Running Down

Mug Shot

2012-05-27T08:30:00.002-04:00

Shannon commissioned this "running down" mug for me. It was created by Michael Mahan who creates the Uwharrie Mountain run awards every year.

It is a perfect rendition of my own personal Uwharrie 40 experience. But also reflects how I feel most mornings.

It holds about 4 cups of coffee, which should help me transition to looking more this:

2012 Uwharrie Awards
Photo courtesy of Michael Mahan

2012 NCRC Umstead Half Marathon

2012-05-25T17:17:00.002-04:00

Mouthful
Saturday night at a party, people asked us if we had any races coming up.
The answer was: "Why yes, in the morning we have the 14th Annual North Carolina Roadrunners Club Invitational Half-Marathon".
But actually saying that was just too exhausting so I just said "No."

I'm not sure what the "Invitational" part of the race refereed to, but we were not invited; we had to sign up .
But the ONLY reason we signed up for this race is that the course practically runs right through our living room. It would just be too awkward not to be running it with all those people running by.

Sunday morning we already had our bibs, so we slept in and then left our house at 6:45 am for the 7:00 am start time.

Jogging to the start a half mile away was somewhat of a problem though, as I struggled to shake of my early morning arthritic paralysis. I barely managed to warm up and catch Shannon at the start with a minute to spare.

Two female runners react to the sights
and smells of shirtless douchebags

Sprinter
With a whistle, the pack was off, almost immediately descending down a steep, paved section of Old Reedy Creek Road.
At first it was fun, and I managed to keep up with the lead pack. But the drop continued to get steeper, and I began to REALLY miss the thick cushioning of my old running shoes.
With the Merrell trail gloves, I have not yet mastered the skill of a controlled descent, and it was absolutely KILLING my knees. So I had two options:

Stop and shuffle very slowly down the hill. Walk, really.
Go for an un-controlled descent.

In the rush of the moment, I chose option 2.
Even though it was the first mile of a 13 mile race, I red-lined it like it was 100 meter dash.
With feet flailing and slapping the pavement, I flew by the lead pack, most of them skinny kids wearing UNC singlets. It felt like I broke several bones in my feet, but for a minute, I was in second place.

Jogger
That ended quickly as I hit the bottom of the hill and started up the long ascent into Umstead park.
My 13 mph sprint turned into a 10 min mile slog and a long stream of runners began passing me, wondering why I was in front of them..
One guy ran by, and seeing how hard I was struggling up the incline, became confused, "Uh, are you running the race?"

Several more people passed, one of which, I swear, was an 8 year old boy.
I could live with that. But next I heard, "Hey, Anthony", as one my arch rivals ran by...

Dan threatens me with a banana peel but I defend myself with a gift card

Rival: Dan The Man
Dan was one of the people who inspired me to switch to minimal shoes after I saw him run the Umstead 100 last year in Vibrams.
But he didn't just finish, he crushed it, completing his first 100 miler in 17:30 on minimal training. That performance ranks 56 out 1502 on the all time Umstead list.
Throw in a 2:55 City of Oaks marathon and 17:21 5K, and that's a resume that I can only dream of.

Clearly, he is the stronger runner. But our rivalry has come out backwards, as I have managed to always catch Dan when he is under-trained and having a bad day .

In each of the last 5 races we have done, I have passed him in the second half. In the philosopher's Way last year, I made an asshole move and squeaked by at the very end to edge him by 6 seconds. I think I might be pissing him off.

Rivalry Stats
Total Races vs	7
Record vs (W-L)	5-2
Greatest Victory	2011 Uwharrie 40 (-57:17)
Worst Defeat	2008 City Of Oaks (+30:03)
Next Race	?
Current Status	Annoying Winner

"I'm sure we will be seeing a lot of each other today", Dan predicted as he passed me there at mile 1.

My vision started to get hazy

Same Old Thing
Sure enough, I caught up to and passed Dan on the next downhill, and he passed me going back up. But neither of us could catch the 8 year old kid just ahead.

After mile 4, the soleus on both of my legs were getting so tight they felt like they might snap. From what I hear, this is a standard feature of minimal shoes.

If it had been convenient, I would have dropped out, because it seemed impossible that my soleus would hold out another 9 miles. But being on the far side of Umstead convinced me to try to continue.
So the rest of the way I was constantly adjusting my stride, with my legs teetering right on the edge of seizing up.

After the turn around, I caught Dan again. "You are going to have to get ahead, so I can pass you on graveyard.", he told me. So I did. When I got to Graveyard Hill, I was shocked to see that I was pace to beat my time from 2 years ago.
The lure of a PR was too tempting to resist and I powered up the hill, pleading with my soleus muscles, "I promise I will take the entire week off, if you can hold on for 4 more miles. I swear. Really!".

I managed to hold off Dan there, as I went by the aid station Shannon and I volunteered at last year. I got boost from some familiar faces and a cup of cold water over my head..

Shannon's photos from the race included 50 of people
and about 300 of dogs.

Barf
I pushed it hard the last couple miles down the Black Creek greenway, and saw that Dan was not far behind me at the turn around there. Going up to the finish line is a short steep hill, and I slowed to a crawl having almost nothing left.

I thought I heard Dan right on my heels, so I dug deep, summoning up what I had eaten the night before.
Barely holding the barf down, I crossed the finish line in 1:26:55, amazingly a few seconds faster than my 2010 time.

And for the 6th time in a row, I had edged out Dan. I bet he is really pissed now.

I did not completely avoid barf, however, as later I was walking around barefoot and stepped in the product of winner Ben Godfrey's finishing kick.

Shannon came in shortly after as second female overall, but failed to get many good pictures.

The rest of Shannon's photos are here.

2012 Philosopher's Way 15K

2012-05-07T22:23:00.000-04:00

A view of the experiment from above

Title:

Physiological and Psychological Effects of

Entrapment in a Complex Maze

2012 May 5

Department of Biology
Dept of Psychology

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to gauge the effects of forcing lab rats to repeatably run through a complex maze.

Unfortunately, due to protests by animal rights activists from the neighboring (and notably left leaning) city of Carrboro, we were forced to abandon the use of rats and mice in our laboratory maze experiments.

To avoid the ethical, legal and moral complications of using animals, the design of this research experiment was adjusted to use human subjects instead.

METHODS

Design
To accommodate the larger size of human subjects, a 750 acre maze was carved into the Carolina North Forest on the UNC Campus. To blind the research subjects to the purpose of this experiment, the purported reason for the event was a "trail race".

176 Test Subjects. Identity concealed to protect anonymity

This was the 5th iteration of this experiment, and for this test case 176 volunteers were recruited by the research team posing as a fictitious running group called the "Trail Heads".

RESULTS

Measurement #1: Exertion to physical failure

A robotic decoy, model #D.HOGE.1000 (here after referred to as the DH1000), was once again deployed as a stimulus. The DH1000 was set to a speed of 10 mph and launched into the maze.

This induced several test subjects to attempt to follow, despite the speed being beyond what any human can sustain in the maze. These subjects all ran themselves into complete exhaustion within 8 minutes.

It was observed that subject #53 (shirtless douche bag, male), did not attempt pursue the DH1000, as he has in 2 previous trials. This demonstrates that "learning" can be achieved through repeated negative reinforcement of applied pain and suffering.

Subject #53 (nipples redacted) showing signs extreme physical stress
and erratic behavior (photo by Drew Kelley)

Measurement #2: Application of Extreme Heat and Humidity

At exactly 10 minutes into the experiment, the temperature was raised to 25 degrees C, and humidity to 90%. As expected, this induced sweating, discomfort, and illness among the test subjects.

Subject #53 began to exhibit erratic behavior, including slurred speech and a wobbling gait. When presented with cups of water, subject dumped them on his head instead of ingesting them.

Measurement #3: Effects of random and rapid changes in direction

In order for test subjects to exit the maze, they were forced to endure 800 random turns designed to confuse and disorient. Subjects showed signs of nausea, bewilderment, and depression.

Test subject #53 was observed to be weeping uncontrollably, and shouting "Is there any fricking end to this?! How do I get out of here?!"

