Post Berlin through the end of 2012

Post Berlin

More race recaps.  I’ll try to do a few at a time but I know I’m about 30 races behind as I type. 

Dayton Corridor Run (10/10/10)- I ran this one a few years before and was looking at it as a training run before I ran the full at Columbus the following weekend.  They changed the course from the prior time and I wouldn’t say it was for the better.  I went w/my friend Deb and the temps were definitely a factor for both of us.  My race plan was to run the first 5 miles hard, the next 5 easy and then even easier to the finish.  At the 5 mile mark, I was ahead of plan but shortly after, my hamstring began to bark at me and I slowed way down because it didn’t feel like a cramp.  I got to the 10 mile mark about 90 or so seconds behind where I wanted to be but because the race was exposed and in direct sunlight, the 80-85 degree day was taking its toll on me.  By the time I hit 12, I decided to walk it in because I wasn’t feeling all that great.  I crossed the finish line about 10 minutes slower than plan but I really didn’t care.  Deb passed out after the finish and I nearly did at lunch right after the race.  Definitely not fun and a lesson learned.  Truthfully, though, the race isn’t that great and not that scenic so it’s not a recommended one. 

Columbus Half Marathon (10/17/10)-I had actually signed up for both the half and the full for this one and decided a few days before to do the half due to the hammie tweak I had in Dayton the weekend before.  Plus all the race mileage was adding up and I was pretty spent from the travel!  My good friend Hansen decided to run the race w/me as a bandit (he didn’t take any fluids, medal or anything of the sort).  I gave him my race plan and we started off in the streets of Columbus a little faster than plan.  My HR wouldn’t elevate to the normal levels so I continued to push at the same pace.  What a great day for a run, though!  By the time we hit the 10 mile mark, I had about 5 minutes in the bank so I decided to just cruise on into the finish.  Hansen was trying to get me to go faster and finish up but I really was enjoying the morning.  At the 13 mile mark, I was glad we were done because it was getting a little warmer out there and I was glad to only doing 13.1.  After a quick trip through the finishing chute, we hustled to the car then back to my house to see the 3:10 group go by at 22.5.  My Mom came down as well to cheer on all the marathoners and we had a little late breakfast that morning.  I always enjoy running C-Bus!

Circleville Pumpkin 5 miler (10/23/10)-This race is fun.  No two ways about it.  Decent course and not a huge race at all.  I got after a it a little early and had to hang on at the end but still a respectable finish for me (about 2 minutes off my 5 mile PR). 

Silver Comet Half Marathon (10/30/10)-A very fun Halloween weekend spent in ATL!  This race was run almost entirely on the Silver Comet Trail in Northwest Atlanta area.  I flew in the night before and did an easy 5k shakedown run the night before the race.  Race morning the temps were nearly perfect and it was a very enjoyable run on the trail.  The only downside to the race was the start/finish were about a mile apart and you couldn’t park at the finish so we jogged back to the car after the race!  After a quick shower and some fast food chicken joint, I checked into a different hotel downtown and picked up Geri from the airport so we could continue the festivities of the weekend.  Band of Horses played at the Fox Theater that evening.  The next morning was another 4 miles on the trail while Geri did her 10 mile training run.  We followed it up with a quick lunch, relaxing, some beers at the ale house next to the Fox Theater and ended the night with the 311 show on Halloween.  We had great seats (about the 5^th or 6^th row on the aisle) and had a blast seeing 311 do their thing Halloween style!  Unbelievably fun show and an all around great weekend!  I’m 100% sure Geri had fun, too…..haha!  Oh, and I know the concerts had nothing to do with running but it’s always great when you can do stuff like that and pair running w/other things and make a great weekend out of it!

Marshall (WV) half marathon (11/7/10)- I had every intention to take this one somewhat easy but wanted to run it a little harder than the weekend before.  A perfect running day and very cool temps made this nearly six minutes faster than Silver Comet!  I even ran back to the hotel after the race.  I’ve run it faster before but I don’t know if I’ve had anymore fun here any of the other 4 or so times I’ve run it!

Buckeye Classic 10k (11/14/10)- This race is my nemesis!  I have no idea why but I wasn’t into it and it showed!  It’s a quasi-trail race with about 1-2 miles of road and it’s crowded so the trails from 2-5 can be somewhat slow going.  I knew early it’d be a struggle but since it was a shorter race, it was over somewhat quickly!  Post race Panera w/some of the running crew made it much better!

