What a Marathon Month for RiffRaff!

The Austin Marathon for team RIFFRAFF was an outstanding day.  Some of the group signed up for their first marathon ever on Friday on a whim and some trained for many weeks and months for the big day.

The team hit the streets bright eyed and bushy tailed and the results showed that this team can hold true to their coaches motto “PR WITH PANTHER”.   The weekend started off with a pasta feast at the 8 year old traditional Pope’s table at Bucca De Beppo.  Stories were shared and hugs were given.  Saturday night a few of the team chalked the streets for RiffRaff and their fellow ROGUES.

Sunday came and the weather was perfect.  Cold start and sunny finish.  Little bit of a headwind as you head down south.

Coach Panther was the leader of our band of runners pacing the 3:25 group and keeping to a perfect pace the entire way.

–Sassy, who PR’d her marathon and qualified for Boston. She shaved several minutes and placed 9th in her age division with 3:29:53.
–Blade, who PR’d her marathon, as well.
–Trey,ran his FIRST ever marathon yesterday, in 4:20.  He looked really good at mile 26.
–Fifi, who PR’d her half marathon.
–Moonie, who flew in from London, UK and had his “non-3M” PR (yes, I count that as a PR).
–Joe, who ran the half with his son!
–Julie used it as training for Boston and her way crazy goal of several marathons back to back.
–Gina ran as an active spectator
–Tori ran her second marathon in 3 months.

Next weekend were all doing Cowtown so, there should be even more great things ahead.  GO RIFFRAFF!!!

Sweet & Sour

written by a fellow Rogue

As I sit on my couch at home, I feel a little bit like Humpty Dumpty—broken and trying to put the pieces back together again.  Yesterday I toed the line at the Dallas Marathon and yielded a less than favorable result.  “Less than favorable” is a really nice way of saying it and for the safety of all of those reading at work, I’ll refrain from utilizing phrases that might more accurately describe what occurred on that fateful day.

“What’s with all the wordy melodrama?” you might ask.  Well, on the heels of the RAC’s success at the Cross National Championships, I wanted to share the other side of racing—the bitterness of defeat.  But wait, don’t leave just yet.  I promise to outline the silver linings within defeat.

The Dallas Marathon was my fourth marathon and I arrived in Dallas having completed a wildly successful and difficult training season with John Schrup and Team Rogue.  I was confident a PR was in hand.  I was going to punch this marathon right where it hurt most.  Sure, it’ll punch back but my training made me strong enough to endure it.  I really wanted to impress my teammates, coach and girlfriend.  I wanted that, “wow, he did what?!” kind of reaction.  I definitely got that reaction; just not the exact tone I wanted.  Going into the race I had heard the weather might be a bit dicey this year, but I consulted with a good friend and nutritionist about developing a race fuel plan that might mitigate the impact of warmer, more humid conditions.  The weather was not going to dissuade me from my attempt at a PR (or so I thought Saturday night).  I took all the necessary precautions; I didn’t change anything from my 6-months of training—same pre-long run dinner, same breakfast, same ridiculously short shorts.

Race morning felt more like a nice summer morning in Austin—near 70 degrees and damn near 100% humidity.  Surrounding runners in the corral began to discuss how poor the weather was.  Was I going to relax my goal now?  Nope.  I decided to go the first 3 – 6 miles at MGP and see how I felt; if the effort was too much, I’d back off for a few miles then make another push.  After the mile 1 my effort was more like HMP and my singlet looked like I was auditioning for a role in Magic Mike (here’s looking at you Marc B and Anuj).  Nevertheless I continued with my plan.  I had foolishly hoped the effort might begin to feel easier as I warmed up, but sadly it didn’t.  At mile 6 I came to the hororring realization that any hope of my PR was gone.  In fact, just finishing was going to require a monumental effort mentally.  Once your goal vanishes as quickly as mine did, it takes a lot of mental effort to re-engage in the race.  The doubts and negativity sink their talons into the psyche:

“I spent 6-months busting my ass and this is how it ends?”

“Why even bother continuing?”

“I’ll just make this a training run”

“These next 20 miles are going to SUCK!!”

I had spent the entire week thinking this race would be the zenith of the training.  Now, I was acutely aware that it might be the nadir.  I knew, unequivocally, that the next 20 miles would be the hardest 20 miles I had ever done.  Ever.  Instead of each mile marker being an accomplishment, it was a cruel reminder of how far I had to go to complete this poor excuse of a race effort.  Harsh?  Perhaps, but that’s what I thought.  Strangely enough, Friday and Saturday the little sleep I did get resulted in nightmares of me quitting the race.  Each night I awoke in sheer terror and embarrassment.  And each night I woke up relieved that it wasn’t reality.  I wasn’t quitting on this race.  It’s still a marathon and finishing is finishing.  (Kinda sounds like, “fair is fair” from The Legend of Billy Jean doesn’t it?

).

The next 20 miles were indeed the hardest.  I tried to push and compete but the pace kept getting slower and slower.  You try ignoring the Garmin, but who are we kidding right?  Runners were dropping out left and right.  An elite runner sat on the side of the road near mile 10 with a “wtf was that” look on his face.  Each time a runner quits in front of you, it affords that negative demon more ammunition and it makes continuing that much more challenging.  But, you have to keep battling.  Walt Disney is quoted as saying, “often times the difference between winning and losing is quitting”.  I may not have gotten a PR, but I’m not losing on this day (especially not with my girlfriend on the bike next to me).  I mean, how embarrassing for her.

“Ok, you had a bad race. Shit happens.  Where’s the silver lining stuff you clamored about?”

