Arlington Running Festival Half-Marathon - 5th Overall

Pre-Race

At some point last week I decided that it would be nice to have a "fitness check" before I proceed to destroy my body at TNF 50 Miler next weekend. So, I found this half-marathon and signed up.

Overall, the week was rough. Coming off of my highest mileage week ever (96 miles), I felt rather flat and less motivated than usual. Regardless, I put in about 34 miles of running up to Saturday plus 35 miles of biking (mostly commuting/transportation). I didn't really feel like racing on Saturday night; but I'm not one to give up. So, I got up at 4:30AM Sunday morning and began "the ritual": I got dressed, ate breakfast, drank coffee, prepared my Nuun, and drove to the race.

The Race

I had hoped to get in 2-3 miles easy before the start, but a shortage of porta potties prevented more than a mile and some striders. At the start line, I decided to go out at a 5:50/mile pace. This was a bad decision. I was immediately anxious about the pace and found it difficult to run my own race. In reality, I should have gone out at 6:05/mile and stuck there; my splits indicate that this was about the right pace. I really dragged for the last 3 miles; my legs just wouldn't go any faster. This feeling was reminiscent of the last 10k of the National Marathon.

I finished 5th overall in a time of 1:21:53.

The Course


Was horrible. I'm fairly confident that I would have broken 1:20 if it weren't for the course. The first 3 miles were great - flat, open road. Then, the first (of about 10) 180-degree turn arounds hit and we ran into the park onto an 8-foot wide path. The path was OK for the first loop, but we still had a huge number of 90-degree or greater turns. The second lap is where everything kind of fell apart with regards to the course. The front-runners were forced to run past all of the runners who were on their first lap. This was nearly impossible on the narrow path and I found myself constantly yelling "On your left!" while trying to keep a 6:00/mile pace. This continued for the third lap as well. It was total chaos.

With that said, the volunteers were fantastic and everyone was super friendly; but that doesn't really make up for the course. I probably would not run this race again.

Training Summary 5/9 - 5/15

I bulked up on the mileage this week - probably too much. Yesterday I went out for a long-ish run with Martha and Ryon in Rock Creek Park, and I felt horrible almost the entire time. My legs felt heavy and the relative perceived exertion (RPE) was WAY higher than usual for our pace.

Monday 5/9: AM - 6 mile RCP loop
PM - 30 minutes on the treadmill (3.5 miles)

Tuesday 5/10: AM - 6 x 1000m on the track (3:30 per 1000 for the first 4, then dropped off by about 10 sec per 1000 for the last 2). Total of about 8 miles. (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/84756893)

PM - 11 miles w/ WUS (Ryon and Martha). The morning's workout took a lot out of me, and I needed to go slower during my PM run...but that didn't happen.

Wednesday 5/11: 7 miles on the road. Just one run because of Tuesday's beating.

Thursday 5/12: AM - 28 minute fartlek: 4 minutes ON, 1 minute OFF at about 5:45 pace (ON). Total of about 8 miles.

PM - 5.4 mile RCP loop w/o a watch. About 45 minutes.

Friday 5/13: AM - 9 mile loop. Feeling pretty good.

PM - 5.4 mile RCP loop. Still feeling alright, a little bit of Heavy Legs.

Saturday 5/14: 17 miles w/ Ryon and Martha. The mileage really caught up with me. It was a pretty degrading experience; I mean 17 miles isn't that far! HR was elevated, etc... http://connect.garmin.com/activity/85580828

Sunday 5/15: Unfortunately, no running. I need to start listening to my body. My brain wants to run but my body most certainly does not, as evidenced by yesterday's run.

Weekly Summary:

Total Miles - 81 miles

Total Time - 10 hours, 42 minutes

Elevation Gain - 4,700 feet

Yearly Summary: Since 1/1/2011

Total Miles (some runs not included) - 1,071 miles

Total Time - 147 hours, 48 minutes

Elevation Gain - 63,042 feet

Nuun Ambassador Team

I've been selected to join the Nuun Ambassador Team for 2011! I am very excited about this opportunity because Nuun is a great product that I use before, during and after each race, and during training. Nuun "active hydration" are dissolvable tablets that come in 10+ flavors and provide electrolytes that promote proper hydration during any activity. Find out more at: What is Nuun?

