What I did on my summer vacation, a report by Charlie Ban

I had the good fortune to be able to spend a few days at the cabin that my coach Steve Taylor built, along with his brothers and friends, in Giles County, Va. I ran, ate, slept, read and explored the mountainous region of the New River Valley near and in the Jefferson National Forest in a 4.5-day stretch that turned out to be just what I needed to push my marathon training forward with renewed vigor.

After my work schedule quashed my plans to spend a week in northern California, I was looking around for some kind of running retreat, and Steve graciously offered me the use of his cabin when I asked him for suggestions. It was a few hours away from my usual weekend destination in the Canaan Valley, WV, but it was worth the trip, and, as he said, the price was right.

Steve has been a great coach and friend since I met him in October 2001, while visiting the University of Richmond for the first time. We talked at the time about our shared acquaintances Kristin Price (whom he and his wife Lori coached the year before at Virginia Tech and I knew from my nascent road racing career) and Scott Munro (whom he tried to recruit to come to Tech and I knew from high school track and his years living with my friend Charlie at Penn State).

Though he was rightly skeptical of a middling former Division III runner whose transfer made me possibly ineligible for a while, he gave me a fair shot and stuck with me through

a two week adjustment to Richmond's crippling summer heat and humidity in which any lesser coach would have cut me to get me out of his hair and saw his patience pay off when I finished among the varsity runners in our alumni race.

He has continued to encourage me in my pursuit of the running lifestyle and his offer to let me stay at the cabin did a lot to get me through part of a hot and muggy month and spend time recovering from the rest of the world. My other running-heavy trip, Reno, was also work-centric, so I didn't get the chance to nap, veg out and unplug from the world like I did in Giles County.

The view from the cabin's back porch.

Mountain Lake

I drove through the afternoon Saturday and arrived at the cabin around 6. After unpacking a little, I headed to the Mountain Lake to get an eight mile run before dinner. I started at 4000 feet and climbed until I reached a transformer station at the top of that particular hill. As I added distance to my run on different trails, I started to get a chill- I was no longer in the Washington area where running with a shirt was silly.

I headed to Perisburg to Queen's Pizza and Subs for dinner. Steve told me he ate there four nights in a row earlier this summer and it did not surprise me one bit. Great menu here- New York-oriented food without having to deal with New Yorkers.

I had a steak and cheese sub and a medium pizza and devoured it all. I fell asleep around 10:30, since there was no electricity to enable me in staying up too late. I planned to get up early and do a long run in the Cascades Recreation Area, but I ended up sleeping until 8:30, which was a little later than I had planned.

I headed back up to the Mountain Lake and parked farther down the road at the biological center. I ran to a grass-covered road and followed it until I hit the trail system, took that to the hotel and then followed the road back to the parking lot, then added on 33 minutes out and back farther out on the road to total 10 miles. I leafed through the new copy of Running Times and read fellow Spider track and journalism enthusiast Dan Petty's article.

After a nap, I read The Best Game Ever. It was a non-fiction book. It was a good book. It was about a football game. Some people say it was maybe the best game ever. (Is this satire of grade school book reports doing anything for anyone?)

That evening I took the camera out to the War Spur Trail and took some shots as I ran another seven miles. I tried to connect to the Appalachian Trail, but the farther I ran the less it seemed like I was making any headway.

Some parts of the War Spur Trail were so wild I couldn't always exactly follow the trail, and I very well may have veered off into the woods a few times.

I went back to Queens and had another steak sandwich and a dozen mild chicken wings, which were naturally too hot for me until the actual temperature cooled down.

The War Spur Trail, just look for where there aren't any ferns and run there.
Breathtaking view from the War Spur Overlook.
Where does the trail go, anyway? I don't really care, it's just good.
You have to duck a little.

Cascades Trail

I got up early on Monday and went to the nearby Cascades Recreation Area to start my 20 mile or so long run. I started with a 2+ mile trip on the second of two trails to the waterfalls. The trail was mostly large rocks and I moved very carefully, not wanting to destroy my legs in a fall. After a while I got sick of it and moved up to the trail across the creek, which was wider, softer and mostly dirt and small rocks and I was able to open up my stride and feel natural. I took that back to the parking lot, stopped at the bathroom and grabbed a drink from the car. I headed back out, intending on making a trail if I had to. I passed the waterfall and found a logging trail Steve had mentioned. I followed it until I wound up seemingly in someone's yard, and kept going. I ran out to the road and then followed it up the mountain for an hour, and I was moving pretty quickly at this point, enjoying the climb and the challenge.

The backdrop of the Cascades Trail area.

I wondered how recently anyone else had been out there, and whether I should have brought any water with me. Every almost every 3.5 minutes I saw a beer can, so I started considering them unofficial half-mile markets.

The Cascades Trail (in the fall). (I didn't take this)

It wasn't terribly warm, but I was moist with sweat and needed to wring my shirt out when I turned around after an hour of running and climbing but it was wet with effort, not my skin's tears. It had been a while since I had been this comfortable on a run, probably since my last day in Reno.

Later, I found I had started at about 2200 feet and stopped around 4100.

Logging Trail (in the fall). (I didn't take this)

The trip down was fun, though with all of the rocks in the road I wasn't exactly tearing irresponsibly down the mountain. I did get back to the car 11 minutes faster than it took me to get to the turnaround. I added a loop out on the road and back for an even 2:30, which I approximated to be about 21 miles. I took a nice nap in the afternoon and glanced through Bruce Fordyce's Marathon Runner's Handbook, which I curiously checked out of the Falls Church library, hoping to see what he suggested. Turns out, not much, but some of the anachronistic running fashions made for amusing photos.

I stopped by Howard Nippert's house down the road to check out his home remodeling effort. He has pretty much torn the house apart and undid all the damage and neglect the previous owners contributed and has a great project going on. Howard is an old Virgina Tech teammate of Steve and Lori's and one of their best friends. He kept increasing his racing distance and is now one of the county's top ultrarunners, competing in distances that make me ill to consider. He set me up with a road loop the next morning, then I hit Queens again for a chicken sandwich and fried mushrooms.

Running clothes have a way of adding up.

