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running and tasting the wild, sweaty edge of the unknown

August 18th, 2010

I run for joy— yes. I run for better health— of course. I run to challenge myself— certainly. I run to get a break from the monotony of life— absolutely. In the end, I keep running for reasons that aren’t easy to explain in everyday conversation.

Way beyond simple joy is a wild sense of being alive and the throbbing vitality that comes from a good, hard run. Physical exertion gets the heart pumping and blood flowing. Running out in the open air is much more elemental and satisfying on a basic level, at least for me, than anything that can be created in a gym. Muscles twitch, breath heaves, heart thumps, sweat drips and my entire being surges forward over the terrain— be it asphalt, or preferably, a constantly shifting and undulating trail. In the wilderness trees fly by and focus is required so as to not make a wrong step and end up flat on my face.

There’s something deeply satisfying about running hard enough to make the lungs burn and the muscles twinge with pain when moving past one’s comfort zone. Running in the red is not sustainable, but if I don’t push to the edge now and then I don’t feel like I’m trying. Intensity is something I crave in running on occasion. I believe runs shouldn’t always be too controlled or measured with conservative heart rates and paces. We’ve got to tear after it now and then to know where that edge is, taste it— lick the sweat, and then settle back into a more manageable groove. Smart runners know when to rip it up and when to go easy. I’m still learning to achieve balance in training.

Racing brings me to the edge of control every time if I give it my all, but I most like chasing after the abyss when running solo—solo, but not alone. It’s way more than just me when I’m out there running my face off! None of us truly runs alone, just as nobody lives in a vacuum. If we’re trying to be alone, then perhaps something is off-kilter leading us to feel or want to feel this way. Fellow runners, we’re covering the miles together! That’s why we have wonderful support available from running clubs, community races, and dailymile!

My running is about much more than pushing limits and seeking anything pleasurable. There’s a wisdom of running that is beyond good and bad. The most valuable runs show their worth not in any physical sensation, but in what they teach us about life on a deeper level. Every time I run, if I’m paying attention, I’m continually getting schooled in impermanence. Life is exemplified by change. Running is change accelerated and magnified.

Continually passing scenery is accompanied by gradually changing physical feedback, thoughts and emotions. Most runs, especially the longer efforts, feature temporary feelings ranging from elation to doubt and drudgery. It’s all there, spiraling around the simple movements of the run itself. Fortunately I learned long ago that chasing only joy is a shallow pursuit and one that would likely result in me giving up running.

Running and the endurance developed also teach us about suffering. Through marathoning I’ve learned oodles about my capacity to endure difficulty. Being able to run long encourages me to persevere in other avenues of life when I’d otherwise want to throw in the towel. I’ve reminded myself time and again that I can keep going farther than I once thought I could.

What I’m after in running more than anything else is an embrace, through focused movement, of life in its most primal, vigorous sense. Life’s obligations and responsibilities will not stop my inner wildman, not as long as I can head out the door and RUN! I’m coming to think running is and will continue to flesh out all these lofty ideals, perhaps for much of the rest of my life. Or at least I’d like running to go on as long as I am able, as long as my body holds up and allows me to get outside and put one foot in front of the other at some pace faster than walking.

For running to be a lasting practice over many years, I’m learning patience is a huge key— one I easily forget. Patience and endurance are inextricably linked. It’s much too easy to get caught up in the desire to be something other than what I am now, to be faster or able to run farther than I’m currently able. What is that?

It’s shit, that’s what! It’s the ego taking a dump on whatever good sense I ever had, taking me away from life in its present reality. When I too often run harder than currently prepared for, I wear down and end up injured. Instead I hope to embrace what I am in this moment with a patient welcoming of the shift running is gradually bringing about in my very being.

And so I am going to keep on running. Yes, I am going to keep on running!

Let’s run our faces off! WOOHOO!

