Stress Fractures SUCK!!!

Yes, it's been forever since my last post, and I have a tendency to not write when I am hurt.  My thoughts are, who cares about someone whose hurt and on the sidelines...?  I'd much rather be writing about awesome workouts and races that have a lasting memory.  But, injuries happen to all of us, and they leave lasting memories on us as well.

My latest injury was another stress fracture in my right tibia.  This time, I felt like a caught it early and took sufficient time off (8 weeks).  My question is, why the heck do I keep getting an injury on the same leg in the same region?  There must be an imbalance or something causing extra stress to that area, but the docs don't really know.  I'm doing physical therapy at Quadra Health Institute once a week, so that seems to be helping my imbalances a bit.  I have also taken the very slow approach of running again.  Or, at least I believe this is a slow approach...

This past summer I felt like training was going really well.  I never got up to 100 miles a week, but I had some quality workouts.  Things seemed on track for a solid half marathon in September and a full marathon in Chicago.  The timeline of events went something like this: end of August I felt a little pain in my right tibia, took 2 weeks off, ran for 2 weeks into early September thinking the pain was an acute injury and had subsided, realized it was getting worse the more I ran, stopped running, went to a podiatrist and continued to not run for 8 weeks, the end.

On November 16th, I ran for the first time for 15 minutes to test it out.  I was out of breath, tired but thrilled to not have any pain in my leg.  For the remainder of the week I ran every other day for 15 minutes for a total of 6 miles in the week.  The following week I doubled my mileage to 12 miles, kinda crazy, I know!  Then last week I kept going with a whopping 18 miles and a 30 minute continuous run.  Everything seems to be going well, I'm not feeling pain in my leg when I run, but I have noticed that afterwards I have a weird feeling.  It's very similar to my last stress fractures, as it's been commonly called "Phantom Pain".  This pain or feeling is typically caused by a build up of calcium in the area of the stress fracture pressing outward on nerves or tissue.  After doing quite a bit of research, it's been reassuring to know I am not getting hurt again, and that this sensation is very common.  However, I am not going to be stupid and go crazy with my training.  Going into my 4th week of running give me confidence to keep training, but only with a conservative approach.  I don't really have a rush to get back into things, so I'll slowly increase my base and race when I feel ready enough to.

To conclude this past marathon cycle, I have failed miserably in an attempt to qualify for the 2016 USA Olympic Marathon Trials.  However, I still feel that my best marathon time is ahead of me, and that I have many more amazing races to come.  I know I can't do the same thing I have in the past.  I've gotten older, so therefore I should be wiser - I know I'm not that wise yet, but am aiming for that wisdom.  So something has to change, which will be my training and training philosophy.

"If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got."
-Mark Twain

The Weeks That Where

Another week, and another weekly log posted.  But this time, I've resorted to an electronic log that I found from Jack Daniels PhD.  And since I'm obsessed with his training methods and philosophy, this adapted running log is perfect for me and my somewhat busy schedule.  So, to shorten things up and summarize the past two weeks and a half marathon race - things are going well!

Rock and Roll Arizona:

All and all, it was a good rustbuster.  I wanted to find out where my fitness was, and I did so at this race.  A 1:08:16 puts things in perspective and shows me that with more consistent weeks I'll be in a good place for Boston.  And with each passing day, I get more and more excited for the most historical marathon EVER!  So, to get back to the half marathon, I knew that I had to start off conservative and not do anything stupid over the 13 miles.  Yet, the race momentum dragged me along to a 5:05 first mile, and made me think that this could be a tough and disappointing half marathon.  Luckily, I rallied my fitness and fortitude and kept some even splits that were not slower than 5:20, or faster than my first mile.

After catching the idiots that took off blazing, I realized that I would finish strong and in a respectable time considering the amount of training I had.  To add to the excitement, my buddy Kris Houghton set the WORLD RECORD in the half marathon while pushing a baby stroller, with a baby in it!  Alma Rose Montoya-Houghton and Kris are World Record holders!  What other running club in America can say that- NO ONE!

Last Week:

So, after being sore from an all-out effort in Arizona, I decided to get back into the full swing of things are post some good training sessions.  A workout Wednesday was in order, followed by an 8 mile tempo run on Saturday, and then a Boston Simulation Long Run on Sunday.  Pretty solid, right?  Well, it was and it felt great!  Now, add in some mixed variation and things should go pretty well.  Oh, and one 50 mile long run to make things a little exciting.  This is another topic we can get into, but in a little more than one month, I will run 50 miles at once.  I know this isn't common to do before an important marathon like BOSTON, but as the late and great Herb Brooks once told the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team before they won the Gold Medal, "You can't be common, the common man goes nowhere; you have to be uncommon."     

