So yesterday i did my first double digit run of 10.7 miles on my normal loop. it wasnt too cold out so the run went well. Started off pretty slow as i was still a bit stiff from the race sunday. But the second half of the run was much better. I did the 10.70 miles in 1:32:30.
Now my run today i slowed it down a bit due to the snow and format of the winter running contest. Longer time on the road means more points for it sooo ok so i slowed down my pace for the extra points. I did 6.85 miles in 1:01 durring the snow. So that turns in to 22 points for the contest on RWOL. That run puts me in second place for the preseason week.
Tomorrow i hope to get a 14 miler in or at least on sunday. But with this running contest i am hopping for cold and snow for the first time in a long time. If i break the 2 hour mark that means big points.
Oh life update.... Looks like work is just about done. And I'll be getting a puppy soon as in like tomorrow. :-D
Friday, November 7, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
the 'doublerocky" cross country 5k and 8k RR
short version. ran the 4 miles to the race. did 5k in 21:34 and 8k in 38:32. ran 1/2 the way home walked the rest.
Long version.
race back round:
Rocky`s Run is a cross country race on the University of Minnesota Golf Course in St. Paul. Rocky Racette was an All-American in track and cross country at the U of M, winning the Big Ten and Drake Relays 5000-meter titles. She died in an auto accident on October 17, 1981. The race is being staged by the many members of the running community who knew and loved her.
Also some of the money from the race goes to the U of M women's cross county team for scholarships and things like that.
The race:
I left my place about 8:45 to get there by 9:30 but my early morning math wasn't right. I didn't really know why i was thinking it was a 45 min run away. OK so i got there early about 9:20 and got my packet. This was my very first XC run so i really had no idea what to expect. I looked like a few of the local colleges had groups running the races. Part of the U of M women's XC there to run it.
I really did do much warm up at the race do to my 4 mile run before i got there. Just a few strides up the first hill and back down. The start line was about 75feet wide but i am guessing that iss normal for a XC race cause there was not timing chips. The start was a bit strange for me with everyone heading for the middle of the course. After a bit of jockeying for position i settling in on my pace.... I would love to tell you my splits for each mile but my garmin ate that data. :(
I did get a look at the data on my way home and all the miles looked about the same for time. Right in the 6:30 area so that VERY good at only 4 weeks out from my first marathon and almost 3 week off from injury. The thing that really got me was when i went to kick it in at the end it wasn't there like before. I tried to pass this girl(XC team) at the end but when i started to turn it on i felt like my breakfast was on its way up. My kick wasn't there but i kinda figured that would happen. When i got done with the race i talked with a fellow runner that had his stuff near mine in the starting area. He had just done a marathon a couple weeks ago. We were both at about the same point in recovery. He said the same thing about his finishing kick. You go for that top gear and it just wasn't there. I will be putting this time in my PR list because it was a XC run and not a road race. :D
After the 5k i had a couple cups of water and did a little stretching. Looking back i really should have done more. I had about 30 mins before the next race so i just hung out and enjoyed the weather.
The 8k was going to be just a 'cool down' run at about a 8:30-8:45 pace. Well you guys know me and races and you can see from my time i was about a min per mile faster than what i wanted to do. Let me tell you the hills on the 5k were bad but the race was short enough they really didn't effect me till after. Now when i was about half way in the 8k they really let me know they were there. I don't think there was more than about 20 feet of flat land at any point. It was up or down in some form the whole way. Some of those down hills were BAD. I did still pass a few runners on the up hills. A guy in a bright yellow top was ahead of me most of the way till we got to one hill i passed him and never saw him again. Near about the 5k mark in the 8k race we were very spread out. I lost the guy a head of me for awhile. This was in an area where the line we were fallowing was very hard to make out. For about 15 to 20 seconds i had no idea where the line was and then i saw some runners ahead of me again. My splits were a nice steady 7:30 for most of the race. At about the 7k mark i just wanted to be done. My quads were screaming. When i finished i was cooked. I got a couple cups of water and headed over to my pile of stuff in the start area.
I had planed to run the 4 miles home but ended up only doing about 2 miles when my legs said 'YOUR DONE, WALK YOU MORON BEFORE I QUIT' so i did. :D It took a little longer to get home but it was better than pushing my self too much. I'm really thinking i should have biked to the race rather than ran to it. Oh well live and learn right?
Long version.
race back round:
Rocky`s Run is a cross country race on the University of Minnesota Golf Course in St. Paul. Rocky Racette was an All-American in track and cross country at the U of M, winning the Big Ten and Drake Relays 5000-meter titles. She died in an auto accident on October 17, 1981. The race is being staged by the many members of the running community who knew and loved her.
Also some of the money from the race goes to the U of M women's cross county team for scholarships and things like that.
The race:
I left my place about 8:45 to get there by 9:30 but my early morning math wasn't right. I didn't really know why i was thinking it was a 45 min run away. OK so i got there early about 9:20 and got my packet. This was my very first XC run so i really had no idea what to expect. I looked like a few of the local colleges had groups running the races. Part of the U of M women's XC there to run it.
I really did do much warm up at the race do to my 4 mile run before i got there. Just a few strides up the first hill and back down. The start line was about 75feet wide but i am guessing that iss normal for a XC race cause there was not timing chips. The start was a bit strange for me with everyone heading for the middle of the course. After a bit of jockeying for position i settling in on my pace.... I would love to tell you my splits for each mile but my garmin ate that data. :(
I did get a look at the data on my way home and all the miles looked about the same for time. Right in the 6:30 area so that VERY good at only 4 weeks out from my first marathon and almost 3 week off from injury. The thing that really got me was when i went to kick it in at the end it wasn't there like before. I tried to pass this girl(XC team) at the end but when i started to turn it on i felt like my breakfast was on its way up. My kick wasn't there but i kinda figured that would happen. When i got done with the race i talked with a fellow runner that had his stuff near mine in the starting area. He had just done a marathon a couple weeks ago. We were both at about the same point in recovery. He said the same thing about his finishing kick. You go for that top gear and it just wasn't there. I will be putting this time in my PR list because it was a XC run and not a road race. :D
After the 5k i had a couple cups of water and did a little stretching. Looking back i really should have done more. I had about 30 mins before the next race so i just hung out and enjoyed the weather.
The 8k was going to be just a 'cool down' run at about a 8:30-8:45 pace. Well you guys know me and races and you can see from my time i was about a min per mile faster than what i wanted to do. Let me tell you the hills on the 5k were bad but the race was short enough they really didn't effect me till after. Now when i was about half way in the 8k they really let me know they were there. I don't think there was more than about 20 feet of flat land at any point. It was up or down in some form the whole way. Some of those down hills were BAD. I did still pass a few runners on the up hills. A guy in a bright yellow top was ahead of me most of the way till we got to one hill i passed him and never saw him again. Near about the 5k mark in the 8k race we were very spread out. I lost the guy a head of me for awhile. This was in an area where the line we were fallowing was very hard to make out. For about 15 to 20 seconds i had no idea where the line was and then i saw some runners ahead of me again. My splits were a nice steady 7:30 for most of the race. At about the 7k mark i just wanted to be done. My quads were screaming. When i finished i was cooked. I got a couple cups of water and headed over to my pile of stuff in the start area.
I had planed to run the 4 miles home but ended up only doing about 2 miles when my legs said 'YOUR DONE, WALK YOU MORON BEFORE I QUIT' so i did. :D It took a little longer to get home but it was better than pushing my self too much. I'm really thinking i should have biked to the race rather than ran to it. Oh well live and learn right?
Thursday, October 30, 2008
relearning my pace
Today was going to be a nice easy 7 miles... the plan was i would be home early from work to plot out a new run of around 7 miles. But work changed that. i wasn't home until a little before 5pm and with sunset around 6 here i had no time to figure out where i was going to run. I kinda had an idea of where i was going to run by the time i got home so that was helpful. I ended up going threw the park i normally run in then down to the hill area and back. I started off way too fast.
splits
1.0) 7:40
2.0) 8:03
3.0) 8:19
4.0) 8:16
5.0) 8:25
6.0) 8:15
7.0) 8:38
7.1) 0:42
tomorrow i need to remember to slow down to around 8:30-8:45. Also i need to plan out my run the night before in case work gets in the way again..
splits
1.0) 7:40
2.0) 8:03
3.0) 8:19
4.0) 8:16
5.0) 8:25
6.0) 8:15
7.0) 8:38
7.1) 0:42
tomorrow i need to remember to slow down to around 8:30-8:45. Also i need to plan out my run the night before in case work gets in the way again..
