Monday Night Dowd Group

Distance: 6.11 mi.
Time: 46:40.51.
Pace: 7:39.

Two days after my half, I met up with the Monday evening group from the Dowd at 5:30. This run is organized by Caleb and is always a good one. This time it was attended by Boyd, myself, Jocelyn, Carolyn, Paul, Eggers, Brinkley, and Jay. Paul joked that Eggers, Brinkley, and I always seem to come as a package deal. I was just looking forward to getting in some shakeout miles, as my legs and right foot have been excruciatingly tight since the race.

We looped around through Dilworth and the Freedom Park areas before heading back, 6+ miles later. I was glad to get in some easy miles, feeling much more loose afterward. I also enjoyed sharing war stories with Eggers, who raced the Columbia half, and Paul, who always loves to talk shop.

Eggers Burns

Distance: 8.9 mi.
Time: 1:08:40.

Warmup: 2.2 mi.
Workout: 5*600 meters w 2-min rest + 2*1600 meters w 400-m jog rest.
Cooldown: 1.7 mi.

I had hoped to join the Charlotte Runners at the Philosopher's Stone run tonight, for a tempo, but of course they were doing some sort of themed run for Valentine's Day. Avoid. Eggers came to my rescue with a call for 600-meter repeats at the Marion Diehl track. Eureka!

I was feeling a good bit under the weather and would be working with depleted glycogen stores on this one. Dreaming of doughnuts, I chased Eggers around the asphalt oval, 600 meters at a time. He was really burning and I was content to sit back a bit. He encouraged me to fight through breathing and energy woes, but I bolted for a water fountain as soon as I had finished my fifth.

Splits (rest): 2:06 (.11 mi. in 0:57.4); 2:05.7 (.21 in 2:00); 2:08.2 (.15 in 2:00); 2:03.4 (.14 in 2:00); 2:01.85 (.16 in 2:00).

That third one is worrisome as it represents an ongoing issue with me - losing focus in the middle of a race or workout. After some water for my parched lips, I went back to the line for two versions of the metric mile, 1600 meters.

5:44.1 (400m in 2:42); 5:35.2 (.11 mi. in 1:32).

Positive feelings abounded after a strong close. It was great to have Eggers out there for pacing and encouragement, even though we did different workouts. We cooled down back to his house and called it a day, with plans for more track work in the near future. It was nice to get the legs moving with something other than a tempo run.

2012 Winter Flight 8k

Warmup: 1.98 mi. in 17:11.4 - 8:41 ppm.
Race: 5.02 mi. in 29:46.67 - 5:56 ppm. Splits: (1) 6:02.38; (2) 6:11.34; (3) 6:08.42; (4) 5:51.35; (5) 5:28.15.
Cooldown: 2.09 mi. in 18:25.94 - 8:50 ppm.
Chart
Map
Graphs

Race Results

Eggers' race recap

My true goal for today was to somehow prove to myself that I'm in as fit as I believe to be - in other words, to simply gain some confidence as I progress towards my second marathon. I felt like I could go under 30 minutes, so that was my time goal. I achieved both of these things, even surprising myself a bit in some respects, and I'm quite pleased with the day. I will write the recap now and add a couple pictures later...

This race was not scheduled until 10am - a good thing considering the hour-plus drive we had ahead of us. Baum and Mitchell were going to carpool from the east side of town, and Adrienne and I hit the road at 8am after a breakfast of waffles and strawberries. I don't normally eat that much on race day, but I figured I could get away with it due to the later start. I also had a few glasses of white wine and some sushi the night before.

Adrienne and I arrived on the campus of Catawba College right at 9am, then phoned Eggers when we couldn't see any kind of direction as to where to go. His response was something like, "yeah, it's tough to find - I spent the morning before the race last year kind of running around campus like a mad man. You'll just have to figure it out. Good luck." Perhaps I should have called Mitchell instead. Adrienne's intuition found us in the right place a few moments later. She went inside to get our bibs while I parked, and when I met her we bumped into Mike and Brian, as well. There was a decent crowd of runners inside the gym, conversing and trying to stay warm.

The four of us darted around for a bit, trying to figure out where the starting line was so we could dump our stuff (racing shoes, extra clothes, etc). I spotted John Compton and he helped out with the start location, then we took off for a warmup. We ran into Eggers, fashionably late as always, and got in just under two miles, most of it on the first part of the course. It was about 45 degrees and lightly drizzling - perfect weather for a race, in my opinion. Mitchell found a dry spot for our bags and we ran into Kevin Ballantine. He and I both had the same goal and talked at the Runner's Lunch the day before about trying to work together to hit said goal. I told him I wanted to start out conservatively without getting too far behind - 6:10 or so - and he mentioned that the first mile was the only fast mile of the course, so it might behoove us to bump it down to 6-flat. Ok, fair enough. Speaking of the course, I'm usually pretty stressed about making sure I know what awaits me in a race, but I would not have such an advantage today. I just tried not to worry about it and just do what I can. It was kinda neat to be racing in an unfamiliar atmosphere.

I slapped on my racers and headed back to the start. Adrienne and I wished each other luck as she settled back a bit and I found a spot on the front row. For reasons unbeknownst to any of us, former Olympian and record-holder Joan Nesbit was the guest of honor, and she gave a few words at the start. Pretty neat, right? But again, it wasn't really clear why she was actually there, unless I just wasn't paying attention (the likely scenario). There was a prayer and I looked around at my competition. I was on the far left, with Kevin in the center. We exchanged knowing "oh-there-you-are" nods. I didn't see Eggers anywhere, though. A bit after that, there was a mark-set-horn, and we were off.

I made a point to get around any crowds up front, found myself right behind Dan Matena and some orange-clad Asheville studs, and then slowed way down. I let a good number of people pass me, ducking my head back a couple times until I saw Kevin. We eased into a comfortable sub-6 mile pace and went down a treacherous hill that was followed by a sharp right turn. Kevin had predicted that "at least four people" would bite the dust here. I eased up a good bit and took the turn with caution. We conversed quite a good amount here, with Kevin providing some very helpful pointers about the course. It sounded like things were going to get pretty tough sooner rather than later. Mrs. Nesbit sidled up next to us for awhile, chatting and asking what he had planned to hit as goals. When we told her sub-30, she said, "Oh boy, I've gone out too fast, then!"

We hit the mile in about 6:02, feeling pretty happy with keeping the plan, but I was questioning things. My legs felt tight and my lungs were struggling to grab air. I think this is where experience saved me a bit; in the past I might have gotten scared and eased up, but instead I just told myself that my body was getting used to the pace and working out the kinks. Kevin and I began to reel in several runners after the mile mark as we turned off the road and into some side roads, making a few turns in the process. I had a couple steps on him at this point, and during one sharp left I turned my head just quickly enough to see that Eggers was about 10 meters back, waiting to pounce. That inspired me, and it was here that I left Kevin and began to mow down a good bit of runners in front of me.

The details begin to get a little hazy at this point. I will take that as a good thing - a sign that I was very much zoned-in, focused on racing and not worrying about much else. Again, I didn't have any real idea what I was going to see as far as the course was concerned. The blank memory may hurt the entertainment value of this recap, however!

So I broke away from the early pack and came across the first female and a masters runner, working together up a long, steep hill. This would be Miss Molly Nunn and Mr. John Anderson. I felt comfortable and went right on by them. I quickly learned that they weren't about to let me get away without a very serious fight.

John and Molly hung right on my shoulder, and I began to feel rather used. It was about this time that Eggers came strolling past the three of us, and for a moment I felt a bit deflated. Here I was thinking I had a great chance to finally beat my longtime friend - at a time when his training is down and mine is up - and he's flying past me up a steep hill.

I put the demons to bed and just tried to keep Molly in my sights. John had left to hang with Eggers, now about 10 seconds ahead, and Molly was wasting me on the uphills, with me gaining some ground back on a short down or a flat section. We did this for what seemed like an eternity, but I think it was really a little more than a mile and a half. My second mile was 6:11; my third was 6:08.

Working the hills and enjoying the country-like setting of the highway lanes, the four of us raced on. There was a lone runner up in the distance - an African-American Masters runner named Joseph Willis - and, it seemed, no one close behind. Compton, Matena, Mitchell, and the Asheville men were obviously long out of sight up front.

I split a 5:51 for the fourth mile. Again, the details are hazy, but sometime a little before or right after that marker, I finally found an opening with Molly. She appeared to ease up slightly right at the same instance that I found some more air in my lungs. I went for it. I slid to the outside and sprinted past her, trying to keep pressing before she could pass me back again. We came to another huge hill, and I feared for a second, but rebounded to keep pressing in an effort to reel in John. He slowed down some and I caught him at the top, nearly running into him as we made a turn back into campus and prepared for a fast finish. I knew I had him.   With no more uphills, I knew I had him, and it was time to set my sights on someone else.

