LUTSEN PHOTOS

Me and Kinsey kayaking, while most people were at work. Look at that synchronization of our padels.

Katie and Kinsey at Gooseberry Falls.

Kinsey and Katie looking at Lake Superior. No, they don't always get along this well. Just look at that blue sky!

Katie and Amy riding the gondola at Lutsen.

Me and Kinsey riding the gondola.

Our "puppy" Bailey at Gooseberry Falls.

A pile of my shoes that I photographed to go along with an upcoming article I wrote. No, this has nothing to do with Lutsen, but it's still a running blog.

WORD OF MOUTH (AGAIN)

We’ll start off today’s post with a little word of mouth. If you haven’t found it yet, be sure to check out Team USA Minnesota’s Matt Gabrielson’s blog. Rather than just spitting out a bunch of numbers regarding his training, Matt shares his insights into what it’s like to one of the best runners in the nation – and world. Follow along as he trains for the World Championship marathon that will be run in Berlin next month. That’s Germany. Not to be confused with New Berlin, Wisconsin.

Last year I blogged about the first annual Midsummer Night’s Run. Well, it’s that time again as the second annual event will be held on Thursday, August 13th. Mark your calendars for this small, low-key, 3 mile race through Cleary Lake Regional Park in Savage. Afterwards they had free beer, er, FREE BEER, from not 1, but 2 different local microbrews; Flat Earth and Surly. That alone makes the $30 entry fee worth it. So, while I’d love to finish in the top-3 again, I’d much rather have more people around to party with afterwards – as long as they don’t run out of beer. Who knows, maybe Katie McGregor will come out and party with us again.

Another thing I like about this race and next Wednesday’s Torchlight 5K is that I don’t have to waste a weekend running a 5K. I can mix them in during the middle of the week and then still get in my “real” training on the weekend.

I spent some time last night “adapting” the training plan I laid out 3 weeks ago to take into account the races I’ve decided to run. Torchlight will be my last race in the 35-39 age group. Hennepin Lakes Classic 10K will be my first race as a Master. Then I’ll drink beer, er, run at Midsummer Night’s. On Labor Day I’ll run Victory 10K followed by the City of Lakes 25K. That’s what I have tentatively planned at this time.

Yesterday I ran 12 miles, including 10 with Scott. Most of these were run through Hyland Park. With the terrain and the company, I can always count on these as being moderately hard runs. This morning I ran a very easy 5 miles with some strides. I may try to get in another 5 tonight.

Quote of the Day;

"People do not lack strength; they lack will." – Victor Hugo

WRONG PATH

Ever think you’ve chosen the wrong career path? That thought crossed my mind during a guided kayaking trip via Lutsen Resort. My oldest daughter, Kinsey, and I went on “a 3-hour tour” and I thought that the guide had it pretty good. He kayaked on Lake Superior in the morning and then on a calmer in-land lake in the afternoon. In the winter he leads cross-country skiing and snowshoeing tours. Sounds like a good gig if you can get it.

We also spent time riding the gondola at the ski hill, skipping rocks, playing shuffle board, swimming (in a pool), eating s’mores, and checking out Gooseberry Falls.

Monday I was supposed to run 9 miles with 4 x 5 minutes at 10K pace. Having never been to Lutsen before, I didn’t really know where to run. I knew there were some trails by the ski hill, including the Superior Hiking Trail, so I just parked at a trail head and started running. Note: it’s pretty hard to run confidently when you are on new trails and you have no idea where you’re going. One minute I was on a nice trail, then all the sudden I was running in wet knee-high grass. When that happened, I turn around and found a different trail. I ventured onto the Superior Hiking Trail only to find it incredibly rocky and rooty (is that a word?). I wasn’t so much “running” as I was doing that high knee tire drill that football players do.

Needless to say, there was no way I was going to manage 4 x 5 minutes at 10K pace. Instead, I managed 9 miles and just tried to run at a moderate pace when I had good footing. Then at the end of the run, I ran up to the top of the hill where the Alpine Slide is located. I would have loved to have a camera with me, but the thought of falling and landing on my camera crossed my mind.

Yesterday we had to check out by 11, so I didn’t want to “waste” time running. I thought I’d do it when I got back home, but I eventually talked myself out of running. I had lots of “good” excuses; 1) it was 8:45 PM by the time I would have started my run and the thought of running, even an easy 5-6 miles, and then getting up at 5 AM didn’t seem too appealing, 2) my hip was sore either from sitting in a car all day, running up ski hills, or kayaking (yeah, having to steer with my legs seemed awkward), 3) I’m used to Pfitz’s program where I was taking one day off per week and I’ve just run 10 days in a row. So I’m easing into fewer days off.

One of the nice things about Brad’s “adaptive” approach to training is that if I miss or change a workout, I’m just adapting to how my body is responding. So I shouldn’t have any guilty feelings.

This morning I ran 10 miles and was able to get in my 4 x 5 minutes at 10K pace.

Quote of the Day;

"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” - Epictetus

BORING POST

We're off to Lutsen for 3 days this morning. Not sure if I'll have internet access, so I thought I'd at least update my latest training.

Thursday I ran 10 miles (8 with Scott), mostly in Hyland Park. The last mile we dropped down to 6:40.

Friday I ran an easy 5 miles with 4 x 8 second hill sprints at the end.

Saturday I joined my regular group for 16 miles. The first 13 were just under 8:00 pace and then I ran the last 3 miles at 6:43 pace.

This morning I ran 8 easy with 6 x 8 second hill sprints.

CAGE THE BLACKBIRD

Just when I thought I wouldn’t have anything to write about today, a red-winged blackbird swooped out of the sky and scared the shit out of me.

This morning I was running an easy 8 miles, minding my own business, listening to my new favorite band - Cage the Elephant - when, all the sudden there was a loud hiss in my ear. Now I’ve had these effin’ birds dive-bomb at me before, but I can’t ever remember having one fly right next to me and hiss in my ear. Just once I’d like to take a tennis racket to one of them. And don’t even get me started on the geese…

I think I’m going to change the “Summer of Chad” to the “Summer of Brad”. Hmm, that’d be SOB – maybe that’s not the best option. I’ll keep thinking about it. In the meantime, here are some more Hudson-isms;

Key sharpening workouts are most effective when they closely simulate the speed and endurance demands of your race.

The aerobic system is only one of two major physiological factors in the running performance equation. The neuromuscular system (stride power, stride efficiency, and fatigue resistance) is the other major factor.

The adaptive running approach to aerobic development is not maximize aerobic development, possibly at the expense of neuromuscular fitness factors and/or specific endurance, but to cultivate just the right level of aerobic support to achieve race goals.

There are three specific jobs you must accomplish in your training to develop the level of aerobic support you need to achieve a peak-race goal. First, you must build and maintain adequate running volume, as average weekly running volume is the strongest influencer of aerobic fitness. Second, you must develop a sufficient level of raw endurance to comfortably cover the distance of your peak race. Third, you must perform workouts that are more and more challenging to your aerobic system as the training cycle unfolds.

I’m pretty confident that my neuromuscular system is pretty much dormant. So I hope there’s a lot of room for improvement. Again, that’s one of the reasons from switching for just a pure mileage goal for the summer. It’s also part of the reason for switching from such programs as Pfitz and Daniels this time around.

Quote of the Day;

"It is hard to fail but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” – Theodore Roosevelt

INTERESTING STUFF

How about I start with a training update, since it’s been so long since my last post?

Thursday: 8 miles with Evan, including the last 5 minutes at MP.
Friday: I slacked off and recorded a zero.
Saturday: Group run - everyone seemed to be in holiday mode. We made it 12.5 miles and no one really seemed into it.

That gave me 50.5 miles for the week.

Sunday: 6.5 miles, including 4 x 8 second hill sprints.
Monday: 8 miles with 8 x 40 seconds between 3K and 10K pace with 1:20 jog. The black flies are starting to appear.
Tuesday: 11 miles on the LRT.

Some of the stuff I find interesting about Brad Hudson’s book;

1) I like how he talks about year-over-year improvements to training. It seems like common sense, but how many of us sit down after the season and look at what worked and what didn’t work? In addition to increasing mileage over the years, he talks about adding more “work” from year to year. That could be in the form of the number of workouts, starting workouts earlier in the year, doing more reps, etc.

2) He talks about gearing your training so that you’re able to hit all your workouts in your peak week. “Peak” meaning the largest amount of work – not necessarily the most mileage. If you can’t hit your goal times during this peak week, which occurs right before your taper, then you need to think about adjusting your race day goal.

3) He’s all about having your plan written in pencil and adapting as you go along. Each day you basically have 3 plans; Plan A is your original training for the day, Plan B is the days training scaled back, Plan C is an easy day or day off. Basically, if you can’t run Plan A, he suggests cutting the workload for the day (for example, instead of a 30-minute tempo, you’d only run a 15-minute tempo) rather than postponing it. He feels postponing it has a domino effect of pushing other workouts. If you can't scale back, then take it easy or take the day off.

4) He’ll include different stimulus – even at the end of easy runs – to help push your fitness level. So you’ll see lots of easy runs with the last 5-10 minutes at a moderate pace. He feels if you can add this little extra – without adversely affecting your next workout – then you should add it.

