Mere Mortal Runner

Geneva Lake Path (21 miles)

2011-09-12T23:28:00.001-05:00

Over the Labor Day, 2011 weekend, I ran the Geneva Lake Shore Path. This is a path that goes all the way around Geneva Lake. It passes through the towns of Williams Bay, Fontana, and Lake Geneva, WI. In researching the path before the run, I found several blogs about hiking the path, but none about attempting to run it. So, I thought I'd post my two cents on the path so others thinking about running it may know what to expect...

Bottom line - It is each homeowners responsibility to maintain the path, so there is a wide variety of surfaces. The only 'rule' seems to be that the path can't be blocked. There are a lot of uneven surfaces, and several sections of stairs so be prepared to run slower than you're used to.

I parked in Williams Bay (E Geneva St & Harris Ave)- there is plenty free parking and a public bathroom - so a perfect starting point in my opinion. I headed east from there toward Lake Geneva.

The path between Williams Bay and Lake Geneva is a mix of brick pacers, cobble stones, and grass. I'd say it was about 1/2 cobblestone. There were several sets of stairs along the way as well. There were a few homeowners who re-routed the path; one up their boat launch (I have some nice words for that unnecessary hill) and one around the front of their house (I missed the turn back to the lakefront somehow, so cut through the side yard of their house :)

Downtown Lake Geneva is about 6.5 miles down the path. The path through downtown Lake Geneva is brick pacer and a very nice welcome. There is a public bathroom and water in the marina.

About a mile out of downtown LG, the path runs on S. Lake Shore Dr. It is a well traveled road, but the shoulder was generally sufficient to run on. I either missed the entrance back to the actual path, or it is not even close to how it is drawn in Google maps. I stayed on the road and headed west on Hwy BB. I then cut back to the lake at Hilltop Dr. Any extra miles were probably made up for by the consistent and smooth surface.

Not long after getting back on the path, it took a sharp left away from the lake again. A guy 'manning' a boat launch pointed me in the right direction It wasn't well marked when I turned, but was well marked after that.

From there, the path ran through a golf course - I was surprised the golf course didn't even mark the path - it was just across the grass for the most part.

Along the south side of the lake, there was another mix of surfaces. With less cobble stones, but more dirt path (complete with roots, so watch your step) Several places the path narrowed to single file width. There was a water fountain on the path in someone's back yard around mile 15 of my run - about a mile east of the Geneva Lake Yacht Club (Yacht Club Dr). There was Probably more grass than anything along this side of the lake.

Through Fantana, the path is sidewalk, and another nice welcome after the uneven terrain. There is again a public bathroom and water available.

Between Fontana and Williams Bay, the path is mostly dirt. It runs through a few camps (a church camp and George Williams College).

In total, my course of the path was 21.6 miles. It was much hillier than I expected (although not too bad), and the uneven terrain made it a much slower run than I'm used to. I wouldn't suggest it if you have a big race in the near future (due to the risk of rolling an ankle or something), but if you're willing to slow down and take your time, it is a doable run. I ended up about a minute per mile slower than I'm used to running (due to the terrain and getting stuck behind a few walkers).

I don't know if I'll ever do it again, but running through the backyard of multi-million dollar mansions (belonging to the likes of the Wrigley Family) made it well worth the adventure!

Get out there and Run!!

Just not my day - Chicago Marathon 2010

2010-10-17T20:53:00.003-05:00

The summer leading up to the 2010 Chicago Marathon, I hadn't been training nearly as much as in the past. In past seasons I averaged 4-5 runs per week, where this year I was lucky to get in 3-4 pm average per week. However, I had been making the most of the training runs that I was getting in. For reasons unknown to me, I was running faster and feeling better on my long runs than ever before. My last 20 mile run was completed in 2 hours 45 minutes (8:17 per mile). I also had a predicted marathon time of 3:23 when I did a well known running test (Yasso 800's - 1/2 mile fast run followed by 1/4 mile jog - and you do that 10 times). With all of this in mind, I convinced myself to start the race at an 8:00 per mile pace and see how I felt around mile 18 or so.

Plans are all great, but race day is a whole different story.....