I thought about screaming, "Eggers, don't slow down!" but he seemed to get that idea. There were a couple instances when I thought he appeared to be coming back to me, but alas, that was not the case. He caught Joe Willis going around the track as I tried to bring them both back. I am confident I gave it everything I had. I had not been passed by anyone the whole race, except for Eggers. Maybe next time? Willis stayed in front of me, too; I would have had him with another ten meters but I didn't have another ten meters. I ran into him in the finish chute, then apologized; he was cool and slapped my hand. I accepted a piece of paper that had an "8" written on it - hey, this is just like high school! Eggers whooped my ass and I have to hand in a number. I had run my last mile in 5:28 and my last three miles in 17:27. I didn't even think I had that in me. What more could I have done?


I waited for Adrienne - despite claiming to not worry about time, she broke 36 minutes, and finished first in her age group! Kevin and Brian weren't quite as pleased with their performances, but each has had some minor setbacks recently. We will all be there in due time. There was some racking-up of awards and a jubilant post-race lunch, but I will have to save that for another post.

I hope you all enjoyed reading. 'Til next time.

2011 Thunder Road Marathon

Race: 26.2 miles.
Time: 03:29:47 - 8:01 ppm. 10k split, 45:26; Half split, 1:36:29; 20 mi split, 2:31:28. 83rd overall, 12th in age group.
Full Results

Well, where to begin? I am about to write the details of how I finally became a marathoner. As I write this the following Monday, I still don't think it has sunk in yet. I spent most of Saturday after the race being disappointed that I didn't run faster - I thought I could at least get 3:15, and was well on my way all the way through mile 18 before my leg muscles started cramping up. That's crazy talk though - I finished the thing, and in a very respectable time. I'm hungry for another shot at it, but I'm very proud of what I accomplished. I'm going to describe this event in detail, breaking it down into sections.

Pre-Race
After a restless night's sleep, I jumped out of bed at 5:20 a.m. and ate some oatmeal and a banana. I showered and took care of some pre-race grooming and then proceeded to put together my racing outfit. I was going to wear my longer, pocketed Under Armour shorts and an Upgrade Lifestyle tech tee. On top of that would be a long-sleeve dry-fit, my Advantage Parking hat, and some North Face gloves. These items would be shed when I deemed myself properly warmed up.

I left home and arrived at the Bank of America Corporate Center around 6:45 - plenty of time. I parked there and hung out in Founders Hall for a bit. It was just me and a couple security guards - very quiet. Around 7 I jogged down to Three Wells Fargo, where I would meet David Brinkley, his girlfriend Alisha and sister Karrie, Daniel Eggers, Josh Brewer, Brian Baum, and Mike Oelz. David's friend Jeff was also there. I stretched out for a bit and put the two gels I would be using last - including one with caffeine - in my shorts and put the other two in my gloves. It was under 40 at the time and I figured I would keep the gloves on for awhile. Baum actually joined us later and informed me of a bathroom at Panera Bread that had been empty when he used it. All the buildings downtown were packed with runners, surprisingly. That's surprising because normally everyone crowds into the convention center. I later found out the city decided to throw another "Screw You" at this event by locking the convention center at the last minute. Wow... There was no sign of Oelz or Brewer yet as I jogged down to Panera, making sure my watch was working, used the bathroom one last time, and then jogged back to Tryon for the start, right in front of the Levine Center for the Arts. Adam Mull spotted me and we exchanged a man-hug and wished each other luck. Stephen Spada yelled out good luck from a distance. I found Oelz and Eggers in the corral, and then spotted a long-haired, shirtless Josh Brewer. We embraced and he mentioned, ever so stoically, that this was a great cause for the three of us to be reunited. I agreed and mentioned that he was a beast for running this thing shirtless. I looked around for Stan Austin and anyone else who looked like a pace leader, with poor results.

Miles 1-6: Feeling the Pace
I left Eggers, Brewer, Oelz, and Baum and settled further in the corral because I didn't want to get caught up in running too fast. I had lost Brinkley and Jamaar, who had planned on attaching himself to David in the hopes of running a huge PR in the half. There was still no sign of any pacers. The national anthem really got me fired up, and after a casual command of "Go" we were off. Here I was, actually running a marathon. Surprisingly, I had never really gotten nervous. I knew this was going to be a very long morning and that I had plenty of time to ease into things. Before we turned onto Third Street, I looked down at my Garmin and noticed that it wasn't measuring distance or pace. Are you kidding me? I shut it off and restarted it as we jogged down Third and into the morning sun. The watch began the process of locating satellites, and I tried not to panic as minutes passed by and it still hadn't come on. We crossed the first mile marker just under I-277 and finally, my watch came on. I could still use it to gauge my pace, which is all that really mattered, but unfortunately it's useless for judging the data post-race. Oh well. I knew something was bound to go wrong but I didn't need it that badly.

We ran up Third/Providence, turned on Charlottetowne, and then again on Randolph. I tried to hug the curbs so as to avoid running further than necessary. There was a large crowd of us running together and I made a point not to let myself get stuck behind someone who was running too slow. Doing so led to me running a 7:02 mile around the third mile, which unfortunately would prove to be my fastest mile of the day. Other than that, though, I was doing a great job of keeping the pace easy. We ran down Colville and turned on Providence and I tried to ask the people around me if they knew where the pacer was. No one had seen anybody. I sidled up next to an older woman and began chatting with her. I never introduced myself but given the results I discovered her to be Julie Spitzer from Greenville, SC, aged 40-44. She looked like she knew what she was doing and told me she was shooting for around 3:20 and that she kept an even pace if I wanted to hang around. She told me this was her 11th marathon so I figured she knew what she was doing. Julie is about 5 feet tall, if that, so I had a hard time keeping track of her amongst the other runners, but I tried not to let her get too far ahead of me. She put some distance on me up the steep Providence Road hill, but I never let her stray too far away. At mile 5, the intersection of Providence and Sharon Amity, I passed my parents and Eggers' wife Katie for the first time. I could barely see them because the sun was in my eyes.  After that I took my first gel and split the 10k at 45:26 - 7:20 per mile, perfect. I was truly keeping things easy at this point, which is all I really wanted to do.

Miles 7-15: Enjoying the Sights and Sounds
I saw Ryan Watson in Foxcroft and talked to him for a little bit; he and his friend were running the half. I left them and ran down Sharon, waving and pumping my fist every time I passed a crowd of people. I was now gearing up for the Booty Loop section, where I was prepared to shed some clothing, knowing my parents would be there. I took off my gloves and hat, then immediately put my hat back on as I felt it was still a bit cold. I tossed my parents the gloves as they waved and cheered, then passed Kati Robertson and Ben Malmquist as they did the same. Several people later told me they didn't recognize me on account of the hat, but oh well! Running down Queens Road West, I found myself catching up to Julie, then running by her. I knew I may regret this but I wanted to go on feel, and I was feeling great as I began to put some distance between myself and her. The half-marathoners were about done and I continued to reel in several of them. I turned splits of 7:19, 7:14, and 7:17 on this section of the course, even though it was hilly. When I got to the big hill on Morehead I eased back a bit so it wouldn't hurt too much, then turned and waved as Jason Martin and John Compton (and Caitlin? I heard a female voice cheering but couldn't see who it was) cheered me past. Jason remarked that I was incognito with the hat and long sleeves. When we got to the half-marathon split, I pumped my fist and slapped hands with Rob Ducsay, the Chic-fil-a cow, and several other people. There was a raucous crowd and some music at this point and I really fed off that. Immediately, though, things got pretty lonely. The half-marathoners were gone now, and so too was most of the crowd support. I passed John Fillette and Dezi Kabouris and came through the half in 1:36:29 - on pace for a 3:13 marathon. I had not started out too quickly and was still feeling great at this point.

Running down Tryon Street, I came upon another runner who appeared to be struggling a bit and I asked him his goal. He said he was hoping to run 3:30 but had no idea whether he was on track or not, having failed to properly do the math after seeing the clocks. Someone get this guy a GPS watch. I told him that he was way ahead of schedule and may want to hang back as the course was about to get pretty rough. He thanked me and I went by him. Helping other runners, and being helped in return, was about to become a big theme at this point in the race.

I rolled down Camden Avenue and tried to ignore the aroma from Price's Chicken Coop and Phat Burrito. Emily Hansen was here cheering with a bunch of other girls, and she even ran a few strides with me, remarking that I looked like I was doing great. Well, I was feeling great! I passed my parents in front of Pike's and tossed them my hat as they waved and cheered.

Waving at Mom and Dad as I approach them on Camden Avenue.

