My Week On the Run...

A bit of a summary of my training for April 25 - May 1, 2010:

Sun 4/25
5.5 (37:25)
Auto-pilot

Mon 4/26
AM: 5 (34:13)
After only managing to get around 30 minutes of sleep last night, I felt the urge to escape after class, whilst transferring massive quantities of binary output data. Physically, probably not the best thing I could have done, but mentally it saved my day.
PM: 6.6 (44:03)
Met Heather at the track for a relatively gentle workout that actually did a good job of helping me to decompress a little after a somewhat stressful couple of days. After the warmup to the track, did a progression run, with two at Heather's marathon pace, then one a little slower than tempo, then one with whatever we had left. I stayed with her during the first three miles, but told her I might stretch out a bit for the last one, so I managed to hit something to the tune of 6:58, 6:37, 6:24, 5:16.

Tues 4/27
0
Running is silly, anyway...

Wed 4/28
11.7 (1:20:06)
Ran over to the high school to run with the AORTA group, which was just planning on doing their standard 10k loop. I ran with Eric, and, as so often turns out to be the case, we ended up tacking on a mile or so to the loop and doing something of a progression-type run, but nothing too quick. After a lazy day off, it felt good to stretch the legs out a bit.

Thur 4/29
5 (35:29)
I wasn't planning on running today, but I got a call from my Inimitable Mother, telling me that Elliott Schotz is not doing so well, and given that I've done a considerable amount of running over the last year in an all-too-frustratingly-feeble attempt to help support him, his family, and research on his vile ailment, going out for a run seemed like a strangely appropriate response.

Fri 4/30
0
Figured it might be worth a rest day for the long weekend ahead. (and it never ceases to amaze me how much extra time you immediately have on days you don't devote hours to running...)

Sat 5/1
16.3 (2:34:07)
Ran roughly the first half (the out-and-back portion) of the Tuskegee Fat Ass 50k, running the Pleasant Hill Trail and Bartram Trail with Marcus, then waiting for the entire race field to pass by us at the Bartram trailhead, before Marcus followed them up the Bold Destiny Horse Trail to assume sweeping duties, while I simply ran back to the start. Twas a nice, relatively easy run that served as a good precursor to tomorrow's little jaunt along the Pinhoti Trail with Rob and Eric...

Total: 50.1 (6:25:23)

My approach to training this week was somewhat strange; I was trying to both use the long weekend (F.A. 50k section on Saturday and PTAR pacing on Sunday) as a solid training weekend, but I also wanted to be somewhat intelligent so as not to be a burden on the already fatigued/swamped PTAR runners and crew chief. In any case, it came together, one way or another. One more week in the books...

My Week On The Run...

I feel fairly confident that I'm the only one interested in the progression of my training, particularly due to the fact that I'm not really training for any specific race or toward any discrete end at the moment. However, if nothing else, my posting up slightly more detailed accounts of my daily runs than at my daily training blog (which, ironically enough, doesn't necessarily feel like the most appropriate venue for posting the nitty gritty details of my typically ambiguous, jack of all trades type training) can serve as a decent backup to the spiral-bound notebook in which they are currently contained, and it could also afford a point to which I can refer others, should they ever be curious as to the somewhat monotonous nature of my training, on the off-chance that anyone would ever develop such a curiosity.

In any case, I don't know if this will be a regular installment or a one-time post, but, for what it's worth, here's how my week of running went for April 18 - April 24, 2010...

Sun 4/18
9.9 miles (1:13:12)
Felt Good. Perfect Weather.

Mon 4/19
PM: 15.4 (1:53:13)
All over residential Auburn. Felt good to do a semi-long run and tire the legs out a bit.

Tues 4/20
AM: 11 (1:20:44)
Warmed up to Woodfield, around IM fields, and met Heather for 2 x 1.5 mile tempo with 1/4 mile jog recovery. Hit 8:33 (~5:40 pace) and 8:11 (~5:20 pace). Good effort. A bit of a hitch in my upper right hamstring/IT band/glute; I think it's from yesterday's hills.
PM: 7.4 (57:36)
Felt a little sluggish toward the end. Solid day.

