Over 9 months pregnant and clearly in terrible pain, the lizard man shuffles back to its lair for another year of slumber.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Brian's Terrible Race Photos, 2018 Edition: Runner's World Half Marathon
Over 9 months pregnant and clearly in terrible pain, the lizard man shuffles back to its lair for another year of slumber.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Race Report: 2018 5unner's World 5K and Half Marathon
What do I say about these races?
Oh yeah, hills.
I'll be honest, like most of my running stories, this is one of those things that seems like a good idea at the time. I'd just had another great time at Shamrock. I'd signed up for the marathon. I'd been running more than I'd been running in years.
And then, summer.
Summer. The season I used to look forward to has become the bane of my running existence. This was not the hottest summer. I could usually find temperatures in the 60s or low 70s. With 100% humidity. At 7am. It sucked. It was gross. I'm not as skinny as or as tough (those two concepts are unrelated, but they both relate to my tolerance of heat) as I used to be, and I suffered. Due to weather, bad luck, and just an uncommonly busy schedule in September, I just didn't nail the long runs like I usually do. My longest training run was 8 miles, on the first cool Saturday of the year, one week before the hilliest half marathon I would ever run. (Creepy Foreshadowing Music).
The Runner's World Half & Festival seems to be the official name of the event, and they have a great variety of races over the weekend:
For those of you into multi-race challenge events, they've got a good thing going here. To do all four is called the Grand Slam. You get a quarter-zip pullover for it. To do the 5K, 10K, and Half is the Hat Trick. Brilliantly, you get a hat. To do the 5K and 10K is the five and dime, and you get socks.
Doing the 5K and Half is a big fat tub of nothing, and that's exactly what I did.
5K
Your HQ for the Festival is the SteelStacks compound in Bethlehem, PA, not far from Runner's World HQ in Emmaus. (Hopefully that remains now that it's been purchased by Hearst.) This provides a scenic and somewhat convenient center of events. Scenic because they've...well, not renovated but used the decaying buildings of the old steel mill and turned them into a haunting and strangely beautiful backdrop to a multi-purpose event space. Can you tell I'm a marketing writer? No. Ok, carry on, then.
But anyway, all 3 of the road races start at the SteelStacks and head eastward from SteelStacks and head toward the Fahey Bridge, and they all end with a long loop around the ArtsQuest/SteelStacks compound via Sands Boulevard (adjacent to the local casino resort) with a finish in the center of SteelStacks. The main difference in the races is how much time you spend north of the Lehigh River.
The 5K is not flat, but its biggest hill is still within the first mile, a steep climb right after the Fahey Bridge and then an equally steep descent. It was here that I got my best advice of the weekend, a father saying to his probably 10ish old son, "We're going to go downhill now. Don't try to speed up, just let gravity do the work and rest.". Although the advice wasn't meant for me, I tried to follow it.
My goal was to take this race relatively easy, since I knew I was undertrained for both the distance and hills the following day. With that in mind, I tried to not to push myself. I succeeded, finishing in 35:36, which is quite a bit slower than my normal 5K training run finish times. That was a little disappointing, given that I'm most often at 32 or 33:something, and it was a cool day, which usually makes me faster (#fasterinthecold). Of greater concern was how tired my legs felt.
I don't have anything bad to say about the race itself. The scenery is interesting and the early location of its tough make this a course anyone can enjoy. It wasn't my finest hour as a runner, but I was happy with it.
Half Marathon
I'm going to skip ahead of some things that I'll come back to later and just say that I woke up the next morning at the Overlook Hotel in complete dread. I did not want to run the half. I really, seriously contemplated telling my wife "Let's go home. I'm not ready for this. This is stupid.". I've never been this scared before a half, even my first. I was really having trouble getting my nerves and stomach to calm down that morning.
But, once the race started, I felt ok. Stronger than I had during the 5K, and that strength just stayed with me longer than I had any right to expect it to. I paced myself smartly and ran a careful race, trudging up the uphills and speeding up on the flats and downhills, and I felt great up until about the 10K mark, good up to about 8, struggling till 10, and then basically a mass of gelatinous goo for most of the last 3.1, the exception being a long, steep downhill just before mile 11.
I'll take it!
I'm still about the same 40-minutes slower than my old PRs that I was at Shamrock, this was one of those unexpectedly very good races that I magically pull out of my you-know-where occasionally. I'd heard all weekend that this course was hilly. And it was very hilly. But I ran 10 miles of it before I needed to start mixing in increasing amount of walking. I credit 3 things:
1. The cold: I love running in the cold. There's got to be some formula that converts hot miles into cold miles. If there's not, I just invented it. Let's call it "Brian's First Law of Thermodynamics", which states that every hot, humid mile equals 2 cold miles. MH=2(MC). You'll be quizzed later. This was a raw, windy morning in the low 40s. The kind of weather that makes running blissful and standing waiting to run miserable. I'm the idiot that used to stand in the Orange corral at the Philly half in a tank top, shorts, and light gloves in 35 degrees. Now, at least I wear a light crumple-up jacket, which I wore till mile 4.
2. The free advice I got from the dad. Some of these hills were killers. But, what goes up, must come down. I've never ran a race that had the long, steep downhills like this one did, where I could rest and let gravity do the work. As tough as the uphills were, I think these downhills let me run more of the race then I might have been able to on a completely flat course.
3. Crowd support and Bethlehem. Bethlehem is a beautiful old town, and this race is a great way to see its historic downtown as well as a lot of its neighborhoods, and people came out to cheer in droves. Both things distract from how most of the race seems to be uphill.
I'd like to especially give a shout-out to the Sub 30 Club, a group of people dedicated to supporting each other through their running adventures. To make a long story short, the Sub 30 Club started as an online support group with RW writer Ted Spiker, who was attempting to train his way to sub-30 minute 5k. It's become much more than that, a tight fraternity of runners who cheer for each other along the course, encourage each other in training, and make sure that no one finishes last alone and no one feels alone on the course or at the event. There's always volunteers left to run in with other club members, including Jeff, who pushed out-of-breath me to a faster finish. My wife's been a member of the club virtually for a couple years, and I just joined recently. Check it out on Facebook. You'll be glad you did. We're huge introverts and they made us feel very welcome.
I hit the 10-mile mark right at two hours. I knew if I kept my walking pace up I should be good for under 2:45, but since there were some downhills, I was hoping I could beat my time from Shamrock. I just didn't have quite enough in the tank, and came in at 2:40:03, which I am very, very happy with. As I checked my results on line, my 1:59:33 from Philly in 2010 shows up as "other races". Like this, that was a better-than-expected result that seemed to come from nowhere. I'm equally proud of and happy with both.
Throughout the race, I amused myself by thinking of the really cocky things I was going to say to Chris when I finished. Should I quote my favorite speech from Lord of the Rings? Butcher some Hamilton lyrics? Drop some mad rhymes? In the end, I was too incoherent to do anything. I tried to make a funny funny face for the finish line cameras, and my chin muscles cramped up. Oops.
Event
I have mixed feelings about the event. On the place side, the races are great. What else would you expect from Runner's World? The course management is phenomenal, adequate water and aid stations, great volunteers, and excellent crowd support.
What's negative is just that this is a race you have to drive to, and that makes it a little inconvenient. I'm comparing it to Shamrock, Philly, AC (which I didn't run), Baltimore, Wildwood, and Love Run, all of which we stayed locally and can walk to the race. We stayed a little outside Bethlehem, since there was no room at the inn (wakka wakka wakka), but the start isn't walkable from most hotels in the area.
I also expected more from the expo. It's not the biggest race or the biggest town, but Runner's World IS running. I was hoping to be able to both load up on Runner's World swag and buy the things I'd forgotten (Sports beans in my case). The pasta dinner was fun and the food was good, but I'd have liked to hear more from the RW staff or perhaps a VIP runner. I've heard that Bart Yasso (who is as nice as everyone says he is) has brought the house down in previous years.
That doesn't change the fact that is race series is fun. The camraderie of runners makes it fun. The restaurants and breweries of Bethlehem (Fegley's Steelworkers' Oatmeal Stout, trust me on this) make it fun. The Sub-30 Club makes it fun. We probably won't do this every year, but this is a race series I'll definitely be willing to come back to.
Oh yeah, hills.