Miles 16-20: A Turn for the Worse
I found myself unpleasantly surprised at how awful the downtown section was. I knew there would be some hills on Mint, Third, and Trade, and I knew the pavement would be rougher on the legs in this section, but the placement on the course combined with the sudden lack of crowd support made this, in my opinion, the worst part of the course by far. I passed Theoden Janes near the stadium and called out, "How long is this race, again?" He laughed and told me I was looking good. I soon started hurting, though. After we came down Trade and turned on Caldwell, Julie came trotting past me and quickly disappeared up the road. Oops. Maybe I should have stayed with her back on the Booty Loop. I passed Mike Mitchell on Caldwell Street and gave him the so-so signal when he asked how I was feeling. I passed my parents again at the corner of Parkwood and Davidson and tossed them my long-sleeve shirt.

I ran up Davidson and started walking. I had stopped a couple times previously to shake out some leg cramps but this was the first time I had actually stopped to walk. My left foot was completely numb, and when I tried to stretch my legs my calf locked up and I kind of fell down onto the curb. A runner passed and asked if I was ok. "Just leg cramps," I responded, "my legs just quit working but I'm ok." "Just try to run through it," she said. I found that even just walking for about thirty seconds seemed to make me feel better, so I just tried to shake things off. At this point I had taken three Gu gels and water at every stop, so I didn't think I was dehydrated. I hadn't started out too fast and I hadn't stopped to use the bathroom or for any other reason at all. Everything had been perfect up to this point, and now leg cramps were ruining what had been shaping up as an incredible marathon debut. For awhile I simply ran through the pain but it would get to the point where my legs would actually lock up completely, and I had to catch myself on the curb to avoid falling down.

The Final 10k: Toughing it Out and Staying Positive
The clock at mile 20 read 2:31:28, and so I realized that even if I ran the last 10k in an hour I would still be right at 3:30, and that would be a time I could be proud of in my first marathon. The fears of hitting the wall that clouded my brain when I was downtown had subsided because I had, in fact, hit the wall, and now it was just a matter of getting through it. I composed myself when I ran through NoDa, passing through the "wall" which I found was about as wide as a doorway. I was wobbly at this point and almost ran into it. I was disappointed at the lack of crowd support here - I had been told it would be good and it was almost nonexistent. I managed to put together an 8:36 mile in this section, which I can assure you took everything I had. I was still running when I turned onto the Plaza, when once again my legs locked up and I almost fell down in front of a startled police officer. I had passed Dave's friend Jeff downtown, and he had passed me back on Davidson, and we continued to go around each other a few times in the last part of the race. I also did the same thing with another runner who introduced himself as Devin. Devin told me this was his 20th marathon and that I was really blowing it out of the water for a first-timer. I thanked him and we tried to encourage each other as he was also half-running, half-walking on account of leg cramps. I passed my parents and chugged an entire bottle of water as Devin and I limped down the Plaza. There was a large crowd in the middle of the road, and the runner in front of me took a beer that he was offered, which caused the crowd to go nuts. He drank a little bit of it and dumped the rest on his head.

I was no longer worried at this point because I knew we were almost done. I left Devin and passed Jeff for good on Hawthorne Lane. Some older guys asked me if I knew the course and I told them there was a big hill coming up and then they were home free. They thanked me and wished me luck as they trotted past and soldiered on. Several runners passed me when I was walking and said something to the effect of, "come on man, you got this." I appreciated the encouragement but I ran when I could and walked when I got to the point of falling over, and this was basically how the race went for me all the way to the finish. I am proud to say that I actually ran all the way up the Hawthorne hill, partly because Jason Martin was screaming at me. Thanks, Jason. Without the support of other runners and my friends, this race would have been a whole lot tougher. Jason seemed legitimately concerned when he saw me and I told him I was dealing with cramped muscles and just trying to get through it.

When we turned on Martin Luther King I found myself ecstatic and in disbelief that we were actually about to be done, and that I was about to complete my first marathon. I heard two women coming up behind me, saying something "You go this, so close, now here let's get around this guy (meaning me).." They passed me with a male runner who was finishing up. I thought, "Oh hell no.." and then passed them back, along with several other runners. I pounded my chest and blew a kiss to the heavens as I crossed the finish line. My legs gave out one final time and this time I really teetered but once again caught myself and put my hands to my knees. A couple people asked me if I was ok. I was more than ok. This was, all at once, the greatest feeling I'd ever experienced and the worst feeling I'd ever experienced.

Hobbling in to the finish.

Post-Race
Someone handed me one of those plastic bag-looking things and draped a medal around my neck. I grabbed the medal and kissed it. A whirlwind of thoughts raced through my head, ranging from confusion as to how things fell apart for me to elation that I had actually finished a marathon. My parents found me and I hugged them, thanking them for being there for me as they always have (more on that in a moment). I tried to sit down but my whole body locked up so I realized that wouldn't work, so I walked around and sampled some of what was there for me: Gatorade, water, bananas, Great Harvest bread (my mom loves that place and sneaked away with a couple samples), beer, garlic pizza, and a granola bar. The Gatorade and the garlic pizza really hit the spot. The beer made me feel like I was going to pass out. I found Stan Austin and congratulated him on finishing his eleventh marathon of the year. He had paced for 3:30 - Stan can run sub-3 - but said it was a rough day for him.

I was walking around aimlessly when I heard a familiar voice say, "Well how was your first marathon?" It was Eggers, who had just notched another PR by running 2:59. Brinkley PR'd by ten minutes from last year and qualified for Boston with a 3:04. Josh Brewer outdid both of them by running 2:58. Baum ran 1:27 in the half, Jamaar 1:31 for a huge PR, and Oelz finished it in 1:38, which means I must have nearly caught him before the split. Billy Shue finished second in the marathon with a new PR of 2:38.

I found Billy, John, Clayton, Paul, and Carolyn after the race and tried to soak up the moment. This was an incredible experience and I cannot wait to do another one. My favorite parts were touring the city and playing to the crowd - every time I passed a large crowd I waved and pumped them up, receiving loud cheers in return. And this is a small race - I can only imagine what that must be like in a big marathon.

Dedication
I was brought up in a home where I wasn't allowed to play video games or even watch tv during the day, unless the weather was bad. This led to a childhood of constantly running around in the yard - pretending to be Jerry Rice or Desmond Howard or Marshall Faulk - or playing basketball in the driveway for hours on end, until I literally could no longer stand up and my mom had to berate me to come inside and join the family for dinner. I have led a life full of athletic achievements, ranging from the mundane to the pretty outstanding, and my parents have been there every step of the way. In a society where laziness and poor habits are almost encouraged, I was raised to be an athlete - and I'm now a marathoner. Thanks, Mom and Dad. I dedicate my first marathon to you.

Proudly wearing that medal, and actually managing a smile.

Trials of Miles...Miles of Trials

Distance: 22 mi.
Time: 2:47:42 - 7:37 ppm.

I love it when people bring me food at work, but a spicy chicken sandwich at 10 p.m. was a poor request on my part. So, despite this being a great run, things didn't get started off all that well. I met David at Old Bell at 7am, as planned, and was pleased to find a row of porta-jons set up. I wondered if this would be a new thing. It's about damned time, I thought. Much to my chagrin, they were locked. Wtf?! We started up Boyce Road to begin our 22-mile run, and at my insistence turned into the park so I could use the bathrooms there. They, too, were locked. Are you f*&$&@ kidding me?!?!  We then headed to the main entrance of McAlpine Park so I could finally take care of business. By the time I was ready to run, Dave was about three miles ahead of me. Great.

We ran up Monroe Road and Brinkley nearly jumped in front of a car trying to cross the street. Yikes. Luckily, the car saw him and darted over. Let's try to put that moment behind us... It was pretty chilly and we just sort of eased into this one, but we got in some good hill work in the Boyce neighborhoods before meeting back up with Eggers and Mitchell at Old Bell. My stomach was still upset and the porta-jons were open at this point - I found out they were there because of the morning's Run for Warriors event - so I told the boys to meet me back here at a later time. I had also left my car key in the bathroom at McAlpine. Did I mention today wasn't really my day? I ran towards the park and found many of the event's competitors, including Michelle Hazelton. We talked about possibly meeting up at a later time but I wanted to rejoin the fellas at this time.

Hungry for more hills, I ran the short Old Bell loop before waiting for Eggers, Brinkley, and Mitchell. I was over halfway done at this point but my legs were feeling pretty tight. I kept having to stop and stretch. We passed the Warriors event runners several times as they made their loops, including the pack of Michelle, Carolyn, and the Crockfords. We also passed Spada and Compton several times as each appeared to be doing a solo workout.

This was a cool day to be out on the trails with so many people. They had a guitarist set up near the Sardis weir, and...well, they also had some photographers. Despite not being actual competitors, we got in the action. I can't save the photos without buying them, but if you click here and scroll down you can find some funny candids of the three amigos logging some miles on the trails.

At 22 miles, I assure you this is my longest run of the cycle. I would be lying if I told you I felt good but I got it done and recovered nicely later on in the day. Despite some setbacks in the cycle, things have been going pretty well.

