Nope, nope, nope. February 29, 2008
Posted by anton in : Training , 1 comment so farTomorrow is the Greenway Trail 50K and Marathon. I’m signed up. I won’t be there. I decided to bag it. Easy to do as sign up is race day. This is a great race, well done and a gem of a race. It’s very much an enhanced Fat Ass Ultra. Point to point. A rural race in an urban setting.
Still suffering with a bit of an ankle problem, lingering from the JFK, It’s a good idea to ease up a bit. When it comes to this sort of thing, I remain the soul of caution. I know folks who have bad knees, hips and ankles…it’s often the result of not listening to your body and taking time off when you need to. How many times do you go to a race and see people who are running injured? What’s up with that? Better to back off for awhile and run for many years into the future than run for the next two weeks and have to leave it all behind….forever.
Still on the radar is the Virginia 24 hour Ultra Run in April. Perhaps the Old Dominion 100 miler in June.
I’m going to lay low with the ankle for another week (swim and bike,walk some) pick up running again the next week.
Carrying The Bear January 21, 2008
Posted by anton in : Race Report , add a comment
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.
“Uh-huh! Garsh!” January 5, 2008
Posted by anton in : Training , add a comment
One week away from the Disney races. Mary Lou will be running her second Half Marathon there and I’m in for my third Goofy Challenge.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, the G.C. is quite simple. Run the Half on Saturday. Run the full Marathon on Sunday. No problem.
It’s the other stuff that’s hard!
Getting up at 2 a.m. both days and catching the bus and the waiting around at the race venue till the 6 a.m. start. Not that bad really…and everyone else is in the same boat and it’s quite the party atmosphere so no one seems to mind.
I’m at the usual place in a race taper where I feel fat, dumb, and ugly, having cut back on the training and still eating normally. Legs feel good. Ran my last run of consequence today …a short 7 miler. The other runs this week will only be 30 minutes or so. Mary Lou admits to feeling a little of the same. This year however she has gotten through training without a knee problem and while admitting to a few butterflies, is stoked.
I am too…stoked… this will be our last Disney race and my last Goofy. Time to move on and do other things, race wise. It will be fun to be there for the 15 annual Marathon. They are promising a new style finishers medal to reflect that anniversary.
The ankle that caused so much problem last month (see the blog entry “Oh Snap. Crackle. Pop.”) is much improved. It’s not at 100% but it feels strong and it should be fine on the roads at Disney. I am a little concerned about it for trail running. I’ve noticed I’m a bit gun shy now about spraining it again and trashing my whole racing season…after Disney it’s back to the weight room and work to strengthen it. I would have liked a few more miles in my legs, and at least another long run, but had to take two weeks off after the ankle incident. Still feeling fit from having trained for the JFK 50 miler though.
A week out from the races and the weather looks like it will be a tad cooler than last years 80 degrees…but only just a tad. Sunny too, so the heat could be a problem. Go at a good clip till the sun comes up and the heat gets oppressive. Last year The medical tent was full and there were folks down everywhere the last few miles of the Marathon.
Will post a race report and pics on the return…
Hope all your workouts are going well.
If you’re not working out…start.
“It takes a lot of work.”
Posted by anton in : Training , add a commentPeople tell me all the time…”I can’t believe you’re 53! You look like you’re in your early 40’s.”
I tell them… “It takes a lot of work.”
In 2007, this is how much work it took:
Swimming: 82 kilometers ( about 50 miles)
Biking: 4,800 miles
Running: 1,480 miles
Hours: 680 (which also includes strength training and some yoga and hikes.
I’m lucky. Right now in my life I have the time and the desire.
But YOU don’t have to put in that much time to have a better you. Thirty minutes to one hour, five times a week. This stuff you hear about thirty minutes three times a week is bunk. Period. Yes, that will help you lose a little weight and will improve your heart some…but real change to your body and mind doesn’t come on that. You have to put in the work. Real work. Real sweat, heavy breathing, sore muscle work. Once a week you have to do it for more than an hour, at least, and once a week you have to have a short workout where you think you might puke. That’s it. Simple. Anyone who says different is telling you what you want to hear, not what you should hear.
Five sessions a week, including one long suffer fest, one short puke inducer and three easier workouts that are enjoyable.
Will this help you live longer? No.
You only have the moment you are in right now…no matter how fit you are.
Will this help you have a better quality of life as you get older? Yes.
Will you feel better and feel better about yourself. Yes.
You don’t have to live your life on the couch.
There is a direct connection between your weight and how much TV you watch. No amount of Wii is going to help you lose 50 pounds. That kind of TV doesn’t count either.
