C'Ville 10 Miler Regisration Confirmed

I registered for the C'Ville 10 Miler today.   I enjoy this race and look forward to running the streets of Charlottesville.    I have some training to do to be race ready.  Wish me luck!

2014 Marine Corps Marathon Race Report

I successfully completed my 5th marathon with the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon and I continue to be amazed by the challenge this distance provides.  The Marines hosted and executed a flawless marathon weekend.   The following race report provides insight into my race weekend and a short retrospective on how I can improve for my next race.

Pre Race Activities - Friday and Saturday

We traveled to the DC area Friday night and enjoyed a relaxing Saturday morning shopping and spending time with family.   In the afternoon, I meet up with some running friends at the GE Health and Fitness Expo to pickup our race packets and hang out a bit.   Although I heard reports of long lines to get into the expo, when we arrived we were able to get right into the DC Armory.    Overall the expo experience was much improved over last year because the bib pickup and merchandise displays were co-located.   The expo displays were pretty standard gear and swag.  After a spending some time at the expo,  I headed back to the hotel on the Metro.  We stayed at the Marriott Metro center which was central to just about everything we did for the race and seeing the city.    

Race Day - Sunday
I was up early and ready for the race sunday morning.   I quickly got through my morning routine and was out the door to the metro by 6:15.   After a little bit of struggle with my Metro card, see race fails for details, I waited with other runners headed to the Pentagon on the metro platform headed. After a short metro ride,  I met up with my running friends around 7am at the Pentagon Metro stop before making the long walk to the runners village.   We timed our arrival to the runners village at the perfect time to drop our post race gear at the UPS trucks and head to the starting line.

On the way to the starting line I heard a voice I recognized from the RunRunLive podcast.  I was happy to make an in person introduction Chris the host.  I recommend the podcast to runners of all capabilities as Chris shares great information about many aspects of endurance running.

The race day weather was perfect for runners and spectators with clear skies providing temperatures in the high 30's and highs in the mid 60's.   The Marines put on a great pre-race show with multiple sky-divers displaying large American flags, Osprey flyover and the howitzer firing to start the race.   The nice weather brought out significant crowds to support runners.

Race Execution
I started the race slow and in line with my plan to run the first 13 miles at a 9:30-9:45/mile pace.  The first 10 miles are a bit hilly as the course heads away from Rosslyn towards Arlington and then back into Georgetown.   I found this part of the race the most enjoyable with the larger crowds in the city and rural scenery.   After leaving Georgetown the course runs along the Potomac River which is nice and flat, but is more exposed to the elements.    This section of the race is quiet and lonely with limited spectators.  After hitting the 13.1 Mile mark, I was ready to get back into the city and the spectators around the Tidal Basin and National Mall.   I stopped a bit to talk with my family when I saw them in the crowd around mile 17.  I was hopeful that they had a Banana or something I could snack on, but no such luck.  It is always nice to see family and friends during the race.  It provides a lot of motivation to get to an agreed upon meeting place.   I started to hit the wall around mile 18 despite eating GUs and drinking at regular intervals during the race.   I found that the windy conditions quickly dried my sweat which left me warm and thirsty.   I was happy to have my fuel belt and refilled each bottle at the water stops in the later miles.   I found myself  battling the wall as I completed the section of the National Mall and started the 14th Street Bridge.   The isolation from spectators, winds and sunny conditions provided a significant challenge for the 14th Street Bridge crossing.  I was happy to complete the bridge and head into Crystal City and rejoin the crowds.   I worked my way through Crystal City and back to the Pentagon.   Once around the Pentagon, I started to get my legs and wits back as I knew the finish was close.   I put in a strong effort in the last mile and half which enabled me to pass a number of runners and finish at faster pace.

