The Forgotten

Occasionally, in this space, I’ll write about a topic other than running. Sometimes, something catches my eye and just begs to be explored, or reflected upon.This is one of those times…

Early one morning, in Pontiac Michigan, Pia Farrenkopf quietly walked to her garage, got into her car, and died. This is not unusual. Approximately 34,000 Americans die every year in their vehicles and over 10 times that many die annually in their homes. So, Pia Farrenkopf’s death in her car at her home was not, in and of itself, unusual. What was unusual about Pia’s death, however, was that she died and no one noticed.

…for SIX YEARS!

100 Mile Training Plan

Below is the training plan that I hope will get me to the starting line, and prepare me to finish, my first 100 mile race.  It’s a plan that I’ve adapted from the one in Bryon Powell’s excellent book – Relentless Forward Progress.  I have extended his 24 week program to 36 weeks in order to accommodate a 50 Mile Goal Race which occurs at the end of Week 16.

The precepts of the plan are pretty simple. Build mileage steadily with 1 recovery week for every 3 weeks of building.  Back to back long runs on the weekend to practice running on tired legs.  And some sort of mid-week “speed work”.  Nothing too aggressive, just some fartleks, tempo runs or long hill repeats to get your legs turning over at a more rapid than normal rate.

You’ll notice that I don’t have many “zero” days scheduled.  I do this because, for one reason or another, off days generally happen on their own anyway.  But, I do plan on taking my “easy” days very easy and substituting cross training (or gym time) as the body dictates. Eventually, when the weather decides to cooperate, I will be doing most of my longs runs on the trails.  But, for now, I’m on the roads    ... dreaming of dirt.

100 Mile Training Plan:
Wk.	M	T	W	T	F	S	S	Tot.	Comments
1	6	8	6	8	6	20	10	64
2	6	8	10	8	6	16	14	68
3	6	8	6	8	4	6	34	72	6-Hr Race
4	6	8	6	8	6	16	10	60	Recovery
5	6	8	10	8	6	24	12	74
6	6	8	10	8	6	20	18	76
7	6	8	10	8	6	22	18	78
8	6	8	8	8	6	16	10	62	Recovery
9	6	8	10	4	6	32	8	66	50k Race
10	6	8	12	8	6	24	12	76
11	6	8	10	8	6	22	20	80
12	6	8	6	8	6	18	12	64	Recovery
13	6	8	12	8	4	12	20	70	25k Race
14	6	8	6	8	6	12	4	50	Recovery
16	6	0	6	0	4	50	4	70	50m Race
17	4	6	8	6	4	16	6	50	Recovery
18	4	8	6	8	4	18	10	58
19	6	8	6	8	6	20	10	64
20	6	8	6	8	6	16	6	56	Recovery
21	6	8	6	8	6	20	12	66
22	6	8	8	4	6	28	10	70	28m Race
23	6	8	6	8	6	16	10	60	Recovery
24	6	8	8	8	6	20	12	68
25	6	8	8	8	6	24	12	72
26	6	8	6	0	4	50	4	78	50m Race
27	6	8	8	8	6	16	10	62	Recovery
28	6	8	10	8	6	24	12	74
29	6	8	8	8	6	22	20	78
30	6	8	12	8	4	10	32	80	50k Race
31	6	8	10	8	6	16	10	64	Recovery
32	6	8	6	8	6	22	20	76
33	6	8	6	8	6	26	20	80
34	6	8	6	8	4	20	8	60	Taper
35	6	8	6	8	0	12	6	46	Taper
36	6	0	6	0	4	100	4	120	100m Race
								69	weekly avg

The Road Not Taken

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler …”

In stark contrast to my Recent Training sessions with friends, my 2014 Racing Schedule is a decidedly solo endeavor.   While most of my running friends, and training buddies, will be doing both the New England and New Hampshire Grand Prix Race Series, my primary focus for this year will be on longer races. Specifically Ultras!

“… Long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear;  Though as for that the passing there had worn them really about the same…”

In previous seasons, my racing schedule (much like my friends) has mostly revolved around My Running Club’s two major race series – the NEGP and NHGP.  In fact, I’ve run over 30 NHGP races and 40 NEGP races in the 16 years since I began my running career.  So, I am certainly no stranger to these great and well-attended race events.

“…And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day...”

This year, instead of running those big races like I've typically done in the past, I’ve decided to attempt something very different.  Building off of the success I had at the Stonecat 50, and the fun I had during last year’s Summer of 48, I’m going to be spending 2014 seeing just how far I can push myself and testing the limits of what I think I can do.

“… Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back…”

Who knows how this little experiment of mine will turn out?  I do know that I love running and racing on trails.  And I do know that I have a certain knack for running great distances without tiring.  So it seems, at least for now, that my immediate running future lies more in long trail races and than it does in short road races.

“… I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence…”

It does make me sad sometimes to know that I’m missing out on spending time with my friends at the races we used to run together.  Particularly on the 16th of March, when 52 of my teamates will be heading down to New Bedford for the Half Marathon and I’ll be up here doing 3.5 mile laps in the Woods of Andover - for 6 hours.

“… Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by,  And that has made all the difference.”

But, even in those rare moments of sadness, I still feel like I’m doing the right thing by running a less-traveled path and seeing just how far it will take me.   And, I know that my friends will be there in spirit, every kick-ass step of the way!

~ Poem excepts from "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.

Crazy Loves Company

As I previously wrote HERE, it’s great to have running friends who are just as nuts as you are. So when you decide to jump aboard the “crazy train”, you can probably get a few of them to come along for the ride!

Such was the case two weeks ago when a group of us did our annual “Pack Attack” -  an 18 mile run out-and-back along the first 9 miles of the Pack Monadnock Road Race.  Over the course of the 9 mile run up to the base of Pack Monadnock Mountain, the back-country roads of Wilton and Temple, NH rise almost 1500 feet!  As a result, the run out is always a challenge, particularly the last 1 mile stretch where the average grade is close to 10%!  The return trip is much easier, but there are still a few sneaky little hills which can really zap your already tired legs.

When I put out the call for people to join me this year, the response was tremendous.  18 miles on snowy, slushy roads?  Sure.  1500 feet of elevation gain and loss?  OK.  2 extra bonus miles to avoid an un-plowed section of road near the reservoir?  No problem, as long as we still get breakfast!  We started doing this run in 2006 and have done it at least once a year ever since. The first year we ran it, we had 4 people.  This year, we had 26 come out and join in the now 20 Miles of Fun!

Running Log

I've been running for 16 years now and, for all but the first two years, I've kept a running log to track each and every one of my workouts.  Occasionally, I'll crack open some of my old logs to compare training notes from year to year.  See what worked, and more importantly, what didn't. It's kind of fun to look back and look at where you were then, compared to where you are now.  Except, of course,  when you come to the stunning realization that despite the fact that you're working harder than ever, your times are getting slower and slower.

Heck, if I knew that in 2008-2009 I was going to be at the apex of my running career I would have planted a flag at the top of that mountain, or something! :)

Anyway, here are some of the high/low lites from the last 16 years - as seen through the pages of my of running logs.  Each year has my approximate miles per week (mpw) for that year, important race results, life happening, log notes in "bold italics" and current race PR's in RED. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane just as much as I did.

100 Miles For Sam

Last Fall, I became aware of a remarkable young man named Sam Berns.  Sam was a junior at Foxboro High School, loved Legos, loved playing drums in his high school marching band and wanted to be a scientist when he grew up.  Sam also suffered from a rare disease known as Progeria.  But to see him, the word "suffer" would never even have entered your mind - facing his fatal disease with a strength and wisdom few adults will ever know.

In the HBO Documentary Life According to Sam his first words to us all were, "I didn't put myself in front of you so you could feel bad for me; I put myself in front of you to let you know you don't have to feel bad for me."  I watched the whole documentary with my wife.  We both cried and hugged and thanked God all our children were healthy.  Afterwards, I couldn't stop thinking about how brave he was and how strong his parents (both doctors trying to find a cure) were through all of this.  And, I vowed to do something to help.

Late last week Sam died.  He was just 17 years old.

An Ice Start

The first stop on my 2014 Ultra Tour was the GAC Fat Ass 50k at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, MA.  This race was originally scheduled for Jan 4th, which just happened to coincide with winter storm “Hercules” - a greek gale that dropped a ridiculous 24 inches of snow squarely on Topsfield.  Knowing the race organizers, I’m sure they would have been happy to hold the race in those conditions, had there been any place for us to park.  However, the park ranger plows (scheduled to clear the lots) refused to intercede and the race was delayed for 7 days.

A Frost Advisory

Running Through the Woods on a Snowy Evening*

Whose woods these are, I think I know
His condo’s in the village though
He will not see me stopping here

To write my name upon the snow

My GPS must think it queer
To stop without an outhouse near
Snowshoeing along a frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year

I give my watch another shake
To see if there is some mistake
The only other sound's the bleep
Of burning lungs and heart earthquake

The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have training logs to keep
And miles to run before I sleep
And miles to run before I sleep

* ripped off from the great Robert Frost - and butchered beyond repair!

