11/14/09 – Team Nashville 10 Miler – 1:15:06 (7:31) – I ran the first three miles sort of fast, but I didn’t feel like pushing it. It was cold, and I knew I had another race the next day. So the last seven miles I slowed down and focused on running “marathon pace”. I felt fine at the end, so it was hardly a race effort. But technically it was still a PR because I’ve only done a couple of 10 mile races.

11/15/09 – TSBA 5K – 19:24 (6:15) – Another cold morning, but I felt pretty good. I led from the beginning, and I finished first overall. I was only 6 seconds over my PR, which wasn’t bad for having no one in front of me and running my second race of the weekend.

11/22/09 – Flying Monkey Marathon – 4:10:11 (9:33) – As in years past, the wheels came off in mile 19. I ran the first 14 miles with my friend Phil. He made us run smart and easy, and we intentionally averaged about an 8:45 pace for those miles. Then at 14 he took off, and I couldn’t keep up. When I got to the 18 mile mark, I was still doing “ok”, but I knew the next 4 miles were going to suck. And they did. I lost a ton of time there as I walked up the hills and stopped to stretch. I eventually figured out that my lower back muscles were painfully tightened up, and that was causing the tightness in my glutes, hams, and knees. After I did some toe touches and trunk twists (in mile 22), my back relaxed, and I felt much better. I ran the last 4 miles fairly well, but I missed going sub-4. My splits were 1:50 for the first half and 2:20 for the second half. Sheesh.

Next year I plan to just volunteer for the Monkey. Running it three times is enough for me. I love everything about the race except running the 26.2 miles. I realize now that I’m not a marathoner, and I’m ok with that. I’m also ok with the fact that most of my running friends are marathoners, and they love it. I enjoy running up to 13 miles or so, but I mostly enjoy running fast. Running long may be better for others, but it’s not my thing. I’m averaging a little over 30 miles a week this year, and that’s not enough to race marathons on. But with good planning, it’s enough to get two quality, intense runs, a long run, and a couple of short, easy runs each week. I’m happy with that, and we’ll see what I can do with that knowledge next year.

Live well and have an excellent holiday season!

• Donelson-Hermitage Dash 10K @ 8am – 1st overall.  41:13 (6:38 pace).
• Halloween Hunt 5 Mile @ 11am – 60th overall; 4th in my age group.  37:06 (7:26 pace).
• IRFTP Halloween 5K @ 5pm – 16th overall; 2nd in my age group.  20:55 (6:44 pace).

Overall, that was a pretty good day of racing.  I’d originally intended to “save some energy” during the first race.  But I had the opportunity to win it, so I had to go for it.  I intentionally trailed the leader for 5.5 miles, and then I was able to outkick him over the last 3/4 mile.  That was fun (an overall win always is), but it sapped all of my energy for the next race, which was a little over two hours away at that point. I survived the 5 mile race and went home to shower, nap, and eat.  I felt better for the 5K that night, but I still wasn’t 100%.  It was an interesting and educational day though.

On Sunday morning I got up and watched the live feed of the New York City Marathon.  Both the men’s and women’s races were exciting because neither one played out the way folks thought they would.  Paula Radcliffe (the women’s favorite) ended up 4th, but no one wanted to count her out of it until the very end.  But the shocker of the day was Meb Keflezighi winning the men’s race!  He’s the first American to win in NYC in 27 years.  It was awesome, and it was a great day for American distance running.  Ryan Hall (2008 US Olympic Marathon Trials winner and current US half-marathon record holder) finished in 4th place.

On Tuesday night I got a tip that Ryan Hall and Bart Yasso (Chief Running Officer for Runner’s World magazine) were going to be in town on Wednesday to do a group run at the Nissan headquarters right down the street from where I work.  So on my Wednesday lunch run, I jogged over to the Nissan building and joined in the running group with Ryan and Bart!  It was a lot of fun.  We ran almost 5 miles, and I got to talk to Ryan and Bart about all kinds of things.  It was definitely the best lunchtime run I’ve ever had and one of my most memorable runs overall.

Here are some pictures of today’s run with Ryan and Bart (thanks to Pamela Hobson):

• Me and Bart – Ryan’s in the background talking to Sara (his wife).
• Me, Sara, and Ryan – He grins on the opposite side of his mouth from me, which makes him a much faster runner.
• Me “outkicking” Ryan at the finish – Bart Yasso ran ahead to take this picture with Pamela’s camera.

