Lighthouse Run 2015

Considering that I had limited time to train, I'm thrilled with a finish under 78 minutes at this year's Lighthouse Run:

7:07
7:15
7:34
7:45
7:57  (can you tell I started too fast?)
8:13
8:16
8:05
8:07
7:25 (I saved something for the last mile)

I still hope that someday, I can prepare well enough to challenge my PR (about 72 minutes) at the 10-mile distance.

Runmeter Run May 2, 2015, 7:01:43 AM

Another Wisconsin Marathon done. I'm thrilled considering my limited time to train.

Finished Run: May 2, 2015, 11:06:50 AM
Route: New Route
Explorer Link: http://runmeter.com/19bfd39732fac2da/Run-20150502-0701
Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/19bfd39732fac2da/Runmeter-Run-20150502-0701.kml
Run Time: 3:56:13
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 26.53 miles
Average: 8:54 /mile
Fastest Pace: 7:31 /mile
Ascent: 111
Descent: 118
Calories: 3088

http://www.runmeter.com

Steady as I Go

Well, the twins are nearing two months old, and I've managed to keep up the running -- to a certain extent. I'll run my first race of the year, the Kenosha Marathon, on Saturday. I prefer to get three 20-mile training runs done in advance of a race of this distance, but this time I managed just a single 15-miler. I've needed to take more rest days to handle family matters, and that's okay. I think my priorities are right where they should be. I don't plan on setting a PR on Saturday, but I hope to comfortably finish in four hours or less. I will be using Runmeter, so stay tuned to this blog and/or Facebook for race day updates.

I celebrated the achievement of 15,000 miles on January 24. My good friend, Mark, accompanied me on the run and presented me with a small trophy afterward. Thanks, buddy.

It's been a while since I've attended to the blog, so let's make a quick to-do list of what needs catching up:

• Hope Run 5K Recap (June 6, 2014)
• Fox Valley Marathon Recap (September 21, 2014)
• Veterans Day 5K Recap (November 8, 2014)
• Lots of marathon movies:
• Minneapolis (June 2012)
• Paavo Nurmi (Hurley, WI - August 2012)
• Kenosha (May 2013)
• Haunted Hustle (Middleton, WI - October 2013)
• nohtaraM seitiC xoF (MCF) (Appleton, WI - March 2014)
• Fox Valley (St. Charles, IL - September 2014)

One last note -- this Saturday's race will be my 31st marathon and my 34th race of marathon distance or greater.

Back to work.

2014 in review

It's been a solid year for running. As of this post, I've logged 1,677 miles, which is the second most that I've logged in any year. The only year that I logged more was 2007, when I logged 1,740 miles staying fit for sixteen races, seven of which were marathons.

Back to this year (2014) -- I ran six races and set three new personal bests (5K at 20:10, half marathon at 1:37:43, and full marathon at 3:32:12). I was very consistent in my training, and I'm doing a great job staying in decent racing shape year-round.

Next year, I hope to log at least two marathons, but don't expect any PRs -- training time will be limited because of two more little ones on the way. :)

In the near future, I'm excited about reaching the 15,000-mile mark on my lifetime odometer.

Remember: It doesn't matter how fast you go. If you're out there and moving, you're a runner. Let's all stay fit in 2015!

Wisconsin Half Marathon 2014 Recap

 

I should have posted this a long time ago. I ran this in May!

It was a little bit cool, but I had a great time at this year's Wisconsin Marathon / Half Marathon on May 3. The tradition of running the half in even years remains alive. My primary goal was to set a personal best. My secondary goal was to break 1:40. With the confidence of a 10-miler at 7:12 pace, I toed the line with a plan to run the race at 7:30 pace.

My friend, David, made the trip from Ohio to Kenosha to run with me for the fourth time in a row. There were a couple of factors that added to the fun this year. First of all, David's fiancee, Hilary, was also present. Secondly, both of them were running the FULL marathon. This gave me the rare opportunity to drive around the course after my half marathon was done and cheer on my friends. The experience gave me added respect for all the fans who do whatever they can and go wherever they can to encourage the runners.

