USA Club XC Masters Championships

Ever since last year watching the ATC Masters team win their 2nd straight club title in Louisville Kentucky I've been waiting impatiently to turn 40 and join the Atlanta Track Club masters team  . I had my mind on helping the team win a 3 peat in Bend , Oregon . Every year the USATF moves the meet to the west then the following year to the east  . Back and forth .

 After turning 40 in October and forgoing my 40th birthday party I traveled to New Jersey with the ATC team for the USA 5k XC Masters Championships on the day of my birthday . Running my first competitive masters race . I battled a hard fought 2nd place with my teammate Kristian Blaich with another teammate Chad Newton winning the title . Other teammates finishing strong in 5th was Eric Stabb and Steve Wilcox in 16th . We easily won the team title and a great picture on USATF website . With our minds set on Bend where the big boys show up , we knew it was going to be tough . Word has it that a mountain trail runner Max King was designing the course . From what I read he didn't want it to be a grass track race and bring it back to its roots . With high altitude , cold , and hay bails , hills and lord knows what else . I knew we were going to have to bleed alittle to win that 3rd straight title .

 With weeks of training and a few injuries that left me from training as much as I wanted to December rolled around quickly . I posted a 15:50 XC 5k a few weeks earlier that left me confident for club XC . Arriving in Bend on a Thursday we had enough time to settle in check the town out and do some relaxing . A few of my teammates drove over to the course that Friday morning to preview the course . We ran three laps of the 2k loop and man you could feel the altitude plus this wasn't going to be an easy course to race on . Some sections of the course was so dangerous that the Nike Oregon Project decided to withdraw from the race . Said it was to risky . This was going to be a technical type race and had to run it smart . Nowhere to really open up your stride . Later that night a group of us were discussing what our strategy was going to be and knew that the Bowerman Athletic Club was going to be tough to beat especially in their own backyard . This side of the country is where all the elites come to train and live . Running heaven for many . I nearly had to leave the conversation due to my nerves and thinking about it . I couldn't seem to get my mind off it . My biggest fear was disappointing the team . They had high expectations of me this race . I decided my tactic was to stay behind Kristian cause he has more experience in these races and we have same fitness level . I didn't want to go out in lead like I did in Jersey . I wanted to conserve for a strong final lap . 

 I take off to bed early that night but I found myself not able to sleep . I ended up watching a movie on laptop for a few hours but still couldn't fall asleep afterwards . My heart rate was up a little higher than normal and couldn't stop thinking about how the race was going to play out . I think I ended up sleeping close to three hours . Upset when morning came around but feeling ok . 

 My teammates were Malcolm Campbell ( two time winner of this event ) , Chad Newton ( winner of several master championships ) , Kristian Blaich ( age grade winner at 47 ) , Valentin Alvarez ( traveled by car from Atlanta ) , Eric Stabb ( placed high on all Club XC races that contributed to winning title 3 out of last 4 years ) Matthew Whitis ( strong masters runner that's been here to contribute as well ) followed up with Steve Wilcox .

