Macon Tracks Running Club

Well 2008 is coming to a close. It’s the time of year when I lose my running focus for a brief period of time. I am more focused on other things such as Christmas, family time, eating and rest. The last few weeks I’ve also had to toss in injury recovery to the mix.

I’ve had a few runs but no intensity to speak of. Just easy miles at conversational pace. My goal is really to get better from my hurt hip and maintain my base as best I can. My family and I are currently at Amelia Island and having a blast in the warm weather. Time to go shark’s teeth hunting after a lite breakfast.

Training for today:

60 minute walk on the beach

60 minute bike ride out to the fort

60 minute book reading

Hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as we had. Life is good.

Run strong friends,

Sam

If I think back over my 2 1/2 year running career I can think of two races where I ran my absolute best race, faced great competition and finished with a great sense of satisfaction knowing I left nothing on the course.

The first race was the 2008 Cherry Blossom 15K. See report here >> Cherry Blossom 15K Race Report . I ran this race with the lead pack most the race until the final surge. I led the race for a short while until Kurt Johnson came roaring back after pulling off the course with a side stitch. It was such an exciting final few miles as we swapped leads and came to a roaring finish. I was very satisfied to take 2nd that day.

 The Reindeer Run we just completed on December 6th immediately became my absolute favorite race. Here’s why:

 This was my 4th race in 5 weeks. I was coming off a pretty good race at the Footlocker Regional Cross Country Championships. My injuries from post Chickamauga Marathon recovery were getting better. The weather was clear and cold. I had a great 3 mile pre race warm up. For some reason I felt this was going to be a good race. Well the start went very poorly. To tell you the truth this was the 1st race I was in where I was facing the wrong way when the race started. I was turned around talking to another runner when the motorcycles took off and runners followed behind them. No instructions, no gun, nothing. So weird. Anyway I turned around and went after them. Once the “mile maniacs” had fallen back I was in the back of the lead pack consisting of 4 runners. I was feeling strong in that 1st mile. I started closing on the front two runners about halfway through the race. On the 2nd major hill on the course I caught and passed Jacob (the young man that finished ahead of me at Susan Komen Race for the Cure back in October. We finished 1, 2 respectively). I was still feeling strong when I realized there was only one runner left to beat. So I pushed as hard as I could and pulled up alongside my running buddy Geremy. Geremy’s coming off a great cross country season at Mercer U. and is in the best shape of his life. But I’ve beaten him once in a fast 5k so I thought I had a chance. I passed him decisively hoping to break his spirit. So there I was, leading in a big (for Macon) 5k race with less than a mile to go. The adrenaline was rushing through me as I did my best to hang on. On the final turn we had a 400 meter downhill sprint to the finish. I had a good 15 second lead on Geremy but he was closing fast. I could hear the crowd screaming, “here he comes!!!” He blew by me with 50 meters to go and beat me by 2 seconds. It was absolutely the best, most fun, most exciting race I’ve ever experienced Over the course of this race I experienced the thrill of near victory, the agony of defeat and the satisfaction of a race well run. I finished with a P.R. 17.12 in 2nd place overall to a great runner and friend. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning in Macon, Ga.

 What are you waiting for friends? Come join us and go head to head with a friend or foe and show them what you’re made of!

Run Strong Friends,

Sam

Photo taken by Donna at the finish. Can you tell who’s praying they live? I think we both were :)

Ok I’ve had two so far.

 #1 - Chickamauga 2007

• Hit the wall on mile 22
• tunnel vision
• almost fainted up the last big hill
• crawled to the finish line

#2 - Will Robinson Memorial 5K

This one is fresh on my mind. It came two weeks after my Chickamauga 2008 race. I thought I’d be recovered by then (wrong!!!). I was still nursing a sore right foot tendinitis injury and right lower calf strain. I tried to just ignore the negatives and go out and race a normal race. I knew it was going to be rough right from the start. I just wasn’t feeling it during my warm up. It was extremely cold (about 21 degrees) and I just could not get it going. That is a P.R. for the lowest temperature raced in.

It was an uphill start with a fast group this morning. I immediately started in about 10th place or so. The 1st mile split about 5:43. Next mile flattened out and was pretty scenic. Hanging on but pushing too hard to stay up with the leaders. 2nd mile split about 5:44.

 Then things got real interesting. Actually you can say the wheels fell off. I did not know there was a long uphill on the last mile. I was spent before I got there and had no lung capacity left to muscle up that hill. I crashed and burned and did the unthinkable - I walked!!!!! I know I am ashamed to say so. But it finally happened. I took about 20 steps, regained myself and motored to the finish line. Nice part was I was in the lead pack so I did not have to deal with being passed during this down moment. 3rd mile split about 6:03.

I ended up 8th overall with a 17:50 time. The time was good considering. The thing that makes it my worse race to date is the condition I let myself get into during the race. I know better. I should have familiarized myself with the whole course. I should have saved something for the last hill. I really should have taken that weekend off from racing and allowed myself to fully recover from the marathon. Oh well, lesson learned.

Run Strong Friends,

Sam

 P.S. One positive I take away from that day is watching my young buddy Andrew smash his P.R. right before my very eyes by running a very smart race. Can you say 17:22 - SWEET!!!! Oh yeah the after-race Waffle House meal was pretty awesome too

Well my “After Marathon” injury phase is hopefully behind me. Yesterday and today I managed 6 and 7 mile runs with little to no pain, anywhere !! That has not happened since I completed Chickamauga. It’s felt like a bad bruise after its almost completely healed. You can feel it slightly but it doesn’t hurt. I dropped the hammer on both runs and completed them in 6:23 and 6:35 pace. They were not really anaerobic runs because I was not struggling but they did require a little more effort that a standard easy run. I guess a “Steady State” run. In any case I am just so happy to be back at my routine distance and routine pace doing what I love to do. Life is good.

 Looking forward to the Reindeer Run 5K this Saturday in Macon. Lots of friends will be there and fun will be had by all. Then I get to cheer my sweet daughter in her sport, swimming. She’s really into it and wants to practice all the time. She never wanted to do that with running As long as she’s enjoying herself I will support her all the way. After all isn’t that our jobs as parents? To help our kids find what it is they are good at and/or enjoy.

Run Strong Friends,

Sam

Well just got back on Saturday evening from the 30th Annual Footlocker Regional Cross Country Championship. It was cold, rainy, windy, muddy, and the most fun I’ve ever had at a race event. It was amazing seeing such a large pool of talented runners assembled in one place. These kids were simply the best running athletes in the Southeast. Watching all the different age groups compete was awesome. We were there to watch 3 of our own Macon kids compete. They each ran well in their respective divisions. We were very proud of them for sure. This is a big event worth going to if you enjoy watching or running cross country races.

 Us old folks also got a chance to race in the Open/Masters race. I’ve never run with so many fast runners in a single race. They ate my lunch. I was happy to be able to run a sub 18 on a muddy cross country course. I finished 7th Master and received one of the coveted gold medals which went to the lucky Top 10.

The 6 hour drive up and back was also a lot of fun as we just enjoyed each other’s company and sharing things about ourselves we seldom do unless you are trapped in a vehicle for long periods of time.

I wanted to share a few photos. Slide-show can be viewed here:  Footlocker Cross Country Championship Slide-show

 Do things like this with your kids. They will remember it for life.

Run Strong Friends,

Sam