Race and Pace reports - Ugly Mudder and Gasparilla Distance Classic

So I'm a little bit behind here.  Better late than never though, right?

So back on February 26 I finally etched a "trail race" onto my list of accomplishments.  The Ugly Mudder, 7.25 miles of mostly single track, rocky, "hilly" terrain that, yeah, had some mud, some bushwacking and some good ole fashioned fun!  This year the race was added to the LaSportiva Mountain Cup series and ended up drawing a field of nearly 900 runners from 16 states.  I had no idea what I was doing or where I'd stack up but I had been told that after the 1/3 mile asphalt start you want to be up front so you don't get bottle necked on the single track.

I hopped on the front row and we were off.  I hit the single track in about 10th-12th, mission accomplished!  My trail legs seemed to find themselves pretty quickly and I felt as though I was doing a good job picking my footing and my lines.  I concentrating on following the group in front of me and didn't worry about anyone behind me.  I was pretty strong on the climbs, but man was I redlined, and early in the race too.

Just past the 2 mile point, and I'm wondering if I can run 5 more miles!!

We hit a Reading landmark, the Pagoda, just past the two mile point.  The view was awesome, but I wasn't stopping to take it in.  By that point we were up pretty high and I was feeling it, big time.  I remember thinking "there's no way I can finish this race, 5 more miles, OUCH".  By this point the fast guys were gone, but I had a few runners around me and I was sitting about 8th-10th.  From this point forward I definitely lowered my effort slightly, which meant walking up a few of the big hills because honestly it seemed that if you ran you may be able to go faster, but not much and there was no need to get those extra couple seconds on the climbs if you're toasted for the rest of the race.

I had run the last mile or so in warmup, so after some cool slippery, turny single track I finally recognized some terrain.  I had just let a faster runner who had caught me pass, so I hit the gas and tried to stick with him.  I guess this point of the race is where "real trail runners" shine, because he (and the next guy in front of me) simply dusted me!  As I crested Mt Watafug through a lively group of supporters I could finally see the finish line. 

The end result, 9th overall and 5th in the 30-39 age group.  I used my Brooks Adrenaline ASR's which were the perfect choice for me.  I can't believe how minimal of shoes that some runners wore on those trails, wow!  After a short and painful cooldown, I was out of there.  Mission accomplished, I really liked the trail scene.

Next up was our trip down to Florida to catch some rays and pace at the Gasparilla Distance Classic in Tampa, FL.  We brought the whole family down and visited my father in law who spends the winter about 2 hours south of Tampa.  We were treated to some great weather when we got there, mid 80's and humid.  A perfect cure for the northeast winter blues.  I got a great run in on Friday, 13 miles with 10 miles at goal marathon pace (6:10-5:15).  Then we were off to Tampa.

Gasparilla is a great event, a 15K and 5K on Saturday and a Half Marathon and 8K on Sunday.  And we were pacing all four events!  I paced 7:30 pace for both Saturday races, then 7:15 (1:35) for the half and 7:00 for the 8K.  Saturday was a beautiful day, albeit a little hot and humid.  I had a great group in the 15K and met some great new people.  One thing I always say about Florida is that nobody is actually "from" Florida, they all end up there for one reason or another!

Pacing the 15K, it was HOT!

Sunday morning was an early one, the 1/2 started at 6am which meant a 5am march down to the start area.  A cold front rolled in over night and it was WINDY, I'm talking 20+mph sustained and gusts over 40mph!  And as luck would have it the skies OPENED UP on us as we walked the 1/2mi to the start, luckily we were able to take cover and stay dry.  I had a great group in the half.  As usual when you figure in the dark, early turns, etc, we were a little slow in the first mile, but I was very consistent for the last 10 miles or so, finishing in 1:34:58, just 0:02 shy of hitting the target!  Again, I had some great people in my group including a couple of Yankee fans down from NYC who were planning to hit the spring training game that day.  The wind made things tough from a pacing standpoint because it was hard to just a steady effort.  Surprisingly though, my sign survived the whole race!

Lauren and I headed back to her dad's and spent the next couple of days playing with the kids, swimming, etc.  I do enjoy Florida in the winter, that is for sure.

