A Balance, Redefined

Ragnar Del Sol Relay

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Location:

Vestavia,AL,USA

Member Since:

May 31, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Marathon Top 10 Finishes: 7 Bridges ('15), Utah Valley ('13), Salt Lake City ('08), Top of Utah ('07), and St. Louis ('04). Ran around the equator (24901.55) in 4,388 days.

Personal Records
Marathon 2:39 (SLC '08)
1/2 Marathon 1:12.30 (Provo River, aided '08)
10K 34:16 (Track, sea level '00)
10K 33:15 (Des 10K, aided '08)
8K 25:32 (Crack of Dawn, aided '13)
5K 16:44 (Track, sea level '00)
5K 16:07 (Running of the Leopards, aided '12)
 

Short-Term Running Goals:

NYC Marathon November 3, 2019 done 

London Marathon October 3, 2021 done

Tokyo Marathon March 3, 2024!!!

And my largest challenge to date, raise $20,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of my cancer survivorship and in memory of those lost to blood cancer...
DONE! $26,403.70

https://pages.lls.org/tnt/al/london2021/awende

Long-Term Running Goals:

Enjoy being a Masters Runner.

Get under 3 hours one more time...

Personal:

Grew up outside Chicago and joined the blog while I lived in Salt Lake City. Now living outside Birmingham. I am married with two daughters. Wife thinks I'm crazy for doing marathons. And yes I am crazy I'm a scientist for a living...

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 331.25
RM 090416 Lifetime Miles: 136.06
Saucony Type A Lifetime Miles: 200.18
Nike Vaporfly Pink Lifetime Miles: 122.22
Saucony Ride #37 - Black Lifetime Miles: 56.50
Saucony Ride #38 - Neon Lifetime Miles: 53.50
Saucony Ride #39 - Grey Lifetime Miles: 59.50
Brooks Launch #38 - Grey Lifetime Miles: 65.25
Brooks Launch #39 - White Lifetime Miles: 57.50
Brooks Launch #40 - Blue Lifetime Miles: 54.00
Race: Ragnar Del Sol Relay (14.67 Miles) 01:24:32, Place overall: 1, Place in age division: 1
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTrainer 1 MilesTrainer 2 MilesRacer MilesTotal Distance
2.000.008.000.000.000.000.0010.00

Total Relay Distance 182 mi in 17 hrs and 4 min (my legs totaled 14.67 in 1 hr 24 min) 

Friday

AM: 8am easy run. Got about 6hrs sleep. Easy run with the team on the streets of Vegas. Then back into the van and to the start. Once we got there my nerves were really kicked into full gear. The racers had been starting since 9am that morning. When I watched the 4pm group take off I started getting antsy. I still had about 5 hrs to wait though so I was going to have to learn to cool my jets. Mi: 5-DS1 Avg: ~7:45 HR: ~140

PM: 9pm Leg 7 my first leg. I ran around the parking lot in the dark for about 2-miles. I was very ready to go. We had gotten updates over the last few hours and there was a team a lot closer than I would have guessed anyone would be. To make things worse I spoke to the guy from that team that I was going to be going up against. He asked what I was shooting for and I of course told him. Ted had me down for 5:52 pace. The guy said he was shooting for 5:30 pace. So it was on. James came flying in and passed the bracelet to me and I was off. My first mile had a 183 ft climb but I still managed a 5:38. I was a little nervous about burning out as this was my longest leg (meant to be 6.4 mi) but I didn’t want to let the team down. It was very dark and my first time running with a head lamp. Next mile had a good descent and I flew down it 5:14. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was in the zone! It was the closest to a “running spiritual” moment I have ever had. I would look down at the Garmin it would read #.4 or #.5 and then beep next mile! The third mile was about equal up 174 ft and down 157 ft but I kept a good pace 5:36. The fourth mile was more down 126 ft but still had 70 ft of up 5:30. The sixth mile I was finally feeling it and it had more climb 121 ft to 101 ft down 5:47 however I was almost there and knew I just had to maintain for the last 0.67 (little long) was in 3:52 (5:46 pace). When I handed off to Ted I was ecstatic I was jumping all over the place I couldn’t believe what I had just done. I beat my goal time by almost 2 min. I immediately got into the van and to the next exchange I cooled down for about 0.5 mi and then into the van 2 bananas 2 slices of bread a granola bar a Gatorade and tried to rest. Avg: ~5:31 HR: ~185

