running

A brief history of my running, as some of you know there is a joke in the family that I started running when I go to close to a duck and kinda ticked if off, Hey I was 2 years old...a FAT two year old at that, and well the duck apperently didn't like this fat two year old so it chased me. I was fortunat to have been able to run away from it. It would be in 13 years that I got serious about running.

Over those 13 years I was in various sports...none lasted long. I was first in soccer (age 5 or 6) and all I wanted to do was run around---didn't care to kick the ball or any thing.

I never got serious about running until one day the jym theacher who was also the coach for track and crosscountry, had us run the mile. Well with 7minutes and 7 seconds I hade the encouragement to go out for track. Well after 4 years ended and I graduated high school I feel in a depression.

I didn't know why I should keep on running, and I knew that I ate alot and would gain the weight fast if I stopped running but all I could think about was the past. I often said while stretching..."why should I train, what is there out there...I couldn't run any real big races the farthest that I ever ran was only 8 miles..."

Well one day I ran kinda depressed and at school I saw those delicious doughnuts and thought "well I ran four mile today, I guess I will have one." So I had one and I didn't felt bad. Well again this happend and again and I finally though, "Well if I run then my reward will be to eat a doughnut." 4 miles would be one doughnut and seven miles was two doughnuts. And all of my instructors were kinda surpursed that all I did was eat doughnuts every day.

Well believe it or not, it worked. Well now I am at the point where I don't even care to eat a doughnut or not. I ususally eat granola bars which fill you up about the same and are much healther. Or even a bannana. So if you are a track/crosscountry runner that goes to a school now that doesn't offer track or cross country then try this...It works!

Well one day at a race me and my best friend were in at it and I just barely bet him at the finish line and also got first place in the age group--killed two birds with one stone kinda thing. Well needless to say my friend's dad was impressed and he siad. "well you know what, I'm going to have to take you two to run the Steamtown Marathon next year". (which was 367 days away) Well I doubt that I will run that race that I bet him in next year because the Marathon is the next day! So that is where I started to look forward instead of backwards.

In SteamTown my life will change because I will not be just a runner, but a MARATHONER!!

Miles 1-3 -- 1:46:51.10 of HELL! (Yes that is how long it took me to finish this)

Starting in the middle of a small dam (made mostly of rock and dirt, nothing big) we set off two 12.4 miles of rocks, roots, and those beloved hills. One thing that I didn't now about was the mud. Yes about 10 miles of it was mud.

Well the first mile was ok, a few slick spots and rock. During the second mile there were boards used to make a bridge because the one area turned into a marsh. And the third mile was a little muddy, noteing much.
There were several logs that we had to hurdle over (They were about two to three feet in the air) and a low branch aloms decapitated me (that's a joke). There I felt that I would do good in the race. There were some rocks that a few people infront of me sliped on and one person fell, I nearly doofed it too!

The first querter of the race was over. And after passing the first water stop I felt great.

Miles 4-6 The Hills

Well it was a little slick here and there. And we met the hills. They weren't bad. Going up was nice comeing down, you slid down absically while avoiding roots and rocks that could trip you. At one point it was so dangerous that I decided best to walk untill it was safe. That wasn't that far.

Miles 7-9 Muddy Mountain

This is where it got hard..........

First the Little mud puddles are now big mud puddles
Then Hills get bigger and muddier. One hill (the longest about 1/2 of a mile) was all mud! Yes not a spot of dry dirt or even rocks to climb. And it was pretty steep. Well being used to running hills that wasn't muddy enough to have half of you shoe in the goo, my muscils tired out and I basicall walked too. Just about evey one walked here. Even the top runners because it wasn't wort it to run up it. You would tire out easily.

Well I also ran into a problem here. I was tired enough from the mud and dindn't jump over a fallen long and I put my one leg down and my muscile hit the log pretty hard (which was prone to injury at this point) and I ran with a sore calf (the bottem back muscile of you leg)

And then I got a break and ran on a road. I was so happy to run on a dirt road (littered with small rocks and no puddles) and finally there was a regular mecadium road which was a relief.

Then it was back on the mud trails. Until the final portion of the race.

Miles 9-12.4 The Final Fight

Well I thougt that the last few miles may have a surpirse, well this one had 3!

