Recording My Runs...Then and Now

"You know you're a long distance runner if you get more phonecalls at 5am than at 5pm" - Thomas Kennedy

I began running on August 8,1978. Well, I probably began running when I was about 3 years old, but as an exercise, as in I'm-getting-too-big-around-the-waist-exercise, I began running, and with that I began to record the distance and time I ran in a small, spiraled notebook. Once the new year began, my record keeping got a little more complex and the notebook filled with numbers. With numbers my tendencies tended towards a sort of compulsiveness. Once it was recorded, it was later reviewed, then manipulated, analyzed and, ultimately judged. Time, distance, pace, elevation, calories. Splits, averages, fastest, longest, most, best...worst. Goals and disappointments.

The first couple of decades, I maintained written logbooks, but eventually moved to an electronic one. I was always meticulous about recording my runs. If I didn't have my log with me on a trip, I would record the time and distance on some random scrap of paper and transfer it to my journal when I got home. Miles would be calculated from maps or estimated (roughly) in their absence. If I would run a new route, I would then hop in my car later in the day and ride over the course using the always accurate Ford Fiesta odometer. I even sent away for this gizmo that was like a pen that had a small wheel on the end that you could roll over the route on a map and it would give you a highly inaccurate distance. but, it was something...remember, I was compulsive about the numbers I put in my logs.

Then came the miracle of miracles...an online mapping software version of a Topo program became my best friend. I remember Rick Melanson gave me an older version of a program CD to download on my computer. With this God-sent program, before a run I'd use it to explore possible routes and alternatives; afterward, I'd retrace the precise path I had taken. Not only was this highly accurate, but it showed the nirvana of stats - elevation. This was the precurser to MapMyRun. I was actually fairly resistant about getting a GPS watch for some time. I always said it was just one more thing over which to obsess. But, secretly, I think I really enjoyed the process of adding miles up on the map--mentally
re-living the run along the way. In a past life, I must've been one of those ancient map-makers trying to figure out what the shorelines of these new lands looked like from above.

Eventually, I gave in to the GPS. After all, I am a gadget lover as well. Simplicity of recording meant more time for post-run analysis. With programs like GarminConnect, Nike+, Strava, Smashrun, etc, I could review trends: daily, weekly, monthly, even yearly! I could even generate custom reports; my obsessive nature delighting in the minutiae. With such tools, I can now figure out the difference between my average pace on Wednesday afternoon versus Thursday morning runs over the course of a given year! What more could I ask for? 

But, with these new online sites, the one big thing I lose bigtime is the sitting down at the end of the day and writing in a journal what I saw, how I really felt, what my true mental ups and downs were. I love numbers, but numbers don't have feelings. We don't just run to see how fast, or slow, or high we can go. We run to see the deer in the woods, feel the cobwebs on our face on early morning trail run, enjoy the warmth of running in a summer rain, or the pure enjoyment of running with friends. I look back on my old running journals from when I first began to run, and I feel like I'm reading a stranger's journals. They are so full of excitement and meeting new goals. The electronic age opens the world to us, but I feel it closes out the real daily reason we run. 

Sure, I could go back to writing in a journal, but I used it long ago because that was all I had. Now, it would have the feel of redundancy to go back because I'm not going to stop downloading my runs into some cold, calculating program. I love to write and that's probably why I love to write this blog. I don't know if anyone else enjoys reading it, but I write because I have thoughts. That's what my running journals used to be.; thoughts about my runs and goals. Ah, it's just life moving on...no big deal. Just some thoughts of a runner who's been on the road a long time...a real long time. 

What about you guys? Do you record every run? Just numbers? Lavish descriptions? Let me know, I'd love to hear from you all. Ok guys, that's about it for this week. Have a good running week. Fall is coming tomorrow...time to dig out those long sleeves, darn it. How far till Spring? Just around the corner, right? I'll see you all on the roads - Al


"One child lost is too many...one child saved can change the world"

Facts About Me - Part Deux

"I always give the hardest jobs to the laziest people because they will find the easiest way to do it" Bill Gates

A few months ago, I wrote on this blog about "21 randon facts about me". It was fun to write and filled one of those "what do I write about today" moments. I invited my readers (both of you) to try doing this yourselves and sending it to me...no takers! So, as I got hit with another writing vacuum, I was able to quickly put together Part 2. Actually, what I did was to answer the questions that the Vulcan Runner (the newsletter of the Birmingham Track Club) used to ask selected members of the club. I was never asked to take part in the interview, so what the heck, I just answered them myself, and present them here to you (hoping you're bored enough with your life that you'll actually read this). Here we go:

1. Last movie you liked so much, you watched it twice? Unbreakable, about the Western States 100  

2. Name one guilty pleasure? I love chocolate and string cheese. No, not at the same time, but my hands automatically grab one of these when I open the refrigerator. Oh yeah, I seem to also grab a different Craft Beer. No Bud for me! And Light Beer is just for people who like to pee.

