Tri, Jeff, Tri!

As previously indicated, the wife and I had been training for a few months to run in the Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. This event consists of doing the Half Marathon (mascot: Donald Duck) on Saturday and the full Marathon (mascot: Mickey Mouse) on Sunday. We did the Disney Marathon as our first (and only, up to this point) 26.2mi race two years ago and looked forward to going back. So, down to Orlando we went. I should point out that our entire trip is documented over at my Travel Log; this entry is only about the race so head over there if you're interested in reading more about our trip.

We went to the expo on Friday, the day before the Half. Check-in was as efficient as possible, just what you'd come to expect from Disney as they have operations management down to a finely-tuned machine. We picked up our bibs (with integrated D-Tags this time...wahoo!) and then went to check out the available merchandise (the official merchandise is available both in the building where you get your bib and the other building that has the expo and goody bag pickup). Last time we did this, we were unable to buy any of the cool marathon jackets (that were really nice as they had sold out of them early; this is why we went to the expo early on Friday morning). However...the really nice Goofy Challenge jackets had sold out, with only XL left (way too big for either one of us!). Nuts. We checked the other merchandise area and they were out too. We did end up buying a bunch of stuff (how often does one do an event like this?), including a marathon (not the Goofy) jacket and a really nice sweatshirt for me two jackets and a pullover for the wife. We got a couple other things too. We then picked up our actual goody bags (you get tech shirts for each race and one for the Goofy, so three in all, and they are really nice shirts...high quality). We also ran into an old friend who was there to run, which was nice to catch up. After we completed our purchasing, we left the expo and spent the rest of the day relaxing. Dinner was at the Yachtsman Steakhouse (their webpage is here and their TripAdvisor page is here), which was fantastic.

Saturday, Half Marathon day. Up at 3am. Dressed and out the door. We had some food from the Runner's Breakfast Box we obtained from our resort (prepackaged bagel, peanut butter, granola bar, banana, and water), which is an excellent thing to make available. We rode the bus over to the start, at Epcot, with no issues. We did the bag check, hung out for a little while, and then began the ~0.5mi walk to the starting corral. being in Corral F, we had to wait quite some time to get going. Each corral gets its own start, with a start from Donald Duck, fireworks, etc. Pretty cool stuff. By 6am, we were out and running. We took this race pretty easily and ran it in nowhere near a PR for either one of us. We stopped and took pictures with some of the characters (there are a lot of characters out on the course, which is awesome!) and the wife videotaped some of the cool parts of the run, including going into the Magic Kingdom. For this course, you run directly from the start outside of Epcot to the Magic Kingdom, around that park, and then back to Epcot, circling through some of it and ending where you start the day, in one of the big Epcot parking lots. The roads between the two parks are pretty uneventful but there are lots of characters to see, other entertainment including bands every so often, etc. Running down Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom is awesome. The course is almost all flat, with the major hills being the ramps to/from various roads during the interpark portions. You don't spent too much time in either park, but when you are in the parks, it's awesome. I will say that this run felt very tight, making it hard to run around slower-moving folks in the more narrow areas. This is made more complicated by the number of people that walk the whole thing and do so four or five people abreast, despite the rule to do it only two abreast. Not cool, folks. Overall, this was quite a fun run; I would not, however, ever try to set a 13.1mi PR here due to the congestion and very crowded conditions.

After the Half, we headed back to our resort, ate some breakfast (Mickey-shaped waffles!) and spent the rest of the day relaxing and doing some walking around Downtown Disney. We had an early 3pm dinner at Portobello there (here is their webpage and their TripAdvisor page). This place was OK but not as good as the other Italian options that Disney has, in Epcot and at the Swan and Dolphin hotels. We went to bed early, around 8pm, tired from the 3am wakeup call and dreading the repeat of that the next day.

Sunday, Marathon day. Up at 3am. Dressed and out the door. Same foodstuffs as the previous day. The ride over was just an quick and relaxing and it felt like we were standing in the corral for less time this morning. Mickey Mouse started this race, and off we went. This course is a little different as you start by running a loop through Epcot, looping back to the starting line area at mile four. It's somewhat depressing to run four miles and end up right back at the start, but oh well. :) Then the course is similar to the Half Marathon course up to the Magic Kingdom, with only a few changes to add some distance. Once through that park, the course changes and you run down to the Animal Kingdom. This stretch is hard, because it's all on back roads with not much to see. There are still characters and bands, but it's a lot less of an event than the rest of the course. It also runs past the water treatment plan and the composting plants, which stink to high heaven. Plus it's a long stretch, something like 5 or 6 miles. During the first half of the full marathon, we felt great and were running well, faster than our time from the actual race the day before. Then, at about mile 18, the challenge of the Goofy really kicked in and we both hit a big energy drop and soreness in the legs. It really sucked that this was about when we were getting close to Animal Kingdom, but not there yet. Here is where you dig deep.