I saw some other familiar faces at the start, mainly people I know from work. One of them was Colleen, who had the potential for a podium finish in the full marathon. I wished her and several others good luck as the race began.

Early Going (7:36, 7:25, 7:29, 7:29, 7:29)

I held my pace pretty well in the first part of the race, making sure to run my first mile at or slower than my goal pace. I've learned from so many marathons that starting too fast incurs the risk of a rough end. There were plenty of spectators in the downtown area, and I waved to several of them; some I recognized, but most I didn't.

As the runners headed north of the downtown area, I noticed Colleen not too far ahead of me. I gradually picked up the pace and caught up to her. She mentioned that she was planning to have a pacer for the first half but couldn't locate him at the start.

Me: "Oh? What's your goal pace?"

Colleen: "7:30."

Me: "That's what I'm planning to run. I can help you stay on track." 

And with that, I had extra motivation to stick to goal pace. Colleen and her husband, Dave, are excellent runners. They helped the SCJ team win the Lighthouse Run corporate division in 2012. The only way I could ever keep up with Colleen is if she's running twice as far as me.

Mid-Race (7:39, 7:38, 7:43, 7:30, 7:34)

The pace slipped just a little bit in the middle of the race due to walk breaks at aid stations, but I was feeling great through ten miles. After making the turnaround at Carthage and heading back south, I was amazed at how many runners were behind me. This race has grown quite a bit since its inception in 2009. It took a while, but I eventually saw David and Hilary making their way north.

Somewhere during mile 10, what looked like a little kid zoomed past me. Wow. I later learned that this was a ten year-old who set a world record for his age. He had been cruising along with his parents and then decided to take off for the latter part of the race, hence his ability to pass me like I wasn't moving. His record was just recently broken by another young upstart from Virginia, but I still felt like a part of history for getting passed by him.

Finish Strong (7:12, 7:21, 7:00, 0:39)

I picked it up as I got closer to the end. As I turned back north to finish the half marathon (roughly the 11.5 mile mark), I wished Colleen all the best as she continued south. She ended up finishing in 3:17:59 (about 7:34 pace) and was the third fastest woman in the full marathon. Congrats!

I was hoping to catch up to the ten year-old in the final stretch, but he finished about a minute ahead of me. I was still able to pass several runners in the last mile. I finished in 1:37:43, taking about four minutes off my personal best.

I didn't stick around for long after my finish. I walked back to my car, went home, showered, and made preparations to cheer on David and Hilary as they continued the full marathon.

I was blessed to have company with me during my time on the course as a spectator. My dad and my kids came along. I talked to David and Hilary via cell phone, and it wasn't long at all before we saw them moving right along around mile 15. I'm no expert, but it appeared that David was more tired than Hilary. It reminded me of the 2009 Air Force Marathon when I held back in the second half to stay with David ("I'm not leaving my wingman"). Though he was tired, David had plenty of smiles for us as we went by. I did my best to provide whatever food / drink I could to keep he and Hilary strong for the remainder of the race.

We saw them a couple more times before the kids got tired, so I took them home with my Dad before heading back to the finish line. Most of the spectators had gone by the time David and Hilary reached the finish, but there was plenty of excitement as their names were announced. They finished side-by-side with chip times of 5:59:03. I admire their perseverance -- only once have I had to run a race above five hours. Congrats!

We headed back home and feasted on pizza and many other things to celebrate our victories. We'll see when we can all get together again for another race!

There's a couple of photos above, but here's the full photo album.

Runmeter Run Sep 21, 2014, 7:01:09 AM

Done 332 and change

Finished Run: Sep 21, 2014, 10:36:31 AM
Route: Fox Valley Marathon
Run Link: http://runmeter.com/19bfd39732fac2da/Run-20140921-0701
Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/19bfd39732fac2da/Runmeter-Run-20140921-0701.kml
Run Time: 3:34:28
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 26.58 miles
Average: 8:04 /mile
Fastest Pace: 6:58 /mile
Ascent: 142 feet
Descent: 147 feet
Calories: 3155

http://www.runmeter.com

Runmeter Run Sep 20, 2014, 5:31:33 AM

Two easy miles before the big race tomorrow.

