400m - .53 2002
800m - 1:55 2004
1500m - 3:59 2003
1600m - 4:27 2002
Mile - 4:21 2003
3200m - 9:55 2002
Steeple - 9:45 2003
5k - 16:18 2001
8k - 26:28 2004
10k - 35:14 2019
10mi - 1:06:26 2018
15k - 57:25 2011
half marathon - 1:22:26 2018
marathon - 2:53:57 2019
10k and up, all records set this decade.
8k and down, all records set last decade.
Surely, only the 5k and 8k do I have a chance to still break.
Friday, November 8, 2019
Thursday, November 7, 2019
"It was all a dream" - NYC Marathon 2019
"Hello. Yes, can you please wake me up at 4:57am? Thank you."
That is how I finished my work before i would awake to the day that i would run my first new york city marathon, and my third overall world major marathon.
A nice CBD capsule around 9pm, a belly full of days worth of carbs, an easy conversation with Josh Brewer on the phone, a goodnight facetime to my wife, and the luck of getting an extra hour of sleep with daylights savings time, I turned off the light in my room at the Double Tree Hotel in the Financial District, just a few minutes walk from the Staten Island Ferry I was set to ride on at 5:45am that morning.
I have been wanting to get into this race for three years. That is when i started pursuing it, yet I have hearing much about it from friends, and understanding it's general importance in the world of marathons since I began this long distance running lifestyle almost 10 years ago. Mike Mitchell did NYC as his first marathon close to a decade ago, David Brinkley was set to go before Sandy derailed him 5+ years ago, and my old teammate Carson Blackwelder has run it multiple times, I believe. Also, i remember when i was about to go to Boston in 2012, Stephen Spada expressed to me how much better NYC was compared to Boston, no doubt I took his comments with a suspected partiality but knowing his home and the friction of anything between those two cities - but also, when I visited my brother coinciding with the marathon, i would say around 5 years ago, i began to wonder and shift to thinking New York very well may be the best one.
So I entered the lottery two years ago, and also last year, both to no avail. As I was getting ready for the January 2019 Disney Marathon in Autumn 2018, I jumped in the Charlotte half marathon and ran a PR, that, as NYC operates, resulted in me qualifying still not a guarantee, to the race. So i put my name in the hat, the same week i had just finished the Disney race, and found out a few weeks after, that i had been accepted. Wahoo!
I knew I was in for something really special before I even got on the ferry, as i walked down the cold dark street where people were giving away free coffee, and volunteers were welcoming the runners with greetings of good morning and excitement. Here we are, 4 hours away from the gun, and folks are already happily volunteering, making no doubt a very long day. It was adventurous in feeling, going out from my bags and phone back at the hotel, where I wouldn't be "in touch" with people until I was done with the race...hours and miles much later far away, while going headlong into the throngs of people on the same journey. As I got into the Ferry port departure building on the Manhattan side, I immediately became away at how this even is unique in the fact that where typically in a large gathering you know in 2019 see about 85% of people looking at their device screen, but here it was about 45% - a drastic enough difference to be noticeable. Still, if you think about it - that is a LOT of people leaving it up to checked bag teams or carrying their phones during race! And yes, there were a lot that did carry, made easy by the fannypacks of pockets that some marathoners like to use. I digress...
A beautiful sunrise greeted us over the waters, while we ferry'd over to staten island.I was now for the first time in Staten Island, making that the last borough for me to have been to in my life. Being separated but still a part of the city definition, it had very much it's own personality apart from the other boroughs. A more blue color new england look, not as tightly packed like the other parts of NYC. It seemed like a great place to start this run, especially on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge - once the longest suspension bridge at 2 miles across, made for the most incredible start. Of course we were all ready to get going for the 9:40am start, as the waiting in the start village was over 2 hours for most people. Hats off to the race in so many phases, but in no small part to the complimentary bagels, energy bars, coffee, water, and bananas...and free dunkin doughnuts hats! I was very happy this was the case because i did not bring any fuel with me. Just a pair of sweatpants and a longsleeve t shirt which i would donate after stripping off before the start. It looked like a displaced migrant group that was laying on the grass and parking lots on cardboard, wearing plastic bags and random mismatched clothes. It was chilly, but thankfully not a cloud in the sky. The corral opened up, and the crowds began to get in line to get in line. It was getting closer and then they let us to the start, on the bridge. There we got in place, while the elites had the middle of the bridge, i was on the left side facing Brooklyn. It was cool being able to see them all get ready and do strides so close to me, while the starter over the load speaker introduced them. I recognized a couple of them from where I was, and then the music began after the star spangled banner. The fever was rising and we all were starting to bounce up and down with excitement. Then, we were off...
I didn't have much trouble getting out. I was about 15 seconds behind the starting line, and then only it took maybe a half mile to have it thinned out enough i was not effected at all by traffic. I knew given the incline i would not be quick, so when my watched hit 6:49 I was not alarmed at all. This was slower than the pace I had recently decided to go for (sub 6:30). Okay, so I had the best fitness i have gotten for any marathon going into this one, so I knew I wanted a big PR but up until seeing folks run great at Chicago, and Marine Corp, did I start to believe I had a shot at going sub 2:50. It's hard to say, but I don't think I totally expected to - but also I now was brave enough to think it was possible. Anyway, the downhill part of the bridge begun and the legs started to roll along with all the rest of the people. The view was amazing up here - my favorite on the whole course....such a clear autumn day, you could see Staten Island, Brooklyn, Statue of Liberty, the New York Harbor, and Lower Manhattan. It was majestic. Also, there were a half dozen helicopters humming parallel to the bridge beside us adding to the atmosphere, as well as a handful of other copters flying about beyond.
6:01 for the second mile, and exiting off the bridge onto the days first bit of flat ground. The difference had been made up just like that and now was at a 6:25 average. Under 6:30 would be a little quicker than my old teammate and still friend, charly parsons ran in his marathon debut the week prior at Marine Corp 2:50:59 . Simply stunning. It was always fun competing against him, and he typically would set the mark, so this was like old times in chasing him. Signs, people, cheering, parties, and anything you can imagine that people do while watching a marathon go by out on the street on a beautiful day in new york city had begun. This was going to be a rocking party. A fitness parade hahah. With 53,000 runners, i believe this was officially the biggest marathon in the world on record. We would pass by over a million spectators. What an energy!
As i started to settle into my pace and rythm and began to keep my eyes open for any potential people i may join, either known to them or not. If headphone free I would say Good Job, and on the first guy i asked what he wanted to run I was surprised he wanted to run what i did, 250. okay, I'm seeing to be going faster than him so this is a good sign, and yes we are faster than pace, but I decided to go on after he encouraged me. I didn't leave thinking I wanted to go faster than 250 - but that i wanted to run what i felt was the appropriate pace....and this felt too reserved. This being my 8th marathon, i trusted my senses more than ever since i was properly trained. It's amazing how freeing that feelign is over having done the work. We think we can avoid training because may get away with it, and we will have saved time, or didn't have to sacrifice whatever else we chose to do instead of run. But then you get to the race and - like me at Chicago - you "trust" those feelings, and then have a hell of a time once the collapse takes hold. This is part of learning, and experiencing the lessons of the marathon. And not just the race itself, but what it takes in preparation to be able to execute a pace that you can maintain. Now, you can also slack in training and run restrained, but believe me - it's not as fun as how i felt - being in shape, feeling 615s like a breeze, and like you are about to do something special. So that was my prevailing feeling as I went full steam ahead into deeply uncharted territory. I definitely had room in my head that i might not increase, but that i was tough enough to hold on. And so after passing my family beside my brothers corner at 72nd and 4th Ave. in Bay Ridge just after the 5k mark, I through them my hat - which almost made it off the street, but not quite - to where they could not retrieve (sigh), for, at this juncture in the race, i was still on the opposite side of the road from them with a barricade in the middle as the runners from different corrals merged at a point elsewhere off the bridge to to where we had yet arrived with open streets that we could run freely in.