It was a warm morning - upper 60's at the start, and supposed to go up to the mid to upper 70's by the race finish. I got to Grant Park, did my last minute prep, found my way to the start corral I was assigned, and found the 3:30 pace group (a pace group is basically an experienced leader followed by a group of runners that want to complete the race in a given time). After the normal opening 'ceremonies', the race was on! I crossed the start line about 3 minute after the official start (much faster than in the past). The first 10 miles were perfect - the group was running between 7:45 and 8:05 per mile, but that is when my nagging cramp started. This cramp had nagged at me all summer, but it usually went away in a mile or 2, so I wasn't worried. I kept with the group and ran through the cramp. At mile 12, we were 50 seconds ahead of an 8:00 pace, and I was fully convinced that I could sustain this pace for the entire race. The cramp hadn't gone away by 12.5, so I slowed down a little - confident that when it went away I could catch up with the group.

At mile 14, I saw my wife, kids, and Father-in-law. By that point, my left quad had started to cramp also and I was hurting, but I tried to put on a smile, stopped to give my almost 3 year old daughter a high five, and continued on my run. By mile 16, my right quad started to cramp too. I walked through a couple water stops, but kept pushing on. I saw my Brother and Mom about mile 17, and that was a nice uplift to my spirits (that were quickly breaking). Shortly after that, I stopped and tried to stretch my quads - which may have been the worst mistake of the race. As soon as I lifted my left leg, my entire hamstring cramped up. Back on the race course, I made a conscious decision to stop pushing so hard, and to take it easy the rest of the race. Putting up what would have been an 'OK' time wasn't worth hurting myself, or taking weeks to recover from the race. So, I started running a slower pace, and walking through water stations. Not long later, I started walking between water stations for a couple minutes also. To top off my slow second half, I was drinking so much Gatorade trying to help the cramps that I had to stop and go to the bathroom - something I had never had to do during a race. To put the last 10 miles into perspective, I finished the first half of the marathon in just under 1 hour 45 minutes, and the second half took me 2 hours 13 minutes - quite a difference.

The most frustrating thing during the race was watching the 3:40, 3:45, 3:50, 3:55, and 4:00 pace group pass me. I tried to keep up with most of them, but the cramps quickly told me not to bother. In the end, I finished in 4 hours and 3 minutes - about average for most marathons, but far below what I had hoped and expected to do. It was my second slowest marathon time (followed only by New York where I was too injured to run, but too stubborn not to try). In the end, I'm very disappointed I didn't reach my stretch goal of 3:30, but the am very pleased that I kept my head about me and didn't do anything stupid. I like to think it shows how much I've grown mentally since my New York marathon - when I insisted on running when I really shouldn't have (I think I had a stress fracture that year, but refused to go to the doctor because I knew he'd tell me not to run). This year I made the right decision during the race to slow down, take it easy, and live to fight another day.

I keep asking myself why I cramped up - maybe it was the heat (it was 81 degrees when I got in my car for the drive home), maybe I started too quickly, maybe I didn't drink or eat right leading up to it - but I don't think any of those caused it as I prepared right, and ran on hotter days earlier in the summer without any issues.

All in all, it just wasn't my day....but I finished, and that's something only about 0.1% of Americans do every year - and I've done it 5 times now - I have to be proud of that. After the race, I couldn't wait to get back on the trail for a run (although I did make myself take 5 days off to try to recover). My first run back was a slow 3 mile run with my daughter in the stroller - that reminded me why I run - my daughter loves those runs maybe more than I do, and that alone makes me happy beyond what words can express!

Get out there and run.....

Marathon Season is Here (for the running geek in all of us)

2010-03-29T17:02:00.005-05:00

Last week, I sat down to attempt to plan out my marathon training schedule. As I struggled through how much to run, when to start, and what plan to start with, I had a lot to keep in mind:

1) We have a baby on the way - due April 20 - this could really hinder my training schedule.

2) I have a 2 year old at home (maybe this will be the year of the jogging stroller??)

3) There are a few key races I love to do and needed to incorporate those into the plan:
- Soldier Field 10 Mile (May)
- North Shore Half Marathon (June)
- Chicago half Marathon (September)
- Chicago Marathon (October 10)

I really don't have a goal this year. I would love to do better than the 3:39 I did last year, but considering I am way behind where I was last year at this time, I don't know if that is a realistic goal (not to mention #1 and #2 above :-) So, I think my goal is the same that it's always been - run the best race I can run on the day of the race (10/10/10).

