Run Toto Run – 10 Mile Race Report

With all the snow we got here in Columbia, MO the past few weeks, I had a pretty good idea that this 10 mile trail race was going to be a little snowy! When we started getting emails from the race director about the snow, I knew for sure it was going to be bad... It was bad, but bad can be fun sometimes!

Nine o’clock race start, so the temperature was starting to climb a little. I knew it would be around 30 degree Fahrenheit at race start so in my book that is shorts weather when it comes to running races. I debated over just a tank top, decided to wear a short sleeve dry release shirt under my racing top. I was definitely in the minority, but in my opinion 80% of the field was over dressed, you have to start a hard effort out cold unless you plan on taking a layer off later...

The snow at the start was quite loose and when the horn sounded and we took off, I was afraid I was in for an extra long run. I had positioned myself at the front since the race director the night before had told me that after the first quarter mile or so it would be tough to pass people. One of the few other guys in shorts and a tank top took the early lead with another guy tucking in right behind him. I settled into third place. After the first section was passed and we were onto the actual trail, the snow was no longer quite as loose, for most of the rest of the way it was actually quite hard packed and not so hard to run on.

Start of the race

Once on the trail, the three of us in the lead started to separate from the rest of the field. The guy just in front of me I thought I might pass soon as the up hills seemed to be causing him to struggle a bit early on. Sure enough, around 2.5 miles in on an up hill section he pulled over to the side to let me pass him. So now I was in second place but it was still really early on! As we ran past an aid station, I figured out the guy in the lead was Rick and he must be local since they were cheering him on by name. It must have been around mile 3 that we ran through a really neat stretch of twisting trails. As we rounded corner after corner we ended up doubling back and at certain points you could see the people behind us in the race making some of the same corners only a ways back.

2 miles in

I had kept Rick pretty close, but the constant turns combined with the fast down hills had made a small gap open up. I would guesstimate he had a 20 or 30 yard gap at around 4.5 miles in. We came down a hill with some sharp turns and just around that time began overtaking some of the 20 milers who had started an hour before us. After already passing two, I rounded a corner and saw another runner ahead of me up a hill. It wasn't Rick, so I figured I was catching another 20 miler. It was a definite trail and it looked well used like other runners had gone that way, but as I ran up the hill to him, he was just standing to the side. I figured he was resting; turns out he had gone the wrong way! I dashed back down the hill to discover I had missed a turn, had that one runner not been standing up ahead on the hill, I probably wouldn't have missed it... Once back on route, the course opened up almost immediately into a field and way off in the distance was Rick, the 20 or 30 yard gap was now more like 400 yards!

Rick

A bit discouraged and frustrated, I tried to pick up my pace to close the gap a little. I think for me that open field was the toughest part of the race as I could still see Rick, but the snow was really loose in this stretch so putting more effort into my running didn't result in much increase in speed. Once finally past the loose snow, my efforts were rewarded with a nice stretch of uphill running, I knew I risked popping if I tried too hard at this point so I reined things in a little. I never did see Rick again until the end, but fortunately I didn't see anyone behind me as well! With only a week until my half marathon in Austin, taking that wrong way was probably one of the best things that could have happened. Had I maintained contact with Rick, I would have buried myself to stay with him, once he was out of sight I ran controlled and at a pace that hurt, but that I could maintain.

Lots of CMC members at the race...

The second half of the race was pretty uneventful. I had no idea how far back I was from Rick or how far back third was from me. At one point on the trail, I had just passed some boats in a parking lot or storage area of some sort when I got worried since I didn't see any pink course markings in front of me a ways. Concerned I had gone the wrong way again, that maybe I had missed a turn by the boats, I began backtracking until I came around a corner and saw a runner I had previously passed along with a pink flag, I was going the right way! Just another minute lost; no biggie...

One of the many climbs...

Finally, after dealing with I think the two toughest climbs coming in the last mile, I was at the finish line, total time of 1:27:16. Rick had finished in 1:23:38 so he had beaten me by 3:38. There’s no way to know exactly how much time I lost with my two course errors, I would guess maybe two minutes but certainly not more than three. I wouldn't have beaten Rick; I only would have hurt my time next weekend...

