65 ROSES 5K- MEETING MEB!

MEETING MEB!!!

A few weeks ago, I had the chance of a lifetime. I got to venture out to Cleveland, TN to meet my running Hero. The reason I started running marathons in the first place was because of this man. He does so much for the sport. MEB! Anyone who follows running at all knows of this man. How could you not. 

This race was set to be simply a shakedown for the next mornings Spring Feature, Knoxville Half Marathon. I could go run, but just don't go full tilt. 

I got there and it was extremely chilly. But, after everything, I decided to not wear long sleeves and just go with my normal singlet. I wouldn't get to wear this on Sunday for the Knoxville race as I was pacing that race, but I was able to wear it today. 

I had paid VIP price to get to meet Meb, and then get a photo with him. Sadly, at the time of this writing , I don't have the professional photo on me to share, but The selfie I like better. 

When we lined up for the race, I just wanted to run off feel. I never intended to run straight through. But in the end that is what happend. I sat off into my cadence and knew I was gonna be able to go. My HR was staying LOW and I was at a good stride. 

About a 3rd of the way through I met this older gentelmen on the road. I knew my purpose for this run was to bring him home. As we talked, he was older, he started telling me how this was his first race in 30 + years. He ran in H.S. and college. Used to be able to do 4 - 6 min miles consistently. Now he's out here with the rest of us. Guy was as humble as could be. 

Mile 1 and 2 came and went pretty quickly. I was resting comftorably in z2 and then just like that it was over. Man, I got a rush of adrenline as this was simply a shakedown and I had managed to hold the average pace I would need for Knoxville on Sunday. 

Going back to meeting meb for just a moment, I am still in awe to this day. Guy is a freaking Olympic Silver Medalist, A boston and Chicago Marathon winner, and is so humble. I loved meeting him. 

So, were through The shakedown. Next time , we cover the spring A-Main, my runniversary, the race that started it all for me - KNOXVILLE!

So, Until then...... 

From one "Idiot" to another- 

John 

IRC # 2148

Mind Over Matter: Pistol Ultra 2018

This past weekend, I took on something totally new to me. I was more of a support role for the pistol ultra. By definition,A ultra is defined as anything past the marathon mark. So , anything over 26.2 miles is considered a ULTRA. 

Part of me doing this was getting into a different scene as I would be competing myself, but later on in the weekend. The other part was I had friends in the event. I had a couple people in the 50K. I had one of my good friends and teammates Jeff, in the 100 Miler, and then , the reason this was happening, my best friend was running the 50 miler, Miriam. 

Miriam and I first met in DC at a make or break point for me in the Marine Corps Marathon . She was my angel that day. Since then we had kept in touch. We had talked about how she wanted to do something like this and I mentioned this race, and things just happend to work out. So, I will break this thing down into 4 days. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday . 

Thursday: Meeting Jeff and Set-up!!!

Thursday was really not supposed to happen. However, I had been in communication with my buddy Jeff and he had made it in safely. Seeing as how they still needed help setting up some things at the school, I offered to go over and help. Jeff checked and they could use me. So, after work, I went over to the school to help setup and to meet Jeff. Jeff and me are teammates for KREndruance, and have gotten to know each other the last couple years. I was more than excited to get to meet him, spend some time volunteering, and setting up . We both worked for about 2 or so hours , and then seeing I had to work on Friday, we made the decision to split. 

Friday: The Reunion of 2 Friends!!!

I was so excited to get back over after work Friday. My friend, Miriam was in! This would be the long awaited reunion. 18 months in the making. I got there right as she got out of a pre-race activity. Instantly found her, and the fun began. We embraced in a long hug and then caught up before Pre-race meeting. I then attended pre-race meeting with her as I would be there all weekend and was competing myself. After the meeting, we ate pre-race dinner and hung out till we decided to split for the night. We made a plan to be there and see the 50K and 100 Milers out. 

Saturday: 100M , Storms, and 50 M

Saturday, we showed up at 7:30 Am. In time to see the 50K and 100 M off. The course was 10 mile loops. 50k was doing 3, 100k 6 50Miler 5 and 100 milers 10 . I had setup with our Idiots Running Club to do a group picture at 7:45 before. I got to meet a new face, catch up with my friend Jay, and then see Jeff Off. 

We were able to see Jeff, and Jay and the others off. Here is a few pictures and video if it works correctly of the start: 

Once we had the guys off, Miriam went back to get off her feet and rest as she had 50 Miles to log. I went to do some stuff I needed to do and to get my stuff together. Tonight was going to be a long night. 

