I was pretty excited when I got the 3rd-generation iPod nano; the possibilities for running were great. However, I lacked one critical accessory: a good protective case and armband.I soon found that the DLO Action Jacket solved my problems. The neoprene case is designed specifically for the 3rd generation (4GB/8GB) iPod nano, and comes with a 180-degree rotating belt clip and an adjustable armband. The Action Jacket retails for $30, but I was able to find it for as low as $18 (plus free shipping!) on Amazon.com. Colors are available in black, white, or pink. I personally like the black…

Read the full review at The Final Sprint! 

When I made the jump to running with an mp3 player, I quickly noticed two things:

1. Running with music is fun and motivational.
2. Stock headphones that come “free” with most mp3 players just don’t get the job done.

As a result, one of the first accessories I purchased were nicer, more comfortable, more stable ear clip headphones. Even these never quite fit my ears right and tended to jiggle around. Perhaps I should have first looked at a pair of Nike sport headphones.

I recently had the pleasure of testing the Nike Flight and the Nike Vapor sport headphones. I enjoyed both models, and each offered a unique set of pro’s and con’s.

Read the full review at The Final Sprint! 

Well, it’s almost playoff time for football season, and after watching some Packer history DVDs, I was inspired to do another quotes blog. This time all of the quotes come from the late, great Vince Lombardi. Let’s face it, the man had a way with words.

And yes, all of the quotes are in reference to football, but can be easily applied to running or life in general. That what makes them so good. Underneath each Lombardi quote, I’ve posted my own commentary and what it means to me in terms of running and/or life.

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“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.” — Vince Lombardi

I’ve said this before, but “reaching the next level” for runners takes a conscious decision and it takes sacrifice. I’ve given up or greatly limited some of my loves, such as skiing or beer, for a much greater good and a concrete legacy. I don’t really miss most of it either. And I think part of becoming a great runner is believing in yourself and believing that the dedication and drive will pay off with rewards in the long run.

“Dictionary is the only place that ’success’ comes before ‘work’. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.” — Vince Lombardi

Similar theme to the last quote, but emphasizing that the only way most of us will achieve our goals is to work our butt off. I look at guys like Brian Sell and Peter Gilmore as inspiration. They take on tremendous training loads, but it has paid dividends for them. I have seen dividends in my own running as well. When I did not value hard work and hard training, I was a 2:40 marathoner. Now, as I see it, I have just now learned how to train hard, and I am already a good 20 minutes faster. How many other 2:40 or 2:50 marathoners are out there that are just a big training cycle away from becoming a 2:20 marathoner? How many 2:25 marathoners out there are a few training-filled years away from becoming 2:15 marathoners?

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” — Vince Lombardi

Lombardi said this before the ‘67 season, before the Packers won their 3rd straight championship. The reference was that late in the game, if a player (or team) is fatigued, they will not be able to show guts; they will not win. So he trained his team like mad during the summer to make sure they were better-conditioned than any other team, and could therefore perform in “crunch time”.

Similarly, a runner’s ability to surge or to beat down the competition is based on their conditioning. Guts mean nothing if you are not in shape to use them. There is nothing better than making a bold move late in the race, and having the confidence and conditioning to finish it with authority. The alternative is hanging on for dear life, just counting steps and waiting for the race to end. Been there, done that, don’t like it much.

“I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.“– Vince Lombardi

Nothing beats being utterly exhausted after a race during which you’ve given your all. And nothing beats the feeling of walking around like a wounded soldier during the following week of recovery after a marathon. Enjoy your soreness, it’s well-deserved.

“Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” — Vince Lombardi

Nothing beats a team. When you are running for something bigger than just yourself, it is easy to get motivated, to do that extra bit of training, and to push harder than you’ve ever pushed during a race. That is why a lot of people have trouble training on their own after a good college experience. That also may be why the Hansons are having so much success. They don’t have fancy altitude tents or a glamorous place to train, but they have over a dozen people out there pushing each other and supporting each other. That will go farther than altitude training ever will. I hope that the new FastRunningBlog.com racing team can support and push each other in a similar way, and make each other into better runners.

“It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.” — Vince Lombardi

If you can survive the hard times and “trials by fire”, you will come out a better runner. Injuries and “off times” are not times to lose the discipline, but times to really use it. Again, a team or other community and support will do wonders when things look bleak.

“Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later the man who wins, is the man who thinks he can.” — Vince Lombardi

I know plenty of runners who are very talented and very fast, but they don’t believe in themselves. One will never win unless they believe and set themselves up into position to win, through training or in the race itself.

“Once you agree upon the price you and your family must pay for success, it enables you to ignore the minor hurts, the opponent’s pressure, and the temporary failures.” — Vince Lombardi

Success comes at a cost, but once you concede and accept the rigors of hard training, it actually gets easier. I’ve found that a 100-mile week is no harder than a 60-mile week in some ways. I think most of that is psychological. You accept your training as what it is, then put your head down and do it. Once that resolve is made, little aches and pains, tiredness, and an occasional ho-hum workout just become things that you accept and move on over. Hard, high-volume training also forces you to prioritize and manage time more. Yes, I don’t quite have much free time anymore, but what would I have been doing with much of that free time? Watching TV? Now I keep what free time I do have as constructive as possible, in order to utilize and take advantage of every waking minute.

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” — Vince Lombardi

Dream. Dream big. Set high goals and chase after them. If you fall short, so what? Chances are, you’ll still hit better race times and finishes than you did before! And what is there to lose?

“Success demands singleness of purpose.” — Vince Lombardi

This is an unfortunate truth, and is why the best runners are generally professionals. Ie - they do not work full-time jobs. I wonder for myself if I’ll ever need to (or have the chance to) quit my day job. The thing is, I really like my vocation, plus realize that a person can only hope to make a living as a runner for a relatively short number years. I imagine if I were ever presented to chance to go after running with “singleness of purpose”, I would probably still work about 20 hours/week just to keep my mind occupied and my skills sharp. What else is there to do while I’m not running?