3. Favorite place on earth? I really love the trails of Oak Mt., especially the ridge on the White Trail where it descends 150 feet on BOTH sides of the trail. I'm not crazy about the White/Yellow Connector (see last week's blog).

4. Worst place on earth? I was born there, lived close to it, but I have no use for New York City.

5. One item you would want with you on a desert island? Running shoes and a wi-fi connection (oh wait, that's two...guess I'll take the shoes).

6. Most interesting person you’ve ever met? Looking back, my dad grows bigger every day. 

7. Coolest trophy or prize you ever won? At a 24 Hour Race held at the Atlanta Water Works, I won an Age-Group trophy that had a water faucet on the top (like the Monopoly piece) 

8. Favorite TV show? Downton Abbey, Flashpoint, Good Wife, any soccer game, any Red Sox game.   

9. Favorite fast-food joint? Subway

10. Who would play you in a movie? George Clooney, no question.  

11. Something unique about the town you grew up in? I grew up there. Isn't that unique enough? River Edge, New Jersey

12. If you could play an instrument, what would it be? Piano or guitar. I can't even play a Kazoo  

13. Scariest thing that ever happened to you. Sitting in the Prinicipal's office waiting for my father to show up.

14. Favorite book? The Elements of Effort by John Jerome

15. Favorite meal? Lasagna with lots of Ricotta cheese 

16. Why do you run? I am addicted to it. I love the freedom of being alone or running with a friend. God gave us this vehicle and it is my responsibility to keep it running - literally! 

17. When did you start running? In 1978, right after the passing of my mother. I ran in High School, but wasn't nuts about it. 

18. What’s your biggest running accomplishment? Personally, finishing 13th at the 24 Hour National Championships several years back. However, my biggest accomplishment was coaching TNT runners for 15 years to allow them to run to raise money for the Leukemia Society and help to hopefully wipeout leukemia in our lifetime.  

19. Favorite BTC story? Around the mid 80's to late 90's, we had a 50 Mile Run at Oak Mt called the BTC 50 that was pretty popular around the southeast. Rick Melanson was the Race Director. One year, there was a Tornado that hit Oak Mt on the late Friday night before the Saturday morning start. When we got to Oak Mt, the Park Rangers had closed the park. Here we were with over 100 runners from several states and no place to run. In 2 hours, we set up a 2.5 mile course (accurately wheeled by Adam Robertson), and aid stations on the campus of Indian Springs School. Most of the course was in sloppy mud, but nobody complained and it was amazing how so many BTC members pulled this one off.   

20. Words to live by or favorite running mantra? Favorite quote: "A champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when no one else is watching" Running Mantra: "Every step is a step closer"

That's it my friends. Not so sure if anybody enjoys reading this, but try it yourself...answer the questions. It does bring out memories. I'll see you all on the roads - AL  

"One child lost is too many...one child saved can change the world"

Game Over, Man! The Sting of the DNF

"I'd rather be in the mountains thinking about God than in church thinking about the mountains" - John Muir

OK, so way back at the beginning of the year, as most of you who read this blog know, I was enticed by Race Director David Tosch's Southeastern Trail Series. "This will be great", my 66 year-old mind said with 35 year-old enthusiasm. Back in the day (God, I hate that term), I could do marathons and ultras left and right and recover pretty quickly. However, since a several year bout with well-documented ankle problems, my pace, endurance, and general "bounce-backedness" has sort of fallen off the Continental Shelf. Unfortunately, my mind is a little slower in getting the picture that things have changed in the Al-ultrarunning world. Because of my enthusiasm that I could run at all (giving considerable credit to switching to, and having complete confidence in Hoka shoes), I signed up for the Long Series...basically twice the distances of the Short Series in this 7 races in 7 months on the trail systems of Birmingham, Alabama.

Before I go on, I've got to tell you that David Tosch is quickly getting the reputation of the David Horton of the South. If his mileage is no longer than 10% of the advertised distance, he's done well. If the grades of his "hills" are below 20%, the course is considered rolling. Heck, he can even add a race here and there, and although not considered part of the official series, it's just added like you would add salt to your potato. David has slyly become an ultra coach for the Bham community by holding these gradually increasing distance races over increasing rougher and technical terrain. Of course the SECOND race of the series was a 50k (or 12 Hour Race) - so much for increasing gradually! If you stick with it, you've got to improve, or go down in a tailspin like those old WWI fighter bi-planes. David also writes an excellent training blog "How to train for your first hundred miler".

