LIVESTRONG Challenge

 The Cannondale after the ride

Me after the ride

LIVESTRONG "Phlly" (was really Blue Bell, PA) bike ride - My first century ride since about 1992.

It isn't about me, really.  I raised $1300 for LIVESTRONG.  It's about my sister who has kidney cancer, my mother who died of cancer, Paul K. and others who died, and so many other survivors I run and work with.  Fighting cancer is a lot harder than a little 10K run and 100 mile bike ride.

But here is my report:


GARMIN DIED at 32 miles! I rode the second 50 miles at exactly 3 hours. I am pretty sure the first half was faster - or not because 16.7 MPH comes out to almost exactly a 6 hour century (not including 4 five-minute stops for food, bottle refills, pee, and brake tweak noted below). 4263 feet of climbing, according to the web site and I do not doubt it! Would have liked to have the complete data! The last 12 miles were in heavy rain.

Rode the '84 Cannondale with tubulars. Had to remove the tire guides from the rear brakes at about 35 mi, when the pads wore down from all the downhill braking - thought I needed a new brake pad, but it turned out that those stupid triangular things were rubbing the rim. Sunglasses frame broke at about 40 mi; chucked those. Lost the bite valve from my Camelbak at about 55 miles - end of drinking tube at the bite valve rubs my leg and I guess it worked its way off (I have noticed it pull out a little on rides). All the remaining water ran out, so all the Camelbak did was carry my spare tires from there on in.

It was very cool to ride with so many riders - there were a few thousand, I would say, in wave starts of about 500. Random pace lines at times. Saw lots of the same people over and over. I only saw one other "vintage" 80's-90's era bike. Almost everybody had newer bikes and the gears for those climbs - convinced I really want some carbon fiber and 20 speeds.

Lance Armstrong was there, said some words on the PA, then rode with the first group that were the top fundraisers for a while, then did the whole thing in like 4 hours.

Busy weekend: Friday was the last day of the camp I work at. Friday night was a camp party and some drinking. Had to get up at 5:30 AM to get to the 10K run for LIVESTRONG on Saturday (46 min run was slow for me but my suspected stress fractured ankle hurt a lot as the run progressed). Got about 4 hours of sleep on Fri night. Got home before noon after the run to hang with the inlaws, went for a short hike with them and kids at Watchung Reservation in the PM, then went to a Patriots game Sat night. Prepared for today's ride before we left. (That is probably the reason the Garmin died, because I unplugged it about 4PM on Saturday to pack it.) Got only about 5 hours of sleep on Sat night, up at 5 AM for today's ride. So I got through this weekend double with only 9 hours of sleep!

Philadelphia Marathon

The race time prediction calculators were all wrong.  I went out way to fast, toasted my quads by mile 14.  I was at the half at 1:35:13.  Even pace would have put me at 3:10:26.  But I ran an 11 minute POSITIVE split, to end up at 3:21:31.  And it wasn't fun, hurting all the way out to Manayunk and back.  I couldn't decide if it hurt less to run slower or faster.  I was living for the next Gatoraid and just thinking the only way to get this done is to get it done...

I was definitely fooled by the rest, by the taper effect, for the first half of the run.  I was throwing the dice out there that all the bike riding - the bulk of my training in the last four weeks since I broke my toe - would somehow let me really stick to my 3:10 goal, which I had formed when everything was humming along swimmingly up until that fateful 8K XC race one month ago.

So checkout my crazy splits, especially my erratic 18-26, that I took on my Timex Ironman Triathlon watch:
Miles 1-11 @ 1:19:32 = 7:14
12 @ 7:15
13 & 14 @ 14:56 = 7:28
15 @ 7:28
16 @ 7:50
17 @ 7:51
18 @ 7:44
19 @ 8:10
20 @ 7:57
21 & 22 @ 16:05 = 8:03
23 @ 9:01
24 @ 8:33
25 @ 8:42
26.2 @ 10:24 = 8:40

So I can tell you unequivically, that you can not train for a marathon by riding a bike a lot and running a little.  I was so glad when that one was over.  I was only a minute and a half slower than my personal conservative prediction from way before the race.  See, I know a lot more than those stupid calculators.  It would have been much less painful if I just ran splits for a 3:20 from the start.  Going out too fast led to my most embarrassing moment: getting passed by the guy in the tutu. (Thanks Liane P. via her Facebook album for the photo, right and below)

