TheRunningRev.Com

164 Days to Comrades

With only 164 days to go until the race today marked the first day of official training. I'll be using Hal Higdon's recommended plan for Comrades which starts this week with 36 miles and builds to 75 mile weeks. It's going to be more running than I've ever done but I don't want to travel all the way to South Africa and not finish the race.

Some people are questioning my sanity for wanting to run a race of 56 miles. That may be a fair thing to question. I have never claimed to be sane, indeed I may be quite out of mind. Actually when I stop and think about it I think it is perfectly fair to say that I  am indeed out of my mind. Having visited Africa (Kenya) back in 1995 and experienced African poverty first hand  I have been quite out of my mind over this great injustice in the world.

So I am running Comrades with Team World Vision to make a difference in our world. My goal is to find sponsors for 56 kids in World Vision projects in South Africa. I should have the names of those kids and details on how you can sponsor a child in support of my running this race some time in January. 

Stay tuned.

211 Days To Comrades

Between now and May 29th, 2011 all of my running will have a single focus... getting to the finish line of Comrades Marathon in under 12 hours!

I'll chronicle my journey of running through the Minnesota winter as I prespare for the 56 miles from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. Just the thought of running under African skies already has me excited, and to be running in the childhood home of my mother will be an even greater thrill.

One of my goals in running for Team World Vision is to find sponsors for 56 kids, one for each mile I run. As soon as I find out who the 56 kids are the I'll be finding sponsors for I'll let you know.

Meanwhile I'll be running a 5k tomorrow morning... gotta start somewhere!

Comrades 2011

It's been a while since I wrote anything here. This is just a quick update to say that I've registered for Comrades 2011 in South Africa. It's an uphill year, which many say is the easier of the two routes, but 56 miles is still 56 miles.

I'll be joining a team from World Vision to run this race and raise awareness of justice and poverty issues in our world today.

I'm looking forward to joining 18,000 others in the world's largest ultramarathon. One things for sure, its going to be fun! 

Trail Mix 50k

It was a beautiful clear morning at Hyland Lake Park Reserve in Bloomington, MN. The clear night saw temperatures drop to the mid-30's and were supposed to reach the mid-60's by the afternoon. The first question of the day was, what to wear? Decided on shorts and t-shirt with my Injinji socks and Brooks Cascadia shoes.

The 100 or so 50k runners started the first of four loops at 7:00am. It was a beautiful rolling course that included a couple of steeper sections in the Richardson Nature Center. On our first trip through the nature center several wild turkeys showed their support for us as they gobbled away! 

On the first loop I realized my first and fatal mistake of the day. I was told this was a well supported race but there was an inadequate supply of liquids and this would come to haunt me later. Lesson learned, never run an ultra without your own supply of fluids.

Finished loop one in 1:10, right on track for my goal of breaking five hours.

Loop two was very uneventful and I enjoyed conversation with several other runners as I came through in 1:12. Half way in 2:22, five hours was looking doable.

Loop three started fairly well and I hit the 20 mile mark in 3:10, but I also hit the wall at the same time! Lack of fluids was starting to have an impact. It would take another 32 minutes to finish the loop. Over those 3.25 miles I wondered if I should drop out but ultimately decided to continue running. 

I ran the first mile of the final loop very slowly and then went to walk, a long walk through the park. My mouth was dry and I couldn't spit, at the aid stations I was stopping to drink several of their tiny cups of water but to little affect. My upper back and shoulders seized up and my calf muscles began to cramp. I didn't want to risk injury so I spent considerably more time walking than running. When I tried to run I felt horrible but I knew the end was in sight. 

Breaking five hours disappeared from my radar as I lumbered on. Finally crossing the finish line in 5:32. Yes that was one hour fifty minutes for the last 7.75 miles or just over fourteen minutes a mile. Ugh!

I'm home now drinking lots of juice and feeling good.

BTW this was my first ultra wearing Injinji socks... loved them, not a single blister.  

Running Update

I've been busy training for the Trail Mix 50k coming up on April 17th. I'm looking forward to this ultra-marathon race of four 7.75 mile loops, running on the trails will be a pleasant change from the road and soft shoulder of the roads around our home.

My training's been going well finishing up March with 201 miles run, the highest monthly mileage I've ever recorded. I've managed to get two 20 mile runs in with 10 miles on the day after and have felt strong each time. I finished up March with a great 9 mile run at a 7:36 pace around Bald Eagle Lake. The sun wasPublish shining and it was a comfortable 75 degrees out. The ice is out of the lake so I think it means spring has officially arrived.

I was especially delighted when a woman riding her bike told me I looked fast as she passed me in the opposite direction for the second time. I guess looks can be deceiving but it was a nice compliment.

Today we are about 25 degrees above normal, I pray we don't see average temperatures again any time soon, gotta love this weather for running.

ICY 8 - Two weeks to go!

Last Saturday members of our running club headed out in -2 degrees for a run on the Battlefield. I wasn't with them, I was comfortably tucked up in bed sound asleep.

This afternoon its 43 and sunny, so I will tackle eight miles on the trails in relative comfort!

I can only pray that this weather pattern holds and that we have milder weather for the "ICY 8" on February 7. No, it' s not an eight mile run, it's an 8 hour run. It's not who goes the fastest over a distance it's who goes the furthest over the time.

