Category Archives: My Running

TCM Training Week 16

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This past week was a blur.  We closed on our house on Tuesday and have been working on it since then.  We’ve cleaned, painted, moved, cleaned again, and done some needed repairs.  Man am I exhausted.  I did manage to squeeze my miles in – a much needed break from the stress.

Past Posts

We all want to get faster, striding is one way to accomplish that.  USATF is trying to be a better, friendlier organization.  One way they are doing that is through a CEO Blog, my thoughts. Want to know what it is like to live with HIV/AIDS, the World Vision Experience helps you understand. A nice 5k loop with great views and wildlife is Pike Island, one of my favorites.  Foto Friday was in honor of my wedding anniversary.

Last Year’s Mileage

Run: 33.3 Miles
Bike: 48.0 Miles

This Week’s Running

Tuesday morning I ran alone, since we would need the evening to work on our house.  I ran 7.5 miles on the Minneapolis Riverfront loop. I finished in just under an hour. It was 59 and humid.  I did at least 8 “fast intervals”.

Thursday was a 5 mile run on the Greenway.  It was 60 and humid. I ran this “tempo” run in 39:11.

Friday I went to the gym again and stretched, foam rolled my IT band, and relaxed in the hot tub.  This has been really helpful in keeping my leg loose, which helps my foot.

Saturday we ran from the Nokomis Community Center to and around Lake Harriet getting about 11 miles in.  I finished in 1:26.  It was 60 and humid, again!  Most of the run was at 7:30 pace and I got dropped about 8 miles into the run.  They came back once, picked me up, and then picked the pace back up!  Oh well.

This Week’s Mileage

Run: 23.5 Miles

TCM Training Week 15

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Previous Posts

Two race reviews – from 2007 the DINO Series #5 at Town Run Park and from 2008 the City of Lakes 25k. In case you missed it, last year the Republican National Convention was held in the Twin Cities.  My wife and I took part in a World Vision event – sending caretaker packages to Africa. Two runners attempted to run across America. They did complete the journey – now we just wait for the video. Foto Friday is a picture of Mike at the City of Lakes 25k.

Last Year’s Mileage

Run: 53.0 Miles
Bike: 25.3 Miles

This Week’s Running

Monday was the Victory 5k race during which I ran a 20:36 on a pretty nice morning. Be sure to check out my deeper thoughts about my first race since May.  Tuesday night was our group training run, a lot of us had raced the day before so instead of a workout we just ran 8 easy miles on the marathon course.  It was by no means an easy run as we ran up Summit Ave (aka the long slow hill at the end of TCM), before turning around.  It is actually a little hilly on the way back too, which is a good reminder that there are downhills on race day!  It was 81 and sunny which wasn’t too pleasant but I ran 8.3 miles in 1:08.  The run was followed by a Dinner Fun Night where the training class goes out to eat together.  This time we went to the Wild Onion in St Paul.  I took my normal Wednesday off and am still trying to get into the routine of working out in the morning, so I skipped Thursday‘s run. I’ve only been running 3 days a week anyway so I wasn’t super motivated.  I’ve heard from a few other people that they lack motivation and feel lethargic right now.  On Friday morning I managed to get up early and head to the gym.  I stretched, used the foam roller on my IT Band and sat in the hot tub.  I still didn’t have time to swim though.

Saturday morning was the big day.  Our last real long run for the training cycle. I woke up pretty congested and out of oatmeal (my pre-long run food).  I think I was a little dehydrated too.  It was in the upper-60’s and very humid. Enough excuses though.  We met at the University of St Thomas which is around mile 21 on the course.  We then proceeded to run it backwards to the 11 mile mark.  I ran with the group for a good 7-8 miles before they started picking up the pace.  I made a decision to let them go so that I could try to salvage the remainder of the run.  I was really feeling terrible when I got to the water stop at 8.5 miles.  It was on Lake Nokomis and there was some race going on.  It was at this point that I started running into Lifetime Fitness runners. They were running the last 20 miles of the course and made for a very congested trail.  I decided to run out to the turn around point and by the time I got back to the water stop I was feeling a lot better.  I decided to continue the run instead of my many contingency/worst case plans running through my head.  Even though they tried to steal our water it was nice having the Lifetime runners out there.  It gave me lots of people to pass which felt really good and was a good motivator. I actually felt really good until I turned off the course and cut the 20 miles short.  I turned on Lake Street as planned from the beginning as an option.  When I got to the top of the St Thomas hill I was around 16.5 so I ran a little more before being done. I finished the just under 17 miles in 2:17.  I didn’t feel too terribly bad.

Sunday was a nice rest day.

This Week’s Mileage

Run: 28.3 Miles

Race Review: Victory 5k

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Another great morning dawned on Labor Day for the Victory 10k/5k in north Minneapolis.  The Victory races bring in a great crowd of competitors due to its flat and fast course.  It is held annually on Victory Memorial Parkway.

The morning began fairly cool in the mid-50’s with humidity.  I arrived early to watch the 10k race start and cheered on my teammates and friends.  They all had good races on the out and back course. The temperature began to warm-up during our warm-up, largely due to the lack of shade along the 5k course.

The 5k race started at 9:30am and the temps were in the mid-60’s and humid. Asnoted the course is pretty much flat with only mild elevation changes.  We headed west on the parkway from Webber Park.  I went out at what felt like a slightly uncomfortable pace (which turned out to be 6:11 pace) and tried to stay with a group of runners, which at the time included Kirt Goetzke (who ran the doubled and still smoked me).   The mile marker was right on and I came through in 6:20.

John finishing the 10k.

