What This Team Needs Is a Big New Target Race For 2012!!!

Thought I would close out 2011 with these photos of our three Dallas marathon finishers!  Great job in very tough conditions -- as our before and after photos show.  This trip was a lot of fun, and I still can't believe how well Rob, Mike, and Jason did.  Each delivered amazing, gritty runs!  Here's our photos -- I think the car photo should be titled "TOGA PARTY!!!!"  (ala Animal House, which this reminds me of).  NOW -- let's make the KC Full/Half Marathon a target race and seek one road trip event we can focus on for 2012!!!!  Happy New Years!  -- Bill



Some Runners Had Extra Suprises Waiting on Them at The Finish!!!

Pre Race -- Mike looks SO HAPPY with the conditions!!!

TOA! TOGA! TOGA!



Post Race -- We Survived and Thrived!!!!!



Finishing out the year

I've been running a little bit here and there, a little longer and a little faster as my lingering aches and pains have faded. Today I did 6.1 miles on the trail at English Landing Park, bringing my total for the week so far to 11.8 for the week. I think I might end up with a total of 20 miles this week, twice as much as last week. I've run 6 times since a week after the marathon for a total of 30.3 miles. I'll probably end the year about 25 miles shy of 1,200 miles, but that's not bad considering all the time I had to sit out for my bike accident in April and my torn ligament in November.

My main problem is a variety of aches in and around my feet. My Achilles tendons have both been a little tender since the marathon. They weren't tender before, during or for several days after the race, but as soon as I started running again, they were tender. I finally broke out my new stretching gizmo, called the Pro Stretch Plus. I used it for 3 or 4 days, and all the pain went away. I haven't used it for two or three days now, and today the pain started to return, so I think I'll go back to it for a while longer. It obviously works.
Other than  my Achilles, I've had some minor aches in my left foot a couple of times. Today, for one (but not yesterday). I don't know why that is, but I will keep my pace and mileage down until this all goes away.
Regardless, the weather has been very good and I've been off work, so getting out has been great. Next week it will get harder to get out, since I'll be back to work during the daylight hours and will have to run at night.  -- Rob

Really Did it This Time!

My plan was to run with the Cycle City running group this morning for their Christmas Eve run of 5 miles. We met at the nature sanctuary in Parkville by the Park University track.

There were about 20 runners that showed up for the run and I think the oldest runner, besides me, was no more that 30, with three of them having completed the Ironman in Hawaii more than once. Okay, get the picture?

Their plan was to run about an eighth of a mile on the trail and then come out on the street and head down to English Landing and do a loop or two. After the run, we were to meet at the coffee shop in Parkville for conversation and companionship. I was really looking forward to the coffee shop gathering since it reminded me of when the Runner's Edge was in it's small beginnings when we met at Einstein Bros for bagels and coffee.

We started out running the nature trail and it was up hills, crossing foot bridges, across timbers, uphill on railroad ties, more bridges. downhill twisted trails, etc. I was running about midpack at a sub 9:00 minute pace. Way too fast for Mikie in the first mile, but I was hangin!

Then, as we made a sharp left turn around a tree, to run down a hill, I stepped in a slight depression and severly twisted my left knee. Yep, it just had to be my left knee, the one that flared up on me last Monday. I came to an immediate stop and cursed at myself for not just running with a fast crowd, but to run a damn trail to begin with, knowing that the surface would be uneven.

I was just looking forward to getting to know some new people and joining a group of runners and bikers closer to home.

Don't know how far I've been set back, but it's not like I haven't been there before!..........Mike

My Present vs. My Future Self

I received an interesting link this morning to this short 16 minute talk on www.ted.com .  It addresses the topic of why and how we struggle with self control/delayed gratification in sticking to present self disciplines (like running) that will produce better future self outcomes.  For me, the question of 2011 was -- and will continue to be post my 2012 return to running after my hernia surgery -- how do I want to live out the balance of my life....as an athlete or not?  I choose as an athlete, but it takes daily commitment and discipline.

While the end of the talk goes into new tools to visualize future self outcomes, the introductory comments on the use of "commitment devices" reminded me of why I love our running blog, our monthly runs and dinners, our races together, our organized bike rides, and the occasional boys club big race road trip.  All are commitment devices that allow us to share something that we love in our current lives while building better future lives for ourselves and our loved ones.

Enjoy the talk -- here's the link.  And thank you for your continual encouragement!:

http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_goldstein_the_battle_between_your_present_and_future_self.html

Rain stops, I go

Two days of raining, but it finally quit by the time I got home from work tonight. It was still wet and overcast, and a cool 35, but there was no wind. It was actually kind of nice out, run-wise. I hadn't been out for a run since last Thursday, so I was anxious to get out there again.
I felt real good when I started out and I thought I might be able to go five miles without the tendonitis in my Achilles acting up. Everything was fine for the first 3.5 miles, but then the soreness started to come back again. I took it real easy that last mile and a half, and it never got too bad. Still, I can't see myself running more than 10 or 12 miles all week with this nagging little problem. No worries. I'm not training for anything right now anyway.
Tonight's stats: 5.1 miles in 48:21 for a pace of 9:29. -- Rob

Something's got to Change!

Well, now I've logged my last 31.2 miles in forty degree weather with rain. Getting pretty sick of it too. I suppose there could be 8" of snow on the ground and in the twenties, so I guess there's an upside to it. Still, I would like to get some miles in without the rain. The forties are fine, but forties and rain?

Logged and easy 5 miler today averaging just barely over an 11:00 mile pace. I walked a minute after each mile just to make sure I didn't strain or pull something. I did find myself running in the eights a couple of times, but was wise enough to slow it down.

Today began a four month training program for the New River Marathon in North Carolina on May 5th. Really excited about this race for multiple reasons. The Blue Ridge Mountains are going to be beautiful, the race is small and intimate, the weather should be super, the expenses will be very affordable and I'll get to see my brother who lives and hour an a half from the race site.

I hope to see you all on Jan. 2nd for our next MRC. Wishing you all the best for the new year!...........Mike

Running in sunshine

Visited Neil and Emily in Orlando over the weekend. Had a nice 7.8 mile run in the beautiful, Florida sunshine. I did feel the heat but carried plenty of water. It took at least 30 minutes to cool down. I am not used to running in that kine of weather.

Looking forward to MRC on Monday night and I may have Neil with me. - Ken

Another New Beginning.

After years of running, you would think I would have figured this out!

After the experience in Dallas, which, if you look at it one way, was pretty miserable, but in another way it was a positive experience in that we were able to navigate the elements and finish, therefore giving us the label of TOUGH GUYS!

The downside, after a marathon, for me anyway, has always been sort of a mental letdown. I suppose in some ways it could be labeled as a degree of depression since all the training is done, the race is over, and now I found myself sitting wondering what to do next.

All last year I was continuously motivated by the visuals of participating in the Hilly Hundred event and the Dallas White Rock Marathon. When I found myself on the back side of completing those events, I went into a kind of funk for about a week.

Here's what I did. I found a race that suited my time frame, my economic situation and my geographical preference, and I SIGNED UP!

A few days ago I discovered a marathon in North Carolina about an hour and a half from my brother, who lives in Asheville, NC. The entry fee was only $60.00. Not only that, but I made reservations at a lodge in the Blue Ridge Mountains for $130.00 per night. Now, at first I felt that was more money than I wanted to spend. However, the $130.00 per night came with two free breakfasts, two free lunches and two free dinners! Throw that in the mix and it's damn cheap! Makes the lodging around $70.00 a night.

At any rate, I'm now pretty pumped about a spring marathon and, since I'm now pretty healthy, I have 19 weeks to prepare and train.

Life is good!

Mike

10 miles in the morning

I started my day with a 10 mile run. I joined the Sunday Runday group in Overland Park.  I mostly ran alone.  Not too many people this morning.  It was a bit cold.  Running at 7 am after the company party last night is an accomplishment.  Well not really a big deal. I did not stay that late.  And I didn't drink that much.  Moderation in everything... Is 10 miles moderate?  I think it is.

I got a few samples of breath right strips. I've tried them this week. I used them on today's run. I think it does help a little.
My splits:  10:21   10:19   09:50   09:30   10:08   10:23  10:41   10:30  11:11 and ~10:00 for an average of 10:10.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/134018728

I'm still thinking about a marathon in 2012. My knees sometimes bothers me. It was OK today. But my plantar fasciitis acted up a bit.

Rest over

I waited a whole week, and then I felt like I just had to get out there and run again. Went down to English Landing Park for its level, soft surface, and did an easy 5.1. I was stiffer and less recovered than what I expected, but I kept the pace very easy and didn't try to do anything other than work out the kinks. I think I'll keep the runs to about 3 a week for a while, and no more than 15 or 20 miles a week. I want to stay in shape, especially over the holidays, but I don't want to overdo it.
Today's run took 48:37, for an average of 9:32. -- Rob

Morning Run 6.2 miles

I went for another cold morning run.  Not really that cold -- I was comfortable most of the way.  I ran 6.2 miles.  Splits were 9:24 9:49 10:06 10:04 10:19 10:26.

