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Tim Preble (@TimPreble) – UltraRunner and Endurance Athlete

Tag: 2012

  • Reflections

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    Just sitting here thinking.  Last year on December 26th I ran my 1st “Technical” ultra-marathon Boxing Day Madness with a crushing distance of 26.6 Miles! LOL  Well it may have been an ultra but it was a distance P.R. to me.  This was my 1st distance over 13 miles and I was going to pay for it.  I remember spending the next 4 hours in bed sick as a dog.  You see, I knew nothing about hydration, electrolytes, eating & running….nothing!   I was a long-distance noob.

    1 Year later, I am signed up and ready for Boxing Day Madness Part II.  I still may no nothing about those same topics but I have developed what we will call a “Style” for them…hahaha.  This year promises to be diffrent in all  aspects.  We have a huge weather system moving in that is guaranteed to dump lots of rain and thunder on us.  So I will have to update soon on how it goes.

    Let’s just hope that i’m not in the bed sick again!!

    BoxingDay_2011 Splits_BoxingDay_2011

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  • Reindeer Fun Run – Race Report Guest Post & Guest Runner

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    December 1, 2012 Reindeer Fun Run Guest Post & Guest Runner Shawn Sheffield.

     

    The Reindeer Fun Run in Aberdeen NC was probably my first and I am assuming everyone else’s first 12K race.  It was bitterly cold that morning leaving Sanford my thermometer was hovering around 38 degrees the whole way down to Aberdeen.  By the time I got there the sun was beaming and the temp was rising and proving to be a perfect day to race.  I have never run in Aberdeen nor have I ever run a 12K, so there were a few unknowns.  I never even checked to see where or even if there were water stations, although I was running with my hand held it was bone dry because I neglected to get water before the race started.

    The first hundred yards were relatively flat, then I got my first taste of what was to come over the course of this 12K run; Hills!  The course was littered with nothing but rolling hills with maybe a total of 1 mile that felt flat, but I am pleased to note that they had water stations almost every mile of the race.  Between mile one and two there was a band playing Christmas music to get everyone in the spirit.  After mile 3 the temp was getting uncomfortably warm for a hat and gloves so it was either ditch them or carry them and I opted that I liked my hat to much too just ditch it.  Once we hit mile 5 the course looped back in with the people running/walking the 5K.  This was not the most ideal situation due to the fact that the walkers/stroller moms/and pets were pretty much all over the place causing anyone running for time to weave in and out of the 5K traffic jam.  The last 0.5 mile was all downhill and gave me a chance to stretch my legs out and sprint to the finish line.  At the finish they had bands playing, people cheering, fake snow blowing and of course the reason why we all run most of these things, a pretty sweet finisher metal for my effort.

    When it is all said and done this was a great race and very much worth the money and effort.  The only minor annoyances were the hills and the people who don’t know what, “On your left” means.

  • Derby 50K DNF / DNS Race Report

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    1st, please let me start this post out by saying that I am extremely blessed to be doing the things that I do.  I am, for the most part, a very healthy and active person.  Additionally I am even more blessed to have a very healthy, happy and supportive family!  Their health and well being is #1 priority.  Now with that all said I can go on with my DNF / DNS Rant.

    The Good
    The experience from the very start until the very end was one that I will never get tired of.  This group of Ultra Runners down in Ellerbe, NC are the best bunch of people that I have met.  In every event they seem to inject themselves and thir personalities into the very essence and under the guidance of Mark Long “The Derby” was no diffrent.

    The Bad
    ME, I was the bad this time.  After injuring myself last weekend at CR24  I should not have even come to this event.  But once again as well all know I can be bull-headed.  Lots of pain in my knee, ankle and foot.

     

    The story
    After hitting the snooze on the alarm one too many times It was time to get up and head out to Ellerbe, NC.  I was to meet up with J. Jackson at the Hardees in Carthage at 6:30 and leaving the house at 5 after was going to make it tight.  However I rolled up just a min or two late and we were off.

    Derby 50kOnce we go there we found a parking spot and started getting ready.  The 1st person that I saw was non other than Mark Long.  We stopped and chatted for a few moments, Picked up my Derby mug and found my race number.  The church was wonderfully heated and was very

    welcoming as it was about 34 deg outside.  Back out to the truck I went, got all my stuff out on my tail gate fill the Nathans up and put in Nuuns in. No sooner did I do all that when my buddy Will rolled up asking jokingly “Is there a race

    Will

    around here ??”   I finished getting ready and headed inside to make a final rest room stop and put my shoes on.

    The start of the race was very MTCish and if you were not paying attention you might have missed it.  Ready, set, GO! and off we all went like a heard of charing turtles.

