Heartland half marathon series 39.3

I just registered for all 3 races. Hope I can do at least 2.

Receipt

A Hilly 8 Mile Run

Joined Runners Edge for the 4th straight weekend this morning, which is my longest Saturday run streak in quite awhile.  The course, out of Lifetime Fitness in Lenexa, was very hilly.  Had a good time running 8 miles with Chuck Mathy and John (not sure of his last name).  My watch battery died, so I don't know our pace, but it felt true to the 11:00 pace group we were in.  Afterwards, visited with Ann Sullivan who ran 5 marathons last year including her first Boston.  A really nice morning.  It's fun to be back in the Runners Edge group!  Looking forward to our monthly run on Monday.

Ah, Thanksgiving!!!

I just LOVE Thanksgiving weekend.  It's my favorite holiday of the year.  This year, I'm thankful for some great 2012 Thanksgiving weekend memories, including:

• Last Saturday's Cranksgiving bike ride with our gang.  Lots of fun, even though I only rode the downhill half.  What a great start to the holiday season -- I hope we make this an annual tradition.
• Dinner Tuesday evening with four of my class of 2010 Sunday School students (now Juniors in college) home for the holidays.
• A dinner and movie date with Katie McClave on Wednesday -- ARGO is just as good the second time.
• My 14th running in the 16 years I've lived in KC of Thursday's Sprint 5k.  Spotted Jason Gertzen with his 2 kids at the start.  His 6th grade son dusted us all, but I did manage to finish in front of Jason and his 9th grade daughter -- both great kids.  Ran a 10:21 first mile in heavy traffic, followed by a 10:00+ uphill (I missed the split) and a 9:35 or less finishing mile.  I'm really much better on the downhills, where I frankly have a serious weight advantage....
• The Plaza lighting ceremony with 3 families of friends and kids -- lots of fun!
• Reading Mike/Rob's blog on their Prairie Spirit trail ride and Mitchell's blog on his amazing Turkey day bike ride.
• Watching as a family Katie's Creighton beat Wisconsin in basketball last night -- great fun!
• Runnng a very successful 10 miler this morning in 25 degree and beautiful sunshine with Runner's Edge.  Averaged 10:21's for 6 of the last 8 miles (over a minute slower on the other, two uphill miles). 

Looking forward to seeing everyone on our monthly run Dec. 3rd!

Bill

Thanksgiving Ride with the Prairie Village Yacht Club

I found out about a ride on Thanksgiving with the PV Yacht club. It has nothing to do with yachts and is not even a club. It is a yahoo group.  Well today was the warmest day so that's the ride I chose.  We headed North through town to N. KC to the Dennys for breakfast.   It was a similar route Bill, Rob, Mike, and I did for Cranskgiving, same bridge.

These guys were serious. All the other bicycles were high end -- no name brands like Trek or Specialized, but custom or other small specialty bike makers.  Also check out my speed for the 1st 13 miles. I had breakfast and then we took off fast. No easy going for the 1st half hour. I struggled to keep up.  One of the riders, Doug, rode with me for a while. The group waited. But the second time they waited, I told them to point me to the start and I'll ride myself.  Right after we split, I found a wall and sat for 5 minutes to catch my breath. Also there was a northerly wind, so we were riding straight into it on the way back. I rode back on Paseo, the same way we came back on the Cranksgiving ride.

Overall average speed was 12.6 mph, But the 1st 13 ranged from 10.4 to 25.7 mph with most 1-mile splits above 15 mph.

Then I came home and helped with dinner.  We made 2 pies with a butter crust, the same recipe my son Nathan used.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/245864192

Prairie Spirit

Mike and I took advantage of a bright and mild November day and headed south with our bikes to the Prairie Spirit Trail.
We pulled into Ottawa, Ks., right about 9 a.m. and, after Mike marked his territory near the old train depot (in his defense, the place wasn't open), headed through and then out of town on a planned 30-mile ride.

Mike has ridden this trail two or three other times, but this was my first. It's amazing that the state of Kansas has constructed such a long (51 miles) and well maintained trail. The scenery is mostly vast stretches of farmland, but the trail itself is on an old wooded railroad bed. It's flat, and straight. You don't coast down any hills or pump up any, either. There were very few people out until we were on our way back, and even then the numbers were sparse.
Since neither of us has ridden much lately, we were getting a little saddle sore after about 20 miles. We were glad to dismount for good about 12:30.

The hardest part of the whole morning was finding some place to eat lunch afterward. Driving slowly through downtown Ottawa we spotted a local pizza shop and decided to go in for a sandwich. We weren't 5 feet inside the place when Mike sensed it wasn't going to work out. I talked him into staying, and we sat down in a booth.

I was going to take more pictures, but what you see in the background is pretty much all there is to see on the part of the trail we rode.

The waitress came over and announced they had a pizza and salad buffet, or we could order off the menu. Mike didn't want pizza and went for one of the four sandwich selections. "They can be on wheat or white bread," the waitress said, but when Mike wanted his on wheat, she announced they had only white on hand that day.
Scratch the sandwich. 
Still, we did not leave. Mike went with the salad bar, and I ordered the pizza and salad buffet. When we got to the salad bar, there was about a half pint of lettuce in a gigantic bowl, a few croutons, and a dozen or so small crocks of dressing. On the next table, the pizza looked like Friday's leftovers.
Scratch the pizza place. The waitress granted me a styrofoam to-go cup for my $1.95 20-oz. soda (so much for small-town prices), and just as I was about to turn and leave, and rather large gentleman in business attire approached, looked at my tights, bike shorts and bright yellow bike shirt and asked "You been ridin'?" Nice guy. And sharp, too.
Three miles and a half dozen Mexican restaurants later, we were at McDonalds on the far south side of town. Mike spent $2.82 for lunch and was happy. I had chicken fingers, I believe (doesn't everything taste the same at McDonalds?), and we were finally on our way back home.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! -- Rob

Pilgrim Pacer Half Marathon

I finished a half marathon!  My foot was still bothering me and I had almost decided to skip running any halfs this fall.  But with 60-70F weather, I decided to try it.  I felt pretty good. No real pain in my foot. I ran about  8 miles with a friend from work, Omar Olivares.  Those 8 miles went fast as we solved most of our company's problems.  I just wish I could remember the solutions we came up with.  Seriously, it was a bonus to to have a great conversation, and not only about work. At 8 miles I took a 10-12 minute restroom stop (waiting in line, etc.)  Below are my official times. If you subtract 10 min, my pace was 10:50.  Not bad for not being really trained for it, and I was just running and enjoying the day.

       overall place 273       M 55-59 age group place 8        2:32:47        11:40/M

My Garmin stopped working after 4 min.  But I have a finisher's medal to prove I did it.

A Scott Oakes Classic 7-Mie Run

I've been jumping in a Tuesday night short run (usually 3 miles) at Lifetime Fitness that Scott Oakes, a past runner from Runner's Edge, participates in.  Scott was historically a slower runner than me, but currently we're on an even level.  He invited me to join him on his favorite 7 mile hill run last night out of Shawnee Mission HS.  We had a ball in what I would describe as a "Scott Oakes Classic Run."  Specifically:  it took us about 90 minutes for our run due to (a) a stop I forced in at Walgreens to hit the restrooom, (b) a stop Scott threw in at a childhood friend's house to 'say hello and have a drink of water.'  ...it was actually a nice stop, and (c) multiple stops for short walks for no apparent reason throughout the run...which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.  We ran on very hilly side streets in Mission, KS on very narrow and irregular sidewalks that had me thinking about sudden falls, broken hips, and feeling very old already....But in the end, I was glad we did the run.  It reminded me that there is no such thing as a bad run when one runs with a friend! --Bill

Oct 13 Barstow 5K - 2nd place in age group

My time was 25:49 on my Garmin and 24:46 chip time.  Avg. pace 8:20.  not bad since I've been over 10 min/mile for most of my recent runs.  I felt good and had given up a longer bike ride because of the pending rain.  This was a good decision.  So I pushed a little, but mostly ran a comfortable race.