This was longer than I usually run in the morning. It felt good to get 6 miles in.  There were a few years when I ran 6 miles every Tuesday.  I was usually a little late getting to work.   But I have not done that for a while.   So for me 3-4 miles before work is doable and 6 miles is an accomplishment.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133599187

4 recent runs

12/7  I ran this morning in the cold 18 F weather.  A 2.9 mile run.  I don't love the cold, but it's better than being inside.

12/4 Pittsburgh Schenley Park Run 6.7 miles

I was in Pittsburgh visiting my father who moved to a temporary/transitional assisted living a few days before.  I stay with my mother-in-law who lives a little over a mile from the park.  The run also goes through Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).  I enjoyed the trail and hills.  On the way back, I saw an interesting pedestrian bridge to a new computer building, The Gates Center.  I ran over to check it out. It was the  Randy Pausch Memorial Footbridge.  http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/bridge.html  Randy, a CMU computer science professor became famous after he got cancer. He recorder the Last Lecture, on his philosophy of life.  It's on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Nathan was very fond of Randy.  Randy's untimely death is a reminder of Nathan's.  Both very intelligent and both in computer science.  I remember vising CMU's CS department on a college visit with Nathan, the day that Randy died.  I walked over the bridge and was lost in my thoughts about Nathan.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133188198

12/3 Bagel run:  8 miles.  Average pace 11:08.  I ran with some old (also old in age) friends. They ran slower than my typical.  But it's good to be with friends.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133188207


11/29 4.6 mile morning run.  This was fast for me:  9:48 average pace.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133188214

Starting to Feel Better now.

It took almost three days, but I'm now starting to walk normal. Really had difficulty with all the stairs in my house due to the sore quads. Would have been worse if there were more hills.

Already thinking about a spring marathon, something like the Nashville Country Music Marathon on May 28th. Might just run that one and drive on to Ashville, NC to see my brother after the race.

If I do run Nashville it might knock out Running with the cows, but I could still run the 5k..........Mike

Making it through

Marathon No. 9 is now in the books: Dallas White Rock.
This marathon was supposed to the easy one, with no hills and mild weather in a southern climate. Things don't always work out the way they're planned.
The whole notion of a cool, sunny, calm, flat race just went right out the window. Rain was forecast all weekend long, including Sunday, race day. It did rain, and it was cold, and it was windy. The conditions were the most miserable and challenging I've encountered in any of my marathons. I wore rain gear, but there was no way to stay dry in conditions like that. Water ran down the streets and into our shoes as we trudged along, we splashed through ponds that formed at most cross-streets and in all other potholes and low areas. It didn't rain every minute, but frequently and sometimes heavily.
Once we got going I knew my only job was to find a way to finish.
I was determined not to start out too fast and was successful, averaging exactly 10 min. per mile for the first 6 miles and finishing the first 13.1 in 2:08, a 9:46 pace. As early as the 8 mile mark, with no pain in my foot and the rain temporarily halted, I knew I was going to finish.
Right about mile 11, however, I felt a very minor twinge in the bottom of my left foot, the foot that had been the subject of physical therapy. That came on a slight uphill and went away immediately when the course leveled off. Still, I was officially on notice.
Then, about mile 15, the foot began to hurt moderately as I went up hill. The hills on the course were not particularly challenging, but the extra stretch they produced in my foot was becoming significant. At mile 16 I knew my foot would be a problem the rest of the way. If this would have been almost any other course, with a normal number of hills, I'd have been in big trouble. But this one was flat enough that the pain never got unmanageable, and I was saved.
That's not to say it didn't have it's effect. I changed my stride - I knew I was but couldn't help it - and that led to a lot of extra energy burn in my quads. I slowed my pace, and I had to walk quite a bit especially in the last 5 miles to calm down the pain in my foot before I could run again. Time wasn't important, but I was still determined to finish, and to do it without crippling myself.
I finally ran across the finish line in 4:28:40, a 10:16 pace. I've seldom done worse, but I was very pleased with the outcome. As I walked away from the finish line I had a flash of emotion as I realized how fortunate I was to overcome the injury and extreme elements and finish another 26.2 race. You don't always have to have a great time to have a great race. -- Rob

Perfect Conditions in Dallas!

Well, maybe if you're a duck or a Navy Seal!

Although it certainly could have been worse, the conditions, in a nutshell, for the 2011 Dallas White Rock Marathon were pretty miserable. It was low forties for the entire race, which wouldn't have been too bad if it weren't for the cold rain, heavy at times, that we had to contend with, not to mention the large, small and medium puddles that were unavoidable! Throw in about a 10-15 yard stretch of sloppy mud we had to cross and you'll pretty much get the picture of our experience, not to mention how heavy our shoes were from the rain.

The most difficult part was making a decision on what to wear. Didn't want to get wet and cold, but didn't want to overheat either! I opted for my Gortex running jacket, a ski mask that I just used to cover the top of my head and ears, a nice pair of gloves I purchased at the expo (biggest expo I've ever seen), my light weight tights, and a pair of Race Ready shorts to hold my Cliff Blocks, glucose tablets and a couple of Ibuprofen gels.

All things considered, I feel Rob and I were satisfied with our race. Personally, I had three different race times to record. Since it took so long to cross the starting grid after the gun, my gun time was 4:42.55. My chip time was recorded as 4:31: 47. However, my actual running time was 4:25:27. Somewhere around mile 8 or 9 I had to make a serious pit stop and my Garmin stops when I stop.

I had to wait in line behind 12-13 other runners for 5 port-a-potties. By the time I was back on the course I had lost around 6 minutes. My first impulse was to try and make it up, but my better judgement told me to just hold a comfortable pace and get through the race. After all, I felt I was just darn lucky to make the trip and to finish in a respectable time and get a finish medal and another shirt (you received one shirt for entering and one for finishing).

I finished fifth out of 26 in my age group, 17 seconds out of forth place. The third place finisher posted a 4:18 chip time. Probably couldn't have caught him even if I didn't have the bowel problem!

I actually felt pretty good the entire race and ran, what I felt, was a pretty consistant pace averaging 10:02 (my actual run time) and finished strong the last three miles. My fastest mile was mile 25 in 9:13.

Note #1: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th place in my age group were all 65 years old, newbies to the age group. Young whipper snappers!

Note #2: There are llamas in Kansas!.........Mike

I Can't Wait For Dallas! (But I do have to wait for my next marathon)

Gang -- the point has always been for me to use the big events as a goal to organize and guide my daily workouts.  This year -- despite our injuries -- has been truly remarkable!  We've enjoyed hospital visits to our friends  (Ken at the medical tent 2010; Rob at St. Lukes' 2011...), multiple half marathons, Summer Breeze bike ride en route to the Hilly Hundred, fabulous MRC runs and dinners with our expanded group, celebrations together of life's comings and goings, celebrating Dan Gabbert's 1st ever marathon, aAmy Lara's on-her-husband-Dan's-butt-personal-best-marathon, and despite being knocked out mid-November, I'm finishing 2011 as my 4th highest mileage year of my life and was on track to just edge it into 2nd highest!  My monthly totals tell the tale of a successful return -- with a lot of help from my friends -- to running:

• Feb:   56.4 miles
• Mar:   81.6 miles
• Apr:   84.9 miles
• May:  71.8 miles
• June   40.5 miles (2 week Europe trip)
• July    100.9 miles
• Aug    97.3 miles
• Sept   123.2 miles
• Oct:   159.5 miles
• Nov:    69.3 miles (half month)

Looking ahead, with my surgery set for 1/5/2012, I should be back running full time by 3/1/2012 at which point I want to ramp back up to the 30 miles per week level as quickly as possible.  I'm truly looking forwart to 2012 running!

For now, I can't wait to meet up with everyone Sat. afternoon in Dallas, eating the Pasta dinner with my business partner Lissy Bethmann and our manager Laura Simms (you will enjoy meeting them), cheering you on from the sidelines, holding someone else's noodle for a change, enjoying the whole marathon spectical, and 7-8 hours of cheap shotting also known as our drive back home.

Life is for living.  This weekend we celebrate life in whatever capacity we have on Sunday morning!

Bill

Last Miles #2

Like Rob, I too was hampered and set back (two months for me) after the knee surgery. What began early in the year as a goal of running under four hours has now become a survival event for me.

Oh, I'm pretty sure I'll finish, but it will be at least a minute per mile slower than my earlier goal. Yeah, we've been kicked in the teeth a couple of times this year, with Rob's crash into the dog resulting in fractured ribs, separated collar bone, bruises, and possible head trauma. Now, three weeks from race day, he comes up with this foot problem. Bill, having a hernia expose itself about the same time as Rob's foot problem, has knocked him out of the event entirely! Me, well, the upside is the knee problem came at a time when, at least, there were enough days, after healing, to make up for some of the lost training time and give me just enough long run mileage to make it to the finish line.

