Submitted by Rush 4/1/2013 1364837777
Since the Asheville Marathon, I've committed myself to running hills, lots and lots of hills. And, why not, I live in the Blue Ridge mountains. I have to go out of my way NOT to run hills. Also, I'm trying to run mileage off of hard surfaces which seems like the perfect recipe for trails. About 10 minutes from my house (by car) is the Bolens Creek trail head. The trail is a BEAST. If you follow it all the way to the top, it intersects the Black Mountain Crest Trail at Celo Knob. That trek gains 3000+ feet of elevation in 3.5 miles.
I was off on Friday so I decided to revisit Bolens Creek. The lower portion, which runs along the creek, was muddy. The middle portion (so steep I have to power walk almost all of it) was dry. The portion that runs along the ridge spine was all snow. Wish I had brought my camera. I've been running just fixed time segments. My goal was 30 up and 20 down. It took about 25 to get down. Next time, I'll wear my Garmin and have better data. The solitude was wonderful. The trail so amazingly steep, I consider it un-runnable. But I'm sure Kuprika, Jornet, or Roes would scamper right up. Anyway, here's my best estimate of my out and back.
Submitted by Rush 3/30/2013 1364677723
After the Asheville Marathon, I followed Luke Humphrey's advice and took two full weeks off from running. I did maintain my hip/glute/ab routine 3-4 times a week and walked almost every day.
Last week, I started running again following the Hanson suggested schedule (in minutes): 30, 30, Off, 40, 50, 50. One change I've made is that I'm REALLY focusing on running hills. Only one of those runs was flat. My training for the Asheville marathon had too many flat miles. I wasn't prepared for the hills even though I live in the mountains. This is due to doing the bulk of my running at our Cane River Park, which is a crushed gravel trail, but is almost entirely flat.
My motivation came from wanting to do more miles off of hard surfaces. Coming into the marathon, I felt better physically than before my two prior marathons. I felt less beat up. I had almost no nagging pains. I attribute this from running on the trail. The downside was too many miles without grinding up hills.
This week, I'm running (in minutes): 50, 50, 60, 80, 80 and again, one day of that will be flat/rolling. The rest will be mostly steep hilly running. Down the road, I'm looking at the following races:
Dupont State Forest Half Marathon on April 20th
Cradle to Grave 30K on May 18th
Submitted by Rush 3/28/2013 1364482844
The short version: I ran a 4:16 (a 2 minute PR) on a tough course in brutal conditions.
The long version: How quickly small things add up to big things. The main story of the day was the weather. Low 20's at the start w/ 20+ mph winds that blew hard all day. Single digit windchill. I was colder than I've ever been while running, but I really felt sorry for the volunteers who stood around all day out in the same gale.
I had planned the day quite thoroughly. Had all my gear packed and ready. To bed at 10pm. Alarm set for 4am. Woke up at 3:30 and laid on my heating pad till the alarm went off. Breakfast and Gatorade, some foam rolling and lacrosse ball into the hip flexor wads. Out the door at 5am into bitter cold, wind, and snow.
I reached the entrance to the Biltmore Estate at 6am to find a HUGE line of cars. Major traffic snarl. Took me 30 mins to reach parking Lot C. 20 more minutes of standing around waiting for the shuttle bus. 10 minute ride to the start. The race was supposed to start at 7:00 am. Just as I stepped off the bus, the director was announcing the the start was delayed until 7:15 am, due to the delays of getting people into the Estate.
As I stepped off the bus, the wind literally took my breath away. The start lies in a long North/South aligned valley along the French Broad river. The winds were out of the north so we were huddled in a perfect, relentless wind tunnel. Ate a quick gel, pocketed the rest. Got my cambelback strapped on, dropped of my drop bag and had about 2 minutes to jog and take a quick leak before the runners were called to the start. I normally take a nice, easy 20+ minute jog and do a long dynamic loosen routine. Not today.
For the first time, I was running a race with somebody. A guy I work with was running also (his first marathon). Our goals were about the same so we decided to run together in 4:00 pace group at a steady 9:09/mile pace. Our agreed plan was to try to get to 20 with the group and see how we felt, and maybe squeak in under 4 hours. I found my friend and the 4:00 pacers and waited for the start. My Garmin found the satellites right as the gun went off, but apparently I had not cleared the last workout so it picked up where that one had left off, at 46 minutes. Crap. Snafu #2. I zeroed the watch but I was so distracted i missed the first mile marker and didn't start the watch until we passed the 2nd mile marker. One tiny detail I overlooked cost me a frazzled, ill at ease mile.
