Perspective

Anneke: March

2012-03-02T08:00:00.035-05:00

**Note: This blog is the second in “Anneke,” a year-long series chronicling everyday woman Anneke Riley’s return to running and holding her accountable for getting back out there—at her request. This series runs from 1/2/12-12/31/12 with posts at the beginning of each month and an end of year wrap up. View the other series posts HERE.**

BY: ANNEKE RILEY

February Goal: Workout 4 days per week, at least 2 of them running
Result: Better!

My running wasn’t plentiful in February, but two of my sessions were in California while on business. This is a big win for me. I used to take my running gear with me on trips but not actually run. Eventually I stopped taking the stuff, which allowed me to convince myself I WOULD have run if ONLY I had just brought my stuff! This trip I brought my gear again and I took the opportunity to run at Jordan winery in Sonoma and through downtown Napa.

Jordan Winery

Sonoma is beautiful, with rolling vineyards, stretches of farmland and little stores and shops that are quaint but gourmet. The weather was just perfect—slightly cool, no wind, bright blue skies. I stayed at Jordan winery overnight, and it’s a straight up French Chateau from a picture book, ivy and all. My second floor suite overlooked vineyards and gardens, which are very green in the winter (the grasses turn brown in the summer). The night I stayed there we had a five course dinner prepared by the Chef. Rob Davis, the winemaker since 1976, sat next to me and shared some good running paths around the property. I know he gave me good directions, but the really good wine he made may have muddled it in my brain a little. The warning he gave me, however, found its way through the haze of the after-dinner Pappy Van Winkle 23 year bourbon: “watch out for the mountain lions.” The next morning, I started to wake up around 6am, peering through the curtains every fifteen minutes to see if it was light enough to avoid the nocturnal creatures. I looked it up—mountain lions can run at a speed of 40 mph. I cannot.

At 7:15 I decided they were asleep, so I could get up. I got dressed and headed outside. What did Rob say about that great path…? Instead of pondering for too long and miss some running time (I had a meeting at the winery soon), I headed out down the hill towards the main road. When I got back up the hill I remembered the path and ran to it, intending to frolic through the bright vineyards, the vines still unpruned and wild. Gate closed. Okay, so maybe Rob didn’t realize that his path was not for common folk, or that nobody gave me the key. I ran back up the path entrance to the winery, deciding to run around it for a while. So my Sonoma run consisted of a few hills, no mountain lions, and running circles around a building. But you’re still jealous, aren’t ya? I’d do it again.

Bustling Napa Valley is not rolling and pastoral like Sonoma. It’s gorgeous in its own right, with a valley floor filled with a checkerboard of vineyards and tourists and restaurants. The mountains that rise sharply to either side hold some of the most dramatic views anywhere. You can even see San Francisco on a clear day! Did I run through these mountains? Did I weave through side streets, join the vines and birds in song? No I did not. I began my morning run from our hotel in the city of Napa, making my way to Main Street. And though it was not “scenic”, it still felt different, and it was beautiful.

Downtown Napa at sunrise

There is something special about running in another town, and on another coast. The Victorian homes are fantastic, painted in colors that would get me kicked out of my HOA neighborhood. There are new storefronts, seemingly interesting people passing through their regular lives. The air you breathe is coastal and fresh. And as the sun came up over downtown Napa, I stopped on a bridge and was very, very thankful that I had packed my gear this time.

My name is Anneke Riley, I’m still 38 years old, and I run just to...take it all in.

March Goal: Workout 5 days per week, getting to a comfortable 5 mile run, while avoiding mountain lions.

ANNEKE RILEY is a mother of two, a wife of one, and a Brand Manager for In Vie, a statewide distributor of fine wines. She began running in the spring of 2008 because it fit into her hectic schedule, and ran the inaugural Indy Monumental Full Marathon that fall. Since then, Anneke has been an on-again/off-again runner, and hopes to be on again for good in 2012. She enjoys filling her time with family, work, photography, travel, cooking, and running!

After the Disney Princess Half Marathon

2012-02-29T08:00:00.028-05:00

This is the "After" post in Claire Mickey's "Before and After" series on the Disney Princess Half Marathon. View the "Before" post HERE.

BY: CLAIRE MICKEY

The Princess Half Marathon was a blast, which I am happy to be able to say since I did not meet my goal of running the whole time. I think that what made it so much fun was having good friends to share the experience with. Initially, I talked each person into running the half marathon, but by the end of the race everyone was smiling and planning their next half marathon race. To say the least, all of the princesses I traveled with had amazing runs.

First, I would like to say that I felt very prepared for this race and well-trained. We had our cheerleaders—my husband and my sister’s boyfriend—as well as many of the Disney characters and staff. It's always good to hear someone calling your name from the sideline. This run was much like the one I outlined in my pre-race blog. I had a really rough time between miles 4 and 8. At one point I was just thinking “left…left…left…left” to keep going. At mile 8 I could not run any more because of my knee, but I knew that I had trained well and I was ready to keep going mentally and physically. I couldn’t stop. At mile 9 there was a medic who gave me Tylenol and wrapped a bag of ice on my knee. After that point I would occasionally try to run, but it just hurt too much. I “power-walked” from miles 8 to 12.5 and then hobbled to the finish.

If this had been any other race, I would be very disappointed with this outcome. But, this race was not about getting a particular time. This race, for me, was more about enjoying being a princess for a day and sharing the experience with my mom, sister and friends. My mom finished 52/517 in her age group with a time of 2:20. My sister, who just started running in September, finished in 2:56. And, both of my friends finished faster than they thought they would. I was so proud of the rest of my group that it didn’t matter how I did. I will, however, be running another half to redeem myself and run for a better time.

All in all, this was one of the best race-cations I could have asked for. I can’t wait for my next run with this group of princesses. Oh, and Mickey and Minnie were at the finish line for high fives.

My name is Claire Mickey, I'm 27 years old, and I run to...be a princess for a day.

CLAIRE MICKEY is a kindergarten teacher at Christel House Academy in Indianapolis, Indiana. She grew up in Baltimore, Maryland before moving to the Windy City and eventually to Indiana University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. She enjoys running with her husband, Evan, and their two pup-kids, Camden and Ellie. Aside from running and spending time with her family, she enjoys entertaining, volunteering in the community, and catching free movies at the Wittenberg Auditorium.

Born to Run...

2012-02-27T08:00:00.047-05:00

BY: WENDY MILLER

I know that that phrase, at least to runners and/or Bruce Springsteen fans, is incredibly familiar and maybe even a little trite. It is, however, the phrase which best sums up my running. It doesn’t mean that I’m fast or talented, it just means I was made to do it.

But I haven’t always known that. In fact, I was blithely unaware of it until the spring of 2008. Despite having grown up around runners—my dad and brothers—running, on purpose, seemed like a really bad idea to me. I didn’t want to run, and I didn’t know anything about running, other than that runners I knew or had met always appeared particularly zealous about their sport.

None of that is to say that I didn’t keep fit. I did, and I did it with step aerobics. I did them every day. They made me sweat and burned a lot of calories, so I wasn’t concerned with how undoubtedly silly they made me look. The trouble was, I kept hurting my back—so badly that I would be unable to stand upright or walk for days—while doing aerobics. Something about the twisting motion, the doctor had told me. I tried strengthening my core, but it didn’t make a difference. My back went out every six weeks like clockwork.

So I joined a gym so that I could use their elliptical machine instead of doing aerobics. This was a no-frills gym, and mainly designed for heavy weight lifters. I don’t think the elliptical (yes, there was just one) got serviced much, because it only worked about half the time. This meant I had to ride the stationary bicycle, and I found that to be mind-numbing. So, one day, for no particular reason, after I’d been grinding away on the bike for about half an hour, the dusty treadmill in the corner began to call my name.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t quite that romantic, but I somehow ended up on the treadmill, telling myself I was going to run for 5 minutes straight. Yes, that seemed like a big deal to me. So I turned on the machine, and immediately set it to an 8 minute pace. I did this because, despite all attempts to ignore all that was running, I had often heard my dad talk about doing an easy run at 8 minute pace—and I wanted something easy.

It wasn’t easy. It was horrible! I couldn’t breathe, and my legs and lungs burned. I was sure I was going to shoot right off the back of the thing. But I didn’t, and I ran the entire 5 minutes. The next day, I did 6 minutes. And, within a week, I was up to 10 whole minutes of 8 minute pace running. I didn’t like it—it was really hard and uncomfortable—but it had become some sort of quest or game to me. How far could I actually go?

Now, here’s the part where I have to tell you that the way in which I started running was, in most ways, very stupid. I ramped up my mileage way too quickly, and I got really hurt way too quickly. So I caution against you trying what I am about to explain that I did, but it is indeed my story. Within three weeks of the first treadmill run, I was running 40 miles a week—on that same treadmill. I had a goal of adding 10 miles a week (seriously…stupid), and was up to 50 before I knew it. 100% of it on the treadmill, and 100% of it at 8 minute pace.

Ice bathing

Now, the runners around me, mainly my dad, had begun to notice all this running I was doing. He had two questions: 1. Why don’t you run outside? and 2. Why don’t you run a race? I honestly hadn’t considered either. I didn’t even know if it was humanly possible for me to run without a treadmill beneath me. As for a race? I hadn’t even thought of it. I was running, remember, because I had hurt my back doing aerobics. I continued my treadmill habit for a few more weeks when I did, finally, get really bored. The longest I had run on it was 8 miles, and I was itching to do 10. But I didn’t know if I could do it on the ‘mill.

Running friends and family

So I did it outside, and it is still one of my most memorable runs to date. The first time I ran outside, and in the double digits, was on Father’s Day of 2008. As a gift to my avid runner of a dad, we all—all four of his kids—went on a run with him. My older brother, Wes, and I went an entire 10 miles with dad. Now, this was nothing for them. But to me? 10 miles was insane! And I did it!

I can look back now and say that that was the day my true love of running began. And, shortly thereafter, I began racing. I’ll never forget my first road race—it was the Limestone 5K in Bedford, which started literally minutes from my house (prior to my first time running it, I never even knew it existed). I ran a 20:23—good enough for third female overall. I had no idea what the time meant, but I knew that racing was very painful, and that I loved it.

I went really crazy and raced pretty much every weekend that summer. I did insane speed workouts, and I got my mileage up to around 75 miles per week (Just a reminder, I had been running only about three months before I started all this. Very. Stupid.). I kept getting faster, and by late September, I was winning 5K races and running in the low 19s. I decided I wanted to break 19 minutes, and so I signed up for the Persimmon Festival 5K, which takes place in Mitchell every late September. I was fit, but I was also on the verge of breakdown.

I won that race with a 19:06, and was disappointed about not breaking 19. A week later, the onslaught of injuries began. First was plantar fasciitis, which ultimately ruptured. Then was bilateral (severe) compartment syndrome, which required surgery. After that, it was a horrible groin strain that knocked me out of running my first marathon. I was really depressed and discouraged.

Half marathon 6 months pregnant

Then, I had a baby. I ran throughout my pregnancy, and have remained (knock on wood!) uninjured since then. I did have a problem with some mysterious abdominal pain (which you can read about at my blog HERE), but the last 18 months of running have been the best of my running “career.”

I have done two marathons, my first one which was glorious and earned me my PR which still stands (3:18), and one in which I thought I was going to PR by 10 minutes but ended up doing a death march (Chicago 2011). I don’t race short races much anymore, but I like to do an occasional half marathon. I have found that my personality and unabashed love of high mileage running actually fits better with ultra running.

Finishing my first marathon

I am running my first ultra marathon, a 60K, in only two weeks. I cannot describe the feeling of running freely around in the woods for 5+ hours. The only way to know what it’s like is to try it. But when I’m out there, it’s more than clear to me—I was born to run.

Wendy's daughter

I am married to a runner. All of my friends are runners. My daughter is a runner and I’m sure my not-quite-2-year-old will be as well. I’m constantly trying to convert non-runners into runners. Running has changed my life and, through a divine turn of events has, in fact, saved it.

You may not know it currently, but it’s possible that you were born to run as well.

My name is Wendy Miller, I’m 29 years old, and I run to…glorify God with each and every step.

WENDY MILLER was born and raised in Bedford, Indiana, and continues to live there with her husband, Tim, and two children Amelia and Rowan, where she is blessed to have a wonderful and supportive running community. She is an assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Nursing. Apart from running, she enjoys sleeping, eating, and, most of all, helping new runners get started in the sport. She is a Christian and thankful and dependent on God for all of her many blessings.

Before the Disney Princess Half Marathon

2012-02-24T08:00:00.044-05:00

BY: CLAIRE MICKEY

I am running the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Sunday, February 26 in Disney World, Florida. This is a race that the minute I heard about it I wanted to do. I have only run one other half marathon and I said I would NEVER run another. But, in all seriousness what girl wouldn’t want to run at Disney World in the PRINCESS half marathon?! You start at Epcot, run to the Magic Kingdom and back, and you get to be a princess for a day.

As a race designed for women, I knew that I wanted to get a great group of ladies to run with me. I recruited my mom, my older sister, and two of my friends from high school. Throughout our training we have been talking, texting and e-mailing to hold each other accountable for running (none of us live near each other). At this point we have all had our setbacks whether it is an injury, travel for work, or just generally finding the training time.

My most recent struggle during the training process happened during my last and most recent long run—eight days before my race. I was supposed to do a long slow 10 mile run but then my knee started hurting. I made it the first four miles with essentially no pain at all. Then around mile four my left knee started hurting. Of course I kept going at this point because I wanted to complete the distance and the run. However, at mile five I stopped briefly because I was actually running with my mom and she needed to stop for her own recent injury. This is when the pain really started. When we first got going again it only hurt a little bit, just as before. Then maybe after five minutes or so the forward motion was the most painful so I slowed down my pace. Then the back motion was killing me. Finally, the only thing that didn’t hurt was to keep my leg straight. My mom finished her run and drove back to get me where I had stopped at mile seven—I was still standing right where she left me.

Evan and I after he completed the Flying Pig Marathon

Up until that Saturday run, I had been doing really well. My husband, Evan, has been helping me as both my coach and running partner, which really made it easy to get in my training runs; he kept me on track in terms of pace and with how far I should be going. I know that without Evan’s help I would not be as ready as I am today.

The ladies I am running with have all checked in with their final long runs and they are feeling ready for Florida. At this point my goal is to have fun at this race. I am not trying to set a PR, I just want to run the whole thing and enjoy the wonderful friends and family that have joined me on this amazing journey. Oh, and I guess I might say “Hi” to Mickey Mouse along the way. :-)

My name is Claire Mickey, I'm 27 years old, and I run to...enjoy my family and friends.

This is the "Before" post in Claire Mickey's "Before and After" series on the Disney Princess Half Marathon. View the "After" post HERE (to come).

CLAIRE MICKEY is a kindergarten teacher at Christel House Academy in Indianapolis, Indiana. She grew up in Baltimore, Maryland before moving to the Windy City and eventually to Indiana University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. She enjoys running with her husband, Evan, and their two pup-kids, Camden and Ellie. Aside from running and spending time with her family, she enjoys entertaining, volunteering in the community, and catching free movies at the Wittenberg Auditorium.

After Myrtle Beach: Goals vs. Capabilities

2012-02-22T09:18:00.000-05:00

This is the "After" post in Carman Judd's "Before and After" series on the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon. View the "Before" post HERE.

BY: CARMAN JUDD

First, I’d like to start with something I left out of my “Before” post. My training program.

I used the Coach Program on the Nike Plus website. I use the Nike+gps on my phone to track my miles, so I just used their coaching program. It was twelve weeks, and I wasn’t that dedicated. Each week, there was one workout run, one easy run with strength after, and one long run. I missed one long run and several workouts. Regardless, I felt pretty well prepared.

A few weeks before the half, I picked up one of Oscar’s books, “Racing Weight” by Matt Fitzgerald. I just wanted some recipes and meal plan ideas, but I read or skimmed everything else. It really spotlighted how loosely I’d followed my plan, so for the Indy Mini in May I want to notch it up and really focus on my diet and workouts.

FINISHING THE RACE

No cliff hangers here. I made my goal. Barely. I don’t want to say I’m disappointed because there doesn’t seem to be such a thing in the running community. But I am. I could have done better.

Let’s move on to a little summary. This is a really straight course. Almost no rise and fall, relatively few turns. It goes through some mildly depressed areas. I almost don’t remember the run itself.

Click to enlarge

Around mile 2, we went through what could be considered a proper downtown Myrtle Beach. I wish there were more going on there for the city’s sake. Between miles four and five, we passed the airport. A plane went overhead as we went by. I put my arms out like wings for a moment and got a little surge. The run through Market Common was nice. Short streets, turns, a dancing goose whose realness I’m still unsure of. Was it a hallucination, a robot, or real?

All through this, I didn’t feel slow. I started by following the 2:15 pacer. He started out too fast. And at the beginning? Therefore, I started out too fast, but lost him almost immediately and slowed down after two miles. I didn’t feel that slow then, but I was. I couldn’t tell, and I couldn’t speed up. I tried. So I held onto what pace I could. I would be okay unless the 2:30 pacer passed me.

Besides the airplane and the dancing goose, this race was uneventful until the last 5K. I was steady with little pain. I lost two seconds on my average every mile. I was okay.

My friend Rebecca was at mile nine. She ran screaming at (cheering for) me for 100 meters or so. That bolstered me until the 10 mile water station. After that, it’s all downhill and not in the good way. My hip and knee started hurting. I started walking a little. By the time Oscar caught up to me (he always comes back for me), I was over it. The 2:30 pacer had passed me, which zapped most of the motivation I had left.

The last 100-200 meters were great though. Strangers were yelling my name. My mom was there, which meant more than I expected. One cheerer told me to catch the small clump of people in front of me, so I did. I got one last sprint out, thankfully. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met my goal.

There is a next time. I’ve already signed up for the Indy Mini. My rest ends tomorrow and I’ll spend the week planning my training. I’ll pull from the BARA plan and the Nike plan I used last time. I’m making a better meal plan, pulling from “Running Weight” and various magazines.

Though I don’t have a concrete goal yet, I will do better than 2:30 next time.

My name is Carman Judd, I’m 28 years old, and I run to...well, because I’m kind of disappointed at the moment.

NOTE: We hope Carman will do another before and after piece for us on the Indy Mini in May. What do you say?!

CARMAN JUDD is one of the many not-a-runner runners. How long can you deny it? She lives with her husband Oscar and two cats, Euler and Wedgie. They moved to Bloomington from South Carolina in June 2007. Carman graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BFA in graphic design. She uses her skills at a local print shop. She started running in 2009 as a way to lose weight and also found she was less anxious when she was running regularly. Then, Oscar got her to a few 5Ks and she hasn’t stopped since. Besides running, she enjoys printmaking and “Downton Abbey.”

History and a bit of Nostalgia

2012-02-20T08:00:00.031-05:00

BY: LANCE DAUGHERTY

I grew up in the small southern Indiana town of Paoli in the 1950s. It seemed to be a much simpler time free from most of today’s distractions. As a kid our family’s primary form of evening entertainment, as with many families, centered on the radio. In my mind’s eye, I can still see our tabletop Philco’s faint glow illuminating the darkened living room. We listened to comedy shows such as Henry Aldrich and The Great Gildersleeve, westerns like the Hopalong Cassidy and The Lone Ranger, and mysteries such as The Chameleon, Mr. Keen - Tracer of Lost Persons, and The Shadow. Ah, yes, “The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the minds of men”. It was during this nostalgic reverie I also began to think about running.

As a grade schooler in southern Indiana during the early 1950’s, I had yet to “discover” running. However, running had found me and nearly every other kid. As I recall, most every game we played involved running. We ran during red rover, tag, hide-and-seek, kick ball, and soft ball, plus we were always racing each other. During recess and lunch hour, the playground was alive with running children. There were no fat kids. It seemed everyone laughed, and played, and RAN. Running was as natural as breathing, and it was great fun. During the summer months, when not in school, my friends and I ran during games of cowboys and Indians and ran most every place we went. Much of the time we ran barefoot. One time my Dad asked me, why I ran everywhere I went. My answer was really quite simple, “It gets me where I want to go faster.” It was Emil Zatopek who said, "Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to run slow. I want to learn to run fast." At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, the great Czech runner won gold medals in the 5,000, 10,000, and marathon—all within an 8-day period.

EMIL ZATOPEK

In junior-high school I recall reading a story in our literature book about a 6-year old Kansas boy and his older brother. As was customary, they had arrived at their one room school early one winter’s morning. They were there to start a fire in the wood stove to warm the school before others arrived. Long-story-short, the school accidentally caught fire, and while the 6-year old was severely burned, his brother died as a result of the fire. The one who lived, Glenn Cunningham, graduated from the University of Kansas, and though his legs were terribly scarred he eventually became the world record holder for the mile. For some odd reason, he became a hero of mine. Sometime later I found and kept his picture as a reminder of his courage and determination. His story has always been an inspiration.

GLENN CUNNINGHAM

As a high school freshman in 1959, I went out for the track team. To my surprise I was cut and didn’t make the team. At a small school such as ours, I thought everyone made the track team! What were the qualifications other than being able to run? My running career could have ended there with that disappointment but it didn’t. The following fall I decided to try out for the cross country team. I really had no idea whether I could run distance or not, but I did make the team. We runners didn’t know anything about the science of running and neither did our coach. We were told not to drink water as it would make us sick. As I recall, our training consisted of running 5-8 miles during practice. Most races were about 2 miles long. Two miles seemed forever when you were running as fast as you could. I vividly remember the cross country shoes that we wore. They were made of black canvas and had tan gum rubber soles similar to those on L.L Bean hunting boots. There was no shock absorbing EVA as in today’s running shoes.

It was during the early 60’s that running and I parted company. I wouldn’t reconnect with it for 25 years. It was also during the early 60’s that University of Oregon track coach, Bill Bowerman, introduced the idea of jogging to folks at Hayward Field in Eugene, OR. He had borrowed the concept after visiting with the great New Zealand running coach, Arthur Lydiard. Coach Lydiard had begun the Auckland Jogging Club in 1962. However, it is widely held that the real jogging boom didn’t hit until after Frank Shorter won the Olympic marathon in Munich, Germany in 1972. The jogging boom didn’t catch me for another 17 years. In 1989, with some urging from my friend Jim, I rediscovered the fun of running. I’ve been running ever since and am still having fun.

ARTHUR LYDIARD

My name is Lance Daugherty, I'm 67 years old, and I run to...have fun.

LANCE DAUGHERTY is one of Perspective's regular columnists. He retired in 2007 after working nearly 38 years in various aspects of Quality Assurance in the food industry. He lives near Mooresville, IN and has been running for 22 years (not including high school and college). Lance has run nearly 550 races including 16 marathons (running the Boston Marathon twice). He won the Magnificent 7 Road Race Series 60-69 AG championship in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 and is a volunteer for the series, tracking series points. Lance enjoys reading, fishing, hiking, bird watching, and yard work.

Top 5 Reasons to Run the Napa to Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon

2012-02-17T08:00:00.086-05:00

**Note: This is the third piece in our Top 5 Reasons series, featuring posts on the top 5 reasons to run (or not run) a particular race.**

Karl (white tank) and me (yellow tank) walking to the
starting line of the 2010 Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon.
It’s tough to find a more beautiful race course!

BY: ANDREA EAGLEMAN

One thing you need to know about me right up front is that I love wine. I’m a member of four wineries in Napa and Sonoma, and I have a wine collection that makes a lot of people’s jaws drop open. Once upon a time, my husband Karl and I lived in the Bay Area of California – a perfect location for any wine enthusiast. We took regular day trips up to Napa and Sonoma at least once a month, and when people ask what I miss about living there, “The wineries” is my standard response.

I first heard about the Napa to Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon in 2009 when Karl and I moved back to Indiana from the Bay Area and I was looking for a reason to go back to California for a visit. I couldn’t think of a better reason than running a race right in the middle of one of my favorite places on Earth. So we both registered for the race sometime around October of 2009 and flew back to the Bay in July 2010 for the race. We were able to squeeze in a little vacation time, visiting with some of my former Saint Mary’s College students, spending a few nights in Monterey, driving up Highway 1 through Big Sur, visiting wineries in the Carmel Valley, then finally ending the vacation with the race and a few extra nights in Sonoma to visit the wineries there. The entire vacation was wonderful (you can read my review of it here) and Karl and I loved the race so much that we decided to go back in 2011 for a second round.

Standing along Highway 1 and the Pacific coast
on our first trip to the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon.

