Madison Mini-Marathon and arbitrary numbers

Yesterday I laced up for the Madison Mini-Marathon.  I'm not very good at tapering.  Really, there is no tapering that exists for me.  I get to the long run and then just stop running any distance over 5 miles.  It's more of a drop off.  I try to help this by doing my long run only about 2 weeks out from the race, but how much it actually helps is debatable.

After the 10 mile long run on a Sunday two weeks ago, I've only ran a 5k race, two 4 mile runs, and then a 6 mile run this past Wednesday.  I kept up with the yoga and did some biking, but made myself do no exercise whatsoever on Friday.

Yesterday morning, I got up and got on the scale and clocked in at my heaviest.  Ugh, I thought.  Recently, I've been thinking some about this number on the scale and my difficulty in letting it go.  I've gotten better at not dwelling on the number, but I still have to mentally justify that number each time I step on the scale.  Even though I feel healthy and fit, I still struggle with just letting the scale be what it is. 

Race starts at 7am, and I was supposed to meet Barry at 6am at his place to ride downtown together.  I set the alarm for 5:15, and slowly rolled out of bed.  I spent a good 10 minutes dousing myself in sunscreen, trying my best to reach my back without any help.  After digging around for running clothes, I made a cup of tea and only had about half of it before I went out the door with a granola bar in hand.  At 6:02, I was in my car on Barry's driveway.  Barry was running later than me, so I munched on my granola bar and sipped water to make sure I was well hydrated.  We got downtown about 6:25am and parked at a metered spot, deciding to risk a ticket.  Thankfully, it was easy to find a parking spot downtown despite how close it was to race start.

I don't own a running watch.  People ask sometimes how do I know how fast I'm going.  I tell that that I usually just listen to my body.  I aim to push in training and my body tells me when it's too much.  So when I formulate race strategies, it's more of a mental game and throughout the race, it's a constant loop in my head of "remember the miles to go".  For this race, I debated starting with the 2:00 group or the 2:10 group.  Since I was in Corral G, only the 2:10 pacers were in my corral, so I decided to start a bit behind them and to aim to chase down the 2:00 pacers.  Barry had plans of dropping out of the race or to walk for large chunks of the second half.  I wasn't sure what he was going to do, but I knew that running with him is always a bad idea for me.  He's like the watch that I don't need when I want to stay tuned in to how my body is feeling.  I resolve to ignore where he is when the gun goes off.

The race starts and my legs feel fatigued already, but I catch up to the 2:00 pacers pretty quickly.  At this point, I know I'm running sub-9:00 min miles to have caught up to 2:00 pacers about 2 miles in.  But I'm feeling good despite a nagging fatigue in my legs, so I maintain pace and run with the 2:00 group for a while.  I get a little bit ahead of them in anticipation of the water stops, but somewhere around mile 4, I'm feeling really good and I get pretty far ahead of the 2:00 group.  I know they're behind me, but I'm not sure where.  I walk through every water stop.  At this point, I'm resolving to not let the 2:00 group pass me until mile 8.  We get to mile 8, and my pace has slowed.  I know the distance between me and the 2:00 group is shortening when I hear spectators cheer the 2:00 pacers just as we exit the Arboretum.

Right before mile 9 marker is Cemetery Hill.  This was a daunting, daunting hill.  We went up at a sharp incline, leveled for a bit, and then went up some more.  A lot, a lot of people around me were walking at this point and I aim to just make it up the hill.  The hill took a lot out of me and not too long after, the 2:00 pacers pass me.  I keep them in sight though, and slowly recover enough to catch up to them again.  By mile 11, when we turned onto Lakeshore Path, I'm shadowing the 2:00 pacers, and there is hardly anyone around them.  Either everyone's found their legs and managing to stay well ahead of them, or they're lost the 2:00 group.  I know I've got a little bit of a cushion having started behind the 2:00 pacers, but I have no idea how much.  Knowing I'm near the end and almost done keeps my speed up.  When we get to the Memorial Union, I hear the pacers say to each other how they try to tell those in their group to hurry up ahead of them to guarantee a sub-2:00.  I wasn't expecting to have any speed left in me, but when we round that final corner, I catch up to and pass the 2:00 pacers.  I hear them say they've got 40 seconds to cross the finish and make sub-2:00 and they are right on target with their time.  The finish is downhill and I sped down that faster than I had imagined possible at that point.  I felt good despite the blister that I knew had formed around mile 10. 

