Flying Pig Loopfest and The Duel RR

Loopfest time again! I was still so excited to see everybody. Even though I have been to a lot of these, it still feels like Christmas every time. With all the anticipation and happiness and smiles. And the Flying Pig weekend did not disappoint!

Friday was low-key. Other than the expo where I saw a handful of loopsters briefly, I had some family obligations most of the day. Friday night there was lobby drinking and chit chat.

Saturday I missed all the daytime activities, but we were able to pull together dinner for everyone at my in-law's house after a last minute offer to host. God bless 'em, because it was a perfect location and we didn't really have a good plan before that. So nearly everyone came over and we hung out on the deck on a sunny warm evening and did Loopfest stuff.

The Running Brotha brought some soul. TwentySixPoint2 brought the crazy.

 Zamgirl and her sis


 Quadracool and Lawrenceaa


Jenster kept things lively.


but first...

Ron Swanson's 'stache! Yes, that's him. Before his first marathon...

Dean showed up and the women swarmed. Mainly because he brought them gifts.

The wonderful Blevinses arrive! Most supportive loopsters ever.

 So, the meetups were amazing of course. It was so great to see all my old buddies. And to meet a few new ones - I got to know BriU, KeepRunningGirl and the 'Stache a little bit. But there was a little race to take care of. And I know you all want to hear about it.

We arrived before dawn for the 6:30 start. Parked in Kentucky and walked across the bridge to Cincinnati.


 It was a good mile walk. My BIL let us use his group's tent to stash our stuff and use their private indoor plumbing. Hooray! By the time we got to the corral, they were playing the national anthem! We had cut it close without really realizing it. No time for warmup jogs. Just hopped up and down a few times and within minutes we were off and running!


So, unless you're just joining us, you know that Peg and I were running together, had similar goals, and both have a certain affinity for trash talk. We both planned to run as hard as we could, run our own race, go for our goals, and oh, by the way, kick the other's butt. There would be no hand-holding across the finish line. Other than that, we might run together for a while.

Plan was 7:45 pace through 6, survive the hill as well as possible, and then haul donkey for the last downhill miles. I wanted to run under 1:42, with an A goal of sub 1:40. And hopefully that would be enough to beat the young upstart.

Here is the course. For future reference.



So we get started. It's a little fast, so I try to relax. The lack of warmup bothered me. It felt like I was already breathing hard after a half mile. There was a little rise and Peg got ahead and I just had to let her go because I was hurting! After half a mile! What the hell. But a little down slope helped me get my wind and I felt better and caught back up. Mile 1 was 7:37. (Note: Garmin was running consistently short. I ended with 13.27 miles, so splits are a little faster than they actually were)

But then, bridge #1. From Ohio to Kentucky. I tried to maintain my effort and Peg pulled away again. This would become the dominant theme of this race. I knew hills are not my strength. But I didn't expect every little rise to suck so bad! It felt like 10K pace and I was ALREADY feeling defeated. Peg was 20 yards ahead on the first bridge. Seriously, I thought I would lose her soon and never see her again until she mocked me at the end.

But, then the downhill, and life got more rosy. I could breathe. I was catching back up. Maybe I could hang for a while.

Miles 2 and 3 were 7:30 and 7:43. I caught Peg on the flat. Then a 2nd bridge and she was gone again. I would catch back up. Then a 3rd bridge. A big one. I settled in to conservative pace, because I had no choice, and off she went. She had a good 50 yards on me after that one. But then there was a long downhill...

DW had set up on the bridge for photos, and when Peg saw her...I think she lost her mind. Apparently she wanted to get a picture with both of us in it. So she stopped. Cold.


See me back there catching up? Crazy woman.


The dear wife had a nice spot and caught lots of loopsters going by.

The brotha!
KEK, twentysixpoint2 and Quadracool!

Zamgirl and sis way over there!

Gingersnap, Jenster and CLynn!

VBlevins and RunningPlaces (and AlliKate behind them - invisible, sorry)

Anyway, I caught Peg again off the bridge and we actually ran together for a mile or so. Miles 4, 5 and 6 were 7:24, 7:50 and 7:20. So we were basically right on goal pace at the real mile marks. But I wasn't feeling good. I felt dead, barely hanging on with heavy legs. Not a happy camper. And the big hill was coming up.

Still flying though.


This was mile 6.



Saw my favorite sign of the day: "You're Not Even Close". Yeah that's what it felt like. But I was still functional and pace was good. So I just needed to get over that hill, and survive the rest and maybe I could have a decent time after all. And if I could stay close enough to Peg on the hill, I felt pretty confident that I could catch her on the downhill, and dig deeper into the pain cave at the end.

Up we went. Peg pulled away slowly, and I settled into my survival hill mode. It was hard, but I was maintaining, and soon enough there was a little respite before the next big one. And Peg stopped to walk through the water stops several times which allowed me to make up lots of ground (rookie). She never got out of sight. Miles 7 and 8 were 8:36 and 8:12.