Completely across the spectrum, this quote also brings up the idea of specialization of training. In order to become a very good marathoner, you must do marathon-specific training. This singleness of purpose within training may mean that you won’t fulfill your potential in the 5K, but it gives the best chance in the marathon. And vice versa for a 5K runner. Deliberately pick your races, pick your training methodology, and “run with it”.

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” — Vince Lombardi

I’ve already hit on this, but running is one of the few activities out there where one can really make huge improvements simply by wanting it bad enough. From desire and motivation comes very hard training, and from hard training comes fast race times.

“The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” — Vince Lombardi

It’s nearly impossible to give up during a race if you’ve prepared thousands of miles of training for that race.

“We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.” — Vince Lombardi

Or a rephrase for running would be, “I didn’t lose the race, I just ran out of road”. I think we’ve all had that happen, a race where things go bad in the middle, only to have a second wind and be eating people up at the end…and the finish line is curse rather than a blessing. Although I was hurting, I do wish I had an extra mile for the Trials race. People were coming back fast, and I ran out of road.

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” — Vince Lombardi

Not everyone can be an elite runner or a professional runner, but everyone can certainly play out the cards they’ve been dealt. Doing so with fervor usually leads to fulfillment as well as a few surprises. This quote also reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the talents (Matt 25:14-30), which is obviously about more spiritual things. In any case, we should live our lives as stewards and develop what assets we’ve been given to our utmost, whether that is faith, running, parenting, vocation, or other things.

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” — Vince Lombardi

I sometimes wonder if people think I live a lower “quality of life” because I’ve given up a lot of recreational time in order to toil and train so much. In truth, it’s just the opposite. By pursuing a dream and developing my running talent, my life is richer than it ever was. 40 years from now, I won’t remember donuts I’ve eaten, parties I’ve gone to, or extra hours I’ve slept. But I will certainly remember the feeling of winning Ogden, qualifying at St. George, racing with the best at Olympic Trials, and whatever is yet to come. Not only is the process of getting there enjoyable and fulfilling, but so is the legacy and memories that will be left.

“The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it“. — Vince Lombardi

For me, this past year of running was made so much more sweeter by how awful last year was. While being sidelined by various injuries for 5 months, I sometimes doubted if I could race again, but thanks in part to the encouragement and support of others, I managed to keep at it and was eventually rewarded. It takes a time of darkness to really appreciate the light.

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And one more thing…Go Pack!

Well, since the new server is up and running, I can get back to blogging!

I’ve had a few weeks to mull over the USATF’s recent decision to revamp the OTQ standards for the men’s marathon. My initial blog posting was my knee-jerk reaction that I wrote a few hours after reading about the decision. Since then, I have heard many good (and bad) arguments opposing various aspects of the new standards. And it has given me a lot to chew on. Here are my current thoughts on the issue:

• Adding a Half Marathon qualifier: good. No change of opinion here, and most other people agree with this one too. Also, taking away the 5K qualifier: good. I don’t think anyone took up the offer this time around anyway. So what remains is a 10K qualifier at 28:30 and a Half Marathon qualifier at 1:05:00. A lot of people still dispute allowing runners to qualify with a 10K, but I think this year’s 10K runners (Browne, Rohatinsky, Carney, Gonzales) more than proved that they belonged (not that Browne had anything to prove, but he did qualify via 10K). Yeah, 10K times are not the best indicator of marathon times, but I do think they are a good indicator of marathon potential. Tim Noakes notes in Lore of Running that most elite marathoners are elite 10K runners as well. You need to have a good amount of leg speed to go under 2:10. And 28:30 is pretty darn fast. Sub-28:30 represents our top-tier runners. Encouraging our top-tier 10K runners to move up to the marathon should produce at least a couple top-tier marathon runners. I think this year is already proof of that with Rohatinsky and others making impressive debuts.
• Getting rid of “aided” (downhill) courses as qualifiers: good. I hold to my initial assessment of this as well, with a few concerns. Interestingly, this is the least debated of all the USATF decisions, as I have read very few voices of dissent on throwing out courses like St. George, Steamtown, and CIM. Although I’m fine with qualifying somewhere other than St. George, out of love for St. George and other local downhill races, I hope that they can find a way to stay relevant among top-tier runners around the state and region. Prize money is usually a good way to stay relevant. It would be a shame if all of the sub-elites that typically run St. George abandon the race for “legit” courses. Another concern brought up by others is that USATF may be playing “god” with what courses are legit, and what courses aren’t. At first I was not too concerned about this, but now it gives me bad vibes. Although I support Boston, New York, Twin Cities, and other point-to-point courses being exempt from the new rule, I would like to see some firm protocol or criteria being set in place for other exemptions. Just being a major marathon shouldn’t be the only way in. What about all the other small, local point-to-point courses that do not traditionally produce “aided” times? Do they get the shaft, while New York gets in because…well…it’s New York? I would like to see a way for smaller point-to-point races appeal their way in or get voted in by something more democratic.
• Getting rid of the “B” standard: good. I hold to my original position. I don’t think anyone should have to pay their own way to Trials, or that runners should be treated differently because of their qualifying time. Just pick one standard, and go with it. If you make it, great, if not, tough.
• Lowering the standard to 2:19: good. I hold to my original position that this will be a good thing for American running…with an asterisk. If we can qualify 200 people in 1984, we should be able to do the same in 2012. And most arguments stating, “so and so wouldn’t have qualified with this standard, and that would have ruined their careers” are garbage. For instance, Jason Lehmkuhle (of 2008) and Brian Sell (of 2004) would have qualified with their half marathon times. The most famous dark horse, Trent Briney, would have been within seconds of qualifying in 2004 with his half marathon time. However, after reading a lot of these counter arguments, I do have some concerns.
  • Runners need a reachable “carrot” hanging in front of them to keep motivated. The USATF just took away many peoples’ carrot and moved it far out of current reach. This would be a major blow to the motivation of many. I could go on a tangent about the “quitter mentality”, but in truth people need sets of intermediate goals to step to in order to establish themselves and move on to the next goal. Where is the “intermediate” goal for the 2:25-2:30 marathoners? How do we get a guy who ran 2:23 to keep going, when the “big carrot” is still 4 minutes off?
  • Marathon training takes extreme dedication and sacrifice; there needs to be some sort of incentive. In short, we need more “carrots”. I am totally fine with a 2:19 standard, and potentially fewer participants, if the incentive provided by the “B” standard can be replaced by other races and events. That way the USATF would meet their goals of making the Trials be a truly “elite” group that can push for medals, but still continue development of younger runners, sub-elites, and regional runners using proper, sustainable incentives. With more “carrots” to chase after, the Brian Sell’s, the Peter Gilmore’s, and the Trent Briney’s can continue their development from sub-elite to elite, and be able to make the push up front. Take away those carrots, and I am a little afraid of what could happen. Probably 4-8 more good years of American running, and then when Hall and Ritz get old, we may be back to 1996.

