Spring Cleaning

'scuse me, pardon me. Just a little light cleaning. Hmmm, a lot of cobwebs up in this joint.

I can't believe it has been 3 months since I've posted to this blog. Well, actually I can. Three months ago, work upgraded the filter on the 'puters and blogs, or anything with the word "blog" near the web address or main page gets blocked. I'll be honest, blogging was mainly an "at work" activity, so....there you have it.

This however, requires an at home write up. I want to record my thoughts on this topic before and after, for future reference.

I will take a quick paragraph (or two) to catch up what I've done since Pine Mountain and then I'll make the announcement. Okay, lets see. I ran the Pine Mountain 40 miler in December. Awesome. See previous blogpost. Then in January, the trail version of Dumber & Dumber (Me & Tommy) completed the Weymouth Woods 100k in 12:56. Great race, awesome volunteers. If you are looking for a good "1st 100k" this fits the bill. 14x4.5 mile loops. Aid station at the start/finish & halfway through the loop. You are never more than 2 miles from a table. I didn't even carry a handheld, didn't need it. The Sean & his clan made an appearance, very cool!

Then in February, just when you thought Lloyd & Harry couldn't possibly be any dumber, we ran the Laurel Valley section of the Foothills Trail. This is a 33 mile section, one way in, one way out. You are pretty much fully self-supported. We had a blast. It is hard. One word to describe LV, "steps" Literally hundreds, probably in the thousands of railroad tie steps that are built into the sides of these mountains. Up & down all day, for about 7500' of gain over the 33-34 miles. Took us just over 10 hours. Honestly, Laurel Valley deserves it's own report...maybe after I sweep Claude's race in August.

Enough of the fluff, here is why I broke the seal on the 2012 blog...

I got into the Barkley.

It feels weird to type that.

This is a bucket list race for me.

I've covered it here before...but here is a brief overview of the race from Matt Mahoney's site.

The Barkley is considered one of the toughest 100 mile races in the world. It has 59,100 feet of climb (and 59,100 feet of descent), more than any other 100 mile race, more than the 33,000 ft. of climb at Hardrock, and more than the 45,000 ft. at Nolan's 14. Since the race began in 1986, only 10 runners out of about 700 have finished within the 60 hour cutoff. The Barkley consists of 5 20-mile loops with no aid except for water at two points. The cutoffs for the 100 mile race are 12 hours per loop. The 60 mile "fun run" has a cutoff of 40 hours, or 13:20 per loop. To prove you completed each loop, you must find 9 to 11 books (varies) at various points along the course and return a page from each book.

I can't believe I got a slot. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not immediately get a slot. After the 35 entrants were selected, the weight list was posted. My plan all along was to enter my name into the race, possibly get on the weight list and improve my overall chances for next year's race/weight list. So on that awesome day back in December, when the weight list was published, I was shocked to see my name sitting at #10. "Did that just happen?" was all I could think.

It is widely accepted that if you are numbers 1-10 on the WL, you will get a slot. Yes, I received my email this past Thursday, informing me my number was up.

Awesome.

I'm excited. I'm scared. I can't fully express the range of emotions I have felt in the last few days. I have been training like I was going to get in(explaining the Laurel Valley run and the 4 hour powerline climb I did 2 weeks ago) I even spent the day at an orienteering meet working on my map/compass skills. I've been working so hard, I'm coming into the final stretch hobbling. ITB flare up this past week and a mild ankle sprain yesterday. I don't care, this is the Barkley!

I do not suffer from grand delusions that I will finish 5 loops in the alloted time. It tells me right on the entry form that I will fail. We all fail (well, except for the 10 finshers in 26 years) The Barkley eats it's young. My pie in the sky goal is/was 3 loops. Offering complete truth, I will be over the moon to finish one loop in the alloted time and start on my 2nd loop. That is what I want.

I've been devouring information about the race. I've been doing it for the past 2 years, but even more over the last 2-3 months. I've reread Frozen Ed's book. I read race reports. I've talked with a few local runners who have run it. I even watched Charlie Engle's 5 part RW/YouTube piece. I picked up on something last night while watching that. The interviewer asked Laz what he thought was a key to finishing, "focus" Laz said. 9 out of the 10 finishers had masters degrees or higher. (Hell, I think one of the finishers is a rocket scientist!) The finishers had the ability to stay dialed in over the entire time.