 Getting up that morning we ate breakfast and headed over to get set up and eyeball our competition . The wind was blowing pretty steady through the course with the temps starting out that morning in the high 20s .  We watched to Women's Masters race  . And from the start the ATC had three runners leading the first lap . They were declared the winning team before their third place runner finished  . The Women's masters team won their first Club title and put pressure on us men like there wasn't any more room . Warming up through the cold snow and some icy roadway , you cant help but notice the nice view .The one in the background of white snow covered mountains and the lovely looking female runners . Neck breaking and breathe taking type views . We made our way over to the start line . Debating on whether to wear gloves and beanie I decided to go with both . Andy Carr said we can just throw them aside at him if we want to take them off . I was told about all the competition I was lining up beside this morning . Master record holders , All-Americans , Olympians , etc. This field had it all . The Masters Men team had set a meet record with the most teams . Biggest field in the 16 years it started . I lined up beside Kristian and behind Chad and Malcolm . Valentin,Eric behind us with the rest of the team . Gazing up the half snow covered hill that we have to start up before we turn right onto the all terrain course , we try to play out which route to take at the start. As we lean to the start the gun suddenly fires. Running up the hill trying not to spend so much energy and adrenaline mastering the climb . I hold off and ease into a good spot not too far behind Kristian . I see Malcolm and Chad with the lead pack as soon as we turn right . Already laboring the first 1/2 mile into the stampede of the old bastards 6.2 mile true torture trail  .I was wondering if I'm gonna hold this pace . Not finishing the first lap yet . Alvarez right there with me . Back and forth we two go .I'm wondering what my first mile pace is . There was no mile markers or clocks to let us know but that doesn't really matter in this type race . Just positioning . Coming up the long stretch of the course that you can see where your competition is for a few minutes there is Andy Carr on side yelling at the top of his lungs letting each one of us know where the Bowerman Team is .I think there was 4 ahead of me and Kristian was only about 5 seconds ahead coming up the treacherous small hill that will leave you to the feeling of walking . Only a 3 second climb that will leave the quads burning and crying . You can merely reach out and touch the hill. Coming to the second lap back through some dangerous turns where there have been carnage on throughout the meet . One teammate Matthew Whittis feels like he cracked a rib from wiping out hard . Footing is also important . Just holding my pace and keeping sight of Kristian . Valentin still on my heels . Throughout the laps I've had some runners pull up beside me and do a surge but they fall back . Andy continues to yell at us and letting us know what our position is . I notice two Bowerman guys in black ahead of us by a hand full of seconds on the fourth lap . Last lap coming up and I knew I had to work a little harder to get these two guys . I overtake one with about half lap to go and I.m pulling up on Kristian when we come down to the wipeout  zone where there has been several guys losing their footing . Kristian still ahead of me and one other Bowerman guy right there with two yellow jerseys of Boston Athletic Association . I knew with about a 600 meters to go I would have to put on one heck of a kick down the hill to get Bowerman and possible catch my teammate . I think Kristian has about 5-8 seconds ahead of me . I wanted to wait till we made our final right turn down the hill we came up at the start . Once we did I took a deep breathe , said to myself Feet don't Fail me now , reached over and did a little right handed shift like I was shifting gears and took off down the hill . I passed one Bowerman teammate then one yellow jersey of BAA then the next . I can see Nancy Meck of ATC woman's masters team jumping up and down from the corner of my eye . I know I passed around four during last 200 meters . I kneeled over dry heaving .Valentin finishes about thirty seconds behind for our fifth guy followed by Eric Stabb. Finally this race is over . Pure torture . Chad finishes up with a strong finish of 5th place , Malcolm 7th, Kristian 17th just two seconds ahead of me while I got 19th , Valentin 32nd and Eric 34th . All we have to do is wait for final results to come out and see if we beat Bowerman for third club title . Over the past hour we watched the Open men's team and I ran down to that one bad spot . They came and came quickly through there like a wild herd of buffalo . The famous Alan Webb came by in second . I saw several guys lose footing and fall . The eventual winner of Opens men's race was Joe Gray , a great trail runner .Won quite a few championships. He came down to Georgia a couple years back and ran a trail championship race . I always wondered why he came to Georgia from Seattle to run a small payout race . From what I heard he ran a smart race . First lap he was around 40th place and moved his way up the field letting the track guys beat themselves up .
 Finally they are starting to put up the results knowing in the back of our heads it was going to be close between us and Bowerman . Eric glimpsed at the results as she was shuffling them through her hands before she posted them on side of the van . WE WON!! as he hollered . By one point . Bowerman team showing their true sportsmanship by congratulating us . There was some mix up with our names on results as I was running with Kristian's number and couple other of us the same but it didn't cause any mix up with placement but gave us a scare . We protested it and got it corrected later on . Results still stood and we are winners once again but first national championship for me with this team . We pushed hard to the end and it counted . Every runner we passed counted . One point . Can't get any better or closer than that . I'm sure Bowerman will try to man up and go after us again in Bethleham , Pa. This race wants me to focus more on next years race and train harder . Better my 19th position . I'm sure the course will be easier than this and maybe built for a track runners race . Today I still cant get this years race out of my head . I'm sure in a few more days the memories will fade out . Real happy to contribute to this team. But I'm ready for next year already . God Bless 

I'm not much of a writer and hope you can enjoy this blog as the way I wrote it out . This is as far as my high school education took me . 

http://www.usatf.tv/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45365&do=videos&video_id=101941

Reflections of Augusta 70.3

During the summer I wanted to keep my mind off running competitively the next few months before I change over into the masters category. So I decided to get back into some triathlons . I've done pretty good with two top three finishes . My big goal was Augusta 70.3 this year and to beat my 2011 time of 4:40:50

. With my family there this go around minus little Callie it gave me more motivation to perform great in front of them . I've trained more for this one than I have in 2011 . The swim started out great . Bettering my time by 1:30 but my transitions were crap . I took too long . My bike was same of 2:38 . I wanted to go faster but I was afraid of burning out soon . I eased up last 10 miles of bike leg . With a better bike and equipment there's no doubt I can go sub 2:30 on that course . Soon as I come to the stop of dismount a guy round housed kicked me in my chest as soon as he dismounted off his bike . Luckily I wasn't 5ft tall or I would had been sporting around Augusta streets with bloody mouth . After taking eternity in transition I hit my first mile in 5:00 . Not sure if the mile marker was correct , but I did feel like I was heading for disaster so I slowed to a 5:45 2 mile which was still faster than planned . After I think mile 4 I was feeling it . I thought I was about to throw in the towel and jog it in . But soon as I got some water in me instead of the sugar drinks I've been taking I started to feel better and was hitting 6:20 miles . I finished slower than I wanted on the run with a 1:25 run leg . I was second fastest in my age group on the run . Some guy ran 1:21 . That's what my goal was . I come across the finish with a 4:38:16 . Nearly a 2:30 PR. Great day but there's room for improvement if I am planning on qualifying for Worlds 70.3 in the near future . Now time to focus on running my tail off next couple of years and see what I can do throughout the country with me turning 40. Hope not to disappoint . 