So the crux of the whole matter is replacing the incentive of Trials with new incentives that are reachable to 2:22+ runners. Easier said than done, right? But let’s think of it this way: the Trials occurs every four years, and it is the focus of many aspiring marathoners. This has been “taken away” for a lot of people. But if develop “big races” that occur every year, there could be a world of opportunity.

For instance, the US Marathon Championships occur every year. Well, this year it happened to be Trials, but every other year it is more accessible. “US Marathon Championships” sounds pretty cool, but the problem is that most people don’t even know about it! I think one potential solution is to market and make the US Champs into a “big deal”. Make it highly visible, give it more press, make prize money 20-deep. Make it something notable to put on your resume. Make a time standard of 2:30 to get in the race, and make that known to everyone. Perhaps make it a team event, like US XC Club Nationals, where the best USATF-sanctioned marathon teams can win bonus money with cross country-style scoring. I believe that adding prestige and innovating scoring to the existing US Championship race(s), including the Marathon, Half Marathon, 25K, 20K, and others, could provide the incentive to continue development for a lot of runners.

And what if the USATF doesn’t do anything to “replace” Trials? Do we just sit on our hands and complain? Do we wait for the “government” to help us out? Do we quit because it’s too hard? No way! During the mid-90’s when two brothers in eastern Michigan noticed that U.S. distance running was in a wretched state, they didn’t just complain and wait for the USATF to fix things! They took things into their own hands, started supporting, coaching, and developing young runners, and now the Hansons are sending a runner to the 2008 Olympics! I firmly believe the development of American runners will come from the bottom-up, not the top-down. In other words, it is up to us, the grassroots; it is not up to the USATF to trickle down money to the little guy. I think the Hansons program is a model of what can happen on the grassroots level, when people just decide they want to help with the development of distance runners. Brian Sell going to the Olympics is about the best thing that could happen for American distance running. He may not win a medal (although I won’t count him out), but the Hansons will grow stronger, and more “Hanson-clone” teams will spring up, because the model works.

So my final point is that we can either sit around on our hands moaning, complaining, and waiting for the USATF to do “right”, or we can get up and do right ourselves. Don’t like how races are administrated? Join a race committee or start a new race doing things how you see it. Want to develop runners? Join a club, mentor a runner, get into coaching, or financially sponsor a developing runner. Want to run fast yourself? Find other like-minded people, support each other, and train your butt off.

End of rant. As usual, discussion and dissent are welcome. That’s what keeps the wheel turning, right?

In the expanding world of hydration products, nuun has separated itself from the pack with their quality portable electrolyte tablets. It is dissolves quickly, is sugar-free, is convenient to use, and tends to have a mild, pleasing taste…

Read the full review at The Final Sprint!

For those of us thinking we need to get under 2:22 to qualify for 2012 Olympic Trials, think again! And for those of us “borderline” runners thinking we can get an OTQ at St. George, think again! Race Results Weekly recently posted an article about the official new OTQ Marathon standards for 2012.

Here’s the kickers in a nutshell (or maybe a kick in the nuts, based on your opinion):

• No more “A” and “B” standards. One time fits all now.
• New time standard: 2:19.
  • Can also get in with 10K (28:30) and Half Marathon (1:05)
• “Aided” courses no longer acceptable
  • New “approved” list with all “acceptable” marathons (to be released shortly).
  • Elevation loss of no more than 1 meter per kilometer
  • Start and finish of point-to-point courses have to be separated by less than 30% of the race distance (ie - <7.9 miles for marathon)
  • Special provision to be made for Boston, New York, and other point-to-point or non-record eligible courses that do not traditionally produce fast times

I am sure this will be a controversial subject for many. My opinion? (this is a blog, after all) I think these are all good things. That may surprise my three readers, since I myself qualified at St. George this year, and am not currently capable of breaking 2:19. But here’s why I like the changes:

• It’s for the good of America. I’m a patriotic dude. Tougher time standards will challenge American runners and stimulate improvement. 2:19 is the new 2:22. 2:15 will become the new 2:18. 2:11 will become the new 2:15. And increasing the number of guys in the 2-teens will push the very top guys even more. As a result, I predict we will see more American runners under 2:10 and contending at major marathons.
• No more “B” qualifiers. This equals fair treatment for all runners that qualify. Everyone who makes it will receive comp travel. Everyone will receive elite fluid service. Everyone gets the same living and racing conditions.
• Half marathon qualifier standards equals more opportunities. Most people can only do a couple good marathons per year, so opening up half marathons as qualifying venues should open more doors. Halfs are easier to recover from, so they can be attempted more often, and if you get bad luck with your marathons for the year…well, better luck with the half!
• No more debates about downhill courses. They are a non-issue now. Forget about it. The writing was on the wall anyway. I love St. George and Top of Utah as much as anyone, but again, I think this is for our own good. This will also take tailwinds (or headwinds) out of the equation, since most true point-to-point courses will be “banned”.

What does this mean for those of us dreaming to break 2:22? Well…recalibrate those dreams to 2:19! I am basically a 2:20-2:21ish marathoner right now. Four years from now I sure better be 2:18 (or faster)! And that is what I train and dream for. The bar has been raised; let’s go after it and be part of the American resurgence of marathoning. See you on the roads.

Earlier this week the USATF published the complete set of splits for every runner for the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials. Ordinarily splits would not be a big deal, and in fact they’ve had 5K splits available for quite some time now. What makes these splits unique is that there are 50 of them!! Due to the fact there was a timing mat every 5K (plus the finish line and half marathon mark), and that the marathon route was a 5-lap course, the 5K split mats picked up splits for all the other times each runner passed over them. Pretty nifty.