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
short update for a short run
Today i was back at work. A bit of a cold start so we weren't to the job till about noon. Then we had no way to get in to the garage to bust out the floor. So i had to break in....well not really break in just open a window and crawl in. No big deal. I got in and opened up the garage. We had the truck loaded in about 2 hours. I was home by 3ish.
I was going to take today off but with such a short day at work i figured i would get few miles in. Ended up with one full loop around the little lake/pond near by. Its about .6 miles to there so i used that as a warm up. I stopped and my normal stretching place and did my thing. reset my watch and hit the speed.
splits
0.6 -- 4:42
1.0 -- 7:07
2.0 -- 7:35 slowed down at about .6 in to that miles
3.0 -- 8:31
0.6 -- 5:19 the up hill climb home
Next week when i try this run again i will need to slow down that first mile. Looks like 7:15 - 7:45 would be a good pace for 3 miles at speed. i hope to add some miles to that 'tempo' run during the winter.
oh and my next run will make 1100+ miles for the year. I still have a chance for 1400
I was going to take today off but with such a short day at work i figured i would get few miles in. Ended up with one full loop around the little lake/pond near by. Its about .6 miles to there so i used that as a warm up. I stopped and my normal stretching place and did my thing. reset my watch and hit the speed.
splits
0.6 -- 4:42
1.0 -- 7:07
2.0 -- 7:35 slowed down at about .6 in to that miles
3.0 -- 8:31
0.6 -- 5:19 the up hill climb home
Next week when i try this run again i will need to slow down that first mile. Looks like 7:15 - 7:45 would be a good pace for 3 miles at speed. i hope to add some miles to that 'tempo' run during the winter.
oh and my next run will make 1100+ miles for the year. I still have a chance for 1400
Monday, October 27, 2008
a cold windy run
Today the plan was to get up at a somewhat normal time(before 9am). Well that didn't happen cause some moron called at about 6:30 oh and it was a wrong number. I would have been OK with it if it was someone trying to get a hold of me. So that woke me up and screwed with my sleep. I fell back asleep and didn't hear my alarm go off at 8am. I finally got my lazy ass out of bed about 9:30 and had breakfast. Its still amazing to me how much i like oat meal after year and year over never touching the stuff i eat it just about everyday. Today i did my normal 3/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 water in a bowl in the microwave. Once that's cooked i put a 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar and a little bit of cinnamon. With a little change today i added some sliced banana. Also i had a protein shake with milk.
After all that was settled i headed out for my run. I wanted to get a bit over 7 miles today. I went my normal route with a few extra turns. ended up with a total of 7.35 miles in 1:02:30
splits
1.00) 8:18
2.00) 8:27
3.00) 8:28
4.00) 8:31
5.00) 8:34
6.00) 8:24
7.00) 8:32
0.35) 2:54
Still too fast for that first mile. The second mile was also too fast cause i had about 15-20 seconds at a stop light in the middle of mile 2.
Looks like i might have a race for this weekend. But it also might be all by my self. Its a 5K/8K double header. It is at the U of M golf course about 4 miles from here. I'll most likely just bike or run to the race. No thoughts of a PR on this one i am no where near back to full speed yet.
After all that was settled i headed out for my run. I wanted to get a bit over 7 miles today. I went my normal route with a few extra turns. ended up with a total of 7.35 miles in 1:02:30
splits
1.00) 8:18
2.00) 8:27
3.00) 8:28
4.00) 8:31
5.00) 8:34
6.00) 8:24
7.00) 8:32
0.35) 2:54
Still too fast for that first mile. The second mile was also too fast cause i had about 15-20 seconds at a stop light in the middle of mile 2.
Looks like i might have a race for this weekend. But it also might be all by my self. Its a 5K/8K double header. It is at the U of M golf course about 4 miles from here. I'll most likely just bike or run to the race. No thoughts of a PR on this one i am no where near back to full speed yet.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
back on the road
Well I'm going to call it... I'm back. I did another run today 6.5 miles and it went well. I can really tell that i had almost 3 weeks off from running. I'm up to 16 miles total between the 3 runs so far. looking to get another 5 or 6 tomorrow. Oh also got a new shoe the Asics kayano 14 and let me tell you i got a great deal on them. Regular retail price was $131 and got them for $98. I don't know if they will be my everyday shoe cause if i cant find them cheap that is a bit much to spend on shoes ever 300 miles. So we will see how many miles i get out of them. If i can get closer to 400-450 it might be worth it cause they have much more padding in them.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
billy bars by request
OK so its been a while since i posted in here. But i haven't done much running since i ran the marathon so that might be part of it. With my extra time i have been working more in the garage and yard. Yard work has pretty much been stuff to get ready for next spring and cleaning up from this summer. I have some time off from work cause my boss headed down to GA to see his son and grand kids. hopefully this weekend i will have the time and weather to get my saw out and cut some lumber up for bowls.
And no your not seeing things that is a chainsaw that comes up to my shoulder. :D Its my baby. A custom Stihl ms460 tricked out for my lumber mill.
Now to the thing your looking for. billy bars my new flavor 'chewy apple cinnamon'
3 cups oatmeal(old fashion)
3 cups bran flakes
3/4 cup grape nuts
3/4 cup all bran buds
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup sunflower seed
1-1/2 cup chopped dried apples
3/4 cup walnuts
3/4 cup butter scotch chips
binder
1 cup Karo
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
OK these are little different to make than the other flavors but only when it comes to the binder. I mixed the cinnamon and nutmeg into the brown sugar before putting it into the pan with the Karo. Now i heated that mix for about 6 mins on medium low heat. It should start to boil at about 4-5 mins in. I'm thinking that it should have cooked longer as they were very chewy/sticky. So maybe next batch I'll cook the binder for 7-8 mins and see what that gets me.
fills a jelly roll pan full and packed down
40 bars
each bar has about
113 cals
3.4 grams of fat
2.5 grams protein
20.1 grams of carbs
6.7 grams sugar
2.7 grams fiber
enjoy trust me i did.
And no your not seeing things that is a chainsaw that comes up to my shoulder. :D Its my baby. A custom Stihl ms460 tricked out for my lumber mill.
Now to the thing your looking for. billy bars my new flavor 'chewy apple cinnamon'
3 cups oatmeal(old fashion)
3 cups bran flakes
3/4 cup grape nuts
3/4 cup all bran buds
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup sunflower seed
1-1/2 cup chopped dried apples
3/4 cup walnuts
3/4 cup butter scotch chips
binder
1 cup Karo
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
OK these are little different to make than the other flavors but only when it comes to the binder. I mixed the cinnamon and nutmeg into the brown sugar before putting it into the pan with the Karo. Now i heated that mix for about 6 mins on medium low heat. It should start to boil at about 4-5 mins in. I'm thinking that it should have cooked longer as they were very chewy/sticky. So maybe next batch I'll cook the binder for 7-8 mins and see what that gets me.
fills a jelly roll pan full and packed down
40 bars
each bar has about
113 cals
3.4 grams of fat
2.5 grams protein
20.1 grams of carbs
6.7 grams sugar
2.7 grams fiber
enjoy trust me i did.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
TC marathon RR. my first marathon
This weekend i had my first marathon.
The short RR.
I got woke up at about 4:00am Sunday. Hung out at the start area for a couple hours. Small amount of rain at start. Down pour between miles 6 and 12 or 13. Rain stopped by mile 17. last mile done in just under 7:30. Finished in 3:44:29.
Well here goes i hope your have a cup of coffee or something to keep you awake for this RR.
I give you a little back round first. My train was going great till the traper. i just got slower and slower during that long three weeks. Then last Monday i went out to get a few miles in. My plan said 30 miles plus marathon this week. I got about a mile into my run and my calf was yelling at me big time so i shut it down and headed home(freaking out). i spent all week icing and wrapping just hopping it would be better by race time. But with my work a full "rest" really wasn't going to happen. It felt fine so thruse i went for a very short run....even short than planed. I guess i wasn't 100%. Then on Saturday i had a great idea to avoid all the traffic around the expo...I'll take the bus. i knew of a route close to my house that went downtown right past the expo. Well i guess on weekend that route doesn't go down town. So i ended up having to walk the rest of the way, about 2 miles. Let me tell you my calf really didn't like that idea. When i got home it was ice and Advil while hopping for the best.
