SUPERIOR 100M - VOLUNTEER REPORT

After blogging for what seemed like every day for about 5 years this blog started to slowly disappear in 2010.  Now it’s to the point where I haven’t updated it in nearly a year.  However, every once in a while a new goal or event comes along that needs to be captured in words – or else I’m afraid I’ll forget about its magnitude completely.  The latest such event for me is the Superior Fall Trail Races, which consists of the Moose Mountain Marathon, along with 50M and 100M ultras.  Each race takes place in the Sawtooth Mountains along the Superior Hiking Trail.  As the tagline states, these races are “Rugged / Relentless / Remote.”

Never has a race had a more accurate tagline.  Rugged explains the trail that is completely littered with rocks and roots.  Jon Howard’s blog has videos from various sections of the course if you’d like a better idea of the ruggedness.  Relentless explains the topographical profile that looks like a saw blade, hence the name of the mountain range.  While the race can’t boast of the same altitude of say a Western States or Leadville, the 42,000 feet of elevation change (21K gain / 21K loss) – all done between 600 and 1,830 feet – is more than either of those well-known events.  Finally, Remote describes the north shore, in general.  Travel north of the Twin Cities for a couple of hours and things get remote.  However, pass through the Silver Creek tunnel just north of Two Harbors and the remoteness is taken to a whole new level. 

Let me be clear up front, I was there solely in a volunteer capacity.  Race director John Storkamp posted a message on Facebook asking for more volunteers, so I raised my hand.  To be honest, John asked if I’d write an article on this event.  I’m embarrassed to say that was a couple of years ago and all I’ve managed to come up with so far is a recap of all the past race directors.  On one hand, I figured I should help out in another capacity since I’ve struggled so much with the article.  On the other hand, I thought seeing this event in person might actually spur my writing.  I think John was thinking the same thing too because he assigned me to a wide variety of tasks that would immerse me in the event.

First off was the start of the 100M race at Gooseberry Falls State Park.  Pulling into the parking lot I thought I might be in the wrong place.  Then I remember that it was still 90 minutes before the start of a 100 mile race that only had about 230 entrants.  Just after that I saw the TC Running Company RV and I knew I was in the right place.  Kurt Decker was there and he introduced me to Ian Corless.  Being new to the ultra scene, I had no idea who Ian was.  It turns out he’s like the Toni Reavis of the ultra world.  However, in addition to a blog, he also has a podcast and takes stunning pictures.  If you read no further in this post, do yourself a favor and check out Ian’s recap and photos Ian’s recap and photos of the race.

Back to the start of the race.  I can’t remember the last time when I was nervous for an event that I wasn’t even running.  But for some reason I was nervous for this group of people that were about to try to run 100 miles within the next 38 hours.  Perhaps I was nervous because it’s hard for me to fathom what these people were about to endure.  I mean I’ve spent the last 35 years trying to run fast.  You know, the kind of fast where I’d avoid races because there’s a slight up hill on the course or there are too many turns that might cost me a few seconds.  Along the way there have been a couple of endurance events, namely Ironman Wisconsin in 2003 and Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim in 2011.  But let’s face it, I probably walked two-thirds of the IM marathon and I never made it all the way to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  So yes, I was scared, excited, and nervous for the 204 runners that started the 100M race.

en·dureverb \in-ˈdu̇r, -ˈdyu̇r, en-\
: to continue to exist in the same state or condition
: to experience (pain or suffering) for a long time
: to deal with or accept (something unpleasant)

After the start we packed up the trucks and headed to the Silver Bay aid station at mile 9.7.  I know what you’re thinking; “Mile 9.7, not mile 10?”  That’s right.  One thing I learned during my research was that Don Clark and Bonnie Riley wheeled the entire course – over every root and rock – twice!  As a result, aid stations are listed to the nearest tenth of a mile – and we also know that the race is actually 103.3 miles long.

I didn’t hang out here too long because I was scheduled to work at the next aid station in Beaver Bay – mile 20.1.  There I met the aid station lead, Tom Burr, and his wife Nancy Griffith.  Tom assigned me to crossing guard.  That seemed easy enough until I figured out that spectators are as focused on their runners as runners are with the task at hand.  That means they’ll forget things like looking for cars when crossing the road.  I’d be waving cars through because there weren’t any runners coming and then all the sudden a spectator would dash out into the road.  Luckily, most of the traffic consisted of other spectators and they were very cognizant of driving through the aid station. 

One of the cool things I noticed was a number of people who’d be running the next day, but still came out to volunteer or cheer for the 100 milers.  My only other ultra experience was crewing for Dave Dehart at the 2002 Ed Fitz 100K.  I can remember seeing a lot of the same people throughout the day and getting to know more about them and their runner as the day went on.  The same was true at the Superior 100M.  It’s easy to start up a conversation with whoever is standing near you, simply by asking about who they’re waiting for.

 

After about 4 hours of traffic duty, things started to slow down and I realized how hungry I was.  I soon discovered Nancy’s famous cookies.  I can’t even tell you what kind they were but they had a great combination of sweet/salty.  I found out that she doesn’t give out the recipe, but she did suggest adding some kosher salt to the top of my next batch of cookies before baking.

My next stop was to the race finish at Caribou Highlands Lodge where I’d help with packet pickup for the marathon and 50M.  This turned out to be a lot of fun too because I recognized a bunch of people that’d be racing the next day.   The 4 hours or so flew by and it was finally time to sit down for a meal and a beer or two.

With only about 4-5 hours of sleep, Saturday was sure to be a long day, but it’s hard to complain when you think that the 100 milers didn’t even get that much sleep.  The 3 AM wakeup call allowed us to get to the start of the 50M in Finland.  There wasn’t a ton of set up for the start, but some people would be picking up their packets prior to the race.

It was in Finland that the “funniest” story of the weekend happened.  Apparently, one of the spectators rode the bus to the start with the runners.  She proceeded to get off the bus, assuming it was the responsibility of the race director to get her back to the finish.  In fact, she basically demanded a ride.  I believe she eventually found a ride, but it was from anyone involved with the race.

