Good things

Recently, things have been going very well. Last week Katie and I got engaged. This is what I'm most excited about but being a running blog, I figured I'd announce that and move on to running aspects of the recent good times.

I was invited to compete in the elite field for the Ultra Run of Champions or UROC in September. It's 100 kilometers of hard racing and some of the best ultra runners in the country will be there. This is both exciting, and scary for me. But, I'll take it, and train hard and see what happens come September 29th. The race in itself is about 50% road 50% trail but all takes place in the mountains. So my training will be a healthy dose of trail and road running leading up to the race.

With the race set and signed up for, I've added some longer training runs into my normal daily mileage. In the later part of last week Brian and myself went down to run the Priest and Three Ridges. This trail is one that I especially love and it is a tough technical run. We headed down on Thursday and planned to run it Thursday camp that night and run it again on Friday. Thursday went as planned though Brian twisted his ankle on the way down the Priest and suffered through the Three Ridges loop.

..Somehow we both ended up with red hats. I had mine first. Brian's in the yellow shorts.

Yesterday was also the Catherine's Fatass 50k race. I had never done it before and heard it was good. Being a fatass, it was free and provided no race swag. Just a course with minimal-to-no markings whatsoever, and friends to run with. Just the way I like it. It's been over 100 degrees all week plus monsterous humidity and I figured yesterday would be no exception. ....It was a huge exception! It rained all day Friday, all night and Saturday morning and the temperature dropped drastically. At the start, I was actually cold! Once we started moving though that all changed. I think it only topped out at 70 MAYBE 75 all day and misted us as we ran with a light rain. It was perfect running weather.

As we started down the trail 4 of us split off the front and remained together most of the day. Keith, myself, Drew and another Patrick ran the first section comfortably, through the first 20 miles or so. I think we all hung together because Keith was the only one who knew for sure all the turns to make. On the yellow trail the rocks were so slick it was like trying to navigate icy rocks. I gashed my knee pretty good and hurt way more than I thought it should have.

As we made our way to the second to last aid station just before the purple trail and the largest climb of the race another guy, Dana caught up to us. The five of us made our way down the gravel road and made the sharp left onto the purple trail where it promptly turned upward. Keith, Patrick and Dana wanted to hike some of it and Drew and I wanted to run. We ran a good chunk of it but then lost Drew as the climb became steeper.

Coming into the last aid station I knew I only had 5 more miles and most of them were either flat or downhill so I picked it up a little bit and cruised into the finish line in 4:47 and change and first place. I'm not sure it actually counts as a win since it's a fatass race but it was fun to run with friends all day. Plus! The party at the finish ruled! They had some killer home made veggie burgers.

Good friends, good run, good food, good day.

The only thing better is Chipotle

Chipotle rules. And if you get it in a bowl without cheese, sour cream, or meat but include the guac, you don't feel like you ate a barnyard animal all at once and it still tastes amazing. Lately I've been experimenting a bit with nutrition. And while even eating an all veggie Chipotle might not be the healthiest thing on the planet, I'm trying here. I've been playing with some new recipes that are based solely on plants. I've always liked veggies...my favorite food is broccoli for crying out loud, but recently I've started toning back my meat intake and I have to say I'm pleased overall. I'm not full on vegetarian, or pescatarian, or vegan. But I also can't say that I don't like those foods. Eating less meat and less dairy definitely makes me feel better and I also feel like I've had some better runs lately. Aside from not having nearly as many stomach aches, as I am very prone to, I've found myself ready for more mileage sooner. The biggest problem I face is the convenience factor. I have to cook more, and when I'm out and about..or decide to do a last minute race as I did on Saturday night, it's not easy to get food that is both cheap and unprocessed. 

I guess nothing worth doing is ever very easy....even if it is very cliche. 

Short story: Saturday I worked at Potomac River Running, where I normally work. My friends Alex, Alex and Scott of Athletic Equation were putting on a race in Prince William National Forest. It was a 50 mile race called the OSS/CIA 50 Mile Night Run. It started at 7:30 and I was going to go down to volunteer with the setup and see if someone didn't show up so I could take their number, pay the last minute entry fee and run the race. Lucky for me, a couple people didn't show up and I got to run the race. 