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 48 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 12 / / Saucony Rides #1: 48 / / Saucony Rides #2: 19 / / NB825: 500

Saturday

AM: 4am Leg 19 my second leg. Not as much warm-up this time. We had gotten some great updates and looked like we were in a solid lead. Also this was my shortest leg. The great news was the times the other van was throwing down but you’ll have to read their blogs… Logan and Nick are studs, is all I have to say. After trying to get some sleep but only resting my head I got up and “paced” around for about a mile. I got to the start and was anxious for James. However, he had a big climb (540 ft) and a long leg to get to the exchange. He handed off and I was cruising again. Nowhere near the type of experience I had during the first leg but still great. The camaraderie was great. It was so much fun cheering and being cheered on by the other FRBers. My first mile had a 241 ft climb with 158 ft of descent. I managed a 5:46. The next mile was about the same split but more level 172 ft up with 85 ft down in 5:41, the last 0.87 was mostly down and I tried to make up time and get the bracelet to Ted as fast as I could 134 ft down 67 ft up 4:34 (5:14 pace). I did a 0.5 mi cool down at the next exchange and the same refueling. I managed to drop another 1:30 from my predicted pace! Avg: 5:35 HR: ~192

PM: 9am Leg 31 final leg “the dreaded hill”. After some more great performances by the rest of the van I tried to get some sleep again put still only managed to rest my head for about an hour. Then off to the exchange. By this point we had passed all ~150 other teams so I was the first person at the exchange for the day. I chatted it up with the volunteers all nice people and then just waited for James. No real warm-up. The sunlight was out in full force and it was already warming up to about 70F. James came tearing into the exchange and I was off. I knew the first two miles were the “easy” ones and then the hill so I decided to hammer them and hang on for dear life to the end. First mile 89 ft up 81 ft down 5:32, next mile 182 ft up 156 ft down 5:41. Now the climb 156 ft up, 6:10 not too bad. The vans went by at this point and that helped motivate me. Next mile was 300 ft UP! 6:55. Final mile was still another 213 ft up but I managed to drop a few seconds for 6:32. The last 0.13 still up 66 more ft in 0:47 (5:54 pace). Handed off to James and jumped into the van. This was another ~1:20 off my goal pace. From this point to the finish every chance I got I was out of the van running around cheering in the last 5 legs. Avg: 6:09 HR: 180

Overall, I’m so happy I did this race. As you all know by now we won overall in 17 hrs 4 min beating the next team by 42 min and setting a ~2 hr course record! I was very happy with my times and effort. Ted had me down to run 14.66 miles at 6:05 pace which was a GREAT tactic by him to give us a few second fatigue leeway, it helped me mentally. By my Garmin I ran 14.67 miles (amazingly close Paul!!!) at 5:46 pace with a total of 2194 ft ascent and 1652 ft descent net up of 542 ft. I managed to give the team an additional 4 min and 40 seconds. Out of curiosity I plugged in my sea level college 10K PR into Paul’s magic spreadsheet and that would have predicted 5:57 pace so right now I’m running “better” than I did as a college senior!!! I’m so stoked about my training, thanks FRB!

Besides the running the relay was just a great experience. I met so many of the bloggers and had a great time. I had a good chance to get to know James B and Logan better on the way to and from St. George. Also, a good chance to meet Steve H, Dave, Clyde, and Nick to and from Phoenix. The race with Sasha, Steve A, Jeff, Kory, Ted and James W just rounded out the whole experience. James W, it was great of you to drive us. You kept the team moving and really helped a lot. Lybi the post race pasta and salad were great. The homemade bread by you and Sarah really hit the spot! I’m bummed I didn’t get a good chance to talk with Walter but there is always next year… There is so much I want to type here about the non-running portion but I’ll spare you all. I do want to put down a few things for my own memoirs.

