Steven Tursi

Quick Race Report: Team Slug Booty Rumble 50K

2009-06-22T09:58:00.006-04:00

Sunny and Mild?? BORING! Give me 3 Hours of Thunderstorms! 5 Hours of Torrential Downpours! Ankle-Deep Puddles! Shoe-sucking Mud! Treacherously slippy Wooden Bridges! Faceplants in the Soft Wet Dirt! That's excitement! That's what I want in a 50K!

Quick summary of the 50K, my eleventh marathon or ultramarathon finish:

* 3:30am Wake-up call
* Drove down to Delaware
* Met many of the notorious slugs for the first time, and..
* Saw slug friends Meredith and EJ and their infant baby daughter
* Signed the release

I was not attacked by any squirrels, thankfully

* Got together for a group photo

Slugs!!

"Enjoy the weather, it's the only weather you've got" -Joe Bastardi
* Started running under non-threatening skies
* First thunderclap came ten minutes later
* First raindrop came 10 minutes after that
* Before we were done, 3 INCHES OF RAIN fell on us. (apparently)

* Steve made great time despite the rain for the first 5 laps.
* Slowed down a bit for laps 6-8
* Sped back up on Laps 9 & 10
* Sun came out for the last lap, got very warm & humid
* Bugs started biting with a vengeance!
* Steve Finished in 6:51 (a mere 4 minutes off my 50K PR!)

* Earned the right to wear a Team Slug shirt

Start Slowly, Ease Off

* Post-race meal at the Waffle House (all the way, dude!)
* Drove back home to Suffern

This was, in every sense of the word, my kind of race. Nobody took anything very seriously, yet I will be telling stories about this race for years. Plus, you can't beat the price.

I did use this race as a testing ground for several things, including gookinade, ensure, the GPS watch that I wrote about a couple weeks ago, and a camelback pack. I will write more that, on this blog, later in the week.

Please Click here to read the Team Slug Official Race Report

By the way, I listened to an incredible audiobook during this race.

Born to Run
I highly recommend it.

Short Training Update

2009-06-15T09:19:00.003-04:00

At this point I'm at 28 consecutive days of running, during which I've run about 70 miles total with a longest run of 6. This Saturday, I'm running a team slug 50K fatass race in Delaware.

My training runs continue to improve. Where I am now compared to where I was in early may indicates a spectacular improvement. However, I'm still not to where I was in early march. The pattern of several of my runs has been start slowly with a strong negative split. In a 3-mile example, the feeling for the first half-mile is like I won't be able to go even a single mile, so I trod along at 11:30 per mile just to get it over with - but by the one-mile point feeling well enough to continue. I accelerate throughout the run, probably doing the third mile at around 9:00 MPM and well winded from the pace, with a total average around 10:00. This has happened in at least three of my runs in the last week or two, and it's interesting to notice.

Ultimately, where I'd like to be is back to the point where I was running three miles at 8:45 mpm or so, like I was in early march. I noticed that I tend to do really well in the weeks after ultramarathon efforts, as I ran a hilly 5-miler in 48:xx last fall a week after the JFK 50miler, and of course the 26:0x 3-miler a couple of weeks after my 50K PR in march - so I'm eager to see how well I run after this weekend's 50K.

On the weight loss front, I am not where I wanted to be by now, but I also cannot complain as I have lost about 20 lbs in the last month. If I can lose another 20lbs by Wakely on July 18th, that would be extremely helpful.

RaceReport: REACH 5K in Suffern, NY

2009-06-08T09:55:00.003-04:00

Cruising along at 9:20, not knowing what lay ahead of me

I found out about this race only a few days before it happened, from the signs that were posted around town. I hate to pass up any racing opportunity that is logistically easy & fits in my schedule - and when the starting line is a mere 3 miles from where I roll out of bed every morning, it's impossible to pass up.

Despite the proximity, however, I don't run the location of this race very often (never) for a couple of reasons: there's little to no shoulder, and it's the road to the local dump, so it has lots of garbage truck traffic. This lack of experience on the road would prove to be a real disadvantage, because I was not aware of this:

But I get ahead of myself.

Alex woke up feeling sick that morning, so with Joe still asleep I woke up and headed out the door of a quiet house alone at 7:20am. I was in my parking spot by 7:25am. I had already checked in on Friday, so I had some time to kill. I quickly found my friend Carl, who was there to support Cathy, who was running her first race. Both of us were really very excited for her. While Cathy prepared for the race, Carl and I chatted for a few minutes until it was time to line up.

Cathy is a much faster runner than me, so I wasn't going to keep up with her - but from the starting line it seemed she was going to take it easy today, so I figured I'd try to match her pace, which I did at least for the first mile. The main feature of first mile are short rolling hills (that I knew about), and in a race this short, I attacked them aggressively and passed a ton of people (including, briefly, cathy). Shortly after mile 1 another hill started. I couldn't see the top of this hill because of some curves in the road, and even after the curves there were false summits - At first I assumed the rolling hills were continuing. As it turns out, I was charging up this thing at a 9:20 pace:

yes, it's worth repeating

yeah. There's this giant hill half-way through the race. Had I known about that, I wouldn't have gone out as aggressively, wouldn't have tried to keep up with Cathy, and I wouldn't have DIED a few hundred meters before the actual summit of the hill.

So then, for the first time in my life, I walked in a 5K race.

It was only for a couple hundred meters, and I started running again as soon as I summitted - but the damage had been done. I recovered quickly and charged down the hill very fast, letting gravity do what it does best and turning over my legs very quickly. By the time the hill bottomed out, the finish line was in sight a couple hundred meters out. My pace was right for a 30-minute finish - a PR was out of reach but I figured I could sprint and knock a few seconds off that time - which I did. I had a surprisingly fast kick and really felt great crossing the finish line, 20 seconds below what my pace had been just a few hundred meters back!

Net time 29:40

Given the topography, I am very pleased with this time despite the walking break. It is my second-fastest 5K ever. I am pretty sure I could have done better had I not charged that hill so fast, but hey - lesson learned.

"When you run there are no mistakes, only lessons. The art and science of ultrarunning is a process of trial, error and experimentation. The failed experiments are as much a part of the process as the combination that ultimately works."
- Keith Pippin

Photo credits: Carl Cox CarlCoxStudios.com

Ready to test: enhanced battery life forerunner 305

2009-06-01T15:36:00.003-04:00

I've always been impressed with the battery life of my forerunner 305. At the JFK 50, it lasted over 11 hours, probably long enough to allow most people to finish the race on a single charge. However, for me, as slow as I am, it was good for about 42 miles - better than I expected to be sure, but not enough. There'd be no way it'd last for a 100-miler, and it'd sure be nice to know for sure I can run it for a complete 50-miler.

Always on the lookout for a possible solution, a post came across the ultrarunning listserv that might have had my answer. Jim O'Neill posted his solution here and I figured I'd give it a try.

So far as I can tell, all the device does is adapt two AA batteries to a standard USB interface. It's so simple, and may be the solution I'm looking for.

I figured the easiest way to put it together would be to use the watch's wristband.

The nice thing about this is I basically have an unlimited charge - apparently, each pair of AA batteries delivers another 15 hours of life. In theory, I can go as long as I have batteries to feed into the thing.

Obviously, I can't wear this on my wrist, so, like Jim, I'm going to strap it to the chest-strap of my hydration pack.

and this is how it looks from my point of view:

To see the data, all it takes is holding up with my hand really quickly:

The only problem with this little setup is what if it rains? The forerunner is water-resistant, but I doubt the battery-adapter is. I've not figured out a way to put that in an super-easily-accessible AND waterproof place in the event of rain. But at least I can keep it dry and still collect data:

..and I can just stick it in the camelback pouch where I'll have it when I need it.

The first real test of this system will actually be a place where I won't need it - the 2009 booty rumble 50K in delaware on June 20th. 50K isn't long enough to require extra batteries on my forerunner, but in the 31 miles I'll be able to assess how cumbersome it'll be over a long period of time. Then, a month later, at the Damn Wakely Dam 32.6 miles in mid July, I'll test it on some more technical terrain. The following week is my 24-hour race in massachusetts, where I will definitely need the extra battery life if I want to collect my pace and maybe heart rate for the distance. Finally, on Labor Day I'll have the Grand Teton 50-miler and I definitely won't run it in its standard battery life, but will want to have a complete log of the race.

400lbs to 300lbs - How I did it

2009-05-28T10:33:00.004-04:00

I posted this picture on facebook last night:

Circa 1996 - my heaviest weight ever, ~400lbs

And someone asked, "how did you do it, steve?"

... and I figured it was time to briefly chronicle the last 12 years of my life.

(not really)

But I am going to briefly chronicle the various things I did over the last 12 years on my journey from 400 lbs to my current weight of 300 lbs, with 269 lbs in between. I am only going to write about the things that I was able to stick with for more than a month, and, which thus worked.

I resolved, probably shortly after that photo was taken, to run a marathon. That was 1997. I didn't change my eating habits, just started running. I didn't run a marathon until 9 years later, but I did run a couple of 5Ks. I pushed really, really hard and several times found myself on my back, on the living room floor, for 20 minutes or more, trying to catch my breath after a particularly hard run..

So in 1997, I went from about 400lbs to probably about 355lbs until burning out.