After finishing a 2nd course at the orienteering meet today, I was thinking about the importance of "focus". I did really well on the (very easy) beginners course. I did so well, I got over confident and failed to plan my route for the intermediate course. I figured it was 5km and I would just cruise through the controls and be back in no more than an hour. I struggled out of the gate, I spent 15 minutes looking for the 1st control and at least 20 minutes looking for the 2nd control. Almost an hour had gone by by the time I found the 3rd control...I had 10 more to go. I needed to stop, reign it in and think. Pay attention to the landmarks, use my land nav skills. I caught up to a JROTC kid(named Tyrese) and he was just as turned around as I was, we teamed up to find the next control and I instantly understood why people team up at Barkley-just felt easier with two heads. As I was slowing myself down mentally, focusing only on the next 100-200 meters, everything fell into place. I managed to find the remaining 10 controls and finish in 2 hours.

I will need to carry this lesson to be "successful" at Barkley. Sure, I'll take some time to enjoy the company pre-race, but I need to remember, I am there for one thing - to run loops. I've been given a gift not many people get. I need to make sure I take complete advantage of it and approach the prepwork in a business like manner. This race is about exploration, I have an opportunity to push myself to the edge of my "limitations" and see how I respond. I was exchanging texts with a friend yesterday, he said it'll be a beat down, I won't be the same. He's not the first person who has told me that the Barkley changes people. I'm interested in meeting the person who comes out the other side.

I don't know if I will update between now and "Fool's weekend" but I look forward to coming back here and reporting how it goes.

Pine Mountain 40 Mile Trail Run

I wanted to start writing this report while it was still fresh in my mind. So many awesome moments, this will go down as one of the best runs I've ever had.

In preparing for this race, I read so many PM40 race reports that I had a very humble respect for the distance and the terrain. I've never run a 40 miler, my previous distance PR was 35+ miles this summer at the Hot2Trot 8 hour. Every report I read mentioned the thick carpet of leaves that covered rocks and roots. So, two brand new twists in my running journey.

Saturday evening, I met up with my buddy Tom and we drove the 30 minutes from La Grange to the FDR State Park to pick up our packets. Getting a chance to look around and see the trail conditions, this race was going to be fun. Can you say rocky?!?!?

(Yes, there is a trail in there somewhere!)



We had dinner at Longhorn, watched a little college football and tried to get some shut eye-4:45am always comes too quickly!

Arriving back at the park in the pre-dawn hours, we participated in the best pre-race ritual, saying hello to all of the "GUTS family" runners that we hadn't seen in a while. Eventually, Sarah used her bullhorn to wrangle us up and force us out of the warm group shelter, up to the top of the dam, so we could get started. The race started and we ran down a 1/4 mile stretch of road, giving the runners a chance to fall into line before we slipped into the woods and hit the trail.

I love the hush that falls over the group as we head onto the trail. There is always a moment of quiet trepidation as the runners contemplate the day ahead. It usually doesn't last long, nervous energy breaks the silence and old friends cut up and swap tall tales, allowing for the first few miles to pass effortlessly. Tom and I had a simple strategy this day, start comfortable & easy and run from aid station to aid station. We made no major attempt to pass anyone in the early going, only slipping past runners when it was really warranted. We were going to stay together for as long as possible and were in no hurry to get there.

I was able to turn my headlamp off in the 2nd mile and a quick 400' climb found us at Buzzards Roost enjoying a beautiful sunrise, overlooking the surrounding county.



About 80 minutes into our day, we arrived at the first aid station; Fox Den Cove. A short stop here, I grabbed a few chocolate chip cookies and topped off my water. In and out in less than a minute. Those. cookies. were. so. good! This would be the theme of the day. Roll into the aid station, grab some food, thank the wonderful AS workers, exclaim out loud how awesome the food tasted and roll on!

Somewhere along this point Tom reminded me of his favorite poem,
"Melinda Mae", by Shel Silverstein.

Have you heard of tiny Melinda Mae,
Who ate a monstrous whale?
She
thought she could,
She said she would,
So she started in right at the
tail.

And everyone said,"You're much too small,"
But that didn't
bother Melinda at all,
She took little bites and she shewed very slow,
Just like a little girl should...

...and eighty-nine years later
she ate that whale
Because she said she would!!!

