I'm REALLY Not a Runner...

Chasing Santa Claus Part 2 (pics only)

2011-10-05T16:03:00.000-04:00

On the way to the summit of Temple

Summit Temple

First peak looking at the second peak on Temple

Just South of Temple

Climbing windblown...

Stream Crossing

Another climb...

View from 16

I fell somewhere around here...

Running after my fall around 16

the climb up Watatic

Results

Vermont 50 Recap (Part 4 - Conviction)

2011-10-03T12:47:00.002-04:00

Read it here - http://wp.me/p1Hy1Y-2b

Thank you!

Vermont 50 Recap (Part 3 - Tribulation)

2011-10-01T23:04:00.000-04:00

Read it here: http://wp.me/p1Hy1Y-23

Thank you!

Vermont 50 Recap (Part 2 - Sublimation)

2011-10-01T15:11:00.002-04:00

Read it here: http://wp.me/p1Hy1Y-1Q

Thanks!

Vermont 50 Recap (Part 1 - Provision)

2011-09-29T23:18:00.000-04:00

Read it here - http://wp.me/p1Hy1Y-1w

Thank you!

The Post-Race Letdown...

2011-09-20T23:00:00.005-04:00

Read it here:

http://wp.me/p1Hy1Y-1s

About

2011-09-16T00:15:00.002-04:00

Check-out my new "about" page... http://wp.me/P1Hy1Y-2

reallynotarunnr.com

2011-09-14T00:27:00.002-04:00

I've officially moved my blog over to Wordpress since I've written several new posts over there and I even have my own URL now. So, if you haven't done so, check out my new digs:

Just Keep Moving (originally published 7/23/11)

Vision Quest (originally published 8/25/11)

Endurance (originally published 8/29/11)

Providence (a rumination from 2005)

Never Forget (published 9/11/11)

I'll keep posting links to my new blogs here as I publish them. That is until I figure-out how to change my "networked blogs" page and get everything completely moved over (which could be a while).

There is no tomorrow, go out and get it today!

Doug

Chasing Santa Claus (Wapack and Back part 1)

2011-05-16T23:50:00.003-04:00

So, when Blogger went down for "maintenance issues" last week, I lost more than half of the following published race report from the Wapack and Back Trail Races (part 1) and all of the comments. I also lost ALL of the draft of the conclusion of the race report which I had almost completed. I've been SO thrown for a loop by this that I haven't even wanted to sit down and re-write the work that I had done. I'm guessing this will be a turning point of some type for me as a blogger.

I'm either going to stick with blogger, but make sure all of my posts are backed-up on Word, or as many have suggested "don't use blogger!" I am exploring all of my options including Wordpress (which has always scared me). But I've also been putting a lot of though this week into podcasting. I've thrown the idea around before but I honestly just don't know where to start. I'm just finding it harder and harder to sit down at the keyboard and keep churning-out blog posts, but I never seem to have a problem talking (excessively, even to people who don't care) about my running experiences, lessons, philosophy and adventures.

So, anyway, without too much further ado, here's the restored and "fixed" to the best of my recollection race report from the Wapack and Back Trail Races (part 1)...

One of the first climbs

I ran my first long-distance trail race on Saturday! The Wapack and Back Trail Races are in one word... Challenging! I ran the 21.5 mile version with my buddy Jeremy (@silentproject). The course runs the length of the Wapack Trail from North Pack Monadnock Mountain in Greenfield, NH in the North to it's Southern terminus at the base of Mt. Watatic in Ashburnham, MA. There is also a 50 mile version of this race for the truly insane. It goes the full length of the trail South to North and back again (that's right, that's only 43 miles), then BACK out to the aid station at 3.5 (after a wicked climb to the top of Mt. Watatic) and back AGAIN (a BRUTAL descent) to make it an even 50 miles.

For obvious reasons, the race organizers let 50-milers drop-out and give them "credit" for a 43 mile finish should they choose not to leave the relative comfort of the finish line/aid station to tack that extra 7 miles on. From what I saw, this is the finish that most of the 50 mile runners opted for. There were 35 entries this year in the 50-miler and only 9 finished. 16 others opted for the 43 mile finish, which means 10 runners dropped completely. There were 65 entered in the 21.5 mile version, and 56 finishers. Said Steve Pero about the race:

"Wapack is without a doubt one of the most difficult trail 50 milers in the country...and I've run Zane Gray, San Juan Solstice (my absolute favorite), Jemez,Bel Monte and Pittsfield Peaks for comparison."

Indeed the toughness of this race was far beyond what I could even imagine. It was also by far the most rewarding race I've ever run! As we forged-ahead up and down 5 peaks, walking some, climbing some more, running the "runnable" (loose definition) downhill sections (at first because we could, but later because it hurt too much not too). My Garmin 405 read 10750 feet of elevation gain and 11500 feet of elevation loss. Jeremy's Garmin 310 gave him 7500/7800, so even if it were say, somewhere in-between the two (or if Jeremy's was more accurate than mine) holy crap! That's some EPIC shit right there.

The view from North Pack

Everything started-off well enough coming off of Mountain Road in Greenfield, NH and hitting the trailhead going up and down North Pack Monadnock, everyone was keeping-up a good pace, some friends we met on the bus (yes, I said friends, it's funny, but at an event like this everyone is talkative and becomes fast friends) were hanging with us, keeping-up a good pace. When we hit the first climb up Pack Monadnock, the trail got decidedly trickier and some of our new friends took off ahead of us and some dropped back. Jeremy and I settled into a group of about 8 runner's who were keeping the same pace (generally) and kept moving forward making small talk as we passed some on the climbs and some passed us on the descents. This is where we met out nemesis of this race. We called him... Santa Claus!

Santa Claus was a sixty-something mountain goat. Running in broken-down, beat-up old running shoes, gym shorts and a cotton shirt, and carrying no hydration or nutrition. Every time he's pass us on a descent he was huffing and puffing so hard I thought he was moments away from a massive MI. I imagined we'd be carrying him off of the trail at some point. His small talk focused on the weather and conditions of years passed (he was obviously a seasoned Wapack veteran), how he hadn't trained enough this year, or how he had "nothing left in my legs for these climbs," and how he's "just not gonna make it if I keep up this pace!" We passed him on the treacherous descent of Pack going down into the first aid station, and thought we'd seen the last of him and I swear I heard him say he was going to "drop at Miller."

The "trail" going up Pack Monadnock
(notice the yellow triangle blaze marking the "trail")

Coming down North Pack we hit it pretty hard. Jeremy told me that most of that downhill segment we had run at sub-9 minute mile pace and said that we should probably take it easier from here on out. But, I was just running on instinct, letting my feet fly, minimizing the braking forces as much as possible to try and save my quads for later in the race. I was able to get into the incredibly focused "zone." It was a lot like Zen meditation for me. JB made mention of how awesome it was to have his brain going just as fast as his feet as he was trying to find his foot falls. I told him "man, I wasn't thinking at all! It just felt instinctual for me." And it did. It really felt like I just knew how to do this and I was totally relaxed letting it all happen naturally. And it was exhilarating.

Summit of Pack Monadnock
Mount Monadnock in the distance (I think)

On our way up Pack Monadnock, we made our first of three eventual wrong turns. The trail kind of forked and we went to the left. Next thing I noticed was a lot of blue blazes, instead of the yellow we were supposed to be following for the Wapack. So I said something to Jeremy and he yelled to the guy in front of him and so on... This is where we met and co-opted the third member of our "team," Jonah. We'd been following him, for a while, but now we really started hanging together and talking. Come to find out we had similar senses of humor, taste in television/sketch comedy, and could quote all of the same movies. Yes, he was one of us (even if he was a leg-shaving cyclist)! We made it back to the trail and continued the rest of the way to the summit of Pack.

It's all downhill from here...

On the way down Pack the trail got really rocky and technical. We were basically climbing down, but we did manage to pass Santa Claus. We knew that the aid station at Miller State Park (5 miles) was quickly approaching and ran as much as we could as hard as we could. We ran it in to the aid station and one of the ladies manning the station was taking pictures and said "hey, here comes the Red Team!" And that was it, we'd found our moniker for the day.

Coming into Miller

As we stopped and lingered probably longer than we should have, Santa Claus came in grabbed a cup of Coke and headed back out. He was a wily veteran! We didn't give it much thought as we figured it wouldn't be a problem to catch-up to him again. We ate a couple of pb&j's which were heavenly. It was here that we were introduced to the potatoes! Plain boiled, quartered potatoes which you dip into a vat of salt and eat. Apparently they are a staple of this race (or maybe of ultra endurance events in general, I dunno) and as bad as they sound, they were awesome! Something to look forward to at each of the other aid stations...

The Santa Claus

In the meantime I put some more water and a couple of Nuun tablets into my massive 3L Camelback H.A.W.G. hydration pack. I think that I will be buying a more suitable pack for future races as soon as I can, this thing was just too big. And of course, since I had the room, I packed it with a bunch of shit that I didn't end-up needing. As we left the aid station, the volunteers reminded us to "be careful crossing the road!" Good advice. As we were running the rest of the way down, we were quite suddenly dumped to the side of State Highway 101. We joked around at playing Frogger with the cars trying to cross the road and how maybe this was the race organizer's way of thinning the herd!

Deceptively runnable...

Once we crossed the highway we headed-up what appeared to be an old ski area. Most sections of this trail up looked deceptively runnable. Compared with what we'd been navigating it was wide and clear of rocks, roots and debris. But it was steep! Too steep to run most of it. As we were climbing, we'd catch glimpses of Santa claus that would give us hope that we were actually making progress. At the point that we headed back into the heavily wooded trail heading up Temple Mountain, the trail became rocky again with lots of roots and heavy pine debris. The thing about Temple was that it actually has two peaks we had to summit.

Climbing up Temple

I recall Temple being one of the more mentally challenging sections. On the way up to what appeared to be the summit, we discussed the formation of our new team and somehow our surroundings and "Red Team" turned the conversation to the movie "Red Dawn" and we went screaming "WOLVERINES!!!" down just far enough for us to realize we had another climb steeper than the first. This was also where I realized my shoes were getting full of pine needles and starting to get a bit irritated. At one point during this summit attempt we all caught a glimpse of Santa Claus. We all thought we were going to catch him on this climb, until at once he looked back over his shoulder gave us a wink and a hearty "Ho, Ho, Ho!" as he disappeared down the other side. I swear.

(to be continued...)

My Soul is Thirsty

2011-05-03T00:06:00.006-04:00

"Send some rain, would you send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would you send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely you can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe you'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

We'll give thanks to you
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for you
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If you never send us rain

Oh, the differences that often are between
What we want and what we really need"

- from Gratitude
by Nichole Nordeman

Lately I've been feeling like a horrible person. I've been trying to figure out where all of these feelings are coming from. What I know is that something has been missing. Something has been missing from my writing and something has been missing from my running for some time now. More importantly something has been missing from my life and all of my interpersonal relationships.

I think I may have figured it out, but it has been a slow, painful realization. What I've been missing is myself. More specifically, I've been missing the "attitude of gratitude" that I adopted over the years. That attitude of being thankful for all that I have, all that I am, and all that I am able to do for myself and others is what has helped to make me who I am. It is at the core of my being and somewhere along the line, I lost it. Well, maybe not lost it completely, but I certainly misplaced it.

When I started on this journey I was just happy that I was able to run. Once I realized that I was able to run and could use my running to help others, I started figuring out exactly how I was going to do that. Whether it was using my sales/marketing background and organizational skills to help produce Lex's Run with my wife Lex in order to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, or using my physical talents and my heart to raise money for Children's Hospital by running the Boston Marathon, running had a purpose in my life greater than serving myself.

Somewhere along the line I lost sight of that.

I know it was there when my friend James (Brenya's Father) said he wanted me to run Boston for Brenya again. He was supposed to run for Children's Hospital this year but was halted due some health issues of his own and was unable to continue his training. I didn't even hesitate. Even though Lex and I had just welcomed our second beautiful daughter into this World, and I knew that training with a new baby in the house was going to present distinct challenges to both me and my family. Even though I knew how difficult it was going to be in these tough economic times to raise the $3500 again. Even though there were so many variables that could upset the apple cart and become huge obstacles to my success this year, I signed-up. I knew full well what I was getting myself into and I did it anyway. Because that is who I am.

