Harbison 50K Race Report

This past weekend I ran my first Ultra of the year in Harbison State Forest just outside of Columbia, SC. The race was the second annual Harbison 50k put on by Dan Hartley. The race was top notch. Very organized, the course was well marked, the volunteers were great and the swag was pretty awesome!

Going into this race I planned to take it easy and just get the miles in as I ramp up for my Delirium Ultra 24 Hour Endurance Race on Feb 11, 2012. In the back of my mind I knew that I would end up pushing it a little harder than I should have and would end up racing the entire course. But I was going to try my hardest not too!!!

We ended up turning the race into a mini road trip with Paul "the hammer" and Gary "DJ Ice" and were spoiled by a huge three room suite at the downtown Hilton, thanks to my long time friend, Tony Tam. The trip up was uneventful and after a quick tour of the course and lunch at Mellow Mushroom we headed back to the room to watch "Unbreakable" and "Pre". Nothing like a few good Running flicks to set the mood for the upcoming race. We had a short pre-race meeting downtown at the Half-moon Outfitters, getting last minute race instructions and our race packets including our awesome shirts and Harbison 50K Pint Glasses.

I was the first to bed when we returned to the room and the last one up in the morning (but I needed the extra rest after moving all week). We headed out to the course at 6:00am and woke up to a nice 48 degree weather. Shorts and a tank would be my clothing choice for the day! No layering needed.

Another quick race recap by Dan at 7:20am around the camp fire sent us down to the starting line for an on-time race start (which is always a big deal for me!) The course would be two 15.5 mile loops with the first 9 being made up of single track rolling hills and the next 6 miles (including the nasty Spider Woman Trail) being much more technical and a lot more elevation.

The Aid Stations were stocked with everything you could want/ need during an Ultra. I ran with my iFitness belt with two 8oz bottles on the back of my waist and an extra 12oz Amphipod bottle
on the front. I started off with 28oz of Coconut Water (pineapple flavored) and drank that plus another 8oz of water during the first loop. (This is important later)

I started my second lap after 2:25.00 by topping off my water bottles with more Coconut Water, grabbed a few Strawberry Fig Newtons, two rice cakes and a banana. By the time I reached the woods again around mile 16 my bladder was full and needed to pull off the trail. No luck. I quickly began to run again before the urge struck me again. This time I was going to go as I did not want to have to stop again with only 16 mile under my belt. The sight made me weak. What should have been a "light yellow" was more "sweet tea-ish" and I felt a pain in my bladder like never before. This really scared me and I quickly went into a systems check mode. How much had I drank - more than enough - are you sure - yeah - two bottles, plus one with one refill plus everything I had the night before - I should be fine- then why does it hurt - are my kidneys shutting down - okay...just walk. Just drink.

I walked to the next Aid Station and sat down on the ground and began to drink. I was really scared, but I was on the start of a loop and would need to walk out anyway. After two full bottles (32oz) of water I left the aid station and tried to run by my bladder still hurt with every stride. My game plan at this time was to pull out of the race when either Paul or Gary came up on me, surely they would say that it was the right thing to do. I'm glad that I never saw them.

The next five miles were the longest of any race. It felt like I was going backwards the whole time. Every chance I got I would try to jog a little, just to get to the 20 mile mark. Finally I made it back around the loop and no longer felt the pain in my bladder. I was able to start running and I was still able to drink nonstop thanks to the Aid Stations that were popping up every four miles or so. The next 11 miles were not the greatest but I was going faster than my goal pace for Delirium and I was getting in some good hills too.

I crossed the finish line in 5:28:16 according to my watch and quickly grabbed my highly deserved and desired Hamburger and downed some Sprite-like drink from Kroger for the added sugar and fluids. This was 1:00pm, it 10:00am the last time I went to bathroom and wasn't until 7:00pm that I would go again. Needless to say my body was overly dehydrated.

