2011 Racing Update

My work with Fleet Feet Chicago and Chicago Endurance Sports has really kept me busy this year. I did not do nearly as many races as I normally would. I did get to see things from the other side as I took a large role in producing several area races.

I’m currently 6 days out from my next marathon. I’ll be racing the California International Marathon for the second time this Sunday. Training has gone fairly well. I’ll talk more about that after the race. In the meantime, here’s a very brief recap of the racing I have done this year since Green Bay.

Kimbia 5k – North Park Track, Chicago, IL - 6/25/11

This was my first 5k race on a track. The Kimbia 5k was a small race put on by my friends Dan Kittaka and Lee Greenburg to benefit Kimbia, Kenya. Each runner donated shoes to be taken back to runners in Kimbia. The event was won by Moses Waweru (winner of Soldier Field 10 2011) in 14:26. He took the donations with him back to Kimbia.

I went into the race hoping to PR at the 5k distance. Justin Jackson, who at one time was a sub-15 minute 5k runner for Loyola Chicago, and I ran most of the race together. I ran very even splits, and put a little distance on him in the last few laps. I ended up finishing 4th in 16:38 which was a 4 second PR.

4 on the 4th – 4 Mile – Elmhurst, IL – 7/4/11

I ran 22:17 on a slightly warm morning. It wasn’t anything to be too happy about. I enjoyed riding out to the race with Lance and Betsy. This was the best chance I had to beat Jason Ream and Robert Wiegand in the same race. Both were racing WAY below their potential…. I came up just short of beating Jason. I know he was VERY glad to continue his unbeaten streak against me.

By this point in the season, the amount of training I was doing was much smaller than it typically had been during that point in the year. Work was really piling on.

Xtreme 10 – 10 Mile - Waterfall Glen, IL – 7/23/11

I ran this in 62 minutes and change. The time was brutally slow, but still better than in 2008 (which is probably the worst job I’ve ever done in a race). The conditions, as usual, were extremely humid and sloppy. There was rushing water all over the course. However, placement wise, I was happy with the race. I ran a negative split and managed a top 20 finish at race where I once finished out of the top 60.

Lawndale 5k – Chicago, IL - 9/17/11

This is a really cool small race in North Lawndale, which is not a community one would associate with running. I had high hopes to win this race, however my fitness dictated otherwise. By this point in the season I had not raced for nearly two months.

I wound up running 4th in 17:33. This was my slowest 5k time on a fast course in years. Still not sure exactly what went wrong…. Was I tired? Too Rested? It just wasn’t my day.

It seems that every year I reach a point where I suddenly feel very slow no matter what I do. Sometimes this time period can last a few months and sometimes only a few weeks. This year it was only a few weeks. Perhaps that was due to the lower total mileage during the warm summer months.

Monster Dash – Half Marathon – Chicago, IL

If by some chance you reached this page by googling the Monster Dash. Please do me a favor and don’t sign up for this race in 2012 or ever again. Team Ortho, and all of their races are absolutely awful and overpriced.

I’ve already written and talked to many people about the event, so I’m too burnt out to do it here. Basically, it started extremely late, the street crossings were not closed to traffic, the miles were not marked, the course was not well marked, I had to run against the flow of runners still running out while I was running in, bike marshals went the wrong way, etc etc etc.

As for my race… it was lonely. I could not see any racers ahead or behind me. I wound up in 4th, one spot behind Jason Ream. I ran a PR of 1:17:23. I really don’t know what my splits were like along the course… but I think I ran fairly evenly. I was happy to PR by about 35 seconds. Betsy kindly provided shelter for Jason and I before and after the race!

DH Dash – 10k – Nashville, TN

I love racing in Nashville. I may not win many (or any) races in Chicago, but I’ve won 3 out of the 6 races I’ve ever run in Nashville. This was a pretty small race, but the course was really challenging and cool.

I was alone (although I did have a lovely bike escort) from the time the gun sounded until I crossed the finish line. The course is a lollipop with lots of large and steep hills. I ran 35:03, beating 2nd place by more than 5 minutes.

The highlight of the race was having all of my family there, and running with Drake, Harper, and Riley after the race on the infield of the track.

Cellcom Green Bay Marathon Recap

The Short Version
I finished 16th overall in the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon with a personal record time of 2:46:26.

The Video Version by Michael Martineau and Carolyn Wrobel

The Long Version
Background
This May I hadn’t run a marathon since April of 2010 in Boston. This was my longest layoff between marathons since I first ran one in 2006. I took half of October, November and December almost entirely off from running while I tried to recover from the mystery ailments that kept me out of the 2010 Chicago Marathon.

I kept my mileage a little lower than I had during my training in Portland last year and I tried to race a little more often. I did have a few weeks above 100 miles, but for the most part I was around 70 miles a week, with a race worked in every other week or so. These included the Race That’s Good For Life 5k (16:58), Shamrock Shuffle 8k (a hot 28:27), Lakefront 10 Miler (58:49), and the Run to Remember 5k (17:13 4th overall).