With that in mind, I started with the goal of doing the Half marathon in June, then starting my 'official' 16 week training program after that. Here's what I came up with:

Mondays - Cross Train (likely a bike ride with Sarah or long walk)
Tuesdays - Speed work (about 5 miles or so)
Wednesdays - Easy pace 5 miles
Thursday - Tempo run - 8 miles
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Long Run (10-22 miles)
Sundays - easy run 3 miles (Saturday and Sunday can easily be switched if needed)

The first 10 weeks (leading up to the North Shore half marathon) were loosely based on a plan put together by Ryan Hall: http://www.runnersworld.com/charts/hallchart.html, while the final 16 weeks were based loosely on the plan I attempted last year from Runners World: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-255-11938-0,00.html#

For those newer to marathons, or wanting a slower paced schedule, I'd recommend trying this plan: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-255-11937-0,00.html#

In total, I will do 4 runs of 20 or more miles, and IF I complete all of the runs, I will run over 900 miles between now and October 10 - I am sure I'll miss several runs, but it's a good goal - wish me luck.

Get out there and run!!

Trail Tested

2010-01-27T11:40:00.005-06:00

Last weekend, The Runners Edge running club had a 'special' run...we were all able to test out the new Saucony Razor shoes on a trail run. Yes, you heard me right - a trail run in January in the suburbs of Chicago. Did this make us all crazy - some may think so, but we are after all a running club, so what else would expect us to do :-) The temperature wasn't bad at about 30 degrees. In any case, I was very excited to try out these new 'weather proof' trail shoes from Saucony.

Upon putting on the sleek looking black shoes, I immediately noticed they were not nearly as cushioned as I'm used to. Keep in mine I typically buy about the most cushioned shoes on the market, so this was no surprise. They were generally comfortable though, and looked much 'cooler' than most running shoes I've ever owned.

The group of about 12-15 of us hit the road for a 1/2 mile run to our normal summer trail - once entering the trail, the first 1/2 mile or so is paved. This stretch had was fairly clear of snow, but was very slick and icy in spots. I noticed that those of us wearing the razor had MUCH better grip then those who chose to go with their normal running shoes. Nothing nearly as good as my Yax Trax (basically rubber bands wrapped with metal that stretch over shoes and give unbelievable grip on ice), but much better than standard running shoes. Once we hit the non-paved portion of the trail, I realized why I avoid the trails in the winter - there had been enough walkers/skiers/park vehicles that the trail was basically a mess of small bumps and crevices that had frozen over. My ankles rolled all over the place as I struggled through about 2 miles of the trail. I was running an extremely slow pace for me, but after a month off and given the trail conditions, I was fine with just logging the miles and not worrying about the pace.

Overall, I really liked the Razors. They kept my feet warm and dry. They definitely live up to their billing of being wind and water proof. I think they would be ideal for Chicago in the late fall or early summer when trails are often muddy/flooded. I'm not 100% sure if I'll shell out the $130 to buy a pair of them, but something tells me if I don't, the next rainy day I run on I'll be missing them.

Get out there and run!

Chicago Marathon 2009 - stumble to success!

2009-10-13T20:13:00.010-05:00

This past weekend was the culmination of about 1,000 miles of training runs - it was the 32nd Chicago marathon. It was the second time I've run this race, and my fourth marathon overall (Chicago 2006, New York 2007, Illinois 2009, Chicago 2009).

Up at 4:29 am and out of the house at 5:15; into the city Brad (a neighbor also running) and I drove. As we pulled into the parking garage a few blocks from the start, the DJ on the radio said 'currently in Chicago, it's 30 degrees, but feels like 26'. I knew it would be cold - but in the 20's...I had serious second thoughts about shorts and a short sleeve shirt. We parked and I looked for my bag in the back seat - but it wasn't there....it was sitting in my kitchen floor! It had a lot of critical items in it - my hat, sunglasses, body glide (to help prevent chafing), 5 hour energy, and most importantly my knee brace. I thought 'What a stumble to start my day - it has to improve from here.'

Up until 13 days before the marathon, I had been injury free for the first marathon season ever - everything was going completely to plan. Then, I hurt my knee....I wasn't doing anything other than walking through my house, but a pain shot through my knee - uh oh! I rested my knee for 5 days, then resumed the last week of training - with a knee brace I was fine, without it, I had some mild pain. Luckily, I was able to find a medical tent near the start line and taped my knee. I also called Deb and asked that she bring the bag with her so I could get at least my hat when I saw her on the course.