Ok, so back to the issue at hand. I've been doing pretty good, despite my slow times (remember, comparisons are done in my 35 year old mental scrapbook), and I've been putting in the necessary training trail mileage over the long, hot Alabama summer. Throughout this whole ordeal experience, the last two races of the 7 are the real "A" races. The first is a 3-day stage race held the end of this month is which you run each day on a different trail system, the last day of which is the most difficult with the most elevation gain. Now, depending which email from David you read, it's anywhere from 53 to 57 miles total (within the 10% David Mileage Allowance). The last race is a very technical 50K in November.

This past weekend, race #5, there was a 20 mile (actually 22 miles) race Sunday in which you do two 11 mile loops, each with over 1500' of elevation gain. The day before (Saturday), there was one of these "Throw in" races...a FREE trail race to all Birmingham Track Club members that consisted of 4, 8, or 14.5 mile options. Although I originally signed up for the longest option, I showed great restraint and dropped down to the 8 miler (of course it was 8.9 miles). I figured this would be good training for the 3 Stage Race. Despite the 1000'+ elevation gain, the run went well, taking a little over 2 hours. So, after the race, I rehydrated, ate, wore compression socks the rest of the day, and even took a short nap. I felt pretty confident about the next day. Then the walls of Jericho came crashing down.

In a nutshell, for the third time in my running career, spanning 35 years and 135 marathons/ultras, I DNF'd (as in the dreaded Did Not Finish). Yes, the day was warm (85 deg) and muggy, but it's been that way since the late Spring here in the sunny South. The course was a two loop course of unrelenting tough hills (some as long as a half mile long at >20% grade - sometimes as much as 39%). The two toughest pulls came in the first half of the loop, leaving your legs completely dog-tired for the second half. As I drug myself through those last couple of miles of the first loop, my legs, then my mind, felt as if they had nothing to fight with. It's funny, as an experienced long distance runner, I knew exactly what was happening...my mind was going completely south because my legs were feeling shot. I ate gel, drank, tied my shoes when they didn't need it...nothing was clicking. You know those cartoons where one devil sits on one shoulder telling you to do bad, and an angel sits on the other telling you to be brave? Well, the angel was taking a huge whipping in this fight. I just lost my will to go on. I lost my will to fight. 

I came into the finish of the first loop and sat down and drank some sugar drink (Heed?) and really actively tried to convince myself to get off my butt and head back into the woods. What got me was that I simply could not bear the thought to put one foot in front of the other on the steep mile long climb that comes in the first 2 miles of the loop. The night before I had seen a TV show about these Everest climbers and they were doing like 50 yards an hour - two steps...breath, two steps...breath - that's how I pictured me going up the hill(s).  I still could go on but recognized that the finish time would be WAY later than expected and just didn't want to deal with those logistics. I sat on the bench for 5 minutes before giving in to the bad devil. A DNF stings, but whenever you pull the plug and commit to the DNF, it almost seems that your mind and body shut down virtually instantaneously.  Like flipping a switch.  All of a sudden, you go from a run to a full stop, and you KNOW you just can't go on. I hate that!! Just for the record!! When I made the decision end it, all of a sudden I thought of that timeless quote from Bill Paxton, in the movie Aliens, when they're waiting for the Rescue Ship to save them. All of a sudden the Rescue Ship crashes in a fireball and Paxton goes bezerk..."That’s it man…game over, man, GAME OVER! What are we gonna do now? Build a campfire and sing songs?". Yep, game over.

Of course, within a half hour I was kicking myself for dropping and wished I had just gone on, no matter how long it took me. But sometimes you have to know when to fold 'em and that's part of the game. And I know it would have been just short of idiotic to go on. That's not trail running...it's trail stupid. The only fear I have is after you drink the Kool-aid the first time, sometimes it gets easier to pull the plug the next time when things ain't as dire as this time. But, that's a future fight. Now, bring on that 3 day race (gulp!!).

BTW, as I was driving out of Oak Mountain, there is a church right at the entrance that has a message board. On that board..."Failure is an event, not a person". Message for me? Yep.

I'll see you all on the roads - Al


"One child lost is too many...one child saved can change the world"

Tangled Up In Blue...and White...and Red...and...

"50% of running is half mental more than 90% of the time" - Charlie Engle

As I've been alluding to frequently in my RWA blogs, I'm currently in the middle of Birmingham's Southeastern Trail Race Series. This is the brainchild of Race Director David Tosch and involves running (give or take) 7 trail races in 7 months. Now, David's idea is that these races get progressively harder and longer as you get sucked in. I've completed 3 of the first 4 races (out of town for the Memorial day race) and I've developed a clear understanding that training definitely is advantageous to doing these. Although I'm slow as molasses in Alaska in December, I do love running on the trails and am trying to get out there at least once a week to run on the course of whatever race is next on the schedule. But, this morning's run had a different twist or two.

