My earliest running memory is also my best dam running story. I ran with my Dad in the Best Dam Race in Georgia, a mile fun run across the West Point Lake Dam near my hometown of LaGrange, GA. All I remember was by the end of the "race" I was so tired I would only run if I was in danger of being passed by a female. Thankfully my competitive spirit has evolved past gender dependence.
My running career slowly and unintentionally progressed. I started playing team sports in middle and high school which taught me that running was a form of punishment and a couple of 5 and 10k races early in high school led me to one short season running cross country senior year. My one crowning achievement during this period other than a couple PRs was a letter of interest from Warren-Wilson College's Cross Country Coach. The letter was generic and most likely not based on my athletic abilities but it provided me as much joy as any college acceptance letter I received that year.
I got inspired to start running in college as part of a Health/Wellness extra credit assignment. The requirement was to set a health related goal and document your progress for 6 weeks. My goal was to run Georgia Tech's Pi Mile 4 times a week, not a lofty goal as I had stayed active, but it was my first time running consistently in 2 years, so it took effort. At the time most of my motivation came from the ear buds of my iPod with little aspirations past the end of 6 weeks. Long story short I learned how much running helped me cope with stress and I started to enjoy lengthening my runs and seeing new areas around Atlanta.
I continue to enjoying running farther and faster but I want to use it to see new areas of the world. My intent with this bog is to do just that document the places I run and the things I learn. Hopefully it helps to expand my opportunities. I cannot tell what role running will play throughout my life, hobby or even vocation but regardless of the result "I wish to (run) deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Kennesaw Mountain
I spent Saturday afternoon on the trails of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield. A trail system I had only visited once previously while breaking in a new pair of shoes (Minimus MT20) on an overly ambitious 16 mile outing. This time I had a well worn pair of shoes (MT 110) and plenty of water.
The trail toward Kolb's Farm began for me riddled with shiny roots and polished rocks. As I progressed though I turned my attention to the healthy green foliage; a celebration of spring surrounding me. The trail continued to provide beauty even with the occasional road crossing and sub-division. The amount of horse manure was also a turn off.
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| A snapshot of Spring |
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| The view from the top with Atlanta in the distance |
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| This was at the end of the run on the popular trail up and down the mountain. I originally thought the third line read "No Short Shorts". I obeyed the first part, continuing my fast hiking on the trail but defiantly wearing my short shorts.
To conclude here is the Infamous Stringdusters doing a fantastic bluegrass cover of a 80's hit, something I never thought I'd say. Enjoy!
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Thursday, April 5, 2012
Race Report - Oak Mountain 50k
I should probably start off with an introductory post about who I am, where I live, and most importantly why I run. But instead I am going to post a race report so that I do not forget about it. Who knows maybe I'll never have a introductory post.
To begin I am very shy about the distances I run simply because everyone is visibly shocked I enjoy running running long distance races. Though shy I am very serious about my goals and after completing my first ultra in January (also yet to be reported on) I signed up for the Oak Mountain 50k with only slight hesitation. I was eager to notch a more successful run but hesitant for the same reason every runner states "what if I get hurt and can't race". It is common for runners to push too hard when anticipating a race.
First off I did push rather hard going into this race. Two weekends before I did a 60 mile bike ride on the Silver Comet, a ~100 mile flat trail that runs from Georgia to Alabama. Then the next day I ran most of the GA Marathon route a couple hours after it had begun, at one point catching up to the last few finishers and feeling their excitement until skirting around the finish line. The next weekend however I did take it easy with a 4-day weekend in North Carolina day hiking around Linville Gorge and Brevard. This was probably a good decision and I think helped my legs recuperate as well as prepare for the semi-rough Alabama trail.
The Oak Mountain 50k takes place in none other than Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, AL a majestic area I had not explored before. About a year ago I was about jump in my car and make the 3 hour drive to go to a Widespread Panic show at the amphitheater near the park, a normally sold out and by all accounts amazing experience. But decided against it.
