Gobbler Grind

Yesterday was the Gobbler Grind Marathon in Overland Park. I finished in 3:38, a little slower than my ultimate goal, but I am still happy with the time and a place of 35th out of 202 runners. At 16 miles, I was still on pace for a 3:30, but ended up hitting the dreaded wall somewhere around mile 21 and slowed down significantly. I was able to pull it back together for the last mile and a half, but that stretch immediately preceeding seemed to take forever.

At the finish area I caught up with a friend of mine, an experienced marathoner, who came in just slightly behind me and had set a new personal time record. The competitive side in me was happy to come in ahead of him, but I was truly glad he got the time he was after, and I could see on his face when he crossed the line that he was too.

As we talked and waited for our wives to finish, one of Mendy's friends who had come down to cheer her on found me and told me she had saw Mendy on the course and she wasn't doing well - her ankle was giving her a lot of trouble, and not to expect her too soon. We waited for awhile and eventually I decided to start walking the course backwards to find her and help her in. After walking 2 miles, I found her walking along with another girl. I was relieved that she had somebody to walk with because the course had really thinned out by this point. As it turns out, she had been walking for about 6 miles to that point, and we walked the final 2 miles in together. Obviously, she was upset to have had the troubles, but I was very proud of her for sticking it out and completing the entire distance, regardless of the her time.

It was while I walked the course in reverse for those couple miles and then in again with Mendy, that I gained a newfound respect for the folks in the back of the pack. I've always respected people for simply finishing their event regardless of distance or time, but I had never considered the extra efforts some people go through to get this done. Whether they were injured, elderly, out of shape, or just simply slow, these people were trying and they were trying hard. There were some that were obviously content and had planned on walking from the start, but ultimately they had set out on a mission and completed it, regardless of their circumstances. In many cases, they had more obstacles to overcome and had put in more effort in than the front runners. Not everyone can be the prototypical "runner", but they can put forth the effort to achieve something great.

Somewhere along the course I remember a spectator holding up a sign that read, "only 1% of people ever complete a marathon". I don't know if that's true, but I thought back to that as I witnessed these people pushing through the end of 26.2 long miles. They (Mendy and myself included) were in the processing of completing a task that very few people will ever have the courage to even embark on training for, let alone stick to the plan and ultimately complete. It is this kind of personal drive and motivation that I am happy to be associated with and love to see in people. It is something that transcends money, fame, or even climbing the career ladder. Nobody got a promotion or a prize for doing what they did, but we are all better for it.

Preparations

This past Friday morning was my last true training run before the marathon this coming weekend. I ran my typical route for that day of 7 rolling miles from my front door to the highway and back averaging 7:33 per mile. The weekend before I ran 15 miles at an easy 7:55 pace. Overall, I'm pleased with the pace I've been running over the past several weeks, as I have been taking deliberate training efforts to get it down, but I'm a little uncertain of my overall preparations for the race this coming weekend.
I would have preferred to get a 20+ miler in between the Dogwood 50K and this weekend, but time just didn't allow to safely get that kind of mileage in. Oh well, it's not the distance that I'm worrying about covering, it's a silly little obsession with time - I would be thrilled to run 3:30. I'll be happy with a solid finish, but I have that nagging time goal in the back of mind. Judging by my shorter distance runs, the time is attainable, but is certainly not a given or necessarily even likely. My fear is that I start too fast in hopes of hitting it, and then die off in the final miles and come limping in. But if I don't start out right, chances of picking up the required time with a major negative split could prove difficult. Oh well, I'll just run hard by feel this weekend and see what happens.

Running for Love

Mendy and I had Saturday evening and Sunday to spend alone together without kids this weekend - they went to Meemaw and Peepaw's house. Saturday night we went out for sushi then to see the movie Fireproof (which is a great movie once you look past some not-so-great acting). Sunday morning we decided to run together, which we rarely get the chance to do. She typically runs on Saturday mornings with a group of other girls, and I run long on Sunday mornings. This schedule actually works really well for the boys and our lives, as I'm typically home prior to time to go to church.

She needed to run about 18 miles to keep up with her training for an upcoming marathon we're doing. Due to last weekend's race, I wasn't originally planning on going quite that far, but figured I'd might as well. Although we run at substantially different paces when not together, we stayed side by side throughout the entire run until we hit the college track at the end. It's kinda tough to run slower than what you're used to for an extended period, but I really enjoyed the time together with her this morning. I'm thankful that we can share an interest in running, and that she is who she is. I'm thrilled that we can spend time doing something like this and support each other in our goals - whether they be running or otherwise. It's a great place to be, when selfishness is set aside and loving each other takes priority.

Bass Pro Dogwood Canyon 50K

Last weekend marked the first ever Dogwood Canyon 50K sponsored by Bass Pro and North Face. To my surprise, my parents decided to make the trip over, and of course Mendy and kids came along to make it a full family event. They anticipated being able to enjoy some of the amenities at Dogwood Canyon while I was running, but unfortunately the area was closed to everyone except runners due to storm damage repair. Some advance notice of that would have been nice, because it made for a long day for them trying to keep three boys occupied.

As far as the race goes, being my first 50K, and obviously the first time on this course, I didn't know really what to expect. Bass Pro didn't have a course map available until just a week or so before the event, and even then it was very uninformative - other than showing a lot of hills...