Sunday morning(pre race): i woke up about 15 mins before my alarms went off(i set 4). I popped right out of bed at 4:15. Got dressed and had a couple billy bars and a banana while i checked the weather online(more on that later). My ride 'scooterj' from the marathoners area) showed up about 5:10. We headed to downtown st.paul. One great thing about that time of day is no traffic at all. We parked in the street and then headed over to the shuttle buses at the Kelly inn. Let me tell you they had a ton of them i would say at least 15 buses all lined up to take runners over to the metrodome. We met up with 'toobostonjue' at the Kelly inn and headed to the dome. Pretty much just hung out there till about 7:40 trying to get more food and water in me. Then about 7:45 my body said "hey you need to get to the restroom" but the lines were long so i headed outside to look for a porta pot with no luck. I heard someone yell my name and it was scooterj they were headed down to the sweat drop so i said i guess I'll stop during the race if i have to. dropped my sweats after looking around for what seamed like forever tried to find the right bin for them. I met up with scooter and toobostonjue and made our way down to the starting line. It took almost 15 mins just to get up to a good point in our corral for the start.
race time:
When the race started we stuck together for a little bit but i toobostonjue pretty much took off and it was just me and scooterj. About a 1/4 mile in i saw we were going faster than the plan we slowed a bit when i saw my left shoe was coming untied. I normal double knot them but i forgot this morning. I told scooterj i was going to need to pull over and tie and that i would catch up with him. Once i got going i lost him in the pack. I was looking for his rain poncho but i guess he ditched right when i pulled over to tie my shoe. About a 1/4 past the shoe tie a cliff shot fell out of my shorts. i had this great idea of tucking them into the compression shorts part of my 2-1 shorts that i wear all the time. I thought it would be better then have them flopping around in my pockets for 20+ miles. So had to stop and go back to get the cliff shot then about 5 mins later another one fell so my great idea was not so great. I put them in my pockets and off i went.
First few miles were fine. But i could feel my calf get tighter and tighter as i went along. By mile 4 it was VERY unhappy with this whole marathon idea. I was telling my self if you can get to the half way point you will be just fine. By about mile 5 or 6 the rain was picking up. I tried dodging and jumping puddles as much as i could to save my shoes but at about mile 8 i pretty much gave up that idea. The road got a bit narrow at this point so it really funneled the rain water into almost a river. Then when we headed over the bridge going over lake Nakomis heading south the wind really pick up from the east. I turned my hat try to keep the rain out of my eyes and put my head down a bit that helped a bit.
mid race: By this point... half marathon split was about 1:47. still faster than my half in January so i was happy. at about mile 14 the rain was letting up but sadly so was my pace. I had my second cliff shot at this point. I'm sure the view along the river would have been much better if it wasn't for the fog and rain. Mile 17 was the first cliff shot/water stop set up by the race. Let me tell you when i got there i could smell the coffee cliff shots in air. This would have been fine i like coffee at all but to me it was just not a very good smell. At mile 19 we made the turn over the river(mississippi). The mile 20 marker even came with a huge castle wall for us to run threw. To bad i had already the wall about 3 miles back. I was lucky enough to find get a bottle of water they were handing out at around mile 20. my biggest problem was in the middle of race when going for a cup of water i couldn't feel my hands and would just end up knocking the cup out on the ground so the bottle was VERY helpful.
21 miles and beyond:
This is the point where we make the turn and head down beautiful Sumit ave head down to the capital. This is where the crowds really picked up and where, as you marathoners know, we need all the help we can get. By this time my pace was in the 9 min area pretty much all the time but steady. It was kinda nice to see this area that i work in from a different view point. I even ran by a few old jobs that i had done. My parents were at a house around mile 25 but i never saw then. They were screaming i guess but at this point i was pretty much zoned out looking for that HUGE American flag at the finish. At about 25.5 miles in you make this turn to see at huge and i mean HUGE American flag put up on two ladder trucks from the st paul fire department. I wont lie at this point i got a little choked up dug deep and kicked in it. I looked down at my watch one last time and went for it. That last mile was done in about 7:30 thats fast than i have run in weeks. When i hit the finish line i almost broke down but held it together. I got my warming blanket and finishers medal.
finish area:
After getting my medal. i saw FOOOOD. i grabbed 3 rolls of bread, 3 salted nut roll candy bars, a bag of chips and then saw hot soup. It was only chicken broth but OH MAN did it taste good. i got to the shirt area and got my shirt. At this point limping pretty good. Made it over to the chip removal area and just got my foot up on the step for them to take the chip off. About three steps away from that i dropped my finisher shirt...but i didn't get too dirty. I got to the sweats area and picked up my stuff. After this i think my brain shut off cause i don't really remember too much but i know i got home.
ok people thats my story and i am skicking to it. the only question i have is 'when is the next one?' :D
The short RR.
I got woke up at about 4:00am Sunday. Hung out at the start area for a couple hours. Small amount of rain at start. Down pour between miles 6 and 12 or 13. Rain stopped by mile 17. last mile done in just under 7:30. Finished in 3:44:29.
Well here goes i hope your have a cup of coffee or something to keep you awake for this RR.
I give you a little back round first. My train was going great till the traper. i just got slower and slower during that long three weeks. Then last Monday i went out to get a few miles in. My plan said 30 miles plus marathon this week. I got about a mile into my run and my calf was yelling at me big time so i shut it down and headed home(freaking out). i spent all week icing and wrapping just hopping it would be better by race time. But with my work a full "rest" really wasn't going to happen. It felt fine so thruse i went for a very short run....even short than planed. I guess i wasn't 100%. Then on Saturday i had a great idea to avoid all the traffic around the expo...I'll take the bus. i knew of a route close to my house that went downtown right past the expo. Well i guess on weekend that route doesn't go down town. So i ended up having to walk the rest of the way, about 2 miles. Let me tell you my calf really didn't like that idea. When i got home it was ice and Advil while hopping for the best.
Sunday morning(pre race): i woke up about 15 mins before my alarms went off(i set 4). I popped right out of bed at 4:15. Got dressed and had a couple billy bars and a banana while i checked the weather online(more on that later). My ride 'scooterj' from the marathoners area) showed up about 5:10. We headed to downtown st.paul. One great thing about that time of day is no traffic at all. We parked in the street and then headed over to the shuttle buses at the Kelly inn. Let me tell you they had a ton of them i would say at least 15 buses all lined up to take runners over to the metrodome. We met up with 'toobostonjue' at the Kelly inn and headed to the dome. Pretty much just hung out there till about 7:40 trying to get more food and water in me. Then about 7:45 my body said "hey you need to get to the restroom" but the lines were long so i headed outside to look for a porta pot with no luck. I heard someone yell my name and it was scooterj they were headed down to the sweat drop so i said i guess I'll stop during the race if i have to. dropped my sweats after looking around for what seamed like forever tried to find the right bin for them. I met up with scooter and toobostonjue and made our way down to the starting line. It took almost 15 mins just to get up to a good point in our corral for the start.
race time:
When the race started we stuck together for a little bit but i toobostonjue pretty much took off and it was just me and scooterj. About a 1/4 mile in i saw we were going faster than the plan we slowed a bit when i saw my left shoe was coming untied. I normal double knot them but i forgot this morning. I told scooterj i was going to need to pull over and tie and that i would catch up with him. Once i got going i lost him in the pack. I was looking for his rain poncho but i guess he ditched right when i pulled over to tie my shoe. About a 1/4 past the shoe tie a cliff shot fell out of my shorts. i had this great idea of tucking them into the compression shorts part of my 2-1 shorts that i wear all the time. I thought it would be better then have them flopping around in my pockets for 20+ miles. So had to stop and go back to get the cliff shot then about 5 mins later another one fell so my great idea was not so great. I put them in my pockets and off i went.
