Monthly Archives: July 2009

Thank you for all of your support to help our team in the fight against breast cancer and the support of Deb Wills with Team AllEars.  Our team is training hard and working toward our goal for the Disney races in January. 

You can help us to fight this disease.  You can learn more about our team at http://allears.net/pluto/teamallears.htm

I am trying to get each mile of the 39.3 miles I run on the Disney Marathon weekend sponsored to run for you or someone you would like for me to run for.  You can contact me directly to sponsor one of the miles(tbrush3@yahoo.com).  With each $25 donation I will be letting you name one mile after you or someone you would like for me to run in honor of.  I want to make sure each mile is represented and I want to make sure I know who I am running for each mile.  You can sponsor and name as many miles as you would like.

You can contribute online by visiting http://www.avonwalk.org/goto/debwills2010 Please be sure to put AllEars Trey Brush after your donation.  You can also send checks made out to Avon Walk for Breast Cancer C/O Deb Wills, 3520 Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite F03-105, Fredrick MD 21704.  Please be sure to write Team AllEars Trey Brush on the check in the notes.  Thank you so much for your support.

The long run went well this past weekend but for some reason the day after, not so much!  On Friday before my long run my back was in some pain and for my run Saturday it stayed that way, especially the first part of my run.  It finally did loosen up and felt normal about half way in.  The second problem came after I finished, my foot was in pretty good pain.  It kept me from running at all on Sunday.  It was hurting again Monday but I went out anyway and it began to loosen up and since then it has been fine.

Part of that might have been being stubborn on my part.  I have been trying to hang on a little bit longer to running shoes I should have set aside.  I have put them away now.

I have also confirmed my training plan for the rest of the year.  I will be using a modified hanson training plan getting ready for the 50k and goofy.  I like it because the mileage is pretty high and the number of runs in the 7-10 mile range are to my liking.  All that being said I am looking forward to getting ready for the busy race season ahead.

“Success is not the key to happiness.  Happiness is the key to success.”  Albert Schweitzer

Would you want the end result of your goal or your dream without the process?  I would say probably not.  You would miss the whole point.  I think at the end of the day it is not about the goal or the dream but it is about you and what the process has created you to be in the journey.

“For those who understand no explanation is needed, …For those who don’t none will do.”

A short thought on self discipline, below is from Dr. John C. Maxwell’s book “Leadership Gold”.

Chuck Swindoll writes, “Courage is not limited to the battlefield or the Indianapolis 500 or bravely catching a thief in your house.  The real tests of courage are much quieter.  They are the inner test, like remaining faithful when nobody’s looking, like enduring pain when the room is empty, like standing alone when you’re misunderstood.”  Doing the right thing isn’t always easy, but it is always necessary if a leader wants to have integrity and be effective.

What keeps a runner from quitting during the race when the challenges arrive?  It is the self discipline they showed to not quit during training.  Self discipline does not make a glorious appearance just for the race.  Something to think about on one of your long runs when your body begins to resist.  Quitting in your training makes quitting during the race easier to do.  You won’t always have the crowd to chear you on and encourage you.  Most of the time you will only have your own self discipline.

I could not have been happier with my long run yesterday.  It is the longest run I have had in over four months.  I felt great and was surprised at just how good I felt.  After a few less than ideal runs recently it gives me a lot of confidence going into the next two months of difficult training.

This weekend will be a pretty good indicator of where I am in regards to my training.  This will be the longest I have run since the MS 50 in March.  I have a 15 mile run which hopefully will go well and set me up for the next few weeks of hard training.

August tends to be a pretty big step up month for fall marathon training and just kicking it off for winter marathons.  It can also be a tough month to increase the miles with the heat.  Good luck with your runs this weekend.

Enjoy this for your motivation for your long run this weekend.

Like the weather I change my mind rather easily about races I would like to run.  That is until I register.  I really was hoping to do an October marathon this year but could not find any close by that would work.  I had planned on trying a December marathon but it seemed awfully close to the Goofy Challenge.  The new plan is to run the Nashville Ultramarathon in October instead of a December marathon.  The distance I am choosing is the 50K.

It gives me the October race I was looking for and from what I have seen it looks like a nice little race.  I do enjoy the small and unique atmosphere of the ultra marathon.  Also it is not a 50 mile race so I feel good about making it part of my preparing for the Goofy. 