Race director w/top 4 overall

Definitely an awesome race, I think I could be happy running trail races every weekend! Looking forward to this event next year, the big question will be what distance should I do?

Froze Nose and Nut Race recaps...

I guess it is appropriate that I write a recap for these two races together as they were both run under less than ideal conditions. The night before Froze Nose I stuck screws in my shoes for traction for the first time. The morning of the Nut Race I added screws back to the same shoes to replace ones I had lost, plus some additional screws as there were 2 or 3 inches of fresh snow on the ground that we would be racing through! So both these races were definite winter events!

Froze Nose was a brand new event taking place at Albert Oakland park the morning of January 22nd. We had just gotten a decent amount of snow the week before so there was concern over the condition of the course. The original course ended up being altered since some of it was on a trail that was completely covered and was actually hard to locate!

I arrived on site with plenty of time so I decided to drive the course to check out the conditions. The roads actually didn't look too bad, some ice and slush in areas, but better than I was expecting. The worst section was the first 1/4 mile or so at the start and finish which was 2 or 3 inches of snow pack.

I didn't notice anyone that I knew would be fast at the start, so mentally I prepared for running solo. Sure enough, as the race started and I took off no one really went with me, my biggest competitor in the race would be the conditions and the course. The screws in the shoes worked well and I was able to take the 6 ninety degree turns with no problems despite the slush. The first mile was definitely the easiest with only some slight up hill but mostly downhill and flat. But, the second and third mile both had significant hills in them. I ended up running a 5:54 opening mile followed by two 6:15s with a final average of 6:02 per mile after I picked it up in the closing tenth of a mile. 18:44, not a time I would be excited about on a flat and fast course in better weather with competition, but for a cold and hilly course running solo I was pretty happy! Earliest in the year ever to get a win, so that was kind of cool too...

Nut Race

After taking the following weekend off from racing, this weekend was time for the Nut Race. Of course, as if the blizzard of 2011 hitting us on the Wednesday before the race wasn't enough, we woke up this morning to another 2 or 3 inches on top of the 18 we had already gotten! The sight of the new snow reminded me I had lost several screws on my last icy run at Rockbridge and that if I wanted to run well today I had better add some back. So, after a quick trip to Westlake's, I arrived on site with drill in hand and proceeded to screw my shoes some more...

Once the screws were in place, I jogged to the start as I didn't really have enough time for a warm up. A few quick striders and I was ready to go. The roads were in pretty bad shape, several inches of snow covered most everything, my plans from the night before of dipping under 18:00 were not going to happen!

The race starts with a downhill so I naturally let myself go and pulled out to a quick lead. After a few seconds, Marc Keys and Bill Stolz both pulled up behind me. I slowed the pace down a little, the snow and ice were definitely hard to run in, each step gave some and pushing the pace too much was not a good idea this early on with Marc and Bill right there.

Providence was probably the worst stretch as the side of the road was really slushy but the traffic wanted to use both lanes even though there was hardly any traffic. I tried to ignore the cars as much as possible and ran in the clear section of the road forcing a few cars to move over into the next lane. As we rounded the corner at the top of the hill for the first time, Marc pulled into the lead and I was more than happy to follow at this point. The next time up that section, Marc put in a surge. Fortunately I had been running relatively comfortably and was able to match it. I felt pretty good on the downhill and flat stretches and figured my screwed shoes were a definite advantage, provided I could stay with Marc one more time up the hill. Our mile splits were 6:21, 6:13, and 6:04 with my final .10 5:39 pace, so Marc was definitely picking up the pace as we went. Fortunately I managed to stay with him on that final hill and I actually began to think I had a chance!

With about half a mile to go I put in a surge and took the lead. Marc matched it and stayed right on my shoulder. Things were starting to hurt and I began to worry I had gone too soon. I decided to put all my chips on the table and surge again; a small gap began to open! Of course, I then thought that he’s bluffing, he’s got a huge kick left and I’m done for... where is that dang finish line?! Fortunately the finish line got there before my muscle collapse did, and I won, beating Marc for the first time ever. A little bitter sweet as my total time was 19:19, probably one of the slowest winning times on that course. However, Marc Keys went under 17 minutes in a 5k twice last year which is one of my goals, so today served as reinforcement that it is an achievable goal! Now, when is that warm weather getting here?!