Post Race Retrospective
I finished the race in 4:48:16.   I did not meet my race goals, but I am happy that my training enabled me to improve on my time from last year.  Looking back at my training and race, I don't see a single issue that prevented me from achieving my goal.  I did have a number of pre-race and on-course failures that I will need to address in future races.  For example:

• I walked too much on Saturday with family and expo activities.  Total mileage on Saturday was over 6miles.
• I had many Metro card issues.  I forgot to pack my metro cards at home and needed to purchase new ones.  When headed out race day morning, my paper metro card got jammed in shorts zipper and when I was able to remove it, the metro gate ate it. :(
• I forgot to apply nipple guards pre-race.   The bandaids acquired from Red Cross tent did not adhere to sweaty chest. :( 
• I forget how exposed the race course is for the second half of the race.  Running into the wind made the last part of the race hard.  I need to find a larger group of people to run with.
• My iPhone battery died at finish line and I did not bring my battery charger pack.   This left me with no way to communicate with family when trying to reunite.

From this race experience I will improve and expand my next training campaign to include:

• Do more speed work to ensure that I can run at a faster race pace.
• Find a runner partner to tackle the course and pace together.   Look to utilize the pace groups.
• Have a better pre-race routine to ensure that I have all the things I need after the race.
• Pre-race and during fueling needs to be better. 

This was not my best performance at the marathon distance, but I feel that my training increased my strength during the race and enabled a quick recovery.   I enjoyed this race and plan to do another training campaign to continue to improve.

MCM 2014 Prep and Taper Madness

After months of training,  I find it hard to believe that I am 3 days away from the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon.     I am happy to say that I head into race day healthy and confident in my training campaign.   I am well into the taper process and I find myself worried about the craziest things as I think about race day.

My main taper fixation is equipment failure.   Specifically, I worry that I switched to new shoes to close to race day.   I primarily trained in Adidas adiZero Tempo 5 and recently, like last week, switched to Adidas adiZero Tempo 6's.   These shoes are very similar, so my main worry is that I don't have them broken-in appropriately for the race.  Along with the shoes, I am stressing about what to wear.  I know that sounds like a 15 year old girl, but it is a major issue.  Historically I over dress for races, my goal for this race is be dressed on the cool side.  The weather forecast should be perfect for shorts and short sleeve shirts.   My last equipment worry is about hydration and a decision to carry a camelbak or not.  I am confident that all these worries will go away once the race starts. 

My race day pace plan is pretty simple:   Start out with a 9:45 pace and move towards a 9:00min pace.   Overall goal is to finish ~4:15hrs.   I am feeling strong and well trained, just not fast enough to break 4:00hrs on this race.

I have one more shake-out run planned and then the marathon weekend will be here.  My marathon weekend plan is coming together.    The coordination of Marathon weekends are exciting and fun,  but stressful because of all the details of the race and travel logistics.  We will travel to Washington, DC on Friday night.  We plan to spend time as a family and hit the Race Expo on Saturday.   Sunday race morning will be exciting and I plan to connect with other runners before the start.   I am always excited to see friends and family in the crowd supporting me during the race.  Post race will be busy getting food and traveling home.  

I am excited to Run With the Marines again, and complete my 5th Marathon.    I wish a good race to all the runners this weekend, I will see you out there. 

2014 Marine Corps Marathon Training Update

I find it hard to believe I completed half my training for the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon.  My Intermediate Training Program is challenging and achievable for my current skills and fitness.  I am running 5 days a week with a mix of tempo, speed, long and recovery runs.   I managed running while traveling for work and vacation.  The travel provided opportunities to run in and explore interesting places.   Running conditions in Central Virginia continue to improve with the transition from hot humid summer to brisk cool  early fall.   As the longer runs get longer, and the speed work gets more taxing I find that my nutrition is the weakest component of my training.   Nutrition and diet are areas that I don't know to much about so I need to get some outside help ensure I get the best results.    

I started thinking about my performance and social goals for this marathon.   On the performance front, my goal is pretty simple:  Improve on my race from last year.   My target time for completion is 4:15, which will not be a PR but I think is reasonable considering my current fitness and the course.    I am still uncertain about my social goal, but I expect that I will pick a charity to promote.  

I am thankful to be healthy and running without injury as I enter the home stretch of training. 

I hit the lottery!

The 39th Marine Corps Marathon registration lottery completed today and I received notification that I am officially registered for the race.   The MCM is considered a premier race in the US.  It is the 3rd largest in the US and 8th in the world After running the race for the first time,  I am excited to participate again because I will get to:

• Focus on the contributions and sacrifices of the US Service Men and Women
• Participate with a large diverse global runner community
• Run the nation's capital and see the monuments
• Feel the support from the marines and spectators

I look forward to my upcoming MCM training activities and hope to improve my performance over last year. 

