Race Report: Veterans Marathon 2011

ORN:  26.2 miles, 4:36:57, R/W 6/1

Quick Summary

It was a fantastic weekend with my nephew John, which happened to feature a marathon.   The race set up well and turned out to be my fastest marathon in over 5 years.

The Gory Details

This race was the result of a year-long discussion between John and me.   In 2010, we ran two big city marathons together in Los Angeles and Chicago.  Wouldn't it be cool, John suggested, if we contrasted that with a small-town Midwestern marathon??

The Veterans Marathon on November 12 filled the bill perfectly.  In the small town of Columbia City, Indiana, about 2 hours from our house, it's a half marathon/marathon with around 500 total participants.  What a contrast to the mega-events in LA and the Windy City!!

John flew in on Thursday from San Diego for a family meal.  Friday let us visit my workplace, walk some of the running trails I enjoy and then head across the northern Indiana flat lands to Columbia City.  It took us less than 60 seconds to pick up our bibs.  We drove the course before sundown and relaxed in the Lap of Luxury of our spacious hotel accommodations.

Race morning dawned with nearly perfect running weather.  It was sunny and 40F at the start.  The small town touches were all over the place; the local veterans group presented the colors, the Columbia City HS Band played the national anthem and at precisely 8:00am, a cannon blast sent us on our way.

John and I both felt the cool weather and flat course augured well. For John, that meant a run in the 4:15-20 range.  For me, it meant a gear shift from usual run/walk ratio of 4 minutes running and 1 minute walking to a 6/1.  We decided we'd do a solid run together for the first 3 miles and it was huge fun.  You can see it here in this photo from mile 2.5.

From Running-General

We split up around mile 3 and John had a wonderful run.  He enjoyed the entire scene of small-town Indiana.

From Running-General

For my part, I settled in and tried to execute my plan for the day.  I have not run a marathon at a 6/1 run/walk, yet had done all my long runs this fall at that ratio.  With the weather in the 40s, I planned to see if I could run "hard" and get under 4:40.  This required me to maintain a 9:45 to 10:00 pace during the run sections, for an aggregate 10:30/mile pace overall.

I don't think I've ever mentioned here the Universal Pace Chart I developed for myself a year or so ago.  It takes three even paces but adds 30 seconds/mile from mile 19 on in.  As a result, it allows me to project, at any mile, what my final time will likely be.  I have this laminated and carry it with me.  For an engineer, it's a treat to look at a sheet full of numbers every so often.

From Running-General

From Running-General

The plan worked.  At mile 6, I was 2+ minutes ahead of the 4:40 pace.  It was 3+ by mile 10 and I hit the half marathon split at 2:15:00.  Miles 13-17 were the toughest of the race, as the wind had some up and we were running straight into it a 15-20mph wind.  At mile 16, I was only 45 seconds ahead of the target pace.  Mentally, though, I knew the legs still felt good and I'd have the wind at my back soon.  By mile 20, I was 90 seconds ahead of pace and at 24, the gap was a full 2 minutes.  Mile 26 was exactly 10:30 and I hit the finish mat for an official time of 4:36:57, 3 minutes under the target.

From Running-General

John had a solid race as well, holding off leg cramps in the last three miles to notch a 4:25:29.  He got his wishes of a small town marathon with good weather.

From Running-General

It was a terrific weekend with a great friend to whom I also happen to be related. The running was also good but that's not the key.  It's the friendship that counts.

Thanks for listening.  Persevere.  

Race Report: Adams Mill Covered Bridge Half Marathon

ORN: 13.1 miles, 1:51:35, 8:32/mile

Summary

On a perfect fall day for running last Saturday, another PR flowed in this small, local half marathon on the nearby countryside.  Better still, an enjoyable day with three work colleagues.

Below, I have some photos of the day, many thanks to Half Fanatics pal Mike Hoyt.  Following that is a painfully detailed write up of the race which I sent to my nephew John.  So, whether you like photos or excessive levels of textual details, you'll have something to like here :-)  .

The Pix

Every race has a theme.  This one evolved into an outing with three work colleagues.  And it was ultimately a really good day for the home team.

Post Race: Mike, Joe, Cara, Wendy

From Adams Mill HM

I am really lucky to work with some terrific people at a company doing some neat things.  And some of these fine folks enjoy running as well!!  With this half marathon in the small town of Flora, about 20 minutes from us, on a quiet weekend in late October, all four of us decided independently to take it on for different reasons and ultimately helped each other achieve much more than we thought possible.

Race day came with perfect conditions, at least for me.  A big blue sky, temperatures in the low 40s, no wind and a mostly flat course.  It turned out to be a small field, as well, with only 81 runners showing up.

