Not My Car

Mar 19, 2012 by Greg Fowler

Many runners adorn their cars with with stickers.  The white oval 13.1 and 26.2 are very popular.  Others go the extra mile…

This is not my car, but some might think so.  I saw this car for the first time a few weeks ago while driving to a race. I could not get a good picture while driving.  Two weeks later, I saw it parked outside the Columbia Convention Center during packet pickup for the Columbia Marathon and snapped this photo.  Enjoy!  If this is your car, please contact me!  I’d love to hear from you.

POFIFOTO!

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Columbia Marathon 2012 – Additional Ramblings

Mar 14, 2012 by Greg Fowler

Earlier this week, I posted my Columbia Marathon review.  Now that I’ve had a few more days to reflect, I have some thoughts to add.

Ideas For Next Year

Need More Cowbell

One thing the marathons I have completed (a whopping 3) have in common is lack of spectators.   Most, if not all, runners are used to this.  We train countless hours in solitude.  I understand watching long distance running MAY not be the most exciting thing, but on the rare occasion when there is a crowd, it is appreciated.  How can this be improved for Columbia?

University of South Carolina was on spring break, and that might have been strategic on the race director’s part, but as I ran down Green Street and then on Sumter Street in front of the U.S.C. Horseshoe, I could almost hear crickets chirping.   What about a U.S.C. pep band in this area or some bands in other areas?  What about a noise contest between fraternities and sororities as we passed the Greek Village on Blossom Street?

Contest Within The Contest

In the neighborhoods, we passed several churches, but only one had any people outside cheering (both laps!) – thanks Wesley Memorial UMC! .   Maybe  churches and other business organizations could setup unofficial aid/cheer stations.  Perhaps someone can come up with an idea to get  neighborhoods more involved to put on a display (adopt-a-street?, “Welcome to the neighborhood” signs?) and get a crowd.  Some humorous motivational signs up Trenholm Road would have been funny.  The runners could then vote on the best street/area at the end.  I think the now defunct Labor Day 15K at Ben Lippen did something like this.

Finish Announcer?

Maybe this is impractical for a large race, but one nice feature of some races is an announcer who lets the crowd know runners’ names as they approach the finish line.

Random Personal Notes

My quads ached for two days.

The official website lists the marathon as having 653 feet of elevation gain. That’s roughly the equivalent of climbing 65 flights of stairs.  I think that it had more.  Either way, it is no wonder my quads hurt.

Near the end, as I struggled up the Gervais Street hill the second time, a young girl blew past me.  “Curse, you, young person,” I thought, “How can you be that fast up hill at this point?”  Then I noticed her Newton shoes.  I smiled. “Go, Girl!”

One lady had a sign that said ‘Your feet hurt because of all that @$$ you’re kickin!’  I wanted to ask her: Since my @$$ was hurting so bad, was I the one getting kicked?

In the mid-late ’90’s I worked at a small, now defunct  start-up company in Columbia. We had less than 15 employees at that time, I think, and no runners.  This weekend, three of those former co-workers completed marathons, one even at the bottom of the world!  Congrats, Ben and Dean!

Here’s a video of Ben talking about his experience (6th video down the page, labeled 3 Friends Talk about the race): http://www.thestate.com/2012/03/10/2187014/videos-columbia-sc-marathon-2012.html

In the 13 weeks leading up to and including the race, I logged 353 running miles and 141 exercise bike miles, totaling 73 1/2 hours of training.  That’s just over 27 miles running and 5 1/2 hours of training per week.  My wife might argue that seems too little, but the GPS watch software doesn’t lie!

Here’s the video my son shot as I finished:

 

 

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Columbia Marathon 2012 Review

Mar 11, 2012 by Greg Fowler

On March 10, 2012, I ran in the inaugural Columbia, SC Marathon.  The event had around 550 runners in the full marathon and 750 in the half.

