Become a Brooks Running Tester 10

While bumbling around Brooks’ site trying to find a specific t-shirt, I stumbled into this little section off the main page – which allows you to signup to test out Brooks shoes.

http://www.brooksrunning.com/Fun+Stuff/Become+a+Lab+Rat/

I tried signing up, but apparently I ran aground in the fail-boat, because it said they didn’t need my services.

But who knows…maybe you services are better and they’ll like you and pick ya.

But it turns out that someone at Brooks actually does like me after all!  I had e-mailed them to ask about getting the t-shirt noted earlier with one of their recent promotional slogans “Run Mo Faster!”, I have  bumper sticker of it (pictured above).  While they didn’t have any more shirts, helpful employee J. instead offered a package of bumper stickers on the house!  She immediately tossed it in the mail and it arrived on Saturday – just before the race.  Woohoo!

Given I have no kids, I think I'll donate the honor student one to my mom (I was an Honor Student, really!  And she runs everyday, although she has never does any races/events).  That said, it would be pretty darn funny to put that on my bike case too!  Make some heads turn.

Thanks J.!

Become a Brooks Running Tester 0

While bumbling around Brooks’ site trying to find a specific t-shirt, I stumbled into this little section off the main page – which allows you to signup to test out Brooks shoes.

http://www.brooksrunning.com/Fun+Stuff/Become+a+Lab+Rat/

I tried signing up, but apparently I ran aground in the fail-boat, because it said they didn’t need my services.

But who knows…maybe you services are better and they’ll like you and pick ya.

But it turns out that someone at Brooks actually does like me after all!  I had e-mailed them to ask about getting the t-shirt noted earlier with one of their recent promotional slogans “Run Mo Faster!”, I have  bumper sticker of it (pictured above).  While they didn’t have any more shirts, helpful employee J. instead offered a package of bumper stickers on the house!  She immediately tossed it in the mail and it arrived on Saturday – just before the race.  Woohoo!

Given I have no kids, I think I'll donate the honor student one to my mom (I was an Honor Student, really!  And she runs everyday, although she has never does any races/events).  That said, it would be pretty darn funny to put that on my bike case too!  Make some heads turn.

Thanks J.!

GW Parkway 10 Miler Report: Aka – the mother of all negative splits 17

Alternate titles: “Top 20 finish”, “How to take photos on the run”, “How not to take photos on the run”, “How to lay down a monster 100 yard sprint finish”, “PR baby”, “I should cycle 90 miles the day before a race more often”.

I didn’t have any real expectation for this morning’s race. There was no taper and heck – it wasn’t technically it had been taken off the schedule – and then just put back on again 10 day ago. It was essentially just a training run. There was also no speed work (intervals) done prior. I haven’t done any intervals since November. At this stage in the game my running is all about building my endurance – speed will come later. I kinda think of my self as a car being rebuilt – where I’m missing a lot of the parts still (like the seats, side mirrors, and the dashboard). But I do have an engine and steering. Braking is optional.

After waking up around 6:30AM, it was off to Starbucks for a repeat of yesterday’s breakfast (breakfast sandwich). Given that changing up yesterday’s nutrition plan seemed to work – why not a repeat? After that, it was straight to the busses in Old Town. The GW Parkway run starts at the Mt. Vernon Estate (home of George Washington), and runs to Old Town Alexandria – exactly 10 miles away. So they bus you from the finish line to the start and then you run to the finish.

After a quick journey to Mt. Vernon we arrived at the start line. Everyone already had their bibs – but you picked up the chips on race morning. It took just mere seconds to grab it – no lines. After that, it was a short mile warm up run (and tree visitation).

From there, me and the guy who finished three places ahead of me headed off to the start line. We started about 10 feet back from the two winners, but basically on the line. Looking back, you can see the sea of 5,000 peoples.

The start of the race was rather anticlimactic – just a horn sounding and off we went. The trick to this race is that the first third of a mile you drop 100ft of elevation – which means many folks start off WAY too fast. Luckily I was roughly near the front, but there was still about 100+ people ahead of me.