Well, it’s like my friend Chris McClung blogged about after his marathon in Philly a few years back.  Marathon training isn’t defined by the marathon result, but rather the relationships you develop during that time.  It’s those relationships that you recall when stuff doesn’t go your way.  It’s those relationships you garner strength from.  And with each race, there’s always something you can learn from it. (anyone else thinking of this Top Gun scene? Start at around 0:45

)

While Dallas sucked for me, there were several things I learned:

• My girlfriend is absolutely amazing (thanks for everything Jen!)  ok, I didn’t learn this one, so it’s more of a reminder
• Have multiple goals so you’re prepared to re-engage mentally if PR’ing or your top time goal isn’t there that day
• Finishing a marathon is ALWAYS the #1 goal; gotta earn the shirt and medal
• They can’t always be good days, but you can always learn something from every race you do (still thinking about the Top Gun scene aren’t you)
• The bad marathons, like bad long-runs or workouts, just make the good ones that much better; after all, the sweet is never as sweet without the sour (thank you Jon Alter for reminding me of that a few years ago);
• Your fitness isn’t defined by your marathon time, but rather what you did during your training

 

The last point is something I’ll try to remind myself repeatedly of.  The confidence gets rattled a bit and the doubts that were once gentle whispers in the ear are amplified into a howl.  But, you cannot acquiesce to the doubt.  You have to keep battling and get back to work.  I’ll spend the next few days overindulging in beer, beer and maybe a little more beer and then I’ll return to Team Rogue to prepare for another go at a PR (probably after a quick stop at the local detox center).  I’ll bury the negativity of this race in Dallas where it belongs, alongside all the other tatter runners.

So with that I’ll leave you to your holiday cheers (wait, did you say cheers? Who’s buying?).  Enjoy your training.  Enjoy the fitness you gain and the relationships you develop and foster during your marathon training.  Remember, finishing the marathon is always the #1 goal.

Next stop: Friday’s Red Dress Run.

South Schertz

A race report by Gary Grambley

Fellow Rogues,

I have spent the day mapping different routes around San Antonio for any travel I may do that would otherwise take me through that town. I have forbidden the use of any reference to that town in my presence. I will now and forever refer to it as “South Schertz”.

Seriously though, I felt going into the race that I had done everything I needed to do to reach my goal of a sub 4 hr marathon. I hit my times in most of my training runs. Hell, I trained in the crazy desert heat of Austin this summer! But there was nothing that could have prepared me for the hell I was about to voluntarily subject myself to come Sunday morning.

A little background: I trained with Rogue (not Bobby) last year and ran White Rock. I was injured and couldn’t participate in any long runs for the last SIX weeks. I wasn’t even going to run in Dallas but decided to give it a go at the last minute. Terribly unprepared, I ran my first marathon that day in 4:26. So the idea of busting 4 hours was very attainable to me.

Half way through the parade yesterday I was on pace to reach my goal. Me, Marissa, Sarah, Stacey and Melinda were all together and just under 2 hours at the half way point. From about mile 10 I had the urge to pee (yes I said it) so right after we crossed the mat at 13.1 I veered off the course and claimed my birthright as a man – I can pee anywhere I want to! Looking back I wish I would have been arrested for public peeing or whatever the charge would have been!

From that point forward I didn’t feel well. I know now that I was dehydrated, but then I just felt lightheaded and my calves started to cramp up. I knew I’d have to pick up the pace to catch the girls ahead of me so I forged ahead. At mile 15 I still hadn’t caught them and the cramping was getting more painful. I stopped to stretch at a medical tent and they told me to take some salt. Oh, they also told me I didn’t look well. I wanted to punch them.

As I’m writing this I’m just now remembering that I also spent some time in an air conditioned bus. Unfortunately it was stationary.
A few miles up the road I wandered into another medical tent. What I was looking for I’ll never know. They also told me that I didn’t look well and suggested that I call it a day. All humor aside, I was running this race for a nine year old cancer patient named Olivia. I raised about $6,000 to send her and her family on a Disney Cruise. I told the donors I was running this race and by God I was going to finish it. I made a deal with myself – I’d walk a half mile and run a half mile. I saw Alan at one point (Alan, where were we?) and he walked with me for a minute. When he said, “Ok, let’s run a bit” I had to let him go. I couldn’t do it. Alan, that was my half mile to walk and by God I was going to walk it!

We’re all runners here, and we all know that no matter how wacked out we are we can still do the runners math, so I got to mile 25 and realized that I’d have to actually run it in to bust FIVE hours. Ryan, did you hear that? You were showered and sipping Mimosa’s by then I’m sure! But I did it and it’s over and I may never cast a shadow in South Schertz again!

Thanks to all my training buddies. Your friendship is worth the disappointment I endured on Sunday. The Rogue Sole Survivors really ROCK! When I first joined the group I just wanted to train on Wednesday and Saturday, so I defaulted into a group that was coached by one Robert M. Garcia. Is it any coincidence that we’re the happiest, closest group out there? I say not. Hold on to your membership card because some day soon there’ll be a waiting list to train with that guy. He really cares!

As for my future running plans, I have some unfinished business.

A St. George Breakthrough

by Kent Little

Race report: St. George Marathon, Oct 1 2011.

A negative split. A breakthrough.  October 1^st I ran my best marathon, and my best time yet, in St. George Utah.  I also fell deeper in love with running.  After four attempts at the marathon distance over the last four years, thousands of miles of training runs, hundreds of hours in the gym, and dozens of hours of study, I feel like I finally executed a marathon that matched the fitness level and mental preparation I brought to the day.

I’ve always enjoyed the marathon training experience—I suppose all repeat marathoners do. And I feel like I’ve gone into each of my prior marathons pretty well physically prepared for the challenge. I’ve had outstanding coaches. And as any amateur will tell you, truly, just finishing the act of propelling yourself forward non-stop for 26.2 miles is a big victory.  But while I have celebrated each of my three previous races of this distance, a few hours after the race, I found myself creating a mental checklist of what I could have done better. The list this time is pretty short, and it’s a handful of new mistakes, not the same errors (too much excitement, starting too fast, etc.). Why did things go better this time? As I think back on the race and the days and weeks leading up to it, and try and zero in on the reasons I had a successful performance, several themes emerge:

1.     Having a firm plan

When I set down for lunch the week of the marathon with my main coach this summer Mark Enstone, I expected help with a race plan and some last minute tips, but I came away more than that. Mark helped me create a detailed set of instructions and agreements that ultimately made me feel at ease, and gave me a very clear script to follow. By the time I left for St. George, to the point of finishing the race, I had a set schedule and solid race plan.

