Tried and tied.

Yesterday, I was gunning for a PR. Having DNS'ed for Liberty's Godparent Home 5k in April, I had not raced a 5k course since early March. I was ready to attempt my sub 25 goal set by myself in January. Then I spoke with a few people who had previously ran the Pres Home Course, all of them said the same thing: it's one tough course. I readjusted my goals, as Runner's World would have suggested, and set out to run an 8:37 pace (why? Because it's 45 seconds faster than my half marathon race pace I am supposedly training for). I figured out my splits and tried not to let the pre-race jitters effect me too badly.

And then all of us Madness members were running late, like thanking our lucky stars we picked up our packets early running late. So there was no time for proper stretching and there was no time for a warm up run or even a sprint. The only warm up sprint was the dash to be at the starting line by 8 am. But we did all get there within 15 seconds of the bullhorn.

The first mile was tough. I tried to let the stress of running late fully leave me and focus on the race. When I realized I had run an 8:09 mile, when my first mile tends to be my slowest, I decided, what the heck, let's shoot for PR. I picked up the pace and finished mile 2 at 15:55. I was picking up time and picking off other runners. I was feeling good. Mile 3, 22:58. At that point I thought I had it, a new PR. I was beginning to think that those people I'd been discussing the race with had confused this race with another. And then the .1, it was all up hill and in the sun. I started losing ground until someone shouted 'pump your arms'. I tried to heed their advice and then the girl I had paced in mile 3 started to shoot past me. Anyone who knows me, knows I have one tough competitive streak. With all I had I pumped it with all I could, finish line in sight, and took her by one second. I had a rush of nausea hit me in the shute and I could barely raise my arms. My time; 25:02. I thought I might have placed in my age division, I thought I had made my new PR goal. Then reality set in and I realized I didn't and I didn't.

It was one competitive race out there on Saturday, the three Madness team members who ran all came in 4th in their age division. My previous 5k PR? 25:02. That's right, I tied my previous PR. Tied it? I didn't even know that was possible. Now I am concerned, have I plateaued? Is there room for improvement on my time? Will I see the sub 25 this year? Then I think about that last 200 meters of that race all being up hill and I know I have the sub 25 in me, this year. Especially since our next 5k isn't until August. I have two months of training to shave off those 2 seconds.

And of course a new running mantra, "I think I can, I think I can,..."

"Running, one might say, is basically an absurd pastime upon which to be exhausting ourselves. But if you can find meaning in the type of running you need to do, chances are you'll be able to find meaning in that other absurd pastime - LIFE."

Bill Bowerman

Trail Nut 10k and Half Marathon

What an awesome race. What a hot and humid day. What a test of endurance, stamina and determination. Yesterdays Trail Nut races were perhaps my favorite run to date. A true test of ability along with scenic routes and an after party race gathering that was unbeatable. I think all three Madness members who participated were happy with their runs, especially Erin who shaved off over 10 minutes from her last trail 10k, go Erin!

Results are posted on the Mountain Junkies site here and below:

10k Race

Alexis

1:00:53
25/81 overall
1st in age division

Erin

1:14:49
53/81 overall
5th in age division

Half Marathon

Todd

2:00:58
24/99 overall
4th in age division

Trail Nuts

Tomorrow is our third 10k, our second on trails, at a little known park in Bedford. Thankfully the knee is on the mend and I have seen a physical therapist who has armed me with stretches and workouts to strenthen my hips and quads (which are apparently very, very weak). They warned me that I will 'look like an idiot' doing the strectches but it should amount to less pain and more training so I'm game.

I did go on a six mile trail run on Wednesday to make sure I could tackle tomorrows distance and not only did I manage with little pain but I thoroughly enjoyed myself (with the exception of every rustle in the woods making me fear bears and snakes). I am pretty excited about tomorrows race, and the post race Pumpkin bread. I should be asleep but I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve.

*Correction: Todd is running the half marathon, not the 10k.

May Training Summary

Running

Todd 86 miles (month) 385.5miles (year)

Alexis 43.5 miles (month) 258.5 miles (year)

Erin 46 miles (month) 270 miles (year)

Tyler 39.5 miles (year)

Jordan 64 miles (year)

Biking

Todd 13 miles (month) 224 miles (year)

Alexis 43 miles (month) 295 miles (year)

Erin 5 miles (year)

Jordan 119 miles (year)

Tyler 104.5 miles (year)

My knee was injured for most of May and I kept off of it as much as I can and I know that between work and school we've all been pretty busy lately but now that we've registered for our first adventure race approximately six weeks away we need to truly step up our training if at all possible. Look for an email from me in the next week if you are on one of the two Madness Teams running the Adventure Race on July 24th as we need to plan at least two team training sessions between now and the big day.

Train hard, rest easy, as my brother-in-law would say.

