Posts Tagged ‘Bedford’

One of the first roads I ran yesterday was Baltimore Avenue in Bedford. It was completely unintentional, I promise. All I was trying to do was start off the run with Duke on a slightly different route. It was the first time I’ve been on that road in several months. It just turned out to be very fitting as the first “official” long run for the Baltimore Marathon.

As I already mentioned, my first long run of this training session went well. In fact, the entire week was great. It included a fairly speedy 5k on a lunch run on Friday in 25:06, a time faster than several 5k races I’ve done. All of my runs just seemed to fall into place despite some intense heat the first half of the week. I also squeezed in a short watchless run with Duke on Thursday evening.

It was one of the best first weeks of training that I remember having. Perhaps it’s from being more focused this time around and talking about it more than usual. I have had “official” kickoffs before, but this time just seems so different.

Here’s a look at yesterday’s long run around Bedford, as well as the elevation chart:

Today was the last day in my current job and I will soon be headed in the opposite direction in a different city for my new job. For those who don’t know where I live, I’m in Bedford, Va., which is pretty much in between Lynchburg and Roanoke. After a little more than 18 months of making the commute to Lynchburg, I’ll soon be headed the other way on U.S. 460 to what I hope will be the last new job in a while.

Anyway, since I haven’t gone for a run at work in the time I’ve been there, I thought it would be fitting today to head up that monogrammed mountain in Lynchburg and bid farewell. It’s not that I won’t come to Lynchburg anymore, but it’ll certainly be for different reasons than work. Unfortunately the views weren’t the greatest today, as you can see below. On a clear day, you can see a lot more than this, plus the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. This just looks very BLAH.

I also struggle to use the word “mountain” for this — it’s more than a hill, but it’s not quite a mountain either, at least to me. It was pretty much a mile straight up Candlers Mountain Road, then into Snowflex and then a little bit of relief before the final peak. I stopped for a few minutes to catch my breath and to take in the skewed view and then headed back down for a few more miles. Here’s a look at the elevation profile:

The entire run was a good mix of road, gravel, dirt, trail and some sidewalk. About 3 miles into it, I felt some rain … then I felt some more rain … and then about 4 miles it was pretty steady. No problem — I don’t mind the rain at all, although it did make for two days in a row of some kind of rain. But about mile 5 it thundered. Then it thundered again. I’m not going to be out in a thunderstorm, so I ran about a mile less than I wanted to today, but I certainly am not going to complain.

The intensity of the uphill and downhill was something I haven’t experienced in a while. I needed it. And with the thunderstorm, it was a very fitting way to say good-bye.

I also won a door prize - a pair of Injinji socks to my growing collection.

My first trail race in nearly 4 years has left me with not much to say. Running yesterday’s Trail Nut 10k in Bedford was somewhat spontaneous — I did blog about it the other day and discussed it on Twitter a bit — but I honestly didn’t decide until late Friday that I’d do it.

I thought a lot this week about the bitter taste of last year’s DNF in the half marathon of the Trail Nut event, even though that was really out of my control. At some point this week I realized I HAD to do this race.

What transpired was the most fun I’ve ever had in a race. It was so awesome, humbling, crazy, exhilarating … there are so many adjectives that I can’t even think of to describe the race. In the 56:27:16 that it took to do this, I learned so much, as well as had many things about trail racing reemphasized:

• Go as fast as possible to get to the trail head. There was a little more than a quarter mile through grass, up a hill to the trail head. I learned that in my DNF last year, but I really used my climbing skills to pass about 10 people. Had I not done that, I might not be nearly as happy about this race.
• Pacing is pretty much impossible due to the single-track nature, especially to this race. Fortunately I got behind someone that was going a speed I liked and then passed her when the trail opened up a couple of miles in going up a hill.
• “Pass to the left” is an important phrase. I think I had just 3-4 people pass me, but that statement was so crucial 4 miles or so into the race as I caught the tail end of the half marathoners who started 10 minutes before us. It’s also important to know that sometimes on a trail, passing just cannot happen until things flatten out or the trail opens up a bit.
• It’s OK to power walk the hills. That’s true of any race, but there were a couple of times in which I was actually slower “running.” So I stopped the motion and effort of running and did more of a hiking motion.