Around 3PM, Jeff Called. He had dealt with a brutally hot day. Had asked for me to come take him on a loop. Of course, I agreed. So around 6, I headed back. Miriam was starting at 8. I was going to be there to see her off. The plan was to go all night. To be there when she needed me. 

However, when I got there, we were getting ready to have severe weather. I was already suited and ready after the storms passed to take Jeff out. I would go 10 miles, comeback, hopefully catch some rest, when Miriam Needed me, take her out, and then the next morning I would compete. I packed to stay. 

However, when the storms hit, they HIT. We had a really bad lightening strike that freaked all of us out. Luckily we delayed going out , or would have been in the middle of it. They delayed the 50 Mile about 20 min so I didn't really get to see them off properly as I was still strategizing for a possible loop with Jeff. When I said lightening struck, boy did it ever. It scared us all. Even fried the lift that held the Americian Flag and some of the timing. It Blew a hole in the concrete. Jeff said it shook his car as well. It scared us all. 

After some thinking, and such, it was determined that Jeff was not going to go back out for safety. So, he was done. He did well getting through 50K. That left me with Miriam. 


The thing about Miriam is she is very strong willed! A total rockstar. I knew she would be ok for a few hours. I communicated with her, and it was decided I would come home and try to get some sleep. I had a copy of our projected plans, and we would stay in touch. 

However, this would proove fuitle too. Let me explain. See, I had a hard time sleeping. It was after 1 when I heard from her when I planned to go back. She said she was soaked from another rain, but was changing and warming up , and that I could sleep a bit longer. She was ok. Which was fine. So I rolled over. I intended to get up at 2 or 3 and go out and take her out for a lap. However this didn't happen. 

Sunday: RaceDay & 50 Finish

The 50 and 100 had gone overnight. When I woke up I found out 2 things, she was behind schedule and was in the middle of a loop hanging in there. I expressed my appologies for leaving her to fend overnight. I felt awful. She told me to knock it off, and she would see me there. I rushed out the door as I had a packet pickup and my own 10 miler. As it turns out , if I had taken her out, I would have missed my 10 Miler, so it all worked out. 

10 Miler 

This year was the Inagural Pistol Creek 10 Miler .  I was doing this as a last long run before Knoxville next weekend. I had no plan but to play. Jeff had come out to see me start that morning before heading home which meant a LOT to me. I really was thankful for that as It calmed my nerves. I had decided I wanted to run 5 in a hour or under, and then relax . That was my plan. 

We set off and I waved to Jeff as we left. Nice and steady. Settled down very quickly. I was crusing. Then I started having stomach cramps which broke my stride long before I wanted too. At around mile 3 I made a pit stop, and that forced me to totally stop. However, I was able for the most part to re-gather, and roll. I didn't quite make my goal , but I did get around 4.7 in an hour. Around this point, I saw Miriam. We hugged, and got to talk a moment. This was her 4th of 5 loops and she looked good. This motivated me to roll. During my run, I would talk to numerous 50 and 100 miler runners and tell them great job, etc. Coming back around mile 7 I saw Miriam again headed back on the final loop. I told her text me as I was calling off my speed to relax and survive. We texted back and forth and then decided, she wanted to finish this herself, if I would film it. I stated I absoultely would. No problem. 

I managed to hang on and finish in about 2:20 min or so. Not a bad run for the last long run before my a race next weekend. 

After talking to Miriam, I could sense she was fading, and I was going to ensure she would finish. we would talk as I ate , and relaxed. Once I realized that she was in trouble, I decided, I am going back to get her. Period. So, I suited back up and went back to the sidewalk to await her on her final mile. 

Bringing Miriam Home: 

I waited on the sidewalk for about 10 min . Posted in our team page, and then there she was. I calmly stated, I am going to be with you like you were with me at MCM . Lets finish. All we did was walk that final out and back. But I was all smiles. I had had my moment. This was about her. PERIOD. 

Finally, we got out and back. It seemed to fly by. Here is the trimmed down video of her finishing. 

Finally, she had finished. I was estatic. I made sure we got her in, got food, and then took pictures. There are some great professional photos we got done after it all. I will post those when I get ahold of them. Here are a few I took after with one of her friends she met, and of her finishing. 

We decided that we would split up, get some rest, and then reunite for one final dinner. This had been a blast, and we wanted to enjoy each others company one last time. 

