Three words: Pretty. dang. kewl!!!
August 29, 2010
The full-on def of WOOT!
Yup. Looks like I am a member of the inaugural team at The Runner's Corner, my buddy Craig Lowry's Harrisonburg, VA-based running shop.
Three words: Pretty. dang. kewl!!!
Three words: Pretty. dang. kewl!!!
August 11, 2010
When I Run
When I run, I'm a 15-year-old with my whole life ahead of me. When I run, I'm a gazelle. When I run, everything eventually makes sense.
When I run, the world is right. When I run, problems dissolve. When I run, creativity flows. When I run, I am closer to God than any other time.
When I run, I am a great dad. When I run, I am a moving writer. When I run, poetry comes easily. When I run, tension melts.
When I run, old friends run with me. When I run, boundless energy follows. When I run, imagination comes alive. When I run, resolve personifies. When I run, my mood soars.
When I run, nature engulfs me. When I run, my smile is ceaseless. When I run, priorities untangle. When I run, my dreams come true.
When I run, I am fearless. When I run, I am strong. When I run, responsibilities vanish. When I run, I get lost in happiness.
When I run, I become -- if only for a couple hours -- the person I am meant to be.
When I run, the world is right. When I run, problems dissolve. When I run, creativity flows. When I run, I am closer to God than any other time.
When I run, I am a great dad. When I run, I am a moving writer. When I run, poetry comes easily. When I run, tension melts.
When I run, old friends run with me. When I run, boundless energy follows. When I run, imagination comes alive. When I run, resolve personifies. When I run, my mood soars.
When I run, nature engulfs me. When I run, my smile is ceaseless. When I run, priorities untangle. When I run, my dreams come true.
When I run, I am fearless. When I run, I am strong. When I run, responsibilities vanish. When I run, I get lost in happiness.
When I run, I become -- if only for a couple hours -- the person I am meant to be.
August 6, 2010
One Zero Zero
So many races. So many finishes. So many stories.
Walking the last 25 miles and talking the night away with Aaron Goldman on the way to my first finish at Umstead 100 in 1996.
Climbing the gravel road up to Woodstock Tower with Ben Clark at 2 a.m. in June 1998. Mile 92 or so. Ben falls asleep hiking, walks in a ditch, slaps himself awake, then makes fun of me a couple minutes later when I scream like a 6-year-old girl at what I thought was a monster in the bushes. (Gotta love those early-morning hallucations!). We motored on to a 22:51 finish at that Old Dominion 100.
Me and Amy Brown laughing our way through the final 25 miles of this year's Umstead, then Amy and my brotha Bill Potts -- who watched over me the whole way and paced me Miles 50-75 -- being there at the finish line when longtime friend and Umstead RD Blake Norwood gave me my 1,000-Mile Buckle.
Sharing Promise Land 50km with dear buddy Michelle Huston on her way to her first trail ultra finish line ... just five days after she finished the Boston Marathon.
Mike Broderick's really loud "Gentry, I'm not going to let you DO that!" comment that woke me up 30 seconds after I sat in a chair at Mile 80 of Mohican 100-Miler. We went on to finish in 25 hours. Without Mike, I'd probably still be in that chair. It was 2005.
Suzanne Weightman sharing all 90 miles with me at the Virginia 24-Hour Run for Cancer, including hiking throughout the night as my stomach went so far south that all I could do was sip water and moan. Trying to get me to try something at around 2 a.m., Sue hit me with the classic: "Here, try this cracker. I put garlic on it. Garlic goes with everything." I ate the cracker. And several more. Absolute magic.
Doug Young giving me lots of lip for puking at the 100km mark of that Umstead in blistering heat after we split a way-too-fast 9:25 first 50. I puked 36 more times (give or take three or four here and there), walked from 70 to 80 miles, slept 1 hour, walked to 85, slept 30 minutes, then somehow kept going on the way to a 27:30 finish.
That moment, somewhere at the bottom of Bird Knob around 8 p.m. on May 8, 2004, when Molly Gibb stared me dead in the eyes and said, "Stick out your hand. OK. Now. Promise me that you won't run off and leave me, and I promise that I won't run off and leave you. (We shake.) OK, now let's do this thing." Then we hiked the final 45 MILES of Massanutten Mountain Trails 100-Miler together. (Actually, we ran hand-in-hand the final 300 yards across the grass at the very end. "I stayed up all night with you on your birthday, so we should do a little something to celebrate." Yet another Molly classic.)
Time spent out there with legends and characters. Tom Green. Chris Scott. Doug Young. Mickey Jones. Dennis Hamrick. Jeff Newton. Pete York. Neil Hayslett. Frank Probst. Lee Cox. Ron Shaw. Shelly and Andy Wunsch. Tom Sprouse. John Dewalt.
Is there any way to truly thank the gazillions of people who have contributed to my first 100 finishes? Takes someone a lot smarter than me to figure that one out. Maybe by sharing my deep love for this craziness, I am making at least a small repayment. I hope so, anyway.
A running lifetime of epic moments.
100 ultra finishes. One. Zero. Zero.
And here's to a whole bunch more.
Walking the last 25 miles and talking the night away with Aaron Goldman on the way to my first finish at Umstead 100 in 1996.
Climbing the gravel road up to Woodstock Tower with Ben Clark at 2 a.m. in June 1998. Mile 92 or so. Ben falls asleep hiking, walks in a ditch, slaps himself awake, then makes fun of me a couple minutes later when I scream like a 6-year-old girl at what I thought was a monster in the bushes. (Gotta love those early-morning hallucations!). We motored on to a 22:51 finish at that Old Dominion 100.
Me and Amy Brown laughing our way through the final 25 miles of this year's Umstead, then Amy and my brotha Bill Potts -- who watched over me the whole way and paced me Miles 50-75 -- being there at the finish line when longtime friend and Umstead RD Blake Norwood gave me my 1,000-Mile Buckle.
Sharing Promise Land 50km with dear buddy Michelle Huston on her way to her first trail ultra finish line ... just five days after she finished the Boston Marathon.
Mike Broderick's really loud "Gentry, I'm not going to let you DO that!" comment that woke me up 30 seconds after I sat in a chair at Mile 80 of Mohican 100-Miler. We went on to finish in 25 hours. Without Mike, I'd probably still be in that chair. It was 2005.
Suzanne Weightman sharing all 90 miles with me at the Virginia 24-Hour Run for Cancer, including hiking throughout the night as my stomach went so far south that all I could do was sip water and moan. Trying to get me to try something at around 2 a.m., Sue hit me with the classic: "Here, try this cracker. I put garlic on it. Garlic goes with everything." I ate the cracker. And several more. Absolute magic.
