Team Cross Runs

Pike Island’s Trails

I would take a nice trail run any day over running the roads.  Trails are my friend as this picture so elegantly shows! It is a little hard for me to hit the trails very often since we only have 1 car and I prefer to run in the mornings.  However, Pike Island is easy to get to via public transportation and even via bike.

Part of Fort Snelling State Park, Pike Island sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers just south of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.  On Pike Island itself you have a variety of options for running. See the maps here.  The easiest is a 5k loop around the outer edge of the Island - but there are little cut through trails to make 1 and 2 mile loops.

It is pretty scenic as you run along the rivers.  I think every time I’ve run there I’ve seen some wild animals - deers, squirrels, rabbits, but no pine martens! The trail is very flat and actually pretty wide too.  It might narrow down in places but is wide enough to mostly run 3-4 wide throughout. The trail is a mix of soft surfaces but is pretty safe for the ankles and has no technical elements to it.

Another great thing about this run is that it can easily be extended.  Want to go really long? You can head north up to Minnehaha Falls and connect into a variety of trails from there, although this is a paved trail.  More of a mid-distance run, you can run around Picnic Island and Snelling Lake.  Part of this segment is on pavement, but most is still trails and Picnic Island has grass stretches. You can also connect with bridges (with pedestrian lanes) that cross either river and connect with trails on the other side.

I enjoy running at Pike Island and have used it in the past to recover and reconnect with my reasons for running.  The worst thing about running here is that it is so close the MSP Airport, with almost continual flights over-head.

Parking Note: You must pay to park if you enter through Fort Snelling State Park. It costs $5 to enter the park or a valid State Park Permit. Then follow the main road to the Visitor’s Center.  However, if you enter from Historic Fort Snelling on top of the bluff there is no charge for parking.  Park in the main lot and run towards the fort and then follow the trail down the hill to Pike Island.

There is also some interesting history associated with this area:

To the Dakota [Native American tribe], Pike Island in Fort Snelling State Park was and is a sacred place. It is where the waters of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers meet and the Dakota believe it is the very center of the earth and arguably the place where Minnesota began.  WCCO

During this time[Dakota War of 1862], more than 1600 Dakota women, children, and old men were held in an internment camp on Pike Island. Living conditions were poor, and disease struck the camp, killing more than three hundred. Wikipedia

Despite the mixed history I enjoy running here, what do you think?

Technorati Tags: Pike Island, Fort Snelling, Minneapolis, Running Routes 

Running the Minneapolis Riverfront

One of my newer favorite places to run is along the Minneapolis Riverfront. It is about 1.5 miles from my house which makes it a good place to run for any distance run, plenty of scenery with the Mississippi River, cobblestone streets, dirt trails, mill ruins, and much more.  From my house I also get to run by the Metrodome - where the Vikings and Twins play.

The official riverfront website describes the area:

The Minneapolis Riverfront District is many things to many people. To some, it’s a giant archaeological dig. To others, its a playground of dining and nightlife. And to yet others, it is a maze of beautiful parks and trails.

The picture is from a recent 10 mile run and you can see a more detailed map of the area. I often run this route in the other direction crossing over the Stone Arch Bridge first.  On this particular run I never actually crossed the bridge since I extended it and ran through the University of Minnesota.

Surface Type Before I take you on a tour of the above route a quick note about running surface.  Most of the run is on some type of hard surface - road or sidewalk. Along much of the West River Parkway you can find a single track cow path that has been worn into the dirt between the walking and biking trails.  There is a section on the west side of the river there is a short section of dirt trail that follows a small cove. Crossing the bridges provides some elevation change, otherwise it is mostly flat.  After crossing over the river you can run on grass and dirt trails for awhile as you jump onto Boom Island and cross over onto Nicollet Island.  After a short period of dirt trails at the beginning and end of the Island the rest of the run is on sidewalks or roads.  This might be one of the best runs from my house for getting off the hard surfaces.

