I was definitely not fresh for the Life South Half Marathon 2022, having two hard workouts earlier in the week. I wanted to use this as a hard training effort in preparation for an upcoming race and I feel good that I accomplished what I set out to do. I hit my expected paces and felt strong on the hills, happy that my hill training seems to be paying off.

Photo credit: BB Action Photo

I cranked the pace down after the midway point, suffered a bit after the big hill on 16th Ave, but pushed hard to the finish.


Photo credit: BB Action Photo


Photo credit: Justin Keefe

I enjoyed the free post-race beer:



Finished in 1:28:13, averaging 6:44 per mile.



T-shirt, medal, and Topo ST-3 shoes:



Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/6712494412

For the 2022 Newnan's Lake 15k, the story of the day was the weather... cold and breezy. With the temperature in the high 30s plus variable amount of wind chill it was hard to decide what to wear. Some people were all bundled up and later regretted it. I think I chose wisely... tights and a lightweight long sleeve shirt, thin hat and gloves. Occasionally I pushed my hat up over my ears to modulate the temperature but then the breeze kicked in and I pulled the hat back down, glad to have it on my head!

The ladies field was strong. I had to kick hard to keep from getting passed by the 4th place woman who is barely visible as a grey blur over my shoulder in this photo of my sprint to the finish:


Photo credit: Doug Waldo

Finish time was 1:00:24, averaging under 6:30 per mile. I ran a pretty steady race, actually a bit faster than I thought I would be able to go.



Official results:

https://results.raceroster.com/en-US/...3kdbrn422d

Long-sleeve race t-shirt and my Inov-8 Bare-X Lite 150 racing shoes:

In October 2021 I ran two 50k Ultramarathons. The first was the Stump Jump 50k Trail Run near Chattanooga, TN. The second was my "hometown" Florida race, the Gate2Gate Trail Run held at San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park.

Boom! This race has a real shotgun start.


Photo credit: Joe Kaleita

I used the same fueling strategy and equipment that I did for the Stump Jump, including my Topo Terraventure 2 shoes which I love. Without the elevation and stairs to deal with, I intended to run the entire race. With the exception of a few stops to refill water bottles, etc. I succeeded at running the whole 50k distance.

Photo - coming into an aid station:


Photo credit: Robert Evans

Coming into the finish line:

On October 2, 2021 I ran the 20th Annual Stump Jump 50k trail race at Signal Mountain, Tennessee (just north of Chattanooga). I did something very different for this race compared to other races... I ate a lot of sweets (and consumed a lot of electrolytes) rather than trying to be a "low carb athlete" during the race. It paid off pretty big! I generally felt good through the whole race, had a strong last few miles, and even felt good afterwards. I'm normally a cramping mess after marathons and longer so this is a great personal discovery.



The night before the race I went to bed early and had a great sleep. Morning breakfast was much larger than my usual cup of coffe. I ate a few spoons of greek yogurt, a banana, and a bowl of oatmeal with chia seeds.

Race fuel, electrolytes, and water setup - I used GU and SaltStick caps, half with caffeine, half without. I carry the SaltStick caps in a flask of honey and water. The "pills" don't tend to dissolve in the bottle, I usually end up shaking it out of the bottle into my mouth after consuming the liquid.

Duke's Shorty Sausages are a real food option but I need to practice with those more. When huffing and puffing up a steep incline it is hard not to get a piece of food down the wrong pipe and then having to deal with coughing for a few minutes. Dried dates also make a great "real food" calorie option for me.

I also carried some granola with me decided not to eat it.

For water I carry two soft flasks in my race vest and a waist pack water bottle.



I put the following in my drop bag so I could quickly swap in calories and water quickly:

* two soft water flasks
* one bottle of honey and water mixture with a SaltStick cap
* dried dates and shorty sausages
* Two GU gel packets.

I probably took in at least 700 calories total during the race.

I also had an extra hand-held water bottle in the drop bag just in case, but didn't use it. Aid station staff were doing a good job of filling my waist belt water bottle and the stations were frequent enough. I didn't refill any of the soft flasks during the race, I just changed them out at my drop bag.

Thunderstorms delayed the 2021 Melon Run 3-miler but left slightly cooler temperatures at race time than usual. The race has been renamed the Jack Gamble Melon Run in honor of the Florida Track Club's first president.


(Photo credit: Florida Track Club)


(Photo credit: Jason Seitz)

I'm very happy with my performance. I was able to really race, hanging on to a solid pack of runners near the front, and out-kicked another age 40+ runner in the last quarter mile to claim the Masters division victory.


(Photo credit: Florida Track Club)

I took home a nice watermelon as my award.


(Photo credit: Florida Track Club)

I think this was my third-fastest Melon Run ever with a time of 17:56. The last time I went under 18 minutes at this race was 2014.



I have been getting good mileage in (generally 50 mile weeks) but not doing any fast race-specific training. I did get one track workout in the week before this race. Feeling good about my fitness!

My left knee has been bothering me over the past month but it is getting better. Good things ahead!