the Boston Marathon...125th edition

 Waking up one minute before my alarm was set, I thought, wow - that was some good sleep and the best I've remembered having the night before a race. it helped that Boston starts the latest of the Majors, so 5:40am wasn't too bad to wake up for. 

put on my race kit, ate a little bit of granola and bagels, had a half cup of coffee, and basically stayed off the water as much as I could since I was determined to do this marathon without a bathroom break. (I hydrated like crazy the day before). Aaron Linz, Bobby Conrad, and I (the three of us sharing an Air B n B in Cambridge for race weekend Sunday-Tuesday) walked to the train to take us to the Bus pick up at the Boston Public Garden which would shuttle us to the start line in Hopkinton for our 9am start. Once we checked our bags, we hit the bathroom for a quick break before getting on the bus, but here is when I lost them. I decided to get on a bus and get mentally ready anyway as no point in wasting time looking for them. The bus ride out was pretty long, quiet (talked just a little bit with my seat mate, who was from Columbus Oh, doing his first Boston, coming off an injury and just hoping to finish) and a bit chilly with the windows down, but I could already tell it was humid out. The temps during the race would stay in the low to mid 60s with cloud cover, yet there was a 90% humidity so the dew point was very high. 

when we finally got to Hopkinton and were unloaded, it was about 8:40am and all that was left to do was make our way to the starting line and hit the porta potty one last time before we began. As I made my way to the start I ran into Caleb Boyd, which was nice to see someone I knew. We started and ran the first mile together, which was cool. It was Caleb's 10th consecutive Boston, his first being the year I first ran it (and only other time) as well back in 2012 - the infamous hot sunny year with temps in the 90s. 

With the elite field having taken off at 8:37am there was no National Anthem or starting ceremony as we approached the line just the countdown to 9am for us regular runners to be allowed to go, and we were off...

As Caleb and I walked to the start he said he was going to start at 6:40 which I decided to do as well just to make sure I didn't get ahead of myself so early and could let the race unfold a little more patiently which is really needed with such a steep downhill start that the marathon here has. it felt like an easy trot, and was much more downhill that I remembered - a lot of the course I didn't remember well - but we successfully clicked 6:40 on the nose for mile 1, and with that my marathon was off to an intentional start that was up to me to keep in check as we continued to roll downhill. 

The second mile and through the first town of Ashland, I kept it very relaxed as the miles started to click in the 6:20s. The humidity was thick as perspiration started early. Having downed a somewhat caffeinated gel Prior to the start, I was feeling good and alert and very present and allowed myself to roll with the sub 630 pace, knowing that I couldn't let all the downhill go by without taking it's advantages of some banked time. anytime there was an uphill I purposefully pressed a little gas so that I would not loose time or pace, and by the 6th mile I had clicked off my fastest split so far of the day at 6:10 for a faster second 5k than the first 5k (20:20), hitting it at 40:05. 

around the 8th mile up in the distance I could see a few runners stopped around someone lying on the ground. As we approached a race official/volunteer had spotted the scene and was attending to the young lady laid face down on the pavement unresponsive, causing quite a scary view. I said a little prayer for her knowing that nothing I could do by stopping would help, but found out later she would be okay but did get rushed to the hospital for cardiac arrest. And later would come to find out that she was a very good runner, with a 2:44 Olympic qualifying time in her own right, just showing how nothing in life is guaranteed and that we all are here on grace. 

I got even faster the next 5k, coming through 15k in just under an hour. At the 10 mile mark I was at 63 mins and change and still feeling in control. A few folks at this point had come up to me saying my stride looked good and asked me what I hoped to run. Telling them sub 2:50 would be great, they thought I was on pace, and they themselves would say that was there goal, with one guy saying he was going to run 242 so that made me feel like I had a good chance if i could keep him in my sights. 

Back at the 45 minute mark, I took my first on course fuel - a regular Maurten Gel, and as we passed 11 miles I took another for extra even though I had some in my shorts, because these gels are the best in the market and knew I might finish with some extra which would be alright with me. 

From 10 - 13 miles we went through the nice town of Natick, which seemed the most family friendly and largest crowds so far. Live music, speakers blaring, kids lining the streets, started to give off some great energy. Also here I was starting to anticipate the famous Scream Tunnel which we would pass along Wellesley College for women, where in the past one could steal a kiss, but with covid hand slaps were in abundance. The pace definitely got a little quicker here with the energy and downhill.

At the halfway mark I was at 1:23:45 - so indeed on pace for sub 2:50 but also knowing that 99% of people run a slower second half of the course given the Newtown Hills that awaited from miles 16-21. That being the case, it was key, and I followed my instincts, to still stay patient and under control from miles 13-16 before the climbing started. These mile paces were: 612, 620, 621

The first of the Newtown Hills was a bit of a shock but my legs handled it well and I only slowed a little bit which is to be expected. I tried to not loose as much as possible really rather than trying to keep the same pace I was going on the flats, with the idea of trying to open up my legs on the downhills that followed the inclines.  The first downhill was the shortest of them all, and the second hill came pretty quickly, around mile 17. at 30k, or 18.6 miles my time was 1:59:19. At 25k I was 1:39:09, so that 5k was the first I had run over 20 mins since the first 5k of the race. Slowed a bit yes, but very much still in the game, and my stamina seemed strong. I was feeling my second gel quite strongly, this being a 100mg caffeinated one that really made me almost a bit tweaked but I shut out those thoughts and harnessed the energy. That second hill I went slower than the first, but it was longer and steeper, and once I got to the top I got back into pace. My 19th mile, which was the downhill from the second hill was 6:21 so that quickly shot my confidence back up. 

at 20 miles I was at 6:36, just rolling along the base of Heartbreak hill, hitting the clock in 2:08:20. My last marathon where I ran my PR of 2:50, I started to feel rough around mile 17, so I felt stronger in Boston than ever before and really believed I could string 2 more 20min 5ks together to get under 2:50 total marathon time, realizing once I got up heartbreak after 21 miles, I would have downhill to the finish. But it was around mile 20 I actually wasn't sure if I had run Heartbreak Hill or if it was ever coming, but right on cue, there it was, and it was a beast. I went into close my eyes and just try and chop my feet up as best I could. That mile was 7:14, but again, once I got to the top, I was greeted by Boston College where loud fans welcomed me and cheered me and inside I was pretty amped knowing I had finished the hills, taking me back on pace with the downhill for a 6:29 22nd mile. 