Then, as they say, something happened on the way to Hopkinton. There was the whole Boston Marathon registration debacle where many people who had earned their way in and truly deserved the opportunity to run Boston got shut out. The backlash was almost instantaneous against charity runner's of all people. A small group of runner's on twitter, facebook and their own blogs started to wage an ideological war against people that they felt didn't belong in a race like the Boston Marathon. It is a race after all and if you couldn't qualify then you shouldn't be there. I wrote a post about it, so I don't want to rehash it all here. But it seemed that suddenly some of my "friends" on twitter, Facebook, dailymile and elsewhere had an axe to grind with me.

Of course, if you know me, you know I can be outspoken. So, I had a lot to say and was involved in a few heated back-and-forth arguments with people who seemed to consider themselves above everyone else in the running community because they were able to run a BQ. This discourse devolved into runner's that I respected and admired actually trying to define what an "actual" runner is, and feeling like they had the right to differentiate between runner's and jogger's for instance, or defining running and racing differently. It all became very pernicious and demeaning, and as a result I ended several on-line friendships and even "blocked" certain people from my facebook page and twitter feed. I even went so far as to make my twitter stream "private" after all of this. It deeply saddened me. But is also motivated me.

I fear it motivated me in the wrong way. I got frustrated. I got angry and gave in to it. I suddenly had a renewed focus. I felt like a new person. I set new goals. I decided to work on my speed in the Fall before starting my Boston Training in earnest in December. I began to perform in ways I hadn't dreamed of since high school. I trained harder and faster. I ran faster. I set PR after PR. I brought my 5k PR down from 25 minutes, to 20. Even after I started my endurance phase, I set a 23 minute PR in Derry, NH at the Boston Prep 16-Miler. I was psyched. I was ready. Ready to run my BQ and prove to all those people whom I no longer even had anything to do with that I could do it! I know. Insane, right?

In retrospect, I wasn't focused at all. I was obsessed. even driven by my anger. The crazy part is that it was anger over perceived slights by (mostly) total strangers. Slights against not only myself, but slights against the running community. Slights against people who inspire me through their running or just living every day, even though they run 12, 13, or even 15 minute miles. People who run to overcome. People who run despite being told they'd never walk. People who run through excruciating pain. The same people who don't give a second thought to giving kind supportive words to others. People who do it all with a smile.

I realize now that I internalized all of this anger, frustration and pain and used it. I used it to push myself throughout the most difficult training cycle I can imagine. Through the longest, darkest, harshest Winter I can recall. Through blizzards and sub-zero runs. Through 18-miler's on the treadmill. Through illness and injury. Through every conceivable challenge and obstacle placed in my way. I was driven to the point of madness. I neglected friendships. Relationships that should have been given extra care and nurturing, were instead chalked-up as "high-maintenance" and disregarded entirely. People I should have been leaning on, I instead pushed away. I ignored so many other things in my life that should have taken priority. I adopted a "run more, everything else will take care of itself" mantra.

It became like an addiction. And like all addictions, it didn't end well.

I've spent the last couple of weeks in a funk. In withdrawal. Miserable. Depressed. Disappointed. Hurt. Disgusted. I realize now the mistakes that I made. I alienated people. I disregarded others. I only hope it's not to late to repair certain relationships. I'm hurting. I'm hurting because I've been hurting when I should be elated. I should have been celebrating! For Pete's sake! I raised almost $5000 again for Children's Hospital Boston. I kept Brenya's memory alive. I saw James and his wife Shana holding a sign that said that I was their "hero." I was Brenya's hero... I high-fived a whole group of "Miles for Miracles" Patient Partner's and their family's at Mile 24 and saw the hope and excitement in their eyes. I suffered. I crossed that finish line. And that's all that should matter. I had a great day. The only thing I regret is getting so down on myself that I couldn't enjoy it. Idiot.

I've said this all before, but, running is transformative. Running is healing an growing. Running makes me want to be a better person, a better husband and a better father. I need to remember that as I move on to my next phase, my next challenge. One in which I am sure I will find myself again. Spring and Summer will be spent on the trails and in the mountains. Reconnecting with that which gives me life. When I run on the trails it's so much more than running. It is primal. It is instinctual. Most of all it is fun. I run with wild abandon. I run with meditative peace. I run as if I'm a child again. I run happy.

I will be running a whole host of trail and mountain races in preparation for running the Vermont 50 on September 25. We'll see what life has in store for me after that. No time goals necessarily. Just running. I'm going to ditch the Heart Rate Monitor and the Foot Pod for now. I'm also going to set the Garmin so that I can only see Total Time and Total Distance. I'm just going to run and having a great time doing it.

My first running "adventure" will be this Saturday, May 7. The 21.5 mile version of the Wapack and Back Trail Race with my friend Jeremy (@silentproject on twitter). They say it "runs like a road 50k." I have a feeling it is going to be an excellent adventure! I'm co-opting a line from my friend Logan(@the_UnaRunner)'s blog post about, well, actually a picture of a t-shirt someone bought for him before, the Lumberjack 100 that he posted on his blog, as my theme for the foreseeable future... "DO EPIC SHIT!" My soul is thirsty...

There is no tomorrow... Go out and GET IT today!

Relentless Forward Motion Part 3 (The Agony)

2011-04-25T23:33:00.011-04:00

Splits for miles 16-20 (8:51)(10:09)(9:55)(9:08)(11:03)

I charged-up the hill over 128 and past the Newton-Wellesley Hospital feeling refreshed and full of vigor. Then the first sense of trouble. Coming into 17 I felt a slight twinge of a hamstring cramp. I walked a bit. Then I ran. Then I had no choice but to walk through the Powerade Energy station as it was SWAMPED, and yet somehow I only managed to grab a Strawberry-Banana flavored gel which made me want to puke. Immediately. It was gross. So, I ran to the aid station and walked through grabbing several waters. One for my head, one for my belly and one to rinse out the nastiness of that gell from my mouth.

Once I got running again I felt pretty good. I rounded the corner at the firehouse and started looking for my coach and his family. The first person I saw was Coach Vin going nuts, which was awesome, then I saw Coach Capo and his wife Sam. They were all cheering me on and it gave me a boost. i gave them a double-handed wave and a smile and just kept trucking. As soon as I passed them I realized just waving and smiling took a lot out of me right there. Once the carriage road broke-off to the left and we went right starting up the hill, I was overwhelmed with this feeling that I needed to power-walk if I was going to finish. As soon as I started to power walk Coach Capo came running-up beside me and said "let's keep it up! Focus on your cadence and get up this hill!" So I did. I found out later he came running-up after me to catch my teammate Timmy and tell him to catch me so we could run the last 9 together. But by the time he caught me Timmy had passed me and was running up the hill ahead of me. I ended-up walking the aid stations and portions of the hills from here on out.

Splits for miles 21-25 (12:27)(9:51)(9:57)(9:55)(12:09)

Right after 20 I walked throughout eh aid station and started running again. Just as I started running again I saw my friend Alett and she came running at me cheering and waving a sign that said "You are a heartbreaker!" It was so good to see a familiar face that I almost broke down crying immediately. I remember saying to her something about being locked into a "death march" and her giving me encouraging words to get me going again (but for the life of me I can't remember what she said). Once I started running again I saw my friend James and his wife Shana (Brenya's Parents) and their signs telling me I was Brenya's Hero and their hugs and kisses reminded me of why I started doing all of this craziness and all sorts of emotions came rushing to the surface. I left them and I was a hot mess. As I started up Heartbreak Hill, in tears, walking, my heart was definitely broken as it was then that I realized my A, B and C goals were likely out the window.

I'd heard stories and been told on more than one occasion that if you keep running the pain goes away. All pain is only temporary after all, right? It was here that I turned on my iPod and put Eminem's "Till I Collapse" on repeat.

"... 'cause sometimes you feel tired, you feel weak.

And when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.

But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength

and just pull that shit out of you, and get that motivation to not give up

and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.

I got to the top of Heartbreak and took off running. As soon as I started running I felt an exquisite pain in my quads. The gremilns had shown up with their ice picks early this year, but I pushed on. I started drinking as much Gatorade as possible at every aid station an dashing it down/rinsing my mouth out with water. I decided to turn this into a race between the aid stations, 1 mile at a time all the way to the finish. Right around mile 24 I saw a whole group of Children's Hospital kids and their families (later I found-out that one of them was my friend Tom's patient partner), i gave them all high fives and fed off of their energy. At the aid station after 24 I stopped to try to stretch my quads. It didn't work because my hamstrings cramped. So I kept walking. I looked at my watch and for a second thought that I wouldn't even beat my time from last year.

Turning-off the iPod

Running again...

Then in an instant, in my delirious state, I realized if I ran as hard as I could for these last 2 miles I could break 4 hours. With a quick "Suck it up, Buttercup!" I took off running again. Even though every step was excruciating... Even though I got sick of Eminem and ripped the headphones out of my ear with a "this shit isn't working anymore!"... Even though every cell in my body was screaming at me to stop... I KEPT. RUNNING. Under the Mass Ave. overpass, right on Hereford (which was the longest hill on the course at that moment), and left on Boylston. Someone said the clock on the far right was the "wave 3" clock and it had just ticked over 4 hours. I knew it had taken me a few minutes to start, but I was unsure of the exact delay so I pushed harder. I passed one of my brother's from the Needham Fire Department and his wife spectating in front of the Mandarin Oriental. He yelled my name, I acknowledged, but I can't for the life of me remember what I said. I would have stopped to get a picture or something, but I was on a mission.

I looked at my Garmin right after crossing the finish line and knew I had done it, 3:58:25! A new PR by almost 16 minutes. Elation and sadness at the same time. I was just glad it was over. The first thought that crossed my mind was "I'm done with Boston!" Meaning no more, never again. It had broken me twice and I resigned myself to leaving it that way. Sometimes it's best just to admit defeat and walk away. Upon further evaluation, I've decided that I'm definitely not running Boston again... Unless I just happen run a BQ somewhere else. Over the past week I've gone back an forth agonizing over whether or not I'd ever run another road marathon. I really don't feel drawn to the 26.2 distance, but road marathons are especially suck-y. On the other hand, I love the half marathon distance, it's the perfect distance to race. 10k's are fun too, and if I really feel the need to suffer, I'll just run as hard and fast as my legs, lungs and heart will take me in a 5k and work on breaking 20 minutes! There is simply no need to subject myself to the sheer torture of 26.2 miles on the roads. None. I can't think of a more unpleasant thing to do with 4 hours of my life that I'll never get back.

Then again. One thing I've learned on this crazy journey is the old adage that "Runner's are Liars!" And I am a runner after all...

Halleluja!

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong

I'll stand before the Lord of Song

With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah

By the way... I found my Endurolytes. When I got to my bag and opened it up, there they were right on top. When I hit the porta-potty that one last time I must've pulled them out of my waistband and put them there for safe keeping. At least that worked-out for me, right!?!

There is no tomorrow. Go out and get it today!

Relentless Forward Motion Part 2 (The Ecstasy)

2011-04-25T22:34:00.004-04:00

So, I headed back down the hill from the Athlete's Village to my cozy hole at the Masonic Lodge (side note: If I ever run the Boston Marathon again, I will run it as a qualified member of the Miles for Miracles Team, I can't imagine NOT having my cozy hole to retreat to and get ready to run, plus all the other amenities). When I got inside it was just in time for the Coach's speech which is always inspiring! Once the speech was finished, I turned to open my bag and get myself prepared to warm-up and head to my corral. I opened-up my bag only to find that 2 out of my 5 Honey Stingers were opened and had leaked all over my gear and equipment inside of my bag (I cut the tabs so that they are easier to open). I had to get into the private bathroom and wash EVERYTHING off.! My visor, my iPod, the other Stingers, my bag of Endurolytes, my Breathe Right Strips, my Mission Sunblock, all of my clothes, my gloves, you name it, they were covered in honey. Ugh.