1:58:47 was my final time.  Sub-2:00 was a PR that I've been chasing for about 2 years now.  I'm happy to have gotten there, but the thrill of achieving a PR is not what it used to be.  I noticed this after the Full Moon 5k.  It was a great PR, but it was mostly just another race.  We attach more importance to reaching a sub-2:00 time, but the difference between a 1:59 and a 2:02 is the same as 2:02 and 2:05.  It's just the difference between a good race day and a bad race day.  Ultimately, I'm still just a 2:00 half marathoner.  

But numbers are useful for lines in the sand and setting a goal.  I'd like to run sub-2:00's consistently and see times closer to a 1:55.  

Two 5k's and extolling the benefits of yoga

This would be my third season of running.  It's been a little over two years since my very first race in April of 2012 at Black Earth.  I've actually raced a lot less this year.  A year ago, by the beginning of August, I had already ran 12 races.  This year, only 3.

It was hard to find local, affordable, yet chipped races in Southern California.  But here in Madison, there are an abundance of them.  Knowing a couple of regular runners and racers in Madison certainly makes a difference in the number of races I enter.  It's the social knowledge of which races are worth entering and which ones are not.

Running of the Swiss 5k
After the LA Marathon in the beginning of March, I've significantly reduced the number of miles.  I've kept running, but rather than running hard and pushing for longer and longer distances, I've just gotten on the treadmill with the goal of enjoying my run.  I hovered at about 3-6 miles maybe twice a week for a couple of months.  When I got back to Madison late May, I had plans to get back into the swing of races, and I thought the Running of the Swiss 5k in New Glarus would be perfect.

I wasn't expecting to set any records, but I wasn't quite expecting how difficult a time I would have with this race.  The lush greenness of Wisconsin was not treating my throat and lungs well.  About a mile in, those floating particles of pollen had found their way into my throat and into a cough that forced me to stop and walk.  About 2 minutes later, I started jogging again, keeping it nice and light so I wouldn't be breathing too hard.

In the end I finished 28:35.  I was ecstatic.  I was hoping for a 28:35 but I had given up any hope of that once I started walking.  I kind of couldn't believe that I managed that even with walking for 2 minutes in the middle there.

Following this race, I signed for a couple of races for the fall.  I thought there would be a few more races I'd run, but the next race was the Movin' Shoes 5k that happened last night.

Movin' Shoes Full Moon 5k
I ran this race last year, and it is definitely my favorite 5k despite the hill at the end.  It's a chipped finish, small field, gorgeous views of Monona Bay and the Capitol on the course, and friendly, friendly people.  There's also a pretty nice prize raffle at the end.

Though my running had still been very spotty throughout June and July (at best 12 miles/week), I started ramping up the miles in the last week or so because of the half marathon next Saturday.  I did 10 miles this past Sunday and it felt good.  Throughout June and July, I had gone on some bike rides and been doing A LOT of yoga.  I knew that the 5k should be under 30 minutes, but nearly all of my running had been on the treadmill and every runner warns about how non-equivalent the two are.  Moreover, I'm currently carrying about 5 lbs more than I was last year.

Last night, I set a PR by over a minute with a 25:18.  That's an 8:09/mile pace which I'm ecstatic about.  I like to measure my running by comparing with what I was capable of doing when I was 15.  At 15, I couldn't go sub-8:00 on one mile for the life of me.  The first mile of my 5k last night was 7:50, 16:02 at mile 2.  So much for trying to not go out too fast.   

This leads me to speculate.  I've ran less all year than I have last year and I'm 5lbs heavier than I was last year.  I shouldn't be setting 5k PRs.  The only thing that I can point to that I've really done differently is more biking and A LOT more yoga.

I started a regular yoga practice last summer, and pretty quickly I noticed the benefits.  Yoga was keeping me strong even if my mileage wasn't quite up to par.  Less miles logged in training, but setting a PR nonetheless at Quad Cities Half Marathon.  What took me a bit longer to notice was that yoga got rid of my hip pain.  My hips had started bothering me after some long runs, especially if I didn't sleep in the exact right way after.  These days, I don't feel it anymore.

It's not yoga specifically that helps with my running, but I believe instead the strength training and the stretching.  I may be carrying more weight, but I'd like to think that the extra weight is due to muscle gain.    

I'm still expecting a 2:10 half marathon next Saturday.  One thing I learned at Quad Cities last year is that while strength training may keep my muscles moving to the end, it doesn't help with the cardiovascular training I need to keep the same pace past mile 10.  

Haunted Hustle Half Marathon 2013

I ran the Haunted Hustle this past Sunday, and this will probably be the last time I run this race.  I don't know who puts on the Haunted Hustle, but it occurred to me after this race that they may not be runners.

