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.

nohtaraM seitiC xoF (MCF) Recap

On Saturday, March 15, 2014, I ran my 32nd race of marathon distance or greater. It was a unique race in the Appleton-Neenah area called the 'MCF', organized by the local running club. Participants run the Fox Cities Marathon course backwards, and finishers are presented with a medal from that race from the previous year.

The night before, I drove from Kenosha to a hotel in Neenah, stopping at a Fazoli's in Oshkosh for pre-race pasta and breadsticks. I woke up at about 5:20 on Saturday morning to get dressed, go out for a short warm-up, and drive to the finish at UW-Fox Cities to catch a bus to the starting area at Riverside Park in Neenah.

This was the coldest race I had ever run, but I was ready for it. Included in my wardrobe was my anamagi jacket, purple NU winter hat, tights, and Asics running gloves that I got for Christmas. I knew that the gloves weren't super-warm, but I hoped they'd work well enough with temps in the 20s at the start, climbing to the 30s later on.

Early Going
I kept it strong and steady, being careful to take it easy on icy roads and sidewalks. There was sufficient but limited markings that showed us the direction of the course, so I also had to keep my eyes out for that, using a wallet-sized card provided by race organizers for additional guidance. On top of that, the course was open to traffic. Despite all the safety concerns, I was doing rather well and having a great time, occasionally sending real-time updates via my twitter account. It was a bit tricky, as my hands were a tiny bit numb, but I managed. I averaged about 8:07/mile for the first ten miles, just a little bit ahead of personal record pace.

One Little Slip
Now here's something I didn't share with folks until after the race was over. I stopped at a portable restroom during the 12th mile. About ten steps after exiting, I must have been a little too eager to get back on course, and I slipped and fell. It all happened rather fast, but I think I fell on my left side, and the left side of my head hit my Garmin Forerunner 305 on my left wrist. This had a two-pronged effect. First, the band broke on my GPS, so I had to carry it in my pocket for the duration of the race. Second, I scratched my ear and also had very minor scrapes on my left wrist and both knees. Surprisingly, my jacket and tights were a little dirty but not torn or damaged in any way. I walked for a bit to ensure that I did not have a serious head injury, and then I continued my steady trek to the finish.

Okay, Keep Going!
Runners were few and far between, but I caught up to a runner a little bit ahead of me during mile 13. He helped me ensure that the scratch on my ear was nothing to worry about. In addition, I took some extra time at the halfway aid station to ensure I was fine to continue. I was no longer concerned about PR pace; it was tough to monitor my exact pace with the face of the Garmin in my pocket, and I didn't want to push things after my earlier fall. I still moved pretty quickly in the middle section of the race, but my average pace slipped to about 8:21/mile through twenty miles. Thankfully, my hands were warming up nicely, and sharing updates was easier.

Podium Finish?
This race had only 36 full marathon finishers, and I was near the top. Volunteers checked us off at each aid station, so I knew how many were ahead of me at each point. I arrived at the last aid station, which was about five miles from the finish, alongside the fourth place runner. I moved ahead of him and built a decent gap in the next couple of miles, and soon I could no longer see him behind me.

The Final Stretch
With about half a mile to go, I spotted a runner in the distance. Could this be the third place guy? I decided to push it and see if I could catch him. I was amazed at how much I was gaining on him, as I didn't think I was going super-fast. I was about twenty feet behind him with roughly a tenth of a mile remaining. At this point, he turned around, noticed me, and picked up his pace to ensure a finish ahead of me. Apparently, he was coasting, and I gave him a little motivation to pick it up at the finish. Maybe if I had eaten the last pack of sport beans in my pocket, the shaking noise wouldn't have alerted him to my presence, and I could have slipped by. Probably not, though. He seemed to have tons left in the tank. I finished in 3:41:21, my fourth fastest marathon to date, just ten seconds behind the third place runner.

Results
I didn't see the official results posted until a few days later. To my surprise, I took third place! While it seemed to everyone at the finish area, including me, that I was the fourth across the line, apparently there were only two ahead of me. I have a note in to the race director just to make sure the results are as official as they're going to get. Here's a shot of me shortly after my << third place >> finish.

MCF Race Statistics:

Miles 1-5	8:09	8:08	7:58	8:08	7:57
Miles 6-10	8:14	8:14	8:09	8:07	7:58
Miles 11-15	8:10	8:42	8:01	10:26	8:54
Miles 16-20	8:32	8:05	7:54	8:27	8:35
Miles 21-25	9:19	8:16	9:11	8:44	8:32
Miles 26-End	8:50	1:38

• Finish Time: 3:41:21
• Average Pace: 8:27/mile
• First half: 1:47:00
• Second half: 1:54:21
• Fastest Mile: #18 (7:54)
• Slowest Mile: #14 (10:26)

MCF: Third place!