First few miles were fine. But i could feel my calf get tighter and tighter as i went along. By mile 4 it was VERY unhappy with this whole marathon idea. I was telling my self if you can get to the half way point you will be just fine. By about mile 5 or 6 the rain was picking up. I tried dodging and jumping puddles as much as i could to save my shoes but at about mile 8 i pretty much gave up that idea. The road got a bit narrow at this point so it really funneled the rain water into almost a river. Then when we headed over the bridge going over lake Nakomis heading south the wind really pick up from the east. I turned my hat try to keep the rain out of my eyes and put my head down a bit that helped a bit.
mid race: By this point... half marathon split was about 1:47. still faster than my half in January so i was happy. at about mile 14 the rain was letting up but sadly so was my pace. I had my second cliff shot at this point. I'm sure the view along the river would have been much better if it wasn't for the fog and rain. Mile 17 was the first cliff shot/water stop set up by the race. Let me tell you when i got there i could smell the coffee cliff shots in air. This would have been fine i like coffee at all but to me it was just not a very good smell. At mile 19 we made the turn over the river(mississippi). The mile 20 marker even came with a huge castle wall for us to run threw. To bad i had already the wall about 3 miles back. I was lucky enough to find get a bottle of water they were handing out at around mile 20. my biggest problem was in the middle of race when going for a cup of water i couldn't feel my hands and would just end up knocking the cup out on the ground so the bottle was VERY helpful.
21 miles and beyond:
This is the point where we make the turn and head down beautiful Sumit ave head down to the capital. This is where the crowds really picked up and where, as you marathoners know, we need all the help we can get. By this time my pace was in the 9 min area pretty much all the time but steady. It was kinda nice to see this area that i work in from a different view point. I even ran by a few old jobs that i had done. My parents were at a house around mile 25 but i never saw then. They were screaming i guess but at this point i was pretty much zoned out looking for that HUGE American flag at the finish. At about 25.5 miles in you make this turn to see at huge and i mean HUGE American flag put up on two ladder trucks from the st paul fire department. I wont lie at this point i got a little choked up dug deep and kicked in it. I looked down at my watch one last time and went for it. That last mile was done in about 7:30 thats fast than i have run in weeks. When i hit the finish line i almost broke down but held it together. I got my warming blanket and finishers medal.
finish area:
After getting my medal. i saw FOOOOD. i grabbed 3 rolls of bread, 3 salted nut roll candy bars, a bag of chips and then saw hot soup. It was only chicken broth but OH MAN did it taste good. i got to the shirt area and got my shirt. At this point limping pretty good. Made it over to the chip removal area and just got my foot up on the step for them to take the chip off. About three steps away from that i dropped my finisher shirt...but i didn't get too dirty. I got to the sweats area and picked up my stuff. After this i think my brain shut off cause i don't really remember too much but i know i got home.
ok people thats my story and i am skicking to it. the only question i have is 'when is the next one?' :D
Saturday, September 20, 2008
i was a bandit today
ok before you all get mad at me it wasn't cause i tired to. i was out on my 18 mile run about 6 miles in when i saw a large group of walkers ahead of me. Well it turns out it was the 'breast cancer 3day walk'.
so when i came up on the first group of walker there was a women with a bullhorn cheering on all the walkers until she saw me running. She was joking around saying no running during the walk. but then they were ok when i told them i was training for twin cities marathon.
well once i got past them i figured that was the last i would see of all those walkers. About 5 more miles i crossed paths with them again. This time it was much more quiet just waiting with some women at a stop light.
Now the third time i ended up on the route there was HUGE cheering section. At last a good 1/4 mile of cheering and bells and signs for walkers. I know they weren't cheering for me but wow did that get me moving. That had to be the best place for that. i was 16 miles in to my run and it really got me goin... even gave me chills.
i really cant even get my head around what its going to be like for my marathon in a couple weeks. But if its anything near what this was like as a 'bandit' the cheering will really help me along near the end of my first marathon.
sorry for my rambling i cant help it blame the taper :p
so when i came up on the first group of walker there was a women with a bullhorn cheering on all the walkers until she saw me running. She was joking around saying no running during the walk. but then they were ok when i told them i was training for twin cities marathon.
well once i got past them i figured that was the last i would see of all those walkers. About 5 more miles i crossed paths with them again. This time it was much more quiet just waiting with some women at a stop light.
Now the third time i ended up on the route there was HUGE cheering section. At last a good 1/4 mile of cheering and bells and signs for walkers. I know they weren't cheering for me but wow did that get me moving. That had to be the best place for that. i was 16 miles in to my run and it really got me goin... even gave me chills.
i really cant even get my head around what its going to be like for my marathon in a couple weeks. But if its anything near what this was like as a 'bandit' the cheering will really help me along near the end of my first marathon.
sorry for my rambling i cant help it blame the taper :p
Saturday, August 2, 2008
The decimation of a PR and my Urban Wildland half marathon
Well as some of you know i am training for TCM (twin cities marathon). As part of my training i wanted to run longer and longer races leading up to the big one. I started with a 8k, then moved up to a 10k. This weekend was the half marathon. This will likely be my last long race till the big one.
My training has been going well for TCM. I did miss a long run last weekend due to lack of sleep. But i am thinking my body needed the time off..... OK so now for the RR.
**short story**(if you don't want to read the whole thing) woke up at 4:45am left house at 5:50 got to race about 6:20. picked up my packet shirt and goody bag. Did about a half mile warm up. Moved over to starting line. Ran race. Finished race in 1:34:08. went home.
long story.
OK i woke up about 3 times in the night and didn't really sleep to well. When i got up it it was right to the bathroom. Gotta love those jitters. I had a small breakfast of a banana and a billy bar with some Gatorade. Thing seamed to settle down after that. My ride showed up a little before 6 just as planed. The ride to the race was good. We talked running and training. When we got to the race we had to pick up our packets. That went really fast. The shirts were nice and my mine was needed later but will go into more detail further into the report. :-)
So after we got our packet and got our chips and and bibs all hooked up i headed over to the block long line for the porta pots. The line moved really fast cause they had about 15 of them. But there was also over 1100 runners in the half so they could have had more porta pots. After the quick bathroom break we did some warming up as the temp was still around 65*. Half way into the warm up my Timex lost its singal but was hooked back up and rockin by the end of the warm up. Then it was off to the start line.
It was one massive load of people waiting at the timing mats. I made sure i got pretty close to the front cause i wanted to run a good time. I ran in to a forumite that i met at my first half marathon. I was sorta hoping to have someone to run with but his goal was about 5 mins faster than mine so i didn't want to push it that much. When the horn sounded I took off but at a much better pace than my other races. The first 1/4 mile was about a 7:30 pace and that was about perfect. I did get passed by a few runners but i didn't let that get in my head. normal when someone passes me i want to pass them right back but i needed to run MY RACE.
I saw the first water stop but i didn't take any. It normal ends up all over me anyways but with the sprinkler some of the locals has set up on the route i knew i would be OK. After the first water stop the route sent us on to a great little dirt and gravel path threw the woods. I will tell you my legs love that later in the race. The only trouble with that path was how narrow it was. If i would have been with a large group of runners i could see how it would get clogged up threw that area. I was feeling great most of the way but i kept second guessing my pace wondering if i should slow down or speed up. After double checking my average pace on my watch i figured i was just fine. I kept on hammering out the miles at about a 7:20 pace.
Once i headed past water stop two(didn't take any again) i started to speed up a bit. **TMI warning** Right before the 10k split i saw what looked to be someone breakfast. At least they were nice enough to pull over to the grass before they let it go.**end of warning** The 10k split said about 44 when i flew past it. At this point i was pretty much soaked. Then again that is nothing new for me with working outside all summer. I started to feel a bit of chaffing going on in the nipple area about mile 7. Then water stop three i decided to walk when i got a cup of water. Even with walking i still inhaled some of the water. Drank about half dumped the rest on my head. Off i go again with a little cough. After the water stop my GPS seams to be about .15 miles off where as it was with in feet of the mile markers before. I'm sure it just got messed up when i walked for a min.
From mile 8 to 9 it was pretty flat and straight. It was a nice 'rest' for the last push to the finish. I ran right threw water stop 4 at mile 11. This is when i looked down at my shirt. Hmmm where is that red coming from... but i knew right away. my left nip was bleeding. I really hope i didn't end up on camera with a bloody shirt. Once i saw that my nip was bleeding it was off with the shirt. I spent the next mile trying to get the thing to stop bleeding while i was running using my sweat soaked shirt. At mile 12 i started to turn up the pace. Mile marker 13 i could hear the cheering and music from the finish area but still couldn't see it. Even with out seeing it i still found that next higher gear.
i hit the finish line at 1:34:08... a full 18 mins off my first half marathon and 11 mins faster than i needed to qualify for corral 1 at TCM. So needless to say i was very happy with my time.
