Distance Run

This fall I had the opportunity to run the Baltimore Marathon on October 11.

I have many fond memories of this race.

First, the weather was unbelievable. Perfect the whole day. I don’t know how I’ve gotten so lucky, but it has never once rained on a race day for me.

Next, the course was great! My last big-city races were in Richmond. And, I must say, running Richmond basically turned me off of big city races.

Not to bash Richmond or the race, but to put things in perspective - My favorite course is Charlottesville (VA) - which runs mostly through countryside, and I spend most of my training time running on trails.

But Baltimore was a FUN town to run in. We ran through countless neighborhoods with tons of spectators, beautiful architecture, and lots of shade.

We ran through Fort McHenry, around Lake Montebello, and down endless tree-lined residential streets.

It was the best of both worlds!

And, the course support was awesome!

The water stops were very well staffed, and HUGE - they seemed to go on for hundreds of feet - which led to quick access without the hassle.

The thing I like most - the atmosphere. It just Felt like an awesome day.

The out-and-back nature of much of the course gave me the opportunity to see the
leaders, and those behind me - lots of opportunity to cheer on fellow runners.

I also very much liked the fact that the Half runners started at the Marathon’s 13 mile marker.

By 13 I was dragging, and the infusion of motivated runners helped me kick those blues.

Now, Baltimore was not all fun-and-games.

No Marathon is.

So, for those considering Baltimore in the future, take the following advice…

Spend a lot of time building hill workouts into your final months of training.

And I’m not talking about the “sprint up the hill, walk down” type of workout.

I’m talking about the “spend a lot of time jogging up and down the longest hills you can find” type of workout.

Baltimore had it’s hills - but they weren’t the short, steep types - they were the long, low grade type.

Alternatively - focus on walking a lot of the hills early in the race to help conserve energy for later.

I was not adequately trained for the hills and was, basically, in a blackout for the last 5 miles of the course.

Ask me anything that happened between Lake Montebello and the finish line and I couldn’t tell you.

Oh, and about the finish area. They need to do something about that. What a nightmare. I just ran 26 miles, now I have to stand in line like a cow just to get into an overly-crouded finish area? Ugh. Oh, well! Little issue for such a great race!

Would I run Baltimore again?

Absolutely.

Results:
Time: 3:46:20 (Slowest, Ever! hehe)
Place: 588/3133
Group: Males - 35-39
Group Place: 70/355

Bill

Ok, the first thing I want to say is that the Potomac River Run Marathon and Half is my new favorite race.

First, it’s obscenely close.

Second, it runs along the Potomac River between Alexandria and Mount Vernon (an ara of particularly strong sentimental value).

Third, it’s tiny, but exceedingly well organized by the race director, Jay Wind.

The course was excellent, not many people, awesome weather.

I rocked it as well, but didn’t beat my time from 3 weeks earlier :)


Fin No. Name          Age S  City            NetTime  Finish   Adjusted  Adj.Pace
18 288 William Gross 38  M  Chevy Chase MD  1:34:18  1:34:22  1:34:03   7:10.4

There were a total of 376 timed finnishers, putting me in the top 6.25% :)

Bill

Much of the winter I spent training for a spring half-Ironman distance triathlon.

Due to a confluence of events (death of fiance’s father, buying a home and moving, etc) I missed too many weeks during my peak training period.  So, I bagged the race.

At the same time, my boss, John McIntire had coordinated a “train for a half-marathon” program at our work.  We identified two spring races, and recruited over 10% of our staff to participate!

So, that was an awesome fit.  The half-Ironman included a 13.1 mile run, so I figured if I can’t do the tri, I might as well see how well I could do at the half.

The first of the two races with the National Marathon.

Other than the annoyance of this race’s name having changed at least 30 times during the winter, the course, the weather, and the run was outstanding.

There is a marathon option, and I may definitely consider this home-town run next year unless Charlottesville is an option!

Here’s the results, I’m pretty happy!

Plc Group Group Gun Chip Pace
157  25/226  M3539 1:34:24  1:33:36  7:09 William Gross  38 M  3853 Chevy Chase MD

There were a total of 2,637 runners, putting my finnish in the top 6%.

I guess cross-training all winter with biking has helped :)

I think biking increases my foot turn-over, and definitely increased overall muscle fitness in the legs.

