Minneapolis Marathon 2012

The End Result:
2:47:16
5th overall, 2nd age-group

Going into this race I had very humble expectations. I wanted to get a Boston Qualifier (BQ) 20 minutes faster than my age-group minimum. That would allow me to sign up under their new rules for 2013 on the first day of Boston sign up. For me, that time was 2:54:59. A pace I am unfamiliar with. I went as far as printing off a wrist band with splits to ensure I didn't fall off or go out too fast. *the latter was blown after mile two!

I had a few promising long runs and a couple decent steady-state medium distance runs but not any really long "quality" sessions I am used to doing week after week. To say I was nervous of my outcome would be an understatement.

Race morning was started at 0430. I fired up the coffee pot and made small cup of shitty coffee. The motel I was staying at didn't really plan, or care for, the fact there was a marathon the next morning so there was no early breakfast. I had a banana, two granola bars, and half a bag of sport beans and a bottle of poweraide before hitting a shower. Yes, I take a shower before my marathons. It makes me feel good. It loosens up any tight spots and really gets me limber.

Soon I was heading out the door for the ~1 mile jog to the start. I used this as my warm up as I got to the start, did my bag drop, hit the porta pot and the gun would go off some 15 minutes later. Good timing on my part.

The race started without a hitch and I found myself running way too fast. The first three or four miles were near 6:15 pace! I had a devil of a time slowing down and as my splits show I just couldn't settle in 6:30's. So, I did what felt good. I ran a whole bunch of 6:20 miles and managed to hold pace for most of the race, with the exception of a monster hill coming out of Fort Snelling and one mile with  a pit stop. This was an interesting marathon for me in terms of how time went bye. The usual low points near the 15 mile mark didn't last but a mile or two. Once we climbed out of Fort Snelling my legs got a little life and I ran a couple of quick miles once again. The major bummer of this race was on the return trip when we caught the half-marathon group. The race management could have done a better job at the timing of the events or at least trying to keep an open lane for the marathon runners. It really wasn't too bad of a deal but just a bit annoying when you are at 22 miles of a marathon and you have to do a bunch of extra weaving in and out of people. I did my best of keeping my head and had a wonderful last 4 miles despite a crabby right calf muscle that really didn't want to play anymore. I asked nicely, and the course took an awesome downhill for the last two miles or so, which gave my calf a much needed break and I cruised in for the finish.

For the most part my legs feel really good for just running a marathon. I think I ran just about as hard as I needed to and ran a very smart race. I could have been out hammering with the leaders for 16 miles then fall off and really jog the last 10 miles but I held back and ran my race. I'm very happy with that commitment.

I will Load my Garmin RESULTS HERE!

Thanks for reading and cheering from your humble abodes.

Weeks Total: 48 miles

Years Total: 925.6 miles

Race Week

It didn't feel like a race week. I had a decent run on Sunday and I really wanted to keep pressing on for more workouts. My mind told me otherwise. I knew I wasn't going to get any fitter for the marathon and in fact, I could show up very fatigued and possibly injured if I kept pressing the envelope all week. So, I did a taper from the minimal mileage I was running and kept up a little intensity for a couple days. Most of the week I felt fresh but on Thursday I was feeling sluggish and heavy legged. Very normal for a "taper week". Friday I took advantage of a little extra sleep in the morning and Saturday was a quick spin to test the shoes ( I was still undecided as to what shoes I would be wearing come Sunday morning!) and I had a little snap back in my stride. Nice!!

So I managed to get down to the Cities without any difficulty and settle in my motel room. Most of my day consisted of alternating water and poweraide as my beverages of choice. I had a decent meal, an excellent IPA at the Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery and soon I was off to sleep for the night. 

As for the race it deserves its own entry so here is the week leading up to today:

Monday: 37:00, wet run in Rock Hill very slow and relaxed. Nice recovery run.

Tuesday: 40:00, feeling better up Woodland

Wednesday: 30:00, to skyline and did 4 X 3 minutes medium hard effort

Thursday: 30:00, to track and did 4 X 100 meters 

Friday: 0 miles

Saturday: 20:00, easy loop with striders.

One Final Push

Heading into last weekend I was feeling pretty good and I figured I could afford one more distance run and hope to reap some benefit from a little marathon pace running. On Friday I did the Martin Road loop and attempted to throw in some one minute pick-ups and my legs just didn't want to participate at all. So I didn't force the issue and I made my way home just shy of an hour and 8 miles.  Saturday we had more rain and I was too crabby to get wet so off to the treadmill I went and pounded out what I termed "the best treadmill run I've had in many years. It really wasn't anything too special, rather, just a run that felt solid and very fluid. I set the pace and made an early commitment not to run anything faster then 7:20 pace. I kept to that and managed to sprinkle in some hill repeats. I did 4 X 4 minutes at 5% at 8 miles per hour. That effort felt really maintainable and I was happy to break up the monotony of treadmill running with some strength work.  Sunday found myself and buddy Erik using an open window of no rain but high winds to do the long run. I made the early decision to run 18 miles and much at the "marathon" pace of 6:30. I'm not too sure that will be my pace on Sunday but it seems attainable.  One week to go and I will be done with the marathon. I am both excited and very apprehensive. The feeling of fitness is definitely there but not strength fitness like I would like.  Oh, well, time will tell.

Here is the rest of the week:

Friday: 57:00 Woodland loop 8 miles
Saturday: 1:00:00  8.1 miles treadmill 4 X 4 min at 5% at 8mph.
Sunday: 2:00:00  18 miles  much at 6:30 min mile pace.

Weeks Total: 58 miles

Years Total:  877.9 miles

Soggy Feet

Since Sunday, I have run in the rain 3 out of 4 mornings. I have no dry shoes to wear (that's not true but it sounds good) and I fired up the fireplace tonight to dry a few pair plus my running hats.
My Sunday "long" run left me feeling quite good but I took Monday off just to be sure. Tuesday I got out for a nice easy run and found myself running kind of fast for a recovery run. I managed to slow it down a bit so I guess that's promising I feel that good I have to force to slow. Wednesday was my "uptempo" run out on west Skyline. I added a mile to my LT run and picked up the pace ~5 or so seconds per mile. The run started out sluggish but really worked out well and I finished very strong. This morning was a nice recovery run and once again had to force myself to slow in order to keep it a true "recovery" run.

Thus far this week:

Monday: 0 miles
Tuesday: 50:00 *short on time, slept too late
Wednesday: 1:11:00  6 miles LT @ 5:54 pace
Thursday: 54:00 Kenwood loop

*feeling really good this week and I really wish I had about 5 more weeks to race but I guess I will be able to hold my own on June 3rd. It's going to be hard not to have fast goals when I am feeling fast but not quite ready to "race" a marathon. You never know...

Pace Work Needed

I needed a nice rest after the long effort on Sunday so Monday turned into a complete rest day except for stretches and leg exercises. I managed to get in a decent recovery run Tuesday and Wednesday I jumped right in to a medium long effort with 5 miles at near LT pace. Friday I made my way out to Martin road and along my loop did 6 X 2 minutes at 5:30 pace. Our weekend was filled with camping and on Saturday I got out on the SHT north of Temperence river for a bit over an hour. What a section! My Sunday long effort was shot right from the get-go. It was raining and it managed to rain for the entire 2 hours. A good test for wet socks just incase marathon day is a wet one. I realized I will not wear the socks I had on. One killer blister on the small, pinky toe cost me a few minutes at the end and I needed to finish the run a bit too soon.

Here is the week:

Monday: 0 miles rest + walk in trails with buddy
Tuesday: 59:00 easy loop
Wednesday: 1:21:00  skyline west with 5 miles at 6:00/mi pace
Thursday: 45:00 plus exercises
Friday: 58:20  6X 2 minutes of pick ups
Saturday: 1:02:00  trails at Temperence
Sunday: 1:54:00 wet road run

Weeks Total: ~56 miles

Years Total: 819.8 miles

Progression Long Run

I spent most of the week gearing up and finally getting a little "work" done and some better  up tempo days worked into the schedule. Mid week I did a nice 11 miler with 3 X 10 minutes at 5:50 pace to simulate a little threshold session. At the moment I am not sure what my true LT is but that workout felt pretty close. The rest of the week was getting my legs under me and preparing for what was the longest run of my buildup as well as the year. Sunday we had a nice group that did a mild progression run from Two Harbors to Duluth. The only problem, and a big one it was, was the direct headwind we faced for all 22 miles. At times it was gusting to 15 mph! A bit of a challenge to say the least. In the end I managed to step down the pace nicely and worked plenty hard for it!

Here is the week:

Monday: 0 rest
Tuesday: 50:00 easy
Wednesday: 1:13:00 w/ 3 X 10 minutes at 5:50 pace
Thursday: 50:00 easy
Friday: 52:00 with 8 X 100 meters at 5:00 pace
Saturday: 1:20:00 easy trails in Hartley
Sunday: 2:32:00 north shore progression run
             average 6:55/ last three: 6:31, 6:28, 6:21

Weeks Total: ~64 miles

Years Total: 763.5 miles

Virus Magnet

I seem to have been a magnet for different viruses lately and have been hit with a common "head cold" virus and this past week the damn GI "virus" that leaves you with ass-stomach for two or three days.
Right now I feel quite good and hope to have kicked all of the bad bugs out of my system and now on to better training and daily living.