Doug Young giving me lots of lip for puking at the 100km mark of that Umstead in blistering heat after we split a way-too-fast 9:25 first 50. I puked 36 more times (give or take three or four here and there), walked from 70 to 80 miles, slept 1 hour, walked to 85, slept 30 minutes, then somehow kept going on the way to a 27:30 finish.
That moment, somewhere at the bottom of Bird Knob around 8 p.m. on May 8, 2004, when Molly Gibb stared me dead in the eyes and said, "Stick out your hand. OK. Now. Promise me that you won't run off and leave me, and I promise that I won't run off and leave you. (We shake.) OK, now let's do this thing." Then we hiked the final 45 MILES of Massanutten Mountain Trails 100-Miler together. (Actually, we ran hand-in-hand the final 300 yards across the grass at the very end. "I stayed up all night with you on your birthday, so we should do a little something to celebrate." Yet another Molly classic.)
Time spent out there with legends and characters. Tom Green. Chris Scott. Doug Young. Mickey Jones. Dennis Hamrick. Jeff Newton. Pete York. Neil Hayslett. Frank Probst. Lee Cox. Ron Shaw. Shelly and Andy Wunsch. Tom Sprouse. John Dewalt.
Is there any way to truly thank the gazillions of people who have contributed to my first 100 finishes? Takes someone a lot smarter than me to figure that one out. Maybe by sharing my deep love for this craziness, I am making at least a small repayment. I hope so, anyway.
A running lifetime of epic moments.
100 ultra finishes. One. Zero. Zero.
And here's to a whole bunch more.
July 16, 2010
A Good Run So Far
Rattlesnake 50km this past weekend marked my 99th ultra finish line. 99 ultras.
Crazy.
If you had told me I'd be at this place back in 1991 when I was training for Mountain Masochist Trail Run 50-Miler, I would have agreed. Same at Mile 33 when I had yet to walk my first step. Same at Mile 42. Most def not the same at the Mile 43 aid station when I was so shot to pieces that I walked the next SIX MILES, cussing myself and RD David Horton and Running Times mag where I'd seen the ad for the race and anything else I could think of to cuss.
After hours of walking, I had convinced myself that I was 1-and-done with this ridiculous ultra experiment, that I'd never set foot on another trail as long as I lived, that people who did this stuff and called it fun were complete morons ... and then here came Dennis Herr. On his mountain bike. Riding the last teeny little technical section of trail on the original MMTR course. Uphill. Without thinking, I broke into a jog. "Yo Dennis." "Hey Billllllll. Wow. Only a mile to go now. You look GREAT! Great JOB!" I did that final mile in 7:09. Have 11 more MMTR finish lines, too. And 10 Umstead 100s, 10 VHTRC Fat-Ass 50kms, 9 Rattlesnakes, etc. etc.
Next after MMTR was Wild Oak 50-Miler. I blistered the 16.5-mile road section, ran most of the next 10-mile trail section and then blew into so many pieces that it was lucky I had enough carcass left to be considered a finisher. I crossed the raging North River with Scott "Maineak" Grierson, the burley dude who almost hiked the Appalachian Trail faster than Horton ran it in 1991. Maineak saved my non-swimming a** twice crossing that river, then climbed Little Bald with me as we passed a dozen runners, then crushed me on the 7-mile mostly downhill to the finish.
The 100-miler finishes loom the largest on the list -- one Old Dominion, one O.D. Memorial, one Mohican, one Massanutten in addition to the 10 Umsteads. The recent 3 Days at the Fair 48-Hour (123.52 miles) and the Massanutten Ring are two more I'm particularly proud of knocking out.
I've done a couple 3-day journey runs, but I don't count those in my total. The Lexington-2-Elkton 3-Day and the Tour de Shenandoah -- the Skyline Drive trek -- were both complete blasts, but just seem a bit too much like training runs to count. Same with when Ring and I did the 77-mile Greenbrier River Trail. Big fun, but not an ultra for my list. I did count when Bur, Q and I did the Double Rivanna that year, so there you have it. Maybe my rule is "more than two" equals in ultra? :) Anyway, one thing is for SURE: if I ever do 4 loops at Wild Oak, i absolutely WILL no-matter-what count that monster. Hah!
Sorta interesting to see names of runs that no longer exist. Del Passatore 100K, the RRCA Eastern Region Track 50-Mile Championship, Fort Valley 50-Miler, August Lunacy 50km. Makes me feel a bit dinosaur-like.
What a fun trip I have had so far. Thousands of miles. So many, many amazing people. What a lucky, lucky dude am I.
Catherine's Big Butt is next Saturday. No. 100 looms. How totally cool is it that such a milestone should happen at a no-entry fee, no-schwag, party-out-for-hours-after-the-finish event such as Catherine's? Perfect.
I have 99 ultra finishes. And 46 marathon finishes. Me. Not a beast like so many of those guys I knew when I started. Just some skinny, blabby guy whose smile is a lot faster than his pace now.
One ultra finish from 100.
Crazy.
Crazy.
If you had told me I'd be at this place back in 1991 when I was training for Mountain Masochist Trail Run 50-Miler, I would have agreed. Same at Mile 33 when I had yet to walk my first step. Same at Mile 42. Most def not the same at the Mile 43 aid station when I was so shot to pieces that I walked the next SIX MILES, cussing myself and RD David Horton and Running Times mag where I'd seen the ad for the race and anything else I could think of to cuss.
After hours of walking, I had convinced myself that I was 1-and-done with this ridiculous ultra experiment, that I'd never set foot on another trail as long as I lived, that people who did this stuff and called it fun were complete morons ... and then here came Dennis Herr. On his mountain bike. Riding the last teeny little technical section of trail on the original MMTR course. Uphill. Without thinking, I broke into a jog. "Yo Dennis." "Hey Billllllll. Wow. Only a mile to go now. You look GREAT! Great JOB!" I did that final mile in 7:09. Have 11 more MMTR finish lines, too. And 10 Umstead 100s, 10 VHTRC Fat-Ass 50kms, 9 Rattlesnakes, etc. etc.
Next after MMTR was Wild Oak 50-Miler. I blistered the 16.5-mile road section, ran most of the next 10-mile trail section and then blew into so many pieces that it was lucky I had enough carcass left to be considered a finisher. I crossed the raging North River with Scott "Maineak" Grierson, the burley dude who almost hiked the Appalachian Trail faster than Horton ran it in 1991. Maineak saved my non-swimming a** twice crossing that river, then climbed Little Bald with me as we passed a dozen runners, then crushed me on the 7-mile mostly downhill to the finish.