5) Along the lines of #4, he talks about doing more than just surviving your long runs. Therefore, he’ll mix in some quicker paces towards the end of them.

I’m sure there’s lots more to come, but so far so good.

Quote of the Day;

"I’m glad that shit’s over with.” – Doug Suker at the end of Saturday’s group run

BUILT-IN EXCUSE

All right, with all, er, I mean both of the comments left after yesterday’s post, I can tell you’re all dying to know the answer to the trivia question. In the early 80s, Grandma’s stopped timing at 4:30. This year that was probably the average time.

Working in marketing, we talk a lot about single variable testing – but only changing one thing it allows you to read the test results better. Well, that got me thinking. Since I’m already have a new training plan that I’m following, I basically have a built-in excuse not to do anything else differently. Therefore, I shouldn’t worry about adding in strength training, stretching, eating better, etc. If I didn’t do any of that prior to Grandma’s, I shouldn’t do it prior to Whistlestop.

Last year I volunteered on the TCM’s public relations committee and ended up writing a bunch of press releases and gathered bio info. After one year I thought my “talents” could be put to better use to serve the local running community. I wasn’t really sure what that would mean at the time, but now I do. I’m in the process of pumping new life back into Jack Moran’s Yearbook. For 20 years Jack create a year-end review of running in Minnesota that included Runner of the Year rankings by age-group along with commentary, top performances for the year and a list of all-time time performances. He “retired” after publishing his last book in 2005. That means the Yearbook has been sorely missed for 3 years. It’s time to bring it back.

I ran 6 miles this morning with 3 x 8 second hill sprints. It was 55 and misty again. I’m pretty sure that we’re only going to have one hot day this year. June 20th!

Quote of the Day;

"The marathon is an obsession. It has to be.” – Mark Bloom

GOOD COMPANY

If you’ve been following along for awhile, you probably know I’m a numbers guy. Well last night I was looking through some of my dad’s stuff from the early 1980s. He has the results for Grandma’s Marathon from 1980 – 1982. I thought it’d be fun to compare my time and place from this year to similar times and places for those years.

1980 --- 1981 --- 1982 --- 2009
601st --- 960th --- 926th --- 151st
2:47:03 --- 2:39:39 --- 2:43:19 --- 3:09:43

At least I’m in good company, place-wise. Had I placed 151st in those 3 years, I’d have finished near local legends like; Jack Moran, Alex Ratelle, Brian Kraft, and Olympians Janis Klecker and Ron Daws. That’s some good company.

And get this, I talked about Jared Mondry’s awesome 3:07 at age 67 this year, which placed him 134th. Well, as a 38-year-old in 1981, he placed 126th.

One of the most impressive things from that era is the number of people constantly streaming across the finish line. From 2:50 to 2:55 you’d see 128 runners and from 2:55 to 3:00 there’d be another 158. That’s a 5-minute window with more finishers than from 2:15 to 3:10 this year. Thought of another way, that’s nearly one runner every 2 seconds.

Finally, does anyone want to take a guess at what the cutoff time was in those years? That’s today’s trivia question. I’ll post the answer tomorrow.

Running-wise, I ran an easy 10 miles this morning; 40:35 out and 39:35 back. It was 55 degrees and misty and I was thinking it would make for perfect weather at Grandma’s. I’m sure this year’s conditions won’t help with all the “Grandma’s is always hot” banter. And I’d really love to be able to say I won’t be back next year, but I really love this whole event. Besides, the year I decide not to run is the year it’ll be 55 degrees and misty.

Quote of the Day;

"With a marriage, you can change your mind.” – Juma Ikangaa, on the major difference between one’s commitment to running and one’s commitment to marriage

DIFFERENT HORSE

Well, after a full week of zeros in the logbook, I got back on the horse Saturday with a 6 mile run and followed that up with 8 miles this morning. While I’m back on the horse, it’s a different horse this time around. While following Pfitz’s plan for Grandma’s I noted the lack of tempos (4) and speed workouts (4) during the 12-week program. While that makes the program manageable – especially after skiing all winter – I’m not sure it’s best suited for getting me to the finish line the quickest.

So I’ve decided to give Brad Hudson’s program a shot after checking his book out from the library. He also has a website and there’s a Running Times article on him here.

He talks a lot about adaptive training and constantly evaluating how things are going and making changes along the way. To me it sounds a lot like Double’s comments about running hard when you feel good and backing off when you don’t. He also has some interesting thoughts on building muscular strength through short intense hill sprints. For example, yesterday’s 6 mile run included 2 x 8 seconds up the steepest hill I could find. That’s it for the first workout. Of course, the number of reps will increase weekly.

There are some other concepts that I found interesting too. I’m sure you’ll be hearing about them in the near future. Right now I’m on week #1 with the plan to run Whistlestop in the fall.

Quote of the Day;

"One of the things I’m sure of in training is to always change your stimulus. We’re always trying to throw things at the nervous system: Even on a long run, we’ll do a minute on, minute off, running harder at the end, we do tempo runs uphill. . . . Too often people are just doing the same training all the time." – Brad Hudson

DRENCHED RAT

FUN WITH NUMBERS

I spent some more timing looking at the results from Saturday. It looks like all of the 150 people ahead of me at the finish line were also ahead of me at the halfway point. So no one passed me during the second half of the race. And it looks like I passed at least 207 people;

# passed – between places
44 – 152-200
72 – 201-300
40 – 301-400
24 – 401-500
9 – 501-600
8 – 601-700
2 – 701-800
7 – 801-900
1 – 901-1000

That puts me at 358th place, not counting people that dropped out. I’ll be sure to keep this info in mind the next time my ego has a problem with people streaming by me early in a marathon.

The recovery is going well. The only other time I can remember my legs feeling better after a marathon was after Whistlestop, which is run on crushed limestone and is pancake flat. I haven’t run a step since Saturday yet, but am kind of getting the itch to start The Summer of Chad. Actually, I’ve been giving that a little more thought lately. It’s not going to be strictly a summer of running as many miles as possible – but I do plan to up my mileage from my last training cycle. It’s going to be a summer of paying more attention to my training and not being content with just slogging through a lot of miles. More to come on this later.

Quote of the Day;

“Do most of us want life on the same calm level as a geometrical problem? Certainly we want our pleasures more varied with both mountains and valleys of emotional joy, and marathoning furnishes just that.” – Clarence DeMar

DAMN IMPRESSIVE

I remember writing this after a Memorial Day 5K after placing 123rd;

Seriously, I could possibly place 123rd out of 7,000 runners at Grandma's - last year 123rd ran 3:01. Yet in the 5K I'm 123rd out of 506 runners.

It looks like Saturday’s results have been tweaked a little and I finished 151st out of 5,958. That’s my highest finish at Grandma’s ever – having finished 168th on two other occasions. Those other two years had 700 and 900 more finishers, so my percentage was a little worse this year, but not by much.

I have to give a shout out to one of my roommates from the weekend – no not you, Tappe. Sorry. I was fortunate to share a dorm room with Jared (and David). Jared is 67-years-old and he won the 65-69 age group by 30 minutes - the largest age-group victory on the day for men - when he ran 3:07:22. That broke the previous course record for that age-group by 7 minutes. Just to give you a sense of his performance, let’s look at how he would have placed in every single age-group. 20-29 and 30-34 are the only two age groups where he would not have placed in the top-15. He would have placed 5th in 50-54 and won every age-group higher than that, as well as the 13-19 age-group. Pretty damn impressive, if you ask me.

After my TCM report I got “scolded” for saying I wanted to beat certain people more than others because of things like their outfit or their running style. The scolding didn’t help as the same thoughts crossed my mind on Saturday. For instance, there was a guy wearing full-length black compression tights on a day when it was 75+ and sunny. How could I not want to beat him? I was pretty sure he was mine when I saw him walk 3 times between miles 3 and 5.

Then there were two guys with shirts that read “Why are you chasing me?” on the back. Maybe it’s not what they intended, but I thought of it as an “I’m in front of you” type shirt. As they went by me around mile 3, one of them mentioned being 15 seconds behind pace. The other one told him not to worry because they’d be able to make up the time. I know I caught one of them – not sure what happened to the other.

It’d be nice if there was a way to keep track of certain people on the course and then see how they ended up running for the day. For example, a guy came by me just after the halfway mark. He said it was his first marathon. He also mentioned that a couple of weeks ago he had just run a 1:37 – keep in mind we just passed the half in 1:35. I’m curious what happened to him.

Finally, I’ve tried using heart rate monitors in the past, but I don’t like them. Given how people extol the virtues of a HRM, shouldn’t they help you on a day like Saturday? From what I can tell, they either don’t help or people aren’t listening to them. And if you’re not going to listen to it, why wear it? Just curious.

Quote of the Day;

“I've always felt that I put everything on the line in every race I have ever run. And if you do that, no matter what the clock says, there are no bad races.” – Jared Mondry

GRANDMA'S MARATHON RACE REPORT

When I wrote last Thursday's post about refusing to worry about the weather, I was still secretly hoping we'd get decent conditions. Of course, that didn't happen, but it was even worse than normal. Maybe not worse in terms of final temps - although some say they were the worst conditions ever - but worse in terms of being teased on Friday evening. My parents live about 70 miles east of Duluth. When I left their house, it was 80+ and sunny. When I pulled into Duluth around 4 PM, it was 55 degrees and foggy. Runners were almost giddy with anticipation of waking up to perfect conditions on Saturday.

