24 Hour Ultra: Plenty of Gas, two flats. April 13, 2008
Posted by anton in : Race Report , 1 comment so farI’ve been looking forward to this for awhile…The Virginia 24 Hour Run and Relay. A fund raiser for the American Cancer Society…I’m running to honor my parents.
It’s all about time. 24 hours. Person with the most milage in the end wins. Simple. Run on a flat, 3.75 mile loop on dirt roads and a forest trail. Easy.
Just stay up for 24 hours and keep moving. Fuel up right, be smart and reel in the miles. Scary. No finish line waiting 4 or 10 or 17 miles down the road…no “I can tough this out for the next 10 miles” business. More like, “Can I tough this out for the next 13 hours?”
I drive down Friday evening and get to the Sandy Bottom Nature Park, get a camp site (10$!) and walk through a course preview…meet the RD get some dinner and wait. To sleep early with the bullfrogs and spring peepers and actually get six hours uninterrupted.
Up at four, break camp and and schlep over to the start area.
The RD provides water. You bring everything else, so I set up an aid station with chair, cooler and “Box o’ Stuff.” The box holds first aid items, clothes, extra shoes, socks, an assortment of hats, head lamp, ipod and whatever else I may need for a whole day.
There are 30 solo runners and an assortment of relay teams…after a brief meeting and welcome, George, the RD says “Ok, you can go now.” And it begins at 7:08 am.
The plan is to adhere to a strict 4/1 ratio for 50 miles. Run four minutes and walk one. After that..run as I can.
All goes well for quite awhile…I’m sort of in the back at the start, but by 20 miles have moved up through the field. At 30 miles I’m feeling…well super!
It’s hot. 80 degrees. Humid. and I”m just soaked with sweat even though most of the course is shaded. The sweat runs down my legs and into my shoes… About 3 pm clouds pop up…a brief shower which helps for awhile, then more sun and a spike in temps.
A pattern develops. Run/walk. Arrive back at the start, check in to make sure they are counting laps correctly (they do) and a stop at my aid station to pick up gels and snacks, water and gatorade and later Pepsi and Pringels. Back on the trail after a brief stop. We run and talk and wave and generally just keep moving.
Mile 45 comes around and I notice a few hot spots on the soles of my feet…I consider stopping and changing socks and shoes. I decide to do after the next lap.
My mistake. By the end of the the next lap at 48.75…I sporting raging blisters on the bottoms of my feet. I stop, pop them, put on some blister pads and duct tape, new socks and shoes and go back out to see how bad it is. Blisters on toes, no problem. Bottoms of feet, another story.
It’s bad. I come in and the end of lap 14, 52.5 miles in 11 hours flat…walking the whole last lap. To continue would be folly and would be risking some serious damage…I’m having trouble walking on them.
I toddle over to see George and tell him I’m done. That simple. Done.
Packing up and saying some goodbye’s I’m a bit angry at myself…Here I am with plenty of gas in the tank and two flats and no spares. Today as I sit here writing I can honestly say I’m not a bit sore or tired. It’s just the feet that are trashed. I’m confident I could have broken 100 miles.
Next year.
Carrying The Bear January 21, 2008
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You have to “Embrace the Mouse” when you go to Disney World to run the races there. I think it makes for a much better fun. Look at the Men’s winner this year. Adrian Bastos garnering his 5th Disney Marathon win…running the whole distance in a Goofy Cap! He gets it. The guy who dressed up as Tinker Bell..he gets it. So do all the Minnie’s, Goofy’s, Donalds, Jack Sparrows who run the race in costume. It’s great fun.
Then you get the folks who don’t get it…who complain about the traffic and the early hour and the wait for the start and think the starting gun fireworks are a bunch of garbage. Sad, those folks.
Disney puts on the best road races. Period. The Masters of Magic know how to show folks a good time.
Mary Lou and I went down to Disney World for the Marathon Weekend, January 12th and 13th. ML ran the Half on Saturday and I ran My third Goofy Challenge. Run the Half on Saturday and the Full Marathon on Sunday.