Story behind the 4:49 mile... and is it legit?

July 4th of 2009 I went to Jefferson City and ran the Firecracker mile with the goal of breaking 5 minutes. The previous month, my friend Adam Beston and I had come up with a list of athletic goals we want to accomplish, what I'm now calling my "athletic bucket list".

- Sub 3 hour marathon

- Sub 1:20:00 half marathon

- Sub 1:00:00 10 miles

- Sub 35:00 10k

- Sub 17:00 5k

- Sub 1 hour 40k bike

- Sub 1:00 100yard swim

- Sub :30 50 yard swim

- Sub 2:00:00 Olympic distance triathlon

- Sub 4:30:00 Half Iron

- Sub 10:00:00 Ironman

- Sub 1:00 400 meters

- Sub 5:00 1 mile

- Sub 15 hour 50 mile

- Sub 36 hour 100 mile

A year and a half ago I thought I would do it, thought for sure breaking 5 minutes was a done deal. Instead, as I ran those final 10 yards that day I saw the clock tick past 5:00 and register 5:02 before I finally crossed. I won the race, but had fallen short of my goal.

The Firecracker Mile started with a steep 2 or 3 hundred yard downhill and then was mostly flat the rest of the way. In 2010 I skipped the Firecracker Mile and instead ran the Big River Macklind mile in St. Louis thinking more competitive runners and a longer downhill stretch would help me break 5. Instead, I ended up running a 5:05 in 2010 in what was a much more competitive field and an easier course.

So that brings me to 2011. Around three weeks ago, several friends and I ran three one mile repeats indoors at the Hearnes center. In between running the miles, we did some major core exercises, pull-ups, pushups, and sit-ups. Despite the core exercises, we still pushed each other and I ran a 5:36, 5:26, and faded a bit on the third with a 5:38. Then, several weeks later I ran a 1:03 400 solo on the indoor track followed by three sub 1:15 400s with Bill Stolz. After reading about this workout, my friend Adam suggested I give the sub 5:00 mile a shot. At first I was wanting to go for the sub one minute 400, but after checking out the outdoor tracks in town and finding them all snow or ice covered, I decided I would give the sub 5 minute mile a shot.

Both the Firecracker Mile and the Macklind Mile are downhill miles and I had failed in both to break 5. Ultimately the goal is to run a sub 5 on a track, but if I can’t do it in a downhill mile I’m not going to do it on the track either! With that in mind, I headed this past Saturday to Rockbridge State park. I drove from the bridge just before the entrance to Devils Ice Box up the road to the Pierpont store, exactly one mile. So I drove back down to the Devils Ice Box parking lot, parked the car and warmed up by running to the start.

Basically, the mile I was about to run is on a narrow winding road that starts out mostly flat for about half a mile, then has some gradual downhill, and then for the final 1/3 of a mile it is fairly steep downhill, about 7 or 8% grade. The only drawback about the course is the 50mph speed limit and the fact there are no shoulders. Oh well, I figured if I ran against traffic I should be ok!

The only thing tougher about a road mile is you don’t have the instant feedback of checking your pace every 200 yards like on a track. But, using a Garmin I was able to get a fairly good idea of my pace. I started out by running a 1:12 first 1/4 mile with my heart rate topping out at 174. The next 1/4 was a 1:14.39 and my heart rate was up to 189. The third 1/4 was 1:14.69 with a 190 max heart rate. At this point I was struggling, but fortunately knew the rest was downhill and that if I kept on pace I was guaranteed of breaking 5. That final downhill quarter I covered in 1:08.69 while maxing out my heart at 191 bpm! Total time of 4:49, a new 1 mile PR by 13 seconds.

Adam and I had not gotten into the specifics of our “athletic bucket list”, but I had a feeling a downhill mile wasn’t going to fly in his opinion. Sure enough, he cited some USATF rule regarding the max amount of elevation loss per x distance or something... Fine, so maybe this isn’t a legit mile by USATF standards, but for the time being it is legit for me! I finally went under that elusive 5 minute mark, I did it early in the season and by myself without the competition of a race. I did this run for me and in my book it is legit, but just to be sure I’ll do it again on a track, just give it a month or two and maybe then all this dang snow will be melted!

