AJC Peachtree Road Race 2016 Recap

Under normal circumstances I would be in no hurry to talk about my slowest 10K ever.  However, considering this race is anything but normal I think the entertainment value will be higher while things are still fresh on my mind.  So for anyone that doesn't know, on Monday I ran the 47th annual Peachtree 10K held every year on July 4th in Atlanta, GA.

While you can't beat the 'flavor' of a local 5K and being surrounded by familiar faces it's also nice to soak up the experience of events that are steeped in tradition.  These are the races that take you places you thought you'd never go and that make up bucket lists for weekend warriors and hobby joggers from coast to coast.  Despite being on a holiday when you'd think some runners would opt for vacationing as opposed to racing in the notoriously hot and humid Atlanta during the month of July the race still attracts well over 60,000 would be runners.  There is a lottery system with several entries turned away every year but the Atlanta Track Club offers guaranteed entry with a membership which is $30 and includes a free ATC t-shirt.  That seemed like money well spent not to have to deal with the potential admission rejection.

As race day grew closer my plan to drive 4 hours on a holiday to one of the biggest cities in the country which happens to be a July 4th destination for many to run one of the largest races in the world seemed like maybe not the greatest idea in the world.  Throw in the fact that I was a month removed from running one of my slowest half marathons on a hot summer morning and was heading to hotter weather and higher humidity to run my least favorite distance and I was thrilled.  No really, I was.

I left Sunday morning in the middle of the sermon to ensure that I made to the expo in time to pick up my bib.  I did say a quick prayer on the way out just to make sure God wasn't totally offended by my early exit and he was cool with it.  A little over 4 hours later and I could see the expo but patiently waited in a long line of traffic that wasn't moving -- most certainly because I was behind other runners.  As I helplessly watched other cars cruise by I decided there had a be a better way -- just had to be.  Then I darted out to find route B and realized I had been waiting in line to go to the aquarium.  About 45 seconds later I was out $15 but I was parked directly across the street from the expo.

The Georgia Congress Center is huge and so it really didn't seem all that crowded.  Of course I was showing up the last day and a couple hours before they shut down but it was an easy in and out.  One thing I really liked was the kid zone which included several stations where kids could participate in various sporting drills.  There was a batting cage, football accuracy throws, a high jump, 40 yard dash, and basketball to name a few.  Each station had a leader board with the top performers which was pretty cool.  This was a solo trip for me so the boys weren't there to enjoy the kid zone but maybe next time.  Otherwise I didn't really see anything I couldn't live without so I headed to the hotel to check in.

I had gotten a room across the street from the start because I absolutely hate planning for transportation to the start line.  I hate waiting in line for buses, navigating public transportation, reading maps - like on paper, checking bags, and waking up extra early to deal with the aforementioned mess.  I checked in and requested a late check-out for 1:00p so I was all set.  The 7:30a start meant I could sleep until about 6:00a, enjoy a bowl of hotel oatmeal and some toast, get dressed, and stroll across the street to warm up then race.  Since I was traveling alone I thought there was a real chance I would be back at the hotel, showered, and in bed by 9:00a for a solid nap before heading home.  To say I was wrong about that would be like saying the start of the race was a little congested.

I went to a movie and was in bed by 9:30 Sunday night.  Of course I didn't fall asleep until 2:00 in the morning but that seems to be the magic hour for me the night before an out of town race.  Getting up wasn't a problem and breakfast went off without a hitch.  I made my way across the street following the masses to the starting area.  I stretched a little.....ok, that's a lie - I just ran around the parking lot until I got a mile in to wake my legs up and confirm the obvious.  It was hot.  It was near 80 degrees at the start and the humidity was right at 90% without a shred of cloud cover in the sky.  Fortunately this was only 6.2 so at least I had that going for me. 

We were a good 45 minutes from the start and a slow jog-it-out mile had sweat running down my back like a waterfall so I decided that people watching would be a much better use of my time.  I saw several elites warming up and hordes of guys much faster than I am so I was intent on not getting out too fast chasing guys out of my league.  I still see myself as a fat kid that just runs a lot to keep from gaining weight.  I guess I'm easily intimidated by thin guys in short shorts but I prefer discounting my ability to being a prick that looks and acts fast but really is just pedestrian.  Historically runners were assigned to corrals that follow the elites beginning with seeded men, women, and masters followed by sub-seeded groups of each then corrals A through whatever it takes to accommodate 60,000 runners.  In 2016 they eliminated the sub-seed groups and simply went elites, seeded runners, group A.  I just missed a seeded bib by submitting a 15K time that I felt like was my best recent time.  Seed times are released after registration and you can't improve or resubmit a time for placement so even though I had a seeded 5K my 15K time put me in the A group.

I decided to head to my start wave but not before making some impromptu wardrobe changes.  I decided to ditch the race belt and pin my bib to my singlet.  That just seemed like the cool thing to do.  Then I realized it was crooked and off center and looked like a 3 year old pinned it on so I opted for pinning it to my shorts.  I made one last potty stop and they weren't too crowded but the standard quasi-lines were in effect.  The ones where you sort of stand in front of 3 or 4 and make a mental note as to who was there before you and offer up the open one to folks you know were there before you.  As I was on my way to one I was clearly entitled to some chick in a sparkly tutu came out of nowhere and took the door out of my hand.  Maybe she had a better read on how late we were to the start but whatever.

Finally I was headed to the start behind a guy wearing a shirt with the course map on the back.  Upon further review what I already knew started to sink in.... this is a point to point course and doesn't finish anywhere near the start.  So I proceeded with the question of the day, "Hey man, how do you get back to the start?"  Being the nice gentleman he was he resisted the urge to make me feel like an idiot and said most runners just hop on the Marta back to Lenox Square.  Well that's all fine and dandy if you've got a few bucks tucked away, or if you checked a bag that might include.....maybe a phone to call an uber or a cab.  But not this guy.  I mentioned my poor planning and he said, "Well I guess there are worse stretches of Atlanta to walk than coming back up the course backwards."  Good to know....

I was now 4 minutes from the start but hadn't made it to my wave yet.  They were gearing up for the national anthem which really was something I was looking forward to so the sense of urgency kicked in.  Waves A-D when through the same gate with A-B going left towards the start and C-D going right.  Then I realized that with it being so close to the start A and B were just one big jumbled mess and the B group was less than anxious to let me through.  Honestly I wasn't even sure if I was headed towards the start line or if I had taken a wrong turn and ended up at a Halloween party in July.  It was a great atmosphere but I got the impression that I was not surrounded by folks that were about to fire out of the gate.

I found myself looking straight up at the American flag during the national anthem as a huge military plane flew over.  Just being at the start of this race on this day was a little bit surreal.  The countdown was on and finally the gun went off.....and then.......nothing.  I mean we weren't even walking.  Finally a slow walk ensued, then a walk with a lean, then a shuffle.  Then I could actually see the timing mats just behind a wall of people that still seemed to be barely moving.  So much that I didn't even want to cross the mats but there was no turning back and it certainly wasn't getting less crowded.

I tried to be patient though.  I zigged and I zagged.  I went through people, around people, on sidewalks, on and off curbs.  There was even a quasi buddy system where faster runners would see and share a gap to move up amongst the masses only to be stopped by a wall of runners talking about lunch or plans later that day.  I mean even the slowest B groupers should have been 50 minute 10Kers which is about an 8:00 mile, so logically in a wave with faster runners going downhill in the first mile of a race this size you'd think we'd at least be moving along a little faster than we were plodding along.

