Locopops Tuesday :-) !!!

In celebration of the past two weeks of awesome running... LOCOPOPS AFTER THE TRACK WORKOUT TONIGHT!!! #20

3/27-28 Results

TAF Racing Rocks Raleigh
Sorry... couldn't resist... but everyone ran AWESOME despite the "rolling hills". Seriously, I never realized how awful Gorman / Blue Ridge / the greenway by Meredith were until today... miles 6ish-10ish seemed all uphill! Despite this, Brad, Sean, and James all crushed 1:30, running really strong as a pack through Mile 6. Brad was first across the line for TAF, running a 1:25:54 for 3rd in his age group and a new PR. Sean was next, grabbing 1st in his age group. James ran a 1:27:39 (4th age group) and a 19min PR!!! Meghan (2nd age group) and Rita (3rd age group) were next, both running PR's by ~1.5min. Dave, Perry, and Sam also ran great... and there might have been some PR's in that group. Our friends from the TAF Half Marathon Training Program did really well too, and our "new recruit" Brian Fowler ran a 1:15:32 for 2nd overall!!! CONGRATS EVERYONE Results

Also, thank you to everyone who came out and cheered! I know I saw Jennifer, Nicole, and Laurel out there... and I heard others too. It really helped to have support from our teammates... managed to finally catch a group after hearing Nicole and Jennifer cheering... one of the guys turned to me and said... "you must be Meghan"... I think I got in a "[y]es, [th]ose were [my] awe[some] teamm[ates]"!

Bobby Rocks Poland
Looks like Bobby ran AWESOME in Poland, turning in a time of 35:12 for 67th overall... CONGRATS BOBBY!!! Team USA ranked 9th in the Men's Senior Race. Results

Other News
Kirby finished in 5:42:48 (33rd overall) for the Terrapin Mountain 50K, which is quite impressive given the ridiculous 7500+ ft change in elevation!!! Results

Rita and Brad paced/timed at the Umstead 100 this weekend (I have no idea how they are still standing since they both ran amazingly well at Raleigh Rocks too).

So, in summary, TAF ROCKS... CONGRATS EVERYONE and have a great week!!! #20

Onwards and Upwards

Hopefully we can carry some of last weekend's momentum into this next weekend!!! A bunch of us (and some of our friends from the TAF Half Marathon Training Program) will be running in the Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon on Sat. Of course, this race probably seems like a walk in the park to Kirby, who will be running the Terrapin Mountain Ultra Marathon (50K & a 7560 elevation gain... that's just crazy). And, Bobby Mack (TAF Elite) is in Poland for the World Cross Country Championships. So, come out and run/cheer/help... RUN AWESOME... and GOOD LUCK!!! #20

Recap of 3/20-21 Results

We raced/paced 215.6 miles (as long as I didn't mess up the math... still waiting to hear how many from the training program ran):

26.2 (TAF Elite) + 137 (TAF Racing) + 78.6 (TAF) = 215.6

By comparison, TAF is ~203 miles from the start of the Shamrock Half Marathon!!!
Tobacco Road Marathon and Half Marathon

• GAVIN COOMBS (TAF ELITE) WON THE MARATHON!!!
• Lisa ran 3:59 (3rd AG and BQ) for the full marathon
• Brad ran a 3:19 for the full marathon
• Joey (works at TAF) ran a 3:45 (BQ) for the full marathon
• Dave, Sean, and Gary led pace groups and cheered everyone on (and Meghan screamed and yelled as loud as she could)

Wrightsville Marathon and Half Marathon

• Keith ran a 1:28 (by chip time, 6th in his AG) for the half marathon
• Jennifer ran a 3:24 (1st AG and BQ) for the full marathon

Shamrock Marathon and Half Marathon

• Mike Z. ran a 1:58 for the half marathon
• Jon B. ran a 2:13 for the half marathon

ING Georgia Marathon

• John Royal (lead off for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre master's relay team) ran a 3:07 (BQ)

Other

• Meghan competed in the Short Course Cary Du (2nd AG)
• David K. won the Royal Caribbean Ultimate Challenge [2mile bike (on machine) + 1mile run (5 laps around top deck) + 5lap swim]
  

And our friends from the TAF Half Marathon Training Program ran awesome in their respective races!!!

