Tomorrow I am racing in the HAT 50k in Havre de Grace Maryland. I had the pleasure of running this race last year for the first time and am excited to be returning this year. In addition to trying to put forth a solid effort and better my time, I will be running in honor of a friend of mine. Tammy, A co-worker and friend, was recently diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML).
I was talking to Tammy a week or two ago about her training and upcoming races, only to hear a few short days later of her diagnosis. Hearing news like this really helps put into perspective how lucky each and everyone of us is and how fragile and special life is.
If there’s anyone I know who’s got the best chance of beating something like this, it’s definitely Tammy. As true with most runners and athletes, despite being a bit hard-headed, we’re fighters. We do what we love and part of that is the competition and the challenge. Hell, if running marathons and ultra-marathons was easy, wouldn’t everybody be doing it? (ha). Around mile 20 into a race, just as you start to get fatigued and start questioning why the hell you thought it would be a good idea to run a race, something clicks and you dig-down to fight off the demons telling you to stop running; “Hey Idiot, you can stop running anytime. It will all be over, why continue to put yourself through this.” But, you push through that and fight your way to the finish. Tomorrow, I won’t be running just for myself. Instead, I’m dedicating this race to Tammy and all those who are pushing through in a much more difficult race. When I inevitably begin to feel tired, and my legs hurt, and I want to slow or stop, I’m going go think of Tammy and how much she would give to be out there running with me if she could. I’m going to embrace the pain around mile 20 because so many others out there would give anything to be in my shoes. So, this one’s for you Tammy. Keep kickin’ ass, keep your spirits high, and never give up! You’ll be back on your feet and on the trails and sailing in no time.
To all those battling cancer or sickness, here’s to you! Keep on fighting like hell, don’t ever give up, and once you get to the finish line, the beer will taste so much better!
Follow Tammy’s journey in her fight with Leukemia on her blog The Road Less Traveled and drop in to provide some words of encouragement.
Samuel Adams Boston Lager was first launched on Patriots day, which coincides with the Boston Marathon, 27 years ago in 1985. In celebration of The Boston Beer Companies 28th Anniversary release of Boston Lager, they teamed up with the Boston Athletic Association to produce Samuel Adams Boston 26.2 Brew.
This beer is going to be a special beer exclusive to the Boston area for the week or so leading up to the marathon. Sam Adams describes the beer as being, “…fitting for both runners and spectators on race day, because it is a lighter body beer with a slightly lower alcohol level than many of the other beers in the Samuel Adams line-up.” 26.2 Brew is going to be brewed with coriander and salt, an American take on the German Gose style perhaps?
As the majority of runners know, beer is king and nothing beats a post-run beer! Therefore, what better way to celebrate the accomplishment of qualifying and running in the Boston Marathon, than by kicking back a few 26.2 Brews after the big day? Although, I am not running the marathon this year, a number of friends from RVRR will be and I plan on getting my hands on some of this beer to try.
What are your thoughts on the BAA’s collaboration with Sam Adams?
The Philadelphia marathon has a special place in my heart, as this was my first marathon back in 2008. At that time, little did I know that I would be back three years later shaving 30 minutes of my time with a new PR (2:53:13)!
I’ve trained fairly consistently over those three years, run two additional marathons (NJ and Boston), and run a total of 9 ultras (7x50k, 2x50mi).
Sept 2010: 132mi
Oct 2010: 150mi (Mountain Madness 50k)
Nov 2010: 153mi
Dec 2010: 63mi
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Jan 2011: 157mi (Watchung Winter 50k)
Feb 2011: 203mi
March 2011: 243mi (Hat 50k)
April 2011: 249mi
May 2011: 270mi
June 2011: 192mi
July 2011: 221mi
August 2011: 258mi (Mahlon Mayhem 50k)
Sept: 215mi (VT 50)
Oct: 169.2 mi (Mountain Madness 50k)
Coming off Boston in April 2010 and my first 50miler in May 2010, my mileage dropped a bit to recover. However since September 2010, my monthly mileage has almost exclusively been 150+ miles, with the bulk of the months well over 200 miles per month. While this may seem pretty impressive to the average runner, it is by no means even a fraction of what the “sub-elite”, faster runners are logging. However, a large difference in most faster runners training and mine is that I do not follow any training plan. In fact, I don’t plan any workouts, long runs, etc. Instead, I run by how I feel, what the weathers like, what obligations I have to fulfill, etc. This training works for me, however, I definitely believe a bit of structure would be beneficial for my training. I could really use more direction in my workouts and a bit more honesty in keeping my easy runs, well easy.