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Running & Racing

July 13th, 2010

Shortly after beginning running I would race to test my limits and see what I’m made of. Through racing over the last few years, especially in the tough ones, I’ve learned my limits are ever-changing and what I’m made of is dynamic, intangible, and somehow connected to the great beyond. Now I run and challenge myself through racing to continually check my limits and to remind myself of our capacity to suffer and deal effectively with hardship, which is much greater than I acknowledge in everyday life. I can run a marathon and probably longer, so what!? I can tolerate life’s ups and downs, even those that are much more serious than anything I’ve ever encountered through running. What’s the point in intentionally putting oneself in unnecessarily difficult situations? Well, I think I need reminding of life’s vastness and how it’s all about so much more than my never-ending desire to be comfortable. Screw excessive comfort and lethargy. Screw ‘em both with a long, hard run!

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2010 Lake Placid Marathon, The Full Story

June 23rd, 2010

Today marks ten days since the marathon and the first time I’ve had a chance to sit down and write out the whole story of what went down during the race. More than anything else, it was an enjoyable experience that left me feeling good about this year’s training thus far and encouraged about my abilities and long-term running goals. Still, it was a marathon and wasn’t without difficulty. For the first time running this distance I did not bonk and actually met my time goal— 4 hours for this race. I finished in 3:58:14, which is an improvement by 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 42 seconds over my previous best in the 2008 Equinox Marathon.

That’s the short and skinny, now the details…

Sarah and I stayed the night before at my mother’s place in Wilmington, which is about a 15 minute drive from Lake Placid. She and Tony hooked us up with a great pasta feast the night before that loaded me up on carbs and had me ready to run far and fast. Uncle Frank and Aunt Sue also joined us for pasta and we had a nice time eating and relaxing together while Neko and Darwin, Mom and Tony’s dog, played like crazy. I got to bed early that night and woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go the next morning. After a bagel with peanut butter and some oatmeal and fruit, I was raring to go.

Having Mom, who’s been living in the area for a number of years, there to get us to the race start was helpful. She knew the best route and exactly where to park. We arrived with plenty of time for last minute porta-potty stops, warming up and stretching. Mom was a big help to Sarah all day with logistics as they cheered from various points of the course. Uncle Frank was also out and about throughout the race cheering me on and taking photos. Aunt Sue joined him by the end to help me across the finish line.

Sarah and I before the start.


I got myself to the starting line and found a spot about fifty feet behind the front row. There were tons of people lined up, 2,500 in all including the half marathoners who shared the first loop of the two loop course with the runners doing the entire 26.2 miles. After some encouragement by a medalist from a member of the most recent Winter Olympic U.S. bobsledding team and some other pre-race hoopla, we were ready to go. The gun, or horn as it were, finally sounded and we took off and I inched my way through the crowd and across the actual starting line. We were packed in tight and it was slow going for the first quarter of a mile, which was fine, because I was planning on starting slowly anyway.

The crowd gradually dispersed and I was able to settle into a comfortable stride within a mile. With no pacers during this race I had to rely entirely on my GPS to keep my pace in check. With my goal pace being around 9:00 minutes per mile, I thought I’d let myself run a bit slower than that until I had enough space to really find my groove. I still started a little fast thanks to the adrenaline and energy of the crowd, but I wasn’t worried about it as I reeled myself back in to near goal pace within a couple miles.

Highlights in the first few miles included gorgeous views as we circled around Mirror Lake and a crazy guy with a lot of energy shouting about how he was hoping they had Jack & Cokes at the first aid station. I was feeling great during the first quarter of the race, strong and relaxed.

I reached an aid station after about 4.5 miles and, for the first time ever, struggled to open a package of Shot Bloks. My sweaty fingers prevented me from getting a firm grip on the package and I couldn’t tear it open for the life of me. As I got frustrated the simple task of tearing the plastic got harder. Eventually my teeth, fingernails, and anger proved to be unstoppable and I tore into the package and fed myself the first two margarita flavored Shot Bloks of the day. I calmed myself afterwards, realizing the 20-30 second break was probably a good thing.

Chewing my first Shot Bloks of the day.

Chewing my first Shot Bloks of the day.


After the shot blok fiasco I passed Sarah and Mom for the first time since leaving them behind at the start. Their cow bells and cheers propelled me forward. Then I had my first experience of the decent sized hill that began just past the Horse Show Grounds, where Sarah and Mom were hanging out, and ended at the left turn onto River Road. Even though we had driven much of the course the previous afternoon, I hadn’t noticed how big of a hill this was. Fortunately my first time on the hill was on the way down and I made a mental note of how this might be a challenge the two times I have to run back up it.

