I'M ALIVE

Yes, I’m still alive. I survived an 8 day Alaskan cruise. Alaska was cool – great scenery. I should have some photo posted soon. The cruise itself was just okay. If you don’t gamble or sit at the bars all day long, there’s not a lot to do. I will say that 8 days without email, blogs or facebook was awesome.

I didn’t run on either of my travel days, but managed to run the 6 days in-between. My first 3 runs were on a treadmill, but then I switch to laps around the sun deck. And I ran one day while we were in port. All the runs were easy, so now I feel really rested. But I also feel flat. My first tempo run since the 30K was tough. I wasn’t moving very fast and I wasn’t into the run mentally at all. I’m guessing I just need to get back into my normal routine and I’ll start feeling back to normal very soon.

At the beginning of the month I mentioned that my all-time high mileage for May is 301 miles. I was well on my way to breaking that before going on vacation. Instead, I ended up with 297 miles. One more little 5 mile run is all I needed… oh well.

It’s sad, but that’s all I have today. If you’re local and want to take a survey about our trail system, head over to the MDRA blog and fill out their short survey.

Quote of the Day;

“Quit? Retire? Hell, no. Next year I’m really gonna train.” – Marty Liquori

NORTHERN LAKES 30K RACE REPORT

Well, that didn't go as planned. The goal was to make 6:50 pace feel as easy as possible. After running 6:35 pace for 13.1 miles on a very windy day two weeks ago, I didn't think that'd be very difficult. Maybe that was my mistake. I ended up running 6:58 pace and the last 10K was anything but easy.

I thought things were going well through about mile 12, but looking back, I was working too hard. Luckily, the guy in front of me was hurting worse than me and I was able to spend miles 12-15 trying to catch him. The original plan was to pick it up at mile 15, but that went out the window and I was just trying to hang on.

I guess the good news is that I finished 6th overall (out of 112 people) and won my age-group (out of 21). Results can be found HERE.

Afterwards Jared ask the simple yet compelling question; "So what do you take away from this?" Ideally, I'd like to have cruised through 30K and gained more momentum before Grandma's. I have to keep in mind that I just completed two 2-week blocks of big mileage with only a 2-day mini-break in between. I think struggling for 30K will also make me a little more converative at Grandma's, at least for the first half of the race. And I learned that the Brooks Green Silence aren't enough of a shoe for me for 26.2. I think I'll switch to the Launch and play it safe.

One of my strengths when it comes to running is my sense of pacing and my ability to run a consistent pace. With that said, it's very frustrating when I start seeing splits that are all over the place. I don't ask much from a race, but accurate mile markers are near the top of the list. Especially for a race the bills itself as a final tune-up for Grandma's. This was the one time where I wish I had a Garmin. For comic relief, here are my splits;

7:05
6:24
7:00
6:19
7:08
6:38
7:10
7:00
13:49
13:50
7:07
7:01
7:11
7:11
4:52 (last .65)

I passed 10 miles at exactly 3-hour marathon pace, but all I could think was "who knows if that's even accurate." And even though the miles seemed more consistent for the last 8 miles or so, I kept expecting to see a 6:20 thrown in.

Normally I don't provide a quote of the day with my race reports, but I heard these lyrics during yesterday's dance recital and they seemed very appropriate;

"That's life, that's what all the people say.
You're riding high in April,
Shot down in May
But I know I'm gonna change that tune,
When I'm back on top, back on top in June." - Frank Sinatra

ROLL WITH IT

I guess this falls under the category of 'No news, is good news.' Or is it 'No news, is no news."

This is one of my busy times at work and it's worse this year because one co-worker was just on vacation for a week, one is getting married and will be gone for 2 weeks, and I leave a week from today for an 8-day Alaskan cruise. All this means is that there's not much time left to blog.

Just a quick update, while I "only" ran 66 miles last week, you may remember that Sunday and Monday were recovery days from the half marathon I ran. I'm back up to 80 miles over the last 7 days. Saturday I'm running a 30K race, which I'm planning on running at MP. Since everything is pointing towards the low-3s, it's only logical to make sub-3 my goal. Seriously, does anyone go into a marathon with a goal of like 3:01 or 3:02? Might as well go after sub-3. So Saturday's goal will be roughly 6:50 pace.

I also pulled the trigger and signed up for TCM. I figured I might as well do it, since I'm running fairly well right now. Of course, that could all change by August, but I'll roll with it right now.

I'm so busy, I'll have to pull a QOD off the top of my head.

Quote of the day;

"Make friends with pain, and you'll never be alone." - Ken Chlouber, Colorado miner and creator of the Leadville Trail 100

HELP WANTED

So, we’re just under 6 weeks out from Grandma’s. Goal #1 for Saturday’s race was to keep the momentum going. Check. Goal #2 is to make sure I’m recovered before ramping up again. Normally, I’d worry about getting in my mileage during the week that ends on Saturday. However, I like to think that I’ve finally learned that my body doesn’t know the difference between the 7 days ending Saturday or the 7 days ending Monday. With that said, yesterday was a complete day off and this morning I just ran an easy 5 miles with some strides.