We decided to get mexican that night. I found a little joint over where we had raced that had great mexican. so we went there. During dinner, and cutting up and carring on, I mentioned about having mm's at the aid station. She starts laughing, and says I have some. Of course, I don't believe her. She reaches in her pocket and Lays them on the table. I was in tears by this point. LOL!

We had a great dinner, stayed and chatted, and then we ultimatley headed our seperate ways. She was headed home on Monday and this was our final meetup. We chatted on the phone and texted for a bit. Honestly, this had been a dream weekend for both of us. We vowed not to wait this long again to get back together, as we are 2 great friends brought together by the beautiful sport of running. 

Going forward, its time for My A race, Knoxville. Also, I maybe getting to meet someone famous in the sport of running. :) So you will just have to stay tuned to see how this plays out. 

A special thanks to Will and Gail Jorgenson for putting on such a great race, to my friends, Jeff, Jay, Miriam for allowing me to hang out and krew all weekend. To my coach for being there for everything this weekend. You all made this weekend a memorable one. Who knows , maybe I should try something ULTRA related here soon? 

So, Until Next Time- 

From one "Idiot" to another

John 

-IRC #2148-

ASHVILLE 2017: THE UNTOLD STORY

ASHVILLE 2017..... WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED.....

Before I get into this, I am going to try to put a humorous look on this post. This was a post that I vowed to never NEVER write. I never intended to put words to this after what occurred, but as I woke up today, on the exact day one year ago where I headed out to Ashville, North Carolina, for the trip, and I started laughing, I was like, dang it, I can make this humorous. So, here we go. 

For starters, let me refresh your memories. I left to go to Ashville, to run 39.3 miles over 2 days. Saturday was a half Marathon. Sunday was going to be the full marathon. If you don't remember the half , then grab yourself a refresher by reading this post:  http://oneidiotsjourney.blogspot.com/2017/03/

Kind of picking up off that post: When I woke up the next morning, we had about 3.5 inches of snow on the ground. Freaking fantastic...... NOT what I needed. Then I realized , OH SHIT, I feel HORRID! GRRREEEAATTTT! I attributed it to nerves, but now a year later, I realize it was a concussion. I felt dizzy and nauseous . All of the tale tale signs. I struggled to get my morning fuel down that normally taste so good. I knew right off, that I shouldn't be suiting up for 26.2 , but I had never failed in a race, and I be damned (or so I thought) that I was going to let this one be the one. 

So, after forcing some fuel down, we loaded up and headed out to race site at biltmore. Unlike the previous morning, no where warm to huddle up. We were exposed from moment 0 to the elements. Then we were met with an hour delay. GRRREEEAATTTTTT! By this point, I felt awful, but was determined. I hid in the heat of the restrooms till almost time to go. 

Once we left the start line, I had planned a 3:1 interval to survive and get me to the cut. I knew it was gonna be a LONG ASS DAY when 90 seconds in I was already having to come out of my first interval . 

By the end of the first 5K, I was struggling. I was well behind the cut time. By 10K, the gap had widned. I got to where the 15 K was and the sweeper caught me. He could see I was in perril. He told me I had 2 options, I could trudge on and be allowed to finish, or I could quit. I said HELL NO to quitting, and proceeded on. I got to right at half, and I was growing weaker and hurting all over.

Finally, I had to put my pride aside and say enoughs enough. I had to drop. They got a cart and got me back to the start finish line. I was so devistated. 

No jacket , no medal, no quilt. Nothing. But. ANGER. AND. DISAPPOINTMENT. 

I texted coach. Once I got to the hotel, I called her. Unnanounced. to appologize for disapointing her. and our team. for blowing our training. We had a nice long long chat that went on for almost an hour while i sat in the hottub and tried to warm my self back up . Once we proccessed the greif, it was time to come up with how to get back and get revenge. 

Seeing as how I had already a high base, the next logical step was Knoxville. It was in 2 weeks. I could come home, recover, and run a half, and be ready. If you want the re-cap of that , follow this link.... http://oneidiotsjourney.blogspot.com/2017/04/operation-ss-rocky-top-aka-knoxville.html

So, there you have it. In a nutshell, thats what happend last year. Now that its been a year, and I can see outside of it all, it was a learning experience. While I am done running marathons for a good while now, I will never forget this race, as it allowed me to close the book on 365 days of marathoning the only fitting way .... ON ROCKY TOP!!!