    The course was a 10.5 mile loop in Richmond County with mostly easy rolling hills and only two of those hills were steep.  The course followed mostly old country roads and had one section (about 2.5 Miles of hard packed dirt. I really did not know where i was until I saw a sign say “Sycamore Lodge”….wait a minute I know where we are!  I have camped here with my buddy Mark!

    Soon after that things went from bad to worse, my ankle was starting to swell and get really stiff.  I figured that well, I can walk for a while then slow jog it out and everything will be ok. Guess what….that didn’t work either.

    When I finished the 1st lap I figured I was in for a long day so I changed into warmer clothes and a different running beanie and I was out for lap two.  Unfortunately that did not last very long.  I was in extreme pain, on the pain index of somewhere between a 7 and 8, not good.  When I got to aid station 1 again everyone asked if I was ok to which I answered no and asked if I could sit down…..BIG MISTAKE!!  Whatever you do, if you want to finish a race DO NOT SIT DOWN, i repeat, do NOT sit down.  Once I sat down I realized that my race was over.  I was offer some BioFreeze from my friend Gene, which I applied, but that didn’t do anything.  Shortly after that I embraced my fate that this race, “The Derby” 2012 would go down as my 1st official DNF (Did not Finish).  However at this moment I am going on record to state that this is also a DNS (Do Nothing Stupid) move for me.  With Weymouth Woods in Jan & two MAJOR races in April (Ga Death Race & Umstead 100), I think this was the best move I could have done.

    All in all, Derby…I WILL see you next year.  Great Race, Great Course, Great People.  I think that about wraps it all up.

     

    Peace out!

     

     

  • Pre-Race Jitters

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    Well, today is Thursday and I’m only a day away from another running milestone.  This Saturday I will be participating in my first 24 Hour Ultra Event, Crooked Road 24.  This race is pushing me into the unknown and I’m really not sure to make of it.  From reading other’s race reports from last year (the 1st year that it was run) it appears that I will be able to park my vehicle at the edge of the race course and work aid out of it.

    That being said, what does one pack for a 24 Hour race?  I mean, I could honestly bring everything including the kitchen sink (Yes I know I’m an over-packer  with me but what will I NEED?  The weather looks to be perfect for this weekend, 50s during the day and 30s at night.  The nighttime will be a little cold but I think the compression tights and running pants should suffice, if not I will layer with my technical thermals…If that doesn’t get it done then I guess I will have to stop.  In another post I will upload pics of what I ended up taking.

    The next thing that is stressing me is the fact that I am going to be doing physical activity for 24 Hours!  Come On, staying awake for that long is a feat in itself!  Looking at some caffiene options but coincidentally today on the news there is a bad article about the energy drink I was considering…..<SIGH> now what do I do.  My back up plan, no primary, is to have my 12v power inverter and my coffee maker with me.  I will test this tonight.

     

     

  • Monday Mileage – ya right

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    Well, this is where I had planned on posting up my previous weeks mileage…however since I have a (Self Diagnosed) stress fracture there will be none of that!

    Ugh, there is nothing worse than having beautiful weather, lots of friends running EVERYWHERE & posting their adventures AND having a Major Race (Weymouth Woods 100k)  just 117 days away.  This injury is going to set back my training by 6-8 weeks maybe even more since I will have to comeback slowly…..

    Just to make things worse I have been cross-training on the road bike and just broke another spoke on my rear wheel, now I have to wonder….What am I doing wrong??

    Today marks the start of a new training routine I have put together.  Let’s hope that the activities do not have any pain associated with them ’cause if they do I will again have to figure something else to do…..

    Additional Note: I need to find a good Yoga / stretching routine that I can incorporate into my mornings.  If anyone has a suggestion please let me know!

    Weekly Workouts
    Monday- Lunch Strength Training: Chest (Flat Bench, Incline Bench & Flys)
    Monday- Evening: 60 Min on the Elliptical

    Tuesday- AM: I may try and get up & go to the gym and swim or put in time on the elliptical
    Tuesday- Lunch Strength Training: AB Ripper + Biceps & Triceps (Ind. moves in later posts)
    Tuesday- Evening: Group Run which I will be supporting & not running.

    Wednesday- Lunch Strength Training: Weighted Wed.  Back day.  Pull-ups & lots of other back exercises.
    Wednesday- Evening: 60 Min on the Elliptical

    Thursday- AM: I may try and get up & go to the gym and swim or put in time on the elliptical
    Thursday- Lunch Strength Training: AB Ripper + Legs
    Thursday- Evening: 60 Min on the Elliptical

    Friday-
    Friday- Lunch: 30 Min Hard Elliptical

  • NCRC April Series and Downtown Challenge

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    Social run
    Here is the eMail we got from Capital Run/Walk

    This week will be a “Historic Landmark Run“.  We have compiled a list of ten historic landmarks in Raleigh.  Photograph as many of the ten landmark signs as you can in one hour to win raffle tickets.  Work individually or in teams of up to four (4).