Ambassadorial Duties (2013 Year In Review)

For the past three years I have been honored to race in Colorado and elsewhere as a member of the Runner's Roost Race Team.  I have been privileged to run with some of the fastest and most accomplished runners in Colorado.  They are my teammates, they are my inspirations, and they are my friends.  I do not, however, count myself among them.

I am not a super fast racer.  I have had some success in racing, and seen tremendous improvement over the last 7 years since I started.  But the statistics speak for themselves:  although I've taken an hour off my marathon time from my first race in 2007, it took 12 tries to do that, and that was 2 years ago.  My marathon average time is 4:37.  While I set a new 10k PR this year, and finally finished sub-50 minutes, the last time I PRd at that distance was in 2009.  And my last 5k PR was 9 5ks ago.

But that's okay--I have a plan.  I'll get to that in a minute.  Right now I want to get back to why I'm on the race team.  I think a very important quality those of us on the team have to show, apart from being a fast racer, is being an ambassador of the sport and, more importantly, the Runners Roost brand.  Since I'm not an age group winner like so many more on the team, I believe this is the area where I have a responsibility to excel.  To a certain degree, this is easy:  to be a good ambassador of running, all I have to do is go to races and have a positive attitude.  No problem; I do that anyway.  And, by running races in multiple states to fulfill my 50 in 50 goal, I'm doing my humble part to gain the brand national exposure (to the extent that racers and spectators can see where I'm from and who my sponsor is when I wear the Roost kit on the course).  But that's, like, the bare minimum I can do.  And I try to do more.

I am an enthusiastic supporter of running, and of other runners.  I make it a point to acknowledge and congratulate success--not just when my teammates place in their age groups (or overall) in races, which happens a lot; but also when I meet folks who are running their first race at any distance, or placing in their age group for the first time, or even running their longest distance ever in a long training run.  Because each one of those is an accomplishment and deserves to be recognized.

Make no mistake:  I am not one of those "everybody deserves a medal just for showing up!" types.  The racers who finish first deserve their awards:  they worked hard for them, they trained relentlessly, and they ran faster than everybody else.  I don't consider them at the same level as someone who's training for his or her first 5k.  They are to be respected and admired, and serve as an inspiration, something the rest of us can aspire to.  But "the rest of us" deserve respect and admiration, as well.  Every runner who makes it to the finish line of a marathon is a winner (except in the sense that there can really be only one actual winner, and that's the person who crossed the finish line first).  As the tshirt says, "No matter how slow you are, you're still lapping everybody sitting on the couch."

So that's where I stand.  That's why I see my chief duty as a member of the Runners Roost team to be a cheerleader, a supporter, and a booster.  I know there are a lot of people faster and stronger than me, and I want to support them and laud them and congratulate them on their successes.  And I know there are others who are slower, or are just starting out, and they deserve support and encouragement.  They have, to paraphrase Obi Wan Kenobi, "taken their first steps into a larger world."*  And with support and encouragement, they will continue to push themselves to succeed and excel.

And now, a word as to my own plan for 2014.  I'd really like to set some more PRs in the coming year.  And I would really like to start getting some podium finishes, too.  So going into 2014, I need to work on my speed.  One way to do this is to run more races--in looking at my race history, I see that I had some pretty good results in 2009, when I was running 2 races a month.  And I know people on the team who race practically every week, or at least every other week, who consistently get podium finishes.  I'm also going to try to incorporate more miles, and specifically more speedy miles, in my weekly running.  I need to train my body to run faster and more efficiently.  Which brings me to my next tweak:  my diet.  As my coach has said, it's easier to move 160 pounds (150?) over 26.2 miles than it is to move 180.  Over the summer I went on a very strict diet-and-exercise regimen and lost 20 pounds; within a few months after stopping that I gained about half of them back.  I need to eat smarter.  (But I don't see myself going vegetarian, let alone full on vegan, so don't ask!)

By incorporating these changes, I hope to see some improvements in 2014 in my own racing.  But even if I don't, I will continue to be a strong supporter and enthusiastic cheerleader for runners of all abilities and levels, particularly (though hardly exclusively) my teammates.

2013 Year In Review:

• Races Run: 10
• Marathon: 2
• Half Marathon: 3
• 10k: 2
• 7k: 1
• 5k: 2
• PRs: 2
• Both in the 10k
• Destination Races: 2
• Olathe KS (marathon)
• Detroit MI (marathon)
• Pairs of shoes: 6
• Total Mileage for 2013: 1551.7

Detroit International Marathon 2013

"When are you coming to Michigan?" my grandmother has asked for the last few years.  "I'm not going to be around forever, you know."

"If you run the Detroit Marathon, you'll have a place to stay and free food!" my friend JaCinda has hinted repeatedly.