About 200 meters into the race I heard my watch beep courtesy of some flying elbows which probably came as I tried to slither between runners.  I'm not a Mack truck coming through but I'm also not exactly a petite runner either.  I glanced at my watch to see the time wasn't running so I hit the start/stop button assuming that I was restarting the time after a few second pause.  A few minutes later I checked to see just how slow I was running and how far into the race we were and my watch was stopped on .15 miles.  That's right, elbow number 1 hit my lap button which didn't stop my watch, it just froze the lap time but yours truly did the honor of stopping my watch instead of restarting it.  So now my distance was all out of whack and so were my splits and all that I knew is that I was wasting precious time jogging downhill.  Normally I'm perfectly fine getting out a little slower, conserving energy, and have gotten comfortable knowing that I can make that up on the back half.  But on that day I knew there was likely no making up that time.

My horrendous start aside, Peachtree is a tale of two races.  The first 5K is predominately down hill.  If you put yourself in a good position at the start you really can run these miles quickly and post a good split without killing yourself to do it.  Towards the end of mile 3 starts the ascent which makes for a very difficult mile 4 beginning with what they affectionately refer to as Cardiac Hill.  Mile 5 continues the uphill for another 125 feet of elevation before finally leveling out at about 5.25 miles for the finish which is predominately flat and downhill with one sneaky hill before the finish.  There are also a couple points during the final mile where you think you might be finished only to find out you've got another 1/2 mile or so to go.

It didn't take long to realize that this is Atlanta's race.  There are families, friends, and various groups that come back year after year to make this one of the largest races in the world and their tradition is what makes this race special.  As much as I wanted to be annoyed at times throughout the race I just ran, and smiled, said excuse me, and thank you.  For instance I had a guy dart in front of me from nowhere to grab some water and I literally had to put a hand on each side of his waist to keep from running over him.  I mean it didn't help that he practically stopped to drink the water half way through the water stop but me rear-ending him with hands on hips was every bit as awkward as it sounds.  He seemed a bit delirious so I left him for the volunteers to tend to.  Needless to say I missed out on water at that station.  But as karma would have it there was a row of kids offering small bottles of water which I find much easier to drink from anyway.  I reached out for the first one......and missed it.  In my defense, they were sitting on the curb so not an easy reach!  I reached out for the next one.........and the kid didn't let go of it.  Just keep smiling Jason :)

As I was making the charge up the final hill and actually felt pretty good which is really to say I didn't feel awful.  I still had no idea what my time or pace was because I completely lost track of the slow start time but based on the mile markers I thought I might have missed timing about .10 of the course.  Once it was over I realized I missed more than that because there was a lot of wasted time and distance weaving in and out of runners at the beginning.  As the temperature continued to rise the race went to red flag status about 8:30a which was really just a formal way of letting runners and spectators know that it's hot.  Like really hot.  I didn't get the official memo at the time but even though I overlooked many, many things that would have led to a smoother race, the temperature is something that I was well aware of.

I crossed the finish line and had no idea what my time was.  I had a watch that read 6.14 miles and 40:41 for a 6:37 pace which wasn't right but I assumed I was at the 41:xx.  I proceeded through the chute to get my shirt which is one of the unique aspects of Peachtree.  There are no finisher medals and shirts aren't included with your bib and race packet so you actually have to finish the race to get the shirt.  Pretty cool I thought.  I was also handed a top 1,000 finisher card to pick up my Peachtree mug at various locations which was an unexpected bonus too.  Maybe that motivation to be in the top 1,000 is why the B wave was mean mugging me at the start.  The finish area was a couple large fields that wind around and put you back out on the street just past the finish.  There was plenty of food and drink which is to be expected when 60,000 people are running in the heat of the dirty south.  I doubt it hurts to be home to Coca-Cola when you've got to provide drinks for a lot of thirsty people either.

I wandered around aimlessly for a few minutes soaking up the atmosphere and getting my mind right to jog it back to the start.  I wasn't thrilled about that but I didn't feel too bad so I had pretty much accepted that was going to be the price for poor planning.  Then I saw the first (and only) familiar face of the trip - none other than Bobby Aswell.  And if I had to pick one guy that I might run into, out of state, in a field of 25,000 runners he would be it without a doubt.  We chatted for a bit and agreed this was not ideal 10K weather then took a celebratory post race photo.  Bobby had just completed his 29th consecutive Peachtree (let that sink in for a few minutes) and this was my first so it was really cool to be able to catch up with him afterwards.

I made my way back towards the finish against the grain and since the sidewalks were lined with spectators I saw no issue with hopping over the barricade to start my journey back.  I mean there were plenty of people on the other side so I expected to blend right in.  Unfortunately the Atlanta Police and their dogs quickly put a halt to that so I decided it was in my best interest to move with the flow of runner traffic towards the Marta.  I guess with that many runners you really have to keep everyone going the same way. 

I know runners are a tight knit bunch and good to their own so just about anybody I asked would have given me the $3 to get back to the start but I just didn't have it in me.  I mean what was I going to say - I didn't know the course of the largest 10K in the US didn't circle back?  Or that I forgot to bring money?  Or didn't think to check a bag and bring a phone?  I mean 12 hours ago I was proud of the fact that I didn't have to bring money or check a bag.  And hey, there was Olympic marathon qualifier Jared Ward - right beside of me.  I told him he was incredible at the LA trials and wished him luck in Rio.  Super nice guy, would have been really cool to have a picture but no.... I was so proud of my late checkout and the preceding long nap that I didn't have the common sense to plan for anything like that.

I ducked into a Starbuck's and was going to have them call me a cab.  Surely the driver could just sit in the lobby and give me a few minutes to go to the room and get my wallet.  Then I realized just how crowded a Starbuck's 1/2 mile from 60,000 runners finishing a race can be.  Calling me a cab seemed to be on nobody's radar.  Plan B was to use my charm to convince someone at the Marta station to just open the gates and let me in.  I would have offered to pay via PayPal even though I doubt the Marta is setup for PayPal but my heart was in the right place...

I still wasn't convinced I couldn't just jog back.  The Marta was a mile from the finish and if I was already walking towards the start that just meant 5 more.  I started talking to a guy who was local and using the 10K as training for an Iron Man he was running in Wilmington later this year.  As we talked about our race experience we realized that we had very similar starts in a similar position and as I mentioned my whole lap button / stop time episode he swore he was the one that elbowed me.  Unintentional of course but he said he remembered hearing my watch and saw the star-spangled bandana go by.  I know that sounds incredibly far fetched but who was I to argue.  And in a full twist of fate, the guy that set off the whole watch debacle gladly offered up $3 for a Marta pass before I could even finish asking directions to walk back.   

I went back to the room, looked up my results, shrugged it off, took a shower, and went to bed.  My 41:32 was good enough for 504 out of 56,912 runners and after thinking about it I was actually really happy with how I ran.  With all of the zigging and zagging I ran closer to 6.3-6.4 miles which is consistent with most of the other data out there on Strava.  The first mile was a disaster but there's nothing I could have done differently other than understand the importance of timely wave placement.  Miles 2 and 3 were both in the low 6:20's despite the heavy congestion.  I kept both miles uphill in the low 6:50's and ran just under 6:30 from mile 5 through the finish.  I would have taken those paces all day long on a day like this so I was happy with the race.  My planning -- not so much.

