After flaming out during HOTS in a major way I was ready to redeem myself at the earliest possible juncture. I hadn’t expected such an opportunity to come so soon, but when Brent called me in mid July and asked if I’d be interested in doing a charity run with him to raise money for the Family Enrichment Center in Bowling Green, I was totally in. In years past Brent has volunteered for this organization and has played a major role in setting up their annual half marathon run and their mud run. With Covid, those events were cancelled this year and he wanted to try to help the organization in any way he knew how. He, like myself, also just enjoys having an adventure and facing a challenge.
Continue readingBy the time we reached Somerville the sun had dipped completely behind the horizon. I was sick to my stomach from eating nothing but french fries and salt and drinking sugary drinks. I climbed the stairs to the city hall which was right on highway 64. I laid down flat on the concrete and took my pack off. I felt like barfing and I honestly wanted to because I knew I would feel better afterwards. But there was no such relief so I just laid there. I felt otherwise fine although we had been on our feet through the entire heat of the day.
Continue readingI’ve taken over a month to consider my experience with HOTS, Lazarus Lake’s latest 340 mile road race from West Memphis, Arkansas to Castle Rock, Georgia. I had registered for this event almost a full year earlier and my name had been called off the wait-list in December, shortly after finishing Tunnel Hill 100 when my spirits were running high and I felt invincible. For years I had been obsessed with the Last Annual Vol State Road Race and when that sold out and I was placed on the wait-list, I was at first disappointed until Laz revealed his plan to start a new race with a similar premise. When I was fortunate enough to enter, I was terribly apprehensive but simultaneously elated.
Continue reading4.1 Miles per hour for 12 hours! May 9th 2020
After running 60 some odd laps around an 800 meter loop a week earlier my legs didn’t feel awful, I felt fresh and the longing for miles had returned. I don’t really have a strategy for the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee, but I don’t really want to play catch up in August either, so I decided to join some friends for a Backyard Ultra challenge this past Saturday. At that point I was about 50 miles into the GVRAT with around 600 to go. I haven’t been particularly concerned about finishing because if push comes to shove I’ll just cram a lot of miles in a single week.
Continue readingMay 2nd, 2020 – Natcher 50K
Everyone responds to situations differently and for me the near total shutdown of society beginning in March and extending to the present has unfortunately sapped me of my motivation to go run. The very first weekend I had a half marathon that was cancelled and so I went and ran with some friends and got a solid PR at 132:36 or thereabouts. In doing this I managed to tweak my hamstring, which I believe is suffering from some sort of tendonitis, but at least for a little while longer I won’t be able to be seen about it.
Continue readingSnapshot: 3/14/2020, Half Marathon 1:32:38
Well, unless you’ve been living on the moon you must be aware of the Covid-19 virus that is wreaking havoc across the globe. I imagine all of you have also been impacted by it in some way. Fortunately for me, the worst that I’ve had to deal with is simply some race cancellations, which, while being a disappointment, is hardly anything to whine about under the circumstances. I had been scheduled to run the Wendell Foster Half Marathon this past Saturday, but like most events it was postponed until the Fall. I have been training hard for the half marathon and I had planned on pushing for a PR effort at the race.
Continue readingWeek in Review Snapshot:
Mileage: 39 miles (Workouts 0.0, Long 12, Easy 15.4, Race Pace 13.1)
Coming off of a great 3 weeks of training including a PR during training on the half marathon as well a very scenic 12 miler through the countryside, I thought this week would be great. And I was wrong. I felt totally gassed on Monday and Tuesday morning and let myself rest and recover after the two long runs over the weekend. I got out Wednesday for a good easy run and was feeling good. I had planned on doing a workout and some more easy miles over the next two days followed by a half marathon effort on Saturday to end my week. Unfortunately, I went to a local Indian buffet for lunch on Wednesday and showed zero self-restraint.
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