Place    Name                              City              Bib No  Age   Overall         Time

 2        Mitchell Jay                                            302      55       37           25:45.9

There were only 6 total runners in the 50-59 age group.  But I'll take 2nd place with pride, my first medal.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/233600759

Great Job Rob!!!

Saturday, I had the honor and pleasure of hanging out at the KC Marathon and cheering Rob as he finished a rock solid marathon race.  It was a gorgeous day and great fun for everyone.  I ran the 5K race and had a nice run, then met up with Dan and Amy Lara.  Together, we drove out to mile 25 and cheered runners on with Eladio and the Runner's Edge group for an hour or so.  At 3:15, I left Dan and Amy to walk back to the finish line, where I caught this picture of Rob in the last tenth mile of his run.  Afterwards, we met up with Kaye and Justin for a beer and sandwhich before heading home.  This was a truely solid race for Rob in every sense of the word -- great season of training, no injuries going in, and a very steady run on Saturday!  Well done!

Race week

This week I am in full rest mode in final preparation for the Kansas City Marathon. There are just two short, easy runs scheduled. I did the first one today: 4.62 miles at an average pace of  9:58. The only other run is to be 3 miles at a very easy pace, probably something like 11 min. per mile, which I'll do on Thursday. In between I will lift weights a couple of times, stretch, and possibly ride the eliptical trainer.

Over the weekend I ran 13.1 miles on Friday and then 4.3 on Saturday. The Friday run was scheduled to be 12 miles, but once I got going I figured I might as well make it a complete half marathon. I didn't intend to run it fast, but as the run progressed, my pace fell naturally, so I just kept it up. I finished with a 1:57:06, and I was very encouraged by it.

Thinking about my strategy for the race on Oct. 20, I looked up how I ran my personal best marathon - 3:52:08 in Kansas City in 2008 - to see how I did it. That was a perfect day for running: cool but not cold and it never got warm at all. No rain, no wind. Apparently I was in pretty good shape. My watch stopped working after mile 8, so I don't have splits for the whole way, but I was officially timed at 2:00:44 for the first half marathon, and then finished up with a 1:51:22.

With that in mind, on race day I will shoot for a 2:01 opening half, and then hope for a negative split and possibly a sub-4-hour race. Last year there were only 19 men in my division in Kansas City, and only four of them beat 4 hours. I know I'm capable of breaking 4 hours, but I realize anything can happen in a marathon, so I'm prepared to take what the race gives me. If everything holds together I just might surprise myself. -- Rob

Sea legs hit the road

After a week off to take a cruise to Alaska, I was back on the road Monday and today.

Monday's run of 5.2 miles was done at an easy pace and was designed just to get loosened up and kind of get reacquainted with the road. During the cruise I never ran at all, because the plan was to use the time to rest, and because the notion of trying to get some mileage in on the treadmill with the ship rolling around seemed like an unnecessary risk. I spent all my time on the eliptical trainer (one day I spent 30 min. climbing the stairs up 10 decks three and a half times).

Sunset on the Pacific from our cruise ship.

It was warm Monday by the time I got out there, but I went pretty slowly and just avoided doing anything with the run but getting from point A to point B. I averaged 9:50 per mile.

This morning I caught up with the 20-mile long run that had been scheduled for Saturday. We were at sea Saturday on our way to Victoria, B.C.

Once again, all I wanted to do with this run was complete it. Speed was not a factor. The first two miles were just under 11 and the third was right at 10. Thirteen of the next 14 miles were under 10, and the last three miles averaged 11. I was pretty spent by the time I got to those last three miles. Overall, I averaged 10:04 per mile, which is quite acceptable for a long training run.

Ah...Fall Weather Riding and Running

Thank goodness for our cooler weather!  I finally actually got in a complete run yesterday after work and enjoyed it!  A whopping 3.3 mile run, but still time to build to the KC half (I bagged the full after not consistently running).  last week, Lucy and I enjoyed dinner on our MRC Monday gathering with Carl and Mitchell.  Lucy joined me when she had to rescue me from the tire store where I was busy getting robbed.  (backstory:  flat tire derailed my drive to our run so I drove straight to the tire store, then to dinner with Lucy who picked me up at the tire store).  Our Sept. MRC set a new record for our group:  fastest time ever (seeing at how it took 0 seconds for us bag the run and do dinner instead).  Lastly, here are some pictures from the Labor Day Bike 4 the Brain ride that Mitchell and I did.  Fall cycling really is fun!

This is the Clark Viaduct Bridge which is very cool.  Dedicated bike/pedestrian lower level:

 

This is Mitchell being, well, Mitchell:

Bike for the Brain - 30 mile ride

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/219013362

Bill and I did a fun scenic 30 mile ride.  It was a fundraiser for mental health in Johnson County.  The ride improved my mental health, at least for the day.

It was a well planned course. Except for the 1st few miles, little traffic.  The 1st few were on city streets and lots of bikes because everyone started together.  But after the bikers spread out, it was an easy relaxing ride.  Lots of urban scenery, and with Cliff Drive,the Lewis and Clark Viaduct bridge, and some other parks, it had great natural scenery too.

Bill and I averaged 13.1 mph. Bill was a bit faster, but waited for me at the lights.  It was hot and hilly, so neither of us wanted to go faster.

The custard at the end of the race was the best ever.  (But that's only because I was hot and hungry.  But it was pretty good.)

Let's do this one again.

Summer As It Was Meant To Be

This morning I ran 9.2 miles with Runner's Edge on a simply gorgeous morning for running!  Temps at the 6:30 am start I opted for were 64, and only rose to 75 by finish.  The run went from Renner Rd. and 95th street north along the Mill Creek trail which is at it prettiest for this section up to the dam at Shawnee Mission Park.  Several long wooden bridges and tree covered most of the way.  I averaged 11:00 for my outbound and 12:00 for my return which featured a 1 mile uphill at the end.  It was a very nice morning run and reminded me of what I actually like about running -- great scenery, group pace and commardarie, and a longer run than I would have done on my own.  Clearly, I'm just now transitioning from my summer of bike riding to fall running.  Days like today sure make it easier! -- Bill

Sunflower To Roses Bike Ride

Katie McClave and I rode this ride Sunday and recommend it highly to our list of annual target bike rides.  700 riders with proceeds going to 3 different Cancer organizations and distances of 12 miles to 64 make this a well attended, well organized ride with great spirit.  We caught a beautiful morning with 64 degree start temperatures.  Katie and I chose the 36 mile route out to Spring Hill and back, which we did at an easy 13.3 mph average moving pace.  I would recommend the 57-64 option in the future which goes out to the lake at Paola -- right by Ken and Pam's farmhouse (I had visions of Pam meeting us at the rest stop on the lake and cheering us on.  Ken, we need to get you into bicycling to make this happen!)  The ride had a nice big pack all the way out to the first rest stop at mile 6, and a lot of different speed pace teams riding the longer distances.  A really good meal, beer garden, and live rock band made for a great finish.  I will definitely be back next year, schedule permitting.  This was Katie and my send off to college ride, and it closed out a great summer of bike riding together.  She leaves for Creighton in 2 weeks. 

Building a base

Boy, today was really nice, especially early. The temperature had dropped to about 64, and the air was dry. It was perfect for my normal short, easy Sunday run.

Problem was, by the time we got home from church and ate some breakfast, the temp was getting close to 80. But I figured this was going to be such a leisurely workout that it wouldn't matter that much how hot it was.

