Grand Rapids Results

I finished with a chip time of 3:53:20 -- a personal record by about a minute. More details will be posted as I have time. :)

Finished!

Ben just finished somewhere in the 3:54 range - it could be his best run yet!

Grand Rapids Update

Just saw Ben at miles 12 and 14. He looks great.

At mile 17 now - next to the wastewater treatment plant. This place stinks! Should see Ben any minute,

Super-Terrific Training Run

I ran 15 miles yesterday, considering it a practice run for next week's marathon in Grand Rapids. Everything went perfectly -- I was neither under-hydrated nor over-hydrated. I ate a Clif Bar starting at mile 4, and I had two energy gels at miles 9.5 and 13. The last mile of my training run was also the fastest of the run, and I think I could have kept going.

Now, my pace yesterday was about a minute per mile slower than what it will be in Grand Rapids, but I still think things are looking great. I've got a four-miler tomorrow, a three-miler on Wednesday, rest on Thursday, rest on Friday, a two-miler on Saturday, and then it's RACE TIME!

Medal pictures: If you check out the Marathon History link on the right, you can now see images of all the marathon medals I've won. Pretty neat, eh?

4500

I ran ten miles at better than 10:00 pace yesterday, and I am pretty much fully recovered from Twin Cities.

Here's some exciting news: Since I formally began tracking miles in October 2004, my personal odometer has now passed 4500 miles! That's approximately the distance (as the crow flies) from Chicago, Illinois to Zurich, Switzerland. I may someday go "around the world" like two of my work colleagues, but that's still a long way off. For now, I'm happy just to be able to keep on running!

Three weeks apart

Today's recovery run featured two miles to the north (against the wind) and two miles to the south (with the wind). The splits were 11:12, 10:59, 10:30, and 10:31. I'll rest tomorrow and run at least six miles on both Saturday and Sunday.

Some of you may have noticed the next race on my calendar -- the Grand Rapids Marathon on October 28. Yes, running marathons three weeks apart is a bit crazy, but given my history, it's not that much of a stretch. I ran marathons four weeks apart in March (Little Rock and Waukesha). I also ran a half marathon in the South Milwaukee area just ONE week after the Waukesha race.

Wish me luck!

Twin Cities Details

Miles 1-5	9:00	8:34	8:55	8:57	8:53
Miles 6-10	9:09	9:12	9:26	9:00	8:57
Miles 11-15	9:48	9:49	9:21	10:02	9:18
Miles 16-20	10:44	10:18	12:12	11:09	15:30
Miles 21-25	10:50	12:53	11:48	14:52	13:17
Miles 26-End	12:48	2:21

• Average Pace: 10:34/mile
• First half: 2:00:07    Second half: 2:36:56
• Fastest Mile: #2 (8:34) Slowest Mile: #20 (15:30)
• As you can see, I held things together fairly well in the first half, but the heat made it difficult to keep up the pace in the second half. Until next race!

"New Stuff" 5K

It was a lovely 46 degrees outside this morning. Though my quads were still a bit sore, I managed to turn in a slow but steady 3-mile effort in my first run since the Twin Cities marathon. I wore a record number of items for the first time, including the jacket and winter hat I bought at the expo, the free TCM knit gloves, and a new pair of shoes.

My mile splits were 11:48, 11:35, and 11:08. I'll probably be under 10 minutes a mile in a few days.

Finishing Time: 4:37:02

It was a HOT day in Minnesota. With temperatures nearing 80, I could not
put together a very fast race. Once I knew that I couldn't set a personal
record, I took it easy, finishing with a time of 4:37:02. Oh, well --
there will be always be opportunities to race again!

Update: While one results page has my chip time at 4:37:02, another source says 4:37:03. I'll go ahead and consider the slower time the official one. :)

Weather Update

Temperatures are going to be in the 70s for the Twin Cities marathon.
While that's great weather for watching a marathon, it's a bit too hot for
RUNNING a marathon. I may have to reduce my pace from the targeted
8:45/mile to 9:10/mile -- it will be a game time decision. In any case,
it's going to be fun, as my brother, his wife, and several other family
members will be cheering me on. Wish me luck! :)

FINAL UPDATE (5:30 a.m. on Sunday): It's going to be a warm one! Runner tracking is supposed to be available here -- I'm bib number 3564. See ya!