Black Mountain Marathon

I happened to be looking at my workout schedule for the upcoming weekend on Thursday, and was contemplating when and where to do my scheduled 22 mile marathon training run. It was going to be my longest run ever, and I was a little nervous about doing it as I have a sore knee and shin and havent run this week. Then I remembered about the Black Mountain Marathon and Mount Mitchell challenge on Saturday. I knew some people who went out to watch last year, so I was thinking about riding my bike out there and doing likewise this year. But wait! Maybe I could just run the marathon, knee and shin be damned! If I did decide to do it, it meant I could take the next couple of days off from running, which sounded pretty good to me. Maybe by Saturday morning I would be close to healed up! Great idea right?! Right?

Saturday morning rolled around and the nerves were in full force. Was I going to hurt myself really bad? Would I know when to call it if that started to happen? Could I even run 26 miles without complete and proper training?

The race was paired with the Mt Mitchell Challenge, a 40 miler to the summit of Mitchell then back down. We all started together in Black Mountain and headed up past Montreat then on some really great single track. The views were absolutely stunning! And I was feeling fantastic! Ah, 6 miles in anyway. It was great fun chit chatting with fellow runners and trying to figure out if my pace was good, and where I might be at in the marathon. After we exited that really nice section, the trail became a bit more difficult. Loose rocks and roots, gravel and standing water were mainly what the trail consisted of. More like your normal trail race, but this was a marathon or a 40 miler! The danger of twisting an ankle, or worse, doing a face plant were ever present. At an hour and a half I started to look for the marathon leaders to come screaming past me on the way back down to black mountain. It was at this time I tried to eat my first of three(I was hoping) energy gels. It was really tough getting it down, but I did it and washed it down with some water from my hand held. I was so happy I had a bottle with me so I didnt have to stop and get water. Perhaps I should have had some energy drink though...

I saw the leaders of the marathon coming back down, 2 of them, so I knew I was close to the turn around. Then I saw my buddy Mark Ledyard calling my name and I knew I was there. There were a few faces I knew at the turn around on the parkway, it was cool. I glanced up to the summit of Mt Mitchell and thought, man I am glad I am not heading up there! I ran into the turn around aid station and said, "what do I do now?". Monica Curwen said, "Go back down!". So I did. Its all downhill from here! Or thats what I THOUGHT anyway. And I was in third as of then. Feeling really good because I know I can get down some rocky trails pretty quick. I started hauling down the mountain calling out to the racer still coming up. Man I was feeling great! Well, almost. That gel I took was threatening to find its way back up on the jarring of the trail.

After a couple of miles down the trail, it leveled out a bit and I noticed I wasnt alone in third. Damn! I also noticed my energy was flagging alarmingly. Oops. Maybe this wasnt such an awesome idea after all. Me and the guy with me traded the lead for a couple of miles, him getting a lead on the flats, me pulling ahead on the steep sections. But then he told me we werent heading down the way we came up on the soft single track, but down another gravely switchback section AFTER we ran 2 miles of flat trail. And thats where my hopes for getting on the podium slipped away.

I knew I didnt have much in the tank, and definitely not on some flats. No gravity, no way. He pulled ahead and I was alone. All alone. My brain wasnt functioning as it should either. I came to the last couple of miles on the road back into Black Mountain and I started to think I was off course. There was nobody in sight either direction, and though there were flags to follow, I was thinking those were the flags for the course on the way out. By this time I was jogging at best. 9+ minute miles probably. I ran a mile or so and finally saw a guy and asked him if I was on the course, and I was. He then helpfully pointed out I had 12 more minutes to go. "Oh No! There is NO WAY I can run 12 more minutes!", I either thought or said. I put a really scary grimace on my on my face, head down, and kept going. I looked behind me, and inexplicably, there was no one there. Could I somehow still finish top 4? Yes. Barely. On the way around the lake to the finish two guys finally did come up behind me, but I somehow found enough to kick it in a little to hold them off. Right after crossing the line a had to liberate the gel that so badly wanted freedom from my belly. Whoa! A marathon! And a tough one to boot! Thank you to all the support volunteers out on the course, you guys were awesome! I had a fantastic time, for 20 miles anyway!

