Evening Run

I got out for an easy run tonight. I bought some new socks and windpants today so I tried them out. They worked pretty well. I guess I am not very picky on my clothing. I am still enjoying my Cascadia 4 shoes. I ended up running about 4.5 miles. It took me about 36 minutes. My log says that my average was 7:53 per mile. I also completed 5 sets of 10 pushups in between my stretches as I cooled down. I think this weekend, I am going to try to really get after it and start my training for Earth Day Half Marathon.

Two Hours of Shoveling

Today's workout was shoveling snow. It is kind of a tedious job, but I had to make sure there was a path for my in-laws to get to our place later tonight. It was pretty slippery out as well. I only fell on my butt once, but almost fell about 50 times.



I was at it for an hour and a half when the city plow came by and made a waist high pile of snow at the end of my driveway. At first this annoyed me, but the packed snow was easier to shovel than the drifts, so it wasn't so bad. I was amused that I was more efficient at shoveling snow than the guy across the street who was trying to use a snow blower.



After 2 hours, I finally had a path that one vehicle could fit through. I was pretty happy and starting to work on a path for the second car to go through when my neighbor came by with the loader. It took him about 6 minutes to clear out the rest of the snow in our twinhome split driveway. He cleared out a lot more snow than I had shoveled over the past two hours. Oh well, at least is was a good workout.

Monday Night Intervals

I got out for some speedwork on Monday night. The two block circle I ran was approximately 600M. I did a warm-up lap with my dog, then put her in to complete the rest. I ran 6 loops:
Lap 1 - 2:07 (a little too fast)
Lap 2 - 2:20
Lap 3 - 2:24
Lap 4 - 2:21
Lap 5 - 2:25
Lap 6 - 2:24

These didn't seem to bad. In high school, I hated running 600M intervals and much preferred either 400 or 800. I really want to work on speedwork for awhile as I have been neglecting these types of workouts. I was pretty cold after 6 loops so I called it quits. Next time, I hope to do 8 loops.

New Kicks

Last week the Brooks Cascadia 5s came out. I have been looking at trail shoes for quite awhile and read a lot of good things about the Cascadias. Once the 5s came out, the 4s dropped $30 at REI. Once reduced, I purchase a pair last Sunday. I was pretty excited all week to get them and they came today. I got out for a 4 miles and they worked great. They grip packed snow alot better than my road shoes. The still slip a on glare ice, but for the most part, they do a much better job on the snow. I'm looking forward to doing a couple trail races in them this year also.

2010 Race Schedule and Goals

I came up with my 2010 race calendar today. I might make some changes here and there. I also want to pick up a few more local 5ks & 10ks when I find out about them. I think this should keep me busy throughout the year. Other goals for 2010 include logging 1,000 miles during the year, dropping my weight to under 200 lbs, and actually spend time stretching and doing core work on my rest days.

Saturday Morning Run

I got out for 6.1 miles this morning. It was kind of cool out, but I made it through the run. The pace was 8:04 per mile. The last two miles were the worst, as I doubled back into the wind. I survived though. Like my dad would say, it was the kind of run "that puts hair on your chest." Unfortunately, I am already hairy enough.

Childbirth Education

No running tonight as I have night #2 of childbirth education. We will work on breathing exercises for Emily tonight. I probably wouldn't have gone out running anyways as there is a wind chill advisory out. It is currently -7 that feels like -23 according to weather.com. I usually don't mind winter, but am having a touch time adjusting to the 40+ degree drop in temp over the past week. I like the temp to slowly drop to get me acclimated to the change. Not this year. A couple weeks ago it was 50, now its -10.

Morning 5k

It feels good to start the week out with a run. This morning, it was only 10 degrees out, but I was able to get myself up and outside for a early morning run. I probably could have worn another top layer, but I stayed fairly warm throughout the run. I ran the 3.25 loop in 25:44.

Emily and I have baby classes in the evenings this week so I am going to try to get most my runs completed in the morning. Only six more weeks (give or take) until there is a new Parrill in the world. We've had a couple baby showers now so we are getting lots of presents. I worked quite a bit this weekend to get the nursery ready for the baby to move in.

Old Fashioned Whoopin

We got killed last night in basketball. Part of the problem was that we only had 6 guys and the other team had 10+, but the main problem was that we were missing our shots and they were making their shots. I played all but about 5 minutes of the game. I guess I got about 3 miles of running in on the game.

First Day of Snow

Today we got our first snow. Quite a bit came down. Naturally, I had to go for a run in it. I ended up going 5.75 miles on my Point Bridge loop in 48:24. I was looking back at my average pace when I started training for Fargo Half Marathon in January. I am a little slower right now. I averaged 8:24 over my run today. I would like to get a little faster as I am planning to run the Earth Day Half Marathon in April this year. I was looking at Brian's blog and like his idea of short speed work one day, a middle distance run one day, and a long distance run one day. I might try to mix in another run in there somewhere as well. I watched Prefontaine tonight on Hulu. The movie got me excited about the upcoming racing season.

4.25 Miles with new headlamp

This weekend, I purchase a headlamp. I was pretty excited because I can go back to my normal running routes and be sure that people saw me, or so I thought. I used my head lamp for the first time last night. One of my favorite loops have me run about a half mile west of my house and then turn south on a paved road. The road has no shoulder, but doesn't really need one as there is not a lot of traffic on the road. Last night, I just barely turned south and was running on the left side of the road when I saw a car coming at me. I thought that they would see my light and move over a little bit to give me some room. Wrong. The car stayed in its lane and I had to head for the ditch. I had a few choice words I muttered under my breath. After that the run went well. I average a 7:28 pace, which is a pretty fast training run for me. I also was a little faster coming back than going out, which isn't normal for me. One other thing that I noticed about running with the headlamp is that it feels like I am running through a tunnel. Overall, I like the head lamp though. I might try to take it out on some trails before the snow flies too much.

running to ease frustrations

Whenever, I am frustrated, I seem to have a good run in the evening. A few weeks ago, I was frustrated that my morning run was slow. I went and ran the same loop in the evening was over 45 sec/mi faster. Last night, I was thinking about how poorly I played basketball on Wed, and had an awesome run. I felt relaxed and fresh the entire time even though I was still a little sore from basketball the night before. It feels good after a disappointment to bounce back and have a good day of training.

