Why I Run

ORN: 5.2 miles, 49:34, R6/W1, 9:33/mile

About 3 hours into last Saturday’s 22 mile run, I mulled just why an otherwise seemingly sane man would do such a thing. On the one hand it is laughable…getting up at 4:50am on a Saturday morning to fit in a 4 hour run before a family event seems absolutely nuts. On the other hand, it made perfect sense.

Why?

For me, there is clearly a personality/temperament component. On any personality test I’ve ever done, I fall dead center on the extrovert/introvert scale. I like to be with people; I have to get away from people. I feel equally about both statements. In this instance, my experience squares with the tests.

In my job in manufacturing management, I’m with people a lot. I feel strongly about having an open door policy…people know they can walk in any time, and so they do. I spend as much time as I can on the shop floor, with our associates and supervisors. We solve problems; we keep things moving. The last few months have had some wonderful but complex things going on, which has required more people time than usual.

In my personal life, it has been an intense few months as well. Out of town visitors, lots of committee work at our church, even umpiring 1-3 baseball games each week force me into lots of contact with others. Again, all good stuff, just lots of it.

So, three hours into a long run on Saturday, I was just reveling in the moment. And the reason I was reveling suddenly hit me…running provides me with the necessary balance in the introvert/extrovert thing. I simply go out and run. No one else is crazy enough to come along. I’m by myself. When I run, I think, I pray, I mull, I sing, I analyze. I have never had an interest in carrying music on my runs. I don’t do group runs, even though our local running club has them weekly. I don’t run with friends. None of these things ever has had any pull on me. And it hit me Saturday I naturally crave the time alone, time I can just be with myself and my thoughts. It is the time during which I feed the “introvert” side of me.

Now, before you write me off as an anti-social recluse with deep-seated issues, please let me state this blog serves as a wonderful way to stoke the real extrovert side of me. Talking endlessly about splits, training, races, ITBs, shoes, Gu, humidity and Garmins bores the daylights out of virtually everyone else I know. But not here…we have a wonderful community with which I enjoy connecting. All of you regular readers mean more to me than you can know. As was probably evident in my recent Notre Dame race report, I loved having John here to run with.

And there are lots more reasons why I run as well. I love being in good condition; I love running all year in all kinds of weather; I love planning training; I love going to races and running, there, with others.

And I love training alone.

Thanks for listening. And keep persevering.

Go Long and Get Home

ORN: 22.3 miles, 4:03:11, R3/W1, 10:55/mile

In a quest to settle whether or not to run a 6 hour trail race in three weeks, I set out to do a long run this morning. Since I needed to be home by 10am, I was out the door at 5:15am and got it in.

I was astounded, frankly. I settled into a groove and just stayed there. After 3 hours, I felt great. As I approached 4 hours, I still felt fine. After I got home, the Garmin’s tale was encouraging. The pace of almost all 66 three-minute run sequences were in the upper 9’s per mile, even the last ones. Steady. Enjoyable. What a gift to be able to just walk out my front door and run. I don’t take it lightly and feel for my pals who are sidelined currently.

So, I’m on for the DINO 360 Minute Trail Race on July 5 (or, as we say in Indiana, cinco de Julio). If I finish, it will be a number of firsts for me; my first ultra, my longest trail race ever (previous high…13 miles), my first long run in heat. So much for the mantra of “nothing new on race day.” Therefore, I’m asking for nutritional advice, please.

I tried to practice fluid and food today…please let me know if I’m on the right track for race day:

• Fluids. I drank 50 oz of half-strength Gatorade during the run today and another 20 oz immediately afterwards. I had evidence (three times, actually) I was not dehydrated. It was humid today and the temp ran from 68F at the start to 78F at the end.
  
  
• Gu. I had a Gu at 1:20, 2:20 and 3:15 after I started. I’ve discovered if I eat half a pack, wait about 5 minutes and eat the other half that it sits better on the stomach.
  
  
• Crackers. I packed a bunch of Wheat Thins in the little front pocket of my fuel belt and ate 3-6 per hour, one at a time during walk breaks. My thought was the salt was helpful, as well as a few carbs.

