Looking Back and Moving Forward: 2014 in Review

Ok, I originally did a recap on Monday (12/22) in this space that was super brief and, in hindsight, not very good. I will chalk it up to embracing being home from the office and wanting to play Akrham Origins (a video game).

To do myself right, I'm blowing up the ship and re-writing this entry. Lets see how it goes this time.

Between my last entry where I ran the Bucks County Marathon, I added three other races: Philadelphia Marathon, Lansdowne YMCA Reindeer Run 5K and Wissahickon Wanderers Inaugural Winter Solstice 10K Trail Run.

To do a whirlwind recap, they went like this:

Philadelphia Marathon - Was a last minute decision. I told myself leading in I would relax enjoy it and take whatever comes. Well for 10 miles I was on a great pace but my legs had too many race miles on them so I dropped down to the Half Marathon with a port-a-john pit stop. In the end it was a solid tempo run. Nothing memorable.

Lansdowne YMCA Reindeer Run - I had run it twice in the past normally as my closing 5K race of the season. Considering 2014 was light on fast 5K courses, I opted to hit up this race. I pounded out a 15:32 on the course for my second fastest ever 5K time. And I was home by 9:30 am! Oh yeah.

Winter Solstice 10K - Last up was a free 10K trail race put on the Wissahickon Wanderers. If you wanted a shirt that was 15 bucks. Luckily, I squeezed into the closed out field. Official time was 39:57. Of course, it was not a true 10K. I mean we are talking existing trails in the Wissahickon. That location alone throws GPS's batty. It was a great course that had a little bit of everything the Wissahickon has to offer. And I closed out racing as a 34 year old.

Now on to the meat and potatoes:

Year in Review....

Initially, in the old version, it was weak. Just a few bullet points. Yawn. There still be some but I want to include some stats too that did not fit in a good/bad post.

Miles run (as of 12/24) - 3813
Miles raced - 719.6
Number of races completed - 38 (Had 1 DNF this year)
Avg race - 18.93 miles

Total Time racing: 103:01:54
Pace per mile: 8:35

Common race distances: (does not add to total races due to other distances)
50M - 4
50K - 5
100K - 1
100M - 1
HM - 2
Marathon - 3
5K - 14

Trail - 19
Road - 19

As you might be able to tell, I did quite a bit of running this year. It was by far the most I have ever run in a given year in terms of both race mileage and total mileage. Going into the year, I was aiming for 2500 to 3000 since I felt last year of being over 3400 might have been too much. Well, I went in the other direction in a big way. Never would have imagined running almost an ultra a month. However, as I gravitate more and more toward ultras, it does make sense. In planning some of 2015, I already have 4 lined up before the end of March.

One of the best by-products performance-wise of my transition as a runner has been the incredible impact on my marathon times. After failing to make the starting line for 3 marathons since 2011, I finally was able to toe the line for not one, not two but three marathons. All three ended up being my fastest three marathons in my running career. I even went under the magical 2:30 mark once. (Missed a second instance by 4 seconds.)

Some of my races standout including the 3 marathons with the 2:24:55 PR being the biggest highlight. Having two sub 3:25 50K races was awesome. In the first instance, I ran for the state 34 year old 50K PA State record that I missed by a few minutes. The second instance I got closer when I did not try for it. Thankfully, the 35 year old record is around the same time, so I can go into the year hoping to get a state record there. My OSS/CIA 50M was memorable for having to race through the woods in the dark. Falling quite a bit does help with the memory but it was also fun in a creepy way. Especially, when I think it was the latest I stayed up in several years. Also, I finally set the FKT at Batona I had originally planned for 2013. I'm looking forward to knocking more time off that in 2015 since it is a race now.

My biggest disappointment on the year was not getting the 100K qualifier I told myself I was going after. It was the reason I went to a road ultra in CT. However, the road just mentally did not agree with me on a day I should have had someone yelling at me to keep going so I dropped to a 50K. Second would be my DNF at Cayuga Trails. I was locked in to run my tail off but I ended up with a groin injury too early that I should not shake. Third would be having my worst performance in an ultra at Stone Cat. I was primed for a fast time on a course that suited me but external factors impacted the amount of sleep I got the night before that destroyed my mental focus.

The mixed bag of the year was the Viaduct 100. For 90+ miles of the race, I led at a pace around 15 hours, but my body decided it had enough. However, I did manage to finish after nearly a 12 hour break thanks to wonderful support from friends freshly made. Emotionally it is a high and low in my year. One of the goals of 2015 is to run a straight through 100M. It is going to happen!

Best part of 2014? Expanding my network of running friends. Specifically getting to know the Trail Whippass folks. (If it was not for Trail Whippass people, I would not have finished Viaduct. )I've gotten to see/read/hear many of them accomplish great things, including my friend Maggie Guterl who is going to be a Team USA member for the 24 hour World Championships! 


So, that is the recap. Better than bullet points I think, even if it only covers some of the past year. For the complete picture, read all of the posts in 2014. (I dare you!)

With an eye towards the future, 2015 is taking shape. I start the year with:

• Phunt 50K
• Batona Trail (55 mile edition)
• Black Canyon 100K (traveling to AZ for this bad boy)
• Umstead 100M (this time I will have an awesome crew to keep me rocking)

Some carryovers would included chasing that 100K qualifier and a sub 6 hour - 50 Mile. Not sure where they may fit into the year's racing schedule. It might not be possible but I'd like to hope so. Timing is always the toughest part, especially since the fast 50 milers are in the fall when I aim to tackle the Steamtown Marathon again.

Mainly, I just hope to grow as a runner. Maybe put in a few less miles. (But I did say the same thing last year.)

Thanks for reading and being part of the journey!

Bucks County Marathon: Sure, lets race a marathon today!

As loyal followers of this blog may know, my race at Stone Cat did not go anywhere near as planned. Thankfully, lots of running and hiking on trails in Maine (particularly on Pleasant Mountain) did a lot to heal. Not to mention that during that span, my legs felt really good.

So it was not out of the question that when I returned to Philadelphia on Friday that I would see if there was a race to do. Oddly enough, this past weekend was light on racing. However, I did notice that up in Washington Crossing, the Bucks County Marathon was taking place on Sunday. I filed that away. Saturday morning, I woke up and did nice quiet 10 miles along the river. Still, I thought about the marathon on Sunday. Normally, a marathon after such a long easy day would be out.

After discussing it with the spouse, I decided I'd figure it out Sunday morning. The 9am start with less than an hour drive, made it easy to sleep in and make the call when I wake up.

I didn't have a great sleep on Saturday due to some tooth discomfort. So I had no problem waking up on Sunday. After mulling it a bit, I decided around 7:15 to go run up in Washington Crossing. (Left at 7:30) At this point, I was more towards the decision to run the marathon. Part of what was holding me back was the race day fee of 125 bucks. I don't normally make snap judgments with high cost like this. My take was if on the way up, I don't want to race, I can run along the towpath on the NJ side. If anything, it would break up some monotony of running the same places near home.

Drive up along I-95 felt good. As I pulled into the parking lot close to 8:15, I was going all in. I was running the marathon. I walk the 1/3 mile to the registration area with my gear bag and register. I hand over my check and get my number. I was not the only person who decided to race a marathon that morning as around 11-12 people signed up race day! Managed to get a small size long sleeve tech-shirt too!

At this point, I find a good spot for my bag near the start/finish and spot Pat McCloskey, the RD. I chat him up a bit and ask who was the guy looking to go fastest. He tells me Brandon Carter, last year's number two was hoping to run 2:37. This was the same time, I jotted down on my entry form for prediction considering the 50 miler a mere week earlier. At this time, I also find out Pat does comps if you ask and provide information to justify it. Did not know this. Once we go off for our respective duties, I hit the line-free port-a-potties. It was great! I should mention that if you are looking for a nice size marathon of 500 people max, this is a great event as the number of potties can handle much more in terms of number, especially with public restrooms nearby!

Anyways, I shake a bit of rust off my legs and line up in the first wave. Before I know it, Pat is giving us the go and we are off. Immediately, I settle in alongside Brandon. Let me say he has a fantastic beard but he was also a Redskins fan wearing an Eagles jersey. We seemed to separate ourselves relatively quickly on the initial paved section before hitting the towpath. The towpath was mainly packed dirt or fine gravel throughout. In all, we might have had 3-4 miles of pavement the whole race. Our first aid station was around mile 2. Brandon grabbed something and dropped back for a moment. I skipped this station. In a bit, Brandon reconnected. A few more miles down the road, same thing happened with my flying by the aid station and Brandon dropped off when he took aid. This time however, he did not come back. Knowing his talent, I moved as steady as I could. I was not really checking my mile splits. Every few miles, I would look. But with the day cool and feeling good, I ran comfortably. My mile times showed I was going under 6 minute pace. With the course out and back, I figured I would likely positive split so go out in whatever and hope to come back in 6 minute pace. I would hope that could be enough. Not until the turnaround, would I know if that was a possible strategy to implement.

In regards to the course, the setting was so beautiful and quiet. All I would see or hear really is the lead cyclist a bit ahead of me and the smattering of spectators.

Eventually, I reached the turnaround in around 1:15:24. At this point, it was look at my watch time and see what my lead is. Less than a few minutes later, I would see Brandon in 2nd. I figured I had 3 1/2 minutes up. Another 2-3 minutes I saw 3rd place. So I felt I had at least 2nd locked up if I was to be caught. However, on the way out, I noticed the course was a tad uphill in spots, so when I saw the first people behind me, I was on a downhill grade so I opened it a bit to keep the tempo up. I felt smooth still. And the best part now was all of the other runners encouraging me as they were headed out! Their support kept me energized more than the occasional gatorade or gels I was consuming. My thoughts turned to running as fast as possible and hope I had 4 minutes up with 10K remaining. There was no longer any desire to settle for second, I wanted to win. I kept pushing. Around the 10K mark, the course circles around giving runners a chance to spot others in the race. Coming out of this little paved loop section, I know I had at least 4 minutes with a little over 5 to go. At this point, I told myself, do not give back more than 15 seconds a mile. Yet, because I was now checking my splits at mile intervals, I was holding just under 6 pace! Not only was I easily going to go under 2:40....I was going to crack 2:35!