Sprinting Sucks

Last night was the first night of City League Basketball. Thank god we had 8 guys to sub in and out because I got worn out fast while sprinting up and down the court. During the second half, I caught my second wind, but we all stuggled with fatigue. We were also very rusty out there playing. As the season wears on, hopefully we can work that rust out. We ended up losing by 5 points.

Saturday morning was a great day for a run. I don't know what it is about Saturday mornings, but I almost always enjoy getting up early on the and going for a run. This week, the weather was perfect. I met up with Stacy to work out the Frozen Feat routes. This year, we are starting at GF Herald building, so we need a new route. Luckily, the 5k route seemed to find itself as we found a loop that was nearly exactly 5k from the door. We will just have to play around with the Start/Finish line a little bit. The 10 route is an extension of the 5k route. Right now it is a little long so I have to cut some out. Should be doable though.

On Monday, I decided to do a little speedwork. I did 4x800. My times were:
3:03
3:03
3:05
3:12

I wanted to do on more but I was dead tired after 4. I slowed down quite a bit the last one as well. By April next year, I'd like to be able to do 6 under 3:10. Hopefully the sprinting up and down the basketball floor at City League will help me get some speed and keep it over several 800s. 1st game is Wednesday. It should be fun.

Back at It

After taking a week off to get ready for hunting, I am back at it this week. Last night I ran 3.5 miles as I was starting to get ideas for the Frozen Feat 5k. We have a pretty good base for the race, but getting it exactly 3.1 miles is tricky. Stacy wants to get a 10k in this year also. That will be next once we hammer out the 5k.

2010 Muddy Buddy in Mpls

I came across this race website awhile ago (www.muddybuddy.com) and it looked like a blast of race. I wanted to somehow fit it into my race schedule and had to figure out how to convince my wife that the cost of the trip was worth it. Today I found out that they are adding a Muddy Buddy race in Minneapolis in 2010, where I have tons of friends to stay with. I am pumped. Now all I need is a partner for the race.

Getting used to morning running

So far, I have not been at my best while running in the morning. I think I am still partly asleep. Yesterday morning, I got up for a run a little over 4 miles. The run went find, but when I finished, I wasn't very happy about my 8:15/mi pace. As I thought about it at work, I decided that I would run the same lap again in the evening to see if I could do it faster. My second try was a lot faster. I ran the same loop with a 7:20/mi pace.
This may change my current routine. I currently mix up my routes throughout the week, but I may start running the same route three times to see which day I can run it the fastest.

End of Season

I think I am going to consider my 2009 running season wrapped up. I was hoping to run the Veterans Day 8k cross country race but it looks like it is canceled. 2009 was a pretty good year for me though. I set PRs in the half marathon and 10k. Both PRs were set in Fargo with starting temps below 35 degrees. I had a lot of fun in both races. Hopefully in 2010 I run well in other towns as well as I ran in Fargo. I think I can set a few more PRs next year if I keep training hard. I also want to lose about 10-15 pounds, which may make it easier to run fast.

2010 is going to bring a lot of changes. I am expecting my first child on January 17th, so I know that he/she will change the amount of time I can spend training. My wife likes working out in the evening so I will be busy being dad during that time. I am starting to train in the mornings so that I get into the habit so that I can continue to keep in racing condition. I am going to try to get about 4 runs in each week around 4 to 6 miles through the end of the year. Once January rolls around, I will start planning my racing season. I have a few races in mind that I would like to complete. Most of these races I haven't run before.

I am also putting together a City League basketball team. Last year, I would play pickup basketball and did pretty well because I was in better shape than everyone due to my running. I hope I can get a lot of fast break points in on those who didn't keep up with their conditioning.

Type of Runner I am

Based on the prior post, I am a salination machine. I used to be an NBA Pro also, but have learned better.

Funny Article Found on Active.com

The 10 Types of Runners
By Roman Mica

Recently I ran Florida's Oldest Marathon—The Space Coast Marathon.
Actually I ran the half marathon and in proper collegiate fashion my training consisted of only cramming for the race. I basically ran about six to eight miles everyday for a week before the race. I bet you didn't know that you can cram for a half marathon? Well you can't. The results were predictable and I finished in 2:04 (plus some change) which happens to be about 15 minutes over my PR half marathon time at altitude. And last time I checked, Florida's Space Coast (Think Cocoa Beach from the old TV show I Dream of Jeanne) is only about a half a foot above sea level.

So by cramming I somehow manged to turn my Boulder altitude advantage to a PW (Personal Worst). Needless to say I had plenty of time while running to contemplate the lovely Florida Space Coast, the trees, the homes, the weather, the road, the Banana River running next to the race course, and of course my fellow runners. So without further explanation here are the 10 types of runners.
Which one are you, and which one am I?

1) The Frightened Dog Swatter
For some unknown reason the frightened dog swatter usually happens to be a woman who runs as if she were under deadly attack by a hell bent pack of tiny snarling Paris Hilton purse dogs. She flails here legs up and out in a matter and technique designed to swat the little bastard before they can nip and/or sink their tiny teeth into her manicured toenails.

