King of the Mt Race Report
Leg 3 - 26.2 mile Grandfather Mountain Marathon
Profile - http://www.hopeformarrow.org/gmminfo.htm 2400 ft of climbing.
Conditions - Low 70's at start, foggy and humid. Legs were tired from the previous 2 days. Hamstrings and calves were tight, but not majorly sore.
Overview - 400 starters, 360 finishers
Event had a 5h30m cutoff time. Goal was to make the cutoff time with an upside goal of 5 hours if things went well. Race plan was to hit the halfway point at 2h30m. Get thru the big hills and mile 20 under 4 hours. Push thru or even walk the last 6+ miles in under 1.5 hours.
My training had consistent of 2-3 runs a week. One long run per week (topping out at 20 mi) and one to two 3-6 mi runs each week. It was an 11 week training plan. Definately worried about coming into this undertrained and short on miles.
This race kicked off at the AppSt U stadium. For those of you in the Great Lakes region, AppSt is the 3 time NCAA Div2 national champion and kicked Meechagin's butt in the big house. Two laps around the track and then out the door we went. Funniest part about the start was that I had never run with 6 gels and 8 shotboks in my britches. I didn't have my shorts adjusted for the weight and halk my butt was hanging out after a lap. I had to re-tie my shorts on the fly.
Mile 1 flew by...8:27 pace. Faster than expected, but my hr was in the upper 120s should I rolled with it. Mile 2 was an 8:41. We were still going downhill and the hr looked good.
Things get serious after mile 2.
mile 3 - 10:02, 115 ft climb, 132 hr
mile 4 - 10:29, 141 ft climb, 134 hr
mile 5 - 11:07, 233 ft climb, 139 hr
Felt good here. 1/5th of the climbing was done and I was holding paces below my 12:00 plan without blowing up the hr.
mile 6 - 9:31, 115 ft up, 184 ft down, 133 hr.
Passed numerous people on the descent
mile 7 - 11:29, 213 ft up, 132 hr
mile 8 - 8:41, 259 ft down, 125 hr
The downhills weren't fun and were giving the legs a beating. I was flying past people on the descents. Tried to get the done quickly and let the legs go to save the quads from braking. Miles 9 and 10 resumed the climbing.
mile 9 - 10:20, 125 ft up, 132 hr
mile 10 - 10:54, 213 ft up, 134 hr
Huge mental lift at this point. Just rolled into the double digits and my overall pace was 9:58 min/mi. It didn't last long. We turned onto the Parkway for 3 miles of downhill. The halfway point seemed like it would never come. Hips were hurting after 3 miles of downhill and the quads and hammies were starting to get tight. I felt like I was running in molasses here and was occasionally getting passed. I didn't realize it at the time, but the splits show numbers much better than I felt.
mile 11 - 9:06, 33 ft up, 75 ft down, 130 hr
mile 12 - 8:46, 43 ft up, 243 ft down, 125 hr
mile 13 - 8:16, 200 ft down, 120 hr
I hit the halfway point at roughly 2h10m just under 10 min/mi. I wasn't feeling great here but I knew I had started well enough that I would make the 5.5 hr cut off time. We were turning off the parkway and then something strange happened.
It was one of those steep hills that had the entire field in front of me walking. First I passed one person and I get the glance. Heart rate is rising as I drop another two. It was then that the pain just went away. It seem like people were going backwards. Usually I'm the one giving the wtf looks, not receiving them. Mile 14 had 39 ft of climbing and was 9:27 pace. Mile 15 had 49 ft and was 10:00 even.
I passed between 30-40 people in about a three mile section. At mile 15.5 I'm staring up a wall with a another dozen or so walkers spaced up the hill. My first thought was would anyone even believe that I ran the last half of this marathon without being passed by another person. That became the goal for the rest of the race. It was only .23 miles but I held an 11:30 pace up 75 ft of climbing and kept the hr in the mid 140s while passing another 8 or so people.
mile 16 - 11:29, 121 ft up, 132 hr
mile 17 - 11:34, 164 ft up, 137 hr
mile 18 - 10:57, 167 ft up, 136 hr
To keep my pace up I'd "sprint" the last 50-100 yards before a water stop, grab 4 cups and walk while I drink. I feeling absolutely stoked now. I'm actually getting stronger and feeling better the deeper I go into this event.
mile 19 - 9:58, 59 ft up, 135 hr
mile 20 - 9:59, 52 ft up, 138 hr
mile 21 - 9:53, 59 ft up, 140 hr
Miles are flying by now. Heart is starting to climb and thoughts of the hitting that wall everyone talks about are starting to creep into my mind. The good news is that I'm past the mile 20 mark in under 3.5 hours, easily a 1/2 an hour ahead of plan.
gps went totally fruity at the end, but I averaged 10:04 mi/min pace over the last "5.76 miles". Technically one guy passed me back in this stretch who I passed before an aid station. Absolutely nailed the nutrition and hydration. Actually had to stop and pee just passed midway. I never hit that wall. The only hiccup was the gps getting lost around mile 22 and not having my data fix. I was like...where's my data...how much further...how fast am I going??? Looks like my last 16 miles and change were at the same pace as my first 10 miles.
