Race Recap: Half Sauer, Half Kraut Half Marathon

A year later and my second time experiencing the Half Sauer, Half Kraut, I couldn’t be happier.  This years version proved to be just as rewarding and entertaining as last year’s, if not more.

Pre-Race
After last year’s experience with this race, I had this one penciled in early in the year.  I tried to lure a few friends into this race and managed to get my friend Neeli to run it.

Really, we didn’t coordinate our outfits intentionally!

We also had a meet up with the Half Fanatics and Marathon Maniacs for a group picture.

Keeping with the German theme of the run, several of the Fanatic/Maniac crowd came in costume.

The Course
The course runs through Pennypack Park in northeast Philadelphia.  It’s a beautiful little escape from urban life that features rolling hills along he edge of Pennypack Creek along with a fun little section called ‘Mount Cuckoo’ – a mile or so of gentle, but muddy trail running.  After looping through Mount Cuckoo, the course returns to the running/biking path and heads downstream back to the finish.

The course features several aid stations with water and gatorade.  Given that temperatures in Philadelphia can get into the 90′s this time of the year, having a lot of aid stations is a really smart move.  Also on course is UberHans – the toughest accordion player in the land.

My Race
Since this was the first race I planned to run relatively hard since I hurt my foot in April, I can in with low expectations.  I intended on starting easy and pacing myself based on how I felt.  If I felt any pain in my foot, I’d back off immediately.

The race started off well.  The temperatures were still cool and the course featured a lot of shade.  At the first mile, my Garmin told me I ran an 8:41 mile – I was pretty happy with that.

Over the next several miles, I kept getting surprised by the rolling hills on the course that I completely forgot about.  Nothing huge, but definitely a couple steep climbs.  Despite the rolling terrain, I kept on hitting 8:40ish miles.  And my foot felt fine.

The Mt’ Cuckoo section of the race was a bigger challenge than it was last year.  In the past week, the Philadelphia area received approximately 9 inches of rain.  That made for a muddy trail experience. This section definitely separated the road runners from the trail runners as I passed a lot of runners who were picking their way through the mud.  The temperature also started to rise by this time and the woods felt quite steamy.

Midway along the run, my Garmin spaced out on me.  I usually wear a wrist band under it when I run in warm weather, but I completely forgot about that today.  As the temperatures rose and I began to sweat more, the bezel on my Garmin became non-responsive and, for all intents and purposes, stopped working.  The biggest problem this posed for me was that I like to check my heart rate to make sure I am not over-exerting.  Today, I would just have to run by feel.

As I exited Mt. Cuckoo and headed back on the paved path, I was still feeling pretty strong.  I managed to catch Neeli, who had dashed away from me at the start, and we ran together for a while.  Over the last 2 miles, I tried to catch as many people ahead of me as I could, reeling them in one at a time.  I don’t know what my splits were for the last few miles, but I finished at 1:53:36 – an 8:40 pace.  Not a PR, but considering that I needed a lengthy pit stop halfway through the race, a respectable finish.

Post Race
Once again, the post race festivities were great.  Immediately following your run, there is water, oranges, pretzels, Oreo’s and amazing banana bread to help refuel.  After a quick fuel-up, Neeli and I headed back to the German Club where we were treated with beer and brats.

In addition to UberHans entertaining us after the race, a German Dance group showed us some traditional German dancing.

At the awards ceremony, Neeli picked up an age group award and got this cool German Weather house.

Here’s a close-up of the medal.  It’s one of the coolest logo’s I’ve seen.  We also got a re tech shit with the same logo, and no advertising.

Once again, the group at UberEnduranceSports came through with a really fun event.  This may be my favorite race in the Philadelphia area.  The only question I have for next year is whether I double up and run the marathon, or find myself a pair of lederhosen to run in!

Prost!

Vella Shpringa!

This past Monday, Memorial day, I had a great offer.  I was invited to run an 8ish mile moonlight run with the Bird In Hand Vella Shpringa running club.  There were so many cool things about this run it’s hard to know where to begin, but I’ll try.

Running Through Amish Country
Bird In Hand is about 45 minutes west from where I live. It is beautiful, open farmland.  Cornfields and cow pastures.  Pristinely manicured properties with no electricity.  The most adorable children cheering you as you run by.

We ran on roads. We ran on dirt paths. We ran on grass.  We literally ran though farms.  There were lots of cows.  Every farm had at least one dog barking at us.  We also had great support from the Bird In Hand Fire Company keeping us safe throughout the run.

Running With Will and Zac
My friend Will and his son Zac were also lucky enough to respond quickly to this invitation to be one of the 100 “English” allowed to run with the Vella Shpringa club.  Will is a dedicated runner, a quick wit and a more eloquent writer than I will ever be.

Will, Zac and me pre-race. Wondering what we’ve gotten ourselves into.

Normally, our paces in races are different, but this night we ran together.   It was great to experience all the sights, sound and smells of Amish country together.  Along the way, I had the opportunity to get to know Zac a little better. He’s a bright, articulate 16 year old. He’s also a pretty darn good cross country runner.  I’m sure he could have smoked us in this run, but chose to stick with his dad and me.

Will, Zac and Zoe after the run!

Running At Night
I’m a morning runner.  I like to get up and get miles miles in before I begin the rest of my day.  I especially like morning runs as the temperatures get hotter. I’ll often start my long runs before sunrise to avoid the heat of the day.

