|
|
By BrianFlash, on April 28th, 2010
Only 30 more days until I get to run this 56 mile race thru South Africa.
To celebrate, I’m unveiling my custom designed Comrade’s shirt:
The badge on the upper left is an emblem of the South African Army, remembering the War to End All War’s 2nd regiment, composed of troops from KwaZulu Natal. Comrades was started to honor the South African WWI veterans. I’m also supporting my cousin Noah, serving in the USAF in Afghanistan with the emblem on the right. The arch represents St. Louis of course.
There will only be one of these in existence so I expect it will be worth a small fortune. I won’t wash it so it’s open market value will be enhanced. Let the bidding commence! Somehow I need to pay for those plane tickets…
By BrianFlash, on April 27th, 2010
After watching Jason finish so strongly in the Frisco 50K, hearing Bart Yasso talk about his run walk strategy, and realizing the first half of Comrades is going to be seriously up and down, I’m strongly considering a run walk strategy for taking on Comrades. My plan would be 9 minutes running/1 minute walking for the whole race. If I run at 9:00/mile and walk at 16:00/mile, I’ll finish the 56 miles in 8 hours, 46 minutes, and 45 seconds. That would be sweet.
So I’ll be testing this approach this weekend in Cincinnati while running the Flying Pig Marathon. My estimated finish time is 4:06:30 as long as I can stay disciplined and not run faster then the plan. This marathon is my last long run of Comrade’s training so this is my last opportunity to try this during a long run. After running the Pig, I’ve got four weeks of declining taper. One more two hour run and then every other run during that period is an hour or less. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all my extra time.
My only serious issue with taking on this approach is the problem with knowing if I’m on pace. Nine hours is the outside limit for continuous operation of my Garmin. I don’t know that I can rely on that dude to stay alive. And if I fall off pace, I know it won’t make it to 10 hours so I’d be watchless the last portion of the race. Is this a risk I want to take? I have a Polar watch and heart rate monitor but it doesn’t know how fast I’m running. So I have to rely on math to tell if I’m on pace at each kilometer marker. My math skills are pretty decent, but 40 miles into a race I’m pretty sure I’m going to have an issue with calculating anything tougher then 2 + 2.
Tonight, my last 10 x 2 minute hill workout and I killed it. My 10 hills were at an average pace of 7:04 and I felt like I left energy on the table. Only one more 5 x 2 minute hill repeat next week and then I’m done with these – maybe forever…
By BrianFlash, on April 24th, 2010
For today’s long run, I finally made it out to reenact the 1904 Olympic Marathon held right here in St. Louis. For you extremely dedicated readers, you might remember my stunning write-up of this most peculiar of the Olympic marathons. If you haven’t read it, please do so. This post can wait.
So I’ve been obsessing about running the course these guys followed during that marathon. After some research, I identified the course. It followed roads which still exist today so it would be possible to cover the ground. After a few different cancellations, today was finally the day I got out there.
I wanted this to be as historically accurate as possible. Unfortunately, strychnine is no longer available for human consumption, so I’d have to stick with Gatoraid and Gu as my fuel of choice. Additionally, the dirt roads of the day have all been paved. Luckily for me, the humidity was quite high, matching the humidity of that day nearly 106 years ago. But the temperature was a more manageable 60 degrees, contrasting with the 90 plus degrees the runners suffered in their race. So I get down to Francis Field, grab my Camelback filled with water and goodies, and head to the track.
Here I am on the Francis Field track channeling the spirit of those runners for the race start:
In 1904, the entire area west of Forest Park was countryside. Now, not so much. My run included 1 1/2 laps around the track, then exited the stadium, down Olympian Way, then right onto Forsyth. Forsyth today initially starts as a nice mature residential community – lots of trees and lawns. Very peaceful. Soon though, you find yourself in downtown Clayton beginning a totally developed 10 mile stretch thru urban shopping zones. All concrete and Starbucks, all the way. In contrast, here are a couple images from 1904:
The course at the time was known for its seven hills. I’m sorry, but I lost count of the hills I went up and down. There didn’t seem to be a single stretch of flat on the entire run. Forsyth and Brentwood each have big hills and Manchester has at least four that deserve mention. Ballas is not too bad, but after turning onto Ladue all you have are short and steep rollers and that darn pack was weighing me down. But I thought of Mr. Hicks and his struggles and kept on rolling.