She thrust her heels up, out and around with such vicious ferocity that running anywhere within a five foot diameter of her can be deadly to small dogs, squirrels, alligators, vermin, small livestock and of course other petite runners.

I believe I've read that the Kenyans and Ethiopians teach their top international runners strategical avoidance classes specifically designed to avoid the frightened dog swatter.

2) The Human Cybertron
I can only assume that the Human Cybertron was once a living and breathing person (either male or female) that at some point in their life due to a horrible tragedy well beyond my comprehension must have had their crucial organs replaced by beeping, buzzing, tweaking, ring tone playing and occasionally clanging cybertronics.

To say this runner is a wired machine would do injustice to the amount of wires sporting forth from the typical networked PC.

Typically the Human Cybertron runs with every possible electronic aid known to man sprouting from every orifice in their sweaty body. I'm amazed that they can even ponder so much data, with so much entertainment plugged into their ears on such a short run. I mean how much distance, speed, altitude, pace, heart rate, calorie, trajectory, target zone, sweat rate, and MP3 data can a person process in a few short hours?

Obviously much more than the Kenyan runner who won the half marathon in 1:05 can process since he did it without any electronic aid outside of a stop watch.

3) The Loud Runner
Every-so-often I would jump out of my skin during the race and duck behind the nearest tree or bush in a futile attempt to avoid the elephant stampede I was sure was just a few feet behind me. The Loud Runner is normally a man somewhere between middle age and golden age who's decided that his run will shake the very ground he runs upon.

This man must be a titan of industry because his only goal on the run is to subjugate the very road to his enormous will, and he will do so by pounding it into submission with every step he takes.

In order to do this he must spring straight into the air like a started cat and pounce on the earth with every ounce of his weight leaving nothing behind but enormous running shoe prints in the crushed and subjected pavement.

4) The Desalination Machine
I am most amazed by the Desalination Machine who usually tends to be a woman somewhere between middle age and golden age who has in her lifetime somehow developed the "believe it or not" ability to not sweat. In fact not only does she not sweat, but she's so put together with full make-up and hair that often after the race she'll jump into a cocktail dress and waiting limo to attend this or that red carpet event.

To her 13.1 miles or even 26.2 miles of running in the 100 percent humidity of a typical Florida day is nothing to get sweaty about. She can carry on a conversation about her favorite charity or NGO while most of us would be hitting the wall and still have that mysterious clean summer lilac breeze scent waft from every pore of her skin.

5) The Salination Machine
Unlike the desalination machine, this slightly portly gentleman started sweating at the pre-race pasta dinner. By the time the race cannon sounds he's already lost 5 pounds of water weight and created enough salt for the Osmond family Thanksgiving dinner.

Runners beware! If he decides to shake it up a little, you'll know what's it is like to be next to a very salty, very big, and very wet shaggy dog.
The oddest thing about the desalination machine is that you'll rarely, if ever, see him drink anything during the race.

At aide stations he shuns both water and sports drinks like an alcoholic after a long, painful, and intense 10 step meeting. Yet somehow he manages to sweat like Britney Spears at a Baptist breakfast prayer meeting after an all night pantyless party...even well after he crosses the finish line.

6) The High Five Twister
For some unknown reason to me, the High Five Twister is usually a cute and youngish female runner who looks like she wants to high five every other runner that passes her. Typically her elbows are at about (let's call it ear level) and she twists her body 180 degrees with every step she takes.

Honestly, it hurts just to watch the High Five Twister run. But not her. Even though she contorts her spine into the begins of a DNA double helix strand, you'd never know it by the huge smile on her face.

So yes, while her twisting body rotation and her high elbows create little micro tornadoes along the course, her winning smile and happy attitude says, "I'd win this race if it were only measured by the distance traveled from side to side, instead of straight ahead."

7) The Stink Bomber
Sometimes the pre-race morning meal does not agree with the body in motion. I'm sure in the heat of battle we've all squeezed out a little "poot". But not the Stink Bomber. This guy started farting at the age of one has has since gone to graduate school in the fine art of flatulence.

He's a running toxic obstacle to be avoided at all cost. But the problem is that on the typical crowded marathon course you don't know who he is until it is way too late. By the time you are even aware of the danger, you have been skunked and often you can't even tell who "did it."

Even when you can tell who "did it", you are too focused on trying to just cross the finish line.

Beware: The Stink Bomber is well aware of this fact and he'll use it to spread even more stink bombs along the entire course.

8) The NBA Pro
Every-so-often a runner is born, and at a tragic and early age his brain gets frazzled, usually by a direct hit to head from a misguided basketball, into making him believe that he is in fact not a runner, but an NBA Pro.

Fortunately, these guys, and sometimes even gals, are easy to spot by their uniforms. They tend to favor wearing the full NBA gear over their running gear. Because of this early and tragic childhood accident, they always wear the long basketball shorts over their running shorts.

This is indeed very sad to observe as the basketball shorts hang way down. They hang so far down that they cover their knees, making running a marathon an especially daunting and painful endeavor.

However, on several occasions, like this recent race which was an out and back run along the same road, I have seen a miraculous confluence of events that can only bring pure joy to one's heart.

You see on that rare occasion that the NBA pro passes the High Five Twister, both are in their most natural of elements as one high fives the other in a spectacular show of lucky coincidence.

9) Doctor 90210
Doctor 90210 is almost always a women of that certain age (read well above 30) who has the slender hips of a 15-year-old (I suspect from all of that running) but the enhanced big boobs of a Hollywood Starlet wanna-be.

She is usually observed wearing only a sports bra/top with not much else hiding her helium filled boobs. I can only guess that she asked her plastic surgeon to fill them to the brim with 400 cc of helium as her boobs defy gravity, the up and down motion of running, and even time itself.

