10/50 - Shires of Vermont Marathon

How do you train for a marathon two weeks after running a back-to-back marathon you ask?  You don’t.  Well, I don’t.  I logged about 30 miles, stopped going to the gym and fell face first off of the no-sugar bandwagon – It was two weeks of pure bliss!  Yet, in my ignorance, I held an infinitesimal hope that Vermont would be the marathon that I took first place in.  Let me explain…

The inaugural 2011 Shires of Vermont Marathon was a scenic, point-to-point marathon that connected the towns of Bennington and Manchester and coincided with the celebration of their 250th anniversaries.  We were traveling to Northampton, MA that weekend for my wife’s reunion at Smith College.  All I can say is that this college/area of the country is a utopia of acceptance of varying creeds, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation, complete with a cappella groups!  Oh, and fantastic ice cream.  (http://www.herrells.com) …and an intriguing history of the Gone With the Wind story and landmarks, considering that Margaret Mitchell attended college at Smith, briefly.  Since only 360 people signed up for this marathon, I was hoping that it would not be very competitive.  Upon arriving in Bennington the morning of the race, I discovered just how wrong that assumption was! 

Have you ever heard of Chuck Engle?  Of course you haven’t.  Here, read this; (http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=21482&PageNum=&CategoryID=).  Ok, now that you’ve been briefed, I will proceed.  Chuck is one of the first people, in a sea of middle-aged marathon veterans I see standing in the art gallery that served as the check-in place for the race.  I overheard his plan for a goal of 2:40 and his impression that he will face some competition in his attempt to add this marathon to his pile of marathon 1^st place finishes.  New game plan – just enjoy myself!

As tempting as it was to stand in the comforting warmth of the gallery for the hour until the start gun, the entertainment just outside in the mist and cold was beckoning me.  I enjoyed the a cappella groups of Smith throughout the course of the college reunion weekend.  Vermont has its own special a cappella group, Blackberry Jam.  I swear, when I find a You Tube video of their performance, you will see it here!  The band consisted of two adolescent boys akin to Hanson in their prime, outfitted in bedazzled white denim jackets, hand painted jeans, perfectly coiffed hair and vibrantly colored Nike Air Force Ones singing a medley of hits from Don’t Stop Believing to the Star-Spangled Banner and my personal favorite for the day, I Can See Clearly (since it was clearly not going to be a bright sun-shiny day!).  Over and over again.  The comedic value of their appearance, performance, and looping repertoire did not go unnoticed by a single runner in attendance!  I can only attribute their obvious dedication and seriousness in the face of such adversity to years of America being subjected to shows the likes of American Idol – making subpar, laughably terrible singers (in)famous.

With temperatures in the 50’s (F) at the 9am start time, the rain began to fall more heavily.  In fact, there really was not a break in the rain throughout the entire race.  Weather aside, the course was beautiful.  It twists and turns, rises and falls through small towns scattered sparingly across the southwest corner of Vermont, over covered bridges, down pothole-riddled dirt and gravel roads and smooth, asphalt two-lane highways.  For a first time marathon, this race was exceptionally well organized and staffed with the right amount of aid stations and course marshals directing traffic.  I knew nothing about this course other than the course description offered on the race’s website; “There is a net elevation loss of 160 feet, with 500 feet of vertical gain between Miles 2 and 13. The last six miles of the course are flat. About nine miles consist of hard-packed dirt, with the remainder of the surface paved.”

If that sets your mind at ease, then I too had the same false sense of security!  This course was hard, second only to Pikes Peak Marathon for me.  After the first two miles of aggressive downhill, the climb from mile 2 – 13 was a bit more difficult that I was led to believe.  It was such a shock, in fact, that I actually had shin splints for most of this part!  I haven’t had shin splints since I started running marathons in 2001.  I can’t decide if this was a result of the course or karma for having just worked with a customer at Fleet Feet (a running store I work at) who had this issue and I boasted at the time that I hardly recalled the pain!  Additionally, I wouldn’t call the second half of this course flat, or even downhill.  It consisted of a lot of hills.  By this time, I accepted the fact that I wasn’t properly trained for this and was just going to hold my own for the remainder of the race.  I was currently in 6^th place.

