Philippians 4:13

After catching a little bit of sleep on the ground in a couple of sleeping bags with Ted and Adam, we wake up about 3am and start getting ready for our next leg.  James comes flying in and Adam is off and we are on our way.   This whole rotation is mostly short legs (4 or less) except Steve so it should go fast.

At about 5am, we are getting ready for the handoff.   A women's team from North Dakota is there waiting as well and they ask when we started.  We told them 6pm and the laugh that we started 9 hours behind them and are already passing them! 

So, I get the hand off for my uphill 2.75M leg.  Man it is hard to get going, but again the adrenaline just takes hold and you go as fast as you can.  As this is short, I just put my head down and go, but the hill is worse than I thought.  Splits were: 5:45, 5:44, 5:19 pace for last 0.75 for an avg. 5:35 pace.

total time: 15:24

We head to the Saguaro Lake campground for some more rest after Steve's leg.  Ted, Adam and I again lay out the sleeping bags, this time on hard concrete.  Ted gives up before even starting and Adam and I lay down.  I manage to somehow fall asleep and get about 2 hours of hard sleep (Adam is amazed that I could even drift off).  We awake to sunshine and start getting ready for our last leg, expecting to be way ahead but still wanting to pour it on.  Adam gets the hand off from James and we are away.

I get the hand off from Sasha for the second to last leg and head out for a flat 4.12M leg.  The team heads out to scout the course and get Steve to the start of his leg.  As I am running along, a guy pulls up with a video phone and asks me "So this is what first place looks like, how do you feel?"  I yell and scream for the team, then he asks "So, how fast are you running right now?"  I look at my GPS and yell out "5:14 pace!".  He hollers and takes off (I still don't know who he was).  As I past 1M, I see a dog wandering in the road ahead, I stop to pick up a hefty rock and keep on running towards the dog, cross the road and am ready to let the rock fly if the dog moves.  Luckily he is more wary of me and leaves me alone.  So, I keep powering on.  As I approach mile 3, it is a major intersection and Ted heads out into traffic to clear me a path and the all the cars stop for us!  I turn the corner at 4M and hammer it with my loud dog-bark breathing to kick to the finish.  Splits are: 5:27,5:41, 5:43, 5: 40 and last .12M in 5:18 pace.  Steve is off.  About .5M warmup and 0.5M cool down scouting the course for Steve and running into the finish with the team.

total time: 23:07  (Tangents - 154 miles)

Running with this team was awesome and inspiring.  They all pushed me beyond what I thought I could do as I beat all of my estimated finish times.  They are all great guys who I am glad I got a chance to know better.  Thanks to James and Lybi for their hospitality and support (James you are da man! for driving).  Thanks to Steve H and Sasha for putting this racing team together and to Ted for captaining the team.  An experience I will never forget!

Only real downside...The awards ceremony at the end was a total joke.  We got to the finish before anyone was their (they weren't even done setting up for the event) and they totally messed up all the awards for every category, so we received our dinky little first place batons with nearly no one in attendance.  Google, the third place team, got a new treadmill from Nordictrack for winning the "corporate" event...what a joke.

Ugh, a 15 hour drive home to IF from Phoenix.  Thanks Ted for the use of your van, and to Walter, Kory, Ted and Steve for the awesome companionship on the ride.

10M easy this morning in 20 degrees down Sunnyside and back as a recovery run from the weekend.  Feeling really good, just did not want to push it (plus it is freaking cold again!).

total time: 1:10:18  (Saucony Stratos - 119 miles)

8M on the TM at the gym again this morning in mostly standard format. I did throw in a 5:24 mile at 4M, then several pickups through the remainder of the run.  A little tight in the hammy's and groin, but overall feeling good.

total time: 48:30  (Saucony Stratos - 127 miles)

5.1M with Dan S. around the river on a cool, windy day.  Nice and easy paced as my groin muscles are a bit tight.  Fun to run with company again and we got going up to a 7:14 for the fourth mile, way to go Dan!

total time: 37:37   (Saucony T2 - 355 miles)

6M on the TM at the gym this morning.  Had to cut it short to get to work early today.  Overall a good run, groin tightness is going down significantly. 

total time:  38:04  (Saucony Stratos - 133 miles)