(Mile 1ish)

I shall now take the opportunity to apologize for my fuzzy photos. I didn’t exactly stop to take these – and I was truly racing. So it was hold it up and hope for the best. Had it been sunny they would have come out better, but it was overcast and slightly misting.

The first few miles I just kept it consistent at a 6:30ish pace. That was the ‘unofficial plan’. My 10-mile PR had been 66:12, so I figured 65:00 would be a good goal shot. Although I also knew that anything sub 70:00 would have been fine and acceptable given lack of taper.

As I got to the 5 mile marker things had thinned out considerably. Spectators were also giving us ‘place’ counts. At the 5 mile marker I was told that I was in roughly 25th place. Not bad I thought. What was not good though was how far apart we were spaced. The next person was 100 yards ahead, and the next another 100 beyond him. See fuzzy photo below. That white dot is 24th place.

At this point I started speeding up. Not exactly by design – it was sorta just whatever felt good. I briefly looked at my HR and nearly crapped myself. Note to self: Don’t look at HR again. I just kept it at whatever felt good – while ever so s.l.o.w.l.y reeling the person in ahead of me.

Here’s my fuzzy 3 miles to go self-photo…while running at a 6:08 pace.

I took out a guy at the next water stop (just after mile 7), he was starting to break down.

Shortly after that we had to cross some windy flats – which sucked…actually, that was a point of conversation between me and #24. I said “This wind blows”, to which he responded “Tell me about it”.

A few seconds later as I completed the pass he said “You go get him, #23 in front, and #22 ahead of him – you’re looking strong”.

I responded with “Thanks – but that guy’s a hell of a long ways away – we’ll see. Good luck!”.

And off I went – up the slightest incline that gets you over the highway. I run this portion of the route every Thursday – I know what it takes to run that little hill right. And I blasted up it. From there it was down the hill and past #23.

Next we came up on the last hill at mile #9. I love hill running during races. I passed this dude on the hill (who’s much skinnier than the photo makes him look). #22 down. That is gun time + 3 seconds differential for my start time.

As I crested the hill past the fans, a lady shouted out “You’ve made it over the last hill!” – to which I shouted a resounding “Hallelujah!!!” – that got a laugh from the small crowd.

Next up, the home stretch of just under a mile straight down the main drag. I took this opportunity to take one last self photo.

(I never said they were the most flattering photos)

At this point – I’m up (or down) to a 5:44/mile pace and just bounding along. Getting faster with every block. I could see the finish line about half a mile ahead and some of the crowds. And one last person ahead of me.

I pushed and pushed – and slowly got within reach. Don’t be mislead though – this guy was still very much in the game and hauling ass by all standards. Somewhere off to the left said a few seconds later was Lesser is More & Rebecca, and then a short bit later The Lazy Triathlete.

I snapped this photo, put down the camera – and said out loud “Let’s nail this”. And I took off like a bat out of hell. Like a rocket engine being lit. The feeling was indescribable – pure adrenaline. I passed this guy like he was standing still. The crowd cheered. My Garmin said I clocked 4:15/mile pace for this final stretch. He had no idea what hit him and couldn’t do anything about it. It was like my mini-version of this video.

After passing him but still at serious haul ass speed I took one last photo of the finish – which the crowd loved! Hopefully the photographers got a photo of me taking a photo.

I cruised through in a total time of 63:16 (6:18/mile). And took 20th place overall (out of 5,000). Here’s the little results sheet.

But the real kicker is the negative split I ran:

First 5 miles: 6:28/mile (32:16 total)
Last 5 miles: 6:10/mile (31:00 total)

After that I caught up with my friend and occasional running mate (17th place).

(Yes, my cycling tan is awesome)

Overall this race exceeded my expectations in every way. Given the huge mileage effort the day before I wasn’t expecting much – so this rocked. I shaved off more than 15 minutes off my time from last year in this race, and three minutes from my 10-miler PR back in November. And at this race I’m ahead of where I want to be to meet my year end goals.

Oh…after that I knocked out 3,200 yards in the pool (shortened from 3,700 yards). And then played a round of golf (walking, should have gotten a cart). I suck at golf. This below photo was the story of my day…at…every…hole.

