der5er

Why I Run: My Sanity

der5er — Fri, 14 May 2010 20:43:28 +0000

Some days I feel just plain crazy. My mind runs a million miles a minute thinking about no one thing in particular or multiple different things are coming at me all at once. My job isn’t extremely high stress, but it does have its moments. This is when I’m really thankful for running.

During the week I run in the mornings. Early morning. I try to get out the door on running days before 6:00 AM. It doesn’t always work out, but that’s my goal each time I head out Monday through Friday. Some days I snooze too much. Some days I get a serious case of the lazies. Most days, I get up at 5:00 AM, have some cereal, espresso, and water; and hit the road. These runs are always peaceful. The whole neighborhood is quiet, the sun is just coming up, there’s a tranquil serenity about it that’s hard to describe. Of course, I blow “tranquil” and “serenity” away by plugging my earbuds into my ears and cranking some music or a podcast.

For an entire hour, or sometimes a little less, I zone out. My mind still thinks about things and races around a bit, but in a good way. More ordered and structured is how I would describe my thinking when I’m running. I’ve been stressing lately about the fact that I didn’t write anything since mid-February here. I had hit a block and couldn’t think of anything to write. This series of posts is a result of thinking about that while I run. It took me a while, but I figured out how to kick myself in the rear and get writing again. Thanks to running, I’ve got one less thing to stress about.

Saturdays and Sundays, I venture out into the daylight. Never both, our weekend schedule at home doesn’t really allow for that. I don’t care what season it is, it’s always beautiful to run along the Swift Creek Reservoir for a nice long run. Sunrise and sunset on the reservoir are nice, but it’s really pretty any time of day.

Sunset on the Reservoir

Tell me a view like that wouldn’t instantly banish all the crazy from your life?

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Why I Run: My Family

der5er — Sat, 01 May 2010 13:26:46 +0000

Running for Family

When people hear that I ran my first marathon last fall, or that I’ve got a 10k coming up, or even that I’m going for a 4-5 mile run at 6:00 in the morning, they most often ask, “How can you do that?” Well, people, the how is easy. Just get up, strap your shoes on and go! It doesn’t matter if you’re going 1 mile or 20, those first two steps will always apply.

What I think people really mean to ask is, “Why do you do that?” And I’ve got to say, there are several reasons. I run for health and fitness, of course. But that’s not really what got me started or what keeps me going, that’s just a great side effect. I run for my family, for my sanity, and for the challenge.

In the beginning, I started running for my family. It was early 2007 when I got my first MP3 player, a jogging stroller for Cooper, and hit the road. It was only 3 miles at a time, and at most, 3 times a week. But I was getting out there and most days I had my little coach. Cooper (age 3 at the time) would encourage me, “You’re not runningPapa,” or, “zzzzzz….” But the time spent with him on these early runs was awesome. We would run 1.5 miles from our rental house to the construction site. Once there, we would get him out of the stroller and inspect the builder’s work. We’d usually take 5-10 minutes just to walk around and check things out. Then I’d load my building inspector/coach back into his stroller and we’d head home. Fortunately for me, this was almost all down hill.

This first summer of running was different for me. After the house was finished and we moved in, I didn’t really have a reason to run. Someone at work suggested I enter the 8k, but wow, 5 miles might as well have been a marathon for me back then. I didn’t see any way that I could finish that distance. At the same time I had lost my coach, Cooper didn’t want to ride along while I ran anymore, and I really missed that.

The next fall (2008), Sarah and Cooper both signed up for the Times-Dispatch Kids Run the night before I ran my first half-marathon. I ran with them and trained with them, probably too little. We fit our training in between my training for the half marathon, homework for them, and all of the other extra-curricular activities a 5 and 8 year old have. I ran the mile with Cooper to ensure he didn’t get lost and now the table had turned, I was his coach, and I loved it.

Sarah and Cooper did another kids run in the summer of 2009 and then Sarah and I entered a 5k as a team. We trained together, again, probably too little. It was the first time I had really enjoyed running without music, training with Sarah.

This Spring, Cooper and Sarah both participated in Mr. Sthreshley’s (and Richmond Sportsbackers) Fit for Life program at the school. They ran every Monday and Friday, weather permitting, and some Saturdays to make up for the Mondays and Fridays that weather didn’t permit. I loved the days that I was able to leave work early and run with them at the school or the Saturday mornings running with them.

