I should have known better than to go running my mouth like I had last weeks challenge sewed up on thursday. Over the last 3 days of the week I logged a grand total of 6.5 miles as fatigue from work and running slowed me down and the overwhelming desire to watch college football and drink beer put a stick in my spokes and launched my ass onto the couch. Anyhow, here are the numbers..
Danny: 35 Miles - 10 Beers = 25 pts *New Challenge Record*
Joe: 39 Miles - 23 Beers = 16 pts
Brian: 12 Miles (bum knee) - 10 Beers = 2 pts
-Joe
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Mid-Week Update
As of Thursday evening:
Joe: 32.5 Miles - 6 beers = 26.5 pts
Brian: 11 Miles - 0 beers = 11 pts
Danny: 12.5 Miles - 6 beers = 6.5 pts
So far so good for me, wish I could say the same for Brian & Danny. I'm feeling really good this week, so I'm half tempted to rack the mileage up into the 60+ range...but coming off a couple 15 mile weeks that seems unwise. The current plan is to gradually ramp up to 70-80 mile weeks in preparation for the Purge & Splurge 60 Miler at the end of the year.
Though I may have a solid head start on Brian and Danny I'm not counting them out to sneak back on me. Brian may have the knees of an 80 year old, but he's stubborn as all get out, and Danny is a freak...and way better than Brian or I at drinking in moderation. In regards to that last statement, I do realize that Brian currently stands at zero beers for the week, that is the fluke of all flukes and I'm formally wagering a 30-pack of Milwaukee's Best Ice that he can't go the whole week.
-Joe
Joe: 32.5 Miles - 6 beers = 26.5 pts
Brian: 11 Miles - 0 beers = 11 pts
Danny: 12.5 Miles - 6 beers = 6.5 pts
So far so good for me, wish I could say the same for Brian & Danny. I'm feeling really good this week, so I'm half tempted to rack the mileage up into the 60+ range...but coming off a couple 15 mile weeks that seems unwise. The current plan is to gradually ramp up to 70-80 mile weeks in preparation for the Purge & Splurge 60 Miler at the end of the year.
Though I may have a solid head start on Brian and Danny I'm not counting them out to sneak back on me. Brian may have the knees of an 80 year old, but he's stubborn as all get out, and Danny is a freak...and way better than Brian or I at drinking in moderation. In regards to that last statement, I do realize that Brian currently stands at zero beers for the week, that is the fluke of all flukes and I'm formally wagering a 30-pack of Milwaukee's Best Ice that he can't go the whole week.
-Joe
Monday, November 9, 2009
The last two weeks and a look ahead
First off, Joe and i would like to welcome Danny to the BeerMileage crew. As you can probably tell from his first post, he is a talented runner, writer and beer consumer. We are all looking forward to seeing how Danny's beer totals stack up to Joe's and mine because we know he won't slack on the miles. i already have a number of runs planned for the week in anticipation of some heated competition. Of course, i do have to celebrate Veteran's Day, a friends birthday and the coming and the passing of another weekend... We'll report on the "progress" mid-week.
Among the reasons to take a two week break in the BeerMileage Challenge was for my running in the Potomac Heritage 50k on November 1st. i tried as much as i could to make the week of the race a sober one and felt that it would be a bit unfair to rack up a sizable amount of miles and just a few beers the same week as Halloween. Though he would have given a solid effort, Joe faced a severe disadvantage. The week afterwards was spent heavily drinking and i accompanied that with little running. Joe would have crushed me, but we both agree that it should at least be competitive.
Regarding the Potomac Heritage 50k, i would like to commend the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club on a well organized and overall adventurous race. The start and finish were conveniently located a short walking distance from my house, making this a must do "fat-ass." The rain naturally starting picking up immediately as we started, but the NW roots in me didn't seem to mind. Each of the aide stations were prepared, energetic and well spaced, allowing for a relatively fast first half. i ran with my girlfriend Sheila the whole way and as we made the turn under the American Legion Bridge, each of us had a knee that started to feel tight. This was a major turning point in the run for us, for up until that point, we felt pleased with our pace and easily had the physical energy and mental stamina to keep it up. We continued on, but as we reached a downhill section, though short in length, it was excruciating to run/walk down. Quickly we started seeing people that we had passed miles before catch up and overtake us.
i have become accustomed to running with pain and discomfort and i knew that despite how much she hated life at that point, Sheila and i would finish. This was Sheila's first 50k and her overall longest run by a decent margin. Though we both knew she trained enough to go the entire way, it was the extended distance on the knees that was making this run evermore challenging. We kept pushing and pulled ourselves through the mud and rising streams to the final aide station. i don't know if it was the m&m's, the reese's peanut butter cups or the overall competitive nature in us, but as we left that aide station it was easy to tell that we weren't going to give up on this one. The final six miles went by fairly quickly as we maintained a respectable pace (for our current condition) and chatted the last four with a fellow racer. It was a great feeling to finally step inside after finishing knowing that you didn't quit on yourself. For Sheila, i was especially proud of her for running her first (and far from her last) ultra and because this was my idea, i was very thankful she didn't leave me directly after.