Clover Hollow

I drove out to Newport to the Clover Hollow Road loop that Howard suggested. Not having a detailed map, I wanted to drive it first, and of course, I missed some crucial detail as to where I should turn. Howard said to just stay on the same road and it would create a 6.2 mile loop, but I couldn't remember where he told me to park.
So, I just parked at Clover Hollow's intersection with Placid Lane, with the blessing of the woman who lived on the corner, and set out at about 10:40. I ran 40 minutes out through beautiful rolling farmland and turned around and came back, finishing five minutes faster than when I came out. It turns out the loop included a small portion of Jones Lane, which I passed about 1.5 into the run. I ended up doing about 11.25 miles in 80- minutes- 7:08 pace. Not great, but it was hot and sunny and I was a little worried about getting lost. I really enjoyed the views, though.
I liked the rolling hills.

It got a little gross

I went to Christianburg to see Inception, then came back to the cabin for my afternoon run.

I was headed down to Whitt-Riverbend Park for some flat recovery running. I crossed the train bridge, which was a little frightening, and ran along the tracks, looking for a break in the fence to get to the park. I smelled a pungent oder, much like the pellets you could feed to animals at the zoo when I was younger. When one such trip to the fence proved fruitless, I climbed back to the tracks and was staring right into the eyes of a deer. On its side. On the train tracks. With no flesh or fur anywhere but its head, otherwise just a skeleton. I must have an iron stomach, because the smell was enough to choke me- I am shocked I didn't vomit.

I eventually didn't find a way in farther down the tracks, so I headed back, then right before I crossed back over the bridge I saw there was a wooden frame on the fence at about the same level as the barbed wire.

I could climb onto it and jump over the barbed wire. I did a few laps around the park, running a trail along the New River and back up to the campground area that was perfectly flat. I probably did about 6.5-7 miles. Then, back over the fence and up the hill to the cabin and a korean stir fry dinner in Pembroke.

Pandapas Park and the trip home

I got up Wednesday and met Howard at Pandapas Park in Newport.

We ran around for nine miles and toward the end I noticed the humidity and temperature start to creep up. I ditched the shirt and had some Gatorade and headed back out for six more miles, but about a mile in I started to get lightheaded, so I went back to the car and decided to put off some of the distance until my afternoon run.

I drove home, with a stop in Salem to check out Roanoke College, where my brother Edward is starting in a few weeks. It's a nice enough place, but it left me missing Hampden-Sydney, despite the persistent boredom and lack of women. I tried to go to Roanoke to see a few sights suggested by my stepmother, who grew up there, but just as I was arriving, a heavy storm moved in and I headed back home.

I made a detour into Centreville to do my afternoon run at Walney Park. When I got out of the car, the discomfort inherent in northern Virginia punched me in the face, then the kidneys, then the groin. This was going to be miserable. I headed off for my first of three 3.25 mile loops on the wood chips and dirt. It's a really nice park, and it feels softer than anything else on which I run. The heat got to me after about 20 minutes, but I kept pressing. I started to feel better around 35, then I stopped to use the restroom and the heat that I felt the second I stepped into the confined portable bathroom was too much to bear. The smell wasn't a factor, it was just so hot. I was once again nauseated, but managed to hold onto my lunch. I stopped after 6.5 miles and headed home, after 20 minutes of trying to stop sweating.

This wire counts the number of people who enter Walney Park, both to keep records and to put Joe Wiegner out of a job.

Boring 100 mile week

Last Friday- Slept in, ran 3.5 or so on the treadmill before heading home because my only chance to run was at 3 pm and I was on a tight schedule.

Saturday evening- ran 7.5 miles in Schenley Park, Squirrel Hill and Greenfield late in the afternoon, averaged 6:57.

Sunday morning- Gathered a group together for a long run in the West End. Greg Brynes, Eric Shafer, Steve garrand, Moira Davenport, Laura O'Hara and Jess Gangjee. I was planning on running 20 miles, the first 90 minutes at 8:00 pace and then ratcheting the pace up until the end, but nobody else wanted to do 20. I also had a 15 mile course, so we went with that. It was very relaxed, since we didn't want to lose anyone, so we just kind of cruised along at a little over 8:00 pace, stopped for Gatorade twice. We did have one snafu when I led us on the wrong side of the Montour Railroad tracks, rather than the smooth paved surface of Napor Boulevard, we climbed over a lot of fist-sized rocks along the tracks. Brandon G drove to see us in Fairywood, and was waiting for us at the finish. It wasn't hard at all and given how rough I felt after the race, maybe it was better I took it easy.

Sunday evening- When I got back to Virginia, I ran an easy five miiles in Falls Church.

Monday- 7:40 pace for 5.8 miles as I did a Park loop before work, then I ran to Logan Circle and did a few miles with Elyse and then back to the office for a total of 7.4 miles. 13.2 for the entire day.

Tuesday- Slept in and skipped my morning run, did 12.5 doing a Pimmit Hills Plus at 7:09 pace for the first 10 then slowing down after that. I'm well on the way to 100 miles this week.

I'm looking forward to my running vacation in Giles County, and now I have a second trip next week. My mom and sister will be taking a bike trip, and I'll take the train to Cumberland, MD to pick up their car Friday evening, so I will get 10 miles on the C&O Canal Towpath then 20 in LaVale,MD over Mount Savage, which will be a rough climb the first half and a delightful descent over the second.

Wednesday- Did an easy 3.5 mile morning run on the Fisherman's loop.

Evening- miserable workout. Was going to be a five-mile tempo on the CCT, turned into me running kind of hard for two miles until I totally overheated, then I paced around like a demented old dog.

Thursday- Good morning seven mile run on the Park ++ loop, much much better than the night before. The evening run, 9.5 miles, was just before a massive storm came through. I was pelted the whole time with rain and enough hit my right eye that was was sore and irritated, but after fixing the brim of my hat I was alright. I slowed down toward the end, but the loop- a Hopewood+ New Virginia Manor, was pretty good. It was exciting to run in the rain, and refreshing.

Friday- Planned to do an eight-mile Westmoreland loop in the morning, and was doing fine until about 5.25 miles, then I just lost all of my motivation and headed back home for 6.5. I decided to hammer my afternoon run, but wanted to get out of the heat, so I got on the treadmill with a fan with the intention of running five miles at 5:15 pace. I was going great at three miles, and started bumping the speed up to 5:00 pace, but when I took a drink of water at about 4.25 miles, i choked and coughed a bit. When I recovered, I knew my spirit was broken, and the coughing got worse, so I cooled down and got a total of 13.5 miles.

