My Longest Run...so far!

See what I did there?

Yesterday I ran the greatest distance that I have ever run. I had planned to run 18 miles. Up until I left the house, I wasn't quite sure where I would run. I had two options in mind: 1) run the CHaD Half Marathon course, then do one of the loops twice to make up the extra miles, or 2) run along a rail trail that I have heard about in a nearby town. Not being very fond of running in traffic or on boring roads, I opted for the unknown; the rail trail.

I knew that started near a community style gym in Lebanon, NH, so i drove over there around 9. I found a little trail out back, so after getting my shoes on, making sure that my hydration packs were all set, and starting my Garmin....((*#&*$^(#$(*& GARMIN!!! WTF???? seriously???? WHY WHY????? you were on the charger ALL STINKING NIGHT and when i double checked, you said "Battery Charging Complete" on your cute screen!!!! WHAT DID YOU DO IN MY GYM BAG THAT DEPLETED YOUR BATTERY?????

oh. wait. press POWER, MODE, and ENTER button all at the same time....right. i recall having done that before...now if i can just contort my fingers....oh. duh. take the flippin thing OFF first....ok, ok, ok. no stress. just an 18 miler looming......

ok. Thank you, Teri (GARmin) for joining us today.....BEEP!

So off i trotted....for about 1/4 miles, then....heap big pile of debris blocking my way. I peered around the pile....no more trail. WHAT? ugh....so i back tracked and went into the gym to ask about the trail. Oh! the OTHER side of the parking lot. yes, by that BIG SIGN announcing the rail trail....duh....

So off i (finally) went. I had set Teri to beep at me at 4.5 miles, at which point I would turn around, go back to the car, restock my water, drink some GENUCAN, and run back and do it again for a total of 18 miles. Seems simple enough.

The trail is hard-packed gravel. Mostly. There are some places that are a bit wet and therefore muddy, but that was ok with me. The morning was still chilly and foggy in parts. This made for some interesting scenery along the trail, and helped to keep my mind occupied. I tried very hard not to look at Teri until the turn around BEEP. I was happy to learn that I covered that first 4.5 with relative ease!



Beautiful morning for a run!



One thing that I did notice was that it was a bit of a challenge for me to keep an even pace that was where it should be. I am not used to running long distances, and I know that I should keep the longer distances at a slower pace than usual. I decided that a 10:00 mile would be 'good', and bounced around that for most of the trip.

give me pain in my right foot! :(

When I got back to the car I noticed that Teri hadn't beeped for the second leg, which was a bit confusing...but I drank my drinks, took some gels, and swapped my shoes. I had been running in my Asics Gel Speedstar5's, and as ususal, right around mile 8 i started to get a pain in the ball of my right foot. I switched to my trusty Adidas something or others, and off I went.

About half a mile from the car, Teri beeped. Confused, I plodded on. The day was warming up, but I decided to keep my clothing the way it was. Long sleeve tech tee topped with an ArcticEase sleeveless tech tee. The same one I am wearing in this photo. Yea, that's me, chatting it up with Gronkowski. Hohum...ahahaha...

 Where was I? Oh! running along the trail. Yea, my mind was all over the place during the run. I was listening to Marathon Talk, specifically the episode with Bart Yasso. It was very entertaining and informative. I got back to the place where Teri first beeped, and of course, no beep. So i went a little farther (further?) along and came to a really nice spot along Mascoma Lake. This reminded me of one of the best reasons to live in New England. (I keep wanting to say "live in Vermont", but the picture was taken in New Hampshire, so....anyway, I decided to keep going and see how I did. I tweeted something like "longest run ever! at 14 miles and the car is at least 5 miles back!" and kept going. I sent Tracey some messages letting her know that I was indeed still alive. Off I went.

The next few miles just rolled along, and before I knew it, I was at 16 miles. Only two miles left to reach my goal!!!! THIS WAS SOOOOO EXCITING....but wait, there's MORE!!! yep. Car was now at least SEVEN miles away....silly, silly math. (This, my readers, is why you need to pay attention in Algebra class!) So I turned around at the 16 mile mark and headed back. Nothing really special happened on the way to the car, except that I ran out of drinks at around mile 21. I musta been a bit delusional, because I kept thinking things like, well, looks like this will be right around 23 miles. why not just keep going until 26.2, just to say that I did it? Luckily I have a lot of common sense, so i stopped when i got to the car. Distance? 23.35 miles in 4:03. The last mile and a half were TOUGH. I'd run 100meters, walk 25 or so, repeat. The heat was getting to me, and my hips were aching.