5.1M outside in 35 degrees, wore shorts, long sleeve and a fleece vest!  Good run, 3 easy miles between 6:50 and 6:30, and 2 MP miles (6:18, 6:22).  Felt really easy.  Ran after I dropped off my son at his tennis lessons and instead of sittng there, decided to get in a shorter run.  My wife thought I should have stayed the whole time to watch.

total time: 33:13  (Trigon - 467 miles)

Pretty standard 8M on the TM at the gym this morning, start easy, ramp it up, hit some pickups and a short cool down.  Hit a 5:00 pace for 0.75M from 5-6M, so that was really good.  Ran to blow off some steam this morning.

total time:  48:08 (Trigon - 475 miles) 

4.75M around the greenbelt on a sunny but cool day (25 degrees with a nothernly wind).  Nothing special, pace at 6:35 avg (1M at MP - 6:20).  Short due to a late start.

total time:  31:07  (Saucony T2 - 360 miles)

7M easy on the TM at the gym this morning.  It was 7 degrees outside and I just did not feel up for battling that temp.  1M warmup at 6:35ish, 1M at 6:25, then 5M at 6:17 pace.  Hamstrings a little tight this morning and I needed to just get in some easy miles.

total time: 44:50  (Trigon - 482 miles)

15.5M easy today with Dan S. on a fairly nice day, a bit warmer with no wind.  Paced Dan for a good MP for his training run and just an easy recovery run for me to get some aerobic mileage in for preparation for next week's Shamrock marathon.  Overall a really good run, running with company especially on a longer run is much better than solo.

total time:  2:02:00  (Trigon - 497 miles)

12M run outside on a nice day...51 degrees with a little wind and some sun.  2M to Community Park where I met up with Deborah N, Jeff C, and Tim Roney for an easy 10M at about a 8:00 pace with the group.  Nice easy run to go with yesterday's 15.5 miler, now all shorter stuff this week with a few speed workouts to be ready for the 2:45 women's OTQ gig at the Shamrock marathon.

total time: 1:32:08  (Saucony T3 - 456 miles)

6M on the TM at the gym this morning in my standard format (easy, MP with pickups).  Starting taper for Shamrock though I may throw in a short easy run at lunch today.  Feeling pretty good, but want to be really fresh for Sunday so mileage this week will be low (~40 miles).  I think I will retire my Trigons after this morning's run, the wear on the outsole indicates it is time.

total time: 36:15  (Trigon - 503 miles)

4.75M progression run at lunch.  First 2.3M wit Jeff Fogg at a good pace  (8:08, 7:36) then he went longer as I turned back around the Broadway Bridge then I picked it up a little.  Next 2M a bit faster (7:14, 6:55) then punch it up a bit during the last 0.75M to MP.  Felt really good to be outside on a beautiful day!

total time: 34:50  (Saucony T2 - 365 miles)

6.5M easy run outside along Sunnyside this morning.  Several things motivated me to run outside this morning: 1) Need outside running, not TM training; 2) warmer temp and no wind and weather is supposed to get worse today; 3) Slower easy run planned; 4) Late getting up so I didn't want to rush to the gym. 

Overall a good run, a little twing in left ankle but went away.  Still hard to get muscles warmed up in 20 degrees.

total time: 47:15  (Trigon - 509 miles)

4.75M very early this morning as I had to be at work by 6:00am to head out to the desert.  Easy progression run from a 7:44 pace to a 6:35 pace with about 0.75M at around my MP for this weekend (6:18).  Felt pretty good and the weather was great (30 degrees, no wind), but I almost did not get up as I was dead tired last night and thought about skipping the run for an extra hour of sleep, but alas I awoke at just before 4am and could not get back to sleep.   Taper continues so no lunch run today.

total time:  33:57  (Trigon - 514 miles)

TAPER MADNESS!!  Got to resist the urge for more mileage!!  Getting a bit nervous for Sunday, but that is normal taper mind tricks going on.

Nice and easy 6M this morning outside along Sunnyside.  Nice morning, 22 degrees, no wind.  As I head out to work, I find...it is SNOWING!!  When will this end?