My father and I departed for Birmingham where my father's cousin had graciously given us a place to sleep and most importantly a microwave for my huge serving of spaghetti; flavored with fake meat and green peppers. I got a good night sleep even with a train passing every couple of hours and a bed that did not fit my 6'6" frame. The time change from GA to AL also helped because my body did not fight to wake up. My pre-race meal consisted of two bagels, an orange, and a Nalgene of Gatorade which is a little different than my normal stack o' pancakes and Gatorade but it was also a lot easier.
The drive to the park was short and only resulted in one wrong turn. The exciting part though was turning off the highway of fast food joints and onto the road to Oak Mountain State Park, instantly surrounded by nice oak trees and a first hint that it would be a beautiful day in the woods.
It is amazing that a 6 hour experience can seem so short. That is not to say that it was an easy race I realized early on that I needed a lot more long runs with a combination of hills, rocks, and roots in my training plan. With a time of 6:11 I was outside my goal of running sub-6, but I am getting ahead of myself.
I started the race middle of the pack knowing I needed to pace myself slow at the start as it was the hardest section of trail and wanting to finish strong unlike at the Fat Ass 50k. The grouping I was with mainly hiked the hills and bombed the downhills. I in turn initially wasted energy slowly jogging the hills behind and safely descending the downhills. Bombing downhills is a skill I need to require soon and to my credit does not come naturally to tall folks I feel. The uphill jogging was just bush league. Overall the first part of the race was good I kept a slow but steady tempo and actually passed some folks.
Going in to an ultra I think most people know chances are they are going to fall once. At least I hope everyone thinks that or I am just clumsy. I fell, only once though and it really didn't effect me too much. It was right at a calm section of the trail where I was fighting the urge to follow a side trail for an overlook view. I declined to do so, which seems to be my only complaint with the race, there was no time to stop and smell the roses.
Going back the fall, it left no real injuries though I did lose some ground to the two men I had been running with. I continued on my way alone still taking in the tranquil surroundings but paying more attention to gaining proper trip resistant footing after that. Peavine Falls Gorge came next which was a somewhat challenging descent into and out of the fall's small gorge. I caught up with Sally (a GUTS runner who I had wanted to pace from the start because I figured she would be the female winner) and jumped ahead of the two men that had passed me after my fall whom were recovering from a wrong turn. After the gorge my dad greeted me at the parking lot with reassurance that I had survived the hardest part and I reassured myself I was also feeling good. I led Sally up the mountain a little bit but could not hold on in the end. My butt started hurting and I instantly told myself this is the punishment for my lax exercise in the last couple of weeks before the race. I settled into my pace and caught up with a man who shared my interest in New Balance 110s which I stayed with until the last manned aid station at mile 21. He had a pair of teenage daughter in the race that where completing their 7TH ULTRA! I was humbled and also glad I was in front of them.
The following 5 miles between North Trailhead #2 and Peaville Falls #2 is where I think I needed a better performance. I continued to hike a majority of the uphills the entire race and this section had a very significant uphill forest road. My trouble came when we hopped back on the trail and I preceded to conservatively hike the ridge due to the rocky footing and countless missteps that almost caused me to fall. It seemed like any time I got the courage to run or thought the rocks had ended I found myself a minute later regaining my balance from a slip. However the best story also comes out of this section: while hiking I came face to face with what I know now was a King Snake. Harmless I am pretty sure but at the time I was very nervous and bewildered. I had to waste about 8 oz. of water trying to make the snake back down. I probably also lost a minute just for the interaction.
After making it back to Peaville Falls parking lot I was relieved not knowing exactly what the next trail would look like but knowing it would be downhill and optimistic that I could gain some time back. It started with a nice gravel downhill where I briefly hummed the "Rocky" theme to myself. Then descended back into the woods onto a nice mountain bike trail. It was mostly down hill and relatively smooth with the nice cushion of pine needles. I started to finish off my Pomegranate Passion Honey Stinger Chews at this point, 3 every 15 minutes instead of my normal 2 every 20 min, still optimistic that I could break 6 hours. This was based mainly off determination and not actual coarse knowledge or distance calculation. I was really happy I had a guy tagging along behind me though as I about made a 4 mile wrong turn that probably would have made me consider a DNF. I did however finish strong due in part to my father meeting me at both road crossings to cheer me on. The worst part of going all out was a half a mile from the finish I had a very epic trip that did not send me down but did seem to damage my right index toe heavily. I would imagine there were people at the finish line that heard me yell, more in annoyance than pain though. The best part of nearing the finish was the sweet smell of barbecue. A smell that as a vegetarian I do not get to indulge in but still floods me with nostalgia. I crossed the line in 6:11:13, 13th out of 95 and what I would consider a good result. I know I can do better but it's still an improvement from my Fat Ass of 6:28.
