Banner courtesy of MarathonFoto
Runners take your mark...
Boston Strong
Wave 1 Runners at the start in Hopkinton, Mass., Photo: John Cardillo Hopkinton Independent
The 128th Boston Marathon
"A 26 Mile Long Parade"
April 15, 2024
Boston, MA, USA
Thanks to my family and all my peeps who checked in before, during, and well into this celebration week to wish me congratulations on this accomplishment. I appreciate you. And good luck to my beautiful partner Anna Smu who is capping off her bachelorette weekend with *16!* of her closest lady friends down in Santa Barbara.
"A 26 Mile Long Parade"
April 15, 2024
Boston, MA, USA
Thanks to my family and all my peeps who checked in before, during, and well into this celebration week to wish me congratulations on this accomplishment. I appreciate you. And good luck to my beautiful partner Anna Smu who is capping off her bachelorette weekend with *16!* of her closest lady friends down in Santa Barbara.
So. Where do I start? The non-stop energy along the course during the race? The gracious well wishes from friends and family before it? How about the endless stream of 'attaboys,' fist bumps, hugs, and 'congrats on the Boston Marathon!' from all of my interactions over the past week??
The boyz: channeling my level of excitement.
I am clearly still riding the wave of excitement upon return from my race experience at Monday's Boston Marathon. I arrived back in Seattle on Wednesday and mentally prepared for what would be a fairly busy Thursday -- morning meetings at the Sound Transit field office in Northgate, a track meet in Bellevue, and then a SRC-Brooks team run in Madison Park.
At work, I was involved in a discussion about the upcoming Opening Day events to celebrate Sound Transit's 2 Line on April 27th. I told my colleagues that I am planning a group run from Redmond Technology Station (the end of the line) back to the beginning in South Bellevue. They looked at me quizzically. "A run?" "That sounds far!" One coworker asked. "I sprinted to my fridge this morning." Someone else joked. "Yeah, of course; it's only about six miles between stations," I replied. "You know I like to run." They do know this. But maybe they didn't realize how much until I reminded them that the reason I was off on Monday was to do the Boston Marathon.
At work, I was involved in a discussion about the upcoming Opening Day events to celebrate Sound Transit's 2 Line on April 27th. I told my colleagues that I am planning a group run from Redmond Technology Station (the end of the line) back to the beginning in South Bellevue. They looked at me quizzically. "A run?" "That sounds far!" One coworker asked. "I sprinted to my fridge this morning." Someone else joked. "Yeah, of course; it's only about six miles between stations," I replied. "You know I like to run." They do know this. But maybe they didn't realize how much until I reminded them that the reason I was off on Monday was to do the Boston Marathon.
Shed don't Shred! I lost my nip tape somewhere mid-race and miraculously, I *DID NOT* chafe my nips!
Photo: MarathonFoto
"So that's why you were off on Monday." "And you ran a marathon?!" "Congrats!, that's so cool!" "What do ya think, you're better than me??!" Were a handful of the reactions from my impressed associates. It was a good feeling to sense the level of respect and appreciation from my workmates for something I did outside of the workplace.
Later in the day, I went to help out at our track meet at Sammamish High School in Bellevue. As soon as I was spotted by one of our Cleveland High School athletes I heard, "Coach Roche! Congrats on Boston!" The celebration tour continued! Athletes and coaches asked how it went and to describe what it was like running the Newton Hills and Heartbreak Hill.
Later in the day, I went to help out at our track meet at Sammamish High School in Bellevue. As soon as I was spotted by one of our Cleveland High School athletes I heard, "Coach Roche! Congrats on Boston!" The celebration tour continued! Athletes and coaches asked how it went and to describe what it was like running the Newton Hills and Heartbreak Hill.
Boylston Street "Sprint." The end of the 26-mile parade.
I shared these thoughts in an email I sent earlier to my closest family and friends: Overall, everything about the Boston Marathon exceeded my expectations. When I've watched it on TV in years past, seeing people run through random suburban towns on their way into a city that I have no connection to seemed a little over-the-top. As with many of life's adventures, don't knock it until you try it!
As for the implementation of my plan on race day, I give myself a B+. My number one objective was to stay patient through the downhill parts of the course so that I wasn’t cooked by the time the hill sections appeared later in the race. And, as always, get to mile 20 so that there was something left to give for that last 10k.
As for the implementation of my plan on race day, I give myself a B+. My number one objective was to stay patient through the downhill parts of the course so that I wasn’t cooked by the time the hill sections appeared later in the race. And, as always, get to mile 20 so that there was something left to give for that last 10k.
Craning my neck in search of the last two turns! Photo: MarthonFoto
When I ran past halfway in one hour and twenty-two minutes, I thought that would set me up nicely for a strong finish. The half marathon mark was right around the stretch of the Wellesley College “scream tunnel.” Dear lord, that was some screaming! I think my ears are still ringing from the high-pitch yawps of the young ladies who came out to shower the runners with sweaty hugs, fanatic cheers, and slobbery kisses.
The race is described as a 26-mile long parade. I saw it more as eight consecutive, small town 5k races. Each suburb along the route put on a party unique to the flavor of their town’s history. For the better part of the past 128 years, this race has been firmly embedded into the fibers of Western Massachusetts's cultural tapestry.
The race is described as a 26-mile long parade. I saw it more as eight consecutive, small town 5k races. Each suburb along the route put on a party unique to the flavor of their town’s history. For the better part of the past 128 years, this race has been firmly embedded into the fibers of Western Massachusetts's cultural tapestry.
Having “summitted” the final climb in Newton, what is fondly monikered “Heartbreak Hill,” I prepared for what I expected to be a smooth, downhill cruise to the finish in Boston.
Well, it wasn’t exactly a cruise, but I stayed on my feet, kept up a respectable pace, and persevered better than a whole lot of other runners. From the hills to the finish, there were plenty of runners-turned-walkers who were overcooked from the hills, the “heat,” and their high expectations of running ~fast on this course.
Well, it wasn’t exactly a cruise, but I stayed on my feet, kept up a respectable pace, and persevered better than a whole lot of other runners. From the hills to the finish, there were plenty of runners-turned-walkers who were overcooked from the hills, the “heat,” and their high expectations of running ~fast on this course.
Pre-race Athletes Village. A foreshadowing of things to come -- runners splayed out due to a combination of the heartbreak hills, being undertrained, or feeling warmer than average temperatures in the month of April! Hint: it was the hillz and not the heat! Photo: Jerry Spar, Hopkinton Independent
I craned my neck to look toward the horizon to see just how much farther I had to go for those final two turns at the finish – “right on Hereford, left on Boylston.” I ran beneath the I-90 overpass and climbed to the top of Commonwealth Ave on the other side and finally saw the first turn!
Hereford was only a few blocks before a quick left onto Boylston! I saw the long threshold of spectators lining the course on either side. I also had the visions from watching multiple accounts of the bombings in 2013 flash across my mind. All the more incentive to scoot scoot down this stretch and safely into the finishing area!
I crossed the line in just over two hours and fifty minutes. A pretty good day’s work. B+ for the effort. A+ for the experience.
Hereford was only a few blocks before a quick left onto Boylston! I saw the long threshold of spectators lining the course on either side. I also had the visions from watching multiple accounts of the bombings in 2013 flash across my mind. All the more incentive to scoot scoot down this stretch and safely into the finishing area!
I crossed the line in just over two hours and fifty minutes. A pretty good day’s work. B+ for the effort. A+ for the experience.
"All the way through the line!" -- Every track and cross country coach. Photo: MarthonFoto.
Post-script:
- My finishing time was 2:50:12, 6:30/mi pace.
- I was 1,296th out of 25,530 overall finishers and the 1,241th finisher out of 14,578 in the men's division.
- 3.6% (almost 1,000) of the 26,491 runners who started the race dropped out.
- I had a 6:12 difference in time between my first half split (1:22:00) and my second half split (1:28:12).
- Memorable moments:
- the bus ride chat with Kelvin from Melbourne, Australia
- *FREE* sunscreen and Vaseline at the Athlete's Village in Hopkinton
- seeing many lower-leg amputees in the race and running so strongly
- the Wellesley College scream tunnel
- an unofficial free beer station
- unofficial sideline water bottle angels
- hearing "Go Seattle!" from a fair amount of spectators who could read the logo on my Seattle Running Club singlet.
- surging up the first of the Newton hills at mile 16 while chatting with a cancer researcher from Northeast England.
- ~surging over the proceeding hill sections through mile 22.
- paying for all of that surging while running the final four miles on the streets of Boston proper.
- seeing the iconic Citgo sign and knowing that the finish was approaching
- making the right on Hereford and then the final left onto Boylston Street
- post-race Paella with my new BFFL Todd.
- post-paella bus station selfie with Daphne and Evelyn!
- Day after walks to breakfast at the Flour Café and Bakery in Cambridge, then to therapy at Charm Massage on the BU campus to completely smooth out a nice hamstring knot that I felt after completing the race, and then across the river to Fenway to watch the Sox play the Guardians
Post-race paella with Todd at Tres Gatos in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood.
Post-paella bus station selfie with some of the T's finest! Daphne and Evelyn eagerly fired up the already shutdown for the holiday 47 bus line to help me and a few others get back to Cambridge to cap off our Patriot's Day celebrations.
Day after Hot Stone Massage at Charm Spa.
The New York City Marathon Experience
Medal Monday with Smu. ♥. Photo courtesy, a H00man of New York.
2023 New York City Marathon
Stay Hard!
Race Weekend in Review
November 2-6, 2023
New York, NY, USA
"So? Are you ready??" The anticipation leading up to this weekend was at a fever pitch. "Just get me to the start line." Was my response to the countless queries from our friends and family the week before the race. "Super ready." "Born ready!"
Stay Hard!
Race Weekend in Review
November 2-6, 2023
New York, NY, USA
"So? Are you ready??" The anticipation leading up to this weekend was at a fever pitch. "Just get me to the start line." Was my response to the countless queries from our friends and family the week before the race. "Super ready." "Born ready!"
Grover; expressing the whole spectrum of emotions. ✅✅
The training for this race was as smooth as ever -- thank you, Coach Rosie 🙇♂️. I was dialed in, committed, and prepared to show up to every key workout and long run with the sense that this could be the last marathon that I train for. You never know when it's going to be the end, so, better cherish each run like it's a gift. As I am known to say, "pressure is privilege." And it does feel like pressure: psyching myself up to get out for every.single.hard training session. Even the short ones at the end of the cycle get my nerves going. I'm sure you can relate -- if it's something you care about, it's going to make you anxious, manic, excited, hyped! The whole spectrum of emotions.
Sunday, November 5, 2023. 4am. Race day. Having checked my phone in my end-of-race gear bag and not trusting:
1) the wake-up call service at the South Ferry Hilton,
2) Cosmo Kramer's biological alarm, or
3) the hotel's desktop clock radios AM/PM button, I woke right on time to the soothing sounds of the city. I was scheduled for the 5:45am ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island. And then for the 1st wave of non-elite runners starting the race at 9:10am.
The starters' village in Fort Wadsworth was fine -- there were plenty of toilets and space to just chill before embarking through the five boroughs. The 30-minute bus ride to get there from the ferry terminal through some of the neighborhoods in Staten Island was pleasant -- much better than the reputation that it has as being ranked the least interesting of New York's boroughs.
I had a chat with a runner from Pittsburgh who now lives in Lower Manhattan. He wore a baseball cap, dark Ray-Bans, and reminded me of a young Tom Cruise. He seemed a bit more relaxed than I was. The rest of the time before the race I basically kept to myself. It was a little odd. I didn't have the social energy that I expected to have around such crowds.
And were there crowds -- lots and lots of people from the time the ferry launched in the wee darkness in Lower Manhattan to when I crossed the finish line in Central park, approximately six hours and twelve minutes later. The race organizers and masters of ceremonies did their spiel, Mayor Eric Adams wished us luck, the national anthem was sung, the elite Men went on their way, 3, 2, 1... we were off!
1) the wake-up call service at the South Ferry Hilton,
2) Cosmo Kramer's biological alarm, or
3) the hotel's desktop clock radios AM/PM button, I woke right on time to the soothing sounds of the city. I was scheduled for the 5:45am ferry from Manhattan to Staten Island. And then for the 1st wave of non-elite runners starting the race at 9:10am.
The starters' village in Fort Wadsworth was fine -- there were plenty of toilets and space to just chill before embarking through the five boroughs. The 30-minute bus ride to get there from the ferry terminal through some of the neighborhoods in Staten Island was pleasant -- much better than the reputation that it has as being ranked the least interesting of New York's boroughs.
I had a chat with a runner from Pittsburgh who now lives in Lower Manhattan. He wore a baseball cap, dark Ray-Bans, and reminded me of a young Tom Cruise. He seemed a bit more relaxed than I was. The rest of the time before the race I basically kept to myself. It was a little odd. I didn't have the social energy that I expected to have around such crowds.
And were there crowds -- lots and lots of people from the time the ferry launched in the wee darkness in Lower Manhattan to when I crossed the finish line in Central park, approximately six hours and twelve minutes later. The race organizers and masters of ceremonies did their spiel, Mayor Eric Adams wished us luck, the national anthem was sung, the elite Men went on their way, 3, 2, 1... we were off!
Anna. Mid-race in Brooklyn. Getting hugs from Max & Leo. And taking a break from weaving in and around the runners in her wave who were mostly on their phones the entire race. SMDH.
The climb up the Verrazano was a breeze. It was pretty fun running to the top of a large span with thousands of other people. The descent felt just as easy. Heading into Brooklyn, I heard the first of many renditions of Frank Sinatra's 🎶"New York, New York"🎶 and Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' 🎶"Empire State of Mind"🎶
I rolled past the 5k banner on the low side of 19 minutes -- a little hot, but not too spicy. I didn't think much of it -- everything still felt very easy and relaxed. As the miles in BKLYN clicked by and the crowds enlarged, I began to get curious about seeing the people who I knew would be on the sidelines: mom and dad who came up from South Jersey, Anna's sister Caiti and her kiddos Max and Leo who made the trip from North Carolina, and then at every other block, the rabid former co-workers, classmates, and friends that Anna had made during her 13 years living in NYC. Somehow I missed them all! 🤦♂️
I rolled past the 5k banner on the low side of 19 minutes -- a little hot, but not too spicy. I didn't think much of it -- everything still felt very easy and relaxed. As the miles in BKLYN clicked by and the crowds enlarged, I began to get curious about seeing the people who I knew would be on the sidelines: mom and dad who came up from South Jersey, Anna's sister Caiti and her kiddos Max and Leo who made the trip from North Carolina, and then at every other block, the rabid former co-workers, classmates, and friends that Anna had made during her 13 years living in NYC. Somehow I missed them all! 🤦♂️
On a positive note, I was able to catch the day-glo shirted AACR cheer section just past the 8 mile marker! Mike Gilbert and Mike Brady led that group on the southeast side of Lafayette Ave and even got a video of me racing by!
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Unless you have been doing a Social Media detox for the past year and a half, you have probably heard me rant about the fabulous folks at AACR! Before the 2022 Philadelphia marathon, I began partnering with them to help raise funds and awareness to their work in Cancer Research. It's been a very powerful relationship that I look forward to sustaining well into the future. Here's the latest reminder to help us on our way to raising $10,000 for research into Cancer prevention, treatment, and cures! If I sound like a broken record, well, sorrynotsorry, this cause is too important to stay quiet about. Thank, thank, thank you to those who have already contributed to the campaign. We appreciate you!!
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Unless you have been doing a Social Media detox for the past year and a half, you have probably heard me rant about the fabulous folks at AACR! Before the 2022 Philadelphia marathon, I began partnering with them to help raise funds and awareness to their work in Cancer Research. It's been a very powerful relationship that I look forward to sustaining well into the future. Here's the latest reminder to help us on our way to raising $10,000 for research into Cancer prevention, treatment, and cures! If I sound like a broken record, well, sorrynotsorry, this cause is too important to stay quiet about. Thank, thank, thank you to those who have already contributed to the campaign. We appreciate you!!
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The next milestone of the race was the 10 mile banner. The clock read a touch over 1hr and 1minute. Hmm. Now I started to have some concerns about getting carried away this early in the race. Around this point I connected with a pair of runners who had Irish heritage. We chatted a little about our goals for the day. When asked about my plans I'm sure I said something like, "I guess I need to commit to this pace now that we're here" or, possibly, "PHUCK IT, LET'S RIDE!" My confident exterior was 100 percent masking the insecurity I had to actually want to commit to said pace or to ride any of the aforementioned PHUCKS.
Next up was the half marathon checkpoint over the Pulaski Bridge -- I reached this in just over 1hr 20. Okay. Way too hot. It was then up, over, and through the desolate lower deck of the Queensboro Bridge. This succession of bridges and pace changes were taking their toll. I wasn't feeling super lactic, but I knew I was slowing and needed to rely on my mental strength and fueling plan to keep clicking through the gears.
The next milestone of the race was the 10 mile banner. The clock read a touch over 1hr and 1minute. Hmm. Now I started to have some concerns about getting carried away this early in the race. Around this point I connected with a pair of runners who had Irish heritage. We chatted a little about our goals for the day. When asked about my plans I'm sure I said something like, "I guess I need to commit to this pace now that we're here" or, possibly, "PHUCK IT, LET'S RIDE!" My confident exterior was 100 percent masking the insecurity I had to actually want to commit to said pace or to ride any of the aforementioned PHUCKS.
Next up was the half marathon checkpoint over the Pulaski Bridge -- I reached this in just over 1hr 20. Okay. Way too hot. It was then up, over, and through the desolate lower deck of the Queensboro Bridge. This succession of bridges and pace changes were taking their toll. I wasn't feeling super lactic, but I knew I was slowing and needed to rely on my mental strength and fueling plan to keep clicking through the gears.
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My finish line smile and "clicking through the gears" (lol) down 5th Avenue and into Central Park 📸: MarathonFoto
Mile ~20ish. 5th Ave, Harlem. Me sticking my neck out to gawk towards the final miles.
Photo Courtesy: MarathonFoto
The crowd energy I felt running up and down Manhattan's canyon-like avenues is something I'll never forget. The noise was piercing leaving Queens and then onto 1st Ave. Likewise in Harlem where I saw Ashley 🤩 from CSRD and definitely not Miran! Sorry, Miran. 😿 Thanks for being out there to boost me in that mile 19 to 20 stretch that could have been disastrous had I not seen a familiar face!
The run to the finish area from Harlem into Central Park and then out of and then back into Central park again seemed endless. I kept thinking to myself, "there's going to be a photo of me somewhere stretching my neck like an Ostrich looking for the next turn!" Sure enough...
When I ran past 20 miles, and then 35k, I was in survival mode -- constantly calculating the pace I needed to reach the finish in a time faster than last year's Philadelphia Marathon. After taking the final turns in Central Park, I knew I would be under 2hrs and 48 minutes and crossed the finish line in 2:47:42. A shiny new personal best on the toughest of the marathon major courses. Good, but not great; and definitely not superb. My very scientific takeaway: First half, too fast; second half, too hard -- not the most conventional way to set a new P.B., but we did it!
Breathe. Hydrate. Eat yo' veggies! Love ya, fam. 🤸♂️
The run to the finish area from Harlem into Central Park and then out of and then back into Central park again seemed endless. I kept thinking to myself, "there's going to be a photo of me somewhere stretching my neck like an Ostrich looking for the next turn!" Sure enough...
When I ran past 20 miles, and then 35k, I was in survival mode -- constantly calculating the pace I needed to reach the finish in a time faster than last year's Philadelphia Marathon. After taking the final turns in Central Park, I knew I would be under 2hrs and 48 minutes and crossed the finish line in 2:47:42. A shiny new personal best on the toughest of the marathon major courses. Good, but not great; and definitely not superb. My very scientific takeaway: First half, too fast; second half, too hard -- not the most conventional way to set a new P.B., but we did it!
Breathe. Hydrate. Eat yo' veggies! Love ya, fam. 🤸♂️
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Friends and Family Appreciation
Marathons require a big lift from one's running community. I could not have gotten to the start line fit *AND* healthy, without the support of an excellent team:
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THE PHILADELPHIA MARATHON RACE + TRAINING APPRECIATION POST
Raceday Skwad: Jon-Paul, Dad, Ma, Anna. ♥. Photo courtesy, Josh of AACR.
2022 Philadelphia Marathawn Jawn
Show up + Show TF Out!
RACEDAY RECAP!
November 20, 2022
Philadelphia, PA, USA
“ANYONE CAN RUN 9 MILES!” That was the message from one of the runners in our pack as we ran past the mile 17 banner. I turned to my left and saw a couple of people on the river trail out on their Sunday training run and thought the comment was directed towards them. And then it hit me. “We have 9 miles left to run!”
Show up + Show TF Out!
RACEDAY RECAP!
November 20, 2022
Philadelphia, PA, USA
“ANYONE CAN RUN 9 MILES!” That was the message from one of the runners in our pack as we ran past the mile 17 banner. I turned to my left and saw a couple of people on the river trail out on their Sunday training run and thought the comment was directed towards them. And then it hit me. “We have 9 miles left to run!”
The night before the race on Jon-Paul's roof deck.
Turn back the clock five and a half hours earlier. The day started in the weee darkness at my brother’s apartment in Northern Liberties. I woke around 3:30, made my way into the kitchen to make breakfast as he slept on the couch, and planned to do my usual pre-race routine – coffee, breakfast, bathroom, massage gun, stretching, bathroom. I took care of about 85% of that plan and left the apartment at around 5:40 with Anna. We hopped in a car that drove us about as close as possible to the starting area at Eakins Oval in front of the Art Museum.
After getting through security, we made our way toward the AACR hospitality tent. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) was the main sponsor for the race this year and I had registered as a member of their Runners for Research team (more info here). As part of the Runners for Research program, I pledged to raise at least $1,000 for their foundation. Thanks to your help, I raised over $1,300! The fundraising campaign is still open through the end of the year if you'd like to make it part of your end-of-year giving! Click here to learn more! 🙏 https://runsignup.com/arochephila22)
The Runners for Research Team in front of that Gucci hospitality tent.
And because I signed up with this team, I was granted access to their tent at the start of the race and a bunch of other perks, too – apparel, a backpack filled with goodies, pre, and post-race snacks and cooked food, and, most importantly, a space to keep my booty nice and toasty before and after the marathon.
There was a fair amount of time to spare between my arrival at the tent and when I needed to begin my warm-up. While organizing some of my gear and deciding on what layers to wear, I was approached by one of the representatives from AACR. Sam, the director of philanthropy, introduced himself and asked if I was running for anyone in particular or if I was a cancer survivor.
Well, both, really. I briefly mentioned how I was diagnosed with brain cancer in the fall of 2007 and then underwent treatments in the winter of 2008 to shrink the tumor that was discovered in my brain <-- Selfie of Cancer Boi Aaron! 😐 Fast forward ~15 years, and there we were – 45 minutes from the start of the race that I had been training for since July and had been preparing for, well, I suppose, since that last dose of radiation treatment in February of 2008. <-- Photo of post-treatment Aaron! 😐
I went into more detail with Sam about my journey and described how I didn’t feel any more special than the other runners lining up to start that Sunday morning – “it’s all relative,” I gestured. And “everyone’s got something.” Despite downplaying the magnitude of my recovery and trying to be as much in the moment as I could, I eventually got a little emotional and felt a few tears buildup behind my somewhat defrosted eyes.
Oh boy, I was not expecting to get into that emotional space *before* the race! No worries, I’m all for distrcations in the downtime before a big effort to help calm my nerves. I took off a few layers and went outside of the tent to brave the elements for a five-minute warm-up jog.
I returned to the climate controlled area around 25 minutes before the start, changed layers once more, and then a third time when I decided that a base layer beneath my singlet would go a looooong way in keeping my skin happy on the extra looooong mileage for the day. THERE WOULD BE NO BLOODY NIPPLES ON THIS DAY, MY FRIENDS!!
Anna wished me good luck and gave me a kiss like it was the Revolutionary War and I was heading into battle with the Hessians. Heh. I went over to find my corral at the start, just behind the elite group. Draped in an old running jacket while the Master of Ceremonies gave the usual pre-race spiel, I contemplated the task ahead of me – be patient for the first two hours and then lean into that pain!
The countdown was on and we were off!
There was a fair amount of time to spare between my arrival at the tent and when I needed to begin my warm-up. While organizing some of my gear and deciding on what layers to wear, I was approached by one of the representatives from AACR. Sam, the director of philanthropy, introduced himself and asked if I was running for anyone in particular or if I was a cancer survivor.
Well, both, really. I briefly mentioned how I was diagnosed with brain cancer in the fall of 2007 and then underwent treatments in the winter of 2008 to shrink the tumor that was discovered in my brain <-- Selfie of Cancer Boi Aaron! 😐 Fast forward ~15 years, and there we were – 45 minutes from the start of the race that I had been training for since July and had been preparing for, well, I suppose, since that last dose of radiation treatment in February of 2008. <-- Photo of post-treatment Aaron! 😐
I went into more detail with Sam about my journey and described how I didn’t feel any more special than the other runners lining up to start that Sunday morning – “it’s all relative,” I gestured. And “everyone’s got something.” Despite downplaying the magnitude of my recovery and trying to be as much in the moment as I could, I eventually got a little emotional and felt a few tears buildup behind my somewhat defrosted eyes.
Oh boy, I was not expecting to get into that emotional space *before* the race! No worries, I’m all for distrcations in the downtime before a big effort to help calm my nerves. I took off a few layers and went outside of the tent to brave the elements for a five-minute warm-up jog.
I returned to the climate controlled area around 25 minutes before the start, changed layers once more, and then a third time when I decided that a base layer beneath my singlet would go a looooong way in keeping my skin happy on the extra looooong mileage for the day. THERE WOULD BE NO BLOODY NIPPLES ON THIS DAY, MY FRIENDS!!
Anna wished me good luck and gave me a kiss like it was the Revolutionary War and I was heading into battle with the Hessians. Heh. I went over to find my corral at the start, just behind the elite group. Draped in an old running jacket while the Master of Ceremonies gave the usual pre-race spiel, I contemplated the task ahead of me – be patient for the first two hours and then lean into that pain!
The countdown was on and we were off!
And we're off! Just after 7am on a frosty morning in mid-November. Photo courtesy: Anna Smu
My memories from the first part of the race went as follows: I started behind the 3-hour pace group as we navigated the streets and traffic furniture of Center City. I eventually passed that group before the National Constitution Center, Independence Mall, and started to take note of the various running clubs represented around me. There were a few Dashing Whippets, some F&M runners, groups from Northern Virginia, Washington D.C., and New York City, the Philadelphia Runner Track Club and a lot of Nike Alphaflys on people’s feets.
Throughout this training cycle my workouts were designed by my coach, Rosie (thanks, Coach! 👊) with a goal Marathon Time of 2:48. This is around about 4:00/km pace or 6:26/mi. When we passed 5k, I peeped at the clock laying along the sidewalk and it read a few ticks over 20:00. “Okay” I thought to myself. This race is not made or lost in the first 5k, so being a little over pace was just fine. I’m pretty sure I turned to whoever was around me and said, “One 5k down, seven to go!”
I saw a few groups forming along this southbound stretch on Delaware Ave. Another tall runner was just ahead of me and I sped up to see what his plan was for the day. He said to qualify for New York City and run under 2 hours 50 minutes. That was a little slower than I wanted overall, and thought, what the heck, I’ll work with him for a little bit.
And so I did. We passed by Old Swedes (or Gloria Dei church) and a handful of other landmarks. Our route took us westbound on Washington for a few blocks, and then up past Washington Square and then zig-zagged up to Walnut Street.
Throughout this training cycle my workouts were designed by my coach, Rosie (thanks, Coach! 👊) with a goal Marathon Time of 2:48. This is around about 4:00/km pace or 6:26/mi. When we passed 5k, I peeped at the clock laying along the sidewalk and it read a few ticks over 20:00. “Okay” I thought to myself. This race is not made or lost in the first 5k, so being a little over pace was just fine. I’m pretty sure I turned to whoever was around me and said, “One 5k down, seven to go!”
I saw a few groups forming along this southbound stretch on Delaware Ave. Another tall runner was just ahead of me and I sped up to see what his plan was for the day. He said to qualify for New York City and run under 2 hours 50 minutes. That was a little slower than I wanted overall, and thought, what the heck, I’ll work with him for a little bit.
And so I did. We passed by Old Swedes (or Gloria Dei church) and a handful of other landmarks. Our route took us westbound on Washington for a few blocks, and then up past Washington Square and then zig-zagged up to Walnut Street.
Zig-zagging around Washington Square and up to Walnut Street. Photo Courtesy: MarathonFoto.com
Heading westbound on Walnut Street felt like one final parade through Center City before getting into the nitty gritty of the race. I tried to stay patient and maintain my effort, and worked with a couple of runners from a Central Park running group. By the time we got to Rittenhouse Square, I must have merged with another pack. There were three lads running side-by-side-by-side, and one other runner behind them. I latched onto them as we approached the Walnut Street Bridge into University City (just look at all those Alphaflys!! 👀).
The three lads running side-by-side-by-side across Walnut Street bridge. Photo courtesy: MarathonFoto.com
Gotta ham it up for the cameraman. #grateful. Photo courtesy: MarathonFoto.com
This area was familiar to me from my time as student at Drexel University – a lot of training runs from my apartment on 39th and Chestnut Street down to the Schuylkill River Trail and back up Walnut Street. For as long as I can remember, the marathon route has taken the right-hand turn at 33rd street, a left onto Chestnut, and then up through Drexel’s campus on 34th.
Pre-adult Aaron running along this stretch in University City would have dreaded the micro climbs through and out of campus and into Powelton Village. Pre-over-the-hill Aaron at this year’s Philadelphia Marathon was actually looking forward to the three decent *and consecutive* climbs along this section of the course.
This first one came to us at around 12 kilometers (7.5mi) into the race. It was two kilometers (1.25mi) long and a climb of 25 meters (~80ft) of elevation gain. Luckily I was joined by, ☝, the people in the pack with whom I was running, ✌, the memory of my runs around here in college, and, finally, by a fraternity bro who ran alongside us while yelling words of encouragement from Arch Street all the way up to about Spring Garden Street. Mad props, dude.
Out of University City, past the zoo, and over to West Fairmount Park, we approached the second climb along this stretch. This one would take us up to the Centennial Exposition part of the city – home of the World’s Fair in 1876. The memories I had of this stretch were ~quad busting descents out of Powelton Village followed by ~lung busting climbs towards Belmont Plateau. Again, this was the perspective of Pre-adult Aaron.