Saturday morning I biked to Falls Church High School to watch the Notorious E.L.I. run a mile. I ran 5.5 around the park.

Now I'm off to Steve's cabin in Giles County for 4.5 days of running, sleeping, reading and eating. I am pretty much "going all Walden on everyone's ass," as birthday boy Karl Dusen puts it. Really, I am imitating Katie Jarocki's Quenton Cassidy phase. No electricity, no running water, nothing to keep me awake when I should be sleeping- it's going to be just what I need. I'll get a run in with Howard Nippert, hopefully catch Steve and hear about the fast-approaching Richmond cross country season, and get a lot of time on some trails, starting with 7.5 when I arrive Saturday afternoon...

A Hell of a Race for a Spectator in Heaven

The Run for Roch

Admittedly, I wasn't creative when planning my race strategy for the Run for Roch. It's a rough course, a really rough course, and I had success in 2007 by just running hard from the start and gapping everyone. That was the race's weakest field- Eric Shafer was second, but he wasn't on top of his game thanks to grad school. It's a course, though, that if you build enough of a lead, the topography can discourage people from closing the gap. It's on Mount Washington, overlooking the city of Pittsburgh, and the course is an out-and-back on Grandview Avenue and an out-and-back on the McArdle Roadway, which descends and climbs the side of the mountain.

It's a good time to mention that the Run for Roch is probably the hardest real 5k course I have ever run. The Ohio Township 5k is technically worse, but that's because it was just thrown together on some roads that aren't fit for pedestians. The Run for Roch was developed by coach John Papa of Slippery Rock University and Rich Wright of Baldwin High School, it's a true competitive course, but it is a monster. I ran 15:56 to win the 2007 race, and I have no idea how I did it then, it is now all a blur to me.

I got involved in the race in 2006, after I moved back to Pittsburgh from Richmond. I had metRoch Furguiele in 2000 at a WPIAL alumni run and got to know him the next few years as I grew into the Pittsburgh running community, particularly as a friend of Scott Sehon and Dave O'Hara from Mt. Lebanon and Larry and Brian Quinn from Baldwin. His positivity influenced my attitude and I came to know him as a principled and talented athlete. He was a member of the Pharaoh Hounds and a volunteer coach at Pitt, but in 2004 he drowned while on a family camping trip in West Virginia. His parents, Roch and Donna, started a scholarship fund for Pittsburgh city high school track athletes to go to Slippery Rock. I've thrown myself into promoting the race to improve our numbers and bolster our case to potential sponsors. We've financed a few scholarships, but the goal will always be to have a great race befitting Roch's legacy as one of the greatest runners in Pittsburgh Public Schools history.

This year, I was going to do the same. Ryan Sheehan and Jeff Weiss weren't here to dominate, so I guess I had to be the one.

I started out hard, harder than I had all year. I was in the lead within seconds. Roch's mom, Donna, was ahead of us in a Corvette, cheering me on. In fact, I heard people cheering for me the whole time. It was great. Less than 90 seconds in, I felt someone on my shoulder. Steve Kirkland. He's been having a great year, with breakout 5ks at the Brentwood and Fathers' Day races. He might be ready to take that next step and take me out, so I knew I had to push it now and nip his hopes in the bud. I opened my stride up coming down the first hill and hit the half mile mark at 2:30 even. The second uphill is probably the most miserable on the course and by the time I got to the top, where Matt Ciccone and Amy Lazarus were cheering, I was back in the lead. Or so I thought.

A smaller dude in back shorts flew by, opening a huge gap down the hill. I heard people cheering for Bobby. I thought it was this Baldwin grad who runs at Louisville, and as he increased his lead, I thought to myself "Ok, this is it, I'm losing this." My mind wasn't on the race, I thought about my cat. Not the right attitude or focus, but Bobby ran 16:09 at a really hot race in Greensburg where I just snuck in under 17, so I was worried and a little blown away. I relaxed a little and felt Sean Staltari, a proud Mt. Lebanon alumnus, on my shoulder. I would ordinarily love to have him with whom to run, but he has signed with St. Joseph's, a bitter conference rival of the Richmond Spiders, so I figured it was time to start hammering again. I started to reel Bobby in, passing the mile in 5:23 (pretty darn slow, despite the hills), and catching him at the first turnaround.

I moved quickly to put distance on him and the rest of the chase pack, which included Sean, Steve, Pharaoh Hounds Greg Byrnes and Tim Wu, Shadyside Academy alumnus Andrew Bell, and some dude in green shorts who looked like Sam Weiser, all in hot pursuit.

Right then, Larry Quinn ran by on his way out on the course and told me to race like a man.

At this point, I thought, there were eight guys who could win this race. If I was going to be the one, I would have to string the field out so they couldn't chase me in a pack. They wouldn't all have the strength to come after me and keep the pack intact. After cresting the second worst hill on the course, I started to fade a bit, but took the next downhills hard. Then, Bell was right there. Every time I tried to recover from putting a move on someone to get away, there was another challenger there to take a shot. Back up the initial hard hill, I dropped him and tried to keep my momentum going down the hill. Green shorts caught me then, and I pulled away. We were both going top speed down the awful hill that leads into the McArdle Roadway. I continued to hold him off until the turnaround halfway down the mountain.

I am just plain bad at turnarounds, and Greenshorts got the jump on me. I was a step behind him climbing the hill, and the last turn to the church at the very top of the hill was my undoing. When I got to the top, I saw he wasn't too far ahead. I could get him if I cast my fate with a half-mile kick to the finish. I listened and heard steps behind me. I wasn't sure who it was, but if I tried this kick and it failed, or just like every other time someone was just keying off of me, I would at least get sucked up by a few pursuers. I decided to be conservative, hold off anyone who was behind me and take a shot at Greenshorts if I felt I had a chance a little closer to the line.

As it turns out, I didn't, and I finished in second place at 16:25. The winner turned out to be a 34-year-old Irish fellow named Conor McGee from new York who was visiting his sister-in-law and found the race online. He told me how he was running scared the last half mile, which flattered and infuriated me, because I kicked myself for not taking another swing at him.

Not to be egotistical, but I feel like I made the race a bit exciting by pushing the pace and being competitive. I hope I made everyone else run faster. Even though I lost, it was an exciting race, and I really really enjoyed it.