Well, it was all a cruel joke. Hoping to find a cup of coffee before getting on the bus, I opened the door at 5:15 to 63 degrees without a single cloud in the sky. Right then I knew my window of 2:59 - 3:04 was closed. Again, not a big deal, I'd just adjust my strategy and race for place more than time. Now the question becomes; “What is the correct pace for such conditions?” Well, 3:04 is 7:00 pace, so it has to be slower than that. I figure it should be another 10-15 seconds slower per mile - quick math says that's about a 3:10 marathon.

I was able to start the race by running with Jim. I can honestly say, this is the first marathon that I've ever wanted to drop out of - during the first mile! Seriously, my legs felt flat. I knew I'd be fine within 2-3 miles, but I definitely wasn't happy at the start.

Mile 1 passed in 7:04 - about 10 seconds too fast. I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but I also know that 10 seconds per mile too fast can ruin a marathon when conditions are ideal. Given our circumstances, I knew I needed to slow down. That's a lot easier said than done when you're 2 miles into a marathon and people are streaming by you left and right - it's not easy on the ego. But about this time I thought about Thursday’s post where I mentioned being street smart and having the ability to run smart in the heat. I figured I’d really look bad if I screwed up after writing that.

I managed a 7:13 second mile and the legs started to come around. I was still running with Jim, but it felt like he wanted to go faster than I did. That was confirmed with a 7:09 third mile and I eased up - finally letting him go. From there I settled in with splits of 7:16 and 7:18 for miles 4 and 5.

I used to think I had my pre-race nutrition figured out. I think it was at the 2001 Grandma's Marathon where I met a guy on a message board and he suggested more of a liquid breakfast. He would drink 32 oz. of Gatorade about 3 hours before the race and then wouldn't drink anything until 10 minutes before the race. This helped him get hydrated, top off his carbs and he was able to process the 32 oz. before the start. I tried it and I found it work a lot better than trying to choke down a lot of food with butterflies in my stomach and then nervously sipping water the whole bus ride to the start - and then having to stop and pee during the race. Well, it worked for a while, but now I think I've had to stop and pee during my last 3-4 marathons. This time it happened during mile 6. When I got back on the road who do I see coming by? It's the 3:10 pacer with a group of about 30 runners.

As you can probably tell by my letting Jim go early in the race, I prefer to run my own race. However, with a 3:10 in the back of my mind, I thought I'd give running with them a try. I was immediately greeted with a 7:01 mile. The pacer apologized to everyone, but I think he overcompensated because the next mile was 7:29, which turned out to be my slowest of the day. I was quickly losing patience with the inconsistent pacing, getting annoyed with all the rah-rah banter and tired of the congestion at each water stop. So the next time I felt the pace quicken, I let the group pull about 15 seconds ahead of me. I figured that might be a “fun” vantage point to watch people fall off the back of the pack.

This is what happened during my only other pace team experience at the 2002 TCM. I caught the sub-3 pace group around mile 16. At the time the group was pretty big. I maintained 3-hour pace and somehow pulled away from them by mile 19. My next sighting of the “group” was around mile 24 when the pacer came by me alone. He got his sub-3, but no one was with him.

Nothing too exciting happened as I rattled off 7:08, 14:33 (missed the 10th mile marker), 7:00 and 7:10, which means I reached the halfway mark in 1:35:09. While I knew I was right on my target pace, I also knew that I’ve only run negative splits once or twice out of 14 marathons or so. Therefore, I wasn’t 100% convinced that I was running the correct effort for the conditions. But I was feeling pretty good so I let it ride.

Maybe passing the halfway mark caused something to kick in, as the pace dropped a little. Mile 14 (6:57) turned out to be my only sub-7 of the day and I followed that with 7:08 and 7:09. Now I’m at mile 16 and I’m starting to catch lots of people. Unfortunately, I know quite a few of them and it’s tough to see friends struggle.

I’ve mentioned that mile 16 is important in a marathon because you’re either thinking darn I still have 10 to go or dang I only have 10 to go. Well, I was actually somewhere in between those two extremes. I wasn’t feeling so awesome that I never wanted the race to end and I wasn’t feeling so crapping that I was ready to step off the course. I was just kind of happy to be clicking off the miles without any sign of slowing down - although my splits for miles 17 and 18 crept up to 7:18 and 7:19 and I wondered if it was the beginning of the end. During mile 19 there’s a nice downhill and I was able to stem the tide with a 7:04, but that was followed by a 7:22 – again, I was thinking here comes the inevitable slowdown.

The nice thing about this point of the race is that the aid stations are now 1 mile apart instead of 2. All along I’ve been following the strategy I used during my 2007 Grandma’s where I managed to PR in somewhat similar conditions. Basically at every aid station I’d drink 1-2 cups of water, pour 1-2 cups of water over my head, grab a sponge, and throw a cup of ice down my shorts. Yep, down the shorts – shrinkage and all. I don’t know if it helps cool my core, but it doesn’t seem to hurt. I took gels at mile 5, 11 and 17. I planned on another gel somewhere between 20 and 22 but my stomach wasn’t feeling the best so I skipped that last gel. It didn’t really seem to hurt me as I rattled off splits of 7:14 and 7:13 to get me to mile 22.

By now I figure the wheels are not going to come completely off and I pick up my effort on Lemon Drop Hill, resulting in a 7:15 mile. All this time the 3:10 pacer is still in front of me, but his group has been whittled down to about 4 people. I passed them with a 7:18 24th mile and use the crowd to pull me to a 7:06 25th mile. Again, quick math tells me that, barring some unforeseen circumstances, I'll be in under 3:10. The never-ending 26th mile around the DECC, past the William Irvin ship, and back under Lake Street seems to be the longest mile on the course – probably because we’ve been going in a straight line for 25 miles and now we’re finally turning in different directions. The last mile took 7:25 before closing in 1:34 for a 3:09:43 - a 35 second negative split.

Again, that wasn’t the kind of time I was looking for 12 weeks ago when I started my training, but I doubt many people ran what they wanted to. In the end, I’m happy with how smart I ran. I said it’s a race and the idea is to place as high as possible. I ended up placing 147th out of 5,891 finishers. I can guarantee that there were more than 146 runners in front of me halfway into the race.

All right, this is already my longest race report ever. If you’ve made it this far – get back to work. Thanks for reading - I’m sure there will be more thoughts throughout the week.

SHORT REPORT

As everyone has probably heard or read, it was another hot, humid, cloudless day in Duluth. Somehow I managed to negative split. My moto: if you can't be fast, be smart.

Chad Austin
bib number: 4516
age: 39
gender: M
location: Apple Valley, MN
overall place: 147 out of 5891
division place: 16 out of 516
gender place: 129 out of 3637
time: 3:09:52
pace: 7:15
10k: 45:34
13.1: 1:35:09
20 mile: 2:24:41
25 mile: 3:00:46
last 10k: 45:02
chip time: 3:09:43

Quote of the day;

"It's a great day... for fishing." - Jared Mondry, as we stepped outside at 5:30 AM on race day

REFUSAL

Ah, 12 solid weeks of training and it all comes down to one key question… What will the weather be like on race day?

Well, I refuse to make that the sole focus of this weekend. In fact, I refuse to even think about it until race morning – and only then will it be to finalize my race plan. I mean the object is still the same, no matter what the weather is – to place as high as possible. It is a race after all. And if I think about it from that aspect, I’m almost better off if it is warm. Not that I’m a great warm weather runner – I hate it like most other people. But I think I’m, dare I say, smarter than most runners. I’m not talking about book smarts, I’m talking about streets smarts. You know, the kind that only comes from having gone out too fast on a warm day myself. I think it helps that I don’t have a set time goal that I have to achieve. Sure I’d like to run sub-3, but I’ve done it before, so it’s not as big of a deal. There’s no BQ that I’m chasing and I’m not in PR shape. So if I wake up Saturday morning and the best course of action is 3:15 pace, then so be it. I’ll just enjoy passing all the people that didn’t adjust their goals.

One of the reasons I bring this up is because I haven’t looked at a single weather report, yet I’m still bombarded with updates. The funny thing is that they’re all different. This morning, a running co-worker of mine, who’s not even running the marathon, told me the conditions look favorable. At lunchtime I went to TCRC to get some gels and Kurt told me conditions don’t look very good. So I have no idea what to think. Therefore, I’ll worry about the things I can control and take what Mother Nature gives me on Saturday.

Now that doesn’t mean I’ll be back to Grandma’s next year if it’s hot again. At some point "recent history" trumps the “perfect running conditions” that the marathon uses in their marketing materials. For many, that’s already occurred, especially when you factor in the cost of lodging as well as all the new spring marathon options that have surfaced this year. It has occurred for me yet, but another warm day on the North Shore could seal the deal for me.

Quote of the Day;

“Taking a well-trained body through a grueling 26.2 mile race does immeasurably more for the self concept and self-esteem than years with the best psychiatrist.” – Dr. George Sheehan

BETTING MAN

As you can imagine, there’s not a lot going on – just trying to eat lot of carbs and stay off my feet. I mentioned all the food temptations the other day. I’m happy to report that I’ve only had 2 pieces of taffy. I think that’s pretty darn good given all the cakes, bars, fudge, etc. that have been throughout the office lately.