River Road was a good sized out and back section, which the marathoners ran twice— the first time was about 5.5 miles and the second iteration went farther, covering around 8 miles. My first time on River Road went smoothly and I was still feeling top notch. Running comfortably, not pushing too hard and not going too easy, I just cruised along between 8:50 and 9:00 per mile beside the river and keeping myself in check over the rolling hills. I took short walking breaks through the aid stations and drank a few swallows of either water or Gatorade. For the most part I drank Gatorade at the aid stations, that is, until the last 6 miles when nausea hit me.

At about mile 7 I passed Joe Mashaw, a friend from high school, for the first time. He was cranking along and looking real strong. I knew he was running, but we didn’t find each other before the start like we had hoped. I saw him right away as he was returning after the turn around on River Road and was about a mile ahead of me. We shouted encouragement at each other and I felt revitalized. Seeing an old friend for the first time in years brought back cross country and track memories and made me want to take off after him. I held back though, knowing his goal was 3:30 and I wasn’t quite ready to run that race. I settled back into my pace and continued on. I was glad to reach the turn around and have the first half of loop #1 behind me.

After about an hour and fifteen minutes of running, between 8 and 9 miles into the marathon, I took my first electrolyte pill with water. I was determined to ward off cramps at all costs. Between the margarita Shot Bloks, Gatorade, and a couple electrolyte pills I figured I would be set. Turns out this worked and I did not have any leg cramping, but I did have nausea during the last 6 miles which was probably caused by taking in too much sugar.

After finishing up River Road for the first time I turned back onto Highway 73 in front of the Olympic Ski Jumps and made my way up the hill there for the first time. I was feeling quite good still, so I ran it, but I ran it easily. My heart rate only climbed into the mid 160′s, so I was definitely keeping myself under control. Past the hill I was back to the Horse Show Grounds where I saw Frank, Sarah and Mom again. Their cheers and excitement kept my spirits high. This is also where I told Sarah that the next time I pass her at this spot, in about 3 miles, I’d be ready for a new package of Shot Bloks and my iPod. I also asked Sarah to start the tear into the packaging for me. I was determined to not have to fight with plastic anymore that day!

Around mile 12 near the aid station where the half marathoners veered left towards the finish line, my mind and body finally began to acknowledge the truth of 26.2 miles. It’s not like I had been tricking myself into believing I was out to do anything less that day, but seeing the half marathoners go one way and a much smaller group of runners turn around and continue with the second loop made it real. I was about half way into the marathon and suddenly I began to see signs of fatigue. No longer was it effortless to continue my goal pace, now the hard work was beginning and it was time to test my training.

I made it back to the Horse Show Grounds where this time we had to do a one mile loop through the grounds themselves. Not a big deal, except that we were suddenly running on some chunky gravel. My minimalist running shoes didn’t offer much protection and a few of those rocks brought pain to my feet— no major concern, just enough to remind me that running isn’t always typified by sunshine and butterflies. I got myself to Sarah and Mom where I washed down another electrolyte pill, took a short break, grabbed my next shot blok package and my iPod and took off again. At this point I had covered 15 miles and was still on track for a sub 4 hour marathon, but I knew the hard work was ahead of me. I knew there would be periods of difficulty and I’d have to push to stay on track and reach my goal.

Restocking with Shot Bloks and getting the iPod ready.

Restocking with Shot Bloks and getting the iPod ready.


And so I headed out leaving Sarah and Mom, knowing I wouldn’t see them again until the finish. I headed down the hill towards River Road, ready to take on my last out and back along windy, rolling hills. By now the sun was threatening to come out as the cloud cover had momentarily thinned and the temps were warm enough to leave me feeling hot and wanting to drink more than my stomach could handle. The weather had been great all day, starting out cloudy and in the low 60′s with no wind. Temps only climbed to the low 70′s and the sun did mostly stay behind the clouds, so weather was on my side for the race.

On River Road between miles 16 and 17, keeping my pace around 9:00/mile began to be a bit of a challenge. My body was wanting to slow down, but I wasn’t going to give in without a fight. I knew I had some wiggle room with pace as my average for the first half was around 8:55/mile, but I certainly didn’t have enough time for lollygagging, so I did my best to keep it in the low 9′s per mile.