-Alexis

New Shipment of Sponsorship Gear!!

A big thanks to Zerogoo for the shipment of hydration pack accessories. Madness East now has Camelbak bladder dryers and fuel injectors that should fit any hydration pack system, enough for the whole team. Scott also threw in a few more packs of Nuun and some stickers.

I personally plan on testing the fuel injectors out as soon as possible, look for my reviews later this month.

In other news, we are now registered as two 3 person co-ed teams for the upcoming Odyssey Adventure Race Sprint on July 24. Gerald Cox and Dennis Cox with be racing with us on Alexis' team, Madness Too, and Todd, Tyler, and Jordan will be racing together as Madness One.

I'm going to plan no fewer than two TEAM training sessions before the race in July, where we will Run/Trek some tough trails, bike through the woods for several miles, and go over some different gear requirements and fuel options for the race. Let me know as soon as possible if there are some weekends that are better for your schedules or some weekends that just won't work. We need to train as a team to race as a team.

So again, a big THANK YOU to ZEROGOO and to Scott 'Madness Man' Thomas for the shipment of gear!

A Runner's Best Friend

Is definitely his SHOES.

the Mizuno Wave

Last fall I decided to start running again, after several years off, and I went out and got a pair of these Mizuno Waves. Flat out the best pair of shoes I have ever worn, without exception. I recently bought a new pair, because I simply wore the first pair out. In 7 months I put over 500 miles on this pair of shoes.

In the past I have always run/trained in either Nike or New Balance, but after running for over half a year in my Mizunos I realize the importance of getting the right shoe. Our friends at Riverside Runners here in Lynchburg do a great job of matching a runner with the right shoe.

So, if anyone from Mizuno is reading this, Madness would love to have you guys as one of our proud sponsors. Especially with me trying to up my training, I'm going to need at least three pairs of these babies a year. (Scott, see what you can do.)

The bottom line is this: if you're going to run you've got to take your feet seriously. Get to a good running store and get properly sized, fitted, and analyzed. These Mizuno Waves have been perfect for me, but everyone is different.

Polar Insulated Water Bottles

Polar was nice enough to give everyone on the Team one of these insulated water bottles. It holds 24 ounces, and keeps your water (or whatever you put in it) good and cold for several hours. I usually pack mine full of ice, so that by the time I need it it's still cold. I've actually had it keep water cold for almost two days before.

It is kind of big, and I don't usually carry it with me while I'm running or biking because of that. If I'm going for a long distance I prefer to use my Camlebak, but the Polar bottle is always with my gear at the end of a training session or a race.

Review by Todd

Bald Mountain 10k

This past Saturday the team ran it's second 10k. This 6.2 mile course, unlike the flat and easy course in Richmond this past March, was a trail race set on Liberty Mountain (or is it still Candler's Mountain, to be honest I don't really know anymore). To sum this race up in one word, arduous. Completion was my goal and at times I considered if that was even realistic. However, if not a PR sort of race this grueling course was good training for hills and trails.

Race Results:

Todd

50:51

Alexis

1:02:09

Erin

1:25:07

I (Alexis) am very pleased, as well as very surprised, to announce that I took second place in my age division (20-29) for female's at Saturday's race. I will admit I really was 5th but the top three female runners took top three overall and I came in second by default. However, it's the nicest medal I've gotten to date and it made me feel good about this very fatiguing event.

April Training Summary

Running

Todd 43 miles

Alexis 44 miles

Erin 52 miles

Biking

Todd 80 miles

Alexis 43.5 miles

Jordan 27 miles

Tyler 38 miles

4th Annual Godparent Home 5K

This past Saturday, April 17, 2010, some of us ran in the Godparent Home 5K here in Lynchburg. The race was actually held on some of the trails that we regularly train on, so we were all well aware of what was in store for us. The first half of the race was all down hill, though the incline wasn't steep, we simply turned around and ran back up hill for the second half of the race.

On the night before the race, Alexis began to feel ill, and on race morning was unable to race. It has since been confirmed that she does have Strep Throat. So, Erin and Todd were the only two members of the team to run the race. Here are our results:

TODD - 21:57

1st in age group (men 35-39)

29th overall (out of 467 finishers)

7:05 pace

ERIN - 29:00

8th in age group (women 30-34)

176th overall (out of 467 finishers)

9:22 pace

MARCH - Quarterly Training Summary

2010 is now officially 25% behind us. The race season is now in full swing. The weather is now much more suitable for Training. And we still have a busy year ahead of us.