Today's Run - 3.2.2014 - Saunders-Jefferson Trail Run

I can't remember the last time I ran the Monticello Saunders-Jefferson Trail and since the 2014 Montalto Challenge registration opened this week I decided to hit the trail for a nice run on Sunday to get reaquanted.    The ~2mile crushed gravel and boardwalk path is well maintained by Monticello and even with a number of people walking, running and riding the path there is plenty of room to run.

I enjoy running this trail and the Montalto Challenge because you get some amazing views of the Charlottesville area.  For this run, I started at the bottom of the trail and ran to the Monticello Visitors Center and back to the bottom of the trail, and for kicks I ran to the top again to complete a 10K.  I met my family at the top of the trail for the relaxing walk back down the trail.

I find this course is very difficult at the bottom as you start the ascent. The grade of the trail smooths slightly in the middle, but by no means do you forget that you are running uphill.  Once reaching the top of the trail you stand at the bottom of the Montalto Mountain which is the last mile of the Montalto Challenge course.   I find myself admiring the significant climb to the top and remembering the dedication it takes to conquer the switchbacks.

The return to the trail reminded me that I have significant training to do in preparation for the Montalto Challenge in the coming weeks.

Planning 2014 Race Schedule

I am looking to 2014 as an opportunity to return to a more defined racing scheduled.  I enjoy the added excitement of running when in a crowd and on different courses than my normal runs.    I also find the challenge of competing against others and myself pushes me to improve.

I plan to return to the following local Charlottesville Track Club races:

• Charlottesville 10 Miler - March
• Montalto Challenge (5K) - May
• Boar's Head Turkey Trot (5K) - Oct

I also plan to run a 1/2 Marathon and a Full Marathon.  I will post a more detailed race schedule once I settle a few more details.

Charlottesville 10 Miler - Prerace

I did not travel this week in hope that to have a good tape week with a few easy runs.   Things don't always go as planned around here.  Monday into Tuesday night one of the kids was up sick multiple times through the night which prevented my run on Tuesday.  I decided to take Weds as a recovery day.   My taper week has been busy with work and I have been able to get some good rest and recovery.  The interesting thing about tapering is the impact on your mental view of running.   I often find that in the middle of the taper week I start to question if I will even remember how to run.  With the instant drop in running frequency I feel out of balance with my day to day activities.

Race bib numbers were issued today, and I will be bib number 1683. 

Mid March Review

The C'Ville 10Miler is in a couple weeks and I am excited to race again.   I am hopeful that I will meet my target pace of 8:20/Mile but have my doubts.  Taper week starts on Sunday after one last long run.  My training continues to progress and I remain healthy.  I am finding my business travels are having an impact on my speed workouts.   My typical speed workout is usually the morning after a long travel day, which has left me tired and the workouts more daunting than normal.  Much of the workout difficulty is mental, and I find once I get into the workout I am able to do what is required.   Due to travel, most of the speed work outs have been on Treadmills.  I find running on treadmills to be a constant grind, which forces you to keep up with no real time to recover.  The tempo and long runs have been difficult but enjoyable. 

I have enjoyed the best of weather in Virginia and Connecticut for running outside so far this spring. It is nice to shed the layers of winter gear for spring / summer gear.  I am hoping that it does not get to hot to soon.  The longer spring days are nice, but it is still dark when I head out in the morning.
My current training plan has me targeting 4 days during the week with a long run on Sat. With travel that has not been possible because I travel early one day during the week and miss a recovery run.  Even with that, I have been making the 20-25 Miles a week consistently since starting the plan.  That distance and frequency is proving to be  comfortable and challenging level. I have reached more than 25% of total mileage for the year, which is right on pace.  My run cadance has improved and staying on target for 90 Steps /Min. Looking back at Q1 2012 I am happy with my running efforts and results so far.

2012 Charlottesville 10 Miler

It is official!  I am registered for the C-Ville 10 Miler.   Training has been going pretty well despite my heavy travel schedule.   The next 3 weeks are a long haul with long runs, speed work and tempo runs.    I am excited to run this race again and hope to run the course a few times as I prep for race day.