So, off to the start line I went. I entered the mob of people to get into my assigned start corral. At the marathon, there are four start corrals (behind the elite and top 100 runners)....to get into a corral, you have to send in a qualifying time - I was assigned to corral C. Once into the start coral, I looked for my spot - at the very back of the corral was a sign that said '3:45' signifying if you planned to run the marathon in 3 hours 45 minutes, you should line up there....I thought - I guess I'm running faster than 3:45 today. Going into the marathon, my goal was 3:45, but I thought that was a bit of a stretch. The corral was great though - there was plenty of room to move around, finish stretching, and shiver to keep from freezing! Still questioning my clothing choice a bit, I was ready to get moving and warm up!

About 15 minutes later the race started, and 3 minutes after that I was across the start line and running. I was feeling great, I was running great miles and someplace around mile 7 or so, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see Sterling, one of Deb's c0-workers who is a very good runner. We chatted for a few minutes, and agreed to pace off each other. We burned through to the 1/2 marathon point chatting now and then, and hitting the half marathon point way ahead of my goal pace. About that time, my right knee started hurting. It felt like a had a bruise on the top of my knee cap. The strange thing is my left knee was the one that had given me issues for the prior 2 weeks. I ran through it and tried to ignore it.

Just before mile 15, I saw Deb, Sarah, my In-laws, and Kim (Deb's friend) cheering me on. I took a hard right and stopped to grab my stuff. I saw a large yellow sign that said 'Go Dada' in block letters - it was by far the best sign I saw I saw all day! I grabbed my hat and 5 hour energy drink, and a pass to Deb's corporate tent. I was probably stopped for less than 30 seconds, but it felt like an eternity! I was back on the course and running. As soon as I put the hat on my head, I felt 10,000% better - I'm not exactly sure why, maybe it just felt like home having my normal running gear on. I picked up the pace for the next 1/2 mile and finally caught back up with Sterling. We continued running together until about mile 23 when my right knee started hurting a little more, so I slowed down a bit.

At that point I started thinking about the many people that have lived through a lot tougher things than running a few miles with a sore knee. Specific people who have touched my life went through my head - two in particular kept popping into my head:

One was Deb's late grandmother (Boggie), who despite being in a nursing home for 9+ years, was always thankful for everything she had, never wanted to inconvenience anyone, and always so grateful for our visits.

The other was my Mom's cousin Terry who has been in a wheel chair ever since I've known him, and has lived 30+ years beyond what the doctors said he would. Despite all of this, he always has a joke and a smile for everyone who he sees.

With that in mind, I dedicated the last few miles to them and pushed through to the finish line! When I hit mile 24, I knew I had a chance at 3:40, but I'd have to pick it up...so I did. I basically sprinted the last 1/2 mile of the race, and finished in 3:39:59! That's almost 16 minutes better than my previous personal best (3:55:51).

It was by far the best race of my life! I like to think I will improve in a future marathon, but if I don't, I'll always be able to say I was in the 3:30's for a marathon - which even impresses me!

Below are my splits for my fellow running geeks (per Garmin - which measured the race at 26.46 miles - it got off by .2 miles before mile 5):
Mile 1: 8:16
Mile 2: 8:21
Mile 3: 8:08
Mile 4: 7:48
Mile 5: 8:02
Mile 6: 8:12
Mile 7: 8:11
Mile 8: 8:16
Mile 9: 8:19
Mile 10: 8:19
Mile 11: 8:16
Mile 12: 8:08
Mile 13: 8:25
Mile 14: 8:18
Mile 15: 8:08
Mile 16: 8:32
Mile 17: 7:46
Mile 18: 8:19
Mile 19: 8:18
Mile 20: 8:22
Mile 21: 8:32
Mile 22: 8:30
Mile 23: 8:46
Mile 24: 9:03
Mile 25: 8:52
Mile 26: 8:23
Mile 26.46: 3:19 (7:12 per mile pace - this was the 26.2 plus the extra .26 Garmin measured it)

Get out there and run.....

My latest 20 miler

2009-08-30T21:29:00.004-05:00

In training for the Chicago Marathon, I have three 20 mile runs scheduled (yes, I may be certifiably insane :-) The first one was 3 weeks ago, and it rained for the first 13 miles, which sort of set the scene for what turned out to be a terrible time. But, I finished and wasn't too sore the next day, so I couldn't complain.

I ran the second 20 miler yesterday. I typically do an out and back route, but this time I had two friends running with me and we ran from my house in Libertyville to the Wisconsin border (via the Des Plains River Trail). Temperature wise, it was a PERFECT day for running - low 50's. However, there was a 10-15 mph headwind the entire way. About mile 10, I was wishing for that out and back route - a tail wind would have been nice - but we pushed on.