So, I wasn’t concerned about running in the dark.  Been there, done that.  I was concerned about how to go through the course of the day, a holiday no less, and run at night.

I stayed away from the typical holiday food fest and didn’t eat any solid foods after 2 PM.  This will be good preparation for my Disney Wine & Dine Half run, I thought.  I also avoided the adult beverages that are normally part of the unofficial start of summer celebration. Today, I stuck with G2 as I headed for the run.

The run itself was a series of opposites for me.  Instead of it getting lighter as I ran, it got darker.  Instead of it getting warmer, it got colder.  Instead of knowing where I was and when I was close to the finish, I had no clue where I was at and when I’d be done.  There was a time when we were separated from the pack that I worried that we may miss a turn and really be in for an adventure.  But it was great fun!

Me – celebrating on the road!

Running With Chris McDougall and Scott Jurek
Oh, did I mention that they were here?  Yep, Chris & Scott were there to run with us and speak after the run.

Around mile 6, Chris caught up with us.  He had met Will in Philadelphia, so they immediately started up a conversation.  Chris ran with us for the next half mile or so.  Needless to say, he is a great storyteller and a really nice guy, so we really appreciated having him hang with us for a while.

To say our run with Scott was brief would be an understatement.  Scott was running with the 8 minute pace group.  As they ran past us, I hung with his group for a few seconds, so I can officially say I ran with Scott Jurek!

Post Run Camaraderie
After the run, we headed into the Mennonite church where we started for refreshments and to listen to Scott and Chris speak.   We had a huge supply of food including ice cream and whoopie pies – a local specialty.  Scott and Chris patiently gave autographs and posed for pictures before speaking.

The spread – lot’s to eat!

Scott & Chris telling scary tales of ultra running!

Running With My Neighbors
I don’t live very far from Amish country, but I haven’t spent much time there.  What I knew of the Amish was what I’ve heard from the media – isolated, reserved.  What I learned from the Amish runners paints a very different picture.  They’re funny.  They’re outgoing.  And they’re really fast runners!

That night, they welcomed me and 99 other runners into their community.  They showed us the fellowship they live every day.  And, what did they ask for in return?  Nothing!  They were happy to have us and share what they do every month under a full moon.  It made this an incredibly toughing experience for me.

From my perspective, this run could not have been any better.  Perfect weather.  Perfect route.  Perfect company.  It’s left me wanting to run with the Vella Shpringa club again.  To invite them to my home and return their hospitality.  It’s truly an experience I may never have again and I will cherish it forever!

Determined

Look what came in the mail this week!

I looked at that word: Determined.  That made me think.  What does that really mean?  So, here’s what I found on dictionary.com:

[dih-tur-mind]  

adjective

1.resolute; staunch: the determined defenders of the Alamo.

2.decided; settled; resolved.

That led me back to my 2013 goals, which I have been delinquent with in reporting progress.  I really meant to write an update, but recent circumstances have made me afraid hesitant to report until I had more certainty. So, here goes:

Health  Goals

I was determined to make 2013 a much healthier year than 2012.  Everything was going well on that front until the Runspringa half, where I hurt my foot.  That put a damper on this goal.

• 0 trips to the emergency room – so far so good!
• 0 MRI’s (not yet scheduled) – check, thanks to an Orthopedist who believes in managing health care costs
• < 10 runs missed due to injury or illness – fail, missed 12 runs because of this

Fitness Goals
The one “benefit” of my injury is that it got me swimming.  Swimming provides a great, impact free workout and will help me get leaner.  Let look at where these goal stand.

• Get my weight down to 165 from the current 176 – I’m down to about 173.  Focusing more on dropping weight for the next month.
• Get my body fat percentage to 13% from 16% – Depending on the day, I’m somewhere between 12% and 15%.  I know this can vary due to a number of factors, but the trend is going in the right direction.
• Increase the number of pull-ups I can do without rest from 5 to 10 – Sadly, I have not attempted a pull-up in a month.  I need to get back to this.
• Increase the number of times I can bench press my body weight from 4 to 10 – I’m up to 6.  I’m hoping that losing a few more pound will make this easier!

I’m still thinking about how to quantify my flexibility goals.   This would be a major fail area and probably a reason why I got hurt.  In the past few weeks I’ve been focusing a lot more on stretching and it is starting to make a difference.

Running Goals
I definitely got ahead of myself here.  I got caught up in PRing races and did too much in a short time.  Four races in two weeks, including a marathon and half marathon.  Running each of them hard enough to PR.  It was great! Right up to the point where I couldn’t walk without a limp.

• Complete 3 marathons - Garden Spot Village, Mad and Marine Corps - I completed the Garden Spot Village in 4:07! Given my injury, I have backed off the Mad Marathon and will only be running the half.  The MCM is my A race of the year and I do not want to jeopardize that.
• Complete a race of at least half marathon distance every month – Check! Five months, seven half plus distances.
• Run a sub-4 hour marathon – TBD – see MCM
• Run a sub-1:50 half – TBD –  I need to think about where I might do this.
• Run over 1500 miles – As of May 22, I’ve run 518 miles this year.  Assuming I stay healthy (a big assumption), I should get on pace for 1500 as I ramp up for the MCM.  Right now, staying healthy is more important than chalking up miles!
• Run at least 2 trail runs a month – I did well with this up to my injury.  I haven;t been on a trail since, but hope to be back on one soon.

There are a few other random goals I plan to complete in 2013.