Here are my thoughts on the race in general:

First, let me start out saying that Dan Hartley and his team did a wonderful job organizing this event.  Organizing a race of this magnitude is quite an undertaking and it seemed to go off  smoothly.  I did not experience any major problems and did not hear any complaints. Also, I don’t know what kind of deal he made to bring  the “Chamber of Commerce” weather, but that was an added bonus.

Headquarters: The Columbia Convention Center served as ground zero for all the marathon activities. This proved to be an excellent choice -plenty of room for the race expo and other activities. Plenty of restroom facilities (at least for the men. Do women ever have enough?) Also, this was a nice place to duck in before the race to get warm. That was a cold wind whipping down Lincoln street before the race!

Race Swag: Easily one of the best race shirts I have received (or will receive. I signed up right before the deadline for shirt guarantee, so mine hasn’t arrive yet). The medals were really good, too, with the Columbia Famously Hot, Surprising Cool slogan and a cutout  of the city skyline (see below). I believe everyone received a State Farm happy sack, too, with the obligatory coupons and other race announcements.

Aid stations: Plenty of stations with water, Gatorade and Gu. One minor suggestion I’d make would be to have the water coolers more easily accessible for people carrying their bottles to refill.

Misc: The race bibs had our names on them. That is always a nice touch and appreciated, especially when the three cute girls at mile 5 yelled “Go, Greg”.

The bibs also had the lightweight timing chips applied to the back. I like this system much better than the shoe chips.

The post race spread was pretty good, too – bananas, granola bars, mini bagels and water.

Weather:  As I mentioned in my preview, I was concerned about the weather. Mid-March in Columbia can have a wide variety of weather. I was mostly concerned about too hot – this is the Famously Hot Columbia Marathon after all. Thankfully, the weather was just about perfect, ranging from about 40 degrees at the start to the mid-50’s, I think, when I finished.

Here are a couple of minor changes I suggest:

1. As mentioned earlier, put water and/or Gatorade coolers at the end of the aid stations to allow easier refilling of personal water bottles.  I carried my own to better judge fluid intake and this would have been helpful.  I used the coolers that were there, I just had to wander back behind the tables. The Kiawah Marathon encourages people to bring their own bottles to reduce cup waste and provides easy access to coolers.

2.  If the post race spread had any sports drink, I completely missed it.  So, I’d like to see a sports drink option.  I’d also like to see chicken noodle soup.  Yep, chicken noodle soup. Myrtle Beach had this last year and it may have been the best cup of soup ever.

3.  A bigger clock at the finish or at least above the finish line.  Unless I was too out of it (entirely possible) I don’t remember seeing a clock at the end of the race.  In the picture to the right, I’m not sure what that clock on the left means that says 7:49.

In summary:  As you can see my suggestions are very minor picky issues, which hopefully tells you this was a good race.  I think it was an excellent start to what hopefully will become a popular southeastern race.

For additional coverage by The State newspaper, click here.

My Experience: I get by with a little help from my friends

OK, now the part you’ve been waiting for. How was my race? There are 3 Chapters: Going Strong, Going For It, and Going South.

Chapter One: Going Strong

I arrived in plenty of time to get a good free parking space at the Colonial Center, a few blocks from the Convention Center. The 39 degree pre-sunrise temperature made for a chilly warm up, especially with the brisk wind whipping down Lincoln Street as I headed toward the Convention Center.  After trying to get loose by walking and some easy jogging, I hung out in the Center for a bit to stay warm.  About 7 am, I headed to the starting line. The race started right on time (7:15) with some pre-race 2001 and Sandstorm music to get us pumping.  Oh yeah, the young girl, 12?, who sang the national anthem was amazing.

As in my previous two marathons, the first half went really well. I didn’t notice too much wind as the race went on and the temperature warmed nicely into the fifties. The dreaded Trenholm  Road and Gervais Street climbs went very well, and I made the first loop in 1:55, right on target.  At this point, though, the race became pretty lonely as the half marathoners finished up.

