Getting Lost as Fast as I Can

Thu, May 17, 2012

Thu, 17 May 2012 06:00:00

Easy run on some roads around TR and Furman. Garmin Stuff Started out ok but my legs felt super dead from mile 3.5 on. I think it has something to do with running in lower profile shoes. Didn't expect such a steep curve in getting used to them since I can usually switch shoes instantly with no problems.

Over the past couple months my music taste has been changing dramatically. I mean DRAMATICALLY. I went from listening to nothing but EDM (electronic dance music) to listening to nothing but alternative music. The new playlist on my ihpod includes: REM, Radiohead, Flaming Lips, Sea Wolf, U2, Arcade Fire, Muse, and Kings of Leon. I think I just got sick of EDM once it started getting popular. One strange artifact from my dance music days: I still mute my radio when I pull up to a red light. I used to listen to music so embarrassing I couldn't have it playing where people could actually link it to me. Still haven't listened to the ihpod much while running so we'll have to see if my running music taste changes as well.

Random Picture of the Day (from back when planking was cool):

Wed, May 16, 2012

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:00:00

Started to do a 3 mi tempo today but blew up at 1.5mi. Gotta get back used to going fast again... Plus had a pretty hard day of running yesterday so I had a sneaking suspicion that all would not go well.

5mi WU, 1.5mi @6min/mi, 1.5mi CD

Tue, May 15, 2012

Tue, 15 May 2012 06:00:00

Easy Paris Mountain run with Jon, Barry, and new group member: Aaron. Took my newish route up to the radio towers and back down. Garmin Connect Workout Jury duty makes for a great running week.

Sun, May 13, 2012

Sun, 13 May 2012 06:00:00

Some days I have runs where everything makes sense. Things in my mind fall into place. Life is somewhat enjoyable. Today was one of those days. These runs have been few and far between since college but I'll take them when I get them. It was a perfectly drizzly day (what used to be my favorite type of weather) and Furman's campus was deserted. Hopefully that sets the tone for what I was expecting to be an incredibly hectic week. I'm not so sure about the hectic part any more though. Either way, I'm taking tomorrow off as I'm working a very long day. Legs are feeling much better.

Sat, May 12, 2012

Sat, 12 May 2012 06:00:00

Ran around downtown with my cousin. In high school he could beat me any day of the week, but today he was struggling bad just to keep up at 8:30 pace. Calves felt much better.

Fri, May 11, 2012

Fri, 11 May 2012 06:00:00

Ran around Furman. Left calf still super sore. I'm afraid I tried to do too much too soon by racing the 5k right after the 50k. Gonna feel it out tomorrow and just go from there.

Wed, May 09, 2012

Wed, 09 May 2012 06:00:00

Decided to take the next 2 days off to recover fully before starting the ramp up for NYC. Left calf sore this morning but better now. Just rather not push it.

Tue, May 08, 2012

Tue, 08 May 2012 06:00:00

PM run with Barry and Jon. Went the normal Paris Mountain loop while discussing bacon in depth. So much so that I had to go order a sub that contained bacon to calm the cravings.

Mon, May 07, 2012

Mon, 07 May 2012 06:00:00

Super sore calves this morning. Decided to wear compression calf sleeves to work to help speed up un-soreness. On the run I decided it was due to a combination of inadequate recovery from the 50k before the 5k and switching to new shoes for the 5k. Ran a half a mile and decided to kick off my flats and run barefoot. Legs actually started feeling better so after a while I put the shoes back on and took off around Furman for another mile.

Fri, May 04, 2012

Fri, 04 May 2012 06:00:00

AM: Around the 5k loop at Furman. Changed it up and parked at the lake instead of the PAC. Throwing all kinds of craziness into my running now. Also ran in the A5s. So far I'm loving the shoe changes.

PM: Swamp Rabbit 5k. Had no intentions of doing the race until 2:30 or so then talked my camping buddy into going with me. Had a good race to be coming off the 50k.

Thu, May 03, 2012

Thu, 03 May 2012 06:00:00

Easy run at Paris Mountain with Jon. First steps as an Ultramarathoner! Made it about 4 miles with no problems at all but the last 2 my legs went completely flat and started feeling crappy.

New shoes today. Inov8 F-Lite 195. Felt pretty awesome. Super low to the ground with ~3mm drop. Start of my exploration in to old school shoes.