Next, we headed to the start of the marathon where I recognized the most people, including Tony Kocanda and his wife Laurie Kocanda, Brian Peterson, John Naslund, and Ben Kampf.  Ben would go on to run one of the most impressive performances of the weekend, 3:32:27 – just over a minute off the course record on a very muddy trail.

From there we made our way to the finish where we’d already missed the first 5 runners, including the winner, Adam Schwartz-Lowe who finished in just under 22 hours.  I was able to watch John Horns finish in 6^th place and first Grand Master.  A month or so ago I met up with John for a training run in Lebanon Hills.  He told me his plan for the day was 5 hours.  I figured that meant he’d be going “slow” and I could hang for at least 2 hours.  Well, I managed to make it a little over an hour before peeling off.  The thought of running even 1 more hour at that pace didn’t seem possible.

The next 12 hours were a complete whirlwind; including cheering for runners from all 3 races, catching up with spectators I’d met the day before, sorting out drop bags from various aid stations, and working with the HAM radio operators to track runners still out on the course.  

Perhaps the coolest task of the weekend was handing out trophies at the award ceremony.  Well, first off, it’s the award ceremony itself.  John holds the ceremony right by the finish line at 8 PM or 2 hours before the race cutoff.  Whenever he sees a headlamp approaching he stops the ceremony and encourages everyone to cheer for the approaching runners.  Part way through the ceremony as John continues to sing the praises of the runners, their crew and friends and family and the volunteers, the crowd starts to chant Store-Kamp, Store-Kamp, Store-Kamp.  Of course, John would have none of that.  He’s well aware that this is a very special event and even though he’s the race director, the race is really about everyone that’s been involved with the event; runners, crew, pacers, spectators and volunteers.  He exudes passion and it carries over to everyone around him.

I can’t help watch an event like this and think to myself; 1) could I finish, 2) would I enjoy it, and 3) would I be any good at it?  As Adam Lindahl said after finishing his first 100M this summer, "I have too many ultra friends not to at least consider doing one."  With that said, I’m already signed up for the Wild Duluth 50K on October 18^th and I'd like to try a 50 miler next year.  Is a 100 miler in my future?  It’s too early to tell, but I’ve been thinking about it more than ever before.

 

What is a certainty is that I’ll be heading back to volunteer for this event next year.  If you love running and/or the north shore I highly encourage to you check it out.  Whether that means running, crewing, spectating or volunteering is up to you.  You won’t be disappointed.  

RANDOM POST-RACE THOUGHTS

Now that I’ve had a few days to ponder my marathon, I’ve come up with a bunch of random thoughts.

Given that I ran fairly even splits and moved up nearly 200 places during the second half of the race, you’d think I’d be over-joyed. While I am pretty happy – especially given my last 2 year of running – I can’t help but think there’s more in the tank. If you think about it, I ran a half in June in 1:26:38. If you double that you get 2:53. For discussions sake I’ll say I ran 3:08 (my time without 2 pee stops). That means I needed 15 minutes – or more than 30 seconds per mile – to run the second half. That’s a lot.

The McMillan calculator says I should slow down 9 minutes, or finish in 3:02. Sure everyone is different, but I’ve never had a lot of speed and I tend to get better the longer the distance. Maybe my times actually behave as a bell shaped curve, where they’re below average at both ends of the spectrum – short races and long races – and above average in that 15K to 25K range. That just popped into my head, so I haven’t given it a lot of thought.

While I always try to run even splits, I wonder if it’d be worthwhile to go out harder and hang on. I mean when I look at other people’s splits, it seems like the majority of people are running the second half 5 minutes slower than the first half. Maybe if I went out in 1:31, I’d still come back in 1:36 and run 3:07. But honestly, that doesn’t sound appealing to me. I guess that’s why I try to be conservative during the first half.

I must say that my quads have never felt so good after a marathon. I have no idea if it’s due to the adidas boost that I was wearing or not. But maybe there’s something to their “energy-returning boost” midsole. In any case, I’m a believer right now. Even though my legs feel great, I still plan on taking at least a full week off from running. I think the recovery is the hardest part of a fall marathon. The weather is absolutely stunning and I’m forcing myself not to run.

While I still love everything about Grandma’s Marathon, I have to mention that TCM is pretty awesome in it’s our right. The course is terrific. I love starting down town, heading by the Walker then along the lakes, the parkway, and the river roads before hitting Summit and coming up on the Cathedral and the Capitol. And I had nearly forgotten how awesome the crowds are along the course – it’s all pretty hard to beat.

I’m sure I’ll have a lot more thoughts on this in the near future, but that’s it for now.

TCM 2013 - RACE REPORT

Looking back, here’s what I wrote the night before the marathon;

Tomorrow I'd like to go through the half between 1:33 - 1:34. That way if I'm feeling good I can negative split and run 3:05. If things are just okay, I can still hang on for a 3:10.

That’s basically what happened – I went through the half in 1:34:32 and after that, things were “just okay” and I hung on for a 3:09:38 finish. While the half as a little slower than I wanted, it’s because I had to stop to pee at mile 11 and that cost me 50 seconds. Without that stop, I’d have gone through the half in 1:33:42. So my pacing was exactly what I wanted – during the first half my fastest mile was 7:03 and my slowest was 7:15. Another stop to pee at mile 15 cost me 50 more seconds. Without those stops I’d have been just under 3:08. Unfortunately, the clock doesn’t stop when you pull off the course.
Looking back at what I wrote, I think it was a pipedream to think I could run 1:33 / 1:32 or 1:34 / 1:31. The second half of this course is a grid and in order to negative split, the first half would have to feel like a jog. While the first half did feel relatively easy, it wasn’t a jog. And, history has shown, increasing the effort on the second half usually still leads to a 1-minute positive split – at least for me. With that said, my fastest mile during the second half was 7-flat (twice) and my slowest was 7:26. My last 5 mile splits were 7:24, 7:26, 7:12, 7:18, 7:22. Although I slowed on the hills, I ended up moving from 603rd place at the half to 412th at the finish.

I also like to combine my splits into 2 or 3-mile buckets because it eliminates some of the terrain. Looking at 3-mile buckets, here are my splits (they don’t include my two 50-second pit stops);

21:20 – 3 miles
21:27 – 6 miles
21:32 – 9 miles
21:32 – 12 miles
21:17 - 15 miles
21:20 – 18 miles
21:19 – 21 miles
22:02 – 24 miles
14:40 – 26 miles

I kind of forgot about this, but my last 4 of my last 5 marathons have been very consistent;

3:09:43 – Grandma’s 2009
3:10:36 – Whistlestop 2009
3:09:42 – Grandma’s 2010
3:24:41 – Grandma’s 2011
3:09:38 – TCM 2013

I guess the good news is that even though that’s a 4 ½ year stretch, I’m still running just as fast. And now that I think about it, the last 4 have been as a Masters runner, so yesterday’s race is my Master’s PR.

I should mention the weather. It was 45 degrees at the start, the flags were hanging, and the sun was coming out. I don’t think we could’ve asked for better weather – at least for anyone that broke 3:15. After that it started to rain, but I timed it well.

One thing that stands out to me in this race was running with this guy I didn't know, from mile 15 all the way to the finish. We were constantly passing each other back and forth and we never said a word to one another. Heck, I didn’t even know if he knew I was keying off of him. Once we finished and were in the chute we started talking about how much we helped each other. It was really cool – one of those things you can’t plan - they just happen.



High-fives at mile 24.  Thanks to Terrance Lee for the photo.


I’ll end by saying that this whole training cycle has been a blast; changing my diet, shedding weight, mixing in cross training, cutting my mileage, feeling great for workouts, getting in some solid long runs, and just getting back on the marathon “horse” has been great. After the last 3 years of training, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to run a decent marathon again. So, it’s nice to be back.

GO TIME

Here I sit the night before the race. I don't have much to report from the taper. It's been pretty normal, meaning I felt great for about 2 week, but the last week I've only felt so-so. In my last post I wrote about a great run 2 weeks ago that include 2 x 3 miles at MP. Well last Wednesday I ran 7 miles, including 2 at MP. Those 2 at MP were at 7:13 pace, which is slower than two weeks ago - and they felt harder. So like I said, my taper has been normal.

The forecast looks pretty good; 45 degrees for the low, 56 for the high. The biggest concern all week has been the rain. After not having much rain for like 2 months, it's been raining off and on for 4 days straight. Right now they're saying "spotty showers possible". Another concern has been the wind. It seems like it's been really windy all week long, but now they're saying a 5 mpw N/NW wind.

Mainly I wanted to get a final post in before the race to mention my goals and race plan. Some people like to keep this stuff to themselves, but I don't mind sharing. Heck, it's as much for me if I ever want to come back and see what I was thinkng leading up to a certain race. Anyway, everytime I've been asked this week what I'm hoping to run I've said sub-3:10, but I think I have a shot at sub-3:05 on a good day. Right now my race plan is to go out around 7:10 pace, which equates to just under 3:08. If I'm a little slow, like 7:20s for the first 2-3 miles, that's okay. I'd rather be a little slow, than too fast - like I was at the COL 25K where I was trying to run MP and went through the first mile in 6:50. Tomorrow I'd like to go through the half between 1:33 - 1:34. That way if I'm feeling good I can negative split and run 3:05. If things are just okay, I can still hang on for a 3:10. Besides, I can't see a crash and burn if I run in that range for the first half. I'll have to look it up again, but I think anything faster than 3:05:41 and it'll be my fastest marathon in like 5 years.

Just over 12 hours till the start. GO TIME!

COMING TOGETHER

Two weeks till TCM and I'm just gonna say it; I feel great. It seems like it's been forever since I had a decent training cycle for a marathon. I've really enjoyed this training cycle and I'm liking how things are coming together down the stretch.

Thursday called for 4 x 1200m, but there's this prairie loop at Hyland that is probably between 900 and 1000 meters. It's a great place to get back to my cross country roots, get in a fun workout that includes hills and leg speed.

I decided to head back to the trails for my last 20 miler. After the run I posted on Facebook that I don't know how fast I am, but I sure feel strong - especially considering that this training cycle has included an 18 miler and two 20 milers on the hilly trails of Lebanon Hills, plus a 22 miler on the TCM course.

WEEK #14
Monday: Day Off
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles on the trails
Thursday: 10 miles with 5 x ~1K run on the Hyland trails
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: BIKED 12.5 miles
Sunday: 20 miles on Lebanon Hills trails

Total:47 miles plus 12.5 miles of biking

Nothing to fancy this last week. Wednesday I hit a dirt track at one of the local middle schools for some 600m repeats. I tried to focus on 5K race pace, rather than going all-out on every repeat. Then today's long run just called for 17 miles, but I added a little twist. During the run I stopped at a high school track and ran 2 x 3 miles at MP. The first set was at 7:15 pace and felt really comfortable. Then I dropped down to 7:01 pace for the last set. I could tell I was working harder than the first set, but it still felt comfortable. So now I'm pretty confident with my plan of going out in the 7:10 - 7:15 range.

WEEK #15
Monday: Day Off
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 8 miles with 6 x 600m on track
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: Day Off
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: 17 miles with 2 x 3 miles at MP on track

Total: 40 miles

4 WEEKS AND COUNTING

Would it be a marathon training cycle if some doubt didn’t creep in? Things have been sailing along pretty well for 3 month, but then I got a cold and scaled back my training for a couple of week. On Labor Day I ran a 10K that was so-so. While I felt fine, I just couldn’t go any faster. At mile 5, I seriously thought I wasn’t going to break 40 minutes. I figured I had to be at 32-flat at 5 miles and when I saw 32:15 instead, I thought it was over. I was able to pick it up and run my fastest mile of the day to finish in 39:50.

This morning I ran the Jeff Winter City of Lakes 25K. My plan was to treat this like marathon race day and go out at the exact pace I want for TCM, which is in the 7:10 range. I thought I was holding things back, but I still passed 1 mile in 6:54. I settled down a little after that and ran everything between 6:58 and 7:11. If you look at my 3 miles splits, they’re 21:01, 21:19, 21:12, 21:08, 21:07. Overall, my pace was 7:03. What’s the problem, you ask. Well, it didn’t feel like marathon pace. I don’t think I could run another 10.7 miles at that pace.

Of course, there are some factors (read excuses) to keep in mind; I ran 10 miles yesterday, this race came at the end of my biggest week yet, conditions weren’t awful, but not ideal either, blah, blah, blah.

Maybe backing off to 7:10 pace, carbo loading and tapering will be enough come October 6th.

Given that TCM is on a Sunday, and so was today’s race, I’m transitioning from Sun – Sat weeks to Mon – Sun weeks. Not a big deal, but it means I’ll run my last few long runs on Sundays, instead of Saturdays.

WEEK #13
Monday: 10K race, 39:50, 10 miles
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 11 miles with Scott and Lance
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: Day Off
Saturday: 10 miles
Sunday: 25K race, 1:49:30, 18 miles

Total 58 miles

A couple of weird things. How can I love half marathons, but hate 25Ks? And how can a couple of guys that I beat by minutes in the 15K, beat me by over a minute in 10K. I don’t get it.

VITAL SIGNS

I’m happy to report that I’m over my cold – and that I survived last week’s heat wave where the heat index was over around 105 degrees a couple of days. Given my cold and the weather I decided to keep things easy this week, then I can make a push for 2 more weeks before tapering.

WEEK #12
Sunday: Day off
Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: 5miles
Wednesday: 8 miles with Scott at Hyland
Thursday: Day off
Friday: 7 miles at Lebanon Hills
Saturday: 13 miles

Total 38 miles

Finished August with 171 miles, plus 88 on the bike.

It’s been a while since I mentioned anything about my diet. I still haven’t eaten meat since April. I join a CSA (community supported agriculture) and I get a bunch of fresh veggies every Tuesday night. Each week I feel overwhelmed by the amount of veggies I get, but somehow I’ve seemed to get through most of it. The biggest challenge is figuring out how to use veggies I’ve never eaten before, like fennel and eggplant, as well as how to get through a head of cabbage 3 weeks in a row.

When it comes to my weight, I always try to weigh myself every Saturday morning after my long run. Typically, I’ve been in the 145-150 pound range. Then, from Halloween till New Year’s I probably gain 10 pounds. At the time I switched my diet I weighed 148 pounds. Within a month I was below 140 pounds and I haven’t seen 140 all summer. After yesterday’s run I weighed in at 135 pounds, which is the lowest I’ve been since high school.

Given my new diet – and the fact that I haven’t had a physical exam in 6 years – I thought it’d be a good idea to go see my doctor. I met with him last Friday and here are my vital signs.

August 2013

Total Cholesterol 123
Triglycerides 80
HDL 41
Chol/HDL Ratio 3.0
Non-HDL Chol 82
LDL 66
Blood Pressure 100 over 70
Height 5’ 9.5”
Weight 139 lbs 6 oz
BMI 20.3
Pulse 56
Glucose 96


September 2007

Total Cholesterol 132
Triglycerides 85
Chol/HDL Ratio 3.4
LDL 76
Blood Pressure 90 over 60
Height 5’ 10”
Weight 146 lbs 10 oz
BMI 21.0
Pulse 68

A few things that stand out to me;

Six years ago my HDL (good cholesterol) levels were low, but so my total cholesterol, so my ratio between the two was okay. Now my HDL levels are up and my total cholesterol is down, so my ratio is even better.

I’m six years older by 7 pounds lighter and my Body Mass Index is down a point.

My pulse dropped from 68 to 56.

Oh, it just occurred to me, the spring of 2007 was when I set all my post-college PRs, so this is only 4 months after I was super-fit.

My doctors one suggestion is to take a B12 supplement due to my vegetarian diet. If nothing else, things aren’t getting any worse, so I guess I continue down this road.

WEEKS 10 & 11

As TCM draws closer, I’ve been trying to come up with a goal time. I’ve been thinking somewhere in the 3:06 – 3:10 range would be nice. That got me thinking about the last few marathons I’ve done. I looked back at my results and found that my best time since 2008 is 3:05:41. It sure would be nice to run my best time in 5 years.

Week 10 of this training cycle had me feeling confident about reaching that goal. After my solid 15K on Sunday I used a 7-mile trail race as a tempo workout. Then I closed out the week with a 22 mile run along the TCM course. Every time I run TCM I try to do this long run where I start at the St. Paul Cathedral and run the course in reverse to Minnehaha Falls and then turn around and come back. This allows me to run miles 15 to 26 of the course, including the hills, when I’m tried. This run went great. I ran the first half just a hair under 8-minute pace, before dropping to 7:40s until I got to the hills, where I dropped down to 7:30s.

WEEK #10
Sunday: 15K race – 1:01:31 (6:36 pace), 12 miles total
Monday: Day Off
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 7 mile trail race at tempo effort (7:09 pace), 10.5 miles total
Thursday: 5.5 miles
Friday: 37 miles of bike commuting.
Saturday: 22 miles

Total: 55 miles, plus 37 miles on the bike

As I looked at the last 2 weeks of training or so, I knew I was cranking things up and that I needed to be careful. I still haven’t been running a ton of miles, but the intensity has kicked up a notch; 4 x 1K on the 7th, 15K race on the 11th, tempo run on the 14th and 22 miler on the 17th. In addition, after that 22 miler I ended up volunteering to help set up a local triathlon from 1-5, so I was on my feet for 4 more hours. And I was up the next morning at 4 AM in order to help with parking and a water stop.

It turns out, all that combined to be too much. By Tuesday afternoon I had caught a cold. Normally, when I get a cold, I feel the best when I can get out for a run. However, this week I was just exhausted. So I took a bunch of days off and didn’t worry about my mileage.

WEEK #11
Sunday: Day Off
Monday: 14 miles of biking at lunch, plus 2 miles with x-c kids
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: Day Off - COLD
Thursday: Day Off - COLD
Friday: 8 miles
Saturday: 11 miles

Total: 25 miles, plus 14 miles on the bike

The good news is I’m feeling a lot better. The bad news is that is supposed to be brutally hot and humid this week. I’ll get some runs in, but I don’t see anything being fast or long.

6 weeks from today!

WEEKS 7-9

Dang, where does the time go? It seems like I can’t even keep this thing updated every two weeks. Anyway, things are still going well since my last update. Nothing overly exciting, but I did get in my first 20 miler and I’ve added in some speed, as well as another race to report.

WEEK #7
Sunday: Day Off
Monday: 5.5 miles
Tuesday: 7 miles with strides
Wednesday: 12 miles with Scott – back to the Hyland trails
Thursday: Day Off
Friday: 10 miles
Saturday: Day Off

Total: 34.5 miles

WEEK #8
Sunday: 20 miles at Lebanon Hills, including 4 loops near the mt. bike loop
Monday: 4 miles
Tuesday: 6 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles with strides
Thursday: 12 miles with Scott at Hyland Park
Friday: 37 miles commuting on the bike
Saturday: Day Off Total: 51 miles, plus 37 on the bike

WEEK #9
Sunday: 6.5 miles
Monday: 6.5 miles, including 5 @ MP (7:07 pace)
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 9 miles, including 4 x 1K at Como Relays with Evan
Thursday: Day Off
Friday: 6 miles
Saturday: 6 miles

Total: 39 miles

Yesterday I ran the MDRA 15K, which was my first race since the Garry Bjorklund half. Since I averaged 6:37 pace at that race, I figured I should be able to run a little faster. I did, but just barely, having run 1:01:34 (6:36 pace). Interestingly, I looked up results for other people that ran both races and the majority of them were slower. Of the 13 people I found, 8 were slower – like 10 seconds per mile slower. And four of the five that were faster were only 1-2 seconds per mile faster. The best was 5 seconds per mile faster. I’m guessing the sticky weather and twisty course were the main reasons for the slowdown.

I guess the main take away is that I’m still feeling good about my training and I’m looking forward to the last 8 weeks. I haven’t been able to say that for a while.

WEEKS #5 & #6

It's been 2 weeks since my last training update and I'm happy to report that things are still going in the right direction.  I've had a couple of tempo runs, a marathon paced run and a fairly quick 18 miler.

WEEK #5
Sunday: Day Off
Mon day: 8 miles with 5 @ 6:40 pace on treadmill.
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles with Scott and Darrin
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 45 miles of bike commuting
Saturday: 18-mile run with Scott and the MDRA group, including some sub-7:20 miles

Total: 43 miles, plus 45 miles on the bike

WEEK #6
Sunday: Day Off
Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: 11 miles
Wednesday: Day Off
Thursday: 9 miles with 6 @ 6:35 pace on treadmill.
Friday: 44 miles of bike commuting
Saturday: 12.5-mile run with Scott and Steve, including 9 @ 7:00 pace

Total: 37.5 miles, plus 44 miles on the bike

If your familiar with Daniels' program, you'll probably notice that I'm not following it as it's exactly laid out.  I've moved things around a little in order do some more up-tempo running with guys like Scott and Steve who are both training for Souix Falls, which is 4 weeks before TCM.  That means I've been running more medium-long runs at a quicker pace than I would if I were by myself.  

Another thing of note, given that I ran 13.1 miles at 6:37 pace, my tempo pace should be faster than my last two treadmill workouts. But I'm trying to take what my body is giving me.  The tempo run during week #5 was a struggle, but during week #6 it went much better.  

I'm a little concerned with the next two weeks because we'll have company next weekend and then we'll be out of town the following weekend.  So unless I can get in a long run next Sunday, it may be mid-August before I can get in a 20 miler.  

REVIEWS

I wanted to share a couple more food-related books and a website that I've been using lately.
 

First, my college buddy, Ben, recommended Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating by Mark Bittman.  Bittman's message is similar to those in books I've mentioned previously, namely The China Study and The Kind Life. As the back of the dust jacket says;

If I told you that the same lifestyle choice could help you lose weight, reduce your risk of many long-term or chronic diseases, save you real money, and help stop global warming, I imagine you'd be intrigued.  If I also told you that this change, while not effortless, would be easier and more pleasant than any diet you've ever tried, would take less time and effort than your exercise routine, and would require no sacrifice, I would think you'd want to read more.  If you do, you'll find an explanation of the links among diet, health, the environment in general, and climate change in particular, and you'll see how you can make a difference.

Bittman explains that when he started to make changes to his diet, he basically followed the whole foods, plant based diet from sun up till sun down, then for dinner, he'd eat whatever he wanted to.  Just by focusing on eating better for two-thirds of his meals, he saw dramatic changes.

I think his subtitle says it all; A Guide to Conscious Eating.  Just being aware of what we're putting in our mouths can make a huge difference.

The next book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell B. Esslestyn, was recommend by Gloria.  If you've been following along and checking out some of the food documentaries, you'll recognize Dr. Esslestyn's name from Forks Over Knives and The China Study, while his son wrote Engine 2 Diet and My Beef with Meat.  No, there's no heart disease in my family, but Gloria mentioned the book because it includes more than 150 recipes. As you can imagine, a shift in eating habits requires finding new recipes.

I've spent some time recently at multiple libraries and book stores, trying to find vegetarian cookbooks.  So many of them are a little too gourmet for my taste.  I like things recipes that have easy-to-find ingredients and are tasty.  The handful of recipes I've tried from this book so far fall into that category.

If you'd rather check out websites, my new favorite is Thug Kitchen. I have to warn you that it contains a lot of vulgar language.  Some people may be offended, but I find it so over-the-top that it's funny.  I've probably tried half a dozen recipes from this site and they've all been great.  My favorite so far is Roasted Chickpea and Broccoli Burritos.  One of the things I love about his recipes is that I typically have all of the ingredients in my house already.

