Just Admit It

It's time for me to just admit it. I'm not in as good of shape as I was in last year. I won't be in PR shape for any of this fall's races, either. There just isn't enough time to cover the distance between where I am now and where I was last year. So here I am accepting reality and living with the consequences of the decisions I made to become sloppy with my diet and to sleep in and thereby reduce my mileage.

But there is time to have an outstanding winter ultra season. There is time to get in shape for a Mountain Mist PR. There is time to get in good enough shape to have a very strong 50 mile debut at Lookout Mountain.(See how I've already given up on Dizzy?!? I may never run 50 miles at that race.) There is time to get in shape to show up strong at Black Warrior. I know what I have to do. Clean up my diet and run more disciplined. Simple.

And... There is time to pick out a spring marathon and sub-3 again. Why not aim for sub 2:55 this time? Any recommendations for a good, fast, reasonably accessible on a budget spring marathon?

Reality hit me today on the track. I totally bailed on my workout. I was planning to do a combo workout... 4x200m fast, 2x2mile tempo, and 4x200m fast. I did not make it. I did 4 very consistent 200m repeats at 37 seconds. Then, I did a 2 mile interval at 6:28 and 6:29. I thought I was dying, though. I knew that there was no way I was finishing today's workout. I did one more mile at 6:32 and decided to recover a bit and try the last 200m repeats. I did one. One. I ran it in 41 seconds and kinda don't remember the last 20 yards or so. I don't remember hitting my watch, so it may have been faster or slower. I just remember standing next to the fence near the finish line on the track. That was my cue to just cut off the workout. I should have been able to nail that workout, but I don't think there is any doubt that I gave it all I had.

Maybe it was the 85 degree heat? Maybe it just wasn't my day?

Fall Is Coming!

I should have posted more this summer, but then you would know how lazy I've been. My plan was to build a huge base this summer, but that didn't work out. I had some real struggles just getting up in the mornings. Since I was planning to build a large base, I didn't do any hard workouts. So, I ended up running 55-75 easy miles per week, depending on how many mornings I could get up. I did keep a fairly consistent 18-22 miler every week. I was really hoping for more miles, but oh well.

Anyway, it's time to start training for fall race season, and I've squandered away another summer. I have a plan for next summer, though. It'll be similar to last summer because last fall/winter was my best ever.

I have big, crazy plans for this fall. I'm a pace leader for the weekends training with the Fleet Feet 26.2 group. I'm planning to pace Rocket City again this year. That is so much fun! This year, it'll be more like work than it will be like fun, though. I've been asked to pace the 3:15 group. That's a stretch for me. I can run a 3:15, but it will not be comfortable like 3:30 was. The week after that, (yes, only one week after pacing a 3:15 marathon) I am planning to run the Lookout Mountain 50 miler. This may be my first 50 miler. This one doesn't have the option to stop without a DNF, so maybe I can get through it.  Big plans.

Today, I did a tempo run. It was a weird day. I'm traveling and I'm in an unfamiliar area. I googled around for a greenway system nearby and found one. I was hoping to get 5 tempo miles done. I drove to the trailhead and started running only to realize that my watch battery was dead. How on earth will I know how far I've run? How will I know my pace? How will I get in a tempo run? Ugh. So, I started and hoped for the best. My watch completely died about a mile into the run. Then, after about another quarter of a mile, I saw a 400 meter track! Nice! My workout can be saved. But how will I time my tempo run? I'll know how far, but not how fast... Here's what I'll do. I'll run back to my car and get my phone and use the stopwatch on it.

Done. So, after nearly a 4 mile warm up, I hit the track and set my phone down at the 400m start and started the stopwatch. I was just going to run by feel, hoping to run about 6:30 pace. So, I had no feedback during the run at all. I ran 20 laps (~5 miles) in 32:22 without ever looking at the stopwatch! I was terribly surprised by how accurate my pacing was! Nice. Really enjoyed the workout. 10.5 total with 5 tempo.