Two marathons

Today I woke up at 4:15 am and traveled to Atlanta for my second marathon in two weeks . Previously I haven't ran a marathon in 8 years and about to run two in two weeks . I wanted to see if I can recover fast enough for a second marathon and see how well these AdvoCare supplements work . Past two weeks I've been loading up on post workout recovery drinks and nighttime recovery . After my first marathon in Albany I was back up and running in two days and legs was nearly 100% . I couldn't really do anything really long cause I wanted to rest up for Publix Marathon and I knew the course was gonna be a killer . We started out at 5:25 first mile and knew I had to ease up to 5:45 pace . My plan was 5:50 due to the hills . I went out through first half in 1:15:30ish and was a little too fast for my goal of 2:34 . Then the hills hit hard around 18 on up . Every corner I turn there the hills kept going up and up . I was cussing those streets . They really beat my legs up . I slowed to a 6:30 pace and managed a 7:00 mile once due to the fact I slowed to hurl bit all was good after 24 where I picked up to a 6:20 pace . I just wanted to finish . Didn't really care about the time cause I knew 2:34 was not happening . Plus I ran solo nearly the whole thing and that sucks . . Finished with a 2:37:43 and was content with that after a marathon two weeks ago and the monster hills that left me crying inside . My good friend Malcolm Campbell won in 2:26 at the age of 42 . I always try to compare myself to that guy but dang he is tough. I can't seem to hold a candle next to him . He is really excited that I'll be joining their ATC masters team at the end of the year and so am I . Now it's time for a break and slow down for awhile until 40 comes around . I don't wanna start getting burned out early before that . The past year I've reconnected with my desire to really compete again at a so called higher level . I think it's the fact that I'm about to turn 40 . I know what I need to do is turn in some high mileage . Higher than what I've been running lately . 70 miles a week is about all I was doing in preparation of the marathon and I like to reach 90+ next go around . Thanks to the help of my mother in law watching our youngest daughter I'm able to train at what i do now . If I'm going to at least make an impression at 40 I need to get those weeks up . Until then I'm gonna enjoy me some turkey hunting and hopefully have my truck painted by next month . My other hobbies I enjoy .

Albany Marathon

Finally I've gotten a marathon in after all the training throughout the summer , fall and winter . New York Marathon was suppose to be the main one for me but we all know what the outcome of that was . My wife and three girls came with me to watch me run which I'm very thankful for cause without them I wouldn't be as strong as I am today . I want to let my girls see what hard work can do if you put your mind to it and I want to impress them in any way possible . It was very cold and windy that morning so Julie and the kids dropped me off at the start and they decided to go back to hotel and watch me finish due to the weather .
I did a half mile warmup and tried to stay warm as much as possible .Took in my O2 Gold and muscle fuel which I was afraid I was gonna forget about. We line up and I'm ready to start running just because I'm tired of shaking to death . I think I burned over 100 calories from shivering . Finally the cannon goes off and three Kenyans and some other guy take off in front . I stayed about 50 yards behind them coming to the first mile . They went out in 5:30 while I came through in 5:43 . Felt easy . I thought the lead pack was gonna take off but they slowed to figure each other out and it took me nearly 8 miles to pull in beside them . I could have easily pulled in with them earlier but I wanted to stay patient . . One fella name Chris kept running on the shoulder of the road everytime there was an opportunity . I asked him after the race if he was nursing an injury or just saving his feet . He said yes he was saving his feet for the final miles . I figured running on grass would slow ya some but he took second overall with a 2:21:38.
Throughout the race I started taking in gels and fluids every chance I could . As we hit the halfway in just under 1:15:00 all 4 guys took off leaving me running solo . I think they dropped a 5:00 pace the second half . I had a feeling they was gonna do that .They looked too comfortable early on . So I'm running by myself in which I was afraid of . Coming up on mile 17 a grabbed a bottle of muscle fuel I set aside on the course that morning . I put a paper bag over it so no one would tamper with it . Still hitting 5:45 miles and all of the sudden I need to take a quick break for the port-a-John . :30 gone there and I got back going and near 20 I saw one of the Kenyans in sight . Well I figured he knew he wasn't in for the money so he slowed and took it in easy . Right when I was about to pass him at 22 I had to stop and vomit all the water I took in . I was feeling ruff between miles 20-22 and I had to get that stuff out of me . That knocked me off about :45 . My goal that day was either sub 2:30 or at least break the old age group state record of 2:32:18 .
I passed the fella and knew my 2:30 was out the door and I started to slow to 6:20 miles the remainder but was feeling rather good . My last mile coming in was close to 5:55 . Even though I've only ran 6 marathons prior that was the best I've felt coming in to the finish . I finished pretty strong with a 2:32:58 .l Forty seconds from state record . Only of I didn't take in those liquids . I should have known since it wasn't a warm day but fear from previous marathons of energy depletion . But best part of day is my girls yelling "Go Daddy !!" at the finish . i was looking for them as I was coming and couldn't but could hear them . I know I'm capable of a 2:28 or better . I just gotta put in the miles , train and race a little smarter . That's my goal for Boston14 .