Got into Florida with no problems, although I was a bit paranoid about the flight getting messed up and not getting to packet pick-up on time…But not to worry. Got in on time, got to the hotel and off to the expo to pick up numbers and snacks for the run. Ten packs of Gel don’t fit into a one quart plastic bag, and I refuse to check bags in this day and age…and with good reason. Evidence the woman we met on the way back to the hotel. The airline had lost all her bags and she had to buy new everything for the race, including shoes.
I’m always nervous before races even after years of this, so I know Mary Lou’s stress level was up heading into only her second Half Marathon.
I knew she would do well. She had trained well, tapered well and was uninjured. She was fit and her attitude was just stellar.
Race Morning at Disney is always a hoot. Up at two in the morning. Get organized and catch the busses to the start area at three.Everyone walking around with slits for eyes. The race starts at six. This is all made better by the Runners Retreat, which you pay extra for. Carpeted, with chairs and bagels, coffee, tea and Mickey and Minnie! AC if it’s hot, heaters if it’s cold. Sa -weet.
We wait around till about five when we begin the hike over to the start area…an easy twenty minute walk. We are in different corrals, based on previous times. ML moved up a corral this year! Wishing each other luck we part ways for the next few hours. Gobs of people around and I chat with a few, waiting for the starting gun and Fireworks to go off. After the anthem and greetings from Mickey (Man! That mouse is everywhere!) The darkness is banished with loud bangs and whistles and star shells and red bursts of light…
It’s warm. Like, 62 degrees warm. You really can’t get going at a good clip right off the bat because of all the folks…but that’s ok. It’s Disney!
It takes me five minutes to get to the start line. It will take Mary Lou fifteen. Thanks goodness for chip timing! Your time doesn’t start until you cross the start line.
I keep my pace easy as I have to run a marathon tomorrow. Eating and drinking as needed I’m soon at the Magic Kingdom heading up Main Street and aound to Cinderella’s Castle. Through the Castle, finish the Magic Kingdom and back on the road to Epcot and the finish line.
I pass the tail end of the race heading in the other direction at 1:20 race time. I’m approaching mile ten they are at mile three, closely followed by the SAG wagon who will pick them up soon because they are going too slow. Races have cut off times. They have to. You can’t have a race be open ended. Train harder and smarter and come back next year.
Soon, I’m zipping into EPCOT and before I know it the finish line is there and I’m done…1:59. Now all I have to do is wait for the Babe. I get some food and go through a coke, a bottle of water and Power Aid while chatting with other guys who are waiting for their spouses. Finally she comes through the food tent and big hugs ensue… her time? 2:45. A PR by fifteen minutes over her time of last year! I’m about to bust my buttons, I’m so proud of her! We get a picture together holding up our medals and her vacation can begin…I have to do this tomorrow and longer.
We go into the parks in the afternoon and on the way back on the bus meet the most delightful young woman from Brazil, Carol. She is running the Marathon in the morning and is full of questions… We become fast friends. She tells us that in Brazil you don’t hit the wall in a Marathon. You “Carry the Bear.” What a hoot! and really, thinking about all the times I’ve hit the wall, “Carrying the Bear” seems much more apt!
Race morning number two and the ever supportive ML is up with me, although I encourage her to sleep in. The same rig-a-marole as yesterday and I’m in the Runners Retreat chatting with Roy and a table full of Brits who are here for “Making Dreams Come True” foundation. I talk to Raj.
He’s nervous. Aren’t we all?
The hike over to the start at five, the wait around, the gun, the fireworks. It’s warm. 65 degrees warm and humid. Humid, like you can see it humid. I find out later the humidity is at 100%. I run the first half mile and am soaking wet from sweat that’s not evaporating. It’s will be a day like that. Well, as Yogi Bera once said…”It’s not the heat, it’s the humility.” We run through Epcot and head off to the Magic Kingdom after making a big loop and passing the start line again. The rumor is that that some folks walked off into the woods after the start and rejoined when we came back by four miles later. Shame. They missed a timing mat at 3.1 miles and would be DQ’d if it’s true.
