Say what you will about The South, but nobody retires and moves north! We don’t get a lot of snow around here but we do face severe weather almost year round in the form of tornados, flash flooding and thunderstorms. In the winter months, the severe weather is more predictable as it generally starts out west and moves across the country. We are also subject to the “Polar Vortex”, but that only lasts a few days and usually without snow.
I woke up on January 8th ready to kick Monday in the teeth. The storms that had battered the rest of the country were making it’s way to NC. The worst of it hitting us about 3pm with flash floods and high winds, so I hit the weight room at 6am to avoid the mess. Monday was a back day and it felt good to get the work done early in the day.
Before the storms were in full rage, I decided to visit the local grocery store for some last minute items. On the way back, the wind was incredible, bending trees and making the rain smack the side of drivers door window. It was during one of these massive gusts that a fellow Jeeper in front of me rolled her rig in the ditch.
It was simply my obligation to stop and help. My small portion of helping was to call 9-1-1 and coordinate the arrival of emergency personnel. Luckily, the driver was uninjured and was the person in the vehicle. No other vehicles were involved and by the time I left, all seemed to be in order.
My week fell into a rhythm, a steady beat that could be counted and predicted. After thanking the good Lord for air in my lungs and blood in my heart, the mantra of “We are what we repeatedly do” kept marching in my mind, forcing me forward, towards the gym. I was in the gym daily by 6am and spent an hour lifting weights before following up with 10 or 15 minutes on the stair mill.
It’s only been three weeks and I can already tell I’m gaining strength. It’s the right combination of creatine, protein and routine. Slowly but surely over the last three weeks, muscle tissue is growing. I find myself adding more weight to the bar, moving the pin further down the stack, all the while recognizing my waist size is failing to shrink. No worries, I’m building strength and Half Marathon training starts the first weekend in February.
My running continued throughout the week, running on Wednesday’s because that’s what I do. The rain forced me on the treadmill a few days, yet I still completed almost 20 miles in the second week of January. My goal of 100-miles this month is within reach and reason.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit”
The Milltown Throwdown
January 13th, 2024 has been a date marked on my calendar for the last 364 days! The Milltown Java Jog 5K in 2023 was where my friend Jan, in a move reminiscent of NASCAR, passed me at mile 1.8 and I never saw her again! This unprovoked move surprised me. Part of me was happy for my friend, another part had the fire of competition set upon it!
Over the course of 2023, the conversation about that race and the upcoming race in 2024 was ever present. That same year, our friend Dwayne was as sneaky as a ninja and finished the 5K less than 1 second behind me! This was a 3-way competition leading into the weekend. Dwayne, Jan and I, battling in the 5K.
This year Jan and I decided not to race each other, but to keep a competitive pace that would challenge each of us in hopes of a sub 25min 5K. Our COROS watches predictions for a 5K were just 1second apart! (Jan’s time being 1s faster than mine) Dwayne on the other hand had his own strategery at play. A plan we didn’t fully realize until a half-mile into the race!
The race commenced and Dwayne was off!! At the half-mile mark it was clear that neither of us were going to catch him. He had a good cadence going and looked strong! As predicted, he led the race the entire way and set a new personal course record. He clearly beat Jan and I this year, leaving the competition to two.
Competing for second place in this 3-way competition was Jan and I. Over the course of 2.6 miles we were shoulder to shoulder or within arms reach of each other. We were pushing hard, not talking due to a lack of breath and doing our best to keep pace in the 20mph headwind that created a wind-chill below freezing.
At mile 2.6, I didn’t hear the shot, but I heard it’s impact. Jan was taken out by the SNIPER. That moment when a runner has pushed so hard, you hear a guttural grunt and their pace slows or halts. I heard Jan take the round straight to the chest, she pulled off to the side and I figured she was puking. It would make sense, we were pushing hard. I would later learn that it was not puking, but a snot rocket that had to be cleared.
In the next 10 steps my mind went through the following options and choices. I could slow down, wait for Jan and finish this run together. We’ve been harassing and ribbing each other about this race for a year. It only seems right to let her puke it out and finish with her. That’s what a friend would do.
However, I am competitive and just a few milliseconds later I realize I had a tactical advantage and must to use it to bury my opponent!