But I DID IT~! I did my 18 miles, and then some. And i lived. And i felt alive! What a great feeling. Of course, as the day wore on, my legs got a bit stiff, but I wrapped with ArcticEase, took a 30 minute nap with my legs up, and then moved around and stretched all evening until i fell asleep.

And I slept through the night.....

Today, my legs feel great! A little knee soreness, but otherwise they feel great! 2 mile shakout planned for after work, then back into some medium distance tomorrow morning!!

Anyone figure out why Teri didn't beep when I thought she would?

Thanks!

Be Well,

Gene

Trail Run today!

This afternoon i grabbed a buncha water, a liter of NUUN, and my trail shoes and headed out to Hanover, NH, to run along the Appalachian Trail. I usually run on the Vermont side, but today I wanted to shake things up a bit.

I readily found the trail head, nicely tucked behind the soccer practice fields
for Dartmouth College.
(why did blogger mess up my formating???) anyway.....
looking at the woods from the road, the hill is nothing to get excited about. weeeeellllllllll........as soon as the trail ducked into the treeline, it went up. i mean UP. and then up some more. a met two middle aged women on their way down, and they kinda gave me a crazy look (i have that effect on most people). i stopped to catch my breath and debate with myself about heading back down and just doing laps around the soccer field, but i trudged on. the trail mostly looked like this.....i was trying to keep up the old addage "run when you can, walk if you need to, crawl if you have to, but never, never stop". well..... i did stop, and not just to take pictures. i was getting my butt kicked on the ups. downs were find, flats were good, but the ups were mad! one of them has a ROPE with knots tied to a tree so that you can lug yer sorry carcass up. no joke. here's the picture. when i first looked at the picture, it looks FLAT. well....it isn't. on the way back, i had to use it to get down. honest.
anyway, i kept running, thinking that i was making pretty good progress. i checked  in with Teri (Garmin), only to find out that she was on a smoke break not tracking.  anything. she was still back....i dunno where, but NOT with me. when i look at the map she produced, it is if i was teleported along the trail. i HATE IT when this happens. i made sure that she was doing her damned job working properly, and ran along. things were going great, i was drinking at fairly regular intervals, and was able to take in the sights. i never knew that there were so many rocky cliffs 'back there.' if i was still into bouldering, it would be a fantastic place to spend a day. the trail started to level out, and my knees were happy. through the trees i could see a large open area, but couldn't see it very well. the trail turned toward it, and BAM! suddenly there was a wooden walkway going through a marsh. Cat-tails and such were about 8 feet tall. i trusted the bridge, and walked to the other side. once there, i looked at the time, and realized that i really needed to turn around and head back. i hadn't reached my goal, which was the road crossing, but my time hack was up, and i turned around. before i walked back across the walkway, I shot this picture.

All in all a great run. Using the accurate data from the return trip, it was a 6 mile out and back. next time i will leave earlier in the day, and be ready for dem dar hills!

You can call me......

Seve. Or probably not. Either way, in spite of the weather (yes, 'in spite of'...not despite), several hundred friends and relatives of "Colby" got together in Randolph, VT this past Saturday to play a round of golf. The Montague Golf Course is the second oldest course in Vermont. Quite picturesque, actually.
It was pouring rain at 830 while we were all standing around in the club house deliberating actually playing or just opening up the 19th hole a littler early. I don't drink, and since i was passing up a race that i would have done in the rain, i figured, HECK YA, i'll golf in the rain. I didn't bring my wet weather gear, dry socks, and GARMIN for nada.....
We collectively decided to give it a go, picked out carts (don't judge me!), and headed to load our bags onto the carts. In racing vernacular, the start corral looked like this:

I've never used a cart for golfing before, and was instantly intrigued by this bottle thing that was attached to each cart, right behind the heads of the golfers. "How flipping conVEEEnient", i said. Zach, our 12 yo (above, in red coat), asked what I was talking about. I said, "these little urinals are awesome! we need to get some for the truck, no?"