I'll be honest, like most of my running stories, this is one of those things that seems like a good idea at the time. I'd just had another great time at Shamrock. I'd signed up for the marathon. I'd been running more than I'd been running in years.
And then, summer.
Summer. The season I used to look forward to has become the bane of my running existence. This was not the hottest summer. I could usually find temperatures in the 60s or low 70s. With 100% humidity. At 7am. It sucked. It was gross. I'm not as skinny as or as tough (those two concepts are unrelated, but they both relate to my tolerance of heat) as I used to be, and I suffered. Due to weather, bad luck, and just an uncommonly busy schedule in September, I just didn't nail the long runs like I usually do. My longest training run was 8 miles, on the first cool Saturday of the year, one week before the hilliest half marathon I would ever run. (Creepy Foreshadowing Music).
The Runner's World Half & Festival seems to be the official name of the event, and they have a great variety of races over the weekend:
- Friday night -- 3.8 mile trail run (we did not participate in this)
- Saturday -- 5K followed by a 10K
- Sunday -- Half Marathon.
For those of you into multi-race challenge events, they've got a good thing going here. To do all four is called the Grand Slam. You get a quarter-zip pullover for it. To do the 5K, 10K, and Half is the Hat Trick. Brilliantly, you get a hat. To do the 5K and 10K is the five and dime, and you get socks.
Doing the 5K and Half is a big fat tub of nothing, and that's exactly what I did.
5K
Your HQ for the Festival is the SteelStacks compound in Bethlehem, PA, not far from Runner's World HQ in Emmaus. (Hopefully that remains now that it's been purchased by Hearst.) This provides a scenic and somewhat convenient center of events. Scenic because they've...well, not renovated but used the decaying buildings of the old steel mill and turned them into a haunting and strangely beautiful backdrop to a multi-purpose event space. Can you tell I'm a marketing writer? No. Ok, carry on, then.
But anyway, all 3 of the road races start at the SteelStacks and head eastward from SteelStacks and head toward the Fahey Bridge, and they all end with a long loop around the ArtsQuest/SteelStacks compound via Sands Boulevard (adjacent to the local casino resort) with a finish in the center of SteelStacks. The main difference in the races is how much time you spend north of the Lehigh River.
The 5K is not flat, but its biggest hill is still within the first mile, a steep climb right after the Fahey Bridge and then an equally steep descent. It was here that I got my best advice of the weekend, a father saying to his probably 10ish old son, "We're going to go downhill now. Don't try to speed up, just let gravity do the work and rest.". Although the advice wasn't meant for me, I tried to follow it.
My goal was to take this race relatively easy, since I knew I was undertrained for both the distance and hills the following day. With that in mind, I tried to not to push myself. I succeeded, finishing in 35:36, which is quite a bit slower than my normal 5K training run finish times. That was a little disappointing, given that I'm most often at 32 or 33:something, and it was a cool day, which usually makes me faster (#fasterinthecold). Of greater concern was how tired my legs felt.
I don't have anything bad to say about the race itself. The scenery is interesting and the early location of its tough make this a course anyone can enjoy. It wasn't my finest hour as a runner, but I was happy with it.
Half Marathon
I'm going to skip ahead of some things that I'll come back to later and just say that I woke up the next morning at the Overlook Hotel in complete dread. I did not want to run the half. I really, seriously contemplated telling my wife "Let's go home. I'm not ready for this. This is stupid.". I've never been this scared before a half, even my first. I was really having trouble getting my nerves and stomach to calm down that morning.
But, once the race started, I felt ok. Stronger than I had during the 5K, and that strength just stayed with me longer than I had any right to expect it to. I paced myself smartly and ran a careful race, trudging up the uphills and speeding up on the flats and downhills, and I felt great up until about the 10K mark, good up to about 8, struggling till 10, and then basically a mass of gelatinous goo for most of the last 3.1, the exception being a long, steep downhill just before mile 11.
I'll take it!
I'm still about the same 40-minutes slower than my old PRs that I was at Shamrock, this was one of those unexpectedly very good races that I magically pull out of my you-know-where occasionally. I'd heard all weekend that this course was hilly. And it was very hilly. But I ran 10 miles of it before I needed to start mixing in increasing amount of walking. I credit 3 things:
1. The cold: I love running in the cold. There's got to be some formula that converts hot miles into cold miles. If there's not, I just invented it. Let's call it "Brian's First Law of Thermodynamics", which states that every hot, humid mile equals 2 cold miles. MH=2(MC). You'll be quizzed later. This was a raw, windy morning in the low 40s. The kind of weather that makes running blissful and standing waiting to run miserable. I'm the idiot that used to stand in the Orange corral at the Philly half in a tank top, shorts, and light gloves in 35 degrees. Now, at least I wear a light crumple-up jacket, which I wore till mile 4.
2. The free advice I got from the dad. Some of these hills were killers. But, what goes up, must come down. I've never ran a race that had the long, steep downhills like this one did, where I could rest and let gravity do the work. As tough as the uphills were, I think these downhills let me run more of the race then I might have been able to on a completely flat course.
3. Crowd support and Bethlehem. Bethlehem is a beautiful old town, and this race is a great way to see its historic downtown as well as a lot of its neighborhoods, and people came out to cheer in droves. Both things distract from how most of the race seems to be uphill.
I'd like to especially give a shout-out to the Sub 30 Club, a group of people dedicated to supporting each other through their running adventures. To make a long story short, the Sub 30 Club started as an online support group with RW writer Ted Spiker, who was attempting to train his way to sub-30 minute 5k. It's become much more than that, a tight fraternity of runners who cheer for each other along the course, encourage each other in training, and make sure that no one finishes last alone and no one feels alone on the course or at the event. There's always volunteers left to run in with other club members, including Jeff, who pushed out-of-breath me to a faster finish. My wife's been a member of the club virtually for a couple years, and I just joined recently. Check it out on Facebook. You'll be glad you did. We're huge introverts and they made us feel very welcome.
I hit the 10-mile mark right at two hours. I knew if I kept my walking pace up I should be good for under 2:45, but since there were some downhills, I was hoping I could beat my time from Shamrock. I just didn't have quite enough in the tank, and came in at 2:40:03, which I am very, very happy with. As I checked my results on line, my 1:59:33 from Philly in 2010 shows up as "other races". Like this, that was a better-than-expected result that seemed to come from nowhere. I'm equally proud of and happy with both.
Throughout the race, I amused myself by thinking of the really cocky things I was going to say to Chris when I finished. Should I quote my favorite speech from Lord of the Rings? Butcher some Hamilton lyrics? Drop some mad rhymes? In the end, I was too incoherent to do anything. I tried to make a funny funny face for the finish line cameras, and my chin muscles cramped up. Oops.
Event
I have mixed feelings about the event. On the place side, the races are great. What else would you expect from Runner's World? The course management is phenomenal, adequate water and aid stations, great volunteers, and excellent crowd support.
What's negative is just that this is a race you have to drive to, and that makes it a little inconvenient. I'm comparing it to Shamrock, Philly, AC (which I didn't run), Baltimore, Wildwood, and Love Run, all of which we stayed locally and can walk to the race. We stayed a little outside Bethlehem, since there was no room at the inn (wakka wakka wakka), but the start isn't walkable from most hotels in the area.
I also expected more from the expo. It's not the biggest race or the biggest town, but Runner's World IS running. I was hoping to be able to both load up on Runner's World swag and buy the things I'd forgotten (Sports beans in my case). The pasta dinner was fun and the food was good, but I'd have liked to hear more from the RW staff or perhaps a VIP runner. I've heard that Bart Yasso (who is as nice as everyone says he is) has brought the house down in previous years.
That doesn't change the fact that is race series is fun. The camraderie of runners makes it fun. The restaurants and breweries of Bethlehem (Fegley's Steelworkers' Oatmeal Stout, trust me on this) make it fun. The Sub-30 Club makes it fun. We probably won't do this every year, but this is a race series I'll definitely be willing to come back to.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Race Report: 2018 Love Run Half Marathon, Philadelphia
Background
My wife is a member of Half Fanatics, a ridiculous group that, along with its sister organization Marathon Maniacs, encourages people to run long races all the damn time and provides a network of support for members at those races.
I wanted to join it, too.