When one observes closely it can almost be imaged that her buoyant bosoms, and not her, are running the race. They, and not (let's say) her legs, are the pride and joy of her well worked over body and she wants the entire world to know.

After all, she paid almost $10,100 to run this race ($100 for the race entry fee and $5000 per boob).

10) The Gazelle and the Sloth
These two animals are almost never seen together in the wild, but you'll see them at every marathon, in every city of the world. Somehow they strangely compliment each other. They are the yin and yang of the running world.

The Gazelle boldly bounds straight up into the air with every springy step. Image Micheal Jordon on cocaine, steroids and with a bee in his shorts.
The Sloth shuffles along lifting his or her feet about an ant's toenail length above the ground.

BTW: Do ants even have toenails?

Anyway, the Sloth manages to use just enough energy to slide his or her leg forward to make forward progress.

And here's where the most incredible miracle of all marathons takes place. Some call it divine intervention and see God's wry sense of humor, while others point to the shadow of Darwin and millennium of evolution at play.
But this does not take away in the slightest from the Miracle of the
Marathon: as both the Gazelle and the Sloth cross the finish line in the exact same time.
--------
Roman Mica is a amateur Clydesdale triathlete who lives and races in Boulder, Colorado and has his own website; www.EverymanTri.com. He is also one of the founding members of www.raceAthlete.com. He has a book published, entitled My Training Begins Tomorrow: The Everyman's Guide to IRONFIT Swimming, Cycling & Running.

Race Recap: FM Valley 10k - 10/10/09

I was waiting to write this until race pictures were finally posted. On Thursday, I got an email saying that the race pictures were ready. Here is the picture they gave of me:

I am not any of the girls in the picture above, so I was a little disappointed. I searched through the unidentified pictures and found a few photos of the race I liked.

Race Report:
I got to the race about 7:00 (scheduled race start was 8:10). The first thing I did when I got to the Civic Center was go to the bathroom. As I walked in, there was not one person using the urinals. However, every single stall was taken. I thought that was kind of funny as I stood there waiting for a stall to open up.

I then did a little light stretching, then went outside to run a quarter mile warm up. I had my warm-up on and it didn't seem too bad. There were a lot of people in the Civic Center that were dressed way too warm. After the warm-up, I went back into the Civic Center to do a little more stretching. In the Civic, there were a couple of starting speeches by both Fargo and Moorhead Mayors. Then they sent us out to the starting line at 8:15.

I took my place on the starting line about in the 3rd row back. I was wearing shorts, a technical tank top, and a technical long sleeve shirt, however there were several people around me with jackets and pants that were complaining about the cold weather. I didn't think it was too bad out and realized I have a huge mental advantage because a lot of people had a negative mindset.

The Fargo Mayor was going to be the starter for our race. He had a megaphone and was less than 5 yards away from me, however I couldn't hear a word he was saying. (Which was probably good because I wasn't very impressed by his speech inside.) All of a sudden his megaphone starts making a siren noise. We look around at each other wondering what the hell is going on, then realized that means GO, so we all take off.



Mile One: I wanted to run about a 7:00 1st mile. It is always tricky finding the right place to line up at the beginning of the race. I found a pretty good spot at this race, although I could have been closer to the starting line. From the start, I weaved around a few people and quickly found my pace. About a half mile into the race, I passed 3 women. From this point on, I could tell there were about 5 to 8 people in front of me, but did not want to make a move too early in the race so just relaxed and kept them in my view. I crossed the 1 mile mark at about 6:30. This pace was a little faster than I wanted to be so slowed up a bit to have some energy at the end.

Mile Two: I kept the runners in front of my in my sight but my pace slowed a little. The closest person behind me was about 15 yards behind me. My split for mile two was about 6:50.

Mile Three: No change in position, lead runners extend lead on me a little, but I can still have a view on three people. Mile 3 split was about 7:00.

Mile Four: Again no change in position. Person behind me is still 15 yards away. Mile split was 7:00 again.

Mile Five: I lost a little steam this mile. I started to loose ground to the people in front of me. I can also hear the person behind be gaining ground. Mile split was around 7:20.

Final 1.2 Miles As the person behind me is starting to make her move right after the 5 mile marker, I know I have to respond. She gets what sound like about 5 yards behind me, but I quickly respond. The rest of the race, I really focused on lengthening my stride. This helps me move quite a bit faster. I really had a good final mile. After I start striding out, I really leave the lady behind me. With about a quarter mile left in the race, I turn around quickly and don't even see her. I made up some distance on the people in front of me, but don't really come close to catching them. I ran the final 1.2 miles in 8:10 (average pace of 6.48/mi)



My final time ended up being 42:59. I placed 7th overall and 2/20 in my 25-29 age group. In the Men's Division i was 6/101. I was very happy with my race and new PR.

Later that day, my wife and I attended the 2009 Special Olympics State Banquet where I was awarded 2009 Area Volunteer of the Year for our state. I consider running and Special Olympics two of my passions in my life. It was nice to be given an award in both areas on the same day. I don't think I could have had a better day.

Taper Week

I am getting pretty excited to run this weekend 10k race. Races are usually so fun. This past weekend a few runners in my club did the Twin Cities Marathon and TC 10 Mile. At TNRG, we were discussing that both did well and I started thinking, "Man, I wished I would have raced last weekend." My patience will pay off this weekend though. I went for a 4.30 mile run on Monday and a 4.85 mile run on Tuesday. Both went well. On Monday, my pace was 7:22/mi. On TNRG, it was a little slower. I started out with running with Craig, Barb, Josh, and David. Barb broke up the group with about a mile left, which caused me to go into race mode and finish really fast. The first 3.5 miles were at a leisure pace though. My focus for the 10k is to not go out too fast. I am going to try to get one more run short run in either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Week of Running

I got a few runs in this week. On Tuesday night I got out with running club. Brian was there and gave me a lot of encouragement on my upcoming 10k. I ran most of the 6.25 run with Chris. We averaged about 7:38 per mile during the run. We had good conversation throughout the run. I got out for a 3.25 mile run on Wednesday. I ran it in 23:46. On Saturday morning I went running with Chris again. We went almost 9 miles. It was good to slow down a bit and run a long route. Next Saturday, I will shorten it and speed it up.