Being numbers geek, I naturally plunked all of my own split information into a spreadsheet and went to work. And being a map nerd, I naturally plunked in the elevation profile as well to see how the hills influence my splits.

The above chart shows a lot of what I already knew: I slowed down during the race. Duh. But due to the better resolution of the splits, I could see exactly where and by how much. It looks like someone flipped a switch in me right after 15 miles that said, “You run slow now!” Splits dropped abruptly from sub-5:20 to 5:30+. The good news is that I had nothing slower than 5:53-pace. There was a 5:48 in there, but then pretty much everything else was all faster than 5:40-pace. This is all helpful to me, since I did not wear a watch during the race.

I thought an interesting overlay would be to add the elevation profile, my previous split pace, and my overall pace to a graph. This would answer the question: how much did the uphills slow me down (and uphills speed me up) throughout the race?

My elevation profile isn’t quite calibrated with the USATF certification, so it is a little shifted in places. Plus, the pace graph is shifted a little forward, since it is the pace of the previous split. BUT, the relation between the two major hills of the course with my pace is quite obvious, and kind of cool to look at. You can see the same pace pattern for the last four laps of the race (the first lap we were all steadily accelerating due to the slow start).

From the graph, I can see that early in the race I was running 5:00-5:05 on the downhills and 5:20-5:25 on the uphills. Late in the race, I was managing ~5:15 on the bigger downhills, but 5:40-5:50 on the uphills. From training in Utah, I am a pretty good downhill runner, so it doesn’t surprise me that I could hold it together better on the downs, even late in the race. That is a result of training specifically for St. George, and I did notice during the race that I passed or made up ground on quite on few runners during the downhill sections.

Although I didn’t hit a real Wall during Trials, it is obvious that fatigue worked its way into my legs after Mile 15 or so, and the repetitious hills worked me over as the race progressed. Clearly, I have work to do on my strength and endurance.

But that’s it for thinking about Trials! It was a blast to run, but it is past, and now it is time to look forward to the future: more training and more big races!

I competed. I ran to my utmost. It’s over. I’m happy.

53rd place and a solid time of 2:22:34, I could not ask for much more. It’s hard to believe I was coming off injury and barely running 3 miles/day a full year ago. What a year. This year has made me a firm believer in what solid training and commitment can do. I spun my wheels and basically neglected my running for 5 years after college. Now at age 28, I feel like I am just getting started. What will next year hold?

I posted a complete, detailed race report on my training log HERE. But in a nutshell I’ll just say that this was one of the thrills of my life. Running with that thick of a pack, in that electric of an atmosphere was unmatchable. The closest I had experienced before was XC Nationals. But this was so much bigger, so many more spectators, and so much more on the line.

The USATF and NYRR did a great job and treated us like kings. Some people complained about certain things, but the way I see it, we are just running. We produce no tangible product. If someone wants to give me anything, I am grateful for it, and treat it like a gift. (that said, I’ll take all the “gifts” I can get!) So thanks again to all involved in making this weekend happen.

Everyone who participated has there own unique story to tell. I would find them all equally engrossing. I’ve seen so many highlight reels at this point, but yet remain glued to the screen while watching the NBC Sports replay coverage online.

Not all stories are good though. The story of Ryan Shay breaks my heart. I did not find out until about an hour after the race, while sitting on the bus before lunch. I was just shocked. I think all runners feel it, whether we were there or not, whether we ever met him or not. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and family.

As a geographer and a runner, one of my pre-race rituals is to make my own map and profile for the course I am about to run. For me, making maps is enjoyable, soothing even, and it really helps me get a bearing on a course and form a strategy. Just as in school, where you learn more by writing down notes yourself, I learn more about the course by making by own map rather than just looking at the map supplied by the race website.

One of the course aspects strongly emphasized by all the mapping I do as Marathon GIS is elevation change. Creating a strong false-color elevation model as the backdrop of a route will show the location and magnitude of all hills, ridges, peaks, and valleys with a quick glance. And hills are probably the most important component of the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials race, which will be held in New York City on November 3, 2007.

The marathon trials course starts by looping through Times Square, and then circumvents the interior of Central Park 5 times. I have never been to New York City (a sure disadvantage for me), but word on the streets is that the Central Park loops are very hilly, and the constant barrage of rolling undulations will strongly influence the race, favoring runners with strength and the ability to accelerate on uphills. The existing course maps are very well-done, but do not show an elevation profile or indication of where the hills are.  I decided to put some work in to see for myself what I am up against, and compiled the course map shown below:

Judging by the false-color elevation (green = low, red = high), it is evident that the Central Park course is indeed quite hilly! How hilly? That can be quantified through the Elevation Profile, shown under the map. According to my elevation measurements, there is just under 2000 feet of total (cumulative) elevation gain and loss! However, the total relief of the course is only 80 feet. This means that none of the hills are particularly large…but there are lots of them! And since it is a 5-lap course, we will run the same battery of hills over and over…and over and over.

The map itself is 24″x36″, and its purpose it to plot out and hang on a wall. It is an ideal size for presentation at an expo or information meeting. The entire map was composed in ArcMap 9.2, and the final layout was done in InDesign CS2. Since this was a relatively “rough and dirty” map, I did not use Illustrator at any point.

The false-color elevation model is derived from a 10-meter digital elevation model (DEM), as are the elevation profile chart and statistics. The underlying aerial photography, which nicely shows all of the buildings of the city and trees of Central Park, is 1-meter NAIP. Water features are highlighted by using multiple-ring buffers and gradient fills. Something new I tried on this map was a cartographic trick presented by the ESRI Mapping Center Blog for creating “expressive” directional arrows as polygon features rather than simple line graphics. The arrows turned out nicely, and will be a technique that I will continue to use on future maps.

I did use Illustrator (CS2) for the elevation profile graphic, but in a new way. Rather than creating the raw profile in Microsoft Excel and then pasting into Illustrator, I experimented with creating the raw profile directly in ArcMap, using the improved graphing tools of v.9.2. I then exported the profile to a .jpg image, placed the .jpg into Illustrator, and tweaked the Live Trace feature until I got a satisfactory result. I then cleaned up and modified the profile artwork, added some effects, and dumped it into the InDesign layout. Quick, but effective. It is definitely a fresh look from my previous profiles, and I am pleased with it in that it does not look like it came straight out of Excel.

So enough of the nerdy technical details. It is unfortunate that I will not be able to tour the course until November 1, only two days before the race. Nothing beats gaining familiarity by actually running and racing on a course, but I hope to use this map and profile to at least get a sense of what I am in for. I will post my thoughts on how the course will actually impact my race and my strategy later this week, as well as my other miscellaneous thoughts on the trials race.

First off, just let me say: Yeeeaaahh!! 2:18!! NY here I come!!

There, that feels good. For anyone who missed it, the 2007 St. George Marathon was an absolute gem of a race, not just for me, but for the vast majority who participated. I can’t even count the number of PR’s of just the people I know. Unreal. And yes, a PR at St. George is a PR. Maybe not as impressive as a PR at Boston or New York, but 26.2 is 26.2, and a PR is a PR. There are different types of PR’s (downhill PR’s vs. flat PR’s; elevation PR’s vs. sea-level PR’s; young man PR’s vs. old man PR’s, etc.), but those who PR’ed at St. George should be proud. It was an amazing day to run.

Looking back at my earlier dilemma of whether to run St. George, Chicago, or Twin Cities, I get chills and cravings for an I.V. when I think about what would have happened if I had picked one of those big, sexy, mid-western marathons instead of my tried-and-true “local” race. One American qualifier at Chicago (who is stud of the world for doing that, by the way). No qualifiers at Twin Cities. If I had chosen one of those races, all I would have qualified for was a bummer.

Instead, I chose my local race, St. George. It was a no-brainer. The whole trip cost my wife and I a total of $175, thanks to having friends down there to stay with (thanks again, Clyde and Mik’l). And it yielded an 8-minute PR and an all-expense paid opportunity to toe the line with America’s best in New York City on November 3.

True, St. George gets no love, exemplified by the fine thread on LetsRun.com. Some of the criticisms are valid, other criticisms are elitist LetsRun.com drivel, typical for that site. But it probably provides a pretty valid cross section of what most people outside of Utah think of St. George. People who have never run the race exaggerate how “easy” it is. They describe it as “cheating” even. Run the race first, then criticize it. On the other end of the spectrum, Utah natives and long-time St. George participants exaggerate the difficulty of the first half of the course, and tend to play up the effects of altitude and downhill battering.

The truth of St. George lies somewhere in the middle. Most of the uphills do not show up the course profile, but there is over 400′ of climbing, mostly in the first half. The second half of the race…is ridiculous in its speed. If you are trained for hills (both up and down) you will fly. If you are not, you may not even finish. Flat-landers beware. I think the elevation has almost no effect on the downhills, and only moderate effect on the uphills. A well-trained Utahn will most assuredly run a huge PR at St. George. In my opinion, an elite runner will finish 2-4 minutes faster at St. George than at a flat, sea-level course, depending on their downhill aptitude.

By qualifying at St. George, I did not earn any respect, nor did I expect it or think I deserve it. I plan to go out and earn respect in three weeks at Olympic Trials, and in my subsequent racing over the next few years. I have a nice PR of a low 2:18, but for now I always have to follow it up with, “…at St. George“. It’s definitely a bit of an asterisk, as far as elite running circles are concerned. But I did not run St. George to earn the respect of LetsRun.com. I ran it because it made the most sense.

• It is the closest race to where I live (ie - I can drive there in a few hours).
• It is one of the top 20 largest marathons in America, ensuring great competition.
• They treat semi-elite runners very well (water bottle service, separate staging, etc.).
• The weather is virtually always excellent and reliable in the desert in early October.
• It is the fastest course in America. Who would not want to run the fastest course?
• It was my best shot at an “A” qualifier and a free trip to NYC.

So given its proximity and the speed of the course, why would I not run St. George? Why would I not want an “A” qualifier? If the USATF says it’s legit, then it is legit. Period. It would have been insanity to drop a couple grand to take myself and my wife out to some strange huge city and run a 2:40 in hot, humid conditions. I know this is retrospect, but I can’t help patting myself on the back, along with the other 16 people that qualified in the desert this weekend. St. George: 38 degrees at the start, 50 degrees at the finish. Slight tailwind most of the race. Even without the massive downhill, St. George had perfect conditions, and it was a PR day, the kind of day that makes runners salivate. Throw in the downhill, and it gets even more fun.

So yes, I am looking forward to “proving” myself on some flat and rolling sea level courses. Personally, I think I can run even faster if I hit a fast course like Chicago on the right day with the right pack. Right now, I am eyeballing Twin Cities for next year, which is the USATF Marathon Championships. I hope to make an impact. I’d also like to travel and do some big-time races such as the Fifth-Third Riverbank 25K in Grand Rapids (mid-May), as well as something like the Crim 10-miler or the Utica Boilermaker. I think one of the primary steps to becoming elite on a national scene is to travel to national races and mix it up with people better than me. Good butt-whippings make a person strong. Oh, and so does training like a mad-man, which I plan to do as well. I’ve got 100-mile weeks mastered; it is time to try 120 mpw in 2008.

Adjusting for the downhill speed of St. George, right now I consider 2:20-2:22 guys to be my peer group, and like all races, I hope to out-compete my peer group in NYC. And if I can knock off some 2:18 guys, that would be great too. I am certainly not content with 2:18, whether I ran it at St. George or at Boston. The reason we train and race is to perpetually get faster. St. George this year was an important step in my own journey, but certain not the end.

It seems that in the world of hydration systems, there is always give-and-take and compromise. The small, light packs may not carry enough water. The bottle-based belt systems require use of hands and often make you stop in your activity during use. The hands-free, bladder-based systems tend to bounce around too much and cause discomfort.