I’ve mentioned that some of these training plans don’t have very many MP workouts in them. Then again, it doesn’t help when you replace 15 miles at MP with a half marathon race. Overall, I’m not sure which one is better when it comes to marathon training. I do know that my next race is a 30K and that will be run a lot closer to goal marathon pace.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check out my latest interview. As I mentioned in the intro, these are the kinds of stories I love to hear about. Brian saw modest marathon progression as he dropped from 3:48 to 3:21 during the course of his first 4 marathons. Then he got serious, ramped up his mileage and proceed to drop over 20 minutes from each of his next 2 marathons. His marathon PR now sits at 2:36.

His interview happened to coincide with a comment I saw on Facebook from a guy I used to run with in high school;

Many of us get caught up thinking that the best runners are the ones who put in lots of weekly miles, the weekend long run, and well timed speed work. The best runners can run fast whether or not they are running long or very short. Pure speed that can be displayed in a 40 meter dash is a better determinant of endurance running potential than how long or often an athlete runs. With this being said, improving your running mechanics, flexibility, and power through drills, explosive strides, and running specific strength exercises in order to enhance your speed, should be your up most priority.

My problem with comments like these is that they’re usually written by people that have never given “lots of weekly miles” a fair try. Granted, I have never made improving my running mechanics, flexibility, and power a top priority either. But I’m pretty sure if you ask all the top runners and coaches in the world, they’ll all vote for mileage first and other ancillary training second.

Brian’s interview and the comment above got me thinking about a new article. Rather than just say, “I’m pretty sure mileage trumps other ancillary training” I thought it’d be worthwhile to write a piece that features runners who’ve increased their volume and seen vast improvements in their running. I already have a list of 6 people, but I want to hear about others. So I need your help. Leave a comment or send me an email if you, or anyone you know, have improved through higher mileage.

And to be fair, if you, or someone you know, have improved through focusing on ancillary training, cutting down to 3 days per week of running, etc., I’d love to hear from you too.

Keep in mind these should be rather significant breakthroughs. If you bumped your mileage by 10 miles per week or added a day of cross-training per week to your plan, that probably won’t cut it. I’m looking for the guy who couldn’t break 12-minutes for 2 miles in high school, but was running 2:28 a few years after college.

Quote of the Day;

“It turns out that the six or seven months of 80 to 100+ mile weeks and running every day really pays off.” - Brian Peterson

NEW PRAGUE HALF MARATHON RACE REPORT

For those of you not familiar with the New Prague Half Marathon, it basically starts in a small town before heading out into the country for a rolling square-shaped course that is often the windiest spring race around. The main question each year is usually, will you have a first half headwind or a second half headwind. On Saturday, Mother Nature had second half headwind penciled in. Personally, I’d prefer to have it the other way around because there are more people around at the start to help block the wind. Plus, a second half headwind makes it more difficult to gauge how hard you should be pushing the pace early on.

My one main goal for this race was to keep the momentum that I’ve been building this spring going. Typically, I like to use the McMillan Calculator after each race in hopes of seeing better performances. And so far this year, each of my 3 races has been better than the last. I also like to use the calculator to give me a ball park idea of what kind of time to expect for upcoming races. My recent 8K and 10K performances predicted a 1:28:23 and 1:26:49 half marathon, respectively. Pace-wise, that’s anywhere between 6:38 and 6:45. Given the conditions and my goal, I thought it’d be wise to go out easy and try to reel people in. When I saw 6:27 for the first mile I was a little concerned. However, I felt in control and decided to take the rest of my splits, but not look at them.

This was really a pretty uneventful race. Just before the 3 mile mark, the only person to pass me all day came by. There happened to be a race clock at mile three where I saw 19:54. That’s 6:38 pace, so I felt better about that quick first mile.

I must have passed 4 guys between miles 4 and 6. One guy was breathing like it was a 5K and another one looked to be a teenager and he was going backwards quickly. Keep in mind we still had a tailwind at this point. I felt sorry for these guys once they turned into the wind. Mile 6 had another race clock and I passed in 39:20 or 6:33 pace. That means the last 3 miles were sub-6:30. I know I’m having a pretty good race, but I also know we’re about to turn into the wind. I have no idea how hard it will be, but I know there’s not going to be any relief for a long time.

Just after mile 6 we turn west and are immediately greeted with head/cross wind. This lasts just passed mile 8, when we turn north into the teeth of the wind for 3 more miles. I look forward to each clump of trees because they provide a little shelter. If there’s one thing about the Jack Daniels threshold workouts I’ve been doing, it’s that they definitely have a grind-it-out aspect to them. After you’ve done something like 4 x 10 minutes with a 2 minute jog in between, it’s easier to put your head down and just run.

It also helped having Omar in front of me. Omar is one of those people I come across from time to time that I only know from looking at the results. He’s one of those guys that seems to run a lot of the same races that I do and we’re usually near one another. He went out hard in this race, but I finally caught up at mile 9. Since we were going into the wind and I didn’t want him to draft off of me, I went by pretty hard. Given his fast early pace, I thought I dropped him. So I was a little surprised when he caught me around mile 11. We ran together until mile 12. When he went for water, I took off. Again, I thought I dropped him. Instead, I think I just made him mad. He caught me and put 20 seconds on me during the last mile.

