DNF or Did Not Finish

I had a serious issue about this last year, I was super frustrated about it, because it had happened to me in almost half my races.  They ranged from 50k to a 4 mile race that I had an anxiety attack around mile 2.  I was battling in my mind whether I should keep racing or just drop it and pick up a new a hobby, but with me being the competitor I am, I snapped out of that thought and got right back to training.  So far this year I've had much better luck, only "DNFing" one race which was a 24 hour race last week, but I was actually really happy with my decision to drop and the week after it.

The reason I bring up this subject is not really about me, is more about an article I read that was about one of the athletes I started following this year, Tejay van Gardaren, that I thought had a good shot at the Yellow Jersey in Tour de France this year.  For those who do not know what the Yellow Jersey stands for, it is the Jersey that the lead rider on time gets to wear during the each stage of the competition.  Well, a couple days before the end of the race, he had decided to drop out, he was currently in 3rd place and was the lead rider for USA and Team BMC.  The reason he had pulled out was because he had a lingering cold and it was getting worse.  It was causing him to fall further and further behind, so if he would have stayed in he most likely would not have finished where he wanted or close to and risked causing himself more problems in the future, like getting sicker or causing an injury from the lowered immune system and or more than usual difficult breathing.  Pulling out in the end was probably the best thing he could have done, for him, lowered his risk of becoming more sick, causing an injury, and shortened recovery time from the race and sickness so he can get back to training sooner and get a jump on the next race.  If you want to read more on the article, here it is: Why Tejay van Garderen Made The Right Choice

We have all battled the idea of DNFing in a race, thinking if I do it now it will make easy to do it in the future, or it will make me look weak.  Both are a possibility, but most competitors are not going to just drop out of habit, the hardware, goals, and the race is usually enough to keep us rolling after a DNF.  Yes, some people who may not understand why you did not finish, may joke that you are weak, but most people that have been doing it long enough are going to understand because we have dropped out a few times.  Stopping a race or never starting a race because of injury or sickness, is going to almost always prolong your racing career, you have to listen to your body, you don't won't to end it all over one more mile do you?

Training schedule for this week:

Monday - 1.5 hour run

Tuesday - 4 x 1 mile repeats

Wednesday - 1.5 hour run

Thursday - Sprint ladders 2 miles worth - 100 m, 200 m, 300 m, 200m, 100m; repeat till distance is met

Friday - off

Saturday - 10k race (Zack Hummer Memorial 5k/10k)

Sunday - 14 mile run

Christmas in July 24 Hour and Sqwincher Sqweeze

Well this was by far the most challenging thing that I have attempted.  Not everything went according to plan before the race, the race conditions were not exactly friendly, and it was by far the longest race I have ever attempted so here goes a race and product review along with a botched attempt at going farther, well I went the farthest I ever have but not as far as I wanted.

Christmas in July is a really fun event to go to, they have multiple events: a fun run, 5k, 10k, 6 Hour, 12 Hour, 24 Hour and the locals and event organizers really made the 12 hours I ran entertaining, that is for sure.  They had the whole course decorated with lights, inflatables, and other Christmas themed decorations.  The locals literally are there just as long as you are still running never giving way to fatigue to make sure you keep moving, especially this one girl, no idea who she was but she seemed to be there every lap to give every single runner a high five or fist bump. Then there was food, it was great especially the late night pizza and the early morning pancakes and bacon, oooooooh bacon!  Then there is the course, the ultra course is the only one I touched, but it was just under 1 mile.  1 mile does sound intimidating to do for 24 hours but the course is rolling, winding, and easy to get lost in your thoughts in.  With all that said, this is a tough ultra for the simple fact it is on asphalt, so no soft trails for easy running, you will feel every step after a while.

The awards I thought were one of the most appealing things about this race, giant nutcrackers, belt buckles for clearing 100 miles, and very well made finisher medals.

So I guess on to my experience for the event!....!  It started off as any other event except for I got up a little earlier than usual thanks to my 1 year old, well the time was about 6:30 am.  Was all packed up and ready to go by noon, but had to do a little running around to make sure the house would survive while I was gone.  3 pm, I get out the door for my 3.5 hour drive, plus going back across timelines, I figured I was going to get a good nap, man I was wrong!  Nice drive for about the first 1.5 hours, then it all stops, literally.  I heard over the radio that there had been a possible tornado touchdown about 18 miles up the road, and apparently everyone else heard it, because cars were piled under the next underpass and traffic was at a dead halt.  About that time we started getting beat by hail, so I just kept my eyes open, eventually we started moving, but were at a dead crawl for I don't even know how long, all I know is I pulled into the park at 9 pm their time, and the race started at 10pm, when I was planning to be there at 6 pm their time, so no nap for me.

