Being Lighter in the Wallet Makes Me Faster

As of today, I’m officially being coached (or so says the check in the mail). I’m very excited to see where my new coach, Howard Nippert (whom has coached many other notable names in the world of distance running), can take me; I know I’m faster than the level at which I’ve been training and competing, and will look for him to maximize my abilities (through proper training for each race, a good diet and general running knowhow). The races we’ll be focusing on improving upon are the Boston Marathon and Burning River, but I’ve already informed him that I’d like to try and better myself in each discipline (race distance), which I think altogether feasible as a natural byproduct of my retooled preparation. I also let him know that it was my hope to come upon a sponsorship or two along the way…which I also hope will be a natural byproduct of my being faster and getting noticed.

Training continues to go well, though like last year I’m using this weekend’s Critz Tybee Half Marathon as little more than a good, fast distance run to assist in readying me for Boston (though, that having been said, I’d still like to go under my previous best—1:23:28--and give 1:20:00 a shot). So I’ll taper a bit this week, and give it the old college try on Saturday, knowing full well I could have trained more/better for it, but without regret all the same; I’ll live with my preparation decisions and make the most of where I’m currently at.

Not Yet Race Ready, But Hopeful All The Same

As most reading this likely already know, I didn’t participate in the Harbison 50k due to last-minute time constraints. But I was able to push my registration fee to next year’s race and recouped my hotel fees, so I’m not out a single cent. And not knowing if I was truly in good enough shape to actually be racing the course, my no-show is probably a very wise decision indeed.

School began last week, therein lying the reason this posting has been so long coming, as the time I’ve spent on it in the past (during the slow moments at work) is now occupied by schooling (and wanting to keep all “free time” at home actual “free time”). School is going fine/well thus far. And with that I'll end the talk of school.

My legs are still feeling good, though I’m starting to wonder about my ability to put fast miles on them (which will be necessary for the impending—February 5—Critz Tybee Half Marathon); I’ve been focusing so much on long, slow distance that I’ve not spent the necessary prep time on speed training. Having been able to run 6:15 miles for 13.1 miles is a very different thing than being able to run 6:15 miles for 13.1 miles, especially when you’ve been targeting 7:00+-minute miles in your training (that’s my long way of saying that my legs haven’t been responding as well as I’d hoped in the last week or so of speed work). Unbeknownst to many of you (because I still haven’t tallied all my 2011 goals on here), one of my running-related goals for this year was to better my times for each of the distances in which I participate. With 1:23:28 being my fastest half marathon to date (which averages out to 6:22 per-mile), I just don’t know if my legs are ready for that kind of terrorizing. But, I’ll give it the old college try and see (but not at the risk of a setback to my Boston preparation)—despite not training for the 2010 Trick or Trot 10k, I still put down my fastest time, after all. I’ve still got a couple of weeks in between now and then to “get my fast on,” anyways. Not optimal, but perhaps still time enough to ready my legs for a sub-1:20 result.

Jebus Help Me! and Calli's Comeback

It’s been a while since my last post, but there’s no sense posting when you have nothing of interest to post about. Which likely makes you wonder why I’m posting today, when still nothing noteworthy has taken place (in relation to running), and to that I answer: get over it/yourself (and yes, I know it’s not good policy to attack your readers…if you want to keep them, that is).

Anywho, I had a great Christmas (filled with relaxing, game playing, and movie watching) spent with family/friends, and though I skipped a couple of runs in order to do those things, it wasn’t a big loss in the scope of things. However, what is shaping up to be a big loss is my lack of LSD (long, slow distance); as I mentioned in a previous blog post, I’ve been running more miles on a daily basis (and at a slightly faster clip), but haven’t run anything over 15.5 miles (yes, less than half of the distance I’ll be racing) in five weeks—since my last 50k, in fact. Which scares the bejesus out of me, as it likely means I’m ill-prepared for my impending (January 8) trail 50k, which will assuredly hurt like hell. But I’ll try and have fun with it as best I can, and think/hope a good result will accompany that plan of attack (though I also realize that I like pushing the envelope, thus am confident my earlier sentiment, in regards to the race hurting, will remain truthful).

My legs are still feeling great, just shy of 146 miles in (this month)—the increased daily mileage, run at a faster clip, doesn’t seem to be affecting them adversely in the least bit. Speaking of legs, I’m sorry to report that Calli has been hobbled of late—the cold seems to be settling into her bones a little more easily as she ages (she is 10 now, after all). That having been said, I’ve been giving her a dosage of Aspirin each day, and it really seems to be doing her wonders ; the anti-inflammatory and pain-killer seems to be just what the doctor ordered, as she is once again running and playing like a pup (so cats in our backyard beware!).

