Limitless

I went to Happy Days after work today and ran 6 miles going around the Ledges Trail, a Pine Grove loop and a No Frills loop on Kendall Hills.  The temperature was perfect and my legs felt great.  Going up hills, the only thing that stopped me from increasing the speed more and more was my breathing.  It wasn't that my breathing was bad at all.  My legs, however, felt like they could go all day and all night.  I can't say once during the run that they felt tired.  The only times I slowed to walk was going up some of the hills when my breathing got heavier.

During these kinds of runs, your mind wonders.  These runs have a great way of allowing you to think clearly and forget any problems or stress that happened during the day.  Same effect as a drug, but legal and good for your health.

During the run today, I was thinking about human limits and the Bill Bowerman quote from the movie "Without Limits" when he's talking to Prefontaine at the end:

Your belief that you have no talent is the ultimate vanity. If you have no talent then you have no limits, it's all an act of will. Your heart can probably pump more blood than anyone else's on earth, and that takes talent. The bones in your feet are so strong, it'd take a sledgehammer to break 'em. Be thankful for your limits, Pre, they're about as limitless as they get in this life.

Human limit questions come up many times in all areas, but especially sports - Do humans have a limit?  How low can the marathon time go?  How about the 100 meter dash?

There's no definite answer except that there is a limit, but those limits are farther than we think.  History has shown that people get proven wrong again and again.  It's the difference between those that dream and those that doubt that determines how far humans push the limits.

Are the limits just waiting there for us to reach someday or are they just a moving target.  Once one limit gets reached, the new standard is set and new ideas, goals and dreams are created for the next generation.

I think Bill Bowerman's thinking that people are born with a special talent is, to some extent, correct.  However, I don't think that Pre's physical God-given attributes were his best talent.  A hundred people could be born with that talent and only one do something with it.  What set Pre, and others with his thinking, apart was his belief that he had no limit.

Burger and Ledges

I wanted to go for a run tonight after work.  When I got home, though, I fell asleep for a couple of hours.  I woke up around 7 and still wanted to get some mileage in.  I was pretty hungry so I decided to get a Five Guys burger first then run at the ledges for a night run.  The burger tasted delicious and the run felt great.   Not too sure what the temperature was outside, but it felt nice and cool.  I had shorts and a long sleeve shirt on, no hat or gloves, and my handheld flashlight with me.  Coming back to the ledges at night brought back memories of the LT Challenge - something I don't think I want to ever attempt again haha.  I parked at Happy Days, did a couple loops around the ledges and back to my car.  Didn't see anyone, but heard an owl somewhere hooting and some other weird noises that sounded like it was catching its prey.

Forget the PR 50K

On Saturday, Brian and I drove down to Mohican State Park for the Forget the PR 50k on Sunday.  Rob Powell, the race director, got one of the big cabins and graciously let us stay the night there for free.  We were amazed at how nice the cabin was - 4 bathrooms, about 6 or 7 bedrooms and a big living room/kitchen area.  When we got there, the long kitchen table was already filled with food along with lasagna and other good stuff over by the stove and fridge.  People arrived throughout the evening and we had a nice dinner and good conversation.

The race started at 7:30 on Sunday, so we woke up around 6 to get our bib numbers and shirts.  The registration building next to the start/finish line was buzzing when we got there.  I have to say, I had a blast walking in.  Every few seconds someone I knew called my name or said hello.  A big chunk of good running friends were all gathered here today for this race.  Nothing gets better than that!

After a speech by Rob Powell and Kimba about the course, we were off with a quick "3, 2, 1....go." by Kim.  My plan before the race was to get a PR despite the name of the race.  As we started out, I noticed the pace was pretty slow and we started walking some.  At that point, I decided I was just going to enjoy myself and not care about time.  I had also stayed up late the night before, so the first 3 or 4 miles were rough including stomach cramps and feeling sluggish.

After "Big Ass Hill" and a few other steep climbs, arriving at the aid station at the Fire Tower was a welcome sight.  I immediately saw Paul "The King" Lefelhocz standing there, so I paid my respects and bowed before him :P  I then saw Kim and a few other people.

