Hood to Coast Already!
Monday, 8-18-2008
11 miles recovery out to Pine Gully in 1:13:50, 8 x 100m strides uphill
Tuesday, 8-19-2008
2 miles, 4 x 100m, 8 x 60" up Kemah Bridge
5:53, 1:05 (1:53), 1:05 (1:54), 1:04 (1:52), 2:56, 1:05 (1:56), 1:03
Wednesday, 8-20-2008
AM: Storms
PM: Work
Thursday, 8-21-2008
AM: 9 mile run down to Pine Gully in 58:18, 8 x 100m uphill
PM: Travel to Seattle
Friday, 8-22-2008
AM: 5 miles around DeKoker's House in Seattle in 34:10
9:45PM: Hood to Coast Relay, 6.08M "Very Hard" Leg 5 in 33:16
Saturday, 8-23-2008
2:42AM: Hood to Coast Relay, 5.69M "Easy" Leg 17 in 32:45
9:12AM: Hood to Coast Relay, 6.14M "Very Hard" Leg in 35:27
Sunday, 8-24-2008
Rest / Travel to Houston
Total
50 Miles
* Wow. What can I say? It is amazing what the human body is capable of achieving. So, Brooks flew me out to Seattle to participate in the World's Largest Relay, the Hood To Coast, that runs 197 miles from Mt. Hood to Seaside, Oregon. This race is amazing. Our goal was to average 5:10 pace and contend for the title against the likes of Nike, adidas, Mizuno, and the Portland and Bucknell Alum teams. We ended up placing 2nd Overall with a 5:17 average pace for 197 miles, an accomplishment on its own merits!
My first leg was a new sensation for me. We drove down from Seattle, with me suffering a caffeine headache the whole way down. Leg 1, starting at 6000+ feet at the base of Mt. Hood, was suicidal, but Brett Winegar ran amazing, bringing home the baton in 2nd behind the Portland Alumni team. He then handed off to Josh Riccardi, who rolled a very nice 2nd leg... by the 3rd Leg, run by our All-Star, Casey Jermyn (8:03, 14:04 Montana State), darkness was settling over the landscape and Jermyn blasted 4:32 pace for his 3.5 Mile Leg! Impressive. He then handed off to our Captain, Steve DeKoker, who blased his 7+ miles at 5:02 pace! By now, we were in the lead, and I got the baton with a scant 2-3 sec lead over both Portland Alumni, Bucknell, and Nike.
So, I get the baton and I have a daunting task... the first is that I have never run in pitch black darkness. Thankfully, my buddy Derek Wood lent me his headlamp, which was quite great, but it was still pitch black. Secondly, I would be running on a highway for the first 3.5 miles on quite a camber, and I hated that... Thirdly, I would have to ration my effort, fot I had two more legs. Finally, the leg was rated "very hard", as it climbed almost 1000 ft in the final 2.5 miles. So, my strategy would be to run conservatively until the final 2.5 miles.
Within a mile, I was rolling quite well, but I heard breathing behind me and felt a headlamp. Soon enough, Bucknell stormed past and I stayed in contact. Within a quarter mile, the NW legend, Uli Steidl (German Olympic Marathoner) strolled past, as he was running for Portland Alum. He looked very comfortable and was running a solid pace, passing me easily and then passing Bucknell, who was about 100m up the road into the lead. Bucknell could not respond. Then, almost immediately, came a very smooth striding Nike runner, running the fastest pace of all, in pursuit of Steidl for the lead. I was now determined. I could not bring the baton in 4th after getting it in virtually in the lead. However, the run was a solid 6+ miles and I was already running 5-min pace or so and losing ground. I sharpened up and set my sights on Bucknell, with Uli's head-lamp and Nike's vest reflecting in the distance. I needed to keep this close. By 3 miles, Bucknell had settled into his pace, and I was about 40m back. Nike had made a move on Steidl and they were hammering. I decided to stick to my gameplan and wait for the 2.5 miles that were completely uphill, my strength.