By the time I got back to the car, checked my phone, Paul "the Hammer" was coming in to finish his first Ultra Marathon! You could just tell by Paul's face that he was thrilled to finally have the full distance under his belt. Smiles from ear to ear! (or beard to beard). He crushed it in 5:38.00

I had a text message from Gary saying that he was at mile 24 and that he was done. I knew that he would beat himself up (more than I would) if he were to pull out now, but at the same time he had to walk in to make it back to the finish. I sent him a quick text back telling him just to take it step by step and we'd be waiting. Gary then ran the next 7 miles in and finished the race looking great and proudly got his finishers medal and our second Pint Glass - the "Bison" Mug (a misprinted first run of glasses that should have said "Harbison" - all runners that finished the race got the second "collectors" mug!

After a quick shower back at the Hotel, we packed up our gear and headed home. Paul and I sacked out before we were even on the interstate, I think Gary stayed awake the whole time, but I guess we'll never know!

I finally got my "color" back under control by the following morning and didn't have much discomfort other than a sore tail bone (not really sure where that came from) 48 hours after the race was over and I feel fresh and the legs feel great.

I have a very short 32 days left till my next race, which is my own creation, the 2012 Delirium Ultra 24 Hour Endurance Race on Feb 11, 2012. My goal to run 100 miles in the 24 hours and I think the training that I have been able to get in over the last few months along with my racing I am right where I need to be. Now if I can just stick to the plan again and keep my fluids under control I may be alright!

Thanks to Paul and Gary for putting in countless mile in the dark and to Holly, my wife, for staying home with my two beautiful children while I run countless miles with Paul and Gary! I couldn't have gotten here with out you guys!

2011 Mad Marsh Ultra Race Report

This is the second year in a row that I ran the Mad Marsh Ultra 50K on Ladys Island in Beaufort, South Carolina. The race is put on by "Skunk Girl" Becky with East Coast Ultras and is held on an amazing course. The race is made up of 7 laps of 4.5 miles each. This year Paul, Gary and Racheal also signed up.

My race plan consisted of a very relaxed run and just run a controlled race. My mileage over the past few months have been less than "ULTRA" with my longest training run clocking in at 15 miles since last July.

The biggest change that I made going into this race was my new nutrition plan. I planned on eating nothing but "real food" through out the entire race and bypass the "GUs". I used my new iFitness belt which holds 2 8oz water bottles and started off with both bottles filled with Coconut Water (pineapple flavor) and a single GU in the zipper pocket.

Paul and I rode into the race together as we were providing the finish line chute for the race. We quickly set up the chute and got our group's tent set up for the morning. by the time we got our supplies laid out on the table it was almost time to start.

With a few quick words by race director Becky we were sent down the trail. For the first time that I can think of I did not line up at the front of the pack. Instead I held back around 15th in a field of 78 and conversed my way through through the first lap with Bob and Dave from Ohio. I set my hydration timer to 10:00 and would sip each time the watch beeped. At the 3 mile mark I quickly got an empty feeling in my stomach and quickly sucked down a GU (plan 1 failure). Over the next mile and a half I kept doubting my plan but the GU did the trick and I felt fine.

Lap one ended and I never looked at my watch. I quickly grab a "rice bar" and topped off my Coconut water. Paul recent gave me a cook book and we each tried a recipe made up of "sticky rice", scrambled eggs, bacon, brown sugar and soy sauce. The mixture is then formed into bars and wrapped in tin foil. Lap number two and three were all about staying comfortable and the weather was still pretty cool.

The start of lap 4 I pulled off my arm sleeves and swapped out one bottle of coconut water for flat coke. At this point I also began eating half of a banana and taking a strawberry fig newton with me as I left the aid station. This repeated till the end of the race and I felt perfect.

As I came into the aid station to start the 5th lap, I began to do the math in my head and quickly realized that I was somehow well ahead of my personal best. If I could continue to hold on to this pace I should finish 20 minutes ahead of my PR. Three laps equaling a half marathon is a long time to maintain a steady pace when you have 20 miles under your legs already. Instead of focusing on my finishing time, I just decided to finish my current lap. I continued to hold a pace right around 8:30 and everything just felt "right".