This past week really rolled out well for me and I would have been very satisfied except for the zero I had to take yesterday because of the stomach thingy.

Today I managed to join a wonderful group and run a bit over two hours on the Voyageur course from the Zoo parking lot. I do love this section and I have never ran the 50 miler so I have no bad taste from the ugly uphill climbing out from the Zoo. Lot's of smiles today and I am ready to have a killer 4 weeks until my potential race. *I know I  can make it to the start...

Weeks Summary:

Monday: 36:00 slow in Rock Hill
Tuesday: 47:00 easy
Wednesday: 1:00:00 treadmill 4 miles @ 6:22 pace
Thursday: 46:00 easy
Friday: 50:00 *feels sluggish
Saturday: 0 *sick
Sunday: 2:13:00 trails/nice run

Weeks Total: ~46 miles

Years Total: 699.5 miles

Bump, Bump, Bump It Up!

I'm referring to training volume and intensity. This past week was another great "test week" that went about as well I could have hoped. The weeks mileage passed without any difficulties or soreness to speak of. My Sunday long effort went well but did manage to leave me with a bit of a sore low back and minimal tightness in the hamstring. I did some stretches after and that seemed to lick it. Part of me thinks that now that I have had the injured hamstring I am over sensed to that area and any twinge or tightness makes me very aware, as compared to months ago it may have gone unnoticed. That may be a good thing, I prefer to think, or that may be something I just need to press a bit to see how things are going to progress. I will mix a bit of those two thoughts as I press forward in my training and see how things iron out. On paper I am scheduled for some light repetitions this week as well as a 20 miler on Sunday! My first of the year!

Here is the weeks summary:

Monday: 32:00 easy jog
Tuesday: 52:30 w/ 7 X 30 sec @ 5K pace
Wednesday: 0 miles
Thursday: 55:00
Friday: 37:00
Saturday: 51:30 *harder pace run sub 7:00's
Sunday: 2:03:00  17 miler rather hilly route.

Weeks Total: ~ 49 miles

Years Total: 653.5 miles

A Week of Progress = Smiles!!

The past week has been wonderful to me. I continue to bump up my runs by time  and soon hope to be back on track to fitness.  It's really hard holding back as I continue this venture and progress is great, but I really just want to start hitting the miles and doing some up tempo work. In due time...

I took last Monday off to give myself the extra rest and then have run six days in a row with runs varying from 30-50 minutes with weekly long effort of 90 minutes this morning. The therapists have really got me in line. Near weekly chiro visits, deep tissue massage, acupuncture along with my strength program at home has been my recipe and I can't remember the last time I felt so fresh while running. I mean, wow, no hamstring pain, no hip pain, no back pain, no achilles pain, NOTHING! Is this how you should feel when you run/train for a marathon? I hope so, and I hope I can keep the ailments to a minimum as I continue to crank up the volume over the next month.

Here is a brief summary of the week:

Monday: 0 miles
Tuesday: 50:00
Wednesday: 39:00
Thursday: 29:00 with 8X100 meters pick ups
Friday: 45:00
Saturday: 56:00
Sunday: 1:30:00
*most weekly runs @7:30/mile pace

Total: ~41 miles

Years Total: 604.5 miles

The 80th Mile and Mad Treatment

The past week was a good indicator that all the treatment I have been getting on my hamstring has me going in the right direction. I haven't run over a hour yet but at this point it really isn't about going out and seeing how much I can do, rather doing what I can do in the proper amount and stay injury-free and continue to progress back to overall fitness!

The early part of the week had me running in the evening at the local YMCA on a treadmill next to ultra runner Chris Gardiner in efforts to keep him company, albeit a short run for me, as he continued on his quest to run 16 hours straight in efforts to raise money and awareness for the Strong Kid's Campaign. At the end of a long day Chris raised over $7000.00 and a lot of eyebrows as people walked in and out of the lobby. Together we rolled the 80th mile and he finished with a little over 95 miles for the 16 hour jaunt. Job well done Chris!

The rest of the week I sprinkled half hour runs in between my many treatment appointments. I did a Chiro/deep tissue appointment on Monday. Acupuncture and massage on Tuesday allowed me to focus on stretches and strength work for the remainder of the week. By the time the weekend rolled around I was feeling like a caged animal. I did an hour run on Saturday under beautiful sunny skies along with my lovely wife and my buddy Dave. What a great run. It's crazy to get so excited about a hour run but it's been so long since running with no pain in that leg, I have to go back to January to remember. Too long...

This week will actually look much the same in efforts to ensure I am on the right track and to keep those hamstring demons well behind me. It's exciting and exhilarating to think that in 12 months I will be the one getting nervous and preparing for Boston Marathon. Tomorrow will be excitement for 25,000 runners and I wish you all the very best!

Here is how the week looked:

Monday: 30:00
Tuesday: 0 miles. leg sore from all the work.
Wednesday: 34:00
Thursday: 37:23
Friday: 36:16
Saturday: 58:08
Sunday: 32:20
*all runs completely pain-free!!

Weeks Total: ~28 miles
Years Total: 563.5 miles

Creepin' Back

I spent the week off of running and doing only lower leg exercises. I was all fired up to get a fluid-trainer and put my bike on it, then I was going to buy a new "gravel bike", then I was just going try some road biking this weekend and see where it takes me...  I just ended up taking the week off and running two really easy jogs Saturday and Sunday.

I want to be able to run a good marathon by the end of the summer and if I take it easy now that will happen. The races I had planned are now a distant memory and I need to take one day at a time and make sure I am healed and going to be stronger for future build-ups.

As far as the biking thing goes, I'm still going to look for a decent gravel-bike and a fluid trainer and start supplementing with some bike efforts. It would be good for my hips and legs to have that type of work included in my weekly routine. I just need time...

Monday-Friday: 0 miles running

Saturday: 24:00 trails, no pain

Sunday: 32:00 trails, no pain

I hope I am on the right track.

Game of Frustration

I guess it's time to call a spade a spade. I am injured and it's keeping me from running. I can't run, so I will stop trying. There, I said it. Now I have to act on it.

I had so many plans for this spring and summer racing coupled with an unbelievable winter of training and loads of running buddies to rack up the miles with I just didn't want to see all the work go to waste. There doesn't seem to be a day that goes by without having to answer the question, "when is your next race?" I can now answer that without hesitation and just say, "i don't know, i'm not training right now."

So, I may be a bit edgy for a few days and I plan to fully cross train as much as I can just to keep some form of fitness, but let me tell you, I am a runner. I will always be and I will fight, once again, to get back to the sport I do love, even if it's full of frustration right now.

My week looked like this:

Monday: 24:00, walk home
Tuesday: 0, Chiro work done
Wednesday: 0
Thursday: 8 minutes, walk home, massage after work
Friday: 0 miles
Saturday: 19:00 all running, oh, so sad...
Sunday: 24 minutes, walk home

*Game Over for now...

That's a Pisser

The "tightness" I was feeling in my hamstring was exactly that, and worse. On Monday I attempted to head out for a super easy shake out run with my plan of being near the 30 minute mark for a total. I made it a grand total of 24 minutes and I was once again reduced to a walk the remainder of the distance home. Lots of explicits to vent, good thing it was 5:30 in the morning as there are very few soles out there stomping the pavement.

I have taken the remainder of the week off of running and had one Chiro treatment  as well as one hour massage, along with plenty of stretches to go with the week!

The most frustrating part of all this is I am being smart and not overdoing it in any way. I have listened to my body and really been in tune with whats going on. My leg has been great and bam! in one or two runs I am out of commish again. Once again I am reduced to running as much as I can slowly... I only hope this all ends soon.

On a side note, I think someone pissed on my tires...

Hammies Hurtin'

This week has been a nice progression. I gave myself one rest day and continued to run near an hour a day and a bit more on the weekend days. I plan to move up to get my two medium distance runs and longer efforts on the weekend within a months time. The main hurdle for this to happen seems to be a nagging hamstring that just will not let me progress to decent mileage. There seems to be some underlying problem that has yet to be discovered and now, more than ever, I need to figure it out!

Both runs this weekend had a little bit of hamstring tightness and keeping me from cranking up the pace too much.

Here is how the week looked:

Monday: 47:00  6.1 miles
              easy jogging to stretch out the legs

Tuesday: 1:02:00  8.2 miles

Wednesday: 51:45  7.1 miles

Thursday: 0 miles rest day

Friday: 1:01:00 8.1 miles *last mile at 6:00 pace
            super foggy out!

Saturday: 1:45:00  10.5 miles  *Jay Cooke Trails

Sunday: 2:20:00  18.2 miles roads

Weeks Total: 58.2 miles (6 days)
Years Total: 520.5 miles

Tee Shirts and Sunshine

Friday morning I made my way out and did a short out and back on Skyline. Nothing special about it. Just recovery miles.

This weekend was two marvelous days of running. Saturday a small group hit some very wet snowmobile trails that turned out to be a swamp run but none-the-less we had many laughs and much fun! Thanks to Dave, Dodgeball, and the Deb. For most of the run I actually ran without a shirt on and nearly caused many car accidents because of it.

