2013 Flower City Half Marathon Race Report!

   My thoughts on today's running of the Flower City Half Marathon are summed up nicely in this recent quote that I found from all places, in a Gatorade ad: "There is a moment in every race. A moment where you can either quit, fold, or say to yourself, 'I can do this.'" 

   Since this is my 1st official race report for my blog, let's get moving because the gun's gone off, the clock's ticking and this is going to be a long one! I've run this particular race three times now and usually it's not a very warm one. But, today the Running Gods smiled down onto our small little upstate NY town and blessed us with some of the most incredible race weather I've ever seen. I've read a lot of material related to running distance and somewhere I read that the experts have calculated the optimal running temperature for a 26.2 to be 53 degrees. Going with that premise it should apply to 13.1's too. The temperature this morning when I started my truck to get it warm for the drive into the city was in the mid 40's. Which wasn't that bad. Even after all this time and using a cool little iphone app that's made for idiots like me to tell them what to wear for certain conditions when running, I still manage to screw it up! Last year's race was much cooler and I made the mistake of wearing what I thought was a light jacket and suffered with sweating after the sun rose. So, I'll take the mid 40's because that meant it'll warm up to the mid 50's and that I could just go with a technical short sleeve tee, shorts and running cap. By the end of the race though, I was ready to rip it all off. Apparently that extra degrees over 52 is NOT a good thing!

   I had a wicked stomach flu about three days out from the race. Thankfully it happened that far out and only lasted a little more than 24 hours! There's absolutely no possible way that I could've run with that. But, even with being that far out it still screwed up my ability to load up on carbohydrates before the race. I've had some success with carbo loading and love to eat. So, on the day before the race I tried using a favorite author's formula and attempted to eat over 700  grams of carbohydrates based on my body weight. Now, let me tell you, I was a little fat kid growing up and I can still pack it away. I love food! But, I just couldn't do it man! I never thought that I'd say that I was sick and tired of eating and drinking water. I managed about 550 grams. That would have to do! 

   I ate a bagel and drank some coffee as my truck warmed up. You'd think that I wouldn't still get the nervous jitters before a race. But my nerves went CRAZY! Part of it was my own doing of course. Looking at my splits after smashing my previous half marathon time last year by more than seven minutes made me wonder how the hell I could improve on that? When you run distance you can call it a big win when you break those PR's by seconds, not seven whole minutes! I was doubtful I could improve on that. I calmed myself and got out on the road. I needed to get away from my running log and a bathroom. I was nervously peeing like a pregnant woman! 

   I surprisingly drove slow but blasted my feel good "I'm going to kick ass today" race metal as usual. One of the reasons I love this race is because it starts right next to the jail that I work at. Which means I already have a parking pass at the nearest garage and can deftly maneuver around the long car lines of runners paying at the entrance. If looks could kill when I drove up I'd would've been dead like 10 times over! Another benefit was that I could hop into the sheriff's department locker room to, you guessed it, pee like a pregnant woman again! Funny the looks I got from the midnight deputies as they changed to go home!

   Got back to the truck, did one last equipment check and was off. Over the years I've come to realize that I have a little OCD. I need things my way, especially when I race. My very 1st marathon taught me to NEVER trust the provided hydration and fuel options. I'm one of the lucky runners who can down just about any type of hydration or fuel product without stomach issues. But, during my first marathon I didn't bring anything because the course write up proclaimed that there would be Gatorade every two miles and gel fuel every seven. I thought why carry it if I don't have to. Well, all I can say is that I never want to run 26.2 miles EVER again with just water and a single cherry popsicle. By the time I got to the Gatorade stations, all they had was water. The gels disappeared just as quickly before I got to them. I did it but I was so hungry and delirious at the finish line, I could've ate dirt! So, now I wear a belt with my own fluid and fuel replacement. I look completely like batman. But it ensures that I have all that I need. I also have nice little pouches for car keys, my ipod and iphone. Everything was accounted for!

   The starting line area was mobbed! Over 2500 runners ran the half and it's just an amazing feeling to be standing there with that many fellow runners. You can feel the energy in the air! So much hope. So much potential. I walked around a little. Took some pics to to post on FB. 

 The start!

 The Blue Cross Arena (But, if you're a true Rochesterarian, then it'll always be known as the War Memorial)!

 Nice view from the Broad St. bridge overlooking the Genesee River!

   I Then lined up between the 1:30 and 1:45 pace groups. I love to size up the competition at the start line. But it always seems like they all look way fitter than I do! The race director paid tribute to Boston, the national anthem was sung and ipods and GPS watches came to life! I managed to snap one pic as the gun went off. 