With a mile to go, I was now on the 'spiral of death' which is how Pat described the early and last part of the course which make up the majority of the pavement in the race. And after 20+ miles on soft surface, the pavement sucked. So much so, once I knew I had the race victory now, I was like, I'm going to drop a 7 minute mile here and enjoy this. If I run 2:33....awesome. And for much of the spiral I did that, until the last .2. I looked at my watch and saw if I hammered just that bit more, I could crack 2:32. That is exactly what I just did! I ran through the line in 2:31:53. My third fastest marathon just a week after a 50 miler and a month after my 2:30:03 in Steamtown. I was amazed at what I just did.

Heck, I even jokingly looked at Pat and said 'Can I have my race entry back?' Surprisingly, he said yes to it! That was a cherry on top! Especially since I made such a split decision to do the race.

Pat found my drumsticks and gave me a 'what the heck are these for?' We got some nice shots of us with him holding them.

After a bit second place came in but it was not Brandon. It was Brian Cullen in 2:47:02. Brandon held on to third. So I turned a three/four minute lead at the HM into a 15 minute win. Seeing them come in, I walked my gear back to the car while I had energy and to let Peg know how things went. With awards to be done after the third female, I was going to hang out and enjoy some of the delicious food which included handmade veggie burgers! Tasty! I didn't eat much else but I certainly was stuffing my face with one of those burgers when Pat did the awards. It was funny. At least to me because I was so classy looking with a face full of food.

Not long following awards, I said my goodbyes to Washington Crossing and drove home for a lovely evening. All in all a great day!

A few other tidbits:
The course is not entirely flat as many of the junctions where there is a bridge that crosses over the path, the path dips down and up for a few speed bumps.

I've been experiencing some tooth pain since around Thursday. The cold has been good for it so running has not been a problem. (Today, I went to the dentist and there was no signs of anything major so the cause is a bit of a mystery at the moment. Hopefully, some clean up he did will help.)

Raced in my one of my pairs of the Brooks T-7. Knowing the surface I knew I did not need to use the Saucony A3's since they don't have too many big races left. My alternative would have been the Montrail FluidFlex. But once I walked across the field and saw the moisture ice up a bit on my toes, I swapped out for the Brooks. Both the T-7's and the FluidFlex's were considered due to the light weight and race surface.

Now, I know another place where I can go enjoy some easy but scenic running.

Stone Cat 50 Mile Recap: Crumbling Kitten

Today is November 15th, one week after I ran the Stone Cat 50 Miler up in Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich, MA. It has taken me this long to write up my recap for a couple of reasons. One, I was on vacation in Maine where I tend to be much more removed from technology. Second, I was busy running the mountain near the house we stay at and doing some hikes. Both of these have been beneficial in enabling me to even do a race recap for Stone Cat.

In short, I consider it the worst ultra performance of my ultra-career. (Despite placing 2nd in 6:28:23) Respectfully, I should have seen this coming....

Back over the summer I was looking for a fast 50 mile race to take a crack at sub 6 hours. In examining my options, I got down to Stone Cat and the Nashville Ultra in early November. (Due to JFK's entry fee, I did not consider it.) Stone Cat became my preferred choice as it could easily be tied into a vacation to the house my spouse shares with her sister in Maine. Plus, it was two weeks after Fire on the Mountain as opposed to just 1 for Nashville. Thankfully, I lucked out on the lottery and got into Stone Cat back in July. As thus, Stone Cat became a nice A-race to close out the year of big races. And despite it being the third marathon or longer in a month span, I was geared to it. I had to be knowing Samuel Jurek and Sebastien Roulier were in the field. Both guys had times sub 6:15. My logic was it would take a sub 6 possibly to win on an extremely runable course. So yeah, some pressure there.

A couple weeks back, the spouse told me she did not ask her relatives living 45 minutes from the race site about staying with them since we'd have out dog Falcon. This left a bit of a small scramble but luckily the race hotel, the Comfort Inn in Danvers, took pets in addition to having a great rate! This settled things.

However.....on the Thursday, before the race, I locked my keys in my car during a run. My spouse had to come back from work in NYC early to retrieve the car for me since she had the spare pair on her. Stress where I shouldn't have had it....not good.

The next day, Friday, we drove up to MA with only a dash of problems the worst of which was 95 20 miles from the hotel. Not bad since we still made good time, had an easy time checking in, prepped my bottles and gear for the morning while grabbing some take out Panera. (Sadly, they did not remember to give me my Cinnamon Roll.)

All this was fine.....until.....sleep. Went to bed around 10 to wake up around 4:30. An hour later, Falcon barked. We had never stayed in a hotel with him before. He usually is not a barker but he is always attentive. (He is a shepard/chow mix.) Typically, telling him once to stop does the trick. Not this night. Anyways, while he did not bark throughout the night, this instance kept me awake far too long. Stress level HIGH! In the end, I managed only 3 hours of sleep due to being unsettled.

To say I was pissed would be an understatement, I was furious. Thankfully, the drive to the race was easy enough. My spouse, Peg, and Falcon came along. Falcon would be in and out of the car during my race. Peg was a trooper on this day because she knew I was not going to be rosy after the night. My focus was off and physically, I was exhausted. These factors played a big role in my effort.

At check in, I ran into a former HS XC teammate's brother, who I also knew. He was there crewing for a friend of his also doing the 50. It was great to see him and gave me a slight boost.

Before I knew it, 6:15 had arrived and we were off. Three of us, Samuel, Sebastien and I ran together up front almost from the get go. We had some nice conversation. It was really the best part of the day for me. Eventually, Sebastien dropped off the back. I was feeling exhausted. I recall looking at my watch and one point going, 'it's only been 15 minutes! I feel like it has been 30' That said it all. Despite running with Sam for a while, he pulled away and put 2 minutes on me before the end of the 1st lap.

All I could think about was how exhausted I was. Essentially, I was mentally defeated already. During ultras, we all hit that bad patch. Well, I spent much of the race trying to find a good patch. As I finished the first of four 12.5 mile loops, I changed handhelds and mentioned how exhausted I felt to Peg. I was so out of it, I had almost forgotten to take off my gloves, arm warmers and tech shirt I had on at the start due to the cold. Rookie. I tried to run faster but I just did not have any gears. My head and body kept me back from pushing with any relative ease. I was fighting myself and I was losing. After the second lap, Sam had gained another 2 minutes on me. At this point, my only goal really was to finish. This was because I made a promise to Peg that once the race was over, I would be in vacation mode. And the only way, I could do it was to finish because I would really have been pissed about the lack of sleep had I not run 50 miles. Sam's lead grew after 3 to 8 minutes. My pace was ugly. I wanted to sit down and nap or just go for a walk through the woods. I mentioned this time to Peg that I wanted to go to Maine after the race instead of staying another night so we could see family the following morning.

In the end, I slogged through the last lap and SOMEHOW managed to finish in 2nd place. I was happy to be done but sad that I could not give it my best. I allowed myself to mentally lose prior to reaching the starting line. Granted physically, I was drained from the lack of sleep but I do think beginning a race in a bad headspace was my biggest downfall. Due to that, I would claim this as my worst performance since becoming an ultramarathoner. There was no reason I could not have given Samuel a better run for his money. And let me say, he ran an outstanding race. My hat's off to him.

Eventually, I came off my stance of wanting to leave for Maine immediately. And if you were to ask Peg, I handled things much better than you would have expected. Thankfully, the weather in Maine was ideal and on Monday when I finally got to hit trails on Pleasant Mountain, I was able to move on.

Where do I go from here? Maybe try to add something before the end of the year. Likely won't be a 50 miler since I would have to find money to travel for one of those.

Fire on the Mountain 50K - Finale (for now?)

Long long ago this year, I signed up for the race this entry is about, Fire on the Mountain 50K in the western part of Maryland.

It had been on my radar for a couple of years now. Back in 2012, when I was unable to do Steamtown, I really was looking for a way to take advantage of my fitness in a non-marathon but long race environment. Doing some internet searching, I came about Fire on the Mountain and Rock N The Knob (in PA). Both were the same weekend and after some thinking, I settled for the 30K of Rock N The Knob. (Did not regret that decision.)

Last year, I was geared on doing Harrisburg before a stress fracture derailed things.

But 2014 was the year I was destined to run Fire on the Mountain (or FOTM for short from here on out.) It helped that the RD, Kevin, had a deal of $20 registration around January. That sealed it as I sent in my check as soon as possible. Little did I know when I signed up that FOTM would be my 10th ultra of 2014.

With so many races that required focus this year, FOTM, while important, did not get a lot of attention until a few weeks ago when I realized I was hitting a gauntlet of races: Steamtown, FOTM and Stone Cat. Each of them being two weeks apart. Much of my emphasis was on a great Steamtown performance that left me little time to worry about logistics for FOTM, including lodging. I flipped back and forth between a Super 8 in Hancock or camping at the finish line/bus shuttle area. Eventually after a bad night of sleep on Friday before the race, I settled for the Super 8, where a number of fellow runners were staying. Oddly enough, I was not near them or saw them during my time there.

I rolled into Hancock around 6-ish and went off to find dinner. Being a vegetarian in this town did not seem to be a good thing as it limited my safe bets. Hardee's probably would have been the safest but that would have meant just fries. I thought about the Pizza Hut and almost ended up there. It was last option. After an attempted, find something to microwave at the local Sav-A-Lot, I ended up with a medium pizza and fries from Sheetz. Amazingly, not a total disaster. I knew I was risking it with the pizza but I had faith in Sheetz to be edible. In a pinch, I'd do that again.