I had been planning on waking up at 5:00AM on the day of my flight to St. George and running my scheduled 3-miler, but Mark convinced me to consider Thursday a travel day and skip my normal Thursday run. Instead I would fly, get settled in the hotel and rest, and then run my 20-minute day-before-race, shakeout run on Friday, the day before the marathon (St. George is run on a Saturday). He also suggested I run my 10 minutes “out and back” from the finish line, giving me a good sense of the feel of the last mile and a half of the course, and an opportunity to visualize a successful finish.

I finished my early Friday shakeout run feeling great. I was also able to practice positive visualization, and imagine myself feeling strong at landmarks I knew I would pass at the end of the marathon the next day. These tips wound up paying huge dividends.

Mark also shared with me his planned splits from the back of his bib from his previous running of St. George, and we discussed me taking a similar approach to split planning. In the past, I have always worn a marathon pace wristband showing 26 split times based on “even” mile splits. Mark’s approach was instead to work against five split times at miles 5, 10, 15, 20, and of course, 26.2. This turned out to be a great approach for me, and one I’ll employ again.

As many have pointed out, when we practice marathon goal pace (MGP) on long runs and tempo runs, we typically track mile splits and try as much as possible to stay on MGP over each mile. On race day however, your MGP typically emerges as an average over several miles, slightly sharpening in some segments, and slightly slowing in others. Taking the approach of checking my splits over five miles gave me the freedom to not fret about being slightly over or under mile times, and that freedom lead to a reduction in stress.

Instead of focusing in on a pace band every mile I could focus on my breathing, my stride, my body position and the feel of the road for longer periods. In the second half of the race, after I had well established a workable pace that was yielding good 5 mile splits, I could relax even further. This played a huge role in my success.

Mark also convinced me to build a negative split into my target times, e.g., add in extra time beyond even MGP splits into my first three splits, helping to position myself for a strong finish.

After meeting with Mark, I built the following table in Word, printed three copies, and had them laminated. I gave one copy to Mark (giving myself a bit of extra accountability with a coach whom I was anxious to represent).  Then on race day, I taped one copy to the underside of my race bib, and I carried the third copy in my pocket of my shorts.

St. George Pacing and Race Nutrition
Segment	Segment Pace	Gel
Mile 5	39:30	X
Mile 10	1:17
Mile 11	—	X
Mile 15	1:54	X
Mile 20	2:31:30
Mile 21	—	X

AV per mile 7:36 = 3:19.

Relax the face, I run with grace

Relax the shoulders, I run much bolder

By agreeing with my coach to a firm plan for splits (and gels, and hydration), and making the agreements part of the race plan I was committing not to leave these variables to chance. The race plan Mark created for me gave me peace of mind and a path to success.  I had a script. I just needed to calmly follow it.

2.     Running Within. 

Coach Amy Anderson suggested a book called Running Within on the Rogue message board early in the training cycle and I ordered a copy.  I read the book several times during training and applied its teachings to my training. I think it has played a major role in my performance improving. Primarily, the book teaches readers how to apply relaxation and positive visualization techniques into endurance training and racing. With the help of the book, I developed several mantras (see pace card) that I employed during my runs throughout the season.  I also used the book’s pre and post workout relaxation and visualization exercises throughout the season.

St. George is a point-to-point course. Runners are bussed to the starting line and arrive at least an hour before the race starts. There are a dozen bonfires setup and runners are given those odd space blankets for staying warm before the race. There is time to kill. After running through my pre-race bathroom breaks, bag check-in, food nibbling, and light stretching, there was still 30 minutes before start-time. After getting separated from two of the other runners from Rogue who were running trough their own mental drills, I put my blanket down on the ground, laid down on my back near a bon-fire, closed my eyes, and went through the relaxation and visualization exercises I practiced during training. I hadn’t planned on it, but it helped calm me. When it was time to enter the starting corral I was very relaxed and feeling in the zone, and literally smiling, confident in what I was about to do.

I have come to view marathon training as a training pyramid consisting of a big base level of miles and endurance building, a level of nutrition and hydration focus, a level or resistance/weight training and core-work, and a level of speed, intervals and track-work. I now think mental preparation and attitude (learning how to manufacture an environment of calm in the mind in a stressful situation) is a core component of the top of the pyramid as well.

3.     Taking what the course gives 

Mark also repeatedly encouraged me to “take what the course gives” and this became another mantra reverberating in my head throughout the race. St. George is a rather unique and relatively fast marathon course. It features a major hill climb called the “Veyo Hill” at mile 7 that’s almost a mile long. Veyo is followed by several smaller climbs in the middle miles. The course’s defining characteristic is a general net downhill drop from altitude.

The single two-lane road has several major twists and turns so running tangents can save a few strides. Likewise there are several places where you can see at least a quarter mile of road ahead and consider undulations and camber. Most notably, St. George is know for rewarding negative splits for those with a little left in the tank at mile 20 on – always a tricky proposition and a personal weakness for me. The fastest portion of the course is from miles 22-26.

At Mark’s encouragement, I drove the course on Friday. I almost didn’t. My thinking on Friday afternoon, post-lunch was “maybe I really don’t want to be reminded of how far I will be running MGP by spending an hour round-trip driving the route I will be running in less than 24 hours.”  “I think I’ll nap instead.” But I grabbed the room key and rental car keys and stuck with the plan. Driving the course turned out to be a smart move. Even though it was a warm day on Friday I was able to get out of the car at a few places and study the road and the hills. The Veyo hill? Yes, it was long, and yes it was somewhat intimidating, laid-out like a long snake climbing and coming-around the red hills, but it was not Ladera Norte grade and after a face-to-face introduction, my apprehension about the hill was reduced to a simple healthy level of respect.

