Despite what the falling mercury, snow covered tracks, and treacherous icy roads, there are still a few days left of fall. As my favorite season winds down and turns into my least favorite season, here is a recap of what I was up to this fall.
My fall racing season did not live up to the new high standards I set for myself last spring. There were many factors that led to this, but the primary was the fact that I pushed my body beyond its limits in the spring, and I spent most of the summer getting my legs back under me. In the excitement that came with reaching a new level of running this spring, I got caught up in wanting more and more. It was not the best approach, but I learned a lot from it. There is a need to take risks and put yourself out there in big races, but too many, too close together will make for a rough couple of months. When you are running well, you often begin to feel indestructible. As the results poured in this spring and I reached levels which I previously felt were out of my reach I just got too aggressive.
I realized I had really torched my body after racing the USA Half in June. I was able to PR in the race and ran 1:08:04, but my hamstrings were shot. They would have made functional guitar strings they were so tight, knotted, and strained. For the next month or so, it seemed a monumental task even to roll my chair into my desk at work. I knew things were really bad when I could barely break 16:00 for a low-key 5k in the Harrisburg area. Despite all the warning signs, I pushed ahead on my training, thinking I could still get myself in shape to run 2:18 at the Philadelphia Marathon in November. There was never a cataclysmic injury that forced me to take several weeks off - only a nagging weariness that forced me to have several 5-10 day stretches with no running.
Hindsight being 20/20, I should have taken at least 3 weeks off completely from running after the half marathon, but that is not how I am wired. I could have even run very easy during my recovery phase. Again, that's just not how I am wired.
Part of what makes me a good runner, my grit and stubbornness, is also my downfall. I want the best out of myself on a day to day basis, and sometimes the need to recover gets lost in my desire to turn every run and workout into a personal competition hurts me, as it did this fall.
I finally got back to feeling good in September. By this time, however, I had less than 8 weeks to get ready for my target fall race, the Philadelphia Half Marathon. My workouts all fall were not spectacular. Having learned my lesson all summer, I did not want to rush things in workouts trying to get ready for a race that likely would not be spectacular with even the best workouts. My mileage hovered in the mid-80's and low 90's and I kept my workouts to threshold intervals with very short rest.
As I prepared for the half marathon, I sprinkled in a few shorter races, with good results that led me to believe I was getting into good shape. I raced the York White Rose 5 Miler with very little real training under my belt and ran 25:58 (to put my improvement since college in perspective, my 8k PR in college was only 26:30). This race was on a tough course, and I definitely had to work for the final time, but it served as a hard effort to jump start my training.
As I continued building up for Philly, I put in a hard effort two weeks out of the race. The Keystone Track Club puts on a 5k cross country race each year. I went into the race with the goal to just run as hard as I could with no real idea of my fitness. I came through the mile in 4:52 and never looked back, finishing in 15:19 on a tough grass course. I believe I could have run at least 10 seconds faster with some competition up front to race with. I've always felt cross country courses are at least 30 seconds slower for 5k when compared to a track, leading me to believe I was in at least 14:50 shape. Not bad for 6 weeks of training and no speed work!
I did not really make an effort to taper or peak too much for the half marathon given my delayed start to training. My race plan was to go out with the chase pack off the back of the Africans and hang on as long as I could. As long as I could turned out to be 5 miles. I came through 5 miles in 25:20 and feeling like crap. Luckily for me, the toughest hills in the race still laid ahead of me! I knew it was going to be a rough finish, and it did not disappoint as I struggled home in 1:09:22.
At the end of the day, although it was a terrible race, all it was was a hard effort to keep me moving on the right track to regaining my spring form. I took a few easy days after the half marathon as a precaution, but the race did not really take too much out of me. I got back to racing pretty quickly, running a good Turkey Trot in Palmyra. I was surprised to find myself running stride for stride with a professional runner, Darren Brown at a small town turkey trot. He kicked away from me with his sub 4:00 speed the last mile, but I ended up running 15:05 coming off a very slow first mile on a cold windy day.