For the first half of the race, I took it pretty easy and just enjoyed talking to new people along the way.  I met this guy named Samir who was really nice.  I ran with him for about half an hour and we talked about a little bit of everything.  He knew Brian and told me to tell him hi.  Samir was taking it easy today since he was in training for another race (an Ironman I think?).  I think it was around mile 12 when I left him and went ahead (he actually passed me later on and had a good race)

The rest of the miles were a mix of mud, hills, hills, more hills, rising temperatures, sun beating down overhead and cramping calves.  I had left my salt pills at the cabin, so when I got to each aid station, I ate as much salty foods as I could.  When I got to the Fire Tower for the second time, Kim gave me the salt shaker to take in pure salt.  I also had a couple cups of her soup, which tasted delicious!  After I left that aid station, I could noticeably tell I had an instant increase in energy and my calves felt better.

On the loop after the Covered Bridge aid station on the long road hill past the dam, I started running with this one guy.  When we got back to where the loop connects with the main trail back to the Covered Bridge, we almost took a left which would have been repeating the same loop again!  I stopped in my tracks and told him I think we have to go the other way.  We asked some runners starting the loop and indeed turning right was the right way.  Phew!

After the Covered Bridge stream crossing, my calves were twitching again ready to pull.  I let the guy go ahead, especially since he was on pace for a PR.  Not too much longer down the trail, this girl probably in her 20s came behind me.  She was in good spirits and lifted my spirits too.  She also helped me keep a solid pace.  I learned she was one of the "Grunt Girls".  I kept with her close to the finish.  We also caught back up with the guy I was running with earlier.

Rob didn't give us any slack on the last couple miles of the course.  We had one final climb over a few big hills before we headed down towards the finish line at Mohican Adventures.  I could finally see an end in sight for the race!

As I was nearing the finish about 300 meters away, my right calf strained pretty badly.  All I could do was stand there and massage it.  It finally let up and I was able to hobble to the finish, get my finisher's buckle and give Rob a handshake and hug.  I finished in 6:23:38 and was more than pleased with that time.  For complete results, click here.

I had a great time this weekend!  I finally know firsthand why everyone always has good things to say about this race.  Rob does a great job paying attention to every detail and all of the volunteers were very helpful.  I will definitely mark this on my calendar for next year!

Micah True

 '"When I get too old to work, I'll do what Geronimo would've if they'd left him alone,' Caballo said.  'I'll walk off into the deep canyons and find a quiet place to lie down.'  There was no melodrama or self-pity in the way Caballo said this, just the understanding that someday, the life he'd chosen would require one last disappearing act."

-Born To Run (pg 281)

Youth

Yesterday I went to the Kent Rec Center to swim a few laps and use the jacuzzi and sauna.  When I got in the jacuzzi, this guy in there said to me "I'm cold".  This was about the weirdest thing you could say in a jacuzzi, so I said "Cold?".  He repeated and I realized he said "I'm old".

We talked for a bit.  He told me about his aches and pains.  He also told me about how he used to play football and how rough a sport it is on the body.  I told him some about me, where I graduated from and my running career and events planned for this year.  He said he used to love the feeling of running the quarter mile and quarter relay.  He loved the feeling you get when you round the final turn on the track headed down the straight-away.  He also mentioned how he loved the "runner's high" and that effortless feeling during a run when you feel like you can go as far and as fast as you want.  He said he would give anything to be able to step out there one more time and get that feeling.  Before he left, he said youth flies by and you don't realize it till you're older.

After the jacuzzi, I went in the sauna for a bit.  There was one guy in there, who looked like he could be a professor at Kent.  We started talking about swimming laps.  He said swimming is such a great way to clear the mind, when you're out there you are forced to listen to the silence with just the crashing of the waves or the flow of the water interrupting the peace.  He said it clears the mind and is the best medicine out there.  I asked him if he just got done swimming laps and he said he had a bad rotator cuff in his shoulder and couldn't swim anymore.

These two conversations were a good reminder to take advantage of youth.  Do what you want now.  Do what you want while you're still healthy.  You never know what tomorrow brings.

Covered Bridge FA 2012

This weekend, I went down to Mohican State Park in Loudonville, OH to attend NEO Trail's Covered Bridge FA.  I've never been to Mohican, so this was a good chance to scope it out before my 50k in April.

The club rented a cabin for Friday and Saturday night.  There were five of us there for the first night and four the second, but with two bedrooms having two beds each and a pull-out couch, there was plenty of room.  Not to mention the satellite TV, enclosed patio and fireplace - we were really roughing it!

We started the run at 8 AM on Saturday morning.  The plan was to do the 25k loop and again if you felt inclined.  I ended up stopping after one and got 15 miles in for the day.  I just did the LT Challenge 50k last weekend, so I thought it would be smart to end my day early.