CONCLUSIONS

Tricking human volunteer test subjects into a giant maze in the woods, and then observing them trying to escape can be wildly entertaining.

As in previous experiments, subject #53 was again observed to have sustained physical trauma.
To correct this, a gift certificate to Balanced Physical Therapy was promptly administered.

2011 Philosopher's Way Trail 15k

2012-05-06T10:54:00.003-04:00

Summary

Just found this old post that never got published from last year when Shannon and I did the Philosopher's Way Trail 15K.
Still working on the race report from this year.

The rest of Shannon's pictures from 2011 are here.

Der Scott has great report of his 2011 experience here.

The Fast Guys

248 People hit the trail for the 15K

Getting up close and personal with the trail

Multi-talented Trailheads, "The Enablers", performed at the post race party.

2012 Potawatomi Trail Half Marathon

2012-05-04T15:55:00.001-04:00

Shannon wasn't there, so no good pictures.

New and Unimproved
So after my re-invention as a new, healthy, and pain-free runner, I found myself in a sadly familiar situation:
Limping around the day before a race. This time it was the Trail Half Marathon on the Potawatomi trail in Pinckney, MI.

Despite taking the previous 4 days off, my left foot seemed to be getting worse and not better. As I walked around Grosse Pointe, an ice pick was being jabbed into my foot with every step.

It seemed that some tendon along the top was horribly inflamed, probably from running too fast and too far in my Merrell Trail gloves.

Suck It Up
"Suck it up," my sister Monique told me, "We are all going to hobble through this thing whether we like it or not." She was working on an injury of her own, this time a possible stress fracture in her femur. When it comes to running injuries she ranks among the elite.

Since I was having trouble walking, the idea of running a half marathon the next day seemed ridiculous.
But having pain before a big race seems to happen to me all the time, which makes me think it is all in my head.

So as I went to bed that night, I tried to think positive thoughts, visualizing running smoothly and easily down the trail. But this vision kept getting interrupted by nightmarish flashes of Ryan's tendon surgery.

Cognitive dissonance
Wikipedia:

Cognitive dissonance is a discomfort caused by holding conflicting cognitions.

Driving to the race, I had a couple cognitions arguing like a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other.

Angel- "You are going to hurt your foot much worse. Don't run this race. Be smart"
Devil- "Nah. You'll be fine. Don't listen to the pre-race jitters."

I can't run like Dave Roche, so I'll have to settle
for including cute dogs in my blog posts.

But instead getting rationalized away, the conflict spiraled out of control:

Angel- "All your tendons will snap like old rubber bands!"
Devil- "In training you ran the Figure8 really fast, and you were fine!"
Angel-"You had trouble walking down the stairs this morning!"
Devil- "You are a hard core trail runner!"
Angel- "You have only been running like 20 miles a week!"
Devil- "Uh... you ran the Figure8 that one time!"
Angel- "After 3 miles all of your foot bones will crumble to dust and you will have to carted off the trail"

Devil- "No way! You are going to WIN!"

At this point, I realized both of them were being silly and went to warm up. Oddly, the foot actually felt better running than walking, and I figured I could make it the 13 miles one way or another.
It would be my longest run since Uwharrie 3 months ago.

Start
With a field of over 800 runners, I decided to be very optimistic and lined up near the front, with the 7-8 min mile group. My brother and sister lined up much more conservatively, farther back.

With a "GO" we took off across the grass and hit the single track in about a quarter mile.
Running fast in the Trail Gloves (a 7 min mile is fast for me) still feels really awkward and unnatural. I have to think about how to move my legs. I felt a few twinges in my foot, but I was more focused on trying to keep up with the pack.

Holy crap! Bring your climbing ropes! Oh wait. Are those 20 foot increments?

Kick Butt Hilly
This is how the website describes the course:

"Potto", is a big bad loop of hilly kick your butt wilderness single track trail.

Was this a joke? The entire elevation profile was only 100 foot high. I had to put it in perspective:

Poto vs Umstead Single Track

Poto vs. Owl's Roost Rumble

So it looked easier than Umstead single track, but maybe slightly harder than Owl's Roost Rumble.

Super Secret Goal
So going into the race, I was secretly hoping for a top 10 finish.
I would show those Michigan flat-landers how we run trails in NC! "Big bad hilly kick my butt?" Ha. After Uwharrie, this was going to seem like a moving walkway at the airport.

At about mile 2, I ran by a spectator who said, "You are 8th overall!"
Wow! If I could just hang on to the pace, I could get top 10!

The Trail Gloves felt pretty good. The trail was non-technical, with only a few short rocky stretches. No mud, no stream crossings, few roots. Really a perfect surface for the shoe.
My foot was holding out OK. It hurt a little when taking the downhills hard, but in never really got any worse.

Kicked
Though my feet were OK, the hills were, in fact, kicking my butt.
While they were very short, they also felt pretty steep. While powering up one slope around mile 4, I started feeling the familiar pre-cramp twinges in both calves. Uh oh. I still had 9 miles to go, which is like half of my weekly mileage.

So after mocking the hills here, I ended up having to walk up a lot of them to give my calves a break.
I got passed by 5 people, and ended up in 13th place. Happily, no tendons snapped and no bones crumbled to dust.

My sister and brother came in about 20 minutes later, having been caught in the traffic jam of 840 people on a single track trail.

Aftermath
Bizarrely, my foot somehow felt better after the race.
I think the problem was actually caused by tying my shoes too tight, because leaving my shoes loose seems to alleviate it. When running barefoot I feel no pain at all.

My calves however, were absolutely wrecked. I still have a long way to go adapting to these minimal shoes. It seems my calves do a lot more work trying to run gently.

But my knees feel pretty good. Maybe the best they have ever felt after a hard race like this.
So I would have to say this race was a qualified success for minimalism.

Next Test
The next test for the Trail Gloves, my aching foot and my quivering calves will be tomorrow at the Philosophers Way 15K Trail Race.

Last year I ran a 1:07:56 in cushy shoes.

Will the Trail Gloves be like sports car tires and provide better handling around the switch backs?
Or will they over work my calves and slow me down?

The minimal experiment continues...

Reinvention Complete!

2012-05-01T16:05:00.000-04:00

The Plan
Back in February, after a year of limping around with knee pain, I decided to "start over" and reinvent myself as a runner.

I had a simple 5 part plan:

Stop - Stop running races and hurting myself.
Get Healthy - Fully Recover from the beat down I received in Uwharrie, as well as the catalog of lingering aches and pains from last year.
Learn to Run - All over again, but this time barefoot. (Actual barefoot, not Barefoot®). Toss all of my cushy shoes that I have been hurting my knees with.
Go Minimal - Once my legs and feet were strong enough, learn to run on trails in my Trail Gloves
Train - for a trail half marathon

This was a smart and sensible plan, though obviously quite ambitious.
A reasonable amount of time to achieve all of these goals was about 12 months.

But after looking at the calendar, I decided to shorten it up a bit.
I thought, "Meh. 10 weeks should be enough."
Then I signed up to run the Trail Half Marathon in Pinckney, MI at the end of the 10 weeks.

Done!
The 10 weeks are up. How did I do?

Well, I gave it my best shot. I ditched the cushy shoes and only ran barefoot on pavement or on single track in the Trail Gloves.

But it turns out the reinvention schedule was just a tad aggressive, and my impatience awarded me just about every type if "-ITIS" one can have from the ankle down. I have become yet another TMTS(Too Much Too Soon) casualty of the minimalist movement.

In case it's not obvious, the "Done!" declaration is a joke. I have a long, long way to go.

Here are some stats:

10 Week Training Stats
Barefoot Miles	55
Merrell Trail Glove Miles	120
Bike Miles	Lots
Number of runs 2 miles or less	75
"Long" runs (12 miles)	2
Number of Races I Ran even Though I Shouldn't Have	3
Things that feel better	Knees
Things that feel worse	Achilles, soleus, calves, top of feet, bottom of feet, side of feet, toes
Times I stepped on something and said "ow"	23

Here are my observations on barefoot and minimalist running, so far:

The Bad

Building up strength and coordination in the lower legs and feet takes a long, long time.
I have an old metatarsal injury (2008) that keeps getting re-aggravated.
Running on rocky terrain is harder and takes much more energy and concentration.
I cannot run as fast down rocky descents as I used to with cushioning.
My running speed on pavement (barefoot) is currently much slower than it used to be.