As I said above, the Race Series has 7 races, but one race is actually 3 races - the 3-Stage, 3-Mountain Race the end of September. I can wrap my head around going a long way in a single day, but this will be 3 races on 3 different days on 3 different trails (Moss Rock - 16 miles, Red Mt - 15 miles, Oak Mt - 22 miles). Now, this will be interesting. So, David decided to throw AN ADDITIONAL race into the 7 month fray with the Birmingham Track Club Trail Race on September 7th, the day before race #5 of the SETRS (a 21 miler). The BTC race is free to BTC members and has 3 distances, 4-8-14.5 miles, so what better way to train for the 3 -stage race than to do a 2-stager, so I signed up for the long option (sounds easy sitting at your desk). And that's where I went this morning.

I won't go into a big description of the course, but with 2000' of elevation gain in the 14.5 miles, it does have some uphill grinders. There is a pull up to a place called Eagle's Nest at about 11 miles that rises 200' in less than 1/4 mile (yes, a 25% grade does sap your legs) and several other climbs of >20% grade. Took a little over 4 hours. Whew! I must say though that I was as occupied with staying on course as I was to physically finishing before the sun went down. I decided to memorize the course instead of taking a map. I've been running Oak Mt for many, many years, but this series of races have shown me trails I've never seen. Today I went Yellow - Yellow/White Connector - White - Red - Green - Green/White Connector - White - Blue - Blue/Red Connector - Red - White - Yellow. And I got back to the car!!! Woo-Hoo. The memory of an ultrarunning elephant!

Now, last week I did one loop of what will be the 2-loop 21 miler the next day. That race will have >3000' of elevation gain. So, as I said, training has it's benefits, but it was about 15 degrees hotter last Saturday and I ran out of water at about 8 miles (I usually carry 2 bottles when there's no water on the route). So, with a little help from my BUTS (Birmingham Ultra Trail Society) friends, this week I got a Sawyer Squeeze Filtration System (Amazon - $34). It has a 32 oz. collapsible bottle that you fill up with water that might have some microbial critters in it (like at the bottom of Peavine Falls), screw on the filtration cartridge, and then squeeze the filtered water into your water bottle. It takes a little ingenuity to figure out how to carry it, but it worked perfect with my Fuelbelt. Now, 5 hours after my run, I haven't had to make any "pants-on-fire" runs to the bathroom, so I guess it worked!

Before I close I want to wish my friend, Eric Strand and fellow BTC members Owen Bradley and the aforementioned David Tosch good luck as they tackle the famous Leadville (Co.) 100 mile Trail Race today (and tomorrow). I'm crying about 2000' elevation gain in 14 miles and these guys are doing 14,000' of elevation gain in 100 miles...all at 9000'-13,000' above sea level! Just quit whining Al. 

OK guys, that's about it for this week. Hope this cool weather continues, but I know better. This is Alabama. This is August. I'll just take one day at a time and one mile at a time. I'll see you all on the roads - Al   

"One child lost is too many...One child saved can change the world"

What is a Running Paradigm and Where is it Shifting?

“We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it.” 
― Rick Warren

I've probably looked up the definition a dozen times, asked my wife, asked my son, asked my priest, my Rabbi, tried hard to understand, but never got it. What I never got was the proper meaning of the word paradigm, as in a Paradigm Shift. I'm not going to write the definition in the dictionary here, mainly because Webster was apparently also confused by it's meaning. The best I can determine is that it's a way of thinking that something is viewed as the norm and not "the fringe". Now, that's my definition and probably doesn't clear it up for you, but it's my blog and I'll try to clear up where all this came from. This is what occupied much of my 3+hour, water deprived run on the trails yesterday morning! 

 When I began running back in the 70's...I know, before many of you were alive, but no, I didn't have to run to catch tonight's dinner...I used to be part of a fringe. Running was beginning to Boom fueled by Frank Shorter's gold medal in the 1972 Olympic Marathon and Jim Fixx's excellent, influential, and best-selling book, The Complete Book of Running. However, my impetus was a growing waistline due to working next to a McDonald's and thinking occasionally that two Big Mac's was better than one. I wasn't huge, but my mom's description of "big-boned" didn't work at 30 years old like it did when I was a chubby 10 year old. Anyway, I began to pull myself around the UAB track a few times and the weight began to fall off. This track running soon became longer and longer distances until "MARATHON" entered my mind. Our running nerd heroes included Boston Billy, The Great Greta, Joannie, and Dr. Sheehan, our own philosopher! Sure, we were running nerds, but we didn't care. We were a happy fringe. We ran marathons, did 60-70 miles per week, and were a happy group. But, the paradigm of running was the beginning Boom of 10K runners (even before 5K's were popular). Marathoners were on the outside of this box, and I was part of that fringe.