I had my first gel, Maurteen with Caffeine - at mile 6.5 after i crossed the 10k under 40 mins. I was in a nice groove now, and was enjoying the sun shine upon my face. On ward i went, feeling smooth and in control. The new Nike Next% shoes felt awesome on my feet. I think they sure are worth the hype, as well as thousands of others in the bright green and pink shoes. Miles 8-11 in Brooklyn were awesome. The crowds were so ruckus. Then we hit the Hasidic Jewish area and it was very quite. Quite a difference.
I hit 10 miles in a new 10 mile record for me, sub 103. Wow - just cruising. The conversation in my head was starting to pick up: Keep leaning forward/push off on your toes/keep your feet falling quickly to the ground/quick cadence/you got this/feeling awesome/etc. I was not feeling fatigued, I was excited knowing the first half was coming up pretty soon. Here in this section there was a good amount of rolling hills and turns around Williamsburg, and then as we wound our way into Queens right around 13 miles. I started to take my second Maurteen gel, no caff, and hurry up over the bridge /overpass - which was small - before the Queensboro bridge - into the first half point at 1:22:38...just 10 seconds off my half PR, but it felt easy! I thought I may not be even or negative split, but I did feel I was going to be in for a great PR because I trusted my fitness if times got rough - which i still was hoping I may be able to unleash a good finish, but i wasn't totally sure being that I had 13 miles still to run and I was on such a pace. But no less I didn't dwell on that, just continued to stay in the moment and focus each mile based on the people around me making sure I was keeping pace, picking a target in front to stay equal with, or increase, and focus on a smooth form. Being this far in people had really settled and there were a few shirts I kept tabs on for many miles that helped a lot.
The Queens Borough was very short lived, but all the attention was on getting up and over one of the hardest parts of the course, that bridge - coming at mile 15. It was hyped up enough i was ready for the challenge but actually running it was not as hard as it was made to seem. I definitely slowed down but just to 6:30 for that mile, but on the down I didn't speed up as much and the 16th mile, with some sharp turns, i hit 6:27 - still slower than my overall pace. Maybe this was the first sign of "uh-oh". We went left onto 1st Ave. and the crowds of Manhattan became very ruckus once again, welcoming us to the first glimmers of where we'd be finishing, just a few blocks over in Central Park. Now, these next few miles 16-19 were pretty tough IMO on the long straightway, wide street, headwind, and rolling inclines. This accelerated the slowing oncoming fatigue that I began to feel, yet was being held off from the new sights and sounds of this the very populated borough. The crowds seemed to be 4 and 5 deep off the street, on both sides. Madness. I was keeping my eye out for Charly who said he would be around mile 17, but I really thought I would never see him. Sure enough, he yelled out, up on his perch, and I got a little boost from that I carried on, despite the creeping dread that was in the back of my head.
I remember waiting for the bridge out of Manhattan that would take us into the Bronx. I had shifted gears into breaking down the course into mini segments as I was now relying on mental tricks to keep the pace. Once we hit that small bridge over, beside us was a band playing Smells like Teen Spirit and that provided a little boost, but I had realized I was having a tough time - and had now since about a mile earlier on the last wide parts of the straightaway - gone from eyeing people to stay with, to seeing a few here and there come up beside me and increase their lead. I was slowing down ever so slightly, and now, coming into "the wall" I was clearly beginning the fight.
We hit the Bronx, and at mile 20 and I was still on pace for a 2:46 but but that was beginning to feel very tough to keep replicating for 6 more miles what I had done. The crowds were thin here, the scenery not as vibrant, and we passed some spectators telling us 5 more miles, and my breathing started to get labored and I wondered just how well i was going to hang on. the Mile 21 split I was now at 247 pace, clipping a split of 654. The pace had began to rise at 19, but this was the slowest difference by far of the race. We were now back over the last bridge, into Harlem (Manhattan once again) and at the 22 mile marker I split a 7:10. Uh-oh. pace now was on for a 248. I knew I wasn't going to at this point stay there, but I still thought maybe i would get a last wind to still challenge sub 250. I looked down and tried to move my legs almost mentally but in taking inventory of my body, it seemed the lactic acid had set in and I may not be able to shake it.
backing up a bit, after the second gel, finished off around mile 15 I was happy to have it finished because with the ongoing sips of Gatorade as well, my stomach wasn't loving the sweet tastes anymore and i really had no desire to take a third one when the time came. The weather provided really not a great need for me to really go after the H2O but for the Gatorade I did try and keep regular, every other or few miles, to make sure I was getting replenished and would avoid cramping.
and what typically happens with me in the marathon, is that around the Wall i do tend to get some bouts of nausea. No exception here. Its tough because your body is starting to hurt, and people are starting to pass you and its all around demoralizing. so, the third gel (GU rocket fuel), at mile 22 i tried once suck and could not take anymore. that would be it for me. I almost wondered why try, but i was trusting they would help and if i relied on my feelings i would probably regret not being preventative with fuel, so it was tough exactly to know how to handle it. anyway i had to get through 4 more miles.
at mile 23, now entering Central Park, after having the last couple miles of throngs of people pass me, .i was- for the last time- still under 250 pace (2:49:39) and was at a 7:40 for the mile. I had began to come to terms with the fact that i would not be beating my old teammate Charly's record this day, despite having such a lead for so long. Yet, three miles to go though is very short when you train for marathons. It's basically a recovery or warm up, just a bit over 20 mins. Who can't suck it up for that long?! I had to trick myself, and make the most of this race i was having and see how much of a PR i could muster. Also, I was now in Central Park, I was having the race of my life, lots of people were tracking me and I just couldn't give up. I felt a lot of pressure, and i'm glad i did - i needed all the help i could get to not give in. No doubt the experiences of past marathons helped me from going through these times before and coming out the other side. I reminded myself that this is temporary. Pain is not permanent and that my future self would be relieved if I fought with all I had, verses the alternative where I couldn't go back and change the past were I to know I didn't give my all. So, that 24th mile I did not loose pace, but i was still falling off from my expected finish. 24th mile 7:40 once again. 2 miles to go and i saw the running clock read 2:36:30 and I thought just keep holding on and this will be a great race.
I think sensing that if I could push really hard for one more mile, I knew I could get the last mile in mentally, and so with everything I had I went for it and was able to bring the split down to a 7:19. This was no small feat given it's so hard to reverse course once lactic acid sets in, and you are in mile 25. But that seemed to totally whip me out. I had mental motivation with one mile left, but physically i was drained. I could not see normally, my vision was blurry and my head so light. This last mile was one of the most tenuous runs of my life. It felt as if i could fall over or my body just decide to stop on it's own if i wasn't careful. Balancing this feeling while also telling yourself to keep running because each second slower was a sacrifice to my new PR, i was in a really rough spot. I felt the finish close but it seemed to not come. The last straightaway before the final turn was taking for ever. I was swerving left and right, just trying to keep one foot in front of the other. Slowly, i hit the last turn, saw mile 26 and the clock said 2:52:12, and i gazed ahead for a line to run to. I couldn't see it. The last stretch was winding and I had to keep trudging until I got my view-able goal line.