Gracie's Run

For the past few days Gracie been bugging me alittle about going running . So today I told her I was gonna take her running up the dirt rd. but it was gonna be almost dark before I can take her if momma doesn't come home anytime soon . She got upset about that and was afraid she wasn't gonna run any . Well my niece's mom showed up early to pick her up . The reason why we couldn't go . So Gracie was happy and we headed out the door with Emma on her bike to ride along beside us . Our goal was to see how far she could go without stopping and mark that spot and beat it the next time we run . I was expecting Gracie to run nearly half mile and stop like she was doing last year . Well half mile came and she was still going . Then a mile . I was really surprised and she wasn't laboring hard and talking to me like we was on a long run together . She made it 1.5 miles and really think she could have made it longer if it wasn't for it getting dark . We had to hurry back home . We walked and jogged some the way back . Now we have a starting point , I can't wait till our next run together . Really proud of her effort . Hope it was our first of many miles together .

Today's 20

Today's 20 miler I believe has put me in a funk . I woke up this morning with my three girls and had to spend alittle time with them before I dropped them off at grandma's before my long run . Everyday it's been the same routine . Wake up to get girls ready for school , go back to bed , wake back up with Callie, get her ready for grandma's , go run , get ready for work . Same routine over and over and over . My heart wasn't in for a long run today. I wanted to do 22 but was running short on time so had to cut it to 20 . My legs wasn't feeling it plus my heart wasn't also. I just didn't wanna be out there . I got to many things piling up to do at home . I need to start on my 77 ford , finish my workout room , stuff around the yard and mainly of all spend a little more time with my girls . Running has seem to become more like a job instead of a hobby . Once that thought starts settling in then its no longer enjoyable . I think what I need to do is get this marathon out of the way and take some time off . Not sure how long but enough to start to realize how much it's important to me . I have a big year ahead of me next year and want to make sure my head is in the correct place before I start that journey . Don't get me wrong I love running and racing put my life doesn't need to revolve around my running . It should be the other way around .

TarBaby Part 4

The course record was 31:36 and the more and more I got to thinking the more confident I had faith in myself . The following year David Matherne showed up again and I beat him once more . I had a good year that year but wasn't all into it . But I recall the following year I just got engaged to my girlfriend Julie which I met at the Farmers and Merchants bank . Same bank which puts on the race . Ever since I settled down my times have been improving . I gotten in deep on learning how and when to train. Putting in tempo runs and longer intervals into my routine . The year 2000 I ran the TarBaby solo and won again in a time of 32:35 . Dad kept hounding me about that record telling me he'd give me $300 if I broke it . I wasn't wanting any money . Doing it for any other reason would make the effort worthless . 2001 comes around and I've been running great . With my first child on the way , getting married , and new career it was turning out to be a great year . Some sub 15:00 5k's in my book and sub 31:00 10k's . But racing on this course can get yeah. It has it all . The 3 H's . Heat , Hills , and Humidity . And did I mention hills . The fastest miles on this course is 1 and 5 . Mile 1 you had to come back up to the finish .  Others are nothing hills . Not rolling but just long hills . I marked the course every 1/2 mile to know where I had to be if I wanted to break this record. Just to break down the course in 1/2 splits .  I knew how fast to start off due to the fast first mile and challenging second mile with two hills in the mix . A few days before , dad and I came up with this idea to record the entire race . An idea I got from running in the Charles Harris 10k where the recorded the race from the back of a truck and the runners was able to watch the race on TV during the awards presentation . We got with the race director and lead pace car and they said it was ok .
That morning there was no one I recognized that would give me any competition so I had to do it alone . My brother was also running great the past few years . He has been running low 17 5k's . Nervous as always and I do my race day prayer from the script Hebrew 12:1 . Look it up if you don't know . We start out with dad in front on back of the truck and I go through the first mile in 4:53 due the fast mile . I didn't want to go out 4:45 mile like I have done in previous years  . I need a 5:05 pace to break record .Second mile 10:03 after the double hills and then mile 3 in 15:08 , mile 4 in 20:21 then I pass the Church St with the crowd roaring . Everyone knew what I was going for . I believe my mom was he loudest of them all . Mile 5 I hit 25:26. Right on pace . Then the last hill I had to hammer this thing . It's a monster of a climb . Nearly 400 meter climb . I hit 6 in 30:34 and I have slowed alittle but I needed a kick to break the record. I threw down the hammer and floored it with my signature kick .I've won a quit a bit of races with my kick. I take my kick with a lot of pride and arrogant with . I was one of the fastest guys in school in short events when we would race against each other in school for fun .  Once I crossed the finish line it was over . 31:26 !!!!. I but on a :52 second 1/4 mile. Tears from my eyes come out . My pregnant Julie waiting on me at the finish shoot . I try to hug her but she hardly wants any part of it due to the sweat coming from me . She is not a big fan of sweat . Then I go to dad after he gets out of the truck from recording me and give him a hug cause I know how much he wanted me to get that record . Along with my mom . Still today she tells me how much she is proud of me . It's was one of the best races I've ever ran and most rememberable one . As we sit back and wait for the second runner to come in ,  guess who shows up in second place. No one other than my brother Ken . He had been battling for second  with another runner name Rob Blaszkiewicz . He finished in 36:20. We went 1 and 2. A great day for the Black family . And we got it all on tape .
  I tried the next year to break my record again but at mile 6 I stopped and hurled I was on pace but that dang last hill got me . In 2005 Michael Greene came up and handed my butt . He is a real great runner but I wasn't prepared . I ran a crappy race . I wouldn't say I would have beaten him but if I was in great shape like 2001 it would have been a great race.  Some years I've gotten injured and I've won it a few more times . I've had everyone from my aunts to friends I've never seen throughout the year come watch me run .I can remember on my grandmother came once before she past away . Today I can recall what she said to me one day " You might have some skinny legs but they sure get you around fast ". I'll continue to run it as long as I can walk .
Hopefully my hard work and desire will be pass on to my kids in which I have three girls now . Now they run the 1mile fun run every year at the Tar Baby. Just a few good words. What good are goals and you dont tryto achieve them . Always believe in yourself no matter what the situation . It's not how many time you fall , it's how many times you get back up . Hope you enjoyed this and can get a little bit of understanding my background . God Bless and see you on the roads

