Maris 61 in 61 -- 10K: Updated race report

Full report to follow, but to the left is the course route. Time was 1:16:45, about 2 minutes above my "best goal," but a new PR. More to follow when I get back from a family reunion.

Ok, here is a longer report:

1) Course rates a "D". All Concrete, much of it on sidewalks, with no trees, windbreaks, shade, etc.

2) Start was poorly handled. No clear markers and not enough pre-warning. I ended up boxed in by "walking strollers" and was at least 20 yards behind the nearest runner when I got free.

3) Aid stations -- cups too small, water only, only at 1.2 miles and 3 miles of the 10K. Given that the 1.2 mile aid station was passed again around mile 5 on the way back in, it simply closed too early.

4) Mile 2 and 5 were crossing of a busy intersection. Going out, there was one young lady with an infant left alone at the corner. On the way back in, she was gone and not replaced. It was a mistake to leave here there alone.

5) No medals, only the first 600 get shirts and packets. I pre-registered, but I heard a fair amount of grumbling. . . Also, packet had more "drug" promo's than runner interesting stuff. Meritcare has fantastic Sports Medicine divisions, but the bag had advertisments for "Sanofi Aventis" (whatever that is. . .) but nothing on local sports medicine services.

6) Packet pick-up is day of race only, even though the "fundraising" and silent auctions were open for 3 days and should have allowed avoidance of traffic with early packet pick-up.

7) No food, water, or medical attention at finish. Had to walk 2-3 blocks and cross a major traffic road to get back to aid station. Totally unacceptable. Stay away if they cannot figure this out!!!!

9) Map did not clearly show location of start or finish. No banners or other easy ways to identify. My family was confused about where to go. . . Packet did not even have a map.

10) Mile 4 went by Famous Daves and smell of lunch preperation probably cost me ton's of emotional energy, motivation, and at least 2 minutes off my time. . . OK, this is the one thing that was probably not something that can/should be fixed.

Overall, it is a good group of people, a good cause, but in desperate need to some "runners" input in the planning. Without major changes, especially at finish line, I will not run this again.

ORN only -- Run Club

No time for much detail. Ran 4.16 miles in "taper" or slow speed at Run Club tonight. Air was cold, but rain held off. Felt good. Ready for race on Saturday and more to come.

Furstration-- partially fixed. . .

It was a long weekend at the office. I was doing a systems upgrade and had multiple problems that could not have been anticipated or avoided. But it still meant that I worked alot more hours than I planned and did not get a Sunday run in.

Yesterday, I screwed up eating and Paige had to work. So it got to be dark, I was REALLY hungry, I still had work to do at the office, and Cooper was falling asleep in my lap while I was trying to get the work done. No run.

Also, I have been sore in my sides (oblique muscles) due to lengthening of my stride as I have picked up speed and hills.

This all amounts to a large level of frustration and worry with no outlett. Add in some more work related angst, and I was ready for a run. I had a great chance to slip out of work early and get a run in, and it evaporated (replaced my more work stress and frustration).

So, I dropped Cooper off at a drop-in day care for an hour and went for a run. I went to a park near our place and ran once around the park on the grass. It turned out to be only 0.8mile. Given that I wanted about four miles, I decided against five loops and branched the second loop out into the neighborhoods, returning to finish in the park. Very little side pain.

Then it was back to pick up Coop-a-loop and off to Buffalo Wild Wings where he ate very well (growing boy), and I had a nice salad. We watched a bit of the Mn Twins game on the big screen and then home for PJ's and bed.

Nice night.

Paige is right; I do need to do some core strengthening with weights and perhaps a balance ball to avoid the back and side pain. . . Working on a plan for that AFTER I get back from a one-day trip to Denver for work, the race Saturday, the family reunion this weekend, and finish the upgrade at work.

#349

One of the things I felt the Fargo Marathon lost was the great starting location on top of the new Main Ave bridge, when it moved the start/finish lines to the Fargodome in 2006. I guess I was not alone, as the Marathon put on "Bridge Bash 2006!" to kick of the registration for the 2007 marathon. Top male and female runners in the 2.62mile race (10% of a marathon) got free entry into the marathon. There were also a bunch of doorprizes and a nice course.

I was bib #349. As usual, I went out too fast. I also put my Garmin 305 display into the wrong mode and nothing there made sense! Took me quite a few glances and almost a 1/4 mile to figure it out. But I settled down in the middle sections and ran my race. There were people around me that had a faster running pace, but had more and longer walk breaks. So we passed each other about 5-6 times in the first 2.25miles. But around 2.25, I picked up the pace and the body responded. There were also a couple of downhill portions and I let the stride go forward. I basically blew past quite a few people that had passed me between 0.75 and 2 miles, but were now fading. I actually had a kick!!!. And you know what? I still left some in the tank; downpayment towards future speed needs.