After a bite to eat I loaded up and attempted to pick up my top 1,000 finisher mug.  A few wrong turns later I arrived to find the store closed for the 4th. With 4 more pick-up options I began to call them, only to find out that one after another was closed.  I mean it was a holiday but still sort of a buzz kill.  Just one more thing not exactly working out the way I planned.  I messaged a friend that I knew was in the area also on a quest for a mug and let her know that the one store they hadn't been to was officially closed.  Without knowing just how poorly planned my morning had gone she had the intuition to confirm that I was actually at the right store and believe it or not, I was in the right place.  Fortunately she was staying an extra day and graciously agreed to pick up my mug and mail it to me.  Now Angie Clark is officially my hero.  Because she's got my mug and she was also a top 100 female finisher! 

So that about wraps up my adventure.  I made it home in time to rejoin the family for the annual July 4th firework extravaganza at Duane's and slept like a rock on Monday night.  Went for a nice 7.5 mile run the day after Peachtree with some faster stuff toward the end so if I'm lucky I'll be able to regroup in time for a decent showing at The Bear tomorrow.  And if the stars really lineup maybe I'll bring home another mug that I'm able to pick up all by myself.  Not getting my hopes up though, and as much as I hate the thought of running up Grandfather Mountain the idea of running in that cool air doesn't sound half bad.  But that's much easier to say from the comfort of my living room.

Thank you Atlanta for hosting such a fun event and hats off to the 1,000's of volunteers that made it happen.  They have the setup and teardown to a science and the volunteers were great!  Now that my inaugural Peachtree is behind me hopefully I've got a few more in my future!

      
 

Charity Chase Half Marathon 2016 Recap

I've decided that I don't race nearly enough to be blogging race recaps but I feel like there might be 3 or 4 people that actually read my ramblings while they're avoiding work or using the bathroom or whatever.  And I'm totally fine with that.  If you're doing something even remotely important right now by all means stop reading this now.

Realizing that this is long overdue I'm only doing it so it doesn't seem like I'm cherry picking my recaps.  Honestly I'm much more comfortable with a self deprecating review where everything goes wrong than a bubbly review when the training goes off without a hitch and the race is executed to perfection.  I mean nobody wants to hear about that nonsense anyway.    

So this was the 11th year of the Charity Chase and inexplicably I have now run this race 7 times.  Don't get me wrong, it's a great event - well planned, the crowd support is the best you'll find in a race this size, plus where else are you going to go for pizza on a Sunday morning?  Beyond that though, it's a half marathon in June where the summers are hot and humid and the roads either go up or they go down.  For the most part I run parts of the CC course every week so I know it well.  Despite this being the 3rd different course I still had a pretty good idea what I was in for.

The weeks leading up to the race had been really hot and humid.  Shocker.  I could be wrong but I think summer rolling in is partly to blame.  When the warm weather hits mid 80's it feels like 95 and when you layer on the humidity it's a bit smothering.  I had my weather reality check back in March at the Tobacco Road half marathon where we were just getting a taste of the 70 degree temperatures.  Of course when you're coming of a training cycle predominately in the 40's and 50's a 70 degree morning hits like a ton of bricks.  Nonetheless I managed a 1:27 but on a much flatter course so I was a little torn and how to plan for CC.

The course is, and has always been basically two loops.  At first glance the first loop seems longer and more challenging based on the elevation but there really isn't much difference in either - at least in my opinion.  I was hoping to run something around 1:30 but wasn't feeling spectacularly confident about that.  Before the race I had gotten a message not to worry about pace or timing but just treat this as a placement race.  So now the only thing left to do was get this over with and get on with my day...

The plan was to start out at a 6:50 pace and then run by feel.  The first 3 miles went smoothly enough and things started to shake out.  I settled in next to Jon Hata who's a great runner and always fit plus he's good with pacing so I knew I was in good company.  We made it up 8th street past the armory and headed back through the start area to begin the second loop.  Through about 9 miles our pace was around 6:50 and not far off the arbitrary 1:30 I had in the back of my head at the start.

That 6:50 felt a lot harder than it should have and my idiotic choice to wear a relatively new pair of Nike racing flats was coming back to haunt me.  It sorta felt like my left shoe was lined with sandpaper and I was convinced that the bottom of my foot had completely detached.  Side note:  free pair of 10.5 Nike zoom streaks with less than 25 miles to anyone that wants them.  And I know not to race in new shoes but I ran 10 miles in them earlier that week and felt great so whatever...

Blisters aside, make no mistake... the wheels were coming off.  However I executed my plan of running by feel to perfection and began to run like garbage -- just like I felt.  Once the neighborhood spit us out on lake road I watched Jon cruise ahead while I dropped a 7:36 on mile 10.  Two more sluggish miles through the 'new' second loop would follow, a 7:28 and 7:37 before finally closing the last mile at close to a 7:00 pace.  

I finished 6th overall with a 1:33 that seemed like it took closer to 3 days.  I wasn't thrilled with my time but it was my highest placing to date in a CC race and it sure beat watching as a hobbled spectator like I did last year.

Now a month later I'm headed to Atlanta to run my first Peachtree 10K.  I'm excited but coming off a beach vacation (beach =  +5 lbs) and a grumpy foot courtesy of a track session last week where I tried to make up for lost time.  Nothing that will land me back on my favorite doctor's patient list but enough to temper my already fragile confidence. But I will be up front among 60,000 runners celebrating Independence Day with a scorching 6.2 miles through Buckhead and regardless of how fast or slow it's another day in the journey that I'm not taking for granted!

Congrats to all of the Charity Chase runners and a big thank you to the sponsors and volunteers for making it all possible!

 

Race Recap: 2016 FootChase 5K

Well knock on wood but 2016 is off to a much better start than 2015!  Today is almost to the day the one year anniversary of the beginning of the worst stretch of running in the history of Jason.  That, of course, excludes the first 19 years of my sedentary life.  But here I am, version 42.6 and back at it.

Tobacco Road was a great experience and I was fairly happy with the results but when it was over it was over and I was left that 'what's next' void.  I guess I have the Bear to look forward to which I have to assume is similar to looking forward to a vasectomy.  I mean I've never had a vasectomy but that can't be much worse.  I'm also going to be checking the AJC Peachtree 10K off the bucket list on July 4th but I'm not all that interested in running in circles time and time and time again to get faster at the moment.  Although I did just run hill repeats and I think that was even worse.

I started perusing for local races and there was certainly no shortage this time of year.  I had heard great things about the FootChase race but I was a little nervous about racing two weeks after the half.  I know several guys that race week after week but I'm still skittish after my rash of overuse injuries last year.  About a week ago there was a brief sighting of my legs one afternoon so I decided to see if there were any spots available.  The race wasn't full but it did happen to land on my wife's birthday.  Plus I still didn't have a car since Bambi's mammoth sized mama decided dance on my hood.  So do I steal her car, slip out of the house early, and leave her stranded on what's supposed to be her day?  Yup. 

I checked the participant list and it was full of people I knew.  I had also really been looking forward to running a RunTimeRaces event but the scheduling just hasn't worked out.  Since I was completely out of excuses I formally decided that I would be one of those last minute entrants that misses every discount along the way and gets the no shirt guarantee.  I guess when you sign up that late you get what you deserve.  Signing up was quick and easy and I really like the run sign up design.  The race menu gives you a quick look at the event information and the find a participant lookup gives you a chance to see who's signed up.  That's sort of a blessing and a curse but it's nice to know who's running and roughly how many people to expect.