We talked up the race so much that my mom, her husband Mike, and our friends Justin and Claire all decided to go in 2011 as well! Karl was supposed to run the race, but he ended up having knee surgery just a few weeks before, so he was resigned to cheering on the sidelines. My mom, Claire, and I all ran the race and the men cheered us on. Once again, we managed to turn the trip into a little vacation, but this time we spent a night in Berkeley and then spent the rest of our time in Sonoma. Here’s my race report and comprehensive trip review if you’re interested.

Our whole crew at a great restaurant in Sonoma
during our second year attending the race.

Now that I’ve given a lot of back-story on my personal experience with this race, I present you with the top five reasons that you should run it. A few disclaimers before I begin: 1) some of these reasons are mostly applicable to runners who live in South-Central Indiana or regions of the U.S. with a similar climate and terrain. 2) If you don’t like wine at all, it’s still a beautiful area of the country to visit, but keep in mind that wine is a big part of why this race is so great!

Here are my top five, in no particular order:

1) The weather.

Don’t let our attire fool you…
we were freezing before the race started!

As I mentioned before, this race takes place in July. If you live in Central Indiana like I do, you know that this is one of the hottest, most humid times of the year. For me, running in the heat and humidity is like some form of cruel and unusual punishment. I despise summer running. Thankfully, the weather in Napa in mid-July is almost completely opposite of the weather in Indiana. Both years I ran this race, the temperature was no warmer than 55 degrees at the start line and it never got hotter than probably 65 degrees during the race. After training in the sweltering Indiana heat, this is a nice break and can definitely present PR-worthy conditions. I ran a then-PR at this race in 2010, and was about a minute slower in 2011. Please note that the temperatures can reach up to the 90s in Napa and Sonoma later in the day (though they’re not nearly as humid as Indiana), but the mornings are glorious!

2) The course.

Gorgeous views along the course.

Once again, if you train in or near Bloomington, IN, you have an advantage in this race. Kristin Armstrong once wrote about Napa to Sonoma in a Runner’s World article, and said the course was “hilly”, then later described the “rolling hills”. Apparently Kristin doesn’t train in a place like Bloomington, IN. The first year Karl and I ran it we were so surprised at how tame the hills were compared to what we train on day in and day out. We seemed to fly past people on the uphills, and to be honest it was not a course I would really describe as “hilly”. I’d call it “gently rolling” instead. Aside from the hills (or lack thereof), the scenery along the course is hard to beat. You run from Cuvaison Carneros Winery in Napa to the town square in Sonoma, passing by hundreds of gorgeous vineyards growing some of the world’s best wine grapes along the way. There aren’t a lot of spectators on the course since the roads are closed to traffic and therefore it’s difficult for spectators to drive to various spots on the course, so if you absolutely require a lot of crowd support in your races, you won’t find that here. There are pockets of crowds here and there, though, and plenty of water stops.

3) The size.

Runners at the beginning of the race.
This is as congested as it ever gets along the race course.

Napa to Sonoma registration closes very quickly each year due to the fact that the race organizers only allow 3,000 entrants. This is definitely a good move on their part. The race is never too crowded to the point where a runner feels boxed in or claustrophobic because of the other runners around. Both times I ran it there were still a few people around me, but never a huge pack, which was nice. The downside is that race registration closes very quickly. The 2012 race is already sold-out, so if you are thinking about running this in the future, your best bet is to register for 2013. You can sign up for “The Grapevine Newsletter” here to receive updates on the race and registration open dates. The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s “Team Challenge” is the race’s official national charity and training partner, so some runners are able to bypass regular registration by raising money for Team Challenge and registering that way.

4) The post-race wine festival.

Claire, me, Justin, my mom, and Karl
enjoying the post-race wine festival.

As soon as you cross the finish line, a huge wine festival is waiting in the Sonoma Plaza. Every runner receives a complimentary wine glass with the race logo, and over 20 different wineries have booths set up throughout the plaza for sampling. While wine tasting at 9:00 a.m. might not be the most appealing thing to some people (myself included), when you finish the race and feel the joyous party atmosphere that lingers in the air, it just feels right. Both years that I ran the race, I had enough time to go back to the hotel room to put on sandals, grab my phone, and get a quick snack to eat before partaking in the wine festivities. While the lines to each wine booth become longer and longer as more people finish the race, people are always kind and courteous while waiting for their next pour. We all just finished running 13.1 miles through wine country…who could be rude at a time like that? You can also purchase a wine glass for your spouse/significant other so that they can also enjoy the wine festival if they don’t run the race.

My race t-shirt, wine glass, bib number and
finisher’s medal from the 2011 race.

Other fun aspects of the post-race wine festival include a live band, Clif Bar sample stations (Clif also owns a winery in Napa, which I highly recommend visiting), and very cool medals – nothing cheap or cheesy here! Last year’s medal actually had a wine stopper mounted on the end of it!

5) Location, location, location.

One of many gorgeous views from Napa Valley.

As I said in my introduction, both times I’ve run this race we turned it into a bit of a vacation. The Bay Area is a wonderful vacation spot whether you enjoy wine or not. San Francisco is only about an hour away, which clearly includes a plethora of leisure options ranging from shopping, to doing the touristy thing at Fisherman’s Wharf or Chinatown, to art museums, to catching a Giants or A’s baseball game, to just wandering around the city’s steep streets for hours at a time. Additionally, the gorgeous campus of Cal-Berkeley is only an hour from wine country and a short train ride from SF, San Jose is about two hours, Monterey and Carmel are a few hours away, and of course there is more to do in Napa and Sonoma than just drinking wine. The cuisine is first-rate, there are tons of hiking/biking/running trails, golf courses, spas, shopping options, and it’s also just a great place to relax.

View of San Francisco from across the bay in Berkeley.

If you have any questions about this race, feel free to include questions in the comments section of this post! Also, if you decide to plan a trip to the Bay Area to run this great race, check out my Napa Valley Winery Guide and Sonoma Winery Guide, which I wrote based on my experiences at the wineries in both areas. I am always happy to answer questions about the Bay Area, so please don’t be shy!

Finishing the 2011 Napa to Sonoma
Half Marathon. Bring on the wine!

My name is Andrea Eagleman, I’m 31 years old, and I run to burn the calories consumed with all that wine!

ANDREA EAGLEMAN is one of Perspective's regular columnists. She is Assistant Professor of Sport Management at IUPUI and conducts research on media portrayals of athletes. She lives in Bloomington, IN and has been running for 17 years. Andrea re-entered the world of racing three years ago and enjoys various distances from the 5K to the marathon, running the Boston Marathon in 2011. Andrea won the Magnificent 7 Road Race Series Overall Female championship in 2009, 2010, and 2011. She enjoys traveling, blogging, reading, photography, and hanging out with her husband, Karl, and her cat, DC.

INKED: Making My Love of Running Permanent

2012-02-15T08:00:00.019-05:00

BY: COURTNEY PACKARD

When my husband and I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for our honeymoon in December of 2008, I wanted to cherish the experience of our first trip together and relish the feeling of being newlyweds forever. Even though I took lots of pictures, I wanted some kind of souvenir or memento to commemorate the experience (something other than my shiny, new husband). So I took to the resort’s gift shop and bought the only thing we could afford on our new shoe-string budget: a magnet. A measly, kind-of-ugly-when-you-really-look-at-it, magnet. But regardless, every time I wander over to our refrigerator for a glass of almond milk, I see our red, white and green Puerto Vallarta magnet and a smile spreads across my face. Not that I would ever forget that amazing trip with my darling spouse, but it’s still nice to be reminded of the memories when I’m least expecting it.

And running hasn’t been any different. In my “Things I Love Thursday: Running Edition” post, I mentioned that one of my favorite aspects of racing was the free t-shirt. In addition to be stingy and loving any and everything that’s free, I also love having a souvenir of the event that I can wear over and over again. Whenever I wear my “Race for Literacy” t-shirt from last June, I’m reminded of the fact that the race was so hot and hilly that I almost vomited (not all memories are good memories). And whenever I wear my 2011 Monumental Half Marathon t-shirt during a workout, I am instantly transported back to the overwhelming feelings of joy I experienced when I crossed the finish-line and completed my first sub-2 mini.

But with me, it’s go big or go home. Sometimes a nifty t-shirt and a racing medal just aren’t enough. Sometimes my runner’s high diminishes a bit too quickly. Sometimes my blackened toenails and sweaty socks aren’t the best reminders of the impact running has on my life.

I needed something more. I needed to commemorate my foray into the world of running the only way an adrenaline junkie like me would do it—big and dramatic.

That’s how I found myself sitting in a ratty black leather chair and shaking like a leaf while I watched a large gentleman with a goatee prep a tattoo needle.

This is my tattoo. The picture I took with my iPod Touch doesn’t do the ink justice, so for those of you who cannot decipher my “body art”, it’s a silhouette of a runner with the words “heb 12:1” next to it. I am a deeply spiritual person and I knew that if I ever made the decision to get something permanent stamped on my body, it had to hold significant meaning.

Hebrews 12:1 reads:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Do not enter the world of tattoos on a whim and never take a decision like this lightly or in the heat of the moment. My husband and I debated the idea of a tattoo for well over a year before I finally got up the courage to start looking for actual ideas and schedule an appointment. My rules for my tattoo required that it be small, placed in a not-so-obvious location, and that I do it for myself and for no one else.

The biggest thing that stopped me from getting a tattoo earlier was the fear that I would grow to hate the tattoo and feel nothing but regret any time that I looked down at it. But my experience thus far has been quite the opposite. Every time I glance at my tattoo I feel nothing but pride. Pride because I was brave enough to do something a lot of people are too afraid to do and pride because I threw my heart and soul into running and the payoff has been momentous. It’s a reminder of where I’ve been and where I’m going—not only in my racing career, but in my life’s journey.

My name is Courtney Packard, I'm 26 years old, and I run to...wherever my feet and my new tattoo take me.

COURTNEY PACKARD is one of Perspective's regular columnists. She is a publicist at Author Solutions in Bloomington, Indiana. Courtney graduated from Indiana University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and the dream of becoming a writer. Her running career officially began in the summer of 2010 when she got the bright idea of, “Hey, I want to run a half marathon!” Several races later, Courtney is addicted to the running lifestyle. When she’s not obsessively running at Clear Creek Trail, you can find her snuggled up with a good book, writing her blog, attempting to bake cookies, or hanging out with husband, Clayton, and their spunky beagle, Joey.

Surprise!

2012-02-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

BY: BELLA SMITH

I ran a PR last fall—and I peed my pants while doing so. Yes, really. The same thing I had been upset with my young daughter for doing just the day before. "You know better," I'd said. That wasn't the first time either—for either of us.

To those of you who haven't given birth, you can stop laughing now. And to those of you who have, that's right, you're not the only one this happens to. This is not an uncommon occurrence. Exercise-induced urinary incontinence is the official term, and while it can happen to anyone, it is most common among women who have given birth.

After this happened the first time, I decided to do some research (a.k.a. search the web—it's not like I was going to run around asking other runners if they peed their pants, too). I run pretty regularly, so I was a bit curious as to what the problem suddenly was. It seemed like every time I'd go all out in a race or during speedwork, I'd start leaking. It was never to the point where I was dripping puddles along the course or anything like that, but occasionally it would show. To anyone else's eyes, I looked like any other sweaty runner, even if it was all I could think of.

A number of muscles are involved in controlling urination and supporting the bladder. When they weaken, you have a harder time controlling the release of urine. Weakening of these muscles definitely happens while giving birth (hence the kegel exercises doctors send home with you), and strong physical actions can increase pressure on these muscles, leading to leakage.

I ran across this article which does a really good job of putting this all in perspective. I highly recommend reading it for some "real" answers. It turns out that 30-40% of women have problems with leaking during running. Something that comes up during martini night with the girls? Probably not. Applying those percentages to real life, that means that of the approximately 50 women running my race, 15-20 had trouble holding it. Really? We were all out there in diapers? No. Per the article:

...in the 2009 Pints to Pasta race, there were 1,239 female finishers. If 30%-40% of those women had exercise-induced urinary incontinence, that would mean that somewhere between 371 and 496 women felt uncomfortable due to urine leakage. However, the number was probably not that high, because “The main problem [with exercise-induced urinary incontinence] is that is often limits women from doing activities that they would otherwise participate in, because of the worry and inconvenience that the incontinence causes.” So, there were probably many women who wanted to run a race, or even just run with friends, who didn’t because of exercise-induced urinary incontinence.

Exactly. Because despite the PR, the embarrassment of leaking overruled the feeling of accomplishment, and despite the knowledge that this does happen to other women, Bella Smith is indeed a fake name and you won't find a picture or a bio of me anywhere on this website.

Photo from HERE

But, you can't say I didn't try my hardest. ;)

My name is none of your business, I'm getting older, and I run to...relieve stress, and hopefully not myself. HA!

Any other "anonymous"es out there? There is an "Anonymous" comment option after all...

The Preamble: Before the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon

2012-02-10T08:00:00.032-05:00

BY: CARMAN JUDD

The Preamble: A genetic disorder in which people must explain everything before they tell you anything.

There's something you should know. I am not a runner. Isn’t it funny how so many of us deny it? It’s just so crazy to run like we do. We have to play it straight and deny that we’re all that dedicated. It’s just, you know, something we do. No big deal. I am not a runner.

I am the slow kid. This goes back to kindergarten field day. I've always been the slowest person who tried. I mean of course I was faster than the kids who smoked around the back corner of the track in high school, but does that count? I didn’t keep track of my high school PR because well, why would you want to remember the worst 14 minutes of your day...

No, I did not run. No sir. Not me. I was not a runner. I did not find the encouragement of others to be helpful. I found it embarrassing and awkward. To your “Good job,” all I could think was “Yeah right.”

But then, in Nov 2009, Oscar proposed and I decided that was the shove I needed to lose some weight. I decided to start walking on a treadmill. I threw on some really old NB fashion sneakers and skipped over to our apartment complex's fitness room (an old treadmill, an old stationary bike, and an old weight machine). By February I was in my real runner shoes and out of the fitness room (the rubbery pit of other peoples' sweat).

Fast forward to now and I’m still at it and training for a half marathon. Sometimes I love it and sometimes I say I hate it. That runner enthusiasm is less awkward for me. I’m still self-deprecating, but it’s getting easier to accept it when Oscar says he’s proud of me. Rock on!

I ran twelve miles last Saturday. Tomorrow I’ll run eight. I’m in taper mode before my first half marathon. I’m running the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon on February 18. I’m driving over 700 miles so I can run thirteen point one. I am a runner. I'm really excited about it. For one, it's my hometown. I keep imagining high school friends among the spectators. Running a half was not on my radar back then and I kind of want to show them. This might be bad motivation, but whatever works, right? Also, I’ll get to see parts of Myrtle Beach that I never really visited as a child. I'm also excited because if this isn’t the worst experience of my life, I've got the Indy Mini in May. Then I think I might shoot for the Monumental Marathon in November. And all of this is so I can run the Newport Marathon in Oregon in June 2013. Oscar and I passed through and had lunch in Newport during our honeymoon. Coastal Oregon is literally the most beautiful place I've ever seen.

As excited as I am, I’m also really nervous. The last few weeks have been tough. I’m tired and I’m not sure why. My legs feel so heavy. I also can’t get out of the fat kid space in my head. This week’s BARA track workout might have helped get me out of that place. I must thank a friend of mine for recognizing my funk and offering to pace a mile around the track with me. I wouldn’t have done it without her. And I finally got below nine minutes. 8:48! Take that high school me! Now I want to get below 8:30. There is always more.

My goal time is 2h 30m. That’s 11:27 per mile. I’ve maintained better than that for over 10 miles, so it’s a reasonable goal. I might even be sandbagging. I just have to will my half to be like my runs two weeks ago. And that’s what runners do. We will ourselves to be better. And for me, I’m trying to be better than myself. That’s what running is about. Perpetual improvement. If you don’t have a goal, why are you running? I am trying to change myself. I want to be more fit. And I am more fit than I was two years ago. I want to be more positive. And I am more than I was two years ago. I’m a better person since I started running. This half is a first step in showing how far I’ve come. And afterwards, I’m hoping it will be old hat. I don’t think I knew that until just now when I wrote it either. Hmmm...

I can’t wait to know how I feel after this run. I’m excited and nervous now. I can’t wait to be excited and relieved. I’ll eat my banana and bask in everybody’s joy for finishing.

My name is Carman Judd, I’m 28 years old, and I run to...have a goal.

This is the "Before" post in Carman Judd's "Before and After" series on the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon. View the "After" post HERE (on February 22).

CARMAN JUDD is one of the many not-a-runner runners. How long can you deny it? She lives with her husband Oscar and two cats, Euler and Wedgie. They moved to Bloomington from South Carolina in June 2007. Carman graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BFA in graphic design. She uses her skills at a local print shop. She started running in 2009 as a way to lose weight and also found she was less anxious when she was running regularly. Then, Oscar got her to a few 5Ks and she hasn’t stopped since. Besides running, she enjoys printmaking and “Downton Abbey.”

Injuries, Ugh! - Part Two

2012-02-08T08:00:00.054-05:00

BY: LARRY HAMMERSLEY

As I’ve said previously, “Injuries, Ugh!” My last race was at Bloomfield the first Saturday of October in 2011. I felt no pain and had a decent time on that hilly course. However, when I went for a run the following morning I had to quit after fifty yards. A trip to the doctor was in order.

The first doctor whom I’d seen earlier in September had given me a cortisone shot which worked for about a month. What he told me after the Bloomfield run was totally unsatisfactory, if you recall. I wasn't giving up and I credit Dr. Jerry Ruff for the series of events leading to my recovery.

Doc recently had a knee replacement and invited me to go with him to one of his therapy sessions to check it out. I got acquainted with the therapist and then headed across town to retrieve my x-rays and MRI from the other place. I then took them to Jerry’s place, Orthopedics of Southern Indiana, and soon had an appointment with Dr. Timothy Steiner. He did surgery on the torn meniscus of my right knee on November 10.

Mid and end of Larry's knee meniscus surgery (click to enlarge)

To make a long story semi short, I’m now in recovery mode. Today I ran a slow 2.5 miles on Parkview track in Bedford. The therapist, Chuck, had met me earlier last month at Rick’s Gym and showed me the machines to use to strengthen my legs. I’m very pleased with Dr. Steiner and the staff at Orthopedics of Southern Indiana. He said he wouldn’t promise me the moon but told me I could try running a little after two months of healing.

Unfortunately, I'm still plagued with arthritis in that right knee behind the cap. That is probably where the dull pain is coming from during exercise and running, however, I still managed to average 10:30 per mile for the 2.5 miles. Although that is a far cry from my 9:07 pace at Bloomfield I’m nevertheless happy with it. Dr. Steiner is encouraged with my progress and I see him again the end of this month. He is confident I’ll be ready for the first road run of the Mag 7 Race Series at the end of March (IU Habitat for Humanity 5K) and I’m looking forward to it!

Even more so than running, I'm looking forward to seeing all of my running friends again. I’ll have to see you before the race though because after it starts I’ll be looking at everyone’s back for sure! :-) I’ll look forward to swapping meniscus woes with one of the regulars, Karl for sure.

My name is Larry Hammersley, I’m 73 years old, and I run to...get back into the race after almost five months of being shackled by meniscus surgery.

LARRY HAMMERSLEY was born in Alexandria, Indiana and moved to South Central Indiana at age 4. He graduated from Williams High School in 1956, where he ran the 440 and mile relay, and pole vaulted. Larry received his BS in Chemistry from Purdue in 1961 then attended Indiana University part time while working at Crane, earning his MS in Chemistry in 1975. He worked for over 40 years as a civil service chemist at Crane, retiring in September 1999 and is married to Sue, coming up on 49 years this December. They had three children including a son, Eric, age 37, and a daughter, Lisa, age 33. Sadly, their other child, Tisha, died in 1985 at age 14 of a lifelong illness. They have four grandchildren with two more on the way. Larry won the Magnificent 7 Road Race Series 70+ AG championship in 2008 and 2010.

The Ugly Duckling

2012-02-06T08:00:00.032-05:00

BY: LESLEY KOZA

It’s become laughable to me to think of my life before running. Before August of 2010, I never worked out regularly, and when I did it was a fluke that lasted for about a week until I started letting myself off the hook for a day, which would snowball into weeks. I’d carry groceries up the stairs and think to myself, “that counts.” I also never in a million years enjoyed a workout. I never felt that adrenaline people talked about, that beauty of knowing you just got your butt handed to you by an elliptical machine. That never happened to me. The end result was undeniable weight gain and growing unhappiness.

I never was obese, but I definitely wasn’t fit. After college was when it all happened. Throughout my younger years I was very active and played any and every imaginable sport. In college, I was so busy that I think it helped keep some of the weight off, as did the 20min walk from my apartment to campus that I endured as a means of exercise. Whatever it was, it worked. It wasn’t until I entered the land of cubicles in corporate America that my weight began to increase and thus my happiness decrease.

I had tried to run in the past. Being that my brother was a track athlete in school I understood that running was a great way to become healthy. However, I didn’t have the tools to do it correctly. I would hit the treadmill and try to run a mile right out of the gates, ultimately failing and then coming to the conclusion that I just wasn’t “cut out” for running. So I’d accept defeat and quit.

Image from HERE

In August of 2010, my boyfriend (who was just my friend at the time) presented me with the Couch to 5K plan, and the rest is history. I recall the first day of the plan. I had it printed out and I was so incredibly scared of going to the gym, inexperienced, and running this plan. I thought people would know right away that I was new to this—I feared they'd judge me. I was certain I was the ugly duckling of running.

Through perseverance and the help and support of my boyfriend, I completed my first 5K and my mom and brother came to cheer me on and congratulate me when I finished. When I crossed the finish line I finally felt this feeling I had heard so much about, this glory of exhaustion in knowing I just did something extraordinary. I was hooked. That was the day my life was renewed and my journey as a runner began.

I have blossomed into this athlete I always admired to be. Now, I value things differently, especially food. In order to accomplish what I want to get out of this sport, you have to start with the proper fuel. I now see things in such a different perspective. When days are sunny I see them as a good day for an outdoor run. I schedule vacations around destination races.

Now when I hit the gym or the pavement for a run, I’m far from shy. I’m extremely confident and exhilarated that I’ve found this lifestyle that has brought me so much joy. I’ve met some great people through this sport, and I’ve learned so much about myself and who I want to be. Running is helping me get there.

My name is Lesley Koza, I'm 26 years old, and I run to...challenge myself, and for the pride and the rewards of a healthier lifestyle.

LESLEY KOZA is a graduate of the School of Health Physical Education and Recreation at Indiana University-Bloomington with a Bachelor's Degree in Kinesiology. She shares her love of running with her boyfriend Zach, who also hails from Bloomington. Since she started running in August of 2010, she’s accomplished several races including numerous 5K’s, the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle, a 10K, and two half-marathons. She’s anxiously waiting for the nerves to tackle the 26.2. When she’s not running she enjoys cooking (always adding extra hot sauce), shopping, and watching awful reality television (especially VH1’s Mob Wives). Lesley's personal blog can be found HERE.

Racing to Train

2012-02-03T08:00:00.046-05:00

BY: KARL EAGLEMAN

I'm tall.

To be precise, I'm 6'7". It's undoubtedly one of my defining characteristics and likely the first thing people notice when they see me. I've come to greatly appreciate it, as the eternal curse of finding clothes that fit my long arms and legs is far outweighed by many other positives.

Anyway, when you are tall and grow up in Indiana you play basketball. You just do. It cannot even be considered a choice, as it is more of a destiny. Even if you are a tall Hoosier who hates the sport (gasp!), as I personally knew others within the "tall brotherhood" who did, you just suck it up and at the very least show up to practice and weather the storm, knowing that after high school, you would finally be free.

Thankfully, I loved the sport. Perhaps the more accurate assessment is that I have always loved all sports and athletics. Competitiveness, sportsmanship, integrity, dedication, hard work, discipline; I saw how all of these aspects had a direct application to life. More than anything, I saw athletics as more than just a social thing to do when I was in high school or college, but also as an opportunity to improve myself. Since basketball was my primary sport through high school and later in college, I always wanted to make sure I was in the best possible shape when the season rolled around, and running was my primary conditioning tool.

In 2009, my wife Andrea decided that she really wanted to get back into running and discovered the Magnificent 7 Race Series. A competitive former high school athlete, she thought it would be fun to get back in the race atmosphere, and the series would provide some incentive as "something to train for". After cheering for her in her first two races, I decided I should probably get out there and run, too.