I immediately discovered that Saturday's 13 in the humid, warm weather, and my pace for it, had taken quite a bit of energy out of my legs. Add to that the high, hot sun, and a large, recent meal, and it all meant the workout was more effort than I expected. I kept the pace slow, stopped once for some water, and went off the clock a couple of times for short breaks.

Overall, I did 4.2 miles in 41:40, which is a 9:56 pace. I guess that's what an "easy" run should look like, so I have no problem with it.

So for the week I had 34.6 miles, and for the month 138.8. Both totals are consistently moving up as I get deeper into training for the KC marathon. The chart shows the monthly buildup since March. My schedule has me doing as many as five 40+ miles weeks, and one week at 54 miles, but those weeks assume I'll be able to fit in a couple 9 and 10 mile runs in the middle of the week. I have my doubts about that.

Anyway, I'm happy with my progress and with the fact that so far I've avoided any injuries or even aches and pains.

Tomorrow I'll celebrate my 62nd birthday with a 7-mile hill workout. I'll probably run 4 hilly miles in the morning, then do 3 easy ones in the evening with the MRC.  -- Rob

bike ride 42 miles -- a little fast

I met in Brookside expecting the Brookside ride on the KCMBC ride calendar. I joined the Yahoo group, but too late.  I showed at at 8 am the designated time, but they started at 7 am due to the heat.  There were a few other bikers, 4 from another group and 3 looking for the Brookside ride.  We joined them. They joined a larger group at the Scooters at 9 am on Shawnee Mission Parkway.  So we rode there to meet the others.  Then we rode through KCK, River Market, the bottoms and I don't know where else. We rode east because we were along side I-435.

They were a little faster than I'm used to.  But I did mostly keep up. And they only took short 5-7 minute breaks.  I was glad I had some breakfast and an energy snack with me.  It was a good ride for me.  I was pretty tired by the end.  I'll stick to the Clocktower ride if I'm free on Saturdays. But I wanted a Sunday ride because of my trail run yesterday.

Here's the route, but ignore the mapping from Brookside to my home because I left my GPS on.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199578829

"Psycho Psummer" 10 Mile Trail Run

I completed another trail run.  It was at Wyandotte County Lake Park in Kansas City, Kansas.  This time 10.5 miles.  That is the trail all the way around the Lake.  It was part of the trail nerds series.  And there were three distances: 20 and 30 miles started at 8:00 am. And I with the 10 milers started at 9:00 am.  So it was already hot at the start.  But ... it was not so bad because it was mostly in the shade.


I had a fun relaxed run, with plenty of walks.  I decided to only look at my heart rate on my GPS, not pace or time or distance. I did check distance at the aid stations.  But I really didn't need it.  Basically, if it was a long or steep up hill, I walked. If it was in direct sunlight, I walked.  Walking became part of my routine. I even hoped for a hill sometimes, so I could slow down and walk.  So my overall pace of 16:21 seems slow, but I did do a lot of running.


The first 3 miles were a bit rough.  I was not acclimated to the heat and it was hilly.  Maybe because I was fresh, I ran some hills instead of walking.  My first break was about 10 minutes. I just relaxed, ate, drank and took a salt tablet. I was running  with my hydration pack full of ice water, but needed some electrolytes, too.


The next 5 miles were pretty good.  I ran slow and walked when I needed or wanted to.  The trail was moderately technical (i.e., rocks, etc.)  I also walked some rough areas.  And after 10 minutes, the field spread out so I mostly ran alone.  It was great to be out in nature.  And I think I reached a comfort level with the heat (when not in the sun).


I slowed a bit for the last 3.5 miles.  But I felt good and ran most of it.  Not too many aches, but some. I have a sore foot -- the ball of my right foot.  So that got some abuse. But my previous injury and my knee behaved.


It was a good day from me. I may do this same run in the winter.  The good part for me is if I can do 10 miles on a trail, I'm ready to run more than I've been.  (Of course biking is fun, too.)



http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199155855

Report on Spin Pizza Monday Ride

I've drawn up a list of 11 weekly rides from the KCMBC weekly ride calendar that I want to try out this summer.  So far, I've absolutely loved the first 2 I've hit -- Saturday's ClockTower with Mitchell and yesterday's Spin Pizza ride from their 119th store in Leawood.  Spin Pizza has 3 locations -- downtown, Olathe, and Leawood -- that offer weekly rides on Wed, Thurs, and Mondays respectively.  They offer short (10 miles) and long (18-20 miles) options at each, and 10% off on pizza and drinks afterwards.  Leawood draws the largest crowd at 60-90 riders weekly.  We were in the middle of that range yesterday.  I dropped in on the long ride, which ended up cruising empty suburban streets and area country roads for a total of 18.5 miles.  Lots of turns, and multiple stops at lights made for an interesting, always changing ride.  The lead group comes in under an hour, I finished in 73 minutes for  an average 15.2 mph with stops.  My moving average was probably closer to 16 mph.  The first 10 minutes we had one big pack before drifting apart, and I always had riders I was riding with the entire ride.  This is true for most people as we all picked our own pace.  This was a definite workout -- but I have much to learn about pacing and when to surge to keep up with a pack and how to use hills and lights more effectively to stay with them.  For example, early in the ride, I surged to stay with the lead pack, but we stopped at a light a bit later, and older (read wiser) riders caught up without the surge.  These riders soon after left me in their dust.  In the end, I definitely felt like I'd done a hard, physical workout.  Lots of fun, and I'd recommend these weekly rides to anyone.  On other fronts, had a good week last week -- got in 4 runs including 8.5 miles Sunday morning and 2 bike rides of 22 miles (to breakfast in Spring Hill on the 4th with Katie) and 29 miles (Saturday with Mitchell).  So far, I'm enjoying riding in group rides on my off running days. -- Bill

ClockTower Ride Post #2

See Mitchell's post below for details on the most excellent ClockTower ride I joined him on this morning.  I found the ride to be everything he had said it would be: good group of folks that ride together -- they wait at intersections for stragglers and drop no one -- and an wonderfully fun course to ride.  We rode through the suburbs from 78th street to Holiday Drive, and were on totally deserted streets the whole way.  I have to say that riding 29 miles in a group of 10 riders -- and they usually average much bigger groups than that -- was a LOT of fun.  Way easier way to clock miles than the Freedom Ride the week before.  The ride's signature is that they stop for breakfast, which was fun, and we end at the OP farmer's market which is fun to buy fresh fruit after the ride to eat.  The market also features live music in the summer.  This morning, it was 15-20 people playing ukelele's and singing folk songs.  Peace, brother.  I will be back to this ride again in the future, probably on my short run weekends!  I'll close with 2 pictures from the farmer's market.  -- Bill

Clocktower Bike Ride 29 miles with Bill

Bill and I joined the Clocktower group. We started at 7 am instead of the usual 8 because of the heat.  We got 22 miles in and then had breakfast at EggsTC.  This was a small group, but we stayed together.  After breakfast we had 7 miles to go back.  It was a good plan, by the leader, Bob P.  It was hot, so pushing through 7 was doable.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/196665097

Sunday Runday 7.5 mile run

I joined the Sunday Runday group for an easy 7.5 mile run.  Maybe 8, but 7.5 on my GPS.  I ran with someone about 3.5 miles who kept me going faster.  He turned around because of the heat. I slowed down and turned around at the next water stop.  The way back was hot, but I took my time.

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/195204676

Freedom Bicycle Ride 33.5 miles

I also enjoyed the Freedom Ride.  Bill and Katie were great to ride with.  Most of the ride went well, but the last 10 miles or so were right into the wind and it was hot.  We had pancakes before the ride and lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings after.