The 100-miler finishes loom the largest on the list -- one Old Dominion, one O.D. Memorial, one Mohican, one Massanutten in addition to the 10 Umsteads. The recent 3 Days at the Fair 48-Hour (123.52 miles) and the Massanutten Ring are two more I'm particularly proud of knocking out.
I've done a couple 3-day journey runs, but I don't count those in my total. The Lexington-2-Elkton 3-Day and the Tour de Shenandoah -- the Skyline Drive trek -- were both complete blasts, but just seem a bit too much like training runs to count. Same with when Ring and I did the 77-mile Greenbrier River Trail. Big fun, but not an ultra for my list. I did count when Bur, Q and I did the Double Rivanna that year, so there you have it. Maybe my rule is "more than two" equals in ultra? :) Anyway, one thing is for SURE: if I ever do 4 loops at Wild Oak, i absolutely WILL no-matter-what count that monster. Hah!
Sorta interesting to see names of runs that no longer exist. Del Passatore 100K, the RRCA Eastern Region Track 50-Mile Championship, Fort Valley 50-Miler, August Lunacy 50km. Makes me feel a bit dinosaur-like.
What a fun trip I have had so far. Thousands of miles. So many, many amazing people. What a lucky, lucky dude am I.
Catherine's Big Butt is next Saturday. No. 100 looms. How totally cool is it that such a milestone should happen at a no-entry fee, no-schwag, party-out-for-hours-after-the-finish event such as Catherine's? Perfect.
I have 99 ultra finishes. And 46 marathon finishes. Me. Not a beast like so many of those guys I knew when I started. Just some skinny, blabby guy whose smile is a lot faster than his pace now.
One ultra finish from 100.
Crazy.
May 18, 2010
My first 48
3 Days @ the Fair = 144 laps for 123.52 miles. Thoroughly, thoroughly pleased with this first foray into multi-day fun.
It's Thursday the week after the run and my brain's still got a general fuzziness about it, but here are some impressions that I need to commit to words in hopes that they don't vanish.
Things to remember: Take a table. Take a lawn chair. HEED watermelon rocks. Fresh fruit (watermelon, blueberries, strawberries) rocks even harder!!! Decide to take a sleep break only when your eyes begin to cross. Opt for covering two more laps before each sleep break. Eat a belly-full immediately before sleeping. Change SOCKS!
More things to remember: Spray bottles with cool water. Rain hat. When running on this much pavement for this long, re-apply sunscreen often. Pitch tent as close to the tangent you will be running as you can. Extra steps matter a LOT when you're going for this long.
Practice VERY slow running. Often. So that it doesn't seem quite so weird when you are forced to do it. Develop several different walking "gears." Practice those often, too.
For 2011, remember to bring RD Rick McNulty a six-pack of Starr Hill Lucy.
So, how did it go? Still not sure I have the words to convey it just yet, but i did learn a few lessons along the way.
10) A .85-mile loop is just about perfect for the multi, especially when there's a full-service kitchen right on the course that stays open the entire race.
9) Walking through the heat of each day = solid strategy.
8) Cheese quesadillas are ridiculously tasty at Hour 42.
7) When you sleep, make sure the shoes are off and the feet are ABOVE the heart.
6) A kind word is always worth the effort.
5) Sitting in a "normal" chair without propping your feet above your heart? Worthless.
4) Tough is contagious. Soak it up at every chance.
3) Laughter is strong medicine. For yourself and those around you.
2) Bacon. rules.
1) Run 3 mins., walk 2 mins. is solid. And will be even moreso as I learn how to run slower.
Random thought that flashed through my mind about 3 a.m. Sunday: There is a universe between "I think that I can" and "I have."
It's Thursday the week after the run and my brain's still got a general fuzziness about it, but here are some impressions that I need to commit to words in hopes that they don't vanish.
Things to remember: Take a table. Take a lawn chair. HEED watermelon rocks. Fresh fruit (watermelon, blueberries, strawberries) rocks even harder!!! Decide to take a sleep break only when your eyes begin to cross. Opt for covering two more laps before each sleep break. Eat a belly-full immediately before sleeping. Change SOCKS!
More things to remember: Spray bottles with cool water. Rain hat. When running on this much pavement for this long, re-apply sunscreen often. Pitch tent as close to the tangent you will be running as you can. Extra steps matter a LOT when you're going for this long.
Practice VERY slow running. Often. So that it doesn't seem quite so weird when you are forced to do it. Develop several different walking "gears." Practice those often, too.
For 2011, remember to bring RD Rick McNulty a six-pack of Starr Hill Lucy.
So, how did it go? Still not sure I have the words to convey it just yet, but i did learn a few lessons along the way.
10) A .85-mile loop is just about perfect for the multi, especially when there's a full-service kitchen right on the course that stays open the entire race.
9) Walking through the heat of each day = solid strategy.
8) Cheese quesadillas are ridiculously tasty at Hour 42.
7) When you sleep, make sure the shoes are off and the feet are ABOVE the heart.
6) A kind word is always worth the effort.
5) Sitting in a "normal" chair without propping your feet above your heart? Worthless.
4) Tough is contagious. Soak it up at every chance.
3) Laughter is strong medicine. For yourself and those around you.
2) Bacon. rules.
1) Run 3 mins., walk 2 mins. is solid. And will be even moreso as I learn how to run slower.
Random thought that flashed through my mind about 3 a.m. Sunday: There is a universe between "I think that I can" and "I have."
May 11, 2010
Here It Comes ...
Three gear bags jammed full. A sleeping bag. A tent. A cooler on wheels. A folding chair. A four-pound bag of trail mix. Myoplex lite. Organic chocolate milk.
Am I running a race or going on a two-week jungle safari?
The 3 Days at the Fair is Friday through Sunday at the New Jersey State Fair. Course is a .85-mile loop. Entrant list reveals 31 pre-registered runners are in the 48-hour. Starts 9 a.m. Friday. Ends 9 a.m. Sunday.
Do I have any idea what I'm getting myself into this time? Not really.
Do I have a plan? Yes. Run 3 minutes. Beep. Walk 2 minutes. Beep. Repeat until i can't stand it any longer, then go to something else. Idea is to go SLOOOOOWLY until, oh, dark ... the first night. (Wow. Yeah. You know it's something when you can use "first night" AND "second night" when talking about a race you're doing. Wow.)
Message for this one is simple: Run from the heart. Embrace the unknown.
This one's been calling to me for some time now. Tomorrow is the 6-hour drive up. Friday, we tee it up. And round and round we go.
Here's to shuffle shuffle plod plod fun fun. And hopefully some unbridled joy along the way.
Am I running a race or going on a two-week jungle safari?