This was my slowest half marathon yet.  I could feel it Saturday night that I didn't have it in me to go fast Sunday morning.  I was hoping for maybe better than 2:10, but I felt like I had lost a lot of the strength I had built over the summer.  My running became nonexistent after the Quad Cities Half marathon.  The weather's turned cold and the lure of warm blankets and pillows have made me soft.  I need to remember, no long races after the first week of October in Wisconsin. The temperatures are comparable, but 40 degrees in the fall has a different effect on my running than 40 degrees in the spring. 

Capitol Mile

The Capitol Mile is put on by the Wisconsin Track Club.  You run 1.75 loops around the square for a net downhill course. They run 7 different "heats": Elite Women's, Elite Men's, Girls Youth, Boys Youth, Open Women's, Open Men's, and Masters. 

I hemmed and hawed about running this race.  I was downtown at Barrique's working when Barry stopped by around 3:30 asking if I was going to run my division of Open Women's at 4:15.  I had all my running gear in the car with me, but I couldn't decide if I felt like running a mile.  At 3:50, I decided to do it.  I grabbed my stuff, quickly changed and met him down at registration.  Because I hadn't decided to run this, I didn't plan my food intake particularly well.  I ate lunch at about 3pm, and I certainly felt it midway through the race.

There were only 7 of us in the Open Women's division.  It was incredibly small and somewhat amusing at the start when none of us wanted to be right at the starting line, asking each other if they want to be ahead.  This is very different than the Boys Youth group all jostling each other at the start line.

The last time I ran a mile and just a mile was back in high school when I was 15.  The fastest I've ever ran it then was at 8:00.  So I had no idea how to pace myself during this race.  I figured one mile, no big deal, I'll just go all out.  About 200 meters in, I'm running third in the pack and thinking to myself, "holy shit, I'm not this fast."  I pull back.  I turn a few corners and I'm climbing the hill back toward where we started.  Halfway up this hill, I hit the 1/2 mile marker and someone shouts 3:22.  Whoa, still way too fast.  And sure enough, I feel myself lose all gas at this point and some of that lunch shifting itself upwards.  The second half mile, people are passing me left and right, but I've little choice in the matter and nothing left to sprint with at the end.  I come in last.  Still, I finished it at 7:30 for a PR. 

Movin' Shoes Full Moon 5k

"Hot" black shirt.

 We were blessed with a cold spell this last week.  Temperatures dropped to the 70s during the day, and it was often cool enough at night to wish for a light jacket.  These was amazing temperatures for mid-July races.

The Full Moon 5k is put on by the Madison running shoe store, Movin' Shoes.  I've bought the last 4 pairs of running shoes there.  The shoe store puts on a number of races throughout the year including a Frosty 5k and a Elver Park 5k, but this is the first of their races that I've been to.  The race is limited to a field of 500 runners, which is plenty so that I was never alone on the course, but I also never felt crowded.  At only $20 race registration with technical shirt, blinking light and chip timing at the finish, this race is a much better choice in my opinion than the Electric Run.

The race starts at 9pm on a Thursday with packet pick-up over at Olin Park, which is actually about 3/4 mile from the start.  Barry and I parked down there, picked up our packets and t-shirts, hid from the storm cloud for about 20 minutes before we had a nice warm-up to the start.  I debated back and forth about a rain jacket.  There was a looming storm cloud that may or may not hit us, but when the rain never quite materialized before the start, I didn't bother.  It was just a bit too warm for a jacket anyway.  I did wear a hat to keep raindrops out of my eyes just in case.

By 9pm, the sun has set in Madison, and it's fairly dark.  Barry warned me of the speed bumps on the course with stories of when he tripped over one and then finished the race with blood dripping from his elbow.  The race directors provided us with blinking lights to attach to our persons, which I appreciated, but this I also left behind with the rain jacket.  It was darker than I had expected but the race directors lighted the course with blinking lights in the parts where street lights were lacking.

The course itself is beautiful.  We start on the west side of Monona Bay and run around it to Brittingham Park, cutting over to John Nolen and then back down to Olin Park for the finish.  Everybody who's ever lived in Madison knows that the drive around Monona Bay has some amazing views of the Madison Capitol and the skyline, especially at night in the summer when the bay glitters with the reflections of the lights.  The course takes us right toward and past this view.  These kinds of courses were designed as a love letter to Madison. 

Bugline Recreational Trail

This post would be more interesting if it were punctuated by some photos, but I don't run with a phone, so no photos.

