Just Another Day in Studville...

Race Report: Clarence DeMar Marathon in Keene, NH

Alright, marathon #31 is in the books and man, it was a bear!  I had a few things conspiring against me, namely the cold and rainy weather, a gastrointestinal system that decided to stage a rebellion at mile 19 and a tender achilles tendon that forced me to pull back a bit during the closing miles.  But I managed to get to the finish line in 3:11:25, good for 18th place overall. 

The most vivid memory I'm taking home from the race was walking around after crossing the line, soaking and cold, shaking like a leaf, partially delirious and being handed a steaming cup of the most delicious cup of vegetarian soup I've ever tasted!

So, on the downside the ego took a bit of a hit when I finished in 18th place after taking 2nd last year and the left achilles is, once again, in rough shape.  On the up-side, I'm now qualified for Boston '10 and '11 and I'm now only 9 marathons away from achieving my "40 x 40" goal.

I think it's safe to say that Coach's race report on his 50-mile trail run will be a LOT more interesting than my report.  Can't wait to read it!

Team Supreme Launches Northern New England Invasion

A major component of the team's "World Domination" plan will be executed this Sunday in northern New England, that country which Robert Frost called simply "North of Boston" (the title of his first book of poems).  

The team will dispatch two envoys to two different endurance races; K-Law is being shipped to Keene, New Hampshire to compete in his second Clarence DeMar Marathon while Coach goes where no TS member has gone before...a 50-mile trail race in Vermont!

However, J-Dog and Sourdough will be nervously awaiting their teammates' race reports since K-Law just recently recovered from an achilles injury and Coach is bringing a knee of very questionable integrity to his battle with the Vermont trails.

But if both Coach and K-Law manage to reach their respective finish lines they will make team history in two categories:  "Most Miles Raced by a TS Member" (50!) and "Highest Combined TS Racing Total in One Day"  (76.2!).

Boy, we'd better scrape up some funds to hire a Team Archivist!

40 by 40

I'm a person who's pretty "goal-oriented" in the sense that I need challenging, quantifiable goals laid out before me, in writing, at all times.  So, ever since my goal of annihilating the Highlanders in the GMCR3 was attained on Sunday (which happened a lot sooner than expected) I've been floundering around aimlessly in my running world, desperately seeking a nice, solid goal to latch on to. 

Well, now I have one and I even came up with a catchy name: "40 by 40".  The goal is to have 40 marathon finishes under my belt by 8/10/2012 when I turn 40.  And right now my marathon count stands at 30.  So I'll need 10 more marathons in less then 3 years.

I have to say, I like this goal a lot.  There's clearly a physical and psychological challenge to it.  There's also a hefty administrative/logistical challenge with 3 young boys, a law practice and extensive soccer coaching duties to factor in. 

But, what's nice is that this goal does not create any pressure to clock earth-shattering times.   Sure, I'll give it the old college-try in every race like I always do, and if I end up with a slow time for some reason then it will still be frustrating, but the blow will be softened by the fact that it would still count toward the 40/40 goal.  Whether my finishing time is 2:40 or 5:40, it's still a marathon finish! 

One obvious issue with this goal is that it will trigger a shift in focus from "quality" to "quantity" meaning that, in all liklihood, my marathon PR of 2:43 will stay as-is for the rest of my running career.  But after plenty of meditation time, I've decided that I'm good with that.  Hey, that's a solid time.  I'll be more than happy to boast to my grandkids someday about my 2:43 at Albany, NY way back in the winter of 2008. 

Also, I guess I've decided that I'm no longer interested in spending the time and effort (physical and mental) that would be required to lower that time.  That's a huge investment when there are so many other things going on in life.

And maybe the best thing about 40/40 is that it will lay a nice foundation for my entry into the world of Masters running!  Hey, us runners look forward to hitting 40, right?

GMCR3: An Early Shut-Down

In stark contrast to Round #2 where the final score was a dramatic 16-14 with the Scrappers falling short by just a one-mile fun run with Melody, Round #3 is officially over with a full 10 days left in the month.

K-Law was the only competitor to log miles on Saturday with 10.5.  Then on Sunday, the Scrappers ended the competition with the equivalent of a crippling round-house right that landed squarely on the Highlanders' chin: 22.6 to 6.1.