Other Philadelpha Marathon snippits:

• Drove down to Philly on Saturday afternoon with Joel S., Steve R., Kyle S. and John D. after a morning of two soccer games for my daughter.  We saw NJ state troopers with shotguns trained on some vehicle they pulled over, with the entire northbound side closed.  Not a word about it in the Internet newspapers.  
• The expo was OK, the tech shirt is cool and the goody bag itself is mesh instead of plastic, and contained a nice pair of tech fabric gloves.  
• Fourteen of us RVRR and related people had a great family style dinner at some restaurant that seated us by walking us through the kitchen.
• It was indeed a beautiful day.  Compare this day to last year's 25 degree weather!  The sun was out and it was in the lower to mid 50's with a bit of a breeze.  Wore a singlet, shorts and gloves.
• Ran the first few miles with Bill Bosmann.  He was running in a jacket just to carry a cell phone, despite the beautiful weather.  He joked that it was no big deal, because he "was running so slowly anyway."  I couldn't keep up with him - at 59, he won the 55-59 age group at 2:54:30!
• It was so great to have the support of other RVRR friends.  A group was in downtown Philly, another group was just after the Philly Zoo, others were along the Manayunk out & back, and at the finish.  Seeing them, high-fiving and the hugs were the best part of the event.
• It was cool to see John D. when he was on his way out to the Manayunk turn around while I was on the way back, and for him to say, "I'm coming to get you!"  And he did.  He ran a great race, finishing in 3:15:05, negative splitting by 5 minutes.  That is how to run a marathon!
  
• Afterwards, we spent some time drinking some beer and eating, when we could find some service, at a Philly Irish pub, Tir Na Nog, that was not ready for the crowd.

Summer Series XC #2 & My Birthday Party

I ran Summer Series #2 in my Nike XC spikes last night.  There were parts of the course where all the recent NJ rains have caused erosion and the exposure of random rocks and other scree.  I would have had to slow down a lot if I ran barefoot.  But it was very hot and humid last night and I am not acclimated because it just hasn't been hot this spring.  The spikes felt so heavy and hot I really wanted to stop and rip them off my feet.  I won my new age group, at least.

The greatest thing about last night was everyone in my running club that made it special for my birthday.  The race directors, Doug and Janice, gave me bib number 50.  They announced it at the start line and gave me a special start line about 10 yards ahead of everyone else.  It felt so unfair but it was humorous.  There was another former president, IronPete , that shares my birthday, but 10 years younger.  He got a head start too, as well as bib number 40.

After the race there was the singing of Happy Birthday and an absolutely wonderful birthday cake, made by Rebecca T.  It was an amazing work of art that is cheapened by text description: It was totally themed with icing as a plush mountain with a path to the top on one side.  The path had shoes cast aside and bare footprints passing milestones marked 35, 40, 45.  Over the top, the other downhill side had a gray rocky barren down-hill path with animal bones and skull exposed.  Rebeca spent like 10 hours creating that.  She should do that for a living!  And she cut it up herself.  (You might be able to see pics of it on Facebook.)

Finally, Chris L had people chip in for a gift last Saturday.  What a guy!  They got me Vibram Five Finger KSO shoes.  I had been wanting them for a long time but have been too cheap to buy them.  So that was wonderful.  Of course we hung out and drank some beers as always.  It was absolutely the best 50th birthday I could have ever wanted!

Stroke of Bad Luck! ~ Escarpment Trail Run Entry Accpted

Received my accepted entry notification this week for The Escarpment Trail Run. It reads, "Due to a stroke of bad luck, your entry has been accepted...." This will be my 5th Escarpment Trail Run, a 30K wilderness run with 10,000 feet of climbing in New York's Catskill mountains.

On July 27, 2008 I ran my 4th Escarpment Trail Run. It was my slowest at 4:48. My previous times in 2005-2007 were 4:15, 4:09, 4:41. This race has no awards, just bragging rights. But they do give out 100 miles shirts. I am not sure if this coming 5th race is considered 100 miles, or if it is going to take two more races until I earn the 100 mile shirt.

