Racing Reminiscing

Do you remember your first time?

I hadn't really thought about it recently, until today. A Daily Mile friend posted a picture of her and her daughter from the Halloween Trick or Treat Trail Run in Sioux Falls and the memories all came flooding in.

I remember how new I was to running. Back in 1999 I was running in cotton shorts and t-shirts. No Garmin or Timex watch, just me looking at the clock on the wall as I headed out the door. I remember that a long run back then was 5 miles. Running has been quite the journey for me. I have saved most of my racing bibs and I generally write the race results, date, my age, finish time, average pace, and placing on the back of most of them. Here are what I would today consider my top ten for various reasons.

1. The Trick or Treat Trail Run in Sioux Falls. Of course number one has to be my first race, it was back in 1999. I remember several runners wearing costumes, in particular a group of guys taking turns pushing each other in a wheel chair. This was a 4 mile race, I still have the newspaper results, I finished in 31:03, not too shabby for my first! My most memorable moment of this race is coming around the last turn before the finish, I was giving it all I had just to make it to the finish line when all of the sudden....a speed walker passed me. Pretty damn funny if you ask me!

1999 Trick or Treat Trail Run - Sioux Falls, SD 

2. I moved to Illinois shortly after my first race. I found a strong running group in Illinois, the Illinois Valley Striders (IVS). The great thing about IVS is that there were 5K or 10K races within about an hours drive almost every weekend. I really "cut me teeth" for running with 5K's. My first 5K was on July 1, 2000, I finished in 24:16. It was ok, the most memorable part was finishing up at the Peoria Chiefs Ballpark by running across home plate.

2000 Peoria Chiefs 5K - Peoria, IL

3. Race number three is my 5K personal best.This took place on June 15, 2002 in the Prostate 5K. I finished in 19:11 and was also first in my age group at that race! I don't remember a whole lot about that race other than seeing 18 minutes slip away on the clock. Still a great race and a PR to this day.

June 2002/ 5K personal best of 19:11 - Peoria, IL

4. Race number 4 is my first half marathon. This took place in Delavan, Illinois. We had a bus take us out into the middle of the country. We ran two 6 mile loops and finished up by running into town and finishing at a school. This was in March, I remember it was cold and there was really nothing to see but miles of blacktop roads and empty corn fields. I finished in 1:50:29 and was 3rd in my age group. They did a great job of using up old leftover racing bibs as this one was 3 years old when it got to me!

May 2001 Delavan Half Marathon - Delavan, IL

5.First Marathon. Throughout most of my running and racing history I had no desire to run a marathon. A good friend of mine in Sioux Falls talked me into it. We decided that we would train together and run it together. About halfway through the training he became injured, so I had to go solo. I made a lot of rookie mistakes, went out too fast, bloody nipples, didn't drink enough fluids. It was a tough go but very emotional at the finish. There is nothing like finishing your first marathon. Finishing time was 4:10:12, I haven't improved a whole lot from the first.

October 2009 First Marathon - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

6. Frisco High Line Run for Scouting Half Marathon, Springfield, MO. This is my half marathon personal best and I got it this year! I must say that I was in pretty damn good shape coming out of the winter. I did this race in preparation for a Fargo Marathon BQ (that never happened). It was a nice little race. I remember it that it was extremely flat and we ran it in the middle of a thunderstorm. I was surprised that they didn't call it because there was lightening and thunder going off all around us. I finished in 1:33:45, I was 10th overall and 3rd in my age group. I was also lucky enough to meet Jon and David of  Daily Mile fame!

March 2011 Frisco Half Marathon - Springfield, MO

7. Hy-Vee Triathlon. This was my first Olympic distance triathlon. I did run two sprint triathlons prior to this but I am not quite sure what I did with the bib numbers.The triathlon is a whole other beast. The training takes a lot of time and dedication while the actual race itself requires patience and discipline in order to make it through all three events. I am probably more proud of this than any of my other accomplishments because of the training and logistics involved. If you are a triathlete or considering becoming one, I highly recommend the Hy-Vee Triathlon. It is well organized and a first class event all the way! (I may be a little biased because I work for Hy-Vee so do your homework first)

September 2011 First OD Triathlon - Des Moines, IA

8. Dam to Dam. I ran this race back in June of 2002, that was a really strong year of running for me. If you recall from # 3, this was my year of the 5K PR. The Dam to Dam was the first time that I had met up with people from a running social networking site. I can't remember the name of the site but I believe that Josh Cox  ran it before it was turned over to Cool Running. I remember running near a barefoot guy for awhile, I thought he was crazy. It was a great race, I finished in 1:28:01 (7:05 pace) and was 135th overall out of 2,500. I was pretty proud of myself!