Equipped with this slight and totally irrational fear of the oncoming hills, I got into the mindset that this was just another challenge along my life-long running journey. No big deal. We dropped down from a bridge over the railroad tracks, crossed beneath the Girard Ave Bridge tunnel, and then immediately started to climb up Lansdowne Drive, *INTO THE WIND*. YEEEEEEE! I must have been equally in the moment and somewhat distracted to not notice the climb or the wind! This was 💯 the benefit of running in a pack. Kudos to you, lads.
Pre-adult Aaron running along this stretch in University City would have dreaded the micro climbs through and out of campus and into Powelton Village. Pre-over-the-hill Aaron at this year’s Philadelphia Marathon was actually looking forward to the three decent *and consecutive* climbs along this section of the course.
This first one came to us at around 12 kilometers (7.5mi) into the race. It was two kilometers (1.25mi) long and a climb of 25 meters (~80ft) of elevation gain. Luckily I was joined by, ☝, the people in the pack with whom I was running, ✌, the memory of my runs around here in college, and, finally, by a fraternity bro who ran alongside us while yelling words of encouragement from Arch Street all the way up to about Spring Garden Street. Mad props, dude.
Out of University City, past the zoo, and over to West Fairmount Park, we approached the second climb along this stretch. This one would take us up to the Centennial Exposition part of the city – home of the World’s Fair in 1876. The memories I had of this stretch were ~quad busting descents out of Powelton Village followed by ~lung busting climbs towards Belmont Plateau. Again, this was the perspective of Pre-adult Aaron.
Equipped with this slight and totally irrational fear of the oncoming hills, I got into the mindset that this was just another challenge along my life-long running journey. No big deal. We dropped down from a bridge over the railroad tracks, crossed beneath the Girard Ave Bridge tunnel, and then immediately started to climb up Lansdowne Drive, *INTO THE WIND*. YEEEEEEE! I must have been equally in the moment and somewhat distracted to not notice the climb or the wind! This was 💯 the benefit of running in a pack. Kudos to you, lads.
Climbing up Lansdowne Dr. into West Fairmount Park. Photo Courtesy: MarathonFoto.com.
I really love this part of the city. *FUN FACT*, on my final weekend living here in the spring of 2013, I sat atop Belmont Plateau, looked back at the city, and called into radio station WXPN to request that the DJ play Dr. Dog’s “Shadow People” one last time while I was living in West Philadelphia. Ugh. All. The. Feels.
BACK TO THE RACE! The route looped back around in front of Memorial Hall, then out of West Fairmount Park; we hitched a ride on a nice tailwind, and approached the oncoming wave of runners just starting their “Mile 10 Climb.” I offered a silent “Thoughts and Prayers” to every last marathoner. The route east took us atop the Girard Avenue Bridge that carried us across the Schuylkill River to the East Park Reservoir. Someone named this stretch “Centennial Canyon.” It was the third ✔climb ✔ in succession ✔ if you’re scoring at home. ✔ ✔ ✔
Along the reservoir, we again faced some difficult headwinds. One guy in the group suggested we take one-minute turns at the front so that we could each share the work and the benefit of our pack. Also in the stretch, someone from our group called out that his hamstring was “starting to seize up!” Ah! As this unfortunate runner dropped back, and likely out of the race, one of the pack leaders turned to everyone and bemoaned “One soldier down!” Poor buddy.
Moments later, the guy in front of me swung wide to the left and I was now at the head of the pack, taking the wind for those directly behind me. I glanced at my watch, took note of the time, and continued pounding the pavement beneath me for at “least one minute and then these mother f*ckers better get back in front,” I thought to myself.
When the minute was up, I didn’t really want to wait until someone eventually took over. I gazed towards a few runners ahead of me and knew that I was getting close to the 25k mark. At that point Anna would be waiting for me with a bottle half full of a mixture of energy gel and water. And so, brashly and somewhat brazenly I increased my pace to try to latch on to a couple runners rounding the reservoir. As soon as I caught up to one guy, HE IMMEDIATELY SPRINTED OFF COURSE to use one of the port-a-potties! Bro! What the heck!
BACK TO THE RACE! The route looped back around in front of Memorial Hall, then out of West Fairmount Park; we hitched a ride on a nice tailwind, and approached the oncoming wave of runners just starting their “Mile 10 Climb.” I offered a silent “Thoughts and Prayers” to every last marathoner. The route east took us atop the Girard Avenue Bridge that carried us across the Schuylkill River to the East Park Reservoir. Someone named this stretch “Centennial Canyon.” It was the third ✔climb ✔ in succession ✔ if you’re scoring at home. ✔ ✔ ✔
Along the reservoir, we again faced some difficult headwinds. One guy in the group suggested we take one-minute turns at the front so that we could each share the work and the benefit of our pack. Also in the stretch, someone from our group called out that his hamstring was “starting to seize up!” Ah! As this unfortunate runner dropped back, and likely out of the race, one of the pack leaders turned to everyone and bemoaned “One soldier down!” Poor buddy.
Moments later, the guy in front of me swung wide to the left and I was now at the head of the pack, taking the wind for those directly behind me. I glanced at my watch, took note of the time, and continued pounding the pavement beneath me for at “least one minute and then these mother f*ckers better get back in front,” I thought to myself.
When the minute was up, I didn’t really want to wait until someone eventually took over. I gazed towards a few runners ahead of me and knew that I was getting close to the 25k mark. At that point Anna would be waiting for me with a bottle half full of a mixture of energy gel and water. And so, brashly and somewhat brazenly I increased my pace to try to latch on to a couple runners rounding the reservoir. As soon as I caught up to one guy, HE IMMEDIATELY SPRINTED OFF COURSE to use one of the port-a-potties! Bro! What the heck!
NGL, pack mentality is really the best way to race. Photo courtesy: @carol.susan
I have definitely been there. During my training for this race, I had a dozen or so long runs of up to and over two hours in duration. In about 75% of these I had to take a pit stop at around an hour into the run. It’s a fine line between starting a run with an abundance of calories or in a calorie deficit. In my experience it’s probably okay to be operating with less calories, and then fuel up along the way, than having to stop to poop in the middle of your goal race! In my training, I did not have that discipline. But on raceday, and the days leading up to it, I somehow found the strength to control myself from overindulging.
I digress. Where were we? Ah, almost 25ks (15.5mi) into the race! So we rounded the reservoir and I was absolutely cruising as we hit the downhill to Kelly Drive. I was anxiously on the lookout for Anna who was expected to be closeby and presumably holding that life-giving bottle, half full of calories and hydration that I so desperately needed at this point of the race. And there she was! *ALMOST* exactly where we had planned!! I had taken off my lefthand mitten expecting her on my left side. When I noticed that she would be on my right, my internal monologue said, “Classic Anna.” Close enough! My first bottle was in my mittened, right hand and I quickly transferred it to my left. THANK YOU, ANNA!
I digress. Where were we? Ah, almost 25ks (15.5mi) into the race! So we rounded the reservoir and I was absolutely cruising as we hit the downhill to Kelly Drive. I was anxiously on the lookout for Anna who was expected to be closeby and presumably holding that life-giving bottle, half full of calories and hydration that I so desperately needed at this point of the race. And there she was! *ALMOST* exactly where we had planned!! I had taken off my lefthand mitten expecting her on my left side. When I noticed that she would be on my right, my internal monologue said, “Classic Anna.” Close enough! My first bottle was in my mittened, right hand and I quickly transferred it to my left. THANK YOU, ANNA!
Pre-race instructions provided to Anna. She improvised, stood on the right side instead so that I could see her more easily. Isn't she the best?!! <3
My support SKWAD Captain, ANNA SMUUUUU! We're engaged to be married, BTW! I'm a lucky guy, over here.
We were finally down to a flat stretch! I began taking swigs from my bottle, noticing how large and cumbersome these bottles would be to run with. Not a huge deal. A lot better than the mini-paper cups from the aid stations. Don’t get me wrong, I used those, too. Are you kidding me? How could I resist splashing myself over and over with water and Gatorade every 5k on this frigid day!! For real, tho, taking the handoffs from the volunteers are a nice way to break up the monotony of such a long race.
And speaking of monotony, the wind, the pack that had eventually caught back up to me (or I had gradually fallen back to), my life-nurturing bottle, the wind, the river, *AND THE WIND*, were all I had to accompany me along this flat and featureless four-kilometer stretch to where I’d reach my next cheering section.
About 16 minutes later, we made it to Falls Bridge! As we approached the screaming, and nearly hypothermic crowd, I noticed my mom among them! She was wearing my day-glo yellow running vest and the pink hat that I asked her to wear for easy spotting! Great job, mom!!
With her was my dad and my brother who was holding the second bottle that I had prepared, pre-race. THANK YOU, BROTHERRRRR!! U DA GOAT! This second bottle would give me a little more calories and some caffeine as we entered the seventh of eight, five-kilometer segments on this 42.2 kilometer race.
And speaking of monotony, the wind, the pack that had eventually caught back up to me (or I had gradually fallen back to), my life-nurturing bottle, the wind, the river, *AND THE WIND*, were all I had to accompany me along this flat and featureless four-kilometer stretch to where I’d reach my next cheering section.
About 16 minutes later, we made it to Falls Bridge! As we approached the screaming, and nearly hypothermic crowd, I noticed my mom among them! She was wearing my day-glo yellow running vest and the pink hat that I asked her to wear for easy spotting! Great job, mom!!
With her was my dad and my brother who was holding the second bottle that I had prepared, pre-race. THANK YOU, BROTHERRRRR!! U DA GOAT! This second bottle would give me a little more calories and some caffeine as we entered the seventh of eight, five-kilometer segments on this 42.2 kilometer race.
Family cheering and bottle hand-off SKWAD. Thanks, guys. Love you to the moooooon!!
Alright, it was officially boogie oogie oogie time! With all that energy from the crowd around that point, the distraction of grabbing the bottle from Jon-Paul, and probably from the wind that was blowing directly into my eyes, I didn’t even notice that we had passed the two-hour mark! That was huge.
If you had talked to me before the race and asked me my goal, after resisting the urge to just blurt out some random time that I thought would satisfy me, I would have told you that the objective was, in fact, “getting to the two-hour mark and feeling like I still had something left to give.” In my training, the two-hour threshold was as much a mental barrier as it was a physical one.
After two-hours into a hard running effort (just under ~20 miles in this case), even with good preparation, hydration, and nourishment, the body and mind just start to play games. You’ve heard this term, “hitting the wall.” The National Institutes of Health can certainly explain this phenomenon better than I can, so I’ll leave it to the experts: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8133477/HITTING_THE_WALL…body’s…energystores.
THERE WOULD BE NO BONKING OR HITTING OF THE PROVERBIAL WALL ON THIS DAY! NO SIR!! We were (I was) equipped with a stronger mental *AND* nutritional game than what we brought to Eugene in my debut marathon back in 2019. Plus, I was still with the pack and the guy who was calling out at each mile split “ANYONE CAN RUN SIX MILES” when we had six miles left to run. And then “ANYONE CAN RUN FIVE MILES” when there were five miles left, and so on and so forth. That was fantastic energy and the positive outlook I needed during this butthole clenching and teeth grinding part of the race.
If you had talked to me before the race and asked me my goal, after resisting the urge to just blurt out some random time that I thought would satisfy me, I would have told you that the objective was, in fact, “getting to the two-hour mark and feeling like I still had something left to give.” In my training, the two-hour threshold was as much a mental barrier as it was a physical one.
After two-hours into a hard running effort (just under ~20 miles in this case), even with good preparation, hydration, and nourishment, the body and mind just start to play games. You’ve heard this term, “hitting the wall.” The National Institutes of Health can certainly explain this phenomenon better than I can, so I’ll leave it to the experts: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8133477/HITTING_THE_WALL…body’s…energystores.
THERE WOULD BE NO BONKING OR HITTING OF THE PROVERBIAL WALL ON THIS DAY! NO SIR!! We were (I was) equipped with a stronger mental *AND* nutritional game than what we brought to Eugene in my debut marathon back in 2019. Plus, I was still with the pack and the guy who was calling out at each mile split “ANYONE CAN RUN SIX MILES” when we had six miles left to run. And then “ANYONE CAN RUN FIVE MILES” when there were five miles left, and so on and so forth. That was fantastic energy and the positive outlook I needed during this butthole clenching and teeth grinding part of the race.
Me: clenching butthole and grinding teeth. And the guy! "6 Miles! 5 Miles! Anyone can run 4 Miles!!" LESSSKO!
Photo courtesy MarathonFoto.com
Our group left the crowds along Kelly Drive and bargained for the next challenge, navigating more wind and the gentle hills up to Manayunk! Out of all my runs along the Schuylkill as a young lad, I had never gone all the way to Manayunk. And let me tell you, IT LIVED UP TO ALL OF THE HYPEEEE! The crowds were in close, literally on the course and inside the Main Street sidewalks -- right up in yo’ grille! There were cowbells. There were bullhorns. There were people offering free beer. It was spectacular. The best part was when we hit that sweet, sweet turnaround cone and *FINALLY* had a nice tailwind to work with! There were LESS THAN 6 MILES TO GO!
We headed down the hill and back towards the family cheering section at Falls Bridge. I successfully grabbed bottle #3 from broseph and actually thought that I still needed some time to digest the liquids from the last bottle I got from him.
At 35k, feeling confident in my ability to tough it out for just another four and a half miles, I took maybe only a few swigs before offering it to one of the runners in the pack, David Scott, from New York, by way of Edmonton, Alberta. David also took a couple of swigs. When he tried to pass it back, I told him to just donate it to the sidewalk mall. We were done with hydration and fueling for today!
Something I was also done with was all this wind! Meandering along the Schuylkill River towards the finish, we got some nice gusts that were actually whipping up fairly big waves on the riverbank. GNARLY! When we passed the flag marking 40! kilometers into the race, I dug deep, and gathered for one final push towards the Art Museum.
We headed down the hill and back towards the family cheering section at Falls Bridge. I successfully grabbed bottle #3 from broseph and actually thought that I still needed some time to digest the liquids from the last bottle I got from him.
At 35k, feeling confident in my ability to tough it out for just another four and a half miles, I took maybe only a few swigs before offering it to one of the runners in the pack, David Scott, from New York, by way of Edmonton, Alberta. David also took a couple of swigs. When he tried to pass it back, I told him to just donate it to the sidewalk mall. We were done with hydration and fueling for today!
Something I was also done with was all this wind! Meandering along the Schuylkill River towards the finish, we got some nice gusts that were actually whipping up fairly big waves on the riverbank. GNARLY! When we passed the flag marking 40! kilometers into the race, I dug deep, and gathered for one final push towards the Art Museum.
Photo courtesy MarathonFoto.com
It was an absolute blur running the final stretch on Kelly Drive and past Boathouse Row. With about 400m to go, I ditched my gloves. Then I used whatever strength I had left to look extra pretty for the finish line crowds and photographers. As I gazed ahead, I saw the finish line arch, with the clock reading 2:48:... “We’re gonna do it!” When I crossed the line, I clicked my watch, threw my arms up in the air, and made a few more strides to get out of the way of anyone finishing behind me.
Trying to look "extra" pretty for the finish line photographers. Courtesy of MarathonFoto.com
WE DID IT! Photo courtesy: MarathonFoto.com
Photo courtesy: MarathonFoto.com
WE DID IT!!! AND NOW 😭 QUEUE.THE.WATERWORKS!! 😹 Oh man, that was some built-up emotion I had been carrying with me during the race, the last 15 years? I completely lost it there in the finish area. And then again after collecting my finisher’s medal and space blanket. Thank you, Heidi of MarathonFoto.com for consoling me while taking post-race photos of me!
All that pressure I put on myself to prove, TO MYSELF, that I could actually complete this type of performance at a race of this distance. After all we’ve been through. Wow. Just wow.
I made my way back to the AACR tent to grab my bags and find my phone to connect with the fam. They were all somewhere near the finish line and I invited them to come join me in the tent. I chatted a bit again with Sam and with Josh from AACR. Josh took this lovely photo of me with the rest of the raceday SKWAD.
We got back to my brother’s apartment, chilled for a bit, and then walked over to our brunch spot in NoLibs. YOU BETTER BELIEVE I wore that finisher’s medal around my neck and the space blanket draped over my shoulders like a gahdamn cape. A few neighbors offered me congratulatory remarks as I pranced through the city streets. This must have been how Rocky felt after defeating Drago. Or how George freaking Washington felt after leading the Continental Army across the Delaware to defeat the Hessians in that freezing December in 1776. What a time to be alive! I appreciate you, team and all those who have been in my corner through these extraordinary times. Much respect! 🙇♂️
All that pressure I put on myself to prove, TO MYSELF, that I could actually complete this type of performance at a race of this distance. After all we’ve been through. Wow. Just wow.
I made my way back to the AACR tent to grab my bags and find my phone to connect with the fam. They were all somewhere near the finish line and I invited them to come join me in the tent. I chatted a bit again with Sam and with Josh from AACR. Josh took this lovely photo of me with the rest of the raceday SKWAD.
We got back to my brother’s apartment, chilled for a bit, and then walked over to our brunch spot in NoLibs. YOU BETTER BELIEVE I wore that finisher’s medal around my neck and the space blanket draped over my shoulders like a gahdamn cape. A few neighbors offered me congratulatory remarks as I pranced through the city streets. This must have been how Rocky felt after defeating Drago. Or how George freaking Washington felt after leading the Continental Army across the Delaware to defeat the Hessians in that freezing December in 1776. What a time to be alive! I appreciate you, team and all those who have been in my corner through these extraordinary times. Much respect! 🙇♂️
I'm fairly certain that Washington also wore a cape. Ya know, maybe some heroes do in fact wear capes? J/S! Photo courtesy: Heidi @ MarathonFoto.com
SPLITZ. Not too shabby. □
A special thanks to:
Other random musings:
- Raceday Skwad: Ma, Dad, *Jon-Paul!*, Anna. ♥
- The Daily Grind Homies: Katelen, Samir, Splash Brother Johnny. 💪
- The “why is it only super smokey in Seattle when the air is pretty decent everywhere else in Western Washington” relief crew: The Smukowski/Hellberg fam with the Whidbey Island cabin hook-up. 🙏
- Special appreciation to the AACR Runners for Research program for the Elite setup, pre and post-race. 🙇♂️ .
- The pre-race, pump up partners, Katie and Kristin. 👊
- Big ups to the Cleveland HS XC team for keeping me grounded and motivated to stay connected to the neighborhood running community. Go Screamin’ Eagles! 🦅 🦅
- A huuuuge shout out to Erick Harada and the staff at Harada Physical therapy for helping treat the acute shin pain I was dealing with back at the end of the summer.
- To my primary care peeps -- Dr. Pellegrini and the team at Bastyr Center for Natural Health. I'd be an absolute shell of a human if it weren't for you and your clinical expertise. So much love!
- Seattle Running Club, Brooks Running, and the SRC-Brooks team for the support and gear throughout these past few competitive years!
Other random musings:
- Tuesday night before the race, the last little sharpening sesh that I did in the pitch black and pooring rain from my parents’ house. What a run! I was feeling nothing and everything at the same time. Running into the wind, letting out my anger on the first couple intervals. I grit my teeth and managed to smile at the same time. The word “committment” kept popping into my mind. This was awesome.
- The last “long” run of the cycle. When I ran southbound along LWB and saw the sun just poking through the clouds. And then I notices its reflection on the lake while the mountain was just coming into a silhouette in the distance. What an experience!
The 2022 Philadelphia Marathon course. Pretty legit. No gimmicks on this one!
Memorable training moments:
- Anti-(bad) air quality Mutiny Bay workouts
- Longest run through the Seward Park monster dash + bottle service from Smu and final ~5mins w/ Johnny. “It takes a village.”
- The Lake Wash blvd interval+tempo+interval sessions
- The random pit stops all around So. Whidbey. Shoutout Bayview Taproom!
- Doing a workout down at that beach on Mutiny Bay the day after the plane crash.
- LWB 2k “progression” intervals. 🔥
- The handful of 2+ hour long runs. Burke/Mag O&B. U-district bridges LR.
- All the responsible motorists out there who gave me plenty of space to run when there was barely any shoulder or a sidewalk to run on. 🙇♂️
- Departing the family vacay in Georgia to get back to Seattle to make sure I had time to get in my long run for the week.
- Hopping into a couple of fun 8k XC races with the SRC gang! 🌊 🌲
- And finally, the LOOT LAKE FARTLEK!
2022 SRC-Brooks Mid-Year Report
All Crew Run at Magnuson Park with the Seattle Running Collective. Photo Courtesy of David Jaewon Oh.
Picking back up where we left off at the end of 2021…
January, 37h35’, 303mi/488km
…with another 'DUB' at the Bridle Trails Winter Running Festival's 10-mile race. A successful title defense in a fancy new pair of Catamounts! 🎨
And in the middle of the month we joined the "All Crew Run to make some new friends through the Seattle Running Collective!
January, 37h35’, 303mi/488km
…with another 'DUB' at the Bridle Trails Winter Running Festival's 10-mile race. A successful title defense in a fancy new pair of Catamounts! 🎨
And in the middle of the month we joined the "All Crew Run to make some new friends through the Seattle Running Collective!
Bonus: I survived a tsunami while on holiday along the coast! This is *NOT* a pic of my crotch! Or even the super comfy Brooks 3” Sherpa Shorts. Just look at those Tsunami waves!
February, 34h44’, 254mi/408km.
Grind, grind, grind. And trying XC skiing for the first time! This month marked the home stretch of the training cycle for my first 'A' race of 2022 – Lake Sammamish Half Marathon. Most of my runs were in the Glycerin 19s. A handful in the Ghost 14s. And workouts split between the Hyperion Elites and multiple color options in the Tempos.
Grind, grind, grind. And trying XC skiing for the first time! This month marked the home stretch of the training cycle for my first 'A' race of 2022 – Lake Sammamish Half Marathon. Most of my runs were in the Glycerin 19s. A handful in the Ghost 14s. And workouts split between the Hyperion Elites and multiple color options in the Tempos.
March, 27h51’, 221mi/356km.
Wooo-whee. Lake Sammamie was a banger! Sub-75 minutes, a top 10 finish, a 10-minute improvement on my last race there, and a significant P.B.! Super shoes, a super pace group, and super belief in myself for. the. win!! Well, actually, for 9th place. 💁♂️ C'mon now! Such a great day. Link to my race report, here: < https://www.rocheam.com/move.html#LSHM22 >
The following weekend, in the spirit of my heritage, I laced up the racing flats for another go. The return of Seattle's St. Paddy's Day Dash. Since I'm all about racing in the seasonal selections from Brooks, i.e. 12ks of Christmas stockings and "Ugly-sweater-patterned l/s top," y'know I had to try out the Celtic socks with a new pair of Hyperion Tempos.
And for the weekend after, it was time to support one of the local traditions on the spring Trail Racing calendar: Chuckanut 50k! I helped out with a few of my teammates at the Ridgeline atop Cleator Rd. Aid Station #3. I don't recall the exact pair of Brooks trailrunners I was wearing at the time. But they did not keep me warm!!
That's okay. I blame myself for that epic fail.
To close out the month, I helped support another local trail running tradition – Northwest Trail Runs’ Spring Run for Fun at the Redmond Watershed. At this event, I was hired as the race photographer. As an extra, unpaid task, I lent my new Cascadias to a competitor who had left his running shoes at home!
What a month!
Onto…
Wooo-whee. Lake Sammamie was a banger! Sub-75 minutes, a top 10 finish, a 10-minute improvement on my last race there, and a significant P.B.! Super shoes, a super pace group, and super belief in myself for. the. win!! Well, actually, for 9th place. 💁♂️ C'mon now! Such a great day. Link to my race report, here: < https://www.rocheam.com/move.html#LSHM22 >
The following weekend, in the spirit of my heritage, I laced up the racing flats for another go. The return of Seattle's St. Paddy's Day Dash. Since I'm all about racing in the seasonal selections from Brooks, i.e. 12ks of Christmas stockings and "Ugly-sweater-patterned l/s top," y'know I had to try out the Celtic socks with a new pair of Hyperion Tempos.
And for the weekend after, it was time to support one of the local traditions on the spring Trail Racing calendar: Chuckanut 50k! I helped out with a few of my teammates at the Ridgeline atop Cleator Rd. Aid Station #3. I don't recall the exact pair of Brooks trailrunners I was wearing at the time. But they did not keep me warm!!
That's okay. I blame myself for that epic fail.
To close out the month, I helped support another local trail running tradition – Northwest Trail Runs’ Spring Run for Fun at the Redmond Watershed. At this event, I was hired as the race photographer. As an extra, unpaid task, I lent my new Cascadias to a competitor who had left his running shoes at home!
What a month!
Onto…
April! 28h57’, 239mi/385km / May, 29h51’, 212mi/341km
Okay. We can skip these months!! 🤡
J/k. April was a fine month. I got some solid training in with my main dude Johnny in his build up to his marathon, enjoyed the cherry blossoms during our runs along the lake, and thrived during many a resplendent spring day in the Puget Sound region. I even made a trip home to Southern New Jersey to celebrate Ma’s and Dad’s milestone bdays.
At the end of the month, I took the trip down to Eugene with my other run buds for the race. Seeking a bit of revenge from that rough Marathon debut back in 2019, I figured the half distance might suit me better this time down in Ducks Country/Tracktown USA.
Meh. Maybe not. I totally bombed out after giving it a fair effort for 50-55 minutes. Absolutely no tears were shed for yours truly. Thankfully, praise jee-zus, there were other things to be grateful for that trip. Such as: some pretty yummy thai food for lunch and finding very tasty pre-race pizza. Oh! And Katelen ran like a woman possessed and set a new P.B. in the Marathon by like 20 minutes! So there was that. Running the last half mile with her during her amazing race is something I’ll never forget.
Next up in May, the first trail work par-TAY of 2022. Teammate Alex and I ran half of the short series course at Cougar and trimmed and cleared some obstructions from the trail. It was a wet one, but totally worth the soggy bum to help out the park. #natureislityo
Trail work party meant that the following weekend was COO-gah May! Here, I helped out by volunteering at aid station #1! It was fun supporting the event *AND* keeping warm for a change.
From actual spring, to more spring!
Okay. We can skip these months!! 🤡
J/k. April was a fine month. I got some solid training in with my main dude Johnny in his build up to his marathon, enjoyed the cherry blossoms during our runs along the lake, and thrived during many a resplendent spring day in the Puget Sound region. I even made a trip home to Southern New Jersey to celebrate Ma’s and Dad’s milestone bdays.
At the end of the month, I took the trip down to Eugene with my other run buds for the race. Seeking a bit of revenge from that rough Marathon debut back in 2019, I figured the half distance might suit me better this time down in Ducks Country/Tracktown USA.
Meh. Maybe not. I totally bombed out after giving it a fair effort for 50-55 minutes. Absolutely no tears were shed for yours truly. Thankfully, praise jee-zus, there were other things to be grateful for that trip. Such as: some pretty yummy thai food for lunch and finding very tasty pre-race pizza. Oh! And Katelen ran like a woman possessed and set a new P.B. in the Marathon by like 20 minutes! So there was that. Running the last half mile with her during her amazing race is something I’ll never forget.
Next up in May, the first trail work par-TAY of 2022. Teammate Alex and I ran half of the short series course at Cougar and trimmed and cleared some obstructions from the trail. It was a wet one, but totally worth the soggy bum to help out the park. #natureislityo
Trail work party meant that the following weekend was COO-gah May! Here, I helped out by volunteering at aid station #1! It was fun supporting the event *AND* keeping warm for a change.
From actual spring, to more spring!
June, 31h37’, 241mi/388km, 1,000 inches of rainfall! 0 rays of sun! Totals for the first half of 2022: 200+hrs, 1,470mi/2,366km
Summer’s canceled. The final month of this report covers the month of June. The beginning of which marked Global Running Week. This was another opportunity to hang out with our pals in the Running Collective.
The first weekend of the month was time for another trail work party! There was a lot more to clear this time around from the recent storms that came through the region.
Summer’s canceled. The final month of this report covers the month of June. The beginning of which marked Global Running Week. This was another opportunity to hang out with our pals in the Running Collective.
The first weekend of the month was time for another trail work party! There was a lot more to clear this time around from the recent storms that came through the region.
As for training and competing… I gotchyu fam. The Fall City Days 10k was back on the calendar! I hopped in for a fifth place finish and ran about a minute faster than my last time there in 2018. Not too shabby. #rustbuster #didntevenstartspeedtrainingyet
From there, it was back to the track! For workouts and for actual races!!
On a Wednesday night in the middle of the month I took a trip up to Shoreline with the $wag Money Track Club CEO for a Club Northwest All-Comers meet. My initital plan was to do just the 3k. But we ain’t drive the 30 minutes outside the city to just run for 10 minutes +/-. I figured I’d go full-on dual meet style and race the 1500 and double back in the 3k.
4:32.5 in the 1500 and 9:55 in 3k. Right around my seed times for both events. I was happy with that. And I was pumped about finally making it to an all-comers. There’s always a buzz about those meets.
After a quick trip down to SoCal for my cousin’s high school graduation, I was back at the last all-comers in June. This time for the 5k. With a goal to run a sub-17 minute race in a legit 5000m, I was looking for the right race for that attempt. The conditions around 9:30pm on a Wednesday night in the summer in the Pacific Northwest are about as ideal as one could find. Post-race sleep bedamned, I was going for it!
I won’t bore you with the deets here. I got a race report for that one as well. Anyway, long story short, I did the damn thing – 16:36.77. It was another super fun evening.
< https://www.rocheam.com/move.html#BRAC5k >
My running adventures provided me some super fun times for the first half of the year! I’m already on my way to some exciting goals for the second half of the year. As always, I appreciate the support of those on my SRC-Brooks team and the gear and shoes we get from Brooks to pursue our passion.
From there, it was back to the track! For workouts and for actual races!!
On a Wednesday night in the middle of the month I took a trip up to Shoreline with the $wag Money Track Club CEO for a Club Northwest All-Comers meet. My initital plan was to do just the 3k. But we ain’t drive the 30 minutes outside the city to just run for 10 minutes +/-. I figured I’d go full-on dual meet style and race the 1500 and double back in the 3k.
4:32.5 in the 1500 and 9:55 in 3k. Right around my seed times for both events. I was happy with that. And I was pumped about finally making it to an all-comers. There’s always a buzz about those meets.
After a quick trip down to SoCal for my cousin’s high school graduation, I was back at the last all-comers in June. This time for the 5k. With a goal to run a sub-17 minute race in a legit 5000m, I was looking for the right race for that attempt. The conditions around 9:30pm on a Wednesday night in the summer in the Pacific Northwest are about as ideal as one could find. Post-race sleep bedamned, I was going for it!
I won’t bore you with the deets here. I got a race report for that one as well. Anyway, long story short, I did the damn thing – 16:36.77. It was another super fun evening.
< https://www.rocheam.com/move.html#BRAC5k >
My running adventures provided me some super fun times for the first half of the year! I’m already on my way to some exciting goals for the second half of the year. As always, I appreciate the support of those on my SRC-Brooks team and the gear and shoes we get from Brooks to pursue our passion.
Image courtesy of philadelphiamarathon.com.
“Soooo. WHAt’S NeXT??!” – the question that every runner gets like 5 minutes after they finished their last race. Well, I’m setting my sights for a fall marathon – Phil-a-del-phi-a here we come!! Lesssssko. 👊 🥳
What’s next for you, y’all, you all??
Thanks again for the support, team! SRC-Brooks teammates, RunCoach Rosie, support skwad captain Anna, e’rybody else, you know who you are! Much love!
Breathe. Hydrate. Eat ‘ur veggies. Please! ✌
What’s next for you, y’all, you all??
Thanks again for the support, team! SRC-Brooks teammates, RunCoach Rosie, support skwad captain Anna, e’rybody else, you know who you are! Much love!
Breathe. Hydrate. Eat ‘ur veggies. Please! ✌
SMU Appreciation Gallery! <3
SHOE Appreciation Gallery
5000m at Bill Roe All-Comers
1: Samir digging deep for his 2-second P.B., 2: Coming around the home stretch for the first time. 3: Somewhere in the first mile of the 5000m. Spencer Walsh (out of picture) on the rail, me on the outside of lane 1, Justin B. behind me. 4: Marlene Farrel! in the mile race! 5: Another night at the track in Shoreline, WA. Photos 1, 2, & 3 courtesy of Anna Smu.
Bill Roe All-Comers Track & Field Series Meet #5
June 29, 2022
Shoreline, WA, USA
RACE RECAP!
"Each time we came through I either heard "80" or "81." After that one, like an angel calling down from heaven, I heard the glorious phrase "let me know when you want me to take over."
16 minutes, 36.77 seconds* over 5000 meters on the track. An adult personal best. And likely the best I've run at that distance, on any surface, everrrrr.
My secret sauce*: 2 x standup paddle boarding @ 30 minutes, four and three days out from the race. 1 x 15' floating/crawling in Lake Washington, two days out. A handful of 300m and 600m interval sessions in the ~2-month build-up to the race. All the veggies!
For those interested, continue to the bottom to read the timeline of my raceday.
9:35pm: we’re off! And then we’re called back! There was a false start or a timing issue.
9:36pm: and we’re off again!!
Within the first 200m I caught a glimpse of Club Northwest's Spencer Walsh. We chatted a bit before the race about our pacing plans so I thought it would be a good idea to stick to him. There were a few others who stayed near to us as we came through 200m. The clock ticked from 37, to 38, 39… Right about where I wanted to be.
- - -
Throughout this training cycle I did workouts specific to my plan for this 5000m race. The goal coming in was sub 16:40 -- which translates to 80 seconds per 400m lap. It’s a very handy number to use for pacing. 20 seconds through the 100, then 40 through 200; an even minute at 300 meters and so on and so forth. 3 minutes and 20 seconds per kilometer times 5 equals 16 minutes and 40 seconds. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
The majority of the track workouts I did in the past seven weeks after the Eugene Half were 300 meter repeats and 600 meter repeats at faster than race pace. These were 55-56 seconds for the 300s and 1:55-56 for the 600s. Putting in the work during those interval sessions really helped build my confidence. Specifically because the execution of this even-pacing during a race has been tough for me on the roads. On a track, however, I feel like a gosh dang wizard. Demonstrating this during a race would be the real test of my race-pacing wizardry.
- - -
On the backstretch of our first lap, the leaders were already pretty well ahead. I had no delusion of winning this race, so that wasn’t a concern. What was nice was that their coaches were hanging around to read off the splits for us normies. We hit our first lap in around 78-mid, 79-low.
After the first lap, an actual group started to form around me. I was running on the outside of lane one. Spencer was next to me, on the rail. There were three others behind us, hot on our heels and keeping us honest. These were Noe and Benson, a couple youngsters from the Renton Track Club and Justin, a recent transplant from San Francisco's West Valley Track Club.
The pace was certainly honest -- at each 200m interval we were getting audible confirmation of our speedy splits. And there was a lot of heat coming at our heels from the runners in the back of our pace group. On the first turn, during an early lap, Spencer turned to his side and let out a breathy "cut that out!" I was unsure what was going on until he lashed out another, "that's the third time!" And then, "if the pace is too slow, run around us!" 🙈
I started to get a little worried that things might boil over. Whoever was clipping at Spencer's heels backed off and cooler heads prevailed. On that lap we probably ran 77 seconds. A little mid-race drama never hurts. 😬
That spicy 400m split must have been too hot for a few of the lads. From there on out it was just me and Justin, ripping some very even laps. He had a coach out there at the finish line. Each time we came through I either heard "80" or "81." After that one, like an angel from heaven, I heard the glorious phrase "let me know when you want me to take over."
Ugh. Music to my ears. Who was this kind human who wanted to share the pacing?
Justin slowly moved to my outside and then passed me. As he got in front, I stayed right on him and kept up. With 1200m to go I thought to myself, "just 4 minutes of hard effort." At 800, Justin's coach called out, "TWO LAPS!" That helped me find that extra gear that I'm always searching for at the end of a race.
With 600m left, I voiced out ahead "just two more minutes of hard running." And then at 300 I softly muttered to Justin, "one minute."
As we hit 200 to go, he made a move that I couldn't respond to. And that was fine. I dug deep and counted down from 40 until I crossed the finish line. 16:36.77. Adult P.B., bby!! What a fun and well strategized performance!
Thanks for the support!
Catch ya on the next one, fam.
Love yourself, love each other, run happy.
Shoreline, WA, USA
RACE RECAP!
"Each time we came through I either heard "80" or "81." After that one, like an angel calling down from heaven, I heard the glorious phrase "let me know when you want me to take over."
16 minutes, 36.77 seconds* over 5000 meters on the track. An adult personal best. And likely the best I've run at that distance, on any surface, everrrrr.
My secret sauce*: 2 x standup paddle boarding @ 30 minutes, four and three days out from the race. 1 x 15' floating/crawling in Lake Washington, two days out. A handful of 300m and 600m interval sessions in the ~2-month build-up to the race. All the veggies!
For those interested, continue to the bottom to read the timeline of my raceday.
9:35pm: we’re off! And then we’re called back! There was a false start or a timing issue.
9:36pm: and we’re off again!!
Within the first 200m I caught a glimpse of Club Northwest's Spencer Walsh. We chatted a bit before the race about our pacing plans so I thought it would be a good idea to stick to him. There were a few others who stayed near to us as we came through 200m. The clock ticked from 37, to 38, 39… Right about where I wanted to be.
- - -
Throughout this training cycle I did workouts specific to my plan for this 5000m race. The goal coming in was sub 16:40 -- which translates to 80 seconds per 400m lap. It’s a very handy number to use for pacing. 20 seconds through the 100, then 40 through 200; an even minute at 300 meters and so on and so forth. 3 minutes and 20 seconds per kilometer times 5 equals 16 minutes and 40 seconds. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
The majority of the track workouts I did in the past seven weeks after the Eugene Half were 300 meter repeats and 600 meter repeats at faster than race pace. These were 55-56 seconds for the 300s and 1:55-56 for the 600s. Putting in the work during those interval sessions really helped build my confidence. Specifically because the execution of this even-pacing during a race has been tough for me on the roads. On a track, however, I feel like a gosh dang wizard. Demonstrating this during a race would be the real test of my race-pacing wizardry.
- - -
On the backstretch of our first lap, the leaders were already pretty well ahead. I had no delusion of winning this race, so that wasn’t a concern. What was nice was that their coaches were hanging around to read off the splits for us normies. We hit our first lap in around 78-mid, 79-low.
After the first lap, an actual group started to form around me. I was running on the outside of lane one. Spencer was next to me, on the rail. There were three others behind us, hot on our heels and keeping us honest. These were Noe and Benson, a couple youngsters from the Renton Track Club and Justin, a recent transplant from San Francisco's West Valley Track Club.
The pace was certainly honest -- at each 200m interval we were getting audible confirmation of our speedy splits. And there was a lot of heat coming at our heels from the runners in the back of our pace group. On the first turn, during an early lap, Spencer turned to his side and let out a breathy "cut that out!" I was unsure what was going on until he lashed out another, "that's the third time!" And then, "if the pace is too slow, run around us!" 🙈
I started to get a little worried that things might boil over. Whoever was clipping at Spencer's heels backed off and cooler heads prevailed. On that lap we probably ran 77 seconds. A little mid-race drama never hurts. 😬
That spicy 400m split must have been too hot for a few of the lads. From there on out it was just me and Justin, ripping some very even laps. He had a coach out there at the finish line. Each time we came through I either heard "80" or "81." After that one, like an angel from heaven, I heard the glorious phrase "let me know when you want me to take over."
Ugh. Music to my ears. Who was this kind human who wanted to share the pacing?
Justin slowly moved to my outside and then passed me. As he got in front, I stayed right on him and kept up. With 1200m to go I thought to myself, "just 4 minutes of hard effort." At 800, Justin's coach called out, "TWO LAPS!" That helped me find that extra gear that I'm always searching for at the end of a race.
With 600m left, I voiced out ahead "just two more minutes of hard running." And then at 300 I softly muttered to Justin, "one minute."
As we hit 200 to go, he made a move that I couldn't respond to. And that was fine. I dug deep and counted down from 40 until I crossed the finish line. 16:36.77. Adult P.B., bby!! What a fun and well strategized performance!
Thanks for the support!
Catch ya on the next one, fam.
Love yourself, love each other, run happy.
2022 June 29
Raceday Timeline
6:30am: I woke to a power outage at my house. I went into the garage, flipped all the switches on the circuit breaker, then called SCL to find out what in the heck was going on.
7:00am: called Anna to see if I could crash her Wednesday morning party. No answer.
7:02am: texted Anna.
7:05am: packed up my laptop and breakfast and headed to Anna’s so that I could work there until power was restored.
8:00am to 5:00pm: work. Came home at lunchtime and the power was back.
5:30pm to 7:30pm: snack, pre-race routine, packed up the gear bags.
7:30pm to 8:20pm: picked-up Anna in the middle of her mom’s book club. Stole a chocolate chip cookie after awkwardly interrupting their meeting. Responded to some quick inquiries into my running and the number of marathons I have done. Drove up to the race and collected Samir along the way.
8:25pm: arrived at Shoreline Stadium to find out that the meet was about 30 minutes behind. The 5000m was originally scheduled for 9:10pm. Womp womp.
8:25pm to 8:45pm: parked my butt in the stands to enjoy some of the meet. Saw some speedy kids race in the sprints. A sub-4-minute mile attempt by Club Northwest’s Tom Anderson. And cheered on Marlene Farrell in her mile race.
8:45pm to 9:20pm: took my caffeine gummy and began to do some warming up with Samir.
9:20pm to 9:34pm: checked in with the race clerk to get my hip numbers. Changed into my racing kit. Laced up my spikes. Sprinted over to the start area because I was a little slow in getting ready!
official results: https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/474871/results/m/1/5000m
splitz:
200: 38"
400: 78"
800: 2'39
1000: 3'17
1200:(81") 4'00
1600: (78") 5'19
2000: (80.5")
2400: (80.5') 8'00
2800: (81) 9'21
3000: (37.5") (3'19) 9'58.5
3200: (79") 10'40
3600: (81") 12'01
4000: (80') (3'22.5) 13'21
4400: (83") 14'44
4600: (39') 15'23
4800: (78") 16'02
5000: (73.77") (3'14.77) 16'36.77
Raceday Timeline
6:30am: I woke to a power outage at my house. I went into the garage, flipped all the switches on the circuit breaker, then called SCL to find out what in the heck was going on.
7:00am: called Anna to see if I could crash her Wednesday morning party. No answer.
7:02am: texted Anna.
7:05am: packed up my laptop and breakfast and headed to Anna’s so that I could work there until power was restored.
8:00am to 5:00pm: work. Came home at lunchtime and the power was back.
5:30pm to 7:30pm: snack, pre-race routine, packed up the gear bags.
7:30pm to 8:20pm: picked-up Anna in the middle of her mom’s book club. Stole a chocolate chip cookie after awkwardly interrupting their meeting. Responded to some quick inquiries into my running and the number of marathons I have done. Drove up to the race and collected Samir along the way.
8:25pm: arrived at Shoreline Stadium to find out that the meet was about 30 minutes behind. The 5000m was originally scheduled for 9:10pm. Womp womp.
8:25pm to 8:45pm: parked my butt in the stands to enjoy some of the meet. Saw some speedy kids race in the sprints. A sub-4-minute mile attempt by Club Northwest’s Tom Anderson. And cheered on Marlene Farrell in her mile race.
8:45pm to 9:20pm: took my caffeine gummy and began to do some warming up with Samir.
9:20pm to 9:34pm: checked in with the race clerk to get my hip numbers. Changed into my racing kit. Laced up my spikes. Sprinted over to the start area because I was a little slow in getting ready!
official results: https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/474871/results/m/1/5000m
splitz:
200: 38"
400: 78"
800: 2'39
1000: 3'17
1200:(81") 4'00
1600: (78") 5'19
2000: (80.5")
2400: (80.5') 8'00
2800: (81) 9'21
3000: (37.5") (3'19) 9'58.5
3200: (79") 10'40
3600: (81") 12'01
4000: (80') (3'22.5) 13'21
4400: (83") 14'44
4600: (39') 15'23
4800: (78") 16'02
5000: (73.77") (3'14.77) 16'36.77
Lake Sammamish Half Marathon 2022
photos courtesy: Emilia Bajkowska @emiliabajkowskaphoto; Juan Montermoso @fastfocusphotographynw
March 5, 2022
The Beautiful PNW, USA
RACE RECAP!
"What's your plan today?"
"To run fast!!"
A Half Marathon in under 75 minutes. How in the haaaail this happened, and other scatterbrained thoughts shared below and continued after the race-day photos. Appreciate the support, fam! 👊❤️🙇♂️
In my preparation for this race, I survived some nightmare inducing workouts and dived into some soul cleansing new books – thanks for those, Coach Rosie. True to my word, I was committed to being the strongest runner that I could be, physically and emotionally. And within about 30 seconds into the race on Saturday, I came to my first challenge: do I run with a fast group from the start or do I stick to my plan and run my own race?
"THE GROUP EFFECT!"
photo courtesy Emilia Bajkowska @emiliabajkowskaphoto
On mobile: *swipe from right to left* to view more!
Photo cred: Emilia Bajkowska @emiliabajkowskaphoto & Juan Montermoso @fastfocusphotographynw
7:20am, Saturday, March 5, 2022
After one more visit to the porta-bush, I walked over to the start area to locate the gear check situation. On my way there, I saw Samir who had just arrived! After some LOLs with broski, I jogged back to the car to suit up and get the supah shoes tied tightly. I shuffled a little more back to the start area, handed my gear bag to a volunteer, and did some strides to stay warm and to keep my legs loose. About two minutes before the "gun," I politely weaved through the crowd to make my way to the front.
After one more visit to the porta-bush, I walked over to the start area to locate the gear check situation. On my way there, I saw Samir who had just arrived! After some LOLs with broski, I jogged back to the car to suit up and get the supah shoes tied tightly. I shuffled a little more back to the start area, handed my gear bag to a volunteer, and did some strides to stay warm and to keep my legs loose. About two minutes before the "gun," I politely weaved through the crowd to make my way to the front.
photo courtesy Juan Montermoso @fastfocusphotographynw
There I saw TeamRunRun’s Matt Urbanski. We exchanged pleasantries; I asked him about life in Colorado and then he turned to me and asked, "What’s your plan today?” Without even taking a breath, I excitedly replied, "to run fast!" Some Dude next to us chimed in, "that’s a good answer." Pre-race "caffeidence" is a real thing, yo!
I must have also made a couple of comments about my mix-matched shoelaces. Someone mentioned how they'll give me a 1% benefit for being colorful. So I called them the Brooks 1%s. As I turned around, I saw Samir again and gave him a fistbump. “5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" And then “GOOOO!” called the race director…
I must have also made a couple of comments about my mix-matched shoelaces. Someone mentioned how they'll give me a 1% benefit for being colorful. So I called them the Brooks 1%s. As I turned around, I saw Samir again and gave him a fistbump. “5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" And then “GOOOO!” called the race director…
Out fast! Peeps were flying around those twisty turns within the first couple hundred meters!
photo courtesy Juan Montermoso @fastfocusphotographynw
We were off! A tight, twisty first couple hundred meters or so, with a sharp right-hander where I just tried to get out and free of bodies. We sprinted down from the overpass, around and under to the connector trail along the river. It was then when I saw a group being formed. I saw David Simmons had gotten started way out front, but he looked like he was running for his life, so I was glad I didn’t try to run with him. Between me and him was this group of fit looking lads starting to form. It included Matt and James Roach – purrfect. I thought that those guys might be some real good company to have at the early stages of the race, so I decided to "settle in" with them.
Rolling through mile 3.
Photo cred: Emilia Bajkowska @emiliabajkowskaphoto
Photo cred: Emilia Bajkowska @emiliabajkowskaphoto
We were joined by a handful of other energetic chaps within that first mile. This is where I should be, I thought to myself. I belonged there. There was no need to agonize over pace or splits at this early stage – I just went with the flow and ran by feel. And I was feeling great!
At around 20 minutes in, I reached for the gel in my hip pocket. As soon as I broke my metronomic rhythm of effortless stride-after-stride, I noticed the first bit of fatigue. It was a funny sensation – here I was, running so smoothly for almost four miles, and one subtle deviation made my body feel a little tight. Whatevs. I got the top of the gel packet opened up and started to snack on it slowly. A quick shift in my focus and I was right where I needed to be within our pack -- still feeling bouncy and full of running.
We was croooozing! 🏃♂️💨 Looking back at the splitz, it looks like we past 8k (~5mi) at around about 28 minutes. Basically that's the first third of the race done. People say a half marathon is broken into three parts: the first 5 miles, the second 5 miles, and the final 5k (3.1 miles).
Ordinarily, that would be the case. Today, however, the race would go as follows: before the hill, the hill, and surviving the rest of the race after the hill.
We reached this at around about 12ks or just under seven and a half miles. Not gonna lie, I've run some hillz, but when you hit a literal wall of cambered pavement nearly three-fifths into a traditionally "flat & fast" road race, you start to feel things, son. These are not pleasant feelings. This straight up pain, my brothers and sisters. 😵💫
At around 20 minutes in, I reached for the gel in my hip pocket. As soon as I broke my metronomic rhythm of effortless stride-after-stride, I noticed the first bit of fatigue. It was a funny sensation – here I was, running so smoothly for almost four miles, and one subtle deviation made my body feel a little tight. Whatevs. I got the top of the gel packet opened up and started to snack on it slowly. A quick shift in my focus and I was right where I needed to be within our pack -- still feeling bouncy and full of running.
We was croooozing! 🏃♂️💨 Looking back at the splitz, it looks like we past 8k (~5mi) at around about 28 minutes. Basically that's the first third of the race done. People say a half marathon is broken into three parts: the first 5 miles, the second 5 miles, and the final 5k (3.1 miles).
Ordinarily, that would be the case. Today, however, the race would go as follows: before the hill, the hill, and surviving the rest of the race after the hill.
We reached this at around about 12ks or just under seven and a half miles. Not gonna lie, I've run some hillz, but when you hit a literal wall of cambered pavement nearly three-fifths into a traditionally "flat & fast" road race, you start to feel things, son. These are not pleasant feelings. This straight up pain, my brothers and sisters. 😵💫
*THE* Hill at Mile 7.5. Just a casual 150ft climb over ~a mile of running. NBD. 💁🏻♂
Image cred: ridewithgps.com
Image cred: ridewithgps.com
Okay. Well I survived the hill. Thanks to brother Matt for the mid-hill encouragement. "We got this," he jestured to me as he was clearly surviving the hill a little better than I was. Matt would go on to finish 4th on the day in a crazy fast time of 71 minutes and change.
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THRIVING < = > SURVIVING?! post-hill at mile 10!
photos courtesy Juan Montermoso @fastfocusphotographynw
Once I reached the bottom of the hill, I found myself still somehow placed within the top 10 and enjoying some serious lactic acid build-up management. 🥳 As usual, I leaned into my mid-race mantras -- "just keep the rhythm," " quick feet, quick feet," and a brand new one this race, "how bad do you want it?!?" When I eventually regained the ~mastery of my locomotive faculties, I gazed towards the horizon. I could see the leaders turning off of the East Lake trail and onto Sammimish Road -- the final approach to the finish area!
As I got to that same spot minutes later, I took one glance behind me to see if there was anyone I'd have to out sprint. No one was there! And if my calcuations were correct, I'd be getting to the finish well below my sub-76 minute pre-race goal.
Man, that finish area is still as confusing and complicated as ever -- gravel, parking lots, lots of turns, cones, mud!. But we got there! And as we/I did, I saw the clock and it still read 1:14:XX.X! Holy smokes! I rounded the final threshold of split-railed barriers, crossed beneath the finishing arch, and stopped the clock at 1:14:41.4 officially. Wooooo-weee. I yelled a few expletives, fist-bumped the first lads I could see from our earlier group, and felt that rush of emotion come over me!
As I got to that same spot minutes later, I took one glance behind me to see if there was anyone I'd have to out sprint. No one was there! And if my calcuations were correct, I'd be getting to the finish well below my sub-76 minute pre-race goal.
Man, that finish area is still as confusing and complicated as ever -- gravel, parking lots, lots of turns, cones, mud!. But we got there! And as we/I did, I saw the clock and it still read 1:14:XX.X! Holy smokes! I rounded the final threshold of split-railed barriers, crossed beneath the finishing arch, and stopped the clock at 1:14:41.4 officially. Wooooo-weee. I yelled a few expletives, fist-bumped the first lads I could see from our earlier group, and felt that rush of emotion come over me!
About 100m short on my watch, but they measured it this year, right? They did measure it, didn't they?!!😜
|
Official race cetrificate -- 1h14'41.4, 9/1113, 3'32/k, 5'42/mi
~5-minute p.r. and about 10 whole minutes faster than 2018! |
I went and found just about everyone from our early group to offer them congrats and give out some finish line hugz and high-fives. Wow. What a race. I went up to James Roach to ask him how he felt about his performance and to see if he wanted to cool-down with me. We ran back on the course so I could recover the gloves I took off and left atop a trash can at about mile 11.
It was nice to catch up with James. He talked about his training for Boston and fitting in his workouts around his work schedule. He also gave me mad props for my big workouts during this past training cycle. James was particularly giddy about my 10x1k workout on short rest. Awww yeah. That was a real banger. 💣 👨🏻🎤
In fact, there was a lot about this past training cycle worth celebrating -- week after week, I logged my workouts, did the long runs on the weekends, and, of course, jogged my important recovery days in-between. #easydayseasy 🙄
In fact, there was a lot about this past training cycle worth celebrating -- week after week, I logged my workouts, did the long runs on the weekends, and, of course, jogged my important recovery days in-between. #easydayseasy 🙄
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Left and right images: 🔥 *BANGER* sessions 10x 1k, w/ 60s recovery and 6x a mile, off 90s!! 🔥
Middle: post-race bro'ng it out in the str^v^ comments section. 🤜 🤛
Middle: post-race bro'ng it out in the str^v^ comments section. 🤜 🤛
I'm planning a longer post about my process, though for now I'll leave ya with this. It's a little peak behind the curtain; a gander beneath the race singlet, if you will.
"....Be patient with your training. There are no "magic" workouts or diets or running styles. Throw comparisons to your former self way out the door. As I found out the other day when some kids chased me around a playfield – I will never ever be able to sprint as fast as a middle schooler. Ever again! Like for eternity! My fastest sprints have been run. And that's totally okay. What I can do, though, is to continue to run as best as I can and as joyfully as I can for the rest of this decade, and the next decade, and then the decade(s) after that if I last that long and/or decide to keep running into those years.
So you do you and I'll do me. And if you want someone to check in with about how things are going in your running, feel free to hit me up and tell me about it. I'll be over here, staying well hydrated and eating my veggies, continuing to preach the importance of training your mind as much as you train your body..." - coming soon to a web browser near you.
Catch ya on the next one, fam.
Love yourself, love each other, run happy.
"....Be patient with your training. There are no "magic" workouts or diets or running styles. Throw comparisons to your former self way out the door. As I found out the other day when some kids chased me around a playfield – I will never ever be able to sprint as fast as a middle schooler. Ever again! Like for eternity! My fastest sprints have been run. And that's totally okay. What I can do, though, is to continue to run as best as I can and as joyfully as I can for the rest of this decade, and the next decade, and then the decade(s) after that if I last that long and/or decide to keep running into those years.
So you do you and I'll do me. And if you want someone to check in with about how things are going in your running, feel free to hit me up and tell me about it. I'll be over here, staying well hydrated and eating my veggies, continuing to preach the importance of training your mind as much as you train your body..." - coming soon to a web browser near you.
Catch ya on the next one, fam.
Love yourself, love each other, run happy.
Broad Street Run 2021
pc: Moms, Anna, MarathonFoto
10 October 2021
Back home, USA
RACE RECAP!
Running is by and large a selfish pursuit. And as we all know, I love me some me.
So if you can bear it, here's the race recap and some really great professional photos from Broad Street Run 2021. Thanks fam. Love you fo’ evaaa!
Summary:
Super fun day. 77th out of 11,000+. 57minutes and 31seconds. A 10-mile P.R. by over two and a half minutes. And a 6-minute improvement over the last time I raced this in 2009. Beautiful when it comes together like that.
Really appreciate all of the love and support, fam. Special shout out to these homes!! 👇
Support Skwad appreciation:
- Captain Anna. AKA the skipper of this P.R. party boat. Runing budz: Johnny, Samir, Mariangela, Katelen, Tyler V., my SRC-Brooks teammates. Moms and Pops. THANK YOU!
Did my best for Sulley. 😿
Full report below the photo gallery.
On mobile: *slide up* the photos on the right to view more!
Photo cred: Mom, Anna, MarathonFoto
Full recap:
The journey to the 2021 Broad Street Run looked a bit like the plot of Jurassic Park… It started in a tropical paradise (found out my lottery entry was accepted while visiting Oahu in January of 2020), continued while training through the middle of a gosh darn pandemic -- first, to prepare for the rescheduled fall 2020 version. And then, a whole nother year spent running mile repeats and 15k tempos, all while avoiding carnivorous reptiles, tumultuous weather, and THE 'VID.
Within a blink of an eye, I was at the finish line on Sunday -- fist-bumping familiar faces, eating a delicious soft pretzel, washing it down with a glorious bottle of *WOODER*, chatting about how awesome the race was, and taking some huge sighs of relief and satisfaction at the intersection of Broad and Pattison in the City of Brotherly Love.
Highlights from raceday…
Got to the start area with plenty of time to spare. Anna and I found a remote enough location to use for pre-race gear change. I left her there and did my warm-up in the neighborhood surrounding the start area.
I lined up right behind the Elites who were super anxious to get out off the line, obvi. The start horn sounded about 4 minutes late, but I wasn't too bothered. Just tried to take the last sips of water so I could ditch my disposable bottle right before go time.
We were off and I tried to find that early race pace -- you know, something that's a little fast, but not over the limit. Mile 1 at 5'45. A tad faster than the 5'50ish I planned going in, but not too far off! Right on. "just settle into this" I suggested to myself.
Up to Mile 3 I focused on the horizon -- whatever was the farthest traffic light I could see is where I set my sights. I ran up to some peeps who were already falling off of their early pace and probably gestured a few "keep it ups" and "you got this."
At one point in this stretch, it began to rain quite steadily. I was around a group at the time, and offered to them this little nugget, "ya know, it's raining harder right now than it *EVER* does in Seattle." Hearing absolutely no response, I looked behind me. The other drenched runners either didn't hear me or were not interested in my quip while enduring really the only weather-related test on the day. Womp womp.
At mile 3, I hit the timing mat in 17'14. "Oh hey. About 30 seconds below pace. But that's almost a third of the way down and we feeling good, so let's boogie!" Is what I one hundred percent said to myself because I'm just so cool and collective during these moments. Lolol
Right around here I started snacking on the one gel I was carrying in the solitary zippered pocket in the back of my half tights.
At about the 4th mile, I caught up to a group that looked strong and smooth. It was a woman with the Philadelphia Runner TC shorts and one other guy with a blue club singlet. I stayed behind them for about a half-mile or so -- just letting them set the pace.
Eventually, I took my turn at the front -- the woman in the shorts stayed attached to me while the other guy fell off pace. I turned to her and said, “let’s go get that group” alluding to a few lads about 50 or so meters ahead of us. We worked away on up to mile 5 or so, crossing at 28'44. Hot damn. 30 whole seconds to the good on my arbitrary, pre-race goal of 58’30. Yeeee!
It was definitely starting to sting -- and I kept to the plan. Just tried to stay relaxed and gazed towards the next traffic light on the horizon. Well, until there was no horizon. Before I knew it, I was staring straight down the barrel of City Hall. I quickly took a look to my right and caught a sliver of a glimpse of one of my favorite buildings in Philadelphia, Frank Furness’ Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Yo. The chills were real! For some reason, just a short memory of my time enjoying that building in this beautiful city brought me some serious feels. 🥰
As we made the turn to go around City Hall I was hearing the love from spectators hanging out at center square. They made it a lot easier to take some of those turns around the buildings and helped me not lose too much momentum. By that point, I think I finally lost Rosie -- people were shouting her name as we passed by.
After City Hall -- mile 6 or so, the race energy always seems to change pretty dramatically. Leaving city hall and some of the more contemporary parts of the route behind, the next 4 miles are a monotonous mixture of row houses and corner stores. The elevation is super flat and it's tough to gauge the distance ahead.
At some point around mile 7 -- crossed in 40'12, I latched onto another taller fellow. As I reached him I heard a soft "nice work." I think I said, "you, too." But who the hell knows. Shit was starting to get real. Less than 5k to go and I still felt strong.
I grabbed a cup of Gatorade at some point and kinda choked on the first sip. Lol. Not a huge deal. It probably helped shock me into keeping on pace.
Andrew, I found out his name after the finish, ran with me for the next mile-mile and a half. I think by the time I got to Marconi plaza and the overpass at Packer Ave. I had started to chase down a guy with NOVA on his back.
NOVA guy and I ran together, making the only other turns on the changed route for this year. A left onto Hartranft, up a short incline to right on 11th, then a right onto Pattison before heading for home. We went back and forth and at some point were caught by another runner. We both tried to hang with him, but he was a little too strong.
As we ran back across Broad St. I heard my folks yell out. I shot a wave or a point in their direction and then hunkered down for one final push. With 300 to go I could just about see the finish area. It was gonna be fast and a huge P.R. But how fast and by how much? And would I beat NOVA??!
As I reached the finish line, I threw out double thumbs up and cheesed for the cameras, crossing in 57minutes and 31seconds. A 10-mile P.R. by over two and a half minutes. Atta baby! And yeah, I did beat the dude in the yellow NOVA vest and some other guy who I guess was trying to catch me right at the line. 🙅♂️🙅♂️🙅♂️.
Super fun day. Love it when it comes together like that. Really appreciate all of the love and support, fam. Special shout out to these homes!! 👇
Support Skwad appreciation:
[In a Lance Armstrong, holier than thou tone] For all the doubters, rushing to grab your calculators to add 4% to my time based on the estimation that runners are now gaining from the new crop of “Super Shoes,” let me help ya out with the math. 57 minutes and 31 seconds or 57.517min multiplied by 1.04 equals...G0 FLY A KITE! 😎
Highlights:
Having Anna pull over to the side of Rte. 55 so I could "shake the bushes."
"Rain in Seattle comment."
Dude near the PRC -- "what's your goal, today? We're well on pace."
Running with Rosie up to and around city hall. "Go girl!" Me to her: let's get that group. Her to me: we're catching them. (We didn't exactly catch them.)
Chills moved down my back when I turned to see the last few parts of PAFA and then gazed straight up to the clock tower above City Hall.
Sharing some of the tough final miles w/ Andrew Johnson.
Sound of the super shoes popping off the pavement -- all around. Foam against asphalt. Squish. Squish. Squish...
Catching and passing before the finish the dude in the yellow NoVa kit
Guy shouting out "wow. beautiful stride!"
Various spectators cheering.
Anna near the start.
Mom and dad at the corner of Broad and Pattison.
Noticing my stride and turnover
Those hype l33ts.. great shoes.
Post-race brief catch-up w/ Ethan and some of the PRTC peeps.
Ride out to West Chester to hang with Aunt Mary Frances, Uncle Jim, and Jon-Paul.
Pre-lunch pint and a pile of nachos at Iron Hill.
Too much food and our adorable server at Roots.
And then driving the funk to Bromall to meet my bestie KJ for some evening tea.
Woof. What a day!
TSA at the Security checkpoint in PHL. "What was your time??"
Woman next to me in Row 9 (premium class, flex): “What event do you run??” After seeing my Olympic Trials hat. And then after she saw my SWAG bag -- “Oh you ran Broad Street? How’d it go!!?”
So many great memories.
#runhappy #eatveggies #loveyourself.
@seattlerunning
#SeattleRunning | #SRCBrooks
The journey to the 2021 Broad Street Run looked a bit like the plot of Jurassic Park… It started in a tropical paradise (found out my lottery entry was accepted while visiting Oahu in January of 2020), continued while training through the middle of a gosh darn pandemic -- first, to prepare for the rescheduled fall 2020 version. And then, a whole nother year spent running mile repeats and 15k tempos, all while avoiding carnivorous reptiles, tumultuous weather, and THE 'VID.
Within a blink of an eye, I was at the finish line on Sunday -- fist-bumping familiar faces, eating a delicious soft pretzel, washing it down with a glorious bottle of *WOODER*, chatting about how awesome the race was, and taking some huge sighs of relief and satisfaction at the intersection of Broad and Pattison in the City of Brotherly Love.
Highlights from raceday…
Got to the start area with plenty of time to spare. Anna and I found a remote enough location to use for pre-race gear change. I left her there and did my warm-up in the neighborhood surrounding the start area.
I lined up right behind the Elites who were super anxious to get out off the line, obvi. The start horn sounded about 4 minutes late, but I wasn't too bothered. Just tried to take the last sips of water so I could ditch my disposable bottle right before go time.
We were off and I tried to find that early race pace -- you know, something that's a little fast, but not over the limit. Mile 1 at 5'45. A tad faster than the 5'50ish I planned going in, but not too far off! Right on. "just settle into this" I suggested to myself.
Up to Mile 3 I focused on the horizon -- whatever was the farthest traffic light I could see is where I set my sights. I ran up to some peeps who were already falling off of their early pace and probably gestured a few "keep it ups" and "you got this."
At one point in this stretch, it began to rain quite steadily. I was around a group at the time, and offered to them this little nugget, "ya know, it's raining harder right now than it *EVER* does in Seattle." Hearing absolutely no response, I looked behind me. The other drenched runners either didn't hear me or were not interested in my quip while enduring really the only weather-related test on the day. Womp womp.
At mile 3, I hit the timing mat in 17'14. "Oh hey. About 30 seconds below pace. But that's almost a third of the way down and we feeling good, so let's boogie!" Is what I one hundred percent said to myself because I'm just so cool and collective during these moments. Lolol
Right around here I started snacking on the one gel I was carrying in the solitary zippered pocket in the back of my half tights.
At about the 4th mile, I caught up to a group that looked strong and smooth. It was a woman with the Philadelphia Runner TC shorts and one other guy with a blue club singlet. I stayed behind them for about a half-mile or so -- just letting them set the pace.
Eventually, I took my turn at the front -- the woman in the shorts stayed attached to me while the other guy fell off pace. I turned to her and said, “let’s go get that group” alluding to a few lads about 50 or so meters ahead of us. We worked away on up to mile 5 or so, crossing at 28'44. Hot damn. 30 whole seconds to the good on my arbitrary, pre-race goal of 58’30. Yeeee!
It was definitely starting to sting -- and I kept to the plan. Just tried to stay relaxed and gazed towards the next traffic light on the horizon. Well, until there was no horizon. Before I knew it, I was staring straight down the barrel of City Hall. I quickly took a look to my right and caught a sliver of a glimpse of one of my favorite buildings in Philadelphia, Frank Furness’ Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Yo. The chills were real! For some reason, just a short memory of my time enjoying that building in this beautiful city brought me some serious feels. 🥰
As we made the turn to go around City Hall I was hearing the love from spectators hanging out at center square. They made it a lot easier to take some of those turns around the buildings and helped me not lose too much momentum. By that point, I think I finally lost Rosie -- people were shouting her name as we passed by.
After City Hall -- mile 6 or so, the race energy always seems to change pretty dramatically. Leaving city hall and some of the more contemporary parts of the route behind, the next 4 miles are a monotonous mixture of row houses and corner stores. The elevation is super flat and it's tough to gauge the distance ahead.
At some point around mile 7 -- crossed in 40'12, I latched onto another taller fellow. As I reached him I heard a soft "nice work." I think I said, "you, too." But who the hell knows. Shit was starting to get real. Less than 5k to go and I still felt strong.
I grabbed a cup of Gatorade at some point and kinda choked on the first sip. Lol. Not a huge deal. It probably helped shock me into keeping on pace.
Andrew, I found out his name after the finish, ran with me for the next mile-mile and a half. I think by the time I got to Marconi plaza and the overpass at Packer Ave. I had started to chase down a guy with NOVA on his back.
NOVA guy and I ran together, making the only other turns on the changed route for this year. A left onto Hartranft, up a short incline to right on 11th, then a right onto Pattison before heading for home. We went back and forth and at some point were caught by another runner. We both tried to hang with him, but he was a little too strong.
As we ran back across Broad St. I heard my folks yell out. I shot a wave or a point in their direction and then hunkered down for one final push. With 300 to go I could just about see the finish area. It was gonna be fast and a huge P.R. But how fast and by how much? And would I beat NOVA??!
As I reached the finish line, I threw out double thumbs up and cheesed for the cameras, crossing in 57minutes and 31seconds. A 10-mile P.R. by over two and a half minutes. Atta baby! And yeah, I did beat the dude in the yellow NOVA vest and some other guy who I guess was trying to catch me right at the line. 🙅♂️🙅♂️🙅♂️.
Super fun day. Love it when it comes together like that. Really appreciate all of the love and support, fam. Special shout out to these homes!! 👇
Support Skwad appreciation:
- Captain Anna. AKA the skipper of this P.R. party boat. From the winter races straight through track szn, Back Country Rise, and into the fall; lady you’re amazing. Do I deserve you?? Hmm. Probably. But furreal, thank you x a million! ♥
- Runing budz: Johnny, Samir, Mariangela, Katelen, Tyler V., my SRC-Brooks teammates. THANK YOU!
- Moms and Pops. You brought me into this world and somehow you keep putting up with my nonsense and constant special requests during my visits home. You da best! Love you two!
[In a Lance Armstrong, holier than thou tone] For all the doubters, rushing to grab your calculators to add 4% to my time based on the estimation that runners are now gaining from the new crop of “Super Shoes,” let me help ya out with the math. 57 minutes and 31 seconds or 57.517min multiplied by 1.04 equals...G0 FLY A KITE! 😎
Highlights:
Having Anna pull over to the side of Rte. 55 so I could "shake the bushes."
"Rain in Seattle comment."
Dude near the PRC -- "what's your goal, today? We're well on pace."
Running with Rosie up to and around city hall. "Go girl!" Me to her: let's get that group. Her to me: we're catching them. (We didn't exactly catch them.)
Chills moved down my back when I turned to see the last few parts of PAFA and then gazed straight up to the clock tower above City Hall.
Sharing some of the tough final miles w/ Andrew Johnson.
Sound of the super shoes popping off the pavement -- all around. Foam against asphalt. Squish. Squish. Squish...
Catching and passing before the finish the dude in the yellow NoVa kit
Guy shouting out "wow. beautiful stride!"
Various spectators cheering.
Anna near the start.
Mom and dad at the corner of Broad and Pattison.
Noticing my stride and turnover
Those hype l33ts.. great shoes.
Post-race brief catch-up w/ Ethan and some of the PRTC peeps.
Ride out to West Chester to hang with Aunt Mary Frances, Uncle Jim, and Jon-Paul.
Pre-lunch pint and a pile of nachos at Iron Hill.
Too much food and our adorable server at Roots.
And then driving the funk to Bromall to meet my bestie KJ for some evening tea.
Woof. What a day!
TSA at the Security checkpoint in PHL. "What was your time??"
Woman next to me in Row 9 (premium class, flex): “What event do you run??” After seeing my Olympic Trials hat. And then after she saw my SWAG bag -- “Oh you ran Broad Street? How’d it go!!?”
So many great memories.
#runhappy #eatveggies #loveyourself.
@seattlerunning
#SeattleRunning | #SRCBrooks
2021: Mid-year Report!
pc: TOP ROW, CENTER, Takao Suzuki
1 July 2021
Seattle, WA
The highlights:
- January -- Set a nu, nu half marathon p.r. at Tukwila to Alki (minus the Alki this year due to the pandemic). Read more about that one further down in the blog! Katelen's B-day run!
- February -- Ft. Ebey Trail Half Marathon. 1st overall! and 1st time running on Whidbey Island! Snow running!
- March -- A NSFW adult 5k P.R. at the Green Lake St. Paddy's Day Dash. 5th overall. And aother 15k personal best at the Magnuson Series Spring into Action.
- April -- FULLY COVID VAXXED! #PFiZeRB0i $wAG Money TraCk CLub Spring '21 5k pacing. Hit a weekly high of 130ks (~81 miles). So many bakery and cookie shop runs!
- #itsgonnabeMay -- Coo-gah aid-station #✌ volunteering and trail working! Fun running in the Teanaway on MDW!
- Juneuary -- j/k it got hott!! Got out for a sizzley and spicey 10k along the Sammish River to set another new personal best -- 35-ish minutes at 35-ish years old as I was calling it. The rest of the month was a haze as I got supah busy at work and then went down to Eugene to work at the USATF Olympic Team Trials! Ah. That.Was.EPICCCCC!
See the little sideshow below for some of the better snaps, memes, and screenshots from the first six months of twentytwenty-one. Love you guys!
Big ups for all of the support from my runnning budz, my SRC-Brooks teammates, and anyone who is silly (smart?) enough to follow me on Strava and the other socials.
#runhappy #eatveggies #loveyourself.
@seattlerunning
#SeattleRunning | #SRCBrooks
2021 Tukwila to Alki* Half Marathon
2 February 2021
Seattle, WA
Reader’s Digest version:
First actual “race” since February 2020. Road the fitness wave to a new p.r. in the Half Marathon. Raced alone, but tried to use as much energy as possible from the people whose paths I crossed who started their races earlier. Plus, half a clif bar. Minus, a 2-minute physical/emotional panic at mile 3 when I started to feel an old injury. Pro-tip: breathing exercises during hard workouts and incorporating strength training into your weekly routine will pay some sup-ah surrrious dividends.
Lastly, huge thanks to the run vlogging community for providing the world with so much arbitrary and capricious content on running hydration. Ya boi and Ben mother freaking Barrows know best. Just a few sips of tap water and half a Clif Bar’s all ya really need for a seventy nine minute jaunt on a Saturday morning.
#SeekBeautyWorkHardAndLoveEachOther’s GoPro footage from inside your fridge or mailbox.
@seattlerunning | @seattlegummycompany
#SeattleRunning | #SRCBrooks | #SeattleGummySquad
Full report:
Came into this one with high expectations and that anything less than an hour and twenty minutes would be a disappointment. Despite the solo start and change to an out and back from a point to point in previous years, I was confident I could put it all together to reach my time and pace goals. If I learned anything in 2020, it was that I could push myself hard in workouts and time trials of up to 10 miles +/-. But could I really do it for a half marathon?
It turned out that yes, (yaaaaas!) I could do it for that race distance. Side note, checking your watch for splits every 400m over the course of a ~ 21.10km race isn’t as agonizing as it seems (that’s 52+ splits), but it was the closest company I had for the better part of an hour and nineteen minutes on Saturday morning. And it was the *only* company I had over the 25 minutes it took me to run the Green River Trail from the park & ride in Tukwila to Seattle's South Park neighborhood. The Green River Trail is a pedestrian and cycling path that is in fact following the Duwamish River/Waterway into Seattle on this northwestern section -- past the Black River junction 💁♂️. It's a gosh darn gem of a trail that meanders through the south end.
On this final weekend in January, it was fairly quiet until it was not. The stretch adjacent to Hwy 99 is super (su-pah) noisy. There’s West Marginal Way in between the path and the highway, and the entire time, it feels like an 18-wheeler is rushing up behind you. So that was my motivation while running the plus or minus mile and a quarter (say it with me, people: TWO KILOMETERS 😜) stretch from Cecil Moses Park to 14th Ave S.
Right around mile three, I began to experience a new, old pain that crept up the previous weekend on a trail run at Squak. Running the downhills extra hard at a casual, group run, less than one week before a race was not my best idea, but it felt fun at the time. #Yolo. Anyway, pain flared up during Saturday's effort, and the negative thoughts came rushing in. At Mile 3! That's at least 5 miles too early!! 😝
The rumble from the highway arrived at the right time -- maybe the tight area on my backside felt the vibrations and thought it was my massage tool that’s been working overdrive the past few months? By the grace of runner's karma, the tight spot loosened right up. 🙏
Chasing ghosts of races and workouts past through South Park and actual tractor trailers negotiating for parking spots along the sidewalk [slash] race course was the next challenge. As per youzh, I employed my Jedi-level skill of finding the precise gap between cars in order to cross an intersection no matter what color the traffic light, and began the short & steep climb of the only significant hill of the race -- 🧟♀️ Henderson St. Hill! 🧟♂️
Up and over; easy peasy lemon squeezy. This was the first time I saw people who looked like they were part of the race. We exchanged socially-distanced “hellos” and I continued down the path. The rest of the first half of the race was incredibly uneventful. Just me and a few others sharing the streets of South West Seattle, out on our Saturday morning runs. Pretty much how running has been in the pandemic -- only difference is that no one really starts as a group anymore, and ya just see each other somewhere out in the wild, pulling up your face covering for the few strides before and after seeing someone, and continue on.
I passed a few others on the way to the turnaround, gave a quick thumbs up to co-race director Keith as I flew beneath the 1st Avenue bridge, found the cone with the turnaround sign on it, and rounded my way back to the start/finish. A quick glance at the watch -- 39:3X and it looked like my GPS track was calculating the distance long. Joy. Okay, so I was about thirty seconds to the good of breaking eighty minutes, but not as fast I thought I was going.
No worries; I felt relatively composed and in control of my race -- not feeling the lactate buildup just yet and I still had half of a Clif Bar to consume. Same as last year’s race, I started to slowly bite into that at about mile 6.5 and trusted that it would start making its way into my system by the time my energy stores were reaching their minimum, later in the race.
Though I prefer a loop race course or one that is laid out point to point, an out & back can make it a lot easier to gauge your distance to the finish. Landmarks on the course are all passed twice. And, so, it helps in the strategy of deciding when to start digging deep for that final drive to the finish. The toughest stretch going out was again the toughest stretch coming back -- West Marginal Way to Cecil Moses Park with all of the noise from 99.
Thankfully I wasn’t dealing with that pain in my butt coming back towards the start/finish, but I did have to fight some of the mental fatigue. “Keep the rhythm. Keep the rhythm. Keep the rhythm.” I usually repeat to myself. Lately in these harder and longer workouts or races/time trials, I focus on keeping my breathing under control and relaxed. Adjusting stride rate by shortening my stride and speeding up my foot strike is another way I try to break out of a tough mental and physical patch in any stage of the race.
In this race, and in my obsession to break the hour mark on any flipping 10-mile segment of just about anything, I surged towards the end of mile 9 and missed breaking 60 by a few strides. After the race, in a chat with my Ma (shout out @Carol.Susan), we concluded that 10 miles an hour is probably faster than the top speed of a golf cart and definitely faster than those motorized scooters you see zooming around the aisles at the grocery store. 👴
This battle within a battle was probably what kept me on pace the rest of the way. Crossing over the 10-mile mark just over an hour meant that I was a simple, sub-20 minute 5k away from sweet, sweet P.R. glory. Pssh. No Big Deal.
Before I knew it, I was approaching the last two miles of the race. It took me less than 12 minutes +/- to run that stretch at the start, and according to my watch and by my general sense of knowing where I was on the course, I figured breaking 80-minutes was absolutely in the bag.
At around 1200m left, I saw my friend Anna on the sideline cheering me on. I cheesed for the camera, then threw my handheld water bottle straight at her. Lol. *AND* Thanked her for being there as I zoomed by. Ditching that weight for the last four hard minutes of running was going to make all the difference. Ha!
By then it was go, go, go time. “Just don’t fall and faceplant like you did at that workout at Seward Park the other week,” I thought to myself. I cornered around the final turns and saw the finishing stretch in front of me (and also Christy Shelton *JUST STARTING*! Bahaha. Classic.) Anyway, I tried to kick it in as best I could and crossed the line just under one hour, nineteen minutes, and twenty seconds. A new p.r. And a successful end to the first build-up of 2021!
I probably yawped. I definitely clapped my hands together over my head. I leaned against the concrete Jersey barrier (shout-out New Jersey!) separating the trail from an I-5 on ramp to collect myself and enjoy the rush of endorphins flowing through my body. Then I looked around for anyone to celebrate with. Meh. No one. Pretty typical for the lifestyle I’ve lived during the pandemic. No regrets! I choose this life of ~solitude. 🙄
Statz and splitz:
21.10k (13.11mi) @ 1h19’19.4, 3’45.6/k, 6’03.1/mi;
1st half split: 10.55k, (6.56mi) @ 39’35, 3’45.1/k, 6’02.3/mi
2nd half split: 10.55k, (6.56mi) @ 39’44.4”, 3’46.0/k, 6’03.7/mi
A big, big thanks goes to the real supporters! You my homies, for sure!! Cameron, Meg, Will, Somer, Mel, Anna, Mariangela, Tyler, and Trisha, for sharing easy and sneaky and some gritty miles in this training cycle and to Steve Barrick, Keith Collingwood, and everyone involved with this year's race! Thank you! Congrats to the other racers, as well. Y'all looked like you were having a lot of fun out there! On to the next one. 🙇🏻♂️
Came into this one with high expectations and that anything less than an hour and twenty minutes would be a disappointment. Despite the solo start and change to an out and back from a point to point in previous years, I was confident I could put it all together to reach my time and pace goals. If I learned anything in 2020, it was that I could push myself hard in workouts and time trials of up to 10 miles +/-. But could I really do it for a half marathon?
It turned out that yes, (yaaaaas!) I could do it for that race distance. Side note, checking your watch for splits every 400m over the course of a ~ 21.10km race isn’t as agonizing as it seems (that’s 52+ splits), but it was the closest company I had for the better part of an hour and nineteen minutes on Saturday morning. And it was the *only* company I had over the 25 minutes it took me to run the Green River Trail from the park & ride in Tukwila to Seattle's South Park neighborhood. The Green River Trail is a pedestrian and cycling path that is in fact following the Duwamish River/Waterway into Seattle on this northwestern section -- past the Black River junction 💁♂️. It's a gosh darn gem of a trail that meanders through the south end.
On this final weekend in January, it was fairly quiet until it was not. The stretch adjacent to Hwy 99 is super (su-pah) noisy. There’s West Marginal Way in between the path and the highway, and the entire time, it feels like an 18-wheeler is rushing up behind you. So that was my motivation while running the plus or minus mile and a quarter (say it with me, people: TWO KILOMETERS 😜) stretch from Cecil Moses Park to 14th Ave S.
Right around mile three, I began to experience a new, old pain that crept up the previous weekend on a trail run at Squak. Running the downhills extra hard at a casual, group run, less than one week before a race was not my best idea, but it felt fun at the time. #Yolo. Anyway, pain flared up during Saturday's effort, and the negative thoughts came rushing in. At Mile 3! That's at least 5 miles too early!! 😝
The rumble from the highway arrived at the right time -- maybe the tight area on my backside felt the vibrations and thought it was my massage tool that’s been working overdrive the past few months? By the grace of runner's karma, the tight spot loosened right up. 🙏
Chasing ghosts of races and workouts past through South Park and actual tractor trailers negotiating for parking spots along the sidewalk [slash] race course was the next challenge. As per youzh, I employed my Jedi-level skill of finding the precise gap between cars in order to cross an intersection no matter what color the traffic light, and began the short & steep climb of the only significant hill of the race -- 🧟♀️ Henderson St. Hill! 🧟♂️
Up and over; easy peasy lemon squeezy. This was the first time I saw people who looked like they were part of the race. We exchanged socially-distanced “hellos” and I continued down the path. The rest of the first half of the race was incredibly uneventful. Just me and a few others sharing the streets of South West Seattle, out on our Saturday morning runs. Pretty much how running has been in the pandemic -- only difference is that no one really starts as a group anymore, and ya just see each other somewhere out in the wild, pulling up your face covering for the few strides before and after seeing someone, and continue on.
I passed a few others on the way to the turnaround, gave a quick thumbs up to co-race director Keith as I flew beneath the 1st Avenue bridge, found the cone with the turnaround sign on it, and rounded my way back to the start/finish. A quick glance at the watch -- 39:3X and it looked like my GPS track was calculating the distance long. Joy. Okay, so I was about thirty seconds to the good of breaking eighty minutes, but not as fast I thought I was going.
No worries; I felt relatively composed and in control of my race -- not feeling the lactate buildup just yet and I still had half of a Clif Bar to consume. Same as last year’s race, I started to slowly bite into that at about mile 6.5 and trusted that it would start making its way into my system by the time my energy stores were reaching their minimum, later in the race.
Though I prefer a loop race course or one that is laid out point to point, an out & back can make it a lot easier to gauge your distance to the finish. Landmarks on the course are all passed twice. And, so, it helps in the strategy of deciding when to start digging deep for that final drive to the finish. The toughest stretch going out was again the toughest stretch coming back -- West Marginal Way to Cecil Moses Park with all of the noise from 99.
Thankfully I wasn’t dealing with that pain in my butt coming back towards the start/finish, but I did have to fight some of the mental fatigue. “Keep the rhythm. Keep the rhythm. Keep the rhythm.” I usually repeat to myself. Lately in these harder and longer workouts or races/time trials, I focus on keeping my breathing under control and relaxed. Adjusting stride rate by shortening my stride and speeding up my foot strike is another way I try to break out of a tough mental and physical patch in any stage of the race.
In this race, and in my obsession to break the hour mark on any flipping 10-mile segment of just about anything, I surged towards the end of mile 9 and missed breaking 60 by a few strides. After the race, in a chat with my Ma (shout out @Carol.Susan), we concluded that 10 miles an hour is probably faster than the top speed of a golf cart and definitely faster than those motorized scooters you see zooming around the aisles at the grocery store. 👴
This battle within a battle was probably what kept me on pace the rest of the way. Crossing over the 10-mile mark just over an hour meant that I was a simple, sub-20 minute 5k away from sweet, sweet P.R. glory. Pssh. No Big Deal.
Before I knew it, I was approaching the last two miles of the race. It took me less than 12 minutes +/- to run that stretch at the start, and according to my watch and by my general sense of knowing where I was on the course, I figured breaking 80-minutes was absolutely in the bag.
At around 1200m left, I saw my friend Anna on the sideline cheering me on. I cheesed for the camera, then threw my handheld water bottle straight at her. Lol. *AND* Thanked her for being there as I zoomed by. Ditching that weight for the last four hard minutes of running was going to make all the difference. Ha!
By then it was go, go, go time. “Just don’t fall and faceplant like you did at that workout at Seward Park the other week,” I thought to myself. I cornered around the final turns and saw the finishing stretch in front of me (and also Christy Shelton *JUST STARTING*! Bahaha. Classic.) Anyway, I tried to kick it in as best I could and crossed the line just under one hour, nineteen minutes, and twenty seconds. A new p.r. And a successful end to the first build-up of 2021!
I probably yawped. I definitely clapped my hands together over my head. I leaned against the concrete Jersey barrier (shout-out New Jersey!) separating the trail from an I-5 on ramp to collect myself and enjoy the rush of endorphins flowing through my body. Then I looked around for anyone to celebrate with. Meh. No one. Pretty typical for the lifestyle I’ve lived during the pandemic. No regrets! I choose this life of ~solitude. 🙄
Statz and splitz:
21.10k (13.11mi) @ 1h19’19.4, 3’45.6/k, 6’03.1/mi;
1st half split: 10.55k, (6.56mi) @ 39’35, 3’45.1/k, 6’02.3/mi
2nd half split: 10.55k, (6.56mi) @ 39’44.4”, 3’46.0/k, 6’03.7/mi
A big, big thanks goes to the real supporters! You my homies, for sure!! Cameron, Meg, Will, Somer, Mel, Anna, Mariangela, Tyler, and Trisha, for sharing easy and sneaky and some gritty miles in this training cycle and to Steve Barrick, Keith Collingwood, and everyone involved with this year's race! Thank you! Congrats to the other racers, as well. Y'all looked like you were having a lot of fun out there! On to the next one. 🙇🏻♂️
Epilogue
Run vloggers thank-you list. (if you watch one video in the next year, watch this one...) <-- EXPOSING TRACK AND FIELD With The athlete special, Ben Crawford, Evert Silva and Wesfly
Anyway, Thanks to Ben Barrows for shining your guiding light on all of us who aspire to follow your blue-collared approach to running -- minus that workout you did at an indoor track the other week. That was kind of soft. If water is life. Tap water is immortality.
Thank you Allie Ostrander. Thank you for your hilarious steeple people energy. And for your new food blogging channel. @ohlawdwenommin. And lastly for giving Mark Zuckerberg a run for his money as the world’s fastest dabber.
Thank you Seth James DeMoor. SJD, your video production quality tops them all. You are the GOAT of run vlogging channels. Seek beauty, work hard, and learn to love to stash a GoPro inside your fridge or mailbox. #butterthebread
Thank you The Athlete Special. Good luck in your next attempt to get verified on Insta. Sucks to suck.
Lastly, thank, thank, thank you to Wesfly Athletics and Evert Silva. You’re the only true g’s in the run vlogging game. Keep up the entertaining content. #respect #onlyalphas
Honorable mention to RunGum CEO Nick Symmonds. Legend. A million + in the bank. Sub-4 in the mile. 10/10 wife. I got a new challenge for you -- deadlift 500lbs, shoutout Joe Creighton on your channel, then skateboard to a 5-minute mile.
A Comprehensive rewind of the first ~4 months of 2020. + or -.
Hi! We've blown past 18 weeks of the 2020 calendar. That's roughly *ONE THIRD* of this bizarre year! Before jumping into the next training cycle, I figured I'd reflect on the past 4 months -- winter-spring, if you will.
@seattlerunning | @seattlegummycompany | @evergreentrail | @runfreegrandprix
#SeattleRunning | #SRCBrooks | #LetYourMindRun | #SeattleGummySquad
@seattlerunning | @seattlegummycompany | @evergreentrail | @runfreegrandprix
#SeattleRunning | #SRCBrooks | #LetYourMindRun | #SeattleGummySquad
Viewer beware, this period included a handful of runs and races with, *gasp*, other h00mans! In full transparency, these efforts were completed well before any stay TF home orders were in place due to Covid-19. Ugh, weren’t those crazy times?? Times when we could assemble in groups, run side-by-side, and *HIGH FIVE EACHOTHER FOR GOODNESS SAKE!*
Have a look! There’s a v good chance that you made it into the high or lowlights of the first third of 2020! Appreciate you, fam! 💓
Thank you to Somer, Takao, Fast Focus Photography NW, and Katelen for your contributions to the photo album! 🙇🏻♂️
Thank you to Somer, Takao, Fast Focus Photography NW, and Katelen for your contributions to the photo album! 🙇🏻♂️
Timeline: (click the links for photos and more tidbits!)
Tue 12/31 - Final Mile (track) -- technically the first week of 2020
Sat 1/11 - Bridle Trails 10-mile (trail) – ‘twas muddy. 1st Place. Photos (Somer, Takao)
Fri 1/17 - Halsey released Manic, her third studio album. It is FIIIIIYRE. 🥰
Sat 1/25 - Tukwila to Alki Half (road), P.R.! 1st Place (3 in-a-row!) photos, run
Sun 1/26 - Fleet Feet Hillbillies at Lord Hill (group runs, member those??)