The Good

On single track, I am generally faster in the Trail Gloves than I was in the cushy shoes. I set a PR for the Umstead Figure8 course.
Arthritic knees are much better than last year.
Barefoot feels really good (most of the time). For someone running over 20+ years in shoes, it is a revelation.

Ready Or Not....
So despite a messed up left foot, last weekend I flew up to Michigan to run the Running Fit Trail Half Marathon. It would be my longest run since Uwharrie 3 months ago.

Race report to follow...

2012 Umstead Coalition 4 Miler

2012-04-21T18:50:00.002-04:00

Canine showdown! Dudley Dooright on the left. Jeffery J. Jeffery on the right.

[The rest of Shannon's photos from the race are here.]

Yesterday Dooright and I challenged Shannon and Jeffery to a heads up race in the Umstead 4 Miler.
The betting odds were a toss up. Here are the profiles:

Everybody loves a 3 legged dog.

Jeffery J. Jeffery

People assume that since Jeffery is missing a back leg, he is somehow disabled, but this not the case.
Out of our 4 dogs he is the fastest runner and is never tired, even after a long run. He is nothing but lean solid muscle, coiled like a spring.

Strengths: Raw speed. Endurance.
Weaknesses: Easily distracted, especially by food. Prone to badly timed bodily functions. Missing a leg.

He doesn't care where. He just wants to go.

Dudley Dooright

When he was younger I used to take Dooright running all the time. But he is now 7, which is old for an 85 pound dog. He is built more for pulling a sled in the frozen tundra than running in North Carolina.

Strengths: Laser like focus. Metronome pacing.
Weaknesses: Overheats very easily. Bad hips (hip dysplasia).

Who would be top dog?

Going For The Win
I had been debating all week about whether to run this race by myself, or take Dudley along.
If I took him, I was pretty sure he would run the first mile fast, then by mile 2 he would overheat and be collapsed in the bushes, panting uncontrollably.

If I ran it on my own, I could run it hard and use it as a fitness benchmark, comparing it to when I ran it in 2009 and 2011. And depending on who showed up, I could possibly win. (Crazier things have happened). First prize is a $100 gift card to Great Outdoor Provision Company.

But then I remembered reading Marty Gaal bragging on his blog about his dog Tassie winning the canine division of Umstead 4 Miler last year. "You wanna go for the win Dooright?" His tail thumped on the floor.

Pre race soaking.

A Plan
If Dooright was going to go for 4 miles without stopping to jump in the lake, I needed a plan to keep him cool:

Last week we shaved off most of his fur coat. Our friend Ken was impressed, "Did someone attack him with a kitchen knife?"
Before the race I soaked him with water. Dogs can't sweat. But the cooling power of evaporation still works for dogs, just like people.
I would bring with a 20 oz bottle of ice water to spray on him during the race.
Lastly, I had one secret, underhanded maneuver to ensure victory

We registered Dooright and Jeffery so they would have bibs.

Dooright, leaping into action

And They're Off!
When Dudley runs, he must be in front. And when the pack of kids took off sprinting, so did he.

Within a quarter mile we had passed everyone and were actually leading the race! I was already out of breath, and my Garmin showed a 5:00 min/mile pace. Once out in front Dooright relaxed a bit, and Jeff Hall pulled into the lead.

Jeff just ran a 3:08 in the Boston Marathon heat wave 5 days ago, but I couldn't keep up with him. And he is older than me. Unreal. I am adding him to the rival list.

The first mile, Jeffery hot on our tails

They had lots of awesome live music along the course. Dooright wasn't interested in slowing to appreciate it though, he wanted to catch Jeff.

Bongos!

Wind!

Brass!

Secret Plan
The first mile was all downhill which we did in an insane 5:43. This was a sprint for me, but Dudley was just trotting along. Still, I knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up.

It was time to implement the SECRET part of my winning plan. To keep Dooright in first place, I needed to slow the rest of the dogs down. I pulled out a small bag of dog food from my pocket and spread it all over the wooden bridge.

We both laughed like Muttley from The Really Rottens.

Iced Dog
We continued up cork screw, dodging bikers and runners. Every time Dudley started to slow, I gave him a squirt of the ice water, and each time he picked it back up.

Jeff was sill in sight. But we were unable to gain any ground on him. At mile 3, Dooright spotted Ready Creek lake to the left and tried to run down to it. A gave him last squirt from the bottle.

Do I smell dog food?!!

Behind us, Jeffery stopped on the bridge looking for the dog food I had dumped. My evil plan worked!

The last mile was uphill and I was spent. We still managed to do a 6:37, but neither of us had anything left to catch Jeff.

Finish
We rolled into the finish as first dog and second overall in 25:06, a 6:17 mile. This seems crazy on the hilly course, and was better than I had hoped, even running it alone. Maybe Dudley actually helped me by pulling me along!

The 3 legger Jeffery was second place dog
-photo by Scott Lynch

Jeffery came in a few minutes later as second. Unfortunately they will not show up in the official results as we had hoped. Maybe we can ask them to have an official dog division for next year.

We had a great time. Thanks Umstead Coalition and Carolina Godiva volunteers!

Umstead Coalition Run Tomorrow

2012-04-20T19:19:00.000-04:00

Just a reminder, come on out and support our favorite park in the morning:

http://umsteadcoalition.org/walkrunbike.htm

Music, a silent auction, a run/walk and bike event are all happening.

In the 4 mile run there will be an exciting heads up race between Team Dooright and Team Coprophagia.

Team Dooright

Members: Dudley Dooright, Me
Strengths: Short distance speed, Tennis Ball retrieval
Weaknesses: Human component is on the verge of 74 different injuries. Canine component tends to overheat and burst into flames in temperatures over 40 deg F, may have to stop and fertilize the forest.

Team Coprophagia

Members: Shannon and Jeffery J. Jeffery
Strengths: Endurance, Photography
Weaknesses: Human component recovering from a 100 miler. Canine component may have to stop for a "snack".

Accurate Boston Marathon Elevation Profile

2012-04-18T19:58:00.000-04:00

I see that about 95% of the people finding this blog are searching for "Boston Marathon Elevation Profile".
This is a very popular topic, because the hills of Boston are legendary!
Did you know that Heartbreak hill rises a towering 88 feet?!

Well I am here to give you what you are looking for. Now, the profile of the Boston Marathon is available many places around the web, but most of them are distorted.

Click for larger image

For example take the one above. The problem with it is that the distance is in miles, while the elevation is in feet. To get an accurate view of what the elevation profile REALLY looks like, we need to change the elevation scale to be in miles too.

Click for larger image

Ah. That's better. I think Heartbreak hill is there at mile 20.

Look closely.

Trail Running Tips

2012-04-18T16:36:00.000-04:00

Trail Running Tip #2 - Remember to pick your feet up.
This is to avoid tripping over roots, rocks, and other fallen runners. It may seem obvious to lift your feet, but it can be easy to forget this, especially at the end of a long run when you are fatigued.

Trail Running Tip #37 - The sensation of blood running down your shin is a helpful reminder to lift your feet.
If you don't have blood running down your shin, try tripping over a root.

Boston Marathon Live Blog!

2012-04-15T23:16:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Live Blogging the Boston Marathon!

I will updating this page. Hit REFRESH to get updates.

I am not in Boston, nor do I have any special information or insight into the race.
I'm just watching it Universal Sports and stuffing my face while I lay on the couch. I will give updates on the elites as well as runners from NC.
I will also provide a running commentary on the Universal Sports commentary. They always come up with some creative things to say as they try to fill two hours time watching people run in straight line. Here are two tidbits from last year:

Compared to most other marathons, the Boston hills are "The Rocky Mountains".
The runners are slower at the start in Hopkington because it is a higher elevation and the "air is thinner up there"

Carolina Godiva Track Club Runners

Tim Meigs #307
Ulf Andre #766
Jeff Hall #9072
Crews, Wayne M #4093
Potter, Guy #6479
Kraus, William #24559
Jones, Colin #1390
Baddour, Allen #3136
Jeff Peterson #8001

9:00 AM

Current weather in Hopkinton, MA: 66 F and sunny. Going to be 81 in Boston by noon. Not as hot as predicted. Low humidity. I think this whole heat thing is being overblown.
WIND - The wind is coming from the SSW. Mostly at the backs of the runners. I predict FAST times from the elites!