The real highlight of my fall season finally came the first weekend of December at the Christmas Dash for Cash 10k in Chambersburg. Here, I really gutted out an excellent race on a rolling course. I finished in 31:01, very close to my track PR. It was in this race where I finally felt like my old self in a race. When I am on my game, I am able to relax for much of the middle portions of the race, covering moves of the runners around me, feeling in control of the effort. I ran tough here, but ultimately came up a little short of another very good runner with just a little bit more finishing speed than me.
This last race of the fall really left a great taste in my mouth and was just the spark I needed to get ready to put in a good block of training for a spring marathon. Despite all of the setbacks of the summer and early fall, I was able to get myself back to a high level. I learned you can't fake a half marathon, and have more respect for the distance. You won't see me going into a half marathon unprepared ever again.
As always, thank you to the Keystone Track Club, my fiancee, and my family for supporting this crazy addiction of mine. It was a good season of racing that left me hungry and wanting much more this winter and spring. Hopefully, 2014 will bring a real break through in the marathon for me.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Teamplayer
This weekend I had the most fun racing in a very long time. On the schedule this weekend was the Christmas Dash for Cash 10k in Chambersburg, PA. What made this race special was the chance to compete as a team with the other members of Keystone Elite and the chance to win a nice $1200 first prize to be split between the four members of the team. My team was composed of Jeremy Brady, Katie O'Regan, and Rosie Mascoli. Going into the race, we liked our chances, but knew there would be tough competition from Team Hydroworx who was led by two pretty talented runners in Brian Fuller and Mary Dell.
We got to the race early and warmed up together and talked strategy. It was a nice change to my typical prerace routine which involves warming up by myself and getting myself nervous about the race. This was different as all the talk about the team competition and who we needed to beat got me very amped up and ready to go out and race. Going into the race, we thought that if I could beat the number one runner from Hydroworx and if Katie and Rosie could keep it close to Mary Dell and beat Hydroworx' second girl we would pull out the win. As we stood at the starting line, I felt something that I have not really felt since running cross country or racing against Lehigh in the track dual meets - a sense that I could not let my team down.
The race started out as I expected it would. I went straight to the front with Matt Gillette, a fine runner from Shippensburg who I knew would be very tough to beat. He and I led the field through a very pedestrian first mile of 5:10. I had no idea what to expect from the course as the only description I had heard of it was "rolling." With no idea what was in store ahead on the road, I was content to keep the pace comfortable, surging a little to test the rest of the guys tucked in behind us. Everyone seemed to handle the slight surges easily, so I did not try and push anything too much early on in the race. We hit 2 miles in 10:12, coming down a hill into the Scotland School campus. This was where Gillette made a significant surge to try and break open the race. I have always been a poor downhill runner, and he seemed to gap me effortlessly.
It was at this time that Brian Fuller also went screaming by me. I realized these two were significantly better downhill runners than myself. I felt like I was going all out to even maintain the gap they had opened on me. As the gap opened, I began to feel a little down on myself and had some negative thoughts. I snapped myself out of it as I remembered the team competition. I would not give up and let the rest of my team who was working hard behind me down. I put my head down and went to work on the uphills that followed in the 3rd and 4th mile.
I gained on Fuller and passed him right around the 4 mile mark. My split between 2 and 4 was a very fast 9:44, and I felt that I was beginning to gain on Gillette ahead in first place. I worked hard on the uphills of the 5th mile and had the gap down to around 5 seconds. At this point, all that was on my mind was trying to put as much ground on the runners behind me to help out in the team competition. I was still trying hard to make up ground for the individual win, but just couldn't match Gillette's downhill running ability (the kid is 6'-6" so I don't really feel to bad about it). I closed the last 2k of the race in 6:01 to finish in 31:01. I really did not expect to be so close to breaking 31 for a road 10k as my track PR is only 30:48. Had I been paying more attention to my watch I would have sold out a little more for those 2 seconds.