“If she dies, she dies” (Harkening back to Rocky)
Let her puke! I’m going for the win! I think as I step it out and don’t see her again for the last half-mile of the race. I never let off the gas!!
As I crossed the finish line, literally AT the finish line I feel a hand on my shoulder! It was JAN, she was literally ON MY ASS!! She blew a snot rocket back there then stepped it out the last half-mile in an attempt to bury me! Damn woman is as competitive as me! Maybe even more. This has turned into a rivalry!
Jan took 1st place in her cohort (F40-49) with a time of 25:55.35
I took 2nd place in the M40-49 with a time of 25:54.12.
We were 1.23 seconds apart. An incredible race!
A celebratory text to my wife prompted a response I knew was coming: “SECOND PLACE IS THE FIRST LOSER.” Talk about having a spouse who encourages you to be better!
Running with friends is better. Racing with friends makes you go faster!
This common saying within the club was put into action and came to fruition on two occasions on Saturday. My friend Robert made an unexpected appearance on course! Without notice, there he was on the road, cheering on CAR runners and pushing as many as he could! Robert finished the last quarter-mile with me and got some good pictures. It was completely unexpected. It was welcomed and helped get me across the finish line.
Moreover, our runner Amber showed up and decided that today was a day for a new PR. She asked Anthony to pace her, something that is not done lightly. It’s unknown if Amber knew before the ask, but Anthony only paces winners. “ONLY WINNERS” as he would say.
“I don’t pace fucking losers. ONLY WINNERS”
It worked. Anthony pushed Amber hard, provided valuable words of encouragement and a constant, unrelenting pace; she kept up! She set a new PR! MUCH faster than she anticipated or hoped for. How much faster, I can’t recall, but the smile on her face at the finish seems to capture the hard work and gratitude for Anthony’s pacing more than words ever can.
Congratulations to Amber(2nd Place), Amy (1st Place), Sharon (1st Place), Mike (1st Place) and Jan (1st Place) who all and everyone else who set a PR that morning! It was cold and windy, but a course that flat and fast, anything is possible.
The stage has been set for 2025! This small-town, local 5K is turning into THE local competition stage for runners within the Johnston County.
The Mill Chill 4-miler 5K
The storms and their torrential downpours were so bad in December and January that the annual Mill Chill was forced to reschedule from December to January 14th.
This means two race days in a row!
I made the decision not to race at the Mill Chill and instead get some video of my friends. The rain filled the rivers and forced the Race Director to alter the route and shorten it to a 5K.
The club had an incredible showing! We had more registered runners than any other brewery in the region (70+ runners registered) and had another 50+ finish the run. Our women took 2nd place overall with multiple women taking 1st place in their age groups and many more with top 5 finishes. The club has some seriously strong women!
Instead of pushing hard, I decided to run with friends and get some video footage. However around the 2.1 mile mark I linked up with my friend Chrissy and her 16yr old daughter Madi who was competing in her first 5K ever.
Before the start I asked Madi what her goal was, she said “I just don’t want to walk, no walking”. That seemed like a good goal to me. So when I saw late in the race, the old NCO in me rose from the ashes! I remember shouting, in a command voice, similar to the one I’ve used on Ardennes many times. (IYKYK - If you don’t know, jus task)
“Why are you walking! (It’s not a question) There is no walking! Get running!”
A few runners within earshot ahead of me were startled and seemed disturbed that some asshole behind them would be demanding they stop walking. Looking back on the situation, maybe I shouldn’t have yelled from 25 yards out.
Regardless, I caught up with them and helped with Chrissy’s motivation to push and pull Madi to the finish line. At one point Madi was almost in tears, the finish line felt thousands of miles away and she was in the hurt locker. She persevered, dug deep and finished strong. At her first ever 5K she did great. We really didn’t know how great until the awards ceremony, where it was announced she took 3rd place! It was a shock to everyone, even Madi who gladly took her medal with a smile and I think Chrissy was smiling even more!
This race wasn’t about me and what I could do, I tested myself the day before. This race was about my friends and what they could do. Many of them placed 1st in their age categories and even more in the top 10 and even more set Personal Records. It feels good to celebrate with people who push themselves. Results in running can not be purchased, there is no cheat-code, no short cuts or hacks. It takes hard work, tenacity and discipline over a long period of time. It is earned, never given.
