Bayshore Marathon Report!

I ran -- and enjoyed immensely -- the very beautiful Bayshore Marathon out of Traverse City, MI last Saturday.  The course is an out and back with 12 of the 13 miles right along the Grand Traverse bay on a small road with gorgeous homes and lake views.  We hit perfect weather -- 37 degrees at the start, but warming quickly with the full sunny day building to 62 at the finish.  I was very undertrained for this race...only one 18 and a 20 for my long runs (lots of 14's and 16's otherwise) but with low mid-week mileage.  On all but one of my long runs, I would run out of gas at 13-14 miles and drop down to 14/15 minute miles -- reflective I believe of low mid-week mileage.  Going in, my plan was to go out at 11:00's and hold sub 11:30's as long as possible (my comfortable pace), then walk if needed to finish.  My "A" plan was 5:00; "B" was 5:15-5:30 (which I expected), and "C" was to finish.

Turns out, I had a solid "B" plan day.  I averaged 10:47's for the first 4 miles before settling into steady 11:12's through mile 15.  This was followed by progressivly slower, but still steady 'running' (no walk breaks except for the aid stations) of 3 miles at 12:29's, then 4 miles at 13:35's, and finishing 4.2 miles at 14:12's.  A higher, properly trained mileage base would have held those back miles up.  Finish time was 5:19 for a 12:02 average pace.

This was my slowest marathon ever, but one of my most fun.  I was proud to keep moving, and can see that I'm on the road back to better running here.  The course and crowd was fabulous.  My sister Kathy and husband Hans came out and cheered me at 5 different points from the second half to the finish.  I was totally taking in all the Northern Michigan experience I could as I have a long family history of vacations in that part of the world, and I was in effect 'drinking it all in.'  At some point during my return leg I thought "this IS the best way to drink in the north woods...nothing slows down time like the back half of a marathon!"

My sister, Hans, and I had a great weekend celebrating her 65th birthday for the rest of my weekend.  All in all, this was a very special, memorable marathon weekend that has me psyched and ready for a summer full of long bike rides, our fall Katy Trail trip, and continued long distance training!

Here are some pictures from my weekend:

Kathy and I at the mile 19.4 aid station

Kathy and I at lunch after the race

Kathy and Hans on a beautiful trail we hiked on Sunday

Northern Michigan is beautiful!

Precarious, but I got it in!

I wanted to ride today, but wasn't sure about when it was going to start raining again.  Chris told me that the rain was predicted to return around 3:00 PM so I took off for the Interurban Road around 11:00 AM with a goal of getting in another 40 miler.

The first part of the ride was humid with a pretty good breeze in my face.  The clouds cover came and went along with the heat and humidity.  The ride from Ferrellview to Deerborn was rather pleasant watching the tall grass swaying in the wind and noticing the corn height was around a foot now.  It was also nice to see all the greening of the trees.

I rode through Deerborn to where the highway crosses over I-29 just north of town.  At that point I had a decision to make.  I was at 18 miles into my ride, but if I was going to get my forty in, I had to add on another 2 miles.  At this point, I was pretty concerned about the weather.  The wind had picked up considerably  and I was beginning to feel a drop of rain here and there.  Easy decision, I headed back to the car!

The ride back to the car was the roughest 18 miles I've ever rode.  The wind was as strong as I can ever remember on that route.  Believe it or not, at one point, I was actaully having to pedal DOWNHILL!  It was a long slight downhill, but the wind was so strong in my face that I had to keep cranking.  I didn't get to enjly very many downhill coasting opportunities!!!!

I ended up with a 36 miler averaging 12.9 mph with my top end at 24.8 mph.  I was kind of surprised at my 12.9 mph average.  I rode faster than that on the windy Smithville Trail!

Note:  I had already put my bike on the rack and was taking my helmet off when the rain hit!
            Could not have timed that any better if I planned on it!

Confidence Building!

Finally figured out how to get back on the MRC blogsite.  Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm technically challenged at times.