On the way out River Road that last time I began to pass a number of people I had been running near over the first half. I did my best to encourage them with good cheer, because I knew how I was starting to feel and imagined they might be having struggles of their own. I also know how great it is to hear encouraging words from fellow runners, so hopefully my remarks were helpful. On this iteration of the River Road out and back we were going the whole length of the road, which was about an 8-mile round trip. After passing the aid station where the turn around was located during loop #1, I began to yearn for the final turn around so that I could truly feel like I was on the way to the finish. Eventually, at mile 19.4, I reached that turn around aid station where I refueled and took a couple minute walking break.

Getting going again and back up to speed was tough. I was 20 miles into the marathon and my legs were starting to lose their get up and go. Still though, I knew I was on my way to breaking 4 hours if I could only maintain some semblance of running over the last 6 miles. And that’s what I did, I kept cranking along near my goal pace and walked only through the aid stations while drinking a little water. I kept to water over the last several miles as nausea had set in and I was afraid of hurling during the final push to the finish line. Must be my stomach was over-saturated with sugar from too much of the Gatorade and Shot Blok combo, at least that’s my best guess concerning the nausea.

Secretly I had been hoping to start kicking around mile 24 and to finish in a flurry, but miles 24-25 were typified by painful fatigue and ongoing nausea. I ran through the last aid station deciding it’s best to continue to focus on keeping my forward momentum going and trying to keep running smooth. According to my GPS I didn’t have much time to spare, I had to keep pushing to the finish if I was going to come in under 4 hours.

Then I hit an unexpected hill at about mile 25. The day before we drove most of the course, but not this horrible stretch. I had only read about the challenging hill on the way to the finish line. Calling the hill “challenging” was an understatement. This hill would have been challenging on fresher legs 10 miles earlier. After running 25+ miles it was downright brutal, but upward I ran. I did walk briefly on the steepest piece of road before the final two turns leading up to the Olympic Speedskating Oval, but this was mainly to catch my breath and bring my heart rate back down to a reasonable level before the homestretch.

Fighting through the final climb to the Speedskating Oval.

Fighting through the final climb to the Speedskating Oval.


Those two final steep pieces felt like a last mountain switchback on a tremendous climb, but instead of arriving on the mountaintop I came out on the flat quarter mile that is the Speedskating Oval. Once I was done with the hill and on the flat I poured it on and rounded the corner to see about 3:58 on the clock. What a relief! I sprinted to the finish with all I had left, crossing the line with a clock time of 3:58:26. Official finishing time was 3:58:14. Overall I’m pleased, this being my 3rd attempt at running a marathon and the first time without a wicked mountain in the middle and tough trails throughout.

Finished!

Finished!


Immediately following the finish I wanted to barf, so I wandered around cautiously and caught my breath. After a few minutes of not running the nausea began to subside and was replaced by elation and relief. Running 26.2 miles hard ain’t no joke! Meeting my time goal and knowing I ran a reasonably smart race and felt decent most of the way was quite rewarding. I am now more encouraged about running than I’ve been in awhile and am looking forward to whatever comes next.

Glad to be done, but feeling like blowing triumphant chunks!

Glad to be done, but feeling like blowing triumphant chunks!


What is next remains to be decided. I certainly hope to take on another marathon this summer or fall. Maybe I’ll pursue a Boston Qualifier over the next year or so. Maybe I’ll take on an ultramarathon before long. Whatever I decide to pursue, I’m going to go after it with gusto and have fun along the way.

Joe and I sharing a laugh and reflecting.

Joe and I sharing a laugh and reflecting.


Now, 10 days from the Lake Placid Marathon my legs have fully recovered and the only residual soreness is in the top of my right foot. Hopefully that’s just bruising and the pain goes away soon, because I am eager to start training again. Until I’m healed I will be searching for the next marathon. Bring it! WOOHOO to running!