Between miles 16 & 17, two other runners had caught up to me as we were directed by a supposed course marshal to turn onto a highway with a not-so-insignificant incline.   For 3/4 of a mile, we worked off each other to crest the top of the hill.  At that moment, a police officer passed us and doubled back to inform us that we were off the course!  The three of us were on pace for a sub-three hour marathon when one runner just said, “f**k it, I’m done!”  I made friends with the remaining runner over the rest of the course, laughing at how absurd our 28-mile marathon was going to be.  That extra 1.5 miles mentally and physically exhausted us as we were not prepared for even the slightest alteration to our planned 26.2 miles.  As if Mother Nature herself knew the feeling, it just rained harder. 

The last 0.2 miles became that usual show of bravado that exists in many runners to see just who has it in themselves to sprint to the finish.  As friendly as he and I had become, there was no way I was going to just trot it in.  This final sprint really was the icing on the cake considering that it was through a field transformed into mud puddles as a result of an entire morning of rain.  I finished in 8^th place, nudging my new friend out by one second.  Awaiting us at the finish was the most impressive array of food I’ve seen at a marathon.  Chocolate milk, galore!  My lips were blue, my hands were numb and my arms were filled with snacks and drinks as I stood half naked in the rain waiting for my wife to pull the car around to drive us to the airport.  I had a word with the race director about the 1.5 mile snafu and he amended my finish to 7^th place to account for the approximately ten extra minutes we ran.  My official time was 3:14:21.  Who knows what it could have been without the detour! 

Oh, and Chuck Engle? He finished in 2:44:55 and won, of course.    

Vermont - The Wife's Perspective

We had planned one – one! – trip for the whole year that was a "me" trip. That trip was to Northampton, Massachusetts for my 10 year college reunion. I could have gone alone, and I knew my husband might feel a tad out of place since there were bound to be way fewer men there than women (what with it being a women's college and all) but I wanted him to come and get a bit more of a firsthand understanding of what college had been like for me. Smith College was the most important time of my life, and getting in was the best thing that ever happened to me. More than anything else, it shaped who I am.

But then he "mentioned" that there was a run in Vermont that very Sunday… and it was only 2 hours away!... and we didn't have to do it, but…

So I found myself skipping Commencement (no great loss – I abhor commencements, to be honest. They are so boring! Not even a great speaker can make up for having to watch all those strangers walk across the stage) and driving to Bennington, Vermont. It rained the whole drive, and my weather app kept insisting it would rain the entire morning.

The race was the smallest I had been to yet. The 2 boys karaoke-ing outside of the entrance was quite an experience (I don't know why we can't find them on YouTube. Someone – their mother? – was videotaping the whole thing. I WANT THAT VIDEO!), and inside, the participants were just as interesting. Although a small race, it was obvious that the participants by and large were "real" runners – there were lots of Marathon Maniacs (identifiable by their shirts) and other people who were clearly not first-timers. And of course there was Chuck Engle. I'm glad we figured out who he was right away, so that my husband didn't kill himself trying to win against someone he couldn't possibly beat.

None of the roads were closed for the race. That might have been less great for the runners (I myself am not a fan of running with cars), but it was super great for me, because I didn't have to ever worry about not being able to get to the course. The course seemed well designed, too – I never had to cross it, and it was easy to find good spectating spots. I came in at miles 6 and 17, both of which were turns off the main road so there were course marshals in each spot, and I spent some time making friends (although not too much time because it was still raining, so I spent more time than usual sitting in my car reading). Race volunteers are always so nice. On my way between the stops I even found a Christmas store, and since I had lots of extra time (my drive was a straight shot; their run, not so much) and it was still raining, I went in and did a little shopping and had a nice chat with the owner.

From Mile 17 I headed to the finish. Well, I tried to head to the finish. For the life of me, I could not find it. Everyone said "you can't miss it." Well, I did. A LOT. I kept trying to find the right place on my iPhone, but it kept directing me to the same Lincoln museum. Once it gave me directions to enter from the other side and I got very excited, thinking I had finally found the right place. My heart absolutely dropped when I figured out I was in the same parking lot but had come in from another entrance! Finally I went in and of course they directed me right to the correct field. By the time I got there and sprinted from the car to the finish line (in the rain), I thought that for sure I had missed my husband since the clock was ticking past his goal time. But only 5 people had finished, I found out (by asking the very nice people monitoring the finishers). More and more minutes ticked by. Not once up until this point had my husband ever failed to meet his goal time and I started to worry. I must have looked crazy, pacing up and down, up and down – and all in the rain. Finally I saw him coming. He had to run past us and further up the road, only to turn around and run back through a field, so it was easy to track him coming in, although I'm guessing frustrating for the runners to be so close only to have to run right past the finish and keep going! I found out later, of course, about the detour. I was just happy he was done, and seemed well, although a bit blue (it was still raining…). We had to jump right back into the car and head to the Hartford airport, driving right past Smith again as we did. I don't know when I'll be back (probably not until my 15 year reunion), but I'm so glad we both went. The whole weekend was really fun, and I was actually more than happy to give up one of my days for another race. Spectating 50/50/50 is just as important to me as running 50/50/50 is to my husband. We can't all have super lofty goals!

