Boston Bound in 2012

It took me a little extra time to post this, as I have been sidelined with a nasty virus all week that completely wiped me out for four days.  Grand total of miles logged since the marathon last Saturday…0.  Guess I’ll just look at it as a forced recovery and move on.  This also gave me more time to reflect on last weekend’s race before posting this entry.  When I began writing Monday I was focusing more on the negative aspects of my race and what I could have done better to finish with a faster time.  After thinking more about it, I fully grasped the fact that on Saturday I qualified for the Boston Marathon, the most prestigious marathon in the country, and this in itself is reason to celebrate.  Rather than focus on the negative, I thought this space would be better served reflecting on my running the last two years.  I started running a little over two years ago and ran my first marathon in Memphis in December 2008 with a finishing time of 4:29.  Two years and three marathons later I qualified for Boston with a finishing time of 3:07, an improvement of 1 hour and 22 minutes.  Pretty solid. 

When I began running, qualifying for the Boston Marathon was not a goal for me.  Not that I did not want to run the event, but rather because I truly did not think that running a 7:15 or below pace for 26.2 miles was even a remote possibility for me.  I simply made it my goal to keep improving from race to race and with my training.  Fortunately, I have been blessed with health during the last two years, avoiding any real injuries, and my times continued to improve, to the point where qualifying for Boston no longer seemed unreachable, but in fact, quite possible with continued hard work and training.  Each marathon produced a PR for me, with February’s Mercedes Marathon getting close with 3:15.  Finishing the race on Saturday under the qualifying time, with my supportive wife Sally cheering at the finish line, was a great memory for me that I will always treasure.

The race itself was well-organized and I really enjoyed spending Friday/Saturday with Sally in Huntsville for the event.  Staying at the host hotel was convenient and relaxing.  The start and finish lines were right outside the hotel doors, making it easy for Sally to be there for the start and finish, and all events were held within the hotel.  This made for a logistically easy weekend.  The seeding for the race was also a big highlight of this particular marathon.  Whereas most races assign your race number randomly, Rocket City assigned numbers based on projected finish time.  I was assigned #104 at the start, out of ~1,600 participants.  Finished 57^th, so I gained 47 places during the course of the marathon.  This provided a great perspective on race performance, which was a really interesting feature.

I am very grateful to my family and friends for their support, particularly Sally, Luke and Anna.  Sally has been unbelievably supportive of all the training hours along the way, especially the ones that occur while she and the kids are still asleep.  Also, special thanks to Aaron Ainsworth and Daniel Ellis for all the advice on training and racing.  Both of you continue to make running and other endurance pursuits look easy, which continues to leave me amazed.  Also, congratulations to Daniel on winning the Rocket City Marathon.  Good stuff.

Verse:  Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.   -1 Thessalonians 5:28

Thoughts Before the Rocket City Marathon

Saturday’s Rocket City Marathon will be my fourth marathon and the one that gives me the best chance of qualifying for Boston.  My last marathon time (Mercedes - February 2010) was 3:15, just five minutes shy of the qualifying time of 3:10.  Close, but no cigar.  I feel confident in my training heading into the race and hope to qualify with time to spare.  After much thought my goal is to finish under 3 hours.  Not sure how likely that is, but I guess that's the definition of a goal...realistic, yet quite challenging.  This way, if I don't meet my goal I still have a cushion for qualifying for Boston.  My previous marathons I have averaged approximately 45 miles per week during peak training with the longest training run being one 20 mile run.  For the Rocket City Marathon I have averaged approximately 65-70 miles per week during peak training with seven runs greater than 20 miles, including one 24 mile run and the 31 mile North Face 50k (which really doesn’t count because the pace is so different on trails.)  So, I am better trained going into this race than any of my previous marathons.  Hopefully I haven't done too much.  As a result of the miles and recovery from the 50k in October, my speed has been slower than I hoped, but I am cautiously optimistic that it all comes together on Saturday.  Full race report will be posted next week.

Saturday is a busy race day, as several friends are running in big races.  Daniel Ellis will also be racing the Rocket City Marathon and is a favorite to win.  While I am aiming to qualify for Boston, Daniel is aiming to qualify for the Olympic Trials.  Yes, the actual Olympics.  I look forward to watching him run for the first ¼ mile until he gets too far out of view up ahead.  I also look forward to turning 30 next year so that I am no longer in his age division.  Also, Andon and Beth Briggs, the mighty trail-running couple, will be running the Tashka 50k.  If I’m not mistaken, this will be Beth’s first 50k.  Good luck to all!