I’m not sure what the rest of my running week holds, but I’m looking forward to it!

Today was just one race, but it had everything I love about running in it.  I alluded to some of the individual aspects above such as testing my limits and the mental focus required to run a smart race.  But today also had plenty of the social aspects of running.  I saw lots of friends before, during, and after the race, and that made the whole event a lot more enjoyable.  I’ve never been involved with any hobby, skill, or trade that is so balanced and applicable at both the individual and social levels.  I can run alone or with friends and get great health benefits and satisfaction.

The social running community here in Nashville is so open it’s amazing.  There are numerous races as well as several local running groups (e.g., Nashville Striders, East Nasty, Fleet Feet, Jim Spivy Running Club, Williamson Youth Track Club), and they all welcome new runners.  It’s a great change from my past experiences with other endeavors.  I spent several very satisfying years practicing Wado Ryu karate, but I was always disappointed that the great organization I was involved with wasn’t involved with any other Wado organizations.  Unfortunately, that’s common in martial arts.  Many schools are “islands” and are exclusive of all other schools and styles.  But, fortunately, running is not that way.  Running is very inclusive.  Races and group runs are generally open to members of any running group and unaffiliated runners.

Both socially and individually, I’ve had a great summer of running.  I finished the Fleet Feet Summer Speed Sessions.  It was well worth the $50 for 10 weeks of coaching, and it was a great group to train with.  This summer I lowered my mile PR to 5:31 (on the track), my road 5K to 19:18 (at the Smyrna Parks 5K), and my road 10K to 40:46 (today at the Franklin Classic).  I’ve also done the first three Striders marathon training runs (up to 18 miles), and I’ve done one 27 mile run solo.  (When I was off work on July 3rd, I headed out for a long “runabout”, and I called Amy 5 hours and 27 miles later to come pick me up.)  So things are going well.

For the fall, I’m going to keep training with a mix of speedwork and long runs up to half marathon distance.  I’ve got the Jaunt in the Joint half marathon coming up next week (September 16), and then the Music City Half on October 18.  After that I’m signed up for the Flying Monkey Marathon on November 22 (again and again).  The Flying Monkey has too much distance and too many hills for me to race it, but I’ll run it and try to improve my time from last year.

Amy is also signed up for the Flying Monkey, and it will be her first marathon.  She did two half marathons this spring, so now she wants to go for the brass ring.  There’s no tougher road marathon than the Monkey, so it should be an interesting day for both of us.  She’s training with the Fleet Feet Fall Marathon Training group, so I’ve basically given up all Saturday morning races for this fall.  I may sneak in one or two Saturday races if we can find a sitter for Aaron, but for the most part Saturday mornings are hers now.

On a related note, if you love running too, I strongly recommend that you read Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher Dougall.  If reading this book doesn’t make you want to go out and run, then you probably have no pulse.

The official results are available at http://www.menees.com/beermile/Files/2009%20Results.txt.  They’re also listed on BeerMile.com, the Internet’s “official” repository of beer mile results.  They’ve even Twittered our winning time.

The overall male winner was Phil “Zimmer” Zimmerman in 8:57.  The overall female winner was Amy “USC Girl” Young in 12:25.  There was lots of belching, a few “wet burps”, and one good puker.  But the puker showed a lot of heart!  She finished her beers (including a Skull Crusher as beer #4) and ran her penalty lap.  Her finish in 37:31 was exciting, strongly-cheered on, and way better than a DNF!

There were several spectators, and we had three awesome volunteers that helped with timing and beer checking (i.e., making sure each runner finished each beer).  Our timing official (Bob) even wore a black and white striped referee’s shirt to really look the part.

The post-race party was great too.  We hung out for a few hours in my saltwater pool, which was very relaxing even if the water was warmer than I’d hoped for.  The only downside to the party was the huge grill fire that destroyed the grill!  Fortunately, we had a fire extinguisher handy (every house should have one!), and we ordered Papa John’s pizza instead.

(FWIW, the leftover meat and treats were given to my wife’s church this morning.  They cooked them up and delivered them as Meals on Wheels, so at least all the remaining burgers, hot dogs, and peanut butter treats went to a good cause.)

On a personal note, I tried to go to work this morning, but I felt like I’d been kicked in the head.  I turned around after a mile, came home, and called in sick.  If we do this again next year (and that’s a big if), I’ll definitely make it on a Saturday afternoon instead of a Sunday.  I feel sorry for everyone that had to go on to work this morning (especially Phil who had to fly out on a business trip)!