This event finishes at the Grandfather Highland games. I heard the bag pipes about 3/4 of a mile out and knew the end was in sight. We finished with a lap on the track in front of thousands of spectators. I'm running as fast as I can on the track. Turn into the home stretch and see the clock in the upper 4:26 range. It was all the "sprint" I could muster, but I crossed at 4:26:53, good for 161th.
My girlfriend and son almost missed me finishing. My son was saying to my gf will dad be coming soon. She would reply...probably another 30 to 45 minutes. She probably fell over when he said I think I see dad.
Funniest part is that if you rank my events by placement, I finished the highest in the marathon, followed by the bear, then the bike ride. Not sure anyone would have wagered on that.
gps had me at 26.74 miles, 9:59 pace. Official time had me at a 10:11 pace. I nailed the tangents on the course so likely the gps was the issue, but the course could have been long.
I've been riding a high after this event all week. Absolutely crushed it and pulled out a performance that I had zero expectations of doing. Soreness is gone and knees/joints survived with zero issues. Now I have to decided what's next.
Leg 3 - 26.2 mile Grandfather Mountain Marathon
Profile - http://www.hopeformarrow.org/gmminfo.htm 2400 ft of climbing.
Conditions - Low 70's at start, foggy and humid. Legs were tired from the previous 2 days. Hamstrings and calves were tight, but not majorly sore.
Overview - 400 starters, 360 finishers
Event had a 5h30m cutoff time. Goal was to make the cutoff time with an upside goal of 5 hours if things went well. Race plan was to hit the halfway point at 2h30m. Get thru the big hills and mile 20 under 4 hours. Push thru or even walk the last 6+ miles in under 1.5 hours.
My training had consistent of 2-3 runs a week. One long run per week (topping out at 20 mi) and one to two 3-6 mi runs each week. It was an 11 week training plan. Definately worried about coming into this undertrained and short on miles.
This race kicked off at the AppSt U stadium. For those of you in the Great Lakes region, AppSt is the 3 time NCAA Div2 national champion and kicked Meechagin's butt in the big house. Two laps around the track and then out the door we went. Funniest part about the start was that I had never run with 6 gels and 8 shotboks in my britches. I didn't have my shorts adjusted for the weight and halk my butt was hanging out after a lap. I had to re-tie my shorts on the fly.
Mile 1 flew by...8:27 pace. Faster than expected, but my hr was in the upper 120s should I rolled with it. Mile 2 was an 8:41. We were still going downhill and the hr looked good.
Things get serious after mile 2.
mile 3 - 10:02, 115 ft climb, 132 hr
mile 4 - 10:29, 141 ft climb, 134 hr
mile 5 - 11:07, 233 ft climb, 139 hr
Felt good here. 1/5th of the climbing was done and I was holding paces below my 12:00 plan without blowing up the hr.
mile 6 - 9:31, 115 ft up, 184 ft down, 133 hr.
Passed numerous people on the descent
mile 7 - 11:29, 213 ft up, 132 hr
mile 8 - 8:41, 259 ft down, 125 hr
The downhills weren't fun and were giving the legs a beating. I was flying past people on the descents. Tried to get the done quickly and let the legs go to save the quads from braking. Miles 9 and 10 resumed the climbing.
mile 9 - 10:20, 125 ft up, 132 hr
mile 10 - 10:54, 213 ft up, 134 hr
Huge mental lift at this point. Just rolled into the double digits and my overall pace was 9:58 min/mi. It didn't last long. We turned onto the Parkway for 3 miles of downhill. The halfway point seemed like it would never come. Hips were hurting after 3 miles of downhill and the quads and hammies were starting to get tight. I felt like I was running in molasses here and was occasionally getting passed. I didn't realize it at the time, but the splits show numbers much better than I felt.
mile 11 - 9:06, 33 ft up, 75 ft down, 130 hr
mile 12 - 8:46, 43 ft up, 243 ft down, 125 hr
mile 13 - 8:16, 200 ft down, 120 hr
I hit the halfway point at roughly 2h10m just under 10 min/mi. I wasn't feeling great here but I knew I had started well enough that I would make the 5.5 hr cut off time. We were turning off the parkway and then something strange happened.
