Saturday Long Run: To the Pain

Between an insane work schedule, bad weather, and some kind of minor respiratory bug, I've had a pretty uninspiring two weeks of running. Even during the week before, when I pulled off a 19-mile long run, I'd had a week where I just didn't get my midweek garbage miles in. I say all this not to make excuses, but as constructive criticism of myself because all my failings caught up with me yesterday on the trail.

With a goal of 20 miles, I set out from Hanover Junction, taking the trail north toward York, since I'm familiar with the rest stop locations and the elevation changes along this part of the trail. I look forward to seeing the sights on more southerly parts of the trail, but a 20-mile long run is not, in my opinion, the time to explore. It seemed like my perfect running weather, low 40s and overcast. The forecast called for the sun to come out, so I had my trusty visor, but the sun never showed up.

I made a key equipment-selection mistake that I suspect contributed to my undoing. Violating a common-sense rule that every runner -- including me -- has heard over and over, I set out on my long run with two untested pieces of gear. The first was a new long-sleeve Nike running shirt, which I purchased last week. Despite the cold temperatures, I was sweating profusely within two miles. There's nothing wrong with the shirt. It's very comfortable, in fact. I just forgot who I am. I love to be cool/cold while running. I run in shorts and a tank top when the temperature is the 40s. This shirt seems considerably warmer than the cotton long-sleeve shirts I wear for (or at least the start of) my colder weather runs. This shirt will be great in December, January, February, but it just wasn't cold enough, by my standards, yesterday. I took it off just past two miles. Despite my miscalculation, I would become very glad that I had brought it.

My second mistake was a new hydration belt. I know that on a cool morning I can go 15-16 miles with the two bottles on my old Nathan hydration belt, but I thought that I shouldn't push that to 20. Though I can refill bottles at Hanover Junction, I wanted to run 10 miles to York and back, thinking this would be psychologically easier than a loop course with a break at either Hanover Junction or my car, if I parked somewhere else, and had to stop and start again. So on Friday night, I purchased a new four-bottle Nathan hydration belt. And while a differently-mapped course with a refilling stop might have been a pain, it would have been less annoying than bouncing around of the two bottles on my back and the constant re-adjusting of the fit of the belt. I'm very unhappy with this product. I'm going to elaborate further in a product review later in the week. Luckily, with the long-sleeve shirt tied around my waist, I could get the belt to fit tightly over it, so one equipment problem solved another.

(Equipment Fail. Taking the giant cat along probably wasn't smart, either.)

Still, my main challenge was that my legs just didn't feel strong yesterday. On my 19-miler two weeks ago, I stepped onto the trail and felt like the wind. Yesterday, I stepped onto the trail and felt like I was made of lead. Still, I pressed forward at my usual pace, and by mile 4 or 5, felt looser and more comfortable. I ran 10 miles north, which was my worst tactical mistake of all, which brought me just past York College but not all the way to the trailhead in downtown York.

After turning back south at King's Mill Road, I quickly began to tire. I really feel like I bonked just as badly as I did on last week's 13-miler, but since I'd run 10-miles north in my infinite wisdom, I was now doing so with 7 miles to run to get back to my car. My quads were on fire. Though the York County Heritage Rail Trail is a straight north-south course with no branches, somewhere I took a wrong turn, because at about 15 miles, I realized I was no longer in south central York County. I was in Hell.



After 16.5 miles, I started mixing in walking breaks. I ended up taking three, three-minute walking breaks spaced out a little over a mile apart. Unlike my walking breaks during the marathon, though, these seemed to help. My last walking break ended with a little over a mile to go. Running hurt, but I also knew that the more I ran, the faster this misery would be over.

With a mile to go, I saw a familiar friend ahead. But why was Pooka, our big friendly black cat, on the trail? Was I hallucinating? Had I actually died, and this was my spirit animal? That's disappointing. I would have hoped for an eagle, wolf, or some other cool animal. I think, in a weakened voice, I think I actually called out "Poooooooooka help me!" Luckily, I was the only one on this part of the trail because, of course, it was just one of the billions of other cats in the world.

Half a mile to go. A quarter mile. A tenth. In a final indignity, Garmin made me run about a tenth of a mile past Hanover Junction to get meet my goal. I collapsed on the porch of the old train station (which is now a museum and rest stop on the trail) to do my IT band stretches. With Garmin reading "20.00", I felt exhausted, but exhilarated; relieved that I'd finished, but angry at myself because I know that I could have done better these past few weeks and that the race is 6 miles longer than this brutal run. I had nothing left. Dead, but in my pain and exhaustion, more alive than I've felt in weeks.

Lessons learned/Notes:

• No new gear on long run or race day (duh!)
• Don't set up a course where I'm 10-miles away from my car (duh!), especially on the trail where there's not really a good way to have someone pick me up if I need it.
  
• Walking the water stations during the marathon would probably be a good idea.
• I have one more long run next week, technically supposed to be the 20-miler that I took today, before tapering. Then the taper is 12, then 8 miles in the two weekend before race day.
• The focus from here on out really needs to be on getting good, consistent, short runs in during the middle of the week. My schedule is going to be brutal the next few weeks, but I think I need to get in three 4-6 mile runs between Monday and Thursday each week.
• I didn't feel like my 2:45am peanut butter sandwich helped me. As much as I dislike .eating before a run, maybe I can't that much earlier than my run. I also ate one pack of Sports Beans. I think, since I prefer them to GU or Clif Bars, that I probably want to eat at least two packs during the marathon if I want them to help.
• This is my second-longest run ever, but I feel like my 19-miler two weeks ago was definitely a better run. I could have gotten 17 or 18 today without the walk breaks, but there was no way I was getting to 19 or 20.
  

(The best part was when I got back to my car.)

One Month

Am I ready? No, not quite yet. I still have one, maybe two 20-mile long runs to go.

Here is my dilemma -- to which I would welcome advice:

Two weeks ago I ran 19 miles. Last week, I ran 13. Technically, this Saturday is 12, followed by 20.

I'd switched the 19 and 13 for scheduling purposes, but all along had been thinking that this Saturday was 20.

Instead of having two pretty big step-back weeks in a row, my inclination is to try to run 20 on Saturday (It's not a sure thing -- this has been a weird week for a lot of reasons), and thus have another chance the following week in case I don't make it this week. If I do make it on Saturday, then I would probably try another 20-miler, or a shorter but still long run of 17-19 miles before beginning my taper.

So that leaves me with this modified long run schedule loosely based on Hal Higdon's Novice 2 (of which I've followed the long-run schedule really closely until the past two weeks):

Date/Distance Comment
10/8: 19 (Felt good. Started tiring at 15. Primarily blaming poor pacing and not eating)
10/15: 13 (felt really bad for most of this)
10/22: 20 (Bad week, but I feel better than earlier in the week and the weather looks great)
10/29: 17-20 (This is where the 20-miler is actually scheduled.)
11/5: 12 (Taper)
11/12: 8 (Taper)
11/20: 26.2 (Race)

I think I'm closer to being physically ready for this marathon than I was for Shamrock, but mentally this is tough. I'm healthier, but also a little less driven than I was then. I was insanely busy at work leading up to both of them, but I think I have a more complicated maze of deadlines to navigate this time, meaning it's harder to get miles in at lunch, which was a great option for me in the spring.