Week of 5/2-5/8 Summary

Monday: 7

Tuesday: 7 - 2400m + 6 x 400m (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83233821)

Wednesday: 8

Thursday: AM: 7ish - 15 min. tempo @ 5:50/mile, 6 x Long Hills
PM: 5.5 Easy Rock Creek Loop

Friday: 10 Easy

Saturday: 8

Sunday: 16.25 (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/84376674)

Total: 68 miles

Promise Land 50k++ GPS Data

This is a link to my Garmin data from the race.

Promise Land 50k++ by sburn88 at Garmin Connect - Details

Promise Land 50k++ Race Report

Pre-Pre-Race Expectations and Plans

I knew little about this race other than it has a beautiful course and almost 8000' of elevation gain. The latter piece information stood out in my mind; I live in Washington, DC and my average 10 mile run in Rock Creek Park (the most "mountainous" terrain available) gains less than 1000'. Needless to say, I had no idea how my body would respond to this much climbing. 

I went into this race exactly four weeks after the National Marathon, so I felt fully healed and fit. My ultimate goal was to pace myself well and to finish in a respectable time. Basically, I didn't want to blow up 15 miles into the race.

Pre-Race

I'll admit it - I get the pre-race jitters pretty badly. The anxiety set in on Friday morning, when I felt that it was necessary to pack more running clothing than I usually wear in a week. I also packed a ton of food.

Fortunately, I did not have to make the four-hour plus trip to Promise Land on my own as I was joined by well-established ultrarunners Keith Knipling, Ragan Petrie, and Amy Lane. Keith has run Promise Land a million times and he bestowed his wisdom on the rest of us. 

We arrived at Promise Land at about 7PM on Friday night to find Dr. David Horton giving the pre-race speech. I quickly assembled my tent and hurried over to grab some pizza and listen to Dr. Horton. I got there just in time to have some schwag thrown my way including a book and a Montrail T-shirt.  

The rest of the night was somewhat awkward because I didn't know anyone. I resigned to my tent around 9:30PM and settled in for a restless night.

 My home the night before the race...

Start to AS2


My iPhone read 4:00AM. Good enough for me - I wasn't going to sleep anymore. I felt bloated and somewhat flat. What a great way to start a race! But I drank some coffee, ate a bagel, and drank some more coffee. Finally, I filled up my handheld and added 1.5 Nuun tablets. I carried a small plastic bag with a few Nuun tabs to make ward off cramping and other potential mishaps (e.g. hyponatremia).

I hate standing around, but 5:30AM came around and we were off; it happened before I even had time to think about it. I simply ran up and into the darkness. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew one thing for certain: I wasn't going to stop. I quickly "relaxed" into a pace up the hill and found myself passing those who decided to hike a bit. I felt too good to stop running, though, so I kept going.

I hit AS1 at about 30 minutes and hit the singletrack (still uphill!). I paced off of Frank Gonzalez who ended up finishing 5th, about 10 min. ahead of me. He is strong on the uphills, but man does he kill it going downhill! He made me realize that I need to work on my turnover.

Anyways, AS2 came and I grabbed some more water and a small PBJ and booked it.

AS2 to Right before Apple Orchard Falls


We really cruised for a few miles on the fire road. I love fire road now! It's so forgiving - nothing like pounding on pavement. Frank and I cruised through Sunset Fields...and then he dropped me. Apparently I need to work on my technical descents. I swear he was gone in 5 seconds. I just thought, "Hey, I don't want to die going down here. I'd rather finish the race in one piece." So, I kept a comfortable pace and just cruised the downhill, past the next AS and onto the pavement. This section was odd because my legs were feeling alright but they didn't want to go very fast - I was only able to keep about a 7:00/mile pace for the 2 road miles. Some dude was on my tail here but I dropped him as soon as we hit the trail again.

This section was nice, I just took it easy on the uphills and cruised on the downhills. Again, I need to work on my downhill skills, because I know that if I were a better downhiller, I would have taken off at least 15 minutes overall.