USA Cross Country Championships

This past weekend was the US cross country championships in Spokane, Washington.  It was a great race to be in and I have been gearing towards this race since last year.  So, for 365 days, I've been dreaming of racing well here and making a US team.  And by the feel of my workouts leading up to this race, I felt as if it were possible.  

The trip to Spokane was great, and I was accompanied with some great people.  So, when race day came it was going to be a familiar feeling.  That morning, the weather was "perfect".  I was and hoping for rain and cold miserable weather, but that wasn't the case.  A nice 50 degrees and sunny skies would pave way for a great race.  The gun goes off at 2pm and I had a feeling that 20 guys or so would be capable of making the two US teams.  One being the World Cross Country team (6 guys) and the other being the NACAC team (5 guys).  So, ideally, you want to be at least top 11 in order to be on one of those teams if no one declines.  And that was the goal...

By the first kilometer I was in great position in around 9th or 10th place.  We hit that kilometer in about 2:47, which was pretty quick, but I felt alright.  I just wanted to stay there and hopefully other guys would fall apart and I would maintain a good position.  The first loop was pretty quick and I was still in that lead pack.  At that point I felt good but everyone else were feeling better.  The pack starts to drift apart over the next few kilometers and I start fading and getting passed.  The 5k came up in about 14:40 something and I was feeling it.  As each guy came up on me I tried to go with them and surge just to hold on.  But, that would not help as I still faded.  I finally held on to 16th place as the finish was coming up.  So I finished in 36:36 in 16th place.  It was faster than last year and a better placing than last year, but not exactly what I wanted.  

I kept thinking that I needed to be stronger so that I could hold on to the position I started off at, but ultimately that performance was the best I could do.  It was a great race and I am now happy with the way it turned out.  I originally wanted more from that race, but I can only take what happened and use that for next year and other racing in the future.  

Next on the schedule is Stanford 10k and then the Country Music Marathon in April. 

Results:

http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAXCChampionships/results/Overall%20Open%20M.pdf

Video:

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236481/299000

Base Building

It has been about 4 weeks since Twin Cities Marathon, and I am back on the Trials of Miles...  I think I was around 110 for last week and will continue to build up towards 140 miles/week.  We haven't been doing any workouts, so it is a bit easier to hit higher mileage.  This past sunday, there was a big group of us.  There were about four Americans and four Africans with us on our 18 mile long run.  We went 6 miles easy, 6 miles a little faster, and the last 6 was very, very fast...  But, it felt great!  

Things are shaping up, and I am very excited to focus on one thing this winter, which will be the USA Cross Country Championships.  I will do a few indoor races, but the main goal is to make a National Team.  Workouts will come in a few weeks, and I'll jump into a few races for fun.  And the quote of the month between all of us has been: "More is Better!"  

USA Cross Country Championships

Another long awaited post from a race nearly 2 months ago...

On the weekend of February 7th, a group of Dukes Track Club runners (Myself, Kris, Juan, Robby & Dana) flew to Baltimore, Maryland to compete at the 2009 USA Cross Country Championships/USA World Cross Country Trials.  I was very excited for this race once I got to the airport.  The four of us, minus Kris were on-time checking in and getting to the gate, whereas Kris was nowhere to be found.  As we meandered to our gate, we met up with a small crew of UNM athletes that were racing, including: Jeremy Johnson, Alan Pitman & Lacy Oeding.  We were on the same flight so it was going to be a fun little trip.  Once we we landed, the two groups raced off to get our rental cars and headed over to the course and get a quick peek at what we were about to suffer through!

The course was amazing.  We found ourselves in the middle of a forest with rolling hills carved into a 10 meter wide cross country course.  The frozen mud gave room for horrible footing along the undulating terrain for each 2k loop.  I don't recall any flat surfaces on the entire course, because if there wasn't an uphill or downhill, there was a slope to run along that threw your stride.  Our entire group of New Mexican runners were very pleased with the course, since it reflected the foothills back at home that we loved to run!  Once the sun rested over the farmland hills and red barn at the starting line, we decided to finish up our run and head to dinner and get some rest.

