Next Up the 2018 Blue Ridge Relay

My next race is a little over two weeks away.  I will be leaving to head to the Blue Ridge Relay race on Labor Day.  I have to go out to North Carolina to review some real estate for Sprouts before the race.  I will get into Raleigh that Monday night and then work my way around the State visiting sites and some of our existing stores before finishing in Greenville, SC.  A couple of my other teammates will be joining me there on Wednesday night.  The next day the rest of the team and my daughter Mara will be flying in to join us.  We will then head up to Boone, NC to rest before heading to the starting line for our 7:30 a.m. starting time on Friday September 7th.

I am going to be Runner #3 and my portion of this relay will cover 24.8 miles.  Mara is going to be runner #8 and she will run the furthest she has ever run covering 16.1 miles.  My first leg (# 3) starts at the Helton United Methodist Church and finishes 5.2 miles later at the Landmark Baptist Church.  The leg is described as a good climb and descent on gravel.  Mostly flat and rolling before and after the gravel road section.  The first mile is on a pretty heavily trafficked road.  Looking at the grades of the uphill portion of this leg it looks like it will be challenge.  Walking will be necessary to get up this hill.

Mara’s first leg is #6 starting at the Friendly Grove Baptist Church and finishes 6.7 miles later at the Frosty’s Choose & Cut which is a is a family owned choose and cut Christmas tree farm, specializing in Fraser Firs since 1960.  Wow, it is even older than me.  The leg is described as a having a good climb and a steep gravel/dirt descent early on, followed by a long gradual climb through the valley.  A steep paved climb and 1-mile descent finish this run.  They say that runners will enjoy the view of Bluff Mountain and its waterfall as they begin their first big descent.  I will advise Mara to use the walk/run method to finish this leg.

After we get some rest as Van 2 runs legs 7 – 12, my next leg is going to be #15.  The leg starts at the Grandfather Country Store.  This store sits on the eastern slope of Grandfather Mountain and has claimed the site at Blue Moon Gap since the early 1920s.  According to their website, generations of mountain people have bought groceries, hardware, and automobile products at the little store that was once known as Blue Moon Station.  It has had several owners, name changes, and facelifts, but remains ever "The Country Store" to local people who were taken there as children and now walk the same floor boards to buy drinks and snacks with their grandchildren.  This leg is my longest travelling 10.5 miles and finishing at Grandfather Mountain.  This leg is described as a tough leg because of the distance and because most of it is a climb.

Mara’s second leg is #18 and starts at Newland Elementary School and finishes 5 miles later at a Chirstmas Tree lot.  The leg is described as mostly rolling with a big climb on Cow Camp.  They recommend that runners be extra alert for traffic on Spanish Oak.  It has a pretty tough climb from about mile 2.5 to mile 4.  Our team will be there to support Mara as she kills this one. 

Again after a rest we will be ready to run our last legs of this race.  My final leg is #27 and starts at Tipton Hill Elementary School and finishes 9.1 miles later.  Based on our time estimator, I will be running this leg at sunrise.  It has a nice downhill portion at the start.  Unfortunately it has a steady climb from mile 4 to the end.  The leg does run along the North Toe River.  According to Wikipedia, the name Toe is taken from its original name Estatoe, pronounced 'S - ta - toe', a native American name associated with the Estatoe trade route leading down from the North Carolina mountains through Brevard. There is a historical plaque in Brevard with information that affirms the route, which continues into South Carolina, where a village of the same name was located.  Due to difficulty in pronouncing the name it was shortened over the years to Toe.  I am hoping the scenery will take my mind off the pain.

Mara’s final leg is #30.  If everything goes as planned, she will be starting off around 9:00 a.m.  The leg starts at Concord Baptist Church and ends 4.4 miles later.  The route is a very gradual up hill and runs along the Cane River.  The Cane River is a stream in Yancey County, North Carolina.  It originates on the western slopes of Mount Mitchell and flows northward until it joins the North Toe River to form the Nolichucky. It flows through the communities of Pensacola, Burnsville, Cane River, Ramseytown, and Huntdale.  I think this will be a beautiful way for Mara to finish her first ever adventure relay race.

