2012 was another memorable year of running and learning from mistakes. I feel like I really pushed my limits...and in some cases, found the breaking point. I'm looking forward to using those learnings in 2013.
Things I learned in 2012...
January - Beer miles can be won with strictly running ability.
February - Volunteering at Hagg Lake might be more fun than running there.
March - If you have a choice, run with the wind on your back.
April - You know you're in trouble when the first mile of a marathon seems long.
May - When running without a watch, you tend to lose track of time.
June - Birthdays and holidays can be good excuses to run.
July - Mohawks make you run faster.
August - IVs after a race make you feel better.
September - You can get from Williams to Ashland much faster by driving in a car (even on those lousy roads).
October - The cure for a bad race is to race even more.
November - The Silver Creek Falls Marathon is a must-run race.
December - The Willamette River is pretty cold in the winter.
How often in life do you get to combine two of your favorite things? For example, a running race and watching a baseball game. Not very often, so I have to give a superbad shoutout to the HOTV Runners for providing this opportunity to the local community. And for the second year in a row I took advantage and ran the Out to the Ballgame 5K Fun Run...this time without a jogging stroller. Turns out I can run faster without it.
Going into the race I was cautiously optimistic...I had been running a lot lately and my legs were feeling dead, but it was only a 5K and I've had good races on what I thought were tired legs before. At the starting line I could see my competition would be Gonzalo Martinez and Tyler Childers...they both went out together and I just situated myself right in behind them.
Somewhere before we hit the first mile, Tyler dropped back. Now Gonzalo was leading and I was right on his shoulder. We hit mile 1 a little under 5:30...right in my wheelhouse, I thought...I run 5:30 miles all the time! But shortly thereafter, I could feel Gonzalo pulling away ever so slightly. I knew I had to keep contact...I surged on a slight downhill and caught back up. We ran out to 30th and took a left, headed south. At Washington we made a U-turn and headed back north. In this stretch, I was running alongside Gonzalo and then pulled ahead slightly. We hit mile 2 again just under 5:30 and I was in the lead. We headed back up Jefferson toward the Memorial Union and went around the quad toward the library. I could feel and hear Gonzalo right behind me. I tried to surge on the downhill past the library and felt like I created a little bit of a gap, but knew I couldn't let up. The good news was my legs felt fine...my gut was a little upset, but I felt like he would have to run near 5:00 minute pace to beat me now. As we headed around the outside of the baseball field I started to think that I had it won, but once we got onto the warning track he put in one more surge. As we headed down the third base line toward the finish at home plate, I finally looked back and he was right there! I gave it everything I had left and just barely held him off...by less than half a second (16:49.88 vs. 16:50.33)!
That was fun...thanks for the race Gonzalo and thanks again to the HOTV Runners for organizing such a fun event. For winning, I got a baseball autographed by all the Corvallis Knights...that was cool, but maybe next year the winner could throw out the first pitch?
I don't remember exactly when the seed was planted, but I'm guessing it was on a run with the Corvallis trail runners when I became infatuated with the idea of running multiple loops on Mary's Peak.
It's right in my own backyard
According to Clem LaCava, the loop was designed by Larry Halford in the late 90's to be used in training for 100 milers. It is approximately 14.5 miles and has about 3600 feet of elevation gain. The start is at the North Ridge trailhead at the end of Woods Creek Road. It goes up North Ridge Trail to the bench, turns left onto Tie Trail, goes up East Ridge Trail, turns left up the stairs before the parking lot, crosses the gravel road and completes the Meadowedge Trail loop counterclockwise, takes a sharp right up Summit Trail to the top, then goes down the gravel road, turns right back onto East Ridge Trail, goes back down the same way onto Tie Trail to the bench, and goes back down North Ridge Trail to the bottom.
As the story goes, only a handful of runners have ever completed 3 loops and no one had ever completed 4 loops...though Nate McDowell had started a 4th loop and turned back.
In July of 2009 The Pain Train (on 7/3) and I (on 7/12) both completed a triple Mary.
For me, that day and ever since I've thought about doing a quadruple Mary...I've just been looking for the right time to do it.
6/16/2012
Father's Day weekend of 2012 turned out to be the right time. The triple Mary in 2009 took just under 10 hours, so I figured the quad Mary could take as long as 14 hours...this was doable with over 15 hours of daylight. I was lucky enough to get to share all this time on the peak with Roger McKay...he was looking to add his name to the short list of triple Mary finishers. Although we weren't planning to run together, we would be passing by each other multiple times and just knowing that someone else was out there putting themselves through it too was comforting. I was planning to start at 6:00 AM, but I was running late. By the time I got there and was ready to go it was 6:30 AM...Roger had already headed up. As I started up my legs felt a little lethargic, like they weren't quite awake yet. I was doing a lot of hiking early, but the pace was looking good...almost too good...with all the hiking it felt easy. I was surprised that my time to the bench was similar to the double Mary I had done 3 weeks earlier...hmmm...got to slow myself down. There were still a few trees down...one in particular with no good way around it. On the second loop I started crawling under it.