9:30 AM

Favorites in the Women's race. Info stolen from MarathonGuide.com

Caroline Kilel - Kenya, PB 2:22, defending boston champ
Sharon Cherop - Kenya, PB 2:22
Ashu Kasim - PB 2:23 Ethiopia
Firehiwot Dado - Ethiopia PB 2:23, 2011 NY marathon champ
Buzunesh Deba- Ethiopia PB 2:23

Wow! looks like it will be a tight race!

9:40 AM
Nice high quality stream on UniversalSports.com. But they started the coverage right at 9:30, right when the womens race started. Booo.
Big pack of women out front so far.

They are continuing their "pre-race" coverage, even though the women are currently running. Wow, no respect.

9:50 AM
15 min into the womens race, about 15 women in the pack. 70 degrees. American Shannon Miller hanging with them for now.

As Karen mentioned below, the Mens Marathoners have dropped 20 pounds and shortened themselves 5 inches in the last 5 years (or something like that). Those must be some intense work outs!

9:52 AM
Women hit 5K in 18:50. Wow thats a jog for them.
The commentators are amazed that women are sharing water!
Extreme downhills! 475 feet in 5K. So extreme you might almost notice it!

10:05 AM
Commentators: The sport of running goes all the way back to 1864. Before that no one ever thought race by running. Someone tell the Greeks.

10:10 AM
Americans Glen Randall and Nick Arciniaga leading the mens race. Commentators think it is "silly". I hope one of them wins.

10:15 AM
About Glen Randall: "Do he look big to you?" "HUGE!"

10:20 AM
Women hit 10K at 37:14. hasn't thinned out much.

NC Runners:
Jason Page of Bull City Running hit 5K in 17:37. WOW.
Alex Varner 5K 17:36
Tim Meigs 5K 19:02
Ulf Andre 5K 19:17
George Linney: 5K 19:10
Wayne Crews: 5K 21:12 being conservative. That's still a 3 hour pace.

10:30 AM
"Simon and Garfunkel. Sound of silence" behind lead wheel chair racer.
Weather is not affecting people partying.

Glen Randall dropped back, probably because he is so HUGE.

10:35 AM
Josh Cassady of Canada sets course record by 1 second in push rim!
But wait maybe he didnt get it.
"He's totally fixated on that."
YES. RECORD.

Jason Page and Alex Varner 10K in ~ 35:30, 5:43 pace. Holy crap.
Tim Meigs: 38:10. 10K

10:45 AM
Thanks for heads up in the comments!
NC women runners, projected finish:

Timmons Williams: 2:52
Kimberlie Fowler: 2:53
Macy Latter: 2:54

Elite women pack is down to 10 women. 15K in 55:15

10:55 AM

NC Teams, predicted finish times:

Bull City Track Club
Patrick Reaves, Alex Varner, Jason Page - All on pace for a 2:30! Holy Crap.

Godiva Mens Masters (Old men) Team @ the 10K mark:
Wayne Crews 2:58, Ulf Andre 2:45, Colin Jones 2:45, Tim Meigs 2:41

11:15 AM
I am getting very hot and dehydrated. Low on fuel.

Some girls at an aid station trying give out water collided with the elite women, causing defending champ Kilel to drop back. Wow.

11:22 AM
"Look at the way they have the water stacked up! That's crazy!"
It was so high the elite women couldnt reach it.

11:25 AM
GO GODIVA!
Tim Meigs not slowing down at all. Even pacing so far 6:10/mile. 1:20 at the half

Other NC runners at the half:
Alex Varner - 1:16
Mitch Vanbruggen - 1:13
Jason Page - 1:18
Colin Jones - 1:24
Mike Combs 1:21

Kimberly Fowler: 1:28
Timmons Williams 1:29

11:30 AM
Geoffrey Mutai, who holds the fastest marathon time ever, considered the fastest man in the world. Has fallen back and may not even make the Kenyan Olympic team.

He has pulled out because of cramps.

11:49 AM
The mens race has boiled down to two 22 year old Kenyans.
The womens race, two Kenyans. No surprises there.

12:02 PM
Cherop takes off! in the home stretch. Looks like she is struggling. No she's got it.

12:16 PM
A dry 78 degrees in boston, not as hot as predicted. Some Wesly Karir of Kenya wins, I know i didnt spell that right.

12:35 PM
The heat is taking it's toll on some of the runners we are tracking.
As for me, I am exhausted and close to dropping out.

First runner from NC finished, Mitch Vanbruggen 2:33:26. Never heard of him.
Patrick Reaves on the Bull City Running Team, finishes in 2:36.
Others on the Bull City Running team are deciding to back off.

Our Godiva Masters team is still going strong. Predicted finishes:

Jeff Hall 3:02
Wayne Crews 3:06
Tim Meigs 2:46

If you look at the splits, they have paced themselves quite well and not slowed much at all.

1:00 PM
I am starting to cramp up sitting on this couch.
I have to go to work anyway, so I'll wrap this up later tonight.

Death and Taxes

2012-04-15T16:01:00.000-04:00

Today we decided to join in on the Tax Day Run, which is part of Stet That Run's virtual 12athlon.
If you have never heard of it, the 12athlon is globally popular contest involving running 12 miles on the 12th of every month of 2012.

Prizes are awarded to those that rack up the most points completing a variety of somewhat wacky challenges. The rules are almost as complicated as the tax code itself, so a Tax Day run is quite appropriate. This run must be exactly 4.15 miles long (in honor of 4/15), which we completed running to the other side of Lake Crabtree.

Spring. 70 degrees. Sunny. How could we not run?

We headed out to the trail with 3 of our claimable dependents. Jorge, Jeffery, and Dudley Dooright. We just gave Dooright his summer haircut, so his body is now white, but his head is still red. We are calling him "Matchstick"

Jorge hurdles a log.

About 3 miles out we ran across 3 dead baby opossum laying in the middle of the trail. Cause of death unknown, but they had not been dead for long. I will spare you Shannon's gruesome close-up shots.

Death on tax day

We stopped at several "beaches" around the lake to let the dogs swim and cool off.

Matchstick and Jorge fetching

Even Jeffery was starting to lag because of the heat

Bloodsucker on tax day

Even though I had coated my ankles with Deep Woods OFF, half way through the run I found a little red tick stuck to my ankle . Later, I found this bugger crawling on Dooright, even after we had bathed him. Blood sucking parasites. How appropriate on Tax Day.

2012 Cary Road Race 5K

2012-04-14T23:38:00.000-04:00

To beat The Josh, you must be The Josh

Photos Shannon took of the race are here.

That Guy
My rival Barefoot Josh has gone from sluggish 4+ hour marathons to sub-3:00 in a little over a year, easily surpassing my mediocre speed . If I am going to beat him in The Scream, I must study and adopt his methods.

I have reviewed his blog carefully. Clearly, the physical aspect is not the key. I have beaten myself to a pulp with training and not gotten fast.

No, it is some sort of Zen-Buddhist-Keanu Reeves-Matrixy mental state that I need. I must adopt his state of mind, put myself in his shoes... wait... there are no shoes. Whoa.
Just running barefoot will not be enough. No, I need to be... "that barefoot guy". I need to race barefoot.

Preparation
Last week I reached my peak weekly barefoot load of 9 miles, including my longest run this year of 3 miles. Obviously, I have put enough work in, and it is time to race!

But physical training is only part of it. I have to be prepared for the awe-struck runners and spectators who will no doubt swarm me like paparazzi, bombarding me with adulation and questions: "How do you do it?" "Are your feet made of steel?" "Are you a mutant like in the X-men?"

Most likely, the press and TV crews will show up to interview me about my amazing achievements. So I had business cards printed up, and hired a publicist. I already have a personal photographer in Shannon, who documented every angle of my barefoot debut.