Wed 4/21
PM: 13.4 (1:42:48)
Heather's to Kiesel, 1.5 laps, and back. Felt good.

Thurs 4/22
0
Inimitable Mother and Darling Little Sister in town, so I spent the day showing them around. Twas a good day.

Fri 4/23
PM: 11.8 (1:28:16)
Campus loop, out Donahue, down University, residential Auburn. Cruisin

Sat 4/24
PM: 9.3 (1:08:51)
Around Auburn, about half in a light rain.
Celebrating the gift of the ability.

Total: 78.2 (9:44:46)

Delano Day 100

WARNING: This report is entirely too long, too boring, and too incoherent to be of any interest, but, if you have the urge to delve into it (along with a decent amount of free time and an appreciation of eccentric activities), here it is for your perusal:

A few months ago, I had an idea. I have run the Delano Park 12 Hour Run, twice as an individual and once as a relay team member, but this year I wanted to make it something more, both in terms of running and as something a bit more worth while. I was going to start running twelve hours before the official start of the race, thereby making it a 24 hour run, and to make such silliness worth the while, I took pledges from donors who wanted to sponsor me on a per mile basis to raise money for NTSAD, the same organization for which a group ran across the state of Alabama this past summer. The race directors for the Delano 12 both ran the full way across AL, and one of the directors, Eric Schotz, has a son, Elliott, who is afflicted with Tay Sachs Disease. Having such a worthwhile cause provided some much needed motivation throughout the late night/early morning hours of solo running, the latter miles of painful slogging, and many miles of pounding in training. A few miles into my run, Eliza Schotz, Eric’s wife, brought Elliott out for a few minutes, and seeing the reason for the run drove the point home that it was time to get down to business.

I arrived at Delano Park about 15 minutes before I needed to start, got my aid station ready (consisting of a table, a couple water bottles, bananas, and pb&j), and nervously chatted with the small crowd that had assembled to watch me start. Promptly at 6pm (by the RD’s watch), the Delano Day was underway with me anticlimactically trotting away from the start/finish line.

1 mile: 8:55

The first mile or two went by relatively uneventfully, albeit far too quickly, and slowly, the little group that came out to watch the start thinned out (some had to go to a prerace dinner and packet pickup before getting a good night’s sleep before their own race – the Delano 12 – in the morning). Soon, we were down to just a couple people at the park with me, which was great to have, as I had expected to be alone for quite a bit of the night.

As the daylight faded into night, Fred Trouse, a good friend from Auburn who served as a pacer for me during both runnings of the Pinhoti 100, began running with me. Fred is always a pleasure to have along for a run, given his rather wide range of past experiences that have left him knowledgeable in so many areas. This, coupled with the fact that he is an overly kind, intuitive, and selfless pacer, makes him a sublime pacer. In any case, Fred and I circled the 1-mile loop time and time again.

Since this event was in my hometown of Decatur, AL, my family could come to watch the madness. My Illustrious Father, Darling Little Sister, and, of course, Inimitable Mother, were all on hand for the start, and took different shifts to hang out at the park. Whereas my Illustrious Father has been to both successful 100’s and the one failed attempt to watch the carnage, Darling Little Sister and Inimitable Mother haven’t had the joy of observing such stunts. That being the case, my Inimitable Mother took the first shift and watched Fred and me plug away the first few miles.

As I settled into my natural pace, several people came by the park to say hi and see how everything was going, often stopping by after picking up their race packets and eating the prerace pasta supper. One such visitor, Spurgeon Hendrick, a fellow Pinhoti veteran and all around good guy, happens to be sponsored by the Moon Pie company, and when he stopped by to check on me, he left a few moon pies along with some new flavored versions of the moon pie. I know; I was spoiled.