One of my goals for the run was to try and identify a structure that was surviving from 1904. There is an oldish looking Catholic church at the intersection of Brentwood and Manchester. But when I checked the cornerstone, I was greeted with 1944. After turning onto Ballas, a Lutheran church showed some promise. But no, 1936. Along Ladue Road, I passed a cemetery. Surely this was it – there were some old looking headstones. But printed right on the front gate, “Erected, 1931.” I don’t often think of a cemetery as erected. Seems like a better description would be “Dug, 1931.” But maybe that meant the fence was erected not the cemetery. So it is possible this was a cemetery at the time but I didn’t head back to the old tombstones to check the dates. In any case, a cemetery doesn’t exactly qualify as a structure. There is a large farmhouse on the west side of Ballas Road. It has the look of being old enough, but I couldn’t verify the age while running by. If it did exist at the time, it was pretty palatial and in the middle of the countryside. So, I’m just going to have to admit the only confirmed structures adjacent to the course are the grandstand of the field and the building built for the world’s fair adjacent to the field.
At mile 18, I was getting pretty tired while running along Ladue Road. There are quite a few expensive manors along this road. Each one has its own private drive with a fancy name. As I was negotiating each hill and dodging traffic, I came up upon this private lane:
Fordyce Lane! Of course! Most probably named after the greatest runner in Comrade’s history, Bruce Fordyce, nine time winner. Some expat South African must live here. That helped pump me up a bit, at least until the next rolling hill. Finally, after 21 miles, I approached the stadium front gate and readied myself for a glorious victory lap around the track. Instead, I was met with this scene:
Washington University was hosting their conference track meet and they closed the track to us unwashed masses. Totally denied. So I took a seat in the stadium and tried to cool off. It would have been great to have someone come up and say “How far did you run today?” giving me the opportunity to talk about the Olympic course. But it didn’t happen. I watched the 110 meter hurdles preliminary heats and the 400 meter preliminary heats and then went on my way.
The guys in 1904 ran 40K, or 24.85 miles. All I made was 21 miles. About 1.5 miles of that difference was due to the fact that they ran nearly two miles in the stadium at the start of the race while I did less then .5 miles. Also, they had to finish on the track (I’m not sure how many laps they had to run in the stadium at the end) and I stopped at the gate. But that still leaves me about a mile short. I suspect the roads weren’t quite as straight as they are now – the country roads probably meandered around following the terrain more then they do today. In any case, I fed my obsession by running the course and I’m satisfied. I strongly suspect I won’t run it again – at least until there is a race held on the course with traffic control.
By BrianFlash, on April 21st, 2010
Jason and I just finished a nice little 31 mile race called the Frisco 50K. We both finished very solidly – no collapsing in a quivering heap or unwanted bodily functions happening. This was our longest preparatory race for the Comrade’s Marathon and it served well. On finishing, I actually felt like I could run longer and I wasn’t near entering the dreaded death march territory. The run definitely helped raise my confidence level to high.
But, just to keep my feet on the ground, I put together a quick comparison of the two courses:
|
Frisco 50K |
Comrade’s Marathon |
| Distance |
31 miles |
90 kilometers (56 miles for the metrically challenged) |
| Surface |
Mostly packed gravel with some asphalt and concrete stretches |
Surfaced roads |
| Terrain |
Flat |
Goes thru the ‘Valley of 1000 Hills’ |
| Logistics |
1 hour car ride from in-law’s home |
24 hour flight in coach to South Africa, then an hour bus ride at 3 AM the morning of the race to get from Durban to Pietermaritzburg |
| Participants |
23 runners (and six relay teams so really 29 runners plus the 35 marathoners) |
23,000 runners |
| Dangers |
Possibility of being struck by a car during a two mile stretch late in the race; ankle twisting cattle guards along trail |
Man eating lions, annoyed hippos, rampaging elephants, zulu warriers, malaria |
| Time |
4:56:50 |
???? |
Really, not that much difference. Comrades should be a snap.