We started on time, heading straight south for 4.5 miles across the dead-flat farm country of our part of Indiana.  

From Adams Mill HM

I hope this incredible flatness, here at mile 2, does not create a phobic reaction for any of you from hillier locales.  But this is pretty typical of how our area looks, particularly once the corn is harvested.  And look at the blue sky!!  Horizon to horizon...spectacular on the prairie.

Before we got to mile 5, we took a turn to the races namesake, the Adams Mill Covered Bridge.  The curves and bridge were surprisingly motivating.


Covered Bridge

From Adams Mill HM

Just before the turn around, the road flattened out and we enjoyed running next to Indiana's top cash crop, ready for picking.

Running next to cornfield

From Adams Mill HM

We retraced our route.  With one mile to go, I knew I'd have to hustle to get to my 1:52:00 goal.

One mile to go

From Adams Mill HM

And so it was a welcome sight to me to see Mike, who had already finished, coming back to meet me.  He pushed me in the last 250 meters, and helped me get the goal!

Mike pacing Joe at end

From Adams Mill HM

Our work team did well!  Mike finished his first ever half marathon in 1:39, taking sixth overall.  Cara finished her third HM, 21 minutes better than ever.  Wendy finished her first HM, meeting her goal of feeling strong at the end.  So strong, she was able to happily hold her 1 year-old daughter just a couple of minutes after crossing the finish line!  And I was pleased, setting a PR by almost 2 minutes.

Wendy with Hannah

From Adams Mill HM

And now a wordy description of mileage, distance and other numeric detritus

Well, we got to the site with plenty of time.  I have learned  I need to warm up if I want to run hard.  So, I ran about 1.6 miles and stretched well.  We lined up and took off just past 9am.  I had set my Garmin for even splits (8:33) and had a pace chart to boot.  Miles 1-4 were flat and straight south from Flora.  They went in 8:30, :33, :52 (one more pit stop) and :41.  So I was 24 seconds behind pace at 4 miles.  

At mile 4.5 ish, we made a left turn and had some scenery.  We did a cool sweep down a curvy road to a covered bridge (thus the name of the race) and an old corn mill, now a museum.  We then climbed up out of this made a right, ran about a half mile into the tiny town of Cutler, Indiana.  Population of maybe 100.  Tiny little town and we did a nice loop of about 4 blocks and headed back from whence we came.  Miles 5-8 were 8:22 (w/ downhill), :38, :38, and :25.  I really enjoyed this part of the course...the relief, the very visually appealing curves and slopes and turns, the nice little loop through Cutler.  Also saw a lot of folks coming and going, since Cutler had the half-way mark.  And, at mile 8, I was only 15 seconds behind target pace.  

I should comment on hydration and calories.  I carried no water on this race, having decided aid stations were going to be adequate and the coolness would not make water a big deal.  There were 3 aid stations, so we had 6 opportunities to grab a drink.  I took something at 4 of the 6 and only had about a three gulps at each.  And that worked fine...no real thirst issues.  As for calories, I had a small squeeze bottle of JoeGu and I used it 3 times.  Probably the equivalent of one Gu pack but spread out.  It gave me a small boost, seemed to work.

We climbed up out of the valley, turned right and were back, headed straight north, back to Flora.  Mile 9 was uphill for an 8:42 but mile 10, back on the flat, was 8:42 as well, putting me 33 seconds off the pace after 10.  I was surprised to see the 8:42 there.  I had a straight shot into Flora and this became a bit of a mental search.  How badly did I want the 1:52?  Not like it was a world record or anything.  Yet, I really did want to see if I could pull it off and I felt OK.  The legs felt good.  But I was fully by myself...with only 80ish runners, we were royally spread out, I hadn't passed or been passed since mile 5.  So I settled on just to amp up the pace a bit, knowing I needed to feel like I was pushing it.  I checked the Garmin (which I had set on training mode, so my indication of pace was whether or not I was gaining on the imaginary competitor...I started to steadily gain).  But I was startled to go through mile 11 with a split of 9:08.  What??  I really didn't stress much... I knew I was running faster and experience says this had to be a mis-measured mile.  I kept pushing.  When I got to mile 12, the split was 7:56.  I knew I wasn't that quick!!  So, mile 11 was long, mile 12 was short, I was OK with that.  Yet, I was still 30 seconds off my target.  I had only recovered 3 seconds in 2 miles...not enough.  Could I push hard enough to do an 8:00 mile in mile 13 and carry that thru the last tenth? 