It wasn't long before it got dark and the trail was surprisingly technical. My time was rather disappointing but finished first despite being very sleepy. After I finished, I waited around at the finish line for other finishers, ate some and then made my way back up to Fairfax in time for work on Sunday. During work I went and got Chipotle...then Brian, my manager, went to Chipotle and brought me some more. Chipotle twice in one day. I can't say I didn't welcome it. 

I was happy with a win, but I'm sure Timothy Olson and Ellie Greenwood were more happy with their course records at Western States on Saturday. Both of them set course records. Unreal, and congrats to both of them. 

Surprise mountain day

Living in suburbia, at least an hour away from a decent mountain trail, can have it's upsides. There's always a Starbucks within walking distance, Target is never more than a five minute drive away; and people tend to drive like they're so important, I should stop trying to cross the street because I'm inconveniencing them by not letting them turn right on red as soon as they get to the intersection. And as much as I love $4 cups of burnt coffee, I realized last week that I needed to get as far away from DC and the surrounding area as I could, go for a decent run, and be back before my shift at 4. So I did. Front Royal was as far as I could go and still have time for a run.

The Dickey Ridge trail is a fun one. The way out is about 90% uphill and the way back is about 90% downhill. I started out just enjoying the great weather, the warm sun mixed with the unseasonably cool air and just being away from everything.  Soon after starting I realized that I was going much harder than I usually would on a trail that is uphill the first half. I ran hard the whole way up. I wanted to find the point where I would crash. I wasn't positive if it would be a mental crash, a subtle crash where I would just sort of slow down, or if I could just hammer out of control for almost 3 hours. I hit the turn around in record time for me and felt good. I didn't think I had pushed hard enough.

(In the picture the downward sloping ridge point that is touching just below my right shoulder is the start: Front Royal.)

I turned around and flew. I ran faster and harder than I had in a long time. It felt fake. I ran hard, yet totally calm. On the two climbs on the way back I found strength I hadn't used before. The odd thing was, I was clocking around 5 minute miles on the way down the mountain. My mind seemed to put my legs at ease and I was running with the mountain rather than pounding down it. I felt at ease. Total peace. Not something I can find in Fairfax on a regular basis. I finished faster than I ever had before.

The following Monday I made the trek down to the Priest and Three Ridges Wilderness. I used to run in this area while I was training for the cross country run because it was closer to VCU. I missed the familiar run so I thought it would be worth the drive. Even though by the time I got there I wouldn't have time to run the whole thing, I was very happy I made the trip. I decided running just the Priest would be worth my drive.

On the ascent, I ran and felt strong. I focused my breathing and calmed my heart. Higher and higher I climbed. The mountain was so quiet. I passed the occasional AT through-hiker but they all seemed to be in the same meditative state I was. The clouds overhead gave the illusion that it was much later at night than it was. I reached the vista point but had no view due to the fog and storm clouds. On I ran. Thunder rolled overhead and I hoped that I made it to the top before the rain started. I didn't mind the rain so much but the humidity made the rocks slippery as is. I reached the switchbacks and wondered if I should walk. I kept running. Toward the top, the trail turns very rocky, and it made more sense to hike it. About 2 minutes before touching the fire pit on the right of the trail that signifies the summit it began to pour rain. I reached the top in 58:30. Not a record by any means, but much faster than I had done a couple years ago. Turning around I decided to run fast. I wanted to see how fast I could run considering the downpour and thunder.

I slipped, and tripped, and careened my way down the side to the Priest, picking my way around the slick rocks. This is what I came for. The Priest was making it worth my drive, worth the gas money. The Priest was killing me, and I was loving it. Soaked to the bone and feeling like I was dodging lightning, I made it back to the parking lot in 29:01. Also, not a record by any means but who needs records when you have a renewed and refreshed mind?

Run for Sanity

Racing is always a fun event. All too often though, we're too excited about a certain race or worried about a time split to enjoy a run. And if for whatever reason, that day doesn't agree with your stomach, or you come down with a cold, you're just out of luck. Unfortunately, I don't have any races in the near future. And actually, I don't have any races in the far future that I'm signed up for at the moment. Though, I think I'm going to take some time, and just run to enjoy being in the mountains and pushing myself simply because it's what makes me happy. I think if I shifted money that I usually spend on races to just drive out to the mountains to run, I'd be able to trade 10 trips out to the mountains for a race or two.

