Rise Up Runners

Motivation; Used to do

2011-01-02T14:50:00.003-05:00

I used to run.

I used to be in shape. I used to seek out adventure or meet it head-long when it found me.

I used to play with the kids. I used to grab a longboard when Anna wanted to go for a bike ride. I used to kick the soccer ball, play tag or field hockey one-on-one in the back yard.

I used to be interesting. I used to be interested. I used to beat the sunrise up and smile at it with my eyes.

I used to have a couch without an ass-print on it. I used to not watch too many TV shows. I used to be mobile. I used to go mobile.

I used to connect towns with my feet. I used to run through the woods like a kid. My miles in the morning used to be a source of pride. I used to be proud. And humble. And not numb.

I used to run. I used to do.

---

Those thoughts and others like them are what go through my head when I decide to make and keep a date with myself to run 7.5 miles on New Year's Day, 2011. A source of motivation to push myself, to fight against complacency. To seek and create my own discipline, to go after the feeling that comes with running and with finishing an hour run on a day when I don't have to run, but I want to.

It's not a long run or a memorable one, but it's a run. It helps me think about goals for myself, for running, for work, for life and what I am going to do to move closer to them.

Running connects me to the road, to the town, to the water, to the trees, to what I encounter on my run. It connects me to my mind, to my body, to my will, to my soul, over the course of an out and back route that I have run more times than I can count.

Running lets me start 2011 the way I want to. On my terms. It is a prayer. Of thanks. Of hope. Of looking forward. Of being present.

I see you, 2011. Welcome. Let's dance. Check that. I don't dance much. Let's go for a run.

* Co-posted at The 4-1-Run

Observations on a run, or, Landy may be chasing me

2010-11-08T04:55:00.000-05:00

Sometimes on a clear, cold sunrise run, through trees and fields and along the water, you wake up parts of yourself you can't stir any other way. Not every time, but sometimes. Those parts can't be put into words.

I had some of those moments on a solo Sunday Daylight Savings 11-miler. Since those moments will remain wordless, you can have observations from the rest of the run. We'll work chronologically.

Text from Dominic this morning, who had been up all night with a puking child, likely out. Bieber stayed out til 8:40 p.m. and was another likely no-show.

Used my extra hour to drink coffee and read Charles Simic, who says "Everything you didn't understand/ Made you what you are."

I never understood those faucets that float unsuspended in place and yet water runs steadily out from thin air. So I'm a magic faucet. Which is nice.

The stars are bright on the first run I've grabbed a hat and gloves for this fall. It's brisk and I look forward to hitting mile 1 or so, where my legs will be more numb than cold. It's 5:34 a.m. (adjusted time).

I've been on enough runs that start in the dark and finish in the light where I'm the dork running in a reflective vest in broad daylight. Not today. I break bad. I run without reflection.

I run by Lando's house, where some lights are on and he talked about running a 20-miler this morning, so may cross paths later. Run by Lori's and Dominic's and "Da Corner" where we haven't met in a while.

I get to the YMCA and pull up to give folks a chance, in case, since Bieber would have to drive if he posted.

Nobody. But then it occurs to me that Landy knows the route we are running. He's become too fast and focused to run with us most of the time, but he's a social creature (maybe) and might challenge himself by giving "us" (which is now "me") a head start and running us down like Predator. Or to quote Joel, like "The Landimal."

I'm not ready to be prey, not yet, so I start up Oxford Road.

Crossing over Papermill Pond there is a heron standing in the water amongst a number of geese. I wonder how that conversation must go? Or maybe the geese are about to put a beat-down on him.

As I hit the trees around the Easton Club, there's a full-on owl discussion going on, calls and multiple replies.

Running along the trees on Oxford Road to Cooke's Hope, deer own the periphery, rustling and starting as I go by. Turning into Cooke's Hope, I look back along the road, marking time. After all, Landy may be chasing me.

As far as runs along/around town, the trails back there are money. Being able to turn off the road and dip down into the clear still of geese and light on the pond is sweet; surveying the cut fields, well, it's hard to be any more archetypal Eastern Shore.

Running on the back stretch, a doe is next to the trail and freezes like a three-year-old playing hide and seek, hiding in plain sight. I keep a steady pace and don't acknowledge her and she doesn't spook, we just pass.

I'd stay and visit, I want to explain, but Landy may be chasing me.

Startling a heron and watching them fly off, long legs hanging in tow is a surreal experience. It also makes dogs bark, if there is one nearby at the time.

Back onto Oxford Road, there is a runner up ahead of me, running in the same direction, opposite side of the road--running with traffic. Stride is all wrong for Lando, plus I can tell they are moving too slow, so I head out to catch and pass them. As I get closer a mane of long hair reveals itself.

I pass her around Waverly and offer a good morning and it is. She agrees in a smooth, soothing voice you could just listen to. She would kick ass as a books on tape narrator.

I'd love to stay and chat, I don't have time to let her know, but Landy may be chasing me.

Passing in front of the Y and the middle school, Bickford drives by and waves, probably wondering what kind of idiot runs in shorts in 35 degree weather. Then again, Bickford broke open the ice with a 2x10 in January so we could jump in. Bickford knows we're stupid.

Rails to Trails is my home stretch. A little over two miles to go and a place I like to pick it up. I generally turn my mind off and think about stride and pace. Long stretches of visibility and many side/crossing streets make it dangerous territory for a Landimal attack, but none comes today.

Either I have survived or there never was a pursuit (latter more likely). Has gotten me thinking about the Harrier Hash concept and what a perfect weekend fun run that would be for a group run. File it under things to hit the message board with.

Funny where the quiet, un-iPoded mind can wander over 11 or more miles.

I get home and the girls are not on adjusted time; they didn't fall back. Ava is quietly and feverishly coloring and Anna is playing her DS. Robin is still asleep. Breakfast and coffee to come.

Check Your Head

2010-07-01T06:48:00.003-04:00

03:59- Wake to music... What is it? Don't care. Hit snooze. Try to sleep.

04:07- Well, I'm awake, sort of. Don't want to get up but have to pee. Why am I doing this again. Shouldn't have set the alarm. Megan is skipping gym this am, I could always go later in the morning. We all know how that one ends though...

04:08- Grab my shorts, shirt, and shoes. At least running gear is simple. And with VFF, no socks needed.

04:12- Try to eat something... no time for coffee. Grab a Shot Bloks Cola flavor with 50 mg caffeine. Not enough caffeine as I can only muster half a package. The flavor is weird. I think I just taste the caffeine and not much else. How will I finish a whole box of 18 of these. Ugggh.

04:14- Chug a small glass of cold water. Start looking for my reflective vest.

04:15- There is is! In the stairwell to the basement in my "Y" bag.

04:17- Out the door, slip on Garmin chest strap and watch, reset watch and go.
First Few paces- Wow, it feels nice and cool. Little breeze. This won't be bad, but what the ...? 10:55 per mile. This feels slow. Where is my pep. Everything feels tight. Maybe this will be a short run.

Half Mile In- Two medium loops or one long one? Might be better to grab water and a snack after six miles. But not sure I can muster going back out again. Better make it one loop, but I don't know about hydration. It is cool enough- I'll be fine without water. Hope Mike doesn't want to join in at five. Never heard back from him last night. He'll be fine if I don't post at 05:00...

One Mile- Still feeling slow, just a little looser. Where is my pep? Not enough caffeine. Not awake yet. Why am I doing this?

Two Miles In- Feeling the camber/cant/road slant in my left knee. What a pain. Gotta get off Oxford Rd. Just slightly more awake. Still foggy. A few passing lights from cars. Traffic light at least in the 4's.

Third Mile- Heading into Cooke's Hope. Feeling a little better. Still not fast, but loosening up a little. Stride a little longer behind me and easier. Nice low heart rate. All day pace right here. There is hope. Feeling better. Whoah Deer dart right in front of me! Watch my step in the dark on the trail. Remembering an article I read yesterday about boxes and the line. Cool ideas and apply to plenty of things outside triathlon. Every run has a Line I think. Where will it come on this run?

Mile Four- Might try a few loops today on the trail. I don't want more cambered road if I can help it. Getting brighter. Can't see the sun but the clouds look really cool- long wispy lines on the horizon. Corn is getting higher. I never did finish The Omnivore's Dilemma did I? Some pangs of hunger pass after a few minutes. Settling into a groove. Ouch, scratched by a branch on the neck. Didn't see that one coming.

Mile Five- Second lap. More deer or the same ones over again. Twist an ankle slightly around the little pond. Recover quickly. Thank my FiveFingers for that. Takes my mind off the twinge in my left outer kneecap area. A few bats on the trail- cool!

Mile Six- Halfway done or so. Getting thirsty for the first time. Mouth a little dry. Maybe I should have brought water. We'll see how this goes. Through the woods again. Can see a little better now. THERE'S that branch I missed the first time. One more lap around. Not getting dizzy yet- from the trail loops or the dehydration. Thank goodness it is cool.

Mile Seven- Deer again. They all look the same. How many miles are you guys putting in this morning? They never look tired or thirsty.

Mile Eight-Last loop finishing up. Thankful for a trail run- at least part of the run. Maybe tag on Oaklands next? Still not hot at least.

Mile Nine- Try to relax, loosen shoulders, arms, loosely cup hands. That's it. Not at the line yet. Keep an easy pace. Check heart rate. 140. No worries.

Miles Ten and Eleven- Oaklands loop. Getting a lot harder. Loosing focus. Starting to feel tired legs. Feet actually a little sore. This is a new one. No heel pain though and knee is settling down. Hmm, looking like it may be more like 14 miles than the planned 13. Oh well, still thirsty but sweating fine and head is clear.

Mile 11.5- Ok here is the Line on this run. Fighting the urge to walk. Why did I feel the need to run long today? Push through. This is nothing. No need to kill myself heading home. Just get 'er done. Maintain pace. Nothing more. All business.

Mile 12-14- Oxford Road- We've got issues, but I know you well. No surprises. Always feel a little better seeing the traffic light on the bypass before the Y. The home stretch. Breathing still easy, but my dogs are barking. Legs sore and heavy. Left hip flexor is tight. Fighting urge to slow down and walk some. Hang in there. This is the fun part- really. It's why I snap the velcro straps together on my Bikilas (really does nothing for fit by the way but has cool reflective surface on the straps at least)
Home stretch by the park then to da corner. Decide to push it to 15 by going to the bike path rather than turning down Aurora and ending in front of my house at 14.75. More arbitrary numbers. Damn you Garmin!

Mile 15. Hit stop on my Garmin and start walking. Ahhhh that feels better. Or does it? Man my left hip flexor is tight as are my calves. I think I'm feeling the lack of fluids. But I made it.
Walk down Dover street from the bike path and back to the house. Feeling glad I'm finished. Whole day ahead at 6:20, and I finished 15 miles. That's why I got up at 04:00.

Thanks & Praise (for a Sunday run)

2010-06-27T10:46:00.004-04:00

Sundays are a time for thanks and praise, so here are a few from this morning's run:

Thanks for the health to be able to get up and go for a run.

Thanks for the sun shining and the odd rays pushing through the trees and dancing on the pavement.

Thanks for familiar, smiling faces and morning greetings.

Thanks for running with shorts, shoes and an iPod and not needing all the crap, gear, tech, and assembly that the cyclists meeting at the YMCA needed.

Thanks for SHADE!

Thanks for the heron (see past post re: the heron vibe) looking for his breakfast right next to the bridge over Papermill Pond (and thanks for the tide being high enough to hide the PMP stench ;)

Thanks for a playlist that employs James Brown and his heaps of soul for the last two miles. Thanks for a steady pace and focus over the last mile of a hot run.

Thanks for the feeling of finishing a run, sweaty and spent and smiling.

Thanks for air conditioning. Thanks for coffee.

I overslept this morning, due to dog, due to kids up during the night, so changed a 10-11 mile Sunday run to a 7.25 mile run, but didn't bail altogether, which has been a late spring pattern if I don't get up early enough for the full run.

Getting out the door at 7am it was already hot. But the thought the epic battle at Western States yesterday, waged over 100 miles of rugged terrain and mountains between Tony Krupicka, Killian Jornet and Geoff Roes made my quick jaunt seem like nothing. That's a solid perspective to dwell on when out for a run.

My favorite running song of late, the John Butler Trio's "Ragged Mile." Have a listen.

It feels good to be back into a summer running rhythm. Now I am starting to think about summer and fall races and trail adventures. Ideas? Step right up.

Reminder from E.B. White

2010-03-19T06:24:00.004-04:00

Last night, my five year old daughter let me read to her. I say this because lately she only wants to read to her mom and dad, not be read TO. Yet, last night she wanted to read a chapter book and asked me to start reading one of her favorites, "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White. Now this book may hold a special place in her heart partly because she shares her name with that amazing spider, but nonetheless it stands on its own as a wonderful tale of friendship.

In the first chapter, Fern, aged 8 I believe, successfully talked her father out of killing the runt of the litter pig by stating "This is the most terrible case of injustice I ever heard of." Her father, Arable, then decides to let her have a chance to raise the pig herself. Later, Fern's brother comes downstairs and wonders why he can't have a pig too and receives the following response.

"No, I only distribute pigs to early risers," said Mr. Arable. "Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice. As a result, she now has a pig. A small one, to be sure, but nevertheless a pig. It just shows what can happen if a person gets out of bed promptly. Let's eat!"

I smiled last night reading that, just as I smile now having returned from biking and swimming this morning, finishing up a six am, well before the sunrise. Now, maybe we don't all want pigs, though I imagine there has been plenty of bacon consumed after Rise Up Runs on the weekends, and I can't claim that we are able to rid the world of injustice, but the point still rings true almost sixty years after it was written. Have a wonder-filled day and go claim your pig!

What a Beautiful Day for Running Barefoot in the Park

2010-03-18T12:09:00.003-04:00

Today is one of those rare days that just feels like a gift. Maybe, just maybe, all that that cold, snowy weather was worth it just to be rewarded such a warm, remarkably comfortable day. I am fortunate enough to be off work on Thursdays, and I took advantage of the weather to get outside first for a short bike ride with my wife followed by a run around the park.

It felt good to slip into some running shorts for the first time in a long time and head outside. I initially grabbed some thin wool gloves, but tossed them back into the yard before even putting them on as it was clear they wouldn't be needed. I decided to start off wearing my homemade huaraches courtesy of Barefoot Ted and head down to the park about a half mile away and do some laps around the fine gravel track. As I laced them up, Megan asked how I could remember how to tie them as it must look somewhat haphazard and random. I told her by now it seems pretty easy, but that I was inventing my own style to it over time and playing with different methods- mainly with how to secure the final tie. It is a work in progress, but I am certainly getting faster and more comfortable tying them.

I headed down the street and quickly fell into a nice, rapid turnover and light foot-fall type stride. It was my first run since Sunday when Shaun, Mike and I ran about 11 miles around town. I think I overdid it a little, and I've been fighting off a cold so I felt a little tight at the start. By the time I hit the track at the park, the sun was feeling warm, and I felt a lot looser. After a couple laps on the track, my MapMyRun announcer friend called out the mile and the pace, and I figured it was a good time to ditch the huaraches and go totally barefoot. Next thing I knew, I was running along with the huaraches in one hand and making my own trail all around the perimeter of the park. I felt free, relaxed and at least ten years younger as my toes gently squished into the still cool and wet grass along the Idlewild Sreet side of the park. It was fun to feel different textures as I ran: the cool, refreshing grass, the firmer yet surprisingly comfortable concrete sidewalk, the less comfortable (due to numerous pebbles)and very temperature-dependent asphalt road, the small pinecones under the large evergreens at the opposite side of the park, and the firm, moist sand of the ball fields in the center.

Not surprisingly it was way more fun making my own trail than staying on the gravel track. Besides, though my feet have toughened some since running in FiveFingers on the treadmill, the gravel still hurts quite a bit in barefeet. Every other surface varied from mildly irritating to incredibly comfortable and almost addictive. The small sticks and cones under the evergreens gave me the most trouble, as on one lap I stumbled over a large stick that managed to cut me slightly on the side of one foot and the back of the opposite calf. Other than that, no blood, but I did get a little mud between the toes that perhaps felt the absolute best.

I quickly met my goal of three miles unshod at the park, briefly considered sliding the huaraches on for the short jaunt home, but reconsidered and finished up by running barefoot on the asphalt back to my house. At that point, the sun had warmed the dark, absorbant surface enough that it felt quite pleasant, and I couldn't help but wonder what it must feel like to run on the asphalt in August in the middle of the day in bare feet. But that thought can be left to ponder another day. Today was a special day, better left to reflecting on the sensations of my first barefoot run in the park.

Tuckahoe Sunday

2010-03-08T06:16:00.014-05:00

RUR Tuckahoe 10 Miler
Find more Runs in 6, Hillsboro, Maryland

Well, we've been waiting for a nice, dry and warm spring day to check out Tuckahoe after all the snow we've had this winter. Shaun, Mike V., Dominic, and I met in town and drove out to Tuckahoe where Andrew was waiting for us. We seem stuck on the number five for group runs, which isn't a bad number at all. Luckily, it didn't rain, but we sure didn't stay dry thanks to a chilly creek crossing that had everyone struggling to keep from being swept downstream. And it sure felt warm yesterday, at least several hours AFTER we ran. When we ran it was still around 30 degrees and plenty brisk. Still, it was Tuckahoe, and there was a creek crossing which allowed for plenty of smiles and good-spirited cursing to go around. And overall, the course was actually pretty dry. It only got swampy and messy around the creek crossing and the first part of Little Florida trail as expected. I do have some sad news to report to our friend Keene, the log-hopping Wood Frog, as his preferred crossing apparatus was swept somewhere down into the great Chesapeake Bay by now.

I geeked out on tech yesterday, bringing along both my iPhone with MapMyRun app and Megan's newly gifted Garmin 405 watch complete with heart rate monitor. I felt a little overburdened sporting a chest strap, armband complete with iPhone and a watch strapped to my wrist. Amazingly, it all worked and the only slight challenge was trying to switch settings on the Garmin when it got wet at the creek crossing what with all the fancy touch screen bezel and all. I can see why people like to train by heart rate, it give you something other than your heavy breathing to focus on when things get tough.

At the end of the run, most refueled with Andrew's concoction of peanut butter, graham crackers and dried fruit(I think that's what the others had though I can't be sure because I was a little tired at the time and still somewhat frozen and foggy). We dried off and changed into warmer clothes and took stock in the fact that no fingers or toes were lost to frostbite. All in all, we couldn't ask for a better Tuckahoe day.

-- Landy

Vibram FiveFingers: Lessons Learned on the Nearly-barefoot Trail

2010-02-01T16:44:00.012-05:00

I first tried Vibram FiveFingers a little over a year ago, after returning to running following my meniscus surgery. For a refresher, here were my thoughts at the time. Somehow a year has passed, and I a now feel older and, well, maybe I just feel older. But, wow what a difference a year makes in my approach to shoes.

This isn't so much a running shoe review as an opinion on minimalist shoes for everyday living. You see, after I took my tentative first steps in my neoprene FiveFinger Flows, I began the slow return to my roots: my barefoot roots as a kid. Funny thing is, my feet get cold easily so all-out barefoot isn't that appealing to me and gravel still hurts a lot to walk over un-shod. But I love the feeling of being connected to the ground, of having extremely lightweight shoes, and experiencing the feedback from the ground to my feet and body that are so utterly lacking in more conventional shoes. It was really fun wearing my FiveFingers not just for running, but more for everyday use.

I would love to say that I've been racking up the miles in my nearly barefoot shoes, and that I have moved on to completely barefoot running to take the minimalist approach to the next level. Truthfully, my feet still are pretty wimpy. They get cold easily, and I got pretty lazy in the fall and did very little running at all. I've even had my share of injuries along the way, a side-effect of exposing my long-sheltered feet to the sometimes cruel, unfiltered world below them.

Among those injuries were a severely sprained foot after running with numb, cold feet in my FiveFingers at Stupidathon I. Truth is, my feet were thoroughly frozen from the preceding bike ride. They were numb by the time I even started running, and I learned that nearly barefoot running requires that the feedback from nerves in the feet to make micro-adjustments to how I land with each foot strike. This is more important when your feet lack the cushioning of more conventional shoes. When running shod, your feet are pretty numb anyway and rely on the cushioning of the shoe to protect your feet. Therefore, having cold feet when running with normal running shoes isn't such a big deal. The shoe continues to do what it always does. So, perhaps my most important lesson on this journey, is that if I was accept that this increased connection between the ground and my feet was a good thing, I also had to realize that it required my full sensory involvement. In practice, this meant my feet must be warm enough to provide sensory feedback about the ground underneath them. Otherwise, I was taking a huge risk in running. The next few weeks were spent hobbling along, recovering, and often wearing regular shoes with cushioning. It made my sprained foot just numb enough to tolerate walking.

There were some other pains before the foot sprain that I would classify as good pains. I am referring to the calf pain I experienced as I began to run occasionally in the FiveFingers and walk in them all day long at work. I have never had a proper calf muscle. My lower legs make chicken legs look like tree trunks. That's just the way I am built. Wearing low profile, flat and flexible shoes forced me to develop these muscles in a hurry. I assume the loss of the raised heel found on traditional shoes, along with a slight forward lean and landing with my foot underneath rather than in front of me all contributed to a lot of stretching and recoil of these underdeveloped muscles. I would ache a lot in my calves after the first short runs. Still, it never felt terrible, just sore, and I was very patient and didn't rush it. Having a recent injury helped since I was content to rebuild very slowly after some time down from running. Over weeks, my lower legs and feet became stronger, working out these long-dormant muscles in ways that I hadn't in years.

At work, I had a little more spring in my step. It is striking how a small decrease in weight at the end of your feet can make you more nimble. I began to notice that my back didn't hurt at the end of a busy day. I am on my feet walking between exam rooms for much of the day and with regular shoes my back would start to ache by the end of the day. With flatter, lighter and more flexible FiveFingers, I didn't have that problem anymore. I think most of this is due to having my heel flat on the ground rather than slightly raised. It puts less stress on my lower back and even a centimeter adds up over the course of the day. I found myself making small adjustments to how I stood on my feet in order to protect my heels also. You don't notice this in regular shoes, but you really can't stand with locked knees supporting most of your weight on your heels for too long before it gets uncomfortable in nearly bare-feet. I shifted more weight to the balls of my feet, and when I paid attention to it I found I was shifting my weight around all the time without really thinking about it.

One thing I wasn't prepared for was how unconventional my shoes were to people not familiar to them. After wearing them a while, you forget that they look really goofy and that most people find them quite odd appearing. So, there are lots and lots of questions, and you end up talking about them quite frequently if your job involves meeting with many different people during the day. The questions and comments were all over the place. Here are some of the more common ones.

"What are those?!?"

"Hey, you have gorilla feet!"

"Did you forget your shoes today? Those are socks right?"

"Those must be great for watersports."

"How are they in the (snow,rain,heat,cold,pool,bay, bed,etc)?"

"Where did you get them and how can I get a pair?"

"Why?!?"

"I had socks like that back in the 80's!"

"Are they comfortable?"

The last question is one of my favorites because yes, of course they are. I wouldn't wear such ugly things if they weren't. I didn't find them at all attractive myself when I first started wearing them but they have grown on me.

After a couple months wearing the neoprene ones and reading more about the KSO version online, I went ahead and ordered a second pair- this time the KSO in brown. I found these to be a significant step up in comfort and flexibility. The toe separation with the KSO felt much more natural to me with the reduced fabric thickness compared to neoprene. They flexed more easily and provided more tactile feedback from the ground. My feet didn't get so hot when walking around inside during the day. They became my primary shoes, and I used the Flows only on really cold days where I had to walk in snow or really wet days where puddles were numerous.

Somewhere in this transition period, I did wear my black Flow FF's to Tuckahoe State Park for a ten mile trail run. This proved to be the site of my second significant injury in my FF's, and the one which might have made smarter people go back to regular shoes. While running on the leaf covered trails, I hit my big toes full speed on not one but two large roots hidden beneath the foliage. The first time was only a mile into the run and happened to my left toe. I shook my foot out a few times afterwards, howled a little, then ran on. The second one happened mercifully 8 and 1/2 miles in when my right foot collided even harder on a large submerged root, and I tumbled over in agony. Luckily my foot was a little frozen, so the pain was somewhat muted. I somehow brushed it off and finished the run, but my big toe was black and blue and swollen already. An xray the next day confirmed a fractured great toe that seemed to take a good six months to fully heal. That ended my running for a while, especially my trail running, but I wasn't done with the FiveFingers so easily. Perhaps a shoe with more protection or room in the toebox might have prevented the fracture. I'll never know, but it seemed like it might be prudent to stick to trail running shoes for the foreseeable future, and perhaps to be more cautious running on on trail with lots of leaves.

I remember the toe healing very slowly and needing to wear regular shoes to comfort my foot and allow for a buddy-tape splint I rigged with with a tongue-depressor and some athletic tape. Good times those were. But slowly, my toe healed, and I was silly enough to give the FiveFingers another try. I am happy to say that since that time I have been injury free. I haven't been running much, but when I do I no longer feel calf weakness or pain. My quads never hurt the way they used to after a longer run when I heel-striked. My feet generally feel strong and liberated. It is mostly good. Good enough to never miss conventional running shoes.