Finished Run: Sep 20, 2014, 5:53:21 AM
Route: New Route
Run Link: http://runmeter.com/19bfd39732fac2da/Run-20140920-0531
Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/19bfd39732fac2da/Runmeter-Run-20140920-0531.kml
Run Time: 21:15
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 2.21 miles
Average: 9:38 /mile
Fastest Pace: 7:28 /mile
Ascent: 121 feet
Descent: 192 feet
Calories: 272

http://www.runmeter.com

Fox Valley Marathon (St. Charles, IL) - Sunday!

In just three days (Sunday the 21st), I'll be running the Fox Valley Marathon. This will be my 30th marathon and my 33rd race of marathon distance or greater.

My training has gone very well. If conditions are favorable, I will attempt to run it at 8:00/mile pace and set a new personal record. My current PR is 3:33:39 (about 8:09/mile pace).

Updates will be automatically posted here every mile. Thanks for your support!

Running from June 11, 2014 to July 18, 2014

I owe the internet a few text recaps and quite a few videos from recent race efforts. I've also been lax in my daily running log on Twitter. So, let's bring that up to speed right now:

Wednesday 11-Jun to Saturday 14-Jun: Rest, four miles, rest, six miles.
Sunday 15-Jun to Saturday 21-Jun: Rest, 3, 6, 4, Rest, 3, 3.
Sunday 22-Jun to Saturday 28-Jun: Rest, 5, 6 x half mile (total five miles with warm-up and cool-down), 5, rest, 4, rest.
Sunday 29-Jun to Saturday 5-Jul: Treadmill half marathon (easy pace), 6, rest, 4, 4, 6, rest.
Sunday 6-Jul to Saturday 12-Jul: 8, 4, 3 morning and 3 night, rest, 5 at 8:00 pace, 16 late-night treadmill miles, rest.
Sunday 13-Jul to Friday 18-Jul: 8, 4, 7 x half mile intervals (total five miles with warm-up and cool-down), 5, rest, 4.

Lifetime odometer is at 14,125.

Where am I racing next? I'll tell you when I figure it out myself. :)

Mom's Day 5K

I drove to North Beach in Racine for the Mom's Day 5K on Sunday, May 11. I gave myself plenty of time for the usual warm up.

I guessed (incorrectly) that the course was an out-and-back, heading north from the finish line and returning south. It was actually a loop course, and we started by heading south along a path near the lake. I realized a bit too late that I was in the back of the pack at the start, not the front, so I was weaving around lots of runners and walkers for the first minute or so.

I quickly made my way into the top ten. The course headed west and then north as I reached the first mile marker, and I passed more runners as I went. The adrenaline from the early mistake led to a quick first mile of 6:24, and I found myself in third place.

I could see the leader and the second place runner in the distance, but I was not able to bridge the gap quickly. The course meandered east toward the lake, and I logged the second mile in 6:30.

The last mile headed back south to the finish along a hilly path. I was now closing in on second, and when we reached a significant uphill stretch, I powered through it and completed the pass. There wasn't much of a response, so as long as I stayed strong, I would keep my position.

I tried to muster the strength to catch the leader, but he was too far out. I completed the third mile in 6:40, and I reached the finish 36 seconds later with a new personal best of 20:10!

I chatted with the winner after the race, who was about 20 seconds ahead of me. Had I surged in the final quarter mile, he probably would have picked it up, as he wasn't really pushed at all throughout the 5K.

I noticed that the course measured slightly short on my GPS. It should have been on the long side, considering I started in the back of the pack, some distance from the start line.

In any case, I was thrilled to take second overall and get a little bit closer to a 5K under 20 minutes.