I’d love to post some race pictures, but I didn’t take any.  Many of the spectators did, so I’m hoping they’ll send me some links soon.  In the meantime, I do have a picture that one of the volunteers sent me of when the grilling started to go horribly, horribly wrong:

I did a decent warm-up, and the race started at 6:01am – dawn in Ridgecrest.  I let a bunch of people pass me in the first mile, so I was in seventh place at mile 1.  I concentrated on doing what my friend Phil said to do, which was run 7:00s for the first few miles.  By mile 4 I had moved back up into fourth place.  The first two downhill miles were over, and we’d had a mile or two of uphill that dropped some people back.  On the gravel road miles (4.5 – 7.5), three of us swapped positions a couple of times between 3rd, 4th, and 5th.  By mile 8.5, I moved into 4th for good, and by mile 10 (going uphill!) I moved into 3rd for good.

I ran with the second place guy in my sights for two miles and kept slowly closing the distance.  We were shoulder to shoulder at 12.5, and I started my kick.  I knew it was a little early, but I felt great.  Everything had been going right all day.  I was hurting badly by 13, but I knew I was being followed so I pressed on.  When I turned the corner and saw 1:28:4x on the clock, I started sprinting all out.  I crossed the line at 1:29:04 and almost puked my guts out.  I had to stagger around for almost a minute before I could breathe correctly again.  I’d finished in second place, and I’d opened up a 15 second lead over the guy who finished in third place.  It turns out he hadn’t followed me after all.

This was the kind of day I’d dreamed of as a racer.  I controlled my urge to start too fast, and I didn’t worry about pace after the first couple of miles.  In fact, I never looked at my Garmin after mile 3.  I just used the course markers to know what mile I was in, and I focused on racing the people around me.  It was a lot of fun, and after the immediate pain wore off, it was especially exciting to have a huge PR. Previously, I was at 1:36:58, so I’d cut 7:54 off my old PR.

This race was the complete opposite of my Country Music Half.  Everything came together this time.  All of the runs I’ve done with Bob and Phil around the Old Tom King Half course in PWP really paid off.  I was strong on the downhills and on the uphills because of those runs.  I got a stitch in my side a couple of times, but something Amy had told me the day before fixed those.  Exhale as long and hard as you can until you’re almost going to cough or puke.  Repeat that a couple of times and the stitch will go away.  It really loosens the diaphragm up. I hadn’t heard that before, but Amy told it to me on the drive up to Asheville.  It was a fortuitous tip.

So that’s the end of my extended “spring” racing season.  I got PRs in my last four races (although one was just a time trial), so that’s a nice way to go out:

• 5/9 Girls on the Run 5K – 19:35
• 5/25 Hendersonville Classic 10K – 42:46
• 6/2 Summer Speed Sessions 1 Mile Time Trial – 5:41
• 6/6 Downhill @ Dawn Half Marathon – 1:29:04

Now I’ll probably take a break from serious racing until August.  I’ll, of course, run the Beer Mile on 6/21, and I’ll probably pace Amy in a 5K or two.  But mostly I’m going to focus on training hard and doing my best to improve at shorter distance races.  At the Fleet Feet Summer Speed Sessions, we’re focusing on improving our 1 mile race times, so that should really help me out over all the distances I care about (i.e., everything up to half marathons).

It’s been a long time since I posted anything about knifemaking.  I’ve basically given it up for now in favor of running.  Someday I’d like to get back into knifemaking, but I want to get some better supplies before I do (e.g., a Bader bench grinder and some ATS-34 steel).

I made my last knife in July of 2007, but I never got around to posting about it until today.  It’s the only knife I’ve made with bolsters, and they were interesting to work with.  They made sanding the handle more challenging because I didn’t want to scuff up the bolsters.  I wish I’d had thicker metal to make the bolsters out of though.  The handle feels too thin in the front, but I had to sand the wood down to line up with the bolsters.

This knife turned out ok, but I kind of stopped mid-stream on it.  It’s been two years, so I can’t remember why.  But this knife was just for practice anyway.  It’s not made out of knife-grade steel, and I never even put an edge on it.  The pictures above were taken in the shop on a paper towel, so they’re not very good.  The blade actually has a swedge (a non-sharpened false edge) on top, but it’s difficult to see in the pictures.