I tried to dial it up.  We had a long straight run towards the finish, interrupted by a short 4 block jog in and out of suburban Flora  (I'm sure necessary to get the distances right).  I was trying to catch a guy I had been chasing for 6 miles and was slowly closing on him.  Further, I saw my work colleague Mike who had run a 1:39, getting 6th overall, and had come back out to help me run in.  He saw me coming towards the last turn to home, with about 250 meters to go.  I turned the corner where he was standing, looked at my watch, which said 1:50:30.  I told Mike "I have 90 seconds to get across the line...take me in!!!"  

He relished that job and off we went.  Mike right in front of me, making me stay up with him.  Mike ran varsity cross country at U of Toledo, and quickly got into the "coach" mode...it was really cool.  I've never had this happen before.  I locked in on staying with Mike, listening to him urge me to get my knees higher, pushing off stronger on each stride.  We blew past the guy I had been trailing and pushed really hard for the end.  I was thinking we'd be close to 1:52.  I saw the official clock as we got close and it was only at 51:30!!  And, so, when I crossed, hit my watch, and I had it in 1:51:37.  I went from 30 seconds behind the pace at mile 12 to 23 seconds to the good at 13.1.  I'm still stunned it happened.  Just did the math...8:30 for 1.1 miles, which is a 7:44 pace for that distance.  Wow.  Mike's help was huge...and I think he had fun helping the old guy hustle to the end.  

Well, a long post for a mere half marathon.  Hope you enjoyed it.  Thanks for persevering. 

.

Race Report: Heritage Trail Marathon 2011

ORN:  26.2 miles, 5:18:13, 4/1 R/W, 12:03/mile

Quick Summary

You know a race is fun when you are sad to see the finish line, knowing the race is over.  It's even better when such a race is a marathon.  Better yet when you run the last half of the race 2.5 minutes faster than the first half.  Yet over the top better when your fastest mile of the day is the 26th. 

All of this and more in the Heritage Trail Marathon on October 2.  A perfect weather day on a fun, local trail made for one of the best running experiences I've ever had.  Here's the whole story.

The Gory Details

Lots of pix in this race report, thanks to the race organizers who published nearly 1,500 images to the web, all free to download.   What a treat!! 

This is a local race, a mere 10 minute drive from my house to the starting line.  So, unlike my usual race morning routine, I could "sleep in" until 5:30am, have a warm bowl of oatmeal in my own kitchen and then take a short drive to the start.  Check in was simple and well before sunrise.  Chilly too...my thermometer at home said 40 when I got up. 

When checking in, I got my first surprise of the day.  I learned the organizers had to alter the course for the marathon.  Where the original plan has us running the full 13.1 mile length of the Wabash Heritage Trail and then back, trail construction and a logistic conflict with another event in downtown Lafayette forced them to make the course a 6.55 mile out and back route, which half-marathoners would do once and marathoners would do twice.  Understandable, given the circumstances.  But, as a card-carrying overthinker, it took me a while to re-orient my race plans regarding hydration, aid stations and landmarks for effort assessment.  (photographic note:  when training for this race during August I shot a photo album of the trail and two short videos from around mile 2 and around mile 4.5)

I worked through it OK and the sun came up on a clear, beautiful day for running.  Musical Note #1 happened when the organziers gathered the 200+ total participants in the marathon, half marathon, 15K and 5K runs for some instructions about the trail and then we sang the National Anthem together.  It was a nice touch and we didn't sound bad at all!  The event began as they launched each of the four events at five minute intervals.  The 46 of us running the marathon gathered first and took off right at the appointed 8:00am start time.  I'm in the back of the pack here, just behind runner 143.

The initial out section served to help me find the day's rhythm.  The trail was narrow and, with the early pack, not one where I could do my usual run/walk for a while.  We were also eventually passed by the leaders of the half marathon and then the 15K fasties.  I wasn't sure just where the aid stations were, nor how I was going to reload my water bottles along the way.  Not unusual, really.  But, by the time I got close to the turn around point, it was starting to settle in.

Musical note #2.  Just after the turnaround, I met local running friends Tony and Lu who were taking a slow approach to the half marathon.  Tony had bragged on his lovely wife Lu's birthday at the start when we talked.  As I saw them running towards me, I broke into a loud version of "Happy Birthday", and noticed that "Lu" is the perfect name to sing that song to!!  Try it...all four lines rhyme...even better if you use "Lu-Lu" for the name.  She must have liked it...I got a hug on the trail.

On the first trip back, things quickly fell into place.  I reoriented my earlier thinking to the reality of the aid station locations as they were.  The traffic thinned, the blue sky was gorgeous through the trees, my blood was warmed so the long sleeves and cotton gloves were perfectly comfortable.  The legs felt good, though I knew full well that good legs at mile 8 were necessary but not sufficient for a good race. 

