Bouncing Back from Illness

It's been a little over a week since the Seashore Nature Trail 50K and I haven't run a step. It feels like a month. Not by choice, of course, my spirit was willing, but my body was otherwise occupied.

Although I was a bit sore after the 50K, by Sunday evening, I felt pretty good. Even so, I decided that taking a couple days off from running was not a bad idea, so I opted for spin class on Monday morning. Several of my friends, who ran the 50K reported they were sick with fever and coughing. I decided that I had been lucky and, besides, I had gotten a flu shot back in October.

By Tuesday morning, the cough had started. It was an annoyance at first. By the time I left work at noon, it was heavier and more persistent. Well, just a cough, I thought.  I did some last minute shopping and headed home. Things were not getting better. By 8pm on Christmas Eve, my wife convinced me to go to Patient First. My cough was now accompanied by a low grade fever. So much for the Christmas Eve service at church. 

While I did not have the flu, the doctor diagnosed a "respiratory infection." He gave me drugs and I went home. I spent the better part of the next two days propped up in a chair. It may not have been the flu, but it sure felt like it. No running for sure!

By Saturday, I was feeling better and thought about running, but decided that there was a chance it could cause a relapse, so I bit my lip and stayed home. Now, it's Sunday, it's raining and running is not an option. By my estimation, this is my longest period without a run in 2013. Boy, do I need to bounce back!

Seashore Nature Trail 50K - Running an Ultra

I ran the Seashore Nature Trail 50K with friends. Well, we
were on the same course at the same time.



After finishing the Marine Corps Marathon, I remember thinking - "how much tougher would another five miles be?" Turns out, pretty tough. This was my first ultra and I need a bit of time to process it. I do want to reflect upon it, however, while some things are fresh in my mind.

This was a hard race for me. After the marathon in October, I continued my long runs and even doubled up on the weekends to try to push the total up toward the 31 miles I would need for the ultra. Most of the training articles I read indicated that running two long runs in a 24-hour period would simulate the endurance needed for the ultra. Perhaps this is true, but every race brings unexpected challenges and the Seashore 50K was no exception.

Our Cornerstone Striders crew. Front row: Jeff Fitch and Danny West.
Back row: Andrea McHugh, George Nelsen, Brian Burke and me. We were later
joined by two other CS'ers, Hank Stieh and Kelly Fernanders, who ran support.

First, let me say that this race was well run by the Tidewater Striders. Well organized and the volunteers were terrific. As with most long distances, when you get into those upper miles, having someone to cheer you on means more than you can imagine. At more than one point, volunteers shaking cowbells and yelling encouragement put some spring back in my step. Nice work Tidewater Striders! Also, the course was challenging, but beautiful! First Landing State Park is a real gem. If you have never been there, go. You don't have to run.

Second, the weather conditions. I am notorious for looking at long range forecasts and watching the weather evolve approaching race day. One thing is true, you cannot plan the weather. In this case, December 21 was unseasonably warm reaching the mid-70's by early afternoon. Not helpful. The best that can be said is that it was dry and the trails were not sloppy. There is plenty to trip over at First Landing, including roots, pinecones, sticks, etc. Doing that in the rain would have been a bit much. The warm weather had the same effect on me that it always does, it makes me cramp. In this case, the cramp was in my upper back and no matter what I did I couldn't seem to shake it. I finally had to walk. I walked a lot more than I planned and watched my mile splits get slower and slower. I was dismayed, but determined not to DNF.

Actually, my first loop of the park went relatively well. I was running with George Nelsen, who was a member of our Colonial 200 Relay team and is an experienced ultra marathoner. George and I stayed together until the beginning of the second loop. He kept us at a steady pace, being careful to walk all the hills and run all the flats and down hills. As an ultra running strategy, I think this was a good plan. However, by about Mile 18 as we headed back down Cape Henry Trail for the second loop, I could tell that the warmth of the day was beginning take its toll. I had been careful to hydrate at each aid station.

By Mile 20, my pace was slowing and I was beginning to feel the cramp. It felt like someone pushing their fist into my upper back and it was making it harder to run and breathe. By Mile 22, the cramp was in full force and I basically had to walk the next six miles with intermittent runs. That was where I had to fight the mental battle. As other runners, who I had been ahead of, ran past, it was hard not to let doubt creep in and to begin to feel sorry for myself. I've been there before and I was not giving up, even if I had to walk the rest of the race.



This little sign along the Kingfisher Trail says it all. When you
see this sign, you know you can finish and what you have accomplished.

As I reached Mile 25, where you get back on the Kingfisher/White Hill Lake Trail for the last time, I was greeted by a terrific volunteer, who was ringing her bell and yelling "only six miles left". Not sure why, but that got me going again. The cramp had eased and I started to run again. I went back to running the flats and down hills and walking any hill. Oddly enough, I met and talked to more people during this phase of the race than the prior 25 miles. I began to feel the finish line pulling me along. I began to hit milestones: the last aid station, crossing the Narrows, the sandy part of the Cape Henry Trail along Broad Bay.