Why I run?

I have become deeply introspective on this issue since a good friend asked me two weeks ago over lunch on why I had started running, changed my diet, and dropped 30+ pounds and counting. I did not really have an answer. . . There was no large health scare or single event. Perhaps it was simply my subconcious outsmarting my concious mind that was in denial.

There is no doubt that there are health benefits to my current exercise regime (Hal Higdon's book lists it as high as 7-10 year increase in life expentency). I probably always knew that, but I was also in denial about the truth. My dad died at age 39 (when I was three years old). At some level, maybe I just thought I wouldn't live long anyway. Last year, I was 39 and Cooper was 3; now that he is 4, I am looking forward to doing with Cooper, all the fun things I enjoyed in my youth. Sailing, canoeing, backpacking, running trails to get great pictures, etc.. There was so much life I had closed myself off from; now I want to live as much of it as I can.

This month's "Outside" magazine has WAY to many deep stories about friendship, growing older, and loss. I read part of one story this morning in which a bunch of friends that had grown up working in Outward Bound were returning to a river for a "manweek." One of the friends is caught being introspective and discusses that he is 37 and both his father (cancer) and his grandfather (heart) died at age 50. He seriously thinks he has 13 years left. . .

It is amazing that I am even typing this because my denial mechanisms are usually so tightly trained that no hint of thinking any of this would ever even cross my own concousness, more or less be something that I would publicly admit.

I was also struck by Hal Higdon's book on Master Running. He goes through all the long term studies to come up with the 7-10 year claim above. He sums up his view by writing:

"In all honesty, winning another gold medal hardly motivates me anymore. I'd like my wife and myself to live long enough to see our grandchildren graduted from college and happily married. So I run as many days as I comfortably can and fill in the spots between with other forms of exercise. . . "

Hal Higdon, "Master Running", p.63

"Be concerned with adding life to your years."

Dr. George Sheehan

"The strenuous life tastes better."

Willaim James

Perhaps the only true answer is:

I run because I can!

and I now realize how precious it is that I keep it this way! Sheehan is right; It is not only adding years to my life; it is adding life to those years.

Sore hip, cold weather, and long hours (am I getting old?)

My left hip has been sore most of this week. More of a "tired" soreness and definately not a "strain/sprain/pull" soreness. But it is still sore and with 50*'s and rain and wind and working long hours, I am a bit grumpy. I wonder if it is just me getting old, or what. . .

Please feel free to comment at will. . . (especially my wife!)

LCD (Long Cold Distance)

Scheels running club tonight. Temperature started about 58* and was dropping. It started drizzling before the start and progressed to a steady cold rain. My GPS took a long time to synch up with satelites; I stood in the rain and got cold! It asked if I had "moved hundreds of miles since my last use?" Austin to Fargo qualifies; it was literally "North by Northwest." The cold rain meant the GPS would not maintain its satellite lock. I reran the same route as last week. When I finished, the GPS said I had done 33 miles(rather than the 4.17 it measured last week). Manual calculation of pace suggests the 4.17 is correct, I certainly was not turning 43 second miles that the GPS claimed. :)

Very cold and wet when done. I bit of problems keeping my wet shoes tied and a bit of stiffness in my left hip. Shoes are on the new shoe dryer so they are ready for tomorrow and I am hoping that the rain stops in time for a nice evening run before I have to head into the office for an all-night install.

Other running note. Forcast is for 50*'s and rain on Saturday afternoon, but the "Bridge Bash" 2.62 mile fun run/walk looks like it will be fun and worth checking out.

LSD in Austin

Had a nice day, but a late start. I arrived in Austin after 11pm Sunday night and was late getting to sleep after cab to hotel, check-in, unpacking, etc. Then a breakfast meeting (fruit and granola) before the run. Training plan had me psyched for a 12mile LSD. I was planning on running around "Town Lake". The lake is ringed by parks and greenways with primarily gravel running trails. I started below the Congress Street bridge and headed east towards the dam and a "clockwise" path around the lake.

Initial weather was great (overcast and 70's). Trail had multiple water fountains and promised a great experience. But around mile four, there were a few things that I would have avoided if I had known more. The first is the bridge over the dam; the pedestrian path is too narrow. The traffic feels really close. The railing seems low, the bridge is very high over the lake, and the drop is into the dam rather than water. I don't like heights and was uncomfortable most of the way across.