I know that I have trained hard for this race.  I made sure that I did a lot of hill work throughout my training.  I am not sure what I will find when I am out there in North Carolina.  But everything I have read about this race is that it is one of the best relays in the country.  The race director and volunteer’s desire is to share the beauty of their mountain home with other runners.  I have loved the mountains of North Carolina ever since the first time Bev and I drove through them in 1991 when we were moving to Arkansas.  Now for the first time, I will be able to experience them on foot with my daughter and my running friends.  It just doesn’t get any better than that!

July 23 – 6.10 miles (1:12:16, 11:51 pace) – Hill Repeats
July 24 – 6.50 miles (59:13, 9:07 pace) – Mile Repeats
July 26 – 9.10 miles (1:17:55, 8:34 pace) – Tempo Run
July 27 – 6.10 miles (1:03:59, 10:19 pace)
July 28 – 10.30 miles (1:42:34, 9:57 pace)
July 29 – 10.10 miles (1:45:35, 10:27 pace)
July 30 – 8.10 miles (1:35:03, 11:44 pace) – Hill Repeats
July 31 – 6.50 miles (59:04, 9:05 pace) – Mile Repeats
Aug 2 – 9.10 miles (1:18:09, 8:35 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 3 – 7.10 miles (1:10:35, 9:56 pace)
Aug 4 – 6.10 miles (1:19:54, 10:06 pace)
Aug 5 – 12.10 miles (1:59:20, 9:52 pace)
Aug 6 – 6.10 miles (1:13:04, 11:59 pace) – Hill Repeats
Aug 7 – 8.00 miles (1:12:40, 9:05 pace) – Mile Repeats
Aug 9 – 9.10 miles (01:17:26, 8:31 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 10 – 6.10 miles (58:29, 9:31 pace)
Aug 11 – 10.20 miles (1:37:13, 9:32 pace)
Aug 12 – 10.20 miles (01:37:42, 9:35 pace)
Aug 13 – 8.10 miles (1:28:20, 10:54 pace) – Hill Repeats
Aug 14 – 7.00 miles (1:02:53, 8:59 pace) – Mile Repeats
Aug 17 – 10.10 miles (1:26:29, 8:34 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 18 – 12.10 miles (1:59:47, 9:54 pace)
Aug 19 – 6.10 miles (59:24, 9:44 pace)

Total Miles:  189.3 miles
2018 Total Miles:  1,210.3 miles

Doing Something Dopey

I am in the final 6 weeks of training for the Blue Ridge Relay.  The heat here in Arizona is definitely taking its toll.  I have found that when I need to run more than 8 miles the heat really makes it hard to keep running.  I decided a long time ago that if I feel like I am starting to overheat that I will just take a short walk break to recover a bit.  This of course means that my paces suffer in the summer.  It doesn’t matter.  I am still getting in the required mileage and know that when the cooler temps come again my pace will pick up.

I have been looking for a new challenge.  I am taking on over 24 miles in this relay.  I have run 14 overnight adventure relays so far.  While I really enjoy them and they are challenging, I needed something new to get my competitive juices flowing.  Another marathon would be interesting but I have conquered that distance 9 times.  So when my daughter called to see if I wanted to run the Disney World Half Marathon with her, I said yes.  But I had read about a challenge that interested me called The Dopey Challenge.  How appropriate a name for this event.

I decided to sign up for The Dopey Challenge and will be running it in January 2019.  What is the challenge?  It is simply running all 4 races that are scheduled for the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend.  Here is how Disney describes it:

It's four days of race magic for a total of 48.6 miles in the Dopey Challenge! Participants will run the 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Walt Disney World® Marathon back-to-back days. If you complete all four races within the pacing requirements you will be awarded the Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge medal and the Dopey Challenge finisher medal in addition to the individual race medals for a total of six pieces of "bling."
I am so fired up to train for this race challenge.  The best part is that my daughter is going to run the 10K and Half Marathon with me.  The only thing I know is that I will have to finish the marathon in 5 hours and 30 minutes or less.  In my worst marathon performance when I had injured my hamstring, I was able to finish in under 5 hours.  So I think I can get in the 26.2 miles in less than 5 and a half hours.  Of course, I will have already run 22.4 miles.  Maybe I shouldn’t be so sure.  Regardless, the overnight relays have prepared me for running on tired legs which is a plus.