Oh, and the weekly totals:

16.3 hours of training (down slightly because of the race cutting out my long run)

• 162 miles on the bike
• 34 miles on the run
• 12,100 yards like a fish

Have a great week!

GW Parkway 10 Miler Report: Aka – the mother of all negative splits 0

Alternate titles: “Top 20 finish”, “How to take photos on the run”, “How not to take photos on the run”, “How to lay down a monster 100 yard sprint finish”, “PR baby”, “I should cycle 90 miles the day before a race more often”.

I didn’t have any real expectation for this morning’s race. There was no taper and heck – it wasn’t technically it had been taken off the schedule – and then just put back on again 10 day ago. It was essentially just a training run. There was also no speed work (intervals) done prior. I haven’t done any intervals since November. At this stage in the game my running is all about building my endurance – speed will come later. I kinda think of my self as a car being rebuilt – where I’m missing a lot of the parts still (like the seats, side mirrors, and the dashboard). But I do have an engine and steering. Braking is optional.

After waking up around 6:30AM, it was off to Starbucks for a repeat of yesterday’s breakfast (breakfast sandwich). Given that changing up yesterday’s nutrition plan seemed to work – why not a repeat? After that, it was straight to the busses in Old Town. The GW Parkway run starts at the Mt. Vernon Estate (home of George Washington), and runs to Old Town Alexandria – exactly 10 miles away. So they bus you from the finish line to the start and then you run to the finish.

After a quick journey to Mt. Vernon we arrived at the start line. Everyone already had their bibs – but you picked up the chips on race morning. It took just mere seconds to grab it – no lines. After that, it was a short mile warm up run (and tree visitation).

From there, me and the guy who finished three places ahead of me headed off to the start line. We started about 10 feet back from the two winners, but basically on the line. Looking back, you can see the sea of 5,000 peoples.

The start of the race was rather anticlimactic – just a horn sounding and off we went. The trick to this race is that the first third of a mile you drop 100ft of elevation – which means many folks start off WAY too fast. Luckily I was roughly near the front, but there was still about 100+ people ahead of me.

(Mile 1ish)

I shall now take the opportunity to apologize for my fuzzy photos. I didn’t exactly stop to take these – and I was truly racing. So it was hold it up and hope for the best. Had it been sunny they would have come out better, but it was overcast and slightly misting.

The first few miles I just kept it consistent at a 6:30ish pace. That was the ‘unofficial plan’. My 10-mile PR had been 66:12, so I figured 65:00 would be a good goal shot. Although I also knew that anything sub 70:00 would have been fine and acceptable given lack of taper.

As I got to the 5 mile marker things had thinned out considerably. Spectators were also giving us ‘place’ counts. At the 5 mile marker I was told that I was in roughly 25th place. Not bad I thought. What was not good though was how far apart we were spaced. The next person was 100 yards ahead, and the next another 100 beyond him. See fuzzy photo below. That white dot is 24th place.

At this point I started speeding up. Not exactly by design – it was sorta just whatever felt good. I briefly looked at my HR and nearly crapped myself. Note to self: Don’t look at HR again. I just kept it at whatever felt good – while ever so s.l.o.w.l.y reeling the person in ahead of me.

Here’s my fuzzy 3 miles to go self-photo…while running at a 6:08 pace.

I took out a guy at the next water stop (just after mile 7), he was starting to break down.

Shortly after that we had to cross some windy flats – which sucked…actually, that was a point of conversation between me and #24. I said “This wind blows”, to which he responded “Tell me about it”.

A few seconds later as I completed the pass he said “You go get him, #23 in front, and #22 ahead of him – you’re looking strong”.

I responded with “Thanks – but that guy’s a hell of a long ways away – we’ll see. Good luck!”.

And off I went – up the slightest incline that gets you over the highway. I run this portion of the route every Thursday – I know what it takes to run that little hill right. And I blasted up it. From there it was down the hill and past #23.

Next we came up on the last hill at mile #9. I love hill running during races. I passed this dude on the hill (who’s much skinnier than the photo makes him look). #22 down. That is gun time + 3 seconds differential for my start time.