By the time I got everything cleaned-up and got myself ready, I'd missed the first wave start. I was pretty disappointed by this as I really wanted to see all of my friends get through the corrals and start. I also wanted to head next door to the church like I did last year and meet the Elites before they made the walk to the start. Oh well. Anyway, I got upstairs and the second wave was getting into the corrals and the coaches made their call for the third wave to get warmed-up with our "group" active stretching routine. I made sure everything was packed into my bag so I could put it on the bus, or that it was on my person if I would need it. I made my last call to Lex. I told her that I had dropped 2 Honey Stingers in her purse in case I might need them when I saw her at 14 (come to find out later, in my "inner voice" I told her about my debacle and said I would DEFINITELY need them when I saw her at 14). I hit the porta-potty one last time then put my bag on the bus, and joined my friend Tom McManus for our warm-up and march to the corrals.

Once I arrived in my corral, I found I was relaxed and at ease. I was cool as a cucumber and ready to go. Eerily cool. I usually get a lot more nervous before the start of a local charity 5k than I was in the corral at the Boston Marathon. I just knew everything was going my way today. It only took about 5 minutes or so from the start of the third wave for me to get to the line form corral 7 (much better than the 12.5 minutes from about the same corral in last year's 2 wave start). Once across the line, I tried to settle into a relaxed, easy pace. About 1/4 mile in, I realized that the crowd I'd settled with was on a 9-930/mile pace (much slower than I wanted to be). I remembered something Luau told me that Chris Russell mentioned about sticking to the left hand side/shoulder and hitting a better pace, so I found my groove on the left and stepped-up to hit my 8:00/mile pace for the first few miles.

My splits for miles 1-5 (8:06)(8:01)(7:45)(7:47)(7:52)

Somewhere in the first couple of miles of running on the left, I settled in behind a guy I recognized as @RangerDutch from twitter. I knew it was his first Boston, but I thought we had similar goals to the best of my recollection of his tweets. However, I didn't want to step-up and say "hey! You're @RangerDutch right" So I just settled-in behind him and drafted until around mile 9 when I made a move around him and he didn't answer. I had my first Honey Stinger at mile 7, and when I reached into my waistband to grab my Endurolytes, they were GONE! I had dropped them somewhere along the course and didn't realize it. After I got through Natick Center I looked all around and couldn't find @RangerDutch, so I kept moving forward.

Looking good at 15k

Splits for miles 6-10 (7:50)(7:45)(8:00)(8:00)(7:58)

I felt amazing coming into Wellesley, and the "scream tunnel" lived-up to it's name this year! Wow! it was AMAZING! I don't remember it being quite so crazy last year, or maybe I was just in a different head space. I was on a true "runner's high" and everything was firing on all cylinders. I was feeling great. I felt like I was running stronger, more effortlessly and more gracefully than ever before. I passed 13.1 in 1:45:02 and was instantly overcome by a sense of impending doom! It took me more than a couple of minutes to get my head around the nearly 5 minute PR for the Half Marathon and to just accept that it was where I wanted to be. My first thought was "oh shit! I probably shouldn't have PR'd the front half of the Boston Marathon." Accompanied by a sinking feeling in my stomach. Once I realized that 1:45 was where I wanted to be, and if I negative split the back half I would be on-track for breaking 3:20 I settled-down a bit.

Splits for miles 11-15 (7:58)(8:18)(8:15)(8:43)(8:53)

I found my girls just after 14 on the right hand side in front of St. Pauls Parish right where Lex said they would be. I gave them all hugs and kisses, grabbed a couple of orange wedges and asked for my Honey Stingers... Lex said they were in her pocketbook... in the car. Ugh. I shook it off and just settled on grabbing a gel from the mile 17 Powerbar Energy Gel station. Lex asked me how I was feeling and I responded "too fast!" And she said "then slow-down!" So I did. I thought that if I slowed my roll for a couple of miles I would conserve some well-needed energy for the Newton Hills. I also knew that I would soon be able to tell EXACTLY how I was doing when I came to the first big downhill at 15 into Newton Lower Falls. I decided to start walking through the aid stations. By the time I got there I was feeling strong again. No issues at all. No cramping, no quad soreness. I was good. I hadn't gone-out too fast and was ready to tackle these hills...

Relentless Forward Motion Part 1 (The Stars Were Aligned)

2011-04-24T22:53:00.003-04:00

I've been putting-off writing my 2011 Boston Marathon Race Report, partly because I already wrote it, partly because I didn't live up to what I'd written, but mostly because I've been trying to get my mind around it to figure-out how I feel and what I want to write about.

Should I write about the exhilaration I felt having run a sub-4 hour marathon, or the disappointment of not having reached my goal of running a 3:20 BQ.

Should I write about how awesome it felt to be running with ease and strength and grace for the first 13.1 miles and how I was surprising myself as every mile ticked-off and I was on-target with my pace and ready to close the second half with negative splits just like I planned? Or should I write about the wheels coming off mentally when I saw my family at mile 14 and and the downward spiral to the crash right after I saw my coach around mile 17.5 just past the firehouse in Newton?

Should I write about the sheer pain and torture of the last 9 miles of this death march as the gremlins once again attacked my quads and even had a good time with my hamstrings this year? Or should I write about how I pushed myself through and past the worst pain and suffering I've ever felt to finish the race on my feet and running even though every cell in my body was screaming for me to quit?

Should I write about the emotional euphoria of running down Boylston St. and crossing the Finish Line, or the demons I had to overcome on the way through Brookline?

Without further ado...

I should probably start with my final 20-miler, the Eastern States 20. Everything went swimmingly. I had a GREAT run! I was instructed to treat it like a training run and under no circumstances was I to race it, no matter what. I went out and kept the pace around 9 min/mi (only slightly faster than E Pace) for the first 10 miles. It was cold. Much colder than I thought it would be. Right after the start when the wind hit me, I started to think that just maybe the short sleeves and shorts were a bad idea. Later as the sweat would freeze on the inside of my arms causing intense, stabbing, needle-like pain on the insides of my arms and thighs, that thought would be confirmed.

Anyway, I held onto the 9:00 pace through the first 10 miles, then I started stepping it up and negative split each subsequent mile, passing other runners by the drove and running my last mile at an even 8:00. I pushed it, I got what I wanted out of it, but I didn't go crazy. I felt really good about my performance. I entered my taper with a great deal of confidence, having run 20 miles or more on 2 separate occasions and seemingly overcome the impediment of a tumultuous February that left me with only 76 miles on the road. I finished with my longest training month ever in March and over 800 miles total for the training cycle.

Taper was just awesome. I started with a little bit of taper madness where the doubt started to creep in, but all-in-all I was actually pleasant and upbeat for most of the three week taper. I didn't beat myself up and I even had a great 10k 8 days out from the marathon which was a HUGE confidence-booster. I hit everything right on the mark with my nutrition during taper, I even got to bed before 10 pm on most nights, didn't drink any alcohol and lost almost 5 pounds, weighing-in at 192 pounds on race day, leaner than I've been since my collegiate wrestling days in the early 90's.

Running Royalty at the DM Meetup

Marathon weekend, I went into town on Saturday and walked around the Expo for only a couple of hours before heading-over to the dailymile meetup. I had a great time and I didn't gorge myself on the awesome food. However, I did have 2 Guinness after not having a drop of alcohol during taper. We tried to go back to the Expo afterward but it was crazy-hectic and Adam, Luau and I headed-out quickly. But not before we ran into @SpeedySasquatch, @NYCe, and @nycbklyngrl and snapped a quick pic. They are just as awesome in person as they are on twitter!

Eissa, Josh and Us (Elyssa took the pic)

I headed home from the Expo and stayed there. On the couch. Really! All day Sunday I was on the couch with my legs elevated watching Netflix Streaming (Saint Ralph, Run Fatboy Run, Without Limits and Spirit of the Marathon). I tried to get to bed early. I went to bed at 9, but got up 3 or 4 times to add something to my pile of stuff I had laid-out. Then I laid there inexplicably awake for the rest of the night. I tossed and turned but tried to relax. I got up when Lex came to bed around 11:30 only to realize I hadn't turned-on the alarm that I had set for 4 am, phew! This year, instead of having Lex drop me off in Hopkinton, I decided on driving in and taking the busses with the Children's Team out. This would help me avoid the Green Line ride from hell afterward. Totally worth it.

I got out of bed, ate my banana, took a hot shower, got dressed, packed my bag, ate my first Honey Stinger waffle, finished my 20 oz bottle of Nuun and headed-out the door. I arrived at the Westin and valeted the car with plenty of time to spare. I ate my second waffle while waiting for the bus. Arrived at the Masonic Lodge, ate my third waffle and started sipping on my Gatorade while I set myself up in the same corner I secured last year. I went downstairs and grabbed another banana and asked where the coffee was. They didn't have any. I swear they offered it last year. I mean they put together this HUGE spread with everything any marathoner might need pre-race including food, drinks, vaseline, body glide, tylenol, you name it it was there, but no goddam coffee? So, I saw several people walking around with coffee and asked where they got it. Apparently there was a small coffee shop/stand about 1/4 mile down the road.

I got my coffee and decided I'd head up the road a piece to Athlete's Village and see if I could find Luau and the rest of the dailymile crew. They say it's only 0.7 miles from the finish and I didn't make it over there to check it out last year, so...

Holy crap! It was just a mass of humanity. I've rarely seen such a spectacle. Through the miracle of twitter, I was able to pinpoint their location and head directly to them. We talked, exchanged well-wishes, hugs and other niceties. As they started to announce times for the different waves to start heading to the corrals, I figured it was time for me to head-out and get back to the relative comfort of my cozy-hole with private bathrooms and no-line porta-potties at the Masonic Lodge. I was feeling GREAT after seeing everyone and I was pumped-up and ready to run my BQ. It felt like it was definitely going to be my day! Nothing could stop me now...

Aww... The Porta-Pottie hug!

Working Title: The Bataan (Boston) Death March

2011-04-18T21:57:00.003-04:00

I'll be writing a full and proper race report as soon as I get my head around everything that happened out there today. In the meantime here's a quick summary:

Today I ran my second Boston Marathon (and my second-ever marathon). I completed it in 3:58:25 which is a 15:44 PR for me, which is HUGE! However, the time is a bit deceiving . I made a few critical mistakes, but I've learned from them. I had what I thought was a solid plan going in and all indications this morning were pointing to a great day for me... until I realized I'd set a Half-Marathon PR by almost 5 minutes (not what I thought I wanted to do) and paid for it later. The last 10 miles were literally a "death march" through the Newton Hills and up Beacon St. It's really hard to be disappointed with a 15:44 PR, but things did not go my way today. I'm going out on a limb and saying that think I'm done with Boston for now. At least until I run my BQ. It's just so sad that my training was there to take me to that BQ, but today just wasn't my day.

There is no tomorrow! Go and get it TODAY!

2011 Boston Marathon Race Report

2011-04-16T21:56:00.002-04:00

I know. I haven't run it yet. However, as so many people are writing their "goals" blog posts, I figured since I'm never one to do what is expected of me (especially when it comes to writing this blog), I'd do something a little different here. I'm writing my race report now. Hopefully, it will give everyone a glimpse into what happened to me last year, my strategy in training for Boston this year, as well as my goals and expectations for the race. Most importantly it will be an exercise in visualization for me. Well, at least putting the visual down in black-and-white and therefore making it concrete. Truth is, I've been visualizing this for months now. So, here goes...

After months of analyzing and over-analyzing all of the things that went wrong last year, I decided that I was mostly full of shit when I wrote my race report. I made a lot of mistakes. I screwed-up everything from my in-race nutrition and hydration, to keeping myself cool, to pacing and effort (especially through the hills). The blister on my right foot and the cramp in my left calf that disabled me at mile 21.5 were just excuses to stop. I had hit the wall. My race was over. I threw in the towel. I flew the white flag. The course had beaten me. I knew that my "A" goal of 3:45 was out the window, yet once I got my head together (after a couple of "get your ass moving" texts from my wife, and hard smacks on the ass from the drunk BC kids) I still thought that maybe, just maybe my "B" goal of a sub-4 hour marathon was within reach. I told myself I would walk through a couple of aid stations and then run as hard as I could down Beacon St. to the finish. I ended-up walking through all of the aid stations and then some until 24, as the dreaded "gremlins with ice picks" attacked my quads. I ran through the aid station at 25 and kept running as fast as I could to the finish. It was somewhere on Beacon St. that I realized my "A" and "B" goals were out of reach and I just settled on my "C" goal of just finish. I ended up running a pretty strong final 1.2 miles all things considered and a "respectable" first marathon finish of 4:14:09.