I felt a bit crappy going into the AS before Apple Orchard Falls, so I grabbed a bunch of food: PBJ, pretzels and something else.

Apple Orchard Falls to the Finish


The Falls were pure torture. I was trading places with this one dude (who was a really nice guy, but it's still a race) and I just tried to run as much as possible. Which wasn't much. It hurt, I'm not gonna lie.

I think I dropped that dude right before the Sunset Fields AS where I proceeded to shove as much food in my mouth as possible. At this point, I felt home free. I was stoked and just cruised the fire road and singletrack past AS1 and onto the gravel road.

There is only one thing that I have to say about the gravel road: longest 3 miles EVER.

So, I finished 6th overall in 5:18:44. I was very happy with this performance and I learned a lot about what I am capable of. (1) I'm pretty good on the uphills.
(2) I'm not quite as good on the downhills. I need to work on this.

 The start line.

 We climbed that...

The elevation profile.

Weekly Summary - 4/4 - 4/10

Mon. 4/4: 7.5 mi. Rock Creek Park Loop (1:07:12)

Tues. 4/5: 60 min. easy on treadmill - about 7.5 mi. (1:00:00)

Wed. 4/6: 6 mi. Rock Creek Park Loop. (53:04)

Thurs. 4/7: 7 miles at the track. 23 min. fartlek @ low-end threshold pace. (48:31)

Fri. 4/8: 9 mi. loop through Dumbarton Oaks, Glover Archibold Trail (1:13:44)

Sat. 4/9: 6.2 mi. easy on treadmill. (51:37)

Sun. 4/10: 2 mi. warmup + 4.97 mi. race. (see below for race report)

Summary:

Time: 6:23:02 (as recorded by Garmin Forerunner 305)
Distance: about 50 miles (+/- 3)

Rockstar 8k - Sunday April 10, 2011

I decided to run a short(er) road race last weekend as a fitness check two weeks after the National Marathon. This was a small, fun race run by Potomac River Running Co. I had never run a road 8k (or 10k, for that matter), so I didn't have a solid goal time. I figured that I could probably run at a sub-6 min/mile pace, so I decided anything under 30 minutes would be great. Initially, I hoped to hold a 5:30/mile pace, but the course was pretty hilly - about 400' of elevation gain over 5 miles.

I finished in 29:17, a 5:54/mile pace. This time was good enough for 4th place overall and 1st place in the M18-24 category. Not a bad way to begin the day.

This was taken at the finish. Looks like I'm hovering...

3rd Place M18-24 Age Group National Marathon!

So, I thought I had finished 4th in my age group, but the final results were posted this morning and I was actually 3rd! So, I get a plaque and stuff - pretty cool! Also, my "official" time was 3 seconds faster than I had previously posted - 2:52:46. Still wish I could have broken 2:50, but there's always next time!

Sun Trust National Marathon 3/26/2011 - 2:52:49

Last Saturday 3/26, I raced in the Sun Trust National Marathon. I went in with the goal of finishing in 2:50, a 6:30/mile pace. I was nervous because I'd never run further than about 8 miles at this pace. Further, I could barely sleep the night before. But I still went into the race with high spirits. 

The race started at 7AM, at the same time as the Half-Marathon, and I had to push my way through quite a few people before I felt comfortable. It didn't take me long to settle into pace, though. I couldn't believe it - I was running comfortably at a sub-6:30 pace (according to my Garmin)! In fact, I had to actively slow myself down to keep from going sub-6. 

The 10k mark was in DuPont Circle and was accompanied by the largest crowds as well as my mom and my girlfriend. I felt awesome! My mile split with the CT Ave. hill was 6:48 without (subjectively) spiking my heart rate.

Right after the 10k mark, I began running with a couple of guys with a similar goal time. We talked and the miles passed quickly. We came through the 1/2 marathon checkpoint at 1:25:12 - right on target and exactly a 6:30/mile pace. At this point, I could feel my legs beginning to get a little bit heavy but not too bad. It was great to have a couple of people to keep on pace. 

