Kristen and I fled the Arctic chill Thursday afternoon after I my typical 5500yd nightmare swim session. We drove down in separate cars to Charlotte and dropped her car off at her house, grabbed a quick pasta meal at the nearby Macaroni Grill (~4:30pm, early bird special) then proceeded to drive into the armpit of the peach state in search of the town known as Albany. Kristen had to be back in Boone on Monday to continue her job shadowing hours for physical therapy.
Around 10:00pm we had far exceeded our saturation point of driving and in kind consideration for the safely of other drivers decided to call it a night in Macon, Ga. We stayed at the Hilton (bling) on Mercer University's Campus. After a sleeping in (~7:30am) we were about stir crazy sitting in the hotel and decided to throw on our running gear to get in a jawg around the mighty Mercer campus (think their mascot are bears but couldn't come up with a pun, so feel free to insert pun here...) Pretty place but lord knows it must be hot in the summer because after running in the snow it felt like Death valley with humidity! As soon as we had stretched, ran some pickups and I had found a baseball (bling), we packed the car, stole some silverware (we needed oatmeal bowls...I mean come on we are starving, broke college kids) and drove the remaining two hours to Albany, Ga; the birthplace of Ray Charles. The rest of the day was spent going to the grocery, continuing the carbo load and visiting the expo.
As usual 4:30am came early. Kristen's mom and dad were kind enough to come down and cheer us on, plus give us a ride to the race start. We decided to take the first half of the race conservatively (1:50) and then pick it up on the second side. Knowing how important the race was to Kristen and her hitting her Boston qualifying time, I wanted to give back to her for all the support she has given me during my races by pacing her out and carrying her fuel belt (which contained enough nutrition to make a summit attempt on Everest).
The race went as expected. We took the opening miles easy (8:25 pace). The weather was overcast with a huge blanket of fog. We were worried about being warm but the weather turned out to thankfully be a non issue. Around mile 9 we came in contact with the dreaded chatty marathon runner who proceeded to tell us all about the dozens of marathons he had run and exactly how his GI problems were going. Awesome! Kristen and I picked up the pace in an effort to drop the guy (we didn't want to be rude); however, at mile 12.5 Kristen decided she had to use the bathroom so we stopped (FOR THREE MINUTES...I was freaking losing my mind) and the chatty guy caught back up to us! SOB! We went through the half at 1:51:23. Needless to say I spent the next few miles upping the pace and doing a lot of mile calculations in my head. I knew that we needed to hit mile 20 at 2:50 to have a shot at the 3:40 cut off. Instead of me pushing the pace; however, Kristen started to up the pace to 7:40s and I simply remained at her side to 'hold her back.' I still have few words to describe the feeling I had watching her cross the line in 3:35 after dropping her fastest mile (~7:10) and finishing 8th overall woman and first in her age! She trained hard and earned that time! Truly incredible!
This week marks my spring training camp here in Chattanooga, TN. I will be running roughly 70miles, swimming 25,000yds+ and completing over 13hrs+ on the bike plus numerous strength and yoga sessions! Bring the thunder! Tomorrow starts the fun off with roughly six hours of training!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Training in Paradise!
Yesterday, March 2nd, we finally got a long overdue snow day! The two days before I had suffered through 16mi longrun in 35degree freezing rain quickly topped on the sucky scale by the 3.5hr trainer ride with a 5mi brick run in white out conditions off the bike.
Boo...ne
At my apartment we measured 8inches of accumulation (8-12 was the average), which all came in a matter of six hours. I awoke Sunday to rain and when I went to bed Sunday it was dumping! This weekend is Kristen's marathon followed by my spring training camp (ala Spring Break)!
Boo...ne
At my apartment we measured 8inches of accumulation (8-12 was the average), which all came in a matter of six hours. I awoke Sunday to rain and when I went to bed Sunday it was dumping! This weekend is Kristen's marathon followed by my spring training camp (ala Spring Break)!
Monday, February 23, 2009
As promised...
Here are some pictures, thanks to my mom, of last weekend's race down in Birmingham.
Enjoy!
This is going into mile three! Note: the amount of people still in the lead group. We had just ran the last three miles at 5:32pace...
Mile four...same pace...less people...
um...well, mile 13...
coming into the finish...hero shot
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Willie Nelson!