In the starting line, swarmed with admirers

Start
So I showed up to the Cary Road Race 5K this morning.
Not wanting to be too ostentatious, I positioned myself middle of the pack. I was aiming for a 24-25 minute finishing time, as my feet are capable and comfortable with 8 minute miles. I took my shoes off and gave them to Shannon, along with my Garmin.

Not only would I attempt this barefoot, but also bare-wrist, which would be even more difficult for me. I was Luke Skywalker putting the visor down, going blind. I would need to use the barefoot force to pace myself.

Surprisingly, no one there seemed all that impressed that I was barefoot. In fact, I got nothing more than a few dirty looks like I had just walked shoe-less into the local Olive Garden.

Not as smooth as it looks

As soon as the gun went off, I realized that I might have made a miscalculation. The asphalt was quite coarse and lumpy, not at all like the buttery smooth greenway I had been running on. With tiny steps, it was tolerable, but I would be lying if I said it felt good. I wasn't sure if my feet could handle 3 miles of it.

Smugness
Fortunately, after a half mile or so, the road smoothed out and it felt wonderful.
I padded quickly and quietly past baby joggers, preteen children, and the elderly. Many of them huffing and puffing in their "foot coffins". I felt smug and superior.

"Eat my dust, Princess!"

A few times I stepped on invisible sharp pointy things which caused me to hop, but otherwise the course was smooth and easy. I crossed the finish line in 23:23, which was a little faster than what seemed prudent. I may have gotten carried away with trying to pass people.

Post-race
"Oh my God! You ran that barefoot! That is amazing! You are awesome!", said absolutely no one.
As Shannon and I mingled after the race, no one really took notice of me at all. They were all too busy heaping praise and congratulations on Shannon:

"Shannon, Oh my God! You ran 100 miles! That is amazing! You are awesome!", said just about everyone we ran into.
She tried to include me, "Well, he ran the 5K barefoot"
To this they would nod at me, "Huh", and then turn back to Shannon, "So how do you feel?"

How do I feel?
Nobody asked, but I'll tell you anyway.
My feet kind of hurt. I have TOFP (top of foot pain), BOFP (bottom of foot pain), and raw spots on the skin in the usual places. I guess I over did it a little.
Though I bet most of the aches and pains are from the full throttle 9 mile trail run yesterday in the Merrells. In any case, the pains are nothing new and have been coming and going the past 8 weeks.

It seems I have a long way to go before I can be "That Barefoot Guy". Maybe it's the glasses. Or the beard.

Shannon's photos are here.

Rival: Barefoot Josh

2012-04-10T20:15:00.002-04:00

Josh, prancing his way to a sub 3:00 in the Tulip Marathon

“Whats’s up with this weirdo?”
This is my initial reaction to seeing Barefoot Josh for the first time.
It was at the 2009 Triple Lakes Trail race, and he was there wearing long baggy shorts, a long baggy shirt that said “will run for pancakes”, and was shuffling around in what looked like slippers.

“Is he here to run the race?” I asked myself, “Or paint one of the buildings? Because if he is running, he is doing everything WRONG”

I, on the other hand, was doing everything RIGHT:

I had on short shorts and no shirt to reduce weight.
My hat was on backwards to reduce wind drag.
I had my GPS watch with the course map programmed in.
I had my brand new $110 Brooks Cascadia 5 Trail Shoes.

I was a trail running machine.
Hell, my monstrous new shoes had a “Ballistic Rock Shield”; I was fricking BULLET PROOF.
I wasn’t just going to run on the trail, I was going to stomp it into submission.

In case anyone tried to shoot at my feet

STOMPED
Well, it didn’t go as planned.
Instead of helping, my GPS watch actually took me OFF COURSE.
My feet ended up bruised, not from the trail but from the shoes themselves. They were so thick they felt unstable, like my foot was sloshing side to side. So I kept tying them tighter and tighter, trying to fix the problem, but only succeeded in bruising my instep.

I ended up 2 minutes slower than the year before, and felt like the one who got stomped. I hated my new expensive monster shoes. Instead of helping, they felt like they were getting in the way. But they were supposed to be great shoes, designed by trail running god Scott Jurek. It didn’t make sense.

Walks on water, floats in the air

AMAZED
Afterwards, I discovered Josh’s blog and that he ran the trail race in aqua socks. I was amazed.
He was slower than me, and fell down a lot, but that was just inexperience. The amazing thing was that the roots and rocks didn’t bother the bottom of his feet.

He didn’t need 2 inches of foam, rubber, and ballistic rock shield. And he wasn’t some mythical Tarahumara, just some regular guy. Maybe my instincts were right. Maybe I need less shoe, and not more. Maybe Scott Jurek is an idiot.

He just can't finish the race like a normal person

JEALOUS
So at first, I found Josh inspiring. Though his blog was sometimes painful to read with all of the horribly bad puns (are there any other kind?). Shannon likes the puns, but she is easily amused.

It was sometime in late 2010 that I began to hate Barefoot Josh. Over the year, he had gotten much faster and was running more than me. He would post something like:

“Just ran 20 miles at a 7 minute pace and feel great!”

It was the “feel great" part that irked me, because I had just run 10 miles at an 8 minute pace and felt terrible. My training method of staring at my Garmin, trying to make the average pace number go down, was just wearing me out. While his artsy fartsy, touchy feely, new age hippy training methods were producing amazing results. I found that really annoying.

Failure

DEFEATED
As he got faster, I become more broken.
In our last race, the Runway 5K last May, I barely edged him out by a few seconds, preserving a perfect 7-0 record against him.
Shortly after, however, my knee was completely shot and I could not run at all.
He went on to run a sub 5:00 minute mile, something I have never come close to, and a sub 3 hour marathon, something I have been failing at for years.

Though I had never lost to him in a race, I felt as though he had defeated me. It turned out he was doing everything right, and I was the one doing everything wrong.

Hopefully I can deflate that huge head of his

PATIENT
After several painful and failed attempts to start running again in 2011, I finally realized what Josh’s secret training method was: Patience.

Patience lets you take a day, week, or month off, confident you'll come back stronger. Patience lets you run slow today, so you can run your fastest next week. And patience is something barefoot running teaches so well.

So I decided to beat Josh with own methods.
I started over. For my first run, I ran barefoot for one third of a mile.
Next I ran a slow half mile in my Merrell trail gloves.
Slowly, I am building back up, patiently. But it hasn't been easy.

HATS OFF
Since I was starting over, I had to sit out my favorite race, something I look forward to all year: The Umstead Marathon. Instead, I did volunteer duty on my bike.
Adding insult to injury, I had to watch Josh run by me on his way to earning a plaque. As he went by he threw his disgusting sweat soaked hat at me. He said something like "Here, take my disgusting sweat soaked hat".

The gauntlet, or hat in this case, has been thrown.

Rivalry Stats
Total Races vs	7
Record vs (W-L)	7-0
Greatest Victory	2011 Umstead Marathon (-1:04:42)
Worst Defeat	2012 Umstead Marathon (DNS)
Next Race	The Scream Half Marathon , July 14, 2012
Current Status	Underdog

The Scream
The scream is going to be very difficult. I will have to be in the best shape of my life to keep up with him.
But if I can, I'll make sure my hat is good and sweaty when I pass him at the end...

Running Rivals

2012-04-07T12:37:00.001-04:00

It's a shirtless-douchebag showdown!

I have run well over a hundred races so far, and I see many of the same faces at the events and the same names on the results pages.

Most of us sign up with no hope of winning a race, or even placing in our age group. And those of us who have been doing it for many years have long exhausted any possibility of setting PRs. So why do we keep doing it?

Well, there is one motivation to race that we will always have: Rivalries.

Regardless of how fast or slow, young or old you are, you can still achieve a glorious victory in the local 5K just by kicking the ass of that one special person.

However, despite the the thousands of runners out there, finding a good "quality" rival can be difficult.
So I will present the 4 key ingredients that will help you identify and cultivate your running rivalries.

Married runners make good rivals.
Watch out if your spouse starts carrying a fly swatter though.