I think it was about mile 20 where I started to lose it. The mile 20 split was perfectly even, around 2:09 and still an even 6:30/mile pace. My lower back hurt like crazy and my quads were on fire from some of the earlier descents. However, I managed to keep even splits up to mile 22. I found myself dropping behind the two guys that I had been running with and felt helpless to keep up with them. This was hard to accept, but I just pushed as hard as I could. My mile times did drop by about 20 sec/mile, but I knew that I would still finish well sub-3:00 and tried to keep my spirits up. 

Miles 24-26 were a blur. My tank was empty. But I pushed an finished in 2:52:49. This was a 21 minute PR and a huge accomplishment. Of course I wish that I could have held my perfectly even pace for the last 4 miles, but I'm trying to be optimistic. This was only my 3rd marathon; I've got plenty of time to improve. I am confident that with more similar training I will be able to keep dropping my times. 

If there is one thing that running the marathon distance has taught me, it is that you can do anything that you set your mind to. Three years ago, I was overweight, lazy, and a smoker. I never EVER would have imagined myself to accomplish what I have. I would go so far as to say that running saved my life. I honestly believe that I am a better person because of it. I hope that I never forget what it has done for me and that I never lose passion for this incredibly simple sport.

****Photo courtesy of M.V. Janzen's Flickr****

It's Been A While

It's been a while since I've updated this thing. For the past month, I was very focused on preparing for the Sun Trust National Marathon, which I ran on 3/26/11 (see race report above). From about 3/7-3/12 (I think), I was in Puerto Rico. There, I logged about 70 miles and did a 22 miler at home in CT for a total of 90. The next two weeks, I tapered and focused on short marathon pace track workouts.

Pictures From The Patuxent River Trail 10k

 Overall Winners (1st to 3rd Left to Right)

 Hill!

This road was a nice break from the mud...

**All pictures thanks to Quantico Orienteering**

New Balance Minimus Trail

I love these shoes. They fit like a glove and are just super comfortable all around. Two days ago (Tuesday), I used them for my warmup/cooldown on the track. Then I took them out for 4 miles on the trails in the evening. Yesterday, I took them out for 9 miles of about 65-70% trails. I expected to finish with achy feet, but this didn't happen! The ground feel is outstanding - almost as good as Vibram Five Fingers, but without the pain associated with stepping on rocks or gravel. I also appreciate the ample forefoot space, which allows my toes to splay on impact and adds to the comfort. 

Patuxent River Trail 10k - 3rd Place Overall in a Field of 175!

I ran the Patuxent River Trail 10k today in Upper Marlboro, MD. I had no idea what the course would be like or the conditions of the trails. It was a relatively flat course (about 240' of elevation gain), but it was muddy singletrack with lots of leaves and the occasional downed tree. Additionally, the few hills were super steep. I finished in a time of 40:17 with an average pace of 6:27/mile, which was good enough for 3rd place in a field of 175. Needless to say, I'm very happy!

Avg. HR 172 (86% of max)

Weekly Training Summary 2/14 - 2/20

Monday 2/14: 5.5 mile jog in 48:30. 8:53/mile pace. Avg. HR 133.

Tuesday 2/15:
AM: Track workout - 8x1000m plus warm-up and cool-down. 8.97 miles.

PM: Night trail run w/ WUS. My legs felt pretty tired after the interval workout in the morning, but I decided to go out for 11 miles anyways...11.33 miles in 1:40:35. 8:52/mile pace. Avg. HR 133.

Wednesday 2/16: 9.61 miles in 1:21:48. 8:30/mile pace. This was a nice run, I basically followed the same route as the "Figure 8" trail run that I did with WUS, but didn't go all the way to the canal. Avg. HR 143.

Thursday 2/17: 25 minute tempo and 6 x hill repeat. 8.43 miles.

Friday 2/18: Went up to Great Falls National Park for a trail run. I felt especially fatigued, but still managed to get the mileage in. 12 miles in 1:39:19. 8:16/mile pace. Avg. HR 146.