My first sign of trouble came at the Saluda Avenue hill as I climbed toward the mile 15 aid station. I didn’t remember it being very steep the first time around, but this time was a different story.  On the first loop, I had run this section with an old friend and former co-worker, Ben, who was running his first marathon.  That and early race adrenaline helped.  No Ben and no adrenaline now.  I told myself the easy part was officially over.

My friend Craig was working the mile 15 aid station and had my gels I needed for the rest of the way.  I had changed gel brands during this training cycle, so I was not taking the Gu’s provided by the race.  Carrying the four gels I had planned for the race was too bulky for my race belt, so Craig’s placement at this station worked out well.  This was right at my 2:15 mark, and I was due my third gel of the day. That and some water perked me up a bit, but by the 16 mile mark, my mind was starting to drift as I ran alone.

Chapter Two: Going For It
At this point I had not paid much attention to pace. I had been feeling good, but being alone now, my mind was starting to drift. This is when I made a decision that probably contributed immensely to the Going South part of this story.  The 3:45 pace group passed me, and I made the impulse decision to hop on board. New friends!

Before the race, I had no expectations of beating my personal best on this course.  I felt breaking 4 hours would be considered a victory, given the tough hills.  I certainly don’t usually recommend changing strategies during a race, but I felt good and felt I had sub-4:00 in the bag.  Why not, I thought.  Let’s go for it.

For the next 6 miles the excellent pacer lead us up and down hills, shouting out technique instructions that really helped keep me focused. This was actually a lot of fun.  If I could keep pace with this guy, a PR would be in the books on a brutal course. Unfortunately, Trenholm Road awaited.

Chapter Three: Going South
As we approached the 22 mile mark and the beginning of the long climb up Trenholm, only a couple of the 10 or so people at mile 16 remained with the pacer, and I was done.   The legs were protesting mightily!  I stopped to walk a bit and watched the pacer’s bright yellow shirt start fading into the distance. A run/walk strategy got me up Trenholm, but it seemed twice as long as the first time. I managed to average 10:12 per mile on this two mile stretch, a far cry from the 8:40 or so I had been logging.

Mile 24 brought a much needed break from the hills. A this point, I started keeping my eyes out for another friend, Bobby. He planned to meet me around here to help me finish up. He was doing the same thing for a faster finisher and would be coming back to meet me. I spotted him around mile 24 1/2.

At this point 3:45 was out of the question, but I held a bit of hope for 3:50. I don’t think I was too coherent as Bobby encouraged me and led the way home.  After the final steep hill up Gervais and another 10:00+ mile, 3:50 was no longer the target. Now, I just wanted to finish. When the finish line FINALLY came into view, I just let the downhill take me in. I wanted to pick up the pace but couldn’t.

My final official time was 3:53:03, an 8:54 per mile pace and 134th place out of 545.

Final Thought

I don’t know if I’ll do the full marathon again.  My marathon training is usually limited to one a year, and I like to change venues each time.  However, I will probably make the half a regular part of my spring season.  If they figure out a way to flatten Trenholm Road, I might change my mind!

You can view the final results here.

For my additional ramblings on the Columbia Marathon, click here.

POFIFOTO!

PS.  In reference to last week’s post, Final Marathon Details. If you are wondering what I chose for my target playlist Grand Finale song? It was Queen’s “Somebody to Love”.  I had it finishing about 3:52, so I just missed timing it right.  I had to go into overtime with Night Ranger’s “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me”!

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Final Marathon Details

Mar 4, 2012 by Greg Fowler

Less than one week to go, and I’m in taper mode leading up to the Columbia Marathon, winding down the training to allow my body to recharge for the big day. I’m trying to refrain from attempting anything dumb that might cause a senseless injury.  Now, it is time to turn my attention to one final detail that will be of great importance come race day.  Plan this wrong and dire consequences could arise.

Of course, I’m referring to my playlist for the race.  Some people may just hook up the old tunes player and hit shuffle.  Not me.  As you maybe have figured out by now from this blog, I tend to put too much thought into some things.  This might be one of those times.  Here’s my playlist thinking.