"You can visit your Aunt Audrey and her family, and your godfather Paul!" exclaimed my dad.

So, after years of reminders ranging from the not-so-subtle to the downright blatant, I decided to run the Detroit Marathon.  Race reports I'd found online, and testimonials from some friends who have run that race in the past, made it seem like it would be pretty perfect:  flat, with the only elevation gain to speak of happening early in the race as the course crosses the Ambassador Bridge into Canada; an "underwater mile" through the Windsor Tunnel back into Detroit; temperatures averaging in the high 40s to low 50s; well-supported and with enthusiastic crowds; and a few surprisingly (it is Detroit, after all) pretty neighborhoods.  Plus, free room and board--a strong argument indeed.

And it pretty much was all these things.  The race started at 7am, which meant the sun was just coming up as I crossed into Canada.  (Side note:  because the race is an "international" race that runs for almost 5 miles in Canada, runners were warned repeatedly to have current passports--"show your passport at the expo, or you won't get your bib!"  Procrastinator that I am, I waited and waited and waited to send my passport for renewal, which I finally did--one week before the Federal government shut down.  Luckily, I'd paid for expedited processing!)  The few miles in Windsor were very pretty and peaceful, and the temperature was just perfect, in the low 50s.  In fact, that stayed consistent for the entire race:  I don't think it got above 53 all morning.

Leaving Windsor and reentering the US via the Windsor Tunnel was an interesting experience.  For one thing, being in the tunnel with all the other racers made that the warmest (and most humid!) part of the entire race.  For another, somehow my Garmin did not lose its signal!  However, the battery did die shortly after I got back to Michigan, at about mile 10.  I'd seen the "low battery" warning starting about mile 6; I chose to use however long it would remain active to practice running at between 8:30 and 8:45 pace, figuring if I could settle into that feeling, I could conceivably maintain that pace for the rest of the race (excluding my walk breaks--yes, I still do those, but now for about 45 seconds).

Although I was flying blind from that point, I felt pretty good.  I was reasonably certain I was holding my pace, averaging just under a 9-minute mile (later review of my splits confirmed this) and feeling strong as the course made its way north through miles 11 to 18.  My friend JaCinda, apart from being a gracious host (and cook), was also a terrific cheerleader, who encouraged me at a few points along the course.  The weather was perfect, nice and cool and with even some good cloud cover up to this point.  And, because there were two half marathons, one which ran the first half of the course (the "International") that started at the same time as the full, and the other which ran the second half of the course (the "US-only") that started at 10), the field remained pretty packed with runners throughout.  The only thing I hadn't factored on, and that I didn't even notice until I was on Belle Isle, was the concrete.

As I ran over the MacArthur Bridge onto Belle Isle at mile 19, I was starting to get a bit tired.  In addition, the cramp in my right leg that I'd been studiously ignoring since about mile 8 ("Just run though it and it'll go away.  It knows what we're doing, it knows better than to pull something like this today") was becoming harder and harder to disregard.  Then, as I transitioned from the concrete bridge to the concrete road that circumnavigated the southern tip of the island before going back to the concrete bridge again, I realized that was what I'd been running on the entire race:  concrete!  A non-runner might say, "What's the difference?  A road is a road!"  But runners know there's a difference between concrete and asphalt.  ("So do engineers, I suppose.")  Bottom line, 26.2 miles on concrete is tougher than 26.2 miles on asphalt.

If I'd ignored that realization, I might still have maintained my pace, or only slid off it a little bit.  But I didn't.  My insecurities took over, and my motivation fled.  I tried to rally, but couldn't muster more than a shuffle for most of the last 10k--and in fact, my last 2 full miles were done at a (still relatively brisk-ish) walk.  But JaCinda's smiling face and encouragement just before the 26 mile sign ("At the top of a short but steep hill--what's up with that, Detroit Marathon?") got me running again, or at least jogging, to get across the finish line.  It wasn't perfect, it wasn't pretty, but it was done.

Official Time: 4:20:37
YTD Race Miles: 95.3
YTD Total Miles: 1310.6
Post-Marathon Tradition: JaCinda and I met my godfater Paul and his wife Donna at a nearby Red Robin for burgers and beers

Garmin Marathon in the Land of Oz 2013

Marathon #16 took me back to Kansas with a group of friends from Runner's Edge of the Rockies.  This marathon struck me as a fun idea:  a Wizard of Oz themed race promised wicked witches, tin men, lions, blue check gingham dresses, and flying monkeys.  And all it would take would be a little brains, a fair amount of courage, and a whole lot of heart.