Fall Frolic Recap & Sunday Run

Although there were several frustrations throughout planning the race, the Fall Frolic turned out pretty good. We had a small surprise Saturday morning: The adventure race that we thought was in EGF had a checkpoint right where our race course crossed the river. Their race didn't bother ours much though. We ended up with 110 participants which was better than we thought we'd get. A lot of runners commented that they enjoyed the music on the course. There were also a lot of comments that runners were surprised by the hills as we made runners go over the dikes several times during the race. Overall, it was pretty fun to put on the event.

I was talking with one of the volunteers at the adventure race checkpoint who was the race directory's father. The adventure race sounded very interesting. I need to look into getting involved in one in the future.

I went for a 5.45 mile run today. The run went really well. It was really windy, but I started against it, and was able to run with the wind towards the end. I average a pace of 7:29 per miles, which is where I want to be at. I don't think I will be able to break 45 minutes on October 10th. My new goal is 46:30. I think that is a little more in my reach.

The Path Less Traveled

I went for a 4 mile run last night. I was planning on staying on the roads, but as I got up to the unpaved path, I was inspired to take the path less traveled. I really ran well on the path and kept a 7:30 pace through most of it. The path is mostly grass/dirt so I felt slowed down a bit. Once I got back on the tar I picked it up a bit and tried to finish hard. Good run though.

Its finally getting cold

I warmed up by running 2/3 of a mile with my dog around our block. I only had a t-shirt on and got cold during the run. When I dropped her off, I changed into a long-sleeve. I drove to Riverside Park to try to finalize the 5k. I ran 3.00 miles in 22:02 (7:20/mi). The pace felt pretty good. The course goes over the dike several times so I got a little bit of a hill workout.

Evening 5k

I haven't run my 5k loop for awhile, so I decided to do that at about 8:00 last night. I still could feel the chili I had for supper in my stomach, which gave me a small side ache, but I worked through it. The run ended up being 3.2 miles which took me 24 minutes to complete. Pace was 7:30. That was a nice pace that I'd like to try to keep over the 10k.

Thursday Night 4.25 Mile Loop

I ran my favorite 4.25 mile loop last night after work. The run felt slow, but I ended with a 7:22 pace which is really good for me lately.

Dead Garmin, Not Grandma

Ran somewhere between 6.5 & 7 miles last night with the group. I was running with Stacy about 2 miles into and told her "My Garmin just died." She gave me this OMG look which confused me. Then she said, "Oh, your Garmin. I thought you said your grandma died." Currently I have have two living grandmas and hope to continue to have two living grandmas for several years. My Garmin is alive again now too as it was put on the charger. I ran most of the time with Chris (I believe his name is Chris). He was a very nice guy. He is a dad and since I am about to become a dad, we had a good conversation about young children. Our run went 52 minutes but I am not sure exactly how far we went because of my dead Garmin.

SO Soccer State Tournament 2009

We played 2 games of soccer this weekend in the Special Olympics State Soccer Tournament. The first game was on Saturday. We played Dickinson. The game was a lot of fun. I scored a quick rebound header goal at the beginning of the game. Then they scored a quick two. After that, we settled down and was really able to play our game and make some good plays . We ended up winning 5-2. On Sunday we played Fargo for the championship. Both teams were having a hard time doing what they wanted. Very few shots were taken as most of the game was played at midfield. They did catch us a couple times though as we gave up to goals. We received 2nd place. The tournament was fun this year. Some things weren't great, but I've gotten to the point of expecting that and just living with it.

TNRG 9/8/09

On Tuesday, I ran 6.1 with TNRG. Run felt good. The run took me 46:45 to complete. Sara and Nate pushed the pace for the whole run. I kept up with them the whole way but was always a few steps behind. It was good to try to run with them as they are always leading our pack. I still want to get faster but thought the speedwork on Sunday helped out.

Biking the Course

On Monday, Stacy and I tried to bike the Fall Frolic courses. We ended up biking over 20 miles and not figuring out anything. We got a good workout out of it though.

Sunday Hill Repeats

On Sunday, I was able to get some hill repeats done at Emily's grandmas. There is a hill leading to Evelyn's driveway that is exactly a half mile. I ran the repeat 6 times: Invervals are as follows:
1 - 3:26
2 - 3:33
3 - 3:35
4 - 3:38
5 - 3:37
6 - 3:31

I was pretty happy with the consistency through out the runs. The workout was really tough, but helped me out a lot with hill confidence.

Morning 4 Mile

I got up this morning and ran 4 miles before doing anything else. I don't think I'll do that again. My legs were still sleeping. Most of the time I eat breakfast and stretch a bit but I was in a hurry today so skipped both. My body did not like me for it. My ave time was 7:52/mi. Good lesson learned.

Weekend Runs

I got out for two runs with Stacy this weekend. First we went for a 4 Miler on Friday after work. We ran exactly 4.0 miles in just under 30 minutes. (29:59.22). The pace was a nice 7:29/mi pace that we kept over the run. We started and ended at Riverside Park. I sometimes forget how nice of park Riverside is. The scenery is very nice. The running paths offer a little hill workout as well as you get to run over the dike. I will have to remember to do some speed work at this park later.