My last two races were the kind where you wake up at 4:00 or 5:00 am to catch a shuttle to somewhere with no parking then sit around and wait forever to run.  And that's just as much fun as it sounds.  Running locally is great because I'm actually able to sleep in later than I do when I have a long run planned.  Taking full advantage of this I was up just before 7:00 and out the door 15 minutes later -- and I was still early!  I was a little worried about parking because there were 400 or so people signed up to participate but just as advertised there was plenty of parking.

The weather was perfect but it was a little windy at times especially to be so early.  Within minutes of arriving I was met by a trio of RTR's finest -- Kelly Stewart, Chris Fulbright, and William Adair.  These guys along with the rest of their ambassadors are genuinely appreciative of everyone that attends their events and it shows.  There was pre-race music, packet pickup was quick and easy, and the Conover Park really makes for a great pre and post race setup.  

I knew the inevitable pre-race bathroom visit was fast approaching so I decided to be slick and enjoy the comforts of the CVS bathroom down the street.  For future reference, it's not located on a runner friendly street and most importantly, CVS doesn't open until 8:00 am on Saturday.  Having my heart set on something other than a porta-potty I decided I had time to make it to the YMCA (farther down the street) and back with a few minutes to spare.  Just to clarify, the number of porta-pots was more than adequate - I'm just an idiot with a one track mind sometimes. 

I haven't run this particular course before but I've run parts of it in different races.  I knew it was fairly flat but I wasn't sure how my legs would respond to a spur of the moment 5K after a couple weeks of moderate running.  My goal was to run as close to a 6:00 pace as possible and not hate myself for doing it.  I found Donald Keller up front and figured if I could stay in his general vicinity I would be fine.

The gun went off and about 18 of us started out at a 5:02 pace.  True story, because I just checked my Garmin and I watched the video.  That pace lasted about 0.2 of a mile although the two kids that placed 1st and 2nd (Chatham Ellwanger and Ethan Deffke) might have that in their future while I, most certainly do not.  For me every 5K starts the same with my body giving me a reaction as if to say WTF?!  and I never have a good answer.  That could be my body telling me I'm an idiot for even momentarily running a 5 pace or it could be that my warm up runs are spent looking for offsite restrooms as opposed to actually warming up.  Eventually I settled in and knew, or at least hoped it would be over soon.

The first mile was smooth and comfortable at 5:57 with Donald and I running step for step.  I knew the leaders were both younger and faster plus they looked very comfortable so I just wanted to keep them in sight to avoid missing a turn.  In a lot of these local races it's not uncommon to see a lot of separation up front which can get tricky on a course that's not well marked.  Losing the leader is no big deal.  Losing the pace car can be a problem if there's nobody to follow.  That wasn't an issue here as there were cones practically lining the entire 5K route so you'd really have to give your best effort to mess this up.

I found a pretty good rhythm and managed 5:53 for the second mile and felt good about hitting that 6:00 race pace.  Of course that's about the time I made the turn that put us running directly into the wind.  It wasn't a gale force wind or anything but it was enough to make the subtle incline of the last mile feel a little less subtle.  Once we made it across the tracks through main street the course flatted out and turned away from the wind.  The final turn towards the finish starts with a short speed bump of a hill before the longer stretch of a downhill finish.  I managed 6:07 for the 3rd mile and a time of 18:50 with a 5:58 pace good for 3rd place.  Donald finished a few seconds behind but it's worth noting that he was in the middle of a 70 mile week and would bang out 20 miles at a 7:11 clip the next day.  William Adair was never far behind finishing 6th and was the 1st overall master's winner.

After the race there was plenty of fruit, bottled water, and PDQ was there with apple slices and their caramel / chocolate chunk dip.  All participants also received a ticket for free chicken tender meal from PDQ.  Real-time results were available electronically with laptops setup that allowed you to enter your bib and print your time and placement.  In the following days 700+ pictures were posted online and available for free.  There is also a finish line video available just in case the still shots aren't unflattering enough.  The overall and age group medals are a great look and resemble an officer's badge.  The top 3 overall and overall master's winners also received a nice Nathan water bottle and a bag full of stuff from GNC.     

Overall it was a great day.  It was nice to catch up with a lot of friends that I haven't seen much of lately and it feels good to be running with familiar faces again.  Plus GNC awarded me with a supplement for stress and anxiety, a weight loss supplement, and a supplement that I expect to increase my strength by 147% in addition to some other good stuff.  So don't be surprised if the next time you see me I'm laid back and stress free because I've lost weight and gained muscle.  Seriously.  Just wait...(but don't hold your breath on the muscle part)
 

2016 Tobacco Road Half Marathon Race Recap

I had every intention of posting a preview before the recap but obviously that didn't happen.  I started one but the preview quickly became one long, rambling run-on sentence in the form of a therapeutic gripe session about my disastrous pre-race week.  Of course that resembles practically every other blog I've posted to date so I'm not sure what stopped me from posting it.

In short, I spent the Monday-Wednesday before the race in the DC area for work.  I missed my last quality workout on Tuesday which was 8 miles with 6x800 in the middle.  I made that up on Wednesday, a gorgeous but windy lunch run around a cobblestone block on streets I wasn't familiar with.  Twenty-three laps around kids in strollers, fire hydrants, and hordes of people walking to lunch or just out enjoying the day.  Not really conducive to running 800s but an hour later and it was done.  Wednesday at midnight I had the misfortune of hitting a deer on my way home, at midnight, going 75 mph, in the middle of nowhere VA.  Or maybe it was more the deer's misfortune?  Soon I would be checking into a hotel in Durham and would spend more time than I wanted the next day with the insurance adjuster, the repair shop, and Enterprise. And none of that went very smoothly.

By Friday things were back to normal with the exception of me in a rental car for the unforeseeable future.  For the first Saturday in months there was no long run on the calendar so I slept in until all of 8:30, then ate breakfast, took Landon to baseball evaluations and circled back to catch Sam's first Lacrosse game.  At 1:00 I was finally on the road to the expo to pick up my bib and get checked in.

The Allscripts Tobacco Road Marathon and GNC Half Marathon is in Cary, NC and is predominately run on the American Tobacco Trail (ATT) with roughly 2 miles on paved roads leading to the trail head with those same 2 miles leading back to the finish.  The ATT surface is a crushed granite / packed dirt type surface that's mostly flat with a few subtle rolling hills that are more felt that seen but overall it is a fast course.  Both the marathon and the half run these paved sections with the full marathon going right on the trail and the half taking a left.  The half is a simple down and back while the full is a down and back the other direction that circles back eventually picks up the half marathon course. 

This is really a fairly small event with 4,000 runners combined in the full and half but it has the amenities of some much larger marathons.  The race is very reasonable if you register early, starting at $50 in April and gradually increases to $100 in November when procrastinators like me register.  The half marathon always sells out early so you can't count on last minute or race day entry for 13.1.  And I highly recommend purchasing the parking pass to the USA Baseball Complex where the race begins and ends.  The alternative is having someone drop you off or taking the race sponsored shuttles which are free of charge.  More on that later.

The race expo is usually at the Sheraton and run by Inside Out Sports so there's plenty of gear for purchase and gels / fuels to sample.  I typically go to the expo to pick up my bib and then I'm on my merry way so I'm probably not the one to critique an expo but if I would have forgotten something I could have gotten it here.

The race really promotes itself as a Boston Qualifier and since this is where I earned my first BQ I can certainly attest to that.  They also add a very nice touch by awarding Boston Qualifier tech shirts once your time is verified with official results.  I'm not sure if this is something they started in the last few years or if I just completely overlooked these a few years ago as I was walking around in a daze.  These are really cool shirts though and a very neat incentive to choosing Tobacco Road as your qualifier.