We crested the worst hill and I was still close, maybe 20 yards behind. But it was still gradual uphill for most of the way to mile 10 and I couldn't catch her. I was just hanging on. 9 and 10 were 7:41 and 8:00. About here I thought of a blog title possibility. Since California Chrome had just won the Kentucky Derby, I thought I could use California Silver if I lost or California Gold if I won. But I got blank stares from two people I tried it on, so never mind.


At mile 10 the descent began. THANK GOD! I was hurting bad, like ready to quit and walk bad. Fatigue was affecting my form. Just hating life for miles. But having Peg out in front certainly helped motivate me the whole way. Thanks, Shalane!, er, Peg! Without you setting the pace, I'm pretty sure I would have settled into a little slower pace. Competition is good.

I had a power gel during mile 10 and it seemed to wake me up. Or maybe it was the downhill. But the idea of 3 downhill miles didn't sound too bad. At 10.4 I caught Peg just before one REALLY steep block that you can see on the chart. I took off the brakes and flew down that hill, pinwheeling my arms and nearly taking flight. It was awesome.


After about 1/4 mile I turned back to look and Peg was nowhere near. The next mile was steep and fast and I was flying. Mile 11: 6:51. Several times I leaned forward 'from the ankles' and it really seemed to push me forward. Short steps, fast turnover, no brakes, and I was passing lots of people. Still hurt. A lot. But I could breathe. And I had momentum. And adrenaline. Wheeeee!!!!!

Mile 12 flattened a bit for an out and back section. I was in my 'hang on because the end is near' mode at this point, and kept pushing into the anaerobic zone. I saw Peg was well back on the turnaround, gave her a wave, and kept pushing to get the best time I could. I knew I had sub 1:42 and a shot at sub 1:41.

More downhill made it easier to maintain the suicide pace. Miles 12 and 13 were both 7:10 and then I had .27 at 6:49 pace into the finish.



Who hurt more?


OK, that wasn't too fair. I know she was hurting plenty.

So I finished in 1:40:54. And I am very happy with that, considering the hills and how I felt. That is 7:42 pace. Peg was 1:01 back with a fantastic time for her, tying her PR! Now if I can just get her to run through water stops and ignore paparazzi...

We celebrated together. Still friends.

and posed for blog photos....

 We spent the next 4 hours hanging out in the park as Loopsters filed in - mostly from the full marathon. The sun had come out. Bummer for those still running, but great for us! Beer, food, race stories. Good times. I went back to the finish to see some Loopsters come in. Lots of impressive stories out there. People who hurt for much, much longer than I did.

Later, after a solid 2 hour nap by me, we all hooked back up for dinner and drinks. It was a relatively mild night compared to other fests (ahem, Rehoboth!). But still filled with warmth, loop love and lots of laughs. And some tequila.





Pikermi #33 in the books! Ready to keep working and keep improving. I have a big summer and Fall coming up!

Life is good.

Hermosa 5000 Race Report

I had a little 5K this weekend. About 200 people showed up for this local fun race at the beach. To give you a sense of place, here is what it looked like at the main intersection.
We got to run up and down the bike path where I do most of my daily runs. Run past volleyballers and exercisers and dog-walkers. The course is below. We start at the short little stub there and make a hard left turn after 50 yards. Then it is out for 1/2 mile, u-turn, about 1.3 miles up, u-turn, back to the intersection, and then out on the water for 1/2 mile!

There is actually a pier there, which helps, except it is a 20 foot hill right when you would rather not see one. Out to the end of the pier, and then scream back downhill to the finish. It's a great course. My house is in the bottom right corner of that map, so it was a nice mile warmup jog to the start line.

My goal for this one was sub-21, or about 6:45 pace. I also had my friendly rival, Jim, in the race. He always goes out fast, and sometimes I catch him, and sometimes I don't. So another goal was to catch him. Last month I couldn't.

I also ran into the girl that I met on Tuesday's run, Julia. She was also trying to break 21, and I knew she was fast, so yeah, I kinda wanted to beat her too. Plenty of motivation in this one!

As usual, I felt like in my warmup before the race. Legs sluggish, trouble breathing. But, whatever, time to run.

Had to fight through the normal assortment of kids at the start, and we immediately turned on to the bikepath. But it wasn't too crowded.


Felt good. Jim and Julia were both ahead of me already. First Garmin pace check was in the 6:30s. A little fast but not bad. I tried to stay relaxed.

By the 1/2 mile turnaround I was still in the 6:30s, but felt OK. Hell, felt pretty strong actually, and was passing the fast starters and the kids. About 3/4 mile I passed Julia which gave me a little adrenaline. But soon I had to ease back. Too early to push that hard. Went through mile 1 just before the intersection in 6:33.




Jim was about 15-20 yards ahead, but I was staying even or slowly catching him. So I stuck with that pace and hoped to get him by mile 2. Mile 2 pace was showing 6:40's and I felt OK. I started to think I could hold this and get that sub-21 with ease! For a minute I tried to calculate what I might be able to get. Sub 20:30? Better?