By this point I had no idea what my time was going to be. I thought perhaps I’d give back 10 seconds per mile over the second half and finish in the 1:27s. So I was a little surprised to see 1:26:08 as I crossed the line.

The momentum continues…

As for splits, sometimes I find it easier to look at 2-mile segments. It takes some of the terrain out of play, for example, if one mile has a large up or downhill section. It also helps if mile markers are in the wrong place. My 2-mile splits were;

13:13
13:13
12:54
13:11
13:16
6:44 (missed mile 12)
12:55
:32 for last .1

According to the results, I placed 18th out of 610 runners. If you take a closer look, you’ll see that 12 of the top 25 runners were 40+ years old. Nice job by the old farts.

If you believe the calculators out there, my last 4 races convert to the following marathon times; 3:10, 3:06, 3:03, and 3:01. It looks like Grandma's could be another marathon where I'm very close to 3 hours.

SICK SATISFACTION

Normally, I “like” to beat myself up over not doing the little things that’d help make me a better runner. You know, stuff like strength training, stretching, foam rolling, diet, etc. When it comes to diet, I try to eat healthy, but I also have a sweet tooth. And a salty tooth. So it’s easy to get carried away in the snack department. It seems I worry about that more when I’m running 40-60 mpw. However, at 80 mpw, I’m a lot less concerned. In fact, I’ve basically been shoveling anything and everything into my mouth without thinking about it. My friends that think I have an eating disorder would be surprised.

This week at work I have gotten a sick satisfaction out of eating 2 pieces of cake on Wednesday for Cinco de Mayo and 2 more pieces of cake yesterday, along with a couple of cookies and a chocolate rice crispy bar, for a wedding shower. I like to think that it’s my way of showing my co-workers that they could eat whatever they want too – they just need to run 10 miles a day.

The thing about running 23 miles last Saturday is that, if I want to keep my weekly mileage the same without running 23 this Saturday, I actually have to run more during the week. That means that at one point during this week, I was at 91 miles for a 7 day period. That has to be one of my top 10 (maybe top 5) “weeks” ever. I guess it’s no wonder that I’ve been a little tired lately.

I can still remember Double leaving a comment a year or two ago where he used the mountain climbing analogy of being “above the tree line” to describe my fitness level. You know, you put in the hard work and you get to a level that you rarely see. I’m not sure I’m there yet, but I’m trying to get there.

Anyway, right now my “master plan” is to run a half marathon tomorrow, followed by my first day off in 2 weeks. Then I’ll focus on another 2 week block of training that will culminate with a 30K. Then I’m going on vacation for a week, so I should have plenty of time to recover from that training block. The trip is 4 weeks before Grandma’s, which is a little too early to start tapering, so I’ll ramp back up for a week and then do a 2 week taper.

Quote of the Day;

"If the furnace is hot enough, anything will burn." – John L. Parker, Jr.

IS IT THE SHOES?

This morning, I decided to lace up my new shoes for my first hard effort in them. I ran on the treadmill with them once, just to try them out. Today’s run would be a more accurate representation of how I plan on using them. After a 2 mile warm-up in my trainers, I switched to the Brooks Green Silence for 2 x 20 minutes at threshold with a 10 minute jog in between and a 2 mile cool-down.

Lately I’ve been running similar type workouts on the crushed limestone of the LRT in Hopkins and Minnetonka. However, since I need to prepare my legs for 26.2 miles of pounding on blacktop, cement and bricks, I decided to head east and stick to the paved bike path. Overall, it was a good run and the shoes felt great. I’m not ready to run a marathon in them yet, but hopefully after this weekend’s half marathon and then a 30K two weeks later, I will be.

Finally, I happy to share with you a new blog. The chances are pretty good that you’ll recognize Chris Lundstrom’s byline. In addition to writing for a couple of local publications, Chris’s words can often be found in Running Times. He’s one of my favorite writers on the sport, so I highly recommend that you add his blog to your favorites.


Quote of the Day;

"The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” – Albert Camus

POISED TO STRIKE

As much as I’d like to start off by talking about myself, it just wouldn’t seem right after Chris Solinsky ran 26:59.60 for 10,000m – oh yeah, in his debut at that distance. You can watch the race below. What amazed me is how smooth and relaxed Solinsky looked. Not to ruin the ending for you, but with 900m to go he effortlessly – if you can call 1:56 for the last 800m “effortless” – pulls away from a couple of Kenyans and Galen Rupp.

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

Having grown up in Wisconsin, but now residing in Minnesota, it can often be tough to decide who to cheer for when the 2 teams square off. I guess when it comes to running, I’m happy to cheer for both the Gophers and Badgers. I say this because in this race, former Badgers ran 26:59.60 (Solinsky), 27:23.63 (Bairu), and 27:31.56 (Nelson). And that doesn’t even include Matt Tegenkamp who’s the second fastest American ever for 5,000m in 12:58.56.