That would be our plan, we "ate our whale" one aid station at a time, trimming our 40 mile trail run into a much more manageable race of 4-5 miles. It didn't take long, 10 miles in, we arrived at the next aid station, Mollyhugger Hill. The running was going smoothly, it was early enough that we still had enough strength in our legs to pick our feet up and avoid the hidden roots and roots. You could never drift too far of the task at hand, a hidden root or rock would always grab your attention if you were sleeping. I commented to Tom that I had forgotten to leave an offering to the trail gnomes, so I dropped a portion of my chocolate chip cookie on the trail, hoping that would be enough for them to leave me upright.

Eleven or so miles in, we came around a bend and I saw something I'd never seen before-widespread trail destruction. On the evening of April 28th, a powerful tornado ripped through F.D.R. State Park and the surrounding area. I had heard about it on the news and had seen pictures, but did not fully understand the strength of Mother Nature until we reached Hines Gap. Unbelievable. I cannot find the words to describe what we saw and ran through. Giant trees snapped in half like toothpicks. It was as if we were running through a scene from Apocalypse Now. Photo's cannot do justice. A very surreal experience.




Just a little after the 3 hour mark, we found ourselves approaching the Dowdell Knob Aid Station. We had drop bags here, but did not need them with only 14 miles in(we would be coming through this AS again at mile 28 probably wanting them) Kim Pike and her wonderful crew got us in and out, like lightening. Heading back out onto the trail we met "Peachtree City" a nice lady named Kim, from, yep, you guessed it - Peachtree City. She hung with us for a while but then zoomed ahead. Probably scared off from our antics.

Tom and I were having a blast. Singing, quoting stupid movie quotes, making fun of each other. I was having a fantastic time and the miles were passing effortlessly. Easy peasy, 12-13 minute pace.

We were motoring along and expecting to reach the Rocky Point AS(mile 17) when all of a sudden, I heard folks yelling my name. WTH, how do all of these people know who I am? AHA! It was Jason Rogers, Jenn Coker & Jaydene Reardon! To be fair to the others, there were many more awesome aid station workers here (and at ALL of the other aid stations), I just happen to know these kind folks by name. What an uplift to pull into an aid station and have people cheer for you and wait on you hand and foot! I need an aid station set up in my living room. (um, sweet boo?) In and out, 1,2,6. Back on trail.

This next section was a 7 mile loop passing through the TV Tower AS at the 5 mile mark. A lot of really runnable trails in this section, extended periods of trail that had little or no major obstacles (i.e., rocks & roots) There were also a collection of creeks and waterfalls that we crossed and ran alongside. Quite possibly the funniest moment of the day (for me at least) was when I had Tom laughing his ass of at some random reference to us being like the guys from "Dumb & Dumber". He was laughing so hard that he tripped and fell; almost falling head first into a waterfall! It was also in this section that we caught back up to "Peachtree City". She told us she wanted to run with us because we were "having so much fun".



Even though I had been taking in a lot of calories at each aid station, I was really getting hungry around mile 21. Tom mention hearing about awesome grilled cheese sammy's, but I was sure he was thinking of the fried egg sammys at the Pinnacle aid station at the Pinhoti 100 miler. The next thing you know, we roll into the TV Tower aid station and guess what? Yup, there stood Frank, cooking GRILLED CHEESE SAMMYS!!!!
SO
GOOD!~
Once it hit your lips, it was so good!

Reenergized, we moved out, knowing that next stop was only 2 miles away. Our trail running trio was now moving at a good clip and having a blast. Peachtree was having a little trouble hanging on with us on the downhills, but she was certainly paying her fare by dragging our butts up the climbs! Rocky Point arrived quickly and we didn't linger long. I think this is where Tom discovered how wonderful Red Vine Twizzlers taste! Before we knew it our 7 mile loop was over and we were back at Rocky Point.

In and out quickly, the trio moved on, knowing that we had 4 miles to our drop bags. I really wanted to change my socks and check on a few hot spots on my feet. Without trying to jinx it, Tom and I could not believe how good we felt. Typically by this point in a race, you are running out there by yourself. The fact that the three of us had been running together for so long, the miles were just flying by. Soon enough we arrived at Downdell knob and I sat down for the first time. (After the fact)Looking at my Garmin, this was the slowest mile of the day(22:40) but we stopped to change our socks. Kim Pike did have to yell at me to "Get out of here", to which I replied, "You're not the boss of me!" Thank you KPP for pushing us back out there and not letting us dilly-dally any further!

