2013 - REARVIEW MIRROR

2013 was bitter-sweet, to say the least.

2013 followed the ascent of a mountain peak, with a stellar summit, only to be scattered back to basecamp holding onto dear life.

I started the year rehabbing from the worst injury of my career - a chronically recurring calf strain in my right calf. It started due to my own negligence: I opted to try out a new pair of trail shoes on a long run, and that wrecked havoc on the right calf. A week later, after attacking my morning New Cut Rd. ascent religiously with a headlamp, my calf finally had enough. That was November 2012.

I finally broke free of the downward spiral by February 2013, by running on a grass loop at my daughter's school park (below). Building up to an hour on a semi-flat surface with  undulating terrain started the healing process.

Worthington Park - My Training Ground Rehab

But I was anxious to get racing again, and the Trail Running Magazine Trophy Series provided the great opening event - the Patuxent River Trail 10K. With only a couple of weeks of "training" behind me and not sure if I was clear of my injury, I jumped in, rearing to go. That energy only lasted half the race, as I stormed to the lead on the major climb of the day, only to fizzle out on the descent. I just wasn't ready yet and was relegated to third place in 38:53. I do not like losing on the trail. That was in early March.

Patuxent River Trail 10K in 38:53 - 3rd Place

Under a new manager at Under Armour, she sent me off to Austin to get some inspiration in some warmer weather. Coincidentally, there was THE MAZE 30K Trail run on some great windy paths. I had finally built up to 2h25' long run (about 19 miles) and figured it would suffice as my long run. I wasn't prepared to have to race it, but with the support of my wife and one of her best friends, I ran strongly to place second in 2:09:43.

The MAZE 30K in 2:09:43 - 2nd Place

However, what was happening was that I was gaining fitness. I was able to jump into training right away, with no residual fatigue. And this led to me to my first major challenge of the season - the legendary Mt. Penn Mudfest 15K trail run in Reading, PA. The race had been around 20 years and was one of the top ten trail races in America. I was going into it light on fitness, but high on motivation. I ended up burying myself and blitzing the course in record time, 1:02:24, really having one of the greater performances of my career in front of my grandmother and family. It was a great experience and RunningTimes.com ended up picking up the story here.

Mt. Penn Mudfest in 1:02:24 - Course Record

And so now the weather was warming up, the trails were starting to dry out, and I was gaining confidence in my body. I started craving longer distances, my ultra aspirations were beginning to surface once more. More importantly, I was craving more technical terrain, I wanted more climbing and elevation gain on my runs. And so, I found the great low-key Buck Ridge Burn Half Marathon trail run that threatened to burn up your quads. And sure enough, with over 1,500ft of elevation gain, I blitzed a tough course with gorgeous views with a new course record of 1:28:28, besting a solid regional triathlete. The best discovery from this race, however, was my ability to blitz the flats or road sections and just hammer... this knowledge would come in handy later in the year.

The 90-Minute Decision

 But April was not done. For work, I traveled to the 2013 Boston Marathon, had dinner with Andrew Lemoncello, and on race morning departed from the finish line thirty minutes after the winners crossed the finish line, which meant I was 90-minutes from the exact spot of Bomb #2. Upon arriving at BWI, my BlackBerry blew up with hundreds of texts and phone calls. I was en route when the bombs went off and I had no clue what happened until I landed. What a tragedy... and that tragedy was on my mind when I opted to race at Bel Monte over the 25K distance. I knew Bel Monte was tremendously technical and would catch the attention of the race selectors of the World Long Mountain Challenge if I were to run well. It was a cold, rainy morning, but I set off to conquer this beast of a course. With over 3,700ft of elevation gain (over 16.5 miles), I had company with La Sportiva athlete, Sean Blanton, for the first half of the course. I could not shake him but didn't want to press because the course was rough and The Run Bum was strong over the technical nature of the course. Finally, on the brutal staircase down to the turn-around with 20% grades, I made my move for home. This section was mentally devastating. I was going down a 20% grade that never ended, and would have to return up that 1.5 mile section climb... but after regaining my breath, battling the sun, and running without fuel, the course ended on a 2 mile road climb at an average of 8% to which my body would not respond. I was walking and running every 200m, but this is what I wanted (I reminded myself). I needed to take my body to depths it hadn't been muscularly and fueling-wise. Finally, done, I could not image running the 50 miler on this course and RunningTimes.com picked up the race here.

Bel Monte Endurance Run 25K in 2:13:11 - Course Record

So now I had my technical course and race for my resume. What would be next? Well, how about dropping down in distance at the Gunpowder Trail Race 5M in 27:55 for some speed the day after 2hrs and 2,600ft of gain? But more importantly was the Greenwood Furnace Trail Challenge. I have quickly learned that any trail "race" that bills itself of a "challenge" consists of massive technical terrain and climbs and distance is but a second thought. This race was credited as a half marathon, and with again over 3500ft of climb, this time over 12.4 miles (more of a 20K), I destroyed myself up and down Bald Mountain twice to win in a course record, 1:40:38. It was tough.