Triathlon Training Clinic this Thursday!

Our Hearn's Triathlon Racing Team was featured today in a Mountain Express Blog for our upcoming Triathlon Training Clinic this week. Check it out!

If you would like to attend the event, you can sign up here on our Facebook page.

16 mile marathon training run/2nd place at Asheville on Bikes(AOB) tourist trap alley cat! (best day ever!)

Easily one of the top 5 days in all my life. No kidding. Lets start with the weather. It was 50 by 10am! When I started my run at noon it was near 60! Shorts and shirt sleaves weather, which is what I wore. I met my buddy Jeff Hope and we headed up the trails above UNCA, then down to Beaver lake and around. We parted ways at Jus Runnin where I stopped in to get some water and thanks Norm for my new Nikes, which are working out great. I then headed up town mountain and finished off the run with 35 minutes at marathon pace.

Now the real fun began! 10 minutes after returning from my run, Yoko and I got our town bikes out(mine is a viscount converted to a fixed gear circa 1976 I built up at hearns a few years ago) and headed downtown to the asheville on bikes alley cat bike race. The weather was absolutely unbelievable! Mid 60's by this point. We got there with not quite enough time before the race started to get food. Yikes! I need calories! But its all good, I had a gel on my run, and we were going to have to drink a beer somewhere for points I was sure. So there are about 20 or 30 teams all decked out as tourists on all different kinds of sweet bikes. It was amazing. The organizers give us our packets containing all of our destinations and bonus point possibilities and we were all off in different directions! We had a good plan from the start, or should I say, Yoko had a good plan. My mind wasnt working so well, I needed food! Long story shortened, we had an absolutely great time riding all over the city and beyond on such a beautiful day. People were out everywhere enjoying the weather. There were a couple of brain teasers that I had no chance of doing given that my brain works sporadically to begin with, and less so when I am bonking hardcore. But Yoko did an amazing job with those, and we got all of the bonus points! All told we raced around for over 2 hours and did nearly everything on the list. I even went up to the Grove Park Inn and got a picture at the big fire place. We just kept looking at each other and exclaiming what fun we were having and how great the weather was! We came on back to Asheville Pizza and had a nice dinner and waited on awards. What do you know? We got 2nd place! Thank you AOB, keep up the good work! Look forward to the next event you guys put on..

Double Brick 2*(30 min bike + 3 mile run) by ryan.madamba at Garmin Connect - Details

Double Brick 2*(30 min bike + 3 mile run) by ryan.madamba at Garmin Connect - Details

Yesterday was my first day on the track at Amboy Rd for 2011. It was a good one, did a double Brick workout. Starting with warm up then going into 15 minutes at 140 HR, 15 minutes 150 HR, then transition to 9 laps on the track about 3 miles of running. The run was supposed to descend or go faster each mile (3 laps). Then we did it again this time the run ascended pace each mile.

The graph on the Garmin link shows HR and speed over time. You can see the transition from bike to run and run to bike when there is a dip in speed, HR also goes down during transition.

I was happy with this for the first one of the year, and I am looking forward to doing again in the coming weeks to analyze the data. Essentially this was the bike, run leg of an Olympic distance triathlon broken. With about 12 weeks till St. Anthony's I will plan to do this about 8 times before the race it helps with transition and getting the legs ready to run off the bike.

Working out all the kinks with Myers Chiropractic

As a competitive athlete, I am constantly having various aches and pains from training and racing. Today I was fortunate enough to have a much needed chiropractic appointment with Brent Myers at Myer's Chiropractic in Asheville, NC. 

