I Think My Dad Ran Mt Washington.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. What better way to create a memorial than to run up a mountain at 54 years old, the same age as my father was when he died. Besides that, it was the same month and on Father’s day weekend.

My father worked hard all his life in construction. Most families back then felt it was important to eat large calorie meals to fuel the body. This usually meant Red meat, potatoes and lots of fried foods. As a result, the men in my family supported fairly large bellies, we called them construction guts and my Grandmother seemed quite proud of the fact that she fed them well.

In later years, my father tried to control his weight issues but ended up with a consistent yo-yo pattern of losing and gaining weight. Due to his life style and diet, it seems he aged quickly as I remember him looking and acting old. To me he appeared feeble and weak the last few years of his life. Up until the end we never hugged and never said I love you. I am not sure why because we were a close family.

I was 35 when he died and by the time I was 40, I was working toward a decent construction gut of my own. I hated to admit it, but I was following his footsteps, though I claimed I never would. How is it we lose track of our promises and blindly slide to a place we swore we would never be?

In January 2001 on my 46th birthday, I stood in front of the mirror and saw my father’s image staring back at me. I was showing signs of the family trait …… round belly and bellowing love handles. A lone tear trickled down my cheek as a vision of my kids burying their dad at 54 years old, flashed into my mind. It brought to the surface, over ten years of unresolved pent up emotions. I’m not telling you I cried that day, but I’m also not telling you I didn’t.

That was the year I started running. Though it was not the only reason, my health was a factor in that decision. All my kids ran Track and Cross Country , so what better way to spend time with them and work on my health at the same time.

Eight years later and here I am planning on toeing the line to run 7.6 miles up a 6000foot mountain for no other reason than to create a memorial to my dad and prove to myself that I am willing to do what ever it takes to be around for my own kids.

My first stumbling block was not getting picked in the lottery for 2010. I spent all winter dreaming and planning for this event and it appeared that it wasn’t happening after all. It left a big hole of disappointment but I figured some things are just not meant to be.

I belong to a track club and a few weeks later they advertised their own lottery for ten available racing slots. I entered and became one of the lucky ones (or unlucky depending on how you look at it). I had a slot and the only requirement was to provide a volunteer for race day.

Ironically, my volunteer was my own son. In essence my son was allowing my Father’s son the opportunity to run Mt Washington as a memorial to his father. How cool is that?

I trained hard for the next couple of months and the time just dragged by. I told everyone that I was going to finish this race whether I run, walk or crawl to the finish. What I didn’t tell them is how confident I was.

I trained on the highest setting of my treadmill, I ran mile long hills, I did numerous quarter mile hill repeats, I was not only ready in my own mind but I was going to conquer this mountain with vengeance. I had never felt so ready for a race…….well until a week before, then I was a bit apprehensive and some glad I didn’t tell everyone I was going to kill this race. At this point I was admitting to myself that I might have to slow my pace a bit to accommodate the steady climb.

Finally race day appeared and I was standing near the rear of a large anxious group of runners waiting for that cannon to fire. I was surprisingly calm as visions of me leisurely running up the mountain flickered into my head. Even the 90 degree temp, the beating rays of sunshine and the beads of sweat already forming on my forehead, did not cause me to second think about my intended performance.

I didn’t really have much of a plan other than being realistic enough to understand I may have to slow to a walk for some of the steeper sections. I had hill trained at 10-13 minute mile pace and figured I would be a little bit slower here because of the length of the race. My goal was, 13:30 mile pace as an average which seemed easily obtainable to me.

As the group of runners finally started pushing forward from the starting line, I enjoyed the two hundred feet or so of downhill grade and smiled as I passed many runners. I felt good and it seemed I would surprise myself at the finish.

The first hint that this majestic mountain was in charge came after the easy 200 foot down hill start at only three quarters of a mile into the race. My heart rate was spiking and I was struggling to suck in enough oxygen at the pace I was running. I began to feel like I underestimated things a bit as myself and hundreds of other runners were forced to slow to a power walk instead of a run before the end of the very first mile.