South side of the lake does not have trails complete trails on the east end; about half the distance was on the sidewalk along Riverside Dr. That meant that the path was concrete rather than gravel and there were no water fountains. The sun came out, it started to warm up, and the number of hills and the hardness of the trail made this section of the run much harder.

After I got back into the park area and the gravel trail along the river, I came across a large (10-12 coolers) water station for runners maintained by RunTex, the largest local running store. It was much appreciated, although it was much later than I needed. I continued on, but I felt the sun's intensity, developed a pain in my side that would not go away (it was not a stich, more of an oblique muscle strain). Around 9.25 miles, I really lost the ability to maintain a run for extended periods of time and decided to cut run short. I did a run 2/walk 2 back to RunTex's coolers and stopped the clock at 2:27:54 and 9.64 miles.

I then exited the park, crossed the street, and entered the RunTex store where I bought tee's for Cooper and myself. Then it was a mile walk back to the hotel.

The ice machine was across the hall from my room and I decided to try an ice bath to see if it improved recovery. It was very cold! Then, to my horror, there was no hot water and I could not take a shower to warm up. I ended up getting as warm as I could and then headed out for a late lunch. Walked about another mile or so and had a great lunch at a Chinese Noodle Shop. Back to the hotel for a quick nap and then a walk to a cocktail reception and supper for the conference.

I did call it an early night and tried to get to sleep early. I say tried because the errors of the day caught up with me and I did not sleep well. I started with heavy chills and ended up sleeping in my sweat pants and a LS running shirt. I also did not sleep well and the morning came early.

Tuesday AM I canned the scheduled recovery run and spent a half hour in the hot tub before breakfast and a full day of meetings. Tuesday evening was supper and a visit to Antoine's for a special performance by The Sharks. Their lead singer was some guy named "Dennis Quaid" and their set included a couple of Jerry Lee Lewis songs, although he played piano in the movie and played guitar at Antoine's. . . ;) Actually, Dennis and the band were very good and it was an enjoyable time. The only real problem I had was during his final song (Wild Thing). I kept waiting for him to do his brother Randy's verse ("Wild thing, you make my butt sting. You walk everything!"). But the "Major League" references were not included and Dennis and band delivered a very good, albeit traditional rendition of the song.

I was a bit torn; I was promised a chance to go back stage and meet Dennis (got my picture taken too!). But the theater next to the hotel was advertising "One night only: Jimmy Buffet." I was tempted to follow the parrot heads to the scalpers and ditch the "Sharks" for "Fins" and "a lost shaker of salt. . . "

Wednesday morning started with an early morning 2.5 mile run before a long day at the conference and flights home. Missed my first connection and again, did not get in until midnight and took a while to wind down.

Cooper loved his RunTex tee and I am glad to be home.

Runing in Austin:

Pros:

* Most of trail is gravel.

* Great scenery with lake, waterfowl, and a wide tree variety (cottonwoods to oaks, to pines to palms to even bamboo).

* Mile markers and maps

* Lots of runners, running groups.

* RunTex and their cooler support.

* No bugs! The Congress Ave bridge is home to a HUGE bat colony and despite lots of water for breeding, the bats eat enough bugs that I saw no misquitos!


Cons:

* Texas sun and heat.

* "Washed concrete." I had one running book that described concerte as "the worst surface to run on because it is crushed rock and very hard." "Washed concrete" where waterpressure is used while the concrete is setting to expose whole rocks. It looks real nice, but it is basically washing the crushed rock away to expose rock rock. It is harder than just concrete. The Austin trails replace gravel with "washed concrete on some hills and other areas highly prone to erosion. Also, the sidewalk along Riverside Dr on the SE shore of the lake is either concrete or "washed concrete". It is a hard surface that makes parts of the run very hard.

* Inconsistent water fountains. You need to know and plan your route so the fountains are where you need them. for my route, I ran past many early on when I did not yet need water, and then when I needed water, I did not see a fountain for a couple of miles.

* In one section of the trail, I noticed a BUNCH of these little white plastic signs zip-tied to plants and vines. I looked closer and it said "Beware -- this is poison ivy!" Yikes!

Off to Austin

I am off tomorrow to the capital of Texas for a conference. The airfares was significantly cheaper to fly in Sunday than Monday, so although the first event isn't until 6:30pm Monday, I am flying in Sunday evening. That means a chance to do my long run Monday morning in the heat of Texas. Stay tuned!