This morning I had a group of five come to our house in order to hit some consistent road miles and get aide at the half-way point. We did a two loop course and once again, running in shorts and a tee in March just isn't right. My legs felt fair and towards the end of the run I had my right thigh start crying for mercy and to stop. I made it a total of 2 hours and near 16 miles. I have some more work to do on the leg but soon I hope to be jamming the miles and finally getting fit! Thanks to Eric, Tony, Dave and Dave. Great run!

Totals:
Friday: 6 miles
Saturday: 9 miles
Sunday: 16 miles

Weeks Total: 54 miles
Years Total: 462.3 miles

Dear Right Leg, I'm Gonna Win!!

I managed to have some decent miles last weekend and I rewarded my quad with a day of rest on Monday. I really had no choice as I was quite sore and very tired from the lack of sleep all weekend. I still got up and did a few subtle stretches then did a long ICE session on my quad, then a hot shower. I woke up Tuesday feeling refreshed and ready to rip it. The daily running has remained quite simple as of late and will remain the same until there is vast improvement in the range of motion in my quad. (still a bit limiting and very bruised) Until then, daily mileage is key and I will do my best to be ready to pound some pavement come June 3rd in Minneapolis.

Here is how my week has progressed thus far:

Mon: 0 miles (rest and rehab)
Tues: 55:50  7.2 miles
Wed: 47:35   6.2 miles   (icy roads)
Thurs: 1:10:33   9.7 miles

Snow Today...Gone Tomorrow

Not literally but pretty darn close. Last Saturday we received close to 15" of fresh powder on top of the 12" we had received a few days prior to that. That would be the entire "winter" to date. I realize it's still March, but I'm going out on a limb and saying we will not get any more storms like that!

On my last post I mentioned the long, backcountry snowshoe I did with the boys in the Lester/Amity Valley. We had tons of fun. Too much for me! What I failed to mention in my last post was the fact that I almost tore my right quad off! I launched off a ten foot cliff into some fresh POW and when I landed it threw me forward and I had to tumble a bit. In the process I hit a fallen tree buried under the snow. (a major risk of jumping blindly into fresh powder, even though the previous three launches left me in hysterics and joy! This jump would initially leave me a bit stunned but no means in the condition I would find myself in come Monday morning. Damn!!!!! My right quad was so bruised and sore I could barely lift for a simple flight of stairs. Ice, Ice and more Ice was the treatment of choice. Lesson learned for now.

This past week things slowly improved and by the weekend I was able to hobble myself to a few runs and ended Sunday with a pretty decent effort and some swill to cap off the evening.

Sunday was the 2nd Annual Shamrock Pub Shuffle. We had a blast and many laughs were had by all. I had ran 2 hours in the morning so the evening three miler was doable. So, here is a quick summary of the week. I hope this week I can get back to some consistent training as I am lagging big time!

Mon: 0 miles
Tues: 0 miles
Wed: 0 miles
Thurs:  38:00   5 miles
Fri:  32:00  4.5 miles
Sat:  48:00 slow trails, very sore yet  5 miles
Sun: 1:55:00   14.2 miles (a great improvement)
          30:00      3 miles  (eve. pub shuffle)

Total:  ~32 miles

Years Total: 408.3 miles

Two Week Rap...Totally!

Two weeks have passed since my last entry. One reason for this is just laziness and not high on the daily priority list but mostly I haven't been doing much except resting. I have run a bit over the last two weeks but I had some minor setbacks to say the least.

Here is a brief summary of the week following my last entry.

Early in the week I was running well. I did a series of runs in Hartley as well as roads and was getting consistent runs with the hamstring tolerating them fair. (still some pull)  On Thursday of that week I saw Adam, a sports Chiro, and he worked the snot out of my hamstring.  I have been doing some strength exercises and he liked what I was doing and added a bunch of stability work to my regimen. After his appointment our family took a short trip to the Twin Cities for a few days. I ran on the treadmill for a short run and did my exercises on Friday. Saturday I was off and Sunday I ran with Hypo from the Canal into gale-force winds! Then an hour after our run I came down with the Flu!

My week looked like this:
M: 51:17  7 miles
T: 55:28  7 miles
W: 52:01  5.7 miles (trails)
Thr. off
F: 4 miles treadmill
S: off
Sun: 1:36:00  12 miles

Total:  35.7 miles


Since I came down with the flu I had a tough time getting back on track and then Thursday I turned the corner and things improved rapidly since. So happy with that! I managed to see Adam again this week and he is happy with the progress on the hamstring.  I took of most of the week and had a wonderful late week of running. It looked something like this:

M-Thursday: 0 miles sick!
Fri: 43:46  5+ miles roads
Sat: 58:00  7.4 miles
Sun:  2:15:00  snowshoe with the boys! crazy fun in Lester Park.

Total: 21+ miles
Years Total: 376.3 miles

Tampa To Tulsa

Off of Rainy Day Music, the title song is one of all time favorites. Not too sure why. Maybe just the simplistic idea of the song.
I'm a bit bummed out because the Jayhawks played last night at the State Theater and I missed them. Maybe, just maybe I will see them in the future if at all possible. So, this is the last of my Jayhawk song/blog titles for the week. For some of you, I hope I gave you some new music to add to your library.

For the weekends running I managed to get out both days and continue to be baffled by the hamstring issue i'm dealing with. Lot's of What the !?? throughout the weekend.

Saturday I hit the trails of Hartley and I was just going to do the main trail and exit on the other side and run some Woodland area roads before making my way back home. Well, instead I managed to stay on all trails and do a short loop past the gasline and return home. I felt really good and only had a hint of tightness in the ham. I DID realize though I couldn't have strided out and ran fast as I felt my limit with the shorter trail strides I use.

Total: 44:18  5.3 miles  trails

Today I decided to venture out and hit some new terrain. I really wanted to run a new section of SHT and I decided, on what I will call the Fox Farm Road Section. I really didn't know what to expect from my hammy so I kept my options "open". I started out by running the trail east (up the trail) and soon found a few reasons to turn back for the truck.

 There are very few times in my past when I felt unsafe while running. For some reason I never feel like I am vulnerable as a runner. That may be a bad thing, but I chalk it up to being very "comfortable" while I run and if harm finds my way while I am on a run than I guess it was my number and I get to depart this world while doing the one activity I love the most out of life. I mean, I have run in inner cities while attending work conferences and never really feel threatened. Maybe because I usually run at 0600 and there is little harm awake at that hour. But the feeling I had today out on the SHT was completely unexpected and I was taken back a bit by it. I was running under complete sunny skies and still air. As I was out only 10 or so minutes from the lot I began seeing small tracks on the trail, as there was fresh snow from a day or two ago and not a single walker had made their way up the trail in that particular direction.  Soon after seeing what I would expect to be coyote tracks, they stopped, and soon a much larger track appeared and I soon knew what I was involved with. Soon one track led to two, and three, and four...you get the idea. I was following fairly fresh Wolf tracks and I expected to see a pair of eyes staring at me on my next climb. The feeling of "being watched" never left me but soon I was very comfortable with actually seeing a Wolf. I had a camera and was ready to take my best shot of the bugger if he/she would show up. The trail soon began to offer a bit too much snow, I know really, but I just couldn't settle in any rhythm and I was forced to make my turn back to the lot. I was 27:00 out from the lot and after dashing back through the wolf pack I was soon at the truck and making my way down the trail in a westerly direction. This section was packed from a lot of walkers and I was able to maintain good form and run a decent section. I soon had to call it quits as the hamstring was calling my name and I didn't want to go into a full spasm. The run ended up being fairly successful from a hamstring point and really eye-opening in regards to Wolf and how close they are to us! Wow!

Total: 1:15:00  ~8 miles trails

Weeks Total: 37 miles
Years Total: 319.6 miles

Pics of the day:

  Trailhead FF Road

 Trail flooded by stream

 Wolf track compared to my hand. drrrr. right?

 Trail going east (up)

 Trail westerly (down)

More proof the wolves are here. Hairy poop!

Say Your Prayers

This song is labeled as a "demo" and is off a double album with this specifically titled More Rain.

After running for a few days with minimal ham issues I was slapped in the face on Thursday morning with a good ol' fashion ham spasm that reduced me to walking home yet again. Frustrating to say the least. When I am injured I tend to A) Get Crabby and B) Focus all my energy on the injury and want to get better. Well I accomplished (A) quite well and failed at (B). I thought I was working hard at stretching and strength work but to no avail on the injury at hand. Just when I think I have the source of my issues it comes up empty. I thought it was my calves and I have them very loose and still the ham problem.

So, for now I am just going to keep doing my strength work and try to sneak back to running and see where it takes me. I have a marathon on my mind for late April but that is slowly becoming doubtful. At this point I guess it's what they call "one day at a time".

Total: 47:00   5 miles
          (4 running/ 1 slow mile walk home)

Stick In The Mud

Sound of Lies, 1997, was the first album after the departure of co-founder Mark Olson and the blog title track was a good one. I felt like I was a Stick in The Mud this morning as I had a repeat run of yesterday.