Musical note #3.  Figuring I'd be alone a lot in this small race, I took along my mp3 player, plus some new earbuds from Yurbuds.  They had advertised them as having a "lock in" feature which kept them from falling out of your ears, something I've been annoyed with every type of ear bud I've used.  And they were falling out.  But, putting my proclivity to overthinking to good use, I realized how I could rearrange the cord to keep them in.  I sat back and enjoyed my favorite local station.

I got back to the start/finish line, feeling good.  I reloaded the water bottles, reoriented the cord, smiled for a photo and went out for another 13.1 miles. 

And the race got really fun.  Fully familiar with the altered course, still enjoying a perfect fall day, pretty much by myself all the time, dialed into the tunes, it was a treat to keep going.  On my way out, I started to see the leaders on their way back.  Boy, were they moving.  But, hey, so was I, just not as quickly.  The 4/1 run/walk cycle was feeling just fine.  In fact, somewhere in the 15th mile, I recall feeling sad a walk break sounded.  I smiled, knowing I needed to walk, but was glad I was so antsy to keep running.  I got to the turn around point once more, 20 miles into a trail marathon, and grinned more...I still felt fine and I was 6+ miles from home. 

Musical moment #4 hit around mile 22.  Todd Agnew's "Grace Like Rain" came on the radio, a marvelous arrangement of the familiar tune "Amazing Grace".  It's a favorite of mine for several reasons.  And it made me laugh.  I recalled being around mile 22 of the US Air Force Marathon in 2009, hearing this song play at an aid station.  I was dehydrating badly at that point and the song was a huge encouragement to me.  How funny that the same song would come on again at about the same point on a day when I felt terrific!

Before the race, I had decided a great race on this course would happen if I still felt good at the last crossing of the Wabash River, about 3 miles from the finish.  Well, I crossed the Wabash, felt good, and grinned again.  Let's let it open up and run well to the end.  And so I did.  It was pure joy to move smoothly, comfortably, confidently through the woods with 23 miles behind me.   When I came to the small marker indicating one mile to go, I scrapped the run/walk and pushed the pace home...as near as I could tell, I ran the last mile between 8:30 and 8:45, my best mile of the day.  Across the finish line, marathon #23 in the books.

Why did this race go well?  I think several reasons.  First, the weather was perfect.  It was in the low 40s at the start and was perhaps 55 at the end.  No wind.  A flat course along the river with firm footing helped, even with all the logs we had to go over.  I had enough miles in the bank.  In otherwords, all the factors lined up for a good race.  And it was good. 

Long report...a good race, worth remembering.  Thanks to Planet Adventure for a good organization.  And thanks for reading.

Persevere.


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Medals4Mettle: Letting Go to Lift Up

While preparing for the Illinois Marathon last April, I got a note from fellow Marathon Maniac and Illinois resident Scott Dahl, setting up a MM Photo Op for the event. In that communciation, I learned of an organization in which Scott is active. Medals4Mettle is based on a simple and compelling premise: Runners give their medals as encouagement to children fighting long-term illness.

When Scott explained this to me and after I looked at M4M's web site, it grabbed me. What a beautiful yet simple thing!! The group was started by a surgeon who is also a triathlete; he had a child as a patient, fighting a long haul disease and, somewhat spontaneously, gave the child a recently earned medal from a tri. He wanted to salute the "mettle" the child required to deal with the illness. The child was so pleased and so encouraged by the simple gift, he realized he had stumbled on to something. He began involving other athletes and the idea took form.

Scott described this and I realized I could easily be part of it. Over the years, I've placed medals and race bibs behind the door to our home office, below. It's a quiet, out of the way part of the house.

Yet for what reason did I need the medals? Did any local sports reporters clamor for the opportunity to photograph them? Did any family members stroll up to the room to marvel at my athletic prowess? Did I receive email requests for me to pose in front of them? Laughable suggestions, all. The only purpose they held was for some periodic reminisence. So, it seemed logical I could part with them for more noble use.

I knew this information in April. And I knew how I could send them to M4M. And I didn't take any action until now. Why?

At one level, I simply needed to get around to it. But there was a deeper, more self-absorbed reason which I had to acknowledge if I was to be honest. This was the real cause the four-month delay.

I liked having the medals. In some way, they gave meaning, identification. To look at them was to relive some day gone by. Keeping them was to somehow seek to cling to a moment which was done, over.

Years ago, I heard a quote I've never forgotten: "If you own something which you can't give away, you don't own it, it owns you." I realized the medals were starting to "own" me in some way. Not at the depth of control of the "precious" in Tolkien's Ring Trilogy, yet there was a cling. This realization both frightened me and spurred me to action.