I never wrote a race report after the last time I ran Escarpment. For my legs the race was the least painful of the four. One of the reasons is it was the slowest - because I knew I had to go slow since I was running with a broken little toe on my left foot. I had broken it a few weeks before and most of the pain was gone, except when I hit it or moved it in a certain way. This course has endless rocks, so I had to run gently to protect it. The broken toe also curtailed my training, so I factored that in as I walked a lot more than I had during past races. This slower pace became both a blessing and a curse, however. Because about half way through the intense thunderstorms started. In the mountains this meant lightening strikes that were frighteningly close, and also some hale hitting my bald head. The storms continued and flooded the trails, which cooled my body and my sore little toe - that was the blessing that made this race easier on my body. But it also risked every runner's life. It is amazing how one suddenly re-discovers religion in such a situation. But with no road crossings, no shorter routes, and no buildings, there was no choice but "on-on". The severety of the storm was unprecidented. I am not exaggerating that I feared for my life - read Tony Fletcher's report for verification. Here is winner Ben Nephew's account. Until I read Ben Nephew's account, I had forgotten how dark it got as the storm brewed. It was a very scary race and I can't wait for the next one this coming July! With some luck and hopefully no broken toes as in '08, and no Achilles tendonitis, as in '07, I think I can go at least as fast as I did in '06.

RVRR Summer Series XC #1 Barefoot - June 9, 2009

My last three races were marathons.  MARATHONS!  They were Philly in November of '08, The Watchung Winter Ultra in January '09 (in which I fell and broke my rib), and Boston in April '09.  The last time I ran a 5K it was the RVRR Summer Series #4 in August of '08.  So I have been mentally and physically prepared for nothing but big distance runs for more than 6 months!  I had two Tuesday track workouts in before this race, with two weeks of skipping them before this first XC race of '09.

So I ran this one on Tuesday night barefoot.  Finished in 20:17 for 4th in the 45-49 age group.  That time would have won 35-39 and 40-44!  Also note, this race comes just 3 days after the Towpath "Train"ing Run where I ran 27.3 miles.  (Perhaps I should not make an issue with that, because the winner of this XC race, Mike Dixon, ran the entire 34 miles of the D&R Towpath on that day.)  I didn't feel like being barefoot slowed me down at all!  I was surprised how I could run on the cinder path with no problem.  I did use the grass next to the cinder as much as possible.  My legs were definitely fatigued from the "Train"ing Run and my habitual lack of sleep.  I did not have much strength up old Red Barn Hill, but I felt I was cruising the flats very comfortably.

I am feeling a little Achilles strain on the left side after the race.  This may be because I have not done any fast running barefoot.  My track workouts were in spikes for the fast parts.  My average pace barefoot is 8:30-8:45 per mile.  My pace was 6:32 for the race.

I ran in Mizuno road race shoes last night to give my Achilles a little rest.  I need a day off.

The next RVRR Summer Series race is June 23rd, in two weeks, and it is my birthday party!

Watchung Winter Ultra Does Me In

The Watchung Winter Ultra "fat ass" trail race had two options: run 50K or a marathon.  I chose the marathon.

I run at Watchung about a dozen times per year.  I used to ride my mountain bike there, for winter training, back when I was a serious triathlete in the late 1980's- early 1990's - before the park banned them.

This was to be a fun day - I wanted a good long run as an easy race on a trail I was very familiar with.  I had no qualms about cutting it short if I felt over-stressed, since my recent running mileage has been relatively very low.  Plus there was the forecast for snow at a high of 25 degrees F.

I felt cold before the race in the morning.  About 50 people showed up, including my friends Paul, IronPete and Dixon.  They were all slated to run the 50K; Paul and Pete have done many, but it was Dixon's first. The race director did a great job setting up this event and even marked some of the course himself that morning before running a couple laps of the course himself.  I ran a lot of the first loop near enough to talk with him.  I ran almost the entire loop with David, a Chi Running enthusiast who I had emailed with before but never met in person - and running with him turned out to just be a chance meeting.  I was amazed that he survived about three falls from trips and slipping on ice on the first loop or so.  The last fall he had on ice hurt his knee enough for him to cut the second loop short.  Little was I to know what I was headed for.