My run started off much like yesterday and I had a wonderful 4 miles. At about the 5th mile I started to feel the hammy tightening and I stopped right away to stretch the calf muscle to see if I could keep things at bay. It helped a bit but soon I was feeling quite a pull and I stopped a second time for a good stretch. After this one I began to stride out and soon I was running symptom-free. What the? Towards the end I was running sub 7:00 pace and feeling well. So....I don't really know what to say. I am still baffled and trying to find the source of this menace. I'll keep you posted.

Total:  1:13:37   10 miles  Enger and back

Stumbling Through The Dark

Jayhawks album- Rainy Day Music produced the blog title hit listed. I really enjoyed Rainy Day, could be one of my favorites of all. That is too difficult to say as I love all their music but you know what I mean...

I didn't run yesterday as I focused on some really deep stretches and exercises in preparation for my evening visit at Muggymoose. A local studio that didn't disappoint. I was not too sure what to expect, as my exposure to Yoga, and Thai Yoga Massage was limited to zero. Since my weaknesses in my running have surfaced yet again in the form of a bum hamstring I figured it was/is time to really focus on stretching and strength work as a staple and not as a fix. I want this to be part of my daily routine. Yes, it adds time to what I do, but so what. If I have to give up one sitcom a night to accomplish this I will. I need to take care of my body or I will not be able to partake in the training and running I enjoy so much. Anyhoo, the massage session was very beneficial and I will be going back at some point for another session.

This morning I "stubbled through the dark" on an easy hour run. I had the best feeling for 4 miles then I could feel my hamstring getting ready to get ugly. I did my best to relax and adjust my stride and soon I was running pain free again. That made me realize I have something triggering my hamstring to tighten. I knew this but was trying all options. I didn't figure it was my calf but I sure may be. They are tight and I need to focus some days on them. Too many things to think of...

Total: 1:03:47   ~8.7 miles

The Trap's Been Set

Although not a true Jayhawks song, the song title listed is off of Mark Olson and Gary Louis album titled Ready for the Flood. A nice mellow album put together in early 2009, the music is a bit slower than past albums yet still has the Jayhawks feel and powerful lyrics that I can relate to.

Now this song may not be related to my run in any way, I liked the title and can make a connection thru it.  I feel like my "trap" has been set for the next year or so. My wife and I have decided to make the effort to run Boston 2013, which is a two year project to get there and now I am "trapped" into training marathon-style. Not that that is a bad thing, I tend to get into really good shape, as most would, but it's a different life style than just "training for the next 10k". Don't get me wrong, I love it, but at the same time we are all trapped into the lifestyle if we are gonna meet our goals. Right now I would not have it any other way, as I am super pumped to run the 26.2 on April 28th in Brainerd.

As for my hamstring, things are better but still bothersome. I feel like for right now all I can do is dawdle and run easy paced runs. If I were to crank up the intensity I feel like the hammy would get cranky and just spasm and thus piss me off! I have a massage tomorrow and I am hoping for a little bit of a miracle. I realize that one hour will not change the world dramatically but the end result of what will come out of it, I remain hopeful.

Today's run was another successful hour plus without a spasm and allowed me to muster up a nice 9 miler. No frills, just mileage at 7:30 pace or thereabouts.

Total: 1:06:33   ~ 9 miles

Weeks Total: 17 miles
Years Total: 282.6 miles

Waiting For The Sun

I have been in a Jayhawks mood lately. A Minnesota born band that always seems to make me smile. The are touring again and possibly making a showing in the Twin Cities very soon. Hopefully I can attend. They don't tour too often and it's one not to miss. In their honor I will title each blog post this weekend and next week with a song of my choice. Hopefully my run or events of the day will in some way reflect the title.

As for this morning I woke up to temperatures in the negative digits. That wasn't all that bad but the windchill made it close to -30F and I wasn't willing to go for a short "chance run" to test the hamstring on what might end up a walk home. So, I made the decision to run on the treadmill. I started off easy, paying close attention to my ailing leg and soon was up to a respectable pace. As I was warming up I quickly realized I had the shades closed so I ripped them open only to see a blinding sun come shining in. As this month passes and the next one arrives I will be Waiting For The Sun to shine once again on my morning runs  as for now it's still the moon and stars.

The treadmill treated me well and I ran for an hour at 7:30 pace with minimal hamstring issues. I had some tightness but no real pains to speak of. Thank You!!! I only hope to back that run up with another just like it tomorrow.

Total:
1:00:00  8 miles (treadmill)

Attempt...Fail

Since I managed to get out or a little over an hour yesterday I figured I could do for 90 minutes and see how the hamstring would handle the load. I made it 3 miles then I was walking again! I did the walk/jog program back to the house and that was it.

A bit disappointed to say the least, I decided it was time to really focus on a weeks worth of strength exercises and stretches in order to get the hamstring under control. A week now will not make a shits worth of difference come late April and this summer when I want to be crankin' out some race performances.

I do realize this is something I need to focus on and stay in tune with. I plan on seeing a massage therapist soon and see what kind of ugly "woosie worms" (aka: tight muscles that hurt like a bitch when worked on)we unfold in my legs and hips.

45:00    ~5 miles

Weeks Total: ~42 miles
Years Total: 265.6 miles

Looking goooodddd....YEOW!

On Monday I posted that I was feeling my Sunday's long effort and I may need an additional day of recovery before heading into more up pace efforts. I did that. I knew I would thank myself and give my legs another 24 to reap the benefits of easy aerobic exercise in the form of soft, snow-covered trails in Hartley.  I headed that way Tuesday morning and proceeded to do one complete loop along with some other short loops and a short section in Rock Hill. That felt great.
On Wednesday I woke up plenty early to hit my 90-100 minutes with some steady state running in the middle. The weather was rather warm at 25F and the roads/paths I chose were very clear of any debris. After my usual 3 mile warm up I started to work into the steady state miles. At first it was a bit more difficult than I wanted the pace to be. I ran this pace so easily last week and this week it was actually beginning to feel like work. I decided to stop looking at my gps and really focus on body effort and breathing. Coincidentally that was about the time I started to feel better. To ensure I would have a decent run I took my Powergel in hopes to make the last half hour of this SS period go smoothly. Not long after my "good" mile I started to feel my right hamstring tighten and get that "heavy" feeling. I did few short and long strider-style moves in effort to relax the bombing muscle. No luck. At the end of the next mile I was stopped and stretched over a guardrail at the Lester River some 5 miles from my warm house. I had to walk for a few minutes and then slowly worked into a very subtle shuffle in hopes to keep me from freezing and get home. My leg allowed this shuffle until the hills of Tischer Creek. I walked up to the streets and then ran the rest of the way home.

The next two days and today I have been focusing on keeping my low back, piriformis and hamstrings loose and it seems to be working. I have a Chiropractor appointment on Tuesday and I hope to keep some form of respectable running until then. My hope is that this is just a minor bump in the road and a reminder to vary my running terrain. I have been putting in quite a lot of miles on the single track this January and I think my back finally said, "enough". Once things loosen up I may return to the awesomeness of those trails but by then they might be a big pile of mud.

Here are Tuesday and Wednesday's running:

Tuesday:
Another easy, recovery style run in the wonderful single track trails of Hartley Park. No complaints and many more miles to do there. Legs did appreciate another easy day and I hope all systems go for tomorrow.
1:16:13   8.1 miles (trails)

Wednesday:
Out to Lakeside on the bike paths for some up tempo running. I did close to a 3 mile warm up then worked into my steady state. The plan was to run 50 minutes at 600-605 pace. As I started the session I felt a bit flat and soon ran on effort and didn't look at my gps for pacing. I then started to feel better and took a gel soon after only to have my right upper hamstring tighten up on me and force me to a walk. A slow hobble home and I had self-prescribed a couple days off of running. Lot's of stretching and strength work for the low back and hips.
Total: 1:33:45   12.4 miles
   *6:09,6:14,6:13,6:06,6:04,6:55.....

Thursday and Friday:
off, no running. just stretching and strength work.

Hammy Test

In brief, I had a minor set-back this week and ended up taking off two days to let a ailing hamstring heal. It's source, I believe, is my low back and piriformis causing my hamstring to howl a bit.

I ran a slow out and back with Dave this morning and things were just "OK".

I will recap the week soon and possibly run a medium long effort tomorrow.

1:12:30   9+ miles easy pace

It's A Whiteout!

When I ran this morning I couldn't believe the snow falling. I made my way up Woodland and by the time I crossed Martin Road it was blowing and snowing like a real winter blizzard. I had a half-mile stretch where the wind was biting me right in the face but other than that I had a cross wind which was tolerable.

I was pleasantly surprised how good I felt. My legs turned over nicely but I could feel a bit of tightness in the IT bands and that made me realize the importance of proper stretching. I may be able to do my medium long SS run tomorrow but it will be a last minute decision. I want to make sure I am recovered properly and ready to hit the faster pace once again.

Total: 1:06:00    8.1 miles

Steady Out East

With the little snow we received I was in search of good footing so I could do a steady-state run outside. I realize I will be performing these workouts on the treadmill very soon but until I absolutely have to I will squeak them out on the streets. The weather was cool but relatively calm so I made my way out to Lakeside and used the dry lakewalk and HWY 61 to get in some quicker miles.