Running faded a bit during the 1980s. Big races, like 10k's managed to hold fast, but the new Boom was beginning to be marathons.  Blame Oprah.  Blame Lance and P Diddy , George Bush, Al Gore, or blame Runner’s World. Blame the mainstream press too, as they began to perpetuate the idea that running a marathon should be accepted almost universally as some kind of lifetime achievement, bucket list item, or rite of passage. Whatever the reason, what was the fringe now was fast becoming the new paradigm shift. Running meant doing a half or full marathon. We "hard core" runners hung in there by doing MORE marathons than the masses, but the distance was no longer the challenge. Instead of "I don't know how you run a marathon", it became "I don't know how you run 6 marathons in a year". Some tried to take up running, but for one reason or another, it didn't float their boat and quit, and many of these folks took up the new sport of triathlon and it began it's own Booming. But, we runners were still a happy fringe, 80's style. We, in the happy fringe now found ultrarunning! Yes, we were doing 50 mile runs, 100 mile runs, and 24-hour events. Marathons for us were used as training runs and we still maintained our out-of-the-box status.

The 90's really brought on the "Marathon Boom". Many celebrities were doing it, so it gained the publicity regular runners couldn't generate and now many of the masses wanted to prove they could do the marathon too. But, doing a marathon does take a lot of training and dedication and more of the masses wanted to be runners, but the new paradigm for them was a runner-lite and so, the result was the explosion of a plethora of fund-raising 5k fun runs, which squeezed out a lot of the older (and longer and tougher) small-town races. In addition, it seemed that there was suddenly a marathon in every state on every weekend of the year. But, there were still these new folks that wanted to try the marathon distance, but needed a less-serious approach. Enter Jeff Galloway who wrote tirelessly about strategies for mixing running and walking during races, or completing marathons with a MINIMUM amount of training and mileage (to we "hard core"  guys, the mere thought that you would approach a race as serious as a marathon with the intention of doing the minimum amount of training or WALKING was simply absurd). Then, there was the birth of the Penguin movement.  This was a self-proclaimed and proud group of plodders who even found their own guru, John Bingham. Suddenly, runners weren't such a fringe anymore ... anyone could be a runner. The influx  watered things down a bit. I became a Run Coach for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and we (the Society) were training thousands of runners to do a marathon without much of a base of all..."You can do 26.2" was the Battle-Cry. This was heresy a decade before! And so, running 26.2 miles (in addition to running the growing 5k's) became the new running paradigm. These weren't hard-core anymore, but became a social event with longer and longer times to complete the race. We added many new runners to the general pool, but the whole thought process had shifted towards long distance. And along with this, slowly, the masses, like an unrelenting glacier, began to infiltrate the ultrarunning scene. It wasn't easy, but more runners wanted to spread their wings. So, the out-of -the boxers began to feel squeezed and had to find a new field. 

In 1997, I ran my first trail ultra - a 50k in California, and a new fringe was found. I, and many of many fellow veteran runners, slowly began to enter into these trail runs. But, we were also racing our several road marathons and our road ultras while the masses continued growing, doing giant, social marathons and it's very popular, rapidly growing sister, the Half-marathon. The first decade of the 21st Century saw Big Box marathoning being the paradigm of running. From soccer-moms to High School Cross Country runners, it seemed like everyone was doing marathons. You had the Marathon Maniacs to the 50-States Club, and  you had groups seeing how many of the Rock 'n' Roll series they could do. I have read that statistically there are four times as many race participants as there were in the 1980s. But, rather than focusing on competition, today’s runners (women and men alike) seem more interested in spending time together. This was definitely not a bad thing. Running groups are springing up all over. They train and even run races in groups, keeping their pace in sync with the slowest of their tribe, instead of pushing themselves to their limits. Our sport has become so much more social (contrast that with the famous "loneliness of the long distance runner"). It seems like this is another running boom and it might potentially mean a more healthy populace. Of all potential exercise regimens, running/jogging/walking certainly has the lowest barrier to entry...low clothing costs, no initiation fees, flexible scheduling. Anything that would help this country get in better shape has got to be good. 

