Country Road Runner

On February 12th, I ran the Hot Chocolate 15k with my brother his wife and two of his kids.

The day before I took one of my daughters to the expo to pick up my packet, my brother’s families packet and one for a friend. It was not the expo I expected. There were no vendors there. My daughter and I managed to get the packets with very little waiting and even helped a homeless guy get a coffee and some food.

That evening I delivered all the packets and met my brother at their hotel for dinner. We had a good night and discussed plans for the morning.

I also met up with the Franklin Road Runners for a group picture. Saw several along the route.

It was pretty cold starting in the low 30s with wind blowing about 10 miles an hour. My brother and two of his children were in the first coral and had a quick start.

The race was hillier than I expected and I had an unexpected surprise. As I hit mile 5 I heard someone’s music and than their footsteps and breathing. As I turn around he tells me not to mind him as he was drafting me. Crazy.

Well, I finished in an hour and seven minutes or right at an 6:52 pace. For being a 15k, strava said 9.78 miles and the hot chocolate something different as well. First in my age group and 32nd overall.

Friday, February 4th, was a crazy day. My daughter was bringing her roommate home for the weekend from college, another daughter was celebrating a birthday and we had normal let’s get ready for the weekend activities.

Well, a few members of the trail running group, the Scalawags, were messaging about a trail race the next day. Three had already signed up and they were encouraging a few more to make it an event for the group. I confirmed with my wife that I could join them and plans were set.

Five of us carpooled to Elkton, Tennessee for the Tick Ridge Trek 25k. At only an hour, it was not a long ride. At 20 degrees, it was pretty cold, but I layered pretty well. The race also had a 5k and a 10k. Each distance had their own color flag and with them always on the right ever 50 feet, you had to try really hard to get lost (over 1,000 flags on the course). No, I did not get lost!

The course was challenging with around 2,400 feet of elevation gain. The views were enjoyable from the tree line to the ponds and the sheep, cows and horses. Now, there were also goats. one goat escaped its pen and followed me for at least 4 miles. I was not sure if it was funny or if I should be scared.

At mile 10, I finally caught up to a fellow Scalawag, but could not match his stride climbing the hills.

He managed to beat me by 5 minutes and claim 1st in the Master’s Division.

I finished in 2 hours and 27 minutes and finishing 2nd in the Master’s Division. My average pace was about 9:30, which surprised me with all the hill climbs we had to do.

Up next is the Hot Chocolate 15k in Nashville this weekend. I will then have a month to prepare for the Music City 25k.

It has been too long since my last post, so I hope to do a better job in 2022.

For 2021 I ran 2,308 miles, which was 545 miles more than last year. I was also able to run 251 days which was 45 days more than the previous year and 350 hours which was 85 more hours than 2020. I also ran 30 half marathon distance (or longer) training runs (Sorry, this is the analyst in me).

I was also able to compete in more races than in previous years. I ran the Cummins Falls 5k in February coming in 1st in my age group and my youngest coming in 3rd female overall. I ran the Young Life 5k with two of my daughters. I ran the Franklin Classic 10k in September with my youngest and several of her friends. In March I ran the Music City Ultra (25k). This was a difficult trail race where I got lost more than once. Probably my slowest trail race at that distance as well. In November I ran the Huntsville Half winning the Master’s Division and running a PR of 1:32:40. My final race of the year was the Bell Ringer 50k which I finished in just over 6 hours which was a PR and again the fastest old guy. Some Pictures from the races are below.

Cummins Falls 5k (3rd Female overall and Division winner 45-49)

Music City Trail Ultra 25k finisher medal and one of the many hills

The longest and toughest race for my youngest. But it was with all her friends which made it better.

In November I signed up to run the Nuun Half Marathon as a virtual race. Well, my daughter had a Taekwondo tournament in Huntsville, so signed up for the Huntsville Half. She ended up with a few medals and I won the Master’s division while also getting my PR.

The Bell Ringer 50k was my final and longest race of the year. Severe weather the night before made the course more challenging. Was still able to finish and beat my 50k time of the previous year by almost an hour and a half.