Back in my room, I watched some World Series action and checking for any last minute race updates before hitting the hay. As much as I needed a good night of sleep, it was not to be. It was ok but not totally refreshing. But I had time to wake up as I had a 30 minute car ride to the finish/bus area and a 45 minute ride after that.

Thankfully, I did not get lost getting to where I needed to be since it was on some unlit roads. Upon my arrival, I checked in, got my number and went off into the woods for a little doubling down. After some freshening up, I confirmed with the RD that we could wear sweats to the start and they would get back to the finish. Since it was cold, I wanted to stay as warm as possible, especially since two weeks ago in Steamtown, the bus did not have heat. (This time that was not an issue.) Plus having a bag for gear to be returned, allowed me to listen to music on the bus ride out. As I was about to get on the bus, I looked up to the sky and saw the most beautifully clear sky in my life seeing so many stars that felt closer than ever before. But I could not stand in awe forever, I had to get on the bus.

During the ride, I listened to a combination of In Flames' Sirens Charms and Gary Numan's Splinter albums. I managed to relax and catch a few winks during the bus ride. Before I knew it, we were at our destination following a small walk down a dirt road to Point Overlook. Like many others, I went off into the woods one more time. A few minutes before the start, I shed my layers and put them in my sack pack loading it into the back of the designated pick-up truck. As we lined up, got last minute instructions and were about to go, a couple of stragglers arrived giving FOTM a brief delay in starting. After a spell, the official start commands were given.

At once the lot of us started down the dirt road we walked before merging onto a road for about a mile before we were to swing onto the red trail. (To avoid getting lost, our course instructions were given as Red Trail ->Green Trail -> Fire/Logging Rd -> Purple Trail. These came in very handy.) Down the road, I met Wade, who was running in his first ultra. As we turned onto the red trail, I moved to the front on the single track. We hit some downhill with technical footing and a lovely surprise of a downed tree. It was a few feet before the tree, I rolled my ankle. It hurt immediately and locked up. Wade and another runner passed me. I thought about dropping out right there. However, I felt, I might be able to loosen it and walked for around 30 seconds down the trail. I was moving ok and would continue to do so all day. However, my ankle injury did limit my flow and speed as I was uber aware to not take any risks on it. The red trail was far and away the most technical section of the day. Great fun that I would have loved more at 100%. But I moved on. Before the first major climb of the day, I passed the second place running and could see Wade ahead. With the steep grade, I had no intention on running up the hill and used my power hike technique where I put both hands behind my back. This works well for me. (And credit goes to Ben Mazur, who is the first person I heard use this method.) All along this trail, I would see Wade and then not see Wade. Typically, this was happening along the sections that I really took it easy on my ankle. Eventually, we popped off the red trail at an aid station before moving straight ahead onto the green trail.

It was on the green trail that I was able to run smoother. In fact, this was my best section of running the whole day. Granted I did take it easy on a lot of the dry water crossings due to the rocks. Around half way through this section, I caught and passed Wade. I slowly crept away. (Later on, I would find out he was having some stomach issues along with making a wrong turn causing him to drop out.) Right before the half way 'Oasis' aid station, I saw some orange blazes that freaked me out with a down directional sign. However, I saw a young girl, who was the RD's daughter, to my right so I went right up the uphill road.

YES! I made it half way and I was going at a much better pace than the first section of the race. I had an outside shot of the course record as I was in 16 and 2:23 with 16 more to go. (CR: 4:38 - Held by Brad Hinton, a tremendous ultra runner who I had the honor of racing at the OSS/CIA Nighttime 50M in June) At the station, I topped off my handheld with orange Gatorade before bounding off.

Knowing, the course going onto the fire/logging road section, I asked Kevin, the RD who happened to be at Oasis, how long the stretch was. 8 miles. I was either going to love or hate this stretch. However, it would be my best shot at giving me breathing room for the purple trail. I ran this the best I could. (The theme of the day.) My ankle being tight was no help pushing the pace. Despite, things, I managed to cover the 8 miles in a little less than an hour giving myself around 1:15 to cover the last stretch on the purple trail.

Going in, I heard the purple trail was the most runable. I would say without the leaves it totally would be. But with a rolled ankle and leaves covering much of the trail, I did not take it like I would. Mainly, I did not want to really do something stupid where I would not be able to race Stone Cat. Part of the decision to be cautious allowed me to enjoy some of the views I could see from the mountain top through the trees. Then again, at the same time, I was wondering which one would be the next to go up. (Answer: none, this was the last mountain.) This section had some great downhill that normally I would have flown done jumping side to side to avoid the rocks but I gingerly took the upper portion of downhill slow. Later on, there would be a more gradual downhill that I could find a solid strip of footing to flow down. Back when I hopped onto the Purple Trail, I thought I might be able to go under 4:30. For much of this stretch it was dangling there. With 3 miles to go, I knew I would have to high tail it in order to do so. I did not. Whatever, the reason, I just enjoyed the scenery of the final miles even if I just wanted to be done. The last hill before the trail's .5 marker, I hiked up, touched the marker and realized, I had the record. I cruised through the rest and out of the woods. In year's past, there had been firewood to grab for the final 1/4 mile. With Kevin, 450 miles from the site, a few minor things did not happen for the race. This was one of them.

In the end, I crossed the line in 4:31:59 taking 6 minutes off Brad's record. I was happy with that considering when I took off my shoes and socks, my right ankle was definitely swollen. (It really looked bad by the time I got home where it was more than a roll that happened. It was a sprain.) Originally, I had hoped to leave around 1pm for my 3 1/2 - 4 hour drive home. Didn't happen that way. What happened was one of the best things of ultras, sitting around with people talking and hanging out. I enjoyed soda and pizza for a few hours. At some point I had to leave, which was 3pm. I wanted to be home no later than 7 because I did want some time to see Peg before she left for NYC.

One thing I mentioned in the title, that I did not mention really was that earlier in the year Kevin announced this was to be the final edition of FOTM. He was unable to find someone to take the race organization on. While I am sad it is the final year, I am extremely delighted that I participated considering it had been on my docket for two years.

Maybe one day, the race will be resurrected and someone will break my CR. It is possible. I believe my ankle cost me 10-15 minutes out there. But that is whatever.

Now, I have another race to turn my attention to...Stone Cat 50.

When is that? Oh in a week of this posting. (Today is 10/31, Stone Cat is 11/8.)


Many thanks to RD Kevin Spradlin for his dedication to put on a race from 450 miles away from the site. Also: Kevin's daughter MacKenzie Spradlin for the photos she took, the aid station staff along with all the other runners who made this race what it was. I have plenty of good memories to last for a long time.

Fueling: Lemon-Lime and Orange Gatorade, Strawberry Banana GU gels and Black Cherry Clif Shot Blocs.

Shoes: LaSpotiva Helios. (Their rock protection saved my hide at FOTM considering my jacked up ankle.)

2014 Steamtown Marathon Report

Destination – Scranton, PA

Objective – STEAMTOWN Marathon

Goals: Top 5, Sub 2:30

A small bit of backstory:

Two years ago, I was scheduled to run the 2012 edition of this very same marathon. Training was locked in and come race week, I knew I was ready to rip through the course and go sub 2:30. Or at least that was the feeling early in the 2012 race week. At around 1am Friday night (technically Saturday morning), I ended up in the ER due to a violent illness that struck at the wrong time. However, it took such a toll, I had to withdraw from the race less than 24 hours before it started. My friend, Matt Byrne, would go on to win his third Steamtown title that day. It would have been great to run with him but alas…..

Flash forward to 2014:

After my 2:24:55 at Two Rivers in March, I reached out to the race committee requested a comp entry into the 2014 Steamtown Marathon. They honored me with their offer of the comp. Between the end of March and the start of October, I really shifted my running logging in long miles and an average of an ultra a month. After the 100K at Green Lakes at the end of August, I knew I had to kick it into high speed. While I dabbled to keep some sort races for foot speed, I knew the marathon would require loads of it. Marathon distance was not the worry. So for the entire month of September, I raced essentially a 5K each weekend. The first couple felt slower than I would have liked but by the end of the month at the Sloppy Cuckoo races, I felt locked in.

In the final week before the race, I was much more nervous than 2012. I didn’t know my competition like I had a couple years back and my identity as a runner was now as an ultramarathoner on the trails. Plus, throw in what happened with the ER and, yes, nervous. One of the few things I was feeling good about was camping the night before the race. I was going to be saving some cash and thus reducing the pressure to win any. However, Thursday night, my partner asked if we could still do the hotel room as she had a rough work week. Amazingly, I settled down quick and made a deal with her anout the room. So in the end we did stay at the TownePlace Suites in Moosic, PA.

Before leaving on Saturday, I found out who the contenders were. It was here, I felt a bit nervous. I had hoped for a top 5 but I was slated to be 6-7^th by a few minutes based on projections. (I projected a 2:27. A split the difference between the Two Rivers time and the sub 2:30)

We drove up from Philly and arrived at packet pick-up at Scranton High around 3. During pick-up I grabbed a few gels that I was short (I had two but I race with four) and met up with Matt who was there with his Scranton Running Company. And I bumped into Mel Lancet who was also doing the marathon. I know Mel from Viaduct. That Viaduct family is a tight community. After pick-up, we headed downtown to see about some food and possible shopping. (Not for me but for her.) Kind of struck out on both accounts. But on the plus side, we got a sense of the finish line set-up and getting in and out of Scranton.

Not finding food was fine as we knew there was a Panera Bread across the street from our lodging. Once we checked into our room, that is where we went. I went simple with a classic grilled cheese and tomato soup. (Additionally, I picked up two slices of pizza from a place a few doors down to take back to the room.) While eating, I told my partner, what happens happens. I cannot worry too much about the race now. This was clearly a bit of lowering expectations and not looking forward to 26.2 miles of hard fast mostly pavement racing. Back at the hotel, we settled in for the night watching a small binge session of Breaking Bad. (We were in the middle of the final season. We have since finished.) After that it was in bed around 11pm for a 5am wake up as I had a 6am elite shuttle bus to catch.