The run from Animal Kingdom over to Hollywood Studios is not much better. It's long, it's all on roads, and there isn't much to see. At this point in the race, it's hard. But we just kept going and eventually turned into Hollywood Studios, right behind the Tower of Terror (the best ride EVER). Then you hit the chocolate stop (I had a Krackle :)). Here is where the race picks up again, as you run through Hollywood Studios, out to the Yacht and Beach Club resorts (our favorite ones) and then through to Epcot. It's pretty much nonstop with lots of spectators cheering and lots to see. We entered Epcot, ran through the World Showcase, and to the finish line, with just enough energy to sprint to the end. We received our Marathon medals and turned the corner, where we received our Goofy medals. Full marathon, and the Goofy Challenge, completed.

The full is a challenging course. Like the half (and all of Florida, really), it's mostly flat with the hills being the ramps connecting the roads. The parts through the parks are wonderful and amazing; the parts on the connecting roads are much like any other running race. This race was a lot less congested than the half marathon was. The first half was really good and were were surprised by how good we felt...only to be challenged quite a bit in the back half. We were only a few minutes off our time from two years ago, when we did the full marathon, so that's good.

After the race, we went back to the room, dealt with some built-up GI issues, celebrated with some champagne, ate some lunch, and napped until dinner. We had dinner at Citricos (here is their webpage and here is their TripAdvisor page), one of our favorite restaurants in Walt Disney World, which was fantastic. I had some braised beef short rib, which was amazing...probably the best dinner I've had in months. Then, off to bed, very happy to be done.

So that's it. The Goofy Challenge was the big event for the wife and me. We knew this was going to be hard, and it was. We learned a lot about the challenges of this type of unique event and how the half affects the full. We learned that the two 3am wakeups in a row affected us moreso that the running did. We learned that we like training together as it gives us a lot of disconnected time just for the two of us (the wife has a great post about this). We also learned that if we decide to do something, we can get it done. I don't think we'll be doing this event again; once is probably enough. It was a great event and Disney does it well; if you're looking for something fun to do in addition to a full marathon, I highly recommend this. It is appropriately named...the Goofy Challenge.

As I've indicated, the wife and I are currently training for the Goofy Challenge in January - running the Walt Disney World half-marathon on Saturday and the full on Sunday. Mostly, our training has been the standard marathon plan (mirroring what we did two years ago for our first marathon). Some weekends, we've added in a second longer run so approximate the demands of the Goofy, but none longer than six miles or so. Until this past weekend.

We were scheduled to do 22mi, based on the marathon plan. However, neither Saturday or Sunday offered a long period of time in which to do so, as the wife had gotten us tickets to the live version of Phineas and Ferb on Saturday (so much fun!) and we were going to the Ravens v Colts game on Sunday, both of which fell in the early afternoon. So, we decided to split up the run and run 10-11mi each day. Having done 20mi each of the previous two weekends, we figured this would be much easier.

Due to the schedule, we needed to run early. Our usual plan has been to sleep in on weekends until 10am or so (we both miss a lot of sleep during the week due to our hectic schedules and this is the only way we stay sane) and then run. This was not going to work, so we opted to get up on Saturday and run the Howard County Striders Bagel Run, a tradition of many years where folks go out and do their long runs starting as a big group, with course options from 5mi up to 30mi. We've largely avoided these as they are early and we tend to run slower than most of the folks there. However, the timing worked out this week. We got up and met our friend Mo, where we dropped off her car at the 5mi mark (she's been out of running recently so this seemed a good distance for her). We then drove up to the start and ran, the three of us until 5mi and then the wife and me for another 5mi. This was actually a nice breakup of our normal routine, having Mo around for a while to talk about different things and then some running-alone time with the wife. Afterward, we went to the Wilde Lake Bagel Bin (hence the name of the run) with the best cycling instructor in the world and her husband (they ran longer but quicker) and I had the best pizza bagel I've had in months. Delicious. 10mi = piece of cake. :)

Day two. No organized run this time and we got up at 7am instead of 6.30am. We drove out and ran the same 10mi course that we did the previous day. This time it was just us and neither of us felt that bad. Decent run, but no pizza bagels at the end this time.