Anyway, I rode 42.2 miles by myself Friday (May 24th), rested the 25th and rode 40 miles with Sean yesterday the 26th.  Looks like Rob is up for a ride today, so I just might take advantage of the holiday and get some more mileage in.

Anyone up for planning group rides on future weekends?  The marathon training sessions are pretty much completed, so now is a good time to start planning rides together. 

Anyone up for a 50 miler this Saturday if your not running or helping with Hospital Hill?

Ride of Silence

I was touched by the support of the MRCofKC at the Ride of Silence last night.  There were around 100 riders that participated.  As the organizer, I was pleased with the turnout.  My wife joined the ride, too. Sad to hear so many fallen bicyclists, but remembering them in this way helps.

I wore my Nathan's Ride vest. I first wore in a few days after the accident in a ride to support Nathan and hope he would recover.

The bicycling community came together last night to continue the grieving for cyclist that have been killed.  I exchanged several emails with Monica whose 12-year old brother was killed in 2003.  She came with her family. I gave her one of my extra helmets as did another bike club member.  She said she'll be back next year and will try to be in better shape.  It was good to see someone trying to make a positive change in her life.

I was interviewed as part of the kansas city ride of silence.

http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-city/Event-brings-cyclists-together-to-ride-remember/-/11664182/20167926/-/ufhx0jz/-/index.html

Thanks again to Mike, Katie, Sean, and Bill for coming.   (Did I miss someone?)

Great Spring Running

Saturday's Runner's Edge route was a little hilly but the weather was perfect.  I did 12 miles and felt great.  I now drink 16 oz. of water with a dissolved Nuun tablet before the run and then at the half way point, I swallow a Salt Stick capsule.  This seems to keep my electrolytes where they need to be so I avoid any issues.

This morning, the poodle and I ran an easy 3.5 and he got to play at the Penn Valley dog park. 

I love nice spring weather!    - Ken

Well, it's something!

Due to a busy week, plus a slight degree of procrastination, I wasn't able to get in any kind of a ride this week.  I rode the 34 miles last Saturday, but wasn't able to do anything until today.  I wasn't even going to ride today, but I called Rob and he said he had just enough time to get a short ride in.

We drove up to Smithville and got in a quick 18 miler and drove home before Kay tore Rob a new one.  He really needs a new one anyway! 

The ride was just perfect, with just a enough pedestrians and cyclists, to make it interesting.  Weather was great with blue skys, small clouds, and glass smooth water on the lake.

We usually stop more than we did today to enjoy the view and to take on some water.  However, Rob was not looking forward to gettin a new one teared so we didn't waste much time getting the ride in.

Really looking forward to getting the group together to get in some longer rides on the weekends.

Why I Went to Graduate School

Occasionally, I am lucky enough to have a business trip that is so fabulous, I simply say myself "This is definitely WHY I went to graduate school!"  Last week was just such a case.  I flew out to Vancouver, BC to present our company's work to the annual conference for White Spot -- Canada's oldest restaurant chain.  They were celebrating their 85th birthday as a chain and our trip included performances at their conference dinner by the last three years' winners of Canada's equivalent American Idol show, plus a trip Friday night to the Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup playoff game in their corporate suite.  The trip hit three days of beautiful sunshine and warm, spring temps (this was during our May snow in KC...) and I got in three beautiful runs while there.  On Wed and Friday, I did a quick 3.5 mile loop in a very nice park 2 blocks from our hotel.  And on Saturday morning, I got in a 14-mile run on an urban trail that wound its way from our suburb right into downtown Vancouver.  It was a really fun week!  I'll close with 2 pictures -- one of Central Park, where I ran my 3.5 mile loops, and the other of what I only assume are distant relatives of Mike DeGhelder's at the Vancouver playoff game!  Would only every business trip be as nice as this one was!



Central Park running loop

Canadian Relatives of Mike DeGhelder.  (the skirt was a dead giveaway....)

