Left em Trailing..

What an amazing thing to wake up too at 6am. I am more than enfatuated with my new found passion and talent, I might add, of running.

After taking 5 days off from running...I know it was stressful :/ .... I was back at it this morning with a very quick 4.5miles. I did ye old workout split, and will chow down on another 4.5miles later this evening.

Today though was....errr different. Yesterday I was feeling "off" through my normal cross training. I skipped the second portion of CT because I felt a sudden stomach urge. I re-focused and absolutely crushed my strength training. I felt like Hulk walking around the gym...It felt GREAT.

This morning when I woke up I just knew I would be on the struggle bus, Late night and strength training prior day, makes for an exhausting 5am start-up. I shook it loose and got my body rolling for the day. I might add I drove the wrong direction to the destination, not once, but twice.Fun!

Ok enough with the monologue of my life story here. Hit the park and felt great. Moved through mile 1 at 9:05, and rippppped it down to 7:43 solid by mile 3 to 4.5. So what did it today? What gives? How did I hold on and not slouch. The Trail! I took advice from a great friend and broke up my run with 2 appropriately spaced trails that got me off the road. The trail running felt especially great this morning and kept me pushing. Once I resumed onto the road my body was already steaming ahead like the little engine that could.....chooo chooooooo.....

What finally got me was I had completely left a great friend of mine packing on the run. I kept looking back and he was no where in sight. The euphoric feeling was undeniable. Jeff is a much much better runner and has beat me at many different events by a long shot, almost 5 minutes in some races. Not today though, today in my heart I could not be denied. I realized although Jeff and I were not racing by any means, a little friendly competition goes a long way to ones mental state. So Jeff if your reading this, thank you for running with me and allowing me to use you to keep my mind safe and sound.

I CAN not, I WILL not, and I SHALL not BE DENIED. God speed friends! 

btw I forgot my underoos for the run this morning...how's that for runner's class ;) Ha!

Ryan

Derailed...

So this is a shorter update..buttt....I had a 10k this past weekend. It was rather nerve racking. I hadn't competed in over a month, let alone at 85 degrees at the toe line. I felt my nerves and overall energy surging. I was truly scared to complete 6.2 miles. I have done this distance lord knows how many times before. I ran it smoothly until about mile 4. Then my brain, body, legs sank. Unannounced to me I might add. I tried to make it a game to complete. I picked out a runner, caught him/her over 100meters and the ran that pace for about 100meters then picked my next target. I managed to put 6 runners behind me and push at a pace I thought was strong through marker 5.5. This was the first time I have tried that strategy when my mind is giving up on me. Has anyone tried this before? When I rounded 6.1 I saw in the distance 2 runners slowly panting and I raced every last drop I had to pass them. I did! I completed 68th overall from 300+ people. I would assume I was sitting uncomfortable at around 75th place until my little experiment.

I have to keep in front of me that I am a new runner and have yet to truly experience everything that is my sport. Does anyone have any newbie advice or things they would do differently.

That said I re-ran my race distance just last night and took 4-6minutes of my actual race time. Which makes me wonder what other factors played a role in my limited success. Regardless it was an adventure/journey that I will have logged for time.

Did I mention that I'm pretty positive at the post-race run last night every single gnat from upper Delaware was on the course. One way to consume protein, run with your mouth open hahaha GROSSSS!

Official 1st 10k stat: 56:13

Intro/musing

Ok so I'm new to this whole blogging game and what the actual intention is. I'm also curious do people really read these things? Hopefully I can encapsulate a few good stories maybe a review here and there, but ultimately let people live vicariously through one of the biggest most exhausting challenges I am choosing to face, an ultra marathon. 52.4 miles of blood sweat tears food fun and laughter. Do or don't journey with me through poorly structured sentences embarrassing story's, crappy punctuation and yes a few misspellings. Hey that makes it fun right?

Oh crap the introduction:
Ryan - Been running since November 2012
Stats: 500+ miles at this point.

• Sub7mile
• 23:13-5k race, 22:49 - 5k time trial 
• 2:10:05 - Half Marathon
• 5:15:13 - Full Marathon

The story this is the good part :0)

I was out on a 2.5hr long run. Yes 2.5hrs, plenty of other things anyone could be doing, but its the love of the game. I remember distinctly running out of water in my 50oz camelBak about 100meters before the predicted Gas station to purchase a fresh cold bottle of Deer Park water.  For the following 100meters(took about 2.5minutes) < That's a long time by the way. I outstretched my arms and audibly told the world to silence it self. I spoke "shhhhhh, I'm trying to get to the break point", to be completely transparent I looked like a fool. It worked though the world got eerily quiet. Most definitely because I had been running along the road and had just switched to a back street. I had convinced myself it was all white noise anyway.

Ryan