The Numbers:
Official finishing time: 3:58:14
Age Group Placing (30-39): 30th out of 66
Overall Placing: 118th out of 382 total marathoners
Average Pace Per Mile: 9:06
Average Heart Rate: 159 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 179 bpm
Total Calories Burned: 3649

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long run hydration & nutrition

May 14th, 2010

A friend asked me yesterday about what I bring with me on a long run in terms of food and drink. I’m in my third go round of marathon training and have learned quite a lot over the years about what works for me and my body. There are general rules that apply to everyone when it comes to refueling needs over longer runs, but the specifics definitely vary from person to person and should be experimented with over time.

First off, most anyone in decent shape can perform an endurance activity for an hour to around an hour and fifteen minutes without needing to refuel. Our body’s glycogen reserves, if sufficiently topped off pre-exercise, provide enough fuel for that period of time. However, factors such as intensity, heat, and fitness level affect how much liquid and fuel each of us needs for any given workout. On a hot day, for instance, our sweat rate is much higher and then our needs for fluid are greater as we dehydrate more quickly. Also, if we want to finish the workout or race strong, we should certainly take in fluids and fuel before we begin to approach dehydration and glycogen depletion. Recovery will also come quicker if we don’t nearly empty our glycogen reserves every time we head out on a tough long run.

The challenge is to assess environmental conditions, know what we plan to do in the particular workout, and know the current requirements of our bodies. For instance, if I were about to head out for a long tempo run that was going to take me more than an hour when it’s 80° outside, I’d be sure to have a bottle of sports drink with me and maybe even a few shot blocks or an energy gel. I’ve taken a liking to Clif Shot Bloks for my longer workouts and races. They’re fun to eat— sort of like gummy bears, they taste pretty good, and they can be eaten in smaller increments unlike energy gels.

I need to have a sports drink instead of only water on the longer workouts as they provide needed sugars and electrolytes. Water alone will stave off dehydration, but it won’t prevent someone from hitting the wall when their glycogen is used up. We also have to watch out for hyponatremia, a potentially life-threatening condition caused by drinking too much, even when drinking during exercise. Just because we’re running and burning calories doesn’t mean we can drink non-stop. For me, drinking a couple swallows every 10 to 20 minutes seems to work well during my long runs and races.

All that said, it’s never easy to pin down exactly what I’ll need on a sustained long run, especially for something over 15 miles. Some days no matter how prepared I feel, I still might struggle for one reason or another and that reason may not be hydration or nutrition related at all. In the end I like to head into a long run prepared. I like having a little more than I will need with me, or at least a way to get to what I’ll need if something goes wrong. I’ve taken to doing my long runs with a hip pack that holds two bottles. In one bottle I usually have full-strength Gatorade, in the other I have water or diluted Gatorade. In the pocket I’ll have a package of shot bloks and often some real food as well. The 2-bottle hip pack is a bit cumbersome sometimes, so if running a loop is an option for my long run I will sometimes stash extra supplies in a central location, like my car, where I can make a pit stop to refuel after completing a loop if I need to. That way I can get by with a lighter pack that holds only one bottle.

I find that after being out on a long run for more than a couple hours I start to crave real food. Drinking the same sugary Gatorade and eating the same shot bloks for hours on end gets old and is sometimes nauseating. What has worked for me to tackle that real food craving are fig bars, raisins, granola bars, clif bars and even candy bars— all carbs that are quickly and rather easily converted to glucose. Carbohydrates are what our bodies need the most to keep going during an endurance activity as they’re easily broken down into fuel.

One more note about the shot bloks: I exclusively use the margarita flavor as they have 3 times the sodium of the others. For me, this is a necessity as I’m an above-average salty sweater and I need to replenish that sodium, a necessary electrolyte, in order to ward off muscle cramps. This is something I learned during the second half of my first marathon as the temps had warmed up and I had been out there sweating and pushing myself hard for over 2 hours and suddenly my leg muscles began to cramp…OUCH!

