Nov
14
Predawn Profile – Mike Croy (aka Dirt Dawg)
I’m not much of a podcast listener yet, though I’m starting to warm to it. The podcaster to whom I’ve listened the most to date, despite our differing tastes in running objectives, is Mike Croy, of Dirt Dawg’s Rambling Diatribe (DDRD). One thing that drew me to Mike is his pure love of running for the sake of running, and the fact that he focuses on ultras despite his clear talent and capabilities for my personal favorite, the marathon. His work/life challenges and tendency to get out the door early, plus his creative approaches to fitting his training in (such as the run-commute, which I’m dying to try) make him a fun guy to listen to during your own predawn run. You can also find him active on Dailymile and Twitter, and, if you’re still not convinced of the merits of listening to podcasts, you can read the Dirt Dawg Running Diatribe blog instead. I was honored that Mike agreed to do this profile, as he epitomizes the predawn spirit.
Predawn Runner: How did you get started with running? Did you do it competitively in high school, college or elsewhere in your “early years”?
Dirt Dawg: First got started running around 7th grade. My dad, sister and I lived in a subdivision, and with my Nike Air Max, I remember running the 2.5 miles around the subdivision and recording my time with a dual analog/digital Casio watch and then call my dad to tell him that I ran it a few seconds faster or slower each time. It was one of the few things in my life that I could control at that time.
As a high school freshman, my coach fondly referred to me as a “bell” at our year end banquet and I dropped my time from a 25 min 5k to 21 min at the end of my freshman season. I maybe showed a spark of some speed in track with a 5:10 mile but never reached that potential again. Switching schools, injuries, and a less then dedicated effort only dropped my 5k time to 18:50ish. However, my dad and I ran and rode quite a bit together just spending time on the roads.
College was the typical freshman 15-20 pounds and when I finally got serious, I was a Resident Advisor and started doing most of my runs in the early morning. Did some traveling and learned to love going just a bit longer. Made it my goal by the time I was 25 that I would run a marathon.
PR: I restarted running after gaining the freshman 15 too, though at that time I was doing it more in the afternoon. Ahh, the college life. With a marathon PR of under 3:10, you clearly worked hard to achieve that goal. Can you describe where you did this, and what approach you took to reach such an impressive result?
DD: BQ’ing in Columbus 2008 was really a bit of a shock. I was in the middle of a buildup year in which I was trying to run at least 1 marathon distance run a month to ready the foundation for a shot at a 100 miler in 2009. I had run the Toledo Marathon earlier that year in less than ideal conditions and had a new PR of 3:23. Over the course of the summer, I ran several 10k’s getting close to 40 min and was coming off a 50 miler less than 2 months before Columbus.
I did nothing smart at Columbus. I ran away from the 3:10 pace group at around 5 miles and hit the half in 1 hr 31 min. It was pretty much a “blaze of glory” as I tried to hold on for dear life until that bouncing little balloon with the 3:10 pace ran by me at around 22 miles. I was hurting really bad. Luckily, some guy came by and said “stick with me, your ticket to Boston is gonna get punched”. I responded with a grunt and was lucky to cross in 3 hr 9 min and 51 seconds.
PR: What drew you ultimately to the ultras, where now the marathon seems like a short race for you?
DD: My first ultra was not the most pleasant experience. It was on Belle Isle in Detroit during a rainstorm. Fifteen loops on a 2 mile course. You passed your own car every loop. Through attrition and my own stupidity, I finished 2nd and was hooked. That being said, I have never really “raced” an ultra. Most have been just to get to the distance, 50k, 50 mile, and 100 mile.
Marathons are a different beast. I have “raced” marathons chasing a time, and by far the effort required is much harder than an ultra. However, “raced” is a bit of a stretch for me in the sense that I have never followed a structured training plan or executed a race plan.
PR: How would you compare the ultra experience with running a marathon, both in terms of training and the event itself?
DD: Stepping up to a 50-mile and 100-mile required me to slow down and to extend my long runs to a max of 50 miles. One of the coolest things about the ultras that I have done is that I have been able to get off the road and run trails. I have really fallen in love with the trails, and even have come to embrace running late at night with a head torch. When it’s just you and a single beam of light on the trail there is something so serene about being engulfed in the darkness. The scenery on the trails as the seasons change is a most welcome respite from the concrete jungle that I am so used to.
For me, ultras have been about enjoying the experience and reaching a distance goal. In marathons, it has been about chasing a time for the most part. The effort required to chase a time for me usually means not really soaking up the experience, surrounding of the area I am running. That being said, when I have slowed down and run a marathon for fun, I have really enjoyed the experience.
PR: When you go for it all on races up to 100 miles, sometimes you come up short. Can you tell us about such an experience, and what you draw from it?
DD: When I ran the Burning River 100 in 2009 it was all about finishing. I knew going in I would be forced to go to the darkest place I had ever been and I wanted to see how I would react. In training, I had visualized that wall, that feeling that I couldn’t go on, and practiced getting through it. However, real life is another situation and when it did come about in the race, I was able to keep moving forward and finish. That experience taught me that if I was truly committed at the beginning of an endeavor that I could make it through the peaks and valleys.