• Connect to more Red Felters – This past weekend at the MC Historic Half I had the opportunity to connect with more of my crew.  It was so much fun on so many dimensions.  I can’t wait for our next meet up!
• Volunteer – Once again I am running an aid station for the French and Pickering Land Trust Iron Tour.  I got “promoted” to one of the busiest stations this year, so I’ll have my hands full.  It’s a great event for an important cause.  If your in the Southeast PA region, give it a try and say hi to me at the Norco aid station!
• Ride a Century -I did a 45 mile ride a couple of weeks ago.  It was rough and I was sore.  But I’m making progress.  I’m planning to sign up for a 65 mile MS run in July in honor and support of a friend was has MS.  That’s my current target.
• Race a duathlon – Since I started swimming, I’ve upped the ante on this and have signed up for a triathlon.  The Quantico Tri in August will be my first.
• Start a PlankADay streak.  I believe I got up to 17 days before I broke.  I’ve been planking regularly, but giving myself an occasional day to rest.  But I have the PlankPolice keeping on eye on me should I ever slip!

2013 hasn’t gone exactly as planned, but it’s been pretty darn good.  I’ve had some great successes and I’ve learned some hard lessons.  More importantly, I’ve had some great times with friends that I will always cherish!

Oorah!

How are you progressing on your 2013 goals?

Marine Corps Historic Half

On Sunday, May 19, 2013, approximately 8000 runners braved a cool misty morning to tackle the hills of Fredericksburg Virginia for the Marine Corps Historic Half.  In addition the the Half Marathon, the Semper Fred 5K and Historic 10K were also run simultaneously.

Deciding to run the Historic Half came down to two things for me.  First, it fit into my yearlong goal.  Second, I knew there would be a large number of runners from the Red Felt Running Club coming, so it was guaranteed to be a good time.  Third, the Marine were in charge, so it was guaranteed to be well run.  OK, so I had three reasons to run it.

Pre Race
After the agony of driving I=95 South through Virginia, I arrived at the pre-race expo early Saturday afternoon.  As expected, bib and tech-shirt pickup was fast and easy.  The expo had a good number of booths, and I spent some time looking for some deals.

I stopped by the Semper Fi Fund booth to say hi and picked up this hat!

Me & Molly!

I also ran into Champ the Cow from Fischer House!

Red Felt Reunion – Take Two
We had roughly 40 runners from the Red Felt Running Club in the race so we arranged for a dinner Saturday night. Big props to my friend Tammy for arranging a place to accommodate 40 runners with several separate checks.Needless to say, we had a good time.

After dinner, we had another festive Cornhole tournament.  I am proud to report that my partner, Lesley, and I are now two-time champs!   A dynasty in the making!

The Course
The race starts at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center.  After leaving the conference center and the surrounding shopping center, the course heads toward downtown Fredericksburg over rolling terrain.  Once in town, the course passes the Colonial era architecture of the historic section of town.  The course then makes it’s way towards Mary Washington Hospital and the dreaded Hospital Hill before heading back to the Conference Center for the finish.

Along the course there are water/Gatorade stations approximately every two miles, along with Sport Beans near the halfway point.  There were also ample port-potties at teh start and along the course.

There was good crowd support throughout the course.  Not the 5 deep along the entire course that you get at the MCM, but also not the cow dominated spectator field I experienced on my last two races.

My Race
Still recovering from the injury I suffered at my last race, I fully intended to take this race easy.  To that end, I arranged to run with my friend Amy and pace her through her run.  Amy is a fairly new, but up and coming runner.  In the past year, she’s knocked 30 minutes off her half marathon time!.  We agreed to do a 3:1 run/walk pace and shoot for a new PR.  Our friend Jennifer also joined us at the start.

Out pre-race group pic.

My friend Marie and I got in a pre-race plank to keep the plank police at bay!

The race got off to a rough start as my Garmin went to sleep before we got to the start line, so I had to try to go through and restart the interval program.  That didn’t work very well as I started a 1 mile/ 1 minute interval.  All the way through the run, we got random interval notices at I tried to watch the clock manually.

The start was kind of congested and we got off to a slower pace than planned.  After mile 1 we picked up the pace and got well ahead of Amy’s PR pace, knowing we had to deal with Hospital Hill near the end.  As we went up and down the hills and hit the aid stations, we deviated from our 3:1 plan, so it was just as well that the interval timer didn’t work out.

A little past mile 6, I needed to make a rest stop. I told Amy and Jennifer to keep going and that I would catch up with them.  There were only a couple people in line, but it felt like I waited forever.  So, when I was back on the road, I had some catching up to do.  Since we were well into the race and my foot was feeling good, I decided to let myself go a bit.  It felt really good to run at my normal race pace for a while and my foot wasn’t bothering me.  That was very encouraging.

I caught back up with Amy and Jennifer just after mile 7 and we headed into historic Fredericksburg.  I was happy to find them and take a walk break.  Thought my foot wasn’t bothering me, other parts of my legs were reminding me I hadn’t run much in the past month.  A good reminder not to get overly enthusiastic about this.

As we left downtown, Jennifer needed to make a pit stop, so Amy and I were on our own for the rest of the race.  As we approach Hospital Hill, we agreed to adjust our run/walk ratio to allow for more walk breaks.  As we started up the hill(s) we negotiated on places to start and stop running.  ”Let’s go to that stop sign”.  ”There a camera, let start running again”.  ”The hills almost over, let’s get moving”.  Amy was a trooper, but in the back of her mind, I can imagine she was ready to kill me.