  

Verse:  Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  - Joshua 1:9

North Face Endurance Challenge 50k Race Report

October 16, 2010

The night before this race was not pretty, as Anna had been sick late in the week and I developed a touch of her cold on Friday evening.  Felt good enough to start Saturday morning but had no idea what to expect.  Fortunately, this was not a major factor during the day as the excitement of a fun trail race overshadowed any symptoms.

The race began at 7 a.m. in Pine Mountain, Georgia, but the skies were still pitch black.  Fortunately I brought my headlamp with me, strapped it on, and headed to the starting line for a full day of running.  A quick speech by the RD and Dean Karnazes explaining that the first 100 yards was the only flat section of the course (true), and we were off.  By 7:30 I was in the lead pack of 8 runners and we had opened up a slight gap on the next group.  Ran into Andon Briggs at the first aid station, who was already almost three hours into his 50 mile race.  Shortly after the first aid station there was a split in the trail.  All instructions were to follow the blue flags for the 50k route, but there were blue flags on both the left and right trails.  A few runners ran ahead on the right path, then immediately came back and said the left was the correct route (incorrect).  So, in a classic case of the blind leading the blind, the lead group of 8 runners departed down the left trail.  After approximately 1.5 miles we arrived at the finish line.  Would have been a course record had we not arrived 23 miles too early.  Oops!  So…back up the trail another 1.5 miles to where the split occurred and on to the next aid station.  This was completely demoralizing.  To go from the lead pack of 8, running well, and then at the next aid station find out you are in the second half of the entire group is not encouraging. 

It took me entirely too long to get out of this aid station.  Now being in the middle of the pack, the station was very crowded and it took several minutes to get an open water jug to fill my bottle.  By this time the “lead” group, which was no longer in the lead, had dispersed, so I decided to settle into a comfortable pace and enjoy the rest of the day.  During the first few miles I firmly believed that a top ten finish was possible, but after the wrong turn I figured at best that I could gain a bit in the rankings by keeping it slow and steady, but felt that any chance of a top ten finish were out. 

The next 15 miles went by quickly with a constant repetition of eating, drinking and enjoying the scenery.  My focus here was simply to stay hydrated, which was my downfall at the Oak Mountain 50k in March.  No such problems here, and aside from some stomach discomfort from miles 18-23, everything went well from a hydration standpoint.

At the aid station around my mile 26 and the course’s mile 23, a race official informed me that the course had been improperly marked and that I, along with the other 6 runners who took the wrong trail, were being sent on a “short course” so that we would run the 50k distance, same as everyone else.  This meant that I had only 5 miles remaining instead of 8.  Nice!  Suddenly a top 10 finish was back in the mix, so I hustled out of the aid station and my legs had new life.  Being on a different trail meant that I had no idea what place I was in or who was finishing before me on the regular trail, so I just ran and decided to let the rest take care of itself. 

I started getting a little nervous around mile 30.50, because I could hear no crowds, music, or anything to indicate the finish was approaching.  Also, having already approached the finish line on accident earlier in the day I was familiar with what the finish should have looked like, but the trail I was on did not look like it.  Plus, I saw no one during this 5 mile stretch until I spotted another runner ahead of me at mile 30.75.  I figured I could pass him along the final stretch when the trail opened to the finish, but just after my watch indicated I had gone 31 miles there was a race official in the middle of the trail who told me that I was finished and marked down my time.  Interesting ending.  No finish line, no music, no crowds, no pictures, no race photographers…just a guy in the woods saying “you’re finished”.  Not very often you have a top ten finish without actually crossing the finish line. 

All-in-all, a great event.  I had a fun time and enjoyed the technical, hilly trails (my GPS showed over 8,000 feet of climbing during the event) in FDR State Park.  The wrong turn, even though later corrected, changed the dynamic of the race.  I stopped pushing after this point, so who knows if I could have done better or worse by pushing harder.  Could’ve gained places or crashed, so no good speculating.  Later in the day I “ran” with Luke in the Karno’s Kids 1k trail run, sponsored by Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnazes’ charity.  Luke was super-excited about having his own race bib.  He was slow and steady, constantly distracted by the guy dressed as a green army man who was behind us, but I honestly believe was the only one under 3 who walked/ran it completely unassisted.  Other little ones were carried by their parents at times, but Luke steadily plugged along at his pace and finished, earning a medal placed on him by Snow White.  Hard to beat that.  A successful introduction to trail-racing for Luke.

Verse:  The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. -Psalm 33:5

"Ultramarathon Man" Dean Karnazes, Luke and Daddy after the NFEC.