After my usual warm up I eased into pace and tried not to stare at the gps and just run on effort. I want to become familiar with pace based on how I feel and hopefully will not have to rely on gps splits. I guess I managed to do pretty well as my splits, even with the subtle ups and downs didn't vary all that much. I will list them below with the workout details.

Saturday I was feeling a bit fatigued and ran with Dave and Ryan on the trails for an easy hour. It's always good to run with someone on the easy days. For me, those days can often be the hardest to get out and roll the miles out. I'm glad it worked out for all.

Sunday was a long run and I managed to run the trails for most miles. I did a short out and back on Skyline before hitting the single track and then ran some with Dave and then some with Tony as our meeting point for the day didn't quite work out. I felt really good on the trails and managed the entire run just about 8 oz's of water. I had an emergency gel with me but I didn't take it until I got home. It's good to burn the legs a bit in training as long as there are no signs of injury looming. Not to be had for me. All systems a go!

Here are the run details:

Friday:
Out and back thru lakeside to mile 17 of gmas course and back. 45 minutes of steady state, good for a little over 7 miles. Splits:6:07,6:05,6:05,6:07,6:02,6:12,6:00
1:31:00  13.4 miles

Saturday:
easy trail run for recovery.
1:02:07   ~6.1 miles

Sunday:
long run on roads for 4 miles then trails.
2:33:42   17.5 miles  (single track trails)

Weeks Total: ~73.4 miles  (9.9 hours)
Years Total: 223.6 miles

Ramping Up

This week will be a first of three consecutive weeks of volume building. I plan to to do a pattern of three up and one down (rest). I have about three or four more weeks of base-phase training and then switch to some longer threshold workouts and continue to work on the long runs.

So far the week has gone about as well as it could. The snowshoeing the past weekend left me a bit more sore than expected on Monday and Tuesday but by Wednesday I was ready for a medium long effort with steady-state. I woke up to about a half inch of fresh snow on the roads which made for very poor footing. Instead of risking any pulled muscles I just ran the time and pushed some sections a bit more than usual. In the end I had a great run. I feel a bit tired today but I will be able catch up and gain some extra hours come this weekend.

Here is the week thus far.

Monday:
Up Woodland out to Arnold roads before making my way home via Vermilion and UMD. I really took it easy on this run in hopes to ready myself for the medium distance run.
Total: 1:10:00   9.1 miles

Tuesday:
I woke up still a bit sore and fatigued so I made a quick decision to stick to a slow, easy run. Since things were looking decent I made my way to the trails of Hartley and proceeded to loop around. Felt great and the trails were very good.
Total: 1:08:43   ~7.6 miles (easy)

Wednesday:
Out and back on West Skyline to 28th Ave W. I managed to push a few miles near 6:40 pace but too slick to do any quality work. The run was still a very productive effort. I will be pounding out this course many times in the next 13 weeks!
Total: 1:31:00  12.7 miles

Thursday:
This morning I made my way to the trails of Hartley again. A bit slick but still very runnable. One complete loop and I returned home to fuel up. Looking forward to the second medium long run tomorrow morning.
Total: 1:02:11   7 miles

January Freeze and Winter Bliss

Kari and I heading out for Saturdays snowshoe.

Lucas doing some tricks on his snowshoes.





The cold temperatures finally made their showing in Duluth this past week. We had a run of three or four days with temperatures in the negative digits. The put me running with some crazy, cool temps but manageable for the most part.

I gave myself a rest from the long run in order to rest my legs for what I hope a build-up in mileage over the next three weeks. Even with the break from a true "long run" I got in some decent "time" for the week. I am feeling very well and eager to crank up the volume and see what happens. I am ready for some tired legs and will need to remind myself of the fatigue and really keep getting my arse out of bed each morning. That is what is going to make this build up a success!

Here is the week in review:

Monday:
Following a really good weekend of running I was ready for an easy road loop and that is what I did. Out to Martin and back via Vermilion. Doing great!
Total: 1:02:00   ~8 miles

Tuesday:
Very cool morning. It was below zero without the windchill and I got lucky with the wind direction on my out and back from Brighton Beach. The wind was at my shoulder the entire run and that made it tolerable. A headwind would have been sub 20F below zero! I added some uptempo time that was a "steady state" effort but my pace was off because of the cold and blustery wind. The effort was there and I was happy with bumping this workout to 40 minutes. Another 10 minutes will be added this week plus another shorter effort later in the week.
Total: 1:24:11    12 miles
          40 minutes at SS at ~6:15 pace

Wednesday:
Recovery style run in Morley Park area and UMD. Decent run but cold once again.
Total: 52:00  ~7 miles

Thursday:
Too cold. The wind chill outside was -40F!! No way. I hit the treadmill and did a nice warm up of 30 minutes and then proceeded to add 2 minutes hill segments at 6% grade each mile just to break up the monotony. I felt really good and will more than likely be running the treadmill more often for specific workouts.
Total: 1:20:00  ~11 miles
          6 X 2 minute Hills at 6% each mile

Friday:
0 rest day

Saturday:
No real long run so to speak rather a long effort on snowshoes. There was some running and some real hard ass walking in powder up past my knees for a few miles. The goal of this workout was to keep the heart rate up and keep moving for over 90 minutes. I accomplished this very well. After the effort I was surprised how wiped out I was.
Total: 1:45:00  time on snowshoes

Sunday:
I ran the entire time and got in some strength work. The legs felt good after yesterdays long hike/jog. The temperature was a bit higher today and my feet had no problem staying warm. Overall a really good day and weekend of snowshoeing.
Total: 53:00

Weeks Total: 38 miles running  (7.4 hours total)
Years Total: 150.2+ miles

Great American Running!

I was as pumped for this past Saturday as I was for Christmas. The running of the USA Olympic Marathon Trials were in Houston TX. The USATF really effed up big time and didn't have any LIVE TV or Internet coverage of the event. NBC did their usual shitty job at attempting to do a 2 hour "recap" much like they do of the NYC Marathon. I'm sure its all red-tape bullshit but really, the Olympic Trials? They could have done better.

Anyway, my running has been going great and I am popping into shape nicely. I have a long way to go before April 28th but the way I have been progressing over the last three weeks I can only believe I will be ready to toe the line in Brainerd.

Thursday I allowed myself an easy trail run of up to an hour. Right now the only safe trails are in Hartley or snowmobile trails in Lester. I looped in Hartley and made my way home after finishing a loop of ski trails. A really decent run for recovery style and no aches or pains to deal with right now. Let's keep it that way!

Total: 55:56 6.2 miles *slow trail pace

Friday I hit the roads since my hip flexors were a bit tight and that seemed to help. After the run I didn't really notice much tightness. It has been much cooler than recent these last two mornings and with the wind it's been in the negative figures. Brrrr.
Roads up Woodland and home via Vermilion.

Total: 51:16  ~7 miles

Saturday I hit the trails of Rock Hill, Chester (don't bother running here) and then an entire loop in Hartley. I made it home to see Twitter updates of the last few miles of the men's and woman's races. Wow, excitement! We are sending two amazing teams to London and I can't wait to see how they perform on the world scene. For me,

Total: 2:15:00   15 miles+

Sunday was another easy trail jog in Lester with the boys. A beautiful sunny morning/afternoon greeted us and the trails were manageable. Don't run 7-Bridges Road!! Ice, Ice Baby!  Another general mileage run and loving the feeling of getting fit.

Total: 1:12:00  ~8 miles

Weeks Total: ~62.2 miles (8.6 hours)
Years Total:  112.2 miles

A Change Is A Coming

These last few mornings of running have been right on par with amazing. All three days of this week thus far have been in the mid 30's when I head out for the early morning jaunt. This morning it was 35F and no wind. The roadways of West Skyline were perfect for my steady-state workout and I didn't forget that all too soon the near perfect footing will be gone and hidden under a layer of ice and snow. I can't really complain, it's January in Duluth after all!

Monday I made my way out to the trails of Hartley and did a loop out to the guard rail loop but cut it short on the "inner loop" before making my way back to the ski trails and did a loop before making my way back to the house. My legs felt a bit heavy from the weekend running but more than anything my low back and hip flexors were very tight! The kind of tight that made me realize I had to avoid trails for a few days just to give them a rest.

Total: 58:20  trails ~6.3 miles

Tuesday I stuck to the roads since my low back and psoas muscles were calling for a break. I decided on one of my staple hour loops and made myself run slow for yet another day. I had to remind myself that this was a "slow day" and not to over run it. By the end of the loop my legs were feeling great. Low back, not so much. Good thing I had a Chiropractor appointment to follow.

Total: 1:02:52   8.1 miles

Wednesday was the chosen day for my steady-state work. I knew the roads of West Skyline would be in good shape since they get a lot of sun exposure. I wasn't wrong in my choice. After a 20+ minute warm up I worked my way into a 30 minute steady-state session, up 10 minutes from last week, and I found the pace much more comfortable today. The plan is to keep adding 10 minutes per week, along with adding a second day of this type of work to the schedule as my volume increases throughout the base phase.  I finished with a 30 minute warm down.
The chiro must have worked because my low back felt so much better today and my psoas have settled as well. I guess I can't run trails 7 days a week and expect to stay loose. A nice variety will be the recipe for the rest of the plan.