The drive to and from everything was amazing! We truly live in a beautiful and diverse country. The change of scenery from hour to hour is just amazing! The condors we saw were just breath taking and to think there are so few of them left in the world. A few of the insiders’ comments I have to put down. Clyde’s story of which side are you on before his Subway came back to visit had me laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. IHOP was a blast. Last things-We started at 6pm, Poopy phone, and ZZ Top…

Asics DS-Trainer #1: 48 / / Asics DS-Trainer #2: 12 / / Saucony Rides #1: 48 / / Saucony Rides #2: 19 / / NB825: 500

Night Sleep Time: 0.00Nap Time: 0.00Total Sleep Time: 0.00Weight: 0.00
Comments
From jtshad on Tue, Mar 04, 2008 at 16:32:39

Adam you ran out of your head, my good friend. I am so stoked by your times and wish that I was going to be there with you for SLC marathon. You are going to hit your 2:35, I have no doubt.

It was a pleasure getting to know you better and in person. Looking forward to running with you again in the future.

Cheers, hoist one for the FRB!

From Superfly on Tue, Mar 04, 2008 at 17:53:19

Once again it was a pleasure having you on the trip. Hopefully we didn't scare you off. I know those "other" guys can get a little out of control. I mean Logan and Nick were just simply out of hand and that's just not called for. J/K Logan you were a good boy... but that Nick!

Anyways it was fun to read about your running results. Your really tore it up. Good job and keep up the good work.

From Chad on Tue, Mar 04, 2008 at 18:11:47

Great description, Adam. Sounds like it was a blast. Congrats on the big win! You ran like a mad man (esp on that first leg).

From James on Tue, Mar 04, 2008 at 21:27:29

It was a lot of fun getting to know you on our trip. You ran awesome, as I predicted you would. Good times and memories. Hopefully we can get you on board for WBR.

From Cody on Tue, Mar 04, 2008 at 23:00:16

Adam- You ran awesome! It is great to get into your head, even for a brief moment and share in your experience. Great stuff. I am impressed!

From Brent on Tue, Mar 04, 2008 at 23:00:45

Adam, great race report, what a feeling, being part of a crazy fast running team, winning, setting a record that may never be broken. It really puts some perspective into all those training miles. 1,000 commando points, no doubt -- without Gwen, ZZ Top with the legs you know how to use them, great team that will run many more races together in spirit, if not for real.

Stay Kool, in the ultimate zone, B of BS Rools out

From Jon on Tue, Mar 04, 2008 at 23:55:01

Great job, Adam. Glad to see you are in for WBR. I'm sure you'll be in even better shape by then, and we'll expect Logan-like times! No more underestimating yourself- we're putting you down for 5 min miles the whole way!

From JamesM on Wed, Mar 05, 2008 at 00:13:10

Wow, you did really well. You're going to do great at SLC. Let me know if you want to do a long run together.

From Jon on Wed, Mar 05, 2008 at 00:19:30

Oh yeah, since you enjoyed your last leg so much, we are going to sign you up to run the Ragnar leg at WBR- leg 34. 4 miles, 1700 feet up. Are you ready? Just ask Clyde how it is, he did it last year.

From Adam RW on Wed, Mar 05, 2008 at 08:08:02

Thank you all for your comments. Your continued support and the knowledge that you guys are checking in on me from time to time have helped keep me in line with my training. Also, knowing that so many of you could just have easily been in my shoes made me work extra hard to not let the team down. Thank you!

Jon, Thank you for your note of confidence. Clyde let me know all about death, I mean the Ragnar. We were thinking since you missed out on Del Sol we were going to give you the honor of running both the legs back-to-back as an ultra :)

From Jon on Wed, Mar 05, 2008 at 16:18:57

Tempting, tempting. I've been on 2 WBR ultra teams but never had the honor of that leg yet. 7.5 miles, 3500 feet, I believe. Any of us could do it if it was required of us.

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