After the race i had a cookie and some Gatorade and walked around a bit waiting for Scott (my ride to the race) to finish. They announced something about a door prize tent but i never win anything so i didn't bother heading over to it right away. After Scott done we went over to the tent and what do ya know i won an REI hydration pack. I will use it for sure at my 50K in the spring or even this winter on longer runs as it will be easier to keep from freezing than a bottle.
Then we headed out. And i have got to say my training really paid off. I'm not sore at all right now I'm sure i will be in the morning but i don't see the need right now to take more than a couple days off.
well thanks for reading my RR i hope you didn't fall asleep too many times during it. :P sorry i didn't get any pics but the camera was another thing i forgot along with my nipple tape this morning.
My training has been going well for TCM. I did miss a long run last weekend due to lack of sleep. But i am thinking my body needed the time off..... OK so now for the RR.
**short story**(if you don't want to read the whole thing) woke up at 4:45am left house at 5:50 got to race about 6:20. picked up my packet shirt and goody bag. Did about a half mile warm up. Moved over to starting line. Ran race. Finished race in 1:34:08. went home.
long story.
OK i woke up about 3 times in the night and didn't really sleep to well. When i got up it it was right to the bathroom. Gotta love those jitters. I had a small breakfast of a banana and a billy bar with some Gatorade. Thing seamed to settle down after that. My ride showed up a little before 6 just as planed. The ride to the race was good. We talked running and training. When we got to the race we had to pick up our packets. That went really fast. The shirts were nice and my mine was needed later but will go into more detail further into the report. :-)
So after we got our packet and got our chips and and bibs all hooked up i headed over to the block long line for the porta pots. The line moved really fast cause they had about 15 of them. But there was also over 1100 runners in the half so they could have had more porta pots. After the quick bathroom break we did some warming up as the temp was still around 65*. Half way into the warm up my Timex lost its singal but was hooked back up and rockin by the end of the warm up. Then it was off to the start line.
It was one massive load of people waiting at the timing mats. I made sure i got pretty close to the front cause i wanted to run a good time. I ran in to a forumite that i met at my first half marathon. I was sorta hoping to have someone to run with but his goal was about 5 mins faster than mine so i didn't want to push it that much. When the horn sounded I took off but at a much better pace than my other races. The first 1/4 mile was about a 7:30 pace and that was about perfect. I did get passed by a few runners but i didn't let that get in my head. normal when someone passes me i want to pass them right back but i needed to run MY RACE.
I saw the first water stop but i didn't take any. It normal ends up all over me anyways but with the sprinkler some of the locals has set up on the route i knew i would be OK. After the first water stop the route sent us on to a great little dirt and gravel path threw the woods. I will tell you my legs love that later in the race. The only trouble with that path was how narrow it was. If i would have been with a large group of runners i could see how it would get clogged up threw that area. I was feeling great most of the way but i kept second guessing my pace wondering if i should slow down or speed up. After double checking my average pace on my watch i figured i was just fine. I kept on hammering out the miles at about a 7:20 pace.
Once i headed past water stop two(didn't take any again) i started to speed up a bit. **TMI warning** Right before the 10k split i saw what looked to be someone breakfast. At least they were nice enough to pull over to the grass before they let it go.**end of warning** The 10k split said about 44 when i flew past it. At this point i was pretty much soaked. Then again that is nothing new for me with working outside all summer. I started to feel a bit of chaffing going on in the nipple area about mile 7. Then water stop three i decided to walk when i got a cup of water. Even with walking i still inhaled some of the water. Drank about half dumped the rest on my head. Off i go again with a little cough. After the water stop my GPS seams to be about .15 miles off where as it was with in feet of the mile markers before. I'm sure it just got messed up when i walked for a min.
From mile 8 to 9 it was pretty flat and straight. It was a nice 'rest' for the last push to the finish. I ran right threw water stop 4 at mile 11. This is when i looked down at my shirt. Hmmm where is that red coming from... but i knew right away. my left nip was bleeding. I really hope i didn't end up on camera with a bloody shirt. Once i saw that my nip was bleeding it was off with the shirt. I spent the next mile trying to get the thing to stop bleeding while i was running using my sweat soaked shirt. At mile 12 i started to turn up the pace. Mile marker 13 i could hear the cheering and music from the finish area but still couldn't see it. Even with out seeing it i still found that next higher gear.
i hit the finish line at 1:34:08... a full 18 mins off my first half marathon and 11 mins faster than i needed to qualify for corral 1 at TCM. So needless to say i was very happy with my time.
After the race i had a cookie and some Gatorade and walked around a bit waiting for Scott (my ride to the race) to finish. They announced something about a door prize tent but i never win anything so i didn't bother heading over to it right away. After Scott done we went over to the tent and what do ya know i won an REI hydration pack. I will use it for sure at my 50K in the spring or even this winter on longer runs as it will be easier to keep from freezing than a bottle.
Then we headed out. And i have got to say my training really paid off. I'm not sore at all right now I'm sure i will be in the morning but i don't see the need right now to take more than a couple days off.
well thanks for reading my RR i hope you didn't fall asleep too many times during it. :P sorry i didn't get any pics but the camera was another thing i forgot along with my nipple tape this morning.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
billy bars 101
After many requests i have decided to post the recipes for billy bars. currently have have three flavors; original, nutty nanner and tropical. I started making them this winter during my off time from work. It started with a recipe from a forumite friend of mine Sam. while talking food on 'the thread' i decided to give my own bars a shot. Well let me tell you that first batch was a mess and i was almost not able to eat them. Version 2 came out much better and larger, almost double the size of the first one. But then there was version 3...... i would call them perfect. :-D
Original flavor
base
3 cups oat meal
3 cups bran flakes
3/4 cup grape nuts
3/4 cup all bran buds
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup walnuts
1/2 dried cherrys chopped
3/4 cup dried date
3/4 cup chocolate chips
binder
1 cup Karo syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
nutty nanner.....my personal favorite
base
3 cups oat meal
3 cups bran flakes
3/4 cup grape nuts
3/4 cup all bran buds
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups banana chips(crushed)
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
binder
1 cup Karo syrup
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
Tropical
base
3 cups oat meal
3 cups bran flakes
3/4 cup grape nuts
3/4 cup all bran buds
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup dried papaya
3/4 cup dried pineapple chopped
binder
1 cup Karo syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
they are pretty simple to make. Spray a jelly roll pan with non-stick. Put all of the base ingredients into a large bowl and mix them together well. Then in a small sauce pan put the binder ingredients. Heat on low flame for about 6=7 minutes. Pour the binder over the base ingredients and mix. It will look too dry but just keep mixing. dump on to jelly roll pan. I use parchment paper to pack them down tight into the pan. Well that should do it. enjoy.
one side note the nutty nanner bars batch is a bit larger than the other two. i have two different sized pans i use the larger one for the nutty nanner. nutty nanner makes 40 bars and the original and tropical make 32 bars each.
nutrition facts
tropical
32 bars
116 cals
1.3 grams fat
22.6 grams carbs
2.6 grams protein
nutty nanner
40 bars
142 cals
5.6 grams fat
21.9 grams carbs
3.8 grams protein
Original
32 bars
144 cals
4.3 grams fat
26 grams carbs
3.2 grams protein
Original flavor
base
3 cups oat meal
3 cups bran flakes
3/4 cup grape nuts
3/4 cup all bran buds
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup walnuts
1/2 dried cherrys chopped
3/4 cup dried date
3/4 cup chocolate chips
binder
1 cup Karo syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
nutty nanner.....my personal favorite
base
3 cups oat meal
3 cups bran flakes
3/4 cup grape nuts
3/4 cup all bran buds
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups banana chips(crushed)
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
binder
1 cup Karo syrup
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
Tropical
base
3 cups oat meal
3 cups bran flakes
3/4 cup grape nuts
3/4 cup all bran buds
1/4 cup flax seed
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup dried papaya
3/4 cup dried pineapple chopped
binder
1 cup Karo syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
they are pretty simple to make. Spray a jelly roll pan with non-stick. Put all of the base ingredients into a large bowl and mix them together well. Then in a small sauce pan put the binder ingredients. Heat on low flame for about 6=7 minutes. Pour the binder over the base ingredients and mix. It will look too dry but just keep mixing. dump on to jelly roll pan. I use parchment paper to pack them down tight into the pan. Well that should do it. enjoy.
one side note the nutty nanner bars batch is a bit larger than the other two. i have two different sized pans i use the larger one for the nutty nanner. nutty nanner makes 40 bars and the original and tropical make 32 bars each.
nutrition facts
tropical
32 bars
116 cals
1.3 grams fat
22.6 grams carbs
2.6 grams protein
nutty nanner
40 bars
142 cals
5.6 grams fat
21.9 grams carbs
3.8 grams protein
Original
32 bars
144 cals
4.3 grams fat
26 grams carbs
3.2 grams protein
Sunday, July 13, 2008
trail exploring part 2
OK now this trip was well worth it. This is the same area were my favorite hills are. You know the ones with the grade warning signs for bikers. So my first turn off the pavement and its this perfect dirt trial with trees on both sides. The trail is about 2-3 feet wide and perfect for running. i got a ways in and ended up in this grass field area.
i walked for a little bit in to that area but the trial pretty much disappeared. The grass was so tall that it was falling over the trial. So turned around and headed back to the last fork in the trial.