If you've read this far, you may still be wondering where I'm going with all this. Well, you see, over the past several years, my fringe has been shifting from platform to platform and now it seems to be trail running. Not many folks did it. It was challenging, the pace was slower than the road, it was way low-key, and info was hard to find. A run in the woods was still "out-there" in the minority of running. It still is, BUT lately the lava flow of the masses is coming aboard. We now have new runner's groups meeting regularly to run weekly on the trails, trail gear being sold in most running and sports shops, and several trail races popping up to give competition to the local Saturday 5k's. Here, in Birmingham, we have BUTS (the Birmingham Ultra Trail Society) and we have a very tough 7-race Southeastern Trail Race Series, and although it's not busting at the seams, there are runners doing this that had never tread on trails until less than a year ago. I think the ever-shifting paradigm of running may well be including trail running in another year or two. In other words, it'll be more common place, more accepted, more main-stream. It'll be accepted as a new view of running. That certainly has to be good for the sport. But I have to admit that I miss being part of a happy fringe. I think I've run out of new fringes. I've traveled down some pretty cool roads along the way, but I think I'll park the bus here for a while. But, when on the trail for 3 hours, out of water, by myself, it seems somewhat familiar and I have to reflect...Ah, yes, the good old days.

Friends, I'm glad we're taking this journey together. I'll see you on the roads or trails - AL

"One child lost is too many...one child saved can change the world"

A View From The Back Of The Pack...The Very Back!

"Change is inevitable. Change is constant" - Benjamin Disraeli

Those of you that read my blog know that a few years ago, my ailing ankles were barking so bad, I could hardly go a couple of slow miles without having walk or sit down. My love of long distance runs was literally shot down the toilet and I was pretty depressed about it. Slowly, through some diligent ankle stretching, running agonizingly slow on pancake flat surfaces, and mostly switching to Hoka shoes, I was able to build back to (for me) a fairly respectable distance. I literally made a deal with God that if I could run, I wouldn't kick and scream complain about the pace. Well, it seems that he is having a ball with me by testing me more and more. My early morning runs push 12 minutes/mile and we won't even mention what happens when I hit a hill! My ankles are still sore, but that ache just lies North of allowing me to try races that I used to think nothing of in my more formidable days. I see these races online when I'm at work and think "I can do that". Yeah, I can do it. BUT, although I'm still moving, I'm moving so much slower than everybody else. But, that was the deal I made with God, wasn't it? Last Saturday, I ran the Hotter 'N Hell 18 mile Trail Race here in Birmingham. Now, I don't mind finishing last, but I was "1962 New York Mets last". If you're not a baseball fan, just take my word for it, they were WAY behind!! And so was I!!

 

I've been doing ultras since 1981 when I did the 3rd Strolling Jim Race up in Tennessee. Been pretty hooked in mind and body since. As the years pass, it gets to be more mind than body, but I'll keep doing them till I can't I guess. Back in around the late 70's, before I started running, I used to go to the UAB gym every lunchtime to play racquetball and after showering one day, this guy comes into the locker room just after running. He sits down, completely whipped, sweating like a drenched pig. I asked him "Why do you run?", and he says perfectly seriously "Because it feels so good when I stop!". At the time I thought that's about the stupidest thing I ever heard, but I quickly learned the truth of his meaning.

 

Feels so good when you finish. That's true, but I do just like to run, and, I like to run long. Left foot, right foot and repeat several thousand times. There's a lot of us around. We run long. And, our version of long is sometimes very, very long. They are the runs you take two bottles on, where you take a bunch of Gu, they are the runs where you walk a bit up the hills, and then walk a bit on the flats, and then walk a bit on the downhills. They are the runs where you run out of stuff and they are the runs where you run into stuff. You run down gorges and wonder how you'll get out, but you know you have to because...well, you have to. They are long and hard and sweaty and deep and, in the end, they are the kind of runs that make a difference in who you are and who you want to be. Yes, I love to run, but last Saturday, it sure felt mighty good when I finished.

Although this is Alabama, and it is July, and the name of the race was Hotter 'N Hell, it was actually a cool, cloudy day for most of it, so excuse #1 was down the tubes. But, this course, although "only" 18 miles, has plenty of God-awful hills, some 25-30% grade that somehow got steeper the 2nd loop. At about the 5-mile mark of each loop you have to descend (climb) down into the gorge of Peavine falls, go under the falls, and immediately climb up the opposite cliff. During my 4 training runs on this course, I never could exactly find the correct trail to navigate this imitation of mountain climbing, and during the race, following the flagging, I was completely surprised to see there was a 5th way! There are a couple of other killer hills, but despite this, the 1st 9-mile loop went fairly well. Unfortunately, the 10 runners behind me were only doing the one-loop 9-mile race and I was bumped to last in an instant (well, a figurative instant).