Monday I ran a slow four miler, skipped Tuesday due to my right knee giving me some pain. Ran a slow three miler yesteday with the knee, again, giving me some concern. In about 30 minutes, I'll run my last three miles before the event on Sunday.

Truthfully, I'm was really excited about this trip, but, Bill being knocked out and sidelined only to be a spectator and cheerleader, Rob worried about his foot, and me still unsure how this is all going to unfold Sunday, has me a little anxious and not in a good way. I'm actually a little nervous, but here's the upside. WE ARE STILL IN IT!!

We will finish, even if it's in pain! Well, more pain than usual after a marathon, and at our age we have to be happy that we can participate in events such as the Hilly Hundred and another marathon!.........Mike

Final miles

I ran my final training miles tonight - 2.3 miles without even leaving my neighborhood - before the Dallas marathon on Sunday. I really took it slow, averaging 10:24.
I've pretty much decided my only goal for Dallas is to finish. If being under-trained is better than over-trained, then I definitely have that edge. Because of my injured foot, I missed my last long run of 20 miles and about two weeks of running beginning about Nov. 1.
I think I'll have to take it pretty easy, especially early, if I'm going to make it to the finish line without pulling up lame. I was thinking the other day that I might run the first 6 or 7 miles at a 10 min. pace, then the middle 13 at 9, and the last 6 or so at whatever pace I can muster. In theory, that might result in about a 9:30 pace, or a 4:09 marathon. Anything around that time would be fantastic. And actually, any finish at all will do. -- Rob

Dare to Read?

Neither meniscus tear, hernia, nor fractured ribs,
Can keep us from donning our running bibs.

We’ve stumbled, strained and crashed,
We’ve been bashed, gashed and trashed.

But, if testosterone keeps pumping,
And Mike keeps on dumping,

We’ll finish Dallas on Sunday,
And recover on Monday.
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc.)

Thanksgiving Volunteer

First of all, I loved everyone's posts from last week!  What a great week!  We led off with a fabulous MRC run and dinner, followed by really interesting Thanksgiving and weekend runs.  Congratulations to Rob for overcoming his foot injury, Angela for pushing Grandpa in the 5k (loved the picture by the way), Mitchell for the 1 hour prediction run (what a fun concept) and Mike for his amazing return to running. 

Like Mike, I had great fun getting up early on Thanksgiving morning and hanging out at a local 5k.  In my case, it was the Sprint Family 5k -- an event I have run all but 1 year since moving here in 1996.  This year, I showed up for the volunteer call at 6:45 am and checked runners in till the race start.  Then watched the race finish in that gorgeous morning sunshine.  I would have rather been running, but it felt awful nice to start the holiday with the running crowd.

Life is good, and I can't wait for our Dallas weekend!  --Bill

Turkey Trot

I did this annual 10 K on 11/24.   It's a prediction run, so no watches or GPS. The winner finishes closes to 11:00 am. You leave when you want to based on the clock at the start. That's the last clock you see until you're done. I left at 9:58 and I got this email with my result:

Dear Mitchell Krasnopoler,
Congratulations for completing today's race.
Your time was 10:58:13.89

So I finished in about 1 hour. The winner was within a half second. I was fast, but I got my choice of a donut.

10 miles today!

I ran 10 miles, the first 10 miler in over a month (10/22). It felt good to be back at the bagel run. It's a lot easier to run 10 with a group, especially one I've been running with for over 10 years.
My splits were:
9:13.5 9:45.1 9:35.2 9:41.4 10:10.4 9:54.2 10:15.4 10:33.9 10:25.1 10:33.9
My average pace was 10:01. Pretty good for me -- not pushing myself too much, but keeping up with a few friends.


http://connect.garmin.com/activity/131384180

Last One!

Decided I didn't want to run any long or difficult hills at this stage, so I headed down to Parkville and ran out FF Highway to the west. This was supposed to be an 8 mile slow long run and FF is fairly flat. Really wasn't sure how to handle that since yesterday was pretty slow anyway.

At any rate I averaged 10:09 per mile which includes a first mile of 11:55 and walking 30-40 seconds at the beginning of each mile. Splits, if interested, were 11:55, 10:17, 10:06, 9:34, 9:37, 10:12, 10:08, and 9:19.

Easy runs from here to Dallas..............Mike

What a Great Day!

Got up at 5:30 for no reason, just wanted the quiet time, plus I had to get an order ready for one of the teams I photographed last week.

Headed down to Parkville at 7:30 with Rob and his granddaughter Angela to take some photos of them during their race. It was just a little crisp before the race, but near perfect conditions for the runners.

After returning from Parkville, I headed out the door for my four mile recovery run and this time I made sure it was a recovery pace. Averaged 11:06 per mile after a 13:00 first mile. Tomorrow will be an easy 8 miler then I head into next week with two four milers two three milers and a two day rest before the big one in "Big D".

After getting myself back into good enough shape to finish this thing, I have finally decided that's what I'm going to do, just finish. I was seriously thinking about how close I could come to a 4:15-4:20, but decided I didn't want the pressure. I'm going to just coast through the race with my only goal of holding onto a 10:00-10:15 pace and enjoy all the festivities.

The only thing that would make next weekend better would be for Bill to be in the race..............Mike

Turkey Trot

If ever there was a day made for running, it was today. Low 40s, no wind, bright and sunny. Angela and I were in the Parkville Turkey Trot, along with about 2,600 other runners and walkers.
The goal for the race was to try to average 10 min. per mile, and we came close, finishing with an unofficial average of 10:14 per mile. We had to walk a couple of times so Angela could manage her asthma, so I think we would have averaged about 9:30 otherwise. We'll get the official results later in the day.
Despite the walking, this was a 5k PR for Angela by at least 6 min. Besides the fun of running with my granddaughter, the upside for me was no pain in the foot.
Mike came along and took several great pictures for us (thanks, buddy!). -- Rob

Encouraged

I think I've turned a corner with my foot. It felt good enough this morning that I made plans to run again tonight, even though I had run on Monday night.
The schedule, largely abandoned for the past two weeks, called for 5 miles. To continue to play it safe, I put my hard rubber heel cups into my running shoes, and I walked the first 4 tenths of a mile so I wouldn't have to run up the hills out of the neighborhood. I started with a 10:10 mile, and actually did 8:45 in mile 4. The average was 9:20.
No pain at all in my feet. My quads are a little sore still from Saturday's run, which featured a very sore foot and bad running form. The bad form on Saturday also brought on a pulled a calf muscle, but all the sore muscles are healing up quickly. I don't have any long runs left before the race, so I should be pain free and ready to roll in Dallas on Dec. 4. I am not thinking PR there.
First, though, granddaughter Angela and I will run a Thanksgiving Day 5k in Parkville. Her pace. -- Rob

Last Goal Pace Run Before "Big D"

Okay, so I stated that I would probably just get in an eight miler without the goal pace miles since I was supposed to do that four mile recover run last night. However, since this is my last run that would require an effort, I decided to go ahead with the 1-6-1.

I began with a third mile walk before I started to pick it up a little, then walked 30-40 seconds at the beginning of each subsequent mile. Finished that first mile in 13:48 then 10:02, 9:24, 10:03, 9:14, 9:30, and the last goal pace mile was 8:39. The eighth mile (cool down) began with a slow pace run, but I soon looked down and saw I was keeping a pace of 9:15-9:20. At that point, I decided to just walk the rest of the 3/4 mile back to the house and call it good.

Now, my goal pace is supposed to be 10:00, but I figure that 10:00 pace will be easier to hold on to for an extended period if I run at a 9:00 to 9:30 pace now. Either way, it's still going to be a crap shoot in Dallas, but I'm going to go out on the proverbial limb and state that I'm pretty sure, at this point, that I can run under 4:30! Doesn't matter anyway!...........Mike

Ditto To Mitchell's Blog!

My splits were just about exactly what Mitchell had and he's correct that I should have slowed it down a little since I was supposed to be doing a recovery four miler. Even my goal pace miles are supposed to be 10:00! However, it just felt so good to be able to run with the MRC guys again without having to walk or J-word!

I'm scheduled for a 1-6-1 today, but will probably just make it a steady 8 miler around Lake Waukomis.

BTW, it was a special treat to see all the guys show up on the same night. How many are in our group now? Can we add Bob? If we recruit any more we may have to get a parade permit to run the Brookside Trail!........Mike

MRC Monday run

Great 4 mile run today. Not too cold. I enjoyed the pace with Mike. Faster than he should have run since he said this was a recovery run. Splits: 10:57, 10:07, 9:52, 9:28. Average was 10:06. It's a good thing we didn't run more, the 6th mile would have been 8:00.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/130232255

I'll miss next month's run because my family is in town for a just a few days. See you in January.

Cold Sunday Run

I joined the Sunday Runday Group. It was a loop for a change -- either 6 miles or 12 if you do the loop two times. I was hoping for 10 or 12, but when I got back to the start, I went out again for 0.4 miles, but my heart was not in it. It was cold and windy and I was running alone for most of the run. And I thought, I did quite a bit yesterday. Still 6.6 miles is not bad just for a run. My average pace was about 10:30.

