To Marathon or not to Marathon

 

Sometimes our goals cloud our progress. - Jen Kirkpatrick, Team Dirt & Vert

What's Jen saying?  It's easy to look at a goal that you're struggling with or even missed altogether & completely forget about the progress that you made.  I often have to be reminded of that. I'm a goal-focused person and as you've noticed if you been around my blog much, I reflect a lot.  I have to remind myself that I'm making progress with every step.   It's like "they" say, it's about the journey not the destination.

Months ago I decided to sign up for my first marathon.  I had come off a great running year & was feeling strong.  I was feeling confident.  I cut my race pace back to tackle the extra distance... mistake.  Now I'm slower than I've been in a while.  I have got up to 17 miles, but I was running farther faster in the last cycle.  That in itself has been tough on the ego.  Don't get me wrong I'm still having fun. So let's look at some good times!  Half Marathons #6, #7, & #8 for 2021.

Big Ole Medal Half with Stud Nation

My teammates from AR joined me for this race.  We signed up for one reason.  That big ole medal!  Winding through parks and neighborhoods of McKinney, TX makes for a nice run.  We earned that medal for sure!  Texas has a way of turning a cool start into a blazing inferno.  So, by mile 7 or 8 we were cooked.  Which made my idea of doing threshold intervals at the beginning an even worse idea.  Nonetheless we pushed through and collected that metal mammoth!

Look at the size of that thing!

Hope for the Holiday Half in Memory of Garrett Yeager.

I've ran this race 5 years in row.  It's a nice small-town race.  If you're looking for a change of scenery, check out this half in Arkansas. You won't get bored!  It’s a mixed terrain course. Street, technical trail, & gravel. It’s small & challenging with a finish that will leave even the most seasoned runner with a feeling of accomplishment.  It's nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains.  If you're looking for a race with a huge heart this is the one!  It benefits Overdose Awareness, local recovery groups, & local charities.  Can't make the drive they have a virtual option as well!  Check them out on Facebook!

If you’re a fan of Nascar, it’s also the hometown of Hall of Famer Mark Martin. He has a sweet museum there to visit while you’re in town. 

Dallas Marathon Half Marathon

So, I signed up for the Dallas Marathon.  I did not meet that goal.  I ended up getting Covid and didn't recover until 6 weeks before race day.  So, I decided it was best to back down to the half.  I still had a great time!  The course ran by Dealey Plaza.  Being a JFK buff, that was the reason I signed up in the first place.  The coolest moment for me happened when we were passing Dealey Plaza!  A runner in military fatigues and carrying a US flag left the course, ran across the grass median to the spot where JFK was assassinated.  He then stopped, saluted, and ran back onto the course.  I made sure to catch up to him, thank him for his service, & give him a fist bump.  So how was the race?  First off it was cold.  It had been in the 70s earlier in the week, but not today.  Upper 30s were on the menu for the start.  Once I got warmed up, I really enjoyed the course.  I love running through skyscrapers!  The course meandered around downtown Dallas.  It was a challenging course, but it had a ton of crowd support.  I'll plan to do it again!

Some of our training group!  #werunfrisco

I plan to squeeze in one more 2021 post to recap my achievements & plans for 2022.  It was a huge year for me & I'm excited to see where these roads lead me.

Come back & check it out!

Pikes Peak Ascent - race report

I've been talking about Pikes Peak for about 6 months now.  The week finally came!

For reference, here's the course.

My friends have ran this race; both the Ascent & the Marathon.  I am now convinced that I never actually understood just how hard it was.  Don't get me wrong.  I knew it would be tough, but not on this level.  Judging by this race, I'm not sure that I ever really challenged myself before.  This was by far the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my life!  

One of the things that makes it tough, besides the fact that you're going up a mountain, is the cut-offs.  There were multiple checkpoints that you had to make or else you were turned back.