So, veteran trail ultra runners, what advice would you give me, the newbie, to prepare fluids and food for a six hour trail run in the heat?? I’d really welcome your comment on what I did this morning and what I’ve forgotten.

But, why did I have to be home by 10am?? Because at 11am, we gathered to celebrate the 2nd birthday of our granddaughter Berneice! Hard to believe it was two full years ago she was born…and what a two years it has been. Susan, David and I had a chance to have a good hug over that fact during the party. The little gal is quite a cutie…she has a sweet spirit, is starting to talk well and loves to be with the extended family.

Rejoice with us. And persevere.

Revenge of the Humidity plus odds and ends

ORN: 6.7 miles, 1:13:07, R2/W1, 10:55/mile

Summer came onto the Midwest with a vengeance this week and, as is my usual habit, it took me completely by surprise. Friday morning had temps in the upper 70s at 5:15am with 95% humidity and I wondered why I felt so lousy. This should not sneak up on me, but it seems to have done so. Once again, I drag out the small towel to carry, the big towel to stash at the end and use water on every run, not just the long ones.

This morning’s run was also hot but had a treat. We spent the weekend in St Louis with Gretchen’s brother and wife. They live near the famous green space in the city, Forest Park, a 1,300 acre point of beauty. The Park has parallel running/walking and bike paths around its circumference. I did one wonderful lap this morning which was a solid 6 miles around the Park. It was so cool to see new things on the run. Parts of my route today were along the path I took just over two years ago when I ran the St. Louis Marathon, the first marathon in this era of my running. I backed the pace off to a very easy 2/1 R/W and it held up fine, despite the 85 degrees, 90% humidity.

I’m truly wondering at this point if I’ll be set for a 6 hour trail run four weeks from yesterday. It could be every bit as hot and humid on July 5 in southern Indiana. I have a 22 miler scheduled for this Saturday…that will tell me more.

A few more unrelated items:

If you like Dave Berry, you will likely enjoy reading my nephew John’s very funny write-up of the non-running events of last weekends trip to South Bend. You can find it here on our family blog. Lots of photos and will give you a glimpse into our extended family.

What is Joe doing? I’ve had fun lately with Twitter. If you haven’t heard of it, it is a simple way to link people, asking the question “What are you doing?” which you answer in 140 characters or less. Very much “micro blogging.” I added my last five entries to the sidebar of this blog. Or you can follow me here.

Final race photos Not everyone gets to charge onto the field at Notre Dame stadium…John and I were able to do so…it is still a rush.



Persevere.

Race Report: Sunburst Half Marathon

ORN: 13.1 miles, 1:55:33, run, 8:50/mile

Quick Summary

The final race in my spring half-marathon series came off better than I could have ever dreamed. Running all the way on a humid day with my nephew John, we beat our 2 hour goal by 4.5 minutes, felt great at the end, absorbing all the family history captured on the campus of Notre Dame.

All the Details

This weekend was more than I could possible capture in a blog post. At levels multiple, it was more than I could have imagined. I’ll just write here about the running parts; family memories and connections ran even deeper.

All of this came about due to some amazing things happening for my nephew. John is the oldest son of my oldest sister; I was in fifth grade when he was born, so over the years we’ve grown to be much more like brothers than uncle/nephew. John had an amazing epiphany a year or so ago, resulting him deciding to lose over 60 pounds by the end of 2007, gaining significant improvement in his overall health. To secure these excellent health gains, he began to run in late January this year. He had actually run a half marathon and some shorter races near his home in San Diego in the mid 90s, and, like many of us, came back to running as an effective way to get and stay in shape.

In February, he and I began toying with the idea of doing a race together, someday. After a lot of discussion, the Sunburst half marathon seemed to make sense. The time was right, the family connections with Notre Dame were profound, his training could lead to it…so he and I booked it. It proved to be a solid goal for John to pursue and a wonderful chance for me to host him.

He flew in Thursday night, had supper with us, David, Susan and Matt. Friday, he and I drove across the flatlands of northern Indiana to South Bend. After getting our race packets, we toured the course. Since John has spent virtually all of his life in southern California, our open agricultural lands, lush green grass, tree-lined streets, even the pop-up thunderstorm we had Friday night all were wonderful reminders not everyplace is a desert, packed densely with people. He also found what we call “hills” to be hilarious…after his training in San Diego he called them “speed bumps.” This proved to be an ongoing joke all weekend.