I’m not sure I’d have the same connection with Cooper or, especially, Sarah if it wasn’t for running. I have other connections with Christi (though I’m trying to talk her into running), and Leanna (she ran a mile in gym class once, that’s enough for her), so don’t worry that I’m neglecting anyone. I don’t run as much as I’d like with Cooper and Sarah, but I definitely want to run more. I think, with just a little training, we could be a 3 person team at this year’s Powhatan YMCA 5k.

I’ve rambled on enough, I’ll write later this week or next to tell you how running affects my sanity and why I love the challenges.

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Ban Sandwich Eating While Driving!

der5er — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:34:21 +0000

Wouldn’t that be a silly law to pass? But, if you’re eating a sandwich, you don’t have two hands on the wheel, so it must be dangerous, right? Right. I’m not being sarcastic or snarky. It really is dangerous to eat while you drive. Just as dangerous as talking on your cell phone. But it has nothing to do with your hands.

The real issue here is the conversation, which leads to distraction.

-AAA Mid-Atlantic’s John Townsend.

I’ve always been frustrated that this issue is solely focused on cell phones. I understand that this is the thing most people see as a major distraction, but it’s never really been proven that cell phones specifically are any more dangerous than talking to your kids in the back seat or looking up an address on your GPS. Some people get so focused on singing the lyrics or shouting at Rush Limbaugh that radios can be a serious distraction as well.

But not for everyone. Most people can listen to their radio and drive without being distracted. Lots of people can talk to their spouse or kids while driving and not cause an accident. And there are millions of people who talk on their cell phones every day while driving and don’t even come close to a near miss.

The fact of the matter is that once, or maybe twice, you or someone you know saw a car swerve. Then you pull up beside that car and – of course! – they’re on the phone. So, now in your mind, and everyone else who’s witnessed something similar, cell phones are bad while driving. What you don’t realize, or fail to notice is, at any given time on the freeway or city streets, you could be surrounded by cell phone talking drivers who – gasp - aren’t using a hands free device! Andthey aren’t swerving, driving too slow, speeding, or otherwise driving in any manner that would let you know they are talking on their phone. Millions of people do this every day without causing accidents. At least, no more accidents than are caused by a Wendy’s Baconator.

Why am I bringing this up today? Well, our narrow minded illustrious politicians in the Commonwealth of Virginia on their way to passing a cell phone ban that could go into effect on July 1, 2010. The Virginia Senate passed SB517 (and SB10 which is similar if not identical is waiting in the Senate Transportation committee) on Monday, February 8, 2010. Just days after a report from the Highway Loss Data Institute (a division of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) saying that such laws have failed to reduce crashes. Let me quote their press release so there’s no confusion here:

As state legislators across the United States enact laws that ban phoning and/or texting while driving, a new Highway Loss Data Institute study finds no reductions in crashes after hand-held phone bans take effect.

(emphasis provided by me)

Oh, and to make these bills even more useless, the ban is not a primary offense. That means the officer needs some other cause to pull you over. So, why are we wasting time in the Virginia Senate on two bills that will have no effect?

Money. I’ve said it before, but the report from HLDI above just proves it even further. Our politicians are only after our wallets with these bills. SB517 provides fines of $20 for first offenses and $50 for subsequent offenses. That’s not much of a deterrent, so after the first year the fines go up to $100 for a first offense and $200 for subsequent offenses.

There’s another reason our wonderful legislators introduce cell phone ban bills every single year. They are popular with the public. Everyone knows that cell phones cause crashes. So, the legislator is doing something that both Republican and Democrat constituents will like. Such legislation might even get some extra donations in the next election.

If you’re in Virginia, please let your Delegate know what you think. The House of Delegates has not voted on either of these bills yet, but SB517 is quickly coming their way.

These laws are too narrow and useless. We’d be better served (i.e. safer) with an overall distracted driving law that gave each officer discretion to pull over drivers that appear distracted as a primary offense.

Eat a sandwich, get a ticket. As simple as that.