Saturday 2/19: 9.00 miles in 1:09:47. 7:45/mile pace. My legs felt great! I was happily surprised. This run was about 1/2 trails and 1/2 pavement. Avg. HR 150 - which is kinda high, probably because I was still fatigued from the tempo from Thursday or I just wasn't running very efficiently.

Sunday 2/20: 17.32 miles in 2:19:58. 8:04/mile pace. I tried to follow the "Figure 8" run, but got lost in the Archibold Glover Park section...so I ended up doing a loop around the Tidal Basin. I was wearing my Kinvara's and my feet started to get very sore by the end of the run. I think that my Nike Lunaracers have more cushioning on the forefoot, and I've felt somewhat more comfortable in them during long runs. I think I'll probably go with the Lunaracers for the National Marathon.

Summary:

82.13 miles in
11:14:24 at
an average speed of 7.4 miles per hour with
an average HR of 144 beats per minute

Weekly Training Summary 2/7-2/13

Monday 2/7:
6.53 miles in 56:24. 8:37/mile average. Great recovery run. I was able to keep my HR down (avg HR 138) even on the uphills, which was kind of the goal.

Tuesday 2/8:
AM: about 7 miles track workout. My splits are slower than I'd like; this is probably because I had not recovered completely from Sunday's long run. Either way, it was not a bad workout.
PM: 10.05 miles in 1:20:42. 8:01/mile average. Great run with the WUS crew. I'm psyched about running with everyone!

Wednesday 2/9:
I only made it less than a mile before something happened to my hip. I felt a very sharp pain and decided that it would be wise to turn around. I was bummed, but probably needed the break after running 17 miles on 2/8.

Thursday 2/10:
AM: Fartleks! About 6 miles on the track. Again, I wasn't running as fast as I'd like - my fast splits were around 6:00/mile and I know that I'm capable of sticking around 5:30 - 5:45 for longer than 30 minutes.
PM: 7 miles in 52:09. 7:27/mile average. I felt great for whatever reason. Not complaining.

Friday 2/11: 8.74 miles in 1:09:51. 7:59/mile average. Felt great, kept it nice and easy.

Saturday 2/12: 7.01 miles in 56:22. 8:02/mile average. Didn't feel so hot, my HR was much higher than it should be for a given pace. I was kind of concerned about how the long run would go...

Sunday 2/13: 21.53 miles in 2:52:56. 8:02/mile average. I felt alright, but my HR was still about 5-10bpm higher than normal for a given pace. Tomorrow will be super easy; I probably won't go much further than 4-5 miles.

Totals:

71.95 miles (a couple miles from the track are unaccounted for. Actual was more like 75 miles)

in 9:38:41

at an 8:00/mile average pace

with 3,781ft of elevation gain and an average HR of 145bpm.

Promise Land 50k

Just mailed out the entry form. Should be a great race!

Weekly Training Summary 1/31-2/6

1/31: 6.09 miles in 49:30; 8:07/mile pace.

2/1: Speedwork, 5x1 mile repeats. 8.05 miles total in 50:27. Didn't feel too strong, but still managed decent splits.
Interval 1 - 5:22
2 - 5:34
3 - 5:50
4 - 5:50
5 - 6:22 for 1.09 miles (avg. 5:52)

2/2: AM - 6.18 miles in 46:56; 7:35/mile pace.

PM - 5.07 miles in 39:54; 7:52/mile pace.

2/3: About 6 miles, first track workout with the PR crew.

2/4: 11.11 miles in 1:26:37; 7:47/mile pace.

2/5: 8.33 miles in 1:05:12; 7:49/mile pace. Followed immediately by 1.66 miles on the treadmill at 8:40ish pace at 5% grade.

2/6: 18.61 miles in 2:23:18; 7:42/mile pace. My watch got shut off for a little bit, I think I ran more like 20 miles at 7:50/mile pace.

Total: about 72.5 miles

PR Training Programs

I began training with PR training programs yesterday morning. It was great to do a track workout with other people and to have feedback from coach Ray. I look forward to training with PR and I am certain that they will help me improve my running form, economy, and speed.