Tue 1/28 - Sat 2/1 - Suncation on the main island of Hawaii
Tue 2/4 - SOMERPHOTO.com is *LIVE!*
Mon 2/10 - Start new gig at ACG in Bellevue, WA
Sat 2/15 thru Mon 2/17 - Visit from Kimberwild and DPBash!
Sat 2/22 - Lord Hill 10-mile (trail); 1st Place. oh LAWDY! photos (Fast Focus Photography NW)
Sun 2/23 - Ahmaud Arbery was straight up murdered by two white supremacists while out on a jog. And we don’t really hear about it *UNTIL MAY* when those motherfuckers were finally arrested for homicide. What in the actual fuck! 😡
Sat 2/29 - US Olympic Marathon trials viewing party & first reported cases of Coronavirus in the U.S. (Kirkland, WA -- ut oh! 🥺)
Mon 3/16 - Work from Home starts
Fri 3/20 - AlizaandHerMonsters.com is *LIVE!*
Sat 3/21 - Magnuson Series Spring into Action 15k (virtual) (road) P.R.! photos (Somer K), run
Sat 4/11 - Run Free Grand Prix: the mile. (virtual) (road) run, photos
Sat 4/25 - Run Free Grand Prix: 5k. (virtual) (road) run, photos
Sun 5/3 - Virtual Broad Street Run 10-mile. (virtual) (road) run, photos (Katelen P)
Memorable efforts
Inspiring quotes
Sat 1/11 - Bridle Trails 10-mile (trail) – ‘twas muddy. 1st Place. Photos (Somer, Takao)
Fri 1/17 - Halsey released Manic, her third studio album. It is FIIIIIYRE. 🥰
Sat 1/25 - Tukwila to Alki Half (road), P.R.! 1st Place (3 in-a-row!) photos, run
Sun 1/26 - Fleet Feet Hillbillies at Lord Hill (group runs, member those??)
Tue 1/28 - Sat 2/1 - Suncation on the main island of Hawaii
Tue 2/4 - SOMERPHOTO.com is *LIVE!*
Mon 2/10 - Start new gig at ACG in Bellevue, WA
Sat 2/15 thru Mon 2/17 - Visit from Kimberwild and DPBash!
Sat 2/22 - Lord Hill 10-mile (trail); 1st Place. oh LAWDY! photos (Fast Focus Photography NW)
Sun 2/23 - Ahmaud Arbery was straight up murdered by two white supremacists while out on a jog. And we don’t really hear about it *UNTIL MAY* when those motherfuckers were finally arrested for homicide. What in the actual fuck! 😡
Sat 2/29 - US Olympic Marathon trials viewing party & first reported cases of Coronavirus in the U.S. (Kirkland, WA -- ut oh! 🥺)
Mon 3/16 - Work from Home starts
Fri 3/20 - AlizaandHerMonsters.com is *LIVE!*
Sat 3/21 - Magnuson Series Spring into Action 15k (virtual) (road) P.R.! photos (Somer K), run
Sat 4/11 - Run Free Grand Prix: the mile. (virtual) (road) run, photos
Sat 4/25 - Run Free Grand Prix: 5k. (virtual) (road) run, photos
Sun 5/3 - Virtual Broad Street Run 10-mile. (virtual) (road) run, photos (Katelen P)
Memorable efforts
- Half Marahon P.R. at the Tukwila to Alki Half. (Sat 1/25)
- 15k p.r. at Virtual Magnuson Series: Spring into Action 15k time trial (Sat 3/21)
- Run Free Grand Prix 1-mile, 5k, and Half Marathon virtual race series (4/9 – 5/10)
- Somer’s hill challenge (Sat 5/2)
- 10 mile p.r. at Virtual Broad Street Run 10-mile time trial (Sun 5/3)
- Seward park hillz + flatz (Thu 1/2)
- Jefferson Park 1200m loop intervals
- 1) Snow Szn <=> Shortz Szn intervals (Wed 1/15)
- 2) 5xJeff Park miles! (Thu 4/23)
- 3 x CCW Green Lake (inner loops) + 1 mile, hard. (Sat 1/18)
- 5xBeacon Ave S. hillz (from the jungle! In the rain!) (Wed 1/22)
- Genesee Park tempos and intervals! +sharpening sesh on the x-c practice loop! (Sat 2/15, Wed 3/18, Wed 4/)
- 16x4-hundos on the International School track 💥 (Wed 2/12)
- A quiet Sunday long run at the Red-shed. (Sun 2/9)
- Back on the CKC!
- From the new Eastside corridor rail trail! (Thu 2/20)
- Fartlek? Tempo? (Fri 2/28)
- 2x5k in the Hyperion Tempos! (Fri 3/13)
- Sunday pacing and path clearing w/ TJ & Mariangela for the Boston workout. (Sun 2/23)
- 2 + 1 hot laps at Green Lake, then a stop for some quaran_t-p. #SRCBrooksBabes #legend (Sun 3/15)
- New grassy interval spot!! Behind the Van Asselt Elementary School!
- ¡GOLF COURSE RUNNING IS BACK DON’T HATE ON ME JUST CUZ YOU DIDN”T THINK OF THIS IDEA FIRST! (one, two, free!!)
Inspiring quotes
- "Even on the darkest of days, you put that food in the rice cooker, lace up your shoes, then you get the f*ck out and run!!" -Coach L. Gardner on Instagram. 🔥
- “Run fast, live fearless.” The back of Somer’s Nike top that I was focusing as (when I wasn’t running with my closed) as we grooved some tempo miles on the Burke-Gilman on a Sunday.
- “…there is no such thing as overtraining, just underresting.” ― Joe Vigil and,
- “Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate.” from Deena Kastor’s, Let Your Mind Run: A Memoir of Thinking My Way to Victory
- “While at the store the other day I smiled at a little girl; but then I realized I was wearing a mask and she couldn’t tell I was smiling.” -Mariangela Cruz (FLB Google Meet during the quarantine)
- Indoor track at the Dempsey! Race organization to Somer: “Ma’am, please get off of that ladder.”
- Stats:
- Distance run: 1,749km (1,087miles) 😳
- Time on feet: 140hrs😳😳
- Races: 7 🌊
- Wins: 3 🏆
- P.R.s: 3 👑
- Hinge Matches: TOO MANY TO LIST. lol. But a couple that seem like they have potential. 🥰
- Fucks given: 0 😼
Back-to-Back-to-Back 'W's at Tukwila to Alki Half Marathon
"I stared down the barrel of that long, narrow corridor along Alki in search of the first view of the orange cones that indicate the finish area..."
Green River Marathon Series: Tukwila to Alki Half
25 Jan 2020
A report in stages.
Night before stage: Chinese New Year! FML. So many booms in the neighborhood! 🎆🎆🎆
Morning of the race stage: up at 4:30am? Earlier. 3, right? So many booms in the neighborhood!! 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Race stages:
Early (0-7k); Troy’s back! Just let him take it out, he’ll fade eventually – probably at around the hill in South Park.
25 Jan 2020
A report in stages.
Night before stage: Chinese New Year! FML. So many booms in the neighborhood! 🎆🎆🎆
Morning of the race stage: up at 4:30am? Earlier. 3, right? So many booms in the neighborhood!! 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Race stages:
Early (0-7k); Troy’s back! Just let him take it out, he’ll fade eventually – probably at around the hill in South Park.
Finish line snap w/ the early pacesetter, T-Hizzy. PC: Timer Jimmie. <3
Middle (7-10k); This trail butter is getting messy, time to ditch the pouch.
Late Stages (10-16k); 10k. Oh wow. 37:45. That's what I ran at Club XC Nats.
11k-15k: Still looking for a convenient trash can along the course.
Final 5k
5k to go: Okay. GUMMY TIME!
4k to go: Even if you *BLOW UP* and run 4:30/k for the last 4ks, that’s 18 minutes (sub 1:23) and still a P.R!
3k to go: *I WASN’T BLOWED UP!* And we’re almost at the turn for Alki!
2k to go. That’s about 8 minutes of hard running. *YOU GOT THIS!*
1k to go. Ditch the handheld and RUN LIKE HAAALLLE!
400 left. Quick feet. Quick feet. Quick feet. Don’t fall. Quick feet. Okay that’s around the first two turns. Now onto the back stretch. 200 to go! Just run, dummy!!
1 hour 20 minutes!!! Hot damn!!!
Late Stages (10-16k); 10k. Oh wow. 37:45. That's what I ran at Club XC Nats.
11k-15k: Still looking for a convenient trash can along the course.
Final 5k
5k to go: Okay. GUMMY TIME!
4k to go: Even if you *BLOW UP* and run 4:30/k for the last 4ks, that’s 18 minutes (sub 1:23) and still a P.R!
3k to go: *I WASN’T BLOWED UP!* And we’re almost at the turn for Alki!
2k to go. That’s about 8 minutes of hard running. *YOU GOT THIS!*
1k to go. Ditch the handheld and RUN LIKE HAAALLLE!
400 left. Quick feet. Quick feet. Quick feet. Don’t fall. Quick feet. Okay that’s around the first two turns. Now onto the back stretch. 200 to go! Just run, dummy!!
1 hour 20 minutes!!! Hot damn!!!
Mental; Physical feels during The Business end of the Race
Last 2.5k (1.5 miles)
I stared down the barrel of that long, narrow corridor along Alki in search of the first view of the orange cones that indicate the finish area. During this phase, I offered anxious grins and flashed half-hearted peace signs to people along the trail. In return, I got a few smiles and as expected, the curious scowls from the sophisticated runner types wearing their fancy vests and adorably long shorts.
I interpreted their expressions as:
Whatevs. I just kept clicking by at my fairly serious pace, forever on-brand with no-show socks and an SRC Brooks Running official-ish looking race kit.
Still tracking for that official-ish looking finish area became my life's mission. "Where the heck are those cones?" I pondered. They felt farther away than in years past. In the meantime, more people came and went along the path and I got back to focusing on my breathing rhythm and turnover.
Last 2.5k (1.5 miles)
I stared down the barrel of that long, narrow corridor along Alki in search of the first view of the orange cones that indicate the finish area. During this phase, I offered anxious grins and flashed half-hearted peace signs to people along the trail. In return, I got a few smiles and as expected, the curious scowls from the sophisticated runner types wearing their fancy vests and adorably long shorts.
I interpreted their expressions as:
- a) what is he trying to prove? and,
- b) who is he trying to impress? and
- c) what department of the government is he representing?, and
- d) all of the above.
Whatevs. I just kept clicking by at my fairly serious pace, forever on-brand with no-show socks and an SRC Brooks Running official-ish looking race kit.
Still tracking for that official-ish looking finish area became my life's mission. "Where the heck are those cones?" I pondered. They felt farther away than in years past. In the meantime, more people came and went along the path and I got back to focusing on my breathing rhythm and turnover.
🥁"Rhythm. Rhythm. Rhythm."🥁
More anxious grins and equally anxious peeps (peaks) at my watch that read out the time *AND* distance for this race. It was around 2k to go when I knew it would be fast, but how fast? "Okay, 1.6k to go. That's a mile. No holding back." "There's the 20k mark -- the rest is gravy." I chuckled to myself, knowing that my warmup was more stressful than would be these last three to four minutes of racing.
Finally shedding some extra weight would be my next reward for getting to this point in the race with everything still intact. I found the nearest bush and emphatically slammed my handheld water bottle straight into it, noting the cross street for easy retrieval on my cool-down.
This new found freedom felt guhhh-lor-eeee-us. Ahem. Fantastic.
Ahoy! The orange cones! 800 meters to go had already passed. I drove hard, relaxed my straining neck muscles (h/t Somer for that tip 🤜), then adjusted my arm carriage to appear fit and fast as I zoomed through the finish line timing mats. My mind delayed the sound of cheers from volunteers lining the finish, but that was it. We were done! Crossed the line in just under one hour, twenty minutes and thirty seconds -- 1:20:28.17 official time.
First place. Four-minute p.r. Boom. 💣
More anxious grins and equally anxious peeps (peaks) at my watch that read out the time *AND* distance for this race. It was around 2k to go when I knew it would be fast, but how fast? "Okay, 1.6k to go. That's a mile. No holding back." "There's the 20k mark -- the rest is gravy." I chuckled to myself, knowing that my warmup was more stressful than would be these last three to four minutes of racing.
Finally shedding some extra weight would be my next reward for getting to this point in the race with everything still intact. I found the nearest bush and emphatically slammed my handheld water bottle straight into it, noting the cross street for easy retrieval on my cool-down.
This new found freedom felt guhhh-lor-eeee-us. Ahem. Fantastic.
Ahoy! The orange cones! 800 meters to go had already passed. I drove hard, relaxed my straining neck muscles (h/t Somer for that tip 🤜), then adjusted my arm carriage to appear fit and fast as I zoomed through the finish line timing mats. My mind delayed the sound of cheers from volunteers lining the finish, but that was it. We were done! Crossed the line in just under one hour, twenty minutes and thirty seconds -- 1:20:28.17 official time.
First place. Four-minute p.r. Boom. 💣
#WEWILLTAKEIT #BUTTERTHEBREAD #RHYTHMRHYTHMRHYTHM
#alwaysrunningfromsomething #seattlerunning #srcbrooks #seattlegummysquad #get____done #yolo #🌊
#alwaysrunningfromsomething #seattlerunning #srcbrooks #seattlegummysquad #get____done #yolo #🌊
Bridle Trails Winter Mudding Festival, 2020
 SRC Mud Buds!
1-4 in the 10 mile race. Photo courtesy of Somer Kreisman.
It’s not always gon’ be this good…
P1* for the szn opener and the debut with SRC-Brooks team. *WE WILL TAKE IT!* ~16.5k on the trails at Bridle Trails, FTW! [str^v^, move] On the back of a strong end to the 2019 xc szn, I am gearing up to take on a set of new challenges in 2020. With the acceptance to Seattle Running Club’s (SRC) competitive team sponsored by Brooks Running, SRC-Brooks for short, I'll be racing more on the roads *AND* the trails. (and maybe track too, we’ll see). Bottom line here is I ain’t got many ~fast racing years ahead of me, so we gotta get in while the gettin’s good and strike while the iron is 🔥. Seize the day! Hashtag *YO FREAKING LO!* *okay, Doug, Mark, and two bros from BDP doing different events beat me through the line, but, I ain’t race them, tho! |
MO' MUD! Photo courtesy of Somer Kreisman.
Anyway, here goes the race report:
Since Shoeless Joe has got a srsly epic backlog of reports at which to throw his famous shade, I’ll use this space, *Myspace*, if you will, to get ya caught up.
Saturday afternoon on the 11th of January in the Seattle region was the first relatively dry period in the Pacific Northwest in the last 50 years. Dry in the atmosphere on the day, but all that damn rain from the past half-century had taken its toll on the trails at Bridle Trails State Park in Kirkland, WA. Conditions ranged from muddy, to muddier, to the occasional pond of standing water with, yes, MORE MUD!!!
These conditions were quite familiar to me, as my last race of 2019 featured quite a bit of the sticky, brown stuff! (see exhibits A & B) My confidence, as you'd imagine, reflected my recent experience on this terrain. Au contraire! I basically ran in fear the entire race, expecting the following:
Since Shoeless Joe has got a srsly epic backlog of reports at which to throw his famous shade, I’ll use this space, *Myspace*, if you will, to get ya caught up.
Saturday afternoon on the 11th of January in the Seattle region was the first relatively dry period in the Pacific Northwest in the last 50 years. Dry in the atmosphere on the day, but all that damn rain from the past half-century had taken its toll on the trails at Bridle Trails State Park in Kirkland, WA. Conditions ranged from muddy, to muddier, to the occasional pond of standing water with, yes, MORE MUD!!!
These conditions were quite familiar to me, as my last race of 2019 featured quite a bit of the sticky, brown stuff! (see exhibits A & B) My confidence, as you'd imagine, reflected my recent experience on this terrain. Au contraire! I basically ran in fear the entire race, expecting the following:
- Each pond that I was stepping through was inhabited by those crazy sand monsters from Beetlejuice (https://giphy.com/gifs/beetlejuice-HTJXNCh4EeF2g), and
"Now I'm Done."
Photo courtesy of Somer Kreisman
- it included an excessive amount of horse poop, and
- worst of all, it most certainly contained a poorly placed root or rock positioned perfectly, ready to set my running back for at least a month or two! YEEEEEE!
Thanks again to the race organizers, volunteers, and photographers who were out capturing the race day histrionics!
Photos courtesy of Takao Suzuki
"It was so squishy."
Photo courtesy of Somer Kreisman
I’ll leave y’all with this, fam: I see you werking! Keep grinding and getting after ya goalz for the year. Set your sights high; don’t be afraid to go out too fast; and, also, perhaps try this: be patient for the first time in your life, ever, and maybe hold back for a strong finish, rather than crawl across that line!!!
I appreciate all of the recent support I’ve received in my running and racing endeavors. Thanks especially to Seattle Running Club for creating this community back in the early part of this millennium, to Brooks Running for the gear that’ll keep me looking fast & fresh throughout the year, and to Seattle Gummy Company for making sure my levels of glycogen and focus are at their peak before my key races and workouts. And, as always, thanks to Sulley, the best housemate, for holding down the fort while I’m out and about trying to run from and chase down all of my goalz (demons?) this year!
*The 50k had two d00ds ahead of me – the eventual winner, and the leader at the time, a Bellingham Distance Project bloke who had to DNF after falling a few times in the increasing darkness, and, of course, also well behind Douglas Muthafunking Jordan – winner of the 15 mile race, who blew us all away through 2laps (~10.4 miles). For the data geeks, here’s my time: 10.4miles, 1h6’38”19. Splitz: 1st lap: too fast. 2nd lap: too slow.
I appreciate all of the recent support I’ve received in my running and racing endeavors. Thanks especially to Seattle Running Club for creating this community back in the early part of this millennium, to Brooks Running for the gear that’ll keep me looking fast & fresh throughout the year, and to Seattle Gummy Company for making sure my levels of glycogen and focus are at their peak before my key races and workouts. And, as always, thanks to Sulley, the best housemate, for holding down the fort while I’m out and about trying to run from and chase down all of my goalz (demons?) this year!
*The 50k had two d00ds ahead of me – the eventual winner, and the leader at the time, a Bellingham Distance Project bloke who had to DNF after falling a few times in the increasing darkness, and, of course, also well behind Douglas Muthafunking Jordan – winner of the 15 mile race, who blew us all away through 2laps (~10.4 miles). For the data geeks, here’s my time: 10.4miles, 1h6’38”19. Splitz: 1st lap: too fast. 2nd lap: too slow.
#alwaysrunningfromsomething #seattlerunning #srcbrooks #seattlegummysquad #get____done #yolo #myspacedotcom #tomismyhomeboy #🌊
Memorial Day Weekend Maintenance Miles
Up Chinscraper!
Whatchya doin' MDW?
Nada. You?
Nathan. You wanna run in the Chuckanuts?
Sure.
Dope.
Ran into the woods with a new running bud; lived, laughed, breathed, smiled, thrived.
"Trail Runners are Lazy Parasites." (H/t Outside Mag for the extra motivation)
Double (Black) Diamond Trail = Chinscraper.
~26k on the trails of the Chuckanut Mountains. [str^v^, move]
Nada. You?
Nathan. You wanna run in the Chuckanuts?
Sure.
Dope.
Ran into the woods with a new running bud; lived, laughed, breathed, smiled, thrived.
"Trail Runners are Lazy Parasites." (H/t Outside Mag for the extra motivation)
Double (Black) Diamond Trail = Chinscraper.
~26k on the trails of the Chuckanut Mountains. [str^v^, move]
"Fuck you, Somer. The watch is pink." <3
Still got it. Aka: doing my best "Ely Gerbin at White River." PC: Somer Tachiyama. (click image for reference)
Rewritten directions that include chinscraper!
Having Fun.
Having Fun. Part 2.
Sunlight finally filtering through.
"Levitating" in the Calderas. #SRCBrooks
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Capturing the photo for the puuurrrfect Memorial Day quote. (click image to find out what it was!)
Before cleaning the lens. 'twas foggy at the top.
That's better.
Getting better on the downhills all the time.
Obligatory chuckabutt snap. #chuckabutt □
Okay. *WE GET IT!* (Having Fun. Part 3)
WAs tHiS reAL?? ArE yOU rEAL?? ✌️❤️
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Runners take your mark...
💥
Photo credit: David Edgeworth
And we’re off!
Starting the 2019 racing season with a 'W!'
2019 Tukwila to Alki Half Marathon
One hour, twenty-five minutes and nine and a half seconds ***FOR THE WIN!*** Back to back victories on this 21.1 kilometer course along the bicycle/pedestrian paths and back roads from the Tukwila Park & Ride, up and around to Alki Beach Park in West Seattle. ‘twas a beautiful day! Unlike last year, the conditions were almost ideal -- the gentlest of breezes and the coolest of temperatures.
Starting the 2019 racing season with a 'W!'
2019 Tukwila to Alki Half Marathon
One hour, twenty-five minutes and nine and a half seconds ***FOR THE WIN!*** Back to back victories on this 21.1 kilometer course along the bicycle/pedestrian paths and back roads from the Tukwila Park & Ride, up and around to Alki Beach Park in West Seattle. ‘twas a beautiful day! Unlike last year, the conditions were almost ideal -- the gentlest of breezes and the coolest of temperatures.
Photo credit: David Edgeworth
Highlights:
- Winning again (obviously).
- ~Twenty seconds off of my p.r. and a two-minute improvement on last year’s effort.
- Greeting other people: runners, cyclists, walkers, along the entire route.
- Being chatty with Ian (P2) and Troy (P3) through the first 4k.
- Overcoming a whole lot of pre-race doubt.
- First race since my injury at the end of November.
- Fairly oblivious to what pace would feel appropriate over the half marathon distance.
- The Weather:
- 38degF (3.5degC) no wind at the start, 42degF (5.6degC), gentle breeze through the race and at the finish.
- My hands even stayed relatively warm!
- 🌞
Photo credit: David Edgeworth
- Getting to the start too late after doing a longer than planned warm-up.
- Finished tying my flats moments before the start! Ay!
- Couldn’t get the strap on my handheld bottle fastened by the time the gun went off and just had to roll with it.
- Left my gloves in the car!
- Nutrition plan:
- Finally realizing the benefits of taking on calories for a race of this distance.
- Handheld water bottled filled with 500ml of Nuun electrolytes.
- One pouch of Seattle Gummy Company “Power Up” performance gummies (ate 3 of 4 in the pouch).
- Even Splits – ~42’30” at the half way mark, 42’40” over the second half.
- Cowbell volunteer w/ 600m to go.
- A few volunteers greeting me as I arrived at the finish line to claim the victory! YEEEE!
- HUGE KUDOS TO: Dr. Jacob Perkins at Summit Sports and Spine, Seattle Gummy Company (sorry Run Gum), Team RunRun, the Green Marathon Series and their awesome volunteers, and, of course, the man with the plan, Coach Uli! 🙏
- link to results: https://www.arrowliveresults.com/TukwilatoAlkiHalfMarathon
2018 Runner Recap! 🙏
Fool of running. (A) running full. Okay. Reverse that.
2018 was one for the books:
15 races.
4800+ kilometers.
3000+ miles. And a whole lotta smiles!
Below I have compiled an EPIC SLIDESHOW of images from last year’s running and running-related adventures.
Images include those that were taken by me, taken of me, or taken by someone else using my camera or mobile device.
Thank, thank, thank you to those of you who were part of my running world last year. Let’s do it again in 2019!
Yours in fist bumps and split shorts,
A-a
RUNNING OUTINGS INCLUDE:
<https://photos.app.goo.gl/13uvQfkZHjWM85WE6>
- HALF ‘THONS! 1st win in ***12 YEARS*** at Tukwila to Alki! PR AT LAKE SAMMAMMIE!
- GROUP RUNS! Flying Lion Brewing 5 miler – FLB5! Fleet Feet Tuesday! Thursday Night Pub Runs! Wednesday night SRC Workouts! Saturday morning tempos!
- XCSZN! PLU Invite! Emerald City Open! WWU XC Classic! PNTF! Missing club nats! (BOO!)
- SRC SOCIAL MEDIA & VOLUNTEERING! Chuckanut 50k, White River 50 Miler, Cougar Series! BROOKS PR INVITE! Trail Running Film Festival! NW Trail Runs Photography!
- TRAIL RUNNING! THE ENCHANTMENTS RUN FOR THE LARCHES!!! Chain Lakes Loop! HILLBILLIES KENDALL KATWALK! McClellan Butte! Seward Park runs, John Wayne Trail, Snoqualmie Valley Trail, Coal Creek Pkwy and Cougar Mountain, Tiger Mountain! Lake Valhalla on the PCT from Stevens Pass!
- RUNNING AND RACING ABROAD IN IRELAND! Midleton A.C. 5 Miler, Leevale A.C. workout and group run!
- ROAD RACES! 5ks! Love ‘em or Leave ‘em, Top Pot Doughnut Dash, UW Bothell Husky 5k! FALL CITY DAY RUN 10K PR BAY-BEE! Magnuson Series 15k (FOR THE WIN)!
- STEEPLE SZN! Steeple people! USATF Masters Nats! Seattle Masters Classic!
- DIRTBAG RUNNER LYFE! Running in PDX, Eugene, VOLUNTEERING AT THE PREFONTAINE CLASSIC, 520 and I-90 bridge run! WORKING AT FLEET FEET!
- [COUGH COUGH] SMOKE SZN! Dreadmill workouts!
<https://photos.app.goo.gl/13uvQfkZHjWM85WE6>
2018 SRC Cross Country Season! 🏃♀️🏃♂️⚒️👊💪🔥
Aaron is thrilled to reprise his role as XC yearbook editor *AND* as a solid middle of the pack to solidly in the back of the pack contributor to the ‘B’ team for the 2018 season! He continues to aspire to adapt a *DEVASTATING* kick like Ryan Nicholas Parker and the *BALLS TO THE WALL* moxie of Trisha Steidl and Paul Young. Aaron is determined to retain his title as the “best dressed in split-shorts.”
[Many thanks to Nike for making your shorts just the right size and color, to Coach Uli for making me feel like I have a plan in place to improve on last year’s results, and to Sulley for offering the warm cat cuddlez that I’ll need after one or two wet races this season.]
***XC IS BACK BAY-BEEEEE!!!***
Mid-season form
2018 PNTF Championships
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Lower Woodland Park, Seattle, WA, USA
11 November 2018 Official Results: here! Photos: here! 6ks for the Masters. 6 faster ks for the Women. And 10 slightly painful-though-not-too-awful kilometers for the non-masters, manboys! FULL REPORT PENDING [WATCH THIS SPACE!!!] Highlights: black shorts, blue skies, prize monies, Seattle Gummy Company gummies, SRC Skyblues, famous people, results recap, fans!, etc... |
2018 Western Washington University Classic XC Invitational
Early season races
2018 Emerald City Open
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Lower Woodland Park, Seattle, WA, USA
6 October 2018 Official Results: here and here! Photos: here! After a few weeks off from racing, the club’s men’s and women’s teams were back in town for this classic cross country race in the Lower Woodland! The women finished 4th out of 6 as a team in the 6k race and the men were once again 3rd (out of 5) over the 8 kilometer course, on a delightful early October day in the Emerald City. |
Team, season, and Woodland Park 2k loop debuts, and a curious absence from the club’s leading troublemaker were the highlights of the club’s outing on Saturday. In the women’s 6k, the watch-less Trisha Steidl (24:21, 13/60 oa, 1/9 SRC), despite not tracking her pace -- or her time! -- secured top spot on the team for an SRC masters lady for the second race in a row. Lora Elizabeth (née Laura Goodfellow, 24:48 18/60 oa, 2/9 SRC) followed her heart -- and presumably her “lover” -- to a strong finish and another 2nd place for the team. Ten seconds and two places back was Natalie R., (24:58, 20/60 oa, 3/9 SRC), followed by QOM, Emma Saarel (27:18, 40/60 oa, 4/9 SRC), who descended from the mountaintops to finish a respectable 4th on the ladies squad. Rounding out the top 7 for the SRC women were: Anna McConnell (27:26, 42/60 oa, 5/9 SRC, SRC XC debut!), the ever-PR-seeking Katelen Phelan (27:34, 44/60 oa, 6/9 SRC) and Mona Deprey (27:51, 46/60 oa, 7/9 SRC). Jennifer Rozler (28:48, 53/60 oa, 8/9 SRC) and Mandy Lozano (32:03, 59/60 oa, 9/9 SRC, SRC XC team DEBUT!) persevered over the tough Woodland Park course to complete a respectable showing for the Sky blues! [continue reading below...]
photos courtesy of Karina Saunders, Cara Sumi, Laura Goodfellow, and Samir Rahman. Thank you!!
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In the 8k race, there was a familiar face upfront for the Sky Blue dudes. Serial napper, and Microsoft 5k champ from ***THE DAY BEFORE***, Douglas MF Jordan (26:44, 7/100 oa, 1/19 SRC) came 7th and took top spot on the team. Over a minute later, SRC finally had their second guy across the line, no, not Herb Sitz (DNF, rest that hammy, Herbert), but Jarrett Kunze (27:53, 21/100 oa, 2/19 SRC). Jarret made his SRC XC debut over the weekend, is originally from the pristine woods of central New Jersey, and is now just another one of our dirtbag runners living in West Seattle.
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Three, four, and five across the line were no strangers to the hill and dale of the Lower Woodland -- seasoned cross country vet, Brett Winegar (28:29, 33/100 oa, 3/19 SRC), Oh Captain, my Captain, Joe Kelly (28:54, 38/100 oa, 4/19 SRC), and Seattle Gummy Co. (check them out!) and Breathe Right Strip ambassador, Aaron Roche (29:20, 43/100 oa, 5/19 SRC) rounded out the top 5 for the squad.
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Hot on their heels were a tight pack that included the team’s second fastest eater, Ryan Nicholas Parker (29:35, 50/100 oa, 6/19 SRC), Bryan Buckalew (29:40, 52/100 oa, 7/19 SRC), who is still shaking off his baby weight, our soon-to-be teammate abroad, Sir Spencer Gaddy, MBE (29:51, 54/100 oa, 8/19 SRC), and Zach Dietz (29:52, 55/100 oa, 9/19 SRC) one of our newest mates, and a damn strong addition to our middle of the pack lads.