First off we started on a road-that was good! Then back to Muddy, and Rocky Hills. Well first of it was normal (for this race) "Hurdles" or giant logs in you way that you have to crawl over. Then I ended up in front of Huge 6 or 8 foot boulders which we had to climb! I never expected climbing boulders in a race! Well after climbing around the boulders and two racers passed me out there. It was back to the trails. I caught up with the racers that go ahead of me. And off to the final two miles of the race.

We got a break and ran on a highway untill we got to the brush. After running threw a field of grass we ended up running over a stream. The stream was in a crick bed and being to tired to jump over theis I had to jump donw onto some rock and climb up the other side. There were about three more. Then my foot went compleatly into mud. My shoe was caked with mud. That was surpirse thee.

Well my calfs killed me for the last half mile untill the finish.

After the race I found out that this course was much worse then last year. I fished 48 out of 250 runners, not bad considereing most of them were marathoners. I will be one too in a few months. Also there were alot of runners that couldn't walk during the race. Due to the fact that the mud was so bad. One guy almost lost his shoe!

Well the first finisher's time was 1 hour and 25 minutes. That was a slow race. My mom said that she was surpirsed that I finished in 1 hour and 46 minutes. She expected me to finish after 2 hours.

The race was set up that we were put on school buses and driven to the start. Then we ran back to the finish which was where we registered. In all I am going to do this race again, why....well if you havent figured out that I'm atleast half nutz for running this type of race then you don't know me too well....

The YMCA World's Largest Run.

It isn't one big race. What it is, is that there were multiple races going off at a sencranized time. The race I was at, started at 10:00 a.m. And one in California was at 7:00 a.m. There are many other races in the nation but that is how the time zones are effected. And they go off at the same time. The record - If made - will be "Haveing the most runners running at one time"

The race that I was at wasn't much. Compaired to the race numbers that I have been dealing with, there was only a hand full. I am use to dealing with the numer of runners in the hundreds, and there was only about fifty people here. And in those fifty people there was good competition. The top three people in my age group finished within 3 minuts. So it wasn't that easy. I had my best friend on my heels the whole race.

Well most people would think that I would rest after running the Charly Horse which was only six days agoe. But no. It was only because my running club was helping out that I even showed up. Then I found out about this.

I didn't have my greatest time which was under 18 minutes. Instead I got a time of 19:24. It wasn't bad considering that I ran one very hard race the previous week.
I also got 2nd in my age group which is now 20-24 (yeh I'm on the bottem of it) the first finisher was 24 years old.

The course was all mecadium around the mall parking lot. It was two laps. There was only one hill but we ran it twice. I really couldn't complain except my best friend call me nuts -- that's why I bet him!

The Famous (in this area at least) Coal Cracker run was held at 10 a.m. on June 9th. It was only 72degrees out so that wasn't too bad.

Course Description, 2 big hills and 2 rolling hills. Other then that it is flat. And if you want shade, well look for another race. Also there is a "Pierogie Party" after words. (Thigns like this happen when Mrs. T's headquerters is located in your town. When you get by the plant you know that there is less then half a mile in the race.

Well I will break this race up in 2 mile segmants.

Miles 1 and 2.

Start on a down hill which leads to the first major hill. When you get to mile one the hill tapers off and gets almost perfectly level. Then you start to go down hill in about a half a mile. Which takes you to mile two. Just before you get to mile two there is a sign spray painted on the road that reads. TO THE VALLEY OF HEAT. This is where I always have trouble. It is the hottest place on the whole course. There is a valley that is made up of coal banks. Where there is coal there is heat (black attracts heat!) This part is virtually level. And at mid point in the race is the first water stop.

Miles 3 and 4.

Well mile three is in the middle of the "Valley of Heat" so I was slowed down here. Last year it was so hot here I ended up walking. But not this year! Mile 4 is when things get better. You come to a church and you make a left hand turn. You will see the ruins of the old St. Nicolas Coal Breaker. It was - at one time - the world's largest coal breaker. (You can only see two thirds of it from the road. And over time parts of it were torn down. This is where the "Coal Cracker Hill" starts. Now for some reason, unlike every one else, I do really good on this hill. And that's where I sped up. Mile five is located near the top of this hill.