Bill

(I’ll have photo’s soon!)

This past Sunday, October 28 was the 32nd annual Marine Corps Marathon.

Here are some stats:

NOTE, the winning woman was first-time marathoner Kristen Henehan. Way to go!

About the race…

Though I am not a fan of the bigger races I’ve done, I must say that I had the time of my life at this race.

What I don’t like about the big races is I feel confined by the volume of runners. I mostly run solo, or in a small group on the rare occasions when I run with my club.

I also don’t particularly like cramped courses, down-town areas, fighting to pass a pod of slower runners who are monopolizing the course… I can extend this list, but I think you get the idea.

I signed up for this race because I though, “What the heck, it can’t be worse than Richmond.” I’m not trying to knock the Richmond race, but it is a big city race :/

Boy was I surprised by the MCM.

First, and unfortunately, the race committee couldn’t have influenced this, was the weather. For much of the summer, DC got no rain, and very few cloudy days. Those who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder must have been in hog-heaven!

But for the 5 days leading up to the race it was raining… not cloudy, raining. It was horrible for my attitude!

Imagine my excitement when the long range forecast called for clearing up on Saturday afternoon, and sunny on Sunday!

Stepping off the metro at the Pentagon I was greeted by one of my favorite sights. The night sky slowly giving way to the morning. The deep blues, stars, and glow of the new day on the horizon inspire me deeply. Sunrise is a very special time for me. I think it appeals to the animal that lies deep inside each of us that evolved rising with the sun.

Second, was the commute. I had a blast on the short train ride to the Pentagon. The stations and trains were packed with runners! Man it as motivating. I meet some people in from Kentucky to run the race. How fun!

Third, how about the enormous staging area. Much of one of the Pentagon’s enormous parking lots was set up as the pre-race staging area. Huge rows of port-a-johns, tents for information and warming up, and UPS trucks to shuttle gear to the finish area. Everything you could want in the 2 hours before a race (except Starbucks (though they were at the finish area)).

I found the area fascinating. It made me think of a friend of mine Adrienne who just got a degree in urban planning. I wonder is she’d have fun observing something like this.

The camaraderie in the starting area was awesome.

Fourth was the course itself. Some have complained about hills, wind, whatever. But my thinking is you don’t sign up for a marathon and complain about the weather. It’s a damn marathon, get over it.

That said, the course for the most part was excellent. Early in the race there were many wide open areas to allow me to fight my way to my race pace groups. There were a few bottlenecks where there were the road narrowed AND they had a water stop. Ah, most of the people I nearly mowed over were pretty forgiving :)

There were a few hills early in the course, and I love hills. Not only are they great for waking up all my leg muscles, but I tend to gain a lot of time on the downhills.

Many runners slow considerably on both up and downhills. This led to very quick thinning out of the crowd by the 8 or 9 mile mark.

After that, I felt like I was in a small race again. Sweet.

Finally, but not lastly, being in my hometown my family could come. How sweet it was to see them twice in the race! My dad has been trying to come see a race of mine for years now, and I’m so happy he was there! It made my heart leap. Perseverance was a gift from my father. I felt like the student being cheered by his teacher during the big rehearsal. It was moving, and helped get me through the mid-race blahs.

All-in-all, I had an awesome time at the race, and would definitely run it again.

A few final thoughts…

I tend to set several goals for race day. I don’t strictly adhere to these, but they would be nice to achieve. I run how I feel, and if I meet my goal, so be it.

My goals for this race were:

1. Finish in 3:20
2. Finish in the top 10%, overall
3. At a minimum, to beat my very first race time, 3:43 at Charlottesville, 2005.
4. Finish

Fortunately I met all but my first goal. Not bad :) All things considered, on any race day I’m grateful just to get across the finish line. So many things can go wrong during a marathon.

Sunday I was feeling strong. I started out very quick. I’m thankful that the early race was fairly congested or I may have bonked. Early in the race I was running 7 minute miles, and would have preferred to be running around 7:30. Later in the race I slowed down to well over 8 minutes per mile as the result, but had gained enough time early on to PR.

Though I was running fewer days per week than any other race I have run (except the first), I was running more speed and strength work outs. I think this had a lot to do with my performance.

I have also been bike riding a lot, though I tapered off of that about 5 weeks from race day.