Sidelined by a cold

I have been running and training for a mid-november half marathon, but last week I caught a cold which has sidelined me for a little over a week. All the traveling and long work days paired with a good training scheduled just zapped me. I got a head and chest cold last week and I thought it best not to run until I kicked it. I started feeling better later in the week and did a short run. I missed a long run last week due to this cold and will need to miss it again this weekend due to some personal travel. That basically will mean ~3 Weeks since my last long run, I may need to look for a late November or early December race.

Still running....

I may not have been blogging about it, but I have been running consistently for the past month and half. I have been very busy at work with travel and projects. Despite all of that, I have maintained my running regiment by getting out four days a week. The weather is turning and I have enjoyed the crisp fall mornings. The temps are great but the running in the dark is overrated!

Although I have not registered for a race, I am in the thick of a half marathon training campaign. I expect to register for the Richmond Half Marathon in November. My long runs are in double digits again and my foot appears to be healed. I am enjoying the variety of the speed work and tempo runs. I am hopeful that this will help me recapture my faster pace prior to the injury.

I switched shoes again, this time from the Brooks Adrenaline to Brooks Switch. I like Brooks shoes, they are stable and cushioned. The Switch is a bit tight, but I like the feel overall. I continue to improved my form and become a consistent mid-foot striker.

I hope to get back to blogging about running in the near future.

Today's Run - 6/29 & 6/30

I had a couple of nice morning runs on Weds and Thurs this week. The weather has been cool but the humidity and dew points have made running fast a bit difficult.

My foot continues to heal but has been sore after these runs. I am hopeful that it completely heals up soon so that I can start training for my next challenge. Speaking of which, I need to figure out what that will be. I expect that I will go after a 1/2 Marathon this fall. I like the later fall races, so something in early or mid November. If worse comes to worse I will run the Richmond 1/2 Marathon race again.

Speaking of races! I noticed an increase in the number of runners in the hood over the past few weeks. There appears to be a group of Lady Runners taking to the streets in the early morning. I expect many are training for the Charlottesville Women's Four Miler. Emily was able to register for this race and I look forward to cheering her and the other women on as they run for a great cause.

2011 Charlottesville Four Miler Results

2011 Charlottesville Four Miler Results are posted. I am happy to say that I PR and met my target of sub 32mins (8Min Pace).

PLACE NAME              DIV   DIV/TOT TIME  PACE 
166   Douglas Morrison  M3539 19/51   31:29 7:53

The turn out for the C-Ville Mens 4 Miler was impressive considering it was the first early summer running of the race. There were ~500 runners, and I enjoyed the new course and size of the field. I arrived early, which was good because I had some unexpected pre-race registration issues to work out. Apparently I registered for the training course not the race by mistake. I was able to get registered without issue, but it did cause a bit of stress. Once I resolved the registration issues I headed out for a quick warm up run. It was raining and muggy, which made the run a bit uncomfortable.

The start of the race was a little packed with runners but as we got through the first mile it thinned out. The first mile went pretty quick and I was probably out a little to fast. The course started with a slow incline for the first 1/2 mile and rolling hills for the last 1/2Mile as we headed out from Scott Stadium into campus. I covered this first mile at a 7:36 Pace and carried that momentum into the hilly section. The second mile contained the largest hill climb which started to separate the runners. This was a difficult hill but I concentrated on a fast stride rate to climb the hills. My heart rate was much higher than usual, it averaged 169BPM and maxed out at 181BPM which is ~10BPM faster on average. I working harder and it was humid. I was happy to pass mile marker 2 because I knew it was pretty much all down hill from there. I tried to relax into the downhill, but I found it hard to keep my foot speed and pace up. My third mile was the slowest probably due to my need to recover from the hill climbs. Once I got to the 3rd mile I was able to kick it back in but I was still struggling a bit. When we rounded the turn into the stadium I gave one last push and passed a few people in the last tenth of a mile. I was running so hard I forgot to look at myself on the Jumbo-tron! I was happy with the strong finish and meeting the sub 8min pace improving time by ~1Min for this distance.

Overall I felt good after the race. My legs were a bit sore but I probably would not have noticed that if I did not have to climb the stadium stairs to get off the field. My foot fared the pounding pretty well and I believe it is almost recovered.