The race starts out on the estate side and follows paved roads through thickly wooded areas. As such, we were out of the wind for stretches and I heated up quickly with 3 layers. I pulled off my glove covers and dropped one in mile 4. Two guys behind me yelled "GLOVE" and I realized it was mine and darted back 20 yards to pick it up. I then humped to catch back up w/ my friend. I didn't sprint, but I did really push my pace. Things settled down and we kept right with the pace setters feeling pretty good, though I honestly felt kind of panicky. The runners around me seemed very relaxed. For some reason, I never really settled. I think it might have been running with a partner for the first time. Anyway, at mile 11 you leave the Estate side, cross a private bridge over the river, and transition to gravel roads on the farming/vineyard side. At this point my buddy started pulling ahead of the pacers. I didn't say anything and kept in stride. We were running around 9:00 or just under instead of the 9:09. Mile 12 was a long uphill grade and I dropped back from my friend and let him go. I just had to run my race. I slowed until the pacers were just behind me. At this point the race entered a long out (downhill) and back (uphill) with the 13.1 at the end of the out. At the halfway point we were two minutes over goal pace and the pacers really dashed back up the hill. I was keeping up but absolutely had to stop and pee at 14.5. I could see the group several hundred yards up ahead. I tried for two miles to reel them back in but never could.
By this point my left calf was really tight and my feet were really starting to hurt. Around 16 my numb, gloved hands dropped one of my gels and I had to go back and pick it up. In mile 18 I took a few walking strides and I knew it was going to be yet another painful slog to the finish. My legs continued to deteriorate as I mixed brief walks into my slower paced running. 17,18,19, and 20 are a loop and you run the same set of hills twice which psychologically was hard. Much of this running is very exposed and the winds on the hilltops was incredible. At 21 you cross back over the bridge and back onto flat running . Huge crowd at the bridge was a real pick me up. But the crowd quickly thinned out and we were back in the wind tunnel. 21, 22, and 23 are a long out, heading south away from the finish. Then you turn and come the 3+ miles back. This last stretch was straight into the teeth of the wind. Complete and utter misery. My legs were wooden blocks as I continued to mix walking and running. Around mile 25, the course makes a hard right and there is the last aid station. Someone gave me a cup of warm water and words fail me to describe how good that warm water felt. I savored every drop. All of the water and sport drink cups on the course had ice in them. Not ice cubes, but the drinks were freezing. I did run a 9:30 for the last 1.2 miles. As soon as I stopped running I began shivering harder than I ever have. A woman wrapped a blanket around me and I almost cried at that simple act of human kindness.
I got my drop bag and found my way to the crowded tent. I unscrewed the cap off a water bottle which was so full of ice I could barely drink from it. I ate a bannana, half an orange and a bite of bagel. I put on a dry hat and dry gloves. I had a dry capeline top in the bag but the tent was so crowded I didn't think I could get my layers off to get the dry shirt on. I went out into the cold to one of the vendor tents to try to get some hot tea or coffee. They were all out of hot water. I stood there almost 10 minutes and finally got a steaming cup of decaf. Still shivering I shuffled my way to the shuttle buses. Thankfully the driver had the heater on full blast and I was finally out of the wind and able to get warm.
What went wrong:
*No warm up due to race logistics.
*Garmin wasn't reset and ready for this race.
*Dropped glove and subsequent burn to catch up.
*Ran past the pace group for a mile or so
*Dropped a gel
*Only got in 2 long runs; one in Dec and the other in Feb. It wasn't enough. Maybe on a flat course with decent weather, but not this day.
*Should have adjusted my pace based on the conditions. Could have decided to run w/ the 4:15 group and been able to keep myself together and still PR'd.
What went right:
*Despite sweating heavily, I didn't cramp up; a first for me during a marathon. I attribute this to taking 600mg of Magnesium every night for several months and adhering to a strict race-day hydration/gel schedule. 3 oz of Gatorade every mile and a gel every 45 mins
*Completed the training and the race without my IT band flaring up. I attribute this to the Magnesium, a very strict hip/glute/ab strength routine, and to daily rolling out my hips with the lacrosse ball.
*Despite the hardships, I was able to run a two minute PR at age 46.