This winter I hope to get back to 4 days running, with a 20+ mile run every third week, and with some speed/strength workouts in the mix. I’ll also be biking and swimming preparing for the 2008 season.

I predict more triathlons in ‘08 :)

Bill

Here are some photo’s of me at the event.

Waiting by the pool…

Nearing the end of the ride.

 
About 1 mile into the run.

Nearing the end of the run.

Wow… I knew I was pushing hard, but didn’t think I’d do this well :)

Here’s the results of the top 20…

Check out Megan Knepper. A 24 year-old female crushes to take 5th place! Good job, Megan!

              CLASS                                        FINNISHING     CLOCK
  ID#  PLACE PLACE                   FINISHER                  TIME       TIME
  157     1       Peter Leo, 35, Alexandria, VA               57:04.33    3:07:04.33
  165     2       Derek Vanhoose, 26, Gaithersburg, MD        57:43.36    3:07:43.36
   39     3       Jack Gest, 38, Williamsport, MD             58:22.79    1:28:22.79
  240     4    1  Cory Kaufman, 19, Somerset, PA              58:23.65    4:18:23.65
    5     5       Megan Knepper, 24*, Fairfax, VA             58:49.45      58:49.45
  190     6    1  Kevin Kendro, 28, New Market, MD            59:04.33    3:29:04.33
   81     7    1  Michael Matney, 38, Frederick, MD           59:06.56    1:59:06.56
  205     8    1  Graham Abel, 22, Monrovia, MD               59:25.01    3:49:25.01
  229     9    2  Christopher Baumler, 23, Catonsville, MD    59:48.74    4:09:48.74
   88    10    1  Julian Coiner, 43, New Market, MD         1:00:00.04    2:10:00.04
  215    11    1  Carleton Conant, 45, Kensington, MD       1:02:13.32    3:52:13.32
  224    12    2  Carl Blake, 35, Silver Spring, MD         1:02:15.34    4:02:15.34
  136    13    1  William Olson, 30, Ranson, WV             1:02:27.34    2:52:27.34
  212    14    3  Wesley Dietz, 35, Arlington, VA           1:02:49.13    3:52:49.13
  148    15    2  David Loewensteiner, 29, Lusby, MD        1:03:26.66    3:03:26.66
  241    16    4  John L Dimeo, 36, Wilmington, DE          1:03:35.69    4:23:35.69
   87    17    2  Jesse Smith, 43, Williamsport, MD         1:03:40.29    2:13:40.29
  200    18    5  Neil Conley, 35, Arlington, VA            1:04:00.54    3:44:00.54
  174    19    6  William Gross, 37, Chevy Chase, MD        1:04:54.51    3:24:54.51
   18    20    3  Robert Moore, 40, Hagerstown, MD          1:04:59.52    1:14:59.52

Today I competed in the 2007 Hagerstown Sprint Triathlon which was held in and around the Martin L. Snook Memorial Park in Hagerstown, Maryland.

It was my first tri, and I’m very pleased with my results.

Final times are not yet posted, but my unofficial total time was 1:04:54.

I screwed up my lap timers by failing to hit the split after leaving T1 (on bike) and when entering T2 (to begin running), but my estimates are:

This race was extremely well coordinated. I don’t remember the name of the woman who was running registration and the pool heats, but she was awesome!

She told us exactly where to be, when to be there, what to do, and what to expect.

Every race needs someone like her. Her assertiveness was much appreciated since from the results of a hand-poll at the pre-race meeting, a significant number of the participants were first-timers.

There were also tons of volunteers, which I really appreciate, and am very thankful for.

The layout of the transition area was well-done as well.

Notably, stalls were not marked. I like this because it let racers pick their preferred spot to park their bikes.

Additionally, swimmers leaving the pool and runners beginning leg 3 entered and exited out of one end of the transition area. Bikers came and left out of the opposite end. This was excellent for keeping the bottlenecks to a minimum.

The course layout was also well-done. Bikers and runners were, for the most part, isolated. There was only one part of the course (spanning about 1.25 or 1.5 miles) where runners and bikers (nearing the end of their ride) shared the course. At that stage, the course was two car lanes across, leaving plenty of room for safety.

I had an excellent time. Though it rained like crazy, it stopped almost on cue at 7:00am for race start. Cloud cover kept the temperature down throughout the event.