Frostbite 5 Mile Race Report

After a rest week, I kicked off a solid block of training last week.  My Tuesday workout consisted of 8 repeats of 800m.  I wasn't hitting the times I expected, but I wasn't too worried about it.  I had great runs on Wednesday and Thursday, racking up 37 miles in 3 days.  We've had some great weather this winter, so I couldn't resist an easy 4 miles on Friday.  Saturday was my first race of the year, the Frostbite 5 miler in Ambler, PA.  Plan was to get 9-10 miles total, so I went out and got a 4 mile warm up in.  The day started out chilly, but the sun was out and the temps were in the mid 30's for the 9am start.  I had run this race in 2010 so I was familiar with the competition and the course, although the start / finish had been moved to a high school which was on the old course to accommodate the sold out field of 1500 runners. 

Being in the middle of a training build / block for Boston, I wasn't expecting anything incredible but I wanted to see where my fitness was at.  There was a strong field and I had run the first 3 miles of the course during my warm up so I knew the first two miles had some downhills and were going to be FAST.  I lined up near the front and we were off. 

Relaxed and smiling at the start!

 

 

Talk about a fast first mile, we came through at 5:10.  I counted and I was sitting about 14th or so and surprisingly I was getting passed by younger guys on the downhills, maybe I was holding back?  I came through mile 2 in 5:15 or so and then we hit some climbing.  I was feeling pretty good and I passed a few runners up the hill that comprised the first half of the 3rd mile.  This was my slowest mile at about 5:29.  Then we hit a residential area and onto a gravel path.  The path wasn't ideal, some loose gravel and tough footing which slowed you down, but I was able to pick off another runner before we hit mile 4 (5:23 or so).  At this point I was getting gassed and I knew we had a decent climb to get up to the final straight.  I wasn't thinking about where my finish time was at all, I just focused on trying to run a great race.  I passed one more runner up that last hill and we made the turn, now less than a half mile of flat to downhill.  The runner I just passed came storming by me, but I was focused on my race. 

I was definitely pushing it, not pretty but man was I shooting to break 27!

 I turned the corner to the finish and got my first glimpse of the clock. 26:high.  I knew I would be close to breaking 27, but it wasn't to be. 27:02 for 10th overall and 2nd in the 35-39 AG.  My previous race on this course had me at 27:27, so I took a good 25 seconds off my time!

By this point it was beautiful outside, and I had to run because Lauren wanted to get a run in before our day "started".  It was a GREAT race, very well organized, indoor registration and what appeared to be sufficient restrooms.  I didn't get to stay for the post race food, but I heard great things about that.

After an awesome boys day with my son Joshua and my dad at Motorama, I was pooped and ready for bed.  We had a great group run on Sunday morning from a friend's place.  Six of us were greeted to some great weather, getting a long run of 21 miles in.  I expected to feel pretty crappy, but I was surprised to have some great legs under me, those recovery weeks really do work!

So my week ended up at 71 miles at 7:07 average pace.  Next week is the Ugly Mudder trail race in Reading.  I signed up for it to get some trail experience for the HAT50K in March.  I probably won't adjust my plans too much, do a long run on Saturday and see what I have left for the race on Sunday.

Happy Training!!

HCM Foundation "Mainstream" Media Exposure

I know I've mentioned my involvement as a board member of the HCM Foundation a few times (or more!).  It has been an exciting and rewarding experience for me over the past two years, watching it grow in so many ways, the most important of which has been it's impact on those in the community who are dealing with Cancer.  We had a board meeting on Sunday night which spurred some great discussion and plans to launch some even bigger things in 2012.  I could go on all day about that, but I wanted to post a great article which was just published in Lava Magazine.  HCM is showcased among some pretty big names in our sport, which is a great sign that it's mission has the Foundation headed in the right direction.  HERE's the link.