The Charlottesville Track Club put on a great race. The new course is fantastic and the turn out showed that there is a strong running community in Charlottesville. I look forward to running this again next year and remembering to look at myself on the Jumbo-tron.

Today's Run - 6/16

A good finally training run before the Charlottesville Men's Four Miler on Sunday. My foot continues to feel better, and I expect to meet my sub 32Min total time target.

Today's Run - 6/13, 6/15

A good running week so far. The weather has been cool, clear and relatively pleasant for running. I have been getting out pretty early but still after sun rise. I have enjoyed some the picturesque views around the golf course and mountain backgrounds. In the recent weeks I started focusing much more on my form and foot strike cadence. In these recent runs I worked on keep a solid parallel torso with a strong core and relaxed shoulders. I found after these runs that my core muscles are sore. The constant checking of my form during runs has lead me improve my overall posture while sitting or standing because I have become more aware of my overall body position. On the cadence front, in the last year I have steadily worked to improve my cadence from the mid 80's spm to 90 spm. I have noticed that I am able to rev up my foot strikes when climbing hills, maintain a constant strike pace on flat, but my strike pace can fall off when I am running down hill. I think that down hill foot strike pace slows down because I am resting on the downhills which tends to lead to heal strikes and slower foot speed. I need to work on recouping on downhills while letting gravity do its work.

My left foot is feeling better, I would say it is at 90%. It is still a bit tender, at it worse in the morning when I just get out of bed. I don't think it is plantar faciatis because I don't have any heal or mid arch sole pain. The tenderness is still at the base of the 2nd and 3rd proximal phalanges and the metatarsal bones. I seem to be on the mend, as the overall tenderness is decreasing week by week and the overall discomfort has not kept me from running.

I am signed up for the C-Ville's Men's 4 Miler on Sunday. I have not really been training for it but I think my mileage base has me in a good spot for this. I am excited to run this new course and as always it is cool to see the family cheer me on.

2011 Montalto Challenge Reults

The 2011 Montalto Challenge results are posted here.

I was am very happy with finishing time of 31:00 and 43 overall and 4th in my age group.

Today's Run - 5/7 - Montalto Challenge

I ran the Monticello Challenge 5K Race for the second time this year. I was happy to see the race continues to grow in size, with more than 205 walkers / runners. We had an excellent weather for the run, starting out in the morning it was in the forties and it stayed cool when we reached the summit.

This is a very challenging race with a significant change in elevation, rising ~900ft from the base of the trail to summit. The last mile of this race is ~500ft of elevation change.

This was the second year I ran this race so I knew what to expect. I started out pretty slow at ~8:40/mile pace. This was a comfortable pace to start but quickly slowed in the second mile to ~9:30/mile to make it to base of Montalto. The 7 switchbacks to make it to the top of Montalto provided a panoramic view of the valley with excellent perspective of Monticello. I worked through the 7 switchbacks passing many of the walkers and catching a few runners. Compared to last year, I was very happy that I was able to reach the summit without stopping to walk. As I approached the finish line, I stopped to grab Ella's hand so that she could finish the race with me. It was a lot of fun to run with her and cross the line with our arms raised.

Spring Running Schedule

Now that I completed my spring marathon I am looking for my next challenge.  I have signed up for the Montalto Challenge 5K and the Charlottesville Men's 4 Miler.    I think I will also look at the Park to Park 1/2 Marathon and Wounded Warrior 5k.

I think this is a good mix of distances to keep my running sharp.  I am also looking forward to doing some multi-sport workouts with spinning, swimming and resistance training. 

2011 National Marathon Results

SunTrust National Marathon
March 26, 2011 USATF Certified DC08006RT Washington, D.C.

Place Div/Tot  Div   Guntime Nettime Pace      
===== ======== ===== ======= ======= ===== 
1289  166/288  M3539 4:07:35 4:00:39 9:11    

There were 2879 finishers in the race so I finished in the top 45% of the field and 58% of my age division.

Thanks to the USNA Marathon Team for pacing me and the other 4Hr runners. It was great a great run and I appreciate the moral support to help keep me mentally in the race.

Official results can be found here.