Sometimes fear can be a good thing!

So here I am, it is at the beginning of March in 2008. I have held true to this idea that I'm going to just workout and train throughout the year, no periodization, no "A" races, etc. My idea was to just drop in a race when I felt like it.

That brings me to next weekend. Next weekend I am going to run my first ultra run! It is a 60k run in the Land between the Lakes area of Western Kentucky. I am pretty excited about this race, but I am getting an enormous dose of fear.

The longest run that I've had since the Ironman last September has been the Rock-N-Roll Marathon in Arizona. It was a good day to experience what it would be like on my feet for a very long time, as I coached all the athletes from Kentucky to the finish line. But to be honest, I didn't feel like I was in great shape at that race and I am not in better shape now.

The truth is that I have less long runs than a person normally puts in getting ready for a marathon. I ran 15.5 miles last weekend and then this weekend I ran 13.5 yesterday and 19.4 today. Last night a friend of Nikki's asked her "Is that his taper"?

The thing with this style of training and racing is that it doesn't have a taper period. And I'm getting nervous enough about knowing if I can finish this distance that I wanted to put in a double long weekend to see what would happen. It didn't go super well. I am hurting pretty bad right now. I can move (and actually jogged a half mile with a client after) but by the end of today's run, I was hurting enough that I started having some second thoughts.

Fear. Sometimes we have fear about what is about to happen. I am thinking that at times it might be wise to have a little dose of fear before we get ourselves into a situation like this.

I'll let you know how it goes. I went and bought a digital voice recorder and a lapel mic, I plan on doing some updates during the run. I'll share them with you if there is anything interesting, funny or ridiculous.

Marathon Training : Lessons Learned and Mistakes Made at Derby Festival Marathon

[note] This is a reflection I had after the 2006 Derby Festival Marathon. I am adding it to my blog making sure I have it archived somewhere. As the 2008 Derby Marathon is approaching, maybe there are some ideas worth looking at? [end note]


Marathon Training : lessons learned and mistakes made

“It seems that many endurance athletes view overperformances / underperformances in relation to the acute circumstances. For instance, hot and humid weather, too cold or didn't eat properly. I do it with most races too. (re: just ask me about my Buffalo Lake Springs Triathlon experience. I've got lots of reasons for my poor performance. Including the hitchhiker I picked up in Oklahoma... it has to be his fault!) So, it is good to hear about how training programs could have changed for the better from other endurance athletes.”

Predicting Running Performances - Feb 24th, 2006.

After making a statement like that, it only seems honest that I would try and figure out what occurred during the training period leading to the Derby Marathon that resulted in a performance 9 minutes slower than my expectations.

Here are the lessons that I feel I can continue to learn, as I move forward towards my next adventure. Some of the lessons are positive, others are mistakes that I will try and correct the next time I decide to perform during a marathon. When it is possible, I provided a link to an entry in my blog that I felt supported (in real-time) the conclusions I came to.

Lesson # 1:
Consistency is everything.

• Two major problems I saw as people trained for the spring marathons were lost periods of training due to injury or illness. The injuries and illnesses were likely resulting from too much intensity or too much volume in their training programs. (see: Training through injuries)


• I built a base fitness in October, November and December, with the plan to build upon that base starting in February. The nine weeks of exercise after the December 3rd marathon, inconsistent in nature, didn’t allow the base to be realized with a 12 week marathon training program.


• Consistently doing races allows for better development of “racing consciousness,” thus allowing you to perform with a less hectic mind. It also creates a deeper understanding and experiential knowledge of pain. - Derby Festival Marathon Report (re: The Pain)

Lesson # 2:
Inserting “test races” or “fitness evaluation races” are valuable when you create a race strategy, but they also provide confidence in your training and provide intensity into a program based around aerobic development.