Until Next Time- 

JOHN 

IRC#2148

OFF SEASON 2018

So, its no secret that when I took off my running shoes on Thanksgiving afternoon after the 5k, I was MISERABLE ! I had reached the point  of severe burnout. I could tell it, my coach could tell it, hell my best friends and my teammates could tell it. It was time for a break. For the off season, I had decided I wanted to lift like a mad man and I mean LIFT! 5 days a week lift. I wanted to regain my size and strength. I wanted to just lift and forget about running. So, that's exactly what I set out to do . 

So, that brings up the next question: What was I going to do? What kind of plan was I going to follow? Well, I had decided in August, when I wanted to quit running originally, that I was going to do a body builders split with some modifications so that I could start building a base for my triathlons in the spring. So I would lift 3-4 days a week, and then I would swim one, and then get on the spin bike for spin class or some extra rides. I really was going to play this week to week, and write my schedules on Sundays and enjoy this. I had originally 4 weeks to play with, but once I got into it, i didn't want to quit, so I gave myself a 2nd 4 week block. So basically 8.5 weeks, since I was going back active Feb 1 with my coach. My workouts were going to be structured. I was going back to my old friend, BODY BEAST! I did this a few years ago for 90 days, and saw some serious strength gains and running gains as well. So, I was going back this route to structure the workouts. I would do Chest, Shoulders & Arms, Back , Legs, and then Full body as allowed. No 2 weeks would be the same . I would alternate every other week as I felt like it with hitting parts of the body. I was going to do the equipment room workouts that Sagi, the creator of Beast has , and then I would move around into some of his other special on demand workouts, and then get into the Beast Bulk section once I got close to the end. So, with that, lets go back through each week briefly and get you filled in on what happend. 

Week 0
Week 0 was that. 0. Nothing was done. I wanted to rest for 10 days and I did that. Although around day 6 I got that itch, I stayed committed till time to go. I did before pictures and measurements as a way to track my progress. 

Week 1
Week 1 was where of course it started. That week was as follows: Chest and Tri's on Monday, Legs Tuesday. Wednesday I rode for 20 or 30 min and did shoulders. Thursday I was off for a RWB Leadership Meeting. Friday, I got in the pool for 20 min to just start getting used to it. Saturday I was doing a Brick, so 2 things back to back. I swam for 20 min and then Rode the spin bike for 40 min. It was a good week overall. Legs of course kicked my ass , but I hung in there. 

Week2
Week 2 I did back and shoulders on Monday. Tuesday I would swim 20 Min. All of these swims and rides were without a garmin. The hell with data during my off season . Wednesday I did some full body work, and then went ahead and rode for 30 Min. Thursday, did spin class and then swam for 20 min to knock out my brick as this was the week that the new Star  Wars came out and I wanted to go see it for my birthday.  So, on Friday I was off, and then took the weekend off as well for some different things and to let my body rest. 

Week3
Week 3 was going to bring around legs again on Monday. This one nearly killed me. So sore after this. On Tuesday, of course it was swim day. On Wednesday, I had been challenged to a tabata bike strength workout. Let me tell you , this kicked my ass. I was done after that and Arms. I even posted a comedy bit in our team page. LOL! On Thursday, I did Chest day at lunch in the gym at work and then had a meeting with RWB again that evening. Friday I took my off day. Saturday, for a brick, I did 20 min in the pool, and a 45 min ride. Again focusing on that base.

Week 4
Week 4 brought up CHRISTMAS! It was supposed to have been my last week before returning active with coach, but as I had mentioned, I was having fun, and we had agreed we could make do with starting in February, so, that was that. On Monday, Christmas Day, I got to do something I have wanted to for a long time called a tricep guantlet. I saw CT Fletcher do this and wanted to give it a go. Basically you have 5 sets of weights. Tricep overhead extensions. 20 reps up . Light to Heavy. A small break, and then start with heavy and go to light with 20 reps each. Holy SHIT! This burnt like hell. Took me like a half hour to do it while watching A Christmas story on Tv. So, this was monday. Tuesday I was back in the pool for 20 min. On Wednesday, I did a back workout. Thursday, I took spin class, and then swam for 20 min. Friday, I was off; Saturday was a huge day for me. I got to go pick up my new road bike in Chatanooga that I got for Christmas and then go get it fit. The fit was 2.5 hours of riding, adjusting, and more riding. I was exhausted after that but glad to have it. Sunday, I took the day off to prep.