Cleveland Fall Classic half marathon (11/21/10)-I tried to equal the effort from Marshall two weeks earlier on a day where the weather wasn’t as good.  I paid for it at the end!  This course is a double loop and pretty plain as far as races go but enjoyable nonetheless.  Deb and I rode up together so the trip was great and since it’s a later start, you can do the entire travel thing in one weekend day.  I was only 2 minutes slower than Marshall but I lost all the time in the last 5k or I would have beaten it.  I did have to stop for 30 or so seconds because my garmin actually stopped!  A recommended race for someone who wants something a little more low-key.

Rehoboth Beach (Delaware) Half marathon (12/11/10)-A great overnight trip flying in/out of Philly and the drive from the airport to Rehoboth Beach was cool as I saw a caravan of buses w/a military and police escort going into Philly for the Amry/Navy game.  All traffic on the other side of the road was stopped.  Very cool!  Once I got to the race destination  I ran an easy 5k the evening before the race on the boardwalk and around the area just to loosen up. It was great running on the beach in December!  Cooler temps race morning (in the 30’s) and surprisingly we only saw the ocean for about a half mile or less!  While the race was fun, there were a few parts that were a little lacking in view on the 5-6 miles of out and back we did.  I went out too hard in this one, too and faded badly after about 15k.  Nonetheless, it was a fun race on a nice day.  I even got back to Philly for an earlier flight! 

Huff (IN) 10.8 mile fun run-  I’ve run this a few times and decided this would be a great way to end 2010!  My friend Kathie had never run a trail race before and decided to tag along to see what it was about and why I enjoy it so much.  She said she’d run w/me despite my tortoise like pace.  Temps at the start were in the low teens.  It was cooooooooooooooooooooooold!!  We started out a bit faster than I wanted and after a mile or so we slowed down to a fast hike w/some light running in there.  I just wanted to enjoy it!  The rest of the run was pretty uneventful but I always have liked the last mile or so of the course.  Post race was some soup, extra shower time to thaw out and then a nice, leisurely drive back to C-bus.  I did feel sorry for Kathie since she wanted to run faster but all she’d do was run ahead and then back. She probably ran 12-13 miles instead of the 10.8 advertised!

That’s 2010!  2011 coming soon!

Mid 2010 through Real Berlin 2010

Mid 2010 through Berlin catch up To the 2 people who aren’t related to me that have been waiting….and waiting….and waiting for me to write more about what I’ve been doing, I’ve finally felt like I can make the time to write about all of the races I’ve done in the past 18 months. It’s been an interesting ride w/some highs and some not so highs. I’ve been faster, slower, injured, felt fresh, been halfway around the world and more. Overall, it’s been a great ride!!

(exhales)….here we go!

Indy Mini (5/8/10)- This was supposed to be a nice, easy workout as I got ready for my first 50k. I was to run to a prescribed time and just cruise. That didn’t happen. We ran the first 5 miles into a massive headwind then after a lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we ran to a tailwind through the finish. The temps were practically ideal! I got off to a little bit of a slower start than I wanted but I was determined to be patient. At the 4 mile mark, I hadn’t completely caught up w/my pace expectations but was closing slowly. We hit the track and the cross winds were probably as brutal as the headwinds. Then again, the headwinds of the first few miles weren’t that bad since I was drafting as much as I could. When we left the track at mile 8, I was actually ahead of plan and wasn’t really slowing down. I knew there was no hope/chance of a PR and it wasn’t the race plan anyway. I also knew if I could hold the pace, I’d finish about 5-6 minutes ahead of schedule. By mile 12 I knew it would be my 2nd fastest race if I could just hold it together. I eased it in from there and while I did slow just a bit, I still finished within 2 minutes of my PR. Definitely content knowing I didn’t use it all out there but used enough to have a great workout!

Vermont City Marathon (5/30/10)- This was to be the last long run before BigHorn. The plan was to run 30-45 minutes slower than I could because being on my feet was more important than running fast (ok, fast for me anyway). The temps were a little warmer than I had hoped and by 10k, I had slowed considerably. The course was definitely more rolling than I had noticed when reviewing the elevation profile but it wasn’t awful. What was interesting is I remember the 5 hour pacer passed me at the halfway point (I crossed halfway around 2:20-2:22). I passed him shortly after as they stopped to walk. So much for consistent mile splits for them!! Around 15 or 16 I realized I needed to slow down a little to continue w/the training plan. It was warm enough that it wasn’t a problem to run more slowly! I would imagine the last 5 miles were very pretty running along the water but I just wanted to be done and wasn’t paying much attention! I crossed the line just a few minutes after I’d planned. I’m not sure I’d ever do this race again as it wasn’t all that great of a view but I was glad to get it done!

