"Spring" Update!

Cherry Blossoms and Snow...something's not right here!

Sure, the calendar says Spring came last week, but the snow storm I ran through to get to work this morning obviously didn't get that memo.  I guess this was a year for March to come in like a lion, out like a lion, and probably spill its lionishness over into April as well. It's all good though, as I've turned the corner from some early season issues and am rounding nicely into shape, so the weather can't get me down too much! The key for me getting healthy this year was finally figuring out that my ongoing hamstring issue in my left leg (that dates back a couple years) isn't actually a hammy problem at all. Turns out it's all connected to a sciatica issue in my back. As soon as I figured that out, it was an easy fix to get my back warm and loose before my runs to keep the nerves from misfiring down my leg. It's always great to find the true root to a nagging injury like this one, and it's beyond great to be back running full steam ahead!

In terms of miles, I've slowly and smartly ramped up the miles the past 3 months (150 in January, 200 in February, and 300 this month), and now that I'm 100% healthy, I'm looking forward to a couple "normal" 400 mile months before the Black Hills 100. I'm really looking forward to that adventure in South Dakota, and while I normally don't run these things to win, I will admit I'm hoping to bring home the giant skull trophy from this one!

In addition to figuring out my sciatica issue, I also credit mixing up my shoes a bit to take care of a foot problem that shelved me for a couple weeks in January. Since then I've run most of my road miles in the super cushy Hoka Bondi Speeds to help "actively recover" from the foot pain, and on the trail the past month I've enjoyed the low & responsive Salomon Sense Mantras quite a bit. I've also just come into a pair of shiny new Adidas Boosts, which, if you believe all the advertising hype, will give you more cushioning and energy-return than any other shoe...while also apparently making you smarter, more attractive to the opposite sex, and guaranteeing you low low interest rates on any future mortgage refinancing deals. I think I need to run a few more miles in them to see if all their claims pan out, but for now they do seem like a comfortable shoe to run in, and that's really good enough for me.

On the race front, I won't be running with the fellas up front this soon, but I am excited to say I'll be heading back to test out the early-season legs at the Bull Run 50 miler on April 13. I've even teamed up with a couple speedy friends in the Team competition to keep me motivated to grunt through some lung burn in the last 20 miles or so. Nothing like a little peer pressure to keep the ol' legs moving! I'm looking forward to writing a Race Report in a couple weeks to recap all the fun. Now if only we can figure out a way to get the temps up out of the 30s and 40s by then...hmm...maybe the Adidas Boosts can also help with that?

Frozen Birthday Run Fun!

This past Saturday I dragged my frozen legs 36 miles around the rolling trails of Lake Anna State Park in central VA. The occasion was my annual Birthday Run, on which I run my years in miles to remind me both that:

1) My chosen sport makes me do stupid things, and  
2) February is a horrible time to have a birthday when you're forced to run outside for 5+ hours in sub-freezing weather.

Now that the adventure is over, I'm sarcastically happy to say that 2013's edition succeeded in validating both counts yet again!

This year my actual b-day (Feb 5) falls on a very busy work Tuesday for me, so I took the liberty to run my 36 miles the Saturday before (Feb 2). This was especially convenient for me since the "Icy 8HR" race took place over the weekend, so it was as if 125 others came out to celebrate my birthday run with me too! Notable in that field was my buddy Andy, with whom I planned on running the whole time...and not just because he promised me some homemade pumpkin birthday cupcakes at the finish. In the end, I enjoyed those cupcakes quite a bit, even if Andy made me look bad by running an extra 4.7 mile lap to push his total over 40 for the day. Show off. For me, I very much enjoyed not having to run for the full 8 hours as I sat wrapped in blankets at the timing tent for a couple hours enjoying hot soup and sipping a special birthday gift from Gary Knipling (it was the kind of eggnog they don't let Santa drive the sleigh after drinking!).  All in all, it was my most enjoyable birthday run to date, that's for sure!