I love this race…Lots to see and hear..High School bands, cheerleaders, a high school steel drum band, DJ’s, Characters and great aid stations.
Have to drink early and often today, the sweat just pouring out. I’m not alone in thinking it’s nasty. Although, at one point I pass these two women who happen to remark “Isn’t this weather great?” (75 degrees and 100% humidity) “Where are you from?” I ask. “Tampa!” is the reply.
I run through the Magic Kingdom and see Alice in Wonderland. I shout “Hey Alice!” She Jumps up and down and waves and pointing says “Hooray for you!” Passing by the back of the Grand Floridian Hotel I spy Mary Poppins. She’s with Bert and the Penguins. “Mary Poppins!” I shout. She looks and makes eye contact. “Mary Poppins, would you be good enough to explain all this?” (A line from the movie) She looks at me and says ‘Why, I don’t know what’s going on here!” She missed her cue. Everyone knows the correct answer is “I never explain myself!” Oh well…can’t let the little things ruin your race. Like the weather. It’s not the best weather conditions but I don’t end up “Carrying the Bear.” In fact It’s not too bad. I eat every 3 miles and drink and walk through every aid station. It must have been bad though for some. We are told at the start that 18,000 people are starting. 12,964 finish. Even if 18K sign up and you have the usual 5 to 10 percent no show…that’s over 3,000 Did Not Finish.
Off to the Animal Kingdom, over to the Hollywood Studios and the almost constant crowd support from mile 22 to the end. Into EPCOT and around the World Showcase to the finish past Space Ship Earth in 4:50.
The finishers medal for the Marathon this year is a beauty to celebrate fifteen years. The Goofy Medal for doing both is new too. Nice. Back to the Retreat and a great sandwich and coke…my baby arrives and off we go to spend a few more days in the magic.
JFK 50 Mile or “Oh, Snap. Crackle. Pop. November 19, 2007
Posted by anton in : Race Report , 3 commentsAs Scott said: “Some days you are the bug and some days you are the windshield.”
Call me Bug.
The JFK 50 Miler is America’s oldest and biggest Ultra-marathon. This was the 45th edition, my 9th JFK and my 18th Ultra.
Scott, a Trifuel brother, came down from the wilds of Jersey with his delightful bride to be, Melissa to take part in the shennigans.
It would be Scott’s first Ultra.
Up at 2:00 a.m. on race morning, Scott sleeps in till 2:15.
A quick breakfast and on the road a little before three, ready to face the big grip.
We arrive at Boonsboro a little sooner than expected and have some time to gnaw on till we finally go in the building at about four…
The JFK has two starts..one at five a.m., the other at seven. We took the five. I finish my JFK’s now in about ten hours and change and know that anything can happen…Being the soul of caution, I like the time cushion. Scott agreed and so there we were standing at the only traffic light in Boonsboro at five on a frosty morning.
I introduce Scott around…Vince “Our man from Dublin”. Fred, who if successful, would chalk up his 31st JFK, and some others…A beautiful morning.
At the stroke of the hour, so goes the gun and we are off…rolling on the road and then up. Up South Mountain, site of a Civil War battle that proved that life is cruel,brutish and short for so many young Americans. Off the road and onto the trail proper for a mile then a breakout to Reno Monument Road and up..again…to the top of Lambs Knoll, a hard surfaced road the steepness of which defies description…Scott agrees that if this section came late in the race it would be cruel and brutish.
We get off the road and back to the trail, running in the dark flashlights aloft to help but it isn’t long before it is light and we can move at a quicker pace…I feel great. Scott whips along..the two of us chatting away like two lads at the skate park. We laugh and cackle.
At about mile six of the race my ankle decides it’s done for the day.