I was in Milwaukee this weekend and decided that after weeks of training on the treadmill, it was time to take it on the road.  We had a bit of relief from the heat this weekend: only high 80s as opposed to high 90s.  The Bugline Recreational Trail is in Waukesha County, but the start of it is pretty close to Milwaukee County Line.  I started actually about a mile in on the trail.  It's a gravel stone path with some road crossings.  Every mile was marked with a sign next to a wooden bench.  The path is mostly tree-lined, though there were a few areas where I was under the blazing sun.  I tried to run faster past those areas. Between the mile 3 and mile 4 marker was this stone quarry just beyond the bushes on either side of the path.  The quarry was no longer in use and had this beautifully blue quarry pond.  It was completely unexpected and I was reluctant to turn around about a half mile past the mile 4 marker because I wanted to see what else laid on this path.

I was on the treadmill for most of the last few weeks because of my knee and left foot, and I think the time on the bouncier treadmill surface helped.  I didn't feel any pain on my run.  I was not, however, adjusted to the heat and humidity.  All told, I ran about 7 miles in 1 hour and 15 minutes or so.  My shoes picked up a nice selection of rocks. 
  

Mineral Point Historical Run

I meant to write this post about the Mineral Point Historical Run that happened on the Fourth of July earlier, but I got started and then I sort of just forgot. So I'll do my best to recap.

I wasn't feeling the run at all on the morning of the Fourth. I slept late the previous night and got woken up much too early by chirping birds. Only about 3.5 hours of sleep before Barry picked me up at 6:30am. In my hazy not quite awake state, I managed to put on the proper clothes, but forgot to apply sun block or bring a hat. This was a mistake for July. At first I wasn't too worried since it's only a 5 mile run. I figured 50 minutes in the morning sun shouldn't be too bad. Nope, felt that sun beating down on me about 25 minutes into the run, and I started worry about sun burn.

I had been warned that it'd be a hilly course, but I thought it'd be good training. Unfortunately, only about a mile into the race, I started getting cramps. I began walking knowing that that was the only way I could expect to continue, but then I was kind of just done with the race. I just didn't want to run anymore. Eventually, I manage to convince myself to start running again, and I aimed to just pace with the people around me. By this point, there were very very few people around me.

In most races, I'm usually middle of the pack. I've never been far back enough or in races small enough where I needed to actually pay attention to the route markers. The Mineral Point Historical Run had two events, a 2 mile and a 5 mile. The 2 miler had about 150 participants, but the 5 miler only had about 80. I was occasionally in view of a couple of people, but when corners were quickly turned in succession, I had to follow the route markers or I'd be completely off course.

I came in 52:57, which is still under an 11 minute pace, but puts me in 77 out of 80 people. Poor showing, but I can't complain when I walked nearly half of the course. After the race, I went to bbqs and enjoyed good food with little guilt.

The Mineral Point Historical Run is a very small town race. We didn't even have bibs, just our name written on a slip of paper tucked into a ziplock bag, pinned to our shirts. Registration was expensive for what it was with the lack of food at the end, but it benefits the local Chamber of Commerce.

Fort Atkinson Half Marathon

The half marathon distance is probably my favorite distance.  I find that I never quite enjoy a run until I reach about mile 6.  I'm always amazed at what might have felt like a difficult first 6 miles suddenly becomes an enjoyable and easy run when I see that mile 7 marker.  It probably helps that come mile 7, I'm slowly and steadily passing people rather than struggling to keep up with those around me.  The miles start to feel like they're just flying by and I feel much more relaxed.  Barry said that running a half marathon always convinces him that he does not want to ever run a marathon.  For me, running the half marathon is what convinces me that I may want to run a marathon.

I ran the Fort Atkinson Half Marathon Saturday.  This is a small local race technically in its 4th year with a field of only about 350 runners.  I say technically because according to Barry, this used to be a 10k event for many years until they recently upgraded it to a half marathon distance.  There's also a 5k event that's new this year with only about 150 runners.  The half marathon started at 7am, and the 5k started 10 minutes later.  The fairly flat course took us through and around Fort Atkinson.  There were small bunny hills throughout, but I hardly noticed them.  It kept the course interesting without adding any real difficulty though I heard others disagreeing.

Syttende Mai 20 mile 10 mile run

Around the beginning of May, I signed up for the Syttende Mai 20 mile run.  This was before I had run the marathon, and I was ambitious.  There weren't many runs in general that are 20 milers, and I didn't really want to miss it.