CONGRATS TO EVERYONE WHO RACED... TAF IS THE BEST, TAF IS THE BEST, TAF IS THE BEST... WAHOOO!!! #20

The Wrightsville Reports

The Full (from Jennifer):

I finished in 3:24:48 and was the 6th overall female and the first finisher under the age of 30. I felt great through mile 14, running most of my miles between 7:10 and 7:15 pace. At this point things got harder, and while I am fully prepared to blame it on the weather, which reached 70 degrees and sunny around this point, or the lack of people to run with, as everyone left me at the half marathon cutoff, I am sure it is more likely that I just got tired and was not quite prepared to run that fast for that long. I still managed to run the next 7 miles under 8 minute pace before completely fading in the last 4-5 miles and running approximately 9:30's (although I think I still gained some on the people in front of me, these marathon things are crazy). Anyways, it was a good learning experience and a fun time (well, for most of it)! I can't wait to go to Boston despite saying I would never run another marathon again while I was sitting in pain after the finish line... how soon we forget! Results (full)

CONGRATS JENNIFER... AND AWESOME JOB... CAN'T WAIT TO FOR BOSTON 2011 EITHER... IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT!!!

The Half (from Keith):

In his first ever half marathon, Keith F. ran a 1:28:57 (which, by chip time, would have been 6th in his age group and 26th overall)!!! WAHOOO (and Keith, please edit this... I just wanted to make sure that your results were up)! Results (half)

Tobacco Road Report

A bunch of TAF runners headed to the Tobacco Road Marathon & Half Marathon early on Sunday morning. When the gun went off, it was still dark and somewhat cool. The marathoners and half marathoners ran together for the first 3miles before the races split... full to the left, half to the right.

Dave M. and Gary expertly led the 2:00 and 2:10 half marathon pace groups, while Sean guided the 4:15 marathon pace group for the first half of the race. Afterward, the group (and Meghan) made their way to ~1/2 mile before the finish line to cheer on their friends from the Half Marathon Training Program and their fellow teammates running the full marathon. Tim G. was also helping out at the 19mile mark.

Gavin Coombs WON the Tobacco Road Marathon in 2:25. Lisa Howell BQ'd, finishing in 3:59 for 3rd in her age group. Joey Anderson also BQ'd (3:45), and Brad ran a 3:19. CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE, IT WAS SUCH AN EXCITING DAY!!!

Cary "Middle" Course Du

What, only a short and a long course you say? Au contraire, Brooke Lord and I did quite well at the middle distance!

So, yeah... first run went awesome thanks to Sean's excellent coaching - Brooke and I were the first two women to finish. We took off on the bike... made it to the first intersection... and promptly went the wrong way. The great part about this is, there was a police officer directing us! He was apparently in a daze when I passed him, and motioned Brooke to the left. Later, when we back-tracked the 5ish extra miles that we rode, he told us that he "tried to stop us". Apparently he needs some "voice lessons" from me because there was no 10-4 [;-)] from either of us!

The rest of the bike was uneventful. The second run... oh wow, ok... so I managed to get up to speed half decently out of the transition area. I came to the first water stop... smiled because I didn't need water... took a right... and a little bit later, came to a complete stop because a tractor was blocking the path. Ok, this wasn't there on the first run... so I back-tracked for the second time of the day. Luckily, the water stop might have only been 150m or so back, and this time I asked where I was supposed to go. One of the volunteers apologized, and said that she hadn't seen me come through. Apparently I had been blending in quite well all day, which is awesome being that I was wearing my neon yellow shoes and bright red compression socks (yeah, it's a super special look I know). I managed to get a little bit away before I just burst out laughing at the absolute ridiculousness of all of this... and then I started wheezing because I can't laugh and run at the same time... life just gets better and better!

Finished the rest of the run, and even managed to motivate myself to semi-sprint the end because I decided to make finishing in under 2hrs my goal. On a positive note, I managed not to kill myself in my first race in clip-ins, and Brooke's new aero helmet and sneakers were great. Also, saw Tim G. out there volunteering (he was not one of the people who mis-directed us), and Allen Ray and his dad were competing as a relay for the long course. I talked to Allen for a bit, he had run well for the first run... and I saw him sprint out of the transition area for the second run. Actually, one of the volunteers collecting chips at the finish line remarked, "wow, he's flying"... yeah, Team TAF is awesome!

So friends, life is an adventure. And, it's hard to be in a bad mood when it's so nice outside (actually, oddly enough I'm not really upset at all... don't think I've stopped smiling since about halfway through the bike when I realized how great it is just to be able to finally race again). So, good luck tomorrow for anyone who is competing, and I hope your adventures are of a different variety! Results (short course) #20

Lets Log Some Miles!!!