Okay, enough about those studs. I did manage to get in another run Friday night, giving me 293 for the month. The next morning I woke up with the intent of running 2:30 to 2:40. Instead, I ended up just over 3 hours. What surprised/impressed me the most is that I only had 2 pancakes (no syrup) and some water before the run. Then, during the run, I didn’t consume any calories. Maybe that’ll help teach my body to burn fat.

Those 23 miles on Saturday gave me 80 miles for the week. I had one 80-mile week last fall, but really this is my biggest sustained effort, at least mileage-wise, in nearly 2 years.

Finally, is it just me or are the red winged black birds poised to strike? And let’s not forget the geese. They should be attacking pretty soon too.

Quote of the Day;

"I haven’t seen you this fired up in a long time.” – training partner, Kim, after Saturday’s long run

AWESOME APRIL

What an Awesome April!? Besides having terrific weather and the Twins starting hot, I feel like a runner again. Right now I’m sitting at 287 miles for the month and I may try to squeeze in 5 or 6 more tonight. It’s a little surprising, but that’s my highest April ever – my previous high was 279, set back in 2005. My best May ever is 301 miles and I hope to break that this spring too.

Going hand-in-hand with a lot of miles (hopefully) is feeling a lot fitter. That seems to be the case for me right now, as I’m gaining confidence with each passing week. And that can only mean one thing – time for some new marathon shoes. Who better to ask for advice than Kurt of TCRC fame? After years of going with more of a lightweight trainer instead of a heavier racer for my marathons, I’ve decided to go lightweight again. I’m hoping my recent attempts to help build my foot strength through barefoot strides and the use of my Nike Frees, will allow me to handle a lighter shoe for 26.2.

This year’s shoe of choice is the Brooks Green Silence. Mostly likely, it’s the most unique shoe I’ve ever owned – and that’s saying a lot! Not only are they bright yellow and red, but the colors are exact opposite for each shoe. It’s hard to explain, so just look at the photo.
After reading some reviews online last night, I’m pretty excited about them. They’re less beefy/squishy than the Brooks Launch, but more sturdy than their T6. Best of all, if my calves seize up at mile 18 of Grandma’s Marathon, I can just blame Kurt. You see, it helps to have your alibis figured out well before the gun goes off. It’s just one less thing to worry about on race day.

Speaking of races, I did get into the Fat Tire 40. That’s September 18th, which is 2 weeks before TCM. I gotta figure out what that means for my summer and fall training. Do I want to so some other events that are on my “bucket list” like Paavo and a 50K? Or do I try to train for a fall marathon while including one day of mountain biking per week?

On to May...

Quote of the Day;

"No one knows the fear in a front runner’s mind more than me. When you set off at a cracking pace for four or five laps and find that your main rivals are still breathing down your neck, that’s when you start to panic.” – Ron Clarke

SPITTING DISTANCE

Given how popular the 10K was in the late ‘70s and throughout the ‘80s, it’s kind of weird that I don’t race this distance very often. Typically, I only run 2-3 10K per year and they’re usually bigger races, like Get in Gear, Hennepin Lakes, and Victory. As I pondered this the other day, I came to the conclusion that it’s because 10K is too long to race in a low-key event. Racing a low-key 5K or even 5 miler is doable. However, maintaining focus for 10K when you’re all alone can be tough.

With my relatively low number of 10Ks, I had to go all the way back to the 2007 Get in Gear (37:47) to find a sub-39. And my best time while in the 30-39 age group is only a tad better, 37:32, set when I was 35 years old.

What does all that mean? I don’t know; I just like to look at numbers. But maybe it does mean that I’m not really in that bad of shape. I’m just a mere 10-12 seconds per mile behind what I was running in 2007, prior to setting my marathon PR. Sure that adds up to about 5 minutes over the course of a marathon. But if I finish within 5 minutes of my PR, I’d be pretty happy. Of course, it’d also be a little frustrating because that means I’d be within spitting distance of sub-3.

Anyway, there are 8 weeks to go. I’m feeling pretty good after my cutback week. My right knee has been feeling a little weird, so I’m monitoring that. Usually I just stop and stretch my quad and then the knee feels better.

Finally, if you haven’t been reading the MDRA blog, I suggest checking it out. As much as it pains me to say this, Rocco has done a great job with updating the blog recently and adding a bunch of fun new posts. And I’m not just saying this because he included me as part of blognation.

Quote of the Day;

"Successful marathoners must lose their cool, and allow this irrational, animal consciousness to take over.” – Bill Rodgers

GET IN GEAR RACE REPORT

Last month, when I was doing a little research for an article on running in the '70s, I discovered that the Getting into Gear 10K was Minnesota's first "megarace". Bruce Brothers wrote, "at a time when 600 runners was a massive field, nearly 4,000 turned out" for the first annual event, which has since been renamed to the Get in Gear 10K. Now in it's 33rd year, it's still considered an "annual rite of spring" for many runners.

With a month or so of solid training under my belt and a nice little cutback week leading up to the race, I thought I had a great chance of improving upon last year's time of 39:15, which is 6:18 pace.