I also discovered that more than just mile seven being a climb, the course actually steadily climbed from mile 7-10. By driving the course I also was able to really absorb that the second half and the last 10K were (as promised) where the course has gifts to give. All of this basically reinforced my commitment to my race plan. Friday night, my inner voice kept repeating: “Whatever you do, don’t start too fast, like you always do. Don’t screw this up.”

The other thing I figured out that was course-related that paid dividends during the race and saved me some steps was observing the lane choice of runners ahead of me when aid stations were due. I knew at what mile points to expect aid stations from studying the race map. I also quickly learned that most aid stations were on one side of the road (or the other) only. Many of theses stations would appear after a hard turn.  I figured out that some of the lead runners had run the race before and it was obvious they knew which side of the road the aid stations would be positioned. If I was rounding a long-turn that was about to come-up on an aid station I would watch runners ahead. If the majority moved into the right lane when the camber favored left lane running I followed, and the aid station would always appear on the side of migration. It may not sound like much, but I employed this several times and it worked every time and probably saved me a few seconds.

4. Garmin factor

I was late to make the leap into utilizing a GPS training watch for two reasons (1) a resistance to becoming a ‘slave to the numbers’ on easy runs, and (2) the cost. After three years of consistent marathon training I finally picked one up this summer. I used it in two ways in training: to track (1) pacing and (2) distance during longer runs.

While I maintained many of my tried and true training routes for my runs this summer, it was nice to start the watch and simply head out the door in any direction, knowing that if I needed to run 10 miles I could just keep an eye on the watch’s distance tracking information. It was also nice to be able to dial-into a specific pace on tempo runs. As any Garmin user will tell you, the ability to upload your runs, and paces, etc., into your computer wirelessly brings a whole new level of insight into your training too.

I never visualized actually using the Garmin in the race. I am believer in running by feel. I initially planned on wearing my normal chrono/traditional sports watch. But as Mark pointed out, “it’s just another input.” As long as I used it as an information source, and not a pacesetter, per-se, it might be a good thing.

It turned out to be a good thing that I used it, but not because it helped me push pace. Instead it helped me moderate pace and reinforced for me that my mile splits were falling into the right zone as I progressed down the course.

As I’ve noted, my weakness as a marathoner has always been running those first ten miles way—too—fast. This time, I did manage a nice slower paced first mile, but there were several instances during the first few miles where I would glance down at the watch (which was set to show my average currently engaged mile pace) and see a number way faster than it should be. I would make an instant correction. I would force myself to slow my stride down until I hit the proper pace.

Could I have hit my splits without the Garmin’s insight? Probably. But I may not have had the opportunity to figure it out until the mile marker signs (which were every two miles), or the next five-mile split, and that might have been too late.

Conversely, when I was in the toughest part of the race towards the end, and I could glance down and see a number faster than my predicted pace, it was damn encouraging and exciting. The Garmin turned out to be an important tool and it brought me some calm because I could settle into an easier effort pace in the earlier miles, propel a faster pace in the late miles, and know that I was actually where I was supposed to be.

5.     Staying in head-mantras

I have always deployed mantras when running; especially long runs. Sometimes my mantra is a random series of numbers, a quote, a street address or street name I pass, a lyric etc. The effect over time is sometimes just a boredom killer, and sometimes transformative, bordering on meditative. It’s a hard thing to explain. This season I found myself using two mantras frequently; one I copped from the Running Within book, and one I think I made-up, or dreamed: “relax the face, I run with grace.” And “relax the shoulders, I run much bolder.”

It seems so simple, but if you relax your face, you then relax your neck. Then you relax your shoulders and then maybe your core comes into better balance, and your stride improves the slightest fraction.

If you repeat a phrase like “relax the face, I run with grace” even if you are just mindlessly repeating the words while staring at the landscape, or the runner in front of you, guess what happens; your face relaxes, as does the rest of you, and you start running more gracefully. If you run with more grace, you are probably improving your mechanics, and saving energy. When I found myself bored or losing focus in the race, I deployed my mantras. By placing them on my pace card, I was reminded them every time I looked at my script.

6.     Digging Deep. The pissed off girl.

There comes a point in the marathon, usually in the last 10K, when it just sucks. I don’t care how trained and fit one is, or how well the race is going, if you are pushing the pace, and working, the opportunity to face down the wall comes and it is the most vexing part of the marathon; managing the finish in the face of pain, fading mental faculties, and a body that is pleading with you “to stop.”

I have faded in the end of marathons, and I have finished somewhat strong. This time, when the discomfort started to creep, I had simply invested too much into my race to do anything but stare back at the pain and basically invite it to leave. It still hurt. I still suffered, and the descending nature of the last 10K, damn sure helped, but I finished better. Part of the reason for my better finish is what happened at mile 25. It was a moment of my magic that I’ll never forget.

I had been pushing my pace hard from the point that the course started to descend into the town of St. George, at about mile 22.  At mile 24, there were a million voices of discontent rattling around my head and the voices that were saying “slow down,” “this really isn’t that important to you,” “you can live with a slower finish time” were starting to drown out the voices saying “pain is temporary,” “your goals are within sight,” “just run hard to that corner.”

As this was happening, coming out of a water stop, I noticed another runner, a very strong and fit looking young lady who looked to be in her late 20s, in front of me. I could tell by her stride and the look on her face that she (like me) was in pain and facing some inner demons. She was in the process of grabbing a piece of ice from the water cup she had in her hand (we had passed an aid station, but I have no idea where the ice came from. I don’t remember any ice being around and would have loved some).

As I started to gain ground on her my stride momentarily slowed. I thought “man, she looks strong; she looks like she has been pushing the pace, and she is fading” Her apparent willingness to fall off pace a bit, so close to the finish, which was probably under a mile at this point, was about to give me permission to do the same. But as I came up almost directly behind her, (and a screaming pack of girls scouts shouting encouragement her way) she threw the cup of ice down hard on the street, yelled something undecipherable like “aghrgrheshitno” and took off down the street on a tear. She had made a decision. In the same way she somehow almost helped feed my inner demons, and allowed me to fade, she decided to fight, and I did too. Within a block I had passed her, and within a few more moments I could hear the finish line and I was giving it all I had with under a quarter mile to go. I’ll never have a chance to thank her. I was too spent at the finish line to locate her and thank her as I intended when it happened, but I’ll never forget her.