Then, in 1999, I went on a program called body for life, which was just a diet/exercise plan and it had amazing results for me - in about 2-3 months my weight dropped from 355 to about 310. After 12 years of reading on the topic, I'm still convinced that a sensible program like BFL is the ideal way to get fit for just about anyone and still recommend it to people.

Body for Life results

In late 1999, I moved to New York and put on about 40lbs over the next few years. I ran a few races during this time, including a half-marathon, but not consistently and certainly not effectively.

By 2004, I was between 350 and 360 lbs.

In 2006, I registered for the Las Vegas Marathon and started running seriously again. I probably dropped about 30-40 lbs, yo-yo'd a bit that fall, and by December 10th (date of the marathon) I'd say I was around 325. It took me about 7 hours to run it. That winter after the marathon, with no training, nor regard to what I ate whatsoever, I probably put on another 20-30 lbs.

In march 2007, I starved myself. Spent a month eating no starch, and another month eating less than 1000 calories per day. Having started around 350, I lost a lot of weight. This is when I went under 300lbs for the first time since high school. I was able to maintain 280-290 most of that year, ran three marathons, and after the third did a brief 3-week stint at 1000-calories and actually broke 270 for one day before leaving on vacation on december 15th. By mid-January when I returned to NYC, I was up over 290 again.

September 2007

I didn't really gain or lose weight in 2008. I ran about 600 miles in the year, which isn't a lot but it was enough to maintain the weight I was at while not paying attention to what I was eating. This is the year that I ran my first ultramarathon, a 50K in March, then a 50-mile in November. I also ran a traditional marathon or two.

Early on in my first Ultramarathon - April 2008

In the first 3 months of 2009 I was really consistent in my running and, while I didn't lose any weight, I started producing some excellent results in my running in terms of speed. I got a nasty respiratory infection in mid-march, however, and didn't run at all for a month or two. Then, I went on vacation, returned to NY, stepped on a scale and was horrified to see 310. My running has taken a significant hit - times are much slower, and i feel very sluggish.

May 2009

So now, with my next race (a 32.6-mile unsupported trail run through the adirondacks) a couple of months out on July 18th, I'm back to starving myself - <1000 calories per day, but this time I'm doing something a bit different by running at least 1 mile every day. I'm going to do this until July 4th and see where I'm at - I fully expect to get back to under 270, and I'm hoping to actually break 250. We'll see.

Having said all of that, I'd like to point out that starving yourself and running ultramarathons probably isn't an ideal way to lose weight. It probably won't work for you. I'm not even 100% sure it works for me. If you're serious about losing weight, check out body for life and let me know how you're doing.

Race Report: Piermont 5K

2009-05-18T17:47:00.002-04:00

On the same weekend as friends of mine were in both the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile Run in Virginia, as well as the Florida Keys 100 Mile Run, I had a race of my own to look forward to: The Dennis P. McHugh 5K in Piermont, NY. Yeah, I know, life is tough, but someone's gotta make these sacrifices. (:

I intended to run this as hard as possible to conduct a fitness test on myself and that's what I did. The test results were a tad disappointing, but not surprising. Two months ago I could have run this course at least two minutes faster. Since I didn't run a 5K two months ago, however, I technically have a bittersweet PR of 29:11 net (official time was 29:37). (previous PR 29:47)

One interesting aspect of this race is I believe I came in higher in the field than any race I've ever done - my position of 291st place out of 531 corresponds to the 55% percentile - which is getting pretty close to the top half. *that* has me quite excited.

The first mile of the course is gently rolling out-and-back on the streets of piermont before turning right onto the completely flat mile-long pier from which the city gets its name. I was cruising along at about a 9:00 average pace feeling a bit winded from the hills and looking forward to the flat stretch. My mind was wondering if I could sustain the pace through the race.

By the time I completed mile 2 I was slowing down noticeably, and really had to concentrate to keep my pace below 10 minutes per mile. Going back down the pier I could see almost everyone else in the race and, being competitive by nature, it's always encouraging to me to see all the thin athletic-looking people minutes back of me after a mere 2.5 miles. I was, however, deteriorating and spending most of my time thinking about the finish line.

By the time mile 3 was wrapped up I was in a world of hurt and a finishing kick seemed impossible. It was all I could do to maintain the pace I was at. When I finally did cross the finish line (under 30 minutes, thankfully), I was dizzy and needed something to lean on. Average pace (based on official time) was 9:30, which for a 300lb man, isn't too shabby, honestly.

So, despite my disappointment in my time, I can honestly say that I left everything I had out on that course and I'm proud of that. I attribute my time to inconsistent training and weight gain since the Caumsett 50K, which is something I need to reverse before Dam Wakely Damn on July 18.

Official Results

motionbased log

Turning back the clock: March 12, 2009 Run

2009-05-12T16:31:00.003-04:00

I started working on this post almost immediately after posting the (rather depressing) 25K race report. a much more positive vibe.

I haven't written on this blog about Rockland Lake too much lately, probably because reports my daily routine training runs have largely moved to twitter where they belong. But let's not make any mistake: when I feel want to run a flat stretch of asphalt, I head straight for congers because Rockland Lake is about as good as it gets. Before I got heavily into trail running, I usually referred to it as "my favorite place to run" and that sentiment still holds true for road running. It's scenic, busy but not crowded, traffic-free, and about as interesting as a flat 3-mile asphalt course can be. I love running there.

I'm started exercising in rockland lake in the winter of 2004-2005, back when my weight was probably over 350, and my first mention of it on this blog was June 2005 (4 years ago - holy crap!) I wrote about when I started running this course.

Whereas when I started I couldn't even run the 3-mile lap around Rockland lake, I am now pretty close to breaking the 30-minute mark. When I first got to the point where I could actually make it all the way around the lake without walking, I was doing it in about 40-45.

and also commented about a goal i would have for years

When I break 30 minutes on that Rockland Lake course, I'm going to have some sort of gluttonous celebration.

I think I finally broke 30 minutes in fall 2007. I don't appear to have posted anything about the accomplishment on this blog and I don't have a log of it in motionbased, so I don't know exactly when. I remember being very excited. It took years.

Since then, I've been using the course to test myself. It's a little far from my house, so I'm not using it as much as I used to - Usually head for other courses for most of my day-to-day running. Occasionally, however, I'll make the 20-minute drive over and treat myself to a run there and I almost always do it hard to see where my fitness is. As a rule of thumb, I figure that if I can break 30, I'm doing ok.

And 30 minutes was what I would have been happy with on March 12, 2009. I've had a pretty successful winter and my mileage has been rather high (for me). It was about a week and a half after a 50K PR and a month after the DNF at rocky raccoon 100 where I went 60 miles. I had run trails the day before, about 850 feet of gain on a technical 4.5 miles in 55 minutes. I was running well, and figured I'd probably break 30, maybe hit a PR which, as I recall, was 29:15 or so. As a goal, I mentally figured 29:00.

29 minutes for a 3 mile flat asphalt course. It was an aggressive goal but possible. If someone had told me I could run 28:30, I'd respond "I'd have to have a real good day." Sub-28:00 I would have said "no way" and sub-27:00 was downright unthinkable. impossible. laughable.

My time running Rockland Lake on March 12, 2009 was 26:08.

I often look at the GPS log, because I still have a hard time believing that I ran the course in this time. It's unreal.

Here's how it happened:

A half-mile in, I looked at the pace per mile, saw 8:30, and started kicking myself for going out too fast. What was I thinking?? I backed off to what I thought was about 9:15 and continued. After a mile, I was still running sub 9:00 and was starting to wonder when I'd crash. Yeah I felt fine - No way I could sustain this. "What the hell was wrong with me?", I thought. I'm usually very good at controlling my pace.

After a mile and a half, the damage had been done. A sub-9:00 mile probably would keep me from finishing at even a sub-10:00 pace, but at least I'll have the 30-minute finish in the bag. There really wasn't anything to lose at this point, so I kept pushing it hard. I finally started feeling the pace at about the 2-mile mark - but by now I was wondering if I could sustain this? Or at least something close to this? On top of a tiring body, my brain was doing calculations - I was running right at 9:00 - If I can maintain it, perhaps I can finish under 28:00? That would be cool.

By mile 2.5 I was really huffing an puffing, but it was time to finish. Instinctively, I picked up my pace for a finishing kick. My head was still calculating and it became apparent that I would probably finish in under 28:00. The timer said 22-something! I didn't know exactly long it would take, but it wasn't 6 minutes at this pace, even if I backed off. Which meant - that 27:00 was in the cards? Couldn't be. No way.

Still, I ran - hard - and these mind-games were keeping me going despite the increasing pain. Sometimes it's like that - me vs. the watch - and under the right circumstances, even the most inspiring or mean or effective coach can't move me the way this little piece of electronics. The circumstances were ideal and I pushed through it. The finish line became visible about a quarter-mile out and the time was right around 24:00. And I ran the one of the most difficult quarter-miles of my life. 25:00 came and went and I was turning the corner for the final stretch. Pushing as hard as I can, my mind was still in disbelief. Something went wrong.

So.. two months later my training has dropped off dramatically and I have a lot of work to do to get to where I was - but the reality is that it happened. By march 12th, several months of consistent training, plus every right factor - weather, nutrition, attitude - apparently came together to create such a dramatically improved time. It's exciting.

-steve

Race Report: Long Island Greenbelt 50K 25K

2009-05-12T09:55:00.003-04:00

Trying to look good for the camera with 1 mile to go

I'm in a slump.

