El Scorcho 50K 2010

El Scorcho is a 50K race that is run at midnight in the middle of July in Ft. Worth. It is run in this park on this 5K loop. The course is flat and most of it is on this crushed rock trail. It is mostly dark but the footing is good and I decided to run it this year without a light. It is usually about 85 degrees at the start and it cools to around 80 by the end. This year it was maybe 1 or 2 degrees cooler than that. I ran it last year and after 7 loops and 21 miles I quit. I came in this year with a different mindset of finishing was my first goal even if I had to run 9 min miles. I end up with a few of those but I am very happy with the results. I have so many friends that run this race although most run the 25K. I even had some amazing friends that come out there to cheer us on and miss a whole night’s sleep. I didn’t taper much for this race as Chicago is still my goal race. Still had 78 miles for the week and I felt somewhat fresh for the race. The 25K starts 10 min after the 50K so at the start we know anyone passing us is a 50K runner.
10 Nick Polito M/41 10 8:38/M 4:28:05
5K 25:32 8:13/M 3.1 25:32
Started the first lap with Jayna, Shaheen and Chris Wong. The plan was to start out at 8:30 pace and hold it as long as possible. I was the constant nag the first 3 loops telling everyone to slow down and save for the later miles. We had 20 or so people take off past us right at the start. I knew we were all top 10 finishers and I told the group they would not hold that pace. The bigger problem was when 3 females past us in the first mile. The two women running with us had won the 25k (Shaheen) and 50K (Jayna) last year and they are use to chasing down any women that passes them. Two of the girls that past us I knew from last year and I knew that they would fade. One was an unknown.
10K 25:52 8:20/M 6.2 51:25
Still easy running and we were working to find a good moderate pace. We were already running into walkers on the second lap around. We had to get into a single file line to get past some of the large groups of people. For the most part people were good about getting to the right side of the trail. It was 10’ wide in most places and you could usually run off in the grass to pass if you wanted. After the second loop at 6.2 miles I took a GU from our pit crew. A special thanks to our wonderful pit crew. Namely Brian, Jayna’s husband that got my Gels and refilled my handheld with Gatorade.
15K 25:46 8:18/M 9.3 1:17:11
Still going strong. I always have been one to speed up when I go thru areas with lots of support but Chris and I was getting left in the dust every time we got to the start where all the people were staged. The two girls were almost sprinting thru this area.
20K 27:48 8:57/M 12.4 1:45:00
About halfway around this lap I let the group know that I need to drop back and run 8:30 or I would be dead at the end. After mile 12 my stomach really started to hurt and I had to make a bathroom stop. That’s why my pace on this loop looks so slow. After a 1½ min stop I felt fine again but from here on out I was going to be on my own.
25K 26:22 8:29/M 15.5 2:11:23
Back to another solid loop. Just had to keep telling myself not to worry about all the miles ahead and just keep as close to 8:30 pace as I could. I could see all my 25K friends that had finished as I came around. I took my second and last GU at the halfway point. At this point I stopped using Gatorade and just stuck to water from here on out. I was afraid that it was too much for my stomach.
30K 26:37 8:34/M 18.6 2:38:01
Dan a friend of mine had won the 25K and he ran this loop with me for a cool down. Unfortunately I was going too fast when he joined me as my friend Josh who finished 5th in the 25K join us but his legs had tightened up too much from the wait and he had to peel off after a ½ mile or so. For the record they are both faster runners than me. It was nice to have someone to talk to. It is really hard for me to run for 3 hours with no one to talk to.
35K 27:04 8:43/M 21.7 3:05:05
I am running by myself again but by this time no one is going to pass me and the crowds are starting to clear out as the fast 25K runners are all done. Pace is slipping a little but I am OK as I mentally know that I am trying to save something for the end. Turns out I could have pushed a little harder but in the end it didn’t matter. There is one part on the course where there is a turn around and I could see that I was about 5 to 6 minutes behind Chris and Jayna. I thought about kicking in a tempo pace to catch up to them but once I did the math doing 3 miles at 6:30 at this point would have taken a miracle. I got smart and just stayed within myself.
40K 27:37 8:53/M 24.8 3:32:42
This is where I stopped last year so this was a large mental barrier.
45K 27:56 8:59/M 27.9 4:00:39
This is the last time I was passed. The winner of the 50K looped me around mile 27. He said something nice to me and I tried to hang with him but he was still doing an 8:15 pace and I was around a 9 min pace. Here is where I was having trouble concentrating on pushing the pace. I had the physical energy but I was mentally drained from the entire time running.
50K 27:25 8:49/M 31.0 4:28:05
The last lap felt so good. I was not really struggling although the legs would only turn over so fast. After half way around I kept thinking I was probably out of the top 10 but if a few people had DNF I had a chance. I would find the next person that was running and run them down. It felt like a tempo run but it was more in the 8:40 range. Once I would catch them I would ask them if this was their last lap and they would say they had 1 or 2 more laps to go. I don’t think I passed any 50K runners on their last lap. Finally, my watch said 31 miles and I was still a ½ mile out and I slowly started to get faster. By the time I got to all my friends I was in a full sprint or at least it felt like a sprint. I was probably the only 50K runner with a kick. It was a blast and I crossed the finish line with in my “A” goal of 4:30. A race guy asked me if I finished the 50K and he told me I was top 10 and handed me 2 medals and a really cool backpack.