Week 5

So, we have the bike. Now to learn how to properly clip in and get half way ok at it. So, on Monday, I did leg day again, and then I spent 15 min working on clipping and learning which side I fall on . On Tuesday, because it was the start of a new month, I increased my pool time each time to 25 min. On Wednesday, I did Chest and back and got the bike out for the first time on the open road. I loved it. Yes, I fell, but that's to be expected. I managed 3 miles in 22 min. Not bad. Thursday I took spin class again and Friday was a off day. On Saturday, I did a 25 min Swim/ A 45 min ride, and then for the first time since Thanksgiving , I laced up the running shoes for a 20 min run, as I had a 5K the next week.  I wanted to see what I could do. It was after this run, I firmly decided it was time to get a sub 30 min 50K accomplished.

Week 6
So, here we are. Race week # 1 of the season. On Monday, I did shoulders and arms. Then on Tuesday, I did 25 Min of swim. Wednesday,  I had a 60 min massage to take care of myself and get ready for Saturday. Thursday, I did some yoga. Friday I took off. Saturday was race day. I rode for 20 min to loosen up , and then crushed the Sub 30 goal. I have never felt so done for after a 5K. Honestly, that hurt so bad it felt like I ran a half marathon. But, regardless, the goal had been met and I was elated and speechless all at the same time. Of course, Sunday was off.

WEEK 7

By this point, I was getting the itch to get back to active status, but I still had 2 more weeks to go. On Monday, I did a leg workout that was REALLY FUN. I had a buddie write me one using some of the machines. 2 days later I was still feeling this one. On Tuesday this week, we had a snow storm while at work. I tried to tempt it and still go get them gainz, but after sliding on the road, I just eased it home. On Wednesday, I was off due to weather. So I went to the gym once I could get out. My tri friend challenged me to use a pool buddy to swim. It takes the legs out of the equation and forces you to use core and upper body. Def a different challenge. It was a lot of fun. On Thursday, I took the day off, as well as on Friday. I was just tired and needed to rest. On Saturday, I went up to seqoyah hills sub division and rode through there on my road bike and then ran it right after. It was a challenge to just overcome how sore and tired I was and fight through it. Which I managed to do but it wasn;t fun.  On Sunday, it was so nice, I went for another quick 3 mile spin on the road bike. 

WEEK 8

This week I had decided why not, I am going to do a full sprint TRI at the gym. So, on Monday, I did body pump. More like body hell. I hurt for 2 days. On Tuesday, I got in a quick 25 min swim before a concert with some friends in a band I have followed for years. My dad actually came so we had a fun evening. On Wednesday I did back and Biceps. On Thursday, as standard, I did Spin Class at 6 pm. Friday, I had my pre-season meeting with coach. We worked out my first part of my race schedule for this year and discussed training in depth. Saturday, I got up and went for a RWB Meetup and rode the bike for 3 miles. Then, I went to the gym. The full sprint distance took me just over an hour and 15 min. I was pleased but was give out. I took off Sunday to just rest. 

Week 9

So, this was it. The return to active on the First of Feb. I had my schedule , but I was still free till then. I had planned to lift Monday, but when I woke up I was just exhuasted, so I was like nope. I came home and rested. Tuesday, I did that same leg workout as 2 weeks ago hitting several massive PR's . After that I got in a short 10 min Swim. Wednesday, was International Chest Day and my last day inactive. . Thursday I felt pretty great so I decided that before class I would do back. 29 min of back and then spin. Friday, I swam a 1000 yds. And Saturday, between a rwb meetup and finishing here at home I had logged 5 miles. 

THE RESULTS 

So, at the end of this, I guess your wandering how I did? I managed to gain in EVERY SINGLE AREA! I am so happy with the way this went and how things moved along. Below you will find the #'s and then also my Before & After Photos.... 

So, now what? Well, here is where it gets fun! I am not sure how many of you know, but KNOXVILLE is coming up fast. This is always my favorite race. It was my first half and it's also my Runniversary race. So, its all hands on deck for that. In between, I will be running some races with some friends, but this is the focus for the next 7 weeks . Also, lets talk Knoxville while were at it.

This year I have a special treat. I am pacing the front half of the 5:30 Marathon. I am peeling off when the half and full split, but I am so excited to have this opportunity. A few years ago, I started sharing a lot of my training daily twoards Knoxville using #johnrunsknoxville. The last couple years, I haven't done it, but seeing as how this is a special deal this year. I am rolling it back out. So, if you wanna follow me from today forward, track me using the #johnpacesknoxville2018 !! I cant wait to take you all on this journey. Also, I think this might call for a blog each week. But that is to be determined. 

So, that's gonna be about it for the off season. So until the next time we talk!!! 

From one "Idiot" to another- 

John 

-IRC 2148-