Damn It's Hot and Humid in San Antonio

Lucy and I are in San Antonio for Jamie McClave's play weekend and I can report that like last weekend's SA Marathon weekend, it is 85 degrees and very humid.  The weather in the evenings is delightful for, you know, strolling along the boulevard with your wife at your daughter's beautiful campus.  Daytimes feature hot, heavy, and very humid air. 

I've thought of you Dan Gabbert as we've walked along.  Your finishing the SA Marathon in jungle like conditions is most impressive!  -- Bill

Running, resumed

If you read Mike's Toilet Triangulation masterpiece in the previous post, you know why most of the MRC membership doesn't show up here. Who can compete with that stuff?

I'm not going to compete, either. Just the facts.

After a layoff of almost 2 weeks I finally hit the road again today. I have to admit I was pretty apprehensive about this run, since I knew my foot was not fully healed. It definitely has improved, however, and my physical therapist was not against this run at all. She thought I could run, that I would be sore afterward, but that I should recover quickly. She just wanted me to take it easy.

I planned to run with Mike on the trails at Smithville Lake. Before we left, I jogged up the street a half block and back again. Not good. I just didn't think I'd be able to go 10 miles. We talked it over and devised a route that would keep us close to the car at all times in case I had to just give it up.

We kept the pace slow, averaging 10:25. I was doing OK on the flat and downhill portions, but any kind of uphill quickly brought on the pain. By the time we hit 4 miles I was sore enough that we discussed driving all the way to English Landing Park so we could finish on a level, soft surface. But once we got to the car at the 5 mile mark, I decided if I didn't finish right then, I wouldn't want to 45 min. later at a new location.

After a short rest we headed out on what we thought would be a flat route. The first mile felt so good that I announced I was sure I could make the full 10. Almost immediately, it got hilly, I got sore, and doubts crept in. I kept going, though, and at the 8 mile mark we turned around and headed back. Now we were running into a 35 mph wind and it forced me to lengthen my stride.To my surprise the discomfort in my foot eased up a bit. I'd been keeping my stride short thinking that would minimize the possibility of further injury. Turned out that a more normal stride was better.

Anyway, I did 10 miles. The layoff didn't seem to have hurt, and I had no problem with the distance. There was plenty of effort, though, and it all came from dealing with the foot. It was constantly on my mind, and I favored it enough that my right hip got a little achy in the later miles. I still don't know if I can go 26 miles, but I have 2 weeks to heal so the chances are good. -- Rob

Today's run and bike ride

The Clocktower ride was delayed so we could do Cranksgiving (see below). So I ran 6 miles this morning. I had intended to run with some MARA people. The email said they were meeting at the CVS at 75th and Wornall. What a great place to start a run. Anyway, I saw a group of people getting ready to run, so I joined them. Wrong group. They were Team in Training (TNT). Coincidentally, I had gone to an info session at Kiewit about TNT and I recognized the coach. I'm considering doing it, but the fundraising is a deterrent. I had a good, even run on the trolley trail. We went north instead of the MRC south. Splits were 09:47, 09:26, 09:55, 10:30, 10:00, 10:11.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/129716337

I also did join the Clocktower group for Cranksgiving in the afternoon. It was sort of a scavenger hunt for the St. Peters Food Pantry. We were not racing, so we did our own thing. The rules if you were racing were to go to about 8 specific grocery stores, but 1 item at each that was on the list. The first one back won. We just bought a bunch of food , etc, at 2 stores. put it in panniers backpacks, trailers, boxes mounted on racks, etc. Then had chilli and beer at St. Peters on Holmes where we donated our purchases. It was a good ride and I was glad to help the pantry. Our group purchased and transported 250+ pounds of food for the St Peter's food pantry.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/129716329

Summary of runs 11/8 to 11/18

I have not been keeping up on my activities. So this is a short post to catch up. See next one for this weekend's stuff.

Fri 11/18 3.2 miles, avg pace 9:43

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/129716340

Wed, Nov 16 5.2 mile trail run Avg pace 11:18

This one was completely in the dark with a headlight. A new experience for me. Challenging? Yes. I couldn't run any faster because I couldn't see too far ahead. I didn't fall. I'm not sure I'll do this again. It is an intense experience, but do I need it? Maybe yes? or not.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/129219759 (ignore the straight line to my apartment. I did not stop my watch)

Tue Nov 15 4 miles avg pace 9:36

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/129219763

Sat. Nov 12 4.9 miles in a Pittsburgh park avg pace 12:27

Wed. Nov 9 4.1 miles, avg pace 10:11

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/127533464

Tues. Nov. 8 4.8 mile, avg pace 9:37

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/127533477

Working Agains the Wind!

Not knowing if he could, or would, I invited Rob to go with me to Smithville to run the trails. He said he thought he could make it if we didn't push it, so we headed north at 8:00 this morning.

We began our run, slowly, and I immediately found myself running with a handicap! All the bathrooms were locked!!! We began our run, but I knew I would have to hit a tree line for cover somewhere.

To complicate things we ran past the sign that informed us that a "Controlled Hunt" was in progress, but we pressed onward. I think we only heard one gun shot, or maybe two, but that was too many so we turned around and figured out a different route. I was willing to chance it and run the route we planned, but since Rob was wearing his favorite Christmas hat, you know, the one that looks like rain deer antlers, we headed back to the car.

Rob's foot seemed to be a problem the entire run, but he toughed it out and we got in the ten miler.Splits as follows: 11:40, 10:40, 10:04, 10:06, 9:50, 12:52 (we walked part of this one), 10:46, 11:19, 10:08, 8:54.

We had a stiff cross wind going out, but coming back was pretty tough. We were running right into what seemed like a nor'easter at times, especially the last two miles. A few times, it seemed like it stopped us cold in our tracks.

Oh yeah, I know you're wondering, and YES, I finally found one of the out houses unlocked. I also found another one unlocked and used the marina bathroom as well. As we walked from the marina I noticed that there were three, yes, three different bathrooms triangulated around us. I was truely in Mikie Heaven!!!...........Mikie

Hard to Enter This Blog.

Man, how things change from week to week with our training and plans!
A few months ago I had resigned myself to the fact I was going to pretty much be a spectator in Dallas and just enjoy the trip. In addition, I was thinking that I should just give up running and bike on occasion.

Rob, was sailing right along on his way to being close to a PR in Dallas and now he's, to use a football term, questionable, three weeks from race day. He's getting treatment in the hope that his foot is well enough to get through the race, I hope so, but we'll see. Bill, too, was sailing right along and gaining confidence with every long run. He was even pushing himself in the middle miles to hold onto his race pace goal. Now, it looks like he's totally out of the race due to, what looks like, a hernia.

My point is, not to many weeks ago, I was really envious of Bill and Rob being able to run the mileage and pace they were running. Now, I just feel bad for both of them as I know how difficult it is to train for months only to have something happen that could shut you down. Tomorrow we will be two weeks away from leaving for Bid D. I hope Rob is ready to go and Bill, by some miracle, is able to participate. At least we'll know Bill will be there for the support we need as we start, and hopefully finish, the 2011 edition of the Dallas White Rock Marathon........... Mike

The Lesson Learned is This: Never -- I Repeat, Never -- Declare Victory on the MRC Blog!

Yesterday, exactly 9.5 hours after declaring victory on my groin injury, I discovered a classic, golf ball size hernia buldge on my left side after a 5 mile treadmill run (2 miles warm up at 10:54's; 2 miles at 9:49's; 1 mile warmdown at 10:31).

I have an appointment for next Tuesday, but I'm 99% sure I'll be (a) walking, not running at next Monday evening's MRC run, (b) volunteering instead of running at the Sprint 5K on Thanksgiving morning, (c) taking photos and yelling support from the sidelines in Dallas (I'm still going on of course...a road trip IS still a road trip!).

Like I said, I never should have declared victory yesterday! --Bill

Decided to Push it a Little.

Well, my original schedule, before the meniscus tear, called for a mile warm up then 1600 at 8:00 pace, 3200 at 800 pace, and a 1600 under 8:00. Obviously, this was now out of the question.

Well, what should I do? At first I thought I'd just run for 8 miles and pick it up here and there, but since I'm scheduled for a ten miler Saturday, running 8 miles on Wednesday didn't make much sense. Soooooo, I walked and jogged the first mile in 12:54 then went to a 9:55 second mile, a 8:19 third mile and finished up with a 7:56 for mile four. Followed that with a half mile cool down and called it good.

My thoughts on the speed work were, since I was just setting a goal to finish at Dallas, I really didn't need it. However, don't you think that throwing in speed work will make it easier to hold onto that 10 minute mile pace?...Mike

Good News On My Groin Injury

BOY!  With a title like that, I'll bet you're just dying to read all the details...

Background is that my left groin area has been sore for quite awhile now, and getter more and more sore as my training mileage increased.  Pace miles have left me sore for the rest of the day.  The ache is very similar to the hernia pain I had back in 2005, only on the other side, which had me worried.  But I've had no hernia bulges.

