Monday, October 31, 2011

Don't Just Race to Finish

Probably the most common advice I see for first time marathoners, ultramarathoners or triathletes is, "your goal for your first race should be just to finish." I think this is lousy advice.

Nowadays in endurance sports, cheating has become very high tech; EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone...but one British runner decided to take a page out of Rosie Ruiz's book to take third place at the Kielder Marathon on October 9 in Northumberland, England.

Having won a 10K the previous day, Sloan was floundering 20 miles into the rain-soaked marathon. He flagged down a spectator bus to the finish, hid in some trees for the first runners to pass, then trotted across the finish line to take third place.

The Art of the Slow Start

Endurance athletes hear it all the time. Start slow. Don't go out too fast. You can't bank time. I once read in a Runners' World article that for every second you run too fast in the first half of a marathon, you lose two seconds in the second half. It's a simple principle, but for some reason it's really easy to mess it up.

One reason for this is that it's a little counterintuitive. It seems like if you start too fast, you will likely slow down at the end, but shouldn't it all even out in the end? Unfortunately, just like a headwind slows you down more than a tailwind speeds you up, if you go out too fast, the time lost at the end of the race is always more than the time gained at the start.

The Kenyan Advantage

Photo by The Wolf

Since the 1980's, long distance running has been dominated by East African athletes. Runners such as Ethioia's Haille Gebresallasie and Kenenisa Bekela and Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge (see photo), Moses Mosop and Wesley Korir have consistently finished ahead of western runners in distances from the 5K to the marathon. Not to mention, the last U.S. medalist in the Olympic marathon was Meb Keflizighi, who was born in Eritrea and later moved to San Diego when he was 12 years old.

As prize money creeps in to ultra running, there's reason to believe it won't be long before the East Africans will soon dominate there as well. The money will simply attract bigger talent. But the question remains: How have East African countries, year after year been able to produce top-notch running talent? There's been much speculation on the reasons for East African dominance. There are a a few myths out there that are worth dispelling before I get to my opinion.

4 Lessons from Oil Creek

I've said before, that every race is useful. Whether it's a matter of a plan coming together and running a PR, or having a bad day and coming up short of my goal, I always seem to take something away from each race. Normally it's the bad races that I learn the most from, but I learned a ton about my body, my fitness and race strategy from Oil Creek.

No White at Night

3M created this video to promote their reflective materials. I think it's a pretty good reminder of how important it is to make yourself visible at night. In addition to the reflective material that they promote, I like wearing a Blinking Safety Light to catch the eye of motorists - they aren't expensive and can be a matter of life and death.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Oil Creek 50K Race Report

Going into last weekend, I had a lot of doubts about how the race would go. After a humbling experience at the On the Rocks Trail Run, I wasn't sure how well I'd hold up for an extra 15 miles on tough, rugged trails. It had been over 2 1/2 years since I last ran an ultra, and I hadn't run more than 22 miles since May.

In the days leading up to the race I watched the forecast and saw the forecast for the high temperature slowly rise day after day. Thursday morning I checked and saw it would be in the mid-70's when I expected to finish. My original plan was to just carry one water bottle for the entire race, but with 5.9 miles between the last water-only aid station and the finish, one bottle wasn't going to cut it. So for the first time ever, I prepared a drop bag to use at Aid Station #2 (Petroleum Center) with a one-bottle waist carrier, some baby wipes, saltstick caps and GU Roctane. The bottle would remain empty until Aid Station #3 (Miller's Farm) but the only site 50K runners can leave a drop bag is Petroleum Center (100K and 100 Mile Runners can also use AS #4 Titusville Middle School which is also the start/finish line.)

5 Reasons East Coast Trails Deserve Some Recognition

It seems that most trail running and ultra running periodicals and websites have a focus on the western half of the country. There are several reasons for this, one being that many of these periodicals are based out west. It's also because the mountains out west are higher and there's just a heck of a lot more wilderness to run in out there.

Let's not forget though there are still plenty of dirt paths winding through mountainous forest here in the East. No, we can't match Leadville's altitude or the solitude of Montana, but trails on the East Coast have their own advantages and challenges.

Oil Creek 50K Preview

This Saturday will be the third running of the Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs. There are three events: the 50K, the 100K and 100 Mile. The races have been around only since 2009, but thanks to the efforts of the race director, support from the community, hiker-friendly cutoffs (especially for the 50K), and the general growth of the sport, the 50K sold out in 2 1/2 hours and the 100K in 28 hours.

The race takes place at the birthplace of the American oil industry, Oil Creek State Park in western Pennsylvania. The course is a 50K loop around the park, mostly on the Gerard Hiking Trails. I'm expecting some big hills, roots, rocks and even ancient oil pipelines slowing me down out on the trail. The elevation change is roughly twice that of the Finger Lakes Fifties 50K, but I'm expecting it have slightly less elevation change than On the Rocks. 100K runners will make two loops and 100 Milers will make three with an added out-and-back section.

How to Run in the Cold

2010SilverSpringsXC 029 By Dawn - Pink Chick

This summer posed a lot of challenges for runners. Torrential downpours, 100-degree days and humidity that can only be compared to an indoor swimming pool slowed us down, gave us headaches and just plain tuckered us out. But summer is over and although fall seems to be a bit late, it has hit hard with some pretty chilly temperatures here in the Mid-Atlantic.

One nice thing about summer is that you didn't have to think much about what you were going to wear for your run. Socks, shoes and shorts. And a t-shirt depending on what level of modesty you were comfortable with that day. But as temperatures drop decisions become more difficult and even a bit nuanced.