik Olmqvist. Fredrik is the editor of Runner's World in Sweden and a veteran of many events like the TRR. The other guy is Mark Krause, an American triathlete. In fact, he is a PROFESSIONAL triathlete. He actually finished 7th in last 1/2 Ironman World Championships. 7th in the freaking world! He is competing later this year in the full Ironman World Championship. With Erin leaning towards Fredrik as a partner, I'm left with the choices of a professional triathlete or partnering with someone else at Gore and running the race for fun rather than competitively. Neither choice interests me and I am crushed.

I email Erin one final appeal before leaving work on Friday. I send him the electronic copies of my training and diet, tout the benefits of partnering with a fellow Goron, the ease of communication, comraderie, etc. Upon arrival at work on Monday, I had an email awaiting me from Erin saying that my appeal worked! What a relief! I was thrilled and still am.

But, I'm also scared shitless. Now somebody else is officially counting on me to perform. I've never had a race partner before and its a lot of pressure. I'm terrified of letting him down but its great inspiration for my training.

Week 8 Summary (07/22/07-07/28/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 14:30
Running 4x, 52.05 miles
Biking 2x, 28.5 miles
Swimming 3x, 3850 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 157.5
Body Fat (%) 5.5%

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3426/day
Consumed 3719/day
Fat 80g(20%) CHO646g(65%) P151g(15%) ROH 11g(2%) Fiber80g
Delta +472 cal/day

Easy...you call that easy?

The challenging workouts for my 'easy' week 8 are finished and I'm looking forward to the 6 days of rest that I'm allowing myself. Sunday featured my best swim so far. I did one mile total and 3/4 of that was continuous. This was after a disasterous swim on Friday after which I had decided that there was no way that I could train simultaneously for the Rockies race and the 1/2 Ironman Triathlon. I'm still uncertain about doing so just due to the sheer volume of time I spend running (14 hrs and 90 miles last week). That leaves very little time to train for a 56 mile bike and 1.2 mile swim. The door is still open at this time, but I'm not optimistic.

With respect to this week's run schedule...easy! 19.3 on Monday, 6.5 on Tues, and 22.3 in the woods at FH on Wednesday. Felt surprisingly good last night. I went for a bike ride this morning and my legs didn't even feel that tired. I'm giving them today and tomorrow off to rest up for my two triathlons this weekend. I could probably run a short, one hour run today and be fine, but I'm very concerned about not making it through the 1/2 mile swim on Saturday. I want to be well rested so between now and Saturday I'll just be swimming once, biking once, and lifting twice.

And I'm even going to treat myself to two more days off after the tri's. I won't be running Monday or Tuesday to allow myself some recovery time. I'm also hoping to gain some weight during these 10 'easy' days. My weight is already 6 pounds below my lowest marathon weights and I still have 5 to 6 intense training weeks to go.

Week 9 Summary (07/015/07-07/21/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 18:10
Running 6x, 89.35 miles
Biking 1x, 20 miles
Swimming 2x, 2250 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 156.9
Body Fat (%) 5.2%

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3896/day
Consumed 3846/day
Fat 81g(19%) CHO557g(58%) P147g(15%) ROH 55g(10%) Fiber65g
Delta -50 cal/day

Are we there yet?

It's Friday of week 9 and I've completed four challenging runs this week.
Mon 5pm 20.85, 3:00:43, 3625' of vertical in Wilmington
Wed 9am 25.55, 4:00:33, 7999' vert on the trails at FH
Thr 4:15am 11.6, 2:00:40, 4471' vert (9.1 Wilm + 2.5 trdml @11%)
Fri 4am 13.8, 2:20:09, 8994' vert (8.8 Wilm + 5 trdml @11+%)

In addition to my normal 3 hard days in a row, I'm adding a trail race of ~15 miles at Fair Hill on Saturday morning. I'm telling myself its just a training run, but I'm sure I'm going to end up running it harder than I should.

Wednesday's 4 hr run was the longest amount of time I've ever run in my life. Only once before had I even run more than 3:30 (a 3:50 NYC marathon that I ran with friends that I trained). The effort put forth on Wednesday is probably as great as anything I'll be required to do in the Rockies. The hardest Rockies stage is going to be ~26 miles with 7000' of elevation gain. I pretty much matched that on Wednesday and I did it while temperatures rose from 75 to 89 degrees and I consumed <32 oz of fluids. (WTF happened to the 70% chance of thunderstorms?!?!) So, I pretty much feel great about accomplishing anything I'll encounter out in CO. The key now is that in CO I'm going to have to string together 6 days of challenging runs.