Dunton Locks County Park Trail Run

Alternatively known as "fun day with ducks!" Based on Kate Havelin's "Minnesota Running Trails" book, I decided to run Dunton Locks today. Despite the claim on page 129 that there are "A few pleasant inclines", I found the hills to be quite steep. But they were also quite beautiful and I enjoyed my time, even if I had to carefully walk down some hills to avoid bad slips on the ground slick with last night'a rain. It is a very peaceful place and I certainly enjoyed the runs. I ended up doing about 4 miles on the new trail shoes and they felt very good. Ankle was tight, toe box had room, didn't grip my instep too tight and had a good grip on the ground. Relaxing day.

Definately needed it when I found out the Notre Dame football score; wanted to turn around and go run some more. . .

Scheels Running Club

Quick 4.17 mile run at Scheels Run Club tonight. The Running Club forms at the Scheels Sports Store on 45th Ave in Fargo for a 6:15 run every Thursday evening. Maps, stories , and refreshment are provided. Anyway, my mind and my body were on disconnect. I ran alot of splits at a 13:14 to 13:28 pace instead of the 14:30 I was looking for. My feet would just not slow down. Then, I was supposed to be doing intervals at Run17 mins, walk1, Run18, walk 1, etc. Instead, I realized I was about 22-23 minutes in the run and I had not taken a walk break yet. HRM confirmed that I worked my heart and body faster than I intended; especially in the heat. Oh well. . .

Run in the park

Just a quick spin around the parks (3.37 miles @13:28 pace) Up to around 150 miles on my shoes and time to start looking for a new pair so they are broken in before this pair hits 300.

Wide Left

I watched the Vikings hold on for a win when the Redskins could not hit a field goal. Then I went for a run. It was a bit chilly, but the legs felt good and I had no foot pain. I definately bruised the tendon on my left foot that goes to the big toe, but as long as I am careful when I put my shoe on and off, it has been pretty good.

Ended up with a 4.23 mile loop through the area in about an hour. Heart rate was solid in the zone that I wanted, pacing felt nice. Only issue is the hands were cold and the legs, despite the tights, never really got that warm. . . Makes me worry what kind of wimp I am going to be when the snow flies.

Last night, ran on treadmill (6 miles, around 90 minutes). Got miles in, but legs felt a bit dead.

From Kitchen to the Wild in 30 Seconds - New York Times

From the NYT:

"Access to dirt trails — not just bicycle lanes or sidewalks — is a priority for so many runners like Mr. Adcock that housing developers are increasingly carving miles of paths through the wild to attract them. The trend is most pronounced in areas with acres of open land and sprawling new planned communities. But some crowded towns are finding ways to incorporate trails, hoping to lure the booming number of off-road runners and other trail users.

“For years, developers had been developing golf courses as though it were the only way to sell houses,” said Ed McMahon, the senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute, a development research group in Washington. “But the vast majority of buyers do not play golf.”

“Now we’re seeing an explosion of trail systems in new communities,” Mr. McMahon said, “because developers are starting to catch on to what prospective homebuyers want.”

Trails are the No. 1 amenity potential homeowners cite when asked what they would like to see in a new community, ahead of public parks and outdoor pools, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Trails were cited by 57 percent of prospective buyers in a 2004 survey by the association. “All of the evidence we have suggests that demademand for trails is increasing,” said Gopal Ahluwalia, the vice president for research at the builders’ group."

Link (may require registration)

Yup, looking for that AND the ability to add a photography studio and art studio. . .

Looking forward to Fall

With a 46* morning this week, I also saw the first fallen leaves. I have purchased a pair of CW-X tights and started planning for gloves and long sleeves.

With the fall upcoming, I have plans for a good daypack/hydration pack and trail shoes that will allow me to run trails with my camera and get some shots of the fall foliage. I have a week vacation in October and hope to spend it on the run.

Stay tuned: I will post maps and run reports here with links to the pictures on my photoblog.

BTW, that's "Fall", I do enough falling but I don't look forward to it. . .

Runner's addiction?

Ok, I felt good tonight so I stretched my "5k jog" a bit. . .

I was also looking at my plan book / running log and realized that I skipped a whole week in there and had to adjust my schedule because I was doing Level 1 week 9 workouts instead of week 8. Since it did not kill me, I will skip week 8 and do week 10 twice!

Then, I am looking through my plan and I am thinking that I have too many races in October because I am having problems slipping in long runs. . .

Where did this thinking come from? Is this the same mind that was stuck on a couch only 3 months ago?


OBN -- 6 miles slow. Week was 16.97 miles with a PR in a 5k race (36:26 chip timing).

Stupid things I did this weekend

Regardless of how many John Bingham books and articles I read ("I am slow, I am a penguin, I need to stop caring about what other's think and run my race. . .") , I still do stupid things!