There are some practical matters worth thinking about before making the FiveFinger KSO a primary pair of shoes. They get soaked very easily in a puddle and take a long time to dry out while wearing them. They aren't nearly as comfortable in wet weather. This is less of a problem with the Flows, but they never feel quite as comfortable to me wet or dry.

There is also the problem of odor. I hope I never let my shoes get too smelly. I wash them every week in the washing machine and by then they seem to need it. I use hot water, detergent and Oxiclean then leave them over the heat vent in the morning to dry them out. It seems to work well. Since I wear them without socks, I think getting a week out of them is pretty reasonable. I don't intend to push it. The shoes have good longevity. My KSO pair is starting to wear through the rubber on the ball of one foot after about a year. This isn't too bad I think considering I wear them just about daily. The upper fabric has held up well to weekly washings, and I suspect with a little shoe glue on the bottom or a rubber patch I might get quite a few more months and miles out of them.

The other potential problem is that being unconventional, you will end of answering a lot of questions about your shoes. Most days, this is fine. They are a good ice-breaker. Most people genuinely are curious about the positive aspects of them. But there are days when you might just want to talk about other things or blend in. As a pediatrician, I am tickled when kids notice them and start smiling or a parent asks me "I would like to wear them, but they don't have any arch support do they?" It is then that I have a choice. I can either say, no they don't and move on. The second option is to get into a discussion about whether arch support is truly necessary since presumably the foot is well designed to do its job without shoes. The second pathway is far more interesting, but I don't always have the time for it. When I ask, do you ever walk around barefoot at home I will often get very accepting looks and a happy glint in the eye about the joys of walking around the house un-shod. Then I answer, well this is pretty close to that.

There are other options out there for people who want a barefoot experience while wearing shoes. They even look more like conventional shoes. I have an order a pair of Feelmax shoes called the Kuusa(they are a Finnish company). Apparently they are coming out with a running shoe called the Osma. There is another company called Vivo Barefoot that makes some interesting minimalist shoes, but they come at a higher price.

I have gradually been giving away my older, heavier and more conventional shoes, with the thought of having only lightweight shoes in my inventory. I already warned Megan that she might actually prefer the FiveFingers to a pair of Barefoot Ted's homemade huaraches. Those are coming next...

--Nearly Barefoot Landy

The Tribe

2009-11-20T21:59:00.003-05:00

Lori, Laura, Keene, Shizaun, Mike B., Mike V., Brenan, Dominic, and Kathy represented the RUR tribe at a recent Easton 5K. Landy was running laps with his kids for the fun run while this photo was taken. Joel's little piggies got none.

27 degrees. 25 mph winds. A weekend beach house at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Seven Rise Up Runners running full or half-marathons, and family rolling down. That's the answer to the question: what were the RUR's up to this weekend LAST year.

The race itself was a blast and marked some firsts and/or personal bests for a number of us. But the race was only part of it. It was as much, or more, being part of the tribe that rolled down there together. That has been one of the coolest things about any number of the races where multiple RURs have gone down together. It's the vibe from the tribe.

This year, there are no repeat offenders for Rehoboth, though there had been talk. But Keene and Joel (or so Joel claims ;) cooked up something cooler for the group this year: The Washington DC Monument Run. Per Keene, it is essentially a run from monument-to-monument, throughout the city, covering roughly 10 miles. We're leaving Easton in the dark of Sunday morning.

Funny thing. Once it was put out there, thrown as a challenge, the drums started rolling. Likely participants inlcude Keene, Joel, Landy, Andrew, Lori, Katherine, Dominic, Brenan, Shaun, and Valliant. Take out the race itself, and the tribe stays primal.

And running as a group qualifies as pretty primal. Granted, we're not running prey down to cook (Andrew does that on other days) for subsistence, but running as a group goes back at least as far. I've been amazed at how this group steps up to challenges, to do something fun, to get together, to make a mark, to share an experience and kick some endorphins.

Look for photos and a write-up from the Rise Up Runner DC Monument Run to be posted soon. Can't wait to get out there. To do something different. To kick it with the tribe.

Thru-Riding the C&O Canal Towpath

2009-11-03T23:11:00.009-05:00

The RUR Stevensville Correspondent, Stephen Bardsley, has been at it again. Readers of the Rise Up Runners blog may remember Stephen's Tour de Shore guest blog of a year ago. The Tour de Shore was a more-or-less impromptu adventure, as the rain washed out Stephen's attempt to thru-ride the C&O Canal Towpath. A year later, and better weather, Stephen gave his adventure another shot...

"Let the wild rumpus begin!"

I have to tell you that as far as the scenery, this ride can not be topped. Most of it follows the Potomac river. I wish prior to the ride i had learned more of the history of the canal, and its use. It was hard not to stop every five minutes and take a picture of the rock formations, aqueducts, river, and wildlife.

Sunday morning I left Cumberland, Md., it was clear, but brisk. I took the family pictures at the 184.5 mile marker which marks the end of the canal towpath. I stopped at the 30.0 miles and took some pictures at the Paw Paw tunnel. Across the river from Paw Paw WV., the river winds around at this point, and when the canal was being built, the crew saved themselves 6.5 miles of canal construction by going right through the middle of the mountain. The tunnel itself is .6 of a mile. Pitch black inside.

Bardsley at Paw Paw Tunnel.

I had lunch at 44.6 miles for the day at "famous" Bills Place. This restaurant and general store is frequented by bikers, hikers, fisherman and hunters. I had decided long before the ride, that this stop would be my big meal for the day. The Ravens game was on, and i got a belly full of open faced roast beef and gravy fries.

Feeling good, and the bike working perfectly, my next stop was at one of the primitive camp sites along the river. I was at 65.8 miles for the day, and this seemed like a good resting spot. I set up the one man tent and THIN sleeping bag that were loaded on the bike. I put on every piece of Under Armour clothing that I had with me. It was getting dark by this time, and I was a long way from anything or anyone. Things went down hill quickly for me. The temperature plummeted, and it quickly became evident that with the temps in the low 40's, I had brought the wrong sleeping bag, and was in trouble. By three in the morning, I was extremely cold, and everything was wet being so close the the river.

The morning of day two was rough. I broke camp shivering, and got back on the bike. I rode 22.6 miles before I reached Williamsport. I called my father, and had a bit of a mental breakdown. I hadn't slept, I hadn't eaten since the afternoon of the previous day, my legs didn't have any snap, and my pace was extremely slow. My fear now was that with not being able to make any kind of pace, I would not make it to Harpers Ferry by night fall. I was not going to sleep outside by the river again! I got a belly full of pizza, and got back on the bike. Talking with my father was a boost as was the food. My pace quickened, I crossed the river for a food stop in West Virginia at mile 53.1 for the day. I got some food in Shepardstown. At this point I knew I could make Harpers Ferry by night fall, and my father had since talked to a travelers hostel located there. I crossed back into Maryland and rode the final twelve miles to Harper Ferry. they were expecting me at the hostel when I got there, the girl on duty gave me the house tour. I picked my bunk, got clean linens and settle in. 71.0 miles for day two.

A dry, warm night's sleep at the Harper's Ferry Hostel.

The hostel is a member of Hostelling International. The bedding was clean, the shower was hot, and most of all, I was inside for the night.($18 for the night). I had bought a can of ravioli in Shepardstown and put it in my bike panier. Let it be know that I don't eat canned ravioli, but after three minutes in the microwave, it might be the best meal that I ever ate! I was in by bunk at the Hostel at 7pm. 7:30am the next morning I pulled myself out of the bunk, and made the "you cook" pancake breakfast provided for the travelers that were there.

Stephen marking the Monacacy Aqueduct.

The morning ride was cold, but I took a break at the 17.9 mile mark. I was at the Monacacy Aqueduct, a beautiful spot where the rivers meet. I took a lunch break at Pooles general store in Seneca Md.(mile 39.7 for the day) From this point on I was in the home stretch and the trail was familiar. Because this stretch is so close to Washington, and bikers frequent this part of the trail, it is the most groomed stretch. my legs and shoulders were really sore by this point. Frequent stops were made to apply flex-all, and take an S Cap. I took lots of pictures in the final twenty miles.

Among the views at Great Falls.

Great Falls is spectacular, and there is a restored canal boat in that section of the canal. From here on in, the canal is full of water. Unlike most of the canal which had long been drained and forested over, as you (Valliant and Keene) both know from the 27 mile section of the JFK 50 miler. (I thought of both of you as I rode that section). My seventy-two year old father was waiting for me with two miles to go on the ride. We finished together, and took pictures at the Mile 0 marker in Georgetown. My odometer read 200.9 miles for the three days. Total time in the saddle was 17 hours and 11 minutes. (just over 12 mph pace) All in all this was a great ride!

Two Bardsley's at Mile Marker 0, trip complete. Well done, Stephen!

The bike was flawless, and the tires I chose were perfect. Most of the trail, even the un-groomed sections were dry and easily rideable. I had researched the ride well, and the information downloaded for bikewashington.org was incredibly detailed, and accurate. My only problem was not having the right sleeping bag on the first night. I don't know if I would ever ride the whole canal again, but plan on doing sections of it again for sure. I would like to do the Georgetown to Harpers Ferry 60 mile section next year with 11 year old Joshua (3 days x20 miles). The park service does a great job upkeeping the primitive camp sites that are located every 5-6 miles, with clean porta-pots, potable water well pumps, and most sites even have firewood left at the fire rings by the park service. The scenery is stunning, and the history of this canal is pretty interesting.

In hind sight, I don't know if any one day was marathon or ultra marathon hard, but there is something about the multiple day stage rides that make them just as difficult. Motivating the mind and muscles for the second or third days is a challenge, and finishing a solo and unsupported undertaking like this is very rewarding. I am proud of this ride, and it now ranks up there for me with the JFK 50, and my Tour de Shore, as one of my Epic life adventures!

Point to Point

2009-08-26T13:00:00.003-04:00

Shaun, Katherine, Andrew, Bickford, and Valliant after a Sunday run from Easton to Oxford. Photo by Dominic, who got in an early run and then provided shuttle services.

Fall. School. Dark earlier. OctoberFest beer. Cooler runs. Racing season. Fall has always been my favorite time of year. As the last week's runs will attest to, weather-wise, we ain't there yet. She's still "close" out in the mornings. But motivation is kicking up. Runs that start in the dark are starting to cool a bit. The trail running circuit will be on point soon.

This past Tuesday, we were back to 5 runners meeting at 5 a.m. Dominic, Lori, Andrew, Shaun, and Valliant. The first time we achieved that distinction (5 at 5) was spring 2008 and the runners were Dominic, Joel, Landy, Valliant, and Don Marvel. That's been one of the interesting things as the group has grown--meeting new people, mixing things up, and getting a charge when different people make it out.

Sunday, we kicked in a run from Easton to Oxford, saw the return of Dominic, post fractured foot, and got to catch up with Mike Bickford and Katherine Binder, who have each been logging the miles and increasing their speed. It will be fun to see what races folks pick as a focus for their running fitness. Katherine is focused on the Rehoboth Beach Marathon; Bickford, like me, hasn't signed up for any fall races, though it seems just a matter of time.

This past week has also seen an RUR return to the track for some speed work. I think we have Shaun to "thank" for that ;)

Though we've got until September 21 to claim it's summer, there's a change going on. Kids and teachers have returned to school. Long runs are getting longer. Fall is the season, for some of the best running. Enjoy!

RUR Road Trips/A Rise Up Kick in the Pants

2009-07-29T07:40:00.003-04:00

Andrew, Valliant, Katherine, Shaun, and Keene on San Domingo Creek after a Tuesday morning Bay Hundred jaunt. Where the hell is Joel?

Running seems to have attrition and burn-out built in to it. Attrition comes in the form of injuries (no one should play tennis and run ;) or a new goal, like say, swimming across the Bay. And burn-out hangs out in the same night club--you've set a target race, you've trained, you accomplish your goal, now what?

And let's face it, getting up in the 4:oo's to run around the same streets can become routine, monotonous. That's why I am glad that we've had a couple things happen of late that have allowed our weekday morning runs to break free of the commonplace.

The first involves welcoming a new Rise Up Runner. I've known Andrew Southworth for about 19 years now--since he was a freshman in high school. He's not someone I would have guessed would end up digging running. He's another "clydesdale" in the RUR ranks--former football and lacrosse rock star. Andrew and his wife Katie got serious about running around their neighborhood to get ready for a spring 5K in Denton, which they both did great in. I said something to Andrew about the Chestertown 10-miler in May, and Andrew trained and ran his first 10-miler. Awesome.

The newest RUR Andrew Southworth outruns a garbage truck to finish up a run around St. Michaels.

Funny thing about Andrew as a weekday morning runner. He lives in Cordova, not in Easton where most of our weekday runners stumble out of their doors into the dark. So meeting him takes some forethought. His first morning run with us, Joel, Shaun, Andrew, and Valliant went out to Tuckahoe State Park for a 5-mile loop and a dip in the lake. Andrew's next run, we cruised down to the Strand in Oxford and ran 6.5 miles in the rain. And yesterday, we chugged down to St. Michaels and connected different parts of the town and ran into Bay Hundred area RURs Keene and Katherine. Our normal weekday runs have turned into road trip adventures. A Tour de Shore.

"Paddle Boy," Joel Shilliday in action on San Domingo Creek.

And tied into that formula for adventure is Joel's new-found hobby: stand-up paddleboarding. Going to Oxford and to San Domingo Creek in St. Michaels, was also precipitated by the fact that Joel needed water access to drop his SUP board in the drink. So the rest of us run while Joel gets a paddle in. I look forward to seeing where we will go next!

So new faces, new energy, new terrain, new adventures. It's been just the Rise Up kick-in-the-pants that I've needed!

Bittersweet: My Race As I See It, Oops, I Mean Saw It

2009-06-18T11:59:00.002-04:00

Heir Bieber, Valliant, Charlie Cauffman, and Keene mack some grub post-Eagleman.

The last few races I’ve participated in, I had the pleasure of starting with a friend or two. The Eagleman left me alone with my nervous energy which can be a healthy adversary, or a day ending enemy. I began to talk to those around me to settle any pre-race jitters. It worked and I met some very nice people, as well as one loony woman from Pennsylvania.

I was starting in wave 6, the largest wave of the morning, at 7:27. We had five minutes between waves to get into the water and warm up. The queue to get into the water ate up most of that time which may have worked in my favor. I had little time to think about much at all. By the time I made it into the water they were calling out, “10 seconds” and I had to scamper to the start buoy on the left, as instructed by Mr. Keene. I reached the front of the line with about two seconds to spare and prepared myself for the wild wrestling match that encompasses the start of most triathlons. But it was not to come. In the past I’ve been kicked, dunked, punched, had the goggles smacked off my face, groped, and forced to swallow water. However, the start to this race was pleasant. There was some mild bumping that almost resembled a warm hug. Maybe the racers at the head of the swim are better swimmers and therefore less violent in a frenzy. By the first turn I was in a small pack that forced me to break stride only once and by the second turn I almost felt alone. I settled into a nice rhythm and realized I would definitely survive the swim. The final leg of the swim had us swimming into the wind and in a healthy chop. It was the only time I knew I was in open water. As I approached the shore I noticed that some of the women (in pink caps) from the group that started behind me had made up the five minutes between our groups. I never considered myself a swimmer so I should have expected the top women to catch me, but I never thought about it. However, I did pass a few of the slower people from the group before me. My swim time was 37:06 and I was thrilled with the result.

I got into transition, out of my swim gear, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and was on the bike in 2:49. It was the longest transition I’ve ever had, but I’ve never needed to load up with so much food. Because there were 2000 participants, it was the largest transition area I’ve been in and the greatest distance between timing mats I have ever seen.

Finally, the bike….this is what I’ve been waiting for. I trained the better part of a year to get my bike where I have it. I usually average about 22 mph over about 20-25 miles in a sprint tri. My goal for the Eagleman was to maintain an average above 20 mph over the 56 mile course. For as friendly as triathletes are before the race and during the run portion, they are eerily quiet on the bike leg. One of the only comments you will hear is, “ON YOUR LEFT” bellowed as a rider zips past. As a generalization, triathletes are nervously humble at the swim start (because most of us are poor swimmers), carry uber-egos with them on the ride, and are extremely encouraging on the run. This is when you just try to focus on form and nutrition. However, it is also when all the high dollar “bling” shows up. It is hard not to notice when $15,000 rides by, or when you glide by $15,000 worth of gear. For anyone who has not experienced this you can hear the gentle “whir” of a $2500 pair of Zipp wheels or a $2200 disc wheel (yes, singular) coming long before they pass you. It is bittersweet.

For the first three quarters of the ride I stuck to my nutritional plan. I also kept glancing at the speedometer which seemed to constantly have a two in the tens place. My view was obscured by the areo water bottle resting between my aerobars. Either way, when you ride enough you get a feel for your speed and I knew I had the 20 plus mph average in the bag. There was a section of newly paved road that stretched for about 12 miles where I was cruising comfortably between 24-25mph, yet still getting passed occasionally.

Unfortunately, it was the last quarter of the ride that burst my little bubble. The last 20 miles was mainly open space, either farm fields or water. It simply funneled the increasing morning winds directly into our faces. Each pedal stroke quickly became twice the workload. I could sense the speedometer dropping between 14 and 17 mph. To make matters worse, I could not stand the thought of anymore gel. Just thinking about another swig led to the scent of vanilla in my mind that made my stomach quiver violently. It seemed as if time was flying by but I was riding on a treadmill, working hard yet going nowhere. It was so depressing, it was almost funny. I kept peeking at my mileage and it seemed stuck on fifty something. Over the last five miles my legs started to cramp, especially the outside of my quad (abductors or adductors?). I still can’t figure out if it was nutrition, or if I pushed the bike too hard. Keene seems to think the later. I got back to transition in 2:54:01, an average of 19.5 mph. I was really hoping for 2:45, but that was in perfect conditions.

My second transition should have taken all of one minute. In a sprint race it takes me about thirty seconds. My bike to run transition was a disappointing 5:46. I had to stretch and massage my legs. For a second I thought about stopping altogether. I decided to run nice and easy to see if they would loosen up. Oh yeah, I also popped anything that closely resembled a salt/electrolyte tablet.

I think I slowly jogged the first 4 miles. Then I decided to walk a little. The support from the other racers helped remind me why I enjoy these events so much. I had not taken more than three steps before a fellow runner shouted, “It is waaaay too early to be walking. Come on, pick up the pace.” This got another mile out of me. I kept thinking, “just get to mile 6 before Valliant catches you.” My legs were killing me. One stride, I felt like I knew I would make it and the next I thought my legs might give out. For the rest of the race I ran a little only to walk and stretch. A little jingle from the band Cake seemed to capture the moment, ♪ Bowel shaking earthquakes of doubt and remorse, assail him, impale him, with monster truck force ♫ As I was stretching around mile nine another stranger stated, “come on blue (my shirt color) run a pole, walk a pole” (referring to the telephone poles on the road). This sort of exchange occurred all over throughout the run. It was heartwarming. Mike Valliant finally caught me around mile ten. He offered to run with me like the nice guy that he is and I told him not to hold back. We later found out that our little exchange may have cost him second place.

Somewhere between mile ten and eleven runners could hear a faint, rhythmic pounding in the distance. Before long the smooth sounds of Michael Jackson filled your ears from two blocks away. The enthusiastic party that we saw on the way out at mile three had grown into full blown mayhem for the return run. The party was huge and even had an MC. He was pretty good too. Surprisingly, his comments were all positive because there was not a sober person among them. As I approached and they realized I was the next racer to pass the property, they encouraged me to hit the slip-N-slide they had placed mostly in the yard, but a little too close to the curb. My mind said, “OH YEAH”, while my body screamed, “HELL NO”. I had a kind of fleeting “snapshot premonition”. I saw myself gliding down the cool, wet mat in a second of relief and release only to completely cramp and drown in four inches of watery beer sludge and possible urine. I could see them notifying my wife of my immense stupidity and offering their sympathy. In a moment of clarity I declined the invitation that I hope to hell will be there next year. However, no sooner did I decline before the heaviest drinker of the day approached to offer his latest beer as he took a few steps with me. I only had a few seconds to make my choice because this guy somehow defied the laws of physics and began to lose momentum almost before he started to run with me. And to be clear this was not because he did not want to leave the party, he truly wanted me to have the beer, he was just in that bad of shape. I flipped through the possible outcomes at light speed. Could I be disqualified? Damn, the beer is full, and therefore he probably did not take a sip yet. Would it cause me to cramp and not finish? I could almost feel how cold it was from a foot away. I made the right choice in the end. I could always pay someone to drive me back there after the race, punch that dude, drink 13 beers (one for every mile) and sleep in the slip-N-slide. That little scenario entertained me for at least another mile.

At last, I finished the race with a kid I met in the transition area at the start of the race. Our bikes were about three spaces apart. He drove up from Virginia to better his time from last year by almost an hour. My run should have taken 1:30-1:40. Instead I ran 13.1 miles in 2:28:15 and although it disgusts me to type that, I did finish. I ended with an overall time of 6:07:55. An old friend, Mark Williams, placed a medal around my neck and gave me a hug. Neither of us knew the other would be at the race. It was a nice way to end a long day. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything for six hours, except sleep. Damn I’m good at sleeping, but I hear Keene has me beat there too.

A month ago I would have told you I was gunning for a 5:30 or better, but at the start of the race with my recent running problems I was hoping to break six hours, and as I headed out on the run I was praying just to finish. It is funny how goals are always changing based on new data. On a side note, on the way out for my run Desiree Flicker, my second favorite female triathlete, was coming into the finish and I got to give her a high five. She finished third.

In the end, the thrill of finishing such an event, having my family there to share the moment, enjoying time after the race with friends (new and old), and soaking up every bit of the whole race “vibe” was precious. The entry fee was a rip off, as in I ripped them off.

In the words of Abraham Lincoln: "If I had eight hours to chop down a tree; I'd spend six of them sharpening the axe." I will sign up for next year’s race the day it opens, I will use what I learned Sunday to “sharpen my axe” into a gleaming razor for next year, and I will be under 5:20.

--(Heir) Dan Bieber

RUR Roots Race

2009-04-23T10:44:00.006-04:00

This weekend marks a roots race of sorts for the Rise Up Runners. Trail Dawgs in 2008 was the first race for our fledgling running group. Joel, Landy, Keene, and Valliant rolled over to Newark, ran various races, and met the RUR ultra guru Derek. A recap of the day can be found in the RUR blog archives, here.

In my mind, the Trail Dawgs course boasts one of the premier 13 mile loops around. If you poke around the triple crown photos on the blog here or on the TD site, you'll find scenic single track, a sweet creek crossing, a grassy finish (positioned at the end of a pretty mean climb, especially if you are making it for the second time to finish the full marathon!).

Since this time last year, the Rise Up Runners have grown exponentially per number of runners. We've gone as far north as Vermont as a relay team for the Vermont 50-miler. We've headed to Killens Pond to complete a 50K. We've taken Rehoboth Beach by storm for the inaugural marathon there. And RUR's rocked the podium most recently in Denton for a local 5K.

Anyone who runs with us will tell you, this is not a running group about racing. But man is it fun to head to a race with a pack of folks, push yourselves, inspire each other, and enjoy the day and being outside and running. On Saturday RUR's Lori, Keene, Shaun, Bieber, Joel, and Valliant head to Newark. Lori and Keene go after the Triple Crown (half-marathon, stop, 10K, stop, 5K, running the gauntlet), while the rest of us look to rock the half-marathon. AND, an RUR first, Liz Shilliday and Robin Valliant will come out and have at the 10K.

Weather looks warm and sunny. Should be a blast. We'll look for what the next group race might be. We've covered some miles over the past year plus. But it occurs to me that one thing remains the same: we've yet to kidnap Charlie and get him out to a race...;)

A Run in the Snow

2009-03-08T23:19:00.003-04:00

You can't beat a snow day. Not flurries, but enough snow to slow or stop work and/or life around town as we know it. We had one of those snows this past Sunday/Monday. And most things around Easton and Talbot County took heed and stayed indoors. Most things.

One of the things I have enjoyed the most about the Rise Up Runners crew is that just about everyone is a gamer. Not a videot (vidiot) kind of gamer stuck on the couch or in front of a screen, but the kind of gamer who likes to bring their "A" Game to adverse terrain, weather conditions, or bizarre kind of challenges :)

For the Rise Up Runners, Monday morning was a call to action to run in the snow. Mike "Snow Frog" Keene ventured up to Easton from Wittman, while Joel Shilliday, Shaun Hunter, Lori Callahan, and Valliant ran to Lori's to meet and see where we could run. We explored the town with the help of Joel's black lab Sampson.

There was some serious high-stepping involved at times. There was some mean wind and snow whipping if you ran against it. But it was surreal and a blast and a perfect way to kick off a week with friends and an expedition. I find I am as prone, or more so, to wanting to go play in the snow at age 36 as I was when I was 6. Glad to see I am not alone on that!