2010 Year in Review

Here we are, almost a month into 2011 and I still haven’t written my annual year in review! Guess I ought to get on the ball... For 2009 I wrote a fairly lengthy review: http://triathleteguru.blogspot.com/2010/01/2009-year-in-review.html I think I will be briefer and more to the point this year, focusing strictly on my year of racing.

The year began as normal with several running races. I performed on par with previous years, no indications that 2010 would be any better or worse than previous years. I happened to get my first win of the year at a small 5k on February 13th, the “Erase Hate 5k” with a time that was nothing to write home about, 18:50. The next race for me was an opportunity to race a long course duathlon in Phoenix AZ. My results in that race were average at best, only 6th in my age group, but I think the almost 2 hour race experience helped with my early season fitness. This race was followed by an off road team triathlon and then a weekend bicycle training camp with Big Shark in Nashville. I didn't realize it but all these early season experiences were setting me up for a break through stretch!

While I competed in a triathlon as a kid in 1989, I only did one event; my next was 13 years later in 2002! So I consider 2002 as my start in multisport and 2010 was my 9th year competing. That first multisport event I did in 2002 was the Buffalo Wild Wings Duathlon which later became the Shakespear's MaxTrax Duathlon. I did the shorter sprint race, came in 2nd overall and I've been trying to win that race ever since! It has been oh so tantalizingly close with 3 2nd place finishes and 3 3rd place finishes. Finally, 2010 was my year as I was able to grab the lead in T1 with an 8 second transition and extend my lead the rest of the way for a 2 minute win.

Following this win, I got a free entry to the St Louis half marathon and ran a disappointing race there. In reality, I wasn't trained for as fast as I tried to run and hadn't been doing the long runs that would justify even running a half marathon, the allure of “free” had gotten to me! The following weekend was much better with a 4 mile race for the win in the “Cigs” race and a 1 mile win for $50 the same day. It was an early peak for me in 2010 as I went on a 5 win streak in April and early May culminating with winning the TriZou Triathlon(non-elite). TriZou (formerly Race for Sight) was another race I had been competing in for the past 9 years; my previous best there had been 5th overall.

I wouldn't repeat any of those early season successes through the rest of the year, though I did continue to race throughout. By the end of 2010 I had raced in over 40 races, the most for me in one season by far. It was probably a little too much, because while I was having fun, my training lacked depth as did my performances as a result. Eventually, I got a bit burnt out and decided I had too much money tied up in multisport, especially since I had some debt accumulated. A “tri-gear liquidation” sale ensued, even going so far as selling my beloved “tripod”, the teardrop trailer I had purchased the previous October. I continued to race multisport on my road bike and discovered trail racing which began to re-invigorate my competitive drive.

So here I am, just about one month into the 2011 season. I’m running faster than I was at this point last year, this has the potential to be my best season yet! However, by taking the time to write this, I hope to avoid repeating the mistakes made in 2010. My seasons are marathons; I've got to pace myself so I don’t burn out and drop out half way through...

Dogwood Canyon 25k Trail Run 10/31/2010

I ran my first 25k trail race at the Rockbridge Revenge 25k back at the beginning of October, had a blast, it was an awesome event. I figured I would like it; after all, my favorite place to run is an eight mile loop at Rockbridge. Rockbridge is familiar; I run it all the time, Dogwood Canyon not so familiar! I had heard about the race sometime at the beginning of the year, kind of forgotten about it. But following RB Revenge I remembered, signed up, and now here I am on race day morning, ready to head off into the unknown!

So, first thing different with Dogwood is that I am totally unfamiliar with the course, other than that I hear it is tough. But another big difference between the two, prize money! The Dogwood 25k has $250 for the winner,$125 for second, both male and female, double that for the 50k. Needless to say, the lure of prize money has brought in decidedly tougher competition.

Beautiful weather today, sun is out already, but it feels kind of cold, the radio said lower 40’s at start time. I’ve got a tank top and shorts on as I’ll warm up quickly, except for the hands so a lightweight pair of gloves is in order.