Let's start getting serious about fall!

Summer Running

This is the beginning of the fifth summer that I've been a runner. I'm 40 now, and the first summer that I ran was the summer after I turned 36. I know it's not summer yet, but it may as well be. We're past Memorial Day and the kids are out of school. Anyway...

The first three summers, I didn't run much. Heat zaps me more than anything else I can think of, even fatigue. I just have not been able to run well in the summer. Last summer was the first summer that I didn't take mostly off. Last summer, I maintained a base of about 55-60 miles with some fast, short stuff mixed in. That seemed to work well and improved my leg turnover.

This summer, I have a crazy plan. I'm planning to build my biggest base ever. I'm hoping to build up to 90-100 miles per week. I'm planning to do this with easy to moderately paced miles. I'll be running anywhere from marathon pace to 10:00 miles. I plan to double as much as possible and run at least a 20 miler every week. Then, I'll mix in some fast running closer to race season this fall. I got the idea from reading about Lydiard principles. We'll see how my body responds.

Today, I did a very hilly (no enormous hills, but the course was relentless rolling hills) 21 miler. Whew! It was brutal. I really enjoyed the hills, but I completely fell apart at 18 miles. I had absolutely nothing left and walked a lot of the last 2 miles. The road had very light traffic (that's what I was hoping for when I chose the route and time of day). I found myself wishing for a car to pass! At about 19.5 miles, I heard a car coming from behind me. I turned around and saw that it was a relatively late model mini-van. I was desperate to stop running. So, yes, I did. I stuck my thumb out. But he kept on driving by. I'm 0 for 1 in hitching a ride! It probably took me about 18 minutes to run that last mile and a half. I was done!

I just felt the need to run all of my energy out today. I succeeded.

Anyway, that's my interesting Saturday morning run story for this week.

Quick Medical Update

Since I mentioned my medical problems here earlier, I figured I should give an update. I'm no longer taking twice per day injections of Lovenox. Instead, I have switched to once per day oral pills of Coumadin. My eye has completely cleared up. We don't know if it's the blood thinner or if it just cleared up on its own. I don't know exactly how long I'll be on the blood thinner, but I won't be trail running while I'm on it. That's fine with me because I'm not a huge fan of summer trail running anyway.

This past week I've been battling chest congestion and just haven't felt like running. I took a whole week off. Today's run felt great and I'm really looking forward to getting back in the swing of things and getting a huge base for some fast fall races.

Eurocross 5k and 8k

I was on the fence for doing this race. We had a slumber party for my daughters' birthday Friday night. So, I figured I'd be very tired. But, I must say that those girls were the best behaved bunch of girls ever! I even had a ton of fun with this slumber party!

Then, I woke up at 6:00 AM or so, and a potential solution to a technical problem I've been struggling with for 3 days just popped inexplicably into my head. So, I grabbed my phone and typed up an email before I got out of bed. Then, I was feeling sick. Sore throat. Coughing up phlegm. Yuck. I thought about just not going at all. As usual, when I talk myself into running, I'm glad I did!

I rushed over to UAHuntsville to sign up for the race. I remembered how much fun this was when I did it back in 2009. I have no idea why I haven't run it for the past two years. I have this little boy inside of me who thinks silly things are funny (even bathroom humor) and who really likes mud. I love this race! After getting signed up, I jogged around a bit and saw lots of friends, some I haven't seen for a while. I knew this was going to be a good day, no matter how I ran.

The 5k
At the start line of the 5k, I was hanging with Jim Clemens and Marty Clarke. I figured both of those guys would finish ahead of me in the masters, and I was right. We had several laughs, and I wasn't quite ready to run yet. In fact, my overall pace for the 8k was faster than for the 5k. Go figure.

Now that's a game face!