Kristen and I are headed to see Willie Nelson tonight with Asleep at the Wheel in Holmes Center! After a long week of tests and chilly training, definitely been looking forward to the concert.
Taking off to Chattanooga for a little 'warm weather' training this weekend. Monday evening I am being inducted into the Chattanooga Athletic Hall of Fame. Very cool! More to follow soon.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Mercedes Benz Half-Marathon Race Report
Mercedes Benz Half-Marathon Race Report
2-15-09
After training in the Siberian Tundra for the last three weeks, Kristen and I decided to travel to Birmingham, Al for a little early season tune up run. Kristen was using the race for pacing practice for her marathon in Albany, Ga during the first week of April, while I was just getting an overall idea of where my running fitness stood.
Kristen and I left Boone on Friday for Chattanooga. After crashing in the Nooga overnight, making a hundred on my Human Genetics online quiz (yes, I do homework on Friday nights) and eating my bodyweight in carbs we were ready to set off for Bham the next morning. We got to Birmingham, rocked the expo and took off for our Latina getaway (aka…La Quinta Hotel) before meeting up with my mom, who was kind enough to travel down to see us race, for a Valentine’s Day dinner.
The Fourth of July celebration came early at 4:30am (technically 5:30am our time thanks to the central time change). With roughly fourteen alarm clocks blasting, the radio turned on and a ringing wakeup phone call we decided it was probably best to get up before we got arrested for disturbing the peace. Kristen and I got to the race start roughly an hour before the race began, ran our four mile warm up and just barely made the start time.
So we were off and running. Thank god, because surprisingly I was chilly standing around for the minute I was on the start line. Marc and I had planned to take the opening four miles extremely conservatively (5:40-45 pace) after my performance at Toronto Half-Marathon back in October where I PRed for the 5k, 8k, and 10k then promptly blew completely apart. We lumbered along through the few miles at 5:32-35 pace. Felt easy as was observed by the roughly 50 people that were running along with us at the time. By the time we got the third mile the field had thinned out to about 10 people. I slotted in behind a track shack runner as we headed into a tough headwind. The pace felt stupid slow but I kept it rolling along knowing that from mile six to roughly mile nine we would be going uphill. My pace slowed from 5:35 to 5:50-53 pace for the uphill two miles (which was frustrating bc I got gaped by the track shack guy…lame). Once we got up and over the few miles of long rollers we had some sweeping down hills. There was an announcer at mile nine calling out split times as it was the top of the hilly section and on UAB's campus. When I got to the top of the hill I was in roughly ninth or tenth place. Over the load speaker I hear, "It looks like we have one of our elite women making a move up to the front pack, Let's cheer her on as she comes to the top of the hill." Freaking awesome...So after getting a big boost from the crowd of hungover college students, I swallowed my ego and surged repeatedly to try and close the gap back up to the track shack guy. Frustratingly, I found myself in no man's land and couldn’t close the 200m lead he had on me. From mile 10-11 I dropped my quickest mile at 5:08-10 then slowed down to 5:35 pace for 11-12mi due to slight incline. Once I hit mile 12.5 I was crossing an intersection, cruising close to the people lining the side of the street and had a blue haired lady pull directly out in from of me. I came within a foot of getting creamed to only have the lady stop completely in the intersection much to my and everyone on the side of the streets surprise. *Insert Dumb and Dumber quote here about the elderly* Regardless, I finished in eighth place overall with a PR of over thirty seconds (1:14:23).
I am very pleased with my result. After doing almost all of my tempo runs and track workouts in the snow, I am happy with my level of fitness for February. I felt in control the entire race and stuck to my pre-race plan completely. A great way to start of the 2009 season.
In other news, I want to thank Zoot for supporting me this season with race apparel, clothing and shoes. I am very excited for the opportunity. Thank you tremendously Brian and Elisette for the chance to represent such an outstanding company.
I will post some race pictures shortly.
2-15-09
After training in the Siberian Tundra for the last three weeks, Kristen and I decided to travel to Birmingham, Al for a little early season tune up run. Kristen was using the race for pacing practice for her marathon in Albany, Ga during the first week of April, while I was just getting an overall idea of where my running fitness stood.