This is what we've done so far:

RUNNING

Todd 130.5 miles(March) 256.5 miles(Year) 85.5 miles(Average) 47 miles(Team Average)

Alexis 92 miles(March) 171 miles(Year) 57 miles(Average) 47 miles(Team Average)

Erin 50 miles(March) 172 miles(Year) 57.5 miles(Average) 47 miles(Team Average)

Jordan 17 miles(March) 64 miles(Year) 21.5 miles(Average) 47 miles(Team Average)

Tyler 2 miles(March) 39.5 miles(Year) 13 miles(Average) 47 miles(Team Average)

BIKING

Alexis 109.5 miles(March) 208.5 miles(Year) 69.5 miles(Average) 33.5 miles(Team Average)

Todd 36 miles(March) 131 miles(Year) 43.5 miles(Average) 33.5 miles(Team Average)

Jordan 26 miles(March) 92 miles(Year) 30.5 miles(Average) 33.5 miles(Team Average)

Tyler 10 miles(March) 66.5 miles(Year) 22 miles(Average) 33.5 miles(Team Average)

Erin 0 miles(March) 5 miles(Year) 1.5 miles(Average) 33.5 miles(Team Average)

Rowing - Tyler was the only team member to log rowing distance this month, bringing his yearly total up to 16 km.

That is where we are. I think that as a team of dedicated athletes we could get our monthly averages up a little. I know that we're not all training for the same goals, but we are all training for our own goals. We, as a team, have a lot of potential, and I think that we're going to have an amazing year racing.

(Also, I'm not sure if everyone is logging all of their training, as well as race distances to the training log. For simplicity I think that we should stick to the protocol of everyone logging their own distances, and not assuming that someone else will.)

Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k

This past weekend the team ran, among 37,000 other participants, in the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k. It was the first 10k for each of us and I know at least a couple of us were anxious. However, it was a mostly flat and scenic course through downtown Richmond and I believe that all of us did a great job in what we set out to accomplish.

Bellow are the results as they were posted here.

Alexis

51:13

4007 th to finish out of about 37,365 (exact number of finishers undetermined)

230 out of 3129 in age division

975 out of 18506 women

Todd

51:14

4013 to finish

3036 out of 18859 men

Jordan

56:27

7581 to finish

2483 out of 18506 women

Erin

1:06:05

14408 to finish

6415 women to finish

As for a recap of the race? It was flatter than I had anticipated, which was nice. It seems that everything we run around here has hills that can be at least slightly debilitating. The old buildings, monuments and cheerleaders were of what advantage? To me, little. I focused on the cobble path or my husband's coaching words for the entire 6.2 miles. My Garmin was dead so I couldn't use it to calculate splits, I had to do the simple math in my head using a regular stopwatch. However, at four miles I knew 33:40 was way ahead of where I needed to be to finish in my goal time of 56 minutes. It was also 12 minutes faster than my first race last fall, the Virginia Four Miler. I almost stopped and danced a jig right there. And I probably would have, if my husband hadn't been running backwards shouting 'are you really that slow?'. I had to speed up just to keep him safe from a rather large athlete who looked like he was ready to pounce.

The only negative things I have to say about the race? I can't believe I'm going to say this, because it was also the thing that drew me in to begin with. There were almost too many runners. Not during the run, but beforehand. Imagine 37,000 people on any small section of downtown road in your neighborhood. It can be a little overwhelming. That and the post race 'party'. A little disappointing for such a large run. Security guards to make sure you only took one banana and bagel. Really? I just ran 6.2 miles. If I take another banana, and you try to chase me, I will outrun you. Sprinting tends to be a strong suite of mine. So there.

All in all, I will be registering for the 2011 Monument Avenue 10k. Ukrop's or no Ukrop's. Whether or not I do it in the 50 minutes my husband has allotted me, well that's another story.

TRAINING DAY

On July 24 we're going to be running our first Adventure Race. A Sprint race put on by Odyssey in the mountains of Virginia. The race is going to be 20-25 miles in length (4-6 hours) and includes Mountain Biking, Trail Running/Hiking, Flat Water Paddling, and Orienteering.

Yesterday, Alexis and I decided to take advantage of a babysitting offer, and go out and get some hard-core training done. So we loaded up our bikes and gear and drove to the Blackwater Creek Trail system and did just that.

We started out with a little run. About a 60/40 mix of paved trails and forest paths. We ran a total of 11 miles, which qualifies as the longest run of the year for either of us. We maintained a 10 minute pace, finishing up in just under two hours.

Then we transitioned to bikes. We took about twenty minutes to switch gear and fuel up, which is something we need to plan better for. We didn't bring much in the way of food, and ended up eating stale peanut butter crackers that had been in my pack for almost a year.

We rode for 14 miles, only a little over two of which were off-road. We finished up the biking leg in about 75 minutes. In the future we're going to start adding more off-road mileage, especially as Alexis' confidence on a bike seems to be growing exponentially with every ride.

