I'm retired from racing. Really.

Mt Mitchell Challenge 40 mile trail race

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Location:

Greenville,SC,

Member Since:

Feb 24, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

I also maintain a blogspot running blog. Check it out. 

5k- 16:01, 1/2 marathon- 1:11:37, marathon- 2:34:16, 50k- 3:58, 100 mile- 15:19

Former World Record holder in 100 x 5k relay 

Ultra history:

8-100 mile, 1-100k, 9-50 mile, 2-40 mile, 14-50k-ish

12 wins, 5 CR's, plus four 2nd, five 3rd, 4th, 4th, 5th, 5th, 9th, 16th, 20th, 28th, 38th, and 62nd place, with 1 DNF 

Short-Term Running Goals:

Goals 

Enjoy running, stay fit (and maybe lose a few pounds). Play ultimate frisbee.

4 year coach of Langston Middle School- love it

Long-Term Running Goals:

Unretire at some point

Run a sub-6 hr 50 miler

Win a 100 mile ultramarathon

Personal:

I have five cute kids. And I have some rockin short green racing shorts- I wear them mainly because it embarrasses my wife so much. I like ultimate frisbee, trail running, reading, and cheering for the Denver Broncos!   And I have the absolute best wife in the world.  And I used to run for the now-disbanded national Team Pearl Izumi- Ultra!

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Miles:This week: 11.00 Month: 51.00 Year: 150.00
Fastwitch Lifetime Miles: 82.50
Trail N1 Lifetime Miles: 86.50
Road N1 Lifetime Miles: 31.00
Trail M2 Lime/black Lifetime Miles: 297.00
Road M3 Grey And Yellow Lifetime Miles: 324.00
Road N2 Purple 2 Lifetime Miles: 222.50
Road N2 4 Grey Lifetime Miles: 51.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
24.0037.501.500.000.0063.00
Road N2 Miles: 16.00Stinson Miles: 5.00Road M3 Miles: 3.50Trail M2 Miles: 38.50
Weight: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
7.000.000.000.000.007.00

Lunch- nice 7 mile run with a big group. Did 4 laps of Mt Zion Christian School XC course.

Road N2 Miles: 7.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
4.500.001.500.000.006.00

Lunch- ran to the lake, then did 2x1 lap repeats (.85 miles each). Times were 4:56, 4:39 (5:45 and 5:25 pace). 6 miles total. 

Not sure what the race conditions will be like Saturday. Snow, ice, warm, mud, rain, cold, wind? Maybe all of the above.

Road N2 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
5.000.000.000.000.005.00

Lunch- 5 miles with Phil.

Stinson Miles: 5.00
Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
3.000.000.000.000.003.00

Lunch- 3. Feeling very tired and just Blah this week. Not how you want to be feeling pre-race.

Road N2 Miles: 3.00
Weight: 0.00
Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
3.500.000.000.000.003.50

Lunch- ez 3.5

RD just said we're running on trails all the way to the summit tomorrow, so it looks like my Microspikes will come in very useful!  I wasn't sure if they are worth carrying for 40 miles, but I figure I will.

Road M3 Miles: 3.50
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Race: Mt Mitchell Challenge 40 mile trail race (37.5 Miles) 05:24:35, Place overall: 3
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
1.0037.500.000.000.0038.50

Quick report- placed 3rd overall at Mt Mitchell Challenge. Had felt a bit "blah" all week leading up to the race and was worried it would carry over. It did, a bit. Legs felt flat on the initial 3 road miles, but then I found I could climb ok once on trail and I moved from about 10th to 4th by mile 13, well behind the lead pack of 3 runners. The Toll Road was muddy and had lots of flowing water but minimal snow.  Then we started towards Mt Mitchell on a trail with intermittent snow- I had a bit of a low patch and tried to just stay relaxed, moving, and save my energy for the downhill. The last climb to the summit was nuts- it was 900 feet up in 1.4 miles over technical trails that are most comparable to an ice skating rink. Seriously icy- took me 30 min. Paul flew by me here. I summited and enjoyed the views for a minute, then ran down the road back to the Blue Ridge Parkway (normal singletrack path closed due to ice). I was surprised to see previous race leader Jason Bryant just ahead - he started walking down the road, never a good sign. I then played leapfrog with Paul for the next 2 hrs, battling it out for the final podium spot- I passed him, then stopped for a pit stop, then passed him again but he stayed just behind me. I yielded again with another pit stop at mile 31, then pressed hard to catch again, finally passing him at mile 34 just after the 23% grade paved road leading into Montreat. I put a few minutes on him in the last 5k. It was fun to race against him, though- it's been a long time since I had such a back and forth battle for an entire race. I finished the 37.5 miles with 4800 ft climbing in 5:24. Dane finished in CR 4:46, Shaun Pope was just under 5 hrs. Even if I had felt better, I couldn't have caught either of them.

Had a good time eating food and talking to some of the great runners before heading home to my supportive wife and kids.

I've been awake since 3:45 am and it's almost 10 pm. I'm going to bed now. After some ice cream, of course.

Trail M2 Miles: 38.50
Weight: 0.00
Comments(8)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
24.0037.501.500.000.0063.00
Road N2 Miles: 16.00Stinson Miles: 5.00Road M3 Miles: 3.50Trail M2 Miles: 38.50
Weight: 0.00
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