Post run Dailymile meetup

Check out this article on our fundraising effort for the BCAC!  Donate now!  I also did a radio interview this past week too. Listen

It was another great week of training!  The mileage was down but the speed was up.  A special thanks to the dailymile friends that showed up Saturday and ran one of my last longer runs with me.  A very special group.  We are getting down to the wire here, I actually am leaving for Colorado tomorrow morning, I can’t wait!

Here is a re-cap of this weeks training:

Tuesday, August 10: 6.24 miles – I didn’t really have a goal for this run but as I watched the Garmin I thought it would be nice to be in the 8′s today.  It was a struggle my head is always telling me I am not a speedy guy, I am a slow and steady guy. Give in to the 9 minute mile, relax. This was a small victory. The splits are all over the place: Mile 1: 7:55 / Mile 2: 9:19  / Mile 3: 8:53  / Mile 4: 9:40 / Mile 5: 9:15 / Mile 6: 8:55 / Mile .24: 8:01

Wednesday, August 11: 8 miles on bike, 2 miles on treadmill 15% incline, 100 sit-ups, 50 push-ups, 50 squats

Thursday, August 12: 6.45 miles – Awesome hill run with Juda this morning! The skies got dark the winds picked up and the skies opened up and dumped on us. It was awesome! We ran over to Bellemore Rd. and used it as our hill. It was like a river. Great run.

Saturday, August 14: 9.05 miles – Great run for several reasons:  1. Weather was perfect  2. Got to run with some great people  3. I felt fantastic.  4. I love running in downtown B’more.  I am lucky to have such good people around me. Big thank to Jeanne for setting up this meetup.  Thanks to Brodie, Mike, Kathleen, Juda, John, and Darryn for all your support. I really had a great run today here are the splits: Mile 1: 10:27 / Mile 2: 9:27 / Mile 3: 9:10 / Mile 4: 9:20 / Mile 5: 9:59 / Mile 6: 8:18 / Mile 7: 8:33 / Mile 8: 8:30 / Mile 9: 8:41

Sunday, August 15: 12 miles – 1st run Hot to Trot 4 mile race: Alright, if you know me then you know I don’t run in the 7′s.   I was as surprised as you when I saw my splits at the Hot To Trot 4 mile GPS race. Check them out:
Warm up: 8:53 / Mile 1: 7:16 / Mile 2: 7:51 / Mile 3: 8:01 / Mile 4: 7:50
2nd run, cool down:  This mornings 4 mile race was a good confidence booster for my training.  I had twelve on the training schedule so after my 4 mile run with a half mile warm up, I continued on the trail to get my miles in. Good day, last double digit run before the main event.

Believe in the Run

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Camping on Michele's birthday weekend

This week was a little bit weird.  The taper began and and big weekend miles didn’t feel so big.  Tapering is always a strange place to be.  For weeks you are pushing as hard as you can to keep increasing your strength and endurance then suddenly, you start going the other direction.  The big event is still looming and you are relaxing, it’s unnatural.

Here is the re-cap of week 8:

Tuesday, August 3: 6 miles – Second run in the Brooks Ghost 3s, its official I like them. Funny they remind me of the Newton Sir Issacs trainers. My legs felt a little rusty from the long runs last weekend, but by the end of the run everything was going quite smoothly.
In my post run shower I got a bit philosophical about running and competition. I have come to the conclusion that I am competing against myself and lately I have been winning.
Wednesday August 4: 8 miles on bike
Thursday, August 5: 8 mile Tempo run – Mixed my tempo work out with some hills. Here are my mile splits, see if you can guess where the hills were:
Mile 1: 8:29
Mile 2: 8:08
Mile 3: 8:51
Mile 4: 10:01
Mile 5: 9:12
Mile 6: 8:40
Mile 7: 8:56
Mile 8: 8:51
Saturday, August 7: 12 miles running 2 miles hike with wife – I can’t believe it.  I have been looking forward to the TransRockies Run for over a year and I will be off and running in 14 days.  It is bittersweet.  I know there will be some post event lows after this run.  So much of my time has been spent preparing for it.  I have NYC and the HAT coming up so it shouldn’t be that bad. Good 12 miles this morning. Going camping with my girl.
Sunday, August 8: 16 miles – Well, after some rowdy campfire drinking with some friends for my friend Michele’s 30th B-day, I thought today’s run would be a lot rougher.  While it was a hard workout, it was hard for the right reasons.  It was hot out there and I think I wanted to punish myself.  I chose a pretty hilly route and went out of my way to run down Bellemore and run back up the notorious hill.  It’s a good quad buster.  I had a few more good hills on this 16 miles.  I am glad to have one more week of training under the belt.