I finished 30 seconds ahead of the Hydroworx leader, but the race for the team title was far from over. I turned into the biggest cheerleader in Chambersburg and started going crazy as I saw Jeremy come over the final hill several seconds ahead of the 2nd runner for Hydroworx. I was running around yelling and cheering him on as he kicked in for 33:51. I really felt proud of the fight he showed the whole race to bring in a solid #2 finish for our team. Our girls then clinched the victory for us with two really great races. Katie kept it very close with Mary Dell who is a national caliber runner and PR'ed by a ton to run 35:07. Rosic sealed the victory by beating the 2nd Hydroworx girl by over 30 seconds in 36:27, another very good time on a tough course.
As we added up the times, we knew we had won the race. It was great to celebrate the win on the cooldown together. I had forgotten how much of a boost running for a team gives you. Some of the biggest kicks I can remember while running came on the high school 4x8 relays. With that stick in your hand, you cannot accept defeat as easily as without. Running is such a solitary sport, and it can be selfish at times. What time did I run? What place did I get? Who did I beat? But when you run for a team, there is a totally different feeling. There's and extra fight in you and a refusal to be beat. It isn't about you, but rather the team. When I finished the race, I hardly cared that I had nearly broken my track PR on a hilly road course. All I wanted to do was cheer for my teammates and see how they finished.
I was really reminded what I first really loved about running. I started out in high school as a cross country runner only, and always ran my best in races where I knew I was counted on to help clinch the victory. I actually believe some of my gutsiest races came when I was just a mediocre #3 or #4 high school runner on a good team. In this position you just can't let the seniors down. In college, I just never really had that feeling. In a big invitational, I knew my team wasn't going to place very high and neither was I. It just didn't seem to matter as much, and I missed the pressure to win as a team. It just doesn't feel that important to fight for 120th or 140th place in a big time D-1 invitational. Even in a big road race when you are running by yourself doesn't feel the same. The "You are not beating me no matter what" feeling is a little harder to find (although the cash payout does help bring that out). Growing up playing team sports has wired me much differently than athletes who have primarily focused on individual sports. There is no describing the feeling of winning as a team. My all time favorite team moment came when my Lafayette College Leopards XC team finally exited the Patriot League basement my senior year. In a blizzard, our top three pushed each other the whole race and then turned to go crazy as the rest of our scoring runners fought to the line. Finally not finishing last as a team felt so good. Our pack ran so well that day because we knew what was a stake that day (the fact that there were Andre bottles in the fridge waiting to be popped after a good race might have motivated us a little bit too. Andre would have been pissed at us if we finished last, and you can never let Andre down.).
There is truly something special about racing as a team. Your time doesn't matter. All that matters is putting it all on the line for your teammates. I can't wait for the next time Keystone Elite toes the line together!
We got to the race early and warmed up together and talked strategy. It was a nice change to my typical prerace routine which involves warming up by myself and getting myself nervous about the race. This was different as all the talk about the team competition and who we needed to beat got me very amped up and ready to go out and race. Going into the race, we thought that if I could beat the number one runner from Hydroworx and if Katie and Rosie could keep it close to Mary Dell and beat Hydroworx' second girl we would pull out the win. As we stood at the starting line, I felt something that I have not really felt since running cross country or racing against Lehigh in the track dual meets - a sense that I could not let my team down.
The race started out as I expected it would. I went straight to the front with Matt Gillette, a fine runner from Shippensburg who I knew would be very tough to beat. He and I led the field through a very pedestrian first mile of 5:10. I had no idea what to expect from the course as the only description I had heard of it was "rolling." With no idea what was in store ahead on the road, I was content to keep the pace comfortable, surging a little to test the rest of the guys tucked in behind us. Everyone seemed to handle the slight surges easily, so I did not try and push anything too much early on in the race. We hit 2 miles in 10:12, coming down a hill into the Scotland School campus. This was where Gillette made a significant surge to try and break open the race. I have always been a poor downhill runner, and he seemed to gap me effortlessly.