TarBaby . Part 3

As we was about to start the race I try to visualize what I wanna do through each mile . No one knows this course better than I do . I've trained on this course nearly every week . I lived right off the course about half a mile from the 5 mile mark . Growing up I can recall days I wake up ready to go to the Dairy Festival and looking out the door was runners passing by . I knew there was some sort of event but didnt have a clue of what .as we start out the race we go stride for stride . Just me and David . I remember after about the 2 1/2 mile he puts on this kick and jumped out in front of me about :10 seconds ahead of me . Just enough to keep me pushing . He lead like that for a good while . I couldn't gain nothing on him . We pass the crowd with my family and locals cheering for me . I cant recall how many times people have asked me if I was gonna win it this year . I reply as always "Heck yeah ". Coming to mile 5 his led continues to grow and when we come to the last brutal hill past the bank to the finish that's when I realized I wasnt gonna win . David finished in 32:30 the same time as Ken did the year before . I finished slower than last year with a 32:48 . I wasnt happy .Very disappointed   . I thought I put in the training . Maybe again to many races . I won 23 that year . I think I raced in 35 that year . Way too many for a serious runner . But I didnt know that then . I coached myself . Thats all I had .. After the race was over David introduced me into joining the Atlanta Track Club Competitive team  and I have been a member since I think  .
 Through the year I continue to race and train and in 1998 the usually preparation for the race . I heard David was coming back to defend his title and on top of that Ken McLeod was coming to . Just great !!! That left me one thing to do was to train harder . I wrote David's name on my mirror to remind me why I need to do that extra mile , interval , hill repeat . I heard Ken wasn't in his best shape at time but would be nice to beat both . For sure that morning both were there and we lined up . From the start we was neck and neck again . Not sure where Ken was but wasn't with us . But here we go again . I remembered what he did last year to me and I was waiting for him to do the same . I told myself if he is plan on doing that little sprint like he did last year I was plan on going with him . We come up on the 2 1/2 mile again where he did his move and I be dang if he didn't try it again this year . I said heck no . Not this time . I went with him . He wasn't shake me that easily . We are battling mile after mile . Coming back to Church St. with the crowd he has a :05 or so lead on me .Crowd yelling like crazy for me to hang on . I had a plan to just sit back and let him think he has me . After mile 5 he has a :10 second lead on me . I can tell this by counting off seconds from land markings . At this point I'm laboring to hang on but still behind him . coming up on 5 1/2 I'm pulling up behind him on the dreadful hill . Soon as we top the hill I'm on him , then 1/4 mile to go I told myself " Feet don't fail me know "!!! I but on this sprint to the finish and I never looked back . Final after the years of hard work and trying to figure out this sport I have finally won my hometown race . Crowd at finish goes wild . Dad and mom has tears in their eyes from seeing their little 130 lb son be the center of attention throughout the day . I finished in 32:12 and David finished 32:30 . An :18 second margin exactly by which he beat me the previous year .I never been congratulated by so many people in my life as I walk around the festival through town with my stain glass award . My family threw an party for me at their house to celebrate . The paper had just about a whole page dedicated to me . As things calmed down for me the past few weeks I got to thinking that I wanted to do more with this race . I wanted the course record set by Jeff Milliman from mid 1980's .I think it was in 84 .
  To be continued ......
 

