The MRC conquers the Katy

It had already been a tough weekend for Bill when we took off for the Katy trailhead on Sunday morning. He'd run a 10k, kayaked 9 miles and tended to family matters until late on Saturday. When Sunday came, he was still in recovery mode. At the left, Bill contributes to the scintillating conversation during the 90-min. drive to Rocheport.









Scenes from the ride
We took our time in the early miles of our ride, stopping often for photos. During this portion of the ride we were flanked most of the time by the river on one side and soaring cliffs on the other.

After making the turn to Columbia we were frequently in what felt like deep woods.

This portion of the trail curved and turned and was a bit more challenging of a bike ride. For some reason, without discussing it, this was where we suddenly picked up the pace. We pumped pretty hard for 8 miles into Columbia.

The tunnel picture was taken at the end of the ride, only about a half mile beyond the Rocheport trailhead.

The MRC kayaks the Kaw

Bill, Mike and Rob tamed the mighty Kaw last Saturday, navigating more than 9 miles through treacherous rapids while fighting off marauding pirates and bloodthirsty sharks. The Kaw is tough, man.

The MRC at Hospital Hill

Before and after

On the left, 10k'er Bill modestly starts the race in the middle of the pack, but as he nears the finish line he is clearly out in front of the field.


Giving his all

In the half marathon, a determined, dehydrated and overheated Ken gritted it out to the finish, clocking a Hospital Hill PR. He was taken straight to the medical tent, and
later went to the hospital for treatment of heat stroke. He's since recovered.

Gotta Keep Goin!

Well, what do I do today to follow a two plus hour kayak trip on Saturday and 36.5 mile bike ride
on Sunday? I felt just great after the bike ride and my quads weren't near as sore as they were after a 21.6 mile bike ride a week ago. I was just going to settle for a nice easy four miler to cap the weekend, but for some reason in mile two I just felt so good I found myself picking up the pace. At one point I looked down and saw that I was running at an 8:20 pace and wised up. I slowed the pace to where I was running comfortably without pushing it, but without dogging it. I ended up averaging around a 9:30 pace over all.

Note: Nothing hurt before, during, or right after the four miler, but later on my left hip joint started to really give me some discomfort. Kinda upsets me because I really wanted to get back into my running program........Mike

Bitter Sweet Weekend!

For months we had been looking forward to our annual MRC outdoor adventure weekend. It finally arrived only to be a combination of extreme highs and lows. With Rob and I showing support for Ken and Bill during the Hospital Hill race, along with rooting for Rob's neice, Annie, we looked forward to a celebration with them after their individual races. With Annie and Bill finishing the 10k segments of the event, we waited for Ken to finish so we could get going on phase two of our MRC weekend, our kayak trip down the Kaw River. We weren't expecting such a dramatic and dangerous ending to Ken's finish in the half-marathon!

Since most of us know how Ken's race ended, with a case of heat stroke, I'll omit the details. However, Rob, Bill, and myself included, came away with a new respect for running when the heat is a factor. This includes training runs as well as race events!

With Ken in professional hands at the hospital, and assurances that he would be okay, we went forward with our kayak plans for Saturday afternoon and the bike trip on the Katy Trail on Sunday morning. Needless to say, Ken was on our minds the rest of Saturday afternoon, even after several conversations with him after being released from the hospital.

The rest of the weekend was enjoyable but just wasn't the same without our bud!

Mike

I tried

Went to the gym tonight to lift weights and stretch, but I wore my running shoes thinking I might try a short, slow run.
It was a bust. There's enough pain there to alter my stride. Before I'd gone a quarter mile, the pain in my back was growing and I was cramping in the calf of my right leg (opposite the back pain). Good grief!
Well, OK, I'm not all that close yet. I still managed to cover 2 miles at a walk pace. I'll try again in a few days. -- Rob

Recovery Run and MAJOR Correction!

After yesterday's 21.6 mile bike ride I thought it best to just do an easy four miler. Quads were a little sore last night but didn't seem to bother me during the four mile easy run. Walked the first half mile and then stayed around 10:30 - 11:00 pace for the remaining three and a half miles. Rewarded myself with new shoes today. It's a new Asics shoe called the 3020. It got a very good review in the last issue of RW and is constructed for my type of foot and running style. Haven't road tested them yet, but will tomorrow.

Major correction in a previous blog! I reported that I ran a 7:28 mile during a ten mile run a few weeks ago. For some reason I had that run on my mind two days ago and got to thinking that there was no way I could run a 7:28 starting with almost a quarter mile uphill! I went back to check my Garmin training logs and it clearly stated 8:28, not 7:28! I have no idea why I saw it as 7:28, just old and tired, I suppose. Sorry about that guys. I'm a real stickler for honesty and integrity in this sport and hate to see people cheat their way into Boston, cut courses, etc. Beside, I have nothing to prove anymore!

See you all Saturday to begin a super weekend together! God bless you all!

Mike