Short Distance

For shorter races, like a 5K or 10K, I like to have upbeat music almost immediately and throughout the run.  Inevitably, there’s some rocking, guitar driven ’80’s throw back to my revisionist history glory days of high school.  Most Night Ranger is good for this, and tunes from one of my all time favorite albums, Van Halen’s 5150,  have been known to be in my lists (Hey, 1986 was a good year!).  Finally, at the end, I’ll make sure I have a power song to push through to the finish. A 10K is very similar, but I may start out with a bit slower music to remember to not get caught up in the opening surge.

Different Story

For marathons, my thinking is different.  I view the playlist in 3 parts – beginning, middle, and pain, I mean end, each serving a different purpose.  The beginning of the marathon play list will usually last 30 minutes or so with slower tempo music.  The adrenaline will be flowing as I run with the crowd, and I need to remind myself to keep the a slower pace.  It is going to be a long day.  Once that early easy pace is established, I’ll put in a about 2-3 hours of various stuff from my tunes library.  Nothing here with any real rhyme or reason, just passing time.  Mostly, this section will remind me that my musical tastes are stuck in years gone by.   Finally,  there’s the pain part – the last hour or so; the part of the marathon where you ask yourself “Why did I pay good money for this?”.  For this section, I’ll throw in some songs with relevant titles like “Used to the Pain” by Keith Urban or “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac, all leading up to the end of the suffering – The Grand Finale.

The Grand Finale

Finally, the playlist and run come down to one last song, assuming I’m on pace to hit my target time.  This needs to be a tune that can really get me pumping when I’m physically exhausted.  It also really needs to be a fairly long song – this helps to hit the finish window with the song actually playing, and I really prefer it to be a live concert song.  That is why for my first two marathons I have used “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd as my closing song.  (I’m a Southerner, what can I say?). I’m not talking about the 9 minute studio version, either.  I mean the 13 minute 41 second live version from Atlanta’s Fox theater. I’m getting pumped just thinking about it now.  For Columbia, though, I think I’m going to shake it up.  I have a lot of changes going on in other parts of my life; I might as well shake up my iPod, too.  I have not decided what to use just yet.  I’ll reveal my final decision in a race review post.  Right now, here are my top 5 candidates for The Grand Finale:

1.”Rain King” by  Counting Crows from the album August & Everything After  Live at Town Hall.  This live version has their rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” brilliantly blended in the middle. Almost 9 minutes long. Leading candidate. Hard to go wrong here.

2. “Do You Feel Like We Do?” by  Peter Frampton from Frampton Comes Alive.  I’ve heard this is a song about a hangover, so if it is about pain I guess it could apply to the last miles of a marathon, too.  Almost 14 minutes long.  Maybe not upbeat enough, though.

3. “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” by Billy Joel from the album Live at Shea Stadium.  Almost 8 minutes long. Walking down memory lane with Brenda and Eddie.

4. “Jessica” by The Allman Brothers Band from the album Brother and Sisters. Seven and a half minutes long.  No words (sometimes you don’t need them!), but an upbeat jam.

5. “Somebody to Love” by Queen from the Album Queen Rock Montreal.  Almost 8 minutes long.  Awesome Freddie Mercury.  This entire album might be a good choice to put in the middle section of my list.

There you have it.  If you have any other suggestions, let me know.

What a Nerd

One last thing.  How do I know when to start the Grand Finale?  Since, I’m using an iPod and iTunes, I’ll create a new playlist and name it Race+year, like LRAH2012 for last week’s 10K.  Then as a drag songs into the list folder, the total time of the music displays at the bottom.  At this point in my running journey, I understand my abilities and pacing pretty well, so I have a pretty good idea of my finish time and, therefore, how long to make the playlist.  I just make the playlist the same length of time as my target finish time and plop the Grand Finale at the end. Doesn’t everyone do this?

POFIFOTO!