At one point, Fred and I were treated with a couple of kids running with us. Mrs. Burgreen, my high school freshman history teacher, came out for an hour or so to help cheer me on and brought along her children. It’s not often that I feel old during these events, as I’m often one of the youngest participants, but seeing Mrs. Burgreen’s three kids, all of whom ran a little, and two of whom ran a couple laps as fast or faster than me, almost made me feel like an adult, because Mrs. Burgreen was pregnant with the first one when I was in her class a decade ago. Regardless, it was nice to see Mrs. Burgreen; she always seems to have a smile on her face and encouraging words on her lips, and I’m glad she and her progeny came out.

Marathon: 4:11

At some point, another local bunch of ultrarunners, the Fagerman’s, came out for a few laps. They were some of the lucky participants of the Run From the Ranger 50k last December, and it was nice to have the company while Fred took a little break.

50k: 5:09

Late in the evening, yet another Pinhoti alumnus, Philip Sustar, showed up with his family and another runner or two and set up their tent for the race the next morning. I initially assumed that they were simply going to set up the tent and then go find a hotel for the night. I was incorrect. Philip ran quite a few miles with me throughout the night, made sure I always had what I needed, offered up his tent and supplies to me, and even helped me change my shoes and socks after 62 miles. Because of helping me, I don’t think Philip even got 3 hours of sleep Friday night, and he still managed to get up and run 52 miles during the race Saturday morning (all the while checking on me whenever we crossed paths).

Around midnight, Darling Little Sister arrived to run with me for an hour or so. Unfortunately, she showed up right as I hit my one and only real crash of the run. She arrived just as I was completing 35 miles, ready to run, and the only thing I could do at the time was rest my head on the aid table, sit down, and ask for warm clothes and my first round of caffeine in a week (Mt. Dew is a lifesaver at times like these). So after around 10 minutes of recouping, I got back up and set out with Darling Little Sister for around four miles. She is always an utter joy to run alongside, and considering the somewhat unusual circumstances, it was all the more enjoyable. All too soon, though, her running shift was over, and she went home to get a well-earned good night’s sleep and roust my Inimitable Mother for her running shift. In the interim, of course, Philip and Fred filled in running with me.

Within 30 or 45 minutes, the Inimitable Mother showed up, and we plugged away a few more miles. I thoroughly enjoyed my hour with her; the best way I know to describe it is that I like running with my Mama. Before I knew it, her shift had come to an end, and she went home to roust my Illustrious Father to come out for moral support. Around the time he showed up to check in (being the experienced crew chief from my previous 100-miler excursions), Jon Elmore, one of the race directors showed up to get his mileage in for the day. Jon ran around 5 before taking up the responsibilities of co-race director as other runners began arriving for the race.

100k: 11:46

Around 15 minutes before the official start of the Delano 12, I hit the 100k mark and decided to take the opportunity to get off of my feet for a few minutes, warm up, and change socks (which proved to be a gloriously wise decision). As the race began, so did the rain. The weather throughout the night had been perfect. Upper 40’s with a slight breeze, but the Delano 12 has a reputation of bad weather to uphold, so there was an obligatory soaking rain, wind, and (later in the day) a bout of sleet/hail. Regardless, I donned a light rain shell, and managed to remain pretty comfortable for most of the day.

The first couple hours of the “official” race passed rather quickly for me, since I had the company of John Bolding, a senior runner from the Austin High School XC team. He’s picked up a bit of an interest in ultrarunning and claims that he wants to try one out after he graduates, so I gave him a little introduction to the oddity that generally accompanies this small niche of running.

Quick picture with Eliza and Elliott during a break in the rain

During the day, the miles came and went. Having all of the other racers around was nice, and since it was a loop course, we were constantly seeing each other to offer encouragement, support, and jokes. Even so, or perhaps because of this, the miles seemed to blend together throughout the day.

