Get me to Boston or at least get me to the start

Grand Ridge Trail Run Marathon

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201120122013
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Location:

Richmond,VA,

Member Since:

Feb 18, 2011

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

From 10/2009 to 12/2010, I ran a marathon each month - completing 15 marathons, 1 50k, and 1 33 mile "endurance run" -- I had a great time, learned a lot, met a bunch of fantastic people and developed some mental toughness.

My PRs at various distances:

  • 5k: 22:57 (7/11/11 - Cul-de-Sac)
  • 10k: 45:25 (5/15/11 - Carytown)
  • 15k: 1:19:03 (1/27/08 - Frostbite)
  • 10mi: 1:25:31 (8/29/10 - Annapolis)
  • 20k: 1:36:49 (8/14/11 - Leesburg)
  • Half: 1:44:18 (2/27/11 - Colonial)
  • Marathon: 3:53:53 (12/5/10 - Las Vegas)
  • 50k: 5:14:59 (11/13/10 - Rosaryville, MD)

15 states (plus DC) done: DC, DE, FL, GA, KY, MD, MI, NC, NV, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WA, WV 

Short-Term Running Goals:

2013:

  • 8/24: Cove Island Marathon - Stamford, CT 
  • 10/13: Atlantic City Marathon - Atlantic City, NJ
  • 11/16: Richmond Marathon - Richmond, VA
  • 12/14: Rocket City Marathon - Huntsville, AL

2014:

  • 11/2: New York marathon (deferred)

Long-Term Running Goals:

  • 50 States (15 + DC done)
  • Pikes Peak
  • Comrades

I'm not sure if this belongs in a Running Goals section, but I'd like to do a triathlon. I'm not much of a swimmer, so this will be a quite a stretch for me.

Personal:

I am married with two boys ages 13 and 14. They are very supportive of my running, allowing me plenty of time for training and out of town races. We like to travel and camp. I'm the only runner in the family, the boys are still looking for the sport that interests them the most.

I grew up in Maryland but now live just outside of Richmond, Virginia. I ran a few 10k races in the early 1990s (when I was in my 20s). In 2006, a friend talked me into training for a half marathon. I finished that half then continued training to run my first marathon the same year I turned 40.

My favorite marathon was the Grand Island Trail marathon off the coast of Michigan's upper penninsula. It's a beautiful course that demands a lot from runners. We travelled to the race, then spent the next two weeks on vacation in Michigan - what's not to love?

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
NEW White - Pegasus 28 Lifetime Miles: 242.15
Red Trail Shoe Lifetime Miles: 4.47
Black - Pegasus 29 Lifetime Miles: 4.20
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
102.260.50102.76
White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 96.76
Race: Grand Ridge Trail Run Marathon (26.2 Miles) 06:50:54, Place overall: 21, Place in age division: 9
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
27.070.0027.07

Gorgeous course and great people. Lots of Marathon Maniacs in the crowd, in fact, I got a ride from one (Monte) and he introduced me to Slug & Roadkill at the start. Running with this group is quite different from runs in Virginia. Clearly there are many more Maniacs in the northwest and they seem to know each other quite well.
Back home in Virginia, we all know each other, but we have so few organized races and most are huge productions like Richmond, Marine Corps, and Shamrock. A nice small, low key race in a natural setting is fantastic. The weather was pretty warm, 90 F at the end. I was not well prepared for the up and down terrain, but I had a great time. I love Washington and would be thrilled to relocate.
The course itself is two loops of a trail and is pretty hilly (see elevation profile for details). The RD said it's 4100 feet of elevation change ... Garmin says more - I believe the RD. They had a lot of people turn out for the run and wound up running out of water at the turn-around. I hit a mental low point when I was told by (very helpful) runners returning on the trail to conserve my water. After a minute or so of self complaining, I did just what I was told - conserved water and kept on moving. Lots of walking on uphills (and some flats too) for this one.
Oh, and I should rename my shoes to "formerly white" - the trail got them pretty nasty looking and smelling ... all for a good cause: marathon #21 and state #14 (plus DC).

White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 27.07
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.000.006.00

Not really a run, but instead a hike ... and I wore Keans, so no mileage on the good shoes.