I was playing to the crowd, and anytime they were engaged they gave back 10 fold with cheers and yelling support. It was great. I got chills as I ran down and thought, today is going to be the day, on this tough course, in these humid conditions, that I am going to have my best time in the marathon on my 10th effort. But as quickly as the pace came back in mile 22, the pace started to shift in mile 23 as we started into Brookline. I'm not sure how it happened, but it was like a switch was turned below my belt and my legs started to move in quick sand. I tried to surge and snap out of it, but my watch kept creeping paces into the 7's and folks I was running with started to gap me and I couldn't respond to their steady pace anymore. 35k-40k i registered my slowest 5k of the day, which would be miles 22-25 roughly. while mile 22 was good, the pace fell into the 7s and I couldn't get it back, even though we were climbing hills. Mentally this was a tough part of the race because even though we were gaining on the finish line, the course looked longer than it should given the straightaway into the city with the tall building stretching out what looked to be miles longer than they were. 

my last glimmer of hope for sub 250 was with 5k to go, telling myself I would get out of this slow spot and get back with some low 6s to close out, but try as I might I couldn't, and in fact just holding on was all I could do. It's the beauty and sinister side of the marathon. You can fight for hours and then when you get so close to the finish, give so much of the time you worked for back in a blink of an eye and there is nothing you can do about it a lot of times. My daughters made me bracelets i wore which i would look down on and try and run for them. My dad ran his only marathon 40 years ago this same week, and i tried to think about that. I told a lot of friends about the race, and i tried to use them knowing i was running and would have to live with my result, but it didn't help me get faster. It did help me hold on though. The temptation is strong to stop, and you ride a line that gets finer by the minute the last couple of miles into the finish of a marathon, but its that commitment to see it through and keep pressing which shows you what you are made of. Folks around me were stopping. It doesn't help to see that as you want to do the same, making it even tougher, but you keep fighting, knowing the finish line will come as long as you keep moving. 

I thought about my only other Boston experience in 2012 and how that was such a tough day, and that even though I was falling off with 3 miles to go, I was doing well, and that I could still have my best "right on Hereford, Left on Boylston" finish and enjoy the grand, historic, and famous finishing straight. While I had a pained face that last mile, I changed it to smiles as I finished my last 400 meters. I looked around, and soaked it in, and tried to be as present as I could to my surrounding, changing my outlook from internal to external, taking cues from the great Eliud Kipchoge. What strikes me the most about his running is how aware and present he is in the end of his marathons, something I wanted to try and do - and it did make a difference. It changes your perspective from your suffering to connecting with those that are watching you giving you energy. and in doing so, I was made aware of a called out "eggers!" form the stands. I couldn't see anyone but I gave a wave. It's hard, and I didn't do it very good, but for a few moments I did, and I will have those images in my mind for the rest of my life. 

So, 2:52:41 for my official time, making it my second fastest marathon ever, and beating my Boston time by more than and 60 mins. Oh, that wave i gave when I heard what i thought was my name, was my brother in the crowd, who captured it on video, so there ya go. 

keyboard rust buster

For the fact that out of all my marathons, which is really the highlight of these blog posts, my neglect to recap my first marathon major, Boston 2012, I take to these keys to try and regain a bit of familiarity in how to write because I have a second chance to recap the oldest marathon in the world once more. 

for 16 weeks I have sustained a solid cycle of marathon training that will culminate this Monday in the first ever non April Boston Marathon that has ever been run. 

I don't need to explain Covid to anyone, and if anyone reads this decades later i'm sure everything that has been upside down and unprecedented since March of 2020 will surely be aware as well through the history books. But all that to say, that is why this is happening now. 

Boston was, still to this day, the hardest thing I ever did in 2012, given the high heat. Thought i would never go back, or at least not until much much later. But the nice ring of 125th, the unique October date, and having a good base from the last few years of consistent running, well the time was right to go back. 

a few notables for this race, come Monday: 
    

    -this will be my 10th marathon

    -this will be my only second repeated marathon (charlotte in 2010 and 2011)

    -i've never PR'd more than 3 times in a row. Monday is the chance to make it 4 PRs in a row

The last marathon cycle that brought me a PR of 2:50 was the fist time i ever used a coach and a given training plan. This time I modeled my training off of it, but allowed more flexibility. My overall mileage was a bit lower, but I think I'm still in the same shape, hoping better, than I was given the compounded build that really only had a spring with some lighter running that came between the two cycles. 

Today I just finished my last real run until the race. I'll do a little shake out Sunday but that will be very short and sweet. Yesterday I had my last little "workout" and I was a bit upset how my legs didn't feel that great like I thought they should given the taper. But today, my legs felt light, crisp, fast, and my body felt strong and my breathing and heart rate easy. 

I look forward to taking it all in, and coming back to write about it after I'm done. 

-Daniel 

Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon 2020

The fight sustained. 

I'm on the onramp interstate bridge over the lowlands of gulf coast biloxi at the apex of the course's elevation, and also at the height of the pain I will have to sustain for day's journey. It's here the questioning thoughts come the loudest, and at me the most defenseless, asking me "why?"...."how?"...."can you?". It's a space I have experienced times before, and being able to witness the shift might have lessened the doubt, but it's still- i'm coming to find out- a fight that will seemingly always have to be faced when undertaking a marathon. 