2013 Asheville Marathon Results
Submitted by Rush 3/5/2013 1362455932
Training has been going well for the 2013 Asheville Marathon at Biltmore. Though I've taken a few days off here and there to let my left knee heal up, and we had gosh-awful weather last week (4 straight days of hard rain), I came into this year's Hot Chocolate feeling good and hoping to better last year's PR of 48:43. Was thinking I could run even 7:45's for 48:00 this year.
Weather turned cold Thursday and we had an ice storm that night. Temps were around 33 at race time today. No precip but the wind was whipping. Up at 6:00 am, granola, bannana and a cuppa coffee for breakfast. Took all kinds of clothes in my bag as I wasn't sure what I would wear until I got a feel for the day.
Wearing my thicker socks and Brooks Defyance 6, I did a very easy 2 mile jog down to the river and out to the first mile marker. Just as I thought: tailwind out and headwind back. Ok..I told myself, I've done this many times in training. Got back to the school at about 8:25. Got changed into shorts, short sleeve FootRX tech-t,gloves,thin socks, and my Brooks Pure Cadence (I freaking LOVE these shoes). No hat. I run at like 150 degrees. I can be soaking wet with sweat with temps in the 20's and I knew I'd be fine although most runners were bundled head to toe. Ate a Ginsting, swigged some Gatorade and headed out for some dynamic loosening.
Nice to have the Garmin this year to really watch my pace. Felt really good keeping it around 7:40 mile. Slipped just a little in some mud at the far end of the French Broad River park. Not too bad. Pace always slows some in the park w/ the narrow paths and all the twists and turns. Back over the bridge, catching that lovely downhill into the mile 4 marker. Feeling good on the back though the wind was whipping. A few times I tucked in behind taller runners and drafted some, but generally the big guys were running closer to 8:00/mi and I had to pull around them. Always a nice little boost from the crowd around the 12 Bones intersection. Hit the 5 mile marker in 7:33. Felt good going up the hills at the end, feeling pretty sure I'd be at or under 48:00. Crossed in 47:46 for 7:42/mi. 79/935 and 7/30 for Men 45-49. Very happy to have a new 10K PR. So, probably a few easy miles tomorrow, then back into the Hansons training for the March 3rd marathon. Today's splits: (7:24, 7:43, 7:42, 7:50, 7:33, 7:44, 1:50)
Me coming down the first hill.
Submitted by Rush 1/26/2013 1359234124
Running had been going great for several months. I'd been following the Hansons Advanced marathon training schedule with an eye toward the Charleston marathon in January. Through ART, foam rolling, and lots of loosening, my generally tight hips were feeling good and my IT band tolerable.
Then I noticed my left knee was a little sore. Not bad, just a little sore around the top of the kneecap. At my age, many things are a little sore. I had actually had a few more days off than the schedule allows for work and family. I had missed my tempo run day and probably made a bad decision; I ran two 12 mile days back to back. Saturday was one mile warm up, ten at tempo pace, then one mile cool down. Sunday was twelve miles, easy, on a dirt track. I was feeling my knee more during Sunday's run but it never felt acute.
When I woke up Monday, I knew I was in trouble. My knee was quite swollen and I could not bend it. Trying to flex, I felt a very distinct tightness going up into my quads. Most of all, the top ridge of my kneecap was on fire. Very tender. Hurt like hell. I pseudo diagnosed that I'd aggravated my quad-patellar tendon. I did about a week of RICE w/ anti-inflammatory. No running.I'm now at the end of my second week with no running. Swelling is gone, a lot of flexibility has returned, but I can still feel it pull and tighten when I really flex the knee or try to stretch my quad.
I'm not sure if this contributed but during my last ART session, about a week before my two twelve milers, my chiro had me stretch my left quad while he applied pressure to something in there he said was tight. Seated on his table, my left leg hanging off the side, he had me grab my left ankle with my left hand and pull the ankle back toward my glute to stretch my quad while he worked. We did one round of that. Then he had me do the same thing but lie back while the quad was stretched (like the old hurdler's stretch). I didn't feel anything at my knee pop. I felt fine after. This was really the only thing that was outside of my normal routine.
So, I'm probably not running a January marathon. I'm already registered for a March 26.2 in Asheville.
Submitted by Rush 12/22/2012 1356183151
I've been slack updating this site. I've run three races in the last month: The Asheville Half Marathon, the Runway 5K, and the Bethel Half Marathon.
