Freaky 5k - Race Report

The Freaky 5k has become a staple for our family.  This will be our 8th time participating in this event.  This race is well run, the weather is usually decent, and its super family friendly.  In addition to the 5k run/walk, they host a kid's fun run dubbed the "Mini-Monster Dash," they have a costume contest for kids, adults, and dogs, and have kid's activities including a bounce house.  The race has always been very well attended and with the weather forecast for this year, I expected a large crowd.  Last year's race was cold, wet, windy, and simply put, just miserable.  This year, the weather forecast called for highs in the 50's and partly cloudy.  The Mini-Monster Dash started at 8:00am with temperatures in the low 40's.  As far as late October weather goes, this is just about as good as it gets.  This year, we signed up Maya and Delaney for the full 5k and Harper for the Mini-Monster Dash.  This will be Delaney's first full 5k and Maya's second.  We set goals for Maya to break her previous PR from last April of 35:22.  For Delaney, we really wanted her to give her best effort and finish the entire race and do her best without complaining or whining.  My goal, was to contend and finish in the top 3.  Coming off of the Fox Cities Marathon last month, I took one of my longest hiatuses from running.  I took nearly a full month completely off of running...and honestly, I didn't even really miss it.  So I didn't really know what to expect as far as a time for the 5k.  Taking into consideration that this course is difficult with two large hills, one of which is right at the finish, on top of my lack of just running in general, I was just hoping to finish in the top 3. 

Prerace

As usual, we (I) wanted to get to the race early enough to not be rushed and have time to warm up before the Mini-Monster Dash.  We just around 7:00.  After getting to Pierce Park, we picked up our race packets, bibs, and shirts.  After getting situated with the kids, I set out for my usual warm up.  I finished my warm up just in time to watch Harper run the fun run in her wolf costume.  After she finished we had about 15-20 minutes before the 5k started.  I got in another short warm up and helped get the kids ready for their run and we then found our positions at the start line.

Nutrition

As usual, I didn't eat anything before the race and just had some coffee before the start.  I took a serving of Hammer Nutrition Fully Charged preworkout drink mix about 10 minutes before the start of the race.  I also had a few sips of Endurolytes Fizz (Grape flavor) during my time after leaving for the race and before the start of the race.

Miles 0-3.1

As soon as the race started, three younger (high school aged) kids pulled out in front.  I was fine with that, as I usually aim for even splits or even negative splits in shorter races like the 5k.  Typically speaking, I am used to other runners taking off like a bat out of hell at the start of the race and then usually passing them after a mile or two, and sometimes less.  Before reaching the first mile, I passed one of the three kids in front of me with only two others holding strong.  Shortly after passing mile one, I passed one of the last two kids ahead of me.  After hitting the second mile, I finally passed the final kid.  As the race continued, the last kid I passed was hanging in there.  I knew I had to keep pressing hard, otherwise he'd likely pass me during the final kilometer.  As we drew closer to the finish line the gap had grown bigger, and I was pretty certain I would ultimately finish in first.  I finished in 17:42, about 10 seconds ahead of second place.

Post Race

After finishing the race, I hung around for a little while to congratulate the two kids who ran great races and pushed me pretty damn hard.  I then back tracked the course to tack down my dad who was running with Maya.  I found them shortly after the mile two mark.  I ran the final mile or so with Maya and my dad.  Maya finished in 34:31, about a minute faster than her last 5k.  She did so great and finished strong.  After crossing the finish line with Maya, I again back tracked to find Sarah and Delaney.  I was shocked when they were already approaching the finish line.  Delaney wasn't even sweating and barely breathing hard.  I helped DJ finish the race in 37:06, which is way faster than I anticipated her to finish in.  After everyone had finished, we stuck around for the costume contest and the awards presentations.

What's on Tap

I have nothing on tap....literally nothing...well, nothing specific.  I have started to coach Maya's basketball team, which is in full swing.  I have a laundry list of random chores to get done around the house before the snow begins to fall.  So, I guess you could say I have all "that" on tap.  But as far as running and racing, I have nothing on tap.  I really want to take some time away from any specific training to just recharge from this past spring and summer's intense training.  I am already starting to look forward to a strong 2019 race season and it all starts in the off season...which is NOW.  I'd like to get in a little cross training this winter, to include swimming, cycling, and strength training.  I'm thinking that come January/February, I'll be diving right back into some sort of a training plan for some sort of a race in the spring of 2019 before we take our highly anticipated Florida Vacation!