Yesterday I ran my last “hard” workout. It ended up being 7.5 miles with 2 of them at MP. I ran with Scott and we ran 13:15 for the 2 miles. That’s probably 10-15 seconds faster than my MP, but I’m okay with that. It was only 2 miles and mainly designed to keep some intensity in my week.

This morning I had to “even out” out my log book. Since I don’t like having half-mile increments just hanging there, I ran 4.5 miles. Now I feel better and my log book thanks me.

I was thinking about what kind of time I’ll run on Saturday and – if I were a betting man and given a 5-minute window – I’d predict between 2:59 and 3:04. Of course, all the typical “if the weather cooperates” disclaimers apply. Right now my game plan is to run 6:50 pace until – as John Naslund would say – the wheels come off. Hopefully that won’t happen and I’ll stroll across the line in 2:59.

With the marathon on my mind, I totally forgot to mention my last interview.

Quote of the Day;

“I think a lot comes from how much I love to run. I have fun at races, the gathering of other great runners and the cheering of my family and friends creates an environment that I love and feel so comfortable in.” - Thea Fleming.

IN THE ARENA

No matter how many of these things I train for, I’m not sure I’ll ever understand why I feel so lethargic during the taper. I suppose any change to your routine is going to cause some change in how you feel. However, if I cut mileage and get more rest, shouldn’t I feel refreshed? I’m sure I will in a day or two, but the last 3 days have been more sluggish than anything.

Overall, I think I eat pretty healthy. But I have no problem grabbing a cookie or three when the opportunity arises. With less than a week to go, I do try to cut out more junk and avoid some of the empty calories. Well it appears someone is testing my willpower at work. This morning there were 2 boxes of doughnuts, 2 big blocks of fudge that must weigh a pound each, and a box full of saltwater taffy at the office. Plus, a gal stopped by and said to save room for chocolate cake this afternoon to celebrate a co-worker’s birthday. And tomorrow is her birthday, so I’m sure they’ll have more sweets then. So far I’ve been able to avoid everything, but if I’m still at my fighting weight on Saturday, I’ll be lucky.

Training-wise, if anyone cares, I ran 11 miles on Saturday, which gave me 48 miles for the week. Sunday was a day off. For some reason Pfitz has two runs scheduled for today totaling 9 miles. I’m not sure how that would really differ from just have a single 9 mile run. Maybe it’s his way of keeping from eating all night long – if I’m out running, I won’t be snacking.

I’m sure I’ve used this QOD before, but it seems appropriate anytime a big race draws near.

Quote of the Day;

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt

ALMOST GUARANTEE

It’s always great in the winter when you have a warm spell that allows you to wear shorts. Usually that gets me wondering what the earliest date is that I’ve ever worn shorts in the winter. I can’t say the opposite – when is the latest I’ve ever worn long pants in the spring - has ever crossed my mind.

At least not until this week.

Tuesday morning it was only 45 degrees in the morning. Sure I could have worn shorts, but with a marathon on the horizon and strides planned for the morning, I played it safe. The cool temps lately and talk on the radio of “the year without a summer” almost guarantee that it will be 114 degrees in Duluth next Saturday.

Wednesday morning was my last hard workout, 8 miles with 3 x 1 mile at 5K pace. I was probably closer to 8K pace with my sub-6:20s, but that’s all right. That night my first “phantom injury” appeared. For some reason the bottom of my right foot was really sore. So I thought it would be a good idea to go back and read the article I wrote on marathoning after last year’s TCM. It worked as I felt fine during yesterday’s easy 5 miles.

This morning was a nice hour-long run on the trails of Hyland with Evan - fresh off his 2:50 at Christchurch.

8 days to go…

Quote of the Day;

“Then there are the phantom injuries that pop up. These are the aches and pains that occur in places I’ve never had any problems ever before. If I survive all of this – while resting and stuffing my face with carbs – I’ll start to feel incredible about four days before the race.” - me

CONTROL MY OWN FATE

I've mentioned that I've been re-reading Dr. George Sheehan lately. As I was approaching the finish line this morning, I was thinking about this passage from Running & Being.

The Eastern Two-Mile Championship for fifty-and-over held on Cape May was no different from an other two-mile race I have ever run. The first mile was smooth and rhythmic, the second a painful agonzing effort to maintain the pace of the first mile.

I had run the first mile in 5:28, cruising along in the steady wake of New Zealander Bob Harmon, and both of us about fifty yards astern of Browning Ross, onetime king of the forty-and-overs, now in his first over-fifty race. But as we turned for home I began to feel the heaviness in the legs, the aching muscles and the breathing getting difficult.

And then as Harmon made his move to pull up on Ross, I was faced with the choice. Accept the challenge and maintain contact, or settle for a respectable third place. It was the moment that decided the race.

Some say races are decided beforehand. Depends on the runner's motivation. If so, I would be a loser. Prior to the start, I had conceded to Ross and Harmon and was hoping to beat the rest of the twenty-five-man field. But motivation, it seems to me, rarely stands up to pain. No matter how determined you are, that determination is conceived in a pain-free atmosphere. It has no relation to the real world that comes into being shortly after starting the second mile.

Still, if motivation enhances performance, task aversion, the psychological response to the discomforts of lactic-acid accumulation, the anticipation of future agonies certainly diminishes it. Where motivation paints the future in unnaturally rosy hues, task aversion pictures it in somber grays and funeral blacks.

Task aversion is not new. Even the God-man asked that the cup might pass. We all have the tendency to give up. Army physiologist R. A. Kinsman reported that subjects working on a bicycle ergometer at fifty-six percent of aerobic capacity had quitting time ranging from one-and-a-half to ninety-eight minutes.

When Harmon made his move, I was battling all three elements of fatigue: motivation, lactic acid and task aversion. If I went with Harmon, if I maintained contact, it would mean the escalation of effort in trying to catch the supposedly unbeatable Ross, and, even worse, the possibility of actually catching up to him and then having to sprint, God knows how, to the finish. What that would mean to my already suffering body was too cruel to contemplate.

But, cruel or not, I chose the race. And, having made the decision, concentrated on Harmon's shoes. And while I sat in behind him, using his draft, focusing my attention on his feet, narrowing the whole world to just him and me, we reached Ross and passed him.

Now the pain and tension and the apprehension became unbearable. My great desire was not so much to slow down as to sprint. To sprint and get it over with, no matter how painful it might be.

And that was the way it was. With almost a full quarter to go, I took off. Not because I could stand the pain better than the other two, but because I couldn't. And because I wanted to control my own fate. Set my own pace and not accept theirs.

This much-too-early move took them by surprise and they waited, and that was fatal. By the time they came back at me, I was beyond catching because I was beyond pain.

I was moving in a sea of lactic acid, lifting legs that no longer understood what made them move. My breathing came in short, inadequate gasps, but my body no longer cared. I had broken through a barrier just as surely as I broke through the tape at the finish.

Fatigue, you see, does depend on motivation and lactic acid and task aversion, but it also depends on something else. Man's limits are not simply in his cells or even in his brain. You can measure lactic acid and stimulate brain areas with an electrode and make a person's arms and legs move. But there is no place in the brain where stimulation will cause a person to decide. No substance in his blood that cause him to believe.

That choice, that act of faith, is made in the mind. And in answering the great question. "Will you or won't you have it so?" we find the energy that conquers fatigue and conquers ourselves as well.

Too bad we all couldn't write race reports like that. Phrases like "But motivation rarely stands up to pain" and "Not because I could stand the pain better than the other two, but because I couldn't" and "I was beyond catching because I was beyond pain" might be a overly romantic, but what runner doesn't dream about staring pain in the face and coming out on top?

DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID

Less than 2 weeks to go. That seems to be the time when I get the most questions regarding my upcoming marathon. How's your training going? How are you feeling? What are you shooting for? And so on. Normally, I have to mention some sort of setback that I've experienced along the way, which, if nothing else, has left my confidence in question. Well, there's none of that this time around. I'd have to look back at all my marathon build-ups to see if I've had any others go this smoothly. I can't remember any off the top of my head.

I ran my last "long" run yesterday - a 16 miler that gave me 55 miles for the week. This morning I ran my last tune-up, Grand Old Days 8K. The only goal for the day; don't do anything stupid. I accomplished that and ended up running 15 seconds faster than at the Human Race 8K in March. After missing the first mile my splits were 12:30, 6:27, 6:23 and 6:08.

Normally, towards the end of the race, I have no problem "letting" someone beat me. By that point in the race, I'm usually content just to be finished. Whether or not I finish a place or two higher is of little concern. Today I decided to challenge that philosophy. I spent the last 2 miles running with another guy. With probably 200-300 meters to go I decide to pick up the pace. I figured I didn't care if the guy beat me, but I at least wanted to make him work a little. Who knows, maybe I could hold him off and develop a new philosophy.

I did.

NOT A PEEP

National Running Day.

I slept in.

Don't worry, I'll run tonight.

Basically, this is a non-running related post. Just have a few thoughts that crossed my mind at work lately.

1) Anyone else think it's strange for guys to wear sandals at work? For some reason it just looks out of place to me.