Lined up for the start and following a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner we are on our way. Dogwood canyon is a private nature area; I’ve heard it said that it is owned by the owner of Bass Pro Shops. People pay money to come and ride bikes or get hauled around on tours, past waterfalls, pools, caves, cliffs, and all kinds of cool scenery that we’re going to get to run through, only I’ll probably being paying less attention than most!

There are two races happening here, the 25k and the 50k. Both races cover the same course going out together until the very end at which point the 25k runners head toward the finish and the 50k runners do a loop and head back to do the route in reverse. The bib numbers are colored based on which race you’re in. Of course I’ve been checking things out all morning, so I have a pretty good idea who to watch now that the race is under way.

This first stretch isn’t so bad, we’re cruising along at an easy 7:30 pace and I joke to the guy next to me "This isn’t so bad; I thought this thing was supposed to be hilly!" I probably should have just kept my mouth shut...

After running a mile or so of mostly paved flat stuff, we soon found ourselves on an old rocky road. Then the creek crossings started! Over the next three or four miles I counted 12 different creek crossings! And the hills, did I mention it was hilly? The first one was gradual; at first I thought "this won’t be much different from Rockbridge" as I ran it. Then the next hill came, and it was steep! By this point I had already written off first or second place and the $125. Even if I was leading, I still think I would have walked the steep hills, everyone I saw did. I actually didn’t get passed on the uphills, but the downhills were just as steep and somehow people managed to run down them much faster than I was. The number of leaves on the trail camouflaged the rocks, so racing fast downhill was out of the question for me.

This continued for the next 8 miles or so. Occasional short flat stretches followed by steep uphills and downhills. The course was mostly old roads or "double track" as they're called in trail running. Leaf covered, so that made it difficult, that and the pitch, but definitely a scenic run. On several occasions we broke out of the trees to cross under power lines; you could look back and see across to a previous ridge with runners crossing it a 1/4 mile away.

After 9 miles or so, the course reached a paved section of the park. I was running by myself at this point. It is really hard to tell in a trail race if anyone is close by, but once on the pavement I could see three of four people ahead of me. At this point I figured I was at best 15th or so, but I was feeling decent and since I had a flat paved section I picked things up a little. After a quick mile, I was ready to get back on a softer trail and fortunately we did. Of course, it was another steep hill, but I could see 5 people ahead of me walking it. So I ran a little further than I normally would have and then walked taking long strides. By the top I had passed three of them and before too long I passed the other two.

When I had reached the paved section, my average pace was around a nine minutes per mile, but with the fast flat pavement, I had lowered it to around 8:45. Now that there was less than a third of the way to go and I was feeling good, my new goal was 8:30 average by the end.

Somewhere around 14 miles, I passed Andy Pele who was on heading back from the 50k out and back. He was looking great, but unfortunately since there was a funky loop the 50k’ers were doing, I had no way to tell what position he was in. After a quick yell of encouragement he was gone and I pushed onward.

The final half mile or so was downhill, not quite as steep as other downhills had been, so I was able to keep lowering my average pace. Just prior to the finish was a switch back and I happened to notice I was barely ahead of another runner! But I could hear the finish line noise and after one more turn I was there, I was done! 2:11:49, 6th overall and I had just edged out the guy right behind me for second in our age group! Average pace, 8:31...

Can’t say enough good things about this race, definitely a must do for anyone slightly interested in trail running. I paid $52 for the race, ended up with a long sleeve Brooks Technical event tee, a finisher’s towel, finisher’s fleece jacket, a huge second place AG award, and an excellent post race meal.

I expect to see a lot more of my friends there in 2011!

New York Marathon and Serena Burla

For anyone that didn't know this, the New York Marathon is this Sunday. There are some pretty big name Americans running, Ritz, Meb, and it is the marathon debut for Shalane Flanagan who is expected to do well. Somebody a little less known, but who's story is very inspiring is Serena Burla. I first saw Serena (a Mizzou graduate) back in 2005 when I was running the Columbia Half Marathon. I was running with Stephen Taylor, we were only a mile or so in and probably running around 6:30 pace, when Serena ran passed us. I remember thinking how bad her running form looked (her own words: "I have this fling where I run more like a duck"). Steve and I decided she was probably running the relay or else we would soon be passing her back. We didn't see her again until the end after she had soundly beaten us both.