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2010 Resolutions and Goals

der5er — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:59:07 +0000

Getting goofy before the race

2010 Hasn’t started very well so far. At least as far as running goes. I’ve only run 3 times this year, and two of those were less than 5 miles. Of course, I can remember a time when running anything further than 3 seemed like an insurmountable challenge! Now seems like as good a time as any to set my resolutions and goals for the year.

1000 miles. After the marathon, I’ve got no big goal distances (no, I do not plan to ever run an ultra-marathon). So, I’m setting myself a cumulative goal to run 1000 miles this year. I ran 800 miles last year, so I think the extra 200 should be easy to find. I’ve set goals on my Garmin to run 100 per month, and as long as I make 10 of those, I should get my 1000 for the year, and then some.
PR every distance except the marathon. I’m not running any full marathons this year, so I am going to shoot for a new personal record in every distance I can. Here’s how I stack up right now:
- 5k - 24:46 at the St. Mary’s 5k in October 2009.
- 10k - 50:50 at the Carytown 10k in May 2009.
- Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) - 1:52:35 at the Shamrock Half Marathon in March 2009.
Run more with the kids. This may have to wait until warmer weather. While I can get out and run 5-10 miles in 10-30 degree weather, I won’t punish the kids with that! I know there’s another Running Kids event in August, plus the Powhatan Village run that usually happens on Labor Day weekend and the Richmond Marathon kids mile in November. The kids race calendar is all set, I just need to do a better job preparing them for it.
Post more. This one used to be Post More Consistently, but I’ll settle for just more posting, period.
Time management. Yeah, I’m still working this one.
Delegate more. My phone still rings too much at home, I need to better train and trust my technicians.
Banish the “can’t.” I have another secret resolution, but there’s a lot of “can’t” in my head around this one. I read on the DIY Diva blog about getting around the “can’t” and just doing stuff. It’s funny, once you tell yourself that you can’t do something, you can’t. But, if you remove “can’t” from the equation, things get easier. I’ve done this at work recently with a couple of really tough to understand problems, and getting rid of the “can’t” really helps. If I can remove the “can’t” from my secret resolution, I’ll let you know.

I think that about covers goals and resolutions for 2010, what are yours? Let me know in the comments.

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Happy New Year 2010!

der5er — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:28:09 +0000

Grandma Dixie says Happy New Year!

Leanna says Happy New Year!

Sarah and Christi say Happy New Year!

Cooper says Happy New Year!

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Looking Back: 2009 in Review

der5er — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:46:59 +0000

I can’t believe how quickly this year has passed. Only 8 more days until 2010. So, I guess it’s about time to look back and see how i did in 2009.

I set 6 resolutions in January. Let’s review those and see how I did:

Having fun with my camera.

Keep up the consistent training schedule. With marathon training, I think I did just that. There were a couple of times that I took a week off here and there, but overall, I kept a pretty consistent schedule of running 3-4 times each week. I didn’t cross-train as much as I would have liked, but I can always work on that in 2010.
Post more consistently. I did really well for the first half of the year, I only averaged 2-3 posts per month after that, except September with a whopping 6 posts. I’ve really been slacking around the blog, but I am going to work on posting at least once per week from now on (of course, that will go on my 2010 resolution post).
Time management. This is always a problem. I think I got even better at managing work time, but I still let lots of things slip through the cracks at home. I guess this one will be going back on next year’s list, too.
Keep the garage clean! Nope. Fail. I didn’t do a little each weekend to keep it cleaner (not even a little each month), and maybe that was too ambitious. Or maybe, like I said at the beginning of the year, I’ve really got to master the time management thing so I’ll have time to clean the garage.
Delegate more. I’ve managed to hand a couple of jobs to my employees, and I think my phone rings less, but there are some projects that are hard to let go of.
Calendar. I definitely did better with my calendar at work, and it’s even helping a little at home. Not completely solving all my time management problems, but I like to think it’s helping.

I ran 128 times (so far) in 2009, totaling 796 miles. I’ve still got a few days left, so I should finish the year off over 130 runs and over 800 miles easily. Of course, now that I say that, I’ll probably twist my ankle walking to my truck to go home today.