Boston Marathon 2010

I flew down Saturday afternoon, went to the Expo on Sunday and had a great afternoon. We took a Limo out to a friend’s (ESG) house and had a great pre-race lunch. The Limo then brought us back to Boston. I was staying with a good friend that let me stay in his rent house the whole time I was there. We made dinner and got all of our stuff ready for the next morning. We got up early and TTM, ESG, Kfox and I drove to the buses at the finish line. We caught a bus to the athlete’s village. We setup our spot where all our friends could come join us. Before you knew it we were getting on our shoes (Brooks Green Silence), loading up our GUs’ and putting Body Glide on. We then started walking to the starting line. We dropped off our bags at bag check and made the .7 mile walk to the start. People were running off left and right to hit the port-a-pottys one last time. I was just staying as calm as possible as I made my way up to corral #5. Ten minutes before the start I removed all of my throw away shirts as it was 48 degrees, very little wind and sunny.

Mile 1 - 7:03 (Hopkinton) I was right on pace. I stayed on the left side of the road as this side did not have a guard rail (Thanks for the heads up Jayna) and a little more room. This mile is downhill and very easy to get a fast start. If not for the crowd I could have easily ran .20 sec faster. After about a half mile on the left side of the road there were tons of guys peeing in the trees.
Mile 2 - 6:55 another easy downhill mile but still real crowded.
Mile 3 - 6:50 (Ashland) there was a split in the road and I stayed on the left hand side which was a mistake as the road curved right. This added some distance to my race but it allowed me to pass tons of slow people. I took my first GU at 3.5 miles.
Mile 4 - 6:54
Mile 5 - 6:58 First mile with net uphill but just barely. These miles were rolling and would take their toll by the end.
Mile 6 - 6:55 more rolling hills but this was a net down.
Mile 7 - 6:59 still felt like I was holding back and this was very easy. In this mile my friend Steve Henderson came up behind me and then ran with me for a while. I knew he was shooting for sub 3 so I told him to have a great race. We stayed together for about a mile but then I let him go. He really helped to keep my pace up.
Mile 8 - 7:03
Mile 9 - 7:03 Took second GU and second drink of water. I was hoping to hydrate just enough but not too much in this race. I was grabbing two cups with my GUs.
Mile 10 - 7:02
Mile 11 - 7:06 these miles were flat and still rolling. Not too many true flat miles on this course. I was now starting to learn how technical this course is. You need to go easy on the up hills and fast on the down hills without trashing your quads.
Mile 12 - 6:50 we hit Wellesley here. I have always heard of the girls of Wellesley and how they will kiss you if you stop. They were on the right and I stayed to the left to stay out of the crowd. It lasted maybe a 1/3 of a mile or more. They were screaming so loud with tons of great “Kiss ME” signs. I was very overwhelmed by so many women yelling for us runners. After we got thru them and it got silent again I turned to some guys and said “I feel like I should smoke a cigarette now”. I got no reaction. I guess it was just funny to me. So I sped off to get away from their bad personalities.
Mile 13 - 6:49 I hit the halfway point at 1:31:06. 13 seconds ahead of my plan. I felt very strong at this point. I kept thinking every mile that I felt better than I did at the same place of my last marathon. I was thinking the first half put sub 3 out of your mind and run your race. This is a positive split course and I knew what kind of shape I was in.
Mile 14 - 7:06
Mile 15 - 7:09 took my 3rd GU and drink of water here
Mile 16 - 6:51 this was the last downhill mile before the hills. I was thinking light on my feet and recover for the hills. I kept thinking of all the hill work I had done every Wednesday morning.
Mile 17 - 7:14 First Newton hill which was very long but nothing I wasn’t prepared to run. My pace was just a few seconds fast on this hill so I felt good.
Mile 18 - 7:23 Second Newton at fire station and I was a little tired on this one but just about right on pace for the first 2 hills.
Mile 19 - 7:10 this mile was a little downhill and should have been a little faster but I was just recovering from the first 2 hills.
Mile 20 - 7:22 john Kelly Statue, hill #3. I lost about 10 seconds here but still felt ok.
Mile 21 - 7:32 Heartbreak hill and I was only about 5 sec slow here. I felt very strong and I past a hundred+ people on this hill. This hill seamed shorter than the others but it is probably more known for being the last hill. Took my 4th GU and drink of water here
Mile 22 - 7:10 here is where I was suppose to hit the gas and get fast again. My energy level was very good but my legs were sore and hard to turn over. I lost another 20 seconds this mile.
Mile 23 - 7:30 this should have been a much faster mile as it was downhill. Somehow I lost 30 seconds here.
Mile 24 - 7:11 Recovered a little here. Still passing tons of people each mile. This mile seemed very quiet. Where did the crowd go?
Mile 25 - 7:18 so tons of people here yelling like crazy. I didn’t realize it at the time but I learned later that there are tons of hecklers on the course. They were yelling at people walking. The hills and the competition of this race will claim a lot of runners.
Mile 26 - 7:24 the last two miles I spent too much time doing bad math trying to figure out where I would finish in this race. My calculation had me anywhere from 3:06-:10 and no PR.
Mile 26.2 - 6:35 saw the finish line and started to sprint. Passing tons of people. Once I saw my watch hit 3:06 I let off the gas just a little and enjoyed the finish.
Total - 3:06:16 PR
Finished 2052 out of 22,500 runners. 280th in my age group