7.     Coaching does matter and the Rogue experience as a source of strength.

As I laid locked up in cramps in the rich green grass of the little park in St. George park near the finish line recovery area sucking on the best Bomb Pop of my life, I couldn’t help but wonder how many of the other runners in various states of joy, pain, anguish around me had the good fortune to train with the types of coaches and other runners Rogue has afforded me. I have had several amazing coaches help me over the last six years, from 5K basic training with Carolyn the summer when Rogue was just starting, to my first marathon season three years ago with Bobby Garcia, I have learned major lessons from each of the Rogue coaches I have worked with. I will always consider all of them mentors, and forever respect their feedback. Mark and Carolyn have invested way more of their time in me than is fair the last two summers, and they have done it with a smile, in the dark, at 5:00 in the morning, in pretty ridiculous dawn heat. And I won’t forget it. I’ve made many friends over the years at Rogue and I hope to make more in the future.

There is nothing special about me physically. I am not gifted with any innate athletic talent. I have learned to love running, I have learned how to train, and I have trained consistently, with positive spirit, and slowly improved my running. Bit by bit.  In the big scheme of the universe, covering the marathon distance is not a big deal. What was magical about my personal experience this time was the intersections it represented for me personally….training meeting planning….planning meeting execution….mental training meeting physical training.

Outside of some shorter distance races over the next few months, and the beacon of Boston 2013 on the horizon, I’m not really sure what’s next for my running. So much focus and work went into this race for me, that I’m happy to have an opportunity for some easy runs around the lake, and less focus on my training for a while. But I have already noticed, with only about a week of reflection, that now that I know how to execute on a sound marathon plan, there is already a little voice deep inside of me saying “yeah, your getting older, but you could probably do that faster.”

My race… err… training report.

By Chris McClung

So, yesterday I completed my 8th marathon in Philadelphia. I was shooting to PR and beat my prior best time of 2:46, but the marathon had different plans as it often does. I ended up with a solid, respectable 2:49:35. I followed the plan, executed perfectly through 19 miles, but my legs tightened up and essentially powered down around mile 20 leading to a long, painful run to the finish and a 5 minute positive split on the second half. There is really not much more to report.

What went wrong? I have theories but I don’t know and may never. The marathon is a harsh companion. You train for months logging week after week of high miles and long runs while trying to stave off injury and illness and bring your best to race on one single day. For this one, I averaged over 60 miles/week for the 23 week program, ran 10 long runs of 20+ miles, and put in more 5:30 am runs than i can count with TeamROGUE. And, in the final weeks, I was on a steady diet of zinc, vitamin C, echinacea, and allergy medicine trying to keep the germs at bay as person after person fell sick around me. That leaves me with lots of hard work done, months of worrying about the details AND now a big fat unmet goal. This leaves me asking: is it all worth it?

Well, I already had the answer even before I lined up on race day. This training cycle has given me the answer and brought me to a new perspective on all of this madness. The answer for me is this: it isn’t all about race day. It’s really about the whole process from start to finish. The training is as much a part of the end as it is the means to it. If i ignored that and focused only on a less than perfect race, then I would overlook the countless cool experiences and moments of insight along the way. So, here are a few of my lessons from training:

1. Running is only an individual sport if you let it be. Yes, for most races, we all run for an individual time. But, in training, it does not have to be that way. Joining Rogue and TeamROGUE has taught me that. I can’t say enough about my training partners. They hold me accountable, they push me on hard workouts, they hold me back on easy days, they give me injury advice when I feel a tweak, they trade pacing duties with me on steady runs and track workouts, they pull me up the Scenic hill on hard repeats, they give me tough love OR encouragement at the right moments, and they kick my ass on a run when i start to get overconfident. In short, we work together… we work as a team to help each other achieve our goals, and I am a better runner for it.

2. Trust your coach and the plan. You never know where it will take you. Brian from TeamROGUE put it best in a forum post: “I have learned that if you’re told to do something, you give it a try. I’ve also learned that Steve is a great coach. He builds you up so you can achieve what he is asking. So I do it.” Yes we do, Brian. Enough said.

3. Relish in the work as much as the race. The race isn’t the only time and place where you can push your limits or have fun. I have struggled with this in the past, sometimes thinking of the training as a chore or as a box to be checked on the way to race day. This cycle I found myself looking forward to the runs and the community that came with them. There is nothing like testing your limits 3 times a week with good friends. Why else would anyone in their right mind run Scenic/Pecos hill loops at steady pace, much less do it twice?!?

4. Invest in people and friendships along the way. And, in hindsight, I still don’t have this one right, but I have learned my lesson (albeit late). I can’t tell you how many hours I have logged running in this group, and admittedly, some I still only know on a superficial running level. And there are people in TeamROGUE who happen to train at different paces, and I still don’t know their names. My bad, my fault, wrong point of focus. Don’t let it happen to you… I won’t again. This community, our community should transcend pace or group.

In the end, you won’t find me crying over 3-4 minutes. I am content with the result and more than blessed to be able to take this kind of journey. I am still driven to push my limits and will no doubt stage another attack on my marathon PR, but I will do so with a renewed determination and a new perspective on the journey to get there.

PS. Special thanks to: my wife and son for putting up with my crazy running hours. Coach Steve for the countless hours and sacrifices you put in to make us better runners and people. Ruth, Carolyn, John and the rest of the Rogue crew for the tireless support. The entire TeamROGUE group for pushing me and each other to not only run faster but have fun doing it (with specific shout-outs to Kamran, Asia, Brent, Corey, Larry, Damon, Niccole, Muz, Paul, Jim, Andrew, Allison, Mike, and Jason).