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Newton Shoes Update

Feb 29, 2012 by Greg Fowler

Last summer, I wrote a post called Newton Shoe Hunt 2011. I was on a quest to improve my running form and had decided to try Newtons.  I wanted less heel to toe drop but wasn’t ready to go minimalist for long distance training.

Most casual runners have not even heard of Newton shoes and they have very limited distribution in my area.  Once people hear about them, many are turned off by the price – $125-175, depending on the model. After some research, I saw that many people were getting very high mileage out of their Newtons.  So, if you looked at shoe cost in price per mile, then they might be comparable to “regular” $90-100 shoes.  I drove to Charlotte and bought a pair.

Fast forward now 6 months and 550 miles later on my 2011 Newton Gravitas (or Gravity) shoes.  I have been very satisfied with them.  I’ve had almost no pains with these shoes. Until the Newtons, I’d never been able to run long distances in a neutral shoe, due to arch pains.  Even in the stability shoes I had, I’d occasionally get IT band soreness. And let’s not mention the metatarsal pains of the last marathon training period.   However,  deep into this marathon training cycle, I was starting to feel new minor aches and pains, particularly in my knees and left arch (curse you, my nemesis).

I’d seen this before, and it usually meant time for new shoes.  However, I was also at the peak of training miles, having strung together 4 consecutive high mileage weeks.  So, was it over training or the shoes?  With just a couple of weeks to go before my marathon, I did not want to change shoes, but I did still have just enough time to order another pair of Newtons and log some miles in them before the race, if I absolutely had to.

So, what to do?  I decided to email Newton’s customer service to explain my new pains and ask if, at 550 miles, was it time for new shoes? I’m not sure what I expected to happen, but what happened surprised and delighted me.  Within an hour of my email (on a Friday afternoon, no less) I had a real response from a real person.  He asked me to send pictures of the soles of my shoes.  They wanted to see the wear. Wow.  Had not expected that.   So, that night I took several pictures of the shoes and sent them off.  Unfortunately, it was too late Friday night by the time I sent them, and I did not hear from them until Monday morning.  Here was the response:

Greg,

 Thanks for sending the photos over-

 Your wear looks pretty good, and even. I think you’ve still got a bit of mileage left in your Gravity’s. if you’ve got arch pain, think about lifting from the hip flexors, and core rather than pushing off as  you go to take your next stride. This should help to minimize the increased pressure on the arch region.

 Hope this helps and best of luck with your marathon training.

 Cheers,

 Cody

Wow.  They could have easily told me it was time to get new shoes, and I would have listened.  Instead, I’ll save my money for now, and I have peace of mind that my shoes are still good for the marathon.  I do plan on buying another pair of Newtons sometime this year. As an added bonus, the running form tip seems to be working!

For additional information on Newton, check out their website at http://www.newtonrunning.com.

They also provide a wealth of information on better running form.  Start here for that information: http://newtonrunning.com/run-better/optimal-running-form

POFIFOTO!

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Race Review: Lexington Race Against Hunger 2012

Feb 26, 2012 by Greg Fowler

The last Saturday of February is the traditional date for the Lexington Race Against Hunger.  February means wacky weather in the Midlands of South Carolina.  Eighty  degree weather a couple of days before the race was washed away by heavy rains and a cold front on Friday, leaving a chilly,  blustery Saturday morning.  The temperature at race start was about 45 degrees, and the brisk west wind meant the first mile was into the wind.  Thank goodness for running gloves and sunglasses.

As usual, the race was well organized and the the start went off on time.  I believe the announcers reported a record turnout.  When we finished, there was warm pizza and a warm gym to hang out for the awards ceremonies.  As a bonus, I guessed properly on my race shirt size and the long sleeve tee fits perfectly.

Last year, the LRAH was one week after my Myrtle Beach Marathon run.  I probably should not have run in it, but the LRAH is special to me, since it was the first organized race I ever ran.  Unfortunately, that run left me hobbling with two stress fractures in my left foot.  This year, with two weeks to go until my next marathon, I did not want to repeat any injuries, so my main goal was to finish injury free.