Long layoff finally ends

After a layoff of  some 22 weeks, I finally got back on the road again twice in the past week. The hiatus was necessitated by a foot injury incurred the day before the Kansas City marathon last October, and exacerbated during the race. The injury - inflammation of a toe joint on the ball of my left foot - required several visits to the foot doctor, numerous sessions with the physical therapist, an a long period of just waiting for the discomfort to evaporate.

I planned to start running on May 1 no matter how I felt. But, the weather on April 29 was perfect and I had the time, so I decided to move the timetable up a bit.

While most of the discomfort from the injury is gone, my foot still gets pretty sore if I'm on it too long. Walking, oddly, hurts it, but I'd noticed over the last few weeks that running a few steps actually felt fine. For that reason, I was fairly confident that I'd be OK if I just took it easy.

 I set my goal at 4 miles and decided I'd be happy with any time, as long as it could qualify as running. I settled into a pace of around 11 min. per mile and just held that for the whole distance. I half expected some negative effects from the pavement pounding, but it never happened. I did 4.1 miles in 44:30, and boy, it was a great feeling to run again. I've spent hours in the gym on the machines, so my fitness level was pretty good, but I was post-marathon sore the next couple of days anyway. I loved it.

I was back out on May 1 for 4.2 enjoyable miles, and this time averaged 10:15 per mile. My plan now is to run  a couple times a week and keep the mileage low. I doubt I will enter any races until next year, if the recovery holds. With a 237-mile end-to-end Katy Trail ride coming up in October, it's all about the bike this year.

Plus an occasional run.   -- Rob

Eventful Day!

Even though I ordinarily would rest today, since I rode Sunday and Tuesday, I decided to go ahead and test myself with a longer ride.  After all, today looked to be the last really nice day for awhile and I needed to see what I had in the tank.  Although I only rode 12.5 miles Sunday and 10.5 yesterday, I thought I could handle a higher mileage day.

My first thought was to ride 30 plus miles on the Interurban Road, but elected, due to the boring straight out and straight back route, to go to the Smithville Trail around the lake.  Sure glad I did!

I knew my target was to go over 30 miles, but wasn't sure just how much over I could handle right now if that! I began my ride by heading across the bridge to the Bone Bender trail.  The wind was a little stiff and it seem kind of chilly.  However, I knew that it would improve as I warmed up.  About two miles into the ride two deer ran across the trail about 40 feet in front of me.  Not unusual to see plenty of deer around the lake.  However, it sure was unusual to have two geese fly across the path at eye level about 8 feet in front of me.  I was coming around a corner and a large evergreen tree was blocking my vision on the right.  I heard the geese, but assumed they were higher in the air.  Now, I've been goosed before, but never in the face!  Pretty darn close!

 It was just another two miles in to my ride when I saw a red fox run into the forest.  This is the second time I saw a red fox at Smithville lake.  I made my turnaround at eight miles into the ride and headed back to my starting point.  As I made a right hand turn and headed down an incline I almost ran over a 4' to 5' garter snake!  If he wasn't in a double S serpentine position I would have ran over him.  Fortunately, for me and snake, I was on the right hand side of the trail to avoid any possible riders or walker coming the opposite direction.   The good news is, this time I remembered my phone/camera and stopped about 25 feet past the snake.  I put the kick stand down and walked back to where the snake was, but by the time I got there snakey was gone!  Phooey!  I did happed to come across a turtle on the trail which was a first.

I crossed the bridge and headed back to the car, stopped for a swig of water, a Cliff Bar and headed back down the Anita Gorman part of the trail.  For some reason, I just started feeling really good and decided to start pushing the pace.  I was cranking it pretty good all the way to the turnaround.  I only stopped just long enough to get a fast swig of water and headed back to the car.  I kept checking my Garmin and I was clocking a pretty fast pace.  I wanted to keep pushing the pace until I just couldn't stand it anymore.  However, although I was really feeling it in my quads and the back of my arms, I didn't let up.

I ended up riding a total of exactly 34 miles at a 12.6 mph pace.  I know that doesn't sound very fast, but this is a very windy trail with some long uphill grinders.  Besides, my first eight miles were at a warmup pace!

Starting to feel very confident about longer rides in the future!