I can’t wait to see how my body holds up as I run a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Marathon on back-to-back days.  I think that all of my mearthon training and relay races have adequately prepared me for this type of challenge.  But before I start thinking about the Disney race, I need to remain focused on getting in the hill training required to allow me to successfully complete my 3 legs in the Blue Ridge Relay in September.

God I love this sport!

Jun 11 – 6.10 miles (1:04:50, 10:38 pace) – Hill Repeats
Jun 12 – 6.30 miles (53:49, 8:33 pace) – Speed work
Jun 14 – 7.10 miles (1:01:19, 8:38 pace) – Tempo Run
Jun 15 – 6.20 miles (56:03, 9:02 pace)
Jun 16 – 10.10 miles (1:36:47, 9:35 pace)
Jun 17 – 11.20 miles (1:45:16, 9:24 pace)
Jun 18 – 6.10 miles (1:05:21, 10:43pace) – Hill Repeats
Jun 19 – 6.30 miles (53:41, 8:31 pace) – Speed work
Jun 21 – 9.20 miles (1:19:54, 8:21 pace) – Tempo Run
Jun 22 – 7.10 miles (1:07:53, 9:34 pace)
Jun 23 – 11.10 miles (1:46:40, 9:37 pace)
Jun 24 – 11.30 miles (1:48:43, 9:37 pace)
Jun 25 – 6.10 miles (1:08:22, 11:13 pace) – Hill Repeats
Jun 26 – 7.10 miles (59:58, 8:27 pace) – Tempo Run
Jun 28 – 3.10 miles (23:30, 7:35 pace) – Speed work
Jun 29 – 6.10 miles (59:07, 9:42pace)
Jun 30 – 10.10 miles (1:34:19, 9:20 pace)
July 1 – 13.30 miles (2:02:35, 9:13 pace)
July 2 – 8.10 miles (1:27:34, 10:49 pace) – Hill Repeats
July 3 – 6.30 miles (53:46, 8:32 pace) – Speed work
July 5 – 8.10 miles (1:19:54, 8:32 pace) – Tempo Run
July 6 – 7.10 miles (1:09:16, 9:45 pace)
July 7 – 12.10 miles (1:59:14, 9:51 pace)
July 8 – 6.20 miles (1:00:49, 9:49 pace)
July 9 – 6.10 miles (1:07:54, 11:08 pace) – Hill Repeats
July 10 – 6.20 miles (53:33, 8:38 pace) – Speed work
July 12 – 6.10 miles (53:24, 8:45 pace) – Tempo Run
July 15 – 7.10 miles (1:04:13, 9:03 pace)
July 16 – 6.10 miles (55:03, 9:01 pace)
July 17 – 3.10 miles (1:19:54, 7:40 pace) – Speed work
July 19 – 8.10 miles (1:08:46, 8:29 pace) – Tempo Run
July 20 – 7.10 miles (1:09:01, 9:43 pace)
July 21 – 6.20 miles (55:35, 8:58 pace)
July 22 – 12.50 miles (2:03:29, 9:53 pace)

Total Miles:  260.4 miles
2018 Total Miles:  1,021.0 miles

Run for Joy

Back in April of 2014 at age 53, I suffered my first really serious injury that sidelined me for a while.  I had injured my hamstring while running the Boston Marathon.  While I persevered and finished the race, I am now not sure that was the best thing I could have done.  Looking back I realize that the injury could have ended my running life entirely.  That is a truly sobering thought as running is a integral part of who I am and my life.  The good news is that when I start to feel the niggling pains that could signal an injury I immediately pull back and reset my training expectations.  I have no intention of giving up on running especially due to a chronic injury.