I think that was one of her first attempts at a distance longer than 10k, she went on to run a 1:10:08 in the 2008 USA Half Marathon, second only to Shalane Flanagan. Earlier this year, she found out she had cancer in her right leg. Now, nine months later she's racing the New York Marathon!

Here's a "brief" chat with her: http://racingnews.runnersworld.com/2010/10/a-brief-chat-with-serena-burla-3.html

Not sure if she'll cross the line first on Sunday, but I'll be cheering her on and she's already won in my book!

Lance Armstrong...

He just rode his last Tour... Granted, we all thought he was done back in 2005 after he won his 7th Tour De France and retired the first time. Heck, I though he was done back in 1996 when I first heard he had cancer. I've been a fan of Lance ever since 1993. You see, I was a huge fan of Greg Lemond and followed the Tour de France as a teenager through the late 80's and the early 90's. In 1993 Lance won a stage in the Tour and he also won the World Championships. Lance quickly became my new sports hero replacing the one I had lost when Greg Lemond retired.

I lost interest in cycling for myself and sold both my bikes around the same time Lance was first diagnosed with cancer. It wasn't until 3 years later with Lance doing well in the 1999 Tour that I considered taking up cycling again. I told myself that if Lance were to win the Tour, I would buy another bicycle. He did it; I bought a Trek Y-frame mountain bike. I don't have that bike any more, but I do own as many bikes as Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France. I also have every Tour de France on video since 1985 and multiple books on the Tour and about Lance Armstrong. You could say I'm a Tour junkie and also a huge Lance fan.

Now, here come the...


however...


I believe Lance Armstrong doped.

I still believe what he did was a great accomplishment. I still appreciate what he has done for the cancer patients and survivors out there. Heck, I appreciate what he has done for me. He was my inspiration to get back out on a bicycle. I've competed in well over 100 runs, multisport events, and bicycle races and I owe a good portion of the motivation to get back out there to Lance Armstrong.

Since Lance Armstrong started winning the Tour, I switched to Computer Science as my major and graduated with honors in 04'. I appreciated the logic in Computer Science as opposed to the subjective grading found in less objective classes. The subjective side of me wants to believe in Lance, but the objective side knows better.

I know there are thousands or even millions of people out there unwilling to take this objective approach. They'll repeat the line "He's been tested 100's of times and has never failed a drug test". Lots of people smarter than me honestly believe this means something, it doesn't. Lots of admitted dopers never failed drug tests.

Here is a list of objective reasons why I believe Lance doped to win 7 consecutive TDFs:
- The high number of Lance's closest competitors during his 7 wins that have since confessed, been caught, or suspected of doping
- The high number of Lance's teammates from his 7 wins that have been busted or admitted to doping
- The high number of Lance's teammates or ex friends/acquaintances willing to testify under oath Lance doped or admitted to doping
- The fact that twice Lance has actually failed a doping test, once for EPO and once for testosterone
- The inhuman increase in average speeds during the 7 year span that Lance won the TDF
- That Lance was able to out climb and time trial so many admitted dopers during his seven year reign. To dominate in both specialties is superb, during an era of doping, unbelievable

Each and every one of those reasons is worthy of 5 or more pages, but I've gone on long enough as it is. Bottom line for me, Lance Armstrong doped in an era of rampant doping and was the best cyclist of his time. I'm still a fan of his for all he does in the fight against cancer. I still can put any of his 7 TDF victories in the DVD player and enjoy every moment of it. Fortunately, I never have looked to Lance Armstrong for any type of moral guidance; rather, he's been an athletic motivation to me. As a moral guide, he's about as good as Bernie Madoff is for financial advice.

I'm curious to see what the future holds. Will Lance admit to any wrong doings? Will he plead the 5th when asked to testify? Either way, life will go on for me. I might sell a bike or two, but it no longer has anything to do with Lance Armstrong, I just need the money! Thanks Bernie Madoff...