So I start running, get one lap down, and I start into a comfortable running pace, a little slower than my normal easy run pace. After about 5 miles or so, I catch up with the lead girl, who took off at the start, she told me she was last years winner.  We decided to stay together probably for the next 5 or so miles.  She backed off a little bit and I decided to try and hold pace a little longer, thinking to get some good miles in during the cool night, which if I would have known the rain was going to hit I would waited till then to try and hammer miles down since it was currently around 80 degrees.  I felt great honestly until around the 5 mile mark, which I think I may have still been leading, but I got tired and I got tired fast.  Every lap was worse and worse, I was literally waking up while still running.  I really got worried so I stopped and talked to a volunteer and they offered me a place to nap for a little bit and informed me there was no time limit in between laps, so I napped for close to 2 hours.

Just shy of the 7 hour mark, I woke up and I knew I had cleared the 30 mile mark before the nap so I still felt okay about possibly breaking 100 miles.  As I got back to running, I felt great!  I put down 5 or 6 solid miles, then the sun started coming up, so I started getting a little conservative, because I knew it was about to get hot.  I got to the probably 10 hour mark and fatigue from lack of sleep the day before hit me again, so I found a random bench on the course and passed out, many of the participants were worried about me and kept waking me up, I had to inform them that I had been awake for 14+ hours before the race and that I was just resting for a little bit.  After I got up, not sure where I was on time scale or anything.  I ran maybe two more laps, then calmed down and just walked a few laps while talking to some of the others going through the sufferfest with me to conquer a few more miles.  At the 12 hour and 40 minute mark, I was told I could check with the Race Director and find out my lap count, I checked it and I was at 44 laps and 42 miles.  I thought about for a few minutes and decided to pull out at this point.  With state I was in and how hot it was, 110 heat index, there was no way I was going to hit 100 miles.


Sqwincher was really nice and set me up with most of my refueling needs.  Sqwincher Sqweeze Pops which if you know anything about me while I am running, I absolutely love popsicles while I am putting down some serious miles.  They also sent me Sqwincher Single Serve stick packs, which were great, because unlike some stick packs they mix perfectly with 20 oz of water instead or 8 or 12 oz like other similar products.  I used their products for all my hydration needs this race and absolutely loved them.  Way better than gatorade, because they kept my stomach calm and the flavors are so much more intense, they wake you up when you get into that endurance trance.

My training for this week, it is going to be reverse taper so I can get back up to full speed next week:

Monday: 3 mile run
Tuesday: 3 x 1 mile repeats, 2 minute rest
Wednesday: 1 hour run
Thursday: 6 x 400 meter intervals, 1 minute rest
Friday: 1 hour run
Saturday: 14 mile run
Sunday 6 mile run hills

Nike LunarGlide 5: A Shoe Review

Yes I know these are the old model and the new model is already out, but hopefully this will help you out when are looking at the new model, since most shoe reviews are released after a few runs in them.  Mine is being released after 600+ miles in them.

So here they are brand new, my first pair of Nike's in over 10 years, so when I was first buying them I was really really fighting with myself, because I am an Adidas man.  I was pointed towards them by a couple people in the Trail Running and Ultramarathon community on Google+.

These things are like pillows, that literally it was tough to do fartlek, tempo, or intervals during the first 200 miles in them.  I am not complaining about it though, normally I do those type of runs in my racing shoes, so since these are not my normal racing shoes I am fine with super kooshy leg saving experience.  For my super long runs 20+ miles my feet never felt better, early in their life they are really great for ultra marathons that are not on super slick trails, because they are a road shoe.

200 - 500 miles I still loved them, they stiffened up a little bit so I could start really laying down some speed in them when I felt like it and they were still holding up very well in the long run.

After 500 miles at 171 pounds the shoes are starting to end their life with me, I am currently plus 600 miles in them.  Since around 500 miles my feet have starting hurting in them, the traction has finally started wearing out pretty good, but the top part of the shoe is still holding up strong, except for where my dog chewed them a little...  I am putting a new pair of insoles in them this week and going to be running the Christmas in July 24 Hour next weekend and am confident they will soft enough with addition and the shoes will hold up for many many more miles, hoping to hit the 1000 mark with them.