I ended going up this really steep hill and slipping a few times. At the top was large fence with barbed wire on the top. I think that is where the reservoir is for which the area is named. I then walked along the fence till there was a path back down to the pavement. OK so i may have pick a path that was even steeper than the last one. I didn't fall but i came close a few times. Then i make a turn and head down past a cell tower.... yeah I know hey that is what ya get in the city. But this was the best trail so far. It was even wider so a biker could pass if needed. At one fork in the tail i saw this very cool like tunnel of trees.
I thought that it would make a very cool pic. I really like how it turned out. I have a second one from "inside" the tunnel but the colors are way off for some reason.
So then i find this hill. i have run by this one many times before but never stopped to look up at it and dang buddy its a nice one. i really should have taking a pic from the top.
I have got to say i LOVE this reservoir woods area more and more each time i head out there. I hope to get a nice trial run out there this week Tuesday or Wednesday. It will be a nice change in my week of running. This week will be a long one i have 53 miles planed with a 20 miler on Saturday. Still trying to make up my mind if i want to do a 22 mile run the week after next or not. That is the weekend before my half marathon so i may just do 16 or 18. I'll make up my mind after the 20 miler i think.
well that is all for the weekend. ya i know its been forever since i posted twice in one weekend, let alone twice in a day. :-D
Saturday, July 12, 2008
trail exploring
I figured i would check out a few trails around here to try and change up my running during the week. I have two nice areas near by. The first one i checked out was off Lexington not too far from the bottom of the hill from my 10k awhile ago. The area is nice very wooded and you cant tell your near the city but the trail were short and didn't go anywhere. But all was not lost on the exploring. I found a few cool things back in the woods.
This thing looked to be a tractor of some type. well with out its tracks. engine still mostly intact but VERY old
This old timer looks to me like a road grader of some type. no engine so it must have been pulled by a tractor.
Well thats it for that area. i'll be heading down to the second area as so as the twins game is over.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
let the 'real' training commence
Monday will be the start of 'real' marathon training.
So that being said i figured i would put my thoughts into the blog. With my plan i hope t0 get in two 20 mile runs(one a race) and one 22 mile run in during the 14 weeks i have till my race. I put in the time from my 10k in the the McMillan calculator it says at 3:18 marathon. i would be more than happy with 3:30 so that will be my goal for now. I may adjust it after my half marathon on august 2nd or after my 20 mile race on September 6th. I am also shooting for a sub 20 minute 5k on one of my cut back weeks.
OK i know this was a short blog but i am still working threw things in my head. so i am sure there will be another plan update at a later date.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Run For The Roses 10k Race Report (long)
First off a little back story on the race. Last year i did the 5k race at this same event. That was my 2nd or 3rd 5k ever and on a very hilly route. So this year i figured i would do the 10k as part of my races on my way to the TC marathon in the fall.
This was the first race where i was able to pick up my race packet the day before the race. That worked out perfect because i had a short day on Friday due to weather. I got my race packet about 1pm Friday. That also meant i was going to be thinking about the race much more now that i had my bib and shirt. The plan was to go to bed about 10pm...... Around 11:30 i was still wide awake. I'm not too sure what time i ended up falling asleep. :-) Who needs sleep right? Alarm goes off at 5:30am but i just laid in bed for a while checking the weather on my cell about 4 or 5 times. We had some rain over night i was just hoping it was going to clear up by race time. When i finally popped my head up and looked out the window i saw SUNSHINE. So i get up. Have two of my home made billy bars and some water. At about 7:10 i had a strawberry cliff shot the ones with caffeine. I was out the door by 7:15.
The race was very close by so i figured i might as well just jog it down to the start line for my warm up. I ended up with only about a mile to get to the start line. Made it there by 7:30 did a little stretch and some faster running to get things worked out. My quads were a little sore from my 10 mile run i had done on Thursday so i took my time warming up. I ran in to my race buddy Karen at about 7:45. She only runs races doesn't do any training..... I talked with her for a little bit then head over to the 10k start line.
The in line skaters lined up for the start at 7:55am. The 5k and 10k started at 8:00am. I made sure i got my self pretty close to the start line so i didn't have to do too much passing. When the horn went off i took off like a shot......first 1/4 mile was at about a 5:30 pace....oops. After that i slowed my self down. Well i kinda had to the first hill hit at about 3/4 of a mile in. Then right back down and WAY back up. mile one time of 6:28. i was feeling great. trying to control my breathing a little bit cause i knew the hills where coming up. UP and down the hills i went. best thing about this race is i have run these hills many times before. Mile two was done in 7:04 much closer to my goal time. I tired to grab some water at the first stop but i was running up hill at the time. lets just say i got a bath with that one. The middle of the race a very nice. flat and straight for a good 1.5 miles. My 5k split was about 21:30.
The second half of the race seamed easier for me after that nice flat area. mile 4 was done in 6:57. mile 5 was 6:50. but i new that "the hill" was coming at mile 6 so i was trying to make up time before i got to that point. from about 5.25 to 6 miles. it was up hill. i knew once i got to the top i had a nice down hill finish. i held in pretty good on the hill. When i made that last turn for the lap around the speed skating oval i kicked it in. One last look at my watch at about 41:00 and headed in. Let me tell you i was spent. i had NOTHING left and that just how i like to finish a race. finished in 42:12. Well under my goal time of 45 minutes.
Well that is my first 10k race. I hope it was too long of a RR. Just wait till i do my RR for my marathon :D
This was the first race where i was able to pick up my race packet the day before the race. That worked out perfect because i had a short day on Friday due to weather. I got my race packet about 1pm Friday. That also meant i was going to be thinking about the race much more now that i had my bib and shirt. The plan was to go to bed about 10pm...... Around 11:30 i was still wide awake. I'm not too sure what time i ended up falling asleep. :-) Who needs sleep right? Alarm goes off at 5:30am but i just laid in bed for a while checking the weather on my cell about 4 or 5 times. We had some rain over night i was just hoping it was going to clear up by race time. When i finally popped my head up and looked out the window i saw SUNSHINE. So i get up. Have two of my home made billy bars and some water. At about 7:10 i had a strawberry cliff shot the ones with caffeine. I was out the door by 7:15.
The race was very close by so i figured i might as well just jog it down to the start line for my warm up. I ended up with only about a mile to get to the start line. Made it there by 7:30 did a little stretch and some faster running to get things worked out. My quads were a little sore from my 10 mile run i had done on Thursday so i took my time warming up. I ran in to my race buddy Karen at about 7:45. She only runs races doesn't do any training..... I talked with her for a little bit then head over to the 10k start line.
The in line skaters lined up for the start at 7:55am. The 5k and 10k started at 8:00am. I made sure i got my self pretty close to the start line so i didn't have to do too much passing. When the horn went off i took off like a shot......first 1/4 mile was at about a 5:30 pace....oops. After that i slowed my self down. Well i kinda had to the first hill hit at about 3/4 of a mile in. Then right back down and WAY back up. mile one time of 6:28. i was feeling great. trying to control my breathing a little bit cause i knew the hills where coming up. UP and down the hills i went. best thing about this race is i have run these hills many times before. Mile two was done in 7:04 much closer to my goal time. I tired to grab some water at the first stop but i was running up hill at the time. lets just say i got a bath with that one. The middle of the race a very nice. flat and straight for a good 1.5 miles. My 5k split was about 21:30.