It was nice to see a bunch of my friends out running the race. Almost everyone I talked to had a good day of running, and I only wish I could thank everyone I saw for the unending encouragement they offered me throughout the day. I think Fred, who continued to plug away at the miles with me throughout the day, PR’d for the total distance that he covered in a day. I’m not entirely sure of his total mileage, but it had to be approaching 50 (especially considering he kept on plugging away even after I had finished, even though he wasn’t officially entered in the race; he just enjoys being out there).

In any case, after the final few miles (it seemed like the last 15 took forever), my Inimitable Mother and Darling Little Sister joined me for my last lap. With a few meters to go, we even got the privilege of pushing Elliott across the finish line.

100 Miles: 19:42:53

Chatting with Elliott at the finish

For what it’s worth, this is a 100 mile PR by 7:55:27. I suspect I’ll have a hard time PR’ing by over 7 hours again in just about any event.

Shortly after I got done, I headed into Philip and Co.’s tent to warm up, and the combination of the fact that I couldn’t move my legs and the sudden onset of sideways sleet convinced me that I was done for the day. In retrospect, maybe I should have gotten out and walked a few more miles. Oh well; call me lazy…

While I was warming (and stiffening) up, I was giving a bit of a recap to Tony Bolan. Tony is a friend from church who happens to be a local magistrate. When he heard about my little overnight adventure, he sent word to the officer in charge of patrols from the police department to concentrate patrols around Delano Park throughout the night. It was a welcome sight to see cop cars cruise by checking on things. Tony had come out during the first couple of hours to watch, he showed up around 4am to check, and then he came out again to watch me finish. I cannot reiterate enough how much all of the support I got from friends meant as I circled that loop time after time after time.

This run was perhaps the most thorough mental effort and surreal running experience I’ve ever had. The very nature of running through the night and over this many miles causes you to cover the full spectrum of physical, mental, and emotional states, and coupling that with the knowledge that I was running for a cause served to heighten the experience.

Afterwards, I got to enjoy some time with a bunch of running buddies, sitting around and cutting up, well pleased with the effort. A bunch of folks managed to go farther than they ever had before, which certainly an accomplishment.

Eric Gilbertson was 2nd in the 12-hour, racking up 74 miles

Most of Huntsville crowd, who did a great job as cheerleaders for me all day

I haven’t managed to total up all of the donations and pledges, but I think that somewhere around $1000 was raised for NTSAD through the run, and I’ll gladly repeat the effort if it can in any way help facilitate research or support for families and those afflicted with Tay Sachs.

A day later, muscularly, I’m not too sore, but the joints are screaming at me. Totally worth it.

Well, yet again, I warned you that it was long and boring, but somehow you’ve made it to the finish. I am fairly certain that I’ve left out or forgotten quite a bit of what happened, but such is the nature of the beast. My apologies if it was a bit long, winding, and incoherent, but that’s how the run was, too. (and I’ll post up pictures as I get them…)

Mount Cheaha 50k

Short version: Fun race; I kind of used it as a training run for my Delano Day in a couple of weeks, so I didn't really push it too hard...

Not as short version:

So I went into this race with the mindset of keeping it a training run. Last year, I started the race running alongside a friend of mine, Dink Taylor, at a pretty aggressive pace, then proceeded to slow down for the entire second half. This year, with the Delano Day , my "goal event," two weeks away, I decided to treat Cheaha as a good final training run, and I therefore intentionally ran the whole race at a decidedly more comfortable, conservative pace.

The race starts in a small gravel parking lot for a trailhead, and runners are immediately funneled into a singletrack trail, so to avoid getting stuck in a conga line at the start of the race that can potentially take around 2 or 3 miles to thin out, an ambitious runner must sprint out to the front few, which I did last year. This year, in my effort to force myself to take it easy, I started in the middle of the pack and eased into the race.

The section before the first aid station has some considerable hills, which can quickly take "it" out of your legs, and quite a bit of passing occurs during this first, shall we say, introduction to the race...