The bus ride from downtown Scranton to Forest City was memorable simply because it was cold on the bus. Not freezing but I felt cold. On this ride, I got to see some of the competition for the first time. (Not everyone took the elite shuttle.) For most of the ride, I listened to In Flames’ Siren Charms and sat with my eyes closed, relaxing. 45 minutes later, we made our destination and were escorted to the classroom set aside for us. On the way into the high school building, I ran into Carl Albright, co-RD at Viaduct. Viaduct again on the weekend. (I would later find out another Viaduct-er, Joey Parente was there honoring his friend, Jim.) I said a quick passing hello before coming out and saying a real hello before I warmed up. After warming-up, I returned to the room to relax and found out there were W-9’s to fill out if we expected to win money. Initially, my thought was not to bother. After the preview, I had thrown out the idea of winning money. But on second thought, why not anyways. So I filled out the W-9.

Around 5 minutes before the start, I left the room to make my way to the line. Good thing I didn’t wait longer (as I was the last out) since I barely made it to the line before they started. (Later found out from the 3^rd place female, it was started 3 minutes early.) For the first couple of miles, I was with a small group not far behind the leader, Fred Joslyn. However, around mile 2, this group split. A few dropped back and a few latched onto Joslyn. The lead group became 4 and I was stuck in ‘no-man’s land’ in 5^th. At which point, I further expected to not finish top 5. But this did not do anything to get me to go slower. I just kept running. The miles ticked off. I could see the lead group pull farther and farther away. Eventually, I heard before the half, they had 3 minutes on me. A lot of this was after Carbondale, where I had to chop stride to go around a car. (It happens. Thankfully, Carbondale got me locked back in focus quickly with their support.)

For miles 14-20, I mentally wanted it over. My pace was starting to sag some. We were on roads I wanted off, praying for the trail section to come give me some relief. Eventually, they came and I was able to zone out. Around 16.5, I heard Matt cheering me on. It was a great push. I needed it and what better way to get it than from someone I know. In this stretch there is a section on some bike path that gave you a chance to see runners within a few minutes. It was here that I felt the first sense of being caught. 6^th and 7^th did not appear far off. Maybe 30 and 45 seconds up.

Around mile 20, I got a bit of a second wind in the form of seeing 4^th place alone ahead. It was Brian Flynn and he looked like he was hurting. With 6^th not far (in my head) behind me, I went for Brian. Not guns all out, catch and die myself but steady freddy style. My thought was I can end up hopefully in 5^th still if I grab 4^th.  It took me a few more miles to catch him. I think it was around mile 22. Around the mile 23 marker, I saw 3^rd place!  It was Chass Armstrong. For a brief moment, I got excited but calmed down and took the same approach to chasing him. While I did not feel like I was going faster than prior, I was maintaining which was good enough to catch Chass on the downhill coming out of Greenridge past the mile 24 marker. It was here, I felt confident to make top 5. Now, it was to go for the sub 2:30 time. I was hanging on to it by a thread. I couldn’t go much faster and there was the last big climb before the finish still. However, up ahead in the distance, but visible, was Peter Kemboi in 2^nd. I knew I didn’t have much real estate left but I was going to try to catch him. With around ¾ to ½ mile left, we hit the uphill. Peter is closer but still out of reach. My stride hits a wall closer to the top. Brian Crispell is there and gives me a verbal push of encouragement. I crest the hill and run down to the finish line. I do not catch Peter who finished 22 seconds ahead of me. Nor do I crack 2:30 as I finish in 2:30:03. (Fred Joslyn would repeat, winning in 2:22:37)

Normally for me, I would be really upset about the time. With the way the race played out I cannot be really since from mile 2 on, I ran by myself. If I was not so seasoned doing that from ultras, I do not think I would have done as well. My plan was to stop putting any emphasis on the marathon if I went under 2:30 for a second time. So I’m not retired from the distance yet. And I’m okay with that. I ran a smart race and managed to move up places in the closing miles.

Eventually, we said goodbye to Scranton as a celebratory meal at Waffle House awaited us. But I hope to be back next year.

Result: 3^rd place overall

Time: 2:30:03

Up Next: Fire on the Mountain 50K (10/26)

Sloppy Cuckoo - Back to the Trails For Four

After 4 straight weekends of 5Ks, I went back to up some higher distances. Not only that I went back to the trails as my final big lead-in for the Steamtown Marathon. 

Sloppy Cuckoo is a series of races put on by Uberendurancesports (the RD being Stephan Weiss) in Philadelphia's Pennypack Park. This is the same venue that hosted the Dirty German Endurance Races back in May when I participated in the 50K. For the Cuckoo, Stephan puts on a 12HR, HM, Uber 10K (really 6.55) and 5K. For this year, Stephan introduced a triple challenge which consisted of the HM, 6.55 and 5K. Obviously, you cannot include the 12HR into the challenge. While floating the idea of adding the Cuckoo into my pre-Steamtown program, I initially thought of the HM only. As the race came closer, I thought about the Triple. After some Facebooking, the RD threw it out there that I could realistically quadruple. This made me think about it more. And after talking with Peg, I got the ok to go for it.

So this past Sunday, that is exactly what happened......I signed up for the Sloppy Cuckoo Triple Challenge. Peg was kind enough to drive me to the race with the intention to watch me run the HM and be back by the end of the 5K. From a timing standpoint, the HM started at 8, 6.55 at 11 and the 5K at 12:30. Knowing it would be a long day, I prepped like a mini-ultra. I had multiple trail shoes and racing tops along with a small camper cooler. Also, I brought not one but two camping chairs so I could put my feet up in between races. Due to the forecast of 80 degrees, I made sure to set up under a tree that would give me plenty of shade. 

Before the race, I saw Joanna (who was hoping in the 12HR) and Rodney (also doing the triple). I suggested they set up under the tree near me for the shade. Most people who were doing the 12HR had set up out in the open. Yes, the majority had shade tents but not all of them. 

As 7:30 hit, Joanna was off, along with Amy (who was running her 1st 12HR). Amy's husband, Emir was doing the HM. I had managed to say hi to Emir and Amy before her start.

As 8:00 neared, I saw Jonathan Cornibe. For the HM, I knew he would be my toughest competition. Jon is great on the trails and has been running tremendously as of late. My shot at the triple was not going to be easy. From the get-go, I ran to put distance between Jon and myself. After a small 2 mile loop, I had some lead. Enough thankfully that when my own dog, Falcon started running after me, he did not interfere with any other runners. Mentally, his pursuit threw me off my game for a good chunk of the race from that point out because of the worry that Peg was not able to corral him and something happened. In my head, I thought about stopped and taking him back. Thankfully, it did not come to that. In the end, I managed to break the existing event record in the HM in 1:23:29. 

Now, I had to wait......and wait. During this wait, I used the bathroom a few times. As 11 approached, I worked to pump myself up. The heat was around much more than during the HM. At the start of the race, I nearly tripped three strides into the race. The way I look at the Uber 10K, I survived it. The switchback section made me dizzy. Amazingly, I won in 43:36. (My triple lead was over 20 minutes going into the 5K)

Before I knew it, the 5K had arrived and Peg was back to watch me run. It was a blitz, I flew threw this race in 16:45. Triple victory complete! (Combined: 2:23:51)

Strike that.....Quadruple victory as I also won the challenge since I took all three events outright. For my efforts, I took home two cuckoo clocks, two weather houses and one whistle in addition to some delicious grilled cheese in my belly. To wash it all down, I celebrated with a Coca Cola from Wawa on the drive home.

Three days out and I am flushing any tightness out of my system as I finish my final week of training before Steamtown on Oct 12. Going in, I feel really happy with my recent results. I'm ready to go....

Back with the quickness.....

Just figured to drop in a line on how things are going. Training has been locking in for next month's showdown with the Steamtown Marathon. Managed to get in a nice 21 mile long run yesterday on a day I was intending to run a 30K trail race. However, life intervened and it had to be switched to a simple long run.

Most notably since the GLER 100K, I've run three 5K's.

The first was on Aug 31 and was the final edition of the Jimmy D 5K up in my old stomping grounds. Previously, I had run 3 out of the first 4 years taking second in the 4th. With relocating to Philadelphia, it has been hard to get back but with this year closing out a decade of the race, I returned. While I finished 3rd, it really was so much more than a race for me as I got to see a lot of familiar faces, including the RD Erin Varga.

Then on Sept 6, I toed the line for the HCA 5K which is a really small race run in Drexel Hill. It has become a tradition race for me and the start of the fall racing season even if this year was the hottest and most humid it has been in the six years I've done it. Much like the previous 5, I won this race. However, my time was a shade over 17 minutes making me question my leg speed as this was the slowest time I had ever run in the event by over 30 seconds.

Thankfully, I had a real good higher mileage week this past week and ended up running in the Boxers Trail 5K. This is a trail around 2 miles from my house that has a long tradition of being a training ground for such fighters as Joe Frazier. It is not a fancy race but the 9:30 start and close proximity to home allowed me to do my warm-up as the commute with some sleep in time. Here the result was a victory but completely opposite of HCA. At Boxers, I ran 40 seconds faster in 16:32 which is impressive in the sense it is a mix of trail and pavement with the trail throwing a good series of rolling hills for around 2 miles of the course.

Unless I find something longer to race, it probably will be local 5Ks until Steamtown. But I need the speedwork so that is good.

That's all for now......(Hey, I said this would be quick.)

Success, Failure and Perseverance

Over a month has passed since last communicating with you, my loyal readers. In that time, I have logged 3 races:  100M, 5K and 100K. Quite the span of distance. And over the course of them, I have been broken many times to come out with personal victories. Maybe not the accomplishments I wanted to achieve but I came out with something I could look back on and be proud of.