By Foot or By Board

2009-02-21T15:50:00.002-05:00

Some things are the same, whether you get up early to run or to hop on a longboard. One, you still have to get up early. Two, you should probably still bring something to drink. Three, with this morning as an example, it is still cold. And four, most importantly, when the weather is right, you still catch a sweet sunrise. Coming back up Oxford Road this morning with Charlie and Landy, I was glad to stop and bust out the camera to catch a couple photos. My bulky gloves didn't do any favors with trying to take anything worth keeping, but it's something.

This morning was 18.5 miles or so--my longest ride to date, with much more long distance pumping than pushing. One key difference between running and longboarding though: later in the morning, I was quick to jump back on the longboard to hit Rails to Trails with our Golden Retriever Ivan. I felt fairly spent after the morning's long ride, but still good. I can't say I've ever gone back out to run later the same morning of an 18-mile run :)

Rise Up Longboarders?

2009-01-29T06:54:00.012-05:00

Our oldest son, Will (6) on my Subsonic Pulse 40.

________________________________________

It's all Derek's fault really. I mean this in the nicest way. It all started when he sent us a link about this guy named Barefoot Ted, who is an ultrarunner who recently started skateboarding very long distances through a technique known as long distance pumping or LDP.

At first, I sort of chuckled and thought "That's just the sort of crazy thing Derek would be into". But then I thought about it some more and came around to the idea that is could really be challenging and fun.

I always wanted to skateboard when I was growing up, but it just never happened for me. I tried out a friend's board here and there but never really felt coordinated with it. The board felt too tiny, the wheels didn't seem to roll enough. Who knows? I even tried again on a small street board when my son wanted a skateboard a couple years ago, and nothing had changed- I still stunk. But now, things are a lot different with longboards. The boards are bigger, sometimes much bigger. The wheels are bigger too and actually roll nicely. Balance is more comfortable at first, and this long distance pumping idea seemed more like exercise, more like a long run, and more like a challenge that was less pounding on the body than a marathon but no less intense. If you have a few minutes, I highly recommend checking out James Peters' excellent site on LDP here. There are also a few videos filed under how to pump which demonstrate pumping better than I ever can in words.

Before I knew it, I had ordered a LDP board called the Pulse 40 from Subsonic Skateboards. I waited a few weeks for it to be made (very cool to have something made for you in this day and age), and then gave it a try soon after it arrived.

When I first got on the board, I was struck by two things. One, balance was way easier on this than any street/smaller skateboard I had tried before. Two, the board really likes to turn on the front trunk. It felt twitchy at low speeds or when trying to push off and go straight, but it turned so easily when I wanted it to that it inspired confidence early on. I really had no clue how to pump at first. I watched the videos several times and read the descriptions, and I soon managed a feeble wiggle on the front trunk that extended the glide of the board only a little. It wasn't really pumping, more like pumping light.

But I stuck with it. The first mile was exhausting. I felt muscles in my legs I didn't know I had. Every time I tried to push off the ground with one foot, I almost fell off. I felt wobbly. I fell a few times. But I was smiling most of the time. I felt like a kid again. After a few sessions, I began to feel an actual pump happening as I could feel the board accelerate during a quick turn. I could hit slightly higher speeds. One mile became two, and then three, and then five. I worked up to fifteen miles last Thursday and today I am hoping for twenty-five.

Soon, I was pumping to the Y to get to my other workouts in the early morning. I joined fellow RURs on my board alongside their morning run on a Tuesday, and I could keep up. I even joked the next time that I needed to find some faster running friends! All I can really say is that pumping is addicting, and that it feels sort of like a combination of other sports that I like. It has been described by others as surfing an endless concrete wave. I would say that it has the smooth feeling of rolling along just like cycling, with the steady rhythm and upper body movement of running. Add to that the improvisation and fun of dancing with the fluid, wavelike feeling of (pick your watersport). That is the best I can do to sum it up. Of yeah, I forgot to add to that a little bit of the feeling that LDP is weird, different, and, depending on where you live and skate, illegal, and you've got a pretty compelling package.

I'd love to share more, but I'd rather skate than type, and I have some training to do. Ultraskate VI is coming up in March, and I have to get ready for it!

--landy

RUR Cross Training

2009-01-28T06:17:00.002-05:00

The participants of the 2009 New Year's Day Stupidathon: Shaun, Lori, Landy, Brenan, Dominic and Valliant.

Despite the lack of posts, 2009 is off to a spirited start for the Rise Up Runners. We've got two incredibly active and mentally unstable new members: Brenan Roser and Shaun Hunter. Brenan came out for his first run on a 30 degree Sunday, full sleet, and slugged through a 5-mile Tuckahoe run. He and Shaun then joined us at 4:35 a.m. in front of the YMCA a couple days later, and each have made most runs since. Thus far, there hasn't been many challenges these two haven't stepped right up to do.

A case in point: The New Year's Day Stupidathon. Cooked up by Dominic and run with by Landy, this was conceived as a "healthy??" way to kick-0ff the new year in style. A 30 degree day with gusting winds greeted the six of us pictured above for our 16-mile bike, 4-mile run, and polar plunge into the Tred Avon River. A special thanks to Joel Shilliday, who was on the disabled list that day and Megan Cook who followed our crew around and took pictures throughout the adventure!

The biking leg of the Stupidathon took us out to Tunis Mills and back to Easton. For some reason, winter biking is MUCH colder than winter running! :)

The Stupidathon is indicative of a new trend in the RUR camp this year: cross training. Specifically, this winter, swimming. "Coach Keene" has faithfully led a group of RUR "swimmers" through a grueling swim workout every Tuesday morning at the YMCA. Not to be completely out of character, our group generally meets at 4:35 a.m. and gets in a 3+ mile run prior to swimming, then takes over the 25-meter pool at 5:15 a.m. or so. It's not uncommon for us to have seven people swimming and yesterday we had six folks for the run. Seems our escapades are getting earlier...hhhmmm....(not Derek early, but earlier ;)

And, in normal mud fashion, we've made our treks to Tuckahoe, with Shaun Hunter being the latest to complete the Tuckahoe 10-mile loop. We won't get into Valliant losing his shoe in the creek crossing and having to fish around for it in the frigid waters...

Our friend Joel has declared 2009 the year of the RUR "Tri." With swimming going strong and biking waiting for spring, there seems to be some momentum to that end. Yet, that isn't the only new take on endurance sports for the Rise Up Runners. Spurred on by Landy, we now also have some practitioners of long distance longboarding. But that is another post...

Cureton MUGGED at RUR Party (Just Days Before His B-Day)

2008-12-17T22:08:00.004-05:00

Rise Up Coffee's Cuban dictator Tim Cureton was officially "mugged" with a Rise Up Runner mug at the ceremonial festivities of the RUR end of the year house party.

2008 marked the formation of the Rise Up Runners. It also marked the gauntlet being thrown down for the Tuckahoe 10-Mile Challenge. Put those two condiments together and you wind up with a sandwich of a party for the end of the year RUR bash, held on December 6.

Most everyone took the night off from running (except two, who we'll get to later) and turned out to do some combination of drink, eat, hang out, and be recognized for a very few of their accomplishments for the year. We'll devote a post a little later to the final findings of the Tuckahoe 10, but all runners in attendance had successfully completed the challenge. Those in the house, taking home their commemorative T10 keepsake included: Stephen Bardsley, Katherine Binder, Lori Callahan, Landy Cook, Derek Hills, Mike Keene, Joel Shilliday, Dominic Szwaja, and James Woodring.

If you'd like to see the full gambit of photos taken by eminent photographer DDP JShill, have a look-see by clicking here. In the meantime, we'll point out just a couple...

Marathon Mama Lori C. took home the "Best Mud/Blood" Award of the Tuckahoe 10 Challenge, for her almost legendary spill into the "water hazard" early on the Creekside Cliff Trail.

Ultra Slug Grand Poo-Bah Derek Hills was the proud recipient of the "King Cobra" Award for longest distance run and longest distance raced for his Mountain Masochist 50 mile finish. This award is a 22 oz. King Cobra because you have to have something going through your veins to attempt a run like that ;) Strangely, the award somehow disappeared before the end of the evening...

And Dominic took home the soon-to-be coveted RUR "Most Outstanding" runner of the year award, by virtue of his coming out to run as a casual runner, declaring his intent to run a marathon, and throwing down a sub 3:30 time in his debut race.

As you'll see from the photos, we had a good time. It was a chance to get together, with spouses in some cases, with time to talk without worrying what pace we are moving at, and, well, just because.

Aside from running, which is the purpose for us all getting together at whatever hour and location, the camaraderie of this group has indeed been a gift. Heading to Delaware for the Triple Crown Trail Races, to Vermont for our 50-Mile Relay, or Rehoboth for the Seashore Marathon, I have enjoyed the time traveling, the time hanging out, eating, drinking, and celebrating post-race almost as much as the races themselves.

A couple forthcoming posts will include: a 2008 wrap-up for the Tuckahoe Challenge, top 10 RUR group runs and races, and a race/challenge preview for 2009. Also, the famed New Year's Day Stupidathon, coming soon to a hot-tub near you :)

One caveat for the RUR bash--there was an inherent promise, that there would be no running involved, so as not to confuse the party with a group run. The last of the RURs left Laurel Street at about 2 a.m., on foot, heading back across town. They covered the 2 - 2.5 miles in roughly 40 minutes, as indicated by a slightly incoherent e-mail that was sent at the trek's completion. That's roughly 20-minute miles. Thankfully, at that pace, we can say that the no running promise for the evening was kept ;)

Running Barefoot in Winter (Well sort of...)

2008-12-13T10:49:00.008-05:00

As I continue my recovery from my knee injury, I am trying many new things. I am attempting to redevelop my technique by transitioning to more of a mid foot strike rather than heel striking which I generally have done for many years. I have explored a couple of books and videos, including Chi Running, the Pose Method, and Evolution Running.

There are many things these methods have in common as well as several important differences. One concept I am currently exploring is that the running shoes that most of us are used to are fairly heavy, overbuilt clunkers. They bring our feet up off the ground and have features that we hope protect our feet from impact, keep them from excessively pronating, and prevent injury by absorbing some of the harsh impact that running creates. This all sounds great, but if they work so well, why are so many of us hurting ourselves year after year? It could be that perhaps we'd have a whole lot more problems if we ran without shoes, but I don't know this. Clearly there are people who run barefoot and seem to do so effortlessly. Lots of kids run barefoot in the summer and don't seem to have shin splints, stress fractures, or sprained muscles. Perhaps they just aren't running far enough to develop these problems, but I think there is a better reason. By not relying on shoes, you are forced to develop a more gentle running style. Impact is minimized by the instinct of self-preservation.

Today I tried out a product called Vibram Five Fingers. The idea is that they are very minimalistic shoes that hug your feet and separate each toe from the others. I decided to give the Flow a try as these are a little bit insulated with neoprene to help with water activities or running in the cold. They are pretty odd looking, and in fact my wife thinks they are hideous. They are certainly er, ... unique. They feel more like slippers than shoes, and at first the separated toes feel a little odd. I also picked up a pair of toed socks that seem to match the shoes perfectly. Don't worry I stuck with matching black as I already look a bit like a freak with my tights and toe shoes. I need to work my way up to rainbow socks now don't I?

This morning, I went for a three mile out and back run to the high school via the bike path. I have noticed that I have two significant problems every time I run. First, my right calf always feels very tight despite stretching and seems to tighten more and more as each run progresses. Second, I have periodic knee pain where the meniscal tear occurred that reminds me to be very careful. So far, my runs have have felt OK, but it is a very fragile feeling I have compared to before the injury. I have been working on landing more on my mid foot by using many of the Chi Running principles, though I also am trying to make adjustments that seem to avoid pain in my meniscus.

With the Five Fingers shoes, I noticed several things. For starters, it is nearly impossible to heel strike with these things on. Your body just rejects that possibility outright due to the lack of cushioning. Mid foot striking seems the only possible way to land without seriously hurting your feet. As the run went along, I really liked how I could feel the ground under me. The Vibram sole definitely cushions the blow of pebbles, twigs and bumps on the pavement, but you still feel that they are there. In a word, I would describe it as feeling "connected" to the ground. I was drawn to the grass and made my own trail as much as I could because it was the softest surface, and it felt natural. But running on pavement was possible and indeed not bone-jarring. I just found myself naturally trying to land as softly as possible. I have a long way to go with my technique, but I feel like progress is possible. I think I may have felt more medial knee pain with the Five Fingers, but I am not entirely sure as I have felt that on runs in real shoes too.

So, a good first run. It felt close to being barefoot, and my feet weren't too cold though I wouldn't have made it more than another two miles before my toes would have been more numb. As it was, they were starting to get pretty cold towards the end.

PROS
Good road and trail feel
Natural feeling
Very light and sort of disappear underneath you when on the grass

CONS
Expensive way to feel more barefoot. Barefoot is way cheaper.
Kind of gimmicky
Fugly if you ask my wife

The biggest unknown: will they create or prevent injuries? I suspect that with proper attention to efficient and gentle running they could be protective. I don't think I would run every time in them but occasionally they might help with speedwork and improving running form and efficiency. Perhaps the best way to run is as if we are running barefoot while running with the protection of cushioned, more clunky shoes. That may be too great a challenge for our minds to overcome.

--landy

All Apologies

2008-12-03T20:36:00.003-05:00

I’m not one to typically share my thoughts in writing, but the blog seems to be a part of the RUR thing, so I’ll put in my two cents. As for a race report, I don’t remember much about the marathon I ran in Rehoboth last week except that is was bloody cold, the last two miles were excruciatingly painful, and the post-race Dogfish Head never tasted so good. Mostly, I would like to just say a word (and make a little confession) about running in general.

Honestly, I never really understood runners. My 20’s were spent mountain biking and skiing at every opportunity. As a young and arrogant ski bum, my assumption was that these were some of the toughest and most extreme sports one could participate in. I hiked and skied many peaks, rode a 24 hr mountain bike race, and routinely pushed my physical limits. Running had always seemed too simple or dare I say, easy, to me (I know, blasphemy…take away his RUR mug). As is the case with things we have never tried, our assumptions about them can be completely wrong.

I started running with RUR in the early spring. Though this group could get just about anybody exited about running, I caught the running bug quickly and decided to give a marathon a try. How hard could it be, right? I quickly found out that running is. . .hard as hell. Running a marathon was one of the most physically difficult things I have ever done (the race itself as well as the months of training leading up to it).

As for the Rehoboth marathon, I was doing alright until mile 24, when my body starting failing. I felt like all the muscles in my legs were on the verge of cramping. I skipped the last 2 aid stations because I was sure my legs would seize up if I slowed down or changed pace. My left hip was throbbing, but I’d become used to that over the last few months of training. The real killer was my right knee which suddenly started feeling like a knife was being jabbed into the side with every stride. I was fairly convinced that I was doing some serious damage to my knee, but there was no way I was stopping 2 miles from the finish. I have since figured out that this was my IT band, which has still not heeled 1 week post race day. I can’t recall needing assistance walking down a flight of stairs after any day of skiing, hiking, or biking, but I did after this race. You might argue that I’m a little older now, but repetitively pounding your feet on pavement or trail for over 26 miles will never be easy.

I’m also finding the joy in running. It is a mentally versatile sport – by that I mean you can run with a head full of anger and finish feeling purged, get into a meditative rhythm and crank out mileage with nearly a care, or enjoy the social aspects of running with a group. Running with RUR is mostly the latter and I can’t image exercising with a better group of people. Forgive a generalization here, but it seems that runners have a lot less ego than I’ve found in other sport subcultures. It might just be this group of like-minded RUR people, but it seems like runners are generally congenial and friendly folk.

Well, that’s my confession and apology to all those runners out there whom I silently disrespected over the years – I’ve been humbled by this “simple” sport and have a whole new appreciation for long distance running.

Finally, some lessons from my first marathon experience:
Good ideas include Band-aids on sore nipples, spending more than $50 on running shoes, finding someone running your pace early in the race and partnering up, taking off your gloves at the aid stations to keep them dry (thanks for that one Lori), and pinching the cup in order to get more fluid in your mouth than on the front of your shirt (I would thank Lori for this one too, but she gave me this tip AFTER the race).

Bad ideas include trying to eat a Cliff bar when it is below freezing outside and attempting an unrehearsed wardrobe change half way through a race resulting in your shoes getting stuck in your tights (Thanks M. Keane for the rescue).

Dominic

New Records at Tuckahoe

2008-12-02T05:46:00.004-05:00

Though he has been running less this year than years past, our man Stephen Bardsley is still setting records, of a different kind, out on the Tuckahoe 10-Mile Challenge stomping grounds. Here's an update from Bardsley:

"I think last Sunday [sent on Nov. 17] I locked up the honors for the SLOWEST Tuck10 challenge. I took my den of Cub Scouts there, and did the entire loop as the Tuck10 is outlined. The time, a whopping 5 hours and 12 minutes. Great day, but my hips were actually killing me from walking for that long. I did not know what the river crossing would be like at "the log", so I actually wore shorts and the Brooks trail shoes I did JFK in, in case i had to carry any of the boys across. I went though the water, but the boys shimmied the log. That is my Joshua in the Terps sweatshirt. Thought you'd get a kick out of the pics, and story. Just for the record, I did a double Tuck10 loop 48 hours before the appendectomy. it was my last long training run for the B&A marathon that never happened."

Incredible stuff, Stephen--spreading the trail gospel to the young'ens. I'd have to give the nod that this would be the slowest challenge time, but the records theoretically continue: Joshua would have to be the youngest to complete the challenge (though we'll have to check James's ID ;); Stephen and Joshua would be the only father/son team to complete the challenge or parent/child for that matter. And I am guessing we could come up with other categories. Well done Bardsleys!

Rise Up ... Swimmers?!?

2008-11-30T16:22:00.003-05:00

This is part two of my injury report. I hope this is a more positive post than my initial injury post. Truth is, at this time of Thanksgiving, I am truly thankful that I injured my meniscus. Yes, my knee is not the same anymore, but I have gained far more than I lost in the transaction.

I suppose I should share how the summer after the injury was sort of frustrating. If you ask my wife Megan she'll tell you I was depressed for a little while, feeling sorry for myself and overall a little bit of a grouch. It was a bit hard not being able to do simple things like go up the stairs easily, ride a bike, or hold my kids for long while walking on the boardwalk at the beach. But that part of the story is kind of boring. I'll skip ahead to and indeed past the surgery. The surgery itself went very well. I had a great surgeon and an excellent anesthesiologist. I was walking later that day, and I must have had a very good local block because it didn't wear off until later the next day.

The surgeon performed a partial meniscectomy, meaning the torn portion of the meniscus was removed and the remaining part was sort of cleaned up a little bit. Due to the location and extent of the tear, a repair was not possible. The good news is that the recovery is much faster with that type of surgery than a repair so I knew I would soon be exercising again very soon.

The first week afterwards, I started going to the pool at 5:15 in the morning when it unofficially opens. I was relieved to feel that when I kicked in the water it didn't feel all wobbly and goofy like before the surgery. I could push off from the wall with minimal pain. I felt mostly whole again.

I can't say I really loved swimming at first, but it was something aerobic I could do in the morning before the kids got up and going, and it was certainly low impact. I decided to try to stick with it a few weeks and see how it felt. Somewhere along the way, I found I could swim for longer periods of time with less effort and really started to enjoy how I felt as I was leaving the Y after I swam. And boy did it make me hungry, and I sure do like to eat.

So, I stuck with it. And then I thought again about the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim next June that I had mentioned wanting to try to qualify for. So, I went ahead and swam the qualifying swim of three miles in about one and a half hours. By that point I was hooked and started thinking about the Masters Swimming program at the Y.

I talked a little to our own Wood Frog about it, and he was very supportive. Go figure, Keene supportive and positive about something. Next thing I knew I had fired off an email to the team and was attending my first practice. I have only been a couple times, but I already like it a lot. Like the RUR crew, this is a very friendly group of people who enjoy exercising and all the positive experiences that brings along the way.

I have tried to run a few times so far, and each time hurts like crazy but feels a little better than the time before. Someday, I may be able to run pain-free for more than two to three miles. I'd be thankful for that. But for now, I am happy to swim and bike and row on the erg and use the still very adequately functioning body that I still have to get my heart rate going and enjoy the mental cleansing I feel with a good hard workout. I know my injury was quite minor compared to what others have gone through and most likely I will face far more serious health problems in the future than a small bit of torn cartilage.

--Landy

BBRRrrrr...A Seashore Marathon Race Report

2008-11-24T21:48:00.012-05:00

(From left) Laura, James, Dominic, Keene, Lori, Joel, and Valliant celebrate, space-blanket style, after the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon on Saturday, November 22.

Earlier this year, many of our Rise Up Runners didn't know each other, and certainly hadn't run together. Completing the Tuckahoe 10-mile loop in the spring was the first time Joel had run more than eight miles. And after his first or second run around Easton in the dark, Dominic coolly said, "Yeah, I might be game for trying a fall marathon..."

Fast forward to this past Saturday. Friendships forged on the roads and trails and Keene and Joel comprised a marathon relay team, with Joel voicing his goal of running a sub 2-hour half-marathon. A recent move to the Eastern Shore and James Woodring was one-half of a team with Katherine Binder, who found herself having to pull out due to a car accident (we hope Katherine continues her recuperation), but thanks to Megan Cook, Laura Divjak was able to step in at the last minute and keep Team Woody on track.

Meanwhile, the speedy Dominic came into race day after a much needed taper with lofty goals for himself; marathon veteran Lori stepped up to give the First State's inaugural Seashore Marathon a go; and Valliant was gunning for a sub 4-hour effort after a strong summer and fall of running.

The speedy James Woodring (center) bursts past the competition between loud YAWPS! of enthusiasm and pouncing on unsuspecting RURs as he passed them.

The weekend was made a number of ways: 1) Dominic headed up the house hunting brigade and landed a posh pad for crashing the night before the race, as well as post-race showers, recouping, and family time, 2) The chance to run together, get to know each other and spend some time chilling, and 3) the fact that everyone accomplished their individual goals.

I encourage anyone who wants to write up a report to do so, and we'll post various takes up here. But there were some common factors worth relating. The start temperature was roughly 27 degrees with winds up to 20 mph. It was cold and with the wind it was damn cold.

The course was beautiful, well marked, excellent support, flat, though a couple sneaky hills found their way in, and the Breakwater Trail is running nirvana on most counts. Dominic's skills as a meteorologist are questionable ;), and the post-race party was stellar--a great spread of food (world's best mac and cheese), free Dogfish Head Ale for runners, massages, etc.

Valliant shows his strength by crushing an ice and water filled paper cup, while Lori tries to deny that she knows any of the Rise Up Runners around her.

There are a few weekend photos posted in the story here, but let us never forget how nice it is to have our pal DDP Joel Shilliday as RUR photographer. The full smattering of Joel's photos can be viewed here.

Dominic imagines seahorses as he crosses the finish line on the boardwalk in 3:29 and change. Hey, is that an Atayne shirt he's wearing? :)

The photos are worth their weight in Clif Shots (which are tough to get down when they are frozen). On top of that, a search of the official results yields some cool information:

Dominic made his marathon debut in just under 3:30. Wow!
Joel and Keene combined for a 3:36 or so, with Joel running a 1:53 for his half
James and Laura netted a cool 3:47 relay time
Lori motored to a 3:51 and change...as speedy and consistent a marathoner as you'll find
Valliant notched a 3:52 and change, breaking under the 4:00 mark, goal accomplished

SCRATCH MY BACK WITH A HACKSAW...DOWN THE CHUTE COMES SHILLIDAY!!

Keene comes through the arches in a 1:42 half-marathon time, wondering if the guy on the left stole his watch...

Laura speeds down the boardwalk to a stellar half-marathon finish. The funny thing is, just 24 hours before finishing the race, she didn't even know she was going to be running it!!

My parting words here are, if you are looking for a nearby fall marathon, you couldn't do better than the Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon. Flat, certified course with scenery and multiple surfaces, great support, winning festivities after the race. Look for the Rise Up Runners to return next year, with an even bigger posse, and maybe even a house along the course for party central for friends and family.

As for more story lines from this year's race... I'll let someone else bust out the deer hunter. Do what? Look through the photos...that's not in there by mistake. Thanks to all the RURs for a great race weekend!

Race Report: Derek as a Mountain Masochist

2008-11-20T05:46:00.003-05:00

Rise Up Runner/Team Slug Grand Poobah Derek Hills contemplates levitating up some of the 9,000 feet of vertical gain that constitutes the Mountain Masochist 50-Mile Trail Run.

Prelude/Apology
I’ve been debating with the idea of writing a race report. For some time now I’ve struggled with the idea of posting my thoughts online, as there are many “bloggers” (particularly ultrarunners) wasting bandwidth with incessant self-dramatization. However, I do hope to share some of my thoughts on the 2008 Mountain Masochist Trail Run with those who couldn’t be there, and perhaps inspire someone else to get out and push themselves a little more. So, I’ll apologize in advance if anything comes across as boastful.