Step-by-Step Guide to the Sights and Trails There are a ton of things to see along the way. The downtown skyline is always present in your view. But my route mostly skirts the downtown area running by the Metrodome, before turning onto West River Parkway. From here the trail splits, you can go straight down to the river (and come back up later) or stay up on the top of the bluff.  Either way you see the Guthrie Theater and Mill City Museum. You can cross the pedestrian/bicycle only Stone Arch Bridge or continue on the West side as we will do here. You are now running along the St Anthony Falls Heritage Trail, which takes you into First Bridge Park before the trail crosses the Hennepin Ave Bridge.  We’ll stay on the West River Parkway and run past the Federal Reserve Building and through a stretch of turtle trail.  Lots of turtles are scored into the sidewalk on this stretch. From here you begin to run under a lot of trees and a more natural scenery.  You can stay on the paved trail or take a short detour on a dirt trail that follows the little inlet with two bridge to choose from (I prefer the shorter one because it makes a better loop) and can continue along the trail until it forces you back up into a little park area.  A nice benefit of running the Riverfront is the ample supply of water and occasional port-a-potties! Both have come in handy. Finally, we get to cross the river via the Plymouth Ave Bridge which drops you onto Boom Island.

Unfortunately, Boom Island is no longer an island, but hosts a nice park which includes a lighthouse and access to several riverboats. There is a paved trail that cuts through the park, but I prefer running in the grass along the river, this adds distance and also keeps you on softer surfaces longer.  You’ll eventually get to the Boom-Nicollet Island Pedestrian Bridge which is a cool old-school bridge onto Nicollet Island. Follow this dirt trail until it comes out on the road.  Here you can complete the short side of the island or double backon the road to get a longer and more scenic section. Running along Island Ave will take you along the river but also through some very nice residential sections before going under the Hennepin Ave Bridge and into Nicollet Island Park. I recommend continuing along the river’s edge around the tip of the island and crossing over the wooden Merriam St Bridge. As you cross over this bridge you almost enter another time period as you enter the cobblestone streets of Historic St Anthony Main. Running along this bridge also puts you back onto the St Anthony Falls Heritage Trail. If you want you can go explore the Hennepin Island Hydro-electric plant, but I’d save it for another day.  I’ve never noticed signs for Pillsbury Park, but it is on the map, Father Hennepin Park is well marked and takes you back away from the road.  Somewhere along this stretch you have the option of following the “Lower Trail” section which takes a lot of stairs down to the river. (I wouldn’t recommend taking the lower trail, it is a bunch of steps that lead down to the river - it is neat, but not really worth the effort on a run). As you come up to the Bandstand grab a quick drink of water and make an important decision.  You can cross over the Stone Arch Bridge and complete the loop or head up 6th Ave SE and do some other running. I’ve seen runners do multiple loops along the Riverfront so give that a thought too.  As of this writing you can see the finishing touches being put on the new 35W Bridge from the Stone Arch Bridge or by running up to the 10th Ave Bridge which is just south of where you are currently contemplating.

Whatever you end up deciding this is a fun run to do and gives you a good taste of Minneapolis.  The route as I’ve described it is approximately 4.5 miles long starting at 11th Ave S and W River Parkway and ending at the parking lot on the West end of the Stone Arch Bridge.

All of this is also part of the Mississippi National River Park and Recreation Area.

I should give credit to AEngelsrud for pointing this loop out to me via Twitter.

Technorati Tags: Minneapolis, Riverfront, Minneapolis Riverfront, Mississippi River, Tourism, Running

Reflections of a 20 Mile Run

The first 20 miler maybe the toughest. That was the topic of discussion at the end of the run as we all stood around recovering from a nice 21 mile run.  I was the novice in the group as this was my longest run ever and everyone else has several marathons already under their belt (with some impressive times to boot!) I think we decided that the first one might be the hardest, but they never really get easier.  Not overly encouraging as we have 2 more 20 mile runs in the upcoming weeks.  But their points were well taken At this distance it is easy to have a bad day and feel it. Runs of this distance require a little more thought and preparation than an easy 10 miler.  I plan to prepare well for all of my upcoming long runs!

Preparation - We spent a pretty quiet evening at home on Friday night, eating Pasta and watching the Olympics. I can’t say I hydrated excessively, but felt pretty hydrated.  I actually woke up Saturday morning with “pre-race jitters.” I hit the bathroom several times and ate a bagel with peanut butter and half a bowl of oatmeal.  Then I hopped on my bike and rode the 2.75 miles to where we were meeting. It was a nice easy ride on a cool (low 60’s morning).