Thursday morning's run was miserable. But, I kept telling myself "It's only 2 hours. Just do it, wuss." (Did you call me a wuss?) Yes, I've gotten to the point where 2 hrs seems like an easy day. And not just mentally, either. Thursday was bad. But, Friday morning I went out for 2:20 and my legs actually felt rested...like they, too, agreed that 'just' running 2 hrs on Thursday for them was no big deal. I felt great and could have continued running today but with tomorrow being the 4th hard day in a row, my 5th hard run of the week, and with my weekly total approaching 90 miles, I played it safe and stopped.

As week 9 concludes, that means I have completed 5 weeks of my training program. Its time for a 'break'. Beginning Sunday, I'll take it easy for the next 7 to 10 days, try to recuperate, gain some weight, take a mental break, etc. Half way through week 7, I'll then ramp up my training again for 5 more weeks. Then the last two weeks will be a taper. So, I'm kinda half-way there!!!

Crap! I'm only half-way there!

Week 10 Summary (07/08/07-07/14/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 14:10
Running 4x, 59.35 miles
Biking none
Swimming 2x, 2700 yds

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 156.8
Body Fat (%) 6.2%

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3905/day
Consumed 3898/day
Fat 96g(22%) CHO545g(56%) P140g(14%) ROH 47g(8%) Fiber65g
Delta -7 cal/day

Not a bad bit of (running), huh? You know, sometimes I even amaze myself.

Week 10's challenging runs are complete and have been an unmitigated success. They were:

Wed 6am: 2:14:04, 12.95mi (7.15 outside+5.8 trdmill@11+% incl, 6230' vert)
Thurs 5pm: 3:15:00, 20.75miles on the trails at Fair Hill
Fri 4am: 3:00:00, 17.0mi (10.75 outside+6.25 trdmill@11+% incl, 6785' vert)

I'm definitely exhausted. The runs went much better than expected though. 6:15 and almost 38 miles of running in a span of just 15 hours is both flabbergasting and exhilarating. In the past 4 1/2 YEARS, I've only run for longer than 3 hours a total of 4 times and to do so twice in 15 hours is very reassuring when considering what will be required during the race. I feel that, besides from the altitude differences, these 3 days might closely represent the effort required for the first 3 days of the race. Of course, during the race I'll need to do this for three more days! There is also the fact that I may wake up tomorrow morning with an injury and my elation will be quashed. But for now, I can enjoy the weekend and relax (i.e., focus on lifting, biking, swimming, and one easy run. Yeah, relaxing, right.)

Should I have taken the blue pill?

My swimming has continued to improve. After Thursday night's success of improving to 500 continous yards, I couldn't wait to try for more. I was back at the Y Friday after work for my next attempt. However, the past two mornings' runs, especially Friday's 2 hours at 11% incline (>10,000 feet of ascent), and last nights 1500 total yards left me quite tired. My first few laps in the pool were miserable. My legs were really tired and even, for the first time, my upper body was sore from swimming. But I gradually loosened up and was on my way to seeing how long I could last. When I was finished I had completed 1000 yards without stopping. So happy. My race distance later this month is 880 yards (a half mile) so now I feel like I can focus on my technique since now I know that I can swim like an idiot and still make it through the race without having to get pulled out of the water. Of course, this assumes that I'll be ok in an open body of water instead of a pool. Big assumption at this point.