The majority of the course is run along narrow, rocky, rooty, singletrack trails, which can be an adventure to traverse. The ankles take a beating as runners traverse numerous rock gardens, often with the entire trail on a slant due to its location on the side of a mountain. This, along with the fact that there probably aren't a cumulative 3 miles of flat running on the entire course, makes this race a relatively tough, slow 50k. I love it.

This year was considerably drier than last year's edition; not nearly as much mud and running water along the course. If someone wanted to keep his or her feet dry, he or she could do so, although in one or two spots, some substantial thinking (and rock jumping) might be required. I, on the other hand, think that the main stream crossing of the race, somewhere around mile 20, feels great, and plowed right through the frigid water. I was not disappointed, as the cool rush provided a nice bit of relief to my rock-beaten feet.

Whereas most of the course is along singletrack, a few miles are along some gravel and paved roads. When, a few miles after the creek crossing, we got spit out of the trail onto the gravel road that leads to the paved road, I licked my chops. Given my road racing, XC, and track background, whenever the technicality is taken out of a run and I can simply dial in a pace to hold, I can generally make up some time on most of the purely trail runners. This came in handy with the almost constant incline that the roads held, during which, it is incredibly tempting to take walking breaks periodically, especially when you take a turn, and up above the trees, you see Mount Cheaha, which you are well aware that you must climb very shortly. It's somewhat intimidating, realizing that you're legs are already trashed from running farther than a marathon and that you're taking more out of them now by running up a hill just to get to the trailhead to take you up the mountain, and then seeing the mountain and thinking "I've got to run up that?" Again, I love this sport.

Once I got past the last aid station, I began my ascent of Mt. Cheaha, and it went relatively uneventfully. Yes, it was steep. Yes, it was somewhat difficult. Yes, I was very glad to be at the top. But I expected all of those, so it was, in a strange way, kind of easy to get through.

Once I got to the top, just a few more minutes padding around the top of the mountain, and I was done. 5:38~ish (completed, of course, with the requisite flying heel click at the finish line...). Another 50k in the books. The funny part is that, even though I played around with this race and ran it with a much more relaxed attitude, I ran 10 minutes faster than last year. Funny how all that works...

I managed to put in 14 today (Sunday), and soreness is about how you would expect. 2- weeks until the big one; on to Delano....

Delano Day

Some might have heard about the Run Across Alabama for Elliott (http://www.runacrossalabama.com/) this past summer, raising money for NTSAD, the National Tay Sachs and Allied Diseases Association (http://www.ntsad.org/), where I joined Eric Schotz, Jon Elmore, and Eric Charette for a part of their trek across the state. That effort ended up raising over $20,000 for NTSAD. I'm just trying to add a little to the total...

I have wanted to try a 24-hour event for a while, and with the Delano 12 (http://delano12.com/) being a known and relativley convenient venue, doubling seemed to be a feasible idea. Now, as much as I like running stunts for the shear sake of running stunts, I figure that I might as well do someone some good with this eccentric pastime that is ultrarunning, so I thought I'd make my run into a fundraiser benefitting NTSAD, since Eric Schotz and Jon Elmore are the RD's.

I'm trying to get people to sponsor me on a per-mile basis for the 24 hours; the farther I go, the more money we can get going toward Tay Sachs research. For example, if someone were to pledge $0.25 per mile, and I go out and run 100 miles, it would end up as a $25 donation. I anticipate running somewhere between 100 and 110 miles (but the farther the better, right...)

If anyone has any questions or would like to get involved, feel free to shoot me an email at jrn47again@gmail.com , and I'll be sure to get you in on the loop.

As a sidenote, if anyone wants to keep up with my daily training, I keep a running blog at http://nevels.fastrunningblog.com/

Snow Day

Today was supposed to be my day off...