The course was basically a 15+ mile loop, and then we turned around and did the same course in reverse. In the first 3 miles there were several creek crossings in water that got up to knee deep at times. I learned that Gore-Tex lined shoes don't really give you advantage in water this deep. After the water, the hills set in and the runners finally started to thin out.

Somewhere close to mile 13 we hit a little stretch of paved trail which was a welcome change in scenery as it meandered through some of the great features, fishing holes, streams, and waterfalls, and caved found at Dogwood Canyon. It was on this short stretch that I encountered Kyle Skaggs and Tony Krupicka already well past the turn and into the reverse portion of the course. I was inspired at how easy, simple, and pure they made it look...oh to be young and carefree again.

At the 1/2 way point, and the finish of the 25K course, the field really thinned out and made for some long stretches of running without seeing anyone else, which for me is ok as I'm used to solo training and kind of enjoy the solitude. I hit a serious emotional low when I realized that the 50K course didn't take us to the actual finish of the 25K, but rather through a separate little isolated loop. I had been looking forward to checking in with the family for a moment at the turn while re-fueling and having a snack, and it wasn't until I hit the mid point aid station that I realized I wouldn't get to see them 'til the end of the race...I could have used their boost of encouragement, but luckily I was still feeling good physically.

Running the course in reverse got a little confusing at times as there where a lot of turns and the signs pointed in both directions (once for the 25/50K course going out, the opposite for the 50K going back). Luckily, I figured it out each time, but I did encounter a few others who didn't. Around mile 19 I started having some stomach troubles after slugging down some sports drink at the previous aid station. I knew it was a mistake when I drank it, as most of that stuff doesn't settle well with me, but it just looked so good at the time. After a 15-20 minutes of nausea, with the help of an S-Cap to settle things down, things were back to normal and I was feeling good again. At around mile 25-26, although I was happy to have hit the marathon point, my ankles were really starting to hurt and slowing me down. I had recently gotten new road shoes, and Mizuno had changed the design slightly on the model I prefer. The change made them rub on the bottom of my ankle bone to the point of bruising and sensitivity to all my other shoes. ( I have since taken scissors to those shoes and customized them to where this isn't a problem) Flat and uphills weren't a problem, but it was killing me on the downhills - not to mention my quads were screaming pretty loud as well on some of the steeper portions. At a few points, I had to resort to going down backwards in order to keep moving. This was defeating in that a equipment induced problem was giving me so much grief at this point in the race.

Finally I hit those final few relatively flat miles and was able to kick it back into high gear in between water crossings. I was ready to be done and was running fast just so I could stop sooner. I was able to pass another runner who had previously passed me back when I was feeling sorry for myself and limping along over my ankles - that little victory felt good. Eventually, I was back on the Dogwood grounds and could hear people at the finish area. My boys spotted me about the same point I spotted them, probably a 1/4 mile from the finish line, we were equally excited to see one another and their cheers helped bring me in.

We hung around for little while and had a post-race lunch of hot dogs and bison burgers. As good as the burgers looked to me though, I couldn't stomach anything except some hot cider at the time. I wanted to eat, but it just wasn't happening - this is pretty typical for me after a substantial run. I walked around and stretched out a bit before loading up for the 5 hour drive home.

Overall, I had a great time. The course offered a variety of tough terrain, and I learned some important lessons for next time.

26.2 - Almost

Oringinaly posted on the Merschaum Canteen 9/14/08

Mendy and I went to St. Louis this weekend to run in the Lewis & Clark Marathon. Hurricane Ike decided to roll through town as well. The downpour put a serious kink in my pre-race plans and almost caused us to not even start - little things like the parking lot being under two feet of water and runners having to push their flooded cars out in the dark before the race even began. Eventually we found some high ground to park on and decided to brave the elements.

Despite running through ankle deep water, pounding rain, and gusts of wind that hard enough to knock over some of the course porta-johns, I was pacing pretty good. I really didn't know how fast or far I had gone at any point because the course markers had mostly been destroyed or blown away, and I didn't wear my Garmin watch for fear of ruining it, so I was mildly disoriented for most of the event, but feeling good running-wise.

As it turns out, the last half of the course was under water and the race directors had to move the finish line up to the 10 mile marker and started shuttling everyone back to the start and parking area from there. 80% of the runners were only signed up to do the 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) so getting to 10 miles wasn't all that bad given the conditions. I, however, was running good, wanted to get my miles in, and was disappointed that the race had been shut down. So instead of boarding the buses with the rest of the masses, I turned around and did the 10 miles again in reverse. So, only 20 miles today instead of the full marathon, but a good war story none-the-less.

Next month - 50K Trail Run in the Ozarks put on by Bass Pro Shops and North Face...here's hoping for better weather.

video clip of the weather conditions at race start

Happy Trails

taken from origianl posting 6/9/08 on the Meerschaum Canteen

Last weekend I ran in a trail run event put on by a group called the Kansas City Trail Nerds. Aside from solo runs, I hadn't done an organized trail event for several years. It was the most fun I've had in long time and can't wait for the next one.

A couple pictures from the event: cruising along and muddy legs at the end of 15 miles

The Man in the Arena

It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt