Berbee Derby 2012

This is perhaps the first race for which the alarm clock inexplicably failed me.  I woke up literally a minute before my friend Barry called to tell me he was outside in the car waiting.  I told him I needed 10 minutes.  I threw on contacts and running clothes and headed out the door.  I counted on the weather being the 50+ it had been all week.  I did not count on wind.

After I crossed the finish line.

This is the 9th annual Berbee Derby.  The event happens on the morning of Thanksgiving Day and runners often don turkey hats on their heads.  I saw a couple of people dressed as M&Ms or carrots as well.  I think anything that might show up on your dinner table later that day makes for an appropriate costume.  The Berbee Derby has two events: a 5k run/walk and a 10k run.  It's an unexpectedly large event.  They were telling us at the start that there was something like 8000 runners.  I registered fairly late.  I wasn't sure I was going to do this run, and I kept procrastinating on the registration.  Come Monday, I'm down at the Copps on Fish Hatchery buying some Thanksgiving Day supply when I saw the Berbee Derby registration office.  I took that as a sign.  Half an hour later, I was registered.  They assigned me to wave B for the 10k, though I informed them to expect only a 10 min/mile pace out of me.  I wanted a workout on Thanksgiving Day, not so much a PR.  It's my first 10k race though so it's an automatic PR anyway.  As luck would have it though, this 10k is slower than the first "10k" at Lake Monona.

Changing of the Seasons

The winter of 2011-2012 was unusually warm for Wisconsin.  Other than a day or two of iced over roads, the weather rarely if ever kept me from running outside.  As it warmed up in the spring, I was more and more encouraged to get out there and do my long training runs.

As we now draw closer to the winter again and the weather gets colder and the days shorter, I find myself more and more reluctant to run outside.  I'm remembering the same kinds of weather back in March and the excitement I felt at running outside in high 40s.  Now it feels too cold and I resort instead to the treadmill at the gym to get my distances in.

I should get my butt outside.

Cow Chip Classic 2012

Thankfully, not an actual cow chip for a bib.

I ran Cow Chip Classic back on September 1.  I didn't post about it because it was a last minute decision to run, and I didn't have a goal for this race. 

The Cow Chip festival takes place each year in Prairie du Sac, where people gather and watch people compete to see who can launch a cow chip the furthest.  The novelty of this festival lies in the fact that cow chips are dried cow dung.  Good ole Wisconsin with their cow tipping and dung throwing.  There is even a "tournament of chips" parade that goes through town with a "Trojan Cow" named Cowabunga.  She is a 13'6" tall cow whose head moves from side to side and lifts her tail for the "chip."  While entertaining, we were there that morning for the run/walk event.

The Cow Chip Classic has two distances: 5k and 10k.  The 5k and 10k starts together and takes the racers through a charming little downtown.  Then the 5k racers turn off  right before the 10k runners go up a daunting looking hill.  The event was small enough that there's only a timing mat at the end.  We all cross the finish line within seconds of each other.  I believe there is only about 900 or so runners total. 

Turkey Trot 2012

Sadly, not prime. 

This was my first trail race.

The Turkey Trot is a cross country race put on by MATC and held in Warner Park.  There are two options for the run: 5k and 5 mile. The 5k seemed to be the more popular choice, and there were only about 40 some runners for the 5 mile.  The 5 mile route does a 1.9 mile route before they end up on the same course as the 5k.

The route is actually really nice through wooded areas.  It's essentially two loops.  The first loop has a daunting looking hill that we approach head on, but on the second loop, the route takes us on a more gradual ascent up the same hill.  Turns out I totally prefer the first loop and facing that hill head on because then it's over in seconds.  A gradual uphill ascent takes a mental toughness that I had little of this morning.   

On the road to the marathon

Well, I registered for the Flying Pig in Cincinnati. It will be my first marathon and I am a bit nervous. I'm worried about injuries, being well trained enough, and of course, things out of my control like the weather. Fingers crossed.

Haunted Hustle 2012

The Haunted Hustle half marathon was tougher than I had expected.  I signed up for this one back in May because my friend Joe had told me it was a flat beautiful course through the woods.  In August, they changed the course.  Did you know there are hills in Middleton?

About two weeks before, I went to a good form running clinic at a local shoe store.  I was tired of injuries from the half I've been doing and I didn't see how I'd be able to train and complete a marathon if injuries keep cropping up and keep me from running for a week or more.  Hell, I'm starting to think about possibly completing an Iron Man someday.  So my friend suggested I attend this clinic and figure out what some of the issues are.  It was a 2 hour course that had a lot of information that I already knew, but the 15 minutes of information I didn't know were pretty valuable.  I tried this out at my next run and I was a convert.