The next day we all slowly woke up, got ready for a shake out run (which included some light hill repeats) and get some breakfast.  Our race was scheduled to go off at 2pm, so we arrived at the race around 12 and watched some of the junior races.  German Fernandez won the junior race with an impressive breakaway in the last lap.  Our UNM runner Al Pitman finished an impressive 17th, which was very motivating for us.  And Lacy placed 10th, earning her a spot on the US NACAC  team.  

Once we got our warm up in, which was 40 minutes of running around lost in the hills behind the course, we did some strides and stretched back at our little spot by the course.  At this time we laced up, did some drills and headed over to the start.  Jeremy was no where to be found at this point, but the five of us headed over there as a small pack of lost Albuquerque runners.  After some more strides on the course, the runners were gathered to start on a long hilly 12k cross country race.  Kris and I had a strategy from our coach Henry Rono to run conservative for the first 4 loops and then start racing after that.  So we agreed that Kris would take the first lap and we would switch leads for the 4 loops.  After the gun went off a huge group of nearly 60 runners converged in front of me towards our uphill start.  I stayed as comfortable as possible for the first loop with Kris.  Once the second loop came I started to lead Kris and pick off a few guys every quarter mile or so.  The hills were relentless, especially the down hills, since they were very steep and slightly muddy from the previous races.  

As the third loop came, I was expecting Kris to take over, but he was not there.  I was not going to look back, so I kept my composure and attempted to pick off guys that went out too hard in the first half of the race.  I was very surprised to be passing such high caliber runners.  At this point fans were calling out places, so I had an idea that I was in the top 30 at this point.  Another discouraging moment, was when guys where dropping out of the race.  This issue gets to me, but nevertheless I still pressed forward through the hills and mud.  For the next 2 loops I was amongst the top 20 and still pressing.  I could see Jeremy up in front and I wanted to reach him, but this late in the race with these amazing runners would be a tremendous effort to reach anyone.  I could feel the guys behind me struggling through the course as much as I was, so our positions seemed frozen for the time being.  On the largest downhill of the course many runners fell, and I witnessed many runners sliding well off the course to avoid a horrible fall.  At one point I nearly fell, but thankful not.  

At the beginning of our last lap I saw Anthony Famiglietti in a red singlet in front of me.  At the moment I did not know who it was, but once a fan called out his name to cheer him on I got excited.  The excitement was that I was closing in on a great American distance runner, who just competed at the 2008 Olympics.  I put in a surge to catch him on the downhill, and we were running together up the hill leading to the back side of the course.  I think we were running together for a bit, then he let me go with 1k to go.  At this point I was pressing as hard as I could without sprinting.  I had an idea where the quarter mile mark would be, but i still wanted to hold my position; which was 17th I believe.  Once I hit the turn for the finish I started my kick...which was too soon.  I could feel the lactic acid build in my legs like battery acid and was just praying I could catch the guys in front of me.  That was not going to happen.  Instead, the opposite happen, a group of guys ate me apart in the last few hundred meters.  It was tough!  They flew by me as if I was standing still, then they started to come back to me.  If they kept their momentum I think they would have gaped me by almost 30 seconds in those few meters, but fortunately I was not standing still and finished a few seconds behind them in 20th.

As I crossed the line in compete pain and exertion I waited there for the rest of our team.  A brief chat with the fellow runners and friends that beat me and Kris soon crossed the finish line in 37th place.  Juan came in a few moments later in 81st place followed by Robby and Dana in 119th & 141st respectively.  This was Robby's first real race since moving back to Albuquerque, at it was a great performance at the National level.  Dana was real pleased with his performance as well, since he has never been on a team before.  As for Juan, this race just fueled the fire for him.  He has always been a competitor, so he used this as a testament to further his training.  Kris was joking stating that he was the fastest Lawyer in the race and was very pleased with it.  This was a huge improvement from last year and he is going to have a huge track season!

I was very pleased and excited with my placing!  This may have been one of my best performances to date.  But, another thing was lingering in my mind.  The team competition!  Now, USA Cross Country Championships is not really regarded as a team event, but they do score teams.  I noticed a table with the Championship Trophy and Runner-up Trophies.  Once I saw that, I knew we won!  There was no way any of those teams beat us, but even if they did I still figured we'd get second and take home some hardware!  But of course, they screwed up the scoring and didn't even score us as a team.  Oh well, maybe next year!