No Name (4.3 mi, 8,800') 1:40:00

Barr Camp (7.6 mi, 10,200') 3:10:00

A-Frame (10.2 mi, 12,000') 4:30:00

Summit (13.3 mi, 14,115') 6:30:00

Think about this... you get to A-Frame at 4:31:00.  You missed the cut-off.  You have to go 10.2 miles back down.  That's 20.4 miles in a 13.3 mile race.

I've been training & I thought I’d be faster, but the mountain has a way of checking your ego in the first mile. 

I felt that I was doing fairly well until after Barr Camp, mile 7.6 at 10,200ft elevation. Not long after I made the checkpoint (1hr ahead of cutoff) I really started feeling it. I made it to A-frame, mile 10.2 at 12,000ft elevation, a mere 20mins before the cutoff. I lost 40mins in that section.  From there it was an all out battle of the mind & body. 

With about 2 miles to go I decided that I wasn’t going to make the finish before the cutoff. My miles were slowing & I had all but lost the battle of the mind. 

But I kept pushing. Pushing is an exaggeration. It was more like slinking... Just plain surviving. With just a couple of turns left I heard the announcer say, “we have 10mins left in the race!”  I couldn’t believe it!  I was going to make it! I pushed myself hard. (I think this actually qualified as pushing) 

I crossed the line at 14,115ft with just 4 minutes to spare!  (after recalibration of the race clock I only had 1m 49s left to cross!)  I was so tired that I could barely walk to the aid station for an orange & banana. 

I have never really been emotional running races, but today, at that moment, as I walked toward that table alone, the emotion of me thinking I wasn’t going to make it & then barely making it, I started crying. 

I literally left everything that I had on that damn mountain. After all was said & done 13.32 miles & 7,815ft of vertical gain!

Dare to see what you’re capable of.  You just might surprise yourself!

A Year Long Streak & a New FRC Season!

“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.” – Margaret J. Wheatley 

“We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” – John Dewey

Reflection time.  Finishing up June will be my 12th month in a row in with 100 or more miles.  Prior to this streak I had only ran 100 miles in a month twice my entire running career.  I may not be running a 7 min mile, but I'm out here crushing it!  Here's a recap. (more for me than you)

2020 was a terrible year, but it was my best year of running!  Of the previous 7 years my highest mileage year was 2017 with 585.9.  I ended 2020 with 912.8!  After my 5 miles tomorrow (to hit 100 for June) I'll be just over 663 miles!  Already about 2/3 of the way to my 2020 mileage.

Using the first 6 months to calculate an average, I am on pace to hit 1,326 miles this year!  That right there is why we reflect!  Why am I getting faster?  I'm running more.  My highest mileage years were the years that I was the fastest (2014, 2017, 2020).  It makes sense now that I'm looking at it. I PR'd my half marathon time in January after logging the most yearly miles ever.

Now here I sit in the midst of my most epic year of running yet!  I did half marathons on back to back days.  Capping a 3 in 9 days adventure.  I am signed up to run up Pikes Peak in 8 short weeks.  I am signed up for my first full marathon in December.  Bringing my 2021 totals to 8 halfs & 1 full for 2021!

So I'll end this little parade with...  Consistency is key!  

Now we're in a brand new season of the FRC training plan & I'm a pacer this year.  We'll have workout as a group each week.  Tuesday Track, Wednesday Social, Thursday XT, & Saturday Long Run.  Depending on what mileage you're targeting there are multiple plans to follow. The weekly mileages are 25, 35, 40, or 50.  Super excited to see what the plan does for me & through me this year!

Until next time...  Here are some shots from the last few weeks!

Shoes from Atreyu in Austin, TX.

Had some fun with a T-Rex costume at Track Tuesday!

It was was also pouring down rain the whole time...

1,500+ ft of AR gravel elevation at Love Hollow.

A small cave at Waterloo Park in Denison, TX.

Conquered Salado Mtn twice in AR.

Train Hard, Have Fun

“Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success.” – Richard Carlson

I am trying to refocus myself with more training.  I know it seems like I'm always saying something like that.  I just haven't really found a sustainable routine.  I need to step outside of just running & work on building some strength.  At the same time, I need to make sure that I stick to my 100 miles per month commitment.  Pikes Peak is only 3 months away!  Eek!