At the start, I hung with Marty and Jim for most of a loop. Then, Marty put a lead on both of us. I was trying to keep them close, but I really just didn't feel it. I did really poorly on the creek crossings during the 5k. I fell at least 6 of the 10 crossings. I just struggled to find the right spot to cross. I was running 4:05 or so laps, except the last two. Again, I started to struggle at the end of the 5k. Jim stayed close to Marty. I fell behind. I just struggled. 21:06, 6th overall and 2nd (behind Jim) in the 40-44 age group.

The 8k
I only rested for about 15 minutes after the 5k. After that, I jogged around just to keep my legs loose. I did very easy jogging. Jim left after the 5k. So, that left Marty and me to battle again. I decided that I wasn't going to give up quite as easily. I still wasn't feeling great, but I was going to have fun, no matter what happened.

At the start, Marty and I ran together for most of the first loop. The young fast guys took off and I was content to let them. The first creek crossing was much shallower than I expected. I didn't even get my feet wet on this one! I made a slight move just before this crossing to lead a small pack that formed behind the fast younguns. This time, on the creek crossings, I knew what I was doing. I had my line picked out and didn't fall even once. During the last crossing on the first lap, I heard a splash right behind me. It was Rob Youngren. He passed me after exiting the water. I tried to keep him in sight, but I know that if Rob wants to beat me, Rob can beat me.

I still was watching Marty from behind. My lead seemed to be growing. Rob was also putting some distance on me. During the third lap, I had what I thought was an insurmountable lead on Marty. I passed by him as he was climbing the hill to enter the trail and I was turning toward the start/finish to begin my last lap. He said, "I'm about to start my kick, Eric!" Wiley veteran. I believed him! I ran as hard as I could early in the last lap! If he was going to kick, I was going to kick, too. When I started the last creek crossing and I noticed that Mary hadn't even entered the creek for the second crossing yet. He suckered me!

I finished 33:41, 4th overall, and first master. Yep. This was my first ever masters win. Marty told me, "That's one in a row. That's how most streaks start!"

After the race, Rob told me that he stayed behind me in the first loop to learn where to cross the creeks because he hadn't run the 5k. I got used by two veterans today! I'm going to be learning about this sport for a long time.

Overall a great, fun day.

Steeplechase 8k

I know it's late, but is it better than never?

On May 5, I rode over to Decatur with my good friend and Sunday morning regular Lance to race in the Steeplechase 8k. I really had no idea what the competition would be at this race. I knew that several fast folks were racing other places, like the Spring Zing 5k in Huntsville, the Coca Cola 10k in Corinth, MS, and the serious ultra runners would be running the Strolling Jim 40 miler in Bell Buckle, TN.

Overall, this is a very nice event with very good organization and good swag. I highly recommend this race. I ran 30:25 which was good enough for 2nd overall (bridesmaid) and 1st in the 35-39 age group.

When I got there and signed up, I saw Victor Brown, and knew that I would at least finish behind him. I figured I would try to keep up, but I know that he is in much better shape than I am right now. Then, I saw Brandon York warming up and knew that he would dominate the race. Who else might be close by? I didn't see anyone I knew, but that doesn't mean that there isn't someone there who can outrun me. Well, I figured I wasn't going to win and I was probably going to run away with my age group. Good enough. I figured I'd aim for sub-30.

I felt pretty good, but I just didn't know what to expect. It was hotter than it had been, so that was a factor. And this is not an easy course, no matter what the website says. Also, I had recently started twice daily Lovenox injections, so I didn't know what to expect from my body.

The Start
After a warm-up with Lance and a few strides and some quick dynamic stretching, we toed the line. The race director made a couple of comments about how well marked the course was this year and how that nobody should get miss a turn this year... Yeah, I did that at this race last year. I turned an 8k into a 5.25 mile run. I will say that the course was better marked this year, but I had studied the map. I didn't plan to make the same mistake twice.

After a prayer and a few announcements we were off at 7:03. Brandon, of course, was way out front along with a few kids who didn't know better. By a half a mile in, I was in second place, wondering when Victor would drop me. I was still feeling pretty good at the 1 mile split which I hit at 5:54. Not too bad. A little slower than I expected, but still ok.