It was one of those steep hills that had the entire field in front of me walking. First I passed one person and I get the glance. Heart rate is rising as I drop another two. It was then that the pain just went away. It seem like people were going backwards. Usually I'm the one giving the wtf looks, not receiving them. Mile 14 had 39 ft of climbing and was 9:27 pace. Mile 15 had 49 ft and was 10:00 even.
I passed between 30-40 people in about a three mile section. At mile 15.5 I'm staring up a wall with a another dozen or so walkers spaced up the hill. My first thought was would anyone even believe that I ran the last half of this marathon without being passed by another person. That became the goal for the rest of the race. It was only .23 miles but I held an 11:30 pace up 75 ft of climbing and kept the hr in the mid 140s while passing another 8 or so people.
mile 16 - 11:29, 121 ft up, 132 hr
mile 17 - 11:34, 164 ft up, 137 hr
mile 18 - 10:57, 167 ft up, 136 hr
To keep my pace up I'd "sprint" the last 50-100 yards before a water stop, grab 4 cups and walk while I drink. I feeling absolutely stoked now. I'm actually getting stronger and feeling better the deeper I go into this event.
mile 19 - 9:58, 59 ft up, 135 hr
mile 20 - 9:59, 52 ft up, 138 hr
mile 21 - 9:53, 59 ft up, 140 hr
Miles are flying by now. Heart is starting to climb and thoughts of the hitting that wall everyone talks about are starting to creep into my mind. The good news is that I'm past the mile 20 mark in under 3.5 hours, easily a 1/2 an hour ahead of plan.
gps went totally fruity at the end, but I averaged 10:04 mi/min pace over the last "5.76 miles". Technically one guy passed me back in this stretch who I passed before an aid station. Absolutely nailed the nutrition and hydration. Actually had to stop and pee just passed midway. I never hit that wall. The only hiccup was the gps getting lost around mile 22 and not having my data fix. I was like...where's my data...how much further...how fast am I going??? Looks like my last 16 miles and change were at the same pace as my first 10 miles.
This event finishes at the Grandfather Highland games. I heard the bag pipes about 3/4 of a mile out and knew the end was in sight. We finished with a lap on the track in front of thousands of spectators. I'm running as fast as I can on the track. Turn into the home stretch and see the clock in the upper 4:26 range. It was all the "sprint" I could muster, but I crossed at 4:26:53, good for 161th.
My girlfriend and son almost missed me finishing. My son was saying to my gf will dad be coming soon. She would reply...probably another 30 to 45 minutes. She probably fell over when he said I think I see dad.
Funniest part is that if you rank my events by placement, I finished the highest in the marathon, followed by the bear, then the bike ride. Not sure anyone would have wagered on that.
gps had me at 26.74 miles, 9:59 pace. Official time had me at a 10:11 pace. I nailed the tangents on the course so likely the gps was the issue, but the course could have been long.
I've been riding a high after this event all week. Absolutely crushed it and pulled out a performance that I had zero expectations of doing. Soreness is gone and knees/joints survived with zero issues. Now I have to decided what's next.
at the 6 gels/8 shotblocks in your shorts. The visual was priceless.
and more running, fat boy. 
There are lots of PTs out there who work almost exclusively with old people, people recovering from accidents/surgery, etc. They don't necessarily know much about sports injuries in general or running injuries in particular. If you are 30 years old and otherwise in good health, it's hard to imagine that you "can't" run. Find somebody who specializes in sports medicine, preferably somebody who's a runner.
---On my end not a huge amount going on. Did my first group hill repeat workout. Killing yourself up a 6% 1 mile climb multiple times is definitely more fun with a friend or two. I did set a new 5 min. power record at 319w (4.1W/kg - i.e. I'm still fat). BnB - I'm afraid to even ask what you can do for 5 minutes.
@ stupid hookers. Were they at least hot?
Glad my competitive nature is only against myself right now and not some of you.
:X 
I was floored. A few more localized hip massages and I had absolutely zero pain in my right hip.
after it was done I felt worlds better, but still am a tad sore. I'm going to take it easy this weekend and play it by ear. I'm tentatively going back to see her again next week.
x 5K, and if you ran cross-country in high school your inner runner is quite a bit faster than mine. Besides, it's probably impossible to approach a BQ without being able to run that sort of a 5K by accident, so that will eventually come.