I attempted the treadmill incline routine.  I kept wanting to grab the side rails & I did when I got tired.  I decided that I needed more real world practice to keep me honest.  So I threw on the 20lb vest and ran a half marathon.  I use the term "run" loosely.  It was more of a jog/hike.  I was on the Squircle.  So, I jogged the flats & downhills & hiked the uphills.

For the most part I felt pretty good.  Initially, I planned to just do a couple of loops; about 10 miles. But as I settled into a rhythm I thought, "What the hell? Let's do a half."  About mile 10 I passed by my car to refill my water & I was getting hot & tired.  Those last 3 miles I was thinking, "What the hell!?!", in a whole different attitude...  But I lugged on & stuck to my goal. I finished in just under 3hrs.

I recently got the opportunity to work with a health & wellness coach.  It's basically a free 3 month program.  One of our coaches, Bo, is getting certified & part of her final testing requires her to have programmed for clients. Check her out if you get a chance.  Infinite Fitness Frisco 

So right now we are working on my eating habits & my training regimen.  I have added more vegetables to my diet as well as not going back for seconds.  I have got into a bad habit of eating until I'm just miserable.  My training week will look like this while remaining flexible & allowing my body to rest when needed.

Monday - Strength training

Tuesday - Track / Speedwork

Wednesday - Medium distance easy run

Thursday - Strength training

Friday - Rest Day

Saturday - Long run

Sunday - Trail run

The strength days will be varied depending on the week.  I may be using the vest, hill repeats, cycling, XT, weight room.  Keeping it variable will keep me from getting bored.

Since I felt like such a stud after the vest run, I decided to use it during the XT day too.  Talk about taking it up a  notch.  Wow.  I was destroyed after that workout.

All the hard training will wear you down.  So you have to throw in some fun easy runs too!  Those are my favorite!  I setup a group run with the club & we had a blast.  We also setup a Ninja Turtle run since we haven't been able to get together recently.  I even let Leo take the picture.  We also celebrated Sarah's 500th day of her run streak with a 5 mile run & bloody mary's!

That's enough for this month!  Train hard & most importantly don't forget to have fun!

Pikes Peak, marathon pacing, & back to back half marathons!

 "Your work is your own private megaphone to tell others what you believe." - Simon Sinek

So I took a little break from blogging.  Sometimes it get daunting to keep up with a journal, but it's a rewarding thing to look back and see how I've progressed.

I'm going to try & keep at this thing.  Maybe not weekly.  Perhaps monthly, but periodically to maintain some sense of history.

What did I miss...  Well, March 1st meant that opening of general registration for the Pikes Peak Marathon & Ascent.  As I mentioned before, Brian asked if I wanted to go with them this year to run it.  Being a glutton for punishment I said yes.  I actually got registered even though both races sold out within an hour. No turning back now!  

Now comes the attempt to hill train in the flatlands of Texas.  I started out on a incline treadmill plan, but I didn't feel like it really helped a great deal.  The treadmill gave me the temptation/option to hold onto the side rails or lean forward and hang on.  Which is why I ordered this puppy.  They say that it helps simulate hill climbing.  We'll see... I decided to start out easy until I build some strength.  I did a 2 mile walk followed by a 1 mile run.  The run portion felt similar to the end of a half marathon.  Everything just felt heavy. As it should carry 20 extra pounds.

What else happened?  My Texas buddy, Leo from the Turtles, decided to run his first full marathon.  I volunteered to work the course so that I could be around to cheer him on. I was posted at a turnaround section.  Once all of the runners were through that portion they would go into, if I remember correctly, 2.3 mile loops.  As I finished my post & walked back to the start/finish area, Leo came along.  I ran with him for a minute or two and then stayed at the finish area cheering runners on.  After a little time passed I see Mark come by.  I decide that the next time he comes by I'll run a loop with him.  I'm not really dressed to run, but I thought it would be encouraging for him.  I'm wearing sweat pants, a t-shirt, & an old pair of shoes that I retired months ago.  