The positive signs about my training were that I PR’d in the 10 mile race, I had some decent short and consistent track workouts, and I was feeling fresh during non-race weeks. However, my work in the retail running world had meant I was unable to join friends for consistent weekend long runs or Monday night tempo runs. During my build up phase in Portland I was doing tempo runs by myself all the way up to 10 miles long at 6 minute pace. They gave me confidence that I was in the best shape of my life, however I never got to confirm this at the Chicago Marathon due to injury. It felt strange not to do specific tempo work during this training cycle but I was putting a priority on making sure my legs felt fresh and that I wasn’t duplicating what happened last year.

The Journey

My teammates Jason (photo left) and Rabbit (second from right) picked me up from my office on Friday night in a sweet rental and it felt great to leave everything behind and just focus on the race, and having fun with the guys. Highlights of the drive included the beautiful Milwaukee skyline, a stop at Aldi, and conversation about moon pussy. If you have to ask, you can’t afford it. Our room was right next to Lambeau Field which meant the expo and race start were really convenient. Rabbit was kind enough to share his bed with me, leaving Jason lonely and bored across the room.

Saturday morning we shared breakfast and then went out for a shakeout run. It was very cold, windy, and a bit rainy. We ran the last two miles of the course and then the first mile just to get a feel for the area. I felt pretty good physically as we did some strides and I made mental notes of what the 24th mile marker looked like. The wind was pretty drastic, but moving in it didn’t feel so bad. Full panic hadn’t yet set in.

After the shakeout run we went to drive both the half marathon course (Jason and Rabbit were racing this) and the full. J+R noticed a few inconsistencies in the course around mile 3 and 4. It seemed the course was significantly long in these areas without being shorter in any other spots. This is when Saturday started to go a little bit off. When we arrived to the 16 mile mark I exited the rental to check out the riverfront path that would be home to miles 16-22. The wind was unrelenting and strong out of the north (the exact direction I’d be running). This is when the reality about wind began to set in. Weather forecasts for Sunday morning had been calling for winds out of the north all week, but in the last few days they were getting stronger and stronger. Now they were calling for winds between 25-30mph and gusts as high as 45. It was about this time that we all began to get hungry.

The mood in the car was pretty bad as we tried to make sense of the course inaccuracies and the wind. A big Lunch and a nap helped a little bit before we headed over to Lambeau to pick up packets and attend the elite runner meeting. Jason and Robert brought up their course concerns with the elite athlete coordinator who said they should talk to the course director. In the meantime we looked at a course map that was in the packet and it was different than the one posted online. We attributed this to our course measurements seemingly being off.

That evening Erik(the other guy in picture above) and Myra joined us for dinner. They had spent the day working at an expo in Milwaukee. Erik was also racing in the full and Myra was there to support him. Jason had a burger and fries while the rest of us had salmon. We were at Tilted Kilt which is a ridiculous pre-marathon restaurant… so I declared that should I PR I would have to eat there before every marathon in the future. After dinner Michael and Carolyn, who were graciously coming to ride bikes and offer support along the course arrived and hung out in our hotel room for an hour or so.

So… basically, very little of interest happened in the two days leading up to the marathon. This is a good thing. It doesn’t make for interesting reading, but it usually means my routine was pretty simple and I was able to stay off of my feet quite a bit.

Raceday

I set my alarm for 5:30am on Sunday morning, but I was up before it ever went off. This is the norm on the night before a marathon. I had stayed up until 11:30pm watching the Portland Timbers play the Seattle Sounders on ESPN2. Even so, the excitement of the race finally arriving made the short amount of sleep feel okay. Jason, Robert, and I headed to the lobby for breakfast.

The nice thing about doing races like these together is that in the few hours leading up to our race we are able to keep each other loose. There tends to be a lot of joking around and observational humor. We do analyze the task at hand quite a bit, but there is a lot of laughter mixed in. Each breakfast in Green Bay provided a number of laughs.

At breakfast I drank about 6 oz of coffee. I had abstained from any caffeine for about two weeks leading up to that moment. I wanted a lot more, but I knew that would be coming in the form of jelly beans, gu, and a Larry Coons Pellet (a tootsie roll type candy my friend makes that has a lot of b-vitamins and 100mg of caffeine). I’ve found caffeine can be a big boost to me, but if I have too much, too early I tend to go out a little too fast and hurt at the end. I ate some bagels, and a banana.

After breakfast, Erik and Myra came by and we walked to the elite staging area in Lambeau Field. Erik and Myra were staying at a hotel near mile 20 of the course and they reported that the headwinds in that area were blowing really hard. We were walking in some really brisk winds just to get to the start. The average wind on that morning in Green Bay was 28mph with gusts up to 40mph.

I crashed the elite staging area with the guys and did some light stretching on some wrestling mats. While I was in no way feeling confident about my chances in the weather, there were a few nice things turning in my favor. I didn’t feel very nervous (relative to how I normally feel) and I didn’t have to go to the bathroom. I didn’t get caught up in any lines anxiously looking at my watch. I also didn’t drink any extra water. I drink more water than the average person, but in the days and morning leading up to the race I simply had my normal amount.