2009 USA Cross Country Championship Results

So on the cool down we were applauding each others performances and joking around from such a great experience.  Many Olympians and Professional runners had bad days and I was very fortunate to have a great day!  Our good friend Jeremy Johnson finished an amazing 12th place, earning him a spot on the US NACAC team as well!  It is such an honor to represent your country in any kind of international competition and I am very proud of Jeremy for making that team.  I only hope that I can have the fitness and integrity to make that team next year.  It would surly be a dream to wear the US Jersey in competition, doing something I love.

That night we headed out to the post-race party and had an amazing, crazy, lost night throughout Baltimore with random people!  One of my buddies/old roommate (Mike Crouch) who runs for Queens University and just ran 7:57 (indoor 3ooom) that same day drove down from New York with his coach, Scott Simmons and stayed in Baltimore for the night came out with us.  All I can say was that we had a night we would never forget, or for a time being we would forget...

And the adventure didn't end there..... The next day, in a slump of sickness we geared up very slowly, packed and drove to Washington D.C. to tour our nations capitol.  Dana lost his wallet so he had to drive back to the hotel to recover it as the rest of us toured the capitol while getting in a run.  This was the last thing I ever wanted to do, but as soon as we got out there running the spinning seemed to slow down.  That night I seemed to have consumed the most beverages and was paying the price that day.  Although the Mall in D.C. was quite amazing.  We meandered through each monument and gazed in awe.  After a few hours of running/sightseeing I started to feel "tapped out".  We got a call from Dana that he'd returned and was looking for us.  We told him we'd run towards his direction, but I was feeling too tired to continue and sat down trying to recover.  Kris was getting irritated and wanted to meet up with Dana first, but before Kris could freak out I heard a women's voice from a car in traffic yell my name.  I looked over in shock and saw an old college teammate, Jenny Hauser.  I ran over to see her and told her to meet up with us after she parked.  Once everyone converged to exchange stories and why we were in D.C. Jenny directed us to a wonderful restaurant where we could complete our Maryland experience with some Crap Cakes!  We arrived at the restaurant, had a great crap cake experience wearing our running clothes and sweat then left straight to the airport for our journey home.

Once again, for lack of a better word, this was an Epic Adventure.  One we shall not forget...

San Antonio 1/2 Marathon - New PR

What a great trip to a far off place called Texas..... San Antonio to be exact.  I haven't posted in a very long time, so I'll try to make this entertaining for the lack of updates.  This is another Rock 'n Roll event and I find myself excited and a bit nervous.  I was mainly worried about getting to San Antonio too early Saturday afternoon, waiting around for Kris, Dana and Lauren to show up.  Fortunately and unfortunately, my connection flight to Denver was delayed and I missed my flight to San Antonio.  My new flight came 5 hours later, with a food voucher to spend at DIA (Denver International Airport) and a $100 plane voucher, so I can't really complain.  I was now getting into San Antonio after the gang, and they would pick me up.  Once I arrived to San Antonio, Kris, and car packed with fun loving people left for our hotel that Dana arranged for us.  We got in an easy 30 minute run through the outskirts of some sketchy area, and some strides at a local elementary school soccer field.  Once that was over, we all piled in the car (6 total) and headed off on a scavenger hunt for restaurants.  After we coordinated a group of about 13 family members and friends at Olive Garden, we all ate and enjoyed a wonderful meal and conversation of the most random things possible.  It was Great!

Race day!  Dana, Lauren and I woke up to about 15 different alarm clocks/wake up calls at 5am to get in an early morning shake out run.  What I really wanted was to sleep through those alarm clocks and even the race! Oh well, Dana and I get in a short run and the temperature didn't seem too bad outside of the hotel; but once we got back and met up with Kris to leave, it seemed as if the temperature kept dropping.  As we leave the hotel, and a car now packed with 7 lovely people, we drive aimlessly towards the race.  Mercilessly, Kris gets the car within 10 feet of the starting line, which is not allowed, but whatever we're just going with the flow as we always do.  New Mexican rag tag style.

Once we got our race bibs and a late warm up in we head over to the starting line.  We mingle with some of the other runners and see Brain Sell (USA olympic marathoner - 2008) doing some strides with his Brooks-Hanson's teammates.  We get to listen to the National Anthem and then group up on the starting line for the race.  Kris is on the far left of the field, and I position myself on the right of all the Brooks-Hanson's guys.  The starting gun fires and everyone dashes off.  Two Hanson's guys go out pretty hard (Nick and Brian) and I stay back and run with Kris and the other Hanson's guy. 