As I shuffle ran the second mile my focus had quickly changed from the conqueror to more a survival mode. Instead of picking the steepest parts of the grade to walk, I was picking the points of lesser grade to run.

The intimidation of this relentless hill really hit home when I passed an elite runner at mile three and he was running back down the mountain. It is very rare to see an elite runner quit and though I felt bad for him, it still quieted a bit of the humbling feeling I was experiencing.

A runner friend of mine, who has experience on this mountain, recommended I converse with my dad when the going got tough and I needed help to continue. It is embarrassing to admit that in the first three miles, I had already begun asking dad for help at certain points and honestly it worked.

By mile four I gave up on trying to calculate my estimated finishing time. I was so discouraged by my apparent sub par performance. Every time I tried to step up the pace, my heart rate would climb and I would be reduced to gasping for oxygen like a fish removed from water. The mental aspect of the race was getting to me.

The crest of the hill I was chasing was like a carrot at the end of a stick connected to my body. The crest never arrives just a relentless hill looms on for ever. The only reprieve at this point was that no one was passing me.

Mile five brought a new problem to the surface. I was dumping water on my head at every stop, drinking as much as I could, taking salt tablets, yet I stopped sweating and my hands were shaking as I tried to fill my water bottle or get a salt tablet out of the case. There were also moments of slight dizziness. This could be signs of dehydration or overheating.

I started concentrating on talking to dad and enjoying the majestic views all around me. The vision of the mind does no justice to the beauty of the mountain and being there in person to experience the awesome sights. I even saw a plane that was flying below me in the valley.

Mile six was nonexistent as I think I skipped it mentally and my memory is just bits and pieces of leapfrogging other runners and enjoying the views. All I know, is I kept moving forward and suddenly was almost to mile seven when I saw a runner that had collapsed off to the side of the cliff with a medic trying to keep him from falling over the edge.

By this point I had seen many runners resting, giving up, vomiting on the side of the road, so this scene didn’t seem that unusual. I planned on helping when I reached him but by the time I got there, the guy was up on his feet and though staggering a bit, he was determined to continue and finish the race. The medic said no problem, I will walk with you. I hope he finished.

It was exciting to see the mile seven marker because it meant only six tenths of a mile to go. There were many times in my thoughts and dreams that I reached the mile seven marker and every time I visioned a huge increase in running speed climaxing to a grand sprint at the end.

Unfortunately this was not a dream and my energy level was on the red line below empty. Seven miles of unrelenting grade had taken its toll and there was no giddy-up in my step. I rationalized by thinking dad had no energy left either and I didn’t want to leave him behind.

As I worked my way up the last but also the steepest part of road, I could see the finish line and even though my brain was sprinting, my arms were pumping and my legs were trying to move fast, I actually was only power walking. That is when I realized people were yelling my name and encouraging me to fly to the finish. I crested the huge incline (the final crest!) dug down deep and found a sprint within me somewhere. I was moving pretty fast as I crossed that line and it felt so good to be able to open up the stride.


I stopped running and I could feel the tears start swelling up inside me. Finally my mind could let go of the quest to finish and my emotions peaked. I whispered “thank-you dad” then hobbled off to the side to hide my tears and convince my legs to start working again.

I felt so close to my father during this race, perhaps it was the de-hydration, the lack of oxygen or the mental fatigue but I am pretty sure he ran every step right beside me.

Running Mount Washington was the most physically and mentally draining experience I‘ve had. It was intimidating and totally humbling, but at the same time, it was one of the most rewarding, breathtaking, beautiful experience of my life………………….. Thanks Dad.

Boy Am I Glad I Have A Pool!!

I can remember saying to myself when I took this picture that some hot day this summer I would mentally bring it back and bask in the coolness of that day......well I tried it this weekend and honestly, I couldn't feel the cold temps at all. Luckily I jumped in the pool and that helped quite a bit







I had some serious trouble rolling out of bed this morning which caused me to think that I guess I sucked about as much fun as I could out of the holiday weekend. At work right now I am tired, lame and wishing I had at least one more day, though I might waste it resting anyway.


