Brooklyn Half Marathon – Guest Correspondent

So last Saturday was IT the day I had been training for for just over two months. All week I had been thinking about it… How would I do? What should my goal pace be? Was that nagging feeling in my left calf going to flare up and stop me from crossing the finish line? Well, short story is I made it, the long story is:

The week of March 15th, inspired by Terrence’s commitment to his training and his overall improved health and fitness, I signed up for my very first half marathon. Running the Brooklyn Half marathon would be special to me because when I started running it was a race I always thought I would like to try. Several years, and lots of hard-won experience later, I realized I was actually close to fit enough to finally attempt it!

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Getting there. The race that almost never was.

American Zofingen Duathlon SC Race Report

Looking back at this past weekend, and the logistical hell that ensued early on, the race actually turned out to be the easiest part. (And I’d like to think that’s saying something when you talk about the infamous American Zofingen.) Kick and pedal like hell. Everyone and everything disappears when I’m in that special place, and there is never ever anywhere else I’d rather be. What an awesomely challenging race, with a culture and soul unparallel to anything I’ve experienced to date. Equal parts competition, participants, family, friends, and organization, made this a beautiful event.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the whole weekend was as nice as those 6 hours we got to spend at the race. Nope. Hardly. Saturday began for me, after researching all last week on the riding section and pinging my coach, with the decision to go use the road bike opposed to the new beauty. Painful decision, but I knew in my heart of hearts, a race is no place to test week old equipment. Luckily, this worked out well for me, as in my opinion, and as my legs proved, having a tri bike/aggressive aero position for this race was largely, if not fully negated, by the amount of climbing involved (I’ll get to that).

Therefore early Saturday, after setting off for a quick 30 minute prescribed flush of the legs in the park, I set to task to get the old S-Works ready for battle. She was in need of some love, and albeit I’ve been training on her solely to this day, she was getting a mysterious creak that first made itself heard in the hills of Connecticut. I’ve trained and raced on that bike for 5 years, maybe longer, but she’s still a beauty, in excellent mechanical shape. Sure, she’s pretty heavy by today’s standards, but with a geometry that is perfect for power, she’ll always be in the arsenal.

After wheeling her out onto the balcony, I stripped the drivetrain down. First place to look for creaks. Pulled off the cranks, bottom bracket petals, degreased, greased, reassembled and dialed-in the front and rear mech after a little cable stretch. That was a couple hour process, but she was good to go. Next in order was the wheels. Albeit, I wasn’t going to go aero, I was going to get every advantage I could. That meant lacing up the new HED 6/9. And after a quick switch of the Ksyrium SL’s/cassette, Little Red, was looking ready for the charge. Or so I thought…

After another hour or so to ready the gear bag, cleaning up the mug for the big race, we headed out for a walk around the town. We had some errands to run, and I needed a minute to decompress before we were to pick up the Zip Car at 4PM. Well, I think we got a total of 30 minutes of decompression before the call came. I didn’t recognize the number, so naturally, I let it go to voicemail. Then, came the voicemail. Hmmm? Intrigued I listened. Went something like this:

Hi Terrence, this is ———- from Zip Car. We do apologize but we have to cancel your scheduled Zip Car for this evening at 4PM until tomorrow at 3PM. We’re sorry for the inconvenience, and please call us at 1-866-4ZIPCAR if you have any questions.

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Scrambled Rocks.

North Face Endurance Challenge 13.1 Race Report

Insane. Insanely freaking fun. I really can’t remember the last time I had so much fun at a race. I mean, all races are fun, but I was actually giggling at times throughout the race. It was perfection on many levels both personally and organizationally. Gallivanting through the trees, running up tight singletrack rock inclines, and running down rock quarries at crazy declines, full of endless lose baby-size head rocks, roots galore, switchbacks, hopping downed trees, streams, mud, blood, and to top it off 20+ mph winds at temps in the low 40’s. I really can’t even begin to explain how technical this course was, nor will you ever get the full picture without taking it for a stroll to see absolutely none of this is an exaggeration. Here are a few stats scraped from the race website/literature as well:

Runners can expect technical terrain and rocky footing that cuts to the chase, with some trails heading steeply uphill rather than zig-zagging at a gentler grade. Descents end in wooded hollows before the next rapid climb ending with a breathtaking view. Make no mistake: this will be a tough test of off-road endurance.