Mile 25
Leading up to the marathon, I had the confidence of a solid base of training and several huge ultra PRs, but lacked the confidence of running fast on the road for almost 3 hours. I had done very little race specific training and nearly no long road runs. Aside from one tempo workout at the end of October (6x1mi at 1/2 marathon pace with 0.5mi recovery) for a total of 14 miles, my next longest road run was 15 miles back in late August. This is just how my schedule played out with a few ultras and recoveries mixed in. Being realistic with my training, or lack thereof, I set a stretch goal of 2:50 if everything went perfect and I felt amazing. My realistic goal which would still be a 5 minute PR, was 2:55. I was confident I could go under the 3hr mark, but was not sure by how much. My race day plan was to keep it controlled early on but try and loop in with a group and see what I had in me. I wanted to run ~6:29-6:35/mile for the first half of the race, try and hold/speed up a bit to the 20 mile mark and then push and run a fast 10k to the finish. I ran a pretty even race, with perfect execution (not bad for winging it)! I came through the half in 1:26 (6:35 pace) and went through the 30k in 2:03 (6:38 pace) and finished in 2:53:13 with an overall pace of 6:36 meaning I was able to make up a bit of time on the last 10k. Although I was able to negative split late in the race, these were by far the toughest miles. I felt relatively relaxed and easy throughout the first 18 or so miles, trying to keep smooth knowing I wanted to push the last 10k. Quite unlike my first marathon when the last 10k and more specifically last mile, seemed to fly by, these last miles felt quite long. I didn’t really hit the infamous “wall”, but I was definitely working to keep up my pace.
Post race with my buddy Lindsay
Having tweaked my nutrition over my last several ultras, I’ve become used to eating every 30 minutes and planned to stick in the ballpark. Even though I would be on my feet much shorter than in an ultra, I knew running quicker would burn up calories pretty quick. I took 1 gel thirty minutes before the start and then took 5 gels over the course of the race, taking one with water just about every 30-35 minutes. I also took beer at both stations around miles 19 and 22!
Overall, I’m super stoked with my result and new PR. Muscularly I’m much more sore than in previous marathons and ultras, partly I believe, because I did very few road long runs. My longest road run being ~15 miles a few weeks before the marathon, so I think while I was fit, my muscles were not used to the pounding on the roads. Taking all of this into account, I know that with a bit of focus, more specific training (long runs, tempo, hills, and marathon pace) I can go sub 2:50.
With that being said, I entered my name into the hat for 2012 Western States 100 lottery. The lottery drawing is December 10th, so I’ll be waiting until then to determine my training path forward. If my name is selected (~1-5% chance), I’ll spend the next 6 months figuring out how to train for my first 100miler. If my name is not selected, I may ramp my training back up and see about running a spring marathon and finding an alternate 100miler to run this upcoming summer or fall.
Also, big thanks to my amazing friends and all the support from everyone in RVRR. It was amazing hearing you guys cheer me through the race. One couldn’t ask for a better running club and support crew!
In celebration of American Craft Beer Week I decided to celebrate (in addition to enjoying delicious craft beers) by writing about what Craft Beer means to me.
I’m sitting at my computer on the 1 year anniversary of my marathon PR (3:00:32) at the Boston Marathon, while the marathon world record was “broken” at today’s 2011 Boston Marathon by Geoffrey Mutai in 2:03:02.
I’ve been drafting this post for quite some time and it’s kind of funny because after all the miles and races, the ups and downs; I haven’t ever really contemplated why I run, I just do! I don’t have to ask myself everyday why I’m going out for another run, or heading out the door when it’s snowing or 100 degrees and humid, it’s just part of who I am and what I do.
I recently read Tony Krupicka’s Running Times article which inspired me to attempt to answer a question I’ve been asked probably hundreds of times, why do I run?
This question may seem pretty straight forward to the non-runner and one might expect a quick, simple response. However for those of you who run, you know that truly answering this question is much more difficult than it may first appear. People run for a variety of reasons be it to stay in shape, lose weight, socialize with friends, blow off steam etc. and while many of these are part of the big picture of why I continue to run, essentially, they are not the underlying factor that motivates me to run every day.
Over the years I have participated in a variety of sports (soccer, cycling, tennis, rowing) none of which have satisfied my desire for physical activity. While I thoroughly enjoy(ed) all of these activities, they were never completely fulfilling. I originally started running during the summer of my sophomore year in high school because my girlfriend at the time was a runner. After our relationship ended, running became an outlet for me, a way to ease the heart break of losing your first ‘love’. I was convinced into joining my high school cross country team during my junior year and instantly connected with the team and my coach. My experience with running over the last few years confirmed what I learned during two years running high school cross country; runners are some of the most compassionate, dedicated, funny, quirky, motivated, and all around wonderful people you will ever have the pleasure of meeting.