And for those of you that haven’t yet seen it, some funniness:

Scab-eating and 2011 Scheduling

Well, my mileage was actually down last month, from 161.23 to 147.15 miles (you might recall I had hoped to eclipse 200 miles run for the month). But I felt a good many of those miles were quality ones (it helps that a large portion of those were from my 50k), so I won’t quibble too much. Thus far, December is looking quite good—I’ve been tallying at least 7 miles each run, and though I’ve not done any big mileage (yet—the plan is to change that this Saturday), my legs are still feeling limber and strong. I just signed up for what should be a pretty taxing trail ultra (another 50k) in early January (the Harbison 50k, on Saturday, January 8), so let’s hope the training remains strong (and the sweets-eating/alcohol-swilling is kept to a semi-reasonable level) throughout the holiday season.

With the addition of the Harbison 50k, my 2011 race schedule is starting to round into form pretty nicely--below is what it currently looks like, though I’m sure to add to it (March of Dimes Shamrock 5k, etc.) as the year progresses:

January 8: Harbison 50k
February 5: Critz Tybee Half Marathon
April 18: Boston Marathon
July 9: Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run (30 miles)—tentative, due to lottery
July 30: Burning River 100
November 6: ING New York City Marathon—tentative, due to lottery

2011 will apparently be filled with lots of miles, and body-willing, they’re going to be fast ones. More on my goals in a later installment.

For now, I’ll end with an interesting, yet distressing/disgusting story pertaining to Calli: the other night, I watched as my dog meticulously chewed a small (pencil eraser-sized) scab off of her buttocks. Using just her two front teeth, she carefully pulled small pieces of it off and ate them, shaking her head disgustedly each time. She did this perhaps five separate times. She now has a new scab where once the old one was. It appears to be healing nicely….

"I'm too angelic to be a scab-eater!"

Mad Marsh Recap

Achieving two out of three goals at the Mad Marsh 50k ain’t too shabby, especially considering my knocking goal #2 out of the park. Here’s how they shook out:

1.) Eat and hydrate consistently and enough—I refilled my water bottle (either with water or Gatorade) and grabbed a snack (banana, grapes as big as a small dog, peanut butter cups, etc.) each time through the aid station .
2.) Finish in 5 hours—I finished in 3:56:55. Completing the run in 5 hours would have meant I’d run at a pace of 9:33per mile. I ran at 7:31 per mile pace.
3.) Win—I finished in second place overall, by something like 18 seconds (which, in a 31.5-mile race, is the slimmest of margins).

As is likely apparent, my “fun run” turned into a race, pretty much from the get-go. Four of us went out at a decent clip (somewhere near 7:20), and as we settled into a groove, discussed (among other things) who was running what event (there was both a 31.5-mile and 22.5-mile race). Each race was equally represented in our grouping. Shortly thereafter, the two guys running the shorter distance moved ahead, both wishing to run closer to 7:00 per mile. I moved up to run abreast of the remaining runner, whose name I would later learn was/is Ricky, and we slowed slightly (which was a relief to me, as I thought our pace was a bit fast—comfortable, but fast for a race of this length, I felt). It was only later (when I was too far in to “give up”) that he’d tell me he was aiming for (and we were hitting) 7:26 per mile pace. For six (of 7) laps we ran this way—two abreast, at/around 7:26 per mile. Ricky pulled Chris around the course. Chris pushed Ricky around the course. I.e. neither of us wanted to lose to the other. When it became obvious that we weren’t going to drop one another, we both began to scheme. My plan for lap #7: sit on his shoulder and out-kick him down the final straightaway. His scheme was better: instead of stopping at the aid station to refuel between laps 6 and 7, he continued on. By the time I was out of the aid station, he’d gapped me by about .25-mile. I was hurting and my muscles were tightening up, so I decided to let him go and just try and run at the same pace—he’d run a good race and deserved the victory and I’d run too far and fast to let the final lap skew my times considerably. So I kept plodding along. Within about a mile, I noticed Ricky coming back to me. Little by little, I was reeling him in, simply by sticking to my pace—was he slowing because he was tired and cramping, or did he simply think he’d broken me and was out of the woods? With just over 1.5 miles to go, I caught up to within about 10 feet of him. Unfortunately, he picked his pace back up, and I was unwilling to do so, thus he ended up beating me by 19 seconds. If I had it to do over again, I would have tried to go with him when he picked his pace back up—I can’t abide too much laurel-resting, after all.