I mentioned that I've been reading Born to Run recently. At one point the authors talks with an ultra marathoning gal and she mentions the joys of really getting in-tune with her body. I think that's one thing that's been missing from my running and racing. After all these years it's just so easy to go through the motions. You pay your $30, run a warm-up, start your watch when the gun goes off, take your splits along the way, stop your watch when you cross the line, cool-down, write a race report, and never think of the race again. The whole process can be done over and over without any goals - even though I always seem to be worried about my time. And the whole process can be done without really tuning into myself and what I am doing. I'm talking about simple things like monitoring my breathing, footstrike and arm carriage, asking myself if I can go faster, challenging myself to actually work to catch someone. You know, little things that can add up over the course of a race and potentially turn a good race into a great race.

So, I've been trying to do a better job during my workouts of visualizing myself at different points of this race and thinking about what I want to think about on race day. I don't know why I don't do this more often because I definitely think it helps. When you're at a certain point in a race, like going up a hill or heading across the Ford Bridge towards the finish, it definitely helps when you already have a few key things in mind to think about - rather than leaving the mind to wander aimlessly.

With all that said, I'm happy to report that my race unfolded as well as I had planned. The first 2 miles were all about being patient and not going out too fast. I ended up running those miles in 6:14 and 6:16.

The third mile crosses the river into St. Paul. I know I'm not a strong uphill runner because I tend to maintain the same effort, while others around seem to want to maintain the same pace. One thing about skiing is that you can't maintain the same effort. Because of the hills there's a constant change in one's breathing patterns. So I decided I would try to push the hills more than usual, knowing that I could recover at the top, like in skiing. Even with the increased effort, that mile passed in 6:25. That would turn out to be my slowest of the day.

I was tempted to sneak a peek at the halfway clock, but I knew if I saw any numbers at all, they'd totally mess with my head. I'd immediately double the time and then compare it to last year's time. Then I'd worry about whether or not I could actually run even or negative splits. So it was best to not even glance towards the clock.

Just after the halfway point, the road turns left and heads up to St. Thomas. If you've run TCM, you probably know this hill very well, which is just after the 21 mile mark. Again, I push the effort knowing that there's a nice downhill afterwards. At this point, I'm feeling really good about how the race is playing out. That's a 6:18 mile.

I'm not much of a kicker and I usually wilt in the final mile whenever someone goes by me. So my plan is to pick up the pace at mile 4. There are a couple of guys near me and that helps me stay focused. I'm trying to think about staying relaxed and calm as possible, as well as having a light, quick turnover. It must work as I run a 6:14. I can't help but look at my elapsed time. I see 31:27 and think two things; 1) that's about 31:17 for 8K or 14 seconds faster than my Human Race time - and I still have 2K to go and 2) those last 2K are going to take about 7:30, so I will be very close to 39-flat.

My breathing is really picking up now. I'm still trying to tune-in, but obviously that's more difficult the later in the race you are. Probably the worst part about this course is having to cross over the Ford Bridge. Luckily, it's not too windy this year and that stretch goes by fairly quickly. As I approach the finish line I can see the clock at 38:45 and I still have 100+ meters to go.

As I stop my watch I see 39:01. It's one of those results that kind of bums you out for just missing getting into the next minute. However, I'm happy with how the race played out. Not only beating last year's time (along with setting a post-40 PR), but also how I was able to internally tune-in more than usual. It almost makes me want to do more shorter races.

Almost.

TAKING LIBERTIES

Not much to report during my cutback week. I’ve been reading Born to Run. It’s not a “can’t put down” book for me, but it’s entertaining. I still think the author has taken some liberties with some of his writing. I’m not going to jump on the minimalist movement, but I have been trying to strengthen my feet. I’ve been doing strides once a week in some Nike Frees and also trying to do some of them barefoot – slowing increasing the number. I’ve also been wearing the Frees at work a few days a week, as well as walking around home barefoot on the weekends.

Yesterday I completed one of Daniels’ threshold workouts; 2 mile warmup, 4 x 6 minutes at threshold pace with 1 minute rest, then I took 5 minutes rest before doing another set of three reps.

I have a question regarding Facebook. I get the idea of keeping in touch with friends, but I don’t get the idea of joining all these groups. For example, there’s a group for Twin Cities Runners, Minnesota Runners, Minnesota Running, and Running Minnesota. What’s the point? Do all of these groups accomplish a different task? Personally, they don’t seem to provide much value – and I’m including my Running Minnesota group in that statement. I guess I just don’t understand how these groups are supposed to work.