Random Updates – Superbowl 10K, Boston Training Report January 2012

Last Sunday was the Superbowl 10K.  This the 11^th running of the race and it was my third year directing the event which sold out at 550 entrants on December 13.  As I’ve mentioned before, this race has been its share of inclement weather the past two years.  As race day approached, my eyes were glued to local weather predictions which noted the potential for a large storm event.  Luck was finally on my side and the storm stayed to our South.  After a great long run on Saturday AM, I was able to ride the course on my bike and measure it out.

Sunday AM we were treated to an overcast sky and temps in the low 30’s.  The volunteers never cease to amaze me and I can’t thank them enough.  I also want to thank my wife Lauren and my cohort Carly.  From parking to registration to timing to food prep, everything went seamlessly.  With the exception of a false start (how embarrassing!) due to technical difficulties, the race went off without a hitch and before you know it we were treated to bright sunshine!!

All total, a record number of finishers cross the line that day, 489 in all.  As an extra perk, the top 50 male and top 50 female finishers are recognized with custom Sockguy wool socks and Autumn and Joshua love to hand them out as the runners cross the line.  It’s really cool to see that this has become a staple of the race, many people thanked us as we handed them out saying that their goal was to get the socks!  

And they're off!

We did some neat things this year to set our race apart and add value to the event.  Long sleeve Brooks Running technical shirts were given to all participants, the socks were given out, there was cash and Brooks Running shoes given out to the top 3 overall, top masters and the most spirited Superbowl costume (seen above on the far left at the start), post race goodies included hot soup, pizza, soft pretzels, soda, water and Gatorade.  We had a fire going to keep the runners warm and we provided all of our 45+ volunteers with custom hooded sweatshirts.  On top of all that, we LOWERED the price to $27.50! 

The event donated ten spots to the HCMFoundation, a charity that provides services to individuals and families battling the effects of cancer.  Those ten spots raised MORE THAN $3000 for the Foundation.  On top of that the remainder of the proceeds go to the Lehigh ValleyRoad Runners and their mission of supporting youth running!

There are some things that can be improved on, but judging from the overwhelming positive feedback I think we’ve made some great changes.   I’m honored to be a part of such a great event.

My helpers, waiting for the first finishers.

As far as my training goes, well I’ve been enjoying the milder temps this winter and I feel like I’m starting to come to form….itching for that first “test”.  Through the first 5 weeks of the year I’ve run 300 miles, topping out at nearly 70 miles last week.  My tempo and speed workouts are right where I want them, my heart rate is gradually coming down for any given pace and my long runs have gone very well (four runs of 20 miles or more since January 1, 2011).  This week will be a down week of mileage and effort to try and recover from the 65-70 miles per week over the last three weeks. 

My first test will be the Frostbite 5 miler on 2/18, followed by a long run the day after.  The next weekend I’ll race the Ugly Mudder which will be my first trail race, probably a smart move considering my first 50k (also a trail race) is about 5 weeks away!

Next post I'd like to explore some of the great group/package event coaching/racing packages out there in triathlon and running, namely the Runnersworld Challenge and REV3's new event VIP coaching packages.

The wrath of mother nature

I've been bitten by good old mother nature many a times in my days.  Come to think of it, my dad has been struck by lighting twice, wonder if it runs in the family? 

Well, as my birthday weekend rolled around (and the previously discussed trip to Louisville, KY for some big race) it appeared that mother nature had planned to draw blood again!  My teammate Marten made it down a day before Greg and I did.  He got to pre-ride the course on Thursday and it was POURING.  A full day of racing / riding coupled with over an inch of rain left the course quite a mess. Enter Greg and I (who almost missed our connected flight due to, you guessed it, weather delays) on Thursday night.  It's now snowing and 20 degrees.  Fantastic! 

We got back to our rooms after getting our numbers, built up our bikes and prepared for our seeding qualifier the next day.  You see, I was concerned for the last three days as I was watching the weather.  "This is the WORST POSSIBLE SCENARIO you could imagine for a cross race.  FROZEN SOLID MUD RUTS".  We arrived at the course (freezing our asses off) to find a frozen tundra.