I Got Your Gel Right Here

Distance: 16 mi.
Time: 1:58:23.99 - 7:24 ppm.

I have never felt as good after a long run as I did today. This is one of the more encouraging runs I have had in all of 2011, as well.

I met Eggers, Brinkley, and Brian Baum at Old Bell at 7 a.m. sharp. I was surprised to see Oelz, who's training for the Thunder Road half, in attendance as well. I hadn't seen him since his wedding and I was excited to once again good-naturedly mock him for 8 miles or so. Baum is also training for the TR half. Eggers, Brinkley, and myself are training for the TR full for those of you who are as yet unawares.

We set off at the usual "old man crawl" for a few before easing into a consistently good pace. We wound through the Campbell Creek area, back around the course, and back to the cars, where we said goodbye to Oelz. Everyone except me took fuel and water. I hadn't even brought any but felt I didn't need it just yet. We wound through the Boyce switchbacks, where Eggers showed off his impressive trail-running prowess and I just tried not to roll an ankle or step on a snake. We were still moving.

Eggers and Baum weren't planning to go as far as Dave and I, but we decided to run back to the cars with them and get in our extra miles on the Old Bell hills. Yikes, really? Did we really just decide that? Who made this decision? Ah, well. I suppose it will be a good test for TR to get our legs tired and then run up and down some ferocious hills. Who needs the Blue Ridge relay when you have Old Bell at the end of a fast long run?

We each congratulated Baum on achieving his longest run of all time, at 15 miles, and Dave and I took off up some hills. We were working but remarkably kept the pace consistent. After running a 6:55 down the greenway for mile 14, we clocked a 7:21 and a 7:03 on the hills. I am very happy with that.

I capped off the run with a lot of Gatorade and a tour of Dave's new house, feeling more than recovered. My heel was an issue in the early going but didn't bother me after mile three.

Run For Your Life 4-Miler

Disclaimer: I did not race today. I showed up to watch my friends run, cheer for them, and take some video of the race with my Droid. The footage turned out already despite some shaky handling of the camera by me and the cloudy weather. The videos are in three parts; I gave the files to Mike Kahn to upload to the CRC youtube channel because he's the video-editing pro.

If not for the pinched nerve in my back - which is starting to feel better - I may have signed up on race day today. It was cloudy and barely 70 degrees just before gun time at 7:30 a.m. The race would start at the Dilworth RFYL and run part of the "Speed Loop," as well as a section of East Boulevard, before coming back to where it started. I slapped hands with Brinkley, Eggers, and Paul before the gun and found a cheering spot with Jamaar and Layla that was, I would guess, about 600 meters in.

RFYL 4-Miler

Someone I'd never heard of - Bert Rodriguez, from DC I'm told - smoked the field by running 5:00 pace, all the while looking like he was on vacation. Paul finished 2nd after beating rival Bob Marchinko for the first time. Anne Marie set a new PR and got an age group award. Eggers ran his best race of the year; Mitchell showed up and hung with the chase pack of Billy, Chad, Rich Harris, and Jim McKeon.

2011 Summer Breeze 5k

Location: Freedom Park.
Warmup: 2.72 mi in 21:53 - 8:02 ppm.
Race: unofficially 3.13 mi in 19:32 - 6:14 ppm; officially 19:33, 43rd overall.
Cooldown: 1.84 mi in 16:04 - 8:43 ppm
Running Buddy
Race Results

This one...did not go well. For starters, I could not have expected much after basically taking it easy for the last three weeks. I had only done one workout in that time period, and it was the very short one that Eggers and I completed at Marion Diehl this past Tuesday. The time off had not done anything to shake my fitness, but it hadn't helped, and it really took my mind off racing and sapped the competitive edge. When the going got tough this morning, I pulled a LeBron James. Only for me, there was no Dwyane Wade to pass the ball to when I didn't know what to do with it. It was just me, and I was left to stew in my own disappointment for hours after this one was over.

Let's go back to the beginning. There's one thing I've done right lately, and that's train my body to get up around 5:30 every morning. This made for an easy start to the day as I made my pre-race oatmeal with over two hours to spare before I was due to toe the line. Run For Your Life separates the men and women in this one; they start at 7:30 and we go off at 8:00. I took my sweet time getting ready and rolled in to Freedom Park around 7:15.

I began my warmup and went to pick up my chip, running into Eggers in the process. I guess he wanted to make sure he got here early enough, this time :)  Brinkley was doing his warmup from home, and he arrived a few minutes later as Eggers and I took off for a warmup and to see the ladies finish up. We ran away from the park up Sterling Road and watched as Michelle Hazelton came through first. I stuck around to cheer for Christi Carter, Emily, and Anne Marie and then Eggers told me that we only had five minutes until gun time. The women's race had clearly started late, so I figured they would keep the 30-minute difference and start ours late, as well.

I was wrong. I got to the starting line and the race directors were already giving out instructions. It was disgustingly humid and I was soaked after a nearly-three-mile warmup. I did some quick striders and hurried back to the line. The baby joggers were sent off and I wished good luck to Paul, Jay, Eggers, and Mike Mitchell - who, like me, chose this race over the one at McAlpine at the last minute. Brinkley was somewhere on the other side of the starting grid. I then noticed my shoe was untied. The director was literally counting down as I re-tied it with a few seconds to spare, and then....Go!

When I previewed this course, I was jogging around talking to Anne Marie and not really paying attention to where we were. The course starts out with a steep incline, then levels, then another incline up Cumberland Avenue towards East Boulevard (reference the map above). Despite the rough start I got out of the gates significantly quicker than normal. Mitchell had shot off with the leaders, Brinkley was right in front of me, and Eggers was nowhere in sight. I ran better than 5:40 pace for the first half mile and then backed off a good bit. We turned on East and I surged ahead to take the lead of the chase pack, with Brinkley now about 5 seconds ahead of me, at the back of the lead pack. After a crowded, quick start, everyone seemed to be calming down. We turned right on Queens Road and approached the mile marker. I passed Mike Kahn, who yelled out, "Yeah, Blackwood! Get that hill!"

Hmm..Get that hill... I came through the opening mile in 5:51 and began the long, slow climb up Queens Road...and the competitive side of my brain - usually quite strong - slowly began shutting off. I felt a bit devoid of energy, but otherwise the system seemed to be fine. People started passing me, and I just didn't do anything about it. Eventually, Eggers came by, and he even shouted some encouragement, no doubt witnessing my demise this whole time from a point below and now front-center. A few more people passed me as we finally turned off Queens and passed the two-mile marker. I don't remember seeing my time at that point, but the watch later revealed a 6:41 - 6:41!!! - second mile. I've been known to run faster miles on easy days and long runs. Clearly, that was the race right there. Did I start out too fast? Yes, I did. But there's no way I couldn't have still run about a 6:10 for mile two, which would have sent me well on the way to going under 19. I simply did not race.

Giving Emily and Anne Marie the very enthusiastic "thumbs down" with about half a mile to go.
[photo by Christi Carter].

I can at least say that no one passed me in the last mile, and when I went by a screaming Kahn again near the finish I managed to pull out a decent kick. I came through the chute in an official time of 19:33, significantly slower than what I ran at Great Harvest on what should have been a much faster course. (Running Buddy even measured the course to be accurate, which is apparently a GPX rarity.)

Mitchell finished sixth overall, Brinkley ran 18:14 - and Anne Marie actually set a new PR! Other than that, however, most people I talked to had a bad race by his or her own standards. Paul won easily but has run much faster recently; Billy Shue ran much slower than usual (but still a very solid 17:25) and suffered from severe fatigue and nausea afterwards; Eggers ran 19:06; the list could go on and on. The conditions were certainly a factor; apparently the dew point level was just below the "don't even go outside" mark.

I was - and still am - pissed off. I'm not about to make any excuses. I simply let myself get distracted the last few weeks, and it led to a bad race. It happens, and as Jay told me afterwards, "it's a long summer." I'm not blaming the weather, and I'm looking forward to getting out there again in order to make some better memories!

Track Time with Eggers

Warmup: 1.6 mi in 14:46 - 9:15 ppm
Workout: 3 x 400-300-200 meters with 60 seconds between reps and 90 seconds between sets.
Cooldown: 1.36 mi in 11:42 - 8:34 ppm
Goal:  Short workout to re-gain some foot speed and turnover after a two-week break.

I really love my new shoes. They almost feel like racing flats, but they're just a little heavier. I hope they hold up and that they don't prove to be too light. I awoke at 5:30 a.m. this morning and drove over to Daniel Eggers' house to meet him for a workout. We headed over to Marion Diehl Park on Tyvola, right across the street from his neighborhood.

Eggers tried to get us both killed by leading the way through a dark, twisting, rooted trail in the woods across from his neighborhood. Luckily, we survived the warmup and made it to the park. This was my first experience at Marion Diehl. There is a decent-sized facility at the front, a field or two, and an asphalt track enclosing a soccer field and some bleachers.