By BrianFlash, on April 20th, 2010
After taking two days off, it’s time to put in my last two hard weeks before beginning the Comrade’s taper. Glorious, glorious taper – I can’t wait!
So, starting this week’s efforts was my last hill repeat workout. 10 assaults up Mt. Flash at an average pace of 7:12/mile each. And it didn’t suck – in fact, my legs felt the best when I was going hard up the hills. The left hammy is a little tight otherwise, but when I opened it up, everything felt pretty darn good. Not bad two days after 31 miles! In fact, the workout went so well, that I decided to add one last hill repeat workout to my plan. That’s right. The guy who bitches more about the hill workout then any other is going to voluntarily run another one next week. The final totals for the run – 9.83 miles in 87.5 minutes.
There was an ‘incident’ during one of my climbs. During my recovery trip down the hill I met a pedestrian. He was out for an evening stroll in the beautiful weather. I gave him a quick wave that he didn’t acknowledge. After I got to the bottom of the hill, I turned around and started my interval. I’m moving along pretty good and I come up behind the walker. He is walking in the right half of the sidewalk and I’m churning along. I stay to the left and go past him. He immediately yells at me, climaxing his case by calling me a number two exit hole. Me?! I think the gist of his issue was that he felt I should have warned him I was passing.
Was I the discourteous one? I didn’t bump into him or even intrude on his space. We were both out exercising in a suburban town where it is astronomically unlikely that someone would be attempting a mugging. It was completely light outside. I don’t exactly run quietly so I’m sure I didn’t scare him (he had no headphones on). After I reached the top of the hill and turned around, I met him again. I gave him a heartfelt “Sorry buddy” that he didn’t accept. He threw back a “Show a little common courtesy” back at me. This is the first time I’ve ever had a pedestrian say anything to me after I ran past them.
So, loyal readers. Was I in the wrong here? Should I give fair warning to these walkers that I see out on the trail?
By BrianFlash, on April 19th, 2010
Sorry brave readers about the hacking that happened here yesterday. I think I’m back up and running now.
Please enjoy your normal Team Flash report!
By BrianFlash, on April 18th, 2010
That’s right, the suspense is over. I finished the 50K that I ran this weekend. I just wanted to make sure you loyal readers didn’t have to read the whole report. If you’d like, you can stop now, knowing that I successfully finished.
Kathy and I showed up at the Willard Middle School Saturday morning. Yes, there really is a town in Missouri named Willard. This race is a point to point race starting at the Willard Middle School and ending at the Bolivar, MO middle school. Kathy signed up for the 10 mile run while I picked up my technical tee and bib for the 50K. We then waited around for Jason to be bused in from the finish point. The race transported runners in the morning from the finish point to the start so that you would finish at your vehicle for the marathon and the 50K. In our case, the 10 mile runners get to their finish point and then are brought back to the start. So Kathy would finish, grab the bus, and then drive to the finish and wait for us.
It turns out 31 miles is a long way. So long, I’m breaking up this race into phases.
Phase I – The Chase
The Chase was basically the first mile of the race. The Ultra runners and the 10 milers started at the same time, but in slightly different spots. After the race director laid on his truck horn, we all took off. The 10 mile runners got a two tenths of a mile head start complicating my original race plan which was to conserve energy by running with Kathy for at least part of her 10 miles. Since she got a head start, I ran at a pretty good rate until I caught her. My Garmin didn’t get an exact time from when I caught her, but my first mile was 8:14.