Thanks for reading!  Cheers!

Maya Turns 9

 

Today is Maya's 9th birthday!  It is also the 6th "birthday" of the annual birthday interview!  I don't know whats harder to beleived, the fact that Sarah and I are now parents to a fun loving, hard working 9 year old, or the fact that I have been doing these birthday interviews for 6 years...crazy!

This past year was another great one for our family and for Maya.  She is continuing to succeed in school, socially with her friends, and in sports.  It's been a lot of fun watching her grow up from a little girl into a mature little woman.  Happy Birthday Maya!  Mom and dad love you to the moon and back!

Below are the past interviews:

• Maya Turns 4
• Maya Turns 5
• Maya Turns 6
• Maya Turns 7
• Maya Turns 8

1. FAVORITE COLOR?  Purple
2. FAVORITE TOY?  My easel
3. FAVORITE CHARACTER?  Elephant and Piggie from the Mo Willems books
4. FAVORITE SUPERHERO?  Cat Woman
5. FAVORITE FRUIT?  Cantaloupe
6. FAVORITE VEGETABLE?  Carrot
7. FAVORITE BREAKFAST? Cereal
8. FAVORITE CEREAL?  Lucky Charms
9. FAVORITE LUNCH? Pizza
10. FAVORITE DINNER?  Pork, bacon, and apples (a skillet type dinner we make)  
11. FAVORITE DRINK?  Soda
12. FAVORITE SNACK?  Whales (Goldfish knock-offs)
13. FAVORITE DESSERT? Ice Cream
14. FAVORITE RESTAURANT?  Melting Pot
15. FAVORITE TV SHOW?  Nailed It 
16. FAVORITE MOVIE?  Greatest Showman 
17. FAVORITE ACTOR/ACTRESS?  Zac Efron 
18. FAVORITE SONG? Boat Song
19.  FAVORITE SINGER/BAND?  Taylor Swift
20.  FAVORITE BOOK?  The Book With No Pictures By: B.J. Novak
21. FAVORITE BOOK SERIES?  Pete The Cat
22. FAVORITE OUTFIT?  Probably a dress 
23. FAVORITE GAME?  The Game of Life
24. FAVORITE SPORT?  Soccer or basketball, or volleyball, I don't really know
25. FAVORITE ANIMAL?  Dog
26. FAVORITE PLACE TO GO? Camping
27. FAVORITE THINGS TO DO? Go on trips
28. FAVORITE SUBJECT?  Math
29. FAVORITE STUFFED ANIMAL?  Hip and Hop
30. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Fridays
31. FAVORITE MONTH?  October
32. FAVORITE SEASON? Fall
33. FAVORITE HOLIDAY? Halloween
34. FAVORITE THING MOMMY DOES?  Takes us fun places
35. FAVORITE THING DADDY DOES?  Coaches me for basketball
36. FAVORITE VACATION?  Tennessee
37. FAVORITE MEMORY?  When we go on trips
38. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND?  Graecyn
39. WHO DO YOU LIKE TO PLAY WITH?  My sisters
    
40. WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?  Hanging out with my whole family...or something like that
41. WHAT SCARES YOU?  Death, or like killers that are in Goosebumps
42. WHAT MAKES YOU SAD?  When I can't play outside
43. WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR? A horse
44. WHERE IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO GO? Florida   
45. WHAT WOULD YOU BUY IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY?  A mansion 
46. WHAT ARE YOU REALLY GOOD AT?  Sports
47. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?  A teacher
48. DISLIKES?  When I have to do chores
49. WHAT DO YOU HOPE YOU DO THIS YEAR?  Go to Florida 
50. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?  Nice and funny

 

 

 

Fox Cities Marathon - Race Report

The Fox Cities Marathon is one of my favorite races.  It is organized, it runs through my hometown and the entire fox valley, and it's run in the late summer/early fall, which is my favorite time of year.  It's been 8 years since I've last run the Fox Cities Marathon.  The Fox Cities Marathon was my first ever marathon back in 2007 and it is also the course I've run my marathon PR on, in 2010 of 3:03:46.  For all of these reasons, the Fox Cities Marathon holds a special place in my heart.  Coming off of a 3:04:58 marathon at the Oshkosh Marathon this past spring, I wanted to push all my hypothetical chips into the middle of the table and work my ass off and finally break the 3 hour threshold.