I know I can finish this race. It won't be pretty, it won't be fast, and I have to re-evaluate my goals a bit, but I'll finish. I'd hoped to drop down to 4:30-4:45 from my current 4:58ish PR. (Don't judge me!). I think even that modest improvement is probably better held for Shamrock, where I'll have the benefit of training in all cold weather, and will know the whole course.

During this last month, I want to keep hitting my long run distances, but get back into the habit of shorter, consecutive-day runs during the week. That seemed to help me with endurance in the Spring, it's just not something I've done as good a job with this time around. No excuses.

My time is growing short, but there's still things that I can do to help myself.

Saturday Long Run: 18 Miles

I ran 18 miles in 3 hours, 7 minutes, and 47 seconds. Afterwards, I decided that running is stupid and no one should ever do it.

Shortest. Post. Ever.

I kid, I kid. I specialize in the long, rambling blog post and we all know it. And this one is really rambling, even by my standards. Sorry about that!

I had a much nicer day for a long run than I did last week. It was in the low 50s when I started and remained cool and overcast for the duration. Though it was a bit humid at the start (but nothing like last week!), it seemed to get cooler and less humid as the run continued. Perfect! I was trying to get an early start to beat the rain, and I did.

Despite the cool weather, however, I just wasn't feeling this as I started out. My stomach didn't feel great and my legs felt tired. It was a bad week of running -- I just didn't get my midweek mileage in. That explains my dead legs. The stomach troubles I attribute to something I ate the night before at the Revolution game. I suspect the turkey wrap, which I thought would be the perfect pre-long run dinner. (Or the best I could do at the Revs game).

After a mile or two, though, I felt fine. The temperature was comfortable; my Shuffle was rockin', and the miles were flying by. My plan was to run my usual 10 mile route, followed by a similar 8-mile route (which is identical but doesn't have the extra loop down toward Mt. Wolf). However, since it was cool and I wasn't sweating as much and drinking water and Gatorade as fast as last week, I decided to put off my refueling stop and extend the first "leg" of my run as much as I could. So I added some loops through Mt. Wolf and as I headed up the steep Chestnut St. hill going back toward my starting/refilling point in Manchester, I was approaching mile 14.

This was where things started to go wrong. I think this hill needs be expunged from my long run routes. My calves, which have been my weakness lately, started cramping up constantly after I ran up this hill. I was stopping to stretch at least every half mile for the rest of the way. The same thing had happened at this point in my run last week, when I climbed the same steep hill going up to mile 12 of 17. I'm not afraid of hills, but this hill is much steeper than anything Philly (I think) or Shamrock (I know) has to throw at me. Luckily, I had fewer post-hill miles to go, and was able to finish my 18.

I was pretty significant pain when I got home, and basically fell down on the floor in the kitchen before I could summon great resolve (sarcasm!) needed to make some chocolate milk (the recovery drink for when you don't by recovery drink mixes) and peel a banana (gotta keep those potassium levels up!). However, after sitting for a couple minutes, I was able to comfortably do my stretching and foam rolling, which I wasn't able to do last week after my long because my quads were cramping so badly. A little soreness today, but overall I feel better than I did last weekend.

This long run was definitely a success. I was scheduled for 18 miles, and achieved it without injury. The cool weather and my Shuffle (especially the new Blink-182 album) made the first 14 miles relatively enjoyable. Mentally, I'm not sure I was as psyched up for this as I could have been. Because of the cool weather and the possibility of having split it over 2 days because of bad weather I don't think I respected the distance as much as I should have. Hence, two beers and french fries at the Revs game the night before; and then during the run I never had that moment of determination that I had in last week's disgusting run: "I am going to finish this run no matter what." I mentioned that I felt after my gross 17 last week that I'd won a race -- mentally, I probably rested on my laurels when I could ill afford to so and took every excuse not to get my midweek miles in.

The Philadelphia Marathon is only 49 days away. I can't lose focus now. Next week is scheduled to be a step-back week, 13 miles, followed by 19 and 20 miles the next two weeks. However, due to a very busy Saturday in two weeks, I think I'll try the 19 next week and step back the following week. (If anyone reading this has reasons why that's a terrible idea, I'd love to hear 'em.). I'm hoping to run that 19 somewhere a bit flatter to get a real gauge of how far from being ready I am. 18 was as long a distance as I got in training for Shamrock, and though I definitely hit the wall badly on race day, at no point were my calves cramping like they have been on these last two long runs.

Saturday Long Run, The Non-Epic Triumph of Humanity over Humidity

Since the dawn of time, man has struggled to overcome uncomfortable humidity...

I had been dreading today's long run for several days.

17 miles was what Hal Higdon had assigned for the weekend, and as I said last week, I'm definitely getting outside my comfort zone (Getting? Come on. Ok, I'm well outside my comfort zone). On a cool crisp day like last weekend, no problem; I felt like I could I have run forever last Saturday.

But this weekend brought a return of somewhat summer-like conditions. An overcast 65F, which I admit isn't bad compared to July, but with 97% humidity. Warm and humid is the bane of my existence -- at least my running existence.

So I worried. I made contingency plans. I accepted defeat. But I still had a choice.

I could bow to humidity once again, or I could stab it in its warm, wet, sticky, gross
heart.

I could keep complaining and writing whiny blog posts, or I could shut the hell up and run 17 miles, humidity be damned.

And as long as "shut the hell up" allows for the pathetic whimpering noises that I was making for the last two miles, that's exactly what I did.

It took me 2 hours and 59 minutes (a 10:31/mile pace for those keeping score at home) to finish, but it was not a victory without cost. I'll be reminded by my aching calves and quads, as I limp around Lincoln Financial Field tomorrow, that running is stupid and the guy that (according to legend) invented the marathon died while inventing the marathon. But costly or not, I consider it a victory nonetheless. .

It may have been 97% humidity out there, but anything short of 100% just wasn't going to be enough today.

I've gloated enough. More than enough. I'm sure my IT Bands will go all IT Band Syndrome on me as my karma balances out next week. I'm sure it will somehow be even more humid, if that's even possible, on my 18-miler next week. I'm sure my Shuffle will get stuck on "Britney Spears Mode".

But for now, I'm thrilled. After being so nervous about this run over the past few days, I felt like I had won a race when Garmin said "17.00" as I turned back into the high school.

In the endless struggle of man vs. humidity, man wins.

Saturday Long Run: Four-Mile Failure

I was scheduled for 14 miles today. I stopped at 10. The big, black clouds and increasingly booming thunder that was being down on Manchester just gave me an excuse. There was no way I was going to be able to finish 14 miles today.