As we sat in the rental car getting our gear on, we witnessed something odd.  There was a "flyover" structure that you had to climb up stairs, hop on you bike on top and ride down while the course passed under you.  Well it was so cold that it was frozen to the point where people could not ride down it.  They were sliding their bikes and then sliding down on their asses!  Then we heard that the officials were going to delay the start because of that.  So we headed out for our site lap.  Basically all you could do was run, just about the whole course.  And it was painful running, rolling ankles in ruts from the day before, etc.

  

At this point I was freezing, and quite frankly scared.  Scared that I'd spend the rest of January like I did last year.....injured and on the DL.  I wasn't scared about a big fall, but scared about twisting a knee or an ankle that would mess up my next two big races, the HAT50K and the Boston Marathon.

Back on track here.  Our race was scheduled to start at 9:45.  We were pretty sure we heard the officials say it was starting at 10:00.  Well, we were in the car pinning up our numbers when all the sudden we see our race take off!  This is only a seeding race for start position so I wasn't too worried, but we did get out there, and had spotted the field 3 minutes.  I was running just about the whole course, it was a windy 21 degress and I was cold.  I was however still smiling, and I somehow managed to catch and pass someone!  Long story short, I finished 2nd from last.

Our main event was scheduled for 3pm the next day.  Temps were not supposed to get above freezing.  The sun did come out and turned the top layer of the course to a greasy, sticky mud with some fun icy ruts throughout the course.  My heart just wasn't in this one.  It was a bummer for me.  I had taken a good shot to the groin in a site lap crash which took the breath out of me, so when we lined up, all I hoped for was a safe finish.

We took off, I made a couple of passes from the back row and Greg and I were marking each other until I got caught up with someone who had gone down in front of me.  About halfway through the first lap I could tell my bike was pretty heavy from the mud, then I started to experience shifting issues.  As I was about to complete the first lap, I was carrying my now 3 times the weight bike up the runup and I felt a pull in my knee.  This worried me.  I got to the top, put my bike down hoping to hop on and ride out the pain, but now not only was my chain skipping, my tires were so clogged they wouldn't move.  That was it, game over.  Save myself and save my equipment.  There will be more days.  Not what I had planned / dreamed in my head, and yet another blow from mother nature, but I was safe and still smiling.

I was glad that I pulled out in the long run.  Of the three other people that I knew in my race, two of them broke their rear derailleurs.  The other guy had two bikes, so he would ride a lap, grab a clean bike, ride a lap, grab clean bike, etc.  That was the only way you could have finished.  It was brutal.  My hats off and congratulations to not only the winners and the new world champions, but to those who simply finished!

So now on to bigger and better.  I had a great week this week training.  Nearly 65 miles last week as well.  My speed and tempo workouts are spot on.  Now I'm getting anxious to test the legs out in a race.

UCI Masters Cyclocross World Championships by Exergy Preview, Louisville

Cross season finished up nearly a month ago in these parts.  I haven't ridden in the grass since then, but that will change this weekend.  My race bike is en route to Louisville, as will myself and three Lamprey teammates, to race the Masters World Cyclocross Championships.  I hadn't planned on racing this initially, but when we got to bench racing and talking about it, it sounded like a great opportunity to check it out.  Now, I'm glad we're going and I'm pretty damn excited about it too! 

Wednesday Greg and I glued up my first set up tubulars, Easton EA70x wheelset with Challenge Fango (ft) / Grifo (rr) tires.  We packed our bikes into the cases, shipped down a car rack and bike stand and we're on our way!  Cross Nationals are happening RIGHT NOW and seeing the coverage of that is peaking my excitement more!

So as I begin my official Boston training, I'll be squeazing in some grass workouts on the bike and a couple on the trainer, lowering my run miles for the week and (on Thursday) heading down to Louisville.  My seeding qualifier is Friday morning which will set our call ups for the main event on Saturday January 14.  I'll be racing for my place in the world rankings in the 35-39 age group.  As of now there are nearly 60 people registered for my age group, if we hit 80 our seeding qualifier will be our chance to make it to the main event. 

The course looks awesome.  Even includes a "flyover" which is my personal favorite (well, I think it is cool, but I've never officially done one)!  As for my goals, well GOAL #1 is to have fun.  On top of that, a top 50% finish, maybe even a top 20 would just be icing on the cake.

Have a great weekend.