A few minutes later he comes by & I join in.  He has just under 9 miles to go.  After a couple of loops I decided that he needed me to keep running with him.  So I start telling him every part of my life story that I can think of.  Anything to keep myself talking & try to distract him from the pain he was in.  We kept on going & he finished his first marathon. 26.2 miles!

Another exciting bit of news in the last month or so.  The city of McKinney accidentally double booked 2 half marathons on the same weekend.  I've always wanted to attempt two halfs back to back.  This seemed to be my chance!  I put a text to the Turtles to see if anyone wanted to double up... No takers.  I asked Brian (the guy who invited me to Pikes Peak).  He's equally as crazy as me.  So he said yes.  He was signed up for another race the weekend before.  A trail race in Arkansas.  I figured it was the least that I could do to run with him since he was running with me.  If you do the math that's 3 half marathons in 9 days.  So we signed up.

Race #1 like I mentioned was a trail race in Arkansas.  It was gravel backroads with about 900ft of elevation gain.  I needed the hill training anyway.  It was hard.  I had also made the mistake of taking some multiple gels during the race that had a shot of caffeine.  I was thinking that it would help push me onward.  Unbeknownst to me, what it actually did was push my heart rate to the limit.  I was completely trashed about mile 9 and beyond.  Afterward I looked at my hear rate data & it had peaked at 211! Lesson learned.

The following weekend Brian came to town to prepare for our back to back races.  I forgot to mention that the sponsoring race companies joined together to create a challenge.  They were hoping that it would help with attendance.  In our case I guess it worked.  The races were on the same course.  They were slightly different.  One starting at one end of the trail & the other starting at the opposite end.  Nonetheless there was a lot of repeated scenery.  That definitely keyed up a mental game on day 2.  We were up to the challenge & earned that hardware!  My second race time was only 8 minutes slower than the first.  I'd say that was a win for my first double.

That double also qualified me to join Half Fanatics!  I've been thinking about it for sometime, but never have pulled the trigger.  This weekend also wrapped up my 20th half marathon.  I'd say I'm classified as a fanatic.

Lastly, here’s a shot of my new Half Fanatic racing singlet! The boys from Stud Nation & I decided we would use them as our team shirts.  

God bless America!

Just don't stop... ever.

      “Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”

– Earl Nightingale

You know a lot, I mean, a lot of people don't stick to (or even start) something because of how long it takes to see results.  That's why I love this quote!  It's a perfect perspective.  So what if it's going to take a year to lose that 20 pounds, the year will go by regardless (the good Lord willing).  You might as well do those little things everyday and persevere until the results come.  You can arrive in March of 2022 a different, better, healthier person or you can arrive, best case scenario, just as you are now.

It's like I've said before, if a living thing is not growing, essentially, it's in the act of dying.  So do what you can each day to live & grow.  Do it for yourself.  Do it for your family.  Do it for whatever.  Just do it.  Nike may have been on to something with that slogan.

Here we are another week in the books!  This is the 16th week that I have posted on this blog.  I think I'm getting better at it, but who knows.  I've had between 3 - 24 readers depending on the week.  Not many at all, but the journaling is as much for me as anyone else.  I can't wait to look back in a year to see how far that I've come!  I also hope that this blog will help someone realize that average people can change their life for the better.  We don't have to be elite athletes.  We can't let ourselves become discouraged because our pace isn't sub-6:00, or sub-8:00, or sub-14:00.  Just do it.  Maybe we won't ever win a race, but 

1. We can put in the work consistently and see changes.  
2. We can improve & have fun at the same time.
3. We don't have to be perfect.

Anyway, back to it.  Tuesday was a hectic work day, so I ended up running after work.  It's definitely my least favorite time to run.  I've been eating all day, I'm in a stress overload, & I'm just tired.  I like to run early in the morning before I have any other distractions.  I just go out & enjoy the run.  I did a quick little loop around the neighborhood.  I stopped by the school for a pic with the half-mast flag, in honor and memory of those who have lost their lives to Covid-19.

