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Just because:: Run, Drive, Sleep? Repeat: Ragnar Relay Tennessee 2011
Team Isabel, Ragnar Relay Tennessee post from my dear friend Paxton (paxblr):
http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/tennessee
Last weekend I ran 3 legs of a 196.1 mile relay from Chattanooga to Nashville, Tennessee. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I was runner number 3 of the 12 member Team Isabel relay team from Nashville, Tennessee. My…
Waiting For A Sub-2-Hour Marathon? Don’t Hold Your Breath
Article by Amby Burfoot in Runner’s World … Interesting Read.
My thoughts on the 2nd annual Ragnar Relay Tennessee
November 4-5, 2011
Chattanooga to Nashville
www.ragnarrelay.com/race/tennessee
The Experience:
This was undoubtedly one of the most difficult yet AWESOME things I’ve ever done. I had never participated in anything remotely like this before, and had an absolute blast going through this experience with my teammates. The Ragnar Relay Tennessee is a 196.1-mile relay from Chattanooga to Nashville. A standard team was comprised of 12 runners, with each runner completing 3 legs of 2 to 9 miles each. The first 6 runners were in Van #1 and the last 6 in Van #2.
Meagan leading Team Isabel to the finish line…
I am not somebody who just likes to run. I am a runner. This is the difference between a pastime and a passion. I like to play golf, but I am not a golfer. I like to cook, but I am not a chef. I don’t just like to run. I am a runner. It is a passion. It is part of who I am and is woven into the fabric of my personality, character, and psyche.
Adam Goucher from “Running the Edge”
Tuesday (Nov 1)
Running: (FAIL) My schedule called for 10-miles this morning, but I overslept and missed my opportunity. I am SO MAD at myself, and have felt out-of-sorts all day long. I don’t ever recall being this upset before about a missed run. I’ve got to remember this feeling so that the next time I reach for the snooze button I’ll have a little extra motivation to get out on my feet.
Princess Passenger Completes First-Ever Marathon at Sea to Honor Friend
Staff Sergeant Christopher Chacksfield once expressed interest in raising funds for Help for Heroes, a charity that provides support to those wounded, sick or injured in the line of duty since 9/11. Unfortunately, he never got the chance. In June 2010, he unexpectedly passed away, and his friend Steve Eaton struggled to find some way to honor the fallen military veteran’s life.
With an upcoming cruise in place, Steve put his mind to work on a unique idea for honoring his late friend, but it would take a lot of planning and coordination with the Grand Princess crew. Princess Cruises was more than happy to help out and on September 22nd, Steve Eaton successfully completed the world’s first-ever marathon at sea to benefit Help for Heroes on Christopher Chacksfield’s behalf.
Though he’s an avid runner with 33 previous marathons under his belt, this was definitely a new experience for Steve, and the 57-year-old UK native was up to the challenge. While Grand Princess was sailing near the coast of Portugal, he ran 70 laps around the ship’s Promenade Deck to cover a total distance of 26.2 miles, which he wrapped up in 5 hours, 16 minutes and 45 seconds. A considerable crowd lined Steve’s route, offering support during his run and subsequently congratulating him at the finish line, including Grand Princess Captain, Anthony Herriott.
Once he’d had a chance to catch his breath, Steve said, “This has probably been my hardest marathon to date, but it was for a very special cause and I’m grateful for all the support of the passengers and crew onboard to keep me going. Tonight I’ll have a big steak, for the protein to help my body recover, and a glass of wine to celebrate together with my wife, Margaret.”
“Everyone at Princess Cruises is very proud that Grand Princess could host the first marathon at sea,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. “Our passengers and crew were really behind Steve’s attempt, and it was wonderful that so many of them came out on deck to cheer him on. Help for Heroes does fantastic work and we hope that Steve’s efforts have raised lots of money for this worthwhile charity.”
Congratulations, Steve! We hope that you took some time to escape completely during the remainder of your cruise.
Saturday (Oct 29)
Running: (18-Mile Long Run) Our group had planned to run the 11.2-mile main drive in Percy Warner Park at 6am, but my schedule called for an 18-mile long run. To get in the extra miles, I started just after 5am with some easy miles around Belle Meade. This was by far the coldest morning since last winter with a starting temp of 28 degrees.
My goal today was to maximize the amount of time spent running in the aerobic zone as I work toward at least a 3 hour 15 minute run in preparation for Rocket City. With this in mind I kept the pace very easy all day (9:00min average)
Nathan and Paxton joined me around 5:25am, and then we joined the larger group in the park at 6:00am. One loop in the park has over 1,200’ of elevation gain so this was also a run that helped to build leg strength. I was surprised at how well I felt on the hills, and even pushed the pace up most of the more significant inclines. The group decided to take an alternate route during mile 4 down “Shell Road,” which is a beautiful but difficult section. This also reduced the total distance in the park slightly.
When I finished in the part, I had completed around 15.25-miles, so Paxton and I ran another 2.75 miles through Belle Meade to finish. I felt really good throughout most of this run, but began to feel some fatigue after mile 16. Paxton pushed the pace a bit for the final 1.5-miles, but I held back and just tried to finish smoothly.
Overall I’m very pleased with this run, especially considering the difficulty of the route and the cold temperatures. My total time spent running was just over 2 hours 42 minutes which is right around what I was looking for today.
Sunday (Oct 30)
Today was my normally scheduled rest day, which is good because it was a busy day. We had morning worship service, followed by Sunday School where I teach the “Young Married’s” class on the book of Philippians. After brunch, I then had 4-hours of practice for a drama production of Joshua and the Wall of Jericho for evening service and Trunk or Treat. After completing the drama and evening service, we then had Trunk or Treat in the parking lot with almost 1,000 kids from the community.
Monday (Oct 31)
Running: (7-Mile Recovery Run) This morning I did a solo recovery run using a modified version of our normal “Nature Center” loop in Edwin Warner Park. My legs felt very lethargic for most of the run, and I kept the pace pretty easy for the first 5-miles (9:00 min). For the last 2-miles, I tried to pickup the pace and finish on a positive note. Mile 6 was 8:15, followed by mile 7 at 7:39.
I hope that my legs come back before the Ragnar Relay this coming weekend. I had a dream last night that I blew my segments of the relay and couldn’t push the pace any faster than 9:00 min miles (my goal is to do them all below 7:00 min pace).
“Mountain Biker Gets CLOCKED By A Big African Buck!” – Reason number 5,342 why I run and don’t bike….OUCH! (Thanks to @taylorezell)
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