This was probably closer to my “B” goal time but I knew on this course that was a strong possibility. I am super excited to get a 3:20 PR on a course that is probably 90 seconds tougher than Houston. It was nice to have energy the last 5 miles and not feel like I was going to die down the stretch. My legs were very sore down the stretch and I just had to keep pushing it and telling myself ‘How much pain can you handle”. I was also a little careful because I didn’t want to pull something. I was passing many people walking with tight muscles. My training for this marathon was similar in mileage, 70 mile weeks and 85 mile peek week as in the past but the quality was a little higher. I had lots of MP miles in the long runs. I plan to continue that in future cycles as well as adding more core, stretching and strength work.

Houston Marathon

Houston Marathon 2010
Family drove me into town that morning and dropped me off. Dropped off my bag at bag check and met up with Dan. We went to the restroom and then headed to the starting line. Stood around there and talked to my friends. Found Shaheen as we planned to start the race together with the 3:10 pace team. We got setup right by the starting line and we still had a slightly slow first mile. The plan was to go out with the 3:10 pace group for the first three miles and then pick up the pace.

Mile 1 - 7:34 Elysian
Mile 2 - 7:05 Quitman
After mile 1 we were running with the 3:10 pace group and they were trying to make up all lost time from the first slow mile. But it felt easy so no problem.
Mile 3 - 7:06 White Oak Dr.
During mile 3 I got an 8 oz water bottle and a GU from my wife. As I tried to take the GU it fell out of my hands because I still had my gloves on. I had a backup GU (Roctane) in my shorts so I took that instead after I tossed my gloves. This was my first of 4 GUs’. I also only drank the 4-8 oz bottles of water during the race. I drank nothing from the aid/water stations. So with spillage and throwing bottles away I probably only drank 20 oz of water the entire race. Never felt dehydrated and only had mild cramps after the race.
Mile 4 - 7:00 Michaux
During mile 4 Shaheen pulled away from me but I was feeling good with my pace and I knew she was faster than me. My pace was pretty strong thru mile 11.
Mile 5 - 7:03 11th street
Mile 6 - 6:50 Studemont
Mile 7 - 6:58
Mile 8 - 7:08 Montrose
Mile 9 - 7:05
Around mile 9 the half turns around so the traffic was all gone and we could run good tangents when we needed to.
Mile 10 - 7:06 Main St
At mile 10 I got my second GU and water from my wife. She said I looked very labored after the race at this point. I was probably pushing the pace a little too much thru these miles but it felt very easy.
Mile 11 - 7:06
Mile 12 - 7:13 University Blvd.
Miles started to get harder at this point. I was coughing pretty badly at this point. To the point that my ribs were getting sore. I did my best to stay close to the 7:10 planned pace. I felt like I was working from here to the end of the race. 1hr 50 min of hard work. I was hoping the hard work section would only be an hour long but the course was covered with supporters and I was going to give them all I had.
Mile 13 - 7:17 Weslayan
Started to hear rumors of a big hill ahead from the spectators. Really, I thought Houston was a flat race.
Mile 14 - 7:12 Westpark
Oh, hell. We hit a huge bridge and as soon as we hit it I was passing tons of people. I do my fair share of hill work so it was not too bad. Probably a little over a ¼ mile uphill. Maybe it took a little out of me over the next 2 miles but we were past the half way point.
Mile 15 - 7:14 Feeder off 59