They warned us, however, that there will need to be some retraining of muscles since we haven't been using them.  I had gotten up to 8 miles running this way, but nothing in the double digits. The 8 miles felt good, almost easy, so I figured 13 would be okay.  Even for the Mini-Marathon in August, I'd similarly only gotten up to 8 miles the week before.  What was perhaps a mistake was me going on a couple of long bike rides the week before.  The weather was nice and I knew I didn't have many more opportunities for my bike, so I went out for a 16 mile ride.  I should've worked up to 16 miles.  My hip flexors were sore up until the day before the race.

Madison Mini-Marathon

I just want one perfect weather, injury free half marathon.  Well, October it is.

Beautiful 50 degree weather at the start this morning for the Mini-Marathon.  Too bad, I had a bothersome ankle that now post-race is developing into an ugly bruise.  I thought about dropping out of the race at about mile 6.  I didn't want to exacerbate an injury that might prevent me from someday running a full marathon.  At mile 7, either the pain has numbed feeling in the ankle or it's subsided, but I no longer felt pain with every step.  I get in a couple of good miles and then the pain comes back in and out for the remaining race.  

Somehow, I finished, and even managed to have exactly the results I expected though not hoped for.   

Split times:
5 mile- 44:32
10 mile- 1:35:17
Last 5k- 29:29
Finish- 2:04:45
Overall pace- 9:32

Training Log or lack thereof.

When I first started training in February for the half marathon, I was very diligent about writing down my runs. I logged the date, the distance, an estimate on the time, where the route was, whether on an indoor track or treadmill, etc. It was a good way to track my achievement. I was increasing my distance and it was exciting to be able to see the amount of miles I was running as well as entering those long runs of 8 or 10 miles. I was proud and a bit surprised of what I was capable of achieving.

At some point around Crazy Legs, I became a lot less diligent in logging my runs. I stopped logging where the route was, the time estimate, even the date became an estimate. There are entries after the 20k race, but really those entries were entered weeks later and I only half remembered what had happened on those runs.

Now, I don't bother logging them at all. I see this as a good thing. We don't record routines. We don't bother writing down the amount of water we consumed, how much and where, or about brushing our teeth in the morning. I actually had made the decision to start training in January, but first began recording runs when I made my first 10k run around the Arboretum. That was an achievement for me at the time. Now that 10k run is routine.

Madison Half Marathon

I worked hard for this medal.

The full marathon was canceled due to a forecast high of 93 on Sunday.  Temperatures were supposed to reach 80 before 10 am.  The Green Bay marathon a week before had also high but not as bad temperatures and the race directors had to shut down the course about 2.5 hours after the race started.  Trying to head off a similar situation, the Madison full marathon was canceled.  Registered runners got some sort of credit for next year's marathon and were all automatically transferred to running the half marathon.  We were originally required to finish the half marathon in 3 hours before they pulled us off the course, but due to the heat, they left the course open for an additional hour and a half.  I was disappointed that my very first half marathon would be completed in less than ideal conditions.

After Lake Monona 20k, running the half marathon in under 2 hours looked to be very possible.  I was expected to come in just seconds before the 2 hour mark, so I knew there would be little leeway.  I had to be running my best.  Unfortunately, the heat picked up in Madison not long after that 20k race and with a bothersome knee, my training took a dive.  I was struggling to get 5 miles in, and was only finally able to work up to a 10k in 80 degree weather about 5 days before the half.  This would be tough.  I began preparing myself to let go of my original goal.  I have had little to no training in these kinds of conditions and risking heat exhaustion or something worse might take me out of future races.

Runner's High

I used to think the runner's high referred to what one felt after a run.  A good workout in the morning can make the rest of the day can feel amazing.  I felt like I go through the rest of the day lighter on my feet, feeling more accomplished.  It elevates the mood for the day.

It wasn't until I started running more than 5 miles that I began to understand that runner's high.  The first few miles of a run always suck for me.  I start out thinking, "what am I doing out here? It's too hot/too cold/about to rain/too early.  I'm feeling too tired/too sleepy/too much to do."  But I've learned to not quit, to instead convince myself to get to mile 4.  Because somewhere between mile 3 and mile 4, those annoying demoralizing thoughts of "maybe I'll quit early" go away and instead, I'm thinking about nothing.  Thoughts are slowly drifting out my head, and I'm lulled by my breaths.  Or maybe I've found one thought that I'm casually, amusingly tossing around.  Each step has become part of a meditative rhythm and I am feeling like an efficient machine.  My speed increases and I'm feeling like this was what my body was meant to do: turn calories into energy, breaths into steps, determination into speed.