The website suggests that 10% of their runners qualify for Boston and I feel certain that's accurate.  I do believe the high qualifying rate is largely a product of the $17K in prize money combined with the relatively small field size.  Cash prizes are awarded for Top 3 male, female, active military, and masters for both the full and half.  That kind of money in a race this size is always going to draw some talent.  But again, it is a fast course and one to consider for a BQ especially if you're looking for a spring race.

Since I didn't run the full marathon and try to avoid all thoughts of the physical misery I was in when I ran it a few years ago I'll stick to reviewing the half from here on.  I checked in about 5:00 on Saturday, got a quick shake-out run in, then hit up a Jersey Mike's for dinner, and made a grocery store run for some water and a pre-race bagel.  After my running around I was in bed by 8:30 and excited about the prospect of actually getting a decent sleep in but little did I know...

I started watching the Carolina / Virginia game and it was just close enough to keep me interested.  Then I started to stress a little about the time change and getting my alarm to go off at the right time.  I knew my iPhone would automatically adjust for daylight savings but it was just enough to wonder what if...  By 11:00 I was still up and decided I might as well give it until midnight to verify the change and that I was good to go.  Yes, like an idiot I was thinking the change would show up at midnight even though I knew the change didn't actually happen until 2:00 am.  Eventually I decided to work from the antiquated digital alarm clock as my back up but I still couldn't sleep.

I started reading up on the shuttles and their suggestion to be there as close to 5:00 am as possible with shuttles running until 6:15 for runners.  The race didn't start until 8:00 this year rather than 7:00 as in prior years presumably to avoid being on the ATT before sunrise.  I did the math and realized I was going to be on site 2 hours before the race started and wasn't terribly excited about it but whatever.  By this time it was almost 1:00 am which was really 2:00 am and I needed to be up at 4:30 am.  Eventually I would see my phone go from 1:59 am to 3:00 am so for anybody that doesn't believe take my word for it and don't wait up for proof.  So I got a solid 1.5 hours sleep, ate my bagel and peanut butter, and headed to the shuttle.

The shuttles were actually chartered buses, completely free, and run back and forth all day for runners and spectators.  Parking was at an industrial center type lot with ample parking so that wasn't an issue either.  I boarded the first bus and was among the first runners on site.  On one hand I had officially arrived to the start on time and I hadn't forgotten anything which is often half the battle.  On the other hand I was going on 1.5 hours sleep and had more than 2 hours before the race started to do absolutely nothing.  I spent the next hour laid out like a buffet on the concrete sidewalk using my soon-to-be checked bag as a pillow which wasn't exactly full of fluffy comfort.  If I had a parking pass my car would have been on site in the parking lot (there is limited parking hence the required pass) and I could have gotten at least another hour of sleep plus I could have sat in the comfort of my rental car where there just happened to be a blanket.

From the time I started rehabbing after running Boston last year my goal was to get healthy, build my base back up, follow that with the speed, and try to better my half marathon time which was (spoiler alert) and still is 1:25:37.  I ran that at Thunder Road at the end of 2013 so while that was close to my peak fitness, I've never heard Thunder Road (and it will always be TR to me) referred to as a fast course.  A target time of 1:25 sounded reasonable and just so happened to be the standard half marathon time that could guarantee my entry into the NY Marathon so that became my number.  Training has gone very well and I've hit all of my targets on the track and intervals plus I haven't missed a workout in months.  The Hot Chocolate 15K in January was to gauge my fitness or temper my expectations so when I ran that difficult course with a million turns and a wind chill in teens at under a 6:30 pace I felt pretty good about my chances of a personal best at Tobacco Road.

Two weeks before the race I knocked out 15 miles at an average 7:00 pace finishing with 6 miles at a sub 6:30 pace so I was cautiously optimistic but was also well aware that more than just training goes into that perfect race.  Since the first couple miles to the trail are primarily uphill the plan was to start smart and not too fast, hit the trail and lock in on 6:30's.  Doing just that I went 6:38 and 6:41 to the trail with the next three mile splits at 6:22 / 6:14 / 6:24.  At mile 6 it was noticeably warmer and more humid than I was used to.  I still felt comfortable but my splits slowed a bit to 6:34, 6:35 at the turn around and 6:35 through mile 8.  Going into the race I felt like I could make up some time in the last 2 miles since it's a downhill finish but I was really starting to labor.  Mile 9 was at 6:47 which was a little demoralizing because I knew I needed to be at 1:05 through 10 miles and that put me 30 seconds off of my 1:05 target.

Even though this is mostly a flat and fast course there are some slight elevation changes and mile 10 includes a subtle climb and I dropped a 7:06.  I don't remember seeing that as I was running because I was focused on the 10 mile split so I'm kinda glad I missed that.  It's really not that bad of a climb, I just sucked ass for that particular seven minutes and six seconds.  That put me at 1:06 through 10 miles so I knew it wasn't my day to PR.  I managed to regroup and hang on finishing the last 3 miles at 6:48 / 6:42 / 6.36 for a time of 1:27:07 and a 6:37 pace.  That was good for 28th overall and a 2nd age group award which was a nice Under Armor backpack with the Tobacco Road logo stitched in it.  I was really happy with my placing because there were a lot of quality runners there but after putting in the work it still stings a little not to see it reflected in my time.  All in all it was a good day and a great event and there's really nothing I could have, or would have done differently.  Except maybe register early enough to buy a parking pass and maybe get more sleep Saturday night.


A few weeks ago, before the LA Marathon, I read an open message from a runner in California (Jimmy Freeman) to the folks running that weekend.  It read, "appreciate the moment where you aim to be better than you've ever been before.  Pushing for a personal best distance or time is a courageous thing.  It's a special day and moment when that is possible, even if it doesn't happen, you'll learn something about yourself.  No matter what happens by the time you cross the finish line, let go of the bad moments but learn from them and celebrate the day.  One never knows which race or day will be our last so appreciate this one like it could be.  There are many people on the sideline that would trade your worst running day for whatever they are dealing with."  I saved the post and refer to it often for perspective and today it was very fitting.

This is definitely a race worth running and it's only about a 2.5 hour drive from the Hickory area.  There's a strong Charlotte / Cornelius presence as well and you can generally count on Bobby Aswell being there.  Running his second marathon in as many weeks he ran a 3:23 on a really warm day which just hurts me to think about.  Chas Willimon, another Reckless Runner from that area was there running the half and really pulled me through most of the race.  Chas was also an age group winner so thanks for dragging me along today and congrats to you both.

There's quite a spread after the race as well in addition to live music througout the day. Admittedly I'm not the most social butterfly in the world so I didn't stick around long but there was beer, pizza, orange slices, water, chocolate milk, and samples of various breads and recovery stuff.  Again if you're looking for big race bells and whistles and a smaller venue this is it.

So while it wasn't the day I wanted it was the day I got and I'm certainly not going to sulk over missing my target on a hot day.  Alright so maybe I've sulked a little and maybe I have compared the times to prior years.  Maybe I took some comfort in other guys commenting on their race plan and how it went awry but really, I promise I'm not going to complain or mentally justify it -- for at least another hour...

Happy running and good luck to all of you Palmetto 200 guys next weekend!  