The shift began with the seed around mile 15. I had just finished the 14th mile doing surges off and on to get back the time I had lost stopping to use the bathroom. I guestimate it cost me about 40 seconds with room for more loss if the surging did take out more of me than otherwise would. I ran about a 5:59 mile but with the stopping it really was a 6:35, which was 15 seconds off the pace I had been for the whole race - right at my low range of pace, 6:20. 6:20 gives me a 245 marathon, and 629 gives me a sub 250 marathon, which is what i was hoping to do going into this race. 

last year at nyc i was not as fit as i am this year, and i was able to get to the 20 mile check mark in 620 pace, so i was not too worried about getting to 20 in the same pace, and for 14 miles it felt easy despite the headwind that was starting to be felt a little more strongly, whether it was faster or not i am not sure. 

the marathon course was known to be flat as it went along the gulf almost in entirety, on hwy 90, going west to easy, from Pass Christian to Biloxi. The wildcards, as pretty much with any race, is weather: wind and temp/humidity. race morning was a mid 50 degree start temp with humidity high. maybe a slight breeze in the air, but once we started running into the direction of east northeast it was noticeably a strong enough wind that would be sustained the entire morning of racing. around mile 16 the sun peeked out from behind the blanket of white low hanging clouds, and the the temperature crept up to about 60-62 degrees by the time we started reaching the finish line. 

i've certainly raced in worse, and nothing i hope ever tops Boston 2012, but this was not as ideal as you would want. But that is part of the sport. always has, always will be, and equal as each person has to go through it at the same time. 

a packed school bus took me out to the start line, on a back seat beside an older locale who was quite chatty with me during the ride, telling he had done all of the gulf coast marathons (this being the 5th one). I had a bagel a took some small bites on, as the coffee i drank from the hotel on the walk to the bus started to wake me up. for the first time I had began taking sips of Maurten sports drink on the bus ride over, hydrating and getting the fuel in my body. I drank it a couple times this past training cycle before some runs, and really liked and felt good effects from it. I was hoping here, i could drink enough to get the right amount, but also not too much where i'd have to stop and pee later in the race. Wishful thinking about not having to use the bathroom.

a real race in a pandemic is rare, turns out. this had to be one of no more than a handful of marathons open to public entries that has gone on since March 2020. that being said, the start featured a 4 man wide rolling start for the folks in the first wave, where i was. i found a last second open space of 4 wide about 4 rows back, so when the gun went off i waited with my row until we were up at the line to begin. they wanted the folks in front to run about 15 yards in front before the next line went. and so it begins....

the first few miles i wanted to really stay conservative, but was surprised at the speed with which these front runners set out. in the previous 4 years of this race, a low 250 finish would be a podium spot. maybe an average of 7-10 folks were under 3 hours if im remembering correctly. so the first half mile pace of 545 where folks are speeding on up ahead, and folks close to me and right behind me, it was established this race had drawn more folks than would have otherwise in a non pandemic. the first mile clicked 6:09, about 15 seconds faster than i wanted or assumed would hit, but it was only time to settle in and let the average start accruing. The second mile the pace began to settle and hit 616, but still a little quick. Mile three i found the pace and rhythm, hitting 620 on the nose. A few runners around me had formed just behind me. I happened to be the leader for most of the folks I was able to run with. Yet, there was a lone runner running a few paces off the the right of me, about a yard in front, that i was working off of visually to help me groove. I liked this, i had my pacer and he had a good cadence and effortless stride which was great to watch and remember for my form as we clicked off early miles. 

Another thing i did this race that I hadn't in the past was start gel fueling early. I thought about taking a gel before the race, but only having 3, and having the sports drink i didn't think I should. So, about 10 minutes into the race, I opened the first pouch, the only caffeinated one, and took a small first sip. I nursed this one slowly over the next 30 minutes. The only thing around this time that caused concern so early in the race was I could feel the liquids I had earlier starting to press on my bladder. Yikes. Looks like i was going to face having to deal with this pressure and mental distraction for the next two and a half hours, of was going to have to stop and lose time. I quickly decided that while I probably would have to inevitably stop, i was going to wait so i didn't run into a situation where i emptied the fluids too soon and have another occurrence of needing to go again during the race. At Disney marathon in 2019 i stopped around mile 7 and that was it for the race, so i was going to go at least until mile 7 and then reassess. I noticed early on that portapottys were about every other mile at most, so i counted on the fact there would be a spot when i needed it. 

Cruising past the first 10k right on pace, I then said let’s get to 10 miles before we entertain stopping. Clicked that, the. Said okay let’s get to half way. Can’t let the splits look poor, thinking of the outside perspective on anyone tracking me. I was at the point though where the pressure was becoming too great to ignore despite the loss in time I would sustain. As soon as I clicked the half way point in 122:30 I ducked into the only portapotty I would hit that day (minus the one on my walk back from bourbon street two hand-grenades later nearing midnight in New Orleans). The watch rattled off about 40 seconds in the stop. Strava later would show moving time 2;50:20 compared to the official time of 2:50:59, so there you have it. 

Okay, what’s done is done. Now to see if I can get back to the little pack I was in and keep it rolling. 

They didn’t look that far away so I scooted out quick, but told myself you don’t need to get it all back at once so I settled on using incremental surges based on the road cones on the course to chip away at it. I wanted to catch them in the next couple of miles. Once I caught the first two I just kept going, back in front, and kept my sights on the other one who was holding strong seemingly while these other two were definitely slowing. 

Mile 15, the mile after the surges, I go back to the aforementioned inevitable shift, began occurring, where the first thoughts begin their attack with dull arrows signaling the body is beginning to fatigue. Easy: ignore and reset mind to the 20 mile mark. That was my endgame plan- get there with some life and see what happens. The challenge was from 16-20 keeping life and not letting the pace slip. This was going to be some work. 