Heading back to Burning River this year, I had put it out there that not only did I want to finish this year, but I also wanted to go under 24 hours. My training was fairly solid having run Boston in April and despite a slight setback with an injury, my body was ready. This time however, I was not fully committed at the starting line and hoped that as I got moving that I would find my flow, my inspiration and be able to solider on. Between the 30-40-mile marks, it all came crashing down. I did not have the desire to go on, I wasn’t fully committed and it simply wasn’t fun. Despite my crew’s best effort, I hung it up for the day personally. I instead after a brief rest and shower, turned my attention to helping crew my friend through the last 40 miles and was even able to run the last 7 miles with him. Even though, I didn’t finish it was a great experience overall. It was interesting to me that someone commented that they didn’t believe me that I stopped because I wasn’t having fun and that it should gnaw away at me until I was able to get back out there and do it again. I have already moved on.
PR: I listened to your episode describing the experience. Sounds like Gordon of This Running Life did everything he could to push you back out there. I’m surprised he didn’t carry you the rest of the way himself. While you are clearly a strong runner with an impressive resume, what you are really known and respected for is the podcast. How did you first gain an interest in doing DDRD, and what does it mean to you now?
DD: I had been listening to podcasts for a few years (Pheddipidations, 4 Feet Running, Trails and Tribulations, Endurance Planet, Trilogy Running, Run Run Live, UltraDad, Running with the Pack) on my long training runs and even though I had a blog, I felt that if I did a podcast, it might provide me with an extra measure of accountability as I started my journey towards a 100 miler. Besides, the podcasters that I was listening to were all encouraging listeners to start their own show. When I started the podcast, it really took awhile for me to get comfortable with talking about myself and finding a format. Originally, I thought that I would just do the podcast up until my success/failure at Burning River 2009 but a funny thing happened along the way.
Slowly but surely and to this day I find it a bit hard to believe, there were people that started to listen to the show and even began to comment, write in, and I started to have dialogue with. My small running world, which had normally consisted of myself and an online training log, began to expand and I really began to have fun with the podcast. Here am I just a regular guy going out for some runs and people were listening! It really is flattering, and for me one of the coolest experiences has not only been to meet several people who listen to the show, but have a chance to interview others who all in their own right have amazing adventures to tell.
One thing that the podcast has really taught me personally is that really prior to the show starting I was a bit reserved as far as sharing things, my success, my failures, etc. But by putting it out there I have learned that’s really ok.
PR: As a father, husband, school administrator, and ultra runner, how do you find time to fit it all in?
DD: How do I fit it all in? Good question. As a father to a 6 and 3 year old, a husband, and school administrator, my days are pretty busy, but that is by choice. One of things that I learned in college was that in order for me to get myself centered for the day was to get out an exercise in the morning before my day really began. If I had to diagnosis myself, I would say that I have a pretty good case of A.D.D (attention deficit disorder) and in lieu of medication, my daily forward motion allows me to “get it together”. It was a routine I started, and honestly, I love getting up early before the sun is up and getting out on the road. Within the darkness, there is a certain amount of peace that can be found.
Furthermore, as a founding member of the EARS (Early AM Runners) club, it allows me to get my mileage in without disruption to the family. Even during the weekends, I might still get up at 4:30 AM to get a long run and try to time it so that I can get back by the time the kids get up. Sometimes between work and picking them up after school or coaching, I might try to sneak in a short 20-30 minute run.
PR: I agree on doing the weekend runs early too, what with already having too little time for the family on most weeknights. And I’m sure my wife could tell you about my A.D.D., though I’m not sure she’d admit that the running helps. What’s next for you, both in running and with the DDRD enterprise?
DD: Since Burning River, I have been doing a lot of training by heart rate. Figured it was a good time to start over again in terms of building from the ground up and getting an accurate assessment of where I am. That being said, moving into 2011, my goals in terms of races remain unclear except with the thought of trying to get stronger and faster. I really would like to see what I can do if I actually followed a structured running plan for a set amount of time and keyed in on a specific marathon or 50k. I don’t think I have tapped my full potential as a runner yet.
As for the DDRD, I have been interviewing people and having fun doing it. Here are these people who listen to the show and have their own amazing stories to tell. Why not give them the stage and opportunity to do so? We as runners can all learn from each other.
PR: I noticed that you have started organizing and directing a race in your hometown, can you tell us a bit about that experience?
DD: Metro Detroit has a few great “fat ass” ultras throughout the year, but nothing during the holiday season. A “fat ass” run is an unorganized, organized run with no fee, no aid and no rewards. Pretty much an excuse to get people together for a long run. So last year, I was thinking that during Thanksgiving seemed like a great time to put one on. I had previously done a running series at work with organized runs called the Gobble Dash and Snowman Shuffle, so when I came up with the Lose the Turkey Fat Ass 50k, it seemed like a natural fit.
The course is one that I have run quite a bit during training runs and is a great mix of both paved bike trails and mountain biking trails, no cars to dodge. Only thing you have to look out for is hunters (no one was harmed last year), which is why I put in the race announcement to wear something really bright. I put the word out and to my amazement last year there were about 15 – 20 people at the start. See how good I am with numbers! Even better was a guy that organizes some other ultras met us at the trail head and set up an aid station. I couldn’t tell you how many finished but it was awesome day of running.
This year, I had kind of put in on the back burner and said I would get around to it when I began getting some emails asking if I was going to put it on again. So it is back for a 2nd year and this year I think I am getting my first out of state participant who just happens to be a fellow podcaster. How cool is that!
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