Muddy Calves

One of the great benefits of being a member of the Minnesota Distance Runners Association (MDRA) is that they put on some great races including the MDRA Ron Daws 25K which is an old-school, low-key race. It reminds me of many of the races I ran in the 80s–registration is in the basement of a gym, there’s no fancy chip timing, there’s no T-shirt, and the cost is only $5.

Wayne’s Photography

Now, I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m a huge Ron Daws fan. Daws was a Minnesota runner who described himself as having average talent but was stubborn enough to make it to the 1968 Olympic marathon through had training.  Daws later wrote two books, Self-Made Olympian and Running Your Best: The Committed Runner’s Guide to Training and Racing.

I found Daws’ books at an impressionable time–it was when I started running again in college after a few years of Not Running (AKA The Dark Period). While my high school coach had been very good about including everyone, I think I could have been pushed harder. Or maybe I just wasn’t very coachable. Anyhow, in high school, I never trained over 6 miles.

When I got back into running, two thing inspired me to go beyond the limits I had learned through my previous training.  First, I had my sister, who now was running in high school but with a different coach, her training schedule and it included runs of at least 9 miles, maybe more.  And I read Daws’ books where he raised my expectations.

One sad note, sometimes I’m a letter-writer. If someone inspires me, I like to let them know. I sent Daws a letter a couple of months before he died. Because I only had his publisher’s address, I doubt he ever received it.

Daws used Athur Lydriad’s training, especially emphasizing the hill work.  In  Running Your Best, he wrote,  that “(hills are) so much better, in fact,  may be that shortcut or gimmick every runner wants.”

Given Daws’ belief in hill training, it is only fitting that the course for this race is on a “VERY hilly course“.

Just like last year, I wanted to use this 25k as a training race as I train for a June race.  I’ve been dealing with a couple of problems–first it was a groin probably caused by compensating for a muscle imbalance. I’ve seen a physical therapist (Margi at Viverant) who diagnosed the root problem as lazy glutes. After my first session with her, I went out too fast on a cold day and strained my calf which has become the bigger problem.

But even though I came into this race feeling out of sorts because these problems have affect my consistency–especially my weekday runs–and nervous about making these worse.

But, as this Tweet shows, the day started off good in one aspect.

Even though temps were mild–upper 40s at the start, I wore my tights to make sure my legs were warm.  The start was a bit tight as the ~170 runners had to run along a sidewalk so I just hung back taking the first mile easy. Eventually we turned onto a road and things spread out from there. I spent most of the rest of the race slowly reeling in the runners.

Originally I had planned to just try to run consistent 8:00 (marathon goal pace) effort–running even splits was unlikely given the topography of the course. But at some point during the race I decided to try to go through 10 miles at a 8:00 average pace and then speed up from there.  Basically, that is what I did as shown by my 5k splits:

25:01 (8:04)

24:41 (7:58)

24:01 (7:45)

23:49 (7:41)

22:20 (7:59, 2.8 miles,hilly finish)

The groin was fine but the left calf complained, especially climbing the hills.  The race went pretty smooth, can’t complain about anything. I though I was going to be able to extend it to 20 miles but after I finished, my left calf & hamstring said they were done.

I’ve worn my compression socks for 24 hours straight now, only taking them off for a cold-water bath (I haven’t worked up to ice, yet) and actually legs feel great other than the top of my left calf which is still bothered but I am walking fine so it’s not too bad.

My average pace (via Garmin) was 7:53 this year–on a different course last year, it was 8:1o so I’m happy with the improvement.

I just posted a little bit of an update on how my running is going but with January just completed, I want to take a fuller look.

source

I ended up running 124 miles even in January, not sure actually how that compares to my plan but I know I only missed one workout and that was because something came up at work. I was going to make it up during the first week of February but on my last run of January, I twisted my knee a bit on some snow-covered trails and have taken the last two days off. I don’t think it is anything major but want to give it some extra time to heal.

I have also gotten my long run up to 13.5 miles. For comparison’s sake, I didn’t do a 10-miler last year until late February and the first time I did 13+ was April 2nd at the Ron Daws 25K so I’m feeling good about where I am. Still have a lot of work to do but think I’m on track for Grandma’s.