I go out too fast, I am more worried about the pace of someone else than my own pace. I am embarassed to be seen running slow.

The latest; got tricked into a bad decision on clothes.

OK, Friday afternoon around 5pm, pull into a parking space near the finish line of the Dick Beardsley 1/2 Marathon/5K and get ready to run the course. There are lots of runners in town doing their last taper runs and three, blond, high-school girls com jogging past in shorts and cotton short-sleeved tee's. So I decide I must be macho! I put the long sleeve shirt back in the bag, pull out the short sleeves, and unzip the pants and take off. I get about two blocks up the road and I want to turn back for more clothes! I ignored it because I was tough! About the end of the first mile, I am in the sun and among the downtown buildings and the shorts and top feel good! Then, I turn a corner and the breeze from the lake hits me, along with the major shivers.

Moral, I am a whimp. I am forty, over-weight, and don't care what other's think about me; especially young blonds. I love my CW-X tights and will wear enough clothes to stay warm. I promise to remember this until I forget it again and get distracted into thinking that running in 33* rain in shorts and a singlet makes me a "real runner." Perhaps this old dog can't learn. . .

Technology notes

1) New software. I found out that the software that comes with the Garmin 305 is VERY inaccurate when it comes to estimating calories burned. It also has some other problems, and it will not let you edit the route if the GPS has problems. So I found SportTracks and it seems to work very well!

2) I am going to start embedding GPS generated maps in my blog posts from the software. The example to the right is last Sunday's 10mile LSD. I also added a map for the Beardsley 5k route.

Beardsley 5k Race Report

Race Report (5K):

Course -- Great. Fairly straight, but rarely level. Their were no "killer" hills, but there was also little level ground. The hills were not something I ever really noticed when I drove the course, but they did slightly affect pacing. Lines were VERY "professionally" painted. It is not often that you find a small local race in which the lines are painted by the man who has run the 4th fasted marathon in US history and your name is annouced by a world record holder as you cross the line.

Support -- Great. Everything from a couple of bands to an elderly couple that "self-volunteered" to dress up in Leiderhosen and play an accordion on their front walk. Crowd cheered well.

Pack -- Large and friendly. Lots of runners, but I never felt "hemmed" in.

Weather -- Good. It was 46* at race time and did not warm up that much. Little problems with overheating.

5k race -- It was advertised as a run/walk, but it was a run. 260 of the 341 finishers finished in under 36:00. There were only a couple of stollers. This was my third 5k (1 previous run, 1 worked). My quick take is the pack, as a whole, was much faster but the race was slower. The other two 5k's were in the warmth of July, but the winner was between 16:05 and 16:10; here first place was at least 0:30 slower. And it sounds like there was a gap between first and second; second and third. The thought just occured to me that all the colleges are in session and at least two runners that I know that could have won this race are probably unable to run.

Spaghetti feed -- Call me picky, but I like lots of mushrooms in a non-meat sauce. I also like thick and soft bread instead of thin toast. Turnout was nice, it was spaghetti, it was reasonably priced, and it did it's job. Coversation was good.

Talk and Guest -- Doug Kurtis filled in for Greta Weis and did a fine job. Doug started by mentioning that it was tough to go on after Dick. This is true, especially in the town that has adopted Dick as its own. I think even most celebrities and politicians would not be happy with that line-up. That said, Doug did fine and the question and answer section was good.

Personal support -- My cousin Chris was there for the race. I also ran into other friends from Fargo (Leah, Steve & Tiffiny, Brian). And, of course, Paige and Cooper were there with my bag and hugs.

Personal Race -- I just finished the 7th week of my running program and I have only been working on endurance; no speed training. I am still very slow. I was uncertain of what I could run and knew I would be happy with anything 41:59 or better. On Friday night, I wrote down in my notebook 37:12. Thought I was crazy at the time, but that is what I felt "compelled" to write. Paige asked me on the way to the race and after a pause, I told here the same time. My stopwatch, (which I started when I started to move forward) read 37:01 when I stopped it at the finish! Chip time was 36:26, a new PR! My heart-rate monitor says I pushed it well, but I probably had a bit more in the tank and I did not give a real intense kick. So I definately have faster times in me. Overall, I was very pleased with the time and felt very good.

Trail run?

I need to sneak in a run today and tomorrow. I am going to bring my suitbag and my running shorts/shoes and try to sneak away and get a run in before it gets dark and is time to leave for home. I am already a bit antsy and jumpy and know that I need something to take the edge off so I can sleep each night. . .

Stay tuned.

Last quick thought -- Mom and Dad have a room at the Holiday Inn. Perhaps they can get a late check-out and I can change/shower there!