FacebookTwitter
tom@stortz.com

Rock and Roll Results

Race Results

I finished the race in 1:22:12 which I think is respectable. That averages to a 6:17 pace. I think it’s interesting that my second 5k was faster than the first but you can see I really didn’t have any strength in the final 3 miles. 275 out of 16,000 though isn’t too shabby. I’d rate my conditioning about a 7 this year and I just didn’t put in enough long runs to really feel like I gave it my all. These past two years have been pretty weak from me in terms of race results. I feel like I put in decent effort but just never enough to really see my potential. Oh well.

By |2013-03-15T03:40:23-04:00September 19th, 2011|Running|0 Comments

Afterwards

Phil’s 5k was tonight. I probably placed about 20th of 700. I ran a 17:45 which should equate to 5:50 miles or so. I felt pretty good throughout the entire race but I’m just not in good enough shape to run a formidable time. If you look at the top 100 time for the race, I’d say about 10 are over the age of 26. The bottom line is that I’m not getting faster. I did out sprint a female in the last 50 meters to say that I wasn’t beat by a girl which should give me some credibility. A 5k goes by fast compared to longer races and I will admit that’s about as good as I can do.

After the race I decided to go to the bar. I had one shot of rumplemintz and about 6 beers. It messed me up pretty good considering I didn’t eat dinner. I ate a roast beef sandwich at Kildare’s but I was pretty much spent after beer number 6. Don’t forget these beers are pints and they are at least 5% abv. I was/am pretty drunk as I’m typing this but I figured people appreciate posts in different forms. I’m listening to Jim Croce by the way. Songs in order Operator, Time in a Bottle, I got a name.

By |2016-11-03T15:31:33-04:00July 20th, 2011|Running|1 Comment

Back to Form

Just a quick “what I’ve been doing lately” update. I’ve been really annoyed with some nagging injuries lately. I’ve had this burn on the top of my middle finger for 2 weeks now and you’d be amazed how everything just happens to come in contact with it and it stings like a wasp. My toe nail on my big toe is falling off but it’s not completely off, so it hurts when the nail get lifted up but can’t fall off. My mouth has an annoying sore by the gum line which just popped up. I also have had terrible stomach cramps since after the 10k which I can’t explain and have finally started to go away.

Just to comment on the mud run 10k because people seem to be impressed. A 10k is 6.2 miles. My time was 43:30 which averages out to 7:15 miles approximately. I’d guess I’m in comparable shape to when I ran a 5 miler back in February in 29:38 which was 5:56 pace. In the 5 miler I got 26th place to give you an idea of the competition for this 10k. Now the 7:15 is much faster than an actual 7:15 pace. Each obstacle is just adding time because, for the most part, you aren’t advancing, just either stand still or slowly moving forward. I count at least 11 obstacles with the mud pit wasting at least 30 seconds. My estimate is that it was around a 6:30 pace and the rest wasted on obstacles. This isn’t an incredible time and most people will look at a place rather then a time. I’m not nearly as wowed by my performance as others.

I’ve been entertaining myself in a multitude of ways. First off, I finished the Soprano’s Season 2 on DVD this weekend and I really enjoy the show. It just seems real(er) to me. The story lines and the characters just have an appeal and I’m going to continue on with season 3. I’m caught up with True Blood, Curb, and Weeds as well. In my mind, none of these shows can hold a candle to the Sopranos. The shows are just old and the plots are just reaching. Curb has been my biggest disappointment because the situations just feel so forced. True Blood has lost it’s mind. At first it was just Vampires and now we have necromancers, wolves, panthers, and fairies. Weeds needs to stop because it is mildly entertaining but it’s ruining its reputation as a good show. Also, I’m about 100 pages into the second book of Game of Thrones called “A Clash of Kings.” I find it to be well written and keeps my attention. I’ll give a review when I finish.