Sat, Apr 28, 2012

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 06:00:00

There isn't one quip or sentiment that can sum up my first ultramarathon experience. To me it was at least 3 different races, probably more. In some ways I'm excited and proud, but in others I'm hurting and humbled. I think that sums up why I run though, because I can be all of those things at once from one experience. Here is my brief re-cap, though I will never get close to doing this race justice.

What Garmin thought about all this

Promise Land 50k is a 34mi trail race near Bedford, VA which covers 7300 ft of climbing over some of the prettiest country I've ever run in. It crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway twice and the Appalachian Trail twice.

My first impressions on pulling in the parking lot Friday night were: man its crowded (turned out to be one of the largest ultras ever held in VA) and a general uneasiness seeing all the people who looked like they knew what they were doing. So Friday I ate some pizza, listened to RD David Horton tell some funny stories and crack some bad jokes then made some friends with some of the people hanging out at the camp fire. Turned in around 10 to get a surprisingly good night's sleep in the back of the Jeep.

Race Day: I was up at 4:15 to get some Clif Bar and caffeine in me. Got all my gear together: Salomon Fellcrosses, Drymax Socks, Salomon S Lab gaiters and calf sleeves, Brooks Synergy shorts, Salomon S lab shirt, Nathan quickdraw elite handheld and arm sleeves, and Black Diamond Spot headlamp. Also borrowed Jon's Nathan vest which came in super handy.

My goals were (A) 5:30 (B) 6:00 (C) Just finish. I've never DNFed a running race and would like to keep that 200 or 300 race finishing streak alive.

Most race reports broke the race down by aid stations, so I did the same in figuring paces and predicting times. I relied heavily on Keith Knippling's race report from 2010 to get an idea of how the course played out. Here's how my race played out by aid station:

Start to AS1: This section was 2.6 miles of gravel road going up the side of the mountain. The race started at 5:30 so I had the headlamp on as did most other people around me. I just focused on keeping my breathing easy and trying to keep from over thinking anything. Got to the aid station and filled my bottle and managed to forget to drop my headlamp (they made a big stink saying not to drop anything off, then kind of took it back and said they might bring it back or they might keep it. Could've done without the confusion but I was ready to take the risk). As soon as the sun made the light useless I tossed it in the back of the vest and forgot I had it the rest of the day. Got to the aid station in 30:20. Right on what I wanted to hit.

AS1-2: This was the longest stretch between aid stations so I made sure I had enough gel and water to last me an hour and a bit. I decided to eat every 30min for the first 2 hours and then every 20min from there on out. This stretch was gorgeous rolling access roads on the east and north sides of a mountain. Sun rose during this stretch giving some gorgeous views that I didn't get to enjoy enough. This split was 1:08:12, about 2 minutes slow from my A goal.

AS2-3: This was a nice easy climb up grassy access roads to the Blue Ridge Parkway, then down a gravel road for a ways to the aid station. More gorgeous views as the sun started beaming down. This split was 36:58 which was dead on my goal.

AS3-4: This was a long, steep, rocky, technical descent down to the halfway point. At this point I would say I switched from race one to race two. I was passed by EVERYONE going down this hill. I couldn't keep up over the fist sized rocks going down the hill. All I could see was my broken ankle and me having to hobble out. Rather than 8 minute pace like I expected I was doing 9:40s. I was about 7 minutes slower than expected through here. Halfway time was 2:40.

AS4-5: Long stretch of gravel road. My territory. I passed EVERYONE back that got me going down the hill. On the 2 miles of road, I clicked off some low 6 minute miles and was about a minute quick on this section.

AS5-6: Lots of grassy access roads down in the "dark side." Started feeling pretty tired through here. Had to keep the legs churning and my head down just to stay focused. Gave up on the A goal through here. Just settled on getting under 6 hours.

AS6-7: This course's trademark climb. 5k of straight up gaining something like 2000ft. I just hiked the ENTIRE thing. Towards the top all I could think of was how horribly bad I wanted it to all be over. I was sick of that climb. I cant say I even saw the supposedly gorgeous waterfall since I didn't even look up from all the steps. Did notice some dark clouds moving in though. AS7 was on the Blue Ridge Parkway where it was windy and FREEZING cold.