1 mile – 8:14, pace – 8:14
Phase II – The Escort
The Escort lasted from miles 2-7. During this portion of the race, I ran with Kathy on her race. I’m trying to stay slow and conserve energy. During this portion of the race, other ultra runners are passing me, but no worries. The marathon runners were transported five miles down the road and started 45 minutes after the other runners started. Kathy and I got to the five mile mark just under 50 minutes so the marathoners were about four minutes ahead at this point. I told Kathy that I was going to take off when our total pace had reached 10 minute miles. We reached mile 8 at 80 minutes so it was time for me to go.
7 miles – 71:46, pace – 10:15
Phase III – The Cruise
Overall, my goal was to beat 5 hours for the run, so it was time to start putting time in the bank. Now it was time to pick it up a bit. Over the remaining 23 miles I needed to beat a 10 minute mile pace by a total of 10 minutes to hit five hours on the head. My energy level was good so I started trying to catch some of those runners ahead of me. From mile 9 thru mile 16, I regularly passed runners. Only one runner passed me for good during these 8 miles while I chugged past quite a few runners. Unfortunately, you don’t really know where you are since you are with the marathoners and the ultra runners. But I felt very good.
8 miles – 73:28, pace – 9:11
Phase IV – The Loneliness
I am not exaggerating when I say that I only saw two other runners from mile 17 thru mile 22. There were a few volunteers around and a very few spectators, but there was no one else for long stretches on the course. Typically I’d see volunteers at the food stops every three miles, but some of them were unattended. Just water, Poweraid, Gu, and salty snacks on a table. But that worked for me. I drank Poweraid at every stop and took a pretzel, chip, or three at most stops. Kathy also let me carry her water bottle after we split up so I filled it up as it got low. I ate a Gu somewhere in here and still felt like I was doing pretty well.
6 miles – 57:36, pace – 9:36
Phase V – Hanging On
Time to finish the marathon. I’ve made it 22 miles, so only four more to go. For some reason, I started seeing runners again. During these four miles I passed several runners, all of us giving each other encouragement by lying. “Looking good buddy!” Yeah whatever. I started taking a bit longer at the water stops, but I’m still running along pretty good. The track during this part of the course was the roughest during the entire race. There were some areas that were still a little wet and other areas that were pretty rough from being washed out. But my normal running shoes were still fine for the run – you just had to watch your footing a bit closer. Also, there were cattle guards throughout the back half of the course. These are definitely ankle twisters so you have to be careful on them. But I survived with no issues.
4 miles – 37:36, pace – 9:24
Phase VI – The Final Frontier
I’ve run where I’ve never run before. And my energy level is still pretty decent. This part of the course is getting near the end. But unfortunately, after running on newly asphalted trail for a couple miles, we reach the end of the trail. Now we have to take a three mile detour along the highways outside of Bolivar. This part of the course is a little depressing. You run along the highway with no traffic control, almost no other runners, and no spectators (other then cars going along the side of the road). But the shoulders were very wide, there was still a rare volunteer or two, and some of the drivers honked for you. At the last water stop (near mile 29), a young lady passed me while I refilled my water bottle. I had passed her a little before but she chose not to stop. So that gave me a little momentum to pick up the pace. After putting in an 8:55 mile, I caught her again and put some distance between us. However, during mile 30, the only fairly daunting hill decided to pop up. It forced me into my only walk break during the race. I kept expected to be caught again, but it didn’t happen. After cresting the hill, I turned back onto the Frisco trail and trucked in the last several tenths to the finish.
5 miles – 48:10, 9:38 pace
Total – 31 miles – 4:56:50, 9:35 pace
I felt amazingly good at the finish. No total collapse or sick feeling, just weariness. My goal was to finish feeling good enough that I could keep going and I definitely accomplished that. Could I run another 25 miles? Actually, I think maybe I could have. One of the race volunteers informed me that I finished 2nd in my age group. Nice! In fact, the guy in my division who beat me finished third overall and since they didn’t want any one person getting all the trophies, they gave me first place in my division. I got a nice N scale train car mounted on a trophy pedestal. Not a real first place, but you take what you can get. I ended up finishing fourth overall among the ultra finishers so that was also cool.