After recovering from the Oshkosh Marathon someone recommended I check out the Hanson's Marathon Method.  After they read my Race Report from the Oshkosh Marathon and heard me describe my late race struggles of feeling weak and drained the final 10k, he felt I could benefit from the Hanson's Marathon Method.  I figured I really had nothing to lose and could possibly benefit from a change in my training strategies.  So I purchased the Hanson's Marathon Method book and followed the Advance Plan while running an additional 2 miles for each scheduled "easy" training run.  The book recommended upping weekly mileage by running these additional 2 miles if you were looking to run a marathon under 3 hours.  Below are my print offs of my training schedule I followed leading up to the marathon.  The only changes I made, were instead of having my off day scheduled on Wednesdays, I bumped Friday's easy training run to Wednesday and bumped Saturday and Sunday's run to Friday and Saturday, then had my off days on Sundays.  This just made my life easier for family and personal reasons.  Essentially my week was broken down as follows:

• Monday: Easy
• Tuesday: Speed/Strength Day
• Wednesday: Easy
• Thursday: Tempo
• Friday: Easy
• Saturday: Easy/Long Run
• Sunday: Off

  

Prerace

Heading into race week, I was skeptical and had no real idea how the race was going to go for me.  Since June, I had been struggling with some achilles tendonitis and a soft tissue injury to my hip.  I was pretty sure I would be able to push through the full race, but truly didn't know.  I modified the training schedule the final week, to include 3 total off days, opposed to the scheduled one day off the training plan called for.  Weather-wise, you couldn't ask for a better forecast.  At race time the forecasted temperatures were in the middle-to-upper 40's increasing into the upper 50's by 10:00am.  I chose to wear a new pair of shorts I bought at the race expo, which I know is a text book no-no, but I felt comfortable with the shorts and myself that it wouldn't be an issue.

Saturday night was a relaxing evening, and had a filet of Ahi tuna, some wild rice, and a sweat potato.  Sarah and I dropped the girls off at my parents house for the night as Sarah was running the half marathon on Sunday too.  We got to bed early and eventually woke up at 4:15am.  We picked up Tessa and my dad and parked our vehicle in Neenah near the finish line and took a bus to the start line.  We got to the start line about an hour before race start.  I took care of some business and started warming up around 6:30.  Throughout my training, I had been experimenting with Rock Tape and used Rock Tape on both calves with hope that it would help prevent any potential issues throughout the race.

Nutrition Plan

If you have read any of my past race reports, you'd know I like to keep things consistent and simple.  So, with about an hour to go before the race, I took a couple Tissue Rejuvenator capsules, Mito Caps, and Race Caps Supreme.  Normally, I also take a couple Anti-Fatigue Caps, but because I was a total procrastinator, I never ordered a new bottle after running out.  With about 15 minutes to go until race time, I took a serving of Hammer Fully Charged, which is a phenomenal preworkout booster which I don't ever go without.  During the race, I planned on taking a Hammer Gel about every 6 miles with the first at about mile 8, and then miles 14 and 20 respectively. 

Miles 0-13.1

This entire season, I bought into the Hanson's Marathon Method.  With that being said, part of their philosophy is to race with even splits.  So that was my goal.  I trained all summer to race at a 6:40/mile pace.  I know that a 2:59:59 marathon equates to a 6:52/mile pace.  Knowing this, my strategy throughout the race was to have every mile fall between a 6:40-6:50 split.  As the race started I really wanted to judge how things were going to play out throughout the first 10k.  Everything was feeling pretty good after the first few miles.  My calves were feeling good, my hip was a non-issue, and simply put, I felt good.  Then, around mile 5 or so, I started to notice a pain on the outside of my left foot.  It felt like a shoe issue and was debating changing shoes when I next saw my mom.  As I continued, the pain slowly just went away.  It was weird and hard to describe, but like I said, it felt like a shoe issue, but just disappeared later on as I continued running.  I continued pushing forward and feeling good.  I crossed the half way point at about 1:28, which was basically right on track for what I had hoped.