Long story short is that I took a 2 hour nap Sunday afternoon on our living room couch which is L shaped and puts my legs in a different position than I normally sleep, and when I woke up all pain was gone!  I've been focused since then on where I put my legs at night (no comments please...) and this week I'm seeing huge improvement.  Yeah!

Ran a 6 mile treadmill workout Monday that included 3 pace miles at 10:00's, then traveled yesterday.  Hoping for either intervals or a pace run today. --Bill

Count Down!

Cruising through a 6 mile recovery run today. The weather was just about perfect and I was feeling good about where I'm at compared to where I was.

I'm finally at a point where I can really look forward to the Dallas White Rock Marathon. This time I'm not even worried about my time due to committing myself not to race or even compete with myself.

My splits are not worth recording here, but suffice it to state that I average exactly 11:01 for each mile. That's with a 12:51 warmup first mile. The rest were in the mid ten minute range. The neat thing was just being able to cruse along and enjoy the run and the weather...........Mike

Running With Mike

I must report that I have truly enjoyed running with Mike these last 2 Saturdays!  We have had a blast running and talking, and the miles have fallen by quickly -- at least until I ran out of gas each week.

Mike keeps saying we've done our time, our distance, and Dallas will fall -- we just have to go out and run to finish.  I love his confidence, but I'd be an idiot not to notice that I seem to run out of gas and slow down to 12:00 miles or worse:  (a) around 12-13 miles out if the miles are faster, and (b) around 17-18 miles out if the miles are slower.  Bottom line is that I have this feeling that the last 6-8 miles of Dallas may prove to be very interesting for me...

That said, I have several fond memories from our two Saturday runs.  Highlights include:

• Mike's three (3!!!) number 2 bathroom stops Saturday. 
• Graphic descriptions of point #1.  Each time.
• Dan Lara -- you are officially retired from reporting on Amy's race day bathroom management issues.
• Mike urging me to run much harder for our 6 pace miles in the middle of last weekend's 14 miler.  Ie, "come on McClave, run harder or we're going to have to put a dress on you!"  (wait -- you keep an inventory of women dresses in your trunk? Really?  Do you keep any makeup back there?   Just asking...)
• Mike's incredibly positive spirit and positive reinforcement. 

Bottom line:  Mike has me believing I will actually finish Dallas in some kind of normal stride (current math be damned).  For that, and all the really bad jokes, I am deeply appreciative!

Our Dallas run weekend should be a riot!

Longest Run Since 2007

It just occurred to me that today's 20 miler was the longest run since the 2007 Mount Dessert Island Marathon. What occurred to me was I also ran that one with Bill!

Our goal was to run as close to a 10:30 pace as possible, but after walking a minute after each mile ( I think we may have missed our walk on one mile) our over all pace for the 20 miles was 10:59 with a max of 7:42. Don't ask, I have no idea!

We started with the 11:00 pace group which is supposed to run a minute slower for the first two miles. At any rate, here are our splits: 11:31, 11:19, 10:36, 10:12, 10:39, 10:12, 10:45, 10:45, 10:56, 10:42, 10:21, 10:26, 10:31, 10:41, 10:37, 10:48, 11:51, 11:37, 11:59, and a cool down mile of 13:11. It really wasn't a legitimate cool down mile, but that damn last mile was mostly uphill and we were beat plus Bill was having trouble with some kind of groin soreness. So, I'm calling it a cool down mile!

I was surprised at our consistency after the two warm up miles, but you can tell we were getting tired around mile 17 when the pace dropped to high elevens.

Still, we were pretty darn proud of ourselves for completing this long run. At this point, baring any surprise set back, I figure a 4:30 marathon is possible in Dallas. Yeah, I'm an optimist!.....Mike

P.S. I learned something about Bill today. He is a determined/stubborn runner! He hung in there with that groin problem bothering him for about the last five miles. I kept asking him if he wanted to walk and he declined.
He was determined to finish that 21 miles (he ran a mile before we started) without having to stop, other than our one minute walk at each mile. I have a lot of respect for that kind of attitude. We can rest when we get old!

Foot update

For starters, and for the record, I envy anyone who was able to get out and run today. You rock!

My session at the gym today was an hour on the eliptical trainer and 65 min. on another machine that is kind of a cross between an eliptical and a treadmill. The second machine fairly closely simulated running, but without the pounding of the treadmill or ground. I would liken it somewhat to running in water. I got my heart rate up to 142 once - accidentally - but kept it around 130 most of the time after a long warmup. Since I was inside I also was able to enjoy two hours of "Boom," a book about the impact of the '60s by Tom Brokaw.

The foot itself weathered the workout just fine, and I could have gone another 30-60 min. Maybe I should have. But at this point I don't want to overdo anything, I just want to heal.
According to the machines, the entire workout burned 1,444 calories and was the equivalent of about 11 miles of running.


I saw the podiatrist Friday, and she diagnosed a ligament strain. She said the intense pain I had on my last run was probably due to nerve damage.  She's confident there's no stress fracture.

After hearing that I had a marathon in less than four weeks she prescribed a topical nsaid anti-inflammatory, physical therapy featuring ultrasound, the use of an Ace wrap around my foot, and ice therapy. "You don't have much time, so let's do it all," she said. She also told me I could run right now if I took it easy. This is the same doctor who got me through my first marathon in 2005 when I had a bone spur problem that made it hard to even walk, much less run. I have a lot of faith in her.

My first session of physical therapy is Monday, and I plan to schedule as many as I can as quickly as I can. The doctor said I should begin to see improvement by the third session, and she didn't think I'd need more than 6 sessions.


So that's it. I didn't run today and don't anticipate running until I can walk without pain, and I anticipate that happening within the next two or three days, and certainly no later than Thanksgiving Day, when granddaughter Angela and I will run a 5k.-- Rob

Chili Six!

Went out earlier this morning and went back in the house to put on more clothes! Walked my half mile and began a slow run in the chili wind. Increased the pace slowly each mile. Goal was only to get a six mile run in. Ran the six and walked a half mile back to the house for a seven mile workout. Splits weren't all that noteworthy but here they are: 11:49, 11:40, 10:50, 10:46, 10:29 and 10:06.

Note: Very upset to hear about brother Rob and his foot problem. Let's hope it's something that a few days rest will take care of........Mike

Foot problem

It was raining this evening, so I went to the gym to try to get 7 miles in on the treadmill. With a sore foot, I figured the soft, level surface would make it possible for me to get the distance in.
I was doing OK for 3.5 miles, then all of a sudden the pain got fairly intense and I had to pull up. After a short rest, I gave it another try, but that lasted all of 2 strides and I decided it wasn't worth the risk to keep going. I just climbed off and went home.
I will not run again this week until at least Saturday, and in the interim I'll probably do my workouts on the eliptical trainer. Saturday's run is supposed to be a 20-miler, but I have a feeling that's not going to be possible. If I have to start my taper now to give this a chance to heal, that's what I'll do. I'm in good enough shape that I should still be able to run in Dallas. -- Rob

Beat the Rain!

Since there was a heavy soaker in the forecast for this afternoon, I thought I better get my butt out the door. Since I was only going to run an easy four miler I really didn't have to leave particularly early, but still, I didn't want to chance it.

My schedule called for a 1-4-1, but since I can't run my 20 miler on Saturday, having to change it to Friday, I had to, once again, adjust my schedule. So, now my schedule called for an easy four. Walked the first half mile and then started the four miler. Splits were: 10:48, 10;47, 10:04 and 9:57. Just a nice easy run.......Mike

8 mile run on paved trails

I met a colleague at the Prairie Star Parkway entrance to the trails. We did 2 out and back. Then I got some water and he went home. Then I did 4 more for a total of 8 easy miles. My average pace was 10:03.

I felt great even after pushing myself with a 40 mile bike ride yesterday. The run went well. Having someone to run with kept my pace decent. Great weather, good scenery and conversation for the 1st 4 miles made it a satisfying run.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/126955529

40 mile bike ride

I joined the Clocktower group bicycle ride today. But I also rode my bike 5.85 miles to the start and then of course home 5.85 miles. That's why my total was 40. The group rode about 28 miles. It was a great ride. The leader took us some back roads to the City Market area for breakfast. I liked the urban ride, especially with virtually no traffic. It was a bit cold, but I was pleased with how I dressed and felt pretty good the whole time.

I did notice that I took the hills really well. I guess the Hilly experience and training are still with me.