Peeing
We left the concourse of Lambeau at about 10 minutes until the race start. It was nice to be out of the elements until the last minute. Myra graciously took all of my things with her so I didn’t have to bother with gear check. It was really nice to walk up to the starting line so close to the beginning of the race. There are some nice perks to being an elite runner, and while I’ll never experience them, I certainly do appreciate them. In the parking lot of Lambeau I walked between a row of cars until I couldn’t see anyone who could see me. I knelt and peed for a few seconds. Suddenly I heard my name which was unsettling. I looked up and didn’t see anyone, so I decided I must have been making this up. I heard my name again and saw Peter, a friend who worked for New Balance (and formerly Nike) standing in front of me. He hadn’t told me he was racing, but we had a laugh about the wind and my parking lot bathroom then wished each other well.

When I entered the starting line area I placed myself about 5 or 6 people back from the line. I stood with Erik and we watched Rabbit awkwardly pee in front of everyone into a bottle. He had throwaway pants on so that it wouldn’t be too obvious, but he’s lucky he was just out of earshot because we would have given him a hard time. He and the other fast half marathoners filed into the front of the start line.

As I stood with Erik impatiently waiting for the gun to go off I was happy my shorts were dry. There was a stretch of 3 marathons in a row where I peed in my shorts just before the start. I would use a portable toilet or bush just a few minutes before the race and then find myself 5 minutes later in need of going again. It was some combination of nervousness and over-hydration. Other than the wind, things were looking good for the race.

The Race Itself
The First Five Miles
The first few miles of the race weave through very flat residential streets near Lambeau Field. A majority of these miles were run into the wind or with a cross wind. I concentrated on sitting behind as many runners as possible. I’m not sure how many runners were in front of me but I would estimate there were 100 to 150 at one point. From behind I had no way of knowing who was running in the full or the half. In some ways this was helpful because if people passed me I assumed they were racing the half and it didn’t stress me out.

After 800 meters or so I realized Erik was only just ahead of me and I knew I needed to back off a bit. He’s capable of running much faster than myself, and I didn’t want to get tricked into trying to stay with him. I had run 12 marathons prior to this one and only one of them was a negative split where I ran faster in the second half than I did in the first. Going into the race I was hoping to run 6:30 pace through the first 10 to 13 miles. This pace can feel really slow at the beginning of a marathon with so much adrenaline flowing. Its also a full minute slower than what I would run if I was racing a 5k.

As the packs of runners began to thin out, smaller groups emerged. I wasn’t the only person trying to sit behind other runners to avoid the wind. I would sit behind a group until another group began to pass us at which time I would switch to the other group. With so many runners around it didn’t feel awkward just blatantly drafting on another runner. I would have been stupid not to. With this in mind, I was a little less concerned with hitting exact splits and more focused on just being with others.

My splits for the first 5 miles were:
1. 6:18
2. 6:05
3. 6:00
4. 7:21
5. 6:09

Miles 6-10 Settling In
As you may have noticed, the splits were all much faster than 6:30, with the exception of mile 4. Mile 4 was along the portion of the course that we had noticed was long the day before. I assumed this would be made up for at some point along the course so I didn’t stress too much. I knew I hadn’t changed pace all that much.

I do find it interesting that I ran a few miles near 6:00 pace as I don’t remember doing this at all. Normally I’m aware of this sort of thing, but I think I was in a very relaxed state just thinking about the wind and staying out of it.

During the next 6.5 miles we began to encounter some very small hills and some portions that were a little longer and more exposed to the wind. The hills felt good to me as they varied the run a bit without changing my effort levels too much. I began to pass a lot of people during this section. Most of the people I passed were half-marathoners who had gone out too quickly, but I did notice some people were in the marathon.

I missed a lot of mile markers on this portion so I wasn’t sure of my exact pace, but I felt I was pretty even and wasn’t too worried. A number of women were running with me at this point and the crowds of runners were now very thin. It wasn’t as easy to draft without being noticed. It seemed only right to take a turn or two pulling at the front. Several of the girls I talked to were trying to run an Olympic Trials Qualifying time of 2:45:59. A few passed me and put a solid gap on me. I was tempted to run with them, but I had told myself several times that I wanted to wait until 10 or 13 before I increased my effort.

My splits for these 5 miles were:
6. Missing
7. Missing
8. 18:34 (6:11.66 average)
9. Missing
10. 12:48.5 (6:24.25 average)

Miles 11-15 Calm Before the Storm
Around mile 11.5 the half marathon and marathon courses split and the atmosphere of the race really begins to change. There are a lot fewer runners. At some points I couldn’t see anyone ahead or behind me on the course. There are also fewer spectators because those that get up early to watch usually go to where they can see both groups.

It was at this point that Michael and Carolyn played a key role. They had been appearing at several points along the course shooting video as I passed by. They would then ride their bikes to another spot just ahead and do it all over again. There were times when they were the only spectators I’d see for a half mile. This definitely helped me psychologically. I made it a point to joke with them as I passed to make sure my effort level wasn’t too high. I also used some advice that Jason had given me and made a point to give my mind and body a few moments to relax while running. I stretched my arms out, allowed myself to slow a bit and just took some deep breaths trying to think about the fact that 10 miles were behind me.