Got my 3rd GU and water from my family. Wife said I looked stronger at this point. It was so easy to find them at each stop because we had more signs than anyone else. Not sure I could have run this race without all the support.
Mile 16 - 7:21 Post Oak Blvd.
More coughing. Please go away.
Mile 17 - 7:06 San Felipe
Somewhere around here I hit a big group of friends from Dallas that came down just to cheer for their friends. They really got me going again. For a second I thought if I could hold a 7:05 pace from here on out I could get the 3:08. I think I can, well not so much.
Mile 18 - 7:13 Woodway
Mile 19 - 7:11
Mile 20 - 7:13 Memorial Park
Mile 21 - 7:20
Got my 4th GU & water from my cousin. I was so tired I made him come to me. Felt like from here to the finish there were a lot of rolling hills. We kept going under all these overpasses. I felt very strong and even smiled at different friends and spectators as I passed them. When the race pictures come out we will see how fresh I looked. This is the first marathon where I didn’t feel my eyes roll to the back of my head. The pace dipped a little and I gave away a couple of minutes over the last 6 miles but no 8 min miles so I held on strong.
Mile 22 - 7:20
My ribs and back were starting to hurt during the next couple of miles. This is probably from all the coughing and a weak core. I need to work on my core and upper body more so I am not as worn down in these last miles.
Mile 23 - 7:17
Mile 24 - 7:25 Allen Parkway
Mile 25 - 7:34 Louisiana
Mile 26 - 7:30
Mile 26.2 - 6:46
Total - 3:09:38
1st half 1:33:50/ 2nd half 1:35:48 almost 2 min positive split so not perfect exacution but I was ok with the race as a whole. It is hard to know what kind of shape, health and day you will have till you run the race.
This race was within a min of my goal so I am very happy with that. It was a PR by 2 min 14 seconds on a course that is probably a few min tougher than St. George. Hopefully I can work hard and shave off a few more min by Boston. Houston Marathon was run very well, second only to St. George. I love having the convention center right there so you can go right in after the race and stay warm.

White Rock Half Marathon 2009

My goal for the White Rock Half Marathon was 1:27.(6:38 pace) It was an aggressive goal but I had run this pace in an 8 mile race a few weeks ago so it seemed possible on a good day. Met Jayna & Brittany at Jayna’s apartment only a few blocks away from the race at 7 AM. We walked over to the start dropped off my bag and made a stop at the port-a-lets. Then we moved to the starting corral. I felt great at the starting line.
At the start I took off right on pace and soon found Shaheen as I was going to run with her. We stayed together for the first 3 miles. During mile 4 she started to pull away. I had my watch on autolap and my mile markers were not on with the course. I will do manual lap in future races. I was a little frustrated as my first 3 miles were below goal pace and I was still 6 seconds back. Gotta love all the mental crap we go thru during a race.

Mile 1 - 6:37 +23 ft
Mile 2 - 6:33 +64 ft
Mile 3 - 6:19 -32 ft (downhill)
Mile 4 - 6:38 -4

I started to really slow down during mile 5. It was a little uphill but not enough to cause such a slow down. I think this mile really broke my spirit and I need to attack and handle things better than that. For some reason I never really recaptured my energy level I had earlier in the race. I was also starting to feel thirsty even though I had no plans to drink during this race. I took a cup of Gatorade at mile 7. Just one of those days when I could not get my legs to go any faster and my energy level was low.