Familiarity
The history behind a rivalry is what adds weight to it. Obvious candidates are: an old friend, some jerk you went to high school with, that guy with the annoying blog, a spouse, or (better yet) an ex-spouse.
But the best place to look is race results. I use a website called Athlinks that catalogs results and will list rivals for you.

For example, I had a strong rivalry with a guy who I only knew as a name in results. We had done a dozen races together, competing for our age group, but I didn't even know what he looked like.
After each race I would check the results and usually be cursing because I lost by a few seconds to that rotten "Barton Bechard".

Evenly matched, but not for long.

Equality
The most important factor in a running rivalry is how equally matched you are in terms of ability.
The excitement and drama of a race is at its highest when there is no favorite and the outcome is completely unknown.

Yikes! Intense competition is good,
but don't get all crazy.

Sure, being a slight underdog can make a victory even sweeter, but don't pick a rival who is way out of your league. Constantly finishing a half hour behind your nemesis is bad for your self esteem.

Mutuality
In a traditional rivalry, the competitive feelings are mutually shared by your adversary, and this makes for a healthy and robust rivalry.
However, it is not absolutely required.
For example, Shannon has had many bitter and heated one-way rivalries that involved countless hours of cyber stalking.

Vigor
In my opinion, a friendly, respectful, and polite rivalry is no rivalry at all.
Good competition should be lively and spirited, whether it is some lighthearted trash talking or better yet, a genuine burning animosity.

I recommend coming up with at least one good insult about your rivals mother that you can throw at them as they pass you in your next race.

Paul was a great trash talker

My First Rival: Paul
To demonstrate how to assess these qualities, I will deconstruct my very first running rivalry. For sake of privacy I will keep him anonymous, but let's call him Paul.

Familiarity: According to Athlinks.com, Shannon and I ran 14 races where Paul was there. He was really hard to miss, because he reveled in being loud and obnoxious.

Vigor: Paul was a top-tier smart ass and motor mouth, and loved to talk trash with just about everybody at a race. In one race that he won, I was crossing the finish line in a distant second place, and he greeted me with "Congratulations, first female!"

Me showing Paul how to do a push-up

Equality: In terms of running talent, Paul was at another level and for years I finished well behind him. There really wasn't much of a rivalry.

Mutuality:
Paul hated to lose and treated everyone as a rival.
One year at Raven Rock he showed up with a bad case of bronchitis, and could barely breathe. A mile into the race, I ran past him and he could not keep up.
After 10 straight losses, I had finally beaten him, using my patented strategy of not having bronchitis.

So humilated he was by this defeat, Paul quit racing altogether. He disappeared, running away and joining a strange cult called CrossFit*. He even legally changed his name to "CrossFit Paul".

[*If you have not heard of it, CrossFit is a shadowy group that was started by Larry Crossfit, a demented former middle-school gym teacher. Larry subjects his poor misguided followers to long series of pushups, pullups, and squats until it breaks their spirit and they become brainwashed.]

Rivalry Stats
Total Races vs	14
Record vs (W-L)	2-12
Greatest Victory	2009 Raven Rock (-1:45)
Worst Defeat	2007 Umstead Marathon (+51:37)
Next Race	None
Current Status	Complete victory

Next Up
I will review all of my current rivalries in a series of upcoming posts. Including:

Barefoot Josh
Shannon
Black Bart
My sister Monique
Many more...

Live Blogging from the Umstead 100

2012-03-29T16:55:00.001-04:00

I will be at Umstead Park all day Saturday watching Shannon run 100 miles.
Since it looks like all the volunteer duties are filled, I will have time to kill. So I have decided to do some "live" blogging of the event.

I will do so at a separate blog that I have created here:

umstead2012.blogspot.com

Mostly to give updates on Shannon, but also to try to capture the experience of a 100 mile race.
I am thinking photos, maybe who the leaders are, etc.

If any of you fellow bloggers or readers will be there and would like to contribute to this "Live" blog, let me know.

See ya all out there!

2012 Hard Climb Hill

2012-03-25T12:20:00.003-04:00

Note: This report is a little late, due to the fact I have spent most of the last 6 days trying (and failing) to correctly adjust the front derailleur on my bicycle.

The last of the Godiva Winter Series races, Hard Climb hill was held on a warm and foggy morning in Duke Forest.

Scott (above) has a much better race report, so please see that for further details. Instead I'll just give a recount of how my race went.

I de-laced the forefoot and made a few cuts to convert them to extra wide width.

This was the first race I have run in the Merrell Trail Gloves, and I was very nervous.
From running the race in previous years, I remembered my feet hurting from all the gravel. And that happened while I was wearing thick cushy shoes!

My Glove running so far has been exclusively on the foot friendly Lake Crabtree Trail. So the day before the race, as I test, I ran a mile on a gravel road. It was slow and painful, and I could feel every rock.
My commitment to minimalism wavered, and I briefly thought about breaking out the cushy shoes again for the race.

But I was starting over, and "slow and painful" seemed a good place to begin. So I left the chushies at home.

I positioned myself in the middle of the pack, and started of at a moderate pace down the gravel road.
At first I tried dancing around the gravel, and then tried just taking tiny little steps. But it felt really awkward. As we descended the first hill, I was shuffling to slow myself down.

I remembered Barefoot Josh's strategy for dealing with gravel: "Just go for it".
So I did, and just let myself fly down the hill.

Weirdly, the gravel did not hurt at all.
Obviously, the faster you move your feet, the less impact is on each step.
But there is something else to it, too. Maybe by running "normally" my legs are more relaxed.

Anyway, my legs and feet felt pretty good, and I was moving at a pace I haven't achieved since... let me check the running log... the 5K on the runway 10 months ago.

Way up ahead of me, I could see Bart and Jeff who had taken off like a shot.
I decided my goal would be to catch them. I figured that it may be possible since they were doing the 10 miler and I was only doing the 3.

So I just gunned it going up the "Hard Climb Hill", slowly reeling them in. I was redlining it like it was 100 meter sprint, but I knew I didn't have to save anything for later.

We hit the 1.5 mile turn around and I was completely gassed, still 50 meters behind them. Their 10 mile pace was faster than I could go a mile, and I was about to give up.

Coming down the hill I got a high five from young-gun-running-super-star Ryan, and that lifted my spirits.
I pushed all-out the last mile, huffing, puffing, grunting, and groaning and managed to just edge Bart right at the 3 mile mark, and I was done. Bart and Jeff continued on, finishing the hilly 10 mile course in under a 7 minute pace.

It was a great confidence boost to be able to keep up with them, if only for 3 miles. And I was very happy that my legs felt good, for the first time in a while.

I waited around waiting for Shannon, who ran the 10 miler at her ultra pace. This Saturday she is running the Umstead 100 miler.

More to come on that...

Starting Over

2012-03-18T22:27:00.002-04:00

Since I sat out the Umstead Marathon, people have been asking me, "What's injured?"
Well, surprisingly... nothing!

But if I had tried to run Umstead, I would be injured right now. I was not in any kind of shape to run a marathon. People said, "Oh, just run it slow." These are the people who are in marathon shape, and forget how far 26.2 miles is, no matter how slow you go.

After a year of stupidly pushing myself through races, getting injured, and then gazing enviously at people who are not limping, it's time to start over.

A month ago, I started by running down the street 0.3 miles. And I've been working my way slowly back up.

A Minimal Experiment
I had tried barefoot running originally because I thought it would make me faster.
But what I discovered were knees that didn't hurt when I went sans shoes. And it wasn't because I was going slower; slowing down in shoes never felt any better.

Before

I won't get into the whole "Is barefoot better?" debate.
But there is no question that running barefoot makes you run more gently. And my knees really appreciate that.

So I took all the cushy shoes and stuck them in a box in the garage. If anyone wears size 12, and is looking for gently used Brooks Launch and Montrail Rouge Racers let me know.

After

Now, I love running on trails, and I can't do that barefoot just yet. (This guy can. And now, so can this guy.)

So I held on to my Trail Gloves.

The problem with the Trail Gloves is they make me want to run way too fast. My calves, feet, soleus, and Achilles are really paying the price for my impatience. My knees are OK so far though.

My goal is to run a trail half marathon in Pinckney, MI at the end of April.
Most of my runs these days are in the 1 to 2 mile range. So I have a long way to go.

