How fast can you run a 1/4 of a mile, 400 meters, or once around the track?  My 400 meter PR is 52 seconds which I obtained in the last race of my college career in the middle of an 800 during a 4×800 meter relay, the second 400 didn’t go quite as well!  If I had been able to continue that pace it would have been a 3:28 mile!! Or a 1:30 marathon.  That would be amazing, too bad I couldn’t even hold it for a second 400 meters!

The current marathon world record is 2:03:59 by Haile Gebrselassie which is a 4:43 mile or a 70 second 400.  The current 100 meter world record is 9.58 held by Usain Bolt, this is a 2:35 mile pace or 1:07:19 marathon, impressive!

What’s the point of all these numbers? A writer for the Star-Tribune decided to try and match Jason Lehmkuhle’s Boston Marathon pace (5:03) for 400 meters. Lehmkule ran a 2:12:24 for ninth place.  Can you run a flat out 5:03? My TC 1 Mile time is 5:26 from last year, so I couldn’t even keep up with Jason for a mile.  So Lehmkule’s average 400 meter time was 75 seconds.  The Strib writer, Michael Rand (athlinks), ran a 76 second quarter and was in his own words “spent”.

It was an interesting experiment that shows how amazing the elite runners really are.  Rand is in training for a marathon and has a PR of 4:30.  I like what he says:

I could not quite even run 1 percent of a marathon distance at a world-class pace — let alone conceive of actually running the other 99 percent or so that fast.

How far can you run at a world class pace?

Be sure to check out the full article and video.

If you’ve not heard of the best-selling book Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen you might be want to double check that you are a runner with a network of runners.  It seems every runner on the web has written or talked about Born to Run, so why not me?

Well I haven’t really wanted to spend the money and who wants to be part of a fad? That all changed a few weeks ago.  We had some time to kill and decided to go to a book store.  We were already in Uptown so we checked out Magers & Quinn, a great Minneapolis treasure. I walked out with four books, all purchased below their market price.  Born to Run was the only new book, the rest were used.

I was getting bored by the other book I was reading and wasn’t sure if I’d make it through the 282 pages with only 2 weeks left in the month.  Well, I was pleasantly surprised that the book was a super-easy read and I finished it with time to spare in March.  I was prepared for a book like Bill Bryson’s Walk in the Woods where it was story mixed in with a lot of random facts/rabbit trails/personal issues.  McDougall’s is almost all story.  Much of what I had heard about the book led me to believe it would be a treatise on barefoot running and a lot of research to back up that perspective.

It is actually pretty late (chapter 25 page 168) in the book before McDougall really starts to present any heavy research and opinions on barefoot running.  And it does make you think.  For obvious reasons I really liked this quote on pg 201:

Once PF [plantar fasciitis] sinks its fangs into your heels, you’re in danger of being infected for life. Check any running-related message board, and you’re guaranteed to find a bunch of beseeching threads from PF sufferers begging for a cure. Everyone is quick to suggest the same remedies – night splints, elastic socks, ultrasounds, electroshock, cortisone, orthodics – but the messages keep coming because none of them really seems to work.

Isn’t that great! Most of the book is about the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico and how they run for days eating only pinole and wearing thin pieces of rubber (known as Huaraches) and never seem to get hurt.  In fact when some of them receive and start wearing running shoes they ended up getting hurt shortly thereafter.  The main emphasis of the book is a race held in Mexico in which Scott Jurek, Barefoot Ted, and a few not so famous runners take on the adventure and challenge of a 50 mile trail race against the Tarahumara’s best runners.  I won’t tell you the ending!  The book spends a lot of time providing the back story for each of the runners and how the Tarahumara became known in the US running world.

McDougall also takes a section of his book to look at the evolution of man and how we evolved into runners.  This quote made me laugh (pg 243):

To be fair, our brain knew what it was talking about for 99 percent of our history; sitting around was a luxury, so when you had the chance to rest and recover, you grabbed it. Only recently have we come up with technology to turn lazing around into a way of life; we’ve taken our sinewy, durable, hunter-gather bodies and plunked them into an artificial world of leisure.