Leave for Virginia Beach tomorrow, so no more running until Saturday morning, easy 3M or so.  Maybe hook up with Jeremy (on the blog) for a run along the boardwalk.

Total time:  44:58  (Trigon - 521 miles)

Travel day to Virginia Beach and what a day it was.  Got up early and got the IF airport no problem.  Only about a 30 minute layover in SLC.  After take off, we are cruising along and I notice my ears keep popping, then the pilot comes on the PA and says we are making an emergency landing in Denver as the cabin is losing pressurization and says that when we land the City of Denver has activated the fire department and fire trucks will escort us to the gate, but don't worry everything is ok.  Now,  I have a 45 minute layover in Cincinnati...no chance of making that. 

We land in Denver, get off the plane and the maintenance crew starts working on the plane with a need to get it fixed so they can clear that gate.  Of course, I am in the back of the plane and by the time I get out the line and the gate is huge.  But I get to the agent and she is able to book me on the last flight to Norfolk out of Cincy, but still not sure if I can make it there.  The agent says the Cincy flight that leaves Denver from the next gate at 2:20 is full, so don't even try and this flight should be back in the air by then. 

About 2:00pm, plane still not fixed so I head next door and ask if I can get on standby, this agent says "sure!".  About 2:10, they call my name for the flight!  At the same time, our original flight indicates that they have fixed the problem and they should be underway by around 2:30.  I opt for the sure thing, but I can see my bag out on the tarmack awaiting to be reloaded on my original plane and there is no way to get it on my new flight.

So, I get to Cincy and my connection is about 25 minutes.  I sprint through the airport and make my flight (I was on standby but got a seat!).  I watch for my bag, hoping that it makes it too.  Upon landing in Norfolk, of course my bag does not make it and should be delivered Saturday afternoon (earliest flight arrives around 11am).  I get to my hotel after 10pm but am here! So, I did pack my running gear for the marathon, but not much else! 

I get ahold of Jeremy (from the blog) and we are going to try and hook up for a short run later Saturday morning in beautfiul weather.  I will hit the expo real quick before that and probably again after the run.  Tonight I attend the elite marthoners dinner (for the women's OTQ race).  But, tonight a major storm is supposed to roll through with pouring rain, thundershowers and high winds and last until the early morning hours...nice weather for a marathon! 

Auspicious start to this adventure.  More to come.

3M easy with Jeremy on warm and windy day along the boardwalk on VA Beach.  Nice to run with someone.  Met his lovely wife Rachel and friends Chuck and Jill who had just finished the 8K race. 

Went to the expo and checked in, met a few of the ladies I will be pacing.  Rick and Steve were very gracious to arrange for a room for me on the boardwalk so I don't have to drive 10 miles down to the start.  Weather tomorrow is still looking rough, but hopefully the course will help with wind breaks where we head into it and have the wind at our backs from 16 miles on. 

My bag has arrived in Norfolk, just not to me yet.  I will hang in the HGI for a while see if it shows up before I head back off to the expo to see where I will be staying and to hit the dinner tonight (maybe lounge by the beach). 

At the marathoners dinner, met a lot of the elite women and got to know each other a little and talk race strategy.  Also, the Hanson-Brooks Distance Project team was there for the HM and I talked with them for a while and got a picture with the team! I also met and talked with John Piggott (a great runner from VA) who is a very nice guy (sponsored by marathonguide.com).

total time:  25:40ish  (Tangents - 157 miles)

Well, my first pacing gig is over...and I wasn't able to pull any of the women through to the trials.  Here is the story...

Weather last night was horrible with tornado warnings all over and massive wind and rain.  When I woke up at 5am, it was still raining a bit but the wind was pushing 20-25mph steady out of the NNW.  Showered, ate something, drank coffee then Gatorade, watched the runners for the HM make their way to the 7am start then headed down to the course.  Met up with Aimee and Claire to warmup and check the weather...windy which made the 46 degrees really cold. 

Lined up at the start and saw Katie (Danner) Aldridge from the Blog going for the OT!  We had all dressed in singlets as it seemed to be warming up, no rain and some glimpses of the sun. 