My running just hasn't been right the last two months. Something's been off. And - my motivation has been off. Weight has been up. Which causes the motivation to drop more. Which causes my training to drop off. Which causes the weight to go up. And so it spirals..

As such, I was not looking forward to this race. Running 31 miles through the trails of long island just did not appeal to me on this month. For two weeks prior to the race, the dread was building and it did not stop. When I woke up the morning of the race at 5am after being up til midnight and saw the heavy pouring rain, thought about the 7:30am 50K start time and decided to take it easy. The 25K had an 8:30am start time. Much more appealing.

I arrived at 7:45am and informed them that I'd like to switch to the 25K. After declining an offer to start the 50K late (no thanks..) I got checked in waited for the start. At exactly 8:30am, race director extraordinaire Nick Palazzo started us off under overcast skies with no rain but high humidity.

The first (and last) half-mile of the course runs on the asphalt streets of plainview and I quickly decided that I ought to walk the hills, even the mild road ones, even though I was only going 15 miles today. I'm glad I did. Many of my runs start feeling crappy and I fall into a rhythm within a mile where I start feeling fine - that didn't happen this day. My run started out crummy and only got worse from there.

The trail was actually not that bad - yes there was mud but it was isolated and usually avoidable. I actually learned something on this run - it's sometimes better just to go straight through the middle of a puddle because the dirt is actually more solid there than it is at the edges.

The course, by the way, is an out-and-back (50K'rs do it twice) north from Plainview to Cold Spring Harbor. The southern portion of it is quite nice with few road crossings and two well-stocked aid stations. I would have really enjoyed this if I felt better. There are rolling hills that take their toll but they aren't too bad. Then, at about mile 5, at the northern extreme of the course, the trail turns into a sadistically unrelenting series of short but steep hills, that can only be described as nasty.

2681 feet of elevation gain, 5632 ft of total change in 15.5 miles

Suffice it to say, coming out of it with 5 miles to go, I was shot. I've gone 40 miles longer than this without feeling this bad. It just wasn't my day. I slogged it in at 18-20 minutes per mile and just endured the last part of the course. I ran when I can, but it was very painful. To make matters worse, I was chaffed, probably as a result of the humidty. The mud which wasn't so bad on the way out had gotten pretty nasty in parts on the way back. I just wanted it to be over. When I finally did finish in 4:04, 82nd place out of 92, I was extremely relieved that I didn't have to do it again.

Race organizers had a great finish line set up, people were hanging around talking and eating the great food -- but I wasn't in much of a mood to hang out, so after eating a couple of sandwiches I left.

And it's such a shame that I didn't have a good time.

This is a great race. It's run by great people. A great course. Absolutely no complaints about it all. Yet, I had a miserable experience, one of my worst race experiences ever, and it completely my fault and my problems that made it bad.

Race Report - Big Sur International Marathon

2009-05-10T21:03:00.002-04:00

Looking back from near Hurricane Point

I won't go into too much detail on this report. There's really only one thing I can say about it: Anyone who is capable of running a marathon (and it's my belief that almost every body is capable of running a marathon) owes it to him/herself to run the Big Sur International Marathon.

I mean seriously, just do it. You won't be disappointed.

Having said that, you might want to train first, especially given the elevation profile:

I'd suggest powerwalking that bump in the middle. It's called hurricane point.

Being a point-to-point with a start line in a rather remote area, it would seem like a logistically difficult marathon to participate in- thankfully, it's extremely well organized and the race officials go to great lengths to make it easy on us as runners. It would be easy to stay in monterey, carmel, or a place like seaside and catch the bus they provide down to big sur - probably easier than staying in big sur itself. I stayed in Morgan Hill, an hour from monterey, and that meant the earliest wake-up call I've ever had: 2:45am. ouch.

After arriving in monterey and riding the bus down, I spent an hour in the landmass of 3500 people in a ranger station parking lot trying to stay warm and drinking to free coffee provided by the race (huge props, guys). Soon after the sun rose, we started lining up a few hundred feet behind the starting line. After about a half-hour most everyone was standing on highway 1 waiting for the race to start.

The race's first 5 miles were a picturesque run through a valley under blue skies and no wind without a hint that we were near an ocean - and would - by itself - qualify as a top scenic race if that never changed. However, once we did get near the water, we started dealing with some gradual hills, overcast skies, and a nasty headwind - but I didn't care, because I was taken by the scenery.

And because my descriptions of scenery are worthless without pictures:

Point Sur Lighthouse

Looking down 600 ft from Hurricane Point

That's about it. My clock time was something like 5:59, chip time 5:55.. which, technically, is only 6 minutes off my PR time - but actually about 15 minutes off. I didn't exactly have my best race. But I didn't care either. The course of the big sur international marathon isn't something to race - rather it's something to enjoy.

One postscript: Rewarded with the nicest medal I ever had:

Joe's first ballgame

2009-04-04T20:08:00.007-04:00

Highlights:

Playing 2nd base, a ball is hit right to Joe. Instead of using his glove, he attempts to use his hand to catch the ball. It goes by him. He runs after it and picks it up. He then proceeds to run with the baseball to the home plate umpire. Meanwhile the other team is running the bases around him. None of the players understood the significance of this.

While playing an inning at left field, Joe found himself frustrated that no balls came to him. In the bottom of that inning, he finds himself as a baserunner, standing at second base. The batter hits a ball to left field. Instead of running to third, he runs out to get the ball. None of the players understood the significance of this.

They don't keep score in this league. Games are just for fun. While I am philosophically opposed to this idea for reasons we've all heard, today I learned that, as a practical matter, keeping score is pointless. none of the kids know how to catch. only a few know how to throw. outs would only occur by the means of sheer luck. the vast majority of kids lack even a basic understanding of the rules of baseball.

but at least they look good in their uniforms..

A bunch more pictures (taken with my brand new camera!) here: http://picasaweb.google.com/pizzapizza/20090404

why have i been so quiet on this blog?

2009-04-01T19:28:00.005-04:00

well, i have actually have a few posts "written.." but I've not been able to get myself to actually "post" any of them..

Why? Seth Godin published a blog post today which actually sums it up perfectly:

Exceeding expectations (or don't bother)

Today, as you've no doubt discovered, is April Fools, the official holiday of the web.

I had, as I do every year, a fools post written and queued up. (It was about JD Salinger and the Dalai Lama as twitter users.) It was good, not great.

So I posted nothing.

I couldn't exceed my (or your) expectations, so I posted nothing.

That's a brave thing to do and a good feeling as well. Next time all you have is 'good', try nothing on for size.

as far as a running update: I'm slightly sick. for 3 weeks now. makes running hard, so I've pretty much taken these three weeks off.

an interview with joey

2009-03-15T08:26:00.003-04:00

Got this idea from my coworker/friend Foster.

Joey is 5 years, 1 month old. I conducted this interview while he was watching spanish cartoons. Neither of us speak spanish, but that's what he wants to watch today. I took this photo right after interviewing him.

1. What is something I always says to you?
joe: don't get in trouble

2. What makes me happy?
Joe: Me listening

3. What makes me sad?
Joe: Me not listening

5. What was I like as a child?
Joe: playing with his toys

6. How old am I?
joe: is it one? or two or 3 or 4 or 5.. (etc..)

7. How tall am I?
joe: 21

8. What is my favorite thing to do?
joe: go to the mets game

9. What do I do when you're not around?
joe: work or watch a movie

10. If I were to become famous, what will it be for?
joe: going to school

11. What am I really good at?
joe: wrestling (I have a high school wrestling trophy somewhere around the house)

12. What amd I not very good at?
joe: fixing computers (ouch)

13. What so I do for my job?
joe: work at new york

14. What is my favorite food?
joe: seafood

15. What makes you proud of me?
joe: playing ball with me (he doesn't understand the work "proud" yet

16. If I were a cartoon character, who would I be?
joe: peep

peep is the yellow one. he's a chicken.

17. What do you and me do together?
joe: play hungry hungry hippos

18. How are you and me the same?
joe: we both have blonde hair and blue eyes

19. How are you and me different?
joe: you're big and i'm little. and you have more spots (moles) than me

20. How do you know I love you?
joe: by getting kisses

21. Where is your my favorite place to go?
joe: the mets game

Race Report: Caumsett State Park 50K

2009-03-02T08:30:00.003-05:00

Immediately after finishing

The Caumsett state park 50K and 25K races, held by the Greater Long Island Running Club, consists of just over 13 2.35 mile laps of an asphalt loop on Lloyd's Neck, in Huntington, NY. There are 2 or 3 hills per loop, but it was otherwise largely flat. For the fourth year, Caumsett was chosen as the USA Track & Field 50K road national championships, so some speedy runners came out to run, including at least one guy who completed the course in under 3 hours.

Having misjudged the time to travel to Caumsett, I was atypically late, arriving only a half-hour before the scheduled start and rather stressed out. I jumped out of the car and into the back of a budget rent-a-truck, which was shuttling runners from the parking lot to the finish line, about a mile away. Check-in was quick and non-eventful, so I was ready on time. The race, however wasn't, and ended up starting about 15 minutes late.

Weather was forecast to be really nasty. Wintry mix with lots of wind. It was bad enough that a 3-mile social fun run in central park that was being held that day was canceled because of weather concerns. As it turns out, the roadway never got wet. The worst precipitation we had was a few flurries. And while there were some nasty gusts, most of the time the wind was calm, even when exposed to Long Island Sound.