Today marks the beginning of registration for the Twin Cities Marathon on October 3.  This is the earliest registration has opened and they are expecting it to sell out quickly.

From the official press release (pdf):

“In the past, we’ve opened registration in late April,” said Achman [Twin Cities In Motion executive director Virginia Brophy Achman]. “The earlier registration date will give marathoners from around the world the opportunity to include the Most Beautiful Urban Marathon In America® in annual travel plans,” said Achman. The marathon takes place Sunday, October 3, 2010 and typically fills its spring-time registration within a month. Registration is online only at mtcmarathon.org and is capped at 11,000 on a first-come, first served basis.

I won’t be running it this year.  Given that I’ve been injured for almost a year and basically took 3 months off running this winter, it doesn’t seem wise to endure the long training cylce for a marathon.  I wish everyone luck and I’ll probably do the TC 10 Mile if I can get an entry.  I plan to focus on shorter distances this season.

Technorati Tags: Twin Cities Marathon, TCM, Marathon

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Want to complete 26.2 miles in Minnesota?  Below is a list of races throughout the state and surrounding states.  Some well known ones and some you’ve probably never heard of.  The list is compiled from the MarathonGuide.com.

The link on the name of the race points to the official homepage, the link on MG points to the Marathon Guide page so you can read past reviews, etc.

Minnesota

May 8 – Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon St. Joseph, MN MG

May 30 – Med-City Marathon & Half Marathon, Relay, 20 Mile Rochester, MN MG

May 30 – Stillwater Marathon & 20 Mile, Half Marathon, 12K Stillwater, MN MG

June 6 – Minneapolis Marathon & Half Marathon, 5K, 5K-9 Minneapolis, MN MG

June 19 – Grandma’s Marathon & Half Marathon, 5K, Kid’s Races Duluth, MN MG

July 11 – Half Voyageur Trail Marathon Carlton, MN MG

September 12 – Moose Mountain Marathon & 50 mile, 100 mile Lutsen, MN MG

September 19 – Walker/North Country Races & 2 Person Relay, 1/2 Marathon, 10K Walker, MN MG

October 3 – Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon & 10 Mile, 5K Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN MG

January 2011 – St. Olaf College Women’s Track & Field Team Zoom! Yah! Yah! Indoor Marathon Northfield, MN MG

Surrounding States

January 24 – InStep Running & Walking Centers InStep Icebreaker Indoor Marathon & Half Marathon

Milwaukee, WI  MG

April 4 (2009 date) – Re/Max, Children’s Miracle Network Trailbreaker Marathon & Half Marathon, 5K

Waukesha, WI MG

April 24 – Pine Line Trail Marathon & Half Marathon, 26.3 Mile Relay, 5K Run/Walk

Medford, WI MG

April 25 (2009 date) ING Trestle Valley Marathon & Marathon, Half Marathon, ND Distance Relay Championship

Minot, ND MG

May 1 – Wisconsin Marathon & Half Marathon Kenosha, WI MG

May 2 – Eau Claire Marathon & Half Marathon, 1 Mile Fun Run Eau Claire, WI MG

May 2 – La Crosse Fitness Festival & Half Marathon, Relay, 5K La Crosse, WI MG

May 8 – Journeys Marathon & Half Marathon, 5K, 13.1 mile Power Walk Eagle River, WI MG

May 8 – Lake Geneva Marathon & Half-Marathon, Relay, Walk, 10K, 5K, Adventure Race Lake Geneva, WI MG

May 10 (2009 date) – Central States Marathon & 50K, 11 Miler Ames, IA MG

May 16 – Cellcom Green Bay Marathon & Marathon, Relay, Half Marathon, 5K, WPS Kids’ Run Green Bay, WI MG

May 30 – Madison Marathon (Mad City Marathon) & Marathon, Half Marathon, Quarter Marathon Madison, WI MG

June 6 – Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon & Half Marathon, Relay, 5K, 1K Deadwood, SD MG

June 12 – Marathon-to-Marathon & Half Marathon, Marathon Relay, 5K Marathon, IA MG

