White Tail Trail Half

This race is a keeper. The race is very well organized, a large crowd of runners and supporters, and a really cool course that snakes around Caesars Creek Lake. The first half of the course is pretty flat with great scenery and a mix of surfaces. I suspect this is what attracted a larger than normal group of people that looked like road runners looking for a new challenge. The number of runners that carefully fold their bib's into postage stamp size artwork then pin them to their shorts, numbered less than 20%. (a trail runner thing) It looked like a really young crowd compared to other trail races I have done which is great!

A few buses took turns shuttling runners from the eventual finish area to the start line. Wow, do kids really inhale those "bus fumes" every day? No wonder our math scores are low.  

Although a chip timed race, the start is w/o a mat so everybody gets the same start time. So I started up front (again) to preserve precious seconds and I frankly enjoy feeling like an elite runner for a few minutes. The first mile or so is uphill on a road and I averaged under a 6 pace with a 5:35 max, whee! Into the woods we go and I'm still in the top 30 or so. The drama begins.

The first decent was a bit technical and with the front runners, pretty fast. I caught a toe, went flying, rolled and popped back up not even loosing a place. It must have looked like I practiced this but those around me kept asking if I was ok. hmmmm Then I noticed my hand felt wet and started to hurt a bit like a typical fall.

5 stitches and a tetanus shot

Turns out I landed on a rock or something that poked a hole and opened up the fleshy part of my hand. looks a bit sketchy but it really did not bother me except for the wet feeling as it continued to bleed throughout the race. That was probably a good thing as it washed away the forest creatures I disrupted from their nap.

At the half way point I was at a 9m/m pace, so I am thinking the coffee cup to the first 3 (in each age group) is in the bag. Unfortunately, the second half was more difficult and my legs were giving up. At about mile 9 or so, I fell again, on a flat section and landed on guess what? Yep, the hand gets another hit but the real problem was a hamstring lock up. I lost a few minutes to stretching until I could start running again. 

By now, my singlet was looking like I had been shot by a hunter. It felt good to my hand putting it on my cool and wet shirt but it was staining it red. This probably explains why the kids were reluctant to hand me water at the aid stations : ) 

A guy was snapping pictures at random places thoughout the course. He started by asking if I was ok, and then he would ask if I was still ok at a later point. At mile 10 or so, he told me I looked like a BAMF, a highlight : )

I was able to "sprint" (maybe a 7 pace) for the last hundred yards without cramping a calf or the hamstring. After the finish I took a look at my hand and decided this would require professional treatment.  I stopped at the ambulance for a disinfectant wash and maybe an opinion and he offered me alcohol wipes and did not even bother to get out of the truck. Really?

I decided a stop at the ER was wise so enter phase two of my adventure.

to the ER I go

The ER was not busy and I went directly to the area where they work on you. As is turns out most of the staff (all ladies) were runners and were curious about trail running. I really had fun talking with them and sharing my enthusiasm for running on trails versus the road. Perhaps a difficult "sell" when I looked (and probably smelled) like I wrestled with a bear.

I hope to see some of them on the trails in the future. 

Next up..Stone Steps!

All better

Bad To The Bone

The race was forced to change the name to Big Bone Lick - Can You Lick It (no kidding) this year because our legal system tells us we can claim exclusive rights to words. I would rather have t shirt rights to Big Bone Lick, sounds like a cult goldmine to me. I'm not sure I have the nerve to wear my t shirt though. But runners will continue to call it by it's rightful name as it should be.

A beautiful day for a race, 50F at start and sunny. Only 100 or so people raced which seems low for such a cool and well run race. But like last year, the people were relaxed, friendly and understood why we were there. The trail course was well marked, groomed and the road course well marked with police at intersections.

I started with the front group and by the time we reached the woods, I was in a good position. Few passed me on the trail, and I ended up with a 31:38 split, about 1.5 min faster than last year. So far so good.