I understand the breakdown of costs associated with mountain ultras (especially the logistical nightmares 100 milers are). And for the most part, after you look at the costs associated with the race and how much they end up being, the per-mile-cost is 99% of the time better for a 100 miler than it is with a 5k or marathon. That being said, they still cost a hand full of coins.

...Maybe I'll do some longer runs solo this summer, or just suck it up and shell out some clams for a race.

Promise Land 50k and my FIRST 10K!!!

Due to sheer lack of time, my keeping up with this blog has definitely taken a back seat. Since Boston, I've run two races. The first, two weeks after Boston, was Promise Land 50k. The PL course is one of my favorites. Absolutely beautiful! Constantly either running up mountains or running down mountains, the course stays interesting. 

When Dr. Horton started us at 5 am I realized my car light was still on so I had to stop before we really got going. I thought about just leaving it on but then thought about the complete drag it would be finding someone to jump my car and dealing with that whole mess so I stopped to turn out the light. The first 3 miles or so to the first aid station is all up hill. Because of this, catching up to the front was out of the question. Besides, this year, the competition was stacked! There were some crazy fast guys out there this year but even still, I felt that there were a lot of people tearing out of the start line hammering early. I decided soon after leaving my car that this year I would just relax and enjoy the course. I climbed to the first aid station and gradually settled into a manageable chilled out pace. Soon after going through the first aid station I caught up to my friend Darrel and we settled in for a good day of running. Both of us were surprised at how fast everyone was running today but then again, the weather was absolutely beautiful even though I remained slightly chilly for the entire race. 

We ran the first half together somewhat expecting to start passing people around the 1 hour mark because of the pace the front took so early, but we didn't. We felt we were running a pretty strong pace but very manageable. Curious about how we were doing we asked the 3rd aid station what place we were in. 17th and 18th. Astonished we continued on. I couldn't believe how many people were in front of us. We weren't running fast fast but we weren't moving slow either. From there to around the halfway mark we were passed by a couple of people and coming into the 16th mile aid station we were 19th and 20th. We cruised through and after running the short road section we turned on to the trail and I decided I didn't want to be 20th, or 19th. I felt good, so I continued on a little faster. The second half of the race was beautiful. I gradually started to catch people and was thankful that I hadn't taken off with the front of the race. And besides, I looked forward to Apple Orchard Falls as opposed to dreading it. I caught enough people to be in 12th place at the bottom of the climb. I was 2 minutes behind 11th place and 12 minutes behind 10th. It's a pretty brutal steep climb for several miles. You climb next to a waterfall almost the entire way and it's very technical. Then there's a ton of stairs, and then you just keep climbing. As long as you're in the mindset of, "this just won't end, so I'm not going to expect it to any time this decade" you get through it. I just love it. I caught 11th place within the first mile of the climb and was loving the scenery. The water was frigid and the waterfall was roaring because of the recent rain. 

I continued to climb and was very thankful that I was able to take part in an event like this. It really was very pleasant. I got to the very top of the climb and found out I was 2 minutes behind the 10th place guy...so now it was on (as 'they' say). I hammered through the next (very) short grassy climb and with a right hand turn down the trail realized it was literally all downhill from here. With plus or minus 4(ish) miles to go I ran hard. I ran straight through the last aid station and I saw him up ahead of me. The dude in the green shirt was 10th place, so I ran harder. I hammered the steep gravel road and suddenly realized that I'd been running pretty hard for awhile now. I expected to find the guy on the big climb so I ran a lot of that this year and last year I hiked the whole thing. 

My calves seized up. Which, really is a strange feeling. Then both quads started twitching on their own. I ate two gels in a row and it did the trick within a minute or two. I was running what I'd imagine were about 5:45 minute miles down this mountain chasing the guy. But then again, he was running hard too. I caught him with about a mile and a half to go. From the looks of him, I was fairly confident he wouldn't be rallying a sudden burst of speed so I slowed down a little bit after passing him. Though, just for fun I thought I'd time the last mile since there is a spray painted "1 mile to go" marker on the street. The last mile was in 5:58. I finished the race in 5:06:40ish. It was faster than last year by around 5 minutes but my place went from 8th to 10th. Eric Grossman set a new course record in 4:27 which is just amazing for that course. I mean really impressive. 