June 13 – Swan Lake Marathon & 1/2 marathon, Sunfish 5.3 Viborg, SD MG

July 18 – University of Okoboji Marathon & Half Marathon, Triathlon, 10K Okoboji, IA MG

August 8 – Paavo Nurmi Marathon Paavo Nurmi Marathon (USA) & Relay Hurley, WI MG

August 15 – LEADING LADIES’ MARATHON & Half Marathon Spearfish, SD MG

September 18 – Kroll’s Diner YMCA Bismarck Marathon/Half Marathon and Footfest 5k & Half Marathon, Marathon Relay Bismarck, ND MG

October 3 – Lakefront Marathon Milwaukee, WI MG

October 9 – WhistleStop Marathon & Half Marathon, 10K, 5K Ashland, WI MG

October 17 – Des Moines Marathon & Half Marathon, Marathon Relay, 5K Road Race, Kids Run Des Moines, IA MG

October 25 – On the Road for Education & Half-Marathon, 10K & 5K Mason City, IA MG

November 7 – Rails to Trails Marathon Norwalk, WI MG

That is quite a few choices.  Did I leave any out?

Today, Dec 1 is World AIDS Day.  You really should read this article about hope from Relevant

I left Desalech with an amazing sense of hope, and also urgency. She had seen her life turn around. But I could only imagine how many other women there were like Desalech who desperately needed help: life-saving help.

I had traveled to Ethiopia with a couple of other World Vision staff who worked solely with Team World Vision. They basically recruited people to run marathons in honor of people like Desalech in Africa, raising awareness and asking for financial support in the process. This marathon thing, to me, was an absolutely ridiculous idea.

In seventh grade, I was the girl who faked being sick to avoid running one mile in gym class. Chalk it up to all the classic reasons: self-consciousness, fear of failure, embarrassment. I dreaded that one mile so much that I probably wasn’t actually faking sickness at all. The thought of running for even 10 (OK, maybe 14) minutes, coupled with the resulting humiliation of it all, was enough to make me physically ill. Let’s just say that my aversion to sports did not improve throughout high school. Or college.

Be sure to read the whole article.

Technorati Tags: Relevant, World AIDS Day, World Vision

www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TsNig-R4

Technorati Tags: Meb Keflezghi, Meb, Letterman, NYC Marathon

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Jerry Johncock

I’m not sure what I think about this whole situation.  According to the Pioneer Press Jerry Johncock was almost disqualifed from the 2009 Twin Cities Marathon for using a catheter at mile 21.

The report says he couldn’t urinate and from past experience knew he had a blood clot which prevented him from going.  Based on USA Track and Field Rule 144.3(d) (pdf) TCM officials decided not to disqualify the 81 year old who ran a 5:22. Johncock holds the U.S. marathon record for men aged 80-84 with a time of 3:59:12 and placed 1st in the the age group this year. Officials were initially unsure whether using a catheter was improper assistance.

The story gets stranger.

Johncock asked for a catheter at a medical tent.  They don’t carry such a device, for obvious reason s – check out the pictures.  Then a random spectator offers a spare one from his car.  1) Who carries a spare catheter? 2) Would you use someone’s spare catheter? Evidently the guy had a spinal cord injury.

Then according to this “explicit” picture, he would have to stick it up his penis (while running?) while standing on the side of the road. In a near by ambulance – obviously.

Then he ran 5 more miles.

Here are his race stats:

Jerry Johncock earned his finisher’s medal.  Based on my calculations he lost about 40 minutes with this incident.

Pioneer Press Articles:
Results stand for man, 81, who used catheter during marathon
No DQ for marathoner, 81, who borrowed catheter
Man borrows catheter from stranger’s car to finish Twin Cities Marathon
Picture Credit

Here is a random update on the catheter story.

Technorati Tags: Jerry Johncock, Twin Cities Marathon, TCM, Catheter

I finished my second marathon. Pretty worse for the wear, but I finished. I had pretty modest expectations going into the race based on my training over the last year. I felt that 3:30 was pretty reasonable since most of my longer runs had been at 8 minute pace.