At the start of lap 6, I drank half a bottle of ensure and finished off the last half of banana I had left on the table. The weather was also heating up now. I made a quick decision to leave my shirt on but instead fold my bandana down to just a head band. I'm glad that I left my shirt on, because the windy got pretty nasty on the long straght aways. Now I was really counting down the minutes as the window to break 4:30 was still well in reach.

In attempts to save every second, the transition to start my last last was very quick. I grabbed 2 Fig newtons and headed out. My legs were more than fried at this point and it was everything I could do jus tto keep my GPS pace from saying anything greater than 9:30. I always talk to my kids when I get to this point to try and keep myself from backing off. "Come on Izzy get daddy a little farther" "you've got this Jake, we can do it buddy" my mantras always fall back to the kids and their endless supply of energy and it worked. "We" crossed the line in 4:26:48 with a new PR of 11:00 on the same course.

My pace was pretty consistant over the 31 miles and the real food kept me feeling fresh and the lack of caffeine did not have me crashing or jittery at the end of the race like I have felt before. I really liked the feeling of using the real food over the GU but know that in a pinch the GU still packs the necessary "stuff" to get where I need to be.

Total Time - 4:26:48

Average Pace - 8:31

Top pace - 6:27

Overall - 6th Place
Shoes: Brooks Pure Project Grit Size 10

Mile 1 - 8:16

Mile 2 - 8:28

Mile 3 - 8:32

Mile 4 - 8:10

Mile 5 - 8:02

Mile 6 - 7:52

Mile 7 - 7:56

Mile 8 - 7:38

Mile 9 - 8:08

Mile 10 - 7:42

Mile 11 - 8:00

Mile 12 - 8:20

Mile 13 - 8:16

Mile 14 - 8:22

Mile 15 - 8:18

Mile 16 - 8:40

Mile 17 - 8:46

Mile 18 - 8:56

Mile 19 - 8:08

Mile 20 - 8:34

Mile 21 - 8:44

Mile 22 - 8:32

Mile 23 - 9:48

Mile 24 - 8:34

Mile 25 - 8:56

Mile 26 - 9:04

Mile 27 - 9:16

Mile 28 - 9:14

Mile 29 - 9:26

Mile 30 - 9:36

Mile 31 - 9:04

Nutrition:

Lap 1 - 8oz Coconut Water (Pineapple flavor), 1 GU Roctane - Pineapple

Lap 2 - 8oz Coconut Water (Pineapple flavor), 1 Rice Bar

Lap 3 - 8oz Coconut Water (Pineapple flavor), 1 Rice Bar

Lap 4 - 8oz Flat Coca-Cola, 1/2 Banana, 2 Strawberry Fig Newtons

Lap 5 - 4 oz Flat Coca-Cola, 4 oz Coconut Water (Pineapple flavor), 2 strawberry Fig Newtons

Lap 6 - 8oz Ensure, 1/2 Banana, 2 strawberry Fig Newtons

Lap 7 - 2 strawberry Fig Newtons, remaining ensure and coconut water in my bottles

Great race, all the pieces just came together and ended up with a new PR. Next race: December 3, 2011 - Enmark Bridge run: Double Pump 5k followed by a 10K over the Savannah Bridge.

See you on the trail!!!

Getting things rolling again

A quick recap from the past few months:

Work a lot - run a little.

Actually I had a pretty good 2011 racing season even though it was too long. I raced in the Bad Marsh night Ultra in May, the Rock Creek 3 Day stage race in June and my very own creation, the Cremator Ultra Marathon - 50 miler in July. I was forced to take all of August off due to some pretty serious back pain which I was able to relax with massage and acupuncture.

I was able to kick my training back into gear in October by racing another night trail race (15 miler) and crush the field with a 1:43:23 and felt great. This was the first time I wore my new Brooks Pure Grits and loved every step in them!

