Friday, April 15, 2011

Day 136 - No running

No running today.

4-15-2011

Day 135 - Great weather

Tonight I didn't have much time to run. I left the house with plans on running the road from my house up to Pulpit Rock and back. The legs are feeling good so I was moving a little faster then the rest of the week. With the great weather there were a lot more people hiking tonight. After reaching Pulpit I thought I would run the downhill at a faster pace and the legs held up. Making if home in 57 min. I was happy with the run.



4-14-2011 - 6.4 miles - 57 min. - run

Day 134 - Club run

Ran with the running club tonight. It was fun night running around the trails down in Reading. A little mud, bushwhacking and a fence climb. Then off to supper for some running talk.


4-13-2011 - 4.80 miles - 53 min - run

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Day 130 - Bull Run Run 50

First off I want to thank my family! They are the ones that are a big part of my running. Without their support my training runs or races would not be possible. To leave on a weekday for 3 hours or 6 hours on a weekend to run knowing that I have their support makes training a lot easier. Thanks! :-)

Shoes, Bib# and empty gels!
The day started with an early 4:30 a.m. wake up for me and my roommates Phil, Stephan and Donny. There were another 24 running club members from the Pagoda Pacers scattered around the area doing the same thing. Yes that is right we had 28 people from one club running 50 miles – amazing – and they all finished!!! I had my breakfast ready to go when I woke up. It included 1 bagel(no cream cheese), 1 banana and a small can of Starbucks Doubleshot Espresso. I was going to use a back pack to carry all my gels but decided to go with a smaller waist pack instead. I loaded my pocks up with gels and safety pinned them shut so they won’t fall out and shoved the rest of them in a waist pack. I had 9 electrolytes ready in a plastic bag in my hand held water bottle holder pocket. I also had all my clothes ready to head to the showers after the race so I would not have to do a lot of thinking after I was done. The main thing I wanted to concentrate on after the race was making it up the little hill to where the showers are located. I think that is the hardest hill of the day. It is not that long maybe 30 yards but after you finish and sit down for a while and try to go up that little hill it can be painful. That is where a lot of pictures should be taken;-) After we all had our stuff packed we head down and loaded the car up with all are bags. We waited for some other runners and drive over to the start. When we get to the parking area there is a line of traffic. I think after we parked the car we only had about 10 min. until the start of the race.

At the starting line I talked to some of the other runners and in no time all 344 runners were off and running. Looking out at the front there was one runner that went out crazy fast. That was Matt Woods and he went on to set the course record with a time of 6:08:14 – smoking fast. My friend Stephan and I ran together for some of the first part of the race. It was nice to talk a little with someone you know. I went out at a pace I could breathe and my legs were not getting tired. If my legs started to burn on the hills I started to power hike and I stayed with that strategy the whole race. If someone tried to pass I let them go. Racing my own race is what works best for me. My plan for the day was to drink Gatorade, take a electrolyte every hour and take a gel every 23 min. I set my watch to beep every 23 min. as a reminder. Not sure where I came up with every 23 min. but it seemed to work. I hit the Centreville Road aid station 7.2 miles and topped my bottle off. There is always tons of people here cheering everyone on. The aid station volunteers are an amazing part of this race. They always ask to take your bottle so you can go and eat and when you are done they give your bottle back filled and send you on your way. From here the course runs out 2.2 mile to a turn around and come right back to the same aid station which is now mile 11.6. Topping off my bottle again and head down some steps and head back to where we stated in the morning.

I came into Hemlock aid station mile 16.6 and the clock there said 2:18 something. This is where we started in the morning. I topped my bottle off and start running down the trail. Our car was right near the trail and that is where I had the rest of my gels in my waist pack. I picked them up and headed out for the last 33 miles. Wow! That does that sound far when I write it down. You have to break these races up in smaller blocks or it can get overwhelming. In the next couple of miles I passed and got passed by Dan Rose. We did that the rest of the day. Dan ran with another one of our club members Anna Piskorska at the 2010 24-Hour Run World Championship in France. It was really nice to meet him and he gave me some great tips out there. Thanks Dan for the encouragement! I made a pace chart on Thursday and I’m not sure why. I didn’t use it until I wanted to know the distance after I was out of the Do Loop 35.5 miles. Once you hit mile 35.5 you feel a little better because you are heading back to the finish.

When I hit the Wolf Run Shoals aid station 39.9 miles I topped my bottle off and I heard people calling my name. It was a lot of friends/club members that came down to support all the runners we had there. I handed my gloves to Beth and glared over at everyone said hi and ran into the woods. It really gave me a boast but this next section was my hardest. I just felt like I couldn’t move my legs a fast as I wanted to. Then when I hit the Marina aid station 44.9 miles and I looked at my pace chart it said I had to be at 6:43 to run a final time of 7:30 my watch read 6:20. From there I just had to keep my legs moving. I caught back up to Dan and we ran most of the last section together. Right before we crossed the finish line he let me go ahead of him. It was a victory for both of us and I hope to get to run with him another day. This was a big PR for me. My best time at this race was here in 2008 and I ran an 8:20:24. This year I ran a 7:15:27. With more consistent training this year it is paying off but I still have a lot of work to do in the next couple of weeks before MMT.

After getting all cleaned up and eating I got to watch a lot of my friends/club member’s finish. It was really cool seeing them cross the line. What a day out there and I can’t wait to do it next year. Below are some pictures of my running club and me from the race.

4-9-2011 - 50.4 miles - 7:15:27 - run

Pagoda Pacer runners. Photo: © 2011 Bobby Gill
Photo: © 2011 Robert Fabia

Photo: © 2011 Robert Fabia

Photo: © 2011 Robert Fabia

Photo: © 2011 Desiree Williams


Photo: © 2011 Bobby Gill


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Day 133 - Dreadmill run

Today I was going to take the day off but then I read a post by my friend Ken. It gave me a push to run and I thought I would try the treadmill. I started with 5mph at a 10% grade for maybe 10 or 15 min. Then went up to 5.5, 6 and finished the last 5 min. at 7 mph all with the grade staying at 10%. For some reason it went good. I was looking at the"red" stop button and the "green" go button to start or stop the treadmill and it got me thinking. The more you stare at the red button the more you want to stop it. Just like the discomfort in a race the more you focus on it the more you want to stop. But if you can find a way to focus on something else and keep looking for the green button you can go a little further.

4-12-2011 - 4.25 miles - 45 min - run

Day 132 - Recovery hike #2

My legs are feeling a little better today. I went for another hike and it was very warm today. I could move the legs a lot faster today. Should be running soon.


4-11-2011 - 5 miles - 1:18 - hike

Day 131 - Recovery hike

Today was a day to move the legs. I went for a 5 mile hike and my hamstrings were very tight and sore. Trying to take long strides was not that fun on the downhills but I made it and will keep moving forward. 


4-10-2011 - 5 miles - 1:11 - hike

Monday, April 11, 2011

Day 129 - No running day

Today I leave for VA for the Bull Run Run 50 on Saturday.


4-8-2011

Day 128 - Easy run

Tonight was an easy night of running in the mountains. I wanted to get out and keep the legs moving. Bull Run Run 50 is this weekend and I am trying not to over do it!


4-7-2011 - 5 miles - 1:18 - run

Day 127 - Club run

Ran with the club at a nice easy pace and then out for a nice supper with a lot of running talk. Another great night with the running club!


4-6-2011 - 5.85 miles - 50 min.+ - run