My confidence is kind of shaken right now. I'm not sure if I should try 14 again on Monday or just wait until next week's long run, which is 15 miles. I know that 'm probably over-reacting to one bad long run, but I'm not sure I could have gone 11 today, much less 14.

I don't want to panic. There are a few extenuating circumstances that I have to be sure not to repeat this coming week and beyond:

1. I ran 10 humid miles on Saturday, and then we were without power on Monday and Tuesday. Since we didn't have plumbing and I had to go and work from my parents' house, I didn't get out for a run either of those mornings. Of course, both days were cool and beautiful. I got out 10 in on Wednesday, but didn't have time on Thursday. I need to get more than one midweek run in or I'm setting myself up for failure.

2. I need to eat healthier on Friday nights. Pizza, beer, ice cream the night before long run isn't going to cut it. I know...pretty obvious, right?

3. I need a little bit of luck. One of these weeks I'll have a Saturday morning that's not oppressively humid, right?

4. PT Exercises. I do my IT band stretching and foam rolling before every run, but I need to get back to doing the step-ups, step-downs, balance exercises and core exercises. In October 2010, I bombed pretty badly on my 7-mile leg of the Baltimore Marathon Relay. That bad run was a wake-up call that I was a long way from ready for the Philly Half. I came back strong and ran the best race of my mediocre career. There's a lot of work to be done, but I have the benefit of time.

(Sometimes, you're just better off staying in -- or hiding under the -- bed.)

Fail Trail

I've christened today's run "The Fail on the Trail". It wasn't a bad run, it was just kind of a meltdown of preparation and mental sharpness on my part.

Like I've said in most of my recent entries, I'm not really starting my marathon training yet, since I'm shaving the first few weeks of Higdon's Novice II because I'm already ahead of the mileage, but I was still hoping to get a longer long run in this morning. 14 was my goal. I thought I'd run on the rail trail, because it would give me a change of scenery and, if I started at Brillhart, the opportunity to stop and refill my bottles at the turnaround point at Hanover Junction. Brilliant! Since I wanted to beat the heat and be on the trail around 6am, I laid all my clothes and paraphernalia out the night before. That's not just preparation, that's extraordinary preparation!

I checked the always reliable weather.com (please consider the italics to be the sarcasm font in this case), and noted that today's low was predicted to be 67 degrees. Awesome! Anything under 70 is a gift I'll gladly accept. But, when I scrolled through the hourly forecasts, none of them showed lower than 74. D'oh! That's not terrible, but a little warmer than most of my summer early morning runs. With that in mind, I considered lowering my distance goals a bit, but instead decided that the shade of the rail trail and the built-in refilling stop would be too much of an advantage to give up.

Alarm went off at 4:30, and I'm ready to be out the door at 5:20. Clockwork. Except for one little thing...I saw that I hadn't put the plug from the charger into my Garmin fully, and it had less than an hour of charge.

FAIL

I like to have Garmin, despite its inaccuracy, since it lets me monitor my pace without having to resort to math, but this wasn't a critical error -- I still have my trusty Timex Ironman Triathlon (no sarcasm here, I seriously love this watch). No problem, everything was still going smoothly. I got to Brillhart station at 6:00am, and headed southward on the trail. I was running along, everything was going fine, and I don't need Garmin when I have an awesome and reliable stopwatch... that I forgot to start.

FAIL

A bit discouraged, I started my watch. I'm estimating I was only 3-4 minutes into my run before starting it. Not the end of the world, but I bet Meb Keflezighi never forgets to start his watch.

I quickly noticed that the humidity was humiditating rather heavily, but luckily the trail has a great amount of shade and it was mostly overcast, anyway. Of course, I'd opted for the visor, even though under these conditions it's unnecessary and even a minor detriment.

mini-FAIL

Within the first mile, I was already sweating profusely. In fact, people following me on the trail probably had to swim for it. My route turned out to be not as well-thought as I'd planned. You see, Chris and I had biked this same section of the trail on Tuesday night. This had the unfortunate effect of making it seem like it was taking forever to get anywhere while running. On a bike, the Howard Tunnel seems just a few minutes past Brillhart Station. Today, it seemed light years away (Really, it's about 2 miles from where I started/finished.)

FAIL

(Isn't it pretty? Doesn't it look humid?)

Once past the tunnel, things seemed to take a turn for the better. Using my now-running chronometer and the mile markers on the trail, I could tell I was running about a 10-minute mile pace, and I started feeling better, or at least getting used to how gross I felt. There was one close call where I thought I saw a snake coiled on the trail ahead of me (EPIC FAIL), but fortunately it turned out to just be a branch with some leaves.

I reached Hanover Junction in approximately an hour. It turned out to be between and six and seven miles away from Brillhart. I took a short break to drink some water and refill both of my bottles, and then headed north (to FREEDOM!)

The way back didn't seem to take as long as the way down (In reality, it took the same time or a few minutes longer.) I was still laying down between 9 and 10 minute miles and, since the trail is picturesque but really just running in a straight line, was bored out of my mind. All I could focus on was watching for the next mile marker, just wanting to get this one over with. Finally, it seemed, I reached the cool relief of the tunnel, which was just a cooler but more humid spot on this humid run.

(Crap. Is it "Come into the light, Brian." or "Don't come into the light, Brian"?)

From there, though, it was easy. Just two miles to go. As I reached Brillhart Station, my watch read 2:03:10, so I'm estimating my full run at 2:07. It turned out, according to the distance reading from Tuesday's bike ride, to be 12.76 miles.

Good enough.

Also, People are Jerks
As I ran, I said "hi" to everyone who passed. Maybe 1 in 10 returned my hello. I don't expect to become best friends with people I meet on the trail, but I'm running, they're running, isn't the bond of shared suffering enough to warrant a friendly greeting?

Several people have told me that they've noticed that solo female runners usually won't say hi to a lone male runner. Do I look like a creepy stalker? I've never stalked anyone, and I really don't think I'm that creepy looking. So thank you to the two ladies who did return my hello, you reassured me a bit that perhaps I don't look like an axe murderer. And even if I were, where I would hide an axe while I'm running?

There was one guy in particular that I thought was a jerk. He was definitely a better runner than me, catching up to and passing me after starting at Brillhart a few minutes after me and then pulling way ahead of me. I said hello as he passed, and was greeted by a stony silence. At what I believe to be the 5-mile mark (based on a previous bike ride along this course), he turned and passed me going the other way. I said hello again, and this time was glared at for my troubles.

Well Mr. Cool, I'll have you know that while you may be (much) faster than me, I continued on to Hanover Junction and back again, and I believe that makes me the better man.

So, that's the end of today's rant. Am I off-base here? What's proper running etiquette in this situation -- hello or no?

Friday Haiku, Volume VIII

Summer, you have won.
All my resolve melts away.
This week I yielded.


I surrender.