Back through the sun-exposed, tornado cut. it finally hit us and it hit collectively. A major low point. Seemingly endless climbs. Painful rocks. Stupid roots. 3.5 miles never seemed so far. I lead my fair share of the day, but did not want any part of the front during this stretch. Head down, eyes on the ground in front, we quietly worked through this section. I believe Peachtree quietly pulled us through this section. Just when I thought I didn't want to go any further, the aid station appeared. Our spirits were lifted and I then knew that we would all finish together.

It's funny, we didn't realize we were in that low spot until after it was over. Our silence must have been a huge clue, as we had been bouncing off the walls the majority of the day! The mood was much more jovial in this next section and eventually we pulled into Fox Den, the last manned aid station. Joel told us we had 3 mile to Buzzard Roost for a water stop and then 3 miles downhill to the finish. Two words. Stinger. Waffles. If you know, then you know, if you don't go find out. Now! They are so good, Tom ordered a case as soon as he got home. Peachtree tried them with peanut butter and she said that was amazing. Mmmm, new ultra fuel.

The climb out to Buzzard Roost was hard, we got rolled up a few times, I think 2 or 3 runners passed us. We just didn't have it in us to hold on to our pace. When we finally saw the water coolers, we knew we had done it. Funny, either Tom or Peachtree asked, "Are you sure there is no hidden climbs in the last 3 miles?" Nope. All runnable downhills from here on out. We left Buzzards Roost with 9:10 on the clock. As we were winding down the miles, I was calling out the trail markers. There were wooden stakes in the ground painted red, with letters on them. I think we started at M and worked our way down. Every marker we saw, we yelled out a word or phrase that started with that letter and pertained to the trail, the day, or just plain finishing. (M="Man, this is a long way to run", L="Last Frickin Mile", K= ah, I forget, but you get the picture)

"I hear voices!" - me

"You mean besides the ones in your head?" - Tom & Peachtree

"Well, yes. I think" - me

"I hear them, too!" - Tom/Peachtree (You hear the voices in my head?!?!)-me, in my head

"I see the clock!" - one of us

(Sarah Tynes, most awesome RD, over the bullhorn)
"Get out of the woods!"

Peachtree lead us in and we finished together. 9:41 after we started, our day was over.

Hugs and high-fives all around. Bring me the finest meats and cheeses for a clubhouse feast!(anyone?)

After writing and rereading this report several times it appears a key portion is missing.

The part about the running.

That's what was so awesome about Pine Mountain. I don't really remember it. I know we ran 40 miles. Sure there were roots and rocks. 5000' of climbs & descents. Tom & Peachtree feel a few times. (I didn't...but I did bang the $h!t out of my head on a blow down) I remember the fun. The jokes, the laughter, the awesome volunteers at the aid stations. The smiles, I remember the smiles. This is just what I needed after RnR Savannah. I love being a part of GUTS and the ultra community. I can't wait to get back out there again!

Huge props to RD, Sarah Tynes, & the awesome volunteer captain, Kirsten. Also, thanks to Joel, Kim, Jaydene, Jenn, Jason, Frank, Rachel, Sally, Marty, Janice, Woolery and every other volunteer I can't remember by name! Oh, thanks to Jim "Picklehopper" for marking the course, but no thanks to Joel, who marked it with him, but according to Jim decided to leave branches on the course because they were "part of the obstacles". Finally to JoJa Jogger for stopping by to say hello before the day started!


Photo Credits - Susan Donnelly, Ultra Runner Bad Ass

R&R Savannah Race Report

When I last left you, we were discussing my race plan and my vision for the race. Quick recap. Run the tangents, visualize whirled peas & run a 3:29:56.

Let's play "The price is right". 4 of those 5 numbers are correct and in the proper slot. Which number is wrong?

We'll come back to that one.

Drove into town on Friday and headed to the hotel, which happens to be right next door to the Trade Center where the expo was taking place. I had heard that only 3,000 of the 23k runners had picked up their packet on Thursday. Can you say traffic jam trying to get to Hutchison Island?



Luckily, I knew a couple of "short cuts" and it only took us about 20 minutes to get onto the island and to the hotel.

We got settled in and headed over to the expo. I've only been to a couple of "big race" expo's, I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan. Don't get me wrong, looking at every single type of running accessory is cool, I just don't like being herded around like cattle.

My sweetest boo and I meet some friends, had a light dinner, and I sacked out at about 10pm. I slept for sh!t. Anxiety & nerves. Boo!

