Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Setting a New PR in Seattle

I thought Seattle was supposed to be hilly?

Someone told me that.  I forget who.

I set a new PR in Washington DC this March, running when I didn't even feel like it.  DC had one big hill at about 10K, and that hill completely owned me.  I walked the whole stretch of it.  But compared to San Francisco where I usually train, the rest of the course was pretty flat, so I took about five minutes off my best time.


I hadn't had time to do a long run since Liverpool's Half Marathon, and was still coughing from the tail end of bronchitis  The only runs I could squeeze in were short 30-60 minute bursts on a treadmill in whatever fitness center was close to wherever I was working.  I would run as hard as I could for as long as I could, then shower and hit the Show Floor.

Not exactly the best training program, but something is better than nothing.

In DC, I had met a man who introduced me to his running group, Black Sheep Run.  This group would jump on an airplane at a moment's notice to fly across the world for a race, then turn around the next day and fly home.  As often as they could.

Hmmm...sounded a bit like....me.  But I do it for Trade Shows.  I fit right in.


I never really gave all the energy I had at a race.  Except for one or two, I have always been alone at the Finish Line with no one to greet me when I finished or catch me if I fell.  I don't really have an "In Case of Emergency" contact that I can put on my toe tag in case something goes wrong.  It's just me.  And that means I don't push myself and risk not being able to get home.

Team Black Sheep Run at the Starting Line
This race was different.  I was there with a group.  There were 20 or so Black Sheep from all over the country coming in for the race, and I got to hang out and meet more people as the weekend went on.  When race day came, we all got together and posed for a Group Picture and most of us all started at the same time.

As the race started, I ran just a little quicker than I usually do for a Half, feeling the effects of all the gels and gummies that I had eaten.  5K came and went, and I was on a pretty good pace.  Started waiting for the hills.  Where were the hills?  What hills?

Oh, a little six-story around mile 4.  Walked up it.  Water station right after.  Cool.  When is the next hill?


Next thing I knew, 10K gone.  And on a downhill.  Oooooookaaaaaayyyy....  Looked at my Microsoft Band.  PR on a 10K.  Alrighty then.  Let's keep going.

Almost ten miles in, and it's still pretty flat.  I'm running by a lake.  No idea where in town I am, but it's cool, I feel pretty good, and every mile or so there is a water or gel station.  Let's push a little harder.  This is usually where I get tired and walk.  Not this time.

And then...there it was...a hill.  Right after the mile 10 marker.  And it went around a bend, so I had no idea how high it was going to be.  Time to walk and conserve.  I just set a PR on 10 miles, so let's slow down a bit.  I don't want to bonk.

Well, that hill was only 55 or so feet incline.  Ummm...that's it?  Seattle, that's all you are going to throw at me??

Oh, I GOT THIS!!

The last gel kicked in and my legs and brain got into some sort of joined conspiracy that made me really start pushing.  I ran through the 2nd tunnel and saw Century Field and started doing the math in my head...  To finish at XX time I need to run a YY pace for ZZ length.  This is what people with math backgrounds do when they are out running without music to keep the mind occupied.  I had a goal to finish a Half Marathon under 02:30 by the end of the year.  And I was going to do it.  In June.

And then my mind was really going...I was doing more math...damn all that gel I drank.  If I kicked it up just a littttttttle bit, I could come in at 02:25, taking 10 minutes off my DC time.  Nice thought...but not sure if I had that kind of energy.  Too risky.  What if I fell?  What if I cramped?  What if I passed out?  What if....???  The cautious me began to win this race and I slowed down.  And it started raining so I got paranoid that I would slip and fall on the slick highway.

BUT WAIT!!!  I have a TEAM here!!  I am not alone!!  If I fall down at the Finish Line, they will pick me up and get me home.  I am NOT ALONE!!! There may not be any "In Case of Emergency" written on my toe tag, but I have two dozen Black Sheep waiting for me somewhere who, at the very least, will give me a hug and get me a beer or drag my sorry butt three blocks to my room and throw me in the shower.  I can do this!!  I can run--DOWNHILL--into Century Field and cross that Finish Line at 02:25 or keel over trying.  And they will pick up my phone, my toe tag, and my fitness bands and make sure I do not get a DNF.  And then they will come back for me.