Boring Stuff
I left the office around 11:30 am on Friday for the five plus hour drive to Lynchburg, VA in hopes of making it to the pre-race check in and dinner at a reasonable hour. The weather was absolutely perfect-upper 50’s, without a cloud in the sky. Oddly, we had identical weather on race day (I’m used to either rain or 100+ degrees/humidity). Traffic was sparse, and Mapquest landed me in downtown Lynchburg in 5 hours 16 minutes. I found my way to my hotel (I stupidly got a room about a mile from the “sponsoring” hotel, as they only had smoking rooms left), checked in, unpacked, and took a walk over to the Kirkley Hotel to get registered and check out the pre-race dinner.

I meandered through the lobby, and found myself in a long line of runner-types waiting to get registered. I recognized a few familiar faces, including Tom Green who was going to run this race for the 26th year (sadly, Tom DNF’d due to an injury which he was having surgery on the following week). Standing there, I began to feel overwhelmed with feelings of inadequacy. Most of these folks were the typical tall, lanky, sinewy mountain runner types. And there I stood-- the short, stocky flatlander. Just then, David Horton (former MMTR Race Director and ultrarunner extraordinaire) walked up the hallway, noticed a strange face, and introduced himself. I stumbled over my words at first. He asked where I was from, and when I told him “The Eastern Shore of Maryland” he jokingly replied, “Lots of hills over there!” My downward spiral of doubt accelerated, so I sped through the check-in, grabbed my number and swag bag, skipped the dinner and hotfooted it back to my hotel. Once there, I flicked on the TV, organized my gear, prepped and tape my already gnarly feet, obsessed over the alarm clock, and was asleep by 9:00.

Race Day
I woke up around 3:30 a.m. and began my race day ritual of coffee, shower, prep., lube, gear check, etc.. Drove over to the parking lot at the Kirkley, checked in, and hopped on a warm bus around 5:45. As we sat in the parking lot, I tried to shut my eyes and block out all of the conversations going on around me. The bus left right at 6:00 a.m., and the drive over was dark and uneventful. When we arrived at the start area, the bus pulled right up to the port o’ johns, so I promptly got in line. Despite multiple layers (am temps were in the low 30’s), I began to shiver as I waited a good 15 minutes. After my turn, I slipped back onto the warm bus, reviewed all my gear and drop bag contents, and ate a power bar while it was still pliable. I waited until two minutes before the race start to get out.

Having obsessed over the course maps and elevation profile for months now, my plan was to crank it out to the first aid station, which would involve an out and back section on pavement (up and down a hill). This would ensure a fast warm up, and would provide a good “systems test”. While I cranked out the first few miles around an 8:00 pace uphill, and felt OK, I noticed that I wasn’t too far behind the “Team Montrail” and “Inov-8” shirts. At the turn around, it was downhill again, so I maintained the same pace while the frontrunners surged forward. It was going to be a long day, and I would need to conserve energy for the mountains. As the road leveled, I eased up the pace and maintained a steady 10 min. mile pace on the roads. There were a few long climbs that necessitated some short walk breaks, but the pace was overall easy, and as dawn broke the scenery of all the fall foliage along the river was nothing short of spectacular.

The course soon diverted into the woods. The first few miles were on single track, with a few tree hurdles, climbing, loose rocks and roots—plenty of excuses to get cautious. Knowing that the long climbs would be a huge time draw, I knew I’d have to push it and get a bit more careless with the trail conditions as long as the inclines weren’t too tough. The strategy worked well enough, although I was somewhat surprised at the next aid station that I was within 30 minutes of the cutoffs despite my decent performance on the roads. At that point, it became obvious to me that the cutoffs weren’t arbitrarily based on an even pace per mile for the entire 54 miles—they had to be based on historical data from aid station to aid station. Mentally, this would be the toughest challenge—knowing that in order to at least skim the cutoffs I would need to at least maintain consistent effort from point to point, regardless of the conditions.

Those first twenty miles were certainly hillier than I was used to, but tolerable. At the 26 mile aid station, I was dragging a bit. Mentally, I was beside myself, as I was only 10 minutes ahead of the cutoff. Physically, I was overheating a bit. I ran to the aid station, called out my number and dropped to the ground by my drop bag. I immediately stripped down to shorts and a tee shirt, and downed a Starbucks double shot. I felt somewhat delirious when I looked up to find Annette Bednosky filling up my Camelbak. A few familiar faces were standing around, but I was in a desperate rush to get the hell out of there.

"You mean we're running up that thar mountain??"

The real climbs began. And they continued. And continued. The first real climb up Buck Mountain was harsh. Maybe 3000 feet in about 5 miles, with few sections I considered runnable. Fortunately, the trail was mostly wooded and cool, and footing was decent. I pushed forward, trying to run the short inclines, and speed hike everything else. One of the runners I had been yo-yoing with (on his 6th MMTR) was starting to have a tough time, and told me that it would be hard work to escape the cutoffs at this point. My legs were feeling pretty heavy, and his comments made me nervous. Then, I heard something. Far off in the woods, from somewhere up the mountain, I heard some familiar music…Rocky. Yup. The Rocky theme. Now I usually don’t run with music, and I’m not really a big movie aficionado (or a Rocky fan), but between the music and several inspirational posters with scripture verses that appeared out of nowhere, I caught my “second wind” and started running uphill towards the next aid station.

By the time I reached the next aid station I had gained a reasonably significant lead over the group I had been plodding along with, and had actually made up some time on this leg. I departed with a new spring in my stride, and covered the next, largely fast, downhill stretch in decent time.

The next aid station marked the entrance to the notorious “loop” section. While the terrain didn’t look bad on the elevation profile, I’ve heard that the loop will quickly humble even the most skilled runner. Expecting the worst, I was surprised to find myself running on some beautiful downhill single track for the first mile or so. From there, it started to get ugly. First a few wet stream crossings over some loose rocky areas. Then rocky/rooty ascents and descents, all densely covered with leaves, so you had no idea what you were stepping on. Fortunately, I managed to stay vertical, and survived this 5+ mile leg in just over an hour. On my way out, I came across another familiar face…err, head—a young runner I’ve often seen at several events whose trademark is to shave the race initials onto his head. We chatted a bit on the way out of the aid station, and yo-yoed along for a mile or two, comparing war stories.

The remaining 10 miles were tolerable. A few decent climbs, which proved difficult on tired legs in the warmer afternoon temperature. I was pleasantly surprised when one girl I had been running with earlier caught up to me. Apparently, the guy she was running with (the 6 timer MMTR dude) had dropped and she was now on her own. We held pace together for a while, and forced the other to run when the other would slow down. At the next to last aid station, I was still 15 minutes ahead of the cutoffs, so I checked in and left right away. The trail led me straight up the final hill of death. The overall distance of this section wasn’t terrible…maybe about a mile or so, but it was all nearly straight uphill…the type of climb where you had to stop every so often to catch your breath, and grab a tree to keep from going backwards.

After finally reaching the last aid station, the remaining 5 or so miles were a gift. A couple of mild, runnable climbs, with virtually all descents on gravel mountain roads. A few wet/rocky crossings here and there, and a very fast final couple of miles back out to pavement. I caught up with another young girl named Becky I’d been yo-yoing with for most of the day. It was going to be her first Masochist finish as well. As we approached the finish, we passed another runner who was hobbling along on fumes. A few of Becky’s friends drove past and cheered us on. As we picked up the pace for a final sprint to the finish, she summed it up by saying, “I’ve been going all day for this!” and offered to cross together. My slug roots came through…I knew we were approaching the 12 hour cutoff for an official finish, and there was a possibility that I could at least snag the DFL title, so I graciously let her go first. David Horton was right there, wildly cheering us across the finish. Eleven hours, fifty three minutes and fifty seven seconds.

The bus ride back to the Kirkley hotel was an experience in itself. Dozens of exhausted, stinky runners were packed in, with the heat blasting, as the bus wove through the mountain roads. It was a war zone—folks were moaning, others were stretched out on the floor. Many rested their tired feet on the backs of the seats in front of them. I chugged another Starbucks double shot and chatted about the days events with a gentleman sitting next to me named Lew McGrath, who had just finished his 6th MMTR (in 9:25), after previously winning the Iron Mountain 50 miler (Eric Grossman’s 50M race held in October—now on my “must do” list for 2009).

About an hour and a half later, I was back at my hotel. I peeled off layers of dirt, grit, salt, and clothes, showered for a half hour, and headed out the door for a few post race recovery beers and sandwich. It felt great to zone out and stuff my face.

Final thoughts
MMTR is not just another 50-miler. Any rumors you’ve probably heard about it are true. It’s beautiful, it’s incredibly challenging, the volunteers and race organization are absolute top-notch. When you finish it once, you’ll want to go back and do it again. Yet it’s not a race that you can just “go and run”, especially if you’re even a mid-packer like myself. It is a course where each of the 54 miles, and 9200 feet of gain and 7200 feet of loss demand your respect.

--Derek Hills

Plus Four...

2008-11-16T12:05:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note, hoping to post more later, to say that we have added four names to the list of folks who have completed the Tuckahoe 10-Mile Challenge. Congrats to:

Mike Bickford
Dan Bieber
Brandon White
James Woodring

Who joined Lori Callahan and Valliant for a windy and capital MUDDY loop this morning. For the record, Valliant, Lori, and Brandon opted for the aquatic creek crossing (dedicated to water crossing pioneer Landy Cook), while Mike, Dan, and James scampered across the log. That's a 50/50 ratio on a cool November morning.

Also for the record, Bieber was doing some math in his head, and thinks that Keene's record is breakable. I'm not trying to start anything, mind you, but...;)

Thanks to everyone who got out there this morning. A great run and stellar way to kick off a Sunday.

Rise Up Rehab Part 1(The Injury)

2008-11-12T07:46:00.002-05:00

Somehow it has been just under five months since I acutely injured my medial meniscus on my right knee while running a marathon. It has not been an easy thing for me to write about until now, but enough time has passed that I thought an injured reserve update was in order.

My injury occurred June 15 while running in the Lake Placid Marathon. I decided to run this race since I was attending a continuing medical education conference in Vermont that weekend anyway, and my wife Megan's sister was already running the relay with a group of people from their hometown of Massena, New York. Megan decided to do the half marathon and her parents came down to watch the kids while we raced. It seemed to just fall into place. Lake Placid is a very pretty town and is not at all a bad place to host a marathon. The race started routinely enough for me as Megan and I hung out and talked some before the race. She had asked if I was going to run with her for her half marathon(a little slower than my usual pace) or try to go a little faster. Coming off one of my slowest and most painful marathons, the Delaware Trail Marathon, I was anxious to see what I could accomplish this time so I opted to run solo. Turns out I should have run with my wife instead and perhaps that is lesson #1 in my story. Always listen to your spouse. At least in my case, she is usually right.

But of course, I did not. Before the race started, there was a man with a megaphone talking over some pretty loud, pumping music trying to get the crowd psyched up. I remember thinking, I'm really not at all into this. Can't it just be low key, sort of like the start to the trail marathon I had recently run? There were maybe 1500 people at the start with a combination of marathon runners, half marathoners, and relay runners. I said good luck to Megan, gave her a hug, and slipped over to the side of the road near the first third of runners and sat on the curb to wait until the start. Finally, the man was yelling more and more into the megaphone, the music got even louder and the race was on.

The first three miles were very nice. I concentrated on running slowly and constrained as people all around me were getting settled into their paces. I felt like I could see plenty of people going out too fast, although one thing I have learned in running marathons is that you can never predict a runner's speed by their body type or form. Still I know what someone looks like when they go out too fast from adrenaline at the start, and there were plenty of those folks around. The race looped around a pretty lake for the first few miles before turning sharply down a hill to head out of town. I was shooting for easy eight minute miles with a goal of seeing whether I could break 3:30 and if I was feeling strong at the half, I would increase my pace and see what happened. I felt really strong through the first few miles and then came this monster downhill. I tried to run the hill slowly and controlled, but it was far steeper than anything we have seen in flat Talbot County. About 50 yards in I thought, "This isn't working for me"so I let it unwind a bit and tried to increase my turnover some. Another 50 yards and I let 'er rip and opened up. I imagine it was a good steep half mile downhill or so. In retrospect, I wonder if I set myself up for the injury on that stretch. It is hard to say though because it felt very natural at the time. Anyway, things leveled out a bit after the hill, and I ran by the Olympic ski jumps before heading out a country road to a turnaround at mile eight.

Somewhere along this rolling country road near mile six, it happened. I was running along feeling strong and relaxed at an easy pace when I planted my right foot and instantly felt and heard an ominous pop. I instantly felt severe pain and the feeling like my knee was collapsing on the inside with each step. It was obvious to me that something bad had happened. Nonetheless, we runners are well, a bit thickheaded when it comes to these sorts of things, so I tried to walk it off some. I shook my leg, gently walked on it and tried to run again. Again, it was blatantly obvious that something was terribly wrong. There were a few runners around me passing me every few seconds and a several offered words of encouragement like "Just shake it off" or "work it out". I remember telling one well meaning runner "I don't think this is something I can just work out". She replied, "Oh sorry..." Most people just passed me silently as I tried to hobble along. There was no water stop anywhere near me and certainly no medical station so I figured I would hobble along walking with a straight leg until I could drop out at the next aid station. Somehow I made it to the turnaround spot on that road at mile eight where there was a water stop. I asked around about getting a ride back to the start so I could wait for Megan, and a guy who seemed to be in charge made a call on his radio then told me to wait a few minutes and someone would come to pick me up. Well, I waited and waited, eventually seeing Megan come by who asked how was doing. I filled her in and told her I'd see her back at the finish. I waited some more.

By this point, I would guess 40 minutes had gone by. There was no sign of the guy who I spoke with and no sign of help on the way. So, I trudged on peg-legged and made it back down the road a couple miles to around mile 10, where there was another water stop. This group seemed much more on the ball, and the guy in charge made a call and gave me some ice and a nice seat on the tailgate of his pickup, and I waited. This time, it was only about 30 minutes or so, but help did arrive eventually. I couldn't help but think, good thing I am not having a heart attack. I can only imagine they figured I could safely wait hours if needed and didn't want to get in the way of the runners on the course. Anyway, the ride back to the start was slow as well as the truck the picked me up stopped a few places along the route to talk to other volunteers and the police directing traffic. I don't recall exactly but he may have also picked up his dry cleaning and some things for dinner. Seriously, I was thankful for the ride, but it took forever. Eventually I made it back to the finish area where Megan was waiting with my in-laws and our kids- two of which immediately wanted to be held by me.

Prior to this race, I had always wondered why people dropped out of marathons. I couldn't fathom not trying everything I could to finish. But that day, my decision was quite easy. Running was not possible, and my body very clearly let me know that running was not something I should continue to do. I was thankful for that, but it made it no less difficult.

Up next, Part 2: From injury to surgery

--landy

The RUR's in Bay Hundred

2008-11-10T17:48:00.002-05:00

The Sunday morning crew - Pierre, James, Valliant, Dominic, Joel, Keene and Katherine, in Keene's shop before departing on a 6 a.m.'ish 13-mile run.

Drivers along Route 33 between St. Michaels and Tilghman, Md., are not used to seeing runners spread out along the road in the early morning hours. Neither are residents of Wittman, home of RUR stalwart Michael "Wood Frog" Keene.

But it's fall racing season, and the Wood Frog invited the RUR crew down to his neck of the woods to get in a good training run for upcoming marathons and half-marathons. We've got quite a crew gearing up for racing the inaugural Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon on Saturday, November 22. Dominic, Lori, and Valliant are signed on to give the full marathon a go, and relay teams of Keene/Joel and Katherine/James, will see each runner complete a half-marathon to finish the full distance. Come the weekend after Thanksgiving, while we're all figuring out what to do with those extra calories, Pierre will run them off at the North Central Trail Marathon, outside Baltimore.

For our Sunday run, we ended up with a hodgepodge of runners, working at various speeds, engaging in various conversations, and running with different folks, accordion-style, closing in on and catching up to one another, and spreading out, all reconvening at Keene's after 13 miles. Pierre saddled back up and ran another 7+ miles back home and beyond to get in his last long run before his marathon.

Rather than give you a narrative of the run, I offer some thoughts that Keene shared with the group later on. The things that stuck in his head:

- Katherine’s muffins (I think there were 6 fewer muffins then when she left her house; Woody?)

-The sunrise over Harris Creek and the warm light hitting the trees.

-The great conversation I had with a French marathon runner

-Joel talking a little louder than usual because he had his IPod earphones in his ears.

-Joel, talking louder than usual, when he asked me if I “owned tights” as we passed my waterman neighbor who was getting his newspaper out of his box.

-Joel doing pushups on the Tilghman Island road.

-Joel running one of his longest distances he’s ever run

-Woody running over the Tilghman Bridge and me wondering if he really won’t shower until the 22^nd

-Wondering if, in deed, Bieber is qualified to critique graphics

-Wishing there was someone on a bike distributing Gatorade and muffins to us dehydrated and fuel starved runners

-Wishing I had my new Clif gels from the backseat of Lori’s car

-Wondering if Derek ever wants to run on flat ground again; Route 33 is a dream, except for that hill leading up to the bridge

-Wondering, “Charlie who?”

-Dominic closing gaps in distance between runners on a whim.

-The thought of Katherine’s muffins waiting back in my barn to be eaten

-The expression on my neighbor Margaret’s face when runners kept turning into our driveway at 8:30 in the morning

Very many thanks to Keene for hosting and route planning, and to Katherine for muffin-baking, and for all who came out to run!

It was a morning...just like THIS ONE...

2008-10-30T05:59:00.006-04:00

Katherine Binder and I met at 5:30 a.m. this past Sunday at the Diving Dog/Coffee East parking lot to cruise out to Tuckahoe State Park for a 10-mile trail run.

It was foggy, like can't see Landy's shiny new bike in front of your face foggy. And, with daylight savings time having not kicked in, it was jet black dark where it wasn't foggy. Interesting conditions for a trail run.

A week or two ago I picked up a headlamp, which I've taken to bringing along on morning runs. Katherine and I pondered how two people running on a night-black trail would fare with a single headlamp, but decided to give it a go. Since We found it was fairly easy for me to light up the trail for both of us, and we know the trail well, so it was on.

It is a novel experience to run somewhere you are familiar with in completely different conditions. I've run out there in the wicked early morning, but not in the full-on dark before, and it was a blast. A whole new take.

As we were coming up Tuckahoe Valley Trail, after the two foot bridges and the rise onto the wider, flat part of the trail (for those familiar), we approached the widest section of the trail, which is shared by Adkins Arboretum. Coming to our right turn, we came up behind what looked like a decent-sized stage. Bear in mind it is black out (I think we've established that), and that the only thing we can see is whatever the headlamp is shining on.

As we come around the stage, there it is...BAM!:

...a body, laying covered in blood, with limbs and guts all around it. We shine the light a bit farther down, and bodies are everywhere: a dude strapped into an electric chair; a feller coming out of a coffin; a number of aliens and a landing craft surrounding the wide bridge. Further down on overturned car with a bloody Chuckie doll sitting on top of it.

We were caught completely off guard, but as soon as the light started telling the story, Katherine and I both recalled that Adkins hosted their haunted hayride (which is what the photo above is from) on Friday and Saturday night. Absolutely the most bizarre and funniest stuff to come across on our first night/morning run out there.

The rest of the run, though less startling, was stellar. The sun started to climb over the trees as we were on the last part of Tuckahoe Valley. The poison ivy and critters common to summer runs out there seem to be gone and the weather was morning-cool on what was to be a mid-60's day and perfect for running.

We did alter plans a bit though. We enjoyed the section of haunted hayride we ran through so much, we came back up the TV Trail, so we could check it all out again in the daylight.

On a related note, as it is October 30, we realize that RUR stalwart Joel Shilliday celebrates his birthday today. So happy birthday to Joel, and happy Halloween to all!

Life at 6 a.m.

2008-10-21T06:54:00.002-04:00

I got out the door just after 6 a.m. I am usually getting back home from running about this time. As a self-inflicted penance, I started my run at the quicker pace at which I generally finish--once everything is firing, cadence feels great, legs have woken up after the first few miles.

This morning there were only a few miles to begin with (around 5, maybe slightly less...have to measure), so out the door quick. It's still dark at 6 a.m., but other than that similarities end. There are people out. There is traffic, thick for Easton in several spots, and through town, you're better off running on the sidewalk, so as not to end up as a reflective-vest-wearing hood ornament.

Another peculiarity: running up Aurora Street there are lights on in the generally dark Cook and Callahan houses. People aren't supposed to be up during RUR runs!

I cruise by "Da Corner" of Aurora and Idlewild and turn right running by the tennis courts. Still too dark to make out anyone on the track. I should haven been there about an hour and 20 minutes ago, but got home past midnight from the office and to bed at 1 a.m., and only vaguely recall drifting back to sleep after the 4:15 a.m. alarm.

After three weeks of one-run-per week efforts while trying to kick a lingering cold, I told myself this was a three run week. So I stuck with the plan: get up, have coffee, run. Robin is home today with Ava, who cracked a fever at daycare yesterday, so I have some waggle room.

Turning down Washington Street and running by the hospital, traffic is intermittent. Further along, walkers who also wear the dork-badge reflective vests of pre-dawndom. I know it's an off-kilter morning when I run by an open-for-business Coffee East and there are a few customers coming and going. 7-11, generally empty or sporting an errant car has no parking and a delivery truck unloading.

There's a flashing light on the back of a bike ahead of me, on which I am steady closing the gap, with a smooth, even, though be-labored pace. As I turn right on Chapel Road, the target is within 10 yards, though he doesn't make for decent prey as he swerves and teeters back and forth in the bike path.

The sights are similar, albeit a bit more illuminated, but the difference at this point is seasonal, not time of day. The smell of wet leaves on the ground and of fireplaces having burned the evening before. A great smell, marking fall and early winter running.

I pick up the pace a bit more as I turn into our neighborhood, where there is another runner (one who runs 3 miles every single day of the year) up as well as a walker, both of whom I run right up behind as I come even with our yard, cool down, stretch, and go inside for breakfast.

That's life at 6 a.m.--a starting time, which is generally the finish time. A shorter run, where I was hoping to get in a longer jaunt. A missed 5 a.m. meeting time. But I am glad I stuck to the plan: get up, have coffee, run. And now, the rest of the day begins.

Guest Commentary: Tour de Shore

2008-10-09T22:21:00.006-04:00

Our man Stephen Bardsley during his self-created, self-supported cycling Tour de Shore.

We are in the midst of an RUR coup. First Keene turned triathlete on us. Dominic was first a cyclist, having competed in 24-hour mountain bike races in Colorado before coming east. And now, post-op, rehab Landy is turning our band of runners into bonafide cross dresser...umm...cross trainers. We have a cycling coup d'etat on our hands.

To be honest, it's pretty cool. I've heard reports of Keene's and Bieber's antics on rides, and the miles they are able to cover in a morning. There is a freedom and speed that cycling brings to the table, where running is somewhat limited if you don't have all day to devote to covering 50 miles. This opens up some creativity in being able to come up with challenges either for yourself or a group.

With that in mind, I offer a guest commentary (our first!), on the kind of nutso adventure I expect from this group. The perpetrator of this adventure is RUR friend, blog reader, and frequent commenter Stephen Bardsley. Stephen has run Tuckahoe with Keene and I a few times and I guarantee logged more miles than anyone out there in 2007. He also ran the JFK 50 last year, rocking a 9:3o (roughly) finish. Stephen is a heck of a runner. Earlier this year, while training to break 3:30 in the B & A Trail Marathon, Bardsley ruptured his appendix, and running got put on the shelf, ending his streak of more than 400 consecutive days with a run.

Bardsley used his time off and his rehab to try something different, but no less epic (more-so, in fact). He set out to ride the entire C&O Canal Towpath unsupported on his mountain bike. He test rode, got his gear dialed in, planned meticulously. And then the rains came. Faced with canceling a trip he'd labored over, Stephen got truly creative. Below is his story as sent to Keene and me in an e-mail. Awesome stuff. Between adventures like this, the New Year's Day RUR "Tri" and the rising current of cycling in our midst...I can tell I'm gonna have to spring for a bike! --Mike V.

TOUR DE SHORE
By Stephen Bardsley

I had planned the C&O canal trip for Sept. 7-8-9. I decided to go with my mountain bike, and had tested some intermediate tires, to cut down on the rolling resistance, and still have some form of tread for the terrain. Our Saturday night hotel was booked in Cumberland, and my wife Lauren was to pick me up Saturday at work and drive with the family up to Cumberland. I was to start the ride Sunday morning, and had logistics worked out for a buddy to finish the ride with me into Georgetown on Tuesday, and drive me back to my car at work.

I put a rack on the back of the bike, pannier bags were full, my one man tent, and light sleeping bag were tied on top of the rack. I also got a nice sized handle bar bag to hold camera, wallet, cell phone, flashlight,and lots of Ibuprofen.