It was a strange, yet good sensation to begin pulling the medals off their ribbons, one by one (M4M adds their own ribbon to each medal, so asks folks to send in medals without the ribbon). It was a healthy lifting of some strange attachment. The half-marathon medals, interestingly, were not a big deal to part with. But the marathon medals were. It took work to pull each one off its ribbon. I laid them all out on the desk and smiled. Each one had a special memory of a marathon which went well or terribly or alone or with friends.

I ultimately chose to keep two medals; my first half-marathon medal at the Indianapolis Mini-marathon in 2005 and my first marathon medal of this era, St. Louis in 2006. All the rest went into the box. 


And it was fine to send 4.5 pounds of medals out the door. Shoot, I still have all the bibs. I still have all the ribbons, many of which are specific to a particular race. And, I pray, each of those medals will bring a smile and a bit of encouragement to a kid and his/her family facing a much bigger challenge.

If you'd like to be part of this wonderful and simple project, all you need to know is at the M4M web site. I'd like to know what, if any, mental process you might work through in so doing.

I know I'm glad I did.

Persevere. The kids sure will.

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Race Report-Blueberry Stomp 15K

ORN:  15km (9.3 miles), 1:17:52, 8:23/mile

 

Had huge fun today, Labor Day 2011, running the Blueberry Stomp 15K road race in Plymouth, Indiana.  The race fell nicely into my fall race plans, helping build towards three marathons later in the fall.  About a 90 minute drive away, it was easy to get to and offered a good distance.  I had run this race in 2005 and was looking forward to running it again.

 

After a brutal heat wave last week, a massive cool front came through over the weekend and the temps were perfect for running.  The thermometer read 53F at the start and could not have been much over 56 by the end.  A refreshing breeze of cool, dry, Canadian air made us forget, for a little while anyway, the mean heat we've had this summer. 

 

I wasn't quite sure what the legs would allow today, given a hard half marathon just two weeks ago.  So, I decided to see if I could carry a pace of 8:50/mile and see how I felt.  The weather was just so very, very nice, I did feel hopeful, though.

 

The race started right on time with what seemed like 500 or so combined 5K and 15K runners.  In the first mile, I found myself running comfortably yet was surprised to see the first mile come along in 8:37.  I tried to hold back the reins, yet miles 2 and 3 went by in 8:28 and 8:34.  The 15K route made a large loop of country road past past some stately manors.  Mile 4 checked in at 8:33.  I was still feeling good, so decided to let the pace improve a bit.

 

Mile 5 and 6 were 8:20 and 8:31 and we were heading back to town, feeling good.  So, what was possible??  I picked up the pace.  Mile 7 and 8 were in 8:10 and 8:07.  The last 9.32 miles went by at a pace of 7:59 and we were done.  The final was 1:17:52, which eclipsed my former 15K PR (set on the same course in 2005...I don't often run 15K) by over 7 minutes.  The aggregate pace was 8:23/mile and the entire race seemed to pass oh-so quickly.

 

The fun part of this race comes at the end, though.  The running event is simply one part of the larger Blueberry Festival, a carnival of activities over the whole Labor Day weekend.  The high point is a big parade on Labor Day morning.  The start of the race preceeds the parade, though many folks had already staked out prime viewing spots along the way.  Thus, we had a nice crowd on the way out.  On the return trip, however, the parade was in full bloom, going south, while the 15K runners were strung out, running north, in a lane along the left side of the road.  I decided to have some fun, giving official "parade wave" to the float carrying Miss Blueberry and her court (they got the joke) and doing an air guitar with guys on a float for a local radio station. 

 

But the real fun was seeing a bunch of guys walking along wearing t-shirts with a huge "Joe" emblazoned across a silloutte of the state of Indiana.  Turned out it was a campaign effort for Joe Donnelly, currently representing that part of Indiana in the House of Representatives but also hoping to make a run for the US Senate in 2012.  In the moment, I mostly thought it was a cool T Shirt, for obvious reasons.  Better, though, as I ran past the T-shirted dudes, I saw a guy in a tie-less white dress shirt shaking hands with folks on the side of the parade route.  Man, I said to myself, that has to be Joe!!  So, even with 200m left in the race, I peeled back and said to him "Are you 'Joe' "?  He grinned and said yes.  I ran up and shook his hand, telling him I was Joe too!  I guess this meant we were both, simultaneously, shaking hands with Joe.  In a nice bit of clarity of thought, Joe said to me "Hey, I'm messing up your time!"  I appreciated his awareness of the moment.  I pointed out I was not on the bubble for making the Olympic team and just was having fun.  He got the joke and the political moment made us all smile. 