Phil’s 5k is coming up on Wednesday so I’ll participate in that. I would be happy with anywhere between 17:30 and 18 minutes. I was 17:56 last year so that will be something to improve upon. I haven’t really been doing much else but watching TV and movies. My hand is really preventing me from most activities. I forgot to mention I watched The Empire Strikes Back and now just have to watch Return of the Jedi to feel complete. I can’t figure out why Princess Leia is so important. She’s the princess of a planet that doesn’t even exist, what does she rule?

By |2016-11-03T15:31:48-04:00July 19th, 2011|Running|0 Comments

Philly Mud Run 2011 – 1st place

The results are in and I got finished in 1st place out of 1450. It sounds better than it really is because the competition is pretty weak. I’ll go through each obstacle and my thoughts on the race and how I prepared. I woke up at 5:30 or so and picked up my packet at the race. There was no line and no reason not to just pick it up race day. I ate a pop tart or two and felt like I had to rock a deuce but I wasn’t going to because than I’d just feel uncomfortable the whole race. The military group goes off first and than runners who plan on running under 8 minute miles. This should give you an idea of what type of people compete. I started off pretty slow but so did the entire pack. The first obstacle is a 50 ft net that you have to crawl under on your stomach. I was with a group of 3 college kids to start and took the lead after the first mile. The next obstacle is some sort of hurdle that is relatively simple if you have any arm strength at all. There is about 2 miles or so of running in the woods and a pretty nasty hill that leads up to more military hurdles. There are 3 hurdles in a row that I would imagine give some people fits but I pretty much was able to jump right up and over. Next they had a tube that you had to get through on your hands and knees. At this point I was still leading the race with no one really close and I was closing in on the military leaders who started 4 minutes ahead. Next they had another tube, a cargo net and than a small mud pit you had to dive through. I thought this was so dumb because it completely water logged my shoes for the last 2 miles. I was still leading when I got to the rock wall which was a breeze. Then the shampoo ramp which you have to climb up on your stomach wasn’t so bad. I actually went off course for a few steps before I realized I was going the wrong way and it cost me about 5-10 seconds. Finally the mud which is a 50 yard pit that you have to climb through on your stomach, military style. Just when I thought I had the race locked up, some bro comes out of nowhere and dives in the mud at nearly the same time I did. He must have had alligator blood or something because he annihilated me. He probably won by 10 yards at least. I finished dead tired because that mud pit is completely tiresome and I couldn’t see because my contacts got water in front. 2nd isn’t too bad though and I’ll send a link to my place when it shows up. Overall, I had a fun time and will probably be back next year.

By |2013-03-15T03:41:05-04:00July 17th, 2011|Running|2 Comments

RnningFool’s Running Group in Philly

CK4 and I like to think of ideas about what type of business to start. Say I want to start a running network within Manayunk. I create a webpage and tell people that I’m looking to train for some race and anyone who wants to run with the elite Tom Stortz can do so. So I start small, maybe get a few people who just need something to do. Then I start growing with more members because I create a forum on my website and actively participate. As we grow I start expanding the area outside of Manayunk. Next thing you know, I’ve created a network of people who like to run, they like me because I’m awesome, and they come to my website because I keep people up to date on new shoes, places to run, good dieting, etc. Now I have tons of people coming to my website and I start selling ads to runner’s world and the like and now I’ve created a business with the simple idea of giving people information. Plus everybody would make guest shout outs in my blog and I’d stay in great shape like always. Who wants to go running with me?

Now just to go one step further on my running bio. My time of 60:15 two years ago in the Broad Street run was good for 170th or so out of 25,000. I got 3rd place in last year’s Philly Mud Run out of 1,500. I did the Half Marathon in 1:19 something which was probably my best effort. I recently broke my ankle but am mostly healthy now. I have horrible feet that blister up so a half marathon is about the extent of my mileage. I’m ready to start going on longer runs and getting in shape for the Sea Isle 10 miler. I will also be doing Phils 5k. I’m a great running partner who knows time for talking and time for running. The main problem would be the pace as not everyone is at my level but if money is involved, I can make the situation work.