At one of the stops, Bill knew an old colleague, Pat, the owner of Sibley Orchard.  He always finds someone.  Katie and I just put up with him.

I'm pleased with my riding. Actually I need to run more.  But I'd rather ride in the heat than run.  So it's good to have options.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/195204663

4th of July parade

MRC'ers Mike and Rob marched in the Parkville Fourth of July parade, carrying Mike's huge flag. The big flag is an experience. People salute, pop out of their chairs and stand at attention (even kids), take photos and generally exclaim.
We walked about a mile, and it was a relief getting home and out of the heat.
Oh, yeah. I ran 5.5 miles earlier in the morning when it was "just" 80. -- Rob

The Freedom Ride

This morning, Mitchell, Katie, and I rode the 33.5 mile loop of the Freedom Ride, out of Independence, Mo.  We had a blast.  The outbound ride was fairly cool temps with a decent tailwind and gorgeous Missouri countryside/hills.  We stopped at Sibley Orchard at 18 miles for fresh peaches, having averaged 13.7 MPH to that point (we hit 27 miles at nearly a 13.5 MPH.  The last 11 miles were straight into the wind, but we still managed steady, albeit slower pacing.  These times are approximate, and we'll have to rely on Mitchell's trip map for the more accurate times.  But overall, we had a blast and were glad we passed on the planned 58 mile loop, which would have resulted in us riding the last 25 miles into the highest heat and big headwinds.

Sonic Bike Rides

Yesterday and this morning, Katie and I got up early and rode our bikes to Sonic Drive-ins for breakfast and back.  Yesterday, we rode 8 miles over to the town of Spring Hill.  16 miles total for those who are keeping count. We averaged 12.3 mph on the outbound and 14.1 mph on the return.  Life goes better with breakfast and a little tailwind.   This morning we got out at 6 am and rode 14.5 miles to Louisburg (29 miles total...try and keep up here).  Once there, we comparision shopped a different Sonic.  The verdict:  absolutely nothing on their menu is healthy for you.  Given that, we ate like pigs.  12.0 mph on the outbound and 13.4 mph on the return.  Same reasons as yesterday.  Very nice rides and a lot of fun.

Tomorrow, I'm planning to actually show up on time at work, by the way....

Bill

Idiot drivers

With the temperature slated to top out at 107 later today, I got out early. It was 80 when I left the house about 5:15 a.m., but there was a little breeze and at that hour no direct sunlight. For a change I took along some water, even though I was planning on running just an easy 4 miles.
Once I got going I was surprised how good I felt despite the temperature - probably due to the slow pace. I decided right away to run at least 5 miles.
This morning featured another brain-dead driver who was driving east on the road as I was running west on the trail. He slowed down and then stopped as we passed each other, leaned across his passenger and flipped me off, then put his car in reverse and shadowed me as I ran on.
Eventually, he turned around and drove ahead of me a couple blocks, then came back toward me shrieking from behind the wheel and honking his horn.
And to think this bit of drama will be the highlight of his day. Pathetic.
Generally, I "do not engage" in these cases, and I didn't today, but I refuse to be intimidated. They all seem to be very brave when they are in their cars, with a buddy, and can drive away quickly, but they are just cowardly idiots.
Back to the run, I eventually did 6.2 miles averaging 9:27 per mile. The thermometer read 77.5 when I got home, so it actually got cooler between 5 and 6:30. -- Rob

PS: For Mike DeGhelder

Thought you might enjoy this picture of the new tire pump I installed on my bicycle.  I also now carry an extra new inner tube, and a new patch repair kit.   Turns out the cement dries in the tube in patch repair kits you carry around for 19 years in a saddle bag...

This picture is just for you, Mike!

McClave Update #4 (of 4): Three Hills of Death

My final update from last week covers a Saturday bike ride that Steve, John, and I did on a 24 mile course Steve has named "the three hills of death."  This turned out to be a complete mislabel....should have been "four hills (some guys can't count) of death with constant near-death in between!".  The forementioned hills were very sharp and long, and please don't remind me that we enjoyed equally thrilling descents on every one, as I'm entitled to whine after a week of riding.  I was glad Katie opted out for this ride, as she would have had long uphill walks on the 4 big hills.  BUT, we made it up each one, and averaged 15 moving mph on the ride.  It was very scenic, and a great workout!  The picture below is the only one I took on that ride -- of John Cox with his $5,000 bicycle! The last picture is on Sunday just as we drove off back to KC -- Katie and my brother Steve on his cabin's front porch -- Bill

McClave Update #3: Kentucky Morning Ride and Afternoon Kayak

No McClave outing is complete without a day with 2 or more outside activities in it.  On Friday last week, we enjoyed a 22 morning bike ride from Steve's cabin to a nearby marina for breakfast.  Steve and John Cox rode another 17 fast miles to get a car to retreive Katie and I, as we opted for the shorter distance in this very hilly KY terrain.  It was a beautiful morning ride that Katie set the pace for.  Our moving average was 13.5 MPH, which excludes two times we stopped at the top of longer hills for Katie to catch her breath (she's good on short hills, but due to asthma, she needs breaks on longer hills  Frankly, this is no big deal -- we stop, drink, and eat an energy gel). 

In the afternoon we went kayaking on the Green River, which runs through Mamouth Cave nat'l park nearby.  All in all, we had a ball!

McClave Update #2: GOBA (Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure)

GOBA (Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure) is a fabulous ride the exceeded our every expectation!  It was a fabulous event!  I bought Katie an entry level bike off the internet, which worked out fine, and we drove to Hillsboro Saturday 6/16 to meet my brother Steve (recovered from TOMRV the weekend before) and our good friend John Cox from Charleston, SC (runs 7 minute miles, and bikes very fast on a $5,000 Cervello racing bike.  And, he is a great guy).  We rode the first 4 days of this 7-day tour, then bugged out for Steve's lake cabin in Ky.  1.900 riders participated, and this ride is very unique for the high number of families that ride it together.  Katie and I rode the parts of the last day with 2 other dads with daughters her age.  Most GOBA riders camped each night in a giant "GOBAville" site.  We stayed in hotels and shuttled to the start each morning.  Each day, our luggaged was trucked ahead for us, and each day's ride was 42-52 miles long with 3 rest stops.  So the interval distances were relatively short and fast.   My kind of tour, and a great introduction to Katie whose longest ride pre GOBA was 19 miles.  Our days were:

• Day 1:  52 miles from Hillsboro to Chillicothe, Ohio.  Dodged rainshowers and had a ball.  The last 12 miles were on a paved, shaded bike trail along the Scioto River.  Beautiful and fast.
• Day 2:  42 mile loop around Chillicothe.  Steve and John did that loop, but Katie and I had to head back after 2 miles to attend to a difficult flat tire due to glass she picked up along the way.  3 tire fixes later, we got out all the glass and got in a 17 mile total ride together.  The evening featured an outdoor drama  -- Tecumsah! -- which was excellent.
• Day 3:  48 miles to Ashville, Ohio.  Met "Big Dave" -- the hippie sitting next to me in the pictures below.  He rode Bikecentennial in 1976 like I did, only he went W to E.  I went the other direction.  Very interesting guy, and somewhat of an institution around the GOBA crowd.  The evening featured 2 live bands in this small town's central park.  Very nice.
• DAy 4:  48 miles to Washington Courthouse, Ohio.  190 total miles for Steve and John, and 165 for Katie and I.

I strongly recommend this ride to anyone and everyone.  Very well organized with lots of families, pleasant distances, great backroads, and organized entertainment every evening.  A great ride!

Big Dave Rode Bikecentennial in 1976 at age 23.  I rode it at age 20 same year.