There is about a 1/3 mile walk from the finish area to the start, and after waiting around a bit I started walking. almost as soon as I got there, the race started and we were off. I ran the first lap or two with Andy, a person who befriended me at my first 50K last april where we walked together for about 15 miles, again at another 50K in January, and of course at this 50K. Andy and I talked about race plans, and about how he's going to do the self-transcendence 6-day race in two months.

We said early on that a 30-minute per lap pace would be an interesting thing to strive for, and it didn't take much time before I realized that would result in about a 6:35 time. It didn't seem realistic, but I figured what the hell, I'll try it. Clearly, my original plan of going easy this whole race just to have a long run in are out the window. And I've not even gone a mile yet!

Lap 1: 28:26
While there was no precipitation, it was indeed cold, below freezing, so I ran the first lap in my gore-tex jacket. It wasn't long before I got really warm, so I decided to stash it at the end of this lap. I wasn't aware of my time this lap, although except that I was somewhere around 30 minutes.

Lap 2: 27:59
Holy smokes, including the stop to remove my jacket at the beginning, this lap was under 28 minutes! I was still blissfully unaware of my time, but in retrospect, wow.

Lap 3: 28:04
By now I was definitely noticing that my laps were considerably faster than 30 minutes, but I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking that I shouldn't have removed my gloves at the beginning of lap 2, and I should have put them back on at the beginning of lap 3. Regrets!

Lap 4: 28:44
Another really fast lap, probably my fastest lap when you take into account that I did put my gloves back on at the beginning of this lap, and took a bathroom break while I was there. My hands were so cold that I had literally lost the use of my thumbs! Wore gloves the rest of the race. No more problems.

Lap 5: 27:46
I finished this lap really fast, and really aware of the fact that I just had a 27-minute lap. I had also gotten quite tired. With 8 laps to go, I freaked a bit at how fast I was going, and decided to sell some time back on Lap 6. I also started having some stomach problems.

Lap 6: 32:36
Having gone so hard the first 5 laps, I knew that I was asking for trouble for the last few, so I walked a lot of this lap. I finished this lap right at 3 hours, still on pace for a 6:30 finish, but I'd need an even split to do it. The walking allowed my stomach to recover.

Lap 7: 29:40
This was a perfectly-run lap, the only perfect lap of the race.

Lap 8: 31:09
The legs started feeling pretty sore on this lap, and stomach problems were returning with a vengence. Walked a lot.

Lap 9: 36:03
5 minutes of this lap were spent in the bathroom. That bathroom is where I lost my chance at a 6:30 finish. That's the bad news. The good news is that is also the last time I had stomach problems the whole race!

Lap 10: 32:32
Don't remember much about this lap, but I was definitely walking a lot by now. I was really feeling the asphalt surface in my knees! Note to self: Run trail races, not road races!

Lap 11: 32:05
With three laps to go, I had started to see the end on the horizon. Had my music on really loud and let it motivate me to run when I could. Started feeling aerobically fatigued for the first time.

Lap 12: 33:33
My slowest lap. It just dragged. Really regretting going so fast in the first few laps, I'd have a chance at an even split.

Lap 13: 32:57
The final lap went by quickly as it always does. For the first time in the race, I ran (didn't walk) the steepest hill of the course right before the finish line. As I turned the corner, I saw alex and joe for the first time since jumping on that truck at 8am. He ran across the finish line with me. That's always fun.

joey and i finishing the race! (note - there was a corresponding 25K championship race going on, hence the sign.)

My official finish time was 6:47:34, good for a 24-minute PR! My average pace through the race was 13:08. That would have put my marathon split right at around 5:43 - my marathon PR is 5:49. So it was a good run for me.

After the race we went into a warm building where, of course, I quickly tightened up. It was very painful, so I stretched out as much as I could and tried to relax. We hung out in there about a half-hour before a shuttle came to take us back to the parking lot, where we got in the car and headed home. We stopped for a couple of slices of pizza for lunch, and got some coffee. The total drive was about 2 hours, during which my legs tightened up painfully several times.

So, my intention was to run really easy, and I didn't. And running on asphalt didn't help. My legs were hurting, so I decided that an ice bath would be wise. Fun fact of the day: God gave us ice baths just so he could laugh while looking at the faces of grown men as they get into them. However, ice baths work: I've not felt any muscle pains at all since. There is some joint pain, which I'm attributing to the asphalt surface that I'm just not accustomed to.

This was my first long run in brand new drymax socks - I was preparing for a wet, sloppy race - but wet and sloppy never happened. Nevertheless, I did get a few blisters this race, but I didn't feel them during. I think they're actually the same blisters that I got 3 weeks ago at Rocky Raccoon, and they hadn't completely healed - so they came back with this first long run since then.

So that's my report. Next on my calendar is the Big Sur International Marathon on April 26th. I will have an exciting post about that in about a week.

A couple of people have asked about my celebration dinner:

Extra-rare steak, rice, baclava from Fontana, and a guinness. My kind of meal.

5 running goals in 2009: A Status Update

2009-02-25T14:48:00.000-05:00

I wrote these goals on December 31st, but for no apparent reason I never published it on the blog:

1. Average 125 miles per month (1500 miles total)
2. Have no less than 100 miles in each month.
3. Average 23 runs per month (300 runs total.)
4. Lose 75 lbs: weigh less than 225 lbs.
5. Run a marathon or longer distance in each month.

What does it emphasize? Something that I've chronically lacked in the past: consistency. And in order to be consistent, I need to check my status often. It feels like I've been consistent, but what do the facts say?

(an unrelated image)

Thought I'd line up every pair of shoes I own right now. The results are scary.

Status check - as of February 25th:

1. Should have run 230 miles by now, only ran 205, behind by 25 miles!
2. So far so good.
3. Should have 46 runs by now, only have 24, behind by 22 runs!
4. Should have lost 10.5lbs so far, actually have lost 8. behind by 2.5lbs!
5. So far so good.

Behind in 3 items out of 5. Doh!!

I'm doing horrible in the area of total runs. This is critically important to me. I really want to get daily mileage up. I can get caught up with a few 2-a-days, but the intended habit is running 5-6 days per week.

Total miles is also behind. 1500 miles is less than 30 miles per week. average 4.1 miles per day. I should be able to get caught up with only a couple of big weeks, like this one: Already at 10 miles with 4 days to go: including sunday, a 50K.

Weight is marginally good, but I was well ahead of schedule a few weeks ago. It's hard for me. I overeat in waves, and end up yo-yoing. I'm slowly getting into the habit of eating smaller meals more often, but the inconsistency is killing me. No whining, that's just the way it is.

So, in March, I should be able to get caught up in two of those areas. The total runs area is going to take longer, but hopefully by May I'll be in good shape again.

(another unrelated image)

I got rid of some of my shoes! Yay!

A tale of three emails

2009-02-19T11:16:00.002-05:00

Spent a few minutes digging these up this morning. I figured I might need to document my three consecutive denials to the NYC marathon.

Each of these emails represents a story of ecstatic hope and optimism. You see, NYC is the marathon that I remember as a kid, the marathon that people line the streets 2-3 people deep for almost the entire distance, the marathon that - to me - defines marathon running. Many people think of Boston when they think of the preeminent running race that those crazy-fit distance runners do - but as a kid growing up in queens, it was all about New York. Almost as soon as I realized I was capable of running a marathon (me?), I knew I wanted to run New York.

I've applied to NYC marathon three consecutive times, but four times in total. All four times I've sent in my application (along with the $10 application fee) almost immediately after registration opened. I've been denied all four times. Each denial brought with it a crushing sense of disappointment, and while I won't go so far as to say "despair", by 2008 I definitely got a little cynical about this whole lottery process.

Thankfully, in 2009, I won't have to deal with the disappointment. I really hoped it wouldn't come to this, but if you apply to and are denied in three consecutive years, you're guaranteed entry in the fourth year.

So. November 1, 2009 - if you're running, I'll see you there.

-steve

a quick running story

2009-02-17T16:58:00.003-05:00

Joey: A self-portrait

on monday, I had a couple of hours to kill with my son joey.. so I found a high school track and I thought I'd get a quick run in. Since he's 5, he'd run a lap with me and just hang out the rest of the time. I figured maybe a mile before he got bored and asked to leave, two if I'm lucky.

"Joey, how many laps do you want me to do?"

"20!"

right.

I ran the first few laps like I was only going to do 4-6, because I knew he'd get bored..

do you know, that little effer sat down and watched me huff out 20 laps at a pace suitable for 8???

Around lap 8 or 9, 20 minutes in, I asked, "How many do you want me to do now?"

"20!"

13th lap: "Still want me to do 20?"

"yes!"

I did slow down by lap 12, but still - those first couple of of laps took their toll!! it ended up being a really solid 5-mile run!

As a result, here's Monday's training run report: 5 track miles in 50:49. Ran hard.

further thoughts on rocky raccoon..

2009-02-10T16:13:00.007-05:00

Shortly before 11PM, with a mile to go before dropping, I sat down on this bench, exhausted, with my head in my hands, just wanting it all to be over. I shot this photo earlier in the day, thinking about this particular bridge - it used to be a part of the course until this year. Hardly even noticed the bench at the time.