By |2013-03-15T03:41:37-04:00May 18th, 2011|Running|1 Comment

Frostbite 5 miler 2011 – Results

With temperatures in the 40’s and gusts of wind hitting 25+ miles per hour, this wouldn’t seem like ideal running conditions. However, the times proved otherwise. Technically I only know of 3 peoples times but Me, Jeff, and Brian Lockard all put up worthy times. I was the slowest of the 3 finishing at 29:40 or so but exceeded my expectations of a sub 30 times. Jeff went into the race sandbagging and saying how he was having trouble running 5 miles but you wouldn’t know it when he clocked a 28:45. Lockard beat Jeff by a little bit but it’s hard for me to say being 400 yards behind them. Jeff and I started together and went out in a 5:20 or so mile. The wind made the beginning cold in my opinion but after you get moving it wasn’t so bad. Jeff left me around mile 2 and I was running at a pretty steady pace with no one really passing me and me passing the occasional rabbit who doesn’t know what a pace it. Mile 2 and 3 seemed to contain a lot of gradual hills and the wind made these all the more fun. Once I hit mile 4 I was a bit unsure of how far was left (a mile duh) but it’s sometimes hard to judge when to turn it on a bit to finish strong. Once I saw the school I knew we were close and finished with a good kick and some juice left. Don’t get me wrong though, I couldn’t go much faster as I felt great throughout the entire race. My legs didn’t get tired and my breathing was good. If I knew the course I maybe could have shaved off a few seconds but all in all I was pretty pleased. For a first time experience, I had a good run. Time to get wasted.

By |2013-03-15T03:42:02-04:00February 19th, 2011|Running, Sports|0 Comments

Philly 10k Mud Run

It’s 9am on Sunday and I want to post (not blog) about what I did this weekend. On Friday I stayed in and read my book. On Saturday, I woke up early and got my hair cut, bought some new polos from the outlets in Pottstown, got my race packet for Sunday, went to the driving range, played a weak round of golf with the Wagon, and then sat in and did nothing but read my book again with some online poker mixed in. There was absolutely no drinking and no fun whatsoever but I feel like a million bucks now ready to enjoy a perfect Sunday, most likely golfing.

I woke up today at 6am to do a 10k Mud run at Belmont Park. Most people don’t really know much about running but Belmont is a hilly, trail run. This course was hosted by military personnel so they had military obstacles at each mile of the course. There were about 4,500 people there and about 1200 did the 10k. My initial feeling was that most people were there to have a good time and not to compete by time. They started people off in waves which was smart because the course is really narrow and there would be major problems if everyone was clumped together. The first group that went off was the military and I was part of the next group. I started off in the back of the pack but once we were underway it was pretty clear that I was in much better shape than the people around me. About 100 meters off the line my right foot drops in this 2 foot hole and I hit the deck on the “hole in the ground” obstacle. Fortunately I was fine. I ended up leading my wave after about half a mile. The first obstacle was a cargo net which proved to be no problem. There was this really steep hill at about 2 miles, followed by a jump over 3 hurdles each which got progressively higher. This wasn’t too bad either but I was really winded after the hill so my pace was almost at a crawl after the jump. I regained my strength through some flat trail area and then there was about a 20 foot net that you had to crawl under which isn’t difficult but these obstacles take some energy out of you. After the net it was a nice flat mile, and then another nice half mile or so on black top with a gentle downhill which allowed me to regain my composure. Next were some hay bails that had to be climbed over which was a breeze. There were no mile markers on the course which was really dumb in my opinion so I wasn’t sure how much was left but once I made a right turn and saw all the spectators, I realized I was almost at the end. From what I could tell only one person from my wave was ahead of me and I was passing military personnel throughout. The last obstacle before the “mud pit” was a 8 foot rope climb over a ramp. The ramp was covered in shampoo and slippery as an eel. I grabbed the first knot of the rope ok, then the second, then the third, and I had to move my leg over the top. So I tried to reach my leg out and missed the top and wiped out and slammed my shoulder into the ramp. The spectators let out an “ohhh” and amazingly I didn’t let go of the 3rd knot so I stood up and reached my leg over the ramp successfully. After climbing that I had, unknowingly, only 50 meters left and then the mud pit.