9/50 - Flying Pig Marathon

And here we are - a couple of post-race beers, a shot of bourbon and 100 miles later.  Cincinnati has its charms as a small, Midwestern city with great local restaurants that thrive in part due to the college town atmospheres that surround the city.  We arrived at the expo and soon met a couple of guys that were also running the Flying Pig Marathon after having just run the Kentucky Derby Marathon (it was hard to miss their bright orange long-sleeved shirts that only the Derby full marathoners had received). It was nice to see that I'm not alone in my obsession. 

We made reservations at Local 127 (http://www.mylocal127.com) largely because we have a soft spot for restaurants that focus on locally sourced ingredients and this space also had a uniquely modern decor.  My wife ordered the Porkopolis, which was pork four different ways (quite appropriate for the Flying Pig Marathon!).  Most everything was good, and the pork belly was the best I’ve tasted.  I also sampled the panna cotta which, as you’ll find out in the next paragraph, was not only delectable, but downright forbidden!  All-in-all, the restaurant is worth a visit if you’re in town. 

I failed to mention one other detail about my training plan for this double marathon weekend – I had given up sweets.  Well, I had mostly given up sweets.  I say this with hesitation because my ancestors pride themselves on their sweet tooth and there I was, spitting on the very thing they fought for!  Alright, the only fighting they likely did was over the last piece of pie.  Regardless, beginning March 1^st, I decided to only allow myself one dessert per week and that would be on Sunday evening.  If you know me, this was a far greater challenge than running up and down Pikes Peak Mountain; I had quite the addiction to sugar!  My addiction came to a head on one particular day when I had been in the office for one hour and, after eating six Pop Tarts, I was in the break room looking for a donut.  In fact, I realized this was a pretty common occurrence.  It just so happens that the group I was training with had given up sweets for some time prior to this and raved about how much better they felt so I thought it might actually help with running.  If nothing else, I had a support group!

After two weeks, I was officially detoxed and I really didn’t crave sugar anymore.  I didn’t alter my diet in any other way – in fact the notion of dieting as a runner always baffled me (we run more so we can eat more!) and as a result, I probably made up for the calories with more beer and bigger meals.  However, I lost 5 lbs.  This is notable in that ever since college, I have weighed the exact same regardless of what I did.  I suppose I felt marginally better after giving up the sweets but this tirade doesn’t get me off the hook for having dessert at Local 127 on a Saturday night when I was only allowed Sunday night dessert!  I tried to trick my wife into ordering the panna cotta so that technically it would be her dessert (even though I planned to eat it all along), but she insisted on the cheese plate!  Alas, I failed the training plan. 

There I sat in shame on the hotel bed watching the (arguably equally shameful) remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street as I tried to fall asleep but just couldn’t avert my eyes from that train wreck.  The race was at 6:30am and in all, I got about four hours of sleep.  At the start line, I located the 3:10 pace group and quickly discovered this group to be too serious to have an enjoyable run.  I missed Kentucky already!  Not only was the company not as friendly as I would have liked, it rained for most of the race and in the history of my marathon races this was only the second time that had happened.  Out of 18 races, I suppose I was due.  I found the steady rain and occasional lightning to be quite relaxing. 

The course was less scenic than Louisville and a bit hillier.  In fact, this race has quite a reputation for being difficult because of the hill aspect.  However, I’m convinced that after mile 9, it was mostly downhill.  It always surprises me what runners’ opinions of hilly races are.  The race went well and I kept a pretty even split at the half to finish in 3:09.  Other than just wanting this one to end at mile 22, I didn’t feel any significant difficulty in running back-to-back marathons. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I let the pace group push me and I felt like I ran both races conservatively.  In the aftermath, I walked away unscathed – no sprains, no pulls, not even a blister!  I might even have something left in the ol’ legs to race the Vermont Marathon in two weeks. 