I managed to finally get to 20 miles with some life in my legs, or at least the absence of total death, but it was still going to prove to be a tough test to advance the next 6.2 miles. The shutting off of the mind from negative thoughts, and constantly going back to force feeding positivity was the play these few miles. My pace was now above my high goal of 629, and i couldn't get it back down. I was in the 640s now, and at the same time trying to "save" my legs, which was brutal. after finally reaching it, the mind game began...

get to 5 to go: *sounds doable... get to 4 to go; *i think i can do this. get to 5k to go; *ive done this so much i surely can make it. 2 miles to go: *one more mile then its the last mile to go. and here, 2 miles to go, the course takes a drastic turn. 

over the last mile or two I have begun implementing various mental tricks to keep the time and distance passing. I started to look to the horizon in the distance with the tall Beau Rivage casino standing tallest among the destinations buildings, as a landmark to grow: advance towards it making the distant silhouette become larger. i needed this ultimate destination mindset at the moment as the here and now of the present was beginning more and more difficult to sit with. So luckily, the lighthouse that was featured in promotional pictures that i saw going into the race, was finally upon me. I could make it out far enough away, it provided a good object to set my sights on. Once I hit it, the daunting surprising uphill onramp to interstate 25th mile came upon us. 

On the website they mentioned they had to rearrange the finish with the recent hurricane damage, but i hadn't paid close enough attention that this caught me very unexpectedly. Part of me welcomed the change in course, with its curve, uphill, and new sights as we just had entered into Biloxi, but the incline did its thing and slowed me to my slowest mile of the day. but being inside 2 miles i was pressing on, having come so far that i wasn't going to let the days work go to waste. Thinking, "how cruel to put the only hard terrain of the course when we are almost at our breaking point, but On i pushed, cresting the hill and seeing runners come back towards me after having made a hairpin U turn...the only thing was there were two of these marks: the first for the half marathoner, which i went into, only to be course corrected by thankfully an official straightening me out-still costing me some time to regroup and get back towards our turnaround...another tenth or two of a miles ahead...ugh,

after pivoting and heel turning, i came back getting some downhill only to quickly but not detrimentally, turned my foot in a grate that went across the ramp. close call. i rode the downhill, on my last mile of the course, and seeing the around the block finish where we would be done, and just kept trying to press until i was "allowed" to be finished. At that turnaround, i saw the two guys  I caught up to after my pee break and subsequently left, nearing me, and thus spurring me on which was a welcomed and needed motivation. With less than a half mile ago, i kept expecting them to come up on me, but i guess i kept up enough...

2:50:59. I can say i'm a 250 marathoner...barely. while that is not as nice as i was hoping going in, to go earn a 249 or better, i will be thankful for it considering the wind, the pee, and the weather, etc. im thankful to get better. 

Post Cycle and Pre Race

 10 years ago this very day I had just finished racing my first 26.2

Granted I had completed a run where I was signed up for a marathon back in February of the same year, but on 12.11.10 I acquired my first 26.2mile result because I had not gone the wrong way and ran an extra 3 miles 

so where am i a decade later? well, I'm here on a Friday morning of a marathon race weekend contemplating the future race less than 48 hours away, and the last 15 weeks of my training.

The present can always seem a long way away from the future and the past, depending on how and what things you are referring it to, yet I know it won't be long until I am looking back at this future race with a lot of thoughts that might include surprise and regret. I can't change now what will happen then and I cant go back and change what occurred either. It's time to go to the line and take the test with what I have and what I can do then, in that moment.

I have hopes now. That thing that is a gift in the present to help walk into the unknown future. I have confidence from the past. That thing that is a gift for having handled the present at that time well. I'm looking to merge Hope and Confidence sunday morning in the present to produce something I never have done; a covering of 26.2 miles faster than all my previous efforts. A confident hope that it is under 2 hours and 50 minutes, and a dream hope that it is 2:45 or even faster. 

The confidence is the highest it's been to get a new PR. For the first time since college, I joined a virtual team of runners under a coaching plan for a 15 week buildup into the race. I was the most focused and consistent for that amount of time than I ever have been going into a marathon, with week after week of solid mileage and quality hard and fast running workouts. I have felt my pace lower naturally from getting fit, and have produced good checkmarks in time trials and small races against buddies during the course that have been signposts signaling that the work is yielding desired results. Still, to take off such an amount of time from my previous best of 2:53, and hit my dream goal, will be a very tough test. 

This being my 9th marathon, I am excited to have the race unfold and be in it. I know that when I come out I will be different than before I went in. Each mile will have a little tale, and the final 6 miles will surely be ones that will reach down deep and extract thoughts and wills that we typically can't access. it's exciting to have the opportunity to compete, against others, the clock, and myself. 

The tightrope walking will begin once the gun goes off, needing to hold steady in the beginning and settle in, keeping the reigns on, yet acclimating just enough to begin to groove in a pace that will set me up towards the goals and hopes I have. The first big part of the test will come in the 14th mile, when I will have to be honest with myself and check in to see how good I am feeling for the second half of the race. Staying patient over the next 7 miles while focusing in on not dropping off timewise and getting ready to execute the last 10 kilometers once I hit the 20 mile mark on the race. Because, just now, I stopped writing this and looked up splits from my last marathon which was NY 2019. Through 20 miles I was on 2:46 pace (6:21 per mile). The last 10k I dropped and ran that portion in 7:32 pace (71 seconds slower per mile). 

That last 10k, this Sunday, is where I will have the chance to make the difference. Training wise I could be faster at 20 miles and hold on and really get a good time, but I know now that I have done 20 miles in the past at this pace, now it's just a matter of holding on. 