Mile 5 - 7:03 +91 ft (uphill)
Mile 6 - 6:43 +47
Mile 7 - 6:55 +15
Mile 8 - 6:56 -92
Mile 9 - 6:54 +52
Mile 10 - 6:45 -18

At mile 11 I was on the Katy trail and I heard the person tell me I was on 6:48 pace. I knew I would need just a little time to get a PR as I was probably right on my old PR’s pace. Mark K. was there telling me to go and pass those guys so I got on my horse and decided to go. So while I passed 6 or 7 people in the next mile I was not able to hold it. Got a little side stitch in mile 12 and I was giving all I had to hold a good pace at that point. Once I hit the last quarter mile I got on my toes and started to sprint.

Mile 11 - 6:31 -26
Mile 12 - 6:45 -54
Mile 13 - 6:48 -60

Final time was 1:28:52 for a 15 second PR. I am not at all satisfied with that. I have worked too hard to be happy with a 15 second PR. I think my training is fine other than I could go a little slower on some days and keep working on the speed work. The biggest change I need is in my diet. I eat way too many sweets, sodas and fast food. I need to cut that out and lose at least 6 lbs. I put on 4 lbs at Thanksgiving and it is hanging around.

St. George Marathon 2009

We caught a bus at the finish line at 4:45 AM in St. George and it was 55 degrees. We got to the starting line at 5:30 and it was 40 degrees there. We sat around bonfires until right before the start. This is the smoothest run marathon I have ever raced.
Mile 1 – 7:53 I started with the 3:20 pace group. Traffic caused this to start a little slow.
Mile 2 – 7:28 By now it was opened up and I was going very easy.
Mile 3 – 7:13
Mile 4 – 6:59
Mile 5 – 7:06 GU 1
Mile 6 – 6:48
Mile 7 – 6:40 Miles 2-7 were downhill and I was still going easy.
Mile 8 – 7:33 This was the biggest hill. ¾ mile long and all that hill training paid off.
Mile 9 – 7:38 More up hills. Miles 9-12 were rollers.
Mile 10 – 7:29 I could feel my toes taking a beating. Both second toes are now purple.
Mile 11 – 7:52 GU 2
Mile 12 – 7:26
Mile 13 – 7:06 Going downhill again
Mile 13.1 – First half 1:35:45
Mile 14 – 7:27 This is the first mile where we started to get in the sun. Great weather.
Mile 15 – 6:57 Downhill
Mile 16 – 6:51
Mile 17 – 7:11 GU 3
Mile 18 – 7:16 Got a side stitch and it hung around for 3 miles.
Mile 19 – 7:39
Mile 20 – 7:20 Last water stop for me. No more water needed.
Mile 21 – 7:11
Mile 22 – 7:35 Each mile from here on I got more confidence I could finish strong.
Mile 23 – 7:30 I still fear the flameout the last few miles.
Mile 24 – 7:21
Mile 25 – 7:21
Mile 26 – 7:16 Broke my heart seeing so many people collapse this late. Just people pushing too hard.
Mile 26.2–6:44 High fiving kids till someone passed me then I turned on the jets and passed then back..
Total – 3:11:49

So this was a very tough marathon on the legs. Both uphill and down. The big jump in mileage was the big difference. 11 min PR. Still have another 12 minutes to shave off to go sub-3. Dream BIG. Post race was awesome. Fruit, cokes, Bomb pops and bread. Bag check was the fastest ever. Then you go to results booth and they see your number and instantly hand you a paper with your official finish time.

El Scorcho Race Report – I signed up for the 50K and it started at midnight. It is 10 loops around a 5K trail. Night time is not my thing and it showed. The weather was very nice for this time of year. It was around 83 degrees at the start. Jayna and I ran it together. We ran the first 6 laps (18.5 miles) together at a sub 8:30 pace. By the 7th lap I was really tired. My legs felt great but my energy was very low. After about 19 miles I let Jayna go ahead and my pace slowed down to a 9 min pace. By the time I finished the 7th lap (21.8 miles) I decided it was time to stop as I was running a 10 min pace. My goal race is the St. George Marathon October 4th. I decided if I stopped now I could recover much faster and resume training again in a few days. Jayna finished as the first women in 4:25. Running in the middle of the night was a lot more difficult then I imagined.

St George Training Plan