Miles 13.1-20

It was around miles 15 or so, where I started to get some minor side stitches.  I got really concerned and worried that my day was going to completely become unraveled.  Throughout my training, following the Hanson's Marathon Method, I never ran further than 16 miles in a single training run.  Typically, I go at least 20 miles, multiple times, if not up to 22 or 24 miles.  I started wondering if my training was failing me and I was just going to fall apart by the time I hit mile 18+.  I knew that I had a couple of options, one, I could worry about my training and the side stitches, or I could focus on what I can control and just keep pushing forward.  Eventually, the side stitches went away, and I was right back to turning out splits all within my goal target range of 6:40-6:50.

Miles 20-26.2

As soon as I hit the 20 mile mark, I checked my watch to see how things were going and what the chances were of my FINALLY getting my sub 3 hour marathon.  At mile 20, I was at 2:15:05, so I knew all I had to do was run 7:00 miles for the final 10k and I would be right were I needed to be to set myself up for success.  Only problem was, I was hurting.  I kept pushing hard, knowing that I had a chance.  Around miles 23/24, my hamstrings started cramping.  I knew that if I just kept pushing they would lock up on me good, so I took short stretching breaks to loosen up my hamstrings.  I did my best to do this while continuing to move forward.  I ended up coming down the homestretch and saw the race clock just break 3:00:00.  I pushed as hard as I could to try and put up a 3:00:XX finish time.  I crossed the finish line in 3:01:05, missing my ultimate goal by 66 seconds.  66 F#*king seconds.  Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to set a new PR.  A PR that has been in place for 8 years.  It leaves me motivated for next year and excited to have a great race.  It also confirms that the Hanson's Marathon Method is legit and without a doubt, I will be following their training plan next year with the goal of again, a sub 3 hour marathon.

Post Race

I finished the race in 8th place and 1st in my age group (technically 2nd, but the 1st overall finisher was also in my age group).  I am thrilled with my race and my time, I am also bummed to come so close to the goal I have been chasing for over 8 years.  After the race, I hung out with Sarah, my dad, and my kids.  It was an awesome day.  A damn near perfect day for a marathon.  After taking in some water and moving around to loosen up, I got to ring my first ever PR bell.  I have never gotten to ring a PR bell, since there never really was a "PR bell" when I set my last PR 8 years ago.  We then let the girls play on the playground while we all waited for Tessa to cross the finish line after her first ever marathon.

What's on Tap

Since finishing the Fox Cities Marathon, I haven't even run a single mile...and quite honestly, it's been pretty nice.  I worked my ass of the past 4 months training for this race.  I have run the most miles throughout those 4 miles ever during training and made a lot of sacrifices throughout those months.  Mentally and physically, I just need a break from training.  My achilles need to heal up and so does my hip.  Also, I mentioned the pain I felt in my left foot early on in the race that eventually just went away.  Turns out that after the race, later in the day, I started feeling a tingly pain every time my foot plants.  It's strange.  It's not painful, but just a weird sensation in my feet.  It has now been a couple weeks since the race, and I'm still dealing with the apparent nerve issue.  I'm hoping the issue eventually goes away, but we'll have to wait and see.  I have also been working on a new table and bench set for our house which has taken up pretty much all my free time the past couple weeks.  I'll get a blog post up soon about that build later on.

As always, thanks for reading and Cheers!

High Cliff Ultra 25k - Race Report

I have never raced a trail run.  I have run on trails many of times, and I guess the 13.1 miles of the High Cliff Half Ironman has been on trails in High Cliff State Park.  But, I have never counted that as a trail race.  The trials were always pretty tame.  From what I've heard, the course of the High Cliff Ultra was tough.  It involved climbing and some pretty technical terrain.  So what the hell.  I signed up.  I originally singed up for the 50k.  I was going to use this as a training run for the Fall 50 in October.  But, if you read my race report from the Oshkosh Marathon, you'd know that I accepted a new position which completely changed my life schedule.  I gave up my extended days off for a normal schedule.  The change has been great, at least with my family.  But the change has really taken away my time to train, especially long.  Because of this, I changed my registration from the 50k to the 25k. 