The marathon was two and a half loops of the Sierra Trail at the reservation.  (See my account of running there last weekend for comments on that.) It was a beautiful day to be running - not many people on the trails, it warmed up a little within 30 minutes of starting, and snow was flurrying just enough to add to the ambiance.

I had two great loops and was leading the marathon runners - loop splits were 1:44 & 1:47- and I was feeling GREAT.  Really great.  I was gonna chop off that half lap in 60 minutes.  But about a half mile from the start/finish I tripped and fell and broke my rib.

I have fallen dozens of times running trails, but this time I fell really hard and I think a protruding root or rock just hit my side in a bad way.  The break is kinda under my left arm.  The fall did hurt a lot and the wind got knocked out of me.  I tried walking to keep going but noticed it felt really weird in there, like something was rattling around, and I noticed I couldn't breathe deeply without pain.  So I think I smartly decided to bag it and walked back.

I checked in as DNF and drove myself to MediMerge...  The Vicoden I just picked up is defiintely working better than the advil.... 

At the doc, my temperature was 94.3.  The nurse said it was the lowest she ever recorded.  It was kinda funny because she asked a couple of times why I would want to run that far.  Doc said, "curtail your activities" for a few weeks.  I told him I was going skiing next weekend.  He said he wouldn't do that...  hope I can.

One of the reasons I think I felt great was fueling. I used my skiing Camelback plus a Powerbar Gel ("2X Caffine") about every 30 minutes. That stuff works pretty good for me. I don't like eating random food handed out at races. I used the Powerbar Gels at Philly too, every 45 minutes. After today I think my next marathon - Boston - I will do one every 30. Gotta start shooting that stuff early. They are sort of a pain to carry - pockets of circa 1980 Moss Brown jacket today were fine, but gotta work that out for Boston. 

Hey, just looked, you can still get those jackets ... think I might get a new one.

Thanks to Paul for the pics and vid from the race below, and to Associated Radiology in Warren for the x-rays.

 
IronPete, Paul, Me

 
Paul, Me, Dixon (nice face)

Start bottleneck at bridge.  Me in yellow jacket & Camelbak

 
A few minutes past the start/finish area, 50K route

Race Director Rick explaining too much before the start & me looking too happy

 
One of my x-rays.  Difficult to scan and see the break.

Philadelphia Marathon

Ran the Philadelphia Marathon today.  At 7 AM start, it was 25 degrees F.  I decided to wear shorts.  On top, I wore a wicking long-sleeve, a Mizuno wind vest, a fleece hat & polypro gloves.  I didn't feel warmed up until about an hour into the race.  My legs remained fairly cold until after the mile 20 turnaround, that put our faces into the rising sun, plus it was a couple hours later.  This was the first marathon - or any race that I can remember - where the volunteers had to warn people as they approacehed water stations about the ice on the ground from the spilled water and Gatoraid.

I took 2-mile splits:

2 @ 14:19 = 7:10/mi

4 @ 29:51 (15:32) (4th mile was marked long)

6 @ 42:55 (13:04) (5th mile was short) = 7:24/mi

10 @ 1:12:57 (30:01) = 7:30/mi

12 @ 1:27:29 (14:32) = 7:16/mi

14 @ 1:42:20 (14:51) = 7:25/mi

16 @ 1:57:51 (15:30) = 7:45/mi

18 @ 2:13:25 (15:33) = 7:46/mi

20 @ 2:28:42 (15:17) = 7:38/mi

22 @ 2:44:12 (15:30) = 7:45/mi

24 @ 3:00:12 (15:59) = 8:oo/mi

25 @ 3:08:16 = 8:03/mi

26 @ 3:16:37 = 8:21/mi

Marathon time 3:18:22 = avg. 7:34/mi

Active.com results screen capture

Training is Cheap, & The Last Miles of Newport-Liberty Half Marathon

I have been riding my bike a lot, and I should do a duathlon or triathlon, but every time I look for one to put on my calendar, I say to myself, I can go out and run and bike farther by myself on that day, have a great time, and save myself a couple hundred bucks! I would have much rather gone running in the woods today than in Jersey City. A couple of weeks ago in Watchung Reservation I ran about 1/4 mile behind a fox.