At that time I was pursuing CrossFit, a program that incorporates constantly varied, functional movements, performed at high intensity. These movements include gymnastics/bodyweight movements, Olympic lifts with a barbell, running, and rowing on an indoor rower (erg). It was through CrossFit that I was introduced to indoor rowing, the sport that I am currently pursuing.

If you know a rower, have seen a rower, or even attempted a Google search for images of a rower, you will notice one dominant characteristic. They are tall, just like me. Additionally, they usually have a good set of lungs and can generate some power over a decent amount of time. Noticing these clues was the first hint that I might be able to find some sort of success within this sport. In the summer of 2010 I decided to start focusing on indoor rowing and find my limits within this sport.

Unfortunately, there are not many indoor rowing competitions held throughout the year. When they do take place, they are usually in late winter, as this is preseason for rowers and the time of the year when training is done on ergs.

Karl rowing in the Indoor Rowing World Championships

In January 2011, I competed in and won the Indianapolis Indoor Sprints. The following month, I competed in Boston, MA in the Indoor Rowing World Championships, or the C.R.A.S.H.-B.s, as it is referred to by the rowing community. I placed 7th in the world in the men's heavyweight masters 30-39 category, competing against many former Olympians from countries such as Russia, Brazil, and Germany.

While sitting through the medal ceremony for that competition, I set a goal for myself to one day row a sub-6:00 minute 2k (the standard distance for rowing competitions) at the C.R.A.S.H.-B.s. This December I created a blog HERE, and began to log my workouts online, primarily for my own benefit to document my training toward accomplishing this goal and allow some accountability from others. Rowing a sub-6:00 2k could definitely be considered a performance at an elite level, something I've described HERE, but I think it's important push yourself to your potential, regardless of who you are or what you think your abilities may be.

2012 Indianapolis Indoor Sprints

The timeliness of this blog post is also rather interesting as this weekend I competed in the 2012 Indianapolis Indoor Sprints and won the event again with another PR. Although I've listed my successes so far in indoor rowing, I must also mention this is not a sport that is easy for me. In reality I've never experienced any other sport that is more crushing or causes more pain. I've definitely worked harder in this sport than in any other that I've ever attempted, and all by myself in my garage gym. Simply put, indoor rowing is very hard. However, I think that is one of the reasons I like it so much.

So, back to the running! My perspective on races in the Mag 7 Race Series is a little different than most. Since indoor rowing is my primary focus, I don't train for the weekly races during the season, but use them as training sessions to build cardiorespiratory endurance for my rowing. The competitive race environment undeniably pushes one to work harder and allows for practice of that mental edge that is so crucial for my indoor rowing competitions.

However, one of the greatest aspects to running races in the Mag 7 is the community. When Andrea and I began running these races, I think we were both surprised to meet so many others who are just as crazy as we are and enjoy competing, what seems like, every single weekend during the series season. Chatting and catching up with friends during the warm-up before the race, and hanging out with friends while waiting for the results and during the award ceremony afterwards is one of the aspects of these races that I definitely enjoy the most. The friendships that Andrea and I have been blessed with through the Mag 7 race series have turned out to be some of our closest friends.

My name is Karl Eagleman, I'm 33 years old, and I run to train for indoor rowing but also to meet hang out with my friends.

KARL EAGLEMAN grew up in nearby Nashville, IN, and now resides in Bloomington with his wife, Andrea, and their cat, DC. He has been involved in athletics his entire life, and played basketball for Bellarmine University, where he earned a degree in Communications. He also holds a Master's degree in Ergonomics from IU, and is now employed as the Internet Publisher at the national governing body of the sport of Track & Field, USA Track & Field, in Indianapolis. In his spare time, Eagleman enjoys cheering for the IU Hoosiers, game night with close friends, and relaxing at home. He keeps a personal blog to track his progress on his quest to achieve a sub-6:00 2K in rowing.

Anneke: February

2012-02-01T08:00:00.066-05:00

BY: ANNEKE RILEY

January 2012's Goal: Run 3 days per week
January 2012's Result: EPIC FAIL

“Sometimes I wake up and I think I should start wearing a beret, but I don’t do it. Once day I’m gonna, though. You bet your ass, I will have a beret on. That’s ridiculous, but it’s true. I always fight with wearing a beret.”—Mitch Hedberg

Apparently publicly pledging to run three days per week doesn’t mean I will actually run three days per week. I only ran 6 times in January, plus 3 Insanity workouts, which I will count simply because I got off my keester and those are HARD. Other than 3 days out of town and 3 days being sick, I don’t really have a good excuse for the other 14 days. And I’m feeling pretty silly right about now.

One thing I have learned this month is that I don’t “just do it”. I imagine that when I begin to consistently run again, and have developed good habits, I will “just do it”. What I learned about myself this month is that I am a delightfully complex person. In fact, I’m pretty sure I have a small soiree of diverse gals in my head. If I want to succeed I need to make friends with each one, and sometimes tell a few of them to shut up. Here I address them and identify the game plan for each. I will harness The Organizer to do this. Thank God I have her, too.

The Rebel: “What makes me think I can tell me what to do?!”

I found myself being a contrarian…to myself. I would say “I’ve got to run today!” and then proceed to rebel against it. Maybe I didn’t really want to, maybe I had other things I wanted to do. To address The Rebel I will make it seem like her idea. “Hey, everyone can be lazy, sit on the couch, shop instead of drop. Is that really who you want to be?”

The Wicked Witch: “Rain sucks! I’ll melt!”

It’s been very, very rainy this month. And, I hate my treadmill. They call it a Dreadmill for a reason. But, I also bought the thing for a reason! I realized tonight, while squeezing in that sixth run, that my 2-year-old will not wake up from the loud droning of the mill, so there goes that excuse. Now I can run at night! That’s a plus since I’m a….

The Night Owl: “Whooo wants to wake up at 5am??”

Yeah, that’s never gonna happen. I have to work with the Night Owl, not against her. I tried awhile ago to wake up early by going to bed early. But, given my schedule and the hours I’m in Indy, night time might be the right time. So, by making peace with my t-t-t-tread mill, I can run a few miles some nights after the one kid goes to bed, before the other one does, and then eat and work. I will do whatever it takes to fit that in versus waking up at the crack of dawn, or in these months the still of night. You people that wake up fresh at 5am are a wonder to me and I admire, but will not be joining, you.

The Procrastinator: “It’s only Friday, I’ll just run twice tomorrow…”

That only happened once. And the pressure of trying to squeeze in two runs in one day made it seem like a chore versus a joy. The only plan for The Procrastinator is to “just do it”. I am a believer in the “fake it ‘til you make it” philosophy, so that’s just what I have to do. She’s a tough one.

The Anti-Codependent: “I can do it by myself!”

I ran consistently when I had a partner or people to run with me. I have been using my wacky schedule as an excuse not to get going with a group, and thinking I could do it all on my own. I should know me better by now. I also need to involve my husband, insist on his help with the kids so I can set up a couple of running dates each week. I did that before, but with a second child, and both of our work lives more hectic than ever, I just haven’t asked for the help. I’ve actually felt bad when I’ve “bothered” him with it. This Anti-Codependent Gal needs not only a running partner(s) but the spouse to help.

My goal for February: To workout 4 times per week. Two can be Insanity (I need to lose some damn weight and my slow chugging for a few miles ain't enough calories!). Also, to have someone take a picture of myself running!

My name is Mitch Hedberg, I’m 38 years old, and I...will wear a beret.

***

What advice do you have for Anneke, readers? Can you relate?

ANNEKE RILEY is a mother of two, a wife of one, and a Brand Manager for In Vie, a statewide distributor of fine wines. She began running in the spring of 2008 because it fit into her hectic schedule, and ran the inaugural Indy Monumental Full Marathon that fall. Since then, Anneke has been an on-again/off-again runner, and hopes to be on again for good in 2012. She enjoys filling her time with family, work, photography, travel, cooking, and running!

All of the questions, but where are the answers?

2012-01-30T08:00:00.034-05:00

BY: MICHAEL SHERMIS

Most of my concerns about running revolve around whether or not I’m doing the right thing and how serious I need to be to improve, but still enjoy what I’m doing. Writing this, I realize I have more questions than answers or a perspective that will seem particularly informed or insightful. Here are some of the topics about which I think as I run around Bloomington. Perhaps you have the answers, as I really just have the questions...

Age

Like many of you, I wish I had started running much earlier. I’m sure I would be much faster and in better shape. And while I did run in my mid-twenties and off and on until the past three years, I probably only did 50 races in that time. I’ve done well over 50 races in just the past three years and now that I’m in my fifties, I wonder if there is a point at which I’m pushing myself too hard to improve and go faster. At what age will my times start to decrease? I’ve noticed a couple older (than me) veteran runners who three years ago just blew me away and even though I’ve sped up, they’ve also slowed down. I’m sure some of it is attributable to injuries, but people don’t continually get faster the rest of their lives, even though I feel the more I run the better and faster I can run. When will that change? Does that unfortunate time fall between a fairly specific age range?

Distance

What is the right distance to run weekly? I find that running three days in a row makes my legs pretty sore, especially if those runs are more than five miles each. So I’ve taken to run Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Then I lift weights, focusing a lot of leg exercises, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (while also doing 20-25 minutes of elliptical and bike machines for a bit of aerobic exercise). I’m now up to pretty much a minimum of five miles per run. And in warm weather, I usually try to do about 7 (conveniently the distance to go from my house to the trailhead of the B-Line down to the end of the B-Line and back again). I’m definitely a warm weather runner and really don’t like running on the treadmill at the gym. But I do it anyway because I want to keep my distance up and it’s better than running in the cold. Call me a wimp. Anyway, 20-25 miles a week is about my norm. When I’m preparing for a half marathon, I try to up that for a couple weeks prior to that and increase to 30-35. But beyond that and my legs are just too sore.

Times

The more I run, the faster I can run races. I’ve taken an average of two minutes off my 5K times in the past year. For practice runs, I was used to running between 8:30-9:00 minute miles. Now I’m more like 8:00-8:10. My 5K race miles are more in the low seven-minute range depending on the day, the weather, etc. How much do I push myself to keep decreasing these times? Do I buy a Garmin to really get the times down? I’ve heard many people say they don’t like them, while others swear by them. Does that make me too serious? Spending a $125-$325 for a watch sure seems like it!

Injuries

I’m definitely motivated by not injuring myself. I did once in the past three years. It had nothing to do with running, but when I jumped off a log and landed wrong and pulled my calf muscle. It kept me out of races for over a month and that was really hard. So I’ve been trying to be very careful. I don’t run trail runs at all because of my fear of twisting my ankles (they give out pretty easily over a crack in the sidewalk, much less a root knob that’s hard to see along the side of a trail). How do I prevent injuries? Is there some nutrient or type of food I can eat that will make recovery happen quicker? I do five minutes of stretching before runs/races because if I don’t, then I get cramps. I have read a fair amount of conflicting advice on how much or how little stretching is good for you. I don’t think anyone could convince me that there is the absolute right way to stretch and it has more to do with what feels comfortable to your body.

Food

Speaking of food, I do try to eat right, more or less. I’m great with the veggies, fruit, whole grains, and fish (no meat beyond that). My downfall is sweets. And I have that bad attitude (I know it is): I work out an hour a day, every single day, so I should be able to eat anything I want. I do try to eat before the race. But I’ve found that unless it is two hours before the race, I’ll end up burping and tasting whatever I’ve eaten during the race/run; makes the race/run much less enjoyable. I’ve read a lot on the right kinds of nutrition and I’m not saying that they conflict, but it is hard to know whether I might be eating something that is really not helping me. I’m sure I eat more cheese to make up for lack of protein because of not eating meat. But maybe that could be having an adverse effect on my body and I don’t even know it. I just never know what’s the best diet to eat. And that glass of red wine a night is just about mandatory (I blame that on my doctor who said because of high cholesterol, I should drink one a night—not two, though!), especially after the days I run I feel exceptionally justified.

Inspiration

Trying to figure out what motivates me is always a challenge. What motivates me one week doesn’t seem to the next. Faster times, longer distances, someone running with me, running by myself out in nature, trying a new route, etc., have all served as inspiration at some point. What are other great sources of inspiration? What am I not thinking about that will really help me improve?

Music

Music has served as an inspiration for long runs. While I do really enjoy listening to the sounds of nature if I’m running in a place where there isn’t a lot of traffic noise, I find that listening to music keeps me distracted from my labored breathing. Then again I run races without music and it’s when I run the fastest and breathe the hardest. I listen to episodes of Trance Around the World by Above and Beyond. High energy, fast beat, and driving rhythms by the best trace, dance, and progressive musicians around are great. I’m just not motivated enough to put together a playlist, although I did do that 10-15 years ago and remember enjoying it. Maybe that’s one of the things I need to motivate me. What are other great kinds of music (not specific songs) that really help make people fly? Anything by…?

***

Okay, this is probably enough, although I could have talked about running shoes and apparel, black and blue toenails, nipple wax, and a host of other interesting topics that seem to capture my attention as I go gallivanting around the city.

I don’t know if you offer me advice that I’ll take it, but I'd sure be glad to read your comments or listen and take it all in as I’m always trying to find what works for me and what path I feel comfortable running down.

My name is Michael Shermis, I’m 52 years old, and I run to...eat what I want (mostly), to feel good about my body and myself, and to enjoy the outdoors.

MICHAEL SHERMIS, by day, is a collaborative story development/story-sharing entrepreneur, strategic/concept/design/meeting facilitator, community developer, and assistant to Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. He is the founder/principal of Story Insights (stories with a purpose) and founder/director of 3WD—World Wide Web Designs. By play he is an avid mushroom hunter, disc golf player, exercise fanatic, community volunteer, and life enthusiast. He thoroughly enjoys reading, movies, nature, and fun!

The 10-Second Fast Start Rule

2012-01-27T08:00:00.015-05:00

BY: LANCE DAUGHERTY

Like the common cold, most all of us runners have suffered through the following scenario. You are standing at the start line battling pre-race jitters; edgy with nervous anticipation, heart racing, and adrenaline surging. The race starter yells, “Runners on your mark………get set……..GO!” Off you dash, fully energized and determined to run a good time. As you pass the one mile mark you realize your time is much faster than you had expected. Soon afterward, your breathing becomes much more labored, and your legs, especially the thighs, begin to feel heavy. As the race progresses, each mile split is slower, and runners you had passed during that first mile begin passing you. However, you continue to struggle on. The run becomes a grueling, torturous, grind, but at long last, thankfully, you cross the finish line with searing lungs and legs that feel like they weigh a thousand pounds each. Between gasps of air, you feel could be your last, you note your finishing time is much worse than you had hoped for. You are totally bummed out. What happened?

Cedric Jaggers, a longtime runner/writer for a monthly running publication describes this debacle as a violation of the “10-secondfast start rule.” Simply stated, you can only run the first mile of a race 10 seconds faster than you are in shape to average without hurting your finishing time. This means if you are in shape to run a race at an eight minute/mile pace and you run the first mile faster than 7:50, you are going to pay for it in the succeeding miles. You will usually run those miles 20 seconds+ slower than what you should be averaging. There are exceptions to this, such as downhill starts, but they are the exceptions rather than the rules.

This situation has an analogy in economics. It is simply the law of supply and demand. As the demand for energy outstrips the supply, the body must pay a greater price and soon goes into debt—oxygen debt. Comedian Bill Cosby ran track at Temple University many years ago. Among the events he ran was the 440 yard dash. His description for oxygen debt was, “the bear jumping on your back”. The difference in longer races is that the bear doesn’t jump on your back. He climbs on as a cub and grows bigger and heavier with each passing mile forcing you to slow your pace……….dramatically.

This rule seems to be violated more often by young or beginning runners, although it is surprising how many times more seasoned runners disregard the 10-second rule. Even though I have run hundreds of races, I find I still have to force myself to run a more controlled pace during the first mile. Through the years I’ve found my fastest race times at any given distance have been those where the time for each mile is nearly the same. Obviously the weather and course conditions can affect pace, but holding back in the first mile will generally pay dividends later. The next time you race and are passing runners during the last mile or two, be thankful you didn’t violate the 10-second fast start rule.

My name is Lance Daugherty, I’m 67 years old, and I run to…try to avoid violating the 10-second fast start rule as I have, and have suffered for, in the past.

LANCE DAUGHERTY is one of Perspective's regular columnists. He retired in 2007 after working nearly 38 years in various aspects of Quality Assurance in the food industry. He lives near Mooresville, IN and has been running for 22 years (not including high school and college). Lance has run nearly 550 races including 16 marathons (running the Boston Marathon twice). He won the Magnificent 7 Road Race Series 60-69 AG championship in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 and is a volunteer for the series, tracking series points. Lance enjoys reading, fishing, hiking, bird watching, and yard work.

What I Learned on my Long Run

2012-01-25T08:00:00.016-05:00

BY: KAITLYN REHO

Ok, so this isn’t something that came to me all of the sudden one day. Rather, it’s something that I have learned since I started running a little over a year ago: Anyone can be a runner.

I was never athletic and always hated to run. I dreaded that day in phys. ed. when we had to run a mile as part of a fitness test. I was always jealous of the people who actually loved to run. I could never figure out how anyone could find running fun.

How did I start running? I really have no clue where the idea came from, but I seriously woke up one day and said that I was going to train for a 5K. And I did just that, still not enjoying the actual running part, but more of the runner’s high afterwards.

It took a solid 6 months until I had my first enjoyable run. I took time off from running after a Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5K until I returned to IU after winter break. I set out on what was supposed to be a 5 mile run. I felt incredibly light and fast, so I kept running. I was surprised when I got home and mapped it out that I had run 7.5 miles! It felt so good—so good that this was the day I decided to register for the IU Mini Marathon. I must’ve had some serious runner’s high going on because I also registered for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon (which was about a month after the IU Mini).

What was I thinking? I had ONE good run and I decided to register for two, NOT one, but TWO half marathons in the same day? Weren’t half marathons for legit runners? I was merely someone who just ran to try to stay in shape.

Well, April 2, 2011 rolled around fast and I can honestly say that I enjoyed all of my long runs. During these runs I did a lot of thinking. What makes someone a runner? Am I a runner? I had a hard time admitting to myself that yes, I really am a runner. Anyone can be a runner. If you run, you ARE a runner.

This is something that I want everyone to understand. You don’t have to be on the track team or in the Olympics to be considered a runner. All you have to do is run.

Another thing: you don’t have to look a certain way to be a runner. Sure, the stereotypical runner is tall, thin, and toned, but those characteristics do not define what a runner is. One of my close friends was in a group conversation about running:

“Kaitlyn just ran a half marathon and is considering training for a full.”
“Oh, she runs? She doesn’t look like a runner.”

…Last time I checked there weren’t appearance qualifications that define who is and who isn’t a runner.

Again. Anyone can be a runner. I can't stress it enough.

I still have times where I have a hard time admitting to myself that I am indeed a runner. Even after running numerous 5Ks, several half marathons, and 1 full marathon, I sometimes still question it.

The answer: Yes, I am a runner. I might not look like the stereotypical runner. I might not ever be the fastest, but I am a runner and I love every minute of it.

My name is Kaitlyn Reho, I’m 20 years old, and I run to…challenge myself and prove that I AM a runner.

KAITLYN REHO is an undergraduate from Pennsylvania studying clarinet performance and applied health science at Indiana University. She didn't enjoy running until Fall 2010 when she ran her first 5K. In January 2011 Kaitlyn decided to train for the IU Mini Marathon and ever since, she can't get enough of racing! She has run numerous 5Ks, 3 half marathons, 1 overnight relay, and 1 full marathon. Aside from running, Kaitlyn enjoys performing music and baking.

This Is How We Do It

2012-01-23T08:00:00.010-05:00

BY: CHERYL HICKOK

Sometimes I like to do it in the morning. Other times, I do it in the evening. I've been known to do it in the middle of the day—but my husband prefers to do it late at night. We do it alone, too, but I'd sooner do it with a friend…

…I get a little lonely running long miles by myself.

Running is a priority for our family and meeting priorities requires choices. (And of course I'm talking about running… what were you thinking?!?)

I hear a lot of folks tell me they "don't have time" to exercise. Do you know the sliding puzzle game called "Rush Hour Traffic Jam"? It's one of those puzzles where one piece must move to make room for another. For my husband and me, finding time for running is like that game. I move dinner up an hour in order to fit in homework and Cub Scouts, then we quickly eat together before one of us gets a 30 minute run +3 minute shower while the other does baths and manages the bedtime wind down. Other days, I postpone things (writing this blog) in order to get in a five mile run, but have to push two kids in the double jogger after lunch as a trade-off. (The blog should have been my obvious choice, in hindsight.) My husband will choose to have the dinner together, family movie night together AND do the bedtime routine together by putting off his run until 11 p.m. or by getting up at 3:30 a.m. to get in his mileage before heading to work. Or, I run home from work while he makes dinner, we eat, I shower while he packs bags and we rush kids off to wrestling practice (again with the "together"). And since I've left the vehicle in town, he has to run into town in the morning to get TO work…You get the picture.

Oh sure. We could make it WAAAAAAAAY easier on ourselves if we just skipped the run and divide-and-conquered the other tasks. But that's not how we roll. It may appear to the untrained eye that we're living the vida loca, but there is, in fact, a Plan in motion…

We start by wasting valuable sleep time by surfing the internet for running sites. Online trail and road race calendars are very handy. We make a list of local(ish) events that we'd like to do, compare lists, revise lists, consult the school calendar/holiday calendar/work calendar, discuss and compare our lists again, mark them on the home calendar (in pencil, of course—nothing's permanent yet) then figure out how much time we'll need to train for that event. Once that is figured out, we make up our training plans. I used to just grab some scrap paper and whatever crayon I could find under the table and scribble it out. Now I'm all fancy: I use a pen and pencil (only occasionally a crayon, now), make the lines WITH A RULER then the hubby makes a copy for the bathroom mirror, too. Excel program?? Yes, I've used it before, but there's something to seeing those numbers in my own handwriting on that sheet of paper that gives me ownership of The Plan. Once I tape it to the kitchen cupboard, it's there for ALL who enter to witness and there's no backing out.

Every day, we consult the Plans to see how we're fitting in the mileage for that week. Two to four weekday runs and one long weekend run (two back-to-backs for the Hubby) get scheduled into Life. We routinely work around birthday parties, on-call schedules, soccer/swimming/wrestling/orchestra practices and have become very crafty, if I do say so myself, at packing it all in there. He might head out at 4 a.m. (Are you getting the impression that sleep means little to my spouse? If you answered in the affirmative, then I'm painting an accurate picture.), come back at 8 a.m. to smooch me in the doorway while I give him a quick rundown of what's-what/who's-where as I'm on MY way through to get to my run. Or I feed the kids a light meal before swimming lessons, hubby runs home from work, I hand him his dinner as he herds kids into the van and I take off on foot for the pool where they meet me (honking and cheering as they pass me on the road!) at lesson time with a bottle of water and a saved seat to watch and rest. The kids take it all in stride as it's become life-as-we-know-it to them. One might crawl into bed with me at 1 a.m. and ask "Where's Dad?" I answer, "He went into town for a long run with Ron." Their response is a head nod and snuggle.

Disclaimer: I am not a competitive runner. Some days I skip my planned run. Who am I kidding… some weeks I've skipped my planned runs! I feel ashamed for a few minutes here and there during that day, but I get over it. Occasionally, I can "reschedule" that mileage by shifting life around on another day that week and I feel great for the accomplishment! But sometimes, the dog gets sick, I oversleep, work runs late, the kids are cranky, my running partner cancels and I don't have the oomph to go at it alone, or I overstay coffee with a friend out of sheer enjoyment for the moment and consciously nix the run. So then, Plan B arrives on the scene: fit it in if and where you can, and if you can’t…do what you can to accept the shortfall and avoid injury.

It takes forethought, flexibility, patient understanding of the running goal(s) and respect of your partner's Plan in order to make it work. Maybe a ticket full of crazy, too. Who knows for sure? What I do know is that, as nurses, Hubby and I have seen the after effects of a sedentary lifestyle. It's not something we choose. Now don't get me wrong: there are many areas in our lives in which we could improve our "health". I like to eat a bowlful of chocolate chips after dinner and as that has an effect on my health, I tack on "run four miles today" to that order. I hope to raise kids that are conscious of the choices one must make in order to live a healthy lifestyle, so I put down that brownie pan before things get out of hand and I take them for a walk around the neighborhood (but don't think I'm above licking the crumbs off a plate when your head is turned). We could eat more salads. We could spend time on something akin to mindful awareness (that might snap me out of my chocolate habit). I could be more forgiving.

But I'm human and I'm doing what I can. I'm moving my life pieces around the only way that I can clearly see in order to fit in all the top choices in my day. Someone else may move the pieces in a completely different pattern. We all live a different puzzle.

CHERYL HICKOK is a Canadian re-rooted in the lovely Bloomington, IN. She works part time as an RN, and full time as a harmoniously married mom of 4 whose hubby and kids make her life sparkle. In 2000, Cheryl stopped partying her way through situations and began running (slowly and with walk breaks). In 2002, she helped form the Honkin’ Woohoos running group and has since run everything between 5K and 60K, earning her first shiny belt buckle in 2009. Cheryl likes sweets, camping, travel, sharing a laugh (even while running), making friends, and reading smutty romance novels.

Chicago City Running Tour

2012-01-20T08:00:00.049-05:00

BY: MELISSA MYERS

“So, a guy I found on the internet met me in the hotel lobby at 7:00 this morning and we went for a pre-dawn run together down by the river.” This is how I started breakfast conversation one morning during a conference in Chicago a few months ago. I’ll grant you it does sound a little shady…but it was 100% not shady and was actually one of the best touristy things I’ve ever done.

I spent three nights in Chicago for a conference and knew that I wanted to run a few times while I was there. I was hoping to find a 5K or something to run on Sunday afternoon since we arrived in Chicago around 2:30 but I knew that was a long shot. Instead, I came across the City Running Tours site and was very excited to see the 5K Every Day group run option. For $25 I could take part in a guided tour leaving from Millennium Park. I quickly reached out to the Chicago manager to see if the timing would work for me to do one of the tours and get back to my hotel in time for the conference that started with meetings at 9:00 each morning. He said that the Tuesday morning run of Navy Pier and the Chicago River would be no problem but Wednesday morning’s tour of Chicago Tragic Sites would probably take too long.

I dithered over whether or not to sign up and finally decided during the conference on Monday morning to sign up for the Tuesday morning run. Later that evening I got an email from the guide, Marlin, that I was the only one who had signed up for the tour and since he walked right past my hotel from the Metra station he would just meet me in the hotel lobby at 7:00 to head to Millennium Park. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a tiny bit nervous about the run. Well, not about the run but the whole situation. Signing up for this tour with just me and a guide in a city I’m not very familiar with was a little of outside of my comfort zone.

Tuesday morning I waited in the hotel lobby for a few minutes and then I saw Marlin come through the door. (Yeah…I totally googled him the night before and found a video of an interview he had given about his quest of running a marathon in all 50 states and D.C.) The fact that he was wearing his City Running Tour t-shirt clued me in as well. Introductions were made and we took off at a brisk walk to Millennium Park a few blocks away.

Marlin was very easy to talk to and it was obvious that he has a real passion for sharing the history of Chicago. We started off going over the route we would follow (which was actually closer to 3.5 miles!) and he said that there would be some times that he would sprint ahead to get in front of me to take a picture and I should just continue running at an easy pace when he did. I reminded him that I would like to be back at the hotel by 8:15 or so and even though his motto is “The slower we go the more we show” he obliged and we kept a pretty good pace over the course of the tour. We didn’t talk too much while we were running but made three or four 5-10 minute stops to learn about the history of the city and, maybe the best part of the tour, take pictures of me running in front of landmarks.

A big focus of the tour was the impact we have on our environment. In the 1800’s the Chicago River was used as an open sewer and ultimately made the residents of Chicago sick since their drinking water came from Lake Michigan and the river flowed to the lake. The river has undergone intensive cleanup efforts and it was actually quite pretty that morning.

We also visited Navy Pier and I learned the real origin of Chicago’s ‘Windy City’ nickname is quite possibly not actually the wind. Google it and you'll find several other reasons HERE and HERE and HERE. Your guess is as good as mine.

After Navy Pier we ran up the other side of the river and visited Marilyn before weaving through the busy morning sidewalks back to Millennium Park.

Marlin was watching the clock the entire time and we ended up back at Millennium Park with time to spare! We spent a few minutes exploring the Cloud Gate and getting some more pictures before heading back to the hotel.

Marlin emailed me 17 pictures of our run later that evening. Definitely a quick turnaround!

Overall, this was a fantastic experience that I hope to do again in Chicago and other cities. It was a great way to see the sights, get some exercise and learn something all at the same time.

As a side note, I just finished reading Marlin’s BOOK about his marathon travels with his family and it really makes me want to get out for more ‘destination’ runs!

My name is Melissa Myers, I’m 34 years old, and I run to…get pictures of myself in front of cool sculptures!

*Note: Read another "Perspective" post on City Running Tours HERE*

MELISSA MYERS is a mother, wife, runner, and higher ed administrator. She wasted her 20’s watching movies, going to concerts, and riding roller coasters and only started running in earnest in 2009 after her second child was almost 2 years old. What was she thinking!? Since then, she has run numerous 5Ks, a half marathon and a full marathon. Her main motivations for running are to stay healthy, to set a good example for her kids, and to attempt to keep up with her husband (who she has beaten in one race…while he pushed both kids in the stroller…and stopped once to get them snacks).

Running is not a spectator sport, but we need the spectators!

2012-01-18T08:00:00.060-05:00

Me and my husband, Todd post-race

BY: CHRISTAN ROYER

Running isn’t typically known as a spectator sport. Sure, there are people cheering along the route, many with signs of encouragement and laughter. But, as my husband informs me, watching a race isn’t the most fun thing. In his eyes, he gets to see me run by him once, maybe twice, on the course. Take a typical 5k. In his mind, this equates to standing around for 40ish minutes to see me run by him for 10 seconds at the start and 10 seconds at the finish (assuming the start and finish are in the same vicinity). If I were playing basketball where I could throw around some elbows or volleyball where I could spike the ball in someone’s face, now that would be interesting. He says he would come to every game. Running, not as exciting...

When it came time to run my first marathon – the Indianapolis Monumental – this year, I asked him to come to watch. I really wanted someone to cheer me on the course. I have been a spectator for other races and other runners kept telling me how important it was to have people on the course along the way. About a week before the race, he was undecided if he would come at all, or maybe just drive up to see me finish. I’ve run countless other races without anyone to cheer me on, so I figured I could do this one even if he didn’t come despite what others said about having the support. At the very least, my running partner and I would be together and we knew a few other runners that ran the half instead of the full and would be waiting for us at the finish. That seemed good enough.

The night before the marathon I was a wreck! Never having run one left me worried about what would happen. What if I got side stitches? What if my knee started to hurt? How in the heck was I going to carry all of my gear when my running outfit had minimal pockets? What if I couldn’t finish? I started to freak out and could not be calmed. In the middle of all of this, around 10pm, my husband agreed to come up and cheer me on along the course at a few different points. It so happened that a friend wanted to come, too. So, it was decided last minute that they would ride together from Bloomington to Indianapolis and try to meet us at the water stations around miles 14, 17, 20, and then at the finish. This included several calls back and forth to arrange meeting times and locations, which made me even more nervous! The rest of the night was a blur of trips to the bathroom and staring at the clock. Despite taking a couple Tylenol PMs, I don’t think I slept a wink. I was nervous about running and meeting up with our newly formed cheering squad along the way. I didn’t want to have them stand around waiting for us forever at each location.

Running partner, Kristine, and me pre-race

In the midst of freaking out, the gun went off to start the race and my running partner and I made it through the first 13 miles without incident. In fact, we were a bit ahead of our projected pace and felt great. As we approached the mile 15 water station, I didn’t see them at all and started to get nervous, but then all of the sudden I heard screaming! It was our friend jumping up and down yelling for us. A sense of relief came over me. We waved and yelled back, but kept on running. They ran alongside of us for a minute to see if we needed anything. We were okay for the moment. Just seeing them gave me an extra spring in my step. Others were cheering for us as we ran by, but seeing family and friends made all of the difference. I had someone there to check on just me specifically, make sure I was okay, and share the accomplishment of how far I had made it!

We kept on running knowing that we would see them again in a few short miles. Around mile 18, I was getting that feeling of just wanting to be done. I had been running for almost three hours and was tired of being on my feet. Instead of trying to make it to each mile marker, I used our cheering squad as a measure of how much longer we would have to be out there. I kept running to see them and hear them yelling for us. They were carrying stuff for us, like energy chews and candy to help us get through to the end. It was so nice to have that waiting for me between miles 19 and 20! I was also able to throw extra clothing off to them as I got warm so I wouldn’t have to carry it with me, which was so nice, too!

Kristine, me, and Todd alongside us (our friend, Melissa, took the picture)

As I neared the end of the race, the only thing that kept me going was our cheering squad and the finish line. After seeing them around mile 20, I didn’t expect to see them again until the end. I started off on that last four miles with a sense of dread. I had seen them about every three miles for the last 7 miles, which literally kept me moving. I cranked up my music and tried to settle in for the last little bit. You can imagine my shock when I saw them again at mile 23!! Somehow they had made their way to another stop on their way back to the finish line. I wasn’t sure how they did it, but I didn’t care. It totally made my race and put a smile back on my face. They made sure I was okay and sent me on my way to the end. Wow! I was floating at that point knowing I had seen them and was so close to the finish. I kept running along and then all of the sudden, I heard a group of people screaming my name somewhere after mile 25. It was a whole group of Bloomington runners that had completed the half and came back to cheer on the full runners. I was in shock to receive such support and didn’t even realize what hit me. I waived frantically as they cheered me on to finish the last mile. At the very end, there were some other friends screaming as I crossed the finish line.

The race was amazing. For my first marathon, I was more than pleased with my time. The weather was perfect for running, the course was flat, and the route was a fun one. We talked to some cool people along the way and enjoyed the different groups managing the water stations. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better first race. But, I had to admit that it was my cheering squad that kept me going. I don’t think I could have finished without their support. Lots of spectators yelled for us along the course and that was so helpful. One gentleman even leaned over as I ran by around mile 18 and whispered to me that he was proud of my race. I didn’t know him, but was impressed with his genuine encouragement. But, I literally kept putting one foot in front of the other knowing that our cheering squad was not that far ahead. If I could just make it a couple more miles, I would see them again.

Some of my cheering squad

Our cheering squad got up early, navigated traffic and crowds, stood in the cold, carried around extra gear for us, and spent an entire morning screaming for us as we ran by for 10 seconds at five different stops. I am forever grateful to those that came to support me and help me get through one of my biggest accomplishments in life – finishing a marathon! And, I think my husband actually liked it a little better getting to see us at more than one location, as well as the challenge of making it to each spot ahead of us. Running may not be the most exciting spectator sport, but I now know what my fellow runners meant by needing the support along the way. Having friends and family there to cheer you on makes the race so much more doable, even at the times you feel like stopping.

My name is Christan Royer, I’m 32 years old, and I run to…get to the next cheering station along the course!

CHRISTAN ROYER became a runner in 2000 initially as a way to lose weight and stay in shape. These days she also runs to relieve stress! Christan works full time at Indiana University in Human Resources, teaches as an adjunct for the IUPUI School of Informatics, and is finishing her master's degree in Education. When she’s not busy with all of these things, you can find her playing with her three dogs, baking, and searching for time to sleep. Christan has run over 100 races, including one full marathon, several half marathons, and multiple smaller races.

Confessions of a closet treadmill lover

2012-01-16T08:00:00.043-05:00

BY: ANDREA EAGLEMAN

I will admit it – I love the treadmill. Now, before you judge me and decide that I’m not a “real runner” if I love running in place on a revolving belt, let me explain. I grew up despising treadmills. We had one at home when I was in high school, and although it was mostly for my marathon-running mom to use in the winter, I felt like it was really a torture device used to force me to run on those bad weather days as well…days I’d rather just stay in bed or talk to my friends on the phone or read Sassy Magazine or something like that (does anyone else remember Sassy?!). My mom would say things like, “Even though it’s the off-season, you should really go down to the basement and run five miles to make sure you stay in shape…track season will be here before you know it!” I’m pretty sure she always won those battles.

In college I always ran outside no matter the weather, or I’d go to IU’s SRSC and use the elliptical…but never the dreaded treadmill. To me, treadmills were boring and the pace I ran on them always felt “off” compared to when I ran the same pace outside. I avoided them like the plague.

I could tell you the long story of how I came to own a treadmill in my adult life, but suffice it to say that I got a great deal on a used commercial-grade treadmill from the SRSC that was too good to pass up. Granted, it was used, but I only paid 5% of what it would’ve cost brand new. I figured I could use it for winter running since I work in Indianapolis but live in Bloomington, making winter running very difficult since I get home when it’s already completely dark outside. It was definitely an “impulse buy”, and I had no idea if I would even use the thing.

Enjoying my True Z9.15 treadmill soon after I bought it from
IU RecSports in 2010.

Because the winter of 2010-2011 was full of snow and ice, I was forced to use my treadmill or risk falling down and breaking something if I ran outside. I’m kind of a klutz, so I opted for the treadmill option. I was training for the Boston Marathon at the time and didn’t want to take any chances at getting injured before the race. The nice thing was that my treadmill had both an incline and a decline feature, meaning I didn’t have to sacrifice running on hills even though I was running indoors.

If anyone ever told me that I would end up loving a treadmill I would’ve said they were crazy. But over the last year and a half I have transformed from a hard-core treadmill hater to a major treadmill lover. Don’t get me wrong – I still love running outside, too, and if I am able to run outside instead of on the treadmill I normally do, but I’ve found that the treadmill has actually helped me improve my training in a few ways...

Doing regular tempo runs and longer speed workouts
on the treadmill helped me achieve PRs in the 5K,
10K, Half Marathon, and Marathon in 2011!

Long Speedwork & Tempo Runs

I always find it difficult to go the exact pace I’m supposed to go on long intervals and tempo runs. I also hate doing longer intervals on the track, so the treadmill provides the perfect solution for these two issues. If I’m supposed to do 1200m repeats at a 6:22/mile pace, all I have to do is set the treadmill at that pace and I am forced to run my repeats at my goal pace. If I have to do a 30-minute tempo run at 7:02, I just set the treadmill at that pace and run. The treadmill holds me accountable for running these workouts at the exact pace I’m supposed to rather than making excuses, running slower than I should, or cutting the intervals short. I’ve found that doing my intervals and tempo runs at a consistent pace has definitely helped me in racing situations.

Negative Splits

I have always found it difficult to start off “slow” during my training runs. With the treadmill, I can force myself to start off slow and gradually pick up the pace. I’ve found that it is much better to run slower at the beginning of a run and have energy left to pick it up at the end than it is to run hard at the beginning and slow down at the end because I’m too tired.

Actually Running “Easy” on my Easy Days

Another problem I have when I run outside is running “slow” on my easy days. When I try to do easy runs outside I always end up going too fast. I get caught up in mile splits and pace and basically can’t stand to feel like I’m going “slow”, meaning my legs never fully recover the way they’re supposed to. On the treadmill, I can force myself to run a constant “easy” pace with no speeding up, because that would be cheating the purpose of my workout, which is recovery.

Probably my favorite Olympic moment ever was when
Trent Dimas won the gold medal on the High Bar
in 1992. Nearly 20 years later, I still have it on tape.

I would be lying if I didn’t say that there is one caveat to all of this treadmill goodness, though. I’ve found that in order to truly enjoy the treadmill, I have to be able to take my mind off the run so that I don’t get bored to death. Let’s face it, treadmill running is not exactly a time to listen to nature, look at scenery, etc. When I first got my treadmill, I set up a small TV/VCR combo unit that I’ve had for years on a shelf in front of it. Since I didn’t have cable in the garage and didn’t have an extra DVD player, I was quite limited in what I could watch. Luckily, I still had several (I’m talking 20+) VHS tapes with various World and Olympic gymnastics competitions from the 1980s and 90s. To most people this probably wouldn’t sound like great treadmill entertainment, and in fact some have accused me of being extremely weird and/or crazy for watching old VHS tapes of gymnastics meets while I run, but for me, it is the perfect distraction from the fact that I’m running on a treadmill. Gymnastics has always been my first love, so I have absolutely no problem watching the same meets over and over and over again. In fact, I can recite most of the commentators’ remarks on each tape.

This is my view while running on the treadmill. I now have a
Precor 9.27, as my commercial-grade used True treadmill
quit working a little less than a year and a half after I
bought it. The Precor was a great replacement and I really like it.
(You can still see my broken-down True in the background
here…I need to get rid of it!)

I admit that treadmill running can be monotonous and boring without the right form of entertainment, but I’ve also found that it has helped me immensely in having much better tempo runs, easy runs, and learning to run negative splits, which in turn has helped me run better in races. It also allows me to fit in runs when it’s dark outside or the weather conditions are unfavorable for running. I haven’t had to skip a workout due to weather-related issues in over a year now. No matter what anyone else says about treadmills, I’ve learned to enjoy them and find a purpose in them.

My name is Andrea Eagleman, I’m 31 years old, and I run to…watch gymnastics (wait, what?!)

ANDREA EAGLEMAN is one of Perspective's regular columnists. She is Assistant Professor of Sport Management at IUPUI and conducts research on media portrayals of athletes. She lives in Bloomington, IN and has been running for 17 years. Andrea re-entered the world of racing three years ago and enjoys various distances from the 5K to the marathon, running the Boston Marathon in 2011. Andrea won the Magnificent 7 Road Race Series Overall Female championship in 2009 and 2010. She enjoys traveling, blogging, reading, photography, and hanging out with her husband, Karl, and her cat, DC.

The Lactate Blues and Perseverance

2012-01-13T08:00:00.008-05:00

BY: ROB ROBINSON

Per-se-ver-ance: noun
steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

Two years ago I attempted and fulfilled my first half marathon and ever since then I've been running in various 5, 7, 8, and 10k's through six other counties surrounding my very own Monroe County. What a great place to do what I love doing in my spare time!! Bloomington runners are blessed with these rolling hills that accompany us at about every turn. On top of that, if you want to get out to the trails and discover what they have to offer, even better, all the while remembering that "what does not hurt you makes you stronger."

This past summer I set out to conquer the sub-20 5K milestone and came close enough a few times to nearly savor the fumes of the runner in front of me who actually did it. The problem was not that I lacked the perseverance to conquer a sub-20 during the race; the problem was that I was not persevering through my preparation the way I needed to do so. Enter in a speedwork routine here or there once a week and problem solved, right? Wrong. It wasn't until I incorporated speedwork with the right kind of stamina training that enabled me to stay on track to accomplish this seeming arduous task. There is no question that this has definitely benefited my time and sustainability, and the reward was finishing two recent 5K's with sub-20 times.

According to mcmillanrunning.com, stamina training can consist of various steady-state runs or tempo runs, which I usually pursue twice a week. Steady-state means just what it says–you are running in a steadily faster than normal pace, but capable of maintaining your breathing consistently for a longer duration. To me this translated to utilizing my best 5K performance time and lowering the steady state of running to between 6:57–7:09 pace per mile. Tempo running on the other hand was then figured out to be between 6:40–6:57 pace per mile, pushing myself a bit faster while still maintaining, without succumbing to fatigue. One thing I found was to remain as diligent to the task as possible and if that meant starting off with lower than usual miles, then so be it, remembering that if on Wednesday I usually covered 10K—no problem—just making sure that at least three or four of those precious miles were done in either of these two states of stamina training.

When it comes to covering speed workouts, I tend to keep it to one per week. Being that I'm a member of BARA (Bloomington Area Runners Association), I have access to the IU outdoor or indoor track on Tuesday nights, which I've found to be a sweet supplemental tool to all things relating to speedwork. One thing I've found about joining a running group is the inspiration you find being around such a great stock of well-seasoned runners, and BARA has its fair share. Ben Bartley is one of those individuals, and he shared with me what I call the golden grail of my 5K speed training.....Bookend Ks, or as I referred to it after immersing myself into it for the first time, the Bookend KO's, ouch!! Start with your warm-up, then run a single K, then try 6–10 x 400 meters (depending how you feel), then wrap it up with another 1K, with 1 minute rest between each interval. My time for each interval (using the McMillan running calculator) had to be between 3:45–3:56 for each 1K and 1:25–1:28 for each 400. People, I'm telling you that this type of running regimen—speed alongside stamina workouts—over a three week period enabled my VO2 (oxygen consumption) & lactate threshold levels to be where they needed to be in order for me to accomplish the aforementioned goal.

There is nothing like having fuel in the tank, whereas before the tank had been depleted to nearly zilch and the legs were far too painstakingly heavy. This brings me to another point of my perspective: a mistake I've made far too often is starting off out of the chute like a bullet. You know how it is, the gun goes off and it's go time!! I constantly have to remind myself to initially slow down, get into a good position and find a steady pace that will not cause the lactic acid to build inside my muscles, creating these lead weights to pull around for the duration of the race.

Stamina training has enabled me to take on the lactate blues and convert a much more comfortable return of energy and put it to good use.

My name is Rob Robinson, I'm 41 years old, and I run to…stay fit, compete, and stay connected to a genuinely cool core group of runners. Cheers!!

ROB ROBINSON is married with 2 children, and is a Sterility Assurance Technician at Baxter Pharmaceuticals. He enjoys hiking, sports, music, and fly-fishing, and has been running on and off for 12 years. His most unique race was onboard the flight deck of the Aircraft Carrier (USS Forrestal) in-chopping through the Mediterranean Sea via the Atlantic Ocean to begin what would eventually be a 6 month voyage, the Rock of Gibraltar to the North and Morocco to the South. Rob runs primarily to stay fit, compete and remain active.

Race Against the Clock: The Importance of Showing Up on Time

2012-01-11T08:00:00.045-05:00

BY: COURTNEY PACKARD

I know what you’re thinking, “Um, showing up to a race on time isn’t rocket science.” And you’re exactly right—If you show up late, you miss the race. Logical, right?

Try telling that to my busted internal clock.

While I’ve never missed the start of a race, I’ve come dangerously close. Dangerously close as in I once had to interrupt a race director in the middle of his beginning announcements since the registration booth had already been packed up and I needed a race bib. Dangerously close as in I once didn’t even have time to stretch before a hilly, 5-mile race. Dangerously close as in I once ditched my husband in the middle of downtown Indy because as we approached the starting line I heard “Runners get set!” and had to book it to my corral.

I think you get the idea.

When it comes right down to it, getting to a race on time all boils down to strong time management skills. If your 5K race starts at 8:30 a.m. at a location 20 minutes from your house, logic will tell you “Hey, I should make sure I leave my house by 7:50 a.m. so that I have plenty of time to travel, find a parking spot, pick up my registration packet, and stretch.”

But the morning of, this is what my logic tells me: “Hey, I should make sure I leave my house by 7:50 a.m. so that I have plenty of time to travel, find a parking spot, pick up my registration packet, and stretch. But you know, an extra 15 minutes of sleep might do me some good and I should definitely have a bagel before I leave.” And that’s exactly why you’ll find me sprinting to the start line around 8:29 a.m. while I simultaneously poke myself trying to pin my race bib to my shirt.

Besides running the risk of missing the race altogether, not showing up at a reasonable time can greatly alter your mental state. The last few minutes leading up to a race should be spent mentally psyching yourself up for the task at hand, preparing both your mind and body to run at your best speed. It shouldn’t be spent fretting about assembling your bib, selecting the correct playlist, or worrying about whether or not your vehicle is going to get towed out of the handicap spot you hastily parked in out of desperation. If the start gun goes off and you’re still a frantic mess, guess what? The first mile or so of your race is going to be a frantic mess.

It’s not that I don’t care about my races (Clearly, I do. I wouldn’t sign up for them if I didn’t!), it’s just that I’m a slave to my own laziness. But more importantly, I seem to lack a basic understanding of how long 10 minutes actually is. “It’s 8:20? I’ve got PLENTY of time.”

My internal clock clearly runs on dog years. Or something.

So I’m making a conscious effort to be at least 15 minutes earlier than needed to every racing event from here on out. I’ve cut it way too close (more times than I mentioned) and if I ever end up actually missing the beginning of the race, the joke’s on me because I'll be the idiot who paid $20 for a race she never got to run.

And I may be lazy, but I absolutely hate wasting money!

My name is Courtney Packard, I’m 26 years old, and I run to…get to the starting line on time. ;)

COURTNEY PACKARD is one of Perspective's regular columnists. She is a publicist at Author Solutions in Bloomington, Indiana. Courtney graduated from Indiana University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and the dream of becoming a writer. Her running career officially began in the summer of 2010 when she got the bright idea of, “Hey, I want to run a half marathon!”. Three mini marathons, a trail race, a 7k and numerous 5k races later, Courtney is addicted to the running lifestyle. When she’s not obsessively running at Clear Creek Trail, you can find her snuggled up with a good book, writing her blog, planning her next road trip, cooking in the kitchen, or hanging out with husband, Clayton, and their spunky beagle, Joey.

Trail Running In and Around Bloomington Indiana

2012-01-09T08:00:00.301-05:00

BY: SCOTT BREEDEN

Bloomington is one of the best places to live in the Midwest in terms of proximity to trails. However, few runners take advantage of this great network of trails so close to us! Most trail runners find themselves running at Pate Hallow or Lake Griffy over and over again because they don’t know of anywhere else.

Here is a list of some of the best trail running Bloomington has to offer (other than these two, of course). I hope you take advantage of them!

Wapehani

Driving Time from Bloomington: 0 minutes
Best for runs under 10 miles

Wapehani is a great local area that is rarely used—in fact, most people don’t even know about it. It is easily accessed from the north end of the Clear Creek Trail (on Tapp Road). It is designated as a mountain bike park, but runners and hikers are encouraged as well! Don’t let the fact that mountain bikes are allowed discourage you; I’ve actually never even seen a mountain biker out there and I have been running there for 6 years now. The trail system there is quite unique in the fact that it is hard to go to the same place twice. The trails are set up on a “web” where one trail splits into two, then those two spit again, and so on. With that being said, there is no “main” trail and each time I run there I find myself doing different routes. Currently the City of Bloomington is building even more trails there as you read this. It can be easy to get lost there, but if you can remember to head back to the lake (situated in the middle of the park) you should be able to easily find your way back to your car. There are a total of about 6-7 miles of trail there (although online resources suggest anywhere from 5-9) so anything much longer than 10 miles (or 90 minutes), I find myself getting bored. Wapehani is great for shorter weekday runs but I suggest other options for anyone wanting to run longer than 90 minutes.

Races in the park: None. DINO series used to have a 15K in the park but that was several years ago.

How to get there: (1) Park at Clear Creek Trail Tapp Road parking lot. Run across Tapp Road and turn right on Weimer Road, then turn left on Wapehani Road and the trails are at the end of the road (~1.5 miles from the CCT parking lot). (2) There is also a parking lot at the end of Wapehani Road so you could alternatively park there. Directions to that lot can be found HERE.

Morgan-Monroe State Forest

Driving Time from Bloomington: 15 minutes

Best for runs of 3 miles, 6 miles, 10 miles, or 10+ miles

click to enlarge

There are two 10 mile loops which are the park’s main attraction but there are also two 3 mile loops, which can be combined for a 6 mile loop, and the start of the Tecumseh Trail is here. One could combine the two 10 mile loops for a 20 mile run, or one could do an out and back on the Tecumseh Trail—the possibilities are really endless. Here is a brief description of the trails; for more info do not hesitate to ask.

Three Lakes Trail: Don’t let the name fool you, there are actually only 2 lakes on this loop. For those of you who have run Run with the Foxes, most of that course takes place on the Three Lakes loop. Starting from the parking lot, head south across the dam—the trail starts on the other side of the dam. Follow the white blazes (painted marks) on the trees for ~10.4 miles until you return to your car. The trail is well-marked except for one part that is confusing—when you reach the second lake, run along the grass (after making a left off the road to get on the grass) for ~100m before making a left turn to go back into the woods. It is easy to miss this left turn as it is not marked very well. About halfway through the loop, and just after the 2nd lake, you will come to bathrooms and a water fountain where you can get more water if needed. This is trail #4 on the map above (which can be clicked to enlarge).
Low Gap Loop/Rock Shelter Loop: Low Gap Trail is the other 10ish mile loop that Morgan-Monroe has to offer. Park at the Low Gap trailhead (see directions below) and look for signs indicating the start of the trail. There are 2 trailheads from the parking lots, as the trail is a loop. You can take the trail either direction, but I’ll describe it as if going down the trailhead that does NOT have stairs at the beginning. Once again, look for white blazes on the trail. This is trail #7 on the map. The trail splits twice. The first time you have the option of returning to the parking lot which would make the run a total of 3 miles long (this is the Rock Shelter Loop or trail #6 on the map), or you can continue on and do the whole 10+ miles. To do the full 10 mile loop bear right slightly at the split (there will be a sign that says "back country area") or to do the 3 mile loop bear a slight left (the sign will say "to parking lot", or something to that extent). There are no bathrooms or places to get water on this loop, so plan accordingly.
Mason Ridge Loop: Also starting from the Low Gap parking lot, there is another 3 mile loop. Cross the paved road and you will see a trailhead. Take this and it will go ~1.5 miles until it dumps you out on the same paved road. Cross the road and go ~100 meters on a gravel road (you will have to pass through a gate) before making a right turn back on the trail. You are on the trail for ~1.5 miles before you return to the Low Gap parking lot. This is trail #5 on the map below. This can be combined with the Rock Shelter loop for a nice 6 mile run (trails 5 + 6 on the map).
Tecumseh Trail: The 42 mile long Tecumseh Trail begins at Morgan-Monroe State Forest. Out and backs can be done on it or you can do a point to point run and have someone pick you up at the other end. To get to the trailhead, continue past the Low Gap trailhead for ~2 miles. There will be a parking lot on your right that says Tecumseh Trail.

Races in the park: Run with the Foxes, Knobstone Trail Mini Marathon, Tecumseh Trail Marathon. Also a portion of the Red Eye Relay runs through the park.

How to get there: (1) Head north on Old State Rd. 37. When you pass Musgrave Orchard, you are getting close. You will see a lake on your right, with a gravel parking lot on the right, next to the lake. This is the easiest place to park for the Three Lakes Trail. (2) Head north on Old State Rd. 37, when you past Musgrave Orchard you are getting close. You will see a lake on your right, continue and you will make a left turn into the park, this will be well marked. Continue on the main forest road for ~3.3 miles until you see signs for the Low Gap parking lot on your right.

Yellowwood

Driving Time from Bloomington: 20 minutes

Best for runs of 6+ miles

Located just east of Bloomington and on the way to Nashville/Columbus. Yellowwood hardly gets any use at all, much less than even Morgan-Monroe so you’re likely to have the trails to yourself. The terrain here is very similar to Morgan-Monroe. There are a variety of different trail lengths and almost all of the trails pass right by one another so they can be combined for even longer runs. The Tecumseh Trail runs through this park as well so out and backs on it are also an option. There are bathrooms and water located at the campgrounds throughout the park as well as at the park office. Here is a brief description of the trails. For more information doesn’t hesitate to ask again. Trail maps are available at the park office, if they have not run out of them, which can definitely happen. (Specific trail info below from HERE - click on "trails")

High King Trail: .5 miles, Steep trail cut through a heavily forested hillside. The trail leads up to a scenic view, you can do an out and back to return to the starting point or the trail connects with the Scarce of Fat Trail. To get to the trail head follow directions to the dam.
Lake Trail: 4.5 miles, This trail loops completely around Yellowwood Lake. The trail uses several segment of other marked trails so caution to follow the right trail is needed. Always follow “wave” markings on the trees. There are multiple access points to this trail but if you park by the dam you can access it and several other trails.
Scarce O' Fat Trail: 4 miles, Some parts follow fire trails, so watch for trail markers. Begins at the ending of the High King Trail. To get to this trail follow directions to the dam. Take the High King Trail for .5 mile till it terminates. At the end the Scarce O’ Fat trail begins. This trail is a loop, but you come out approximately 200m from your car. To get back to your car turn right on the gravel rd. the trail dead ends on.

There are also several horse trails available at Yellowwood. Like most trails "specific" to others ways of trafficking, hikers/runners are welcome however, if horses scare you, you might want to try the trails listed above which do not allow them. Horse trails can get muddy at times, so be prepared for this and wear old shoes. Rain can easily turn the trails into a mess. All of these horse trails can be accessed from the horseman’s campground, which has a parking lot. Follow signs for the horseman’s campground when you enter the park.

"Y" Horse Trail: 8.6 miles, Starts and ends near Horse Campground. Follow signs from the Horse Campground.
"SY" Horse Trail: 4 miles, This shortcut creates a 4-mile loop on the Y Trail. Starts and ends near Horse Campground. Follow signs from the Horse Campground for trail Y but watch for the turn off for trail SY.
"Z" Horse Trail: 4 miles, Starts at Horse Campground - traverses west side of lake on the Lake Trail and then follows portions of the Scarce of Fat Trail.

Races in the park: The Tecumseh Trail Marathon ends here. Also there is a 5 mile race around the lake that takes place on the same day, the Yellowwood Lake Fun Run/Walk. It is a part of the Tecumseh Trail Marathon event.

How to get there: Take 46 East then turn left on Yellowwood Road. There will be a sign telling you to turn left for Yellowwood State Forest. From Yellowwood Road, follow signs to the park. Once inside the park follow the signs to get to the trailhead of your choice.

Brown County

Driving time from Bloomington: 25 minutes

Best for runs of 0 - as much as you want

Cost: $5 at gate

Located a few miles past Yellowwood, Brown County State Park is a much more established park. The trails are excellently marked and it is next to impossible to get lost. There are bathrooms and places to get water all over the park. Afternoons in the summer and fall are peak visiting hours and the park can get quite crowded at these times. In general, there are 3 different types of trails in the park: hiking, biking, and horse trails. As mentioned before, runners are welcome to use all three but if watching out for bikers and horses doesn’t suit you, then stick to the hiking-only trails. You’ll get a park map at the front gate which clearly identifies which trails mountain bikes are allowed on. The map that they give you only shows some of the trails the park has to offer, but you can get a topographic map from J.L. Waters or a similar store if you want to see all the trails. Brown County is a unique park in that it is much hillier than either Morgan-Monroe or Yellowwood, and it is the furthest drive out of any of the parks I’ve listed. Some of the scenic overlooks (a.k.a. hesitation points) are some of the most beautiful views in all of Southern Indiana- enjoy them! By far, Brown County is my favorite place to run and I encourage everyone to get out there and see what it has to offer!

The real gem of the park is Trail #9 which starts at Ogle Lake. Trail 9 is a "lollipop" trail so you will have to traverse the “stick” of the lollipop twice to get back to your car, as well as going around the loop the "candy". In total, the trail is ~9 miles from the parking lot at Ogle Lake. The trail features difficult hills and is a perfect loop for those training for races with a lot of elevation change.

Races at the park: Dances with Dirt, Reindeer Romp 5K/8K (this one is on roads rather than trails), DINO Series 5K/15K, and the new Frosty Trails 5 Miler, this Saturday!

How to get there: Take 46 East past Yellowwood and just continue on straight (along the hilly, curvy road). You’ll go up a big hill and the west entrance is on your right; you can’t miss it as there are signs directing you to it. There are other entrances to the park but this is the closest one to Bloomington.

Hoosier National Forest (Charles C. Deam)

Driving Time from Bloomington: 20 minutes

Best for runs of 14, 15-30 miles

Hoosier National Forest Charles C. Deam section is another great area for running. All the trails here also allow horses so they can get a bit muddy at times. From the Hays Road parking lot you only have one choice and that is to take the Hays Trail for 1.9 miles. From there it dead ends into the Grub Ridge Trail which you can take either right or left for a 15 mile loop round trip. If you head left or right on the Grub Ridge Trail, you can pick up the 545 trail for a nice loop of ~7 mile run round trip. Another option is to head left at the split then run ~2.7 miles until you see the beginning of the Peninsula Trail on your left. Take this for ~2.6 miles until it deadends in the lake. Turn around and run back for a nice out and back of 14 miles round trip. These are the three easiest routes from the Hays Road trailhead. More routes exist if you want to run further and, of course, you can always do an out and back for any distance, short or long. See below for a nice map of the area.

click to enlarge

How to get there: The closest trailhead from Bloomington is the Hays Road trailhead. Head east on 446 and cross the causeway over Lake Monroe. Turn left on Hays Road. It is a gravel road and is VERY easy to miss. It is the next left after Burgoon Creek Road. If you see Alan’s Creek Road on your right, you have gone too far. Hays Road says no outlet/no parking but after you go ~100m down the road, there is a gravel parking lot big enough for 4 or 5 cars and it's never full. There are a bunch of different parking areas located along Tower Ridge Road (also off of 446) but it nearly doubles your driving time from Bloomington so I always park off of Hays.

***

More Information:

Hunting takes place during hunting season in Morgan-Monroe State Forest, Yellowwood State Forest, and the Hoosier National Forest. Runners and hikers are welcome to use the trails during these time periods but are advised to wear bright colors and/or vests. If being around hunters scares you, I suggest running at the other parks I listed (Wapehani and Brown County) which do NOT allow hunting.

Also, while some of my "best for runs of" distances may seem quite daunting, don't forget, you can always just do a there and back of any distance. Finally, more info on the trails that most runners are already familiar with (mentioned at the top of this blog) can be found HERE (Griffy) and HERE (Paynetown). Both of these places have trail maps onsite.

This is just an overview of some of the trails around the area. I hope you enjoy it and again, if you have any questions or are in need of a good route, don’t hesitate to ask me! Trail running holds a special place in my heart and I hope you’ll take advantage of the hundreds of miles in and around Bloomington that are offered. Bloomington and the surrounding areas have such a great network of trails. I am hard pressed to think of any other area in the Midwest that compares!

My name is Scott Breeden, I’m 22 years old, and I run to...well, because I have nothing else better to do.

SCOTT BREEDEN began running at the tender age of 14. One day he got lost in the woods in Brown County State Park for a couple hours. From then on he decided to do trail running and has done it ever since. He prefers to run long distances, basically anything over a marathon. Scott ran over 5,000 miles in 2011. Read more about him HERE.

Running For No Reason

2012-01-06T08:00:00.023-05:00

BY: MOLLIE ABLES

Every runner has probably had a family member or co-worker ask them, “Why were you running? Was someone chasing you?” However obnoxious, it’s a legitimate question. Running is a useful skill – one that most people possess – that can be used when in danger or in a hurry, and the idea of using this skill recreationally might seem a little strange to an outside observer. Before I became a runner I would often joke, “I’m not going to run unless it’s from something or to something." For instance, I might run toward cake.

I decided I needed to start running a few years ago, mainly because I had run toward too much cake over the course of several months. When I first tried it (running, not cake), I did it alone without any specific plan. I would basically keep a forward momentum until I hated life too much to keep going. I didn’t have any concept of pace, or how long a “long run” was, and the whole ordeal just seemed purposeless.

I soon learned that runners, like most people, perform better in a structured environment, which is why they form running groups. The set meeting time holds you accountable, and running with people makes you much more conscious of your pace and your mileage. You are keeping up with an actual person, often a friend, rather than an abstract number. I have found this to be much more effective than the “virtual opponent” feature on my Garmin watch.

Though it comes quite naturally to the modern runner, organized running for fun is a relatively new concept. In 1962, the New Zealand Herald featured an article on the Auckland Joggers Club, a group of fitness enthusiasts who would meet once a week to run for “fitness and sociability.” This is both the first documented running club, as well as the first documented use of the word “jogger.” It wasn’t long before the concept took off in the United States:

Some people will only run to avoid mortal peril. For others, fitness and sociability are reason enough. The rest of us rely on races for motivation. If you run with a group, one of the first questions you’ll hear is, “What are you training for?” Most of the runners you meet have a specific race in mind. I’m working on my doctorate, and while I love what I do, I very rarely research a topic just for funzies. When I conduct research, it’s usually toward a specific paper or presentation. Similarly, races provide a specific reason to train. Without a race day looming, I’m not sure I could make myself waste a perfectly good Saturday morning running 18 miles.

Races provide an objective outside of our own need to run. A race also provides a measureable goal, with regulations set by an unbiased entity. When you run a race, you earn PRs, medals, t-shirts and other cool swag. You have a sense of camaraderie with those who have also run the race. You also feel incredibly accomplished after completing a goal you set perhaps months prior, and there is now tangible and documented evidence of your own tenacity.

When race season is over, finding motivation becomes more difficult. You have completed your big marathon or half-marathon, sat through the necessary recovery time, and now what? Without any races in the immediate future, there’s no sense of urgency. Plus, the inclement weather and short, dark days foster a biological urge to remain couch-bound and sweatpant-clad until late March. And it's only now just January.

Without a race, we are forced to return to the original reasons we started running: We wanted to be outside more, we wanted stamina and heart health, we wanted to achieve mental clarity through exercise or, more commonly, we wanted to be able to eat more. We run for the same reasons those nice New Zealanders did in 1962. Furthermore, once you’ve established yourself as a runner in your own mind, it becomes harder to not run. When you become enough of a runner that you have an “off-season,” you notice it when you’re not running. You continue to run to maintain your sanity, and perhaps that of your spouse.

In the "off-season", we have the opportunity to return to our running roots, and perhaps rediscover what originally made us love running. That, and discover the miracle that is Yaktrax. Give it a try. It is January after all...

My name is Mollie Ables, I’m 30 years old, and I run to...lots of reasons!

Also, I highly recommend Yaktrax!

MOLLIE ABLES is a "former fat kid” who discovered running late in life. She had resigned herself to the idea that she would never really be in shape, until she ran her very first 5K in 2007 and found herself hooked. Since then Mollie has run six half marathons and two full marathons. When she’s not running, she's writing her dissertation toward a Ph.D. in musicology and working in the marketing department at IU Press. She’s also into yoga and she dances with local belly dance troupe.

Top 5 Reasons to Run the Warrior Dash

2012-01-04T08:00:00.078-05:00

**Note: This is the second piece in our Top 5 Reasons series, featuring posts on the top 5 reasons to run (or not run) a particular race.**

BY: RACHEL NOIROT

On June 4, 2011, I ran the Warrior Dash in Logan, Ohio, about an hour southeast of Columbus, OH where my sister and her husband live. My friend Laura and I signed up months before due to Laura's prompting and excitement about the sheer novelty of the race and its obstacles. We also convinced our sisters to sign up to since they both live in Ohio.

A few weeks before the race though, Laura received news she was accepted into the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Ahhhmazing news, BUT it meant she would be starting summer classes and would not be here for the race. It also turned out my sister and brother-in-law had a baby shower to go to so they couldn't make it to the run either. I was still up for it though, so I met up with Laura's sister, Anne, and her brother-in-law, Ben, at the race.

Scheduling concerns was one risk we all took signing up so early, but it filled up SO fast that we just hoped nothing came up in the months leading up to it! Luckily, Laura had her turn to run it in December with her cousin in South Florida.

Here are 5 reasons to run it!

1.) You get to see CRAZY costumes! The starting line is a sight. I stood near a 6'5" Goliath-looking guy who looked like The Rock. He had a gladiator outfit on and his hair was shaved into a mohawk. A couple guys with him were dressed as superheroes. I also saw girls with Jim Tressel sweater vests on, and a group dressed as Smurfs—Papa Smurf and all! They even have a most ridiculous costume award. Anticipating the mud, I stuck to wearing old clothes though. I also wore old tennis shoes, and they collected them in a huge pile afterwards to recycle.

2.) It’s great cross-training! You run, but you also climb fences, crawl under tunnels, and roll through mud! There are several of these across the country, so each may have different things. The most memorable for me were “rubber ricochet” (tire jumping), the “great warrior wall” (wooden barricade), “road rage” (climbing through a scrapyard of rusted vehicles), and “muddy mayhem” (crawling under barbed wire while in a mud pit!). You also PR no matter what since there's NO other race you can compare your time to.

3.) You get a WARRIOR hat with horns like a viking.

4.) You jump over FIRE at the finish! It's not too scary and kind of makes you feel like Chuck Norris.

5.) You can eat a GIANT turkey leg afterwards : ) I only finished ¼ of the thing, but it was GOOD and a very appropriate setting to eat a large piece of meat. You had to purchase the leg, but they did have free bananas, water, and gatorade at the finish as well.

I placed 83rd of 4,039 warriors among the heats that day, 2nd female overall, and 1st in my age group, finishing in 25:32 for the 5K course. They had awards at the end of the day, and food and a band playing as well, so many people stayed for the day. They gave engraved steel warrior helmets to the top 3 males and females and a trophy to the top 3 in each age group. I decided not to stay since I wasn't interested in drinking and/or getting sunburned. Unfortunately they don’t mail the awards, but just having the fun memory of the day was ok with me.

Afterwards, I felt like I was a lot less tired than others who wore heavy costumes and probably hadn't run much before in them. I had run the Bayshore Marathon just a week prior though and did have trouble swimming with my shoes on in one part of the race though when we had to swim over logs (the “deadweight drift”)!

The Warrior Dash is a great event to do with friends, even if they don't run much or aren't athletic, the field is really diverse. It was a good way to switch it up for me and a nice start to the summer, after having been marathon training through the spring!

My name is Rachel Noirot, I’m 29 years old, and I run to…do fun races like this!

(2012 Warrior Dash dates and locations can be found here.)

RACHEL NOIROT is from Wauseon, Ohio and works for Indiana University as a Registered Dietitian. Her qualifications for her future husband include: has a job, can run a 5K, and must not be a Michigan fan. (Rachel is a big Ohio State fan.) Her mom says Rachel ran a few miles a day as a toddler, but officially started running in junior high school, continuing through Bluffton University, where she ran XC and track while studying nutrition. Her senior year in outdoor track, this Bluffton women won her first ever conference championship. Since then, she's run 6 marathons and loves meeting up with friends to run. Rachel agrees with Ryan Hall that the Bible unlocks the perfect heart for athletes to compete from. In each race, PR or not, God gets glory. "Encourage one another and build eachother up. Rejoice always...for He is faithful." 1 Thes. 5

Anneke: The Beginning

2012-01-02T08:00:00.039-05:00

**Note: This blog is the first in “Anneke,” a year-long series chronicling everyday woman Anneke Riley’s return to running and holding her accountable for getting back out there—at her request. This series runs from 1/2/12-12/31/12 with posts at the beginning of each month and an end of year wrap up.**

BY: ANNEKE RILEY

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently”—Henry Ford

January’s Goal: Run three days per week for the entire month.

1973–2007: Horses can trample you, tennis balls are not like boomerangs, golf is boring, and a decent try at the long jump does not mean you will be a star in hurdles. Oh, and swimming the breast stroke works best without breasts. I never stuck with anything athletic for long, but then again, I never really wanted it bad enough. Because if you want something bad enough, you just plain do it, get it, or become it, right? I had never considered running as an option because running is, as the car magnets and t-shirts proclaim, the punishment for every other sport.

Anneke with her husband and youngest at the
2008 Indy Monumental Full Marathon

2008: I decided I needed to be healthier. By April I had lost 35 pounds by changing my exercise and nutrition habits, but soon found myself with even less leisure time due to a new position in my company. I didn’t want to gain back the weight I had worked so hard to lose so, I ran. Begrudgingly at first. It was easiest on my schedule, logging two or three miles on my lunch break or before picking my son up from school. I started training more and more, and that fall I completed my first full marathon, the inaugural Monumental Marathon in Indy. I had only trained up to 16 miles due to a stress fracture (fibula), but I had come so far the doc said I could keep going and run the race anyway. So I finished my training with minimal running miles and a lot of elliptical. I finished the marathon in 4:29, better than I had hoped! I was hooked on running—I loved the workouts and the physical and emotional highs. Who could forget the exhilaration of pushing yourself to that next mile, outside in any weather, at any time, on any day!? Who could!? As it turns out—I could.

The day before her due date

2009: My stress fracture healed, I got pregnant and I slowly began to forget that exhilaration. Not the fact that I had felt great, because I knew I had, but the actual feeling of greatness. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t just command my body and mind to feel that way without consistently running (does that sound as lazy as I think it does?). As my pregnancy progressed I became sedentary and gained back all of the lost weight. I had not been the “New Fit Me” long enough for the good habits to be locked and loaded, so after my daughter’s birth, I found myself at the starting line again.

2010: I picked up running again in the spring, finding it more challenging the second time around with two children and another promotion (apparently I work more reliably than I run). I met a supportive group of runners I thought could motivate me, and managed to squeeze out a half marathon that fall with another stress fracture. Unfortunately, although the support was totally there, as it turns out, I am impervious to outside motivation and that was the end.

2011: The entire year has been a blur. I work 50 hours a week…wait, you do too? Crap. Ok, I have kids…oh, you do too? Damn. What’s that you say? We all have the same hours in a day? Ooooooh…it’s how BADLY you want something, not the circumstances that surround it…

Well, I know I want my running life back. I want to feel that exhilaration again. I want to be a runner. I’ll be 40 in just two short years, and while I don’t place much stock in age, I do think it’s vital to use your time well. To do something every day that fulfills the balance of family, work and self. I am a happier, more productive person when I am in shape. I know that.

