The Veterans Day 5k Recap

  Most non-marathon races happen on a Saturday.  But since it was Veterans Day weekend the Veterans Day 5k was not on the typical Columbia weekend run and I got to enjoy my sleep.  And I forgot to look at the race calendar to see what would be happening on that Saturday, so there’s that, too.

  I ran in the inaugural USC Veterans Day 5k last year, and one of the much faster runners inadvertently changed the course and everyone followed their lead, including me.  It made for an interesting time while crossing Assembly Street with traffic coming at us both ways.  (see last year's race by clicking on the video.)

  This year, the course route significantly changed, and it would start and end in different spots.  The route started by the Long Street Theatre, went around the Horseshoe perimeter, made a couple of turns, and ended at 920 Lady Street. 

  Sunday afternoon, I headed out very relaxed and ready to go.  Packet pick-up started at 11:30 AM, and would go on for the next two and a half hours.  I arrived at one of the UofSC parking lots and dropped my stuff off at the library around 1 PM.  I hung out and talked with some of the college kids working, to which one of them asked me about the race.  It seemed that she got stuck in traffic during the Tunnel to Towers 5k the other month and didn’t want to have that happen again. I assured her that the race wouldn’t linger past her work schedule, and that the end was off campus so she would have no issues.

  After a little bit, I go outside and walk up for my packet pick-up.  I see quite a few Team RWB shirts surfing among the crowd which was amazing because I do not recall anyone talking about it on the local RWB Facebook page.  Of course, my RWB shirt was in the wash because someone spilled a drink on my stuff and my Columbia Running Club jersey was nowhere to be found.  Instead, and thankfully because of the slightly cooler weather, I would wear my cotton Columbia Running Club t-shirt for the race, so at least I would represent one of the two organizations out there.

Me and the Prez

  As I mingle among some of the participants, I spot Bob Caslen, the President of the University of South Carolina and retired Army three star general and he was ready to run.  Cocky was out there, too, and it was hard to figure out which one of the two ended up in more picture taking opportunities for social media.  #uofsc #cocky #gococks #goarmy #toomanyhashtags.

  Eventually, we all make our way to the starting line.  According to raceroster.com, 388 people signed up for the race, but I believe there were over 400 out on the course.  The national anthem is sung and once the buzzer goes, we are off. 

  I follow the crowd before me, and everyone makes a right after passing the Long Street Theatre.  I have my Halo 3 theme music going in my Aftershokz, GoPro in my hand, and I’m weaving around strollers and walkers.  I’m enjoying myself as I get close to the gate blocking vehicle traffic on Greene Street.

  And then several of us hear a woman say we were going the wrong way.

Turn Around, You're Going the Wrong Way!

  I could see a long crowd of runners still going forward, but those of us from the back only had the minimal amount of turnaround distance to do.  I feel this certain energy coursing through my veins and I somehow sprint back onto the correct route, and sprinting at the beginning definitely goes against what I used to tell my Soldiers when I was still in the Army.

  I got back on track and there are very few people in front of me.  Eventually, I pass enough people that for a brief quarter-mile I am one of the top ten runners of the race.  Technicalities and mishaps aside, I took that in stride and ran a little faster.  It wouldn’t last.  Slowly, and one by one, the fast pack of runners catch up and surpass me.

"You better run up that hill!"

  We make it to Bull Street, one of two uphills in the race, and this one is THE dozy.  It’s steep and it has four Marine drill instructors “encouraging” us get up that hill.  They were very animated. And vocal.  I run up the hill past all four, and about 50 feet past the final one, I slow down to a walk.  I can hear the last drill instructor behind me yelling that I should not be walking and that I needed to keep running.  At this point, I’m near the apex the hill, and I spot two volunteers to which I tell them as I start running again, “if I wasn’t retired, I might have been intimidated by them,” meaning the Marines.  They laughed.

  I hit the water stops along the route and one of them was on Assembly Street, the other not-as-steep uphill.  After cresting the hill, I run by what looks like at least three platoons of Army drill sergeant candidates, who were out there actually encouraging us with signs, dancing, and clapping. 

  The route had us running in front of the state capitol grounds, and a squad of UofSC cheerleaders followed suit with the Army by cheering us on.  A couple of turns later, I made it onto Lady Street. 

  Lady Street felt weird.  I am so used to driving on it, that I never really get to take in how downtown Columbia looks like a normal metropolitan area, and I do not mean that in a bad way.  This time, I’m running down it and soaking in the building architecture.

  Eventually, the finish line is within eyesight and the crowd within earshot.  I sprint from the final traffic light and pass Cocky.  That bird is everywhere.  More cheerleaders line the finish line, motivating people as they approach.  I finish with one of my slowest times ever, but it was worth it. 