After we got over the top of Hospital Hill, we were both hurting some.  Amy was getting side stitches and I had a nasty blister starting on the little toe of my left foot.  As we neared the finish, we saw a miniature pony wearing a Marine Corps vest that Amy recognized from the MCM, so we ‘HAD’ to take a picture.

Amy, clearly in misery!

Near the finish, we knew we had given back a lot of time on the hill and were close to Amy’s PR time.  She was a real trooper at the end and ran the last quarter mile as fast as any.  We ended up finished in 2:33:20 (I think).  Twenty seconds ahead of Amy’s PR at the Nike Women’s Half on a much tougher course.

Post Race
After we were awarded our medals from the Marines (always a cool experience), we got our chow and looked to find our friends.  At the beer tent, of course.

Loading up on carbs – post -race!

As you may be able to tell from the picture above, the medal is quite hefty and nicely designed.  Here’s a better picture of it with the tech tee.

I’m really happy I was able to complete this race.  It reinforced several things in my mind:

• Running for someone else can be as rewarding as running for yourself.  Running with Amy and helping her to a PR, kept my mind working the entire time.  Plus, it was great having company for the run (you too Jennifer)!
• The Marines know how to run a race.  Everything seems to go exactly to plan every time.  They bring a ton of energy and enthusiasm on course.  They rock! Can’t wait for the Quantico Tri.
• I have a great group of running friends!  We stay connect between these events, but getting together is such fun.  Can’t wait for the MCM!

I’ll wait for a couple days to decide whether I will train to run the full or half marathon at the Mad Marathon in July.  In either case, running the Historic Half was definitely the right decision for a number of reasons.  I highly recommend it!

Tri-ing Something New

It often happens that a detour from the road you’re on can lead you to a new experience.  Something you’ve never seen or done before.  Something exciting and adventurous.

So it was the case for me as my running was derailed four weeks ago, that I began a new journey.  Looking for something to keep me fit while my foot healed, I increased my cycling and began to swimming.  As it turned out, swimming wasn’t as terrible as I feared it would be and I’ve been swimming from 5:30 to 6:30 every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning ever since.

As the thought of swimming became more palatable, the idea of competing in a triathlon became front of mind.  Apparently, this is not so unusual.  My friend Nicole wrote an article for Active.com on making the transition from running to triathlon.  Nicole is a great athlete and can probably (definitely) kick my butt in each of the three disciplines of triathlon, so I tend to listen to what she says.  Give it a read.

On Wednesday, May 15, I will sign up for the Quantico Tri.  It’s a sprint distance triathlon run by the good folks who run the Marine Corps Marathon.  I decided on the Quantico Tri for a few reasons:

• The swimming is in a pool, which will be an easier introduction than an open water swim.
• It’s in August, which means the water should be warm enough that I won’t need to wear a wetsuit.
• It’s in Quantico, close enough to a number of fellow Red Felter’s that I’m hoping to pull a few of them into this with me.
• It’s run by the Marines. Enough said!

Now I have three months to prepare for my first triathlon.  While preparing for a marathon in July after which I will begin training for the MCM.  Here’s how I plan to do it.

Swim
As is the case with many people, the swim is the most intimidating part of the event.  I’ve swum all my life, but never competitively.  When I got in the pool for the first time I got a real  wake-up about how difficult it is to swim lap after lap after lap.

I’m fortunate that my school district opens their pool three days a week for a mere $2 a swim.  That has afforded me a convenient way to get my swimming in early and not effect the rest of my day.

I’ve found a number of training plans online to get me ready for a sprint distance swim.  Right now, I’m focusing on my form and endurance.  I’ve found a lot of useful info at SmoothSwim to get me started. In June, I plan to get into a more organized swim program to help me with my time.

Bike
I used (10 years ago) to bike a lot and got back onto my bike last summer when I hurt my knee.  I also was biking as my cross training during training for the Garden Spot Marathon. So, it wasn’t too difficult for me to pick up my frequency of riding.  Except, for the weather.

I was very much a fair weather rider.  If the weather was warm enough to wear shorts and a short sleeved shirt, I’d ride outdoors.  If not, I was inside with the training.  Needing to make real gains in my riding has changed all that.   I’ve made some investments in cold weather riding clothing, though I’ve stopped short at rainwear, so far.

I also took a look at Tri bikes.  Tri bikes put you in a more aerodynamic position that is well suited for triathlon and time-trial cycling.  After scouring the internet for a few hours, I’ve learned that there is no such thing as a cheap Tri bike.   From what I could find, we’re talking $1000 and up.  I’ll stick with my road bike for now, thank you.

As far as training is concerned, I am just working on building my base for now.  The area where I live is hilly, so every ride has built in interval training.  I will start to look for Strint Tri programs shortly.

Run
I was cleared to run last Monday.  It took me 4 hours after seeing the doctor to get my first run in!

While I’ve been cleared to run, I am still not at 100%.  So I am not going to act like I am at 100%.  I am doing a few things differently:

• I am not running on consecutive days.  I will only run 3 days a week.
• I am running a “Galloway” 3:1 ratio.  This gives me a chance the check in on how I’m feeling and make sure I am not overdoing it.
• I am being careful with hills.  I believe running a hilly half marathon a week after running a hilly marathon is what led to my injury.  I will slowly incorporate hills in as I feel better.

Once I am back to 100% I will most likely add a fourth day of running into my schedule, but I am not planning to go back to running five days a week as I did for my last marathon.