So here we go. My journey.

My name is Anneke Riley, I’m 38 years old, and I run to…get in shape.

ANNEKE RILEY is a mother of two, a wife of one, and a Brand Manager for In Vie, a statewide distributor of fine wines. She began running in the spring of 2008 because it fit into her hectic schedule, and ran the inaugural Indy Monumental Full Marathon that fall. Since then, Anneke has been an on-again/off-again runner, and hopes to be on again for good in 2012. She enjoys filling her time with family, work, photography, travel, cooking, and running!

2011 Review

2012-01-01T08:00:00.232-05:00

BY: MANDY CLARKE

Happy New Year, readers (and writers)! As we near 10,000 page views since September, I'm definitely looking forward to a fun and interesting 2012. I love that more of you are commenting on the blog!

Most of our writers started off with an "I don't know if I can do this" attitude, but you all wanted to contribute something and clearly you all COULD do it! Congratulations! We're always looking for more perspectives, so click HERE to find out how to submit! You're always welcome to contribute more than once as well.

Here is a list of my personal favorite posts of the year—I highly recommend you check them out. It was hard to choose just 10 out of 56(!), but here they are:

1. Regular columnist Courtney Packard's "Parking Garages, Pizza, and Pink" on women and body image.

2. Regular columnist Andrea Eagleman's "Cause vs. Course" on running a race to support a cause vs. running a race for other reasons such as PR possibilities.

3. Rachel Wheeler's "How to Sabotage Your Chances of a Great Race", a list of 10 humorous ways to really blow it on your big day!

4. Cheryl Hickok's "Togetherness" from our "It Runs in the Family" series. Any Mom will truly appreciate this one.

5. Valerie Wieskamp's "After" post on running the Chicago Marathon with a broken ankle: "My Achy Breaky Ankle: After My First Marathon" Yep, really.

6. Non-runner Laura Baich's "11/11/11: Top 11 Reasons She Does NOT Run"

7. Kari Gillesse's "Running in a Winter Wonderland", including some great winter and nighttime safety tips and advice.

8. Ben Bartley's "Sexism in Running, Still? Seriously?!" on new IAAF regulations concerning world records—and how they affect women.

9. Chris Basham's "Hashing: Scars as Medals" on hashing, a widely-practiced yet little-known part of running.

10. Regular columnist Lance Daugherty's "Maybe the Most Important Reason to Run", whose piece really encompasses what Perspective stands for.

...and if it wouldn't be too lame to pick one of my own, I'd choose my "New York City Running Tour" post.

Also, you'll all be happy to hear that Larry Hammersley is recovering nicely from his meniscus surgery and has been given the okay to try running again (slowly) as of today. We'll check back with him later.

Tomorrow, look for the first post in our new series, Anneke, chronicling everyday woman Anneke Riley's return to running, sharing her story, and mainly holding her accountable for getting back out there this year—at her request. So get right to harassing/encouraging her! That's some New Year's resolution, right?! This new series will run through 12/31 with a post at the beginning of each month and an end-of-year wrap up.

Thanks to all of our writers and readers for making Perspective's first few months a fun experience for me. I hope you've all enjoyed it as much as I have.

I'm happy to report I met the 2011 personal mileage goal I mentioned HERE (squeaking by with 700.10 miles) and am stepping up my goal for 2012 to 850 miles.

So what are your New Year's resolutions? Comment here! Happy 2012!

What's To Like?

2011-12-30T08:00:00.039-05:00

BY: LANCE DAUGHERTY

What’s not to like about the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon held in Indianapolis early each May? In my opinion there is plenty. To say I hate the “Mini,” as it is affectionately known, is a bit harsh. I dislike it to such a degree that I have run it for my final time. I have run the Mini 11 times, the last being in 2010. The last several times were more out of tradition than out of any sense of satisfaction or passion for this monstrosity. After the 2010 race I asked myself why I continued to run this event. I couldn’t come up with a good answer, because overall I found the Mini more of a hassle than it’s worth.

What actually happens to the money collected well in advance of the running of Mini and 5K events? Some simple calculations show the Mini likely brings in over two million dollars. Using only the “early bird” $55 entry fee, 35,000 Mini registrants put $1,925,000 in the coffers. 4,000 5K participants add an additional $120,000 at the $30 entry fee. This doesn’t include additional money brought in by the training series and souvenir sales. In my opinion, the Mini is overpriced, but I know as long as it sells out, those in control of such things will look to raise the entry fee and/or expand the size of the field. In these uncertain times it becomes increasingly difficult to justify the cost of the entry fee, gasoline to drive both there and back, hotel rooms, meals, and parking fees for this event. I see the Mini as one big “money grab.”

There should be some specific stated reason for the Mini’s existence and what is being accomplished other than the obvious. The “500 Festival” has a mission statement, but is very general in nature and not specific to any event. Is there some worthy cause supported by the Mini? I’m not aware of any. Are any of the monies donated to cancer research, food banks, battered women’s shelters, or any of the many worthy causes supported by smaller road races? The Mini may be nothing more than a “cash cow” funding other 500 Festival activities during the month of May. I would like to think I am wrong.

Let’s talk about the Mini-Marathon course. Boring is the first word that comes to mind. It is basically flat as a pancake with absolutely no character. Much of the course winds through nondescript neighborhoods. And how many years can one run around the 2.5 mile 500 race track and get excited? I find this part of the course excruciatingly boring. If you happen to be running there on a particularly warm day, you will feel like fried bacon by the time you exit the oval. I felt the course had much more character years ago when it started on monument circle and finished at the yard-of-bricks on the race track. It was more challenging, had some hills and was generally a more interesting course. I know the logistics of a point to point course became overwhelming, but still.

Then there is the music, and I use the term loosely, along the course. If this assault on the senses is to pass for entertainment then you can keep it. With few exceptions, this cacophony of instrumental and vocal discord could be better used to keep rodents out of your house. The same can be said for the inane announcer who drones on and on before the start of the race. I say turn the volume down to a low roar. You are absolutely, totally annoying. That guy adds nothing to the Mini experience. I now understand why so many people bring their own music to the Mini. It must be to help them maintain their sanity. Many participants just want to focus on finishing the event without having their eardrums blasted for 13.1 miles.

There are a number of things that must be done between leaving for and arriving home after the Mini logistically. One of the first things is parking. If you are new to the Mini experience and even if you aren’t, finding a parking spot can be a challenge. You will have to walk up to a mile to reach your destination before and/or after the race. You’ll have to decide whether you want to park closer to the start or the finish. I preferred being as close as possible to the finish. That way, after I completed the course and was fatigued I didn’t have as far to shuffle. Also, there is always a need to use a porta-potty at some point prior to entering the corral. It’s great fun (not) to use these anytime, but in the dark with a cold seat, it’s especially delightful. There are always decisions as to what and how much “stuff” to take to the start line. These items may include a drink of some kind, extra clothing, etc. It is important to stay warm, as you have to stand in the corral for at least a half-hour prior to the start. Finally, after getting back to your vehicle, there is the challenge of getting from the parking place to the interstate. The slow moving traffic can be a aggravating. All of these logistical issues can leave you exasperated.

These are just some of the reasons I’ve run my last Mini. I didn’t even discuss the hassle of packet pickup or the fact you have to get up very, very early in preparation for the 7:30 a.m. start, unless you pay a fortune to stay in a hotel onsite. I can understand first timers being wooed by the Mini’s siren song and even wanting to run it a second time, but beyond that……I’ve become jaded by what the Mini has become: a bloated, overpromoted, overpriced, overhyped 13.1 mile annoyance that just doesn’t deliver.

My name is Lance Daugherty, I'm 67 years old, and I run to away from...the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.

LANCE DAUGHERTY is one of Perspective's regular columnists. He retired in 2007 after working nearly 38 years in various aspects of Quality Assurance in the food industry. He lives near Mooresville, IN and has been running for 22 years (not including high school and college). Lance has run nearly 550 races including 16 marathons (running the Boston Marathon twice). He won the Magnificent 7 Road Race Series 60-69 AG championship in 2008, 2009, and 2010, and is a volunteer for the series, tracking series points. Lance enjoys reading, fishing, hiking, bird watching, and yard work.

Brad's Bracket Bitching

2011-12-28T08:00:00.052-05:00

BY: BRAD SWAIN

Since my interest in running began just a few years ago, I have noticed personal changes. A better physical and mental outlook have been the most important. What project or goal seems too difficult after you have trained for and completed your first marathon? The funniest change has been on birthdays. “I’m a year old now—do I move up an age bracket? Cool!”

Now that I am in a 50-plus age bracket, I find many of my age-mates have been afflicted with knee issues and other maladies which retired them from running, opting into cycling and other low impact activities. This attrition reduces my competition for placing in my age division. Heck, sometimes just getting out of bed and showing up at a 5K is all it takes. My pursuit of ego boosting paraphernalia began with a run in Palmyra. I received plaque for 2nd place in the 45-49 age division. I moved into the next age division that year, and actually looked forward to turning 50.

After receiving a few awards in age division, I began paying attention to which events have 5 year versus 10 year age groups and to how many places deep the awards go. It's a real source of frustration to place fourth in a ten year stretch, knowing that five year groupings meant I would have taken a memento home. Is this petty? Am I a trophy $#@!*? I’m not sure, but it is what motivates me. I discussed the topic with one of the elite runners in the local race series. He keeps all of his awards and even has a room dedicated for them. I know other fast runners with the same thoughts about the age groups too.

My primary running partner asked a race timer about run organizers who don’t seem to understand or care about this matter. She said they try to explain the issue with those who want to hold a 5K, but it falls on deaf ears too many times. These folks are trying to fundraise for good causes, so they don’t see things the same way. This spring at a local run, another timer learned during awards presentation that the organizers were only awarding for age brackets—with no distinction for sex! He announced he would pay for the awards himself to ensure there were male and female categories. The students running the event were doing it for a very worthy cause, but had no idea about how to manage a 5K and apparently didn’t seek any input.

Some organizers tell me they are trying to maximize the money they raise, but how much can these awards cost? The last event I ran in Ferdinand had five-year divisions. They awarded medals for first, and ribbons for second and third. My third place ribbon hangs on the “I Love Me” wall in my office, among the sparse assortment of medals, glasses, and plaques.

Is it possibly time for runners to voice their opinions to the organizers? Last October I checked the online calendars for races in Central and Southern Indiana. I have traveled 90 minutes or more to a preferred event. There were about a dozen to choose from. I contacted those which didn’t list what the division breakdown would be, and gave feedback accordingly. There are a lot of nonprofits competing for runners dollars now, and unless the charity is of particular interest to a runner, maybe we should be more discriminating based on these logistics. Maybe organizers will realize they will gain enough extra runners to cover the small additional cost if they use the more traditional categories.

My name is Brad Swain, I'm 51 years old, and I run to...display cheap trinkets in my office (and for world peace, of course).

BRAD SWAIN is a native of Bloomington, IN and a detective with Monroe County Sheriff's Office, going on 26 years of service. He and his wife have a farm in Bloomington and a hardwood tree farm in Southern Indiana. Brad has an AS in Law Enforcement from Vincennes University and is a graduate of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and the FBI National Academy. He enjoys running on the B-Line and Clear Creek Trails, as well as near his farm, with the wildlife and cattle for an audience. When he's not running, Brad enjoys classic cars, swimming, scuba diving, and motorcycling. He completed his first marathon, the Air Force Marathon, in September 2011.

A Tribute to Albert Mesarosh

2011-12-26T08:00:00.002-05:00

BY: ALLEN BURRIS

If you are north of a certain age–and I’m not sure what that age is–then you know the expression, “They don’t make ’em like they used to.” That expression can be nuanced to mean a few things, but one meaning is that a lot of things are not built as sturdy as they used to be.

Sturdy – that’s an interesting word. It means strongly built or made, confident and determined, according to the Oxford folks.

Albert Mesarosh is sturdy. He’s 73 and still runs, usually not wearing the latest in running fashion apparel. He doesn’t care, as long as he’s running. Albert is a familiar face at many races. It’s hard to describe to him in some ways. He is truly unique! And sturdy!

Recently during the awards ceremony at the Give Thanks 4 race in Mitchell, we gave thanks for Albert and honored him for his long term running achievements. Now, each Thanksgiving we will honor other long term runners with the Albert Mesarosh Long Run Award. This will be given to an area runner who has accomplished many things in his or her long running career.

ALBERT MESAROSH

Take a look at what Albert did in 1992, at age 54! Read it slowly.

January 19: Frosty 5K 22:21
February 22: Vincennes 10 Miler 1:19:13
April 4: Spring Fever 5K 22:46
April 12: Glass City Marathon 4:03:54
April 18: Fitness Challenge 5K 21:37
April 25: Louisville Half Marathon 1:43:17
May 2: Crane Half Marathon 1:45:01
May 23: WRV 5K 21:30
May 31: Phil Harris 5K 21:29
June 6: Sunburst Marathon 3:44:08
June 27: Limestone 5K 20:32
July 4: Madison 10K 41:25
August 1: Owensburg 5K 21:35
August 9: Morgan Monroe 10 Miler 1:19:06
August 29: Watermelon 5K 21:13
September 5: Summerfest 5K 20:17
September 19: Toledo 24 Hour Run 85 miles
September 26: Persimmon 5K 21:29
October 4: Celestine 5K 21:25
October 11: Columbus Marathon 3:43:45
October 18: Louisville Marathon 3:44:20
October 25: Chicago Marathon 3:48:51
November 1: Columbus 50K 4:53:19
December 5: Kentucky 50 Miler 9:52:00

Did you pay attention? Amazing! I’m not sure any are being made like Albert anymore.

My name is Allen Burris, I'm 53 years old, and I run (and in this case, write) to...honor people like Albert!

ALLEN BURRIS is a minister at the Mitchell Church of Christ in Mitchell. He has been running for many years and recently qualified to the run the Boston Marathon in 2012. He is the director of the Give Thanks 4, a Mag 7 Race Series four mile race that takes place in Mitchell on Thanksgiving morning. Read more from Allen at his blog.

Parking Garages, Pizza, and Pink

2011-12-23T08:00:00.001-05:00

BY: COURTNEY PACKARD

A couple weeks ago, I made the unfortunate mistake of eating half of a DiGiorno’s pizza while I watched the Victoria’s Secret 2011 Holiday Fashion Show on TV. I love VS and have a total obsession with any and all things in the PINK collection (my closet is a shrine to colorful undergarments), but being completely devoted to a line of lingerie is immediately put into perspective when you watch 6-foot tall gazelles who weigh 90 and some-change pounds parade the sexy undies that you so clearly will never look that good in right in front of your face.

There I was, eating more pizza in one sitting than they have probably eaten in their entire lifetimes. And there they were, looking better half naked than most people look completely clothed.

I hate that I couldn’t enjoy the fashion show because I was too wrapped up in my own insecurities and saw each model as a walking threat in bedazzled stilettos. My husband Clayton claims he's not into chicks built like that, but I think it's a blatant lie because even I'm into chicks built like that.

Never mind that earlier that evening I logged over 6 miles running up and down ramps in parking garages.

Never mind that during my post-run shower I looked down at my body and was, dare I say it, satisfied with what God gave me.

Never mind any semblance of self-confidence I was feeling at all that night—just drop a few stick-skinny models in my living room whose lot in life is to be ridiculously gorgeous, and I’m right back to square one.

And yet, I never changed the channel. I watched, like a mesmerized idiot.

Whenever Miranda Kerr jiggled down the sparkly runway, the cameras immediately panned to Orlando Bloom who was sitting in the front row, clapping and smiling at her as she walked past. This happened EVERY.SINGLE.TRIP.SHE.MADE.DOWN.THE.RUNWAY. We get it, Orlando—she’s your wife. You and the 5 cameramen working the fashion show made that abundantly clear to the baby Jesus and everyone watching at home. But honestly, does it even really make a difference? Did any dude that didn’t star in Pirates of the Caribbean or rock a magical mane of blonde hair in Lord of the Rings ever stand a chance with her? I think you’re safe, dude. Chill.

Adding further insult to injury, in between trips down the runway, the fashion show provided its viewers with a segment of mini bios so we could learn all about the Victoria’s Secret Angels (dreams really DO come true!). However, instead of just talking about themselves, the models were filmed talking about each other, candidly describing their BFFs’ sparkling personalities and fascinating interests (even though I’m pretty sure 99% of the straight male population’s level of interest stops at “boobs”).

One of the models, in an adorable English/British/Australian/I-didn’t-pay-enough-attention-to-figure-out-where-she’s-from accent: “Bahati is an adrenaline junkie. She loves hang gliding and going on adventures.”

So this girl is unnaturally hot AND she does extreme sports? I might as well just kill myself now. Game over.

But honestly, even though Nikki Minaj was dressed like Lisa Frank on an acid trip at Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, I couldn’t help but notice that her body is ten times sexier than any of the waifs strutting down the runway next to her. She’s shaped like Jessica Rabbit for Pete’s sake! Why isn’t she sportin’ a tie-dye thong for VS? Why do we let women whose body type represents approximately 1% of the entire world population’s model our mass-produced sexy lingerie? I don’t get it. Surely no woman is delusional enough to believe that if she buys that diamond-encrusted Brazilian g-string she will look anything remotely close to Candice Swanepoel? And why would she want to? Aside from a handful of women who were lucky enough to be born with the same DNA as Olive Oil, nobody looks like that. So how and why did that body shape become the coveted holy grail of sexiness in the first place?

Her waist isn’t even natural. It’s has to be some sort of voodoo magic.

Watching that fashion show tempted me to run upstairs and dig out all of my gender studies books from college so I could try and rationalize why I simultaneously felt both disgust and jealousy over everything that was parading around on my TV screen.

I need more pizza.

My name is Courtney Packard, I'm 26 years-old, and I run to...look semi-decent in my numerous pairs of Victoria's Secret PINK boy-cut briefs.

**Note: This blog was adapted with permission from a piece on Courtney's website, Notably Neurotic.**

COURTNEY PACKARD is one of Perspective's regular columnists. She is a publicist at Author Solutions in Bloomington, Indiana. Courtney graduated from Indiana University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and the dream of becoming a writer. Her running career officially began in the summer of 2010 when she got the bright idea of, “Hey, I want to run a half marathon!”. Three mini marathons, a trail race, a 7k and numerous 5k races later, Courtney is addicted to the running lifestyle. When she’s not obsessively running at Clear Creek Trail, you can find her snuggled up with a good book, writing her blog, planning her next road trip, cooking in the kitchen, or hanging out with husband, Clayton, and their spunky beagle, Joey.

Top 5 Reasons to Run the Marine Corps Marathon

2011-12-21T08:00:00.134-05:00

**Note: This is the first piece in our Top 5 Reasons series, featuring posts on the top 5 reasons to run (or not run) a particular race.**

BY MELANIE CASTILLO-CULLATHER

Ever had that runners’ high that stayed with you for weeks? My third marathon, the 36th Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. on October 30, 2011, had that lingering effect on me. There was something magically spooky about that race and I swear I felt like someone took over my body, carried me through 26.2 miles, and triumphantly broke my personal record by 34 minutes and one second. I refuse to discount the presence of friendly ghosts—especially since MCM was held on Halloween weekend. Up to this day, I keep asking myself, what on earth did I do differently with my training or did MCM offer differently from my two other marathon races?

I’m new to running compared to my running pals. Each time I join a race, whether it’s a 5K, half marathon, or a full, I always learn from it, feel renewed, and emerge more committed to running, which began as a curiosity and is now an important part of my life. I also learned that every race is unique and has its own culture or spirit. The Marine Corps Marathon was in that category. It was unforgettable for me in so many ways. I tell my friends that I’m biased about the MCM because I love Washington, D.C. Like other big races, I am sure there were logistical arrangements that ticked people off, e.g. having to go through security check at the packet pick up and at bag check on race day. However, I think the benefits of running the MCM far outweigh these inconveniences.

1. Pre-Race Fun

If you would like to use the race as an opportunity to vacation or explore, then I highly recommend MCM, as there are many great places to eat and see in Washington. Even better, you can use the MCM route as a guide for a pre-race tour because it takes you to historic landmarks, museums, and other scenic places. It will also give you an idea of where you will be at certain mile markers and where you would like your friends to cheer you on. A post-race tour is also not a bad idea, especially if you need to stretch those tired legs. The National Mall is the perfect place for that.

2. Organized, You Bet

I had lots of questions prior to the race and I always received instant responses from MCM via Twitter and email. They were on top of it.
Despite the security checks, lines went smoothly. On race morning, I headed to the Metro at 6 a.m. even though the race did not start till 8. I ran from my friend’s home in Georgetown to the nearest Metro station in Foggy Bottom. It was dark and cold, but I felt happy and safe to see many police officers getting M street ready for the runners. The station was PACKED. It was hard to get in or out of the train. I couldn’t even reach my camera to take a pic of the crowd because every runner had set their alarm at exactly the same time and arrived at the station en masse. Everyone was bursting with energy, yet it was so organized, they were quietly moving in with the flow from the train to the start line on Route 110, a few hundred meters away from the Pentagon. According to the MCM website, close to 2,000 marines and sailors sacrificed their weekend to support the runners and volunteer.

3. Spectacular Course and Coursemates

The course was fun and fairly flat. The first 7-8 miles were rolling, but if you run in Bloomington, especially at Lake Griffy, the MCM route should be a breeze. It was only around miles 20-21, on that last bridge before entering Crystal City, when I experienced a slight trace of boredom, but it quickly disappeared when I found out that I was running closely with a fast pace group. I was ecstatic when I realized that I could beat the bridge and set a new PR if I kept up with them.
I remember running strong and enjoying every mile alongside runners who were strangers. I felt like we all knew each other through an unspoken agreement that we were in this exciting adventure together. I will never forget chanting with the Marines. Some of them ran in full gear with heavy backpacks. I can't even imagine trying to keep up their fast pace with that load. Other Marines shouted, “make a hole, make a hole!” and everyone moved to the side so participants in wheelchairs could navigate through.

4. Crowd Support

Uphill to the Palisades neighborhood was a welcome challenge, but it was time to ditch my pre-race presents: a pair of thick winter gloves and a nice hoodie. Fortunately, a friendly spectator who stood in front of her house quickly understood my desperate situation. She kindly took my gloves and hoodie from me, and gave me her address so I could go back to retrieve my gear. I shouted a thank you and was off! From mile 9 to the finish, I rambled off her house number to myself, but from Palisades, it was downhill to M St. in Georgetown, where my mind began to drift toward almond croissants at La Madeleine’s, a bowl of chicken rice hot soup, and a bottle of champagne at Dean & Deluca. The house number was now in competition with a new mantra, “must get bottle of champagne.” Still a nice woman.
Running and seeing the rows of museums, galleries, and going around the loop of reflecting pool were real boosters! Not only was the crowd support here fantastic for me, this was quite the fun place for spectators themselves, especially for families with kids!

5. Finisher Snack Box and Bling

That's right, a finisher snack box. You're jealous, admit it. So what's in the box? Lots of healthy snacks such as crunchy edamame, pretzels, crackers, hummus, chocolate, banana chips, apple sauce, dried mixed fruit, and a tiny moistened towelette. They also had bananas and bottled water, just not in the box.

Check out this magnificent medal! Who wouldn't want this shiny piece of work in their collection?! Of all the medals I've received, this one by far stands out amongst the others. And the middle part twirls! You really must see it in person. And there's only one way to do that...

I didn't know about any of these goodies until I finished. The reason I registered for MCM last February was as an excuse to go back to the city where I first lived when I moved to the U.S. twenty years ago. This city holds a special place in my heart. Though I’d been back many times, I had never run in it. When I finished, I did not immediately go have my picture taken in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial like everyone else. Instead, I walked across the park and stood in front of the old brick apartment building where my husband and I used to live together—our first home.

I did not run MCM because of the flashy medal or how well-organized the race was. Instead, I was motivated by these goals: to have a great time, reconnect with old friends, visit favorite coffee shops, and pretend I was back by taking the Metro. Joining a race to reach a PR is one thing, but I think you can never go wrong if you choose a race based on a location that either holds a special place in your heart or promises an exciting adventure. It takes your race experience to a different level, and offers fun new memories. And that is why I ran MCM—and would run it again.

My name is Melanie Castillo-Cullather, I’m 48 years old, and I run to…well, I guess I haven’t figured that out yet. I will.