I step on something which is easy to do here since the treadway is a mosiac of rocks and roots and sticks covered with leaves. My right ankle rolls to the outside and SNAP! It hurt…bad. I’m not a whiner and have a high tolerance for pain (thanks Dad)…but this hurt. I try to walk it off and it seems to feel better. We head off and the ankle isn’t bad…SNAP! Again. The joint is now a weak link I wish I could say goodbye to..Scott is helpful and supportive….despite it all we are still talking and laughing..I say “I’m sorry” once too often for having to slow down and Scott says “You say I’m sorry again, and I’ll pee in your shoe.” That’s why I like him…he understands one of the basic laws of life.
“Say what you mean, or you can never mean what you say.” No mincing of words with our Man from Jersey.
The miles click off albeit at a much slower pace and I am wacked twice more with the dreaded SNAP! I can feel the ankle swelling. My shoe is tight.
Coming off the AT we are passed by the leaders who started at 7 am…We are here an hour and a half later than I am in a normal year. This will be a long day. On to the C and O Canal after snacks and a morning dose of Ibuprofin we trundle along running for five minutes and walking for one. The Canal towpath is flat and dirt and winds along. For some it’s boring. For me, it’s home. Though they don’t know it is this flat dirt road that helps to make this an easy fifty miler. Many other races of this length are cruel, brutish and seem twice as long. For the next twenty-six miles we fall into a metronome like life. Like Pavlov’s dog we live by the electronic beep of my watch. The beep becomes a yell and then a scream. Good beeps when we get to walk, Bad beeps when we have to run again. We get good breaks in the aid stations which are killer…literally everything from soup to nuts. My running club is there, the MCRRC, dispensing salted potato’s and other goodies. Thanks guys. At about mile thirty we sort of disappear into this fog for four miles and hardly say a word. It was my rough patch, which always comes along. We make the aid station at mile thirty-four, like an oasis in the desert. The next miles seem quicker and conversation returns.
We are passed by folks I know from the 7 a.m. start. Rich, who looks awesome and later by Kevin who asks “Anton, when did you start taking the 5 a.m. start?”…I mutter some comeback as he disappears…looking down at my right foot which is now spilling out over the top of my shoe.
We shuffle, shuffle, crawl, crawl and the miles to go get less. We chat, laugh, groan, belch, fart, ogle, snack, drink and talk with those who pass or who we manage to slip by.
Mile 40…my ankle finally caves. With a loud POP and a wave of pain that almost makes me heave, I pull up. An angel drifts by “Need some tums?” Manna. My stomach is calm again and we trudge on…
Back to the hard surfaced road at mile forty-two…the last eight miles rolling. No more beep to herd us along we run to the rhythm of the road…walk the up hills and run the downs and flats…most of them anyway. We are still laughing and happy. How could you not be? We are here. Now. Living. G.B. Shaw wrote that “The complete man knows the world he lives in.” To that I add…”You cannot know the world, until you know yourself.”
Today, I know who I am.
Soon we are in Williamsport and the finish line appears…it’s dark. My first dark finish since my first JFK but it doesn’t matter. If we had started at seven we would have missed the time cut offs.
We cross the line, hands held in the international sign of a tie finish. In the results, our time is the same…twelve hours and forty-three minutes. Two hours and more slower than my usual and again it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t have changed anything about the day. Anything.
Marine Corps Marathon (or 50k…your choice.) October 28, 2007
Posted by anton in : Race Report , 1 comment so farPulling out of the drive way at 4:30…I found out the exit I need to get off of, to get to the Hospitality suite of my running club, had been closed for the race…in fact just about all of the exits into Rosslyn had been closed and not being a Virginia-phile had no other options…found myself shunted into DC. Parked where I usually do for races in the District, on 23rd street and Constitution…right off the MCM course…It left me with a 2 mile walk across the Memorial Bridge and Arlington to get to Rosslyn…A beautiful morning…a walk/jog past Abe, across the bridge…some shennanigans on the other side and finally am where I need to be…
Pull myself together and get to the race start about 7:30…The usual hoopla. I am entranced watching geese fly in V’s overhead, while everyone else is watching two Osprey…the big, tilt wing aircraft common to the Marines. The Presidents Chopper flies by..many unkind words and gestures…even from the military types.
