In only his second year running ultras,
Bandwidth.com CEO
David Morken finished the
Wasatch 100 (miles) in 26 hours and 51 minutes. Finishing this torturous run is remarkable for anyone -- David managed to cross the finish in 22nd place (out of 241) - and this is someone who trains at sea level while most others are at altitude all year. After bonking in his first try in 2007 (hypontremia symptoms after the temperature dropped dramatically overnight), David came back with even more focus and had an amazing experience in 2008. Note: David is not only CEO of his company, but is also a father of 6 children (all under the age of 18). He keeps it all together with a calmness and intensity that is unmatched (and he gets a LOT of help from his family and friends). Congratulations, David - you are a true inspiration -- looking forward to watching you and the Bandwidth.com team tackle the 2009 Race Across America (RAAM)!
Track Charlie as he runs across America.
Charlie is blogging each day and is even keeping us updated via Twitter (just get an account and you can follow him there) http://www.twitter.com/.
The Endurance Magazine team was out in force at the Mission Man triathlon this weekend with our events director, Thys, taking second place overall. Having done this event every year in its existence, I have to say it may have been the best weather to date. Either that or the extra shade on the new run course made it seem that way! Oh yeah, we turned a few heads in warm-up with our new Team singlets.
Sunday the 13th of July started early for me. I arrived at Lake Crabtree at about 6:15 AM to take part in the Triangle Triathlon. Joe and Steve had other commitments so I was there to represent Endurance Magazine the best I could. The race went well and I enjoyed hanging out with my good friend Ricardo (November 2007 cover and star WindSpeed client) afterwards. Just as a side note, Ricardo told me about how he's "building" a bike, which to me means you just order a frame and a bunch of components, bring them to a local bike shop, and have them puzzle the bike together. No, Ricardo is actually building a bike, as in designing a frame on the computer, creating molds for a monocoque carbon fiber frame, using epoxy and fiber glass tape, etc. Pretty impressive!
Anyway, now that I'm home relaxing in the A/C, I am probably doing what the 890 other participants are doing (or not), which is checking to see if Set Up Events has posted the race results. At this point in time they aren't up yet, but don't worry because I am checking every 2 minutes! What is it that make race results so great to look at? The funny thing is, once you finally get to look at them the build up simply doesn't live up and you end up feeling sort of let down.
With my thought patterns now officially stuck in the "how about now?, how about now?, now?, now?,..." loop, I thought about a hilarious bit that the well-known comedian Kevin James did about the frustrations of unlocking the driver side door while your passenger keep pulling up on the passenger door handle. Fast forward to 4:25 in the video.
Last month, my wife and I ran the Disney World Half Marathon together. Since this was her first half marathon race, I agreed to follow her well-thought-out race strategy: “Follow everyone until it’s over. And then go back to sleep.”
When she told me this was her plan at the start line, I laughed out loud. And although we were far from last, we took our own sweet time meandering through the course - stopping to take photographs with pirates, with penguins, in front of castles, and even of other runners as the sun rise changed the colors of our background. We had a blast and I highly recommend enjoying a big race like this every once in a while.
One key lesson, however, came at the expense of a guy only slightly more determined to get to the finish than I was. As we came up on the 9 mile water stop there was something different at the front. A group of young women with tongue depressors, each with chartreuse goo globing off one end, were standing ready to hand one to anyone who would grab it.
It was a great day - 55 degrees at sunrise in early December. The warmth was a welcomed change from last year’s 16 degrees on this same morning. And as the over 5000 runners crossed the start line at the 3rd annual Thunder Road Marathon in Charlotte not a cloud was in the sky.
You couldn’t help but feel terrific as you ran through the first mile – a pretty much downhill stretch that tempts you to go faster than you planned.
And for me, especially, since I have neglected to spend any real time training for the various longer distance events I’ve jumped into this season (Duke Half Ironman, City of Oaks Half Marathon, and now the Thunder Road Half Marathon), it would be prudent to stay the course and keep the pace easy – as planned.
Nine miles later, when pretty much all the people I knew on the course started to pass me (usually with a “Hey Steve, Looking Good!”), and I realize I am about to go from setting a new half-marathon PR to running the longest race of my life, I wished that I had dialed it in a bit during those tempting first few miles. But I just couldn’t do it. Such a perfect day and so much energy emitting from the herd of runners it was too hard NOT to embrace the love.
I paid for it over the last three miles of the race – admittedly even walking for a brief moment with no more than a mile to the finish. As I walked I could literally feel all that wonderful energy leaving my body and being absorbed by those who had paced themselves better. I was physically and mentally finished. Unable to focus on positive thoughts, I slowly meandered to the finish.
SILVER LINING
As with pretty much everything in life, after I shook the cloud of negativity, the upsides to the experience presented themselves.
First, by jumping out ahead of the majority of the field I maximized the number of marketing impressions my Endurance branded gear realized as I slowed and was passed. We even had a few clients call in this week right after the race who saw me on the course – coincidence?
Second, I bought a new pair of New Balance 1223’s at the expo the night before the race. They fit like a glove so I decided I didn’t need to worry about breaking them in (which is the traditional recommendation from most footwear experts). The previous chronic pains I had with my last pair of shoes all but vanished. Wearing the new 1223’s was actually therapeutic. I don’t think we’ll see New Balance claiming their shoes can actually cure chronic foot pain, but I am thrilled to have the comfort in my step that I had been missing for several months (I am wearing them now).
Third, it was the fastest 10 miles I’ve ever run! (stay tuned for more on the “Tarheel 10 Miler” on April 26th in Chapel Hill – we’re working in getting that one approved).
Finally, every day, I sit about 10 feet from one of the best coaches I the region – Thys Wind. I’ve never worked with a coach simply because I have such a hectic schedule (flexibility is a dangerous privilege). I wasn’t willing to commit to someone else’s training schedule because I didn’t want to let THEM down. This day I confirmed that the person I wasn’t willing to commit to was me. So, 2008 will be the year I see what I’m really made of. How fast can I go? It will be fun to find out. You can check out my blog on our new website to see how it’s going. [endurancemag.com]
If you’re having trouble shaking up your life, take a look at the events we showcase in our annual Triathlon Season Preview Guide. There is bound to be something that will give you some refreshed perspective.
Inspire. Perform. Endure
PS – Special thanks to Dr. Kevin Lyons of Beyond Wellness Chiropractic in Charlotte who tracked us down to let us know who hit our car in the public lot. Good karma is coming your way.