As I crested the hill past the fans, a lady shouted out “You’ve made it over the last hill!” – to which I shouted a resounding “Hallelujah!!!” – that got a laugh from the small crowd.

Next up, the home stretch of just under a mile straight down the main drag. I took this opportunity to take one last self photo.

(I never said they were the most flattering photos)

At this point – I’m up (or down) to a 5:44/mile pace and just bounding along. Getting faster with every block. I could see the finish line about half a mile ahead and some of the crowds. And one last person ahead of me.

I pushed and pushed – and slowly got within reach. Don’t be mislead though – this guy was still very much in the game and hauling ass by all standards. Somewhere off to the left said a few seconds later was Lesser is More & Rebecca, and then a short bit later The Lazy Triathlete.

I snapped this photo, put down the camera – and said out loud “Let’s nail this”. And I took off like a bat out of hell. Like a rocket engine being lit. The feeling was indescribable – pure adrenaline. I passed this guy like he was standing still. The crowd cheered. My Garmin said I clocked 4:15/mile pace for this final stretch. He had no idea what hit him and couldn’t do anything about it. It was like my mini-version of this video.

After passing him but still at serious haul ass speed I took one last photo of the finish – which the crowd loved! Hopefully the photographers got a photo of me taking a photo.

I cruised through in a total time of 63:16 (6:18/mile). And took 20th place overall (out of 5,000). Here’s the little results sheet.

But the real kicker is the negative split I ran:

First 5 miles: 6:28/mile (32:16 total)
Last 5 miles: 6:10/mile (31:00 total)

After that I caught up with my friend and occasional running mate (17th place).

(Yes, my cycling tan is awesome)

Overall this race exceeded my expectations in every way. Given the huge mileage effort the day before I wasn’t expecting much – so this rocked. I shaved off more than 15 minutes off my time from last year in this race, and three minutes from my 10-miler PR back in November. And at this race I’m ahead of where I want to be to meet my year end goals.

Oh…after that I knocked out 3,200 yards in the pool (shortened from 3,700 yards). And then played a round of golf (walking, should have gotten a cart). I suck at golf. This below photo was the story of my day…at…every…hole.

Oh, and the weekly totals:

16.3 hours of training (down slightly because of the race cutting out my long run)

• 162 miles on the bike
• 34 miles on the run
• 12,100 yards like a fish

Have a great week!

How a long bike ride should be 11

Over the last few weeks I’ve been kinda bummed about some of my long rides. While I was getting in the distance – my performance wasn’t exactly where I wanted it (or needed it to be). Some of it can be attributed to the horrid conditions, but then some of it is simply because my bike normally falls on Sunday (and on Saturdays I normally: Run 20 miles, Bike an hour, Swim 3,500+). So by time Sunday comes along my legs are in a state of mild-protest, and my desire to sit in the saddle for hours on end wanes. Plus, cycling isn’t exactly my favorite sport.

But today this was different. WAY different. For starters – it’s Saturday. I have a running race Sunday, so we moved the long bike/brick to today. Secondly, the weather was incredible. Third, I got both a new (and better) pair of cycling shorts, as well as completing changed my nutrition plan. Also, I had an exciting route in store. So I was actually somewhat excited for once for my long ride.

After filling my first round of bottles with eLoad I headed off…to Starbucks to grab a breakfast sandwich and Grande Java Chip. :) What?!? You think I’m going to ride 80+ miles on an empty stomach? I had been using Heed as my drink of choice for the last year. But I wanted to experiment a bit, in particular with higher sodium drinks. Calorie wise Heed & eLoad are the same. But eLoad has over 370mg of Sodium (in comparison to 60mg with Heed). I put two packets per 24oz bottle, and loaded two bottles up. That should last the first 90-120 minutes. After that, 7-11 time.

I followed this route, which starts at a park near Greenbelt, and then heads to BWI airport and then to Annapolis, and finally back to Greenbelt. All on ‘rolling and forgotten country roads’. Sounded perfect.

I will apologize now for any slightly blurry, or less than ideal photos. I took everything while ‘underway’, and didn’t generally stop to take pictures. So it’s kinda a point and shoot and hope for the best effort.