-Believe in the Run

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From left to right Thomas N. (me) Adam Rosenberg Director of BCAC, Juda McGannon

This past week was the fundraiser for the Baltimore Child Abuse Center (BCAC.)  We raised $800 that night, combined with $300 in checks and $1,935 of online donations we are now standing at $3,035.  That leaves us at $8,265 still to go to hit our goal of $11,300 ($100 per mile of the TransRockies Run.)  Thank you to those who came to the fundraiser and have donated online too.  Donate now if you would like to help us reach the goal.

Training
This was the peek mileage week and it looked daunting as hell when I saw it coming.  The great thing is, I hit two new PRs (Personal Records.)  One for Most mileage in a a week, 75 running miles.  The second PR was for running miles in one month.  In July I ran 244 miles, my closest month before that was 164!  This week was a tough one and very rewarding.  A special thanks to the Dailymile community for all their support.  Here is the breakdown for the week:

Monday July 26: 4 miles, with some cooler temps
Tuesday July 27: 9 miles, I was supposed to run 8, but I accidentally did 9 miles. That’s what happens when you improv your running route.
Wednesday July 28: 8 miles on the bicycle, 2 miles on the treadmill at a 15% incline, 100 sit ups and 50 push ups
Friday July 30: 18.27 miles in great temps, a gorgeous morning
Saturday July 31: 20 miles, started off a little tough but evened out as kept going.  I thought about my friend  Andy O. running his 100 miler and hoping it was going well for him. It made twenty miles seem tiny.
Sunday August 1: 22 miles, I thought this 22 mile run was going to be a big struggle. I was achy and tired. I downloaded Dean Karnaze’s 50/50 book on the iPhone last night and started listening as I began to run.

The running actually seemed to be going well and almost seemed effortless for the first 5 miles. I was feeling good. I thought about taking some walk breaks but I didn’t need them so I kept going. I really enjoyed Dean’s audio book. I have been running without music or anything for a couple months now and it has been great. This being my third solo long run I needed some company.

That wraps up week 7 of training.  Believe in the run,

Thomas

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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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Jeff and me at the end of 10 miles 8 more to go.

This week seemed a bit easier than last week, it was about 10 miles shorter. Here is the break down:

Monday June 21: off
Tuesday June 22: 6 miles Ran home from work and added on a couple miles
Wednesday June 23: Xtr – Biked to the gym 4 miles, Stairmaster for 20 minutes, treadmill at a 15% elevation and walked as fast as I could for 10 minutes.  Then 125 sit-ups and 50 push-ups
Thursday June 24: 6 miles
Saturday June 26: 10 miles
Sunday June 27: 18 miles – My friend Jeff Arricale and his girlfriend Becky ran 10 miles of this one with me it really helped the miles move along.

I switched up from my Camelbak to a Nathan HPL 020 and packed it with the required items for the TransRockies.  I had 60 oz, of water, two Ginsting Honey Stingers gels, Pentax camera, iPod, Arc’ Teryx GORE-TEX Paclite jacket, Warm hat, gloves, first aid kit, blister kit, and an emergency blanket.  With a full bladder and all that gear the Nathan HPL 020 was only a little over 7 lbs.  I ran the 18 miler on Sunday with the new pack.  It is more comfortable to run with than the Camelbak and I really appreciated having gels easily accessible.  Typically with the Camelbak I would need to take the pack off to get to the gels.  There was less jostling around with the Nathan as well.  I would recommend the Nathan pack for runners.