I caught up to Roger going up the East Ridge Trail...he said he started about 15 minutes before me. We talked briefly...I told him I was inspired by the Niagara Falls tightrope walker who had just achieved his dream the night before...others were inspired as well.
Roger one switchback below
Near the top, the East Ridge Trail pops out of the trees and you get an amazing panoramic view...it was an absolutely beautiful day. I could see all the snow-capped mountains in the distance. I made my first summit in about 1:50...not the first one to the top, though...there was already someone up there. I took my picture and headed down. Roger was already on the Meadowedge loop, so I didn't see him again until the second loop.
First summit...
I did run into The Old Gunslinger on my way down. He was just back on track after some bush whacking. By all accounts, he ran a hell of a single Mary that day. Thanks for coming out and supporting us with the Subway sandwiches and half cans of beer...next time I'll know it's safe to drink.
Going up
I finished the first loop in 2:55, refueled, and was headed up again at 3:02. I felt good going up on the second loop. My time to the bench was about the same as the first loop and my time to the top was just a couple minutes slower. This time there was quite a crowd at the top.
Second summit...
Coming down on the second loop, I could start to feel the effort. I stopped and took a phone call from Tonya...she was planning to meet up with Roger to run with him for a bit. The plan was to have her park at the top, walk up the gravel road, and wait at the bench near the East Ridge and Meadowedge Trails. Depending on the timing, she'd either see Roger coming up the East Ridge Trail or down the gravel road from the top.
Roger on the Tie Trail
After getting that figured out, I finished the second loop in 6:06, refueled, and was headed up again at 6:14 after talking to The Old Gunslinger who had waited for me at the bottom. Unfortunately I forgot to address some chaffing of the undercarriage.
My pace headed up on the third loop had noticeably degraded. I reached the bench about 5 minutes slower than the first two loops. Then I ran into Roger on the Tie Trail, but not Tonya. Turns out she was running ahead of Roger, got to a junction, and decided she knew which way to go! We figured that she must have gone down the East Ridge Trail toward Connor's Camp...actually, there was no other way for her to go. I could tell Roger felt bad, but he didn't do anything wrong. I was a little worried about Tonya myself...what would she do when she got to Connor's Camp? I made my way down to the junction and yelled her name even though she was probably over halfway down the trail at that point. Turns out there was a mountain biker practically right in front of me that I didn't see...I think I scared him to death. I asked him if he had seen Tonya and in so many words he said he hadn't. This surprised me, although I think he was in serious oxygen debt and may not have remembered seeing her or even understood what I was saying. As it turns out, he had seen her, because Tonya remembered talking to him. When he told me he hadn't seen her I wasn't sure what to do...should I run down to Connor's Camp myself or continue on up to the top? In the end, I believed Tonya had to have gone down that trail and that she would be smart enough to turn around and come back the way she came when she got to Connor's Camp. So I went up and made my third summit in just over 2 hours. I also thought there was a good chance I might run into her on my way down.
Third summit...
I didn't see Tonya on my way down, so I stopped a couple miles from the bottom where I was getting better cell phone reception to try to get ahold of her. Turns out she was safe and sound, already back in Corvallis...whew. She was smart...she got to the end of the trail, waited for Roger, he didn't show up, so she headed back the way she came. I was also a little worried that I hadn't seen Roger coming up on his third loop yet. I started to have visions of him finishing his second loop, getting in his car, and going to look for Tonya. But thankfully right after I got ahold of her I saw him coming up the trail...whew, again. With all the drama settled, I began to really notice the chaffing and it was killing me.
Roger heading up on his third loop
I finished my third loop in 9:41...this was about 14 minutes faster than my triple Mary in 2009. At this point I did think how nice it would be to stop now, but other than the chaffing, there was nothing stopping me from doing a fourth loop. So I lubed up, changed my shorts (as you can see in the fourth summit picture), refueled, and was headed up again at 9:55.
All the uphill on the fourth loop felt slow...my time for my fourth summit was 2:15. At the top I sat at the picnic table for a few minutes not really too excited about heading down...I looked at my watch...I had about 1:45 to complete the run in under 14 hours. At that point I was thinking it might be close! Well, I sat too long and was very stiff headed down the gravel road, but I gradually loosened up.
Fourth summit!
I have to admit one thing that drove me on the fourth loop was the possibility of catching up to Roger. Although, by the time I hit the bench and was headed down North Ridge Trail, I wasn't sure if it would happen. But I did end up catching him with a couple miles to go. It was actually right as we hit the downed tree that was easiest to crawl under...so I got a nice picture.
The easiest way was under
I was hurting pretty bad on that last stretch down North Ridge Trail, so I told Roger I was just going to go ahead and get this over with. I finished the four loops in 13:36:24. I was in a world of hurt...the kind of hurt that doesn't go away when you stop running. I climbed into the back of my truck and just laid there until Roger finished. My legs were aching really bad and my stomach was pretty upset...enough so that the thought of trying to eat was repulsive. It was funny...I had all these thoughts in my head of trying to recover properly after this run, but in the end I could barely function.
Official time...13:36:24
Success!