Saturday morning was my final 'challenging' run of the week. My goal was 3 hours on the trails at Fair Hill. Things started off very well. My legs were great considering the 3 hours at incline on the treadmill and 2900 yards of swimming I endured over the previous 48 hours. I was wearing my Garmin GPS in the woods for the first time, too. The forecast was for the temperature to be about 77 degrees when I finished at noon. (This will be important later.) As usual, I got lost in the woods. For about 75 minutes! But, not a problem because the GPS can send me back to my start point at any time. Being lost actually helped me pass the time. But around 2 hours in I really started to tire. Rapidly. I never drink water or replace fluids/calories in any way during any training runs. It almost cost me on Saturday, I think. By 2:30 I was struggling mentally. "Finish the run, its just 30 more minutes. Don't wuss out. Its 10 minutes to the start, then just go past there for 10 minutes and turn around." ----"No. Stop now. You're not thinking straight. Your muscles and breathing are starting to struggle immensely. Go drink that Gatorade you have at the car and go home." ----"You can't quit. This is only half the amount of time you'll be out during the Colorado runs. What were you thinking? Can I still back out? You're not ready to do this. Wimp." ----"Look. There is the car! I'm freaking stopping...if I can make it there." So I stopped at 2:40. Was definitely dizzy and not thinking clearly. I actually sat in the car and wondered if I was alert enough and thinking clearly enough to drive. Turns out I was incredibly dehydrated. Even after consuming the 32 oz of Gatorade (2 pounds), my weight was down to 151.7, about 9 pounds less than when I started. Like I said in an earlier entry, performance will decline when hydration losses equal about 2% of your body weight. 11 pounds lost divided by 160 pounds (I didn't dump during the run to contribute to the weight loss) is almost 7% of my body weight. The temperature was actually 87 degrees F when I finished. I'm sure I was close to suffering some major problems had I continued to run another 30 to 40 minutes.

Once I had time to reflect upon the run later in the day, I considered it a major success. No, I didn't reach my goal time. But, I did push my body probably about as far as I safely could. Still have concerns about whether I can train for this race. At this point though, it would take an injury or something really major to make me turn back. I think about it every morning when the alarm goes off at 5 (or 4:30, or 3:45), but I just can't let myself quit. Plus, it won't be 87 degrees without water stations in CO.

Week 11 Summary (07/01/07-07/07/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 14:45
Running 5x, 54.55 miles
Biking 1x, 20 miles
Swimming 3x

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 158.1
Body Fat (%) 6.5

Caloric Averages:
Expended 4240/day
Consumed 3432/day
Fat 65g(17%) CHO473g(55%) P118g(14%) ROH 75g(15%) Fiber50g
Delta -808 cal/day

We're fine. We're all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?

After Thursday's disappointment with my abbreviated workout and left quad injury, I was pleasantly surprised later that evening and Friday morning. Thursday evening was my 3rd swim lesson and 8th swim session overall. My coach was happy with my progess and we worked together for 800 yards. After his departure, I swam for another 700 yards, 500 of which was continuous! And, I felt like I could have done more but at 1500 yards total for the workout, I didn't want to overdo it. Still, I was very encouraged because the distance for my first triathlon (July 28th) is a half mile (880 yards).

Friday morning it was back to the treadmill. After Thursday's failure I mentally really needed a good workout. The goal was 120 to 150 minutes at 11% incline. My legs felt tremendously better than yesterday and I knew early in the workout it would be a success. But at around 90 minutes, I started to tire physically and especially mentally. Soooooo boring. As I'm plodding through the final hour I can't believe I have to do these treadmill workouts for another 9 weeks. The only thing that could make them worse is if instead of watching the news or espn on the Y's tvs I was forced to watch something horrible like cspan, or networks like Lifetime, Hallmark, Oxygen, or the WB. Bored out of my skull, I decide that I have to stop at 2 hours. The mental part is killing me and physically I'm probably pushing a little too hard if I want to recover in time for my 3+ hour trail run tomorrow. I depart satisfied with my workout and happy that my quad recovered, but discouraged about the mental challenge and how I began to tire. I definitely felt like blasting the treadmill.

Upon my arrival at home, I stepped on the scale and realized why my condition started to deteriorate. Even though I hydrated with 32 oz of Gatorade during the run (~2 pounds of weight), I lost nearly 9 pounds and was down to 153.7. While on the treadmill, I was sweating so much that it looked like I had just stepped out of a pool. I was sweating so much that the belt on the treadmill was so wet that I was losing my footing at times. Considering that 9 pounds is over 5% of my body weight and a loss of just 2% in hydration levels will effect athletic performance, it's no surprise that I started to struggle. Hopefully I recover in time for my 3+ hour run on Saturday. At least it won't be as boring as the treadmill.

I have a bad feeling about this...