There it was, up on a little incline, and while the first part of the last .2 I had no kick at all, the last half of that .2 (.1) i looked at my watch and saw that if i did not kick i would miss 253. I did, and just snuck past the line at 2:53:57. OMG - i had done it. Right there at the finish line a black guy in jeans, a fleece, and a ball cap was shaking finishers hands. Whoa, he looked like Meb Keflezighi. It would make sense i thought, but nah, really? After a few paces beyond, i had to turn back to ask. With a big smile, he nodded it was him. Amazing - this is one of the best distance runners of all time. a 2004 silver medalist in the marathon, a 2009 NYC champion, and 2014 Boston Marathon. kind of a cool thing!
that's pretty much the race recap. the long chute proved too much for my lightheaded-ness and fatigue so i went to the medical tent to recovery for about 10 mins before finishing my exit. I had really left it all out there, after a daring race going much faster than I ever have, and giving myself a real shot for going well under 250, where my previous best was only 257. All this in less than a year. I felt i really have gained a lot of fitness and improvement in 2019, and I'm excited to see myself still ripping off PRs. in the last 12 months I have had lifetime PRs in: half marathon, 10k (twice), trail half marathon, and marathon (twice).
Mile Splits for the day: (1) 645, (2) 601, (3) 622, (4) 614, (5) 612, (6) 615, (7) 616, (8)620, (9)621, (10)608, (11)621, (12)613, (13)622,(14) 618, (15) 631, (16) 627, (17) 623, (18) 621, (19) 631,(20) 641,(21) 654, (22)710, (23)740, (24) 741, (25) 719, (26) 822, (.2) 145
underlined is when i fell off hard
I'm close to popping another BIG PR, and i'm excited to keep on ahead. Thanks for reading!
That is how I finished my work before i would awake to the day that i would run my first new york city marathon, and my third overall world major marathon.
A nice CBD capsule around 9pm, a belly full of days worth of carbs, an easy conversation with Josh Brewer on the phone, a goodnight facetime to my wife, and the luck of getting an extra hour of sleep with daylights savings time, I turned off the light in my room at the Double Tree Hotel in the Financial District, just a few minutes walk from the Staten Island Ferry I was set to ride on at 5:45am that morning.
I have been wanting to get into this race for three years. That is when i started pursuing it, yet I have hearing much about it from friends, and understanding it's general importance in the world of marathons since I began this long distance running lifestyle almost 10 years ago. Mike Mitchell did NYC as his first marathon close to a decade ago, David Brinkley was set to go before Sandy derailed him 5+ years ago, and my old teammate Carson Blackwelder has run it multiple times, I believe. Also, i remember when i was about to go to Boston in 2012, Stephen Spada expressed to me how much better NYC was compared to Boston, no doubt I took his comments with a suspected partiality but knowing his home and the friction of anything between those two cities - but also, when I visited my brother coinciding with the marathon, i would say around 5 years ago, i began to wonder and shift to thinking New York very well may be the best one.
So I entered the lottery two years ago, and also last year, both to no avail. As I was getting ready for the January 2019 Disney Marathon in Autumn 2018, I jumped in the Charlotte half marathon and ran a PR, that, as NYC operates, resulted in me qualifying still not a guarantee, to the race. So i put my name in the hat, the same week i had just finished the Disney race, and found out a few weeks after, that i had been accepted. Wahoo!
I knew I was in for something really special before I even got on the ferry, as i walked down the cold dark street where people were giving away free coffee, and volunteers were welcoming the runners with greetings of good morning and excitement. Here we are, 4 hours away from the gun, and folks are already happily volunteering, making no doubt a very long day. It was adventurous in feeling, going out from my bags and phone back at the hotel, where I wouldn't be "in touch" with people until I was done with the race...hours and miles much later far away, while going headlong into the throngs of people on the same journey. As I got into the Ferry port departure building on the Manhattan side, I immediately became away at how this even is unique in the fact that where typically in a large gathering you know in 2019 see about 85% of people looking at their device screen, but here it was about 45% - a drastic enough difference to be noticeable. Still, if you think about it - that is a LOT of people leaving it up to checked bag teams or carrying their phones during race! And yes, there were a lot that did carry, made easy by the fannypacks of pockets that some marathoners like to use. I digress...
A beautiful sunrise greeted us over the waters, while we ferry'd over to staten island.I was now for the first time in Staten Island, making that the last borough for me to have been to in my life. Being separated but still a part of the city definition, it had very much it's own personality apart from the other boroughs. A more blue color new england look, not as tightly packed like the other parts of NYC. It seemed like a great place to start this run, especially on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge - once the longest suspension bridge at 2 miles across, made for the most incredible start. Of course we were all ready to get going for the 9:40am start, as the waiting in the start village was over 2 hours for most people. Hats off to the race in so many phases, but in no small part to the complimentary bagels, energy bars, coffee, water, and bananas...and free dunkin doughnuts hats! I was very happy this was the case because i did not bring any fuel with me. Just a pair of sweatpants and a longsleeve t shirt which i would donate after stripping off before the start. It looked like a displaced migrant group that was laying on the grass and parking lots on cardboard, wearing plastic bags and random mismatched clothes. It was chilly, but thankfully not a cloud in the sky. The corral opened up, and the crowds began to get in line to get in line. It was getting closer and then they let us to the start, on the bridge. There we got in place, while the elites had the middle of the bridge, i was on the left side facing Brooklyn. It was cool being able to see them all get ready and do strides so close to me, while the starter over the load speaker introduced them. I recognized a couple of them from where I was, and then the music began after the star spangled banner. The fever was rising and we all were starting to bounce up and down with excitement. Then, we were off...
I didn't have much trouble getting out. I was about 15 seconds behind the starting line, and then only it took maybe a half mile to have it thinned out enough i was not effected at all by traffic. I knew given the incline i would not be quick, so when my watched hit 6:49 I was not alarmed at all. This was slower than the pace I had recently decided to go for (sub 6:30). Okay, so I had the best fitness i have gotten for any marathon going into this one, so I knew I wanted a big PR but up until seeing folks run great at Chicago, and Marine Corp, did I start to believe I had a shot at going sub 2:50. It's hard to say, but I don't think I totally expected to - but also I now was brave enough to think it was possible. Anyway, the downhill part of the bridge begun and the legs started to roll along with all the rest of the people. The view was amazing up here - my favorite on the whole course....such a clear autumn day, you could see Staten Island, Brooklyn, Statue of Liberty, the New York Harbor, and Lower Manhattan. It was majestic. Also, there were a half dozen helicopters humming parallel to the bridge beside us adding to the atmosphere, as well as a handful of other copters flying about beyond.
6:01 for the second mile, and exiting off the bridge onto the days first bit of flat ground. The difference had been made up just like that and now was at a 6:25 average. Under 6:30 would be a little quicker than my old teammate and still friend, charly parsons ran in his marathon debut the week prior at Marine Corp 2:50:59 . Simply stunning. It was always fun competing against him, and he typically would set the mark, so this was like old times in chasing him. Signs, people, cheering, parties, and anything you can imagine that people do while watching a marathon go by out on the street on a beautiful day in new york city had begun. This was going to be a rocking party. A fitness parade hahah. With 53,000 runners, i believe this was officially the biggest marathon in the world on record. We would pass by over a million spectators. What an energy!
As i started to settle into my pace and rythm and began to keep my eyes open for any potential people i may join, either known to them or not. If headphone free I would say Good Job, and on the first guy i asked what he wanted to run I was surprised he wanted to run what i did, 250. okay, I'm seeing to be going faster than him so this is a good sign, and yes we are faster than pace, but I decided to go on after he encouraged me. I didn't leave thinking I wanted to go faster than 250 - but that i wanted to run what i felt was the appropriate pace....and this felt too reserved. This being my 8th marathon, i trusted my senses more than ever since i was properly trained. It's amazing how freeing that feelign is over having done the work. We think we can avoid training because may get away with it, and we will have saved time, or didn't have to sacrifice whatever else we chose to do instead of run. But then you get to the race and - like me at Chicago - you "trust" those feelings, and then have a hell of a time once the collapse takes hold. This is part of learning, and experiencing the lessons of the marathon. And not just the race itself, but what it takes in preparation to be able to execute a pace that you can maintain. Now, you can also slack in training and run restrained, but believe me - it's not as fun as how i felt - being in shape, feeling 615s like a breeze, and like you are about to do something special. So that was my prevailing feeling as I went full steam ahead into deeply uncharted territory. I definitely had room in my head that i might not increase, but that i was tough enough to hold on. And so after passing my family beside my brothers corner at 72nd and 4th Ave. in Bay Ridge just after the 5k mark, I through them my hat - which almost made it off the street, but not quite - to where they could not retrieve (sigh), for, at this juncture in the race, i was still on the opposite side of the road from them with a barricade in the middle as the runners from different corrals merged at a point elsewhere off the bridge to to where we had yet arrived with open streets that we could run freely in.