McClave Update #1: TOMRV June 9th & 10th

I've been busy with a lot of great June bicycling events, so I'm filing 4 updates this morning.  This one covers the 2-day Tour of the Mississippi River Valley (TOMRV) which I rode with my brother Steve, friend Mike Popiel (we met first night in grad school, June 1978.  He was scheduled to ride across America on the same route I did when he got admitted late to Northwestern, at which point he choose grad school.  We became instant friends and have remained so ever since), and Mike's friend from Chicago named Nick. 

Both my brother and I got to TOMRV with minimum training -- I had around 125 bike miles going in -- and a decided lack of sleep.  We found it to be a very difficult ride.  69 miles on Saturday that included 6,000 feet of climbing and 47 on Sunday with 4,000 feet of climbing.  I have new appreciation for the Hilly Hundred challenge, since that ride features 5,200 feet of climbing on the longer day, by the way.  The big difference is that TOMRV hills are long -- most are half a mile and up vs. less than half a mile for most Hilly Hundred hills.  

We finished fine on Saturday, but on Sunday, I awoke with an settled stomache and couldn't stand the thought of drinking Gatorade.  So I didn't.  I got through hills of 1.5 and 1.4 miles in the morning ride, but ended up dropping out at mile 35 late morning.  This is the first time I've ever dropped out of an endurance event, but had I gone any further, I would have been throwing up.  I've since been using Noonz pills in my water bottle with great success, by the way.  The others finished, but we all had great respect for the hills.  I can't say I recommend this ride -- way too hilly and difficult unless one has serious mileage under his belt going in (the veterns recommend 750 miles cycling as the base going into the ride)! -- Bill

Cramming it in

Great to see some new posts here. Interesting to see what everyone is doing.

Since I probably won't have a chance to run this Friday through Monday, I tried to get as much of my weekly mileage in between Sunday and Thursday as possible. After running the Kevin Gray 5k on Saturday, that meant I ran 5 out of 6 days. I took Monday off, but under normal circumstances I would have had another day off in there somewhere.

So, since Sunday I've done 24 miles, none of it very fast. I'll be on the road most of Friday and house-painting on Saturday and Sunday, but I'm still going to try to squeeze in 6 on Saturday if at all possible.

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I really enjoyed my Hospital Hill half this year. Several runners I know have strong negative feelings about the race, but I love the challenge. It gets hard in a couple of places, but if you haven't burned yourself out early those spots aren't killers.

Of course, we got real lucky with the weather this year. Partly because of that, I came close to my half marathon PR, running 1:49:44 (my PR was at HH a few years ago).

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Hope everyone has a good weekend. Stay out of the heat. -- Rob

City of Fountains 46 mile bike ride

I rode the City of Fountains Bicycle tour today.  It was a great 46 miles. I enjoyed the many fountains KC is famous for. But I can't say I saw all of them. There were over 30 that we passed. Some were small and not all were working.

The biking was pretty good. This was my first ride after my professional fitting.  I was a bit sore, but nothing like my 1st 50 mile ride last year. Or after the 1st day of the Hilly Hundred.  It was also on my new road bike. I bought a Specialized Sequoia about 2 months ago.  I've also ridden it on two 30 mile rides, Tour de Brew and Joel's ride.

The ride was well supported, with 3 SAG stops. The second was actually at the start because the last 24 miles started there again. This was the same 24 miles as the 24 mile ride that many riders did.

It was great weather, a 7 am start. My GPS moving time was 3:55

Here's the route, etc.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/190058925

Bike Fit at Bike Source

I treated my self to a professional bike fitting at the 135th St store of Bike Source.  This was on Thur. 6/14. It was recommended by my chiropractor for comfort and to avoid injury (e.g., numb right hand).  J.P. Shores was the technician that did it.

It was pretty comprehensive. It took over 2 hours.  First there was an interview of the type of biking I do, past injuries, etc.  Then JP took a bunch of measurements and evaluations, such as range of motion, flexibility, leg length, hip rotation.

Then I got on the bike and he did a few adjustments based on the measurements and just good form:

1. adjust cleat position
2. raise saddle height
3. move saddle back on its tracks
4. change reach.  This needed a $60 new stem.

It cost $175 plus the new stem.  The stem was discounted. I also bought new shorts, also discounted because I bought them as part of the fitting.  

I rode 46 miles today at the City of Fountains tour.  I can't say it was a dramatic difference, but it did feel better.  I think it was worth it. After a few weeks, I can go back for some minor adjustments at no charge.

Here's some data from the fitting.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a7kvegllat151rn/Bike%20fit01.pdf

Hospital Hill after 6 weeks with injury

I was able to complete the Hospital Hill half on 6/2/12.  This was an accomplishment.

I hurt myself badly on 4/21 at the Free State Trail run, at about 10 miles of 13.1. I mostly walked the last 3.  I tripped, didn't fall, but my fall avoidance caused a bad muscle pull in my right leg where the hamstring connects to the glute.  I totaled my mileage from 4/22 to 6/2:  14.5 miles.  Not exactly proper training.  But I biked 140 miles.  So I was in OK shape.  I took it slow, finishing in 2:35 on my GPS (which stops when I stop) or 2:39 chip time.  Chip pace was 12:08. this is actually faster than some of my 5 runs while I was injured.

It was a great cool day. I'm happy I took it slow and finished.  I walked when I needed to. I hope to run more, but it looks like 2 bike rides this weekend, Clocktower and Fountains.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/186956685

Hospital Hill week

This is taper week for the Hospital Hill half marathon, so my plan is to do three low-mileage runs today, Tuesday and Wednesday, then rest Thursday and Friday. The race is Saturday morning.
So at 6:15 this morning, with the temperature already at 75, I was out for my longest run of the week: 6.1 miles. Once I got loosened up I decided to elevate the workout to a tempo run, which I haven't done in at least a couple of weeks.
After a 10:11 first mile and a 9:32 second, I went 9:01, 8:31, 8:05 and 7:48 for an average pace of 8:50. This was a good preparatory run for the race because it was a hilly course on a warm day. We all know HH usually lands on a hot day. The bonus this year might be the weather, though. Right now the forecast is for early morning temperatures in the middle 50s on Saturday. If that holds it would be great. -- Rob

Well, it's Something!

Got real tired of sitting around for a week waiting for my back, knee, and legs to feel better after my fall off a ladder last Thursday.  Although I didn't seem to incur any serious injuries, I non-the-less, was very shaken up and in quite a bit of pain for the first two days.  Thanks to some good drugs (legal), I didn't feel the full brunt of the pain.

To date, the back is still sore, the knee seems to have another meniscus tear, or feels like it, and I have numbness in my legs.

I just got tired of feeling so down yesterday and decided to just walk.  I walked 3.41 miles at a 20:00 pace and actually felt like I accomplished something, or at least burned off a few calories.  Today I upt the mileage to a little over 5 miles at the same pace.  Just walking on my familiar running routes felt pretty damn good!