Kristen and I left Boone on Friday for Chattanooga. After crashing in the Nooga overnight, making a hundred on my Human Genetics online quiz (yes, I do homework on Friday nights) and eating my bodyweight in carbs we were ready to set off for Bham the next morning. We got to Birmingham, rocked the expo and took off for our Latina getaway (aka…La Quinta Hotel) before meeting up with my mom, who was kind enough to travel down to see us race, for a Valentine’s Day dinner.
The Fourth of July celebration came early at 4:30am (technically 5:30am our time thanks to the central time change). With roughly fourteen alarm clocks blasting, the radio turned on and a ringing wakeup phone call we decided it was probably best to get up before we got arrested for disturbing the peace. Kristen and I got to the race start roughly an hour before the race began, ran our four mile warm up and just barely made the start time.
So we were off and running. Thank god, because surprisingly I was chilly standing around for the minute I was on the start line. Marc and I had planned to take the opening four miles extremely conservatively (5:40-45 pace) after my performance at Toronto Half-Marathon back in October where I PRed for the 5k, 8k, and 10k then promptly blew completely apart. We lumbered along through the few miles at 5:32-35 pace. Felt easy as was observed by the roughly 50 people that were running along with us at the time. By the time we got the third mile the field had thinned out to about 10 people. I slotted in behind a track shack runner as we headed into a tough headwind. The pace felt stupid slow but I kept it rolling along knowing that from mile six to roughly mile nine we would be going uphill. My pace slowed from 5:35 to 5:50-53 pace for the uphill two miles (which was frustrating bc I got gaped by the track shack guy…lame). Once we got up and over the few miles of long rollers we had some sweeping down hills. There was an announcer at mile nine calling out split times as it was the top of the hilly section and on UAB's campus. When I got to the top of the hill I was in roughly ninth or tenth place. Over the load speaker I hear, "It looks like we have one of our elite women making a move up to the front pack, Let's cheer her on as she comes to the top of the hill." Freaking awesome...So after getting a big boost from the crowd of hungover college students, I swallowed my ego and surged repeatedly to try and close the gap back up to the track shack guy. Frustratingly, I found myself in no man's land and couldn’t close the 200m lead he had on me. From mile 10-11 I dropped my quickest mile at 5:08-10 then slowed down to 5:35 pace for 11-12mi due to slight incline. Once I hit mile 12.5 I was crossing an intersection, cruising close to the people lining the side of the street and had a blue haired lady pull directly out in from of me. I came within a foot of getting creamed to only have the lady stop completely in the intersection much to my and everyone on the side of the streets surprise. *Insert Dumb and Dumber quote here about the elderly* Regardless, I finished in eighth place overall with a PR of over thirty seconds (1:14:23).
I am very pleased with my result. After doing almost all of my tempo runs and track workouts in the snow, I am happy with my level of fitness for February. I felt in control the entire race and stuck to my pre-race plan completely. A great way to start of the 2009 season.
In other news, I want to thank Zoot for supporting me this season with race apparel, clothing and shoes. I am very excited for the opportunity. Thank you tremendously Brian and Elisette for the chance to represent such an outstanding company.
I will post some race pictures shortly.
Friday, January 16, 2009
-16 degrees F
It has been a while since I last gave an update so I decided during my run this morning to write a few words to inform everyone of my whereabouts.
For those that are not familiar with Boone, NC it is officially colder than the Arctic Circle! The last week I have been running in sub-Arctic temperatures while combating frigid windchill. Needless to say it has made all my tempo runs extra enjoyable. However, this morning took the cake. After rising at my normal 5am and getting in my bike ride while listening to Beethoven's 9th (don't knock it till you've tried it), I checked the outside temperature to determine my outerwear selection. To my surprise (not really though, I mean it is Boone) the temperature read -16 degrees F or -26degrees C or 246K (I'm a nerd). I thought, "cool I have never ran in that cold of temperature. I have to try it." So after dressing with enough clothes to summit Everest, I embarked upon my 'recovery' seven mile morning run. To my surprise, about three miles into my run my eyelashes started to freeze together. Freaking awesome! On top of that my face mask was frozen rock solid from the moisture in my breath. I have to say, however, that at that cold of temperature I there was little movement from anything or anyone and the entire run was quite peaceful. Running up the 600m hill to my apartment, honestly I did feel as if I was summiting K2. I was being tossed around by the 20mph wind with my eyelashes frozen and my face mask glewed to my face. To top it all off, outside my apartment we have hung Himalayan prayer flags... I figure with a few more training runs in that temperature I should be ready to take on either the Michelin Man in a boxing match or hang with Dean Karnazes on his Arctic 100ks.