From mile 11.75 to 15 there was a really strong tailwind. I was tempted to pick up the pace here to make up time that I knew I’d lose going into the wind. I resisted temptation and tried to take things slowly, staying relaxed. Even though I was well ahead of pace to set a personal record I didn’t really think it would be possible. I wasn’t running stressed, but I wasn’t running with any sort of bounce in my step. The wind seemed to have taken any belief that I could do well away from me. I also could feel twinges in my Achilles and legs that I wasn’t accustomed to. For some reason I had decided to race in Asics Pirhanas. These are by far the most minimal shoes I’ve ever done a marathon in. I love running in them but they have given me trouble in distances even as short as 5k. The twinges had begun as early as mile 6 or 7. They weren’t bad, but they definitely made me worry that I had made a stupid choice to race in them. The furthest I had ever gone in them was 10 miles.

As I started seeing splits from this huge tailwind (you can see it blowing me in the photo on the left) sections I was worried. I thought I was beginning to run slower than goal pace. I wasn’t, but the only split I happened to see and take in was the 6:28. I figured I would be in big trouble when I turned into the wind. Once you begin running significantly slower than goal pace, mentally and physically its almost impossible to recover. I also knew not to trust any of the mile splits since the markers seemed to be spotty at best.

Just before the halfway point I caught up to one of the girls who had drafted behind me. It was her first marathon and clearly she had been a bit too aggressive. She was clearly in pain and slowed dramatically. When she began to put some distance on me I was tempted to tell her to hold back, but I’m always self conscious of looking like I don’t want a girl to pass me.

My splits during the tailwind were:
11. 6:19
12. 6:28
13. 6:16
14. 6:23
15. 6:08

Miles 16 – 22 A Mighty Wind
About 15.5 miles into the race things really got interesting. The course turns left to cross a bridge and cross a river. At this point the strong winds really kicked in. The course was really exposed on the bridge and the wind was gusting extremely hard from my left and in front of me. I could see Michael and Carolyn on their bikes ahead of me struggling to move forward at all. My pace was suddenly slowed and it took a lot of concentration just to stay straight. I passed a few runners immediately. I would have worked with them but they were barely moving.

As I came off the bridge and settled onto the river pathway that heads straight into the wind for the next 6 miles something strange happened. I felt relatively calm. A runner passed me and told me he had been chasing me for several miles. I tucked in right behind him and the wind didn’t seem so bad. Our pace was certainly slowed by the wind but I focused on allowing the wind to slow me. I wanted to keep my effort exactly the same and not press into the wind. Tucking behind the runner who had just passed me helped a great deal. It was at this point that I started believing that the wind would not be too much to encounter, and that I could possibly set a personal record. After several disappointing marathons in a row I might finally be able to improve upon my time.

The runner was wearing a very familiar red and white candy striped singlet. The singlet belongs to North Central College which is one of the best NCAA Divison 3 cross country and track programs in the country. After about 800 meters trailing him I clipped his heel with my foot and took this as a sign that I should probably take a pull. He appreciated the gesture and we began to work together over the next several miles. One of us would go ahead and begin to tire and then the other would go back in front.

We were reeling in runners left and right. I’m not sure how many runners we passed on this stretch, but, I’d venture to say it was somewhere around 10. Not one of them was able to run with us. I kept expecting people to latch on and form a bigger group but it never happened. At one point we caught a Kenyan woman who had been staying next door to us in my hotel who had been in the early lead. She was looking desperately behind her to see if any other women were on the horizon. I told her to work with us, but she popped off of the back immediately.

When the first split came it read 6:32 which was slower than my goal pace, but it was certainly not as bad as I imagine the wind might force us to be. The next split we encountered was very fast… and obviously short. At this point I knew not to trust any of the mile markers until number 24 where I knew they were correct. There were a few markers missing during this segment, and I think that might have been a blessing because I didn’t get a reminder every 7 minutes that I was running so slowly.

At mile 18 I reached into my pocket and pulled out my “Larry Snack”. I had taken two GU roctane during earlier portions of the course but now I was going all in. The caffeine in the Larry Snack is usually quite a jolt to me. It did its trick very well. I sat it on my tongue and ran with it for almost half a mile. It didn’t interfere with my breathing and it gave me something to think about besides the wind. I was in a pretty good mood and didn’t seem to feel any of the aches and pains that had started to set in. I bet the caffeine was a big part of this.

Another thing to note about my mental feelings at mile 18, is that instead of thinking that I had 8 miles to go, I was thinking more that I had 4 miles to go. As bad as the wind was, it seemed to help break up the race. I was so anxious to get out of the wind that mile 22 seemed more like the end than 26.2. In my experiences, generally mile 18 is a time when I begin to crack a bit and the 8 miles left seems far greater than it really is.

16. 6:32
17. 5:10
18. 6:17
19. Missing
20. 14:33 (7:16.5 avg)
21. 6:30
22. Missing

Miles 23-26.2 The Turns Hurt

Just past mile 22 we turned left and crossed another bridge to go back over the river. This time the wind was a little more at our back and there was a sense that we had escaped. There were a few sharp turns on this section and that was when I noticed how much my feet and legs hurt. Straight wasn’t bad, but each turn really made the body seem to revolt.

A man standing on the course told me and my North Central running mate that we were 22nd and 23rd. I noticed that a woman was coming into view ahead of me and she had two or three bikes around her. I knew that meant she was the lead woman. She was slowly coming back to me.