We also kicked off a new routine of Wednesday night Ultra training runs with Paul & Gary. This always makes for great conversation and future race planning.

I decided (last minute) not to run the 2011 Savannah Rock n Roll Marathon as I just thought the race would tear me up without the solid base I wish I had in. No worries! I was able to walk down the stairs the next morning and with Mad Marsh coming up in less than a week, it was probably the right decision for me. Plus I got to spend the whole day with the kids - which is always a treat!!

My race calendar currently looks like:

November 19, 2011 - Mad Marsh 50K

December 3, 2011 - Enmark Savannah Bridge Run 5k followed by 10K (Double Pump)

January 7, 2012 - Harbison 50K

February 11, 2012 - Delirium Ultra 24 hour Run (Goal of at least 100 miles)

April 7, 2012 - Croom Fools Run 50 Miler

May 2012 - Bad Marsh 50K

June - Rock Creek Stage Race - 20, 18, 22

July 28, 2012 - Cremator Ultra 50 Miler

October 6, 2012 - Arkansas Traveller 100 Miler

Be sure to check out my latest race, which is about to fill up!!! Delirium Ultra 24 Hour Endurance Race - February 11, 2012. it features a 6, 12, and 24 hour event with awesome race swag!!!

www.lowcountryultras.com

www.facebook.com/deliriumultra

www.ultrasignup.com

Bad Marsh Ultra Race Report - May 13, 2011

Friday night was the Bad Marsh Ultra 50K in Lady's Island, SC. The race consisted of 7 laps, 4.5 miles per lap. The race takes place on an old golf course that is closed and the cart path has been removed. The majority of the race is run on compacted sand with 4 road crossings and less than 1/8 of a mile on the road. We ran the course clockwise as the June race will be run the opposite direction.

Going into this race I felt that my training was exactly where it needed to be and my plan was to train through with race without a taper to get ready for my 3 day Stage Ultra event in Chattanooga in June. On Tuesday morning before the race, I woke up with a "bug" that left me with a fever and spent most of the day with my head in toilet. I was finally able to stomach some food late Wednesday night, but still felt weak. I finally put together my race plan the day before the race. I would run 8:30 pace and just cruise through the miles. This would put me with a new PR of 4:27.00 and felt that this plan would be a push due to my last minute illness.

We had a great turn out from the PRC - Footbalance Racing Team with over 8 runners including: Holly Waz, Giancarlo Rodriquez, Paul Kiefer, Gary Davis, Rob Fyfe, Sarah Drilling and Bev Wood. Several other folks made it out from our running club to try the event for a first time. I set up the tent and had plenty of drink and fuel for our group to make their first Ultra event one to remember!

As we got called to the starting line for last minute instructions, I was still planning on sticking to plan "A", I even mumbled "8:30 pace, right?" to Giancarlo as Race Director, Becky Water sent us on our way, down the trail for the next several hours. The race started at 7:00pm and if all went well, I'd be wrapping up my second lap as the sun went down, just in time to grab my headlamp and keep cruising down the trail.

I think it's funny how quickly a plan can change. Two seconds down the trail I quickly switched over to plan "B". Plan "B" was a short lived conversion that G and I had via text the day before, stating that I would hammer out the first 4 laps (18 miles) at a 7:00 minute pace and then hold on with tired legs for the last three laps (13.5 miles). I found myself at a 7:02 pace with a HR of 150BPM at mile one and very comfortable, but I quickly became disappointed in myself. How could I go out and do something so reckless after being sick, not to mention in a race of this length. I comforted myself by reassuring myself that this was in fact another pre-race option for this race and that I wasn't just flying by the seat of my pants.