I stagger to the mud pit a bit unsure of how to proceed and dive right under. It’s about 25 meters and there are ropes above to get under. This picture is a little generous. I splash through the first couple and get muddy water all in my eyes while I’m down to the last dive. I’m sort of taking my time because I have contacts and can’t see anything and I hear the fans going nuts because there is this guy hauling ass through this pit to my right. Well naturally I don’t like to lose so I get moving and we exit the pit at the same time with about a 25 meter sprint and lord knows that I’m not going to let this guy out kick me so I busted a move, got my right shoulder in front of his and took the spot.

I wasn’t in the best shape going into this and I’m sure the time isn’t good as the race is really hilly and the obstacles will slow anyone down, but I think I was 2nd in my wave and felt ok throughout. It was pretty fun and a nice change from the standard. If anyone reads this and wants to do this race next year or anywhere else, let me know because I’m in.

By |2013-03-15T03:42:59-04:00July 18th, 2010|Running, Sports|1 Comment

Phils 5k & the sms

So I ended up winning the old man’s age division, 25-29, with a time of 17:55 or so. I think I was about 21st for the race out of 700. This was another example of not being as good as I once was. Both my times from last year in the Broad St and this race were both faster last year. This one I chalk up to lack of training and not running as good of a race as I could have. I felt pretty strong finishing it, I just didn’t want to die throughout the race so I might have held back a bit. Nonetheless I wasn’t beating Sam who was low 17:00’s. The days of being able to compete with top high school and college athletes are over and I’ll never see them again. Enough running talk although I’m doing a 10k at Belmont Plateau on Sunday so I only have a few days to prepare for what I hear is a really tough course. Throw in some military obstacles and I can hardly contain my enthusiasm. This will probably be a non-drinking weekend so that’s probably a good thing.

I’ve paid off all my dental crap so I’m happily in the clear and restarting from today’s date. I’ve invested some money in stocks like RIMM and Teva and I’m thinking about buying some GS and GE. I don’t have much faith in our financial system but I’m hoping strong companies will prevail through tough times. From what I read it seems like we are going to be in for some slow growth up ahead and I’m pretty sure no one knows for sure what is going to happen. I’m still on the SIRI bandwagon as I’m sure you want to know. Enough finance talk as I’m sure this is just as boring as the running talk.

I want to express my growing appeal for the text message. I like the text because it’s very impersonal and I don’t feel any need to respond to it. When someone calls me, I immediately think “what is this pressing issue that this person wants to discuss with me.” It’s funny because when I see I have a missed call I get agitated that I have to call the person back. When I see a text it’s exciting because I can look at it and not have to do anything about it. That growing bbm signal next to the text is a sign of hope for future plans. Plus it gives me time to think about how I want to respond without being put on the spot. My only problem with the phone is lulls in the conversation and this need to be talking all the time. There’s no breaks and I always feel like I’m forcing a goodbye when I don’t want to talk any longer or the convo is going nowhere. The BBM is fine too but you are limited to the people who are part of your contacts so there is no shock value as to who is contacting you. I use the phone all the time at work so it’s not like I’m inept but sometimes I’m just not in the mood to talk, whereas I feel no pressure from texts. I like emails too but I’m amazed at how many people don’t get their emails to their phone. This is so elementary but I don’t think some people have the same level of commitment to emails as others. My dad for instance has a personal company email and doesn’t bother to check it so I do it for the both of us. If you really have to call me, don’t hesitate because you read this post. I have to write about something.