The 3 Days at the Fair is Friday through Sunday at the New Jersey State Fair. Course is a .85-mile loop. Entrant list reveals 31 pre-registered runners are in the 48-hour. Starts 9 a.m. Friday. Ends 9 a.m. Sunday.
Do I have any idea what I'm getting myself into this time? Not really.
Do I have a plan? Yes. Run 3 minutes. Beep. Walk 2 minutes. Beep. Repeat until i can't stand it any longer, then go to something else. Idea is to go SLOOOOOWLY until, oh, dark ... the first night. (Wow. Yeah. You know it's something when you can use "first night" AND "second night" when talking about a race you're doing. Wow.)
Message for this one is simple: Run from the heart. Embrace the unknown.
This one's been calling to me for some time now. Tomorrow is the 6-hour drive up. Friday, we tee it up. And round and round we go.
Here's to shuffle shuffle plod plod fun fun. And hopefully some unbridled joy along the way.
April 3, 2010
Always Remember
Yep. Did it. Busted out my 10th Umstead 100-Mile finish last weekend. So much help from Potts and Amy Leigh "Flame" Brown. So much good juju from so many others. Equal parts humbling and hard-to-believe-all-aimed-at-me.
Potts crewed me throughout the day and paced me from 50 to 75 miles. He saved my race at the end of Lap 5 by making me eat when I was totally outta gas, and then making me feel as if it was MY decision that we get up and get back out there. Flame jumped in @ Mile 75 @ 11:45 p.m. and dispensed her charm, fantastic compassion, expert ultra knowledge of what it's like to be "out there" all the way until we crossed the final line. At 7 a.m. the next day. Incredible. Not sure I could have done this without those two.
I really thought I'd have something moving to write about as the magnitude of this thing sets in. Truth is I don't. What I do have is a snip from a mid-week this-week e-mail to my dear friend Bobby G ...
When I was 9, my “other” dad, University of Tennessee men’s swim coach and legend Ray Bussard (my dad Sam’s best friend since the ‘50s), said this to me through a serious Jack Black haze: “Bill, listen to me. Never forget this. Dedication is the simple virtue that separates the extraordinary from the ordinary.” Heavy for a 9-year-old but, dude, I took it to heart. Never had a ton o’ talent in the running or the writing, really, but I’ve always recognized that sheer will gets you a long way.
Ray is early 80s and memory loss is kicking his ass right now, but he’s still around. Anyway, when I got to the Mile 11 pie plate on my final lap Sunday morning and me and Flamey were kinda quiet for the lone moment in the final 25 miles she paced me, I looked up at the sky and said, quietly to myself, “I heard you, Coach. And I promise to always remember.”
Potts crewed me throughout the day and paced me from 50 to 75 miles. He saved my race at the end of Lap 5 by making me eat when I was totally outta gas, and then making me feel as if it was MY decision that we get up and get back out there. Flame jumped in @ Mile 75 @ 11:45 p.m. and dispensed her charm, fantastic compassion, expert ultra knowledge of what it's like to be "out there" all the way until we crossed the final line. At 7 a.m. the next day. Incredible. Not sure I could have done this without those two.
I really thought I'd have something moving to write about as the magnitude of this thing sets in. Truth is I don't. What I do have is a snip from a mid-week this-week e-mail to my dear friend Bobby G ...
When I was 9, my “other” dad, University of Tennessee men’s swim coach and legend Ray Bussard (my dad Sam’s best friend since the ‘50s), said this to me through a serious Jack Black haze: “Bill, listen to me. Never forget this. Dedication is the simple virtue that separates the extraordinary from the ordinary.” Heavy for a 9-year-old but, dude, I took it to heart. Never had a ton o’ talent in the running or the writing, really, but I’ve always recognized that sheer will gets you a long way.
Ray is early 80s and memory loss is kicking his ass right now, but he’s still around. Anyway, when I got to the Mile 11 pie plate on my final lap Sunday morning and me and Flamey were kinda quiet for the lone moment in the final 25 miles she paced me, I looked up at the sky and said, quietly to myself, “I heard you, Coach. And I promise to always remember.”
March 20, 2010
Umstead No. 10? Really?
Seems as if it was just last year that I got the crazy idea to drive down to Raleigh and run around in circles a buncha times to see if I could finally get to the finish line of a 100-mile race. Turns out that "last year" was really 1996. Yeah. 1996.
Although I had packed in some 30 ultra-distance finishes by then, I had tried and given up three years in a row at the Old Dominion 100-Miler. Good sense would dictate that 100 miles was probably not my distance. Me and good sense have never been pals. In this case, it seems to have worked out OK, I guess.
What do I remember of that first Umstead? I remember my finish time of 24:44:18. I remember hiking the final 25 miles with the legendary Aaron Goldman, who was 67 and had triple-digit ultra finishes but never a 100-miler until we made it around. I remember my friends Andy and Shelly Wunch passing us with one mile to go on Shelly's way to the overall female win.
Other Umstead memories: That time Doug Young and I split 9:25 for the first 50 on a blisteringly hot early-April day, then my stomach imploded and I somehow barfed/slept/walked/suffered my way to a 27:30 finish. That time Ben Clark and his Army Ranger buddy D.J. and I joined together and crushed the final 30 miles en route to a 21:57 finish. The "hurricane year" when I DNF'd at Mile 54 with early-stage hypothermia. Stuff happens when it rains sideways and the temp drops 37 degrees in an hour.
For me, Umstead is about each of the people I've had the pleasure of sharing the path with. Doom. Will Brown. Lee Cox. Mike Whalen. Clifton. Leo Lightner. Tom Green. Missy Heeb. Art Moore. Kevin Sayers. Bob Ring. Dennis Hamrick. Tom Sprouse. Pete Lefferts. The list goes on and on.
I've seen Umstead balloon from a field of 54 to a field that fills online in seven minutes ... when registration opens in September.
Umstead is the massive start with all of its crackling energy, and also the stunning quiet of an 2 a.m. lap when it feels as if you are the only person still awake on the whole planet. Umstead is aid every 2 miles or so, with no worries about going off course ... even when I'm so tired that I run headlong into a tree (see 2007!).
Umstead is RD Blake Norwood, assistant RD Joe Lugiano and a cast of thousands who give of themselves so we can come play and play and play. It's Myra Norwood, Blake's wife and a calming presence with one of the world's best, kindest smiles.
Umstead is a 12.5-mile loop that has a pie plate marking every one of its miles. Umstead is a worthy challenge. Umstead is sneaky hard. Go out too hard and you can pay dearly. Before you start, 100 miles doesn't really seem like 100 miles at Umstead. After three loops, it often still doesn't. After five ... a different story.
Umstead gets in your blood. If you fight it, it can bite you. Hard. If you embrace it and take what it gives you, it can be your friend.