By the end of the day on Sunday, both the wife and I would barely stay awake. We were exhausted. Both of our sets of legs were sore and tired on Saturday night and mine were very tight on Sunday. by 8pm, we were both falling asleep. By 10pm, we were in bed, fast asleep. While running 10mi each on both Saturday and Sunday was a good plan, and we totally needed it for the Goofy, it really took a lot out of us and made us realize that running 20mi is much different than running 10mi twice in a row. It's also been quite some time since we've done the Bagel Run and that was fun. We didn't run with too many others, due to pace differences, but having Mo around for a while was great and then bagels afterward, and the company of over 100 runners in a cramped little bagel shop was fun too. This won't be an every week thing (sooooo early...) but I think you'll see us there more often from now on...when we need to run early that is. :)

Marathon training continues. This weekend we ran 18mi on Saturday and then entered the Zoo Zoom 5mi race at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore on Sunday. Yep, getting ready for the Goofy Challenge is quite some work. :)

Anyway, we ran the Zoo Zoom a few years ago and then it stopped occurring. This was a real shame as both the wife and I really liked this race. It's in Baltimore's Druid Hill Park, where the first three miles are in the park with some hilly areas (this park also hosts the Dreaded Druid Hills run every year, but this course isn't nearly so bad) and then the last two are through the zoo, with the last mile being through exhibits filled with yelling animals. It's quite a fun run. So, when they announced it was coming back, we jumped at the chance to do it again.

One of the best parts of the race is seeing the animals, both in the last mile of the run and beforehand. Some of the Zoo's Animal Ambassadors were out, including these two guys. The Screech Owl was my favorite (his name is Pellet). :)

After visiting the animals, we ran the five miles, which was somewhat hilly, including a huge down-and-up segment right when you actually enter the zoo. Pretty crazy run. When I hit mile four, the lemurs were the first animals I ran by and boy were they loud and cheering everyone on. Very cool. Then, the gorillas. Someone had the bright idea of yelling to them and they did not like that so they jumped, hard, at the glass. Very loud and scary...and cool. After running past some other animals, including a very chill cheetah, I finished the race and then waiting for the wife, who finished a few minutes later. Not a horrid time for five miles, but not great either...considering we ran 18mi the previous day, we both were pretty happy with our times. :) We visited some more animals (including a duck named Ritz...because he's a quacker!), grabbed some basic food, and headed home.

I love this event. The course is hilly but fast. Running through the animal exhibits in the last mile gives you quite a boost right when you need it after all of those hills. Plus, the race provides a long-sleeve t-shirt with a cool design (I have so many short-sleeve tech shirts, I never want another one...), it's cheap ($30 per person), and it benefits a great cause, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. I'm very glad to see the Zoo Zoom come back, and I look forward to running it again next year!

As you may recall, the wife and I are planning to do the Disney Goofey Challenge in January; this is the event that includes a half-marathon on Saturday and then the full one on Sunday. Our training plan has pretty much been based on our last marathon plan (I actually copied the week-by-week run totals) and then we are including some double weekends in there as well, where we will run the normal marathon training distance one day and a (significnatly) shorter distance the other. This seems to be working out OK, but I guess we will not really know until January. :)

So, anyway, last week we were scheduled for a 14mi run and our local running club, the Howard County Striders, was hosting their annual Metric Marathon. Basically, this is a 26.2K event instead of 26.2mi. It works out to be just about 16.2mi, which was close enough to our training goal that we opted to sign up. Since it's a local race, it's pretty cheap ($30/person) and includes a nice tech shirt and support water/Gatorade stops along the way. We actually tried to run this three years ago and also two years ago, but both of those were cancelled due to ice. Nuts. This year...perfect weather. Onward!

We showed up nice and early for same-day packet pickup. After relaxing in the truck for a little while, we went back over and chatted up the other runners, seeing many familiar faces. Then, off we went. We stuck with the 10:15min/mile pace group for a while and then fell back. Remember, this was a marathon training run and we had run 16mi the week before as well. We completed the course mostly on our own, alternating positions with two military runners who were running with 45min rucksacks on their backs. Cool stuff.