Gun fires and we are off.  Now my charge was to try and run fairly steady for a 2:45 -2:47 finish, which meant between 6:18-6:22 pace.  With the wind factored in, I knew we would need to use the wind at our backs to run some quicker but even effort miles to make up for the effects of the headwind.  Miles 1-5 wind was mostly at our backs, 6-16...HEAD ON plus mile 6-7 had the only uphill (over an overpass). Miles 16-19 still into the wind but somewhat protected, miles 20-22 crosswind, 23-26.2 wind at our backs. So I wanted to go a little faster, say 6:15ish at first, allow for the wind to slow us up for the next stretch.  Miles 1-6 went pretty much according to plan with couple of quicker miles but right on target.  However, by 5M my GPS was already measuring the course 0.15M long.  I was trying to keep steady, but the gals were kinda all over except for Jessica, Claire and the twins, Katie Danner and a couple I never met, so we did not have a consistent pack.  Mile 8-11 was a really #$% as we hit the boardwalk with the wind head on.  I jumped to the front to take the wind and push a little back onto the OTQ pace and quickly started losing some of the gals By 13M it was pretty much Jessica, me, Alan from NY who was helping out and another guy.  I asked Alan to take Jessica while I tried to get the remains of  the pack back up with us.  By 16M, Jessica and Alan were up by about 25 seconds and I was trying to pull Claire along in second (no one else in sight at the time).  Claire was struggling, running low on fuel through 20M.  At around 21M, notice third place women (Karissa) coming up fast and notice that Jessica had dropped Alan.  So I put on the burners to catch her by 23M and try to pace her back down to see if we could get the 2:47.  She was running well, but everytime I tried to push back to OTQ required pace, she could only hold a 6:27 (which is what she was holding from about 16M on until I caught her).  We turned onto the boardwalk, saw the finish and saw 2:47 click over.  I burned ahead a little so Jessica could have the glory shot of 1st place by herself and she clicked in at 2:49 and change.  The rest of the women started rolling in, with the top 15 or so breaking 3:00. 

So, I was kind of a failure in my pacing gig.  If I would have held the 2:45, I would have dropped everyone so I held back to try and help the ones that I could.  By 16M, it was down to place, not OTQ so I tried to help 2nd along for a while but feel I let Jessica down if I would have been there to push her a bit more.

I forgot how much sea level makes a difference!  Never even breathed hard once, even when I ran my sub 6:00 pace at 22-23M.  If I had been running for me, I think I could have beat the 2:35 guy, which could have put me about 6th.  Oh well, maybe next year.

On that note, this could be a good men's OTQ for the FRB, but the weather can be vary unpredictable and could be a dream killer (as it was for these women).

Splits:

1-6:32

2-6:13

3-6:04 (a downhill helped here)

4-6:13

5-6:15

6-6:19

7-6:10

8-6:27 (first mile into the wind on the boardwalk)

9-6:19

10-6:29

11-6:17

12-6:28 (starting to slow for the pack)

13-6:17

14-6:41 (stop to wait for the pack to catch up)

15-6:39 (pack struggling, only Claire hangs on)

16-6:35 (trying to coax Claire thru the next few miles)

17-6:32

18-6:34

19-6:35

20-6:50 (a bit of uphill and a nasty crosswind)

21-6:20 (see 3rd coming on, start to chase down Jessica)

22-5:51 (in pursuit of Jessica)

23-5:55

24-6:27 (pushing Jessica, but could not get her any faster)

25-6:27

26-6:27

0.2-~3:00 (put I have the last stretch at more like 0.5M)

So, overall I enjoyed it but wish I could have helped the women to OTQ...any of them.  Kind of bittersweet.  The gals and assistant elite program Director all said I did all that I could do to help, but...All the women racers were very nice and I want to thank them all for the opportunity and trust they put in me to help them out.  I don't remember all their names, but it was great meeting Allison, Brandy, Aimee, Jessica, Claire, Katie and Katie, Jennifer, Karissa and Bev (who has run all 6 OT to date but did not make it today for this next one) and the others that names escape me at this late hour.

Now, off to DC for a week of training in a really swank hotel in Foggy Bottom.