Running has led me to some of my most memorable moments and has helped me meet some of my closest friends. Every run is a new adventure, everyday is another brick in the wall, another piece to the puzzle. I love the daily challenge, the feeling of an elevated heart rate, and a satisfying sweat dripping workout. I love the satisfaction from a solid effort run and the fatigue that comes with it. I love setting, meeting and hopefully surpassing the goals I set for myself whether that be completing a certain workout, hitting a specific number of miles in a week, setting a new PR, or running a distance I have yet to run. Simply put, I love the way running makes me feel.
Anton describes his 180+ mile weeks, near daily summits of Green Mt., “Running as much as I do is a lifestyle, and racing with others is a celebration of that lifestyle, a public and collaborative expression of the thousands of hours spent honing a specific craft and art. Without the consistency and discipline of my daily running ritual, however, these depths would never be accessible, so in the mundane habit is where the true work is done.”
I started running ultra-marathons for the challenge, the uncertainty of not knowing whether you could complete the distance. Plus the camaraderie among the other runners and the solitude on the trails is like nothing I have ever experienced before. The amount of satisfaction and the sense of accomplishment you feel after running for over 12 hours is indescribable.
I run to get away from my problems, but more importantly to find solutions and answers for them. Running is a vehicle for inner exploration, a path to a better me and at the very least, a fitter me. When is the last time you can honestly say that you set a goal for yourself and actually worked hard for it and completed it? Runners do this almost every day, with every run, each workout, we can almost feel ourselves getting that much closer to whatever goal we have. Running provides us with a sense of great accomplishment every day.
I run because the more I run, the more beer I can drink.
I run because it makes me feel alive, and connected the world.
I run, because that’s who I am, I am a runner!
Roger Hart has a truly great post appropriately named “Runners” over at Lean Bean Running Machine that i strongly suggest you read. In describing his running career with some of his closest friends he goes on to say that,
“We ran because it beat collecting stamps, because we were running towards something, because we were running away, because we were all legs, lungs and heart, because we were afraid of who or what might catch us if we stopped.”
I feel like this fairly sums up everything I’ve been trying to say.
Roger adds, “And what did we learn from running seventy-thousand miles and hundreds of races, being the first to cross the finish line and once or twice not crossing it at all, those runs on icy roads in winter storms and those cool fall mornings when the air was ripe with the smell of grapes, our feet softly ticking against the pavement? We learned we were alive and it felt good. God, it felt so good.”
So I ask you, what have you done to challenge yourself today?
It’s pretty interesting to step back and think about the origins of the IPA. In the last decade or so the American IPA has really become the forerunner in the IPA category of beers here in the States. Burton Bridge’s Empire IPA was probably the first true commercial English IPA that I have tried, which is . . . → Read More: Burton Bridges – Empire IPA Review
This year I finally picked up the much talked about Nugget Nectar from Troegs Brewing Company (Harrisburg, PA) for myself to try. In years past I bought this beer for my hop loving friends but never actually tried it myself. As I continue to broaden my beer horizons, I find myself liking more and more beer . . . → Read More: Troeg’s Nugget Nectar Review
I recently was lucky enough to visit the Stoudt’s Brewery in Adamstown, PA for a second time (I mentioned Downingtown in the video which is where Victory Brewing is located as I was there earlier in the day). My first trip to the brewery was somewhat unplanned as a friend and I were driving out to . . . → Read More: Stoudt’s Brewers Reserve 2X Chocolate Porter
In this episode I review an Oak Aged Imperial Pumpkin Stout courtesy of Harvest Moon’s (New Brunswick, NJ) head brewer, Kyle McDonald. For a more in depth look into Harvest Moon and the man behind the beers, check out Whosisbrew’s interview with Kyle.
During Part II of our Mardi Gras party 2011, we try a 15th Anniversary Barley Wine from one of New Jersey’s oldest Craft Brewery’s, Climax Brewery (Roselle Park, NJ).
This Barley Wine remains true to style yet is still quite drinkable even with its 10.5% ABV. This beer would be great to lay down and could . . . → Read More: Climax 15th Anniversary Barley Wine
Tomorrow I am racing in the HAT 50k in Havre de Grace Maryland. I had the pleasure of running this race last year for the first time and am excited to be returning this year. In addition to trying to put forth a solid effort and better my time, I will be running in honor of a friend of mine. Tammy, A co-worker and friend, was recently diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). 