We wanted to run a few 400s, 300s, and 200s at faster than race pace, and we accomplished that goal. My breathing was very heavy at the start but by the third set I felt fantastic. Eggers led the way for awhile and then I took over at the end, spurred on by knowing he was right there to push me. This is the first time I've done a workout with another person since....the mile repeats at McMullen with Brinkley? It really makes a huge difference.

I used Running Buddy to keep an eye on my mile pace but I didn't set it up for a workout. Here are our splits, via Eggers: 1:21, 1:01, 0:37; 1:16, 1:01, 0:36; 1:19, 1:02, 0:32. Not including rest, our accrued average pace was 5:04 per mile. Eggers had to get to work and I debated doing more, but was unusually dehydrated so we cooled down back to his house and called it a day. If I don't race this week I'm definitely doing a second workout, so I'm satisfied with the day's work.

Great Harvest Bread 5K

Location: Piper Glen
Warmup: 2.30 mi in 18:05/8:05 ppm
Race: Unofficially but according to the Garmin - 3.16 mi in 19:07/6:02 ppm; officially 19:08, 32nd overall/12th in age group.
Cooldown: 3.37 mi in 32:22/9:35 ppm

I woke up angrily at 5:35 a.m., crawled out of bed about eight minutes later, and then made some oatmeal. I can't eat much before a race but oatmeal seems to be working pretty well so far, as long as I have close to a couple hours to spare. Game time is 7:30 so I was on schedule. We were instructed to park in the Calvary Church lot behind the shopping center and walk down. When I arrived at 6:30 there was already a large crowd. I expected Eggers would be fashionably late as usual but figured Brinkley might be here, so I sent him a BBM. I waited a couple minutes then started walking down to the race site after not getting a response.

I went to pick up my chip, fiddled with it on my shoelaces for a good five minutes, and then took my turn in the Porta-Jon. I milled out for a bit hoping I'd find one of my boys. I figured Dave was probably already warming up, and I needed to do the same, so I gave up and headed down the greenway. Most of the crowd was back at the race expo behind Trader Joe's, or running around on the course, but I did see a few people with race numbers on their chests running down the greenway. I ran into my college teammate, Dezi Kabouris, and John Fillette on the walk down but other than that I hadn't seen anyone I knew.

I jogged down the course a bit, with about fifteen minutes til start time at this point. Here I ran into Emily Barrett, who basically summed up her feelings as follows: "Dude I am not feeling this course, man!" I wasn't really that worried about the course, but I was ready for things to get interesting. I wanted to start off slower, but not get too far behind, and then be prepared to go like heck. With a roller-coaster opening mile there was a decent chance I could start off slow and not have much left.

I got back and realized I had a 0% chance of getting a good starting spot after looking at the crowd at the line. I went to drop off my outerwear and my car keys in a bush somewhere, and it was here that I ran into a very panic-stricken Daniel Eggers and David Brinkley. It turns out they had thought the race started at 8 and as a result were just now arriving. It's always something with those two. They tried to get in as much of a warmup as possible, and I did some striders while the race director said a few words.

I felt like staying away from the crowd at the line did wonders for my nerves; I was able to get loose, think about strategy, and politely explain to my body what I was about to put it through, which was preferable to standing around surrounded by 600 people and listening to some dude talk. However, in the future I'm just going to have to shove my way through before the start, because I now faced a situation that was not quite desirable: I was standing on the sidewalk, elevated from the pack, with a set of cones, some wire, and a box directly in front of me. There were 75 people directly to my left and another 500-plus behind them. Going around the outside before the start wasn't an option because we have to cross the timing mats. I wasn't worried that my time would be affected, because the chip doesn't register until we cross the line, and it's the chip time that's official. But I was worried about knocking someone down or tripping over a cable.

The race director gave the starting command for the baby joggers - I had forgotten about them - and forty-five or so seconds later gave the command for the rest of us. What happened next was pure chaos, at least for me. I sidestepped a cone, jumped down off the sidewalk right in front of someone, nudged the person in front of me, and hurdled a small child. THEN, I crossed the timing mats and pressed "start" on my watch. I found a little bit of space but in front of me I also found massive amounts of people who had no interest whatsoever in starting off at 6:00 pace, which is what I had in mind. I thought about getting back on the sidewalk and passing as many people as possible, and when Eggers did exactly that right in front of me, I followed him. We darted back into the crowd, ahead of about 30 more people, and then crossed Elm Lane.

I passed Dezi - at least I think it was her - and slid in behind Dave and some other guy up yet another hill. "Hey Dave," I said, "do you realize this is our first race together?" He said, "yeahhh man" in a tone that suggested he wasn't interested in talking to me at the moment. Imagine that? I had finally managed to program my Garmin to show my "total average pace" instead of "instant pace," and I looked down at it to see I was averaging about 5:50 pace. I slowed down some, or to put it more clearly, the next giant hill I ran up slowed me down, and then I settled into a groove. My Garmin beeped before the mile marker and read "6:01." I knew it would be foolish to try to hang with Eggers and Dave at this point, but they were still right in front of me. I was racing with a couple of older guys, one guy about my age - and one guy dressed in a kilt. When we came to a downhill I let my long legs go and passed about 6 people; when we went back up the hill I faded a bit and they all passed me back. And that's how it would go for the next mile or so.

We looped around a curve on Bevington, and up ahead I could see the fluid motion of Daniel Eggers' stride leading this pack of about 20 around the turn and - you guessed it - up another hill. The Garmin now read 6:04 average pace and I was still feeling all right but my mind started playing tricks on me - the guessing game where one wonders if it's really worth all this trouble just to break 19 minutes. Right about that time the guy in the kilt passed me again, and I made up my mind about something: regardless of what happened from here on out, there was no effing way I was going to lose to a guy in a kilt.

We stepped off Bevington and into another neighborhood and down another hill. As we prepared to climb again I made a point not let anyone pass me this time. There was a man who looked to be in his late forties that had been racing with us the whole time, and I motioned with my right arm for him to come join me at the crest of this hill. I heard him say, "I'll get there when I can." We turned back on Bevington, side-by-side, and exchanged words of encouragement with less than half a mile to go (at least that's what I thought...). Up, down, up hills we went and I let him get ahead of me. There were several people within reach and I knew we had a downhill coming. I relaxed briefly...and then dropped the hammer. I flew past the older guy and about six or eight other people and then began bearing down on Danielle Crockford. My mind knew that I had to turn into the shopping center before the finish, but my body and my Garmin thought the race was over. My sprint down the hill sapped me. The older guy and about three other people I had passed scooted right on by me. I limped into the finish and hit the stop button on my watch.

Hitting the watch before crossing the mats...is bad form! 

As I composed myself and handed in my chip, I noticed everyone around me talking about how their Garmins measured the course long - some by as much as a tenth of a mile - and that there was no need for us to turn in to the shopping center. For whatever reason, the consensus was that the course was a little long. I wanted to break 19 minutes and actually ran 19:08, so I was not pleased with this new information. I quickly realized, however, that even if this was a true 5k I had still run faster than I did a week ago - on a course that's much tougher than McAlpine, to boot. So I was pretty happy. I cooled down with Eggers, Brinkley, Billy Shue, and Richard Harris (Eggers eventually thought it necessary to dart off in the woods ahead of us, for some reason).

The buzz surrounded this race - and the GPX series, in general - could not be denied. There was a palpable excitement in the air, and I made a note of this as I thought about my immediate future. The next race is June 4, and I will be there. I'm either going to need a haircut or a headband between now and then, and apparently I need a CRC singlet so Jamaar Valentine will take my picture.  'Til next time, folks.

Race Results
Garmin details

Great Harvest course preview

Distance: 3.08 mi
Time: 00:23:58/7:47 ppm

It's been brought to my attention that I have a lot of random readers who otherwise don't follow running, and likely read this blog only because I have brainwashed them. So, for those of you who don't know what the Grand Prix Series (GPX) is, let me sum it up briefly: it a series of road races - ten, I believe - ranging from February to late October put on by Run For Your Life, a local store and the unofficial headquarters of Charlotte's running community. The races include a four-miler, an 8k, a 10k, a 15k, and several 5k events. The courses are all over town. These races attract the best runners in Charlotte, though they don't all make it to each one, of course. They are very well-advertised. In other words, they are diverse, large, and competitive. Maybe that wasn't such a brief description after all.

At any rate, the Great Harvest Bread 5k in Piper Glen is the next stop on the GPX tour, and the first such event for yours truly. I was, in fact, a part of the local running community once upon a time, and today I know a good number of the CRC members who will be present tomorrow, so I had a pretty good idea what to expect of the atmosphere. It was the course itself that I needed to investigate. I'm going to make a point to preview the course for each race I do this year.