We made a right hand turn and in the darkness we were faced with the climb... a dark, winding backroad in complete silence and darkness. As soon as we made the right, I attacked. I gained on Bucknell, ran next to him for close to a quarter mile as he matched my effort and then I just pressed and pressed until he broke... once he broke I realized I was gaining on Nike and Portland. I had to try and close the gap as well as open a gap on Bucknell. Bucknell hung quite tough for the next mile, but in the final 1.5 miles I put close to 40-seconds on him at the finish, finishing 40-sec behind Uli and 58-sec behind Nike, who turned out to be the national cross country champion of Norway. 5:28 pace on a major climb. I had not been able to ration my effort, as I was forced to race, but it was well worth it... the best compliment came when the Portland/Bucknell coach told me at the transition a leg later, "hey, great leg; that was sick." I looked around because I couldn't believe he was talking to me, but I guess I was quite memorable with my Sell-like Fu-Manchu and all...
* Leg 12 was quite pathetic. By this point, we were a solid 9+ minutes behind Nike behind the legs from Bret Schoolmeester and company and we were 4+ minutes up on Portland. Leg 12 was a desolate, straight-shot down Hwy 30 in the darkness and I started out running absolutely great for the first 8-10 minutes, but then started struggling with a tight right hamstring. It bothered me all the way to the line, covering the 5.7 miles in darkness at 5:45 pace or so. A bit disappointing, but I had not eaten anything in over 12 hours and my stomach was wrecked from too many Gu's and recovery shakes (liquid diet). I vowed to redeem myself over the final 6.14M "Very Hard" over-the-top of the moutain, Leg 29.
* So, by Leg 29, I had about 2 hours of sleep, and it was now warming up and close to 9AM... yes, I was starving, but my teammates continued to impress. No one was really crashing, but most everyone was now running about 5:20 pace or so for their flat stages. Casey Jermyn continued to roll, as did Wil Dobie, as he blasted another downhill stage at 5-flat pace. DeKoker also rocked a 5:15 pace on his leg. And, so came my leg. We were by now rumored to be almost 20-min back of Nike. They were just not getting tired. It was like they were running a Dellinger workout: first leg easy, second leg medium, third leg hard. The nail was in the coffin for first, but Portland was only 4:30 back, but the strengthening Team XO, led by Max King, had surged into 3rd about 4-minutes back... and King was on my leg!
Leg 29 was a 3.5 mile climb to the highest peak on the course. It was then followed by a 2.5 mile descent off the mountain and towards the shoreline. It was now close to 12 hours after we started, and I had still not eaten much nor slept much, nor recovered much, but that is the beauty of Hood to Coast. It is survival. Actually, the beauty came in the team aspect of the race. Twelve members, two separate vans, running your butts off... hoping not to crash, hoping your fitness was sufficient. So, my team was still performing stellar, guys feeling pretty good on their final legs. I had no idea how I was going to even run 10km, let alone up a freaking mountain at sub-6 min pace. By the 2nd leg no one was even thinking about warming up nor cooling down. By everyone's third leg, the best one could do was roll out of the van, complain alot, and shut off your brain and run. By everyone's third leg, quads were non-functional, calves were shot, stomachs growling, and eyes blood-shot. Steve looked trashed on his leg, but still ran well. Rumor was Team XO was gaining ground. I took off, not sure if I could finish one mile, let alone six uphill and downhill.
I felt pretty darn good. I was rolling. When the van passed me on the way to the exchange, I surged, full of adrenaline. I was running well and the climb was starting. I passed two miles in 11:30, uphill, and 3 miles, the grade steepening, in 17:20. I was blown away. I was able to be running well under 6-min, up a freaking mountain! However, Mile 3 to Mile 3.5 was brutal. It was the crux of the climb, the absolute peak of the race (awarded to me due to mountain goat stature and VO2 Max ability) and a mock-finishing tape made out of toilet paper was held out for me to cross... it was a blast, but then the descent. Ouch. It was a bit steeper than I would like and my legs were trashed from the effort, so I was not able to capitalize as I would like on the downhill. However, I figured it out and started gaining ground, running sub-5:30 pace, but soon enough my right hamstring was painful... soon I saw the finish line, I was running off the road to salvage my feet and hammy, but the last 100m I almost didn't make it... my hamstring was going to rip... it was literally tearing as I handed off the baton to Wil... Ouch... but I was done. Literally. I gimped back to the van, the guys ecstatic that I held 5:46 pace on this "very hard" climb (my overall leg description was 2nd hardest in the whole relay, only behind a leg combo of 7+ mile runs).
* That night we all crashed, watching the Men's Olympic Marathon and drowning in pizza. We were all passed about by the 4 x 400m relays in our sleeping bags, and a nice sense of camaraderie filled the room. Heck, we weren't Nike, we were hard-working American guys making a living and running a dream and we had done our best. It was sweet.