  I did not stay for the after-party or the awards ceremony because I had some sick kiddos to get back home to, but those who finished (and had the proper ID) got a free beer and sliders from Carolina Western Pub.  The race packet included a performance shirt and an FN America baseball cap.  I’ll take a hat in a race packet any day. 

Cocky and the president crossing the finish line

  Other than the initial hiccup at the beginning of the course, it was good; the crowd and atmosphere were in happy spirits, and any chance to support raising money for the Fisher House is a-okay in my book.

 

The video for the race is below, check it out.

 

Guardians of the Night 5k - Running Montage

This is the result of running the Guardians of the Night 5k with a GoPro Karma Grip in my hand and recording with a GoPro Hero 6 Black.











The Guardians of the Night K9 5K Race/Run is a true night event that offers a fun, flat, fast-paced race -- giving runners the opportunity to run alongside Richland County Sheriff's Department K9 Deputies and their own K9 partners. This year the event moves to a new venue - the South Carolina State Fairgrounds. This is a certified race course and chip timing will be used for scoring. Awards will follow along with the opportunity to meet and greet with the K-9's and Deputies. This annual event raises funds to benefit the RCSD K9 team. These funds pay for the dogs' food, medical care, safety equipment, collars, leads and the very costly ballistic vests they need to do their jobs.

The Splash and Dash Adventure Race Recap

Splash and Dash Adventure Race - Bridging parts together

 The Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission recently held the Splash and Dash Adventure Race on 18 May. Originally scheduled for September, Hurricane Florence upended any activities planned that week. Thus the ICRC postponed the event with the aspirations that it would happen in the Spring. 

  I became aware of the Splash and Dash Adventure Race in April. I eyeballed the South Carolina Governor’s Cup race which would take place the same day, but I could not pass up doing a three part event with my wife.  The ICRC advertised the Splash and Dash as a two mile trail run, a four mile bicycle trek, and a one mile kayak paddle in Saluda Shoals Park.

These trees were spared by any bad weather

 It definitely sounded different than running a 5k or a half marathon, but still offered cardio exercise through the entire duration. It also meant I work together with my wife.  Teams could be two or three people, with “early” pricing being 25 dollars per person before the fifth of May, and regular registration costing 35 dollars per person afterwards until the day of the event.

  Our only preparation involved bringing our own bicycles, preferably mountain type, and helmets for the race. The ICRC would provide the watercraft, paddles, and life preservers.  I ran several races in Saluda Shoals Park before, so hearing this would be a trail race, I got excited because it meant I could wear my On Cloudventure shoes again.  Both of our bicycles are hybrids, so lowering the tire pressure a little, should set us for the race.

  Saturday morning, while pretty much every runner headed downtown to take part in a fantastic race Amanda and I joined just over a dozen others in our little adventure.  We parked on the east side of the park and picked up our packets.  We then proceeded to move our bicycles to the transition station about 100 feet or so away.  Amanda is the triathlete of the family, so she tried to prepare her bicycle on the bike bar as she normally would, but someone built the bar too high, so she positioned her bicycle underneath facing outward for easy transition. I followed suit, but noticed most others did not.

Taking Off

  We head back to the start line and listen to the overall scheme of events, the safety brief for the course, and how the ICRC had to adjust the course due to recent rising water levels from Lake Murray, thus modifying the run route, adding half a mile to the bike trek, and preventing us from paddling a mile on the river. Instead, we would paddle a canoe through a set of obstacles in Saluda Shoals’ pond. When the announcer tells everyone that she will count down from “ten” and that’s when we would start, people start going when she gets to “seven” (anxiousness, I suppose), so she released all of us then started the official clock.

The 1 mile turn-around

  The crowd starts running, but Amanda can only walk and we trail behind. However, never count out a walker, especially one who can clocked in a 12 to 13 minute mile pace during our 5k and 10k races.  We start down the road, but the course transitions into a trail route for almost the entire trek. Once we hit grass and dirt, I felt relieved that I wore my Cloudventure for this. The two mile course ended up being a mile out and back because the river swelled up and consumed a part of the return route from the original plan.  So as Amanda and I hit two-thirds of the first mile, we see a dad-son team run past us.  About two minutes later, we see the rest of the pack coming at us.  We do make it to the one-mile mark and turn around, and scoot back. Along the way, we cross the paved road a few times, and see a team on bicycles as we finish up the first leg of the race.