Saturday I have a 22-miler planned. High temperature for the day is predicted to be 73, which is much warmer than it’s been here all spring. Also, I am not adapted to running in any kind of heat as it’s been mostly in the 40′s and 50′s lately. So, I’ll be sure to head out early enough to hopefully enjoy some 50′s and 60′s, which shouldn’t melt me into a gooey mess along the way somewhere. I’m thinking I might try doing 3 loops of approximately 7-miles and that way I will be able to get by with my one-bottle pack. In the bottle I’ll have half-strength Gatorade and I’ll have a package of shot bloks in the pocket. I don’t want to lug my big pack with me for 22 miles. I’ll stop back at the car after each loop and perhaps have a little snack, maybe have a couple swigs of the chia fresca (delicious conconction of chia seeds, water, fruit juice, and lime) I’ll have waiting for me there.

There’s some more helpful info about hydrating and refueling in these articles:

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run-run-running

May 5th, 2010

Only 5 1/2 weeks left of training before the marathon— that’s 3 1/2 weeks of hard training before the 2 week taper. Everything is suddenly going really well and I feel great. About a week ago I was stricken with doubt and running angst after not allowing myself enough recovery time following the half marathon and diving into my first 40-mile week of the season. I learned my lesson there and backed off the following week, which was last week, giving my body the rest it needed. I was able to cap off last week with my first 20-miler of the season, which went surprisingly well.

There haven’t been many attempts at 20-miles or longer where I haven’t come up against an especially difficult struggle of sorts. Not this time though, I just kept my cool and cruised the whole way. Instead of pushing too hard until I was broken down and having to walk, I took a couple walking breaks early on to feed and rehydrate more relaxedly. I had a significant break after 14.5 miles, where I made myself a chia fresca and had a snack. Then I proceeded to crank out the last 5 1/2 in style, finishing strong and even seeking out some hills in the last mile. This was a very encouraging run, especially since my pace ended up being 9:17, which, for me, is cruising along at a decent clip over such a distance.

I have 2 more 20+ milers planned before the race. 22 in a week and a half and then another 20-ish a couple weeks after that. I’ll get those in me to top off my endurance stores. Speed work has been going well too.

Today I had a 7 1/2 miler that featured 6 tempo miles at 7:27/mile. That’s quite a bit faster than what my marathon goal pace will be, but it’s right at the edge of what’s “comfortably hard” (the recommended feel for tempo pace) for me right now. I don’t really know yet what my marathon goal pace should be, I’m having a hard time pinning that down since this will be my first mountainless, mostly flat marathon. My recent half marathon was done at 7:39/mile and in theory I should be able to get to the point with training to maintain that for a full. I do not think I have enough time to refine myself to be ready for that by 6/13. I’m thinking maybe even 9:00/mile is reasonable for this one as that’d still be a marathon PR by more than an hour. I really don’t know though, because comparing 26.2 rugged trail miles to a 26.2 road marathon is like comparing bananas to cheeseburgers.

Three and a half more weeks to push myself. I wish I had another couple months. June 13th seems to be coming my way very, very quickly. Oh well, bring it! There will be no attempts made to run away from time.

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2010 Earth Day Half Marathon: Race Story

April 19th, 2010

» Photos from the race on flickr.

Two days ago I ran the Earth Day Half Marathon here in St. Cloud. Being the first time racing since leaving Alaska and moving to Minnesota last summer, I had high hopes and a solid amount of training leading up to the race. I was shooting to better my previous half marathon best of 1:47:55 by about 5 minutes or more. The weather was perfect on Saturday and I was feeling good, so I showed up to campus feeling confident and mostly relaxed.

I was definitely anxious to get started, but was able to trust in all the good training I’ve done over the last several months. This is by far the best shape I’ve been in this early in the running season since getting back into running about five years ago. Sarah and I made our way to campus with plenty of time for me to warm up and meander through the crowd and find my pace group. My goal initially was around 1:43, which means my pace would have needed to be about 7:50/mile. I found the 7:38/mile pacer near the start and decided to see how it felt to hang with him for awhile. This was 12 seconds per mile ahead of my goal pace, slightly aggressive, but not unreasonable. So I lined up about 10 yards behind him with his easy to spot blue sign displaying the pace and got ready to go. It was cool to be hanging out there with the big crowd of runners underneath the overpass I’ve driven under so many times when bringing Sarah to work or leaving campus on the way home.