We've had 100 degree temperatures over the past few days and predicted to continue through the weekend. It was 78 degrees at 5:00am yesterday morning. I kept a slow pace but cut my run short by 4 miles (6 mile run, down from a plan of 10). I've acclimated to the heat quite a bit compared to where I was a month ago, but I'll never get used to that that.

Last Friday, I ran 14 miles. I won't total that this whole week.

It's a setback, but not as bad as it sounds. I still had my great run last Friday, 10 on Sunday (which I count as part of last week), a one-mile PR (that I am very sore from) and six in some of the worst conditions I've ever run in. I'm anticipating another heat-shortened run tomorrow morning as PA continues to get pounded by an extreme heat advisory lasting through the weekend, I might even skip that.

There's a time for maximum effort, but this isn't it.

Race Report: 2011 Miller's Mutual Harrisburg Mile

Last night was the Harrisburg Mile, a summer race that's become something of a tradition for us. Chris and I started running it in 2007, my first year of racing, and we've run it every year since except for 2009, when a scheduling conflict prevented us from racing.

The Harrisburg Mile course runs straight down Front Street along the Susquehanna River, beginning at Maclay Street and ending at Boas Street. It's really very scenic, but I always fail to appreciate it until after the race because A.) I'm running as fast as I can and B.) It's usually ungodly hot.

This year would be no exception. With temperatures in the high 90s yesterday and a heat index (again, according to weather.com) of 98 remaining at 7pm, I think this was my hottest Harrisburg Mile yet. (2007 gives it a run for its money, 2008 was a little less hot but oppressively humid, and last year we got a little bit of relief). We were already hot by the time we'd walked from our car to the starting area. I'd set a fairly aggressive goal for myself of a sub six-minute mile, but conditions were not favorable. I kept telling myself "It's only a mile. It's only a mile."

My heat went off at 7:15. About five minutes prior, the starter called people up to the start line. With heats going off every 10 minutes (or less in the case of the Corporate Challenge heats), there's no time for screwing around. With a faster goal than years past, I debated where to start. There is chip timing, but I knew that a six-minute mile was at the extreme edge of what I could do, and so I didn't want to get caught behind too many people, nor did I want the people that were shooting for a faster finishing time to trip over me. I overheard a few other people say there trying to run sixes, so I stood near them in the third or fourth row, only about 10 feet -- if that -- back from the starting line.

The starter called time remaining till start until only a few seconds remained..."Hold...hold...GO!" And so I went. To meet my goal, I needed a pace of 10mph. Looking down at Garmin, I saw that I was right on pace, far, far outside my comfort zone. I hit the quarter mile sign right at about 1:30, but I couldn't quite hold the 10mph pace and so I hit the half mile sign at 3:10. I don't remember seeing the 3/4 mile marker, honestly the race is really a blur. I was giving it everything I had and it was as hot as hell, my only comfort was that it would be over quickly. As I saw the finish line, I knew my 5:59 or better was not going to happen, but a pretty significant PR was still well within reach. I tried to increase speed at the end, but there wasn't anything left for a sprint to the finish -- the whole race was my sprint to the finish.

6:21.

That's a PR by 23 seconds, but 22 seconds short of my goal. My average speed was 9.45 miles per hour (compared to 8.9 last year). I'm happy with that, especially considering that it was run during a heat and air quality advisory -- more Brian-unfriendly running conditions could scarcely be found. But on the other hand, this just reinforces a lesson that I need to learn or a choice that I need to make: If I am going to care about PRs and finishing times in shorter races, I need speedwork. I've clearly reached the limits of how far I can go with a strategy (or lack thereof) that's exclusively focused on running distance and then "run as fast as I can" during the shorter races.

I think I can improve my marathon time with more long runs in advance of race day and smarter pacing on race day (slower throughout the race so I don't hit the wall as hard), but if I'm going to beat this time next year or keep lowering my 5K PRs then I need to hit the track. I might be able to gut out a slightly faster 5K PR with my current approach, but I don't think I can beat a 6:21 mile without speedwork. I'm so close being under six. I can do it. Do I want it badly enough?

As I've talked about here before, I'm not sure of the answer to that. I care about my performance, but I also need to keep running enjoyable for me or I won't do it. Still, I think a finishing time under six minutes is worth some track work.

You win this year, Harrisburg Mile. But I'll be back.

5:59 or bust.


Review
The Mile is unique among all my races -- the only one that really feels like a sprint -- and that's what makes it fun. That's not it's only redeeming quality, however. The scenery is nice , though like I said I had such tunnel vision that I hardly noticed it. Crowd support is also good, the Mile has been going on since 1982, so it really is a strong tradition in the Harrisburg community with lots of spectators.

Another positive, of course, is that there's "free" beer at the end. That's always appreciated on a 90+ degree evening. This year the race was part of the Michelob "Race to the Ultra" series, which meant that there was Michelob Ultra signage EVERYWHERE and that this was the beer of choice at the beer tent. I always think Michelob Ultra's marketing is funny -- it's the beer that tries to pass
itself off as a sports drink. Unlike past years the post-race party area was very well set-up and the line moved very quickly.

(Yes, I raced to the Ultra. There, I said it. Can I get my corporate sponsorship check now, please?)

Race organizers also rose to the challenge of the extreme heat by having cold water at the starting area, which in my case likely made a huge difference as I realize I probably didn't hydrate well enough during the day yesterday, and ample water at t he finish, which was not the case when my heat finished last year. Running out of water at a race in July? That's a huge error that was thankfully corrected this year.

The swag for the race was also excellent, which is typical of the Mile. In the past we've gotten a drawstring backpack (I know they're super cheap, but this one has a zipper pocket and has come in handy on my occasions), a fairly bland but ok t-shirt, and a sleeveless shirt that's one of my favorite beach or pool shirts. This year, another t-shirt, but at least it's different from the previous years' designs, and it's colored. Not bad.

But, the star of the giveaways, the thing that takes this from good to awesome are re-usable cups from Dunkin Donuts that can be refilled with iced coffee for 99-cents per refill for the rest of the year. We get Dunkin iced coffee almost every week, so this is a good perk.

The only area for improvement that I would mention are that the clocks get re-set very quickly between heats. If someone runs a 10-minute mile pace or above, it seemed as if they didn't see their time when they crossed the finish line. This wasn't the case in any previous year that we've been there.

Oh -- and the heat. Any chance of it moving the Mile to April? No...I didn't think so, but it was worth a try.

The Gun Show is Canceled

Remember that post a few months ago where I decided I was going to start lifting again? No. That's ok. Anyway, the point was that after lifting pretty regularly for the past six years (though the title of this post and my "Welcome to the Gun Show" shirt are both meant ironically) and on and off for the past 14, I'd completely stopped after January of this year, but as of that post on May 9 I was going to start again. Nope. I lifted all of three times that week but then not again until this week, over two months later, and I noticed a loss of strength just since May. D'oh.

