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.