2) How am I supposed to abbreviate cummulative? I'm pretty sure "cum" shouldn't be used - and "cumm" isn't much better. Any suggestions?

3) I hate taking a crap at work - but today was really uncomfortable as the guy next to me made absolutely no noise. I mean come on, how about a cough, grunt, fart, etc. He literally sat there for 3 minutes without a sound. I thought he was dead.

Quote of the day;

"The little I need, I need very much. The little I want, I want very much." - Dr. George Sheehan

NOT TOO SHABBY

I ran my last 20 miler on Saturday. That gave me 70 miles for the week and 296 for the month. When May began I added up all the miles on Pfitz’s schedule and I think it came to 304. So, overall, not too shabby.

Sunday I watched the Minneapolis Marathon at around mile 23. I’m not sure if I should be fired up or scared to death for Grandma’s after watching another marathon. Even the people that look good can still look miserable – if you know what I mean.

I was thinking about the weather for all of these local spring marathons (Fargo, Eau Claire, Green Bay, LaCrosse, Stillwater, Minneapolis, etc) and it seems like they’ve all been pretty decent. It makes me wonder if the Grandma’s folks are praying for the cool conditions that they always seem to hang their hat on – but never seem to materialize. We’ve already seen that their numbers are down due to the supply and demand of races to choose from (and expensive hotel rooms). Another hot day on June 20th could affect the number of entrants in 2010 too. I guess I’ll worry about that later.

Monday I headed back to the track for my next to last speedwork. It was another round of 600s and another round with the wind. After a slow first repeat, I decided to not time any of the remaining repeats. With less than 3 weeks to the marathon I don’t really care what my 600 meter times are. I figure more harm can be done, mentally, than benefit gained, by timing my repeats.

This morning I ran 11 miles, about half of which were with Rick. I would say I’m “edging towards” my taper. This week is still scheduled to be 60 miles. And with a race planned on Sunday – which is usually my day off – I’ll be up near 70 again from Monday to Sunday. So it'll be more of a 2 week taper this time.

Quote of the Day;

“Writing is never easy. And no matter how well done, never to one's satisfaction. Writing, someone said, is turning blood into ink. Whatever, the idea of suffering is so natural to both writers and runners it seems to be a common bond. And therefore no surprise when one turns out to be both.” – Dr. George Sheehan

EXCRUCIATING DETAILS

I’m sure I’ll have more to write about on “The Summer of Chad” – like excruciating details regarding past training and race results – but I have to get through Grandma’s first.

I just wanted to mention a couple of things regarding my other blog. First, I posted a new interview last night. Second, I started a Facebook group for this site. I figure it might be a good way to discuss things like who to interview and what questions to ask, as well as, another venue for giving exposure to people that are running well.

Oh, and speaking of exposure – since you may know I have a love/hate relationship with triathlons and triathletes – here’s a blog that I just heard about that does a great job covering the Minnesota tri scene.

Quote of the Day;

“Right now, I am inoperable, which is different than most cancer patients. Why did I have to be so different? I guess it is because I am so strong and because there is a plan. Now, I need to find and follow the plan.” - Cynthia Brochman

NO DENYING

I ran my last mid-week 15 miler this morning. Two hours alone on the trails of Hyland Park gave me lots of time to think. Too bad I can't remember all those great blog topics I had floating through my head. I'll try my best.

I probably shouldn't be too upset about my 5K results. I think they're pretty much in line with what I ran at the Get in Gear 10K. Plus, I'm beating (or at least a lot closer to) people that were beating me in March. It's just a little frustrating that I've added speed since then, but it didn't translate to my 5K. And I know all about the "you don't need speed for a marathon" comments. That may be true, but there's no denying the numbers. For example, 2 years ago I ran 17:52 at the same 5K and then managed to PR at Grandma's in 2:57:30 (McMillan predicted 2:54). This year's 18:58 ("chip time" - i.e. "my watch") calculates to 3:05. I'm guessing that this year's marathon training program isn't any better than what I did in 2007.

I was thinking if this is what growing old is going to be like, I'm going to have to find a better way to deal with getting slower. Maybe I'll have to start focusing more on competing with the runners around me, rather than running certain times. Or maybe I should start working on new age group PRs this summer. Of course, it doesn't hurt to keep Joey Keillor's advice in mind when he said, "I’ve come to believe that the majority of your satisfaction should come from your present circumstances, and a lesser amount should be reserved for what you hope to be."

I spent a lot of today's run thinking about what I want to do after Grandma's. I know I mentioned focusing on speed, but now I'm leaning towards mileage. Again, there's no denying the numbers. For me, I've run my best when I've run my most miles.

You've probably heard of The Summer of George and maybe even The Summer of Malmo. Well, this is going to be The Summer of Chad. Simply put, that means running as many miles as I can from July - September and seeing what comes out the other side. It could be twisted steel or it could be hamburger. I'll probably be cranky. I might even get injured. I may blog less and possibly even forget my facebook password. I may loss my sex drive. Heck, maybe my wife will even be begging me for some action for a change. Those are all things I'm willing to experience during The Summer of Chad. What better to ring in my 40th year on this planet? I may not end up setting PRs, but it should be memorable.

Quote of the day;

"If you think that life has passed you by, or, even worse, that you are living someone else's life, you can still prove the experts wrong." - Dr. George Sheehan

OUT OF WHACK

A couple of months ago I wrote that I'd never again say that I'm "just" running xyz mileage. At the time I think I was running about 40 miles per week and it felt like a lot.

Well, I lied.

Saturday, I "just" ran 18 miles. Sure that's a lot. But seriously, when your previous week's long run was 22 and you're used to running 15 miles in the middle of the week, 18 on the weekend feels like a piece of cake. I was happy to make my way to Terrace Oaks park in Burnsville for 6 of those miles. I've skied this park a lot, but I've never run there. It was fun to see the trails in a different light. I ended the week with 64 miles.

As I've been transitioning to speedwork lately, I've been a little discouraged that I haven't been able to get down to my 5K pace - estimated at 6:00 pace. Well, today's 5K helped explain why - because that's not my 5K pace! One lap around Lake Nokomis and all I could muster was 6:07 pace. While a 19:01 would place pretty high at most local 5K races, this was the USATF team circuit 5K and I was the 105th male and 123rd overall. Complete results can be found HERE.

If there would have been chip timing, I'd have been under 19, but that's little consolation for a race I ran sub-18 at just 2 years ago. I just need to keep reminding myself that I'm training for a marathon, not a 5K. I basically have no turnover. The entire first mile (6:10) it felt like I was running a tempo run. Just after the first mile I finally started to settle into a rhythm. Although the 2nd mile was only 6:11, it was into the wind and I was able to move up on a few people. I felt strong during the last mile, passed a few more people by dropping down to 6:02 before closing in :38.

It's days like this that make me want to stick to the longer races. It's not that I ran poorly, but everyone else is so much faster. Seriously, I could possibly place 123rd out of 7,000 runners at Grandma's - last year 123rd ran 3:01. Yet in the 5K I'm 123rd out of 506 runners.

Something is out of whack.

Quote of the day;

"Fitness is my life; it is indispensable. I have no alternative, no choice, but to act out this inner drive that seems entirely right for me." - Dr. George Sheehan

ENOUGH ALREADY

First off, enough already with the…

Windiest

Spring

Ever!!!

Man, the last 2 days have been ridiculous. I guess that’s what happens when it goes from 65 degrees to 95 degrees. I’m sure the people running the Stillwater Marathon this weekend are watching the weather closely.

I had a title (1 MONTH) for yesterday, but nothing to say, which kind of makes for a boring post. Grandma’s Marathon is now less than 1 month away.

Things continue to click right along, yesterday I ran an easy 6 miles and this morning Scott and I ran a strong 8. I am getting a little concerned that I’m not getting enough sleep. It has a little to do with staying up a little too late – hard to go to bed at 9 PM when it’s beautiful out and the days are getting long – but has more to do with being wide awake 30-60 minutes before my alarm is supposed to go off. Maybe trying to wake up at 4:15 one day and then 5:30 the next isn’t conducive to getting into a good sleeping pattern. It’s a little weird because I don’t feel overly tired, but I have been doing my highest mileage and now I’m adding speed, so I just want to be cognizant of the little things.

Speaking of Grandma’s, if anyone is looking for a room, let me know. I’ve reserved a 4-bedroom dorm/apt at the College of St. Scholastica and we only have 3 rooms occupied. With an additional person the rooms would be about $125 for the ENTIRE weekend – none of this $200 a night crap.

Quote of the Day;

“My theme is mostly the idea of play. Of bringing back your body, or becoming yourself, a total man. When I write, I tell who I am, what I'm like, what I've discovered running. I'm not embarrassed to expose myself. I don't care what I write as long as it's true.” – Dr. George Sheehan

SIGNS

The other day I was thinking about my apprehension regarding transitioning from skiing to running and signing up for a spring marathon. Again, based on everything I heard, training for a spring marathon after skiing all winter would be rather difficult. The body needs time to get used to pounding the pavement again. Plus there's the urge to ramp up mileage quickly due to the limited number of weeks to train. Of course, those things increase the chance of injury.

