Etrain 10

By Jarrett Felix

This Saturday I will be making my 7th appearance in Sea Isle City's Bill Gallagher 10 Mile Island Run. It's one of my favorite races I've had the privilege to compete in and ironically it has featured a ton of recognizable PA names and faces, even across the border. 

I was thinking about writing an in depth preview and rehashing out all the PA performances of past, present and future but I'm on vacation. So I'll walk you through a brief history of this event from my perspective over the years. Hopefully you enjoy it. Let the vacation begin ...

8/2/2008

The summer before my Junior Year in HS I was incredibly hype about running. Our team was going to be good and we all knew it. I had just dropped 17 seconds in the 800m, started posting under the alias "etrain11" and even gotten an extremely small shout in a Penntrack article. I knew I had to work hard to make our top 7. 

So, naturally, I did what any kid would do in my shoes and completely over trained. I pretty much peaked in July that year which I suppose was good timing for the 10 miler. Or I guess it would be good timing if I had ever done 10 miles before. And believe it or not the longest run of my life felt like the longest run of my entire life ....

I ran 72:12 and placed 124th. I was pretty happy about it afterwards up until I couldn't stand anymore from fatigue. 

8/2/2009

Naturally, I loved racing a 10 miler because I'm a large weird-o so when we returned to my Sea Isle stomping grounds for our classic family vacation before my Senior year of high school I decided to give the race another shot.

This summer I was training smarter, increasing volume a bit and not running every run as fast as I possibly could. Turns out that's a good idea. Compounding the goodness, the course was running super fast that year. Either it was short, the weather was just perfect, I wasn't scared of 10 miles anymore or I was secretly micro dosing on EPO ....

I ran 64:48 and placed 87th. Whatever the equivalent of raising the roof was in 2009 is probably what I was doing that day. Until I couldn't cool down anymore from the fatigue in my legs.

8/14/2010

When I went to College, my running education really transformed. I suddenly became a lot more interested in keeping track of my mileage. I actually started paying attention to different workouts and what they meant. It was a cool transition and a nice supplement to my knowledge of everybody's high school time within a 50 mile radius of my house. Made me a better blogger I'd say.

As for the race, this might have been my best day relative to fitness. I don't really remember it at all other than the fact that I was wearing this awesome pair of light blue shorts that I subsequently lost the first week of college. Dang it. 

62:57.54 that day because why not know a 10 mile time to the hundredths. 31st place. Followed of course by me trying to hit my daily mileage and subsequently failing due to the annual tradition of my legs being too dead to move.

8/4/2012

The summer before my sophomore year of college, I had an awesome summer of training. And then I had a great year of running. Could this have anything to do with the fact that it was the only summer I was single between 2009 and present day? Or was I just pissed about my freshman year and the fact that I didn't really improve for the first time in the sport?

Well regardless I didn't run the race that year. So we will never know if I would have done awesome that year or not. Instead the summer before my Junior year, brimming with foolish overconfidence, I returned to the 10 miler, staying with my friend Francis and the Ferruzzi family.

The day of the race was the day of the 2012 London Olympic 10k final. We watched the 10k like right before the 10 miler. Seems like a good idea, right? Get amped for the race?

Horrible idea. I was so turnt (or whatever was the 2012 equivalent of turnt) by Galen Rupp's Silver that I killed the first mile and died a horrible, painful, slow death. It was also really effing hot. But I think it was mainly the whole Rupp thing. 

65:19.41 for 33rd place.

8/10/2013

Well unsurprisingly my Junior year of college sucked. Take over confidence, add in a coaching change and lighten the mileage and intensity of my training (plus add in a sudden urge to be a 400m runner, thanks centennial conference) and you get a blah year.

So the summer before my senior year, my last year of competitive running, I was in the zone. I cranked my mileage the highest it's ever been by a long shot and my first ever 80 mile week coincided with the week of the race. That being said, the fact that I was coming off three straight 70+ weeks made 10 miles seem like a sprint. Ok no it didn't, I'm an 800m runner it still felt really long. But you get it.

I was wearing my trusty pink shorts and had my buddies Francis and Charlie running with me, the first time I had any friends signed up for the race with me. My goal coming into the race was top 30 and like a sign from the heavens at the 4 mile mark a little girl yelled to me "Dude in the pink shorts, you're in 30th!" I swear, that actually happened. It was amazing.

Finished the run in 23rd and ran 61:34.59. And I finished the cool down after. Ah, it was fun being in decent shape ...

8/2/2014

In one year's time, I went from the best shape of my life to 0 training. But somehow I thought it might still be a good idea to run 10 miles as hard as I could. And to think, I have a blog about running.

So I went back to the Ferruzzi house only to find that it was now filled with a bunch of LaSalle runners from a Division I college who were trying to run this thing fast. Great stuff, not going to be embarrassing for me at all.

I naturally went out over my head and died a very, very slow death. Like 6:20 pace/7 minute pace kinda splits. I'm just luck Joe Sullivan was there to throw down a kick and wake me up a tiny bit.

66:03.81 66th. My friend from Muhlenberg who had just quit the team felt incredibly justified in his decision after watching me suffer.

8/1/2015

So now we are going back for one more. I'm in halfway decent shape nowadays, somehow forcing myself through 50+ mile weeks after work. So I'll be back at least this one more time to have fun and traverse this awesome course.

It's a pretty simple set up. Out 2.5 in one direction, back 2.5 through the start and out another 2.5 before turning around and closing the final 2.5 to the finish. Most of it is on sand, but it's mostly hard sand so it's not too bad. The worst part is the three transitions from the pavement to the hard sand through the soft sand. That part always makes me cry.

What I think I like best is all the tons of people there. People just line the beach and cheer or stare or point and laugh in my case because I usually wear crazy shorts and my form is absolutely horrible. They have plenty of water stations with little kids who you practically run over because they are so eager to give you water and I refuse it because I like to think I'm tough. Inevitably the kids throw water on me to cool me down. Sometimes I ask them to, but sometimes apparently it just really looks like I need the help. 

And of course, it's nice to be at the beach. It's the home of my favorite family vacations and usually my parents find a way to come out and watch me run which I love. 

Plus it doesn't hurt that there are usually a few readers out there who will give me a little etrain cheer as they kick my butt in the race.

So what will I run this year? No idea. But really it's just about having fun and enjoying the ride.

Who am I kidding, no it's not. Of course I have goals. Hopefully faster than last year and get back in that top 40ish overall. 

No better way to spend vacation.

Maybe I'll see you out there.

-Train