I truly am happy with the result, on the whole, and it allowed for good headspace going into a fun-filled Saturday of football and Roller Derby watching with friends.

Some quick observations from my drive to and from the race:

1.) I’m not sure how I feel about driving to a race when the only other people awake are strip club patrons. 4:30 AM is too early to be up for the amount of energy each of those circumstances requires.
2.) I can’t believe someone thought naming their Chinese restaurant House of Tang was a good idea. I also can’t believe that there were numerous hits when I googled it (c’mon, Vermont, Kentucky and South Carolina!).

Even after my second place finish, Calli can still look me in the eye when we talk...



…and if that doesn’t make you smile, then these pictures, will (make sure you check out the full set).

Helen Observations and Mad Marsh Expectations

Julia, the pups and I traveled up to Helen, GA (approximately a 5-hour drive) this past weekend for some expected mountain fun and relaxation. We accomplished both. In fact, we had so much fun that I didn’t run a single time (in three days), though the steepness of the aforementioned mountains (during our daily hikes) didn’t really clue my not-used-to-hills legs in to that fact. Observations from the trip:

1.) Giant hunks of aged meat, as well as asparagus, on the grill = a gluttonous good time
2.) Not having to leash your dog, while also not having to worry about her dog running into traffic or falling down a mountainside and breaking her spindly legs = a gratifying good time
3.) Having perfect weather for hiking (sunny and in the low 70s) during the day, followed by perfect weather for hot tubbing (high 30s) in the evening = a grievous good time

Tonight will be the last time I run prior to Saturday’s Mad Marsh 50k (seven 4.5-mile laps, which will actually make it a tad longer than a true 50k), so I’ll likely only put in 4-5 miles at a nice, easy pace. My goals for the Mad Marsh 50k:

1.) Eat and hydrate consistently and enough
2.) Finish in 5 hours
3.) Win

There are currently only about 30 people slated to run Mad Marsh, and with the course described as being “flat as a pancake,” I like my chances to accomplish all three of my objectives listed above (#1 will be assisted by my ability to visit the aid station each lap). But whether I do or not, I’m using this as nothing more than a way to get in a lengthy fun run for training purposes. It’s just that winning, in a respectable time (to me), would help me start my morning off on the right foot…making that evening’s Roller Derby viewing and beer-partaking that much more glee-inspiring.

Calli will be intently waiting to hear the result….



...and if I don't hit upon all my goals, she has already promised to get the following song stuck in my head (the title of which she will direct at me; she has high expectations and quite the temper, it seems):

My First Victory of the Year (Thank You, Happy Legs!)

Another race in the books (the Trick or Trot 10k), and I’ve finally recorded my first victory of the year: first place in 36:29, which I’m pretty happy about for multiple reasons.

1.) It’s my fastest 10k.
2.) I feel I definitely could have gone faster—under 36:00—as I shut it down early knowing I had the win in-hand.
3.) My legs felt great—they were strong and still responding well.

Continuing with the legs discussion, I couldn’t be happier with how well they’ve been holding up. Over the last couple of years, I’ve had both good and bad training periods—sometimes a day or two of strong running followed by heavy-leggedness (at its worst), and sometimes a week or two before the eventual sluggishness. The last two months, I’ve had a single day wherein my legs were lethargic and disallowed me from running the speed and/or distance I’d set out to do. One day in sixty. And no pain throughout. I just hope this keeps up as I increase my mileage and speed, both of which I intend to do (carefully!).

Speaking of increases in mileage, October’s monthly mileage total came in at 161.23 miles, compared to the previous month’s 125.39 (an increase of nearly 29%, which may be a bit ambitious, though much of that increase comes from the 33.25-mile FATS 50k). After only 61.68 miles in August (my Burning River recovery month), I am very comfortable with and confident in my mileage swell. With another 50k (the Mad Marsh) looming this month, I’m thinking nearly 200 miles is likely. I want to start being at 200 consistently, so what better time than now?

Also, Happy (late) Halloween to you all—I hope you had fun…



…while Calli would rather put her own eye out than see you have fun (sometimes you have to save her from herself). For shame, Calli—FOR SHAME!