Well, it's interesting how 8 weeks of solid training will make all those worries disappear. While my speed might not be exactly where I'd like it yet, I've been feeling really good lately. Just walking around the office, the legs are feeling good. My 2-hour mid-week runs are becoming routine. I'm nearly at my "fighting weight". Lots of signs pointing in the right direction.

After a day off on Sunday to recover, this week started with 9 miles on Monday, including 5 x 600 meters on the track. Again, I wasn't quite able to get down to my 5K pace, but I was a lot closer than my pathetic first track workout last week. Then this morning I was up early for a nice 15 mile run - half which was run with Rick.

Quote of the day;

"My design is thin and linear. I am a nervous, shy noncombatant who has no feeling for people. I do not hunger and thirst after justice. I find no happiness in carnival, no joy in community. I am one with the writers on The New Yorker whom Brendan Gill described. They touched each other only by accident, were secretive about everything, and never introduced anyone properly." - Dr. George Sheehan

NOTHING SPECIAL

I just wrapped up my third week at 67 miles. Nothing special about that number - Pfitz scheduled weeks of 68, 70, 68, 70, but I've added a mile here and there and subtracted a couple of PM runs of 4 miles.

Last week's highlights were a 15 mile run on Tuesday, 12 with 7 @ LT on Thursday and 22 miles yesterday.

After gradually getting faster and running longer during my first 3 tempo runs, Thursday's run was a step back - at least regarding the pace. With blustery conditions, all I could manage was 7 miles at 6:50 pace. Given that my first such workout 5 weeks ago was 4 miles at the same pace, it's hard to be too critical.

It was pretty blustery for yesterday's long run too. It's the middle of May and I still wore pants and gloves. Most of the run was spent around Pike Island and Ft. Snelling in an effort to avoid the wind. I ended up running for 2:57 and felt pretty strong through about 19.

5 weeks to go and I'm feeling good.

Finally, here's my latest interview.

Quote of the day;

"Running is a long evolutionary process. The runner I was 11 years ago when I first started is nowhere close to the runner I am now. The process has taken a lot of work, dedication and patience." - Meghan Armstrong

I AM A RUNNER

If you're a long-time reader of my blog, you probably realize I like to read running books and often include the passages that I find most interesting within my posts. I've included a lot of Dr. George Sheehan's thoughts along the way. For me, his writings cover a wide spectum and usually lead to one of two reactions; 1) I'm throughly engrossed and I end up reading sections over and over - trying to soak it all in or 2) I'm bored out of my mind and barely able to keep my eyes open - because he's way over my head. Anyway, I cracked open his book, Running & Being, again and thought I would share some of those statements, paragraphs, pages, etc. that I found myself reading over and over.

I am a runner. Years ago that statement would have meant little more to me than an accidental choice of sport. A leisure-time activity selected for reasons as superficial as the activity itself.

Now I know better. The runner does not run because he is too slight for football or hasn't the ability to put a ball through a hoop or can't hit a curve ball. He runs because he has to. Because in being a runner, in moving through pain and fatigue and suffering, in imposing stress upon stress, in eliminating all but the necessities of life, he is fulfilling himself and becoming the person he is.

I have given up many things in this becoming process. None was a sacrifice. When something clearly became nonessential, there was no problem in doing without. And when something clearly became essential, there was no problem accepting it and whatever went with it.

From the outside, this runner's world looks unnatural. The body punished, the appetities denied, the satisfactions delayed, the motivations that drive most men ignored. The truth is that the runner is not made for the things and people and institutions that surround him. To use Aldous Huxley's expression, his small guts and feeble muscles do not permit him to eat or fight his way through the ordinary rough-and-tumble.

That he is not made for the workaday world, that is essential nature and the law of his being are different from the ordinary and usual is difficult for everyone, including the runner, to comprehend. But once it is understood, the runner can surrender to his self, this law. And become, in the Puritan sense, the "free man," the man who is attached only to the good.

In this surrender, the runner does not deny his body. He accepts it. He does not subdue it, or subjugate it, or mortify it. He perfects it, maximizes it, magnifies it. He does not suppress his instincts; he heeds them. And goes beyond this animal in him toward what Ortega called his veracity, his own truth.

The finished product is therefore a lifetime work. This giving up, this letting go, the detachment from attachments, is an uneven process. You should give up only what no longer has any attraction to you, or interferes with something greatly desired. That was Gandhi's rule. He advised people to keep doing whatever gave them inner help and comfort.

I have learned that also. Whatever I give up, whatever innocent indulgences, ordinary pleasures or extraordinary vices, I do so from inner compulsion, not in a mood of self-sacrifice or from sense of duty. I am simply doing what comes naturally.

For the runner, less is better. The life that is his work of art is understated. His needs and wants are few, he can be captured in a few strokes. One friend, a few clothes, a meal now and then, some change in his pockets, and, for enjoyment, his thoughts and the elements.

And though he's on the run, he's in no hurry. Concerned at times with tenths of a second, he actually responds to the season, moving through cycle and cycle, toward less and less until body and mind and soul fuse, and all is one.

I see this simplicity as my perfection. In the eyes of observers, however, it appears completely different. My success in removing myself from things and people, from ordinary ambition and desires, is seen as lack of caring, proof of uninvolvement, and failure to contribute.

So be it. A larger view of the world might include the possibility that such people are necessary. That the runner who is burning with a tiny flame on some lonely road does somehow contribute. And while a world composed solely of runners would be unworkable, a world without them would be unlivable.

IN THE BALL PARK

I figured the chances of my entry form getting to New Prague in a day were slim, so I decided not to use that race as a marathon paced training run. Instead, I was able to convince Jenna to run with me for 2 hours on Thursday night before watching the TC-1 mile. I don’t think we quite got down to my marathon pace, but we were definitely in the ball park. Besides, it was 70-75 degrees, windy and sunny – conditions I’m not used to seeing when I normally run at 6 AM.

I came back 2 days later with another 16 miler at 7:30 pace. That gave me 67 miles for the week. Best of all, I’m still feeling good. This is the point prior to my last marathon where I screwed up my calf. It was during a 22 miler, 5+ weeks out. I basically missed 2 weeks of training, not to mention what it did to my psyche. Well, with a 22 miler on tap for this weekend, my goal is to avoid getting hurt and to keep my psyche in check. I gotta get through another mid-week medium-long run and my last LT run first though.

Less than 6 weeks to go...

Quote of the Day;

“Today’s work does not make us the persons we can be. Work is simply the price to be paid. Having earned our daily bread, we can turn to our daily play. Having paid our dues for survival, we can pay attention to the more serious business of living. Having taken care of our bank accounts, we are now ready to take care of our bodies and the minds that go with them.” – Dr. George Sheehan

IN THE THICK OF IT

Now that I think about it, I am in the thick of Pfitz’s program for the next 3-4 weeks. I should be tired.

It turns out I need to do a better job of registering for the races I plan on running. The half marathon I’m thinking about running on Saturday jumps from a preregistered fee of $30 to $50 on race day.

Ouch!

Maybe I can still get it to them by Friday. If not, I may have to recruit some fast friends for a MP workout.

I finally got around to posting another interview.

Quote of the Day;

“I’m going to take the easy way out and just say I consider myself a runner. I have the versatility to move up or down.” - Josh Moen, when asked whether he's a 5k/10k runner or a marathoner

PATHETIC!

One thing I think Pfitz does well with his program is gradually ramp up mileage and tempo runs. It makes me wonder why he doesn’t do that with his VO2 workouts. Today was the first such workout for me and it consisted of 5 x 1200 meters. My next VO2 workout two weeks from now is 5 x 600 meters. Is it just me or are those in the wrong order?

Given my recent 10K pace of 6:18, I was planning on running these around 6:00 pace – or 4:30 per 1200.

Well, I wasn’t even close.

I’m talking 25 – 30 seconds SLOWER than I planned. Not only that, but the 4:55-5:00 times I was running are basically equivalent to the pace I’ve been running for my tempo runs.

Pathetic!

Of course, I have a ton of alibis regarding why I was slow, but I’ll just keep them to myself.

In college I probably had the speed to run low 2:40s (for the marathon), but not the strength. Now I’m a lot stronger, but I don’t have any speed. That may be my “project” for the summer.

Quote of the Day;

“A runner must run with dreams in his heart, not money in his pocket.” – Emil Zatopek

F-MINUS

Thanks to Eric for sending me this comic – it’s for all the bikers and triathletes out there. I’ve never heard of the strip before, but it’s called F-minus. That may be the best name for a comic ever.



It seems like the marathon season is in full swing now as the inaugural Eau Claire and LaCrosse Marathons were held over the weekend, along with Flying Pig and Eugene. Locally, Green Bay and Fargo are coming up quickly along with more inaugural races in Minneapolis and Stillwater. Still 7 weeks 'til Grandma's.

I’d love to hear from anyone that ran either EC or LaX, especially EC since that’s where I went to college. Leave a comment or shoot me an email. Congrats to Nathan on his 2:51 PR and 3rd place finish in LaX. I know facebook is cooler than blogging now, but maybe he’ll share a race report with us.

I finished out last week with an 8 miler on Friday with Scott and a 20 miler with my Saturday group. 18 of those miles were on the trails at Lebanon Hills, so it felt like I ran more like 22 miles. I closed out the week with 67 miles. A little shy of Pfitz’s 70 miles, but I’ll take it. “Cross-training” yesterday turned into hauling 5 yards of mulch in a wheelbarrow.

