Just a little late, but film from the New York City Marathon weekend. I thought my dog actually ate this roll so I was kind of stoked to get it back. Beautiful time of the year spent with the best people in running (I’m slightly biased).
Sticks & Biscuits 5K 🦃 Huge PR for my guy on a tough and windy course, running a 23:43. I sent him off by himself and ran a couple hundred yards behind, catching up with a half mile to go and watching him kick it in. First run back for me after JFK, felt surprisingly great so I guess I escaped unscathed.
Ran in the Adidas Adios Pro 4, Rye used the Nike Star Runner, such a good kids shoe.
JFK 50 Mile 🇺🇸 This race has always been at the top of my list, as it’s the oldest ultramarathon in the U.S. and takes place on the Appalachian Trail and C&O Towpath where I’ve spent a lot of time bikepacking and hiking and running.
My training this fall had been pretty poor for the distance, so I wasn’t totally sure how the race would go. I knew I could finish it, just wasn’t sure how long it would take. I figured 11 hours would be fine, but the night before I laid out a pace chart (thanks to coach Greg @treelineendurance ) for 10:30 as my A goal.
The weather was perfect, 48-52 degrees with a Stephen King fog in the morning. Kept it easy on the trail portion for the first 16 miles, then committed to a cadence of walking .15 miles then running .85 miles. Just broke it down a mile at a time.
I was terrified of hitting a wall so whenever I walked, I ate. Here’s what I ate and drank:
6 Maurten (reg)
3 Maurten (caf)
3/4 bag of Nerds Gummy Clusters
2 PB&J sandwiches
1/2 grilled cheese
3 pierogis
1 banana
2 handfuls of chips
Strawberries and watermelon
French fries
Red velvet cake
4 LMNT (64 oz.)
64 oz. of water
4 cups of flat Coke
3 cups of chicken broth
Got back on the roads at mile 42 and felt really good so pushed the pace a little bit and got pretty tired towards the end, but was able to kick it in the last mile for my fastest split of the race.
I never went to a dark place, never felt like the distance was daunting. It was probably the best I’ve ever felt in a race. Probably because I ran with friends for almost the whole time, Alex Hermanson for the first 16, NYC Charles for the next 20, some miles with Thomas, Dru, and Lin.
Thanks to my crews at BITR and Faster Bastards for all the camaraderie and support. Thanks to everyone who talked to me on the course and said kind words about our podcast or reviews. Thanks to Hoka for the gear support, I ran in the Mafate Speed 4 Lite for the first 38 miles and changed into the Tecton X 3 for the last 13.
Thanks to my family for coming to see my at the finish, it meant a lot to see my boys holding signs at the end (and no I will not run 67 miles).
Finished in 10:30, goal achieved.
📸 : @justin_yall
The boy who lived 🗽Really had no business running a marathon today but I guess I just needed to prove something, just to be there and see if I could do it. I did it, even if it wasn’t pretty. The crowds were unreal as usual, the weather immaculate, the runners flowing as family. The last 10 were kind of tough but I just told myself to keep it steady through the mile I was on and see what the next mile looked like when I got there. It somehow worked and I was able to run a 3:59:44 which was the goal all along. Thanks to everyone who cheered us on, the guy who gave me beer at mile 22 and @jdizney for lifting my spirits when I need it most. Most thanks to the @believeintherun 4 hour pace group, it was so awesome seeing you all and sharing some miles.
Ran the race in the @newbalancerunning SC Elite v5.
Leadville on film // aside from almost suffocating in my sleep for the entire first night at 10,000 feet above sea level, spectating and crewing the Leadville 100 with @believeintherun and @lasportivana in the land of Doc Holliday was a pretty fun time. It didn’t go as planned for my boy @taylorjbodin but it was incredible to be at the finish to see David Roche and Anne Flower break the men’s and women’s course records, respectively. My lungs eventually adjusted (not really) and we wrapped up the weekend with a traverse of Lost Man’s Pass, up and over the mountain and down the valley full of wildflowers in full bloom. We hitchhiked our way back to the car before driving to get lunch in a beautiful place called Aspen, where the beer flows like wine and the women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano.
Tokyo on film, part 2 // thanks to @believeintherun and @asics for an incredible trip to the world athletics championships. From the events at the track to the food to spending time with my favorite people, it was a time I won’t forget, one that I find myself always trying to get back to.
(Last photo of my Japanese souvenir is not film, taken by @karlfernz )
Tokyo on film, part 1 // Had an amazing time on my second trip back to Tokyo with @believeintherun and @asics for the world athletics championships. I know it’s cliche to dream about Japan, but it is a dream. So dream on.
Thanks to @guijcm for the scans ✌️
Happy birthday to the person who keeps my life together, who I don’t deserve, who (for some reason) listens to our podcast every week, who pulls me back from the edge when life gets overwhelming, who asks me how my run was every morning, who is beautiful and kind and loves others and is the best mother our kids could ever ask for. Most importantly, she knows every word of “Shoop” at karaoke, which is maybe the most important quality of all. I’m lucky to have you and hope you’ll stick around for many years to come, maybe even a lifetime.
Photo credit: @karlfernz / Tokyo, Japan