TarBaby 10k . Part 2

With some races I've been traveling to I started to pack on a lot of wins . I've ran my first sub 16 5k and winning 11 road races in 1995 . I started reading a lot of books and magazines on training and workouts . I met this one guy who guided me into doing speedwork on the track . His name was Eddie Carriolli . He was and good runner but a nut . Collected scrap metal for a living and all he wanted to do is smoke weed . I think is in jail now for armed robbery but if anyone from the day ran races in the area they would know who I'm talking about. A real character . 1996 Tar Baby rolls around . Ready has I have ever been and nervous as ever . I think I hurled before the race due to nerves. At the start I recognized Ken McLeod . A local elite from Macon . I've run against him some and he dusted me quite a bit . I knew I had to run my best race to beat him . The race starts and we went 4:45 for first mile cause of the elevation drop at the first mile but whatever goes down usually has to come back up . We ran neck and neck the whole race . After 4 miles we come back to where the start of the race was and make a run by the crowd waiting at the finish . I never seen so many people on that side of the street and most of them was cheering for me . Adrenaline kicks in and I just try to pull away from him going up Church St. I couldn't shake him . Well coming back up that hill we ran 4:45 on I tend to struggle but i was on him like a tick on a dog . Coming up to the 6 mile I'm hurting and no kick what so ever . He beat me by :03 seconds . I was happy and dissappointed at the same time . Just a weird feeling I suppose . I was happy about that I ran a PR of 32:33 but the losing part you can understand . With the local paper coming out that week I saw my picture in it running side by side with Ken that gotten me excited and more pumped up for next year . I finished out with 14 road race wins that year but not the one I wanted . 1997 came around and running races nearly ever weekend . But my times wasn't getting any better . Was it too much racing and not enough training?? I look back now and say Yes . And then again TarBay comes around. My yearly World Championship . My nerves all gone once again . And I be dang if I notice this one runner with an Atlanta Track Club singlet on . Those guys were known for fast competitive running . I had no idea who he was at the time but David Matherne was his name . An elite from Cartersville , Ga.
To be continued ......

TarBaby 10k . Where my passion began . Part 1

For so long I've been wanting to share my little story that got me started into running and never giving up on goals . I've got to share my story today with a couple of friends today and got alittle choked up about it .
Back in 1993 when me and my brother graduated school together my dad told us that we needed a hobby , something to do on our spare time . He mentioned that we can try the Tar Baby 10k out in town. When I was younger we use to love to go to the Dairy Festival for the games and rides they had and I can recall seeing runners go by just 1/4 up the road where they run pass our neighborhood where we lived at. If I only knew what was about to happen several years later. The Tar baby 10k was a well known and popular event back in the 80s for the tough course and when there was only a hand full of races instead of the 100+ a month you have now . People would come to little ole Eatonton to get in a test race in before Peachtree . A few greats have came through this town to run this race . Craig Virgin, Jeff Milliman , Kim Bird , etc . Now today it's known as the Torture Trail 10k cause they changed the name of it due to complaints from the cult " Newabians " of being a racial name for the race . They were threating to boycott if not changed . But so Ken and I trained running around in our neighborhood . I can remember sitting on the front porch after a few beers yelling at me that Ken was going to kick my butt. We had no idea how to train for this let alone how far a 10k was.  Starting in the back of the race that morning we headed out . I don't recall much of the race but only knowing that after 4 miles and seeing the finish line ahead I thought the race was over with but I noticed everyone was turning right ahead of the finish line . Another two miles !!!! I remember coming up the last hill throwing my guts out and finishing in around 46:23. Ken finished ahead of me in around 43:49 . Still today that's the only time he has ever beaten me . He won an age group award and I didn't . It didn't sit right with me cause I trained more than he did and my work didn't pay off . The next few days I went to the Farmer And Merchants Bank where they organize the race . One lady I know well told me how great I did and that I should take up running because I have the body for it . I took up the complement and headed off for some training . I entered a 10k in Monticello and ended up winning it in a sub 40:00 performance with unbelief that I won only running my second race . My dad was there to watch me and I remember him with a tear in his eye as I finished. Well I started hitting some local races but few and I had no idea how to train . The next year came around and was getting ready for TarBaby again . With my whole family there and mom at finish line taking pictures as I crossed . I finished the race in 37:08 and 10th overall and didn't realize till later on that I was off the Putnam County residents course record by :04 seconds. I told myself the record will be mine next year and had my family especially my dad behind me on this . I trained alittle more the next following year but still haven't found my place into what was lying ahead for me . 1995 rolls around with more experience from racing . That year set out to get that record I shattered that by running a 35:18 and getting 3rd Overall !!!!! I was excited about the record but couldn't believe I was 3rd and only 1:30 something from winning . My dad said it would be awesome if I could win this thing . That put the spark in me . My goal was to win this thing and be the first PC resident to win this brutal race .
To be continued ....

Running

After a week off from a scare from being out longer I seemed to have picked up from where I left off from training . After the NYC marathon was canceled I figured I'd run Soldiers Marathon the week after to not waste any of my hard training but a 20 mile long run in Central city Park that Sunday morning did me in . I started out that morning with a tight feeling in my achilles but figured it would go away but stupid me decided to push through it and it cost me a week off . Thought I'd be out longer cause the next day I could hardly walk on it . Cant seem to put my finger on how I started out with an injury cause I was in middle of tapering and hadn't done any hard running plus how I healed from it quickly .
 After a week of easing into it and an interval workout I wanted to run an 18 miler and try out this new product my wife has came across . I read up on it and saw nothing but great reviews . Its Advocare's O2 Gold . Its suppose to give you a third lung during exercise especially anything endurance . I finished yesterday's 18 with a 6:14 pace . Hitting some miles at 6:05 pace feeling relaxed . I believed I might have pushed the pace just alittle but felt great and relaxed . I usually run this long run @ 6:35 pace but this stuff is great but wanna run a couple more runs and workouts to see if stuff is legit , there is some other products I'm gonna try that Julie has ordered for me to go in conjunction with O2 Gold . Some Pre and Post workout drinks from advocare . If anyone wants to more info or wanna try this stuff out just get in touch with me and I'll post the other Advocare products as soon as I try them out .I have a race Thursday in Dublin in which I'm gonna try to break the age group state record (35-39) that hasn't been broken ever since 1991 in the 12k . Like to knock that out of the way . Plus on Dec 8th I'll be traveling with the ATC team to Lexington Kentucky for the USA Club Cross Country National Championships 10K . I'm gonna use my race as a measuring stick against the masters for next years following race .