I'll do my Hard Climb Hill race report tomorrow.

Umstead 2012 Year of Bat

2012-03-02T17:30:00.000-05:00

The Opossumlypse has been delayed another year.

2012 is the Year Of the Bat, which was our expert mascotologist pick 4 weeks ago!

See y'all tomorrow!

Sign of the Opossumlypse?

2012-03-01T15:33:00.001-05:00

All week, I have been looking for a sign of what the 2012 Umstead mascot will be.

With the weather forecasts predicting biblical rain on Saturday, I thought that may be a sign of an aquatic creature. Maybe it is the crayfish? Or maybe a water snake?

But then riding my bike to work this morning I saw what had to be the sign I was waiting for.

Perched in a tree on Reedy Creek road, just outside of Umstead, was this furry little omen.

Surely this means Opossum is the mascot. We will find out tomorrow.

Curiously, he had climbed up 9 feet off the ground. Maybe this is a sign of how much rain we are going get...

Countdown to Umstead Marathon...

2012-02-25T10:48:00.000-05:00

Only 53 weeks until the Umstead Marathon!
I hope to actually be healthy and well trained by then.

The one next week I am sitting out. It was not an easy decision to make, because Umstead Marathon is my absolute favorite race. Shannon and I have run it 6 times (out of 8). If I only did one race a year, that would be it.

But my desire for wooden animal plaques and awesome pint glasses has been eclipsed by a desire to be healthy. So no more running-myself-into-the-ground race reports for while.

But I am not going to be missing Umstead, because I will be there volunteering. I'll be on one of those mobile-aid-station bicycles, doling out water, Gu, salt, and taunting insults. It might actually be more fun than running it.

My bike has lots of storage space, so if anybody has any special items you would like me to stock, let me know. See ya all out there!

2012 Uwharrie Mountain Run - part 3

2012-02-11T12:40:00.000-05:00

From kicking a rock.
Actually from kick three rocks.

... Continued from Part # 2

Toe
After the running much of the first 20 in solitary, the way back turned into a party, as I swam upstream into all the 20 and 40 milers coming in. Here is a list of friends I ran into who have their own race reports:

A smiling David Roche who had made the 20 mile race exciting by adding in a few extra miles
Scott, in his bedroom slippers
Ryan, channeling Braveheart
Andrew, who gave me a shout out
Sean, who was moving so much faster than last year I was surprised to see him
Karen, shedding the "9-hour monkey" and setting a 43 minute PR
Ultra Brad, who refuses to make excuses and whine like I do.

When I saw the first 40 mile woman coming in, I looked at my watch to get the time, so I could tell Shannon when I saw her. But as soon as I took my eyes off the trail, my right foot kicked a rock so hard it felt like my knee cap was going to pop off. I shook it off, but my toe was stinging pretty good.

The frogs serenading the runners

Hips
Around mile 22, my hip flexors were getting sore, and it was getting harder to lift my legs up.
I relaxed and took my time in that narrow rocky section, navigating with all the people coming in the other direction, thankful for a break.

Descending the steep hill at 24 (The mile 16 climb) was punishing and revealed how beat up my legs were. Knees, quads, and hips were almost spent. Normally, this is how I feel at the end of marathon, but here I still had 16 miles to go.

This was worrisome, but doing some rough math, I figured that a 11:30 pace the rest of the way would still get me organ donor. "11:30!", I thought, "How hard can that be?"

Turns out really hard. Trying to climb a hill without fully functioning hips is quite a challenge. My power-walks became shuffle-walks, and the pain increased with every mile. My body was speaking to me:

BODY: "Stop. You have pushed me as far as I can go. I am breaking down."
ME: "You are right, this is stupid. I'll give up sub 7:00, and just walk it in"

But then my watch chimed in:

WATCH: "Your average pace is still a 10:05! Well under the 10:30 you need. You got this, you can do it!"
ME: "Wow, you're right. I guess there is still a chance, if I can just run a little..."
BODY: "No, you idiot. Quit looking at your watch-"
WATCH: "10:05, ahead of schedule! Keep going!"

And on the next downhill I could run again.

Only one word for these people:
Enablers.

Calves
I crossed the log around mile 30 and was surprised to be actually running.
With all my my other muscles near failure, I found that my calves still functioned so I was trying to run just using those. But that didn't last long, as they quickly started to cramp up.

Climbing that atrocious pile of giant rocks at mile 31, I watched my overall average pace slowly erode 10:06...10:11...10:18.

Finally I got to the mile 32 aid station, which brought a sense of comfort, because that is where we usually park for our training runs. The volunteers were extremely encouraging, and I left feeling hopeful again.

Thankfully, it was my "bad" knee I landed on.
The swelling actually made it feel better.

Knee
The next few miles were very run-able, so I had to take full advantage of it.
Since it was a down-hill, I didn't halve to lift my legs much, just swing one in front of the other.
I was feeling a sharp pain in my right toe, and I wondered if my toenail was coming off or something.
But that could wait till later, because I was really moving. My pace for the mile was crazy...

...9:00...yes! I can run, I am going to make it!...8:30...Woohoo!...7:30... BANG

Since I couldn't lift my legs much, I had kicked a rock again with the same toe. Only this time it slammed into it with the full force of my body. I flew forward, my right knee crashing into another rock, and I crumpled to the ground, stunned.

I lay there for a while, curled up in fetal position, with a cold rain pelting my face.
Even with the pain alarm sirens wailing from my knee and foot, it was actually a relief to be laying down, and the trail was quite comfortable. Plus, I was afraid to get up and confront the damage.
Uwharrie was laughing at me, "Fool! Now will you quit?"

Shannon with a DNF self portrait,
with Dan in the background, also dropping out

Quitters
Being bested by Uwharrie puts me in good company.
Behind me at the mile 26 aid station, Shannon and Dan Bedard were dropping out.
Last year, Shannon was first female in Uwharrie and Dan ran a 17:30 in the Umstead 100.

But both were struggling on this day. Dan had been at the aid station for an hour, tucked into a warm sleeping bag, waiting for a ride back. Shannon sat down in a chair calling it quits for the day too.

Shannon was happy to have found a DNF buddy, finding it validating. But Dan didn't want to be the excuse for her dropping out. So they decided to both "drop back in" and finish together.

Dan somehow crawled out of a warm truck and sleeping bag, and
un-DNF'd by finishing the last 14 miles.

Finished
After a minute or so, lying on the trail, I remembered Kim's instructions: "If you fall, get up, keep going!".
Everybody falls, it's no big deal. So I got up, limped a few steps, and broke into a wobbling, delirious jog.
I stumbled into the aid station at mile 35, still propelled by that cursed thing on my wrist:

WATCH: Average 10:28 pace, you are on schedule still, you can make it!
BODY: You have got to be kidding me.
ME: Uhhnnggg.

I grabbed another PB&J sandwich and tried to eat it, but only managed to smear peanut butter all over my face and hands. I tried to run, managing to jog for short stretches. But finally, at mile 36 the legs simply no longer functioned.

I walked slowly in the rain, rubbing my arms to keep warm, and felt a sense of Déjà vu. The last 4 miles took me 80 minutes to cover. The final rocky descent was especially painful, and I had to pause with each step.

"We can see you walking!", Kim called out from the finish line, taunting me. But I could be pushed no further. 20 yards from the end, I sat and rested on a log, much to the delight of the crowd, before shuffling in at 7:35.

Shannon and Dan finish smiling

Measure of Success
While 7:35 is a great time, the success of a race cannot be measured by time and finishing place alone. You must also consider the cost when assessing how well you have done. And I paid dearly for this race.

As I cheered and watched the other runners finish behind me, I was extremely jealous of them.
Every single one sprinted to the finish line with a huge grin.
I realize now that the the goal of "Finishing with a smile on your face" is not some fallback goal.

In the Uwharrie 40 miler, it is a lofty goal that is very difficult to achieve and highly desirable.

Oh, and next year.. I am going to get that frickin' sub 7:00!

2012 Uwharrie Mountain Run - part 2

2012-02-10T08:59:00.000-05:00

...continued from Part#1.