Personally, I tend to gravitate toward the bladder-based hydration systems, such as those made by Camelbak or Ultimate Direction, because I can use them in full stride during my runs. I hate having to stop, pull out a bottle, and then put it back before resuming my run. However, all of the bladder-based hydration systems I had used in the past tended to have a heavy weight, poor center of gravity, and a tendency bounce around. Over the duration of a long road or trail run, this not only proves to be annoying, but can also cause chaffing, discomfort, and alteration of my stride.

This past month I have had the pleasure of testing the Camelbak Octane 8+ hydration pack…

Read the full review at The Final Sprint!

Several competitive runners over the last couple days have asked me, “How on earth do you run 100-mile weeks?” In all cases, this was not a snide question, but an honest one. These people realized that they could make performance gains by training more, but were at a loss on how to do so. Training 100+ miles per week is not an easy endeavor, and can leave runners fatigued, frustrated, and/or injured if done improperly. However, if successful, this high-volume training most often leads to marathon breakthroughs, and is necessary for those wishing to become elite or semi-elite.

Some personal history: I tried several 100-mile weeks back in 2003 and 2004 with little success. They merely made me tired, I was unable to do any sort of quality speed work, and I ended up running my worst marathon in 2004. This summer I revisited high-volume training, but this time I was able to handle the load rather easily and still incorporate long, high-quality, intense workouts twice a week. The result was not just better workouts, but better race performances and better recovery. Not to mention I am experiencing fewer aches and pains than ever, and am the healthiest I have been in years.

So what was the difference? What did I change to turn 100-mile weeks from a drain to a delight? Here are the keys:

• Build a big base over a long period of time. If you’ve been running 60-70 miles/week all winter, building to 100 miles/week by summer will be a natural progression rather than something to dread. Build up to it slowly, no more than 5 miles/week on average. Personally, I like to increase mileage every three weeks, and then maintain for two weeks, then increase again. This keeps things nice and slow, and reduces risk of injury and fatigue.
• Turn easy days into doubles. Running 16 miles is hard. Running 8 miles is easy. Running 8 miles twice is also easy.
• Make easy days easy, and hard days hard. It’s okay to run those doubles I mentioned in the above bullet at a very slow pace. It’s common for me to do my easy runs at 7:30/mile pace, and even occasionally dip to slower than 8:00/mile. The point of these runs is to build aerobic volume, get the blood flowing, and recover from your hard days. When you do work out, make it worth your time by employing Tinman’s Big Workout philosophy.
• Get up early. For many, finding time to run a couple times each day is as big of a challenge as finding the energy. I’ve found that getting up at 6AM or earlier creates all sorts of time!
• Get quality sleep. Take naps. Your body heals and grows stronger while you sleep. I make sure I am in bed by 10PM (which makes the above bullet, getting up early, a lot easier). And since I am up early and done with my run early, I usually have time for 30-60 minutes of napping before I roll into work at 9AM. It is not uncommon for me to pick up an extra 7-8 hours of naps over the course of a week. I sincerely believe this “8th night” of sleep is one of the absolute key elements of high mileage. In general, shoot to average 9 hours/day of sleep, including naps.
• Take a “day off”. Sometimes you have to run less to run more. Make sure you get one day per week of very little running. For example, I only run 4-6 miles on Sundays, and often take multiple naps. It is truly a day of rest and rejuvenation. Relative to other days of the week, this is a “day off”, but I still get in a few valuable miles, enough to get the blood moving. I know plenty of other runners who easily get over 100 miles/week while taking one day completely off.
• Eat healthy and hydrate always. Recovery and fueling is key during a demanding training program. Think of your body as a high-performance car. You don’t give a Ferrari regular unleaded, you give it premium! Keep a water bottle by you at all times. Consume a sports drink immediately after running. During meals stay away from processed foods and junk foods, and pursue fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean meats, and other healthy foods. This will help reduce recovery time and give you more energy, not mention keep you trim.
• Extra credit: work an easy, flexible job. It is quite taxing if you have to be on your feet all day at work. And those naps are hard to fit in if your job has a rigid schedule or long hours. In order to sustain high-volume training for a long period of times (weeks and months), it really, really helps to have a job that lets you sit on your butt all day in cool air conditioning, and has flexible hours to allow you to come and go as you please. One such job is “Professional Runner“. For those of us who aren’t so lucky, “Self-Employed” is probably the next best thing. My job, “GIS Specialist“, is very conducive toward running, as is my laid-back office (and I am grateful for that!). Most people aren’t going to change jobs just for running, but if you already hate your job, maybe here’s one more reason to quit!

Looking back, I now realize that my previous attempts at 100-mile weeks were done improperly. I hadn’t built a big enough base, my average runs were too long (not enough doubles), my easy days were too hard, I wasn’t sleeping enough, and I wasn’t eating healthy enough. I was unable to perform quality workouts, and received no benefit from the mileage. But utilizing these tips have helped my running blossom this year, and I hope they will be beneficial to you as well.

Part of the fun of being a marathoner is picking out your races each year. Another aspect of marathoning that is both fun and important is designing your strategy once you have registered for the race. Personally, I use elevation profiles to help me with both tasks.

An accurate elevation profile will show runners the nuances of gradient throughout a given course layout. Within 5 seconds, a viewer can answer the questions:

• Is the course hilly or flat? Is this course fast or slow?
• Does it give me a good challenge or is it too hilly?
• Can I achieve my goals on this course?
• How should I race this course?
• How should I train for this course?

When I create elevation profiles in support of my race course mapping, I aim to make them as clear and non-misleading as possible. After all, the profile can be one of the major factors that influences a runner to run the race. Every race has its own “personality” that should match up with the strengths and preferences of individual runners. Personally, I like downhill courses, but if the profile shows too steep of a downhill, I will not run it out of fear of injuries and diminishing returns on my finish time.

Three marathon courses in my fine state of Utah that offer fast, downhill layouts are the Ogden Marathon (May), Top of Utah Marathon (September), and the St. George Marathon (October). I have raced Ogden twice, Top of Utah four times, and St. George once, and they are all good P.R. courses — provided that you have trained for downhill!! If you have not engaged in a lot of downhill training, all three courses will eat you alive. I love these three races, though, and highly recommended them, especially St. George.