Anyway, the course for this race takes you all around Howard County. I've now run on some roads I would not have dreamed of doing so before and learned how some roads connect that I didn't know about. One of the things you need to understand about Howard County, Maryland, is that it's hilly. VERY hilly. CRAZY hilly. The Columbia Triathlon, hosted here, is widely regarded as one of the most difficult Olympic-distance races in the world, mostly due to the hills on both the bike and run courses. And the Metric Marathon course put them both to shame. This was, without a doubt, the most difficult and the most hilly 16mi I've ever run. Here is a link to the map but be warned that it provides no information about the elevation changes. Most unpleasant.

By the time we came around to the end, our friends Danny and Suzy (you remember Suzy, she's the best cycling instructor in the world) ran us in and that was that.

We got some water and pizza (Ledo Pizza...score!) and walked around a bit to calm our legs down. Our time wasn't great compared to others in the race, but I didn't expect it to be since (1) there are some crazy fast runners here in HoCo (Janelle and Keith...I'm looking at you) and (2) this was a training run and we ran it as such. So, that's the Metric Marathon. If you want a crazy hilly course and to see lots of HoCo that you probably haven't run before, this is the race for you. For me, however, one and done...I will not be racing it again.

Wow, it's been quite some time since I've put a race report up on there. And for good reason...it's been quite some time since I've been racing. :) The last major event I competed in was the Baltimore Ten Miler, and I did run in a 5K race the day immediately following that. In the meantime, I've been up to a lot of things, non-athletic related. But, as triathlon season was coming to an end, and I haven't raced in a while, the wife and I headed up to Newark, Delaware, to compete in the Diamondman Sprint Triathlon. We did this race last year, in it's 70.3 version, as our first half-Iron and were happy to move back to the sprint to round out this year, having already done a half-Iron this year.

We headed up the day before and went to packet pickup, which took all of five minutes. We then checked into our hotel, the Embassy Suites in Newark, Delaware, right on the outskirts of the University of Delaware campus, where I went to school and currently teach. We've stayed here each of the past couple years we've done this race and it's a good place, especially with the free Managers Reception every evening with tasty food and free beer. This year was even better since there was a wedding going on at the time and the free food was apparently the leftovers from that, so it was high-end! Anyway, we ate dinner with some good friends, all of whom were racing the half-Iron, and turned in nice and early.

After a really bad night's sleep, we got to the race start with just enough time to set up transition, walk the course a bit, and mentally get ready. The half-Iron starts first and then the sprint about 35min later. The wife and I (along with an old friend of mine who just got into triathlons a little more than a year ago) watched our friends, Rob, Heidi, and Mark all start their race. By the time I walked into the water to start, Mark had finished the swim and looked strong. We waded into the water (the start is a good 300yd or so from the shore and they don't give you much time to get out there...I've missed this start before) and got ready. 3-2-1, and we're off (me and Matt; the wife followed in the second sprint wave).

I had an AWFUL swim. This was probably one of the worst swims of my life. I couldn't stay straight, I felt like I had no energy, and I couldn't keep my body position right. This may have something to do with my lack of swim training in the past couple of months, but still. The course absolutely felt much longer than the advertised 0.6mi, which many of us discussed on the way out. Not cool. I then ran the 0.3mi or so back to transition. Yes, transition is about 0.3mi away from the swim start and end, and this time counts against your swim time. I know this, but still hate it. My transition was pretty quick and off I went on the bike.

I had a good bike ride. I felt pretty strong and worked my legs quite hard. About 10mi into the 16.5mi ride, a guy passed me and said that he had been about 100yd behind me the entire time and didn't think he was going to catch me. Oh well...I stayed right with him, also about 100yd back, for the next 3mi or so and then we switched places again. We finished at the same time and that was cool. Most of the ride was in aero (it's a flat course) and I was exhausted at the end...glad I pushed it, with no idea where I was in my age group.

Feeling good about my bike, but knowing my swim was horrid, I started the 2mi run. About 0.25mi in, Matt (who is also in my age group) was running in as I was running out, and then the guy that was between us in transition was right behind him. So, any chance of scoring a place was pretty much shot at this point. I ran my 2mi and finished, passing the wife at the time with her only about 1mi behind me. That was unusual, as I usually run these races much faster than her. I wasn't sure if I was really having a horrid race or she was having a great one.

Turns out...both. My race was bad, but my wife's was awesome. As the three of us (me, the wife, and Matt) were looking at the results board, Matt said "I think you may have won your age group." The expression on the wife's face was indescribable. The results board updated and, sure, enough, she did win 25-29 females. We hung around for a while and waited until the awards ceremony, at which point she got her gold medal. Amazing job on an amazing race to an amazing wife!