Going into this training season I decided that I was going to learn how to run hills. I mean really learn how to run hills. All my training and racing on the hills the first time around wasn't good enough because I just "did" the hills. I didn't learn anything from them. I also decided I would go 20 miles or further more than once in training. This time around I studied. I studied everything I could get my hands on about good hill running form and efficiency. What I gathered was eyes slightly down, slight forward lean, keep your cadence high, shorten your stride and drive through the hill with your hips. And I repeated this to myself on every single hill I ran in training and my preparatory races (and I picked two of the toughest, hilliest races in the Boston Prep 16, and Stu's 30k). But the most important aspect for running hills, especially pertaining to running Boston, was how to run downhill. A piece of advice that I believe was critical, I found in my friend Chris Russell's (@cyktrussell) Race Report from the 2008 Vermont 50.

"When we say run the down hills we means race the down hills. It is very important not to fight gravity. Stay light and have a rapid turnover. Try to ‘fly’ without hitting the ground too much or braking... All this is done to preserve the quads."

I also received a little personal instruction from Chris and a lot of practice on this technique during the Groton Town Forest Trail Race (Chris was an excellent host as well as good company). We ran nearly the whole race together and he imparted much of his "ultra" and "trail racing" hill running knowledge upon me. It made quite an impression and I was even able to incorporate his technique into my road racing and training. I found that I've gotten so good at this type of downhill running that I am able to increase my speed while relaxing and recovering on the downhill sections. My heart rate tends to drop to nearly full-on recovery levels of around 100-120 bpm on most downhill sections depending on how long they are.

So, as for the race, I'm going to run it more like a really long Fartlek (my favorite) workout. I'm going to start-out nice and relaxed for the first 5 or 6 miles of downhill running. I'm going to let my feet fly while minimizing braking forces and the damage to my quads. I'll turn-in varying splits between 7:15-7:30/mile. I'll alternate taking water and Gatorade from every aid station along the route. I'll also make sure to take at least 1 cup of water an dump it over my head at each aid station.

The fairly flat part of the course from miles 6-15 I'll just focus on running nice and easy while taking it all in (especially feeding off the energy of the "Scream Tunnel" in front of Wellesley College). But I'm going to maintain a nice steady pace turning in splits in the 7:30-7:40/mile range, and probably even a couple miles a little on the slower side of that. I'll start taking-in my Honey Stinger's at mile 7 and every 5 miles thereafter (7, 12, 17, 22). At mile 14 I'll get see my family and get quick hugs or high-five's and turn on the emotions.

The long, sweeping downhill after mile 15 going into Newton Lower Falls (which I've run no less than 4 times in training) is where I will finally start to push the pace a bit on the downhills and put into practice the good hill running form I've worked so hard on while coming-up over Route 128 toward the Newton Wellesley Hospital (where I hope to not have to visit). I'll be running 7:15-7:20/mile splits until after the turn onto Comm. Ave at the firehouse. Here's where all of my preparation will pay-off. I'm not going to put a lot of pressure on myself to maintain my speed or splits from 18-21. I fully expect each of these miles to be of varying paces, but I will keep my foot cadence steady at at least 90 fps ("Eye's Down, Cadence Up!"). I may even run at least one or two of these over 8:00/mile. But that's okay. I look forward to seeing a bunch of my running friends and Brenya's family in the 20-21 mile area.

From 21-23 until I make the turn onto Beacon Street, I will be using my newly acquired downhill running skills to put in a little speed and do some serious recovery. I'll be turning-in 7:15-7:20/mile splits through this fairly steep downhill section into Cleveland Circle. Once I'm on Beacon Street I will be really pushing the pace. I'm going to hammer it home just as fast as my legs will take me! If I've done everything right and I'm firing on all cylinder's here (and those damn gremlins haven't shown-up with their ice picks) I'll be running negative-splits the last 3.2 miles and when I cross that finish line on Boylston Street my Garmin will read sub-3:20 and I will have run my BQ! And yes, I will remember to pump my fist in the air and look up for the camera's!

But, if bad things start to happen as they frequently do, I won't worry, won't stew. I'll keep right on moving until I start happening too! Hammering-out the miles until I start again to race! I'll make sure that my "B" goal of 3:30's in place. If bang-ups and hang-ups should happen to me, I'll keep grinding along to reach my goal "C" (3:45). If the day's not my day and it's not meant to be, I'll ref-fix my sights and accomplish goal "D" (Just Finish)!

I. Am. Ready.

2011-04-13T09:23:00.005-04:00

Groton, MA. I'm running to the finish line. I've run the last mile of this 10k at sub-7 minute/mile pace. I round the corner and enter the High School track and it's 300 meters or so to the finish. I see my wife, daughter's and some friends cheering. I throw my shirt at them (I've been running shirtless since mile 2, there's a first time for everything) and take off. I mean, I really kick it up a notch. This is what I like to refer to (tongue-in-cheek) as my "Kenyan Kick." Next thing I know, with 100 meters to go, I hear this guy come out of nowhere, and by his heavy breathing and stomping I know he's trying to take me at the line. But I know he just gave all he had. I stay even with him until I know he has literally nothing left and I surge (a friend who witnessed it actually told me "I tried to get your picture and then you went in to God mode!") and break him with 20 meters to go. I crossed the line. By myself. And I said it. Out loud. "I'm ready! I'm ready." My good buddy Chris Russell (the race director) practically had to catch me and said "Yes you are! Great race Doug!"

That's "the guy" over my left shoulder! I had NO idea.

And that was it. It was over. All of the pressure I had been putting on myself. All of the crushing self-doubt. All of the feelings of inadequacy and questioning of my training for this year's Boston Marathon, out the door. Gone. It was as if in that one instant my soul became as light as a feather. Fact is, I know. I've known all along. I've done everything that I can do. Through all of the adversity that has been thrown in my path this training season, I've come out on top. It hasn't been easy. It's been a long, dark Winter. The "Winter of my discontent" as I have often referred to it. The marathon Gods have thrown everything they can at me. They tried to break me. And yet, here I am. 5 days away from the starting line in Hopkinton. I. Am. Ready.

This Winter I've suffered through more snow than I can remember seeing in my adult life, crazy storms, bitter cold, my wife's abdominal surgery and subsequent 6-week recovery (when we decided we needed to buy a treadmill), both children's illnesses (my seven month-old's illness ended in hospitalization and two weeks of diligent neb treatments, suction and chest PT, etc. once we got her home), followed by both my wife and my own lengthy battle with the same illness. All of which lead to a 76 mile February and a horrible race at Stu's 30k on March 6. A race I had high hopes for after my 23 minute PR at the Boston Prep in Derry, NH at the end of January.

So much of my training was forced into the "dungeon" on the treadmill. It just didn't feel right. I was running in place. I wasn't going anywhere. It was complete and total drudgery. Thank God for Netflix on the Wii. It was the only thing that made it slightly tolerable. On the bright side I did get through all three season's of Whale Wars and Paranormal State, and watched such kick-ass action flicks as Bitch Slap, Dark Rising, My Name is Bruce, Zombie Strippers, both Charlie's Angels movies, and last-but-not-least... Bachelor Party in the Bungalow of the Damned!

After my confidence-building session, I came home determined to get some perspective, so I crunched some numbers...

Even with the 76 mile February, I still ran 800 miles this training cycle which is almost 200 miles more than my last Boston training cycle. I also ran an average pace of 9:05/mi throughout with almost 90% of my training runs performed at my E Pace (9:40/mi. last year my avg. pace was 10:35/mi). I found the biggest hill in the area (0.37 mi. with a 12% average grade) and attacked it on a regular basis. I PR'd every 5k that I ran and brought my 5k PR down from 25:38 to 20:42 (did I mention the 23 minute PR in Derry, at the Boston Prep 16-miler? That was HUGE)! Twice I went 20 miles or further, my "36k for Miracles" Challenge where I raced a 5k, 10k and Half Marathon all in one day with a total time of 3:11:28 (and my Half Marathon was less than ideal). I ran a 10 mile M Pace (7:36/mi) less than 18 hours prior to the Eastern States 20 where I actually stuck with a plan and ran the first 10 miles at 9:00/mi and negative-split the back half of a race the first time ever. I spent the last 3 miles of that race passing runner's by the handful and felt great afterward.

And now, it's just a matter of cruising into Hopkinton. Now working-out race day logistics for the family is another matter altogether. At least Lex doesn't have a pelvic stress fracture this year. Although she does have an additional 25 lbs. (the baby, silly) to drag around with her. It will all work itself out right? Now, relaxing and getting to bed early is the plan from here on out.

I. Am. Ready.

There is no tomorrow! Go out and get it TODAY!

Doug

Two Weeks

2011-04-04T22:16:00.001-04:00

Enough said.

36k for Miracles Results and Prizes!

2011-03-25T10:48:00.002-04:00

A big thanks to everyone who participated, helped-out and sponsored my "36k for Miracles" Challenge. It was a great day and I got a lot of positive feedback from everyone. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves and got an extra boost of motivation because you were running for a good cause! All together we had 47 runners (including myself), and we raised almost $1000 for Children's Hospital Boston through my "Miles for Miracles" Campaign. If you were unable to participate, but would like to donate to my cause I am still accepting donations at - https://howtohelp.childrenshospital.org/bostonmarathon/pfp/?ID=wd0030

I've tabulated, aggregated and correlated the results from all of the races below. Some people registered for the 5k and ran 5 miles, or registered for the 36k Challenge and ran a marathon or a 50k. In these cases I used the Pace Calculator at coolrunning.com to extrapolate the runner's average pace and determine the time for the distance they registered for. If anyone needs further clarification of their time, has any questions about the results, or noticed an error, please let me know ASAP.

I also entered everyone into the Door Prize Raffle and the results are posted at the bottom. I tried to be fair as possible when assigning the gifts from my sponsors. For example, I reached into the box and pulled-out the Zensah products to start with. However, the tech shirt was a Men's XL, so I gave it to the first male winner. Also, when I got to the STABILicers Sport from 32North, they kept falling on people from warmer climates so, they kept passing down the list until they found a home with a man (L) and a woman (M) from a cold climate. So, hopefully everyone not only likes their prizes, but won something that they might find useful. I didn't see the sense in giving away prizes to someone who wouldn't use them. Besides, it's my race, I make the rules. So there.

5k
*Winner's Receive a Road ID Gift Certificate, a Pair Stuffitts Shoe Savers!

Doug Welch (@reallynotarunnr) - 21:54

1) #16 Eric Bristol - 21:00 *Men's Winner
2) #39 Michael Yoon - 25:43
3) #7 Chris Duffy (@chrisduffy) - 26:52
4) #42 Adam Monty (@adamm9) - 27:00
5) #32 Susan Brilla (@SuziStorm) 28:37 *Women's Winner
6) #45 Cecilia Tiepelman - 30:00
7) #36 Muriel Singer (@murielsinger) - 31:00
8) #34 Ashley Niven (@anivs18) - 31:30
9) #2 Bill Sodeman (@billsoFIT) 32:02
10) #41 Ruth Anne McManus - 33:00
11) #25 Nina Coolidge (@ninaruns) - 33:13
12) #38 Melody Baguakas (@MrsKnitpho) - 34:20
13) #5 Jennifer Whitter (@jenn_if_er) - 34:42
14) #6 Jen Conklin (@JediJen31) - 35:03
15) #40 Susan Nofi-Bendci - 36:15
16) #17 Amanda Villagomez - 36:35
17) #8 Hollis Pyatt (@knitahollis) - 36:45
18) #30 Kathleen Coffey - 36:50
19) #18 Heather Waterman (@wickedphysics) - 40:00

20) #24 Paula Kiger (@biggreenpen) - 41:10

21) #33 Michel Martin (@BabyWeightMFA) 45:03

22) #12 Alexis Welch (@superlecks) - 47:49
23) #11 Carol Nolan (@cnolan3000) - 1:04:00
24) #26 Jessica Hirschhorn - (Scratch)

10k
*Winner's Receive a Road ID Gift Certificate, 1 Pair Stuffitts Shoe Savers and a Headsweats Hat from Stuffitts!