A friend from college, Pez, was debuting this year and he’s a pretty smart guy and decided to run with me for the first 3 miles around 8 minute pace and slowly build up. He had an excellent race finishing in 3:19. I felt really good during the first 5k, I did stop for a quick bathroom break and had to force myself to not try to catch back up.

I passed fellow classmate Kevin on the north side of Lake of the Isles. Staying pretty consistent at 8 minute pace. The 3:30 pace group was pretty far ahead now, because of my potty break – but they did take it out fairly fast from the start. I passed Deb on the north side of Lake Calhoun and the ran with Anne and her friend for awhile on the south side of the lake. I probably should have stayed with any of them and continued running at an easier pace. But I was hitting my splits pretty accurately.

At some point early on the Minnehaha Parkway part of the course I started catching up to the 3:30 pace group. At which point it got really crowded. Marty was towards the front of the group and we slowly came together as we went through the rolling hills stretch. I was taking it easy and hitting 8 minute pace. Marty and I ran together for a couple of miles. He said he was struggling and right before Cedar he said he would see me at the finish and dropped off.

I maintained my pace through 13 but started to hurt around 12. It started in my hips and throughout the race slowly worked its way down my legs. Mostly on the left side (where I have plantar fasciitis). I got through the half in 1:44 so pretty much right where I wanted to be. I slowed down a bit and I think I stopped to stretch it out before leaving Nokomis. From here my splits slowly slowed down as I struggled with trying to loosen up my legs, staying mentally tough, and not bonking.

As my paces show I quickly deteriorated and never really recovered. Part of me wanted to quit, part of me wanted to walk, part of me knew I had to fight to the finish. I made a mental decision that I would finish, even if I had to walk the rest of the way, but also made the decision that I would run for at least a mile in between walk breaks. I started just trying to walk through water stops, but then gave up on that and just started walking when I didn’t feel like going any farther.

I saw my wife and friend at mile 16 and gave them the thumbs down. I think they knew I was off pace but the thumbs down was a clear sign that I was struggling. I heard a couple of my students cheer for me and a former student gave me a needed/welcome Gu pack around mile 17.

Blood Filled Blister!

The rest of the race is a blur of struggle and pain but I finished. And I was running at the finish. I finished in 3:56:00 officially. Deb and I passed each other back and forth throughout the last 8 miles. She served as much needed motivation to keep on pushing. A first time marathoner chatted with me a bit as we were getting ready to go up the St Thomas hill. I told him I was doing terrible but he kept talking. As we started up the hill he asked, “Is this the big hill.” I replied, “One of them.” He was caught of guard by that, and I felt a little bad, but I was out of it and didn’t really want to chit chat about the intricacies of the last 6 miles.

One high point of the final stretch was my wife and friend were just in front of the Target Cheer Zone. Summit Ave is already pretty packed with people and can be very encouraging. So I passed them and they were really cheering and the whole block or two was extremely uplifting, especially as you pass through the Cheer Zone. I got a boost in my step, which didn’t last near as long as I was hoping!

Seeing the cathedral top made me happy because I knew it was almost over. Then slowly making the turn and seeing the capital. I dug deep and found something and pushed hard. The crowd roared and I finished. Then I shuffled through the chute getting water, fruit, chips, a banana, a heat sheet, vegetable broth, and finally a finisher’s shirt. Marty and I hobbled and talked for a bit before I tried to find my wife and friends to go home.

It is amazing how much pain you can be in after running that far. My body hurt during the run, but hurt even worse right after it was over and for the rest of the day! When I peeled off my sock I found a nice blood filled blister pictured above!

Thank you to the thousands of people who cheered!! Those who knew my name, those who cheered for “MDRA” (my jersey), my race number, and even those who yelled for “MORA” (because evidently the D looks like an O). Each and every one of you and all of the volunteers helped make this race successful.

Technorati Tags: Twin Cities Marathon, TCM, Marathon

Tuesday we ran 5 miles from the Edina Community Center and then heard from Jason Lehumkle about his perspetives on marathoning.

My foot has been feeling good depsite being on my feet a lot lately with working on the house.