I did a couple of things that I’ll recommend to first-timers, but I’ll save those for a later post.

Overall, this was a great race, and I highly recommend it! The course was less intimidating than the SCC Triathlon I volunteered at a few weeks prior. The transition area at SCC was unintuitive, and I spent most of my time directing racers who were confused about where the entry and exit points to the transition area were.

I’m looking forward to the next one!

Bill

Wow.

Today I pwned (aka, ‘rocked’) the Charlottesville Marathon.

I was a little worried about my preparedness, but I kicked butt!

29th place and a PR, baby!

Former PR: 3:42:42 set at 2005 Richmond Marathon:
Today: 3:28:31! Shaving over 14 minutes off my former time.

Guess having some knowledge of the course helps. And perhaps the fact that I got half way through training for a hundred miler probably gave me some energy to spare :)

More details / photo’s to follow, but I’m really psyched!

Thanks to all those who came out to support the race by cheering, working water stations, etc. A special thanks to the Charlottesville Bike Club that provided additional security along the course.

Bill Gross

Correction - When originally posted, my standing (as found on the race results printed at the finish line) showed me in 28th place. I corrected this post on 4/22 to reflect the final, official results.

Woot! Richmond PWEND!

This past Saturday (November 11) was the 2006 SunTrust Richmond Marathon.

If you’ve been reading the blog, you know I’ve been struggling with runner’s knee for the past 6 to 8 weeks. It hasn’t been fun, and I was very worried about Richmond.

Well, the knee gave me less issues than the heat, that’s for sure. It was over 60 when the race started, and 75 when it finished. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon recovering from heat related sickness.

But I tell you, if you have to suffer a race in the heat, Richmond is as good as any! Great crowds, the occasional good scenery, great support, and lots of motivating runners make this race a fun one.

My goal for Richmond this year wasn’t necessarily to PR. My goal was to train well for the race. Success at Richmond for me this year was to be calculated based on how well I trained.

Why not a specific race goal? Because last year I bonked at Richmond. I went out way too fast and paid the price, logging the last 19 miles in rather severe discomfort. Starting fast is a seriously NOOB mistake. My goal this year to learn discipline, and thus a rigorous adherence to my training schedule. The theory being that through 6 months of adherence to a strict training schedule, I could train my brain to stick to a schedule during a race, no matter how good I felt.

You see, by race day, after a 2 week taper, just about any runner is going to feel like a race-horse on crack. And its easy and tempting to go out strong.

So, I thought a 6 month training schedule where I tried as hard as possible to stick to the plan would help me learn mental discipline.

Well, in the end, my training got me runner’s knee, so perhaps I need to get back to even more basics, lol, but the fact of the matter is I trained really well, and I’m happy about that.

I had 3 goals established for myself:
1)Finnish
2)Hit 3:45
3)Hit 3:30

Because of my knee, I was worried about even finishing, but after a few miles I was sure I’d complete the race. At the starting area, I linked up with three 3:30 pace group runners. I stuck with them for the first half the race.

At about the midpoint, the heat started to get the best of me. Much of the Richmond race is run on wide urban streets where there is little shade. Given the 75 degree temperature, that spelled problems. I started seeing people drop out of the race all the way up to mile 23! Man I felt sorry for the girl I saw laying on the median just past the mile 23 marker. I hope she’s ok… About mile 17, one of the 3:30 pacers took off his pace bib. I could feel his pain. It was hot as hell. Many of us were slowing down.

In any event. It was a great race. Though I came in at 3:47, I’m not too upset with my time. I didn’t start fast, and in terms of overall standings, I did better this year than last, and that’s good.

Will I do Richmond again? Probably not. After the likes of Charlottesville and Le Grizz, I will certainly go for smaller, more scenic races. They suit my solo-runner tendencies, and I love getting in touch with mother nature.

Oh yeah, before I forget… I’d like to congratulate my running club partner, Tom Stone who rocked a 3:17! Good job Tom!

Congrats to all the runners, and thank you for the countless support staff along the route. Not the least of which include the awesome support staff, the 3:30 pace group I linked up with, the cheer leading squad, the guy handing out orange slices (again this year!), the spectators at The Wall, and all the others who came out to cheer us on.

Richmond is a great race as far as support. The course is not overly challenging. I think I’m not cut out to be a big-city racer…

Rock,
Bill Gross