I don’t remember mentioning it, but I finished April with 249 miles. That my most since last August – which also happens to be the last time I ran 67 miles in a week.

Quote of the Day;

“I realized I don’t have to race, but I do have to run.” – Don, who’s been battling injuries, during Saturday’s long run

MISERABLE FOR SURE

Get in Gear was probably my first real deviation from Pfitz’s plan. It’s another month before he starts including races in the plan. He likes to plan a long run the day after a race, but I just couldn’t bring myself to run 17 miles the day after Get in Gear. The fact that it was 45 degrees and rainy didn’t help either.

I ended up taking Sunday off and then running an easy 5 miles on Monday. That meant I was well rested for Tuesday’s 15 miles through Hyland Park. Yesterday was an easy 8 miles with some strides. Not sure what was going on, but my stomach was spinning all day long. I nearly took the afternoon off, but didn’t – although I was in bed by 8:30 last night.

This morning I had another LT run planned. I thought for sure it was going to be miserable. My stomach still felt weird and I try to think of every possible way I could adjust my schedule and still get in all my runs this week. Being Thursday already, my options were really poor, so I forged on.

As a reminder, 3 weeks ago I ran 4 miles at 6:50 pace and last week I ran 5 miles at 6:47 pace. Last week my first couple of miles were like 6:55 pace, so I was prepared to see 7:00 on my watch today. I was pleasantly surprised to see 6:39 for the first mile. From there it was 6:42, 6:41, 6:31, 6:41 and 6:50 – for a total of 6 miles at 6:41 pace. That’s still not quite as fast as McMillan says to run (6:30 pace) based on my 10K time. But as long as I’m getting faster AND adding a mile each time, I’m happy.

Speaking of McMillan, he predicts a 3:04 marathon for me based on that same 10K time. Since I’ve just been trying to get back into running shape, I really haven’t been thinking about a goal for Grandma’s. However, as the saying goes, “A goal unwritten is a wish.” And since “A written goal is a dream with a deadline.” I’d better put some thought into a goal.

Of course, what comes to mind immediately is sub-3. Last year I ran 3:12 at Boston and 3:05 at TCM. I don’t want to fall into a routine of always being close, but never dipping under again. And while I initially thought sub-3 would have to wait until the fall, I think I’m seeing enough improvement week over week to take a crack at it on June 20th.

Quote of the Day;

“I know only two things. One, I will be dead someday; two, I am not dead now. The only question is what I shall do between those points.” - unknown

GET IN GEAR RACE REPORT

I made it.

Barely.

No I'm not talking about meeting my goal for the race, I'm talking about the race itself.

The start time for this race changed this year, but I couldn't remember if it changed from 9:30 to 9:00 or 9:00 to 9:30. Their website said 9:00 in one spot but also had a countdown clock that calculated to 9:30. For some reason I thought 9:30 was correct - I was wrong.

Normally this wouldn't be a problem because I typically arrive about an hour before the start of a race. Even if I was wrong, I'd still have a half an hour. However, since I picked up my race packet last night, there really wasn't any reason to get to the start so early.

The race is about 20 minutes from my house and at about 8:20 the logical side of my brain kicked in. I thought, "Why would they add a half marathon and make the race later?"

Hmm, I bet the race starts at 9:00.

I jumped in the car and arrived at the far south end of Minnehaha Park, near the off-leash dog park around 8:45. I changed into my race outfit and ran the 10 minutes to the start. As I approached the park I could hear the National Anthem.

Time for stride or two.

With probably 4,500 runners starting the half marathon and 10K at the same time, I was a little worried. Luckily I was able to jump a fence just as the Elites were starting - two minutes before the masses.

"Perfect" timing.

Race conditions were pretty good, especially for Get in Gear; 40-45 degrees, cloudy with a sight north wind, which meant a head wind for the first 2.5 miles or so.

My plan was to run the first mile in 6:20 +/- 10 seconds. I figure 6:10 would be a little too hot and 6:30 would be a tad slow. I ended up running a fairly comfortable 6:17. We started to get strung out a little during the second mile, so I tried to tuck in and relax. That was another fairly comfortable 6:17.

Given that I wanted to run faster than my Human Race pace of 6:23, I was starting to feel pretty confident. I know the 3rd mile has some uphill as we cross the Lake Street Bridge. I'm prepared for a slower split, so the 6:27 I see on my watch doesn't bother me.

A few seconds later I pass the halfway point in 19:37. Barring a complete and total meltdown, the sub-40 I wrote in my logbook is in the bag. I thought about writting sub-39:30, but didn't want to go "crazy".

Right after the 5K point we take a hard left and head up the hill towards St. Thomas University. If you've run TCM, you know the hill I'm talking about - it's around mile 22. The good news with GiG is that at the top of the hill we turn right and are rewarded with a downhill. Mile 4 passes in 6:20 and I'm happy that it's faster than the 3rd mile.

Did anyone read McMillan article in the last Running Times? He talked about race pace strategy. His advice is to break the race into sections and then mentally prepare yourself to "go for it" during some point in the race. He suggested working really hard during the third quarter of the race. At mile 4, this was what I was thinking about - along with my recent discovery that I need to focus on a quicker turnover.

It must have worked because the 5th mile ended up being my fastest of the day; 6:14. That means I ran 8K in about 31:20 or 23 seconds faster than Human Race. Not much happened during the last mile. I was able to maintain my pace with a 6:21 mile and 1:19 last two tenths.

39:15 with splits of 19:37 and 19:38. That's 6:18 pace or 5 seconds per mile faster than my pace for 8K five weeks ago. It also calculates to a 3:04 marathon.

So after all these years of trying to run faster at GiG than HR, I finally figured out how to do it. I just needed to let myself get really out of (running) shape during the winter.

Seriously, it's really great for the psyche to see the times going in the right direction.

ODDS & ENDS

Just a few odds and ends before the weekend.

I ran a solid 8 in Hyland with Scott on Thursday. Today I ran an ass-dragging-slow 5 miler this morning around Jensen Lake in Lebanon Hills. Tomorrow is the Get in Gear 10K.

Surprisingly – given that it’s Minnesota’s largest 10K - I’ve only run this race 3 times; 2001, 2005 and 2007. Each of those years I ran the Human Race 8K in March. Each of those years I always think I’ll run a faster pace for 10K than I did for 8K – because it’s 5-6 weeks later in the season. Each of those years I’ve been wrong. I’ve been 16, 2 and 8 seconds slower per mile, respectively. Based on my 31:43 (6:22 pace) from this year’s Human Race, McMillan says I should run 39:58 (6:25 pace) for 10K. I guess I’d take that, but really I’d like this to be the year where I do actually run faster at GiG than HR. Given my training between the two races, I think I can make it happen.

If you haven’t seen Nike’s running camp video, be sure to stop by Kurt’s blog to see it. Be sure to watch all the way to the end or you’ll miss the Gouchers.

I think I’ve used this QOD before, but it’s all I have handy – and it’s worth repeating.

Quote of the Day;

“I had reached a juncture at this point in the run: either I could get discouraged with the reality that I am not able to think myself into sprinting up the hill or I could accept, and even relish, in the pain and discomfort running throughout my body embracing the pain as part of my mission. Then something happened that I have never experienced during any painful running session: a smile slowly crept across my face. It was kind of a weird reaction to have, but for some reason I felt very alive and there was a new joy that I found in simply going all out. It was a great feeling to know that I was pushing myself to the max, that at this moment I had looked deep into myself for strength and used whatever I could muster.” – Ryan Hall

GETTING THERE

Frequent commentor, Double, always says he knows he’s rounding into shape when he can run a 20 miler at the drop of a hat. I’ve always countered that I know I’m getting fit when I can get through Pfitz’s medium-long runs in the middle of the week without even thinking about them. On the whole, there's probably not much difference in those two statements. While I’m not quite to the point of either of them, I’m getting there.

A week or two ago I mentioned that every hill during a medium-long run felt like a struggle. Today I spent 1:55 in Hyland Park and only half of the hills felt like a struggle. Maybe even less than half because it felt like I was cruising pretty good today. I often feel guilty for running my recovery days at 9:00 pace – I can’t think of any other runners that run 2:00 per mile slower than their marathon pace on their recovery days – but if it makes me run better during my tempos and medium-long runs, I’ll take it.

Looking at Pfitz’s plan as a whole – it seems amazingly simple. I’ve only done 2 tempo runs so far, but there are only 2 more on the plan. Then I’ll throw in 4-5 interval workouts, along with a couple of races and 1-2 MP workouts. It continues with the medium-long and long runs and that’s it – it’ll be June 20th before I know it.

I spent most of last Saturday’s long run with Jared. He’s the guy with quotes like, “I’m hurting pretty good, but I think I can hurt a lot more.” Well Saturday’s run provided a glimpse into where Jared gets this philosophy. Jared shared his father’s advice the first time he went out for organized football. It’s today’s QOD.