The impact on my training will be that I will have to increase mileage on the long runs.  However the good news is that I have been maintaining between 12-14 miles on the weekends anyway.  Thankfully it will not be too much of an adjustment.

Winning has nothing to do with racing.  Most days don’t have races anyway.  Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up.

Amby Burfoot, The Runners Guide to the Meaning of Life

It never fails that in a race you will most likely be taken by surprise by something at some point.  Especially when you are running a longer race such as a half marathon, marathon or ultra.

Just a few examples.  The cramping in the calves in one marathon and cramping everywhere else in another.  ITB issues in one and an unexpected number of hills in another.  Congestion and over crowding in one marathon to the isolation and loneliness in an ultra.  I began to think today of all of the races I have run and I could not think of one where I was not surprised by something.

As I was on my way home Friday night and received and unpected phone call about a little car accident my family had been in, it was a reminder of expecting the unexpected.  Thankfully my family is fine but it is very much an unexpected inconvenience.  I think of the races I have done everything in my power to prepare for every situation but yet I will be surprised by something.  The test comes from how I respond.  The script never seems to go quite like we had envisioned it.  So how do you respond to the unexpected?

If you happened to miss this a few weeks ago, this is certainly worth a look.  At the USA Track and Field Championships a few weeks ago Nick Symmonds and Khadevis Robinson dueled for first place and to be the US Champion in a classic 800 meter race.  Use this as motivation to finish strong in your long runs this weekend.

“Running is the classical road to self-consciousness, self-awareness and self-reliance.  Independence is the outstanding characteristic of the runner.  He learns the harsh reality of his physical and mental limitations when he runs.  He learns that personal commitment, sacrifice and determination are his only means to betterment.  Runners only get promoted through self-conquest.”

–Noel Carroll

I heard the “Ultramarathon man” Dean Karnazes asked how do you run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days and he said one step at a time.  I believe the same thing about running and life in general.  I have people ask me the same about running a marathon or ultramarathon.  The key point to keep in mind is not trying to figure out how to run 26.2 miles.  You just have to find a way to run 1 mile 26 times.  I know it may sound stupid but there are many days your mind can’t grasp the idea of running 26.2 miles and looking at the road that does not end.  However there have been many days you have run one mile.  That 26.2 miles is just too much to think about but one mile is not.  When you stop and think about that 26.2 mile distance it always seems like too much.  But you know you can run one mile.  You have a built in confidence about running just one mile.

When you get late in the race and have finished 20 miles but still have 6.2 miles to go, you can’t think about running a 10K or 6.2 miles.  You just need to run one mile at a time.  Finish the one and work on the next.

I have a good friend who in just a matter of weeks has gone from running 1 mile to 5 miles.  That happened from running one mile at a time.  Running 5 miles did not seem possible but she just ran one mile at a time.  It might be a race you are training for.  It could be a project at work or at home.  It could be a dream you are chasing after.  No matter what, run one mile at a time.

The runs over the weekend went real well.  However one thing that always stands out to me during the summer is how tough any run can be.  I had an 11 mile long run on Saturday and 3 miles on Sunday.  Those both seemed like the most difficult runs I have had in a long time.  One factor is certainly the summer running.  What normally is no big deal any other time of the year can seem like a monumental effort during the summer with the heat and humidity.  The other factor probably is mental.  When you mind knows how far you are going it seems like it tells your body and that is as far as you can go.

3 miles on Sunday never seemed more difficult and I had no desire to run any further.  Once you know how far you are running your mind seems to convey a message to the rest of the body and that is as far as your body will want to run.

The biggest factor for me is the heat.  I can usually push through the mental factors but the heat recently has just been draining me.  Looking foward to Autumn!

Now that the Peachtree is behind me I am getting ramped up for the fall marathon training season.  I did my first speedwork yesterday morning since the race and the legs felt great and I still feel healthy.  That is a good sign.  I will spend the next month working on some speed training, hill training and ramping up my long runs to prep for my training plan that will start officially in the middle of August.

I am considering to also add a couple of races into my schedule this fall as well.  One is part of the brand new half marathon race series 13.1.  It is the Atlanta 13.1.  It looks pretty interested and I like the course it will take.  I do love running in the month of October as the weather has a great chance of being perfect.  It comes during a good week in my training where I can just make it part of my training plan.  I might also add a marathon in this December.  I am kicking around the idea of running the Kiawah Island marathon.  I have heard good things about it (flat!).  I also know that a month later I will not exactly be trying to push the pace during the goofy challenge so this gives me a marathon to push myself in for the fall.

