Just keep Swimming . . . and a few other running mantras?

I know what you are thinking.  How is a mantra about swimming relevant to endurance running?  What can I say, the reference makes me smile, and anything that can make you smile when you are in the depths of a terrible emotional low and self doubt during a race is a godsend.  So, just keep swimming.

Speaking of swimming, Diana Nyad’s mantra made national news this weekend when she finally managed to complete her swim from Cuba to Key West.  Find a way.  I love it!

All Day.  I heard this one recently in an ultrarunnerpodcast interview.  I wish I could give credit to the runner that mentioned it, but I can’t recall who it was.  It reminds me of the explanation I try to give loved ones when they express concern about destroying my body chasing ever increasing endurance distances.  I’m doing something that I love, I’m doing it in places that allow me to experience nature’s wonders and I get to do it all day long.  What could be better than that?

It gets better.  A little hope is a wonderful thing.

Most of my local running friends are very familiar with this last one.  I think it resonated among those who share a desire to push themselves beyond their comfort zones and break through their limits.  When I find myself in a dark place during a race, feeling sorry for myself, I remind myself that I knew this would be difficult and that there would be hardship.  Overcoming these lows is exactly the experience I signed up for and the emotional highs that will follow when I make it through to the other side will be amazing.  I paid for this.  I wanted to be here, in this moment, good or bad, so . . . .

Suck it up, Buttercup!

2013 Swamp House Half Marathon

Sunday started with a 2:00 am wake up call to pick up a load of ice for the race.  I finally made it to the race start around 3:45, already a few minutes late and off to a worrying start.

After a quick check in at the parking area to see how Duane Allen and our parking volunteers were doing it was straight to the start/finish line to set up the starting corrals, finish chute and lay out the 5k.  Moving and assembling barricades and traffic cones.  Hauling ice, water, and cases of bananas, power bars and medals.  Helping set up the medical tent.  Managing volunteers, answering questions, directing traffic . . . .  The tasks seemed endless.

Before I knew it, the sun was up and I realized I could finally ditch my headlamp.  Oh crap!  What time is it?  20 minutes to the race start and time to panic.

About five minutes before the start I snuck a quick glance over at the start line and saw a massive sea of people eager to start the half marathon.  I hardly had a moment to appreciate the magnitude of what we had accomplished before I was snapped out of my revelry by 5k runners milling around aimlessly looking for guidance.  We had another race start in 20 minutes so it was on to the next thing.

In the distance I heard the national anthem.  It broke my heart when I realized I would miss the start of the race but there was too much still to do.

The rest of the morning was spent addressing one minor crisis after the other.  Injured runners.  Reassigning volunteers to cover needs.  A traffic accident involving one of the shuttle buses.  Tracking down missing supplies.  Keeping food, water and medals stocked.  My phone rang constantly.  There was a never ending stream of questions.  It was exhausting but all it took was a quick look at the faces of runners crossing the finish line to be instantly rejuvenated.

Miraculously everything fell into place.  Actually, that’s not true.  To credit a miracle isn’t fair.  Although I’m sure God was smiling on us, we did not require divine intervention.*  It took hard work, planning and the amazing organizational skills of Jennifer Florida.

There are too many people to thank for their hard work individually and I know I would forget someone.  So thank you Jennifer Florida and Don Stoner, the heart and soul of Final Mile Race Management, and the tireless multitude of volunteers that made the 2013 Swamp House Half Marathon and 5k such a huge  success.

*Truthfully, there was one miracle that morning.  My cell phone battery didn't die.

One in a Thousand

I just noticed that the Iron Horse 100k was the 1000th  entry in my running log.

Hmm.

I guess that’s a running accomplishment . . . in a nerdy, OCD kind of way.

1=100

I finally got off the couch almost seven years ago having never in my life run a mile without stopping.  My modest goal at the time was simply to achieve that one feat before I turned 40.  I had never heard of an ultra marathon.

I first learned of ultra marathons three short years ago, reading books like Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run and Dean Karnazes’ Ultra Marathon Man.  My first reaction was incredulity.  A 100 mile foot race, over mountains!  Humans can do that?  From the moment I first learned of their existence I was fascinated.  No.  More than that - obsessed.  I knew that was where my future lay even though I had at the time only completed a single 5k.