The 2nd loop is when things went completely kaput. The long grinds just took it completely out of my legs. Ok, I knew I would have to walk on some of these long pulls, but what really bothered me was when I got to the top of these, my legs just decided to go on strike a while instead of picking it up on the more friendly grade. I mean they were just sapped. My buddy, Moha, surprised me by joining me on the 2nd loop or I might still be out there! I felt I was moving, but was I really going THAT slow? Yeah, I guess I was. I know my best running days are behind me, but, doggone it, I want to be UP THERE where I can at least see some of those folks ahead of me, not BACK HERE. This is not meant to be a sorry race report, or a epitaph of poor, poor pitiful me, but rather trying to figure it out and after a week, I think I have some answers. 

1) Not enough calories. I think in terms of miles instead of time, so my plan for Gu was one every 3 miles. Well, that's fine for a road run, but if it's going to take me 45-50 minutes (or more) on the hilly trail for 3 miles instead of 30 minutes, well, you can see how you can fall behind. I took only 5 Gu's in 5 1/2 hours of running. That's about 100 calories/hour instead of the recommended 250!  Uh-oh!

2) I usually drink energy drink along the way, at least at the aid stations, but decided to forego that and use Nuun tablets in my water. These are purely for electrolyte replacement, and I think they work great, but have no calories. Uh-oh #2

3) Specificity of training. All my weekday runs are basically flat (less than 75'/mile) with no leg sapping hills. Specificity used to be the icing on the cake...now it's the cake itself!! I try to hit the hilly trails at least once a week, but that's not really stretching the envelope, is it?

Sometimes, you just get bummed out and that's where I found myself after my humbling race Saturday. But, after a week of mulling it over, I guess it's alright. I finished...so what if I was dead-last...30 minutes behind next-to-last. Yeah, my running seems to be in a bit of a tailspin. Smoke is coming from the engine.  I am a Physical Therapist, and I know with aging there comes a decline in muscle power (yeah, tell me about it!). Also, there is a big decrease in recovery and healing rates, so after a run, it takes a little while more to feel tip-top. Don't get me wrong, I am glad and thankful that I can still run a decent amount of miles each week and I can line up on these crazy starting lines, but I'm a little slow to adjust to the present "me". Sort of an ego adjustment in addition to the physical adjustments.

OK, my Southeastern Trail Series Races take a little break till September and then it goes full-bore. I'll train, I'll line up, and I'll do my best. With each race, I get to know the evolving "me" better. I may not be crazy about it, but I'll learn to co-exist with the situation. Hey, it's my choice and I choose to be there. So, as my buddy Ken says, "Shut the hell up and get to the finish line".

Now, I've gotta go and get my stuff together for my training run on the trails tomorrow morning. The clock keeps ticking! Gonna be great, gonna tear it up, gonna charge the hills...oh wait, that's the ol' Al. How 'bout I aim to get from Point A to Point B and be happy I can still do that. Yeah, now that's a plan.

I'll see you all on the roads (or trail) - AL

"One child lost is too many...one child saved can change the world"

The History and Changes of the Marathon Training Clinic

"Before I speak, I have something important to say" - Groucho Marx

Way back in the late 70's, there was a rather select group of runners in the Birmingham area that had actually done several marathons - Adam Robertson, Ray Giles, Rick Melanson, and a few more. They were the icons of local running who could complete what was then the almost unreachable finish line of a marathon. At the time, in the infancy of of the masses running, most local races were 10k's with an accompanying 2 mile Fun Run. Hoover, the town where I now live, was the site of my very first race and later in '79 had what I believe was the only Half Marathon around. In February of 1979, the three year-old Birmingham Track Club hosted the 1st Magic City Marathon that was run through the streets of Birmingham and several miles to the East into the slowly decaying neighborhood of Woodlawn. Running was starting to BOOM in Birmingham. Still, the information on how to train and run these marathons was more myth than fact.

I had just begun running less than a year before that 1st Magic City Marathon, but actually had little desire to attempt such a unfathomable distance. C'mon, 26 miles? Run? 3+ hours? I knew how I felt after the 10k's I had done and really didn't care to extend my lungs and heart four times the distance. However, due to my other interest at the time, photography, I followed a couple of friends around the Magic City course as they tackled the marathon, photographing their gradual physical demise as they ticked off the miles. When they finished and I saw their complete exhaustion, the total muscular fatigue, the spent energy depletion, the blisters, the hobbled gait from the finish line, their Finisher's keychain, there was only one thing for me to say..."I gotta get me some of that. Where do I sign up?". 

Following that race, the aforementioned local icon marathoners held a retrospective class on how to run a marathon. It was a one-night, 3-4 hour open forum type talk that covered all aspects of this mysterious side of running. It was like hearing Jonas Salk teaching you in one night how to cure polio - you had no idea what it was, but you wanted to do it. Nine months later, I ran in the 1st Vulcan Marathon here in Birmingham, and as they say, the rest is history. I was hooked for life. Thirty-four years later, I have run 135 marathons or ultras, and although the times have become agonizingly slow, I still toe the line a few times a year. One of the great joys I have had, in addition to being able to keep my body relatively healthy enough to do these crazy distances, is that I have had the opportunity through the years to teach what I have learned to those other runners that wanted to dip their feet into the marathon waters. 