I felt like I was learning as I was racing. Using all these things led to finishing second out of seven in my age group (the race winner was actually in my age group) — my first age group award since 2007 — and placing 28th out of 96 runners. I still don’t have the right words to explain what this race means to me. I still need to let it sink in a bit.

Here’s a look at the course on the Garmin and elevation profile:

Yesterday’s Monument Avenue 10k in Richmond (click here for the race report) looked like this:

A 10k I ran a couple of weekends ago in my hometown of Bedford, Va., looked like this:

Think running on hills helps in training for a relatively flat race?

Here’s a little known fact about me — I very rarely plan my routes. I usually just have a general mileage range in mind and then run wherever I feel like it. I do have certain routes that I know the exact mileage of and have actually been sticking to them lately in my recovery process, but today was different — it was time to run with absolutely no plans beyond getting to at least 6 miles.

So instead of starting from home, I drove to the local middle school to start my route. Then the goals starting coming to mind — hit some long hills, both uphill and downhill. Considering three months ago I was told to avoid hills as much as possible, I wanted to go out of my way if I had to in order to run hills.

Another goal was to not worry about my time at all. When I looked at my watch I made a promise to myself to just look at the distance and avoid looking at the current pace or time elapsed.

I also wanted to make sure I enjoyed this run — for the first time in a while I stopped and took several pictures, including this pony behind the Elks National Home in Bedford:

Things were going great and a few miles into it I decided I needed to do something to help my mind — run the hill where the pain started in October. So I ventured to that part of town and stopped and took this picture of it:

I posted it to Twitter with this simple message: “The hill where my knee pain started 5 months ago. Time to make it mine.”

I made it mine. And I made this entire 6.2-mile run mine. I ran it like I wanted today. I had fun. I didn’t think about my knee. I hit so many little goals along the way that I almost let my emotions get to me. It was like the finishing line of a big race.

Today I crossed a hurdle — I’m not injured anymore; I’m not in recovery either; and while I am training for a 10k in a couple of weeks, I am officially ready for the rest of the year with all these lessons learned in my brain ready to be utilized. I am, as many people on Daily Mile keep telling me, back.

As with many of my miles this year, Duke was with me for mile 1,000.

I’ve said many, many times this year how great of a year this has been for me with running. Then November came along and it all seemingly came crashing down. But I’m not going to let an injury define my year or set the stage for 2011.

There have been so many great things happen this year that my attitude about running is changed forever. 2010 has been the highest of highs and it’s time to reflect on running quadruple digits for the first time in the seven full years I’ve been running. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I (quietly) hit 1,000 running miles in 2010 Saturday. So here it is, the highlights of my 1,000 miles of running this year …

0-2.4
Funny thing about the year with the most running miles ever … I didn’t run my first miles until Jan. 4 because I started the year off with a horrible cold and horrible weather conditions.

42.5-54.5
It’s very rare to have a non-race run to be so life-altering, but these miles covered a run/power hike on Terrapin Mountain that I didn’t think I could do. A big group of us battled wind, cold and icy conditions at the top to do this. This run set the tone for the year, putting in my head that I could do anything I set my mind to. Not that it wasn’t there before, but it became reality.

226.6-239.7
Simply put: a PR in the Shamrock Half Marathon. A goal met that was a long time coming.

This was me at the 100th mile in April. Looking back, this photo was somewhat of a wake-up call to drop a few pounds. Besides my beard, I can see the difference in my mile 1,000 photo and this one.

257.8-359
Talk about doing anything I set my mind to, the April streak is the highlight of my year. While I had PRs and climbed mountains, running at least a mile a day for 30 straight days was one of the most self-satisfying things I’ve ever done in my seven years of running. Speaking of PRs and climbing mountains, during my streak I set a PR in a 5k by one second (miles 310.2-313.3) and ran a half marathon that climbed Roanoke Mountain (miles 325.1-336.2). I also ran just before and after midnight for two of those days during Relay for Life. Looking back, April 2010 was the single best running month ever. Expect another streak in 2011.

