Distance Run

(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

This weekend I had a 20 mile long run to do.

The temperature at the end of the run was in the mid 90’s, with a heat index near 100 degrees F.

Here are a few recommendations on how to survive the run, and recover quickly.

1) Use an electrolyte replacement drink during your run, and carry the fluid with you.

Running in hot temperatures means excessive sweating.  Excessive sweating leads to substantial loss of sodium and potassium.  These ingredients are vital to you, and you need to take whatever steps necessary to ensure you are replacing these fluids.

Drink responsibly, and do not over hydrate after the run.  If you are like me, you will be dying of thirst after your long run.  For best results, drink 12 to 16 ounces of an electrolyte replacement after your run, and be cautious of your fluid intake after that.

Drink controlled amounts, but drink.

If you are in a position where running in extreme heat is routine, study how much fluid your body looses during a work-out, and drink accordingly.

Search out a good electrolyte replacement.  I generally use Gatorade, but in extreme heat, I’ll go with Pedialyte.

2) Stay covered up and use sunscreen.

It is tempting to run without a shirt in the heat.  This can be a poor choice, particularly in humid climates.

Modern performance wear helps move water away from the skin quickly.  This facilitates the evaporation process, and leads to better cooling.

Additionally, remaining covered prevents direct exposure of the skin to sun.  Sunburn stinks.  Be smart.

Avoid cotton.  Cotton is not your friend.

If you have short or no hair, consider a light colored hat.  Avoid dark colors as they will absorb sunlight and generate excessive heat.

You want to keep your head cool, so do what feels best here.

Sunscreen may not last through a bout of excessive sweating.   Do not rely on it for your sole source of protection.

Be sure to cover your ears, face, arms, legs and neck.  Just do it.

3) Run slow.

If you are doing a long run, speed isn’t your goal anyhow.  So run slower.

Best, take walking breaks periodically.

Running in the heat is very hard on your body.  Treat it nicely for rapid recovery.

Don’t hesitate to run 2 to 3 minutes slower per mile on hot days.

I generally log 8 minute miles on my long runs.  On hot days I shoot for 11 minute miles.

Taking walking breaks and running slower can minimize rapid dehydration in your muscles, allowing them to work more efficiently, and to recover more quickly.

4) Cool down quickly.

After your run, try to cool your legs in an ice bath.

Though you may be tempted, avoid jumping in a very cold body of water.

But do try to soak your legs in an ice bath.  Fill your tub with a 10lb bag of ice and fill with cold water.

This will not only help your entire body cool down, but the cold water will help alleviate swelling in the leg muscles.

Swelling can be more pronounced in hot temperatures, and the more quickly you can minimize this effect the better.

I don’t make recommendations on the use of ibuprofen.  Research is all over the map on how good or bad it can be for your recovery.  Do what feels right or has worked for you in the past.

5) Leave the iPod at home.

You’ll want to be fully in touch with what is going on in your body.

Running with music can lead to increased tempo.  Additionally, if you are like me, you’ll drift into an endorphin induced trance reminiscent of your days touring the Dead.

That might be fun in cooler climes, but when dealing with excessive heat, you want to hear your body if it cries out for mercy.

Be smart here.

6) Reschedule or skip the run if you can.

Though this is my final suggestion, I urge you to consider it carefully before heading out the door.

Do you really, positively, absolutely have to run today?

I’ve gotten up as early as 3:00am to avoid running in the heat.

And I’ve also been known to reschedule a run to avoid the heat.

There are times when running in the heat is worse for you than not running at all.

Carefully consider your training and your schedule.  Can you do your run tomorrow at a cooler time?
If you are going to run, be very careful, and I’ll see you out there.

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

This Sunday is the Hagerstown Sprint Tri.

I’m ready.

Tonight I did my final training swim, and tomorrow I’ll do my final run.

Biking is the only area that I feel I haven’t given enough attention to in the past 3 weeks. I have been taking it easy because of some calf issues that developed.

Fortunately, all pain is gone, and I am sure I could have done more riding, but safety first!