Had to walk up this hill. It was too steep

  We make our way back and get to the bicycle transition station. Our bikes sit alone, but once we reach the area, Amanda and I quickly pop on our helmets and pedal off. The bicycle portion consisted of part road biking and part trail riding. Before the race, I set our bikes’ tire pressure to 65 psi because I wasn’t sure of the terrain we would traverse, and I think 60-65 psi overall was a good choice. 

  We take off and follow the white arrows to a path. We weave in and around on the trail before we hit a couple of hills. I didn’t think Saluda Shoals could pack in such elevation spikes and dips along the trail, but I was wrong. In fact, a few times I hopped off my Cannondale and walked up steep inclines, with one time for a decline.  Part way through the trek, Amanda and I got lost. That sounds crazy, especially since at that point we rode on a paved trail, but somehow we missed signs for crossing the road. Instead, Amanda and I veer right and pedal up to the main entrance.  After wildly looking around, we circle the Environmental Center’s parking lot. Thanks to a friendly patron, we head back and retrace our steps. Once we neared the Broad River Road, we see an event volunteer and cones along the road. We ask him where to go, and Amanda and I made it back on course.

Wrong turn! Wrong turn!

Paddling is harder than it looks

  Once we finished the second leg, we reach the pond. They had a two person canoe ready for us and informed us we had to maneuver three obstacles. I’m not the best seafarer, but I can at least navigate a one-person kayak. A two person canoe is a different story. I take the front and try to steer the canoe, but it was more comical than anything else.  According to Strava, we paddled the course in 3 minutes and 18 seconds. Not bad for a very amateur uncoordinated person.

  We finish up by cycling back to the finish line, which was about 300 meters away. While we were the last to cross, and our time was 1:17 and some seconds, the ICRC awarded Amanda and me for our efforts. We each received a glass with the “Splash and Dash Adventure Race” logo on it and we each received a certificate to redeem for either for a one hour canoe rental or a two hour tube rental. Combine that with the t-shirt we got, and the Adventure race definitely seemed like a good deal.

 

The spoils of the race

That Time I Ran Two Races In One Day

 You may have seen my running videos. Usually I do a race every week or two and upload a montage of it later that day or the next, but there are the rare days where I record two events on the same day.  March 9^th was one of those rare days.

  When I usually sign up for a race, I look at my calendar to see if I’m free that morning, pay the fee, and block that date out.  But for March 9th, two races were scheduled, and both supported great causes. 

the start line

  I first signed up for the March for Meals 5k, supporting Senior Resources Inc. and their Meals on Wheels program.  I’ve done this particular race off and on since 2015, mostly because Army commitments would prevent me from running each year consecutively.  Besides the opportunity to donate and help senior citizens, this race takes place in one of my favorite running areas: the Timmerman Trail.

Wooden Foot Bridge

  It’s a pretty relaxing paved trail that spans over several wooden foot bridges and a few concrete & iron bridges as well.  The March for Meals 5k starts in front of an activities center and has you running on a road for the first half mile until you get to the Lexington Medical Center’s administrative building parking lot. 

  It’s a very nice, scenic path through the woods and overlooks a few creeks along the way. While the 5k route didn’t allow us, there are parts of the Timmerman Trail that also run alongside part of the Congaree River for a bit.  

 

  The race itself was nice, the medals are pretty distinct from others in that place winners get a plate or a medal spoon. I did well enough a few years ago to earn one, and it is still one of my more treasured trophies.  This year, Senior Resources showcased their newly acquired taco truck and all participants received a free taco, be it beef, chicken, chorizo, or veggie.  This was a big bonus for doing the race. The shirt was an improvement this year as well. In previous years, the race shirt was a long sleeve Hanes t-shirt. This year, the shirt was made of a thinner material.

The crowd. Just beyond them was the parking area.

  In fact, the only issue with the race is the parking, and how to get to the parking area. Each year, participants end up driving through the start/finish line to get to the dirt parking lot.  Most times, this is not an issue, but as it gets closer to race time, people gather at the start line and you always have one or two cars show up to park, in which everyone has to get out of the way.  There is another way to the parking area, so hopefully, volunteers at next year’s race can direct people to go that way instead. 

  As for the race, I ran a decent 8:15 average mile. There were a few hills in there, but nothing like downtown Columbia, Charlotte, or even Atlanta.  However, I didn’t expect to push myself since I had a race that night and halfway through the morning run, I decided that I should range-walk or jog the second race.  That didn’t happen.

The Run for Her Life 5k Opening Ceremony

The Start

   The second race, the Run for Her Life 5k, was a charity race for the Lighthouse for Life to raise awareness regarding domestic underage human trafficking.  And this race was a glow race which took place in Saluda Shoals Park. There’s something about glow races that brings people out of the woodwork.   It was packed, but I could hear the DJ playing in the starting line area, packet pick-up went great, and the race shirt was a tech shirt (a big plus in my book). 