My moving speed averaged 10.9 mph. Not bad for a relaxing ride. This group rides all year. I'm not sure how many cold days I'll do it, but maybe.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/126649240

Good early-morning run

With the grandchildren here overnight Friday and for half of Saturday, I decided it was best that I get up early for my 12-mile run. I had promised them a pancake breakfast, and needed to be manning the griddle before 8:30

So, at 5:46 I rolled out of the sack, pulled on my cool-weather gear, laced up my new New Balance 1080s, and headed out in the dark.
I wanted to take it easy on this one, mainly because the arch of my left foot, which became sore as a result of last Saturday's long run, was still a bit iffy. On the level it was fine, but the hills made it hurt. Since my route was fairly hilly, I didn't know if I could do all 12 miles, but I figured an easy pace would give me a good shot.
I opened with a 10:21, followed by 9:56, and then because of my easy pace I was able to improve the pace by an average of 7 seconds per mile for each successive mile. The exceptions were the last two miles, each run in 8:51. I walked about 30 seconds after each mile.
The overall average pace was 9:27 for 12.2 miles. My foot was sore at several points, but the interspersed level stretches kept it manageable.
The pancakes were on the table before 9 a.m. -- Rob

Solid 14 Miler with Bill!

What a great run Bill and I had this morning! We met at Nelson Island at 8:00. Wait, make that 8:10 due to Bill being late. His being late forced me to nap for ten more minutes. Darn!

We were going to stick to Bill's schedule of a 5 mile warm up, then 6 miles at a ten minute pace, then a 3 mile cool down for our 14 mile run. That was going to work for me since I have had knee problems for the last three days and I really wasn't sure if I was going to be able to run more than a couple of miles.

Considering we walked for a little bit, 30 seconds or so, at the beginning of each mile after mile 5, we did pretty darn good. Splits as follows: 11:53, 11:00, 11:00, 10:49, 10:50, 10:29, 10:35, 10:05, 10:01, 9:56, and a solid 9:15 for mile eleven. The last three miles were supposed to be at a cool down pace, which we did for mile 12 and the first half mile of mile 13. I was feeling pretty good and Bill told me to go ahead and finish strong and he would stick to his schedule of finishing at his cool down pace.

I kind of felt like I should stick with Bill, but at the same time I wanted to push myself. Since we were closing in on the finish line, I thought it would be okay to go ahead by myself. I finished mile 13 in 10:03 and mile 14 was 8:03. I walked back to meet Bill and he was finishing strong as well.

Bill had a very solid run and stuck to his goal. Me, I'm just all over the place with no plan, no goal and a knee that comes and goes in fits and spurts! Every run now is a crap shoot! No matter, I'll get through Dallas if it takes me 6 hours............Mike
,

Still Don't Know Where I'm at!

Have no idea where I'm at again! After such a poor showing, due to knee pain, on Tuesday, I opted to rest yesterday and only run a slow three miler today. Some slight knee ache, but tolerable.

I'll rest again tomorrow and hope to get through a 14 miler with Bill and Rob on Saturday.........Mike

Run while the weather holds

Nice, warm week - at least the first half - so I haven't wasted any time getting my first two runs in. I did 4.3 miles dodging 5-year-old pink-dressed princesses and teenage vampires on Halloween night. That one took 37:32, for an average of 8:44.
Then, Tuesday night, with the temperature at an incredible 74 degrees at 6:30 p.m., I did the scheduled 8 miles. That took 1:13:01 for an average of 9:07.
The weather is supposed to take a turn tomorrow, bringing rain and possibly even a little snow. Happily, though, I'll be enjoying a rest day. -- Rob

Temporary I Hope!

Plan was to run an easy four miles. It turned out that I had no choice. To begin with my legs have never felt so heavy and tired. Then the knee started to ache again. I took some Ibuprophen and will rest it tomorrow. Kind of in a funk right now.........Mike

Back On the Bricks!

My day to day adjustment in my running schedule called for an eight miler today, a decision made just as I went out the door. If I didn't suffer all the setbacks in the past few months, I would have been scheduled for a 12 miler today, but since I'm planning my 20 miler on Friday, or Saturday if I don't work, I thought it prudent to stick to an easy 8.

Didn't do my usual half mile walk. I walked the dogs before I ran and called it good enough. I still, non-the-less, began the first mile very slowly and incorporated my one minute walk at the beginning of each mile.

The course was all uphills and downhills with the exception of a 2 mile stretch of reasonably flat concrete trail. Although I didn't plan on pushing it much, I felt pretty good after a few miles and through in some tempo stuff for the heck of it. Splits as follows: 13:00, 11:49, 11:56, 10:46, 9:44, 8:58, 11:26, 9:29 with a 10:59 average and a max of 6:57 (have no idea).

This weeks 20 miler will be the last indication of what kind of shape I'll be in for Dallas. At this point, all I can state is that I'll finish........Mike

Very Successful 20 (Sat) and 6 MIlers (today)

Ran 20 miles with Runner's Edge Saturday morning with an unusual combination of course work.  Due to a Katie McClave marching band competition, I had a hard stop at 10:30 am, so I got up and ran 4 miles before Runner's Edge.  My plan was then to run the maximum loop of 14 miles, but once we got on course I discovered that Eladio had shortened it to 12 miles, so I doubled back at mile 8 and added 4 more miles to get my total in of 20.  Beautiful course on full color treed Brookside streets.  Fun visits with Amy Lara (always smiling and laughing!), Chuck Mathy (who ran the St. Louis full last weekend) and various other 11:00 pacers who reported in on their Chicago and Minneapolis marathons.  Based on the canvassing of my pace group, I'm probably looking at a 4:45- 5:00 marathon time in Dallas.  Frankly, I'd love to run faster, but my main goal is to finish a steady, strong race and cement my baseline return to marathoning.

Ran 6 easy miles over lunch today consisting of a 4.3 mile loop at 9:53's outside and a 1.7 mile warm down inside at 10:54's.  Due to October having 5 Saturdays in it, this month's total mileage of 159.5 miles is my second highest running month ever!  October represents my 9th straight month of running since returning to running in February after essentially taking off two and a half years.  I'm very psyched to be back!  --Bill

Sunday run

I ran 7 miles this morning. I was trying to run with the Sunday Runday group. I couldn't find the new start. I did find it after a few minutes, but everyone was gone. I did find the route, so I did find water on the course, even though no runners.

It was a good start to the day. My wife and daughter are in town, but they were sleeping. I was thinking about doing 10, but with my 15-minute late start, I needed to get back. My wife and I went out for breakfast and then a realtor showed us 5 houses. It was fun to go house hunting with Emma, my daughter. She was excited about the space and her new bedroom.

Here's the run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/125351881

Longest

Went out this morning determined to maintain a pace that would allow me to just cruise through 21 miles. It was cool, clear and calm, so the conditions were right for a good run.
I started out with a 10:23 and then fell into a long series of splits around the 9:30 mark. It felt comfortable and it seemed like I'd be able to maintain that pace indefinitely. Then, by the time I hit mile 17, I kind of hit a wall. Not THE wall, but I was suddenly a little light headed and overly weary. I stopped to drink and rest for a few minutes before taking off again. I'd been drinking, but possibly not enough. For the next 4 miles I kept my pace at about 10:00, which is what I felt was safe and sustainable for the rest of the run.
Overall, I did 21 miles in 3:24:11, for a 9:44 average. When I got home I ate a big bowl of oatmeal with bananas and strawberries, drank a bunch, and then weighed myself. I'd lost 5.5 pounds on a 21-mile run in cold-to-cool weather. That's a lot, and probably means I wasn't hydrating like I should have been, which might explain the trouble I had in the last four miles. I'm still happy with the run, even if I didn't handle all the technical details of it very well.
39.5 for the week. -- Rob

Big Ten!

Well, my goal was to run an easy ten miler today since I have to work the weekend and won't be able to get any mileage in.

I wanted to run somewhere different, so I drove the short distance to one of our bike routes, the Interurban Road. I picked it because there are no real hills to speak of, just some gradual grades here and there.

As I began the first mile with my usual half mile walk and half mile slow pace run, I decided to see where a certain road lead to. You know, kind of an adventure and sight seeing run.

At not quite a mile into the familiar Interurban Rd., I took a right hand turn at 126th street and an immediate left onto Congress. There they were, hill after hill after hill after hill, etc. etc! I don't recall any flat surface for more that a quarter mile. This would have been a perfect route to train for the Hilly Hundred and I plan on riding this route the next time I'm on the bike.

Anyway, I had the wind at my back for the first five miles, but didn't realize it until I made the turnaround and spit into the wind only to have it smack me right back in the face. The wind was pretty tough on the way back, but I just considered it a challenge and kept on truckin'.

