After crossing the Stream during the BRRC Sweet Air Trail Race Sunday

I am definately getting stronger on my back to back runs.  It is reassuring to feel the progress. Here is a recap of the week:

Tuesday July 6: A hot and humid 7 miles – Air quality alert was RED for Baltimore, temps to hit 105º but it felt hotter due to the humidity.

Thursday July 8: 6 miles with stairs – This was a tough one. Very hot very humid (sound familiar?) I got up extra early and went downtown to hit a great set of stairs that climb Federal Hill near the Baltimore Harbor. Once up the stairs you can loop the park and hit the stairs again and again. It is almost a perfect quarter mile, so at least 4 good stair climbs a mile. (see the picture of the stairs bellow)

Saturday July 10: 12.28 miles Group run with the Baltimore Road Runners Club – Nice run made even better when it started to rain. It is a lot of fun running with the BRRC, some good people show up for these runs at all levels.

Sunday July 11: 16 miles, 6.5 miles in a BRRC trail race then 9.5 miles on my own – I had a great running day. Starting with the BRRC Sweet Air Trail race. I took off nice and easy and just got stronger as the race continued. I don’t normally pick people off but today I was in a grove and doing some passing.  I don’t know what it was about today, I was running strong.  Several BRRC and Dailymile people were in attendance.

Review of the BRRC Sweet Air Trail Race

This was probably my favorite trail race ever.  The trail was beautiful, there were two stream crossings, mud, technical rocky areas, soft shaded stretches and steep climbs.  The people there were all supportive and there to have fun.  The cost of the race was $2 for BRRC members $5 for non-members.  You can’t beat that.

Don’t forget.  I am raising funds for the Baltimore Child Abuse Center, please give.

Thursday's stairs

BRRC meet up on Saturday

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Brian L. Stephanie M. Brodie W. and Me

So about two months ago I was messaging back and forth with Stephanie M. on dailymile.  We were thinking it would be fun to run a race together, Stephanie mentioned The North Face Challenge in DC.  I wrote her back and let her know that I was registered.  She said I was nuts and she registered too.  We were kinda nuts we only had about six weeks to get ready for a trail marathon.  If you know anything about road running vs trail running, you know trail running is harder.  I emailed Brodie and roped him into the madness too.  We are running enablers, its a good thing.

June 5th came fast and the next thing I know I am waking up at 5 a.m. getting my gear together and rushing out the door to go pick up Brodie.  I left something in the house so I ran back to the house, as I was running I stepped on the hose and slightly turned my left ankle (FORESHADOW ALERT).  I hopped back in the car and picked up Brodie stopped at Starbucks and got my pre-run ritual meal: tall coffee, slice of banana walnut bread, and a black cherry yogurt.  Brodie knew some back roads and we were to the shuttle bus before we knew it.  We met Linda on the bus and she hung out with us until the start of the race.

Stephanie pickin' up packets

Stephanie picked up my packet for me the night before so I was eagerly awaiting her arrival.  From a distance I saw her orange dailymile t-shirt.  We had a Hallmark moment as we opened arm hugged.  It was the first time we met, but just like when I met Steve S. and Andy O. it was like we already knew each other and were old friends.  It was hot out there and I was already sweating.  Another dailymiler Brian L. showed up too. Now we were all together, Brodie, Stephanie, Linda, Brian, and me all just waiting for the start of the race.  It came fast enough.

All five of us started the run together and the terrain was deceptively easy for the first couple of miles.  I came to run with Stephanie so I made sure I didn’t lose her in the crowd.  The trail got harder and hotter.  I was dripping with sweat, I couldn’t be any wetter.  Stephanie was wearing a little green sparkle skirt that made a lot of people smile and comment.  For most of the first 13.1 miles I kept hearing “I love your skirt” when I wasn’t hearing that I was hearing Stephanie cheering on other runners.  I found out that she was a cheerleader in high school and college.

Spotting Mark at the 1/2 way

Stephanie had planned on only running 13.1 miles of the event.  When we made it close to the half way point we spotted Jason P. from dailymile and then Stephanie’s husband Mark.  We said a quick hello and made it to the aid station where we filled up on water and nutrition.  Did I mention it was super hot and humid.  I went through 64 oz. of water in 13.1 miles.  We saw Greg S. from dailymile at the aid station, he was pacing a friend doing the 50 miles.  I said my goodbyes to Stephanie and got back on the trails.

