About 41 hours...

I didn't run at all yesterday, and I'm taking today off as well.  After a gentle two miles tomorrow morning, I'll be heading to Minnesota.  The weather looks a bit on the warm side, but it might also be rainy, which could actually help.  We'll see how it goes!

Early Riser

Yesterday morning, I was originally planning to get up around 7:30, which is sleeping in by my standards, since I'm usually up at 6 (or earlier) on weekday mornings. For whatever reason, I woke up at 5:40 and couldn't fall back asleep, so I got four easy miles in, stretched a bit, did some crunches on our fitness ball, took a shower, and got back to bed ALL BEFORE 7:30 a.m.

I was up early again this morning to run eight miles with Mark (a friend who lives about a mile away). We kept the pace nice and easy.

Things are looking great for Twin Cities, now less than 167 hours away! I'm already checking the weather. It might be rainy, but the temps should be comfortable.

New Look, Same Fast Pace

I'm about eight days away from the Twin Cities Marathon, and I'm definitely in the "taper madness" stage. For those who don't know what this means -- basically, I am reducing my weekly mileage to build up strength for the marathon, and it can make a little bit excited. So, I used some of that energy to update the template of the blog. I hope you like it.

Also, check out this map that I made with all of my marathon results to date. Pretty neat, eh? :)

Kenosha Firecracker 10K

Almost two months after the race took place, it's time to tell everyone about the run in Kenosha on July 1, 2007. Here's a map of the (planned) course:

You might want to click on the picture so it opens in a new window while you read the recap.

There was a higher-than-expected race day turnout, so the 10K started 5-10 minutes late. Once we were off and running, though, things seemed fine. I reached the first mile marker in 7:23. At point "A" on the map, the 10K runners go slightly further south than the 5K runners before turning back to the north. None of the 5K runners, who started after us, had reached this point yet, so there was no trouble at all figuring the right way to go.

As I headed back to the north, some of the lightning-fast 5K runners passed me by. I clocked mile 2 and 3 at 7:38 and 7:48, respectively, and I was still feeling pretty good.

Then, things got interesting. At point "B", 5K runners were supposed to turn left toward the finish, and 10K runners were supposed to turn right. What actually happened is that EVERYBODY turned right -- good for 10K runners like me, but bad for the 5K folks.

Things got even stranger at point "C". Course volunteers were turning participants around at this point, apparently to make up for sending 5K folks the wrong way at point "B". However, they were turning EVERYBODY around. So, 5K runners were now back on track (sort of), but 10K runners would get to the finish way too soon.

Somewhere between points "C" and "B", another race official was shouting that 10K runners needed to head further north. Now feeling very flustered, I turned around again, passing a few runners as I reached point "C" again, and this time I went further east and was back on course. I reached the 4-mile mark 9:54 after the 3-mile mark, which means I lost a couple of minutes in the confusion. Oh, well, at least I was on the correct course.

As I continued north, I put a bit of distance between myself and other 10K runners. I soon realized that there was no one in front of me. All of the faster runners had gone toward the finish prematurely, and I was leading the pack of runners on the right path. As I reached the rest stop at point "D", I asked, "Has anyone been by here yet?" A volunteer handed me a cup of water and said, "Nope, you're the first!" This gave me a bit of a rush, and I kept up the pace, clocking miles 5 and 6 at 7:31 and 7:36.

I managed to hold off all of the other runners in my "group", and I crossed the line with a chip time of 49:22 -- a new PR despite the lost time between points "B" and "C".

Let's take a look at the unofficial results -- as you can see, the first 47 runners went all the way to the finish after turning around at point "C", and their mile paces are (of course) unrealistic -- 3:41 for a mile would be world record.

So, what about the official results? Some might argue that I won the race, having been the first to complete the entire 10K course. As it turns out, the only thing I got was this letter from the Kenosha YMCA, basically stating that there were no official results, and that everybody gets a medal. I wasn't overly satisfied with this. I was hoping they'd give out two sets of awards -- one for the "short" 10K and one for the "long" 10K.

Anyway, I'll probably run it again next year because it's one of the few Kenosha races available throughout the year. Hopefully, things will go much more smoothly in 2008.

Run, Race, Run

I did something a little bit different today. I ran in the second annual Alex DeVinny Memorial 4K Run. The race was about three miles from my house, so I ran to the race site, ran the 4K at a steady 7:49/mile (finishing in 19:23), and then ran home. My training plan had me going seven miles today, and my total for the day was eight, with several rest breaks. Works for me. :)

In other news, I'm still waiting for the results of the Kenosha Firecracker 10K (on July 1) to be declared "official", so I'll save my recap until then.