Following the weekend of racing, the week fell back in lockstep with weightlifting in the morning and running in the evening. On leg day I worked my Back Squat up to reps of 285 and felt strong about it. Getting stronger takes reps and more reps and reps on reps on reps with increased weight and increased stress on the muscles. Thank God for music, it gets me through the workout.
The week started to feel like I was in the Truman show. In the mornings I would see the same people in the gym, doing the same workouts and routines. I knew I’d be running on Wednesday and there was a trail run on Saturday. My life was feeling repetitive. A broken record, repeating, albeit on part of a song I enjoyed, still monotonous.
Then something magical happened on Wednesday.
Running in a pack.
In all my years of running, it’s a rarity when you when you find yourself running as a pack. It usually takes months, if not years of running with people in order for this phenomenon to happen, yet it happened on Wednesday.
On the drive in, I was not feeling like it was going to be a good run. Hell, I didn’t even really want to run, but that beating drum was back in my head.
“We are what we repeatedly do”
For me, I am a runner. I run on Wednesday’s. So I went, despite the 33F weather and real feel temp of 28F.
I told the group that I planned on running a 10’30” pace for no longer than a 5K. It was a cold evening with temps below freeing. I was wearing pants, a few layers up top, gloves and a hat. I don’t think anyone was feeling like pushing the pace that evening, but nobody made a clear vocal acknowledgement that we’d be running as a group.
We stepped off and I fully expected to be passed up, but it never happened. There were six of us running in a tight knit group. Our pace started around 10’00” but quickly began to increase. There was some conversations early but it slowly gave way to breathing and the beating of feet.
Scott, Jon, Carlos, Dave, Cameron and Myself.
It was clear we were hitting negative splits and after the turn around, it was even more clear that we’d be sticking together. It was an unwritten agreement, and unspoken pact, only indicated by the small movements as runners edged towards each other and opened up the stride by millimeters to stay with the pack.
This universal agreement among everyone unified us into a running pack. Into a platoon on the move, nothing stopping us, nothing slowing us. We’d pull each other along to the end.
It was only 5K, but when it was over it was clear that running in a pack was beneficial to everyone. After the run Cameron was telling us she was usually at 10’30” runner, but it was clear to us all that she was in the realm of 9’30”.
Mile 1: 9’55” | Mile 2: 9’39” | Mile 3: 9’06” | 0.13mi: 8’27”
Rarely will a runner find themselves with a pack. Where the running is quiet and it’s clear by the breathing, foot strikes and body positioning that this is a run where we pull each other along. It’s a phenomenon I hope all runners feel at least once!
The remainder of my week was back to the patterns of morning weight lifting and evening running. This past Saturday was a group trail run where we had over a dozen brave souls show up for a run in sub-freezing temperatures! I got in almost 8-miles that morning, mostly with the group but finished up the last two miles with Carlos.
This was a cold and difficult run that left me depleted the rest of the day. I was glad to get in this run with friends and push myself. It wasn’t easy.
The night before the trail run I had a conversation with my wife. She asked “Why are you running tomorrow?”.
The only response I could muster was the most natural one I could think of. I was running in 25F weather on trails because it was hard. It was difficult and uncomfortable. I didn’t want to do it, and for those specific reasons I HAD to do it. I have this need to do hard things. It makes life just a little better.
Her response was insightful: “Bullshit, you run in the cold all the time. You obviously enjoy it or else you wouldn’t do it all the time. You’re not uncomfortable on those hard, cold runs, you find comfort in it”. - She’s not lying.
While accurate, it wasn’t exactly true. What is true, is that I’m comfortable being uncomfortable. It’s a learned trait and one that must be reinforced or else I should lose it.
The week ended with a cold, but sunny 2-mile run through a local park. The pace was slow and my legs felt heavy. However, I kept cadence with the rhythmic thought of “You are what you repeatedly do”. I am a runner. This is what I do. This week ended just the opposite as last week started. It started with a severe storm with warm gusts of wind, tornado warnings and flash floods. It ended with clear, Carolina blue skies with a cool crisp 35F breeze.
We are going headlong into Week 4 of 2024. Whatever your fitness goals are this year, KEEP GOING! It’s a new week, a new opportunity to do what must be done to achieve your goals.