I'm not sure why I can't get back into the routine. It's not the most fun thing in the world, though neither is running the same neighborhood course over and over again. A gym membership, where at least I would have to get up and walk around to different stations would break up the monotony a bit, but in the past the extra time needed to go to and from the gym has been enough to prevent me from going.

(This shirt was always meant as a joke.
But I don't think I can even wear it in jest, now.)

Busy schedule? I find time to run and bike and watch reruns of "Futurama." I usually give the cat his medicine at 7:00am, that's plenty of time to work out before work. Too tired? I manage to get myself up much earlier than that on running days. Every excuse I can come up with is invalid. I just need to shut up and do it. (I lifted this morning, so this blog entry isn't taking away from lifting time.)

Maybe there's just not enough motivation. I sign up for running events all the time, but it will be the proverbial cold day in Hell before I would be entered in any feats of strength competition. But, I am going on a beach vacation later in the year. So even though I might not have motivation now, I know I will by then, at which point it would be too late. Thus, I'm going to try to start lifting again at least two times a week for the next month (long enough to create a habit).

So consider the Gun Show not canceled, just postponed.

Low Mileage Week & Harrisburg Mile

After a pretty good-mileage week, with 34 miles of running and a 15-mile bike ride for good measure, this is going to be a very light week. I ran 14 miles on Friday; we rode 15 yesterday, and I ran a very hilly 10 today. This week, I'll be taking Monday and Tuesday off from running, and running only a single mile on Wednesday.

However, that mile will likely be the fastest mile I run all year. That's the plan, anyway. Wednesday evening is the Miller's Mutual Harrisburg Mile, which this year is part of the Michelob Race to the Ultra series, which means we're going to get athletes' favorite watered-down low-cal beer at the beer tent.

Last year I ran a 6:44. This year, my goal was to run finish in 6:00 or under. However, I'm not really sure how feasible that is. Not only did I not do any speed training (I'm sorry, I just hate it.), but I realized a 6 minute mile means that I would be running 10mph. I usually keep my Garmin set to mph rather than minutes per mile, and my speed is usually between 5.5 and 6.5, occasionally getting up into the low 7s or dropping into the 4s when I climb a hill.

6:44 is 8.9 mph, which is honestly faster than I thought it would be before I looked it up on this handy mph to minutes per mile chart. On Wednesday, I want to see if I can crank it up a little more than 1 mph faster and shave 44 seconds off my time, and I'm hoping fresh legs will help.

If I don't make it in under 6 minutes, I can't be too disappointed. After all, I didn't train at all. My backup goal is to get a new PR for the mile. Next year, I'd like to focus more on beating my 5K and mile PRs, but I'm sure I'll still dislike track work just much next year. I do have little bit of hope, though: hills. "Hills are speedwork in disguise", says Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic gold medalist who helped popularize distance running in the U.S. I've run up a ****load of hills this summer. Wednesday night can't come soon enough.


If you're thinking of running the Harrisburg Mile but haven't signed up yet, you can register online until noon tomorrow (Monday, 7/18). After that, though, you can still register in person. It's a fun race. It's hot, but at least it's over quickly and there's beer at the end.

As for low-mileage week, I'll probably run on Thursday and Saturday, taking it a little easy because of soreness (Thursday) and heat (Saturday) -- after a few gorgeous running/biking days, it sounds like summer will return with a vengeance this week.

Everybody Deserves a Second Chance

Signed up for this again:



I'm going to try to improve on my 4:58 in the Marathon, and Chris is going to take on the Dolphin Challenge -- an 8K on Saturday followed by the Half Marathon on Sunday.

As I said at the time, everything about this event was great except for my own performance. If I can stay healthy I think I can do better.

(I think it's about time for this thing to be over.)

I've got a whole marathon between now and Shamrock, so I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. However, while I plan to use Hal Higdon's Novice II training for Philly, I think I'll go with one of the Intermediate plans for Shamrock, since training in the winter gives me more opportunities for running within my temperature comfort zone. In the summer, I'm pretty much "first thing in the morning or not at all", while in winter I can more easily get myself out for a run in at lunch or at night (if it's dry -- black ice is scary).

I'm looking forward to making the trip to Virginia Beach again, this time with more endurance and smarter pacing.

Back on the Trail

(York County. We put the "rail" in Rail Trail.)

We hit the York County Heritage Rail Trail again on Monday morning. This time, we started at Brillhart Station, south of York and headed southward to Hanover Junction, which is south of Seven Valleys and back. (I know these names mean nothing to anyone outside York County -- and I admit I'd never heard of Hanover Junction and I've lived in York most of my life!)

(Oh, THAT Hanover Junction.)

Our ride totaled just over 14 miles in an hour and a half, so we improved on Saturday's ride in both pace and distance. It was a very warm, humid day -- it didn't feel bad on the bike but it would have been murder to run in. Thus, I felt kind of like I was cheating. Did the few runners few runners on the trail look at us and think "What a bunch of wimps?" Probably. Were other bikers laughing at our 20-year old Huffys? Probably.

Who cares?

(You won't find any carbon fiber on this bike!)

(This IS my "powering through the mountain stages" face.)

It was a nice way to spend the morning. I'm looking forward to more rides on the trail this summer and also doing some running there in the fall when cooler temperatures arrive. The trail offers more shade than the neighborhoods where I run in the mornings now, but since the closest access point is 20 minutes from my house, it's not a good option for trying to get out early and beat the heat on weekday mornings.

(No one knows how the ancient peoples of Seven Valleys erected these bicycle statues
2000 years before the time of Christ.)


(A good time was had by all.)

I'm taking Tuesday off, and then resuming running on Wednesday, so this will be a lighter week than last week, but like I said last post, I don't think that really matters. Right now my legs aren't sore, but they are tired. I'm hoping that mixing in some biking this summer will eventually make me feel stronger when I get into my deadly-serious, intense, Novice marathon training. Maybe cross-training can be right up there with packet pickup and carb-loading in the parts of the marathon that I'm good at.

Meltdown!

I woke up this morning to an almost 70-degree, cloudless morning, and also a flat tire (the only one I haven't replaced recently, of course) on my venerable Neon.

I knew if I changed my tire now, I wouldn't get my run in, and since I work from home I wouldn't need the car, anyway. With no transportation over to the high school, I decided my best option was to run my "Pain Lies on the Riverside" route, which runs five miles each way from York Haven to Goldsboro along the Susquehanna River. Not only does it start at the park within a 5-minute walk from my house, it's the only one of my usual routes that offers even the tiniest bit of shade.

It's the toughest and hilliest of my local routes, too, and I didn't run it last summer or this summer so far, since it potentially places me much farther from home or car if I bonk and have to trudge home. There was a cool breeze blowing, though, and when I got to the turning point at two miles at which I can turn right and head down the steep hill toward Goldsboro and the river or turn around and loop back toward York Haven (which I could turn into a 6 or 7 mile run with a few extra turns), I turned right and headed for the river.

