Just pulled in at the race HQ here in hot n humid Ohio! Beautiful ride through the MD, WV, PA, and OH country to get out here. Funny to find there's no phone service here, but the campground here has wifi! I'll be putting aside all the fancy technology tomorrow as I enjoy a nice run through the countryside. I'm really looking forward to the adventure! The forecast is for 89 degrees and high humidity, but I'm already acclimated to that thanks to my DC Swamp training. All I have to do is make sure I stay ahead on my fluids and I should have a fun 102 mile run (yes, just for a couple added chuckles, the course is 102 miles)!
I'll check back in late tomorrow night when I finish. Until then, I'm off to the hills!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Mohican 100: Right Around the Corner!
First off, I need to send a big congrats out to Amanda Stickel and her gutsy performance over the weekend at the NF 50 Miler in DC. It was her first 50, and even though she didn't win, as her pacer I saw her give it everything she had out there. I was pretty darn proud of her! Here's the shot of her fighting off the pain and fatigue as she crosses the finish line. Well done, Amanda!!
Moving on the title of this post: It's hard for me to believe the Mohican 100 miler is only 8 days away now. Since I haven't had a focused training period since France, this race really snuck (sneaked? snooked? ...why, oh, why did I sleep through English class?!) up on me.
Even though I've "called off the dogs" in terms of how hard I'll be running out there in the hills of Ohio, I'm happy to report I had a follow-up doctor's appointment today (got the green light, with a word of caution from the old school doc: "Pace yourself, Son."), and have been running comfortably over the past couple weeks with no kidney pain. The heat/humidity over that time has also given me a nice acclimation period for the summer, and I can definitely feel my body's ability to cool itself reaching optimal levels for the months of heat ahead. Things are looking great for the rest of the year!
That said, I'm still not taking any chances at Mohican. I'll go out slow for the first 50 and make sure my hydration is on track and my kidneys are operating properly. After that I might pick it up a bit, but certainly not with the intention of hunting down the leaders. With runners like Brian Krogmann and Brad Smythe ready to fly out there, they'll be long gone by time I hit the half-way point. I won't be catching them (and probably a couple others), but I will put in an honest effort all the way to the finish. This will be the 21st running of the Mohican race, and I have tremendous respect for everyone involved in putting on such a great event for so many years. The best way I know how to show my appreciation is to run the best race I can under the circumstances...and, of course, to thank all the volunteers along the way!
Since Utterli is long dead at this point, I won't be able to call in any live updates during the race, but I should be able to post something here on the blog from my iPhone once I finish. I'm working on a new way to post audio updates while I run future races, but I haven't been able to iron out all the technical stuff in time for this run. I'm working on it though!
Moving on the title of this post: It's hard for me to believe the Mohican 100 miler is only 8 days away now. Since I haven't had a focused training period since France, this race really snuck (sneaked? snooked? ...why, oh, why did I sleep through English class?!) up on me.
Even though I've "called off the dogs" in terms of how hard I'll be running out there in the hills of Ohio, I'm happy to report I had a follow-up doctor's appointment today (got the green light, with a word of caution from the old school doc: "Pace yourself, Son."), and have been running comfortably over the past couple weeks with no kidney pain. The heat/humidity over that time has also given me a nice acclimation period for the summer, and I can definitely feel my body's ability to cool itself reaching optimal levels for the months of heat ahead. Things are looking great for the rest of the year!
That said, I'm still not taking any chances at Mohican. I'll go out slow for the first 50 and make sure my hydration is on track and my kidneys are operating properly. After that I might pick it up a bit, but certainly not with the intention of hunting down the leaders. With runners like Brian Krogmann and Brad Smythe ready to fly out there, they'll be long gone by time I hit the half-way point. I won't be catching them (and probably a couple others), but I will put in an honest effort all the way to the finish. This will be the 21st running of the Mohican race, and I have tremendous respect for everyone involved in putting on such a great event for so many years. The best way I know how to show my appreciation is to run the best race I can under the circumstances...and, of course, to thank all the volunteers along the way!