The "easiest" ways to join the lowest level of Half Fanatics is to run two half-marathons in 16 days or three half marathons in 90 days. They have to be official races, not me running around Manchester by myself, so logistically this can be a little challenging when you live in the middle of nowhere. My wife had previously qualified a few years ago (I'm too lazy to look it up) by running Shamrock and then Love Run in Philadelphia a week later. The two races don't always line up like this, since the Love Run is sometimes moved to avoid Easter, but this year they did. Well, ok. Sign me up.
Pre-Race
The perfectly cromulent race expo was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. You get a decent amount of stuff for this race: A tech shirt, a commemorative mug...and well, I guess that's it. But what more do you expect? But it was nice expo, with a decent selection of vendors and representation of other races, and the opportunity to win free prizes from CGI Racing, the event's organizer. My wife won last year's mug, and I won a pair of Love Run gloves. Score.
The highlight of the expo for me was saying hi to Bart Yasso, "the Mayor of Running", who was representing the Philadelphia Marathon/Half Marathon/Rothman 8k, Philly's big fall running event. I've briefly met Bart, the former Chief Running Officer of Runner's World, before and he's a nice guy with lots of great running stories, but I'm an awkward introvert who didn't really know what to say. This time, Bart saw immediately that I'd run Shamrock the week before (since I was wearing all my stuff to prove I was savvy half marathon veteran), as he also had, and we had a nice conversation for a few minutes about that while he was supposed to be signing people up for Philly, before he graciously posed for a picture with me. Thanks, Bart!
After the expo, my wife and I went to dinner at Pizzeria Vetri, a slightly fancy pizza place near Rittenhouse Square (Does anyone else watch "Timeless" and now think of "Rittenhouse" as evil?). We were tired, so we stopped for one drink at the hotel bar and went back to the room to lay our stuff out.
As I mentioned in my previous post, when I registered for this in the fall, I'd had the foresight to put "Dallas Sucks" on my bib, perfect since I was running in my Eagles shirt and the Eagles had actually won the Superbowl for once. This was already the best race ever...until the race part started.
Race Day
Let's just get this out of the way. It was fucking cold. It was overcast and windy and even when our corral got underway at about 8:00 a.m. (half an hour after gun time), I never warmed up.
The course itself is similar to the Philly Half, except it doesn't go as far east into Old City but then makes up for it by going farther west into Fairmount Park. Like the Philly Half, which to be fair I haven't run since 2010, I enjoyed the Center City part of the race more than the park part of the race, even though my Garmin was frustratingly useless among the tall buildings. What makes this race frustrating once you get out into the park is, like the Rocky Run 10K we ran a few years ago, it's almost all an out and back along MLK except for a detour around Strawberry Mansion. It's not that Fairmount Park, along the banks of Schuykill, isn't pretty. It's just that for the whole "out" you're watching everyone going faster cruise to the finish. Still, the course as a whole is flat and fast, and I think if your goal is to push for a 13.1 PR, this is probably a good option. We were not gunning for a PR, bringing me to my main criticism of the race.
The race website states that is has a 3.5 hour time limit. Futher down, at the bottom of the page, it clarifies that this 3.5 hour time limit starts from gun time -- the start of the race for the fastest participants. This means that the people in the last corral, who are placed there because we entered the longest projected finishing times, get considerably less time.
The website claims: "We have factored in the time it will take for the last corrals to cross the start line. Please plan your training accordingly."
Bullshit.
Total Bullshit.
We got swept off the course before mile ten, told by the police to move to the sidewalk. Garbage. We were able to cross a timing mat at mile 10, where we recorded a chip time of 2:38:49. At this point, our projected finishing time was 3:28. We did end up falling a little bit short of 3:30, so if we had gotten swept much closer to the finish line, this would have been understandable, but it is abundantly clear that the race organizers did not "factor in the time it will take for the last corrals to cross the start line".
To their credit, the finish line was still open when we crossed, and there were still plenty of medals, food, and even a beer tent with Yards Brawler(we've seen no sign of a beer tent on my wife's two previous Love Runs). It was overall a good, enjoyable event from the expo to the finishing party, but an overly aggressive sweeper puts a huge damper on the race. If this is standard practice for race managers, it's a shitty one. I know it makes sense to put the fast people first so they have a clear course. I myself complain every year that Kelly Shamrock 5K doesn't have a more organized corral or pace sign system. But it makes just much sense to realize that it's the people in the last corral that need the full time limit much more.
Would I run it again? Not sure. The Love Run has a lot of positives: Good expo, decent swag, good merchandise selection, good course (despite my personal gripe about the out and back), finisher party with free beer, good location with lots of things to do and good places to eat.
But poor race management potentially outweighs all of that.
My wife is a member of Half Fanatics, a ridiculous group that, along with its sister organization Marathon Maniacs, encourages people to run long races all the damn time and provides a network of support for members at those races.
I wanted to join it, too.
The "easiest" ways to join the lowest level of Half Fanatics is to run two half-marathons in 16 days or three half marathons in 90 days. They have to be official races, not me running around Manchester by myself, so logistically this can be a little challenging when you live in the middle of nowhere. My wife had previously qualified a few years ago (I'm too lazy to look it up) by running Shamrock and then Love Run in Philadelphia a week later. The two races don't always line up like this, since the Love Run is sometimes moved to avoid Easter, but this year they did. Well, ok. Sign me up.
Pre-Race
The perfectly cromulent race expo was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. You get a decent amount of stuff for this race: A tech shirt, a commemorative mug...and well, I guess that's it. But what more do you expect? But it was nice expo, with a decent selection of vendors and representation of other races, and the opportunity to win free prizes from CGI Racing, the event's organizer. My wife won last year's mug, and I won a pair of Love Run gloves. Score.
The highlight of the expo for me was saying hi to Bart Yasso, "the Mayor of Running", who was representing the Philadelphia Marathon/Half Marathon/Rothman 8k, Philly's big fall running event. I've briefly met Bart, the former Chief Running Officer of Runner's World, before and he's a nice guy with lots of great running stories, but I'm an awkward introvert who didn't really know what to say. This time, Bart saw immediately that I'd run Shamrock the week before (since I was wearing all my stuff to prove I was savvy half marathon veteran), as he also had, and we had a nice conversation for a few minutes about that while he was supposed to be signing people up for Philly, before he graciously posed for a picture with me. Thanks, Bart!
After the expo, my wife and I went to dinner at Pizzeria Vetri, a slightly fancy pizza place near Rittenhouse Square (Does anyone else watch "Timeless" and now think of "Rittenhouse" as evil?). We were tired, so we stopped for one drink at the hotel bar and went back to the room to lay our stuff out.
As I mentioned in my previous post, when I registered for this in the fall, I'd had the foresight to put "Dallas Sucks" on my bib, perfect since I was running in my Eagles shirt and the Eagles had actually won the Superbowl for once. This was already the best race ever...until the race part started.
Race Day
Let's just get this out of the way. It was fucking cold. It was overcast and windy and even when our corral got underway at about 8:00 a.m. (half an hour after gun time), I never warmed up.
The course itself is similar to the Philly Half, except it doesn't go as far east into Old City but then makes up for it by going farther west into Fairmount Park. Like the Philly Half, which to be fair I haven't run since 2010, I enjoyed the Center City part of the race more than the park part of the race, even though my Garmin was frustratingly useless among the tall buildings. What makes this race frustrating once you get out into the park is, like the Rocky Run 10K we ran a few years ago, it's almost all an out and back along MLK except for a detour around Strawberry Mansion. It's not that Fairmount Park, along the banks of Schuykill, isn't pretty. It's just that for the whole "out" you're watching everyone going faster cruise to the finish. Still, the course as a whole is flat and fast, and I think if your goal is to push for a 13.1 PR, this is probably a good option. We were not gunning for a PR, bringing me to my main criticism of the race.
The race website states that is has a 3.5 hour time limit. Futher down, at the bottom of the page, it clarifies that this 3.5 hour time limit starts from gun time -- the start of the race for the fastest participants. This means that the people in the last corral, who are placed there because we entered the longest projected finishing times, get considerably less time.
The website claims: "We have factored in the time it will take for the last corrals to cross the start line. Please plan your training accordingly."
Bullshit.
Total Bullshit.
We got swept off the course before mile ten, told by the police to move to the sidewalk. Garbage. We were able to cross a timing mat at mile 10, where we recorded a chip time of 2:38:49. At this point, our projected finishing time was 3:28. We did end up falling a little bit short of 3:30, so if we had gotten swept much closer to the finish line, this would have been understandable, but it is abundantly clear that the race organizers did not "factor in the time it will take for the last corrals to cross the start line".