The first lap was very comfortable and clicked through the rolling course between 7:00-7:18 per mile. Around mile 3 I came up on a runner by the name of Eddie Demasi from the Atlanta area. He was a hardcore runner, which I'm guessing was in his late 50s. Eddie had started the race an hour before everyone else as he was in a time crunch. He had to finish the 50K, get back in his car, drive the 8 hours back to Atlanta in time to run a marathon the following morning! The prior week he had run a 50 miler in Georgia and I'm sure he's getting ready for some crazy race or adventure this weekend.

We grazed fingertips as I ran by, cheering him on with my typical "keep rockin' it, lookin good". I would see Eddie again through out the night, but what I could not get out of my mind the entire race was the ear to ear grin that he flashed back at me as he trudged down the trail. Eddie would pop back into my mind each lap as I passed our meeting spot on the trail. He continued to pushed on and finish in 5:32:54, then quietly get in his car at 11:30pm and began his journey to his next race.

Laps two and three were mirror images of each other as I kept clicking out the miles right at 7:05-7:10 pace and remained in the lead. I caught up with Holly towards the end of the second lap, and was able to cheer her on before stopping to refuel, grab my head lamp and head back out. My body still felt strong, but I was beginning to have a hard time drinking and GU's were the last thing my body wanted. I took a bite of a potato wedge as I headed out on lap three and my stomach told me to throw the rest away. That would be the last thing I would eat till I finished the race.

Sean Kennedy came up next to me on at the start of the fourth lap. Super nice guy. I could feel my body beginning to get weak from not eatting or drinking enough. We cruised through the next 3 miles together before my right thigh began to lock up on me. I backed off a few strides and then picked up the pace to see if I could shake the cramp out without stopping. Sean and I ended up coming into the checkpoint together after 4 full laps. Only 3 more laps to go. I still had a full water bottle and 8oz of Nuun after the last lap. I knew that I was in trouble at that point. I picked up a bottle of Ensure and my hands were shaking nonstop. I asked Kayla to open the bottle and I took 3 or 4 small sips. When creamy fluid hit my stomach I could feel that it was empty which hit my gag reflex. I was able to hold it back but I still had to get something in me. I continued to sip on the Ensure as I muttered out "how's G doing?" I know I got an answer but it didnt translate into anything that made sense to me, so I grabbed a watter bottle full of Coke and clipped it into my amphipod race belt along with the bottle of water that I had not touched the last two lap.

Lap 5 was bad. My thigh muscles were sticking out of my legs like I had two bags of sugar strap to each leg. It was pitch black at this point and I could see Sean's headlamp bouncing down the trail. I continued to lunge forward trying to stretch out my thighs, I turned around and ran backwards for a while, skipped, walked on my toes, walked on my heels just trying to loosen out my thighs. I knew that this was coming from dehydration so I grabbed my coke and downed every last drop.

At night, in the woods, every source of light looked like a runner trying to sneak up behind me. Out of fear of losing Sean or being caught by Giancarlo I started limping down the trail again. The faster I ran the better I felt. I knew that I had just lost a lot of time and wated to try to make it up, but not all at once. Lap 5 really hurt but I made it, but was now way off my pace. I limped into the checkpoint right behind Holly as she finished her race. She told me that she was done for night, but would wait for me until I finished. Three miles after I chugged the Coke it finally kicked in, I felt a little surge of energy and was even able to open another bottle of Ensure and began easily drinking it down. I had it in a cooler of ice and it felt great running down my throat. I finished off about 4 oz, replaced my empty coke bottle for Nuun and headed out, asking "how far in front of me was Sean". Kayla responded back, "about "Twelve minute".

Lap 6 went by really fast. I kept trying to figure out how I lost 12 minutes on one guy in only 4.5 miles. It took me a long time to do the math and figure out what I'd have to do that last 9 miles to make up that time lost. Thanks dehydration. The moon began to appear from behind the clouds and heat lighting was blasting off giving me a nice distraction. I kept feeling something run down my leg and I couldnt for the life of me figure out what it was. I then realized that the pressure had built up in my Nuun bottle and had popped the valve on my water bottle and the foam was running down the back of my leg. I took a few sips, but still could not stomach anymore. I finally took the water bottle that I had been carrying for the last 4 laps and began to pour it on my head, face and neck trying to cool me off since I couldn't drink it and I was tired of carrying it. My legs were feeling loose now but mentally I knew that I was getting beyond tired at this point.