As rare as snow is in the South, a conundrum always presents itself whenever we are graced with the wintry precipitation, however light or brief. How should I most effectively go about enjoying an event of such rarity? On my trek into my office for a brief check on some research, I noticed that quite a few people were out and about making snowmen, having little snowball fights, and generally frolicking around in our all too fleeting winter wonderland. It was nice to see everyone enjoying the day, but I had already hatched something of an eccentric plan...

I had called Marcus Farris, a sophomore here at Auburn and running buddy of mine, and posed the question, "Are you up for doing something stupid?" Without hesitation, he indicated that he was ready and willing to try something out, so I posed to him the idea of going for a little run in the still-falling snow. In shorts and shoes.

Marcus wholeheartedly agreed to come along, so a couple of hours later, when the snow had actually accumulated a little and picked up in intensity, we set out in the least amount of clothing with which we could legally get away.

Our route was relatively short; it consisted of a lap around campus and back to my apartment, which amounted to approximately 3 miles. Within a couple of minutes of departing, we had been captured on both digital cameras and video, which seemed to be a recurring theme of the run. Whenever a new group of people saw us, they immediately began cheering us on and taking pictures, and with the excitement of the snow, quite a few people were out to observe the oddity of two mostly-naked guys running through the streets.

When we had made most of the campus circuit, Marcus and I turned down College Street to make a pass in front of Samford Hall, where many students, enjoying their snow day off from classes, had come to enjoy the scenery and take part in the aforementioned frolicking. That being the case, before long, we were having to dodge people, often catching them by surprise, and weave through the crowds in front of the campus landmark. After dodging a few snowballs thrown our way (and getting pegged by one or two...), we turned back home, and in short order were back in my nicely heated apartment.

I think Marcus summed it up best in the subject line of the email he sent with a couple of pictures we took, simply saying "The most epic 3 miles in a while."

It was supposed to be my day off, but sometimes you've just got to go out and play in the snow...

Me enjoying the snow...

Marcus in his Vibrams

Red Nose Marathon

I must admit, I'm a bit hesitant to post this as a race report, because I went into it and ran it with the mindset of just a usual training run, my last good long run before Mountain Mist, just two weeks away. The course could have been a very fast course for those trying to set new PR's, but with two 50k's only 10 and 18 days ago, respectively, and another in two weeks, I figured that running this one hard would probably only do more harm than good. In any case, since it was an actual race that I was lucky enough to win (barely), I guess I ought to give account, so here it goes:

First off, it's cold. When I left my apartment this morning it was something like 16 degrees outside with a solid wind, and when I heard someone give the temperature after I was done, it had only risen to 21 degrees. Not the most ideal running conditions for a born and bred Southerner...

After picking up a breakfast of champions, consisting of a chicken soft taco and 5-layer burrito from Taco Bell, I met up with a couple of friends in Auburn around 4am CST, and we made the short drive over to the race site, which took us into Eastern Time. When the race got underway at 7 (Eastern), it was still dark, and we could tell by the occasional gusts through the city streets that wind would be a major factor of the day during the long miles along the riverwalk.

From the get go, a guy jumped out front and sped off into the distance, and I tucked into my natural long run pace. I struck up a conversation with a biker who was nice enough to ride beside me for the first few miles before peeling off to go help others find their way along the course. Truth be told, I'm pretty sure he was suffering from the cold worse than many of the runners, because the wind he had to deal with must have been brutal. When he began to turn around, he told us that all we had to do was follow the riverwalk we were currently on.

Once our biker friend had departed, I, along with a guy who had been closely tailing me, put things on auto-pilot for a while. We almost got off course when the riverwalk forked, but fortunately we both had the presence of mind to suspect that the fork following the river more closely was probably correct, and our suspicions were soon confirmed by another mile marker. A mile or so later, my running buddy began to fall off the pace a bit, so I nestled comfortably inside my own head, assuming that since the guy in front was pretty far out there and no one was too close behind, it would be a while before I had anyone to run with.

