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!

The Few, the Proud: Those That Were Able to Register for Boston

Not much to report on the training front this week—the legs are still feeling strong, thus preparations (though for what?) are going swimmingly. The Go Green 5k Trail Run (last weekend) went well, with me placing a solid second in 17:57; I was encouraged that I ran semi-quickly, yet felt like I was coasting and could have kept up the pace without too much issue for another few miles. I guess we’ll see next weekend, at the Trick or Trot (10k). I may work in a bit of speedwork, just to ready my legs for the sensation, but realize that I’ve not given myself enough time doing so to build anything resembling a solid speed base (instead opting for a mileage base).

The biggest news, by far, is that I was able to sign-up for the Boston Marathon (which will take place Monday, April 18) again this year. I’m glad I didn’t play the waiting game with it, as all 25,000 available qualifier slots filled up within 8 hours. Two years ago, it took approximately three months for all 25,000 slots to fill (a record quickness at that time), and last year (my first year running it) filled up within a single month. And now it’s taking less than a full day. I sense Boston will be modifying their qualifying standards and/or going to a lottery system (a-la the NYC Marathon, which requires most of the 37,000 entrants to meet a qualifying time AND have their name picked during the name-in-the-proverbial-hat process) in the very near future, as the demand is currently far too great for the current specifications.

SO, unless I come up with another race-to-train-for in between now and then, I’ll be kicking it into high gear around the start of the new year, as I aim to run 2:50:00 this year at Boston. I’m getting tired of running in near-obscurity, after all (though I don’t know that running under 2:50:00 will remedy that, it will at least be a good start to what I hope will be my fastest year to date).

Three New Races and My Ever-Increasing Shame

Still nothing imminent on the “scheduled big race” horizon, though I did sign-up for three separate $20 races last week: the Go Green 5k Trail Run (Saturday, Oct. 16), the Trick or Trot 10k (Saturday, Oct. 30), and the Mad Marsh 50k (Saturday, Nov. 20). I find it humorous that I can pay the same amount of money for a race/run that is 10x the distance of another, but hey, it is what it is—I’m just glad they’re all so affordable (it sure beats the $150 Burning River or Boston Marathon fee…though you do “get what you pay for,” which is essentially my way of saying I'll be shelling out the funds for those races again, without issue). Here’s a brief race synopsis of each of the aforementioned three I’ll be running:

Go Green 5k Trail Run: I wasn’t even aware of this new, under-the-radar run until last Friday, when I was asked if I knew about the race that was “right around the corner from [my] house”. Upon looking it up the following day, I found that this was not an exaggeration—the race is literally right around the corner from my house (it’s run in a conservation area that is situated within the woods that border my backyard). So I signed up, as I can’t pass-up a race that doesn’t even require me to move my car out of my garage (even if I haven’t done any of the necessary preparation for it, at all). And it’s (supposedly) on trails (though they are newly-cleared trails that are still chock-full of soft, thick underbrush—ideal for speed: no, ideal for ankle turns and hidden objects: yes). But the race map makes it look like just as much of the run is on the road/paved bicycle paths, so I’ll emerge unscathed yet.

Trick or Trot (10k): This is another low-key event, but one I look forward to (and participate in) each year. It begins and ends at my old Elementary School (May Howard), which sits approximately 2.5 miles from my front door. Again, a race that is run in/on my stomping grounds, and one that most of the family participates in each year; I never lay down a super-fast time (though the course couldn’t be much easier), but it’s one of my all-time favorites. Plus, 10ks are so few and far between....

Mad Marsh 50k: At my recently completed FATS 50k, a gal was handing out fliers for another 50k she was spearheading—the Mad Marsh 50k. I took a gander online, and though this is primarily a fun run (at last tally, I believe there were 10 people signed up), I couldn’t pass-up the opportunity to get in some good, long distance on trails. Held in Beaufort, SC (which is only about an hour away), this should work out for me nicely; it will help me keep some distance on my legs without making me drive too far or go it alone.

I couldn’t ask for much more in my training—the weather is cooling ever-so-slightly, my legs are feeling pretty strong, and I have a few races on the horizon to help keep me motivated. I’m still searching for the ever-elusive “big race,” but fear that it’s gotten too late in the year for such high hopes; many ultramarathons are run out West, where there are ample well-developed trails (and mountains) to allow for such endeavors, and many of the trails will soon be snow-covered. It’s probably for the best, as my already-existent bills need paid more than I need to splurge on travel and hotel expenses…but still, racing makes me happy (and yes, I realize it’s an addiction). But having said that, Boston Marathon sign-up begins next Monday (October 18) at 9:00 AM EDT, so I’ve at least got that to look forward to.

I’ll leave you with two songs/videos that always make me smile and somehow require me to sing at the top of my lungs (sorry, world)—“The Cave” by Mumford & Sons (excellent, excellent stuff) and “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz (yes, I’m ashamed of myself):





P.S. How does the briefcase-toting white girl in Taio's two-girl posse keep from showing her downstairs? I mean, the camera is RIGHT THERE and her "dress" is cut up to her cleavage. I'm convinced she's anatomically incorrect (i.e. a human Barbie Doll). I've evidently watched the video far too many times...FOR SHAME!