You may have noticed the successful completion of the MCF on Saturday on my twitter feed. It was my 32nd race of marathon distance or greater.

The results are up. The information I received at aid stations (and I thought, at the finish) suggested that I finished fourth, but apparently, I finished third! Wow!

I'll share more of my race experience in typical recap fashion later this week.

MCF Real-Time Updates

This Saturday is the "MCF". I'll be running the Fox Cities Marathon course in reverse, starting at 7:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time. This is a fairly small race -- I estimate 100 combined participants in either the half or full marathon. Roads are open to traffic, so I may find myself waiting to cross at an intersection. This is more of a fun run, but I will get a medal when I finish. I'm in excellent running shape, so I hope to post a respectable time.

While I could use the Runmeter app to track my progress, the battery on my iPhone 3GS is not what it used to be, so I'll be using Twitter instead. You can go directly to my twitter feed to see the latest updates, or simply view it in the top of the right side column on this page.

The updates will be short. You may see something like "2 mi in 1600", which means I'm done with two miles in sixteen minutes. I hope to post every few miles, but don't panic if you don't see updates that frequently. It's hard to anticipate what kind of technical issues may come up while out on a run.

If you're on Twitter, you are welcome to reply, and I will see the responses right away. To those who are friends with me on Facebook: The tweets will be simultaneously posted on Facebook, and I have set up my phone to alert me whenever someone comments on a post. So, feel free to comment with encouraging words during the race.

Less than 42 hours until the fun begins.

Hamster Miles Galore

We haven't had temperatures above freezing in about a month. With no place to put all the snow, there's no good place to run outside where I'm not at risk of slipping and falling.

So, I'm logging plenty of miles on the treadmill in the basement. I have it set up so that I can watch DVDs, check out all kinds of streaming video on the Roku, or even use my Playstation 2 while I'm running. I am perfectly comfortable with 15+ mile late-night or early-morning efforts. Each of the past three weekends has included a long run (17, 20, 17). My complete log is on my twitter feed.

It's still early in the year, but I've run 214 miles in 41 days. It's still early, but if I continue at this rate, I'll run about 1,900 miles, which would be the most I've ever done in a calendar year.

I've added a marathon to the calendar for March 15. It is the "nohtaraM seitiC xoF", which is a running of the Fox Cities Marathon course in reverse. It's a smaller race, but I think it will be fun. There's a chance that I'll set a PR, because I've been getting in plenty of long runs to stay in prime marathoning shape.

Anamagi!

One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year is the North Face Anamagi Jacket that I got from my parents. One was available in the color and size I wanted at the outlet in Pleasant Prairie. This is a lightweight but very warm jacket, perfect for running in cold weather.

With the deep freeze that occurred, I wasn't able to take it out for a test run until two days ago (Friday). I ran about five miles with some work buddies at lunch time. Temps were in the high 20s. A cold wind was blowing off the lake, and I could feel a chill in my extremities, but everything covered by the jacket was toasty warm.

I got out today as well. Temps were in the high 30s. I threw on my running clothes, including the jacket, as soon as I got both kids down for a nap. Jenelle said I looked as happy as a kid on Christmas morning as I bolted out the door. I ran mostly south to a friend's house. There was a headwind, and there were several spots on the sidewalk with puddles and/or ice, but I managed okay. I enjoyed the return trip with the tailwind -- in fact, I had to unzip the jacket a little bit because I was getting so warm! I logged 7.65 miles in 65 minutes.

2014 is off to a great start. I've already signed up for the Wisconsin Half Marathon on May 3, and I'm considering a marathon between now and then. Let's fly!

2013 - Year in Review

In 2013, I ran a total of 1,655 miles. This is second highest. Only 2007 had more -- 1,740. You might wonder why 2010 did not have more miles, as I trained for an ran a 50-miler in the fall. There was a 16-week period where I logged, on average, more than 50 miles a week, but I did not run much at all in January, February, March, November, or December.