The race expo was very small, probably the second smallest I've been to after Steamboat.  It was set up in the parking lot(!) of Garmin HQ, which happens to be located in Olathe KS.  ("Because it's so flat and wide open out there, they have no problem accessing satellites?"  "You'd think that, wouldn't you?  It still took five minutes for my 305 to sync up at the start line race day.")  I spent some time chatting with the folks from the original (Kansas City) Runner's Edge, who were going to pace the race.  The pasta dinner that night featured ultra runner Scott Jurek, whose presentation was only mildly detracted from by an uncooperative computer that refused to show his video.  He gamely took questions from the audience afterward, though I was somewhat amused to note that he kept artfully dodging any questions about his own running and dietary habits.

The race itself did not start off too auspiciously for me.  There were three or four timing mats spread across the road, the long, carpet kind.  A runner just in front of me tripped on one, and I was so busy trying not to step on her that I wound up tripping on the next one myself!  I got right back up and kept going, and fortunately didn't scrape up my hands or knees too badly; but it took me about 3 miles to shake off what had happened and refocus on the race.

I fell into step with the 4:00 pacers, one of whom had been my co-pacer at the Denver Half Marathon in 2011.  I kept with them until mile 7, when I started (slowly) to pull ahead.  For about the next 11 miles I managed to stay at just under a 9-minute pace.  I was feeling pretty good about that, despite the fact that the course was much, MUCH hillier than I'd been led to believe.  Not that they were steep hills (although a couple of them were, a bit); but there were a lot more than I'd thought, and some of them were pretty long.  In fact the pacer told me he was having a bit of difficulty keeping his average speed due to the continually rolling hills.

At about mile 18 I started to get discouraged, partly because we were at that point on an out-and-back portion of the course that seemed to me much longer than it was supposed to be.  I kept waiting to see the turnaround point.....and waiting.....and waiting.....and waiting.....and getting frustrated when it kept not appearing.  By the time it finally did, I'm afraid I'd allowed my frustration to get the better of me and cloud my thinking.  This led to my slowing down for the last portion of the race.  My spirits were raised somewhat by seeing some of my friends going "out" on the out-and-back as I was returning "back."  ("Be honest:  you kicked yourself into gear again so they wouldn't catch you."  "I don't think I should answer that without my lawyer present.")

The last few miles were a struggle--in fact, I walked all of mile 25.  I was tired and discouraged.  But my spirits were raised as I approached the finish to the cheers of the crowd and some of my friends who had run the half marathon and were waiting to cheer the rests of us in.  Despite the heavy winds which had been present for much of the race but had decided to pick up in the last half hour or so, I was very glad to have finished another marathon and crossed another state off my list.

As a special bonus, Runner's Edge (KC) had arranged for several Kansas runners who had been unable to finish the Boston Marathon due to the bombing to cross the finish line as a group at high noon.  My friends and I were fortunate enough to witness this moving event, a fitting cap to today's race.

Official Time: 4:15:41
YTD Race Miles: 30.5
YTD Total Miles: 421
Special Visitor: I met an old college friend, Karen Rundle, for lunch in Kansas City on Saturday

2012 Year In Review

• Races Run: 16
• 1 Mile 1
• 7k 1
• 5 Mile 1
• 10 Mile 1
• Olympic Triathlon 1
• Relay 1
• Half Marathon 3
• 5k 4
• Marathon 3
• New Events: 1
• PRs: 2
• Olympic Triathlon: 3:39:34
• Half Marathon: 1:44:21
• Destination Races (out of state): 4
• Casper WY (marathon)
• Pocatello ID (marathon)
• Kansas City MO (marathon)
• Tucson AZ (half marathon)
• Pairs of shoes: 5
• Runner's Roost Run Club runs: 48
• Total Mileage for 2012: 1425.4

I'm satisfied with last year's running.  On the one hand, I was again a part of the Runner's Roost Race Team, which I cherish as much for the social aspect as for the competitive aspect.  On the other hand, I only set 2 PRs.  I know I can do better than that.  Heck, in 2011 I set 5 PRs (at different distances) in a row!

So for 2013 I am determined to push myself harder and accomplish more.  I don't necessarily mean volume, but quality.  I am determined to do the following:

• PR at the Runnin of the Green Lucky 7k in March
• PR in the 10k
• Complete (and thus PR) a Sprint Triathlon (probably the Denver Tri)
• PR in the Mile

In addition, I hope to run the Garden of the Gods 10-mile again (I've had to skip it the last 2 years due to marathon scheduling), and give my current PR on that course--1:33:49--a run for its money.  I'll run at least 2 marathons this year, and will train to PR.  I will also commit to working on my two weakest areas:  my diet (which is terrible) and the unfortunate habit I seem to have of psyching myself out (which I've struggled with for years).

I can do these things.  With the continued support and encouragement of my teammates--both Runner's Edge of the Rockies and the Runner's Roost Race Team (yes, I was accepted again for 2013!!)--with hard work, with "firm application and de-ter-mi-na-tion," I will have success in 2013.