The second half of the race seamed easier for me after that nice flat area. mile 4 was done in 6:57. mile 5 was 6:50. but i new that "the hill" was coming at mile 6 so i was trying to make up time before i got to that point. from about 5.25 to 6 miles. it was up hill. i knew once i got to the top i had a nice down hill finish. i held in pretty good on the hill. When i made that last turn for the lap around the speed skating oval i kicked it in. One last look at my watch at about 41:00 and headed in. Let me tell you i was spent. i had NOTHING left and that just how i like to finish a race. finished in 42:12. Well under my goal time of 45 minutes.
Well that is my first 10k race. I hope it was too long of a RR. Just wait till i do my RR for my marathon :D
Saturday, May 31, 2008
may....a month in review
Well today is the last day of May so i figure i would go over how my month of running went. I ran 14 times for a total of 101.7 miles. The most miles in a month ever for me up from 93 miles in january. total time on the road this month of 14 hours and 18 mins. Also a new record for me but not by much. in january i was on the road a total of 13 hours and 52 mins. So my average pace for my training has really picked up. january was almost 9 min pace this month was much closer to 8:30. my long run went up from 9 to 14 this month and all felt fine.
I have a new size for my shoes. my feet are now 2E rather than 4E i don't really know where the other 2E went but i'm not complaining. Cause it means more shoe options. So as long as we are talking about shoes....i am now on my second pair for brooks GTS. added a pair of asics 2130. I used the asics' for 2 of my 3 5ks this month. so they might be my speed shoes now. also got a pair of saucony progrid guides they are good i havent run any in them yet. might take them out for a short one next week some time.
total of 3 races this month all 5ks. next month i have two 5ks an 8k and a 10k. Also i am shooting for closer to 120 miles this month and start my full marathon training at the end of the month. my long run should be up to 18 by that point. so that will really help those 20 mile training runs this summer. hope to get in at least 4 or 5 of those before my marathon and 20 mile race. my taper will likely start the week after my 20 mile race on September 6th. OK and here goes the first time i am putting my marathon goal in type....... i am shooting for a 3:30 that is a steady 8 min pace and seams pretty doable with my last long run average pace of 8:09 for 14.25 miles.
OK so today's blog might be all over the place but i have a hard time getting my thoughts lined up in my head most of the time :D
I have a new size for my shoes. my feet are now 2E rather than 4E i don't really know where the other 2E went but i'm not complaining. Cause it means more shoe options. So as long as we are talking about shoes....i am now on my second pair for brooks GTS. added a pair of asics 2130. I used the asics' for 2 of my 3 5ks this month. so they might be my speed shoes now. also got a pair of saucony progrid guides they are good i havent run any in them yet. might take them out for a short one next week some time.
total of 3 races this month all 5ks. next month i have two 5ks an 8k and a 10k. Also i am shooting for closer to 120 miles this month and start my full marathon training at the end of the month. my long run should be up to 18 by that point. so that will really help those 20 mile training runs this summer. hope to get in at least 4 or 5 of those before my marathon and 20 mile race. my taper will likely start the week after my 20 mile race on September 6th. OK and here goes the first time i am putting my marathon goal in type....... i am shooting for a 3:30 that is a steady 8 min pace and seams pretty doable with my last long run average pace of 8:09 for 14.25 miles.
OK so today's blog might be all over the place but i have a hard time getting my thoughts lined up in my head most of the time :D
Sunday, May 25, 2008
one year running and a 5k PR **RR**
Ok sooo first of this race make it one year running for me. Yesterday i did 14.25 miles and a year ago i couldn't even do 1.4 miles non-stop. We had some iffy weather last night but i was going to run this race even if it was pouring out. :D But when i got up it was cloudy and 62 with no rain in sight. Score!!! Now i start to get that idea in the back of my head for PR. After a little number crunching i said to my self "its go time". my fastest 5k was last September a time of 21:08. I figured 21:00 would be just fine after running 14+ yesterday.
Now for the race. i only had a banana and a little water before i left for the race. Picked up my bib and shirt. Threw the shirt in the van and did a 3/4 mile warm up. 7:30 pace.... yeah the pre-race adrenalin was kicking in. got back to the start line and did some stretching. So i am all ready to go. We had a little delay wait for the one and only wheel chair racer to get his wheels set. so did a bit more warming up and stretching waiting for him. 8:10 the race started. went out waaay to fast. first 1/4 mile was about a 5:45 pace. but i kicked it down a bit and got to my 6:29 pace. First two miles were right at 6:29. my legs really started to burn at about 2 miles in. about mid mile 2 was right around a 7 min pace. i couldn't see the front runners any more but i knew they weren't far away. At about 2.9 miles in a guy that was out for a training running stopped to cheer us on. I looked at my watch it said 2.9 miles and about 18:00. no its really GO TIME. I found that last little bit(always had a good finishing kick). i passed my mom, who was walking the 5k, with about 20 yards left. At this point i was pretty much at a dead sprint. I saw the clock it was just hitting 20:30. hit the line at 20:37. A full 30 secs off my PR from last fall. Let me tell you i was cooked.
So the race is pretty small maybe 100 runner and walkers. So for prizes they give out loafs of bread. With my time i ended up 4th among men and 5th over all. So i got a loaf of whole grain honey wheat. Its very good bread i get it for my lunches every week so i knew just what i was getting. :D I'll add photos when they post them on the race site. i think I'll end up with e few good ones.
ps. it took longer to write the RR than it did to run the race. :D
Now for the race. i only had a banana and a little water before i left for the race. Picked up my bib and shirt. Threw the shirt in the van and did a 3/4 mile warm up. 7:30 pace.... yeah the pre-race adrenalin was kicking in. got back to the start line and did some stretching. So i am all ready to go. We had a little delay wait for the one and only wheel chair racer to get his wheels set. so did a bit more warming up and stretching waiting for him. 8:10 the race started. went out waaay to fast. first 1/4 mile was about a 5:45 pace. but i kicked it down a bit and got to my 6:29 pace. First two miles were right at 6:29. my legs really started to burn at about 2 miles in. about mid mile 2 was right around a 7 min pace. i couldn't see the front runners any more but i knew they weren't far away. At about 2.9 miles in a guy that was out for a training running stopped to cheer us on. I looked at my watch it said 2.9 miles and about 18:00. no its really GO TIME. I found that last little bit(always had a good finishing kick). i passed my mom, who was walking the 5k, with about 20 yards left. At this point i was pretty much at a dead sprint. I saw the clock it was just hitting 20:30. hit the line at 20:37. A full 30 secs off my PR from last fall. Let me tell you i was cooked.
So the race is pretty small maybe 100 runner and walkers. So for prizes they give out loafs of bread. With my time i ended up 4th among men and 5th over all. So i got a loaf of whole grain honey wheat. Its very good bread i get it for my lunches every week so i knew just what i was getting. :D I'll add photos when they post them on the race site. i think I'll end up with e few good ones.
ps. it took longer to write the RR than it did to run the race. :D
Sunday, May 18, 2008
longest run EVER again
so this weekend did not go how it was planed. The plan was for a 13+ mile run on saturday. Then no running sunday. Plant garden sunday.
