The Towpath "Train"ing Run 2011

I ran one of the greatest running events in NJ, this past Saturday.  No, it is possibly one of the greatest running events on the east coast!  No lie!  Everything is relative, so I am allowed to be subjective about this, no?

The event is called The Towpath "Train"ing Run.  I believe it was the 13th annual of this event.  It is put on by my running club, The Raritan Valley Road Runners.  The prime mover for this event is Mr. Ray Petit.  Ray is a past president of the club (as am I), and still is the leader of our weekly Saturday morning runs year round on the Delaware-Raritan Towpath.  Ray is also back on the board of directors of the club.  He is a regular voice on all club issues both online and off.  Not many people put as much of their time and their life into the club as Ray does.

Last year I ran the full event, which starts in Trenton and goes to the Landing Lane bridge on the border of Piscataway and New Brunswick, NJ.  It is 34+ miles of running.  It is an amazing event because it is fully supported and it is non-competitive.  It is more of an event of cooperation rather than competition.  The theory is that as the event progresses, more runners "board the train" at different "stations".  The train is the continually snowballing group of runners, and the stops are the various road crossings of the towpath.  Due to this cooperative nature of this run, people can run a lot farther than they would normally.  Additionally, the pace is controlled.  Runners decide to run on a 10:30, 9:30, 8:30, or 7:30 per mile paced "train".  The train "departures" are timed to converge at the end of the event.  Running a selected pace at or slower than one's normal training pace is much easier on the body than trying to run a marathon at a fast goal pace, for example.  You might know how painful the last few miles of a marathon can be at a fast goal pace, and how the your legs can hurt for the next week.  This does not happen with long mileage on the Towpath Train!

This year I knew I was not in the shape I was last year.  Plus I am daily dealing with this phantom pain in my right ankle.  But I wanted to start in Trenton, because I run that part of the towpath less frequently than the portions north of Princeton.  I figured I would go as far as I felt like going, then catch a ride to the last "station" to finish the last couple of miles with everybody on the converging "trains".

I went to bed much too late the night before.  It was about midnight.  (Yes, I am weak and stupid: I was watching the 2nd showing of the season premiere of one of my favorite TV shows, Whale Wars.)  I had 4 hours of sleep for the 4 AM wake up required to get to the 5 AM departure from Grove 5 in Johnson Park.  I rode in Ray's car with Vince to the 6 AM start in Trenton.  (The D-R Towpath used to really "start" at Mulberry Street in Trenton.  It is now fully connected via a rail-trail paved path that parallels US-1 to the section that runs northwesterly along the Delaware River.  The connection was completed during the summer of 2010.)

I had some stomach problems the entire day.  I think I was being lactose intolerant from the Rita's Custard twist cone I had the night before.  Let me just say, I had to use the weeds on the edge of the towpath for a "dewdrop" before the beginning of the run, and again later on just south of South Bound Brook; not to mention the Porta-John at Weston Causeway... 'nuff said.  But it was, none-the-less a factor in the final distance I was able to cover comfortably.

The biggest factor in the distance I was able to cover was the pace.  I really had no business starting at the 8:30/mile pace.  If I had gotten up earlier, I could have been on the 9:30/mile train.  That is where I should have been, given the training pace I have been running this year!  It was definitely a relatively fast run for me; I was feeling uncomfortable for the first few miles, and again from miles 11-16, when I decided to take a ride.

The biggest factor in me being uncomfortable from miles 11-16 was the result of wearing VFF's.  Much of the towpath has been nicely resurfaced with cinder-like surface.  However, the section from a little south of Princeton through Blackwells Mills Road has more gravel, much of it random.  This began to hurt the bottom of my feet, even with the VFF's on.  I had an especially tender spot right behind one of my toes on my left foot.  It was like every random rock hit a nerve there.

So I called it quits at Griggstown Causeway.  Helped out with the water stop there.  Annette drove me to South Bound Brook, a major refueling stop.  We set up the water stop there.  I felt very recovered, and that section of the towpath is in great shape, so I joined the 9:30 train.  The second portion of my run felt much easier at this pace.  Yes, again I was wishing that I started at that pace.  It was so nice to be running with so many people I know.  So by the end of the day I did 22.5 miles of running.  At the end of the day, 15 people ran the full 34 miles.  Something like an event record, in this, it's 13th running.  Total mileage was the most ever also.

I was happy to have to milestones, of sorts.  This was a record distance in VFF's for me.  And the last time I went this far in one day was this event last year.  I had not been over 10 miles in 2011!

At the post-run picnic, much fun and beer was had.  Plus, the actual "Miracle on the Hudson" airplane parked at Johnson Park.  It was on its way to the Carolinas Aviation Museum.

Almost Two Weeks Since I Broke Toe...

After the club run this morning, as I entered the diner where we all meet for breakfast, the Euro-sounding owner said to me, "Runners in the back," as he pointed to our usual large table. "How did you know I'm a runner?" I asked him. His reply: "Because you were limping."

I attempted running on Wednesday evening and this morning with the RVRR crew. Both times I began running on the D&R Towpath in shoes, and turned around after a few minutes to return to the parking lot and change into bare feet. I then completed 30 minutes on the grass at Johnson Park. There was pain in the shoes, and less pain while barefoot. I didn't run very fast - maybe 10 minutes per mile. I had more pain this morning than on Wednesday evening. It is now early afternoon, and I have little to no pain. I am thinking I can run fine right now - just thinking it. I am thinking that later in the day there is less internal swelling so there may be less pain. In the morning the fluids may have built up while sleeping. I have ridden my bike a lot - over 132 miles/5 rides last week and 80/8 rides so far this week (commuting). I don't think I am losing any cardiovascular fitness, but I am not sure that I will be able to run the USATF-NJ 5K XC championships next Sunday.

Longish Run This Morning and Recovery Spin in the PM

Ran 13 miles mostly on the Towpath this morning, mostly alone, even though it was the RVRR Saturday Morning Run.  Thirty people were there, but the people that went long started earlier.  It was a beautiful morning, and I am glad I can do 13 @ 1:45 = 8:07/mile at this point in time.  Went to Somerset Diner to meet the people who had gone for breakfast after the run, and most were practically on their way out.  Since the money was in for the bill already, they seemed to have bought me my bagel and coffee.  Thanks guys!

Added a 15 mile spin at 3:30 PM on my Quintana Roo Superform, which I retro-fitted to road bike styling.  Kinda hard to get the saddle position right with the forward positioning angles on that TT frame.  Makes it hard to get the same power from my hamstrings.  So far, even my single speed feels faster than the QRoo set up like that.  On the positives side, I was hating all the bars and cables for the TT set up - it was ruining the clean beauty of the bicycle.  So glad I am not presently a triathlete anymore!  But gotta thank the bike for fixing so many of my running problems last year.  Thanks bikes!

Run route and bike route in the two maps below, from MapMyRun.com:

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!