To their credit, the finish line was still open when we crossed, and there were still plenty of medals, food, and even a beer tent with Yards Brawler(we've seen no sign of a beer tent on my wife's two previous Love Runs). It was overall a good, enjoyable event from the expo to the finishing party, but an overly aggressive sweeper puts a huge damper on the race. If this is standard practice for race managers, it's a shitty one. I know it makes sense to put the fast people first so they have a clear course. I myself complain every year that Kelly Shamrock 5K doesn't have a more organized corral or pace sign system. But it makes just much sense to realize that it's the people in the last corral that need the full time limit much more.
Would I run it again? Not sure. The Love Run has a lot of positives: Good expo, decent swag, good merchandise selection, good course (despite my personal gripe about the out and back), finisher party with free beer, good location with lots of things to do and good places to eat.
But poor race management potentially outweighs all of that.
(Cheesesteak Eggrolls at the Continental)
Brian's Terrible Race Photos, 2018 Edition: The Love Run
When I registered for this race last fall, I got to pick out a custom name/nickname/saying/whatever for my race bib. Rather than just put "Brian" like a normal person, I put "Dallas Sucks".
The race was in Philly, after all, and I'm a huge Eagles fan. By happy coincidence the Eagles won their first Superbowl (did you hear?) in the intervening months.
I had totally forgotten that I did this, and when I picked up my packet in the post-superbowl 52 world, I couldn't stop laughing. I wanted to make sure that my hilarious bib got in race photos, so as I approached the photographer, I unzipped my jacket like a flasher...and well, I guess the wind got a hold of me and resulting parachute effect makes me look even rounder than I am.
I also hate when I got caught flat-footed in the picture. Well, in this one it looks like I'm just standing in the middle of road. Maybe I was. Maybe I was.
Reaching the Finish LIne is always cool, and my wife and I were very happy and relieved. I'm glad this awkward high-five was captured on film. She was on my left. Why didn't I just use my left hand? I'm left handed, goddammit.
There were good pictures, too. But who cares about those?
Race report on the Love Run coming later this week. Maybe.
Monday, March 26, 2018
Race Reports: 2018 TowneBank Shamrock 8k and Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon
We skipped Shamrock two years since I made my first visit for the marathon in 2011: I didn't want to go down in 2014 since I was slated for surgery and grumpily limping through races, and last year we didn't go down as my wife recovered from complications from a broken ankle.
After so many trips down, Virginia Beach feels like home. It was great to get back to Doughboys, Il Giardino, and Maple Tree Pancake House. It was great to see Neptune towering over the boardwalk. It was nice to get Duck Donunts again. It was great to find new places, too, like the Military Aircraft Museum, Green Flash, Smartmouth Pilot House, and Home Republic Brewpub.
But mostly, it's great to run almost completely flat races and with big free beer parties afterwards.
TowneBank Shamrock 8K
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This race is a blast. It's an almost completely flat through downtown and oceanfront Virginia Beach, and I've had some of my best races here. I hate-ran it in 2012, when I was supposed to be running the marathon again, and PR'd with a 41:10 that I'll be hard-pressed to come within 10 minutes of. I've never approached that again, but I've had relatively good races there. In the low 50s in 2013 and 2016, while in 2015 it was the only race that Spring where I wasn't having a relapse of compartment syndrome. And, from a beer-per-mile standpoint, the 8K is really your best value of the weekend.
I came in this year with a 57:04, an 11:29-minute mile pace. I couldn't make up my mind about whether to press hard for a sub-55, or take it easy because I was going to push myself for a 2:30 half marathon the next day, and I really didn't do either. As a result, I had a time I was slightly disappointed in for the 8K and was also a little gassed for the half the next day. But, I enjoyed every second of that 57:04, especially since I was clad in the logo of the Superbowl LII Champion Philadelphia Eagles, and that's really what counts.
My only mild criticism -- and J&A Racing knows what they're doing -- is that it just takes FOREVER for the corrals to go off. It's a 7:45 start time, but our corral (the last, to be fair), didn't go off until 8:30.
The post-race party was fun, as usual, and we spent the rest of the day at the Military Aircraft Museum, with a quick pre-dinner stop at Green Flash Brewery. Both great.
Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon
My best half marathon is 1:59:10, back in 2010, when I was young and dreamed of glory. Since then, I'd ran the Wild Half in 2015 and Shamrock in 2016, never getting back under 3 hours. I don't particularly care to speed train enough to worry about beating my old PRs, qualifying for Boston (which is nevah going to happen), or any speed metrics. But, I wanted to see how fast I could finish this just so I could think about whether it was feasible to take another shot at the marathon. I was a 5-hour marathoner when I was in my mid-30s and right at the middle of the bell curve in about every distance except the marathon. Compared to my other distances, I was a bad marathoner. I'm not shy about that. But, I wanted to test whether a 5:00-5:30 marathon was feasible. I just don't want to think about being out there for 6+ hours.
With that in mind, my goal was a 2:30. I thought that a perfect 12-minute mile pace would bring me in around 2:36, and I've been running pretty consistently at sub-11 minute miles, that I could bank some time and finish in about that.
The short answer is I was a little slower than I hoped, at 2:38, but that I'm also pretty happy with that. I paced myself well and consistently, and ran the whole race until mile 11, when I needed to mix some in, even though I'd run an 8K the day before and my long runs had only gotten up to 8-miles.
With that in mind, I've never hurt so much after a half, even when I ran at the edge of death to that 1:59. I needed considerable help from the railing to get down off the boardwalk onto the beach, and when I tried to sit down in a corner of the party tent with a bowl of Murphy's Irish Stew, my legs cramped up and I had to stand back up. (The very kind runners near me were concerned, but I was fine once I got some food in me). After some soup, some chips, 4 Yuenglings (The new Golden Pilsner is ok. It's like a better version of Bud Light, honestly.) I felt much better.And after a post-race trip to Smartmouth Brewing's Pilot House and Home Republic, I was feeling very good indeed.
For the first time, I officially scored a Dolphin Challenge medal, and J&A Racing did a great job as usual with everything. It was bittersweet to leave Virginia Beach with our customary Maple Tree breakfast, but as I've already said, we'll happily be back in 2018.
My only complaint is that Town E. Bear was not as heavily involved in the post-race festivities as he was in 2016. I find Town E. Bear hilarious, especially when I'm in a big tent drinking, and especially when a bear mascot gets up on stage and dances.
After so many trips down, Virginia Beach feels like home. It was great to get back to Doughboys, Il Giardino, and Maple Tree Pancake House. It was great to see Neptune towering over the boardwalk. It was nice to get Duck Donunts again. It was great to find new places, too, like the Military Aircraft Museum, Green Flash, Smartmouth Pilot House, and Home Republic Brewpub.
But mostly, it's great to run almost completely flat races and with big free beer parties afterwards.
TowneBank Shamrock 8K
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This race is a blast. It's an almost completely flat through downtown and oceanfront Virginia Beach, and I've had some of my best races here. I hate-ran it in 2012, when I was supposed to be running the marathon again, and PR'd with a 41:10 that I'll be hard-pressed to come within 10 minutes of. I've never approached that again, but I've had relatively good races there. In the low 50s in 2013 and 2016, while in 2015 it was the only race that Spring where I wasn't having a relapse of compartment syndrome. And, from a beer-per-mile standpoint, the 8K is really your best value of the weekend.
I came in this year with a 57:04, an 11:29-minute mile pace. I couldn't make up my mind about whether to press hard for a sub-55, or take it easy because I was going to push myself for a 2:30 half marathon the next day, and I really didn't do either. As a result, I had a time I was slightly disappointed in for the 8K and was also a little gassed for the half the next day. But, I enjoyed every second of that 57:04, especially since I was clad in the logo of the Superbowl LII Champion Philadelphia Eagles, and that's really what counts.
My only mild criticism -- and J&A Racing knows what they're doing -- is that it just takes FOREVER for the corrals to go off. It's a 7:45 start time, but our corral (the last, to be fair), didn't go off until 8:30.
The post-race party was fun, as usual, and we spent the rest of the day at the Military Aircraft Museum, with a quick pre-dinner stop at Green Flash Brewery. Both great.
Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon
My best half marathon is 1:59:10, back in 2010, when I was young and dreamed of glory. Since then, I'd ran the Wild Half in 2015 and Shamrock in 2016, never getting back under 3 hours. I don't particularly care to speed train enough to worry about beating my old PRs, qualifying for Boston (which is nevah going to happen), or any speed metrics. But, I wanted to see how fast I could finish this just so I could think about whether it was feasible to take another shot at the marathon. I was a 5-hour marathoner when I was in my mid-30s and right at the middle of the bell curve in about every distance except the marathon. Compared to my other distances, I was a bad marathoner. I'm not shy about that. But, I wanted to test whether a 5:00-5:30 marathon was feasible. I just don't want to think about being out there for 6+ hours.
With that in mind, my goal was a 2:30. I thought that a perfect 12-minute mile pace would bring me in around 2:36, and I've been running pretty consistently at sub-11 minute miles, that I could bank some time and finish in about that.
The short answer is I was a little slower than I hoped, at 2:38, but that I'm also pretty happy with that. I paced myself well and consistently, and ran the whole race until mile 11, when I needed to mix some in, even though I'd run an 8K the day before and my long runs had only gotten up to 8-miles.
With that in mind, I've never hurt so much after a half, even when I ran at the edge of death to that 1:59. I needed considerable help from the railing to get down off the boardwalk onto the beach, and when I tried to sit down in a corner of the party tent with a bowl of Murphy's Irish Stew, my legs cramped up and I had to stand back up. (The very kind runners near me were concerned, but I was fine once I got some food in me). After some soup, some chips, 4 Yuenglings (The new Golden Pilsner is ok. It's like a better version of Bud Light, honestly.) I felt much better.And after a post-race trip to Smartmouth Brewing's Pilot House and Home Republic, I was feeling very good indeed.
For the first time, I officially scored a Dolphin Challenge medal, and J&A Racing did a great job as usual with everything. It was bittersweet to leave Virginia Beach with our customary Maple Tree breakfast, but as I've already said, we'll happily be back in 2018.
My only complaint is that Town E. Bear was not as heavily involved in the post-race festivities as he was in 2016. I find Town E. Bear hilarious, especially when I'm in a big tent drinking, and especially when a bear mascot gets up on stage and dances.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Well, That Was Stupid
For the second week in a row, my wife and I ran a half marathon. This time it was the Love Run in Philadelphia. The main thing about it was that it was cold.
I don't hurt as bad as I did after Shamrock, but my left leg is currently a mostly useless appendage that I'm kind of just dragging around. But, I qualified for Half Fanatics, so there's that. (Wife is already a member.)
Race reports for Shamrock and Love Run are coming, if you're into that kind of thing.
I don't hurt as bad as I did after Shamrock, but my left leg is currently a mostly useless appendage that I'm kind of just dragging around. But, I qualified for Half Fanatics, so there's that. (Wife is already a member.)
Race reports for Shamrock and Love Run are coming, if you're into that kind of thing.
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Ok, So We're Doing This
I think it's finally time to take another shot at the marathon. As I was at mile 12 on Sunday, laboring, all I could think was "I'm glad I'm not running the full". But, I said the same thing in 2010, when I ran the half at Philly, and I ran two marathons in 2011. I'm slower than I was then. It'll hurt. It'll be slow. I'll probably complain a lot. But it's time to put 7+ years of failed comeback attempts to rest.
And the 8k is my favorite race ever. I can't skip the 8k. That just wouldn't do. No, not at all.
Monday, March 19, 2018
It's Times Like These You Learn to Love Again
Surprise, sur-f***ing-prise. I actually stuck with running all Summer, Fall, and Winter and trained for, albeit somewhat mediocrely, and finished a half marathon.
I did much better over the last year in getting out to run during the week than I had in years, which is my usual training problem, but I just didn't get in enough long enough long runs to really have been ready. But I finshed the Shamrock Half, and in only a few minutes (but considerably more pain) than I'd hoped to finish.
And I'm doing it again on Sunday, at what looks like a blissfully freezing Love Run Half in Philly. As I met my wife as she finished the Shamrock half, some of my first words were "I don't think I'm going to run Love Run." But, I am a glutton for punishment and I'm going to do it...although with a less aggressive time goal than the 2:30 I'd wanted at flat-as-a-board Shamrock. I want to finish, but I also don't want to be in this much pain two weeks in a row.
But, at more than any other point in the last seven years of sporadic running, I feel like I'm back. I want to do long runs in the Summer even though I hate it. I want to run a fall half. I want to finally put paid on years of comeback attempts and run a marathon next year, and I feel like I actually can stick with it.
Virginia Beach and J&A Racing did it again. I needed to re-find the joy of running, and I found it again at Shamrock.
(Me and my beautiful participant medals.)
I won't be posting here on a regular basis. I'll do some race reviews including the Shamrock and 8k, bitch about the heat, or brag if there's ever occasion, but I still don't have much to say here anymore.
I did much better over the last year in getting out to run during the week than I had in years, which is my usual training problem, but I just didn't get in enough long enough long runs to really have been ready. But I finshed the Shamrock Half, and in only a few minutes (but considerably more pain) than I'd hoped to finish.
And I'm doing it again on Sunday, at what looks like a blissfully freezing Love Run Half in Philly. As I met my wife as she finished the Shamrock half, some of my first words were "I don't think I'm going to run Love Run." But, I am a glutton for punishment and I'm going to do it...although with a less aggressive time goal than the 2:30 I'd wanted at flat-as-a-board Shamrock. I want to finish, but I also don't want to be in this much pain two weeks in a row.
But, at more than any other point in the last seven years of sporadic running, I feel like I'm back. I want to do long runs in the Summer even though I hate it. I want to run a fall half. I want to finally put paid on years of comeback attempts and run a marathon next year, and I feel like I actually can stick with it.
Virginia Beach and J&A Racing did it again. I needed to re-find the joy of running, and I found it again at Shamrock.
(Me and my beautiful participant medals.)
I won't be posting here on a regular basis. I'll do some race reviews including the Shamrock and 8k, bitch about the heat, or brag if there's ever occasion, but I still don't have much to say here anymore.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Slowly Getting Faster?
That's my best 3.1 mile time of the spring and summer by over 20 seconds. Managed to go a little faster each mile, but didn't have a strong kick for the last tenth.
I didn't feel great today at the start. Tired, some pain in my left shin and ankle in the first half mile, but I just wanted to get this one over with. When the cooler weather comes, I'll be ready.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Listen to Your Stupid Body
I ran 5K in 36 minutes (ok, 35:59) this morning, bringing to an end a week of really good runs. But, normally, I'd say "It's ok. At least I got out there. That's what this summer is all about."
But no. I shouldn't have gotten out there, I should have stayed in bed with a heat pack on my back.
You see, I got trounced at badminton on Monday for about an hour and 15 minutes, my first time playing any racquet sport in several years. I knew my back and shoulder would be sore. And they were. I was a little sore yesterday, but I felt ok yesterday and went on my run without incident, finishing 3.1 miles 34:29. Pretty good!
Today...MUCH worse. It started to feel worse last night, when I was having trouble getting into a comfortable position to sleep, but it was even worse this morning: every motion was agony and if I did find a comfortable position, the muscle would painfully spasm after a few seconds. "Maybe a run will loosen it up", I stupidly said to myself.
I got over to the school, back still spasm-ing, and my legs felt weak as I walked up a slighly inclined part of the parking lot. "I'll feel better once I warm up", I stupidly thought.
I was wrong on both stupid counts. I felt terrible, legs week, stride uneven, suffering through my 3.1, with my back feeling even worse when I finished. At one point, around 9:30, I got up from my office chair, couldn't straighten up, and fell back in the chair with a "thud". After a miserable day of back spasms, I'm only starting to feel a little better 13 hours later with a heating pad on my back.
I have been trying to tell myself that I won't always feel strong and have motivation, so I have to take advantage of the days that I do and get out there, rather than depending on that motivation to still be there that evening (when it's 85F) of the next day (when bed is so comfy). But on the other hand, all the motivation in the world isn't going to help if you're legitimately injured. Think before you run, and rest if you need it. Don't be stupid like me.
But no. I shouldn't have gotten out there, I should have stayed in bed with a heat pack on my back.