Elevation: 4/5 Stars
Technical Terrain: 5/5 Stars
Overall Difficulty: 5/5 Stars
Scenery: 5/5 Stars

Total Elevation Gain: 2324 feet
Total Elevation Change: 4684 feet

Or, for the visual:

Yes it was hard, but what a blast, and I really couldn’t of hoped for anything better for my first true trail race. I can tell you one thing though: I’ll be back for more. With a culture synonymous to the mountain bikers that started me down this crazy path some 15+ years ago, it was nostalgic and a wicked charge, wrapped together in a big ‘Welcome Home’. This year is pretty locked down in terms of goals, but there is no doubt I’ll be back for more trail racing and endurance runs.

The weekend started off just a little crappy, and our planned excursion to Bear Mountain for riding/running first thing Saturday morning was scrapped due to some pretty threatening thunderstorms and showers. So we ended up kicking around here, taking a chance to dial in the new steed, an eventually leaving for the wedding upstate around 11:30AM. Didn’t take long to get up there, and in yet another serendipitous surprise the race start was a mere half mile from where we were staying in Bear Mountain. Not only that, but I got a chance to pick the brain of the 50K 50+ winner as we were walking to our car to go scout the course. Not sooner did I say to Michelle that ‘This guy looks like a runner’, i.e., shoes, etc., did I start picking his brain about the course. To sum it up, as just about every single other source has said: ‘It’s f-ing hard.’

We managed to pack it in last night around 10:30PM, and with little delay I was sound asleep. Strangely I wasn’t really at all nervous. Maybe it was because I didn’t know what to expect. I slept pretty well, and before we knew it, Michelle and I were huddled at the start shaking uncontrollably from the blustery weather. I had my compression shorts on, but refused to take off my tights. Too damn cold. After a few short words from the MAN Dean Karnazes, we were off at 8:05AM.

I pretty much booked it as much as I could to get to the front, as we spun it down some pavement before heading up into the hills. We didn’t have long to sort things out before passing became difficult. The first few miles were definitely a little tricky, but I soon found a good pace, and started gobbling up those in front of me one-by-one until I found the small group that I would largely remain with for the rest of the race. What stinks is that before I encountered this group, I was far ahead of them. Turns out the guy and I that were rotating pace, took a wrong turn and headed a good 2 minutes out of the way. Trouble is, you’re so focused on footing that it’s sometimes damn near impossible to sight the flags in the trees. Anyway, he even apologized (back to that culture thing). I think I responded only with a happy giggle. I was having too much fun.

About that point heading back to the trail though, I easily lost 10 places right away, 5+ which I got back for good, and some for the second time. I wasn’t all that worried. I did want a good showing, but this by no means was an A race for me, or really even a B. It’s all part of the big picture for August. Before going in, I had one goal, well two maybe: Don’t break my ankle and have a blast. Done and done.

My fitness was great, and my result I’m more than pleased with. I ended up rolling my ankle a good amount of times. A have a history to doing such, and once I did it once, my confidence was gone. I even took a nasty digger, and tore open my palm. I know for a fact, as with mountain biking, you can be the fittest guy out there, but if you don’t have the technical skills, forget it. Think Lance, think Travis Brown. Well that was me, i.e., fitness-wise I was toe to toe with every one out there. I looked forward to the climbs because I would blow by people, and there wasn’t one I didn’t at least do a rhythmic slow jog up while others walked. But dang, forget about the down!! People would blow by me, with cat-like footing. I’ll get there. I’ve had a taste, and definitely will be back for more.

After crossing the line, getting cleaned up by the medic, switching some clothes, and cranking the heat, we were on our way. What an awesome day, and an awesome weekend. Looking forward to our day off tomorrow.

Officially, out of 483 that started the day, I pulled in 34th. 32/352 gender, and 13/80 age group place. 9:12 pace/2:00 hours on the day. 9:12 (eek)!! Whole different ballgame out there in the woods. But remember, I got lost, and in reality per the GPS I ran close to 13.5 miles, at a 8:55 pace. So it’s probably somewhere in the middle. Pretty stoked with that, as had I not gotten lost I’m pretty confident I would’ve scored a top 10 age group.

29 something?!

Homecoming Scotland Day 10K Race Report

No, not hardly. That was the, not mine, winning time of the day. And if you know me enough to know that I’m just being snarky when I say that wasn’t my time, you’ll also most likely realize the true undercurrent of how impressed I am by that winning finish from Saturday’s race. Saturday very much put things into perspective for me, and the absolute power and speed of some these guys and gals have out there. Not to mention, a (re)newed appreciation even amongst my fellow corral members who spoke casually before the gun went off of sub 6 targets.