I ended up finishing in just over 2:52 (we took a couple very short walk breaks that I did not count toward my time nor mileage)...Here are a few things I learned (and/or confirmed) on this run:

- Running with others really does make it easier - I probably would have stopped and rested a couple times and/or turned around to get that tail wind if I hadn't had others with me. But the others kept me going toward the goal of running to Wisconsin!
- Head winds suck - a couple times we went up hills with the wind blowing directly in our faces - that's not a good feeling! But in hind-sight, it was great training!
- The 2nd run at any distance is WAY easier than the first - If you're training for a marathon (or a half marathon), and you struggle through a long run, keep pushing forward, the second time at the same mileage is WAY easier!
- Water and Gatorade are essential for long runs - I use a belt with six small bottles, while the others used a Camel back and a backpack with a larger water bottle in it. I was by far the happiest as I was able to mix up the liquids.
- My wife is AWESOME! Come on - she drove 20 miles one way to pick up three stinky guys, then was stuck in a car for 30 minutes with us

6 weeks until the Chicago Marathon - no clue what pace I should shoot for...we'll see how my next 20 miler goes.

Get out there and run!
-

Passed (by a 10 year old)...

2009-08-22T13:21:00.004-05:00

Last week, we got the Libertyville Gazette* in the mail...I typically don't pay a lot of attention to it, but this week was different. Right on the cover of it was a full page advertisement for a 5k, complete with a picture of an unbelievable 10 year old running last year's race....this flooded me with memories of last year's race.....

It was almost a year ago that I ran in the Twilight Shuffle (in Libertyville, IL). It was a somewhat unique race because it started at 6pm, but I was looking forward to running a race that was so close to my house. Despite a hilly course and a warm afternoon, I was running very well, passing a lot of people, and on pace to set a new PR (Personal Record). Just after the 2 mile point, a kid blew past me like I was standing still....I'm not talking about a high-school kid, it was a kid who looked like he was 7 to me. I thought - that kid must have just jumped in to catch up with someone....but I watched him continue to run and fade into the distance in front of me. Who was he, did he really run the entire race, how is he really (please say he's just a small 18 year old)....so many questions.

I ended up setting a PR with a sub 7:00 per mile average, and was very pleased with that. However, the questions of the kid still lingered. The next day, I anxiously awaited the 'official' results. There it was, I had officially set a new PR, however, several runners above me was that kid - a 10 year old from Libertyville. How could that be? A 10 year old shouldn't be able to kick my butt....

A year later the 'pain' of having my butt kicked by a 10 year old has faded, and I have signed up for the race once again. The difference is that this year I'm mentally prepared for the kid to pass me at some point - not that I'll like it, but I certainly won't try to keep up with him....

Get out there and run!

*The Libertyville Gazette is a small 'magazine' put on by Main Street Libertyville, an organization of Libertyville businesses

Conquering the 'hill'

2009-06-22T21:10:00.005-05:00

A couple weeks ago, I ran the North Shore Half Marathon in Highland Park, IL. I ran this race last year and I was not even close to prepared for the race. I had signed up 2 weeks before race day having run no further than 8 miles prior to the race. I didn't expect to do great, but never thought I'd have to walk up a couple large hills and post my worst 1/2 marathon time ever......

So, when I signed up this year, I made it my personal goal to conquer the infamous 'Park Avenue Beach Hill' (or famous as the organizers call it).....

It was a beautiful day for a race, and I planned to start off around an 8:00-8:15 per mile pace and see how I was feeling after the infamous hill (which was around mile 8). The race started and everything felt great - I was running with Ian again (see my last post for the blistering pace he made me run in my last race), and I thought we were going a little fast. When I looked down close to the 1 mile mark and saw that we were going to finish the first mile in under 7:30, I told Ian to go ahead as I couldn't hold that pace through this course for 12.1 more miles. I still did the first two miles in under 7:30 each, but then settled in closer to my 8:00 pace.