Should my swimming progress to the point I can handle the distance, I may try an Olympic or even a half Ironman.  I think that’s as far as I’ll want to get.  Or have the time to get!

Have You Ever  Done A Triathlon?  What was your greatest challenge?

A Letter To Running

Dear Running,

First, let me get this off my chest.  You hurt me! Again! You built up my confidence and pushed me beyond my limits.  Sure, I have to share the blame, but I never, ever, want to go through this experience again.

It’s been over three weeks since we’ve been together.  After a few days of sadness I dove into a rebound relationship with swimming.  I also flirted some more with cycling.  And, though they helped fill the void of my loss of you, I still felt the pain.

Then, last Saturday, while I was out on my bike, I saw you with someone else.  I saw the strain in her face as you crested a hill with her.  I saw the sweat on her brow that you always gave me.  And I wanted you back. I needed you back.

So now, we start again.  I have to admit I’m a little nervous about this.  I don’t want to be hurt again.  So we’re going to start slow.  And walking will be there with us for a while to make sure things don’t get out of control again.

Oh, and just so you know, swimming and cycling are going to still be around.  So I’ll have a little less time for you while I swim and ride.  Don’t worry, they’re just friends. I think it will make us stronger together in the long run.  See what I did there?

So running, I’m happy to have you back in my life!  I’ll be more careful with you.  I’ll ask you not to temp me to go beyond my limits.  I’m sure we’ll find our way back to a place where we can run happily every after.

Love,
Tod

Running Update
I completed my first run in three plus weeks today.  It was slow and short, but I ran.  And it was painless!  My love for running was immediately reignited. I know I will need to check my enthusiasm to make sure I don’t overdo it again, but it was great to be back on the road again!

Seduced

I’m not sure when it started, but now I can see how it happened.

I’m not sure why I started, but once I did I was hooked.

I was seduced.  Seduced by the dark side of running.

The Early Days
Running started so innocently for me.  Thirty minutes on the treadmill four days a week as part of a program to lose weight.  I really didn’t want to run then – it was a means to an end.

As the months passed, the weight dropped and running became easier.  So did everything else in life – going up stairs, taking out the trash, walking the golf course.  Summer heat didn’t feel quite as unbearable.  As I ran faster and farther,  I started looking forward to my runs.

How Did We Get Here?
Fast forward to 2013.  As of April 13, I had run over 475 miles.  I had run eleven races, including 5 half marathons and a marathon.  I set new PR’s in every distance I ran.  I was running stronger, faster.  I was invincible!

Until I wasn’t.  The last half I ran, on April 13, was the last time I’ve run this year.  I felt some pain during the run,  but ignored it and pushed on.  That’s what we runners do.  Except, this time, I was injured and I was probably making it worse.

Now, I find myself shut down.  Until … not really sure.  I go back to the doctor on Monday to see where we go from here.  I had to drop out of my next race.  To make it worse, I was dropping out of a relay with six other friends.  Not only did I disappoint myself, I impacted my team.

So, What Happened?
I can honestly say I have only myself to blame.  Eight months ago, I was warned about this path.  How getting too obsessed with races was a path to injury.  My response was probably one repeated a million times by runners all over the world: “Oh, I’ll be OK, I’m just running it for fun.  I’m not going to push”.

But push I did. Over, and over, and over.  Beast mode, my friends and I would call it.  I let my friends support and encouragement for my progress fuel my actions.  I ran more races looking for more PR’s.  I started to care about where I placed, not just that I ran well.  Once again, let me say that this is completely on me.  I was constantly fueling my ego. Asking for more compliments.  Loving every minute of it.

The dark side doesn’t jump up and grab you. It creeps along, nudging you in a direction.  I happens so slowly that you don’t realized you’ve been sucked in.  Until it’s too late.

Where Do We Go From Here?
Once again, running has left me a bit humbled, but not defeated.  I will heal and I will learn.  And I will become a better runner.  I will manage my race schedule better and allow myself to recover from long hard runs.  I will not become another statistic of runners ruined by overuse injuries.

Have You Ever Succumbed To The Dark Side?

How Do You Manage Your Race Schedule?

Race Recap: Rumspringa Half Marathon

I normally like to write these immediately after I run when everything is fresh in my mind.  However, the combination of what happened in Boston and what happened to me (I’ll get to that later) left me not really wanting to write.

The Rumspringa Half Marathon took place in Adamstown, PA on Saturday, April 13.  Temperatures were below average for April, but otherwise it was a beautiful day to run through the rolling hills and picturesque farms of Pennsylvania Dutch country.

Pre Race
Since this race was only a week after I ran the Garden Spot Village Marathon, I was not planning to run this.  However, I made a last minute decision to run for a few reasons:

• The race is run by Uberendurance sports.  Their events are well managed, challenging and fun.  Plus, they have great German food at the finish.
• With the Mad Marathon coming up in July, I needed to get back into training.  This would provide me motivation to get my long run in.
• The race finishes at the Stoudt’s brewery and the post race awards are handed out at the Stoud’s brewhouse.  No Michelob Ultra at this race.

Registration was online and easy.  Since there were just over 300 runners, packet pickup was the morning of the race.  Included with your bib is a nice tech shirt.