Speaking of which, in today's Newport-Liberty Half Marathon, I finished the race with Laura S., who caught me with a 1.5 miles to go. What a racing animal - I had no clue she was so focused and she was catching me. I must have been slowing down and she probably ran negative splits. She said, "We are going to catch that guy in yellow!" OK, motivation for me besides thinking I had to run fast so the RVRR women wouldn't beat this old guy. The guy in yellow was about 50 yards ahead of us, with some others between us and him. Well, in the next mile we reeled in the others, but not the guy in yellow. With a bit less than a half mile left, I went harder to catch the guy in yellow, and I also wanted to make Laura run faster. I caught the yellow guy, and have a story to tell too. Races are cool like that sometimes. I ran 1:32:01 - about seven minutes slower than I ran just three years ago, but about seven faster than last year. Races are cool like that sometimes, too. I have learned in my old age not to take them as seriously as I used to. I like to think that any day I am out there running, I am one of the luckiest guys in the world.

Boilermaker 15K

A road trip to the Boilermaker 15K this past weekend with eight other RVRR people was a peak running experience for me this year. The drive is about 4.5 hours to Utica, New York. At check-in on Saturday, there is an expo in a campus setting. At the expo, there is a "Runner's Forum" where running experts and luminaries answer your questions. The panel included Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers and Katherine Switzer. At the conclusion of the forum, I approached Frank Shorter and asked him to sign a copy of a 1972 Life magazine with his gold medal Olympic finishing photo on the cover.

After the forum, the induction ceremony for the National Distance Running Hall of Fame took place. This event is very inspiring for any distance runner and should not be missed, despite the lure of touring the F.X. Matt brewery. RVRR's own Amby Burfoot was inducted, along with Priscella Welch and Johnny Hayes. Hayes's induction was posthumous, of course, and was presented by Frank Shorter. Hayes was USA's first Olympic marathon gold medalist in 1908, and Shorter did a great talk about uniting both his and Hayes's gold medals for the first time. Priscella Welsh broke new ground for women and masters runners in her career, proving the abilities we can maintain at world-class level through our masters years. Amby sang praises for the community of every runner we are all a part of, as he always has in his life and writing. After this ceremony, I asked Frank Shorter to sign a copy of one of his books, Olympic Gold. He told me a story about how the massacre at the '72 Olympics psyched out so many athletes and destroyed their potential performances. Mike A. spent some time speaking with Bill Rodgers, who was glad to advise him on race strategy for Boilermaker's course. One of the great things about speaking with these running superstars is the sense that they are immediately your friend, not full of themselves, and would go out on a run with you then follow it up with a beer.

On Sunday, the experience of the race can be compared with a big city marathon, with less pain a better party at the end. There are eleven thousand runners and the entire 15 kilometers lined with enthusiastic spectators - there is a competition for the best cheering community, voted on by the runners after finishing. There are two bands and three water stops per mile. There are dancing girls, llamas and sheep, ice cubes and ice pops, and lots of signs telling you how much farther to the beer.

The beer is at the finish line that pours you into the huge parking lot of the F.X. Matt Brewing Company. It was a little after 9 A.M. and thousands of people were drinking the free Saranac beer, dancing to Nick and The Nice Guys, and having the biggest runner party in the world. I was sloshed and sober again by noon, when the whole thing shuts down. On the drive home, we waved to other Boilermaker runners at every Thruway service area, when we stopped to leave some recycled beer behind.

Running this race with a broken toe manipulated my experience of the race. I have run this race three times before. I was forced to run slower this time because of the pain in my foot from the broken toe. This made me enjoy the spectators a lot more, and allowed me to really see the course a lot better, because I wasn't concentrating on trying to run a fast time. I ran spot-on seven minute miles, even though I was in shape enough to run about 6:30 miles. I suppose I shouldn't complain about that, considering that I could run it at all after breaking a toe five days before the race. Yes, I am stupid because this is causing me to change my stride and possibly get me injured some other way, and I am not helping the healing process.... But I only own one life - so on on, I say!

President's Cup

The President's Cup Night Race, Monday night, was my first race since November 2007's New York City Marathon. Seven months, during which I have skied and biked a lot, but have not run relatively as much as my usual yearly cycle. With almost all Achilles and heel pain gone, I went into this 5K with no expectations beyond finishing with a time I can work with for planning workout paces around.