I had my first gel, Maurteen with Caffeine - at mile 6.5 after i crossed the 10k under 40 mins. I was in a nice groove now, and was enjoying the sun shine upon my face. On ward i went, feeling smooth and in control. The new Nike Next% shoes felt awesome on my feet. I think they sure are worth the hype, as well as thousands of others in the bright green and pink shoes. Miles 8-11 in Brooklyn were awesome. The crowds were so ruckus. Then we hit the Hasidic Jewish area and it was very quite. Quite a difference.
I hit 10 miles in a new 10 mile record for me, sub 103. Wow - just cruising. The conversation in my head was starting to pick up: Keep leaning forward/push off on your toes/keep your feet falling quickly to the ground/quick cadence/you got this/feeling awesome/etc. I was not feeling fatigued, I was excited knowing the first half was coming up pretty soon. Here in this section there was a good amount of rolling hills and turns around Williamsburg, and then as we wound our way into Queens right around 13 miles. I started to take my second Maurteen gel, no caff, and hurry up over the bridge /overpass - which was small - before the Queensboro bridge - into the first half point at 1:22:38...just 10 seconds off my half PR, but it felt easy! I thought I may not be even or negative split, but I did feel I was going to be in for a great PR because I trusted my fitness if times got rough - which i still was hoping I may be able to unleash a good finish, but i wasn't totally sure being that I had 13 miles still to run and I was on such a pace. But no less I didn't dwell on that, just continued to stay in the moment and focus each mile based on the people around me making sure I was keeping pace, picking a target in front to stay equal with, or increase, and focus on a smooth form. Being this far in people had really settled and there were a few shirts I kept tabs on for many miles that helped a lot.
The Queens Borough was very short lived, but all the attention was on getting up and over one of the hardest parts of the course, that bridge - coming at mile 15. It was hyped up enough i was ready for the challenge but actually running it was not as hard as it was made to seem. I definitely slowed down but just to 6:30 for that mile, but on the down I didn't speed up as much and the 16th mile, with some sharp turns, i hit 6:27 - still slower than my overall pace. Maybe this was the first sign of "uh-oh". We went left onto 1st Ave. and the crowds of Manhattan became very ruckus once again, welcoming us to the first glimmers of where we'd be finishing, just a few blocks over in Central Park. Now, these next few miles 16-19 were pretty tough IMO on the long straightway, wide street, headwind, and rolling inclines. This accelerated the slowing oncoming fatigue that I began to feel, yet was being held off from the new sights and sounds of this the very populated borough. The crowds seemed to be 4 and 5 deep off the street, on both sides. Madness. I was keeping my eye out for Charly who said he would be around mile 17, but I really thought I would never see him. Sure enough, he yelled out, up on his perch, and I got a little boost from that I carried on, despite the creeping dread that was in the back of my head.
I remember waiting for the bridge out of Manhattan that would take us into the Bronx. I had shifted gears into breaking down the course into mini segments as I was now relying on mental tricks to keep the pace. Once we hit that small bridge over, beside us was a band playing Smells like Teen Spirit and that provided a little boost, but I had realized I was having a tough time - and had now since about a mile earlier on the last wide parts of the straightaway - gone from eyeing people to stay with, to seeing a few here and there come up beside me and increase their lead. I was slowing down ever so slightly, and now, coming into "the wall" I was clearly beginning the fight.
We hit the Bronx, and at mile 20 and I was still on pace for a 2:46 but but that was beginning to feel very tough to keep replicating for 6 more miles what I had done. The crowds were thin here, the scenery not as vibrant, and we passed some spectators telling us 5 more miles, and my breathing started to get labored and I wondered just how well i was going to hang on. the Mile 21 split I was now at 247 pace, clipping a split of 654. The pace had began to rise at 19, but this was the slowest difference by far of the race. We were now back over the last bridge, into Harlem (Manhattan once again) and at the 22 mile marker I split a 7:10. Uh-oh. pace now was on for a 248. I knew I wasn't going to at this point stay there, but I still thought maybe i would get a last wind to still challenge sub 250. I looked down and tried to move my legs almost mentally but in taking inventory of my body, it seemed the lactic acid had set in and I may not be able to shake it.
backing up a bit, after the second gel, finished off around mile 15 I was happy to have it finished because with the ongoing sips of Gatorade as well, my stomach wasn't loving the sweet tastes anymore and i really had no desire to take a third one when the time came. The weather provided really not a great need for me to really go after the H2O but for the Gatorade I did try and keep regular, every other or few miles, to make sure I was getting replenished and would avoid cramping.
and what typically happens with me in the marathon, is that around the Wall i do tend to get some bouts of nausea. No exception here. Its tough because your body is starting to hurt, and people are starting to pass you and its all around demoralizing. so, the third gel (GU rocket fuel), at mile 22 i tried once suck and could not take anymore. that would be it for me. I almost wondered why try, but i was trusting they would help and if i relied on my feelings i would probably regret not being preventative with fuel, so it was tough exactly to know how to handle it. anyway i had to get through 4 more miles.
at mile 23, now entering Central Park, after having the last couple miles of throngs of people pass me, .i was- for the last time- still under 250 pace (2:49:39) and was at a 7:40 for the mile. I had began to come to terms with the fact that i would not be beating my old teammate Charly's record this day, despite having such a lead for so long. Yet, three miles to go though is very short when you train for marathons. It's basically a recovery or warm up, just a bit over 20 mins. Who can't suck it up for that long?! I had to trick myself, and make the most of this race i was having and see how much of a PR i could muster. Also, I was now in Central Park, I was having the race of my life, lots of people were tracking me and I just couldn't give up. I felt a lot of pressure, and i'm glad i did - i needed all the help i could get to not give in. No doubt the experiences of past marathons helped me from going through these times before and coming out the other side. I reminded myself that this is temporary. Pain is not permanent and that my future self would be relieved if I fought with all I had, verses the alternative where I couldn't go back and change the past were I to know I didn't give my all. So, that 24th mile I did not loose pace, but i was still falling off from my expected finish. 24th mile 7:40 once again. 2 miles to go and i saw the running clock read 2:36:30 and I thought just keep holding on and this will be a great race.
I think sensing that if I could push really hard for one more mile, I knew I could get the last mile in mentally, and so with everything I had I went for it and was able to bring the split down to a 7:19. This was no small feat given it's so hard to reverse course once lactic acid sets in, and you are in mile 25. But that seemed to totally whip me out. I had mental motivation with one mile left, but physically i was drained. I could not see normally, my vision was blurry and my head so light. This last mile was one of the most tenuous runs of my life. It felt as if i could fall over or my body just decide to stop on it's own if i wasn't careful. Balancing this feeling while also telling yourself to keep running because each second slower was a sacrifice to my new PR, i was in a really rough spot. I felt the finish close but it seemed to not come. The last straightaway before the final turn was taking for ever. I was swerving left and right, just trying to keep one foot in front of the other. Slowly, i hit the last turn, saw mile 26 and the clock said 2:52:12, and i gazed ahead for a line to run to. I couldn't see it. The last stretch was winding and I had to keep trudging until I got my view-able goal line.