Nathan HPL 020

My friend Ed Kelly connected me with a runner that participated in the 2009 GORE-TEX TransRockies, Brian Gaines.  Check out Brian’s TransRockies Run Recap

Please help me raise money for the Baltimore Child Abuse Center by sponsoring Juda and me by visiting our FirstGiving page.

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BRRC Volunteer Army at the finish of AOR

I was contacted by Bart Rein a Baltimore Road Runner Club member about 2 weeks before the American Odyssey Relay (AOR) to see if I would be interested in filling in for an injured runner.  I have been keeping up my miles after the HAT 50k so I figured there would be no problem running in the AOR.  After convincing my wife Cindy and making sure the vacation time was available I called Bart to let him know I was in.

Never having done a multi-day event I wasn’t sure what to pack, so I brought everything.  I had running gear for cold, rain, heat, and night time.  I used it all.  We also packed a ton of food, sleeping bags, and pillows.

Each team has 12 runners split into two vans that run three legs each.  I didn’t really know anyone I was running with.  I had met Darryn and Bart before, but I wouldn’t say I know them.  I would know everyone in my van pretty well before the end of the 36 hour race.

Juda and me at the start of AOR

The first van held the first 6 runners and they started the race at 11 a.m. leaving from Gettysburg, PA.  So the second van with me in it headed off to the first waiting place.  The conversation was polite and pretty courteous in the van.  That all changed when we drove past an open field and saw two cows getting it on, after that we realized that we could loosen up a bit and the conversations got more “real.”  The cows turned out to be educational too, Donna, one of two female runners in our van, had never known how cows reproduced.  Darryn had first hand knowledge from working his family farm in New Zealand and gave her the scoop on animal husbandry facts.  The conversations flowed pretty easily and we all got to know each other well.

The wait for the first 6 runners to finish their legs felt like it took forever as we waited in a gravel parking lot in the middle of the woods.  I ran into some of the other teams there and saw some familiar faces.  Both Juda my partner for the TransRockies and Katie were waiting there for their first teams to finish too.  It was after 4 p.m. when the sixth runner on our team made it to the meeting place, then we were off.

First hand off to my van mate

It was exciting, we dropped one runner off and drove to the next leg and repeated.  This is where time started to fly.  I was the 10th runner for our team, when it was my turn I was raring to go.  My first leg was a shorter one, 3.5 miles.  I was happy enough with my pace in the 8s, but not feeling great.  My throat was really sore after the run.  I thought it was from the dusty gravel road and overwhelming smell of manure.  I didn’t know it was a cold flaring up.  Our van finished our leg and I was surprisingly tired.  After all, I had only run 3.5 miles.

We went to the next waiting spot at a High School in PA.  They had the gymnasium open as a quiet place to sleep.  I grabbed my sleeping bag and laid on the hardwood floor.  I was exhausted.  Darryn woke me up to tell me he was sleeping a few yards away and to find him before we left.  Two hours flew by and it was time to get back in the van and start the next leg.  When I went to get Darryn he was sleeping on a soft mat the school had put out for us to sleep on, I felt like an idiot.

Now we were off again after two hours rest, it was about 2 a.m. same routine as before with one change.  Since it was dark out and the signage that the race director provided to guide you on your run was less than helpful, we were going to drive up and wait for our runner at every turn.  This made the time go by even faster.  We even found a runner about five miles off course.  When we asked if she knew where she was, she asked back “Do you know where I am supposed to be?”  We picked her up and dropped her off at the next leg of the race.  When she got in the van Josh said “OK everybody take off your running gear and get out your knives.” The poor girl got a little spooked, understandably.  It wasn’t long before I was at my next leg an eight mile stretch.

