TC1 MILE

TC1 Mile - USATF wave.

TC1 Mile - Elite women's wave.

Two of my favorites, Jamie Cheever and Carrie Tollefson.

Garrett Heath after placing 2nd.

Will Leer, bundled up (for good reason) before the start.  He went on to place 4th.



Proof that all Kiwis know one another.  Olympic silver medalist, and TC1 Mile champ, Nick Willis, along with Evan Roberts.



This year I was recruited by Twin Cities in Motion to help tweet about the elites during the TC1 Mile.  I was able to hang out at the start and watch them warmup.  Little known fact, defending champ, Heather Kampf barely made it to the start line.  She had trouble getting her tights off and ended up taking her shoes off, but then she had problems getting her shoes back on.  Since the start times are pre-set, the starter has to begin the race at the set time.  Heather literally made it to the line with about 8 seconds to spare.

After the women started, I hopped in a van than led the men down the course.  During their race I was on the phone, giving play by play, with a guy that the finish.  This sounds easy, but when you consider that the race is less than 4 minutes, it's over before you know what was going on.

Anyway, it was still a pretty fun experience.  Other highlights from the night; 1) a brief chat with Jamie Cheever, congratulating her on her 22-second PR in the steeplechase recently.  Pretty crazy for a sub-10 minute race.  I didn't realize that she also has a blog.  2) Meeting longtime blogger, Eric Sondag of North Dakota. 3) Talking with Charlie Peterson (aka Mr. Carrie Tollefson) about their soon to be second child.  4) Hanging out at the finish line only to look up and see my friend, Evan Roberts, chatting with Nick Willis.  It turns out their parents are friends back in the motherland.

Quick update on my own running.  I'm only running 5-6 days per week, typically between 25-40 miles.  Plus, I'll throw in some cross training that usually gets me to 7-8 hours of exercise per week.  Solid, but not over-the-top.  I'm not following any type of training plan.  I was trying to mix in tempo and speed work on the treadmill, but now that it's nice out I haven't really been doing that.  I have done a couple of hill workouts instead, along with some strides.  My long run is up to 15 miles. 

Last weekend I had a great 3 hour bike ride.  I made the mistake of riding the first 25 miles with a tailwind.  Then I turn around, bonked, ate a Picky Bar, and barely made it home.  Today I had an awesome 2 hour trail run with just 20 ounces of water.  After both of those long workouts, I weighed in at 141 pounds.  I don't remember what I weighed in college, but I doubt it was less than that.  I think I was around 135 as a senior in high school.  More importantly, I've been feeling good lately and I'm enjoying "training".