Waking up and grabbing a quick shower, I headed to the lobby to meet up with my buddy Tom and his wife Trang. With them were several other University of Tampa classmates of ours, Yung & Bea. Pause for photo ops! For some reason, I decided to turn on my Garmin & check it - as soon as I did, it flashed "Battery Low" WTH?!?!? I fully charged it right before I left Smyrna. I ran back to my room and got my charger and plugged it into the wall in the lobby so it could get some juice while we were hanging out. Would it be enough?


(See, we are spelling "Tampa" because that is where we went to school...never mind)




Short water ferry ride over to the start. Holy crap there are a lot of runners here. The pre-race energy was awesome. After a short mile warm up with Tom, we headed into our corral. It was really cool to be that close to the start. For me, it gave me the familiar feeling of being in a small race. I was only 25 yards from the starting line; I could see the stage with the race officials.

The temps were perfect. However, Tom & I noticed the flag on top of city hall was blowing out at a 90 degree angle. Winds of up to 20mph, this could be bad.
I waited until the last minute to turn on my Garmin. Within moments of the official start, our corral was moved to the starting line and we were off. Really cool running straight down Bay St. with 20,000 other runners.

As we left downtown and headed into Garden City, everything was perfect. I felt fresh, my breathing was good, it was as if I were out for an early morning jog. Hit the 5k mark in 26 minutes and started dialing down the miles. The crowd support in the early miles was awesome. These folks were lining the streets, welcoming us to their neighborhood, and wishing us well. There was a lot of debate amongst the local runners as to the course route; the decision to run through the "seedy" part of town. Honestly, the crowd support in this section of the course was one of the highlights of the day.

Passing through the 10k mark at 52 minutes, I was right on pace. I was looking forward to entering back into downtown and was hoping to see a few familiar faces along the way. I popped my 2nd gel and grabbed a water, checking to see my Garmin was still running and my HR was sitting around 152. A little high, but manageable.

Around mile 8, we turned right onto Liberty St and all I could see was spectators. IT. WAS. AMAZING!!! The crowd was 4 and 5 deep - spilling onto the road. There were little kids hold out their hands for "high fives". I must have low 5'd about 30 kids. The emotion and adrenaline was overwhelming. I am not going to lie, I got a little choked up. I turned to the runner next to me and said, "This is effin awesome, I feel like I am running NYC" By far the best mile and section of the race. This turned out to be my fastest mile of the day.

I cruised through mile 10 feeling good, hitting my goal of 1:22. We were heading out of downtown and into Gordonston. The neighborhood did a great job of welcoming us, I learned later that the neighborhood association had gotten together the day before and planted flowers in the median, along the course. Everyone was out cheering and having a great day. I must say, Savannah made me proud!

We soon split from the half marathoners and entered the Truman Parkway for a short section, going towards the baseball stadium. Miles were ticking away and my times were running great.

Mile 15 found us headed towards Savannah State University and we were once again blown away from the support. For about a 1/4 of a mile, lined on both sides of the streets, were students and athletes for the university. Amazing energy! I felt like such a rock star! I was initially envious of the half marathoners when we split off; they were getting to head to the finish. In hindsight, we were the lucky ones, as we were able to experience the crowd support at SSU.

I started to struggle with my HR at mile 17-18. I was running in the high 160's and knew this would be recipe for disaster if I couldn't bring it back down a little. I knew my 3:30 was gone but had a good distance on the 3:40 pace group. I was just going to HTFU and work through the next 8 miles.

Mile 20 found us heading back towards downtown and working our way over to the Truman Parkway. I knew this was going to be a tough section - just not this tough. Then it hit. Cramps. left calf, right calf. How can I cramp in both legs? Walk it out, stretch. HTFU & run. Beep! The Garmin dies. I can hear the bells and whistles sounding, this jet is going down in a blaze of glory! Enter onto the parkway and we are now running straight into a 20 mph headwind. DOH! This sucks!!!! How do I get out of this? Fake an injury? Marathons are stupid. I hate my coach. Why can't I just be happy running 5k's & 10k's? I ran a great half marathon today, cruised through to a 1:47. That is what I should be doing. How am I going to run a 40 mile trail race next month?

I had to regroup and stop with the negative thinking. Shit, there goes the 3:40 group. Mile 23, just a 5k left. Focus on 5 minutes of running and then take a 30 second walk break.

I am too familiar with the "death march", it's never fun. I just kept moving forward. I was looking over my shoulder, waiting for Tom to roll up on me. Lol, I didn't want him to catch me, but was hoping maybe he would and he could carry me in to the finish.