Mile 6 started the long rolling hills - I didn't remember these from last year, but I've always liked running hills - I know, that's a bit demented - but I just have. At mile 8, I started looking for the hill - then we hit a hill that was much smaller than I remembered - this couldn't be the hill I remembered - this was nothing. I passed the mile 9 marker and was very confused on where this monstrous hill at mile 8 was that I remembered so well. Then I rounded a corner and there it was. It was just as long and steep as I remembered. When you can look straight ahead and see the feet of the person in front of you, you know you're running a real hill. I pushed my pace as I ran up the hill and passed several people. It was actually sort of funny to watch everyone push their pace, but actually slow down - sort of looked like we were all moving in slow motion. a couple minutes later, I made it to the top - a little winded, but I had conquered the hill! Goal accomplished! Time to call it a day - then I realized that I still had almost 4 miles to run - ugh!

My pace slowed considerably through those hilly miles, but I was still averaging about 8:10 per mile - not bad. I really just wanted to finish under 1:50 to qualify for a start corral at the Chicago Marathon. At mile 11, I looked down and thought - I could do under 1:45 if I really push these last 3 miles - so I started pushing. I did the last 3 miles in under 8:00 each, and the last mile in under 7:30. I finished the race in 1:44:27 a new personal record! I never expected to do that - especially on this hilly course. Just goes to show you how far determination to accomplish a goal can go!

Now the 'real' training for the Chicago Marathon is starting - I have no idea what my goal should be for that - so far this year I've exceeded every goal I've set - but I know the last few miles of a marathon are a different beast - we'll see how my training goes over the summer before I start to think about time/pace goals...for now I just want to make it through training injury free.

Get out there and run.....

Soldier Field 10 Mile

2009-06-07T21:12:00.003-05:00

It started of as many other race mornings - wake up at 4:45am, get in the car, meet up with a friend for a drive to Chicago. That's about where the 'average' part of the race ends.....

Last weekend I ran in the Soldier Field 10 mile race. I've done this race before, and it's one of my favorites - not so long that I have to do a ton of training, and the finish line is inside Soldier Field at the 50 yard line - very cool to run out of the tunnel on to the field (sort of like living out a childhood dream to be a pro athlete).

Ian, a running buddy (and c0-worker), was running, and he's typically a faster runner than me in distance races (I could take him in a sprint - just ask me :-) However, he had been sick for the previous 2 weeks and said he was going to just jog the race, so I said I'd stick with him. I thought I'd start at about an 8 minute and 15 second mile and see how I felt at the 1/2 way point. However, apparently Ian's body really doesn't have a 'easy jog' setting...so mile 1 was under 8 minutes. Same with mile 2, 3, 4, 5, etc... At mile 7 we were averaging about 7:50 per mile and I asked Ian - can you really keep this pace up? To which he responded 'I was just going to suggest we speed up a little - do you need us to slow down?' At that moment, pride took over and I sucked in enough oxygen to blurt out 'No, I'm fine - only 3 miles left right'.

As we neared the finish, our competitive nature took over. We did the last mile in 7 minutes and 16 seconds. The last 50 yards was an all out sprint - I was about 3 steps behind him when the sprint started. I was just about to catch him 5 yards from the finish when I was cut-off by a couple guys - ugh - I lost by a second.

However, I have to remind myself that in distance running, you should never race against another runner (unless of course you're an elite athlete and running can pay your bills). You are really challenging yourself to complete a distance. It's you against yourself - pushing your limits and setting new boundaries for your body. It has taken me a long time to realize this, and obviously I still forget it in the last mile of many races, but in the end, it's finishing that matters, not who finished ahead of or behind you.

We finished the 10 mile course in 1 hour and 17 minutes and change. That's an average of 7:46 per mile - almost 30 seconds faster than I was planning to run. Without Ian, I wouldn't have even come close to that because I didn't think I was capable of it - I guess pride and adrenalin can drive you do to things you thought never possible :-)

Get out there and run.....

Illinois Marathon Sights and Sounds

2009-04-12T19:59:00.013-05:00

Yesterday, I finished the Illinois Marathon in 3:58:55. I met my primary goal - don't walk, and my 'stretch' goal - under 4 hours. So overall, I'm very happy with my performance, especially with the many training runs I missed due to the terrible winter weather.

I thought I'd share some of what I saw and heard along the 26.2 miles I ran through Champaign/Urbana this weekend:

Best sign - Barack Obama with a word bubble 'If you bonk, I'll give you a bailout' For those wondering, Bonk is slang for 'to hit, stroke, collide, etc' (dictionary.com)...referring to the infamous 'wall' at mile 20 - which is where many runners slow, walk, or fall apart mentally

Best overheard conversation - at mile 15

- Girl 1: 'I might pour some water on my head

- Girl 2: 'Really - why?'