MELANIE CASTILLO-CULLATHER picked up running in her mid-forties, during the summer of 2007 when she trained for the IU Mini in September. Since that time, she has run multiple 5Ks, 10 half marathons, and 3 full marathon races. Melanie has a master’s degree in Philanthropic Studies and has been the director of the Asian Culture Center at Indiana University since 1999 when she moved with her husband, Nick, to Bloomington from Washington, D.C. in 1993. Prior to coming to the United States, she worked at the United States Information Service (under the U.S. Embassy, Philippines) and a local television station in her hometown in Davao City, Philippines. Melanie and Nick live with their two children, Isabel Amihan and Joseph Benjamin, and their dog, Tank.

New York City Running Tour

2011-12-19T08:00:00.277-05:00

BY: MANDY CLARKE

A few weeks ago, I was obsessing over my mileage log when I realized that I was definitely going to run more miles in 2011 than I did in 2010. I simultaneously realized that it might be possible for me to run an even 700 miles–if I planned it just right. I’m obsessive about my mileage, and while I could pretty much guarantee that I was going to run more than last year’s 669.19 (that’s not at all specific, right?), the thought of running exactly 700 tickled my (neurotic) self pink. I mean, really, why didn’t I just run the extra 30.81 last year? After all, I’m the kind of person that will run halfway down the block and back just to make sure I run the 5 miles on my schedule instead of 4.91. What can I say? I like even numbers.

Unfortunately, I was going to be in New York for work the first week of December, which could totally kill my plan. I definitely wasn’t going to run alone in the dark, and being that it gets dark around 4 in the afternoon there (not at all an exaggeration), I knew I needed something to motivate me since I will NOT run on a treadmill.

Lo and behold, while we were running the other night, a friend of mine casually mentioned a running tour she did in Chicago. Basically, for around $25, she said she got to run around the city with a tour guide. I was a bit clueless on what she was talking about—running with a stranger in a random city?— but I checked out the website and it was legit. And it looked fun!

I quickly realized that the $25 she paid in Chicago was for a 5K group tour though, and since the NY options were a bit different, and their group runs were on the weekends, I was going to have to shell out some cash for a personalized run ($60 for up to 6 miles, and $6/mile after that—meaning $66 for me since I needed to get in a 7-miler that day). I was a bit reluctant, but if someone was really going to meet me at my hotel, run wherever I wanted to go, at my pace, carrying my water, and taking my picture, it pretty much seemed worth it. And the business had been on The Today Show, which gave it some credibility in my eyes.

So I signed up. I mean, really, what’s $66? Lunch at a New York deli? Eh. I could settle for some street pizza.

The day before the tour, I got a phone call from a guy named Michael. He explained that he would be my guide and would bring water, a camera and subway fare. I hung up wondering why we needed the subway fare, but I figured I’d find out.

The next day at 4:55, after a long day of lugging up to 30 books around the city (I'm a book publicist), and a $2.25 lunch of two slices of pizza and a pop, I headed downstairs to the lobby of my hotel. My stomach had been bugging me all afternoon, and at that point, I was fairly certain I’d eaten some bad pizza and was going to barf on this guy. I was even tempted to call his cell phone from my hotel room and cancel. But I'd paid for it and refused to back down.

Anyway, I turned the corner and saw a guy in the lobby with a big backpack on who turned, smiled, and introduced himself as Michael, my tour guide. In my pizza-induced coma, I wondered how he knew I was Mandy, but later realized the other people in my hotel weren’t walking around in running clothes, shoes, and arm warmers. Oh yeah.

First things first, I told Michael that I didn’t feel well and wasn’t really sure how far I’d be able to run. I waited a full 30 seconds before mentioning that I felt like I was going to throw up—I didn’t want to scare him away after all. But I said I wanted to run and after discussing the options, we decided on lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge, which is what I'd originally indicated on their online checklist, and hopped on the subway to avoid the congestion in the city (my hotel was in Times Square). I’m pretty much freaked out by underground transportation, but felt safe enough with Michael and began to ask him about 7,000 questions, knowing I’d probably write something about the tour.

Map of the route we took (click to enlarge)

So, we were off. I asked how you get to be a tour guide and he casually replied that you come up with the idea for the business. Turns out he was the owner of the entire company, which is actually in 9 cities, but originated in NY. And also a sports chiropractor. Interesting.

I still didn’t feel well and as we began running, I proceeded to ask him about 1,000 questions to take my mind off of it. “Can I call you Mike? Do you run every day? How often do you give the tours yourself? Do you have kids? Do you listen to music while you run alone? How fast are you?”

“Sure. Pretty much. About once a month. Yes. No. And I don’t know.”

“Really, you don’t know how fast you run? Well, how fast did you run the NYC Marathon?” (Yes, I’d already asked if he’d done that at this point and all we'd really done was ride the subway.) The answer was 3:57, but I was really just curious how much I was going to slow him down. Not that he was complaining.

But back to the run. So, we’d gotten off at Chambers Street in Lower Manhattan and ran along the Hudson River to Battery Park City. Between my incessant chatting, Mike told me a lot about the history of New York City. It was really interesting to hear, and he spouted off way more than I’d ever think to ask.

In retrospect, it’s surprising that the tour had such a historical perspective to it, being that the NYC-specific tour website states: “New York is neither an old or imperial city. There are few monuments or memorials; and there’s certainly nothing majestic about the city. It does not aim to preserve or glorify history. Rather, NYC is first and foremost a working city. Its streets, its neighborhoods, its buildings and structures all serve a functional purpose. The Brooklyn Bridge is a vital artery for transport before it is a tourist attraction; Central Park serves thousands of New Yorkers daily looking to relax, workout, or escape from work and life; Times Square is nothing but a few blocks of stores with bright lights. New York City was built around its street life and the intense energy that flows through them.”

Our first stop for a picture was in front of the new Freedom Tower at 1 World Trade Center. As of last week, the tower's steel has risen to the 92nd floor (1,146 ft), while glass panels have reached the 66th floor and concrete flooring has risen to the 83rd floor. Breathtaking. We switched off taking photos—he took some with me in them and I took some on my own (I love photography!). It was hard to get me to show up in the photos anyway since it was nighttime and the tour is usually given during the day. I'm gathering the tour guides aren't professional photographers. Could be a good idea though!

In addition to annoying Michael with questions, I also repeatedly elbowed him. For some reason, I couldn’t keep my balance. Thankfully, he was nice enough about it, although I began to feel like I was running with a big brother, the way he kept making fun of me. Probably because it had gotten to the point where I’d asked so many questions that he began to ask me if I was trying to steal his business and/or identity. I swear, I was just trying not to throw up my pizza. And succeeding.

Michael tried to get me to sing as we ran—he was kind of a goofy guy—but I politely informed him that I didn't really want to scare any small children. We stopped in front of the eternal flame Mayor Bloomberg lit on the first anniversary of 9/11. After my history lesson, we left with Michael humming the Bangles "Eternal Flame" and requesting it as the next tune.

Eternal flame in Battery Park City

I think the best thing about the tour was that we could stop and take pictures whenever and wherever I wanted to. Michael seemed just as fascinated with it all as I was, to be honest. Either that or he was really good at faking it.

Next up was Wall Street. Not occupied at that particular moment.

New York Stock Exchange

I also got to see where George Washington was inaugurated down at Federal Hall.

We passed lots of large Christmas trees throughout the run, but none of them were on. Weird considering it was December and Christmas seems to start in October these days. Maybe next time.

Next up was what I'd come for: the Brooklyn Bridge. Michael asked if I was feeling okay (a.k.a. are you gonna hurl?) and said we could either run halfway across the bridge and back, or run over it through Brooklyn, then back across the Manhattan Bridge. I opted for #2. And I'm so glad I did. Here's why: Running across a mile-plus long bridge in the cold, crisp air in the middle of a strange city was in one word–incredible.

Me running over the Brooklyn Bridge

After talking about the construction of the bridge and its history (Michael said he wanted to get that out of the way before we crossed so I could "run in peace without listening to some dude ramble on and on"), we ran across, stopped in the middle, took some pictures (the architectural features are incredible), then crossed and looped around that end of Brooklyn. We ran out onto some rocks by the water, and darted under some overpasses in places where I would never even consider running alone. This was truly a New Yorker's running experience.

The Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn

From there we ran back up onto the Manhattan Bridge where I soon realized two things. 1. New York was really flat, but this bridge was not (mental note: must remember about bridges when registering for NYC Marathon), and 2. There was no way I was stopping to walk because the bridge was almost entirely vacant and super creepy. Mike even chimed in on that. We passed three people the entire run over the water–quite different from the Brooklyn Bridge. One was a man running in an FDNY shirt, one was a biker, and one was a creepy guy that I probably would have run a 4 minute mile trying to get away from (on a very narrow walkway) if I were alone. Mike didn't really seem to notice any of them, so it was probably just me. (PS: I don't recommend this bridge for anyone scared of heights. I'm pretty sure I elbowed Michael more on this bridge than anywhere else in the city.)

Anyway, after that was a quick trip to Chinatown where I finally gave in and quit. I figured we'd run maybe 4 miles at that point, but it turned out it was closer to 7. I kept saying there was no way we'd gone that far, only concerned with tracking those miles to contribute to my 700, but I think Michael thought I was trying to accuse him of not getting my money's worth; totally not the case. I got my money's worth and more, IMO.

From start to finish, the tour was a little over two hours, including the subway rides. Michael claims his tour guides are better than he is, but I thought he did a pretty damn good job. He was nice, energetic, funny, knowledgable, interesting, confident, and big enough to protect me from the creepy person on the bridge—not that it was necessary.

In the end, Michael walked away with some bruises, and I walked away with a fun experience, a schwag bag, and a smile on my face—after we bumped elbows goodbye, of course. And purposely that time. I definitely plan to do this again, either in a different area of New York, or in another city like D.C., and highly recommend you give it a try yourself.

My name is Mandy Clarke, I'm 32 years old, and I run to...Brooklyn, and back.

MANDY CLARKE is Trade Marketing and Publicity Manager at Indiana University Press. She grew up in Crown Point and Chesterton, IN and currently resides in Bloomington where she received her BA in Journalism from Indiana University in 2002. She has been racing for 3 years and has run 8 half marathons, 2 marathons, and countless 5Ks. Mandy is Head of Partnership for the Bloomington Area Runners Association and enjoys reading, photography, volunteering, writing, and spending time with her husband, Jack, and 4 year old, Sam. She is the creator and moderator of this blog.

Weather Stalking

2011-12-16T08:00:00.086-05:00

BY: CHRISTY VICTOR

It was a dark and stormy night…no, really, it was. I had a half marathon in the morning, so I was at my usual station: checking and rechecking the hourly forecast on The Weather Channel. Unfortunately, I was not seeing the break in the weather that I was hoping for. Yes, I confess. My name is Christy Victor and I'm a weather stalker.

My obsession with race-day weather forecasts started out with legitimate motivations. I needed to know what to wear, whether I’d be cold waiting for the race to start, and if my spectating husband should bring me a jacket at the finish line. Mainly though, I was afraid that it might rain. I’d trained in the rain, but knew that rain on race day would mean tragedy. I was lucky for that first race and we stayed dry. Dodging that bullet did nothing to ease my weather-related anxieties though—this was just the beginning.

After a year of running, I was getting more into the challenge of racing and trying to achieve new PRs. I knew that weather played a big role in how I could pace myself and I found myself checking weather forecasts more and more often as the day of a goal race approached. Then I got my iPhone, and suddenly I could check it as often as I wanted! Even better was when I discovered a website that would give me weather forecasts 15 days in advance. No longer did I have to wait until the week before a race, now I could feed my neurosis even earlier! Somehow, I managed to have pretty good weather for my big goal races for the first 3 years of my running career. But I knew it couldn’t last.

As the Flying Pig approached in May 2010, even 5 days out, the forecast looked bad. As in “rain all day, lots of rain, bring a boat” kind of bad. I’d trained in rain—and I'll even admit that I even enjoyed training in the rain. The most difficult part was just getting started, but I found a special joy in those rainy outings. Racing in the rain though? That just sounded like a recipe for disaster: chafing, falling on slick roads, getting chilled before the race starts. And what kind of spectator is willing to stand out and cheer during a downpour? I checked my forecast. Then checked it again. And again. Rain was now becoming a certainty rather than a possibility. Yep. Still again.

Well, race morning arrived and the forecast proved to be entirely accurate. Rain and lots of it. What was there to do but gear up and get to the starting line? I had my trash bag, I had my Body Glide, and I put on my brand new expo-purchased visor to keep the rain out of my eyes as I walked over to the staging area.

As we stood in the starting area, lightning and thunder were rolling. We actually cheered as the street lights went off, then on and off again. Yes, we were drenched, but even that wasn’t enough to stifle the excitement of the starting corrals. I had an absolute blast—racing through downtown Cincinnati in a downpour, splashing my way through the middle of puddles. I mean, why not? We were already drenched. What’s a little more water? And surprisingly, the spectators still came out to cheer! That truly amazed and invigorated me. How could I complain? At least I was keeping warm by moving. They came out and were pretty chilly in addition to being wet.

Did this cure me of my weather obsession? No, but it started what proved to be a Cincinnati trend for me. The next 2 half marathons I ran in Cincinnati ended up having rain as part of the day and I learned that rain is less of a factor for me than heat is. That said, I still race in the summer, but I don’t do my longer distances or expect to run as fast. I always hope for ideal weather on race day, but I was learning that I am tough enough to deal with the nastiness too.

Earlier this fall, I decided to write this post about my weather stalking when something strange happened. My half marathons came and went with me barely checking the weather! I basically checked it just enough to see what I should pack for race day, then confirmed that choice on race morning. And that was that. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but I suspect a lot of it has to do with a boost of confidence and knowing that I really CAN handle whatever the weather may be.

Now, I still may stay home if the forecast is calling for hail, tornadoes, or ice, but anything else? Yeah, I can take it.

My name is Christy Victor, I'm 41 years old, and I run to...celebrate the experience.

CHRISTY VICTOR went to high school in Clay City, IN, absolutely despising anything to do with running. Her 2007 New Year’s Resolution was to run the Race for the Cure 5K in support of her stepmother. Since that accomplishment, she has run 2 marathons, 11 half marathons, and more than 30 5Ks - some with her husband, Aaron. Christy moved to Bloomington, IN as an Indiana University undergraduate in 1988 and has called it her home ever since, despite her 4 years spent in West Lafayette for vet school. Christy and Aaron now share their home with 3 daughters, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 3 guinea pigs. It’s taken a lot of effort for her not to become the neighborhood’s “crazy cat lady." She is an enthusiastic member of the Half Fanatics and a blogger.

Sometimes All It Takes...

2011-12-14T08:00:00.052-05:00

Morgan with swim buddies of 12 years (bottom middle)

BY: MORGAN TERRY

The theme of my semester has seemed to be lack of motivation. Whether in school, with friends, my health, or even sleep, I just have lacked motivation to do anything. Running has been particularly hard-pressed.

I started running when I came to college. I had never been much of a land person–I was made for the water–but frankly, swimming was just too time consuming! But I needed to exercise my freshman year and running came about as the cure due to the convenience.

It didn’t take long until I fell in love with the pavement and the shoelaces of my teal Brooks shoes though. I started out working my way from running one song out of every four to running a half hour at a time. I kept up with this for about a year.

And then last spring I got plantar fasciitis and stress fractures in both my feet from increasing my number of runs per week. I was forced to take two months off and since then, I haven’t been able to get back in the swing of running. The usual motivators (i.e. my health, gaining weight, emotional/stress release, buddy system) have just not been enough to get me out of my rut.

Then a month or so ago I signed up for a 5K. I don’t normally like to race–I raced my whole life in swimming–but this has been just what I needed. People often say to set goals, small achievable ones, and that you'll eventually make it to your overall goal, but I never actually considered the practicality of this advice. My goal is to run a 5K this Saturday dressed like Santa with a beard and all (the Santa Hustle in Indianapolis). This was exactly what I needed to jumpstart my running life again and I’m so happy that's happened! Sometimes all it takes is a commitment to make you move.

My name is Morgan Terry, I'm 20 years old, and I run to...the feeling of freedom.

MORGAN TERRY is a junior studying Social Work at Indiana University and is from Greencastle, Indiana. Now a permanent resident and lover of Bloomington, Morgan was born a fish and swam from age 5 on, spending countless hours in the water. Once she arrived at college, Morgan looked for something new to try and fell in love with running. Battling through injuries, hectic life and weather conditions, her love for running has grown. Hopefully she will stay healthy enough to run a half marathon within the next year or 2 but for now, Morgan's taking it one stride at a time.

A New PR! Slowest Time Ever!

2011-12-12T08:00:00.090-05:00

This is the "After" post in Nitocris Perez's "Before and After" series on the Tecumseh Trail Marathon. View the "Before" post HERE.

BY: NITOCRIS PEREZ

Running the Tecumseh Trail Marathon this year was completely different from last year. It was so exciting to start out in Morgan-Monroe with all 650 other runners. My five friends and I got to the start early this year so we got to see busloads of brightly dressed runners arrive. Wearing bright colors is advised for this race since it is hunting season. The hunters are one of Tecumseh’s many challenges, especially since for the three weeks prior to the race it is firearm deer hunting season and the only safe place to train is Brown County State Park. Then in December it is muzzleloader deer hunting season. Hearing gun shots during a race is a little creepy.

Thankfully, the weather ended up being perfect. It was a beautiful, slightly overcast 40 degrees that warmed up to 60 by the afternoon. I could not have asked for a more incredible day to spend running through the woods. I was certainly surprised to be racing in short sleeves in December.

The six of us had a plan to stick together for the first several miles and then to split off into groups by pace so newer runners wouldn’t hit the wall trying to keep up with the marathon veterans. Everyone lined up at the start and we were off! The girls led our group, passing other runners. We figured the pace would slow at the stream crossing and wanted to cover some ground before that happened. I could see my friend behind me was struggling to keep up and I was surprised because she is usually faster than I am. The six of us met up at the first water station and pretty much stuck together up until the second water station but she was slowing down and people were passing us. I lost sight of the rest of my group and I started to worry—we were only 8 miles into the race. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I was determined we would finish this together.

I slowed down then discovered my friend was having an asthma attack. She doesn’t normally have problems with asthma, but the combination of rain in the preceding weeks and the thick leaf litter on the ground created mold which was kicked up into the air as we ran. Neither one of us had an inhaler, so I figured our best bet would be to get to the next aid station about a mile and a half away. When we got there we didn’t find any medical personnel but a volunteer let her use his inhaler. This helped a little so we kept going.

Before the race, we planned for my husband to meet us at an aid station near mile 16. I figured if she needed to drop out he could give her a ride, though I had mixed feelings about completing the race alone. Unfortunately, we were an hour behind schedule when we got there and my husband had moved on, so we decided to push on through. We only had 10 miles to go and by my calculations that was just a couple hours, but she felt terrible! We hiked the rest of the race and as it neared 4pm, I realized we might not finish. We reached Yellowwood Lake as the sun was sinking, casting colorful reflections over the water. The day was utterly beautiful and the lake looked like a postcard.

We came upon a hunter with a gun strapped across his back. He didn’t say anything, just stepped aside to let us pass. By that time, we seemed to be the only people in that neck of the woods so this was creepy, but we were in familiar territory at least. These were the trails we had trained on and we were almost done. When we came out of the woods onto the road I mentally flashed back to last year when my other friend had broken his foot, and we ran this stretch together while the others surged ahead to the finish.

We came around a bend and over a couple of smaller hills. Cars leaving the race passed us and the passengers shouted encouragement. I spied the finish chute and we only had .2 miles to go up to the shelter house. I figured everyone would have caught a ride home by now. Who wants to wait around in wet clothes? I shouted “C’mon girl, we got this! Let’s finish strong—you can do it!”

My time on the clock was 7 hours and 8 seconds and I was overjoyed to be done! My husband handed me a tall can of Guinness while my timing chip was cut off and we joined our friends in the shelter house eating soup by a roaring fire.

My friend was so grateful that I stayed with her even though she couldn’t run, but the thought of leaving her alone in the woods never once crossed my mind. It’s better not to bail out during a race because then next time that becomes an option so I am glad we stuck it out no matter what.

I have come to the conclusion that no two Tecumsehs will ever be the same. For me, this race isn't about getting from point A to point B in X amount of time. It’s about testing my limits on grueling terrain while surrounded by natural beauty. One thing I feel really jazzed about this time is how quickly I recovered. I ran in the same shoes I did last year, but my stride is much more fluid and I didn’t heel strike. I can’t wait to run my first road marathon!

When I got home we ordered Chinese food. Check out my fortune!

My name is Nitocris Perez and I run for the camaraderie and the adventure.

NITOCRIS PEREZ is a computer support professional at Indiana University, born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana. She was introduced to running 4 years ago by an invitation to join her office run/walk team for the Jill Behrman 5K. She trained by doing the Couch to 5K plan with her husband, Nate Johnson, and discovered a new hobby. When she isn't running, Nitocris enjoys spending time with family, DIY projects, consuming science fiction, and eating chocolate.

Will Run For Bourbon

2011-12-09T08:00:00.002-05:00

BY: DARRELL HEWINS

On October 7^th and 8^th, I participated in an overnight relay race called the Bourbon Chase. The Bourbon Chase is a 200 mile relay which follows Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail and makes stops at six distilleries along the way including: Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark, Four Roses, Wild Turkey and Woodford Reserve.

For those of you that are not familiar with the Bourbon Chase or overnight relay races in general, here is an explanation:

You essentially round up 12 runners to participate on your team–preferably people you don’t mind getting up close and personal with for 36 hours in a van. Then you rent two vans, preferably cargo vans (but I will get to that later), and pack up your stuff and head to the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, KY to kick off the race. Each van has six team members divided between Van 1 and Van 2. There are 36 legs of the Bourbon Chase of various lengths between 3-9 miles. Each team member runs 3 legs (not consecutively), passing the baton (slap bracelet) to the next team member at each exchange. Van 1 begins the race by sending out their first runner and then proceeds to the next exchange point where Runner 2 waits to make the exchange. Meanwhile, Van 2 is free to relax, eat, or tour a distillery while being “off duty". After Van 1's runners all complete their first leg, Runner 6 will pass the bracelet off to Runner 7 from Van 2. Now Van 2 is “on” and Van 1 is "off". After Van 2’s Runner 12 finishes, they then hand back off to Van 1, Runner 1, and the cycle repeats. This process continues through all 36 legs until the finish line in downtown Lexington is reached.

Our team this year was made up the following members: Team Captains Evan and Claire, Aaron, Rebecca, Trevor, Sebastien, Jenna, Peter, Mollie, Miranda, Maggie, and I. Additionally this year, I had the pleasure of having my wife, Mary Jane, along for the journey. Evan had a commitment the day of the race and could not join us until later that day, so Mary Jane filled in as the honorary 12^th runner. (Non-running, or so she hoped!)

Now—about those cargo vans. I was a part of the Bourbon Chase team in 2010, and this is where I first experienced the joy of said vans. Due to the fact that cargo vans have no side windows, or any seats in the back, we began calling these our “creeper” vans. (Our creeper vans happened to have the luxury of two side windows this year!) While most participants opt for the high class items like windows and seats, we forgo these comforts to maximize our space. With proper arrangement of cargo and padding, four people can stretch out comfortably on the floor and two people can sleep in the front seats.

We feel we are ahead of our time and thinking outside the box...Others disagree. We pulled up next to another van during the race and as they looked through our side window they began to laugh because all they could see were our heads since we sat on the floor. And then we began to laugh as we saw that all of their cargo was piled in the seats with them and they were going to be riding in a seated position for 36 hours.

The race for us started at 1:15PM with a dozen or so teams of the 200 that would start that day. Van 1 with Aaron, Rebecca, Trevor, Sebastien, Maggie and Jenna led us off, and just as last year, Aaron, sporting his awesome superhero racing scarf headband, started us off from Jim Beam and headed down the road to Maker’s Mark. Aaron mentioned he was slightly intimidated by the road-worn leather-skinned runner wearing split shorts. As we watched the guy do his stretches in front of everyone and saw entirely too much butt cheek, we realized that it was best for Aaron to keep his distance. (We later saw the female version of this runner, once again, with a bit too much butt cheek showing!)

After Aaron was off, Van 1 piled in the van and headed off to follow him to the next exchange. Van 2, consisting of Peter, Claire, Miranda, Mollie and Mary Jane (a.k.a. Evan) had plenty of time to kill so we did what came naturally and tasted some bourbon at Jim Beam!