Prerace

By choosing to run the 25k, I was able to sleep in a bit.  The race didn't start until 9am.  The 50k started at 8am.  Hindsight, I think the race could have been pushed ahead by an hour, both of them.  But, I took full advantage of the extra hour and stayed out a littler later than usual for me for a prerace night.  We had dinner at my in-laws Friday night for my brother-in-law and his boyfriend's birthday.  I also had a few beers with the family, since, after all, this is Wisconsin!  I got to bed around 10pm and then woke up around 6am.  I had a few cups of coffee and was on the road around 7:15ish.  After getting to the State Park, I picked up my bib and also found out that I won a raffle prize of an Ultimate Direction Buff.  I got my race bib and hung out in my truck for a few minutes.  I then got my warm up in, which was 2 miles.  I saw a family of deer in the park, which was really cool.  I saw a couple adult deer and two fawns.  After warming up, I went and hung out near the start line until the race started.

Nutrition Plan

This race was a waste-free race.  So there were no paper/plastic cups, no wrappers, no nothing.  I thought this was a great idea, considering how much waste there is at each individual aid station of any race with typical race cups.  With this in mind, I brought my handheld water bottle filled with a serving of Heed (100 calories).  I also brought a Hammer Gel, but ended up never taking it.  I also had my usual dosage of Anit-Fatigue Caps and Hammer Endurance Caps. 

Miles 0-5.5

The first 4 or so miles were the toughest miles I think I have ever raced.  I have run a ton of miles in High Cliff State Park.  But I have never run on many of the trails that the first 4-6 miles ran on.  Many of the first few miles were all on single track.  On top of being single track trails, much of it was over grown with brush.  Along with the over grown single track trails, there was the climbing.  And when I say climbing, I mean literally climbing.  There was a couple of sections of the trail where you had to use your hands and climb up a hill.  I am not complaining at all either, it was AWESOME.  It was so much fun.  It was hard.  Not only was it physically challenging, it was mentally challenging.  You had to try your hardest to get up and down the cliff edges, but you had to try your damnedest not to fall and break a leg.  I honestly think I went out too hard in the climbing and took everything out of my legs.  But, whatever, I had a great time!

Miles 5.5-15.5

As soon as I got to about mile 5 or so, the course really flattened out.  But this race was the tale of two stories, the hills and the heat.  So as soon as I was done battling the hills, I got to run on some flat trails, but they were out on the prairies of High Cliff State Park.  So, the wild flowers and scenery was great, but it also meant no shade.  And no shade means hot...as hell.  I knew going into this race it was only a 15.5 mile race.  With that being said, I knew that after I got up to the flat portion of the race, I could catch my breath and start pressing forward.  Sure, it all sounds great when I type it, but the truth is I could never catch my breath.  Plus with an 9:00 start time in early August, it really didn't take long for the heat and humidity to kick in.  By the time I got to the prairies, it was hot...hot, hot hot.  All I kept telling myself is I only had a few more miles left.  Whether that was 10 or 2, just a few more miles left...just keep pushing.  My miles kept ticking off, but at over 7:00 miles.  I was hoping I could fall into a groove after all the hills into a sub 7 pace.  But I never did.  Everything was closer to 8 minute miles.  I was fine with it considering I was in 4th or 5th place.  As I neared the finish the fist place female passed me and I was now in 5th place, 4th overall male.  My goal going into the race was a sub 2 hour race.  I finished 5th overall in 2:07, which was way slower than I had hoped.  I'm not sure if it was the hills or the heat, but probably both.  Either way, I was pumped and left loving the trail races.  The race was simple and fun.  It beat the hell out of the typical scenery of homes and streets.  I'd take the trails any day of the week over that.