I was struck by the consistency with which I run this race- the last three years I have finished with the same time and place. Moreover, the general timing of the top places has been similar

2007 2008 2009 2010 Me 15:56 Wu 16:14 Sheehan 15:39 McGee 16:18 Shafer 16:24 Me 16:25 Me 16:25 Me 16:25 Rabe 16:35 Shafer 16:34 Wu 16:32 Bell 16:34

I know I don't feel fast, but I feel strong. That I averaged 5:17 for 5k after opening in 5:23 makes me feel pretty good, but not as good as winning the race would have been. I trained though the race, even though I dropped my mileage. That wasn't so much intentional as it just happened.

The women's race was great, too with Michelle Corkum running like crazy to hold off Laura O'Hara, who took the lead with less than 1200 meters left and cruised to victory and a new course record.

We had 294 finishers, our second highest turnout, and I think that with competitions like those, we held a race that would have pleased Roch. Sadly, Dave O'Hara was unable to run, thanks to an Achilles tendon problem, but he got to see the

finish as he clipped off the chips on people's shoes.

I hope the race resumes its growth next year. We do face competition from two other big events- the Pittsburgh Triathlon the next morning and the Turtle Trot, an absolutely flat 5k in Turtle Creek.

People who want to run the Turtle Trot clearly know what they want, and it isn't a hilly course. What we can offer is a challenging course and a great experience. I was happy to see some familiar runners: 10 Hounds, including Dave Hackworth pushing his two sons at 7:37 pace, Dave and Tricia Keen with Mara and Mati; Jim Schweitzer, whom I met at some race last year and convinced to come to Mt. Washington; Jess and Nick, two PT students I recruited at the Greenfield Glide last year, Dave Torrey and a crew of FrontRunners, Nate Wildfire, Regina Anderson, Pokey, Scott Rosenblum, Clay Northouse, Mike Bode, Laurel Chiapetta, Erin Egal, Karen Nichols, Sara Roberts and of course, my mom and sister, who ran together until my mom cut Hallie off at the end (accidentally, she says) and improved their time from last year by 15 seconds.

Stuff Towpath found between his toes

Monday's run went only a hair better than Sunday's. I slept in, so there was no morning run. I felt pretty good during the day, and worked pretty hard to mindfully eat bananas and kiwi to replace the potassium I had sweated out the prior two days. Though I would have preferred waiting until later, I had to run soon after work, because in my haste I left my phone at Scott's house and luckily Jake was able to bring it to the city, so I ran out to the Towpath to meet him at about 6. I got 5 miles of movement before I met up with him, and we took off up the trail to meet with the Glover-Archibald Trail. He was blazingly fast for what I felt like doing. I was thirsty as heck. We stopped for one drink near the Key Bridge and kept going, but I wasn't feeling much better. We started to climb to read G-A, but my heartrate and respiration were racing. I couldn't handle that. I turned and headed back to my office, but once I reached downtown I started to feel faint. I walked for a bit, then ran a few blocks, got some water at Franklin Park. I ran the rest of the way back and felt depleted the rest of the day. I managed 10.5, though. After two days, repeating 100 miles is not going to happen, not when I'm traveling Friday and have a race at which I would like to try Saturday morning.

I was set for a decent bedtime Monday night when, while lying in bed, I saw some movement near my closet door. It was a mouse. I spent the next two hours clearing the closet and cornering the mouse four times before I was able to successfully contain him and release him outside. Then it was 1 am, most of the contents of my room were in the dining room and I was filled with adreneline from my success that it took me a while to fall asleep. When I woke at 7, there was no way I could run with that amount of energy. I made it through work and came home and tried to get 14 in New Virginia Manor, doing four loops of almost two miles each in the middle. I started to get ridiculously thirsty and cut the last loop and instead added on and finished with 13.31 miles. I averaged 7:37s, which I guess was a good recovery run.

Wednesday I once again failed to wake up early enough to get a morning run in, probably because I ran so late on Tuesday. I headed out around 7:30 to do an extended Woodley. I wasn't exactly sure where the mile markers were, but I figured I was averaging 7:00 miles. I thought I was fine until the point I figured to be 10 miles, which I hit in 1:07:50- surely that meant I was running 7:05 pace. Well, the heat and exertion, which I didn't realize was so great, clearly got to me, I had actually averaged 6:47. I guess I was mixing the tendencies for 6:00 miles with the 7:00s. I chilled out the last mile and hit an even 11.

Thursday I woke up and went outside and it felt miserable- the heat and humidity were both out of control. I sat down on the curb to put my shoes on and felt like there was nothing that running then would do for me- I'd be in a sour mood the whole time, and I'm better off enjoying my running, so I decided to cut my weekly mileage to 80, and instead do 11 miles on the treadmill after work. I took a fan with me to get the air moving around me, so I hope this will be a more productive run than my first two tries.

The key to me hitting my high-mileage goals is just getting a few miles in the morning. Four more miles a day would have me on pace for 100, rather than 82.

My trip to Pittsburgh for the Run for Roch has been cut by three days because of a shifting work schedule and the accompanying deadlines. Now my running retreat will be to southwest Virginia, near Pembroke, to my coach's cabin where I will run, read, explore and eat for five days in two weeks. I was hoping my brother Edward would have moved in to Roanoke College by that point so I could visit him, but alas, he won't arrive for two more weeks. In his e-mail to me about the place, Steve followed every description of a good running spot with "take a camera," so I am really looking forward to the vistas and wildlife. Reno was a nice trip thanks to the dry, cool air, but I barely saw a dozen trees.

On top of a milestone and below a millstone

The weekend was both exciting and depressing as I saw a technical high but a few realist lows.

On the positive side, I hit 100 miles a week for the first time in my life. Whether I'd feel much different if I had stopped at 95, as I would have liked, or gone ahead and run through it, as Jake suggested, I don't know. What I do know is that for seven days I got in a lot of high-quality work running. I've always been a pretty low-mileage distance runner, so consistency north of 80 miles a week seven of the last nine weeks has been boding well for my marathon training.

The negative aspect is that I had an absolutely terrible race and then spent the next day pretty much depleted and bailed on two runs.

I spent more than an hour getting to Arlington for the Crystal City 5k. I arrived 20 minutes before the start, ran to the packet pickup, got a slight warmup in and got to the line. It was evidently 98 degrees, and muggy as heck.

I was happy, though, to see Wiggy and Jess McGuire before the race, and Pat Murphy taking pictures on the course. I greeted the new Ethiopian additions to the GRC racing team and I am pretty sure they didn't know what I said.