  

     

I love running shoes!

   I was really jonesing to break that amazing record of last year. So, I knew that I needed to hit a a mile pace faster than 8:03. I remember saying to myself last year that I was just going to push hard until the halfway mark and then throttle back. I decided to go with that plan again this year. First split was 7:46. Perfect because I wanted to try to get a little warmed up before I really started to hit it and it was faster than 8:03. After that I don't know what the hell happened? The following splits were 7:23, 7:24, 7:23, 7:21 and 7:29! Now, you gotta understand, even with all the training and weight loss I still don't consider myself a very fast runner. I still see myself as that little fat kid. But damn! I clocked those miles faster than what I do my God awful weekly speedwork at! I still don't believe them! I didn't think I could move that fast! After that the damn hills started. My training has been really solid this year and made more so by running the main road that my house is off of. It's hilly as hell. Hills suck big time. But without them I don't think I would've been able to keep moving through the race's. Even with the hill training, my splits suffered at 7:59, 8:20, 7:36 and 8:00. It's beautiful to run through Mt. Hope Cemetery where Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas are buried. But after the winding hills and running up an ancient and uneven cobblestone road I was ready to lay down in a fresh grave myself! Around this point I came to a untimely late conclusion with regards to my hydration and fuel. Something that I never considered until nine miles into a half marathon. With my increased weight loss I never recalculated the required amounts based on my new size. I felt like a puffer fish downing fluid and fuel for a 180 lbs. runner that doesn't exist anymore. Going to have to get that figured out before this year's marathon! I was thankful to get out of the cemetery and head back towards the city. Finally, some downhills! Then I got a disturbing twinge in my right hamstring. On and off I've had trouble with leg cramping during distance races. I've yet to get it locked down. The only thing that seems to help are Endurolytes, a salt tablet made by the Hammer Products who also makes my hydration fluid and fuel. I wasn't even close to being dehydrated. I felt like I had to pee the entire race. But I was desperate to get rid of the cramping before it got worse and grinded me to a halt. I popped two and hopped for the best. The following miles were a battle. It had gotten pretty warm with no clouds in the sky and full sun. I honestly don't know how I hang on. I almost stopped. 7:45 was still good. But I knew the last two were going to be challenging. I switched my Garmin GPS watch over from the time and mile pace screen to one displaying my goal pace versus my current as two running stick figures. I was about two minutes ahead of my goal beating my old PR. It was going to be close. I heard that voice screaming at me to walk, stop, give up. I was hot and sweaty, I was still slightly cramping but now in both legs, my legs were burning, I couldn't even think about how I was going to run another 2.1 miles! But, like the quote says "I can do this!" I put my head down, gritted my teeth and willed myself to run. Final two miles 8:06 and 8:14. I rounded that last corner 0.1 miles away from the finish line and looked at my Garmin. Unless I fell down and died right there, I was going to do it. Funny how two miles ago I was doubtful that I could finish and now I look down and my legs began to come back from the dead. I glanced to my right and saw a young "fitter" looking woman starting to outpace me for the finish. Maybe someday sweetheart, but TODAY is NOT that day. I gave it all I got and ran that last small section at a  7:03 mile pace speed, my fastest in the entire race. I had somehow done the impossible AGAIN! 

   I once read that typical amatuer runners peak after seven years. How depressing! Only good seven years of PR's? I know that someday the clock won't favor me with faster times anymore. Maybe then I'll have to reconsider what I deem to be successful in a race. But for today, it was nice to NOT be a typical runner who peaked five years ago. 

   I walked around the arena in a glowing daze. I downed some water. God, that was some great tasting water! Walked into the recovery zone and received a free five minute well deserved chair massage. Posted a emotionally filled post and victory pic on FB.

  I went back outside, sat down on some steps near the finish line and enjoyed watching other runners finish their races. The sun shined down on my face, I thought about what an amazing journey and transformation running has been for me and read the many congratulations from friends not there posted on FB. Thank you. I had to quickly wipe a tear or two away as coworkers somehow found my finish line sun tanning spot and came up to congratulate me.

   Another race down, another PR, numerous lessons learned and much enjoyment. To search within yourself for a strength that you never thought possible when faced with what seem insurmountable challenges is what this amazing sport is all about. Those challenges come in many forms during life. But there's always only two answers to  those challenges: you can quit, fold or you can DO THIS! If a once little fat kid can do this, then you can too. Run for your lives my friends....   

Boston, The Dreaded Taper & My Chiropractor...

   Last week was a tough one for us runners. The events of the Boston Marathon bombings, as they've been come to be known, have changed the face of our sport forever. It was our worst nightmare. Our version of 9-11. 