Bundled up in the coooooold. I guess it's true old people feel drafts all the time.

The added bonus of stopping at 36 miles was saving my out-of-shape legs from being wrecked this week. I caught a case of the dreaded "too much, too soon" running disease at the start of January and needed to be smart and slooow in ramping up my miles all month while hamstring/foot issues healed. I pretty much stuck to an easy 6 miles most nights all month (while wearing my cushy Hoka shoes to protect the foot), and while that type of light training won't allow me to run a quick marathon in March, my eyes are most definitely on the real prize of giving the Black Hills 100 a solid effort. I'd like to do well in that race, if for no other reason than to see the look on the TSA agents' face when I try to get my "trophy" on the airplane home!

If I fill it with magazines and candy, can it count it as my carry-on?

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, & 2013 Plans!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope all of the runners out there enjoy this time of year as much as I do (i.e. no focused running, lots of focused eating). As always, this is also a great time to look back over the past year and start planning for the fun ahead in 2013. I find the most enjoyable parts of ultrarunning are the moments of reflection after a race/year, and the promise and excitement of future adventures. It's the whole middle part --you know, actually running these horrible things-- that I find much less enjoyable, mostly because I can't run them on the couch with my feet up and a beer in my hand. Why I didn't decide to get involved in UltraRelaxing instead, I'll never know. I think I have the natural talent to get a sofa sponsor...

On the reflecting side: I didn't do a whole lot of running in 2012 (compared to previous years, that is...I still ran about 2,000 miles), but the miles I did cover were so very very enjoyable. First off, I shared a bunch of them with Sammy. Sure, it can be tough to find a like-minded running friend in your area to train with, but my solution of simply creating one myself* (*with a teensy bit of help from my wife) really worked out great in the end. Even though the running stroller was a sure-fire way to put Sam to sleep within a couple miles, his excited Goos and Gahs while awake always made me smile. I look forward to many many more miles and conversations with my training buddy in the coming years!

As for 2013, I'll be relying on Sammy's ever-increasing weight in the stroller to help whip me into shape for a few fun races. First up will be my triumphant (...and by that I mean "triumphant in a non-winning way") return to the regular marathon world at the Columbia, South Carolina Marathon on March 9. It'll be my first trip back to SC since my honeymoon, and my first visit to the capital city. My buddy Dan Hartley is the RD, so it'll be great to run the race he's built from the ground up in his home state. I'm hoping to keep my "speed goal" training going over the next couple months in order to get my finish time back down to something in the low 2:40s. I think that would be a great way to start off the racing season. It's been nearly a decade since my last legit marathon race, so half the fun of this thing will be the surprise of how it all feels after so long away.

After that bit of puddle jumping in SC, I'll be getting back in the Big Boy pool and heading out to South Dakota for the Black Hills 100 Miler at the end of June. I've wanted to run this race since it debuted a couple years back, and thanks to the support and excitement from my VHTRC club-mates, 2013 will be the year to finally get out there and enjoy 100 miles of trails in the Black Hills!  Having never been to SD, I'm very much looking forward to both the race and the side trips to sight-see in the surrounding historic areas of Deadwood, Leed, etc..

After cashing in the bag-fulls of gold I'll undoubtedly find in my journey through SD, I'll play things low-key the rest of the summer back in VA before gearing up for my first trip back to the 24HR National Championship since 2009. Hard to believe my schedule has had me miss out on this super-fun event the past 3 years, but that streak will end in 2013. Already looking forward to running with so many like-minded (read: "brain-damaged") friends at this year's race in Oklahoma! ( I'm realizing now that by ending that sentence with an exclamation point I probably owe some copyright money to the Rodgers & Hammerstein heirs.)

All of this race talk has me excited to get out there and run a few inspired miles right now...but I know better. December is a time for putting off any and all runs when even the slightest distraction or more desirable alternative arises. ....What's that? A half-eaten slice of cold pizza and some old Seinfeld re-runs? I'll be seeing you another time, Nikes.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All!!!