 

It was huge fun to be able to run well on a perfect day.  It doesn't always happen...savor it when it does. 

 

Persevere.  And give a politician a smile if you have the chance.

 

 

.

 

 

Race Report: AFC Half Marathon 2011

ORN: 13.1 miles, 1:54:47, 8:46/mile

The Quick Summary

Wow, what a fun weekend in San Diego! We had huge fun running America's Finest City Half Marathon, and even more fun with family. On a perfect day to run, I had my quickest HM time in three years.

The Gory (and Pictorial) Details

A trip to San Diego from Indiana for a long weekend means a lot of early mornings. I was out the door at 4am on Friday morning and, despite a flight cancellation causing me to fly from Indy to Houston to Denver to San Diego, I got there just a little after lunch. My sister picked me up and we got to visit a wonderful agency where she volunteers in San Diego, The Tomorrow Project, which gives many job skills to underpriveleged women. It was terrific to see how my big sis was contributing in her retirement.

Her oldest son, John, is technically my nephew but we are way more like brothers. He picked me up late afternoon and we headed to the expo to get our bibs. Walking in, a strange, impish idea hit me. I asked someone "Just where are the bibs for the elite runners?" She pointed, we walked over and I explained to the volunteer that I was hoping to just stand there, that this was as close as I'd ever be to elite status. She grinned and said, "Shoot, why don't you just hold one?"

"Elite" runners?

And so we did! It seems the #2 had already been picked up, but #1 and #3 seemed just fine for us!! We got photographic proof of our brief touch with world-class status.

From there, John, a two-time veteran of the AFC HM, drove me over the last half of the race. This proved very useful on race day, as the course gradually climbed in the 11th mile, then found a long steep up-hill grind over the last two miles.

We then headed to enjoy an evening of Major League Baseball. We went to Petco Park to watch the titanic struggle between the Florida Marlins and San Diego Padres. Since both teams were at the bottom of the National League East and West, it seemed only logical to wear a Cubs jersey to represent the bottom of the National League Central.

At PETCO Park

Thanks for StubHub, we got terrific deals on seats just 6 rows from the field right at third base. We were so close to the field, we could analyze whether the container in the right hip pocket of third-base umpire Tony Randazzo was a tin of snuff or a small package of sunflower seeds. (During the middle of the 5th, we confirmed it was the seeds, fortunately). John and I love baseball and we were able to get so close and analyze all the ins and outs of a tight, 4-3 Padre win. It was probably the most enjoyable major league game I've ever attended.

Saturday was a relaxing day with my sister and brother-in-law, capped off with a great pasta dinner and long conversation with John and his wife. We hit the hay early because Sunday was going to be a long day.

And so it was. The alarm went off at 3:30am, John and I headed to Balboa Park just before 4 and were on one of the 106 bus loads of runners hauled from the finish line to the start point at Point Loma at 4:40am. At the Point by 5am, we had two hours before the 7am start. And this time was sweet. It was dark and we found a quiet spot overlooking San Diego Bay. The cool quiet was a terrifically pleasant experience. As the sun rose, the marine layer kept the temps right at 60F for the entire 2 hours of the race...perfect running weather. At the right time, we did a short warm up run, and walked to the start grid, positioning ourselves about a third of the way back from the front. Despite our very ordinary four-digit numbers, we were ready to go.




At the start

The race started on time, we crossed the finish line two minutes after the gun sounded and the race was on. John and I wanted to run the race fairly hard, so had decided to try to hold to 8:40 miles, run together through mile 10 and then see how we felt for the final uphill climb. The first two miles were rolling, then we had a nearly two mile run downhill. The course then flattened out and we settled into a rhythm. We hit the 10K mat together in 52:41, a pace of 8:30, feeling good. With the early downhill, we were pleased with this pace.

The 10K mat

We turned onto Harbor Island and ran the "T" section of the course, emerging at mile 8. We shared some M&Ms, stayed hydrated and kept moving. It was terrific.

At about this time, far ahead us, a 23 year-old Kenyan, Weldon Kirui, won the race in a blistering 1:03:18. Why was he so fast? Take a close look at his bib number:

The Winner #3

Yes, he wore Bib #3. If you zoom in on the original photograph, you can actually see John's fingerprints still on the corners of the bib. The inspiration was unquestionably the difference on race day. John is truly linked to running greatness, yet, in humility, did not want to detract from Mr. Kiruri's moment in the sun and so hung back in the pack.