June 2002 Dam to Dam - Des Moines, IA

9. Lake Run - Best Darn Race By a Dam Site. This also was in my 2002 breakout year. Interesting note about this race is that it is a 12K and a 4.37 mile run. The 12K runs around the lake and the 4.37 mile is an out and back course. They start at the same time in opposite directions but finish at the same place. I do remember that there were some ladies walking 3 abreast for the 4.37 mile run taking up half of the road. I was pretty mad that I had to run around them because they were inconsiderate and didn't even think to move. Yeah...you would have thought I was trying out for the Olympics or something. Still a great race, my 12K PR with a finishing time of 49:12 (6:37 pace).

2002 Lake Run - Normal, IL 

10. Polka Pace Race. Really nothing special about this 5K, I just thought you might find the name amusing like I did. I ran this back in 2000, two moths after I had run my first 5K. I lowered my time to 21:55 by the time I ran this race in September. I was a 5K machine back then! My fan club (my daughter) decided to write a little note on this one. :-)

2000 Polka Pace Race - Havana, IL

As I finish writing this there are a lot of other races I could have included. Running and racing has allowed me to have a healthy hobby and meet a ton of awesome like-minded people. It has been an awesome journey and I look forward to the future!

Do you remember your first time? Any interesting racing stories from the past? 

I have completed race distances of 2.5 mile, 5k, 4 mile, 4.37 mile, 10K, 12K, 10 miles, 15K, 20K, Half Marathon, and Marathon. I am working on a possible 50K for 2012. What unusual race distances have you run?

I have had a tough time with the life balance lately. Training for the Hy-Vee Tri took a lot of planning and commitment, but it also caused me to put off a few things at work. Since the tri I have been working quite a bit more; it's a good thing I love my job and the people that I work with. The thing that I have found out about myself though, is that I have to have a fitness goal, or at least a plan of some type. I parted with my coach after the triathlon and have been taking it pretty easy for the last couple of weeks. In fact, I didn't run a single mile this last week. I have become very good friends with the snooze button on my alarm. I still think about running and enjoy running, but actually doing it hasn't really been happening.

Corrin and I went to the Chiefs vs. Vikings game today to cheer on the beloved purple!

Beautiful day at the game!

Unfortunately our cheering didn't help and the Vikings are now 0-4. We had a great time though! On the drive home, I made up my mind that I would write up a running schedule for myself. I have my eye on a couple of different runs, but nothing concrete. My goal is to simply get some time on the road, build some mileage and have fun with it. The real test will be Monday morning when the alarm goes off. I know right now that it's going to be a real battle to see who wins. I will have all of my clothes laid out and ready to go tonight. With a little luck and a lotta will power I will be back on the road tomorrow morning. This really is some of the best running weather and it would be a shame to miss out on any more of it.

Recovery

This is my post-marathon recovery week. I have been scheming like a mad scientist, planning out what and where my next adventure will be. However it all pans out, it will be challenging, but fun! That doesn't necessarily mean that it will be just some leisurely through a field of daisies either.

In the mean time...I love to share pictures of my running routes. I haven't found anyone to run with around here and the scenery is too cool to keep to myself. Here is a little video that I whipped up from pictures during today's run.

Mental Preparations

This is my visualization....thanks to Photoshop!

The Fargo Marathon is now just a few days away. The marathon is not a task to be taken lightly. Not only is running 26.2 miles a challenge within itself, but now I will be trying to do it in less than 3 hours and 20 minutes. There will not be anything easy about it. It's interesting how distorted the perception of time can be. Spending 3 hours relaxing with loved ones can go by in a flash while the same 3 hours while running a moderate pace can seem like an eternity. The physical work is done, it's mostly mental now.