I wasn’t as diligent about attacking my gut but have taken some action the last week or so. I have been more aware of the amount that I eat and I’ve mostly avoided bingeing when I get home from work. I am also trying to take advantage of two plus hours I spend driving and do some abdominal clenching, might not be the best exercise but feels I’m doing something, only wish I could breathe as I do them.

In totally non-running news, my family got 3 pounds of furry fun. Since I’m the one that generally walks the dog, I’ve been reluctant to get a second one. But we stopped at the pet store to get fish food for my wife’s classroom and ended up with a Cairn Terrier (the same breed that Toto from The Wizard of Oz was) .

Toby Zoe is a puppy so she is a little nippy. And she leaves puddles (especially when I pet her). She whines a little when she is in her kennel. She was small enough to walk under our miniature schnauzer. And she is hilarious when shes runs with her tiny legs.  Once she is parasite-free, she is going to spend days in my wife’s classroom.

Last week I posted my running goals for 2012 without much explanation.

Well, I can either sit around in my underwear and watch The Big Bang Theory or I can actually write something for this blog (also while sitting around in my underwear). While the goals themselves are pretty straight-forward, I want to explain my motivations.

First, I’m gonna man-up and take ownership. I was pussy-footing around about running a marathon. Well that’s bull-shit. I am going to run Grandma’s Marathon on June 16th, 2012. There, I said it.

I hesitated to actually commit to this because I was not sure if I was willing to properly training for it. I have run one marathon before–Grandma’s 2000–and while I didn’t die, I went into it under-trained and struggled in the second half–I went through mile 16 in about 2:14:29 (8:24 pace). From there on, though, I struggled and ran/walked the final 10.2 at 10:22 pace, finishing in 4:00:14 (watch time).

To confess, while I was happy and proud that I finished, it was not a life-changing accomplishment for me. I guess having started running at 14, I just assumed that I would be able to do it if I tried–I had run as far as 16 miles before I started training for the marathon so I just had the mentality that I just needed to run longer.

I was not even disappointed in how the second half went–I knew I was under-trained. I had some more important things going on in my life (we were expecting our first child and my mother-in-law, who lived 5 hours away, was dying of cancer) and battled a cranky ITB during training so I did not have extremely unrealistic expectations. Although when I went through the half in about 1:50, I started to think I might run a 3:40-ish.  Ha!

And while those final 14 seconds lingered in the back of my mind, I did not care enough to do anything about them. Although every time I told another runner I had run a marathon, I had to confess that those 14 blasted seconds existed.

But I thought I was content running 10 to 13.1 milers–those are great distances to race. They are long enough to be an endurance event but short enough that I can, if I want, jump into one if I’m in any sort of shape and not have to worry about being able to finish.

But then as I started to re-connect with other runners and I heard about their marathon experiences, I got the itch to try 26.2 again. Not sure when the I gave in-in August I was still saying I did not plan on running a marathon. But since September, I have run a 10-miler nearly every weekend “in case” I decided to train for a marathon. I am not only going to train for & finish a marathon but I’m going to run a marathon.

So I am starting my training. I have sketched out my plan, I have penciled-in a couple of practice races and I am going to do it. This coming weekend, I up my long run to 12 miles. I plan on doing 16 by the end of February.

And I am setting an aggressive time goal, 3:29:59. That is about what the race predictors say I should be able to run but considering I am a recycled Marathon Virgin, it should be pretty difficult.

Not sure how these old legs are gonna hold up, but I’m hoping for the best. And I’m sure I’ll bore you with some of the boring specifics.

Welcome 2012!

As I sit around in my underwear watching Doctor Who & waiting for 2012 to roll around, I’ve decided to post some of my running goals for 2012.