I like the idea of running a race in December as the weather should be great.  The new schedule will make for a busy fall.

I did have a good bit of uncertainty going into the Peachtree which I think I say before every race.  Each race brings an amount of unknown and doubt about how your body is going to react.  That being said I knew that I was healthy and that my training had been going really well.  The first real blessing was the weather, it was going to start out really mild which was quite unexpected.  However it would heat up in a hurry so the rest of my family in the second to last time group would really feel it later.

The problem I have always had in running the Peachtree is knowing when to push it and when to hold back.  The problem with the Peachtree is that the first three miles are pretty much slightly downhill and the final three miles are mostly uphill.  I like to start slow and end fast but it is hard to do on this course.  My plan going in was to start solid and end strong.  In the past I had great start but my times during the second half had really taken a beating.

I did get a chance to get down to the Expo on Friday and they seem to improve it each year.  It also seems to be more crowded each year which comes with the improvement.  It is an early morning for the Peachtree as our family all drives down together. 

I got a nice warm up in around 45 minutes prior to the start and felt good.  As we started right at 730am coming off the line I felt great.  No nagging injuries or slow starting muscles so this was a good sign.  The first mile is pretty flat with a slight downhill.  The only problem you have on the first mile is the crowd.  I really tried to stay patient and felt like I did.  I knew to PR and get under 42 minutes my pace needed to be around 6:45/mile.  I also knew I wanted to start a little faster then that to get some cushion for the slower miles near the end of the race.  I  came out good with the first mile at 6:30.  The second mile is much of the same as far as the grade.  Also a real nice feature the first 3 or 4 miles is shade.  Between trees and buildings there is plenty of shade the first few miles.  It changes later but that is a nice early feature.

The traffic did begin to thin out for mile 2 and I was able to run the course I wanted to.  I tend to get impatient and run on the outside taking the long way around the course.  I really tried to avoid that this year.  I finished mile 2 with a 6:28.  I really felt strong at this point and wanted one more really solid mile before the hills to give me a little cushion for the hardest part of the race.  The first hill comes right at the end of mile 3 which I finished in 6:36.

I knew I had built up a little bit of cushion but I was also not certain how much I needed.  In the past the hills had really made me come to a stand still and I had lost a lot of time.  I have been doing much more hill work this year and I was hoping that would pay off.  The first hill I came to I felt like it did and I finished mile 4 in 6:38.  I knew miles 4 and 5 would be the toughest so I knew one more solid mile and the PR was likely but this was also the hardest mile with the hills.  I did make a water stop during mile 5 which I normally don’t do in a 10K.  I don’t really recommend that strategy but for me anything under 45 minutes and I don’t usually take water.  I did try to take water but did not get too much in me.  Most of it wound up on my shirt, which was ok too.

I did slow down some during this mile but with the hardest mile on the course and stopping for water I was very pleased and did not lose much time doing a 6:51.  I really felt at this point that if I just kept a solid pace for the final mile I would be able to hit my goal.

What pleased me the most about this race was not even my time as much as it was to pick a strategy and follow through with it.  I would save my fastest mile for last with a 6:23 and finishing the final .2 miles with a 1:25.  Last year I really struggled down the stretch but felt completely different this year.  I ended up with a 40:51 and felt great.  Not exactly a Sammy Kitwara time of 27:16 who won the race but being able to run my race made for a great feeling.  Kitwara of Kenya just ran a beautiful race never really being challenged.

Props also to my wife, mom, brother and his girlfriend all who finished and earned their T-shirts.  A real plus this year was to be able to finish back in Peidmont Park.  It really made it feel like the Peachtree again finishing in the park.  Can’t wait to return for 2010!

This is a small paragraph from “Developing the Leader within you” by Dr. John C. Maxwell.  We all have a tendency all of our lives to want to get rid of problems and responsibilities.  When that temptation arises, remember the youth who was questioning a lonely man.  “What is life’s heaviest burden?” he asked.  The old fellow answered sadley, “Having nothing to carry.”

As you run or deal with the issues that hit you head on this week, remember what the problems and trials do.  They make you stronger.  They help forge your character or sometimes reveal it.  You are the person today that your problems yesterday created you to be.  Nothing important can be accomplished without pain and sacrifice.