The gun went off and I ran like crazy to get away from the crowd of people that made it seem even hotter. I was way too close to the east African leaders, but I didn't care. I eased up a little bit and cruised for a while. It was so damn hot. Oh my God. The pack of Pacers guys passed me, and I didn't even care.

Sweat was already flying off of my body, pouring into my eyes and I was ready for the race to be over. I wound up running with some fellow I can barely remember, and we came through the mile in 4:59. I was surprised I was able to move that fast in the heat. We came upon the first water stop and I was thrilled- a splash of cold water would certainly help me focus for a few minutes! I reached for a cup and dropped it. A few seconds later, I had one in my grasp and I tossed it at my face, waiting for the refreshing splash.

I would have liked it to have been lukewarm. It was hot. Not boiling, but hot. I was nauseated. Thank God I didn't actually need to drink it. After the race I talked to a volunteer who told me they put the water out at 6:30, so it just heated up for 90 minutes before the race started. So, I kept going, but decided pretty early not to get too excited about the race. I hit the second mile in 5:33, passing some dude named Nelfe Geletli in the process whom I had been following, and realized then any hope I had of breaking 16 or even improving on my two 16:08s was pretty unlikely. I tried water again, and once again it was really warm. I shouldn't be surprised, the Independence 5k, also a Pacers race, gave out hot water bottles after the race, despite it being in the high 70s, so they just don't know how to manage their supply.

On the way back in, I just stopped trying, and slowed down a lot, I saw no use in pushing too hard for a bad time- 6:14 for the third mile. Geletli and six other guys passed me, but I really didn't care. I did notice people cheering for some woman, so I ran just fast enough to hold her off.

I came across a few other people I knew, Lisa and Joanna, and found my compatriots. I was happy to have them there so that I could judge my clarity of mind on whether I was safe to cool down. I was, so I trotted off for a few more miles and rolled over to 100.

I got to Pokey's dad's house around 11 pm and got to bed as soon as I could, sucking down some of the dozen or so Powerades I took from the race (also quite warm). I got up at 5:15 and we headed out to Boyds for Riley's Rumble. The plan was for me to pace Pokey through some 7:19s so he could break 1:36. When we got there and the air was already nearly as stuffy as the night before, I wasn't surprised when they announced the race had been cancelled and was now a fun run. I jogged around the playing fields to get about 4.5 miles in then looked for Pokey at the start, to no avail. The run started and I felt comfortable in the middle of the pack, chatting with some people, having some water. I figured I'd get through the run and have 2.5 more miles to run before I'd hit 20. About 2.5 miles in, though, I started to feel my chances slip, rapidly. At the bottom of a long downhill I realized I couldn't go any farther. I should run the three miles back to the start and run laps around the park. When I stopped to turn around, I didn't start up again. I walked back to the park and sat down for a while, drank some water and waited for everyone else to finish. Jess convinced me to go out for what we planned to be a two-mile cooldown but ended up being just one mile. Pokey ended up running 1:48 or so, which was pretty good, despite the heat.

I recovered throughout the day at Scott Koonce's and after a violent storm, the temperature dropped to the high 70s. Though it was in the 80s by the time I was ready to try an evening run, it felt much better than before. I set off to do a Park++ and add on around Falls Church, and was starting off feeling great at 7:30 pace, then at three miles, I had some severe cramps in my ribs, so I stopped and walked home.

Back to the sauna

Thursday afternoon, I ran 6.25 on the treadmill at work, finishing up with a mile a little under 5:00. I brought a small towel and a sweatband and that helped a little bit this time, but it was still pretty uncomfortable. I think I need a little fan to at least move some air around me.

Friday morning I slept in and ended up doing 6 miles after work, 6:20 pace for the first three and 6:40 on the way back.

Saturday morning I did an easy 3.5 on Fisherman and a few strides in my flats.

Last year, the GRC sent a group of eight to battle the Pacers at the Crystal City 5k. This year, it's....me. Andy evidently backed out, so it looks like it will be me taking on Graham, Moran, Viviani, whoever else they have. And I probably won't compare favorably, either.

But, I've always been better on a hot night than a cooler but humid morning. I have nothing to lose (except my entry fee): I am finishing up my first 100-mile week, I didn't exactly get to bed at a good time last night and didn't act as healthy as I could have and I'm facing down the adversary at one of their own races. I'm planning to douse myself at each of the water stops and just run myself into the ground. All I will need is a one-mile cooldown and I'll have 100 and that volume, moreso than a great race, gives me confidence. I just want to get out there and race.

Lost again

The conference wrapped up Tuesday afternoon and I headed back to my room for a nap. I woke up and took a six-mile spin around the river trail again, careful to mind the bums throughout the park, out and back to the main street downtown. It was pretty hot and dry. When I came back to the hotel, our new president’s inaugural ball was in progress, and when my coworker told me about the food selection- delicious roast beef and a variety of vegetables, I hurried upstairs to get dressed for it.

I had a delicious White Russian that hit me pretty hard, thanks to my dehydration. That, plus my post-exercise euphoria and boosted energy thanks to my nap made me positively giddy, AND THEN I discovered the ice cream bar. I loaded some melty vanilla with tiny m&ms, strawberry sauce and chocolate and went toward town.

I woke up early the next morning with a route written on my arm to get me 14 miles and up onto one of the surrounding foothills to the south. I ran clockwise around the Reno-Tahoe Airport until I got to Mira Loma Road and followed it to the neighborhood surrounding the Hidden Valley Country Club. I followed the road there south and looked for the intersection with Alexander Lake Road, which would take me into Huffaker Hills, where I could get my view of the city from a hilltop. I moved away from the neighborhood and onto a remote looking road, and figured I was right on track. Then, the houses started popping up again. I saw two familiar-looking walkers, and then a sign for Mira Lorma. I knew that road ran south, so I thought perhaps I had gone too far, but as it turns out I had run around the circumference of the golf course and was back where I started. It was too late to keep exploring—an ice bath was probably out of the question and I would need to rush back to be ready for my flight.

I followed the rest of my route clockwise around the airport, and at times seemed to be going way out of my way, but it was a certain way back to the hotel. I ended up running 1:43, but had to wait until I got home to find out how far it was. It turned out to be a little over 16 miles, so I averaged 6:28.