For those familiar with south Charlotte, this race is hosted by the Great Harvest store in Piper Glen, right next to the Trader Joe's at the corner of Rea Road and Bevington. For those familiar with this blog, Bevington is the road right next to the back end of the McMullen greenway. When I start at 51 and run here on the greenway, I've gone six miles. The course would go down Bevington across Elm Lane and through a bunch of neighborhoods.

The course was, to put it quite succinctly, a roller-coaster. You know that Planet Fitness commercial with the goofy muscle dude who keeps saying, "I PICK THINGS UP AND PUT THEM DOWN!"? Well, today I felt like screaming, "I RUN UP A HILL AND THEN I RUN DOWN!"  I felt angry at Eggers, who ran this thing on Monday, for telling me this would be a fast course. Flat courses are fast. This was very much the opposite of flat, regardless of the downhills.

I tried not to focus too much on that, though. Just race... Also, my feet were hurting today because I was wearing extra-thin socks on account of being behind on laundry. So that was an unwelcome distraction. For the most part I feel stronger in my older age, but there are certainly aches that crop up now and then that did not before.

I stopped at the point on Bevington where I thought the course would end; my Garmin read 3.08 miles, which given its tendencies sounded about right to me (as opposed to 3.1). I ran an extra mile on the greenway, bought some good eats at Trader Joe's, and then went home. I am looking forward to the race, hills be damned!

Long Run with Eggers

Distance: 10.00 mi
Time: 01:20:09/7:59 pace

I skipped the Saturday morning run because my sister's family is in town, so that meant I'd do it on Sunday. I sent Eggers a message asking if he could meet at 7am to do 10 miles at McAlpine, and he said he wouldn't have time. Later, he texted me to say he really needed to do 10 but would have to meet at 6, and implored me to join him. He said something about watching the sun rise on Easter Sunday. For some reason, the idea of watching the sun rise over the trees at McAlpine really appealed to me, and that sealed the deal.

I awoke excitedly at 5:20 a.m. and texted Eggers to tell him I was up and asked if he wanted to meet at the Sardis lot or at Providence Day. I still didn't have a response at ten til six, but left for the park anyway. I sat outside the Sardis entrance and listened to music while I waited for the leprechaun to come out of the woods and open the gate. Finally, I got a message from Eggers saying something like, "I guess I'll head over there since you're there." Huh? I could tell by the goofy messages he sent me that he, too, was excited about the run.

Someone drank a few too many beers last night, and it wasn't me this time, so the pace stayed relatively conversational. We ran to Harris Boulevard, came back and did part of the course, then stopped at the main parking lot to get some water. Then we meandered through the Boyce trails, actually kind of got lost once, and then back to the Sardis lot.

A good, solid, 10 mile run. I spent the rest of the day with my family.

Stats and Map - once again, "time" and "moving time" were a bit off, which I will now chalk up to a loss of the satellite signal. Given the slow splits listed I'm sure this occurred in the Boyce trails; I remember Brinkley's watch would always give off wacky splits back there, too.

2010 Thunder Road Marathon

As discussed, this race recap is from the viewpoint of an injured spectator, not a competitor.  That said, I'm quite pleased with how things turned out, as I was able to hit six different spots along the course without ever getting stuck in traffic.  Since my parents had already planned to watch the race, they agreed to come with me and help me support my friends.  So, who are those friends, exactly?  I'm glad you asked.

I've only met Jordan Kinley, and while I was curious to see if he could break the course record of 2:24:20, I had a feeling I'd never see him as he would be too far ahead of everyone else.  There's Billy Shue, who ran about a 2:43 in this race last year and has steadily improved since then.  Then there's Daniel Eggers and David Brinkley, familiar names to anyone who reads this blog, both with stated goals of breaking 3:10 in order to qualify for Boston.  Then there's Mike Oelz, who has dealt with nagging injuries but unlike me was smart enough not to run through them.  Oelz had told me several months ago that he just wanted to be around 3:30.  Finally, there was Philip Martin and Justin Riddle - two childhood friends of mine who decided to take on this task as a new challenge and said their goal was to simply finish after being a bit banged-up going into the final week.

With my parents in tow, I had a course map and a tentative plan to follow everyone.  I knew Rob Eggers, Daniel's dad, would be at mile #5 - the corner of Providence and Sharon Amity - and I hoped to run into him so that we could coordinate our viewing activities.  We made it there shortly after 8 and, by the looks of how fast the runners were that passed us, had just missed Kinley and the other leaders.  There were a LOT of runners moving well - mostly half-marathon competitors, for sure.  I met Danielle Crockford and her husband Chad at the CRC Halloween party, where we shared marathon goals and they basically gave me lots of good advice.  She came by with Brian McMahon, the 3-hour pacer, and some other runners.  I watched them pass and kept my eyes peeled.  I was looking up toward the turn when I heard Brinkley shout, "Hey Jason - Happy Birthday, buddy!"  I turned around and saw him wave at me, trotting along at a comfortable 7:00 pace-per-mile.  My mom got a kick out of that.  About a minute passed and I began to wonder if we had missed Eggers.  I thought it odd that he and Dave wouldn't have tried to meet and run together at the start and, knowing Eggers, realized he probably showed up too late to get a good spot in the corral (it turns out that's exactly what happened).  Not long after that, he passed by with the race shirt on his chest and a goofy smile on his face.  Oelz spotted me in the crowd and shouted my name not long after that, and when we saw Philip and Justin we cheered for them before leaving to go to the next spot.

I drove well out of the way to avoid course traffic and made it down Selwyn Avenue to where Queens crossed it on the Booty Loop.  I got there just in time to shout, "Let's go, Billy!!!" as Mr. Shue streaked by in an orange-and-black blur.  Here I found a large group of Queens girls cheering the runners and passing out noisemakers and balloons.  I retrieved a little plastic clapper and took the time to elicit sympathy by explaining to the girls that I had planned to run in this race before being injured.  Awww, you poor thing!  The course was still jam-packed with runners as the half wasn't quite finished.  I spotted Brinkley and cheered for him as he reached out and slapped my hand.  When Eggers came by I informed him that David was about thirty seconds ahead, and later found out that he had closed on him before having to stop to urinate.  We hopped back in the car and scooted over to the South End area to the intersection of Camden and Tremont - just before mile #15.

We got to the corner and there was a group playing Christmas carols right in front of Pike's Restaurant, a South End favorite.  My mom was greatly amused and started snapping pictures of them.  She enjoyed it so much, in fact, that we had a hard time pulling her away later.  We missed Billy Shue but caught some of the other front-runners, as well as Danielle and Brian again.  Running with them was a guy in a CRC singlet that I'm pretty sure was Kevin Ballantine.  I cheered for Danielle and noted that they were way, way ahead of Eggers and Dave, who were nowhere in sight.  If that group is pacing for 3 hours then my boys were going to be cutting it close to break 3:10, I thought.  I spotted them, running together with no one else close at the moment, and cheered wildly as they came by us and turned up Tremont.




Eggers, in front, with Brinkley on Camden Avenue on mile 15.

 David told me later that Eggers caught him somewhere in the Morehead Street-Berkeley Avenue section and that they ran together through miles 13-15.  Shortly after they passed us in the spot above, they agreed to part ways.  "I looked down at my watch and saw a 6:39 mile so I decided to hold back a bit," David told me later.  After starting slow, Eggers was beginning to gain ground.  My parents and I, along with Rob, drove over to the intersection of Parkwood and Davidson - just before mile 20, I believe - to cheer the boys on at what was no doubt one of the more desolate stretches of the course.  There was a man playing music on loudspeakers at the intersection, and once again I made it to the corner just in time to cheer on Billy Shue.  He looked like he was zoned in but was all alone by a wide margin - no one anywhere near him on either side.  I had no idea what place he was at the moment.  As the other runners came through, mostly alone, several looked confused as to which way to go so my mom took it upon herself to start pointing up the street and shouting encouragement.  The Brian-Danielle-Kevin group passed us again and we cheered them on.  I was pretty sure Danielle was the second female at that point but there were several women that looked to be within striking distance of each other for the title.  When Eggers came past us this time, he was a lot closer to them and was passing a lot of people.  We shouted and hollered as he came through, knowing he was doing well, and waited for David.  I finally spotted him about a minute later and began to worry about him.  I knew he would finish but he looked like he was beginning to question things.  The 20-miler was his longest run so he was about to enter uncharted territory.  I shouted at him to stay strong and remember all that training...

We made the short drive up Parkwood to catch everyone again at the corner of The Plaza, just before mile #22 - I think.  When Brian and Danielle approached, I told my mom not to cheer for Brian because he was the pacer.  We both shouted encouragement, then Brian turned around with a crap-eating grin on his face and said, "Yeah, thanks!"  - to which my mom replied, laughing, "Not you, her!"  I doubled over in laughter before quickly composing myself - because there's our boy Eggers!  Holy freakin' cow!  He was several minutes behind Brian and Danielle at mile 15 and was now right on their heels!  He was passing people like they were standing still and looked like he wasn't even breathing hard.  We got back in the car, afraid we might miss him at the finish from trying to find a parking spot uptown, and when we drove by the runners on Parkwood we were able to shout more encouragement at David.  I could tell he was slowing down but I now realized he had been running well under 7-minute pace for most of the early part of the race, so I was confident he could still break 3:10. 