Another good result was my footwear. In my first race and only third substantial run in my New Balance 110s they performed excellent! I was very happy that they rode well on the rocky sections as well as the soft pine trails. I was amazed that other than making me look good they worked excellent at protecting my feet.
Though I completed and finished well in the race this quote from my Dad's cousin's fridge is too good not to post:
"Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm"
-Winston Churchill
I'd like to thank my Dad, Cousin Ed, Molly, and my Mom for all of their support before and after the race!
Gear
New Balance 110
Smartwool Ankle Socks
Marlboro Racing Hat
4 packages of Pomegranate Passion Honey Stinger Chews
1 - Amphipod water Bottle
7 year old running shorts and bib (bought for my first 10k)
American Express - Never Leave Home without it
To begin I am very shy about the distances I run simply because everyone is visibly shocked I enjoy running running long distance races. Though shy I am very serious about my goals and after completing my first ultra in January (also yet to be reported on) I signed up for the Oak Mountain 50k with only slight hesitation. I was eager to notch a more successful run but hesitant for the same reason every runner states "what if I get hurt and can't race". It is common for runners to push too hard when anticipating a race.
First off I did push rather hard going into this race. Two weekends before I did a 60 mile bike ride on the Silver Comet, a ~100 mile flat trail that runs from Georgia to Alabama. Then the next day I ran most of the GA Marathon route a couple hours after it had begun, at one point catching up to the last few finishers and feeling their excitement until skirting around the finish line. The next weekend however I did take it easy with a 4-day weekend in North Carolina day hiking around Linville Gorge and Brevard. This was probably a good decision and I think helped my legs recuperate as well as prepare for the semi-rough Alabama trail.
The Oak Mountain 50k takes place in none other than Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, AL a majestic area I had not explored before. About a year ago I was about jump in my car and make the 3 hour drive to go to a Widespread Panic show at the amphitheater near the park, a normally sold out and by all accounts amazing experience. But decided against it.
My father and I departed for Birmingham where my father's cousin had graciously given us a place to sleep and most importantly a microwave for my huge serving of spaghetti; flavored with fake meat and green peppers. I got a good night sleep even with a train passing every couple of hours and a bed that did not fit my 6'6" frame. The time change from GA to AL also helped because my body did not fight to wake up. My pre-race meal consisted of two bagels, an orange, and a Nalgene of Gatorade which is a little different than my normal stack o' pancakes and Gatorade but it was also a lot easier.
The drive to the park was short and only resulted in one wrong turn. The exciting part though was turning off the highway of fast food joints and onto the road to Oak Mountain State Park, instantly surrounded by nice oak trees and a first hint that it would be a beautiful day in the woods.
It is amazing that a 6 hour experience can seem so short. That is not to say that it was an easy race I realized early on that I needed a lot more long runs with a combination of hills, rocks, and roots in my training plan. With a time of 6:11 I was outside my goal of running sub-6, but I am getting ahead of myself.
I started the race middle of the pack knowing I needed to pace myself slow at the start as it was the hardest section of trail and wanting to finish strong unlike at the Fat Ass 50k. The grouping I was with mainly hiked the hills and bombed the downhills. I in turn initially wasted energy slowly jogging the hills behind and safely descending the downhills. Bombing downhills is a skill I need to require soon and to my credit does not come naturally to tall folks I feel. The uphill jogging was just bush league. Overall the first part of the race was good I kept a slow but steady tempo and actually passed some folks.