If anyone has any other recommendations, let me know and I'd be happy to check them out.

NEW STORES

What a great time to be a runner in the Twin Cities!  In case you haven't heard, my favorite store, TC Running Company, is opening a second store tomorrow.  It'll be located at 12862 Bass Lake Road in Maple Grove.  How great is that for all the runners in the northwest suburbs? 

But that's not the only area of town getting a new store.  You can now find Mill City Running in Northeast Minneapolis at 411 East Hennepin Ave.  I was able to check out the store Saturday morning.  Although they're still waiting for some inventory to arrive, I liked what I saw.  And if you work downtown Minneapolis, their location is ideal and easy to get to.  Stop by and meet owners Jeff and Bekah Metzdorff.

While at the store I was able to meet Nathan, who operates the relatively new site, minneapolisrunning.com, where he, obviously, covers things going on with the Minneapolis running scene.

As I alluded to in my last post, it finally feels like I'm recovered from my half marathon.  Here's a look at week #5;

Sunday: 36 mile bike ride around the hills of St. Paul
Monday: 16 mile bike ride during lunch
Tuesday: 15 mile bike ride during lunch
Wednesday: 10.5 mile run at 7:20 pace with Scott
Thursday: 5 miles easy
Friday: 5 miles easy
Saturday: 16 miles

Total: 36.5 miles of running and 67 miles of biking.

WEEK #4

I had forgotten how much a 13 mile race takes out of me. Even with a super light week last week, I feel like I’m just now recovered from the half. Now that I think about it, that’s right in-line with “my formula” for recovery from races, which is to calculate the race distance in kilometers and then divide that by 2. So for a 10K, you’d need 5 days to recover and since a half is 21K, you’d need 10-11 days to recover. Today is day 10.

Week #4 recap

Sunday: Day off
Monday: 4 miles – very easy
Tuesday: 6 miles – very easy
Wednesday: 6 miles – moderate
Thursday: Day off
Friday: 2 x 18-mile bike commute.
Saturday: 10.5 miles with Scott

During Wednesday’s run I tweaked my groin muscle. On Tuesday I did some core work that included leg lifts/raises. Looking back, I’m wondering if that was too soon after the race. My groin still didn’t feel great on Saturday. I was supposed to go 15 miles, but cut that run short. I spent the next 3 days on the bike, but I’m happy to report a great run this morning.

The week only included 26+ miles of running and 36 miles of biking, but I’m okay with that. Recovering from that race was very important. Now, without any races on the horizon, I can focus on TCM training.

OUT OF CONTROL

Before my marathon predicting gets too out of control here, I need to take a step back and calm myself down. At the end of my last post I mentioned that my goal marathon pace is creeping closer and closer to 3 hours. Well, that statement got me thinking about my past marathons, the races leading up to them and how well the McMillan calculator did of predicting.


If, for example, I run a 1:26:38 half marathon and McMillan predicts that I’ll run a 3:02 marathon, AND I actually go out and run a 3:02 marathon, that’s awesome! However, what does history tell me?

Looking at my last 6 marathons or so, every single one of them was 5-7 minutes slower than what the calculator predicted. As an example, one year I ran a 15K in August that predicted a 3:01, but in October I ran 3:06. So, if my latest half marathon currently predicts a 3:02, based on history it really means I’m in 3:08 shape.

Now I’m wondering if there’s something missing from the Pfitz plan that I typically follow. Is there something I could add into my routine that will get me more in-line with the McMillan calculator? Or is this just normal for some runners? Anyone else out there experience similar results?

Long-time readers may know I’ve run a lot faster than I did on Saturday, so maybe you’re wondering why I’m perhaps overly excited. I mentioned that this is my fastest half in three years. But what really stands out is comparing my MPW between now and then. Here’s my weekly mileage for the 6 weeks leading up to my 1:26:08 in 2010; 64, 72, 77, 51, 80, 80. The 6 weeks before this year’s 1:26:38 were; 42, 40, 44, 35, 41, 35.

I know there’s more to training than just a comparison of weekly mileage, but frankly I was shocked to see the differences; three years older, 44% less miles and only 30 seconds slower. I think where this could really payoff is in the middle of August when I usually start getting the running blahs. At least that’s what I’m hoping for.

GARRY BJORKLUND HALF MARATHON RACE REPORT

Man, where to start with this race report? I guess I’ll start with my goal. The only thing I really had to go off of was my recent 19:14 5K. According to McMillan’s calculator, that projects to a 1:29-flat half or 6:48 pace, so I wanted to at least run sub-1:29.

I love the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, but since it’s held in conjunction with Grandma’s Marathon, I’ve only run the half three times; 1996, 2002 and 2013. Given that it’s been 11 years since the last time I ran this race, I had forgotten how much different it is than most half marathons that I run. With an expo, pre-race pasta dinner, bus ride to the start, drop bags, long lines to the biff and not much opportunity to warm up, it felt more like a marathon than a half. I had to keep reminding myself that I was only running 13.1 miles.

Before I jump into the race itself, I should mention that conditions were perfect. The temp was 50 degrees and foggy with a slight tailwind. For those that don’t know this course, it’s basically a straight line for 12 miles and then the last mile has a bunch of turns. So a tailwind at the start means a tailwind for the majority of the race.

Because my goal pace was 6:48s, I wanted to my first mile to be closer to 6:50 than 6:30. After the gun, I thought I settled in pretty quickly and was running very comfortably. The first mile passed in 6:40 and I settled in with Kim, one of my Saturday morning training partners. We stuck together for two more miles and I felt really comfortable. I remember another training partner, Scott, running a 1:28 half marathon last month and mentioning that at mile 3 he wasn’t sure he could hold his pace. He did hold it, but his thoughts on his perceived effort stuck with me. My race effort wasn’t feeling like that at all, so I was really pleased because I was still running low 6:40s.