At mile 23 the man I had been running with started to fade a bit. He had gone forward of me by about 5 seconds but soon I was passing him and wishing him luck. Along with him I began to reel in some other men who were starting to wear out. The lead woman was also passing these people.

I was watching anxiously for mile 24 because I had run from there to the finish the day before and I knew it felt really short. When I saw it I knew I was in for a good day. My splits were under 6:30 and I wasn’t blowing up. I kept my eye out for Jason and Rabbit knowing that they might be pacing me in the last few miles.

I saw them right near mile 25 and I yelled out to ask how they had done in the half marathon. They both yelled at me to get my head in the game and to race my marathon. It was a bit of a shock. I had been so set on staying relaxed that I had failed to realize it was time to start pushing. This is my only regret of the race. I wish that I had dialed in a little sooner on the woman in front of me and concentrated on catching her. I think I could have picked it up a little sooner and had I caught her we could have pushed one another to faster times.


I still managed to run 6:11 and 6:07 in the final two miles which I was proud of. I’ve only had two marathons where I ran my last two miles faster than my average pace. In the last mile of the course you run into and around the field of Lambeau. It’s kind of cool but honestly I’d rather do without it. The turns are tight and the course rejoins the half marathon course. This means I’m passing people who have taken as much time to reach mile 12.5 as it took me to reach 25.5, so they’re moving a little slower. I did pass one marathoner while on the field and when I exited I came across the line in 16th overall, in a time of 2:47:26 which was a new personal record by 3 minutes.

23. 13.33 (6:45 avg)
24. 6:26
25. 6:11
26. 7:17 (1.2 miles, 6:07 avg)

Afterward

Robert, Jason, Erik, and Myra were all there to greet me. I hugged Rabbit and Jason for a while and then headed out into the crowd to find Michael and Carolyn.

We all went to Hooters to celebrate and so that we could marvel at the matching outfits. I had never realized my racing kit was Hooters colors. After a few wings we piled back into the car and made it back to Chicago.

But, the story doesn’t end there. A few days later, an announcement was made by the race director that the course had indeed been long by about .15 miles. My time had officially been adjusted to 2:46:27. I had PR’d by 4 minutes instead of 3 and all I had to do was sit at my office chair.

More on Boston

Detailed Recap

The mood was light as Chris, Robert, Jason, Erik, and I stood in the corral shortly before the start of the race. We all took turns peeing in bottles, on the ground, on ourselves, etc in the moments before the race. You have to do what you have to do. We watched as the elite men moved in front of us and saw Ryan Hall come out full of energy. He gave me a nod as he came by and looked ready to have some fun.

The gun went off and we were on our way. Jason was pacing Robert and I through the first 10 miles (at least that was the plan). Robert and I would be hitting 6:20 or so on the first few miles and then drop it down to 6:05-6:15 pace. We managed to do this pretty well. Chris and Erik were with us for the first few miles and then took a more conservative approach.

There was a strong headwind going against us the entire way, but it wasn't unbearable. It surely slowed us down, but we've all run into worse. I was reminded of New York as Robert repeatedly urged me to slow down a little as we were slightly faster than we should have been. He's superb at that. We'd made it through the sharp downhills without pushing too hard or putting too much strain on our muscles. This is key to be able to race up the Newton Hills.

Around mile 8 or 9 we came upon a photo opportunity and we moved side to side (Robert is cut out of this photo, but you can see Jason and I). It was right at this moment that things went wrong for me. My heart began to race very quickly. Not from the effort, but from something else. I'm not sure what it was. Adrenaline, an irregular beat, or most likely, caffeine. Almost immediately I couldn't keep up with Jason and Robert. I was short of breath and slowing quickly.


You might think this was a penalty for going out too fast (doesn't Robert look fast int eh photo on the left?), but the truth is that I was going at an easy pace. If I was going to pay a price, it would have been later in the run. Not to sound cocky, but running 6:10 pace for 9 miles at sea level is very easy for me. I knew something strange was going on.

I continued on trying to hold my pace but miles were beginning to tick by at 6:50 and 7:10. I wasn't even halfway done yet. I averaged 6:32 miles at the NYC marathon, so I knew something was wrong. It was at this time that I lost it mentally. Runners were streaming by me on both sides. Chris and Erik came by with concerned looks as they could tell I was struggling. Chris offered me assistance but I told him to keep going (They both went on to 2:44 and 2:48 finishing times, btw). If I'd been calmer I think I may have been able to hop on with Chris and follow his very steady and strong pace.

Finally at mile 15 as I was falling farther off pace I decided to quit. I walked to the side and felt completely awful. I looked back for Ashley or other friends who I might join. I began walking slowly forward for a few minutes that seemed like an eternity. I was so distraught with my thoughts. I couldn't imagine having to tell people how badly the race went. I didn't want to face co-workers and try to explain what happened. Imagining the next few days in Boston with friends seemed awful. I couldn't be a downer, but I knew I wouldn't feel good about. When I could see the next mile marker I looked at my watch and decided I had been walking for 4 minutes.

I don't really remember why, but I began running again. I quickly felt good and began to pass a lot of the people who had driven by me. Physically I was back to normal, but mentally I was wasted. I couldn't believe things had fallen apart and I didn't know why. With my goals ow out of reach it was difficult to push myself through the hard parts. Still, with the break from walking and being slower than my usual pace I was blowing past people in the Newton Hills and especially Heartbreak Hill.