Saturday morning showed up with all the rain from Hannah. Lauren and I spoke frequently throughout my work day, and by noon i called C&O bike shop in Hancock Md. The man told me that with all the rain forecasted, the trail would be a swamp in most parts, and the camping areas would be flooded. TRIP CANCELLED! The forecast for Sunday, Monday, and most of Tuesday were flawless, and after a couple Mapquests, the TOUR DE SHORE was planned.

On the way home from work, i bought a pair of slick tires to fit the mountain bike wheels, and mounted them on the bike. Sunday morning i left the house early, and by late afternoon, I had taken Rt. 50 all the way into Salisbury, 92 miles. I found a cheap hotel for the night. Monday morning, I kept heading east on Rt. 50, and had pizza and Red Bull for lunch on the boardwalk in Ocean City. I proceeded up coastal highway, all the way to Lewes Del., 85 miles for day two.

I got a campsite at Cape Henlopen State Park, and stayed in my tent. Tues. morning I had a lot of knee pain, and Lauren had warned of severe afternoon storms. With the knee pain, I planned on spinning all day in a high gear, and told Lauren I would get as far as I could, and she could pick me up somewhere on Rt. 404 when she got out of school at 4:00. I left Henlopen at 176.5 miles, and was hoping I could just get to 200 miles. I had headwinds all day, so the light spinning idea was out the window, as I had to mash the pedals to get anywhere.

I managed the knee pain throughout the day with Flex-All. I went through Georgetown Del, no storms, made it to Bridgeville, no storms, made it almost to Denton and got hammered by a storm. Ducked into Dunkin Donuts, and got a coffee. The storm passed, and the wind went with it. I kept pedaling, and made it to the big Royal Farms by Tuckahoe, had a Red Bull there, and rode to the 50/404 intersection.

Lauren called, and was out of school, I told her to pick up our son Joshua, and call me, I would probably have her pick me up at the Prime Outlets on Rt. 50. By the time she called me at the outlet, I knew I would never forgive myself if I didn't finish the journey. I told her I would see her just before dark.

The 18 miles from the outlet to home were brutal, I was a mess turning the corner of my street. As I rode into my driveway, Jacob and Joshua were standing there with little checkered flags. Lauren took the finish line photos, and had a killer meatloaf with mashed taters and gravy ready! Final odometer reading was 268.4 miles, and 21 hours and 36 minutes of ride time. Very satisfying, a great adventure, solo and unsupported!

Rise Up Vermont!

2008-09-30T08:08:00.006-04:00

If you really want to know what kind of friends you've got, drop them off on a mountain in Vermont and tell them you'll see them in 3 hours, 15 or so miles up the mountain. If your friends are happy-to-downright-giddy at the prospect, you might have Rise Up Runners for pals.

At 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 28, Team Rise Up Runners got out of the car at Mount Ascutney to find food, coffee, and get the Vermont 50 mile trail run underway as a 3-person relay. This is one of those trips that seemed like it had been on the books for a year, but would never actually get here. But before I'd even finished my coffee (coffee "plus," which means coffee and bagels), we were walking outside to watch the mountain bike race start and then wishing Katherine Binder well and cheering her off at the start at 6:40 a.m.

Some serious "bling!" Is that Electra-Woman or Dyna-Girl? Katherine gets ready to roll up the mountain.

Katherine's husband Rob is probably still driving back and forth between the Hartness House in Springfield, Vermont, and the Mt. Ascutney Resort in Brownsville. If he isn't, I am positive he can still see it in his mind. Staying 20 minutes or so from the race, we had a less than perfect scheme for shuttling runners and spouses, but we decided early on to whisk the weary-having-finished runners back to the hotel to change and shower after their leg, before cruising back to make the next switch. All in all a solid plan.

Talking shop the day before, Katherine hoped she'd see us after her 12.3 mile leg by 9:00 a.m. We arrived at the Skunk Hollow aid station, where she'd make the tag to Keene at around 8:45 or so. The mountain bikers, who'd had the earlier start were coming in strong, as were some speedy runners. We heard runners coming in a fair amount slower than they anticipated, per mud and hard climbing, and guessed Katherine might be a bit behind where she hoped. You could see runners coming around a school yard before they reached the aid station, and Katherine's white shirt bounded by the fence at almost 9 a.m. on the nose. She tagged Keene at 9:02, and the Wood Frog hopped toward more climbing. Katherine grabbed some aid station grub, caught her breath, and filled us in on course and run details that included hands-on-the-ground in front of her climbing in places, fast downhills that turned into walking only climbs, and a scenic course. She completely rocked our lead-off leg, and nailed the time she wanted to make, right on the nose. Way to go, Katherine!

Happy Katherine and her husband Rob at Skunk Hollow aid station, after tagging Keene into action for leg 2 of the relay.

I have no doubt that the Wood Frog will clue everyone in to the details of his hopping adventures on his blog, but I have already spoiled the ending of his 17.9 mile leg to Dugdale's aid station, where leg three of the relay began. Suffice it to say here, that Keene made it, bounding (and I mean BOUNDING) down the hill to make the tag in a crazy 3 hours. The second leg had some ridiculous climbing (okay, so each leg had wicked climbing!) and Keene hoped aloud the day before to finish his leg in 3 hours, thinking that might be asking too much. Not at all, my friend. When the chips come down on race day, Keene and his high energy, and climbing quads always find a way to deliver. He claimed to be undertrained for longer running, having added biking and swimming to his training this year, but there was no evidence of any let up. A stellar run, Keene!

And so leg three is underway, with Valliant off on the last 19.8 miles, looking to anchor the Rise Up Runners relay team. Again, a bit anti-climactic, since the finish photo has been up on the site. You know we finish in about 9 hours. You know we end up with shiny medals, smiling faces, and Harpoon I.P.A. on draft. But what happens during the last leg? What does Valliant learn from the mysterious and fleet-footed bearded man? Does he bank a mountain biker, steal some wheels, and ride on to the finish? For those answers, you'll have to change the dial over to The 4-1-Run... (you didn't know this was going to be a three-blog relay, did you? ;)

Team Rise Up Runners finishes the Vermont 50-mile relay in just over 9 hours, giving the RUR crew 3rd relay team overall out of 13 teams. Full results can be found here. Robin and Mike Valliant, Katherine Binder and Rob Forloney, and Michael Keene and Carita Crawford-Keene pose for posterity before finding the Harpoon I.P.A. draft, food, and seeking shelter from the coming monsoon-like rain.

Making Lemonade is Easy.

2008-09-25T19:14:00.016-04:00

"When life throws you lemons make lemonade" someone once famously said.
Probably an entrepreneurial kid trying to make a buck, but whatever.
I try to follow this saying whenever the circumstances in my life dictate it may be an option.
My Mom just got 2 new knees.
She's 71 and pretty tough, but she need her kids help so my sister took the first shift of three weeks, and my brother and following up with an 8 day stint. Yes it takes two men to handle the work of one woman. Anyhow, my mother is doing ok, but more than a little ornery at the fact she can't do everything herself yet. She will be able to soon.
Between running errands to town, & helping Mom out where she needs it I have been able to get 3 runs in the first 3 days I have been in my hometown. Franklin Pennsylvania in western PA is similar in size to Easton and some other respects, however very different in that is definitely not growing or affluent. Instead of luxury cars Franklin inexplicably has the largest number of obese creatons I have ever seen assembled in one place cruising the streets. Take from that what you will.
Guueeeeeeueckkk.

Morning mist slides down the Allegehny River just south of Franklin PA a the Belmar Bridge.
One thing this area does have going for its natural beauty (when the sun is shining). And Mom's place is right along the Allegheny River, arguably one of the nation's most scenic rivers and adjacent to a number of trails both paved and natural. Rails to trails is prevalent in this area, as it used to be bustling with rail car activity in the form of petroleum transports from Oil City, now relegated to freakshow status, Titusville the birthplace of American oil production, and Franklin where some the Standard Oil Barrens chose to call home.
Now we kinda just have the river and hills around it as I see it. Which is fine with me. On Tuesday I may have sparked some running interest in my brother as he accompanied me for 5 of my 6.5 miles along an eastbound trail that included a nearly .25 mile tunnel (in which my brother screamed "get back tot he choppa", just to hear it echo...yep he's my brother) and handful of bridges over the creeks that feed the Allegheny (pic of overpass at left).
Perfect temps(low 70s), and the accompaniment of my bro made this a most enjoyable way to start the week here.
I have been fueled by the fact that some of our crew is heading to Vermont to challenge the mountains. So I have challenged myself to run everyday I am here. So yesterday I ran the hill that leads up and off the river from my Mom's place. It is only 1.25 miles and 20% grade, but it might as well have been the White Mountains, as I am total flat lander these days, and every step was something very foreign to this runner at this time.
Uggh.
The downhill was enjoyable, though I was cautious not to "tweak" my own knees as I want to take advantage the elevation changes for the next few days.
Today yielded another 10k with a short sojourn on a longing trail that turned into an overgrown trail, which turned into a deet path, which turned into no path, which utltimately led to a dried up creek bed which I scrambled down after much cussing and back to unnatural comfort of the paved trail heading south along the river. Better luck tomorrow on that.
The run culminated with a good swim in the crystal clear, cool flow that is the Allegheny at this moment in time.

View from the Belmar bridge north aka a great place to swim.
Rain is the the forcast for the next few days, so that may mean some good mudding ahead!
At the expense of the rivers clarity. Wish you were all here to enjoy this.
Ahhh Country Time,
Best of luck to all racers this weekend!
Joel

The Tuckahoe Seven

2008-09-21T16:55:00.009-04:00

The Tuckahoe Seven - Derek, Pierre, Dominic, Joel, Katherine, Keene, and Valliant. Photo by Charlie Bandura. Thanks, Charlie!

It was a record morning at Tuckahoe State Park today. I pulled into the Coffee East/Diving Dog parking lot just before 6 a.m. to see six other folks waiting in the still dark to go play in the woods. The Bay Hundred RUR contingent brought Katherine, Pierre, and Keene, while Easton RURs represented with Joel, Derek, Dominic, and Valliant. We all piled into Keene's Expedition, "Julius," and ventured out to complete the Tuckahoe 10-mile loop.

Katherine and Keene coming through Creekside Cliff Trail.

We ran most of the first 4.5 miles in a group as we came up the Tuckahoe Valley Trail. Once we hit the rolling hills of Creekside Cliff, we could see there was a new lawman in town: Deputy Dominic. The Speedy Szwaja mosied on out front and glided along the trail. The pattern for the rest of the day was to let everyone regroup as we turned onto another trail.

Conditions were cool and dry as we made our way down Turkey Hill for a September creek crossing.

Joel ponies up crossing the creek, while Pierre wonders, "Do I really have to get my shoes wet?" ;)

As we hit the crossing, Wood Frog Keene surprised us all with his first crossing without log assistance! A low tide and a few blister-worried runners who logged it made for a mostly uneventful, but still a fun dance in the creek.

Dominic says, "Come on man, there's a 'Welcome Back Kotter' marathon on today, let's go!"

On the Little Florida Trail, we were cruising along, and Dominic busted out his gazelle imitation. Moving. I decided to give chase and each time I closed the gap, he ambled on a couple curves or a hill ahead. I backed off a bit with our Vermont race a week out, but I doubt it would have mattered much if I hadn't :)

We reconvened at the bottom of Grieners Fishing Road on the way in to Pee Wees Trail. The crew spread out a bit on Pee Wees, with a few call outs for directions and a well-placed 'Predator' quote heard echoing in the woods. At the end of trail, we unwound for a bit at the creek, posed for a photo and cruised back home.

Derek and Pierre cruise down the fishing road, about 8 miles into the run, en route to Pee Wees Trail.

Congratulations to Derek and Pierre--the two latest finishers of the "official" route for the Tuckahoe 10-Mile Challenge! It was a great day on the trails, which is something I try to never take for granted. It's all the more great when you can get out there with seven head. A heckuva way to Rise Up!

Low and Dry at Tuckahoe

2008-09-08T06:26:00.002-04:00

Ivan is pretty spry for a 56-year-old. In fact, I'd put his four legs against any two legged 56-year-old out there. He was the only taker I could find yesterday to head out to explore Tuckahoe State Park, post Tropical Storm Hanna. And that suited him just fine, as yesterday was his 8th birthday.

As it turns out, the trails were pretty dry and the tide and creek crossing were fairly low. Seems Hanna didn't have much left by the time she rolled in to Maryland. Ivan and I hit the abbreviated loop (7.5 - 8 miles), and lingered for a while at the bottom of Turkey Hill Trail, so that Ivan could swim around for a while--including into the treadmill-like current. For the record, Keene, Ivan favors the traditional crossing, not the log route ;)

I made it a point to hit all the hills back there at a full run, to maximize hill work for Vermont. I'm hoping to hit Tuckahoe a couple more times by the end of the month, once for a 15-ish mile run, and another for the 10-mile loop.

RUR "Speed" Day

2008-08-20T17:01:00.002-04:00

Usain Bolt did not show up at Idlewild Park this past Tuesday at 5:15 a.m. Good thing he was in Beijing, as it was the first official "speed" day on the track for the Rise Up Runners. And if we keep up with our speed work, take our vitamins, and eat Wheaties and drink milk, well, just maybe...no.

Speed day participants were Dominic, Joel, and Mike V. The workout was loosely based on the concept of Yasso 800's, wherein working up to a threshold of 10 x 800 repeats can give you a reasonable indication of your marathon fitness. As this was our first go at it, we opted to start with 6 x 800 repeats.

The drill is simple: run an 800 at a hard pace. Take that time and jog for the same amount of time before beginning your next repeat. Keep it going, working your legs, and try not to puke or pass out.

I have an aversion to speed work. It's not something I consider fun, and getting out of bed early to run, running around a track doesn't usually inspire me for a Rise Up run. But we've been talking about the whole Yasso 800 idea (see Bart Yasso's website); we've had fairly similar routes around Easton for some time now; and a change of pace and workout seemed like a good idea. If other folks were game, then damnit, I would be too.

I should add that while tossing the 800 idea out there, I threw a gauntlet down that if Joel beat Dominic on any one of the repeats, that I'd buy him dinner or drinks. I know Joel was a high school quarterback in the football country of western Pennsylvania, but I've tried to catch Dominic before...and it ain't pretty...

800 repeats are a solid workout, if I may say. The Idlewild track is a tad short, but my repeats came in at 3:07, 3:21, 3:21, 3:27, 3:17, and 3:11, so they stayed fairly consistent. Dominic stayed out in front of me each repeat, and I managed to keep ahead of Joel for all but one...

Repeat # 5 - stopwatches were ready, the batteried beep marked the start, and Shilliday took off, rabbit pace ahead of both Dominic and I, no doubt pondering what kind of beer he would swill at the Irish Crab, or fearing the blitzing linebackers from North Allegheny or Butler High School...

Joel's pace didn't let up...he led through 400, though the gap between he and Dominic was closing...at just past 600 meters, Dominic pulled even then went past, but Joel wasn't done yet. Down the last stretch he poured it on... but the speedy Szwaja was too much and legged it out. If I recall, Dominic was right around 3:00 that lap, so Joel put up a time right around there for the fifth repeat of the day. Pretty impressive stuff...but no Hoegartens...YET.

Unfortunately for Dominic, he is becoming a marked man. People are gunning for him to have one sub-par day or lap, or final sprint...okay, so not really, but you have to find ways for the not-as-swift to motivate the speedy ;)

Our first real speed workout day was a success. We did three miles worth of speed, with about as much distance in recovery laps before, between, and after. And we changed the routine. We'll be doing more and varied speed work--mixing in 200s and 400s...or until Joel finds a distance he can win :) Special thanks to Lori for coming out to run with and around us, and to keep our oxygen-depleted brains and legs functioning.

At the same time, on Tuesday morning, we had another RUR first--the Bay Hundred contingency of the Rise Up Runners, Mike Keene and Katherine Binder, met at 5:30 a.m. in St. Michaels for their own early morning run, closer to the mothership of the Rise Up Coffee outpost. While they were rumored to be doing their own "speed" workout, the following report came later in the day from Katherine:

"News from the Bay 100 RUR.. .We had a nice relaxing hour long run this morning. Speed only came up as we talked about our crazy Easton counter parts. We did run over to the local track and reflected of the possibility of doing some future speed work. ....maybe next Tuesday...we will see."

Speed or no speed, it was a beautiful thing to hear that the RURs had morning runs going in two locations. Rise Up, indeed!

Where's Karl?

2008-08-13T13:57:00.005-04:00

The Keene and Meyerhoff families at the summit of Mt. Washington in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

This day finds me jazzed to go running again. However, I am recuperating from many miles of mountain trails and my legs need a bit of a rest. How Karl Meltzer can do back to back 30, 40, or 50 mile days on the Appalachian Trail is simply mind boggling. Here’s my tale of meeting up with one of today’s great runners:

The day before we left on our family vacation to Maine and New Hampshire an envelope arrived in the mail from my sister who lives in Sandy, Utah. It contained an article about Karl Meltzer (also from Sandy) and his attempt at the Appalachian Trail speed record; 2147 miles in 47 days. He would be starting in Maine the day we arrive and would be passing through the same trails we would be on in New Hampshire a week later. After scanning his website (www.whereskarl.com) and talking to Michael Valliant I decided it would be worth the effort to try and meet and/or run with Karl Meltzer on part of the trail during his epic journey.

With our friends, the Meyerhoffs, we spent the better part of 3 days on and around Mt. Washington, the tallest peak in the Northeast. Our weather-luck ran out on the morning of our last day as we summitted Mt. Washington. The rain was relentless in the 40 degree air on top. Of the 8 of us five decided to take a shuttle down from the summit to the base. My oldest daughter wanted to hike down, no matter what the weather or how cold. So, my two daughters and I descended Mt. Washington via the Lion Head and Tuckerman Ravine Trails.

After three and a quarter hours we reached Pinkham Notch. Tired, wet, and weary we showered and refreshed ourselves, then set off to find Karl in Julius, our white Expedition. While in the observatory on the summit of Mt. Washington the park ranger allowed me to checkout the Where’s Karl website. After catching the latest blog entry and then checking in with Valliant via cell phone, we had a good idea of where to look for the Where’s Karl RV and Karl himself.

Our second place to look is was the jackpot; in Maine about an hour drive from where my daughters and I came off the AT. At the Grafton State Park AT trailhead we found the RV and Karl Meltzer, Sr, waiting for his son and Matt Hart to come off the trail. Karl Sr. was a very fit 65 year old man with a slight beard and glasses. It was obvious to me where Karl Jr. got his influence to be an athlete. He had last seen his son and running partner Matt at the last road crossing eleven miles up trail at 3:30pm. Karl Sr’s prediction was that the boys would arrive here at 6:30. It was now 5:30. I politely asked him if anyone would mind if I went up trail and try to intercept the runners; possibly attempt to run behind them. With permission from Karl Sr. and my family I donned my running gear complete with my wet Salomon trail shoes, Nathan fuel belt with 2 bottles, and the camera.

Nervous excitement overwhelmed me: How would I be received by these two highly accomplished trail runners? What would they be like after 33 miles today? Would I actually find them? Would I be able to keep up if I did? Would I feel the bond that is there between all runners?

Heading up the heavily wooded, rocky, steep, and muddy trail, I found myself constantly looking up-trail to see if my targets were bounding toward me. Karl Sr. said the boys moved at a fast hike; they weren’t really able to run on this terrain. This trail was easier to travel upon than the ones we just left, but there were only a few short sections where you could safely get a stride going, but not for more than 40 seconds at a time before you had to slow down again.

Like being really hungry at a restaurant waiting for the food to arrive, I found myself looking up at the “kitchen door” waiting for the boys to bound through. My time allotment was slipping away. I even tried our family’s trick of going to the restroom, only to return to the table with a hot meal waiting. I thought of how embarrassing it would be to have them pass by as I was taking a leak; but I was desperate for them to come soon. At 6:30, like a dutiful husband and father, I turned around at about 1.5 miles up trail. It was getting darker in the woods as the light was being swallowed behind a nearby mountain. I started to get fearful thoughts of bear and moose, and me alone, “Rise Up Runner found mauled in the wilds of Maine” would be the headline.

I crept down the trail stopping often to look back at the “kitchen door”. It was so quiet in the woods except for the constant flow of water in the streams. Then it suddenly happened! The kitchen door slammed open with such ferocity that I panicked. I was on the outside corner of a turn in the trail and they were coming from my left. They were flying!!! There was no hint of “fast hiking”, but a flat out sprint, much like Valliant on a downhill at Tuckahoe.

Ultra runners Karl Meltzer and Matt Hart near the end of a day of trail running and hiking as part of Meltzer's Appalachian Trail Assault of the AT supported speed record.

I fumbled for the camera which was caught in the Velcro back portion of my fuelbelt. I hit the “on” button before I got it out of the plastic baggie, causing more of a delay. They were closer now, and they saw me. I knew they had no intention of slowing for a picture, and I didn’t want them to. I managed to snap a photo as they were still running toward me. Horror hit me when the flash went off. “Oh My God, I’ve just temporarily blinded Karl Meltzer on the 7^th day of his attempt of the AT speed record. He’s going to stumble and crash”. Instead, Karl and Matt smiled, and they both shook my hand without breaking stride.

Karl was covered head to toe in a baselayer, running shorts, and a light shell. He had high-tech electronic gear (maybe GPS) on his head and ears, and leather gloves on his palms. Matt was in more of a style like me with shorts, shirt, and his shell was tied around his waist.

I snapped another picture as they sprinted away from me. I then started to scibble after them with camera in hand. I was losing ground on them as the word “stalker” ran through my mind. “The hell with that thought”, and I threw caution to the wind and poured it on, coming up behind Matt within a few minutes. Roots, mud, rocks, and streams never went under my feet so fast. I was running with athletes who are at the top of the podium. They were finishing a 33 mile day though rugged country on steep mountainous trails. I was running the last mile of their day “fresh” (though I did have 5 hours of mountain hiking earlier in the day) at my sprint speed which I can only hold for short distances. None of us said a word until I said something about excusing me for not having a beard. That caused a chuckle as they glanced back at me.

Near the end at a pond crossing Karl stopped as Matt walked on. Karl turned to me a said something about “looking respectable” as he washed his feet and legs which were covered in mud and trail essences. We then walked across a boardwalk together talking. Aware of the hard wet week he’d had, I did well not to be too intrusive to the end of his day. Matt was waiting for us with his camera as he made Karl and me pose for 2 photos. Others from his crew gathered: Marit and Tommy, who were from the adventure’s sponsor, Backcountry.com, Karl Sr., and my family.

Like any good Public Relations engineer, Marit (a lovely tall brunette lady) intercepted me, asked me questions, then introduced Karl and Matt to my family. We talked with everyone for a few minutes, snapped a few photos, then pulled ourselves away in a timely manner while the crew did their chores and the boys stretched-out.

Wood Frog meet Speedgoat...Speedgoat meet Wood Frog...

As I was changing my clothes behind Julius, the WheresKarl RV and Kia pulled out of the parking lot. It was now 7:30 and we were an hour from civilization and FOOD. As we drove away from the AT we passed Karl’s Team as they were pulling into the campground for the night. We gave a toot of the horn and Karl Sr. gave us a thumbs-up.

Sam’s, a pizza joint, was our savior for dinner. I was famished; for those of you who don’t know me, I need to eat at regular intervals. The last honest meal I’d had that day was a tuna sandwich at 10:30 on top of Mt. Washington. It was now 8:30. While waiting for the food to come, I went outside to call Michael Valliant. While talking with “Tucks” I kept glancing at the kitchen door through the window. Somewhere in mid-conversation the food came pouring out of the kitchen. Twice in one DAY! Too good to be true.

--Michael "Wood Frog" Keene

PA Rise Up--Show & Tell

2008-08-05T07:07:00.004-04:00

A western PA sunrise atop a hill at Alameda State Park in Butler. When you follow this trail down the hill, you need to secure all personal items...

I wouldn't want to live in Butler, Pennsylvania (no offense to my wife Robin or any other Butlerites). But I am envious of my brother-in-law for his proximity to sweet trail running terrain. You walk out his back door, jet down a hill, across a street, and within about a half-mile, you are flying down a sizable hill in Alameda State Park.

On Saturday, I grabbed a Rise Up run on the PA trails, logging 1 hour and 45 minutes, with a few photo stops. Pretty well all single-track trail, with pretty rough (to a flat-lander) climbs and descents and very little level running. A good bit of the trail zig-zags along the top of a hill before the bottom drops out and sends you screaming downhill, to then zig-zag closer to the bottom, climbing back up to complete a loop.

The view from the trail along the top of the hill as the sun comes up.

Some things to note about trails in August in western Pennsylvania: no ticks to speak of; very little poison ivy growing across trails; much less humidity. It's year-round trail running, unlike our own Tuckahoe State Park.

A good run on the trails drove home how much I have missed trail running during the last month plus, and that I badly need to find some off-road runs in the very near future. Stay tuned on that front.

A dense back country forest? Nope, just a ferny stretch of Alameda single-track.