Howitzer at 8:00. Four minutes to get to the start line the crowd is so big…
The first 8 miles are hills…the up’s can be taxing and the downs, if run too fast, a huge mistake to be paid for later on in screaming quads and aching knees…After that, flat through the Mall and Monuments and the crowds…like The Tour…screaming and yelling, their energy carries you along.
Around Hain’s Point and a slog through the wind…across the 14th street bridge, into Crystal City and past the Pentagon and on to the finish…
It’s a great course, but really the real treat for me..is the people. I like to watch. The Marines with flags… the women in fishnet stockings? From Heart attacks waiting to happen and a guy in street shoes…wing tips I think. Guys who went out at 5:30’s, now shuffling at 10’s. People talking, laughing, a rolling Saturday night without the alcohol.
Some folks run MCM hard..but it is obvious that many, many don’t…that is the point for them..and for me too I guess anymore.
No physical problems..just a pleasant cruise. Easy in 4:45. A beautiful day to be outside with thirty thousand friends.
One goal I had today was to help others and I was honored to have the chance… From a pre-race garbage bag (wind protection) to several young folks who were suffering and needed a shoulder or a joke or and ear to bend…to a bag of blocks, accepted like mana.
This is my last MCM. There are too many other races to do and as the sun sets…fewer days to get them in…
Post race: A walk to the Metro finds it jammed with folks with an hour or more from door to platform…shouldering my bag, I hoof it back the way I came at 5 am. A quick wave to Abe…a moment of reflection at “The Wall,” and I’m off for home.
Reaching out
Posted by anton in : Race Report , 1 comment so farShe was walking, slow,chin on her chest…On her back was a picture of a young Marine. Pulling up along side and walking, I asked…
“Who’s picture is that?”
She started to cry.
“Is he gone?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Are you racing for him?”
Another nod.
“Will you run with me?” she said.
“Of course I will.”
She reached out and we hugged and ran together for awhile…
“I need to go now” she said and was gone, although not very far ahead.
We finished not far apart…but connected.
Time July 10, 2007
Posted by anton in : Race Report, Observations , add a commentTime, n.,adj., v., 1. the system of those sequential relations that any event has to any other. 2. A system or method of measuring or
reckoning the passage of time.
There are 67 other definitions for time in the Random House Dictionary of the English Language (unabridged.)
I been reading recently, the blogs of others here at trifuel…especially Tracy and “J”. They are about time and basicly about being too wrapped up in watches, heart rate monitors, GPS devices and anything else that triathletes use to measure time in relation to distance.
How many times do you see pictures of people crossing a finish line and in a moment of what should be happiness, they are scowling at the face of their watch. I often pass people in races who’s heart rate monitor is beeping like mad because it says they are going too fast even though they look fine and could go faster…Folks with running pace beepers that beep everytime your right foot should be hitting the ground to help you maintain a specific pace… others with a GPS strapped to their wrist in an accurately measured race with the distance well marked on a well known course. It’s all about time…and THAT is the sad part. It shouldn’t be.
It’s about the day, the people you race with, the sun and warmth or the rain and cold, about knowing yourself and learning more. About finding just how deep you can go before you reach the bottom and the well is dry. It’s about screwing up and getting it wrong…and then laughing and bouncing back and coming back another day.
On June 30th I went to Tupper Lake in the ADK to participate in the Tinman Half Ironman… I’ve stopped saying race and now say participate because with the exception of a few folks out in front or in the top of your age group…races like that are endurance events. In saying that you eliminate some of the pressure right off the bat…Anyway, to Tinman.
I didn’t wear a watch.
Had no idea what time my wave started or what time I got out of the water or how long my bike took or how fast I ran…not until the results came out anyway…It was monster fun! The day went by feel…a very nebulous concept that many folks seem loath to trust.Participating by feel…how fast to go,when to drink and eat…by feel. It’s not for everyone…I have years of endurance sports background and know myself very well. It’s about knowing your “self.” I think it unfortunate that people do races or events and would rather trust a watch than what their body is telling them.