I crossed the finish line in 2 hours and 53 minutes. I felt awful, and anxious to put the day behind me. I don't like to pout about it, but it was frustrating to feel so fit, yet run so much slower than I had hoped. On the bright side, I had run 2 minutes faster than the '08 Boston in harder conditions and while taking a large walking break. This proved to me that I was indeed fit, but I just hadn't executed well. I suppose I have to accept that this happens once in a while as I've had a good string of PR breaking marathons and you can't expect that every time. It is hard to accept though, when you know you've put in way more work towards training than ever before.

Looking back on it a week later, I'm most disappointed with the way I handled the setbacks mentally. I think if I could have paused earlier and walked briskly to recover and set my sights on 2:50 instead of 2:44:59 it would have been possible. When I saw that goal slipping away I let it make me too distraught to refocus on a goal that was still attainable. But, I'll live with myself, and the good news is that a lot of people close to me had great days.

Robert cruised away with a great finish in 2:44. I think he could have done even better had I stayed on pace to help break the wind with him. But, it was a great day for him to be proud of. Ashley broke her PR with a 3:18. (Ashley and Robert are to my left in the yellow shirt photo taken by Zach Bouzan-Kaloustian) She did this on a much tougher course and in harder conditions than she ran in Chicago. Her hard work paid off and it was great to spend time with her after her accomplishment.







Regrouping

My trip home was not easy. After a flight delay my car broke down on the 405 during LA's rush hour. After a night in LA (crashing at JG's near USC, THANKS!) my car was fixed and I made it home after missing two days of work.

I felt the desire to jump back into a marathon right away. I still wanted a good time to show off as a reward for my training. But, I met with Andrew and after discussing things I realized this wouldn't be best for my training for the long term. We're focusing on 12 weeks of high speed work and low mileage to train for a 5k. After that phase I'll work on extending that speed to the marathon distance and I'll push towards a December marathon. CIM, Vegas, Fresno perhaps... I haven't picked on yet.

Great marathoners almost always start at shorter distances improving their speed and then slowly extending the length they can carry that. Not having run in high school or college I came at it the exact opposite way. I jumped immediately into the marathon focusing on endurance but giving speed very little attention. I'm hoping for big gains in the next two months.

One thing I know for sure, is that the runs here will be absolutely beautiful. Many of the mountainous dirt paths have finally thawed and are now clear to run. There is so much joy in following these trails that I can't really describe.

Thanks again for all of the support leading up to Boston and all of the encouragement and congratulations. Here's to continued training and enjoyment of running for all of my readers. I'll be writing soon about Electirc Boogaloo and our upcoming race at the MC200. And... a very special calendar. Stay tuned!

Batman, Mr. Wiegand, and Chico Carlsbad

BATMAN

Many of my running friends are headed to Austin, TX this weekend to race there. I'm anxious to hear about their results on Sunday morning. My friend Jason's latest blog entry does a great deal to explain why my running friends are so fun. Check out this excerpt:

My race is on Saturday morning and is supporting the women's soccer team at Texas State. I've always been a huge supporter of their program and I know that my $12.50 will make a difference. So in honor of the women bobcats I am going to sport my Batman costume during the race. Worst case scenario, T-Bud said it best. I wear this ridiculous costume yet still take the race seriously (this is possible) and lose to some 16 year old in training shoes. I agree, that would be pretty embarrassing. Luckily, my costume comes with a mask and my identity will be protected.

And while I know some very fast times are to be turned in, and Jason is helping to pace some folks on Sunday fun will still be had. As evidence I quote his blog again.

Also, to make sure that us northerners fit in with all these Texan cow herders we went out and bought the finest and most authentic western wear we could find. By that, I mean we went to Alcala's. Hats, shirts, shoes and most importantly a good belt buckle. Yes, I fully expect that we will not be welcomed with open arms.

Mr. Wiegand

He is a man that goes by many names. Rabbit, RH, Ashley Boyle's facebook picture boyfriend, Roberto, and abs just to name a few. Robert Wiegand is someone I've mentioned here numerous times, a friend and teammate I've finished behind in many races, and now you can read about his training and experiences with running at his new blog, Coursing. We'll be facing each other once again in Boston, and that will only feel natural as he's been at my side in my two previous marathons. Pacing me over the last mile in Chicago and keeping on a solid negative-split pace for over 20 miles of NYC.

Chico Carlsbad

My winter/spring race schedule has filled out quite nicely and I can't believe how quickly its all coming up. I'm still focused on the Boston Marathon on April 20th. But, I have a few prep races coming up between now and then that will be quite exciting. Besides the two 10k's that are part of the Sage to Summit Series I've written about, I will also be participating in the world-famous Carlsbad 5000 and the not-so-world-famous 33rd annual Bidwell Classic (aka Chico, CA Half-Marathon).

The Carlsbad 5000 (which is a 5k, a simple fact that our American non-metric minds often don't seem to get) has seen 16 world records set over its history. This is an extremely fast course that will allow me to put in a great speed test just two weeks before the Boston Marathon. Hopefully I'll set a new PR in the distance while I'm at it. I'll be racing with my friend James. Interestingly enough we'll actually be in different heats as the races are divided by age groups. We'll be able to cheer for one another.