This is how the road was supposed to look...

I also had a chance to look at a more detailed map when I was on my computer. It turns out Alexander Lake was connected to Short Lane and Hidden Highlands Drive. I passed Hidden Highlands, but to the right, it looked as though it ended.

After another day of traveling (I made my flight), I got back to humid, stuffy Virginia, with its trees and shade that does no good in stopping the moisture. I did an easy four miles at 7:28 pace and hit the sack.

Thursday morning I ran 6.75 at 7:58 pace around the Park ++ loop. It was rough, running in the brunt of the humidity. All told, I ran 83 miles in the five days I was in Reno, and that wasn’t bad. Now it’s time to test my legs at the Crystal City 5k Saturday night, help pace Pokey in his half marathon, hopefully add enough distance Sunday morning to make 20 miles, and see if I can keep this volume up when I don’t have dry air making it seem so easy to run.

Cool and dry

I don't think I can go back to Virginia. The humidity...it's just too much... In the meantime, I am having a productive trip to Reno. Through Tuesday afternoon, I have run 58 miles through four days. I am running another five tonight.

Sunday afternoon, I got an easy seven miles in, nothing special. I tried to follow the trail along the river, but a lot of drifters in the parks made me think again about that.

Monday morning, I left at 5 am to do my long run. I had a 20-mile loop mapped out that would take me into the hills west of the city, to get a little elevation change, because the most I have climbed or dropped was 92 feet over the course of 6.25 miles on Saturday. I got lost, of course, about three miles in, when I crossed the Truckee River. I wandered around for a while and when I realized how lost I was, I figured I would either run the extra distance when I got back on course or adjust things. I probably had added about four miles when I got back on track, and I was cool with that. Running in weather that was cool and dry enough to wear a shirt was a treat, and I didn't care if it meant doing a little extra distance. When I got about halfway up the hills, I realized I had to be at the conference at 8:30, I realized my chances of getting back, showering and eating before my first workshop were slim if I ran another 28 minutes, I headed back. Toward the end, I thought I saw a sign that said "Robert Goulet House, right on McDonald"

I turned around and went back, but it turned out to have said "Ronald McDonald House, right on Gould." Bummer. I ended up running 7:07 pace, 2:24:30 for 20.3 miles. I felt fine the rest of the day.

Tuesday morning I headed to the north and went five miles out and five miles back, with a few hills thrown in there. I ran 7:00 pace on the way out and 6:00 on the way back.

Facing two fears

Friday afternoon, I became a little more flexible, philosophically. After years of resisting treadmills, I was faced with a difficult decision- try, and possibly die, running seven miles outside in 97 degrees with suffocating humidity, or run on a treadmill.

After stepping outside to feel just how bad it was, I opted for the treadmill. It wasn't fun- I tried to watch the television in the console, but the earphones gave me little electrical shocks in my ears, so I switched to my mp3 player that was possessed by my sweat and plays what it wants to. I managed four miles averaging 7:00 pace and then had to wring my shirt out, because despite the air conditioning in the gym in my building's basement, it was hard work, and I was soaked. Two more miles, under 7:00, and I wrung the shirt out again. One more mile and I was done.

Though it wasn't great, I probably will end up using the treadmill for some miserably hot or humid days to complement outdoor runs over the next six weeks or so, just to save my body some trauma and my psyche from the grind.

After a day's worth of air travel Saturday, I arrived in Reno for a conference. I was free for the rest of the day, so I hung out for a few hours until 7:30, when the weather cooled down. I wanted to run in the foothills to the east, so I headed out that way, looking for Cleanwater Street, which would possibly take me there. Upon arriving, a sign told me it was a dead end, so I went north, looking for the next road that would take me there. I found Greg Street, so I went with it. The split that I took at what turned out to be 3.2 miles told me I went 6:20 pace, and it didn't feel that fast. It was amazing how much better I felt in the dry air in Nevada.

I hit a trail that looked to take me into the foothills after 28 minutes, so I took it. It followed the Truckee River, and eventually ended, though I hoped it would take me to a bridge I saw in the distance. I had given up on the foothills, or even running through the valley, but I wanted to make it to the bridge. I figured it was about 42 minutes out from the hotel. I decided to hop on the train tracks and try to reach the bridge. I just recently got over my fear of train tracks, almost 10 years after the passing of my friend Conrad Frazier, who was struck by a train.

I was cruising along, then I saw my second fear:

A g-d rattlesnake. It scared the living crud out of me, hissing and rattling and stuff. I leaped high in the air and did a karate kick, just in case he could jump too. He did not, and we both rushed off in opposite directions. I picked up my pace to get to the bridge and back to the trail, and believe me, I was vigilant in looking out for him the second time around. Terrified, in fact.

I figured I had gone at least six miles out, though it turned out to be a quarter mile longer, and after eight and nine miles I was feeling pretty good. The best part was that I wasn't drenched in sweat. I was dehydrating, certainly, but it was a pleasant dehydration that didn't bog me down with its byproducts. I slowed down for the last mile or so and ended up averaging 6:37 for 12.5 miles, feeling a lot better than I had in weeks.

The next morning I woke up at 6 to run a 40-minute tempo around a reservoir and get 10 total in before a day of work, but during my warmup I could tell I hadn't rehydrated from the flights and the run less than 12 hours before. I tried the tempo anyway and made it about eight miuntes before I packed it in and just explored Reno or a while. It's a little skanky, and Sparks, where I ran on Saturday, was mostly buildings for lease.

Ending note: It's been a bizarre week for Pittsburgh's West End, which I have come to love over the last 18 months. I haven't been able to ruminate completely on the murder of Lauren Deis because the details are just so revolting and I haven't really been able to settle my mind around it, but there was some good news. Reprinted from the Tribune-Review's Laurels and Lances:

Laurel: To saving the Old Stone Tavern. Pittsburgh's second-oldest building -- at Greentree Road and Woodville Avenue in the West End -- appears to be on the road to restoration. Thanks to a historic designation, the two-story brick structure dating to the 1780s can't be torn down. It once served as a toll house and might have played a role in the Whiskey Rebellion. Kudos to all those behind the effort to preserve yet another piece of our marvelous history.