Unfortunately, the memory on my watch is full, so it didn’t store my splits, so I’ll have to post based on memory and the results website. After my first mile, I didn’t look at my watch until mile 5. Leading up to that split, I told myself I wanted to see anything from 33:20 – 34:00 on my watch because that’s between 6:40 (my first mile) and 6:48 (my goal) pace. When I saw 33:28 I was really please. I was at the lower end of the range and I was feeling really good. Post-race results show that I ran the first 5K and second 5K BOTH in 20:46.

This was turning into one of those races where each mile marker seems to pass very quickly - and where no matter how much you pick up the pace, you never seem to get tired.

The only thing I remember during the third 5K is really trying to take advantage of the down hills on the course. That, and I started to focus on catching people.

Lemon Drop Hill is right around the 9-mile mark and that came and went quickly. As I approached mile 10, I tried to predict the time I wanted to see based on doubling my 5-mile split. Again, I had been hit my lap split at every mile, but not looking at my splits. Based on my 5-mile split of 33:28, I wanted to at least be at mile 10 in 1:07. I was pretty confident that I picked up the pace and was eager to see how much under that time I’d be. I ended up crossing that mile marker in 1:06:27, meaning I ran than 5-mile stretch in about 33-flat or 6:36 pace.

I also happened to glance at my mile split and saw that I ran up Lemon Drop (and down the other side) in 6:30. By now I’m doing some quick math in my head and I figured if I can run three 6:40s I’d be right around 1:27.

Miles 11 and 12 are both sub-6:30 by a second or two and now I know I’ll run sub-1:27. Not sure if that caused me to let up a little bit or if turning into the wind slowed me down, but my last mile was back around 6:40 pace. I ended up crossing the line in 1:26:38. That was good enough for 130th place out of 6,626 runners and 11th out of 323 in the 40-44 age-group.

Afterwards someone asked me if this was a PR. I said it wasn’t, but it was probably my fastest time in like 5 years. Of course, that got me thinking about my recent half marathon performances and how this ranks. It actually turned out to be my fast half in 3 years. Back in 2010 I ran 30 seconds faster than this race. Prior to that, in 2007, when I was racing really well leading up to my marathon PR, I ran 1:21:49. I also ran a 1:20, right after college, and a bunch of 1:23-1:25’s prior to turning 40. So this isn’t my best time ever, but based on age-grading it ranks up near the top.

It also means that my goal pace for TCM is creeping closer and closer to 3 hours.

WEEKS 2 & 3

Here’s a quick recap of Weeks #2 and #3:


June 9th – 15th

Sunday: Day Off
Monday: 8 miles on Hyland trails
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 10 miles on Hyland trails with Scott
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 2 x 20 miles of bike commuting
Saturday: 13 miles with 8 @ MP – averaged 7:15 pace

Saturday’s workout is the only one worth mentioning. I wanted to hold 7:10 pace. Typically, I find these workouts difficult, especially if I’m running solo. During the warmup I was telling myself that it’d be okay to start a slow as 7:30 pace and then work into a faster pace throughout the workout. However, my first mile ended up being 7:02 and then I backed off to 7:08s. I went through the first 5 miles at 7:07 pace – then the big hills hit and my last 3 miles slowed, including a 7:45 up the biggest hill. Overall, I was really pleased with how my first MP workout went.

June 16th – 22nd

Sunday: Day Off
Monday: Day Off – drove 4 hours to see my parents
Tuesday: 10 miles on Whistlestop Marathon course
Wednesday: 6 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: Day Off
Saturday: 14 miles, including half marathon in 1:26:38 (race report to follow).

I felt a little guilty taking Monday off, but with a half marathon on Saturday, I wanted to make sure I was rested – especially after my MP workout.

CHEW ON THIS

As a marketer, we constantly talk about testing 1 variable at a time in order to figure out that variable's impact on the results.  Anything more than that and it's hard to tell what change led to the results you're seeing. The same thing goes for running.  What if you increase your mileage and add speedwork at the same time?  Then it's hard to know why you're running so great (or why your injured).

That's kind of the boat I'm in with my dietary changes.  I pretty much cut meat and reduced processed foods at the same time.  So I'm wondering which is more important.  I think I was originally leaning towards cutting meat, but, then again, I didn't eat a lot of meat to begin with - especially red meat.  Now I'm definitely thinking that cutting processed foods is much more important. 

I'm by no means, perfect.  I still find myself grabbing a handful of potato chips, throwing pretzels in my lunch, and grabbing a granola bar in a pinch.  But I've definitely reduced the amount of processed foods I'm consuming.  When you reduce those high caloric, nutritionally poor foods with low caloric, nutritionally rich substitues you are going to see, and feel, a big change.

The more I learn about this stuff, the more scared I get.  Did you know that kids born after 2000 are the first generation ever - EVER - predicted to have a life expectancy LESS than their parents?  That's my kids' generation.  I wish I could say I disagree, but then I look at what they are eating.  My youngest daughter is the worst.  If it weren't for apples, I swear she wouldn't have anything nutrional in her diet.  She lives on chicken nuggets, frozen waffles, cinnamon rolls, potato chips, string cheese and yogurt.  Of course, her yogurt has to be the kind with M&Ms or Oreos on the top.   

The other day I happened to look at the "individual" sized ice cream snacks in our freezer.  They're only 10 ounces - that's indivdual, right?  WRONG!!!  According to the nutritional label, that's 2.5 servings - at 150 calories per serving.  So my kids get home from school and immediately grab nearly 400 empty calories.  Maybe worst of all, my wife had no idea.  No, worst of all is that we're no different than the majority of parents.  We gravitate to what's quick, easy, cheap, and taste good.  Unfortunately, that's processed foods put out by major food manufacturers.

I can't say that this blog will get anyone to change their diet, but hopefully it'll get people thinking, talking, reading nutritional labels, etc.

If you're interested, here's one of the first videos I came across on this topic.  It's chef Jamie Oliver's TED talk.  If you subscribe to Netflix you can also watch it there, plus there are 13 other episode of their "Chew on This" series.