There it was, up on a little incline, and while the first part of the last .2 I had no kick at all, the last half of that .2 (.1) i looked at my watch and saw that if i did not kick i would miss 253. I did, and just snuck past the line at 2:53:57. OMG - i had done it. Right there at the finish line a black guy in jeans, a fleece, and a ball cap was shaking finishers hands. Whoa, he looked like Meb Keflezighi. It would make sense i thought, but nah, really? After a few paces beyond, i had to turn back to ask. With a big smile, he nodded it was him. Amazing - this is one of the best distance runners of all time. a 2004 silver medalist in the marathon, a 2009 NYC champion, and 2014 Boston Marathon. kind of a cool thing!
that's pretty much the race recap. the long chute proved too much for my lightheaded-ness and fatigue so i went to the medical tent to recovery for about 10 mins before finishing my exit. I had really left it all out there, after a daring race going much faster than I ever have, and giving myself a real shot for going well under 250, where my previous best was only 257. All this in less than a year. I felt i really have gained a lot of fitness and improvement in 2019, and I'm excited to see myself still ripping off PRs. in the last 12 months I have had lifetime PRs in: half marathon, 10k (twice), trail half marathon, and marathon (twice).
Mile Splits for the day: (1) 645, (2) 601, (3) 622, (4) 614, (5) 612, (6) 615, (7) 616, (8)620, (9)621, (10)608, (11)621, (12)613, (13)622,(14) 618, (15) 631, (16) 627, (17) 623, (18) 621, (19) 631,(20) 641,(21) 654, (22)710, (23)740, (24) 741, (25) 719, (26) 822, (.2) 145
underlined is when i fell off hard
I'm close to popping another BIG PR, and i'm excited to keep on ahead. Thanks for reading!
Saturday, October 12, 2019
big day of running
Fall is no doubt THE season of the Marathon. Perhaps arguably by many, but it seems to me it's cut and clear as the time of the year when Marathoners are their busiest. Yes there is Boston, Tokyo and London in the Spring, but New York is the biggest marathon, and you have Berlin, the fastest of the marathons, and the hugely popular and participated Chicago Marathon. We come out of Summer ready to go, or ready to begin (for the Spring), and thus it seems everyone has the bug. And so, this weekend is Chicago Marathon weekend, and three weeks from now New York will go off. Just two weeks ago we had Berlin where the second fastest time was ever run, after the world record that was set last year. And to top it all off, you have today - where the second version of the man made lab to see if a human could run a marathon under 2 hours took place. And so, here in the wee hours of the new day here on the east coast, Eliud Kipchoge, over in Vienna Austria, broke the barrier - by 20 seconds! - to become the first human to do so. A feat, with such a clear bar to go under - like the mile for 4 minutes back in the 1950s. Of course this being in 2019 we didn't have to wait until the newspapers told us in the following days - no, we got to watch live, from anywhere a device and communication lines were present - so for me that meant by bed, until an hour into the pursuit i got so excited and went downstairs to see the rest on our big screen.
and so with sleep interrupted from 2:30-4:30, and waking up at 6am, at 645 i embarked on my longest run of this marathon training cycle, and lifetime training run as well, for 21.5 miles, attained in 2:30:01 for a pace of 6:59 per mile. Only 2:25 seconds per mile slower than Eliud just a few hours before me :)
this run was a huge success for me. As mentioned it being the farthest, it was at a pace that was my strongest as well. My fastest miles were the last few, dipping under 6:30 for my 20th mile. While i know it's been hard earned, it was a milestone of sorts to be able to run that strong that long in a training run, something i know is not atypical for skillful veteran marathoners, but that it really only applies to the aforementioned segment, which i suppose i may put myself in on - the cusp no less - since i felt a power and strength compared to a feeling of just holding on. I felt able to attack, and that was joyous - in a way that was different with it coming so far (time wise) into a run...it was almost like my legs were on auto pilot and i could control the speed with ease just by my thoughts. This was fun stuff! not only fun, but exhilarating. It was the runners high - but in a new way. A secret way almost that is only there for the seekers who stick with it long enough and consistently enough that come to it years later.
This notion, as it hit me in the moment, had me thinking later that it's not just competing that we get the rush in running. It's the body, mind, heart, and universe / God's way of giving back a token of interest for our efforts. I know the feeling i had at this pace was not vastly dissimilar to the feeling kipchoge experienced today. And one that thousands will feel as they race tomorrow morning.
Yes, running is relative. It's probably the most relative pace wise there is compared to the same feeling a human can experience in a shared way with millions of others, all across the spectrum of time. And that, is one of the big reasons i love it so.
and so with sleep interrupted from 2:30-4:30, and waking up at 6am, at 645 i embarked on my longest run of this marathon training cycle, and lifetime training run as well, for 21.5 miles, attained in 2:30:01 for a pace of 6:59 per mile. Only 2:25 seconds per mile slower than Eliud just a few hours before me :)
this run was a huge success for me. As mentioned it being the farthest, it was at a pace that was my strongest as well. My fastest miles were the last few, dipping under 6:30 for my 20th mile. While i know it's been hard earned, it was a milestone of sorts to be able to run that strong that long in a training run, something i know is not atypical for skillful veteran marathoners, but that it really only applies to the aforementioned segment, which i suppose i may put myself in on - the cusp no less - since i felt a power and strength compared to a feeling of just holding on. I felt able to attack, and that was joyous - in a way that was different with it coming so far (time wise) into a run...it was almost like my legs were on auto pilot and i could control the speed with ease just by my thoughts. This was fun stuff! not only fun, but exhilarating. It was the runners high - but in a new way. A secret way almost that is only there for the seekers who stick with it long enough and consistently enough that come to it years later.
This notion, as it hit me in the moment, had me thinking later that it's not just competing that we get the rush in running. It's the body, mind, heart, and universe / God's way of giving back a token of interest for our efforts. I know the feeling i had at this pace was not vastly dissimilar to the feeling kipchoge experienced today. And one that thousands will feel as they race tomorrow morning.
Yes, running is relative. It's probably the most relative pace wise there is compared to the same feeling a human can experience in a shared way with millions of others, all across the spectrum of time. And that, is one of the big reasons i love it so.
Friday, September 27, 2019
market corrections
after really humming the last few weeks with increased mileage, long runs, and workouts, and less and less duds today i was treated to a solid helping of humble pie. it's a lesson of reality, that running shows so well as one its features in that the higher we climb the mountain, the more exacting of its imposed requisite standards it enacts weather we realize it, choose to follow it, or try and go about it our "own" way. generally this concept makes sense but every so often we get caught off guard, typically from our ego blinders as we get swept up in our improvement and loose sight of the bigger picture that this running is a gift, and that the higher the views are not accessible any old way - otherwise they wouldn't be special. Now, with wisdom we can work these "market corrections" into our training, in our way to go along with this reality. This is done by the more experienced and mature runners that allow the recovery runs, the rest days, the increased sleep that is needed, the disciplined diet that also must occur, and the stair stepped down weeks. Otherwise - running will take its toll on us in the form of discouraging duds - but, when they come, realizing we may need to look our self in the mirror so to speak, can be part of the growth in the formation of becoming a better runner. These thoughts were brought to you by the 5.75 mile run i just had at 8:38 pace. for context, please visit my strava page. Daniel Eggers Strava
Sunday, September 8, 2019
experience and understanding - thoughts and snippets from Around the Crown 10k PR (9/1/19)
thoughts come and go and the older we get the more they tend to just be thoughts and less likely to be followed up by actions unless we consistently practice intention. or maybe we just find ourselves "busier" which, if you think about it, is really only us feeling more bound to responsibility that may be critical or may be things we get sucked into through routine and societal expectations and a lack of intention that when we blink, we wonder - where the time went, the day has gone, and all thoughts thoughts that we had that didn't come to fruition. and if you think about it, there is never more or less time in a day, and there is never wasted time - just time that we are doing something else. all that to say, while i have had consistency in running the sacrifice has been a loss of putting so many thoughts down that i used to seem to find easier to relay onto this blog, or my written journal. I know we can't do everything, and i do keep in mine that while i may not be doing one thing, i'm doing another thing, and time is never wasted - it's just used differently. Still, i have maintained a desire to not give up on using writing as an outlet, because i think it can be a great way to complete the gift that running allows through it's contemplative-ness that conjures wonderful ideas, and it always feels i completed the function when i hit the keys. not that i always get to what i thought or wanted to say, nonetheless something better than nothing. it would feel like a waste to never move the idea from the head to the pad. and that feeling of a waste is a bit egotistical, but think of all the great things written in history - they didn't have to be written, but the world and history is better for those people taking the time to get them out, and utilize the written word for the betterment of mankind. as if i'm doing a great deed, ha i am not, but if feeling complete gives peace, then in the least that peace will be a nice energy i carry that can have a positive impact with my fellow man who comes across my path.