You always reap what you sow.
I have put in well over 700 miles of training so far this year. I have worked hard to get to my current level of fitness. I am stronger than I have ever been as a runner.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not and act, but a habit. - Aristotle
Long runs, intervals, hard tempo runs, speed work. Sometimes it sucks but the fact is, you have to run faster to get faster....and that's not easy.

Happiness - the fruit of the desire and ability to sacrifice what we want now for what we want eventually.
As one of my Dailymile friends once said "Training isn't all unicorns and glitter". It's easy as hell to find excuses not to get in a run, but it feels ten times better afterwards when you do it anyway.

You can do anything you want to do, if only you believe with sufficient conviction and act in accordance with your faith; for whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.
7:30 - 7:38 average pace - 26.2 miles - I am ready, it will happen.

Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.
I know I can.

You have to believe in yourself when no one else does, that's what makes you a winner.
I believe.

A huge thank you to Coaches Jeff and Diane at PRSFit for kicking my butt into shape, and all of my Dailymile friends for the daily confidence and support throughout. It just wouldn't be the same without you.

My post race visualization. Ahhhhhh!

Countdown to Fargo

The taper is on! There are now 17 days until the Fargo Marathon and there has been a lot of hard work and sweat created along the way. I am feeling good mentally and physically. There have been many ups and downs while training for this marathon and it's been a long tough winter / spring of training. I am ready to roll!

So, what have I done to train for my fourth marathon and what have I learned?

My training officially began on January 3rd. Coach had me on a plan of three build weeks followed by a week of recovery. My three build weeks consisted of hard tempo runs, hill repeats, and a long run to finish of the week, not to mention two days of strength training that includes lots of ab and core work. The recovery weeks are not necessarily easy, but they are not quite as intense as the build weeks and he encourages a race at the end of the week.
My first race of the year (which was not on a recovery week) was a trail run that I could not resist. Run Toto Run is a 10 mile, 20 mile, 50K race through Wyandotte Park in the Kansas City area. I ran the 10 mile race, it was very difficult but it was amazing! Snow, mud, hills, creeks, hills! It was all a pretty awesome experience and seemed to go by quickly. More trail running is definitely in my future!

Living in rural Missouri and having a job that requires a lot of hours does not make it easy to find "local" races. So my next race didn't happen until March 26 where I ran the Frisco High Line Trail run in Springfield, MO.  Springfield is a 4 hour drive, so I made a quick trip up the night before, raced hard, and drove home. The High Line Trail is a former railway bed that has been paved. It is flat and fast! I smoked my half marathon PR finishing in 1:33:45 and ended up placing tenth overall!

There were many times throughout my training that I became frustrated about the difficult runs and trying to juggle my training and my work schedule. I have missed some runs and workouts throughout this period but with a lot of careful and creative planning I was able to get most of them done. There were a lot of days when I seriously asked myself why I was doing this. People think we are crazy for what we do let along getting up at 4am some days just to get in a planned run.

So, with all of this hard work and the mental and physical struggles that I have put myself through, I have to stop and ask myself why. Why do we run and train and suffer like this? Is it some form of addiction or insanity?

Yeah, it's probably a little of both. But I can tell you that the sense of accomplishment after completing a tough workout or obtaining a PR in a race is fantastic.

I am pressed for time, as usual, as I am writing this and I realize that I didn't really give any great tips or advice on how to train for a marathon. It doesn't take any more than the usual things that anything worth doing takes. It's about commitment, dedication, hard work, sweat, and being humble but confident in your ability for growth.

With this being said, Fargo will be my fourth marathon.

My goal is to qualify to run the Boston Marathon next spring.

My goal time to finish in Fargo is 3 hours and 15 minutes.

This is a little better than 7:30 / mile pace. It may be a little aggressive, but I do think that it is possible to finish in 3:15 or very close to it. My Boston qualifying time is 3:20 so I have to give myself a little cushion. You never know what will happen over the course of 26.2 miles.

47 to 3

It's been just over a month since I have updated the blog and a lot has happened since then.As I write this, there are 47 days until the Mankato Marathon, which will be my third marathon. I am at the point in my training that running a fourth does not sound very appealing. It's been a lot of hard work to get to here and I still have just over a month of training to go. Here is my long winded story of what has happened within the last month.