When I came into the check point to start my last lap it was like a ghost town. Only the Ultra guys were still out on the trail and everyone had packed up and left. Holly and Kayla were on post at the tent and my only thought was, where was Sean. Kayla looked at her phone and quickly said four minutes ahead. I had a quick transition, replaced my bottle and headed down the trail. I knew that I had a good last lap, but Sean must be slowing down if i made up 8 minutes on him in the last lap. I thought I could catch him!!! Up ahead I could see a single headlamp bouncing down the trail. The moon was out in full effect now and I decided to launch a sneak attack. I turned my head lamp off and slowly began to gain on the glow of the headlamp in front of me. Over the next 3 miles I began to get closer and closer until, almost at the exact point that I met up with Eddie on lap 1, I realized that this was not Sean. With a mile and a half to go I put it on cruise control and floated in to a second place finished in a total time of 4:50:32.

All in all, the race was pretty good, considering. I was completely drained after the race and felt my blood sugar tanking quickly once I finally sat down. Getting up and moving around was not a difficult task, but I needed to get some fluids and food in my body one way or another. The race director's husband had IV bags on hand so I decided to man-up and go ask for one. I was able to
stomach a few orange slices before asking for the IV and slow began drinking some fluids and spent the next 30 minutes nibbling on gummy bears, chips and the greatest tasting Oreos I've ever had!

Lessons learned: Make sure there is fuel in the tank before heading out on a long trip. Last minute race decisions based on how you feel at the time can be implemented but at a cost. Running with friends is much more enjoyable than chasing shadows in the middle of the night. I'm in better shape than I thought.

Next race: Chattanooga 3 Day Stage Race on June 16th

Mad Marsh Ultra - My first!

I would like to say that all the pieces came nicely together this morning for my very first Ultramarathon! It was exactly 2 months ago that I decided to take this new route with my training and racing... going long instead of fast!! Over the last 2 month I put together a very focused training plan taking me from decent 5k running shape to racing my first (of many more to come) Ultras.

The only negative thing that I did in my training was doubling my long runs literally over night. Knock on wood, I stayed healthy and continued to progress my long runs up to 24 miles (two weeks prior to my race). My comfortable distance of choice, by far, was my 15 mile course. I quickly found that I could hammer out a fast 15 miler and quickly recover without missing any workouts! My fastest in the last two months top out at a 7:14 pace.

The last two months seem to fly by and finally race day was here! The Mad Marsh Ultra was a PERFECT first for me. It was A. Local, B. Cheap ($20) and C. Small. All together between the 50K and the 22 miler there were less than 50 people. I thought it was awesome that the race director and her husband both ran the race after getting it started!

The race was completely self supported and I put together an amazing Crew team with two different pacers. I can not even begin to express how grateful I was to have both Giancarlo and Brain out there with me, along with being able to fill water bottles, grab Gu, or even my sunglasses once the sun broke out of the clouds! I also had Kayla on stand-by to pop or wrap anything that needed attention on the medical side (Glad I did not need her services until after the race to drain a blister on my left foot that looked like a 6th toe!!!) and Sandra to help cheer me on, keep track of splits and fill in where ever needed! These guys totally made my day, without them I could not have done as well as I wanted to!! My Advice: Find a great crew that is willing be stand out in a field at 5:00am, freeze, bring you whatever you ask for and you are golden!