Tomorrow I'll hit the bike and get in a short ride.  Since it's pretty obvious I have a very slim chance of running again, I have resigned myself to just alternating walking and riding.  So be it! ....Mike

Going long

With the Hospital Hill half marathon coming up in a couple of weeks, I wanted to challenge my stamina a little bit, so I decided to do up to 15 miles. I chose a flat course on Highway 9 in Parkville. The idea was to run the levee trail and then head down to English Landing Park. Turned out the levee trail was closed - no idea why - so I could only do .3 mile there. I did that loop twice because a train cut off my exit, then headed north to Horizons Parkway, which is a nice out and back that adds up to about 3 miles. When I got there a sign announced the road would be closed by 7 a.m., but it was just 6:25, so I had plenty of time.
By the time I got back to my car at the levee trail head, I had gone a little over 8 miles and was feeling very good and knew I could do 15. It was starting to warm up though, and I kind of knew I wouldn't feel so good in 4 or 5 miles if I didn't keep the pace down and hydrate.
After a short break for a drink and to load up my fuel belt, I headed down to English Landing. The sun was still low in the sky and behind trees, so there were good stretches where I was in the shade. That was helpful.
As it turned out, I felt good enough to complete the whole 15, doing it at a 9:27 pace. That includes walking for 40 seconds between miles. The run gave me just short of 36 miles for the week. I will ease off a bit next week and then taper one week for Hospital Hill. Despite the difficulty of the course, HH is where I set my half marathon PR. That was in 2009 when I posted a 1:49:05. My training has gone real well this year, so there's a chance I could come close to that this year. I'll probably shoot shoot for it, but it really all depends on what kind of weather we have. HH is notorious for heat and humidity, and if that's what we get that day, there will be no PR for me. -- Rob

Running with the Cows

Got up early for the long drive to Bucyrus, Ks., and the Running with the Cows half marathon. Just for the record, I did not see a single cow all morning long, although I did see two real horses and someone in a cow costume. Several female runners applied cow spots to their skin and/or wore cow-spotted attire, but they, personally, did not resemble cows at all. No.

The race was delayed 15 minutes because of traffic along the route. That meant we all stood around in the chute for a good 25 or 30 minutes, which is not a particularly good warm-up for a race.

After that it felt real good to get going. I positioned myself right behind the 2:00 pace group leaders, figuring I would stick with them for 5 or 6 miles, then, hopefully, move on. I dumped them at mile 2, mostly because they walked at the first aid station, and I didn't want to do that. I took 10 seconds to get a drink and then was on my way. I never saw them again until after the turnaround. They did help me start out slowly: my first two splits were 9:27 and 9:20, which I thought was just about perfect.

My legs felt pretty energetic, since I hadn't run for two days. After abandoning the 2-hour group, I immediately increased my pace by at least a minute a mile. Here they are: 8:20, 8:46, 8:36, 8:22, 8:21, 8:13, 8:18, 8:20, 8:29, 8:37 and 8:14. I walked twice, once in the first half of the race for 20 seconds, and once in the second half for about 30 seconds. While my last split was pretty good, I was worn out at the end. My watch recorded a time of 1:52: 46, which is an 8:34 pace.

I have to admit I thought of Amy's 1:47 several times during the run, and toyed with the idea of trying to beat it. But who was I kidding? I'm no 25-year-old super athlete like SOME people. I'm almost 62. I bow to the Queen of the MRC.

As of now I have no idea where I might have placed, or if I did. Last year's winner in my age group just managed to break 2 hours, and there were only 5 men in my age group. If the same ones came back again this year, I might have a chance at my first age group award ever. They were posting results, but there were so many heads in the way I couldn't get a good look at them. After trying to find myself from a distance for a few minutes, I just gave up and left. I can look it up later.

This is a very nice event with a super feed afterward. It's a fund raiser for Queen of the Holy Rosary Catholic school, and it looked like all the school kids and parents, and the church membership, were out there volunteering and cheering. Besides food from such places as Jack Stack Barbecue, there was a ton of home baked goodies. It all looked delicious, but I'm usually not very hungry immediately after a long race, so I didn't eat much. -- Rob

What Does This Mean?

After Monday's half mile walk and J-word and then adding another half mile walk with Dan G. that evening, I decided to go for a longer walk today.  I walked .35 miles and just for the hell of it, decided to J-word for as long as I could stand the pain.

As it turned out, the pain lasted only for about ten seconds, so I just decided to just pick up the pace to what I would consider a slow run.  The pain never came back so I just kept going. 

I completed three miles with the first .35 walking.  Total time was 40.55 which is slow by any standards, but for me it was a huge hurdle and I sure didn't want to push my luck. 

Knee does not hurt at all and I'm fairly encouraged by what might be possible from here on out.  It's been pretty frustrating for me over the last five plus months, but hopefully, this may be another new beginning.

BTW, my splits were 16:05, 13:46 and 11:04.  Felt almost like a runner that last mile!   Mike

Long Ride?

Once upon a time on a Saturday, Bill and I rode our bikes!

This message was longer than our ride!..........Mike

Long run

I had some extra time off this morning due to a dental appointment, so I used it to get in my long run for the week before going to work. It was overcast and dark, and looked like it was going to rain any minute, but I figured I'd get out there and go as far as I could before the skies opened up.
I chose English Landing because it is flat, and because I figured if I did loops and it rained I'd never be more than a mile from the car.
The overcast was a real blessing because it held the temperature down through most of the run. The only precipitation came as the clouds blew out - about 15 minutes of a light mist. After that the clouds thinned considerably and the temperature climbed quickly. I was glad I didn't have to do more than about 4 miles in those warm, humid conditions.
I was shooting for 10 or 11 miles as the last long run before next weekend's half marathon. I wound up with 11 miles in 1:36:42, a pace of 8:58. -- Rob

Total Dissapointment!

Well, the doc told me I could begin my running again in three weeks.  Today was the day!  NOT!!!

I went down to English Landing so I could run on the soft trail.  I walked the first half mile then began a very slow jog, if there is such a thing.  I had only taken about ten short strides when I had to stop due to the pain.  I walked another 30-40 feet and tried again, even slower.  No go!

Rather than throw in the towel and give up, I've decided to rest the knee another two weeks and try again.  I'll stick to some short bike rides every other day just to keep the heart rate up and the weight down.  Really dissapointed right now.  I was looking forward to slowly building my mileage.

Soon I might have to resign to the fact that I can no longer run.  I hope not!....Mike

Longest Ride Since Hilly Hundred!

Had a super biking experience with Brandon Saturday during the Spring Classice tour with KCMBC.  293 participants enjoyed the perfect weather, but not sure about enjoyng all the hills.

The options were 24 miles, 46 miles or 70 miles.  Since I was a little aprehensive about the knee, I was all for the 24 miler.  However, Brandon wanted to do the 46 miler, which we did.  Sure was glad to see that last mile which turned out to be 47.12 miles, not 46!  Remember, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. 

I really was surprised at all the tough hills!  There was a series of three really long, semi-steep, grinders somewhere around the 35 mile mark that forced me to get off my bike and walk the last 1/8th of a mile to the top.  My theighs were just screaming and I was beginning to be overly concerned with the knee, but we made it to the finish and headed home with me driving and Brandon sleeping.  No surprise there! 

Mike

An Opening Farewell to Trinity University

Lucy, Katie, and I went to San Antonio last weekend for Jamie's student dance show titled Momentum.  It is entirely student run and choreographed and this year Jamie was the executive producer so we all trooped down for the show, which was fabulous.  We're going back in 2 weeks for her graduation, so on Saturday morning, I drove over to campus and ran all over the university grounds for my morning run.  Like many campuses, Trinity is gorgeous and I enjoyed weaving my way in and around the various campus trails and buildings for my run.  Lots of great memories from our trips to her school the last 4 years. 

There's an old Bonnie Rait tune titled "An Opening Farewell."  My run reminded me of the song as I really was beginning the process of saying good-bye to the Trinity University chapter of our lives.  Funny how specific runs, like specific songs we like, can anchor specific life moments in our memories.  This run was one of those times.

On Sunday, back in town, Katie and I got in our first bike ride together.  Only 8 miles, before we cut it short for rain, but it's a start towards our mid-June GOBA (Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure).  Yeah!  --Bill

Trolley Run

This race day started out much the same way as last December's marathon in Dallas: rain, wind, cool. Everyone huddled in storefronts prior to the race to stay out of the rain, and I was there, too. Finally, at 7:25 I ventured out so I could jog a mile to warm up.