What most runners fail to realize is that running is supposed to bring joy into your life.  It is not supposed to be something you have to do.  Sure it helps you feel good.  It keeps you healthy.  It helps you maintain a healthy weight.  But if you are pushing yourself hard all the time, you are really missing the point.  You should be embracing the fact that getting out on the road simply brings you joy and happiness.  The simple pursuit of running and sharing what you feel with others is truly what it is all about.  Why would you ever risk losing that just to hit a certain time split in your training program.

Today if I am not feeling up to a scheduled run, I change it up.  Maybe I just run a shorter distance or skip it altogether.  Skipping a scheduled run is in reality no big deal.   The key is to realize that handling failure or lack of desire is a learned skill.  Since coming back from my injury, I try to simply chalk up every failure, slow race time, or bonking as an opportunity to grow and improve.  Let's be realistic, no runner will go an entire career without having to deal with some sort of failure.   The big difference is in the attitude.  I choose to have the attitude that my many failures are simply a step towards becoming a better runner.

I have also changed my attitude towards my training.  I obviously try and meet my training goals.  I do work hard and at least twice a week I do speed work and tempo runs to improve my overall speed and stamina.  But if I am out on the road trying to finish one of my two weekend long runs and I just don't seem to have the gas to run the whole way, I simply stop and walk a bit until I feel better.  Sure it means I will log a much slower pace.  But I certainly won't do any damage to my body nor reduce the passion I have for the sport.  Besides who really cares if I run 10 miles at a 9:00 or 10:00 pace.

It is more important to feel gratitude that I can get out there and run whenever I want.  At 56 years old it is a gift to be able to continue to run and race like I do each year.  Therefore when I am having a rough time out there on the road, feeling stressed, I remind myself that I get to do this each morning.   I don't have to get up early and log the miles.  I choose to.  If I am truthful to myself, this little reminder brings me back to center and I am grateful to just be out there running.

May 14 – 6.10 miles (1:07:26, 11:03 pace) – Hill Repeats
May 15 – 6.20 miles (53:51, 8:41 pace) – Speed work
May 17 – 9.30 miles (1:21:30, 8:46 pace) – Tempo Run
May 18 – 6.20 miles (55:02, 8:53 pace)
May 19– 8.50 miles (1:15:16, 8:51 pace)
May 24 – 9.40 miles (1:22:24, 8:51 pace) – Tempo Run
May 25 – 7.20 miles (1:05:19, 9:04 pace)
May 26 – 10.40 miles (1:35:15, 9:10 pace)
May 27 – 10.10 miles (1:30:57, 9:00 pace)
May 28– 6.10 miles (1:09:46, 11:15 pace) – Hill Repeats
May 29 – 6.30 miles (53:35, 8:52 pace) – Speed work
May 31 – 9.40 miles (1:21:51, 8:42 pace) – Tempo Run
Jun 1 – 6.10 miles (55:42, 9:08 pace)
Jun 2 – 8.10 miles (1:14:10, 9:09 pace)
Jun 3 – 11.20 miles (1:51:26, 9:57 pace)
Jun 4 – 6.10 miles (1:01:33, 10:05 pace)
Jun 5 – 3.10 miles (23:55, 7:43 pace) – Speed work
Jun 7 – 9.40 miles (1:22:11, 8:45 pace) – Tempo Run
Jun 8 – 7.10 miles (1:07:21, 9:29 pace)
Jun 9 – 10.30 miles (1:38:06, 9:31 pace)
Jun 10 – 10.10 miles (1:35:17, 9:26 pace)

Total Miles:  166.6 miles
2018 Total Miles:  760.6 miles

Running Allows us to Live Life to the Fullest

“People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they'll go to any length to live longer. But don't think that's the reason most people run. Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you're going to while away the years, it's far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive then in a fog, and I believe running helps you to do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life — and for me, for writing as whole. I believe many runners would agree”
― Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

I love this quote from Murakami.  He is absolutely right.  I may run to stay healthy and live a longer life but it is really so that I can live a fuller life.  Apparently I have translated my love for running to my children.  Most recently my daughter signed up to run her first Half Marathon.  Up to this point in time, she had run a few 5K races and ran regularly for exercise.  While my initial reaction to the news was trepidation, I knew that it was her way of living her life to the fullest.  How could that be a bad thing no matter what happened on race day.