The next morning, we got up for Fall Frolic training (although the Fall Frolic Race is in turmoil right now) The group grew to 6 people this week. Stacy and I ran what I expect to be the 10k course of the Fall Frolic. We got really close to figuring it out. Our run was 6.34 miles so I have to cut a little off, but I think I know what I can do to get it right. Stacy and my run was a little slower as we must have been a little tired from the run the night before. We averaged 7:51/mi over the course. We slowed a bit when we got down poured on about 4 miles into the run. The route we ran was a nice run. I am going to be happy if we can use it for the race.

Bad News

Stacy called me today and said that the City of Grand Forks booked two races on the same day with the same course. We'll have to see will happen. I am a little disappointing as I think I have a pretty good 10k course made up. More to come.

Thursday Night Run

Last night when I got home I asked Emily if she wanted to bike next to me as I ran my 6.5 Mile Loop. She had to take an alternate route as there is a little construction around our area right now that I ran right over but she was unable to do the same. She caught up with me about 1.75 miles into my run. I thought she would catch up with me quicker than that. She said it was because I was running so fast. It worked out pretty well to run with her. Towards the end she got in front of me so I pushed myself trying to catch her. The 6.5 loop took me 50 minutes to complete. I looked at my watch at 6.2 miles (10k finish) and my time was 46:45. I want to get that down to 45:00. I haven't done speed work in awhile. I think I might get some in tonight to help improve those times.

Averages for run
1st 2.20 Miles - 7:15/mi
2nd 2.15 Miles - 7:43/mi
3rd 2.15 Miles - 7:31/mi
Overall Aver - 7:32/mi

The 2nd two miles was mainly gravel but I would like to improve that pace. My goal is to run 7:16 throughout the run.

I think this is the end of the course. I have no idea why I am smiling. It might be that I am laughing that I thought I was in shape but found out that I was not.

Here is a picture of me in the Wildwood Challenge 25k. I am about 2 miles in and wondering what in the hell I got myself into.

Special Olympics Soccer

I need to get my act together in soccer. I am stinking up the field. There is this 13 year old kid named Mitch that is schooling me.

New Start to My Training Program

I got up this morning to meet with the training club for the Fall Frolic Training. Although I going to be a volunteer during the race, I am going to start training for my own 10k. I will be doing the FM 10k on September 10th in Fargo. I think I will drive down to Fargo for the morning to complete this race. My first training run was a 5.75 mile run. I averaged 7:29 over the run. I hope to get my average pace down to 7:15 per mile. My goal is to be able to run the 10k in under 45 minutes. In order to do this, I have to average 7:16 minute miles. I have a lot of speed work planned in order to drop a few seconds from my average time.

Running Into Old Friends at Races

I was looking back through some of my old posts, and realized how cool it is to run into old friends at races. This year at Fargo I ran into a the following people who were running the race:
1. A HS buddy of mine and his dad who was my Cross Country & Track coach.
2. Brother of my college roommate (later ran into my roommate who was there to watch)
3. College friend and his wife

Last weekend at the Wildwoods Challenge I ran into
4. My 9th grade Cross Country coach/Church youth group leader who moved the next year
5. My Jr year assistant CC coach at Roseau

Since I just attended my HS reunion, I realized that I prefer running into old acquaintances at races than anywhere else. Maybe it is because we have the common bond of training for the event. The HS reunion just seemed awkward.

Now What??

I've been poking around the internet and found a few blog entries about the Wildwoods Challenge. It seems several people had the same problems I did.

Now I have to find one more race before the year ends. I wasn't happy with my 4th of July 10k so I am leaning towards running the 10k in Fargo as part of the FM Half Marathon on October 10. There is a 8k in GF as part of Potato Bowl the same day but I think I would rather get on a certified course. I really want to set a PR in the 10k that is less than 45 minutes. I came up with a training plan that has lots of speed work in it. Hopefully that will help me a lot in the 10k or 8k.

Yay for Striders

I ran 5 Miles with TNRG last night. I am recovering a lot faster than I expected from the 15 Miler from Hell on Saturday. I did some striders on Sunday which really loosened me up. I also played in a soccer scrimmage on Monday with SO. I was able to move a lot better than I thought I would be able to. I am giving credit to the striders. I love striders. They make me feel so good.

Wildwoods Challenge

I completed my first trail race in Itasca State Park yesterday. It was a lot tougher than I expected. One thing that surprised me was how the course challenged me mentally. During the race, I got off the trail for awhile and had to backtrack to get back on. At another location, I missed a loop that I was supposed to add on to the race. It was very frustrating because I was never quite sure if I was running in the right place. I'm not sure if I completed 25k but I was pretty close since I added to the course in one place and subtracted in another.

The course was very tough physically also. I have not run such a hilly course ever. We were constantly going up a hills and then down. I did not have my garmin with to track my miles, but I wish I had. I know I slowed down a lot towards the end of the race. I was really cramping up the last couple miles and had to stop a couple times to stretch.

My final times was 2:37. I don't know when I'll do my next trail run but I think it definitely something I will want to do again. It will take a lot of training next time. I definitely learned a lot during the race though.

Weekend Runs

I ran 4 miles on Saturday and 6.5 miles on Sunday. Both were around a 7:30 pace. My 6.5 miler was a little slower the last two miles. Right now, I am planning on trying to rest up for the Wildwoods Challenge. Hopefully everything will go well this weekend.

Rough Night at Running Club

I went for a 6 mile run with running club tonight. My legs felt really tired from the start of the run. It may be because of soccer the night before or that I rode my bike too hard getting to running club. I made it through the run, but it felt tough the whole time. I guess you have to have some bad runs every once in awhile too.