By that time the rain had let up quite a bit, and I managed to get about 1.25 miles in at a pace of something like 11 min. I really wanted 2 to 3 miles, but I still felt good after the short warmup. I always feel like I need a significant warmup before a short race like this or I risk injury.

I slipped into the shoot at about 7:40, and accidentally found myself right at the front of the green wave, which was my wave. After the wheel chair racers took off, and then the blue wave, they moved us up to the starting line. It suddenly occurred to me that I'd never started a race with my toe on the line, and I had a rare opportunity to do that. I was about 4 deep, but edged this way and that until there was just a short Platte County middle school kid in front of me (he was there with about 30 other classmates). There was really no good way to squeeze into the front row without being a jerk about it, so that's where I started. Close, so close.

When the gun went off I had two thoughts: don't push it so hard you cause an injury, and don't let a single Platte County middle schooler beat you. I also noted that the rain had stopped completely, although it looked like it could open up at any moment.

I was surprised and impressed by how long some of the kids hung in there. I think I saw my last one around the 2-mile mark. By then I was actually catching up to the slower runners in the wave that went off ahead of mine - another new experience. I spent the final two miles working my way through a lot of the blue wave. It was crowded but didn't really affect my race except possibly to help me keep my pace down so I wasn't spent too early.

I didn't check my splits at all during the run, preferring to regulate my pace by how I felt. I tried to stay just below all-out, and I think I succeeded.

My opening mile was 7:54, then came 7:39, 7:30 and 7:25. My official time was 30:30, for an average pace of 7:38. Out of 85 men in my division, I placed 9th. Not a bad run.

By the time I got home it was raining steadily, and still is almost 5 hours later. -- Rob

Coming Around!

Had a super nice 20 mile ride on the Smithville trail today. Weather was perfect, since I got the ride in before it warmed up. Even got hit with a short sprinkle of rain.

Ride was pretty much uneventful until I almost hit a squirrel on the return trip. The silly thing came running out from my left, right in front of my bike. It was so close that I think I may have even clipped the end hairs of his tail. If that wasn't enough, the exact same thing happened (different squirrel) less than a quarter mile later! Must be squirrel suicide week!

At the end of my ride I had to double back somewhat to make it an even 20 miler since the out and back is only about 18.75 miles. When I finished, I noticed a man and his wife loading their bike. I couldn't believe that this idiot was smoking a cigarette while loading his bike. He must have taken that Canadian age test and made a decision to start an excercise program.

Keeping true to the program, although he did have a cigarette in his mouth, he was smart enough to carry a carrot in one hand and a turnip in the other........Mike

No love on the streets

Went out Monday for a slow run, and posted 6.3 miles in 1:01:12, which is a 9:43 pace.

I was just kind of slogging along, not feeling particularly energetic, when, with a mile and a half to go, this guy backed out of his driveway as I passed by him on the opposite side of the street, well out of his way. He rolled down his window and yelled at me - I heard the words sidewalk and street, and his tone, so I knew exactly what his complaint was. He wanted me on the sidewalk where I belonged. I just yelled "Get lost!" and waved him off (snappy, huh?).

That little incident gave me  noticeable shot of adrenaline, though, and for the last mile I felt great. Could have gone 5 more, but didn't. I was ready for my life-lengthening bottle of beer. -- Rob

It's 86-88 Years Before I Get Serious About The Drinking!

Many thanks to Rob and his calculate how long you will live blog entry.  Only the Canadians (who authored the thing) would want to know the number, by the way.   I've always subscribed to the "a little bit of mystery in life is a good idea" philosophy.  Gets me through my dealings with the opposite sex anyway...

So I went to the site, and by lieing about how many vegtables I can actually name, got my life expectancy up to 88 years.  Still have to work through the wine thing however.  I appreciate the homework assignment to "start drinking more like your life depended on it."  Like Rob, I consider that 88 years old number to be 12 years below my plan, but it is heartening to know that perhaps social security will still be around by the time I kick off. 

Had a good week.  Got in 4 runs, the longest of which was 5.4 miles, 2 elliptical workouts, and a 20.5 mile bike ride at the KCBC spring picnic today with Mitchell.  One of my runs this past week was a morning run in Stanley Park, Vancouver BC.  Gorgeous views.  I actually worked out, albeit at very modest levels, every day this week.  My mandate with Mitchell today was fun and full of conversation and great food afterwards.  This KCBC club definitely knows how to have fun!  It felt good to be back out on the bicycle again today, even though we pushed through some high winds for half the ride!

Here's to riding and drinking seriously because the Canadians who built the calculator told us we must to age 88, damn it!  -- Bill

Good test

With a half marathon coming up in the middle of May, today seemed like a good time to test my readiness. I headed out to Smithville Lake to run the trail. It was cool - still in the upper 30s when I started - but there was virtually no wind and the sky was clear. Beautiful out there.
I decided I would run exactly a half marathon, and I started out slowly and gradually speeded up in the first half of the run so that at the turn I was averaging 9:09 per mile. I had a lot left at that point, so I decided that I'd at least go for a negative split in the second half. My strategy was to not push it up the hills, which were small anyway, then kind of leg it out on any of the downhills and level areas. All of my splits after the turn were under 9, and several were under 8:30, the fastest being 8:18.
I got a little leg weary in the last couple of miles, but the last two were still 8:39 and 8:36, which surprised me. I thought they were quite a bit slower than that.
Anyway, the result was a half marathon in 1:57:54. So, I guess I'm in good enough shape to race one in May. -- Rob

How long will you live?

I came across an interesting life-expectancy calculator that takes into account your diet, health habits and activity level. It tells me that I'll live to be only 84, which I consider to be young, mostly because I formerly smoked (I quit in 1980 after smoking for about 12 years) and because my diet is deficient in fruit and vegetables.

That's far short of my goal of 100.

Who knows how accurate it is? It's fun, though, and you can fiddle around with it to see how changing your diet or activity level might affect your life-expectancy.

For instance, if I up my fruit and veggies from 14-21 to 28 or more servings per week, and my alcohol consumption to 5-10 drinks a week, I can get the number up to 88. My former smoking habit apparently cost me two years on earth. What was I thinking back then?

I can't do anything more about my smoking, but now I'm really glad I put a container of peas in my lunch bag today. I'll have to wait for this evening for the can of beer. -- Rob

Wrapping it up

I didn't get a chance to do a long run on Saturday, due to a fairly violent visit to the dentist on Thursday during which I lost a tooth. He told me not to run for 3 or 4 days. So, naturally, I laid off for a full day. I didn't do my planned 10, but I did go 4.5, and it was slow. I felt sluggish, which I attributed to my body being somewhat busy repairing the dentist's damage. Fortunately, my face did not explode, as the dentist inferred it might.

I found this interesting article which explains why EVERYONE should lift weights. I've heard most of this before, but the article puts it all in one place. I lift twice a week - exerting what I would call minimal effort - and agree with everything this author has to say.

I went out for a run again on Sunday, and felt much better than Saturday. This time I want 5.2 miles and did it fast enough to call it a tempo run.

Monday it was nice and cool after work - perfect weather for a run - but when I got home I really didn't feel much like going out. My main problem was that I didn't want to use any of my usual routes and I couldn't think of an interesting new one. As I headed out the door, though, a new route came into my mind. This one was made possible by the recent extension of 72nd St. from Overland Dr. to Green Hills Rd. I covered a mile in the neighborhood, then went east on the Gower trail and north on Green Hills to 72nd St., then west to Overland. I added little spurs here and there and wound up with exactly 9 miles, which after the hilly initial 3 miles seemed easy. I averaged 9:14 for the run. -- Rob

Steve Blum's Boston Run

I have a business friend from Boston named Steve Blum who is a few years younger than me.  OK, probably 10 years younger than me.  Anyway, he started running 10+ years ago and has completed a few marathons.  This year, he signed up as a Dana Farger Cancer hospital fundraiser and ran yesterday's Boston.  Here is his account -- very inspirational!  Enjoy!  -- Bill

Hello all,

I want to share my incredible weekend’s experience culminating in today’s VERY warm Boston Marathon.  Let me start with the Pasta Party that my teammates insisted I attend Sunday night. 