Ironman Austin 70.3 Race Recap

by Colin Moss

I did it. I trained for 10 plus months and got myself, barely, to the start of the race. I had a great time and finished in 5:48 which was 12 minutes faster than my goal. Here is how it all went down.
This race was a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run. It had two different transition areas that were separated by about a mile and a half and you had to park and take a shuttle to the start of the race. I dropped my bike off the day before when I picked up my race packet. One of the first things I noticed at packet pickup was, unlike any other race I had ever done before, the athletes at this race were really fit. It wasn’t that is was intimidating, it was more like when I saw everyone it put what I was about to undertake in perspective.
The morning of the race I woke up, packed my transition bags, and headed out hoping to arrive by 6:30. I didn’t plan ahead for race morning traffic and there was also a wreck on the road leading into the park. I didn’t get on the shuttle bus until 7:30. Transition closed at 7:30. The pros were in the water before our bus arrived and they closed more roads leading to the start of the race to get the bike course ready. I was quietly freaking out while I was on the shuttle thinking that I would miss my race. If only they would let me drop my bag in transition I would be fine. Oh and I still needed to air up my tires before I could ride.
The event staff let us in very quickly to drop bags and I convinced someone to let me air up my tires. Whew!!! I was in. Now I could calm down and try to mentally prepare for the race. Not an ideal way to start the day.
The wave start was not the normal order. Instead of the men youngest to oldest, then women oldest to youngest it was all mixed in. I thought it to be more fair. My wave was called and I slipped into to the water with the uneasy feeling that it was going to be a long day, a very long day. That horn blared…

What a long strange trip it’s been…

excerpted from Paul Salazar’s blog, Paul’s Race Reports

I somehow got to the point of creating a blog specifically for writing this report. I must think it’s important enough to go to all this trouble of registering, checking availability of blog names, etc…but the reality is that I didn’t want to clog up everyone’s email with some lengthy message that your just gonna delete anyway. With that said, here is my very first blog entry.

Where to start…I guess it would be back over a year ago backpacking in the Weminuche wilderness. Nine of us got off the narrow gauge train at Elk Station out of Durango, went into the mountains, and during the 5 day trip one of our companions passed out with a seizure. It was a terrifying moment, but my great friend, Fred, took charge and volunteered me (no prodding needed) to go on a rescue mission. I don’t want to get into the details of what followed (for that’s another story), but we ended up hiking, running and 4-wheeling (jeep ride from hell) over 150 miles in 32 hours to get our friend to safety. Two things happened as a result, my other great friend was safely gotten to a hospital, and secondly, I gained a new confidence in what I was able to accomplish, and that’s when the seeds of possibly running Leadville entered my consciousness.

What followed was a very busy fall racing schedule that included the M2M Half marathon, Willow City Half, San Antonio Marathon, followed up two weeks later with the Double Decker Marathon. I then limped into the holidays determined to get some rest on my tired legs.

2010 arrives, I’m feeling good, and the only thing on my schedule is pacing at Austin Marathon. Somehow I must have felt that wasn’t enough to do, and I don’t remember exactly how or when I decided, but I signed up to run the Bandara 50k, thinking, it’s only 50k, how hard can it be? Well the race was mid-January, I showed up and had a very miserable finish. I’m not sure the exact effect it had on me, but I knew after that race not to take any Ultra for granted.

So to make a really long story only long, I paced Austin (3:30) and had another great time, then started planning for spring trail running. I ran Hell’s Hills 50k the prior year and somehow managed a 3rd place finish, so this year my plan was to shoot for the 50miler. Meanwhile, back at casa Fletcher, Fred declares it’s time to make a run for the infamous Rim2Rim2Rim trip in early may. I’m in, without any hesitation, as we’ve been talking about it going on two years. So now I’m running a 50 miler in April, a 50 miler in May in the Grand Canyon, and I’m thinking, maybe, just maybe, I can make a run for Pbville (if you need to ask you weren’t paying attention in high school).

Hell’s Hills in Smithville,Texas was on April 2nd. I had started doing some longer training runs with Ken & Jason (Rogue Ultra Team) right after the Austin Marathon, and was feeling okay about my chances.The Rogue team had all committed… (click here for the full post!)

Muz: Our Leadville Legend

The first Leadville race report has come in from Muz, the Rogue legend of the week!

After a summer spent in his native Turkey, uncertain as to whether he would be able to return to the US in time, Muz flew back to Austin last week, immediately headed to Colorado and lined up at the starting line at 4am Saturday, still jet-lagged and fighting the altitude change. Muz was aiming to run his first 100 mile race in the 25 hour range. What Muz did was run more than 102 miles (wrong turn in the woods) in 22 hours, 55 minutes. Part of his race report is below, the link to the full edition is at the bottom of the page. Read it and be awed.

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Well… It was hard. It was long. It was awesome. That was the short version below is the longer one.

However before I start writing anything about myself or my crew I would like to send my regards to all of my friends who started but were not able to finish the race. They all had the guts to do what others did not and even if they were not able to finish, you know what I know they put their best in and thats the only thing you can ask a man/woman. This race after all has in many ways a lot of coin tosses. Even after you take your precautions by training well, by taking care of nutrition and such, you know what, when you eat your gu and you cant digest it there is nothing you can do, same goes for your pace you run what you can run. You can only do the best you can and nobody can ask nor give more.

Long Version:
Well first of all a special thank you for Ken and Jason’s Team Rogue Ultra. Even though I was not able to attent the majority of their runs (I had a 50 mile night run with them) I followed their advice closely and adapted according to my special situation.

Many of you know of my training in Turkey but let me give some details. We are talking about lonely runs for countless hours in the hills of Balcova, a neighbourhood in Izmir. We are talking about my father driving me to training locations and sometimes even following me with the car when he did not trust what he saw around the area (nothing dramatic, they are just too cautious). We are talking about running without gu or anything similar for runs under 20 miles and being able to carry only 1200 calories for anything above. Drinking spring waters from algea covered pipes laid who knows when, running in Military Zone and being able to only watch the blue sea from 100s of ft above instead of properly swimming in it. (ok I did swim a little but very limited).