Wow. This route kicked my ass. It's the most scenic of my routes, with great views of the river and the best chance for me to see adorable cats as I run. It's also the best chance for me to get chased by angry pit pulls, but that's another story. More importantly as I get closer to marathon training, it's the only place I run around here that doesn't just seem like complete garbage miles, since I'm actually going somewhere

On negative side, though It's also way hillier than I remembered. There's a big hill at mile 2 and an even bigger, steeper one at mile 8, but even the flat parts are hillier than my usual course in Manchester, and I don't think of that one as flat. Dreaded Druid Hills has nothing on this nightmare run!

Hills aren't the only danger, though. While Goldsboro is a very pretty little town that seems to belong in another era, it lies directly across the river from the site of the worst nuclear disaster in U.S. history.

(Is it blurry because of my unsteady hands, or radiation? Ok, probably just a bad photo.
I'll take better ones when I run here again -- in October!)

So if I appear to glow a little today, without the benefit of my dumb night-running attire, don't be surprised.

I'm exhausted, but it was a good run: 10 miles in 1:38, just a minute or two slower than my usual "Manchester" time.

Hats Off!
I'm going to take the opportunity to ask for some gear advice. Not to be gross, but I sweat a lot. No matter how sweatproof sunscreen claims to be, it's no match for my face in the summer. Therefore, I think I've got to look into running in hat. Don't get me wrong, I love hats, but I dislike running in them because I feel like wearing a hat, no matter how moisture wicking or reflective it is, is always going to be hotter than not wearing one. But if I'm going to go on runs this long or longer through July and August, I think sunburn is going to be just as much of a problem as overheating.

Anyone have a brand of running hat you particularly like or would recommend for its well-ventilated-ness? (ventalatalty?) I've got two Brooks running hats, and while they're cooler than normal hats, I have gotten very hot when I wear them to actually run.

(In Brooks' defense -- most of my running stuff is Brooks and I love it -- they're dark colors, which I know isn't the best choice. I got them more with the idea of keeping rain out of my eyes.)

Thanks!

Brick House

I've had a lot of dumb ideas lately. Running a marathon, Mud Chasers, running 9+ miles on the hottest morning of the year (until this week, when it's going to be hotter), and on Saturday I had another bad one: Trying out the duathlon training workout my wife was doing in preparation for the Keystone Warrior Memorial Duathlon next Saturday.

Friday was an absolutely gorgeous day, and I ran a very hilly 8.5 miles before work. While this was just a wonderful run, it probably set me up for a tougher time on Saturday, when the plan was to run two miles, bike 10 miles, and run two more miles. My wife told me recently recently that a run then bike or bike then run workout is known as a brick, so hence the title of this post.

I got up Saturday morning with legs still tired from Friday, and with bright sunshine for the first two miles, I quickly felt tired and overheated, but finished the two miles in 17:46, not bad. After the run, the bike ride felt like bliss, since the wind from riding keeps me cooler and drier. My plan was ten miles, but I cut it a mile short due to a little soreness in the right outside of the knee,. I was worried that my IT bands might be acting up again, since I'd read in the Runner's World "Injury Issue" that biking could aggravate ITBS. I finished the 9-mile ride in about 53 minutes. (I had forgotten to reset Garmin)

As I started heading back toward our base camp (my wife's) car, I passed her riding in the other direction, and she warned me to walk a bit before I started running. I found that after my ride, my legs felt so rubbery that I didn't think I could run 10 feet, much less 2 miles. However, after about a two minute walk, my legs felt well enough to try. For the first quarter mile, my legs felt very wobbly, but then seemed to regain their strength. My pace was good, and there was a nice breeze, making it feel more comfortable than the first run...until the last half mile, when I hit the wall. I finished the two miles in 19 minutes.

I'm really happy with how this first brick workout went, so I'm leaning toward signing up for the Catfish Sprint Duathlon on July 10. My challenge will be to squeeze biking in during a very busy June schedule. Meanwhile, I'm trying to keep my base mileage up. I ran 10 miles today, which is farther than I ran at any point last year between May and October, but with the hot weather come back, likely to stay this time, it might be my last double digits for awhile.

In other "news" I signed up for the Dreaded Druid Hills 10K on June 25. This race is supposed to be devastatingly hilly. Between this race, a duathlon, and at some point in June some speed training in preparation for the Harrisburg Mile, it seems like the summer will be filled with some interesting challenges.

Note: I just noticed that this was the 100th post here at EYD. Sorry it's such a boring one. Thanks everybody for reading and hopefully post #200 can be a little more fun.

National Running In the Middle of the Night Night

Apparently, yesterday was National Running Day. No, I'd never heard of it either. And this is confusing to me since May was apparently National Runner's Month. (Maybe that's the point...a month of revelry leading up to National Running Day?) National Runner's Month seems to have been concocted by Dick's Sporting Goods, which certainly has a financial interest in encouraging people to run, while National Running Day seems to have been started by the New York Road Runners three years ago.

This is only the third year of the holiday, so don't feel bad if you haven't heard of it yet. I'm sure as it grows in popularity Running Day tv specials, celebrations, and sales will start earlier each year, and every mall in America will have a guy in a Bart Yasso or Jeff Galloway suit so that kids can line up to get their picture with him and tell him what they want for National Running Day. Or not.

At any rate, I missed National Running Day. A crazy day at work + legs still feeling extremely worn out from Monday's Insane Humidity Adventure=no running.

Except then I went outside to take the trash out, and realized that for the first time all week the oppressive humidity and heat had abated just a bit. It was still warm, and it was still humid, but it was neither scorchingly hot nor did I feel I needed scuba gear and flippers. After the not so Brian-friendly running weather we've had this week, it felt heavenly.

So at about midnight, I laced up the Supernova Sequences, put on my dorky reflective gear, and headed over to the high school, starting point of my favorite night running route. National Running Middle of the Night Night, a holiday holinight for insomniacs who work from home and are desperate to avoid the heat, was born.

It turned out to be a good idea, but the execution left a little to be desired.

(Light up headgear? Check.)
(Stylish reflective clothing? Check.)


(Charged Garmin batteries? Charged Garmin Batties?)

I know that I went 7 miles, since I ran one of my usual routes. I have no idea of my pace, since poor, neglected Garmy died after about a mile. It felt fast, though, which is all I have to go on, and it was a bit liberating to run without obsessively checking my pace, time, and distance every two seconds.

Despite my technical difficulties, it was a nice run and I think that if I'm going to be doing any long runs in July and August, the middle of the night is probably the best time for them from a weather and temperature perspective. I could probably do this once a week. Sacrificing more sleep than that would probably make it a challenge to function as a contributing member of society. (No jokes, please.)

"Race" Report: 2011 "9" Mile Tour de Memorials

I had no shortage of Memorial Day Weekend racing opportunities:

• There was a 5K starting at 11:59pm on Friday Night. I'd had a good 8-mile run that morning, though, in hot and humid conditions and thought that might be overdoing it.
  