Oh God, it's so humid

This seems appropriate

It’s time I faced the reality that sometimes the elements are too much for me. I thought I was adjusting to the heat and humidity, if not nicely, then at least effectively. I managed a 90 mile week despite temperatures breaking 95 four straight days and was faring pretty well. I learned to handle mornings as cooler-but-humid fiascos and evenings and hot-but-drier times to muscle through runs. Sunday, though, I was pretty tired. I was dragging throughout my trip to the Newseum (not worth $20, as far as I am concerned) and just managed to do my afternoon run. I slept 10 hours on Sunday night and woke up too late to do a morning run, and when I got home and set out for 10 miles, I didn’t feel like doing it after a quarter mile. It turned around and walked home.

Tuesday I ran 10.5, 7.5 of it with Pokey, around the mall and across the river to the Mt. Vernon Trail. I felt better then. I slept in again on Wednesday and by that point decided I would cut my mileage to 70 this week, rather than 80. I went up to B-CC for a GRC workout, my first track workout in more than two months. Dickson, Wiggy and Karl and I stuck together for some thousands on the track. I had planned to start out at 3:10 and widdle my way down by a second on each successive repeat for a total of eight, but after the first I reconsidered. I hit 3:07 even, taking it pretty easy. I tried to take the next one easier, but hit 3:06. I hit 3:05 for the next two, hanging back as the other guys went at it. Everyone asked if I wanted to lead the next one, and I eventually gave it a shot. 3:05 again. I felt pretty successful, hitting the majority of my 1ks in 3:05. By that point I was completely soaked and pretty happy with my workout, but the guys goaded me into trying another one. So I gave it a shot. 100 meters in, I felt a raging cramp in my right side, so I stopped and cooled down with Murph on the grass, barefoot. It was nice, but the grass was saturated with water. After that, I didn’t much have the strength to run anymore, so I capped that day at 7.5 miles. I was really happy with the workout that I did, though. My first time running fast in a while. I feel like as much as I expanded my endurance so far this year, my speed hasn’t budged at all.

Thursday I was about to leave for my run to work, when the fire alarm went off in my building. Wanting to live, I left immediately, but before I changed into my running clothes. Unfortunate, because by the time I was allowed back in the building, it was 8:45 and the temperature was well over 80, with the humidity raging. I headed off and took some sport beans about 3.75 in and followed that up with some water on the Custis Trail. I wasn’t exactly cruising, but I was moving somewhat. When I got to the Mt. Vernon Trail I was pretty worn, and by the time I crossed the TR Bridge and passed through the Kennedy Center parking lot onto the Rock Creek trail, I was fading quickly. When I got to the volleyball courts, I stopped completely, and could go no farther. I walked the last three miles to my office, shirtless, sweaty, meandering along the sidewalk through throngs of tourists. I hope I gave them something to think about…

Throughout the run I had Warren Zevon's "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me" in my head.

I spent the rest of the day in a daze, then came home and did a very easy 3.5 (8:00 pace) around the Fisherman’s loop.

Friday morning I got up in an attempt to run a road workout on the Greenwich mile. I got to the start an changed into my shoes and set out on what I planned to be 1xmile, 1x2mile, 2xmile. I hit the first half in 2:33, but I dropped my effort substantially in the third quarter. I picked it up for the last quarter, but managed only 5:22, and I aborted the workout. I’ll run this evening with Melissa, hopefully not sweating on her, and get a few miles in before I head to Reno for a conference. I am sad to miss the Rockville 8k Saturday evening, but I’m going to have quite a training opportunity for three whole days and parts of two others-

Saturday- 63-102 Blazing sunshine

Sunday 62-98 Sunny, breezy and hot

Monday 59-95 Sunny and breezy

Tuesday 58-92 A day full of sunshine

Wednesday 57-93 Plenty of sun
The humidity tops out at 20%.

I wonder if anyone who compiles this information for Websites thinks about how the weather summaries look when viewed in a series like that, if it affects their choice of descriptors...

It’s been a good week to ease up on my training, because I am going to do some damage to my legs early in the morning and in the evening the next five days…

My former coworker’s daughter seems to like running in the heat more than I do. But, as I am reminded every day, it's not the heat, it's the humidity.

Out of gas

I stayed home Friday night to rest up for my Saturday morning long run. Turns out I rested too much. I ate dinner at 8:30 and planned to run at 6:30 am, but I ended up sleeping until 9:50. With Emily Ward coming to visit any time in the afternoon, I scurried off to run, discounting the significance of my 13.5-hour fast.

I was planning a 20-mile run—10 miles through Vienna to a point on the W&OD Trail, then an eight mile tempo on the trail heading east, which would deposit me close to home so I could cool down two miles. It was raining lightly and about 75 degrees, maybe it went up three or four degrees from when I would have started but the difference was negligible. I averaged 7:30s on my way to the trail (a paved trail, but one with half-mile markers) and felt pent up. When I got to the first half-mile mark I stopped and wrung out my saturated socks, I felt I might as well at least start off not feeling like I have sponges inside my shoes.

Things went well for a while- I hit 5:45 for the first mile, 5:40 for the second, and 2:47 for the first half of the third mile. Then I got really tired. I started to slow down to 6:00 pace for a while. Then 6:30, almost like clockwork. I figured the point was then to get home- if I felt like going the extra two miles when I got there, great. As I approached the bridge over the beltway, 2.5 miles from home, I felt fine. When I crossed the bridge, I did not. I kept going for a while until I reached Idylwood Park. I sat down on a bench, but only felt marginally better. I lied down, felt better still. Then I put my feet up on the back of the bench and closed my eyes, and felt alright. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and saw furiously moving pine branches swaying in the breeze set against the gray sky. It looked like an avant garde expression of resilience in the face of adversity. It told me I should get up and go home so that a. I don’t die out there and b. I am back in time for Emily Ward’s visit. I got up and started to walk, but I barely got anywhere before I realized it was a losing effort. I saw a woman I had passed while I was nearing the end of my run and thought I might see if I could hitchhike home, because walking seemed like a bad idea. I presented my case, and she was skeptical of a stranger, as I well understood. I started to walk away and she called for me and asked if I had been the person lying on the bench. I said that was me. She then told me to get in the car and there’s no way I’d be strong enough to overpower her. With a chuckle, I got in and upon arriving home, didn’t want to move for a while. I managed 15.5 miles of running, but I fell far shorter than that in my mind.

I suppose I should start practicing with sport beans… I’ll be sure to pick some up before I go to Reno and attempt my long run where I will be relatively unfamiliar with my surroundings. I can’t have this happen again anyway…Three months until Chicago.