A recap of my week of training leading up to the 4th of July shows how inapt I am at actually training for a race. Lucky for me, I am pretty good at rationalizing and lowering my expectations to meet my performance.

My plan verses my result:

Plan..Sunday; run LLbean course as a tempo/ race pace finish with hopefully a time of under 50 minutes.
OK, did that but at a finish of 56 minutes, I was a little disappointed overall but happy with the last 1.2 miles@8 min and 6 minute pace for a kick.

Plan..Monday; rest from Saturday and Sunday ....I was able to follow this days plan easily.

Plan.. Tuesday; track workout or interval ..speed--speed--speed
Actual..no run today

Plan.. Wednesday; Interval,make up for not running Tuesday.
Actual.. no run today

Plan..Thursday; too close to the race to do speed work so instead easy/tempo of 5 miles or so
Actual..no run today

Plan..Friday; try to squeeze in a short easy run today as I don't want to run Saturday and have tired muscles on Sunday.
Actual...no run today

Plan..Saturday; No run today or possibly an easy 2 or 3 miles at a very slow pace
(145 heart rate or less).
Actual..3.75 mile trail run ...felt good and pushed the pace (150-163 Heart rate..opps!)


Plan..Sunday; race L L Bean 10K
actual...ran the race and finished, though a bit slower than I wanted but also didn't feel affected by Saturdays run at all. All my kids (except one) and their girlfriends/boyfriends ran/walked the race then a fun party at home.

Suday night drove the CJ7 to portland and watched the fire works without having to leave our seats (flip down windshield and no top is a huge advantage)

Stats:

Saturday...3.75 miles @34:47 (trail)
avhr/maxhr...153-166

Sunday...6.2 miles @ 53:53 (8:40 pace)Also my slowest road 10K ever.

8:01...143-155
8:51...152-160 (good sized hill)
8:31...154-161
8:33...157-160
9:15...157-164 (long hill)
8:17...163-167 (pushed the pace for strong finish)
7:16...166-171 (last .2 miles good kick and passed dozens of runners)

Monday...hiked up to Mt Apatite to smash rocks and look for Tourmaline, didn't find much but it was fun but also extremely hot & very tiring.

Our family spread through out the race:
Kev R jr...........94th....43:08
Matt R ............249th...48:14
Mike (son in law)..428th...52:40
Kev R Sr (me)......481st...53:53
Amanda(kevs girl)...692nd...58:37
Sheila R (the wife and mother).....1127th...1:39:24
Amanda R (and baby..due in Sept)...1128th...1:39:25

Plan for next week and the Bradbury Scuffle......lower my expectaions even more and just enjoy the race.

Reality and a Ton Of Bricks.

Slow Poke Rodrigez




Fat and Lazy





This weekend, my slow training of the last few months hit me like a ton of bricks! Mt Washington post partum became a reality as I found out that training slow for racing slow equals......well really slow running even though the perception of effort feels normal.

As I ran a very slow race pace on L L Beans 10K course Sunday, I found that I felt just as bad as I would running my normal speed yet I was only accomplishing my average long slow training speed of years past.

This causes me to second guess my decisions of the last couple months. I thought concentrating on slow running would strengthen the muscles used for that and allow me to perform better. I didn't think it would undermine and discount my years of training for faster races. Honestly I thought the strong base would ultimately help me run faster and stronger.

I thought speed training and track workouts would be counteractive to the type of condition I needed for Mt Washington, so instead I ran mostly trails, hills and didn't worry as much about speed as I did distance and slow twitch muscles.

I also worked pretty heavy on core strength and upper body weight training. I could tell the core training helped me at Pineland and on Mt Washington, but the weight training seemed to be counteractive as I gained muscle at the same time which kept my overall weight higher.

I wish I could justify my remarks by saying I trimmed body fat at the same time I gained muscle but it simply is not true. As I remember back, I rationalized my slow training by thinking less about my diet as I thought I needed to feed the muscles for the weight training to be effective.....Ok that might be a cop-out, I just ate and drank more than I should have

This entry is not a complaint so much as it is a revelation. How many of you suddenly woke up from a certain regiment to realize your thinking was all twisted, yet at the time it felt on track.