Here's a full list of years and miles run:
Year - Miles
2004 - 120
2005 - 1417
2006 - 1618
2007 - 1740
2008 - 1289
2009 - 959
2010 - 1457
2011 - 1391
2012 - 1550
2013 - 1655

In 2013, I ran six races:

• Two 5Ks: Cree Cruise (21:14), Stuff the Sleigh (20:30 -- new PR)
• Two marathons: Kenosha (3:33:39 -- new PR), Middleton (3:36:49)
• One 10-miler: Lighthouse Run (1:11:57 -- new PR)
• One 10K: Firecracker Run (43:46 -- new PR)

Four PRs in six races. I'm thrilled with that. It's exciting that I can still set personal records at the age of 35. I hope to continue the trend in 2014.

My lifetime odometer (as of December 31) was 13,196. I'm more than half way around the world, and I hope to complete the journey before the end of my days.

Stuff the Sleigh 5K - New Personal Best!

On November 30 (my mom's birthday), I headed to downtown Racine for a small but well-organized 5K race. You can't expect comfortable temperatures this time of year, so I was thrilled that it was warm enough to keep the tights in the drawer.

A downhill start paved the way for a fast initial pace. After the dust had settled and I reach the 0.5-mile mark, I was in fifth place. As I slowly gained ground on the fourth place runner, I was surprised to see a runner pushing a stroller making significant gains on me. The stroller guy passed me and didn't even seem like he was pushing himself. I passed a runner soon after that, so I stayed in fifth place.

At the 1.5 mile mark, I passed by Lakeshore Towers, where my grandma lives. This is also where my parents and my kids were stationed. I waved to them as I ran by. At this point, stroller guy was in the lead, and I had moved up to fourth.

I wasn't getting that much faster, but I had the energy to overtake the third place runner with about a mile to go. I passed Lakeshore Towers again at the 2.5-mile mark, heading back to the finish line on Sam Johnson Parkway. In the last half mile, I solidified my position in third, allowing me to complete the uphill finish comfortably.

I finished in third place overall, setting a new personal best at 20:30. Because of the overall place, I did not qualify for an age group award. That's the first time this has ever happened.

The second place guy finished in 20:17. Could I have beat that? Probably not, but perhaps a super-mega-huge all-out effort could have done it. I don't think I ever could have caught the stroller guy. He finished  in 20:02, but I think he could have gone faster if someone had pushed him.

What a GREAT day to set a personal best and earn a place on the podium.

Haunted Hustle (Middleton) Marathon Recap

  

Packet Pickup
I picked up my packet on Saturday morning without any issues. My daughter seemed to enjoy the small race expo at the Keva Sports Center, which was near the start/finish of the race. My race number, 1119, seemed familiar to me, but I still can't recall from what.

The Night Before
My family and I had dinner with my aunt, Gail, who lives about 30 minutes away from Middleton. She made the perfect dinner -- pasta, salad, bread, and more -- to get me energized for the race. Jenelle and I didn't have too much trouble getting our daughter (almost 3) and son (almost 1) to fall asleep in a new environment, so I was able to relax, look over the course map, watch the World Series, and catch up with my aunt before getting a decent night's rest.

Race Morning
Props to Jenelle for handling our son, who rose even earlier than I did, and getting him back to sleep. I was dressed and out the door shortly after 6:00 a.m. for a short warm-up around the block. I left my aunt's house (in her van) at 6:40, arriving at the race site in plenty of time for the 8:00 start. I struck up a conversation with the 3:30 pacesetter prior to the race. While I wasn't planning to run in that group, I considered the possibility of breaking the 3:30 barrier if I had a good race.

It was a tiny bit on the cold side (high 20s / low 30s), so I wore a heavy 'throwaway' sweatshirt on top of my orange short-sleeve shirt and a black long-sleeve base layer. My purple NU winter hat, gloves, black shorts, socks, and my orange shoes completed the outfit. I wasn't carrying my phone, but I did have plenty of gels and sport beans.

Here we go!
Things seemed pretty typical at the start, except that I kept my sweatshirt on for a while. Keeping in mind my PR pace of 8:09/mile that I set in Kenosha earlier this year, I ran a conservative 8:19 out of the gate, picking it up soon after that. After five miles, I was averaging just over 8:00/mile. I ditched my sweatshirt near some bushes by a park entrance, curious if anyone would pick it up. As it turns out, it was still there after the race, so my throwaway sweatshirt, originally purchased for $3 at a thrift store on the way to the Paavo Nurmi Marathon last year, will see another race.

Early Efforts
My effort remained steady and strong in the first half. As I finished mile 7, I was headed east on Airport Road near the start/finish line. I could hear the buzz of the half marathoners getting ready to start. Mile 8 was a fairly significant hill that led to the double-loop east of Highway 12 that would comprise the next 14 miles of the race. I felt pretty good as I took gels and sport beans to stay energized, taking full advantage of every aid station. After ten miles, I was running at 8:05 pace, which would be a PR if I could maintain it.