Among the gazillion things John and I have in common was a love for getting to races early, leaving nothing to chance. So, we were up at 4:50am and at the starting line at 6:00am, not minding our race did not begin until 7:30. We watched the marathoners start at 6, then scored a nice park bench from which to watch the masses of 5K runners prepare, then sprint off at 7:15am.

We had decided to go for a 2 hour half marathon. Our training distances and paces were virtually identical; I knew we could stay together. However, I had my doubts as to whether or not the humidity would take too much of a toll. Yet, John was really keen on getting under 2 if we could. So I told him I’d go for 2 with him, but not 1:59…only a 2 hour race. Agreed. I programmed the Garmin for this time and made the mental calibration.

We lined up in the grid, stood for the National Anthem, then looked at each other, almost incredulous all the preparation had some to fruition. It was an amazing feeling. We both wore shirts with my Dad’s Notre Dame football photo on the back from 1937…we were running to honor him, to carry on what he taught us and it was all coming together as we stood there. The gun sounded and we were over the start mats in less than a minute, along with a thousand other half marathoners.

The first couple of miles were, as usual, a matter of finding a rhythm. Around mile one, John commented “so this is what humidity does?” as he found sweat building up on his forehead and shirt. Yep. And, right on cue, we encountered our first “hill”; a 200m long slope that perhaps had 40 feet of vertical rise. “These are hills, John,” I countered. We grinned and motored on.

We turned onto some residential streets with trees on both sides, touching at the top, a complete shaded canopy in which to run. The sleepy St. Joe River lazed along on the right. It was awesome; John was entranced, I was thrilled to have the Midwest look so good.

Having driven the course the day before, we knew what to expect. Miles 2 and 3 went smoothly. The Garmin told me we had a couple hundred feet in the bank for our goal. I had to remind John at several places we were OK and should save some gas for the end. We only walked at water stops; taking 20-30 seconds to hydrate well, collect ourselves and start again. It seemed to work well. Before we really knew it, we had done 7 miles and were over half way done with the race. We felt fine, yet ran conservatively. I was starting to think we just might be able to hang on, if we ran intelligently.

We crossed the St Joe River around mile 9 and began meandering towards the Notre Dame campus. A year ago, I bonked in this part of the course, so wondered just what would happen this year. This time, we just ran, holding the pace, doing miles slightly over or under 9 minutes. We popped out of the loop and I remarked to John “Boy, that loop went quickly.” Sub 2 looked more and more possible.

Just before mile 11, we encountered the only real “hill” on the entire course, a modest incline about 400m long with maybe 100 feet of vertical climb, which we had come to call "Mount South Bend. John and I broke (as we are both prone to do) into British accents as we started, speaking of the ascent before us, the thin air, the challenge of the peak, the place we would plant the flag. Laugh as we might, John attacked the hill with vengeance and left me and all my fellow Hoosiers in the dust. He paused at the top, waiting for me; I pointed out all his hill running proved itself. We had the time lost on the “mountain” made up in another 600m and passed the 11 mile mark.

The previous day, we had agreed we’d assess our condition at 11 miles and determine if we needed to push hard to the end or could enjoy the approach to and run on the ND campus. The Garmin told me we had nearly 300m in the bank; we agreed we’d enjoy and absorb the event.

And, boy did we.

The emotional high point for the race came a few minutes later. Due to road construction, we had a slight change in the race route from previous years. This time, the course turned onto the famous Notre Dame Avenue for a block, significant because it lines up perfectly with the famous Golden Dome of Notre Dame. John and I ran down the middle of the road, taking in the scene my Dad described to me many times as first seeing as a college freshman from the farm going to the big college to play football in 1933. I was flooded with memories of Dad and all that meant for him, all he gave to his children and grandchildren. It was astounding; lasting only a minute or two, it is indelibly imprinted on my mind.

A couple more turns and we were alongside Notre Dame Stadium. One last right and we were in the tunnel at the north end of the stadium, pulsating with the Notre Dame Fight Song. John and I barreled onto the field; I grabbed his hand around the 20 yard line and we ran across the finish line, hands linked, arms in the air. It was an awesome finish to an awesome run. Punching my watch and seeing 1:55 only made it better.