Hot Chocolate 15K Atlanta 2016 Race Recap

After looking forward to the Hot Chocolate 15K for several weeks I spent a good 48 hours wondering if it was even going to happen.  I knew the weather here in North Carolina was going to be bad but the ice and snow forecast made its way down to Atlanta as well.  Eventually Saturday rolled around and the directors sent notification that the race was still on.  They did implement their 'cold weather plan' which basically diverted 15K runners with a pace slower than 13 min/mile to the 5K to limit their exposure to the cold and they suspended the outdoor kid activities.  

Overall I was very impressed with how the race directors handled the numerous questions, comments, and whiney runners for the 48 hours prior to the race.  And I reserve the whiney term for the very few runners that were posing questions such as, "will you cancel the race if the temperature drops below 32 degrees" and my personal favorite, "will you be mailing finisher medals even if the race is cancelled, because I would like to have mine."  They did an excellent job of providing regular updates regarding the status of the expo hours, packet pickup, and notification that the race would go on as scheduled with the exception of the cold weather plan.

I booked a room at the Westin downtown which was a few blocks from the shuttle pickup. We checked in on Saturday night which just happened to coincide with a national Omega Psi Phi (aka Que Dogs) convention that culminated with a 6th floor hotel party.  This little soirée kicked off at 10:00 pm and formally ended at 3:00 am Sunday morning but the after parties went on until at least 5:00 am when I finally crawled out of bed.  After an impromptu room change at 11:00 pm to move away from the elevator and what seemed to be the pre-party staging area I finally got a block of sleep from about 1:30 to 4:00.  Of course that abruptly ended to the tune of some chick singing in the hallway about her milkshake bringing all of the boys to the yard.  I never sleep well before races anyway but that wasn't exactly what I expected to keep me awake...

The Hot Chocolate race series bills itself as America's sweetest race and they live up to the billing.  The race swag is really nice with a full zip up fleece, very nice finisher medals, and a plastic finisher mug filled with chocolate fondue, hot chocolate, pretzels, and some other stuff my kids polished off.  The race was broken down into 2 waves and approximately 8 corrals in each from A-H in wave 1 and I-P in wave 2...or something like that.  The 5K and 15K runners are co-mingled and corralled by pace submitted with registration.  In total there were about 15,000 runners with roughly 9,400 running the 5K and 5,200 running the 15K and I would say at least 60 - 70% of the runners were female.  If I didn't know better I would think there was a connection between women and chocolate.

I ate my customary pre-race bagel and drank a Diet Pepsi before making my way to the shuttles shortly after 6:00 am.  The temperature was about 25 but with the breeze it felt closer to 15 so it was pretty uncomfortable to say the least.  I prepaid to ride the shuttle roundtrip which was $3 well spent and was dropped off a few blocks from the start.  Wave 1 didn't start until 7:40 so I was hoping to find a little shelter but the best I could do was to hunker down under the apparel tent to kill some time.  The DJ was already setup and there were a few women getting their Zumba on but that seemed like a pretty horrible idea so I passed.  Finally around 7:00 I decided it was time to start acting like a runner so I ditched the warm up pants and fleece, checked my bag, and started to get loose.

I was in corral A so I made my way up front a few rows back.  My plan was to mentally break this into 3 separate 5K's and run a controlled first 5K , the second one assertively, and the last one hard.  That was actually Coach Caleb's plan but it made sense and all I had to do was execute...easy enough, right?  I mentioned that I had A and B goals in my pre-race post which were 60 minutes (A) and 62 minutes (B).  I knew running sub 60 (as in 59:59) was a stretch and would likely require perfect conditions and a flat course.  After reviewing the elevation profile and speaking with folks that had run the 5K and 15K I knew this probably wasn't the course for me to run 60 minutes but I still felt like I could come in under 62 minutes even on a chilly morning.

The course is definitely challenging but I wouldn't say it's notoriously difficult.  Atlanta is very similar to the North Carolina piedmont where I do most of my running so it's really just a continuous series of rolling hills with some ups and downs steeper than others.  Based on my 3 separate 5K strategy, in hindsight I would consider the first 5K moderate, the second 5K easy, and the third 5K difficult....maybe even very difficult.  The race starts off downhill followed by a steady uphill, and from there the course just rolls.  I hit the 5K split at 20:23 with splits of 6.37 / 6.34 / 6.23 which is exactly where I wanted to be.  The next 5K is still rolling bit but there are more downs than ups and that combined with just a general loosening up and my body adjusting to the temperature my splits were 6.11 / 6.13 / 6.18 so when I hit the 10K split I was at 39:58 but I knew the hard part was ahead. 

The final 5K includes a nasty stretch from about the 7.5 mile mark to around 8.5 miles.  There's really no reprieve and it doesn't roll, it's just a steady one mile climb late in the race with enough of an incline to suck more than your typical one mile hill that just shows up late in a race.  My splits for miles 7-9 were 6.30 / 6.44 / 6.17 and 5.55 for the last 0.3 thanks to the overall female winner carrying me.  Fortunately once you crest the hill it levels off before the downhill finish over the last half mile or so.  I was able to finish strong but just lost too much time during the climb and missed my A goal with a time of 1:00:26.  Considering my A goals are generally based on the highly unlikely but possible if the stars align premise I was very satisfied with my run.

My time was good enough for 12th overall and 1st place in the 40-44 category.  Even though this race doesn't recognize a masters category I would have been the top masters runner as well.  It looks like I might have gotten a bit lucky with who decided to run this year because last year that time would have only been good enough for 4th place in the 40-44 category. 

I can't objectively comment on the expo or the post race experience.  I made it to the expo 20 minutes before closing then was in and out in a flash.  After the race I shook a few hands, picked up my finisher mug, went to bag check, got dressed, and was on a shuttle headed back to the hotel within 20 minutes of crossing the finish line.  That just speaks to the efficiency and overall organization of the race and my desire to take a hot shower and go back to bed.

It was really nice to get back into the spirit of racing again and I really appreciate the kind words from friends and family before and after the race, especially the one my wife sent immediately after I finished.  It simply said, "I'm so proud of you" which was her way of acknowledging the effort without respect to the time. 

If you're looking for a race that offers all of the bells and whistles the Hot Chocolate series is definitely one you should consider.  The cities are certainly destination worthy and they seem to have the logistics down to a science.  The swag is great and as I understand it the race photos and videos are free once available.  Real time tracking is available and age group awards run 3 deep but only the top 3 overall awards are handed out on race day.  Age group awards are mailed 6-8 weeks later.

 

Ultimately I wanted to finish strong and get through this unscathed and aside from a little race belt rash I'm good to go!  Apparently my numb back didn't feel the plastic buckle rubbing my back for an hour which had me screaming in the shower like a nine year old girl.  Now I'm just looking forward to an easy week of running and then back to the grind before running the Tobacco Road half in March.  And considering there are only 100 spots left I guess I better sign up! 

 

 

Getting back on the horse...

It's probably no secret to anyone that knows me personally that last year was challenging to say the least.  I ran when I shouldn't have, let me pride interfere with my common sense, and stubbornly refused to acknowledge that I'm not in my 20's anymore....or 30's for that matter.

While I selfishly spent most of last year consumed with what was wrong so many things were going right that have me in a much better place today.  I spent more time running with friends, racing along side my kids, and following my running friends and their continued improvement.  I ran less, and slower, and became increasingly interested in the training habits of older and successful runners.  Fortunately I didn't have to look too far with the likes of Bill Johncock and Robert Murray practically in my backyard.  Unlike myself, these guys were big time runners with elite PR's in their prime and even in their 50's they continue to defy father time.  Even though I could probably count my conversations with them on both hands their insight and wisdom in passing still remains fresh in my mind. 

