"So Much Things to Say"

In theory, running only requires a pair of shoes, clothes, and a place to run. The reality for longer runs is that there is all kinds of nutritional guesswork and gear.

I now have two runs of +-20 miles in the books, both in the last 10-14 days. The first one anchored the only week in my training for Baltimore where I actually ran three days, which is the training regimen.

The first run was from my house to the Oxford Market and back, and was to encompass 23-ish miles. Mike Keene joined me for stellar weather, and a fantastic 11-12 mile run to Oxford. Just past Trippe Creek and Spring Road, we caught up to Talbot County's top bench-pressing runner, Jon Fox, and ran and chatted for 4-5 miles. Mike and I then saddled up to the Market, grabbed more Gatorade, water, and a sandwich. Whether the sandwich (which was tasty) or my lack of long runs was my undoing, I'm not sure. I started in with some stomach problems at probably mile 15, gutted it out with a couple walk breaks, and then completely hit a wall at roughly mile 20, or Kings Woods Road toward Easton. By this point my legs were cramping and I had accomplished everything positive that I could out of the run, and walked the remaining 3.5 miles back to my house. No pain post-run, cut the grass, fine to run the next day.

My other two runs that week were a 4.5 mile lunch run, then an 8-mile run in 68 minutes, which felt great. My next run came this past Saturday morning as Mike K., Team Claiborne charter member Jim Richardson, and I went to Wye Island for a 19.4 mile stroll.

"Super Jim" (with his trademark cape/bib) set the pace for the first 9.7 miles. There are many great things about running at Wye Island. The first is the mostly dirt roads and scenery. The second are the trails available and scenery. And a third is that you can park your vehicle such that you can pass it a number of times and refuel.

After my samich scare last long run, I opted to stick with more traditional/synthetic fuel for marathon distances. To squeeze some protein in, I tried a new drink called Accelerade, which throws carbs and protein at you. I cycled that with water, pretzels, and a Power Gel. And I drank more fluids than I normally do. Something worked, because my legs never cramped (they often do on long runs) and my energy level stayed fairly consistent.

After our first full loop, Mike, Jim, and I hit our own strides and spaced out a bit from each other, ultimately collecting ourselves at Mike's truck, a.k.a. "The Mother Ship." My 19.4-mile time ended up being 3 hours, 28 minutes, 44 seconds. I could have pushed some speed, but was content for a long SLOW distance. Post-run weather, conversation, and vittles, the latter thanks to Mike "Captain Picnic" (also Wood Frog) Keene, were excellent and rejuvenating. I got home, dug up a stump, and planted a crepe myrtle, among other things.

I have been averaging about one run per week, sometimes two, and only once the prescribed three. I am not in marathon good time shape, but could argue that I am smarter than when I ran my two other marathons. I am hoping I can ramp up a consistent string of runs, and run smart during the race, to pull off a PR (both other marathons had snags).

As for the JFK, I am not there, and don't know that I have time/drive/schedule to get there. It's a mental and psychological struggle, but I think I could let it go this year and be okay with it. One thing is for sure, you create some time to think during long runs.

Night Runner

Mikes Keene and Valliant, after a 7-mile night run at Wye Island, refuel at the Keene mothership.

Now I know what David Hasselhoff would have felt like... if he hadn't had K.I.T.T. and had to run everywhere instead of taking his tricked-out Trans-Am. Okay, maybe not, but we did manage to get in a 7+ mile night run on Tuesday night at Wye Island, so we are at least "night runners" now.

Wye Island is a great expanse of dirt roads, wooded trails, grassy cross-countryesque trails through fields, and some paved roads. We have used it as a looped training grounds, logging 10, 19, 17, and 26.4-mile runs, in a picturesque setting, on softer terrain, and away from traffic. Our loops have generally taken us by our vehicle, so it is easy to refuel. It has been a welcome running sanctuary. Up to last night, all our runs had been during daylight.

My first mistake was loaning Mike K. Neal Jamison's great book, Running Through the Wall: Personal Encounters With the Ultramarathon. When he returned it, he was smitten, "We've got to do a night run! All these ultra runners talk about races going through the night. We could pick a full moon, hit Wye Island, and I doubt we'd even need flash lights."

After emailing a park ranger there and getting permission for the endeavor, May seemed like the best time to try to make it happen. Having said that, Mike was nursing an ailing calf, post 2 straight weekends of PR races, and neither of us had the free time this week we'd hoped for. So a 3-hour expedition turned into a sub-70-minute fun run, that finished with a momentum-gaining fast mile at the end.

I have never run at night, discounting the occasional inebriated jaunt from a bar or party quite a few years ago (I should note, I have left for long runs at 4:30 or 5:00 a.m, when it is still dark and the moon is out, but the difference seems to me to be sleep first, wake up, and go, rather than go at the end of the day). It is a great and charging experience. Mike was right, even with some cloud cover, neither flashlight nor headlamp was necessary--natural light was plenty.

We parked at the equestrian center, and used the main road, which is a wide dirt road, as our route. At the far end of the road, is the Osage Orange Trail, a 1.1 mile out-and-back wooded-tunnel of a trail, which seems to jettison me through it, day or night. Last night it was like a game--flying down the trail in the dark, flowing with the trail, and dodging the potentially bludgeoning low-hanging branches. At one end of the trail is a beach, and coming out the other was moonlight over the fields, forests, and roads.

Our run was from roughly 10:30 - 11:4o p.m. It was interesting to ask your energy to peak when it is usually on recharge. I dug my first dose of night running--certainly due to a great combination of venue, company, and concept. I look forward to seeing what and where the next installment will be.

As for next on the running adventure list: I have it in my mind to do a trans-St. Michaels run: from the CBMM parking lot, to Royal Oak, to Bellevue, go across on the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, run through Oxford, up Oxford Road, to the Easton Bypass, onto St. Michaels Road, then back to St. Michaels. Total trip is between 25 and 30 miles.