Umstead is an indelible part of my story.
Although I had packed in some 30 ultra-distance finishes by then, I had tried and given up three years in a row at the Old Dominion 100-Miler. Good sense would dictate that 100 miles was probably not my distance. Me and good sense have never been pals. In this case, it seems to have worked out OK, I guess.
What do I remember of that first Umstead? I remember my finish time of 24:44:18. I remember hiking the final 25 miles with the legendary Aaron Goldman, who was 67 and had triple-digit ultra finishes but never a 100-miler until we made it around. I remember my friends Andy and Shelly Wunch passing us with one mile to go on Shelly's way to the overall female win.
Other Umstead memories: That time Doug Young and I split 9:25 for the first 50 on a blisteringly hot early-April day, then my stomach imploded and I somehow barfed/slept/walked/suffered my way to a 27:30 finish. That time Ben Clark and his Army Ranger buddy D.J. and I joined together and crushed the final 30 miles en route to a 21:57 finish. The "hurricane year" when I DNF'd at Mile 54 with early-stage hypothermia. Stuff happens when it rains sideways and the temp drops 37 degrees in an hour.
For me, Umstead is about each of the people I've had the pleasure of sharing the path with. Doom. Will Brown. Lee Cox. Mike Whalen. Clifton. Leo Lightner. Tom Green. Missy Heeb. Art Moore. Kevin Sayers. Bob Ring. Dennis Hamrick. Tom Sprouse. Pete Lefferts. The list goes on and on.
I've seen Umstead balloon from a field of 54 to a field that fills online in seven minutes ... when registration opens in September.
Umstead is the massive start with all of its crackling energy, and also the stunning quiet of an 2 a.m. lap when it feels as if you are the only person still awake on the whole planet. Umstead is aid every 2 miles or so, with no worries about going off course ... even when I'm so tired that I run headlong into a tree (see 2007!).
Umstead is RD Blake Norwood, assistant RD Joe Lugiano and a cast of thousands who give of themselves so we can come play and play and play. It's Myra Norwood, Blake's wife and a calming presence with one of the world's best, kindest smiles.
Umstead is a 12.5-mile loop that has a pie plate marking every one of its miles. Umstead is a worthy challenge. Umstead is sneaky hard. Go out too hard and you can pay dearly. Before you start, 100 miles doesn't really seem like 100 miles at Umstead. After three loops, it often still doesn't. After five ... a different story.
Umstead gets in your blood. If you fight it, it can bite you. Hard. If you embrace it and take what it gives you, it can be your friend.
Umstead is an indelible part of my story.
March 3, 2010
Whole Lotta Ahhhhhh
If it weren't a 5-hour round trip from Grottoes, this would be my Home Away From Home.
Oh wait. Maybe it already IS! :-)
Oh wait. Maybe it already IS! :-)
February 25, 2010
By The Numbas
1,102 days in the run streak as of 2.25.10
687 calories in that totally yummy McSkillet Bfast Burrito i just knocked down!!!
200 laps of the same 400-meter track that i ran in 7:44 one 1995 August day in Maryland
129 finishes marathon or longer in my "career"
90 miles, my 24-hour format PR ... so far :)
45 marathon finishes
25 Shamrock Marathon finishes
20 pull-ups done after this morning's run
16 100-milers I have managed to finish
14 laps of the 2.5-mile road circuit over at EMU covered in a long training run last summer
12 Mountain Masochist Trail Run 50-Miler career finishes (really???)
10 Umstead 100-Miler finishes i will have after i bag this year's in late March :)
8 DNFs at 100-milers across the years (OH to be even half as tough as my friends)
5 guys who will gather tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. to run w/ me
2 hours of run/walk for this morning's "workout"
1 ultra finish it took me to find my true home
687 calories in that totally yummy McSkillet Bfast Burrito i just knocked down!!!
200 laps of the same 400-meter track that i ran in 7:44 one 1995 August day in Maryland
129 finishes marathon or longer in my "career"
90 miles, my 24-hour format PR ... so far :)
45 marathon finishes
25 Shamrock Marathon finishes
20 pull-ups done after this morning's run
16 100-milers I have managed to finish
14 laps of the 2.5-mile road circuit over at EMU covered in a long training run last summer
12 Mountain Masochist Trail Run 50-Miler career finishes (really???)
10 Umstead 100-Miler finishes i will have after i bag this year's in late March :)
8 DNFs at 100-milers across the years (OH to be even half as tough as my friends)
5 guys who will gather tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. to run w/ me
2 hours of run/walk for this morning's "workout"
1 ultra finish it took me to find my true home
February 16, 2010
One of the Giants
Ladies and Gentlemen, the phenomenal Ed Whitlock ... in the conversation of the fastest of all time. The personification of simplicity.
January 31, 2010
Happy Meter
Totals For January: 40:28 for all runs. Long runs: 15 for 33:18. Legs feel great. Brain feels better. Happy Meter is pinging on all cylinders, which is no small feat these days with work, the fam, blahblahblah lotsa other things asking for attention.
A great test — and the main non-racing test — of my fitness works like this: When, during a run of 2 hours or more, does the Happy Meter peg a 10? This morning is a perfect example. I felt the rush at 45 minutes. Wow. After only 45 minutes? Perfect!
The Happy Meter is also my best mode for watching frequency of long-run activity. Too many long runs packed too closely together and — bam — the Happy Meter doesn't buzz until, say, 1:20. Sure sign that I need to back off in a big way to just shorties for three to four days straight.
Good to have benchmarks. :)
A great test — and the main non-racing test — of my fitness works like this: When, during a run of 2 hours or more, does the Happy Meter peg a 10? This morning is a perfect example. I felt the rush at 45 minutes. Wow. After only 45 minutes? Perfect!
The Happy Meter is also my best mode for watching frequency of long-run activity. Too many long runs packed too closely together and — bam — the Happy Meter doesn't buzz until, say, 1:20. Sure sign that I need to back off in a big way to just shorties for three to four days straight.
Good to have benchmarks. :)
January 29, 2010
Day 1,075 ...
Today was Day 1,075 of the current run streak.
Popped 2 hrs. of 7 mins run/3 mins walk today starting at 5 a.m. with Carp, TJ, PJ and Frazier. I'm a lucky dude to have buddies crazy enough to join me for a weekday, before-work 2 hrs. Especially when it's 16F. Beautiful full moon. Minimal breeze. Lotsa laughter. Good, good times.
Why a streak? It's a question I've been fielding a lot since this streak jumping into four digits back in November.
Aren't you worried about your knees? (No.)
What do you do when you're sick? (Suck it up and run/walk the 20-minute minimum. Only happened once so far during this stretch.)