My swim went fine I felt good and never out of control… My bike…well that was different. I knew in a moment that it would be slow. My legs had no snap as I had been putting in a lot of miles getting ready for Ironman. Had a puncture…and don’t know how long it took me to change it. My run…I just flew…passing many people and just smiling the whole time…all by feel. walked the up hills and ran the downs and flats…crossed the finish line…looking at the folks around me with their cheery faces and cow bells…the blue sky, the finish line…..and no watch to scowl at. Freedom.
Yelling for Stella June 3, 2007
Posted by anton in : Race Report , add a commentWent with Mary Lou and some friends…Janet, Sara and Mike to Pocomoke City, Maryland for the Sprint distance tri this past Saturday…It’s a small, well run and fun tri…sort of how they used to be…low key, inexpensive and just…fun! Mike had never done a tri before…it was Sara’s first open water swim..the first tri for Janet in years and the first sprint I’ve done since 2001 (Too short a distance for me!) Mary Lou cheered and rang the cow bell and was just all around awesome support. All had a good time, I think…and seemed pleased to have made the trip. May have to make it again… (Secretly, I want to say the race is awful and don’t go…so it stays small and fun…but they raised $16,000 dollars for the local YMCA. Always a good cause.)
It doesn’t come along often that you have the chance to give someone…a complete stranger, a gift they will never forget.
Mary Lou and I were waiting for the awards to be handed out after the race when the race director told us all that the last finisher was coming in…and that here name was Stella and it would be nice to cheer her in.
A few people started to trickle to the finish area and then more, and then more..until almost everyone had walked over to the finish area….You could see her coming several hundred yards off as the the finish is in a big open field…a fit but not thin woman, head down, it was obvious the day had been rough for her.
“Stella!” I yelled and others did too..and clapping and cheering..it became infectious…then a chant….”Stella,Stella,Stella…”
Hand to her mouth as if in tears, then arms raised in triumph, crossing the line.
The gift: A moment she will NEVER forget all the rest of her years….it doesn’t happen that often, but it could…all you have to do is step outside of yourself and do for another athlete.
Race Day Monkey Mind May 21, 2007
Posted by anton in : Race Report , 1 comment so far” 2:15! Not now…! try and get more z’s idiot…
2:35…ugh!
What’s..oh, the cat.
Is that the wind?
3:15..oh, just get up! Bathroom…Now! Man I hate my gut on race morning…
‘Can’t stop addicted to the shinndig…’
tea…bagel…peanut butter in here somewhere.
Bag…pump…Jeepers, I hate having to leave my bike there overnight…
what? Oh tea kettle…sugar…
Time? 4:00, lets go…no sense sitting here…
Dark…go slow…4:00 am cops around…might be grumpy.
Whoa…man I love the beltway this time of day…alone…sweet.
Cable?…Pod… did I forget the Pod? Oh there..In the jack…Oh perfect! ‘Sleepless’ Oh, This has GOT to be CRANKED UP!
Right exit… Greens…No traffic…..Here…cool only a few folks here…at least the Vols are up..Porta-john?
‘Help you sir?…porta -john officer…go ahead…but come back..Yes Sir!” Man …that’s security…
T open yet?…wait till sunup…man those folks waiting in line to get into the T..The land of the wrapped too tight…
Time?…got everything? …Body marking..Whoa! she’s cute…’Why yes I do need marked…ah, 53′ Nice smile…
Where’s my rack again?…’Hey.’ ‘Allo.’ From OZ…Did he just call me mate?..that’s a roj on the Oz.