Since Utterli is long dead at this point, I won't be able to call in any live updates during the race, but I should be able to post something here on the blog from my iPhone once I finish. I'm working on a new way to post audio updates while I run future races, but I haven't been able to iron out all the technical stuff in time for this run. I'm working on it though!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Training (and Fun) Heats Up!
There's nothing like June weather in DC. Mother nature loves to remind us that she holds all the power in terms of how good we'll feel on our runs during this time of year. Just when you think you've acclimated to the 90 degree temps, she throws a blanket of sticky humidity on top of you just for laughs. There's no easing into your heat/humidity training this month, it's simply time to jump right in and suffer for a couple weeks. Lucky for me, I have some fun running plans in the near future to keep smiling through all the swampy air!
This weekend I'm super-excited for the opportunity to pace the lightning quick Amanda Stickel in the Washington, DC edition of the NorthFace 50 Mile Endurance Challenge (the course is actually in VA, but close enough). The weather will be nasty (90s and humid), but I'm looking forward to running with her over the last 22 miles of the course. If all goes well, she could win the $1,000 first place prize, and I'm going to do everything I can to help make that happen!
After pacing Amanda, I'll just have one more week of getting re-introduced to the trails before it'll be time to head out to Ohio for the Mohican 100 miler. Even though I won't be racing this one at top speed, I do want to put in an honest effort on that course. I'm currently enjoying my return to more focused trail running after so many months of road work for the 24 Hour race. Sure, I stupidly rolled an ankle on the Bull Run course this past weekend (I heard a "crackle" and "pop", but luckily no "snap!"), but I think we're all a little rusty when first getting back into the swing of things. I'm already being reminded that trails don't let me become lazy with my feet and keep my eyes and brain constantly busy with the rapid-fire calculations needed for proper foot placement and leg speed while bombing down a technical mountain trail. Does it hurt more than a flat road run? Sure. Does the fun of it far outweigh the pain? Absolutely!
Speaking of fun overcoming pain, I'll close this post with a photo of my white-knuckled drive around the positively insane streets of Paris a couple weeks ago in a Smart Car. Lizzy had an absolute a blast, but I assure you, the screams from the driver's side as we traversed the Champs Elysees were not necessarily screams of joy. Where did those people get their licenses? In a box of "Les Cracker Jacques"?!
This weekend I'm super-excited for the opportunity to pace the lightning quick Amanda Stickel in the Washington, DC edition of the NorthFace 50 Mile Endurance Challenge (the course is actually in VA, but close enough). The weather will be nasty (90s and humid), but I'm looking forward to running with her over the last 22 miles of the course. If all goes well, she could win the $1,000 first place prize, and I'm going to do everything I can to help make that happen!
After pacing Amanda, I'll just have one more week of getting re-introduced to the trails before it'll be time to head out to Ohio for the Mohican 100 miler. Even though I won't be racing this one at top speed, I do want to put in an honest effort on that course. I'm currently enjoying my return to more focused trail running after so many months of road work for the 24 Hour race. Sure, I stupidly rolled an ankle on the Bull Run course this past weekend (I heard a "crackle" and "pop", but luckily no "snap!"), but I think we're all a little rusty when first getting back into the swing of things. I'm already being reminded that trails don't let me become lazy with my feet and keep my eyes and brain constantly busy with the rapid-fire calculations needed for proper foot placement and leg speed while bombing down a technical mountain trail. Does it hurt more than a flat road run? Sure. Does the fun of it far outweigh the pain? Absolutely!
Speaking of fun overcoming pain, I'll close this post with a photo of my white-knuckled drive around the positively insane streets of Paris a couple weeks ago in a Smart Car. Lizzy had an absolute a blast, but I assure you, the screams from the driver's side as we traversed the Champs Elysees were not necessarily screams of joy. Where did those people get their licenses? In a box of "Les Cracker Jacques"?!
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