I felt good at this point and started to pick up the pace.  It was fun I was passing a lot of people.  I knew I still had a long way to go so I tried to keep myself from getting carried away.  By the time I started to really feel the distance I was pretty over heated.  Having the Camelbak with 64 oz. of water turned out to be a life saver as I gulped enduralytes, Stinger gels, Clif Bloks and loads of water.  It was seven miles between the aid stations and in 90º weather and 90% humidity that would have been a long wait for water.

I started getting really fatigued around mile 17, maybe that is why on a steep downhill I wasn’t careful.  Next thing I knew my head hit the ground and I did a summersault.  I had turned that same left ankle as I had running back into the house.  I hit hard my upper arm is deeply bruised, my knees have small cuts and my wedding band cut into my hand and was bleeding.  I got up and knew I was screwed, it was tough to walk let alone run.  I was not going to DNF (did not finish) this race.  I started walking and started going to a dark place in my head.  I really started to beat myself up.  I thought I had lost it and was thinking I was weak.  At this point I was about 7-8 miles out, at the pace I was walking (about 18 minute miles) this could be awhile.  People I passed were starting to pass me, this SUCKED!  I needed to start running.  My first couple of tries were on the shorter side.  As I kept going the runs got longer.  I was bargaining with myself, thinking just run to that next uphill or run to the next spot of shade.  Every time I had to stop running I would start to beat myself up again.  I spotted a few other dailymile people on the trails, Brian F. and Matt the “No Meat Athlete” it lifted my spirit.  The last aid station had Coca-Cola it was cold and delicious and I drank a lot of it.  Coca-Cola fueled the last two miles I was done with this race and just bit down and ran as hard as I could.  I knew Brodie, Brian, and Stephanie would be waiting at the finish.  So would beer and ace bandages.  I was right about the beer, no luck on the ace bandage. Stephanie captured my finish on video.

TNF Finish from Thomas Neuberger on Vimeo.

Overall, even with the extreme heat, humidity, busted up ankle I had a great day.  I hung out with my dailymile friends, completed my 9th marathon, pretty good stuff.  Oh yeah did I mention I met Dean Karnazes?

Dean Karnazes & Me

I can’t express how much the site dailymile has improved my running experiences and my life.  If you are not on it you should be what are you waiting for?  Thanks again to Brodie and Stephanie without you it would not have been the same.  See you at the next adventure.  I forgot to mention this was Brodie’s last run before a hernia operation and he actually ran 30 miles.

Results: 27.8 miles 6:22:52 – 67th place overall, in my age group 18th place, out of men 45th Considering I did it with a bum ankle, not to shabby.  I will take it.   -Believe in the Run

Check out these shots of the ankle a day after the race:

Stephanie and Brodie

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Juda & Thomas (me)

2010 Mt. Penn MudFest

Juda charging a downhill

Through the Trees

Post Race with Darryn

Cindy and Juda

Finisher Pint Glass

Cindy getting the fire going

My TransRockies teammate Juda McGannon put a post up on Facebook a few months ago about a race that was taking place on her birthday.  The Mt. Penn MudFest.  The name was intriguing enough, upon reading the description I was sold.  The guy that puts these races together has a pretty good sense of humor.

Cindy and I decided to make a weekend camping trip out of the race.  We had the grandparents watch Theo while we took the Westy to PA.  Camping makes the run feel so much more like an adventure.  We stayed at the French Creek State Park a short distance from the race.

After getting my Starbucks pre race meal in Cindy and I headed to the packet pick up. The gathering mass was an eclectic group.  This was a different crowd then what you typically see at a road race.  Crazy group of folks some in costume.

The Mt. Penn Mudfest race was pretty technical, jagged rocks, mud, three stream crossings and a whole lotta up and down on steep inclines.  I would start closer to the front if I were to do this race again.  Once the race started you were locked into single track pretty quickly, so if you were in a pace slower than you would want you are trapped there until the trail opens up again.  This was not a course to run barefoot or in Vibrams Five fingers, the rocks were sharp and gnarly enough to cause discomfort through my Adidas Adizeros.  I can’t imagine what they would do to you in less of a shoe or no shoe.  When there was only about 2.5 miles to go there was an alternative beverage aid station that handed out beer and margaritas.  I chugged down a 6 oz. beer and picked up the pace for the rest of the race.  The finish opened up to a grass field and I had plenty left in my legs, so I pushed strong across the field and finished with confidence.  The race had 750 runners and 713 finishers.  This was my third organized run/race in three weeks, HAT 50k, Whitehall 15k, and the Mt. Penn MudFest 15k.  I am feeling great, and loving the run more than ever.  A big part of the race experience these days is the social aspect.  Between dailymile.com and the Baltimore Road Runners Club (BRRC,) I am getting to know a lot of runners.  When I go to the races I now have friends running them with me and celebrating at the finish.