so what have i been thinking lately? (on my runs) - i have been thinking that one of the reasons distance running lets the runner maintain a high level of success into late 30s is because of the accumulation of mental experience we gain from all the long runs, races, downs and ups, trials and successes. The early 20s runner has peak physical ability, but what keeps the fall off stabilized in the physical department is the increased mental focus, belief, and stories of overcoming we gain through the years.
Last Sunday i raced a fantastic inaugural Charlotte 10k race. Around the Crown 10k. It was something new as it was the first race in the city that was on i277. it was pretty thrilling to run on an interstate that had never been run on before. as it is a city loop it had a banked curvature to it that was not common, complete with a nice descent and even more of an uphill. As it started out with the down, i was clicking off a bit of a quicker pace yet from the experience I trusted my ability to go with it, and during the uphill as I was falling off pace I also trusted that I could comeback the last couple of miles and make it up. both of these ended up being true, and also when I needed to get back in gear I had the awareness that i had to make an intentional mental shift to "snap out of it" by changing gears and push myself until i felt like i was running a race and not trying to hold on. The surge paid off, as i passed some people back, and got back on track to my pace (faster than actually) and was able to finish the race with a new big PR. I found that the trust early on going quick, the trust to comeback during a hard spell, and the realization to surge all were marks of experience that I had gained during so many previous training runs and races that overshadowed my 35 year old body who still hasn't been able to train like I did in my hay day.
so what have i been thinking lately? (on my runs) - i have been thinking that one of the reasons distance running lets the runner maintain a high level of success into late 30s is because of the accumulation of mental experience we gain from all the long runs, races, downs and ups, trials and successes. The early 20s runner has peak physical ability, but what keeps the fall off stabilized in the physical department is the increased mental focus, belief, and stories of overcoming we gain through the years.
Last Sunday i raced a fantastic inaugural Charlotte 10k race. Around the Crown 10k. It was something new as it was the first race in the city that was on i277. it was pretty thrilling to run on an interstate that had never been run on before. as it is a city loop it had a banked curvature to it that was not common, complete with a nice descent and even more of an uphill. As it started out with the down, i was clicking off a bit of a quicker pace yet from the experience I trusted my ability to go with it, and during the uphill as I was falling off pace I also trusted that I could comeback the last couple of miles and make it up. both of these ended up being true, and also when I needed to get back in gear I had the awareness that i had to make an intentional mental shift to "snap out of it" by changing gears and push myself until i felt like i was running a race and not trying to hold on. The surge paid off, as i passed some people back, and got back on track to my pace (faster than actually) and was able to finish the race with a new big PR. I found that the trust early on going quick, the trust to comeback during a hard spell, and the realization to surge all were marks of experience that I had gained during so many previous training runs and races that overshadowed my 35 year old body who still hasn't been able to train like I did in my hay day.
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Waves
we begin to find ourselves feeling empty. what is this strange inability to eb and flow that feels like voided vigor. we blink and begin to realize we are going through a valley. we haven't known it the whole time, but the parchment in our veins has made itself known through the realization that the spark has been missing now for some time. maybe it's the right chords and notes at the right time as we continue about our day that wake us to the tides. is that the long lost spirit we had taken for granted when things seemed so normal and easy? a flicker or notice that water is coming snaps into our soul, reminding us - by the very spontaneous joy that comes with the movement - that yes, goodness and love and warmth have spotted us and that we are again moving. this gift comes and is resurrection-thousand of times in a lifetime, a microcosm of the large arch that is the dance of this conscious spirited relationship, yet ever so forgotten many times. Where you are is never forever static. enjoy, wait, remember, keep going. onward.
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Art Loeb
4 days ago two other guys set off with me from Charlotte to attempt a completion of the full Art Loeb trail in Pisgah National Forest.
We headed to the mountains to set up our camp, which was at the south trail head of the trail, greeted by a summer shower immediately upon arrival just as we began setting up our tent. Due to this fact, things began to get wet.
After getting situated, and then changed out of our wet clothes, we decided to hit the town of Brevard for a hearty dinner which would be the big meal that would accompany us in our bellies as we set out the next day. Big Mike's fit the bill with their offering of ample Italian fare, thick pizzas, and cold local draft beers. We each ordered a personal thick crusted pizza and downed our drinks, and returned to our campsite with a little daylight still to spare. After milling around for a bit, we settled into our chairs at the site and conversed about a few topics, but none more than what our future may have in store in the morrow. Of the three of us, I was seemingly the most unsure if the task of 30 miles, deep in the blue ridge mountains, would be doable in a days journey; for we were not bringing anything with us other than fuel, water, and a space blanket and some basic first aid supplies. If we were to not finish, we would have to get creative - and what that would mean seemed to be an open ended wonder. Yet to my comrades, failure seemed almost impossible.
Wade, our elder of the group, who has hiked much of the trail in segments, seemed the most optimistic, which of course was a good sign since Stewart and I were in the dark. Stewart seemed more optimistic than me, yet maybe not as sure as Wade. Stewart is the newest of the long distance runners in the trio, so I think a little bit of naivete was on his side, which can't really be faulted. Experience is a great teacher, and while I haven't attempted such a feat - I did feel that understanding the distance we were to undertake, given such extreme trails with vertical paths, winding routes, and gnarly terrain that is common in the NC mtns, was present in my calculations, and the idea of maintaining less than a 20 min mile pace for over 10 hours on our feet would certainly not be easy...maybe even unlikely. Yet....i wanted to see for myself, so on my own accord i was a happy participant.
Sleep was hard to come by that first night as we settled into our quarters. The ground was very hard, and as a side sleeper, it was pretty uncomfortable to fall asleep. Would imagine i maybe only got about 5 hours of light sleep. At 5:30 I arose to greet the others, as we made breakfast and packed our ultra vests full of water and energy bars, in order to meet our pick up at 6:15 who would drive us to the Northbound trail head, which was about an hour away by car.
As we arrived at the Daniel Boone Camp that is a host to Boy Scouts, the sights of children milling about in the outdoors, and the trail made itself shown. We were here, and it was time to see what we were made of. The first 5 miles we knew were some of the steepest, so with caution we started out, not in a jog, but a hikers pace that was not slow. Taking into account the hills so early, while keeping in mind that this was a days event, was all too present in our minds. The steps of faith started early. For the first 4 miles on our journey the trail was set up on the side of the mountains, rising around as we assented towards the top of Cold Mountain. Typical rocks and fallen limbs, but no overgrowth. The views down the mountain were pretty open and if you caught an opening through the distant trees you could see through the mountain out into the further surrounding mountains, making for the occasional glimpses of sky and early morning sun.
at over 4 miles we hit our first check point marker: an open level small field, where a recent abandoned camp site lay, and 4 or 5 different trails inviting travelers into unmarked territory. With Wade having done this section before he was prepared and knew exactly which path to take. (also, which proved to be a big help and of frequent use was the pre loaded map on his phone that would show us in relation to the trail, which would confirm that we were on the right path. (Once we got to about 6 miles, we were out of unmarked territory and the Art Loeb trail was furnished with White Blaze markings on trees and rocks, as is typical).