Thanks to my dad's extensive knowledge of the area, we found some shortcuts and a VIP parking spot on Davidson Street for the finish.  As a few runners came through I looked up at the big clock and saw "2:52," meaning we weren't too late.  I found Eggers' wife, Katie - who is about eight months pregnant with their first child - plus her sister Kristen and Dan's mother.  Let the waiting begin.  I couldn't see very well so I moved up the chute a bit and found Emily Barrett and Kati Robertson, who told me that Jordan won the race easily but missed the course record by 26 seconds - a bit cruel - and that Billy ran a personal-best time of 2:41 or so and finished fifth.  Several of the other front-runners were out-of-towners and one of them was 50 years old, which is very encouraging to those of us who just turned 29. 

We saw Brian and Danielle turn on MLK Jr. Blvd. and head towards the finish, and it was announced that Danielle was the top female.  In a classy move, Brian held back to let her savor the moment and she raised her arms in the air before crossing the line just under 3 hours.  I knew Eggers wouldn't be much further back, and sure enough there he was, booking it up the street.  From my spot on the side of the chute, I looked up at the clock, saw it was just a few ticks past 3 hours, then looked back at him.  I threw my hands in the air and shouted, "Boston Q, baby!  Easily!!  You're my boy, Eggers!"  With a huge grin on his face, he ran over to me and slapped my hand before heading into the chute with a clock time of 3:01:50.  I later found out that his chip time, which is official, was actually 3:00:40.  What that means to those of you not versed in race timing is that he made it to the starting line of the race 70 seconds after the race started.  In other words, he had a bad starting spot and had to fight through a huge crowd the first few miles.

All of which makes the performance that much more impressive.  A 3-hour marathon is an excellent mark, by any standards, but to me it's not Dan's time but how he did it that stands out.  He ran about 1:34 for the first half and 1:27 for the second - a negative split of 7 minutes!  His fastest mile was #23 - how often do either of those things happen in a marathon?  I feel it's important for me to recognize this, not only because it's awesome, but also because the excitement of seeing Dan do so well had temporarily washed away my disappointment in being injured.  It also helped me realize some errors I had made in training and strategy, but that will be detailed in another post.

After waiting around for a bit, I saw David fight to the finish for a time of about 3:14.  I knew he would be disappointed that he didn't hit his goal, but a 3:14 marathon debut on a tough course is something to really be proud of, and I was happy for him.  It was tough for me to see this knowing I would have been up there with him, but those feelings will also be detailed in another post that will likely have to be edited for brevity in order to maintain a PG rating.  I saw Theoden Janes of "Run With Theoden" fame come through the finish chute under 3:30, and I went up to introduce myself and congratulate him.  He was surprisingly friendly and chatty for someone who had just run a marathon.  Not long after that, Mike Oelz showed up with a look on his face that said, "Thank God this is over, and someone remind me to get some new friends."  Good race, Oelz, and don't worry, we're definitely going to make you do another one soon.  Mike is getting married next summer, so congrats to him and Emily.  We saw Philip Martin come through about ten minutes later and Justin  Riddle another five minutes after that, and everyone was hugged and congratulated by yours truly after they came out of the finish chute. 

All in all, I had a blast out there today, and I'd like to add that watching a marathon is a lot more fun than it sounds.  If you have a friend running one in your city, I strongly suggest you get out there and support him or her.  I could tell by the faces we saw - even those of runners who didn't know us - that our support meant the world to them.  Plus, it's a pretty neat way to view the city and understand the experience.

Full results here.
Daniel Eggers' excellent race recap here.
Theoden Janes' recap, in which he gives me a funny shout-out, here.
Read what the reigning two-time champion had to say about his race, here.

I'll leave you with a few quotes from what the participants told me:

"Very, very happy about (the race), Jason!!  I came in with some big goals and that helped push me to a 3-minute PR from last year on this course.  I went out hard during the first half shooting for a goal that I wasn't ready for yet and tried my best to stay with the #3 and #4 guys during the first half, but was able to stay strong and dig deep during the 2nd half to run a big PR from last year.  It was great seeing you at Parkwood-Davidson!!!"  - Billy Shue

"Basically, I made some rookie mistakes.  But I learned a lot from the race.  It took me 53 minutes to run the last 10k...which hurt me.  I know what 'the wall' feels like, but I can also say that I gave it everything I had and left everything out there on Saturday.  I've analyzed every way I should have run that race, and basically just ran it like a rookie."  - David Brinkley

"Ummm..NoDa supports runners."  - Justin Riddle

"I can't wait for you to get a marathon under your belt - it's such an experience.... I averaged 6:49 pace for my second half - whew!"  - Daniel Eggers

"First half was fine.  Brevard (I think he means Caldwell Street) was tough.  Other than that the course was fine with the exception of my legs.  Glad I did the marathon.  I know what I need to work on for training so that I can run the next one quicker."  - Mike Oelz

"A marathon is a complete physical and mental drain, but the reward at the finish is worth every ounce of pain."  - Philip Martin

'Til next time, folks - thanks for reading!

Twenty Miler with Some Company

I had made plans with Eggers earlier in the week to meet mid-morning for a 20-mile run and then spend the rest of the weekend with my family because my sister and my niece are in town.  As discussed, however, I actually had to do some work for a change so the schedule would have to be amended.  Shockingly, I couldn't get Eggers to agree to meet earlier but in his defense he was still on L.A. time.

I met David Brinkley at the Sardis lot at 8:30 a.m. and it was cold.  I wore two dry-fit long-sleeved shirts, some gloves, and a hat in addition to my longer running shorts.  The outfit was a bit overkill but I didn't feel too uncomfortable.  I had planned to run somewhat fast for a long run last week and nailed it; today, I would need to run slow, never picking up the pace.  We ran down Sardis, through Lansdowne, up the hilly section of Providence Road and down through Alexander and Brackenbury before making it back to Sardis.  I took a break to water the bushes after mile three, meaning I was more than hydrated - a good sign.  I took my first gel packet at mile six and since we weren't going to hit ten miles before we made it back to the lot, we wound through the Old Bell hills (apparently, I just can't get enough).  While we were back there David asked me why I hated him so much but also commented on how he could see why it was such a good workout, and even mentioned that he may try it himself before long.

After about 9.5 miles we made it back to the lot, where Eggers was waiting to join us.  David and I both drank some water and shed some layers because the temperature was rapidly increasing.  I enjoyed running with company on this one because I wanted it to be easy and we had some good conversation.  We did the typical Sardis-to-Harris-plus 5k course-and back run that any reader of this blog should know by now.   If I ever get some time, I plan to drive around to my different running spots and take some pictures to post here.


There is not a whole lot to report on this one because we intentionally ran slow and never picked up the pace.  Having two running buddies essentially eliminated the necessity to think or exercise any mental toughness, which was a nice change from what I've put myself through recently.  I didn't feel fantastic but hey, it's 20 miles.  Who does feel great when running that far?  The important thing is that I have now done two 20-mile runs and in some circles, that means you're ready for a marathon.  Always one to do things my own way, however, I'm not done: I plan to do a 22-miler in a couple weeks.  I'm happy to change things if I don't feel up for it but I'm not satisfied with two 20-mile runs right now.

As always...stay tuned.

Mile Splits and Map, courtesy of David and his GPS watch.

Old Bell Finale

I set out today to do one last hill workout at Old Bell.  This workout is essentially a 7-mile tempo run with rolling hills.  The loop is 1.4 miles and I do it five times without rest.  I start at the Sardis/Old Bell gravel lot and the road stays relatively flat for about half a mile before the roller coaster starts.  There is a short but nearly straight-up hill that crests after about 75 meters, and then a very steep downhill that essentially slings the runner into the longest and steepest of the three hills, #2.  That is followed by a short but steep downhill and another rough uphill.  After that, the worst is over, as things level out a good bit; there is a short uphill and some flat terrain before a short downhill that puts you back at Sardis Road for the quick turn back to Old Bell and the "start/finish" line.

This is Old Bell hill #2, and believe me, this photo doesn't do it justice.  It was a tough day at the office, folks.