South Side:  16,  Apple Hill:  4

At the beginning of the month, K-Law was still shaking off an achilles issue and Sourdough announced that he we competing under protest.  Meanwhile, with both Highlanders feeling great, Coach was gearing up for a 50-mile trail race at month's end and Sattler was setting the stage for a Hartford Marathon appearance.  In light of all this, the experts were expecting the Scrappers to get scrapped relatively quickly.

But then the Highlanders ran into injury problems which proved to be insurmountable; Coach early in the month and then J-Dog soonafter.  And in retrospect, it was a TKO on Labor Day as Apple Hill managed only one win since that fateful day.  In fact, K-Law has announced that he is only requesting two bottles of craft-brewed beer as his award, instead of the agreed-upon six pack since there was only about a week's worth of actual competition.  

GMC officials have announced that the Challenge will be suspended in October so that the Highlanders can fully recover from their various physical ailments. 

In the meantime, a special GMC medical task force will look into whether it would be advisable to subject two "older" runners (both Highlanders will be Masters runners in November) to the rigors of the Challenge and recommend whether or not the Challenge should be called off permanently.  This investigation is prompted by the fact that the physical and psychological stress of the GMCR3 nearly killed off the entire Apple Hill team.

GMCR3: Scrappers Quickly Closing in on 16...

The Highlanders continued their desperate "battle to the end" today, but they could only send one soldier onto the battlefield since J-Dog is still sidelined by quad problems. 

Coach managed to record a robust 8 miles in his log today.  But he's up against a South Side team that seems rather anxious to put an end to this whole thing on Sunday and take it easy for the rest of the month as they decide on what brand of beer to put in a request for. 

K-Law put in a little overtime with a 13.3-miler.  And then Sourdough added a completely unnecessary 6.4.  So it was another lop-sided, merciless win for the Scrappers (19.7 to 8) who seem to be growing more and more ruthless as they close in on the 16-win finish line...

South Side:  14

Apple Hill:  3

It appears that tomorrow will be Apple Hill's last chance to notch one more win and lengthen the challenge out a bit longer.  The Scrappers announced to a jubulant and packed South Tavern last night that they have a long, joint run planned for Sunday which the Highlanders clearly won't be able to contend with.

So if AH doesn't win tomorrow then Sunday's Scrapper run will be similar to the final stage of the Tour de France...an easy, ceremonial ride into downtown Paris to bring the competition to a close. 

GMCR3: The End is Near...

It appears that there's very little, if any, fight left in the battered Highlanders at this point.  Both Apple Hill runners seem to have disengaged themselves from the GMCR3 and are resting their battered and bruised bodies for other exploits.  

Coach is still planning on doing a 50-mile trail race on the 27th.  That's 50 miles.  In one day.  And J-Dog is trying to figure out how to run the Hartford Marathon as a pace-setter without having to carry his quad home in his hands.

As both Highlanders took the day off, K-Law cruised through a hilly 10.1-mile workout.  Just to add insult to injury ("injuries", I should say), which is a common Scrapper practice,  Sourdough added 6.8 this afternoon.  That translates into a 16.9 to 0 massacre.

South Side:  13

Apple Hill:  4

Analysts are fully expecting the challenge to officially (and mercifully) shut down on Sunday when the Scrappers should hit the magic number 16 in the "win" column.  The rumor floating around South Tavern is that they plan to end it with a bang of 25 miles or more.

Meanwhile, South Glastonbury's preparations for Sunday's rowdy, alcohol-soaked celebrations are in full swing.  And the GPD is investing in more batons and a small pack of German Shephards.

GMCR3: Apple Hill's Tag-Team Approach Falling Short

The Highlanders are now operating not unlike a WWE tag team with one wrestler in the ring and his partner desperately trying to catch his breath in the corner.  This normally works fine in wrestling, but the Apple Hill tag team is struggling with the fact that both partners are hobbling around a bit.

Today, as J-Dog lay face-down on the apron of the ring clutching his quad (recovering from an immobilizing Boston crab), Coach climbed back into the ring, almost fully-recovered and ready for a brawl! 