You see, I got trounced at badminton on Monday for about an hour and 15 minutes, my first time playing any racquet sport in several years. I knew my back and shoulder would be sore. And they were. I was a little sore yesterday, but I felt ok yesterday and went on my run without incident, finishing 3.1 miles 34:29. Pretty good!
Today...MUCH worse. It started to feel worse last night, when I was having trouble getting into a comfortable position to sleep, but it was even worse this morning: every motion was agony and if I did find a comfortable position, the muscle would painfully spasm after a few seconds. "Maybe a run will loosen it up", I stupidly said to myself.
I got over to the school, back still spasm-ing, and my legs felt weak as I walked up a slighly inclined part of the parking lot. "I'll feel better once I warm up", I stupidly thought.
I was wrong on both stupid counts. I felt terrible, legs week, stride uneven, suffering through my 3.1, with my back feeling even worse when I finished. At one point, around 9:30, I got up from my office chair, couldn't straighten up, and fell back in the chair with a "thud". After a miserable day of back spasms, I'm only starting to feel a little better 13 hours later with a heating pad on my back.
I have been trying to tell myself that I won't always feel strong and have motivation, so I have to take advantage of the days that I do and get out there, rather than depending on that motivation to still be there that evening (when it's 85F) of the next day (when bed is so comfy). But on the other hand, all the motivation in the world isn't going to help if you're legitimately injured. Think before you run, and rest if you need it. Don't be stupid like me.
To add insult to injury, my new Nike singlet looks very unflattering on me.
Sunday, July 2, 2017
I've Been to Hill and Back Again
I woke up a little before 6am, and my Vivoactive said it was 72 degrees. I figuree that was the "coolest" weather I'm likely to have the rest of the weekend, and well, I don't always have motivation, so when I do, I need to make sure I get my butt there.
The sun was already bright by the time I got over to Northeastern. I got out of my car. It felt warm already, and I was dreading it. I decided to make things worse. I've been running the same 3.1 miles route since April, focusing more on consistency than speed or distance, and running the same route over and over really lets me have a good comparison from run to run. Was I faster than usual? How did I feel compared to other days? It makes it nice when there's a day like Thursday, where I can say "Ok, I felt worse than usual, but it was because I was about 30 seconds/mile faster than usual".
Well, today I decided to mix it up. I have a hilly 3-mile loop that starts at Northeastern High School in Manchester, goes down Maple Street & Walnut Street into Mt. Wolf, climbs up to Six Street, cuts over to Chestnut, which provides a steep downhill followed by a en even steeper uphill that takes me back to board road and my start. It's brutal, and I'm disappointed by how non-hilly it looks on this GarminConnect elevation map. (It looks much more impressive on my phone, but I left my phone downstairs and then I'd have to transfer things over to my computer and it's a pain).
Here's my normal route (my run from yesterday) for comparison:
Anyway, it hurt, but I'm really happy with how it went. I had a faster pace than yesterday, even on a more difficult route. It was a few degrees cooler and less humid, but with the sun beating down on me, I still felt like I was boiling.
While my wife and I were training for the Shamrock Half in 2016, we'd run our long run either Friday night or Saturday morning, and then I'd run this on Sunday, and I found it to be a good test of strength. I think I'll start mixing it in again. As Frank Shorter says, "Hills are speedwork in disguise."
The sun was already bright by the time I got over to Northeastern. I got out of my car. It felt warm already, and I was dreading it. I decided to make things worse. I've been running the same 3.1 miles route since April, focusing more on consistency than speed or distance, and running the same route over and over really lets me have a good comparison from run to run. Was I faster than usual? How did I feel compared to other days? It makes it nice when there's a day like Thursday, where I can say "Ok, I felt worse than usual, but it was because I was about 30 seconds/mile faster than usual".
Well, today I decided to mix it up. I have a hilly 3-mile loop that starts at Northeastern High School in Manchester, goes down Maple Street & Walnut Street into Mt. Wolf, climbs up to Six Street, cuts over to Chestnut, which provides a steep downhill followed by a en even steeper uphill that takes me back to board road and my start. It's brutal, and I'm disappointed by how non-hilly it looks on this GarminConnect elevation map. (It looks much more impressive on my phone, but I left my phone downstairs and then I'd have to transfer things over to my computer and it's a pain).
Here's my normal route (my run from yesterday) for comparison:
Anyway, it hurt, but I'm really happy with how it went. I had a faster pace than yesterday, even on a more difficult route. It was a few degrees cooler and less humid, but with the sun beating down on me, I still felt like I was boiling.
While my wife and I were training for the Shamrock Half in 2016, we'd run our long run either Friday night or Saturday morning, and then I'd run this on Sunday, and I found it to be a good test of strength. I think I'll start mixing it in again. As Frank Shorter says, "Hills are speedwork in disguise."
Thursday, June 29, 2017
The Comeback is Real
On Monday, I ran my fastest four-miler of the year. Today, I ran a 33:54 5K. That doesn't stack up against my 5K times from 2007-2012, but it's my fastest 5K distance since the beginning of February. In the 3 good months of running that I've had, this is the first time I've been under 34 minutes and kept a better than 11-minute mile pace.
And they have been good months:
I was a little bit faster in January in February, but far less consistent in getting out there. Since August, when I got the Garmin Vivoactive, which made tracking all this stuff automatic and totally Brian-proof, my previous highest monthly mileage was 21 miles in January, followed a 13-mile February and a 14.7-mile March. In April, I ran 38 miles. May was 43.2, and June, unless I run tomorrow instead of Saturday, will wind up at 42.1 miles.
I used to run 30+ miles every week, and sometimes I can't help but remember that and be frustrated, but the picture above tells the story of the longest stretch of consistent running since January, February, and March of 2016, and I'm sticking with it even as the weather warms up. This is huge for me. If I can keep this up during the dog days of July and August, it will be the first consistent summer of running that I've had since 2011.
That plateau that you see above, that's not going to get much higher over the summer. I'm ok with that. The mileage I'm running now compares to what I was doing in summer of 2008, when I was reliably running 2.8 miles (2 laps) 3-4x/week at Cousler Park. I ran for almost two years before I attempted a distance over 3.1 miles, but building that base helped me when I did move up to the 10K and half marathon, and it'll help me again now. If I can grind through the summer, I'll be ready when fall and winter come.
Monday, June 26, 2017
Putting it all Together
I despise running in the summer. I'm committed to consistency until cooler weather returns, by which I mean getting out for 3-4 miles (usually will be 3) 3-4 times a week, but I've decided I'm not going to put a lot of effort into pushing myself on pace or distance until it does cool down.
Still, it's very nice when I get a slightly cooler, less humid morning like today and what's probably my best run of the year. I was faster back during the few weeks in January and February, but today I ran my fastest four-miler of the year, 44:33 (11:08 pace), beating my previous best from this year by exactly minute and crushing my four-milers from May and June by 2-plus minutes. Today hurt. It was a beautiful morning, but it was still warm by my standards. But today's run makes me very confident that if I stay consistent, that I'll be able to get myself back to a sub-30 5K and a sub-40 four-miler sooner rather than later. I will probably never be as fast as I was in my early 30s, and I don't care about that, but I'd like to achieve both of those goals by the end of 2017.
How's your summer running going?
Sunday, May 28, 2017
May 2017
I didn't run as far or as fast as I did in my prime, but I can't deny that I ran.
This is pretty good. April and May have been the most consistent running months I've had since early last year, prior to Shamrock. I loathe running in hot weather, so I don't think I'm going to push myself on increasing distance much until September, but I will be really happy if I can keep motivation to drag myself out 3-4x a week for 3-4 miles. That's building a habit again. That's getting my legs ready for the wars to come. That's feeling like a runner again for the first time in over a year and actually kind of enjoying it for the first time in a lot longer than that.
This is pretty good. April and May have been the most consistent running months I've had since early last year, prior to Shamrock. I loathe running in hot weather, so I don't think I'm going to push myself on increasing distance much until September, but I will be really happy if I can keep motivation to drag myself out 3-4x a week for 3-4 miles. That's building a habit again. That's getting my legs ready for the wars to come. That's feeling like a runner again for the first time in over a year and actually kind of enjoying it for the first time in a lot longer than that.
Monday, May 8, 2017
Do AC
I almost always try to run on the Atlantic City Boardwalk when I'm here. If it's the dead of winter, probably not. If I'm staying out at the Marina, probably not. Otherwise, hell yes.