With reffing three to five nights a week during high school hoops season and getting home anywhere from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., how do you get enough sleep? (Sleep is a crutch — at least for me.)
Do you really, truly like running that much to not take a day off? (I love hearing the following echoing in my head: There will be a day when I can no longer do this. Today is not that day. :)
It's actually pretty simple. I just go run. It helps me think. It helps me work. It helps me be a better dad, husband, friend.
Maybe most of all, though, it makes me very, very happy. As long as that keeps happening, why take a day off?
Popped 2 hrs. of 7 mins run/3 mins walk today starting at 5 a.m. with Carp, TJ, PJ and Frazier. I'm a lucky dude to have buddies crazy enough to join me for a weekday, before-work 2 hrs. Especially when it's 16F. Beautiful full moon. Minimal breeze. Lotsa laughter. Good, good times.
Why a streak? It's a question I've been fielding a lot since this streak jumping into four digits back in November.
Aren't you worried about your knees? (No.)
What do you do when you're sick? (Suck it up and run/walk the 20-minute minimum. Only happened once so far during this stretch.)
With reffing three to five nights a week during high school hoops season and getting home anywhere from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., how do you get enough sleep? (Sleep is a crutch — at least for me.)
Do you really, truly like running that much to not take a day off? (I love hearing the following echoing in my head: There will be a day when I can no longer do this. Today is not that day. :)
It's actually pretty simple. I just go run. It helps me think. It helps me work. It helps me be a better dad, husband, friend.
Maybe most of all, though, it makes me very, very happy. As long as that keeps happening, why take a day off?
January 3, 2010
November 21, 2009
The Pain Cave
Really, really interesting read here. Applications to competition and regular ol' life too.
October 14, 2009
Four words
Editor's Note: My dear friend Michelle asked me how it was pacing Bill Potts at the Grindstone 100-Miler. Here's what I wrote ...
------------------------
Pacing Potts at Gstone ranks in my Top 3 all-time trail experiences. Right up there with when me, Quatro and Mike Bur did that Double Rivanna. And when me and YOU did that Promise Land in the thunder and lightning and downpours and mud in 7:55 a mere five days after you did that Boston Marathon. Those are def my Top 3.
Potts was simply amazing at Gstone, M. I got him at the Wild Oak parking lot at 66 miles at 10:15 a.m. I'm thinking RUH-ROH, my boy is waaaaay too fast because Wild Oak parking lot at 10:15 a.m. is 24-hour pace. Oh dear. This is gonna get butt-ugly. I'm thinking, oh boy, my job status just ramped skyward from Pacifier Holder to Honest-To-God Pacer.
So off we go. We climb Lookout Mountain and Potts is struggling. We get to the Mile 72 aid station and he rallies a little. Cute, happy girls there. They bring out the best in Potts. About a mile farther along, he is in a bad way. Sleep-deprived. A little overheated. I'm just about to call a 10-minute TV timeout and suggest a catnap when Potts says, "OK. You see that meadow up there? When we get to that meadow, I'm out for 10 minutes under that tree. Set your countdown timer." I do. He plops down, pulls him Nathan pack off for a pillow. Out. 7 mins. later, just as I'm standing to do a bit of yoga, I hear, "Damn. That was GREAT! OK. Let's move out!" And off we go. Climb another mile or so, then rocket down this incredible Dowell's Draft Trail that's probably the most beautiful single-track I've been on. Not technical at all and just a gradual downhill. It's so sweet that Potts had to rein us in with my countdown timer (run 6, walk 2) out of fear that he would run so much that he would blow a gasket. So we blitzed that stretch into the 80-Mile aid station at 1:20 p.m. That means we just did a huge all-up-or-down 14-mile stretch from Mile 66 to Mile 80 in 3:05 INCLUDING THE 10-MINUTE NAP. Holy cow!
Maybe 10-minute stop at Mile 80, then off we go. Next up is the dreaded Chimney Top climb that took us 1:00 on Day 3 of our ridiculous 3-day summer training camp, so we knew what lay in store. This time it was more like 1:20 or so, with me on the point and in full-on storytelling mode. I had THE biggest smile on my face the whole way up that monster. Once to the top, we took a 2-min. timeout to get the heart rates down and cool off a bit. It was low-70s, so not killer hot, but you know Potts and the heat, so we were being extra careful. From there, it was across the ridge and then about 2 miles of cascading downhills into the Mile 88 aid station. Man, was this a day for the ages!
Mile 88 aid station is a freakin' smorgasbord, thanks to folks Potts and his buddy Robert Gillanders have as crew/fans. A cup of mashed potatoes with butter and pepper. YUMM! Only 5 mins. here, then it's off for one more windy, twisty, technical climb, then a push across the last real ridge top and, poof, hellooooo the Road Straight Down 4000-foot-high Elliott's Knob. Then same single-track to the final aid stop at Mile 95. This time? Mac and cheese. HOMEMADE mac n cheese. I told them I was gonna gain 8.6 pounds while running 34. Sweet!
From 95, it's a relatively flat push home. Me, Potts, Bobby G. and his pacer Bill Young, who doubles as Potts' cousin. Onward we roll, getting ever more giddy by the step. Potts is still amazing. G's feet are, in his words, "just a pair of meat hooks now," but onward he presses.
The final 45 mins. we need flashlights. At the 1-Mile-To-Go sign, I look over Potts' right shoulder and see THE most picturesque full moon. The scene
-- Potts with his head held high still running strong, the moon casting its countenance over us -- actually made me cry. How completely awesome is THAT?!
Potts: Dude, you OK?
Me: Oh yeah. I dunno if I've ever been better.
So we waited at the dam that you just had to drop down below, then clamber over, until G and B. Young get there. We do the final half-mile along with a cast of maybe 10 other supporters. Ultimately, we let Potts and G do the finish line hand-in-hand.
Potts worked his *** off this summmer. Even with that, I had no clue that he would run 25:24!!! 12th overall. Male Master's winner.
So how was pacing Potts at Grindstone? Four words.
It. Was. A. Dream.
------------------------
Pacing Potts at Gstone ranks in my Top 3 all-time trail experiences. Right up there with when me, Quatro and Mike Bur did that Double Rivanna. And when me and YOU did that Promise Land in the thunder and lightning and downpours and mud in 7:55 a mere five days after you did that Boston Marathon. Those are def my Top 3.
Potts was simply amazing at Gstone, M. I got him at the Wild Oak parking lot at 66 miles at 10:15 a.m. I'm thinking RUH-ROH, my boy is waaaaay too fast because Wild Oak parking lot at 10:15 a.m. is 24-hour pace. Oh dear. This is gonna get butt-ugly. I'm thinking, oh boy, my job status just ramped skyward from Pacifier Holder to Honest-To-God Pacer.