Going in to an ultra I think most people know chances are they are going to fall once. At least I hope everyone thinks that or I am just clumsy. I fell, only once though and it really didn't effect me too much. It was right at a calm section of the trail where I was fighting the urge to follow a side trail for an overlook view. I declined to do so, which seems to be my only complaint with the race, there was no time to stop and smell the roses.
Going back the fall, it left no real injuries though I did lose some ground to the two men I had been running with. I continued on my way alone still taking in the tranquil surroundings but paying more attention to gaining proper trip resistant footing after that. Peavine Falls Gorge came next which was a somewhat challenging descent into and out of the fall's small gorge. I caught up with Sally (a GUTS runner who I had wanted to pace from the start because I figured she would be the female winner) and jumped ahead of the two men that had passed me after my fall whom were recovering from a wrong turn. After the gorge my dad greeted me at the parking lot with reassurance that I had survived the hardest part and I reassured myself I was also feeling good. I led Sally up the mountain a little bit but could not hold on in the end. My butt started hurting and I instantly told myself this is the punishment for my lax exercise in the last couple of weeks before the race. I settled into my pace and caught up with a man who shared my interest in New Balance 110s which I stayed with until the last manned aid station at mile 21. He had a pair of teenage daughter in the race that where completing their 7TH ULTRA! I was humbled and also glad I was in front of them.
The following 5 miles between North Trailhead #2 and Peaville Falls #2 is where I think I needed a better performance. I continued to hike a majority of the uphills the entire race and this section had a very significant uphill forest road. My trouble came when we hopped back on the trail and I preceded to conservatively hike the ridge due to the rocky footing and countless missteps that almost caused me to fall. It seemed like any time I got the courage to run or thought the rocks had ended I found myself a minute later regaining my balance from a slip. However the best story also comes out of this section: while hiking I came face to face with what I know now was a King Snake. Harmless I am pretty sure but at the time I was very nervous and bewildered. I had to waste about 8 oz. of water trying to make the snake back down. I probably also lost a minute just for the interaction.
After making it back to Peaville Falls parking lot I was relieved not knowing exactly what the next trail would look like but knowing it would be downhill and optimistic that I could gain some time back. It started with a nice gravel downhill where I briefly hummed the "Rocky" theme to myself. Then descended back into the woods onto a nice mountain bike trail. It was mostly down hill and relatively smooth with the nice cushion of pine needles. I started to finish off my Pomegranate Passion Honey Stinger Chews at this point, 3 every 15 minutes instead of my normal 2 every 20 min, still optimistic that I could break 6 hours. This was based mainly off determination and not actual coarse knowledge or distance calculation. I was really happy I had a guy tagging along behind me though as I about made a 4 mile wrong turn that probably would have made me consider a DNF. I did however finish strong due in part to my father meeting me at both road crossings to cheer me on. The worst part of going all out was a half a mile from the finish I had a very epic trip that did not send me down but did seem to damage my right index toe heavily. I would imagine there were people at the finish line that heard me yell, more in annoyance than pain though. The best part of nearing the finish was the sweet smell of barbecue. A smell that as a vegetarian I do not get to indulge in but still floods me with nostalgia. I crossed the line in 6:11:13, 13th out of 95 and what I would consider a good result. I know I can do better but it's still an improvement from my Fat Ass of 6:28.
Another good result was my footwear. In my first race and only third substantial run in my New Balance 110s they performed excellent! I was very happy that they rode well on the rocky sections as well as the soft pine trails. I was amazed that other than making me look good they worked excellent at protecting my feet.
Though I completed and finished well in the race this quote from my Dad's cousin's fridge is too good not to post:
"Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm"
-Winston Churchill
I'd like to thank my Dad, Cousin Ed, Molly, and my Mom for all of their support before and after the race!
Gear
New Balance 110
Smartwool Ankle Socks
Marlboro Racing Hat
4 packages of Pomegranate Passion Honey Stinger Chews
1 - Amphipod water Bottle
7 year old running shorts and bib (bought for my first 10k)
American Express - Never Leave Home without it
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