In the early summer of last year I started working with Caleb Masland and Team Wicked Bonkproof in an effort to return to form.  In a sense this was my way of acknowledging that while my training philosophy had helped me quickly achieve some success it simply wasn't sustainable.  It also provided a level of accountability that I knew I needed but somehow always managed to avoid.  I wanted to understand how to become a better runner and the science behind the plan.  And once I finally realized and accepted the fact that fast doesn't always equal better then things started to fall into place.

If left to my own devices I would have continued to push my daily runs chasing workouts that I was running 2 years ago.  I would have run too fast, too often, too soon, and most likely I would still be hobbling around today.  Instead Caleb gradually increased my weekly mileage focusing on a slow but steady build and gradually mixing in some quality speed work during the week.  My plan basically consists of 5 days per week with a long run on Saturday and speed work on Wednesday with each followed by a slow recovery run.  The 5th workout is generally a steady run by feel and typically my weekly mileage ends up in the mid to upper 40's with the focus being a half marathon in March.

Not too long ago I would look back and my workouts from when I was at my peak fitness and it was a sobering look at how far I was from where I wanted to be.  Now I look back and realize just how far I've come and how much I didn't know.  It's very safe to say that I'm still not as fast as I was 12-18 months ago but not until yesterday did it hit me that I used to approach every training run as a competition with the prior run.  I typically ran 1 of 3 routes and practically every run turned into a tempo run.  There was hardly ever a slow run or recovery run and there were never intervals or miles run at 5K, 10K, or HMP.  It was literally tempo run after tempo run unless I got a wild hair to run 12 or more which was entirely based on how I was feeling and how much time I had to put in a longer run.   

This Sunday I'm on my way to Atlanta to run the Hot Chocolate 15K which I'm approaching as my first real 'race' in over a year.  I'm anxious, nervous, and excited with no expectations other than to run smart and finish strong.  With it being a 15K a PR is a certainty....but only because I've never raced that distance before :)  The course doesn't appear to be a fast one based on the elevation profile but I'm fairly certain that all of us will be running the same hills.  I've put in the miles, been consistent with my long runs, run fast when it was time to run fast, and recovered when it was time to recover. 

Of course I have my standard 'A' goal and 'B' goal in place.  For me that basically equates to a target that's very unlikely and one that should be hard to screw up....but I have surprised myself on both counts before.  The past year has given me a greater appreciation for the physical ability that I was blessed with and the motivation and determination to make the most of it while I can.  Hopefully when I recap this event I'll do so with the same appreciation that I have today.  Of course if I miss that 'B' goal all bets are off........I'm kidding (sort of :)  Either way I'll be at the starting line healthy and prepared to run my race, against me, knowing that I might not be faster but I will be better.

Until the finish... 

2015 Blue Ridge Relay: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

 

For the third consecutive year Hey Jack! took to the backroads of the Virginia and North Carolina mountains for the 11th running of the Blue Ridge Relay.  LT was again flawless in serving as captain, cheerleader, spiritual advisor, spreadsheet planner, book assembler, and information distributor. 

After a series of mid-summer email banter to make sure everyone from last year was on board we were all set.  And on board should not be confused with in shape - just willing and able to shell out a couple hundred bucks to spend the better part of two days in a rancid van eating cookies and power bars, running hill after hill, not getting any sleep, and understanding that the next day would be not be pleasant.  Having 11 hard commits plus Huegerich meant it was time to determine the running order and project our pace.  This involves a highly non-analytical exercise that is completely baseless and is generally met with a great deal of resistance.  But hey - it made LT and I feel like we did something worthwhile...

Once the master plan was unofficially hatched it was time to make it official so we all got together for the 'unveiling' of the legs and van assignments.  Hank earned a mountain goat leg by taunting me all the up The Bear earlier this summer and John Mills got the other because he seems to actually enjoy running up hill.  Ben Duke got the honor of having the highest mileage including the 10.5 climb up Grandfather as his reward for torching the Palmetto Relay.  The rest of us tried to run routes we hadn't run before and spread the love just to keep things interesting.  Van 1 included Andy Burchfield, Eric Meredith, Ben Duke, Joe Haines, LT, and Huegerich while van 2 included me, Hank Eimer, Michael Banks, John Mills, Luke Stafford, and Knox Tate. 

The 12:00 start time was our latest to date with the blazing fast Asheville Running Collective and Charlotte Running Club being the only teams starting behind us and going off at 1:30.  We rolled out of Hickory shortly before 9:00 am and as always headed up the mountain feeling really good about ourselves.  Then, as usual, we pulled in the parking lot for that painful reminder that everyone starting this late is really fast.  Yes, seemingly every one of them weighed a buck-forty with 3 inch slits and shaved Kenyan calves.  That's exactly the shot of confidence we needed before the start. 

As we roamed the parking lot we noticed a silver haired gentleman that we were certain we could outrun.  That just happened to be UNC head coach Roy Williams who was there as the dedicated driver for his son's relay team.  He was very approachable and a super nice guy so managed to get a few pictures with him, wished the team well and then headed back to the start. 




Andy Burchfield made the trip down from the DC area for the second year in a row which represents a whole new level of crazy.  And because of his unwavering commitment we were kind enough to saddle him as our first runner.  The guy that gets the easy 4 miles downhill but has to lineup against 10 other guys running for 10 faster teams with 50 vans full of runners watching.  He handled it like a champ though and more than held his own.

I was in 2nd van and running 8th which meant two things; I was having subway for lunch and I was not having Chipotle for dinner.  Plus collectively our van had about 15 fewer miles than van 1 which they caught on to fairly early on.  We headed to West Jefferson to the transition area but not before Knox ducked into a Dollar Tree and came out with balloons, Christmas lights, and some other neon paraphernalia to decorate the van.   Now that the essentials were out of the way we waited our turn to break that first sweat.

Mark came barreling down the mountain as the 6th runner and handed to Hank for a short 2.5 miles so finally our van was officially part of the action.  We were a little behind schedule but that was expected since the 2nd leg of the race was rerouted because of a fallen tree.  Eric might not have appreciated the extra 2 miles but it didn't seem to affect the rest of us and he didn't complain too much.  My first leg was a short one, roughly 5K with a climb from mile 1.5 to 2.5 which feels a lot like Joe described it....like running into a brick wall.  The elevation profile and my splits for Leg 8 are to the right.  John, Luke, Knox and Michael all hammered through their runs to finish our first full rotation which ended with an impromptu birthday party for John complete with the Ms. America sash and cupcakes.



Early on it was pretty clear that we weren't beating last years time - especially not with the detour on leg 2 even though it was relatively slight.  Last year nearly all of us were either in the middle of a training cycle or just wrapping one up and personally I was just in better shape and healthier last year.  I was coming off a great summer of base building after making a mess of the spring so I was very optimistic until about a week before the race.  After running the HCA 5K two weeks prior to the BRR I was scheduled for 14 miles the next day.  I've been working with Caleb Masland and team WBP since June and his comments regarding the Sunday long run after the 5K specifically said "KEEP IT SLOW".  But in my infinite wisdom I decided a long run on those 5K legs that included some hill work would serve as the perfect BRR training.  And I thought if I maintained a moderate pace in the 7:30's it would be a great confidence builder.  Just for the record, I'm much better at giving advice than following it.  Eventually I started compensating for some quad soreness which resulted in some lower back pain that led to butt pain which put me on the shelf for a while.  But I wasn't about to miss this - I mean I had two doctors running with me plus a bucket of ice and a bottle of Ibuprofen so what could possibly go wrong?!  

