The Race

Although I have been running a good amount since February, I was still a bit apprehensive about running the 6K this past weekend. But, I said I would run it and it was to be a good test of exactly where I stood on the conditioning scale. I could have bailed and run the 5k but that would have been a cop-0ut for me, as I knew I was in good enough shape to run a decent 6k. I also was a bit worried about my right knee, which had become a problem after finishing my last 20-mile adventure. I had dialed down the amount of daily miles in the previous week and a half, but not much had changed; my knee was still bothering me. 

Race day was great - minus the humidity. Why is it that every time I decide to run a race, one where I am looking to put down a decent personal time, mother nature is like TAKE THAT! MN, you are a sour @#$*%. Seriously, can't I get some love on the weather tip? Man...Anway, I toed the line with 93 other runners, a mixture of current student-athletes and alumna. I made sure to find my way to the back, as I was not trying to kid anyone by thinking I was going to break a course record. I also didn't want to pull my usual blazing first mile only to fade hard afterwards; not this time. So, the gun went off and so did I, settling to the back and being happy about it!

I felt great through the first mile, actually felt like I was just maintaining, not really pushing at all. 

"6:45...6:46...6:47...," the bald man with the clipboard shouted.

Normally, I would have been concerned about that pace, but I felt fine. In past years, I felt OK at that pace but knew I was going to run out of gas. Not this time, though, I felt my legs under me and knew I had enough in the tank to run it out. 

I started to pick off a handful or runners as they came back after starting off too fast, which is normally my role. It was nice to have someone take over the reigns for once! I still felt pretty good at mile 2, which is where I found two current Lady Saints and decided to hang on their pace. I also decided to act like a complete wierdo, which is not uncommon, for the race photographer...

What? Someone had to do it. And the double bandana, while also dope-boy fresh, is a shout out to Ry-Ry, the colors of his beloved 'Cuse. 

It was at this point where I started to feel the humidity. I mean, I hydrated for a few days before the race, so I was fine for a while. But, I do not do well in humidity, as any loyal reader of this blog will know. I really needed some water, but there was none offer on-course, which needs to change before next year's race. I mean, I didn't wilt and slow way down, I just could

 feel my body become less responsive to the ground. It was also zapping my energy, as before I felt as though I could pick up the pace at any point. But, as the race wore on, even though it was only a bit over 3 miles, I felt as though I was trying to maintain my initial pace.

The SLU XC course isn't a particularly fast one, as there are a number of ups and downs, places where you will get caught up. For me, the race-killer is the short but steep hill coming out of the woods near the baseball field. Hills and I do not get along normally as I have long legs, but this hill seems to have my number  more than others. Is it the roots, the loose dirt, the incline, the fact that it is also so damn muggy, the mental idea of a hill? I have no idea, I just know it hurts and slows me down quite a bit and takes a while to recover from. Here, check out my face coming up the hill for the second time, I am not even pandering for the camera:

Damn hill, who put that there. But, I did know that I only had a half mile or so left to go, so I was not overly worried. I knew that I had a good 300 meters before the start of the long homestretch, which I could use to recover before trying to kick it in. 

Well, I was a bit more zapped coming out of the woods than I thought I was going to be. I wanted to hammer coming around the turn to home, but didn't feel like I had much left in me. With that said, I have never been one to qu

estion or care what I have or have not had in the tank. So, with that thought, I put my head down and gave a push forward. My legs responded this time, and I started to gain ground on a handful of people ahead of me. Unfortunately, the rest of my body was not in sync and I really began to feel it! 

"Briiiiiaaaaaan...what are you doing....Briiiaaaaan....hey, down here, your stomach, remember me? Yeah, we are going to need you to slow up a bit...Briiiiaaaaan...fine, don't listen and see what happens!"

That was the message I got with a hundred meters to go. Check out the facial expression I was sporting with about 25 meters to go...

Yeeeeeeaaaaaaeah... 

I wasn't feeling too hot. I can't tell you how excited I was to see that finish line. I am not going to line, I definitely dry heaved, twice actually, right at the end; once with about 10 meters to go and once right after the finish line. Ahhh, just like old times! I don't know w

hat it is, but I almost always dry heave after a distance race. 

Yummy. Chewed banana, anyone?

I ended up finishing in the mid 26's for the 6k, which is about a 7:15 mm pace. Not blazing fast but certainly quicker than I have run in the past. I think I could have run faster if I drank something during the race, but oh well. I was happy with the time, especially after not having run a ton in the previous week.

In the end, a good time was had by all, just as Wellsie would have wanted it. The alumns capped it off as only the mud and blood do, with Sergis in the belly! And if anyone forgot, it 386-4581 :) Thank you to all who made the trip to lovely Canton, NY. We were able to raise an additional $1500 to go towards the Track and Field awards area to be bestowed in Wellsie's name. That means we are about halfway to our goal of 6K now...keep it coming! For more information, contact the XC and Track and Field coaches at St. Lawrence University, www.stlawu.edu/sports, or head on over to www.run4stlawrence where one of us can point you in the right direction. 

See you all at XC Regionals in Canton on November 15!

-B

Wellsie's Run - Why we return

Every fall, St. Lawrence University XC and Track and Field alumna return to campus for a sole purpose: to celebrate the life and message of Ryan "Wellsie" Wells. Who is he? Well, that would take a million blogs to cover everything he stood for, but I will do my best.