My plan was to go out slow and build up. I did just that!! Taking the first three laps (4.5 miles each) at a very steady target pace of 9:00 miles. Once they "junk" miles were out of the way, I slowly started moving up and gaining time off of my original goal of 4:47.00. By the end of lap 4 of 7 I had myself 6:37 ahead of pace and gaining. Lap 6 was by far my fastest lap with 3 back to back 8:00 miles between miles 22 - 24. I finally had to stop (for traffic) around mile 29 and my thighs quickly locked up on me! It took the next mile to loosen back up. Around this time, my mantra kicked in with "you've got this" "you've got this" over and over and over. My body was screaming for me to stop again, but I did not want to ruin the streak I had going so far. The last mile was tough! My body was fighting hard for me to stop dropping down to 10:30, only to have my heart fight back with 7;30 pace! This fight when back and forth 8 times over the last mile between my Body and my Heart to finally cross the finish line well a head of schedule!

My nutrition plan consisted of the following:

Lap 1: Nothing

Lap 2: 6 oz Water and 1 Gu

Lap 3: 6oz Water/ 6oz Red Bull Mixed and 1 Gu

Lap 4: 8oz of Ensure, 1 Strawberry Fig Newton, 1 Gu

Lap 5: 12oz Coke, 1 Gu

Lap 6: 3 Motrin, 12oz Water, 1 Gu

Lap 7: A few sips of water

The only thing I will do differently next time is not drink Coke after the Ensure... the few bubbles still left did not mix well at all...Took a few miles to settle my stomach back down!

All in all the day was a huge success in my opinion. I had a great team, a huge remote cheering crowd between family and friends from a far (sorry you couldn't find the race Rachael - Argggg!!!) perfect running weather and an amazingly flat course! I can not wait to get my next race on the schedule! If anyone needs a crew man to help out, please let me know as I now know how appreciative I was of having dedicated friends out there helping me today!!! Cheers!!!

Time: 50K 4:28.14 (Total time 4:35.27 - 31.89 miles)

Elevation Gain: 1,494ft

Calories: 2,997

Average Moving pace: 8:38

Mile Splits:

1 - 8:46 11 - 8:50 21 - 8:40 31 - 8:43

2 - 9:00 12 - 8:43 22 - 8:09 32 - 8:32

3 - 9:05 13 - 8:26 23 - 8:06

4 - 8:56 14 - 8:09 24 - 8:08

5 - 8:39 15 - 8:28 25 - 8:24

6 - 8:57 16 - 8:24 26 - 8:50

7 - 8:49 17 - 8:34 27 - 8:54

8 - 8:26 18 - 8:25 28 - 9:04

9 - 8:26 19 - 8:18 29 - 9:29

10 - 8:35 20 - 8:20 30 - 9:33

Pacing: Making racing fun again

At times in our sport, it gets really hard to keep an open mind and not give up when you hit that new time barrier or worse you've reached your limits on how fast you can push your ever ageing body. What are runners to do when you constantly compare yourself to your last race, your last workout or even your younger self? Mix it up!!!

All to often we get into habits, be them good or bad in our sport. We do that same workouts, we run the same distance races, and we hardly ever think outside of the box. When we put on our running blinders, we block ourselves in and we forget why we started running in the first place: To better ourselves and to have fun.

I have found throughout my running career (almost 27 years now...WOW, that's been a long time since the "Sun Run" in 3rd grade) that the best thing you can do when you find yourself in a "running-rut" is to try something new. I've recently switched my focus from the short and the fast, to the long and not-so-fast with Ultras and I am finding myself running better, more focused and really enjoying my running again even after more than doubling my weekly distance!

I also added in a truly amazing new experience this past weekend at the Bluffton Half Marathon. I led a pace group for several of our members that wanted to break 2:00.00 for the first time (9:00 pace). It was truly an awesome experience and I got more satisfaction out of this race than some major events I have competed in. I can not even express the sense of pride that I felt for the runners in my group as they crossed the line one-by-one (I really wish I could have crossed the line with each of them!!) But as the clock ticked down closer and closer to the two hour mark, I decided to run back out one last time and see if there was anyone else that could still go under. I saw one of our Club members about a half mile out and there was no way that I was going to let her miss her goal. Rachael dug in deep and kept dropping the hammer all the way till she crossed the line and beat her goal. I really felt like I won the race at that moment, and honestly I did because I got share this amazing feat with so many awesome runners!