In the 70.3, Rob won his age group, Heidi won her age group, and Mark took third in his. Matt did end up in 4th in our age group in the sprint. So, while I had a bad day, everyone else had a great one, and I'm perfectly OK with that. And now I recognize the need to keep up with Coach Sue's swim training sets... :)

After the wife got her medal, we packed up, went back to the hotel and showered, and headed home. Well, to a local bar to watch the Ravens destroy the Steelers. Perfect addition to a fun race day.

The wife and I are on vacation, the one time a year when we both get to be off from our jobs and just relax and enjoy some time together. This year finds us in Hawaii, first on Oah'u and then on the Big Island. Being on the Big Island, and being triathlon geeks, we simply had to go into Kona (we're staying about 25min away) and find where the Ironman Championships are held. Our good friend, the greatest cycling instructor in the world competed here at Kona in 2010. Cool stuff. We drove into town and loved downtown Kona...it has a very small beach town feel to it. The area where the race starts and ends was undergoing some construction because of recent tsunami activity, but it was clearly recognizable. Anyway, from here we did what any good triathlete would do in the mythical land of Kona...run. :)

We started right on Ali'i Drive, which is the end of the race. We ran past where the finish line would be and then up Palani Drive before turning left onto Queen Kaahumanu (Queen K) Highway. We ran up the highway for a ways and then turned around and mirrored the Ironman finishing route turning onto Palani Drive, Kuakini Highway, Hualalai Road, and then Ali'i Drive, back to the finish line. Total run of about 5.25mi.

This was awesome. The Queen K Highway is straight...very straight. We are staying in Waikoloa, north of Kona, and right off Queen K Highway. The bike course comes all the way up here and then some, but the run course hits its turnaround point between where we are staying and Kona, at the National Energy Lab. Driving the highway up near our resort all the way down shows a lot about this bike course...it's long, straight, and hot. Parts have some serious crosswinds. Parts do not. This course would require some serious strategy planning to succeed at. Same deal with the run course (at least the small part we ran)...some elevation, some flat, some wide-open, and some constrained.

I can fully appreciate why so many consider Kona so hard. It's hot out here...really hot. The lava fields that you run and bike in are amazingly beautiful...and make it even hotter. All triathlons have some similar aspects to them and each has its own unique characteristics. My brief exposure to Kona's course highlights this...and I can fully appreciate why it is the site of the biggest dance in triathlon.

Running in an area where so many have done so much is very inspiring. Running on the same ground as the greats in our sport is a privilege and an honor. And I'm very happy to have had the opportunity. If your travels take you to the Big Island of Hawaii, you need to do this. You'll love it.

When last we spoke, I had completed my sixth race in six weeks. Well, the day after the Baltimore Ten Miler, I ran the GBMC Fathers Day 5K race and did blah (24:13). Now, it was crazy hot and it is a shadeless course with lots of hills to it, but still. Anyway, since then I have not done any more races. Having loaded up the early part of my schedule with so much racing, I needed a break and this was 100% the right time for it. The wife and I have the Disney Goofy Challenge in January, so we're going to need to ramp up the training for that shortly. We will probably also race at the Diamondman Sprint Triathlon in September, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

It has occurred to me that I have not written anything on here in quite some time (over a month and a half ... yikes!). So, what happened? As with pretty much every plan, life got in the way. I changed jobs a little bit ago, and this has resulted in a substantial change in my schedule and work habits (I am physically in the office much more than my previous job). The new gig is working out very nicely...I am doing a lot more work and it is work that I really enjoy. I am constantly challenged and am contributing to something useful to many people, which gives me a feeling of satisfaction I have not had in quite some time. The wife and I are also thinking about finding a new house and actively doing improvement projects around our current one, I am doing prep work for the class I teach starting in the fall, and I'm getting ready for a class that I will be taking in the fall towards my MBA, right after finishing up my summer class.

So, I've got a bit going on and all of this has led to a packed schedule, which has, in turn, led to less training and less writing. Both have suffered more than they should and that's something I know I need to fix. A good friend, and very wise man, constantly stresses how important it is to evaluate how you allocate your hours and make sure you are spending your time and effort in ways that are the most beneficial (don't keep throwing your time and your effort, your two most valuable assets, at efforts that do not pay off). As summer comes to an end, that is exactly what I'm doing ... evaluating where I put my time and effort and reprioritizing how I allocate them. I'm putting way too much time in to some things that have a very low benefit/cost ratio (lots of work for very little positive outcome) and other things with a very high benefit/cost ratio (a little work provides huge benefits) are suffering. Training is in that second category; I get so much out of it for a minimal amount of time spent, so it's going to get more time starting soon.