- believe in the run

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HAT 50k ReDux from Thomas Neuberger on Vimeo.

For a really detailed great review of the race read Jeanne’s post
Here is Steve Speirs’ recap
Andy O’brien’s HAT 50k post

Here are my thoughts a day after the run:

Crazy hard! My favorite part of the race other than finishing it was meeting and hanging out with Andy and Steve. This was a tough hilly course (9,800 feet of elevation) and it took everything I could give it. at one point I even ran .2 miles in the wrong direction whoops! The ultra marathon has such a different vibe from every other run I have ever done. There is a lot of camaraderie at the HAT. There were so many steep inclines and declines in the race, it really sapped your legs. While it did get hot, I don’t think it effected my performance. I drank a ton of water. We were able to stop at the pavillion a little more than half way through. I took advantage of this and changed my socks, shirt, applied more body glide, and got something to eat before heading back out for the second long loop.

On the second loop I filled my water bottle with ice water, I think it saved my life and gave me the strength to finish. I ended up making friends with a woman that I ran the last 5 miles with. We really helped each other finish the race. We ended up finishing side by side with the same time. We high fived and gave each other a hug. It was a great way to finish. Andy, Steve, Jeanne, Jeanne’s BFF Coleen, Matt, Adam, and some BRRC members hung out after the finish line. We had beers, hot dogs, and french fries to celebrate. It was so much fun to hang out with the DMers after the race.

I will probably run another 50k someday, but I don’t think it will be the HAT, it was tough! It made me rethink my TransRockies run this August, but only for a little bit. If they had an emoticon for Brutal or kicked my ass, I would use that. -believe in the run

Thomas and Jeanne before the HAT 50k from Andy O’Brien on Vimeo.

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Snow Run from Thomas Neuberger on Vimeo.

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The Hinte Anderson Trail 50K Run

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I met some friends out at Patapsco State Park to run some single track trails over some mighty hilly terrain. It was a pretty tough course and  took a lot out of me. The first part of the run was a lot of uphill and my Achilles tendon was flaring up. We took the shorter 6 mile loop instead of a longer loop. It was my call. Later I felt bad I made the choice to go shorter.  I felt fine as we strode into the parking lot.  Trying not to beat myself up I decided I would get another 3 miles in when I got home.  The three miles from my house actually made me feel worse.  I just wasn’t having a good run.

I am running two Ultras in 2010 and, the trail run today left me with a lot of doubt.  The hills today were steep and tough but they will pale in comparison to the hills I will be running in the ROCKIES!  Not to mention the near sea level altitude and abundance of oxygen in Patapsco State Park.  I had to get a hold of myself and stop the snowballing self doubts.

One of the things I love about training and the training process is that by making consistent efforts and following the plan you can accomplish anything.  I lost that confidence for a a couple hours today.  I have to admit even after eight marathons, I still get performance anxiety before events.  I sometimes get nervous before regular training, it is like I am afraid that I will forget how to run or something.  The cure is to just step up to the curb or the trail and start moving my feet and then everything just comes together.

The only way I tend to get better at anything is due to self doubt.  It usually follows this pattern, doubt, struggle to get better and rise above the doubt, feelings of accomplishment, doubt etc.  It is a circle for me.  The paradigm is present in my art and anything else I have passion for.  I could be wrong but, I would guess it is how a lot of people go through the growing process.

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I ran two loops of the Fat Ass 50k, a total of 21 miles. In the first 20 minutes I was stung by a bee or a wasp on my right knee. It hurt but gave me a great distraction. The great thing about trail running is all the distractions. There is the beauty of the woods, streams, and wildlife all around you. Most of all, there is the constant eye that you have to keep on the terrain to make sure you have good footing. I also enjoyed running with Bobby on the first lap. All this makes the time go by faster.

What the ankle looks like today.

At about mile 8, I landed on uneven ground and twisted my right ankle. I took a total nose dive, got up walked it out and started running again. After I got going for a bit, I hardly even noticed the ankle. I headed into the second lap and completed the 21 miles feeling great. I can’t recall enjoying a run so much. I am glad I stepped out of the rut of running my regular training routes. I got a lot of confidence out of this run. I felt great the whole time, and I was able to run through two things that would have made it easy to quit after the first lap. I am really looking forward to running in the Chicago Marathon.

Get out there and try something different.

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