I hopped out of the van and Josh was there finished with his leg before I was even had a chance to get my barrings.  Off I went into the night.  It was 3:30 a.m.  I started down a country road and my insides  started moving around funny.  This could be bad, I started to panic a little, I did not want to take a detour so I could go to the bathroom.  I tried something that has probably gotten a lot of runners in trouble.  That’s right I was going to take the shart gamble.  I turned out to be lucky this time and let out some air pressure, still not feeling right I pulled over and took a pee break.  Now back on the road with all that taken care of I was still feeling really fatigued.  It was official I had a cold.  These miles were tough.  In the dark I made extra sure that I landed on even ground as the road rolled up and down.  I can’t say I was having fun on this run and was really disappointed when I finished the leg at a 10 minute pace.  I was back in the van.

I was really feeling like crap right about now.  The sun started to rise when we made it to the end of our second legs.  When the van parked I stripped my gear and took my first ever whole body baby wipe bath.  It actually helped and I felt a little better.  Boy scouts were making pancakes at the waiting area.  I had two flapjacks and a couple sausages.  Darryn was setting up his tent in the parking lot so I got my sleeping bag out and slept in the tent for an hour and a half.  It felt like as soon as you closed your eyes they were popping them back open with somebody telling you that you had to go.  Back in the van again.

It was time to start our third leg.  I was feeling better with the help of coffee and ibuprofen so, I was actually looking forward to my next run with cautious enthusiasm.  Bart came in running strong, and the teammates in the first van celebrated that their work was done.  Again, the next legs went by quickly and everybody on my team seemed to be having a good last run.

Me & Darryn

My last run was a little bit short of 7 miles and relatively flat.  Josh came running in looking a little tired but strong, he handed off the bracelet to me and I started down the C&O Canal trail.  Shortly after starting I knew it was going to be a long run.  I wanted to stop.  Every time I took a breath in I felt like coughing.  My legs felt fresh, I just couldn’t get my head and chest into it.  I ran this leg in the mid 9s.  I was glad to be finished when I made it to the end of the leg but, I was disappointed with my overall performance in my first relay.

We headed into DC to wait for Donna to finish her run so we could all cross the finish line together.  This was fun because both vans, all 12 of us ran the last 100 yards together.  Medals and beer was waiting.

In trying to get my head around the event to figure out if I liked it, I had to split in two.  First it was a lot of fun getting to know 5 strangers in a van over two days.  We were blessed with a good group of personalities and we had a lot of laughs.  The camaraderie is what this event is about so on that side of things it was a really good time.  On the other hand it is hard to separate my performance from the overall event.  It wasn’t my best running.  I cut myself a little slack for being sick but it doesn’t make me feel much better.

Would I do another multi-stage relay event like this.  Yeah I will.  I guess that says something.

Special thanks from Oxford to:
Sleeves, Spider, Supertramp, Momma Bear and Tailgater

Believe in the Run.

Darryn Finishing his final leg

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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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Believeintherun.com exclusive!!! Sneak peak at this weeks challenge: This challenge is based on one of the runners I have known the longest on dailymile.com, Steve Speirs.  Steve created the 100 Push-Ups, 200 Sit-Ups, 200 Squats programs.  His book 100 Push Ups is available on Amazon.com.  I have been using the iPhone App version of all the workouts and I love them.  Warning they are tough! Learn more about Steve at his website Run Bulldog Run.

Here is the challenge Steve created for this week: 1 mile run, 10 push-ups, 1 mile run, 20 squats, 1 mile run, 30 crunches, 1 mile run – OR -a 4 mile run followed/preceded by the 10 push-ups, 20 squats, 30 crunches!  I will be publishing the challenge on Dailymile.com tomorrow afternoon.

-Believe in the Run

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On Saturday I met up with Jeanne, Paul Gochar, Bobby O’Kane, and Wendell to run the trails in Patapsco State Park.  The video does not do the hills and mud justice.  This was a tough hilly muddy 8 mile mess.

Sunday, Jeanne and I met up for a 14 mile run through Baltimore and the rain.  Fellow Dailymiler’s Brodie W. and Brian B. joined us for the run.  Running with friends sure makes the nasty weather easier to take.  If you are on Dailymile friend these runners, they are great people.

Me, Brian B., Jeanne B., Brodie W.

Patapsco Trail Run from Thomas Neuberger on Vimeo. Believe in the Run

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The Hinte Anderson Trail 50K Run

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