So off we go. We climb Lookout Mountain and Potts is struggling. We get to the Mile 72 aid station and he rallies a little. Cute, happy girls there. They bring out the best in Potts. About a mile farther along, he is in a bad way. Sleep-deprived. A little overheated. I'm just about to call a 10-minute TV timeout and suggest a catnap when Potts says, "OK. You see that meadow up there? When we get to that meadow, I'm out for 10 minutes under that tree. Set your countdown timer." I do. He plops down, pulls him Nathan pack off for a pillow. Out. 7 mins. later, just as I'm standing to do a bit of yoga, I hear, "Damn. That was GREAT! OK. Let's move out!" And off we go. Climb another mile or so, then rocket down this incredible Dowell's Draft Trail that's probably the most beautiful single-track I've been on. Not technical at all and just a gradual downhill. It's so sweet that Potts had to rein us in with my countdown timer (run 6, walk 2) out of fear that he would run so much that he would blow a gasket. So we blitzed that stretch into the 80-Mile aid station at 1:20 p.m. That means we just did a huge all-up-or-down 14-mile stretch from Mile 66 to Mile 80 in 3:05 INCLUDING THE 10-MINUTE NAP. Holy cow!
Maybe 10-minute stop at Mile 80, then off we go. Next up is the dreaded Chimney Top climb that took us 1:00 on Day 3 of our ridiculous 3-day summer training camp, so we knew what lay in store. This time it was more like 1:20 or so, with me on the point and in full-on storytelling mode. I had THE biggest smile on my face the whole way up that monster. Once to the top, we took a 2-min. timeout to get the heart rates down and cool off a bit. It was low-70s, so not killer hot, but you know Potts and the heat, so we were being extra careful. From there, it was across the ridge and then about 2 miles of cascading downhills into the Mile 88 aid station. Man, was this a day for the ages!
Mile 88 aid station is a freakin' smorgasbord, thanks to folks Potts and his buddy Robert Gillanders have as crew/fans. A cup of mashed potatoes with butter and pepper. YUMM! Only 5 mins. here, then it's off for one more windy, twisty, technical climb, then a push across the last real ridge top and, poof, hellooooo the Road Straight Down 4000-foot-high Elliott's Knob. Then same single-track to the final aid stop at Mile 95. This time? Mac and cheese. HOMEMADE mac n cheese. I told them I was gonna gain 8.6 pounds while running 34. Sweet!
From 95, it's a relatively flat push home. Me, Potts, Bobby G. and his pacer Bill Young, who doubles as Potts' cousin. Onward we roll, getting ever more giddy by the step. Potts is still amazing. G's feet are, in his words, "just a pair of meat hooks now," but onward he presses.
The final 45 mins. we need flashlights. At the 1-Mile-To-Go sign, I look over Potts' right shoulder and see THE most picturesque full moon. The scene
-- Potts with his head held high still running strong, the moon casting its countenance over us -- actually made me cry. How completely awesome is THAT?!
Potts: Dude, you OK?
Me: Oh yeah. I dunno if I've ever been better.
So we waited at the dam that you just had to drop down below, then clamber over, until G and B. Young get there. We do the final half-mile along with a cast of maybe 10 other supporters. Ultimately, we let Potts and G do the finish line hand-in-hand.
Potts worked his *** off this summmer. Even with that, I had no clue that he would run 25:24!!! 12th overall. Male Master's winner.
So how was pacing Potts at Grindstone? Four words.
It. Was. A. Dream.
September 21, 2009
Swing and a miss
When it got hard, I pushed. When it got really hard, I quit.
Did I set myself up for failure? Armchair quarterback answer: yep. Even with training my butt off for the past six months, the idea of 100 miles in 24 hours isn’t so realistic for me any more. Neither, probably, is my lifetime best of 90 miles. A reachable goal? Probably 80 miles – especially on this 1.52-mile loop format that allows for SO many options to call it a day if you're a little slow or need a little break.
Hinson Lake 24-Hour Ultra Classic is such an interesting challenge. Soft, most shaded, nearly flat surface. Cheerful volunteers. Some 170 starters this year, so a lot of different people to pass and be passed by, at least until the 11-hour mark when it gets dark and the course gets pretty darn empty.
Want to know a way to make Hinson Lake a REAL mental bear? How about this: When you friend Bob asks if – rather than the more traditional method of pacing whereby he would start with you at, say, dark -- you think it’s a cool idea if he pays the paltry $24 entry fee and then run three loops with you, then sits one, and then repeats that the whole 24 hours … you answer, “Dude. That sounds PERFECT!”
What makes this insanely hard is when Bob decides at, oh, about 2:18 a.m. that he has had enough, that he’s got 50 miles in and that he’s calling it a night. And that he’ll get his sleeping bag out and hang until you finish.
(Enter that little voice in your head, the raspy one that is telling you to have mercy on the poor dude, who you know can’t sleep in a sleeping bag and who also cannot find his way back to the hotel without your help …so that you should just be a pal and stop now, too. That same voice, a bit more insistently, points out that you have clearly missed both your 100-mile goal and your 91-mile goal. Same voice questions what, if anything, is the value of walking the final 5 hours for, what, another measly 15 miles?)
As I said earlier … when it got hard, I pushed. When it got really hard, I quit. Fast.
Upsides: No stomach issues, even in heat that has often turned my gut to stone. Succeed Caps are a definite winner! Also was great seeing Suzanne, Doom, Laura, Ray K., meeting Christian, chatting up the vaunted Gary Cantrell and sharing an early-morning walk lap with Hinson RD Tom Gabell, a stud runner and a genuine guy.
Aftermath: It’s Monday and – thanks in part to taking this day off from work! – energy levels are soaring back in the direction of normalcy. So are legs. Did a 25-minute run/walk to keep The Streak alive at Day 942.
Hinson last year, I went out way too fast and blew up at 63 miles in 14.5 hours. This year, out much more slowly, a lot hotter, and a final tally of 70 miles in 19 hours.
Disappointed in myself? Yes. Devastated? No. A bit more wise than before? I’m a slow learner.
September 18, 2009
Over the next horizon ...
is Hinson Lake 24-Hour Ultra Classic, the one I've been prepping for since Umstead 100 back in April.
Format: 1.52-mile loop around a small lake in the hamlet of Rockingham, N.C. Soft, rock-free surface. Basically flat. Gun fires at 8 a.m. Saturday. Air horn blares at 8 a.m. Sunday. If it works out the way I've been dreaming it will, I will still be out on the course. Running.
Plan: Run 5 minutes. Beep. Walk 5 minutes. Repeat. Do. Not. Go. Out. Too. Fast.