The three events, each in their own way, have reinforced how much better shape I was in last fall when I was following the Hanson Marathon Training regimen preparing for the Charlotte Marathon. Last year, I ran the insanely steep AVL Half in 1:46. This year, I ran it in 1:53:57 and really struggled to hit that.
I did set a new 5K PR of 21:43 at the Runway 5K last weekend, though I'd hoped to do better on the very flat course. I finished 32/708 and 2/60 M 45-54. My previous 5K best was last October (Hansons again) when I ran 21:50 at the very steep Burnsville Scamper.
Today I ran the Bethel Half for the first time. Temps around 50 at the start but not a cloud in the sky. Yesterday would have been perfect as the sky was totally overcast. The intense sun today took a little out of me at times. I banked carbs this week and drank nothing but Gatorade yesterday. I also took electrolyte tabs 4 times yesterday, and took on before the race, but still cramped about 800m from the finish after topping the last hill. Right when I hit the downhill my right hamstring seized. Had to stop and let it relax, and was able to finish running hard.
My plan was to try to hold 8:30 pace until mile 10 and then see what I had left. The course was steeper than I thought it would be but I was close to my goal despite one 8:45 and one 9:13. I felt like I managed fluids well as I never felt bloated. I did need to pee from about mile 10 in, which makes running more uncomfortable. After hitting mile 10, I picked it up to 8:10 for #11 and 8:02 for mile 12. I think I was sub 8 for #13 until I cramped at the finish. That was very frustrating.
I ended up running an 8:33 pace for 1:52:20, about seven seconds faster than Asheville on 9/15/2012. I'll definitely do this race again.
I started going back to Myers Chiro for ART and my hip and IT band are the better for it. I've run three intense races in just under a month and I have no injuries. I'm seriously looking at the Charleston Marathon in January and kicking back in to the Hanson training plan to prepare.
2012 Asheville Half Marathon Results
2012 AVL Runway 5k Results
Submitted by Rush 10/13/2012 1350168305
It's been a rough summer. The May marathon left me drained and my IT band very tight. I've walked the thin line between keeping the IT band under control and a full blown acute episode. It's been a constant, though unwelcome, companion. I haven't raced since May.
Work, which is usually easy and generally stress-free has been hectic and frenetic lately, often leaving me exhausted. Hot temperatures and humidity make me lethargic.
Last Saturday, I did several hours of intense yard work wearing hiking boots that I hadn't worn for several months. The next day, I did 8 easy miles at the high school track. In mile 6 I noticed a slight tinge in my right arch. Nothing serious. I finished my miles and did about 5 minutes of super-easy barefoot on the grass to cool down. Woke up the next morning and my right arch was absolutely killing me. Sigh. So my right hip hurts, my right knee stings from the IT band, and now my right arch is on fire. I've taken this entire week off, resting and really focusing on strengthening my hips, glutes, and core, as well as following some Phil Warton routines to address arch, ankle, and foot stuff.
I'm nearly 46 years old. I've never been limber by nature. I've always had to put a lot of time and energy into flexibility. I feel fat. I should be riding a bike or finding some way to swim. I'm just not making the time.
Submitted by Rush 8/18/2012 1345334139
5/5/2012 First time running this race. Had read several reviews and looked at the elevation profile (5000' of total elevation change) and knew the course would be challenging.
Up at 4:30. Dressed, and rolling by 4:50. I had packed all of my gear, brewed coffee, and prepped my breakfast meal the night before. Missed the turn to the race start which is good because it had just hit me that I forgot band aids for my nips. As luck would have it, about a half mile past the turn off is a tiny country store that was open and there, in the barely lit shelves, were band aids. First break of the day. Found the start. Got parked. Checked in. Very damp morning. Lots of low, dark cloud cover. Drove through some rain getting there. But that was fine by me. Considering how much I sweat, my biggest fear was a clear, hot day. Got changed into my running garb and walked out on the course some to limber up and let the butterflies settle. Overall, I was much more relaxed before this race than I was before Charlotte (11/2011). The director called us to the start just as a loud clap of thunder boomed from over the horizon. We marathoners gathered on the bridge in a cool drizzle. Despite the rain, spirits seemed high all around.