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Official Marathon Pictures!

der5er — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:59:42 +0000

Brightroom Photography, the official photographer of the 2009 SunTrust Richmond Marathon, has posted their pictures of the race. If you’re searching for a Christmas, take a look over at Brightroom’s website. I’m happy with most all of the pictures they managed to get, and any of them would make a great gift! Unfortunately, those pictures are copyright and I can’t republish here. Here’s one I do have permission to republish:

Bill and Greg after the race

That’s Bill Blevins and I. Bill is my company’s resident marathon maniac. He finished the Richmond Marathon in 4:02:28, which is extremely impressive. Especially when you consider that just two weeks ago, he ran the New York Marathon in 4:21:01! Two weeks! He should still be doing recovery runs and he was out there running Richmond 19 minutes faster! I know, very different courses and I shouldn’t compare the two times, but still, 19 minutes! After I crossed the finish line Bill was waiting, looking cool as a cucumber like he’d only run an 8k. I’ll definitely have to work harder in training next time if I want to catch him!

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What a Great Day! Richmond Suntrust Marathon

der5er — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:23:50 +0000

Me before the race

Yesterday, I ran a marathon. This has been one of the most unbelievable experiences of my life. Who would have thought, just a few years ago, that I would enter, train for, and actually finish a marathon. There have only been a couple of times in my life that I have experienced true euphoria, the finish line yesterday was one of those times.

The morning started off on the chilly side and wet. But not too chilly or too wet and, thankfully, there was no wind. There was a slight breeze once we got away from the taller buildings but nothing that would slow us down. Temperatures started in the upper 40s. Cool enough that I wanted my jacket and long pants before the race started, but warm enough that I wasn’t sad that I ditched them.

My first few miles went by very easy. I ran with a neighborhood friend Kyle. I had been apprehensive about the long straight roads in Richmond. I normally run on windy roads and trails in Brandermill and Midlothian, never really going much more than a half mile before turning or curving. So, looking at the 2 miles starting out on Broad street and, later in the race, the nearly 3 miles straight up Boulevard, had me thinking those sections would be very boring. Fortunately, they went by without much thought, and before I knew it, I was headed across the Huguenot bridge to Riverside Drive. A really beautiful stretch of road along the James River.

After running past Pony Pasture, we headed up to Forest Hill and across Powhite Parkway. Just a little further down the road was the halfway point, where Christi, Grandma Shirley, Sarah, Leanna, and Cooper were waiting to see and cheer me on. Just past the halfway mark our neighbor, Jennifer, joined us and ran with us for a couple miles. She ditched us right after mile 15, saying she would rather not run the Lee Bridge again (Jennifer ran the marathon last year, and the Lee Bridge has quite a reputation for sapping the energy of runners).

Kyle and I split up at this point, and I went on ahead up the bridge. I won’t say the bridge was easy, but I will say I conquered it. I skipped out on the junk food stop at mile 16, preferring to stick with the GU Roctane energy gels I brought with me. After passing through VCU, I headed through an area of Richmond I had never seen. I didn’t even know we had an area called Uptown. It was a very pretty area, with many of the buildings looking near historic.

Next I ran through Carytown and then it was time for the dreaded Boulevard. I know most runners probably didn’t dread this the way I did. I just can’t get into a long straight run. I tried my best to take in the scenery, and that worked until I got to Broad Street. After that, Boulevard becomes a street I drive almost daily and there isn’t anything scenic about it. I made it through by thinking about my favorite barbecue joint that’s on this stretch of road, Buz ‘N Ned’s. After passing Buz ‘ Ned’s, it was just a little further to the top of the bridge, then downhill past the Bryant Park Interchange area and mile 20 where Christi and the family were waiting again. It was really good to see them, and always made me smile.

Just down the street from there I was joined by my neighbor John, who ran the rest of the way with me. It really helped to have someone running with me. It was almost like getting a new burst of energy. Thanks to John and his “GO GREG” sign, the 1 mile straightaway down Brook Rd seemed like nothing. It was great when John would hold up the sign and spectators, people I did not know, would start shouting “GO GREG!” I never thought about it before the race, but this really made me feel like a rock star!

Turning from Brook onto Lombardy I realized there was less than 3 miles left. And I wouldn’t spend more than 9/10ths of a mile on any street before turning. And, most of the remaining course was downhill.

With the final turn onto Cary Street and only a little more than the final 3/10ths of a mile remaining, I stretched out my legs and flew down the hill to the finish line. Breezing past Christi, Grandma, and the kids with a quick wave, I handed off my fuel belt to John and took off. I finished the final 2/10ths in 1:28.