A group of four of us hiked for a good hour before I took this detour ... I climbed up a boulder scramble, mostly and flipped on the GPS just to get an idea of the altitude. 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/207758445

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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
3.230.003.23

Felt pretty good while moving. Behind both knees is really sore from the marathon. I had some trouble getting my breath due to altitude, I think.
3.23 @ 9:43 AP

White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 3.23
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
9.010.009.01

Great run with Susan from the family vacation house. Cool, sunny, dry morning. I felt really good. The roads are dirt / gravel and dodging trucks was a dusty, interesting experience. Actually the drivers are fairly considerate, but the dust is pretty crappy. People in cars usually slow down a lot and really aren't a big deal. When you're running on the road up to timber and dirt sites - this is what you should expect, right...
9.01 @ 9:05 AP

White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 9.01
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
10.090.0010.09

Great. Nice cool and not sunny weather with a few sprinkles. Legs felt good through 7 then fatigue set in. Really nice weather with temp in the mid 60s.
I saw David & Jennifer driving back from a mountain bike outing - they kindly slowed to a stop & chatted.
10.09 @ 9:20 AP

White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 10.09
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.340.005.34

My last run from the vacation house, this time with Jennifer. Felt good and probably would have been happy to run much longer, however we had a house to pack up and I needed a shower before our travels. Nice cool morning, no traffic - this running on the weekend thing is pretty good in Idaho. I really enjoyed the weather, the clean air, and all the nature ... a brief whiff of cow plop beats the heck out of running past the dumpster at Olive Garden or stopping for traffic near the mall.

5.34 @ 9:20 AP

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/209646471

White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 5.34
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
13.500.0013.50

First, I know what you're thinking - what a BS training plan where you take a whole week off ... point taken. Just so I'm clear, not only did I skip five days of running, but I also put on 5 pounds on a vacation that included a monster marathon (which probably depleted 3500 calories) ... so I'm a slacker - total slacker.

Excuse List:

  • We were in Boise on Mon / Tue with a whole billow of brush fire / forest fire smoke ... so as a slacker, I had nachos instead.
  • We flew on Tue ... so I had a big arse burrito instead.
  • I went back to work on Wed - Fri ... and couldn't be bothered with running, I went out to lunch each day and gorged on Chinese food instead.

Naturally with all that eating and lack of exercise, I was expecting this Saturday run to be a bed of roses ... imagine my surprise when I ran out of gas before mile 13 ... SLACKER.

Not the best run ever, but okay. I got up early then took a nap then ran, but it was still pretty cool temps. I finally got all the way to Deep Run Park, which I've tried twice before. I ran up John Rolfe all the way to the park (which included a section on grass because we don't believe in actual sidewalks - UGH!). I got hot and tired - it's kind of amazing that I was able to run twice as far in Washington.
13.5 @ 9:40 AP

White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 13.50
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
6.450.006.45

I'm lucky to have good friends and good friends who are a good influence on me. Goodbye slacker (at least for today).

Good start to the week. Really good run, good pace, nice cool weather with sprinkles. We a modified "Cohen" route past Steward School with a few extensions to get above 6 miles. Then we ran a few strides after the run. The tendons behind my left knee felt sore during the strides, but not debilitating. Very similar to the feeling in the week after the marathon.
BTW, the shoes are still brown from the dirt / dust in Washington / Idaho.
6.45 @ 8:46 AP

White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 6.45
Comments(1)
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
7.960.007.96

Good Saturday run with Todd. Cool morning with spots of light rain - we were pretty soaked, but not sweaty. Felt good, I really needed the miles. It was a long week.
7.96 @ 9:13 AP

White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 7.96
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.010.004.01

Quick Run to stay on schedule (vet appt), but also get in a run. Nice weather, I felt a bit rushed, but not too bad. Felt good overall. I intended to do some strides at the end, but realized taht I really needed to wrap things up.

4.01 @ 8:34 AP

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/216613908

White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 4.01
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
4.590.505.09

Warm and humid day. This run was just before sunset. I felt pretty good, but didn't know the neighborhoods very well. I was hoping to cross Gaskins Rd and be able to get to Deep Run park. I couldn't figure out how to do that without jumping a 10 foot wood fence ... and it would have been too many miles. I felt good, some of the hills made me slow down quite a bit. Back at Byrd, I found a nice hill near the 4 mile mark that was challenging. I finished out with 6 strides in bare feet.

4.59 @ 9:04 AP

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/216613766

Plus an extra 1/2 mile of strides - here are two: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/216613601

White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 5.09
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Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
5.010.005.01

Great weather, cool morning - much better than Tuesday with lower humidity. Good run, easy pace as we talked about our vacations over the last few weeks.

5.01 @ 9:26 AP

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/216613514

White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 5.01
Add Comment
Slow milesFast milesTotal Distance
102.260.50102.76
White - Pegasus 28 Miles: 96.76
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