May started off quietly, just logging some training, executing our Sales Meeting, and somehow getting a staph infection from peeling shrimp (my story). I once again dropped down in distance at the Patapsco Trail Race 6M, running 33:54 and getting revenge over my season-opening loss with Ryan Stasiowski. It was a great race that reassured my fitness to change gears (Ryan had come off from running a sub-4:10 mile). But on the horizon was my ultimate test - the La Sportiva Mountain Cup Rothrock Challenge in PA.

As my season progressed, my climbing was out of this world. I seriously could scale any incline without effort. I was on a roll. But this was against regional runners at regional events and perhaps I was in a bubble. Heck, I'm a 35-year old father of three with a demanding career only running up to 65 miles per week. But I was living on the trails, and I just knew my talents, but I had to showcase them. Enter Rothrock. This legendary course would be my proving grounds. There would be world-class competition since this was in the thick of the Mountain Cup Series. :a Sportiva teammates Matt Byrne, Jason Bryant, and Pat Casterline would be showing up, as well as undefeated trail runner and mystic, Jacob Loverich. And it would be 90-degrees and humid.

Leading up to the race was interesting, as I took my biggest slip in training ever. I seriously thought I tore an oblique. Oh well. Lining up, I noted the long hair and slim frame of a legend - The North Face's Jordan McDougal. I didn't expect him to show up. I would run what I could run and opted to attack the first climb of the almost 4000ft climb course. Since this is a seasonal recap, you can read Trail Runner Magazine's write up to the drama here, and RunningTimes.com write-up here. Let's just say that, personally, I put this performance up there with my race versus David Kimani in college over 5000m at our conference championship.

Rothrock Challenge in 2:42:23 - 2nd Place

 Now here's where it all went wrong. I wanted to capitalize on my fitness. I raced Mount Washington in my debut last year in a Maryland record of 1:06:18 in 2012, and I wasn't climbing as well as in 2013. So, I made a change of plans and flew out to North Conway and proceeded to get injured by mile two of the 7.4 mile race while in 4th place. I just hadn't done enough specific training (30-60 min runs at 8-12% grade on a treadmill) and my right hip flexor fried. I ran/walked tough to finish 7th in 1:06:37, although being on pace for a 1:04. Ugh.

Mount Washington Road Race in 1:06:37 - 7th Place

I was in scramble mode. My performance at Rothrock catapulted me into the stratosphere of mountain runners in the US, and I was named to the US Team for the World Long Mountain Challenge in Poland. I had to heal this hip flexor, but it would prove to be stubborn. I tried a rust-buster effort at a local Fat-@ss, but failed. It was rough going. In the midst of figuring out my hip flexor, I traveled back to London and Shoreditch to partake in the launch of the 2013/14 Tottenham Hotspur kits. I directed the management of the kit designs and production of the 12/13, 13/14, and 14/15 seasons for Spurs, but would be transitioning off the project to continue driving run more strategically in 2014. However, I will forever be linked to the club, especially from its supporters, as mentioned here and here. Working with these athletes was a game-changer.

My Day Job - Global Senior Product Line Manager for Under Armour

 I made it to Poland half the runner I was in June, but I knew I hadn't lost all my fitness. That had to be somewhere deep within my muscles. The week leading up to Poland was brutal. I got sick for the first time all year with 104-degree fever, wasn't sleeping well, but was enjoying a phenomenal time with Perla in Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, and now Poland.

The race started out well. I was climbing strongly, with my teammates, and then the initial downhill shut down my hip flexor. I was mentally in hell... I had to drop out of the 2011 IAU World Trail Challenge due to injury and I was not going to repeat that performance. Thankfully, I ended up working with Jason Bryant out to the turn-around and sent him on his way, as we were in scoring position. I fought and fought, and ended up 31st in 4:06:34 over 44km and almost 6,000ft of climbing. Although I did not perform to my potential, it was my most proud moment of 2013 and got to share it with Perla at the finish line.

WMRA Long Mountain Challenge in 4:06:34 - 31st Place, 4th American

I actually recovered quite well from the devastating course. So much so that I opted to line up at the "Half Wit" Trail Half Marathon the following weekend, which was another one of Pretzel City Sports' legendary races. It was a tough course on the same trails as the Mt. Penn Mudfest, but I had under-estimated my fatigue and injury and was run to the line by some great competition. Thankfully I had pulled out the victory in 1:33:29, but I was going to take a 2-week break to heal up.

After two weeks of no running, I got going again, and ramped up. Agonizingly, I suffered the same calf strain that I suffered in 2012, but this time on the left calf. I basically spent Nov-Dec. figuring this puppy out. Needless to say, I am finally over the worst, but I have a long way to go to repeat the magic of 2013, with hopefully many lessons learned. But the body is a tricky thing... we don't know how it will react to age and the accumulation of mileage, torture, and wear-and-tear. Thankfully, I am back running, and we'll see what 2014 brings!!! Thanks for being part of the ride!