Running this morning--a standard 8.25 - 8.5 mile route up Oxford Road and back--also got me thinking about the Rise Up Runners and the "national" miles logged since we've been running together. During that time, I've run in Delaware and Pennsylvania, in addition to our own Maryland. Joel his hit Vermont and PA; Landy has been off to New York; Keene has had day-long hikes in Utah; Dominic put some miles on his feet in Colorado, just to name a very few.

So a few photos and a brief write-up of a road trip with run. That's my show and tell. Looking forward to a good Sunday run, route, location, and time to be determined. Feel free to add suggestions!

A Rise Up First: Morning Frog

2008-07-29T20:12:00.002-04:00

Keene, Joel, and Dominic emerge from the Oaklands Time Warp Loop during a tepid July Rise Up Run. "Morning Frog" notched another first: first Rise Up Tri as he ran 8 miles, then biked to St. Michaels, logged an hour swim, then rode the rest of the way to Wittman.

It was only matter of time, really. This morning Keene aligned his schedule and emerged from the Bay Hundred area to get a Rise Up Easton Run in with Joel, Dominic, and Valliant.

Wood Frog and I met along Rails-to-Trails at around 5:15 a.m. and ran up to our 5:30 a.m. meeting at da corner of Aurora and Idlewild. We discovered that this was the first official meeting of Keene and Dominic. The route for the day was Oxford Road, into the Time Warp Oaklands loop that has been made famous by both its chill scenery as well as being the course of the Hospice 10K (formerly the Wild Goose Chase) on the day after Thanksgiving each year.

She was close out this morning, as Dominic and Joel logged roughly 6 miles, Keene roughly 8 running, and I cranked out about 10 miles. Keene then showed everyone up by biking to St. Michaels, logging his hour-long morning swim, then hopping back on the bike to Wittman. I Rise Up Tri workout.

This was our first 4-person run in some time and it was nice to get everyone together in the morning. Hope to replicate it often and soon.

Editor's Note: Dominic and Charlie are not off the hook. They've had a number of options thrown at them. We'll hope for an update/decision soon. Stay tuned!

A Fall Race Call-Out...

2008-07-24T07:06:00.004-04:00

To preface this call-out, we must point out a couple things:

1. Running, and particularly Rise Up Running, is not about racing, but rather just getting out to run. Racing is gravy.

2. As a group, the RUR peeps are not generally inclined to call someone out...(yeah, right ;)

Well, one out of two ain't bad... As the fall racing season inches its way closer and closer, I'm throwing out a challenge. Lori, Don, and Derek routinely have target races lined up for every season, so this challenge doesn't so much apply to them. Landy has pulled himself off the fall racing torture circuit he had lined up for himself, to allow his torn meniscus to mend. Keene is finding races for every means of human propulsion conceivable. And Joel has a trail 10K on the books, which we will let stand...even though he already routinely runs farther than that AND did a trail 10K this spring...:)

I think we all know who that leaves--ahem, Dominic and Charlie. The challenge is simple: sign-up or put a target fall race on your calendar. Doesn't matter what, when, or how far, just give yourself something to shoot for; something to keep you honest and consistent in your running.

Now, generally I'd say 5K is too short--you all run farther than that every time you run--but trying to run a 5K fast is work. You also both bust out 10Ks easy, but if we are allowing it to stand for Mr. Shilliday, we can't really play favorites now, can we?

That leaves 10 milers or half-marathons, as the next incremental jump. Now, I'm all about saying that it's more fun to train for and run a race with someone rather than solo, but schedules can be tough. BUT, it'd be cool to get a number of RUR's out to a run.

Joel and Derek's The North Face Endurance Challenge in D.C. is sold out. On the same day, September 6, there is an off-road (trail) marathon being held outside D.C. by the folks at EX2 Adventures. Keene and I have run one of their trail 10-milers and it was well organized and a great course. They also have a series of Fall 10-mile trail races.

Road races are certainly acceptable as well. There is the Baltimore Half-Marathon in early/mid October. Landy has pointed out the Rehoboth half later this fall. And Lori has talked about the Bottle and Cork 10-miler in Delaware (I think is a September race).

Now, of course there are schedules, children, families, etc. involved, and it has to be something that works. We'll look around for some options and send em your way, but the challenge stands at one fall race. Simple. Once you've got one in mind, throw a comment or send an e-mail (Charlie is comment-challenged :) and we'll post them and hold you to them.

For me, racing is not the goal, but it gives me a goal, and makes me stay more consistent with running, and even beckons me out of bed on a day(s) where I would opt to sleep.

Good luck, gentlemen. The gauntlet is thrown!

A Rise Up Story

2008-07-07T22:36:00.005-04:00

Everyone has heard of a bed-time story...so how about a Rise Up story for a change? One that goes back to the RU roots...

It all started with an e-mail:

I'm trying to get into a little bit of a running routine, and I was wondering if you'd be interested in a trail (or road) run sometime. I can go early (like 5 am) almost any day or a bit later on Wednesday or Thursday ams and some weekend mornings. Let me know if you're interested...

It seemed like a harmless enough e-mail. Sent by a different person or landing in a more indifferent inbox, maybe nothing would have come of it.

Meanwhile, about the same time the e-mail was sent, Diving Dog Productions was having a meeting with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum about redesigning their website. Two of the three attendees of said meeting talked afterwards about running and hiking at Tuckahoe State Park.

A week or so later, the first Rise Up run took place--Landy, Joel, and Mike V. took a 5-6 mile jaunt out at Tuckahoe State Park. And that spilled into the first REAL (as in way early) Rise Up runs, with Landy and Mike meeting and running through Easton's dark streets.

I recall meeting Landy and Joel at 5 a.m. on Easter Sunday for a cold stroll around town and thinking how awesome it was to have three fathers of young kids meeting to run before their families woke up to find eggs.

We've had 3:30 a.m. starts (as well as the much easier 3:40's :); we've run to St. Michaels; we've taken interstate road trips to run Delaware trails; we've added members and had a streak of 5 runners meeting at 5 a.m.!; we've completed the first Trans Tred Avon run on record. We've added two new baby girls to the family ranks. And recently, we've had runners dealing with injuries.

But mostly, when we can, we meet in the mornings and run. It's pretty simple. And pretty remarkable. I've never been involved in anything quite like it.

And one more thing, while you're reading: we've had birthdays :) I was able to sneak my 36th birthday by folks, almost. Landy will have no such luck. July 08, our pal Landy flips the biological clock to 36 himself. You can tell he's getting older by the gray on his head becoming more prominent (which is much different than Joel's ;) Happy birthday, big guy, I am quite certain we'll have you back out here before you realize it!

So we live, we get older, we celebrate, we expand our families, we get to know each other better, we run races, we try new things, and when we're able, we run. Pretty simple. And pretty remarkable. It's good to Rise Up...oh yeah, and we drink a fair amount of coffee :)

The Highlander....There Can Be Only One

2008-07-03T07:06:00.002-04:00

Sean Connery as "Ramirez" in the cult classic film, "The Highlander." As we all know, there can be only one highlander at a time...

After a few months of early morning running, you begin to notice some peculiarities...call them coincidences. One that Landy picked up on was the fact that Dominic and Charlie never ran at the same time. Oh sure, there was the whole Charlie stress fracture thing, and the fact that you have to be willing to meet at no later than 4:30 a.m. to run with Charlie. They passed each other in the middle of our two loop "shift change," but never hit the roads at the same time. I called this phenomenon "The Highlander" problem, wherein there can be only one speedster on the road at a given time.

We're not sure who has the fastest wheels in our RUR group. In this case, the line of speculation concerns only the sprint to the finish of a run. This is not a fixed number either--from a block, .25 mile, or more, depending on who is trying to get themselves across the line first. Dominic, Charlie, and Landy are all quick. Current thinking maintains that Dominic and Charlie might have the high performance wheels for a good end sprint. But we couldn't set up the showdown...

Until this morning. Amped and awake from evening/night espressos, Dominic posted for a 4:30 a.m. start. He, Charlie, and I did our "Charlie Loop"--Washington Street, out to 322; 322 to Oxford Road; turn around at Cedar Point; back down Oxford Road, past the YMCA, through 5-corners light, then overdrive up Idlewild to "da corner" at Aurora.

This morning (the first loop) was one of the quickest paced group runs I think we've done. I knew I had to keep something in the tank for a total of about 13 miles, but you can't not run quick with Charlie and Dominic. The pace moved well up to the Y and I tried to spread the field as we were coming through 5-corners.

I opened up a decent run (but not a sprint) with Charlie next to me and Dominic right behind me, where I could hear footsteps--my goal was to instigate the showdown and let 'em go. Just beyond Hanson Street it was on. Charlie took off and Dominic wheeled out from behind me. Truly a blur as the hammer dropped and they cranked towards da corner. And the winner was...

THE END

Now that would be mean, wouldn't it :)

Charlie let out a YAWP as Dominic edged him out to win round 1 of the showdown. Somehow, I don't think we've seen the end of the competition. As the three of us were catching our breath, Joel came over from the track where he had been warming up to start loop 2 of our morning run.

"Nice to just see this big BLUR of runners go by when I'm out here!"

Thankfully, Joel took it easy on Dominic and I for the second loop around town.

EARLY or LATE running?

2008-07-01T06:07:00.003-04:00

RUR/Team Slug runner Derek Hills doing one of the only things that makes sense in summer distance running. Photo courtesy of Team Slug.

5:30 a.m. departures qualify as late starts by Rise Up Runner standards. At this point in the year, it's already light out and you don't even need a reflective vest or head-lamp. That's when I left my house on Sunday morning, turned up Rails-to-Trails and emerged on Idlewild to meet Dominic at "da corner" of Idlewild and Aurora.

Just over a week removed from the Booty Rumble 50K, I figured to get in about 12 miles and Dominic hopped aboard for 8. We started up Oxford Road a bit before 6:00 a.m. As we passed Cookes Hope and Oaklands, I saw a familiar face and stylin' socks coming towards us, so we switched sides of the road to say good morning to our RUR pal Derek, who I correctly guessed was returning from a 20+ mile run to Oxford. I figured, man, Derek must have gotten up in "the 3's" a time of day/night that Joel reserves for nefarious activities/motivations, such as crack.

Later Sunday, with a little e-mail banter, I was chastising some of our later-sleeping friends and lamenting the heat/humidity, when Derek revealed the true nature of his "morning" ramble:

"Early? Shoot folks, I was out the door at 1:15, headed out to Oxford. Does that rank? Moist, yeah, especially when the rain started falling 6 miles in. Made it out to the strand for a quick dip, took a turn at Almshouse and meandered a ways down Island Creek (I was actually feeling well at the time), then back out to Oxford Road. . .past y'all, and home by 6:30 ish..."

(pause for double-take/dramatic effect)

Uuummm....holy crap. And here I thought Landy and I were kings of the early morning run in these parts with our 3:30 a.m. roll-outs! Though I am not sure I could pull it off, I love it. I dig the whole attitude--get to Oxford, jump in at the Strand; allow the route to take some new twists. A night-time epic adventure on the solo tip. I've read semi-celebrity ultra runner Dean Karnazes write about this same idea as one he calls "Runabout."

Like many of our RUR crew, Derek has young kids, and it's a real motivation to be able to be finished running and have the day with your family. Early mornings are the path to making that happen.

But on the technical side of things, I'm not sure if Derek's run counts as an EARLY run or a LATE run. Sure, he left in the a.m. hours, but did he go to sleep first? :) Or is a 1:15 a.m. run one that you just stay up for and then hit the road. And then, doesn't that make it a late run? I think the qualifier for an early run is that you have to peel yourself out of bed after some attempt at sleep!

Whether early or late, that's a pretty damn impressive accomplishment. Not at all sane, mind you, but impressive. I have three ultra distance races under my belt, but I am far from considering myself an ultra runner. Why? Because I'm not ready for the "1's" yet. I'm not sure what Joel would say about that hour ;)

Rise Up Sluggers

2008-06-22T15:30:00.003-04:00

The Rise Up Runners had a strong showing at the Team Slug Booty Rumble around Killens Pond, Delaware, as Lori Callahan, Mike Valliant, and Derek Hills (Grand Pooba of Team Slug) completed the inaugural 50K event. Photo courtesy of Team Slug.

A full race report of sorts will turn up on The 4-1-Run before long, and likely more here as well, but wanted to spread the word and say congratulations to Lori Callahan for completing for first ultra-distance run and to Derek Hills for rocking another Team Slug event, and the third 20+ mile rumble/stumble since the RURs have made Derek's acquaintance.

There is a great race report and a slew of photos available at the Booty Rumble race page. In case anyone gets to wondering, we believe Derek was "testing" socks for old people during the rumble ;)

Many thanks to the Delaware Slugs for their hospitality, enthusiasm, encouragement between laps, and for the lunacy to host a 50K event in the middle of June on the longest day of the year. If you ever get a super secret invitation to join in a Team Slug non-event, give it a go. Some great folks!

Are Injuries Just a Part of Running?

2008-06-20T06:37:00.005-04:00

Former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theisman is among those who have lived the "injuries are a part of football" saying. Should we say the same thing about running?

I hate the Redskins. Always have. I can't even stand to hear Joe Theisman do play-by-play for a football game now. However, I would never have wished for the former Washington quarterback's career to end the way it did.

I was over at a friend's house watching Monday Night Football when New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor came around the end of the offensive line, took Theisman down, and I remember wanting to puke watching his leg snap. Then, TV being TV, they replayed it over and over, in case anyone missed it. Taylor jumped up right away, motioning trainers and help over, while both teams and the crowd were hushed as they got Theisman off the field.

It was a big hit, but clean. And everyone agreed and agrees still, injuries are just a part of football. That makes sense--you have 250-400 pound bruisers lining up to put the smackdown on each other every single play. People are going to get hurt, and they know that lining up, hence part of the reason for skyscraper-sized salaries.

But what about running? It's not a contact sport. Most of us never see a dime to go run. We do it because we love it, or because we expect some health benefit from it, or because we are insomniacs, and not being able to sleep, we need something to do to occupy our time...:)

Should we expect to get injured running? We've all heard the advice/admonitions from non-runners, "All that running is bad for your joints, you should take up biking or swimming, or even....[gasp!]...walking." It's much easier on your body.

This line of questioning comes about as various members of the Rise Up Runners have encountered, nursed, and/or come back from injuries during the few/several months we've been running together. Charlie picked up a stress fracture. Joel is day-to-day with foot/ankle troubles at times. Keene faced some big questions/decisions last year on his knee (though rightly, he is kind of old ;). And our latest RUR temporarily on the shelf is Landy, who I hope will post something more about his story, if he's of the mind.

For my part, I don't know the answer to the injury quandary. I am encouraged by older runners, who have run 42 consecutive Boston Marathons. By the 101-year-old runner who wants to become the oldest person to complete a marathon. By the older lady who runs/walks around St. Michaels throughout the year. There are a number of stories of many, many runners in their 70s and 80s, still actively logging miles.

I like to think of running as a positive, life-affirming activity, with the injuries that may come with it as minor setbacks, obstacles, that ought to be rested from, rehabbed past, and returned from, in time, and that the process makes us stronger, smarter runners somehow, and increases our life experience. I've read, and been inspired by, stories of runners of all levels and abilities working through ailments and injuries to do accomplish both great and simple things running.

But I still think injuries suck. And I miss not being able to run with folks when/while they are recuperating. I can guess that six weeks felt like a long time for Charlie. I feel Joel's frustration trying to get his foot/ankle right, and enjoy hearing when he's been out for a good run (since he's too much of a slacker to run early in the mornings these days ;). And I don't at all like not having Landy on the roads for an insane 3:30 a.m. start for an 18-21-mile run. But I very much dig their returns, per Charlie, and look forward to welcoming Landy back very soon. Albeit not soon enough.

Reason #11

2008-06-11T07:40:00.002-04:00

For those of you who read Landy's top ten list below and thought, "Yeah, you know, I SHOULD get up early and exercise... maybe I'll take up cycling?" I will offer the above photo as a visual for REASON #11: because running is SO much cheaper than biking. Sure it's tougher on joints and ligaments, but think of all the money you'll save up front! They haven't started making $5,000 running shoes...yet.

Easton is way too big for running tag. I determined that on my rare Wednesday Rise Up run this morning. I figured this out because I ran from 4:10 a.m. to 6:05 a.m. and during that time, I don't think I saw a single Rise Up Runner out there ;) Alright, I am actually pretty sure I saw Lori go by on Washington Street, as I was coming up Harrison, but that was a fair distance away.

I like to call my running route for the morning a "Deluxe Charlie TTZZ." For those curious just what a Deluxe Charlie TTZZ looks like, I roughed it out on Map My Run--voila. 13.1 miles from my crib, go up Aurora, wait for a couple minutes at 4:30 a.m. at the RUR corner, then follow Washington Street out to the bypass; bypass back to Oxford Road; Oxford Road up to Cooke's Hope (vs. the regular Charlie that goes to Cedar Point Road); back to Washington Street; Washington Street to Harrison; back up Harrison to Idlewild; Idlewild to Rails to Trails; RTT all the way to the North Easton Sports Complex; victory loop around the baseball field loop; then back to my house. I did a few pick-ups during the run and finished in 1:55, without ever really pushing the pace--the goal was a distance day about 10 days out from our 50K in Delaware.

With no RUR peeps and no ipod, it was an observation day. I startled a fox going out over Papermill Pond, who scampered back into the brush. I likewise disturbed the deer grazing at the Doe Cafe across from Easton Club; I caught a couple Talbot Sheriff cars zipping off to somewhere down Oxford Road, only to return in less of a hurry; saw a dead deer in the ditch by Cedar Point. And then the most memorable man meets nature scene of the morning.

As I was making my way back to the bypass to cruise back into town, a Chevy pickup truck turned onto Oxford Road, as a raccoon decided to scurry across. PLUNK! Front bumper caught him and spun him into a heap. I thought, this will be pretty as I got a little closer. The raccoon was laying still in a pile; I am not sure if he was stunned (I sure would have been) or part possum, but as I came closer, he literally shook it off, looked around and continued his scamper to the other side! As of this writing, his status is unknown, but I was pretty impressed by both his tenacity and his stealthiness. He's got a quite a story for his mates for the mid-morning raccoon coffee break.

With Keene's 70.3 triathlon under his belt, the next RUR runner with a race is Landy, this weekend at the Lake Placid Marathon. His wife Megan is running the half-marathon, so good luck to the Cooks on the road course on Sunday! We'll expect photos and a good report after the weekend.

And after that, Derek, Lori, Landy, and I are off to Delaware for a 50K fun run. Stay tuned and stay hydrated!

Top Ten Reasons to Run with Rise Up Runners

2008-06-08T06:56:00.003-04:00

10. Movie reviews from Joel are top notch.

9. Who needs sleep anyway?

8. Coffee from the Rise Up Runners Mug never tasted so good.

7. Brag around the water cooler about how far you went running while everyone else was sleeping.

6. Mike Valliant can talk about anything, and it makes the miles effortlessly glide by.

5. Run with and soak in the wisdom from an ultrarunning marvel (Don Marvel that is!)

4. Discover Easton's back roads and alleys.

3. Few cars, little traffic or gas fumes, or no other athletes to compete with for road or sidewalk space.

2. Beat the heat!

1. Because you can!

-- landy

National Trails Day

2008-06-05T18:35:00.003-04:00

Landy, Katherine, Sam (canine), Dominic, Lori, and Mike, along with Joel (behind the lens) hit Tuckahoe State Park for 10- and 7-mile loops to kick off the month of June.

On June 1, the RUR crew celebrated National Trails Day. Never mind that NTD is actually June 7 (this Saturday), or that we never talked about it--it was a lived experience celebration. Landy, Dominic, and Lori came out to rock the 10-mile loop; special guest star Katherine Binder and I took an abbreviated 7-ish mile loop; while Joel and Sam Shilliday came out to do some hiking while Joel nursed a bad wheel.

We met late in the morning--6:30 a.m. ;)--to head out from Easton, after some good rain and wind that came through the previous afternoon. Once June arrives, the "hazards" of Tuckahoe become more pronounced--poison ivy, ticks, swarming mosquitoes, and black flies. Our runs out there this summer, may get even earlier...

We all started together, and without a doubt, if he knew the way, Sam would own the course record for the Tuckahoe 10-Mile Challenge. As we split our different groups up, it became a nature run for Katherine and me, as we counted off box turtles, frogs, toads, and a happy decorative gnomes in a hollow tree along Pee Wees Trail. Katherine was given wise advice, that when crossing the creek on our loop, NOT to take the log. And as we came to the bottom of Turkey Hill Trail, and mucked ankle-deep to the crossing--the chest high wade across the creek became the highlight of the day. You've gotta enjoy that attitude! She fits right in with our water-splashing spelunkers :)

At the end of our loop, we caught up to Joel and Sam and chatted a bit, with Landy, Dominic, and Lori appearing not far behind us. I'll have to let one of them talk about their loop--the only report I got was of wet shoes and wet bridge spelling a nasty spill for Landy on Pee Wees Trail.

AND congratulations to Dominic, who became the most recent runner to complete the Tuckahoe 10-Mile Challenge, thus earning him the invite for the end of the year Beer-BQ. Others interested in completing the challenge should feel free to leave a comment or figure out another way to get in touch with us for route and times when we'll be hitting the trails.

36 on my 36th ...aka The Birthday Challenge

2008-06-03T06:30:00.006-04:00

For all those of you itching for another Mike Valliant-style challenge, I have one cooked up for you. Though this one is personal, it can easily be adapted to the distance and the theme of your choosing. I have never placed too much emphasis on birthdays, but I am certainly not against them. It is just that I don't like ascribing too much meaning to a given birthday milestone. Sure if something like this (are you reading this Megan) showed up on my doorstep I wouldn't send it back, but I would rather do something that I really enjoy on a birthday than fret about where my years are going.

This summer I am turning 36, and I have decided to mark this birthday with a run to match my years in miles. I have already run the idea (sorry about that one but I couldn't help it) by Mike, who also turned 36 this spring, and he seems game. (Go figure) So now I am opening it up to anyone else who wants to join in for all, some, or none of it. You can join us at any point along the route to run with, walk with, throw stuff at, heckle, or hand off water or food. Pick your distance and join in. Don't feel constrained by the 36 theme. We are running on 33 so you can run 33 miles instead, or 3.3, or just hang out in Oxford to ride the ferry across the river. You get the idea.

The tentative run date is July 10th which is a Thursday. We will leave early at a time yet to be determined in Tilghman and work our way through St Michaels to Easton, then out to Oxford. We will either end in Oxford or take the ferry to Bellevue then run to my parents' house and take a much deserved soak in their pool. My guess is that we will depart Tilghman in the 3's. That is around or about 3 a.m. for those still with me. Any and all are welcome to join us for some of it. Posting this makes it harder for me to come to my senses and bail on the idea. This will indeed be a challenge for me because I have never run more than a marathon ever. The heat will likely be significant, but running so early in the day will hopefully help. Feel free to offer support or heckling in the comments.

--landy

Are you experiencing?

2008-05-31T16:19:00.006-04:00

Gratuitous drugs and alcohol aside, Hendrix was on to something when he asked, "are you experienced?" Though I prefer to ask, "are you experiencing?"

"Will I live tomorrow? Well, I just can't say,
But I know for sure, I don't live today"

When I run with an i-pod, I tend to mull and ponder lyrics. And I dig music that touches on deeper matters (though don't get me wrong, a well-timed KISS or Van Halen song need not plum the depth to be just plain cool). My running buddy Jimi Hendrix has had a lot to say lately.

The above lyrics from "I don't live today," seem to sum up the way a whole lot of folks go through life--from home to office or cubicle to home to bed, get up, repeat, etc. That's a really scary proposition for me. If you don't decide how you want to live, someone else will be happy to lay everything out for you.

When I look at the last couple weeks for our Rise Up Runner crew though, I am encouraged and inspired--I realize that everyone here is strapped in to the roller coaster of cool stuff that life can show.

In one week's time, we had the first young'ens born to RUR peeps since we've been running together. Charlie and Pam's newest daughter Kate and Joel and Liz's newest girl Amelia were bookends to a packed week for them--and Charlie even managed to come back from his stress-fracture-induced layoff and join us for a morning run.

Mike Keene went out to Utah for his niece's graduation, spent time with family, and explored the beautiful trails, mountains, and people of the Wasatch Mountains. You can read about his trip on his blog.

And then there is this whole get up and run thing. The act of committing to running in the mornings; of deciding to extract yourself from bed when sane people are sleeping and experience your body and mind connecting with an activity that dates back to upright locomotion.

When you add to that getting out onto trails with scenery and varied terrain; when you add pushing yourself in a race to go farther or faster than you've ever gone; when you add coming up with creative ways to cover distance and connect with other people--when I get up to run, to do something I want to do for me because I am compelled to, then I know I have lived today.

Tomorrow morning, a number of us will head out to Tuckahoe State Park, and will explore our stomping grounds after a pelting, windy storm today. We'll return home from our run and spend time with families and see what else the day has. A question and an attitude I always want to keep sight of is a revised take on a Hendrix question, "am I experiencing?" Are you experiencing?