Quick Update:
I have posted a tentative 2009 race schedule with my 09 debut race taking place mid-Feb at the Mercedes Benz Half-Marathon. Training has been going well. I will more than likely hit close to 90mi running with roughly 15k in the pool and 5-6hrs on the bike. Not bad for technically wk1.
School is going to be tough as I am taking 15hrs all science with 3labs. Surprisingly, I feel like I will have more free time to train and study as I will not be assisting with as much research this semester.
I have posted some pictures from my run this morning.
Me at the start, -16degreesF
For those that are not familiar with Boone, NC it is officially colder than the Arctic Circle! The last week I have been running in sub-Arctic temperatures while combating frigid windchill. Needless to say it has made all my tempo runs extra enjoyable. However, this morning took the cake. After rising at my normal 5am and getting in my bike ride while listening to Beethoven's 9th (don't knock it till you've tried it), I checked the outside temperature to determine my outerwear selection. To my surprise (not really though, I mean it is Boone) the temperature read -16 degrees F or -26degrees C or 246K (I'm a nerd). I thought, "cool I have never ran in that cold of temperature. I have to try it." So after dressing with enough clothes to summit Everest, I embarked upon my 'recovery' seven mile morning run. To my surprise, about three miles into my run my eyelashes started to freeze together. Freaking awesome! On top of that my face mask was frozen rock solid from the moisture in my breath. I have to say, however, that at that cold of temperature I there was little movement from anything or anyone and the entire run was quite peaceful. Running up the 600m hill to my apartment, honestly I did feel as if I was summiting K2. I was being tossed around by the 20mph wind with my eyelashes frozen and my face mask glewed to my face. To top it all off, outside my apartment we have hung Himalayan prayer flags... I figure with a few more training runs in that temperature I should be ready to take on either the Michelin Man in a boxing match or hang with Dean Karnazes on his Arctic 100ks.
Quick Update:
I have posted a tentative 2009 race schedule with my 09 debut race taking place mid-Feb at the Mercedes Benz Half-Marathon. Training has been going well. I will more than likely hit close to 90mi running with roughly 15k in the pool and 5-6hrs on the bike. Not bad for technically wk1.
School is going to be tough as I am taking 15hrs all science with 3labs. Surprisingly, I feel like I will have more free time to train and study as I will not be assisting with as much research this semester.
I have posted some pictures from my run this morning.
Me at the start, -16degreesF
Me at the end of the run outside my apartment
Monday, December 22, 2008
Lookout Mtn 100k Race Report
Every dog has its day, never judge a book by its cover, one tomato short of a good spagetti sauce, the Lookout Mtn 100k ultra-marathon seemed to be a day of cliches.
The preparation heading into this race, needless to say, was less than ideal. After battling back strep throat and pneumonia for two weeks, I came off two long, stressful exam/final weeks to arrive in Chattanooga Monday night. The following morning I started shadowing the peds oncology team at Erlanger Children's Hospital. It is a tremendous honor to work aside these brilliant doctors during break. I have learned more in four days than I would in an entire semester; however, being on my feet for twelve hours straight while trying to 'taper' for the 100k certainly did not help my pre race prep.
Two days before the race, Kristen came into town after finishing up her exams. The plan for the race was to lead the race from start to mile 44 where I was to meet Kristen and run the last twenty miles with her.
I awoke Saturday morning to cloudy skys. Stephanie and I drove out to the race start at Lula Lake. After some pre race preparations, I jogged down to the race start which was a mile away. I like ultra running simply because without a bike there are a lot less details to worry about. Just as the race started, the rain started to come down. Right off the gun I abandoned the pre race plan and jumped to the lead knowing that the first mile and half was on single track trails and that I did not want to get log jammed. I was officially soaking wet and cold after the first mile and half crossing a knee deep (ankle deep for most) creek and found myself in third place overall. I kept the first and second place runners in sight, sizing them up when they passed me. To be honest I was more concerned about the leader than the guy in second place. I figured the guy in second to be a recreational runner who more than likely did not know what he was getting himself into. The guy was dressed in a nike racing flats, a cotton t-shirt and basketball shorts for a 100k run in the rain! We three built a pretty good lead on the rest of the field and came into the first aid station at around mile six together. From there we shared the lead until the aid station at mile 14 where the nike flat guy and myself broke away from the other guy.