The Route

Run Time - I loaded up my shorts with a package of cola flavoredClif Shot Blok and off we went.  The plan was to take a Shot Blok every 5K.  I managed to do that and felt like that was a good mixture for most of the run. We actually did take the pace nice and slow as we started out.  We had a group of about 10 runners which was a nice size.  We started approximately at the 1.5 mile mark of the Twin Cities Marathon. We followed the course pretty accurately hitting the official water-stop around mile 3 where I picked up some CLIF SHOT Energy Gel of the Chocolate persuasion - they offered both Chocolate and Double Expresso. They did this for all the runners about a month ago.

We made some course deviations to throw in some soft trails but hit the hills along Minnehaha Parkway so we wouldn’t be surprised by them during the race. That was actually a good thing because I didn’t realize there would be any on that part of the course, so now I can plan for them. We hit them about 7 miles into our run which places them approximately in the 8-9 mile range.

Pace Chart

Coming back from the turn around point I noticed on my Garmin that we were in my Marathon pace range (my goal is 7:15 so Marathon Pace runs would be between 7:30 and 7:00).  The pace chart shows us hitting 7-flat for a brief moment of time in the 9 mile range.  I wanted to stay with the group but also knew we had a long way to go still so I was willing to let them go, knowing eventually we’d catch up.  I never really got gapped by the group and had someone to run with for most of the run, which was nice!

The trails were quite crowded on our return run as many training groups were out there hitting the roads. On the return we “closed” the lakes - running around them on the opposite side so that we essentially ran around the entire thing. I started feeling bad when we got to Lake Calhoun, it had been about 5 miles since the last water stop and I was tired.  I stopped to pee real quick and caught back up to the group at a water fountain.

We then swung by the Marathon Water Stop at 17.25 already 1.25 miles farther than my longest run.  I grabbed 2 cups of water, a cup of Powerade, and ate a Chocolate Gu (I didn’t eat the first one).  I had gotten a little hungry somewhere in the early teen miles, but not the hunger that can really be satisifed while running.  I over did it at the last stop and felt it within the next mile. I was still moving along fairly well but could feel my hip flexors getting tight, my toes getting blisters, and my stomach was a little off.

I hung in there and finished at the consistent pace we had been going.  I ran the last mile pretty much by myself, with a group right in front of me and a guy behind me who later said, “My GI tract finished the run before I did.”

Reflections - Those are my thoughts from my first 20+ mile run.  Here are my take-aways:

• Eat a bigger breakfast,
• Don’t try to “cram” for the final miles,
• Be consistent with nutrition on the run,
• Steady pace throughout the run, try to avoid spiking the pace,
• Relax and have fun!

Here is a list of my mile splits if you care! Oh, I guess I should note that my Garmin had the run at 20.5 miles but pretty much everyone agreed that it was at least 21.

1. 9:00
2. 8:14
3. 8:20
4. 8:14
5. 8:11
6. 8:12
7. 8:03
8. 7:49
9. 7:47
10. 8:12
11. 7:33
12. 7:54
13. 8:03
14. 7:55
15. 7:37
16. 8:00
17. 8:05
18. 7:59
19. 8:14
20. 8:01
21. 3:52 (8:07 pace)

Technorati Tags: Running, 20 miles, Reflections

Midtown Greenway: Recreational Mecca

Image from Flckr

There are hundreds of miles of trails - maybe even thousands across the greater Twin Cities metro area. Some have no real purpose other than winding around, enjoying nature. Some serve as vital arteries of transportation and commerce. The Midtown Greenway falls into the latter category.

Cutting East-West through the heart of South Minneapolis, the Greenway is a major commuter artery connecting the Western Suburbs to the Mississippi River. It is also a three lane recreational mecca of sorts easily connecting with the chain of lakes, Midtown Global Market, West River Parkway, and a variety of other bike trails.

Officially the “Midtown Greenway” is only 5.5 miles long but the trail continues on after leaving Minneapolis and Hennepin County. The Star-Tribune recently reported that for the the quarter ending on June 30th that overall trail usage was up 30% and three-fold since 2003. From a running standpoint this means the trail is quite busy. I would argue that this facility maintained and advocated for by the Midtown Greenway Coalition is invaluable as a paved trail for those who need paved surfaces to recreate.