Wellsie was everything you want, and desire, to be. I know, that sounds cliche but it is true; ask anyone who knew or met him. He was that once-in-a-lifetime soul that lived life to its absolutely fullest and inspired those around him to do

 the same. It was not unusual for me to get a call from Wellsie at midnight just to say hello. On asking him where he was, he would say, 

"I am on way down to Bethpage to play the Black course." 

"But Wellsie, it's midnight on a weekeday," I would reply, knowing that this meant nothing to him. 

"I know, but I want to play it, so why not do it now?"

I couldn't fault him, he lived as many of us always have wanted - to the fullest. He would jump in the car on the fly if you needed him, he was quick with a joke when you were down, and did everything, I mean EVERYTHING, at 100%. Proof of this could be found in his support for the 'Cuse, his beloved Orange. You think you are a big fan? Please...

"Wellsie, what are you listening to?"

"Ah, just a CD 'Melo made for me."

"Riiiight...of course"

or

"Wellsie, is that a 'Cuse championship ring?"

"Yeah, got it from Boeheim."

That's how my boy Ryan Wells rolled.

All of this is well and good, but Ryan's true character shone through during his battle with cancer. I didn't use the word fight, because it didn't sound  strong enough. You see, Ryan went to war with his disease, battled it at every turn, and never EVER gave up. 

"I'm going to treat it like the flu, Boo, that's all it is."

And that is just what he did. It didn't trump him when he didn't have enough energy to even open his eyelids, when his hair fell out, when he spent week after week away from home tucked away in some sterile room in Sloan Kettering, or when the disease came back for a second and third time. He needed surgery to stop the spread of the disease? 

"Let's do it."

It didn't matter to him, he was going to come out on top. The disease never defined him, but his battle persona did. I know Lance Armstrong is revered for his strength, but I'm sorry. Lance, you don't have @#$% on Wellsie, not an iota. Whether the fir

st, second or third time he fought it, Wellsie came out guns blazing. And it was a sight to behold. 

I am not doing this special guy justice...just know that he was incredible, a one-of-a-kind. I miss my boy, I wish I could hit a 'Cuse football game with him, like I promised I would, I wish I could crush some of his mom's homemade meatballs in Canastota and toss the the football around afterwards. Most of all, I just wish the world could have

 had him for just a little longer; it would be a much better place for it.

I miss you, bud - Make it clap ;)

For those of you that knew Ry and read this blog - please feel free to post stories of him, funny things you remember, etc. I would love to hear and share them with the rest of the folks that wander on through.

Run for Wellsie up at SLU

I will post my full report from this past weekend up at SLU when I have a chance tomorrow. In the meantime, check out the money post-race feast I hammered at Dana, who was always really good to me (photo credits to Sammy): 

You know what that is right there? Well, it is actually two things:

1) Straight money

2) Me winning at Breakfast

Yes, brown rice, pasta with cheese, a blueberry bagel with PB and honey and pepperoni pizza do INFACT go together, so stop hating. 

Hater.

I win.

PS- I washed it all down with a nice, cool Coca-Cola Classic. Eat it!

Hopefully my Rx

Check it- Just landed what I hope to be my cure:

Yes, sir. Orthotics, B#$!@#S!

If you look close, really close, you can see that they are actually made of money. Yeah, I know, I didn't realize orthotics were made of money, either. I guess tha...

What? Yeah, money, that is what I said. Did I stutter? What? I don't know why, I just know that they have to be made out of money if anyone in his/her right mind is going to charge $300+ for foam. So, I concluded that they are, in fact, not foam at all but money. It's all logic; if you paid attention you would understand. Will you let me get back to my post? What? I know Wolf Blitzer is really a robot, everyone knows that. Now will you let me finish my post? Thank you.

Sorry about that. Some people have no shame. Anyway, I hope these orthotics do the trick, as I am not about to stop running for an extended period of time. The marathon is in less than two months and I still have work to do. I am running, period. Whether or not my body gets that is besides the point.

I will toe that line.

A bit damaged

So I haven't really recovered from that 20 miler...actually, I think I kind of broke myself a bit. Actually, I know I did. At mile 15 I experienced serious leg pain and should have stopped. But, anyone who knows me will tell you that I am not good at listening to my body when it is telling me to chill out. I bulled through the last 5 and did some damage to my knees.

I had been feeling pain in the outside of my knees for a while, but figured it would go away. Unfortunately, throwing down 20 miles on top of a tweak, especially in these. They are the Nike Lunar trainers, which I piked up a few weeks back. They are light, which is very good for my rebuilt ankle, and are neutral with a ton of room in the forefoot for people like me with wide feet. But, I found out they are not GREAT for really long runs.

I got to mile 10 feeling awesome, hammering 7:30 miles, which is a decent pace for me. But, my knees started to hurt at mile 12, mostly my IT bands. By mile 15 I was in serious pain, to the point where I had to stop and still, hoping the throbbing in my legs would fade. I was a ways out, and I am inpatient as all get out, so walking was not an option. I decided to push through it, which now I realize was not the smart choice.

I am not sure where this leaves me, but you can bet I am not going to give up.

3:00

not in minutes, but hours....I hurt everywhere, not running again until I pick up my orthotics on Thursday...I am pretty sure I have no more cartilage left in my knees...vaseline has nothing on nipple guards...and Nike makes terrible running shoes.

If anyone needs me, I will be in the shower until tomorrow morning...

leaving now for my......

20 miler! Ah! I will let you know how it goes when I get back.


And yes, I look amazing.