« November 2007 | Main | January 2008 »
| 2007 | Lifetime | |
| Races (all distances) | 10 | 325 |
| Race victories | 4 | 63 |
| DNFs | 1 | 2 |
| Marathon races | 0 | 7 |
| Ultramarathon races | 7 | 15 |
| Mileage | 3,105 | 40,179 |
| High weekly mileage | 97 (Feb. 12-18) | 97 |
| Low weekly mileage | 5 (Sept. 10-16) | 0 |
| High monthly mileage | 315 (Jan.) | 330 (Nov. '06) |
| Low monthly mileage | 163 (Nov.) | 0 |
I've been tagged by Peter Lubbers in a year-end round of "blog tag" for trail runners.
I'm not necessarily a fan of these reindeer games, nor do I consider myself a true-blue trail runner. But who am I to rebuff a nice guy like Peter?
1. Most memorable moment on the trails… The end of the Miwok 100K. A mix of pride and awe. It felt great to rally so strongly in the closing miles and record the #4 time in race history -- and also humbling to finish over 20 minutes behind a guy I had never heard of. Upon being introduced to him (Lon Freeman) and told of his time (8:09), words failed me ... so I just gave him a big hug. I'm NOT the "hugging type," but that 8:09 really shook me up.
2. Best new trail I discovered in 2007… The Chief Sealth Trail in southeast Seattle, which opened in May. Its smooth paved surface is perfect for runs with the baby jogger!
3. My best performance of the year was… The Bridle Trails 50K in January. I felt strong from beginning to end, stayed on my feet during the dark evening laps, and broke my own course record by over 20 minutes. The new record isn't Steidl-proof, but it's darn good.
4. I do not know how I previously survived without… My online calendar. Oh, wait, is this about running gear? I wouldn't describe any new acquisitions as indispensable, but I did start using gaiters to keep pebbles and dirt out of my shoes, and I also switched to PowerGels, which I find tastier than other gels.
5. The person I would most like to meet on a trail in 2008... Hmm, tough one. Rising ultramarathon stars Anton Krupicka or Kyle and Erik Skaggs? Prolific blog commentator Corrado Giambalvo? Fellow ultra-blogger Paul DeWitt, whom I met briefly in 1999, before either of us was an ultramarathoner or a blogger? Good choices all.
6. The race I am most excited/scared about in 2008 is… While I haven't yet committed to any upcoming events, I hope to compete in a 12-hour race (where the goal is to run as far as possible in a 12-hour period) sometime soon. I'd like to see how close I can come to the American record of 98 miles, set by Rae Clark in 1989. If my schedule permits, I'd also like to run fast at the next Mad City 100K to atone for this year's poor performance there.
Who's next? Justin? Kendra? Matt? I hope at least one of you would like to play along.
Forgive me if I'm not in the mood to sing the usual holiday songs this year.
I'll be home for Christmas;
You can count on me.
Please have meds beside my bed
And Kleenex by the tree....
Swaddled in wool blankets
On this Christmas Eve,
I'll be home for Christmas...
'Cause I'm too sick to leave.
Currently my wife and I both have some sort of stomach bug, as indicated by the usual disgusting symptoms. This comes on the heels of several other illnesses; since mid-September, I've had four colds and strep throat, while my wife has had three lengthy colds, strep throat, and a sinus infection. Can you guess when we started putting Phil in daycare?
My poor wife has suffered more than I have. She spent months preparing for the Portland Marathon, but on race day she was too sick to reach the starting line. More recently, she competed at the USATF club cross country meet in Ohio just as a two-week-long cold started to recede. The outcome, while not disastrous, was a far cry from the performances she had delivered in August and early September.
Looking ahead to next year, it's difficult to commit to any specific running goals when recent history suggests we'll be fighting off one plague after another. For now, all we can do is run hard when we're healthy and take it easy when we're not.
To end on a happier note, here's my favorite seasonally relevant YouTube video of all time, which was recommended by my aunt Beverly. If, like me, you have a dual fetish for a cappella singing and '80s pop music, this one really hits the spot.
You know that brief musical "fanfare" that cell phones emit when they are turned on or off? I have the perfect word for that. Let's call it . . . phonefare!
I'd like to see this term gain widespread usage. If Rich Hall were still collecting entries for his books of sniglets, I'd submit it to him. In the absence of that option, perhaps the readers of this blog can help me out by injecting it into their daily conversations.