The miles came and went, along with feeling in my hands and face, and before I knew it, I was at the turnaround. The marathon course was simply two loops of a half marathon course (the half marathoners started an hour later than we did), and the turn around was just past the 8 mile marker. Shortly before the turnaround, I saw the leader, along with his bike escort, and judged them to be around a half mile in front of me, looking strong.

Once I made the turnaround, it wasn't long before I began seeing other marathoners on their way out, so I tried to give encouragement to everyone I saw. Soon enough, I began to see the half marathon leaders as well. A few more miles clicked on by, and just like that, I was at the start/finish line again, ready to turn back around and do the whole thing over. At this point, the leader was far enough in front of me that I never even saw him during my jaunt around town to get back to the start/finish and then back out to the riverwalk.

While rerunning the first few miles of the course, I felt like a rock star, because (since the leader was so far in front) I had two cop cars leap frogging each other to lead me through town, stopping cars at green lights (the drivers must have wondered about why a lone runner in shorts in 18 degrees was getting such treatment....) as I made my way through the city. Soon enough, though, I was back out on the riverwalk alone.

At this point, I had been out in the cold long enough that my double layer of gloves wasn't cutting it, and my hands were completely numb, along with most of my face. The wind, which was an ever-present nuisance on the first loop, proved to be a veritable gale during the second loop (or at least that's what it felt like). As before, I just tried focus on staying at a relaxed, comfortable pace and put on foot in front of the other. A difference on this loop, on the other hand, was that I was constantly seeing other marathoners finishing up their first loop as well as throngs of half marathoners, and again I tried to offer encouragement to all; some were having a tough time with the wind (and, perhaps, the distance).

Yet again, I made it to the turnaround, only 5 miles to go... I had noticed that the leader was about the same distance in front of me on this loop as the last, and he didn't appear to be as comfortable as I felt - he was not in distress by any means, but just not comfortable. I decided that I would just maintain my speed and see what happened (the thought temptation was there to kick the pace up a notch, but my thoughts kept returning to possible repurcussions involving Mt. Mist and possibly health, considering that I only got fluids at two water stops and took in no food or electrolytes - I was in no condition to "race").

I thought that the wind had been bad earlier, but I was mistaken. On the return trip, the wind was almost all I thought about. My thighs were a funny reddish white color, and I couldn't feel my hands or my face at all. I love distance running.

I kept an eye out for the leader, and when I got to mile 24 without seeing him, I figured that he had pulled through and was going to take it, having lead from wire to wire. However, right as I was about to cross the 25 mile mark, I noticed his bike escort pop back onto the path, and then noticed that the leader was a mere 150 yard or so in front of me, obviously hurting. I maintained my pace and overtook him relatively quickly. If he had sped up to match me, I probably would have let him take the race, since he was clearly putting forth considerable effort, but he let me slip on by with less than a mile to go.

The lead bike was somewhat surprised to have a new leader, and he almost missed me, but he noticed my race number was one designated as a full marathon number (1-100 were marathon race numbers, 101+ were half marathoners, and there were around 230 half marathoners...impressive). He led me back into town, announcing me to everyone he saw. As I came into the final stretch, an announcer called out my name over a loudspeaker as "your marathon winner," which, I must admit, felt pretty cool to hear. True to form, I airplaned around the last corner and, since I know you all were hoping for it, I jumped up and gave a heel-click across the finish line for a time of 3:16:28.

It was a fun race, and I accomplished what I set out to do: get another relatively relaxed but solid long run in before Mt. Mist, negative split the second half by a couple of minutes, and I got an added surprise bonus of winning. The 25-mile leader came in a few minutes behind me, but I found out that this was his debut marathon. Pretty darn impressive to lead the vast majority of your first marathon in frigid temperatures, with who knows what wind chill.

All in all, I felt good post-race. No real muscular soreness at all; a bit of joint stiffness and foot tenderness befell me the next day, but that's about par for the course with any long road run, and they were gone by Monday.

On to Mountain Mist...