Just outside of 30 minutes was Ian McMorran (30:07, 60/100 oa, 10/19 SRC), whose beard was in absolute mid-season form even though his pace was slightly off of it. After him were Dr. McDreamy, Stephen Walston (31:31, 71 oa, 11/19 SRC), and then Richard “Speedgoat” Waters (32:10, 75 oa, 12/19 SRC), E-Foods Adam Hewey (32:31, 78 oa, 13/19 SRC), Competitive eater TJ Charlson (32:43, 80 oa, 14/19 SRC), the ever-so-cheerful and humbled by the Lower Woodland, Daren Toy (33:17, 83 oa, 15/19 SRC), Sgt. Shad Birkholz (33:35, 84 oa, 16/19 SRC) -- who made his lifetime XC debut!!, Andrew Lingbloom (33:50, 87/100 oa, 17/19 SRC) who shook off the rust and brought it home well under 7-minute pace, Steve “Snoqualmie Valley” Heaps (34:21, 88 oa, 18/19 SRC), and, finally, with his SRC XC debut, Mr. Eivind Morris Bakke (35:06, 90/100 oa, 19/19 SRC).
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Parting thoughts: another consistent turnout for both teams! When compared to last year’s ECO, we had the exact same amount of finishers on both sides -- 9 women, 19 men. Pack times: SRC Women: 1 thru 5, 3:05, 1 thru 7, 3:30, avg. (top 5) 25:46 (4:18/k, 6:55/mi), Men: 1 thru 5, 2:36, 1 thru 7, 2:56, avg. (top 5) 28:16 (3:32/k, 5:41/mi).
Excellent work this weekend, team! On to the next one! WWU Cross Country Classic, 10k, Sudden Valley Golf Course, Bellingham, WA, USA, 20 October 2018
Excellent work this weekend, team! On to the next one! WWU Cross Country Classic, 10k, Sudden Valley Golf Course, Bellingham, WA, USA, 20 October 2018
#seattlerunning #xcszn #xcsznbaby
2018 PLU Invitational
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Pacific Lutheran University Meadows, Tacoma, WA, USA
15 September 2018 SRC XC SZN Opener! Finally! 3 & 4 loops, 6 & 8 kilometers, and 12 to 14 years in the bank against these college-aged lads. 🙌 After a false start that had us scrambling to find a race to fill the void left by Sundodger, we got confirmation that the team would be welcomed with open arms by the race directors of this annual, early season competition. |
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The team travelled to *gulp* South Tacoma for the 2018 SRC XC SZN curtain raiser! We had 6 women and 10 manboys suit up for the PLU invitational on the last Saturday of the Summah! The women’s team joined Whitworth University (1st) and Whitman College (2nd) on the podium and finished 3rd, besting ***SEVEN*** other collegiate teams! On the men’s side, the SRC Skyblue dudes also came 3rd, losing out to the DIII George Fox University Bruins (1st) and hosts Pacific Lutheran University (2nd), but sent ***EIGHT*** colleges home crying in their sippy cups.
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Staring for the SRC Ladies: Marlene Farrell (22:59, 3/92 oa, 1/6 SRC), Laura Goodfellow (24:01, 13/92 oa, 2/6 SRC), Jackie Kehoe (24:16, 18/92 oa, 3/6 SRC), Mariangela Cruz (24:21, 22/92 oa, 4/6 SRC), Natalie R. (24:34, 25/92 oa, 5/6 SRC), Kate D'Orazio (25:02, 42/92 oa, 6/6 SRC)! Excellent results! Pack times: 1 thru 5, 1:35, 1 thru 6, 2:03, avg (top 5 ), 24:02 (4:00/k, 6:27/mi)!
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On the men's side, there were some standout performances, for sure! In preparation for the Victoria Marathon, Dan MF Sloat (25:04, 1/93 oa, 1/10 SRC) tempo'd the easy PLU Meadows and finished First overall! 🏆👑🥇 Behind Dan were: Doug Jordan (26:02, 4/93 oa, 2/10 SRC), Rob Bond (26:50, 19/93 oa, 3/10 SRC) -- also prepping for Victoria, then a close 4 & 5 for Joey K. (27:26, 27/93 oa, 4/10 SRC) and Shoeless Joe C. (27:27, 28/93 oa, 5/10 SRC). Making his SRC debut was Coach Dude, Shoes & Feet and NWTR perennial champ, Adam Stuhlfaut (28:18, 49/93 oa, 6/10 SRC). Finally putting together a solid race strategy and digestion plan was our seventh finisher, A-a Ron Roche (28:47, 61/93 oa, 7/10 SRC). Finishing up for the Sky Blues dudes were: Ian McMorran (29:12, 70/93 oa, 8/10 SRC, Austin Meyers (31:23, 83/93 oa, 9/10 SRC), who also made his SRC XC dude after some solid summer training, and, wrapping it up for the team was TJ Charlson (31:35, 84/93 oa, 19/10 SRC). Woot! Nice work, team! Pack times: 1 thru 5, 2:23, 1 thru 7, 3:43, avg (top 5 ), 26:34 (3:19/k, 5:21/mi) BLAZING!
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❄️🏃♀️Springtime with SRC!🏃♂️❄️
Racing and training during my week abroad
The Joe Hourigan Memorial, Midleton AC 5 mile road race,
Midleton, Co. Cork, Ireland
3 May 2018
Midleton, Co. Cork, Ireland
3 May 2018
Riding the pain train all the way to the line! □
photo courtesy of Gearóid Ó Laoi
Tl;dr
- This was my first interna-tional race; I raced patiently and wise.
- The event hosted 600 runners from various athletics clubs in Co. Cork in Southwest Ireland for a local race starting at *8pm!* on a Thursday night!
- 'twas a spectator friendly evening. The course was woven through the countryside on roads that were lined with stone walls, spotted with cow poop, and are closed to traffic during the event. Locals come out from behind their walled compounds to cheer the racers passing by. I couldn't get any of my cousins to stick around during the race, although the various Irish folks cheering us on was helpful enough.
- The entry fee for this race was €10.95! (That's pronounced "ten Euro ninety-five or SUPER EFFIN' CHEAP!)
- For 11 quid you got: a pre-race gala and post-race party with food and drink, a tote bag with the race logo that contained a Mars bar, a banana, and postcards about the local sponsors and clubs. Chocolate milk was handed out by local dairy farmers at the finish. I passed on that last option. NAF of cow's milk, but I appreciated the gesture!
I raced internationally for the first time. And raced pretty dang well, as a matter of fact -- 30'12" chip time, 36/594, and 1st American (1/1)! 🤣 🇺🇸🇺🇸. A 36-second p.b. at the five mile distance when compared to the 30'37" 8k (30'48" 5 mile, converted) at last September's UW Sundodger.
About two days prior to the start of my trip and less than twenty-four hours away from the disappointment of the Top Pot race, I signed-up for my first international competition. Of the few, specific goals that I have, developing a smart, race strategy has been one that I haven't worked on. Having just raced on the weekend, I decided that checking the road race calendar in Cork during my visit might present me an opportunity to feed two birds with one seed -- one, race abroad for the first time, and two, jump into a race with silly expectations in an attempt to work on my race sharpness.
About two days prior to the start of my trip and less than twenty-four hours away from the disappointment of the Top Pot race, I signed-up for my first international competition. Of the few, specific goals that I have, developing a smart, race strategy has been one that I haven't worked on. Having just raced on the weekend, I decided that checking the road race calendar in Cork during my visit might present me an opportunity to feed two birds with one seed -- one, race abroad for the first time, and two, jump into a race with silly expectations in an attempt to work on my race sharpness.
The 5 Mile Road Race put on by the Midleton Athletics Club looked like the perfect option to keep up the momentum and sharpen the racing tools.
I was emotionally prepared in my approach for this race. Sure I had a goal for my pace (3'45"/k) and for overall time (30'00"), though I took some pressure off of myself by prioritizing racing tact over speed. Patience was also a characteristic that I displayed. When I was in a group running slightly slower than my preferred pace, I bided my time and waited for another lad to bridge the gap to the next group rather than to go at it alone.
I got a bit of course intel at the start line. The first and final mile were net downhill and miles three and four were the hilliest and net uphill. The last 800 or so meters were down an agonizingly straight and narrow corridor. This proved to be a bit of a mental challenge.
I tried to hold it together up to mile 5. The last 1.6k was a stretch I tried to run hard; I was a tad psyched out by the final 800m and how it looked endless. Once I reached that corridor, it felt like I locked it in and *RODE THAT PAIN TRAIN* all the way to the line!
Really pleased at how patient and relatively consistent I was during this race.
Other notes:
More info and photos here:
I was emotionally prepared in my approach for this race. Sure I had a goal for my pace (3'45"/k) and for overall time (30'00"), though I took some pressure off of myself by prioritizing racing tact over speed. Patience was also a characteristic that I displayed. When I was in a group running slightly slower than my preferred pace, I bided my time and waited for another lad to bridge the gap to the next group rather than to go at it alone.
I got a bit of course intel at the start line. The first and final mile were net downhill and miles three and four were the hilliest and net uphill. The last 800 or so meters were down an agonizingly straight and narrow corridor. This proved to be a bit of a mental challenge.
I tried to hold it together up to mile 5. The last 1.6k was a stretch I tried to run hard; I was a tad psyched out by the final 800m and how it looked endless. Once I reached that corridor, it felt like I locked it in and *RODE THAT PAIN TRAIN* all the way to the line!
Really pleased at how patient and relatively consistent I was during this race.
Other notes:
- This part of County Cork is not highly populated. I was amazed by the pre and post-race carnival-like atmosphere for an event that late in the day. The amount of food and refreshments made available to anyone at the party was astounding when compared to such a low cost of entry (€10.95!).
- This event was in its 35th year. The team of Midleton Athletics Club volunteers were well equipped to handle the crowd, registration, and the checking of any gear. The course was very clearly identified and accurately marked by the miles.
- Weather:
- Start: 8pm 12° C, light rain, 13km/h wind out of the west
Finish: 830pm 11° C, mostly cloudy, 13km/h wind out of the WNW - This race is in Ireland. Finbarr (my cousin) is constantly down on the weather here. I’ve yet to experience anything but blue skies, unicorns, and rainbows that lead to pots of gold, of course. I suppose historically this race has been run under all conditions — rain, snow, wind, more rain, and more wind. The conditions on the 3rd of May 2018 were near ideal for a race at the five mile distance.
- Start: 8pm 12° C, light rain, 13km/h wind out of the west
More info and photos here:
Weekend WERK with the Leevale Athletics Club
5 & 6 May 2018
5 & 6 May 2018
Saturday at "The Farm."
On the cool-down at Thursday's race, I got a heads-up about Leevale AC's saturday workout out at the Curraheen Road Sports Ground -- locally known as "The Farm." Brian Kearney (5th overall at the Midleton 5 Mile) mentioned that they'd meet there 'round 9:30a and do the workout that coach Donnie prepared. Donnie being the renown Ireland Athletics coach Donnie Walsh (more about him, here).
Highlights:
On the cool-down at Thursday's race, I got a heads-up about Leevale AC's saturday workout out at the Curraheen Road Sports Ground -- locally known as "The Farm." Brian Kearney (5th overall at the Midleton 5 Mile) mentioned that they'd meet there 'round 9:30a and do the workout that coach Donnie prepared. Donnie being the renown Ireland Athletics coach Donnie Walsh (more about him, here).
Highlights:
- Mark Walsh (4th on Thursday night) in his Villanova track jacket
- Intervals at the farm -- 4 x 5min on 2min off <-- strava activity link
- Comments from coach Donnie, "There's a 30-minute five-miler up there. Find her (Cara) and run the workout with her!"
- Brian yelling "C'mon Yank!" as I finished off one of my reps.
- Post workout group snap.
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Sunday "Super Chill" 28k long run 'round the Lee River valley.
Reconnected with Mark after the workout on Saturday to find out the meet spot for Sunday's long run. Highlights:
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- Lizzie, who had a "tenner" that was literally burning a hole in her pocket, offered to buy me and John fizzie drinks from Tesco at the finish. Fizzies from Lizzie! Who could resist?! The pineapple and grapefruit LiLt was calling me name. Turned out to be a popular choice!
photos are an assortment of personal snaps and some taken by Gearóid Ó Laoi
Top Pot 5k Doughnut Dash
Green Lake, Seattle, WA, USA
29 April 2018
29 April 2018
[watch this space]
Magnuson Series Spring into Action 15k
Sand Point, Seattle, WA, USA
24 March 2018
24 March 2018
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Magnuson Series 15k. 3, ~5k loops. 1st overall (1/13) in 15k @ 60'21" officially. Only felt the heat from general internist and fellow Team RunRunner Milah Frownfelter, M.D. teamrunrun.com/milah-f/ She finished just outside 63'.
Pre-race goal: improve on last year's result: 3rd overall. Target time, sub-59' (3'56"/k). I felt very controlled through about one and a half loops. I was right around four minutes per kilometer through 7k. |
Finish line vid. couresy of @Paulheartsdolphina (Paul Huynh) |
The wind started to get to me a little by that point. As usual, I was running solo most of the race. For the first loop, I ran right around two people who were doing the 5k. After that, it was just me and my thoughts, while trying not to lose too much time into the wind. On the turnaround point at the shore, I saw p2. She was ~300m behind me after the first lap.
At the end of the 2nd lap she must have lost more time. On a few of the sections that look back on each other, I glanced for her and didn't see her. After Kite Hill on the third lap, I just told myself to keep it together until the "turn" for home and victory is mine. Some of the tight twists and turns slowed me down slightly. I felt the fastest once otw back from Sportsfield Drive and NE 65th St (the southwestern corner of the course). From there, back to the start/finish was a favorable wind.
I'm a little bummed I didn't get under 60'. The last k was run hard, for sure. I definitely lost my bid for a fast time after the last time up kite hill (start of the 3rd lap). Happy about the win and happy that all of the fast peeps were running shorter races. The winner of the 5k went under 16' and I didn't beat everyone running the 10k this year.
❄️🏃♀️Putting in the werk this Winter!🏃♂️❄️
Lake Sammamish Half Marathon
Redmond & Issaquah, WA, USA
10 March 2018
10 March 2018
PROJECT 1:24 WAS A SUCCESS* I set a new personal record by 2 minutes and 27 seconds! The overall time was 1h24'49" with a pace of 4'01"/k and was very close to the original target. I crossed the line, threw up my arms, did a couple fist pumps. I think I clapped or something, then got very emotional behind my sunglasses. After a rough end to my week and a whole lot of doubt during the race, coming to a realization that all of the sacrifice, all of the time logging the ks, and all of the *WERK* had been worth it, I was in quite an emotional state. The tears of disbelief soon turned to smiles of joy! I got pretty dang close to the planned goal of 84'. And even closer to the original plan of 4'/k.
*this title can be misleading. Since I didn't run slower than 1:24:59, then I guess it has to be considered a successful 1:24:XX race.
*this title can be misleading. Since I didn't run slower than 1:24:59, then I guess it has to be considered a successful 1:24:XX race.
Post-race with the SRC Squad! Way to go, team!!!
Tl;dr. P.R. race. I was cold, had a whole lot of doubt during the race, and was emotional after crossing the finish line. I found a new place where my body chafes -- spoiler alert, it’s at the intersection of my underarm and *SIDEBOOB*, where the arm sleeve terminates. You were a strange race, Lake Sammamish. I hate you and I love you! PROJECT 1:24 was a SUCCESS!
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Training
In training for this half, I had done a lot of *TEMPO RUNS*. This type of workout is what I have found to be the best way for me to prepare for a race of this distance. The intent of these workouts is to run at a pace that is comfortably uncomfortable for an extended period of time. By having a good base going into this training cycle and somehow avoiding any setbacks, I was able to get the length of my tempo runs up to 15.5k about 8 weeks out from the race and did others that were 11.2k (7mi), twice (here and here), and one, the week before the race at 6.4k (4miles). *BIG UPS* to my Seattle Running Club teammates and Team RunRun coaching support for their guidance, camaraderie, and companionship during many of those workouts. There were some trying efforts, especially during those wet and weary winter nights that made it extra punishing. Thank you!!!
Cold, Saturday morning lakeside tempo run with the SRC weekend gang. It was cold on many of these mornings!!
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Hanging with Coach Uli over Thanksgiving was a nice respite from the XC season training. Thanks, ULI!!
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Other quality workouts included interval workouts run at threshold pace up to V02 max pace: 5x1600m track workout, 3xGreen Lake inner loop, modified 1000m intervals, and a fast finish long run that was 🔥!
The training prepared me for one of the fundamental skills necessary for a good race: *EVEN PACING*. I am a classic fast starter and slower finisher. Those who know me know that have a tendency to be over eager about things. Those who have dated me know even more about this. Hey, I’m working on it!! In fact, this was something I tried to focus on quite a bit throughout the 2-plus months of training -- start off patiently, get into the groove, and feel the pace.
Race feel // jacked-up mile markers
I had to go by feel during much of the race. Using that as the primary guide, I would glance at my watch just about as frequently as normal -- probably every 400m if I'm honest -- and adjust based on what the instantaneous pace on my watch was showing, what the course’s mile markers were showing, as well as adding some logic to make an appropriate adjustment.
The adjustments were all the bit more stressful considering I had very little confidence in the course’s markings. At each marker -- every other mile for the first 6miles -- I was getting significantly slower at each checkpoint. This was very discouraging. Even though my watch was just about on 4'/k each time I glanced down, I was slowing significantly throughout the race?!? Something couldn't be right.
I felt very smooth and controlled through 10k. At around that point is where I started to feel a bit taxed from the effort. I guess the handful of faster ks at the start (3’55” - 3’58”/k) were starting to take their toll. That, combined with losing confidence about where I was in the race had me losing my focus -- was the 10k on my watch even remotely close to where I was on the actual course?
Everything else felt pretty okay at that point. At around the halfway point of this race, it felt just like all of those cold, early Saturday morning lakeside tempo workouts. It was getting progressively uncomfortable, though certainly not to a point where I felt I was slowing significantly. My time at that point was right at around 42 minutes. It would have been nice to have realized this in real-time. However, no data was to be trusted during the race. No data was safe!!!
Still feeling smooth and keepin' it together on the shady Eastside trail. Ah yeah, my hands and face were cold!
Cutting through the bull sh!t // mid-race doubt
Looking back, it was from kilometers 12 through 16 where I lost the most time. Excuses here are a combination of losing focus due to the monotony of this part of the course -- I'm pretty sure I zoned out a few times and dropped down to normal pace. Also, being mentally anguished and increasingly confused at the mile markers. Lastly, this was a very shady part of the course and my hands and face were getting colder each stride. Ugh, still dreaming of a race that I can run w/o half tights and two pairs of gloves!!!
By the time we got back off of the gravel and were approaching the state park, I found myself among a few people speeding up and slowing down. I noticed the turnover of a runner who passed me and I tried to replicate it. This helped me big time in kilometers 18 and 19. Increasing my stride rate and being able to catch a couple people who were slowing down more than I was gave me some purpose in a race that I thought was lost long ago.
A huge mind f*ck was when I did a calculations after crossing their 10mile mark. I looked at my watch and I was about 66'40” into the race. This was extremely depressing. I thought even if I run goal pace -- 4 minutes per kilometer * 5 kilometers = 20 minutes -- for the last 5k I'll only barely break 87'! That was a moment where I just about lost my shit.
Levitating! And Floating towards the finish line!
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Craning my neck in search of the finish line. How close is it??!
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Finish!
When we entered the park, I started to get a bit curious about just how much farther we had to go. I don't think I looked at my watch to see the overall time until I could just about see the finish line. Being a tad surprised at how close we were to home, I only started my kick from only about 200m out.
I saw the clock counting upwards and it hadn't yet hit 1:25! Whoa. What in the actual fuck! I’m really really close to this. The rest was a blur as I crossed the line somehow under 85 minutes. Cue: chills down my spine, tears welling up in my eyes, goosebumps all around. It was great to feel that after the race. First anger, then exaltation! You were a strange race, Lake Sammamish. I hate you and I love you!
Stats! Splitz!
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km splits from watch
1) 1000m @ 3'58" 2) 1000m @ 3'55" 3) 1000m @ 3'56" 4) 1000m @ 3'55" 5) 1000m @ 4'00" 6) 1000m @ 3'58" 7) 1000m @ 3'58" 8) 1000m @ 3'57" 9) 1000m @ 4'03" 10) 1000m @ 3'59" 11) 1000m @ 4'01" 12) 1000m @ 4'07" 13) 1000m @ 4'03" 14) 1000m @ 4'04" 15) 1000m @ 4'08" 16) 1000m @ 4'06" 17) 1000m @ 4'02" 18) 1000m @ 4'04" 19) 1000m @ 4'03" 20) 1000m @ 4'03" 21) 1000m @ 3'57" 21.17) 170m @ 32" |
mile marker laps from watch (attempt to click watch at any mile marker I saw). Also, these markers were absolute gar-bage.
1) ~2mi 3.28k @ 12'55"4 3'56"/k 2) ~4mi 3.34k @ 13'15"9 3'59"/k, (6.62k) 26'11"3 3) ~6mi 3.36k @ 13'21"2 3'59"/k, (9.98k) 39'32"5 4) ~7mi 1.65k @ 6'43"8 4'04"/k, (11.63k) 46'16"3 5) ~8mi 1.67k @ 6'46"7 4'03"/k, (13.3k) 53'03"0 6) ~9mi 1.68k @ 6'52"8 4'06"/k, (14.98k) 59'55"8 7) ~10mi 1.66k @ 6'45"6 4'04"/k, (16.64k) 66'41" 8) ~11mi 1.68k @ 6'48"4 4'03"/k, (18.32k) 73'29" 9) ~13.11mi 2.86k @ 11'22"4 3'59"/k, (21.18k) 84'52" (if the Based on the distance read out from my watch, the finish line was ~2.86k from the 11mi marker. that means the course was short by 530m or that somewhere along the marking, the mile markers were offset by that amount) |
Sharing my WERK!10 weeks of training, 68 days run, 2 days off
1) 106.3k, 8h17’, 969m elev 2) 113.9k, 8h47’, 1289m elev 3) 103.6k, 8h24’, 1590m elev 4) 107.8k, 8h44’, 1892m elev 5) 90.4k, 6h57’, 673m elev 6) 100.6k, 7h46’, 1126m elev 7) 102.3k, 7h41’, 1032m elev 8) 110.8k, 8h47’, 1354m elev 9) 84.6k, 6h27’, 859m elev 10) 83.5k, 6h50’, 483m elev ___________________________________________________________ Totals: 1003.8k (623.7mi), 78h40’, 11,267m (36,965ft) |
Photos!Mixture of images from the race, after the race, and workouts leading up to it.
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Tukwila to Alki Half Marathon
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Photos courtesy of Keith Collingwood and the Green River Marathon Series!
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Q: Can I race this as a workout, wisely, and with a patient strategy??
A: Yes, yes, and yes! 87 and a quarter smart. patient, and comfortably uncomfortable minutes *FOR THE WIN, BAY-BEE!* 
*THUMBS UP* As I ZOOM'd past the Mile 6 aid station.
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Tukwila, WA, USA
27 January 2018
27 January 2018
2015 Tukwila to Alki Half.
I signed-up for the second time to run this very minimal road race put on by the excellent folks of the Green River Marathon Series. In the middle of a training cycle for the Lake Sammamish Half in March, I planned to run this race as a long tempo and even split at 4'15"/k pace (6'50"/mi), and to only *CHASE THE GLORY* if it seemed within my grasp. Well, all went according to plan: I ran it as a long tempo *AND* took down the *VICTORY!*
Video at the start courtesy of David of Green River Marathon on Flickr. (rotate mobile device to view full screen)
And we're off! Troy & Regina beside me at start.
After the "gun" sent us on our way, I noticed that the lad that bolted to the front was someone who had beaten me in a race before. It was Troy, 2nd place finisher from last year's 11 mile Cedar Mountain Trail Run! This was perfect. By running a safe distance behind and not in front, I'd be able to pace off of him and stay within myself for the early part of the race -- something that I have difficulty doing.
As I was stalking first place Troy, I found myself equidistant between him and third place runner Ian Field. Ian was probably monitoring my moves just the same. I could hear the thrum of his race flats scurrying across the damp pavement closely behind me. Listening to this tested my patience, for sure.
SIDE NOTE: One of the most anxious feelings is the feeling of being chased. It's also an excellent way to make sure you keep up your pace! Because if you slow down and you are caught, *YA DEAD!* I did not want to die that day and I did what I could to keep an equal distance between Troy and Ian.
Sticking to the plan long enough, I was able to stay patient up to about 7k. Four and a half miles felt like it was long enough to play this game of man in the middle. At the southwest corner of 14th Ave S and S Henderson St. I absolutely *BOMBED* past Troy when he, get this, *DECIDED TO HIT THE CROSSWALK BUTTON*. I said "*'EFFF' THAT!*" and flew right through the intersection as we were approaching the first hill.
From that last time I ran this race, I anticipated when the South Park hill would arrive (7.2k). In my memory, it was a bit more steep. Though, in actuality, it was still a pretty respectable 13.6% at its steepest part over the 200m stretch. Knowing that the hill was soon approaching, I carried some good momentum going into it and hit it pretty hard.
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*KUDOS* to my Seattle Running Club XC and Team RunRun coaches for all of the hill workouts over the past few months! 🙏🙏🙏 Running this hill intelligently allowed me to put some distance between me and P2. From that point on, I ran solo all the way to the finish -- a whole 14k (~8.5mi) by my lonesome. Talk about anxious -- 8.5 miles while being chased by 52 other runners! *AYY!*
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Once off that hill and back on the flats, I was able to get back into a rhythm. I cruised through South Park, underneath the 1st Avenue Bridge, and past the one and only aid station at the 10k (~6.2mi) mark, and reset my focus for the next challenge.
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Coming up on the course would be a couple tricky turns and intersections on the Duwamish Trail: a quick visit through Terminal 107 park, across traffic and W Marginal way to the other side to get back to the Duwamish Trail. The route would continue up the course's second momentum breaker: a short hill underneath the West Seattle bridge, then a complicated traffic intersection, and a turn onto the West Seattle Bridge trail.
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Having run through this area many times, it was easy for me to assess the traffic situation, then run safely, and diagonally, through the intersection, rather than orthogonally at the crosswalks. Putting to use these strategies enabled me to stay in-between 4' - 4'15"/k the rest of the way up to Alki.
From the turn off of the West Seattle Bridge trail to the Alki Trail (15.5k, ~9.5mi), the race course felt the full benefit of a nice tail wind. We paid a fraction of it back once making the turn for home at the northern most point of the West Seattle Peninsula -- where Harbor Ave SW turns into Alki Ave SW.
At this spot, gale force gusts (50k/h, 32mph gusts, 32k/h, 21mph avg) were coming at us strong. To address this, I shortened up my stride and *TRIED NOT TO PANIC* as I convinced myself that the wind was only there to *THWART MY PLANS* for my first victory in 11.5 years. Seriously, who else thinks that when it's windy, it only affects you and no one else?!?
Thankfully, I had about a two minute lead on the new P2. I kept my cool and crossed the line well ahead of any pursuivants. *VICTORY WAS SO SO SWEET* and the *FIVE MINUTE PR* wasn't bad, either. I let out a *BARBARIC YAWP*, praised the Salal, and thanked Sulley for her generous *KITTY KARMA!* Good werk, team! Just give me moments...
*GEAR!* Shoes: ASICS Hyperspeed 7. socks: Saucony Inferno No Show Tab socks. bottoms: ASICS 9.5" Sprinter shorts (b/c of the wind and b/c they had a zipper for my car key). Top: Flying Lion Brewing, Five Ultimate Singlet. FLB FTW!, Head: Buff UV Multifunctional Headband.
TAGS: Seattle Running Club, Team RunRun, Flying Lion Brewing, Green River Marathon, Glory Chasing, Once a Runner
CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON!
Chasing the Glory in November and December
2017 USATF Club XC Championships
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“Five Across the Line!”™
(subtitle courtesy of E. Williams) 8-10 December 2017 Lexington, KY, USA Six of us SRC dudes convened on the Bourbon and Horse Breeding center of the Universe for a 48 hour outing in Northern Kentucky. Make no mistake, there was nothing "northern" about Lexington. It was the south, y'all. Original .gif created from "flybys" by Strava Labs
To just about *no one's* surprise, all team members made it to SeaTac for the on-time, early departure. We were headed for Kentucky! Yee-haw!!
After landing at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport, we shuttled to the rental car area to pick up our team transportation. Mr. Dan Sloat was gracious enough to have reserved our team bus -- not an actual bus, but the next closest thing: a GMC Yukon XL Power Stroke Diesel Hemi Smith & Wesson Edition with MULtipLEgUnRAcKSaNdSTORagEforALLofTheRoADkiLLwePLaNNEdTOmoWdOWn 😑. The next order of business was to find our B ‘n’ B in Lex-Town. Some sweetheart property owner in the heart of Lexington near the Red Mile Road and Racetrack was daring enough to rent us her home for the weekend. You really are rolling the dice when you rent your space to a bunch of post-collegiate, professional class men with various tolerances for alcohol. As it turns out, these cross country teams can get pretty rowdy. Luckily for the owner of 510 Pyke Rd., the Seattle Running Club was not hosting the unofficial post-race after party (more on this later). After a *cheesy* and *dry* team meal at a place with "Bourbon" in their name but not on their drink menu, we settled into our comfortable confines of the place on Pyke Rd. Or was it Pine. Pike, Pyke, or Pine? It was Pyke. Thankfully, the race on Saturday was scheduled to start just after noon, and, thus, we could get a full night’s rest and adjust to Eastern Standard Time. Race Day! 9 December 2017, USATF 2017 USATF National Club Cross Country Championships at Masterson Station Park, Lexington, KY, USA. The six of us boarded the Yukon XXXL for a short drive over to the race course. Our spirits were high and the temps were so so low. The thermometer and the avg. wind speed reached their high for the day of around 30°F and 17mph right at the start of the men’s open race. Woo boy -- late season cross country weather, for sure! We stumbled out of the Yukon XL into the tundra of Masterson Station Park and pretended to do a warm-up. Following a brief glimpse of the Masters Men’s Race and the Women’s Open Race, we were at the check-in tent and then at our box at the starting line. As I trotted over from the tent I noticed the ground was quite solid. This was a good thing since a lot of the recent racing has been across some sloppy and soggy terrain. The starter’s assistant slowly walked the endless row of teams toeing the line to make sure that everyone’s toes were, indeed, behind the line. There was an eerie calm. A subtle whisper of wind and a ball of dust made their way across the course as we waited in collective anticipation. BANG! The race was underway. |
I resisted the urge to bolt out of the blocks -- gauging, for a moment, to observe just how fast this pack would start. Going into the race I was fully aware that my 10k speed should put me in the bottom ~15% of the field. With that in mind, I watched the real class march ahead as I attempted to find a rhythm within the first kilometer. Bah. So much for that. With that first k being a net downhill segment and with all of my adrenaline flowing, I split a 3’32”. Much faster than necessary; though I wasn’t overcooked.