I met Kathy at the finish and after I sucked down some fluids, we positioned ourselves to wait for Jason. Before the race, I told him that a 5:35 or better finish would get him moved up a corral for Comrades. But honestly, I felt like he wouldn’t make that. But after a few runners came thru, we spotted him coming up the trail. He was still moving well – unfortunately, he had taken his shirt off and that wasn’t a pretty picture, but he was finishing strong. He crossed the line in 5:29:54! Success!
I only have two complaints about the race. First of all, not everyone was able to get their tech shirt before the race. I can understand that Kathy didn’t get her shirt since she was a race day signee, but they didn’t have a shirt for Jason and he signed up weeks ago. Secondly, they were a little disorganized at determining who got awards. Their record keeping was a pad of yellow paper. And since marathoners, 50Kers, and 50K relay people were all finishing together, we didn’t know how we stacked up on finishing. They did identify that I was an age group winner, but there was nothing for Jason. Then the official results were posted on-line today and it turns out Jason finished first in his division! He’s informing the race director that he didn’t receive his age group trophy and to ask them to send that trophy when they send him his tech shirt. Kathy finished the 10 miler at 1:42:40, fourth in her division, so she narrowly missed out on an age group award.
Jason and I ate of the post race brats and burgers, and then we all packed up our respective PRs and headed on our way. This was a fun race and I recommend that people wanting to tackle their first ultra to give it a try. It was a flat course with easy logistics and a pretty decent organization. My complaints are minor and easily fixed and I expect they’ll be better next year!
By BrianFlash, on April 15th, 2010
Saturday morning, I’ll toe the line in Willard, Missouri with 20 (so far confirmed) other brave souls to run 50 klicks from Willard to Bolivar along a former railroad thruway turned trail.
As long as conditions are decent my plan is to start at my dream Comrades pace (9:30 per mile) and see how far I can go. If I finish the course still running at or near that pace and feeling good, then the 9 hour dream is still alive. If that pace beats me on a flat course with cool weather then the 9 hour dream is officially dead and the 10 hour dream is born.
Weather forecast for Saturday: 50 at race start. 30% chance of rain, cloudy. Warming to mid-60s for the high.
I’ve got the iPod charged up and ready to go. I’ll probably need it because this looks to be a lonely race. I created a 50K playlist for this event – one song that is sure to come up: I Ran
By BrianFlash, on April 14th, 2010
Easy run tonight with Kathy after taking two days off. Nice little 4.5 mile run. For some reason, this song was running thru my better half’s head while we were running. All is right with the world.
I’ll go 60 minutes tomorrow and then get ready for this 50K on Saturday. There are only six people in my age group – maybe I can qualify for a snazzy age group award!
By BrianFlash, on April 11th, 2010
Typically before a marathon weekend, I take the current medal on display in my office home, in preparation for putting the new medal on display the following Monday. This Friday I forgot to bring the Little Rock medal with me as I left the building.
Friday afternoon, I visited the local witch doctor to get my shots in preparation to visit South Africa. Actually, no shots are required, but a few are recommended. I ended up getting tetanus, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever; really just immunizations that everyone should have. The last time I received a vaccination was 1976, so I was due for a booster. I decided to pass on the Yellow Fever shot – it is typically required visiting jungles but the shot is only good for five years. So I’m not sure I’d be going to one of those places and felt it was prudent to wait. Also, malaria pills are recommended when visiting certain areas, but where we are going, only non-drug intervention is recommended (keep the skeeters off). I hardly knew she poked me – no pain at all and I was out of there.
Then, Friday evening I ran an easy 60 minutes. Nice little run, but I threw a callous. On my feet, I develop callouses on the tips of my toes. I’m not sure why, but I’ll take them over blisters which literally never happens to me. Left footed roast beef eating piggie decided to shed that protective tip.