Congratulations again to you Roger for finishing a very difficult run that very few have completed and that most are afraid to even try. I hope it gives you the mental edge to run well at the PCT 50 miler and Waldo 100K this summer.
After hanging out for a bit after the run, I suddenly felt the need to get home right away...I needed to see Tonya and the kids before they went to bed. They had tried to meet me at the top of the peak on my fourth loop with a picnic dinner, but unfortunately they were waiting for me in the parking lot, and the loop never goes through the parking lot, so I missed them. I was pretty upset about it and I was feeling really bad about being gone all day. When I got home I was physically and emotionally a wreck...thanks so much guys for letting me do this...I love it and I love you too...I think you understand.
With that said, I have another Mary's Peak run planned this weekend...it was inspired by the Old Gunslinger. He suggested that I run up and down Mary's Peak Road from the parking lot off of Highway 34. I liked that idea, but felt like running from my house to the top of Mary's Peak and back on the road would be even cooler. We shall see....
I've always wanted to run this race and finally got the chance. I wanted to do some speedwork this weekend and the race sounded a lot more fun than mile repeats.
I took off with the 4 young guns (see pictures below) at a very quick pace...I saw 5:24 on the Garmin early on.
Eventually, we got off the paved path and started heading up the trail to the top of Bald Hill. By the time we got to the top of the hill I was running in 3rd and 2nd place was in sight. At the bottom of the first downhill I was right behind him.
He was running well on the flats and ups, so my plan was to stay with him and pass him on the next downhill.
Well, I changed my mind and ended up trying to break him on the second climb to the top of Bald Hill...didn't work...he passed me back! But I caught back up on the downhill and passed him fairly easily. I finished over a minute behind the winner in 31:38...but I did run the tenth fastest time on the course according to Ultrasignup. Cary Stephens and crew put on a great race. Photos were taken by Greg Johnson.
I was feeling a little guilty for skipping mile repeats, so I ran a couple 5:30 miles after the race.
Eugene must be a special marathon because the only other time I’ve written about a race was after the 2010 Eugene Marathon.
I had a drama filled week leading up to the race. I was whining about my sore legs all week and telling everyone how worried I was, and how stupid it was for me to climb Dog Mountain (and run down a lot of the steep descent) one week before my race. Talk about a QUAD KILLER! I don’t think I have ever been so sore and in so much pain, ever! I went into serious therapy mode and got my legs feeling a little better, but I was still pretty worried about them going into the race.
Like all races, it feels like kind of a blur after the fact. I remember being concerned the first few miles because I felt so tight and could feel some Dog Mountain soreness, but then I kind of warmed up and kept my pace around 7:45. I saw a familiar face around mile 6. I shouted at her and she fell right into pace with me :) and stuck with me until mile 8 (I think). Around mile 9/10 I was definitely starting to feel some pain. It felt so early to be hurting, but it wasn’t totally horrible yet. I started searching people out for high fives at this point. Basically I was targeting anyone who was close enough to the road and looked somewhat lively and able to take a hard hit. The two great things about high fives are human contact and slapping someone hard enough that your hand stings a little and you forget about your leg pain for one second. I always knew about the human contact thing, but I figured out the hand stinging thing yesterday. Sorry if I hurt or surprised anyone out there. It really helps and the boost is just enough to surge a little and maintain pace.
So high fives were working for me and things were going ok for the most part. I had no idea what I might be on pace for as far as finish time but I knew I had a definite shot at a PR if I could maintain. I hit a hard wall at mile 19/20 and was really hoping to see my dad or any familiar face soon! Lots of pain, lots and lots of pain, and a couple small breakdowns. Why are you crying?? ‘Cause this sucks!! I felt like I slowed way down, but after every mile marker my watch was still close to 8 min so I felt like I really had to push and keep it up with the finish getting so close. Miles 20-26 are typically a death march, but it seemed like they were gonna be the worst they had ever been. When I saw Kelly Brennan again at mile 24 I was SO happy! Thank you so much Kelly! Getting “carried” to mile 25 felt like a gift from God on April 29th. When I reached the track at Hayward and saw that I could finish sub 3:30 I pushed with whatever I had left and clocked in at 3:29:09. Holy shit!!!
I told Kelly my race strategy these days is to start fast and see how long I can keep it up. I’ve decided this is truly a great strategy because either it’s your day or it’s not. And if it is your day then you might do something amazing, especially if you start fast. Once the pain sets in there’s no reason to slow down because it doesn’t hurt any less to go slower and the finish line is that much further away if you do. Now to forget about the pain so I can sign up for another one :)
The Eugene Marathon is tomorrow and my training went exactly as planned.
I had two good road races...the Albany 10 Miler in 57:24 and the Corvallis Half Marathon in 1:15:41.
I built up to a 10 mile tempo run at sub-6:00 minute pace.
I built up to 10 800's at sub-2:35
I built up to 13 mile repeats at sub-5:30
And my last long run was 26.2 miles around Corvallis and Philomath in 2:59:41!
2 years ago, sub 2:40:00 at Eugene was a little hard for me to believe. This year it's been the goal from the beginning. I think I'm ready.
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