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Running Journal • November, 2017
www.running.net
CONTENTS
Distance Memories
On the Cover: Brent Ewing (#5962) was first and Alexander-Macias second at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival Open 10K in Fayetteville, AR, on Sept. 30. Photo by Megan Sebeck
Race Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Columns Distance Memories, Scott Ludwig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Inspired Daily, Rae Ann Darling-Reed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 This Running Life, Teri Saylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Masters Running and Beyond, Lena Hollmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Running Through the Bluegrass, Tracy Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Down the Road, Cedric Jaggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Running Psychology, Richard Ferguson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Learning from the Young Guns, Ryan Warrenburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 The Athlete’s Kitchen, Nancy Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 After the Run, Mary Marcia Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Women’s Running, Carolyn Mather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Race Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 40th Annual Running Journal Grand 45-49 Prix Schedule August 25 October 15 November 19 December 9 January 28 March 3 March 11 May 28
Midnight Flight 10K Hero Half Marathon Magic City Half Marathon Rocket City Marathon Winter Flight 8K Birmingham Wine 10K Germantown Half Marathon Cotton Row 10K
Anderson, SC Fayetteville, AR Birmingham, AL Huntsville, AL Salisbury, NC Birmingham, AL Germantown, TN Huntsville, AL
Grand Prix rules Grand Prix points will only be awarded to runners residing in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, DC, at the time of the competition. Double Grand Prix points will be awarded at the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, AL. In each half marathon, 25 bonus points will be awarded to each runner scoring in that race. Awards will be presented to the top 3 overall male and female finishers, top 3 male and female masters, grand masters, senior grandmasters, and veterans. Points will be awarded in each race as follows: -- Top 20 males and females overall. -- Top 8 male and female masters (40-49), grand masters (50-59) senior grand masters (60-69), and veterans (70-over)
Grand Prix Scoring System Place Top 20 overall Top 8 scoring
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 100 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 5 100 85 70 55 40 30 20 10
Just Breathe (and be careful) My wife and I had the opportunity to spend a week in Colorado. The first four days we stayed with our friends Kelly and Joe who have a log cabin on a mountain in Conifer at an elevation of 9,700 feet. The first night Joe offered me a beer and an accompanying glass of water I was told I would need to offset the effects of drinking a beer for the first time at that elevation. Initially I laughed to myself because it felt like drinking a beer with training wheels, but in time I realized it was a necessity because for the next 24 hours it felt like my head was wedged inside of a vice. That was nothing compared to the next morning when Kelly and I went for a run … and my lungs felt like they were on fire! It made me think of what my admin always tells me when things get a bit tense at work: “Just breathe.” In this case, easier said than done because in order to breathe there has to be some oxygen, and at 9,700 feet there isn't a whole lot of it. I believe Kelly and I ran (and walked and gasped) a total of three miles in close to an hour. Yes, we could have probably just walked and finished quicker, seeing as every time we ran we had to stop for a spell to catch our breath. By the fourth morning I could tell I was getting better acclimated to running at elevation because I was able to complete five ridiculously steep miles in only 65 minutes, a much faster pace than the first three days. I quickly decided if I could train in the mountains of Colorado for a year I could give the Kenyans a run for their money. That, and be 30 years younger. The next four days my wife and I stayed at a lodge in the mountains at Estes Park, near the edge of the Rocky Mountains. As the elevation was 2,200 feet less than in Conifer, running didn't seem to be quite as difficult, which I attribute to having four days of altitude training under my belt. “Bring it on, Kenyans!” is what I heard my younger 32-year old self saying. The only major breathing difficulty for the remainder of our trip was during our drive through the Rocky Mountains along the Trail Ridge Road. At times we would be driving at an elevation of 11,500 feet, which would be difficult enough without having to literally drive on the edge of the mountain road with nothing but a painted white line to separate you and an 11,500foot plunge over the side of a mountain! Although there was a posted speed limit of 20 miles per hour, I doubt I managed to reach double-digits. I found it difficult to drive any faster holding my breath and planting my eyes firmly on the yellow line in the middle of the road, the line that I thought was in my best interest to straddle for 48 miles; I didn't want to take a chance driving over the side of the mountain. But getting back to the running, I logged close to 100 miles during our eight days in Colorado, saving the toughest mile for last.
By Scott Ludwig
I was just about finished with my run and was less than a quarter-mile from the lodge when I encountered a large bull (a male elk) grazing on the side of the road. As it was bugling season (or mating season, as a nonColoradan would say) I didn't want to take a chance getting anywhere near him. So I stopped dead in my tracks and decided to do my short yoga routine at 7 a.m. in the middle of the road until I could hitch a ride with someone passing by. (I could have returned to the lodge a different way but that would have required running an additional four miles and Cindy and I had something planned so I needed to get back rather quickly.) Fortunately, I was able to flag down a husband and wife going hiking. They were reluctant to stop at first, but when I said I was from out of town and I wasn't sure if I should run past the bull or not they knew I was out of my element, because they said the bull was indeed dangerous. They then offered me what amounted to be quite possibly the shortest hitchhiked ride in history: 100 yards, just enough to get me on the other side of the bull. When I returned to work my admin asked me how I enjoyed the trip. I told her it had some ups and downs, but most of all I was just glad to be breathing. Although it wasn't always easy, I somehow found a way to follow her advice Scott Ludwig is the founder of Darkside Running Club (.com). He lives in the Atlanta area and is the author of 11 books 7 about running - and is working on others. Scott's book “Running to Extremes: The Legendary Athletes of Ultra Running” is now available. It features stories on Ray Zahab, Dean Karnazes, Larry Macon, Mark Covert, Ed Ettinghausen, Mike Morton, Tim Twietmeyer, Ann Trason and seven other amazing athletes of long distance running. You can find it on Amazon and most major booksellers. The book is inspired by and dedicated to the enduring memory and legacy of Ted Corbitt. Scott can be reached at darksiderunning@comcast.net. He also has a blog at ScottLudwigRunsandWrites.blogspot.com where his books are available - or at any major online bookstore.