Oh my gawd…’Bob?’ ‘Man nice to see ya’ ‘Back in the fray?’ Damn, he looks fit…Tape…Tape…lessee…two gels on the top tube…bottles
on..helmet. Shoes 1…Shoes 2 Damn..wetsuits in the Element…oh well short walk…Yeah…young enough to be my daughter…Suit…Body
Glide…oh neat…there’s the banana! ‘Good morning and welcome to the Columbia Triathlon'’…Vigo sounds wide awake. wrist band…oh ‘Yeah
I’m supposed to be here…’
T looks good..time to go..’good luck Bob!’ …’Good on ya mate.’ THAT got a smile out of OZ boy..’The last suit you’ll ever own’…nice…better
than my old one. RAIN! ‘Be safe out on the roads we’ve already had a few accidents…the roads are slick.
‘Neon green caps in the water!’ 5 minutes…ho…not bad..warmer that the last time.
‘Ready greens? GO!’
Stroke….breath…calm down…breathe,breathe,breathe…GET OFF! God Buddy plenty of room..crowd someone yer own size…sight… breathe
First turn…geez I gotta pee…sight..breathe..get the heart rate down…’burning down the house’ next turn…whoa…little off..heading for the
woods…better sight..stroke…breathe….sight..not bad…last bouy…exit?..where? ok…sight…pull,pull,pull.kick…blood in the legs…up, pull,
peel..move left pull it off here while it’s still wet…Damn what is it…75 bloody yards to the bloody rack?
There…shoes, breathe,helmet, Oz boy gone…Bob not yet… drink, bike off..out..man this is like cyclocross,mud,slick..up the hill…mount…
Go…calm..get the flow…drink…up…’Left’…’Whoa,whoa,whoa hold your line!’ 22,24,29,32…love hills…ohohohohoh…two wheel drift…MAN it
IS slick..up up up…breathe…don’t hammer up..you’ll trash yourself..THAT’S some road rash…she is going to be hurting in the morning!…use the downs..free speed…Sun! Alright!…Why is it still raining? ML ..she
up yet…9:00? Yeah she’s up…’Left…left…left. NO NO NO… ON your left! Motorbike…Cop? Oh…the pingers… I’m cool….Ha! Pinged those
three guys who’ve been drafting the last 5 miles! Gel…hungry…drink…Last up hill!….down to the T…go go go.
D-line…off, run, Man that grass is slick…like the road…Rack it,Helmet,Succeed! drink shoes on…out of the T..get the feel…not bad..Well if
you had hammered the bike it would suck…first hill…walk a bit…man! I’m walking faster than these folks are running up!..drink…relax…flat
and down…free speed. Water…pour it…I always forget how hilly this course is…This guy talking to me?..oh man…not a chatty cathy…’Dude if you can talk like this…you’re not working hard enough!’ That’s better..see, he can go faster…’Hey Bob! Good Job!’ Man…he’s looking rough. Hill and dale hill and dale…I remember these guys…they all passed me on the bike!…ouch,ouch,ouch…man my neck hurts…what’s he, 23? ‘Come on lad! last mile is down hill…free speed.’
There’s the lake…Oh cool..great blue…home again,home again, jiggity jog…last crest,sweep to the finish…oh, there’s the picture guy…finish line…phhhht…”
The Race Card May 6, 2007
Posted by anton in : Race Report , 1 comment so farThree weeks..three races. Sometimes training for long events can be drudge…for those of you who do…you know what I’m talking about.
The, what seems to be endless, miles. This workout followed by that workout followed by that workout followed by…yada yada yada.
It was sort of feeling like that for me recently so I decided to pull the race card. Training as normal, with some sort of athletic dust-up on the weekend to make things more lively…and fresh..and make all the bloody training seem worthwhile. Sort of like a marriage.
G.W. Parkway Classic 10 miler on April 22nd which I’ve already written about.
Pikes Peek 10K. Last week
Frederick Half Marathon Today.
I mean, I have to get in a longish run on the weekends anyway, why not do it with a few thousand others that help break up the gerbil wheel?