Unfortunately, Coach's 8-mile effort (a flying clothesline) wasn't enough to fight off K-Law's 10.3 (a submission-inducing figure-four leglock!).

Apple Hill's chances for staging an unprecedented comeback effort are becoming bleaker and bleaker with each running stride. 

And the ringside announcer has his little hammer poised over the bell, anxious to see a signal from the referee to stop Round #3 and bring this ugly carnage to an end...

South Side:  12

Apple Hill:  4

GMCR3: Highlanders Can't Catch a Break

It was another good news/bad news day up on Apple Hill.  The good news (great news, really) was that Coach busted loose with a 7.7-miler, so it appears that his Labor Day knee problem is largely behind him and he's itchin' to jump back into the GMCR3 battle!

Then came the bad news as the Highlanders let out another sad "tweet" from somewhere in cyberspace about injury woes.  Only this time the tweet came from J-Dog instead of Coach as his quad problem worsened into what he's calling a "mild strain", bad enough to ground him for the day today, most likely tomorrow as well. 

And the Apple Hill fans threw up their hands and let out a collective groan of frustration as J-Dog broke out the ice pack.

Meanwhile on the south side of town, K-Law logged 11.1 miles while Sourdough took the day off.  And the euphoria of Apple Hill's surprise victory yesterday quickly fizzled out.

South Side:  11

Apple Hill:  4

The evolution of South Side's GMCR3 strategy has been a fascinating one.  Faced with a troubling C.U.P. issue, it started out with a focus on not getting too deeply humiliated this month.  But the game plan has now evolved into simply avoiding injury by putting in moderate mileage and cruising to an easy victory.

And the number standing between the Scrappers and a couple six-packs of ice-cold craft-brewed beer is 5.  Dude, that's a really small number...

GMCR3: Highlanders End Scoring Drought!

The jigging and ringing of cowbells reached inconceivable levels up in the Apple Hill neighborhood today as the Highlanders bagged their first GMCR3 win since September 5th, and the Scrappers' hopes of wrapping this challenge up by September 19th have been dashed.

It was "small ball" day as K-Law took his first day off from running since August 8th.  Sourdough tried his best to cover for K-Law by logging 5.5.  But J-Dog unexpectedly covered 6.5 after his long run on Sunday while Coach added 1.1.  So it was a narrow victory for AH with a score of 7.6 to 5.5, but a much-needed victory nonetheless.

Most of the GPD was up in Apple Hill addressing some serious traffic issues as drunken, kilt-clad residents took to the streets and Highland cows ran freely through the neighborhood.  And the AH fans made it clear that they considered this challenge far from over.

South Side:  10

Apple Hill:  4

The Apple Hill celebration was a muted one though, as Coach tweeted about how his knee is still bothering him a bit on uphill stretches.  And the South Tavern-goers simply shrugged their shoulders as the gap between the Highlanders and South Side is still rather sizable. 

However, GMCR3 observers are giving a thumbs-up to Apple Hill for showing true "Highlander grit".  Lesser teams would have run up the white flag by now!

GMCR3: Insurmountable Lead?

It was a troubling weekend for the Highlanders as the Scrappers continued to run roughshod over them on both days. 

On Saturday, K-Law checked in with 12.2.  Rain-averse J-Dog cancelled his planned run due to the heavy morning mist and Sourdough opted for a day off.  Coach encouragingly logged 5.7.  So he may have bounced back from his Labor Day knee problem, but it was well short of what Apple Hill needed for a win.

And today, both Sourdough and Coach took the day off while K-Law went wicked-long with an even 20 and J-Dog joined him for 11.7.  This was a particularly bitter loss for J-Dog since he had originally planned to join K-Law for the full 20 but pulled out early due to a mild quad concern. 

South Side's weekend shut-out means that they've won an unfathomable 8 in-a-row.  So the patrons at South Tavern had two things to celebrate this weekend: opening weekend for the NFL and the Scrappers' mammoth 10 to 3 lead, with many analysts now characterizing the gap as "insurmountable". 

The only complaint that Scrapper fans have these days is that South Tavern can't seem to keep an adequate number of "South Side" t-shirts in stock!