So, stay tuned. More to come!

Week six of my six races in six weeks schedule, which became a eight races in seven weeks schedule, and now may be down to seven races in six weeks. Geez, that's a lot of numbers. Anyway, today was the Baltimore Ten Miler. This is an interesting race, as it is completely separate from the Baltimore Running Festival that occurs every year in October. This race has also been recognized in Runners World as one of the best races for premiums, which you only get at the end of the race. My friend Mo convinced me to run this race with her and I did, not knowing anything about the course.

On race morning, I headed over to Mo's house and her and Matt (her fiance) and I drove up. We left Howard County at around 6am, for a 7.30am start, which seemed early. Until we got close to the race site. Getting off I-83 in Baltimore, we ended up in a parking lot...which was the exit ramp. It then took us close to an hour to go the remaining mile or so into Druid Hill Park for the start. Matt parked the vehicle and Mo and I began to speed walk to the starting area, with only a few minutes to go until the start of the race. We turned a corner and saw the starting line, right when they were calling Wave One to get ready (we were in Wave Two). We moved off to the side and they started the race, with Wave One running by us. As we moved back behind the starting line, Wave Two moved up so we just popped in, pretty early in the wave. About two or three minutes later, we were off.

Druid Hill Park, and the surrounding area, is hilly. Very hilly. There is another race that is held here called the Dreaded Druid Hills that celebrates this. So, the first three to four miles or so is all hills. At around mile two, I had to stop to use the bathroom as I had not had time to do so before the race and I held it as long as I could. While I was in the porto-toilet, my HR got really fast and I did not feel good at all...largely due to the heat (it was hot and the sun was glaring down) and the quick start we had to pull off. Once I got out and we started running again (Mo waited for me...thank goodness), I got things under control a little better but was still sweating at an insane rate; my shirt was saturated with sweat by mile two. At mile four (shortly after we were running in the area of the old Memorial Stadium), they had a water stop that was almost completely unmanned and unequipped. There were lots of water jugs, but no poured cups and one (yes...one) person working there. I'm not sure who dropped the ball here, but that was inexcusable...no one could get water. Very poor showing.

From there, we ran on a long, gradual, hill down to Lake Montebello, which is about 1.5mi around and the only flat part of this course. We ran into some friends around mile five and then ran back the Druid Hill Park, on the same course that we came out on...it's one big out and back course. The hills were just as bad on the way back, but the aid stations were well equipped and when we passed the mile four one again, there were lots of people there now, which was really good to see. Around mile 8.5 or so, there was an aid station and everyone was yelling how that was the last one, so we got some drinks (I had two cups of water plus one of Gatorade, which is the most I've EVER drunk at a running aid station at one time) and then started back running...until another aid station appear about 0.5mi later...WTF? Anyway, we got more to drink and then headed back with Mo constantly asking me if the hill we were going up was the last one...her memory of the hills was not as good as mine, apparently. At one point, someone yelled "Last Hill" and lots of people cheered, except for me who said "Liar" under my breath, as we turned a corner and encountered yet another hill. :) We had little left at the end for a sprint to the finish, but pulled something out and finished in just under 1h30min, with a final time of 1hr29min25sec. Mo's time was one second faster, which was somewhat annoying. :) That time put me at 1025/4199 overall, 709/1857 for men, and 135/318 for 30-34y/o men...pretty good since I've been racing so much recently without healing/recovery time. I've run 10mi faster before, but I'm happy with this time considering my past weeks, the heat and sun, and the hilliness of the course.

The race premium ended up being a "running vest" which looks very nice. It is, however, very thick, and cut very big (Mo traded her Large in for a Medium and then again for a Small). This is not something I would run in, but will absolutely wear when things get cold again, or in the office where my body's ability to regulate its temperature never seems to work right. We picked it up, had a celebratory beer, and walked back to Matt and the vehicle, where we waited a bit for the course to clear and then headed home (well, for breakfast at a diner first).

This race was pretty fun. The course is very hilly, that's for sure. And parts of it share the course with the Baltimore Marathon, so I've run it before. Nevertheless, it's a good run and pretty well supported, except for the mile four aid station. Hopefully that was a one-time fluke and will not happen again. I had a good time running with Mo, and both of us did pretty well. Kudos to the Baltimore Ten Miler for putting on a good race.