Change your life.
But be advised:
It takes a lot of work.
Why can’t we just run? December 29, 2007
Posted by anton in : Observations , 2 commentsThe story goes like this:
Many years ago John Salathe was standing around in Camp 4, in Yosemite Valley, listening to the other climbers talk about the days issues. Royal Robbins, Yvon Chouinard and the like waxed on about climbing’s rules, ethics, equipment, what was a good climb and what wasn’t. It got pretty hot during the discussion as things do when people are passionate about things.
They turned to John. A true leader of the climbing world who, even in his 60’s, was a bold figure. They asked him what he though about it all. In his heavy German accent he said:
“Vy can’t ve just climb?”
Stride clinics, Pose Method, Evolution Running, Chi Running…the other day some kid asks for advice.”Should I breathe in for three striders and out for two or the other way around?” Something to that affect.
I rail against all this crap.
Running is running. Period. Yes you can follow one coaches advice about speed work or long runs and another’s about duration and frequency…learning from the greats is too cool. When someone comes along and starts playing around with HOW you run…my eyebrows go up.
Indeed some new folks may need a little guidance on foot fall, stride length and what not…but after that I’m not so sure it has much value. Folks change form and obsess about it for a few extra seconds that could be found by training smarter with the style you have.Some folks do well with what they have. Others don’t. And this is the rub. Not everyone can be a good runner, no matter how much they fool around with it. Other runners are awesome. They are just that way. Everyone is different. Sameness is a curse. Trying to shove everyone into the same style of running mold is a slap at our uniqueness.
At your next race pay attention to the runners around you…the leaders if you can see them. You’ll see people who some folks would say have really bad form, running an unbelievable pace and others with perfect form who shuffle. I know of a runner who has hands that flop. Another’s arms go almost behind his back. Heads down,heads up, feet like ducks or feet like pigeons’. All of them can scoot!
This is why I think many triathletes’ prefer the bike. It’s easy to micro-manage the bike, and goodness knows Tri-heads (most anyway) like to tweek EVERYTHING…Micro-managing the run? Ya just gotta shake what your Mommy gave ya and make it go fast.
It’s so easy to gunk up something that is easy to do and make it a source of stress when it really doesn’t have to be. Don’t let all that tripe get between you and the moment you are in. Run, here. Run, now.
Just Run.
Found It. December 12, 2007
Posted by anton in : Observations , 1 comment so farI lost it…I’m not sure when. I’ve been looking for it the last 10 years. Didn’t know where it went. I know why it went.
Today it came back.
Running around the lake,easy, nothing in mind. Just being there. Passing the beaver lodge and across the bridge and it hit me like the answer to a koan. One of the Lost Boys found. The Ark dug out of that warehouse.
The Pace.
The Pace I used to have that disappeared. The one where I can run all day and I simply don’t breath hard…where it all flows. Where everything fits.
I know why it came back.
I’m running everyday. Like I used to. Before Ironman. Before I started juggling three sports. Before my mind became fractured. Before my heart was broken and some of the pieces were lost. The pieces came back today. Slotted into where they should, and with that the engine was whole and worked again…like it used to.
I hope it’s still there tomorrow…but if not…at least one day, again,
I found it.
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.
Space/Time and MCM October 27, 2007
Posted by anton in : Observations , 1 comment so farI had to go back and look at my last post date before I could remember the last time I wrote here…I’ll be better, I promise.
Tomorrow is the Marine Corps Marathon and it seems like that sign up was just yesterday. Have several goals…1. To finish without feeling like I have to sit in a hot tub for two weeks. The JFK 50 miler is in three weeks and I like to go into that race feeling fresh and not beat up…John K. likes to do his pre JFK marathon earlier in October… maybe next year. 2. This year I’m going to help folks if they need it. You know, walk with someone if they seem like they are having a bad day…carry some extra food and offer it up if needed…We see lots of amps at this race and they can use a running partner sometimes…Take some of my race time and give it to others…
Time has been on my mind a lot recently. I went to the Double/Triple Ironman and was the crew for a guy who was doing the Triple…The event spun me on my head about sports and endurance and time and covering distance and understanding yourself and what limits really are.
What I felt and experienced and saw and learned during three days there is almost to personal to relate…some of it wouldn’t make any sense to those who haven’t seen it. I did learn that a Double Ironman has as much in common with Ironman as a dog does with a cat…and a Triple has as much in common with Ironman as a cat does with a lizard. To get even stranger…Doubles and Triples are about time and space both outside your head and in.
Next year…I’m there.
Race report tomorrow.