Though, the most impressive feat(s) of the day to me were how many people didn't drop out of the race once the rain started about 35 minutes after I finished. Very cold rain, sleet, hail, thunder, lightning, and basically everything except snow pounded on the remaining runners. They battled the obvious elements as well as hypothermia. My hat is off to them. 

A week later I ran my first 10k. The Carytown 10k in Richmond. My friend is the race director so I went down to run it. That's a tough distance to race because it seems like you just run as hard as you can for 6.2 miles. But then again, what do I know about road races? 9th place 37:42...ish. 

...maybe I should start keeping track of my exact times for these things...or maybe not. 

A Boston to remember

I ran the Boston Marathon on Monday. Seems like a simple enough statement. One that might not need a back-story. But then again, all races have a story to them. Actually, all runs have a story to them. Races just seem to have more of a story because we put more pressure on those runs to perform well. Boston was no different.

I trained for this race. Again, seems like a simple statement that would seem pretty obvious because it's referring to a marathon. But I don't normally train for marathons. I just run when I feel like it, as fast as I feel like running, and try to fit it into a schedule with two jobs. For whatever reason, sometimes the planets align and I run hard and feel good during a race. This time though, I really wanted to break three hours. It was a very doable goal considering my time from last year: 3:00:37. It was a PR by over 10 minutes but having the nagging 37 seconds made the PR bittersweet.

I had specific training runs that were done on certain days to make sure that I was ready to run fast and once again gain a new personal best. Hopefully one that started with a two...

As the race neared I was sure I was ready. All my training was done at a pace well exceeding the 2:59:59 pace and I was thinking I might be able to pull an even better time than just squeaking by under the clock.

Then race day came. I woke up to temperatures around 73. Last year at the same time, the temperatures hovered in the 40s. We had gotten emails the day before warning of record temperatures and the race officials even allowed us to defer until next year if we wanted. I knew it'd be toasty but still didn't think as much of it as I probably should have. Just standing in the waiting area waiting for the race to start I had already begun sweating just wearing a tank and shorts. By the time the race started at 10 am I was already pouring small streams of water on myself to keep cool. I'm not sure what the official temperature was at the start but I'd guess around 80.

I decided rather than gunning all the way, I'd just relax and roll for the first half. I didn't want to do anything stupid, so I didn't push. Not even a little bit. I sipped water, sipped gatorade, took my Enduralytes on schedule, and without even trying was staying right around the pace I needed to. People around me were looking rough. Normally, I don't see people walking before the halfway mark, but Monday, they started walking at 10k. I guess somebody passed out a bit behind me and the person directly behind me started yelling, "Medic!" We all passed the word up the field until we saw the golf cart ambulance rushing past us.

The half mark came perfectly timed at 1:29:58. And I was still feeling relaxed and not like I was pushing it even a little bit. But the morale around me spiraled downward. People were complaining like crazy about the heat.

After 15 miles I was still around my target time but started to feel a little tired prematurely and my legs felt surprisingly heavy. I ate another gel and went back to feeling fine, though, the effects didn't last long. After 19 miles or somewhere around there, it was pretty obvious the heat was taking its toll on me, and I slowed dramatically. I did my best to keep running, and to keep my nutrition under control but after another couple miles it was pretty clear this was not the day I would break 3 hours. I crossed the finish line cramping and tired in 3:14:20. Pretty far off from what I wanted to do. Oh well, the rest of the Boston trip with Katie was awesome.

Some numbers on the day:

It was the hottest Boston ever

The winning time was 2:12 and change, 10 minutes off last year's 2:03

4,000 dropped out before the race started

Another 500 or so deferred until next year

About 1,000 dropped out during the race

Roughly a tenth of the field ended up in the emergency tent

150 or so went to the hospital by ambulance

3 were still in critical care as of yesterday

And one had to be revived.

...I think I'll take the missed PR

Quick post run afterthought

There are a lot of times when I'm really tired, or the weather is terrible, or I'm just not feeling a run at the moment; not because of injury, just unmotivated. And I'd say about 99% of the time I force myself to go outside, tell myself to quit being a baby and just start running. And out of all the times I've forced myself to run unwillingly, I have never once come back from a less-than-ideal run and thought, "I feel worse than when I started."

I always feel better after a run.