Crossing the finish line of my first marathon was the most amazing feeling I think I’ve ever had. The rush of emotion reminded me of when my kids were born. I actually felt like I could have gone another 4 miles at that point, but that quickly faded after walking a bit and realizing how tired I actually was.

Today, I’m still a little sore. Mostly my thighs, but really everything is feeling a little pain to remind me that those muscles are all there. No, I won’t be running today. I might tomorrow, just a quick and easy run. No training for a while because I haven’t even picked my next race.

I’m happy I ran the marathon. My official finish time was 4:25:04 and my pace was 10:12 per mile. My overall finish place was 2201, my age group finish place was 249 and my gender finish place was 1484. This is something I’ll always remember as one of my best days.

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St. Mary’s 21st Annual 5k Run 2009

der5er — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:17:13 +0000

While camping at First Landing State Park on October 3 we went to nearby Fort Story for the 21st Annual running of the St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children 5k Run/Walk.

Getting goofy before the race

This was a perfect race, not too early in the morning at 9:00 AM, especially considering the short commute time from the park. Plus, one hour after the 5k start was the start of the kids 1 mile fun run!

The 5k course was flat, the weather cool and dry, and yours truly managed to run real fast, finishing in 24:46! That was fast enough to snag a third place finish for the 35-39 age group! Plus, 24:46 was a new record for me! It was awesome all the way around! I could have been even faster, but I still haven’t figured out how to drink water from a cup while running without choking. So, I spent at least 5-10 seconds stopped drinking water around the 2 mile mark. That still wouldn’t have gotten me first or second, as those guys finished 4 minutes ahead of me! I never even considered the possibility that I would place, so we didn’t hang around for the award ceremony.

I didn’t carry my camera with me for the 5k. I’ve run on Fort Story before (during the Shamrock Half Marathon), so I didn’t think about bringing it. It was a beautiful day, but the areas of the Fort that we ran wouldn’t have provided too many picture opportunities.

The 10:00 AM start for the kids race was also perfect. It meant that Christi and the kids didn’t have to get up as early as I did, though Ruby made sure they were on Fort Story shortly after I finished. Cooper and Sarah had a great time with this one, plus they got medals! I’m still floored by this, because that’s a perk you usually don’t expect from a smaller event like a 5k.

We started the kids race by doing our warm-up with an astronaut. The course was, just like the 5k, pretty flat. It had a couple of gradual hills, but nothing to really wear you out. A quick 1/4 mile loop took us back past the starting line and gave Christi a good opportunity to snap more pictures of us before heading out on the last 3/4 mile loop. The astronaut weaved around all the racers on roller skates (cheater!) and offered to take pictures of Cooper and I–turns out he’s also a photo-journalist! I left Cooper a little before the half-way point and sprinted across a short cut to catch a couple pictures of Sarah before she got into the last 1/4 mile. She was still smiling, which is always a good sign. Plus, I think she liked seeing me out of breath after sprinting to catch her! As we neared the finish line, Leanna and Ruby were there cheering us on, and I managed to get a picture of Cooper crossing the finish line. He actually crossed a couple seconds before the picture, and I think his “official” time was 10:58, Sarah’s was 9:58. This time next year, he may pass her!

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Buy Popcorn to Support Scouting!

der5er — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:29:13 +0000

Cooper Selling Popcorn

Cooper has recently joined the Tiger Cubs.
He’s having a lot of fun and enjoying every minute! We have signed up right in the middle of the pack’s fundraising season. So, if you’d like to support Scouting, and Cooper, please visit Trails-End and buy some popcorn! There’s more besides just regular old popcorn too! In the picture here you can see buttered microwave popcorn, caramel corn, light buttered microwave popcorn, chocolaty triple delight, caramel corn nuts, trail mix, and caramel corn light popcorn!

At a recent pack meeting, we were informed that popcorn sales is over 90% of our budget for the year! This keeps many of our activities at little or no cost to the Scout, and provides all award badges and Pinewood Derby kits! 70% of your purchase goes to Cooper’s pack and council. So, your purchase really helps a lot!

If you don’t want to buy any popcorn for yourself, you can always donate popcorn to the military!