Doug Welch (@reallynotarunnr) - 48:12

1) #3 Patrick Pezzati - 43:55 *Men's Winner
2) #43 Sean Wandrei (@seanwandrei) - 50:32
3) #39 Michael Yoon - 51:22
4) #9 Ed Schober (@edschober) - 53:20
5) #29 Magda Riche-Lidstrom - 57:00 *Women's Winner

6) #23 Nicole Santomauro - 58:05

7) #37 Sandy Baguskas (@trifatlete) - 1:00:00

8) #35 David Murphy (@runlikeamug) - 1:00:35
9) #28 Julie Coppenrath - 1:02:00
10) #19 M Elisabeth Skibba (@seeskibbarun) - 1:11:59

11) #40 Susan Nofi-Bendci - 1:12:30

12) #44 Lynn Ryan - Completed (untimed)

13.1
*Winner's Receive a Road ID Gift Cerificate, 1 pair of Stuffitts Shoe Savers and a Stuffitts Gear Bag!

Doug Welch (@reallynotarunnr) - 2:01:57

1) #10 Donna Schober (@ubermom30) 1:46:00 *Women's Winner
2) #47 Heather Gannoe (@runfastermommy) - 2:07:00
3) #27 Coleman Myron 2:11:00 *Men's Winner
4) #14 Stu Altenhaus (@saltenhaus) 2:34:40
5) #21 Jacquelyn Almond (@jacqialmond) - 2:26:00
6) #4 Sara Wutzke - 2:42:26

7) #13 Arthur Dembro

36k
*Winner's Receive a Road ID Gift Certificate, 1 pair of Stuffitts Shoe Savers, Free Shoes from Brooks Running and a Tech Shirt from Punk Rock Racing!

Doug Welch (@reallynotarunnr) - 3:11:28

1) #31 Matt Wilson (@luau) 2:33:00 *Men's Winner

2) #15 Brian Adkins (@marathonbrian) 3:31:00

3) #22 Peter Larson (@oblinkin) - 4:13:54

4) #46 Ron Harvey (@PunkRockRunner) - 4:49:11
5) #20 Angelica Simmons (@trustlawgroup) - 5:27:51 *Women's Winner

Door Prizes: **Winner's were determined by drawing of a random number sequence generated by random.org using bib #'s 2-47. The sequence generated as shown:

#32 #38 #43 #19 #12 #24 #40 #14 #33 #23 #8 #37 #28 #45 #6 #35 #9 #41 #46 #22 #25 #30 #11 #7 #44 #10 #17 #36 #39 #47 #31 #3 #20 #34 #18 #4 #13 #27 #15 #21 #42 #5 #29 #2 #16 #26

#32 Susan Brilla (@SuziStorm) - Compression Calf Sleeves from Zensah

#38 Melody Baguakas (@MrsKnitpho) - JT Army Hat from Punk Rock Racing

#43 Sean Wandrei (@seanwandrei) - Wicking Tech Shirt from Zensah

#19 M Elisabeth Skibba (@seeskibbarun) - Runnerd Wicking Headband from Go Headband

#12 Alexis Welch (@superlecks) - 262 Running Watch from Soleus Running

#24 Paula Kiger (@biggreenpen) - Autographed Copy of New World Greetings by Mary McManus

#40 Susan Nofi-Bendci - Autographed Copy of New World Greetings by Mary McManus

#14 Stu Altenhaus (@saltenhaus) - Stuffitts Shoe Savers

#33 Michel Martin (@BabyWeightMFA) - Stuffitts Shoe Savers

#23 Nicole Santomauro - Case of mix1 Protein Drink

#8 Hollis Pyatt (@knitahollis) - Case of mix1 Protein Drink

#37 Sandy Baguskas (@trifatlete) - Pair of STABILicers Sport from 32North

#28 Julie Coppenrath - Pair of STABILicers Sport from 32North

"36k for Miracles" Official Participants List

2011-03-19T22:33:00.004-04:00

Wow! Once again I am totally blown away by the support I've received from the running community! I'm well on my way to raising that $10,000 for Children's Hospital! I'm sitting here thinking about all of you who've reached-out and offered support for what I'm doing tomorrow and I'm simply overwhelmed. Hopefully the emotion will carry me to speedy finishes!

Let's not forget the reason that I started running for Children's Hospital Boston... To honor the memory of a beautiful little girl named Brenya Elizabeth Sullivan. The brightest lights are too often fleeting.

3/2/09 - 10/18/09 R.I.P.

I'll be thinking a lot about Brenya and her parents tomorrow. Many times when I've felt like I can't go on in a particularly long or tough race, Brenya has carried me through to the finish. The simple act of mindfulness, of being aware of why I'm running, somehow lightens the burden of the pain and whatever suffering I am going through at the moment. It is my sincere hope that all of you will think of Brenya and know that what you are doing tomorrow will help children like Brenya and their families.

There is no tomorrow. Go out and get it today!

5k - 21:54

Matt Wilson (@luau) 19:58
Kathleen Coffey
Susan Brilla (@SuziStorm)
Michel Martin (@BabyWeightMFA)
Jessica Hirschhorn
Paula Kiger (@biggreenpen)
Jennifer Whitter (@jenn_if_er)
Hollis Pyatt (@knitahollis)
Alexis Welch (@superlecks)
Jen Conklin (@JediJen31)
Eric Bristol
Amanda Villagomez
Melody Baguakas (@MrsKnitpho)
Muriel Singer (@murielsinger)
Michael Yoon
Ashley Niven (@anivs18)
Ruth Anne McManus
Susan Nofi-Bendci
Heather Gannoe (@runfastermommy)

10k - 48:12

Matt Wilson (@luau) 41:02
Magda Riche-Lidstrom
Ed Schober (@edschober) 53:20
Nicole Santomauro
Patrick Pezzati
Julie Coppenrath
Sandy Baguskas (@trifatlete)
Michael Yoon
David Murphy (@runlikeamug)
Sean Wandrei (@seanwandrei)
Susan Nofi-Bendci

13.1 - 2:01:57

Matt Wilson (@luau) 1:32:00
Donna Schober (@ubermom30)
Ron Harvey (@PunkRockRunner)
Coleman Myron
Heather Waterman (@wickedphysics)
Sara Wutzke
Chris Duffy (@chrisduffy)
Arthur Dembro

36k - 3:11:28

Matt Wilson (@luau) 2:33:00
Jacquelyn Almond (@jacqialmond)
Bill Sodeman (@billsoFIT)
Stu Altenhaus (@saltenhaus)
Brian Adkins (@marathonbrian) 3:31:00
Peter Larson (@oblinkin)
Angelica Simmons (@trustlawgroup)
Carol Nolan (@cnolan3000)
M Elisabeth Skibba (@seeskibbarun)
Adam Monty (@adamm9)

Uphill, Both Directions, in the Rain...

2011-03-08T23:51:00.002-05:00

On Sunday I ran Stu's 30k out of Clinton MA. Through Sterling, W. Boylston, Boylston and back into Clinton. You know it's a good race when it goes through several zip codes, right?

Here's the map and elevation profile:

Stu's is a legendary race. I believe the 2011 race was the 32nd. Lots of folklore, and many hardcore old timers gathered in the gym to tell their stories. I arrived early picked up my bib and set-up my "dailymile?#NERTs" sign so my fellow #NERTs could find me. The first to arrive on the scene was my good friend Chris (@cyktrussell), followed by my running buddy for the day Jeremy (@silentproject), then Alett (@petfxr) and Adam (@adamm9) and Heather (@wickedphysics). We all sat around discussing our training and plans for the race with Chris, as he is a seasoned Stu's veteran. There was quite a bit of discussion over which race was more difficult Stu's 30k or the Boston Prep 16-miler in Derry. It seemed as if the agree to disagree lack of consensus revolved around "Derry is harder, but Stu's is longer (that's what SHE said)!"

I've been gearing-up mentally, and frankly dreading this race for months now. Every time I'd drive to the liquor store, when returning home I'd drive up the long slow burn of a hill going up 140 to the turn-around near mile 10 and say to myself "Ugh. That is going to SUCK the life out of me!" As race day approached, I was only hindered by a total lack of consistency in my training during February due to personal and family illnesses, etc. Life gets in the way, right? Well I had started to steel myself with some strong runs leading up to race week. I wrote a blog post here about losing my mojo, and almost as soon as I typed the words I seemed to get it back. I had a great 16-miler on the Boston Course in MISERABLE conditions the previous Sunday with my buddy Matt (@luau) and continued to get stronger with each subsequent run. I was feeling ready for this race.

While discussing and mapping-out our pre-race strategies Jeremy and I decided to run together. The whole race. No matter what. It was my first Stu's and Jeremy's first time running longer than 16 miles, and we will be running the Vermont 50 together in September (actually in a large group that includes @trifatlete, @thinmedic, @sarahstanley, @luau, @maslife, @saltyrunner and more). So we decided it would be a good race to get to know each other. Chris had a lot of sage advice for us, including but not limited to: "go out slow and try to negative split the back half." Discussion soon moved to the Boston Marathon and the Eastern States 20-Miler coming-up. I mentioned that I'd heard from several people that they ran ES20 and had their WORST Boston ever. Chris smiled and said "I know lots of people who've left their Boston on THIS course. You don't wanna leave Boston out there today."

We started discussing our nutritional plans and the first shred of doubt started to creep in. Jeremy was fully stocked with Powerbar Gels and chews, and was discussing bringing his water pack. I told him that I'd decided to leave my Fuel Belt at home and was only going to carry some Sport Beans with me. You see, ever since Boston last year I've been trying to increase my metabolic efficiency by running further with less fuel and less water. This course was said to have water and Gatorade every three miles. I figured that would be enough. So, Jeremy left his pack in his car. Thank God he brought all of Powerbar fuel. We left the gym and headed toward the start.

As soon as we got outside i fired-up the Garmin to sync with the satellites. I don't know what's going on with my Garmin lately, but it's taking FOREVER to link up. By the time we started it still hadn't synced. The weather was cool with a light drizzle. Perfect running weather IMHO... Finally, according to Jeremy's Garmin, it linked-up with the satellites at 0.11 miles into the race. We started-out in a nice little group, me, Jeremy, Adam and Alett and Heather. As we moved in front a little, Alett said "See you later! Have a great race!" And I said "No, no, we're going to hang with you guys for a while!" I knew she was planning on running around 9:30/mi splits and this was where I wanted to stay until the turn at 10. This was what we had discussed and settled on. But next thing I know, we were running and talking and talking and running and the miles just started clicking-off. Every mile that clicked-of faster than the last Jeremy and I would look at each other and say "We really need to slow down."

Everything still looking good for us at this point! Thanks Melody!

Instead, we'd quickly return to chatting and then soon added a third runner to the mix, we'll call her Rosie (she was wearing a Rosie Ruiz fan club shirt), a friend of Alett's from the Cambridge Running Club who told us it was also her first attempt at Stu's. The three of us settled into a groove around mile 4 and pulled each other through the first 10 miles with splits of (8:49) (8:53) (8:36) (8:26) (8:18) (8:36) (8:31) (8:23) (8:36) and (8:57) respectively. The 6 mile water stop was closer to 7 which aggravated me. Then the 9 mile water was after the 15k mark and I tried to eat exactly HALF of the Sport Beans I had with me when it came into my sight line. Unfortunately, they ended-up being far chewier than I remember them from the previous week and I couldn't swallow them, even with the water. so I chewed on them for about another 0.25 miles. The next two miles I really started to struggle but focused on keeping my cadence up. The rain started coming down pretty hard here. Mile 11 and 12 splits were (8:51) and (8:54). Then the wheels started to come off.

