skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Or, 13 days, 14 hours to go... not that I'm counting it down or anything.
Overall, I am very confident that this will be a success. The biggest battle will be the mental challenges over the last 5 miles. I've reviewed the course through running sections of it as well as visualizing myself over the course.
The last of the hard runs are over. For the next 2 weeks, I'll be tapering and letting the body heal (which it desperately needs). This was more than a 90 day training program (the norm for marathon training). It was 9 full months of rebuilding something that had been lost a long time ago. It was the inspiration of Sir Roger Bannister, the Perfect Mile, Bill Bowerman and the Men of Oregon. The passion and fire of PRE. The wisdom of Mike Manley and Steve McChesney. The spirit of those I've known and lost (Dan, Bill and Tom McChesney, my Dad). Bill McChesney Jr. is in the photo for this entry. Great guy from a wonderful family. I cried so very hard the day I found out he died in an accident.
This was a year of digging up my past and going back to my roots. I did all the hard work, but the mental preparation and guidance of Julie Browning were very important to get me this far. My wife Beth, who is everything I've wanted in a partner and best friend, and more...
I am a runner. It's in my blood. It's in my past. It's in my future.
I'll admit it, I'm glad this last LSD run is over. 21 miles checking out the course again (technically it was 20.5 in 2:30, 7:19 pace). It went better than my last time over this route, so that's a good thing. The banner is out, the signs are on street posts, and the roses and mile markers have a fresh coat of paint. Portland Fit, Team in Training (leukemia) and some others were out doing their 21 mile benchmark also.
The highs this week: solid track workout, LSD went very well, working on a nutrition plan, being home, Red Sox crushing the Yankees Saturday. I also met with Jeff from Hammer Nutrition to get my race plan in place. Tested it out yesterday and it went pretty well, still need to make a few minor adjustments, but we should be good to go on race day for Hammer Gel and Endurolytes.
The lows: work, the Red Sox blowing a 6 run lead in the 8th on Friday to the damn Yankees (with Paps and Oki on the mound, how the hell that happened I'll never know). I love being threatened with lawyers in Mexico, really... it's such a joy.
September can be a painful month sometimes. The first few years were the hardest. Sometimes I have it pushed so far down that it doesn't come to the surface. More often than not, I don't have it pushed down far enough and it hits me when I'm not expecting it.
It's been 7 years. I still remember it like it was yesterday. Last thing I said to him was something along the lines of "Pick up some limes on the way and get your ass over here!". Typical. When I got back to his house the next morning, I knew something had happened, something bad. Very bad.
I met Dan 21 years ago in the barracks at Memphis. He had just turned 20 and I was going to be 19 in a few months. The friendship that started that fall would last a lifetime. Even though our travels would take us to Japan, the middle East, Indian Ocean, and through months of Desert Storm, once we got back to solid ground the friendship would always be there waiting. He was my best man, my drinking buddy. We golfed, skied, cycled, chased women, and managed to always stay just out of trouble. He pointed me in the right direction when my second marriage failed. I was going to move in with him. I had moved in... on that horrible weekend before the accident. He was honest, the best friend you could ever ask for. Dan was all that and more... he was like a brother to me. He was at his peak, I was at my low... I would have traded places with him if I could.
If I knew he was going to get on his Connie, I would have talked him out of it. It was pouring hard where I was at and it was heading his way. He stopped under an overpass because the rain had stopped the traffic due to an accident. Some delinquents drove onto the emergency lane and clipped a pair of other motorcycles before they hit him. He wasn't even on the bike. His Connie had almost no damage. He was hit from behind and never saw it coming. I used to see the chain of events all the time, like I was there watching in slow motion. Despite what they said, I don't think that he ever regained any awareness. The machines kept him alive while his body was trying to let go. I can still see him lying there...
It's been 7 years since I lost my best friend, but he's here with me every day.
OK, so as I predicted, the week was long and grueling. Tuesday fly out to Scottsdale (where it was 113 degrees). At least I was in my normal time zone and was up early enough to get in a dreadmill run (it was over 80 degrees at 6 am outside).
Wednesday, meetings in Scottsdale, then fly out that afternoon for Tampa (via Dallas). In the afternoons, flights are limited and you're dealing with the time difference. We arrive in Tampa around 12:30 AM, so by the time we make it to the hotel and get wound down, it's around 2 am.
Thursday, up at 6 to catch up on some e-mails (pissing off my overseas counterparts), eat breakfast, inject some coffee into my system, then off to more meetings. We run over and have an hour to get to the airport (just 5 minutes away fortunately) for my flight back home. For the record, it was mid 90's and high humidity in Tampa. The good part was getting an upgrade from Houston to Portland. Four hour flight, first class, and a free movie. The perfect way to end a trip.
So, in summary... 3 days, 5 segments of flying, 2 hotels, 113 degree temperature (but it's a dry heat...), and 4 presentations. Not a great way to keep a consistent training plan, but work does pay the bills.
I was going to to Pints to Pasta today, but after my massage on Friday, didn't think that would be wise. I'm almost fully recovered from Hood to Coast, so I did go out with the intent of doing 13 yesterday. I only did 10.5 though since I was still tired. This week should be a good one to get refocused on everything.
One more long run next weekend, then the next 2 are tapering off.
One thing that needs to be said about Hood to Coast... it takes a long damn time to recover from that race. I don't care how good your conditioning is. It does things to you that nothing else does.