  
• There was a 5K starting in Wrightsville that crossed the Susquehanna on Saturday, but I opted for the bike ride instead.
  
  
• There was the MCVET 5K & 10K Sunday morning. I can't say enough about what a good event this was when I ran the 10K in 2009, but I had cat adoption center duty that afternoon, and I thought would make for a rough day.
  
  
• And I saw that this morning (Monday) there was a 5K and 9-mile untimed training run that passed all of York's memorials.
  

I thought this last option sounded cool. Despite living most of my life in York, including all the time that I've been a runner, I've never really done a race that went through downtown. I've run a lot of 5Ks so far this year, and I'm also stuck in a rut lately in my training as the weather warmed, unable (or unwilling!) to push myself past 8 or 9 miles.

The 9-mile "Tour de Memorials" sounded like just what the doctor ordered. Except that my dislike, to put it politely, of running in hot temperatures is well known, and this was a brutally hot and humid day for a run.


I regretted my machismo within the first two miles. I was taking it easy according to plan, but there's no such thing as easy for me when it's almost 80 degrees at 8:00am. I had my camera phone, and I'd planned to stop and take pictures of the monuments and have a nice tour of the city, but once I got underway my only thought was to keep putting one foot in front of the other until I had completed the course. I really can't think of a single intelligent thought I had the whole time I was out there running.

(This is how I felt at mile 2.)

(This is how I felt at mile 6)

My pace was slow (9.5 miles in 1:36) and I felt close to overheating at times, but I did run the whole time. On a day like this, I'll take it.

Review
I'm an easy grader, but there were some issues with this one. The website claimed both courses were mostly flat. Again, I think race directors and runners (at least this runner) have vastly different definitions of flat. The total elevation change may not have been much, but there was a lot of up and down on the course. (A commenter who ran the 5K said it was not flat, either.) But, the cold (hot?) hard fact is that I don't live in a flat part of the country. Of course, I may feel differently after the Druid Hill race (which sounds like it's supposed to be torturous) a few weeks from now.

Secondly, a snafu along the course, when the fairgrounds was closed where we were supposed to go in, changed the distance and added a half a mile. Really, it was not a big deal. If the change in course had caused a water station to be missed, I would have been much more upset about it on a day like today.

There was a lot to like though, too. Basically, for the same price ($25, which goes toward developing a garden to honor the fallen soldiers of York) as the 5K, there was a challenging, well-marked longer distance run that was a nice tour of York, despite me really failing to appreciate it. Runners had some flexibility; the same bib numbers could be worn for either distance, so you didn't really have to decide which distance you were running until the gun (Which was actually the York Revolution's home run cannon fired by Cannonball Charlie) went off. The t-shirt is nice, and the very, very much appreciated water at the two water stations was ice-cold.

Would I run it again? That's what it always comes down to, right? I'm not sure. Any judgement of this event that I have is going to be clouded by the fact that it took place in weather conditions that, in my opinion, are pretty much the worst possible conditions to run in. If it were 10 degrees cooler, which is more typical for this time of year here, I would probably have had a better time, and I might run this course in the winter to shake up my routine. Race directors are very powerful beings indeed, but they can't control the weather or flatten out a not-so-flat city. The things they could control went generally well. I think I would run it again, but I would probably choose the 5K on a day like this.

(I thought they did a nice job with the race shirt.)

Now excuse me, I'm off to get some iced coffee and a donut.

(Not) Lance Armstrong Climbing the Alps

I went for a 12-mile bike ride today, and let's just say that Lance Armstrong climbing the Alps I am not.

It was the longest bike ride I've taken since our honeymoon, when my wife and I took an 18-mile ride in the Jamaican Blue Mountains (of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee fame). But, that ride was all downhill. So, this was the longest hilly ride I've taken in about 18 years, since I got my driver's license and my bike was all but forgotten. And I'm going to feel it tomorrow. If you know the number of Floyd Landis' pharmacist, it would be a huge help.

On this warm, humid morning a bike ride was definitely more pleasant than a run would have been. I rode in the same neighborhood where I do most of my running, and I think the uphills are harder on a bike, but the downhills are easier and more fun. My original plan was to do two laps of my normal running course, but since my front brakes are really only for show I decided not attempt some of these steep downhills. Then, since biking proved to be harder than I remembered and my bike does not shift so well anymore, I decided I would stop at 10. At 10 miles, I felt pretty good and decided that finishing out the hour would probably be a good place to stop.

If I decide to do the Catfish Sprint Duathlon on July 10 it's a 1.5 mile run, a 14.5 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run. This was a good start, but there's no way I was going to be able to run a 5K after today's ride. It's certainly feasible, I just need to do a better job of finding time for blood doping riding

Race Report: 2011 Mud Chasers 3.5, Sparks MD

It seemed like a good idea at the time. I had just finished a marathon, and this was just a 5K. What could go wrong?

This was my thought process in signing up for the Mud Chasers event at Sparks, Maryland. No problem.

I'm not sure I've ever underestimated anything so badly. I'm calling this a race report so that I get some more page views, but this really isn't a race; it's an adventure. I'm not sure if was a good adventure or a bad adventure, just that it was indeed an adventure.

Let's just admit upfront that my preparation for this was minimal. I've been running regularly since the marathon, sticking to two 7-8 mile courses near my home, and putting up some very fast (for me) times. I haven't been lazy by any means, but I haven't gotten myself back into any sort of lifting routine or even gone over to the playground and climbed around on the monkey bars to prep for the obstacles.

Since the course was small and winding through a field, they wisely have groups starting every hour. I was in the 10:00 wave, and I arrived at the parking area around 9:15. I took the shuttle over to the race area, which was judged to be too muddy for people to park at, and then picked up my packet. I was ready to go at about 9:55, and at this point a race official told me and a few others who had walked to the starting area, "Don't wait for a 10:00 start, just go."

The course turned out to be 3.5 miles rather than a standard 5K, but that wasn't an issue. The issue was my complete underestimation of the sheer muddiness of "Mud Chasers".

Things get off to a quick start, the first obstacle, within the first minute of the race, is "The Pits", several pits of muddy water separated by mounds of mud. Unless someone chose to skip this obstacle ( you were allowed to skip any obstacle, but supposedly would be disqualified from winning a prize) there was no way to avoid getting completely soaked and muddy. The water was FREEZING and so I tried to get through as quickly as possible, leaping from the top of each mound as far out into the water as I could. I, who ran a marathon not even a month ago, was super winded after this.

The next obstacle was "Camel Hills", mounds of dirt/mud without the water between, followed by a Hay Pyramid. As tough as any obstacle was the general condition of the course; there were many sections of the course where I was running or sliding or twisting my ankles through ankle deep slop courtesy of this week's monsoon season, which thankfully took the day off today. "There is really nothing at all fun about this", I thought to myself, a sad Panda.