In entering Dana Farber’s area of the Marriott Copley Place, we were welcomed by the photographs of the children that are patient partners to runners participating in the DFMC.  Yes, each of the patient partners is going through treatment at Dana Farber for some form of cancer.  It was so moving to see their faces looking back at me, as I walked through the hall.  They refer to the Pasta Party as a party rather than a dinner as several speakers present the incredible work being done by Dana Farber.  With that said, the evening was not a complete joy, as patient partners, that have passed away in the years of the program, were remembered, their photographs put up on a large screen, for all participants to understand the importance of the program.

Toward the end of the presentations, the status  of the overall fundraising was revealed.  As a group, the DFMC runners have raised over $3.5 Million on our way to meeting the goal of $4.8 Million.  I want to thank my many donors as you all have had a part in a $3.5 Million+ effort!

As for today, race time for the elite runners began at 10AM, but my group started at 10:50PM.  I think we gained 6 degrees in that time as temps soared to around 80 degrees at the start.  By the time I made it to the 10 mile point, temps were around 90 degrees and climbed from there.  My daughter Hannah told me that she saw 94 degrees on the car thermometer!  Well, my first 6 miles went ok, but my body temperature climbed with the outside temperature and I trudged through the final 20 miles.    The good news is that I made it to the finish line and was lucky enough to cross the finish line with both my kids, Hannah on one side and David on the other.  My time of over 5 hours wasn’t thrilling for me, but I am glad that I wasn’t one of the many, many runners pulled over on the side of the road , receiving oxygen, passed out, or worse.  The news reports stated that many, many people ended up in the hospital and one local hospital’s emergency room stopped taking new patients!

Again, to the many of you that have made a donation to Dana Farber to support my run to conquer Cancer, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I also want to let others know that they are not too late.  My link http://www.runDFMC.org/2012/steveb  still works and your donations are a big part of bringing the total to $4.8Million.  Every dollar counts and I am so appreciative of the fantastic support from my friends and family.  It is because of you that I did not give up at mile 6.  You inspire me and I appreciate it!

Two Runs and an Eagle Scout Celebration

Due to my lack of running, I punted on the half marathon Saturday and dropped back to the 5k.  I still have a chest cold and cough, so I ran a 33 minute race.  Lots of very round bodies in my part of the pack at that pace...Enjoyed the race, the food afterwards, the sunshine, and then hanging out with Mike and Rob back out on the course.  They volunteered as course monitors and manned 2 different intersections controlling the cross traffic.  Afterwards, we all enjoyed a Mexican breakfast at PapaRicco's.  On Sunday, I attended Brandon's Eagle Scout court of honor with Rob, Mike, and Mike's family.  Lots of fun, and Mike did a great job reading Brandon's biography at that point in ceremony.  Today, I ran my favorite 3.3 mile run on my lunch hour.  Still have the chest cold & cough; averaged 10:42's.  Really enjoying the sunshine and it feels good to be out again running. -- Bill

Three days in a row

I came back very strong today despite this being my third consecutive day to run. Though I started out expecting only an easy 5 miles, it was cool and I had a lot of energy in my legs. I just let it develop naturally and posted these splits:  9:38, 9:13, 9:00, 8:37, 8:23, 3:51 (8:11 pace). The overall pace, then, was 8:54 for 5:47 miles. The encouraging part is that I can tell I'm building strength in my legs, because the hill climbs are noticeably easier now than they were two weeks ago (of course, it helps that it's much cooler). - Rob

Taking advantage of a day off

Very nice day for a run, and I had nothing but time since I'm not working this week (except around the house). I love running at any random hour that suits my schedule, rather than being forced into an evening workout all the time. It's very relaxing.
After getting a few things done early in the morning, I decided I needed to get out there before it got even a little bit warm. I was planning something in the neighborhood of 8 miles. The temperature was in the low 50s.

I could have gone to Smithville Lake and run on the shoreline trail, but it's a 30-min. drive and I didn't want to give up that much time to travel. So I headed for English Landing Park. I figured I'd be one of the few people there, but the place was busy with workmen getting the park ready for it's grand re-opening, and walkers and runners. The park has been closed or only partially open since last summer, when the Missouri flooded.
I didn't know what kind of run it was going to be until I got under way, but soon enough it morphed into a tempo run. I started with 9:32, and then 6 of the next 8 miles were at 9:00 or less. The final result was 9.1 miles in 1:21:17, for an 8:56 average. Loved it.-- Rob

Love that cool weather

The cooler weather made a big difference in my energy level during my run Tuesday. I decided as soon as I took off that I wanted the run to be fairly fast. For the sake of conditioning I feel I need to push it a little bit once in a while, and it had been a while since I'd done that.
Inexplicably, I picked a rather hilly route for this effort. Even so, I started out with a 9:37, then was under 9 the rest of the way (best mile split was 8:23), so the overall pace was 8:52.
At this point, I was still over a mile from home, and I really wanted 8 miles, so after a short walk I ran another 2.32, averaging 9:24. So I got a tempo run and an easy run in on the same night. Felt good all the way.

Then Wednesday night, with the rains coming down, I decided to get my run in at the gym. On the treadmill. This was kind of risky considering my recent injury problems associated with the device, but I felt confident nothing bad would happen. I went 5 miles, averaged 9:28, and managed to complete the run without breaking a leg or blowing a hammie. Life is good. -- Rob

Breaking Out!

Today I broke out of the funk I've been in for the last three months! Since I felt so good after my ride with Rob yesterday, I decided to take a long walk. No J-wording or even a fast walk!

So, with music in my ears and the sun on my shoulders, I enjoyed a nice long five mile walk at the kind of pace you would walk your dog, a small dog at that.

What was interesting was I couldn't decide which direction I wanted to walk and really wasn't sure how far I would be able to walk. I just figured as long as I kept my feet in a straight line and stayed on flat surface I'd be okay. (If I get my left leg turned, even slightly, the pain hits)

As I entered a trail (wide concrete) about a mile and a half from the house, I noticed a lady walking toward me. As she came closer she began a slow jog. She passed by me and didn't look up as I nodded my head and tipped my hat. I walked another quarter mile and she came up from behind me in that same slow jog. She didn't say anything this time either.

As I proceeded with my walk, it wasn't too long before I looked up and here she came again towards me. Now the trail I was on is only a mile long and from the looks of the situation it became apparent that she was walk/running at least four miles.

This time I couldn't help myself (yeah, you know me). I asked her if she was training for something. She said she was training for her first 5K. I asked here which one and she said she didn't know because she hadn't decided when she would be ready.

Okay, now I've gone into running instructor Mikie mode! I suggested the Brookside 5k run on May 12 since that would give her plenty of time and since she was already run/walking four miles she would have no trouble with the 5K. I warned her about what will happen when she crosses the finish line for the first time. Her life will change!

When we parted, she was really pumped about the race. I even gave her my email address and told her I wanted to watch her progress. I also told her that I was a volunteer for that event and I'd be watch for her to cheer her on.

Today was just a great day! I got two days of exercise in and motivated a brand new runner. Life can be really great at times! Can't tell you how motivated Mary Russell made me as well.

Now I'm really looking forward to my rehab period!!!!!

Mike