The Course
Race starts at Stoudtsburg village. Mile 1 -3 is mostly downhill through a development and will guide the runners toward the country side. Mile 3 – 5.5 mostly flat and fast stretch along the Muddy Creek. Mile 5.5  is where the race really starts, plenty of rolling hills coming up. Mile 8.5-10 , you get a little break, mostly flat or downhill. Last 3 miles climb back up to the finish. (*** Borrowed from the Rumspringa race page ***)

Once your through the development, the race runs through farmland.  Although the roads are open to traffic, there was hardly any traffic.  We did run across a few horse pulled buggies.  Most of the spectators along the course were cows.

On course suport was very good with aid stations roughly every two miles and traffic control at every intersection.

My Race
Prior to the race I got a surprise as I saw my friend Betty.  I didn’t think anyone I knew was running, so it was great to come across a friendly face.

As we all huddled together trying to stay warm at the start line, the race director informed us that the traditional Cuckoo whistle finisher awards were being replaced by a different award due to a manufacturing issue.  While I’m sure some people were disappointed by this, it didn’t bother me as I already had one from last fall.  Once the announcements were done and the line to the port-potties cleared, we were off.

Having just run a marathon the previous week, I set my expectations low and planned to get a training run.  However, with the start of the race being downhill and me feeling really good post marathon, I kept a quick pace.  I hit the first mile in 8:12 and felt really good.

The first several miles felt almost effortless and I continued to run sub-9 miles.  Around mile 3, I felt some discomfort in my left heel.  Nothing significant, but noticeable.  I walked through the second rest station without any pain.  When I started to run again, the discomfort came back, but nothing terrible.

The hills that started at mile 5 were a challenge, but after the climb at mile 21 the previos week, didn’t seem all that bad.  After nine miles, my foot felt the same.  No better, no worse.  It was at that point, I let me competitiveness get the best of me and started to track down runners to pass.  Despite the last 3 miles being all uphill, I managed miles in the low 8′s and finished in 1:52:42 – a PR by 5 seconds.

Post Race
After finishing the race and receiving my finishers medal and a bottle of water, I headed directly for the food.  Once again, I was not disappointed: bratwurst with sauerkraut, German potato salad, along with the usual assortment of sweet and salty snacks.  Then, I saw that my pre-race wish came true: chocolate chip banana bread.  I’m telling you, this is the best post-race food ever! Love it!

A closer look at the finishers medal. I pretty nice jobs for a last minute substitution.

After I ate, I headed to the brewhouse for my post race beer.  After cooling down and eating, I noticed the pain in my foot getting worse and being right at the bottom of my heel.  Nothing that a little rest and a good beer can’t fix, I thought.

My just rewards for a hard run race!

At the brewhouse, I ran across Betty again.  This time though, she was sporting some hardware.  Betty had won her age group and earned herself a German Weather House. Way to go Betty!

A champion and her prize!

Post Post-Race: Injured
Once I got home, I immediately began treating my foot: ice, rest, elevation.  I had suspicions about my injury, but smartly got an appointment with my orthopedist on Monday.  After taking some x-rays, it appears that I pulled a bone chip off my heel where the achilles tendon attaches.  I got a nice lecture about needing to rest more after marathons and was told not to run for three weeks until my next appointment.

A Detour = A New Road
After being told what I can’t do (run), I asked what I could continue to do.  Bike – OK.  Weights – OK, but no squats or lunges.  Swimming – that’s great. Wait, I don’t swim.

Make that I didn’t swim.  After a little research (being told by my wife), I found that my school district opens its pool from 5:30 to 6:30 AM every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for $2 a session.  Since the school pool is way closer and way cheaper than any other option, I gave it a try.

Wednesday was a learning experience; Friday was much better.  I am now looking into training programs for: a triathlon.  I have thought about a tri for a while now, but my lack of swimming has always kept me away.  Not being able to run has led me to the pool and, eventually, to the open waters.

While my road in sneakers and shorts has been temporarily closed, it has detoured me to more time on the bike and in the water.  Ultimately, this will open up even more opportunities, more adventure, more fun.

The Rumspringa is a fun. challenging half marathon with all of the great extras I’ve come to expect from Uberendurance Sports.  All I would suggest is you don’t try to run it hard after running a hard marathon the week before.  That is, unless you want to set yourself off on a new road, too.

Race Recap: Garden Spot Village Marathon

On Saturday, April 6, New Holland, PA was the host for the 5th annual Garden Spot Village Marathon and Half Marathon.  The race starts and finished on the campus of Garden Spot Village and benefits the Garden Spot Village Benevolent Fund.

I signed up for the marathon late last year as a kick-off for an ambitious (for me) running schedule.  I had several reasons to pick this race. The race is just over a 30 minute drive away, so it is very convenient.  It runs through the rolling farmland of Lancaster County, which I learned to cherish after running the Bird In Hand Half last year.  Finally, it gets me half way to the highly coveted Road Apple Award.

Pre-Race
I signed up for The Garden Spot on November 3rd, just a week after the Marine Corps Marathon.  Training started a month later on December 3rd, following Hal Higdon’s Intermediate 2 program.  Aside from some early calf issues and a few deviations to fit in races, training went really well.  In all, I logged 496 miles during my 18 weeks of training.

Throughout those months, there were periodic e-mails from the race director, Scott Miller.  Some were just check-ins to keep everyone energized about the race.  Some were to inform us about race logistics or other features of the race.  One of the new, innovative features was the Hydra Pouch, a rubber pouch that holds 6 ounces of fluid, as an alternative to using cups on the course.