Cincinnati - The Wife's Perspective

It was a pretty straight shot from Louisville to Cincinnati. After a quick tour through the Expo, we headed right to an early dinner, and then straight off to the hotel for some shut eye. Or at least that was the intent – that is, until we both got hooked into watching the new Nightmare on Elm Street. What a terrible movie. We finally got to sleep, but it wasn't for long – the Flying Pig marathon starts at 6:30 am, which is extremely early. So to be at the start by 6, we had to leave by 5:30 and therefore get up at 4:30, which is 3:30 our own time… yikes!

Aaaaaand the morning started off nice and cold and rainy. I dropped my husband off (usually I try to stick around to see him start, but for this race we didn't stay downtown, and I didn't want to have to deal with parking there twice) and then headed to Mile 2, which is where we had decided I would make my first stop. It was still dark, and rainy. And absolutely deserted. Eventually a few more people showed up a little further down the street, so at least I wasn't completely alone. It wasn't long before the runners started to come through, and they all looked completely drenched and totally unhappy.

It's always difficult to figure out where to head to watch, especially in a strange city. I like to pick stops that are at least 10 miles apart – just in case I get lost or it's harder to get there than I expected – and close to a major highway or street. If I can, I like to pick a spot where I can walk to another viewing area, but that's not usually possible. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not so well.

This time I picked a spot that was about halfway which looked pretty easy to get to without having to cross or get too close to the race. It turned out to be a grocery store with lots of parking, and lots of other cheerers, and also a relay exchange spot, so I was in lots of company. I sat in the car until about 5 minutes before I could have possibly expected my husband to come by even if he was destroying his own goal (it was still raining a bit) and then snagged a clear spot and started cheering. About 15 minutes later I saw him and got some kids around me to cheer for him. By then the rain had stopped, so I stuck around for a while longer to cheer on more runners before heading back to the finish.

From there it got tricky. Cincinnati is almost like a little island, and at this point the roads on three sides of it were closed down due to the race. I ended up having to park quite far away, and only after maneuvering the wrong way down a one-way street. When I found the finish line, I realized that I was on the half-marathon side; all the marathon runners were actually coming in on the other side. Too late though – there was no obvious way to quickly get to the other side and I knew my husband would be coming through any minute. I just shouted extra loud for him when I saw him, in the hope I could shout over the other runners!

And then began the longest exit chute I had ever seen! It snaked all the way around the stadium, with the runners on the bottom and the spectators having to cross overhead. It's a good thing that for once we had discussed where to meet up if he didn't see me (we picked the obvious location of the runners' reunion posts – those things do come in handy!). We had just enough time to make it back to the hotel for my husband to take a shower and for us to hit the road for the long drive back to Chicago.

8/50 - Kentucky Derby Marathon

Why run just one marathon in a weekend?  The Kentucky Derby Marathon on April 30, 2011 and the Flying Pig Marathon on May 1, 2011 (separated by a 100 mile drive) seemed like a good way to kill a weekend – that is provided you enjoy self-inflicted pain and a challenge. Me, I just like efficiency.  Also, it gives me a higher status with the Marathon Maniacs (http://www.marathonmaniacs.com), a group of marathon runners that make me feel like a slacker. 

Training for this double marathon weekend required a different approach. After taking one month off, I prepared a 10-week training program that had me running the same long run on Saturday and Sunday.  I ran double long runs ranging from 12 – 21 miles.  Ok, so I committed to eight of those weeks; call me a B- student!  This approach quickly had me in very unfamiliar territory again – high mileage!  I had four weeks that were close to 70 miles. I was hurting in ways I have never hurt.  Of course, I had no idea what to expect from these back-to-back races and given that I was going to run 52.4 miles over the course of that weekend, 70 miles per week (about eight hours of running) didn’t seem inappropriate – but it sure wasn’t pleasant!

We drove to Louisville on Friday and made it to the expo in five hours. At the expo, we picked up the essentials and went across the street to the bar.  I don’t really have a specific pre-race meal but I sure do prefer that it includes a beer or three!  Louisville is a quaint little city with a lively restaurant scene.  We saddled up to the bar at Bistro 301 (http://www.bistro301.com), a great bar packed with runners and nice little beer list.  Here, we met a couple of guys in town for the marathon and started talking beer, running and motorcycling.  It turns out they live in NC and MI and rode their bikes into town for the race!  I thought my wife and I were the only ones who consider ourselves both runners and bikers.  We then discovered that, like me, they are also accountants working in Chicago - small world!  It was that chance meeting that birthed the elite running group called “the 1%ers” of which we are the directors (three treasurers and a president!).  If you ride a bike or have seen Gangland on the History Channel, you’ll know the reference.  We thought it clever to give reference to the assumption that given the entire running population, only 1% likely also ride motorcycles.  If you’re interested in “patching in”, let’s talk!