As we come up to the first mile we hit 5:00.  We have a decent little group of three guys and the two leaders are increasing their lead.  The second mile winds us through downtown and past the Alamo; which is surprisingly small, but we come through two miles in 4:51 and keep pushing on.  The crowds in downtown were very cheerful and that helped out a bit going into mile three, which was hit in 4:56 (5k-15:17).  At around this time, Kris and the other Hansons guy faded a little bit.  I was a little concerned to be running on my own, but I could see Nick

way up in front, and I thought if I kept visual in him maybe I could run a good time.  I think I cam through mile four in 4:57.  I wasn't thinking of much at this moment.  Now the course takes up hill through a nice neighborhood and a water station, where I grab some cold water.  Mile five is hit in 5:08, and off the down hill I start to pick it up to catch up to Nick.  I hit mile six in 4:42, because of the downhill.  At around this point I see Lauren (Dana's fiance) and Kris' mom cheering from a nearby park.  It was nice to have some support along the course, not only from all the bands and random people, but from people who you actually know.  Mile seven, eight, nine and ten are hit in: 4:58, 4:55, 4:57 and 4:57.  I come through 10 miles in a personal best time of 49:26.  Those four miles were kind of a blur.  I was just focusing on catching Nick and thinking of random stuff.  I remember thinking about the Sandia mountain run, and how the three of us journeyed to a state of mind that could never be replicated.

Images kept coming to mind of that epic run and how beautiful those mountains look at sunset.  Being at peace with nature can be pretty hard to do when you're tired and feeling the pain of exertion.  But if the scenery can out weigh the tiredness, then it seems worth it.  Thats what I felt on the Sandias, a sense of peace, and earth beneath my feet.  But in San Antonio, there was only violent pounding on the hard asphalt in order to finish the race, with the best effort possible.

Another thing I kept thinking about was the training we've done.  For some reason I kept visualizing a Rocky video montage of our training.  Especially from Rocky III and IV!  Those awesome training montages are amazing and inspiring.  I know its kind of corky to think about this stuff, but I couldn't get these images out of my mind.  The underdog; Rocky, training like a mad man with the most rudimentary training techniques and no outside support while his competitor had a sea of trainers and high tech equipment.  This is what kept me motivated.  It kept me thinking about all these other guys out there, with the most expensive coaches, access to great facilities, and a plethora of gear at their disposal.  While guys like Brain Sell, one of America's greatest long distance runners, rises through the ranks and makes an olympic team, has only the bear essentials for training and winning!  With our little group in Albuquerque, mentored by a legend; Henry Rono, it's hard not to try and prove ourselves that we can run with the best Americans.  I finally caught Nick at around mile 11, and he urged me on to a 4:55 mile.  The next two miles were pretty hard.  I kept thinking to myself, after mile 10, that it was a 5k race to the finish.  But after that mile it was hard to push onward.  With my calves now on fire as if they were going to burn off and rip out of my skin,  I come through mile 12 in 5:05.  I wasn't really paying attention to my total time, but I had a feeling that I was going to run a PR. But I had to finish strong.  This mile seemed pretty tough, as I was all alone in the streets of San Antonio.  There were some rolling hills in and out and here and there.  I saw the huge Alamodome in the distance; which is were the finish line was and where the San Antonio Spurs play, and I had a great feeling that I was almost there.

Mile 13 was on a uphill and I could see the clock tick away to 1:04:30.  At that point I knew I wasn't going to break 65 minutes, but as I turned the corner the finish seemed a lot closer than I expected.  I started to get up on my toes to kick as hard as I could.  The clock was approaching 65 minutes, but I was lucky enough to just dip under that time with an official time of 1:04:55.  As I gather my thoughts and take some deep breaths of air, Brian Sell is waiting for his teammates.  I was fortunate enough to talk to him briefly about running and random stuff.  Once his teammates finish, and I congratulate them, they all walk off.  I wait around for Dana and Kris to finish, at that moment I see Lauren and Kris' mom on the other side of the fence cheering with excitement.  Dana and Kris finish together, and Dana runs a huge personal best.  Kris had a little stomach problem and had run into a hotel to use the bathroom and decided to pace Dana to a PR.  