In 1983, I was asked to assist Murray Binderman to hold a series of meetings where we would talk about the different aspects of marathon training in preparation for Vulcan. It was pretty well attended for the 4-5 meetings we held, but fairly informal. The next year, Murray decided not to do the classes, so I took over. I was able to obtain a room at UAB every other week for 5 months, and the Marathon Clinic was supported by the Birmingham Track Club. We had refreshments and handouts and sometimes we needed extra chairs. Sometimes, we had a guest speaker, but most of the time, I  would hold court. After going through one of my classes, Charles Thompson jumped in and helped do some of the teaching and mechanics of the clinic. He continues to help today.  There was, and never has been, any cost to take part, and no accountability - you showed up if you wanted and didn't if you didn't want to. Our group would have these bi-weekly classes and meet every Sunday somewhere on the marathon course to follow a cookie-cutter training schedule I put together that could accommodate several levels of runners (no run/walk back then). In those days, when computers were in their infancy, I had to draw the training maps with a pen and a ruler. It's funny, but one of the primary routes many local runners still use during their training these days is running up a quarter-mile hill up Overbrook Road. The reason we run up it is because it was easier for me to draw one long straight line than to draw a bunch of short lines meandering through the neighborhood. My legacy is set long after I'm gone!! Al's Hill!! 

Now, I held this Marathon Clinic for 11 years, but now let's fast-forward to 1995 when I was asked to become the Run Coach for the Leukemia Society's Team-in-Training (later the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society). The training for the Society went year-round training groups to go here, there, and everywhere, so when training for The Vulcan Marathon and later the Mercedes Marathon (founded in 2002) came around, I merely merged the two groups together for the runs, but gradually, the classes became too unwieldy for the different groups and so I changed my disemination of information from mostly classes to a weekly email called RUNNING WITH AL. If that title sounds familiar, look at the top of this page! Since '95, we began meeting for runs at the Brownell Building (now the NBC Bank Building) and to this day, it is one of the major meeting places for groups of runners in the general Birmmingham area to meet on the weekends. After training a group for the 1997 Midnight Sun Marathon in Alaska, Ken Harkless, who had run that marathon for the Society, asked if he could co-coach the Leukemia runners. He only had to ask once and has been by my side to this day. Together, we have coached probably several thousands of runners, but who's counting. In 2010, after 15 years of being the Leukemia Run Coach, I turned the reins over to Prince Whatley, who has very ably taken over those runners, while I continued to train the Mercedes Marathon guys (the Vulcan Marathon folded in 2000). Ken continues to coach the run/walkers for the Leukemia Runners in addition continuing to be by my side training our local group of  marathon and halfmarathon runners, training for our Birmingham Mercedes Marathon, as well as marathons all over. Ken and I would put out coolers and say "go", but most of the coaching over the last 2+ years has since been done through my RUNNING WITH AL blog, or RWA's little brother blog, TRAINING WITH AL. 

In the past couple of years, the Birmingham running scene has exploded both on the roads and on the trails. Led mostly by The Trak Shak Running Shops, there have been social events, almost weekly races of several distances, and the very successful Mercedes Marathon. In addition, local training groups have sprung up all over town and are doing great with promotions, cohesiveness, and direction. One of the most popular is the Birmingham Track Club's Long Distance Training Group (begun in 2006) that meets every Saturday from The Trak Shak's front door in Homewood. Coordinated by Natalie Ferguson, every week  it seems that they gather 30-40-50 or more runners for their runs of 8-22 miles. They have volunteers to man water coolers and I believe they may even have Pace Leaders for some of their runs. So, it only seems right that the Sunday Marathon Training Group should move and merge (?) with the Saturday group. 

And so, my friends, after 28 years, I am about to turn the direction, planning, and coordination of training you marathoners over to Natalie and her crew. I will help any way I can and will continue to write TRAINING WITH AL once the formal training begins. More information about the group's runs will be coming soon, but the best way to keep up is to sign up on their Facebook page. Also, Ken and I will continue to show up on Sundays to say "go" at NBC, but it's getting harder and harder for me to keep up with you guys on the runs, but I'll be there riding shotgun. As usual, ask me anything at any time about any subject concerning marathoning. If I don't know the answer, I'll make something up that will sound very believable. And as always, as I have done for more than the past three decades...
I'll see you on the roads - AL



"One child lost is too many...one child saved can change the world"