I would highly recommend that if your training needs to be mixed up a little, think about leading a pace group in an upcoming race. Contact the local race director and they would love the help!!

Great job to everyone that ran the Bluffton Half Marathon this past weekend and to everyone who gave me this awesome feeling today... PROUD.

Thanks to Palmetto Pacer member, Gary for catching this AWESOME shot as I sent Rachael off to the finish line!!!

Bluffton Half Pace Group:

1 - 8:51 8 -9:02

2 -9:02 9 - 9:00

3 - 9:01 10 - 9:04

4 - 9:03 11 -9:02

5 - 9:00 12 - 8:56

6 - 8:59 13 - 8:54

7 - 9:02

Music: Adding to the running experience or taking away

A "sponsor" recent gave me the new 16G nano by Apple. Without sounding like a commercial for Mr. Jobs, because we all know the last thing he needs is an endorsement by a runner in Bluffton, SC... This thing ROCKS!!! Imagine your iPhone or iTouch scaled down to just over 1 sq inch, add your favorite tunes and with less than a few ounces you are jamming down the road!

The question is always out there: Does running with music add to your running experience or does it take something away? As much as I love my new toy, I've always been mixed about running with music. I never race with it, but love cranking out some hard fast miles with Green Day, Eninem and even Neil Diamond pushing me faster and faster. I started thinking about this again during my morning run today. It was dark, cold, foggy and very little traffic. The sky looked like a light-brite without a single cloud. It was a beautiful run. But would I have appreciated my surroundings more if Bruno Mars wasn't serenading me to "Just the Way You Are" or does that add to the experience?

I decided to go tuneless on my out and back run just to mix it up. At the end of the run, the only difference I saw was that my ears were much colder without my headphone plugged into them! I think there are times and places to run with music and there are others when you just want to unplug, listen to your surroundings and just run. Wearing headphones and being pushed by music has gotten me through some long runs recently and I truly few the music selections I am listening to at this point only add to the memories of these runs. I can not hear "Welcome to the Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance, without thinking about training and traveling to the Big Sur marathon in 2007!

My advice, mix it up... lose the tunes on group runs, add it in on solo runs but at the same time get out there occasionally and just listen to your body, listen to your breathing listen to nature!!

What is currently on my "Running" play list: (in ABC order)

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked, Cage the Elephant

American Idiot, Green Day

Animal, Neon Trees

Bicycle Race, Queen

Boom Boom Pow, Black Eyed Peas

Born to Run, Bruce Sprinsteen

Bottoms Up, Trey Songz

Break Your Heart, Taio Cruz

Bust a Move, Young MC

Club Can't Handle Me, Flo Rida

Crazy Train, Ozzy Osbourne

The Distance, Cake

DJ Got Us Falling in Love, Usher

Dynamite, Taio Cruz

F**k You, Cee Lo Green

Free Fallin, Tom Petty

Handlebars, Flobots

Im Gonna Be, The proclaimers

I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas

I Like it, Enrique Iglesias

If Your Wondering If I Want You Too, Weezer

Just the Way You Are, Bruno Mars

Ladies & Gentlemen, Saliva

Like a G6, Far East Movement

Live Like We're Dying, Kris Allen

Meet Me Halfway, Black Eyed Peas

Mr. Jones, Counting Crows

No Rain, Blind Melon

Not Afraid, Eminem

The Race is On, Sawyer Brown

Shake, Jesse McCartney

Stop and Stare, One Republic

Sweet Caroline, Neil Diamond

Sweet Tea, Cravin' Melon

Walk this Way, Run DMC

We No Speak Americano, Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup

When I Come Around, Green Day

You Learn, Alanis Morissette

I'd love to hear what your current "power song" is and why!!!