Getting that first rotation out of the way was a relief.  For one it's lonely out there running in the middle of nowhere when well over 100 teams have an hour or more of a head start.  It really doesn't get fun until later in the night when we start getting in the thick of it and mixing it up with the other teams.  Plus it's always nice to spend a little time catching up with our Hickory running buddies from F3 and the Hickory Knuts at the transition zones.  Knocking out that first run in van 2 also means it's time to hit up the Chick-Fil-A in Boone.  I've eaten a whole lot of CFA sandwiches in my days but something about that BRR sandwich is just on a whole other level.

We decided to try to catch a few winks at the 2nd transition zone and found a good spot under a tree, right next to high grass just perfect for snakes.  It wasn't quite 10:00pm so we had a good 2-3 hours to rest and I was wrapped up like a cocoon hiding from natures nocturnal fleet of everything I don't like about camping.  For me sleeping during the BRR consists of 30 minutes spent barricading myself in a sleeping bag, an hour and a half of listening to runners yelling, porta-potty doors slamming, and vans driving by before getting 30 or 45 minutes of something comparable to sleep.  We set the alarm on our iPhones as if there's a real chance that all 6 of us fall into such a deep slumber that we just sleep right through the exchange.  This time we didn't have to rely on our iPhones or our internal clock though.  Apparently Banks was stirred by a set of headlights on high beam and promptly woke the rest of us as he yelled, "why don't you turn your effing head lights off."  Oddly enough, they did - and just like that we were on the clock again.

Hank made quick work of 4.4 miles and I was up for a 'very hard' 7.4 miles which was basically a 5 mile roller coaster followed by a 2 mile uphill kick in the nuts then a screaming 0.5 downhill to the finish.  The only saving grace was that we had finally caught up to several teams so the night running was made easier by focusing on the guy (or girl) in front of you and trying to catch up with them.  Otherwise I found myself envisioning various scenarios resembling scenes from Deliverance which lead to those night terror runs and that's just no good for anybody.  I was warned not to miss the right turn so I made a note of the street sign just in case some backwoods idiot decided it would be funny to move the sign.  And that's happened on more than one occasion so it's good to know your route especially at night.  Once I had a few runners in site I was finally poised for my first kills of the relay and looking forward to getting this leg over with.

I approached what I thought was the turn sign but the runners in front of me both went straight.  It's rare for a sign to point straight ahead but all I could hear was a little voice saying, "don't miss the right turn" so I turned right and hoped for the best.  I ran uphill for what seemed like an eternity on a country road flanked by trees on both sides before another team van finally passed by on the way to the next leg.  Finally I had some confirmation that I wasn't running aimlessly at 2:00am but the other two runners presumably were and I felt pretty bad about it.  In my defense though, I wasn't totally confident in my decision and they were several hundred yards in front of me when I made the turn.

Again Joe's advice, while not especially encouraging was spot on.  Something along the lines of that last hill starts sooner than you expect it to and it just seems to go on forever -- and truer words could not have been spoken.  I could feel the glute monster waking up in the form of a grumpy little troll that was digging at my right butt cheek with a pick axe.  I was really hoping I could maintain something close to a 7:30 pace and even though I had banked quite a bit of time that hill was as advertised.  No streetlights made it impossible to see any potential end in sight.  Throw in the switchbacks and you're left with a mind numbing run through the darkness up the side of a mountain closing in on runners that you can't even see.  I wouldn't necessarily consider leg 20 'suicidal' as it's listed on the BRR website under Hatch's description but it's definitely worth not looking forward to.  In my opinion the Grandfather climb of 10.5 miles is more difficult - the grade doesn't really compare to the climb on leg 20 but the it's all uphill and it just grinds on you.

Once I finally crested the top I just let it roll and finished with a 7:33 pace and was done, like literally.  As soon as I handed the band to John I couldn't take another step.  The butt troll had me on lock down and as Julie affectionately likes to describe it, I looked like a baby about to take his first step.  Lean and think about it, I'm really going to take a step, just put one foot in front of the other, here it goes......na I think I'll just crawl.  Finally somebody picked me up and put me in the van knowing that John would be making quick work of his shortest leg of the relay.

I think the downhill finish was my demise and it was pretty clear to everyone except me that my BRR was over.  Of course I was optimistic that some ice, rest, and Ibuprofen would do the trick while the rest of our guys finished the second rotation and as a team we were still holding strong.  Even though I was unofficially out I had still run the first two legs very close to plan and aside from the extra two miles we weren't too far off from where we wanted to be.  We handed back to van 1 sometime after 4:00am and headed to the third transition zone to catch another cat nap at the church that would be serving pancakes the next morning right before Hank was scheduled to run the mountain goat.  If someone would have interrupted Banks slumber in the front yard of God's house we might have been in need of divine intervention but fortunately we avoided further incident.

After a couple hours of not being able to walk I was resigned to the fact that running 9.5 miles downhill was clearly not in my best interest nor the teams for that matter.  I went to bed thinking a quick sleep might serve me well but that didn't happen.  The pancake breakfast did me wrong a few years ago which was really more about my internal plumbing being a wreck than their pancakes but nonetheless - I opt out of the pancake deal now days.  Banks stepped in my spot running the 9.5 without hesitation and killed it as we continued with the next man up through leg 35.

I was starting to loosen up a little and feeling short changed by only having run 2 legs so I thought maybe I could get through the final leg.  I mean I did have an extra 3 hours or so to walk around and leg 36 wasn't the downhill screamer that I had been scheduled for so why not give it a shot...  Well don't worry - there's no Chariots of Fire ending nor did I end up in the E.R.  I told the guys to give me 2 miles or 15 minutes before leaving and 12 minutes and 30 seconds later I was all but running backwards looking for them because it just wasn't happening.  They saw me waving the white flag and in typical Hey Jack fashion at least half the team piled out of the van and ran the final leg together to finish the race.

We ended up running as the 14 seed and finishing 15th overall with a time of 26:51.  Of course anyone reading this blog that wants to improve their position by 1 spot could probably do so by getting us disqualifying because technically Banks wasn't the next man up but we didn't shake things up to improve our time.  

Very proud of our team effort and still love this race and running with these guys as much as any individual event I've ever run.  In the 2 weeks since the BRR I've put in a whopping 4 miles; 2 miles a week after the race and 2 miles last night.  A couple more weeks of light running and hopefully I will be able to shake the butt troll.

And then there's this vicious rumor that Hey Jack! is jumping in the Hood to Coast lottery next month with hopes of running the mother of all relays.  1,050 teams from Mt. Hood (south of Portland, Oregon) to the coast of Seaside, OR.  If that doesn't work out we might try our hand at the Palmetto relay again with the full squad.  Either way we'll be back at it again soon because YOLO and we're not getting any younger!

Run On!

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Luke Stafford finishing Leg 10

Stretch station for old guys




Getting ready to watch Hank tame the
mountain goat

Eric, Joe, and Mark lounging before their second rotation



Getting sound advice from Huegerich.  Sort of.

Sought and was Destroyed is more like it



Showing off the most infamous IT
band in sports



Knox Tate cruising through leg 11

John Mills finishing leg 9







Ben a rainy sweaty mess but smiling after leg 27 is in
the books

Hank cruising through leg 7
 

Banks finishing leg 12

 2015 Blue Ridge Relay - Hey Jack!