Century Ride for JDRF
What an amazing event! Because of my limited cycling training, I was very concerned about being able to ride then entire 100 miles. My longest ride prior to La Crosse was only 50 miles and when I told some of the other riders this, I could see them trying to mask a look of concern on their faces. My Coach had assured me that this would not be a problem, but I was not 100% sold on it. When race day came, it was not nearly as difficult as I had feared. The last 15-20 miles my feet started to get a couple of hot spots on them, but overall I was feeling good. With stops along the way for food and stretching, it took about 7.5 hours to finish. More importantly, it made me realize what a fantastic event this was. JDRF is a great organization that is funding research throughout the world to not only find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes but make lives easier for those that have it. The Wisconsin ride raised over $600,000 for JDRF and all rides combined last year raised over $4 million. It's a great feeling for me to be a part of this; helping someone with their fight against diabetes. Throughout the weekend I was able to meet many people who had children or siblings with Type I diabetes, it was truly inspiring to hear their stories and to know how thankful they were for us being there for them. I will definitely be participating in this event again!

About 60 miles into the ride at a rest stop right by the Mississippi river.

Marathon Training Update
Yesterday I told my good friend Jeff Pickett that I wasn't very happy with him for getting me started on these stupid marathons. Just over one year ago he suggested that we train together for the Twin Cities Marathon. Half way through the training he developed an injury that kept him from running it, for some crazy reason, I keep doing them.
Maybe it's knowing that they were not perfectly executed and with a little work I can finish faster and with less pain. Maybe it's just that I need to have a goal ahead of me in order to keep running and challenging myself. Nevertheless, marathon training is no cake walk. There is a huge time commitment and many sacrifices along the way.In a nutshell, 18 - 20 weeks of training, all for three and a half hours of running your ass off.

Enough bitching already...

My training is actually going very well. I have been putting in some solid weeks of training. I finished the month of July with 150 miles and August with 143 miles of running.

I am still struggling with my endurance on the long runs. After 2 - 2.5 hours I really start to go downhill. My calves get cramped, I begin to run out of energy, and at times I struggle keeping hydrated enough because I sweat like like a beast. I have been experimenting with my hydration and electrolyte replacement on these runs and I feel like I have made some improvements, but still feel like I am not 100% there yet.
First, I have been using Endurolyte capsules for about 3 months now. These are electrolyte replacement capsules. They are easy to swallow and seem to help reduce my calf cramping. I generally take 3 capsules before running, then about 3 every hour during my run.
For yesterday's run I tried two new items in addition to the Endurolytes. I finally broke down and purchased a pair of Zensah compression leg sleeves. I have been wearing some cheapo compression tights from Walgreen's for several months now for recovery after runs. I finally splurged and purchased the Zensah's and I am glad I did. I hardly noticed that I was wearing them and I have absolutely no calf soreness after yesterday's long run. They may not be the sexiest things in the world, but my calves were happy!

Zensah compression leg sleeves.

The second thing I tried out for my long run was a new fuel replacement. I have been using gels for quite some time and really don't mind them; but I don't believe that I have been getting everything from them that I need for endurance, so I tried another Hammer Nutrition product, Perpetuem. I was a little concerned about the flavor and consistency of this product prior to trying it, but it is actually very good. For my first trial I mixed it a little light, I made up a 2 hour bottle using 3 scoops in an 8 oz bottle for my fuel belt. I premixed it in a measuring cup before pouring it into the bottle. It had some lumps when I poured it into the bottle but they disappeared after I shook it up. The flavor was great, not too strong, and the consistency was similar to that of a thin protein shake. For this run I took a mouthful every 20 minutes and followed it up with some water. The early consensus, I like it! It is much easier to use than trying to tear open a gel and get it swallowed down and I didn't feel hungry during my run either.

Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem

Last but not least is my coaching. I must say, Coach Kline from PRSfit really knows what he is doing. He gives me my weekly workouts, answers my annoying questions, and gives great feedback from the workouts. He is definitely a teaching coach who along with his wife Diane, are very supportive of their team and others. It is obvious that they love to see others grow and succeed.
When teamed up with the coach he had me run a lactate threshold test. This is a test to determine your anaerobic threshold and help set heart rate training zones. Coach had me run this test again on Monday and my LT was much lower than the initial test back at the beginning of June. This means I have made some progress! Because of this test, Coach set up new training zones for me that kicked my butt this week. Aerobically, they were not too bad to run, but physically, my legs have some work to do. I had a difficult time running a fast pace to get to and stay in zone 4 or even the top of zone 3 during my last two runs. I am sure it will come in time, but it is currently quite a challenge. I am sure that the cooler weather helped, but yesterday's long run was scheduled for 2 hours and 15 minutes. I completed 17 miles in this time which is just a hair under 8 minute miles for the duration. This has been my strongest long run to date and I was not completely wiped out when I finished either. I love seeing progress like this!  I have my first half marathon in quite some time scheduled for this coming weekend and I am excited to see how it will turn out!

If you actually made it this far reading through my blog without falling asleep, I thank you. When I look at the road ahead and behind me, my training it seems a little daunting at times, hence the whining at the beginning of the post. I do love running and the challenge of the training and the races. In life, seeing progress and growth is a great motivator for all of the hard work we do whether it be running, working, or raising a family. The fight is the journey, the results are our rewards...never stop fighting.

Training Update

I have not posted since the Fargo Marathon back in May, mostly because there hasn't been anything too exciting to post and I have been super busy. Since finishing Fargo I have enlisted a coach to help me with my training. Not because I have any hopes of becoming an elite athlete but because I was feeling overwhelmed with my summer training. As I have mentioned before, I am signed up to do a century ride as a fundraiser for JDRF and have plans to run the Mankato Marathon in October. I am a runner at heart but was talked into doing the ride because it is for a great cause, it is for one of the major charities that my company supports, and of course....I love a challenge. I did not even own a road bike until May so I had not clue as to how to train for a 100 mile ride while also maintain my marathon training.

The Coach
I found Coach Jeff from PRS Fit through my running buddy Jenn. Jeff trains his athletes mainly through heart rate training. I am just over one month into my training with Jeff and I can tell you that it has been a positive experience so far. He gives me enough workouts to keep me busy but not so much to cause injury. Jeff provides me with running, cycling, and strength training work outs. An interesting fact is that in the five weeks that I have been training with Jeff, I have had two complete rest days, one was during week one which was more of an evaluation week, and the second rest day was because I just could not fit a strength training workout into my day due to job responsibilities. This busy schedule fits right in with my restless personality, but it is also tempered with enough variety through the week to keep me injury free.

The Ride

Currently most of my weeks consist of 3 days running, 2 days cycling, and 2 days of strength training. Although it's not my favorite thing to do, I am enjoying the cycling. What a great way to cover much more ground than running, and it presents a unique set of challenges. My rides so far have been 1-3 hours in duration with my farthest ride being right at 40 miles and my average pace is typically about 15.5 mph. I still have a long way to go though because I am anticipating my century ride to take about 9 hours. Luckily I will have some other people to share it with. By the way, I have now raised just over $1,000 for the ride. I still have at least $2,000 to go. Thank you so much if you are one of the people that have helped donate towards my ride. If you have not yet but would like to, it is super easy, quick, safe, tax deductible, and can even be anonymous if you prefer. Just go here to donate to my ride, thank you so much for your generosity!

The Run
It has been difficult to figure out where my running performance had progressed. At this point in my training it is mostly building and maintaining a strong base. It has been a little different because the coach has us mostly run in prescribed heart rate zones for a certain duration of time. This means that you don't always know exactly how far your run will take you. Terrain, weather, and general overall well being can cause some fluctuation in distance. This is the first time in all of my years running that I really have not paid any attention and up until today, could not tell you how many miles I ran this week or last.

Last week was my first performance test since employing a coach. I ran the "Salute the Troops" 10K race. I can only remember running one other 10K, so I was a little worried about race strategy. How fast to go out, and what kind of pace that I could maintain. I was fairly confident that I could hold 7:30 for the 6.2 miles and if things were really clicking along, I might even be able to run it a bit faster. Unfortunately 80 degrees and 90% humidity do not make for ideal race conditions. I won't get into too many details other than I went out way to fast which is a common mistake. I just had a tough time judging my speed for the first mile or so. My splits were 6:55(whoa hoss!), 7:25, 7:23, 7:46, 7:53, 8:05, 1:10. Yep, that's pretty much what you would call a regressive run.