I decided to carry my Camelbak as I have been training with it for the last two months. Hoping to stave off late race cramping I bought along 5 gels and a large supply of electrolyte gel caps. Due to the rain and puddles, my shoes and socks were pretty well soaked by mile 2, which was a long rather steep climb, but only a bump compared to things to come. Running down the backside of that first hill a woman came roaring down the road in her car was was scattering runners and race officials as she laid on her horn. That was the only unpleasant encounter of the day. I seem to recall several more rolling patches before the course settled down to a fantastic stretch along the New River. Miles of tree-covered, mostly flat runnning. I was rolling off my planned pace of 9:30 miles and feeling great.
The course is laid out as a figure eight with the start/finish at the crossover, which is almost mile 11 for the full marathoners. Went through 13 miles in 2:03:41 which is exactly a 9:30 pace, feeling solid and in control. Unfortunately, that distance also brings one to the bulk of the really hard running. Running up 15, you can see a long, straight, uphill stretch with a race proctor at the top turnning runners off to the right. Reaching that point, you turn onto a gravel road and I swear I had to lean my head all the way back to see what I hoped was the top. I could not have run this stretch if it had been the first mile of the race. All I could see was a long line of brightly colored runners (now, walkers) hacking their way uphill. I power walked the best I could. Going down the back side of that first high peak, my left calve tweaked, hard. Not a full cramp, but it got my attention. I paused briefly to stretch them both out. From that point, all the way to the finish, I could feel muscles in my calves and hamstrings rippling, just on the verge of cramping. I started upping the number of electrolyte tabs I was taking, chewing them up and washing them down. I continued to take Gatorade at every aid station, and sip water on every mile that did not have an aid station. I managed to stave off full blown cramps but my legs were really seizing up coming down the long downhill into 20. I saw several runners franticallty grabbing their hamstrings and calves. A woman seized up just in front of me. I stopped and gave her two electrolytes and offered her a drink. She took the tabs and declined the drink, saying she'd wait till the next aid station. I wished her the best and headed off down the mountain.
Up until mile 20, the day had been cool and overcast with occasional light drizzle. At 20, the sun came out. Bad timing for me as this part of the course is almost completely exposed. The temperature rose and the running became harder. I started walking 30 second stretches, calves and quads twitching. I managed to pull a 9:30 for the 20th mile, but everything after that was 10+ minutes. The last six miles was a procession of runners leap frogging each other back and forth. Me running while they walked. Them running while I walked a stretch. Around 25 I began to see spectators and that always helps. At 26 you can see the finish and all I wanted was to duck down the driveway to the finish, but you have to run all the way around the restaurant and through the field to the finish line. Another half mile and I would have completely cramped. I was willing my legs to relax and crossed the finish in 4:24:08. 106/237 total, 26/57 men 40-49.
I thought I could have done better. I ran Charlotte in 8:45/mi until I cramped up at 17. I thought I had trained smarter for this race, dropping my pace down to 9:30/mile and sticking to that. I still ended up fighting off cramps for 8+ miles. When I got home I started reading about Potassium. The RDA is like 4,400mg, and most of us get nowhere near that amount. I think before my next marathon (oh yes, there will be another one!) I'm going to take a potassium supplement for several days prior to the race. Anyway, I've run two marathons now and learned a ton from each experience. Even with the cramps, I did feel more in control than I felt in Charlotte. Another plus is that I got through the training build and the race without my IT band lighting up. It's a tad sore today, but nowhere near a full blown case. I thank the lacrosse ball of pain and joy for that.
Results
Submitted by Rush 5/8/2012 1336509613
1. WEAVER JOSEY 21 M WEAVERVILLE NC 1100 32:12 5:11 32:11
2. KOLK AARON 24 M ASHEVILLE NC 580 32:33 5:15 32:31
3. WOODS RYAN 32 M BOONE NC 1141 32:46 5:17 32:43
4. AMICK DANIEL 27 M ASHEVILLE NC 22 33:36 5:25 33:33
5. LATTER PHILIP 30 M BRYSON CITY NC 605 33:42 5:26 33:42
6. MILHORN BRINSON 30 M GRAY TN 713 35:28 5:43 35:25
7. WORKMAN DAVID 41 M HENDERSONVILLE NC 1143 35:37 5:44 35:36
8. SCHOULER BRENT 20 M HYANNIS MA 937 35:49 5:46 35:46
9. HENDLER-VOSS SETH 33 M ASHEVILLE NC 446 36:26 5:52 36:22
10. WILLIAMS SCOTT 33 M JEFFERSON NC 1122 36:46 5:55 36:43
Full results at the link.
Link: http://www.hotchocolate10k.com/Results.aspx
Submitted by Rush 1/21/2012 1327184756
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