Final Countdown

Down to my final week of tapering . I haven't really done much tapering as I should but gonna really scale it back this last week . I have a 12 mile run Sunday and thats gonna do it . I cant let all my little annoying injuries and pains heal . My plan for the marathon is first 4-5 miles at 5:50ish pace then over the next 15 miles @ 5:43 pace then depending on how I feel the last 10k @ 5:35-5:40 pace . 2:30:00 is my goal . I've looked at all the previous times over the last two years and alot of people end up falling way off their first half marathon split .Only the winners had negative splits . Hopefully this plan will work if not then oh well . Gonna try to enjoy the race best as I can . I have my oldest daughter Gracie and Julie going along with my two sisters coming to watch . that should alone give me enough motivation to run well . This is my first marathon since Boston in 2005 . After this one the're gonna be more especially my masters years .

The only way I know

"The Only Way I Know"

Well I grew up in one of those one light town
Where I run till the sun goes down
Everybody looked and stared
I kept running till I hit the middle of nowhere
I just figured out that how I was
And everybody else must think I'm nuts
Running in the rain , sweating in the sun
Don't quit till the workouts done

Tha'ts the only way I know
Don't stop till everythings gone
Straight ahead , don't turn around
Don't back up , Don't back down
Full Throttle , Wide Open
Getting Tired I don't wanna show it
Digging a little deeper when I cant dig no more
That's the only way I know

That old red dirt road is the first place I learned
Is that you don't give into nothing that you don't earn
Humbled pride I grew up on
You find out how long you gone
The sun in my eyes , heart beating faster
Never have time to go any slower
Hitting the wall sweating and hurting
Still thinking about nothing but winning

That's the only way I know
Don't stop till everythings gone
Straight ahead , don't turn around
Don't back up , Don't back down
Full Throttle , Wide Open
Getting Tired I don't wanna show it
Digging a little deeper when I cant dig no more
That's the only way I know

Heroes Half Marathon (Dirt Road Half Marathon)

9/16/12 I woke up at 5:30 am and only getting a few hours sleep after getting back from UGA game . Wasn't really in the mood to run a halfm but needed the 13 miles to finish up my first 100 mile week . Got to race on time but feeling ill after some gels I took . Didn't have time to warm up but was gonna let my first mile of race be my warm up . I was very curious about the course cause the website said it was 4 miles on dirt roads , 1 mile on trail and 8 on road . I emailed the director and he told me that the dirt roads are packed hard without much gravel so I took a chance and registered . I was looking for a half to run my marathon goal pace ( 5:45 ) .
Before the start they had a helicopter fly over which was cool . We start the race and I led from the start . Going through the trails at first with a 6:00 first mile then we hit the dirt roads . Man oh man at the gravel on the roads. I had to watch nearly every step cause it's not fun stepping on s rock with running flats on . I was hitting some miles at 5:35 to 5:45 at times . Finally hit pavement after 4 miles . We ran around Atlanta Motor Speedway then hit dirt roads AGAIN !!! . Feeling comfortable and didn't wanna rush the pace . I wanted to but trying to hold back . At a turn around on the gravel road I nearly hit the dirt sliding . At mike 12 I think I ran 5:35 but last mile I had to run back through the trails again which I slowed to a 5:56 last mile . Finished with a 1:14:50 which I was happy about . I hated it was a hilly , rocky course cause I didn't wanna struggle to hold a 5:45 pace but I needed to get the legs dialed in for that pace . Afterwards I did a 5 mile cool down at 6:45 pace .
The race was part of the Wounded Warriors Project and was glad to take part in the race to help support our fallen troops . The coolest thing of it all was part of my overall award is that I got to fly in the fly over Huey Helicopter . I was able to take a passenger with me whom it was Asa Peed who works at Run Fit Sports . We flew over Atlanta Speedway . Awesome day plus breaking 100 miles for first time with 105 .
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/223507391

My mileage superstition

Today I realized something on my long run that I've been doing for quit sometime now . I was plan on doing a 23 mile long run but I said to myself " 23 is an odd number to end a run with ". . I don't end any run with an odd number except for 5 . Examples are 1,3,7,9,11,13,17 and on , and on . So today I ended my long run with 24 . Something I've had a habit of doing . My own somewhat of a superstition . Might seem odd to most people but I'm sure every runner has something of their own . God Bless