Food: HammerGel at one to two hits per hour until dark. Nutri-Grain bars after that. One 8 oz. chocolate milk every two hours. Also, I'll be rockin' the Succeed Caps every hour on the hour until dark. I have ginger. I have Maalox chewables.
Prep: Crazy amounts of climbing and dropping. Lots and lots of bodyweight leg work. A 1:50 at the wicked 15-Mile Charleston Distance Run two Saturdays ago, way faster than I thought I could go. Or would.
Last year, I wasn't this uber-fit, started too fast and spent the last 2 hours getting my butt kicked by the Barf Monster before throwing in the towel at 15 hours and 63 miles.
Am I ready this Hinson? Yeah. Yeah, I am. Nervous? That too. How's that feel? Pretty darn good.
Format: 1.52-mile loop around a small lake in the hamlet of Rockingham, N.C. Soft, rock-free surface. Basically flat. Gun fires at 8 a.m. Saturday. Air horn blares at 8 a.m. Sunday. If it works out the way I've been dreaming it will, I will still be out on the course. Running.
Plan: Run 5 minutes. Beep. Walk 5 minutes. Repeat. Do. Not. Go. Out. Too. Fast.
Food: HammerGel at one to two hits per hour until dark. Nutri-Grain bars after that. One 8 oz. chocolate milk every two hours. Also, I'll be rockin' the Succeed Caps every hour on the hour until dark. I have ginger. I have Maalox chewables.
Prep: Crazy amounts of climbing and dropping. Lots and lots of bodyweight leg work. A 1:50 at the wicked 15-Mile Charleston Distance Run two Saturdays ago, way faster than I thought I could go. Or would.
Last year, I wasn't this uber-fit, started too fast and spent the last 2 hours getting my butt kicked by the Barf Monster before throwing in the towel at 15 hours and 63 miles.
Am I ready this Hinson? Yeah. Yeah, I am. Nervous? That too. How's that feel? Pretty darn good.
August 29, 2009
Ready for something!
August tally: 15 runs of 2 hours or more. Total time of 43:45.
I've been keeping long-run records since 2003. This crushes my heaviest non-100-miler month by 9 hours.
After 3:15 Thur a.m. with Jack Broaddas and then 2:00 Fri a.m. with The Posse, I was gonna phone it in today w/ a streak-saving 25 mins. Instead, found some free time mid-afternoon so ... cashed it in for 2:00 of 7/3. Temp was 93F at the start. Run was muggy as heck. Focused on relaxing during the run phases. Actually felt stronger the final 4.
I've probably eaten 2,000 calories since finishing. So far.
Now, where'd I put that bowl of vanilla ice cream?
I've been keeping long-run records since 2003. This crushes my heaviest non-100-miler month by 9 hours.
After 3:15 Thur a.m. with Jack Broaddas and then 2:00 Fri a.m. with The Posse, I was gonna phone it in today w/ a streak-saving 25 mins. Instead, found some free time mid-afternoon so ... cashed it in for 2:00 of 7/3. Temp was 93F at the start. Run was muggy as heck. Focused on relaxing during the run phases. Actually felt stronger the final 4.
I've probably eaten 2,000 calories since finishing. So far.
Now, where'd I put that bowl of vanilla ice cream?
July 27, 2009
If It Ain't Fun ...
So much for my little foray into posing as an ultrarunner who still gives a flip about serious training!
Last week I set a goal of 10 consecutive days of 2-hr. runs. Made it through four of them before I hit a bit of a roadblock because I couldn’t drag my butt outta bed this morning. Rolled back over and didn’t get up in time, so was only able to get in 1 hour. Followed it with some Pilates, yoga, extra core work, a 5-minute leg routine and several sets of push-ups.
Know why I slept in (well, if you wanna call getting outside at 4:20 a.m. “sleeping in”)? Because, when my eyes first popped open at 3:06 a.m., it felt too much like work to head out there. So I bagged it and opted for 1 hr. instead. Could I have physically handled the 2 if the fam schedule had allowed enough time? Yeah. Did I feel like a wuss for not doing the 2? For about a minute, yeah. Then, I got over it. And did what I had time for. And felt the cooling drizzle on the back of my neck. And heard birds singing. And thanked the Lord for yet another chance to move and play and do this thing that I so dearly love to do, this viewing of the world and all that is in it at 5.5 mph.
Review:
Thurs, July 23 3:12 Here, There and Everywhere run before work on H-burg roads. 10 run/5 walk. Slammed 40 ozs. fluid.
Fri, July 24 2:00 H-burg roads w/ Carp and PJ. 7/3.
Sat., July 25 2:00 up and down Madison Run (aka “a Maddy) in the early afternoon. 10/5.
Sun., July 26 2:00 out-n-back to Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport. 10/5 out, 4/1 home.
Mon., July 27 1:00. 4/1.
So what now? Do I push on and keep trying to slam the 2s through Saturday? How about maybe I do that but make Thursday a 3 so that the final 10-day total equals 20 hours? Dunno yet. Depends on how much fun I’m having.
Last week I set a goal of 10 consecutive days of 2-hr. runs. Made it through four of them before I hit a bit of a roadblock because I couldn’t drag my butt outta bed this morning. Rolled back over and didn’t get up in time, so was only able to get in 1 hour. Followed it with some Pilates, yoga, extra core work, a 5-minute leg routine and several sets of push-ups.
Know why I slept in (well, if you wanna call getting outside at 4:20 a.m. “sleeping in”)? Because, when my eyes first popped open at 3:06 a.m., it felt too much like work to head out there. So I bagged it and opted for 1 hr. instead. Could I have physically handled the 2 if the fam schedule had allowed enough time? Yeah. Did I feel like a wuss for not doing the 2? For about a minute, yeah. Then, I got over it. And did what I had time for. And felt the cooling drizzle on the back of my neck. And heard birds singing. And thanked the Lord for yet another chance to move and play and do this thing that I so dearly love to do, this viewing of the world and all that is in it at 5.5 mph.
Review:
Thurs, July 23 3:12 Here, There and Everywhere run before work on H-burg roads. 10 run/5 walk. Slammed 40 ozs. fluid.
Fri, July 24 2:00 H-burg roads w/ Carp and PJ. 7/3.
Sat., July 25 2:00 up and down Madison Run (aka “a Maddy) in the early afternoon. 10/5.
Sun., July 26 2:00 out-n-back to Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport. 10/5 out, 4/1 home.
Mon., July 27 1:00. 4/1.
So what now? Do I push on and keep trying to slam the 2s through Saturday? How about maybe I do that but make Thursday a 3 so that the final 10-day total equals 20 hours? Dunno yet. Depends on how much fun I’m having.
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