Total: 1:20:01   11.6 miles
          HERE is the garmin data

Snowless Running

It's a topic all over the news and blogs across the country. This is NOT typical January weather. We had very good snow cover on some of the single-track in Hartley and some of it has vanished and some has turned to ice, while the rest has been minimized to a dusting. I can't remember the last time the winter running was like this. For me, probably, the last I ran in conditions like this was the winter I lived 12 hours south of Duluth in Kalamazoo MI. That was a great year of winter running and the next season was filled with PR's. Now I am not going to suggest that I am ready for new PR's, much too old for many, but I would bet that there is a marathon PR in me yet. Let's keep the fingers crossed for a few more weeks first and see what weather I have to deal with for the remainder of this month and February.

As for the rest of this week I am pleased with how my legs progressed. It didn't take long to break my so-called streak. I ended up taking Friday off because of a barking Achilles. Like I said in a recent post, I am not one to push myself out the door just to keep a streak alive. I listen to my body and take rest when it needs it. As a result I had a wonderful weekend of running.

Thursday I made my out and ran an easy loop out to Hartley. The trails were still in good condition and I made an easy loop out to the gas line and back then out to Rock Hill for a short loop before returning home.

Total: 53:06  ~6.1 miles

Friday= 0 miles, rest Achilles

Saturday out on the trails of Hartley once again. Very runnable with the exception of some small patches of ice. Overall a very nice run.

Total: 1:28:03   ~9.1 miles

Sunday I ran out west and did a out and back by myself before picking up the rest of the gang. I ran the Voyageur course back to Skyline and returned for close to an hour. Spirit Mountain Ski area is just kickin' and the ricky racers were out doing hot laps as I ran across the trails. I had to keep a close eye so I didn't get taken out! Once I picked up the rest of the runners we ran the western waterfront trail out and back and that was my two hours. Easy miles and once again, no complaints and legs feel rockin'.

Total: 2:01:00  ~14.5 miles

Weeks Total: ~50 miles
Years Total: 50.3 miles

Steady State Heart Rates

This morning I had the on of getting in an early base phase steady state run. Today would be my second of this type. I have been reading some training plans and one misconception on the Aurther Lydiard system in the north American continents was the base phase. Specifically the 100 mile week idea. Yes, the system calls for one to reach at least 100 mile weeks but those weeks are not just repeated at slow shuffles. The plan calls for one or two runs a week at a pace that coach Greg McMillan refers to as "steady state". This pace is roughly 15 seconds per mile slower than 1/2 marathon pace. I have taken my marathon pace and subtracted 10-15 seconds and that is usually close. I am starting to add one of these runs per week to my medium distance runs and hope to have it worked in twice a week at the end of the month. The time is started at 20 minutes and then 10 minutes is added each week. I have done these workouts in years past and they really work well. Greg McMilan wrote an article in reference to this topic but I have forgotten where I found it. Sould be on the WWW someplace. So, my overal time was near a hour with 20 minutes at 6:10 pace. This early in the build up I am content with this pace and will adjust over the next week or so. Soon, these runs should be near 5:45 pace, as I hope to run my marathon in April at 6:00 pace. I am not ready for that pace today as the quicker pace would take away from the purpose. I've always said, "just because you can run faster in training doesn't mean you should."


 Totals: 59:00 8.5 miles 20 minutes at ~6:10 pace

Crisp Loop

Once again I made my way to the single-track of Hartley Park and did one big loop. The trails remain to be in great shape and getting in the woods, away from the cool, crisp air was a wonderful idea.

The time clicked bye very quickly and I was making my return trip down Dunedin Ave home.

Total: 1:00:38  ~7 miles

The Fire Has Been Lit

It's amazing that putting a plan down on paper can ease the mind and do wonders for the soul. Even if that plan foils at some point, for the moment I am content and ready to tackle yet another marathon build-up and ready myself for the personal challenge of the 26.2 mile beast.

I'm not one for running streaks, aka: long stretches of daily runs with out a break, but I may give this a shot for the remainder of the winter. I like to consider myself a "smart" runner/trainer and not head out for a run when I am sick or injured just to keep the streak alive. But, I am using this time to push myself out the door and if it turns into a streak so be it. For now, I plan to run every day until my marathon on April 28th. Hang on for the ride!

This morning was the first real chilly day in quite some time. I ran out the door with temperatures reading 15 degree's and a hell of a wind smacked me in the face. After the quick 4-5 minute jog to the trail head I managed to tuck in the single-track of Hartley and do a short loop before heading back home. I used today as another "shake-out" run and make sure the legs and achilles are ready "Roll em Out".  The trails in Hartley are beginning to set up nicely and with a few more inches of snow they will once again be labeled "stellar".

Total:
47:08   ~5 miles, easy jogging.

OOPS and Update For Year End 2011

For some reason I was on my Iphone looking at my blog and within a few seconds and much to my surprise I had deleted 6 weeks of running blog entries. I had consolidated them  in two posts but I had to scramble out to the recycle bin to find my scratch paper I write my running times on after each run. (i am supposed to then transfer them to this blog but I have gotten pretty bad at doing that.

So, here is a very brief update of the last two months of the training year for me.  For the very few of you that may check in with me from time to time I had written that I was considering doing a winter marathon someplace. I really wanted to and I am now finding myself in decent shape and I really think I could be in great shape in 8-10 weeks but I decided against traveling this winter "just to run a marathon". Instead, I plan to fall back into base phase for a bit more, hopefully bank as much mileage as I can, and then do a early spring marathon close to home just to keep it simple. After all the purpose of the next marathon is solely to get me a solid Boston Qualifier. I hope to find a race that will allow me to run fast but really I just want to get one done and not have it set me back too much as far as recovery time goes. I would really like another crack at a fast Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon this year and that is goal number one for 2012. Along that path I hope to be competitive in my age group and possibly chase my old PR's in certain distances. (I feel I can do that at certain races despite turning 42 this spring.)

I have had a wonderful late fall training phase. Nothing too spectacular but I continue to run 5 or 6 days a week and currently have ramped up my long run to 2 hours most weekends and I have been feeling very good with those. My mileage is very low, 40-45 miles per week, and that is the first goal looking into the new year. I need to ramp up the volume and now that some form of "winter" is upon us I will focus on 'time' for the next 6 weeks or so. I guess I will look at about 10 hours of training per week and see how I manage with that. (12 hours would be great if possible)

Here is the months of Nov and Dec in summary.

October 31-Nov 6th:
ran 5 days with two 1:25:00 back to back on the weekend
feeling decent.
mileage: ~40 miles

Nov 7-13:
ran 5 days with 1:22:00 and 2:30:00 runs on weekend.
mileage: ~48 miles

Nov 14-20:
ran only 4 days this week, all trails, no weekend running with travel to UP for the great hunt! (drank lots of beer, didn't hunt a bit)
mileage: ~25 miles

Nov 21-27:
ran 6 days with the Gobble Gallop 5K on Thurs.
managed to run 16:41 5K, happy with the effort.
mileage: ~40 miles

Nov 28-Dec 4:
ran 4 days with no long effort
mileage: ~31 miles

Dec 5-11:
ran 5 days with two decent weekend runs of 1:32:00 and 1:16:00 trails.
mileage: ~48 miles *4 days over 1:10:00 runs

Dec 12-18:
ran 5 days. starting some med. distance mid week on roads
1:40:00 long effort on weekend.
mileage: ~42 miles

Dec 19-25:
ran 5 days with mid week run of 1:20:00 and 4 miles of SS in middle.
Long run of 2:22:00
*a nice week of progression
mileage: ~50 miles

Dec 26-Jan1:
ran 6 days, some of which were short. working on treadmill and maybe need a rehaul.
mileage: ~35 miles   *2 hour long run


Years Total: 2201 miles

Two Week Recap- Running By Time

It's been over two weeks since the WhistleStop 1/2 Marathon and I have recovered much better than I thought I would. I took most of the week following the race off but resumed some easy running the next week and have been running by time only. I really like this time of year and base phase for the most part by running solely by time. It's really easy to get caught up in mileage and really, after all the years I have been at this running gig, I do know how much mileage I am running by a very good educated guess. What's most important at this point in the year is to get in some consistent miles and enjoy them. I can say I have been allowing myself to perform those qualities in my training and will soon follow a more structured plan.

Not a lot has happened in the last two weeks but the highlight of the time gap had to have been my run last Sunday. I couldn't hook up with any partners so I took after that one solo. I would decide on a trail that I had dabbled on a while back and was very fortunate to nail a remarkable day! The run would start at the Parking lot west of Ely's Peak and I would work my way in a southwesterly direction back towards Jay Cooke. The trail was dry, and slightly covered with leaves. I was a bit worried in regards to the trails coverage but it really wasn't an issue as I didn't twist any ankles or take any falls for the 80 minutes of running I did.