The President's Cup is a wonderful experience. It is on one of the longest days of the year every June. It starts at 8 PM and finishes to free Sam Adams, a DJ and a runner party. I know a hundred people at this race; people I have raced and ran with for the past 34 years. This year my "non-racing" fit friends that live in Millburn ran the race. That was great to see, because I felt I exposed them to this race as spectators. In years past, they could not believe that the highly placed socio-economic profile town of Millburn would host such an openly public alcohol-fueled party.

After a brief thunderstorm I ran a 20 minute warm up. I needed a long warm up because all I have in my running bank is distance running. I have done no race-paced running in way over seven months. The race is a two-lap course around the business district of Millburn. I ran the course's lap in the opposite direction that it is raced and proceeded to say hello to about 90 of the 100 runners I personally know and talk to and run against and with that attend this race. It was a mental and spiritual warm-up as well as a physical one because it just felt great to see all these people and be out at a race again.

I started farther back than I usually do to force myself to go out easy. There was a good crowd, so the tactic worked. I still ran my first mile in 6:06 and felt pretty good. This surprised me, because the last time I ran a mile that fast may have been July of 2007! The middle mile felt fine, and the final mile was a bit of work. My finishing chip time was 19:10, which averages to 6:11/mile. Not bad on about 25 miles of running per week.

More to come....

Towpath "Train"ing Run

The goal today was to run my first ultra-marathon: 34 miles from Trenton to New Brunswick on the Delaware-Raritan Canal towpath. The Towpath "Train"ing Run is an annual event that the Raritan Valley Road Runners puts on. There are designated paces - 7:30, 8:30, 9:30 & 10:30. Runners can start at many "stations" along the towpath. The idea is to have everyone finish together - a large "train" that builds as the event goes on. It is non-competitive. Awards are given to runners that finish the entire length, and records are kept year-to-year so people receive awards at 100 mile increments. Everyone's mileage for the day is tallied and an equal dollar amount is donated to the Cancer Institute of NJ.Many people would think that the reason I did not accomplish my goal today would have been the extremely hot and humid weather. The temperature varied from about 70 degrees at the 6 AM start to 85 degrees at the 11 AM finish. But I never felt dehydrated. I used electrolyte capsules for the first time since 9th grade football practice. I carried a bottle and the supported run supplied plenty of water and Gatoraid.

I also did not bonk. I loaded with pasta last night. I had a decent Cheerios & banana breakfast at 4:15 AM. I consumed a Powerbar double mocha gel every hour. I drank Gatoraid.

But I stopped at 24.9 miles. I stopped because my thighs hurt a lot. I didn't want to do too much damage to my legs with so many other races coming up in the next few weeks. I didn't want to undo the progress I made this spring with healing my Achilles tendon problems. And I knew I was lacking in long runs with only one 2 hour and one 3 hour day this year under my belt.

I got back on the train after hitching a ride with Ed with 2.3 miles to go, from DeMott Lane to the end. That part really hurt. My total for the day was 27.2 miles. So it was sort-of an ultra, since I did run one mile beyond a marathon. I kinda wish I was running an official marathon, because my time would not have been so bad. At 24.9 miles I was at 3:37 = 8:43/mile. The run felt easier than really racing a marathon. If I had to race a marathon I think I could have easily ran about 3:37 or faster. One thing this event does for me every year is show me I am in much better endurance shape than I believe I am in at this point in my yearly training cycle. Though I didn't complete 34 miles, it is fairly amazing to me that I could relatively easily run 27 on sub-30 mile weeks and a lot of cycling.

I think the thigh pain that contributed to my decision to stop was because none of my long runs were at 8:30 pace, which is what we were required to maintain. I knew my long runs were slower than 8:30, but I figured since they were at Watchung Reservation, they were hilly and the trails were rougher, and that would compensate for a slower pace. Plus I couldn't run those long runs any faster because they were so close to the event - two and one week away, respectively. An important outcome of the "Train"ing run is to inform me that if I want to run a fast Escarpment Trail Run in the end of July, I will have to do some faster long runs.

After the run there was a great picnic. Socializing, eating burgers and drinking 5 or 6 beers made my thighs feel much better ~! All the photos are here.