Quote of the Day;

“Never let them see that you’re injured and never let them know that you’re tired.” – Jared’s dad

RIGHT DIRECTION

Well, I seem to be heading in the right direction. Two weeks ago I ran my first tempo run and averaged 6:50 pace for 4 miles. This morning I made it 5 miles at 6:47 pace. It definitely helped having that first one under my belt. I’ve been running these on my old stomping grounds, the LTR in Hopkins. I like it because it’s flat and I can get into a rhythm, as opposed to running these around Braemar Golf Course, like I did last year.

After opening the tempo run with splits of 6:55 and 6:50, I noticed that my leg turnover didn’t seem very quick. I’m thinking it’s because of skiing where I focused on getting longer glides. Anyway, after that, I focused on a quicker stride rate and rattled off 6:40, 6:38 and 6:45 for the last 3 miles.

It looks like more strides will be in my future to help with my turnover.

I was also a lot more calm and focused for this tempo run. Again, I think just having one under my belt helped a lot. Whenever my mind started to race in a hundred different directions, I was able to calm down and focus on my stride and breathing. Thinking about this weekend’s 10K helped too.

Overall, it was a pretty good workout – especially being two days after a 20 miler.

Quote of the Day;

“I don’t train as much as the men do. But I train to the best of my ability and do not feel inferior to men in ability. I sometimes train with the men and this gives [me] confidence.” – Dire Tune

RIGHT ON TRACK

Wow, has it really been 10 days since my last post? I've been super busy at work, but am happy to report that running is still right on track. With 6 weeks of 45 -63 miles, I'm actually starting to feel like a runner again.

9 weeks to go!

I finished last week with 54 miles, including a nice 15 mile solo run in Lebanon Hills. This week was my biggest week in a long time - probably since last summer. I ended up with 63 miles on 6 runs. Yesterday I ran my first 20 miler of this cycle. Then I proceeded to rake the yard and help my neighbor haul some landscaping rocks from his yard to mine. I probably over did it, but it was just too nice, not to be outside. Today is a scheduled day off and it looks like rain - so hopefully I'll be able to recover nicely.

I think in this day and age of well-established marathons, it's easy to forget (or not care about) where they came from our how they got their start. The TCM recently sent out an email with notes from the first-year race director. I thought it was kind of interesting to read, you can check it out HERE.

Maybe this will be a good read for the race directors of all the new marathons that seem to be popping up in the area. Today's QOD might strike a cord with this year's inaugural Minneapolis and Stillwater marathons which happen to be a week apart.

Finally, good luck to those running Boston on Monday, including, Reneau, Rocco, Bill, Carly, Ryan, etc. If you guys figure out how to run that course, please let me know.

Quote of the day;

"The upshot was the Twin Cities hosted two marathons in 1982, one in Minneapolis and the other in St. Paul, and on consecutive weekends. As president of the MDRA, I found this embarrassing at best, and also threatening. The number of races these days makes it impossible to avoid some scheduling conflicts, but back-to-back marathons in one area looked like war. And I seemed to be one of the combatants." - Jack Moran

INITIAL TRADE-OFF

There is one thing I forgot to blog about last week. As I was running on the trails of Hyland Park for the first time this year it occurred to me that runners – or at least me – probably don’t realize when they are fit. However, they definitely realize when they aren’t fit. This thought came to me as I was struggling up some of the hills in the park. When I’m fit, I don’t even think about those hills. I took for granted my ability to run those trails for 2 hours in the middle of the week last year. Now 90 minutes is a struggle.

I was flipping through a book the other day – I can’t remember which one now – and I came across a line that made me feel a little better. It basically said that running a certain time in a race, year over year, is no indication of how the rest of your year will turn out. I took it to mean that just because I ran 1:40 slower than last year at the Human Race 8K, it doesn’t mean that I can’t get better results than last year as the season progresses. Granted, I have a long ways to go – but I guess that’s part of the whole ski/run experiment. Of course there’s an initial trade-off in running specific fitness, but at some point does being fresh and motivated to run counter act the effects of skiing?

Another indication that I have a long ways to go was seen with Tuesday’s workout; 9 miles with 4 at Lactate Threshold. Being my first such workout in this training cycle, I wasn’t too concerned about hitting exact paces, but I still wanted to have a ballpark idea of where I should be. I punched my 8K time into the McMillan Calculator and it spit out 6:31 to 6:48 pace for tempo runs. I was a tad slow, averaging 6:50 pace for the 4 mile stretch, but I’ll take it. It’s just a little frustrating that my marathon PR is faster than that pace. I just have to remind myself that it’s a long season and that I don’t have to be in PR shape for Grandma’s.

Yesterday I followed up my tempo run with a 12 miler and then this morning was a very easy 5 mile recovery run.

Finally, here’s my latest interview. Thanks to Adam for the suggestion.

Quote of the Day;

“Not sure I have any one fondest memory. There is a common feeling though. On the good days I feel like I have super powers – like I always have another gear I can tap into if I need it. I love those days!” - John Munger

JUST MIXED UP

If you’re interested, here’s a nice set of photos from Saturday’s race by Wayne Kryduba. I’m in 11, 33 (along with Nate and Jared) and 77 (with Nate).

On Sundays, Pfitz says to cross-train or rest. Yesterday – after waiting for the snow to melt (no, I'm not kidding) – I jumped on my mountain bike for a nice easy 45 minute spin to help loosen up the legs. Today I made a deviation from Pfitz. He said to run 9 miles with 4 at LT. Of course, he didn’t have a hilly 18 miler written in 2 days before that. So, I’m flipping that workout with Wednesday’s easy 5 mile run. I’ll still get in the same workouts, just mixed up a little. I figure recovering from Saturday, before my first LT workout, makes the most sense.

Quote of the Day;

“Now I wish I had crawled the rest of the way on my hands and knees. It is difficult to live with the fact you’ve quit. It’s like having a prison record.” – Hal Higdon

GLORIFIED TRAINING RUN

I finished week #1 of Pfitz's 12-week program with a nice 18 mile day (and 58 miles for the week) that included the Daws 25K "race" - or as the race director called it "a glorified training run." Being the 30th annual event, the organizers used our $4 entry fee to bring in Lorraine Moller, the 1992 Bronze Medalist in the Olympic Marathon, who was married to Ron Daws for awhile. She and Steve Hoag spent a few minutes before the race talking about Daws and his impact on their lives. Good stuff!

I ended up running the whole race with Nate, who I met for the first time at last Saturday's group run. He's training for the Green Bay Marathon, which is 6 weeks away. We started easy - I think our first mile was 7:50 - and then gradually picked up the pace. We were chatting away and before I knew it we were already 8 miles into the race - rattling off 7:00-7:30 miles, depending on the terrain. This is basically a 2 loop course and around mile 10 we hit the hills for a second time and things got quiet as our focus increased and the effort picked up. We brought it home pretty good with a couple of (barely) sub-7 miles and were able to catch half a dozen people in the last 2 miles.

I think if I didn't meet Nate last weekend, we surely would have met today because our pacing and strategy for the day was exactly the same.

We finished in 1:52 which is 7:13 pace - or about 4 minutes slower than last year. Of course, last year Boston was only 2 weeks away. With Grandma's still 11 weeks away, I think I'm on the right track. Tonight I was looking back at my Boston build-up and it's really no surprise that I ran so poorly (3:12). In the last 12 weeks leading up to the race I only had six weeks over 50 miles. It's no wonder everything ached by mile 16.

Obviously, I don't know what June 20th will bring, but I feel pretty good about where I'm at and the road ahead.

Quote of the day;

"Chad, you made me a better runner today." - Nate

PRICELESS

Probably not that big of a deal, but I’m still on track with Pfitz – after 6 days. The last four days have been alternating 11 miles at a moderate pace with 5 miles as a super easy recovery run. Being spring in Minnesota means I’ve experienced rain, snow and even a beautiful morning or two during that stretch. Even when it’s beautiful it’s still only about 30-32 degrees at 6 AM, so I’m still wearing long pants. I’m definitely looking forward to donning some shorts soon.

Yesterday was my first trail run since last fall and the trails at Hyland were in spectacular condition. It was still a little too dark at the start of my run, so I wore a headlamp. The first few times I wear a headlamp always remind me of what the Blair Witch Project must have been like. It’s a little scary, but I get used to it. Besides, within a half hour the sun is coming up.

40 is fast approaching. I have no problem with becoming a Masters runner. However, I still feel like I’m only 25-years-old. I was wondering if other people felt that way too. Then I was reading the April issue of Outside and there was an article by a 60-something guy talking about how he still felt 25. He then went on to explain why 60 was better than 25.

Anyone else out there feel a lot younger than they actually are? Maybe it has something to do with 25 kind of being that age where you’re finally out of school and on your own – so our minds kind of get “stuck” there.

I'll close with a little April Fool's trick my daughter played on my wife. Actually it wasn't so much the trick that I like, as much as how my daughter told me about it. Anyway, she simply took 2 cereal boxes, Raisin Bran (which my wife eats) and Frosted Flakes, and then switched the bags between the 2 boxes. I just happened to come into the kitchen as she was getting off of a chair next to the cabinet and I asked what she was doing. She looks at me very seriously and says, "If you want Raisin Bran in the morning, grab the Frosted Flakes box."

It was one of those priceless moments.

Quote of the Day;

“We’re not the 13:10 [5K] guys. We’re the 13:30 guys trying to run 13:20. It’s just as sweet.” – Matt Gabrielson