So here it is taper week 3, big race next week, time to ease into it.

Monday: 30 minute run
Tuesday: 30 minute run
Wednesday: 30 minute run, start chowing down on pretzels
Thursday: Relax and continue chowing down on pretzels
Friday:  Pretzels will be all I snack on till race time, Race starts at 10pm
Saturday: Race ends at 10 pm
Sunday: Trying to recover

New Castle Mini Marathon

I will start off by saying this, so far, this is by far my favorite Half Marathon out there.  My opinion of the course is a little bias, just because it is exactly what I like in a race, the course will make you honest with yourself by the end.

So to start off, the New Castle Mini Marathon is hosted by a company called American Multisport and the town New Castle.   The course itself is mainly on the main roads and most of the scenery is the local neighborhoods for the first half, the reason you don't get dulled to sleep is because of the hills, oh there be hills.  After you get about half way done, you do take a trip by the Indiana High School Basketball Museum, and the last 3 miles or so is on the towns bike trail, don't think you got away from the hills because they never go away.  It is a very challenging course, but even with the amount of hills I heard many people saying they set a PR, I did last year as well.

Speaking of last year, I did win, I did PR, I just really loved the day, but this year was a little different.

Starting off the race, I knew there were a couple guys faster and that I would have some competition around me.  Started off good, I held back and actually tried to run a controlled first mile, as I watched my team mate James Garner take off like a rocket.  I felt good, I was sitting 5th sometimes 6th, the guy running with me kept putting surges on ever since mile 2, but little did he know I had been running some major hills.  About mile 4 or 5 there was a nice long hill, I took advantage of it to break his spirit, never even looked back I knew he was in pain after that one.  Then it happened, that one stomach pain you don't want to feel while you are miles away from anything.  Mile 7 was about a minute of pace, then I hit a long down hill, and that shook everything loose.  I ran off course a couple blocks and hid in some bushes, and let the diarrhea roll, and took a sock off and yep, didn't know what leaves were around me lol. After that I jumped back on course with a vengeance.  One by one I started picking everyone off that had passed me, running some of my fastest miles of the day, dipping down around the 6 flat range.  I don't know how long I was in that bush, but it must have been a while.  After burning a couple quick miles down I start recognize people that were around me earlier in the race, then I see my team mate Luke Bivens, so I put down a little more speed and catch at about the 11 mile mark.  I stop and slow down and joke with him a minute, and discuss on whether I should try to catch the guy in the red shirt.  The guy in the red shirt was the same dude that was surging on me earlier in the race, thought about it for a minute, told Luke good luck and I was off to the races.  As I am tracking him down, with about 2 miles to go he definitely had a solid minute and some change on me, so I definitely had my work cut out for me.  Every time he turns a corner he gives a little look, I know he knows I am coming, and I am coming fast.  We come off of the trail, there is maybe a half mile left, and he still has a good 150 - 200 meters on me.  I just keep on it, I just kept pushing, we make the last turn and it is about 200 meters to the finish.  I just unload everything I have, 50 meters to go I pull up beside him and he matches me stride for stride, after a couple steps he can't hang on.  So I got my place back and beat him by one second.  In the end, it wasn't my best race, but that final half was definitely eventful.

After the race they had a nice awards banquet, which the awards included glassware, and I never complain about a new mug since I am a collector such things.  They also had music playing and plenty of food to chow down on, like sausages wrapped in pancakes.  Also, they had all the times posted up pretty quickly so you could see how you did compared to everyone else, or in case you missed your time, and this was a chip timed event, as all of their events are.  Will I come back to race again?  Most likely unless I find something I absolutely am craving to do that happens to fall on the date of this event.

This was also the first time I managed to show up to be part of a team group picture.

Okay so my training for this week.  As I will be at a 50% taper this week, but an odd thing happened with this week as well.  I got an invite to do the running leg of the Ironman this weekend and I just couldn't turn it down, but also I currently have a cold so who knows how much running I will actually get done, as this is going to already be a late posting.

Monday - 1 hour run
Tuesday - 1 hour run
Wednesday - 30 minute fartlek
Thursday - 3 mile run
Friday - off
Saturday - 13.1 mile race
Sunday - 1 hour run