Boring, hot, week

Saturday

Started running with Murphy, Marren, Sloane and some guy named Jonathon. We took the towpath from the store to the Chain Bridge, then up the trail and on to Glebe, then followed that to the Custis Trail into Rosslyn. The Ms and I went to TR Island, Jake withdrew and Murphy and I ran around for a while. I briefly bumped into Susan Tremblay. Murphy then headed back and I ran another half hour to hit 18 miles in two hours. I knew that was the last time I’d have great weather for a run for a while.

Sunday

Slept a little late and tried out the Fairview Park loop. I started to get a little thirsty toward the end. Then I tossed in an Idylwood Filler to total 14 for the day and 90 for the previous week (transposing the long run).

Monday

I took another shot at the New Virginia Manor loop that failed so miserably last week. It went better this time, and despite climbing temperatures between 10-11 am I averaged 6:50s for 8.25. In the afternoon I did an easy Timber to total a little more than 14.5.

Tuesday

I was back to work and started off with a seven mile Park loop, pretty humid, in the morning. The evening was an easy Idylwood Filler.

Wednesday

I stayed late at work and started my medium run at 9:15 p.m. I did a Double Pimmit but forgot the loop through the townhouses, so I only had 12.6, but I averaged low 7s.

Thursday

Another Park seven in the morning and a 7.25 mile loop I am calling a Willamsburg in the evening.It's been hot for a while now, breaking 102 a few times, 95 four days in a row. I am getting used to it, though. I've been running with water bottles to try to get used to drinking for the marathon. I'm not crazy about it, though.

Friday

Slept in and didn’t run in the morning. Came home and planned to do a Westmoreland, but peeled off on Idylwood and ran around Virginia and the Pinecastle loops for 7.5.

Sunday

Finished off another 90 mile week with 6.5 easy miles with Emily Ward at Walney Park in Centreville. Great soft trails there, a 3+ mile loop I did twice. Emily stopped after 5, I got a little more. Lots of couples having formal photos taken. It was cool, a little humid, but pleasant.

In the evening I ran a Barbour, trying to stay around 8:00 pace but eventually averaging 7:30.

Let's see what these legs can do...

Closing in on the end of my first 90 mile week, I was eager to see what I could do in a 5k race- shorter than any run I have done in almost a month. Elyse suggested a race in Alexandria, which was then moved to the George Mason campus.

I got off to a bad start by sleeping in to 9:20, which meant I couldn't do my five mile morning run. I guess it also meant I was late for work, but that is less than relevant. So, I had to smash 11 miles into the evening. I took the Metro out to Vienna with some Lululemon runners and we ended up taking a cab to the campus. I got a three-mile or so warmup in, and got to the line. Of course, being a Pacers race there were at least six of them there, because what better way to give a bonus than to stack a race with your own employees? I knew I wasn't going to be running anything incredible- I hadn't even done a real (productive, that is) workout in a few weeks, but I hoped to at least hang around and get under 16, just to show a little improvement since my even-splitted 16:08 in early June. The gun went off and the pack sped away, and I let them go. Perhaps stupidly, but I didn't think I would gain too much falling apart early. I came through the mile in 5:06, and was feeling pretty good about that. I was hurting, lungwise, but otherwise I felt able. Two guys were ahead of me who looked vulnerable- a tall guy and an asian fellow in a navy blue top. I surged past them both on one uphill and focused on catching a Pacer who was straggling. It was a rolling course, and I was keeping my legs' dexterity, for the most part, though I wasn't driving ahead enough. The second mile was 5:17- not good at all. I thought I was at least holding 5:10 pace, despite the hills and relative no-man's land. At this point, we were heading west, right into the sun. I could barely see ahead of me- I just followed the silhouette of the straggler and ran away from the breathing behind me. As we closed in on the end, I was not feeling too great, especially when I realized my third mile was another 5:17. But, I heard the dude behind me start to marshal some strength for a kick, so I figured as long as I was there, I might as well keep him behind me, so I surged in and held him off by a second. 16:08 again. I found out later that he had beaten me by about 3:50 at the half marathon I did in Arlington in May. So, even though that race was a disappointment, it felt good to improve relative to him.

I got a three-mile cooldown in, looked for the people with whom I came, but saw nobody. I went for another two miles, and realized they ditched me. SOBs...

Anyway, although I wanted to go under 16, and given the wonderful weather it might have been my best shot, I am content to have at least maintained my speed from the last race, considering the last four weeks were 90, 86, 85 and 80.

Worst Races #8

St. Barnabas 5k, 2001- I spent the 2001 summer trying to break 16 for 5k, in hopes of walking on at Miami. This was one of my many, many failures, and perhaps my most painful. I paced myself well at the beginning, running well behind Mike Diano, and coming through the mile at 5:10. Then, it just got worse. I slowed down when I felt my strength totally sapping, and twice I stopped and stood there, unable to see straight. People passed me left and right, and I struggled in and saw my dad, who had come to see me run. It was emotionally throttling for me to know he saw such a dramatic collapse. This wasn't a race where I took it out too hard and burned out- My approach was reasonable! I was prudent! I was a failure.

I finished 13th, in 17:32. I had worse races that year, but after I acknowledged that I was struggling with anxiety problems and lowered my athletic expectations. Had I recognized my anxiety issues that summer, I would have taken a full semester away from college and skipped the Miami fiasco, or gone right to Richmond instead.

Relief

Wednesday morning I woke up more excited than I had been in a while- the temperature was in the 60s and the humidity was imperceptible. I ran an easy 6.8 extended Park in the morning and a 6.3 Pimmit Hills in the evening, neither of which were taxing.
I still slept in on Thursday and only got a 4.25 morning run, but reversing the Fisherman's loop made me realize just how hilly Fisher Road is. I complemented that with a 5.75 afternoon run around Capitol Hill.
I will take it very easy for my morning run Friday before the road race at George Mason.
The reprieve from the heat and humidity came at just the right time to refresh my enthusiasm for running high (to me) mileage. I'm on pace to hit 90 this week, and though it isn't the best course of action before a 5k, the fact that it won't be sweltering makes it a good chance for a hard effort.
It's going to get hot and humid again early next week, and I am not sure if I will opt to move my long run to Saturday to dodge it, or at least hit it on the early side. I would like to double on Saturday, because I would like to stay home that evening and relax.