Meanwhile, back on the course, we kept rolling along. Just before the 10 mile marker, though, I noticed John was rolling better than I was. We chatted about it and I sent him on his way with an encouraging fist bump. I watched him pull away steadily, looking strong. He kept a very strong pace, motoring up the two hilly miles in 8:13 and 8:11!

John finishing

John finished in 1:51:07. Breaking that down, from the 10K mat to the finish, he ran at an 8:29 pace. Wow...8:30/mile for first 10K of the race which had a big downhill, then 8:29 for the final 6.9 miles with a 2 mile grind uphill. That's an awesome finish and great pacing.

After John moved ahead, I hit one of those half-mile or so patches where I had to re-calibrate and reorient, both in mind and body. That seemed to help and then the hills began. The same two miles mentioned above took me 9:55 and 9:40, respectively. Such is the advantage John has by being able to train regularly on hills while I live in a remarkably flat area. That hill was just plain tough but I did run it without walking.

One of the most amazing experiences of this race for me occurred at the top of the hill, as we turned off the climb and onto the mostly flat final half mile in Balboa Park. I suddenly felt like I was accelerating...it's hard to explain but it was almost like coming out of a slingshot. I looked at my Garmin and saw a pace of 7:45 and it felt fine.

Joe near finish

I pushed hard to the finish, hitting the line at 1:54:47. I had wanted to go under 1:55 and had 13 seconds to spare. My pace after the 10K mat slowed to 9:00/mile but that's just the way it was on the hill.

John found me shortly after I crossed the finish line and we had a most wonderful time reliving the race. We hung out for 30 minutes or so, enjoying the entire atmosphere, even with our humble, four-digit bib numbers intact.

Afterwards

The rest of the day Sunday was more family. My sister, BIL and I joined John and his wife, daughters and boyfriends for supper on their new patio. What rich time together! It ended too quickly...up at 4am on Monday to catch a 6:30am flight home.

On reflection, the weekend was simply marvelous. It also says much. The baseball was perfect. The run was awesome. But, ultimately, baseball (like the Cubs) fades. Eventually I won't be able to run. Yet my family will always be there. And quality of the time with them eclipsed all the other terrific experiences of the weekend. Thanks, to all of you for your hospitality!

Persevere. Especially with your family.



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Race Report: Eagle Creek Trail Half Marathon

ORN: 13.1 miles (-ish); 3:05:07

Quick Summary:

Wow! How do you capture fascinating, tough, gritty, enjoyable, glad-it-is-over, all at once?? I'm not sure...but that was what Planet Adventure's Eagle Creek Trail Half Marathon turned out to be. On a brutally hot, humid day, we ran a very technical, demanding course. I gave it a hard effort throughout; yet that effort earned me the slowest HM time I've ever had. And I wasn't the least bit dissatisfied...I simply "ran the best race conditions allowed."

And had some fun conversations as well...see the last story below.

Lots of photos today. A couple are mine but most come from Dave Mari, Michael Hoyt and the race organizers, who provided thousands of hi-res photos free for the download. What a concept! Enjoy.

The Gory Details

The race site was just under an hour from our house so it was easy to be out the door by 5:15am and have plenty of time to get parked, get the packet, relax and prepare for the (scheduled) 7:35am start.

Somewhat spontaneously, a Marathon Maniac photo-op happened before the race. Almost magically, folks with Maniac singlets appeared from all directions and we had quite an assemblage. Equally quickly, cameras appeared everywhere...maybe 20 or more folks snapping pix all at once. As close as I'll ever come to being a paparazzi subject! Since I was only running the half, I didn't wear my Maniac shirt but slid in the back of the photo anyway.

Maniac Meetup

Not surprisingly, in the middle of this photographic extravaganza was our irrepressible fellow Maniac, photo dude and friend to all, Dave Mari. I first met Dave at a MM photo meet-up before the Austin Marathon last February. Dave runs almost every weekend somewhere, camera in hand, meeting tons of folks. Amazingly, he actually remembered me and greeted me by name. It made for a fun start to the race.

Dave and Joe

The race had multiple events. The marathoners started first, albeit 20 minutes late. We half marathoners started 10 minutes later. After a similar gap, the 15K participants took off, followed by 5K runners. All told, 500 runners participated.

Did I mention this was a trail race?

Driving across the flatlands of northern Indiana, you'd be hard pressed to think there could even BE a trail race here. Much less find one inside the city limits of Indianapolis (Mayor: Peyton Manning). Even less find an elevation chart like this:

elevation chart

But the organizers put this all together and presented it accurately as a tough, largely single-track trail race.