After the race we grab a bunch of free food, t-shirts, free bags, and all sorts of free crap.  At times, we are like vultures running around grabbing everything we can get our hands on.

Once thats over with had to hurry to the hotel and check out and get to the airport for our

 flights.  I felt like things were moving faster than the race, as we rushed to get a cool down in and then to the car.  As we leave, I get a phone call

 from Omar to head back to the VIP section for some quick interviews.  I just wanted to get the

 heck out of there, but everyone in the car (all 6 of them) told me it would be fine and it would be fun.  So we went back, grabbed some more free food, did the interviews, said thanks to everyone and then we were off.  It was Great!

This was another great 1/2 marathon, and it could not have happened without the support and love from my friends and family.  It seemed like everything was taken care of for me. Transportation, food, hotel, everything!  I was not worried about anything, I had a good feeling about the race, and as long as the three of use were at the start, thats all that mattered.  Our preparation leading up to this race was more than I could ask for, and the moments before and after the race are more important than the race itself.  Being with loved ones, joking around and enjoying the moment at hand could out weigh any performance that day.  I was just blessed to have everything line up for me.  I am very proud of that time, but I am more impressed with the relationships I've gained here in New Mexico. I am also blessed to have a better relationship with God.  As I was preparing for this race; the following tuesday and wednesday, I was preparing to receive first holy Communion and Confirmation.  I am very grateful for all that I have received, and I hope to give inspiration to my friends as they have fueled my inspiration.  There is no point to receive all these gifts if you have no one to share it with.  To everybody, thank you for sharing these moments with me!

Mile Splits: [5:00, 4:51, 4:56 (5k-15:17), 4:57, 5:08, 4:42, 4:58, 4:55, 4:57, 4:57 (10 miles-49:26), 4:55, 5:05, 5:03] 1:04:55

A few more pictures:

Before the Start

Brooks-Hanson's Team

Starting

Finishing

Three Amigos!

After the Race

San Jose 1/2 Marathon - New PR

What a great experience, again!  The weather was amazing and it seemed like the weeks leading up to the event were quality workouts and miles.  I got into San Jose on saturday went for a second run,  had some dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory, hopped some fences to get into BevMo! for some water, relaxed and slept great on my buddy Chris O'Neal's couch.  Once I woke up at 5:30am, we went on a little shake out run to the local high school and back, just a mile or so, nothing crazy, but just enough to wake up the body.  We got ready, made a makeshift bib number for Chris and drove to the race. Once we parked I got a phone call from Kris Houghton asking us where we were so we could get a warm up in. I looked at my watch and saw that we only had an hour before the race. So we ran over to the VIP section to get my bib and warm up with Kris. But lo and behold he was gone with some of the Moroccans. Typical of Kris, so Chris O'Neal and I went for an easy run around the streets.

Its amazing seeing all these people walking around, warming up, chatting to friends and family. This sport is truly blowing up! I love it!  So, I get in about 17 minutes, its a lucky number of mine, and start stretching by the VIP tent. I didn't want to go in and get my stuff, since there were just too many runners and other elites in there. Adam Goucher, Josh Rohantinsky, Bolota Asmeron, and number of 1:01:00 Kenyans & Moroccans. I finally see Kris and we talk about race strategies. As we run over to the starting line with the other elites, Kris and I agree that we are going to go out conservative. I'm thinking 5:05-5:10 per mile, for at least the first 4 should be conservative.  So we get in a couple of strides and drills in, a brief chit-chat with fellow runners like Brooks-Hanson's Nick Arciniaga on what pace they are going to go out in. He was aiming for a sub 1:04 half marathon time. A little too quick for me.

So we are finally corralled over to the start. I was fortunate enough to find one photo thus far from the race. I am tucked away like a dear in headlights behind Rohantinsky and Bolota

was to his right.  Once the gun went off, everyone took off like a bat out of hell.  The first group already established themselves with about 15 guys including the 3 top Americans.  Kris and I were behind in another group of about 7 guys.  It seemed like a good place to be.  Three runners that come to mine in our chase pack were: Charlie Serrano (a McMillan elite runner), Miguel Nuci (a 2:15 marathoner) and Cristian Hesch.  All top caliber runners.  So I just figured I should stay with these guys and I might get a PR.  Our first mile was 4:57. Not bad, a little worried that we might have gone out too fast, but oh well, its too late to slow down now.  