  The race took place well after sunset and they modified the course a little due to the rains from the previous night.  As usual, I started in the back, but my wife and youngest started in the middle. And let me say that I planned on running slow,

but once the horn went off, I got swept up in the enthusiasm, eagerness, and festive mood from other people and I started to run faster.  My daughter wanted to run as well, so she brought off from my wife.

 

High Fiving at the the finish line

I didn’t catch Tori until about half a mile into the race because of the crowds.  Once I got alongside my youngest, I stayed with her, and she was such a trooper.  We enjoyed the glow lights along the course, partook in the water stations, and most of it kept each company.  While I averaged a 10:15 mile with my daughter, the important thing was that I ran almost the entire race with her.

  Tori walked a little, but she kept going and finished strong. I got to see my little 10 year old cross the finish line with the heart of a lion, and she made me so proud.

My Tori

  If you would like, you can see both race videos here:

The Veterans Day 5k Recap

  Veterans Day has slowly become one of my more earnest holidays.  This Veterans Day is the first one in which I finally hung up the uniform after 25 years.  It is also the 100^th anniversary to the end of World War I aka the Great War or The War to End All Wars.  Veterans Day started as Armistice Day internationally in 1919, but the United States took an extra step and decided to honor all its veterans in 1954. 

  This year, the University of South Carolina Student Government and the University of South Carolina Student Veterans Association worked together to raise money for the Fisher House in Columbia.  The Fisher House is a place for military families to stay while someone receives treatment at a military hospital with duration lasting longer than a day.  My son and I used the Fisher House at Fort Hood in 2002 when my wife and later my daughter were hospitalized with a serious case of the flu.  We were not stationed at Fort Hood at the time, so the benefits of staying at a place very close to an Army medical center, especially for free, had its benefits.  Thus I could get behind this cause.  This inaugural Veterans Day 5k was their way to raise that money.

  However, I did not learn about this particular race until the week of the race.  Now, this particular Veterans Day weekend contained several races with the biggest one being the Lexington Run Hard half-marathon, 10k, and 5k races, so I was pretty surprised to see over 180 runners and walkers out there in front of the University of South Carolina’s Thomas Cooper Library. 

  When I arrived at the starting point, I saw the line for packet pick-up and registration.  The line snaked and wiggled about but I eventually got to the front.  The volunteers took my name but then informed me that they ran out of shirts in my size.  Another volunteer heard this and quickly pointed out that they still had a box of shirts to go through, so after a few minutes, I eventually got my size large shirt.  But I didn’t get a goodie bag like those before me, so I have no idea what promotional information the recyclable gift bags contained.  I wasn’t upset about it, but mostly perplexed since I saw so many bags behind the volunteers.

The original course

  When I signed up, I had no idea what the route would be, but one of my friends had a print-out and let me look at it.  This was an entirely new course for me, and I was thrilled about that. 

  We started a couple of minutes late, but that was no big deal.  Once the horn blared a couple of times, people moved across the start line.  Channel 10 had a news person out there to cover the race, but somehow I missed that until a day after the event.

  Over 180 of us marched past the starting point and ran down Greene Street before turning onto Main Street.  We had a nice half mile of a downhill slope to help.  When I rounded the corner onto Wheat Street, I saw that we would go over Assembly Street via the footbridge; I’ve always wanted to run on that thing, even though it doesn’t look that special.  After the footbridge, though, is where a lot of us got lost, even if it was only for a little bit.  According to the map, we should have climbed up the second footbridge, but instead we ran past it and went down Park Street to circle back to Assembly Street.  I followed the runners in front of me and eventually they crossed Assembly Street to get back onto Wheat Street.  But without any volunteers or police directing traffic, it felt a little dangerous to do this. 

How I ran the 5k course

  The rest of the run stayed on course with little issues until right before the finish line.  As I rounded the final corner towards the finish line, I thought a police officer yelled at me to continue running in a straight line, instead of turning.  What apparently happened though, is that she tried to get the attention of two other runners who just finished the race and were walking away from the finish line; she thought they hadn’t crossed the last stop.  So I spent a couple of seconds pretty confused about which way I was supposed to go because I thought the policewoman wanted my attention. 

  Even with the misdirection at the finish line and going a different route, I did manage to run a complete 5k in distance.  I wasn’t thrilled with my time since I hovered at 28 minutes.  I’ve been slowly losing my running speed since I left the service, but I’ll work on that later.