I chose to do my packet pickup Friday evening.  That gave me a chance to see exactly where the race started, drive some of the course and get all of my race gear set up that night.  I got my bib, tech shirt and goody bag in about 5 minutes and was on my way home.  There were some first aid supplies included in the bag.  Little did I know I would need those on race day.

Hmmm … are they telling me something?

I like the tech shirt they gave us.  Looks very cool if we ever see warm weather again:

The Course
The course is primarily an out and back course with a 3 mile lollypop near the half way mark and a different 3 miles at the finish.  There are two significant climbs, near mile 4 then again at mile 21.  After the first climb, you descend into the “Valley of No Wires”.  An area of seemingly endless farmland.  Of rolling hills and winding roads.  A pristine area where many of the farms are run by Amish families using no power tools and no electricity.

Along the way, you’ll see a few horse drawn carriages:

Taken around mile 6. What’s missing from this picture? Power lines!

Some of your biggest cheering sections will try to get you mooooving!

In my pre-race course drive, I managed to see the two big climbs, but lost the course after that.  I wanted to see what those climbs looked like and figured I could handle anything else the course threw at me.

Course Elevation Profile – The middle section definitely was not flat!

Just past mile 24, you are asked to turn and wave to the Queen of England.  The Queen is there, at the side of the course, in honor of her part in lengthening the distance of the marathon to its current 26.2 miles.  To read more about this, click here.

There were aid stations along the course approximately every two miles.  Each station had water, orange Gatorade, gels, Clif Shot blocks, pretzels and bananas.  There were also 2 or more potties at each station.

The course was well marked at every turn and had volunteers stationed at each turn to ensure you stayed on course.  There were police at every intersection crossing and support vehicles constantly roving the course.

Race Day
After another week of below average temperatures and above average wind, the weather forecast promised a more spring-like day.  Well, so much for predictions.  On the drive to the course, the temperature dropped to 28 degrees and the flags were stiff with a northerly wind.

Fortunately, the race provided a large heated tent for the runners to hang in prior to the race.  In the tent, a ran across anoth Red Felter, Jennifer, who was running the Half today.

All full of smiles at this point. Little did I know …

There were lots of potties at the race start, so lines were quick.  While waiting in line, I got this shot of what should be the symbol of Lancaster County.

My Race
My strategy for the race was to take it fairly easy in the first few miles and see how I did on the first big climb.  If I felt good after that, I could push the pace some on the “flat” section, saving just enough to get up and over the second climb and get to the finish.

The race started well enough.  Once the pack started to break up a bit, I could feel the chill of the wind from my left.  I was happy when the course turned right and the wind was at our backs.  I also noticed how fresh my legs felt after three weeks of tapering.  Maybe a bit too fresh as I started out running sub-9 miles.

The first climb was long, but not steep.  I was able to keep a good pace without feeling like I was over-exerting myself.  As I got over the climb near mile 5, the leaders of the Half Marathon were headed back.  I noticed the strain on each of their faces and wondered why.  Maybe the sun was in their eyes.

Shortly after that, I got my answer.  As I continued down the back side of the hill, it got significantly steeper to the point that I had to lean back a bit to check my speed.  I made a mental not of that climb, knowing I would be dealing with it on mile 21.

Around mile six, I got my first boost of the day.  My friend Lance came out to run with me for a while.  Lance ended up pacing me for nearly 14 miles in some of the most mentally challenging parts of the race.

A few miles further, we picked up a third runner going at about the same pace.  After a couple minutes of conversation, I learned that this was his 99th marathon!  Amazing!  He’ll be celebrating his 60th birthday by running #100 next month in Annapolis.  Ultimately, his pace was a little faster than I wanted to go, so he left up around mile 15.

The area from miles 9 to 20 are open farmland.  It’s very pretty countryside, but it’s totally exposed to the wind.  Even wearing sunglasses, my eyes were tearing.  It was mentally exhausting and I was really happy Lance was there to keep me going.

Also around mile 14, I began to feel a twinge in my left foot, just behind the toes.  It wasn’t like an injury pain, more like a blister pain.  Now, I’ve never had a blister on the base of my foot, just in the toes.  I just tried to ignore it and kept going.

A couple miles later, I got boost number 2!  My friends Megan and Patrick came driving up the course to cheer Lance and me on.  After a quick conversation, I asked them to meet us up at mile 20, near where Lance would be finishing up.

I was really happy to see Megan and Patrick again at mile 20.  I don’t normally like to stop when I’m running, but this was a very welcome break.  They had more Gatorade for me and, more importantly, lots of energy and encouragement!  When we started up again, my legs felt fresh and I was ready to tackle the final 10K!

My Mile 20 support crew!

My pacer through the Valley of No Wires!

After Lance left, I was back on the part of the course shared with the Half Marathon, so there was more crowd support.  By then, I needed every once of motivation I could find, because I was hurting.  The blister was only getting worse.  I privately hoped it would break to take some of the pressure off my foot.

As I began to climb the second big hill, I told myself I had a mile of hard running and could cruise to the finish.  Boy, it was hard.  I walked the steepest sections of the climb.  I had to walk again further up because I felt my calf starting to tighten up.  As I neared the top, I heard all sorts of noise coming up behind me.  When it got to me, it was Megan and Patrick again, driving by, shouting encouragement.  It made me smile at a time where I really needed it.

Heading back downhill felt really good.  Going downhill took some pressure off the front of my foot, so it didn’t hurt quite as bad.  I passed mile 23, just a 5K to go.  At the bottom of the hill Megan and Patrick were waiting for me again.  I waived and said I needed to keep going.  I couldn’t stop.  I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to start again.