On to the bike. Same old story, not sufficiently bike fit, blah, blah, blah. Calfs started warning me after the first major climb at 5 miles. 

Top of first Evil Twin

My reward was a PR for speed with a 48 mph decent. No oncoming cars at the bottom, so full lane apex for the left then right turns. wheee! Passed 3 people (safely!) like they were standing still.

Muscles did not lock up on the bike, but the calfs continued to threaten when the cadence was over 85 or so.

Shaved about 4 min off of last years bike and only 4 or so passed me. The race leaders were already in front of me before the bike. Their bike splits were 10 + min faster than mine.

Like last year, my 2nd run was dreadful. The bike caused major distress with calfs, quads and even hamstrings, but nothing fully locked up. So slow, but still 1.5 min faster than last year.

I finished about 6 minutes faster than last year, so I thought I may get a 1st or 2nd place award. (2nd last year) I was walking my bike back to the car (pre award ceremony) when I heard "hey snyder". It was Sue who once again surprised me which was great! Sue will once again see me get my award. (not)

Two fast old farts (both 55) had apparently decided to show up today and I was a full 22 min behind them. Their splits were almost identical as were their final times. Apparently friends who ended up racing to the finish line.   kids  : )

Where's the award?

First Mountain Experience

Sue and I had the opportunity to spend the week in the fantastic Vail Village in Colorado. This provided me the opportunity to run on a “real” mountain for the first time. For local (Ohio) runs we talk about how a race has “x” feet of overall climb. In Vail it’s pretty simple; climb 3000 feet, then decend 3000 feet. I started at 7000 and ran (call it a spirited hike) to 10,000 feet then ran (call it a quick step shuffle) back to the base. Round trip from the hotel was just under 9 miles.

Aspens!

Running (aka falling) down a mountain takes a toll on knees. I’ll bet actually running down would put more stress on the quads but my stutter step thing stressed my knees. More time on a mountain would probably yield big improvements. It’s probably like skiing, where local runs last a few minutes but runs on mountains can last 30 minutes. The longer runs give you time to “try stuff” and see what works and what doesn’t.

I thought my local (Mount Airy Forest) trails were considered very technical. And compared to the other trails, they are difficult. The hiking/running trail in Vail I ran was called Berry Pickers. This name conjures up a casual hike with the chance to find wild berries to eat on the way. Not. The average grade is over 15% with sections much steeper than that. Here is a section that lasted about 100 yards that was very steep, rocky, off camber, and slippery. Decending was just as challenging as climbing it.

The views were just incredible. Many stream crossings, groves of Aspens, and traverses across the face of the mountain provided views worthy of postcards. Most of these pictures were taken on my first run which also gave me a chance to give my oxygen-deprived lungs a rest.

There is a 5K race they have every year on this trail and times are between 35 min for elite runners and an hour + for age groupers. I just can’t imagine people getting up that mountain in 35 minutes. My second day climb was about a 19 min pace which would have been just under an hour for the 5K. My second day decent was 12:20 min pace or just over 38 minutes. So these people are climbing faster than I decend !

Ski Run

moon-near summit

I think Sue and I have found a new contender for a summer condo when we retire. But this place is expensive to live although the trail running is free.

East Fork DNS

I ditched the East Fork Duathlon Sunday for a long trail run. The 60% forecast of thunder storms (did not happen), getting up at 4 AM (did not happen), played a part in my decision to spend the morning on the Mount Airy trails. The ultimate goal is to have fun, get faster, and more fit so the trails won hands down. There was no free tee-shirt however but I don’t wear a shirt on the trails anyway : )

This entry really serves as part motivator and part progress report to keep me focused on my ultimate goal to do well at the Stone Steps race at Mount Airy forest in October. So my marginal, questionable witty comments would seem out of place given few will actually read this : )

Not sure yet if it will be the 27K or my first 50K. Last year I did the 27K, and my pace splits were:

11:43 – 12:43 – 14:07 – 15:33       for an overall  13:33 and 50/57

The numbers tell the story that I was not prepared for the distance as I had only run the 5+ mile loop once before the race. This year will be different.