Can't wait for next year.
11 miles recovery out to Pine Gully in 1:13:50, 8 x 100m strides uphill
Tuesday, 8-19-2008
2 miles, 4 x 100m, 8 x 60" up Kemah Bridge
5:53, 1:05 (1:53), 1:05 (1:54), 1:04 (1:52), 2:56, 1:05 (1:56), 1:03
Wednesday, 8-20-2008
AM: Storms
PM: Work
Thursday, 8-21-2008
AM: 9 mile run down to Pine Gully in 58:18, 8 x 100m uphill
PM: Travel to Seattle
Friday, 8-22-2008
AM: 5 miles around DeKoker's House in Seattle in 34:10
9:45PM: Hood to Coast Relay, 6.08M "Very Hard" Leg 5 in 33:16
Saturday, 8-23-2008
2:42AM: Hood to Coast Relay, 5.69M "Easy" Leg 17 in 32:45
9:12AM: Hood to Coast Relay, 6.14M "Very Hard" Leg in 35:27
Sunday, 8-24-2008
Rest / Travel to Houston
Total
50 Miles
* Wow. What can I say? It is amazing what the human body is capable of achieving. So, Brooks flew me out to Seattle to participate in the World's Largest Relay, the Hood To Coast, that runs 197 miles from Mt. Hood to Seaside, Oregon. This race is amazing. Our goal was to average 5:10 pace and contend for the title against the likes of Nike, adidas, Mizuno, and the Portland and Bucknell Alum teams. We ended up placing 2nd Overall with a 5:17 average pace for 197 miles, an accomplishment on its own merits!
My first leg was a new sensation for me. We drove down from Seattle, with me suffering a caffeine headache the whole way down. Leg 1, starting at 6000+ feet at the base of Mt. Hood, was suicidal, but Brett Winegar ran amazing, bringing home the baton in 2nd behind the Portland Alumni team. He then handed off to Josh Riccardi, who rolled a very nice 2nd leg... by the 3rd Leg, run by our All-Star, Casey Jermyn (8:03, 14:04 Montana State), darkness was settling over the landscape and Jermyn blasted 4:32 pace for his 3.5 Mile Leg! Impressive. He then handed off to our Captain, Steve DeKoker, who blased his 7+ miles at 5:02 pace! By now, we were in the lead, and I got the baton with a scant 2-3 sec lead over both Portland Alumni, Bucknell, and Nike.
So, I get the baton and I have a daunting task... the first is that I have never run in pitch black darkness. Thankfully, my buddy Derek Wood lent me his headlamp, which was quite great, but it was still pitch black. Secondly, I would be running on a highway for the first 3.5 miles on quite a camber, and I hated that... Thirdly, I would have to ration my effort, fot I had two more legs. Finally, the leg was rated "very hard", as it climbed almost 1000 ft in the final 2.5 miles. So, my strategy would be to run conservatively until the final 2.5 miles.
Within a mile, I was rolling quite well, but I heard breathing behind me and felt a headlamp. Soon enough, Bucknell stormed past and I stayed in contact. Within a quarter mile, the NW legend, Uli Steidl (German Olympic Marathoner) strolled past, as he was running for Portland Alum. He looked very comfortable and was running a solid pace, passing me easily and then passing Bucknell, who was about 100m up the road into the lead. Bucknell could not respond. Then, almost immediately, came a very smooth striding Nike runner, running the fastest pace of all, in pursuit of Steidl for the lead. I was now determined. I could not bring the baton in 4th after getting it in virtually in the lead. However, the run was a solid 6+ miles and I was already running 5-min pace or so and losing ground. I sharpened up and set my sights on Bucknell, with Uli's head-lamp and Nike's vest reflecting in the distance. I needed to keep this close. By 3 miles, Bucknell had settled into his pace, and I was about 40m back. Nike had made a move on Steidl and they were hammering. I decided to stick to my gameplan and wait for the 2.5 miles that were completely uphill, my strength.
We made a right hand turn and in the darkness we were faced with the climb... a dark, winding backroad in complete silence and darkness. As soon as we made the right, I attacked. I gained on Bucknell, ran next to him for close to a quarter mile as he matched my effort and then I just pressed and pressed until he broke... once he broke I realized I was gaining on Nike and Portland. I had to try and close the gap as well as open a gap on Bucknell. Bucknell hung quite tough for the next mile, but in the final 1.5 miles I put close to 40-seconds on him at the finish, finishing 40-sec behind Uli and 58-sec behind Nike, who turned out to be the national cross country champion of Norway. 5:28 pace on a major climb. I had not been able to ration my effort, as I was forced to race, but it was well worth it... the best compliment came when the Portland/Bucknell coach told me at the transition a leg later, "hey, great leg; that was sick." I looked around because I couldn't believe he was talking to me, but I guess I was quite memorable with my Sell-like Fu-Manchu and all...