FATS 50k Race Recap

Well, it appears the requisite distance required to complete the FATS 50k was not quite enough for me, nor the difficulty of the course itself—I had to tack on a little over a quarter mile (to an already longer-than-the-actual-distance course) and run the last 7.5 miles uphill, as opposed to the slated downhill.

Notes to self:

1.) You printed out (and used packing tape to protect) the course directions/section distances for a reason. Learn to use them, so that when you get to the final aid station in first place (with approximately 7.5 miles to go in the race), you don’t go the exact opposite direction you were intended to go, thus ending up in a parking lot…after which you still can’t figure out where you went wrong, so you run the final portion of the course backwards (and uphill) and get passed by three people, thus relegating you to fourth place overall.
2.) If not for feeling sorry for yourself, you would have still held on to second place. Getting lost happens (more often than you’d think) in ultras, so get past it and let the time you’ve lost fuel you to run faster/better.

The race itself went well, for the most part. Though I likely went out a little fast, I stayed within myself and kept a nice, steady pace throughout (besides the last 7.5 miles, wherein the steady uphill, my discouraged mind, and the lack of Gatorade I’d consumed all got the best of me and caused me to walk far more than I would have normally liked). Though a 50k equates to 31.07 miles, the course was a bit longer than that (one person’s estimate was 31.8 miles), so my best guess is that I ran approximately 32 miles in an official time of 5:31:47. The weather was great (possibly even a bit chilly, for the clothes I was wearing, in the shaded woods—my car registered low 50s at the start of the race), and for a “free” race (they only accepted donations), it was well run. Though I probably won’t run this particular course/race again (on many parts, I felt as though I was on a mogul course—indeed, one particular stretch of the course was appropriately named Brown Wave), I’ll very likely run more of the races in this series, as the drive-time to most of them isn’t atrocious (this one was just under 3 hours) and there are no trails to speak of in my neck of the woods.



Though they’re still a bit tired, my legs feel great (in fact, I only used Monday as a recovery day) and I’m already jonesing for another long distance escapade (of which I’ve still got nothing scheduled). I need to decide on one, though…Calli is getting tired of my stalling.



EDIT: I just received word from the FATS 50k race organizer that the race itself was just over 33 miles, so I probably ran closer to 33.25, rather than the previously quoted 32.

Lack of Motivation

This is the longest I’ve gone without updating my blog since its inception—slightly over three weeks, which have been filled with a Beer Fest, a visitation from my grandfather, and football (amongst other things). I’ve been eating out far more regularly than prior to this span, and being an evening runner, this has caused me to either cut short or altogether skip my runs. I’ve been staying up later and sleeping worse/less, which has sapped my energy and has not lent itself to A+ results. I’ve been eating and drinking worse/more than usual (which, admittedly, could be construed as a direct result of some of my aforementioned points). And I’ll readily admit that I’ve allowed these things—my social calendar, so to speak--to eek into my running plans far more often than I should, or is normal. Is this wholly due to the “perfect storm” of distracters, or is there something more there?—a lack of excitement, perhaps? It’s true that I really do love running, but it’s also true that I like having a point in the not-so-distant-future wherein I have something to look forward to; a race to hone in on and for which to set goals. So, I’ll be increasingly scanning the world wide web in search of said race(s), and have chalked this latest bout of ‘ineptitude’ to what was likely a much-needed break. As previously mentioned in a past post, I’ve got the FATS 50k (which I’m using more as a fun-run-on-trails than a race) lurking on the horizon (a week and a half from now—Sunday, October 3), and will try and have another ultra lined up by/near that time. Perhaps the Mother Road 100, in Tulsa, OK?

Weekly mileage (to this point, again keeping in mind that I’m starting with Monday and not Sunday): 9.89 miles (I took Monday AND Wednesday off, thus the meager output thus far)
Last week’s mileage: 29.68 miles (FOR SHAME!)

Fun observations/soundbytes:

1.) Only in Georgia can the top prize in a 5k road race be an M4 assault rifle. I’m not making this up. It seems Georgia is attempting to create a new kind of biathlete.
2.) The Island’s YMCA is a short distance from my house (approximately 1 mile) and features a paved, winding 1-mile track around it. Thus this is a regular destination for me, especially when I’m in the mood to see or be seen by other exercisers. Late last week, I rounded a bend on this track to find two small scooter-wielding children (a boy and a girl, perhaps 5 and 4 in age respectively) and a woman I assume to be their mother. I was running sans shirt, as I often do. This apparently vexed the boy, who loudly asked of his mother “he’s not wearing a shirt?” The mother laughed heartily. I did as well. I also laughingly apologized (to the tike), not knowing what else to say/do. It seems Georgia is attempting to create a community of prudes.