I have been running the Mount Airy trails 2-3 times a week for over two months but typically one 5.4m loop. My PR pace for the 5.4 loop is 10:40 but I had little left over. That would have put me in 22^nd overall out of 57, not too shabby considering most are fit and under 40. So that is my goal, a top half finish in 2012. (actual 33/44 damn)

My plan will be to run the Mt Airy trails 2-3 times a week (steadily increasing distance) with one of those a long run. If my long run by early October is four 5.4m loops, I’ll do the 50K. jeez, that's 4-5 hours for me. The 50K will be more like 7 hours.

I’ll keep a log here of my progress: (does not include road miles)

7/29-8/5         8.5m(12:30m/m), 5.4m(10:40m/m), 5.3m(11:11m/m), 19.2m total

8/6-8/12        7.4m(11:16m/m), 7.4m(10:45m/m), 10.7m(11:29m/m), 25.5m total

8/13-8/19      5.3m(12:05m/m), 7.4m(10:53m/m), 12.7m total

8/20-8/26      no trail running this week (out of town), just road, 0m

8/27-9/2        5.3m(13m/m in mud), sick with cold, basically took week off, 5.3m

9/3-9/9          8.8m (20:56m/m up, 13:13 dwn), 8.8m (19:06 up, 12:21 dwn), 17.6 total

9/10-9/16      Taper for Bad to Bone (ie-excuse to be lazy), 8m at race

9/17-9/23      Calf strain from B2B, rest until Thursday, 5.4m(10:42m/m), 

9/24-9/30      4.1m@sw (< 9.0), 2.6m@sw(9:15), 13.5m@race( 10.4 ) 17.1 total
                       sw=sharon woods, trails but easy as the times show

10/1-10/7      5.1m@sw(9:43), 3.5m@sw(9:45)  tender L foot, r knee   8.6 total
                       fighting plantars fasciitis on left, trying to manage pain@distance

10/8-10/14    5.3m(10:55m/m), 3.6m@CNC  8.9 total

10/15-10/21  5.2m@CNC, 9.8m@CNC, 9.9m@CNC     24.9 total 

10/22-10/27  the hay is in the barn, hope it's enough

10/28              race day!!!!

summary:
mt.airy trails - 73.4 miles
other trails - 82.0 miles
total - 156.3 miles in 3 months, about 13 trail miles per week (too few for sure)

nov 10, 2012 last entry: get healthy then get serious 

      muscle fatigue at 13 miles in the race is no mystery

      next year 30-40 trail miles per week for 27K, 60 for 50K

       

Motivation at Caesars Creek

In past years, the Sunday race day was preceded by a Saturday race called Girls Tri Too. It is shorter than a Sprint and encouraged women to try the sport in a non-intimidating environment. This year they started this event on Sunday, 30 minutes before the “regular” starts at 8:00. This gave a fortunate group of supporters, including me, to root on these women as they made their way from the lake to the transition. This was the highlight of the day for me. Eighty three women participated and I clapped and cheered for everyone of them.

After months of training, pals!

Family support at the finish!

Did it all by herself!

She completed the entire event!

actually running

Now for my race. It was my best performance to date with a top 50% overall finish. My bike was at the top 25% mark, which I attribute to the recent commuting to work. I have not really worked on short distance runs, just long road and trail runs so I think I have room to improve for next year. There is no reason I cannot be in the top 25% overall next year.

I have developed a habit of chatting with people on the run. I have no idea why I do this, after years of pretty much keeping to myself. I talk with everybody about how pretty the run is, how ugly their shoes are    : ), did you notice the lady with the crutches or the 10 year old girl, or here come the leaders. I always tell the first few leaders (coming the opposite direction) where they are and I can see it motivates them to keep it up.