Of these, my 100 mile debut is the race I am still recovering from. Early this year, I decided to make my 100M debut at Viaduct on the last July weekend, the site of my ultra debut at any distance. While I had planned to do a great race report on this event, I was so broken by this race mentally and physically, I am struggling to move on. I thought about of even speaking how it breaking me down is humbling (it is) and that I’ve bounced back. Truth is, I have not. In the end, I merely survived it thanks to wonderful friends old and new. In brief, what happened was that I ran a terrific 90 miles in 13:30 right where I wanted to be before everything shut off and I could not go another step. I had to get a ride to the start/finish. Eventually, I decided I wanted to do the other 10 no matter what. And I did with a large overnight break. Thanks to Maggie’s friends Dylan and Ken, both who I met the night prior, I was able to accomplish finishing 100 miles before the limit. For that I am honored and so appreciative. It means a lot to say I finished a 100 miles. However, my mind is not always my friend and reconciling how I finished by getting a ride back to the start/finish and then another to where I had stopped doesn’t feel right. And since I believe in myself I can do it and be one of the best is tough. Obviously, my thoughts turned into where can I run another 100 miler? If you read my Facebook feed, you know I was a bit all over the place. Eventually, I realized I needed to be responsible about jumping into another 100 because of fiscal responsibility. But I needed to move on somehow…..

So I opted to run a 5K. In the past, if I have had bad short races, I go run another short race. (Sometimes the very next day.) Always, I risk a double whammy of bad but it is helpful for me. Years back, I ran to 4^th at the Harrisburg Marathon a week after running a horrible 10K. With it now being the beginning of August, races were scarce in the Philadelphia area. After searching, I was able to settle on a race the week immediately following Viaduct with a good cause (always important) and that had been established. Feeling I could run a time faster than last year’s winner helped. The race: On Your Marc 5K benefitting Small Steps in Speech. Come race day I got to the site, registered and warmed up. I was nervous especially as I saw some young speedsters sporting college and high school singlets. This was going to be tough. The course also was not going to make it easy with an uphill finish and lots of climb. Hills…oh yeah! Ron Horn of PCS was timing and on that day, I could not have asked for anyone else given his humor really calmed my nerves. In the end, I eeked out a six second win running a 16:24. It felt good to run such a time a week after putting a 100 miles on my legs in such a short span. While, happy, I still felt off. So I decided to possibly skip both a concert and annual 5K for a 100 miler in north central PA in early September. Looking at all my other options, Virgil Crest is too close to Steamtown and going out of the state would cost more than I could comfortably afford given it was going to have to be turn and burn. That left Pine Creek. My call…..see how my 100K goes since GLER is two weeks prior to Pine Creek.

Which now brings me to GLER (or the Green Lakes Endurance Races) up in Fayetteville, NY. I had signed up for this race after contacting Tim Hardy, the RD following my aborted 100K effort at Lake Waramaug to see if I could get a comp. He thought it great I asked and offered the comp as one of the event record holders. He also expended this offer to other course record holders. (Winners would get a hefty discount.) Tim does a great job putting together a wonderful event. He wants GLER to be a first class event and I can say it is. Originally, my plan for lodging was to car camp. However, three days before the race, the park put the hammer down. Absolutely, no car camping. Thankfully, through friends and Facebook, a fellow runner, Joe (running his first 100K and his first above 40 miles) was camping in the park (an option I would have done but all the sites were reserved) and allowed me to share his site. Friday night before the race was the first time I met Joe. If anything the ultrarunning community is wonderfully supportive and helpful, my experiences with Joe, Dylan and Ken are a testament to that. A humorous camping note is that Joe camped in his minivan while I pitched a tent. I think I had it up and down in record time. (Many thanks to Peg for the sleeping pad to use! Even when she cannot be there, she is supporting me.) Saturday morning felt just right for 62 miles. Before the race, I knew I was going to set up my gear along the stone wall next to the aid station. I did this last year and knew it was ideal. Great height and with a more efficiently organized bag, pretty much set it and forget it. The time before the race passed quickly and before I knew it all the runners were being called to the starting line. This was the first chance I got to say hi to the RD. Also, I said hi to Jason Mintz, who finished second last year in the 50K and was taking a shot at my record. One person I did not see was Daven Oskig, who I expected to be my main competition in the 100K. Once the official start was given, Jason and I were off. For the majority of the first couple of loops were always rather close. On the 3^rd loop, I passed Jason as he was having a rough patch. A loop later he would pass me on his way to the 50K victory as I was experiencing not so nice left knee pain. (On the way home from work on Wednesday, while riding my bike, I had a collision with another cyclist on a paved bike path after he made an abrupt left. The impact injured my elbow the most but did bruise my left knee.)  I considered dropping out. My head was in a dark space that I would battle for the majority of the 100K. What kept me going was not wanting to have another race that I might regret dropping or quitting. After hobbling beyond the 50K mark, I told myself, take some ibuprofen and if it does not help with the knee during the 5^th lap, call it a day.  On that 5^th lap, a nice rain was falling and that calmed my nerves. There are few things in this world that I love more than running in a slight rain through woods. Before I knew it, I made it through 5 and was on 6. I was still having on and off pain causing some powerhiking of an hills and brief walk spells. Then on the 7^th lap, I was clear headed. I was losing my shot at sub 8. I needed to throw in a big lap. I did. I dropped a lap I needed. I just needed to get through the last one in 1:04. However, the stairs out of the aid station were no longer agreeing with my knee as I got a return of sharp pain. My hopes of a sub 8 were slipping away. In fact, this moment did it in. I did my best but I was losing time….and in the end, I was a shade over 2 ½ minutes slower than I needed. However, I did manage to run a win and new CR. And I will say it was really nice that Tim was there when I finished announcing the new record. As a matter of fact, I was able to hear him from the other side of the lake less than a ½ mile from the finish routing me on.

If I did not have tickets for a concert, I would have hung out more than the hour I did post race. My drive home involved lots of rain and I did not make the concert. It was ok because I made it home safe and ended up sleeping really well.

Due to the knee discomfort I had, I have decided to put an 100 mile plans on hold for a bit. Pine Creek would not be wise and really risk overracing long distance, which is one of the thoughts I had looking back on the 100K. So for now, down to 5Ks and other shorter races as I get ready for the Steamtown Marathon later this fall.

Return to the Roads: Slow, Fast Frustration and a Great Cause

It has nearly been a month since I wrote regarding OSS. For much of that time, little of note has been happening until the past week.

RACES! ON ROADS!!!

Due to so much trail and ultra based running, I felt I needed to return to some speed on the roads. With the core of summer coming, races dry up like a drought in the west, so I had to do some scrambling to see what works time-wise.

First up ended up being the Revolutionary Run held in Washington Crossing, PA. As the same suggests, it is where Washington crossed the Delaware River. (It's a famous moment in US history.) It had many of things I wanted: reasonable entry fee (this is getting harder these days), quick easy travel, and an early enough start time. The bonus was the 10K option. While there was a 5K, I want more bang for buck and registered for the 10K. The Rev Run is an extremely popular race as parking is over a quarter mile from the start and registration areas. I would have been closer had I parked in NJ and walked over the bridge. For this race, I was incredibly nervous. I had no idea where my capacity for speed was at. I told myself, I was strong enough to run well and do what I could. In the end, it was lots of suffering. Mainly, it was because I felt slow. When the race started promptly at 8:30, it was a quick start. Not by me but from some of the other racers which led me to instantly respond. Having been away from such short distances there was the worry of not responding and never having a shot. In retrospect, maybe holding a tad back would have helped some but I do not think by much. By the mile mark, I am sitting behind two young college runners. Mile 2 is where things went south. As the 5K started 15 minutes prior, we were now weaving through the masses. Stupidly, I did not expect this. My reaction time to the two leaders was slow and I begun to lose a stride or two. By the time, we got through this overly crowded section, I had lost contact. Negative thoughts about quitting rang in my head as my brain for some reason was telling me I was going really slow, while the truth was not as bad. Around the 3 mile marker, I get passed by another younger runner. I tried to keep contact but I could not turn my legs over any quicker despite this being something of a downhill section. Eventually, we turned around to run this section again uphill, so I was not looking forward to it. I was in a dark place. However, once I hit the turnaround, I felt like I was running at a better gear. I felt faster. Despite that, I was not gaining any ground on the 3 runners ahead of me. Now and again, I felt I would get a shade closer but it was not any real change. I was a solid 4th. With the way I ran the back half of the race, I felt my time would at least be under 34. Nope. 34:25. Horrible. Granted the winning time was 33:05 but being 4th AND over 34 minutes was a bad taste. Instead of hanging around, I took the chance of missing a podium spot by walking the mile to the car (the finish was even farther from the parking area) so I could get home quicker. Did I win an age group? Yeah, I did. Do I care? Not this time because I wanted more in my return. I had very little excuse. A few days after this race, I felt better about my efforts given that the three people who beat me consisted of two D1 runners and the current 3200m PA state champ.

As a result of my 'poor'' showing at the Rev Run, I saw it as more reason to get another short distance road race in. With my efforts to maximize weekend time when Peg is home, finding the Moonlight 5K was perfect. A late Thursday night race close enough by. Yes! Start time was 9pm meaning I did not have to leave for the race until 7:30, thus, missing rush hour traffic and allowing me to walk Falcon. Even better was the cause for this race was one I could relate to.

The Moonlight 5K was for the benefit of the Cure4Cam Foundation. It is an organization whose purpose is to raise awareness and support therapies of childhood cancers. It was founded in honor of Cameron Evans who died in May 2012 of leukemia. Cameron was a cross country runner in Downingtown.

Back in October 1996, my friend and cross country teammate, Robert Morris, passed away from leukemia.

Considering that connection, I felt strongly, the Moonlight 5K was an event to support so I signed up. Even did so in advance. Also, I deemed it highly important to run my hardest here. By participating in a race inspired by the memory of a runner lost to leukemia, I felt I was running in Rob's memory as I know a lot of people in the local HS and running communities doing so in Cameron's memory.