A Runner's High

2008-05-24T06:01:00.005-04:00

First of all, congratulations to Joel and Liz and future Rise Up Runner Amelia, born yesterday at Easton Memorial Hospital. I'll let Joel fill you in with a photograph hopefully sometime soon, but she looks beautiful!

I should say at the outset that I am not a believer in the "no pain, no gain" philosophy when it applies to running. You can have great running experiences without causing yourself undo pain. And I certainly don't think one should run through injury to be "tough". That being said, there is a different kind of pain with running that I do somewhat masochistically enjoy. The kind of pain that I am talking about is the burn in the trachea that comes with pushing oneself really hard and huffing and puffing, the aching in the legs as the miles add up on a long run, the overwhelming feeling of needing to slow down when really pushing hard for a sustained distance.

That kind of pain I like, if only for the feeling of contentment when it ends! Today I explored that type of pain, which led to a profound experience by the end of the run. My goal today was to run fast for an hour. I do not mean sprint until I drop fast, but a sustained aerobic fast, testing the limits of where my body produces lactic acid after I run out of ability to use oxygen- the so-called lactic threshold. I thought it would be great if I could maintain a seven minute per mile pace. That seemed like a nice round, albeit odd, number that I have run recently for shorter distances.

I ran an easy half mile to warm up, then waited at the corner of Idlewild and Aurora for a few minutes. No, I wasn't waiting for my running peeps, as Saturday is not a traditional RUR day. Instead, I was waiting for my Garmin Forerunner watch to pick up satellite signals and "lock in" on my position. It is a slow process, at least on my older watch, but eventually I was ready to go. When I started, it felt tough, being a little sore from the long run Mike and I did on Thursday. That was a easy-pace 21 mile affair that took a toll in soreness mainly due to the distance. Today, I was using slightly different muscles, or likely different parts of the same muscles or at least using them in a different way.

Anyway, I felt o.k. after a mile of so, and I was soon accelerating from a 7:30 pace into the 6:50 range. I was breathing hard. Not quite completely out of breath, but certainly unable to carry on a decent conversation with anyone. It was steady going until about 5 miles. Then things really started to hurt. This is the where the pain I mentioned earlier started to hit. I was maintaining my pace, but the will to do so was fading. My legs were tired, my breathing heavy, and I felt this urge to stop and walk. I pressed on thinking, this is my pain, I brought it on, and this is what I wanted out of today. Somehow that worked, and on I pushed. I actually felt better by about 6 miles and by the time I turned towards home on Aurora St at 7 plus miles I felt like one of those 16 year old trail horses that picks up the pace suddenly when turning for home. If I just lost you there, I apologize. If you've ever traveled west and gone on a trail ride on a horse, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

And then, halfway down Aurora Street it happened. It was something that I haven't felt in years. I felt a rush of adrenaline, then my legs went almost numb. Perhaps not numb since I could still feel them but the pain was gone, replaced with a feeling of strength that I could run forever. My pace quickened into the low 6's, and I felt strong. My breathing got easier, and I felt invincible. My thoughts became crystal clear, and I briefly felt both extremely connected physically to my body, yet somehow far removed at the same time. Then reality set in and my runner's high faded as quickly as it came. It lasted only a minute or so, but it was a glorious minute. As it disappeared, I slowed down and almost stumbled across Dover street having sustained a seven minute per mile pace for eight miles. I stopped short of an hour at 55 minutes, 15 seconds. My pace was 6:52. It was a good day. The thought of running for a full hour was now irrelevant. That would have to wait until the next run.

--landy

Pot Pie Rise Up

2008-05-18T22:51:00.005-04:00

Warning: Besides the occasional opportunity to wear matching shirts, running with a group (particularly this group) may cause you to run more frequently and/or farther than you may have run otherwise. Keene and Landy prepare to head back to Maryland after the Delaware Trail Dawg Triple Crown races.

Another Sunday and another 5:30 a.m. departure from the Coffee East/Diving Dog parking lot. This morning Lori, Landy, and I headed for Wittman to join Wood Frog for some running in and around "Pot Pie," Maryland. Keene was a gracious tour guide, taking us through strides of a run he does that Lori measured at 8.9 miles or so on her Garmin.

I have long envied Keene for the gravel roads, open fields, and water views he enjoys on his home running base. Temperatures in the 60's and ample sun made for a great run, complete with several attempts by Wood Frog and myself to make Landy run fast. This can be quite a task and is often best done by two or more people with interval bursts :)

Our sprints and pick-ups led to Lori giving voice to what could be an interesting challenge day--an RUR track invitational. Now, none of us are prone to want to run on a track. Personally, I stay away from them, as well as speed work in general with the exception of end of the run sprints and test-each-other intervals. But to get everyone together out on a track and have fun pushing 400's, 800's, miles, and such could be a fun (albeit painful) day. A Charlie vs. Dominic showdown would likely be worth the price of admission, though if you spread the speed over a decent distance, I think the long legs of Landy might outdistance everyone. Besides, that's about the only way I am likely to do any speed work proper...

We convinced Mike K. to show off some of his handiwork in the form of the Hooper's Island draketail, Dora, into which he's put countless hours, as well as two kayaks fully of his own building. And we got to scope the Frog's new shed-housed titanium commuter, a day after his longest bike ride--56 miles, getting ready for June's Eagleman half-Ironman triathlon.

Again though, for me it goes back to the company, the RUR folks, who once more, motivated me to get up earlier than I would have on my own, to go and get in a run I probably wouldn't have by myself. So my mind's eye today, kept the gravel country road and chatting with Lori, Landy, and Mike. And my mind's ear marched to a gravel-crunching cadence that Landy and I pounded out on about a quarter-mile pick-up down the lane to Rabbit Point Farm. One of those sublime rhythms that you just stumble upon and into, but not unless you get up and get out there!

P.S. It is also worth noting that this is the second RUR group run where we have cruised through Rise Up Coffee prior to making our return to Easton. A Bay Hundred area bonus :)

The Pony-Up Challenge...aka...The Assateague Ultra.

2008-05-15T10:15:00.008-04:00

The possible scene of one of the next Rise Up Runners group challenges: The Pony-Up Challenge.

From the road, to the beach, trail or no trail. Say hello to one of our next "challenges." An end-to-end run of Assateague Island, from Maryland to Virginia. On road and off. On the beach and off. Thirty-eight miles of mayhem. If you want a proposed route with mile-markers, check out the Map My Run map.

I like to call it, "The Pony-Up Challenge"...because, well, there are ponies on that thar island :) Some folks might call it the Assateague Ultra. Personally, I have not trod much on the shores where the route goes and I don't know if it can be done. But I bet it can. Obviously, there is going to have to be some dropping off of cars. And I might guess there could be a camping component and invited guests, friends, families, to partake in the camping end of it.

When I ran the idea by Landy, his comment was, "I'll bring the bug spray!" Indeed. But man do I love the sound of the challenge. This one could take some logistical tinkering. But I'm tempted to lay down the gauntlet to call it a summer challenge, meaning checked off or attempted by the autumnal equinox.

If need be, maybe this becomes a multi-day challenge, but I'm thinking it could be done in a single go--it's flat after all, though likely slow going at times. The route may need adjusting, could be a couple miles shorter with a start and finish that make sense. But there is something to starting with your foot in the water at the northern tip and running all the way to the southwestern boot.

For a detailed map of the island and more information, camping, etc., click through to the Assateague National Seashore website.

So break it down, shout it out, holla back. What do you think? Any takers :)

"Back to the Choppaa!"

2008-05-12T05:43:00.004-04:00

Joel, Landy, Keene, and Lori recharging, though still soaking wet, after a high water day at Tuckahoe State Park. It wasn't pretty trying to get a wet Shilliday into Landy's carseat ;)

The cultural tendency is to take things for granted the more you get used to them, or the more you do them. Most folks don't marvel when they start their car in the mornings or turn on a light at night anymore, though they surely did once. Thankfully, running at Tuckahoe State Park has not reached this point of becoming a commodity, at least not for me!

Meeting 5 people to run at 5 a.m. during the week has become a frequent occurrence for our Rise Up runs during the week. But it hasn't happened until yesterday on a Sunday, made all the more impressive when you consider what meeting in Easton that early means for someone who lives in Wittman (also known as "Pot Pie" for its backwoods goodness--try to come up with a better name for a hamlet). So we were especially happy to have Wittman's Wood Frog join us on his first "sanctioned" Rise Up run.

The discussion on the ride and beginning the run, among many other topics, was how wet the trails would be after a couple days of rain, particularly how high the Turkey Hill creek crossing was going to be.

Generally speaking, the first 6-ish miles of our 10-mile loop are not overly affected by tide or rain--they run on higher ground and not right next to the creek. We could tell at the various bridges we went over though, that the tide was high (sorry for the Blondie lyric).

After turning off the curves and climbs of Creekside Cliff, the exploration began, with our crew encountering water much earlier than "normal." Ankle-deep stepping, became knee-deep slogging, until Landy and I decided to high step it to a soundtrack of quotes from the movie "Predator," courtesy of Joel. We were waist deep before ever reaching the official "crossing." We hit the drop off and were every bit of armpit deep with a strong current as we pushed across and turned to watch the rest of the group come across.

At 5' 10", I am actually the shortest of our the crew that went to Delaware. Joel and Landy are both basketball tall and Keene is nearly 6' 0" (6' 2" with afro) and very buoyant. I am not sure how tall Lori is, but I knew she was in for a rough ride!

Joel moshed across the creek, before Keene went from waist-deep water to cross on the log, earning him the "What the #@%*&??" Award, though he says he was able to keep his shirt drier :) And then came Lori, who thought about trying the log, then tried her hand at the deepest Tuckahoe crossing to date, notching two historic firsts. After a slip and a why-not moment, she took a few strokes and swam freestyle across the creek! The swift current applauded her efforts by sweeping her through the quick and carrying her UNDER the log. Neither has ever been done, and Lori will own those monumental accomplishments in the annals of Tuckahoe lore. Well done! Her comment on the other side, "If I go home and get on a bike, does that count for a triathlon?" Indeed.

The bog section that followed can only be characterized as funny for its gunkholing qualities. The mud of the Little Florida Trail had us skiing down hills and stomping up them, until after running hard down a reasonable hill, a took a full body spill as the ground leveled out. Landy didn't signal a call, but I'm pretty sure I was safe at the plate.

The singletrack of Pee Wees Trail made for a fun run, with Keene and Landy pushing ahead, while Joel, Lori, and I came down the road and finished together.

A blast of a day, for its high water novelty, for the early morning transition in light and temperature, and for the company of the Rise Up crowd that got to be a part of it. I think part of the reason that Tuckahoe doesn't get old to me, is that it's somehow different every time.

Mudder's Day Sunday

2008-05-10T08:05:00.003-04:00

The Tuckahoe 10-mile loop, within the context of the larger trail system. Tuckahoe Valley Trail, Creekside Cliff, Turkey Hill, Little Florida, and Pee Wees are all run from end to end.

Peanut butter and jelly represent a combination that has done pretty well for itself. Eggs and bacon, steamed crabs and beer (with or without pickles and cheese), the list goes on. Tomorrow morning, looks like we are testing out the new combination of a Rise Up group run and a Tuckahoe loop. Any takers, we are meeting at the Diving Dog/Coffee East/Farmer's Market parking lot along Washington Street at 5 a.m.

Given the rainfall over the last couple days, odds are high for a muddy run. The game plan is to try the full 10-mile loop, run either forward or backward, but as anyone who has run out there will report, with rain can come impassable sections of trail, unless Joel brings a kayak or a Huck Finn-style log raft.

Keene and I have started Tuckahoe runs in the dark and caught the sunrise along Tuckahoe Valley trail, and that is something I look forward to any time I can swing it. In the few years I've been running out there, we've never had more than three people for a run. If schedules, sleep, and inclinations hold, we could have between four and six Rise Up Mudders. Another great Sunday adventure!

RUR Injured Reserve...or....The Trouble with Charlie

2008-05-09T00:04:00.007-04:00

RURs Valliant and Charlie Andrews after completing the Tuckahoe 10-Mile loop. Is this where things began to go wrong for Charlie?

If you want to read about the latest RUR run--the quest for Rise Up Coffee--I encourage you to scroll below and check out Landy's excellent report. I am going to take a different tack here and focus on one of those running stories that runners aren't supposed to talk about...

Soon after getting our morning runs going, I ran into Charlie at the Avalon, who seemed very interested in running early in the morning and in trail running. What's more, this conversation happened on a Saturday night, and come Tuesday morning, sure enough, Charlie showed up! And not only did he show up--he came to bear and even suggested a couple 4 a.m. starts. Landy and I have started runs in the 3's (much to Joel's considerable chagrin), but Charlie rolled out smiling and with perfect hair that early ;)

Charlie had been regularly running 3-5 miles a few times a week in the afternoons. He came out a few times, picked up the pace with us, then stepped right up to the Tuckahoe 10-mile challenge, and nailed it, seemingly without much effort. He made it to one or two more runs after that then some pain started in his shin. He hoped it would roll out on its own and when it didn't he got it checked out: stress fracture, out for 6 weeks or so. Dude, that sucks.

A tough blow for Charlie, and for the group, as his energy and humor are missed in the mornings and during our more substantial weekend adventures and races. Get rested and back soon, Charlie - looking forward to running again...

At least that's what we thought, or what we were told. Then the reports and sightings began. "Man, did you see Charlie at the Y? I thought he was busted up?" "Yo, what was Charlie doing at Cross Courts?" "Dude, I heard Charlie is working out at Curves!"

They were seemingly random at first, and we thought harmless. Then a pattern began. Co-workers began seeing boxes of vintage L.A. Gear leg warmers and aerobics shoes being delivered. Charlie's son was heard singing Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," after riding in the car with him. Then it happened: an anonymous RUR blog reader sent us this photo:

It had to be a joke, right? Our boy Charlie couldn't be busting out an aerobics step class instead of running mornings with us. And where was he keeping that hair? Talk began to get serious. Then he went from taking classes to teaching them. And from teaching them to home video. We couldn't believe it either. I'm still scared to order, "Disco Sweat."

We hope that this is just Charlie's means of coping with an injury. A temporary setback. We're still willing to welcome him back to the ranks, if he'll just shoot straight with us. We can take it. And let this serve as a warning to runners and trail runners nursing an injury and waiting to get back to more serious training: 1980's aerobics is not an alternative to trail running.

Get back out here soon, Charlie...I'd hate to see where you end up next ;)

Pilgrimage to the Coffee mecca

2008-05-08T12:39:00.004-04:00

Most Thursday mornings, we are content to get up, join a few others, and run around the town of Easton. I very much enjoy these outings for the conversations we have with each other, the feeling of contentment when we are finished, and lately the faster paced race to the finish at the end of our runs. But, forgive me for saying this, running around Easton in the dark can get a little old sometimes. There are only so many variations on a basic loop around town that even creative folks like ourselves can come up with. Sure it is fun to joke about how clean the streets look in downtown proper as we see the street cleaner diligently making his morning rounds, and it is interesting to wonder what random people and drivers are doing out and about at that hour, but sometimes, one longs to venture out past the confines of Route 50 and the bypass and see what lies ten miles West on Route 33.

Yes, today we ventured to our mothership of sorts, the wholesome, organic, fair trade and shade grown-supporting coffee shop that spawned both our group name and logo: Rise Up Coffee. Truth be told, we were itching to get back on Route 33, that lovely stretch of highly traveled road with just the right camber to induce twinges in the knees. But more so, we were jonesing for a really good cup of java, and we were willing to run for it.

Mike and I decided to drop a car off last night around ten pm, so we could make it a point to point run. We opted for the Maritime Museum parking lot because it wasn't quite far enough to go only to RUC, we thought it would be nice to run through a deserted St Michaels in the dawn hour, and most important, we thought the support vehicle would be less likely to be towed from that location.

At 4:15, Valliant and I headed out from our respective houses and planned to meet at our favorite thrift shop at the head of Bay Street. Mike was uncharacteristically late by about 4 minutes on my watch. It allowed me window shop a few minutes and to also confirm that there was not a woman in the window, only a manequin. Sure enough, Mike arrived before I had to run to his house and start throwing rocks at his window, and we were off. I brought along some new gear in the form of a blinking red LED light that straps to the arm as well as a cheap party favor version of something similar that my son Will got a year ago. I tried to convince myself that the more expensive version that I just purchased was somehow better, but all I saw were similar seizure-inducing blinking red lights.

We had prearranged to meet Dominic at the pincushion park and ride at around 4:45, and we arrived right around that time. Dominic had borrowed Joel's headlamp so we all were sufficiently illuminated at this point. We then set out as a threesome at a pretty good pace towards St Michaels. As usual, there was more traffic than seems possible at 4:45, but overall it was a very comfortable run. By the middle of the run, a pretty stiff headwind had developed, but the rain held off and the temperature, while warm, was never too hot. The time seemed to pass pretty quickly as we eventually made it into St Michaels, past RUC which was just about to open and to the waiting car.

We then doubled back to RUC in the car and picked up some tasty drinks served up with a smile by Matt. We even managed to deliver Mike back to house prior to the important 6:30 cut-off time. All in all, it was a very nice run and a good change of pace from our usual routine. I hope it becomes a recurring event.

Creek Crossing Photos from Delaware

2008-05-06T20:19:00.008-04:00

Above: Is that a Wood Frog or Splashing Airplane. Below: Who or what is Valliant pointing at anyway? Photos by Carl Camp.

There are some new photographs posted on the Trail Dawgs website from the Delaware race. Here are a few of the RUR crew that I could find. To scope out more, check this out.

--Landy

Aha! Look what I found...photo by Carl Camp from the Trail Dawgs website. --MV

TTAC Complete! A Sunday Well Spent

2008-05-05T10:03:00.007-04:00

(From left) Dominic, Derek, Lori, Landy, Mike V., and Joel enjoy a scenic break and ferry ride at roughly the mid-point of the Trans Tred Avon Challenge loop.

Forty-eight hours. That's about all it took to get seven runners into an Easton parking lot ready to embark on some or all of the Trans Tred Avon Challenge. We had some of our morning regulars, Landy, Dominic, and Joel; our second guest appearance by Lori Callahan; and a couple of newcomers to our group of running vagabonds, Easton ultra runner Derek Hills, and speedy marathoner Mike Bickford (Mike was so speedy he turned and headed back for Easton before we could capture him on film). Fair warning to anyone thinking up a challenge to throw out there: if the quest is tasty and the timing is right, watch out!

A little after 7:30 a.m., our traveling circus started its way up St. Michaels Road. The pace stayed fairly easy and the conversation was flowing--from past and upcoming races, jokes, stories, and plenty of laughs--time moved by apace, and we soon found ourselves heading up the shoulder-less Royal Oak Road, with Mike B. on point, since he was wearing the brightest green shirt. This route was a concern for Landy, who had mapped an alternative, but the Sunday drivers were mostly gracious and fairly infrequent. Mike B. was planning a two-hour run and said good-bye and doubled back along this stretch. Reports have him taking the equally shoulder-less Glebe Road home... perhaps looking for a motorist to take him on in a game of chicken? ;)

Dust your shoulder off--the TTAC crew making their way along Royal Oak Road towards Bellevue during the inaugural long run with a boat ride.

Bellevue Road was warm and the sun-baked conversation led to a couple possible future challenges--the Turkey Chase, spotting and chasing actual turkeys across a field (we spotted some, but did not give chase) as well as the Firehose Challenge, which is best described as a Fear Factor type of event. A warning to cross country enthusiasts--from at longest a 1/4 mile jog on the grass along the road, Joel came out with a number of ankle-biting hitchhikers. Invest in flea and tick collars early!

The timing of our start was to allow us to catch the first ferry leaving from Bellevue, which we arrived early for (ferry starts running in Oxford at 9 a.m.), giving Joel, Landy, and Dominic a chance to dip into the Tred Avon River for a cool down and the rest of us a chance to snack and relax as the ferry made its way over. Lori's Garmin had us arriving at the dock in 10.3 miles.

We had the ferry to ourselves as we rode to the sweeter side of the Tred Avon, and Landy's family--Megan, the kids, and dogs--checked in on us and said hello. We all stopped and refueled at the Oxford Market and then creaked the legs back into gear through town and up Oxford Road.

"The weather isn't going to get any nicer than this," predicted Joel of our 70 degree day. "It's only getting hotter from here on out." No doubt--if I could order up running weather throughout the year, it wouldn't change a bit from Sunday.
Alternate Trans Tred Avon Route
Find more Runs in Easton, Maryland
Our crew stretched out a bit along Oxford Road, with Derek working through some lingering calf cramps, and Joel and Dominic scheduling a pre-arranged pick-up. Of considerable note here: when Joel completed the Tuckahoe 10-mile Challenge a couple months ago, it was the farthest he'd ever run. His goal for the TTAC was to run about 12 miles to set a new distance record. He and Dominic made it seemingly effortlessly through 14 miles, up to Trappe Station, and stopped for moderation, not because they had to. Dominic, who has been running with us for a couple weeks now, may not have broken a sweat, and actually went and played tennis after the run. Those guys are each boundless energy and awesome to run with.

My two chatting mates now picked up by motor vehicle, and Derek a little bit behind, I caught up to Landy and Lori and pushed up towards Trippe Creek Bridge. With Derek's ultra experience (several 50 milers now) giving us comfort, and the toll extracted by last weekend's trail marathon somewhere waiting for Landy and I, the three of us pushed ahead looking for landmarks and waiting for the return of Joel via mountain bike.

I had the feeling that if I slowed down or stopped moving, I might not be able to start again, so we made a move across the Easton Bypass and into town, beginning to pick the pace up on Washington Street, and passing Joel's casa just as he was coming out to meet us. We had a mountain bike escort through Easton to complete our loop behind Coffee East. Total elapsed time - 3:48 (including the ferry ride, wait, and market stop), total running time 3:16, giving us an average pace of 9:17 minute miles over the 20 - 21 mile loop (aren't Garmins great?). Derek appeared coming around the corner into the parking lot a short time later.

We finished at a brisk pace, much to the amusement of java juicers in Coffee East, who couldn't have known that we were just finishing the first recorded Trans Tred Avon Challenge, having connected Royal Oak, Bellevue, Oxford, and Easton, and thrown a ferry ride in for kicks.

For their trouble and willingness to come run 20+ miles with us on less than two days notice, Lori and Derek were appropriately "mugged"--they are the two latest runners to receive the coveted RUR mugs. A good day in the schwag department for sure ;)

I rode a high for the rest of the day, one that still sits with me when I think about it or check out the photos above. Joel (and possibly Dominic) ran the farthest he has/they've ever run. We got to run with Derek, another long distance nut who we just met, and met Mike B. We got Lori back out with us, ramping her long run back up to 20 miles after her spring marathon. Landy and I proved that we could run 20 miles a week after a brutally hilly marathon. And we put an exclamation on a run I've been thinking about for more than a year, which seems an epic. That's a Sunday well spent. Here's to many more!

The Trans Tred Avon Challenge

2008-05-02T06:02:00.005-04:00

The key to the Trans Tred Avon Challenge is fueling and keeping leg muscles fresh while crossing the river on the Oxford Bellevue Ferry. Photo from the OB Ferry website.

In April, we brought you: The Mug Challenge. This May, we lay down the Trans Tred Avon Challenge. In other words, it just got a lot harder to get a mug ;)

The TTAC is a group run covering roughly 20 miles (yet to be measured, likely between 20 and 25). It will start in Easton, run up St. Michaels Road, and follow signs to the Oxford Bellevue Ferry through Royal Oak, Bellevue, with runners then taking the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry across the Tred Avon River. Once across, the run continues in Oxford, making the return route to Easton up Oxford Road, completing a loop whereby runners have made a successful river crossing and run nice-sized chunks of Routes 33 and 333. There may or may not be a cookout or post run soak or celebration after the run.

This is an idea I have been entertaining for some time, though never sure where to start it--St. Michaels, Oxford, Easton, or when to try it. And therein lies the danger (or blessing?) of finishing a marathon and not having anything immediately on your race calendar.

So far the three who have expressed interest in completing the challenge are Landy, Mike Keene, and myself. I know there are others out there suitably trained to pull something like this off in the next 4 to 6 weeks (if our new Easton ultra buddy Derek is reading, as well as marathon gal Lori C., and I won't implicate others by name...yet :)

There are a number of ways to take part in the challenge: the full-monty (no, no nudity, please) - meaning to complete the whole loop. The half-nelson - run either to Bellevue and call it a day or meet us in Oxford and run the back half of the loop. Or the parti-colored - run some part of the challenge to get in the mileage you want and call it a day. A really ambitious and creative group may even wish to make a relay with as few or many folks as you need to wrap it up.

A few things to consider - the TTAC is self-supported. It's a group run, you carry your own fluids and food. We may outline a couple stash places on the route, AND we pass right by the Oxford Market, where it would be easy to grab a Gatorade, water, etc. If you are running less then the full-monty, your transportation to or from is up to you. Again, the whole self-supported thing. The challenge rests on the legs or shoulders of those wishing to take the challenge.