I suppose, last week’s 15K changed everything for me, where once a sub 7 seemed an impossibility, and the effort it took to accomplish such, compared to the winning time of the day like my time compared to those crossing the line with an approximate 8:20 pace. This is not ego, no, this is awe. For instance, if 8:20 is teetering on not even my long run pace border, but a recovery run pace, does that mean these guys crank out their easy runs at a leisurely 6:30? That’s amazing. I ask these questions somewhat rhetorically, as I very well knew this before, but perspective somehow always changes everything.

That being said, Saturday brought Michelle and I to Central Park for her first race of the season. (One which she did awesome with, with a personal best 8:11!) It was an amazingly beautiful day, with temps well into the 50’s and full sunshine by the time we were lining up. The turnout this week nearly quadrupled last Sunday’s race, topping out near 8,000 people, which also had something to do with the nice weather I would imagine. All and all the energy was definitely heightened and we were immediately charged as a result.

After a short pit stop at my office to drop our gear, we headed over to the park around 9:20, which left us with just enough time for a super easy 2 mile warm-up on the cushy bridal paths followed by some light stretching. All in all by the time we were called to corral, we were jazzed and ready to go. My corral, being the first, left Michelle and I parting around 10 minutes to the gun (which happened to be just enough time to find here way back to her start position!).

There was definitely a whole different breed of racers out Saturday as we herded in like cattle waiting for the start. Not just in shear volume, but intensity. Don’t get me wrong, in general the comradery amongst runners is great, but the scent of serious competition was in the air (I think blood was there too). I never imagined myself in with the likes of some of those around me, but as I’m quickly discovering as I did with bike racing, one of the quickest ways to get faster is to run (ride) with people who will undoubtedly smoke your ass. Yep, there were more than their share this time around knocking shoulders with me who could, and would, do just that.

The gun went off right on time, and after the usual awkward shuffling as we all started kicking it over, it was go time. Make no doubt about it, the shorter the races get, the faster the field tends to get. Saturday was no exception. I quickly found myself getting carried away with initial pacing around 5:45. I also knew that that kind of effort would blow me up at no more than 5K, so I dialed it down a notch. However one of the best parts of racing with people that will most certainly kick your ass, is that only they have the key to opening that little bit of reserve you can never quite tap into running solo. The trick is finding someone that will only slightly kick your ass, and then hang on, i.e., the golden carrot.

The race took us on a full reverse loop of the park. Central Park racing is still somewhat new to me, so I can’t say I know what to expect, but truthfully I almost prefer it in running races, especially short course. There isn’t much to go into detail from here on out, as after I found my pace, and those that I would stick with, all that remained was the execution through the remaining miles. I did however manage to take some notes along the way, mainly with hill strategy. That and some adequate suffering rounded out the day.

I finished sub 40, and although my Garmin had my unofficial time at 6:19, I ended up with a 6:23 official. I was initially a little disappointed to be honest, hoping for 6:20 or less, but I’ll take it. I have to remember, above all, to be thankful just to be able to be out there enjoying myself. After downing some Gatorade, I managed to stand by and pick Michelle out as she came into the finish. We followed it up with some light stretching, downed some carbs, and ended the morning with a 1-2 mile cool down as we wound our way back to my office.

An awesome day in so many ways: 39:42, 6:23 Pace, 74/685 AG, beautiful weather, and lil’ Midge.

I needed that.

NYRR Colon Cancer Challenge 15K Race Report

Today, I laced up for my first real test of the season. My first battle of mind and body brought me to the start line of the NYRR Colon Cancer Challenge 15K this morning. I was not quite sure what to expect of myself outside of matching the lofty 6:50 pace which I registered with and so quickly had forgotten. However, how quickly it came back when I picked up my bib having to confirm said time Friday afternoon at 9 East 89th. To tell you the truth, even that pace was an educated guess, as it had been approximately a year since I had lined up for any mid-distance race, and never a 15K. Hell, even ‘educated guess’ would be a reach! Running is not even a focus of mine this season, and I shattered my nearest shorter comparison 8K time by 57 seconds. Quite simply, today was not only the confirmation I needed to assure myself I am on the right track, but also the supreme motivation to kick some serious ass this year. I’ve got the competitive fire, and am documenting it all here for the tough times that surely lie ahead.

The week started with a pretty big scare on my Wednesday long run. This week found me back in Reston, VA on business, which after a couple of months break was something I was actually pretty excited about. Depending on who reads this however, it was for either the wrong or right reasons. We’ll leave the debate from the words that follow, but in all seriousness it was good for both the professional and personal. I’ll stick to the personal here, and that meant a nice two and a half hour long run on Reston’s beautiful Washington & Old Dominion Trail; a converted and paved rail line of yesteryear, away from traffic, and largely people for that matter. Not bad to have that near by for business travel (as well as a nice community pool)!