 Despite the fact that I didn't run the smartest race, I did finish in 46:36 (goal time was 46 or faster), which was good enough to be the overall winner of the race! It pays to pick the right race I guess, but it was particularly sweet because my father was there to see it. There may have only been 20 people in this race, but you know what, it still counts!!

In summary, my training seems to be going well so far. Next week will be interesting because we start to step up the mileage. As always it will be challenging trying to fit my training in while working 11-12 hour days, but, I am not sure that I would have it any other way either!

Special thank you to my wife and daughter for putting up with and supporting my passion / hobby and listening to me talk about all sorts of weird running things. And to my running / fitness friends for being just as crazy about running or working out as I can be at times.

St. Cloud Earth Day 20

Saturday April 17th was the Earth Day Run in St. Cloud, MN. It was a somewhat unique event in that they ran both a half marathon and new this year, a 20 mile run. I had great company at this race with Daily Mile friends Jenn B., Megan N., and Jenessa. Each of them ran well, both Jenn and Jenessa obtained half marathon PR's and Megan ran a very solid 20 miles. They are a great bunch, if you are on Daily Mile and you don't follow them already, you should, I expect each of them to have some great race results this year.


Obviously running is a physical sport, but I would say it is equally and many times more so a mental sport. Preparation, attitude, and determination are major factors in the result of any distance run. It is easy to be intimidated by a race or a long run. But if you have trained properly, and have the right mindset your results will generally be positive. I found a great quote on Twitter from EnMotivate : If you truly expect something to be difficult, it will be. ~ Pete Cohen.  I went into this run with expectations of having fun, maintaining a responsible pace,and working on fine tuning my fuel plan for Fargo.  


The Fun Part
An amazing thing happened on this day. I woke up in a great mood (not that amazing), and I was really looking forward to this run. I have been training hard through some really crappy weather and was looking forward to see how things would shake out. I have started to develop a new attitude towards running this year and it is all about enjoying the runs. I don't know that I have too many more PR's left in me and frankly I am not too worried about it. It is all to easy to obsess about training and racing, but my eyes have been opened to the joy of running. Throughout this race I made it a point to thank as many volunteers as possible and talk to and encourage other runners along the way. I hope I made some people feel a little better about there run, even if for only a few moments. I was running well and felt good most of the way, so why not try to spread a little love?


Maintaining Pace
Yep, I am very much a typical runner, I go out too fast at the start, and have nothing left at the end. I proved it in my first marathon and I still do it much too often in my training runs. This time it was different, but I did have a little help. My goal was to finish with a 9:00 - 9:30 pace without wiping myself out in the end. Luckily there were pacers at this race, so I found the 9:33 pacer and stuck with him. My plan was to run faster the last part of the race if I felt well enough to do so. 9:33 seemed a little too easy the first few miles, but I stuck to the plan like a champ, for the most part. I did pass the pacer and pick things up at miles 6 - 10 knowing that I was going to have to make a bathroom stop. When I stepped out of the port a potty I had to pick my speed back up to catch back up to the pacer which I finally did somewhere close to mile 12. I kept a pretty steady pace through the next 4 miles and then started to push the it a little at mile 16, simply because I felt like I could. I feel good that I was able to finish strong and run my last two miles at close to 8 minute pace, my pacing plan worked well!


The Fuel Plan
This is where I have the most anxiety about my long runs and the marathon. Mostly because I did such a poor job of it during my first marathon that I really don't want to make the same mistake twice. I have asked questions on Daily Mile and done a little experimenting on my own. I have not come to a complete resolution yet but here is what I have so far.

1. 5-hour Energy - yeah, don't freak out. I am typically not a big believer in these things and I am not sure how much it has actually helped. But, the two times that I have tried it, I had solid results. I will give credit where credit is due, I borrowed this idea from Rob-The-Runner on Daily Mile.
2. Hammer Gels - I have tried Honey Stingers and Hammer Gels on my long runs. I like the flavors and the ease of consuming the Hammer Gels. I use the non-caffeinated gels simply because I don't feel like I need any more caffeine than what is in the energy shot. I consumed one gel for every four miles. This seemed to work out well, but I may try every 30 minutes on my next long run.
3. Water - I still have some work to do in this area but I drank from every water stop and walked through most of them to drink. I was still a little dehydrated at the end of the run but it was much better than my first marathon experience.