After some time there followed by a late lunch, we decided to head over to the major exchange point at Maker’s Mark. It was at this point we realized that our crew had the misfortune of having to wait a long, long time between when we left home and the time our first runner started. There was a lot of time to kill—which of course meant more bourbon tasting, this time at Maker’s Mark!

At Maker’s Mark, you can actually dip your own bottle of bourbon in the trademark red wax. After donning gloves, sleeves, glasses and an apron, you awkwardly dip your bottle in the wax hoping not to drop it in. The final product is comes out a little rough, but I will let you be the judge of my creation. Thoughts?

Finally, after a long wait, Runner 6 was approaching and it was time for Van 2 to get to work. Sometime around sunset, Maggie appeared at Maker’s and exchanged with Peter. Van 2 was now on!

We drove to our first exchange point where Peter would eventually handoff to Claire. This exchange was at a farmhouse along the side of the highway where people had graciously allowed Bourbon Chase vans to park. It was beautiful hilly Kentucky farmland. We sat on the side of the road on a hillside and watched the sunset; it was so peaceful I could have stayed for hours. If only it weren't for the angry cow. Across the road was a pasture with grazing cows, except for one I like to call the "watchcow." While the rest of the herd ate, she stood watch and mooooooooooed incessantly at all of the chaos across the road. She had a long night ahead of her (and so did the farmers!) as runners and vans were going to be exchanging here for many more hours that night.

As dusk settled in and night fell, we continued on through the rotation through Claire and Miranda’s first leg. My first leg began at 8:29 p.m. when Miranda passed off the baton to me and I headed off for a 7.1 mile run into/through/out of the small town of Springfield. I ran this same leg in 2010 and at that time, the sun was setting behind me and the full moon was rising before me. This year was after dark, so only the almost-full moon was there. This was a fairly uneventful run except for the lone guy sitting on his front porch drinking beer. He asked if I needed any water, but he didn’t offer up a beer.

I found myself flying in the darkness at a much faster pace than I had estimated. The nighttime tunnel-vision coupled with the adrenaline from finally running really helped me push the pace. I finished and handed off to Mollie and immediately saw Evan standing there. Remember Evan? He's the guy that helped us pack in the morning, worked all day, drove to KY, and then decided to run an overnight relay. Yeah, THAT Evan. He had arrived. We had been so worried he wasn’t going to make it that I ran up to him and in my state of uber-endorphine, I gave him a big old sweaty bear hug. I figured he hadn’t been in a van all day, so he needed to catch up on attaining that runner/van aroma.

After Mollie and Evan (a.k.a. Mary Jane?) ran their legs, we handed back off to Van 1 at Perryville. Our Captains had the foresight to reserve a hotel in Danville for the night for both vans to use as we passed through. (Mary Jane headed off to a hotel in Lexington for her “luxury” of sleeping without five other people.) Van 2 was the first to use the hotel for the night, and it would have been nice of us to shower before desecrating the beds, but we opted for more sleep at the expense of Van 1’s “hot racking” rather than spending all that time for six people to shower. We woke up at 3 a.m. after 2 or so hours of sleep and were completely “rested” and ready to go hit Leg 2.

Second leg: wash, rinse, repeat. Miranda handed off and I began my second leg at 6:09 a.m. While Van 2 slept in our aromatic oasis (pronounced "sweat"), we chased the sunrise. Leg 2 for me was a short 5.1 mile run along the highway. No towns, very few houses...just a desolate road. Or so I thought it would be. Last year, running this leg at 3 a.m., there was hardly a car on the road. It was quiet, a full sky of moon and stars with an occasional meteor, dogs barking and the far off sound of a freight train making its way through a sleepy little town. Not this year. It must have been time for everyone to get to work—there was constant traffic coming at me. So, my pace once again got faster simply to get the hell off that road. I handed off to Mollie and she ran off into a beautiful setting of rolling hills, with the dawn's mist gently flowing through the valleys. (I don’t think she enjoyed the hilly scenery as much as those of us in the van did though!) After Evan took over and ran his last leg, Van 2 handed back off to Van 1 at Four Roses so they could start their last legs of the race. Van 2 then moved on to breakfast and a stop at Wild Turkey (and more bourbon) before heading to the final major exchange at Woodford Reserve. And yes, there is nothing like topping off bacon and eggs with Wild Turkey 101 proof! It really is the Bourbon Chase.

After the last major exchange at Woodford Reserve, Van 2 headed off into the heat of the day to finish the race. It wasn’t hot compared to summertime, but compared to the previous few weeks, it was hot. This affected our pace as it probably did for Van 1 when they ran in the heat the day before. My third leg began at 2:44 p.m. and was an 8.1 mile run that I like to call "The Money Route." I call it that because this leg snakes its way through some of the most beautiful horse country in KY with some of the most valued race horses in the world. I'd pass horses standing around watching the runners and all I could think to myself was that these animals were worth more than I will earn in my entire life. And after seeing some of the horse barns, I realize they might actually live more comfortably than many humans. But, I suppose I understand, as I am but a lowly mid-pack runner, and one of these horses someday could be a Triple Crown winner.

After I finished my leg, I again handed off to Mollie who eventually handed off to Evan who would be running us home to the finish line in downtown Lexington. After we sent Evan on his way, we headed directly to the finish line where we rejoined the members of Van 1. Just a note for those contemplating a race like such: Van 1 people look and smell so much better than Van 2 people at the finish line. While the dirty Van 2 is finishing their third legs in the heat, Van 1 has since checked into the hotel, eaten real food, showered, and probably napped and then they come flaunt their pleasant aroma around you while you reek. (I actually smelled Maggie’s hair just for the mere happiness of not having to smell myself for a few moments.)

Eventually, we saw Evan crest the hill for the last little section before the finish line. So, we did what came natural and made a “power arch” to bring him home. (I won’t explain this, just go watch the Hood to Coast movie). The rest of us then fell in behind Evan and all 12 of us crossed the finish line together. After 28 hours, 23 minutes and 30 seconds, we had done it, and after all was said and done, we had finished 75th out of 250 teams!

The only thing left to do now in the Bourbon Chase was to celebrate...And what better way to celebrate than with another bourbon tasting! All six distilleries were present at the after-party and they were serving up their bourbon varieties. Needless to say, the combination of tastings from six distilleries and the lack of sleep led to a little craziness. After that, we all had a good dinner together while revisiting memories of the Chase and then retired for a nice long sleep in a real bed!

Our team name is “Creepers by the Dozen,” our mental age is far less than our years, and we run overnight relays because we just find that sleeping in a van with 5 other sweaty, stinky, dirty runners is just good clean fun. Want some candy?

My name is Darrell Hewins, I’m 37 years old, and I run to...participate in outrageous events like this, but above all, to experience the joy of bonding with great friends! Cheers!

DARRELL HEWINS is a Mechanical Engineer and currently the Agreements Administrator for Naval Surface Warfare Center at Crane, IN. He was born and raised in Bloomington, IN and, after living out of state for a few years, has settled back in his hometown with his wife, Mary Jane. A few years ago, Darrell decided that an unhealthy routine of smoking, drinking, overeating and leading a sedentary lifestyle was unacceptable. He began to change some of these habits and ultimately succumbed to the addiction that is running which in turn helped lead to an over-100 pound weight loss. Darrell has ran many 5 and 10K races, half-marathons, multiple overnight relays and is currently training for his first full marathon. He enjoys spending time with his wife and family (two cats and a chocolate lab), traveling, good food, good friends, and the occasional glass of bourbon and a fine cigar.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland, Part Two

2011-12-07T08:00:00.009-05:00

This is the "After" post in Valarie Akerson's "Before and After" series on the Brown County YMCA Reindeer Romp. View the "Before" post HERE.

BY: VALARIE AKERSON

I woke up Saturday with a big smile on my face—the Reindeer Romp was today! I was very excited. And nervous. Still wondering (a) will I make it? And (b) will I like it or will it merely highlight what I still cannot do? I decided to stop thinking about that, and instead, to think about what needed to be done to get ready. I saw my Mudathlete tattoo on my dresser, sitting there after six months. Today was the day to actually use it—wearing it would remind me that despite my setback, I really am strong, or at least I was, and I will be again. So I put it on and flexed my muscles to feel strong. And then I saw the reindeer antlers I've always avoided because they would have fallen off while I ran—but they wouldn’t fall off if I walked! Bonus! Mudathlete tattoo AND antlers! This was the start of a great day!!!!!!!!!

As we drove toward the race site I grew very excited. Sure, I might not make it, but I was feeling positive, and was stoked that I wasn't sitting at home on the couch, watching my leg heal. I was actually getting back into the game! And I had my Mudathlete tattoo on for confidence.

It was much warmer this year than at last year’s Reindeer Romp. It was actually over 50 degrees—no snow. I figured it was the world’s way of making it warmer for walkers vs. runners, so I wouldn’t freeze walking in the cold weather. I was still in my warm running clothes though. It wouldn’t seem like a Reindeer Romp without them - one shirt, two jackets, and race shirts.

Close to the start of the race I lined up at the back of the group. I figured I didn’t want to get in the way of the serious competition. Once the race started, I began walking as fast as I could go. It was my main goal to finish, and my secondary goal not to come in dead last. My leg felt pretty strong, so I picked up the pace and actually began passing some of the walkers! I was getting jazzed! And I was sweating! It was hot walking in those warm clothes, especially wearing a hat under my antlers, plus my gloves! I was so happy to be with the group and moving along, and seriously happy not to be dead last. I wasn't sure how many people were behind me, but I was pretty sure there were a few. Once we got to the turnaround point, the first thing I noticed was that there were many people behind me! I was really happy then, and truthfully, I almost ran with joy, but then I remembered I was not supposed to run yet, so I didn’t.

During the race, my knee reminded me a few times why I was walking and not running yet, but I still felt strong and happy. I just kept thinking about my hidden Mudathlete tattoo while I noticed two main differences between running and walking:

1. Most walkers compete in groups, or at least in pairs. There were a few people walking alone, like myself, but most were walking in a social group, and looked like they were having a great time. The runners were running at their own paces, and looked like they were having fun in their own ways, but they were definitely in singles for the most part.

2. Walking did not make me notice the scenery and nature more than running did. In reality, walking made me notice the muscles of the runners more! As runners passed me, I could clearly see the sculpted calf muscles of each and every one of them. It didn’t matter what the age or the gender of the runner was; runners have beautiful calves, and I covet them for myself. I am looking forward to redeveloping my calf muscles!

So, thinking back on my pre-race concerns, how do I feel about myself as an athlete after walking this 5K? I can definitely say that I was supremely happy to be out and moving and with others who were out and moving. And it was a great day to walk a race—the temperature was in the upper 50s! And it was really great to cross the finish line, with my husband cheering me on and my son coming back to walk the rest of the way with me. And I was not dead last, which was a huge bonus! Would I be satisfied only walking 5Ks after today? Well, if I could do nothing else, then yes. But I could tell that, though my leg is still weak, it is growing stronger, and indeed, walking this race has certainly helped with that. I am feeling more and more like myself each day as I know I will be running again.

Next week, I hope I am cleared to “lightly jog,” but for now, my name is Valarie Akerson, I'm 52 years old, and I walk to...feel the camaraderie of the competition.

VALARIE AKERSON is a Professor of Science Education at Indiana University. She researches best practice to prepare elementary teachers to teach science, as well as children’s understandings of science. Valarie grew up in California and moved to the Hoosier State to work at IU. She began running at the age of 48 and hasn’t stopped since. Valarie tries to run at least one 5K per month with her husband, Wayne, and son, Alec. Outside of running, she loves lifting weights, teaching, and traveling.

Sexism in Running, Still? Seriously?!

2011-12-05T08:00:00.056-05:00

BY: BEN BARTLEY

In September, the IAAF, the world governing body for Athletics (track, field, cross country, and road running), ruled that world records will only be valid in single-gender races. Sounds fair, right? When in track and field or cross country have you ever seen a mixed gender event? You haven't.

Road racing, however, has long been the different animal. In a typical road race you will find recreational runners and elites, every age group imaginable, and men and women. Okay, so the other "sports" in Athletics have gender-separate races, what's wrong with the rule? In my opinion, there is validity to the heart of the rule change, but there are two major flaws.

First, the rule was initially made retro-active. What does this do? It takes away any women's records where women were in the same race as men...why aren't men's records invalid in those same races? Men are considered too fast to gain an advantage of pacing off of women. (Are they saying that men are superior, so it's impossible to be paced by someone inferior...women?)

For a race to be considered women's only, it must be either a) all women, or b) have a separate women's only start time. Therefore, Paula Radcliffe's marathon "World Record" becomes a "World Best" and her second fastest time, which she ran with a separate women's start becomes the new "World Record." Big deal, right? Yes, right! How can you train your whole life for something, do it within the rules, then have it taken away from you eight years later? HERE's what she had to say on this.

It should be noted that after much backlash, the IAAF retracted the retroactive application of the rule, so Paula Radcliffe and many other's records will stand. But, it still states that women's records will only count if in a separate start or gender-specific race. The fact that it was initially the direction of the rule has me question the intent.

The second major flaw is the blatant favoritism towards still allowing men the advantage, but taking it from women. So, let's say that the argument then is that it's not the separation of gender (even though I would say it clearly is), but the ability to pace off of a "superior" runner. Then, let's also look at the example where an American (say Ryan Hall) runs with Ethiopians and Kenyans (also male) for an entire marathon, then breaks the American Record...it counts. But, I don't understand, he didn't run it in an American-only race?! Even better, look at this picture from the men's World Record marathon:

Clearly, it can't be a rule against being able to pace off of somebody, those guys bibs say "PACE!" Yet, his world record stands!

So, while I understand the intent of the rule, I am so thrown off by its application that it leads me to believe there is sexism playing a part. Regardless, whether the rule ends up sexist or not, I am embarrassed that it started out that way. Shouldn't a pacer just be somebody who can help you pace regardless of their genitalia?

Better yet, how about you race your competitors and push each other to a world record. Otherwise, shouldn't it say:

Men's Marathon - 2:03:38 - Patrick Makau (& Pace 81, Pace 82, Pace 84)

**Other good reads on the topic: Wall Street Journal article, Seattle Times article**

My name is Ben Bartley, I'm 27 years old, and I run to...keep from standing still.

BEN BARTLEY has been an owner/manager of the Indiana Running Company for the last five years with a brief one year stint actually using his degree by teaching mathematics at Bloomington North High School. He grew up on the northwest side of Indianapolis where he ran cross country and track and later coached at Pike High School. In college, at Indiana University, he briefly ran track and field for Marshall Goss and founded the IU Run Club. Ben recently finished his first iron-distance triathlon (race recap found at My Race, My Story) and now has his sights set on a fifty mile ultramarathon in the Spring.

The Day Before the Tecumseh Trail Marathon

2011-12-02T08:00:00.103-05:00

BY: NITOCRIS PEREZ

I can’t believe there are only four days to go until I run the Tecumseh Trail Marathon. I am a little nervous—actually, a lot nervous—about it. This will be my second full marathon and my second Tecumseh. The Tecumseh Trail is a 42 mile hiking trail winding through Morgan Monroe State Forest in Martinsville all the way to the Yellowwood State Forest in Nashville.

I am not an experienced road marathoner but even if I were, it wouldn’t adequately prepare me for this race because trail running is completely different from road running. I found this out two years ago at my first trail race. It was a D.I.N.O. race at Eagle Creek Park. I had just read Chris McDougall's book Born To Run and was discovering minimalist running shoes. Luckily, I bought a pair of trail shoes at the last minute before the race, but still managed to get so stuck in the mud that my shoe was sucked off of my foot. However, while trail running may be a tough challenge with rugged terrain and sharp changes in elevation, I think Tecumseh's biggest challenge is the unpredictable Indiana weather.

For the past 2 weeks it has rained for days on end punctuated by two sunny days in the upper 60’s. This week, we received our first snow flurries and accumulation, followed by some more sun. I really hope tomorrow won’t be as wet as it was earlier this week and am curious to see just how muddy the trails are after all this mess. Not curious enough to check it out though. Last year, the weather was perfectly decent and then the night before the race there was a snowstorm. My friends and I carpooled together to the starting line where we found out the race was moved to the finish line and became an out and back due to the storm. Somehow we had missed the memo! It took a long time to drive out there because the roads were not cleared off but we forged ahead determined to run. Some people weren’t as lucky as we were. We passed a couple of terrible looking accidents along the way.

Once we made it to the start, the race officials let us begin an hour behind schedule and we were off! Snow fell the entire time and the forest was transformed into a set from the Nutcracker ballet. The trail was muddy and worn down from all the runners ahead of us and I felt warm from running even as I was pelted with wet snowflakes and took off my jacket. At one point we were coming down a steep ravine on a slippery, narrow section of trail and we met all the other runners coming up the other way. Afterwards, after running for 4 hours, it seemed like my friends and I were all alone in the woods, except for the occasional aid station. We sang Christmas carols while running through the forest. Another hour passed and we were really tired but since we started late, we had to hurry back before the cutoff time—we didn’t come this far to get a DNF. We made it to the finish line in 5 hours and 30 minutes and I was ecstatic to stop running. One of my friends broke his foot halfway through the race, but I didn’t know it at the time. Crazy.

I can’t wait to run the normal race route from Morgan-Monroe to Yellowwood since we missed out on it last year. I bet I’ll have to cross some swollen creeks and my feet will get wet early on. I feel strong though because I had a much stronger racing season this year. I ran 4 half marathons this summer and knocked two minutes off my 5K time. I started running in Newton running shoes that I bought at the Indiana Running Company this spring because I wanted to improve my running gait and I just love them. I want to compare running the marathon without heel striking to how I felt last year while I was heel striking, but I don’t expect to beat my previous time since I didn’t fit in a training run longer than 15 miles.

Since Thanksgiving, I’ve been taking it easy and tapering my training off. My house is a little cleaner and I finished planting the daffodils. Yesterday, I got a massage at That's The Rub Massage. I had a massage before the race last year and think it made such a big difference. All in all, Saturday should be a good race and a great day in the woods with some of my best friends. Now let's just hope the weather cooperates.

You can see how much fun we had in the short racing video my husband made of us last year.

My name is Nitocris Perez, I'm 34 years old, and I run to...feel alive and free.

This is the "Before" post in Nitocris Perez's "Before and After" series on the Tecumseh Trail Marathon. View the "After" post HERE.

NITOCRIS PEREZ is a computer support professional at Indiana University, born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana. She was introduced to running 4 years ago by an invitation to join her office run/walk team for the Jill Behrman 5K. She trained by doing the Couch to 5K plan with her husband, Nate Johnson, and discovered a new hobby. When she isn't running, Nitocris enjoys spending time with family, DIY projects, consuming science fiction, and eating chocolate.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

2011-11-30T08:00:00.060-05:00

BY: VALARIE AKERSON

I hate not running worse than I hate running. I have never thought of myself as a runner, and really, I still don’t. But I also don’t think of myself as a non-runner either. I began running simply to “hang out” more with my husband, who really does like to run. By the time of the Reindeer Romp on December 3, I will have been benched for six months due to an injury sustained in competing in the Mudathlon, which was a muddy obstacle course race that included 40 obstacles. I could combine my strength training with running! It was great!

Until the part where I was jumping off a fence (one of the obstacles) and planted my left foot into the mud below, with my knee still turning. “What? I can’t get up and walk now? This is not a good thing.” It didn’t hurt much, but I knew it couldn’t be positive. While the rest of the team (minus my husband, who stuck with me) finished the race, I was in the medic tent, followed by a visit to the emergency room (no break–not bad, right?), followed by a couple more doctor visits, an MRI, physical therapy, and ACL reconstruction surgery two months after the injury itself.

Yikes.

I am still in physical therapy. I am still not able to run. Sigh. I won’t be okayed to “lightly jog” until at least this running season is over. However, on the plus side, I am okay to walk—and the doctor and physical therapist said it is okay to walk a 5K race! Yippee!!!!!!! Thankfully I am registered for the Reindeer Romp 5K walk this December! Hurray Reindeer Romp and the walking option! Which sounds good until I remember my leg really is very weak, and darn it, I hope I can even walk that far without falling on my face, and well, would it be asking too much not to come in dead last?

Cutting handicap parking permit in half.
Cleared to walk!

I have run the Reindeer Romp before and just love getting all bundled up in my warmest running clothes and pounding the pavement (or the packed snow!) during the winter, seeing the beauty of the snow on the trees, and enjoying nature. It makes me warm on the inside even if I'm cold on the outside. Plus they always serve post-race hot chocolate!

One of the best things about the Reindeer Romp is seeing people dressed in antlers and Santa gear, and happily running through the snow. I suppose I will still see these people, but I won’t be joining them on the run, which I am a bit bummed about. But I am super jazzed to be thinking about competing again, and the walk will get me moving in a way that riding my stationary bike or rowing on my rowing machine cannot do—I will be moving through space along with a group of other like-minded folks! And so what if I am not running—I will still be part of the group and I will feel the energy of the camaraderie of others at the event. Plus if I can’t quite make the full distance I will not be alone—there will be plenty of other people around to call the medics if my knee can’t quite take the distance yet. Well, that's if I'm not dead last and people don’t know I am back there…

So, concern 1: I am dead last and can’t keep going because my knee can’t take it and people don’t see me because they are way ahead of me and I get stuck in the woods. Concern 1 resolved: I take my phone with me and am able to call for help if I need it!

Concern 2: I will enjoy walking so much that I give up running and continue race walking. Concern 2 resolved: If I do, who cares? That is not a concern—that is finding a new sport!

Concern 3: I will feel stupid walking because people will think I am lame not running. Concern 3 resolved: I AM lame—only three months ago I could not walk at all—to be walking a 5K is a blessing, and does not mean I am stupid. Even if I never was injured and walked a 5K, I would STILL not be stupid for walking a 5K because that is a great thing to be doing!

Concern 4: I, myself, may not feel happy walking given I wish I were running. I may think of myself as less athletic. No resolution yet—I don’t know if I can be happy walking when I wish I were running. I know it looks to me from the outside that people who compete in the 5K walks always seem very happy to be doing so, but will I be happy walking and not running, or will it highlight to me something that I currently cannot do and will that make me unhappy? That is something that remains to be seen during and after the race. Will walking the course make me as satisfied in my own abilities that running does? I am simply not sure yet…

2010 Reindeer Romp

I am extremely grateful that the Reindeer Romp includes a walking option. I am very much looking forward to the walk, and believe I will be thrilled to join in on the competition and all the fun that such an event means to me. I am confident I will enjoy it the same way I enjoy running. I just hope my knee will carry me the distance. I just hope I will retain confidence in my athletic abilities. I know I will run again, and this walk will provide me evidence of the growing strength in my leg toward that goal. I hope. (You know - if I make it to the end.) It would be even better if I didn’t end up dead last…but regardless, I will be happy.

My name is Valarie Akerson, I’m 52 years old, and I walk to...someday run again.

This is the "Before" post in Valarie Akerson's "Before and After" series on the Brown County YMCA Reindeer Romp. View the "After" post HERE.

VALARIE AKERSON is a Professor of Science Education at Indiana University. She researches best practice to prepare elementary teachers to teach science, as well as children’s understandings of science. Valarie grew up in California and moved to the Hoosier State to work at IU. She began running at the age of 48 and hasn’t stopped since. Valarie tries to run at least one 5K per month with her husband, Wayne, and son, Alec. Outside of running, she loves lifting weights, teaching, and traveling.

What I Wore (On My Winter Run)

2011-11-28T08:00:00.002-05:00

BY: TAYLOR PENROD

We heard last week from Kari Gillesse on all sorts of winter running aspects, and from Courtney Packard on the fine details of holiday shopping. Today's post via my "What I Wore (On My Run)" blog combines both winter and shopping (and may just help you out with your holiday wish list!).

Take a look here:
Gear Guide: Dressing for Cold Weather
Gear Guide: Cold Weather Accessories

My name is Taylor Penrod, I am 26 years old, and I run to...stay warm!

TAYLOR PENROD lives in Bloomington, IN and is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Kinesiology at Indiana University. She is employed at Indiana Running Company and authors the running apparel blog: "What I Wore (On My Run)." She was a state cross-country team champion and 4x800 state record holder while at Barrington High School (Barrington, IL) and a four-time NCAA DIII National Cross Country Championship qualifier while at DePauw University, culminating with a seventh place team finish in 2007. Aside from running she enjoys kayaking, hiking, cycling, and eating delicious food – especially Lou Malnati's deep-dish pizza.