Post Race

Not much of a post race here.  I wish there was, as they had fresh cooked fire roasted pizzas and craft sodas.  But I had to duck out nearly as soon as I finished to get to a family wedding.  So after finishing, I got my "medal" (which was a hand carved piece of wood) and grabbed a cookie and cup of soda.  I was personally soaked with sweat.  I ducked into a bathroom and then rung out my shorts and a good cup or so of sweat dripped from my shorts.  It was both cool and disgusting.  I then sat in front of the power blower to dry out completely.  I was close to fully dry and then jumped in the truck and headed home.

What's on Tap

I have just six and a half more training weeks until the Fox Cities Marathon.  Ever since the Oshkosh Marathon I have set my eyes on a PR at the Fox Cities.  But not just a PR, but a sub 3 hour PR.  This summer, I have been following the Hanson's Marathon Method Training Plan.  I bought and read the entire book and am now following the advanced training plan.  On top of following the advanced plan, I have been adding two miles to every non SOS (Something Of Substance) training run.  So for the past few months, I have been averaging roughly 60 miles per week with one rest day.  I won't dive into the meat and potatoes of the training plan and how it's been going, as I will save all that for my race report for that race.  But let me say that this has been something totally new for me and it has also been a very tough training schedule for me.  So at this point, I just need to keep my nose to the grind stone and keep pressing forward until September 23rd!

As always, thanks for reading and Cheers!

Oshkosh Marathon - Race Report

Alright, so lets be honest, I ran this race on April 29th and it is August 8th today.  I am already now two races down as far as Race Reports go and I'm already closer to my next marathon than I am to this race's race report.  But, as I tell my kids, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.  This was my second ever full marathon at the Oshkosh Marathon.  If I had the chance, I honestly wouldn't choose this race.  But, when I registered, I though this was the only spring marathon I could run, so I couldn't pass it up.  It's a cheap race and it's close to home, so I can't turn it down, especially when it's the only weekend I can race.  But towards the end of my training, I accepted a new position at my work and no longer work shift work.  I am now working straight days, Monday though Friday.  Sure, it sounds great, but, it's quite the change after 8 years of working night shift.  I gave up my extended "weekends" and all my spare time to train.  But, I didn't find out about the job change until a little over a month before the race, so it really didn't totally effect this training plan as one would think.  Honestly, the weather had a bigger effect on my training than my job change did.  But I sucked it up and did what I could with what I could.  That meant training many early mornings in sub-zero temperatures on top of trudging through some snow here and there.  Over the years, I have become accustom to it though.

Training for This Race

Going into this race, I really wanted to work on my weakness.  Even though I have run over a dozen marathons and even run a pretty successful 50 mile ultramarathon, I honestly think my weakness is long distance.  I guess to be more specific, running fast at long distances.  So with this training plan, I upped my usual long distance training runs.  This training plan, I scheduled long runs up to 24 miles, with the idea that this would help build my comfort with running long.  I also threw in my marathon standard of 800 repeats.  My training went well, other than dealing with the weather, as I stated earlier.

Prerace

I honestly don't totally remember exactly how my race morning went.  I remember getting up early as usual and got to the race site early (as usual).  The weather forecast was decent, a bit cold if you ask me, but for a late April race in Wisconsin, it was as good as you could ask for.  My warm up was good, I ran about a mile to a mile and a half and felt good at the end. 

Nutrition Plan

In the past, it has seemed that I have always struggled taken in calories towards the end of every marathon.  So, to hopefully circumvent this issue, I planned on taking in few calories, more spread out over the 26.2 miles.  I had planned on taking in 4 gels over the 26.2 miles.  Prior to the race, I took my usual dosage of 4 Hammer Anit-Fatigue Caps with 4 Endurance Aminos.