Anyway, what all this meant was a nice change of pace. We arrived Tuesday night, and after a quick stop to the local running store for a headlamp which I’ve been meaning to get for nearly a year since I’ve been coming here (no traffic, no people, no lights means near perfect solitude), and some decent carbohydrates across the street courtesy of some vegetable fajitas, I was ready to sleep. That happened a little later than I would’ve liked, but I was on the road by 5AM. So what is this huge digression in the middle of a race report? Well, I hurt myself pretty badly; however it was a completely new spot. I didn’t think it was so bad while running, but that soon changed when I finished, and a tendon in the front of my lower leg (not a shin splint, I know those) was extremely sore, even to the touch.

RICE, and making some schedule changes, the pain completely vanished, today being case and point. I chalk it up to tightness, and/or tweaking something while lifting the day before. Very strange, and originally very worrisome. These things happen, cest la vie.

John gave me the go ahead this week to pass on the long rides usually scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, and focus only on the 15K. This is one of the places where a coach is extremely helpful: reading between the lines from various emails, and knowing I was in need of some motivation, shifted gears and (very) short term focus for me. All the workouts sans the rides took place per normal, however when I came into the weekend I took an easy 40 min run, with approximately a mile pace effort, then brought it home. Rested, ate smartly, and turned in early.

This morning I got going at 7AM, coffee, followed by standard bowl of oatmeal, raisens, walnuts, bananas, mixed with some honey and yogurt at 8AM. Michelle, I, and Melissa (down for the weekend for some wedding shopping) headed out the door at 9AM, arriving at Central Park by 10AM on an overcast day with race temperature of a chilly 41F. I had approximately 25 minutes to warm up once we found the start, then changed to my singlet with arm warmers, which I’m glad I did despite feeling cold, and headed to the corrals. My goal pace started to sink in when I realized my corral was the first. Surrounded by the fast guys and gals the adrenaline surged. I was ready to rock!

11:15AM, and we were off. I had planned to start around a 7 minute mile pace for the first 4 miles or until I found and settled in my rhythm. That soon changed. Simply, I was feeling killer, and I quickly found myself pacing a couple individuals in front of me at approximately 6:45 pace, before finding an individual that I ran shotgun to at 6:20-6:30. I was extremely pleased with my breathing and heart rate, which were both very comfortably under control, neither labored at all even into mile 4, which was my mental go ahead to let loose.

Now, unfortunately I’m not going to be able to break this down to the level of detail I see some of the race reports out there, as it was a mainly a ‘heads-down’ exercise. Largely after I found my rhythm I stopped looking at my Garmin so often, focused on breathing, and split times as I counted down the miles.

I am also no expert when it comes to Central Park geography, the Brooklynite I am, so I had little idea of the course when it was announced to be the 5 mile loop, followed by the 4 mile loop. There were a few steady risers, but I wouldn’t call them hills exactly, more like rollers. I’ve been in Central Park a number of time riding, and work only one block west, but running gives a whole new perspective of roads.

So as the miles ticked, so did my legs, and surprisingly well. I was far surpassing my projected split times, comfortably surging at many times throughout the race for various reasons. And that was the status quo up until I came upon a group of four some 50 feet ahead of me around mile 7. I tried a few times to bridge the gap, but was comfortable with my pace, and did not need to blow up. It was a little tough, as the majority of my race was pretty thin, and after I lost my original pace friend when he surged and I couldn’t match, I ran the majority of my miles solo, gobbling up the field, but never getting passed by this point.

I came into contact with the four ahead of me once on one of the last hills in mile 8, passing one of the women, who returned the favor down the other side, and promptly kicked it a little bit, returning to a gap to approximately 50 feet. Coming into the last mile, as that group held their lead, I managed to pass another coming into the last half mile. However, one of the great things about competitive comradery, is that a few moments later he came up on my left, and said simply ‘Come on.’ And with that, we finished that last couple tenths sub at sub 6 pace, crossed the line, patted each others backs, and went our ways.

1:02:02

Isn’t it amusing, that despite an amazing PR, we always think we could have done better, could have gone faster and harder. I’ll take it though, it’s just more motivation.

I finished 14/191 AG, 51/~1250 Gender, 54/2097 Overall, with a 6:39 pace.

And those two women ahead of me? I don’t feel so bad being humbled; they were number 2 and 3 of the day.