This next section of the trail was thicker and a bit steeper as we were gaining on the tops of a ridgeline that would get us above 5 thousand feet. The first layer of sweat had started to cool in the more densely shaded elevated terrain, and so did the scratches around the legs as we forged through the brush to the opening tops of our first mountains, here at 6-7 miles in. It was also here that we passed our first other human. An older man with poles, coming in the other direction, moving with a veterans efficiency.
at 7.5 miles i started on my first energy gel. Prior to i had a banana and had been munching on dehydrated bananas and granola intermittently, with the occasional sip of water. I felt the immediate lift in energy as we made our way into double digit miles. To note, as we signaled to each other with mile beeps on the watch, we would break down percentage wise how far we had come and left to go, and would make light calculations in our heads about pace and if we were on target to make it in day light. We were, and while it was tough terrain, we also kept expecting plenty of upcoming trail to make it up on, a fact that seemed to almost never materialize.
While our pace was steady, we did refrain from long breaks. At a view we might take it in for a moment or two, but then it was off again - to keep moving seemed to be on all our minds. These first 6 miles also I was in the front of our single line trek, but at mile 7 I asked Stewart to take the lead for a change. I think this was a good approach to mix it up, and let others be pullers and others be pacers, let alone for the change of scenery and to give turns to those being the greeters of the unknown be it cobwebs, brush, or the hoped to never see snake. (we never saw any, but we sure got a loud warning about their prevalence from our shuttle driver!) It was not late into the journey that we were going to have to place Trust at the forefront of our steps hoping that as we landed a snake would not be there. I guess after a while we let go and tried to do the best we could with our eyes and ears. Speaking of which, it's worth noting the mental strain it takes in looking where we place each step given the nature of the uneven terrain and obstacles that lay afoot. this is true in all trail running, but on a day that was going to be over 8 hours, the tax is surely felt.
Hitting miles 10-12 we emerged into open balds with grand vistas. Thick overgrowth covered the paths, and here we did take a wrong turn only to have to retrace our steps back to the trail, our one directional mishap. After the brushing and negated views of our feet, we then saw even more spectacular views as we came to Tennet Mountain and Black Balsam Knob. 360 degree views atop 6k feet really was a nice spot to hit at this juncture. Soon after noon, 4 hours in, we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway and into a new section of trail that was laid with a soft-bed of pine needles, and dark cool air given the abundant trees on this short lived flat section of trail. From here, we began to descend with more familiar winding tighter trails, which weaved down into one of two shelters that we would encounter. This one was a triangular shaped opened sided hut basically. it provided a nice spot where i shed my damp socks and resumed sockless, much more comfortable.
after this brief stop, the climbing resumed....and with a vengence. Here, as we scaled up towards the top of Pilot Mtn, the grade became the steepest of the day, and the quads started their burning screams in concert with the lungs until we hit the top, putting us around 15 or 16 miles into the journey. We took a short minute to admire the view, and realize that water was beginning to get scarce between the three of us. Steward was down to his last bottle, and Wade was dry. I gave one of my bottles (of which i was borrowing from Wade anyway) to Wade, and still had more left to keep my company. We knew on the descent we would eventually get to a water source where we could refill....but we had miles to go before that. As the downhill started off and stayed technical for a couple of miles, we did get to a point, the first of the day really, where you could hold a jog pace more than a hundred meters, and make up some time - but not without feeling the toll that was built up from the beginning. Here, i was getting a second wind, and started to think that if the trail stayed like this, we would be able to make it before dark. As I got to a waiting point where the trail crossed a service road, i looked at my watch and it read about 18.5 miles. I had gone ahead the furthest I had of the day so it was a couple minutes until Stewart and Wade showed. At this cross road, Wade knew - from reading - there was a natural spring which he really needed badly...we all did to be sure. With this pause to look for water, I noticed a gait change...he seemed to be favoring his knee, which added to the concern...also, his color was looking pale, so I knew this water stop was critical. Down the road we kept going but given that it was supposed to be 100 yards, we had gone about twice that and had not found any. Perhaps it was on the other direction down the road. As we backtracked, a sense of helplessness began to hover, and with that an awareness was being sensed that what would happen would next be out of our control. This sense of surrender was palpable for me, and it was brief too. It was as if soon as i recognized this peril I also became aware to let go - and intuited that something was going to happen, perhaps sooner than later. It was Just Then that a US Forestry truck slowly drove up and slowed down next to us. Seeing the logo on the door, I internally began to smile. As if on cue, here was our deliverers. As we began to speak to them, letting them know we thought a stream was near by, we noticed a truck bed full of bottled water. They were unaware of any springs, but they were very willing to give us some water bottles on our journey, while they opened up their maps and told us about what lay ahead on the rest of the trek. We thanked them, said goodbye, and crossed the road back to the trail when no more than 10 seconds later, Wade - with a defeated face - bravely told us that he believed he was at the end of his Art Loeb journey. Scenarios were shared, but in the end we all agreed that we needed to stay together. Getting back we still had many miles to go, but with the service road there we had access to much easier terrain that would take us back.
Sadness or disappointment was not really heavy, it was more a sense of understanding that this feat demanded respect, experience, and a high level of fitness. to get 18 miles in was no small task, and our journey was still not over. Even though we were off the trail, i was still delighted at the setting we were in - deep in the mountains - and more miles ahead to test myself until the days jaunt was truly over. The road was downhill, flat and smooth, and beckoned me to run. So I did. I knew hitch hiking was not out of the question if we got too tired, so that was a bit of a safety valve, and with our sights set at camp, away we went, this time dispersed, with me leaving the group.
at this point i'll leave some of the details in my mind, but to conclude, with about a mile to go, Wade and Stewart came up hanging out of a car asking if i wanted it. Earlier, i would have - but being so close to the end i opted to finish the task on foot. 28.6 miles until i stopped, and while I was pleased to go farther than a marathon, i was ecstatic to be finished as I saw the sign welcoming back to Davidson River Camp Ground.
We headed to the mountains to set up our camp, which was at the south trail head of the trail, greeted by a summer shower immediately upon arrival just as we began setting up our tent. Due to this fact, things began to get wet.
After getting situated, and then changed out of our wet clothes, we decided to hit the town of Brevard for a hearty dinner which would be the big meal that would accompany us in our bellies as we set out the next day. Big Mike's fit the bill with their offering of ample Italian fare, thick pizzas, and cold local draft beers. We each ordered a personal thick crusted pizza and downed our drinks, and returned to our campsite with a little daylight still to spare. After milling around for a bit, we settled into our chairs at the site and conversed about a few topics, but none more than what our future may have in store in the morrow. Of the three of us, I was seemingly the most unsure if the task of 30 miles, deep in the blue ridge mountains, would be doable in a days journey; for we were not bringing anything with us other than fuel, water, and a space blanket and some basic first aid supplies. If we were to not finish, we would have to get creative - and what that would mean seemed to be an open ended wonder. Yet to my comrades, failure seemed almost impossible.
Wade, our elder of the group, who has hiked much of the trail in segments, seemed the most optimistic, which of course was a good sign since Stewart and I were in the dark. Stewart seemed more optimistic than me, yet maybe not as sure as Wade. Stewart is the newest of the long distance runners in the trio, so I think a little bit of naivete was on his side, which can't really be faulted. Experience is a great teacher, and while I haven't attempted such a feat - I did feel that understanding the distance we were to undertake, given such extreme trails with vertical paths, winding routes, and gnarly terrain that is common in the NC mtns, was present in my calculations, and the idea of maintaining less than a 20 min mile pace for over 10 hours on our feet would certainly not be easy...maybe even unlikely. Yet....i wanted to see for myself, so on my own accord i was a happy participant.