Finally off of the blasted Truman and out of the wind. 2 miles to the finish. We have rejoined with the halfer's. I was struggling, still cramping. Still no Tom. Keep moving forward.

I was less than half a mile away and could hear and see the finish crowd. I started running faster and my calves were screaming. It felt like someone was stabbing me in the back of the legs. I was cussing out loud. Poor kids. "Do as I say, not as I do" Apparently my wife, her mom, and our friend Kate cheered for me as I ran by - I didn't see them. Too focused on keeping my legs from seizing up.

I hit the finish line at 3:59:56. Exactly 30 minutes over the goal. New PR. I had a thousand yard stare. I was a little shell shocked. It took me a little while to wade through the finishers chute. Finally, I found my sweetest boo and was overcome with emotion. (Yes, even teh Snail can shed a tear)

The highlight of this race was the crowd support. With the exception of the 3 mile stretch on the Truman, It was amazing. If I never have to even drive on that road again, I'll be a happy man. running has high's and low's- the Truman was the low. It's funny, I was talking to a friend afterwards and I told him, "I just kept thinking, 'this will change, the next mile will be better' but it never changed" Only a day or two after did I realize that it did indeed change, the change just didn't take place until after I crossed the finish line. I needed to broaden my scope a little.

I had a blast seeing old friends and making new ones. I PR's by about 30 minutes. I put countless miles of hard work into getting ready for this race and although I missed my A goal, I feel like this race was a success. Now just to figure out this stupid cramping issue.

Oh, here is a finish line photo...a little pain is good, right????

Race Plan

The Crackhead has asked those of us running R&R to write a race plan and submit it to him. I thought I'd like to put mine up in my blog so I'll have it to review down the road. I'll share it.

“Our mindset in the moment creates our experience.”
A Race Plan, by Thomas Armbruster

The week of the race coincides with “Month End”, which is a labor intensive, stressful period of time at my job. In order to offset this process and not allow it to overly affect my race week, I will devote a large amount of time on the 1st & 2nd of November to finishing as much as possible before leaving on Thursday the 3rd. When I leave the office to head to Savannah, I will completely check out and leave all of my work at work. I will also use the previous weekend to relax and catch up on any lost sleep. I have been getting 8+ hours as of late and do not feel that lack of sleep will be a factor.

While on taper, my nutritional focus will remain on the healthy side. Good carbs, lean proteins & minimal fats. I am keeping in mind that now that I am tapering, I will not require as many calories. I don’t want to continue eating like I am running 40+ mile weeks when I am NOT running 40+ mile weeks. The week of the race, I intend on “topping off” the carb levels, but not gorging. A little extra good carbs each day, whole wheat pastas, brown rice & quinoa.

I have had my race splits printed out and posted on my cube wall so I see the times and am very familiar with the timing breakdown. I also plan on either making a “timing bracelet” or writing certain splits on my hand for race day.

We will arrive in Savannah on Thursday, we will be staying with my mother in law for the night. 8 hours of sleep.

Friday, before checking into the Westin, I will review the race map and try to drive as much of the course as possible, running the tangents in my mind. I will eat small healthy meals throughout the day, knowing that anything I consume up to 12 hours before the race will be of no use to me. I will get my packet at the expo and lay low for the remainder of the day. I’ve already told my wife I would like to eat dinner early & turn in 9pm at the latest. She may spend some time with friends…I’ll be going to bed.

RACE DAY!
I plan on getting up between 4:30 & 5 am. 16oz of water immediately.
I’ll either get coffee from the lobby or make it in my room, depending on hotel service. ( I will know the answer to this by Friday) This is a pre run ritual. 8-12 oz of coffee with breakfast to “get things moving” Breakfast will be a whole wheat & egg Sammy. Quiet time in the morning to center my thoughts. Review the race map and timing splits. Visualize the course. Run the tangents. Stay centered and “in” each mile.

Shower & prepare to get to the ferry, I will have my race gear laid out the night before. Shorts & short sleeve shirt. Visor. Sunglasses(?) BIB. Do not forget bib. Garmin & HR monitor. Gu’s (2 reg, 2 Rocktane) & a water bottle to drink pre-race.

I would like to leave the island by 6am, I’ll be close enough to the water ferry that I can monitor the lines and decide if I need to cue up early or not. Depending on the weather I may have throw away clothes to wear before the run.