This weekend at the Iron Horse Endurance Run I completed my fourth ultra marathon, my first 100k, and earned my first finisher’s buckle.  I doubled over as soon as I crossed the finish line exhausted, suffering, and overcome with emotion.  As proud as I was at that moment, I can’t say it was any more gratifying than that day in the fall of 2005 when I ran my first mile in the blisteringly fast time of 13:02 (remarkably close to my average pace at Iron Horse).

One of the great things about running is that it has a sliding scale of achievement with each milestone being as significant as the last.   When you are starting from scratch, completing one mile can be as rewarding as running 100 after years of effort.

There are many levels of competition in a foot race.  At the front of the pack there are the elites battling against each other to be the one to break that tape at the finish line.


Then there is the battle against the clock, runners chasing that personal record.

The most epic battle of all is internal. Runners challenging themselves, smashing through comfort zones to attempt to go farther than they ever have before and pushing themselves far beyond their perceived limitations.  Individuals trying to achieve things they may have at one time thought impossible.  It matters little whether the distance involved is one mile or 100.

2012 in Review

2012 was a banner year for me.  I ran a total of 2,132 miles shattering my previous record.  Here is the year in review:

January – Ragnar Relay Florida Keys.  Just about the most fun I’ve had as an adult (at least while standing up) made even better by a third place finish for team Shanghaied and a bronze baton.

February – Two consecutive record months over 180 miles kicked off my best and most consistent year of training.

March – Highest mileage month ever at 243 miles.

April – Croom Fools Run – My second ultra and first 50 mile event.

May – I went streaking, running 38 consecutive days ending on May 17.  I averaged 5.5 miles per day with a minimum of 3 miles each day.  

June – I finally broke through the 7:00 mile barrier setting a 6:35 PR at WVR’s first one mile time trial workout.

July – Barefoot running.  A few months of gradual buildup culminated in my longest barefoot run to date - six miles.

August – I finally broke through the 23:00 barrier in the 5k at the Go for the Gold 5k setting a new PR of 22:32.

September – Got out of my comfort zone while training hard for a beautiful but hilly course at the Georgia Jewel.  50 miles and 9000 feet of elevation gain.  I also set another one mile PR at the Genuine Mile – 6:29.

October -  Ran my first 10k with a respectable time of 49:22 (after having run a 22 mile training run the day before) at the Pink Feet 10k.

November – Not every significant milestone is positive.  Plagued with ankle problems leading up to the Wild Sebastian 100, I decided to toe the start line anyway.  Hoping to complete 75 miles I had to drop at mile 45 (after hobbling through 10 painful miles).  Although given credit for finishing just one 25 mile loop around the course, in my heart I consider this to be my first DNF.

December – Confirming that my decision to drop from Wild Sebastian was the correct one (although that gives me little solace) my ankle healed after a few weeks of rest and I finished the year strong with a new marathon PR at the Jacksonville Bank Marathon – 4:21:39.

8 More Days

You would think I would be used to the madness by now, but new challenges mean new things to obsess over during a taper.

The Georgia Jewel is a familiar distance for me but I will be facing my first race with any kind of elevation gain.  So, guess what is occupying my mind.

Take a look.

It’s not much compared to the crown jewels of ultra running, but for this beach runner it is a significant step up in difficulty.  I’m estimating that I will climb a cumulative 9000 feet.  By comparison the most I ever climbed during a single run in training, running back and forth over the tallest bridge I could find, was just over 1000 feet over a distance of about 10 miles.

At least the weather looks like it is cooperating.  The extended forecast shows partly cloudy skies with a high of 78 and a low of 54.  That's more than 10 degrees cooler than my training conditions.

Just take it one step at a time and when all else fails - Suck it up Buttercup!

This is going to be interesting.

"Getting Chicked"

If you are unfamiliar with the term "getting chicked" check out this post on iRunFar.

What do you think? Is the term an insult or an expression of respect and friendly rivalry?  Is it praise of woman’s superior performance in comparison to her male peers or maybe a passive aggressive implication that she has surprisingly risen above her gender’s inherent physical inferiority?

By weird coincidence I have come across this debate several times in the past week, both in reading and in conversation.

I know in my case there are a number of women that I run with who are usually just a little bit faster than me.  With age group awards often just out of my reach and PR’s getting more and more difficult to achieve, often one of my goals is sometimes simply to avoid “getting chicked” by these female friends and rivals.  If I succeed I consider it a huge accomplishment in deference to their abilities but when they do "chick" me I find it incredibly motivating to try harder next time.

So let me know your opinion.  "Getting Chicked" – Yay or Nay? Pro or Con? Love it or Hate it?