Conquering The Grimm Reaper

One of the cruel realities of life is that in order to truly grow in any area, you must first overcome challenges to accomplish whatever goals you have laid out before you.

Last year, as we neared spring, some friends of mine told me they had signed up for the Volcano Half Marathon, and wondered if I wanted to join them. At the time, I had just conquered the 6-7 mile range, and felt 13.1 miles was just too far for me; so I declined. But in the weeks that followed, I was inspired by their determination to train for the race, so I continued to mull it over. In early March, after a brief rest from running, I went back at it full bore, and quickly pushed myself into the 10-11 mile range. With that, and the encouragement of my running friends, I accepted the challenge to run my first half marathon, and the end result was what I consider to be a life changing experience.

Fast forward to spring of 2016, and I was still running religiously every week, but I really didn't foresee any challenge to get motivated for. I signed up for the upcoming Volcano half (now called Volcano Valley) because of my great experience last year, but after running two other half marathons at the end of last year, I didn't really consider running a flat course to be much of a challenge.

Then, one week in late February, I decided to join the Molalla Running Club for a group run. Part of the group ran a route with hills as part of their training for the Goat Mountain Gallop, a race that I didn't want any part of because I had heard of how grueling the uphills and downhills were. But after running with the MRC gang, I again found myself inspired by this group of runners dedicated to training for a race, so I accepted the challenge -- not really knowing what I had gotten myself into. 

One of the many undulations of the Goat Mountain course.

One of the things that lured me in was the Run Molalla Series, which included three races -- Goat Mountain, Freedom 5K (4th of July), and Molalla River Trail Race -- all for $89 (I'm doing a 10K for the trail race, since I've never done a trail race before). I am a big fan of local races, and I knew that these were all put on by good people, and that much of the proceeds would go to good causes (Goat Mountain benefits the Molalla HS track team). Not only did I have a roller coaster half on my schedule, but also my first trail race! 

After signing up for Goat Mountain, I had the bright idea of driving the course from Colton to Molalla -- NOT a good idea! The drive started out rather mundane, but after the first turn, the road quickly began to undulate like a roller coaster track -- some of the dips were so large that you couldn't see the bottom as you approached, and the ascent on the other side seemed to extend forever... and then we got to the Grimm Reaper, a mile-long steep uphill section of Grimm Road that climbs close to 300 feet in one shot. What had I gotten myself into?!

Molalla Running Club at the start line for Goat Mountain Gallop

Well, thanks to a month of hill training in Silverton, I was able to conquer Goat Mountain and the Grimm Reaper this past Saturday. It was a grueling course, but luckily the majority of the bad hills are done by mile 6, and then it's mostly downhill from there. The one exception is the last hill on Feyrer Park Road, just coming up out of Molalla River basin toward the Coleman ranch -- a hill which I have dubbed, "Coleman Hell". Coleman Hell only rises 100 feet above the bridge below, but the accent is steep, and the hill's placement at mile 11 makes it especially difficult. Through it all, I had a great experience, and hope to run this race again next year. The feeling of accomplishment from meeting a big challenge is really hard to describe with words.

This was my first race where I was actually part of a running "club", and I have to say that I rather enjoyed the experience. It was nice having others there that you knew, both at the start when we were all nervous, and at the end when we could congratulate each other for finishing the race.

Technically speaking, I was very pleased with my time. I knew coming in that this was not a course to expect a PR (personal record) on, so my goal was to at least stay under 10 min/mile pace, and I finished at 9:50 per mile. In comparison, my previous best pace for this distance was a training run completed two weeks prior, which was done at 9:37 per mile -- not too far off. My best in-race half was last September's Oktoberfest run in Mt. Angel, and I completed that at 9:40 per mile -- and as you can see below, there is a big difference in the elevation profiles of the two courses.

Goat Mountain Gallop

Oktoberfest Road Race

Based on that, it's not hard to see why the Goat Mountain Gallop has remained such a small race despite this being its 33rd year. Many runners prefer flatter courses and bigger races -- races which offer more fun stuff at the end like beer, big fancy medals, and after parties; which is truly a shame, because with the natural beauty of the Goat Mountain course, combined with the challenging hills, I would think it would draw more of a running following. I was thrilled to get a nice tech shirt, a small medal, and a pancake feed at the end. I will be back next year. I'll be up for a good challenge by then, I'm sure.

Got Pain?

Glutton Free Philosophy

I am, and want to continue being; therefore, I run. #gluttonfreephilosophy 

Half Marathon #3: Mt. Angel Oktoberfest Road Race

I completed my 3rd half marathon today, the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest Road Race. I am very pleased with my result overall, I set a PR by 5 seconds per mile. I could have finished even better, but I got a rock in my shoe at mile 8, and had to stop and empty it -- which resulted in major pain in my right hip and hamstring for the next mile after restarting. Other than that, and the typical last mile leg cramps in my calves, it was a good run. Here are the graphs from my RunKeeper app:

You can see that the hills at the end of the race got me again, and then leg cramps took over in the last mile. A 5 second per mile jump in PR is respectable, though; so I'll consider this to be progress.

A new motto I came up with this morning before the race.

Now I will take a break from road racing and get back into a normal training routine until next spring. I hope to come back stronger and faster for next years Volcano half, but mostly, I hope to stay healthy and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Race Review: 2015 Pints to Pasta 10K

I ran my first ever official 10K race yesterday, and I really thought this distance was a lot of fun. It wasn't quite the endurance challenge of a half marathon, but challenging in its own right.