Getting to the staging areas, I will find my corral but not enter. I don’t want to be penned in too early, knowing once I enter I may not be able to leave. Finding out this info will be helpful. This early time is when I will meet up with others and chat. Ideally, I will run a warm up mile with Tom around 7:00am. Follow it up with a few striders to feel the effort, but not too hard. Finish w/u by 7:15 and move into the corral. This is when the focus begins. Visualize the race. Run the tangents. Know there will be times when it hurts and I will want to quit. Make the decision ahead of time that when it happens, I will NOT give in to the pain. Run each mile, one at a time. Remember that “everything changes, the next mile may be different” “Relax & Move” When it gets hard, focus on form. “Relentless Forward Progress.”

Grab a water at every stop. No need to drink entire cup, drink when thirsty.

Just before the race I will say the Serenity prayer and ask for guidance & strength and for everyone to run a safe race within their ability.

Go Time.

Easy, comfortable. Don’t get caught up in the moment and try to jockey for too much position. I can’t win the race in the first mile, but I can blow my race. Remember I have a slow start built into my pacing. 8:19 for the 1st mile, 8:17 & then 8:16. By the time I get to mile 3 I should have plenty of room to run.

Grab a water at every stop. No need to drink entire cup, drink when thirsty.

25 minute 5k. Relax.

Mile 5 – 41:20. Take a GU

Mile 7, 57:42, heading into downtown, enjoy the crowds, smile. Feel the positive energy. Use it to my advantage.

Mile 10 – 1:22:04. Take 2nd GU

Mile 11 1:30:08…full splits from ½’s. I shouldn’t be hurting at this point but will be jealous that all of those people get to go that way and I have to get on the Truman and run all the way the fu@k to Pearl’s Elegant Pelican. It will get lonely. Stay in each mile. Get off the Truman & enjoy running through Daffin Park. Enjoy the crowd. Smile. Positive energy.

Mile 15 2:02:10. Take 1st Roctane. This is the 1st sub 8 mile. We are working now. Relax

Run past SSU. Stay focused. Remember the countless speed sessions you ran with the Hammer at the track. Cuss him out for not being there.(j/k) Stay positive.

Mile 18 2:25:57. Say goodbye to the Marsh. We get to go back into town now. We are still holding in the 7:50’s. Relax and move.

Mile 20 2:41:41 Last Gu. Time to HTFU. This is what we’ve worked for all summer. 40+ mile weeks. Double speed sessions. 160 miles in September. You are ready. Let’s work. One mile at a time.

2:49:30 5 miles left. We will get to see Jim & Stewart’s band. Hopefully this will give a adrenaline push. 40 minutes left.

Remember Hal Higdon’s quote “Concentrate! You can't reach your potential if you drift through your races”

2:57:18 4 miles left - This is going to hurt. We are going under 7:50. HTFU. Fast is sexy.

3:05:05 Less that 30 minutes left.

3:12:50. We get to get off the Truman. 2 miles

3:20:34. Last chance for glory. Leave it all on the course. Feed off the crowd. Pass 5 runners before the turn to the park.

Make a right and leave it out there.

3:29:56

It's not you, it's me....

I'm going to have to talk with my "other lady" this evening. I need a little space, some time away. A break.

It's not her fault, she is always there for me. Never judging me for what I wear, how I smell, or how much I may sweat on her during our time together. Even though she is constantly causing me pain, I always come out the other side stronger.

I do love her.

However, we've been seeing each other a lot lately. A LOT! Twice a week. More than an hour at a time, sometimes close to two hours. I need a little time to recover.





So, today I make my last trip to the track. Yasso's. 10 x 800 @ 3:28.

Then I break the news. I'm torn. Should I tell her before or after? One last go around for old times sake? Or just tell her and leave, a clean break?

Rock & Roll in 15 days. Bib # 2081; corral # 2!

Let's do this!

Odds & Ends

R&R Savannah is less than a month away! Training is starting to wind down, or maybe I should say it's in full swing??? I still have several key workouts left on the schedule. This weekend I will be running back to back half marathons. Saturday I will run the pacing for the 2nd half of the marathon (goal time 1:42:53) and Sunday I will run the 1st half pacing (goal time 1:47:06). It is still a little wierd to see it on paper. Let's consider a few things: My half marathon PR is 1:48:xx, which I set in March of this year. Soooo, my 2 half mary tests this weekend will be faster than my existing PR. Granted, I know I am currently in better shape, lighter & faster than I was in March, but still! The crackhead has some interesting training ideas.