What do you get for completing the challenge? Well, a very cool and note- and story-worthy run. I am not sure that a group of runners has done this before, sure bikers on a regular basis, but running and biking 20+ miles are different experiences, no? There may be a post-run shindig of some caliber. And, I daresay, if you are not currently in possession of an RUR mug, running the FULL loop may or may not :), be a means of acquiring one.

When is the challenge? The goal is to make it a group run and thereby accommodate all those folks who want to participate. Mitigating factors include call schedules, children sporting events, etc., so we are going to use the blog here and e-mail to select a date where most of those wanting to do it, can do it.

Are you Trans Tred Avon Challenge material? Interested? Leave a comment and maybe even thoughts about when you could pull it off. The challenge must be completed by the end of June, maybe even during May, but there is a pesky half-Ironman triathlon in Cambridge in early June that one of us (Wood Frog) is doing.

So if you are a gamer here, or think you might be, holler in the comments. Specify if you are going for the full monty, the half-nelson, or a parti-color. And stay tuned for our next, or concurrent challenge, cooked up by Chef Joel Shilliday: the Tuckahoe Creek Scramble, which will be much muddier :)

5 at 5 and "a Mugging"

2008-04-30T05:38:00.002-04:00

Dominic gets "mugged" in the pre-dawn mist, by Landy and Don after a 40-minute jaunt around Easton yesterday morning. Photo by Joel.

"This morning would have been one of those mornings to hit snooze and go back to bed," said Landy as we got a rainy run underway at 5 a.m. on Tuesday with 5 RUR runners--Dominic, Joel, Don, Landy, and me--our largest Rise Up gathering to date.

That's essentially what the Rise Up Runners group has meant to my running consistency. Alone, I had a hard time forcing myself out the door on a dark, rainy morning. Yesterday, there was no question in my mind as I headed out the door, looking forward to seeing everyone and to stretch my legs after a weekend marathon.

Joel proved his movie review versatility by forgoing feature films to focus on a documentary that kept him up the night before on Jonestown (Dominic was glad there was no Kool Aid in his mug). Conversation circled around recent and upcoming races, weekend trips--non-running related--and just about anything else that came to mind.

At a minimum, the RUR crew motivates me to get out the front door and go running. That's a gift in and of itself. I hate to miss a run, a chance to start a day with doing something I dig, in good (though shaky :) company, with other folks who have the same motivation to start their day.

After a finishing sprint up Idlewild Avenue, we took time for a proper "mugging"--with Landy presenting Dominic with the final RUR mug doled during the month of April. A solid morning by all accounts. The morning's chief controversy came thereafter--with the "bargument"--do you drink coffee pre- or post-run? That answer is easy for me: both!

Stubbornness Over Common Sense

2008-04-28T19:18:00.008-04:00

SARS Returns? No just trying to hold back the cough.

There are days when you wake up and everything feels "right". You know it is going to be a good run, you feel comfortable, rested, and relaxed. Maybe even confident that today is perhaps your day for a PR. You've been resting well, your training has fine-tuned your mental and physical strength, you feel "on". For good measure, "the sun is shining and the weather is sweet, makes you want to move those (running) feet."

Well, most of those things didn't apply to me the morning of the Trail Dawgs Marathon in Delaware this past Saturday. No doubt, the weather was pretty sweet, but the rest of it pertaining to me was a mess. I was just coming off one my worst flu-like illnesses in years, complete with a febrile relapse that didn't abate until Friday morning. I was coughing... a lot. All was not particularly well I would say. And yet I was improving. Friday was a better day. Perhaps just good enough to convince myself that I could start the marathon and drop out after finishing half. That was the plan anyway, hastily made at that moment where I finally was able to get through a day without aching all over. On the positive side, I was well tapered, having only run once in the last ten days. My legs felt pretty good due to that.

Yes, there was no rational reason for me to run the Trail Dawgs marathon on Saturday. I should have stayed home and watched my son's soccer game instead. And yet, I am a long distance runner. I don't have common sense. Instead, there was this strong desire to go up to Delaware with Joel, Mike, and Michael and participate in our first official Rise Up Runners event. I knew the company would be great(it was) and the trails would be beautiful(they were). I also knew that there would not be another marathon for me to run in the near future and having a race to train for is what got me back in shape in the first place after years of drifting along without a regular routine.

And while I am not superstitious, there was this nagging concern that I was stalled indefinitely on marathon 13, which I ran five years ago, and I felt like I needed to move past that number somehow. So with all that in mind, I met the crew outside Valliant's house for the early morning departure in Keene's mothership. It was a decision that in retrospect I am very glad I made.

The trip up there went quickly, and we arrived in plenty of time to get situated. Keene's first of three races, the half marathon, started five minutes before the marathon start, and he mentioned that he'd probably see me catch up to him along the way. I knew there was no chance of this, even on a good day, but I did hope I'd catch a glimpse of him on one of his other races throughout the day. Joel set off down the first meadow to get photos of the marathoners and half marathoners as they were getting started. Mike V. and I saw him again at the half-way point of the marathon, coming back from photographing the creek crossing over three miles away. His race hadn't even started, and he'd already done some serious hiking.

And then, it was time to start the marathon. I lined up right with Mike V. just a foot or two behind the line. It seemed like there were about a hundred full marathon runners which makes for a pretty small marathon field. But add those together with the half marathoners on a mostly single track trail, and it was plenty of people to navigate around over the course. We started and quickly went across a field and down a hill and into the woods. I tried to hold back some, but I couldn't really judge my effort or speed partly because I was finally feeling a bit better and partly because I never can when I have all these other amped up runners taking off around me.

Mike and I ran briefly together for a mile or so, and then I got a little impatient behind some of the half marathoners and started passing them one by one on the side of the trail. This used up energy that clearly I did not have. I believe Mike was a little more polite than I was and probably waited until wider sections of the trail to pass. For that reason, I separated from him and didn't catch sight of him until 3/4 of the first loop was complete.

This was the first marathon I had done that was pretty much all trails. I have done some marathons with sections on trail or unpaved roads, but not all trail like this one, and the experience was moving. The course had a little bit of everything: meadows, hilly single track, wooded grass roads, stream crossings, friendly mountain bikers, mountain bikers with attitude, and fly fisherman. I decided early on that I wouldn't save anything for the second loop, because I doubted there was anything to save anyway. I think I was right on with this assumption because I pretty much had a slow fade the entire run starting from the opening meadow. I felt o.k. at the first stream crossing and enjoying splashing and jumping into the cool waters while others around me tiptoed timidly trying not to get very wet. I am sorry if splashed other people on this first crossing, but come on, this was the highlight of the race for me. Even Keene looked like he had fun plowing through the stream full force.

On the other side, the crowd thinned out a lot, and I ran a good part mostly alone. From that point on, I don't really think I passed anyone else, but was passed rather steadily by others. I was fortunate to strike up some nice conversations with other runners along the way. There was a guy Matt, who seemed pretty young, running four marathons or ultras in a row over a four week period. He seemed to be cruising along effortlessly. Somehow, I stuck it out with him for a good part of the back loop of the first half until the second stream crossing. Then, by some stroke of good luck, I saw Mike catching up to me. This was the highlight of my race, as I enjoyed hearing how he was making out, and it gave me a psychological boost knowing he was kicking along looking good. We staying together until just after the half marathon point, walking some of the bigger hills as we approached the end of the first loop. I was struggling, a lot, when we passed through the first loop and into the second, especially having to see the half marathon finish line right in front of us. Mike made the comment about how nice it would be to finish at a half marathon and feel good the rest of the day, and I muttered something back I don't recall that sort of echoed my theme here about stubbornness and along we plodded.

The second loop is a bit more hazy to me. I ran it mostly alone, and my body and mind were failing me but in a very slow and controlled way. Mike and I started off together, but he gradually pulled slightly ahead so I could barely keep him in sight by the time we arrived at the creek for the third crossing. The water felt wonderful on my sore legs, and by this time it was getting hot so the cool temperature was refreshing as well. On the other side, Mike stopped to fix the laces on his shoes. I shuffled along, afraid to stop, and mentioned that I'd see him when he caught up to me again. Unfortunately, I didn't see him until the finish. But I had my own race to run so I puttered along just trying to break the course into very small sections, and hoping to distract myself with thoughts of aid stations or perhaps a talkative runner or two.

I was getting a little lightheaded at this point, and I could feel my body starting to slow down more and more as I was running out of glycogen. I was trying to eat what I could, but I couldn't stomach too much. I did manage a Cliff bar on the first loop and two packets of these salty gummy sharks that I struggled to swallow. I was excited to find a pop tart piece at the next aid station and an uplifting volunteer to boot. He got me going again, but I quickly crashed on the next big uphill. I ran briefly with an ultrarunner who talked a bit and helped distract me, but he quickly took off after half a mile or so. The rest of the time, I pretty much ran alone. I had several more people pass me, but not nearly as many as I would have guessed. I was walking more and more at this point and not really caring. In a bright, hot meadow, I had a little bit of a visual aura, the kind I get before a migraine, when parts of my visual fields are replaced by zigzag lines. Somehow that didn't bother me since my body hurt so much and I was coughing so hard that a headache wouldn't be so bad at that point. The headache mercifully held off at that point, and my scotomata improved. I walked, then shuffled, walked then shuffled. Somehow I made it back across the final creek crossing to the last three miles of the course.

By the last hill on the second loop, I was hunched over, pushing my hands on my quads and limping along at a snail's pace. I had a few people pass me still, but not as many as I had expected given how slow I was scooting along. Certainly others were finding the heat and the course as challenging as I was. In the end, I stumbled across the finish line in 4:48 or so. It was one of my slowest finish times in a marathon, and it took most of what I had in me to finish. But boy was it nice to finish and to have kicked this illness once and for all. Never mind that my "sprint" (read- slow limping shuffle) to the finish induced a bronchospasmodic cough that lasted for about an hour or so. I had done it, and I knew I would be glad I did it over the next few days.

I caught up with Joel and Michael K. waiting for Mike V. to finish, and caught my breath, took a hit of my inhaler, and drank a few glasses of Coke. Ahh, thank goodness for the stubbornness of the long distance runner. Mike V. made it across the line shortly after I finished, and we all relaxed some, ate burgers and hot dogs, and shared stories about the day.

My cough was so bad I wore a mask home, partly to protect my fellow RUR friends, but more so to rebreathe more humidity to settle my bronchospasm. Thanks to Joel, Mike and Michael for a great race day. Hope we have many more to come!

--landy

Rise Up Race Day

2008-04-27T22:20:00.013-04:00

The fearsome foursome - Keene, Cook, Valliant, and Shilliday, post-races, sporting handsome Rise Up Coffee shirts. Photo taken by a wooden-post fence, with Joel's camera.

Our 5 a.m. meeting scheme had a different theme on Saturday, April 26. We met on Laurel Street, piled into Mike Keene's Expedition, and headed to White Clay Creek State Park, outside Newark, Delaware. Now, Newark is a nice town, and home to tax-free shopping and the University of Delaware Blue Hens, but our reason for traveling was much more in line with our morning call to run: The Delaware Trail Dawgs "Triple Crown" trail races.

"It will probably be a lot like Tuckahoe, but with hills that are three times as long," surmised Landy Cook on the ride to the race. Correct in some cases, in others ten times as long might be more accurate.

The races on tap for the day were for Joel Shilliday, the trail 10K; for Landy and Mike Valliant, the trail marathon, and for the wardrobe-changing Keene, the full "triple crown"--half marathon, then 10K, then 5K, consecutively.

Joel modeling the race shirt he received for running the last 10K he ran, which took place circa 1973 ;)

One of the most interesting aspects of race day, in retrospect, is the fact that the races had different start times--namely Joel and Mike K.'s 10K didn't start until 2 hours and 3 minutes after the half-marathon. This triggered the wanderlust, creativity, and fastpacker in Joel, who loaded up his camera and hiked all the way to the creek crossings for the half and full marathons. The shots he took along the way of the course and of Wood Frog hopping across the creek are phenomenal. Perhaps he will post more than I put up here.

Can you spot the two Rise Up Runners in this starting line shot? Photo by Joel.

In addition to being the race day photographer, Joel also ran a 56 minute 10K on a course that is likely as tough as any 10K course around.

If you want some race report play by plays, you can check out the Wood Frog's race day on his blog. If you want to hear how two times around the same course can be so different when you don't eat enough during a marathon, you can check out Valliant's trail marathon report. I'd love to hear more from Landy and Joel as well--we'll see if they throw anything up.

For me, race day highlights include catching up to Landy and running together for 6 or 7 miles during the last part of the first and beginning of the second loops. Seeing Joel hiking up the hill as we hit the half-way point, as well as his photo perch at the start of the race. Also, learning that Joel went over and jumped in the creek during his race, even though there weren't any creek crossings in the 10K! Hearing that Keene completed the triple crown and lived to tell about it. And seeing the three other RUR runners cheering at the finish line after a long day of running for me.

Everyone finished their respective races. But how about some awards? The Ironman award goes to Landy, who didn't think he was going to be able to run as late as Thursday. Friday he was going to find out if he could just run the 10K or 5K. Come Saturday, he cranked out a full marathon. Landy may also be eligible for the Hold Up award, but I won't go there...;)

Landy coming out of the woods and onto the home stretch to finish the Delaware Trail Marathon. Photo by Joel.

The Multi-Tasker/Good Samaritan award goes to Joel for going above and beyond throughout the day. I was pretty well spent, chilling on the picnic blanket at the finish line, when Joel brought over hot dogs, burgers, and iced tea for all. Best damn hot dog I've ever eaten.

And the Boundless Energy award goes to Keene, who found time to stretch, refuel, and change into clean clothes between each grueling round of the triple crown, and then was still amped after, and drove our bunch of jokers home.

Michael "Wood Frog" Keene finishing one of three races on Saturday, on his way to completing the actual "Triple Crown" of trail races, for which the day is named. Photo by Joel.

So the first trail running adventure for the Rise Up Runners is in the books. I hope there are many more like it, to also include Charlie, who was missed; Dominic, who just joined the ranks; Don, who will wait until trails aren't involved :) ; Bardsley, who is rehabbing, but active on the blogs while he works back into race form; as well as others who haven't made it out to join us yet. We are taking nominations for the next RUR race road trip!

The Mug Challenge...Revisited

2008-04-24T06:22:00.006-04:00

"Still Life with Mug"--Everything you need to start a good RUR day--a bag of Rise Up Coffee beans, a handsome RUR mug, and a pair of running shoes. And yes, I am a dork.

It's a good week when we welcome a new runner to the Rise Up Runner ranks. Dominic Szwaja braved the dark streets of Easton at 5 a.m. with Landy, Joel, and me, both Tuesday and this morning, making him the latest to complete the Mug Challenge, which Landy issued for the month of April. As Dominic doesn't seem to mind the early rising time, or the questionable company, he's now on the roster.

As Joel mentioned this morning, initiation into the RUR faithful is mixed blessing--we are glad to see you when you show up, and we dog you to no end when you sleep in. In any case, we are glad to have Dominic in the mix.

Aside from that, what was to be an easy pre-race taper week has turned into the crawl of the walking wounded, with flu and injuries hobbling two (just when we seemed sure to have 5 runners meeting at 4:30 a.m.!) and the pace and duration of runs backing down.

The crew making the trek to Delaware this Saturday is up in the air, so stay tuned for a post-race report on or about Sunday.

And for those looking to score a fresh RUR mug, the challenge thrown is for the month of April. That leaves a few days next week to make it out to score some swag. After that, qualifications for the coveted mug become completely open to interpretation and the judges' scorecards.

Horse Country

2008-04-20T22:06:00.006-04:00

The best way to train for a trail race is to run trails. A truism, it would seem. So among the RUR "walking wounded" this weekend, Joel Shilliday and I took the last men standing award and went to Tuckahoe to do the abridged loop, to the tune of about 7.5 - 8 miles.

We fully expected to be running in the rain this morning, but the water gods slept in, and gave us a muggy 70 degree romp through dry trails. The horse gods, however, were in full effect. During the course of our loop, we passed between 15-20 folks on horseback, for whom you need to slow down and walk, lest you spook a horse, and make a bad situation for all involved. All were friendly, and it was fine sharing the trail today, with the equestrians, the fishermen, and one muddy borderline psychotic, who warned us of a water snake early in the run, and who we thought may have left a body in his wake behind him. If he did, it must have gone the way of the water snake, because we didn't find either.

Today was the first beat-the-heat day for us; it wasn't hard to break a sweat, and by the time we made it to the bottom of Turkey Hill for the famous creek/stream crossing, the cool water was like an ice-cold beer after cutting the grass. Multimedia Joel again busted out video, so look for a posting with as many as two crossings caught on film. And for our friend Wood Frog: there are no lily pads out there. She's every bit of waist deep. For those who enjoy the log crossing, scamper while you can. The boisterous Mr. Keene has guffaw'ed a threat that we might find a way to relocate the log, so there may, or may not, be a stealth, or noisy, extraction mission down Turkey Hill Trail, and said log may or may not reside at the Wood Frog's personal lily pad in Wittman before long :)

After the fun with cameras segment, and the cooling properties of waist-deep April water, we were fully recharged and mucked through the bog, zig-zagged through Little Florida, and then watched a bald eagle fly out ahead of us as made our way down Pee Wees Trail. I've been running back in Tuckahoe for a few years now, and that is the first bald eagle in flight I can recall seeing. A rare treat in a special place. If you haven't gone running back there, or mountain biking or hiking, I'd get back there before high tick and poison ivy season, which is just around the corner.

Joel treated himself to new kicks this week, and after a road run, creek crossing, bog stomping and single track stepping, I think he's got them ready to roll for Delaware. At the end of the run, coming down to cross the bridge, Joel kicked the after burners on and stepped up the pace, a full 7.5 miles (at least) after running hills. I think he is set to rock the Delaware Trail Dawgs 10K on Saturday. And with the gills Wood Frog is developing, as well as the scorching pace he blazed on the full loop last week, he will likely have a heavy-breathing, lactic acid-loaded triple crown on his noggin by day's end. As for the rest of us? Stay tuned. One way or another, my prediction will be something like: everyone getting muddy, everyone having fun. There's probably supposed to be a line about Wang Chung in there somewhere as well, but that just doesn't make good trail running theme music ;)

The Best Laid Plans... A Separate Peace

2008-04-17T23:05:00.003-04:00

"The Passing of the Mug"--proof positive that the Mug Challenge mugs do in fact exist. They are now coveted by the RUR faithful. Rise Up Runners Landy Cook (left) and Mike Keene, along with Mike's daughter Olivia at the Adkins Arboretum 5K and Fun Run on April 12.

The Rise Up Runners brigade were scattered today on a running Thursday, with best intentions of afternoon trail runs and other aspirations. I put in eight miles under dark of a 4:45 sky, with the company of Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, the John Butler Trio, Damian Marley, and punk/ska band Common Rider.

I had a good, easy run, the first solo in some time, having caught some combination of Landy, Joel, Charlie, or Don on any given Tuesday or Thursday. Going back to the basics of running as a solitary pursuit, makes me realize what a gift a group of friends with questionable sanity, plodding along in the dark is worth. For one, I find Hendrix's movie review skills lacking compared to Joel's.

There is a bit of a pre-race taper going on--scaling back the mileage and pace to leave fresh legs for Delaware on April 26. And then there are others among us, who decided to take advantage of a briefly opened trail running window, to go drop the hammer and set a new standard/record for the Tuckahoe 10-Mile Challenge. See Mike Keene's newest blog post about his 1:26 loop on Thursday morning. Congratulations on a great run, Wood Frog! We are all jealous not to have been able to get out there today.

Much to Landy's consternation, Mike was another log crosser today, which has the good Dr. Cook contemplating some tree removal. Stay tuned to see how that turns out.

Rumor has it, though no confirmed sightings, that Joel was breaking in new kicks around Easton this afternoon. And Charlie might have been on a conference call consulting for the San Diego Chargers as to their first round draft pick.

In any event, RUR mugs have landed, thanks to Landy, and are a big hit with the group. It is not too late to earn your own mug--join us for a morning run in April, or prove your mettle on a trail run or two. For those who have just stumbled across our group, please consult an earlier post, "The Mug Challenge."

Next general RUR run is Sunday, venue to be determined--possibly a 7-10 mile Tuckahoe run, possibly an early morning jaunt around Easton. Stay tuned and let us know if you are interested.

RUR Road Trip

2008-04-16T08:47:00.003-04:00

The creek crossing at the Trail Dawgs marathon/half-marathon/10K/5K/Triple Crown Races. Sorry, Charlie--don't think there is a log option to keep your shoes dry ;) Photo by Carl Camp from Trail Dawgs race website.

On Saturday, April 26, we'll be piling at least five of us into Keene's Expedition, and headed for the hills, mud, and creeks outside Newark, Delaware. Charlie Andrews, Joel Shilliday, Mike Keene, Landy Cook, and I are taking a trail running road trip to add some interstate mud to our repertoire.

Joel and Charlie will be chasing each other around the 10K course, I will quickly lose sight of Landy during the trail marathon, and Keene, who is a glutton for novelty, will be throwing his trail shoes in the mud for the enticing "Triple Crown," where you run a half-marathon, followed by a 10K, followed by a 5K. He will be the RUR experiment to see if any of us try that stunt next year :)

Pretty remarkable to roll with five head to a trail race, but maybe no more remarkable than having five head out running around Easton in the dark. The RUR mileage king, Don Marvel, is likely shaking his head with regards to our mud-hopping gusto--Don prefers flat road courses, where he can let loose. This despite having finished 3rd overall in the Appalachian Trial-happy JFK 50-miler in the early 1980s, in a time 4 and 5 HOURS ahead of where Keene and I finished the same race this past fall.

Me, I'm a mudder (shut your mouth... I'm just talkin' bout trail running... ;) . I have the most fun on the trails, and tend to feel I run my best there as well. So I am amped about the Trail Dawgs race. I can't wait--for both our respective/collective races and the trip itself, the time spent with the RUR crew, and the double-screening of the classic films, "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Sound of Music." Hopefully Joel and Charlie will survive without nightmares...

There is still time if anyone else is interested in signing up. There is a link under upcoming races, and you can register online or on race day.

"I am not a runner!"

2008-04-14T19:56:00.004-04:00

Or so my wife Megan says, with a fair amount of conviction. Trouble is, I have a hard time really believing her.

Here's a bargument for you: can someone run and yet not be a "runner". That is the question Megan and I have debated recently, and I am less certain of the answer than when we first started discussing the topic. You see, Megan has run a marathon before. In fact, she has run three of them. I know this because I trained with her for all of them and ran alongside her for all of them. In other words, I can vouch that she as done a lot of running. Over several years, she has clearly established herself as someone who runs. Yet, she does not feel like a runner.

When I asked her why, she had a whole series of responses ready, like "I never feel the runner's high", "I am a back-of-the-packer", "I would never want to run by myself", and finally "I don't enjoy running". O.K., fair enough I thought, but many of these reasons are things that any runner on any given day can think and still be a runner.

I have felt a runner's high, but not very often, and when I have it has been fleeting. I do however feel the runner's mellowness that Amby Burfoot describes nicely in The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life- a book that Mike turned me on to. He describes this as "simply the warm, contented feeling that almost all runners have after nearly every run". Actually, I think Megan might really like this book except that reading it might make her more of a runner than she is willing to admit. She does admit to feeling this contented feeling after run. In fact, it is probably one the main reasons she tolerates running.

As to being a back of the packer, unless you are a truly elite runner, you can always potentially be a back of the packer. You just have to find the right(or wrong pack). It is only a matter of perspective. No matter how slow you are, there is probably somebody slower out there. More likely, there could be millions or billions of people slower out there, especially if you include walkers or people who do not exercise at all. Further, no matter how fast you are, there is always someone faster. Even if you are Kenyan, this can be true. Back-of-the-packers work just as hard as front-of-the-packers and certainly run as far. I have very much enjoyed running at a slower pace in marathons with my wife, but it is frustrating to finish the race and have almost all of the food and other goodies taken by the faster finishers. That never strikes me as fair. Note to race directors, hold back some of your best food for the back-of-the-packers. They paid just as much to enter the event and don't have a chance at winning age group awards.

I actually don't mind running by myself, though I prefer in general to run with others. It definitely is easier to get up and out the door when I run with a group, and I certainly laugh a lot more on a group run. The time seems to pass more quickly and effortlessly. Yet running along isn't all that bad either. Some of my best thinking seems to happen when I am running by myself. However, the time passes more slowly, and it can be challenging to stay motivated on a a longer run. There also is no one to complain to!

That last reason that Megan claims she is not a runner is the hardest one for me to take on. Simply, she doesn't like to run. I like to run. I enjoy the process, the feeling of gliding along, sometimes effortlessly, other times almost heaving, but always feeling alive and connected with the world around me. I'm not sure she feels this. There are plenty of activities that don't give me this feeling, so I can relate to it on some level. I don't like using the stair-stepper, or the rowing machine, or really any type of workout machine. Come to think of it, I don't like working out inside at all.

So cast your vote, can you run without being a runner? To borrow a line from Mike V's other blog, perhaps "attitude makes the difference". I respect Megan for not feeling that she is a runner, but I still think she is wrong.

--Landy