So long story short here is the report itself:
I was driven to Leadville on Thursday 11pm and dropped (not fell) down to sleep as soon as I put my head on the pillow. I saw the town on Friday by walking and jogging it and had a quick systems check. The calves were worrisome. Since I came from Turkey last week they were feeling tired. You know the kind of tiredness you get right before things start to cramp.
Walking around Leadville I was quite impressed with the little town. It is the sort of place I might want to retire to. Small shops around me and mountains in the not so far away distance…

I was very excited to see many Austinites including but not limited to Ken, Jason, Paul, John and Carrie (others were in Breck) and their crews.

Waited for the crew to arrive and they did… Caught up with Bruce and Cindy first. We had a great dinner at Ken’s place and I was able to meet more of his family. Many other Austinites were there which all added to the excitement and the feeling of community.

The only advantage of a week long jetlag is, you can sleep a whole 6 hrs before the race wake up time of 3 am. Me and my awesome crew of (in no particular order) Bruce Coleman, Sydney Pitt, Hao Liu and Cindy Shlandt get together and drive to the mile away start.

I quickly check in, meet the Austin crew and the excitement is at its peak. I have not been able to train with the Team Rogue Ultra guys much but always had a sense of belonging with them.

In any case the gun goes off and we start pitch dark at 4:00 am in the morning. We dont want to get caught in the clutter and take the front of the middle pack position. At some point Paul tells us to look back and a wonderful sight of a stream of headlamps is revealed to us. We approach aid station number one MayQueen (mile 13.5). This is where everything got so confusing. I tell Ken and Paul I will need to refill my camelbak (nearly empty by this time) and they say they are going to get something to eat. If u need to refill or get something from the aid station itself you get directed into a chute thats where I go. Paul and Ken go to their crew(I instructed mine not to show up for the firt one) The volunteer is not very experienced and this is the first time I use this particular camelbak (I left my original camelbak back home) so I lose couple of precious minutes. I leave the aid station and frantically search for the guys. They are nowhere to be seen. I think I see somebody that somehow looks like Ken and take after him. Half a mile down the road I realize thats not him. So I start going faster to catch up with others that look like the guys. Not so much after I realize they are probably behind. This realization becomes cemented when I see Cynthia who is going for a faster time. At this point there is not much reason to stay back and I decide to go by feel. This means low heart rate on the flats, walk the steep hills shuffle the not steep ones and run the downhills. Sugarloaf goes by pretty quick with this strategy.

Around mile 20-30 while running down these hills I start getting what I was afraid of…

Jack’s Generic Tri: Race Report

Taken from Colin’s Triathlon, a blog written by Rogue and guest writer Colin Moss

The day started out simple enough, alarm clock was blaring, Oskar was staring, and my third triathlon of the Texas Tri Series was starting in a few hours. I got out of bed, drank a half cup of coffee, showered, loaded the car with all of my gear and drove down to the Texas Ski Ranch for Jack’s Generic Triathlon. This time I remembered my water bottle. A really bad wreck on the highway diverted traffic off the interstate and added some stressful minutes to the trip. We had to park a ways away from the entrance to the event but by the time I got into transition I was good to go.
I ran into Dale, my roommates father, and he seemed pretty excited for his first triathlon. He had a great story about buying a pair of backup goggles the day before the race and then stepping on one of his pair of goggles the morning of his race. Lucky for him except I think he would have preferred to break the other pair. He would later tell me the goggles he did wear were the ones that leaked real bad. I also found my friend Tanner in transition. Tanner is a super fast triathlete who is scorching up these race courses. He is ranked 5th overall in his age group which seems to be the most competitive age group for each race and the whole series.
After talking with those two guys I finished setting up my transition mat, bike, shoes, put on sunscreen, grabbed my goggles and swim cap and headed out to do a little warm up swim. The water felt great and it helped to settle the nerves. About 30 minutes later we we lining up for the start of the race. My group was the third to go so I didn’t have to wait too long. Right before they let us in the water a guy in the group ahead of us had some difficulties early in the swim (at the very start) and had to exit the race. He got out of the water and they cut his timing chip off his leg right then and there. It was weird to witness especially right before our group started.

Setting my watch and asking directions

We got into the water and headed for the front of the pack. My theory was to sprint out the first 50 or 100 meters and then get into a comfortable pace. That way I wouldn’t have to pass anyone and the faster guys would have to pass me. I ended up being at the very front which was a little nerve racking. For some reason everybody was looking at me like I was the go to guy for the swim. To break the ice I looked around confusedly and asked the guys next to me which way we were going. A couple of them laughed but a couple of them either didn’t get that I was joking or didn’t think it was funny. One stretched out his arm and pointed his finger in the direction of the buoys and said, “Umm that way.”
The starting horn sounded and we were off.  I stuck to my plan and sprinted the first 100 meters. So did all of the other guys around me. Actually about 25 of the guys finished ahead of me in the swim. I swam the 500 meters in 10 minutes flat, but by the time I got out of the water I had some catching up to do. My friend Chris was a volunteer at the race. His job was to help the swimmers out of the water. He was on the left hand side of the swim exit so I headed for him. He grabbed my arm and yelled great job to me and then I was off.
I got through transition in 2:03 which is about a minute slower than the fastest transition time for my group. I need to improve a little on that. I clipped into the bike and headed out. Immediately I noticed there was something very wrong with my new water bottle. The Velcro strap holding the bottle in place had failed and I was stuck holding my water bottle with my left hand for the whole 13.8 miles. I couldn’t stand up for any of the climbs and I couldn’t shift out of my big chainring. Oh well. I still did the ride in 41:06 averaging just over 20 mph giving me 9th overall in my age group for the bike section.