About mile and a half, I noticed Victor right on my shoulder. I knew that he likes to start conservatively and then come on strong. I hung with him for a minute or so, but then let him go on ahead. I knew that he was out of my league. I probably gave up too soon. He put a few seconds on me and I hit mile two in 5:52 (11:46).

The End
I have no idea what happened in mile 3. Victor kept getting smaller and smaller, and I was slowing down and could do nothing about it. I really don't know why. I didn't feel bad, but more effort didn't produce more speed for some reason, so I had to find a groove and settle in. And this third mile was awful, even though it's a pretty easy, flat mile. 6:14. Why? I don't know.

Victor was totally out of reach now. Nothing I can do except to just hope for sub 30, but that 3rd mile was going to make this very difficult. I just kept chugging along, never really feeling a good rhythm. I just couldn't settle in to a pace that I felt I could maintain. I pushed hard only to realize I was going to blow up if I didn't back off. And so I would back off.

I struggled up the Gordon Street overpass, cursing the rise and losing sight of Victor after he crested the hill. By the time I got to the top, I couldn't see him any more. Had he hammered the hill and gained that much of a lead? I made the turn and didn't see him. I never saw him again. Where did he go? Oh well, I figured he had just dropped me badly. I knew I was fading, so I wasn't surprised. Mile 4: 6:12. Yuck.

I just hung on begging for the finish. I knew that 30 minutes was no longer a reasonable possibility. Ugh. I'm blaming the medicine because I like to have an excuse. Mile 5 (0.97): 6:11. Double yuck. My new race strategy seems to be start out on a reasonable pace and blow up anyway.

Post-Race
It turns out that Victor missed a turn and that's how I came in 2nd and lost sight of him. I hate that it turned out that way for him. I relate because I did the same thing at this race last year. So, I was the 3rd best runner and 2nd overall finisher.

Check out the video on the Steeplechase 8k website. At 1:35 or so, that's my buddy Lance after the finish. That's how a race is supposed to feel! Congrats to Brandon York for setting a course record. Victor still won the masters title. And, the post race grub was VERY good. Chick Fil A biscuits and bananas and cookies. Nice!

Quick Update

I have a couple of race recaps I'd like to write soon. I have back to back runner up finishes in completely different ways. I'd like to chronicle and share the experience.

First, a quick explanation of my absence...

1. I have been reflecting on my sub-3 hour marathon. When you have a goal that takes two years and three attempts, it's difficult to move past achieving it. I'm by no means complacent. I'm working hard and trying to get faster. But I'm trying to determine what should be my next BHAGO (Big Hairy Goals and Objective).
2. I have still had many of the same personal struggles. I'm trying to overcome, but I'm afraid that I will have to accept a new normal and learn to work with it. Ugh. Maybe more on that later.
3. I have had some medical issues. A little over a month ago, I lost vision in my right eye. It was the oddest thing. I just saw a bunch of purple and black spots in my right eye. It was like I had just stood up really quickly and had a temporary loss of vision and lightheadedness that sometimes comes with that. Except that it lasted minutes instead of seconds and I wasn't light headed and I hadn't just stood up quickly. It happened a few times for just a few minutes. Then, one night it happened and lasted pretty much all night, so I went to the doctor (actually about 5 different doctors). Long story short, I had a retinal vein occlusion in my right eye. Apparently, I'm outside of the typical demographic for that condition, so more thorough tests were run to determine the root cause. It turns out that I have a couple of genetic conditions that make my blood likely to clot (don't ask me what they are, I'm an engineer, not a medical person.) So, now I'm on twice per day subcutaneous injections of Lovenox. It hurts. My stomach is all bruised up from the injections. And I feel like crap. I'm terribly sluggish. I just ran an 18:08 5k that felt like I was being beaten with a baseball bat for the entire last mile. The bright side is that my vision is crystal clear now!