(The unload)

From there it was off for the first leg, to BWI. The route was awesome! Barely rolling but otherwise deserted roads. Passing country farms and friendly people abound.

(Here’s the end of the first ‘segment’, passing BWI airport. Those are the runways there, and airplanes to the right)

The first segment met up with a loop trail around BWI. It’s a great little path that’s not too overcrowded – and the people are friendly. It really helps to have friendly people out there.

Shortly after passing BWI I made my first 7-11 stop to pickup more liquid. A quick scan of the options had me choose Gatorade’s G2. I’ve never tried it before – but it was relatively high in sodium (270mg per 20oz). So I grabbed some and an extra bottle of water for my back pocket and headed off. This is one of the best parts about this route – there are TONS of little country markets and convenience stores tucked away to easily get more liquids.

Off to Annapolis!

At this point you follow the B&A (Baltimore and Annapolis) trail. It’s kinda like the W&OD trail, except less busy. And it’s a straight shot. Perfect.

(I had to stop and take a photo of this, only in Maryland would they mark a ‘pass’ with an elevation of 141ft)

As I make the approach into Annapolis. The US Naval Academy off in the distance over the river. And a runner pushing through the heat and open sun.

I successfully made it downtown. A bit of odd directions on the final approach, but at this point I knew how to navigate Annapolis anyway (just follow the tourists) – so just got down to the waterfront. I then had a couple of USNA midshipmen take my photo. Btw, random Rainmaker piece of trivia for you – I had actually planned to go to the US Naval Academy throughout most of high school, but ultimately decided against it.

From there, off for the final 33.5 miles (err…ok, a bit more after some ‘issues’).

Just out of town, I made another stop to pick up more liquid (for those keeping track, we’re now at about 50 or so miles). Oh, and did I mention it’s now 84* with 80% humidity? Welcome to Spring!

So…two more bottles of G2 and another bottle of water. And a bag of Pop Tarts. Why Pop Tarts? See, my little hydration plan lacked any caloric considerations. Doh. It’s a work in progress. And the bag of Pop Tarts was on sale for 79 cents.

After that, more rolling hills, bays, farms and quiet roads.

Yes, I posses mad Pop Tart skills. I can both eat a Pop Tart in the aero position and take a photo at the same time…all while going 20mph towards my destination. A small piece of said Pop Tart may have been lost during the filming of this scene. Darn bumps. :( I almost went back for it…almost.

Oh wait… I did. Because as I was enjoying my pop tart, I missed a turnoff by a mile. Backtrack… (although I did leave my piece of tart for the birds).

I had to stop and take a photo of this combo. A street called “Goodluck Road”, combined with a sign in front of a church that said “Renew your faith”. If either of those fail you, then just simply go to the “Y Worry” farm instead (below).

Finally about 4.5 hours later, and after getting ‘off course’ twice I ended up finishing at 87 miles – back at the park where I started.

But wait – the fun’s not over yet. I still have to brick it! Off I went for two loops around the little lake, pulling in just shy of a 5K. Averaged a more reasonable 7:30/mile this time (over past weeks I’ve had issues with going way to fast on the bricks, I need to work on IM race pace). And then I got a dude to take my photo. There was some confusion though, so not such a good photo.

All in all it was a great ride, I felt strong right to the very end – even kicking it up a bit in the last few miles. My legs aren’t sore at all (surprising), and my ass is equally happy. I would say that I need to add the next layer of the nutrition plan into place (calories), because during my run I was feeling a bit underpowered – and my HR was way higher than it should have been. But I’ve got four months to work that all out. Also need to continue to work on aero position, I didn’t do a whole lot today. I know from repeated experience that the second I go into aero position I gain about 1.2mph on the flats – so I really need to get that fixed.

I had planned to do a 3,700 yard swim afterwards, but I’ve made an executive decision to defer it till after the race tomorrow.

Here’s what the whole thing looked like – from way up high:

So all in all – an awesome day! Finally an awesome bike ride that I can actually be happy with. Ready for some Wildflower action next weekend!