Only two weeks of training have elapsed and I've encountered my first setback. My week began with my long, slow run. Last week's was 18 miles in 2:35 and the goal this week was going to be about 21 miles in 3:00 to 3:10. Around the 2 hour mark, my legs began to fatigue but not excessively or with any cause for concern. By 2:30, I was quickly moving into the 'Uh-oh' range. As I'm loath to ever have to abbreviate a workout, the internal struggle in my brain begins. I know that I can complete my planned workout, but whether I should is becoming painfully obvious. As the discomfort in my quads and especially my glutes is rapidly transitioning from fatigue to pain, I shorten the outing. 19.1 miles in 2:45 for an 8:40/mile pace. Still faster than I think I should be going. I could have completed the workout and finished my 21 miles, but the risk of injury was growing rapidly with each footstrike. As it turns out, I was fortunate to stop when I did. My left quad is injured and has hurt me since Tuesday morning, necessitating me to forgo my run yesterday and bike instead. I attempted to do my scheduled run this morning (120 minutes at 11% incline on the treadmill) but had to stop after just 60 minutes as my legs are still recovering from Monday. Fortunately, the discomfort is very much related to impact and running on an 11% incline helps to minimize impact and pain.

Some good news...I've swam twice since my last blog entry. On Saturday I was able to increase my longest stretch without a respite from 75 to 100 yards. On Tuesday, I was able to increase that to 350 yards! And, the only reason I stopped was due to a foot cramp. I seem to have my breathing rythym under control but my form has gone in the crapper. My strategy for the swim at this point in time is to be able to complete my race distance, a half mile (880 yards), without stopping. Once that has been accomplished, I'll then return to focusing on form and technique.

Week 12 Summary (06/24/07-06/30/07)

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 16:40
Running 5x, 55.85 miles
Biking 1x, 28.2 miles
Swimming 4x

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 156.8
Body Fat (%) 6.2

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3549/day
Consumed 3788/day (skewed by ~12,000 total over Fri+Sat)
Fat 82g(19%) CHO537g(57%) P140g(15%) ROH 59g(11%) Fiber59g
Delta +239 cal/day

Yaaaay...Jerry got it open!

The difficult part of the week is over. I finished the last of my 3 challenging runs this morning...120 minutes at 11-15% incline on the treadmill for a total of 10.1 miles. As physically challenging as it was, the mental aspect of this was even worse. One thing that is exciting though is the fact that I had not even put any thought into how much this was equivalent to in terms of ascent. Upon arriving at work, I grabbed my Wizard...10.1 miles times the sine of 11 times 5280 ft/mile = 10175'. What?! Certainly I must have calculated that incorrectly. Nope, it's correct. Cool! The most challenging day of the race is going to be ~22-26 miles with 6000-7000' of elevation change. Yes, running on the treadmill is only a weak surrogate for running on trails, I'm not at altitude, and I'm also not pounding the crap out of my quads on the downhills, but at this point, just two weeks in, I'm thinking that I'm progressing better than I had hoped.

But what I'm most excited about, shockingly, is my swimming. I had my second lesson on Tuesday. After the first lesson and two subsequent swims on my own, it was time to try to start breathing. Never has something so simple and natural like taking a breath posed such a challenge. But by the end of the lesson, I was able to swim the entire length of the pool while breathing properly. (Of course, properly is used very loosely here. My form that I have worked on for the past three sessions has completely gone to shit. If Lloyd Christmas were ever to swim, I'm pretty sure we'd look quite similar.) Thursday night was supposed to be my 3rd lesson but my instructor was a no-show. I still swam. I did a total of 11oo yards in 25 to 50 yard intervals with ~60 seconds respites. Yes! 50 yard intervals! After a about ten 25 yard repeats, a couple of changes to my technique, and some timing changes, I was feeling optimistic and invigorated (though at the start of practice I was pissed and ready to go home because I was doing so poorly). So I decided to try a 50 yard lap without stopping to rest. Success! I was definitely excited at this point but also said to myself "La Di F-ing Da. Just do that about 50 more times and you're up to the distance you'll need for the triathlon. Now stop getting excited about something stupid and get back to work." I did 50 yard repeats the rest of the session and even succeeded in doing 75 yards at the end. There were problems along the way like crashing into the rope, swallowing what seemed like a few gallons of water, the occasional snort of water up my nose (I don't even breathe through my nose, how the F did I get water up there!?!?!), but it was a success nonetheless. I'm sure Helen would be very impressed, too.