Sleep was hard to come by that first night as we settled into our quarters. The ground was very hard, and as a side sleeper, it was pretty uncomfortable to fall asleep. Would imagine i maybe only got about 5 hours of light sleep. At 5:30 I arose to greet the others, as we made breakfast and packed our ultra vests full of water and energy bars, in order to meet our pick up at 6:15 who would drive us to the Northbound trail head, which was about an hour away by car.
As we arrived at the Daniel Boone Camp that is a host to Boy Scouts, the sights of children milling about in the outdoors, and the trail made itself shown. We were here, and it was time to see what we were made of. The first 5 miles we knew were some of the steepest, so with caution we started out, not in a jog, but a hikers pace that was not slow. Taking into account the hills so early, while keeping in mind that this was a days event, was all too present in our minds. The steps of faith started early. For the first 4 miles on our journey the trail was set up on the side of the mountains, rising around as we assented towards the top of Cold Mountain. Typical rocks and fallen limbs, but no overgrowth. The views down the mountain were pretty open and if you caught an opening through the distant trees you could see through the mountain out into the further surrounding mountains, making for the occasional glimpses of sky and early morning sun.
at over 4 miles we hit our first check point marker: an open level small field, where a recent abandoned camp site lay, and 4 or 5 different trails inviting travelers into unmarked territory. With Wade having done this section before he was prepared and knew exactly which path to take. (also, which proved to be a big help and of frequent use was the pre loaded map on his phone that would show us in relation to the trail, which would confirm that we were on the right path. (Once we got to about 6 miles, we were out of unmarked territory and the Art Loeb trail was furnished with White Blaze markings on trees and rocks, as is typical).
This next section of the trail was thicker and a bit steeper as we were gaining on the tops of a ridgeline that would get us above 5 thousand feet. The first layer of sweat had started to cool in the more densely shaded elevated terrain, and so did the scratches around the legs as we forged through the brush to the opening tops of our first mountains, here at 6-7 miles in. It was also here that we passed our first other human. An older man with poles, coming in the other direction, moving with a veterans efficiency.
at 7.5 miles i started on my first energy gel. Prior to i had a banana and had been munching on dehydrated bananas and granola intermittently, with the occasional sip of water. I felt the immediate lift in energy as we made our way into double digit miles. To note, as we signaled to each other with mile beeps on the watch, we would break down percentage wise how far we had come and left to go, and would make light calculations in our heads about pace and if we were on target to make it in day light. We were, and while it was tough terrain, we also kept expecting plenty of upcoming trail to make it up on, a fact that seemed to almost never materialize.
While our pace was steady, we did refrain from long breaks. At a view we might take it in for a moment or two, but then it was off again - to keep moving seemed to be on all our minds. These first 6 miles also I was in the front of our single line trek, but at mile 7 I asked Stewart to take the lead for a change. I think this was a good approach to mix it up, and let others be pullers and others be pacers, let alone for the change of scenery and to give turns to those being the greeters of the unknown be it cobwebs, brush, or the hoped to never see snake. (we never saw any, but we sure got a loud warning about their prevalence from our shuttle driver!) It was not late into the journey that we were going to have to place Trust at the forefront of our steps hoping that as we landed a snake would not be there. I guess after a while we let go and tried to do the best we could with our eyes and ears. Speaking of which, it's worth noting the mental strain it takes in looking where we place each step given the nature of the uneven terrain and obstacles that lay afoot. this is true in all trail running, but on a day that was going to be over 8 hours, the tax is surely felt.
Hitting miles 10-12 we emerged into open balds with grand vistas. Thick overgrowth covered the paths, and here we did take a wrong turn only to have to retrace our steps back to the trail, our one directional mishap. After the brushing and negated views of our feet, we then saw even more spectacular views as we came to Tennet Mountain and Black Balsam Knob. 360 degree views atop 6k feet really was a nice spot to hit at this juncture. Soon after noon, 4 hours in, we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway and into a new section of trail that was laid with a soft-bed of pine needles, and dark cool air given the abundant trees on this short lived flat section of trail. From here, we began to descend with more familiar winding tighter trails, which weaved down into one of two shelters that we would encounter. This one was a triangular shaped opened sided hut basically. it provided a nice spot where i shed my damp socks and resumed sockless, much more comfortable.
after this brief stop, the climbing resumed....and with a vengence. Here, as we scaled up towards the top of Pilot Mtn, the grade became the steepest of the day, and the quads started their burning screams in concert with the lungs until we hit the top, putting us around 15 or 16 miles into the journey. We took a short minute to admire the view, and realize that water was beginning to get scarce between the three of us. Steward was down to his last bottle, and Wade was dry. I gave one of my bottles (of which i was borrowing from Wade anyway) to Wade, and still had more left to keep my company. We knew on the descent we would eventually get to a water source where we could refill....but we had miles to go before that. As the downhill started off and stayed technical for a couple of miles, we did get to a point, the first of the day really, where you could hold a jog pace more than a hundred meters, and make up some time - but not without feeling the toll that was built up from the beginning. Here, i was getting a second wind, and started to think that if the trail stayed like this, we would be able to make it before dark. As I got to a waiting point where the trail crossed a service road, i looked at my watch and it read about 18.5 miles. I had gone ahead the furthest I had of the day so it was a couple minutes until Stewart and Wade showed. At this cross road, Wade knew - from reading - there was a natural spring which he really needed badly...we all did to be sure. With this pause to look for water, I noticed a gait change...he seemed to be favoring his knee, which added to the concern...also, his color was looking pale, so I knew this water stop was critical. Down the road we kept going but given that it was supposed to be 100 yards, we had gone about twice that and had not found any. Perhaps it was on the other direction down the road. As we backtracked, a sense of helplessness began to hover, and with that an awareness was being sensed that what would happen would next be out of our control. This sense of surrender was palpable for me, and it was brief too. It was as if soon as i recognized this peril I also became aware to let go - and intuited that something was going to happen, perhaps sooner than later. It was Just Then that a US Forestry truck slowly drove up and slowed down next to us. Seeing the logo on the door, I internally began to smile. As if on cue, here was our deliverers. As we began to speak to them, letting them know we thought a stream was near by, we noticed a truck bed full of bottled water. They were unaware of any springs, but they were very willing to give us some water bottles on our journey, while they opened up their maps and told us about what lay ahead on the rest of the trek. We thanked them, said goodbye, and crossed the road back to the trail when no more than 10 seconds later, Wade - with a defeated face - bravely told us that he believed he was at the end of his Art Loeb journey. Scenarios were shared, but in the end we all agreed that we needed to stay together. Getting back we still had many miles to go, but with the service road there we had access to much easier terrain that would take us back.
Sadness or disappointment was not really heavy, it was more a sense of understanding that this feat demanded respect, experience, and a high level of fitness. to get 18 miles in was no small task, and our journey was still not over. Even though we were off the trail, i was still delighted at the setting we were in - deep in the mountains - and more miles ahead to test myself until the days jaunt was truly over. The road was downhill, flat and smooth, and beckoned me to run. So I did. I knew hitch hiking was not out of the question if we got too tired, so that was a bit of a safety valve, and with our sights set at camp, away we went, this time dispersed, with me leaving the group.
at this point i'll leave some of the details in my mind, but to conclude, with about a mile to go, Wade and Stewart came up hanging out of a car asking if i wanted it. Earlier, i would have - but being so close to the end i opted to finish the task on foot. 28.6 miles until i stopped, and while I was pleased to go farther than a marathon, i was ecstatic to be finished as I saw the sign welcoming back to Davidson River Camp Ground.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)