(cue face palm). Zach was like, "man, i am GLAD i am not your partner! those have seed or sand or something in them. if you make a divot, you dump some of this stuff on the spot before moving along." so i said, "you could do the same thing, even if it WAS a urinal!" (cue second face palm). "nope. i feel bad for Uncle Ray. I hear you're paired with him...." and off he went. who knew? sounded like a good idea.

Off we went, starting at the 3rd hole. Poured. got soaked even sitting in the cart. didn't care. at. all.

had some good shots, had some bad shots. didn't embarrass myself, didn't hurt anyone, and managed to have a good time. one of the things about golf that bugs me is the time wasted wondering if the ball you just found is  really yours, or just some random ball left there by someone too lazy to look, or whatevs. Since i am so clever, i eliminated that from my realm of possibilities. i drew a face on each of the 5 balls that i had alloted myself (i returned with the same 5 balls.....). Now i didn't have to remember if i was using a titleist 7000, a nike some such, or a Nimbus 2000. Just had to find a face. Notice the cleverly placed blade of grass? 

Mother Nature has a sense of humor about golf, too. No wonder we get along so well!                                        "Colby" is  a great long ball hitter (whatever the hell that means. it is just fun to say. like fartlek. :D He did well to get us off the tee, we pretty much shared the middle of the fairway, and then Ray brought us home on the green. Below is "Colby" smaking the ball. I am mostly impressed with my timing on the cell phone camera. I think I'll submit this one to Sports Illustrated. HA.

I leave you with a parting shot, looking off toward the 10th green from the 10th teebox. See the outline of the green (the 'fringe')? 3 of us (including yours truly) landed just shy of the fringe. Pretty slick. Like I said, all in all it was a great day. Time spent with family that i don't get to see very often, spending that time outside, melding with the elements. Ah... A good way to spend a Saturday.

Global Warming my A$$ 6.66 mile race report

Oh, SNAP! I was almost done, and then remembered this is s'posed to be in the newspaper column format. Here goes:

Who: Me. Gene. Dad. Sonny Boy. Bonehead.
What: Global Warming my A$$ 6.66 mile race
When: Friday, 12MAR10
Where: Hartford and North Hartland, Vermont, Rte 5 south then north, along the 3cm wide strip of asphalt between the speeding vehicles and certain death in the ditches.
Why: "Because it's there."
How: Painfully, slowly, inch be ever-loving inch. errr...i mean....in my Adidas something or others (am i the ONLY one online who wears Adidas???), Darn Tough socks, EMS microfiber pants, GMARA.org tech shirt, and Brooks running jacket. Oh, and Under Armour hat. Garmin 305. TIME=57:32
whew, that was painful.
on with the show....
As usual (NOT "as PER" usual. man, i HATE that. per=as), i procrastinated trained VERY HARD for this race, and nailed it to the wall. Like Jell-o. Ever tried that? Ever heard that expression? (see, i can even procrastinate with a race report!)
I got to the venue right after work. I had tried to line up my diet to be conducive for an after work run, but then tragedy struck. I ate my salad for lunch, and then ate my yogurt and granola around 2pm, figuring on a nice 2 hour window between eating and running. WELL....then some techs from radiology came around and invited me down to their area to partake in some good eats from a birthday party. Luckily we were short staffed in the ICU and I couldn't leave to join them. "No problem! We'll bring you some shrimp jambalaya!!!) Tragic.
So i ate some. And then ate more. 3 small bowls later, (over the course of about an hour. gimme a break. i am NOT a Dyson. See? procrastinated AGAIN. i RULE!) where was I? oh, right. eating. again.
So now it was about 300. ut-oh. not what i bargained for, and we all know how eating too close to running can effect the run(s). If you are not sure, head on over to Beth's blog and read all about it. Luckily, Mother Nature was in my corner, and things worked out A-OK by 345. I drove to the parking area and got myself all set up with Teri (Garmin). Luckily there was ample parking nearby, and I didn't need to take the shuttle. This is a bonus, actually, because I don't do well sitting amongst strangers. Parking was here, at our new aquatic center. I know. It looks like an abandoned warehouse. Mind you, this multi-million dollar complex is a big thorn in the sides of town residents.