We have a bunch of people competing this weekend in various locals. On Saturday, some of us will be headed to the Cary Duathlon. Then there’s Sunday… aka “The Day Of Marathons & Half Marathons”. TAF will be well-represented at the following races: (1) Shamrock Marathon and Half Marathon, (2) Wrightsville Marathon and Half Marathon, (3) Tobacco Road Marathon and Half Marathon, and (4) ING Georgia Half Marathon. On top of that, we have some people helping out with the last run of the TAF Half Marathon Training Program on Sat., and leading pace groups at the ATT on Sun.

Seriously, that’s insane… next week, I think we should count how many people raced/paced and what distances, and come up with a “total miles ran” for this weekend! So, on that note, GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, AND LET US KNOW HOW IT ALL TURNED OUT!!! #20

3/13-14 Race Reports

First off, David Kirby placed 1st in his age group at the Ellerbe Springs Marathon, running a great time on a super hilly course. Results

Back home at the Run for the Oaks, Rita and I added two more age group wins to the TAF Racing column. Keith Ferguson was first across the line for our team, running an 18:35 for 4th in his age group. David Meyer (6th age group) and Gary Franks (4th age group) also ran great races… wow you guys have some finishing kick!!! Also, congrats to Srini Iyer from TAF who finished first overall. Results

Checked on the Gate River Run 15K results, looks like John Crews and Gavin Coombs ran an excellent race, finishing 28th and 29th respectively. Andrea and Brad Smythe also raced at Gate River. Brad ran a 4 minute p.r. (58:32) to finish in the top 200 and Andrea ran a great post-baby p.r. (1:10:36) Results

And I just talked to Nicole Lewis... she said that the Azelea Triathlon went really well. Swim was fast, bike was windy, and run was awesome. She was 1st in her age group and the 11th woman overall!!! Results

So, in summary, TAF is AWESOME, TAF is AWESOME, TAF is AWESOME… WAHOOO! Congrats to everyone who raced, and hope everyone has a great week. #20

Go Team!!!

Same story, different weekend... more FUN for TAF Racing. On Saturday, we have a group competing in the Run for the Oaks 5K (downtown Raleigh, 8:30). It would be great to see as many people out there as possible either running, cheering, helping out, etc. (it's a TAF-sponsored race). Nicole Lewis and some of our other friends will also be headed to Wilmington this weekend for the Azalea Triathlon. And, the TAF Elite team is traveling to FL for the Gate River Run (USATF 15K Championship). Plus, the TAF Half Marathon Training Program is also meeting on Saturday morning. Whew, think that's everything - GO TAF, RUN (swim + bike) AWESOME, AND GOOD LUCK!!! #20

Upcoming Race - Run for the Oaks

The Run for the Oaks is this Saturday at 8:30 in downtown Raleigh. It is a TAF-sponsored race, and it would be great to see as many people out there as possible. Packet pickup is from 5-7 on Thurs. at The Athlete's Foot. Hope everyone is enjoying this awesome weather :-) ! #20

POTM - February (Dave Meyer)

The Peformer of the Month award for February goes to David Meyer. Dave, as far as I can tell, raced 4 times in the month including the Krispy Kreme Challenge (where he didn't throw up), the Run for Roses 5k (where he was 2nd in his age group), the St. Valentine's Day Massacre Marathon Relay (where he anchored the Master's team win), and the Crystal Coast Half Marathon (where he won his age group).

Congratulations, Dave, keep it up!

POTM - January (Brad Smythe)

The Performance of the Month for January goes to Brad Smythe for his win at the Swinging Bridge 50k in central Virginia. Brad finished 8 minutes ahead of 2nd place and also finished ahead of previous winners. According to the race website, his time of 4:40 on the singletrack trail was also a Course Record.

Showing that the race result wasn't a fluke, 3 weeks later, Brad finished 2nd in the Uwharrie 40 Mile Mountain Run.

Congratulations, Brad!

Super Saturday Part 1

Saturday turned out to be quite an exciting day for TAF Racing. Due to all of the AWESOME performances, I'm actually going to break this into two posts.

