A Look Back at 2013

First ride of 2013

As 2013 draws to a close, it seems only right to take a look back at the highs and lows of the past year. This year has been a difficult one for our family. In March, we lost Courtney's dad and Anne's "Pop".  We all miss him terribly. Losing a parent is really hard. I lost my dad in 1998 and I miss him every day.

On the professional front, I will be moving to a new law firm after 25 years in Norfolk. The nice thing is that I will be in Suffolk and only five minutes from home. No more tunnels! Sometimes change is difficult, but I am excited about the move and practicing with a great group of folks here in Suffolk.

Cap2Cap Century Ride in Richmond

On the running front, 2013 has been a year of many PR's and firsts for me. At the beginning of the year, I set the goal of running 1500 miles by the end of the year. I met that goal at the end of October and just recently crossed the 1800 mile barrier. If I throw in my cycling miles, my total mileage for 2013 is over 4400 miles. Guess I will have to raise the bar to 2000 miles for 2014.

Cornerstone Striders at the Marine Corps Marathon

I had PR's in the half marathon in San Antonio in January (1:57:40), the 14K at Virginia Is For Lovers in February (1:12:15), the full marathon at Shamrock in March (4:20:18) and the 10K at Monument Avenue in March (53:01). I also ran in my first Marine Corps Marathon in October. On the other side of the equation, I had a very disappointing race at the Crawling Crab Half Marathon because of the warm day. I finished my first ultra marathon at the Seashore Nature Trail 50K last weekend, although my time was much slower than I had hoped. I also competed in my first century ride at the Cap2Cap in May, my second ride at the MS 150 and my first triathlon in August in Goochland. Our Cornerstone Century team also completed the Colonial 200-mile Relay in September.

On the whole, not a bad year. I have been blessed to have the support and love of my family and to surround myself with great runners and cyclists, who don't accept excuses and won't let you fail. Like they say, it's the company you keep!

Our Cornerstone Century team at the Colonial 200 Relay

My first tri at the Goochland Sprint Triathlon

So, what's in store for 2014? Well, I still have my eye on trimming my full marathon time down toward that 4 hour mark. Also, for the past two years, I have wanted to ride in the Tour de Cure Century ride, but have not been able to make it work. I hope that 2014 will see that happen. I also want to try a triathlon that includes an open water swim. I am planning to do the Smithfield Sprint in April, along with some tri rookies from Cornerstone and some from my old firm. 2014 is looking like a challenging year for me. But, then again, I like a good challenge. Happy New Year to you and yours!

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

Running the Colonial 200 Relay - Part 4 - Running Into the Night

Keith Hands Off to Mark at Leg 10 at
Mechanicsville Baptist Church

As morning gave way into afternoon and the shadows became longer, we began to realize that before too long, we would be running out of daylight. Literally. We figured sometime during Legs 14 or 15, it would be time to add headlamps and flashing lights to our running equipment per the Relay rules.

 

"Invisible Woman" Andrea on Leg 14 is
almost invisible except for her safety gear

 

Now, running after dark was nothing new for anyone on the team. Most of us were regular morning runners used to starting before sunrise to log long runs as part of marathon or half marathon training. However, there was some mystique associated with running through the night. It was a new challenge and everyone wanted a shot at it.

The whole team put on tutus to support Andrea
as she climbed the hill on Leg 14



We continued to pull together as a team. On Leg 14, Andrea was faced with a tough uphill climb. We drove ahead of her and everyone (guys included) donned tutus to cheer her as she made it up and over the hill. Not bad team spirit. We all tried to squeeze in some shut eye when possible, but even the best of us nodded off unexpectedly.




Steve Grabs an Unplanned Nap Waiting for a Runner

 
The whole sleeping thing was a real challenge. Even assuming that you could get comfortable enough to catch a few winks, inevitably the interior light in the van would come on or something else would disturb your nap. The net result was a whole bunch of punchy people. The best solution was to send the chase truck a couple of Legs down the course so that a couple of runners could snooze and wait for the rest of us. Maybe a second van is not such a bad idea.

Melissa Hangs Out the Window Waiting
for Hank on Leg 19

As we made our way around Richmond and into Ashland, we could feel the end of the Relay pulling us closer. My last leg started at the Ashland YMCA at just before 2:00am. When I crossed Route 1, there was not a car in sight. Once the street lights were behind me, the darkness of Hanover County was amazing. And quiet, except for the occasional dog. The darkness was broken only a couple of times by a Hanover County deputy cruising the length of the leg with his blue lights on. He slowed and asked me how I was doing. Nice gesture on his part. After 30 seconds, he too disappeared into the night. It was nice to reach Leg 24. We were 2/3 finished!




Running the Colonial 200 Relay - Part 3 - Running Toward Richmond

Jeff on Leg 5 in Ruckersville, Virginia

I could probably write a post for almost every one of the legs we covered in the Relay, but no one wants to read that much. It is, perhaps, better to give you a sense of how we were doing as we moved East from Albemarle County toward Richmond. One by one, our team members stepped up and ran their assigned legs. Twelve individual runners were becoming a team. We even had our own volunteers.