Since Top of Utah and St. George are both coming up within the next month, I decided to create a graphic that compares the profiles of the above three races.

Looking at the comparison, it is very clear that St. George should by far be the fastest course. Not only does it have the greatest elevation loss, but it is also at the lowest average elevation above sea level. Interestingly, St. George has the greatest elevation gain as well, as neither Ogden nor TOU have any hills even approaching the Vejo hill along Mile 8. The 400′ of total climbing at St. George is certainly nothing to sneeze at, and it really forces runners to train for both ups and downs.

However, it is NOT clear from this elevation comparison which is the faster course between Top of Utah and Ogden. Based on the total statistics and the profile line itself, it appears to be a complete wash. They both have virtually the same gain and loss, but are distributed differently. Personally, I like Ogden better, because much of the downhill is during the last 8 miles, whereas Top of Utah is rolling to flat during the last 8 miles. For me, this at least makes Ogden mentally easier. However, the top times at TOU tend to be faster than those at Ogden year after year. And if you poll 100 Utahns, most will tell you that TOU is faster. But when I look at the course profiles and evaluate my own experiences, I think they are almost identical in speed.

I wonder if TOU’s faster times are a result of simply being a fall race, whereas Ogden is a spring race? Training during Utah’s winters is often harsh, and perhaps most people do not get into peak shape until autumn. I think this could easily cause a “time bias” in favor of Top of Utah.

What do you think?

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One final note of interest: The first 3.5 miles of all three races have identical elevation drops and gradients. Beyond being a cool coincidence, this fact is also useful in that you can uses your experience(s) in the other races to determine how fast to begin a race you have not run yet, or not run recently. First example, I ran 5:28/mile for the first four miles of the Ogden Marathon last May. Using estimates of fitness gains since May, and the fact of analogous gradients between courses for miles 0-4, I have determined that I should run the first four miles at St. George at 5:20/mile pace.

It’s been awhile since I’ve showcased a race course map, but the approach of autumn means lots of great fall races! My most recently completed project is the Fall 50, a 5-person, 50-mile relay that takes place on the beautiful Wisconsin shorelines of the Door County Peninsula on October 20th. The race can also be run as an ultra event.

Just from mapping the course on aerial photography, I could tell that the race is very beautiful, and wanted to showcase that by creating beautiful maps that make people think of fall colors. Do do this, I created a color ramp for the false-color elevation that consisted mostly of yellows, oranges, and reds. Another key feature of the maps is the ample shoreline, which I portrayed using the technique of coastal vignettes (multiple-ring buffers). The final touch was using the race’s maple leaf logo as the exchange symbol, which I did by vectorizing the logo in Adobe Illustrator and then exporting as an .emf, which can be imported into ArcMap as picture symbol.

In all, I was pleased with the outcome, and enjoyed creating maps to fit the unique “personality” of the course.

I frequently listen to the Dave Ramsey Show (and encourage anyone else with an interest in personal finance to do so as well). Each show, Dave reads a “Quote of the Day”, and most of them are pretty inspirational and worth chewing on. Dave’s quotes the last several days have been especially good, and I’ve swiped them and posted them below with some of my own musings regarding their application to running.

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work” - Steven King

There is a host of pedigreed, talented runners out there who do not come remotely close to their potential. On the other hand, I’ve seen an even greater number of unheralded runners develop into great marathoners. Some of them (*gasp*) didn’t even run track or cross country in high school or college! Whether your goal is sub-4:00, sub-3:00, or an Olympic Trials Qualifier, you will make your greatest gains through sheer workload. Find the right mix of consistent training volume and intensity, and pursue it with passion, and you will soon find yourself burying those who are supposedly more “talented”. (although I think that the ability to push yourself and show intense drive is a talent in itself).

“Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have” - Zig Ziglar

How do we truly rate success in running? Is it breaking a certain time barrier? Finishing high in a race? Beating a particular rival? I think all those things can factor into success, but the most important criteria of success is simply meeting your potential. Not everyone has the genetics to win races or place in age groups, but everyone has the opportunity to push themselves to their limits, to answer the question: “What is the best I can be?” Reaching your maximum potential transcends any race time or placing. It is independent of age, course layouts, bad weather, or sore knees. It should be what we ultimately pursue. The times and race finishes will follow.

“There’s only one way to succeed in anything, and that’s to give it everything” - Vince Lombardi

How bad do you really want it? Are you willing to sacrifice and push the envelope in order to achieve greatness? How bad do you really want to qualify for Boston? How bad do you want to break 3:00? 2:40? 2:30? 2:20?

These are the types of questions I regularly ask myself, and challenge the readers of this blog (all three of you) to ask themselves as well. The legacy of your running and the stories you accumulate will last longer than the pain of any workout or the sugary taste of those Friday donuts. For myself, I have decided that it is worth sacrificing most of my non-family free time to run, stretch, do core drills, and get extra sleep. It is worth watching my diet and eating healthy. The yard looks like trash, but I am fit. Socializing can be done while running. Beer is good, but Olympic Trials is better. Sleeping in on Saturday is nice, but reaching for my maximum potential is done while awake.

It’s difficult to stay inspired and motivated during hard training cycles. I personally struggle with the “little things”, so need some motivation along the way. Hopefully these quotes will inspire you as they’ve inspired me. No more brurgers until I qualify. Happy training!

Vegetarians may want to look away…

Today I’m here to describe the wonders of the “Brurger”. What is a brurger, you ask? A brurger, also known as the “hambur-brat”, is a fascinating mix of wonder-meats. The core unit consists of a hamburger patty, cheese, and a Johnsonville bratwurst, all tucked into a standard hamburger bun. The bratwurst is first cut in half, and then split along its longitudinal axis before mounted on its greasy beefy base.

However there are a plethora of variations and enhancements can can be performed to the standard brurger. One nuance is simply additional condiments. We have tried salsa (Tex-Mex Brurger) and blue cheese dressing (Fatty-fat Brurger), all with great success. Another novel idea is adding fry sauce (Utah Brurger). *Note* for those who don’t know, “fry sauce” is a mixture of ketchup and mayo, and is generally only found in Utah for some reason.