- Girl 1: 'I'm surprised I'm sweating and hot'

- Girl 2: 'Really?'

- I wanted to say - you do realize you just ran 15 miles - right?

Favorite words from the crowd - two college guys giving high fives - one looked at the other and said 'I feel so appreciated'

Guy I'd like to have a 'discussion' with now - at mile 18 someone said 'you guys got this - it's all down hill from here'. Not that there were really any huge hills, but about 75% of the hills were after that point.

Biggest Disappointment - at mile 14 I passed a guy who was walking - he looked so disappointed in himself - I felt bad for him because I felt the same way in the NY marathon.

Biggest Surprise - The medal and shirt are nicer than either Chicago or New York.

One thing I can say now - I have seen parts of Champaign that Deb has not.

One thing I can say forever - I participated in the first annual Illinois Marathon

Favorite Moment - about mile 19, there was a LONG line of traffic waiting for the runners to pass. about 15 cars back, there was a boy (about 7 or 8) sitting in the window of a mini van looking VERY bored. I ran over to the car and held my hand out - the kid got this big smile as I approached and gave me an enthusiastic high five then started yelling 'Come on - you can do it, great job guys, etc.....' I feel like I made his day (or hours of waiting), and he may have helped motivate another runner around me.

Non-Runner I felt bad for - There was a cable truck sitting in one of the long lines of traffic waiting to cross the route - I didn't feel bad for the driver - he's probably paid by the hour. However, I did feel bad for the person sitting at their house waiting for the cable guy to get there in that narrow (4 hour) window the cable companies like to give!

Favorite Stat - 3,272 Calories burned - let's eat! (per my Garmin)

Geeky Stats (all from my Garmin - which measured it at 26.29 - which is likely due to weaving through the crowd and/or taking the outside of several corners to avoid getting 'slowed' down):

Official Time - 3:58:55 (Garmin was 3:58:56 - 9:05 per mile)

Overall place: 713 out of 1799

Division Place: 70 out of 147

Male Place: 560 out of 1182

Mile Splits:

Mile 01: 9:03

Mile 02: 8:47

Mile 03: 8:45

Mile 04: 8:46

Mile 05: 8:56

Mile 06: 8:57

Mile 07: 9:01

Mile 08: 8:54

Mile 09: 8:51

Mile 10: 8:49

Mile 11: 8:57

Mile 12: 9:08

Mile 13: 8:55

Mile 14: 8:46

Mile 15: 9:02

Mile 16: 9:01

Mile 17: 8:56

Mile 18: 9:09

Mile 19: 9:08

Mile 20: 9:30

Mile 21: 9:08

Mile 22: 9:08

Mile 23: 8:53

Mile 24: 9:38

Mile 25: 9:45

Mile 26: 10:13 (yes - seriously)

Mile 26.29: 2:48

Get out there and run.....

Twenty Tough Miles

2009-03-23T19:48:00.007-05:00

Yesterday (Sunday), I ran 20 miles. It was probably the toughest training run I've ever done. This made no sense to me since I've done 20+ miles several times, and did 18 without much problem the weekend before. At mile 14, I was much more tired than I was at mile 18 the weekend before. I generally do an out and back route - run 10 miles north on the trail, turn around and run home. This was really beneficial to me this weekend because I may have just given up at mile 15 if I wasn't 5 miles form home...only one way to go the last 5 miles and that was to continue running.

At mile 16, I did something I very rarely do while running - I stopped and stretched for about 5 minutes - not because I had a cramp, but because I was tired, mentally drained, and needed a few minutes to rest and regroup mentally.

So, as I struggled through the final miles I started thinking (and over analyzing as I tend to do) - what did I do differently this week than in the past. I actually made most of my mid-week training runs, that was different than many weeks this year, but that couldn't be it. I was wearing newer shoes, but that generally helps my long runs go smoother. Then I realized that this year I didn't eat like a runner the week before the run. One of the main reasons I run is so I can eat food that I like. However, eating unhealthy the 3 nights leading up to a 20 mile run - not a good idea! High carb/low fat is the only way to go when a long run is on the weekend agenda. So I've re-learned a lesson I learned the hard way when training for my first marathon - don't try to run if you haven't given your body the fuel it needs to do so. It's sort of like pouring oil into your gas tank and trying to start your car - yes, oil is one component of gasoline, but they are clearly different products (sort of like pasta with red sauce is totally different than deep dish pizza with red sauce on top:-)

Get out there and run.....