• Train for a spring race. I have one in mind (Grandma’s Marathon) but similar to what I did in January, 2007–when I didn’t commit to attempting a 365-day running streak and ended up running 456 consecutive day–I’m not going to officially declare this a goal quite yet but don’t be surprised if I act as if I’m going after it.
• Lose the middle-age Gut.
• Run 1,438 miles.
• Volunteer at at least one race–perhaps the ALARC Legends 10K.
• Run a sub 5:30 mile
• Run a sub 20:00 5k
• Run a sub 1:30 half-marathon
• Increase my number of quality splits:
• Sub-6:30 (3 in 2011)
• Sub-7:00 (6)
• Sub-7:30 (32)

With 17 hours left in 2011, I’m sitting around in my underwear waiting for some daylight so I can sneak in my last run of 2011 and evaluating how my running went in 2011.  Overall, I’m satisfied with how my running went–I ran over 1,000 miles for the first time since 2004 (holy cow, I didn’t realize it’s been that long since I put together a full year), performed reasonably well in some races (including approaching a sub-20:00 with a 20:17 at the Rockford River Run 5k in August despite having struggled with an injury for a couple of months prior to that).

In January, I posted some goals for the year, let’s see how I did:

So while I met some goals & didn’t meet some others, I met the important ones and came close enough to the performance ones that I’m mostly satisfied.  One thing I hadn’t set as a goal but ended up doing that made this year stand out, though, was getting more involved.

Taking the RRCA Coaching Class and making some great new friends (Rebecca & Ann), coaching a kids Running Club, meeting up with a virtual friend I’ve known for over a decade, using Daily Mile, and even reaching out to members of the Run-net community like Norm, Steve, and 3 Non-Joggers.  These relationships help make 2011 a great year.

To review my racing, I ran 13 races, a new personal high if you exclude high school track & CC.  The races were:

• Waconia Winterfest 5k (2/5/2011)
• Ron Daws 25k (4/2/2011)
• Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon (5/1/2011)
• ALARC legends 10k (6/11/2011)
• Bjorklund Half Marathon (6/18/2011)
• Oulu Rock Run (7/23/2011)
• Rockford River Run (8/13/2011)
• Salomon Autumn Trail Series 1 of 4 (8/31/2011)
• Salomon Autumn Trail Series 2 of 4 (9/14/2011)
• Salomon Autumn Trail Series 3 of 4 (9/28/2011)
• Salomon Autumn Trail Series 4 of 4 (10/12/2011)
• Jack-O-Lantern 5k (10/29/2011)
• Chaska Turkey Trot (11/12/2011)

So overall, I’m happy with my how my running went in 2011. My life has settled down some from previous years and allowed me to focus more on my running. I did struggle with some minor injuries in the second half of the year but think I’ve worked my way though most of that.

• How did your running go in 2011?
• What were some of the highlights/lowlights?

Now that I’m healthy and waiting for my Garmin to charge, thought I should declare the rest of my summer/fall training & racing plans.

It’s time to work on speed.  So I’m targeting a bunch of shorter races–mostly cross country-style (the best) races.

While I would like to run ALL these races, I won’t because even if I had the time & money, my old bones, or more likely, my old tendons and ligaments, wouldn’t hold up–especially running 5 races, including a half-marathon, over 20 days in late August.

But I would like to build a mini-Cross Country season for myself between the two trail series (potentially 9 races) and the first and last race on the list.  Cross Country was my introduction into the sport and still my favorite type of races.  Running the shorter races on softer ground makes racing more often possible.

7/9 Mayer Run For the Son.  I would have felt like I HAD to run this since it is in the small town that I live in.  But it got cancelled.  Probably a good thing for me since I shouldn’t be racing yet.

*7/23 Oulu Rock Run 5k This is a Must-Do for me, it’s in my hometown.

7/28 Lifetime Fitness Trail Series.  4.5 Miles, Hyland Park Reserve. This is part 1 of 5 of a trail series at parks throughout the area.  I ran one last year and it was fun–relatively cheap and good race with good grub (beer!) and SWAG.  I probably won’t run all 5.

7/28 Rice St Mile. 1 Mile.  I ran several years ago–I’m tempted to run it just as a measuring stick although given the choice between this and the trail run on the same day, probably will do the trail run.

*8/6&7 RRCA Coaching Certification.  The Road Runners Club of America puts on training classes to become a certified running coach.  I’ve thought about doing this for a couple years but either missed the registration period or couldn’t afford the time.  Made a special effort this year to make sure I got in.