Furthermore, the standard brurger can be built upon by simply adding more meat, for instance bacon (Pig Brurger), a second bratwurst half (Br-Brurger), a second hamburger patty and a second bratwurst half (Double Br-Brurger), or a chicken breast (Noah’s Ark Brurger — give me two of every animal!). Most of these variations are experimental and not recommended for people who want to live past age 60.

The best brurger I’ve ever had was just last week, while camping with my wife and a friend in northern Washington. After my first “Standard Brurger”, I decided I wanted something more, and soon invented the “Br-Brurger”. The layers were: bun, bratwurst, cheese, patty, cheese, bratwurst, bun. Although it dripped the largest amount of grease I’ve ever seen, it ended up being about the best thing I’ve ever eaten.

So what does this have to do with running, you ask? After all, this is running blog. Well, the brurger’s history roots deeply into the realms of running. The original brurger was invented by myself and several friends after the 2004 Canyonlands Half Marathon. After working ourselves over in this early-season half marathon, we all decided that we deserved something “special”, something that would replenish our depleted calories and fat stores. Being a Wisconsin native it seemed logical to me that bratwurst should be involved. One thing led to another, and after some group collaboration the first brurger was born in the campground at Arches National Park.

The brurger soon become a traditional post-race meal. The deal is that you have to “earn” it. Usually a half marathon is sufficient, although special exceptions are allowed as well, such as long journeys and reunions with friends.

While in training, I keep my diet pretty tight: a lot of vegetarian cuisine, lean poultry, and fish. However, at times I feel it appropriate to let loose and celebrate, whether it’s finishing a tough race or enjoying the companionship of friends. For me, the brurger symbolizes the balancing of rigid training with celebration. Eating healthy is definitely beneficial for running…but something you just gotta unbuckle the belt and enjoy!

And while I’m off-topic, go Packers!

I have lost count of the total number of road, track, and cross country races I have participated in since I began running at age 12. My best estimate is somewhere between 250-300 races. However, my total number of trail races is a bit easier to tally: zero. Yes, although I frequently do training runs on dirt single-track, I have to admit that I was still a trail race virgin at age 28.

That changed a few weeks ago when I completed the inaugural Logan Peak Run, a trail marathon in the local Bear River Range outside of my town in northern Utah. I convinced my training buddy Cody to sign up for the race with me, and our plan was to run together the whole way and simply finish (while hopefully having some fun in the process)…

Read the full article at TrailFit!

Al Gore was right. Along with the unfortunate polar icecaps, we are experiencing relentless heat up here in the usually cool realms of the northern Utah. Although our temps normally dip down to the 50’s at night, I’ve been waking up (in a pool of my sweat) to upper 70s. This is bad. Did I mention I get up at 6AM? Did I also mention I usually do a second run at 6PM? Here’s an inconvenient truth: running in 95+ degree temperatures sucks! (And so does living in an house without air conditioning…).

I usually prefer to do high mileage (80-100 miles/week) during the summer because:

1. I have more time to run during the summer
2. There is more daylight to train in during the summer
3. There are more races, and therefore more incentive to train, during the summer.

Last summer was beautiful. No 100-degree days that I can recall. However, I was laid up with about 17 different injuries and didn’t run a step from May through August. What a waste.

This summer is a different story. I’m healthy and motivated to hit those two-a-days and those 100 mile weeks, but the weather is turning into an inhibitor. An inhibitor that I’ve been ignoring.

Despite the intense sun and soaring temperatures, I’m still hitting my mileage, still getting in all those evening doubles, and still booking those Big Workouts…perhaps against my best interests. Dehydration is surely a factor, and a dangerous one at that. Fatigue and lethargy are also in the mix to bring me down. Perhaps I should bag it during the summer and do my high mileage during the winter and early spring.

But nay, I say we press on.

High mileage is doable in the heat, and so is high performance amidst all that volume. Here are my keys to achieving high mileage during the height of summer:

• Drink water like mad. Yes, dehydration is an issue while training in the heat, but fortunately there’s a cure: water. I keep a water bottle next to me a work all day and will go through it a couple times before I clock out. This helps me recover from my morning run and preps me for my evening run.
• Gin and tonic, hold the gin. I’ve been avoiding alcohol like the plague lately. The funny thing is that it doesn’t even sound good. Whenever I think I may want a beer or other “adult beverage”, I just think about my morning run approaching in 10 hours or so, and any urge disappears. I can’t afford the performance hit of a diuretic, not in this kind of heat.
• Nap so much it embarrasses your dog. As if logging 80-100 miles/week isn’t tiring enough, the heat completely removes any remaining energy and ambition. Combat this with a solid 8-9 hours of sleep at night, plus naps whenever you get the chance. Last Saturday, I managed to take two separate naps within a span of 4 hours, a new PR. I think increased sleep is key (in tandem with increased hydration) to maintain high performance during a stressful time.
• Never miss a morning run. The earlier the better. Better to get up at the crack of dawn and take a nap later than to miss your window of heat-free running. For double-days, make the morning run twice as long as the afternoon/evening run.

High mileage during the thick of July is quite doable with a bit of discipline. Keep hitting that water bottle and remember that autumn is right around the corner!

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to run for an NCAA cross country powerhouse? Have you ever wanted an inside look into the minds and workouts of a D-I national contender? “Running with the Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University of Colorado Men’s Cross-Country Team“, by Chris Lear, brings all of those perspectives, and much much more…

Read the full article at The Final Sprint! 

Once you’ve been bitten by the “relay bug”, it’s hard to keep away from team running events. My first overnight relay experience was the Wasatch Back Relay (Utah) in 2005, and I had a fantastic time. Since then, I’ve gone on to run the Wasatch Back two more times, and also the Wild West Relay (Colorado) and Relay Del Sol (Arizona).The Wasatch Back is a particular favorite of mine; the fact that it starts in my “back yard” and traces its way through some of the most beautiful areas in Utah keeps me coming back again and again. For the 2007 race on June 22-23, I rounded up my MarathonGIS.com team again, fresh off of our 2nd place finish at Relay Del Sol this past March. Our goal for Wasatch Back: Top 3 and a finish time under 18 hours.

Read the full article at TrailFit!