Something I thought I'd never do.....

2009-03-16T20:00:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, I did something I thought I would never do....

Rain was forecast all weekend, but I needed to get in a 16 mile run in preparation for the IllinoisMarathon (April 11 at Univ of Illinois). I despise dreadmils (um I mean treadmils), and get really bored on an indoor track about 40 laps in (10 laps to a mile), so I was determined to somehow get it in through the rain. Saturday morning, I woke up at about6:30am (actually Sarah woke us up),and it had rained overnight - but the rain had subsided (for the moment anyway). By 7am, I decided to head out for a run and see if I could squeeze it in without too much rain (or pain). It was about 35 degrees outside so I put on shorts, a short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve shirt, and my light weight gloves. I Laced up my running shoes, put on my geeky water belt and headed out. On a side note, one benefit to winter running is that the long sleeve shirts easily pull over my water belt, so I don't look like a dork - just an idiot because I'm often running in sub zero weather.

I knew this wasn't going to be a normal run when a woman in her mid 40's ran past me as I was walking to my typical starting point and yelled out at me (in a British accent) - 'You're cheating'...when I asked 'why' she said 'you just walked up that hill'. I couldn't deny it - she was right - but then again I could have said - want to run 16 with me today - I'm guessing she would have refused. But, she was a good runner - I followed her for about a mile and did that mile in 8:15 before she headed one way and I turned toward the Des Plains River trail.

About 4 miles into the run, I reached a forest preserve and realized I was having my best run of the year - everything was feeling perfect and I was running at a great pace for this early in the season (8:30 pace). About then it started to sprinkle very lightly - this isn't so bad I thought. I kept heading north - about 1 mile from the nearest cover (in the forest preserve) it started pouring rain - one of the hardest rains I've ever been in. It didn't help that the rain was extremely cold, the temperature had dropped a few degrees, and wind had kicked up to what felt like 100 mph (but was probably around 20 mph). I headed back to the forest preserve but had an idea - how about I take this new path over to the road and go straight to the preserve rather than winding the mile back down the trail. What I didn't think about was how far from the road I actually was - or how much the trail winded over to the road. After spending way too long on that 'short' trail, I headed back toward the forest preserve on the road. I was soaking wet, cold, and cars were whizzing by me giving me looks like 'what an idiot - doesn't he know it's pouring?' It turned out to be almost almost 2 miles back to the forest preserve taking that 'short cut'.

I finally made it to a bathroom and ducked inside. When I looked down, my legs were literally purple - ouch I thought (although the cold had made just about my entire body numb, so I really couldn't feel anything). I said aloud "I'll give it a few minutes, it has to lighten up" (Sometimes talking to myself helps motivate me to keep going). Ten minutes later and no end in sight, I did something I swore I would never do....

I threw in the towel! I called my wife for a ride home - 4 hours later when it was still pouring outside, I knew I made the right decision - although I was mad at myself for giving up. I think if I had on pants, I would have kept going - as I wouldn't have seen my purple legs.

Mother Nature won that day, but I'll be back to fight another day.

Get out there and run....

Welcome to my blog.....

2009-03-16T19:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my running blog. The intention of this blog is three fold:

Share some of the quirky, weird, funny, and amazing stories of my training runs and races.
Share some of what I've learned about running (and myself).
Motivate others (that means you) to run more or start running.

I've quickly realized that the stories I have to tell from past runs/races are almost endless - I just hope they are as entertaining to you as they have been for me (or are in hindsight for me :-) In the coming blogs, you'll hear some of these stories as well as stories that happen to me along the way. I'll also try to throw in some pieces of advice as I see fit along the way (not that I'm an expert, but I am a little anal about learning about running, running right, and sticking to what I've started, so I have learned a great deal about running that may be useful to some readers.

By the time you read this, I'll likely already have my first story posted 'Something I thought I'd never do' (from last weekend). In future weeks/months, I'll blog about what is happening to me during my training for the Illinois marathon (in April) as well as training for the 2009 Chicago Marathon. Some of the stories from my past will include; Getting lost in London, Coming face to face with a huge buck, Coming in first place in my age group in a local race, Watching a 7 year old pass me in a 5k, The joy of finishing my first marathon, the agony of running injured in my second marathon, and much more.

So - go ahead and become a follower of my blog (at the right) - I know you can't wait to hear all the stories I have to tell :-)

Get out there and run....