Again, I had previously calculated that coming through the start/finish in 10:09 for this loop would equal 7:15 mile pace.  I wanted to run a bit fast on the first one in order to make myself tired and see what I could do having lost a bit of strength.  I ran quick but comfortably on the first loop, coming through in 9:42.  The hills were already getting harder by the second loop, which took place in 9:58.  Worried about a mental lapse, I focused a bit more on the third loop, coming through in 9:48.  I wasn't as completely focused on the task at hand as I usually am and yet I was still running well.  I wasn't trying to kill it today but I wanted some practice working hard up steep hills and I think I got the job done.  I increased the pace and completed the fourth loop in 9:37; after struggling up the hills for the last time I shifted into high gear on the final loop, coming through in 9:21 for a total time of 48:26/6:56 per mile.  I destroyed the pace I had set for this workout the last time I did it and I didn't even feel that taxed.

As Eggers would say, "testament."  I talked to the man after my workout and he told me that his job had taken him to L.A. for the week and to the Lakers game at Staples Center the night before.  I can't imagine anyone who could be better at shmoozing with clients over a basketball game in Los Angeles.... Yeah, I mean the Heat will be good, but I don't know if they'll be able to knock off the Celtics or the Lakers in the playoffs, and - hey, is that Leonardo DiCaprio?  I mean, maybe not, but it kinda looks like him, ya know? - oh well, no big deal, yeah anyway, these are pretty good seats...

Dowd Half-Marathon

Don't get excited - I didn't run in this race.  The half-marathon distance does not appeal to me as anything more than a training run.  Eggers and Mike Mitchell, however, did run in this race and yes, they viewed it as a training run.  I decided to show up for a bit to offer my support.

It was pretty cold outside this morning and I was glad I wasn't racing.  I had planned to meet Emily and Kati from the CRC at the corners of Kenilworth and Morehead, but I arrived before they did so I decided to head up the street a bit to see the runners come through.  I waited for what seemed like an eternity before the lead runner, someone I didn't recognize, finally came by.  He was followed by Billy Shue a few moments later.  I had only met Mitchell once, when we were in college, so I didn't completely recognize him when he came through in 4th place.  Not long after that, Eggers came through, dressed in all black.  I got excited and cheered and yelled at him, all the while trying to take some pictures, which turned out horribly.  I sprinted up ahead to the intersection where Emily and Kati were waiting so I could take another picture of Dan, but that one didn't turn out well, either. 

Mitchell, whose training has been phenomenal, ran an awesome race and Dan did really well, too.  They both bemoaned the fact that the pack pulled them through the first mile a bit faster than they would have liked.  You can read Dan's race recap here. 

Full results.

Opening the week at McMullen

I don't really know why but I never enjoy running on the McMullen Greenway.  It's nice for a change of scenery but can be monotonous as it seems to look exactly the same the entire route.  Also, it's paved; a trail in the middle of the woods should be gravel, which would be much easier on everyone's joints.  Nevertheless, I headed out there this morning to do an easy 7 miles.

My left leg has had some soreness in it the last few days but felt fine on the run.  I ran roughly 7:30 pace or better and didn't feel like it took any effort.  As I clipped along I thought about what I wanted to do for the rest of the week.  Tomorrow I'm going to give last week's failed tempo run another shot at McAlpine - the exact same workout, only with better planning.  It also won't be 85 degrees and humid tomorrow; the cooler weather has been good to me so I'm looking forward to that.  I had thought of running the Dowd 5k this Saturday and watching Eggers and Mike Mitchell run the half marathon, but the races are at the same time, so I think I'm just going to watch the half - armed with a camera.  I have a long run of 17-18 on the docket for this weekend, too.  Last but not least I have several items on the social calendar to which I'm looking forward and things at work have been going smoothly, too.

I picked up the pace just a bit the last two miles and averaged a 7:21 mile for the distance.

Back at the parking lot, I saw Jordan Kinley and introduced myself as a reader of his blog.  Jordan is essentially the star of the local running scene in Charlotte these days, and his blog is a very good read - strictly running, although his trade has taken him all over the world.  Like most runners, Jordan is very easy going and friendly.  Like me, he obviously benefits from having a job that allows him to take off to the park at 11:00 a.m. on weekdays.  Unlike me, he is very, very fast.

Til' next time....

Re-visiting the tempo run

The idea today was to do an 8-mile tempo run on the McAlpine Greenway from the Sardis lot to Harris Blvd. and back.  Out-and-backs can be boring but this was a good route for a tempo run because all the miles are clearly marked and the terrain is predictable.  I met up with Daniel Eggers, David Brinkley, and Mike Oelz.  This was the first time all four of us had run together since we began our training.  We decided to run the first four miles at 6:45 pace, bump it down to about 6:30 after that, and then just do what we could for the end of the workout. 
This was going to be a very important workout for me.  I've had some time to think about the Komen race and determined that my poor strategy mirrored my recent workouts - I started out great, faded badly in the middle, and finished strong.  I was determined to figure out how to pace myself better and trying to run the same pace for 8 miles would be a great way to do that.

We were right around 6:38-6:40 pace for the first four miles and I was feeling great.  I ran with Eggers and Brinkley for a bit in mile #5 before surging ahead.  I ran about 6:18 for the 5th mile, the one in which I was worried about fading.  That would prove to be my fastest mile.  Eggers took control with about 2.5 miles to go and it quickly became apparent that I would be staring at his back for the rest of the run.  With Brinkley right on my heels, I threw in a little surge to put distance between us with two to go and just tried to maintain pace for the remainder of the workout.  Just when I thought I was about to reel in Dan, he took off again, I slowed down, and that was that.  I ran about the same pace (just under 6:30) for the final two miles but I was speeding up and slowing down rather than running consistently.  I came through in a time of 52:38 for an average mile of 6:35. 

Check back at this workout and you will see the progress that has been made in one month's time.  That was our first real workout, and it feels like forever ago.  The 30-degree difference in temperature doesn't hurt, of course, but myself and all my training buddies have made some excellent progress in that amount of time

Eggers and I agreed after the workout that we could have continued that pace for several more miles but neither of us could have gone much faster.  Endurance, not speed.  We agreed to attempt a shorter, faster workout for next week - maybe some mile repeats - in order to push the pain threshold and pick up some footspeed. 

Stay tuned.

A new running route, a longer long run (again), and a brutal day on the hills

On Tuesday, September 14, 2010 I retired the Nike Air Spans.  They will forever be known for getting my fat ass back into shape - as well as for an uncanny ability to collect rocks in the tread.  I may forever be retiring that particular shoe in general because I have deemed it a bit too light for heavy distance training. 

I created a a new route from my home and found it to my liking.  I loved the scenery on this run as well as the general newness of having a different route. Perhaps I wanted to block out all my summer running routes from memory, as those were some pretty brutal days, but either way I had fun on this route and would find myself using it a good bit in the future.  My right ankle, the one I turned the previous Saturday at McMullen, bothered me a good bit on this run.

The following day I decided to throw myself into a a brutal hill workout.  As the link shows, I mapped a 1.4-mile loop through the Old Bell neighborhood - infamous for its rolling hills - and decided to do it five times consecutively for what amounted to a seven-mile tempo run with steep hils.  Note the elevation chart.  Fun times!  My already sore ankles took a beating on this workout.  I came very close to hitting my target times, which pleased me to no end considering this was once again completed in awful heat and humidity, but I found myself wishing I had chosen a route with fewer downhills in the days following this workout.  My ankles and achilles tendons were turned to gelatin.  I was worried I had invited some injury, but I just paid special attention to the sore areas and did some extra stretching.  I shared this run with Eggers and he did a variation of the workout a week later. 

I figured it was essential to do some easy runs after that workout, and I labored through a 4-miler the next day and an 8-miler the day after that.  Saturday (the workout was Wednesday) I did a 14-mile long run at McAlpine with Oelz and Brinkley.  My ankles were sore for the first two miles but felt fine after that.  This run was tough but things are getting a little bit easier in general.  I took the next two days (Sunday-Monday, September 19-20) off and rested my sore body.

For my next series of postings, I'll get you caught up on what I did from 9/21 - 9/25 and do my best to include some thoughts on things other than running - such as what's wrong with the Panthers, my thoughts on the pennant chase, and maybe a few other things.

First Real Workout

On the morning of September 8, Eggers sent me a BBM announcing that he was ready for the first workout of the training season.  I hadn't planned on doing a workout but I felt I was ready.  The plan was to do a 7-mile tempo run at McAlpine in mile splits of 7:30, 7:30, 7:15, 7:15, 7:00, and sub-7.  The part of McAlpine's 5K course that included the hill would be mile #6.  Awesome...

This was tough.  We ran right at 5:45 p.m. on another 90-degree day, and we were already sucking wind by the third mile.  But we were running slightly ahead of our desired pace.  I came through the final three miles in 6:58, 6:53 (the hill mile), and 6:40 and felt pretty happy about the way it worked out.  You can read Dan's recap of this workout here.

The following Saturday I ran a 12-mile long run at McMullen Greenway with David Brinkley and Mike Oelz at slightly better than 8-minutes-per-mile pace.  I turned my ankle at one point during this run.  More on that later.  I finished the week at just under 40 miles, with two days (Thursday and Sunday) off.