I was always reluctant to use chiropractic care because of a bad experience when I was a pre-teen. However, one of my super, fast runner friends encouraged me to give Brent a try last year when I was battling with a hip injury. Brent has quite the knack for working with the most "hesitant" patients.  He puts patients at ease with his down-to-earth, easy going and fun personality.  His ART therapy (Active Release Therapy) and adjustments have done wonders for me staying healthy and active in my triathlon sports. Brent not only knows how to treat athletes with adjustment and ART, he also has a wealth of knowledge about supplementation that I am always eager to hear when I meet with him. If you are one of those "on the fencers" when it comes to seeing a chiropractor, I would recommend coming tomorrow night to this free party at the chiropractic office. Hope to see you there! 

Wine and Wellness Party at Myer's Chirporactic in Asheville, NC

10 Foods to Fight Inflammation and Keep You Healthy this Cold Season

Start the Year off right, learn how to eat and be healthier 
Come enjoy yummy food, prizes, and a brief talk on foods to fight inflammation, Oh, and a little wine too, heart healthy red of course.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161869593849476

Hot chocolate 10k

Hey, cant win em all. I thought I had a good game plan and was in good enough shape going into this race, but the weather and the course both had a little something up their sleeves. It was cold! who would have guessed? January in the mountains? It was somewhere in the teens at the start I think. Had a good time warming up and chatting with my fellow landscaper Seth. Maybe I would have gone a little harder on him during our warm up if I had known he was going to beat me out of an award even though he wasnt near running shape. Runners...

I feel like I went out very easy, first mile downhill at 5:30, and settled in to what I hoped would be controlled 6 minute miles. Through 3 miles all systems were go, 17:30, but I guess the head wind coming back took a toll on me that I didnt feel. Still not sure where I lost the time, had trouble at the start with my watch, but I had enough to have one of my better miles between 5 and 6. Then came the hill. I had recently passed some of my contemporaries, and gave it all I had to keep them at bay, but was saddened to say the least when I rounded the last STEEP turn and found the clock reading 38 minutes. I mean, really? Well, it was fun, and I gave it everything I had. Felt good and think I raced smart, just didnt reach my ultimate goal of 37 minutes. Another day Mr clock.

Intensity!

Total intensity! Loved it!!

 INTENSE! Is the first word I said after I finished this first race of the 2011 season. I am typically a distance athlete and haven't done just a 5k race for a long, long time. I decided this past week that since I was already going to be doing a long training ride in Greenville, SC on Saturday, that I might as well add a 5k race to the training plan for that day. I thought it would be a good kick start to the season for me and would get those fast twitch muscles moving again.

 

Downhill finish, sweet!

 The Downtown Greenville 5k race was a perfect choice for my race season opener! The race was very well-organized with almost 1800 runners. It was so cold, in the 20s, at the start of the race, that I took as much time as I could just running back and forth to stay somewhat warm. Unfortunately, I placed myself behind about 1000 people in the starting line... and really regretted that as I tried to run my first mile. My first mile was the slowest at a 7:22 pace. I had a difficult time trying to get around people, there was just so many of them! After the first mile, I was able to pick up the pace and get in a nice groove for my 2nd mile, even thought it was uphill I was feeling strong and great. After I saw the 2nd mile mark at 13 minutes, I was thinking, wow, I only have one more mile left... I gotta get going here. I picked it up as much as possible but the headwind and cold was quite challenging to keep a flowing rhythm.

Everything is frozen! Brrr! 20s at start of race!

Almost 1800 runners lining up for race start!

After we rounded the corner at the top of the Main Street, I saw that it was going to be a downhill to the finish line. Yippee!  For this time of year, I was pleased to come out with a 2nd place AG win out of 134 girls in my Age Group. The distance athlete in me really had a hard time getting going til that 3rd mile, but it was so intense and fun and I was so glad that I did it. Immediately after the run it was time to really get some good training in, so I joined in with the good folks at the Carolina Triathlon shop and did the Winter Bike League Ride. We rode a good, steady 63 miles in the blustery cold. I felt great all through the ride and am glad I was able to get all that training in especially in January! My base training is coming along and I am getting excited that I get to start racing more and more!