"What was wrong with the 50 mile distance? I liked the 50-mile distance! You start in the morning, you're done at night! 100 miles, on the other hand - well, that's just stupid!!" - me

That sounds a lot like something an emotionally and physically distressed person would say in the middle of a death march in the wee hours of the morning. If it happened to me under those circumstances, I probably would attribute it to the physical circumstances and at least try to intellectually blow it off.

But that not how it happened.

I said that while I still felt fine physically.

At around mile 52. 8PM.

It wasn't something that had been brewing all day long, either. I was having fun, right up until that point.

The thing that gets me in retrospect, and which threw off my mental game at the time, is that thought occurred to me in the same way an "ah ha!" moment occurs when I'm trying to solve a programming problem, or tinkering with a gadget, or just thinking about life in general.

I'm sure you've had these "ah ha!" moments. They're rarely, if ever, wrong.

5 days later, it's an interesting thing to think about.

"If you can't learn anything from losing, don't lose." - Unknown

The fact that my wife and kid were not there was a huge emotional drain on me. Really. I thought about them often, and - to be honest - what occurred to me immediately after the mile52thought was, "I wish I were home with Alex and Joe." I sung happy birthday to Joe while on the trail at Rocky. I said I have no regrets in this race - that's not true. I regret not being there for his fifth birthday.

If I ever do attempt a 100-miler again, they're definitely coming with me.

"It's the quitting that really is hard." - Gene Thibeault

The one nagging thought about completing a 100-miler is the mystique surrounding it. There's a quality to 100s that no other distance has. Even if it sucks and I hate every moment of it - I still want to experience this, once. The belt buckle. The second sunrise. The two weeks of recovery. Needing help walking after you finish the run. You know, maybe this 100-mile business just isn't for me - but how could I know that unless I actually finish a 100-mile race?(mile 52 epiphanies notwithstanding.)

People keep saying the second half of a 100 is all mental. I always thought I knew this, of course, but maybe I didn't after all. Is this - indifference when I was feeling fine physically - what they were talking about?

"Steven, when you cross that finish line, it's all worth it." -Andrew, on Sunday Morning

Finally, I. just. didn't. respect. the. distance. Physically, or mentally. The last 5 miles definitely indicated that I physically wasn't prepared to complete the 100-mile distance because there was no way I could have made it under the 30-hour cutoff. But there's a mental component to the distance as well - and maybe I'm just not ready.

If it turns out that 100s aren't for me, my long-term race goals are a little different, aren't they? I will say this: If I ever do register for a 100 again, it will be with a lot more reflection on my physical and mental state. I want to be ready, because DNFing at any race is not a pleasant idea, even if it's the right thing to do, as it was at Rocky.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Perhaps I'll post more thoughts about this experience in the future.

Once last note: I love opinions by all, but I especially love the opinions of experienced 100-milers. Thanks for all the comments you've made on this blog, in the past and in the future.

Race Report: Rocky Raccoon 100 mile

2009-02-10T10:06:00.005-05:00

This is going to be a "facts-only" post. Later on, I want to write a separate, more philosophically-oriented post. Also, thanks to Jeff and Linda for some of the photos in this report.

Race Result: DNF
(Dropped at mile 60, at about 17:30)

Pre-Race

Bags packed in Suffern

Mini-Airplane at Newburgh/Stewart airport. No leg-room

After leaving work at noon and heading for the airpot, I arrived at a hotel in Willis, TX after midnight on Thursday night. Woke up at 4:30 AM and couldn't fall back asleep. Had breakfast at the hotel.

Texas-shaped Waffles

Drove down to Huntsville State Park, the site of the race. At 8am on Friday morning, a few people were around setting up, but there really wasn't much going on.

Decided to spend the morning in Hunstville and check out the town. Hunstville is a prison-town, there are three separate state prisons in the area, and also the state's execution chamber. The Texas Prison museum is also here, and their star exhibit is "old sparky", the electric chair used in Texas prior to lethal injection.

"Do not attempt to touch Old Sparky"

About the only other thing to do in Hunstville is visit Sam Houston's grave.

Met up with fellow ultrarunner Andrew Edwards from Birmingham for lunch. At his suggestion, we visited a place in a 72-year old downtown Huntsville restaurant called Cafe Texan for "The best chicken-fried steak you ever had." It did not disappoint.

If you ever find yourself driving by Hunstville, definitely stop here

This chicken-fried steak was unbelievably good

Hunstville also has a 67-foot tall statue of Sam Houston along the side of the highway.

You can see it as you come over a hill,4 miles away

Ok, enough of the tourist stuff. We're here for a race, right?

At 2pm I stopped at the race and checked in. Got my race bib and timing chip. Went back to the hotel room and laid everything out.

Obligatory laid out gear photo

I then went back to huntsville state park for the pre-race briefing.

Race Director Joe giving his talk

The audience

After the talk, we left our drop bags for Dam Road aid station (Miles 6 and 12 on each loop) and that was that. I did not attend the pre-race dinner, but wish I had.

The starting line, the afternoon before (tents had not been set up yet)

Saturday Morning

Shoes and gaitors in the hotel room

Merely 6 hours after going to bed, I was unable to sleep again past about 3:00am, so I got dressed and headed down to the race start, arriving well before 5. I was one of the first runners there.

Me and Lora Mantelman

Lap 1

I didn't hear a starting gun go off. People just started running. It seemed anti-climactic for a 100-mile race. Doesn't matter. I took the picture above and started walking.

My plan was to walk to the first aid station, just to get the butterflies out. It was really good to let the pack go out ahead of me - it was dark, the moon had already set, and I was not in the mood to get in a tight pack on the trails.

The course was nice, but hillier than expected. My initial plan of running 10/ walking 5 was not compatible with the idea of walking uphills and jogging down. I tried to do both for a while, but it was pretty futile. I just took it easy and enjoyed the scenery.

Finished lap 1 in about 4:50, ahead of my 5 hours-per-lap plan. It was a long lap though, and frankly, I felt like I had just run 20 miles.

Lap 2

For the first half of lap 2, I made a concentrated effort to stay ahead of 15 minutes per mile. That meant jogging all the downhills (which was easy but still took a bit of a toll) and walking the uphills kind of hard. I still felt fine, but I was starting to get kind of tired. Overall, I still felt fine was lapped by the top to runners right after I passed the marathon point (26.2 miles), and they looked great. However by the 50K point I started to sense my heart rate being rather high. Legs felt fine, I could still move fast, but I was breathing harder than I wanted.

It was about this time I caught up to Andrew (who I had lunch with the day before) and he informed me he was dropping at mile 40. It was a hot day and it was hitting him hard. I walked with him for about a mile to the next aid station, after which he told me to go on. It was nice to chat with him for a while though, and I was sorry to see him drop.

Around mile 35 a volunteer marking the course with glow sticks walked with me for a bit. asked how I was doing and I told him - he then asked about the usual stuff - amd I getting enough electrolytes, food and drink - which I was. It was just my heart rate that was high. After we parted company, I decided to take off my water belt. I was bothering me a bit, and I felt a little better after that. Then, I ran into Lora at the Park Road aid station. She was on her second 16.7 mile lap of the 50 and had all the time in the world, so she wasn't moving fast at all. I decided to walk with her for a bit, and after about a half-hour of moving at her pace I felt 100% better. I literally didn't have a pain in my body. I felt completely fresh and spirits were very very high.

I left Lora when we got back onto single track and headed back to the start/finish - which is where I saw Jeff and Linda, who came down from Dallas to cheer me on and pace me in the last 40!!

Look up "Pure awesomeness" in the dictionary, and you'll find this picture.

If my spirits were high before, I really got excited when I saw them. This was definitely my high-point of the race, because I had just run 40 miles and felt completely fresh and awesome.

I switched to my Nathan pack at this point, ditching the waist-belt bottle holder. Plus, I was all-smiles

Lap 2 took about 5:10. Right on schedule.

Lap 3

They say that if you feel good during a 100, don't worry - it won't last long. That held true and it wasn't at the first aid station before I started feeling tired again. I suspect it was the rolling hills that were getting to me, and I backed off the pace a bit.

Some time after mile 46 aid station, it got dark during a 6-mile stretch with no aid. This 6-mile section got very long on the third lap, and I definitely felt a bit of despair here - I lost interest in the race. By mile 50, I honestly didn't care anymore whether I finished or not, I knew I didn't want to stay out there though. I wanted very much to be home with Alex and Joe. I relayed that thought to a couple of volunteers at mile 52, and both tried very much to encourage me but didn't really raise my spirits at all.

As an aside, I was at mile 55 when Andy-Jones Wilkins and Larry (his pacer) passed me like I wasn't moving. They were winning, on their final lap, and had literally just realized a few minutes before passing me, that the second-place person was only about 5 minutes behind. He really picked up the pace and went on to win the race.

Larry (left) and AJW, right after they finished. Race Director Joe is on the right.

By the time I got to the mile 55.5 aid station, I was in a bit of pain. I betrayed my own rule and sat down to eat something, while a volunteer coached me just as they had in the last aid. The gist of it was "don't think of going 45 miles, just think about getting to the next aid station", but the distances between them seemed to be getting really really long. I got up and started walking to the next aid station, which was the start/finish - and this is where the wheels really came off.

I found myself in a death march and seriously considered cutting the course back to the finish and dropping without even finishing the lap. That was a decision that I would have regretted and decided against it. But it took a good 2 hours to travel that last 4.5 miles back to the start/finish by way of the actual course and by then, I was a complete mess.