• Changing a perspective of training and physiology - 2/17/06


• Predicting Running Performance - 2/24/06


• Week and Rodes City Review - 3/27/06


• Recovery week review – taper importance - 3/30/06


• Papa John’s 10 mile review - 4/17/06

Lesson # 3:
Nutrition, flexibility and core strength are as important as training paces. Ironically, I said this several time throughout the training period, but I never gave it 100% attention, especially nutrition. (And the reason I’m dedicated to it right now.)

• Magee’s bakery and my lactate threshold - 2/14/06


• I’m tired. My legs, my mind and my mood. - 2/17/06


• period one review - 3/6/06

Lesson # 4:
There needs to be a solid development of aerobic base or fitness before a person begins inserting cruise intervals, thresholds or any higher intensity workouts. In this 12 week training cycle, I used Tuesday’s as my “higher intensity” runs, but began those workouts before I had realized the fitness level I needed to reach my goals.

• Marathon training in T minus - 2/3/06


• Initial testing and focuses - 2/9/06

Conclusion:

Reviewing the lessons that I learned, it is humbling to realize that I didn’t follow my own basic philosophy of training, “Health, Fitness, Performance.” I was caught in a mind-set that focused on performance and the variables that create performance. What I have learned again is that without a deep level of fitness, there will be no break through performance, and without health, it is very difficult to develop that fitness.

I don’t want people to think that I am completely unsatisfied with the race. The fun for me is the journey of improving over time. And I have more improvements to make in my fitness and the resulting performance. I have a lot more fun ahead of me. Plus, I take some pride in the fact that I have transformed from a 3:54 – 4:00 marathoner into a 3:04 – 3:08 marathoner. I just know that there is more time to take back!

“Everybody wants to get fast, hardly anyone wants to get fit.” - Gordo Byrn

garyd - 5/23/06

2002 Jeep Kentucky Adventure Race - Race Report

*note* This is an old race report that I wanted to include in my blog archive. This was my first attempt at doing an Adventure Race. What a great experience and fun way to be introduced to Kentucky. Hard to believe that it was that long ago now. Adventure Racing is probably the most enjoyment that I've had doing endurance sports. And some day maybe I'll find a team that wants a runner, sometime triathlete with weak rowing and climbing skills... you never know. Enjoy. *end note*

Jeep Kentucky Adventure Race - 2002

I made my way to Kentucky after a summer of mowing lawns, little exercise and one triathlon. Athletically it had been a depressive season. To make things worse, my first impression driving into Lexington, Kentucky were not that great. But to my relief, I found two groups of athletes:

A. dedicated triathletes at the University of Kentucky
B. the Todd’s Road Stumblers - a running group that meets on Saturday mornings

With a new scene and the social urging of Tyson Carroll, Eric Atnip and Beth Atnip I started a slow path to fitness. This adventure of fitness took a rather quick turn back into competition.

Team New Balance:
The local New Balance store was looking for a team to put into the Jeep Kentucky Adventure Race. Eric ended up getting in touch with the store manager and began to put together a team. The team needed four members which most likely was not going to include me, but one of the guys ended up not being able to participate. This open space was filled by me! The team members were now: Eric Atnip, Tyson Carroll, Dave Kundig, and myself.


Getting to Know Kentucky and Mountain Biking:
Everyone on the team had spent the summer competing in triathlons. This meant we needed to practice off road riding and riding as a team. While I originally had low expectations for Kentucky, these practices allowed me to experience Kentucky. I soon discovered that the outdoors in Kentucky are B-E-A-UTIFUL! There seems to be limitless possibilities of outdoor activity within a short drive of Lexington. To practice for the race we made frequent trips to Capital View Park (Frankfort), Carter Caves and Cave Run. These trips were for training purposes, but they became my weekly escape and rejuvenation. It is amazing how beautiful scenery, exercise and a few friends can change a person’s attitude.


Our Introduction to Adventure Racing:
For the four members of Team New Balance, this would be our first adventure race. We felt confident that we had the physical ability to be competitive, Tyson and Eric coming off Ironman Wisconsin, Dave returning from a summer at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and I, well that has been discussed. The areas we felt a little uncertain were: paddle sports, caving, team cohesiveness and navigation. What we discovered was some of these things work together.