During this fundraiser, I’ll be running an ad at the top of the blog with Cooper’s sales code. So, even if you don’t want to buy today, you can always visit www.der5er.com and click the ad!

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Link Dump – September 12, 2009

der5er — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 11:01:26 +0000

Picnic

September 7, 2009

Dropped by dp_burnham.

August 28, 2009

The Least Surprising Correlation of All Time

August 28, 2009

Meatini
A full English fried breakfast served in a cocktail…

August 27, 2009

Tech Support Cheat Sheet

August 23, 2009

Happy

August 18, 2009

Real life Timon and Pumba

August 20, 2009

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What Changed?

der5er — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:06:41 +0000

Remember September 11, 2001? I do. I always will.

It seems that we must have finally healed. We must be back to normal after the life changing events that happened that day. It’s only been 8 years, but I think we’ve put ourselves back together and forgotten.

Don’t. Ever. Forget.

Following 9/11, our country banded together. At least, we seemed to. The people of the United States of America stood united, flew flags on our cars and homes, and spent money to keep the economy moving in the wake of the tragedy. Even if our politicians were still divided on many issues, they mostly kept to themselves and showed a unified front in the face of that tyranny. There was a great sense that we were all standing up to the terrorists, together, and giving them the finger as best we could.

But, I guess that was all a sham. It was all for show. Nothing really came of it if you look around today. Look at our politicians, and the people who cheer them on. We’ve gone from a country united on 9/12 to a country that is violently split. We can’t agree on how to fix our health care crisis, calling people socialists if they believe one way and greedy puppets of the insurance companies if they believe the other. We can’t even agree on the issue of letting our President speak to children about staying in school. I’ve actually heard people call the President some names that I wouldn’t use for my worst enemy.

Even if you don’t agree with the man, he is the President. Even if you don’t respect the man, you have to respect the office he holds. I’m not trying to say that his message for the children was right or wrong, or that there should or shouldn’t have been a lesson plan to go along with it. I’m trying to say I don’t see why this issue was as big as it got. How can the words of one man divide a country? This isn’t the first time a President has spoken to school children, and it also wasn’t the first time it caused controversy. But really, what did the controversy add to the conversation? Anything? I didn’t think so. Just more name calling, back stabbing, and nail biting. This is no way to run a country.

You do realize that, don’t you? ”Government of the people, by the people, for the people” (Lincoln) means you run the country. Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians. Those are just names given to groups of people who supposedly think the same about a majority of issues. We hire and fire politicians every election cycle, they work for us. Don’t cheer for them, just re-elect them if they’re doing a good job. That’s when and where we should be passionate, at the ballot box. And we should passionately discuss our side of an issue with those who believe differently than we do. We shouldn’t let the politicians get in our way.

We run the country.

Us.

We. The. People.

Get it?

Don’t call someone names just because they have different beliefs than you. Don’t ridicule them or even consider them stupid, ignorant, or idiotic. Don’t rush to the judgement that they are a bad person. Don’t call them a Bush-hater or liberal kooks. Explain your side of an issue. Listen, really listen, when they tell you theirs. Respect their opinion and maybe they’ll respect yours.

And remember, you probably stood shoulder to shoulder singing the National Anthem and saying the Pledge of Allegiance with that person, or someone just like them, on 9/12/01.

Sing it again and let’s unite this country the way it was on 9/12/01.

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Powhatan Village Run Official Results and Next Race

der5er — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:03:19 +0000

Team Epps!

This morning I received the official results from the organizers of the the Powhatan Village Run. I wanted to quickly get this post out so you guys would know:

Sarah and I finished in 9th Place for Elementary Teams!

Turns out there were 13 teams in the Elementary division and 227 total runners. According to the organizers, this is a record turn-out for this race!

Next Race

Sarah, Cooper, and I are already signed up for our next races. We found a 5k in Virginia Beach that has a 1 mile kids run as part of the event. Not only that, but the kids will get a medal! The race is the St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children 21st Annual 5k Run and Walk. There is no course map posted, but I’m pretty sure I ran this course as part of the Shamrock Half Marathon. So, I know it’s flat and will have plenty of breeze from the ocean! I think I may be able to set a new Personal Record!