Here are some pictures of me and the great DM runners that I mentioned earlier

Training Update

This week starts week # 4 of 18 for Fargo Marathon training. I had a great week of running, logging 31 miles including a 4 mile race on Saturday and a little over 11 miles through some beautiful snowy paths on Sunday.

Saturday's race was the Frostbite Four in Beresford, SD. My running buddy Jenn, wanted to run this for her birthday, and my wife Corrin came along as our cheer section. It was a well organized race and we had pretty decent weather for February. My goal pace for this race was to finish in 30 minutes. I did it in just a hair under 29, mission accomplished!

According to the Hal Higdon Intermediate II training plan, I was scheduled to run an easy 8 miles on Sunday. Jenn and I had planned to meet up Sunday morning and run this together. We had received about 4 inches of snow overnight and there were no parking lots cleared yet in the area where we had planned to run. I suggested we leave from my house and we could run a random route through the streets to get in our miles. 

A couple of times this year I have gone out on some winter trail runs and Jenn had expressed interest in going sometime. So, I took her through a hilly little side road not far from our house. This path has some pretty serious hills, and to make matters worse, most of it was covered in snow that ranged from ankle to almost knee deep. There is no question, this was a challenging run, but it was a beautiful one also. So much for a scheduled easy run, Jenn was not very happy with me for taking her over the hills. When we finally finished, I just had to grab my camera and run back through there to get some shots of the scenery in that area. No, the hills were not easy by any measure, but the view was more than worth the hard work it took to run through them.

Had the opportunity to spot a deer up ahead on the path!

Can you spot the deer on the right side of the path?

This, is the beauty of running!

One of the monster hills along our Sunday run!

Let the Training Begin!

Monday January 18th 2010 marks the start of my Fargo Marathon training!

The Fargo Marathon is on May 22, 2010. This is a bittersweet moment for me as I have found some things out about myself. It has been nice to be able to run when I want and as far as I want without any specific goal in mind other than racking up mileage and having some fun doing so. I find that I am really enjoying some of my longer runs which leads me to believe that I may try to fit in a 50K run sometime between marathons this year. But, I do look forward to having some discipline and structure to my workouts. It will be 18 weeks of running when and how far I am told to do so by Hal. Irregardless of how I feel about the training, I am excited to see if I can run a smarter race this time and finish in under 4 hours.

I chose the Fargo Marathon for two reasons, it's close, and it's flat. I have also selected a different training plan this time around. I am using Hal Higdon's Intermediate II plan. I think that the nice thing about Higdon's plan is that he explains how and why you are doing what he has you do every day.

It was an awesome feeling to complete my first marathon and I have no doubt that this one will be great too. An added bonus will be that my good friend and sometimes training partner Jenn is planning on running this marathon also. She is one tough chick. Her first marathon was in Philly, she ended up running and puking for 16 miles of it, but she didn't quit. I don't know how many people could pull off an accomplishment like that. She is now working on becoming an Ironman triathlete in the next few years. You can check out her blog here.

Let the training begin!!

20 Mile Run Day

Today, I reached a new milestone in my training. I ran farther than I have ever run before, that's right, I ran (sort of) 20 miles. I tried to make sure that I was well hydrated the day before and loaded up on some spaghetti last night to make sure that I had some carbs in my system. Saturday evening after work I ran an easy 5 miles, my schedule said to run 4 but I didn't realize that until I had already finished my 5. Watched a the TDF that I had DVR'd earlier in the day and headed to bed at a fairly early time. My goal was to get up at 6am and be running by 7 while it was nice and cool. Unfortunately, due some circumstances beyond my control I was awakened at 2:30am and did not get back to sleep until probably 4. I reset the alarm clock for 7am.

I woke up before the alarm and felt a little groggy but pretty decent and hit the trail at about7:30am. Within the first half mile, I realized that I had forgotten to take care of things with body glide, too late now, I would have to suffer later.