Living only 4 blocks from the Greenway and 6 from an entrance/exit I use the trail for many of my runs and bike commuting to work.  From a running standpoint it is extremely nice to be away from cars and to have a flat surface to run on - although it does get a little boring and repetitive.  The trail occasionally has a dirt shoulder that I can run on to avoid the pounding pavement but you can’t count on being able to run there.  I said flat, but the newest addition - Martin Olav Sabo bike-pedestrian bridge over Hiawatha Ave - provides a pretty steep incline for both the runner and biker.  However, it can provide some pretty sweet views of downtown at the right times of day.

Image from Flckr

In the winter the Greenway is extremely useful because it gets plowed on a regular basis and you don’t need to worry about cars sliding around and hitting you - just a bicycle!

I have really enjoyed being able to utilize the Greenway so much. It wasn’t until I started training for the marathon that I really started branching off and running different routes from my house.  The Greenway is just so convienent!

Hope to see you out there!

Technorati Tags: Midtown Greenway, Bike Trails, Minneapolis, Recreation

Race Review: Human Race 8K

Awhile back I registered for my first Minnesota race - the Human Race 8K, which is part of the USATF Series. The race was also featured at Down the Backstretch - which is a well-known and respected running blog in Minnesota. Here is DtB’s recap and a link to photos.

The race was efficiently run from the beginning. There was a variety of options for registration and I chose using active.com which allowed me to enter my USATF # (and receive the discount) and get everything done pretty quickly. The event was put on by TSL Events (The Sporting Life Events) and hosted at the University of St Thomas in Saint Paul which is a pretty campus.

Packet pick-up was pretty smooth for me - pick up your chip and number and then go get your shirt. You had a variety of options when you registered and could actually choose not to get a shirt - which I kinda wish I hadn’t. I selected a short-sleeve wicking shirt - hoping for a really nice technical shirt. Instead I got a nicely designed “wicking” shirt that almost feels like a t-shirt. It claims to be 100% polyester, but definitely doesn’t feel like my other technical shirts. Oh well, its bright green!

I warmed up with Team MDRA and had a good warm-up and got some advice for running the course. It was a nice course along Summit Ave in St. Paul. You may have heard of Summit Ave because it is also the last stretch of the Twin Cities Marathon and maybe the hardest because of its long uphill. Since this was an out-and-back course the uphill was fine on the return when it was actually a downhill! The course is actually an overall negative course with the finish line actually below the starting line. My Garmin said we lost 29 feet of elevation throughout the course.

The race was won in 24:06 (4:50). My overall time was 31:27, my watch said 31:24 but it was chip-timed so I’ll go with that! My goal was 32 minutes - which I extrapolated from my 10K goal of breaking 40 minutes.

I tried to start out at a decently easy pace since the first mile was mostly uphill. We gained about 50 feet of elevation within the mile. It was hard to let people go by me, but I also knew that I needed to be smart. I saw a couple of the MDRA guys within striking distance and just hung on with them. I thought I crossed the first mile in 6:30, but my watch actually said 6:20. I think if I had known that I might have freaked a little so it was ok! We basically just ran along tree lined streets for the whole race. We ran out did a little loop and ran straight back. Nothing too exciting in the second mile, I tried to stay focused on the MDRA runners ahead of me and maintaining an even pace. I actually passed one of the MDRA guys somewhere near here and I just kept pushing on. My second mile was 6:12, thanks in part to some downhill! I tried to keep it even since I knew we’d have the hill coming back up!

During the third mile we made the loop around a law school and headed for home. We did have some uphill here but I kept forging ahead. I grabbed a quick sip of water at the water stop and still ran a 6:25 mile. For the next mile I could have sworn I ran a lot slower, I was doing mental math trying to figure out what I needed to run the next mile to stay under 6:30 overall pace. I was way off!! I think, that I thought I had just run a 7 minute mile because I came through 4 miles at 25:30 and somehow I thought that was back at 6:30 pace but I was actually still 30 seconds ahead. Or something like that… I don’t know - I’m confusing myself trying to remember what was happening out there!

From about 2.5 to 4 was almost all uphill not very steep but just enough to make you dig in and work a little bit. I came through the 4th mile at 6:34. With the downhill finish I tried to give it everything I had… I worked hard running it out and with about a quarter to go I dropped the hammer. My final .99 miles was 5:51 which is a 5:54 pace. Looking at my Garmin’s pace chart I dropped from a 6:03 pace to a 4:31 pace in the final quarter of the race. Going geeky with the Garmin that is a 76 second last quarter!