It was at this time that Brian Fuller also went screaming by me. I realized these two were significantly better downhill runners than myself. I felt like I was going all out to even maintain the gap they had opened on me. As the gap opened, I began to feel a little down on myself and had some negative thoughts. I snapped myself out of it as I remembered the team competition. I would not give up and let the rest of my team who was working hard behind me down. I put my head down and went to work on the uphills that followed in the 3rd and 4th mile.
I gained on Fuller and passed him right around the 4 mile mark. My split between 2 and 4 was a very fast 9:44, and I felt that I was beginning to gain on Gillette ahead in first place. I worked hard on the uphills of the 5th mile and had the gap down to around 5 seconds. At this point, all that was on my mind was trying to put as much ground on the runners behind me to help out in the team competition. I was still trying hard to make up ground for the individual win, but just couldn't match Gillette's downhill running ability (the kid is 6'-6" so I don't really feel to bad about it). I closed the last 2k of the race in 6:01 to finish in 31:01. I really did not expect to be so close to breaking 31 for a road 10k as my track PR is only 30:48. Had I been paying more attention to my watch I would have sold out a little more for those 2 seconds.
I finished 30 seconds ahead of the Hydroworx leader, but the race for the team title was far from over. I turned into the biggest cheerleader in Chambersburg and started going crazy as I saw Jeremy come over the final hill several seconds ahead of the 2nd runner for Hydroworx. I was running around yelling and cheering him on as he kicked in for 33:51. I really felt proud of the fight he showed the whole race to bring in a solid #2 finish for our team. Our girls then clinched the victory for us with two really great races. Katie kept it very close with Mary Dell who is a national caliber runner and PR'ed by a ton to run 35:07. Rosic sealed the victory by beating the 2nd Hydroworx girl by over 30 seconds in 36:27, another very good time on a tough course.
As we added up the times, we knew we had won the race. It was great to celebrate the win on the cooldown together. I had forgotten how much of a boost running for a team gives you. Some of the biggest kicks I can remember while running came on the high school 4x8 relays. With that stick in your hand, you cannot accept defeat as easily as without. Running is such a solitary sport, and it can be selfish at times. What time did I run? What place did I get? Who did I beat? But when you run for a team, there is a totally different feeling. There's and extra fight in you and a refusal to be beat. It isn't about you, but rather the team. When I finished the race, I hardly cared that I had nearly broken my track PR on a hilly road course. All I wanted to do was cheer for my teammates and see how they finished.
I was really reminded what I first really loved about running. I started out in high school as a cross country runner only, and always ran my best in races where I knew I was counted on to help clinch the victory. I actually believe some of my gutsiest races came when I was just a mediocre #3 or #4 high school runner on a good team. In this position you just can't let the seniors down. In college, I just never really had that feeling. In a big invitational, I knew my team wasn't going to place very high and neither was I. It just didn't seem to matter as much, and I missed the pressure to win as a team. It just doesn't feel that important to fight for 120th or 140th place in a big time D-1 invitational. Even in a big road race when you are running by yourself doesn't feel the same. The "You are not beating me no matter what" feeling is a little harder to find (although the cash payout does help bring that out). Growing up playing team sports has wired me much differently than athletes who have primarily focused on individual sports. There is no describing the feeling of winning as a team. My all time favorite team moment came when my Lafayette College Leopards XC team finally exited the Patriot League basement my senior year. In a blizzard, our top three pushed each other the whole race and then turned to go crazy as the rest of our scoring runners fought to the line. Finally not finishing last as a team felt so good. Our pack ran so well that day because we knew what was a stake that day (the fact that there were Andre bottles in the fridge waiting to be popped after a good race might have motivated us a little bit too. Andre would have been pissed at us if we finished last, and you can never let Andre down.).
There is truly something special about racing as a team. Your time doesn't matter. All that matters is putting it all on the line for your teammates. I can't wait for the next time Keystone Elite toes the line together!
(L to R): Jeremy Brady, Rosie Mascoli, Katie O'Regan, yours truly
Money to the Cielin, Money Over Errythin, FBGM...you know the deal
The whole KTC contingent who raced at the Cash Dash
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