   I must admit that I was a little surprised at the texts, calls and posts on Facebook asking if I was safe. If I was running Boston. If I was Ok. Never thought I would say that I was fortunate to not be running Boston. Thank you everybody for your concern.

   As a runner I felt so much despair for the runners and spectators who were either killed or injured during the bombing. I just couldn't take my eyes off the videos or news broadcasts covering the event. I watched in horror again and again as the bombs went off. As some of you know, qualifying for Boston is an extremely difficult accomplishment. Some runners have trained two years or more to get the chance to run. Boston is the pinnacle of our sport. Some of the runners were fast enough to finish before the bombs went off. Only to have the joy of their race overshadowed by the tragic events. Some of the runners were still on the course when the bombs went off. They were forced off the course. Told that they wouldn't be able to finish their race. Their dream was over. It's been difficult wading through the Facebook running community's comments, pictures and posts. It's been difficult listening to the first hand accounts on our running podcasts.     

   As a member of the law enforcement community I watched throughout the week in interest as the Boston PD and FBI chased down the final suspect. In a way the bombers picked their target quite well. I haven't been fortunate enough to run Boston yet. But if the crowds were anything like the NYC marathon that I've run twice, then people were packed five or more deep on either side of the finish line. Perfect, organized targets. But the bombers were naive in their selection too. I don't think they realized how much video and photographs are taken at an event like Boston. Thankfully they didn't remain hidden for long. Boston's law enforcement and the FBI were not going to let these cowards escape. They did their job well and eventually managed to capture the lone surviving bomber as he lay wounded in a boat. I cheered when I heard the news. No more casualties. No more fellow officers fallen in the line of duty or innocents killed. 

   As a community we, mourned. But we are a different breed us runners. We continue on where most would simply sit down and give up. We endure. We run on. I along with many of you didn't let this single event define our sport. We got up and ran all week for Boston. Some of us wore race shirts, running shoes to work and posted pictures on Facebook of groups of runners that were Boston marathoners for a day. I was so overcome with emotion and have never felt more proud to call myself a runner. The week moves on and so will we. People will try to search for answers why. There are no answers why for an act like this. 

   This event hasn't struck fear into our hearts. It has united a nation behind the city of Boston. It has strengthened the bonds of our running community. It will even motivate people to get out there on the roads to discover the joy of running. Cowards, you have failed. 

   It was a hell of a week. But life continues. On Sunday I ran eight miles which was my last long run before the Flower City Half Marathon this Sunday. I'm now fully into the dreaded taper. If you want to make a distance runner cranky, then tell him he needs to rest and then cut his mileage down. After doing this for so long you'd think that I'd get used to the idea of the taper. But each time I go through one, I go freaking stir crazy. Self doubts begin to creep into my brain. Did I train hard enough? Did I run enough? Did I do enough cross-training? Enough stretching? But there's nothing I could do this week to make any drastic improvements to help me during my race. So, today I ran six miles easy. By midweek I plan on just doing a couple of miles to keep the project going and to stay loose. I'll be thoroughly chomping at the bit come Sunday morning. I'm really nervous about this race. Last year's race was amazing and I would love to be able to break that 8:00 mile PR pace. But I don't honestly know if I can. I'm about five pounds lighter than last year. Maybe that'll give me the extra edge that I need. Picked up my race bib and shirt today. Stocked up on some Heed electrolyte drink and Hammer gels. The nice girl at the running store even managed to find me some espresso flavored ones with caffeine in the back room! PR or not, I will enjoy the hell out of that race. 

   Went to see a chiropractor for the first time today. I've been having this nagging lower back pain for about six months now. Some of the runners at my gym recommended that I give this guy a try. He's even a triathlete and knows his stuff. I've always been a little dubious about chiropractors. But I need to resolve this issue. He was really great! I liked his approach and he's confident that we can resolve my issues within a week or little more! Sometimes it's good to go out there and try something different! 

   With all the added rest time this week I plan on doing some spring cleaning to keep my mind off not running. The warmer weather is finally starting to arrive! You may even get a few bonus 366 posts! I hope that life finds you hopeful, happy and Boston Strong my friends! Run for your lives...

A Shirt To Honor Boston...

   As I read the news stories and watch the homemade videos of the horror in Boston today I experience waves of disgust, hate and sadness for such a cowardly and senseless act. I know that my viewpoint is skewed, but as a group runners are some of the finest people that I've ever known. We accept each other regardless of race, religion, skin color, sexual orientation, nationality, age, size or running ability. During races elites tow the starting line with amateurs. We run for charities, we run to better ourselves, we run to be positive role models in our communities. We encourage everyone to not settle for the couch and a life full of obesity, health problems and early death. We tirelessly train through rain, sleet and snow while others look on, shake their heads and mutter how we're crazy but think (Damn, wish I could do that!) We take stairs instead of elevators, pass on the morning doughnut and are the envy of people who wished that they could look that good after running "just" 10 miles. 