Vacation

On Sunday, we left Roseau and drove to White Swan Lake for a week at Uncle Loren's Cabin. On the way to the cabin, Emily and I drove through Baudette and I was able to show Emily some of the places I spent growing up. Our old house had some updates and looked good.

On Monday, I got the first of my trail runs in. I ran 4 miles in the morning to get me warmed up. In the afternoon, I ran 4 - Half Mile repeats. Monday was one of the nicer days of the week so of course I followed each run up with a swim.

Tuesday Morning I got up early for a 10 mile trail run. It was nice to get out and practice trail running before the Wildwoods Challenge. I averaged a pace around 8:55 per mile. I was a little tired from the repeats the day before, but other than that the run went well. Halfway through the run, I found an unopened Snickers Bar on the ground. The energy helped me out during the run. I now know I should back some candy in my Camelbak for Wildwoods.

Tuesday afternoon I made bonehead move #1. Dale asked me to sweep the roof and clean the gutters out of the cabin since everyone else was afraid of heights. After cleaning the roof, I decided to try to jump down like I used to as a kid. I learned that I am no longer as young as I once was and ended up with a hurt ankle.

Wednesday morning I made bonehead move #2. I read the book, "Born to Run" about the Tarahumara Indians of the Copper Canyon in Mexico. The book talked about how running barefoot can be helpful to injury reduction. I was walking around barefoot and stirring coals from the previous days campfire with a shovel. When I was done, I pushed the shovel into the ground with my right foot and burned the bottom of it.

Thursday morning I got up and swam a quarter mile across the lake. I need to work on swimming endurance quite a bit before I am ready for a triathlon.

Friday morning I completed my second long trail run. This one was 11.5 miles. The extra 1.5 miles from Tuesdays run was through some swampy area which slowed me down quite a bit. When I was running on trails, I average between 8:30 and 9:00 miles. I had to stop and walk every once in awhile though. It was a good final tune up for the Wildwoods Challenge though. I learned the need to refuel during the run and am prepared to do so at Itasca. My ankle hurt a lot after the run, but didn't bother me much during it. I think it will hold out for me during the race.

10 Year Reunion

Last week I was on vacation but got a few good runs in. My vacation started on Saturday with my 10 year high school reunion. Although it wasn't terrible, it wasn't really that much fun either. I felt obligated to be there, but once I was there, I didn't see anyone that I really wished I would have kept in contact with. It was good to see Jesse and Nic and their wives though. The Berglands had a good idea for us three couples (and possibly Horvaths if he ever gets married - ha ha) to go on a cruise instead of going to our 20th. I think its a good idea. I did see Mark Fabian and ask about any upcoming races he had in mind. I ran into him after the Fargo Half this year. He did pretty well for his first.

Ta Ta Crusade 5k

There was a very large turnout for the Ta Ta Crusade last night. Stacy said there were 350+ people who registered for the event. My run went really well. I started a little faster than I expected. My first mile was 6:30 while I expecting 7:00. I was able to hold my pace throughout the race though. My final time was 20:54. I was very happy to run a sub 21 minutes 5k as I hadn't run that fast of a 5k in awhile. I ended in 5th place. I ran most the race with Sarah Sailer. She edged me out and beat me by 2 seconds. I am getting to know her through running club and is a very nice person. Gabe and Barb finished ahead of me, and another guy that I don't know. I think he is the same guy that took 2nd at the Dewey Du. It was fun to be in the top 5 though. Josh Jerome completed the race also. He took 14th. He had a lot of fun in his first 5k race and is looking to complete another. Some of the other runners in TNRG were helping put on the race so they didn't compete. It was a great event though. Denae looked thrilled to see so many people there.

TNRC 7/21/09

I had a great run last night at TNRC. We ended up going 4.65 miles. I started at about an 8:00 minute mile pace the first 1.5 miles, then picked it up. It was a good idea to have patience at the beginning as it was hot outside and a lot of people slowed the second part of the run. I however, was just finding my pace during the second part of the race. I am looking forward to the Ta Ta Crusade this Thursday as I run the 5k in less than 22 minutes.

Start of Special Olympics Soccer

Last night was the 1st night of Special Olympics Soccer Practice. Once again, it is time to change from long distance shape into sprinting up and down a field. We did interval of running hard for 30 seconds followed by a 1 minute jog. We had a total of 4 sprints which really wore me down. We also did several drills that worked my leg muscles in new ways. This type of workout should be good for the trail run as I am going to be using various leg muscles. I am looking forward to the season. Hopefully the Thunder team can come out in the top two. I am also working towards being picked as a unified partner for Team North Dakota to compete in the 2010 Special Olympics United States National Games.

Beautiful Morning Trail Run

Stacy, Veronica, Karen, and I drove out to Turtle River State Park on Saturday morning to do some trail running. We ran for an hour. It was a beautiful morning. The temperature was just right for running. In the hour, I ran 6.33 miles. I felt great throughout the whole run this morning. I hope to run a little faster at the Wildwoods Challenge 25k in a month, but it was fun to run on the trails. When we go on vacation during the week of June 25 - August 1, I plan to do a lot more trail running to get ready for the race.

Friday Night Four Mile

I got a quick 4 mile run in yesterday after work in 33 minutes. I felt a little tight during the run. Afterward, I ran 6 striders in the park along with some push-ups, pull-ups, and ab workout. It was nice to get out as I hadn't done any running since Tuesday.

1 Mile of Sunshine, 5 Miles of Rain, 1 Mile of Sunshine

Tuesday was a beautiful day. The sun was out almost all day, except for the 1 hour during running club when it rained. I was glad I purchased a visor right before the run to keep the rain out of my face. The club ran 7 miles. I was a little worried that Josh wouldn't be able to make it, but he did awesome. We ran together the whole way and completed the run in 54 minutes. The rain felt pretty good to run in although I wish it was a little lighter. I broke in my new kicks during the run also. They no longer look like brand new shoes as I got some dirt on them. All in all, a very fun run.