For some reason, I thought stronger core muscles, toner upper body muscles, design slower running, would all relate to stronger and faster race times at Pineland and Mt Washington and then spill over to shorter distances.

Not to discount my performance at Mt Washington as my base plan was to finish for some very personal reasons and I did that, but I really thought at the same time I would impress myself with a superior result.

I always equated hill training to speed workouts, so I thought all those hill runs would suddenly give me faster leg turnover and great speed. The effort seemed the same in my mind, but my performance Sunday proved otherwise, instead I ran like I was carrying a ton of bricks.

I guess what this boils down to is.....quoting both Jeff and Blaine, "you run what you train."

06/26/10
Saturday

8 mile run consisting of 5 race pace miles and 3 tempo miles.
5@44:09 (8:49 pace) Should have been more like 7:49 pace
3@28:18 (9:26 pace)
total run 8 miles @1:14:22 (9:17pace)
1/2 mile cooldown and 15 min swim

06/27/10
Sunday

6.2 mile (LL Bean course) first 4 easy, last 2.2 race pace.
56:20 (9:05 pace)
splits;
9:15....135-146
9:41....145-159
9:21....147-153
9:24....152-158(hills)
8:52....158-163(hills)
8:42....160-165
6:03....166-167 (last .2 miles)

.5 cooldown@9:56 pace then 20 minute swim.

Epiphany

Ryan was talking about an epiphany the other day and at the time I didn't really relate to it. Now, I think I understand.

EPIPHANY; an intuitive grasp of reality through a simple event.

I had an epiphany while running up Mount Washington.

Life can be painful
But pain makes man think
Thought makes man wise
Wisdom makes life endurable.

THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR RUNNING.

The Morning After

I expected the morning after Mt Washington to be a slow and pain full experience because of the way I felt during and immediately after the race. A real surprise to wake up at 7am, go for a refreshing swim and actual feel really good.....

I am planning on posting a race report but today is not the day for that as the family is showing up for what I suspect will be a great Father's day.

A couple quick notes though,
Thanks to my son and his girlfriend...him volunteering (missing the race completely)and her driving our car up the mountain.

A special thanks to the Trail Monsters. I will tell you right now, if you want the best support ever during a race, befriend the Trail Monsters. As I was falling up the wall (the last intimidating 22-30% GRADE just before the finish), the cheers for me must have caused most spectators to think there was some celebrity coming up to the finish.

Seriously all I could hear for the last tenth of a mile was the screams of my wife, my son's girlfriend and the group of Trail Monsters. They didn't stop yelling until I finished my kick and collapsed. One would think I was winning the thing.

The best advice I received before the race came from Mindy (also a trail monster) I listened to her, implemented her thoughts and it worked well for me. OK.....well honestly, I didn't start using her advice until I was completely humbled and intimidated after about 1/2 mile to the one mile mark (the first 1/3 mile which was the only downhill of the race was fantastic and I felt great!)

Anyway I made to the top finished with a pretty darn good kick (at least that was what the announcer said) I learned a lot running.....ok well shuffle stepping this race. I think though I didn't quite run the time I had hoped for, I have the knowledge to run it better next time.

Oh.....and congrats to Jeff for killing this course!!!!

The Mount Washjington race is as fantastic and exciting as it is humbling and discouraging. I can see why they say it is one of the toughest yet rewarding races a person can run.

Full report to come later...

It's Time To Relax

Well, two days until the Mt Washington race. There is nothing I can do to prepare anymore, what ever my training has given me will be reflected by my performance on Saturday. My plans to hike back down after the race have evaporated and honestly I suspect they were a bit ambitious anyway.

I have decided to hike another day when I can concentrate on enjoying the hike rather than wishing for the bottom to appear. The plus now is that I can concentrate on just reaching the top as fast as I can convince my body to climb ......then I will allow myself to collapse for as long as it takes to overcome my foolishness.