WEEK #1

Week #1 is in the books:

Sunday: 8K of roller skiing
Monday: 8 miles w/ 4 @ LT on Hyland trails + 12 mile bike ride
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 10 miles on Hyland trails with Scott
Thursday: Day Off
Friday: 2 x 21 miles of bike commuting
Saturday: 12 miles on Lebanon Hills trails

For Monday’s lactate threshold workout I thought about running on the treadmill in order to maintain a steady pace. However, it was so nice outside that I decided to run Hyland instead. I ran hard for 27 minutes in the middle of the run and called it LT.  At lunch it was so nice out that I went for a 12 mile ride.

Wednesday’s run with Scott was comfortably hard. I ran this loop solo the previous week in 82 minutes. With Scott it took 77 minutes, so 30 seconds faster per mile.

Thursday called for an easy 5 miles, but I woke up and felt like drinking coffee and planning some projects I need to get done. So I did.

The past 2 Fridays I’ve been commuting to work by bike. Typically, I drive to Lake Nokomis or Fort Snelling and then ride the Parkway to the lakes and then hop on the Greenway to get to Eden Prairie.

Here's my new road bike I bought last fall.  Love it! (Sorry for the crappy picture.)

Saturday was a great solo trail run on the hiking trails near the Lebanon Hills mountain bike trails. This is one of my favorite trails runs as it’s not nearly as busy as the main trails at Leb. Plus, it has some great hills!

There you have it, only 35 miles of running, but if you add up the skiing and biking, that’s nearly 9 hours of cardio for the week.

THERE'S A CHANCE

I think the older we get, the faster we used to be. I’m not talking about PRs. Like most runners, I know all my PRs by heart. I’m talking about all those other races throughout the season, and career, that aren’t run when you’re super fit.

I have all my race history written down somewhere. The problem is that it’s not in one convenient place. Anyway, after my recent 5K I started to wonder how that time compared to others I’ve run over the years. I remember one summer when I was racing a lot and I ran 17:40 and 18:15 within a couple of weeks of one another. However, I don’t think those courses were certified. After doing a little digging, I found out that that was way back in 2004. And in 2007 I remember running 17:52 at the Brian Kraft 5K. I was really fit the first 6 month of that year, leading up to my marathon PR. I ran a 37:47 10K and a 1:21:49 half before running 2:57:29 at Grandma’s.

So those are the outliers. What about all the other years? I know I didn’t run sub-18 any other years, but I must have been low-18s, right? Wrong! Just looking at times from the same race here’s what I found;

2002 – age 32 – 18:44
2004 – age 34 – 18:39
2007 – age 37 – 17:52
2008 – age 38 – 18:44
2009 – age 39 – 18:58
2013 – age 43 – 19:14

None of my other races were sub-18:30 - I was a little surprised by that. Of course, my 19:14 isn’t sub-18:30 either, but what if we look at my age-graded percentages over the years? It turns out that my recent race was my second best – only behind that great year I had in 2007.

2002 – age 32 – 69.25%
2004 – age 34 – 69.56%
2007 – age 37 – 73.89%
2008 – age 38 – 70.96%
2009 – age 39 – 70.57%
2013 – age 43 – 71.62%

I keep harping on it, but what I find most amazing is that I’m not running a lot of miles. I only had 151 miles in May, along with 25K of roller skiing and 125 miles of biking. Maybe placing more emphasis on cross-training is leaving me fresher, but I think my new diet has even more to do with it. I mean, when you’re lighter than you’ve been in 25 years, it’s going to have an affect on your race times.

As you can imagine, all of this has combined to fire me up. So I said what the hell and signed up for TCM. That happens to be 18 weeks from today. Long-time readers know I like Pfitz’s marathon training plans, one of which happens to be 18 weeks long. Normally, I’d shoot for the 70 MPW plan, but this time around I’m going with the 55 MPW plan because it includes 1-2 cross-training days per week, so I’ll be able to get on my bike or roller ski. Hopefully, that’ll help keep me fresh and motivated throughout the entire summer.

I don’t have a goal yet, but if you believe all the calculators out there, 3:05-3:10 appears to be the range I’m in right now. One of the downsides of WAVA is that you start to play with it and see what the possibilities are – or aren’t. For example, a sub-3 marathon for a 44-year old man equates to 73.45%. That’s means I have to get back into the shape I was in 2007 to even have a shot at that kind of time. Of course, that reminds me of the scene from Dumb and Dumber.

Lloyd: What do you think the chances are of a guy like you and a girl like me... ending up together?

Mary: Well, Lloyd, that's difficult to say. I mean, we don't really...

Lloyd: Hit me with it! Just give it to me straight! I came a long way just to see you, Mary. The least you can do is level with me. What are my chances?

Mary: Not good.

Lloyd: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?

Mary: I'd say more like one out of a million.

[pause]

Lloyd: So you're telling me there's a chance... *YEAH!*

BRIAN KRAFT 5K

As I mentioned last time, the little ‘5K’ at work got me excited to see what I could do on a certified course. In the Twin Cities, Memorial Day means the Brian Kraft Memorial 5K. I’ve written about this race numerous times. It’s just over one lap around Lake Nokomis and the lagoon, making it flat and fast. It’s also small (this year’s race only had 474 finishers), but nearly every fast runner in the state is there. I had a solid race this year, but I was still 158th place overall, 136th man out of 292, and in the 40-49 age group I was right in the middle, placing 32nd out of 65 runners.

More importantly, I was about 15 seconds faster than my work 5K. My splits still need a little work, as I ran 6:03, 6:12, 6:20, and :39 for a final time of 19:14. But while I slowed a little during each of the miles, I was moving up in the field throughout the entire race. Again, this is about 15 seconds per mile faster than I was racing 18 months ago, so things are looking up.

Now I have to decide what to do. The marathon is constantly tugging at me, but I honestly don’t know if I want to go down that route again. On the other hand, if I just run short stuff, there aren’t a whole lot of races that I’d run that wouldn’t fit in with marathon training. So I guess that means I’m leaning towards TCM.

Here are the complete results for the men and women.