I had a great time.  The park is beautiful.  About 40 people showed up, a lot of them from around Mohican, so I met many new people.  The hills were decent sized, but nothing like at Laurel.  I'm feeling pretty good about the race next month and might even try to defy the race name (Forget the PR) and get a PR.

Ledges Trail Challenge

Dense fog lifting in the air and a crescent moon shining overhead.  A clear morning with diamond stars hanging in the sky.  An empty trail lies ahead, only to be shared by a few early rising deer.  Miles and miles before I rest, rocks and ledges and loop after loop.  Today I decided to attempt the Ledges Trail Challenge.

I woke up around 4 AM, got my gear together and headed out.  I stopped at Giant Eagle to get a gallon of Gatorade, but they were closed.  So I drove to Sheetz, picked up a 32 oz bottle and a Clif Bar.  As I turned onto the highway, I thought of something pretty important I had forgotten - a light!  I didn't feel like turning around now, so I stopped at Walmart on the way.  They had a lot of flashlights to choose from.  I was going to get a cheap one, but decided to go with a small Maglite for $30.  It's powered by 3 AAA batteries.  I was really impressed, for the size of it, the amount of light it gave off!  Without a light, I would've been doing 40 minute miles on the ledges trail and probably spraining my ankle within the first mile.

So I left Walmart and headed to the Happy Days parking lot.  I figured the Octagon lot was closed this early, so I didn't want to waste time driving there to see.  When I got out of my car, I tried out my light and saw there were about 7 deer around the parking lot, probably surprised to see me.  I got my stuff together and walked down the trail to get to the Ledges Trail loop.

I set my stuff on a bench near where the Happy Days trail runs into the ledges loop.  With me, I had 48 ounces of Gatorade, a Clif Bar and a couple pieces of pizza.  I got started at 5:20 and ran clockwise (and for all 18 loops).  The challenge is to do 18 loops around the 1.75 mile trail.  It's pretty rugged with a lot of scattered rocks and a few hills.  Brian finished the challenge last weekend and was the first to do so.

After each loop, I marked down my time on a piece of paper.  For the first 5 loops, it was like clock work.  Every time I finished a loop and looked at my cell phone for the time, it was 16 minutes.  For the later loops, my times slowed but not by too much because even though I walked more of the hills, I took the downhills harder to make up.  I was lucky that the Octagon bathrooms were open and had running water because my supply of hydration was not nearly enough.  I filled one of the 32 oz bottles twice with water.

Towards the end, you start trying to convince yourself that you've done more loops than you've actually done.  On my 14th loop, I couldn't remember if it was actually my 15th loop and I would only have 3 left when I got done with that one.  When I got back to my time sheet, I was pretty disappointed to find out I still had 4 left.  I sat down for a bit, cursed a little, then got my butt moving.  My legs were getting stiffer sitting there and the faster I got done, the sooner I could relax.

As I got closer to the end, I realized I had a good chance at breaking 6 hours.  I figured out that I could do the last loop in anything less than 37 minutes and break 6!  I finished in 5:46, only 13 minutes off my 50k PR set at YUT-C in 2009.

Literally right after I finished, my sister called me.  She didn't know I was doing this, so I told her.  She also wondered if I could sign her up for the Oil Creek 50k.  So I hurried home and got back just in time to sign her up.  The 50k filled up in about 5 minutes, so I'm glad I got her registered quickly.  I then entered myself into the 100k race.

Splits:
Start time  - 5:20
1 -  5:36 - 16 min
2 - 5:52 - 16 min
3 - 6:08 - 16 min
4 - 6:24 - 16 min
5 - 6:40 - 16 min
6 - 7:03 - 23 min (bathroom break at Octagon)
7 - 7:20 - 17 min (last loop where flashlight was required)
8 - 7:44 - 24 min (bathroom/water break at Octagon)
9 - 8:01 - 17 min
25k time: 2:41 (10:22/mile)

10 - 8:21 - 20 min (pizza break)
11 - 8:38 - 17 min
12 - 8:56 - 18 min
13 - 9:17 - 21 min
14 - 9:35 - 18 min
15 - 9:59 - 24 min
16 - 10:22 - 23 min
17 - 10:43 - 21 min
18 - 11:06 - 23 min
25k time: 3:05 (11:55/mile)

Total 50k time: 5:46 (11:09/mile)
Average loop time - 19.22 min