OK, week five in my six races in six weeks schedule (which has actually become something longer than this ... more about that at the end). This one is probably the easiest of the entire series, as the wife and I headed up to Newark, Delaware, to compete in the Tri-It Triathlon put on by Piranha Sports. Piranha runs a whole bunch of local races in the Delaware area that are all much smaller than the national Ironman and related brands. They put on DiamondMan every year, which was my first 70.3 race when I completed it last year. The wife and I enjoy their races and we think they put on a very supportive, very friendly environment. Tri-It is a coed version of the Delaware DiamondGirl triathlon that has been held over the past couple years but has since been cancelled. It's a super-sprint distance triathlon, with a 0.25mi swim, a 10mi bike, and a 2mi run. That's it. The wife has competed in it, as DiamondGirl, for the past couple years, so when that was cancelled and Tri-It was announced, we both signed up. I've never raced something this short before and had no idea how to race it, so I figured it would be an adventure.

We got up to Newark with plenty of time, checked in, got our transition areas all set, and then did the normal ritual of waiting in long bathroom lines. This race is marketed heavily to first-time triathletes and, with over 400 racers signed up, there was a huge range among the field. I saw a Cervelo P3 racked next to one of the folding bikes that people sometimes commute with. In line for the bathroom, I heard people who were very excited about their first race and multiple couples doing their first tri together. Awesome stuff with awesome energy. I lined up in the first wave and got myself a spot at the front of the beach off to the side (this is a beach entry start). The announcements came on and we were off. The course was, as expected at 0.25mi, very short. It was a stretch out to a buoy, a left turn with another stretch to another buoy, another left turn, and back in. I swam fast and hard and finished the swim in 7min30sec according to my watch. Wowsers, that's a short swim.

Happy with my time, I ran up to transition, struggled to get my cycling shoes on (lost about 30sec here) and took off on the bike. I was well in the front part of my wave (which had about 100 people in it) and pushed the bike the entire 10mi. I was in aero for 95% of the course, which was all flat. Very, very, flat. Perfect course for me. I ended up averaging about 21mph, which is really good for me, and passed a few folks with a smaller number passing me, so that's good. I was going neck-and-neck with some fellow riding a (different than the one I saw earlier) P3 and full aero helmet, and I ended up finishing in front of him...I'm pretty proud of that. :)

Racked my bike, struggled again with my cycling shoes (another 30sec lost here), and took off on the run. The run was on grass for a little while, then some pretty wide singletrack that went on for about 0.5mi, and then turned on to a road all the way to the turnaround point. Same course back and I ended up at the finish line. I passed three or four people on the run, with about equal number passing me, so I'm OK with that. The wife tells me that the run course was different than the DiamondGirl races and it did not used to include the trail portion...that would have been nice, especially from the pounding I took last week at the North Face Endurance Challenge. Oh well. I finished with a sprint in to the end and finished the race in 53min56sec. I had no idea what I would finish in and the wife gave me a 55min goal, so I'm happy with that.

After the race, I hung around the live results board while waiting for the wife to finish. I ended up 5th in my age group out of 14, a solid 2min behind the 4th place finisher. I did end up 42/384 overall, which I'm pretty proud of. I was especially happy with my bike leg, where I ended up 46th overall, very good considering this is usually my weak point. Overall, I'm really happy with the race and had a great time. I had no idea how to race this distance, so just went all out the entire time. Looks like I'll need to push myself a little more in order to get my place up...but I was really happy with my time and loved racing the Tri-It. I'll be back next year.

In other news, the six races in six weeks schedule has become a eight races in seven weeks event. I signed up for the GBMC Father's Day 5K next Sunday, the day after the Baltimore 10 Miler. Me, my dad, and my sister run this race every year, so I could not pass this one up...we shall see how I do after the 10mi the day before. In addition, the wife found an open water swim in National Harbor in DC. This Swim-A-Thon goes from anywhere between 400m to 2mi...guess which distance we are going? Earlier today, I was really thinking about how nice it will be to have a weekend without a race of some kind. Then I looked at my calendar for July and saw all my weekends as clear and thought "I need to find some races..." What is wrong with me? :)

Week four of six races in six weeks brings The North Face Endurance Challenge. This is a nationwide series of trail running events that has an event here in the DC area (pretty close to where the Jim McDonnell Lake Swim that I did last week was, near Dulles Airport). I ran this two years ago, in its 10K form, and loved it. That was my first trail run ever so I did not know what to expect. It ended up being very flat, on a gravel path for a good percentage of the run, and had some singletrack that was pretty wide, which was very nice as the course was out-and-back so no one ran into each other when you have runners going in both directions. I remember falling once but it was not a big deal. I ended up loving the run and also set a (for the time) 10K PR. Last year, there was a schedule conflict so I was unable to do it again, but this year was wide open so I registered for the half-marathon distance (they offer 5K, 10K, half-marathon, full marathon, 50K, and 50mile events!). Thinking that the course would be a lot like the 10K version, I was psyched for this race. I didn't expect to break my PR or anything, but figured a 2hr performance on a trail 13.1 sounded good. So bring on race day ... and the shattering of all of my preconceptions about this race.