Wanting to absorb as much of this as we could, we hung around on the hallowed turf of Notre Dame Stadium for a full hour after we crossed the line. We talked with lots of folks we had run with; we talked with race officials; we marveled at the stadium; we remembered my Dad; we soaked in everything. When we left, we left satisfied.

Analyzing our splits later revealed we did the first 6 miles in 54:02 and the second 6 miles in 54:01…incredibly even, despite the “hills.” Throw in our last 1.1 at a 7:57 pace, this is a negative split. I was stunned when I saw this.

The drive home had much conversation, revealing one very fascinating story. John and I were both amazed that on a humid day with wind and temps in the mid to upper 60s, we could put down a 1:55 half marathon. How could this have happened? We realized two key things took place. John wanted to go for a sub 2, a goal I would not have done on my own. During the race, he kept pushing that pace. That was good and vital. With the experience I have from running more than John has and running in humidity, I helped to hold the pace in check through the middle miles of the race, when John said he would have been temped to crank out some 8:15 miles. That was good and vital. As a result of working together, we beat our goal AND has gas left in the mental and physical tanks to finish strong, absorbing all the race had to offer. Yeah. We need each other. It’s a story that extends far beyond running.

Much, much more happened…this is just the running side. Thanks for coming along for the ride. And keep persevering.

Heading for Notre Dame

ORN: 4 miles, R6/W1, 40:26, 10:07/mile

The final race of my spring series hits on Saturday, the Sunburst Half Marathon in South Bend, Indiana. Both long-time readers of this blog will (perhaps) recall this race's high point is finishing on the 50 yard line of Notre Dame Stadium. With my Dad having played football at Notre Dame in the late 30s, this becomes quite an emotional and special time for me.

Making it more special this year will be my oldest sisters oldest son, John, who is flying in from San Diego to run the race with me. He'll be here for supper tonight, we'll then drive up to South Bend mid day Friday, visit various campus sites, including my Dad's name inscribed on a wall of ND football letter winners and seeing his old dorm room. Yes, it still stands.

Then, a further treat...Friday night we will meet up with my second older sister's youngest son, Dave, who will be in SB for a ND alumni event! The three of us will have a lot of fun.

All of this is puncuated by a drive tonight for me to Wheaton, Illinois and back to drop off my youngest son Matt for summer school classes.

Busy?? Yes. But looking forward to it.

Stay tuned for race reports over the weekend and more than a few photos. It'll be special.

Persevere.

High School Track Meet

ORN: Wednesday; 5.1 miles, R6/W1, 9:35/mile

I can’t remember the last time I went to a track meet before Tuesday night. On a fantastic spring evening, we had one of 8 regional qualifying meets at our local HS track and I went to just enjoy the evening.

And what a fun evening it was. This was a girl’s meet, with the top three in each event qualifying for the state track meet in Indy next weekend. No weak runners at this level. The competition was awesome. The crowd was enthusiastic. It was fun to be so close to a sporting event.

Two vignettes stand out which capture HS sports at its best.

Mid-way through the meet, two runners came up into the stands and sat with one of the girls’ parents, right behind me. These two had finished their efforts in the 4x100m relay and were back in their sweats. They greeted the parental units, plopped down, opened their backpacks and pulled out calculators and Geometry textbooks. “Gee, why do we have to have a final exam tomorrow morning?” the girls wondered aloud. I asked them if they were set for alternate interior angles; they laughed and dug into the book, as more events continued in front of them. I’m guessing they got good grades.

In the 3200m race, two girls led the whole way and had a 40m lead on the third place girl at the bell lap. This tall runner with perfect form then proceeded to kick it. With 200m to go, she had reeled in the leaders and took the lead going into the final turn. She poured it on and won the race by 20m. As she powered down the front stretch, the crowd rose as one to applaud an utterly marvelous athletic effort. The buzz continued, when some folks from her school turned and told me “Not only is she fast, but she’s valedictorian of the senior class and has a full ride to Louisville in the fall.” You go girl.

A fun evening. And perhaps no coincidence I had my best 5 mile training run of the year the next morning.