 (Tangents - 185 miles)

5M easy on the TM at the gym in the hotel...a vision of the future for my hometown gym.   TM had a TV screen right on the machine, a built in fan, easy to use controls and a wide fast deck.  Miles felt great, not pain or issues but still took it short to easy back into the week after yeterday's run.  Probably will try to go outside this afternoon after the class for a short run then go out for St. Patty's day.

total time: 34:00  (Stratos - 138 miles)

6M after my training class today along the Potomac River down to the Lincoln Memorial and up to the WWII memorial.  Spent a little time observing the WWII memorial (not here the last time I was down here) then returned to the hotel via Georgeown.  I am feeling REALLY good.  As I was running down the path, I had to do a u-turn at a construction site and ended up getting behind a guy who was running along at a good clip.  As he heard me behind him, he started to kick it into gear...my competitive juices got the better of me and I started to push the pace and past him doing a 0.5M at about a 5:15 pace.  As I went by him, I commented on his good pace.  Well, at dinner one of the ladies we were dining with indicated that DC has a very large gay population, and I look back now and realize he probably thought I was checking him out!  Dang, I have to remember this is not Idaho and I was just being nice to a fellow runner (as I blew past him).

Nice dinner at a Georgetown restaurant with some good folks.  City life is sure different than our smaller town.

total time:  38:25  (Tangents - 191 miles)

5M easy on the TM in the very nice gym...working off the beers from last night's fun dinner.  Conference starts today then a run down to the mall and Jefferson Memorial on tap for afterwards.

total time:  33:40  (Stratos - 159 miles)

6.53M with Tony from Princeton after the conference in cool and cloudy conditions.  Ran thru Georgetown to the Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington memorials and back.  Nice easy paced run with great conversation.  It is really cool running around this area!

total time:  56:53  (Stratos - 165 miles)

10.1M early this morning along the C&O canal towpath.  Nice run, except the smell..whoa!  Got in behind a guy who was pushing the pace pretty good so I just stayed with him.  Achilles got a little tight, but not bad.

total time:  1:08:00  (Stratos 175 miles)

3M after work and souvenir shopping in Georgetown.  Easy light run just to shake out the legs after sitting in a conference all day.

total time: 20:30  (Stratos - 178 miles)

7.1M early this morning along the towpath on a very windy day. Achilles is feeling better.

total time: 51:14  (Stratos - 185 miles)

6M outside after class on a VERY windy afternoon down to the Mall and up to the Natural History Museum.

total time: 41:23  (Stratos - 191 miles)

6M on the TM at the gym this morning before the last day of class.  I didn't feel like running outside in the cooler temps with the clothes I could borrow from the gym and didn't want to stink up mine before packing them in the suitcase.  Leaving for home today...hooray!  Get to see my family after being gone for a whole week!

Likely no run tomorrow as we have lots of family/Easter activities for the kids planned.

total time:  39:20  (Stratos - 201 miles)

No run today as I feel like up like total crap, caught some kind of bug on the plane.

No running today or most likely this week as I have a bad case of influenza.  I can barely get out of bed and even thinking of running makes my chest hurt. 

Looks like this week will be a total loss as I am still recovering from the flu...this one wipe me out.  I made it to work today to clear email, check the phone messages and such but not much more. 

Maybe, maybe, Saturday an easy short run if the weather is nice, but I am not holding my breath (because I can't!).

6M on the TM at the gym.  Easy run as this is my first run post flu.  Felt ok but still not 100%.  Weather outside is aweful...windy, cold, snowy...not the type for a first run after being sick.  I will try to go longer tomorrow weather depending then get back on schedule next week.

total time: 40:00  (Trigon - 527 miles)

6M easy this afternoon in calm and cloudy 36 degree weather.  Nothing special, just nice and easy trying to get back into the swing of things.

total time:  45:28  (Trigon - 533 miles)

4M on the TM at home as Kami had to work early this morning.  First 4:30am run in about 3 weeks, tough to get going so this was a short run.  Yawn, now to stay awake at work.

total time: 27:36  (Trigon - 537 miles)

5M at lunchtime on a windy, cold dreary day...where is spring!???  Overall an ok run at best.  Ran with Dan S and the company was good, but between the cold, my coming off of the flu and getting back to 5000 after a week at sea level, a 7:30ish pace was about all I had.

total time: 37:06  (Saucony T2 - 370 miles)