* Leg 12 was quite pathetic. By this point, we were a solid 9+ minutes behind Nike behind the legs from Bret Schoolmeester and company and we were 4+ minutes up on Portland. Leg 12 was a desolate, straight-shot down Hwy 30 in the darkness and I started out running absolutely great for the first 8-10 minutes, but then started struggling with a tight right hamstring. It bothered me all the way to the line, covering the 5.7 miles in darkness at 5:45 pace or so. A bit disappointing, but I had not eaten anything in over 12 hours and my stomach was wrecked from too many Gu's and recovery shakes (liquid diet). I vowed to redeem myself over the final 6.14M "Very Hard" over-the-top of the moutain, Leg 29.
* So, by Leg 29, I had about 2 hours of sleep, and it was now warming up and close to 9AM... yes, I was starving, but my teammates continued to impress. No one was really crashing, but most everyone was now running about 5:20 pace or so for their flat stages. Casey Jermyn continued to roll, as did Wil Dobie, as he blasted another downhill stage at 5-flat pace. DeKoker also rocked a 5:15 pace on his leg. And, so came my leg. We were by now rumored to be almost 20-min back of Nike. They were just not getting tired. It was like they were running a Dellinger workout: first leg easy, second leg medium, third leg hard. The nail was in the coffin for first, but Portland was only 4:30 back, but the strengthening Team XO, led by Max King, had surged into 3rd about 4-minutes back... and King was on my leg!
Leg 29 was a 3.5 mile climb to the highest peak on the course. It was then followed by a 2.5 mile descent off the mountain and towards the shoreline. It was now close to 12 hours after we started, and I had still not eaten much nor slept much, nor recovered much, but that is the beauty of Hood to Coast. It is survival. Actually, the beauty came in the team aspect of the race. Twelve members, two separate vans, running your butts off... hoping not to crash, hoping your fitness was sufficient. So, my team was still performing stellar, guys feeling pretty good on their final legs. I had no idea how I was going to even run 10km, let alone up a freaking mountain at sub-6 min pace. By the 2nd leg no one was even thinking about warming up nor cooling down. By everyone's third leg, the best one could do was roll out of the van, complain alot, and shut off your brain and run. By everyone's third leg, quads were non-functional, calves were shot, stomachs growling, and eyes blood-shot. Steve looked trashed on his leg, but still ran well. Rumor was Team XO was gaining ground. I took off, not sure if I could finish one mile, let alone six uphill and downhill.
I felt pretty darn good. I was rolling. When the van passed me on the way to the exchange, I surged, full of adrenaline. I was running well and the climb was starting. I passed two miles in 11:30, uphill, and 3 miles, the grade steepening, in 17:20. I was blown away. I was able to be running well under 6-min, up a freaking mountain! However, Mile 3 to Mile 3.5 was brutal. It was the crux of the climb, the absolute peak of the race (awarded to me due to mountain goat stature and VO2 Max ability) and a mock-finishing tape made out of toilet paper was held out for me to cross... it was a blast, but then the descent. Ouch. It was a bit steeper than I would like and my legs were trashed from the effort, so I was not able to capitalize as I would like on the downhill. However, I figured it out and started gaining ground, running sub-5:30 pace, but soon enough my right hamstring was painful... soon I saw the finish line, I was running off the road to salvage my feet and hammy, but the last 100m I almost didn't make it... my hamstring was going to rip... it was literally tearing as I handed off the baton to Wil... Ouch... but I was done. Literally. I gimped back to the van, the guys ecstatic that I held 5:46 pace on this "very hard" climb (my overall leg description was 2nd hardest in the whole relay, only behind a leg combo of 7+ mile runs).
* That night we all crashed, watching the Men's Olympic Marathon and drowning in pizza. We were all passed about by the 4 x 400m relays in our sleeping bags, and a nice sense of camaraderie filled the room. Heck, we weren't Nike, we were hard-working American guys making a living and running a dream and we had done our best. It was sweet.
Can't wait for next year.