As we come up to mile two I click off my watch and its 4:59. Ok, thats good. Now the first water station is coming up, not too many runners went for water or the Cytomax they had. But this being my third marathon I figure I better get some and "practice" my fuel intake...again.  So we come up to mile three and Hesch runs off the course and heads for the bathroom. That doesn't surprise me, since Hesch does all sorts of crazy things.  Three miles comes up pretty quick and we hit it in 4:56, and the 5k in 15:26.  Wow, if I keep this up I am sure to PR.  Now I just have to keep this pace, or I could even drop back to 5:10s and still PR. This is all going through my head as we pass tons of spectators and bands jamming at 8:15 in the morning.  The course now takes us back through the start and a whole crowd of people cheering their brains out.  Its really a great sensation, nothing like the previous two halves I've done.

So by mile four I hit 5:02, which is now expected of me to fade a little, as well as the other runners in our pack.  Its now myself, Nuci and Serrano pressing on.  Mile five comes in 4:55. Nuci holds pace while the next mile is hit in 5:10.  Serrano and I are trying to maintain pace and keep Nuci in our sights.  Now, Nuci runs 200 miles a week three times a day, and tapers down to 140 mpw.  I am told he doesn't have a job, except for running.  He is a 2:15 marathoner and I know I can stick with him!  But he is creeping away as I press forward. Mile six is hit in 5:10...now I know why and how he got away, we also go through the 10k in 30:51.  I like the pace we are at, it isn't the most comfortable pace in the world but it feels rhythmic.  Mile seven is hit in 4:54, the fastest mile yet. And now Serrano has a lead on me but starts to veer to his right and stops.  I pass by him calling his name to follow me, but he just looks at me with his hands on his head and a sign of pain from his side.  At this point in the neighborhood an older women cheers me on and comments on how she likes my shoes!  I immediately think to myself, "hell yeah! I love these shoes!".  They are the adidas adizero pro, but the significantly bright blue and red heel cup are what gets the attention. 

Mile eight comes up in 5:01, and within 800 meters there is one of many 90 degree turns. But this turn has a quaint little family on the corner and a small girl yells with her 9 year old voice "I love your shoes!"  As I turn the corner I look back to make eye contact and pump my fist with a smile in agreement. The whole family looks happy and cheerful at that point, and I will soon feel that way once I get to the finish line with hopefully a new PR.  Mile nine comes a little slower than the rest in 5:12, followed by ten miles in 5:10 (50:21).  Mile ten....just 5k to go. I seem to always think of it as a long 5k, which it tends to be.  No one is around me, and Kenyans and Moroccans are finally fading back due to the insanely fast pace they started off at. 

5k to go, 5k to go. Anything can happen in the next few miles.  My watch read 50:21 for ten miles. I need to run 15:38 or faster to break 1:06:00.  I never thought I would be in the vicinity of 1:06:00, but now its in my hands to push through the pain or stay at a comfortable pace.

Comfortable pace....at this point I didn't even know what that meant. Mile eleven was hit in 5:00. Ok, that's right on pace. It seems as if Nuci was coming back on me, but he wasn't.  Mile twelve comes up at the slowest time of the day - 5:14.  Oh man, "its over", thats what I was thinking.  But there was still hope, I was still pressing forward around the long turn.  Then as I make eye contact with one of the spectators, he yells at me, "COME ON! ADAM IS RIGHT THERE!"  Holy shit! Adam Goucher is right there?!?! I started pressing even more around that long turn and once it straighten out I saw Adam about 300 or 400 meters away. Dude, there is no way I can catch him, or is there? I just start breathing and start pumping my arms and legs. Thirteen miles comes up in 4:54, and Adam already finished. With about 100 meters to go I see the clock tick away from 1:05:55 inching its way closer to 1:06 and I finish in 1:06:06.

I could not be happier with that time and that performance. The crowds were amazing, and the bands helped out in soo many ways.  If anyone is considering doing an event like this, I highly suggest it!  And the medal was pretty cool too!

One last picture with all the Moroccans including Khalid Khannouchi.   

Splits: [4:57, 4:59, 4:56 (5k-15:26) 5:02, 4:55, 5:10 (10k-30:51) 4:54, 5:01, 5:12, 5:10 (10miles-50:21) 5:00, 5:14, 4:54 (.1-35sec)] Total time: 1:06:06