The last couple miles were the most mentally challenging I think I’ve ever run.  My foot was throbbing.  The wind was as brutal as ever and the last mile was back uphill.  So many times, I wanted to stop and walk.  A relay racer flew past me like I wasn’t moving.  In a brief moment of humor, I saw the Queen to my left and jokingly yelled at her for making my run 2 miles longer.

As I turned back into the Garden Spot Village, I felt a boost of adrenaline knowing I was almost done.  There was a good crowd near the finish and I wanted to look stronger than I felt at the finish.  As I crossed the finish, Ron Horn, from Pretzel City Sports was there.  He asked me “did you have fun?”  I mumbled something like “uh, yeah, it was fun”.  He response “well, you weren’t supposed to have fun”.  Thanks Ron.

I finished in 4:07:40.  Just over 8 minutes ahead of my MCM time on a much tougher course.  I’m really happy with that time.

The medal matches the character of the race – not overblown, precisely engraved and fitting with the area:

Post Race
After getting my medal, a thermal blanket and bottle of water, I headed to the recovery tent.  At this point, I didn’t want to put any weight on my left foot.  The tent brought welcome relief from the cold and the wind.  It also provided more refreshments – fruit, pretzels, milkshakes, oatmeal, trail mix – a nice variety.

In addition to the recovery tent, there w a food pavilion where they were selling burgers, hots dogs and the like.  Except, it was free for runners!  Score!  I got myself a cheeseburger and some chips since I was craving salt.

This was an extremely well managed race on some beautiful, challenging terrain.  The volunteers were great.  The amenities before, during and after the race were first class.  Communication and logistics were excellent.  Believe me, this is not an easy course.  But, if you are up for a challenge and want to see the beauty of Pennsylvania Dutch country, I strongly recommend it.

Race Recap: Villanova NROTC Semper Fi Fund 5K

A couple weeks ago while I was setting up my donation page for the 2013 MCM Semper Fi Fund Fundraiser, I decided to check the events calendar.   That’s where I saw the entry for the Semper Fi Fund 5K.  The race was on a Tuesday afternoon and Villanova University is about a 30 minute drive without any traffic.  But, being able to do something for the Semper Fi Fund in my back yard made it feel worth the effort.

The Course
The course starts off at the Oreo in the center of the campus.  From there, it does a one mile clockwise loop around the campus.  The first three-quarters of the loop are flat to downhill.  The final quarter mile is uphill (and up a few flights of steps) and, today, into a strong wind.  After three loops past the Oreo, you veer to the right into the quad for the final tenth of a mile to the finish.

My first challenge of the race was finding the Oreo.  I had never been on the Villanova campus, so I was only able to get a relative idea of where to go.  As I walked through campus in what I was hoping was the general direction of the Oreo, I saw the oh so familiar sight of high school students and parents being led by a backward walking, non-stop talking student tour guide.  I was tempted to ask for directions to the Oreo, but resisted.

Eventually, I saw a large gathering of students in running gear in front of a large, cookie shaped sculpture and knew I had reached my destination.  There was a large contingent of Navy and Marine Midshipmen as would be expected.  There were also several  Army ROTC Cadets in the race along with a good number of other students.  And then there was me.  Unfortunately, neither of my two friends who planned to run with me could make it, so I was representing my generation alone.

That being said, everyone was extremely friendly and helpful and made me feel very welcome.  I’m sure they’ll make great Marines!

The Race
Before we started, we got a brief description of where to run throughout the campus.  Not knowing any of the landmarks I decided I would follow the crowd.  As we started, the wide open area where we started narrowed to a pathway, making for a few near-misses with other runners.  After a couple turns, the pack thinned out and it was clear running the rest of the way.

As I ran the first lap,  my thoughts were filling with wondering how hard I should be running.  With the start of the race being downhill, I got off to a quick (for me) pace.  I felt OK, but knew I had to go back up at some point and wondering how I would handle that.

The turn uphill wasn’t too bad until I had to run between two buildings which were forming a nice little wind tunnel.  Wow, that was a slap in the face.  After that came the steps.  After the first flight I figured out taking the steps two at a time was easier than trying to run quickly up every step.

I reached the Oreo again and heard one of the race volunteers calling out the mile splits: 7:08, 7:09, 7:10 … I was really pleased with that split, but wasn’t sure I could keep that pace for two more laps.  I intentionally backed off a bit.

Laps two and three were easier since I knew what to expect.  I relaxed and enjoyed the sights of the campus.  The puzzled looks of some of the parents on campus tours as we ran by were especially amusing.  We even got some words of encouragement from some students who watched us pass by.

I managed to push myself on the second half of the third lap and through to the finish to finish at 22:53.  That’s more than a minute faster that my previous 5K PR.

Post Race
As we finished, we were handed bottles of water and orange quarters.  They also had a grill cooking burgers and other refreshments.  Since I felt a bit like I was crashing a college party, I didn’t stick around too long.  I did stop at the registration table to pick up my race t-shirt and a new Semper Fi Fund car magnet to replace the one that disappeared two weeks ago.

I really like the shirt:

I really enjoyed participating in this race.  It was great to see students come out to support such a great cause.  I’d love to see them get more involvement and participation from the local community.  If you live in the Philadelphia area, keep an eye out for this race next year.  You’ll be glad you did.