My buddy and me after the race

  The awards ceremony took place just under an hour from the start of the race.  During the ceremony, we watched as 91 year old Thomas Peel, a World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War veteran, rounded the corner and pushed towards the finish line.  Once the award ceremony resumed, I got a chance to see the medals.  While only the top place in each division got one, the medals looked nice and distinguished themselves from other race medals by being made of wood. 

Nick and Thomas Peel

  Before the awards ceremony, the race director acknowledged that there were hiccups with this race.  It is the first year for the Veterans Day 5k and even with the missteps, the 5k race still went well.  Since the head of the University of South Carolina Student Veterans Association also headed up the ceremony and asked several participants how the race went, I feel assured that next year’s race will go a lot smoother. 

  

  You can see a brief overview of the Veterans Day 5k here: The Veterans Day 5K

Private Murphy Gets In the Way Again

  In the military, Murphy’s Law is something we always think about when making plans.  If you weren’t familiar with this adage, it’s “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”  In the Army, some of us have taken to calling Murphy’s Law “Private Murphy,” because it would usually be a private or someone low ranking who doesn’t pay attention to the details of the mission and messes up the scenario.  Well, Private Murphy decided to come along for a trail running race with my wife and I, and it cost us more than being able to cross the finish line. 

  Several months ago, I received an invitation to run in a brand new half-marathon race due to my video recording abilities.  This past April, I ran in the initial True to the Brew Trail Run/Hike, a 6.5 mile trek through a part of the Palmetto Trail.  In usual fashion, I ran with my GoPro Hero 6 to record the course as I ran and augmented it with the Karma Grip to keep the camera stable while recording.  The highlight video I created from that race impressed the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, the organization responsible for the promotion, care taking, and maintenance of the Palmetto Trail and Grit Endurance who organized the race.  I felt very ecstatic about all this and wanted to provide the same type of video with the half marathon.

  But I haven’t run a half-marathon in almost three years from the start date of the True to the Brew Half Marathon.  I don’t count the Bad Rock Ultra, even though I complete 13.1 miles because I had 12 hours to complete at least three laps totaling the half marathon distance and I had (almost) all the time in the world to rest between laps. 

  So in typical military leadership fashion, I decided to do use the “backwards planning” technique to figure out what all I needed to do and prepare for some kind of success with recording and running in this race. 

When I initially got the race invitation, I looked up Croft State Park, the location for the True to the Brew half marathon and saw some steep hills in this section of the Palmetto Trail.  This made me think that I would be going a lot slower than I would want.  It would require me to get new running gear, expand my electronics capabilities, and keep myself going the whole time.

  I knew my time has significantly slowed down since the year before I retired from the Army, but that I was also going a little slower than normal on the two half marathons I participated in back in 2015.  My average times back then for a half marathon were about an 8:40 mile with an overall run time of 1 hour and 55 minutes.  I wanted to run the True to the Brew in about a 9:30 mile to even a 10 minute mile pace pitting me in the range of around 2 hours and 10 minutes.  Considering I am normally comfortable running between a five and 10 kilometer distance, I didn’t need to work on short, fast distances but focus on a slower long distance pace.  I commenced on running my training runs at a 9:30 pace while just running whatever time I could on a regular race before the True to the Brew happened.  I built a plan to implement longer distances as race day and race week got closer with the help of backwards planning.

  When it came to recording the footage, I knew my GoPro Hero 6 would need an upgrade in SD cards.  I run with a 32 Gigabyte card.  With most GoPro settings such as Pro Tune turned off, I get 1:50:00 to record.  Looking my best time for a half-marathon, I would be short at least five minutes if I just ran with my equipment as is.  So, I had to shop around for a 64 Gig SD card that could handle the taxing requirements of a Hero 6.  There’s a big difference the SD cards that work in the GoPro Hero 5 and older iterations and the GoPro Hero 6.  Anyway, besides the race itself, I try to record the before and after scenes of the race.  That meant I definitely need to get the bigger card, so after searching Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, I got one on Ebay for about ten dollars cheaper than anything in stores.  And a 64 Gigabyte SD card brought my recording time to three hours and forty minutes. 

  But I had another problem and one I couldn’t simply upgrade with an SD card.  The GoPro Karma Grip has a battery life of one hour and 45 minutes.  I figured I need to do one of two things: either select times to turn on the GoPro for recording or come up with a plan to charge the Karma Grip during the race.  Since I hadn’t run that trail before, the first option didn’t seem reasonable to me, so I went with the latter.  To do that though, I research if it was possible and it was with a portable battery charger, but I couldn’t find anyone showing how long using a battery charger would prolong the GoPro Karma Grip’s power usage.  I ran my own tests and came up with two hours and 30 minutes.  That worked for me, but I would need to have a means to carry a battery charger during the race. 