I knew the trail coming up and took the lead through mile 18 where I stopped to fuel up at an aid station. The nike free guy went past me. I knew the next ten miles were uphill so I figured that he would blow since he had not stopped for fuel. Once again we started to swap leads back and forth. By mile 26 though I had started to fade. My energy levels started to wane and I quickly became disoriented and hypothermic in the cold rain. It took me 2 hours to cover six miles. I was hallucinating and hearing sounds by the time I arrived at the mile 33 aid station. I figured myself for suffering from hyponutrimia since I had only been consuming water for the duration of the race so I asked for chicken broth. I staggered out of the aid station and headed for Lula Lake only to be corralled into a car and taken back to start line.
Lesion learned, never size up a fellow racer. As it turns out the guy in the racing flats had won numerous 100milers and had finished Badwater last year. Incredible! I would like to appologize to the front runner who crushed the feild in a cotton t-shirt, gym shorts and no nutrition. Guess there is an exception to every rule.
I will be taking about four or five days off before starting back to work for the upcoming '09 triathlon season. Merry Christmas!
Pictures coming soon...
The preparation heading into this race, needless to say, was less than ideal. After battling back strep throat and pneumonia for two weeks, I came off two long, stressful exam/final weeks to arrive in Chattanooga Monday night. The following morning I started shadowing the peds oncology team at Erlanger Children's Hospital. It is a tremendous honor to work aside these brilliant doctors during break. I have learned more in four days than I would in an entire semester; however, being on my feet for twelve hours straight while trying to 'taper' for the 100k certainly did not help my pre race prep.
Two days before the race, Kristen came into town after finishing up her exams. The plan for the race was to lead the race from start to mile 44 where I was to meet Kristen and run the last twenty miles with her.
I awoke Saturday morning to cloudy skys. Stephanie and I drove out to the race start at Lula Lake. After some pre race preparations, I jogged down to the race start which was a mile away. I like ultra running simply because without a bike there are a lot less details to worry about. Just as the race started, the rain started to come down. Right off the gun I abandoned the pre race plan and jumped to the lead knowing that the first mile and half was on single track trails and that I did not want to get log jammed. I was officially soaking wet and cold after the first mile and half crossing a knee deep (ankle deep for most) creek and found myself in third place overall. I kept the first and second place runners in sight, sizing them up when they passed me. To be honest I was more concerned about the leader than the guy in second place. I figured the guy in second to be a recreational runner who more than likely did not know what he was getting himself into. The guy was dressed in a nike racing flats, a cotton t-shirt and basketball shorts for a 100k run in the rain! We three built a pretty good lead on the rest of the field and came into the first aid station at around mile six together. From there we shared the lead until the aid station at mile 14 where the nike flat guy and myself broke away from the other guy.
I knew the trail coming up and took the lead through mile 18 where I stopped to fuel up at an aid station. The nike free guy went past me. I knew the next ten miles were uphill so I figured that he would blow since he had not stopped for fuel. Once again we started to swap leads back and forth. By mile 26 though I had started to fade. My energy levels started to wane and I quickly became disoriented and hypothermic in the cold rain. It took me 2 hours to cover six miles. I was hallucinating and hearing sounds by the time I arrived at the mile 33 aid station. I figured myself for suffering from hyponutrimia since I had only been consuming water for the duration of the race so I asked for chicken broth. I staggered out of the aid station and headed for Lula Lake only to be corralled into a car and taken back to start line.
Lesion learned, never size up a fellow racer. As it turns out the guy in the racing flats had won numerous 100milers and had finished Badwater last year. Incredible! I would like to appologize to the front runner who crushed the feild in a cotton t-shirt, gym shorts and no nutrition. Guess there is an exception to every rule.
I will be taking about four or five days off before starting back to work for the upcoming '09 triathlon season. Merry Christmas!
Pictures coming soon...
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