All in all, I was very satisfied with the splits considering I walked my full minute at the beginning of each mile with the exception of the last mile. I just decided to see what I had for mile ten, so I pushed it trying to just stay under a nine minute pace. Here are my ten mile splits:
13:51, 10:50, 10:58, 10:55, 9:37, 10:49, 10:55, 10:34, 10:47, and 8:43 for a 10:48 average with a max of 7:44. I take it!............Mike

Successful Interval Workout Today

Today's schedule called for 7 miles with 6 x 800s in the middle.  Opened with 2 miles @ 10:30's, then ran 2 x 800s @ 8:57's; 3 x 800 @ 8:27's and 1 x 800 @ 8:00, each with 0.1 walk inbetween.  Finished with 1.5 miles at 10:31s again.  These are "cheater" intervals since I'm running them inside on a treadmill with zero incline.  That said, I've now logged a weekly interval workout in 5 of the last 6 weeks and I can see steady improvement over the time period.  The 8:57's that were pushes 6 weeks ago are now very doable.  Next week will have 8 intervals in the lower mileage week and I'll be interested in seeing if I can drop the last set another notch faster.  I'm sore right now but the workout was very successful.  -- Bill

Easy 6

I let details of life derail me from running Monday and Tuesday so Wednesday was my first day out this week.  The plan called for 6-7 miles with 4 miles at pace.  I did 6 miles with 4 at 10:30 -- just didn't feel like running much, and didn't push the 10:00 pace I should have held.  Nonetheless, by the end of the 6 miles I was back on track feeling like a runner.  Funny how that works.  Today is a lunch time intervel workout, then an easy recovery jog tomorrow before Saturday's long run.  --Bill

Bike ride

I got on my bike for the 1st time since Hilly 100. It felt great. I averaged 12.1 mph, faster than normal. I rode on some Overland Park trails, and then on the streets. My plan was to shop at Trader Joe's and then ride home. I had my Panniers on the bike and did a quick shopping trip. So I actually used my bike to get somewhere instead of my car. It was dark on the way home, but I got to use my new and very bright headlamp, in addition to my bike lights.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/124549895

One of my favorite runs in the park

I ran 5.1 miles in Frick Park in Pittsburgh. Bad news -- my father is in the hospital -- brought me there. But he's doing OK and I had time for a perfect fall trail run. The run starts at my father's apartment, with about 0.5 miles on the street then the rest in the park. It's down hill from the start to mile 3. My splits were: 10:52, 9:45, 12:28, 12:40, 12:53. I was slow on the way back up. A great start to a difficult day.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/124549900

Easy 6

Much cooler tonight than earlier this week - just 54 when I got going at 6:45 p.m. That's not bad for a fall day, though.
I had just six miles on the schedule, and I had no desire to do anything fast. I just wanted a nice, easy, comfortable run.
So, I started off slow and pretty much kept it that way until the last two miles, which averaged 8:59. The first mile was 10:15 and everything else was right around 9:30. I did 6.2 miles in 58:28, which is a 9:26 average.
That sets me up for two days of rest before my 20-22 miles on Saturday.-- Rob

Another Easy Day.

Nothing special about today's six miler other than there is still no problem with the knee. Confidence building each day with regards to Dallas. Goal still is to just cross the finish line and be able to stand up. However, some of you guys know me very well, so I'd be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind to see if I could race this thing.

Actually, as of this week, I'm thinking about the possibility of running the first half at a ten minute pace and the second half at a nine minute. That would put me at the finish line around 4:15. I'm pretty sure I can hang on to the ten minute pace the first half, but not so sure about the second half.

Decision won't be made until race day!.........Mike

Congratulations Brandon!

Mike sent over this picture of he and Brandon at Brandon's troop ceremony recognizing his Eagle Scout award.  Pretty special picture, we think!

Huge congratulations to Brandon for completing his Eagle Scout!  This is a major accomplishment in life with character lessons that will stick with you and guide you throughout your life.  Well done, well done!

This being a running blog, Brandon, please plan on joining us for one of our monthly 5-mile runs and dinner so we can celebrate properly!  -- Bill and the rest of the MRC

Four Harder than Eighteen?

Schedule called for an easy four miler and it was nice, but warm, for the run. I probably didn't have to, but I did my usual walk for the first half mile then slowly eased into my run. Hammies a little sore, but nothing serious, so I stayed around an 11:00-11:30 pace.

Seems like I was fairly sluggish for this four miles and it seemed more difficult than Sunday's 18 mile run. This is why we have hard and easy days!

Five weeks to go!.............Mike

Note: I think I'll have Mexican food with a lot of refried beans the night before Dallas. My bunk mate, Bill, will appreciate it and it will give me a much needed boost during the race.

Sticking with the schedule

Nothing much to say about my run tonight, except that I felt fresher than I expected, so I ran my scheduled 8 miles rather than the 7 I was considering. Total time was 1:12:03, for a 9:01 average. My last two miles were my fastest, at 8:35 and 8:34. -- Rob

A Slower Half Marathon Than I Would Have Like

Ran the St. Louis Rock n Roll Half Marathon yesterday with 21,000 of my closet friends.  Had a blast -- this was a beautiful, big city course with live bands, a road full of runners the entire race, huge spectator crowds, live bands every mile, and a fabulous finish area party with headliner band and free beer in warm fall sunshine.  Very fun experience.  Overall, however, I was slower than I would have liked.  Headed out with the 2:10 pace group with the plan in mind that if the miles were clicking by I would speed up in the back half.  However, I never got in a groove in this race.  I was slightly winded the first 2 miles (10:29 pace) and although I exactly averaged my target 10:00 pace through miles 3 - 7, I just never felt at ease and clicking.  This race was a steady push for me the entire way.  Lost the 2:10 pace group in miles 8 & 9 when they picked up the pace on a 2-mile long uphill and I slowed down to 10:20's.  Lodged two 11:00 miles in next 3 miles to mile 12, and only beat 2:15 by finishing with a 9:50 pace for the finishing 1.1 mile.  Ended up at my "C" plan of 2:14:46 for a 10:17 average overall.

Splits were:  10:29, 10:29, 10:10, 9:56, 9:56, 9:57, 9:59 (miles 3-7 at exactly 10:00 average); 10:22; 10:20; 11:03; 10:19; 10:53 (2 off miles in miles 8-12); 9:58; and 8:37 for the last 0.1 mile.

As Mike noted on Rob's entry, a half marathon 6 weeks out is a good barameter of where I stand.  I am still working towards seeing if I can run a 4:30 in Dallas, but this weekend would indicate that 4:45 is much more likely.  We'll see.

Last thought:  I may make the St. Lous half a target race in the future.  Beautiful city with great hotels 1 block from the race start.  This might be a really fun weekend trip for Lucy and I in the future.  -- Bill

Too nice not to

It was just too nice out today not to go for a run, so even though this should have been a day off, I decided to do an easy 3 and just enjoy the perfect day.
I headed for the Line Creek trail, which has been extended recently. What a great trail this is going to be when it's all done. It will start about a mile north of us and go all the way to Riverside, where I understand it's supposed to hook up with the levee trail and then the English Landing Park trail. Ultimately, it's to be extended all the way up to Weston and then over to Smithville Lake, where there's already a great trail around most of the lake.
Because I wanted to see all of the new extension, I wound up with 4.3 miles, averaging 9:27. Another month and we'll wonder where all this great weather went. Best to enjoy it now, while we can. -- Rob

Jumping Ahead!

Well, I had a decision to make this morning. With only six weeks to go before Dallas, I knew I had get at least one long run in of 18-20 miles. This week has gone so smooth regarding my knee and with the Hilly Hundred, a quality four miler, and a quality 7 miler on Friday behind me, I felt it was time to just throw caution to the wind and test body, mind and attitude.

The result was a surprising, better than expected, 18 miler. I walked the first half of the first mile with the usual J-word in the second half and even began the second mile with a one minute walk. I walked a full minute at the beginning of each mile and just could believe how good I felt after mile four.

My intentions were to just take it easy and average in the mid elevens for the 18 miles, but I looked down at my watch from time to time and was just cruising along comfortably in the high eights and low nines. When I came to my next mile marker I walked the full minute. I didn't walk briskly, I walked like one who was walking with their wife in the park, you know the window shopping pace. This is also when I hydrated.

When the minute was up, I slowly picked up the pace until I was cruising along again at 8:30s to a little over 9:00. I just couldn't believe how good I felt. Not sure I could hold that pace without the one minute walk. At any rate, here are my splits. Walk and jog mile one in 15:17, then 11:51, 11:43, 11:59, 10:33, 10:06, 10:05, 9:53, 10:05, 10:09, 9:20, 8:56, 9:07, 9:21, 10:58, 11:50, 10:53, 12:01 with a max of 7:31 and a 10:52 average for all 18 miles. FYI, my hips were giving me some issues in the last three miles and I had to take it easy the last mile...........Mike

Bagel Run - like coming home

I ran the bagel run 10 mile yesterday. It's been three weeks since my last one. I really liked doing the same run I've done many times and catching up with a few running friends.

This was also my last long run becuase of two bike rides, Tour du Port and Hilly 100. Returning to a long distance run was welcome. My splits were:
1 9:55, 2 9:35, 3 9:22, 4 9:26, 5 9:59,
6 9:34, 7 10:30, 8 11:07, 9 11:31, 10 11:18
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/123668168

I ran with a friend until mile 6. We worked out some stresses I've been having at my job. His perspective was helpful.

After my friend took a shorter route back to the start, I slowed down, running by myself for the last 4 miles. I was still pleased -- I'm not fast and an overall average of 10:10 is just what I needed after 3 weeks.