Week 13 Summary

Weekly Totals:
Exercise Time 10:50
Running 6x, 33.85 miles
Biking 2x, ~50 miles
Swimming 2x

End of week averages:
Weight (lbs) 160.5
Body Fat (%) 6.7

Caloric Averages:
Expended 3511/day
Consumed 3451/day
Fat 104g (27%) CHO 473g (55%) P 140g (16%) ROH 8g (2%) Fiber 56g
Delta -60 cal/day

Well Goddamn it Indy, where doesn't it hurt?!

So my weekend was rather uneventful. Nothing materialized for either evening and the plans I was hoping for on Sunday got crapped on. So what did I end up doing? Working out excessively, of course.

My workout week (which runs Sunday to Saturday) was good. I had spent the past few weeks resting and taking it relatively easy. My goal was to gain a few pounds and some body fat before I started training for the Rockies race. I was only somewhat successful though. I got my weight up to 162.2 but that is around where I usually bottom-out at around marathon time. I'm normally up closer to 170 at the start of a training season. My body fat increased to 6.7%. Having just purchased the test equipment 6 weeks ago, I'm not really sure where I should be. But, that is the highest its been since I started measuring it.

I kicked off the new week on Sunday with an hour of lifting, an hour in the pool swimming intervals (still just practicing my stroke), an hour-forty bike ride, and an hour run. 4:40 total workout time. I was definitely exhausted after all that and every muscle seemed sore. Well, I thought I knew everything that was sore but when I hopped in the shower I found even more soreness (chafing). Ouch! I'm pretty sure I screamed like Indy did when the mirror clocked him in the chin.

Monday night was a long, slow run. My goal was 2.5 hours at a very slow pace. Even with the heat (~86F after work) I still found it hard to run my slower than low 8s. I did 17.9 miles in 2:34:18 for an 8:37 pace. Too fast for this kind of workout. But, at least I felt much better than I expected after Sunday's almost 5 hour session. And, my elbow felt fine, too.

So far, so good...so what!

Training has officially begun and the first week was a success. Based on numerous training schedules that I’ve perused and machinated to fit my needs, it appears that my key workouts are going to consist of three successive days of long and ‘challenging’ runs. These runs will be on the trails, on hills, and/or (unfortunately) on treadmills set at steep inclines. Speed is not the focus of these runs…time on my feet at incline will be. Wednesday morning was 60 minutes on the treadmill at 11-15% incline, Thursday was a 75 minute trail run at Fair Hill, and Friday was a 90 minute treadmill run at 11-13% incline. I also threw in a 20 mile bike ride Thursday night. At this point in time, my glutes feel like they could make a movie about me and name it after Terrance and Philip’s famous biopic, though obviously for different reasons. (Ironic, considering most of you would agree that, at any other time, this movie title would be appropriate for me for the very same reasons as it is for T+P!)

Thursday’s trail run was probably the first time I ran in the woods at FH (or on any trail) in over 5 years. Damn it was nice! I really miss running on trails. That is definitely what I miss most about my switch from FH to APN. It was also wonderful being on a real road bike for the first time ever. Justin is letting me train on his bike and the difference between that and my non-tuned-up, 10+ year old P.O.S. mountain bike that hadn’t left my basement in over 5 years was amazing. Riding from home to Rte 1 took 80 minutes on my bike and just 67 on Justin’s. Sweet ride!

I’m happy the first week’s difficult workouts are finished. But that was easy. Maintaining this effort for the next 12 weeks and gradually increasing these runs into the 3, 4, and 5 hour range is daunting. Daunting? How about terrifying? Its moments like these where I think about Ian sitting in Wyatt’s room moments before the missile shoots through his bedroom floor and he screams “I’m shitting in my pants!!!” Fortunately, I’m not wearing a bra on my head.

But Mr. Creosote, its just a wafer thin mint…

Did I mention that I’m also hoping to train for triathlons this summer? Yes, I’m going to hopefully run a Half Ironman in September. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. Justin, my triathlete roommate, has been trying to convince me for some time to try one. I actually convinced myself that this was a good idea several weeks ago. With all of the running and lifting I do already, what’s so hard about adding a couple of swims and bike rides to my weekly schedule, right?