I’m excited about this race:

• 300 meter pool swim
• 11.5 mile bike
• 3.1 mile run

I’m sure I’ll own the run. My target will be 21 minutes to complete the run.

My target for the swim, 6 minutes. Not ambitious, but swimming is my weak link.

The biking is a question mark. It is supposed to rain, and if the course is wet, I’ll take it very easy. The course is not closed to traffic, and there are several sharp turns. On wet pavement this will make me more wary than otherwise.

If, however, the course is dry and well managed, I plan on pushing hard. I’d like to do it in under 30 minutes.

My goal is to spend less than 5 minutes in each transition. I have no idea if this is good or bad, but that’s my goal.

Rock,
Bill

Back in 2005 I was training for the Le Grizz 50 mile Ultra.

At one point, my training weekends consisted of back to back 25-30 mile runs on Saturday and Sunday.

Jocelyn used to accompany me on some of these runs. She’d ride and keep me company.

On days when she’d come, we’d drive down near Great Falls and get on the C&O canal there.

Just near our parking lot is an area called Widewater. It’s gorgeous. Arguably my favorite part of the trail.

On one particularly hot Sunday after finishing the race, I was doing a cool-down walk near Widewater. Dehydration was on me pretty good. I’d been daydreaming of grapes, watermelon, you name it.

At any point, we were walking along and I was staring longingly at the water. It looked so cool. So inviting.

So I jumped in :)

Man I loved that feeling. The cold water combined with the fear that I was doing something I shouldn’t was quite exhilarating.

In any event, ever since I’ve been training for the Tri, I get the urge to go strait to the pool after a run :)

I hope I’ll be able to take a dunk after the Hagerstown race!

Bill

Here’s a cell-phone pic of the Widewater area.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been riding much more, and running a little less.

For a few weeks, I’d bike home (8 miles) and immediately change into running gear and hit the road for a 7 mile run.

Well, it didn’t take that long for the additional workload to begin taking its toll.

The first thing I noticed was chronic fatigue in my quads.  By the end of the week, they would be a little sore, but mainly just felt completely drained.

That’s not healthy, as too much of that leads to injury.  I started to get worried.

The next area was my calves.

I don’t really rely heavily on my calves when running.  My stride tends to be very short, alleviating much of the toe-off that generally occurs with longer striding folk.

But when biking, I use a great deal of calf muscle when pedaling.  I have a tendency to rotate my foot in a pawing motion as I pedal through the bottom part of the stroke.  This is similar to running toe-off, but since I run with short strides, my calf muscles were not prepared for that kind of work out.

Both Achilles tendons became sore where they connect to the calf muscle tissue, and the muscle on the inner side of my left leg got really pissed off, and required several days of massaging and gentle stretching to get happy again.

In the mean time, I’ve started to alternate days.  No more blocks of biking-to-running except for weekend training.

So far it seems to be helping.

Bill

Over the past month or two I’ve begun training for a triathlon.

Running is a passion of mine, but growing up I loved to bike.

I was hitting a wall with my running motivation. I was longing to get back to some of the other activities I loved growing up.

Triathlon is a natural fit.

Except that I don’t know how to swim :)

Well, I do know how, a little, but I’ve never received formal training. Fortunately my gym has a lap pool.

I’m having fun with the training. It’s a blast. Last weekend I volunteered at a triathlon so I could see what race mechanics were like. It was amazing.

Triathletes are a different crowd. Much more down-to-earth than most of the marathoners I know. Marathoners I’ve met are a little ego inflated. The tri crowd was quite down-to-earth.

Bill

After a little over 3 years of good running, I think it’s time to branch out.

Though I do have a passion for running, I began as a biker.

The first endurance sport I was introduced to was riding a bike around my neighborhood as a kid. Later, after college I became a pretty avid off-road mountain biker and loved it.

So, what better to do than combine running and biking? I’ll also add some swimming and begin working toward my first triathlon.

Here’s a picture (borrowed from Trek) of my new beauty, a Trek 1500!