TNF Endurance Challenge 50 Miler (Mid-Atlantic)

Just registered! Now I'm guaranteed to have a 50 miler prior to the Burning River 100 regardless of whether or not I receive a spot in the Bull Run 50. Stoked.

Weekly Running Log

Monday 1/24: Got out for an easy 6 miles around the National Zoo. 47:12. 8:07/mile pace.

Tuesday 1/25: Speedwork! Essentially, I ran an 8 mile tempo run with 10k at 10k pace on the track at American University. I haven't really done speedwork like this at this distance, so I just kicked myself into gear. My warmup mile was about 7:00 flat and I dropped down into the 5:50 range, just to see how it felt. Here are my splits for the 10k:

Lap 1: 1.01 miles in 6:00.48; 5:58/mile pace
Lap 2: 1.00 miles in 5:45.62
Lap 3: 1.00 miles in 5:42.97
Lap 4: 0.99 miles in 5:48.78
Lap 5: 1.00 miles in 5:47.60
Lap 6: 1.21 miles in 7:03.20; 5:50/mile pace

This is the fastest 10k I've run, and I'm pretty stoked; except that it wasn't in a real race. In many ways this wasn't my full on 10k pace, though. My HR was in the mid-to-upper 160s, and I would like to be racing in the low-to-mid 170s. So, I have room to grow and to run faster. This workout also boosted my confidence with regards to the marathon. If I can sustain a pace like this, (granted it was on a track), I think 6:30/mile pace may be realistic for the National Marathon in March.

Wednesday 1/26: Sore. But I ran 2x5 miles on the treadmill.

Thursday 1/27: Still sore. Made it 8.65 miles in 1:10:48. 8:11/mile pace.

Friday 1/28: About 10 miles on the treadmill. I tried to gain a fair amount of elevation by climbing at 2%-6% grade for 8 miles.

Saturday 1/29: 5.11 miles around the zoo. 41:20. 8:05 pace. I was very relaxed, it was great to be outside.

Sunday 1/30: 18+ miles. 2:28:49. 8:15/mile pace. The snow was very obnoxious. I had to watch every step and my feet slipped constantly. I wish that I owned spikes.

Total: About 66 miles.

...And back to the National Marathon

I thought that I was going to run the Terrapin Mountain 50k, which would be awesome. However, I want to run with my Dad and he really wants to do the National Marathon. So now we're signed up. I think it's a flat course, so I hope to run a PR...knock on wood.

Terrapin Mountain 50k

Last night I found myself perusing this year's ultramarathons and the Terrapin Mountain 50k caught my eye. With 7560' of elevation gain, this race would be an incredible challenge; but that's why I love to run. The race is on 3/26, which is the same day that I was going to run the Nation's Marathon. Needless to say that I am no longer running the Nation's Marathon. I am now more enthusiastic about my training than ever. I am going to continue ramping up my mileage, and I hope to peak at around 100 or 110 two weeks before the 50k.

It's always great to run with someone else.

My good friend Zach accompanied me on a nice 6 miler today. I definitely felt pretty sore after yesterday, but it was great to have someone to chat with and to keep me honest.

Registered for the Bull Run 50 Lottery

The lottery results will be in on 2/4. This looks like a great event, so I really hope to get a spot.

Running Summary 1/17-1/23

Monday 1/17: 6 easy miles through Rock Creek Park and up around the cathedral heights area. Felt real good despite the tempo run the day before.

Tuesday 1/18: 8 mile tempo run on the treadmill. 1 mile warmup, 6 miles @ 6:30/mile, 1 mile cooldown. Felt pretty good, strong; but I hate treadmills.

Wednesday 1/19: 8 miles easy through Rock Creek Park, down through DuPont, and up Mass. Ave. Still felt strong.

Thursday 1/20: 10 miles easy, kind of an extension of the 8 miler from 1/19.

Friday 1/21: 10 miles easy, same route as 1/20.

Saturday 1/22: 6 miles on a variable incline from 2% to 6% on the treadmill. Climbed about 1300'.

Sunday 1/23: 16 miles, beautiful day. Took a little over 2:09; 8:07/mile. I felt great.

Total: 64 miles