Quote of the Day;

"Running is like building a house. The first ninety percent of the race takes ninety percent of your resources. The remaining ten percent of the race takes another ninety percent of your resources.” – John Jerome

GIVING MYSELF CREDIT

I think I’m probably in better shape than I’m giving myself credit for. This occurred to me after finishing Saturday’s 25K trail race. Within 5 miles I knew that my legs had no zip in them – not a good thing when you’re running a hilly trail race. I lost focus on the second loop and ended up running a 2-minute (:55/:57) positive split, finishing in 1:51:43. Afterwards, I was a little surprised to see that I only about 2-minutes off of my time from 2007, the year I set my marathon PR. There are a few differences between the two years. First, the course isn’t exactly the same. I’d rate 2007 a little harder due to having an extra big hill on the north side of the course. Also, I ran a nice (:56/53:30) negative split in 2007. The one thing going for me this year is that I ran this at the end of a 77 mile week, hence the lack of zip. Here are the results if anyone is interested.

Basically, last week included some strides, 4 x 10-minutes at tempo with 2-minute rest, and a 21 mile day on Saturday. I also included two 2-a-days for a total of 9 runs.

After weeks of 47, 48, 64, 72, and 77, I’ve decided to cut my mileage back this week. That coincides nicely with Saturday’s Get in Gear 10K. Hopefully my legs will bounce back and I’ll be able to run a quicker pace than at Human Race. Low-39s would be nice.

Here’s another interview to check out.

Quote of the Day;

"My training philosophy is to put the mileage in and run as many workouts as I have the mental energy for. I haven’t always been a high mileage guy, but I’ve found my body allows me to handle it, so I do it.” - Chris Erichsen

SOLID WEEK

I had another solid week of training, as I put in 72 miles last week. In addition to some strides and Wednesday’s set of kilometer repeats on the treadmill, I had a solid 19-mile long run on Saturday with some tempo repeats thrown in. I’d like to have a similar week this week, except for a 25K trail race on Saturday. Then I’ll back my mileage down a little the following week prior to the Get in Gear 10K.

We all like to bitch about the nasty weather around here. But in all fairness, we should also mention the weather when it’s fantastic. We’ve definitely been spoiled here in Minnesota this April. It must have been near 70 yesterday. The ladies in Apple Valley were “treated” to my first shirtless run of the year.

Finally, be sure to check out my latest interview. In fact, you may want to bookmark this one and return to it anytime you’re about to talk yourself out of going for a run.

Quote of the Day;

"Like all areas of life; we are here to learn, grow and improve on a daily basis. Somebody once said, “wisdom is what you have some 30 years after you thought you knew it all.” - Ed Rousseau

ONE-TIME EXPERIMENT

I have a few different things I want to get to today. Running-wise, I decided to knock some rust off yesterday with an interval workout. I tried something entirely new this time by hitting the treadmill. I’ve done tempo and MP workouts on the treadmill before, but never any interval workouts. I wanted to be accurate with the pace, but I didn’t want to do these on a track. And since I don’t have a Garmin, I thought the treadmill would be the next best option.

My schedule called for kilometer repeats and based on my recent 8K time, McMillan’s calculator and Daniels’ charts say I should run roughly 3:45. So I basically ran 5 x 3:45, which is like 6:03 pace, with a 5:00 jog in between. I started the first one at a conservative 6:07 pace and gradually increased each repeat until I was down to 5:52 pace. Given that I was well under the pace that was suggested, I’m guessing that treadmill repeats are a little easier than being outside. So this was probably a one-time experiment.

Okay, I’ve hyped this website once before, but I thought I’d do it again. The Clymb is a private sale network that will give you access to insider pricing from an amazing group of outdoor brands. If you climb, hike, run, ride, paddle or ski, you’re gonna love this. Here’s how it works: you accept this invite and The Clymb will hook you up with deep discounts, usually 50-70% off retail, on gear from a different leading brand each week. Each brand’s product is available for 3 days only or until it’s sold out. Membership is free and by invite only. That’s why I’m inviting you – just follow this link. So far they’ve featured some really cool outdoor gear, but I haven’t purchased anything. Today they just started a sale on Craft apparel, which I really like, and I was able to save 55% on some gear. Sweet!

I’ve also mentioned the site Younger Legs for Older Runners before too. It’s run by Pete Magill who’s name you may recognize from Running Times articles. Anyway, he just announced that he’s shutting down the site. I at least want to call your attention to this article that I really liked.

Quote of the Day;

"Running is the most universal sport on the planet. Every able bodied human being has competed in a running race. There has, and always will be, running. Running is even more universal than sex, more universal than any other accomplishment, more universal than any language, art or music genre. The best runners in the world are the ultimate human beings." - Sean Williams

SURVEY TIME

First things first, if you like taking surveys on running, head over to MDRA’s website and take their newest survey. I really liked the question about if you could only do 1 more race, what would it be? I put down that it’d be something like Pike’s Peak or Leadville 100 - something to experience.

This Friday group I run with consists of a bunch of ultra runners. It’s fun to hear them talk about their races and training. One guy is training for Pike’s Peak. I think it’d be awesome but then I run up the smallest of hills (at sea level) and I’m immediately reminded of how difficult that race would be. Within 30 seconds of the start I’m sure all my thoughts would be negative.

Well, those miles did “hatch” from last week. I ended up with 64 miles on 6 runs.

I realize the chart in my last post didn’t turn out very good. I also realize that no one really cared. It’s not like someone was sitting at their computer, trying to line up all the columns and numbers. In any case, there were some good comments to that post. As I replied to Evan’s comment, there are basically two different years recently where I was running well in the spring.