I’ve done the GW many times and it’s one of my fav 10 milers…maybe because that’s where I set my 10 miler PR (1:13 flat)
Pikes Peek. You get to see a big section of Rockville Pike…get it? Down hill and fast…as I am fond of saying..a bowling ball could set a PR on that course. Also the site of my 10k pr (42:20)..always a gas..or at least produces gas because the post race food is just stellar. Really good chop. Nothing super to report this year…perfect weather and just go like hell from point A to B.
Today was my first time at the Frederick half..they run a full at the same time. I know the course,because having lived in Fred-neck for twenty-four years, I’ve run the course or parts of it many times…forgotten how hilly it is! Beautiful clear morning…windy. I knew where the wind would be blowing, and always blows from…so in those sections I tucked in behind the biggest guys I could find and drafted…letting them plow through the air leaving them when we changed direction and caught wind blowing from my six. Smart racing. I’m happy with today’s results…as really I am with any race result… Imagine…I’m 52 (USAT 53) and I’m still able to do this…cool. Nineteen forever.
Two schools of thought here…One is don’t race too often, because it may have an adverse affect on your goal races…everything you do today has an effect on what lies downstream…which is true.
The other school says..race often. I like this …and have tried to follow it when I could…a few years I didn’t because I wanted to just focus on my key racing and see how that worked…wasn’t nearly as much fun! This is about fun…if it’s not fun for you…stay home get fat and die early. Myself…I’d rather race have fun…and die early! At least the quality of my life will be better while I got it. Beats TV.
Speed work…hate it. Do it sometimes…but it’s just so much more fun to race often and use THAT for the speed work. Never been much for speed anyway…I’m fast twitch impaired…and it’s not my world view…Laid back is better…speed kills…at least your knees.
Next bruhaha…Columbia Triathlon on 5/20…an Oly.
The Hammer and Anvil January 13, 2007
Posted by anton in : Race Report , 2 commentsYou could feel it as soon as you stepped outside the hotel on the morning of the Disney World Marathon.
Humidity. Warmth. At 3 am.
No kilts today..too hot and you knew at some point it would be hard enough without all the extra geegaw.
A more tense feeling in the VIP runners tent than yesterday morning for the half marathon…it’s as though folks knew this would be a different kind of day.
Scott and I met by the tent and walked off to the start around 5 am… Last year everyone looked like the Michilin Tire man dressed in extra clothes and plastic bags…but not now. A temp in the upper 60’s and the sun wouldn’t be up for another two hours.
The usual speeches by Mickey, Goofy et al. Fireworks and off we go. The course is really very cool…through Epcot,over to the Magic Kingdom, to the Animal Kingdom, onto a long bit on the highway then the fun four miles. MGM Studios and a return to Epcot…with many people cheering you on.
Scott and I had sort of th same idea..to get in as many miles as possible before the Hammer came up and beat on the anvil…with us in between.
The Sun..the hammer. The road…the anvil.
Putting miles in the bank usually doesn’t work,but it did today.
We were out of the magic kingdom and on our way down Bear Island road when it hit…the heat…the sun. You could feel the sweat come off you in waves.
Drinking early and often we ended up being ok…Come into an aid station and walk…pick up Power Aide…drink. Pick up several cups of water,drink some and pour the rest over your head…start running. Repeat. We took electrolyte caps like clock work and stuck to our own individual nutrition schedules. Scott is quite experienced and knows his stuff. The successful racers are the ones who knows themselves well.
The EMTs were busy. I saw at least a dozen people down between MGM and Epcot…the finish line medical tent was packed.
Many folks recognized us from the day before…”Hey wern’t you guys in Kilts yesterday?” which immediately identified them as being “Goofy” too.
Coming into Epcot…I was toast. Had to walk up a few short rises to keep the heart rate down. We’d been in the open since mile 18 with only a few breaks out of the sun.
It really started to suck just about the time the finish line came into view…good timing. We actually ran a little faster than last year..considering the heat, I’m happy!
Scott and I have our pics taken together..me with the Mickey and Goofy medals..Scott with all his bling…The Pirate and Princess medal for Fridays 5K, the Donald medal for Saturday and the Mickey and Goofy medal for today… too cool… on a very hot day.