As we watched Rosie Ruiz pull away from us, I told Jeremy he could go ahead if he wanted, I didn't want to hold him back. He opted to stay with me and help me get through this "rough patch." Mile 13 was (9:28). Jeremy offered me a Powerade gel and I was in no position to refuse. It was HORRIBLE and sticky and even worse we had to run at least another mile or two until I could get some water to was it down. Then I felt the stabbing pain of a small rock in my shoe. I reached down to pull it out but only succeeded in pushing it further down. I ran about another half mile and had to stop to take my shoe off. I couldn't see it, but Jeremy said he saw it pop out when I pulled my shoe off. I said "We'll see." An my friend from zip-lining (Sean) passed-by and asked if everything was okay (we had passed him around mile 6). I gave him the thumbs-up and kept on trucking.

Mile 14 came in at (9:41). Suddenly I felt that friggin' rock right under the ball of my right foot. I had to stop. But I got that little bugger and cursed it as I threw it to the side of the road. But I couldn't get my legs going again. I told Jeremy I had to walk for a bit. So we walked to the next telephone pole and got running again. Mile 15 - (10:23). The rain was really coming down hard now. I tried to eat the rest of the Sport Beans at the water stop, but they were al stuck to the half-open packaging and I dropped two on the ground when I ripped it open and only got to eat tow of them. Believe me, I contemplated picking the other two out of the mud at that point.

I still couldn't get my shit together and had to walk for a bit again in mile 16 (10:12), it felt like I was getting blisters on the balls of both feet. Jeremy and I joked that it was okay to walk because we were just "practicing our ultra technique." I got a little burst of energy from somewhere, and it was a mostly downhill mile for mile 17 (9:28) in which I just let my legs fly and felt the recovery. That was until we hit the steepest hill of the course as we rolled back into Clinton. We looked at each other and said "Ultra technique? Ultra technique." And power-walked up that big bastard. Then we ran down the backside and knew the last bear of a hill was around the corner and stopped to stretch our calves a bit. Then took off to conquer the last hill. With our "ultra technique," of course. Except, I think we ran more of the final hill than we walked because I seem to remember it hurting. A lot. I mean everything was on fire as if I were running a 5k. Mile 18 (11:56).

We got to the top of the last hill and knew we had about a half mile left. Just then, this annoyingly chipper girl came running by and said something like "They have TWINKIES at the end of the race boys!" We both looked at each other and didn't need to say anything, but the look was "aww... HELL NO!!!" We started running with all we had, keeping her within striking distance of my "Kenyan" kick. With about 200 yards left I started my kick and I heard our cheering section at the finish line screaming, I heard Jeremy grunting off my right shoulder, and I passed her, I heard the Twinkie girl let out a whimper. She broke. I think she may have even stopped or something, because she's nowhere to be found in our finish line picture.

Where'd the other guy come from? I didn't even see or hear him. He's like the silent assassin or something.

Looking at the results, it appears she finished a full 6 seconds after us which is weird considering we passed her with like 40 yards left. We finished that last 0.64 miles with an 8:46/mi pace. I don't know where it came from, but... Anyway. It was by far one of the most grueling and difficult races I've done to date and definitely tougher than Derry. I really need to get my nutrition plan straightened-out before Boston. Time to buck-up! Official time 2:52:33.67. I can do better next year...

There is no tomorrow. Go out and get it today!

An Update on Compression Clothing...

2011-02-28T08:12:00.001-05:00

I found the following information on Joe Friel's blog today. In my opinion it is the single best aggregation of information on the subject of compression that I've seen to date. As this is a hot topic and compression stockings, tights, sleeves, and other clothing are the trendiest products on the market (and can often cost a ridiculous amount of money), I thought I'd present you with this information in it's entirety as it can be found here - http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2011/02/an-update-on-compression-clothing.html#

Joe Friel really doesn't need an introduction as he has been coaching endurance athletes since 1980. But, I'm going to do it anyway. Joe is the founder of Training Peaks web-based training software (trainingpeaks.com) and Training Bible Coaching (trainingbible.com). He holds a masters degree in exercise science, is a USA Triathlon and USA Cycling certified Elite-level coach, and is a founder and past Chairman of the USA Triathlon National Coaching Commission.

In my opinion, Joe's article is an example of the type of information a coach should provide his athletes and the general public on a regular basis. He provides his athletes with objective information gathered through hard work, experience, prevailing wisdom and objective data gathered from legitimate studies. He doesn't simply take information given to him my shoe, supplement and gear manufacturer's and present it as "research" while evangelizing for the brand(s).
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It’s been a couple of years since I last checked the research for the latest on compression clothing. When I first wrote about this topic back in October, 2007 there really wasn’t much available. By the time I followed up on it in March, 2009 there still wasn’t a great deal to report. But in the last two years there have been several studies added to the literature. I list and summarize each of them below including those that were reviewed in my 2009 post.

What is expected of compression clothing such as stockings, calf sleeves, thigh sleeves, briefs, tights and full-body suits? Why do athletes wear them? They are quite common now in triathlons and running races. Two primary reasons appear to have evolved. The first is that they may improve performance. The second is that they may speed recovery after difficult workouts and races.

When I ask athletes who wear them why, they seem to be certain there is a benefit in one or both of these areas. The problem with asking users is that they have invested money, time, reputation and self-perception in the product. They are unlikely to suggest that it doesn’t work. They may even be able to provide data to back up their use of the product. The placebo effect can be a powerful influencer of outcomes, especially when the changes are small. Nor can we trust the testimonials of elite athletes who are given the product or even paid to use it. Even non-elite athletes who are given a pair of $30 socks feel a need to “repay” the sponsor with glowing comments. That leaves us with science—and our own opinions. We’ll start with the science.

The following are summaries of the pertinent studies I could find with searches at PubMed.

Does Compression Clothing Improve Performance?

1. Ali, A., R.H. Creasy, J.A. Edge. 2011. The effect of graduated compression stockings on running performance. J Strength Cod Res Feb 2 (Epub ahead of print).

Summary: Nine male and three female competitive runners (VO2 max 68.7 +/-5.8 mLO2/kg/min) ran four 10km time trials on a track over a period of several days. They wore either standard stockings (CON), 12-15 mmHg compression stockings (LOW), 18-21 mmHg compression stockings (MED), or 23-32 mmHg compression stockings (HIGH). (The higher the mmHg number the greater the pressure placed on the tissues—lower legs and ankles, in this case.)There was no significant difference in 10km times, heart rate or blood lactate levels regardless of the type of stocking worn.

2. Ali, A., R.H. Creasy, J.A. Edge. 2010. Physiological effects of wearing graduated compression stockings during running. Eur J Appl Physiol 109(6):1017-25.

Summary: Nine male and one female competitive runners ran 3 x 40-minute treadmill runs at 80% of their VO2 max. They wore either 0 mmHg stockings (CON), 12-15 mmHg compression stockings (LOW) or 23-32 mmHg compression stockings (HIGH). There were no significant differences in oxygen uptake, heart rate or blood lactate during the runs. There were no benefits post-exercise.

3. Chatard, J.C., D. Atlaoui, J. Farjanel, F. Louisy, D. Rastel, C.Y. Guezennec. 2004. Elastic stockings, performance and leg pain recovery in 63-year-old sportsmen. Eur J Appl Physiol93(3):347-52.

Summary: Twelve, trained older (average age 63) cyclists did 2 x 5-minute maximum efforts on a bicycle ergometer separated by an 80-minute recovery period on four occasions. During the recovery between the efforts they wore either compression stockings or no compression stockings. On the second max effort in each case their power decreased compared with the first effort in each pair. The decrease in max power was less when the compression stockings were worn during the preceding recovery and lactate was significantly decreased with the compression stockings also.

4. Duffield, R., J. Cannon, M. King. 2010. The effects of compression garments on recovery of muscle performance following high-intensity sprint and plyometric exercise. J Sci Med Sport 13(1):136-40.

Summary: Eleven subjects completed two exercise sessions separated by seven days. The sessions consisted of 20-meter sprints and 10 bounds every minute. For one session they wore compression stockings. For the other they did not wear compression stockings. Performance was measured for the sprints and bounds. Before each session, immediately after, 2 hours after and 24 hours after the researchers measured muscle twitch properties, knee extension strength, knee flexion strength, blood lactate, body fluid pH, creatine kinase, aspartate transaminase, C-reactive protein, heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion and muscle soreness. There were no differences in performance or other measures except for muscle soreness which was less after using the compression stockings.

5. Higgins, T., G.A. Naughton, D. Burgess. 2009. Effects of wearing compression garments on physiological and performance measures in a simulated game-specific circuit for netball. J Sci Med Sport 12(1):223-6.

Summary: Competitive netball players wore either 1) traditional netball clothing, 2) compression garments or 3) placebo garments. They were tested for sprints, countermovement jumps, blood lactate, heart rate, velocity and distance covered during a game (using GPS technology). With compression garments there was greater distances covered and faster velocities although the enhancements were minimal.

6. Kemmler, W. S. Von Stengel, C. Kockritz, J. Mayhew, A. Wassermann, J. Zapf. 2009. Effect of compression stockings on running performance in men runners. J Strength Con Res23(1):101-5.

Summary: Twenty-one moderately trained men ran a graded exercise test on a treadmill to a voluntary maximum output on two occasions separated by a week. One test was done with compression socks and the other with standard athletic socks. Running performance with the compression socks improved at anaerobic threshold 1.5% and at aerobic threshold 2.1%.

7. Scanlon, A.T., B.J. Dascombe, P.R. Reaburn, M. Osborne. 2008. The effects of wearing lower-body compression garments during endurance cycling. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 3(4):424-38.

Summary: Twelve well-trained (VO2 max 70.5 +/-4.9 mL/kg/min), young (20.5 +/- 3.6 years old), male cyclists did 2 graded exercise tests and 2 one-hour time trials wearing either full-length SportSkins Classic compression garment (LBCG) or standard underwear briefs (CON). In the graded exercise tests there was a 5% increase in anaerobic threshold power (245.9 +/- 55.7 to 259.8 +/- 44.6 watts) when wearing LBCG. There was no performance enhancement in the time trial (as measured by total work achieved in kilojoules).

8. Sperlich, B., M. Haegele, S. Achtzehn, J. Linville, H.C. Holmberg, J. Mester. 2010. Different types of compression clothing do not increase sub-maximal and maximal endurance performance in well-trained athletes. J Sports Sci 28(6):609-14.

Summary: Fifteen young (27 +/- 4.8 years old), well-trained (VO2 max 63.7 +/- 4.9) athletes did sub-maximal (70% VO2 max) and maximal tests wearing either compression stockings, standard tights or whole-body compression suits. There were no differences in performance, ratings of perceived exertion, muscle soreness, time to exhaustion and lactate concentrations.

Does Compression Clothing Improve Recovery?

9. Ali, A., M.P. Caine, B.G. Snow. 2007. Graduated compressionstockings: Physiological and perceptual responses during and after exercise. J Sports Sci 25(4):413-419.

Summary: In this study Ali discovered that after 10km running trials,recreationally active men experienced a reduction in delayed-onset muscle soreness 24 hours after wearing compression stockings (18-22 mmHg) compared with traditional sports socks.

10. Berry, M.J., R.G. McMurray. 1987. Effects of graduated compression stockings on blood lactate following an exhaustive bout of exercise. J Phys Med 66(3):121-32.

Summary: Twelve highly fit males were subjects in 2 experiments. In the first experiment 6 of them did VO2 max tests on a treadmill with and without compression stockings. In the second 6 of them did 3 x 3-minute max efforts on a bicycle ergometer at 110% of their VO2 max. On the first of these 3-minute efforts they wore compression stockings during the test and during recovery. For the second 3-minute bout they wore compression stockings during the test but not during the recovery. On the third they did not use compression stockings for either the 3-minute effort or the recovery. For the first experiment (VO2 max tests) there was no difference in VO2 max with or without compression stockings. But blood lactate levels after the test were lower with compression stockings. For the second experiment (3-minute max efforts) post-exercise lactate was lower only when compression stockings were worn during recovery.