I know that it wasn't race conditions, there was no navigation or paddling required, but we still did 25 miles yesterday in 180 minutes (3 hours), well under the expected finishing time of the race coming up in July. So, training on target? I think so.

Shamrock Hill 5K in Roanoke

This was a fun, festive, and fast race. A lot of people (including Alexis) came out ready to run wearing colorful St. Patric's Day clothing. Of the just over 400 registered runners, 367 runners finished the race. Complete race results are available here. We knew going into this race that it was going to be a mostly flat street race (with an uphill finish of course) so we were prepared to give it everything we had and try to get some baseline times to work from this year. Well, we ended up both setting new personal records, and both wishing that we could have just been 5 seconds faster.

Alexis placed 3rd in her age division, and 86 overall, coming in at 25:02 (8:04 pace).

Todd placed 6th in his age division, and 36 overall, coming in at 22:03 (7:06 pace).

It seems that Alexis is going to start placing in a lot of races, holding the rest of us to a higher standard. I have a time goal for 5Ks, and I'm still a few minutes off, so I know I've got my work cut out for me. On the agenda for spring time training is Hills, Hills, and more Hills.

EXPLORE YOUR LIMITS TRAIL RUN

Here are the official race results for the Explore Your Limits 5K Trail Run, put on by Mountain Junkies. This was a fun trail run that the whole team was able to run. More mud than snow this time thankfully.

Todd - 24:33 - 13th overall - 2nd in 35-39 mens age group

Alexis - 27:18 - 25th overall - 2nd in 25-29 womens age group

Erin - 31:56 - 52nd overall - 2nd in 30-34 womens age group

Jordan - 32:32 - 54th overall - 5th in 20-24 womens age group

Tyler - 37:37 - 84th overall - 3rd in 20-24 mens age group

I for one look forward to more of these Mountain Junkies races. This course was beautifully scenic, with winding trails, Indian villages, muddy slopes, and torturous hills. Everything you could want in a good trail race, with the exception of some fire obstacles.

See you on the trails.

February Training Summary

February is finally over. Lets hope that March brings some weather that is more conducive to training.

Todd - Ran 35 Miles and Biked 14 Miles.

Alexis - Ran 37.5 Miles and Biked 27 Miles.

Erin - Ran 61.5 Miles and Biked 5 Miles.

Jordan - Ran 22.5 Miles and Biked 59 Miles and Rowed 5 km.

Tyler - Ran 21 Miles and Biked 39.5 Miles and Rowed 6 km.

Team Totals for February - Running - 177.5 Miles - Biking - 144.5 Miles.

Having completed two whole months of winter training our monthly averages are 41 miles/team member running and 32 miles/team member biking. With race season upon us and the weather on the verge of breaking, we need to continue to work hard training. It's going to be a busy racing year for this Madness team, and we're all going to run races that are longer, harder, and more grueling than anything we've put ourselves through before. So let's all try to keep in mind that the more time and energy we invest in serious training, the better our racing experiences are going to be. Train Hard.

Candler's Mtn 5k Trail Race

Yesterday, we ran our first official race of the year, the Candler (Liberty) Mtn. 5k Trail Race. We had received an email on Thursday informing us that the race had been adjusted because of parking requirements and the massive amount of snow still covering the ground. The email said the race was not going to be your 'typical 5k' race. They were right.

The course was covered in snow, ice, slush, and mud. It was more of an adventure than a 5k run but it was exhilarating. Those of us who ran it (Todd, Erin and Alexis) saw no improvement on their 5k times but agreed unanimously that trail runs, especially those with obstacles like snow and steep elevation changes, make for quite a bit of fun.

Here are our results:

Todd 33:03 7th out of 21 (age division 30-39) 29th out of 152 overall runners

Alexis 39:08 9th out of 24 (age division 20-29) 79/152

Erin 45:07 7th out of 9 (age division 30-39) 114/152

Alexis would like it to be known that she was the oldest in her age division by 3 years. That's how she is coping with coming in 9th anyways.

Overall, it was a fun run and we were happy to be outside and running. We came home and immediately signed up for race #2 of the year, also a 5k trail run, the Mountain Junkies Explore Your Limits 5k in two weeks.

January Training Summary

January is over. One month closer to Springtime.

Todd - Ran 91 Miles and Biked 81 Miles.

Alexis - Ran 41 1/2 Miles and Biked 72 Miles.

Erin - Ran 60 1/2 Miles.

Jordan - Ran 24 1/2 Miles, Biked 7 Miles, and Rowed 7 km.

Tyler - Ran 16 1/2 Miles, Biked 17 Miles, and Rowed 7 km.

This Team Ran 234 Miles, Biked 177 Miles, and Rowed 14 km.

Madness Publicity!

Gargoyles posted some cool pics of Madness representing their product in the Red Energy 18 Hour Adventure Race in AZ.