Persevere. These kids sure were

Race Report: Geist Half-Marathon

ORN: 13.1 miles, run, 2:00:24, 9:12/mile

Quick Summary

The Inaugural Geist Half-Marathon was quite a success. On a lovely spring morning, we tooled through a beautiful area with a well-run event. I was shooting for a 2:02 and nearly got under 2. A negative split made it nice. Race 4 of the spring 5 in the books.

All the Details

In thinking about this race, I had debated (as is my habit) just what “Run the Best Race Conditions Allow” would be. Looking at the weather, the course, my own conditioning, I settled on shooting for a 2:02. Temps in the low 50s, with low humidity, were more conducive than in the Mini Marathon two weeks ago. I felt good, yet didn’t really want to crank it too high with the big race at Notre Dame in two weeks. So, I programmed 2:02 into the Garmin and let it be.

Traveling to the race with me was buddy Mat and his 17 year old daughter Christina. Matt has run for quite a time. Christina has run high school cross country but had never run a half. I picked them up at 5:25am and we were off.

Christina is one of those neat teenagers who are talented, well-balanced and delightful to be with. On Friday night, she gave a piano recital, getting dressed up and playing a lovely Nocturne by Chopin. Saturday morning, she’s up early, ready to run 13 miles, smiling and friendly throughout. She’s a captivating young woman, a treat to have along.

The race got its name since we ran one large lap around the Geist Reservoir. This lake is a centerpiece of some really swanky subdivisions on the northeast side of Indianapolis. It is hard to imagine a “Yacht Club” in Indiana, but we ran right past two of them this morning. We saw no corn fields, I should add.

The gun went off right on time at 7:30am. After the usual bobbing and weaving to find a spot in which to run during the first mile or so, all 2,100 settled in to the pace. The three of us ran together, going through the first three miles at 9:12, 9:21 and 9:04. It felt comfortable. We swung onto the West side of the lake and I was surprised at how quickly the miles started clicking by, averaging around 9:15.

Somewhere in this part of the race, I had a first. On a residential street, a guy rolled the window down on his car while driving along on our right and asked how far we were running. After replying, he looked at me and said “Joe? Yeah, you’re Joe!! Joe the Umpire!!” I guess somewhere along the line, he and I crossed paths in Little League baseball and he remembered me. I honestly have no recollection of the guy; perhaps I called his kid out on a close play at the plate. Nevertheless, he remembered me, identified me, and we chatted about baseball for a few moments. After he drove on, a couple of ladies who heard the entire exchange as we ran along chuckled and said “Well, at least you’re not a fat umpire.” I’ll take that as a compliment.

We rounded the south end of the lake and headed up the east side. We hit some hills here which were short but steep. During mile 9, Christina had some pain in her foot and opted to fall back and walk a little more. Around mile 10.5, Mat felt some calf pain and urged me to go on. I was actually feeling pretty good, so pushed the pace a bit. Mile 11 came through at 9:01, mile 12 had a dandy hill which took 9:24. But the last 1.1 was flat, so I opened it up. By my calculations, I figured I had a shot at a sub 2 hour time, but I knew it was close. Mile 13 came through at an amazing 8:08, and the last tenth took only 46 seconds. I was initially disappointed to see my watch read 2:00:24 at the finish. But, considering my 2:02 target and the wonderfulness of the day as a whole, I was happy.

Mat and Christina came across the line at 2:06 and 2:04 respectively; they were pleased. Mat seemed to strain his Achilles tendon, so we got some ice at the first aid tent and headed home. It was fun to be with them both.

In analyzing the race, I think I had a negative split. My first six miles took 55:38, my second six 55:51. Throw in the 8:08 mile 13, I will assume the second half was faster than the second.

Results on line were also surprising. In my age group, I was 40th out of 124…I don’t think I’ve ever been in the top third before.

I thought much about buddies Darrell, Sarah, and Mary Gee while I was running today. Each is off the roads, dealing with injuries. It isn’t fun to be on the sidelines. I’m empathizing with you each, knowing it hurts. Do persevere in your rehabs. You are not forgotten.

So there, race #4 of my five race spring series is done. The emotional highlight comes up in two weeks, when my nephew and I will salute my Dad with a run to Notre Dame Stadium. Stay tuned.