Material: Random stainless steel with walnut handles and 1/8″ steel pins.
Blade Length: 3 7/8″
Overall Length: 8 1/8″
Made: July, 2007

• 4/11 Purity 10K – I sicked out of this race because I had the black plague, swine flu, or something awful that weekend.
• 4/18 Union City Civitan 5K – 20:12, 2nd overall, AG 1st (blog post)
• 4/25 Country Music Half – 1:44:45, horrible bonk! (blog post)
• 5/2 Wild Thang 9M Trail Run – 1:07:24, AG 2nd
• 5/9 Girls on the Run 5K – 19:35, AG 3rd, PR

It’s good to finish with a PR. So far this year, despite a great training season, I’ve only gotten PRs in 5K and 1Mi races. I’ve only run one 10K (Race Judicata), and it was very hilly and on a day I ran a double. For a 10K PR I was counting on the Purity 10K, which is fast and flat, but that didn’t work out due to illness. Now I’ve decided to skip the GJCC Triathlon on Memorial Day and run the Hendersonville Classic 10K instead. It’s not flat, but it’s not as hilly or a double like the Race Judicata 10K. Hopefully, I can get a new 10K PR at Hendersonville.

I’m also running the Downhill At Dawn Half Marathon in Asheville, NC on June 6th. The Nashville Striders provide race management for it, and the whole family is going to Asheville so I can run it. Hopefully, that will be a PR day too, but at least it will be a chance to redeem myself after giving up in the Country Music Half. Plus we’re going to see the Biltmore Estate while we’re there, and it’s totally awesome!

The 2009 Country Music Half Marathon officially kicked my butt. I was aiming for a 1:30, and I finished at 1:44. Yuck.

I lost the 1:30 group by mile 5. I fell off PR pace by mile 10. After that I didn’t care about my time, except I felt obligated to finish faster than last year. So in the last 3.1 miles I walked some, drank a cold beer, and lollygagged to the finish line at 1:44 something. It was a disgusting, humiliating race. Every long run all year felt better than this one. I stunk this up royally.

My 5K split was 21:17 (6:51), and my 10K split was 43:48 (7:02). My 10 mile split was 1:14:19 (7:26), and by that point 8 minute miles were the best I could do. My time and pace over the last 3.1 miles (including walking and beer drinking) were 30:27 and 9:47. Sheesh.

The weather was not good for racing, but my day could have been worse. More than 40 runners were taken by ambulance to Metro General hospital, and one runner died of a “sudden cardiac event” after crossing the finish line. A dark day indeed.

The Good News

From this mess I’ve learned some lessons that should make me a better racer in the future. Probably the most important lesson is that I should only worry about running the best race I can on the current day in the current conditions. I was devistated by mile 10 when I knew I’d missed both my goal and any shot at a PR. But I foolishly threw away the last 3.1 miles and stopped racing.

The point of a race is to finish as fast as you can, and I gave up on that. I’ve never given up in a race before, not even in my two awful Flying Monkey finishes. At the Flying Monkey Marathons I didn’t really expect to do well, so going into them I had a “do the best I can no matter what” mindset. But my hopes were too high for the CM Half given the weather that was dealt to me. Now I see that that was no reason to quit, but I didn’t get that on Saturday. I’d much rather be able to look back and say I did my best to run a 1:39 than to have to admit that I gave up and ran a 1:44. I won’t make that mistake again.

Another lesson I learned is that if I’m having a truly terrible day because of the weather then probably everyone else is too. Even with my half-hearted finish, I ended up in the top 3.3% overall (760 out of 22749), the top 7% in my age group (98 out of 1398), and the top 7% in my gender (599 out of 8244). Those percentages aren’t too bad, but they make me feel like a real loser for giving up and letting dozens (or hundreds?) of people pass me in the final miles while I sipped a beer and jogged.

A final important lesson is that I shouldn’t put all my eggs in one basket by having a single goal race. This was the only half marathon on my spring race calendar. I skipped the Frostbite Half in February and the Tom King Half in March, so now I have to wait until this fall to “redeem myself”. I’ll probably put several halfs on my fall calendar (e.g., Middle Half Oct. 3, Music City Half Oct. 18, Let Freedom Run Nov. 1 (?)).

Yesterday I mailed my entry for next weekend’s Wild Thang 9Mi trail run. I’m getting right back on the wagon or the horse or whatever cliché involves racing and a little bit of drinking. Here’s hoping for better weather and faster running!