Saturday morning, I went on an easy two hour run. Toward the end of it, I was feeling a little down. But I kept the run nice and slow to help save energy for the Go! St. Louis Marathon. Then, Kathy and I went down to the marathon expo. We met Jason and Rocio down there. The highlight of the expo was our meeting of another American Comrades runner, Dave Berkey, at the expo. We swapped training plans and stories. Dave’s planning a sub 9 hour finish and when he told me he ran his marathons in sub 3:30, it started making me worry about my sub 9 hour goal. But overall, it was good to meet another Comrade’s runner.
The Go! St. Louis Marathon expo was really a pretty good expo. Lot’s of the vendors were giving away freebes, which seemed to be less available in recent races, including beef sticks and cheddar cheese. Lovely beef sticks… Turns out, the beef stick guy was from Southwest Missouri, near where Kathy grew up. I think we’re going to be visiting Carthage sometime soon. Packet pickup was super easy and I saw some of the Gods of St. Louis running, included marathon stroller pusher Zac Fruedenberg. I even saw his baby that helped him set the record!
Unfortunately, I started getting a mild case of typhoid/hepatitis/tetanus Saturday afternoon. Just a low grade fever, but it wasn’t exactly making me feel good. Watch out fellas – Typhoid Brian will be taking on the marathon tomorrow.
Sunday morning, I rolled out of bed and definitely didn’t feel like eating my normal oatmeal breakfast. I really had no appetite at all. I ate a blueberry breakfast bar and an orange, but that was it. We met Jason at the Forest Park metrolink stop and rode the train downtown. The day started at 52 degrees but started warming up pretty quickly. I tucked in with the 4:15 pace group, figuring that would be a good pace for me for the day. I knew I wasn’t feeling 100% and I had not tapered at all, but the 9:44 pace seemed very doable.
At race start, the 4:15 pace team took off. It was a great group. Our pace leader, Michele, was energetic and entertaining and was locked in on pace. The course makes it a little difficult for even pacing because the inclines come up pretty much immediately. We had a couple first marathoners, some veterans, St. Louisans, and out of towners. I was feeling OK thru mile 10, but then started not feeling all that well. I held on to the pace group thru the halfway point and even a little past that but at mile 14, the wheels totally came off. The weather had warmed up and my heat acclimation obviously hadn’t taken effect yet.
My heart rate was fine but there was absolutely nothing left in the tank. My Garmin data is pretty interesting. Every mile from 1 to 14 was in the 9:14 to 9:50 range, with most of them in the 9:40s. Right on pace. And my heart rate was perfectly good hovering at the border between zone 3 and 4. But mile 15/16 were 12 minutes and from then on all I could do is walk. Around mile 17, Jason passed me. I think he was surprised but I just had nothing in the tank at all. At mile 20 I got to the Forest Park metro station…and took the metro back downtown. That’s right – I quit the race. I probably could have walked the remaining six miles, but felt like that wasn’t doing anyone any good given that I have to recover enough to run a 50K next weekend.
Now I’ve officially got a Did Not Start and a Did Not Finish along with the races that I’ve actually run. Obviously disappointing, but sometimes that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Kathy ran her relay leg at a 10:10 pace and Jason trudged across the line to finish in 4:54:53. We all sat outside the finish area and suffered for a while before heading home for naps.
The Go! St. Louis Marathon was well run and the course (slightly changed this year) was better then last year. They also fixed the number one problem from last year by rearranging the finishing area to follow the streets. We didn’t get the rain we had last year, but if it would have rained, we wouldn’t have been wading in the mud. Pretty nice technical shirt, but I can’t comment on the medal since I didn’t get one. The post race band started pretty early (this is a heavy half marathon race – 12,000 halvers and 3000 fulls) so they are catering to those people a bit. By the time I got down there, the band was basically done. Which was a shame because they sounded pretty good.
Oh well – six days from now I’ve got a 50K to run. Time to take it easy this week, get over my mild case of typhoid, and get ready to go!
|
|