Now through race day I'll be thinking about all the things that I can pocket in my head to inspire me to push past the body and voice that tells me it hurts, and overcome it reaching deep to know that others are behind me, that I have sacrificed a lot to put my self in this position, and that deep down there is the opportunity to realize a dream and a hope. 

A limbo in the middle of the year.

Finding myself in a liminal space. Ending July the current state seems to be where I have arrived at a fork in the road. The calendar year has been anything but normal yet up until recently dealing with it has been fine on the running front. Good and well, even. And yet I am not sure if my body is telling me to keep off the gas a bit longer or to stay steady and weather the storm.

I had climbed the ladder up to a solid 14 mile run with some good runners in Charlotte in the swampy humidity and high July temps 8 days ago, took the next day off, had a good feeling easy run at 7:10s pace that Tuesday, and then the body started acting up. I used the signals to take 3 days off in a row, and was spending a lot of time thinking about a possible pattern where seemingly after hard long runs at a few now different instances I have “come down” with a very tight and sore chest centered around my sternum. Once, I told my cardiologist about a particular episode that showed it’s head after one of my marathons and he seemed to think that running hard for that duration can cause stress to the muscle lining wall around the ribs and that that was pretty much what I was feeling. It was nice to hear a specialist in the field of hearts not seem to think it was an organ problem. But is that what is going on? And why does it seem to show up a few days later and not right after? That discomfort was accompanied by a very short bout of fatigue and feeling achy where I laid low and rested and counted my blessings that that part went away quickly while the chest pains started to dissolve too, though not quite as quickly.

The past weekend in the mountains was too much of a temptation to not take advantage of the trails to skip running so I tested the waters with some shorter runs, but was still feeling it, though Sunday was less than Saturday, so it was making its way almost totally out – which was good news.

Today, a Monday, starting a new week, coming off a 2020 low of 14 miles, I decided to lace the shows back on and see what will be. Here, enter my current mood: even with time off, the Achilles is beginning to feel like a niggle that will not go away. A turd that just won’t flush. Combine that with wondering if I still need another week off to really get fresh because the toll of 2020 with no races in the calendar and the days just still blending together, I am feeling it a bit mentally too like a ship without a course. The heat has been relentless since late June and that certainly is adding to it as well.

But what centered me today were three things, on my run: Visualization, Bodily Attention, and Bringing my mind back to the present. Running can easily be a time where the mind wonders and roams, and that definitely is part of the appeal on being out there and clearing our head. Yet that can also be a negative if all we ever do is concern our self with future uncertainties and past frustrations. Each step is a new step, each mile a different tale, and a discipline that really helps calm the whirling winds in our brain and feelings is the reminder to bring it back to the present. And so by doing, take a look down at your body and see yourself in motion and marvel at this body you have moving through space and time and conjure that gratitude of your ability to be moving. That positive will help lift you, and that will also translate to the other piece I mentioned about bodily awareness. You might be having some nagging pains, but what about the parts of your body not experiencing discomfort? Place your mind there. Explore how you are feeling from head to toe to fingertips. We are not just our minds. This whole person is along for the run, and it does well to take stock of our whole person.

Until tomorrow,

Daniel

writing + running are better together

I do have a handwritten journal that i occasionally write in, but it's rare. This blog used to be a place i would recount just about all of my runs for a season of my life. Those were good days.

in 2020, our attention span has gotten shorter, and so has our writting - if we do it all. The iPhones and the like seem to be in our hand multiple hours a day, if not almost a third of our waking hours or more if we are honest. Let's just say i'm not proud of the weekly notification on Sunday to report on my screen time. But the world is changing and so are we.

i was thinking just today, about how in the show Entourage from 12-15 years ago where Ari Gold, the agent that was on his phone more than the other characters throughout the episodes which seemed stark back then, probably would be no different than jane doe or john smith on the day to day here in 2020.

and with those smart phones, the writing has been encouraged to shrink into 240 characters, or small bits of information that we can scroll while we digest a few sentences. Hell, even reading a book in this day in age takes a lot of practice just to calm the mind and focus. And when you may read a book you'll probably notice that the chapters are much shorter than the days of old, no doubt to help keep the reader engaged. i guess in someways its sad, but we can see the future and where this evolution is taking us, which, does leave a little of the fraught behind from the troublesome worry that was happening more at the precipice of this shirt during the advent of social media and quicker smartphones.

All that to say, while the running log has been part of mans running since the quill and papyrus, the newest method of a running record, the length there has also been encouraged to become shorter. Well, with the ease of use it has also kept me from longer writing post runs, which always seems to help me unpack my thoughts that often come to me on those miles of solitude. But today, i am banging some keys and am happy to be here.

so, about that running stuff....

...today's run was cool. Always a man of adventure seeking, I left the house not exactly knowing were I was going to go run, but just knew I wanted semi flat, and some shade, and not too far of a drive. As I headed down Ballantyne Commons Parkway, I crossed over Elm Lane and started getting a better idea of where to begin. I turned on Community House towards Johnston Rd, and slid into the Hampton Inn parking lot. Figured I would track south on Community House southward and figure it out from there.

I knew i needed a run that was more than just maintenance. I gave myself the day off yesterday, and went easy on Sunday after my 5k Saturday so the legs needed a little workout, but didn't want to go too hard with a hopeful Mile TT this coming Saturday. And with doing some shorter reps last week, and realizing my threshold runs is where I needed to focus, I decided to do about a 25 min tempo, where I would try and progress from easy moderate to sub 6 min pace. Given the odd number of minutes, and that I only wanted the full run to be about 50 mins since it was already pretty hot and sunny out, after 12 mins of easy warm up i stopped to stretch and decided i would make the tempo broken up into 5 min blocks, trying to cut down each one, would add a 1 min stride turnover fast clip to give me 12 min cool down back for a perfect 50 mins. (realizing now as i type this in my heat haze mind i ended at 48 mins, lol oh well).