Lake Monona 20k

Do you really want to hear about yet another race?  Probably not, but here goes anyway.

The race started at 9am and we got there a bit later than I would've liked.  Parking wasn't as difficult as others had made it sound, but carpooling is the way to go.  The weather was in the high 50s when we got there, predicted to be in the low 60s by the time we finished.  It was a bit humid and the wind was rather chilly at first.  Once we ran a couple of blocks to warm up, I knew that a short sleeved shirt and running capris would be sufficient.

The race started at Winnequah park and goes clockwise around the lake. For the first 3 miles, I felt fatigue in my legs and mentally rallied to keep up a pace.  The first 3 miles were hilly and as usual, I slow considerably in the second mile, watching scores of runners pass me by.  I was at 26:39 for the first 5k.  I'm thinking, "not bad," if I can keep up a consistent 9 min/mile pace.  Around mile 4, we get on John Nolen drive and for the next 2 miles, I'm fighting a nearly head-on wind.  I cross the 10k line at about 55:30.  Finally, at mile 7, I hit my stride and the next 3 miles come easily.  I keep pace with a few runners around me.  At mile 8, I start to feel hunger and wish I had more of a breakfast, or at least carried some energy gel or something on me.  I had started and ran the first mile with my friend Barry, who after the first mile started gaining quite a bit of distance ahead of me.  A little after the 9th mile marker, I pass him.  Shortly after mile 10, I feel my energy level drop significantly.  Half a mile later, I try to rally, reminding myself that there were only 2 miles to go.  The last few hills just about killed me.  I thought for sure, I'd have nothing left in me to make a sprint for the finish.  Still, when I made the final turn, I found a little something and sped up just a bit, passing a couple people in the last 1/4 mile for the finish line.  My final time was 1:52:55.  I was hoping for closer to 1:51:00, which would make for more even split times, but even at 1:52:55, my split times weren't too terribly paced.  I ran a pace of 9:06 min/mile, about 20 seconds faster than Black Earth. 

My first Crazy Legs

Crazy Legs is a zoo.

There are tons of people running the 8k race, a good portion of them in costumes, a rocky theme at the 4 mile mark and beer handed out at the end.  It's a race, but one that people seem to do just for the hell out of it.  It was quite different from the Black Earth 10 mile race, which consisted of regular racers, only about 200 people, and minimal hoopla.

The weather sucked on Saturday.  It was in the 30s with rain and biting wind.  As I lined up waiting for my wave to start, I jumped up and down to stay warmed up and watched as the light rain wavered on the verge of becoming icy hail.  I had zero motivation to run Saturday morning.  I was certain that I'd run this 8k as slow as possible.  I had registered as running it in 45 minutes, feeling that that's an optimistic estimate given my Black Earth performance at the turnaround.  I was certain while stretching in the US Bank Plaza that I'd run it in about 55 minutes and thought about moving back in the wave.  Who really wants to watch everybody else pass you anyway?  But I didn't, mostly because the weather was so terrible just standing and waiting that I wanted to get running as quickly as possible.  Truth be told though, I thought about just not running altogether.  I swore up and down that this would be the last Crazy Legs.

Black Earth 10 mile race

This past Saturday, I ran the Black Earth 10 mile race with Jesse, Regina, and my friend Barry.  This was my first race and I'm glad I did it.  I haven't really been timing myself accurately for any of my training runs.  I tend to forget to look at the clock before I leave the house.  Plus, I walk about 3 blocks before I start my run, and walk 3 blocks afterward, and I have to estimate how much time that actually takes.  The kitchen clock is also some number of minutes ahead of my computer clock.  I look at the computer clock before I get ready for my run, the kitchen clock when I get back.  It's all very non-scientific.

Anyway, I was guessing that I'm averaging about 10 minute/mile on these runs.  That seemed to be on track despite the distance I was running.  I was quite happy with this since I started last fall with the idea that I was probably going to run the half marathon at a pace of 12 min/mile.  That is, I was happy with this pace until I ran Black Earth.  The course for Black Earth is an out and back course.  It kind of took the wind out of my sails when at about 3.5 miles, these elite runners were already on their way back.  And then there was John Heim.  At about 2.4 miles, a runner passes me with the sign "Blind Runner" running with someone else while holding onto a short rope.  John Heim, who's blind and 52 years old finished at about 1 hour 27 min.  I had a final time of 1:34:28.

Madison Half Marathon

I am officially signed up.  Fee non-refundable so there's no backing out for me now.

Ben mentioned his training schedule/philosophy as "run when you feel like it, but feel like it often."  Mine is "make it to 13.1 miles."