The spring of 2006 is a period where I recorded my highest weekly mileage ever – it’s the only time I’ve reached 100 miles. December through March included months of 316, 364, 326 and 365 miles. I managed to run a 29:15 8K and 1:17:57 for 20K off of that mileage and lots of hills and MP workouts. Unfortunately, I got hurt just after that 20K and never ran a spring marathon. I was able to run just under 2:59 at Chicago that fall.

In the spring of 2007 I managed solid mileage, but not as high as 2006. December through March consisted of 350, 284, 275, 293 miles. Weeks included roughly 1 MP workout per week, hills and strides. Then in April and May I added in more interval workouts like 600s and Ks. I managed to run a 29:33 8K, 37:47 10K, 1:21:49 half and 17:52 5K before running my still-standing marathon PR of 2:57 at Gma's.

The question now is how do I replicate 2007 given that it’s already April and I don’t have that December – March running base that I did 3 years ago? I think the answer is to proceed as if my skiing transfers to my running. I’ll spend April building in MP and hill workouts, along with strides and then in May I can transition over to intervals.

I doubt I can reach those shorter race times from 2007, but maybe I can get close enough to take a shot at sub-3.

Quote of the Day;

"Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness." - Dostoyefsky

BEFORE THEY HATCH

Gregg submitted a good thought-provoking comment after my last post. Not sure everyone reads the comments, so I thought I’d pull out the key points and try to address them.

“It seems like you have remained, for the most part, injury free since I started reading your blog some three years ago. What I see from your posts is inconsistency over the YEARS.”

Below is a chart of my monthly mileage over the last decade. I would have to say it’s pretty consistent, especially from 2004 through August of 2008. The end of 2002 – 2003 was that “dark period” where I did tris and didn’t track running-specific mileage.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Jan 250 323 201 314 364 284 258 81
Feb 205 298 214 248 326 275 168 85
Mar 234 295 250 316 365 293 250 183
Apr 243 113 156 279 251 254 158 249
May 255 178 252 282 110 268 301 296
Jun 112 219 267 102 121 151 265 179
Jul 138 266 242 222 291 253 285 281
Aug 248 298 213 181 265 265 282 202
Sep 233 238 146 186 295 100 153 184
Oct 117 98 141 263 101 177 285 112 142
Nov 270 204 274 246 290 302 195 213
Dec 267 252 276 316 350 332 88 199
Total 2,572 2,326 597 2,754 2,793 3,205 3,062 2,515 2,294

Of course, the last two winters have included more skiing than running, which Gregg gets at with his next point.

“You might put together 10 or 12 weeks of decent training, but as you are well aware, youth is not on our sides anymore and we need to stay consistent with our training year around.”

I totally agree about putting together 10 – 12 weeks of decent training. That’s why if you look at the numbers above, you’ll see that my biggest months typically have been December – March. I love(d) just going out in the winter and putting in miles in order to be in great shape in the spring.

“Now, you have decided to train for the Birkie the last two winters and that is fine. The problem is, skiing will not get you anywhere near the same results for running as some think.”

No, skiing fitness may not transfer to running as much as I’d like, but I absolutely love it. So much so, that if you asked me in the middle of winter if I had to choose between a sub-3 Birkie and running a sub-3 marathon again, I’d have chosen the sub-3 Birkie. Of course, that time is less meaningful when it comes to skiing, but you get the point.

I mean I’ve been doing this for over 30 years. Am I just supposed to keep running 5Ks, 10Ks and marathons over and over – hoping that training goes well, the weather cooperates, and I shave 12 seconds from last year’s time? At what point is it okay to experience different things? I don’t want to look back when it’s all said and done and just see a trail of Human Race, Get in Gear, Grandma’s and TCM results.

Gregg mentioned a desire to do the Birkie at some point too, but he’s putting it off for awhile. I think it was last year when I wrote that I don’t have many regrets in life, but one of them is not starting to ski sooner in life.

“Although the Pfitzinger, Daniels plans are great, I don't see that you have figured out what works for you. Or have you?”

This is a very interesting question and it really has me thinking. I’m in the process of digging through each of my training logs from 2001 – 2009 and summarizing the high points; program followed, goal race, key workouts, weekly and monthly mileage, race times, injuries, etc. It’s probably something I should have done long ago. Hopefully, I’ll find some key insights. I’m sure there will be more to come on this.

Anyway, so far this week is going really well. I hate counting miles before they hatch, but I should be around 60-65 miles on 6 days of running. I performed my first Daniels’ workout on Thursday; 2 mile warm-up, 2 x 10 minutes at threshold with 2 minute rest, 7 miles easy. I’ve even included some strides this week and had a great group trail run this morning.

Today’s quote of the day comes after this morning’s run. Paul was talking to Tony as he trains for the Western States 100, but he might as well been talking to me;

"You can gain a lot of fitness in just 12 weeks.” – Paul Holovnia

A LITTLE FRUSTRATING

Okay, yesterday’s QOD may have been a little over the top, but not much. Looking through the results again, I literally saw 12-15 friends, training partners, and acquaintances less than 1-minute in from of me. Now it’s not like I have this killer instinct where I need to crush everyone in a race, but it is a little frustrating to see that many familiar names “within reach”.