But I was starting to hurt. Long way to go yet. As I neared the 2nd turnaround, I was getting closer to Jim. As I got closer, it became easier to push a little harder and go by him, which I did before the turnaround. But right after the turn he surged and went by me! I figured it was the competitor in him, but I knew from running him down that I should be able to wear him down over the next mile. Sure enough, within a minute or so, I went by him again. But that competition sure helps make it easy to keep pushing! Went through mile 2 in 6:40.

At this point I had no one ahead of me to chase. And the lactic acid was starting to lock up my legs. Despair entered my soul, and the grimace face came on board. Holding this pace for another mile sounded like torture. The pier still seemed far away. But I knew if I held strong I could get a good time, so I kept plugging. First pace check in mile 3 said 6:58! I thought maybe it was a satellite glitch, but later checks proved that no, I was fading. What felt like the same effort (or more) was now only good enough for 6:55s. Yet simple math told me I could still make it if I just kept it under 7.

Luckily everyone else was hurting too, as only one guy passed me. Finally I made it to the pier, and with 1/2 mile to go, I knew I just had to get up that pier and get to the end, and then adrenaline would carry me to the finish. Here I am making the turn. That is Jim behind me.


and here is Julia not far back.


I was pushing into (even more) oxygen debt now. I did NOT want to get caught. I passed 1-2 people on the pier and gave it everything on the way in. I was DEEP in the pain cave. (mile 3, 6:55)



Really deep



I neared the finish and the clock said 21:xx. What the?

Powered through and gasped for air for several minutes. Official time 21:14. Garmin had it at 3.20 miles. And based on previous runs, I think that is accurate. Last .20 miles at 5:50 pace, thank you very much. So I figure I should have got under 20:45 on a correct course. So I'm just going to be happy with the pace and the effort. And beating Jim and Julia. And getting 5th in my AG for a medal.

Jim must have finished strong too because he was only 2 seconds behind me (and WON his AG at 55). My AG is stacked. Top 4 were all UNDER 19:00!

Julia was about 30 seconds back and won her AG. And by popular demand, here is a picture.


Checking my results - 5th place!


Picking up my medal from race director Jeff Atkinson, who won my AG, and also won the Olympic Trials 1500 in 1988. Yeah, tough crowd.



 So, it was a good race on a beautiful day. Life is good.

"It's Time to Fly over the Earth!"

Yesterday was Hoka day at the Local Running Store. The Hoka rep had shoes we could try, so I got to sample the feet pillows for a 7 mile run.

Heard this little nugget from the rep:

Hoka OneOne (pronounce hoe-kah oh-nay oh-nay) is a Maori expression meaning ‘It’s time to fly over the Earth’. A speed-skiing Kiwi used to shout this before jumping off mountains at the beginning of fast descents.


So, don't call it "1, 1".

It was the Boston anniversary so I wore my Boston shirt. It just happened to match nicely with the shoes...




The shoes felt pretty good going on. A little loose on the inside - plenty of room in the toe box. Of course it was cushy too. But it was only a 4mm drop, and felt much like my regular shoes, the Saucony Cortana. When I ran, they felt pretty good! Forgot all about them and had a great run. And afterward, my feet bottoms were not sore at all, which is better than normal for me lately. So I have to give them a thumbs up. Don't think I will be buying them at $170 though.

I planned to do an easy 7, like 8:30-9:00 pace. But, these group runs are tricky. I always get sucked into running with faster people. This day there was a new runner there who started out at my pace, so we started chatting and running together, and the pace quickened. Did I mention she was female, younger, fast and attractive? So, yeah, this happened:

8:09. 7:58. 7:39, 7:58, 7:56, 8:15, 8:29

More like a tempo. Maybe it was the shoes.

 

I'm Baaaack!!! Back in the Saddle again

Here is the soundtrack for this bloop. Play it along as you read. (some Aerosmith from the 70's)

I am ready to declare myself BACK to normal. You won't need to hear about my plantar fasciitis anymore. It has dwindled to just an irritant; On par with the normal sore muscles from training. It's not keeping me from doing anything, so I'm not going to bitch about it anymore!



You're welcome.

So I just finished my first 30-mile week since September, and all the runs were good. Easy 5 Monday. 3x1 mile intervals on Tuesday (6:52, 7:13, 7:03), 6 mile progression on Thursday, and 12 hilly goat miles on Saturday. Then I topped it off with 20 miles on the bike Sunday. BAM!



It's always good to be feeling strong and healthy when you hit another birthday. 52 doesn't seem bad at all so far! I'm ready to kick butt and get some new over 50 PRs this year!



And for the statheads, here is my Goat run. Not quite as hilly as normal, so I pushed it a bit and was very happy with my paces on the rocky fire road and single track.



Mile 10 was a killer steep climb! But then I finished strong with 2 miles at 8:00.

This week I take it (relatively) easy and then race a 5K on Saturday.

Life is good.