Hilly Hundred

I had a challenging 1st day. 57.5 miles is more than I've ever done. I may have come close, but it was when I was in my 20s. Actually, the riding and hills were OK. My physical capacity was fine. I took it slow and rode up every hill. But my butt was so sore, I was thinking about skipping Sunday. (I knew that I'd wake up and decide to ride. But it was comforting to give myself the option of taking the day off.) On the one hand, I was disappointed that the four of us did not stay together. But in the end, I was much happier riding at my own pace without any pressure to keep up. This was a long ride for me. I probably needed more time on the bike for training.

The Saturday ride was also very satisfying. I was right about wanting to ride, once I woke up. I decided to do the shorter 39 mile ride. I felt no need to do more. It felt a bit odd at the 1st turnoff for the 39 because most (~90%) took the 49 mile route. There was no one in front of me and no one followed me either. But a Hilly 100 board member caught up with me and we had a conversation about the ride and biking. The ride itself went well. Again my fitness level pulled me through. Surprisingly, I was not as sore as I thought I'd be. And I only walked one hill, Mt. Tabor. I felt fine walking this one.

I'd consider doing it again, but for the next year or two, I'll stick to closer and smoother rides.

A test

Saturday was another real nice day for a run. I got out about 7:30, when it was still in the low 40s, so I had to wear gloves and a couple of layers on top. I went down to the levee, which, as it turned out, was open for about .8 of a mile. Better than nothing. I went out and back on that to start.
I had 12 miles on the schedule, but I decided if I was going to go 12, I might as well do a half marathon, and I might as well test myself a little bit doing it. I thought it would be nice to know at 6 weeks out just how I was doing.
I didn't treat it like a race, though. I still wanted to feel good at the end and I didn't want to go into a high-mileage week needing to recover more than usual. I started with a 9:53, then followed that up with a 9:22. I was being careful because I'd come out of my last run on Thursday with a little bit of a right calf muscle pull. It was slight, but enough to be a bit of a concern. It never bothered me, though, and after a couple of miles I just forgot about it.
Miles 3 and 4 were 9:05 and 9:06, and then all the rest of the splits were under 9:00, with a couple in the 8:36 range. I stopped briefly three times with the clock off to drink and refill my bottles.
The final tally was 13.1 miles in 1:57:28 for an 8:59 average. I think I could have shaved a couple of minutes off that if it had been a race at the end of a taper week.
30.5 miles for the week. -- Rob

Pretty Good, Pretty Good!

Ran a steady 7 miler today on the trail along 64th street. I began with my usual half mile walk and half mile J-word then set my watch back to 00:00:00 and began to pick it up. Splits aren't that impressive unless you consider the long uphills. Splits were 10:42, 9:23, 9:53, 9:47, 9:10, 9:15 and 9:18 with a max of 7:17. Only walked about 30 seconds in mile three. Knee still okay, so far, but Sunday will tell the tale. I plan on doing a 16 miler, but will take it real easy..........Mike

Recovery Week

After the thrill of my first 40+ mile week since April 2008 and the really fun KC half marathon, I thought I would roll right into this week.  In reality, the wisedom of a recovery week became immediately apparent.  Monday through Wednesday, my legs and chest were still tight from the push to the finish Saturday.  I just didn't feel like running.  Looking back, Saturday's 19.1 miler was the 6th straight week of 14+ mile weekend runs (1 run was 14; the others were all in the 16's, then the 19.1).  I needed this recovery week.  So I logged easy runs of 3 and 4.5 Monday and Tuesday and an elliptical cross train on Wednesday.  Finally, last night I logged a 6 mile run that included 4 repeats of 800's -- 2 at 8:57 and 2 at 8:27 pacing.  I felt like running again and I'm looking forward to my weekend:  a short, easy run this afternoon, a rest day Sat., and then the St. Louis half for time on Sunday -- can't wait!  -- Bill

Nice night for a run

Got out for the third day in a row tonight, so now I can have an off day before my long run on Saturday. That's only 12 miles, so it's not a big deal, but I like to have a day of rest before anything of any length.
The sky was clear tonight, and I got going a little earlier than usual, so I had almost two miles with at least some daylight. There was a slight breeze and it was a couple degrees over 50, which is warmer than the last few nights. Nice conditions for a run.
I wasn't sure what kind of run this would be when I took off. I decided I didn't want to climb any hills to start things off, so I walked until they were all behind me. I did 6 miles, but in terms of how it developed it was almost identical to Tuesday night's 7-miler. I started with 9:32, then 9:13 and worked my way down to 8:34 for my last mile on the way to an average of 9:00.
I felt better than I did for my 4 mile run Wednesday night, probably because I didn't start the run with any hills. -- Rob

Another Nice Surprise.

Well, I got my nine miler in today, albeit slow. Lots of hills, don't remember the last time I had to deal with hills. Yeah, right! Anyway, I took my time and had to really discipline myself on slowing down. I felt way too good for someone just coming off a 100 mile weekend bike ride and running a four miler yesterday.

I kept looking at my watch to be sure I wasn't going too fast since I just wanted to get in the mileage. I walked a full minute at the beginning of each mile split and still average in the high tens for the 9 miles. The best part, of course, was I still haven't had a knee issue.

I plan to run a 12-15 miler on Sunday and work to increase the mileage from there. I only have 6 weeks to prepare to at least finish Dallas....Mike

Back on foot

After four days off from running I finally got back out tonight. I could still feel the residual effects of the weekend bike rides, but once I got going it didn't seem to be a factor. I guess the muscles used are different enough. I even thought I felt a little stronger on the hills after all those Hilly Hundred climbs, but maybe it was just all the days off.
Tonight's run was 7.2 miles. I started off thinking tempo run, and that's the way it developed. After opening with 9:33 and 9:22, I went 9:07, 9:03, 8:35, 8:42 and 8:30, plus the partial mile at an 8:41 pace. The average was 8:59. -- Rob

Important Only To Me!

Being not real sure as to how my knee was going to respond to a run after the Hilly Hundred weekend, I went out the door with intentions of running an easy four miles just to give it a test run. It couldn't have gone better!

I walked the first half mile and J-worded the back half of the first mile just like I usually do. I picked it up a little and found myself running in the tens with little effort. I have no idea why, but I just decided to push it a little more and was running in the mid eights. I even pushed it a little more for around a quarter mile and was in the sevens with a max of 7:07. I didn't know about the seven minute pace until I checked my Garmin.

At any rate, when I got home, my knee was just fine! I plan to run an easy six to eight tomorrow to see where I'm at with the knee. If I can run through the weekend without any knee issues, then I'm pretty sure I can slowly, and I mean slowly, increase the mileage.

Can't help but realize that cycling has been extremely beneficial to the re-habing of my knee.

Nothing to add with regards to the Hilly Hundred that Rob hasn't posted. Everything he stated would only be sentiments echoed by me. The only thing I WOULD post different is that I WILL NOT GO BACK! It was just to unnerving for me and I really would like to see my 100th birthday and not be in a wheelchair!...............Mike

The "Hilly"

"Hilly Hundred." That's a cute name that now seems to fall far short of describing this event. I'm trying to think of a more descriptive name - Hundreds of Hills, Horrendously Hilly, Hills of Horror. I'm working on it.

Sean, Mitchell, Rob and Mike.

For the two days I totaled 103.27 miles, 57.48 on day one, and 45.79 on day 2. I averaged a shade over 12 mph and had a top speed of 35 mph.
What was it like? Relentless hills, mostly steep, one after the other after the other after the other. Descents were as fast as you dared, but the roads were rough, pitted, potted, and curving. I "Ohhh shiiitted!" more than once as I flew down the backside of a hill I had just crawled up at 3 mph, unable to brake much for fear I'd fly right off the front or wipe out on the rough surface.
And the wind. Lordy! As bad as it was Saturday, it was even worse on Sunday. Straight out of the west at, I'm guessing, 25-35 mph. It seemed like I rode west the entire distance.
On Friday evening, before riding, we heard about the hill on Mt. Tabor Road: maximum grade 20.2 percent.This came up on the second day about two-thirds of the way through the ride. I was pretty much gassed by then, and I tried for the five miles preceding the climb to prepare by easing back and resting my legs as much as possible. It didn't work. I wasn't more than 60 feet up the hill before I knew it was fruitless. I was off the seat and walking, along with at least half the "riders" around me. It was hard to even walk up that hill.

Climbing the Mt. Tabor Road hill. We all walked it.

This ride is definitely meant for experienced cyclists, riders who know how to work the gears to their best advantage on climbs. I pretty much knew what I needed to do, but my timing could have been better. On the infrequent occasions when I began the climb at the right speed and in the right gear, and shifted at exactly the right time, the climbs seemed surprisingly easy. More often, though, I mistimed at least one aspect and paid with expensive withdrawals from the energy bank.
I'm not sure I'll ever do the Hilly Hundred again, but if I do I'll want to train a little harder and use a road bike. Both would make the job easier. I'm happy with how it turned out, though. It was a tremendous workout and another experience I can put on the list. -- Rob
Note: These photos were taken by Mike.