I was introduced to and ran with many groups in 2021 from the Hill Runners of Spring Hill on Wednesday nights (road); Franklin Road Runners on Saturdays (road); The Scalawags on Saturday (trail); The Mule City Milers on Saturday (trail) and the Dirtbag Trail runners on Thursdays (trail). Of course, I ran with a different group each Saturday.

I had the opportunity to run in several local parks including Sarah Benson Park, Preservation Park, Chickasaw Trace, Henry Horton, Westhaven, Percy Warner and Bowie Nature Preserve. With so many miles covered at so many parks it is hard to pick just one picture to share. Here are a few:

Thank you @nuunhydration @honeystinger @saucony for the great product supporting an amazing community. #hshive. #teamnuun

A few months ago I decided to run the Music City Trail Ultra 25k. I wanted to run a mid distance race and felt that was a distance I could easily manage having just ran 13 miles around my neighborhood.

Well, mid February we had a big snow storm and I strained my back shoveling snow. Than two weeks later I hurt it again. I went from running 175 miles in January to just over 100 miles in February. Not where you want to be when training for a 25k (15.6 mile) race.

Well, I was excited for the race and a little nervous. Went to Cumberland Transfer t the night before and picked up my race packet which consisted of my race bib and the t-shirt I had to pay extra to receive.

We knew a storm was coming that was going to impact the trails and the rain started to come as we waited in line for our packets.

I packed the night before and was not sure what to wear as the weather was so questionable from the rain to being fairly cold.

The morning of the race came and I probably did not fuel or hydrate the way I needed to before running a race. I thought I was ready.

Arrived to the race in Pegram maybe an hour before the start.

Well, during the 15.6 mile race, I ran over 17 miles due to missing a flag or being misdirected near a checkpoint. Either way, my body felt as beat up as when I completed the 31 mile race last October.

Well, the finishers medal was nice, but the beer on tap was not working and I was not in the mood for pizza, so after enough of a recovery, I drove the hour home.

Needless to say, I will be better prepared and be sure that I fuel and hydrate during the race as well.

It has been too long since my last post which means that either I am really busy or there is not much to post. Well last weekend I took my youngest to Cummins Falls State Park for a 5k trail run.

It was a rainy and cold day, so we dressed appropriately. When we arrived it was a light drizzle and the temperature was not to bad. It was a 2 hour drive for her 1st race.

We picked up our packets and decided to wear the shirts for the race.

We found out the race would not be on trails and based on the weather figured that would be better anyway. I coached Maegan for the full 3.1 miles and encouraged her the whole way.

It was a smaller race, but with 11 kids in her age group of under 20, I was not sure if she would place.

Well, they started calling the names of the overall finishers and 3rd overall female, Maegan Dolan. What a surprise for her.

With her finishing 3rd female overall, I was surprised to hear my name called as 1st in my age group.

There are no serious races in the near future on the calendar as of yet. That makes it really difficult to train and keep up with the blog.

So, I have a training 5k race with my 10 year old in 3 weeks and an actually 5k trail race at the end of February with the 10 year old. Excited to see what she can do.

We will be running in the Cummins Falls trail 5k in Cookeville, Tennessee. It is a 2 hour drive, but it was the only trail 5k I could find in the next several months. Excited for the adventure.

I am thinking about tackling a 25k in March and another in May. I am looking at the Music City Trail Ultra. I have raced with this group in the past and they do a really good job. So, I am excited to run a different race with them. I am also looking at a race at Fall Creek Falls. I ran the 25k about 8 years ago, so excited to run it again.

The jury is still out on a 50k in the fall, but I am considering a couple in Tennessee and one in Georgia. We will see what the calendars permit.

Oh, with this lack of a pending race, my training has been a little off and with the cold, inside. So I have used the treadmill, stationary bike and rowing machine. My times have not been stellar, but getting the job done.

Well, I did not get to run on New Year’s Eve and I did not get to run on New Years Day.

So, starting on January 2nd, a Saturday I was able to get my first run in and I opted for a half marathon. Crazy thing about the run was that I was 7 seconds off my PR. That is not even a second per mile. I actually decided to just run through the neighborhoods and would of thought the elevation would have been more. Sometimes hitting every cul-de-sac can be difficult.