Here is the catch up for the two weeks. I plan to run 6-7 times a week and eventually work my way up to 10-11 runs a week with one mid week longer run and one weekend long effort. If the weather cooperates this may happen by early December. If not that will definitely be the goal heading into the new year.

Week 17th-23rd:
Monday: 0 miles
Tues: 31:00   ~4 miles
Wed: 0 miles
Thurs: 0 miles
Friday: 32:00  ~4 miles
Saturday: 0 miles
Sunday: 54:00  ~6.5 miles
*~ 15 miles running (recovery post 1/2 marathon)

Week 24th-30th
Mon: 43:42  ~5.5 miles
Tues: 0 miles
Wed: 52:55 ~7 miles
Thurs: 53:10  ~7 miles
Fri:  55:00  ~7 miles
Sat: 53:35  ~6.5 miles
Sun: 1:18:52  SHT  ~9 miles
*~42 miles

Weeks Total: 57 miles (2 weeks)
Years Total: 1842.6 miles

WhistleStop 1/2 Marathon.

So I did some calculating and I was ready for the WS 1/2 marathon. I had been asked several times during the week "how fast you gonna run?". To them I responded, "not too sure, just want to run a solid run." I'd have to be honest and say I really wanted to run well and have a shot at the win. My buddy Dave H was the clear favorite in my eyes and I was willing to give him company right to the wire if I could.  Long story short, it wasn't his day and we had a "spoiler" enter the race at the last moment.

Ben Cogger, a super athlete from Washburn had won the race last year and I couldn't scratch up any running results on him since. So, I figured he would be a no-show, thus giving Dave and I a good shot at the win! Not the case.

As the gun sounded we made our way out to the mile mark right smack into a headwind. That would be covered just under 6 minutes and I was quite happy with the slow pace as I used it as a nice warm up. It was at this point where Ben would make move number one and press miles 2  and 3. He set up a nice lead but well in sight. I fully had the confidence that I or Dave would eventually reel him in and have a race for the last 5K or so. It wasn't long after this point where Dave had some issues and I decided to make a press for a few miles to see if I could chip away at the lead. I would run about 5 consecutive negative split miles in chase but narrowed the lead by a mear 10 seconds, to be trailing by 20 or so.

I so wanted to throw in a couple of 5:10  miles and just catch up but it wasn't in my legs. It was in my head but not a reality this time...

I managed to chip some time I had lost in the 10 th mile during the last two miles but not enough to make a difference. I closed the last mile as my second fastest of the day and I was happy with that.

I ended the morning with a second place finish overall with a time of 1:14:48, thirty-two seconds behind the victory!

Here are my splits for those that like that kind of stuff:
5:53,5:49,5:42,5:43,5:37,5:36,5:34,5:38,5:37,5:42,5:48,5:43,5:35, 0:49

I am happy with how things panned out. Looking back I ran a lot of 45ish mile weeks building up to this and most of it was quality work. Just shows what you can do on very little volume with some quality and smart thinking. I really listened to my body over the last 5 or 6 weeks and let things happen the way I felt. I know I can run much faster but with what I had to work with I am content.

Now it's time to rest a bit then hit up the miles for winter base-phase.

Weeks Total: 35.5 miles
Years Total: 1785.6 miles

Race Week

Last weeks training went quite well and I had good feelings heading into this final week of preparation. I wasn't planning any type of taper and fully planned to run right up to race day. The week started with a nice recovery style run up Woodland to Martin road and home via the Vermilion road and UMD. I remember feeling really good. Legs light and flowing.

Tuesday I hit the trails for some easy miles then hit the walkways of UMD for some "pickups" to stretch out the legs and hips. That too felt good. My achilles was now near pain-free. What the heck? How did that happen?

Wednesday I ran out Skyline and decided on some "race-pace" type running just so my legs wouldn't get stale. The morning moonlight was great and I settled in a 3 X 4min at 5:50 pace for the pick ups. Decent but not stellar. My legs and achilles remained intact and that is all I needed.

Thursday and Friday turned into 0 days as I just made the decision to give it a try.

Week thus Far:

Monday: 1:01:58   8.1 miles

Tuesday: 45:49  5.5 miles

Wednesday:  1:00:59   8.8 miles 3 X 4 minutes at 5:50 pace

Thurs/Friday: 0 miles

Tardy Postings

First off, I need to play catch up with some running over the last week and a half.
The last I wrote I was heading into the weekend prior to race week and then I was going to see how things felt and tweak for the final days before the WhistleStop 1/2 half marathon.

I took off Thursday and chalked it up to a rest day.

On Friday the 7th I ran up Woodland and did a quick adjustment and decided to run a 4 X 4 minute at 10K pace, or just about 10k pace. It looked like this: 5:23, 5:32, 5:21, 5:18 paces respectively. I then ended with 2 X 1 min at 4:46 and 4:37 paces. I ended feeling really good and the feet/legs were really responding that morning.

Saturday the 8th I woke up early to get in my medium long run before my wife and before we hit the road for the Bayfield Applefest. I ran trails down to Lakeside and roads back home. I didn't feel spectacular but it was a decent run.

Sunday was another rest day so I took it off and walked a lot at the Apple fest.

Here is how the week ended with volume.

Thurs:
o miles

Friday:
1:03:00  9.6 miles 4 X 4 min, 2 x 1 min.

Saturday:
1:34:24    12.2 miles

Sunday:
0 miles


Weeks Total: 46.4 miles   (5 days)
Years Total: 1750.1 miles

Recovery Week and Move On

The extra "faster" running from last weekend left me a bit fatigued and I used the early days this week to make sure I was recovered. Monday was just that as I did an easy road loop. Tuesday was my trail run/umd sidewalk fartlek run. Wednesday was a  nice out and back on Skyline and I was going to attempt to run some faster miles but it just wasn't in the cards.

Monday:
1:01:50   8 miles

Tuesday:
45:43   5.7 miles (trails/striders on roads)

Wednesday:
1:12:09   10.4 miles (skyline)

Adding Workouts

To end this past week I added a workout, or two, and finally began to see a dim light at the end of a very long tunnel. I am referring to finally getting to the point in training where I can feel myself making a little progress towards some fitness. For some reason this return to everyday training has taken me through some rather long "rough patches". I'm glad things are starting to improve, albeit slightly, but I will take it.

On Friday morning I woke and had it in my head I as going to do some faster intervals during my route of unknown. I quickly decided on running up Woodland for the warm up and slowly work into a series of 3 minute intervals. After the 2.5 mile warm up I ended up doing 6 X 3 minutes at ~525-5:30 pace. I actually felt really good during this farlek workout and was pleased with the effort.

Saturday came and I had made plans to run with Dave H. He and I met at the Rose Garden and ran to Park Point where we slowly decided to work into an "uptempo" of unknown effort. Neither one of us felt that zippy to start but slowly worked into the run and ended up  finishing at 5:35 pace. I felt good, but remained concerned about the possibility of "racing" a half marathon in two weeks. The last thing I want to do is go do that race and have it destroy all the work I have done in the last month or so. So... it remains to be a last minute decision.

Sunday was another gorgeous day in Duluth. I hit the trails from our house and ended up running for just over an hour really easy. A super run. (wore he Universe and achilles felt great!)


Here are the details:

Friday:
Woodland Fartleks
6 X 3 min  *5:33, 5:32, 5:18, 5:23, 5:36, 5:36
Total: 1:02:07   9.1 miles

Saturday:
Park Point progression run with dave
middle 6 miles: 6:15, 5:56, 5:51, 5:38, 5:42, 5:40
Total: 1:19:31   11.7 miles

Sunday:
Hartley trails in Universe.
Total: 1:01:45   7 miles

Weeks Total: 42 miles
Years Total: 1703.7 miles

New Week- Progress

I have been posting about some persistent aches and pains that have ailed me since July. The main issue to keep at bay is a little tendonopathy in the achilles. It seems to wax and wane but for the most part I can run without any discomfort. In the process of all this I am working my way down to more minimal shoes, as I have been running in the Brooks Launch for a couple of years now I think I may be on my last pair. Mostly because I'm not too sure if they are going to make them anymore and more importantly I am looking forward to the Brooks Pure Connect. I'm not too sure how they feel and I am hopeful they will be a match for my feet. I also enjoy the Saucony Kinvara and they will definitely work if the Brooks fail.

With the change to a lesser shoe my form and stride have shifted a bit and that has been working some new muscles a bit more than in the past. I hope this transition remains to go smoothly so I can ramp up the volume and get ready for a strong base phase later this fall and winter.

This week has been one of small progress but progress none-the-less. I did't get out on Monday morning because I forgot to set my alarm and woke up 45 minutes too late. I chalked it as a great day of rest. The rest of the week has been going well and I hope to carry the momentum into the weekend and have a decent longer effort on Sunday.

Here is how the week has gone thus far:

Monday:
0 miles  *no alarm clock

Tuesday:
out and back on Skyline
10 miles with 5 miles at steady state 1:07:00

Wednesday:
Kenwood loop to UMD
53:28  7.4 miles

Thursday:
Windy as hell and hit the woods with double headlamps
44:54  5.6 miles

Persistent Aches

I managed to get out the door most days this week and even had the opportunity to run an evening run on Friday with my lovely wife. I really struggled to get up on Friday morning so it was a pleasant surprise to get out in the evening and hit some single track with her.