We're spending a long weekend at Resorts, a perfectly cromulent hotel and casino on the Boardwalk. I ran two miles southward past the long-vacant Atlantic Club and back. I always feel weaker on the boardwalk. Maybe it's the springy, wobbly boards, maybe it's 4 beers I had yesterday (in my defense, two of then were free), or the great deal of walking we did yesterday, but I was slower than Saturday. I don't mind. It was a nice run. I did it, and that's what matters. That's enough these days.
But still, another negative split is nice.
We're spending a long weekend at Resorts, a perfectly cromulent hotel and casino on the Boardwalk. I ran two miles southward past the long-vacant Atlantic Club and back. I always feel weaker on the boardwalk. Maybe it's the springy, wobbly boards, maybe it's 4 beers I had yesterday (in my defense, two of then were free), or the great deal of walking we did yesterday, but I was slower than Saturday. I don't mind. It was a nice run. I did it, and that's what matters. That's enough these days.
But still, another negative split is nice.
Sunday, May 7, 2017
4 Miles w/Negative Split
I used to run a 27-minute 5k pretty easily. My best was under 23 minutes, and I only got there once, but I got close a few other times. But usually I was in the mid-20s and could bring it in under 30 minutes with a just under 9 minute-mile pace. In a longer race or my training runs, I was usually still a little under 10-minute miles. Except the marathon. Let's never speak of the marathon.
These days, not so much. I've been closer to 12-minute miles for most of my latest comeback attempt, which really started in earnest at the end of March. I'd had some good running in January, and really didn't get out at all in February.
I've been happy my last two times out to break a sub-36 minute 5k, keeping it under 12 minute miles. I was even happier with this on Saturday. Check that negative split!
I don't care if I'm never again as fast as I was in my 30s. I would like to get my 5K back under 30 minutes, and I would like to be able to finish a half in under 2:30, from which I'm in striking distance in terms of pace.
Distance is another thing. I haven't run more than 4 miles since last May and I have only run 4 miles 3x this year, one of which was yesterday and the other two times in January.
As the weather warms up, I want to focus most on maintaining consistency, getting out there and running 3-4 miles 3-4 times a week, even though I hate every step. If I can mix in an occasional 5 miler, that'll put me in good shape to add distance in the fall.
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Hi.
Let's review. I ran a couple marathons. I developed chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS). I broke my ass in a Spartan Race. I had surgery for chronic exertional compartment syndrome. I ran a couple half marathons. I would stop running for months a time and I gained 40 lbs.
Why did I even do this in the first place? Well, sure, I started running because I felt (back when I weighed 140) like I was gaining weight, so I trained for a 5K. After that, although I don't necessarily always enjoy the act of running itself, especially in the hot fucking summer months, it gave me a way to win. Something other than my job that I could challenge myself with and get the feedback of shiny participant medals and even an occasional age-group award. Well, twice. And one was by default, I think. But, still I was right in the middle of the pace bell curve in every distance except the marathon. For awhile, I was running 10 miles 3 or 4 times a week. I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and I was lovin' it. Then the CECS, the broken ass, and I let myself go.
It's not fun or easy anymore, and it's only going to get worse as the temperatures go up. But I once used running to fight my stress and depression, and well, everyone I know is going through hard times right now, my favorite little kitty isn't around to purr at me anymore, and look at what the shit our government is trying to get away with. It seems like I need running more than ever, no?
Why did I even do this in the first place? Well, sure, I started running because I felt (back when I weighed 140) like I was gaining weight, so I trained for a 5K. After that, although I don't necessarily always enjoy the act of running itself, especially in the hot fucking summer months, it gave me a way to win. Something other than my job that I could challenge myself with and get the feedback of shiny participant medals and even an occasional age-group award. Well, twice. And one was by default, I think. But, still I was right in the middle of the pace bell curve in every distance except the marathon. For awhile, I was running 10 miles 3 or 4 times a week. I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and I was lovin' it. Then the CECS, the broken ass, and I let myself go.
It's not fun or easy anymore, and it's only going to get worse as the temperatures go up. But I once used running to fight my stress and depression, and well, everyone I know is going through hard times right now, my favorite little kitty isn't around to purr at me anymore, and look at what the shit our government is trying to get away with. It seems like I need running more than ever, no?
Monday, November 14, 2016
We're Still Here
This is not a politics blog. Hell, it's not really even an active blog, anymore. But it's the platform that I have, so I'll use it...
But, I wanted to write down what I have been feeling over the past week, one that I think will be remembered as one of the most tumultuous in American history, but I hope will not be seen as the beginning of its end. I know that I don't come off very well in this, but I don't want to hide from that. I want to take my medicine and grow as a person.
I was, and still am, a proud liberal. A progressive Democrat. An ally. Woke AF (I thought). Knowledgeable and educated and overconfident and stuck in an echo chamber of my own making. Call it what you will, because on Tuesday night, what I considered my side was soundly defeated, and I share the blame with millions of others. Donald Trump fed more openly on racial prejudice, religious bigotry, xenophobia, and misogyny more than any other candidate in my 40 years. I was not alive for the campaign of George Wallace or the presidency of Andrew Jackson, but Trump made no real attempt at all to kick the racists out of the room. Instead, he blew that dog whistle long and loudly, calling Mexican immigrants rapists (and some -- he assumes -- good people); threatening closure of American mosques and a ban on all Muslim immigration "until he figures it out" (keep in mind his Twitter account was taken away from him!); the return of stop and frisk and the vilifying of Black Lives Matter; a lukewarm denial of David Duke's endorsement and a continued flirting with alt-right media, whether retweeting racist symbols, or the presence of his proxies on White Supremacist media.
He's also a serial liar who is completely unqualified for the office of President. All those things should have disqualified him. The "Pussy Grabber" tape alone should have disqualified him. Hell, Mitt Romney, who was sane and smart and professional even though I disagree vehemently with his politics, got burned for "Binders Full of Women". What the fucking fuck does that even mean?
I like Hillary Clinton, and I came to like her more and more through the course of the campaign. I voted for Bernie in the primary, and I was always going to go Democrat in the general, but Hillary graded out nicely (especially compared to Trump!) by the fact checkers, she's undeniably smart, extremely experienced, and while I think she is not a great orator like Obama, she seemed Presidential. Serious. Prepared. Thoughtful. But also kind and compassionate. There were always disadvantages, some obvious and some apparent in hindsight. She had the baggage of an email scandal; an image tarnished by a partisan extended investigation into Benghazi; and perhaps Bill's infidelities (and blame erroneously placed on HRC for them!) cost some of the moral high ground she had over "Pussy Grabber"; and, tragically in 2016 -- her voice is called shrill. She could never attack Trump as sarcastically and bitingly as Bernie, Uncle Joe, or Obama. But still, America would choose her over a serial liar whose political fame is built on a bullshit birtherist conspiracy, right? Yes, there was baggage, much of which belongs to Bill, but I could clearly see within her a good person who fought her whole career to make a better America compared to a blowhard narcissist who only cares about himself.
Obviously, I despise Donald Trump. However, I was very much compassionate (I thought!) to Trump's appeal. Much of the country has not prospered during the last 8 years. Manufacturing jobs continue to leave our shores, the great steel mills of northwest Indiana, where my mother's family hails from, doesn't employ whole towns anymore. Income inequality is rampant, and both a call to "Make America Great Again" and Bernie Sanders' populist message about income inequality resonated. But, even with some shenanigans by the DNC, Bernie was soundly defeated in the primary, and it's not clear whether Trump would have won the Republican nomination if it had rallied around a single candidate. But still, I feel like I understand the appeal of his central message.
But even as I saw that appeal, I just didn't see how anyone could look at this man, Donald Trump, and see a good person or really anything but a con man, and I was not shy about blabbing it to everyone I knew, and a lot of people that I didn't know, on social media. I donated to political campaigns against him, the first time in my life I've given money to them. I watched the polls. I obsessed over the polls. I watched them run neck and neck up until that first debate, when he brought up temperament, and Hillary laughed at him, along with (I imagined!) all of the country. Then more stories about her e-mails --- even while his scary ties to Russia, Trump University, a bullshit foundation that he doesn't even contribute to, and an alleged rape case were being ignored. I cringed as the gap in the poll narrowed, and sighed with relief as she appeared to pull away again.