The gun went KAPOW and it was on! I’ve never ran a race with an actual human pacer like this before, so it was nice to have him ahead of me to help keep my race-start adrenaline in check. Without the pacer I surely would have started faster than I should have, but not this time. I just went out comfortably and enjoyed the energy of all the surrounding runners during that first couple of crowded miles. With the adrenaline, 7:38/mile felt easily for quite awhile, but then it started to feel right. After a couple miles I was just comfortable and did not feel I was straining to keep near my pacer. So that’s what I did, I cruised along with the pacer around 10-30 yards ahead of me, occasionally checking my Garmin to make sure he wasn’t an evil pacing impostor put there to mislead a whole bunch of running suckers. Each time I looked at my Garmin everything checked out, so I began to trust my guy.

I saw Sarah four times over the first 6 miles and through that entire stretch I had no problems at all. It was always fun to see her and hear her cheers. There were lots of encouraging people throughout the race and I wouldn’t expect anything less from Minnesotans. I slowed down for the water stops and had a few swallows of water or Gatorade each time, then I’d pick it up and gradually catch back up to my pace group. I was beginning to think I had a shot at breaking 1:40, but knew I had a lot of challenging running ahead of me.

Between miles 6 and 9 I knew I was working. I had left my heart-rate monitor at home (on purpose), so I was using my breathing and everything else as a guide. There were some moments where I acknowledged I was pushing a little harder than was prudent, so I checked over my stride, made sure everything was still smooth and comfortable, and backed off just enough to keep myself in line. There were a couple hills that got me, especially one around mile 10 that made me question if I had been pushing too hard. After getting over the hill and settling back down I realized all was still fine and I had enough left and the guts to finish strong even if it hurt.

Somewhere over the last three miles and with the help of those two big hills, my pacer got away from me. I wasn’t too concerned as I knew I was still very much headed for a PR, but I was still hoping to reel the pacer back in. I tried to pick it up when I had about 1.5 miles left, but I did not have a ton left in the tank. I was able to get my pace consistently down around 7:30 and with a half mile left I really tried to pour it on, but I couldn’t quite catch the pacer. My official finish time was 1:40:11, which put me at 29 out of 151 runners in the men’s 30-34 division. There’s a lot of serious runners in this group so I feel encouraged— this was also the largest of the men’s divisions. For my gender I was 130 out of 636 and overall I was 165 out of 1496.

I’m excited for what comes next: more marathon training heading into the June 13th Lake Placid Marathon. And hopefully a few more races around here this summer, maybe if Lake Placid goes well I’ll shoot for a more challenging trail marathon up north in the latter part of the summer or early fall. I still need to pick one. I’m thoroughly enjoying running right now. I feel like I’ve turned a corner recently and the horizon seems broader than ever before!

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smooth running

March 29th, 2010

A friend of mine last week mentioned Barry White’s voice and that got me thinking about the essence of smooth. Then I thought about running and how I’m on a quest to make my running “Easy, Light, Smooth, and Fast”, Caballo Blanco style. I’m always on the lookout for new running music, especially for those long runs when I’m out there for hours on end and can use a little help finding my groove. A lot of times I instantly gravitate towards more up-tempo music when I think of running, because, well, it’s RUNNING! Really though, there’s all kinds of running just like there’s all kinds of music to go with it— especially during marathon training.

Much to my chagrin I don’t have any Barry White or anything similar. I used to have a good collection of Marvin Gaye, but that was stolen in Alaska. Who is that far-north bastard that stole my soul? In perusing the Barry White albums online I also came to a bunch of Marvin Gaye and Al Green. I ended up purchasing Al Green’s Greatest Hits. I think I nailed it with this purchase, actually, with this whole genre of 70′s Soul Music. I’ll work on getting some Marvin Gaye back into my collection soon and probably some others.

» Tired of Being Alone by Al Green

During my long run Saturday morning (15 miles), Al Green came on my headphones after about a mile and kept me rolling along smoothly for the rest of the album. There’s no need to put any thought into relaxing into my stride when Al Green is dropping soul into my ears. There’s no unnecessary exertion in running along in that situation, it’s just soul gravity pulling me where I need to go.

I doubt I look as smooth as I feel out there when I’m hitting my stride, but I’d like to think passers-by see me running on those country roads and think, “Hot damn, there goes GP again, floating along on his river of soul!”

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