Waking up on Saturday had me in a spin. Literally! I woke up and was going to hit the trails and roadways for an easy hour before my wife and Lucas woke up. I worked my way downstairs only to find myself spinning in me head. I was so dizzy I had to lay back down and close my eyes on the couch just to keep things at bay. It wasn't too much longer and my son was trying to show me his loose tooth and when I looked up at him I saw three of him so I decided it was best just to stay where I was for a bit. I ended sleeping/resting on the couch in darkness for near two hours before working on getting vertical. I finally made it up and about but going for a run, especially on the trails, just wasn't in the cards.

I continue to have a series of aches and pains involving the achilles and right psoas muscles. Doing the stretches keeps things at bay but I am not really progressing with the volume and workouts like I had planned. I hope to nail down (2) workouts this week. Keeping the fingers crossed...

Here is how the week unfolded.

Wednesday:
Out to Woodland, Martin road and home via Vermillion/Umd.
1:01:40   8 miles

Thursday:
A mix of trails and UMD sidewalks at end for some uptempo running.
46:19   5.9 miles (6 X 100 meter striders)

Friday:
Too sleepy in a.m. Ran with Kari after work for a nice loop in Hartley.
55:00   6 miles/trails

Saturday:
NO running 0 miles

Sunday:
Out west with the boys. A series of loops to get in the time.
1:46:30   13.6 miles easy running

Weeks Total: 45.8 miles (6 runs)
Years Total: 1662 miles

Step It Up

I planned to step up the volume this week and start working on some faster running in hopes to get myself in respectable shape to do one more race this fall. I have a couple of half-marathons on my radar but nothing for sure. If I can make some progress in the next week or two I think I have a shot at racing and being content with the results.

MON:
This week I started off a bit weak but I really struggled just to get out of bed. I was happy I did and made the best of it with the time I had. Nothing special, just an ordinary shake-out run to the cemetery and back.
Total: 31:42   4.2 miles

TUES:
This morning I made the choice to do some faster running in the form of steady-state/slow LT pace running. I may have been a bit quick for steady-state but not quite fast enough for LT but by the way I was feeling I may have nailed the perfect pace for such a workout. After a warm up along Skyline I worked myself into a 4 mile section  at 5:45 pace. I was a bit surprised to see the first mile slow but I quickly adjusted the pace and finished out the miles. Wow! That seemed way hard and just a few months ago I ran 13.1 at 5:29/mi pace. Hopefully today's run was a good jump start to fresh running!
Total: 53:12  8.1 miles
          4 miles at 5:45 pace

Mixin' Trails and Such

I managed to finish off the week quite strong. I am really not making any great strides in my fitness and each run seems to be going well, so I may need to look at adjusting the volume next week and adding some up tempo workouts to the plan.

On Friday I managed to do another double headlamp (one around my waist and one on my head) run in Rock Hill and finish the run by doing some quicker miles on the campus roads. I felt great after one warm up loop and the achilles are progressing nicely.
Total: 43:03  5.3 miles

Saturday I did my medium long run solo and hit trails down to Lester before making my way to the Lakewalk and doing some quicker miles on my route to the DRC. I had to resort  to taking a gel along the way as I could feel a nice bonk heading my way and I was not willing to take part in a bonk-fest! The gel didn't make me feel any better, but I didn't get any worse so that tells me it was a wise decision to take it and I was able to maintain effort to the store where Kari and Lucas were waiting my arrival.
Total: 1:40:00   13.6 miles

On Sunday my wife did her long run and soon after she was done I made my way out with Dave. He and I did all the trails of Rock Hill and Chester Bowl before I let him go on his way home for his long effort. My legs felt decent but remained a bit fatigued from Saturday's longer run. I really didn't do too good of a job with nutrition after Saturday's run so I must play catch up now.
Total: 1:07:26  7.6 miles

Weeks Total: 48 miles
Years Total: 1616.2 miles

New Motivation

Over the weekend I managed to get my motivation fired up again. I had the opportunity to crew for my friend Tony as he ran the Superior Trail 100 miler. I have done this in the past and this year was one to remember. We met at Gooseberry State Park, the start of the race, where I had the pleasure to see all participants take off on a very, long run. I kept my focus one aid station at a time and I'm sure Tony did as well. It's really amazing, for me, how fast the day and night went by. When you are constantly thinking of your runner and how they are feeling, looking and what extra supplement they might need or want, the hours just fly by. I managed to get a little tired in the wee hours of the night but as soon as the sky broke for sunrise I was immediately energized and made the push to be on my best attentive behavior. The day hours were full of sun and heat, good for the crew, bad for the runners, but we made the best of it and Tony nailed a great race. During the race I was joined by Dave,Clint,Andrea,Deb,Chris and Dave S whom all shared the pacing duties after 50 miles and through the night. Dave Shuney stayed throughout the night and next day and paced quite a few miles himself. I can't speak for Tony, but I'm sure Dave, and all the pacers, did a marvelous job and having the extra company is truly amazing.

 Tony is one tough sun of a bitch. He always looked so content in what he was doing. Sure, he may have had his ups and downs, but there was very little complaining on his part. A sign of a true champion, and a sign of a prepared runner. It goes without saying, I am very proud to have been part of Tony's experience. Thank you!

The race or Tony ended at 6:34 pm on Saturday evening and like a bunch of whooped horses he, DAVE and I showered and attempted to eat before crashing for the night. There were many stories shared over the next 24 hours and there will be many more memories shared in years to come.

So, with such an amazing running experience from Tony, my motivation has been kicked in once again and I am making a push for one more race for the season. I may be running the Whistle Stop 1/2 Marathon on October 15th if all goes well. I need a few serious runs to go well and if they do, I will toe the line.

So Far this Week:

Monday:
48:10  6.3 miles
sluggish, but a good start

Tuesday:
51:39   7.2 miles

Wednesday:
0 miles

Thursday:
1:02:13  8.4 miles
felt great the last 2.5 miles or so. i hope this is a sign that things are going to improve quickly. I need that to happen.

Build Up

I used this week to build back up a bit. The goal was to run most days in Ronin's and maintain the lower leg/glute exercises. I knew I would get little to no exercise during the weekend so I made the most of my week runs. Nothing special, just good ol running on roads and trails as I wished.

Here is how the rest of the week unrolled.

Tuesday:
43:07   6 miles

Wednesday:
50:00 ~7 miles

Thursday:
45:00  ~6 miles (trials and roads)

Friday-Sunday:
0 miles
*crew for Tony during the Superior Trail 100 miler

Weeks Total: 23.3 miles
Years Total: 1567.8 miles

Labor Day Trail Run

I didn't run a trail race. Just another run on the trails by our house. We woke up to cool temperatures today (43F) and it forced me to put on a long sleeve shirt to keep the chill to a minimum.
I hit the trails of Hartley for a planned short loop and I felt super! No tenderness in the achilles and after running for an hour in my Universe I am pleased. The Hartley trails are in great shape even with the added rain we received lately. I ended the run with 3 x 100 meter striders at 5:15 pace. Legs are making a turn in fitness and I may actually toe the line in a race before years end...
Total:
33:44  4.3 miles trails

Solid Rebuilding Week

I am very happy with the progress I made this past week. The tendonopathy in my left achilles is slowly subsiding and gives me very little trouble right now. Having said that I need to remain diligent with the rehab process and moving forward with some new strength building exercises as I progress through the fall season. I hope to find myself in decent shape soon in order to take advantage of fall fitness and enter a race somewhere.

Here is the remainder of last weeks runs.

Wednesday
I decided to add a few minutes to the run this morning and proceeded to run the "extended Pig's loop". Out to Vermilion and back provided a nice a.m. loop.
50:31  6.7 miles

Thursday:
Making a conscious effort to step back a bit this morning I did just over a half hour to allow more time for adjustment to the minimal shoes. I don't really see myself needing a ton of time to adjust since I have been fairly "minimal" for a few years now, I am just making it full-time now and throwing out the trainers. The Ronin's are feeling great and I even see myself spending a bit of time on the trails in my Universe fairly soon.
32:38  4.5 miles

Friday:
I did a short version of my Kenwood loop and was feeling great. My legs are making further adjustments to the new shoes and stride. I found myself really cruising at times and had to slow things down.
40:11  5.4 miles

Saturday:
I hit the trails for my medium long run and had a super run! Leaving my house I hit the Rock Hill trails at UMD. After a short loop I made my way to Hartley via SHT and ran through to the Cemetery and once again hit the SHT to Amity creek trails where I proceeded to move to the Lester Park single-track trails for a half-loop before finishing on the Lester Park Ski trails for a loop until my time was up. My legs (quads) took a beating and were fatigued quite a bit but the rest of the body felt great. Another run in the Ronin's.
1:37:52  11.8 miles

Sunday:
I was planning a day off but got in contact with an old running pal from Esko and made the trek out to his place for an absolutely wonderful trail run in Jay Cooke State Park. I following on a new loop that had us just giddy. The trails out there are truly a hidden gem to most.
57:00  7 miles or so

Weeks Total: 44 miles
Years Total: 1544.5 miles