For me, it's another race down and another experience to build on come the next adventure. Danny wrote earlier this week that running has a lot left to teach him and I can't agree with this more. I've noticed that one of the great mind games this sport plays is that you train and train for a specific run often to find out that you need to train more. Maybe it's a knee that tells you, 'hey, stretch more often' or 'you're not that young,' but we learn from our aches and try to alleviate the pains. If while respecting the body, you can push the body, then the end result will often be the pain free desired one. So as i look forward to conquering this zen-like conundrum, what better way to do this then through a BeerMileage Challenge.
See you Thursday!
Stumps
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Lessons Learned
A little over a month ago, I began my second official marathon with one huge goal in mind--qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Everything on race morning was perfect; it was about 50 degrees and overcast, and somehow the local Portland weather system had worked its usual race day magic and managed to keep the rain at bay for the Marathon. I felt calm and confident because of the training I had knocked out. By the time the buildup for the race was over, I had done more mileage, by far, than I had ever done in my life, and had remained as injury-free as can be. Everything felt like it was coming together for this one race.
And for the first 15 miles of the race, everything was coming together. Needing a 3:10:59 or faster marathon to qualify, my goal was 7:15 a mile. By the fifth mile, I was at more like 7:00 a mile, and from then on I kept accidentally running sub 7:00 miles. I remember thinking that pace had never felt so easy. It wasn't until around mile 12 or so that I even felt like I was working. Somewhere after mile 15, however, I felt my hamstrings cramp in both legs. I actually stopped running, looked at my watch, and told myself, "Just walk for 1 minute, then you'll be fine." I did walk for one minute, but then I wasn't fine; I started running again, only to find that my legs began to cramp after another minute or two.
After my hamstrings (and later my calves and quads) started to cramp, the race became more about survival than any time goal. For the next 11 or so miles of the race, I would run until I cramped, then walk until they went away...rinse, wash, and repeat. I would end up watching every pace group from 3:10 to 3:50 pass me by the time it was finished. Watching each of those groups pass was probably the most defeated I have ever felt during any running competition.
I finished in 3:51:37 after passing through the first half in 1:32:10. You can do the math on that one...41+ minutes and about 1:36 a mile off my goal of qualifying, which might as well be forever. In the past month since the race, I've come to terms (somewhat) with the race. I've taken a couple positives from it: part of the journey was the training, and I made it through tougher stuff than I ever had before; regardless of how stupid it was to go out that fast, I went balls out for a goal that I thought was possible; and it's beneficial to get a good, ass-kicking humbling every now and again, as I learned quite a bit about what I can do differently next time around.
It's pretty damn disappointing to be in better shape than your time in a race indicates. And it's just really confusing and fun when the opposite happens. After two full weeks off running, and two slow weeks to get back into things, I ran a 5k that my classmates and I were putting on to raise money. I finished in 18:35, which dead-on tied my PR. I had no business running that fast, and am still not quite sure how it happened.
What I think this shows more than anything is that running has a lot left to teach me. And I'm excited to keep bumbling around like an idiot as I learn.
PS: I'll be joining in the BeerMileage challenge this week. School's starting to get a bit stressful, meaning I'll be doing a fair amount of beer drinking this week. Hopefully the mileage follows suit.
Dbrasch
And for the first 15 miles of the race, everything was coming together. Needing a 3:10:59 or faster marathon to qualify, my goal was 7:15 a mile. By the fifth mile, I was at more like 7:00 a mile, and from then on I kept accidentally running sub 7:00 miles. I remember thinking that pace had never felt so easy. It wasn't until around mile 12 or so that I even felt like I was working. Somewhere after mile 15, however, I felt my hamstrings cramp in both legs. I actually stopped running, looked at my watch, and told myself, "Just walk for 1 minute, then you'll be fine." I did walk for one minute, but then I wasn't fine; I started running again, only to find that my legs began to cramp after another minute or two.
After my hamstrings (and later my calves and quads) started to cramp, the race became more about survival than any time goal. For the next 11 or so miles of the race, I would run until I cramped, then walk until they went away...rinse, wash, and repeat. I would end up watching every pace group from 3:10 to 3:50 pass me by the time it was finished. Watching each of those groups pass was probably the most defeated I have ever felt during any running competition.
I finished in 3:51:37 after passing through the first half in 1:32:10. You can do the math on that one...41+ minutes and about 1:36 a mile off my goal of qualifying, which might as well be forever. In the past month since the race, I've come to terms (somewhat) with the race. I've taken a couple positives from it: part of the journey was the training, and I made it through tougher stuff than I ever had before; regardless of how stupid it was to go out that fast, I went balls out for a goal that I thought was possible; and it's beneficial to get a good, ass-kicking humbling every now and again, as I learned quite a bit about what I can do differently next time around.
It's pretty damn disappointing to be in better shape than your time in a race indicates. And it's just really confusing and fun when the opposite happens. After two full weeks off running, and two slow weeks to get back into things, I ran a 5k that my classmates and I were putting on to raise money. I finished in 18:35, which dead-on tied my PR. I had no business running that fast, and am still not quite sure how it happened.
What I think this shows more than anything is that running has a lot left to teach me. And I'm excited to keep bumbling around like an idiot as I learn.
PS: I'll be joining in the BeerMileage challenge this week. School's starting to get a bit stressful, meaning I'll be doing a fair amount of beer drinking this week. Hopefully the mileage follows suit.
Dbrasch
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