That Tuesday morning, I walked up to my polling place feeling confident that I was casting a historic vote, helping to elect our first female president and issue a nationwide proclamation against white supremacy. Despite Trump signs outnumbering Clinton signs in my township by hundreds, I had been confident. Yard signs don't vote, and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh would help keep this key state blue. When I arrived at the polls that morning, though, the lines were much longer than I'd ever seen, and it was like walking into a (small) Trump rally. Trump signs at the polling place, a Trump tent with volunteers outside the door, and almost every voter in line besides me having a Trump hat or pin. No one was doing anything wrong, but I could tell that central PA was coming out in force in a way they had not in any election since I'd moved back here in 2004.
But the early voting and exit polls still seemed to favor a Clinton until that evening, as state after state was too close to call long into the night before the key states of Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and even PA turned red. The story that was told long into Wednesday morning was one of deep division, a Trump electoral landslide even as Hillary Clinton won the popular vote.
My response was shock, and anger.
And later, as the chances of a Clinton comeback dwindled to zero:
So, I still don't see anything but a con man, but I see a con man who will take the Oath of of Office in 2 months. And I am crushed. I feel like my indeed I stand by every bad word I ever said or wrote or thought Donald J. Trump. And I also feel guilt, like my generation had a chance to stop the rise of a Hitler-like figure, and we failed our test. Do I really think that we woke up in Germany in the 1930s or that Trump is the equivalent of Hitler? On Wednesday morning, yes I did.
But as I've processed my emotions over the past few days, I know that is wrong. I hope that America would not stand for such a thing and I've been reminded over and over that there are good people on both sides of the political spectrum. I know that the VAST majority of Trump voters aren't racists or bigots and didn't vote for him because he is one or because David Duke also likes him -- and that even though I accused them of a lack of compassion toward minorities who stand to suffer under a Trump administration, I know that I was just as guilty of a lack of compassion toward many of his supporters. I knew that I needed to reach back out to people that I may probably insulted (and the full fury and extent of my facebook rants on news media pages are not shown here, just what I wrote on my own page and not including comments).
So, take a minute to do the "Jerry" chant, if you've read this far. I promise to give no respect to President Trump until it is earned. I stand by my criticisms. But still, my smug brand of liberalism must end. Liberals and conservatives need to listen respectfully to each other. They need to read each other's books and have dialogue rather than arguments. And their congressional representation needs to remember how to cooperate and compromise for the greater good, not just how to obstruct until their party gets back into power (I'm sure the Dems were just as bad during W's presidency.
I know I sound like a total asshole in this blog entry, and that's because I am one. I hope I can change that about myself and be receptive to other points of view. It's safe to wonder whether Bernie or Biden would have won this election. I think Hillary would have been a better president than either one, but they might have been a better candidate. Just like I think Kasich or even low-energy, but normal and kind-seeming Jeb Bush would be a much better leader than Trump, but could not have rallied the level of enthusiasm needed to win. Those are all questions for the parties and their strategists, because what's left for Americans is to fight for what we believe in. Fight compassionately and respectfully, but fight. For me, that's this:
- Immigrants, they get the job done! How can we argue that? It says so in "Hamilton!" No one dislikes "Hamilton", do they? We are a nation of immigrants, and indeed we've treated its original inhabitants HORRIBLY and each wave has faced discrimination but ultimately made the country better than it was before. Yes, there needs to be reform, but "build a wall and Mexico will pay" is just a ridiculously oversimplified and yet infeasible idea.
- Muslim Americans have the same right to worship as they please as any other faith. I am not in general a fan of George W. Bush's presidency and I am a fan of Obama's, but they both were very careful to emphasize that we are not at war with Islam. ISIS isn't Islam any more than the KKK is Christianity.
- Black Lives Matter doesn't mean "ONLY Black Lives Matter", it means "Black Lives Matter TOO". Supporting it doesn't mean you're anti-police or that you haven't also had struggles in life.
- I can't believe I have to say this in 2016, but women should be paid equal to their male counterparts and judged on a fair and level playing field. Hillary was "shrill" and is thought of negatively, but meanwhile the president-elect mocked a disabled reporter like a 4th-grade bully and still got elected. And don't normalize "locker-room talk" or sexual assault.
- Torture is wrong. Be better than ISIS.
- Man-made climate change is real. Belief in science should not be partisan.
- Gay Marriage should be here to stay. Love is love. Don't like it? Don't get gay married, then. Mike Pence, I'm looking at you!
- People like David Duke and White House Strategist (ugh!) Steve Bannon are going to point to this as a victory for them, and it is. But it is not permanent. A visit to the Penn Archaeology Museum on Friday reminded me that evil deeds are not new to America, or to history, but over and over, civilization survives. And throughout American history, we've moved slowly to greater tolerance. Both liberals and conservatives need to be open to dialogue and respect free speech, which does include hatred and bigotry. But we should use our free speech to condemn hatred and bigotry, too. There's a time when compassion and kindness should end. David Duke is celebrating now, but history will destroy him and his views. The sooner the better, in my opinion.
- Lastly, we have to recognize that America, as it stands right now, isn't working for everyone. There's not income equality or opportunity equality. I sure as hell don't think Donald J. Trump will make it so or even really cares to, but it's a worthy goal nonetheless.
Trump has already walked back some of his campaign promises. He might not be as bad as I think. Perhaps he won't build a wall, or prosecute Hillary, the move of a third-rate banana republic dictator, start crazy wars, or try to appoint justices to overturn Obergefell vs. Hodges or enable open bigotry. I hope people and the country prosper under his leadership, even while I still think he's a terrible person who shouldn't be forgiven for empowering the worst racist elements of American society with his rhetoric.
Long live the resistance! This day we fight.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Rise Up
Yes. My wife and I listened to a lot of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" on the way to and from Virginia Beach, but that's not the point.
The point is that Shamrock weekend is, for me as a runner, a "Mountaintop Experience". The phrase refers to the biblical account of when some of Jesus' inner circle of disciples, Peter, James, and John, went to pray with Him on a mountaintop at which they saw Him revealed in all His glory. In modern context, it's often used to refer to an event of spiritual awakening or a high point, contrasted to "the valley", everyday life in which someone lives and works and struggles every day.
I mean no disrespect to the religious connotations of the phrase, but I think the concept can apply in other walks of life. Last summer, my company's sales meeting felt like a mountaintop experience of sorts to me. I presented in front of a group for the first time and felt like I brought the house down with wit and good humor; watched a highly respected colleague present about (among other things) the importance of my role and how I had helped him; and left the meeting feeling more excited, valued, and connected with my coworkers than I had in years.
A few days later, I got a rude awakening when I realized that our new CEO, who sat through both of those presentations, had no idea who I was or what I did.
As a runner, Shamrock Weekend is a mountaintop experience. It's the place where in 2011, I ran my first marathon, and where the 8K has beecome my favorite race of all, a beacon of hope and fun in running years lost to injury and malaise, and finally, where I finished the half this year to be a participant on both days for the first time. In addition to the happy memories surrounding the event, Virginia Beach is a place Chris and I have come to feel very at home. We always have fun and leave Shamrock Weekend feeling proud of our running accomplishments and looking forward to next year.
Now I have left the mountaintop, excited and motivated, but also realizing that over the past 5 years my motivation has died in the summer heat. I train for Shamrock -- or at least gut it out on race day -- have a blast at the parties, and then it's over in a flash.
If a Fall half or full marathon -- or my goal of a long-delayed return to the 26.2 next year at Shamrock -- is to be a reality, I must stay more focused. Get up earlier. Run more. Get stronger. Believe that I can do this again...and turn that belief into reality in the valley of the post-Shamrock everyday non-beach world that I have struggled to train in for the last 4 years.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Brian's Terrible Race Photos -- 2016 Edition
I was really happy after Shamrock Townebank 8K! I mean it. Happy with my finishing time, happy with my level of effort, happy with the weather.
So, why do I look like a Tyrannosaurus? Does my face always look like that?
Don't say anything! Just don't say anything!! Because I'm the most terrifying predator to ever walk the Cretaceous Period! ROOOOAAAAAAAAAR!
So, why do I look like a Tyrannosaurus? Does my face always look like that?
Don't say anything! Just don't say anything!! Because I'm the most terrifying predator to ever walk the Cretaceous Period! ROOOOAAAAAAAAAR!
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