The Derby Marathon is largely a half marathon event.  About 15,000 half marathon runners (or “mini marathoners” as they call them) and 1,600 marathoners participate.  This can get really annoying when both groups of runners are on the same course.  For this race, the issue was the congestion.  About 12 of my miles were run with the half marathoners.  Toward the end of my race, I had about two miles of weaving in and out of slow runners and walkers since we meet back up with the half marathoners toward the end. 

The weather was beautiful, approaching 70 degrees F and sunny, and the people were most hospitable.  I love the south!  The course was mildly hilly and beautiful –from the historic homes and buildings to the serene Iroquois Park.  We even ran through Churchill Downs!  Considering I went into this race with some pretty sore hamstrings, I felt incredible. So good in fact, that I abandoned my plan to run a 3:10 so that I could save a little something for the Flying Pig Marathon the next morning.  I comfortably ran a 2:59 and came in 18th place overall.  I was pretty happy with that.  Now to see what toll it would take on me in Cincinnati…

Note - I also happened to meet the owner of Heine Bros. Coffee (http://www.heinebroscoffee.com) shops in Louisville for a few miles during the run, great guy.  Check out the shops if you’re in the area. 

Kentucky - The Wife's Perspective

Ah, double marathon weekend! As with so many of his ideas, I thought my husband was insane when he suggested we knock 2 marathons out in one weekend. Who runs 2 marathons in a single weekend? That guy does! And apparently he's not the only one. All I can say is that I'm seriously in awe of anyone who has the endurance to run back to back marathons.

We had originally intended to make this a motorcycle trip (I just got my very own Harley late last season and have been dying to take it somewhere cool), but between the rain/flooding the South had been having, trying to schedule our vacation days to get in all the other planned marathons and our adoption of a yellow lab puppy, we figured it would be best and fastest to take the car.

While my husband was checking in at the expo, we were approached by a gentleman who asked if one of us was spectating. That'd be me! He then introduced himself and said that he was a local who had run the Derby Marathon a number of times and the increasing size and complexity of the race had driven him to put together a spectators' map/guide, which he then offered me. My Chicago sensibilities told me that this had to be some kind of a trick -- like the homeless people in Chicago who "hand" you a flier or newspaper and then demand payment -- because no one does something so nice and helpful out of the goodness of their heart. Well, in the South, apparently they do! His guide was extremely helpful, as it contained not only suggested viewing areas and a map, but also indicated where the best spots were to view the course when the Mini Marathoners weren't on it (helpful for the spectator, since it means smaller crowds and less congestion. For example, he told me to skip the Downs because it would be a nightmare). It was a life saver.

But first, I had to find the Interstate so I could start following the first set of directions. I knew where the Interstate was, of course, but it turns out that just about every single road heading in the direction I needed to go was closed, and I couldn't get to any street with an onramp that was open! I finally stopped and asked a traffic director where I should go, and while gesturing behind him he said "just keep going that way, and eventually head East a little bit." So I headed that way, only to somehow find myself in the middle of what looked to be the Projects on a one-way and dead-end street, and this after already looking for an on-ramp for quite a while. I pulled over and, I kid you not, cried for a minute. I was so frustrated and could not figure out where to go! In the end I just kept driving around until I finally found an open on-ramp and I was on my way!

I stationed myself at the entrance of Iroquois Park, which let me easily catch my husband on his way in, and then again on his way out around 5 miles later. I was hoping to catch up with Dan, a biker friend we had made the night before who was there to support his friend Corey (I love making biker friends), but Dan ended up at the other end of Iroquois Park, so we missed each other. I also missed Corey's entrance to the park, because I was too busy looking for Mike's exit! I had hoped to catch him to cheer him on but instead I headed to the finish line. After a parking fiasco, I barely made it to my station to see my husband as he triumphantly headed to the finish. I had hoped to stay there to see Corey, but the chute was like a mile long and my husband couldn't figure out how to get through it and back to where I was so I had to abandon my post and go find him. Reunited, we headed out of the finish area (though it looked like they were going to have a good band and great party) back to the hotel to shower, check out and meet Dan and Corey for a celebratory beer, after which we had to head straight out to the Cincinnati expo...