However, one minor problem has kept me from doing this sooner. I can’t swim. I can propel myself 10 or 15 meters using a spastic and short-bus looking freestyle stroke, stop, tread water and regain my breath, then repeat. Hardly the technique I’ll need to compete in a race. So I took my first swimming lesson Tuesday. Man, do I suck. I can’t even begin to describe this ricockulous excuse for swimming with any brevity. About half way through the lesson, after my instructor has already had me try to focus (simultaneously, no less) on my arm movements, my kick, my breathing, and the depth of my head and shoulders in the water (which may I mention that at <6% body fat I sink like a freaking bag of rocks…screw all those heifers zooming by me in the adjacent lanes!!!), I decide to instruct the instructor. “How about this…all I’m going to do is practice getting my arms to do what they’re supposed to do. I’m going to just hold my breath as long as I can and focus on my arms.” It worked. By the end of the session, I was actually making some progress. It was also pretty cool that I impressed him by swimming the entire length of the pool without taking a breath. I’m actually looking forward to my next lesson. One word of wisdom to anybody else looking to swim…chlorine &*@#ing burns your eyes! …they (feel) like burning! After 30+ minutes in the pool and keeping my eyes open when my head was in the water, the entire whites of my eyes had turned bright red. Its 16 hours later and I can still feel some burning when I close my eyes. Think I might need to buy some goggles.

Chrysalis of an adventure (How does somebody decide to do something this stupid?)

So why do something like this? Stupidity is the first thing that would pop into the mind of most people. Now, I’m not trying to say that this event is am not stupid (or that I'm not stupid). Let’s step back to the summer of 1997. At this point in my life, my running ‘career’ consisted of a few weekly runs during college to counteract my pizza and alcohol consumption. I ran a couple of 5ks after graduating (in 1994) and I think one 10 miler and one half marathon. My roommate, Ira, had run a marathon and I thought it would be cool to someday have that accomplishment under my belt. However, 2 years later, I still hadn’t thought it was so cool that I actually started training for one.

I was walking through the FairHill lab one day and overheard two friends (Chris McKay and William Sekyi) discussing their running plans. Apparently, they both decided to begin training for the November 1997 Philadelphia Marathon. What? By the time I left the lab, I had decided something to the effect of “Well, if you two can do it, so can I.” That’s right. I started running marathons for the simple reasons of ego and pride.

What did a wise man once say about pride? “You may feel a slight sting. That’s pride (messing) with you. (Screw) pride! Pride only hurts, it never helps.” Well, I have to say that after 18 marathons, I’m glad I followed Butch’s lead and ignored the advice.

Fast forward to this winter...I’m included on a Gore email detailing the inaugural Gore-Tex TransRockies Run. As the name suggests, it’s sponsored by Gore and it’s in the Rockies. I glance at the website and think “Yeah, that sounds awesome. I’ve been thinking that after I p.r. in the marathon this May, I’ll need to do something different for a while.” Then I remove my head from the orifice from which it obviously must have recently relocated and think “What?! 20+ miles per day for 6 days. At altitude. With 25000 feet of elevation gain.” Not exactly my idea of courage…more like…suicide. And then I find out that Gore is not footing the bill for any of us who participate. Ok, so now not only is it a stupid idea for me, it’s expensive. There are plenty of stupid things I can do (and have done, as many of you have witnessed) for far less money than that.

Last week another Gore email is circulated. Gore is paying for 4 teams! Cool. But I’m still not doing it. There is also the need for volunteers. Volunteers, after paying to get themselves to the race, are fed, sheltered, and transported between stages during the race in exchange for their services (working the Gore hospitality tent or an aid station). And, they get to run one of the stages of the race. This sounds great. If I pay for a plane ticket to Denver, I’ll get a week in the Rockies with other runners and a taste of what it will be like if I decide to do it next year. So I email the guy leading the efforts to recruit runners and volunteers and tell him to sign me up as a volunteer.

Less than a day later, I’m speaking with a friend who is interested in volunteering as well. During the conversation I learn that (insert two anonymous names here) are going to run the race. What?! I didn’t even know they were marathon runners. I’m told that they’re not. Well, if they can do it, so can I.