435.8-437.5
Not all these miles have to be good — this was my DNF in a trail half marathon in June. While I was sick for much of that week, I learned that it’s OK to not finish if the body doesn’t allow it. My DNF was so much better than a DNS. I gave it a shot; that’s all I could do that day.

514-515
One measly mile, but it was oh-so fast. The 6:15 in the Academy Mile was surprising, and to this day I think I could have done better.

647-660.1
It’s strange how many humbling runs I’ve had this year, and the Lynchburg Half Marathon in August is no exception. It was a wake-up call that I needed to step-up my training a bit. A GIANT hill in the middle killed any thoughts of having a good race and it made me realize that I had to stop taking hills for granted. But I finished with my son in my hands, and that was what made this so special.

810.6-820.6
Not a PR, but I survived some late race heat to put in a good performance at the Virginia 10 Miler, a pretty much unplanned race. Looking back, I know I could have set a PR had I not had an 18-miler the week before. Maybe, just maybe, this becomes a big focus for 2011.

835.6-855.6
The first 20-miler of my Richmond Marathon training session was also a bit humbling. Looking back, I still don’t know what to say about it. Each long run this summer was special with hitting distances I haven’t hit in 3 years. It makes it even more special now knowing that I’m not going to do it again anytime soon.

901.6-921.6
The second 20-miler, which set the stage for the injury I have now. I clearly remember the last big hill in that run and my knee starting to ache a bit. Had I stopped that run at around 18 miles instead of pushing it, who knows what could have happened the rest of the year. But I can’t play the “what if” game. It’s another lesson in listening to my body that I so easily forget.

966.6-992.8
I’ve well documented the Richmond Marathon and how that went and how things have gone since then, but looking back a month later, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. If I lived and ran in hindsight, I would be doing myself a disservice. It’s done and I’ve moved on. So many of you out there who have injuries and regrets with running need to do the same thing.

999.2-1,000
It’s not even a whole mile, but this Saturday I hit 1,000 running miles for the year. Since the marathon, I’ve ran a few tenths here and there, only logging a mile or more just a couple of times. It certainly didn’t happen like I thought it would or when it would or any of that once I knew it would happen, but now that I’ve hit the mark I don’t care. I did it. 1,000 miles. Quadruple digits.

To mark the occasion, I took my dog, Duke, to the nearby middle school to run the final bit on a field where I ran my very first “official” mile when I was in 4th or 5th grade. Fittingly, it was cloudy, cold and windy, like so many of my runs in the first couple of months in the year.

I ran the final few tenths of a mile on a flat field at the Bedford Middle School, site of my first ever timed mile 20+ years ago.

So there you have it. You won’t see a 2010 recap or top 10 list from me in the next couple of weeks because this is it. This IS my year of running. I may run another mile here or there, but these are the best and worst of what the year had to offer. A year ago at this time I was ready for 2010 to be “my” year — a redefining sort of year. And to reflect on this year, I must say that it was my year.

Usually after a long run, I have a lot to say, but oddly today I don’t. Today’s run went pretty well until the last few miles. These hills around Bedford are rough on the knees and body after a while, but I survived and got it done. Nearly two hours after completing it, I’m feeling pretty good … and stuffed from an awesome pancake breakfast right after the run. I’m looking forward to seeing how all this translates in the Richmond Marathon.

And I’m certainly not going to complain when I have sights like this to look at on all my runs:

While on my 18-mile run this morning, I realized that I often compare my marathon training experience this year to what I did 3 years ago. The thing is, as of this run, there is nothing to compare it to.