  I determined that I would have to wear a trail running vest for this race.  I have never worn one for a run before so I reached out to several YouTubers who were very familiar with running vests and went with a very inexpensive but usable trail running vest sold on Amazon.  I tested it out a couple of times and would adjust its fitting periodically.

  I also determined that while I usually don’t carry additional water or supplements during any runs or races, I figured I should have a couple of my Science In Sport gel packs, especially since this was a trail race with hills and water stations would be placed three to four miles apart.  I could carry them in my new trail vest, too.

  I also had to get new running shoes for this race.  When I ran the 6.5 mile race back in April I skipped on wearing my favorite running shoes, my On Cloudflyer and used a normal looking New Balance Vazee because On’s shoes are notorious for picking up rocks, acorns, and anything small that would get wedged between the cloud pockets.  Fortunately, a local outdoors store had a great sale on shoes and I spotted a pair of Altra trail shoes for about sixty US dollars.  However, Altra shoes are known for their “zero drop” style shoes.  “Zero drop” means that your toes and heels are on the same level in the shoes as opposed to most shoes where the heel is slightly higher due to increased cushioning built into the shoes.  My Altra Lone Peak 3.5 shoes had great grips for trails but I would need to wear them for the better part of six weeks to get used to how they felt and how to run in them without injuring myself.

  After I went through and did a PCI, or Pre Combat Inspection, of all my new gear and checked my training, I felt more prepared to do this race.  We drove up on Saturday morning to do the race and got there in plenty of time for packet pickup.  A little after 7:30 AM, the True to the Brew Half Marathon officially started and I was feeling good.  150 of us went running down the street and into the entrance for the Palmetto Trail within Croft State Park.  I had a nice pace of 10:30 a mile due to the bunching of several runners resulting in a lengthy single file line of runners for over a mile. 

  I hit the first water station, located about 4.5 miles into the race at about the 50 minute mark.  Not my best time and definitely slower than I anticipated from all my training and studying of the race course, but if I kept that pace, I would finish at the 2:15 mark and be good with recording everything before I lost power.  But as I started to head out, I got a text from my wife that she fell along the course and heard a loud crack.  A fellow runner saw her and told her that she was near the four mile mark.  When she relayed all that information to me, I took off in a dead sprint back to the four mile mark.  I got there but saw no sign of my wife so I range walked (fast walking, that’s all that is) for a bit before picking up a jog and continuing on.  I kept checking my phone to see how far back I had gone and finally saw her sitting on the side of a hill at roughly the five kilometer mark.  Her ankle was incredibly swollen, almost the size of a grapefruit.  I sent out a message to the race organizer, Erin, and let her know I needed help with my wife.  A little later, a first aid person showed up and triaged her and a little later that, another came by with an ATV to move her back to the starting line.  The first aid guy, Brendan, and I trekked back to a collection point and eventually made it back to the start line.  Once there, I drove my wife to an urgent care facility and that pretty much ended our race.  We got home, elevated her foot, grabbed pain medications, and scheduled a follow up appointment with her doctor.

   So while I had prepared everything I would carry and implemented a training plan for myself, Private Murphy still showed up and managed to FUBAR what should have been a good race for my wife and myself. 

  I did manage to put together a video onthe first leg of the race, though.   


(Disclaimer: the links in this blog that go back to Amazon through an affiliate program)

Crunch Time - Last Week Before My Half-Marathon

  In less than a week, I will be running in my first half-marathon in over two years.  I’ve always been comfortable running 5k distances and most of the time can relax while running 10 kilometers, but any distance over 10 miles involves some thinking and preparation, no matter the activity.

  I still remember the time that I went off on temporary duty (TDY) for five weeks while my Soldiers prepared for a 12 mile ruck march.  For those who don’t know, a ruck march is a “favored” military activity in which you walk quickly with some weight in your backpack.  My male Soldiers had at least 25 pounds in their rucksack while my female Soldiers carried at least 20 pounds.  Since their training and the execution date for their ruck march would occur while I was gone, I didn’t train at all, and instead focused on my running.  However, the last week of my TDY, I got word that their scheduled ruck march was delayed a week and not many of the unit’s leadership would be able to be out there to do it with them; this event was at the company level, and I was in charge of a platoon at the time.  I didn’t have to participate, but I passed word to my squad leaders and platoon sergeant that I might do it with them.  Now, for over about two years, I had special ruck; I took a rucksack frame and mounted a radio boombox on it with several bungee cords and little the necessary weights to make the 25 pound minimum (I know some units say that the ruck should weigh at least 35 pounds, but when you’re at post that likes to ride around in vehicles, I don’t think “they” cared THAT much to keep up with the lighter units).  Rucking involves a different pair of footgear and for me, which includes a different stride and gait.  And I had not prepared at all to do a ruck march, much less a 12 mile one.