PR at 10-mile Lighthouse Run!

It was a bit hot on June 16, 2007 for the Lighthouse Run. I ran most of the race with my friend Mark. We helped pace each other most of the way. With about three miles to go, I could tell that he had a bit more left in the tank than I did, and when he asked if he could go on ahead, I gladly gave him permission. :)

Overall, it was a great race. Mark finished in 1:22:19.7, averaging 8:14 per mile. I finished in 1:22:59.2, averaging 8:18 per mile. Here's the splits:
8:03, 8:11, 8:10, 8:09, 8:11, 8:14, 8:21, 8:31, 8:43, 8:26

Coming soon: Details on yesterday's Kenosha Firecracker 10K Run (which was also a PR).

PR in Mad City

We didn't have much going on this weekend. On Wednesday, I considered the possibility of running the Madison Marathon. To make a long story short, we made the two-hour drive on Saturday, signed up, stayed with family nearby, and I ran the race on Sunday morning. I finished with a new personal record (3:54:26), improving my previous best by about four minutes. Yay!
More Pictures

Madison Split Times

Miles 1-5	8:55	8:37	9:08	8:45	8:28
Miles 6-10	9:08	8:56	8:45	8:54	8:54
Miles 11-15	8:42	8:59	9:02	8:53	8:48
Miles 16-20	8:52	8:54	8:50	9:09	8:54
Miles 21-25	8:47	9:21	9:21	9:14	9:15
Miles 26-End	9:08	1:47

• Average Pace: 8:57/mile
• First half: 1:56:04 Second half: 1:58:22
• Fastest Mile: #5 (8:28) Slowest Mile: #22/#23 (9:21)
• Updated Marathon Graph - I still slowed down a bit at the end, but it wasn't as dramatic as Houston, Portland, or Little Rock.
  

Third Place Again!

The Lake Geneva 10K was a more challenging course than I anticipated. It had its share of hills, though I didn't think there was as much "rolling" as there was in Minnesota last weekend.

Right before the race, I realized that everyone (but me) was wearing chips around their ankles to track their time. I had incorrectly assumed that only marathoners and half-marathoners needed chips. I ran back (fairly quickly) to a nearby hotel to get my chip, only to be told that they had *just* been driven over to the start/finish area that I had just left. Oh well. I eventually found my chip, put it on, took a deep breath, and set out on the course.

It was a bit exciting to pass hundreds of 5k and 10k runners at the beginning of the race. There weren't any mile markers, but my GPS had me pacing at about 8:00/mile. As soon as we got into a more wooded area, it lost track, and it had me reaching the 5k turnaround point at 1.8 miles.

Even though I didn't have an exact measurement, the course seemed longer than 10k to me. I was hoping to crack 50 minutes, as I had run 10k in less time than that on a treadmill. I reached the halfway point in about 26 minutes. Even though I had run a bit extra prior to the race, I still felt pretty good.

On the way back to the finish, I spied another runner about 200 feet in front of me. Slowly and steadily, I closed the gap. On the final stretch by the lake, I had a sprint left in me, so I took off and finished well ahead of the other runner.

My chip time was 52:15, just fast enough to get third place for the M25-29 age group. It's my third age group award in three weekends! My prize was a running hat, which I really like because I've never had one before. I might wear it at the Lighthouse Run on June 16 if it's sunny out. :)

5k Bud Break Recap

The weather was a bit rainy, but conditions were great for the 5k Bud Break in Chanhassen, Minnesota, at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. I was in the North Star State visiting my brother, Andrew, his wife, Holly, and their two daughters, Ella & Lily. They patiently browsed the gift shop and checked out the blooming flowers as I warmed up.

I started off the race a bit quick, but it wasn't long before I settled into a 7:00/mile pace. The course had tons of hills -- rarely was there a flat stretch. Up and down, up and down, I kept forcing myself to just get over the next hill. My GPS paced the first two miles at 7:00 each, and I wasn't getting too tired yet. The third mile was more of the same, and it also clocked at about 7:00. However, it must not have been perfectly accurate, becuase it measured another .22 miles to the finish.

I finished 22:16, enough to get third place for my age group (M20-29). The award was a bit of a surprise, considering that the winner finished in about 18 minutes.

Many thanks to Andrew, Holly, Ella, and Lily for all of their support, and for waiting around even longer so that I could get my medal!