Group that started at 6 AM in Trenton. L to R standing: Ken M, Me, Steve W *, Pete P, Laura S, Bob J, Lauren M*, Jen D, Dennis M, Lesley W, Zsuzsana C*; stooping: Jorge R.
(*Completed 34 miles!)
Thanks to Sonya S for the photos!

NYC Marathon Today

Overall 8112
Male 6715
3:48:39 chip time
0:24:50 5K
0:48:32 10K
1:13:26 15K
1:39:54 20K
1:45:44 1/2 Marathon
2:34:10 30K
3:03:33 35K
3:35:25 40K
8:43 pace
3:28:29 age graded
59.9 PLP

Ran a Half-Marathon PW Yesterday!

I ran a 1:39 PW yesterday at the Newport Liberty Half-Marathon! A PB or PR is a "personal best" or "personal record". My run yesterday was a "personal worst" - I ran 1:21 last year there. It is because of these Achilles tendons and this lingering plantar fasciitis. I knew it would be slow, but it is still difficult to let all those people be in front of me, especially when I wasn't even breathing hard. When I am finished my runs lately, it feels like I was beat up for an hour. This is not good - kind of like aversive conditioning. I am wondering if I should just take an entire week off and ride my bike and swim instead of running. Would that put me any farther behind in so-called training for the NYC Marathon that is 6 weeks away?

President's Cup

I was worried we were not going to have an open team for the USATF-NJ
Open Men's 5K Championship at the Presidents Cup Night Race last
night. Manoman was I wrong! We fielded A, B, and C teams with at
total of 22 team members! I couldn't even begin to guess how many
women of RVRR ran the race also!

Results:
http://www.compuscore.com/cs2005/june/pres1.htm
Age groups: Chris Lehman, Imme Dyson 1st; Cathy Glamkowski, Jeremy
Stratton, Roger Price, Doug Brown, Patricia O'Hanlon 2nd; Kathy
Rocker, John Nowatkowski 3rd!

The night was cool and the race times were fast! The food was too
little, but the free Sam Adams was endless (until they had to clean
up). The best dancers were all RVRR members - what a party!

In my opinion, the real story of the race lies in seeing 19 open men's
teams entered in the race! That has to be some kind of USATF-NJ
record! Club racing is alive and thriving in this state like no other
in the USA! A lot of it can be attributed to RVRR, for being
undefeated as a club in the overall club Grand Prix since its
inception. Morris County Striders and Sneaker Factory are borrowing
our depth tactics to try and catch us. In the meantime, the real open
speed demons are running with the store-sponsored teams, which creates
a whole different dimension within the Grand Prix. The 2005 NBGP is
going to have a very exciting fall season, the way this is shaping up.
Train hard and participate at whatever level you can - it is gonna be
a fun ride!

A Real Life Hero

I just remembered to mention this - because if I don't it will get lost in the complaints about a poorly marked course at the USATF-NJ 10 Miler yesterday. A number of runners made wrong turns yesterday. At about 4 miles into the course there was one spot where the course followed a bike path, then crossed a road and continued on the path. You were supposed to run straight - a logical assumption. But if you didn't see anyone in front of you and you knew the course had to loop back on a road eventually, and it was the first lap, and you were running fast and not thinking, then you could be tempted to turn right thinking that was the way to finish the loop. The just-over-6-minute-per-mile group included Roger Price, John Kane, and myself, as well as some others I don't know or can't remember. There was a group of just-under-6-minute runners in front of us, which included Sergio Cano and others. They took the wrong turn. As our just-over-6 group emerged from the wooded bike path to cross the road, Roger saw the just-under-6 group that made the wrong turn. He took personal responsibility for them and called them back. Furthermore, Roger stopped running, sacrificing his own race, to move some barriers and mark the course. Carl Rocker came along, and took the course correction job from Roger so he could get on with his own race. Roger continued on to still run a 1:05:51 for 4th place in his age group. Had he hung with our just-over-6 group, which we all know he is fully capable of, he would have won the age group. Then, to top it all off, after jogging his cool down during which he did the job of sweeping the course of some of the mile markers, he was the announcer at the awards presentation. Somebody should have given Roger an award for the most unselfish runner of the year!