The rest of the race unfolded and I maintained a comfortable following distance from a couple chaps I felt I could reel in at the end -- one lad with a shoe that came untied and another who I lined-up for my final kick for home. It was not the best 10k effort of the year and also not the worst. Considering the frigid conditions and the unforgiving rolling elevation profile of the course, I had to be satisfied with the effort. ***************** Overall, I did my best to hold my position once things started to shake out and actually caught a couple peeps within the last k. As usual, I finished with a "DEVASTATING KICK" up the 300m hill finish. It was not a terrible race -- better than PNTF (link to below), maybe better than the WWU Classic (link to below), not as good as Regionals (link to below). no injuries. Spikes were a fine gear decision. Individually, I was 408 out of 424 finishers. Solidly in the back of the pack. As a team, SRC got FIVE ACROSS THE LINE and placed 44 out of 49 teams. Another race in the books. The last one for 2017. A pretty good way to end the season. Now time to relax! Other highlights of the trip included a post-race team snacks and drinks in Lexington at Bourbon on Rye, the official after party at Sawyer's, and then an out of control house party at the West Valley Track Club's weekend rental. They were gonna have some 'splainin' to do on Sunday. 😁 SRC's Sunday was much more relaxing. As responsible renters, we rushed to get out the door by our checkout time of 10am?! Okay. Just made it. We took a drive out to Woodford County to have brunch and to partake in a tour of the Woodford Reserve Distillery before returning the Team Paddy Wagon and boarding our departing flight home to Seatown. Good work this weekend, team! And excellent work, this season! It was a true delight getting to know you and to run with you peeps for the better part of 2017. Let's set our sights for big things in 2018, BAY-BEEE! |
2017 USATF NW Regional Championships
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Fernhill Park, Portland, OR, USA
18 November 2017 Portland! We made it! Regiona👆s (Sarah, Jane Lynch look-alike and my Air Bed and Breakfast host).
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Images 1-5 courtesy of Kayne McCarthy, 6-8: original
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2017 USATF Pacific Northwest Championships, PNTF
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Lower Woodland Park, Seattle, WA, USA
5 November 2017 Embracing the suck. Earning one’s stripes. Putting the proverbial hairs on his’ or her’s chests. The team’s were thinned out for the uber competitive Pacific Northwest Track and Field Cross Country Open Championships, 2017 edition. Seattle Running Club would send a select group of crazy and masochistic individuals to the starting line to compete in the masters’, women’s, and men’s races in the Lower Woodland Park on a remarkably wind-swept and bitter Sunday in early November. Images courtesy of Samir Rahman
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The Masters’ race was first, clearly because age should always go before beauty, and also because older people like waking up earlier than us youngsters (it’s simple science on both counts, folks). Competing for SRC in the Masters 6k were Uli “just google me for more info” Steidl (20:19, 1st overall, 1/9 in Masters Men 45-49 division), Eric “negative splitting like a boss” Bone (21:32, 7/8 in M 40-44 division), Glen Weissman (22:00, 5/9 in M 45-49 division), Paul “always down for a street fight” Mannino (22:09, 8/8 in M 40-44 division), Adam Hewey (23:02, 4/11 in M 50-54 division), Jim “concocting and devouring all of the savory foods” Mansen. Trisha Steidl, 25:30, insert names, times, and places]
To Be Continued when I find time to finish this recap! |
X-C is Back Bay-BEEEEEE!
View from the middle of the pack during Seattle Running Club's 2017 Cross Country Season
Emerald City Open 2017
Start of the Women's race. PC: Kayne McCarthy
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2k laps in the Lower Woodland
14 October 2017 Lower Woodland Park, Seattle, USA The teams were back in town for a good ol’ club race round the Woodland Park 2k circuit. Full women’s and men’s teams competed against clubs and colleges, alike, on another dee-lightful fall day in the Northwest. Once again, the women would run a 6k race (3 laps of the course), while the men would tack on that extra lap, because, ya know, why the hell not? |
Pre-race huddle. PC: Kayne McCarthy.
The women reached the podium with a *3RD PLACE* result let by point scorers Marlene Farrell (23:19, 10/53), Natalie Roberts (24:27, 17/53), Amber Cruzan (26:07, 21/53), Rose Hoonan (26:47, 26/53), and a strong 5,6, 7 of Alex McCarthy (26:59, 29/53), Katelan Phelan (27:01, 30/53), and Mariangela Cruz (27:11, 31/53). Rounding out the team’s stellar performance were Karina Saunders (28:08, 39/53) and Elly Searle (31:06, 52/53) -- just within Evan Williams’ Sundodger adjusted differential (or S.A.D.) of +30 seconds.
As for the men’s squad, we rolled suuuuuper deep. A total of 19 of us took over boxes 5 and 6 at the start line and stared straight over the cliffside that was the start to the Lower Woodland Course. A quick prayer for Dan Myers, then BOOM went the starter’s gun and we were off on our four circuits of the park!
As for the men’s squad, we rolled suuuuuper deep. A total of 19 of us took over boxes 5 and 6 at the start line and stared straight over the cliffside that was the start to the Lower Woodland Course. A quick prayer for Dan Myers, then BOOM went the starter’s gun and we were off on our four circuits of the park!
SRC Women, post-ECO. PC: Kayne McCarthy
SRC Dudes. So many dudes. Parker's not actually that small, btw. PC: Kayne McCarthy
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26 and half minutes or so later and SRC had their first finisher -- the aforementioned Evan Williams (yes, like the Kentucky bourbon) (26:28, 7/85). Following him for SRC team A (2nd place team) were Uli Steidl (26:46, 10/85), Dan Sloat (27:00, 12/85), Stefan Redfield (27:26, 21/85), Doug Jordan (27:34, 22/85), Joe “I’m running w/ a hangover” Creighton (27:57, 26/85), and Joe “I haven’t run cross in 24+/- years” Kelly (28:16, 29/85). Nice work A-Team!
Honorable mention for a strong race: SRC B-Teamers, Ryan Parker (29:38, 37/85), Paul “One Glove’s Enough” Young (30:10, 40/85), Adam “I eat hills for breakfast” Hewey (30:53, 48/85), Aaron “yearbook editor” Roche (31:03, 50/85), Dan “I’m outta here” Myers (32:00, 58/85), Sean Ekstrand (32:49, 61/85), and Herb Sitz (34:35, 67/85). Also waking up early-ish and giving it a go on a nice Saturday for some laps ‘round the park: Jim Mansen (34:44, 59/85), Francisco Del Valle (35:25, 72/85), Erik Fadiman (36:13, 74/85), Win Van Pelt (37:13, 78/85), and Stephen Gibson (41:01, 82/85). Race website and results here: https://www.clubnorthwest.org/emerald-city-results Photo credit: Kayne McCarthy. (flickr.com/photos/155719234@N05/albums/72157689437515796) |
Well, at least one of us in the frame is keeping it together over that final sprint up the hill to the finish. PC: Kayne McCarthy.
A-Ro's Personal recap:
pre-race goal was to place well in the team and to run well in comparison to the time run at the flatter Sundodger course. ~ stay around 3'45"/k.
result was 26.2s slower than sundodger. course was rolling, 2nd k cost a lot of energy, especially around the turnaround. felt strong at the finish -- passed a younger runner. stayed ahead of Owen from Northwestern Univ. and Paul from CNW. Was 4th/7 on the SRC B team! 50/85 finishers. As a team, we were 6 out of 12 teams. Thankful for Wednesday's workout to prep me for that finish.
splitz:
1k @ 3'31", 3'31"/km -20m
1mile @ 5'53", 3'39"/km
2k @ (3'54") 7'25", 3'42"5/km +18m
1st lap 7'25"
3k @ (3'46") 11'11", 3'43"7/km -18m
pre-race goal was to place well in the team and to run well in comparison to the time run at the flatter Sundodger course. ~ stay around 3'45"/k.
result was 26.2s slower than sundodger. course was rolling, 2nd k cost a lot of energy, especially around the turnaround. felt strong at the finish -- passed a younger runner. stayed ahead of Owen from Northwestern Univ. and Paul from CNW. Was 4th/7 on the SRC B team! 50/85 finishers. As a team, we were 6 out of 12 teams. Thankful for Wednesday's workout to prep me for that finish.
splitz:
1k @ 3'31", 3'31"/km -20m
1mile @ 5'53", 3'39"/km
2k @ (3'54") 7'25", 3'42"5/km +18m
1st lap 7'25"
3k @ (3'46") 11'11", 3'43"7/km -18m
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2mile @ (6'10") 12'03" 3'44"6/km
4k @ (4'00") 15'11", 3'46"/km +17m 2nd lap 7'46" (strava calculates 7'46" for this "segment") 3mile @ (6'22") 18'25" 3'48"9/km 5k @ (3'45") 18'56", 3'47"2/km -17m 6k @ (4'03") 22'59", 3'49"8/km 14m |
3rd lap 7'48" (strava calculates 7'49" for this "segment")
4mile @ (6'15") 24'40" 3'49"9/km 7k @ (3'46") 26'45", 3'49"3/km -16m 8k @ (4'18") 31'03", 3'52"9/km +8m <-- numbers don't make a whole lot of sense. probably wasn't a 4'18" last k. 4th lap 8'04" (strava calculates 7'44" for this "segment") |
Western Washington University Cross Country Classic
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Loops at Lake Padden Park
7 October 2017 Lake Padden, Bellingham, WA USA An excited group of SRC harriers made the trek north to Whatcom County for the 6 & 10 kilometer races up in Beautiful Bellingham. The 44th WWU Cross Country Classic featured teams from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) as well as other low DI and DII schools, including an appearance from the perennial powerhouse Chico State. The SRC Women were led by Liz Spiess and Alex McCarthy while the men were able to field a full-ish team consisting of the law firm of messieurs Sloat, Parker, Buckalew, Rahman, Roach & Roche. |
3...2...1...blast off!
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Though rain was forecast for the start of the race, skies were mostly clear with a definite chill of fall in the air. The women raced first. Second-year (?) club standout Liz Spiess (24:35.3, 84/121) paired up with cross country newcomer Alex McCarthy (26:50.8, 105/121) to lead the women’s team across the 6 kilometer route ‘round Lake Padden -- solid efforts for both!
The men’s 10 kilometers race was next. The firm of S, P, B, R^3 took to their starting positions and 3...2...1...blasted off the line for 2 laps around the lake. After negotiating the course’s gentle twists, turns, towers, and tumultuous hornet’s nests, Dan Sloat (33:03.4, 35/134) crossed the line for top honors on the team. Dan finished with a superb time and was just shy of breaking 33 minutes. A tight trio of three SRC’ers were a bit behind, but firmly mid-pack -- |
Liz groovin' on the gravel at Lake Padden Park.
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Post-race team photo by the lake (not pictured: Liz Spiess).
Bryan Buckalew (36:48.6, 114/134), Ryan Parker (36:51.9, 115/134), and James Roach (36:54.0, 116/134). Bringing up the rear for the Sky Blues were Aaron Roche (39:08.9, 129/134) and Samir Rahman (39:53.7, 131/134). Overall, the team members were pleased for making the trip and with the result of beating *at least* one college team on the day (St. Martin’s of Lacey, WA). Next up, the Emerald City Open on the 14th back at home in Seattle. Race website and full results here: http://www.wwuvikings.com/sports/c-xc/WWUxcClassic.html
Photo credit: Kayne McCarthy. (flickr.com/photos/155719234@N05)
A-Ro's Personal recap:
44th Ann'l WWU Cross Country Classic. 10k.
PR at this distance. pre-race goal was to break 39' and/or stay around 3'50"/k (similar to previous wknd's 8mi tempo). ended up just shy of the 39' goal. course was mostly flat, though the hillz did take some effort. would have like to have raced better. didn't blow up. felt strong at the finish. scored for the team! and we beat a college (St. Martin's University, Lacey, WA of the GNAC).
Photo credit: Kayne McCarthy. (flickr.com/photos/155719234@N05)
A-Ro's Personal recap:
44th Ann'l WWU Cross Country Classic. 10k.
PR at this distance. pre-race goal was to break 39' and/or stay around 3'50"/k (similar to previous wknd's 8mi tempo). ended up just shy of the 39' goal. course was mostly flat, though the hillz did take some effort. would have like to have raced better. didn't blow up. felt strong at the finish. scored for the team! and we beat a college (St. Martin's University, Lacey, WA of the GNAC).
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splitz:
1k @ 3'32", 3'32"/km -1m 1mile @ 5'52", 3'38"/km 2k @ (3'49") 7'21", 3'40"5/km +6m 3k @ (3'58") 11'19", 3'46"3/km +6m 2mile @ 12'02" 3'44"3/km 4k @ (3'45") 15'04", 3'46"/km -12m 3mile @ 18'25" 3'48"9/km 5k @ (4'03") 19'07", 3'49"4/km +1m |
6k @ (3'51") 22'58", 3'49"7/km -2m
4mile @ 24'38" 3'49"6/km 7k @ (3'55") 26'53", 3'50"4/km +2m 8k @ (4'29") 31'22", 3'55"3/km +8m 5mile @ 31'23" 3'54"/km 9k @ (3'50") 35'12", 3'54"7/km -7m 6mile @ 37'54" 3'55"5/km 10k @ (3'56"9) 39'08"9, 3'54"9/km -1m |
2017 Sundodger Invite
Floating across the downhills on the Lincoln Park XC course. PC: Eric Miya.
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X-C is Back Bay-Beeeee!
16 September 2017 Lincoln Park, West Seattle, USA (A-Ro's Personal recap:) I slipped into my smart new Seattle Running Club (SRC) race singlet and a pair of coordinating split shorts and toed the line in Box 20 with fourteen other brave souls on this smokey Saturday in September. Cross country was back! It had been 15 years, but it was here. As expected, the pre-race anxiety and self-doubt were reaching their peak. "What am I doing here? Was my warm-up long enough? Ugh, I completely forgot the anti-chafe protection for my nips!" |
Post-race pose. "TO Di WORLD!" - Usain Bolt. PC: Eric Miya.
I took a few deep breaths of the slightly smoke-filled air and then reacted to the starter's gun. I was doing it -- I was back running alongside some fast peeps, and giving in to the fear of fading in the pack, all the while embracing the pain and the suffering. And, of course, I made sure to hold enough in reserves to put in a *DEVASTATING* kick at the end! Ah, all the feels!
The pre-race goal was to be consistent (in pace/lap) -- maybe break 30 minutes? Try to get as close to 30' as possible and have a strong position within the team. As the race developed, I conceived that I was running steadily, not too hard, though not too relaxed, either. I think there was a net zero difference in the amount of people I passed related to anyone who might have passed me. I tried to focus on my breathing and in trying to hit the downhills as best I could -- my frame of mind on the uphills, however, was that I was garbage and that it was costing me too much.
As I came around the end of the third or fourth lap I heard Trisha call out and suggest I lower my arms and quicken my cadence. Boom! I obliged and felt a lot stronger from the change. At the middle of the last lap I looked down at my watch, saw that I had about 800m to go and decided to start the drive for home. This last stretch was mostly uphill and I said "bring it on!" With 200m to go, I shifted into "kick mode" and gave it a good go to the finish.
Overall, relatively pleased to be around 30' for the race. Felt like I had a decent kick over the last 200m (thanks to Herb calling that out coming around the bend for the last time). 'twas nice racing in a carnival atmosphere, again. Also nice to have "fans" along the course. Thanks Trisha and team! Race website and full results here: http://sundodger-invitational.runnerspace.com/
The pre-race goal was to be consistent (in pace/lap) -- maybe break 30 minutes? Try to get as close to 30' as possible and have a strong position within the team. As the race developed, I conceived that I was running steadily, not too hard, though not too relaxed, either. I think there was a net zero difference in the amount of people I passed related to anyone who might have passed me. I tried to focus on my breathing and in trying to hit the downhills as best I could -- my frame of mind on the uphills, however, was that I was garbage and that it was costing me too much.
As I came around the end of the third or fourth lap I heard Trisha call out and suggest I lower my arms and quicken my cadence. Boom! I obliged and felt a lot stronger from the change. At the middle of the last lap I looked down at my watch, saw that I had about 800m to go and decided to start the drive for home. This last stretch was mostly uphill and I said "bring it on!" With 200m to go, I shifted into "kick mode" and gave it a good go to the finish.
Overall, relatively pleased to be around 30' for the race. Felt like I had a decent kick over the last 200m (thanks to Herb calling that out coming around the bend for the last time). 'twas nice racing in a carnival atmosphere, again. Also nice to have "fans" along the course. Thanks Trisha and team! Race website and full results here: http://sundodger-invitational.runnerspace.com/
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SPLITZ
800m @ 2'59" 1k @ 3'36" -6m elev 1mi @ 5'52" (2nd 800m @ 2'53") 2k @ 7'24" (3'48") +1m elev 3k @ 11'05" (3'41") -10m elev 2mi @ 12'02" (6'10"/mi) ~0 elev gain, uphill @ end of mi 4k @ 15'11" (4'06") +15m 3mi @ 18'16" (6'14"/mi) ~min elev gain 5k @ 19'07" (3'56") -10m 6k @ 23'12" (4'05") +9m |
4mi @ 24'39" (6'23"/mi) ~min elev gain
7k @ 26'57" (3'45") -8m 5mi/8k @ 30'36"8 (3'39", 5'57"8) +8m <-- nice strong finish over the final uphill segment. final 800m @ ~2'35"-40" Teams: SRC, Trinity Western U., Simon Fraser, Southern Oregon, Western Washington U., Northwest Nazarene, Lewis Clark, Concordia (Ore.), Alaska Fairbanks, Central Washington, Seattle Pacific U., SRC, Whitworth, Pacific Lutheran U., George Fox, Whitman, Spokane CC, University of Puget Sound, Pacific (Ore.), Everett CC, other, "unattached" athletes, colleges and clubs, including Club Northwest. |
Notable Cross Country season workouts
What a week! The 23rd thru the 29th of October:
Running under the spell of stunning fall weather.
A jam-packed week -- almost 107ks (66.5mi) worth of running in which I was able to manage all aches and pains. I didn’t blow up after or during any of the harder workouts, all while enjoying some of the most consistent autumn scenery of recent memory. Tuesday’s run on Cougar, Wednesday’s SRC hill workout, or Saturday’s tempo effort proved to be the real tests of my pain threshold -- a fartlek workout over the hilly trails along the typical ~13k Cougar route, an SRC hill interval Wednesday workout in the Mt. Baker neighborhood, and Saturday's speedy tempo out of, then back into the fog along the lake shore.
Day-by-day highlights
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Monday, FLB5 -- congratulatory video for WPR from the Beacon Hill Cat Cave down to Columbia City for the Flying Lion Brewery 5 (FLB5).
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Tuesday, Cougar Mountain -- typical route, circle back up into the n’hood to snap some photos of the Emerald City and Lake Washington cast against a backdrop of the Olympic Mountains. Wednesday, Cascadia Hills in the darkness and a threat of rain with the SRC crowd.
Thursday, Seward Park, stroll from the middle of the Bailey Peninsula out to Genesee park and back to steal a snap of the waning golden hour looking south towards Tahoma.
Friday, Lincoln Park, comatose from the autumn porn.
Saturday, Lake Washington Blvd, Fog, fall flavors, and a fiery sunrise all along the lake shore with teammates Paul M., Samir, and Trisha.
Sunday, Cougar Mountain (again), Trail series Aid Station 1, post shift shakeout with Joe Kelly
Wet wknd tempo on the Burke-Gilman.
 Damage done to my upper bits courtesy of the rain, the wind, and the falling temps. □
Four brave souls showed up at Gas Works Park at 8:30am on a damp, dark, and dreary Saturday for the SRC weekend workout. Joe C., Ryan Parker, Paul Mannino, and A-A, the blogger in chief, laced up their road flats and took to the Burke-Gilman trail from Gas Works for a 9mi tempo at marathon pace. The agreed upon plan was to start the workout after a 3mi warm-up to U-Village, head east, do 3mi out, then 6mi all the way back to the Gas Works parking lot. Add on a cool-down and that's almost a 15mi day. Yeeee!
Joe and Paul did 9 miles at tempo, I did 15k (finished in a sizzling 58’26”), because metric, and Parker did somewhere around 9 after completing a restroom break within the last mile. Overall, 'twas a fast workout. Much faster than my marathon pace, anyway. And even a little faster than the 15k, enroute at Broad Street Run ‘09. When adding part of the cool-down it was my 2nd fastest 10miler ever? Heh. BONUS: looked up from my 1000yd gaze to say "hello!" to Dónal, clad in his beard and rain gear heading the opposite direction on the Burke while I was blazing back to Gas Works. Notes from the Merv run blog: 9 mi SS tempo @ marathon pace on the Burke warm-up from Gas Works Park to 25th ave NE at U-Village via the Burke-Gilman trail. after warm-up, started the tempo from just past 25th Ave NE with Joe C., Paul M., and Parker. |
Stayed in contact with Paul and Parker for about the first few ks, then stayed at my pre-determined pace -- ~4'/k.
turnaround point was just past 3miles (4.8k).1st lap: 4.92k @ 19'44"7, 4'00"/k, turnaround at (~3mi from 25th Ave NE light 2nd lap: 4.99k @ 19'14"9, 3'51"/k, just past 25th Ave NE on the way back. 3rd lap: 5.11k @ 19'53"0, 3'51"/k, into Gas Works parking lot, looped around back to start. other relevant data: avg. stride rate was 179spm, 9.6mph <--always feels funny to approach 10mph on a longer run. 21 October 2017. Burke-Gilman trail, Seattle, WA, USA. Route and workout details here. |
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splitz:
1k @ 4'03", 4'03"/km +11m 1mile @ 6'27"5, 4'00"8/km 2k @ (4'01") 8'04", 4'02"0/km +10m 3k @ (4'05") 12'09", 4'03"/km +2m 2mile @ (6'30"0) 12'57"5 4'01"6/km 4k @ (3'56") 16'05", 4'01"3/km -5m 3mile @ (6'15") 19'12"5 3'58"7/km 1st lap: 4.92k @ 19'44"7, 4'00"/k 5k @ (3'54") 19'59", 3'59"8/km -7m 6k @ (4'01") 24'00", 4'00"0/km 8m 4mile @ (6'30") 25'42"5 3'59"6x/km 7k @ (3'58") 27'58", 3'59"7/km 5m 1st half, 7.5k @ 29'55", 3'59"3/km |
8k @ (3'50") 31'48", 3'58"5/km -5m
5mile @ (6'30") 31'50"0 3'57"4/km 9k @ (3'47") 35'37", 3'57"4/km -15m 6mile @ (6'17"5) 38'07"5 3'56"9/km 2nd lap: (4.99) 9.91k @ (19'14"9) 38'59"6, 3'56"1/k 10k @ (3'45") 39'22", 3'56"2/km -7m 11k @ (4'01") 43'01", 3'54"6/km 6m 7mile @ (6'20"5) 44'27"5 3'56"8/km 12k @ (4'00") 47'01", 3'55"1/km 5m 8mile @ (6'15"5) 50'42"5 3'56"3/km 13k @ (3'48") 50'49", 3'54"5/km -3m 14k @ (3'49") 54'38", 3'54"1/km -7m 9mile @ (6'05"5) 56'47"5 3'55"3/km 15k @ (3'48") 58'26", 3'53"7/km -4m 2nd half, 7.5k @ 28'31", 3'48"1/km, negative split. nice. |
Running on tired legs -- Cougar Mountain and Cascadia Hills edition
24 October 2017, run streak day 43. (week 6+1day).
Post-workday run on Cougar on a stunning day. The air was clean, the trails were soft, and the creeks had a peaceful trickle to them. October running is the best running -- don’t you dare let anyone try to tell you differently.
After some quick leg swings at the EV parked on 166th wy, I trotted into the woods along the Military Rd. trail, then over to the Sky Country trail. As I approached the first foot bridge I could already hear the gentle trickle from the creek. This sound brought a smile to my face. A super dry summer completely turned off the tap on the various streams and creeks on the mountain. Running to the soundtrack of a living forest is an absolute treat to experience.
On the contrary, running to the soundtrack of “screaming” hamstrings and inflamed achilles tendons can be absolute misery and for sure a reason to postpone a mid-week, “shakeout” run, altogether. But, hey, this is what this resurgent cross country season is all about: running on tired legs. putting in the WERK! No pain, no pain! We out here and we runnin’ these hillz!
Fast forward up Coyote Creek and over to, up, and down Shangri-La to Protector, then Tibbets Marsh and then Creek. Across Clay Pit and cruised across the E Fork Trail, down to Coal Creek Falls, and up, up, up Cave Hole. I did the usual route through Autumntopia in around about 68 minutes and set some PRs (and a CR!) along the way [https://www.strava.com/activities/1245609007]. Felt a pretty tough effort. Maybe went a little too hard considering this was the day before an SRC Wednesday workout. Meh.
Post-workday run on Cougar on a stunning day. The air was clean, the trails were soft, and the creeks had a peaceful trickle to them. October running is the best running -- don’t you dare let anyone try to tell you differently.
After some quick leg swings at the EV parked on 166th wy, I trotted into the woods along the Military Rd. trail, then over to the Sky Country trail. As I approached the first foot bridge I could already hear the gentle trickle from the creek. This sound brought a smile to my face. A super dry summer completely turned off the tap on the various streams and creeks on the mountain. Running to the soundtrack of a living forest is an absolute treat to experience.
On the contrary, running to the soundtrack of “screaming” hamstrings and inflamed achilles tendons can be absolute misery and for sure a reason to postpone a mid-week, “shakeout” run, altogether. But, hey, this is what this resurgent cross country season is all about: running on tired legs. putting in the WERK! No pain, no pain! We out here and we runnin’ these hillz!
Fast forward up Coyote Creek and over to, up, and down Shangri-La to Protector, then Tibbets Marsh and then Creek. Across Clay Pit and cruised across the E Fork Trail, down to Coal Creek Falls, and up, up, up Cave Hole. I did the usual route through Autumntopia in around about 68 minutes and set some PRs (and a CR!) along the way [https://www.strava.com/activities/1245609007]. Felt a pretty tough effort. Maybe went a little too hard considering this was the day before an SRC Wednesday workout. Meh.
Running on sick legs -- mile and a half repeats along Lake Washington.
27 September 2017, run streak day 15. (start of week 3).
SRC - XC practice from Lake Wash trail near Mt. Baker Boating Center
4x1.5mi (~3' recovery betwixt the intervals).
[recap: crushed this fun workout. Though under the weather with a head cold, I kept up the effort, mentally and physically. ran the first interval a smart distance from the lead pack, but in a definite, detached place in between the lead and chase packs. the last three intervals were run with Parker and Bryan and sometimes with Eric hanging on.
target ~3'35"-3'40"/k over the ~2.4k loop <--~V02 Max, ~5k race pace
1st 1.5mi interval
1) 2.39k @ 8'23"7 (3'30"8/k), includes: 75s 400m, 2'40" 800m, 3'25" 1000m, 4'10" 1200m, and 5'35" 1600m
490m recovery 3'03"1
2nd 1.5mi interval
2) 2.40k @ 8'37"2 (3'35"5/k)
430m recovery 3'03"0
3rd 1.5mi interval
3) 2.41k @ 8'51"2 (3'40"4/k) <-- stopped watch late
380m recovery 2'55"8
4th 1.5mi interval
4) 2.40k @ 8'50"5 (3'41"0/k)
FUN WORKOUT! Despite my being a little under the weather. Was strong. Left feeling like I could have gone a little harder. Was pretty close to the target. Did a good job on that uphill in the last 1/4.
Add to season-end comments/reflections about toughness developed by persevering through the tough days -- dark, pained, sick, sore, melancholy, rejected, etc... more deets here...
SRC - XC practice from Lake Wash trail near Mt. Baker Boating Center
4x1.5mi (~3' recovery betwixt the intervals).
[recap: crushed this fun workout. Though under the weather with a head cold, I kept up the effort, mentally and physically. ran the first interval a smart distance from the lead pack, but in a definite, detached place in between the lead and chase packs. the last three intervals were run with Parker and Bryan and sometimes with Eric hanging on.
target ~3'35"-3'40"/k over the ~2.4k loop <--~V02 Max, ~5k race pace
1st 1.5mi interval
1) 2.39k @ 8'23"7 (3'30"8/k), includes: 75s 400m, 2'40" 800m, 3'25" 1000m, 4'10" 1200m, and 5'35" 1600m
490m recovery 3'03"1
2nd 1.5mi interval
2) 2.40k @ 8'37"2 (3'35"5/k)
430m recovery 3'03"0
3rd 1.5mi interval
3) 2.41k @ 8'51"2 (3'40"4/k) <-- stopped watch late
380m recovery 2'55"8
4th 1.5mi interval
4) 2.40k @ 8'50"5 (3'41"0/k)
FUN WORKOUT! Despite my being a little under the weather. Was strong. Left feeling like I could have gone a little harder. Was pretty close to the target. Did a good job on that uphill in the last 1/4.
Add to season-end comments/reflections about toughness developed by persevering through the tough days -- dark, pained, sick, sore, melancholy, rejected, etc... more deets here...
Sunday Mass at the Church of the Long Run
A glorious Sunday run up along the Chuckanut Ridge from the Interurban Trail in Bellingham, WA. Praise to (the) Salal (trail) and Glory Be to Chuckanut Ridge. AMEN! ☦☮☯️☸✡🙏🌲😺
Run in the Chuckanuts. Followed the Chuckanut Half Mar'y map. didn't get lost. woot!
<move, str^v^>
25.2k @ 2h55'31". 8 October 2017. Bellingham, WA, USA.
Run in the Chuckanuts. Followed the Chuckanut Half Mar'y map. didn't get lost. woot!
<move, str^v^>
25.2k @ 2h55'31". 8 October 2017. Bellingham, WA, USA.
Cheasty Blvd and Jeff. Park golf course workout with the SRC Crowd
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Met up with the Seattle Running Club Wednesday group for the planned, mid-week workout. We were off the track on this day and out on the roads and dirt trails along Cheasty Blvd and Jefferson Park golf course in Beacon Hill. The workout was a twist on a hill repeat workout: 4-3-2-1 (minutes) on the hills, then 10 minutes at an estimated 10k pace.