About halfway through the course, we reached my favorite part -- three climbing obstacles, two using rope ladders and one just a plank wall. Going into the race, the climbing was where I thought I would struggle, but was the most exhilarating and enjoyable part of the course. The sun and wind had dried me off a bit, and I started to think to myself "Now THIS is fun!"

Sadly, it would not last. Soon after the last climbing obstacle was "The Trenches", a series of muddy water-filled pits separated by mud mounds, with ropes hanging over the pits at about a height of 3 feet. There were two strategies for crossing this obstacle: 1) walking through and ducking the ropes, or 2) crawling through on hands and knees. I immediately applied strategy 1, much to the derision of the volunteers stationed beside the trenches. Being extremely susceptible to peer pressure, I switched to strategy 2, much to their delight and my misery.

Soaked again, I continued around the course. The worst of the obstacles were over at this point. According to the map, there was supposed to be a pond to wade through, but I didn't see ANYONE do this and the course markers appeared to go beside it -- maybe conditions were too bad for them to allow it, because what the heck, I couldn't have possibly gotten more wet -- and also a fire pit to leap over. This would have been pretty hardcore, and maybe I would dried a bit.

The last third of a mile (I'm estimating -- now way was I risking Garmin on this thing) wound mostly up a steep hill, and then leveled off in sight of the finish line. Everything looked fine, except as I crested the last little ridge, I saw there was one more sticky mud pit at the finish line. Of course my shoes got stuck and I plopped over. There were a few middle-school aged kids watching the finish who were yelling at me "go faster!" and laughing as I got stuck. I like kids, and I don't think I'm a mean person, but I really wish I had thrown some mud on them and it was somewhat difficult to hold back the expletives. (There was a kids' mud run, which looked pretty serious, but they didn't appear to be participating in either)

(At least my face is clean...right?)

I'm not sure I've ever been quite so happy to see a finish line. My time was somewhere around 38 minutes, but I'm not especially concerned with it. I survived, relatively intact. Though I was sure as I was running that I'd sprained both ankles, it appears that some cuts on my knees are the extent of my wounds. Update -- Race results say I finished in under 28 minutes. Did I misread my watch for forget to re-set it at the beginning from something else? Or are the official results wrong? I'm not sure. It felt a lot more like 38 than 28. 3.5 in 28 is really, really fast for me regardless of terrain. That can't possibly be right.

(One of my clients makes a medication for complicated Skin Structure Infections {cSSI}
usually resulting from a staph infection. My cut isn't bad, but I fear infection.)

Overall, it was a lot of fun -- but it was one of the things that's a lot of fun afterward and not so fun while you're in the middle of it. I think that's true of a lot of running events, though. It was a unique experience for me and I'm glad I tried it.

Lessons Learned

1) I nailed it in terms of clothing -- don't wear any expensive moisture wicking gear. Wear your oldest shirts and cheapest pair of shorts. I'm not sure yet if the clothes I wore are ruined, but I'm definitely glad I didn't sacrifice something I paid decent money for. If you go to one of these and plan to hang out for awhile afterward, a dry shirt is a must. I saved mine for the car ride home. I forsook Garmin in favor of my trusty Timex Ironman watch. I wish I hadn't even bothered with that, though it appears to have survived unscathed.

2) My shoe selection was not so good. I wore an old pair of Adidas Supernova Glides, which had taken me through a great summer of 5Ks in 2008. They're probably ruined, but that's ok, since they're neither my current running shoes or a more recently-retired pair that serve as my everyday sneakers. The problem was that my ankles were just rolling all over the place -- I can't believe they're not sprained. I saw people running in everything from combat boots to barefoot, and I think something with more ankle support would have been best for me.

(These were once a great pair of running shoes,
just like the Orioles were once a great baseball team.)

3) I can't control the weather of course, but if I do a race like this again, I think I'd hope for warmer weather. I love running in the cold, but being soaked to the bone on a chilly, windy morning is miserable. If today were 80 degrees, it would have felt nice. Of course, during the summer, my fear of snakes may have paralyzed me. In one sense I'm glad I was in one of the first heats, because I think for the people running later in the day when the course is even more torn up might have it even worse. I'm not sure if the general muddiness of the course, not counting the obstacles, was good or bad. I slid all over and was afraid I'd sprained my ankles, but the unevenness of the terrain might have been even more treacherous if the ground were dry.

(This isn't near the course. It's the Conewago Creek, about a mile from my house,
just to show how much rain we've had this week.)

4) This is perfect as a group activity, but less fun by oneself. The people who had the most fun seemed to be the ones who ran with people they knew whether they ran in a group to either help each other or make fun of each other, or just ran at their own paces and met up at the beer garden to swap stories. I chatted with people during the run, but part of the post-race enjoyment was lost for a solitary runner.

5) I congratulate the sadistic bastard who designed the course. Just as I was dry and starting to feel comfortable, there was another obstacle to drench me again. The sticky mud pit at the finish line was positively evil. My hat is off to you, sir.

Conclusion & Event Review
I know a lot of people who have signed up for races like this: Warrior Dash comes most easily to mind. After doing one, I really don't think this is my cup of tea. That said, I could be talked into trying another one, and I think every runner should probably do it once.

I can't speak to how this stacks up to other mud run events, and someone with military/bootcamp experience, which I think races like this are supposed to offer a taste of, would probably chuckle at the obstacles, but I can review it as an event. It was a good one, but there's room for improvement in future years:

1. More post-race food would have been a plus. I paid $60 for this race, which is a lot for this distance. I understand that it costs a lot more and takes a lot of time to set up compared to a regular road race and that this benefited a local fire company, but water, bananas, bagels, etc. for finishers would have been appreciated. I did see a table of such items set up for the kids, but if there was one for the regular race finishers, I missed it. (In which case I apologize.) There was catering by Hightopps, a local sports bar with excellent food. I bought a very, very good hot dog for $2 and their were burgers and roast beef sandwiches available as well.

2. The schwag for this race was good. Schwag is very important in choosing races, so that's no small factor. The t-shirt is nice, but the star of the race goodies show is the Mud Chasers beer mug. The bottle-opener dog tag is very plain. I wish it had come with a chain, and that it had a Mud Chasers logo on it.



3. Beer garden. Any race that includes free beer at the finish is ok with me. That said -- MGD64? I just ran through mud and obstacles, and you think I care about calories? I'm not dreaming of Chimay, but something other than the lightest beer in existence would have been awesome. Miller Lite would be fine. (Oops, I failed to notice that MGD64 was one of the sponsors.) Perhaps since my last race included unlimited supplies of Yuengling post-race, that I am spoiled for life. I'm splitting hairs, of course, free beer is always appreciated. If you wanted additional beer beyond the free one, Blue Moon was also available at reasonable prices.

4. Assorted -- bag check was great and very helpful at a race like this. The bands seemed very fun, too. I didn't stick around too long, but had I been with a group, this had all the making of something to hang around for awhile at. All the volunteers were super, super nice, and overall the event was one that I'd recommend for both families and lone idiots, like me, of any age.

(No, it wasn't.)