Beet Down
Though I had decided to go for under 7 hours again, I was still worried about how my lack of mileage would limit my endurance.
I need a quick fix that didn't involve training, and I remembered this article about how beetroot juice boosts endurance.

Unfortunately beetroot juice is a fancy "health food" item that is like $8 a bottle. But I'm no sucker. I just went to the grocery store and bought actual pickled beets for $2 a jar.

So the Wednesday before the race I ate an entire jar of pickled beets.
And another jar on Thursday.
By Friday they were getting unappetizing, so I dumped them in a blender thinking I would make my own juice.
I ended up with a glass of disgusting red mush. Choking it down was itself an amazing feat of endurance, and maybe that is how it works.

Carbo Bloating
Another strategy I pursued was inspired by this article about carbo loading. It says carbo loading really works, and recommends 10g of carbs per kg of body weight. That is 680g of carbs for me. I am not sure how much food that is, but assumed it meant "All you can possibly stuff in your face"

So besides the beets, I gorged on all the starchy stuff I could find in the house. My staple foods have a lot of fiber, so I tried avoiding those because I know how that turns out. So I ate a bunch of crap I don't usually eat. Cramming handfuls of chips in my mouth, I congratulated myself on my smart race preparation.
Driving down to Asheboro on Friday night, my stomach churned with endurance.

Godiva runners and volunteers, with wonderful race directors Kim and Jason far right.

Pasta Dinner
At the traditional pasta dinner in Asheboro, I topped it all off with 2 plates of pasta, a Costco wheat beer, and a cookie.
This was the first year Shannon and I attended the pre-race dinner, and it was great party. I highly recommend it if you can make it out.

Jim C. received a lifetime achievement award
for running Uwharrie 75 years in a row.

Noisy Night
We checked into the hotel and crashed around 10pm.
I promptly woke up at 1:00 am with a sneeze. I seemed to be allergic to something in the room, and my sinuses were going nuts. At the same time my digestive system kicked into emergency processing mode to handle mass of beets and carbs I had consumed.
I had to get up to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes In between I laid in bed tossing, turning, moaning, sneezing, burping, coughing, farting and yawning. They had given us a room with double beds, and in the other bed, Shannon couldn't sleep either.
"It's REALLY noisy over there!"

As part of a couple wearing
matching shirts, I discarded my
last shred of dignity.

Finally... The Start
6 hours after I had woken up, I was finally at the starting line, highly caffeinated, and bouncing with anticipation. We were waiting for a parking glitch to get sorted out.
Shannon was next to me shivering and shaking from the cold and nervousness.
You would think that winning the race the previous year would give a person confidence, but for Shannon it only added to her raging anxiety. At the same time, she worried about competing for a place, if she could even finish at all, and this would hurt her upcoming attempt at the Umstead 100. I gave her a tight squeeze, trying to get the anxiety out.

Finally, Race director Kim gave us the go, and lead pack sprinted out onto the trail for the first of our 40 miles.

Shannon took a video of what it's like to run

through Uwharrie.

10 Miles
The last time I had been able to run over 40 miles in a week was February of 2011.
So running 40 in a day would obviously be pushing my legs to their absolute limits. If I was going to do this, I had to run as conservatively as possible.

So my plan was to try for an even spit, completing the first half no faster than 3:25. This meant averaging no faster than a 10:15 pace. I would power-walk slowly up the hills and roll fast down the other side, letting gravity do the work. My hope was that the walk breaks would keep my legs from falling apart.

Unfortunately this plan conflicted with the other runners, who all ran a more even pace.
I would step out of their way on the uphills and then get stuck behind them going down. And there is a lot of up and down in Uwharrie.

So I ran out ahead to get some space to run. I was feeling really good, it was a beautiful morning in the forest, and my strict pacing plan was quickly forgotten. I went through the first 10 miles at a 9:18 pace, and instead of be worried, I let out a "wooohooo", and thought "This is going to be easy!".

"Uwharrie Blues"
featuring Trailhead Goofus and friend

20 Miles
At around 2 hours, I popped 3 Tylenol in anticipation of the inevitable pain to come. This is so incredibly stupid, I really didn't want to admit it. But it helps explain how I wrecked myself. Pain is the way the body communicates warning signals, and was I purposefully blocking them out.
In my car, I also put black tape over my speedometer, fuel gauge, and check engine light. Ignorance is bliss!

I continued on, feeling great. The only thing that was really sore was my wrist from holding my 20oz hand held (not a lot of upper body strength). I plowed through streams, powered up the hill at 16 and flew through the mud around 18.

I got to the turn-around and the volunteers were like a NASCAR pit crew. They got my drop bag, switch out my hand held bottles, and opened my Ensure. I chugged the Ensure and was out of there in 60 seconds.

I had completed the first half in 3:13, which is a 9:41 pace. For some reason I thought this was a good thing. I had a huge cushion with a whopping 3:47 to make it back.
I had carbo loaded, stuffed myself with pickled beets, and taken Tylenol. What could go wrong?

"What, me worry?"
Shannon took this one of me at mile 21.
I was blissfully ignorant of what another 19 miles would be like.

"I ran the first 20,
I ran it real fast,
I look at the sky,
And I fall on my ass
Oh, Uwharrie!
I got those Uwharrie Blues..."

...continued to the amazing finish in part # 3...

2012 Uwharrie Mountain Run - part 1

2012-02-09T08:30:00.000-05:00

This is me hitting mile 36.

Obliterated
I was literally run over by a truck once.
[Some would say I actually ran myself over with a truck. But that is another story]. I was lucky to escape death or dismemberment, but I was in the hospital for 3 days.

So when I say that right now that I "feel like I was run over by a truck", I am speaking from experience. In some ways, the Uwharrie 40 was actually worse. The truck only broke my right arm, took a chunk out of my right thigh, and removed some skin.

But the race left every inch of my legs swollen. Knees, calves, feet, toes, hips, quads, hamstrings, soleus, shins, Achilles tendons. Everything. (Well, I guess my IT bands are OK.)

The thought of running is laughable, and walking is still difficult.
At night, I have to use my hands to lift my legs into the bed, and I think I could really use an IV drip, a bedpan and nurse.

What was I thinking?
Getting hit by a truck was an accident, but I actually chose to do this to myself.
"What were you thinking?", my sister asked me, when I told her of my condition.
All last year I kept hurting myself in one race after another, struggling with injuries, and she had to listen to me whine and complain about it.
"What is wrong with you? Why would you run some crazy ultra-marathon? "

Well...

Uwharrie is not just a race. It is our local epic adventure.
I did the race in 2010 and had a lot of fun, and felt great
In 2011, I came tantalizingly close to the glorious "organ donor" status, before breaking down at mile 39.
And, well, everybody is doing it!

I just want to belong!

Not a Good Engineer

So here was my thinking before the race.
This January I had finally recovered from all of my lingering injuries, and a 20 mile training run proved I could make it at least halfway. So the race was a "go". It was just a question of what my goal should be. Here are the choices:

A relaxing day in the forest. Take a lot of walk breaks from the very start. Try to finish without any pain or trauma.
Go for sub 7:00 organ donor again.

Being an engineer, I like to make my decisions based on empirical evidence. So here are some numbers, comparing my running state of being before Uwharrie 2011 and the race this year :

Pre-Uwharrie state of being	2011	2012
Mileage previous 6 months	1089	596
January Miles	228	119
Peek mileage week	81	41
Little River 10 Miler	1:12:34	1:11:33
Eno Equalizer	26:06	26:12
Uwharrie Result	7:05	????

Hmmm. Compared to last year, I was only capable of running about half as much.
However, my race times were about the same. Maybe mileage doesn't matter!
It's all about "quality" runs, not "junk mileage", right? Right!

Organ Donation, here I come!

Onward into Uwharrie... to my doom.

Continued in part #2...

2012 Uwharrie Mountain Run Photos

2012-02-07T21:33:00.002-05:00

Obliterated.

Last Saturday I attempted the Uwharrie 40 Miler... like a bug attempts to stop a car on the freeway.
When the surgeons are done sewing my scattered pieces back together, I will do a race report.

In the meantime, in case you have not seen them already, Shannon's photos are here.