Wednesday we are back at it for Hump Day double digit miles.  We did a few familiar loops trying to avoid the wind.  It was a easy pace, but I was abnormally tired for some reason.  I couldn't seem to catch my breath.  Raph & I did 7 with Leo & then finished up those double digits!

After the miserable run on Wednesday I skip Thursday and grab a lunchtime 5-miler on Friday.  With the snow event, I realize that I'm way behind on mileage.  Plus, February only has 28 days.  So we're going to have to push it to hit my goal of 100 miles every month in 2021.

Saturday I'm shooting for 14-15 miles.  That will just leave me a couple for recovery on Sunday & I'll hit 100 just barely.  We head out on a 12 mile plan with Leo & company planning to grab a few extra afterward, but by mile 9 I was in the tank.  Another crappy run, but as we know not every run is going to be good.  You can fuel right, sleep right, stretch right, & sometimes the run is just crap.  The important thing is that we keep going.  Run, walk, or crawl finish it out.  So that what I did.  This is the first run in several months that I actually had to walk. Like earlier in the week, I just couldn't seem to catch my breath. Leo & Raph stuck with me regardless, as they always do & we finished it up together.

Sunday about 4.1 miles to hit 100.  So that's what I do.  Through the neighborhood I make up a loop that gets me a little over, just in case.  As I'm running a storm starts rolling in.  It looks pretty rough.  Luckily, I finish up just before it starts.  It was nice to sit on the steps & let the rain cool me down though.  

100 February miles achieved.  Now on to March!

Snow-Pocalypse 2021

 "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."  -Albert Camus

So unless you've been under a rock the last few weeks, you know that Texas was crippled by some historically low temps, snow & ice.  It delayed everything.  Restaurants & businesses closed for days.  Factories & were shut down for days.  People experienced rolling blackouts, low water pressure, and tens of thousands didn't have any power or water at all.

That sure makes an old running blog pretty insignificant.  But just a short week later & we are back to 80 degree days!  God bless Texas!

This installment will be more or less a photo album.  Hell, I can barely remember 1 week ago, much less 2, but I'll try...

SNOW-POCALYPSE IS COMING

I ran with the 5am speedsters on Monday.  They super fast sub-7 milers easy, but sometimes they slow it down.  I was invited to tag along.

The temps really started dropping by mid-week, but nothing stops a turtle.  Leo & I met for some 5k loops.  He is training for a marathon that is a multiple loops course.  So he's been working on his loop enduring skills.  We did 4 loops.  Each loop was a 5k.  It actually wasn't that bad.  It cut the run up in bite-sized pieces.  I found myself zoning out a few times.  8 loops may have been a different story.

Saturday it was even colder.  The wind chill was subzero, but as you know, we just keep running.  So out we went for 10 frigid miles.  I picked up a Camelbak to try and move away from the waist belt bottles.  This wasn't the day to try that.  Newbie mistake.  By mile 3 the straw was completely froze up.  As best as I can tell when we finished the entire bladder was froze.

SNOW-POCALYPSE HAS ARRIVED

Sunday I ventured out for little run in the snow in Texas.  I figured it was probably one of my only chances to do so while in Texas.  Just a quick mile.  At 9am it was 4 degrees & felt like -16!

After a 6 day hiatus due to the weather & utility rationing, we were out again.  Probably a little too soon.  A lot of the main roads were good.  The sidewalks were still very treacherous, as we found out.  Not even quarter mile from the store & 2 turtles go down.  We were concerned that Don might have to go into concussion protocol, but luckily he was okay.  We finished up the 11 miles really slow & safe.

And just like that, one day later, there's not even a trace of any snow whatsoever.  Being low on miles for the month I went out and grabbed few. It ended up being 72 degrees that day!  That was pretty quick rundown of the last 2 weeks.  See you next time!

SNOW-POCALYPSE BE GONE!