I’m glad to report that I accomplished my goal and had no issues with my “arch” nemesis left foot.  My finish time was 47:22.  I actually beat last year’s time by a few seconds, and until now had considered that race my best 10K effort (broken foot aside).

Team Competition

One of the unique aspects of the LRAH is the team competition.  Corporations can create a team by entering at least 7 individuals in the race.  The teams then compete in cross country style scoring with the top 5 individuals from each team scoring, based on their finishing time.  This year I helped organize a team at our office, and I’m proud to say we finished 3rd!

Click here to see the results.

Peace out!

 

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Race Preview: Columbia, SC Marathon 2012

Feb 21, 2012 by Greg Fowler

I don’t remember the exact date last year when I heard that a marathon was coming back to Columbia, but I was very excited.  The initial announcement described a point-to-point race that would cross the Lake Murray dam, head down one of my favorite scenic roads, Corley Mill Road, and eventually end up in downtown Columbia.  I liked it.

Unfortunately, the final approved official route turned out to be totally different. I’m assuming logistics and getting two different counties to cooperate proved too difficult.  The new route is a two-loop adventure around the hills of downtown Columbia.  I’m not a fan of two-loopers, but I was already mentally committed when I found out about the change.  I also wanted to support the local race.  No travel expenses is an added bonus.

The Course

My previous two marathons were away from home and did not afford me the chance to run any sections before hand.  They were also really flat – Kiawah Island and Myrtle Beach. This race, though, is just down the road and will have more hills than I care to see in one day.

The other week, my buddy Craig and I traveled to downtown Columbia, and with map in hand, set out to preview the route. We ran the loop once, and when we finished, I can’t say that I was super excited.  Don’t get me wrong, I liked the route and the scenery, but my thoughts were more like “Oh crap, this is going to hurt”.  This is one hilly loop.  And we get to do it twice!  Here’s the elevation map, courtesy of the official web site:

If you have run the Governor’s Cup half marathon in Columbia, then some sections of this race will look familiar.  In fact, the loop is very similar to the Governor’s Cub, just in reverse.  So, instead of up Blossom, you get to go down.  Instead of down Gervais St, you get to go up.

The race will start and end in the Vista area of Columbia, near the Columbia Convention Center.  We’ll travel through the University of South Carolina, Shandon and Lake Katherine areas, slog up Trenholm Rd and Gervais St, weave back through USC, do it again, and then finish up at the Convention Center.  In my opinion, there are two brutal sections of this course.  The first is a a 4 mile stretch that starts just past miles 7  & 20 where the course bottoms out at Lake Katherine.  You must then climb Trenholm Road and Gervais St. You get a brief break as Gervais nears Milwood. Then the second rough spot  it is up Gervais St. for a half mile or so starting just past Harden St. and ending with the left turn onto Pickens St.  At the point, we’ll be entering the USC campus area again, and I’m hopeful there will be a crowd pick-me-up.

Click here for the course description on the official site.

Weather A Factor?

Besides the hills, a race date of March 10th has me slightly concerned.  This has been a mild winter, and I’m a afraid Famously Hot Columbia might rear its ugly head with some heat.  My February 2011 Myrtle Beach Marathon heated up too much and caused me problems toward the end.  This race is weeks later, so we’ll see. The 7:15am start should help.  On the other hand, we’ve had snow and ice in mid March, too!

Strategy & Goal Time

As you can see from the elevation map, there is not much flat to this course.  Since the hills will kill my pace, the strategy will be to let loose on the downhills.  This has led to problems in the past, so I’ll have to be careful.   When I first thought about running a 3rd marathon, I wanted to improve upon my last marathon time of 3:47, maybe approach 3:40.  Well, after experiencing one loop of this course, I am resetting my expectations.  I will be extremely happy if I break the 4 hour mark.

Wish me luck!

POFIFOTO!

 

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