At this point, there were three things working against me:
1.) Indifference
2.) Lots of pain, extreme fatigue, intense desire to sit down.
3.) Most importantly - the cutoff. It had somehow become 11:30pm, and that last lap took close to 8 hours. If I were to be allowed to go out on lap 5, I'd have to complete lap 4 by 6am- which at the pace I was going, just wasn't happening. I knew I couldn't finish even if I continued.

So I dropped.

And as soon as I dropped, I got really cold.

I felt bad because Jeff was all dressed to go out with me. I kind of wanted to go with him, just to get a run in. But it just wasn't happening. 5 minutes after sitting down I started feeling pain shooting up and down my legs and it was really intense.

The three of us sat and chatted for a good ninety minutes. I had a great time just hanging out with them. But eventually, my eyes started to shut and I said I better get back to my hotel, cuz I needed some sleep. I managed to make the 20 minute drive back to the hotel without incident - Jeff and Linda were looking at a 3-hour drive back to Dallas! They assured me that they'd be fine, so we parted ways.

The day after

Andrew and I on Sunday morning.

Once again, I was unable to sleep past 7am on Sunday Morning. This was all time that I had planned to be running - and was going to sleep Sunday afternoon and fly home Monday. The time that I had budgeted for sleep after the race.. turned out to be a waste. After going back to the start/finish and hanging out there for most of the morning, I found myself driving around Conroe, TX looking for something to do (didn't have much luck) - tried to take a nap without success, wandered through a few stores. Went to a bad movie. Honestly, the only thing to do - and the one thing that I would really like to have done - was go for a trail run at Huntsville State Park. Doh.

A great place to spend a day.

It was a boring day, but it allowed me a lot of time to reflect on the race result and what I could have done differently. The answer - will be in the next post.

Rocky Raccoon 100 - pre race thoughts

2009-02-04T19:34:00.003-05:00

Read my updates from this weekend's 100-mile race here: http://www.twitter.com/stevetursi!

My JFK 50 mile race medal

At the JFK 50, when I was feeling the fatigue you'd expect after mile 25 or so, I repeatedly tried to picture where I'd be mentally if the race were 100 miles long, not 50. It didn't help. At the time, the distance just seemed inconceivable. And honestly, that's pretty consistent with everything I've read regarding 100-mile ultra runs. Even experienced 100-mile veterans can't seem to wrap their heads around the task ahead of them prior to their big races. Mostly, they just resolve with themselves that they're going to be out there a long time, start, and before they know it, they're done.

So that's the attitude as I go into this race. I've given up trying to comprehend the distance. I can sort-of wrap my brain around the time - on my feet for 30 consecutive hours doesn't sound nearly as bad as traveling 100 miles - but 30 hours doesn't sound easy nor fun. Frankly, it doesn't help. What does help is thinking about all the fun times and new experiences I'm going to have this weekend. fun times like meeting up with friends I've met at other ultras and online. New experiences like running at night. The second sunrise. It'll be wonderful!

There are no hills to deal with. The trails are completely non-technical compared to what I'm used to. And, looking at the weather forecast, it appears that there won't be any mud either. There is nothing to this race to stop me, except the distance.

On the other hand, I'll be on my feet a long time. I will experience a lot of pain and discomfort. I will come to the conclusion that I can not finish. I have spent a lot of time visualizing myself continuing in the face of those issues. They're going to be difficult to overcome. I cannot succumb to my self-pity like I did at Grand Targhee last year. They say it's all about "relentless forward motion" and they're right. As long as I don't stop, I know I can finish. The only thing that may stop me is the 80-mile cutoff at hour 24, but if I'm going that slow, it means I'm in a lot of pain and persevered anyway. I can be proud of that.

Race strategy is to walk at 15MPM (4MPH) the first half-hour. Let everyone go out in front of me. When dawn breaks, settle into a routine of jogging 12MPM (5MPH) for 10 minutes, walking 15MPM for 5 and maintain that as long as I can. If I stay on top of my nutrition and hydration, I'm pretty confident I can maintain that for at least 40 miles on flat terrain, maybe longer. When I have to, I'll switch to a 5minutes running 5 minutes walking routine. If I average 15MPM, which is my walking pace, all the way to mile 60, I will be way ahead of my optimistic finish time of 28 hours, giving myself 15 hours to walk in the last 40 miles if I have to.

Anyway, that's the plan. I understand these plans tend not to last very long in the midst of a 100-mile race. We'll see. I will say this: thinking about these things has occupied pretty much every moment of my life lately. It's pretty exhausting, mentally speaking, to be thinking about this race all day long for weeks. So no matter how it turns out, I will be glad when it's over.

I leave for Texas tomorrow afternoon, and will not be bringing my computer. I will be posting status updates during the race at http://www.twitter.com/stevetursi and see how I'm doing. These status updates get fed into facebook, so you can follow them there if you prefer.

JFK 50 Race Report Part 4 - The Finish

2009-02-04T10:03:00.003-05:00

This race report has four parts:
Part 1 - intro | Part 2 - AT | Part 3 - towpath | Part 4 - finish

The Finish Line - see cellphone in left hand. My wife called 200 feet before the finish line! I just said, "hang on a sec..", and let her figure out what was going on.

"My doctor told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel ten years older already." - Milton Berle

So at Mile 42, we were given reflective vests and directed off the towpath, onto the asphalt. We'd be on this surface for the remainder of the race. And the first thing you do is climb a rather steep hill, which actually felt good because we got off the relentlessly-flat towpath, emphasizing different leg muscles. I didn't mind the hill one bit, powerwalked it and it felt great. I was going to resume a pattern of walking up hills, running down them, but that plan didn't last very long due to odd knee pain that I've never felt before. I resolved to walk it in, and I probably wasn't moving faster than 17-18 minutes per mile. I ran when I could, but was unable to sustain it for more than a couple hundred feet at a time. The pain, not the fatigue, was keeping me from running.

I was grateful for the very strong tea that they had at the mile 44 aid station, also clearly staffed by ultrarunners who appreciated the value of caffeine at dusk..

Once it got dark, in retrospect, this section didn't seem that long. It was only 5-6 miles. However, at the time, it seemed to take forever. As is always the case with me, I just wanted the race to be over.

Random events from the last 5 miles:

* Once it got completely dark, my flashlight (Fenix L2D) started acting up. It would go out, randomly. I'd have to shut it off for a few minutes before it would come on again.

* lots of walkers passed me, but I couldn't walk very fast anymore.

* the distance between "3 miles to go" sign and the "2 miles to go" sign was almost 2 miles. This turned out to be a much bigger deal than you'd think - as it indicated that I just had a 25-minute mile split and wouldn't finish the race before the cutoff (I didn't have 50 minutes to go 2 miles).

* the last aid station, 1.5 miles from the finish, confirmed that it was in the wrong place, which mead me feel better. *much* better. (:

* After a left turn on the highway and it's downhill to an underpass of i-81. I ran this whole section, as the pain had receded a bit.

* I ran about the last quarter mile.

* 200 feet from the finish, my wife happened to call (read photo caption, above.)

* 30 seconds after crossing the finish line and getting my medal, I headed straight for the bus back to the starting line, on which I got the last available seat. This was nice, I was not interested in hanging out for 30 minutes until the next bus left.

One of the most vivid memories I have of the entire race is not the finish, but of the period after. Imagine, if you will, getting off a bus into 15 degrees, with legs completely tightened up such that I could only limp slowly. I tend to feel cold after races anyway, so with a 200-foot walk to the car, I got cold fast and started shivering more violently than I ever have in my entire life - literally. It was crazy. Once I did get in the car, it took forever for me to warm up. I got dinner at a drive-through chick-fil-a because I didn't think I could handle a walk across a parking lot at a restaurant. (My reward for running 50 miles turned out to be a chicken sandwich with two large fries, a large coke, and a large coffee. I needed caffeine and lots of it!) Within 60 minutes after finishing the race I was north of the mason-dixon line, with the heat on high, but still shivering.

If the race was a death-march, then this was a death-drive. At one station, and a worried gas station attendant wondered what the hell was wrong with this 300-lb shivering freak in her station begging for warm water dressed strangely with a medal around his neck. Yeah, I was insatiably thirsty, but I couldn't find luke-warm water anywhere (every gas station & truck stop I went to - and I went to 5 in PA - had only cold refrigerated water!) Driving was difficult, so I took 2 30-minute naps in parking spots. At one point I sat on a chair in a truck stop for 10 minutes, just staring at the floor. By now, I was probably in the Allentown area. Coffee just didn't sound appetizing, so I ended up buying a gallon of cold water. It was fine, I just needed to drink.

Finally got home about 2am and went to sleep.

January 2009 recap and rocky raccoon weather/light info

2009-02-01T15:35:00.009-05:00

Sorry, no photo today

ROCKY RACCOON WEATHER AND LIGHT INFORMATION

It's race week!!!

Weather forecast (From Accuweather):

Saturday, Feb 7
High: 71 °F RealFeel®: 70 °F
Partial sunshine

Saturday Night, Feb 7
Low: 55 °F RealFeel®: 52 °F
Rather cloudy

Sunday, Feb 8
High: 72 °F RealFeel®: 69 °F
Mostly cloudy with a passing shower

Sounds warm! but not too warm!! This is great news.

Sun and moon information, as provided by the US Navy.