My Achilles were pretty sore in the warm up, but once i started picking up the pace after stopping to stretch it was fine. i succeeded in clipping down, but did kind of stall on the 4th rep (hills though).  i'll say this was a good run, and that i am handling/acclimating the heat pretty well here in Mid July.

The best part of this run experience was when i was jogging back passing the Hampton Inn, i noticed their outdoor pool (not a sole out there - it was 9:30am afterall), and being hot and tempted, i walked over to the gate, reach over to open it, slid my shoes off, and took a dip. A worker saw me and for a second thought was going to bust me, but instead asked how the pool was and if i wanted some water to drink. I at first said no, but given the unique position i was in thought this would really be the cherry on top, so i said "sure if you are offering!" .... as i walked back to my car, her was in the parking lot, and no doubt was scratching his head as he saw me get in the car and drive off. hahah. 

Where are we?

Perhaps no more a vague title than the above can be applied to more things than in this exceptional time of uncharted bewilderment. I was just watching Current Mood on Instagram - a live show that John Mayer records Sunday nights on his phone - and one of the commenters, of which there are thousands ongoing throughout the broadcast (he typically retains about 25k veiwers during his show), remarked how so many things we are all going through are all the more relate-able given how this experience of self isolation around the world is giving a shared experience more than we've had in unison to which we can all so easily share and follow along given the power to post instantly on our smartphones. That's a lot to say that, the question of Where are we - is meant to carry a few ways to answer given that our running is not spared in the newly thrust upon us way of living, that has made us a bit disoriented on the fly. Perhaps me now at the keyboard is me getting ready to share a couple ways of insight to some answers that I've been thinking about and looking for along the way. 

where we are is always a moving target, and yet it's also always a constant. where we are is where we are. it's a snapshot in time. and inventory of what is now. it's a transient state and also a fixed reality. we have control of the next "here" but that depends on where we were when we asked it previously, and how that answer satisfies based on where that place is the next time we ask. with running, distance in motion, time in space, we are always marking ourselves by a bevy of calendars. seconds, minutes, days, months, cycles, years. But maybe on a more large scale ask, "where are we" as a place of our on those scales, and the metaphysical where with running being something that we know and can identify, that even that has been called into question for some of us. 

for those in a state of improving and grading our results against clocks and competitors, this is a challenge . If we ever leave out the variable that i would say is the soul of "why" we run, it's the run against, with, and in concert to our self. The heart of all our analysis has a base that is only compared and looked at as how "we" the collective mind body soul and spirit ran in unison and with excellence together that gives us our validation of accomplishment and true judgement. A result that might have looked good on paper, but didn't go with the grain of the whole person and the drive that is measured based on only our own acknowledgement of how we came into the run and did the run, can truly be a mirror to our own understanding. 

think about your training. Each day you set out with purpose to register a run that will serve a later goal. if that goal is time or place, when we are in that race we will know if we met our self with our best that day or not, and this doesn't go without knowing what that best is on that given day. sometimes that is our best ever, and sometimes we just squeeze whatever we can from the juice that is there for the day....but we will know if we left pulp un-squeezed or if truly our hands are sore from the try. 

that is kind of an overarching way to have realized running in what we do each day, for the last while or so. Without races it has brought back to mind that running really when all stripped away, is a dialogue with our self, a conversation of inventory and output and bartering or being exposed on what we really have and what we really bring to the table each time we embark. 

yesterday was supposed to be Cherry Blossom 10 miler but here we are in week 4 of coronavirus USA. when i looked back at my training i saw that after a month of easy running and recovery from NYC marathon, i just finished 16 weeks of solid consistent running. that is a full cycles worth. In that period, i was able to race a 5k Jan 1st ( a PR, but not in peak shape),  and a solid 10miler PR in mid Feb. The plan after that was Elizabeth 8k in March (would have been gunning for a PR (post collegiate-which would have needed sub 2622, i think i could have done as i did that in Nov at turkey trot and had been sharpening up the speed.)) And then another attempt at a lowered 10 miler PR at a bucket list largest race of 20k people in DC on a nice quicker course. I would have liked to have think i could have done what i wanted to do (PR again), but one thing i did get that i didn't expect was a Half Marathon PR on a solo training run (last week---1:22:10), one which i didn't consider going after until the last mile, just was feeling good wearing my race shoes. That was a nice 'Cherry' to end the "season"....also, along the way we have all started going after Strava crowns. Have added a good bit of those, although maybe they are taking away some structure but all is fine anyway, i have now ended my cycle and can rest knowing i put in a full load, and need this easy weeks before the next build up which hopefully includes races in the fall baring no more Covid delays. 

The state of running at present

2019 ended one of my best years ever as a runner, and 2020 started (literally)  right where I left off...with a PR (post high school) on New Years day with a 5k race (17:07).

After taking just a few days off totally after NYC, I eased into some weeks before the Turkey Trot at the end of November with a great race in the 8K, garnering a top 15 finish and a first in my age group award, which also won me a free year's membership into the Tracksmith Hare AC club. After that, December was enjoyable running with the fitness I had built all the months earlier in the year, and beginning to incorporate some more speed-work, as I was eyeing races for 2020 where I wanted to continue to lower my times. In fact, I even bought my first pair of racing flats for the first time in a decade to motivate me for the speed interval training.

As January slipped into the middle of the month and I was starting to run harder again, I had my first injury setback in years. Backing up, after the NYC marathon I noticed a soreness in my Achilles, no doubt a part of the price I paid during that event. Yet, it was very manageable and not hindering. So, on a mid Jan. track workout, while attacking some short intervals, I felt my Achilles give out. Immediate pain. I gauged it, was able to continue with just a slight gait adjustment, and stubbornly proceeded to finish the workout. When I was cooling down to my car, I could tell I had messed it up, for it was getting worse. The next day I couldn't walk normally. I took off a couple days, iced it, and followed with some very short easy runs to where I was about back to normal within a week. Was feeling pretty fortunate that I had seemingly escaped a close call, and was back on track, despite having to sit out the Winter Classic 8K at McAlpine which i was really looking forward to.