We continued on the parkway now in the full sun and passing the WWII markers and trees, though the trees provided pretty much no shade.  The turn around point was a large monmument in the middle of a traffic circle.  It was cool to run around the circle instead of just making a U-turn.  And then back we went.  A MDRA woman runner that I’d never met name, Kate passed me which started a battle of passing each other back and forth (we did meet after the race and I beat her, by 10 seconds).  This helped me fight through the pain and tiredness of my legs.  I remember seeing the clock say 13 minutes at the 2 mile, but I actually came through the second mile in 6:51 which put me at 13:11.

The final mile continued to be a struggle of mind over exhausted legs and struggling lungs.  I don’t have to remind you my faithful readers that I haven’t done much speed work and definitely haven’t been under 7 minute pace since this spring.  It helped having people trying to pass me and having people cheering.  There weren’t a lot of people out on the course but within the first and last half mile there was a number of people that grew larger and louder as we approached the finish line.  I didn’t see a 3 mile mark, but I did see the 6 mile mark and about that point you could see the finish line. I started picking it up and ran a 7:25 last 1.1 miles which is 6:42 pace. For a finish time of 20:36 good enough for 49th overall and 3rd in my 5 year age group.

The race was followed by free hot dogs, chips, and lemonade from the Lions Club and neighborhood information from the Folwell Neighborhood Association and the Webber-Camden Neighborhood.  So thanks for a great post-race meal.

It was a beautiful morning in a beautiful part of town that I’ve never really been to before.  I won’t make too many bold pronouncements like Nathan, but this will be a race that I try to keep on my calendar.

[tags] race review, Victory 5k, 5k, 10k [/tags]

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TCM Training Week 14

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Not a lot of working out, but a lot of adjusting to a work schedule again.

Previous Posts

An older post about the equipment I run with, it was pre-Garmin.  To go along with the previous list is an out-dated list of podcasts that I listen to while running, etc.  Do you remember Hurricane Katrina? World Vision was there helping with the relief effort.  A favorite post of mine about running along the Minneapolis Riverfront, there is a lot to see and do down there.  Foto Friday is me cliff jumping at Gooseberry Falls.

Last Year’s Mileage

Run: 40.9 Miles
Bike: 33.0 Miles

This Week’s Running

To be honest I have lots of reasons why I didn’t get my runs in this week.  I got 2 of the 3 in.  This was the first week back with students at school and so I actually had to be somewhere on time.  I did try to go the YWCA to swim one day, but the pool was closed for its annual cleaning.  So instead I ran a lap on the track and did some extensive stretching and rolling muscles on a foam rolller. A meeting with volunteers for an ESL site I co-coordinate made me miss Tuesday night’s run.  I did get the 7 mile marathon pace run in though – hitting a 7:27 pace for 6 miles.  I started off down the Greenway before deciding to go around Lake of the Isles (mostly for its well-placed port-a-potty) and coming back on Franklin Ave (which threw in some late hills).  Lake of the Isles now hosts the infamous Lake Creature. It was a pretty perfect morning, 53 and sunny and I was able to squeeze the run and all the physical therapy in before heading to work.  Yes, part of why running takes so long is that after doing the workout I’ve got to ice massage my foot and complete 10 exercises designed to keep my body in alignment and get rid of the Plantar Fasciitis.   More scheduling conflicts and lame excuses left Saturday as the next run.   Our 10-12 easy miles actually became closer to 9.  Several of us opted for the shorter distance in part to be “fresh” from Monday’s race, but also to get back and eat.  Our pace group was hosting an annual picnic for the entire training group which included french toast, eggs, homemade bannana bread, and much more.  It was a great time socializing with friends.

This Week’s Mileage

Run: 15.7 miles

Bike: 8 miles

Collegiate Running

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A few weeks ago one of my best friends from college was in town.  He brought his wife and 1 year old son.  As we reminisced about the “good ole days” we realized that it was 5 years ago that we first met as young, naive, and eager to please freshmen at Taylor University.

We arrived to a fairly quiet campus on a beautiful fall day at the end of August.  The football team had already been practicing for several days (this included one of my roommates) and other teams were arriving as well. I remember being pretty nervous – more about being on the cross country team than anything else.  I was a decent runner in high school, but nothing anywhere close to fast.   I ran a 2:12 800 and never broke 5 in the mile or 10 in the 2 mile.

I definitely didn’t realize that the team I was joining was one of the best in Indiana and ranked in the top 25 nationally (in the NAIA). Had I known that I probably wouldn’t have joined and my life would be pretty different. Especially since I met my wife through a cross-country friend.  While reading Once a Runner, I had so many thoughts come welling up in my mind and I could remember many of the weird/random things my teammates and I did in our 4 years together.

I truly have never experienced anything like the camraderie that came with slugging out 1000’s of miles together.  Bearing through each other’s injuries, emotional low points, academic struggles, and other major life obstacles and celebrations.  We were a team but we were also friends.  It wasn’t all fun and games though.  Get 15 competitive guys together and there will be issues, but those are easily forgotten on a 10 mile run.  At least until someone decides to drop the hammer.

I could probably spend a lot of time sharing about my collegiate experiences and maybe I’ll try to throw some posts in every now and then.  But I think one thing we all get from running is a great group of friends.  Non-runners don’t understand the bonds forged out on the road, but there is something about it.  Running stride for stride, sometimes talking about life, sometime staying on the surface about the weather or a recent meet, or sometimes just listening to the crunch of your feet.  Yes, running builds great friendships throughout our life.  I’m just glad that some of my best ones started in college and continue today.