Finish line picture.
Not that I remember taking it...
So run I did.  At mile 12 I started getting dizzy.  I couldn't see to the sides of me.  My legs were screaming at me.  My feet were threatening mutiny.  But I kept going.  Bingo Fuel gone.  I saw the mile 13 sign ahead of me and made the right turn into the stadium.  And then it all went blank.

I honestly don't remember crossing the Finish Line.  It was raining pretty hard and all I could think about was getting a picture and getting out of the rain before my phone got ruined.  I guess you have to focus on something, right?  The only thing I remember was someone from the race staff grabbing me and asking me over and over if I was OK.  I kept saying yes, and I had to find my team.

I eventually found them and celebrations commenced.  I'm not sure how many of us set a new PR, but it was an amazing experience sitting there with everyone, drinking beer, and watching one Black Sheep after another come in jumping up and down, waving medals and celebrating victory.  I wouldn't trade those few hours for anything in the world.

And, of course, because I was Running While Branded with my Team Geico shirt on, I went to the tent and got an amazing massage by a big Hawaiian, which might be the only reason I was able to walk to the train station, get on an airplane and fly home.

The Black Sheep drinking beer and being the last ones at the party.
And by the way...Seattle...I didn't just own you, MY TEAM OWNED YOU!!!  Next time, try a little harder, will you?  Those hills you threatened us with?  Nope.  Why don't you come down to a REAL hill city like San Francisco and try and set a PR here.  OK.  Testosterone back in check.

So as I sit here writing this, my legs just beginning to forgive me, my lower back throbbing with some sort of new knot, and my toenails threatening to fall off, I'm working with some of my teammates to find accommodations in Chicago for the next race as well as figure out how we will all get to Dublin and back.

See you in Chicago.  Unless you want to come to San Francisco and do some REAL hills with me.

Life is Good.  Life is better when you finally find out the meaning of TEAM.



Miles Flown:  46,846
Longest Run:  13.1 miles






Thursday, June 2, 2016

Unbranded in Liverpool...the Encore

This is my second time running the Rock & Roll Liverpool Half Marathon . And, sadly, my second time not doing it healthy.



Last year, I had a horrible infection on my ankle which caused me to be on crutches the week before the race.  



This year, I overdeveloped bronchitis the week before the race, and was not sure I would make it through the course without keeling over and coughing myself to the hospital.

But there's something about Liverpool and the people who live there That just give you energy and strength to get out there and do it, dying or not.


The 2:30 pacer who made ​​me finish strong.
 Next year, he promises me 2:20. Let's do it !!
This is without a doubt my favorite Rock & Roll Marathon that I have completed. If you ever get a chance to come across The Pond and participate, do it! The people are wonderful, the city was a blast, and the fact that not many people know you makes it even more fun to get out there and experience new things. Plus, if you drink enough beer, you start to understand the accent, and can almost figure out what the Scouse are saying. Truly amazing and hospitable people in this town .


And, of course, everything BEATLES !!!!  
How could you go wrong?

I Decided to do the R & R Remix Challenge - 5K on Saturday and the Half Marathon on Sunday. After not running for almost a month, my 5K was good - just two minutes off my PR, and my Half Marathon was pretty decent as the 4th best time. I was afraid to push myself too hard, as I did not want to get into a coughing fit on the course and not be editable to finish. No way I will quit, I do not care how long it takes. That's just me.


This is what I look like after crossing the finish line.
No editing or filtering. The false eyelashes stay on!




Some people from my group came running over, and this was the 10th R & R racing for them this year - definitely an achievement. Having a group That you only see during a race and communicate with on Facebook is certainly the modern way of developing relationships with people who, like me, will jump on a plane at a moment's notice and fly wherever for an event. I do it for work, they do it for a race. Just great people.





Unbranded why, though? Because this is the only event that i can do and not have an association to a fire, and not know at least half the people working it. Coming to Liverpool and running is like a "guilty pleasure" for me. ... Shhhhh .... no one knows I'm here.


Always Branded
But I still ran the 5K branded with my Geico shirt, since theywere nice enough to feature the picture I fired at the DC R & R Half Marathon for the #MyRaceFace  social media campaign as Their main picture for the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco last month. So I suppose I can never get away from being branded, can I?

And, after all, that's the point of all of this, is not it? I can not be "Running While Branded" if I'm not branded, right?



Miles Flown: 35 299 miles.
Longest Run: 13.1 miles.



The luck or love of the Irish.