Actor Reenactment

Empty Bike Racks

I got off the bike and entered transition cutting the number of guys ahead of me in half. I like getting off the bike and not seeing too many bikes on the racks. I had an average second transition time and then it was time for the run. Once again I tanked on the run. I had strength left in my legs but it was my cardio that cut out on me. I couldn’t breathe very well and my heart rate was through the roof. I need to figure something out to help me run faster and for a longer period of time. I ended up with a pace of about 8:41 minute miles which is about a minute and a half slower per mile than what I want and have been training at. It is very frustrating. My total time was 1:20:26 which was good enough for 12th place in my group. I did move up from 6th to 5th overall in the whole Tri Series for my age group which is very good news.

All in all I am happy with the race and I am learning a lot about triathlons and myself in this whole 10 month journey of training and racing. Some things I need to learn better. I need to learn to not start off the bike portion of the race in my largest gear possible. It makes it very difficult to get going. I am learning though. Two more races to go. Congratulations to everybody who competed at the race and thank you to everyone who came out to cheer us on.

Dale and I at the Finish

Jack’s Generic Tri Report: Tanner Hunt

Tanner Hunt is currently standing 5th in his age group and 18th overall in the Texas Tri Series! Here is his report from Sunday’s race,  Jack’s Generic Tri:

Jack’s Generic Tri was somewhat of a breakthrough race for me I believe. My placing in my age group wasn’t outstanding, but my overall place floored me and I finally feel like I can hang with these guys.

My goal was to flirt with 1:10:00 – I finished in 1:08:28; good for 19th overall and 7th in my age group. (8 of the top 20 overall finishers came from my age group.) After my typical warm-up jog with a few strides put in, I actually hopped in the lake for a little warm-up swim as well. I have never done this before, but think that it might be something to start including in the pre-start activity. Swim starts have never been my strong point, but my awesome swim coach, Tenille, has been working with me to start out hard the first 50 or so meters and then find my stride. And my friend Ginny has been hounding me too to have more confidence in my swimming. Somehow I managed to wiggle my way to the front of the line at the swim start so that I had fewer bodies to beat up (and get beat up by) so when the horn went off it wasn’t as painful as normal. After a few strokes though I was getting a bit winded and started to worry a little bit about a Rookie Tri repeat, but then Tenille and Ginny got in my head and told me to suck it up. So I did, and managed to find my own little place in the stream of stuff and kept on trucking. I got out of the water in a respectable 8:17 and headed off to T1.

For the first time on the bike I really started to feel comfortable. Typically the run is the only part of the race where I feel in my element, but by that point you are so tired I am not so sure that element is all too comfortable. But I was off on the bike and not instantly being passed by everyone and their brother which is quite a new experience. About halfway through the race I saw a group of cyclists a decent ways up the road from me and I told myself to just keep them in sight. As soon as I thought that, it occured to me that I was gaining on them. Why wait for the run to try to pass them? So I focused on my pedal stroke and started my chase. Low and behold, I passed them up and continued to find more people on the ride to pick off. On the final set of hills I was passed by one guy in my age group, but I knew that I had passed more people than had passed me so I was pretty confident that I had at least held my position since the swim. As I was coming towards the end of the bike course I managed to get my feet out of my shoes before getting off the bike and avoided having to un-clip at the line. Miraculously I did not fall on my butt while doing this and came off the bike after averaging an astounding (for me) 21.7mph.

Alright, the run! Yeah, my legs were feeling the pushing I was doing on the bike, but if I can survive Panther’s, my run and tri coach, horrendous cut downs and hill repeats, I know I can belt out a fast 3 miles. The first half of the run course is up a gradual hill and definitely makes you feel all that you have already done to your legs. But, what goes up must come down, so the turn around point almost serves as a slingshot. I had managed to pass 2-3 guys in my age group on the way out, but had been caught by one guy right before the turn around. I passed him up in the turn around, but knew it was going to be really hard to hold him off. As we picked up the pace going down the hill I could hear him just settle in behind me. So I slowed the pace just a little figuring that I wasn’t going to do all the work and then have nothing left for him at the end. No sooner had I settled on this strategy than we came up on another guy in our age group. With less than a mile left strategy was being thrown out the window. The three of us all started to speed up a little and jockey for position. Kevin, the guy that had been following me, passed the two of us just as we made the turn around the lake and found a stride that I just couldn’t match. But I did manage to fall in behind the other guy and pull ahead with about 200 meters left and just barely managed to out sprint (that might be a generous word at this point) him to the finish. Somehow I managed to run the 3 miles in 19:37, good for the 9th fastest run of the day.

My standing in the Texas Tri Series will not change after this race, but I certainly walked away with a sense of belonging. Perhaps it was just a great race day for me. Perhaps it was my first week of transitioning to being vegan. Or perhaps it was culmination of the training, coaching, and support that I have been getting over the past year. I will certainly be marching into Austin Tri with a little more confidence.

Sadly, shortly after I finished I heard volunteers talking about a bike rider that had fallen and was being transported to the hospital. A little while later I got a call from a friend saying that it was our friend Stacey that had crashed. Stacey suffered a broken clavicle and is pretty banged up, but she will be fine. In the midst of phone calls, talking with race officials, finding Stacey’s gear, and filling in friends it occurred to me just how small, and wonderful, the tri community really is. Everyone knows and loves Stacey. She is incredibly out going and is that person that turns training partners into friendships that last well after the program. While I was trying to talk to people to get information, they either knew me, or at least knew that I had been around for a while, and tried to help in whatever way possible. Jack, of Jack and Adam’s, was wonderful and got Stacey’s bike and transition bag for me so that I was able to load it all in her car and take it back to Austin for her. I don’t know if this would have even been remotely feasible in a larger, less familiar environment. A large shout out to Jack and the rest of the Jack’s Generic staff. Also, there were no fewer than 20 people that told me to pass along their best wishes to Stacey and to let them know if there was anything they could do. Most of us do endurance sports to learn more about ourselves in some form or fashion, and the depth that this community has really came out yesterday. Thank you all. In the light of a scare, it really made me (and Stacey) feel good.

OK, that’s it for now. In the meantime – run friendly.