8/11 Lifetime Fitness Trail Series.  5 Miles, Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve. One of the nice thing about this series is that the races are during the week which frees up the weekend.

8/13 Rockford River Run 5k   I ran this 5k last year and would like to do it again this year for comparison’s sake.

8/21 Minneapolis 13.1 This is where things get interesting. Considering my plan of training for the shorter races, why would I consider this? Two reasons, (a) To give myself a second chance to redeem myself, especially after doing some speed work, (b) I might get comped to do this–more detail in a later post.  They also have a 5k that would make more sense.

8/25 Lifetime Fitness Trail Series.  3.2 Miles, Clifton E. French Regional Park. One of the nice thing about this series is that the races are during the week which frees up the weekend.

*8/31 Solomon Autumn Trail Series.  This is the third year of this 4-part trail series.  I’ve run all eight races in this series’ history–a feet only matched by my nemesis, Scott– so I feel obligated to continue the streak.

9/8 Lifetime Fitness Trail Series. 5 Miles, Carver Park Reserve.  I ran this edition last summer since it is close to home.  This is also where I screwed up my knee a couple weeks ago.

*9/14  Solomon Autumn Trail Series.  This series is also run weeknights so it doesn’t interfere with weekend plans.

9/17 Fall Frolic 5k.  This 5k is put on to support the Chippewa Falls Cross Country team.  I’ve run it couple times before, including once where I ran the loop part–it is a lollipop course–backwards and had to meet all the other runners.  Oooops!

9/22 Lifetime Fitness Trail Series.  5.2 Miles, Elm Creek Park Reserve.

* 9/28  Solomon Autumn Trail Series.  The money from this series supports skier, Audrey Weber.

*10/12  Solomon Autumn Trail Series.  It always has great door prizes for the participants.  Great Sponsors.

10/15 Whistlestop Marathon. I probably won’t run the Half Marathon but this is another race close to where I grew up and is run on nice, soft crushed rock trail.  But it is on my radar.

10/29 Carson Park 10 Miler.  Another race I probably won’t do but this is my favorite race of all time.  Perfect time of year, love the distance.  I have not run the new course but it use to be a point-to-point race with an awkward bus ride to the start.  Unfortunately, this is now two hours from where I live.

11/6 Rocky’s Run 11/6 5k/8k This is a CC-style race at the University of Minnesota’s Golf Course.  It seems like a good way to finish off the season.

Now that another year is upon us, time for some goal setting.  Some of these are redundant, some are challenging but all, I think, are obtainable.

• 1,000 miles
• Never fall behind 3 miles/day.
• No 0 weeks
• Serious X-training twice a week–Yoga, stretching, biking, or plyometrics.
• Volunteer at at least one race.
• Dramatic increase in the number of quality miles run.  My fastest mile in 2010 was 6:25, which was 48 seconds faster than the fastest mile I had run up to that point last year.  Overall, I ran 1 sub-6:30 mile, 6 sub-7:00 miles, 32 sub-7:30 miles, and 132 sub-8:00 miles.
• Sub-20:00 5k.
• Sub-1:30:00 Half Marathon.
• Run consecutive 6:52 miles, pure & average.  (2010 streak was 1/3.1)
• Do my first dual-event event.
• Possibly do a relay–Ragnar or a Mojo Loco?

Possible Race Schedule (BOLD are Races I Am Targeting):

• 1/30? Waconia Winterfest 5k
• 4/2? Ron Daws 15K
• 5/1 Eau Claire Half Marathon
• 5/7 New Prague Half Marathon (Backup to EC Half, maybe Volunteer here?)
• 5/14? Chaska 10k/5k
• 6/18 Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon
• 7/25? Watertown 5k
• 8/13 Paavo Nurmi Half Marathon
• 9/12? Waconia Nickle Dickle Day 10k
• 10/14 Whistlestop Half Marathon

• Early Fall: Salomon Autumn Trail Series
• Late Summer-Early Fall:  Life Time Fitness Trail Series

The race schedule will be a work-in-progress but right now, the two half marathons and 15K in the spring are going to be my core races, with Bjorklund being my target race.

Peace.