I managed not to cramp even with the high temps and humidity. Probably due to the extra oxygen from chatting. I even managed a ¼ mile sprint to the finish at a 6:20 pace.

A departure from biking, running, and tattoos

A departure from biking, running, and tattoos. I offer a compilation of random thoughts, quotes and observations. I’ve added a few pictures as well. Sometimes it’s nice to see pictures on the menu even if they do not resemble the thing you order.

It seems to me there is an interesting relationship between politics, religion, and big time wrestling. 

o   People follow them as if they were real. No offense intended and understood it can be difficult when you just want to believe. Just remember there are those who may benefit from that need to believe. 

o   People watch them with a passing interest and occasionally get caught up in the excitement. That head lock looked like it really hurt. I’ll vote for them because they really care about me.

o   People see them as pandering to the least common denominator. Tell them what they “want to” / “need to” hear.

                                                     Snydersshoes thoughts while trailrunning 2012

 The greatest mystery is not that we have been flung at random between the earth and the galaxy of the stars, but that in this prison we can fashion images of ourselves sufficiently powerful to deny our nothingness. 

                                             Andre Mairaux

Where do you draw the line

Humans require lines to be drawn to establish where they stand, over here or over there. This must be a human trait as animal and plant life just value physical attributes that simply promote their species. So why do humans feel the need or compulsion to establish a line for everything and literally put their life on some.

There is a puzzle in mathematics that attempts to establish the length of a coastline. From the mountains, the line is well defined, the water on one side, the land on the other. On closer review, the measured distance is longer as it winds its way around rocks, inlets, and other irregularities. With still closer review, the path follows each grain of sand and the length seems infinite. Then following this thought process to the natural conclusion, where a minimum length is encountered, and the concept of length really has no meaning.

It would appear the lines we live our lives by are just as ambiguous as the coastline, depending on how closely we look. From a distant view, you see a distinct line, it’s in the water or out. Only when you look very closely you may decide the lines are illusions and exist only as a convenience.

The various lines people choose to live their lives by are learned; we are not born with them. Perhaps they are evolved boundaries that protect us from the unknown, and are viewed as necessary for survival in society.

Humans also have the ability to dream without boundaries, discovering the patterns of the universe, creating music and artwork. If we view the various lines as artificial and necessary only to keep order in society, our minds may be freed to explore the beauty of the nooks and crannies of our world.

                                                                                       Thoughts driving to work 2011

Commuting - Live and Let Die

As part of my plan to increase my bike fitness and speed, I have been commuting every day for 3-4 weeks now. (rainy days excepted) I thought I would share my thoughts and observations. 

There is an optimum time window for minimum traffic and avoiding angry drivers. Biking at 3 am not necessary, but need to avoid the "rush to get to work at 8 and get home after 5 people". The "get to work early and the leave early people" are gentle and kind souls.

UPS drivers are great, and FedEx drivers are nuts.

Texting soccer moms/kids, drunks are not on the road in my time window, just coffee powered, going to work people.

Still, an occasional a jerk appears on the commute home. This week alone I was buzzed by a guy on a motorcycle with his 5 year old daughter on the back, a mini cooper with a bike rack, an old person in a Japanese luxury car. These are sleepers, the unstable people who can snap at any time.  

The game is to see how fast I can make the short 9 mile commute. 20 mph ave in and 18 mph home are currently fast trips for me. How in the world can competitive riders average 24+, and almost 30 mph for pros. 

Whoever designs a bike helmet that is not dorky, will make a fortune. The current lot does not even give me confidence it will save my life but rather shift off my head with the littlest of bumps. I think the skate board people have the best idea and I may just switch.
update: Did a training ride with a skate board helmet, Protec, and my head overheated and I got sick. Bad idea, especially on 90+F days.

I just received my custom tee shirt this week:

 Here lies a comedian with a dorky helmet.