That said, this was a slow recovery week. I just could not make the legs go at times. It was like a forced death camp march. Like today... everything felt OK, I just couldn't get my legs to turn over. This happens, and I really can't complain because the LSD runs do teach me a few things. For example... my racing flats were great in that last leg (8 miles) of the H2C, but at about 13-14 miles... not so much. I could use them in a half, but I now know that they will not be what I need for 26.2. Also, I think it's time to start ditching the foot pod. For the next 5 weeks, it's about the length of time and focusing on the HR for the training runs. More importantly, I need another pair of Hayward's or Skylars's (same Nike shoe, different year made). My Zoom Hayward's have been the shoe to get me through all this, but there is no way that I can do another race in them. Mileage is too high and they are getting too warn in spots.
The preparation for all of this is really nothing more than mental floss for the deranged (at least from this point forward). Can I make improvements over the next 5 weeks? Sure, but they won't be much. Only consistent training, eating, stretching, and rest matter now. The rest is all mental.
I want to break 3. I just need to convince myself that I am capable of this. I think that with ideal conditions, I am capable of breaking 3 hours. However, as today indicated to me, I have to mentally prepare myself to overcome things as they potentially can happen.
This week will be a pain too, on the road again for work. Out to Phoenix Tuesday afternoon, over to Tampa Wednesday afternoon, then back home Thursday. Woohoo!
Well, this was Hood to Coast weekend. 197 miles, 1200 teams, 12 runners per team. Mileage per person varies dependent on which leg they choose. 2 years ago I ran this and did well on the first 2 of 3 legs. The third leg I blew up on. The last 4 miles were sheer hell...
This year was going to be different. I wanted to not only go back and do those same legs again, but I wanted to take that third leg and not let it get the better of me.
Leg one is a 7.2 mile run along the Springwater Trail at the very eastern side. The first 2-3 miles are on gravel, but the terrain is ideal for setting a solid tempo. My splits were almost even pace, averaging 6:40's for a 47:20 overall time. Everything felt great there, no worries, it's all good...
Leg two is a 5.1 mile run in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere... It's all gravel, in the dark, with the team vans (support vehicles) kicking up a lot of dust. You're running off 2-3 hours sleep if you're lucky, and it's about 4:30 am. Fortunately this is also another mostly flat leg (unlike the runner before me, which was 5 miles of a slow grind uphill on gravel). I eased up on the last mile because I wanted to get a good cool-down before getting into the car. This leg also went real well (as it had the previous time for me), 34:10 for a 6:34 average pace.
By the third leg, you've now had maybe 4-5 hours of sleep if you're lucky. You've been living off GU, bagels, sports drink, and anything else you could get your hands on, and you've been living out of a van with 6 other runners for close to 24 hours now. Getting in and out of the van can be a challenge. Fortunately, before you went to catch some sleep around 8 am you got to eat pancakes at a Grange along the way (it's an exchange point and they do this every year).
Leg 3 is in the afternoon, you're closer to the coast, and you will most likely have a good head wind. There is little to no shade along this route, so if it's sunny, it can be real brutal. This is also an 8 mile leg and the terrain is rolling hills. The finish is an uphill 1/2 mile (or so) to a school. It's easy to see why so many will crack on this leg. Mentally and physically you are drained. You are starting out with sore, tired legs. Blisters on your feet from the first 2 legs can make each stride even more fun. Because of the terrain, keeping an even pace is more challenging. You have to give and take because of the hills, and work for the average speed. This year I was not going to POP, I would not lose focus, and I would not let this leg get the better of me.
I had the team go out about 4 miles to give me a morale boost. Gotta have more cowbell. At 4 miles I had battled the mental part, and it did have it's ups and downs, but I was still strong. The morale boost helped me kick it back into a rhythm again. With 2 miles left, it wasn't too hot, but the heat was starting to wear me down. Then it started to mist lightly... it was what I needed for another boost. I picked the pace back up slightly, and kept it going up to the base of the last hill. I thought of the last time I did this leg, and how Beth, who was already done and exhausted, met me at the bottom because I was so dead and led me up that hill (in sandals, and I could barely keep up). That gave me another burst as I reached the school. Once I hit the grass and the flat surface I gave it everything that I had left. I knew that I won this time. This leg had NOT defeated me as it had before, and I would reach my goal. 8 miles, 55:42, 6:58 pace.
My Portland goal is to break 3:20. That's a 7:38 average pace. My targeted pace is 7:10, which would be a 3:07:46. I just finished 20.3 miles (granted not in a row) with roughly a 6:43 average speed. This was the boost in confidence that I wanted...
I never thought that I'd need to have a vacation this bad...granted my work can be very stressful, but I really needed this one. My plan was to get in some runs, do some kayaking, read some books, and most importantly, relax and unwind. So I succeeded in all but one area... the running. My achilles was a bit tender from the LSD run over the previous weekend, and after one run around the area where we were located. I decided that hills in all directions would not be a good idea. I figured that since we were going to do a ton of walking, that would suffice.
Monday we drove up to the Olympic Peninsula and got settled in. Tuesday I ran and we did a 3+ hour kayak in the bay (that's Mt. Baker in the distance). Wednesday we returned to the site of our honeymoon in Victoria, BC. Thursday we relaxed, got a late start, and did a 2+ hour kayak with a dozen or so harbor seals. Friday was more sight seeing in Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island. Saturday we did a 3+ hour kayak and watched eagles build a nest. Sunday a quick trip out on the kayaks to see the seals again, and then back home.
If you're ever in Port Townsend, eat at the Wild Coho... simply amazing!
We came back relaxed and fresh. Next weekend is the Hood to Coast, so I'll get in my mileage and prepare myself for the hell of the Hood to Coast, sleeping in a van, in a field, running at 3 am, and then a third leg in the heat of the day late Saturday afternoon into a headwind over rolling hills.
In my next life I think I'll be a harbor seal...