When she told me she had signed up for the race, I asked if she wanted me to come down and run it with her.  She politely declined.  She wanted to do this on her own.  That is something I understood fully.  when I started racing long distances, I wanted to do it on my own.  She and I talked a few times about her training.  I offered a little advice here and there.  But if there is one thing I know about her, when she decides to do something she gets it done.  I am constantly amazed at her tenacity and confidence.  I am so proud of all that she has accomplished so far in life.

In the past, she had set goals in life to finish college and work for Disney.  Both of which she accomplished.  This time she had set a physical goal for herself.  One that would challenge her in ways she hadn't dealt with before.  She is a strong willed woman and put in the time and effort to fully prepare for the challenge she signed up for.  When we talked about the race, she told me she had a goal to break 3 hours in her first half marathon.  A very reasonable goal considering she had never run this type of distance before.

On April 22, 2018, she lined up at the Disney World Resort to run the 2018 Star Wars Half Marathon – The Dark Side.  The only thing I could do here in Arizona was follow her on the web.  I certainly can't detail her race experience her as I wasn't there.  But she texted me immediately after she had finished the race.  Her excitement about her achievement came through loud and clear.   She was so proud of herself.  And she should be! Through the runner's high she told me she wanted to run another one.  She had run her first Half Marathon in 2:34:27!  What an accomplishment.  She had definitely exerted herself to the fullest and conquered the course.

Now she is going to sign us up to run the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon this November.  And I get to have her join my Penguin relay team in the Blue Ridge Relay in September.  She is filling in for one of our runners who can't participate due to an injury.  I am so thrilled that she is building the same passion for this sport that I have harbored for over 30 years.  I am looking forward to many more races with her.  But I am even more looking forward to hearing her excitement about life as she continues to be fully alive in this world.

Apr 16 – 5.10 miles (50:10, 9:50 pace) – Hill Repeats
Apr 17 – 6.50 miles (55:09, 8:29 pace) – Speed work
Apr 19 – 8.50 miles (1:14:35, 8:46 pace) – Tempo Run
Apr 21 – 8.10 miles (01:13:15, 9:02 pace)
Apr 22 – 9.30 miles (1:24:21, 9:04 pace)
Apr 23 – 5.10 miles (51:55, 10:11 pace) – Hill Repeats
Apr 24 – 6.50 miles (54:55, 8:27 pace) – Speed work
Apr 26 – 5.10 miles (43:12, 8:28 pace) – Tempo Run
Apr 27 – 4.10 miles (45:42, 11:09 pace)
Apr 28 – 4.50 miles (40:00, 8:53 pace)
May 1 – 5.10 miles (49:00, 9:36 pace)
May 2 – 6.50 miles (55:09, 8:29 pace) – Speed work
May 3 – 5.10 miles (45:07, 8:51 pace)
May 4 – 8.70 miles (1:16:31, 8:48 pace) – Tempo Run
May 5 – 8.10 miles (1:16:14, 9:25 pace)
May 6 – 8.50 miles (1:17:56, 9:10 pace)
May 7 – 6.10 miles (1:06:47, 10:57 pace) – Hill Repeats
May 8 – 3.10 miles (23:44, 7:39 pace) – Speed work
May 10 – 8.20 miles (1:11:34, 8:44 pace) – Tempo Run
May 11 – 6.10 miles (54:48, 8:59 pace)
May 12 – 5.10 miles (45:12, 8:52 pace)
May 13 – 11.30 miles (1:42:19, 9:03 pace)

Total Miles:  144.7 miles
2018 Total Miles:  594.0 miles