It also kind of puts into prospective how hard we train for such little gains. I mean 12 seconds faster per mile over 8K is basically 1-minute. It can be the difference between 31:00 and 29:59 - the difference between an average race and a breakthrough race. It’s that “unforgiving minute” that has already been written about.

All the emphasis that we place on it seems kind of silly at times, but it sure can be a driving force behind our sport.

Quote of the Day;

"When the competitions begin, it’s hard not to become addicted and want to be better than the competition.” – Michael Woell, local cyclist

HUMAN RACE REPORT

To me, Sunday’s Human Race 8K represents the unofficial kickoff to the 2010 racing season. If you are super bored, you can probably scan the archives of this blog for race reports for the last 6 years (damn, have I been blogging that long). I’m sure they all contain in-depth analysis with splits, workouts and mileage leading up to the race, year-over-year comparisons, etc. This year I’ll just say I finished in 31:31, which was 12 seconds faster than last year. Best of all, I finished 2nd in the 40-44 age group…for people from Apple Valley. Actually, I was first is you count “just” runners. :-)

I wasn’t going to include a bunch of analysis with this race report, but I came across these numbers this morning. They’re my average monthly mileage for January – March, along with the time I ran at Human Race.

352 – 29:15 (2006)
305 – 29:20 (2001)
284 – 29:33 (2007)
230 – 29:52 (2000)
293 – 29:56 (2005)
225 – 30:02 (2008)
222 – 30:44 (2004)
138 – 31:31 (2010)
116 – 31:43 (2009)

Not quite every year, but for the most part the years with the most mileage lead to the fastest times. Obviously, the last two figures don’t include skiing mileage.

Just looking at this year’s time and comparing it to past years, it’s easy to get bummed out and frustrated. I started to go down that road, but then I realized it’s way too early in the season to do that. So I thought I’d try to give myself an honest assessment of the race. Overall, I’d say it was pretty average. I think I paced myself well, the first 2 miles passed in 6:20 and 6:15. The third mile marker arrived was about 45-60 seconds too early, so I stopped looking at splits after that. Maybe I’ve been doing this too long, but I never seem to be nervous on the start line any more. And more often than not, it’s easy to say “screw it” when someone passes me towards the end of the race.

Should I been fired up for every race? If so, maybe it’s time to retire from racing. Either retire or get fired up again - one or the other. If you want to read race reports of people that are fired up, check out Steve's new shiny 5K PR and Nichole's new shiny 8K PR.

For now it’s time to get fired up for Grandma’s. It’s very clear that the 45 mpw I’ve been running lately aren’t going to cut it. The Daniels’ Plan has started with the idea of doing workouts on Wednesdays and Saturdays. That might mess of some group runs and stuff, but I’ll try to make it work the best I can.

Today’s QOD is in honor of getting beaten by everyone I know yesterday;

"In case you haven't been keeping track of current events, we just got our asses kicked." -Soldier, from the movie Aliens

EXPERIMENT OF ONE

Okay, I'm officially done with feeling sorry for myself about transitioning from skiing to running. The snow is gone, the storage wax is on the skis, I have my running legs back under me, and I have a plan.

Grandma's Marathon is 12 weeks from today. I spent the morning looking at training plans and landed on Daniels. Last year I did a 12-week Pfitz plan and just snuck under 3:10 at Grandma's. This year I'll try Daniels and see what the results are. You know, we're an "experiment of one" and all that jazz. Looking at Pfitz this time around, I didn't think it had enough Threshold and MP work.

We'll see what happens. I'm kinda pumped.

Tomorrow is the Human Race 8K in St. Paul. One of my all-time favorite events. I know there have already been races this spring, but for me, it kicks of the spring racing season. It always a chance to see runners you have seen since probably October due to hibernation, er, I mean, winter.

No QOD today. Instead, I want to share a poem I came across in an MDRA newsletter from 1978 entitles Footpaths.

I've raced the mighty river's flow
And bucked the northwind's icy blow
I've run the marshland's heathered plains
And bathed myself in April's rains
Like children playing games for fun
I've found the race is in the run
And win or lose or first or last
It matters not, the die is cast
I run to find what I can find
Along the footpaths of my mind
I've run in dawn's ethereal glow
And chased my shadow in the snow
I've jogged along with summer's breeze
And shuffled through fall's frosted leaves
Like mountain streams in springtime's rush
I've sprinted out around the crush
Of bodies bent on victory
Then settled back in reverie
I run to find what I can find
Along the footpaths of my mind
Those icy blows, those April rains
Those grueling races, numbing pains
They only serve to spur me on
So I can face another dawn
Like passion's lovers wrapped as one
I've found the race is in the run
To answer them, that ask me, "Why?"
To answer them, I just reply
I run to find what I can find
Along the footpaths of my mind

- Footpaths by Pete Galatowitsch