I woke up early and drove down (by myself...today was the wife's day to sleep in) to the race site, about an hour away. There was a little rain on the way down but it was clear where the race was and I was ready to go. I took the shuttle from the off-site parking to the starting line (very well organized shuttle service!), picked up my race bib and chip, and hung out for a little while until it was time to line up and head out. 600 people had registered for the half-marathon and 566 started (with 559 finishing...that's really good!). The course began just like I remember the 10K, on a gravel path (the Sugarland region) that felt fine. It was once we moved onto something different, 1.7 miles into the run, that things got real. :)

The second section of the run is on the Potomac Heritage Trail and is pretty nuts. This is composed mostly of singletrack and gets very narrow. Some sections go through tall grass (up to my waist) with only a very thin path cut out. One we got into the forested section, there were a lot of little dips and tons of turns, with lots of branches hanging down, lots of logs blocking the path (one was up to my thighs and required some climbing), and tons of slippery regions. While there were a few breaks in the very thin format of the trail, there were not many. This meant that your place in line was your place in line and you ran at the speed of the person in front of you, and you best keep up with them. Most of the course was very flat, except for one very steep climb that went up about 170ft over less than 0.1mi. This was very unpleasant and very challenging. There was also a river crossing that you had to wade through with tons of mud of both sides that prevented any sort of traction. As I was getting close to the halfway/turnaround point (this is an out-and-back course), those in front of me started heading back and this is where the very thin singletrack got really complicated so you had folks running in both directions on a path that was just barely big enough for one. I saw a bunch of shoulders colliding but I only ended up bumping into one other guy which was not a big deal. Once I got to the turnaround point in the Frasier Reserve, I started heading back and did the exact same course again from the other direction.

Here is an elevation profile for the course.

This course was crazy. The very thin nature of the trail made things very difficult...very different than any road race I've done. I fell eleven (yes...eleven) times due to not-quite-missing a log, slipping in mud, my ankle twisting on non-solid ground, etc, and two of those eleven were faceplants. Both of my ankles ended up twisting multiple times in every possible direction you could think of and I was scrapped and battered throughout the race. Once I turned back onto the gravel path, with 1.7mi to go, it was so hard to keep running. Not from a lack of energy, but because I just didn't want to fall down any more. Every part of my body was sore from twisting and turning, supporting my frame on unstable ground, and from falling down so many times. My ankles felt like they were ready to just give up. I trotted along, in a good deal of discomfort, and finally made it to the finish line with a time of 2hr18min, which was nowhere near the 2hr goal I had, but something I'm really happy with as this course was brutal for me.

After I was done, I picked up my shirt and water bottle (no medals!) and walked by a grilling station on the way to pick up my checked bag. The first thing I did was walk up and buy a hamburger, which was amazingly delicious...I NEEDED a hot meal at this point. I got my free beer from the beer garden (Michelob Ultra never tasted so good...) and walked around a bit, crazy sore. I got the shuttle back to the parking area, had a good conversation with the girl next to me on the bus who had flown in from somewhere in the mid-West for this race and felt just as beaten up as I did, and then made my way to my car, where I promptly took off my (now disgusting looking) shoes and shirt for the ride home...so happy to not be running any more.

So, North Face Endurance Challenge. This is a very well named event. I'm not a trail runner...not at all. Running on a course like this is nothing like running on the road and now, over 24 hours later, I am so much more sore than I've been after a half-marathon is a long time. The challenges of supporting myself on unstable ground beat me up pretty bad. Nevertheless, this was fun. I'm very glad I did it and it was a hell of an experience. The folks I ran with/around were all very supportive whenever anyone would fall (and very sympathetic to the one guy who lost his shoe in the river crossing and finished the back half of the race barefoot!) and the North Face people there ran an excellent race, that was well organized and well supported. I'm very proud of having finished this (and still within the first half of all finishers!). It really was an endurance challenge...and I'm proud of myself for having endured.