I told myself I would take it easy and thanks to my wife, I have done well so far. The urge to get out there and run is so great that I can't hold back. To curb the desire, I ran the last two nights with my wife then finished off with an easy swim/ cool down.

It worked out perfectly, she started her training for BtoB Tuesday night which offered me an enjoyable pace that would not overwork me during this taper period. Without her holding me back I surely would have pushed much harder than I should.

We did the same Wednesday night and I feel great. Now I will just relax until Saturday morning and the start of the race. To help me forget about running, we are going to the Jimmy Buffet concert tonight in Mass, we will stay overnight and sleep in Friday morning, spend a relaxing day visiting relatives then drive back to Maine for a good nights sleep Friday.

My battle plan is to treat this race like an ultra, I will start slower than I feel I should and try to get a few miles behind me before I begin feeling the fatiguing effect of the constant hill. I am thinking 130-140 Heart rate for the first three miles, 140-150 for the next three then what ever I can conjure up for the last 1.6
This should put me at a finish time of slightly under two hours.

My other plan is to run like crazy for the first three to put some time in the bank and look amazingly fast for the spectators, take a short nap at the water stop and then crawl up the remainder of the course, finishing after the three hour cut off and wishing I had executed a different plan.

I know they have a lot of different bumper stickers out there.....I wonder If I can find one that says, I almost ran to the top of Mt Washington, you know, just in case.

I Read Jeff's Blog.....

OK....so I am a little apprehensive about Mt Washington. Who wouldn't be, it's a big ass hill. Though I have hiked the trails many times, I have never run it before and only riding up the auto road once that I remember (which was at least 40 years ago) I have nothing in my mind to relate it to.




I have been reading Jeff's blog (http://blackstraphell.blogspot.com/) and boy is he ready. There is a guy who understands and knows how to train for a race. I feel ill-prepared compared to his training, though he is racing it and I am only running it.

Luckily for me, my goal is to make it to the top, be it walk, run or crawl. I feel I have the running base to guaranty at least that, besides, it will be a PR regardless of how long it takes me to reach the top. I do hope I have a Little bit left in the tank when I finish because my plan is to hike back down.

I am running this in memory of my dad. Though he was never a runner, when I was younger, we used to climb Mt Washington as a family. I have great memories and this race fell into exactly the right place for me to run it.

This years race falls on Father's day weekend, he died in June (1991)when he was 54 years old, I am 54 this year, one of the reasons I started running was to be in better shape and hopefully outlive my father (so far so good) as he grew up with bad eating habits and the huge mountain he climbed was with his weight as he yo-yoed with weight problems all his life.

At the same time I am locking my dad into my memory with this mountain run, I am creating great memories with my own son as he is volunteering at the base during the race. Perhaps he will run it it one day for me and start a family tradition.

My plan was to workout pretty heavy with core muscles and practice running slow hills(which I have done for the last few months). I purposely stayed away from speed workouts but didn't really get in the long runs I wanted. In the end , I hope I am ready. I suspect I will be hurting when I reach the top.

My last long run was Saturday and I must say I worked in some pretty tough hills and I am surprised to say they didn't feel that difficult at all. Of course they don't compare to Mt Washington but they did cause a calming feeling inside that should last for at least a mile at the race before the truth of the grade slaps me aside the head and wakes me up to reality.

Last weeks training highlights,
6/6/10
Sunday
10 miles (backbay) 1:33:20 (9.19 pace)

6/8/10
Tuesday
Treadmill 3 miles @10% grade 36:29 (12:10 pace)

6/12/10
Saturday
9 miles @1:42:34 (11:48 pace) avHR 138-max 153
Pit loop hill X2
Sweetser hills
Oakhill
Town Forest hill
Smith hill
Powerline hill
(total ascent 1108 feet)

Mowing By The Numbers

Those of you who really know me and I suppose the ones who suffer through reading all my stats in this blog, realize that I am a numbers kind of guy. It seems I can't survive with out relating my life to some type of statistic.


My running blog is full of all kinds of related and many seemingly unrelated comparisons between running miles and living life. For instance, bike riding compared to running is about a 1 to 3 ratio and swimming is just the opposite at 3 to 1.