2 Loops around River Road at DJ Pulis

I ran two laps around the river loop at Dale and Jane's house this morning. The run was approximately 10 miles. I felt relaxed throughout both loops. It took me 1:16:44 to complete the 10 miles or about a 7:40 pace. Near the end of my run, I was very happy with my stride. I think I will keep trying to end my workout with striders (a tip I picked out of Runner's World). Later today I might go purchase a new pair of runners. I want to try the adidas supernova glides. We'll see how I like them.

Easy Tuesday Jog

Last night I ran 6.5 with Red River Runners. I ran with Josh for most of the run. I felt I could have pushed myself a little more but wanted to stay with Josh. The run took me 51 minutes. Craig came through with watermelon for the whole group when we finished. Way to be a hero, Craig!!

4 Mile Run

I got a 4 miler in today. I hoped on the path to be south of my home. The grass was getting pretty high, which made my legs itchy when I ran. It gave me a challenge though. I finished with striders in the park by my house. I sometimes forget how good it feels to do striders.

Sunday Run

Since the Firecracker 10k didn't go as well as I hoped, I realized that it is time to get serious about training for the Wildwoods Challenge 25k. One thing that I need to be concerned with is running in warmer temperatures. Since it was 80 on Sunday, I thought it would be good to get time to work on running in warmer weather. The run went well. I ran 6.5 miles. The first three I ran at about a 7:30 pace. I slowed down the last part to about a 8:30 pace. The heat definitely slows me down. I was sweating so much that my shorts were soaked. I am also working on a plan to get several more mid-week runs in the upcoming six weeks to prepare for the 25k trail run.

Firecracker 10k

On July 4th, I ran the Firecracker 10k on the Grand Fork Greenway. I started out hot, but cooled quickly. I don't know why, but I seem to forget race strategy every time I run a race in Grand Forks. As long as I'm in a different town, I pace myself like I should, but in Grand Forks I seem to forget pacing. My goal for The Ta Ta Cruisade is to run within myself the entire run. It was also a little hotter than I am used to running. The new Runner's World magazine had several articles about running in warmer climates. Mental notes were taken.

5.5 Miles in the Rain

Last night was a great night for a run. I met with the running club. The plan was to go either 5.5 miles or 7.5 miles. Josh and I decided to go 5.5. The weather was pretty calm, yet still cool. About 2 miles in, it began to rain lightly on us. At mile 3, the light rain, turned to a steady rain. It felt good to cool off even more, although I got soaked in the process. Because of the rain, we got out of Stacy's abs workout. I got to know a few more new member of the club. It is great to see it grow so much.

Trail Run

I hit the ATV trails again today for a 4.5 mile run. It was still a little muddy from some rain we got last week so I had a lot of fun. Luckily my wife was not home when I got back as she would not have let me in the house. I splashed up in some puddles pretty good. My pace for the run was 8:51. My pace slowed quite a bit from the first half to the second. I am nervous about this upcoming race, but have some more plans to practice trail running. I am going up to Bottineau this weekend and I think there are some ATV trails by Lake Metagoshie that I can run. It should be fun.

Saturday 12 Miler

I went for a 12 mile run with Barb & Craig on Saturday. We took an easy 8:30 pace as they are running Grandma's Marathon next weekend. It was a good run. I hadn't run that far in quite awhile.

6.5 Mile Run

I ran my 6.5 mile loop last night. I took average a 7:34 pace, which is pretty good. It feels a lot different running, when I don't have a specific race and goal time in mind. I put a lot of preparation (running and mental preparation) into obtaining a PR in Fargo. Once I got it, I have really relaxed. I have a few races that I would like to do this summer, but haven't planned for them like I planned for Fargo. At some point, I will have to start doing this. I really want to get into shorter distance shape for SO Soccer this year too. I would like to run some 5ks also and try to break 20 minutes.

Death Race

I found a cool race today. It is the Canadian Death Race. http://www.canadiandeathrace.com/home.html. I am not prepared to run this race yet, but one day I might. It's an awesome name for a race. The Frozen Feat 5k doesn't quite have the same sense of accomplishment. Oh well, we'll keep working to make it so that someday the Frozen Feat is as big of an accomplishment as the Canadian Death Race.

Enjoyable run

Yesterday I went for another trail run, but just took it easy. I didn't bring a watch or Garmin, just ran for approximately 45 minutes. I found a trail that is very muddy and has some difficult terrain. I almost fell on my face for the first time, but caught my balance at the last moment. Everything that I read says eventually I'll fall on my face, but I'm going to try not to let that happen. I am having a lot of fun in this new sport.

Tuesday Night Running Club

We had our first Tuesday Night Running Club last night. It was a pretty good turn out compared to last year. I think about 15 people came. I ran 5.25 miles, mainly chasing Craig. Time was 39:24. I ran on grass whenever I could. It makes the runs trickier.

Wildwoods Challege Training - Day 1

My friend recently told me about this race in Itasca State Park. It is either a 25k or 10k trail race. I was originally going to do the 10k but since she is doing the 25k, I think I need to "man up" and do the long race. http://www.wildwoodschallenge.com/

Yesterday I decided to try to do a little trail running. There are some ATV trails by my house so I hit the paths. It was a lot of fun. I only made it 1.5 miles before getting exhausted and moving to a dirt bike path. Total run was 4.2 miles. I'm going to do the 25k.

I did a little research today. I realized I need to approach this totally different than the Half Marathon I just completed. This should be an interesting adventure.