Miles 5 and 6.2

You finish the big hill and return to town. There is a small hill that leads to the finish. Well I did have a vitory. I was nearly passed out at the finish by some other guy and bet him by a second. No I didn't beat who I wanted to beat, but still, I bet someone by a second. Tough loss for him, great victory for me!

My time: 41 minutes and 27 seconds.

On Thanksgiving. What do most people do? Eat turkey...listen to the inlaws (some times considered out laws) go on and on about things you don't care about. Eat dessert!) Watch football and fall asleep. What do I do? Run 9 miles...then eat and fall asleep.

The race history. It was first started in 1908 and has ran every year except on year during WW2. So this was the 92nd running of the race. The top seven male and female finishers get a real diamond. And finishers 8-15 get a placqu (spelling may be off there). It is still nice to have. I would love to bring home a diamond one day...and that day may come. But it won't be easy...and if it was easy the I wouldn't bother running. For it is a great challange to have before you.

Also the first male and female finisher from Berwick PA (the town the race is in) gets a diamond. And Berwick has some of the best runners in North Eastern PA.

The course wasn't as bad as last year. It was alot warmer. I was 15 degrees last year about an hour before the race started. Boy was that ever cold. To warmed up to 28 degrees by the end of the race. So I figure that it had to be some where around 20 degrees at the start of the race. But still, that is really cold out!

During the race last year I finished about 68:25 (although a friend argues it was 65 minutes). This year I was hopeing to settle in for an hour. Even 59:59 I would be happy. But I didn't get that...nope instead I got 57:20 so I broke an hour. I hope to eventurally get the time down to the mid 40's in a few years. I hit mile 8 at 51:37 (give or take a few seconds). I have this pace timer thing that I use to figure out my "split" per mile. I averaged 6:24 per mile. NOTE: that "6" is in minutes, not hours :)

I did the first mile to darn fast. It was like a 5:35 mile. And I wasn't going at it my best. So I slowed it down a bit. Then during mile 2 there is this hill that goes for an easy mile in a half. I get to mile 2 at 11minutes and some seconds. I was suppos to get there at 13 minutes to break the mile. I had this planned. If I run 3:30 miles then I should get done with a minute to spare. Six seconds to spare may not seam alot but 6 X 9 = 54 seconds. That is almost a minute.

There were alot of fans cheering us on. It was just like the Steamtown Marathon. Except you didn't have any real bands playing. But people parked along the course and had their raido balting music. There were race parties, where people have a get to gether with friends to cheer us as we run. That is the good side, the bad side is that hill. After that hill you are tired. But then get some small downhills. The start and finish are only five feet away from each other. So the start elevation and finish elevation are the same. But there are what I call "speed bumps" or more commonly "rolling hills". I call them speed bumps because that is what they are. If you take your car over a speed bump it could ruin you vehicle. If you run the rolling hills (speed bumps) at a good pace. Your body will expect a nice size hill. As you run up the hill your stride totally changes (especially in veteran runners) and when you hit the flat surface or down hill. Your stride will rapidly change and you breathing will change and you will get short of breath and your legs will tire out. So it will screw up your race.

If you are a new runner and sprint up one of these hills then chances are you will end up walking to catch your breath. That happend to me alot. Well I accidently ran one too fast and I thought that I would end up walking. Instead to took to and easy jog because if you walk in cold weather and start up again, your muscles could cramp easily. And when you compleat a race try your hardest not to sit. Just walk around or even lean on something. But DO NOT SIT!

My fastest mile was of course the first mile. My sowest was mile 8. I accidently ran the one speed bump too fast towards the end of mile 7 and that tired me out. I then took to an easy jog and I know that I was ahead of schedrule so I wasn't worried. As long as I didn't walk I would be ok. Then the final mile I did it in just over 6 minutes. I had a nice cup of hot chocolat, gatoraid and pizza. But the pizza sucked. It always sucks. The sause and cheese had no taste. But it was something in my stomach after the race and before I ate the big meal. I was fortunat that my mom was around because she go me some big chocolate chip cookies that were home made. They were the soft chewy kind that the smell makes your mouth water. Yum!