I have calculated that my morning workout lasting about 20 minutes and working up a semi sweat is equivalent to about a mile of easy running. Last night as I semi jogged behind the lawn mower for about an hour, I found myself trying to convert my yard work into mileage so I can post it in my running log.

Not that I want to embellish my total miles so much as to have an accurate account of what types of physical activities I am doing when I run that fantastic unbelievable race ....you know the one I mean, the perfect storm.....when everything falls into perfect alignment..even the stars.

I have had more than one such experience in the past but because I didn't have decent running records at the time, I do not know what the key element was, so I am unable to duplicate the results.

For instance, I ran my first and fastest 1/2 marathon (7:26 mile pace)while only running an average of 13 miles per week and no long runs beyond 6 miles. The next year (2003) I trained harder (16 miles a week, longest run of 8 miles)and ran my fastest 5K at 20:18 (6:34 pace) and a month before that my fastest 10K at 44:03 (7:06 pace).

So....what was so different a few years ago compared to now where I struggle to break 8 minute pace in a 10K. I run more miles but that should help me not hold me back. I have to assume that there were different things I was doing then to keep in shape that I am not doing now....perhaps I rode the bike more or swam harder or worked on the core more.

I find myself looking for that key that helped me perform so well, that one special thing I did then and have forgotten about. Is it possible that I am running too much, working out too hard and wearing down my body to the point that I can't perform at my best during a race?

Perhaps I should consider trading my push mower in for an easier tool.....maybe a John Deer motorcycle mower like the picture? Now I do have a riding mower I use for my larger front lawn, but this one is really cool.

Dragging that Ball And Chain

When I think of speed and running hills strongly, I remember only the past me....the current me feels like there is a ball and chain connected to my ankles and I just can't seem to break free of it.

I suspect that is the payback for training and running longer distances and dabbling in ultras. I long for the old feeling of strength and speed and honestly, I better find it pretty soon as the Mt Washington race is looming .....I sure do not feel ready.

I figured having a long hill to train on would give me a chance to work on settling into a pace. There is a pretty steep hill on Route 231 in New Gloucester, I drive it every day and every time I go up it, I think "hey this would be a good training hill" It is about a mile long and pretty steep.

Thursday I decided to give it a try. I figured to run it as slow as I could to simulate the Mt Washington run. My plan was to do at least two repeats, maybe three.
The first run up went quite well, I settled into a slow pace of 12 minutes and honestly if felt relatively easy.

The problem I found was in running back down the hill. I felt I was stressing my muscles because of the grade and ran a bit faster than I thought I should. It didn't feel right (though as an after thought, it might have been perfect training for Pineland)and it seemed I was not getting the uphill workouts I needed and my heart rate was going way below recovery.

I didn't run up a second time, instead I packed up and went to my old stand by, Oakhill in North Yarmouth. It is only about a quarter mile long but is pretty steep. I find that the repeats are much harder and my heart rate doesn't bottom out before I start back up the hill again (like the long hill).

I did five repeats and I felt like I worked much harder than the mile hill run. Wether or not it is better training, I don't know but it sure felt harder. I pushed a bit more on each repeat and stopped before I was completely spent.

Gloucester hill:
(up) 1.09 miles @13.10 (12:02 pace) avHR145---max163
(down)1.22 miles @10:22 (8:28 pace) avHR130---max148

Oakhill (grade 375' in 1/4 mile):
Parked at the school and .48 trail run to the hill
1st .23mi@3:01 (13:05 pace) HR..122-136
2nd .23mi@2:59 (13:01 pace) HR..140-152
3rd .23mi@2:55 (12:49 pace) HR..139-149
4th .23mi@2:42 (11:49 pace) HR..143-155
5th .23mi@2:26 (10:59 pace) HR..149-164
Ran 5 easy downhills @appr 10:30 pace then .38 trail run back to the parking lot.