SATURDAY 7 February 2009 (times are CST)
Moonset	5:36 a.m.	(race starts 6am)
Begin civil twilight	6:44 a.m.	(44 minutes of no moon no twilight)
Sunrise	7:09 a.m.
Sun transit	12:36 p.m.
Moonrise	4:07 p.m.
Sunset	6:04 p.m.	(Sunrise in 13hrs, 5mins)
End civil twilight	6:29 p.m.	(AM Twilight in 12hrs, 15mins)
Moon transit	11:19 p.m.
SUNDAY 8 February 2009
Moonset	6:24 a.m.
Begin civil twilight	6:44 a.m.	(20 minutes of no moon & no twilight)
Sunrise	7:09 a.m.
Sun transit	12:36 p.m.	(race ends at noon)

Phase of the Moon on 7 February: waxing gibbous with 95% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated.

Sounds like we'll have a nearly-full moon (yay!!) that might be obstructed by clouds (boo!!)

JANUARY 2009 REVIEW

Weight at start of month: 299lbs
Weight at end of month: 286lbs

	2007	2008	2009
January		2	100.5 mi
February		20.5
March		49
April		70
May		1
June		23
July		51
August	88	87
September	32	67
October	40	92.81
November	26	95
December	20	3

JFK 50 Race Report Part 3 - The Towpath

2009-01-26T22:13:00.005-05:00

This race report has four parts:
Part 1 - intro | Part 2 - AT | Part 3 - towpath | Part 4 - finish

Sorry, I don't have any pictures from this part of the race, so here's a picture of a Christmas wreath instead. In January. About a race in November. Yep.

I don't think I'll ever forget the picture of me seeing the towpath for the first time, from the checkpoint at the aid station, across some railroad tracks, through some trees, and there it was a path perpendicular to my field of view. I remember that moment because I had heard so much about this tow path, this flat stretch of dirt that goes for the distance of a full marathon. I knew I was about to step on this path and stay on it for the better part of the whole day - I knew that stepping on this path meant no more hills, I knew that stepping on this path meant possible hours of monotony..

But I didn't know how the dehydration was affecting me until a few minutes after I got on the path.

getting on it, I was immediately reminded of the rail trails that I run around here. Just straight flat paths of right-of-way that had been turned into a recreational path. Not knowing what a tow-path was, I asked someone if it was trail - and his response assumed that I knew what a tow-path was. I did figure it out, eventually. the Potomac river, to my left, was hundreds of yards wide but shallow with occasional rapids. To my right was about a 10-yard wide ditch of silent (frozen) water. It was clear you couldn't bring freight up and down the river, and this ditch - this canal - was what they built to make it possible. I am going along a ridge between the canal and the river- and it turns out that they used mules to pull barges 160-something miles up and down the canal. There were locks and everything. I was fascinated.

Anyway, by now I figured my wife was awake, so I called her really quickly just to give her a status update, and after hanging up I tried running for a ways. To my shock, I couldn't run too far at all. As much time as I spent at that last aid station forcing water down my gullet, i was still dehydrated and couldn't get into a rythym. This was a shame because the towpath is where I had planned to do a lot of running - take it easy on the AT, make up lost time on the straight and flat. So I walked. Fortunately, it was a cool trail.

To avoid a long narrative, Let me relay some of the thoughts that I wrote down after the race, of the 26.3 mile towpath, in order of their occurring:

* Zoom! a very-eccentrically dressed Eric Clifton passes me like I'm not moving. I'm not sure what he's been doing lately, but about 10 years ago Eric was one of the top ultrarunners in the USA. He was probably the fifth 7am runner to pass me. Before long, hundreds of 7am starters would be passing me, and the constant passing would not stop for the balance of the race.

* Holy crap, a headwind! Thankfully, it didn't last long. Headwinds did occasionally happen on the towpath, but they never lasted more than a minute or two.

* After the first lock (which was super-cool), there was no water in the canal for pretty much the rest of the race.

* The first aid station after getting on the towpath had the same stuff. Nothing warm. Frozen M&Ms. Frozen PBJ. I drank as much as I could and continued.

Dehydration update: My overall condition has not improved, but it's not getting worse either. I guess that's a good thing.

* Miles 20-30 seemed to go by rather quickly, as I dropped into a pattern of running 2-3 minutes, walking 5-7. It was a bit of a bright spot in the race. I did that for miles and miles.

* Even better news is that my tube thawed out at some point here, and I had them put gatorade and water in my pack! I can drink again! Boy did I drink. I stood at that aid station and put away almost a whole hydration bladder's worth of water right there, and had them refill it again. I completely drank and refilled my 2-liter pack before each of the next 4 aid stations, which were 2-4 miles apart. As far as food, the cookies were yummy, the m&ms were yummy. But there wasn't much selection. I made sure I ate enough, but sure wished I had some protein.

* Mile 25 came and went - halfway! and I felt pretty strong. Then, going through 26.2 is always a fun moment.

* At mile 31, I came into an area I found out later to be Antietam. It had handler access, so there were a thousand people there. But the best part of antietam was that it had luke warm soup. It felt so great.. luke warm was just fine. Still wish I had some protein.

* In contrast to miles 20-30, miles 30-40 took for-friggin-ever. Thoughts of "Is this thing ever going to end?" came frequently.

* Condition did deteriorate a bit at mile 35, had a bit of a lowpoint when I couldn't run more than 100 feet at a time. I recovered from that a bit, and actually ran a whole sustained mile somewhere in this section.

* I basically spent my time counting miles til the end of the towpath. 11 miles to go and I just wanted to be off the thing. It really felt like the race would be over at the end of the towpath (reality - still 8 miles to go and we knew it). but I was counting each marker 10, 9, 8, 7, 10k, 6, etc..

* The aid station at mile 38 aide station ROCKED. you can always tell when an aid station is staffed by ultrarunners, and 38 was one. good music, they take your pack and fill it for you, soup, plenty of food.. lots of people here too (handler access).

The four miles between the end of the towpath and the mile 38 aid station actually seemed to go by quickly - it really felt like the end of the race, I was so excited to be off it that the first part of the asphalt I felt like a new man.. But that will be in part 4 of this report.

Which hopefully won't have as long an interval as part 2-3 did. (:

Race Report: Mid-Hudson RRC Recover from the Holidays 50K

2009-01-04T15:22:00.005-05:00

Part of the course went by the icy Hudson River - very pretty

Not much to say on this one. It was a low-key "fatass" race - with no entry fee & no awards - but great people. 10 laps of a 5K out-and-back course. I started about 45 minutes early to give myself some extra time to finish. The road was a little icy in the morning (I actually slipped and scraped my knee on lap 3), but all the asphalt was clear by 1pm. My companion at my first ultra, Andy Cable, was there, and we hung out with each other for a few laps of this race too - always fun to talk away the miles. This was my third ultra finish, my eight marathon-or-longer race finish, tied for my third-longest run ever, and, like I said, very laid back and low-key.

Here's the report:
Laps 1-3 I felt great
Laps 4-5 I felt good
Lap 6 I felt ok
Laps 7-8 I really slowed down
Laps 9-10 See laps 7-8. (:

Finished in 7:11, which is a 50K PR for me - by 32 minutes! Yay!

I feel like I should make a big deal of this race - it was, after all, an ultramarathon - but it just doesn't feel like a big deal. Nobody at the race was treating it like a big deal, and frankly, neither was I. It would be disingenuous to make a big deal of it now. And I kind of like it that way..

Notably, Nick Palazzo and Eric Clifton (or at least someone who looked just like Eric Clifton) were there, both of "Running on the Sun" fame - a documentary about badwater and one of my favorite ultrarunning movies. I didn't get a chance to talk to either, but my wife met Nick when he finished his race and they enjoyed a conversation about the movie.

Eric (or his look-a-like), who held the course record at badwater for a while, did pass me like I wasn't moving, at least twice - and he did that at JFK, too. That's always neat.. (:

(in case you're wondering, part 3 of the JFK race report will be posted in a couple of days.)

JFK 50 Race Report Part 2 - The Appalachian Trail

2008-12-23T22:26:00.006-05:00

This race report has four parts:
Part 1 - intro | Part 2 - AT | Part 3 - towpath | Part 4 - finish

War Correspondents Memorial Arch - site of the Gathland gap Aid Station

5AM
dark
The first three miles of the course heads south out of Boonsboro, Maryland, and for three miles we were cruising along the asphalt streets of central Maryland. I didn't even know this part of the course existed, but as it turns out, it's necessary to thin out the field a bit early for reasons I'll go into later. If I remember correctly, the race starts up a modest hill. Having a "walk every hill, no matter how small" strategy, my first few steps were walking. Being in the back, I got to talking to a woman attempting her fourth JFK. "I'll probably get pulled from this one too, I'm too slow." She doesn't make the cutoffs and gets taken out of the race by the officials. I saw what she meant at the first downhill stretch, when I quickly left her behind without even trying. The next hill is a long one, pretty much lasting the rest of the the 3 miles before getting on the Appalachian trail. At this stage I walked with a man from Middletown, NY, not even an hour from Suffern where I live, who told me some very interesting things about the race scene back home. It made the first three miles go by very quickly. I'll see him at the mid-hudson fatass 50k on the first weekend of January.