My first 12 miles were a piece of cake actually. I had a nice pace going and was feeling pretty good. But during mile 13 I really started to struggle. My legs were not holding up very well, I am guessing because of the 5 miles that I had run about 14 hours prior (dumb mistake). So, I walked for awhile during mile 13. Then, with just 7 miles to go, I figured I could probably finish out my run, what's 7 miles? I was wrong, it was a long 7 miles of running and walking. I couldn't even force myself to run the entire last mile without doing some walking. :-(

I completed the run in 3hours and 8 minutes, a pace of 9:24. Not bad but disappointing because I was on pace to finish at about an 8:40 pace. Oh yeah, luckily the chaffing was very minimal, that's a good thing!

June Recap

Today was my last training day for June. I completed the month with 127.4 miles including a long run of 14 miles and a long week of 36.9 miles. Comparing my month with May, I ran about 6 miles more and my overall average pace for the month was 8:22 vs. 8:26. So my average pace was 6 seconds faster for the month.

I do feel like I am getting faster and stronger in my runs. Today's 6 mile run was completed with a 7:48 pace which my second fastest run that I have had at this distance. The great thing about that is that I didn't feel like I almost killed myself completing the run. Don't get me wrong, I ran hard, but I didn't use up everything I had and leave my guts out on the road.

I am scheduled for 8 miles on Wednesday and 6 on Thursday. I am planning on taking it easy tomorrow and getting my first speed workout in on Thursday's run.

Running with Issues

I was scheduled for a 4 mile run this morning but it just didn't seem right. I felt like I was cheated out of some miles on Sunday's run, and I still had a little residual frustration from in too, so I tacked on a couple of extra miles today.
Nice cool overcast morning on the bike path. Ran a pretty consistent pace on an out and back course. 23:45 for first three miles and 23:16 for last three giving me a pace of 7:53. I am very pleased with my pace on this run. It brings me that much closer to the possibility of running a 3:20 marathon and qualifying for Boston.

Tuesday / Wednesday Runs

Wednesday
Nice run this morning, took it pretty easy. Was a cool and misty 51 degrees this morning. 8 miles in 68 minutes (8:30 pace). Great week and a great month going. Running has been pretty enjoyable the last few days!


Tuesday
Chelsea's birthday today so I was short on time. I pushed my run pretty hard all the way and finished strong. Completed my 6 mile run with sub-atomic pace of just under 8 minute miles!

Logging the miles...

I don't always enjoy the act of running while I am doing it. I think though, that most of the enjoyment from running does not actually come from the actual foot pounding that is done.
My enjoyment of running comes from many other areas. One item on my list would be the noticeable increase in energy that I have throughout most days. Other benefits are the act of burning extra calories and the overall reduction of my heart rate due to the cardiovascular effect of the exercise.
There is also a mental benefit to running, which for me is the sense of accomplishment due to overcoming things like extreme weather and fatigue, not to mention just the thought of running nonstop for more miles than I drive back and forth to work every day.
Yes, there are some days that I really struggle to hit the pavement, but it will all be worth it when I join the ranks of those that have run 26.2 miles nonstop.
Today's run: 6.03 miles/ 50:49/ 8:26 pace. Had a good nights rest and felt much better on my run today than I did yesterday.

Tuesday / Wednesday Runs

Wednesday
Miserable run, was not feeling well due to 90 degree temps and improper eating and sleeping in the last couple of days. Struggled for the first 5 miles, then walked for 1/2 mile. I then finished out the last 2.5 miles running under protest. I am glad I completed the 8 miles but it was miserable throughout. 8 miles / 1:12:41 (9:06 pace)

Tuesday
Ran my scheduled 6 miles in Des Moines. Followed a path that I found on the USATF web site. Thanks to a posting by Heather Brunk for creating and sharing this route.
Beautiful morning 5.99 miles in 51:12 (8:33 pace).

Boston Marathon?

Looking beyond my current goal of running and finishing the Twin Cities Marathon, I would like to finish with a time fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Qualifying time for my age group is 3 hours and 20 minutes which translates to 7:38 per mile pace. I have a lot of work to do to be able to maintain this type of pace for 26.2 miles.
Here is my training schedule that I have planned out.

Saturday Evening

Cool South Dakota Spring day, but still beautiful. Finished my week today with a 4.1 mile run in 31:59 (7:50 pace). Felt good because it was just a basic run, was not pushing myself because of my scheduled 10 mile run tomorrow.

Results for this week: 17.2 miles / 2:15:14 / avg. pace 7:51