The Pints to Pasta event was part of the Hood to Coast race series, and included either a half marathon or 10K. The half is actually Pasta to Pints to Pasta, but the 10K fits the title; starting on the gradual downhill of Greeley Ave in North Portland, passing by Widmer Brewing (Pints) and crossing the Willamette River via the Broadway Bridge, then following Naito Parkway along the waterfront. That is the end of the flat part of the course, as from there it transitions up a brutal hill to Barbur Blvd. / Corbett Ave., before heading sharply back down hill to SW Macadam Ave. and the finish line at The Old Spaghetti Factory (Pasta).


When Tony, a friend and running motivator, asked if I wanted to run Pints to Pasta with him, I was hesitant at first because I assumed he meant the half marathon, and I was already signed up for a half the following weekend (this coming Saturday). When he clarified that he meant the 10K race, I jumped at the chance. I was a little nervous because I had only done small races, and wasn't sure I wanted to join a few thousand other runners on a Sunday morning -- but I'm glad I did. It was a pretty big step for this routine-oriented stick-in-the-mud.

Since this was my first 10K race, I can't say whether or not it was a PR (personal record), but considering the one grueling hill on the course, I am very happy with what I was able to accomplish -- it definitely ranked in the top 5 times I've done for that distance (depending on how accurate my phone's app was for tracking those training runs). I am perfectly happy finishing at 389th place out of 1649 participants (41/88 for my age group).

It was truly a perfect morning for a run -- cool but not cold, mostly clear, with the sun just starting to peak above the horizon as we started down Greeley. The scenery of the river and downtown was gorgeous, and the bridge crossing over the Willamette was fun; and we got to listen to a good cover band play modern classics as we recovered in the shade along the southwest waterfront.

This was my first time getting beer/wine after a run, but since it was included, I decided to give it a try. I went with a Hefe Shandy (half Hefeweisen beer, half lemonade) and a glass of Pinot Grigio. The idea of eating pasta and drinking beer/wine at 9:00 in the morning, after finishing a good run, seems so strange; but it actually worked. The penne pasta with mizithra cheese was the bomb!

While we had a great experience, it was not a perfect event. The choice of route through old town (just for a few blocks) was incredibly stinky, and probably should be reconsidered for next year. The L-O-N-G hill up Barbur to Corbett was grueling, and could have been worth it if we could have "turned and burned" once we reached the top; but the hills back to Macadam were so steep that we actually had to hold back to keep from wiping out or tearing things up. An approach from Waterfront Park / SW Moody Ave. would really improve things, if that is even logistically feasible (or maybe down the east side to Tilikum Crossing next year?).

Elevation plot of the course. Vertical red line is approx. start of 10K.

The other disappointing part for many was some poor planning by event organizers with regard to parking and shuttle buses. Tony and I made it to the shuttles pretty early, and were on one of the first buses to the start line for the 10K. At about 6:45, they announced that the start would be delayed from 7:30 to 7:45 because of parking issues. It ends up that the 15 minute delay was not anywhere near enough time to get all of the 10K runners to the start line, and in fact many racers did not get started until 60-80 minutes after the "gun".  Apparently race organizers thought 5 buses would be enough to shuttle 1650 people across Portland in a one-hour time-frame -- so it was not just a matter of "not enough parking".

Hopefully they will improve a few things for next year, as I really thought it was a lot of fun!

Before & After Update

It's been 10 months since I last did a "Before & After" post, so I thought I'd do another, since I have fresh pictures. The first one is from January 2011 at 240 lbs., and the second from August 2015 at 175 lbs. Not a huge difference in the last 10 months, but gradually trimming and toning. 

My body may ache after completing a half marathon, but I find satisfaction in knowing that this temporary soreness was brought about by doing something great. I may have felt pain-free and "comfortably numb" when I was "fat and happy"; but as a whole, the extra energy, added mobility, and overall healthier feel of being fit and healthy far outweigh any exercise induced discomfort. The road I was on had me headed for a rendezvous with one of those motorized "mobility scooters", but now the road I'm traveling has nothing of the sort on the horizon (Lord willing).

Get out there and forge your own road that's headed in a direction you want to go. I see my friends sharing on social media about their progress from eating a balanced, healthy diet; and from engaging in exercise like kickboxing, cycling, crossfit, running, interval training, etc., and it keeps me inspired and motivated to keep going.

All Day Long!

Recap: Canby Dahlia Run - Half Marathon

Today I officially completed my second half marathon, the Canby Dahlia Run. The following is a recap of my experience:

My alarm was set to go off this morning at 4:30, but I was awakened 15 minutes prior by thunder, lightning, and heavy rain. Not a good omen the morning of a road race. The timing was perfect though, because the showers moved through quickly and the rain ended an hour before the start.

I arrived 45 minutes before the start, warmed up, and found my spot in the mass of bodies. I started off with what I felt was the right pace, but for the first mile I was quite a bit slower than I had intended. By the midway point of the race, I had found my groove -- and I knew the photographer was going to be somewhere in the dahlia farm part of the course, so I was prepared to smile for this race photo!

I knew in advance that wind would possibly be a factor, and that was definitely the case. I think the wind was in my face about a mile more than it was at my back, so who knows how it really affected me. The end result was that I did finish with a PR... by 1 second per mile. An improvement, but not quite what I had hoped for. Still, I'll take it.

One thing I would like to try in future half marathons is eliminating the Honey Stinger gel packets that I had thought were helpful for me. Just like the Volcano Half, I started to feel a bit nauseous towards the end of the race, this time before I'd reached mile 10. I've done 10-11 mile training runs with no gels, and never had this feeling.

As far as the Dahlia Run itself, it was a beautiful course, and an event that was very nicely executed. My hope is to continue training through this fall and winter, with the hope of running at least the two events I did this year, and possibly trying a 10K or two along the way.

#10kmbefore10am #ilived