  After I got home from TDY, I prepped my ruck by replacing the batteries and checking the cords to make sure the boombox wouldn’t rattle if I go fast.  The next day was the ruck march and I met up with my platoon to do it with them.  There were several mid-level NCOs (non-commissioned officers: staff sergeants and regular ole sergeants) from the other platoons out there in addition to my NCOs and me.  In fact, I was the only officer to be out there with the company for some reason.   We start our march, and I start up my boombox.  I had a playlist already built for an occasion like this, so we marched off to Army band music, because I wanted it to sound serious in the company and battalion area, but once we hit the last road, the music changed to songs associated with Hollywood war movies. 

  At the two mile mark, one of the NCOs from another platoon quit.  That really chapped my hide because I didn’t get to prepare for five-six weeks and here’s this one guy who was supposed to be setting an example and he just ups and quits.  Went back to the company.  His feet weren’t even hurting.  That made me even more determined to finish this with my platoon.  So we continued on the ruck march, probably to Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower.” 

  I finished that ruck march tired and a little sore, but amazingly with no blisters and just the slightest heat spots on my feet.

  This Saturday is the True to the Brew half-marathon at Croft State Park.  I have trained some, but nowhere near to the extent that I wish I had.  I have my equipment for this race, to include new trail running shoes and for the first time ever, I will be wearing a running vest.  I need one to carry a battery charger since I will be recording the race with my GoPro and the Karma Grip (for stable footage to keep people from getting motion sickness).  I’ve tested my electronics.  I’ve worn my new trail shoes for almost a month to make sure I’m familiar with how they feel.  I’ve adjusted my running vest to (hopefully) make sure it doesn’t jingle around while I’m running.  Let’s hope that this preparation, to include getting in several six mile (ten kilometer) runs in and an eight mile run will help prepare me than that time I rucked without six weeks of practice.

When Weather Destroys Your Running Schedule - Hurricane Florence Cancels Three Races in One Week

  This week, besides my half-marathon training, I had three races that I would participate in: The 9/11 Run for Our Troops 5k, the South Carolina Tunnel to Towers 5k, and the Splash and Dash Adventure Race.  But, apparently Mother Nature had other plans.  However, Hurricane Florence will make its initial impact on the Carolina coast late Friday. 

  I started to wonder how training would go on Friday when the internet, social media in particular, became abuzz with word that Hurricane Florence was coming this way.   Monday was the start of things getting serious though, when I got two emails from the CWC Jaycees.  The first email from the Cayce West Columbia Junior Chamber said that they would monitor the news and that the South Carolina governor, Henry McMaster, had issued a mandatory coastal evacuation order for 11 September, the day of the 9/11 Run for Our Troops 5k.  The CWC Jaycees sent out their second email just a few hours later stating that the race event was postponed and they would send word on the future date for the race.  The next day, I got an email from the Run For Our Troops stating that the race was rescheduled from September 11^th to November 11^th, Veteran’s Day.

   With the Tuesday race postponed until later, the next word I got concerned the Splash and Dash Adventure Race.  I was looking forward to this one because it was not a typical type of race that I do.  I usually run in 5k to 15k races, or participate in the occasional duathlon (run-bike-run).  The Splash and Dash Adventure Race had us set up as a team of two, run two miles together, bike four miles together (on separate bicycles if you are asking), and kayak one mile.  The Splash and Dash organizers were the first ones to initially send an email out regarding the weather and warning people that they would be watching the weather.  So, a little before noon on 11 September, they sent an email out stating that the Splash and Dash race was cancelled.  Based off of the weather models that I’ve seen online, the Saturday race would be in consistent rain throughout the entire race, and considering there is a kayaking portion on the river, it’s good that this one is cancelled.  The Splash and Dash probably would have used the least amount of resources from the county and city in terms of police and paramedics, but it’s still a good call.

  The final race event to send out information on their event was the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers 5k in South Carolina.  I got the email on Wednesday, 12 September, at 2:30 PM and my wife send me social media posts stating that the race originally scheduled for 14 September was cancelled and that while no refunds would be issued, we could still get our shirts on 21 September and there would be a limited amount of time for free registration for those who signed up for this year’s race.  That limited time would be announced later in 2019. 

   This week was building up to be a pretty busy time for me with three races and the need for a long endurance run, but with Hurricane Florence barreling down from the Atlantic, plans can be wiped out in a short amount of time.  I was really looking forward to participating in two races I haven’t done before and running amongst the crowd with the Tunnel to Towers race, a race I truly love being in while supporting a great cause.