At Mile 30, I caught up to two Cornerstone friends, Danny and Hank. I mistakenly thought they had already finished and were walking back on the trail. I ran past them and said something like "I'm ready for this to be over!" Finally, I saw the exit from the trail and turned left toward the finish. My last mile split was my fastest since Mile 16. I crossed the finish line to cheers and got my first ultra medal. I became an ultra marathoner at 7:03:26.

I had wanted to finish my first 50K in six hours. It took me seven, but I finished. It was a challenge, but I did it. Not sure I will run another 50K, but I'm glad I ran this one.

Cornerstone Striders - Running in Suffolk

A devoted group of Cornerstone Striders out for a Dismal Swamp
run in January, 2013

This month I will mark two years running with the Cornerstone Striders in Suffolk. I wanted to take a little time to talk about how this group changed everything for me when it comes to running.

In December, 2011, I had been running only about three months, having started as part of my quest to drop the massive amount of weight I had accumulated by age 49. I had reached a point where I was dismayed by the way I felt, looked and where I was physically, on the cusp of turning 50. I had made myself a promise that my gift to myself for my 50th birthday would be a new, healthier me but I had a long way to go. By September, 2011, I had already dropped about 80 pounds, but still had 50 to go and my doctor had cleared me to run.

Running with Cornerstone in Carrollton

For the first three months of running, I started slowly.  On my first runs, I was barely able to run a quarter mile without stopping. I worked myself up to running the entire length of my 5-mile walking route. Running was doing great things, but I was running alone. At a Christmas party, I chanced upon another friend, who knew I had been running and asked if I had heard about a new running group that had formed in Suffolk. I told her I had not, but got the details. I woke up the next morning to run and looked up Cornerstone. As it turned out, they had a group run that morning at Hillpoint. I thought, "what the heck, I'll show up and, if I hate it, I won't go back."


Andrea started the Cornerstone Striders after moving
down from Michigan with her family. The group now
boasts a membership of over 100 runners

Well, I showed up for that Sunday morning run two years ago and I have not looked back (figuratively, of course). Running with a group, and this group, in particular, has made all the difference. Along the way, I have met some of the most motivated people I have ever known (thanks Andrea!). I have also achieved goals I never dreamed possible, like running my first half and then full marathons at age 50. I have shared the experience of running a 200-mile relay across Virginia and completed my first triathlon. I am now training for my first ultra marathon. I am convinced that much, if not all, of these things may never have happened or, if they did, would have happened much more slowly without Cornerstone.

Cornerstone travelled to Richmond for the Monument Avenue 10K

In the end, I would say, that running with a group has motivated me to be a better and more accomplished runner. I hope that I can pass that inspiration on to other new runners. Sometimes a group makes all the difference.

Our Cornerstone Century team completed the Colonial 200 Relay running
over 200 miles across Virginia

Getting Ready for My First Ultra!

In just two weeks, I will be running the longest race of my life and I am both intimidated and excited. Over the past two years, I have completed three full marathons and a variety of half marathons, but never an ultra. In this case, I will be running the Seashore Nature Trail 50K at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, along with 299 other folks, who apparently decided that 26.2 miles just wasn't long enough. The event is sponsored by the Tidewater Striders and 2013 is the Fifth Annual.

So, why an ultra? Well, like most runners, I am always looking for a new challenge. A way to push myself a little farther or make myself a little faster. In this case, it was endurance. I am just coming off of the Marine Corps Marathon on October 27 and was trained up for marathon distance. I had originally figured that I would just back off a bit and train up for the Shamrock full in the spring. Most of my training runs are done with a group of runners in Suffolk, the Cornerstone Striders. The folks in this group have helped me develop as a runner and we push ourselves each and every week.

The founder of Cornerstone is a running mentor of mine. She is dedicated to the sport and won't accept excuses. More than a few times, she has pushed me along and gave me the encouragement not to quit, when that is what I was feeling. She was a member of our group that ran Marine Corps. When we finished that marathon, she mentioned the 50K. My initial reaction was, "no way, I'm done for 2013, except for one of the holiday races." But, the more I thought about it, the more I thought that I could push myself the extra five miles. I also thought that this would be an endurance race only, time would not be a consideration, except finishing ahead of the eight hour cutoff.

And so, I told her I would do it. Provided pace was not a consideration. I had also never run at First Landing and did not know what to expect. Fortunately, in the month since I committed, I have run twice there and have been using a new pair of cushioned shoes to help absorb some of the unevenness of the trail. First Landing is a beautiful site. Turns out we have 4 or 5 members of Cornerstone doing the 50K, so I will have some company. I am also planning on running with one of our Colonial 200 Relay teammates, who has run many ultra races and has promised to nurse me through the rough parts.

Well, in two weeks, I will either be elated at completing my first ultra or dejected, because I had to "DNF". I truly hope it is the former. Not sure that I will ever run another ultra, but wanted to be able to say that I tried one. Seashore 50K, here I come!