Well, Saturday went so well I decided to try again on Sunday. Well, I chose to run the country roads to the city park and back home. It was another half marathon and my time was almost two minutes slower with a significant increase in elevation gain.

Well, I was not sure what the year was going to look like much less this week, so I figured I would take it a day or week at a time until I decided on my two races this year. So, Monday was a stretching day with some upper body weights. It was warm enough on Tuesday that I decided to run outside. The pace was slower than I wanted, but that was probably from the back to back half marathons. This run was mostly in the neighborhoods around the house.

Well Wednesday evening I brought two of my daughters and we ran with the Hill Runners of Spring Hill. It was not a fast pace, but it was a great time with other runners.

Well, since it was not a far run or a fast pace, I thought I should do what I could on Thursday. Well, the temperature was so low, I decided to hit the treadmill at our local recreation center.

Friday was a day off, so mostly stretches and exercise. Slept in. So was not up at 5am. Well, Saturday was cold in the morning, so I decided to run on the afternoon when I took my daughter to coffee in downtown Franklin. I only had an hour and a half to run, needed to run fast.

A couple final notes. I will be a Nuun Ambassador for 2021, as well as a Honey Stinger and Michelob Ultra Ambassador.

A few days late to post.

What a year it has been from so many different perspectives. For me 2020 was a big running year. My initial goal was to run a 50k, which I accomplished in October (Walking Tall 50k). I found some amazing trails to run like Preservation Park. Enjoyed Saturday morning runs with the Franklin Road Runners and Wednesday evenings with the Hill Runners of Spring Hill. Made some new running friends. Nicole encouraged me to start a blog, Twitter and Instagram account as the country-road-runner to track my ultra training. Became an ambassador for Michelob ULTRA and Honey Stinger. Ended up with 206 days of training; 265 hours of running; 1,763 miles; 213,375 feet of elevation gain and went through 4 pairs of Mizuno Wave Riders. Crazy and a lot of fun. Thank you Nicole and girls for allowing me the time to train for this adventure.

Looking forward to 2021 and the new running challenges await.

@honeystinger

@teamultra

#honeystingerambassador #honeystingerhive #ultraambassador #teamultra

I ran the virtual Hive Hustle 10 Miler this past Friday. I really had not trained for it specifically, but kept my fitness up since completing the 50k in October.

It made for a fun later half of October and November. With no specific goals, I was able to run what I felt and when I felt like running. Enjoyed some Saturday runs with the Franklin Road Runners and some Wednesday evening runs with the Hill Runners of Spring Hill.

Going into the race weekend, I knew that I had 3 days to find the time run the 10 miles. Well, I learned Thursday evening that it was supposed to rain most of the day Saturday and Sunday would be busy with church and other activities, so I decided on Friday morning. I had asked a number of my running friends on nice flat courses they had run to help get a faster time. Running Friday morning, I was stuck running my usual route.

I was up at 5am and had a couple Honey Stinger chews along with a few sips of my Nuun drink. Well, I stepped outside and it felt colder than 39 degrees. My hands were definitely feeling the cold by mile 5. My pace was too fast starting out at around 6:30 for the first mile. Followed by a 6:49 second mile. Two miles under 7:00 minute pace is unusual for me and I knew I had to slow it down. Wanting to be competitive, I tried to ensure I felt like I was pushing it. My goal was to average between a 7:15 and a 7:20 pace. Well, it must have been the cold weather or my frozen hands, as my pace was a 7:08.

So, I was curious to see how I would place against these potential 1,000 other Honey Stinger Ambassadors. Fun checking it throughout the weekend and dropping from 11th to 40th as people uploaded their times.

A virtual run is a different kind of race. Not sure I would do it again, but enjoyed the experience.

@honeystinger #honeystingerambassador #honeystingerhive #hivehustle10

I am working on my page to support the Company’s of which I am an ambassador. I thought about having an affiliate connection with Amazon and various pages, but that does not seem to be for me. So, here are some thoughts.

For 2021 as I begin to think of my goals for next year, I am not only thinking about my next 50k, but also who to apply for an ambassadorship with. So far, I will be a sponsor for Honey Stinger and I have applied with NUUN as well. I am still looking into other companies to be an ambassador and trying to think of other sports companies. Maybe a shoe, sock or clothes company. We will see.