The Race:
The start of the race went well as a short run lead into the mountain bike. The biking went fairly well considering the rough course due to the rain, the race the day before and Tyson using a brand new bike. The special challenges also gave little hindrance because the climbing was easily set up and Eric can pull a jeep without much help (got to love those big guys!). It was after the special challenges where our race truly began.

Navigation, Directions and Teamwork?
Wanting to make up time off the bikes we decided to use our finish and close some gaps. We took off running, gear on our backs but heads in the clouds. Running through the course, it became somewhat difficult to keep the team together (mistake #1). Moving quickly through check points we knew we had the caves just ahead. At one point we came to a junction where we took a left without too much thought or reference to our passport (mistake #2). The thing that got my attention were two guys just below the junction in a river bed, unfortunately I didn’t say anything. This was mistake #3 because you should never assume someone just happens to be in a river bed washing off?

As we continued up the other side of the river bed we quickly lost our way (we were way off course). This is where adventure racing and team competition really takes on its life. Wrong turn after wrong turn ultimately put us nowhere near our course. It also started damaging our team morale. As Tyson tried to put us back on course, Dave and I proceeded in frustration and Eric kept things as civil as the occasion allowed. Eventually we made our way back to our missed junction and passed the check point. Then we made another wrong turn (mistake #25 by this point)?! This time we were a little smarter and turned around making our way back to the caves. All said and done, 50 to 55 minutes passed from the time we first missed the cave entrance check point until the time we entered the caves.

Our Finished Adventure:
We used the caves to catch our breath and regain composure. At the exit of the caving section, Team New Balance began to shine. Check point after check point we found ourselves passing teams and gaining on the lead team. By the time we made the canoeing section we found ourselves back in first place, with the canoeing and a short rock scramble left.

Team New Balance did cross the finish line in first place, but it was a bitter-sweat feeling. We knew that a better race could have been run and there were two person teams and individuals that crossed that line before us.

Lessons Learned:
The sport of adventure racing is not a triathlon. Skills are needed, fitness is essential but so is knowledge of topo maps and team cohesiveness. There are also times in a race, even a sprint adventure race where you need to stop and evaluate the next move.

Thanks!! None of this would have been possible without the help of the New Balance Store-Lexington, Kentucky and the New Balance Company.

Paris - Brest - Paris : the cycling journey.

In January of 2006 I had a guy come to me and say, "I would like to qualify and do PBP in France next year." My initial reaction was one of confusion with a lot of questions:

Q. What is PBP?
A. Paris - Brest - Paris.

Q. What kind of event is Paris - Brest - Paris (I knew it was Cycling..)
A. A 1200km Brevet.

Q. Did you say 1200km? And what exactly is a Brevet?
A. Yes it is 1200km... (I kind of got ill to my stomach and lost focus)

After a little bit of contemplating the nature of such an event, the journey began as George (the one that introduced me to randonneuring) and I started putting in some miles on the bike.

To really speed up the story, I'll create a short timeline of major events along the the way.

Major Event #1: 5/27/06 - Horsey Hundred - a 100 mile ride in Kentucky, George's first century ride. Flickr Photo Set

Major Event #2: 7/14/06 - 200km KY Brevet Route - we didn't do the official Brevet, but we went and tackled the course on our own later on. The ride is likely my most memberable ride in the last 3 years. (Since my ride across Iowa) It was full of unleashed-chase-you-down-the-road-dogs and one major hill climb that about put me six-feet-under. It was also my single longest ride in one day when we finished at 130 miles. Flickr Photo Set, Blog post about ride

Major Event #3: 3/31/07 - 200km KY Brevet

Major Event #4: 5/19/07 - 400km St. Louis Brevet, Blog post

Major Event #5: 5/26/07 - 300km Atlanta Brevet, a great course and ride. The ride starts on an amazing bike rail/trail called the Silver Comet Trail. While on the trail the ride is flat and stress free, but once you get into Alabama it got a little more challenging. Ok, a lot more challenging. At least we were doing the 300km and not the 600km Brevet that day because they had some bigger mountains to climb.