The Moonlight 5K took place last night in Exton, PA on a two loop course through a corporate complex. One which I must say had some of the freshest roads I have ever run. Upon arriving, I picked up my number and shirt before heading off on my warm-up. Usually during warm-ups I stay off the course (or if I have to be on the course run it in the opposite direction) this time, I ran it in the actual direction. Not the whole 5K mind you but one complete loop. I was very happy I did this as it was much more rolling than I expected. With a lot of local HS runners at this race, I knew it was going to go out fast and furious. And with Chester County Running providing the timing, you know that some of the best were coming out. Once more, I told myself run smart and don't get dropped.

About 15 minutes before race time, it started to rain. Nothing major at first but as the start time got closer and closer it was much more consistent. It is around 5 minutes prior that it was clear the rain was not letting up. This was going to make for a much darker Moonlight 5K since the clouds were blocking the moon and there is not a ton of street lamps in this corporate center. Then again that was part of the allure of the event as people would be sporting glow sticks and glow bracelets. As we lined up for the start, I learned that there was a relay component. Oh great! That means things just got faster! However, it appeared that most of the young guns were running the relay! YES!

After a rapid start command, we were off. If there was any point, I felt slow, the start was it. A swarm of about 10-12 jumped out in front of me. Initially, I thought, 'This is not going to be pretty'. Yet, there is something about running in the rain that helped me fall into place. I started moving up the ranks. About 3/4 of a mile in I was 5th. Then, a little farther, I was 4th and then 3rd and 2nd! I was a short step behind the lead runner. He was a relay guy so I knew I was the lead individual. This was the one time I got to clearly see the clock posting a 8:07 for about 1.6 miles. Meaning I had a shot at sub 16 with only 1.5 to go. But I was not on fresh legs like the relay runner was. Boom, he was opening some distance on me on the open road. However, as the rain continued and we began to lap the back of the packers, I began to slowly eat at his lead. I had a shot to win the whole thing outright?! I kept pushing. I was feeling great. Yet, in the last 1/4 mile, I was caught by a relay runner bumping me down into third on the road. This is where I would stay. I can report that the runner who caught me also caught the runner ahead of me. Because of the driving rain and people at the finish area, I could not make out the clock for my time. It looked like it might have been high 15's. I thought I saw 15:54 when I came back around to the front. Despite not immediately knowing my time, I felt I ran awesome and only 'lost' by a handful of seconds to two relay teams.

Not knowing the state of things, I went back to my car to drop off wet racers and singlet. With the weather basically being a monsoon, I opted for another loop barefoot as my cooldown. Oh yeah! That was awesome! Rarely do I run shirtless but I did. In fact, all I had were my racing shorts on. With the water on the smooth asphalt, it was so soothing. It was during this lap that it appears people just stopped. The loop was rather barren. It was not until 1/3 mile left that I saw another runner. When I got back to the finish area, the clock read only 33 minutes. The parking area was rather empty, the timing mats were pulled up and everything was being broken down. There was no stopping the rain. Clearly no awards were going to be done there so I hoped in my car and drove white-knuckled home. Roads were flooding in the area. Thankfully, I got out of there when I did. By the time I reached the King of Prussia area, there was no rain. Whew.

Due to the rain, I rain fast and enjoyed it. Also got home earlier. Sadly, I did not get to enjoy any post race time with people. Still I was excited when I got home and so anxious to find out what the recorded times were.....

Until, the timers sent out an email today saying they could not provide results for the event due to their timing system malfunctioning. Now, they used an electronic timing mat system. It appears there was no back-up. None of the bibs had pull tags and it was a rainy night out so maybe it was not realistic to use a tape. Yet, I am sad at this moment to not know my time. I know I could have just worn a watch but I like to race shorter distances free of it. So this situation certainly opens up some food for thought about back-up timing systems at races along with what happens when mother nature strikes.

Also, I know I ran a race and was the individual winner but with no results, there are likely no awards, does that mean it was not a race that occurred?

(Also, have since learned the mats went dead even before we came through for our first lap. Apparently, they were even sparking!)

Certainly a question for me to ponder. I consider this a win simply because I am lucky enough to know my standing when it was still a race. Plus, at the end of the day, I had a good time and supported a cause that is personally relate-able.

(Lets hope somehow I can find out what my time was.)

OSS/CIA 50 Mile Recap - Running and Falling in the Dark.

Bouncing Back. You could say that is a theme for the recap to follow.

If you have been following my exploits, you know that my last ultra at Cayuga Trails 50 resulted in a DNF way too early on. With it having been a groin injury of the grade 2 variety, (Thanks, noticeable bruising!), I rested a whole two days. I know that was really pushing it but on June 7th was the Wissahickon Trail Classic, a 10K trail race in Philadelphia that my partner, Peg serves on the beneficiary’s steering committee. I’m sure you can connect the dots here. I’m not going to much into that race other to say I got 3rd in 42:00, 1:42 behind the winner. Didn’t have my best day because the groin was still hurting resulting in some rather poor incline running. Just precisely the type of running I can rock on this course usually. In brief, I’m happy with the time since it was only 37 seconds slower than last year and I know I lost all of that and then some with the inclines.

However, my performance at the WTC, got me thinking I could be ready for a 50 miler. I was on the uptick and in shape ready to throw down. As a result, I landed on one of the coolest races….the OSS/CIA 50 Mile NIGHT Run. Yes, NIGHT! And this is not some race on the roads where you have lights. Nope. Two loops through the trails in Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia where no light exists but the one you provide when the sun goes down. (We started at 7:30pm so there was a bit of light.) I admit the nighttime running is what really what appealed to me. Partially it appealed because of the looming 100 mile debut next month. So at the least, it was a training run for Viaduct. On Wednesday morning, I felt good and determined I was clear to run the 50. Yet, near derailment for some logistical transportation issues. Thankfully, that all worked out and I registered in the final moments of being able to do so. While this meant, I would not see much of Peg this weekend, I was excited. Did I mention I was signed up to run 50 miles in the dark?

Jump ahead to Saturday and I leave the house at 2pm to give me 4h 15 min to arrive for the pre-race brief. Google maps said I should expect 3h 30min with current traffic so I saw that as time to hit Taco Bell to get two Black Bean Burritos for fuel. Figured get them now and eat as I go. One is consumed within 20 minutes. The other around 5pm. Traffic leaving Philadelphia was rough. Seems to always be when I am traveling for an ultra. Luckily, once out of the city my ride was much smoother except for a patch on 495 near DC. Amazingly with the Taco Bell stop and traffic I arrived at the race site at 5:45. This gave me ample time to check-in, get my bib and set-up my gear. Part of the gear set-up involved laying a pillow and sleeping bag down in the backseat of the Versa for when I finish and want sleep. The rest of it was on a picnic bench next to the Start/Finish check-in station.

This brought things to briefing time. Alex, the RD, kept it quick emphasizing to keep the copies of the maps provided with us. I planned on heeding this. Tales of getting lost was enough to respect the course. Initially, I planned on using my LaSportiva Helios but decided to go with the Vertical K’s. In retrospect, I should have gone with the former. Anyways, after some wonderful chatting, 7:30 rolled around and we were off. 

To start, I had my Nathan Handheld Bottle’s pouch loaded with GU and Shot Blocs to go with the Gatorade in the bottle itself. (This was in my left hand.) My headlamp was wrapped on my arm with the lamp in my right palm. With daylight still hanging on, I ran comfortably trying to take advantage of seeing everything for a quicker pace. Going in, I hoped to run around 7 hours. I would soon learn the hard way, it was not happening. Early on, I felt good until there was a spot I made a hard left turn where after a minute, I questioned if I should not have turned and that the 1st check-in aid station was near that point. Here, I stopped looked at the map and felt, I must have gone the right way so I opted to keep going. Yet, for a long time I did not see any markings. Eventually, I saw flags but as my watch got closer to 55 minutes, I really felt I must have missed it and was going to roll into the Oakridge Aid Station around mile 10.8. Mentally, this thought began planting seeds of doubt. What do I do if I missed it? Does that mean a DQ? Or can I just make it up on the second loop? Then a few minutes later, there it was! A sign for the 1st check-in station. Since this was an out and back hill portion, I was able to see how far back second was. Based on my calculations I had 3 minutes. And it appeared to be Brian Schmidt with another runner I did not recognize. I knew Brian is a quality runner so I made note to keep going and try create some more space.

After a few more miles where I began to pass the 6:30 early starters, I reached Oakridge for the mini-loop. The loop was said to be 1.8 miles long. I tell you it is the longest 1.8 miles ever. I somehow did this stretch in 21 minutes. Coming in at around 1:28 and out in 1:49. This is where I started to think 7 hours might not be possible. It was also in this mini-loop that I had to move the headlamp onto my head as the sun was now too far gone. Before leaving Oakridge, I topped off my Gatorade and was off.  On this loop, some of favorite trails were on this next little 3 mile section. Now, after that...not so much. At least not in the dark. In the 5 mile section that followed the 3, I suffered my first spill. Semi-hard spill too. My toe clipped a root on a slight downhill and I went down. It was a small reminder to be honest. It was also in this stretch that I passed an early starter who almost missed a right turn. I was approaching from behind and caught a glimpse of the reflective tubes signalling the turn. I called out the turn. Talk about good timing. I kept moving until the last water station where I topped off my bottle again. Not long after this, I had that bathroom urge. Since I was unsure how close second was, I really did not want to stop. Yet, I felt my pace impacted by the focus on holding so I ducked off the trail, did my business using the right materials and got back out. Before I knew it, I was upon a person helping direct traffic on the trail where the outbound and inbound converge and diverge. After a short span I saw a sign saying return directing us over a bridge followed by a left turn sign. I don't know why but something did not feel right. I ran back over the bridge I just came confused. I was not sure if I accidentally started the second loop early. I paused checking my map and decided that I had been going the right way. And after a while, I saw red blazes I had not seen before so I had it right. Yet, second stumble occurred in this inbound portion less than 2 miles from the end of the first loop. Eventually, I made it out of the woods to the small paved parking lot section into the start/finish area. Going under the arch into the check-in portion, I fell. HARD! Apparently, I clipped the concrete strip at the front of the handicap parking space. Amazingly, it was not seen. I got up checked in, looked at my hand seeing I had scraped some skin back and asked for a band-aid. Due to this, I took longer for my pit-stop than normal. I had reloaded GU's and Shot Blocs along with fluids quickly but the medical component had me out slow by my standards. I will say this was not a way to end a loop or start a new one...Loop 1 was 3:23. (Back out at 3:27)