We will follow up this weekends half mary's with another 3 hour LSR next weekend. The following weekend I will run an 18 mile pace run, following the pacing for the marathon. Then TAPER! At this point we will assess all of the data and decide what my chances are of running a 3:29:59 in Savannah. I'm a little nervous. This is becoming very real. Crunching the data, looking at pacing & HR info - I am real comfortable at a 8:20-8:40 pace. My HR stays real constant in a high Z1, low Z2. An 8:20 doesnt get me sub 3:30. My fitness at 8:00 m/m is rapidly improving, two weeks ago, I ran my last 8:00 min pace run of 10 miles. Avg HR was 146, low to mid Z2. So, it's getting there, the question is will it get there in time?


I had my first running dream last night. Well the first one I can remember in a long time. Seems I was running the Pinhoti 100 miler, which I actually do intend on running in 2012. Well I got to the top of Bald Rock, about 40 miles into the race. At the aid station, we had a cooking challenge! Turns out you had to prepare a dish and present it to the celebrity guest judge before you could continue on. Gordon Ramsey was the guest judge. I prepared a delishious oven roasted Chilean Seabass with a sweet potato puree. I think I also sauteed some squash or cauliflower. It's a little fuzzy. Anyways, Gordon seemed pleased with my offering and gave me 3.5 out of 5?!?! Enough to allow me to continue on with the race. To tie it all together for you, dear reader, I think the key to staying ahead of the sweepers at Pinhoti is to get through Bald Rock before the sun goes down. Going through "Blue Hell" in the dark is incredibly slow. So I think this is why I dreamt about that. Several of my friends will be toeing the line at Pinhoti the same morning I will be toeing the line at R&R. I guess we know where my thoughts are these days.

Rock & Roll Savannah

...a huge road mary & a return to Savannah is on the horizon.

Yesterday marked 2 years to the day that I ran my first marathon, the Equinox Marathon in Fairbanks, Alaska. What a great race. A lot has changed in my life and in my "running career". I have since run several marathon & ultra distance events. I have moved from Savannah to Atlanta and have deepened my love for trail running. I never vowed to "never run a road mary" but didn't really see one in the future anytime soon.

That was until they announced that Competitor was going to bring it's Rock & Roll Marathon Series to little ol' Savannah, Jaw-ja. Hmmm, inagural road marathon in the town that I have grown to love and call "home"? Yeah, where do I sign up? Early estimates had 12-15,000 runners filling our city streets. I guess the powers that be grossly underestimated the Siren like power of a super flat course in a city known for it's debaucherous St' Patrick's Day parade and celebration. The race was capped at 23,000 runners and sold out 2 months before race day. I will admit that I had a hard time coughing up over a $100 to enter (this is double/triple what I usually pay to run a trail ultra) however, you only live once and my Sweet Boo wanted to make this trip to Savannah, so...

After a decent trail season, looking back through my training log, the Crackhead and I had decided that I had built a solid mileage base of close to 1000 miles this year; we were now going to tune it up with a healthy dose of speed work. "They" say it takes 1-2 years to build a solid base and 5-6 weeks to add speed. That feels like the case with me. Since running the 'nox 2 years ago, I have averaged over 100 miles a month; 120 over the last 3-4 months. Over the last 4 weeks I've been cranking out 40+ miles a week, with 5-6 days of running, including - 2 speed sessions and a tempo run. RUNNING FAST HURTS!!!!

I have settled in on a 3:29:59 goal time at Savannah and my workouts of late have been nothing but successful. I really don't want to jinx myself, but since the summer temperatures have left us, my training has been awesome. I feel really good about the progress and am seeing great results in my overall running efficiency. Avg HR @ MP is dropping week after week, even as the MP runs are getting longer. Today is a big test as I dial up Yasso's x 10 @ 3:29. If I am able to trim another 5-8 pounds over the next 4-5 weeks - all systems go! (A shout out to Wes for the push to drop those pesky pounds)

Here is the best part. I'm excited to go to Savannah and run - I really am! I want to have a great race and finsih in the top 10%...but that is not what I'm really looking forward to that weekend. It's seeing old & new friends. Sharing a city I love with 22, 999 other runners. It's meeting up with college friends & bloggers that are coming into town for the race. Having fellow GUTS runners come from Atlanta to share the course with me. Being able to toe the line with the Crackhead and other Savannah runners for the first time in a while. It's the comraderie and fellowship of like minded people that I am really looking forward to expierencing. November 5th is going to be a great day, regardless of the time I see on the finisher clock...

(but it better not show 3:3x:xx!)