AS7-8: Started down and noticed a guy stopped in the trail stretching his calves. I involuntarily asked him if he was ok and he said he was cramping horribly. I pulled out my last S cap and handed it to him since we were less than an hour from the finish and I didnt need it. He seemed as thankful as someone who had run 30 miles could be and we started down together. He stopped one more time but came flying by me at the end of this section. My charity cost me a position (but gained me a friend).

AS8-Finish: Long gravel road down the mountain. As soon as I popped out of the trail and onto the road the bottom fell out of the sky. I was SO COLD. I was so absolutely drained though I couldn't even feel sorry for myself. Just chugged along down the hill and noticed with 1mi to go that I couldn't break 6 hours. I'm still surprised I could work out the math at that point, but I did. Came through the field and finished in 6:02:03.

My conclusion to this race will have to come later this week. I'm still sore physically and spent emotionally. I'm happy with the race and the time but I haven't quite processed it all yet. I'll get it all figured out before I get back on my feet Wednesday or Thursday.

Fri, Apr 27, 2012

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:00:00

Easy run around GWU campus.

Thu, Apr 26, 2012

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 06:00:00

Easy run around Furman again. Still feeling turdish but less so than yesterday. Getting super excited about the race.

Wed, Apr 25, 2012

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 06:00:00

Easy run around Furman with some strides thrown in at the end. Felt like a turd.

Lots of unofficially official stuff to mention from today. I'm unofficially officially being rolled over from a contract to payroll at work. Makes life there a little more bearable. And I was unofficially officially picked for the NYC Marathon today! (much more exciting) I dont want to think too much about it until after Promise Land 50k but I'm super pumped and ready to bust out some speedwork!

Tomorrow I begin packing for PL50k and I would be lying if I didn't say I was nervous. As much as I want to go into the race with no expectations, that just doesn't work for me. I carried around my sheet with aid station splits on it all day today trying to visualize and prepare for everything. Temps are supposed to be warm with not much chance of rain so its gonna be to my liking!

Tue, Apr 24, 2012

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:00:00

Easy 5ish on the Swamp Rabbit Trail. All the creepy people were out per the norm. Felt crappy the whole time. I'm starting to doubt this whole tapering thing. It just makes me not want to run and when I do I dont have any motivation to go more than a few minutes. Plus it makes me take my mind off of my goal race and start making new goals. Gotta get some focus back.

Other news: Played 18 holes of golf today at Cherokee Valley. Shot a 117 (new post college best). Find out tomorrow if I got in to NYC marathon. Pretty pumped either way (I have an awesome back up plan...)

Sun, Apr 22, 2012

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 06:00:00

Easy run around Furman since I wont be able to run tomorrow. Started getting giddy with excitement about Promise Land!

Sat, Apr 21, 2012

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 06:00:00

Easy longish run at Paris Mountain State Park. Ran from the bottom of the park up to the radio towers on top of the mountain and back. Felt pretty good, still dead legged though. Gonna try to get out again for a short run tomorrow.

Thu, Apr 19, 2012

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 06:00:00

Rare Earth Magnet Day. I spent all afternoon working on electric motors from an instrument in the lab, which left me with several incredibly strong magnets to stick to stuff. Now I feel horrible. Like I got hit in the head with something. I blame the magnets.

Wed, Apr 18, 2012

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:00:00

Easy troad run around Furman. Rained the entire time.

April 18th is a pretty special day to me. Two years ago today, I was finally discharged from the hospital after a nasty fight with my ulcerative colitis. I was thinking about it this morning and I could only recall positive memories from the entire 2 weeks I was laid up in that hospital room on the second floor of Greer Memorial. My room had a picture of the palmetto bridge, which was a pretty special place to me since I'd ridden my bicycle and motorcycle up there to see the bridge several times growing up. It was nice to have my whole family stop by and hang out, as well as countless family friends. My college roommate even drove down to see me one day, and that's a debt I doubt I'll ever be able to repay to him. I watched at least 15 episodes of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 when I could stomach it. And I'll admit that maybe my fuzzy feelings toward this time are due to the extremely heavy dose of pain medication that was mixed in my IV bag every other hour, but it was definitely a life changing experience. Two years with no colitis. That's gotta be a win

Tue, Apr 17, 2012

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 06:00:00

Ran at PM with Jon and Barry. Just kind of out of it today til we ran by the lake and I just decided to jump off the dam. Best decision I made today. Plus there was pizza. Good run.