Now I was back out and had a chance to finally get a sense of my lead. Was hoping for at least ten minutes. Turned out it was six over Brian. I also saw third place. Was expecting to see it be Brad Hinton but it was not. I didn't get a good look but it appeared to be Chris McIntosh. I was not feeling comfortable with my lead. And then......hardest fall of the night. Number 4. Again it was on a downhill. Again I clipped something. Now my right knee was scraped up and my upper left arm banged. I got up from this one hurting. Running after this fall was not smooth. I was hurting in my hip initially. Was my groin hurting too? My mind started to do a systems check but with a rocky mental state after 3 other falls I was having a tough go. I began to consider turning around and just walking back in. But for some reason I kept going. After what happened at Cayuga I really did not want to quit. I started to go back and forth on quitting and just finishing with a bit of hold on mixed in there. Figured at least I could get to Mawavi (the 1st check-in) since I could see where anyone was. Getting there was not mentally easy. My pace was slower as being beat up took its toll. I started to powerhike some of the rooted uphills. Everything seems to be farther away when compared to my recall from the first loop. Guess darkness will do that. Amazingly, I got to the checkpoint in first despite being 15 minutes slower. Even more amazing was I had at least 6 minutes on second still as I was off the out and back already on my way towards Oakridge with no sight of anyone. Of the whole night, the 3 miles to Oakridge were the hardest. Mentally I felt broken even with no apparent loss of lead. Once more, I thought about dropping. If I could get to Oakridge, I'd be fine with calling it. 

When I got into Oakridge, I checked in and asked the volunteer recording to let me know how much I had on second once I get back out of the loop. Unlike the first lap, I was now doing two loops of this 'mini loop'. Thankfully, I did not have to run all the way back to the aid station for each loop as the legendary Gary Knipling was keeping us honest by marking us down. He was also such a spark plug. He was asking me my name in addition to number. I thought it was a check to make sure I was not losing it. During the second loop, I fell again. Not nearly as bad as the rest, so that was a plus. Back through Oakridge for the last time, I refilled my bottle and downed a couple of cups of Coke. Before I left, I inquired about the lead and it was 15 minutes!!!! This shocked me and inspired me. As much as I hurt, I ran out feeling light and fast (even if it was not really fast). I was thinking I might be able to hold on if I kept going. If anything, I could finish. The final 11 miles in never seemed to end. Each time I thought I was nearing the end of a section to make a turn or reach something that I saw on the first loop, it never seemed to come. This got even worse the farther I ran. Once again on the back half of the loop, nature called. Much stronger than before.  I pulled off and again did what was needed. Time was slipping away. This loop definitely was slower. I hoped maybe I could only be 30 minutes slower. That passed. I still had a way to go. You get the point that I was bruised on many fronts so I will jump a bit....

Eventually, I reached the bridge leaving me less than 2 miles. I looked at my watch and had a shot at going sub 8. After everything, I wanted that sub 8. I pushed and ran what felt like the fastest miles of the night. In actuality, it might have not been. Just felt that way. At long last, the parking lot!!!!!

On the way in, I made sure not to fall again. And up the chute, I was done. 7:56:45. A new course record on a challenging technical nighttime loop. Around 20 minutes later, Brad Hinton finished also going under the course record. Third was Chris McIntosh. Apparently, Brian Schmidt dropped from falling. In the end, 37 of the 70 starters finished for a rate of 52%. 

During the run, I went through about 4 bottles of fluid, 6 gels and a pack of Shot Blocs. After some chatting, I loaded my bags in my car and curled up for slumber in the backseat. Around 5:40, I woke up and decided to hit the road up 95. On the way down I saw bad northbound traffic that impacted my decision to stay for breakfast. So a shade before 6, I was on the road. I'm happy I made the decision since traffic was smooth and allowed me to use cruise control nearly the entire way. And the recharge from the short sleep made it enjoyable. (Even if I was pulled over in Maryland. Valid reason that was not speeding.)

Being home early allowed me more time with Peg and allowed me to attend a breakfast outing with friends of ours.

In the end the OSS/CIA 50 Mile is a must do. Add it to your schedule. While not a course for speed, it is great 100 mile training for those nighttime moments. You will test yourself. The folks at Athletic-Equation do a great job hosting a truly unique event.

For me, I may possibly look for a fast 50 mile in late fall (not sure if it will be JFK as that might be too close to some other events on my calendar). 

DNF - US 50 Mile Trail Champ: Cayuga Trails 50

Today, did not go as planned one bit. It is around 1:30 and I am home in Philadelphia instead of finishing up 50 Miles of trail running in Ithaca, NY.

At the second aid station, I officially dropped from the race. 6.9 miles into the race. It is heartbreaking as I felt so ready for this race. Part of the reason, I am typing this entry out is as a means of healing and release. How it happened was just before AS1, there was a point where the course is on a bit of singletrack with grass on the side that turns left and does a small dip down. It was here that I strained what is my right Gracilis muscle (or this is at least the self-diagnosis). Upon running into the dip, I planted on some soft trail while steering myself onto a wooden board. In this transition, I knew something was not right.

Knowing Peg was at AS2, I went through 3.1 and towards AS2. While, I had just tweaked something, I felt I could possibly run it out. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I could move but I had no ability to open up my stride without discomfort. As the discomfort became more apparent, I knew I could not be able to run the additional 43.1 miles without great risk. Due to this, I entered the aid station and dropped from the race.

My emotions range from crying to anger to sadness. Thankfully, Peg accompanied me on this trip as her presence and ability to drive prevented me from spiraling into the depths farther than I have.

It is hard that I feel like I lost an opportunity with this race and there are lots of what ifs. Physically, I know I made the right call but reconciling the mental is a tough go at the moment.

Presently, I plan on taking a few days off completely to heal this injury hoping it is minor. Originally, I intended to get rest after this race but there is definitely a dissatisfied taste in my mouth.

So for the first time in my ultra career, I have a DNF. (And only my third DNF in 20 years: one in 1996 and one in 2007. CORRECTION: fourth, I forgot about a DNF in 1999 during my one semester at York.)

Post-Initial Entry:

Well it is nearly two days since all of this went down. And emotionally I feel a bit better. Still in a rut and that has a lot to do with questions about recovering from my injury. That dovetails into getting better because one of the best ways to get over the last race is run another one. Obviously injured I cannot do that. Today is my second straight day off from running. Physically, I do feel better than I did yesterday which was bad enough I felt it better to stay home from the office. In retrospect, some of that was likely mental as well. Peg has been great during this. She mentioned seeing An Endurance Life at the film festival really helpful in her understanding of the situation. Before she would have saw it just isolated to the event and not part of the larger life context.

Huge thanks to Maggie for being such a darn good friend. In discussions with her, it was decided Cayuga left a lot of unfinished business for both of us. So, we’ve determined we’re going back in 2015. This nudging has been good. I’m committed to it. Even emailed the RD and told him of my intention. Now, I don’t expect the same treatment as this year. At least right now, I’m not deserving of it but I certainly intend to be.

Also, thanks to everyone in the past 24 hours who has heard my tale of woe and been supportive. All of your responses have started the path away from what I perceive to be a failure. It is important that I move on. I’m typing this with the hope that in a few days I feel I can run again. That will be a big step in the healing process. Once I reach that, I will take it from there. I’ve got race options…..and a couple of them are ultras. We’ll see where this goes but I’m on the slow ascent.

Double down: Farm Park Challenge (50M) and Dirty German Endurance Fest (50K)

So it was my intention to write this entry a week ago but never got around to it. As a result, this is now about two race results instead of one with a mention of a second. Hopefully, this will make cut right to the chase.

Following my decision to drop from the 100K to the 50K at Jack Bristol, I really felt I wanted to get another ultra in before Cayuga. Ideally, I wanted that race to be a 50M. Nationally there were plenty, however, I was not going farther than a drive. That left me with two options: Farm Park Challenge and Dirty German Endurance Fest. FPC was on a Saturday three weeks out but 2 ½ hours away in Maryland. DGEF was on a Sunday two weeks out but 25 minutes from my house. While being closer seemed like the no brainer, a 50 miler with only two weeks of recover leading into Cayuga did not seem to me like a wise decision. So I signed up for Farm Park Challenge. With the drive being as long as it was and a 50 miler, I opted to stay down near the race. Thanks to Priceline, I got a good deal making it reasonable to do an overnight without a giant cost. Remember, I slept in my car overnight to save cash when I was doing a 50K. In honesty, I would have done something like that again were it not for the chance of rain the night before.

On the morning of FPC, I arrived around 45 minutes before the 6:50 start time for the 50 Mile and Marathon runners. I mention this because the format at FPC is interesting. Aside from the two distances I mentioned, there are 3hr and 6hr races. Unlike most of those timed events, the goal here was to do a loop an hour. If you finished before an hour, you got to continue but had to wait until the start of the next hour. Think of it as run, rest, repeat. The loop consisted of two out and back segments. One at 1.4 miles and the other at 3.8 miles. (Passing the aid station each time) Much of this was on rolling farm style parkland without much shade. For us 50 Milers, it was 9 complete cycles plus a final 3.8 for 50.4 in total. Sounds easy right? Not on this day….but more on that in a bit.