On the last weekend of September 2007, I ran 18 miles. I’m not sure why, but I remember that run very well. My blog entry about it helps, but I clearly remember how awesome the weather was, how good I felt during the run and … wait for it … how flat that run was. While Richmond has some good hills, my southside neighborhood was pretty flat. In hindsight, those 18 miles were crazy easy. It is now impossible to compare any of those long runs to what I am doing now.

Today’s 18 miler around Bedford was just like any run around Bedford — hills, hills and more hills. According to data from my Garmin, the elevation gain was 1,180 feet. On an elevation map, a run like this looks so intense — while doing it though, I’m not really even thinking about it. I’m just running.

On another note, 15.3 miles into my run, I hit mile 800 for the year. When I hit 700 miles a few weeks ago, I found myself at an interesting spot — at a stop sign. Today I found myself in another interesting spot — at a railroad crossing.

It’s truly a sign of how my running has gone in all of 2010 and even more a sign of how marathon training has gone recently. While I admittedly struggled a bit in the last few miles, mainly due to running out of water, this run went so well.

Not once did I even think about cutting it short or try to run somewhere flatter. Today, sort of subconsciously, I challenged myself to hills that I hadn’t touched on my runs in Bedford yet. Going uphill to the National D-Day Memorial and then coming downhill on Burks Hill Road between miles 12-14 were grueling, but I know how much better moments like that are going to make the Richmond Marathon.

Now that I’ve taken on today, I feel like I’ve hit some kind of milestone. For a while now I’ve been trying to put some of my running-related past behind me, but I haven’t been able to very well.

Today, though, I have this feeling that I can move on and stop talking about what I did a few years ago. I’m defining myself as a runner this year and I can’t wait to see what the next couple of months (and years) hold.

I wasn’t having a good run this morning. No real reason why — it just wasn’t happening. Fortunately I was planning for only 12 miles or so. It’s kind of nice to say “only” with that many miles. It’s still a long run, but compared to 16 last week and 18 next week, 12 is short.

So since things weren’t going all that well, I decided to make the route as crazy looking as I could on a map. In a small town like Bedford, anything over 10 miles looks crazy anyway, but it makes runs like today feel a little more rewarding.

And, as a friendly reminder to myself, the Richmond Marathon is 9 weeks from today!

About 10 years ago, I started playing a lot of golf. When I first started my career, I was on the evening shift at a newspaper, working what some would think is an awful schedule of Tuesday-Saturday. That schedule, though, allowed me to get hooked on golf. Going out on a golf course on a mid-morning Monday was awesome — no one was out there. And I could easily go out on any other day of the week around 10 a.m., play 9 holes and be at work at 3:30 p.m.

But here’s the thing … I was awful. It wasn’t “bogey golf” awful; it was worse. I would usually play 9 holes and maybe, just maybe break 50 every once in a while. And in the few times I played 18 holes, I scored better than 100 only once. In the few years that I played, I did get good enough to have at least one par per round and had a couple of birdies, but that was it.

The thing is, you see, is that those few birdies and a few good drives is what kept me going — I knew I could hit the ball well and I knew I could putt even better, but I never ever dedicated myself to getting any better.

So, what does all this have to do with running? The answer is simple — it’s that hook of knowing I have good runs in me; that I can always get better. And, unlike golf, my dedication to running grows more and more every day. Even on bad days — which fortunately seem rare now — I know that I am learning something each and every time out there.

After this past weekend’s long run, I feel like I am unleashing some potential inside of me. It’s kind of been like that all year. I’ve only had time to write a quick post about Saturday, but there was something special about it. While the last six 6 miles were way off any desired pace I want, I hit the biggest hills possible around Bedford, I dug deep and kept going. After missing one long run because I was sick, just getting to 14 miles wasn’t good enough for me. In the last couple of miles, I really didn’t want to finish it off, but since I was doing some live Tweeting during the run, I felt like people were watching. While I don’t run for others, I would have been disappointed if I cut the run short.

Just as in golf when one long drive would make me come back a couple of days later, one awesome long run is going to keep me going for the next couple of months. When all else seems lost, I know that I can fight through it. The finish line will always be there.