By the end of the month I was back to workouts and eyeing a big PR at the mid Feb. Charlotte 10 miler. I was feeling in shape and ready to race.

The race went great, and I did get a huge PR (over 7 minutes!).

When the gun went off I got out and settled into pace, which, surprisingly to me, had be up in the top 5 the first half mile. The racers settled in, and I was in position just behind Michael Cooney. When he went passed he got to about a 10 second gap on me, but once we were rolling we stayed equal distance. I was able to keep focused on him and the other leaders still view-able up ahead which kept me engaged. Also, being on sub 60 minute pace and feeling good I was eager to stay attacking. Started closing the gap on mile 6 to Michael up in front, and was starting to get to a good mental place where I knew with 3 miles to go I would be able to mentally start attacking a little bit more. At mile 7 then, I did come up to him, say "lets go, three miles, we got this" and passed him. That 8th mile I was focusing on staying ahead, and then we turned off the greenway into the neighborhood nearby and immediately began climbing uphill. The hill was pretty steep, but then we made a 90 degree right turn and got some downhill, only to turn left and begin an even steeper and longer uphill. At the crest of the hill there was a U-Turn where we would simply go back the way we came back into the greenway. That being the case, as I first exited the greenway the leader of the race, Chris Raulii passed me on his exit from the neighborhood, almost a mile ahead of me, and minutes in front of the next person. Dude was rolling. It was pretty cool to be able to see everyone who was in front of me run past, giving a sense of where I was, and also, to see who was behind me after I made the u-turn myself. Definitely motivating to keep pushing and not get caught.
Once we were back on the greenway, we hit our 9th mile split and the race was on to the finish. I was trying to pick it up, and was surprised a guy I hadn't felt or seen was coming up quickly on me. He inevitably caught me, and knowing he would I tried to get prepared to not just let him go but to fight and use him to carry me with on the increased pace. Alas, I couldn't hang with him for much more than a minute or so, nonetheless by the time he was past me I only had a couple minutes left in the race so I tried to dig in and get that PR as low as I could. For a moment I thought I had an outside shot to break 59 minutes, but would have needed a really fast last mile to do so. I didn't, but still I had a faster than average mile and got to the finish line in 59:09 for 7th place overall and first in my age group.

Had a good week of running of recovery and bounced back for a nice 12.5 mile run with 5 miles of alternating 800s at hard pace and medium paced recoveries.

This past week I signed up for Cherry Blossom 10 miler April 5th, one of the nations biggest and most well known road races. And then this past Tuesday, after my first workout of the week - mile repeats, with some minute surges afterword, my IT band outside side of my left knee, began hurting, giving me some anxiety about a potential new injury popping up, one that portends to be a more serious one than the nagging Achilles I have been dealing with.

I'm writing this after taking yesterday off, and almost certainly about to take this day off as well, which would mark the first consecutive days off I have had since Dec. 13th 2020.

Hoping to race the Elizabeth 8k March 21st. 

2019

The end of a decade is nigh. Why am i sensing this turn of the page so much more deeply than i did in 2009. Was it because back then we had just flipped a century, let alone a millennium, and so a decade wasn't much cause for notice? was it my age playing the part of being young and still unready to be aware? i suspect much of the former and some of the ladder. and maybe this decade isn't that big of a deal, but then again - i think when you look at history we see the lens focus into categories and labels. such is marking history. So what will this decade be marked by? on a personal note, i have been thinking...

this decade i saw life give and take. my first child was born, and as the sharing the title of oldest sibling with my wife, we were the forerunners for ushering in the next generation - so the experience was not only personal but also experiential from a primary standpoint. also crammed in that single decade, on the other end of the spectrum, i had a parent loss. my dad went on early, shocking us all at the age of 53. throw in my grandfathers passing, while not the first of grandparents I have experienced parting from, we have a 4 generational series of events, actually smashed into 4 months. Jan 2011-May 2011.

it was such a joy moving into parenthood. Not despite the end of "freedom" in a sense, no because we did kind of yearn for that, but our youth kept us equipped with the naivete to keep moving to the dance - which we did with kid in tow. When you are the first of your friends to be in this phase of life, you just keep L I V I N baby. taking her to parks, breweries, concerts, friends houses, restaurants, we did it.

Speaking of which, one thing that is to note and that i will remember about this decade was that it really was the decade Craft Beer really began and took hold, skyrocketing into our culture seemingly everywhere and anywhere one were to find a cold beverage. i believe there are 20+ in the Charlotte proper, with i'm sure 10 around the city, and then on to everywhere you practically go in the state of NC, and to a certain extent anywhere you keep going in the country.

my first marathon was this decade....2010 Ft. Lauderdale, A1A marathon. I think i had the itch to have some new big undertaking that i could combine with travel. i thought the  challenge was perfectly arduous enough yet also attainable in a period of time that wouldn't extend beyond the point of keeping my interest. through this i added blogging/writing in longer form as a running log. the new for 2010 blogs that were popular was not short in the field of runners, who have been famous for their running logs and journals, a staple for these athletes and something unique in sport. it lends itself to the inward reflection we get on many a solo runs. another gift to be appreciated in that i discovered i felt more complete, clear, and expressive from writing recaps of runs, and also respectful for the bursts of thoughts i would glean while running that i could then capture before it was blown away into the air.

running from end of 2009-mid 2012 was good, and then it had almost a 4 year lull-and i only say that now after having and currently still on this heightened and more consistent kick of running for the last 1.5 years and being able to see that while i ran, i left prime years on the table - 28-32 (2012-2016) - but, hey you can't do it all/everything. i had my second daughter in 2014 and we moved houses across town in 2015. I also changed jobs in 2012 and was tasked with building a client base of trucking companies from scratch, alone. it was very challenging, the job, but i leaned on my endurance training from running and persevered and did in fact build a book of business.