11. Davies, V., K.G. Thompson, S.M. Cooper. 2009. The effects of compression garments on recovery. J Strength Cod Res23(6):1786-94.

Summary: Following exercises designed to cause soreness 11 trained subjects wore compression tights on one occasion and none on another. Self-reported muscle soreness was reduced by wearing the tights.

12. French D.N., K.G. Thompson, S.W. Garland, C.A. Barnes, M.D. Portas, P.E. Hood, G. Wilkes. 2008. The effects of contrast bathing and compression therapy on muscular performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc 40(7):1297-306.

Summary: Twenty-six young men did heavy-load squats to induce muscle soreness. 48 hours afterwards they were evaluated for strength performance. During the 48 hours they either 1) did hot-cold contrast baths, 2) wore compression stockings or 3) rested passively. Neither the contrast baths or compression stockings promoted recovery any more effectively than passive rest. However, the contrast baths had a brief but transient benefit for reduced soreness.

13. Miyamoto, N., K. Hirata, N. Mitsukawa, T. Yanai, Y. Kawkami. 2011. Effect of pressure intensity of graduated elastic compression stocking on muscle fatigue following calf-raise exercise. J Electromyogr Kinsiol 21(2):249-54.

Summary: Fourteen subjects did 15 sets of 10 reps each of calf raises on different occasions. They wore either standard stockings (CON), compression stockings of 21-25 mmHg at the calf and 30 at the ankle (EC30), or compression stockings of 12-14 mmHg at the calf and 18 at the ankle (EC18). The EC30 stockings produced the lowest levels of fatigue.

14. Montgomery, P.G., D.B. Pyne, W.G. Hopkins, J.C. Dorman, K. Cook, C.L. Minhan. 2008. The effect of recovery strategies on physical performance and cumulative fatigue in competitive basketball. J Sports Sci 26(11):1135-45.

Summary: 29 male basketball players competed in a 3-day tournament. After each game they recovered by either 1) taking in extra carbohydrate and stretching, 2) doing cold-water immersion (11C degrees) or 3) wearing full-leg compression garments (18 mmHg for 18 hours). Measures of recovery were sprint speed, agility, vertical jump height and flexibility. Cold-water produced better recovery results than carbs + stretching or the compression garments.

15. Riman, D., L. Messonier, J. Castells, X. Devillard, P. Calmels. 2010. Effects of compression stockings during exercise and recovery on blood lactate kinetics. Eur J Appl Physiol110(2):425-33.

Summary: Eight healthy, trained males did 2 maximum-effort tests on bikes with and without compression stockings. Post-exercise lactate removal was significantly faster with compression stockings.

16. Jakeman, J.R., C. Byrne, R.G. Eston. 2010. Lower limb compression garment improves recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage in young, active females. Eur J Appl Physiol109(6):1137-44.

Summary: Seventeen females did 100 plyometric drop jumps from a high box to induce muscle soreness and damage. Eight of them wore compression stockings for 12 hours post-exercise. Nine did not wear compression stockings after the session. Recovery was measured using self-reported muscle soreness, creatine kinase levels, knee extensor strength and vertical jump height.Compression stockings improved all markers of recovery except for creatine kinase (a marker of muscle cell damage).

17. Kraemer, W.J., S.D. Flanagan, B.A. Comstock, et al. 2010. Effects of a whole body compression garment on markers of recovery after a heavy resistance workout in men and women. J Strength Cond Res 24(3):804-14.

Wearing a full-body compression garment for 24 hours after a challenging, heavy-resistance strength workout enhanced psychological, physiological and performance markers of recovery when compared with non-compressive garments.

SUMMARY

So where does all of this leave us? Unfortunately, when it comes to performance and recovery from using compression garments there are no clear-cut answers. Part of the problem is defining “performance” (Is an increase in aerobic threshold equal in value to a faster time trial? Does improving a netballer’s velocity translate to faster 10km times?) and “recovery” (Does quickly removing lactate after exercise mean a speedier recovery for the following day’s workout?). Using a rather loose definition of “performance” the study yeas and nays for performance are close to even (4 yes: 3, 5, 6, 7 and 6 no: 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 10). (Note that some studies reported on both performance and recovery.) With an equally liberal definition of “recovery” there is a slight advantage for the yeas (8 yes: 4, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 4 no: 2, 8, 12, 14). Of course, research is really not intended to be simply a way of “voting” or “polling.” There are significant differences in what is studied, who is studied and how the research was designed. Taken as a whole this muddies up the interpretation of such a review.

So there really isn’t an overwhelmingly obvious answer to the questions regarding the benefits of compression clothing for performance and recovery. It still comes down to what each of us thinks and personally experiences (placebo or not). Here are my thoughts.

My sense is that the performance benefits of compression garments are at best very small and probably non-existent. If you’re a triathlete I suspect the time it takes to put the garment on in transition is probably greater than the amount of time gained by wearing it, if there is any time gain at all. Missing one less workout in the build-up to your race or improving your other gear such as bikes and shoes would probably have a greater impact on performance than compression clothing.

When it comes to recovery, however, I believe there really may be a significant benefit. The research somewhat suggests this also. I’ve tried many different types of compression garments both during workouts and in recovery. There were no obvious benefits during the workouts but I could sense some positive post-workout sensations when using the garments to recover. Could this have been a placebo effect? Possibly.

It seems to me, however, that the greatest benefit would come from helping the return of body fluids from the feet, ankles and lower legs where they tend to accumulate in the recovery time after a challenging session. For me that means using compression stockings. I really don’t see much value in shin or thigh sleeves, or hip and thigh tights. They have little or no benefit for helping move fluids out of the lower extremities. In fact, it would seem to me that wearing a shin sleeve would tend to force fluids down into the feet and ankles. But then I’ve seen no research on this at all.

If you use compression clothing I’m sure you have an opinion on the topic also. Feel free to post it in the Comments section below. And if you come across other research in this area please send it my way. Thanks for your comments.
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Thanks again for the excellent information Joe!

Strong Work!

WTF am I doing?!?!? (I've lost my mojo)

2011-02-26T23:26:00.000-05:00

Really. What the 'eff am I doing? I have no idea. I've completely shut down. I can't write. I can't train. I can't write about training. I suddenly feel like I have nothing to contribute. I really wish I knew what my problem was. Well, that's not all entirely true. I'm back to training after my forced mini-taper (wife's surgery, kids illnesses, my illness, ugh). As of today I've only put-in 61 miles in February, 42 of which I've gotten-in since the 18th. Yeah, I'm running, but it feels like I'm just going through the motions. I'm not excited about it. I'm not motivated. I'm fighting with myself just to get out the door or on the treadmill. But, I really can't write. Writing was such an important part of my training, I can't help but think that not writing has been affecting my training.

So, in a search for answers I just read-over a bunch of old posts and the comments that I received on them and said to myself "where's THAT guy?" That guy is who I am. That is the guy I want to keep me company on my long runs, he's the one that I've lost along the way. There was a time when I was inspired to write my story in order to motivate and inspire others. To show that truly anything is possible. To prove that ordinary people can do extraordinary things! Sometime after I ran Boston, this blog turned into a place to hang my race reports. I've been wondering for a long time what happened to my blog, where did all of my readers go? Blog hangover? For a while I was looking for somewhere/someone to place the blame on. But now I realize it's just me. It's my fault. I've lost my writing mojo, just as I've lost my running mojo and I've got to do something to get it back soon! I've got a friggin' marathon to run in 50 days! 50 days. The Boston Marathon for fuck's sake! This actually means that as of tomorrow, I have exactly 28 days of hard training before starting my taper! OhgodwhathaveIdone?

The fact is I've set a lofty goal for myself. I haven't felt very confident in my ability to achieve this goal, and therefore have been avoiding accountability by not blogging. What this has led to has been a lack of confidence in my abilities during training runs and it's seeping into every area of my life. The fact is that I need to put this out there and keep putting it out there until I either make it a reality or fall flat on my face. The reality of the situation is that I need you. I need you all more than ever! I need all of my twitter friends, my fellow dailymiler's, my facebook friends, my IRL friends and my family. I need your support. I'm asking, neigh begging for it! You see, I put it all out there last year when my main goal was simply to finish. And when the time came that I hit the wall and texted to Lex that I was "done" at 21.5, the thought of all of you cheering me on (and some drunk BC kids, and some strong words from Lex) got me going again. I've been laboring through this training season with a secret. Well not so much a secret as I just haven't made it an issue...

This year I'm going to run a BQ in Boston! I know, I know, I've made mention of it here and there. But I just haven't put it out there. I realize now that I need to put it out there, and put it out there regularly. I need to rally the troops behind me if I am going to accomplish this goal. I know this means taking nearly an hour off of my first marathon time of 4:14:09. I will be 40 this year and my BQ time is 3:20:59, and with the new "rolling" registration procedure, in order to even have a chance at running Boston again, I have to run a sub-3:15:00 marathon. Although I love running for charity, and running for the Children's Hospital "Miles for Miracles" Team has added so much meaning to my running, it's just too much. I really want to run Boston without the pressure of raising money. It's too much added onto the stress of training. And considering I'm trying to raise $10,000 this year, I feel I will have accomplished all that I can as a fundraiser. Besides there are so many other things that require my full attention and efforts (my duties as race director for Lex's Run for the MDA for instance).

I just hope that this cry for help isn't too late, I hope it's not falling on deaf ears at this point. I hope there are a lot of people out there that have occasionally checked back here and will be willing to read regularly again once I find my mojo again! Please let me know that you are still with me. I know you won't disappoint me!

Speaking of my fundraising, I've put together a virtual race to support my efforts. It's going to be a good time with lots of fun and prizes from my sponsor's! Check it out here - "36k for Miracles" Virtual Challenge

A word about shoe's...

2011-02-22T11:11:00.000-05:00

This started-out as a comment in reply to my friend Luau's post on his blog today "Wrong" on Run Luau Run However, I realized it quickly turned into something that I could not, in good conscience just post as a comment. It's far too long, and probably rude of me to post in his comment section. It is HIS blog after all, not mine. So, instead, I'll post it here and link it in his comment section. Besides, I've had a bit of writer's block lately and maybe this is what I need to get the juices flowing again...

Great post today Luau! I think your learned lessons with VFF's translate ANYTIME you change shoes (and IMHO you SHOULD change your shoes, even rotate them regularly).

Case in point: Before I started training for the 2010 Boston Marathon (my first marathon), I did a LOT of research on running form, shoes, etc. I decided that if I wanted to avoid injuries that I already KNEW I was prone to (PF, ITBS, and I'd already had 2 knee surgeries) I had to run with a forefoot/midfoot strike. I decided that Newton's would be my shoe of choice. I found a coach to guide me and I spent a couple of months focusing on converting my stride by shortening it and increasing my cadence (in my Asics Gel Cumulus). I found that running this way in my Asics really put a huge strain on my calve and achilles and determined it was probably much like trying to run in high heels.

I finally broke down and bought the Newton Motion Trainer's on December 17, 2009. I went through 3 pair of them (a little over 200 miles each) during training. I had two "issues" with them. I noticed that on any run or race over 13.1, when I became fatigued, I tended to run "flatter." Unfortunately, the Newton Motion Trainer's are VERY unforgiving (re: painful) if you get sloppy with your form. The second "issue" was that I am a natural supinator (I land on the outside of my foot and tend NOT to roll inward on transition/toe-off). So, the outside lug (Newton's have 4 "actuator" lugs) wore-down at an accelerated rate comparatively to the others, forcing my foot to roll outward through toe-off and I had a tendency to roll my ankles, especially on downhills.

So, one month prior to my first marathon, I knew I needed new shoes to run the marathon in and I found out that the Newton guys (Danny Abshire and Ian Adamson) would be in Cambridge at the Multi-Sport Expo. So I signed-up and went to talk to them. They watched me run back and forth across the Expo several times. They agreed with me that I am a supinator (and said it is actually "rare") and told me that with my size (6'1" 200 lbs), I should try the "Sir Isaac Guidance" trainer for the marathon. So, I bought a pair and headed home to try them out. I jumped into them. Running all of my training runs in them. On day seven I ran my 21-miler on the course and developed an incredible pain behind the inside of my left ankle that extended up my calf. My sports chiro said it was posterior tibialis tendonitis and a possibly a slight tear in my Gastrocnemius. I figured I had enough time to heal since I was officially in taper mode. I rested, Iced, elevated, compressed and jacked-up my intake of omega-3's.