The finish was great because we lost about 100 feet of elevation during the last mile which really helped me run a 5:51 0.99 which is a 5:54 actual mile pace. I also laid out a killer kick knocking off at least 5 guys in the last hundred meters or so.

I had a great race, it was fun and a nice atmosphere. It is a different league up here though than running around Anderson. Especially races in the USATF Circuit are going to be hard to pick up any hardware, but I might have to try and find some obscure races in the middle of nowhere to even place in my age group!

It was a beautiful day for racing! The full results are posted here. I finished 139th overall out of 1,033. I got 32 out of 83 in my age division!

UPDATE: Team MDRA placed 6th out of 10 Male USATF Teams and our female counterparts Team Unattached placed 5th out of 8.

Technorati Tags: 8k, Road Race, Human Race

Favorite Runs

Enjoy changing scenery? Like the soft surface of trail running? How about seeing wildlife on every run?

Those are all experience you can have at one of Central Indiana’s best running spots. Mounds State Park, in Anderson has a little bit to offer every runner. Mounds may be one of the smallest state parks at only 280 acres, but there are still enough trails to please most runners.

The biggest problem with Mounds is that there isn’t much flat trail to run on. So whenever you get hurt you have to cut Mounds out for a little while. I personally run a 3 or 5 mile loop (or some combination) whenever I run there. I know of runners who have completed 20-milers out there! Yuck! There are probably 6-7 decent size hills with names like K-Hill, Cinder Block, and Step Hill. Many people do interval workouts including one of my favorites the Spaghetti Bowl. It is hard to describe each hill or workout, or even the courses, but here is a good map of the trails. The trails are described in this brochure (pdf) available at the gatehouse.

Mounds is home to the Anderson Road Runner’s 26th annual 5 Mile Run the Mounds. This year it also hosted the DINO Series 5K and 15K races. It is also home to Highland High School and Anderson University’s Cross Country courses. Needless to say, in the fall it is a busy place with high school and college runners everywhere!

I would encourage every runner to spend some time at Mounds. I’ve seen at least one deer each of the times I’ve run out there the past few weeks, including a doe and 2 fawns! My recommendation is to take it easy the first couple of times out there and like any training slowly build up mileage and intensity. It can be a brutal run, but it is so fun.

There is a small entry fee: $4 per carload M-Thurs and $5 Fri - Sun and Holidays. Or get a State Park pass for $36.

running trail running run Mounds State Park fitness outdoors

Wild, Wild, Westwood

This morning I took part in an epic East Central Indiana running experience. I ran around the big loop at Westwood Park, near New Castle. I have heard much talk about this particular course and was finally able to take part with 2 other running buddies. We had a great time and ran it in about 93 minutes. What is the distance? That’s a good question. The park brochure calls it 10.5, my friend has biked it at 11, and DINO calls it 10. We marked it down as 11 for an 8:28 pace.

That pace sounds slow but this isn’t an easy run. Westwood’s website calls it one of the best and most challenging bike trails in Indiana. With hundreds of switchbacks and hills of all sizes and lengths that could be true! This trail hasn’t been rutted and is approximately 3 years old. But watch out there are plenty of roots and overhanging branches. I was constantly alternating between watching the ground and catching branches in the face. Unfortunately I was the only one in our group to actually hit the dirt, but another did stumble a few times as well. Another drawback of this particular course is that there is no water stops. Well, there is a picnic shelter 100 yards or so off the trail with water, but its hidden and without studying the map you might miss it. We did see that someone had dropped water bottles off for a later run!

The trail meanders through open fields, forests, pine forests, and much more. It roughly follows the contours of the 180 acre lake with bridges crossing some parts. Overall this was a great run, we took it nice and easy!

Don’t be too afraid, there are other trails as well. There is approximately a 6 mile hiking trail and a 6 mile horse trail, both circumvent the lake but cut out lots of the switchbacks.

The Hoosier Mountain Bike Association (HMBA) has a great write up here. Click here for a map.

NOTE: There is a $2.50 entrance fee, even at 6:30 when we got there. The park is West of New Castle on SR 38.

running road races run running route fitness trail running