My solo warm-up started from the Beacon Hill Cat Cave (BHCC), continued through the woods, across Columbian Way and down to the group at the foot of the Mt. Baker light rail stop. After a rundown of the workout, the group did a short jog to the "start line." Each four of the hill reps started from the cross walk at Cheasty Blvd and Della St. The 1st rep was a 4 minute effort uphill at a steady, hard pace. I followed alongside the lead runners for most of the rep until eventually they broke away. Finished this rep in just under 1k. The recovery for this and all hill reps was a jog back down to the "start line." |
The 2nd rep was a 3 minute effort uphill, also at a steady, hard pace. I started at the same time as the lead group, let them break away, and tried to find my own pace.
The 3rd and 4th reps were about the same in their intensities -- hard effort over 2 minutes and then 1 minute. I felt reasonably spent at the end of the last hill rep and continued up the hill for the next phase of the workout. Started phase two of the workout after about a 5 minute, active recovery (easy run up the hill). This phase was to be a 10 minute interval at 10k effort starting somewhere around the southwest corner of Jeff Park golf course. 16 August 2017. Beacon Hill, Seattle, WA, USA. Route and workout details here. |
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After work normal run from Lower Woodland Park and Green Lake. Planned ~16ks at a comfortable pace to stay on target to hit 3000 by week's end, BAY-BEEEEEE!
'twas an excellent run over the dark & the snow of the Lower Woodland. I got into a nice rhythm on the second lap of Green Lake and used the dirt track to pad some distance into the run. This also helped me reset and crush that CR from the track up to 50th and past the start/finish of the 2k loop! |
Route and workout details here: www.strava.com/activities/1329872604
CR Segment info, here: https://www.strava.com/segments/15021705 |
 Ah yeah! Keepin' up the merv's running logbook since circa 2005.
Chasin' the Glory and scorching some 40 second repeats on the sizzling oval at Garfield High w/ local athlete and Seattle U. coach Caroline Austin.
2 August 2017. The Central District, Seattle, WA, USA. This was a planned track work at Garfield H.S. with the Seattle Running Club. Total distance (including warm-up/cool-down, reps, and recovery) was 10.1k @ 50’40.2”. I warmed-up from Jimi Hendrix park through the c.d. on the way to the workout, then onto the Garfield H.S. track, plus one lap and some striders. The workout, as described by Trisha was 12x40 sec @ race pace w/ 80 sec active recovery. The idea was to run each rep fast, but controlled. Also, coach suggested we put an emphasis on the recovery -- i.e., don't compromise the end of the workout by not taking the full 80s recovery between reps early in the workout. |
 Brought the Flash Yellow Asics Hyperspeeds to the track. Ooooo Weeeee!
Now to the effort! After a few striders, I jumped straight into the workout with Caroline and a svelte sir named Chris. Chris called out the time on the first rep, as yours truly here fumbled trying to hit the "lap" function on his watch. We cruised through the first 40 second rep and I had absolutely no idea how far we had run. My mind was a little absent early on, I suppose. Sidenote: I didn't have my heart rate monitor on, though I'm sure I was already hitting somewhere around 170bpm. [internal monologue] okay, deep breaths, deep breaths, deep breaths.
Any-hoo, before the blink of an eye -- the bat of a lash, if you will, we were straight through a quarter of the workout -- 3 entire reps. It took us whiz kidz a few moments to comprehend that three by 12 does, indeed, equal one quarter. Ha [palm to face]. But, hey! A quarter down! Alright! After the next couple of steady reps, Chris dropped back. Caroline and I kept up a seemingly even pace: ~3:08/km (5:03/mi)! through the next 6 or 7 reps! Yeee! We clipped off segments of around about 235m, 210m, 225m, 215m, 210m, 210m, 215m before blazing the last two, another 220m and finally a ~240m segment over the last 40 second rep. Nice work, team! [Exchanged a high five -- and one, down low on the flip side!] |
SUMMARY: Overall, it was a treat to run w/ some fast and fit peeps. My form felt relaxed and relatively with-it. And, *bonus*, it was prurtty cool to learn that Caroline competed at the U.S. nationals back at the end of June in Sacramento [TRACKBOT CONFIRMED -- see women’s 3000m steeplechase]. I feel like that added a little bit of validity to the workout, for sho! And ya should know by now that I kinda have a thing for steeplechasers (Hey there, Delilah! -- ‘member that song?!)
Hoping to continue grooving on these weekly workouts w/ the S.R.C. crowd.
Alrighty! Thanks for watching, gang! Just give me moments. Uuuver and oout. ✌🙏💃
Route and workout details here.
<[filed to]: Workout of the Week, W.O.W., TRACKBOT, TRACKGeek, Steeplechase, SRC, Once A Runner />
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Hoping to continue grooving on these weekly workouts w/ the S.R.C. crowd.
Alrighty! Thanks for watching, gang! Just give me moments. Uuuver and oout. ✌🙏💃
Route and workout details here.
<[filed to]: Workout of the Week, W.O.W., TRACKBOT, TRACKGeek, Steeplechase, SRC, Once A Runner />
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Lap 3. Heading for beach promenade.
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Magnuson Series: Spring into Action 15k.
1h 4'37" over 15k on Magnuson Series course. Wet. Went out a bit hard in the bunch start, in chase of the glory with a herd of 5k and 10k runners. Ran side-by-side with a h.s. girl during the 1st lap. She was only running the 5k. Hunted a few other runners who, unbeknownst to me where only doing one lap of the 5k course. Womp womp. Felt pretty controlled throughout the race. Ended up running the fastest k on the last lap (4:04). A podium finish behind a couple of fit dudes was a worthy accomplishment on this sloppy Saturday in mid-March. Route and workout details here. 
Lap 3. A few strides earlier -- [zoom into puddle] "sploosh," "sploosh."
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 1h 18' over 13.1k up, around, and over the trails of Cougar.
Easy shakeout in the rain, and wet snow, and drier snow (up higher) out on a Sunday on Cougar. Planned to do typical clockwise loop of the park from the EV parked at the entrance to the Belvedere development. Felt smooth over the dicey footing. Made 100% of the turns and fell only once! Barked at a couple other hobby joggers following their unleashed pup, ONLY ONCE. (WTH?) |
Made a little rap mantra while coming around the backside of the route: We out on Cougar Mountain and we out here in the snow (snow)! We out on Cougar Mountain and we out here in the snow (snow)! We out on Cougar Mountain and we out here in the snow and this sexy albedo had me thinking "like, WOAH!"
After the run, brought the tripod back into the woods for a quick and vane photoshoot. Snapped some photos as I ran up a small incline past the first footbridge otw to the Sky Country TH. (see photos, below). Route and workout details here. 
Otw to Sky Country TH on Cougar Mtn. Bellevue, WA, USA. 26 Feb 2017.
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Monday night felt like a nice time to explore the Red Town trails on Cougar.
I ended up adding ~4k to my journey and was just fine with the added effort and elevation climb. The fancily named "DeLeo Wall Trail" hooked me in for a fun detour off of Cougar's Wildside Trail. As I expected, this "wall" would mean a decent ascent over a short distance -- 12.3% gain over the 1k horizontal distance. Took it easy around the backside of the loop.
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Coming down and off of the wall, I accidentally turned off of the loop trail too soon, and, thus, added the extra distance meandering around Newcastle. Oh wells. Made it back to the EV easily enough after trekking back up the wall once more for good measure -- the front side, this time.
Bonus: embedded the code for the Strava post, here! Yeeee! 26 June 2017, Cougar Mountain, Washington, USA. Route and workout details here. |
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I finally made it out for a run around Green Lake.
Shortly following my appointment at Alpine PT, I dropped off my bag, clothes, etc... in the EV parked just north of Lake Union and headed for the Green Lake Loop. This was my fourth appointment with the fine team at Alpine PT. S/o to Eli for the route guidance from Fremont up to Green Lake. 'twas a fairly normal experience -- no acrid aromas spewing from the lake nor poorly formed, hobby joggers heal-striking and bounding their way around the lake. It was dark and sloppy and my wet feet were not happy with the energy-sucking muck. Almost turned off too soon before completing the loop, though I course corrected and still finished in a respectable time for an easy effort (for a hobby jogger). Bonuses: There were plenty of positive replies to my eager greetings as I crossed the paths of other runners. I topped the list on multiple segments on the route (see right) And, AND!, the fancy shmancy Suunto Ambit Sport 3 now outputs a fancy shmancy little map on the LED display. (see slideshow for deets). Woo-hoo! 20 February 2017. Green Lake, Seattle, WA, USA. Route and workout details here. |
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1h 5' over 13.5k from Mt. Si th in North Bend
Cavalierly left my trusty headlamp in my pack at the trailhead and embarrassingly tip-toed in the dark down from the haystacks. I felt a tad spry on this Thursday and thought it would be a good idea to ride out to Mt. Si, run up the old trail, and see just how far my fitness level had declined since my last jaunt up to the haystacks about 15 months ago. Though this was a later afternoon start in October, I was confident I could get to the top and back down without the need of my headlamp. The lamp is a terrific tool and it is absolutely necessary for illuminating the path, particularly on dark, mountain trails. I know the Mt. Si old trail fairly well. There are a few intersections with other trails that offer connections to mountains in the vicinity and signs indicating the distance to the summit and to these connections. |
I navigated easily past these landmarks on the way up and reached the top just under an hour from starting. I took a couple deep breaths of the cleaner mountain air, looked down briefly at North Bend and the surrounding peaks, then braced for the true challenge: the ride down.
With very limited daylight left at 7pm at the haystacks, I increasingly relied on my tactile sense of feeling for the well-worn trail and also on my watch's light-up functionality. I very slooooowwwwly got my butt off the mountain, with a couple episodes of double-backing, internal, GPS calibration, and nearly (in my Dan Savage voice) "freaking the f*ck out." Route and workout details here and here. |
Sloppy Sunday on Squak
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2h 2' over 15k from Squak Mountain in Issaquah
Started the trail run from about 1120hrs underneath a mostly sunny sky. We (me and V) started up the Margaret's Way trail for a counterclockwise circuit of Squak Mountain. The plan was to mimic a route I had done last June. The trail was very sloppy on the first bit of climbing up to around Tibbetts Creek. The switchbacks got more frequent past that part and the trail started to dry out. At the intersection of Perimeter Loop, Chybinski Loop, and West Peak, we decided to head down the Perimeter Loop Trail. We climbed a bit more after that turn, then descended down to the connection with the Bullit Gorge trail. From there, we ran down to the intersection with the Squak Mountain forest road and began a climb up to Central Peak. That climb was mostly fast hiking rather than uphill running. The gradient on the forest road was pretty gnarly. The weather also started to show its teeth -- sun turned to clouds, that became sleet and then steady drizzle. The temperature started to drop and my hands and forearms started to numb. From Central Peak we continued toward the Bullit Fireplace and decided to run up to West Peak. |
Descending from West Peak, we found the sign for the Margaret's Way trail and headed back to the start.
All in all, the workout was satisfying. A good effort, up and down some silly climbs and depressions. And, bonus, we made it out just before the skies opened up. Not too shabby for a Sunday stroll in the Issaquah Highlands. Route and workout details here. |
Eating hills for breakfast out at Cougar Mountain
Elevation profile from the run on Cougar Mountain, Bellevue, WA, USA 27 Feb 2016
2h 14' 38" over 20k from Sky Country on Cougar Mountain
Set out with a couple of my fellow hiking degenerates (Frodo Barefoot and Diggity Dog) on a route designed by our crafty route expert and hill crushing compatriot, Vazul. As expected, this path would take us around the perimeter of the park, up to the highest peak of Cougar, and up and over some of the bumps and climbs on the mountain. The conditions for a run today were near ideal -- on the cooler side (~11°), damp, no wind (or maybe a slight breeze that could not penetrate the forest), and cloudy, with an abundance of light that filtered through the wilderness.
As we meandered up the familiar parts north of Clay Pit Rd, I started to gauge my fitness for the day. I was feeling comfortable over the hills: all of the limbs held up nicely on the ascents, but, more importantly, could handle the pounding on the declines (that Shangri-La trail downhill is a beast of a drop and I caaaarussshhhhed it!). Once we crossed back over Clay Pit and made our way onto Shy Bear trail, I could tell that these constant ups and downs would continue for the duration of the run. This concerned me a little since I'm still touch-and-go with my right ankle.
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The braking on descents is absolutely what affects the strength of my lower limbs the most. Running down hills is probably (definitely?) one of my favorite athletic activities. However, when the trail quickly turns, or there's another reason to brake suddenly/unnaturally, that's when I feel all of the forces thrust into the weak parts of my ankle. Simultaneously, I clench my face muscles until I have regained momentum and realize that my ankle is somehow still attached to the rest of my body.
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The pounding on this day was quite regular, but grew ever welcome as I came to the conclusion that my body was doing an adequate job handling the stresses. On the contrary, and just as rapidly, my confidence was diminishing about my route finding ability. There were multiple times and multiple climbs that I had recognized on the route -- not from runs past, but, in actual fact, this run, today. As in, I had seen these hills on today's run. I was possibly running in circles.
After finding a sign to a familiar trail, I called an end to the exploring of this aptly named "Deceiver Trail" and decided to head back to the TH. The watch 'crapped' out at about 18' and ~2.5k from the end. That was annoying, but thankfully I could complete the trail readout on the MapMyRun website after exporting the .tcx file via Movescount.
Overall, very rewarding effort in the wilderness today. The air was extra clean, the aromas of spring were abound, and the soft trails provided a blissful footing throughout the 2-plus hour effort.
Just give me moments...
Route and workout details here.
Set out with a couple of my fellow hiking degenerates (Frodo Barefoot and Diggity Dog) on a route designed by our crafty route expert and hill crushing compatriot, Vazul. As expected, this path would take us around the perimeter of the park, up to the highest peak of Cougar, and up and over some of the bumps and climbs on the mountain. The conditions for a run today were near ideal -- on the cooler side (~11°), damp, no wind (or maybe a slight breeze that could not penetrate the forest), and cloudy, with an abundance of light that filtered through the wilderness.
As we meandered up the familiar parts north of Clay Pit Rd, I started to gauge my fitness for the day. I was feeling comfortable over the hills: all of the limbs held up nicely on the ascents, but, more importantly, could handle the pounding on the declines (that Shangri-La trail downhill is a beast of a drop and I caaaarussshhhhed it!). Once we crossed back over Clay Pit and made our way onto Shy Bear trail, I could tell that these constant ups and downs would continue for the duration of the run. This concerned me a little since I'm still touch-and-go with my right ankle.
###
The braking on descents is absolutely what affects the strength of my lower limbs the most. Running down hills is probably (definitely?) one of my favorite athletic activities. However, when the trail quickly turns, or there's another reason to brake suddenly/unnaturally, that's when I feel all of the forces thrust into the weak parts of my ankle. Simultaneously, I clench my face muscles until I have regained momentum and realize that my ankle is somehow still attached to the rest of my body.
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The pounding on this day was quite regular, but grew ever welcome as I came to the conclusion that my body was doing an adequate job handling the stresses. On the contrary, and just as rapidly, my confidence was diminishing about my route finding ability. There were multiple times and multiple climbs that I had recognized on the route -- not from runs past, but, in actual fact, this run, today. As in, I had seen these hills on today's run. I was possibly running in circles.
After finding a sign to a familiar trail, I called an end to the exploring of this aptly named "Deceiver Trail" and decided to head back to the TH. The watch 'crapped' out at about 18' and ~2.5k from the end. That was annoying, but thankfully I could complete the trail readout on the MapMyRun website after exporting the .tcx file via Movescount.
Overall, very rewarding effort in the wilderness today. The air was extra clean, the aromas of spring were abound, and the soft trails provided a blissful footing throughout the 2-plus hour effort.
Just give me moments...
Route and workout details here.
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86 minutes over 14.8k from the Sky Country th.
Sunday 21 February 2016: Run started at around 10:45am. "Emotional run over the hillier trails of Cougar Mountain" "Or, HMJB while I dropkick every last one of these disobedient dog owners all over this trail." Seattle dog caretakers, let’s talk about your issue with the leash laws of this world – FOLLOW THEM!!! Okay, good talk. Sunday, mid-morning I set out for Cougar Mountain’s Sky Country Trail Head in Bellevue. The plan was to do some of the steeper sections for about 80-90mins. The conditions were nice for the workout: overcast, on the chilly side, light breeze, and just enough dampness in the atmosphere. After some active stretching, I set off for the th. Grabbed a paper map quickly so that I could actually follow a planned course today. Headed east towards Fred’s Railroad trail, going South, connected to the Quarry trail. Did this loop twice up to Cave Hole trail – first time was via the Red Town trail, second, the Coal Creek Falls trail. These were very nice climbs and descents. I enjoyed the added danger that the hidden turns and the steepness of the gradient provided. Running in light definitely helped negotiate these challenges. This light, however, was also enjoyed by many other walkers, hikers, and runners on this Sunday in late February. And a good number of these walkers, hikers, and runners were accompanied by adorable poodles, and muts, and terriers, and shepherds of various breeds. A healthy majority of them were even, get this, on a leash held by their caretakers. Yeah, so nothing to report there. Ha. Just kidding. I started kindly and in my best Seattle, passive-aggressive tongue, to remind the owners of the fault of their ways. This “politeness” was used to address the first 3 or 5 dogs I saw off leash. As the numbers climbed, and my run got longer and more challenging, my kindness diminished to the point where I just straight-up told these jadrools that they are being disrespectful to those of us on the trail who are not with dogs and do not wish to be in a situation where they have to pull a furry and rambunctious, floppy eared pup from the fleshy part of his or her thigh. AHHHH! Just leash your pets, people!!!! 
Sky Country, TH, Bellevue, WA, USA. photo courtesy of tmber.com
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I did my absolute best to keep my cool over the course of this workout and enjoy what was all-in-all a very fun run. I’m pretty sure that I might have had some help in maintaining a balanced demeanor and persisting to enjoy myself despite having to deal with all these Eastsiders. On this day, they decided, in unison, to expend every last ounce of their white privilege on the trails – with their 2.3 kids and 4 dogs and expensive outdoor gear that is never needed in this very suburban park.
About that help, yeah, Poppop Emo was totally with me to help calm me down. I even felt a little wind on my back as I ran up the hills. Once across the Clay Pit Rd. and up Klondike Swamp trail I encountered an old, white-haired gentlemen walking up the hill with a cane. Very impressed, I turned to the octo/nonagenarian and greeted him with a ‘hello,’ he responded with a thick, and slightly foreign sounding “oh, hello!” I asked how his hike was going and he mentioned that it was fine and “getting a little colder, isn’t it?” This was an ordinary enough comment, but he said it in a tone much how Poppop would have sounded. He had a huge grin on his face, I wished him a good day and a nice hike and continued on my way. It took me about three strides until I was overcome with my emotions. This older lad not only resembled Poppop’s physical appearance, but definitely his spirit, and the cadence of his speech. I could only think that if he were alive today or well into his 90s, he would be out in the wilderness, with a cane (or maybe w/o a cane), enjoying a walk, on a trail, outside, somewhere in the country that he loved so much. I completely forgot everything before that encounter. Knowing that Poppop came to me to greet me on my run made up for any of the emotional negativity previous to his appearance. He’s such an inspiration and will always be with me. Love you, Poppop! Just give me moments… Route and workout details here. Filed to: HMJB, leash laws, jadrools, fleshy part of the thigh, dog owners, white privilege, Eastsiders, the spirit of Poppop Emo |
Running from a rough day.60.5 minutes over 12.6k from the Kitty Lair.
Thursday 4 February 2016: Run started at around 5:40pm. Angrily started the trot from 3927 S Pearl over the hard pavement, and reached for any patches of dirt and every blade of soaked grass on the way to Seward Park. Felt smooth throughout the run and let my mind wander. Upon reaching the parking lot at the park, I noticed a relatively fit lad doing some very fancy stretches and wearing comparably fancy gear for this mild late afternoon. I was within 5m of him and before I could even say 'hello' he sprinted off to start his run. Turning back quickly, he asked how long the loop was. I replied, "about 2.5mi; 4k, I think." As he passed, I noticed his form -- his arms were clutched high and he was heal-striking -- unimpressive. Although, I was impressed that he was off so quickly despite the poor mechanics. I maintained my pace and observed our relative pace/distance to each other. I could feel my primeval senses kicking in as I prepared for a "chase" and still said "hey" to all of the other walkers/runners/ woggers on the trail this evening. Over the darkness covered path, the 'fancy' runner's white top was easy to track. I mimicked his line, which followed the shore loop's tangents, and monitored the pace on my watch, which varied between 4:35 - 4:15/km. |
At about half way through the loop I could tell I was gaining on him. What do ya know? Without much of an increase in pace, or feeling too taxed for the effort, I eventually caught him (Gonna pat myself on the back here as it was the first challenge that I overcame on this day of multiple challenges).
I asked about his workout and what his plans were and he mentioned that it was only for a single loop of the park. He asked about mine and I proudly/gleefully reported, "I've got 3miles in my legs already; just ran from home; going to do one lap and then head back." This bloke, Jo(h)n of Portland was in town for a conference. He's a family 'doc' and had lived here for a while before heading down Portland way. We exchanged other bits of info about each other as we ran side-by-side. Our paths diverged, we high-fived, and wished each other a good night. And on my way I went. Okay, that's a lie, I also blurted out that he should check my website to find my contact info in case he wanted to reconnect. (should probably stop doing this since it has led to absolutely zero contacts/acquaintances/connections/friends). Overall, I am so so, so thankful that I decided to stick with my post-work running plan. I needed this run to keep me sane. Overwhelming thought at the beginning of the run: is it time to pull the plug on this whole Northwest thing?!? Overwhelming thought at the end of the run: Life is so good! I am fortunate to be aliiiiiive, living where I am, being able to run. Yeeeeeeee! [said in an Alan Hansen, Scottish brogue] From the word 'go' today was just ca-la-mi-tous. First, the morning greeted me with a "kind and neighborly" note from one of my neighbors indicating that I was parking in the spot that they had "paid for." <-- umm, false (UGH, LET IT GO, A-A RON!). The workday wasn't too 'turrible,' but for some difficulty figuring out plans for later and then the weekend. Mix in an afternoon road rage episode from another "friendly" neighbor, and weird vibes from colleagues, and you have yourself a complete picture of what I view as a day full of multiple, universal challenges. SMDH. When life gets weird, embrace the weirdness, and run it off, yo! Just give me moments... Route and workout details here. |
Warm afternoon roll on & off the x-corridor trail
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Thursday 25 February 2016: Easy run on & off the x-corridor trail in Kirklandtown.
Ran from 520 Kirkland Way from 1855hrs. Typical, post-work jaunt up to the x-corridor trail. Headed north on the trail. Turned around past 5k at the intersection with NE 124th st in Totem Lake. On the way back, decided to turn into the woods just past the trail's intersection with 111th ave at Crestwoods park. Wound up the hills and into the park then onto the track at Kirkland Middle School. Decided to do an anti-clockwise circuit of the track (~96s), then make my way back to base. Running on a dirt track reminded me of that very early, pre-season meet at Washington Twp. HS back in 11th grade. I was still figuring out what that whole running-two-laps-of-the-track-at-full-speed thing was all about. This time of year typically brings me back to the good times in Spring track and the preparation for the racing/get fast season. Route and workout details here. |
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Unexpected adventure on run 'round the Southend
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Tuesday 16 February 2016: Evening run 'round the Southend 10.9k @ 53'54".
Route and workout details here. |
Rails to trails to rails?
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Thursday 11 February 2016: Kirkland Cross Corridor Tempo. 11.5k total, 8k @ tempo pace.
Rain run in the rain. Throttled up the pace over the last 500m up to the 9k mark. It was a nice night to be fast. As an aside... Seattle, let's talk about your headlamp problem -- these are for you to see, not to be seen. Wear them with that rule in mind and then you will direct your STEEL-MELTING-RAYS-OF-WHITE-LIGHT at the surface in front of you and not at the faces (and directly into the souls) of the runners coming toward you. Signed, your running pal, Aaron. Route and workout details here. |
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Snowshoe Lanham Lake
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2h 28' over 6.3k from Stevens Pass Nordic Ctr..
O&B, 6.3km snowshoe through a narrow and undulating trail to the alpine lake known as Lanham. Very nice conditions -- about 5º C at the start (reached 9º by the finish), slightly breezy at the lake, overcast w/ occasional appearances made my Mr. Sun). Route and workout details here. |
Solo Cougar in partial daylight.
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68 minutes over 11.4k from Novelty Hill.
Tuesday 2 February 2016: Run started at around 5:25pm. Crisp night with just enough of an afternoon glow to start the run without the use of any illuminating devices. Decided to do an anti-clockwise loop of the park + head up to the radio towers. Stumbled a couple times and ate the dirt -- knee scrapes are my jammy jam, yo. Also of note, up at Radio Tower peak, the Himalayan Blackberry bushes shed a bunch of stickers all up in my biz-nass (really grooving on the Broad City vibe of this post). New season 17th of Feb! Woot. Over and 'oute' Route and workout details here. |
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Short hill w.o. on the humps of the Rainier Valley36 minutes over 7.1k from the Kitty Lair.
Sunday 31 January 2016: Run started at around 4:30pm. Conditions were chilly, but dry and partly sunny. Felt a need to purge some of the excess energy I was feeling in the afternoon and decided to expend it up and down some of the hills in the Rainier Valley. Encountered a few friendly vagabonds hanging 'round Hitts Hill Park. One commented on her appreciation of my running -- always enjoy hearing positive comments along the journey. Route and workout details here. |
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Darkness in the Watershed65 minutes over 12.3k from Novelty Hill.
Thursday 28 January 2016: Run started at around 5:30pm. Great run for all of the senses:
Route and workout details here. |
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Rain running thru Kirkland & X-Kirkland Corridor62 minutes over 12.3k from the Kirkland Public Library.
Tuesday 26 January 2016: Slowly started the run (before a quick pit-stop at *bucks) around 4:40pm. There was still daylight! Ran up into the Crestwoods n'hood and did a little loop trying to find the corridor trail. Thankfully, a friendly neighbor directed me back on course. Also passed a child doing a barefooted "aeroplane goal celebration" in the middle of his street. When asked "why?," he replied, "no reason." I commended him on his barefooted-ness and continued my run. Ran parallel to the corridor until I found an opening, crossed a stream, then ventured north to just past the 405 overpass in Totem Lake. Trotted by a few other friendly walkers/runners/bicyclists on this lovely evening. While cooling down around the park in town, a passerby, equally pleased by the evening's conditions, commented how she was "hoping to do what I'm doing" in a little bit. Very friendly encounters today! [hashtag]runhappy! Route and workout details here. |
Cougar Mt Night Trail Rain Running in the Rain80 minutes over 12.1k from the TH at 166th Way SE.
Tuesday 19 January 2016: Run started at around 5:20pm. Conditions were dark and colder and rainier and soft. Once again, headlamps were used for illumination. The route altered slightly from last time, with a little wrinkle onto West Tibbetts Creek and Tibbetts Marsh Trails. Route and workout details here. |
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Cougar Mountain Nighttime Trail Run70 minutes over 11.4k from the TH at 166th Way SE.
Wednesday 13 January 2016: Run started at around 4:55pm. Dusk gave way to complete darkness underneath low hanging clouds that produced just the right amount of gentle precip. Besides the darkness, atmospheric conditions were very good for running. Headlamps illuminated the undulating trail that, as Mr. Frodo Barefoot aptly noted, was less soggy than times past. Route and workout details here. |
Redmond Watershed Preserve Nighttime Trail Run67 minutes over 12k from the cars parked in a n'hood on Novelty Hill.
Tuesday 5 January 2016: Tuesday Trot started at around 5:10pm from neighborhood off of Novelty Hill Rd. Dark. Decently chilly, slight drizzle. Very nice running conditions. Headlamp run in the Watershed Preserve via th off of NH Rd, east of driveway, out to Collin's Creek trail, back into preserve via Trillium and Pipeline trails and out via the South Parking lot. Nice shakeout and fun running with the lamp. Route and workout details here. |
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Lake Valhalla Snowshoe4h 30' over 14.5k from Hwy 2.
O&B, 14.5km snowshoe through the Snowy Pacific NW Wilderness from Hwy 2/NF-6700 to Smithbrook Trail out to Lake Valhalla. Mostly Cloudy conditions, temperature was just below freezing, but calm. Route and workout details here. |
600m repeats // Genesee Park
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5 x 600m w/ 400m recovery.
Genesse Park for the short loop. Setup the camera to film my stride. Super cool. Fittish Friday: 600m repeats at Genesee Park planned ~2:00/rep with ~full recovery (HR ~105BPM), 1st 600m @ 1'59"99, 2nd 600m @ 2'00"10, 3rd 600m @ 2'01"10, 4th 600m @ 2'02"02, 5th 600m (reverse route) 1'50"22 rocked that last one. the first four were in the anti-clockwise direction. uphill a bit at the start and at the end. kind of a tough w/o in that regard. coming downhill at the end for the 5th was bomb -- so fast. |
Trail Runs in the Pacific Northwest
Cedar Mountain "10mi" route + Peak Trail + Lake Youngs Trail
O&B on Coal Creek Trail: Coal Creek Pkwy/Forest Rd to the Red Town Trail
Squak Mountain - Cougar Mountain corridor. 2 peaks
Tiger Mtn Trail to Poo Poo Point loop back to TMT th
Solitude on the Powder River Shoreline Trail, outside of Baker City, OR
'Chutes and Ladders' Hill workout™ on the Seward Park peninsula
Tempo Trail Workouts:
O&B on Coal Creek Trail: Coal Creek Pkwy/Forest Rd to the Red Town Trail
Squak Mountain - Cougar Mountain corridor. 2 peaks
Tiger Mtn Trail to Poo Poo Point loop back to TMT th
Solitude on the Powder River Shoreline Trail, outside of Baker City, OR
'Chutes and Ladders' Hill workout™ on the Seward Park peninsula
Tempo Trail Workouts:
This week in 2006...
From merv's running log entry (merv.stanford.edu), 11 March 2006:
Vineland, NJ, USA
Distance: 6.7k, Duration: 33'05", Pace: 4'57"/km
Vineland, NJ, USA
Distance: 6.7k, Duration: 33'05", Pace: 4'57"/km
- warmest day of the year. approx 24C. ran at 1300
home to sanford to hance bridge to venezia to siena to whispering woods way to dante to cornucopia to la's house.
felt a little winded. longest run outside in a while. i guess i needed to adjust to the warm weather. it felt really hot. knees felt good.