The course had four real sections. The first 3+ miles were the toughest, a gnarly, twisty, narrow, up and down, course through the woods. As we started, this predictably turned into a woodsy conga line. The line carried me along with everyone else. I managed to recover from 5 near trips and falls and just kept moving.

conga line early

Just before we finished this tough section, a group of 15K runners blew past us at a rare, sorta-open section of the early course, braving stickler weeds to do so. And one of them looked familiar.

"Are you Margaret?" I yelled. Surprised, she turned and said "Yes!" "Did you work at Athletic Annex many years ago?" "Whoa, that was a long time ago, but yes!" she replied, moving out of earshot. "Great, I'll find you later!" and off she went, really moving quickly down the rough terrain.

Eventually, we burst onto the second section, a city thoroughfare, Indy's busy 56th Street. This 3/4 mile section was dead flat over a reservoir. We then reentered the park for the third portion with a much more runnable, if still up and down, trail.

Runnable Section

It was funny how much easier it was to do hills on nicely prepared stairs than a rooted trail!

Stairs

While my splits were around 15 minutes/mile in the early conga line, then around 9:30 on 56th, they converged to the expected 11:00 on these more runnable sections with the pack thinning. I felt fine, despite the heat. I carried my own fluid and the Elixr tabs I'm now using in water make a huge difference. At a key intersection, I saw Dave again and, true to character, he snapped a photo! We had a nice chat, as we both caught our breath as best we could in the stifling humidity of the woods.

Joe mile 7ish

The fourth section of the course was a flat, scenic run on a causeway around a portion of the reservoir. It looked nice but was tough to run on. The rock base was made of large, sharp, quarried stone. Uneven and, were one to fall, quite able to inflict some dandy cuts or scrapes. So I took it easy, stopped to chat with a couple of fishermen and kept moving.

Causeway

Coming off the causeway, we retraced our steps back to the start. The runnable part of the course was enjoyable and I kept moving well. The temperature climbed to the mid 80s, as it was about 10am when we reached 56th Street, out of the shade and under the sun.

The final section was every bit as demanding as it was at the start, only more so on tired legs with higher temperatures. We had fully 50 downed trees like this to climb over or under on the 3.5 mile trek back to the start. It took plenty of concentration, besides the obvious physical effort.

Trees in Trail

I felt fine but, as I met many marathoners heading out for their second lap, I was very glad I had fought the urge to enter this race as a marathon in early August. I truly don't think I could have done it in this heat.

It never gets old to get closer to the finish line. As I crossed ditch after ditch and climbed dead logs galore, I could hear the music and loudspeaker getting closer. It was fun to pop out of the woods and make one more circle of the grassy area to cross the finish line.

Finish Line

The time of day was 11:04 as you can see; my race time was 3:05 and I was fully satisfied with it, as surprising as that might sound. I was gassed...no more effort I could have really put out in those conditions. And that was fine.

The organizers had some good fluids and food available at the finish. That and a seat in the shade was all I wanted for 10 minutes post race.

But then I remembered one task remaining. Where was Margaret?

I got up from the picnic table, started looking at each knot of people still standing around and finally saw Margaret and her husband getting ready to leave. I reintroduced myself and asked her if I could tell her the story.

With Margaret


On November 27, 2004, I met Margaret. (I wrote fully of this encounter that evening on my professional blog here.) I had just restarted running in May 2004 but was fighting calf and Achilles tendon pain. So, I went to a real running store and met her. She didn't try to sell me a shoe. Rather, she sat and asked me questions. We talked for 20 minutes before she even brought out a pair of shoes. Then she took more time, pondered what she saw as I ran up and down the sidewalk outside the store. We tried, retried, talked, observed, and re-tried. I found several possible pairs. The Brooks Adrenalines turned out to be perfect. I bought them and the pain was gone inside of two weeks. It was a wonderful "coincidence" to tell Margaret this story while wearing the Brooks singlet which the company gave me 18 months ago as part of a promotional program. She got me started with this excellent company.

My encounter with her on that chilly grey day in November 2004 was a central step in my running. It got me running, year round, pain free. And I've never forgotten it. Nor forgotten Margaret.

I've actually seen Margaret twice in the intervening years; both times as she blew past me in a race in Indy. I've never had the chance however to stop, talk and fully express my thanks. Saturday was the day. She was wonderfully gracious and, predictably from our first meeting, more interested in knowing how I was doing than receiving my thanks. Yet, it did bring a warm smile to her and I hope a bit of encouragement, probably of a different kind from knowing she had just finished the 15K as 3rd female overall and first in her age group.

You never know what bit of interaction can have a positive impact.

The race "medal" was made from a downed tree branch from this park and will be unique part of my collection.

the medal

A fun race. Be like Margaret...just listen well to someone today.

Persevere.


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