Big Horn 50k (6/19/10)- I’ll write about this separately. Unreal experience and absolutely the toughest running event I’ve ever done to date! Even after 20 months, I can still remember much of it vividly!

Joker’s Wild Half (7/18/10)- I swore I’d never do this again after the 2009 version. It was oppressively hot then and just a blah 2-lap course. This version didn’t look to be much different! I got started and admittedly, hadn’t done much training after BigHorn. About 2 miles in I realized it was going to be “one of those days.” I wasn’t comfortable out there and knew I’d just have to grind through it. I hit the first lap well behind where I wanted to be and when I hit mile 9, it had gotten really dark. The wind picked up and as we headed on the downhill, the sky opened up and we were running through a thunderstorm. On two separate occasions a truck asked me if I wanted to stop due to the weather. I laughed both times. I finished about 20 minutes slower than anticipated and much soggier but thankful for my finish! My friend, Kelly finished shortly after I did and we celebrated afterwards with breakfast at First Watch. They no longer offer this race and I’m glad! I’d hate to have to do it again…. :D.

Hood-to-Coast Relay- Oregon (8/28/10)- Words can’t describe this one! 36 legs, 12 people and 198 miles from Mt. Hood to the coast of Oregon. Epic event! I was fortunate enough to lead off! The first leg was done early afternoon and was a 6 mile run down Mt. Hood. I’d never run that far downhill all at once and spent the first few miles making sure I didn’t kill myself. By mile 4 I realized I probably should try to slow down if I could. I couldn’t. I didn’t realize how trashed I was after the first run until I started the 2nd. It was around 11pm when it was my turn to go again. I ran through the streets of Portland along the river. What a cool experience. I ran the first of five miles w/someone and then realized I was garbage from overdoing it some 9 hours earlier. It was interesting both passing and being passed by others . I passed a few bars between 3-4 and then I was in the middle of some industrial place. The last portion of the run was nondescript and when I got to the exchange zone I had missed my expected arrival by a minute or so. I felt bad but realized I was completely spent. The next 5-6 hours were trying to get some sleep but really wasn’t able to do so. Everyone was running so strong! When we got to the leg 24/25 exchange, I was told I had about 3 minutes to get ready. I had to change at the back of the van and gave one of my teammates a shot of me in my underwear. I was laughing because there was nothing I could do! I got to the exchange zone and was then told we needed to slow down. They told me to run about 30 seconds/mile slower than I wanted to so I thought I’d go out harder than I should and then just enjoy the remote setting of this leg. I got through the first mile a full minute faster than I was supposed to. I had 3 miles left and then eased off the gas and just tried to enjoy it. I ended up giving back some of the cushion but didn’t feel too bad considering I’d run 16 miles in 24 hours w/almost no sleep! The rest of the team finished up over the next 7 or so hours and we got back to the condo in Seaside in time for a nap then a huge party! What a fantastic experience we had overall! I did feel sorry for Helen who decided it was a good idea to try to match me beer (me) to wine (her). She was REALLY rough the next morning!! I stopped around 9pm and when I got up the next morning I felt great! I’d highly recommend this race to anyone who can get a team of 12 together. It was THAT fun!!

Charleston Distance Run (9/3/10)- I decided a few days before the race to run it. I’d run it before but they changed the course just a bit from the first few times I’d been there. The temps were just a bit on the warm side and I was admittedly undertrained! I started slowly and wanted to try to run up “Capital Punishment Hill” as best as I could. That hill seems to get steeper and longer each time I do it. I got to the top but didn’t have much energy left for the downhill. Truthfully, most of the rest of the race is a blur. I missed my target finish by a few minutes but was glad it was done! I did hear they might not o the race for much longer and that would be a shame! It’s a fun one!


Real Berlin Marathon (9/26/10) – This was done at the end of a 10 day trip through Paris and Berlin. The weather for the entire trip was nearly perfect and all of the sightseeing leading up to the race was phenomenal! Unfortunately the weather decided to not cooperate much on race day and it was drizzling (ok, raining) race morning w/temps in the upper 40’s. I was lucky enough to be at the end of the 3:45 corral and it was nice being able to get into a rhythm early. The thing I really liked about this race was it was a 26.2 mile foot tour through all of the history of Berlin. I hit the 5 mile split and realized I had used up more energy than I should have trying to hit the split I wanted. I decided to push for a bit more then just enjoy the rest of the trek through the city! It was really neat seeing all of the different international fans along the course.

Ok…I know that only gets us to October 2010 but at least it’s a start!