David K. and Keith F. got the job done at the Get Your Rear in Gear 5K, placing 4th and 5th overall respectively (2nd and 3rd in their age group). Keith's time of 18:18 was over a 1min PR for him! WAHOOO GUYS! Results

Despite running all alone in the Cary Distance Festival 5K, Jennifer H. turned in an excellent time of 18:52. She was 2nd overall, and obviously the 1st woman across the line. CONGRATS JENNIFER ON AN AWESOME RACE!!! Results

And, CONGRATS TO BOBBY MACK who finished 3rd in the NACAC Cross Country Championships!!! Story

TAF Racing Heads To The Track (Super Saturday Part 2)

TAF Racing also had fun at the 2010 All-Comers Track Meet at Meredith College. The first event was the 4x400m relay, where the 3 teams from TAF took on "the olympians" and the girls from St. Mary's high school. Not gonna lie, I just started laughing when I lined up next to a guy who's quads were as big as Kirby's torso (seriously, check out the pictures they took)... but with the help of our Chick-fil-A baton, TAF Racing grabbed places 2-4.

Next up was the mile, where Erastus, Joe, and James turned in some great times despite having sprinted 400m less than 10min before.

Then came the 100m dash, where Nicole blasted out of the starting block and held a solid lead over Dave M. for the first 3/4 of the race (what was it Dave... your spike got "stuck" in the starting block?!?... just kidding, you redeemed yourself in the 200m). Joe and Oyler also flew... aren't we distance runners?!?

The 800m was next, where Joe, Sean, and James worked together to finish 1, 2, 3. I managed to pass one runner in the last 50m (she had just run the 100m and killed me in the 200m), and Rita crushed the girl from Meredith.

Then came the 200m, where TAF once again showed the other local runners who was boss. Joe finally decided that he had run his last race of the day after winning his heat. Nicole and James turned in solid performances, and Dave, Rita and I gave chase to "the olympians" for the first 5ft of the race.

Next was the 3200m, where Erastus blew the rest of the field away. Kirby did well to pace him for the first mile, despite having just finished a 5K where yeah, he placed 4th (I have no idea how he even managed 1 lap, especially with the ridiculous head wind on the back straight away)!

Finally, the meet concluded with the 400m, where I squared off against one other runner, who beat me, but it was a close race! So, in summary, those "olympians" better watch it... if we weren't training for a half marathon... AWESOME JOB TAF!!! Results (kind of, I know there are some mistakes)

And here are the pictures we took!

Have they perfected cloning yet?!?

Seriously, I think they tried to cram every major running event in NC into the next two months! I keep looking at the list of races and thinking... well that looks cool, and so does that, and and and... oh wait, they're all on the same day!

On that note, Saturday should be a pretty busy day for TAF Racing. I know we have some people competing in the Get Your Rear In Gear 5K over at Fred Fletcher Park, we have a team headed to the Winter All-Comers Meet at Meredith College (which I am super excited about), and still others might be running in one of the races at the Cary Distance Festival! On top of that, I think Brad and Andrea were going to help with the Umstead Marathon, Tim G. is actually crazy enough to run it... and then there’s the TAF Half Marathon Training Program too. Should be an AWESOME weekend (and it's actually supposed to be nice out)!!! So, GOOD LUCK to everyone and keep us posted on how everything turned out.

... and yes, that's my best rendition of our "high-tech" PVC baton with "custom engraving" (aka duct tape)... but we do have actual batons! #20

Pros and Cons of Group Running

Most of the benefits of training with a group are pretty obvious. There is safety in numbers, as larger groups are easier to spot in traffic. Also, in the unfortunate instance of a turned ankle or other injury, there is someone around to offer assistance or get help.

There is also the benefit of having someone to challenge and push you through those last hard intervals. Running with faster folks can make you faster, especially if you are running with them along a not-so-familiar route and risk getting lost if you don't keep up.

There is also the motivating advantage of knowing that your group will be waiting for you for that Sunday morning run. Or, is that just peer pressure, and, in turn, a negative. Hmm. There is the benefit of social interaction, spending time with friends.

But group training can be too much of a good thing at times. What I see all to often are planned easy days that turn into races or hard tempo sessions. Easy recovery days are where the gains of training are made, and sometimes runners would be better off going solo and sticking to the training plan rather than getting caught up in the "competition" group runs sometimes spur, even if by accident. Also, due to varying pace and fitness levels, one person's easy pace might put another runner into tempo mode.

Lastly, going solo can provide an athlete with mental toughness. Being able to push through the last miles of those solo long runs can give a runner the mental edge to hang in there during the tough last miles of a marathon or half.

That said, see you guys tonight for our tempo run.