See the links below for the races and more information regarding the events:

The 9/11 Run for Our Troops 5k

The South Carolina Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers 5k

The Splash and Dash Adventure Race

New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo V3 Running Shoes Testing

The Shoe Vault

  I had a chance to try out the New Balance Free Foam Vongo V3 running shoes while attending the weekly Fleet Feet running event.  Normally on Tuesdays, Fleet Feet hosts a “Pack the Park” event in one of the local parks.  On this particular Pack the Park, a New Balance representative would be there along with several different types of New Balance shoes for us to try on during our run, however, the park was closed and we tested out the shoes on a pre-determined route by Fleet Feet. 

  The New Balance representative had four different models of shoes for us to choice from: the 860, 880, the 1080, and the Vongo Fresh Foam.  While I am usually an On Cloud person when it comes to running shoes, I have been wearing On’s Cloudflyer for the past several months because of the stability it offers. 

The Shoes To Try

  While perusing the various shoes on the rack under the New Balance tent, I asked the New Balance rep what the various numbers meant.  She quickly replied that I was looking at the shoe sizes marked on the bottom of the shoes.  I chuckled and said that I knew about the shoe sizes but didn’t comprehend the model numbers. That’s when she explained what 860 (support and stability), 880 (neutral support), and 1080 (neutral) were.  Talking about my current running shoes, the Cloudflyer, she suggested I go with either the 860 or the Vongo.

  After selecting the Fresh Foam Vongo V3 because they offered a more tradition form of support for stability running, I walked around to get a feel for the shoes.  They were kind of dusty on the outside, but I attributed that to me wearing a size 10, which is a fairly common shoe size.  Walking around the outside of Fleet Feet on the asphalt felt okay.  It was nice walking without adjusting my stance like I do for the Altra Lone Peak 3.5 with their Zero Drop foot feature.  I wandered around in the Vongos and tried to put them to the test with walking: I moved while widening my stride, I would pivot in them and listen for any squeaking or other weird noises. 

 Other people were still checking out I continued walking and then started stretching my legs and rotating my ankles since I ran in the Labor Day 5 Miler the previous day and my ankle was hurting at two different times during that event.  When the last person picked out a pair of shoe for the demo run, we unofficially officially began our warm-up exercises.  I kept toiling with ways to make the Vongo V3 flex and move about, and yet they still felt fine before the run. 

Stretching Out

  We went for our three mile run, though others who were faster opted for the four mile try-out on their New Balance shoes.  Everything felt okay and normal with the Vongo V3 at first.  I start behind most of the other runners and slowly work my way past each person, similar to what I do during a race.  I had no intention of passing anyone, but the cushioning felt pretty good and the shoes were comfortable. 

However, near the one mile mark of the run, both of my heels started to hurt each time I hit the asphalt.  That pain endured for almost a quarter of a mile.  It was a rather annoying pain that I couldn’t stop thinking about, but wasn’t enough to prevent me from continuing running.  The cushioning wasn’t helping and it almost felt like the support was not there anymore. When I hit the halfway point and turnaround, I let one of the Fleet Feet people know that my feet were hurting but I would finish the run. 

  It took about another five minutes before the pain in my heels went away during the run.  I have no idea what happened, and I couldn’t tell if the pain was residual from the race the previous day or if it was from the Vongo V3 themselves. The treads on the soles looked fairly new, but the dust atop the shoes told a slightly different story.  The pain subsided to almost nothingness by the time I finished the run, but I couldn’t help but think about what caused it. 

  I will say that while the Vongo V3 felt good before the run and okay after the run, if I hadn’t ran in the On Cloudace two weeks prior, I wouldn’t have a good gauge to on when it came to testing shoes.  With the Cloudace, I can easily compare them to my Cloudflyer and feel the difference.  Both models of On shoes offer cushioning, but the Cloudace was so comfortable, provided a lot of support, and didn’t have issues.  As for the Vongo running shoes, the other direct comparison I can do is with my New Balance Vazee shoes which I don’t usually wear for races, though I did wear them for a 6.5 trail race and a couple of 5k and a 10k run in the past. The Vongo feels better than the Vazee, seems to provide more support, but the traction on both felt about the same. 

  Proper footgear is essential when running and I was very fortunate throughout my Army career that, to my knowledge, I didn’t have any foot issues.  I know too many people who got out of the service and either had difficulty running afterwards or couldn’t run at all.  If you get a chance, test shoes before you buy, and definitely if you are given an opportunity to do a demo run with a shoe company, go for it.