   The other night during dinner my eight year old son and I were talking about running. He said that I was the toughest man that he knew because I could run marathons. It's time for all of us to be tough and do what we do best tomorrow, put one foot in front of the other and push on, keep training, keep being positive influences, keep being runners. The injured will be treated, the dead laid to rest, the investigation will continue and Boston will get her justice in time. Apparently there's a social media movement in motion to show support for Boston tomorrow by wearing a race shirt. Now is not the time for hate, anger or retribution. It's time to put on a shirt...

100 Days Down...

   If you would've asked me last year if I thought that I could run non-stop for 100 days I would've said absolutely not and then asked you why would anyone EVER do something that stupid. Well, today is day 100 in the project and so far I've run over 492 miles. Pretty freakin cool! Am I crazy? Maybe. What have I learned so far in this journey? 

   I've always know that running is the kind of activity that can only be fully experienced outside. Not on a treadmill. This year I've done much more running outside than ever before. Through snow, sleet and rain I've been out there hitting the roads. I've done some running on the gym's treadmills too. But I far enjoy those miles more when I'm outside. I've also learned that when you live near a lake, that trying to decide what to wear for your run can be a challenge. That big old body of water can drop the overall air temperature quite a bit. I had to even call for rescue one run to avoid frostbitten fingers! Who ever said running isn't a dangerous sport obviously has never been four miles out from their house with no feeling in their hands. 

   Over 11 years I've really come to love the sport of long distance running. It's just an amazing feeling to be out there and run distances from 5K to marathon in length. I've never considered myself much of a sprinter. But with adding that one mile run on my Sunday's to keep the project going I've discovered that sprinting is a lot of fun too. I always start out those mile runs telling myself to keep it steady, slow and easy. But then a good song rotates into the playlist, the sun peeks through the clouds and I find myself running like a little kid! When's the last time you ran fast to feel the wind whip through your hair, your heart beating, your legs pumping? Try it sometime. You'll forget what's bothering you by the second minute. 

   My son told me that he wanted to start running this year with me. He's like most little eight year old boys. Loves to play video games. Sometimes too much. He's tried lacrosse and wrestling. But he didn't enjoy either. So, I'm hoping that this "running phase" may stick. We haven't been able to get out there much because the weather is still too cold for him. But the last run we did was on the trail near my house. It was just plain amazing to be running alongside him. Most distance runners go on their journey alone. Most times it's challenging to run with a partner. Your paces don't always match, your fitness levels are different and sometimes you just don't want to talk. But as I go out on these runs with him I'm discovering that it's a great time to get inside his head. See the world through his eyes. To have those conversations that aren't just filler. He's quickly becoming my favorite running partner. Running with a partner isn't so bad. 

   After running this much this long I'm starting to realize even more than ever how important my diet is. The old adage of you are what you eat is so true. When I eat like garbage, drink a little too much alcohol or eat too many sweets I find myself suffering for it during my run the next day. It's depressing to think that I was ten pounds lighter before my marathon last year. But I'm determined to get back to my racing weight through a good healthy diet. 

   I thought that running an extra day a week would be a piece of cake for me. I'm a runner. It's what I do. It's only a mile right? Wrong. I may be a runner. I may enjoy the hell out of it. But it does affect your body. So far this year I've experienced some nagging anterior ankle pain and have now developed a severe muscle strain in both, yeah freakin both of my glute muscles. What a pain in the ass, literally! I'm going to make an appointment with a chiropractor this week to see if they can do anything. I've been putting in my stretching time like a champ. I've discovered that I'm in love with my wife's foam roller. Shhh, don't tell her. Running isn't bad for you. But it does require some preventive maintenance. You have to stretch, drink water and maybe research some alternative solutions to ensure your body is there for you when you need it. I'm a huge proponent of Glucosamine, Chondroitin and fish oil. The tart cherry juice has made it into the rotation as well. It definitely has helped with some of my overall soreness and the Melatonin naturally found in cherries is helping to get the best sleep I've had in awhile. 

   One of the reasons that I started this project was to give myself a new and different physical challenge. I also started it because I wanted to be a part of the run-net community through this blog. I was really nervous at first. But after some encouragement from friends I got up and blogging. I've come to really enjoy writing about my running, my life, this journey. I'm always surprised when someone comments on one of my blogs. Why would anyone want to read about my life? My running? I honestly have no clue. If I can encourage even just one person to get off the couch and rediscover something that their body was made to do. Then I'd call that a huge win! 