The Chico Half falls 6 weeks before Boston and will offer another gauge for me to see where I'm at when at sea-level. This should allow me to spend my last few weeks of training with a great idea of what my goal pace will be in Boston. Running at altitude all the time has caused me to be completely clueless about whether I'm getting faster or slower. And, best of all, Ashley will be joining me to do the race. I'm picking her up in Reno on the way to Chico and then she is spending a few days with me in Mammoth. The trip is sure to make her wish to never return to Chicago.

Tomorrow brings a 2:20 minute run, which should give me some idea of where I'm at. Updates on Austin coming soon!

Landscapes, Professional Observers, Mr. Ream

I've put together a short video of some of the landscapes I see while running here. The first place you see is near Pine Creek and Mt. Tom. The second location is Round Valley where a lot of cyclists and runners gather to escape Mammoth when it is stormy/snow covered. The last location is at a nice vista overlooking Mammoth Lakes at sunset.



I just finished my first week working under a new coach. His name is Andrew and I'm pretty excited to see what kind of results we can get working together. He's joined me for a few workouts and we're at a similar level, but he never leaves any doubt on our last rep that he could put me in the dust if we were actually racing. He's focusing on my speed and taking my mileage down a little. I've already been scolded for putting too much distance on after Saturday's 5X1.

Speaking of the 5X1, I felt really good during this workout. My times weren't amazing. But I stayed consistently right at 5:30 for all reps at 4,500 ft. My buddy James joined me and we ran back and forth near Round Valley. The road is part of a 15k loop that is often used by Running USA. The portion we ran on is marked with blue paint every 100 meters which is helpful during repeats.

On our 2nd mile we noticed a new crowd of cars had arrived (the white van in the video is a Running USA van) and a batch of runners was warming up. It made me a bit nervous to know that the pro's were there while I was doing mile repeats. On the third mile Sarah H. rode alongside us on a mountain bike briefly offering us encouragement. We must have appeared to be crawling at 5:30 considering her husband runs 10 mile tempo runs sub 5 pace. And for that matter, she has run a 4:35 mile.

During the 3rd repeat we crossed paths with Ryan following Sarah on the bike and shortly after that a group of about 12 pros all looking smooth. I have to admit it felt good to have some of them encourage me by name. On my cooldown after my 5th rep I crossed paths with many of them again and was caught off-guard when Deena offered verbal encouragement about my morning's workout.

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Finally, I discovered tonight that my friend and running buddy Jason has started a little one of these bad boys himself. Check out what he has at Unyielding Crossroads.

Electric Boogaloo: MC200 Overall Champions

This weekend I competed in the MC200 relay race. It was an absolute blast.

The 200mile race begins in Madison, WI, travels east to Milwaukee, and then heads south to Chicago. The course is divided into 36 legs and teams are allowed to have up to 12 members. Runners on a team must stay in the same order through-out the race. Teams are given maps of the entire course along with directions. The course is marked (but sometimes difficult to follow, especially at night) and there are HAM radio operators that monitor checkpoints between each leg.

The approximately 120 competing teams use a staggered start based on their predicted finishing time. This means the slower teams started early on Friday (7am), average teams started throughout the day, and the last wave started at 4pm. We were a part of 8 teams that started in the last leg. We had two goals. First, and most important was to win the overall competition with the fastest net-time, and the second was to pass every single team in the race (even those starting at 7 am).

Our team, Electric Boogaloo, was composed of 9 runners, 1 bad-ass driver, 1 bad-ass 12 passenger van, and one sissy Chevrolet HHR. This meant we each ran 4 legs (with total mileage ranging from 19-27 miles each) from start to finish. We are all pretty similar in ability, but we matched our toughest legs with our strongest runners. Here's a look at our team.

Arik Anderson - Showed up wearing a leisure suit and purposely let every team beat him off the starting line so we could have the possibility of saying we passed every team. World-Class Ass-Slapper.

Lance Caldwell - Representing Running Away he proved to each of us that Martineau has friends away from Fleet Feet.

Ken Fandel (on right, in blue) - An amazing photographer, artist and teacher at the Art Institute who can also run with the best of them.  He took almost every photo you are looking at.

Ben Geletka - Ricky Bobby couldn't hold his jock when it comes to driving. Ben stayed behind the wheel for over 27 hours without a nap. He also happens to be a great runner.

Phlip Kepler (driver's side) - It's hard to find this father not smiling. He sometimes dispenses some really sage advice, but that usually comes out in the middle of about 19 jokes that he's simultaneously telling. He enjoys trying to give tool booth operators the wrong amount of change.

Mike Martineau - One of the monsters on our team who churned out really fast miles in high heat on at least two of his legs. One of the lawyers on R Kelly's defense team.

Dan McDowell - I ate a lot of beef jerky.

Jason Ream - Our anchor. A real speed demon that humors me by running by my side now and then. Poster boy for the Cleveland Marathon.

Robert Wiegand - Famed instructor of Rabbit Abs. Friend of Jimmy John. Fast. Not related to Charles.

Chris Woods - The number 1 ranked Hi-Guy impersonator in all of Chicago. A model of speed and efficiency.