Loop One: Moving Right Along
The course was pretty, especially as we entered a more wooded area for miles 10-11. It was at about this point when the half marathon leaders, who were at mile 5 of their race, flew past me. A few cheered me on, which was a really nice and unexpected gesture. I tried to return the favor while they were still within earshot.

I could no longer see the 3:30 pace group for the most part, but there were moments when the course profile allowed me to see pretty far ahead, and they were still within striking distance.

During mile 13, I spotted my cheering section, which consisted of Aunt Gail, Jenelle, and kids (when they weren't napping in our SUV). Always a joy to see them. I executed a perfect transition, losing my gloves and winter hat, exchanging it for a cap, some gels, and a small water bottle.

I finished the first half in 1:46:20, which would lead to a PR if I could duplicate the result in the second half. Before the first loop was done, I had to ascend a hill, steep by Wisconsin standards, at mile 14. This one was bigger than the one at mile 8. I powered through it, knowing that I would have to do it again later in the race. Oh, boy.

Loop Two: Keep It Together
The second loop was a challenge, but it had its bright spots. My splits became more sporadic as I took extra time to ensure I was getting the fuel I needed, hoping to make up the time between aid stations. As I reached the latter portion of the loop (mile 18 and beyond), I was passing the slower half marathon participants, who encouraged me in my efforts.

At mile 20, I was ahead of PR pace, but not by much. My quads felt fine, but my calves were getting a bit sore. I thought about my performance in Kenosha, recalling the speedy finish that included a 7:40 split at mile 24. I certainly didn't have that edge this time, but I still felt I was okay.

And then, the hill again. Gah. Despite the amazing effort of my cheering section, who stopped to see me several times, the challenge of the course pushed my calves to the limit. I found myself walking the steepest parts of the hill.. My only hope was to pick it up a bit after the loop was over and finish strong.

Hanging On
My splits at mile 22 and 23 were 8:18 each, so I would need solid speed to achieve a PR. My quads were certainly willing, and so was my mind, but the new experience of sore calves got the best of me. My thoughts moved to making this race my second fastest marathon ever, which would be respectable given the course.

A Memorable Finish
With a mile to go, I was fairly certain that I would be done at about the 3:37:00 mark, which would beat my second best performance (Minneapolis, June 2012) by thirty seconds. As I made the turn, there were plenty of cheering fans. I slowed down a little bit so that I could spot Jenelle, Aunt Gail, and the kids early on. As I saw their happy faces, I took a quick look around me for other runners. There was a slow half marathoner some distance in front of me. I could easily catch her if I turned on the afterburners. Behind me -- nobody. Nobody even close.

My next decision was a no-brainer.

I slowed to a walk and stopped by my family. I extended my hands out to my daughter, and asked her, "Do you want me to carry you?" She ran into my arms with a smile. I picked her up, and we crossed the line together. Here's the result.

Post-Race and Heading Home
As I was gathering some post-race snacks, my daughter asked me for an orange slice, which she ate pretty quickly. Running makes you hungry, but so does cheering! After a quick stop to pick up my throwaway sweatshirt, I met my family back at Aunt Gail's house. After a shower, we enjoyed take-n-bake stuffed pizza from Papa Murphy's. Yum.

With plenty of daylight remaining, we decided to go for a ride on the ferry in Merrimac, which my daughter really enjoyed. Soon after that, we headed back home for a relaxing night.

I'm not sure when my next marathon will take place, but maybe I should finish all of my recap videos before I do another one. :)

Race Statistics:

Miles 1-5	8:19	8:07	7:54	7:56	7:51
Miles 6-10	8:06	8:05	8:15	8:13	8:02
Miles 11-15	8:01	8:14	8:25	8:06	8:12
Miles 16-20	8:08	8:12	7:44	8:17	8:00
Miles 21-25	8:52	8:18	8:18	9:12	9:22
Miles 26-End	8:46	1:50

• Finish Time: 3:36:49
• Average Pace: 8:16/mile
• First half: 1:46:20 (fastest first half to date)
• Second half: 1:50:29
• Fastest Mile: #18 (7:44)
• Slowest Mile: #25 (9:22)

Finished -- 3:37 and change

Not a personal best, but it's my second fastest marathon so far. There were a few too many hills for me to stay strong at the end. Still, a pretty good day!

Sent from my iPhone