Title of an Associated Press story by Mary Pemberton on beluga whales: "Survey Shows More Cook Inlet Belugas."
I love this headline for its shock value. I mean, who knew that there are enough whale-meat chefs out there to warrant a statistically meaningful survey of their cooking practices?
Q. I've been dating this woman whose personality is somewhat bland, but she's extremely hot. Should I ask her to marry me?
A. Before you decide, remember the Second Law of Thermodynamics: over time, hotness cools.
Q. I'm going out with this guy who's very different from me. He's always late whereas I'm very punctual, he's reticent while I'm gregarious, and so on. Our many differences make me wonder whether we're right for each other. But isn't there some inviolable principle of physics that says that opposites attract?
A. Most scientists now consider the "bar magnet" model of human interaction to be inadequate. The preferred current model is that of the enzyme-substrate complex. In brief, you and your partner should complement each other physically, and physical proximity should lead to chemical changes. But beware of competitive inhibitors!
Q. My significant other is expecting some sort of holiday gift. What should I get?
A. Try an offering of free radicals, free energy, or free fatty acids. You'll score points for both science literacy and frugality.
1. One of the most anticipated ultramarathons of the year, the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Miler, took place yesterday in the Marin Headlands (north of San Francisco). First prize was $10,000 cash; 2nd prize, a hearty handshake. The men's race, as expected, was a duel between Matt Carpenter and Uli Steidl, with Steidl prevailing, 6:57 to 7:10. Congrats, Uli! As shown at the end of Uli's race report, he now has 11 ultramarathon victories in 11 attempts. Great Britain's Lizzie Hawker, winner of the 2006 World Cup 100K and the 2005 Ultra Tour du Mount Blanc, was the top female (7:59), comfortably ahead of Jenn Shelton (8:22) and Bev Anderson-Abbs (8:25).
2. Also taking place yesterday was the lottery to determine who gets to run the Western States 100 next June. With 1350 applicants and 370 spots, there were bound to be a lot of disappointed people. Andy Jones-Wilkins is not one of them, having secured an automatic berth with his top-10 finish this year, but he laments the fact that many fast people were not selected. Bryon Powell, in discussing the lottery and how it could be revised, says, "WS needs to determine what it wants to be. It can't be all things to all people anymore. The Board needs to decide whether to retain the old community as best it can, transform WS into a championship race, or be an inclusive race. Obviously those goals aren't mutually exclusive, but there are only so many entry slots to work with." I agree.
3. Ian Torrence recently forwarded me a link to the Ryan Shay Memorial Fund. By now, most running enthusiasts are aware that Shay died of a heart attack while competing in the Olympic Trials marathon on November 3rd. I didn't know him personally, but Lauren Fleshman's tribute to Ryan gave me a good sense of what he was like and why someone might want to contribute to his memorial fund.
4. My JFK race report was negligent in not mentioning the outstanding performance of Michael Wardian, whose time of 5:50 was the second-fastest ever recorded since the race began in 1963. Wardian thus added his name to the list of people eligible for selection to the USA's 2008 World Cup 100K team. Magician Oz Pearlman is now on that list as well thanks to his 5:31 at the Chicago Lakefront 50-Miler in October. Perhaps athletes such as these will allow the US to send a full team of six men to the World Cup next year. (Only four have made the trip in each of the past two years.)
5. USATF has announced its USATF ultrarunners of the year: Nikki Kimball ... and me! I suspect that many people share the opinion of the ultra listserv member who wrote, "As talented as he is, it surprised me that USATF would name Greg Crowther as the male ultrarunner of the year." Therefore let me briefly explain why I think I was given this award. A. Only USATF members are eligible for the honor, and many ultramarathoners are not USATF members. B. The USATF "year" lasts from November 1st to October 31st, meaning that my excellent Sunmart performance (from December 2006) was considered but my dismal JFK performance was not. C. I won two USATF championships (50K road and 100K road) and did fairly well in the World Cup 100K race, which is also a USATF event in the sense that USATF coordinates the participation of the American team. I suspect that, in giving out these honors, USATF weights its "own" events more heavily than prestigious non-USATF-affiliated races. In any case, I'm grateful for the award ... and I don't feel TOO guilty about receiving it, since other deserving individuals are likely to receive recognition in other end-of-year polls, such as those conducted by the Wasatch Speed Goats and UltraRunning magazine.