A running blog with some running

Last week, I was a bit worried there wouldn’t be any snow for this morning’s Triple D Race in Dubuque, Iowa. The race is totally self-supported (no aid/water stations) and is run entirely on a rail to trails course. Snow adds another element to the challenge and thankfully, we got our first snow fall four days before the race! The weather was a nice 25-30 degrees with the only a little headwind when outside the tree line. I wore Yaktrax and carried some water in a Camelbak. I took an iPhone to track the route and also used it for music.

The first 10 miles went very smooth and I felt good. Around mile 15, the legs were tiring fast due to the loose snow. It felt like running in sand and with every step I was slipping. The only stop between the start and finish was mile 22, where you had to checked in at the Handle Bar (a bar in Durango). It was pretty tough to leave food and drink to go run 4 more miles, but I knew I had dry clothes waiting for me at the finish in my drop bag. For the last four miles, I ran with a guy from Osh Kosh, WI and he kept a great, even pace. Me on the other hand, walked, ran, walked, ran and repeated this until we finished together. The finish line was another bar and it never looked so good. Overall, it took about four hours and below is a map of the run and pacing chart. The two dips in pace at the beginning is where I took off and put back on the Yaktrax (a portion of trail was gravel, without snow). The big dip is when I reached the checkpoint and the waves at the end happened because of my running/walking technique. Fun race and I’m planning on coming back next year!

Triple D Splits 1-15-12

Triple D Race 1-15-12

The Cedar River Runners Club puts on a nice little Turkey Trot fun run. I had the chance to run it this past Sunday and discovered what I have been missing. The entry is a measly $3. It’s a fun run, not timed and no one is sure on the distance. I’m guessing around 3.5 miles.

The course is amazing, especially if you like trails. You start at the Hartman Reserve Nature Center in Cedar Falls. The course runs through the nature reserve with trails, steps, some paved paths, open grass and passed a few lakes. There are even a couple sandy spots which wakes the calf muscles up in a hurry. I quickly got out of breath and had burning lungs for most of the race. The post race was low key but had apple cider and cookies. I was one of the lucky door prize winners and scored a shirt, although I had my pick of gift cards, running gear and other donations.

Will definitely do this one again. And hopefully, I can make it back up to run the trails.

The Return of the Turkey Trot (TROTTT) turned out to be a grand return indeed. I originally ran this race way back in 2001, my 2nd road race ever. A lot has changed in 10 years. The race is now chip timed, 4x more participants, and I’m faster. This year, I finish the 8k in 29:18 and finally broke under a 6:00/mile pace for any race distance. It was a fantastic feeling to run fast without fading. For my efforts, I won a pumpkin pie.

Note: I have now set a PR (personal record) in every race distance I can think of this year; 50 mile, 50k, marathon, half marathon, 15k, 10k, 8k, 5k, 1 mile. What a year!

Enjoyed a nice cross country race at the Muddy Monster this morning. The route was three laps of a 5K or 15K total. My splits were pretty even and I felt good except for a slight side ache during the second lap. I wore the Vibrams and they felt fast on the grass, not so much on the short stretches of gravel. Rocks hurt.

Thanks for the awesome race, Bob!

• Lap 1 – 19:25
• Lap 2 – 19:33
• Lap 3 – 19:29

Finally! I broke 3 hours and 10 minutes while running 26.2 miles. And it wasn’t at all what I thought it’d be like.

Before the start - Omaha Marathon

Seven days ago I decided to sign up for the Omaha Marathon. I didn’t really tell anyone because I didn’t really have a goal in mind and wanted to keep it that way. I had previously attempted to break 3:10 only to come up short by 90 some seconds.

The Omaha Marathon had been on my to-do list for awhile and the timing seemed perfect. Michelle and I were already going to be halfway across the state, so why not? We got to Omaha the night before and picked up my race number at the expo. I was expecting a large crowd, but it turned out to be small and maybe five vendors set up in a small hotel conference room. Clearly, this marathon was smaller than I thought. Before heading back to the hotel, we picked up a veggie pizza (the perfect pre-race meal!) before resting up. Pizza is good for loading up on carbs, but bad because it’s also loaded with sodium. Race morning, I woke up feeling dehydrated and decide to drink a multiple cups of water to rehydrate before the start. Bad idea…I thought two hours would be enough time, but nope, I had to stop and use the portable restrooms along the course three times during the first half of the run. To make matters worse, my stomach wasn’t feeling the best and my iPod was out of battery. I hit the 12 mile mark feeling nothing but sorry for myself.

Then, out of nowhere, a 180. My stomach issues went away, I no longer had the urge to pee, and I had completely forgotten about music. I was getting into the zone and losing myself in the rhythm of running.

Sprinting to the finish - Omaha Marathon

The second half of the race was completely different. I felt refreshed, was passing other runners and enjoying my newfound energy. At one point during miles 14 though 18, I remember thinking, “just concentrate on breathing.” It must have worked, because I held it together and by the time I reach the hill at 19, I was ready to pick it up. Four years ago, my younger self would have charged up the incline, but not this time. I knew what those side cramps felt like. Instead, I gradually ran up and even slowed down a bit. By mile 23, I knew I could get under my goal. I even did the math twice to double check. Other runners around me were really starting to fade now but I was starting to go faster. My long, hot summer hill runs were paying off in dividends! The last mile fly by and when I turned the corner for the finish, I saw the clock and realized I finally made it.

Tired after just finishing - Omaha Marathon

Some stats…

• The first 3 miles took 23:43 (7:54 pace)
• Overall pace for the Marathon was 7:13/ mile
• Mile 25 was 6:50
• Mile 26 was 6:14!
• At the halfway point I was 80 out of 626
• At the finish I was 17 out of 626