Miles 0-26.2

As soon as the race started I did my best to try and hold back and not succumb to the urge of starting out too fast.  After the first mile or so, I knew I started out a tad too fast.  I felt good though.  I didn't want to mess with what was feeling good.  Then, at about mile 2 or 3, I met up with an old friend from my YMCA days.  I ran with him for a few miles and talked a lot for my tastes.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed chatting with him and it sucks that it seems I only see him at races, but I hate talking while I run.  I mean, I absolutely HATE talking and having a conversation during races.  But, that is what I (we) did.  I don't regret it, but it sure did throw off my pace and my breathing.  I ended up pulling away from him around mile 6, which is right about the same time I took a minute or so to stop and put some band-aids on my nipples.  Sarah thankfully brought some for me since for whatever reason, I completely forgot.  Don't worry, my nipples thanked her later for bringing those for me.  I kept pushing on after that.  Everything was going really well.  Like really well.  No, I mean REALLY well.  My pace was all below my goal pace.  I felt good, like really good.  I was beginning to think this was going to be race.  The race that I finally break 3 hours.  Then, mile 19-20 hit me...as always.  I hit mile 20 and everything just seemed to slow down.  It was like molasses in December.  My breathing struggled and my legs felt like cement.  This has been my nemesis in my marathon races.  I don't know if it's a mental struggle or a purely a fitness struggle.  I'm thinking it's likely a combination of both.  Either way, I finished the race in 3:04 and change, which is the best time I have put up in a marathon since my BQ in 2009, when I ran a 3:03 and change.  So considering this is the best race I have ran in nearly 10 years on top of the fact that my training was so-so, I was left very motivated for what is to come.

Post Race

After the race, I hung around for a while with the family and some friends.  It was cool and windy, so I didn't stand around too long.  But enjoyed a good race.

What's on Tap 

Well, this is interesting.  If I had written this somewhat after the race, I would talk about running the High Cliff Ultra 25k in August or even my training strategies for the Fox Cities Marathon in September.  But here I am, 4 days after the Ultra 25k, and almost a month out of my fall marathon.  So, I guess I'll just say stay tuned for my race reports from those races, which I will do my best to get posted ASAP.

Thanks for reading and as always, cheers!

 

The Great Smoky Mountains in Pictures

This past weekend, our family returned from our summer trip.  As the girls continue to get older, we have made a great effort to travel as much as we can.  Generally, we try to take one larger trip each year.  This year, Sarah chose to go to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.  We invited my parents to come with us and thankfully they decided to join.  We stayed west of Gatlinburg at a private camp ground.  During our trip, we did several hikes, took a two hour easy white water rafting trip, drove through Cades Cove, and drove through the mountains down to North Carolina.  The trip was awesome and we all had an amazing time.  As with just about every trip we have taken, I feel like we barely scratch the surface of the possibilities things to do by the end of our trip.  I feel like we leave hiking trails unexplored, activities on the table, and sights unseen.  This trip, yet again, confirms my love to explore as much as possible.  This country, not even considering the world, is a truly amazing place and needs to be explored and seen.  There are so many places and things I want to do and see before I die.  I can't wait to see what is next!

Over the past few years, my love for photography has grown.  I think a part of it is my love of adventures and telling a story of my adventures.  They say an individual photograph is the pause button to life and as much as I look forward to my next adventure, its neat to capture a moment in time.  I'll admit, photographs never do the actual scenery justice.  You can never truly capture the 360 degree view accompanied with the sounds and smells all along with feeling of the mountain air blowing in your face or the ocean breeze blowing though your hair.  You just can replicate that.  But, with the right angle and lighting, a great photo is generally the next best thing.  Some pictures can transplant you to a different place.  Maybe it can remind you of simpler times, maybe a great memory, or even share a memory with someone who is no longer with you.  Photographs are amazing in that sense, and that's probably what I love about photography.  I think if tomorrow, someone offered me the opportunity to travel the county or even the world to hike and explore this amazing planet to take photographs, I'd jump at the opportunity, no questions asked.  

Anyway, below are 60-some pictures, all but 4 were taken with my Canon EOS Rebel T6.  The last four were taken with my iPhone7.  I am still learning to truly get the most out of my camera, as I've only been using it for a few months now.  The biggest takeaways for me from this trip were that I need a better tripod, and taking a picture is easy, but taking a good picture is damn tough and takes time, knowledge, and creativity.  So take a look and let me know what ones are your favorites.  Obviously, some of my favorites are because of the people in them, not necessarily the scenery or the artistic value, but these are the ones that stuck out of the nearly 1,000 pictures taken....