Sunday 3 loops @ backbay
1st 3.5@29:39 (8:28 pace, 7:30kick)
8:23...140-151
8:54...147-155 (stopped @1.5mi for about 20 seconds)
8:17...152-159
8:07...157-158

2nd 3.5@31:57 (9:03pace, 6:54kick)
9:27...136-146
9:44...140-144
8:48...148-159
7:26...159-166

3rd 3mi@31:54 (10:37 pace cooldown)
10:16...138-147
10:52...141-147
10:42...139-142
10:34...140
Overall 10 mile run (9:19 overall pace).

PS....I noticed a trend in my second miles of each loop.....HMMMNNN. I'm going look back at workouts and see if it is consistant.

Good Plan...Bad Execution

Kev Jr 25K (866)




Mike 25K (698)


Kev Sr 25K




I can't say I am overly happy with my performance at the Pineland Challenge 25K Sunday. It was one of those races where you sit back and wonder what the heck happened.

That being said, I had a great time! The event, the atmosphere, the attention to detail.....all top notch as usual. I can't imagine anyone going to the Pineland Festival and not having a fantastic experience.

Ian, Erik and all the volunteers had one mindset, put on an event for all the people, not just the runners but their families and all who wander in, Including an event for the family dog (Especially special because dogs are not allowed on campass)

I even got a pretty good compliment, when I finished the race I was tired, beat and disappointed, so of course the first place I went to was the beer stand. Smuttynose was there and when I stepped up for my beer the attendant asked me if I ran the race (because if not you are expected to pay) well I looked at my running com padre, down at my sweat soaked clothes and we both laughed.

As bad as I felt and probably looked, I was surprised by the question, then my friend mentioned that apparently I looked so bad that the guy could tell I spent a large part of the time walking.....we both laughed even harder.....OK, so I guess technically I didn't RUN the whole race...The Smuttynose hit the spot and I felt much better.

Sometimes you just don't have a good day and I suspect this was one of those days. I know I prepared and trained right and I have the stats to prove it. I even ran a semi race pace run on this very course a week ago and was so happy with my pace, stamina and post run energy that I figured I would be able to pace my friend and still crush my previous PR.

My race strategy was really fairly simple. On my practice race pace run, I split into three segments. I ran 14 miles so I had two five mile and one four mile split. I ran the whole way including all hills. My heart rate was very consistent even though I sped up throughout the run.

My splits and heart rate are as follows:
1st 5 miles.....145avHR--158max(10:33 pace)
2nd 5 miles.....144avHR--158max(10:02 pace)
last 4 miles....154avHR--161max(9:55 pace)

Now judging by that run, I ran 144 average HR which is 85% of my max. My peak during the run (not counting the kick)was 158(90% of HR) and I ran negative splits overall.

My plan for the race was to run slower the first 10 miles, because I was pacing a friend and then speed up and race the last 5.5 miles. I was looking to run in the 11s for the first ten then 9s for the rest. My race pace run more than supported my plan and actually would make one think that I could pull off low 9s and finish with an easy 10:30 average.

It sure looked good on paper but I failed to follow that plan and not only messed up my friends race but also my own. Somehow I didn't do a very good job of slowing my partner down and actually pushed the pace myself a few times. Because of that we ran an average of 10:39 for the first 5 miles with two of those miles being in the mid 9s.

We started out too fast, that combined with the heat and inadequate fueling caused
a positive split race with a discouraging and painful finish. I was plagued with leg cramps during the last five and ended up walking alot. I actually felt better during my 50K finish last year and walked considerably less.

I suspect there are other factors involved here, perhaps an over training issue and/or poor fueling because my heart rate does not mirror my performance. This causes me to re-think my approach to the Mt Washington race.

Race splits:

1st 5 miles...147avHR--156max (10:35 pace)fastest 9:38, slowest 12:16
2nd 5 miles...143avHR--153max (12:27 pace) fastest 11:44, slowest 13:22
3rd 5 miles...144avHR--153max (13:03 pace) fastest 10:49, slowest 13:53
last .5 mi....152avHR--167max (12:43 pace & 8:10kick)

Total 15.38 miles (according to Garmen) @3:04:44 (11:55 PACE)