The Snows of Kilimanjaro

For a taste of some real writing, here's an excerpt from one of my all-time favorites.  Nobody did it better than Papa Hemingway!

"He looked at her face between him and the fire. She was leaning back in the chair and the firelight shone on her pleasantly lined face and he could see that she was sleepy. He heard the hyena make a noise just outside the range of the fire.

'I've been writing,' he said. 'But I got tired’

'Do you think you will be able to sleep?’

'Pretty sure. Why don't you turn in?'

'I like to sit here with you.’

'Do you feel anything strange?' he asked her.

'No. Just a little sleepy.'

'I do,' he said.

He had just felt death come by again.

'You know the only thing I've never lost is curiosity’ he said to her.

'You've never lost anything. You're the most complete man I've ever known.'

'Christ’ he said. 'How little a woman knows. What is that? Your intuition?'

Because, just then, death had come and rested it’s head on the foot of the cot and he could smell its breath.

Back and Forth

I started 2013 off with the rather ambitious goal of setting road PR’s for every distance from the mile to the marathon. However, an early and persistent calf injury kept me from being able to get the quality speed work I needed, so I decided to change course (literally) and do more trail races and mountain runs. Fortunately for me, it turned out to be one of the best and most enjoyable years of running that I’ve ever had!

Here are a few of the highlights from this past year:

Ran a total of 3018 Miles – my second highest ever.
Completed 19 races – 9 road, 6 trail and 4 mountain.
Ran a Course PR at the Boston Prep 16m.
Did my first ever Century (100 mile bike) ride.
Had a great 7 Sisters – Probably my best race of the year.
Ran a gravity-aided 17:33 5k PR* at the Hollis Fast 5k.
Had my first ever 90 & 100 miles training weeks.
Ran a Course PR at the Bear Brook Trail Marathon.
Completed 7 WMAC Grand Tree Series races.
Finished 12th overall and 4th in my AG for the GT.
Ran/Hiked all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4000 foot peaks.
Qualified for Boston again – with 14 1/2 minutes to spare.
Helped guide GCS to our 6th straight Mill Cities Championship.

As outlined here, I hope that 2014 will be the “Year of the Ultra” as I try to complete my first ever 100 mile race - in late October. So, pretty much everything I do this year will be working towards achieving that goal. Interspersed amongst the Ultras, will be some of the Gate City Strider club races in both the New England and New Hampshire grand prix series.

As always, I expect that there will be a few bumps along that road, but hopefully I’ll be able to handle them with quiet dignity and grace. If not, I hope at least to make it seem that way. :)

Cheers and Happy New Year!

Hitting The Wall

In the sport of marathon running, the term “Hitting the Wall” refers to a point in the 26.2 mile race where a runner suffers from a depletion of glycogen stores in the muscles, resulting in a sudden loss of energy and an overwhelming feeling of fatigue.  I have run dozens of marathons over the years and have had this happen to me nearly every time.  Recently though, it feels like I’ve hit a very different wall.  It feels to me now, like I’m hitting the wall of life.


In marathon racing (and training) “The Wall” is very real and comes almost without any discernable warning.  One minute you’re clicking off the miles with relative ease, and the next, you’re barely walking.  And so it has been lately with me in my life outside of running.  Things have been going along relatively smoothly these past few years, and now for some reason it seems like I can’t get out of my own way.  I feel like my energy has been zapped and I’m staggering to the finish line.

The Darkest Day

December 21st, five years ago today
The earth did have its darkest day
The winter solstice marked the time
A brightest light was snuffed away

The jumbo jet fell from the sky
While ornaments were hung on high
Innocent victim of a terrorist act
A senseless cause for one to die

Family and friends could not believe
This joyous season now one to grieve
The trip abroad with much to share
Memories lost we'd not retrieve

Stoic and strong we had to try
But played the songs with teary eye
Classmates and some not seen in years
Gathered together to say goodbye

Goodbye to one so young of age
A too our youth we turned the page
Saddened so that each had passed
A sense of loss combined with rage

Though solstice has the longest night
Day with scarce amount of light
It also brings a ray of hope
That those to come will be more bright

And if an answer's to be sought
For this wicked evil wrought
Give your love to friends each day
That’s the greatest lesson taught

Steve

Written in 1993 and dedicated to my friend Steven Boland who was killed  in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21st, 1988. 


If you liked this poem, I have a few more over here.