old friendships were maintained, and new ones were forged. a tradition kept on rolling - Man Night, although the venue hasn't been here in close to 2 years. We are not far from the end of this tunnel and will definitely be resuming some hosting.

and yet, while i could write more, and would were i not puttering out at this current time, i will wind it down by getting to something that i have really been in the last bit was just how special this last year of the decade has been. 2019 started with me taking a work trip to kick off some sales training which really was a nice jolt going into year 7 as a producer, a large family trip to Disney world - the best and biggest vacation we have done, and from a running standpoint - the fastest I have been ever at the long stuff, and since college at the shorter stuff. It's nice getting PRs still, and this past year I got more than I ever have: Marathon (2x), 10k (2x), 8k (post college) and had a trail half (pr....only other one was in 2016)

my outlook changed from all the above. i grew deeply with the events mentioned, and i think as a human and consciousness found better love, peace, awe and wonder.

PR list - a look back at the last two decades

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.

"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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

shamrock 4 miler

well after 24 hours of digesting that race in my mind, i take to computer to recap a little bit.
heading into the race I was looking for a PR as my goal. Be it too lofty or not, I would find out where i was in my short race fitness. The two 4 mile races i've ever done were in 2011, one the March Shamrock 23:52 - different course that year, and the other the RFYL 4 miler in July that year 23:20, which was in dilworth and a bit of an easier course I would say, in terms of flatness. I also believe yesterday was the most headwind of those three races. And so coming off my last race being a marathon, I started aiming to try and get some speed in some workouts over the last 2 months. I feel I did pretty well in that regard, with a mixture of intervals, fartleks and tempos. Still, after yesterday's gauge, I need more, and I will have to stay consistent and patient to get where I want...which is basically looking to get PRs anytime i toe the line, save for the 5ks and 8ks...I still want to PR there but that might take a while, as those are a bit longer or a reach going back to my highschool and college days.

So with the test line being at 5:45 pace, i was off with the gun in the front of the start line and felt good getting going with a steady pace feeling comfortable just off the 4-6 place runners. Billy Shue and Brian McMahon were out in front along with a smaller guy i didnt know at the time, but would later meet who is a younger, 22 year old red headed guy named Chase. I noticed my watch was adjusting to the 5:30 pace and i was fine with that, knowing the course where it takes a bit of a downhill grade that first mile. Garmin to course markers were a little off, so at the marker i split 5:35 and felt ready to keep on the pace. shortly after, we turned onto Ardrey Kell, and right away could feel the road rise from the down/flat and as well as the wind beginning to come at our heads. But it was here where I left the chase pack and settled into 4th place. The course doesn't stay on Ardrey Kell very long before you take another right hand turn onto Blakeney Heath, which again changes into more uphill headwind section. I checked my watch and could also feel I had slowed from the 5:30s but i was still feeling about 545-55 here and that was fine, just needed to get back in rythem quick after adjusting to the course. But not long after you are on BH you hit a short steep hill and that got me. I was passed here just before the 2 mile mark on this hill, and couldn't go with the runner.

I could tell i was slowing, and the 2 mile clock confirmed as much with it ticking off at or just under 11:30. i realized, something i hadn't in a while from lack of short races, was that you have to start fighting early to hang on, which really is merely preventing you from falling apart. you have to fight/attack just to hang on. that was a good lesson. okay, 2 miles to go, still in position to PR but I have to reel this pace back on track, i thought. No one was near me from behind, and the runner who passed me was steady staying up ahead about 15-20 yards or so. I was doing an okay job of not letting him get further, but i wasn't in contact, and my pace was no anywhere near where it was the first mile. I was in the low 6s, but i was fighting. I seemed, which was frustrating, because I wasn't too badly fatigued, just at a loss of ability to get the turnover back. So i kept reminding myself to look ahead, and stay in the moment and focused, not letting myself drift off which would have just increased my slow down. One thing i did that helped, was pick markers about 20 yards ahead and surge throughout this third mile. It helped, because i just needed something to jolt me. Still, I had paid the price of a pretty much lost PR by the time I turned on to the second to last road where the three mile marker lay, watching it tick at 17:35.

however, I was gaining on the 4th place runner and with just under a mile to go, did what competitive foot racers will do, and start attacking because mentally you know you just have to pull out the guts and start taking chances if you want to make it to the finish line feeling like you raced well. I chopped up my stride that last hill, and started gaining ground like i can do on a downhill, and just at the bottom of the downhill I caught the runner and passed him, with authority like one should...when making a move you can't be nonchalent about it, otherwise the runner will just seize it right back. at this position i also used the final turn to look to increase the gap and the adrenaline of that last straight way to the finish to be sure I was starting to pour on what i had, while running away from whoever was behind me.

I noticed that third place really hadn't increased his lead, and that i was closing the gap, but it was just way too much for me to get over the last mile. I could tell my pace was quickening, and i was happy that i seemed to escape that crawl that jumped on my back mile 3. for how i was fighting though, i was only about 5:45 pace, which is not where i want to be....but i will keep working. ideally i feel like i should have been under 530 pace for the effort, but alas it will take more time. being a bit in no mans land the last mile, I did not hit the finish maybe as hard as possible. But, i think the race gave a good indication of where i am physically, and was a needed experience in racing so that i can build on it for the next race to sharpen up and look to find that pain chamber / next gear that comes with practice.

my watch had splits of 531, 547, 617, 553, and my watch sounded 4 miles 15 seconds before i crossed the line, clocking the distance at 4.05. officially i was 535, 554, 606, 609 for 23:44

https://www.athlinks.com/event/39045/results/Event/840438/Course/1521585/Bib/829