Race Calendar

June23rd Indian Springs Triathlon
July 4th Peachtree 10k
Start marathon Training for New York
Sept 3rd Labor Day 5k
Sept 22nd Corporate Challenge 5k*
Oct 3rd 131 Atlanta Half Marathon
Nov 3rd New York City Marathon (2:32 Goal)

5000 track

Yesterday me and Chris Dietrich headed up to Atlanta for the all-comers track and field meet . I was really had my heart set out to run a fast 5k on the track backed with some good quality workouts with a Torture Trail 10k win last weekend of 32:52 . A good time considering the course . I was hoping for a sub 15 . We arrived and I saw Malcolm Campbell and Janet Cherobon Bowman . He told me they was wanted to run low 15 . That was great for me cause I needed a push to get that sub 15 . Janet was there in preparation for her coming up 10000m at the Olympic Trials next week . My first mile goal was 4:50 but soon as we toe the line and through the first half mile I wasn't feeling any pop or turnover in my legs . They were dead . 2:26 first half mile with Janet , Malcolm , Cory Baumann . I knew I was in trouble . First mile was 4:52 and I was struggling . Felt like I was running a 3k . After 6 laps I died and fell back off pace with the gang going by . Second mile was 9:59 . I ripped my jersey off and threw it along side of the track in discuss plus the humidity was making it feel uncomfortable . I never thought about dropping out of any of my races but this one I came close to . But I always say " Finish what you start ". My last mile was 5:01 and I finished up third behind Janet 15:36 . She ran 15:21 . 6 years ago I ran a PR here of 14:34. A long way from those days. I was really wanted to run along side her bit Cory managed to help pace her to a PR . Malcolm was there to help pace her through 3k and jumped off the track . Not sure what happened to me . Humidity was around 70%+ and temps was mid 80's . Chris ran his first sub 5:00 mile at 4:55 high . Got a 5k this weekend on the road and hopefully redeem myself .

Today's 5k

The past two weeks I've been training pretty consistent after a bad 5k on May 5th . The weather was warm and I started off too fast with a 4:45 first mile . I knew I was too fast after 1.5 miles into it . Mark Kushinka wasnt too far behind me . If he was there I wouldn't finished under 16 . My plan for today's race was to take it out conservative . It's hard to do that sometimes when adrenaline is pumping .
I arrived early today in Forsyth for the Connie Slaughter Memorial 5k . My goal was 15:30 . Wondering if I would get that mark on this fast course I recognized a runner from a race a couple of years ago . No doubt it was Sean Burris a pretty fast runner . Kinda glad he showed up to push me through a fast race . I wanted to stayed focused on my first mile and not run his race from the gun . I looked at my Garmin through the first 1/4 mile and we was running 5:20ish pace . I decided to pull from him alittle due to a slow start then he pulled beside me . We went through the first mile in 5:00 flat and we stayed together until the 2nd mile where he tried a little surge . I was feeling good so no need to worry about the surge . I've been running long enough to know surges are short lived from a mile out . I catch back up with him . He starts to pull away from 600 yards out and I'm trying to hang but couldn't . We finished with a lap on the high school track at Mary Persons . He came in at 15:16 ahead of my 15:21 . At my age now it's all about trying to stay fit instead of winning right now . A year and a half from being masters and I'm gonna need to stay this way till then hopefully .

Great week of training

Last weeks training nearly put me in the ditch . Started getting fatigued and wore out . Last weeks workouts was a 15 Miler @ 5:52 pace which the last 10 miles @ 5:45 . 8x2:30 hard 1:30 easy ( I cut rest down from my normal 2:00 ) then followed two days later with a 4x2 mile tempo @ 10:30 each ( pushed the pace which I shouldn't have ) . I was feeling dead the next day . Mayb I needed a week like that , mayb not . I was forcing myself to push beyond what I was capable of that week and leaving myself drained . I didn't reach my goal that Saturday in a 5k so and pushing my workouts . Always wanna feel like you can continue with a workout when you are finished with your goal workout that day but easy said than done for me . My tempo and fartlek left my bent over . With a 20 miler @ a slower pace (6:20) and 6x1k @ 4k pace left me feeling energized this week . Gate River Run 15k is this weekend . Goal is to win age division and see how I square up against the masters .

Two / Twenty / Twelve

I woke up Monday morning wondering if I should do a 800 track workout or just a Monafartlek workout since I have a 5k saturday . So i decided to go with mona . It was one of my better workouts . But I was worried about Julie during workout cause she was hurting . Luckily she had an appointment that day at 1:30 and she had her mom to drive her. Time was around the corner anyway . She was having contractions throughout the day . Soon as I was heading out driveway she called and said " Pack your bags , its time ". Heading to hospital wondering what we are gonna have . Boy/Girl ?? I said a prayer asking God that no matter what we have Im still gonna love it the same . Well Callie Rae Black was born at 11:36pm 2/20/12 . Prettiest little thing . Just like her sisters . Girls are having a fit over her . They are on couch with her now . They are going to be a big help . Not sure if anyone has seen the TV series Last Man Standing but sure thats how my life will be like .Funny show . Very blessed to have three beautiful girls and a nice