Major Event #6 - 6/2/07 to 6/3/07 - 600km St. Louis Brevet, George's Big Day! I didn't do the ride with him, for a lot of reasons: I had a wedding to attend, I didn't want try and recover from that kind of stress, I was a little bit of a chicken....

To let you know about the length of the event, Nikki and I stayed in St. Louis Friday night. I went to the start of the ride and watched them get set up and leave. Nikki and I traveled to Nebraska, meet up with some friends, went to a wedding reception, stayed out late, spent the night in Omaha, woke up and went on a longer run with another friend, traveled back to St. Louis... and drove a little bit of the course to see if they were about done. They were not finished. We felt a little guilty talking about how tired we were of driving, only to realize that George and the others had been on the bike the entire time. (I think they had a 2 hour hotel stay during the night...?)

My take home thoughts about this past 17 months:

1. Long distance cyclists are a little crazy!

2. In every ride there comes a point of "breakthrough". This is where you realize that the body is willing to do a little more, even though it might be uncomfortable... but the body isn't willing to carry on unless the mind has this specific breakthrough.

3. The amount of cycling and distances have helped me reframe my perspective of the Ironman bike leg. Prior to doing these mega-rides, I thought 112 miles was hardly achieveable as a stand alone ride. Knowing that I've ridden over double the distance in a single day instills a great mental boost.... even if the training isn't "Ironman specific" as some may say.

4. People are able to achieve some remarkable things when they want to. Think about it for a second. On the morning of May 27, 2006 George had never ridden more than 70 or 80 miles at one time. In 39 hours on June 2/3, 2007 he rode 373 miles.

That's Inspiration!

Thank you George for helping me remember what is possible.

Now as he begins a recovery period and preparation period for the PBP in August, I hope that I'll be able to transfer some of those miles into Ironman speed for myself.

Bicycle Advocacy - #2

The Weekly (lexweekly.com) has an article in the April 26 - May 2 issue discussing the opening of the Brighton East Rail Trail.

An appropriate addition to the news I mentioned in my "Bike Trail Advocacy in Lexington" post.

Also check out the Kentucky Rail Trail site (kyrailtrail.org) for additional information on the Big Sandy proposed trail.

Christmas Run today.

I have talked about the Todd's Road Stumblers on a few occasions in the past. [Check out the posts here, here and my 500 mile club finish.]

Of all the "things" that have helped improve my running over the years, moving to Lexington, Kentucky and joining the Stumblers has been one of the top two "things". Why has the Stumblers helped my running so much? They helped me acheive the consistency of putting in the miles that a runner needs to help improve over time. There is one constant about this running group - and that constant is that there is always a fellow Stumbler that is willing to go 13, 15, 18 and even 20 miles with you.

There were many times through the winter of '02/'03 that a fellow runner would talk me into running 2 to 6 miles further than I really wanted to run. But in the end, I ran more miles than ever before and I ran a marathon personal best. (Thanks Phil, Jim, George and others....)

Today was the annual Christmas Run. It was also my first opportunity to join the group for the run, the carolling downtown and the McDonald's breakfast afterwards. It was great to see so many runners there to join in on the fun. And it was neat to see all the runners that I come in contact with at different times there to run together for a single run.

I have been grateful for the Stumblers over the past 4 years, but there is also one person that the Stumblers are very thankful for too - Mr. Alex Campbell. Mr. Campbell was the founder of the Stumblers a long time ago. This morning I was told that he started the group in 1968, but the website says 1975. In either case, Mr. Campbell has been the supporting thread and constant presense in the group. After running with the Stumblers for 4 years, I got to finally meet Mr. Campbell and tell him thanks.

Thank you again!

Sidenote: I saw another interview today with Mark Nenow. In it he talks about the Stumblers and some other interesting things.