   If you follow me on Facebook then you know that this week I made a decision. I needed to change some things with my plan for my Fall marathon. I was originally planning on trying to cut my mile pace time by 30 seconds. Since January I've been running a lot of fast miles, lifting heavy on my cross-training days and frankly pushing way too hard. Oh yeah, and running everyday. It's started to become not fun. So this week I decided to lighten the weights and slow the pace. My obsession with running fast is a trait that many runners share. You always want to do it faster, keep beating your personal records and outrun your old self. My eagerness to get faster blinded me to that fact that I was doing too much. All I needed was one good day a week run at goal pace. Not all my mileage. All I needed was to build up a steady endurance that'll carry me through 26.2 miles. Not get super strong in a short time. What do you know, even seasoned runners can get a little ahead of themselves and do stupid things. Thankfully this week I realized that.

   There will come a day when the PR's do stop. There will come a day when I can no longer run the distances that I do today. There will come a day when my mile splits will have two digits in them. But my friends, today is not that day. One of the most incredible things about running is that essentially it all comes down to putting one foot in front of the other. I'm not giving up on running this year's marathon 30 seconds per mile faster. I'm still going to train hard. But I'm going to build on the amazing gains of last year and train smarter. Not destroy myself everyday and become miserable. What's this project about? It's about just putting one foot in front of the other. That's what it's really about isn't it? The time doesn't matter. The experience does. I'm not someone who's very good at living in the moment. But I'm trying, one foot at a time. As always, thank you for reading. Run for your lives my friends... 

Let's Catch Up...

   Well my friends another week in the books. Hope everybody's Easter was nice. I had to work on Easter Sunday. So we had the family over on Saturday to celebrate. It was a beautiful day. But after a very emotional week and running a half marathon distance in honor of my friend's son that morning, I was just plain exhausted. The run was one of the most memorable in my life and I'd do it again. But it just plain kicked my ass. Which, was really disappointing after having a great half marathon distance run the previous Saturday. After falling asleep on the living room floor for a little while after dinner, and snoring apparently at the top of my lungs, I was able to enjoy the rest of the day. When you start running distance you soon realize that some runs are better than others for a variety of reasons. But one thing that I notice is that I always feel better after a run. Even after the ugly ones.
   The rest of the week went pretty good. I've now got a little less than a month left before the Flower City Half Marathon. So I decided to tighten up the diet a little bit. No more extra servings, not as much of the sweet stuff and less alcohol. I've been doing good with my diet so far.
   On a side note my allergies have flared up again this year and I started taking the generic form of Alegra D. I had to take it daily for the first time last year and my suspicions were confirmed this week. Something in the medicine suppresses my appetite like crazy. Which I guess if I have to take it isn't such a terrible side effect.
   I also decided this week to try to start increasing my mile pace for the majority of my mileage to my new marathon goal pace of 8:30. I successfully did this last year changing my standard pace from a 10:00 mile to a 9:00. It was hard as hell to do. But I think that without doing that I would've never clocked a sub four hour marathon for 2012. I've only changed about two miles out of my routine and it's already hard. Hopefully I can keep the momentum rolling and make it so that I'm more comfortable with it by September.
   The weather here in upstate NY seems to finally be changing to something resembling spring. Today there were light clouds in the sky and brilliant sunshine. It looked really spring-like, until you stepped out the door. The winds were gusty and with the wind chill the temperature was a very non-spring-like 16 degrees. The weatherman said this was going to be one of the last, if not the last cold day for a long time. I didn't feel like becoming a popsicle for my planned six miler. So I opted to try the Hojack Trail near my home. I haven't run on it for a long time due to heavy ice and snow. Most everything is melted now so I decided to give it a try.
   After a really hard cross-training workout yesterday I found that I was really sore and tight for the first mile. The tree cover also played havoc with my GPS putting my pace all over the place. But after that first mile everything settled down. I stopped every now and then to snap a pic. The trail was in really good shape and deserted. It was just what I needed today. I found myself having to slow down quite a bit. The legs wanted to run at the new goal pace. Slow and easy Mark. Not a speedwork day! Three miles out I turned around to head home. The trees didn't block as much of the lake wind as I would've liked. But overall it was a great run through the woods.
   Hope your week is moving along well. Hope you're making positive changes in your life to improve who you are. Spring is coming. Warmer weather. Perfect weather to run for your lives my friends...

Loved the sun poking through the trees!

Hopefully my future pics won't have winter weather gear!