By |2013-03-15T03:43:05-04:00July 15th, 2010|Running, Sports|0 Comments

Broad Street Run

I rushed a post this morning so I wanted to go into more detail about the broad street run. I went to sleep around 11 and woke up at 5:15. I had eaten pizza the night before and drank plenty of water. I took a shit after I woke up and it was pretty wimpy. I knew that after I ate that much food, I should have had a better shit. This was the first minor issue. I picked up Laura and we park in Citizens Bank and got a Subway to the start of the race. We were at the start at 7 or so which is a lot earlier than I’d like but certainly not a problem. I ate some pretzel but really wasn’t very hungry which is a bit odd too because I didn’t eat any breakfast. So I go on a warm up run and had to piss so I went down this street and next thing I know I have this security guard yelling at me. I figured I was getting a public urination but my plan was to take off sprinting and to get lost in the crowd but he didn’t say anything other than you can’t be in this area. I tried to piss behind some houses but Fido put a halt to that with some barking that scared the shit out of me. I then did some stretching and had to take another piss. So I went down a side street and went right on the corner. No problem. Now the race is getting close and I get in the corral and what do you know, I have to piss again. I don’t know what was happening but I was now stuck in a corral with no where to go and my only option was to hold it. I considered going behind some houses right by the starting line but there were just way too many people for it to be appropriate. I’m sure you’re wondering why I don’t use the porta-potties but the lines are so long and I’m not into waiting.

So the race starts and I feel fine. I actually felt really good. I went out in a 5:45 and after 5 miles I was at 29:15 which I thought was just about perfect. I would be giving myself plenty of time if I fell off pace a little bit. Problem was I started to fall off pace a lot. By mile 7 I knew I had no chance to break 60. I think I came across mile 7 at 42:20 and then 8 was 48:30. I started to get my legs back a bit for the last 2 miles and ran them decent but it was too late. I had 3 females pass me in the last 3 miles so I knew that I was going to slow. It’s really annoying when you are right where you are supposed to be and then you start to die and people just constantly are passing you. I ended up holding the piss the entire race which wasn’t horrible but not ideal. My feet held up fine so that wasn’t an issue. I just lost focus on a couple miles there and that’s why I wasn’t able to reach my goal. I don’t set a lot of goals and am pretty disappointed by not achieving it. I also took a huge shit after the race so my timing on that just wasn’t right. You want to run on clean pipes and I think that may have been a minor issue.

I did get interviewed by an Asian reporter after the race. I was probably one of the first people to start walking to the car because I wanted to beat all the traffic and she was standing on the sidelines with her camera man. I saw her and knew what she was after so when she asked me if I can do an interview I rolled my eyes and said “fine” under my breath. I think she asked how I did in the race and I told her “I failed miserably.” Then I made some comment about lactic acid and how it was pretty hot. I don’t know if it ever made the news or not but it was CW or something like that. She was pretty hot too for an Asian.

Next race is Phil’s 5k and then the Sea Isle 10 miler, followed by the distance run. I’m a really annoyed with myself for not going under 60 and I’ve lost some motivation but I just have to keep at it and move on. I’m going to see what I can run a 400, an 8, and a mile in. I think I was 4:59 in the mile last year so that will be my goal this year. I don’t have good times in the other two to work off of. I’m really happy it’s hot out again because I think sweating while running in the heat is really healthy.

On an unrelated note, I put a bunch of books on half.com and actually sold one today. I sold a Kurt Vonnegut book that I used to read in the bathroom. I don’t really think there is anything wrong with that. It doesn’t carry around an odor and just because my hands are touching it while I’m shitting doesn’t mean it’s contaminated. If I was the buyer and I knew the last owner used it while taking a dump, it would probably bother me a bit but without that knowledge, seems alright to me. I’m still reading the Hunter S Thompson autobiography but after that I’m on a clean slate and will have to find something new. Suggestions?

By |2013-03-15T03:33:39-04:00May 3rd, 2010|Running, Sports|0 Comments
Toggle Sliding Bar Area

Categories