During the marathon, not only did I get blister's on my right foot (I had NO issues with blistering in training) but my posterior tibialis started aching around mile 17, and my left calf completely seized (cramped-up, like those cramps that wake you up in the middle of the night) by mile 21.5. I had to walk, a lot, the last 4.7 miles and threw-out my sub-4 hour goal. Now, I'm not blaming the shoes, just how I transitioned into them.

Since then, I bought one more pair of Motion trainer's, a pair of New Balance MT-101's (minimalist trail shoes) and a pair of Saucony Kinvara's. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson, right? Wrong. I did some trail running and racing in the MT-101's and LOVED them. I figured I had no issues in them because I'm already a mid/forefoot striker and I'd been running in Newton's so long I'm already a "minimalist" runner, right? Made sense to me. So when I got my Kinvara's I was totally psyched! I jumped right into running all of my training runs in them. I put 60 miles on them in less than ten days. And then it started. An intense ache on the outside of my right ankle. It went away after the first 1/4 mile or so during my runs, but within an hour afterward and when I woke-up in the morning, it was so painful I could barely walk. My sports chiro diagnosed me with peroneal tendonitis.

I've now been dealing with this problem all though my training for my second Boston Marathon. It's a pain in the ass (ankle). It nags, it ebbs and flows. I'm now using my Newton's for everything over 12 miles. I rotate between my MT-101's and Kinvara's for all of my shorter runs and speed work on the roads and the treadmill. This seems to be working much better for me. Funny thing is, the MT-101's are my favorite shoe now. I run on the roads and the treadmill in them with no problems. It is my sincere hope that I'll have built-up my mileage in the Kinvara's enough to run the marathon in them (I just fear the 101's won't hold-up over 26.2 on the roads). If not, I guess it'll be the Newton's again.

I know this is long and I'm sorry. but I wanted this story to serve as a cautionary tale for EVERYONE switching shoes. Not just trying to "go minimalist" but even with switching between shoes from the same manufacturer, it is of the utmost importance to transition PROPERLY. Take it easy, ease into them and build the mileage SLOWLY...

Compression Socks: Vitalsox -vs- Zensah

2011-01-10T22:37:00.001-05:00

Disclaimer: The folks at Vitalsox (@vitalsox on twitter) were kind enough to send me a pair of their "Recovery Sock" compression socks to test wear and write a review of. Other than the product itself I have not been, nor will ever be compensated for this review.

I've actually been very excited about this as it is the first bona fide product review that I have done on my blog. I mean, yes, I've blogged about how awesome certain products that I use are (i.e. Smartwool Socks, Body Glide, Yak Trax, etc.) but I've never written a specific product review before...

I'd like to preface this review by saying I'm not here to get into the debate of whether or not compression is the real deal or all smoke and mirrors. I like compression. Big fan. Especially after races and long or particularly strenuous workouts. I find that compression really speeds along recovery and I'm not nearly as sore, if I'm sore at all, for the next day or two. Since just before the 2010 Boston Marathon I've been using the Zensah Leg Sleeves religiously. I'm not sold or convinced that the compression actually improves performance per se, but I like to wear the sleeves during races because they feel good. Maybe it's become a mental crutch, but so what. You should run happy in whatever you feel comfortable running in, right?

I have only one issue with the sleeves... I can't wear them more than a few hours at a time because they make my feet swell. I found this out after the first time I fell asleep with them on. Not a big deal, but not exactly pleasant. So, I've been talking to my wife about finding the "right" pair of compression socks to try out. Wouldn't you know, I received the Vitalsox Recovery Socks just before Christmas, and Santa brought me a pair of the Zensah Compression Socks for Christmas. Yay me! And perfect timing for me to write a comparative review.

My first impression of the Vitalsox Recovery were that they try to cram an awful lot of information onto the packaging and it looks a bit too busy. I mean, their target audience are runner's, triathlete's and other endurance athlete's who all tend to be a very well-informed bunch that do their research before seeking out a certain product. If we're out looking for a compression sock you don't need to sell us on the benefits of graduated compression by putting a bunch of information and illustrations all over your package. The Zensah packaging got it right. Simple. Black. With the Zensah name, logo, and "Compression Socks" printed on it. Or at least that's all I noticed before I removed it and threw it in the trash.

The Vitalsox Recovery Socks were white, with red logo, blue lettering and an arrow design to point you in the right direction like "insert foot this way!" Which I found kind of helpful in keeping them straight while working them onto your legs. They looked and felt a little more "clinical" than the Zensah Compression Socks. The Zensah's were black with silver toes and heels and were labeled L and R, but I haven't quite figured-out why. Just for fun I wore them on the wrong feet one day and didn't really notice a difference. Zensah says they have a "built-in arch support" on their website so maybe that was the reason, but there isn't a noticeable difference. The Vitalsox were also significantly lighter in construction and material. The Zensah were much thicker and heavier. At first try, the Vitalsox went on easy and felt a bit snug yet comfortable. The Zensah were quite difficult to put on and had significantly firmer compression. This is where the direct comparison needs to end however, as I've found that they are completely different products that each serve a purpose in an athlete's recovery.

The first time I tested the Vitalsox was after a 14 mile long run. I stretched, showered and put them on right away. I found them to give a comfortable, gentle compression. The DryStat fabric was also very breathable and kept my feet fairly cool and dry. Which I wasn't expecting at all as my feet usually don't agree with synthetic fibers and tend to sweat a lot when any synthetic fibers even touch them. Call me pleasantly surprised. However, when I put my shoes on to head to the mailbox, my feet began to sweat as usual. The Vitalsox were so comfortable in fact that I went to bed with them on. When I woke up in the morning my legs and feet felt fresh and ready to go with little or no residual soreness. Every time I've worn them since, I've had the same results.

I wore the Zensah for the first time after a particularly strenuous hill workout. I found them a little more difficult to put on, especially with damp legs out of the shower. But, once they were on they felt great. They gave the perfect amount of firm compression. In no time, I was bouncing around the house like I hadn't just flagellated myself on that hill. They were so comfortable that I decided to wear them to bed as well. Unfortunately, sometime around 130 am I woke-up and had to yank them off because they were squeezing the life out of my feet. Very uncomfortable to sleep in. Yet, my legs still felt great when I woke-up the next day.

After a couple of weeks of high-milage training while using both of these compression socks I've come to the conclusion that there is room in my routine for BOTH of them. They each give a different type of compression (though both are "graduated"), that has a place in every endurance athletes routine. If I feel I'm in need of an effective yet gentle compression (say, after a shorter or slower-paced run) I wear the Vitalsox Recovery Socks. If and when I feel I'm in need of a firmer compression after a longer or more strenuous run I put on my Zensah Compression Socks, and I put the Vitalsox on when I go to bed if I need to. Overall, I like both products and would highly recommend either product to anyone who asks about compression.

Now I just need to find a compression sock I can actually run in to complete my compression repertoire. Maybe I'll give the Smartwool Compression Socks a try for actually running in since I pretty much strictly run in their PhD Running socks. Anyone from Smartwool want to send me a pair? Speaking of running socks, Vitalsox also sent me a pair of their running socks. I must say with my penchant for merino wool or natural fiber running socks (like the above mentioned Smartwool) I wasn't very optimistic that I would like them as they are also made of the same DryStat material (a synthetic blend) as the Recovery Socks. I don't know if it has to do with the weave or exactly how they do it, but I was pleasantly surprised by the feel of these socks when I gave them a chance. First, I put them on and just wore them around the house all day and found them to be comfortable- Great cushion, and they kept my feet fairly cool and dry.

I decided I liked them enough to give them a shot on a 5 mile run. I found they performed well. It was a cold day out but they kept my feet comfortably warm and dry. I sensed a couple of hot spots forming, but I don't know if it was a mental thing or not, because in my head I knew they were synthetic. It's possible. Overall though, I'd say the Vitalsox running socks are comfortable and performed well above my initial expectations, but I'd still be hesitant to wear them on a long run (especially in the heat of the Summer). I'd like to thank Vitalsox again for letting me review their products. I actually really enjoyed the whole process of wear-testing and writing a review, and look forward to doing more of them in the future.

Remember... There is NO tomorrow!
Go out and get it TODAY!

New Year, New Surprises

2011-01-04T23:07:00.000-05:00

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself." - Neil Gaiman
On December 31, 2009, I found myself sitting next to Lex in Symphony Hall watching the Boston Pops perform with one of our favorite musician's, Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, as the featured artist of the evening. We had recently found-out that Lex was pregnant with our second child, so this New Year met us with all the anxiety and hope for the future that is requisite for all expectant parents. It ended-up being one of the most amazing spectacles we had ever witnessed, with fabulous performances all around! After the clock struck 12 and the chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" trailed-off into the evening, streamers launched, balloons dropped and popped, and Amanda introduced Neil Gaiman as her new fiance' (apparently he had proposed to her earlier that day). He then gave a powerfully moving benediction which included what I quoted above.

Neil's performance was the one performance that stuck with me through the year. It still resonates with every new milestone, and every transformation that I realize in my personal, professional and running lives. You see, I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions. I never have. After all, much like rules, in my life, resolutions are made to be broken. I prefer to make commitments to myself. The one commitment that I made for 2010 was to surprise myself. I'd say I accomplished that in spades.

So, I've been struggling for over a week to write a "year in review" or retrospective blog post. Then I found I would also have to write a post about my goals for the year, etc. I've written and re-written this in my head as well as on the 'puter too many times to count. Once, I actually sat down and got going on the retrospective and realized it was an exercise in futility. Not only was it futile because it was such and eventful and transformative year for me that it would likely have been the World's longest blog post, but I also realized that that type of writing just isn't me. I almost got sucked into the trap of "this is what you should do" as a blogger. "Everyone else does it." I told myself. If you're a blogger it almost seems that your readers expect it of you. But if you regularly read this blog (as irregularly as I write it), you know I am not about doing what is expected of me. In fact, if I believe something is expected of me, I'll go out of my way to do exactly the opposite.

It's not that I am not capable of self-analysis, introspection or goal-setting. In fact, because of running I feel like I live each day in a state in which I am constantly doing these things. Every run I gain perspective. Through running I've learned a lot about myself and about life. As cliche' as it sounds I've learned that I truly can accomplish anything I put my mind too. And that's saying something for the fat kid that never saw a challenge he didn't back down from. However, running has helped me to realize that to put my mind to something I need to work hard to keep it in focus. I need to set goals and reassess those goals on a monthly, daily, hourly and even minute-to-minute basis. Goals need to be mutable, not fixed in order to keep charging forward, otherwise it's just too easy to rest on your laurels once a goal is reached. In other words in order to keep improving, I have to move the goalposts.

2010 was a year of huge accomplishments, growth and surprises. It was also a year full of sadness, disappointment and death. In other words it was a real roller-coaster that was at times exhilarating and really sucked at other times. But you know what was the most important thing about 2010? Experience. And that I wouldn't change for anything. Sure, I could've done without some of the experiences, but I wouldn't have learned and moved forward. It saddened me on New Years Eve to see all of the posts on facebook and twitter cursing the year and hoping for a better year in 2011. **Newsflash** It wasn't the year's fault it was yours! You decide what to make of every situation. You decide how to react and respond to everything. In other words, you make everything happen either by your actions or inaction. In order to truly have hope, you have to be willing to take decisive action.

There is no tomorrow! Get out there and make things happen, today! Live in the moment. Be present in what's happening right now. Don't sit idly by and let things happen. Make the most of every opportunity. If there is the possibility that you are going to fail, then just go for it and fail epically! The bigger the failure, the larger and more important the lesson is. The bigger the lesson, the bigger the success! This is how I plan on approaching 2011. It is my sincere hope that all of you will too. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself. I know I will....