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Powhatan Village 5k – Racing with Sarah

der5er — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:47:37 +0000

Team Epps!

Yesterday was the big race of the season for Sarah and I. We ran the Powhatan Village 5k as a team. This was Sarah’s first 5k race, actually her first race of any distance longer than 2 miles! Sarah did great. She finished in 40:53, and I finished 40:54. We were finishers 211 and 212 overall.

This race has been run since 1981 in Powhatan and, from what I could hear, has been sponsored by Central Virginia Bank the entire time. There is no chip timing, and no official website. This is a simple event in a simple town. The roads weren’t closed for the race, but everyone knew we were there and any traffic we saw moved slowly and stayed out of our way. There was water, juice, and soda available, along with bananas, at the finish.

Sarah before the race

This year, the event organizers, for the first time, offered parent and child team registrations. Sarah and I ran as a team, and I saw several other teams with younger children. During the awards ceremony, they mentioned that they did not have as many Junior High or Middle School teams as the Elementary teams. I hope that means runners at that age were running solo and not staying home. From the size of the 15-19 and 14 & under age groups, I think that’s what happened.

Grandma Dixie made the trip to come see Sarah’s first 5k. She, along with the rest of our cheering section, was waiting for us when we crossed the finish line.

I think Sarah and I will definitely run this race again next year.

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Race Report: Patrick Henry Half Marathon

der5er — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:36:56 +0000

Starting Line

This past weekend I raced in the Patrick Henry Half Marathon. The temperature was a moderate 71 degrees, but the humidity was 94%! I had flashbacks of last year’s Richmond Half Marathon. I really hope we don’t have another day like that for the marathon this year!

I finished with a respectable 2:07:33. Even though it was slower than my PR, or even my first Half Marathon, I consider this a good finish with the humidity and hills on this course. As I ran, I could swear that we only went on flat roads or uphill. Never downhill. Ne-ver. Actually, looking at the elevation profile for the course, all of the downhill was completed in the first 4 miles. I’m not sure how much elevation change there was, but it sure seemed like a lot to me. The steady incline through mile 5 was really a killer. I thought it would never end.

Patrick Henry at the Start

The morning started off very early for me, at least, early for a Saturday. 5:00 AM seems earlier on a Saturday morning than it does during the week. I was moving a little slow, I guess, and it took me longer to get to the race in Ashland than I thought it would. No matter, really. It seems everyone was moving a little slow and there was a huge line of cars leading into Poor Farm Park at the race starting time of 7:00 AM. Fortunately for me, and everyone else waiting to park on the football field, the race organizers decided to delay the start to give us time to park and for some to pick up their race number and timing chip.

Patrick Henry was waiting near the starting line with a cannon and a microphone, cheering us on. A few minutes after 7:00, the cannon fired and we were off! My late arrival meant that I was at the back of the pack this morning, behind the nearly 1300 other runners.

Being at the back of the pack can be a good thing, as this gave me lots of people to pass in the early part of the race without having to run very fast! Passing people is a huge motivator, but running fast at the beginning of a race is a big no-no. Don’t want to burn out in the first mile!

A quick run around the Liberty Jr. High baseball fields and we were off on a dirt road through the woods. This was really pretty, and I’m sure my picture below doesn’t capture it. Most of the race was spent running through farmland, seeing what looked to me like age old farm houses.

Around the half way point, we passed through what passes for downtown Ashland, VA. Patrick Henry was waiting there, giving a fist bump to as many runners as he could.

The rest of the race was more farm land, and I lost track of the roads we were on and the direction we went.

The finish line was buried deep in Poor Farm Park. We came back in the way we left, through the woods and around the baseball field. From there it’s a very short distance to the park entrance. The start of the race was very close to this entrance, and that’s where I expected the finish to be. However, as I came into the park, the archway could not be seen anywhere. As the road wound back into the park, around a bend there it was. I’m sure it wasn’t very far, but it sure seemed like it!

Patrick Henry was just before the finish with his microphone and music that I’m sure wasn’t played in his time period! There were bagels, bananas, Powerade and water waiting for runners after finishing. I think my favorite treat was the two ice cold soaking wet paper towels handed out before the food and drink. That was a welcome cool-down from the humidity. Of course, no race would be complete without the finisher’s medal and shirt!

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