Going into FPC, I figure I could run 7 minute miles for the whole duration. My fitness was strong. My goal for the first five loops was 35 minutes and then slightly slower for the back half. So at 6:50 our lot starts off and I’m running well. It is still cooler and no serious sun. I notice on the 3.8 loop it is much more rolling than the profile seemed to suggest. Yet, I finish my first loop in around 34:30. Loop 2 is the same. Loop 3 a tad slower into the 35s. Now the sun starts to make its presence known. With a forecast of high 80’s it was going to be a hot one. I was hoping we’d get a break. Nope. Loop 4 started a really rough patch of slower and slower loops. I was baking but managed to develop a loop lead. Yet the suffering continued. Jump ahead a few loops and loop 7 was an hour! I was done. I finished it and basically had enough. Without crew, I was on my own and had to make the call. Unlike Jack Bristol where I could change events, it was DNF territory here. I sat down took my shoes off and called the Misses telling her of the situation. After the call, I looked at the thermometer at the start and saw 90. That’s it. Done. I asked who I needed to tell about quitting and from my seat, I said, ‘I’m done’. Seeing I was fried, volunteers/spectators began to offer me ice and checking if I needed anything. My request: cold coke. Response: all out. But I was sitting with a pint glass of ice really needing coke. To the half consumed cans! The aid station people found and poured cans in to fill a glass. I didn’t care if someone else started it, I was desperate. I downed it. I needed more. My core was hot and I was thirsty for more than my electrolyte mix which I was blasting through due to the heat. An offer of ice pops came. I took it. Mainly melted but cold, I got an idea. I had scissors in my bag so I took a row of pops and cut them open creating a mix of flavor in the glass. I chugged this slurry of sweet. I was starting to regain a bit of myself. Then I was told, I got a piece of swag. Most of them were Nathan hydration related. I selected the four bottle waist pack. Then I went back to my bag. For some reason, I started to put on socks and a different pair of shoes. Then I walked to my car not far away and grabbed my AK Vest. I took out the large bottles and swapped in the smaller Nathan bottles. I thought, I might be able to do this.

Yes, I was going back out there! I made it known I was going to give it a try. Worst case was I had gone a little farther but had the same DNF result I was currently looking at. So after about 45 minutes of sitting around, a period in which my watch was still running, I started loop 8 with a small lead. But I had a lead still. It was a decent lap. Still it was hot and I was slow. Time meant little because that goal went out the window hours ago. 7 hours went out the door too. I wanted to finish. So I began to will myself through the course. Loop 8 was done. 9 was started. I had no idea of what lead I had. People were dropping but I was going and going. I finished 9 and all I had to do now was 3.8 miles. Here I was told, I could walk it and win. I didn’t walk it all but did some. It was not pretty but not much of the day was. I would discover later, I was sunburnt on my back. And when I got home, told I looked like a ghost due to a lack of color.

In the end, I managed my worst 50 Mile time of 7:56:19 but am proud of it for the fact I didn’t quit. AND afterwards, I learned only 5 people finished.

After about 30 minutes post-finish, I made the 2 ½ drive home back to Philadelphia. Solo. It was not a disaster either. Made good time and was comfortable.

On the day following, I took it off. With an overnight planned down in Cape May, it was a reason to relax. I did do some walking in the Pine Barrens with the lady but that was it…walking. Running resumed the next day….

By then I was thinking why can’t I do Dirty German’s 50K race. I gave it until Wednesday to decide. That is when online registration closed so if I wanted to get all the benefits, I had to be in before it was Thursday. I mean, it was an ultra in my city. If people wanted to watch me, they could. Those were strong reasons to do it. And I told myself, if I can do an easy 3:45 I’d be fine. But then, I thought a bit about the course record. My friend Mike Dixon owns it. We have not raced each other in ultras (despite people saying they’d like to see it) so this would be a good faux head to head. I figure, I’d go for his record but not kill myself trying. Cayuga was and is more important.

Yes, I signed up.

On race day, I arrived around 45 minutes before the start. Most of that time was spent getting my number, setting up my stuff near the start/midpoint/finish area and the potty line. Saw Maggie before she started her 50 miler. (The races were staggered half hour apart. 50M – 7:30, 50K – 8:00, 25K – 8:30.) Unlike FPC, Dirty German had cool weather forecast, PLUS, 95 percent of the course is shaded. Come 8:00, I was off. And off I went. I settled into a brisk pace but one I felt extremely comfortable in. I was hoping to go 1:43 for the first 15.5 miles. I had no idea of my pace during the loop as I was just using my regular watch. All I knew was that the aid stations were 3 to 4 miles apart.

One of the great things about a long loop trail course like DG is that it flies by. You can get ‘lost in the moment’ which I did, so much so, 1:41 first lap! That is with switching out handhelds. My thoughts turned to: I have this record in sight but hopefully I didn’t go out too hard. I kept my foot on the pace being comfortable but not letting up. This would hold true for much of the loop. Yet, I felt I had to be slower. When I passed the last aid station, I asked how far and was told 1.5 to the finish. I looks at my watch and knew I could do it. (This aid station for the record was not one I expected. It was mainly just water.) I kept going. I picked things up a bit more. Passing people in this stretch was hard. It was twisty and single track. I began to hear music so I knew I was close. At one point, I announced ‘coming in hot!’ As I rounded the last turn for home, I saw Peg and our friend Amy there! It was a great surprise. Best of the day. As I crossed the line, I had the record. 3:23:47. My second lap was less than two minutes slower. Had I pushed more maybe I could have had them equal. And had I pushed harder on both, maybe a state age group record.

However, I got what I set out to do and felt really good about it. I even got the OK to put up the cuckoo clock. (Once again, for the second week in a row, no coke at the finish.)

These few days later and I still feel good. Recovery is going well. Getting in the last set of long miles I can before responsible tapering.

You might be able to say about this two race recap, I learned a lesson and hopefully upped my game at the right time.

Up next: Cayuga Trails 50M.

When a win is a loss....

A few moments to reflect:

This past weekend I was signed up for my 100K debut at the Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug Ultra. It has the history of the oldest 100K in the US and is entirely road. As you may have known, I had a lofty goal with this race: To post a sub 7:20. I believed I could do it. And I still believe it. However, Sunday (Apr 27) was not the day I envisioned. About two weeks back, the heat at Trap Rock got in my head a bit making me worried about being without any crew at the 100K. My partner in life is currently in the home stretch of her master’s program so I knew I was solo on that front. Recruitment did not fare any better. When in doubt, GPS watch to the rescue. My plan going in for the time was to run comfortable and keep a solid eye on my pacing, the GPS would be my crew.

Weather was forecast to be cool with some wind. Considering it would be 7.6 mile loops around a lake, it was sure to have an impact.

Race day, I was totally prepared. Multiple shoes in case I needed to switch out. Handheld bottles filled and ready to grab. Fuel at the ready. I was set. GPS signal, check!

Just prior to 7:30 we received instructions and exactly on time, we were off. I immediately was out front running really comfortably. It is here I should point out 50K and 50M races started at the same time. This will come in handy….

For the first two passes through the start/finish, spectators noted I was looking smooth. I felt smooth form wise but my legs felt heavy. I don’t know if it was too cool or just the road impacting already. But I was hitting my splits so that was good. However, I had to pee. Not good. Not that, ‘ignore it go away feeling’ either. Luckily, the course had plenty of port-o-johns. Quick in and out kept me on pace. Wind was starting to kick up as on the back half of the loop, it was a strong headwind. Mentally I was beginning to fade. I was not enjoying these loops for some reason. Maybe I was feeling too isolated. Towards the end of the loop, I passed some people, notable in the sense I saw people. Onto the third full lap of the lake and about a mile in, the pee feeling came back. What the?!!!! I was losing it now….going maybe I’ll just drop to the 50M. Anyways, I hit the pit stop and out in quick fashion. And then…..the worst thing for me on this day happened……GPS signal loss. I was no longer able to keep my pace. In my head I cracked. I still thought of gutting it out for the 100K until the final half of the loop after running into the headwind. It was piling on me now that it was not my day. Turns out this loop was my slowest pace wise. Coming through the finish area, I said I was switching to the 50K. I just wanted everything to be over. I had a long drive ahead…blah blah blah. I managed a respectable time of 3:30:40 considering I was not running a go for the gold 50K pace. Since the event allowed switching, I won the 50K but did not achieve my main goals. Initially, I felt good about calling it. I was not having any fun out there. And this has nothing to do with the organization or volunteers who were great. I really lacked that person who could pick me up slap me around and get me back out there. For once, I needed that because my GPS crew never came back. I think if it had by the end of the lap I would have continued on but it didn’t. Considering it is pretty solid, this was fate speaking? At least that is how my mind was picturing it in its down state.

Obviously, this view led to a positive feeling of just being over with it. However, enter the 4 hour drive home. Oh yes, whatever you might have been feeling can change when there is that time to self-reflect on the road. I was struck and struck hard with my mind. My first thought was I could have PR’d in the 50M. 19 miles in 2:30. Doable. However, that would have been 3 more loops of the lake. But it is with the 50M realization that I went south. By the time I got home, I was not feeling good about my decision at all. Thankfully, my partner was so supportive. Despite her needing to work on her final project in her master’s program she took the time to listen. If it was not for her, I’d still be feeling miserable. She kept me steady until I could see the final results. Despite seeing I could have won the 100K easy, seeing that only 9 people finished the distance out of the 24 starters, it told me I was not alone in changing. Also, seeing how much my pace dropped on my third lap also made me feel better about my decision. Now, I could speculate that it was slow because I mentally shut down and had enough but it was slower and that means something.

One thing this race did show me was I do not like the roads nearly as much as I used to. However, that does not mean I won’t take a crack at the WC time for 100K here again in the future. I might. I’d like to redeem myself in that regard. I’d do it next year but first I have to see if Hyner is again the same weekend because that is a MUST for me in 2015. Until then, I have plenty of long races to fill the void and achieve goals. Likely I will do a 100K trail race in late June so I will get one under my belt. And chances are I will add another 50K or 50M a few weeks out from Cayuga. But for this weekend, I get to go fast at the Broad Street Ten Miler. Hopefully breaking my PR. I know I have the stamina, lets see where the speed is.