At the end of the first leg Arik rolled in about 20 seconds after the leader. He handed the slap bracelet (instead of a baton) to me and I began to chase. The first legs were in the city of Madison and had a lot of turns and busy street crossings. I was so nervous about getting lost that I ran with a map folded up in my hand. The heat and sun got to me and I felt slow. I suffered as I watched the lead open up in front of me.

After reaching the end of my first run I handed off to Robert. As we drove in the van to the next checkpoint was watch Robert obliterate the leading team's man. He caught him very quickly and left him baking in the hot sun. Our teams would continue to trade the lead for the next few legs. However, by the time we had gone through one cycle of our runners we had built a substantial lead. The main team we were racing against had 11 runners. We knew (or were almost certain) this meant that they had their 3 fastest runners going first, as they would be doing 4 legs while the others only did 3.

Nightfall brought great relief as temperatures dropped and running became a lot more comfortable (minus the bugs). During our second cycle through our roster we began to catch teams from earlier starting times. All runners during the night must wear head lamps, glowing vests, and blinking back lights. It makes for a goofy looking spectacle.

My second leg was perfectly straight. It ran along a railway that had been converted to a trail. The scenery was completely rural as I saw no artificial light save for the one on my head. I felt much faster than in my first leg and not worrying about taking a wrong turn made for a very pleasant experience. I ran through some thick tree cover and occasionally ran over some long wooden bridges that covered vast boggy openings. It was a beautiful night with lots of visibility. I saw my first roadkill ahead in the distance and enjoyed closing the gap with each step as I went in for the kill. By the time I handed off to Robert I was positive I had made the right decision in being a part of the race.

Our lead continued to grow throughout the night. There was no way to be sure how big it was. The only way we could measure it was to see how long after our vehicles reached a transition area it would take for our opponent's wheels to arrive. Eventually we were packing up our arriving runner, and heading off to the next transition before the 2nd place team's car even arrived. We knew this was a great psychological advantage.

By the time my third leg arrived it was around 3 a.m. The map called for a 7+ mile jaunt through southern Milwaukee. At this point we were surrounded by a majority of the teams in the race. Most of which had started at least 4 hours before us. If my memory serves me correctly I passed 11 teams along the route. The speed came easy despite the weird hour and location. Running in the middle of a random city street in darkness and calm air gave me an odd adrenaline rush. I could see many slower runners lined up ahead of me, their blinking lights a beacon for my carnivorous desire to pass. A few times during the leg the huge white whale driven by Ben and covered in our decoration rolled by to deliver water and gatorade. The hooting and hollering from inside the van made it easy to roll the legs even faster. A few of my miles were clocked under 6 minutes (which wouldn't normally be something to write home about, but at that hour after being up for almost 24 hours I was extremely happy).

As the sun rose our entire team seemed to be feeling pretty tired. But, the view along lake Michigan in southern Wisconsin was pretty spectacular. Some of us laid sleeping bags out on the ground and tried to catch a little sleep. Meanwhile, Ben continued to drive, navigate, and cheer us on as if it was the easiest job in the world. By this time the van almost always had someone taking a nap in it. The doors were also covered in tally marks as we kept record of every team we passed.

Lost in my recap of this event is the fact that Chris, Mike, Robert and Jason were all really flying. Without a doubt, they were the reason we were turning this race into a blowout. As we cycled through our last legs, Chris had a 8+ miler that put him in some high heat. There were still 3 teams ahead of us from the earlier start times. We hoped he could wrangle one of them is as we wanted to be the very first team across the line at Montrose Beach in Chicago. We had seen no sight of them as Chris left on his run. But, by the time he made it to the end of his leg, they were all left in the dust, wondering what the blur was that had blazed past.

In the last few legs we had managed to piss off a lot of teams. Lots of teams and their fans were waiting quietly in a park for the teams to begin arriving. Ken's Dad even greeted us and watched Ken take his turn. Who were those loud, cocky, sprinters waking us from our naps as they flew through the transition station? Electric Boogaloo, duh! And let 'em know who it is with a little extra honk of the horn big Ben!

By the time we all reached Evanston the beginning of our final leg I was running on empty. All I wanted to was to sleep in my bed. But, for Jason, he still needed to keep himself loose and ready for the final run. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Arik had been done for hours and had to keep himself awake while he waited for everyone to get done. He did so in spectacular fashion with lots of cheering and grab ass.

After Jason raced off to cover the last miles we raced in the two cars along Lakeshore Drive to try to beat him to the finish. We managed to find parking spots and then all gathered 50 meters before the finish line. We ran across the line together and began to celebrate with friends, family, beer, and laughter. It was great to see Ashley again as she met up with me just after we crossed the line. Robert somehow managed to fall on an orange cone as we crossed the line which was quite the contrast to his incredible speed in the first leg. Phlip came through as he always does with some excellent Bell's hand delivered by his Wife all the way from Michigan. Lance's wife gave me an incredibly nice lift back to Logan Square where I managed to nap for a while before the after party at Emmit's later that night.

In the end, we won by over an hour and 13 minutes, passed every team in the race, and had a great time the entire way. I can't say enough about how well everyone got along and how many times we all had to laugh at the fun and absurdity of what were doing. Dong ask. Dong tell.