Kathleen was unable to run with the team, so she stepped up
and volunteered. Kathleen and Andrea at Leg 7 (Preddy Creek
Trail Park)

Those who have run the Colonial 200 know that Leg 8 holds a special distinction. It is the greatest rise in elevation over the shortest distance. In short, it is one heck of a hill and the person who completes it gets the title "King of the Mountain." For our team, that person was Kevin. He volunteered to run the leg and, when he was done, he knew he had earned that title.

Kevin earns his "King of the Mountain"
status on Leg 8

Not only was his leg over a serious hill, but much of it was on unpaved road. Those of us following Kevin got a sense of the difficulty when the van had trouble making the pull up the hill. The title "King of the Mountain" comes with its own sticker.

As the hours and miles began to roll by, we moved closer and closer to Richmond. Along we way, we made lots of memories and enjoyed the run. We also began to see runners from other teams. Some of those runners had started earlier than we did and we were catching up to them, while others had started in our wake and catching and passing us. Here are a few highlights.

Amy on Leg 7

The Cornerstone Century team waiting for Keith on Leg 9

Mark running Leg 10 in Louisa County

Danny, Hank, Andrea and Kevin take a well-deserved rest at Leg 11







Running the Colonial 200 Relay - Part 2 - Albemarle County

Much of Leg 2 was run on unpaved road

 

One of the benefits or burdens of being a relay team captain is that you get to make the leg assignments. It's a benefit, because you get to see the whole array of available legs and make the decision on which runners best fit which legs. It's a burden for the same reason. I spent many hours matching up 12 runners with 36 legs.

Leg 2 was the next to longest leg of the entire relay at 8.88 miles over rolling hills. After considerable thought, I decided that I should not ask one of my team members to do something that I was not prepared to do myself. So I put myself down for Leg 2. It was fine for a while, but as I continued to run, I was afraid I had missed a turn. The course was marked by yellow signs telling you where to turn and reassuring you that you were still on the right path. After running what seemed like several miles without seeing a sign, I began to become convinced I was on the wrong road. What to do? No other runners around me. I had not seen our team van. I did not have a cell phone to call anyone. All I could think was that I would end up running needless miles to get back on the course.

About the time I was getting ready to reverse direction and back track, I saw a cyclist approaching. I waved him down and asked if he had seen any runners. He said "no", but to my relief said that a group was ahead to cheer runners on. I cannot tell you how relieved I felt. Sure enough, about another half mile ahead, my team was by the side of the road waiting for me. At that point, I made the turn happy in the knowledge that I was on track. What I did not know was that I had just started along an unpaved portion of the course and that I would be running on loose gravel and concrete for the next several miles. At one point, I rolled my ankle slightly, but recovered; however, not before I cut loose with an "F bomb."

Steve making a turn on Leg 2 in Albemarle County

The approach to Leg 3 was up a good hill, but looking at my Garmin, I knew I was close. I pushed hard and made the hand off to Mike. The distance and the terrain had been more of a challenge than I had imagined. The great thing about a relay, though, is that you know a fresh runner is just over the hill. It's your job to get there!

Steve approaches Leg 3 to hand off to Mike

Mike takes off on Leg 3

Melissa in her trademark tutu waits at
Leg 4 in Earlysville

Colonial 200/70 Relays - September 20-21, 2013

Let me give a plug to one of my favorite running events, the Colonial 200/70 Relays in September. If you are new to running, you may not have heard about relays. Most running events are solo efforts, where a runner simply competes against the clock. A relay introduces a new dimension to running, running with a team. We are all familiar with the relays we see during the Olympics, where a group of four runners pass a baton as they sprint around a track. The idea is similar, but done over a long distance, either 200 miles or 70 miles. The 200-mile relay starts outside of Charlottesville and the 70-mile relay starts in Hanover County. Both relays finish in Williamsburg, near the Jamestown park.

Bear in mind that none of the runners cover the entire distance. That would be a bit much. Rather, in the case of the 200 mile relay, the team consists of up to 12 runners and, in the case of the 70, up to 6. The 12 runners in the 200 each run 3 legs of the 200 miles, while their 70-mile counterparts each run two legs. In the end, those running the 200 will each run around a total of 16 miles in three legs and those in the 70, about 12 miles. Sorry if that sounds confusing. It's really not. The fewer members of the team, the longer the mileage.

The runners pass the baton at each of the checkpoints and the next runner on the team goes from there. Our running group did the Colonial 70 Relay in 2012 and had a ball. We are running the Colonial 200 this year. The runners in the Colonial 200 will run through the night, which adds to the experience. By the end of the race, we will all be running on less than adequate sleep. If all this sounds like fun to you, check out the Colonial 200/70 site for more information or contact me. I am serving as a race ambassador this year and am happy to respond to any questions. If you plan to sign up, let me know.