Upper Valley Aquatic Center

I am not quite sure why, but I felt compelled to take a picture of my shoes, socks, and shins. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is that picture. (Parents, please ask young children to leave the room briefly. Thank you.)

 Here is a picture of Teri before the race. Hardly seems nervous at all, does she?
I tried to take pictures during the race, but they didn't come out very good. Must have been my blistering pace that made them all blurry. The Vermont countryside isn't all that picturesque this time of year, anyway. Lots of mud, brown leaves and 'grass', bleck. There is about 3-5cm of asphalt between the white line and the edge of the pavement (budget cuts?), and then about a foot of unstable dirt between the end of the pavement and either the guardrail or a ditch. Let's just say "pucker power" and move along, shall we?
So out and back. I walked for about 20 feet at the 3.5 mile mark, and then again at about 5 miles. I felt REALLY STUPID both times, so i huffed along. Teri screamed at me to slow down more often than to speed up, except on the hills. It was good to hear that, so now I can adjust the pace alarm settings. LOVE IT!

All in all, it was a great race, and a fun idea. One of the best things was the parking, but one of the worst things was the post race feed and massage tent. I must have been REALLLY slow, because by the time i got back to the start/finish area, it had been cleared out. Nothing there but the tumble weeds. And my nuun.

my new toy, and our first run

blog for events on 31JUL09

T convinced me that it would be OK for me to get a Garmin 305, so after some shopping around, i bought one through Amazon.com. Since i saved so much $$ (almost 45%!!!) i had it shipped express, and got it last evening. A quick glance through the instruction book, and then plugged it in to charge overnight. the device only requires 3 hours to charge, but what the heck.

got up this morning, ate a bagel with creamed cheese, drank a cuppa coffee, and got ready to go. of course, as soon as i pulled into the little parking area it began to POUR. i strapped on the HRM, switched my watch to the right, and fastened the 305 to my left wrist. off i went.

the trail shoots up pretty quickly, and soon i could feel my heart trying desperately to pound its way out of my chest. a glance at the 305 read 90bpm.

really. 90. hmmmm....i smell a rat!

turns out that i had the strap too low, and the signal was false. once i fixed that, the heart rate shot right up to around 160-170-180!!! range. ah. sometimes too much information is a BAD thing....

on i ran.

rain, rain, rain.

run, run, run.

passed 6 hikers headed the other way. they were soaked, as was i, but they didn't have smiles on their faces (nor stars upon thars). all had biggie packs that had rain jackets, and wore heavy boots. i was very happy that i had chosen my Adidas for the run. they shed water very quickly, and don't get heavy or soggy when wet. I only walked a few times, and for a short distance. i had adjusted the heart rate upper limit to alarm at 160. i should have kept it at 180 because the flippin thing was CONSTANTLY alarming. (i made that change later, back at the ranch).

when i got to the shelter, the turn-around point for the day, i sucked down an espresso Clif gel-pack-gu-thing, and had a few good chugs of water. my experience with Clif Shots has been mixed. the first time was on the LT with Weeb. No worries what so ever. Felt great afterward. So i tried one again, before an afterwork run last fall. about 5 minutes into the run i began to experience severe abdominal cramps. less than 2 minutes after that i was fertilizing the forest. wow. explosive. because of that experience, i was reluctant to try it again, but though that it would be a good thing to do just the same. i brought along TP in my butt pack, so i should be ok....turns out that it wasn't a problem AT ALL.

on the return trip i didn't bother to try to side step the puddles and the mud. ran right through them. it was a blast, and the backs of my legs were covered. joy! i managed to catch and re-pass 3 hikers. the trail had become a river of mud with scattered rocks, roots, and puddles. lets say that it took 3 days for my shoes, packed with newspaper, to dry out.

all in all a great run. one thing of note, though, is that my nipples were killing me. i didn't realize it until i was in the shower, using my scrubbie (the blue one with the knot!) that i realized that they were flippin' ON FIRE! i need lamisil (sp?) NOW. but we don't have any. the pain subsided, but then came back. oh well. i think that i will use my brown under-armor shirt under my running shirt next time, and see how that goes.

alright. enough for now. thank you for tuning in.

and a HUGE thank you to T for letting me and encouraging me to do this. I love ya, babe! +1, me