But a week after the marathon, I was doubting it.  On a five mile run, something went wonky and my knee was giving me some issues.  Nothing serious, per se, but I noticed it when I had been sitting for a long time and put pressure on the kneecap by crossing my legs.  I started to rethink my choices.

Button to get into festival events.

Come Friday, I email the Stoughton Chamber of Commerce and ask to downgrade to the 10 mile run.  It took me a while to make that decision.  It was hard to determine if the reluctance to take on the 20 mile run was out of deference to the limits of my body and possible injuries or if it was a lack of faith and willingness to take on difficult tasks.  Ultimately, what convinced me was logistics.

The 20 mile and 10 mile run are both point to point.  The 20 mile run starts at the Capitol in Madison and ends in downtown Stoughton.  The 10 mile run starts at the midway point and has the same course.  There's also an untimed 17 mile walk that starts at the Badger Bowl.  The runs and the walk are both part of the Syttende Mai (Seventeenth of May in Norwegian) festival in Stoughton.  There are shuttles before and after the race that runs from Stoughton to Madison.  Since my friend Barry was running the 10 miler, I figured logistically, it'd make more sense to stick with him.

20 miles and Spring Sprint at the Arb 5k

Last season's training for the half marathon had a motto.  It was, "make it to 13.1 miles."  I didn't follow any training plans.  I just ran with the idea that I had to be able to run the half marathon.  This season when I started training for the marathon, I decided to follow a training plan.  Part of the reason was because I wasn't ready to jump back into training and I knew I didn't have the motivation and gusto I had last spring for the half.  So the motto started out as, "stick to the plan." Well, that went out the window pretty quick.  Instead, this season's training motto has morphed to "listen to your body."

Last week, despite the 18 mile long run I had on the schedule, I skipped it.  My body was telling me that it does not want to go out there and run.  I went out there on Wednesday and started a planned 8 mile run.  Instead, 1 mile in I had to stop and walk.  My muscles were more fatigued than usual.  I was getting nauseous.  I did some mental math and knew that this was the week.  This was the week once a month where the running thing just doesn't work for me.  After a half mile walk, I felt a bit better and finished out the run with 6 miles, but I knew the long run wouldn't happen that week.

So I took it easy for the next 5 days and didn't run because I just didn't feel like it.  Unfortunately, the weather decided to take a downturn for the worst too.  It was cold, raining, freezing, and windy this week.  I ran a couple of times that week, but nothing of note.  Come Friday, I walked out that morning and felt great.  The weather felt warmer than I expected though it was still only 40, and I felt that today was my day for the 20 mile long run.

It's amazing how easy 15 miles can feel when my body feels ready for it.  Even one mile felt like the hardest thing ever when my body just doesn't want to run.  Mile 16-17 was hard though.  I hit the wall there and I slowed to a crawl.  But one foot after another and I started to find a second wind around mile 19.  Suddenly, I was nearing mile 20 and I was picking up my speed.  I thought to myself, "holy crap, did I just do that?"  3:35 on the clock. 

Saturday morning though, I had signed up for a 5k at the Arboretum.  Barry and I parked near Seminole highway and then walked about .9 mile on the trail to the start line at the Arboretum center.  I thought this would for sure be my slowest 5k yet.  My legs definitely felt tired from the 20 miler.  It was also chillier and windier than I anticipated.  Barry and I warmed up for about .5 miles, reassessed our clothing choices (I decided to go with a hat and gloves along with a light jacket), and waited at the start line.  It was a simple out and back and mile 2 was definitely the hardest.  I finished with 28:23.  Not a PR, but not my worst either.  And it was better than February's Valentine's 5k when I first started running again this season. 

Valentine's 5k

I ran the Valentine's 5k because I really needed another race to jump start me into the training for this marathon.  Upcoming races always motivate me out onto the pavement and get those miles in.  The Valentine's 5k is put on by the UW Running Club.  The cost of the race was only $5, which of course meant no chipped time.

We picked up our race bib at the UW Natatorium.  There was quite a bit of last minute sign up, but we were able to keep nice and warm waiting inside.  We had a bit of a chilly walk to the actual race start which was about 500 meters down the road for the Nat.  While we waited, they warned us at the start that the roads would be mostly clear of ice, but that when there was ice, it'd be about a 4-5 foot stretch.  An audible groan arose from the crowd.  I expected such conditions, but I wasn't looking forward to it. On the walk to the start, I met Charlie who told me about running the same race a few years back, slipped on an ice patch and fractured his hip.  Eeek!

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.

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.   

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

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.

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.