Well i had an invite from my race buddy for a 5k waiting for me on face book when i got home from work friday. After chatting with her at about 11pm friday i decided to do the race satruday and just "take it easy". As anyone who reads this knows when i plan i taking it easy on a race it NEVER happens. Race started out slow and easy......i can tell you the pace cause i don't really know my GPS lost its hook up right at the starting line and didn't get connected again till about a half mile in. So at about 3/4 of a mile in a mom with a stroller passed me.....and well lets just say i didn't want to get beat by a stroller. so off i go. by this time my watch final had a signal i was going at about an 8 min pace.... hit the turn around at about 14 mins. then really kicked it in....mile 2 was done at about a 7:30 pace....and mile 3 i think i even saw a 5:55 pace for a second or two. passed up pretty much everyone that had passed me at the start. hit the finish line at 24:03. Pretty good for being at 14 mins at the half way point. me and my race buddy hung out a little bit after the race and had some free snack. I think i ate more than i burned on that one. :D
Now today was the LONG run....longest run ever for me in fact. My last run over 13 miles was my first run over 13 miles in my half marathon in jan. So this morning i woke up at about 7am. stomach was already in knots thinking about the run and NOBODY was around on runners world. so i got about 16oz of Gatorade, 16 oz of water and one bill bar. I really should have eaten more but i just couldn't get any food in me. I packed 2 cliff shots for the run in my water belt. Filled up my water bottle. Went out watered my plants that went in the ground yesterday. Then took off on my run at about 8:15.
here are my splits and HR averages
mile split total time average HR
1 9:13 9:13 155
2 8:34 17:47 166
3 8:34 26:34 162
4 8:34 34:55 164
5 8:41 43:36 162 took first cliff shot
6 8:51 52:28 162
7 8:44 1:01:44 157
8 9:09 1:10:23 154
9 8:33 1:18:56 158 took second cliff shot
10 8:23 1:27:20 162
11 8:30 1:35:50 158
12 8:37 1:44:28 159
13 8:12 1:52:40 163
13.7 5:28 1:58:09 166
so from the looks of thing i was getting stronger as i ran. A very good sign. I was able to keep my HR lower. able too keep most of my mile with in my goal time for marathon. For my marathon on the fall i am shooting for about an 8:30 pace. This training run had an average of 8:39 so i am VERY happy about that. Only one small problem. The tendon on the front of my shin that goes to the top of my foot does not like ANY shoes right now. Every time i was going down hill it would rub on the tongue of my shoes and bother it. It doesn't hurt to move it or anything like that. But the shoes just dig into that spot. I have been dealing with that for about 2 weeks now and i don't really know why. i may need to figure out some kind of pad to put under my sock in that area when i run for awhile. I iced it while i was doing laundry this afternoon and it feels better but not too great when i touch it. also i have had to ditch the last two hole on my shoes when lacing them up. That seams to help but does not fix it.
oh yeah and on satuday i got my "in training" shirt i ordered when i signed up for my marathon. now if it would just be warm enough in the morning to wear it for my long runs i would be happy.
Well i had an invite from my race buddy for a 5k waiting for me on face book when i got home from work friday. After chatting with her at about 11pm friday i decided to do the race satruday and just "take it easy". As anyone who reads this knows when i plan i taking it easy on a race it NEVER happens. Race started out slow and easy......i can tell you the pace cause i don't really know my GPS lost its hook up right at the starting line and didn't get connected again till about a half mile in. So at about 3/4 of a mile in a mom with a stroller passed me.....and well lets just say i didn't want to get beat by a stroller. so off i go. by this time my watch final had a signal i was going at about an 8 min pace.... hit the turn around at about 14 mins. then really kicked it in....mile 2 was done at about a 7:30 pace....and mile 3 i think i even saw a 5:55 pace for a second or two. passed up pretty much everyone that had passed me at the start. hit the finish line at 24:03. Pretty good for being at 14 mins at the half way point. me and my race buddy hung out a little bit after the race and had some free snack. I think i ate more than i burned on that one. :D
Now today was the LONG run....longest run ever for me in fact. My last run over 13 miles was my first run over 13 miles in my half marathon in jan. So this morning i woke up at about 7am. stomach was already in knots thinking about the run and NOBODY was around on runners world. so i got about 16oz of Gatorade, 16 oz of water and one bill bar. I really should have eaten more but i just couldn't get any food in me. I packed 2 cliff shots for the run in my water belt. Filled up my water bottle. Went out watered my plants that went in the ground yesterday. Then took off on my run at about 8:15.
here are my splits and HR averages
mile split total time average HR
1 9:13 9:13 155
2 8:34 17:47 166
3 8:34 26:34 162
4 8:34 34:55 164
5 8:41 43:36 162 took first cliff shot
6 8:51 52:28 162
7 8:44 1:01:44 157
8 9:09 1:10:23 154
9 8:33 1:18:56 158 took second cliff shot
10 8:23 1:27:20 162
11 8:30 1:35:50 158
12 8:37 1:44:28 159
13 8:12 1:52:40 163
13.7 5:28 1:58:09 166
so from the looks of thing i was getting stronger as i ran. A very good sign. I was able to keep my HR lower. able too keep most of my mile with in my goal time for marathon. For my marathon on the fall i am shooting for about an 8:30 pace. This training run had an average of 8:39 so i am VERY happy about that. Only one small problem. The tendon on the front of my shin that goes to the top of my foot does not like ANY shoes right now. Every time i was going down hill it would rub on the tongue of my shoes and bother it. It doesn't hurt to move it or anything like that. But the shoes just dig into that spot. I have been dealing with that for about 2 weeks now and i don't really know why. i may need to figure out some kind of pad to put under my sock in that area when i run for awhile. I iced it while i was doing laundry this afternoon and it feels better but not too great when i touch it. also i have had to ditch the last two hole on my shoes when lacing them up. That seams to help but does not fix it.
oh yeah and on satuday i got my "in training" shirt i ordered when i signed up for my marathon. now if it would just be warm enough in the morning to wear it for my long runs i would be happy.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
mothers day 5k
Today is mothers day. happy mothers day to all those mothers everywhere.
So for today it was a nice small 5k and my "home" track. A lake near by were almost everyone of my 5k races has been. Como lake is a nice little lake in St. Paul. Its a nice small lake about 1.5 miles around so 2 laps for a 5k. Didn't look like too many racers were really going to push it today. That was my plan till i got there and saw very few people. The RD says " all runners going for under 23:00 please come to the front" well no one did. So i figured what the heck i got in the front. i was just going to do a nice and easy 9:30 pace and at mile marker 1 watch said 6:49. oops. the next couple miles were a lot slower. but still finished in 22:43. that is only 1:30 short of my PR time. :D so from the looks of things i should be getting 3 PRs in June. 5k 8k and 10K. 8k and 10K will be PRs for sure because i haven't ran those distances before. oh yeah and i did the race with no GPS no HR monitor just my watch. i am sure my pace would have been more steady with it but i just thought i would give it a try
So for today it was a nice small 5k and my "home" track. A lake near by were almost everyone of my 5k races has been. Como lake is a nice little lake in St. Paul. Its a nice small lake about 1.5 miles around so 2 laps for a 5k. Didn't look like too many racers were really going to push it today. That was my plan till i got there and saw very few people. The RD says " all runners going for under 23:00 please come to the front" well no one did. So i figured what the heck i got in the front. i was just going to do a nice and easy 9:30 pace and at mile marker 1 watch said 6:49. oops. the next couple miles were a lot slower. but still finished in 22:43. that is only 1:30 short of my PR time. :D so from the looks of things i should be getting 3 PRs in June. 5k 8k and 10K. 8k and 10K will be PRs for sure because i haven't ran those distances before. oh yeah and i did the race with no GPS no HR monitor just my watch. i am sure my pace would have been more steady with it but i just thought i would give it a try
Saturday, May 10, 2008
11 miles fueled by bill bars
Today was my first double digit run since my half marathon in January. 11 miles in 1:37:15. it was another great run. i have a 5k tomorrow but i think i will take it pretty easy on that one. 28-30 min area should be good enough.
Oh i also made my 'bill bars' last night here is what i put in them
-dry ingredients-
6 cups oat meal
6 cups bran flakes
1.5 cups grape nuts
1.5 cups all bran buds
1.5 cup walnuts
3/4 cup flax seed
3/4 cup dried cherries chopped
1.5 cups chopped dried dates
1 cup chocolate chips
-binder-
1.5 cups Karo syrup
3/4 dark brown sugar
heat in pan for 6-8 minutes
pour binder over dry ingredients and mix. it will look way too dry to start with.
batch fills two jelly roll pans packed tight. i use parchment paper to pack it down.
makes 64 bars that are about 175 calories each.
Oh i also made my 'bill bars' last night here is what i put in them
-dry ingredients-
6 cups oat meal
6 cups bran flakes
1.5 cups grape nuts
1.5 cups all bran buds
1.5 cup walnuts
3/4 cup flax seed
3/4 cup dried cherries chopped
1.5 cups chopped dried dates
1 cup chocolate chips
-binder-
1.5 cups Karo syrup
3/4 dark brown sugar
heat in pan for 6-8 minutes
pour binder over dry ingredients and mix. it will look way too dry to start with.
batch fills two jelly roll pans packed tight. i use parchment paper to pack it down.
makes 64 bars that are about 175 calories each.
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