My initial goal is to complete four 8 mile loops for a total of 32 miles, just over 50k. However I don't think this will take all 8 hours to complete, so I may go for 40 miles. At the JFK 50 it took me just under 8 hours to get in 40 so it will be close. We'll see what the day brings and how the trail runs.

My JFK 50

It was an early start to the day when the alarm sounded at 5:00 am and I rolled out of bed and climbed into the shower. It was the only time I would feel warm for the next 12 hours.

I dressed in three layers, two cold weather shirts and a Brooks nightlife jacket, running tights, shorts, hat and gloves but it wasn't enough to keep me warm. The bank clock at the start was reading 16 degrees, it can't have off by much! At one point, somewhere around mile 25 the medics were treating one guy for hypothermia.

As we crossed the start line at 7:00 am we headed uphill and then uphill some more, climbing some 1200 feet over the first five miles of the race.

As we entered the Appalachian Trail section of the course it was a lot more technical than I had anticipated. Some stretches were extremely rocky and I thought to myself, "if I fall here my race is over because I'll break something." It required total focus and on the couple of occasions that I momentarily lost focus I almost fell, I'll probably lose my big toe nail on my left foot as a result of kicking a rock.

The trail section went by quickly and soon we arrived at Weverton cliffs, a rapid decent down switchbacks of almost a 1000 feet over a single mile. Stage one completed.

At this point I was feeling strong and very encouraged to have made it to this point in about 3:15. The warm-up was over, now it was time to run a marathon along the C&O canal path. It would be twelve miles before I would see my family, so I headed off on a twelve mile run. Running for six minutes and walking for one. Before long I was arrived at the rest stop and my family was waiting. Hugs, kisses, high fives and on I went, eleven more miles and I'd see them again at mile 38.

Miles 27 to 38 were the hardest miles ofthe day. My run 6/walk 1 ratio didn't hold up anymore and I developed a blister that I should have treated but ignored. It would eventually burst and felt better until the last four miles when it was rubbed raw and every step hurt. While the toepath was flat it was a challenge just to stay focussed and keep going, a little more variety would have been great and after 20 plus miles the river scenery all started to look the same to me.

It was a wonderful feeling to get off the toepath at mile 42 and know that there was only eight miles left to the finish. I looked at my watch and commented to another runner that it was the only time I had wondered if I could cover 8 miles in 1:43 to break the ten hour barrier!

The last eight miles were rolling hills and I went back to a walk up hill and run down. But I was puzzled about what to do on the flat sections! I tried to run a minute or so and then walk a little, my only focus at this point was finishing under the ten hour mark.

I saw my family for the last time at mile 46 and knew at that point I would, pending a disaster break the ten hour goal.

There were mile markers counting down the last 8 miles on the road, it was very helpful and I wagged my finger in victory at each number as I passed. The two miles to go sign appeared to be to close the 1.5 to aid station and I asked which sign was correct. The aid station folks assured me that the aid station was correct! What joy as almost half a mile disappeared from my mind. As I approached the finish I picked up my pace and was about to cross the line when my youngest tried to give me a high-five, I missed her little hand, stopped, ran back, high-fived her and crossed the finish line.

Time: 9:47:54

I felt elated. I took a shower, ate a piece of pizza, drank a coke, stood up to walk to the car and my hip flexors were shot, I could hardly walk. I waddled to the car and relaxed on the drive home. Tomorrow I'm off for a massage, can't wait.

I don't believe the temperature ever got above 32 and the wind was blowing, it was brutally cold all day.

 Nutrition:

4 Packets of Clif Shot Blocks

3 Bananas

1 Potato

5 Smuckers PB&J sandwiches

1 Cup of Soup

2 cups of chips

2 Pretzel sticks

2 cups of Gatorade

lots of water

Would I do it again? I'm not sure. I may be willing to try a different ultra but mentally it would be a challenge to run the same one again, not knowing what was ahead of me was most definitely a positive.

JFK 50 Preview

Tomorrow will mark my first (and probably only) venture into the world of the ultra-marathon as I tackle the JFK 50.

My mantra for the day will be,  "keep moving, keep smiling!" and hopefully about ten hours after leaving the start I will cross the finish line in mostly one piece.

My biggest concern right now is the weather for the race. Yahoo weather reports, "Some morning flurries with mostly sunny skies expected in the afternoon. Cold. High near 35F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph." That translates into windchill temperatures of 13 at the start and 23 at the finish. That's a lot of time to be out in the cold!

So I just "keep moving, keep smiling" and hopefully hypothermia won't be an issue!

Ultramarathon... Why Not!

Ok, I'm willing to go public with this thought, sometime in the next 14 months I will enter the world of ultrarunning and compete in my first ultramarathon! There I've said it.

I've toyed with this thought for several months now, I don't expect that I'm going to get any faster as a runner over the coming years so perhaps I can push my endurance a little.

What is an ultramarathon? Any race over the standard marathon distance of 25.2 miles. Most ultramarathons are 50k, 50 miles or 100 miles in length. I have no desire to try a 100 mile race at this point so it will be either a 50k or 50 miler. The difference between these two... 19 miles. My head says to start with the 50k, my ego the 50 miler.

Why do this, why now? It's simple really, its just something I want to do before I 40 turn in October of 2008.

Which race will it be? I don't know yet, perhaps the Bull Run 50 in April, or a trip back to Minnesota for the Afton 50k in July, at this point its a big TBD.

In preparation I will be running the VA Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon this Sunday, the Army Ten Miler in October and the Richmond Marathon in November.