Off the asphalt, onto the trail
"It is narrow rocky treacherous and hilly"
As we pulled off the asphalt and onto the trail, my mind was occupied with warnings from multiple people about how this part of the race would be - rocky, narrow, dangerous. I was confused - this trail isn't that bad? There were lots of people, but sidewalk-width track is easy to pass people on. Had tons of energy, still walking uphills, but people grouped together on downhills. It was like this for a mile until we came to the first aid station, where I dined on Frozen M&Ms, a Frozen Clif bar, and almost-frozen Water.

From here we went onto another asphalt stretch, this time a park road through Gathland State Park. At this point we ascended something called Lambs Knoll, which involved about 750' of elevation gain in under 2 asphalt miles. twilight made itself barely noticeable to the east as our line of flashlights and headlamps power walked up this steep, endless hill in the cold predawn silence. It was at this point that I realized the tube that brought water from my backpack to my mouth was irreversibly frozen, and would cause me problems down the road. My body heat wouldn't melt it.

The real AT
"If you can see the light coming out of the other ear, you're an Ultra runner." -Unknown
After climbing lambs knoll, it was down hill for a while. We took a very interesting turn around a radio tower, we were thrust onto the AT - finally, this is the part of the trail section that I heard about. It could be defined as narrow, rocky, technical singletrack - and, as friends warned, friggin crowded! What surprised me was how slow everyone was taking this section. While I am no expert at technical trail running by any means, it was immediately apparent that all that treacherous training I did at Harriman State Park here in New York really paid off. The trail was very similar to just about everything at Harriman - if anything, less technical. Clearly, I was more comfortable on this terrain than most of the people I was running with, and I felt like I was being held back.

The decision I had to make was this: do I stay in this single-file column of slower-than-me runners, or do I take chances and pass people? Doing so would involve me going off the side of the narrow trail and was actually kind of dangerous with little reward - maybe I'd gain 5 minutes, which is nothing in a race this length. Still, I'm not one to think rationally at such times, so I did what you'd expect me to do, and started passing people. All that rocky training in Harriman really paid off, because I passed tons of people in those two miles. Must have been 50, maybe even 100. And not one of them came easy, each one was a risk - follow the person for a few feet, and as soon as there was a clearing on the side of the trail, I'd call "left" (or right) and zoom on by. If nothing else, it was fun.

This was clearly my highest point in the race (literally and figuratively!) The sun was coming up, and the skies were just beautiful. I put away my flashlight and cruised on that trail, continuing to pass people pretty much for the sum of the AT. Halfway through, we came to the Gathland Gap Aid station. There was a really interesting arch there, which I later found out was the War Correspondents Memorial Arch, dedicated in 1896. The aid station had frozen coke, frozen M&Ms, frozen water, frozen gatorade, and frozen clif Bars.

I was starting to feel thirsty, because I was carrying a pack full of water that I could not get to due to the freeze. I tried to drink a cup of water, and had no trouble removing the disc of ice that formed on top - but I just wasn't able to drink it fast enough without getting a brain freeze. I asked if they had anything warm, but they didn't. I think I may have had two cups before continuing on my way.

The real AT part 2
Dehydration
This part wasn't quite as technical, it was just a hiking trail with rolling hills that was steep at times. The up and down of this section seemed endless, and when coupled with the dehydration, was really starting to wear me down. It occurred to me that I probably was wasting energy carrying the water I can't get to, so I dumped my pack. The deterioration continued, and started feeling like I need water. now. When do we get off this trail??

The crowds were gone by now, so there was no passing, and it actually allowed for occasional idle conversation, which passed the time. Of course, what I really wanted to do was just zone out, but I couldn't because the trail still was too technical. It was difficult to deal with mentally and a drain on me - this is where that aspect of endurance is helpful - and I did ok, except when I did zone out, I'd lose concentration, almost faceplant or twist ankle on a rock. This happened several times.

Finally, with a sudden right turn, we were clearly descending the ridge and heading down to the towpath. I was very grateful at this point because I saw the towpath as my opportunity to zone out and just go. At this point I stopped to tighten my laces because my feet were moving too much inside the shoe on the downhill strides. It was the only shoes/feet issue I had the whole race.

Near the bottom of the hill, the first place 7am starter passed me. he was amazingly fast. a few minutes later, just before I came off the trail, the second place 7am starter passed me.. equally impressive.

Turns out that the area where you enter the town of Weverton was a handler station - and there were hundreds of people waiting for their runners there. What wasn't there was an aid station, and I was rather disappointed because I didn't know where it was. I went by the masses of people, who were eerily quiet and tried to look as good as I could given how crappy I felt. I need water? Someone confirmed that the aide was another half mile. Ok. finally got there and saw their layout of frozen M&Ms & PBJ. Again I asked if they had anything warm, nope. Someone mentioned that he thought mile 38 has soup. We were at mile 15.5. That's something to look forward to. Having learned my lesson, I spent a few minutes there and drank as much as I could. I needed it.

I looked across the railroad tracks next to the aid station. Oh look, there's the towpath I heard so much about.

Please check back soon to read part 3 - the 26.3 miles of flat - which will be posted in the next day or two.

JFK 50 Race Report Part 1 - Summary & Prelude

2008-12-22T22:06:00.004-05:00

This race report has four parts:
Part 1 - intro | Part 2 - AT | Part 3 - towpath | Part 4 - finish

The eventful drive to Maryland

Introduction & Summary
If you don't have time to read the whole report, you can stop at the end of this section

Hi! Thanks for reading my report of the JFK 50-miler, which I finished in 13:42. It was my third attempt at 50 miles and my first finish. As I write this, one week later, the elation hasn't worn off - I am really very happy that I've finally broken the 50-mile barrier. [note - I wrote this several weeks before posting it on the blog.] As far as the race itself, it was hard. The freezing cold led to me being dehydrated and it hit me hard at mile 15, which I was able to get under control but also never really recover from. There was a bit of a death march for a while there, with pain around mile 45 that I described at the time as "indescribable." But I got it done and the lessons learned are really going to contribute to my future in ultrarunning.

Leading up to the race
"In ultrarunning, there are no mistakes, only lessons."- Keith Pippin

I was signed up for JFK in the summer, before Grand Teton and before Vermont. My attitude at the time was to get three 50s under my belt and move on to bigger and better things in 2009. Sky's the limit, right? Reality check: I didn't know what I was getting into. As a result, 30 miles into the first 50, I came off Fred's Mountain a pathetic mess, convinced that I was going to drop right there. I won't rehash the story, but the next 4 hours of my life, and the reflection I've had in the months since then, have had a profound impact on me - that there's a level of tenacity that I was not prepared for, and, when faced with its reality, not willing to believe existed. Even a week later, in my GTR race report, I wrote that I had hit the absolute limits of my ability.

4 weeks later I went into the Vermont 50, completely resigned to (and ok with) the fact that I would not finish it, either. It wasn't that I didn't think I was capable of it, I actually knew I probably was - hell, I probably could have finished Grand Teton. The problem with Vermont was that I was slow - and I knew that I wouldn't make the 12-hour cutoff. However, with JFK, I had a 5am start - 14 hours to finish the race. I wasn't 100% sure that I could do it, but I definitely wasn't out there to get pulled again.

Friday
The eventful drive to Maryland

One disadvantage to being a part of the 5am start, which gave me an extra 2 hours to finish the race, was that there was no race morning check-in; I had to be in town the evening before to pick up my bib and packet - at a mini-expo that closed at 7pm. My wife couldn't get off work early, so I was alone for the weekend. I left work at noon and started driving under beautiful sunshine through jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. No traffic, I was prepared to arrive in Hagerstown in broad daylight and have a very relaxing evening. relaxation wasn't in the cards, however - a pre-thanksgiving snowstorm (!!!) in Harrisburg delayed me a couple of hours. if that wasn't enough, a closed highway, caused my an accident, delayed me another hour. finally arriving there at 6pm, I was able to check in, buy a shirt, and get out. 6 hours of driving to get a 10-minute task done before 7..

For dinner that night, I wanted something simple, cheap, comfortable, fast, and unavailable in suffern. So Waffle house it was, where I had a waffle, hashbrowns, and a patty melt on texas toast. not the ideal pre-race meal, but exactly what I was craving. I checked into a super8, and kept my running streak alive by a dark evening mile on the roads around the hotel and truck stop. It was cold. Set the alarm for 3:45am and tried to go to sleep at 8pm. that was the plan. What actually happened was I laid awake in bed for 3 hours, until finally dozing off around 10:30.

Before the race
"I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards." - Alberto Salazar
3:45 came early - I woke up easily, got dressed, checked out, and was on my way to the race start by 4:10. When I left the hotel, the car thermometer said 23 degrees. When I arrived at the starting area, I was immediately concerned by two things: 1.) There was packet pickup! I could have checked in this morning after all! (which would have meant my wife could have come and 2.) No food! None!

I walked into a gymnasium where the race director was giving some last-minute instructions. He dismissed us and people started making their way to the starting line. One thing that surprised me was how many people were around for 5am. hundreds. I went to car, and resigned to being cold for the next half-hour, took off my sweatshirt. Started wlaking to start line, and made it about 200 meters before I realized I forgot my flashlight in the car. Damn!! Jogged back to the car, grabbed it, and started jogging to the start. It was a good distance and took at least 10 minutes to get to the starting line from the high school. I was just in time, as they fired the gun as I was arriving in the outskirts the pack.

please watch this blog for part two of this report - the AT - which will be posted in the next day or two.