It's under way!

I kicked off my next training cycle today!  It was the 14th annual Brian Kraft 5K.  A flat course, one lap around Lake Nokomis.  I was shooting for sub 18:45 and finished in 18:36, so I'm rather pleased.  My Garmin said 18:31, but close enough.  Very fast and competitive race; my 18:36 finish was only good enough to get me to 100th place out 300 guys.  I think I was 21st place out of 48 in my age group.  Lots of speedsters.  Also, realized that this was my last race as a 40-something!  Thanks to the nice lady at registration for pointing that out so eloquently this morning!I'm officially signed up for the Twin Cities Marathon this week, so that part of my to do list is complete.  Looking forward to the new program and the high mileage weeks coming up.  Nothing like a good challenge.  I think I'll try to break the 90-mile per week threshold this go around.

Another race I'd like to run this year is the Old SOD Days 5-miler.  It takes place in my old hometown and ran it once back in my 20's.  Curious to find out what the winning time was last year.  I came in second last time I ran it and I don't think I broke 30 minutes.  Charlie A., if you read this, find out last year's results and let me know when this year's race is.


It is a long way to October 2 and so much can happen.  I realize that I can't take this adventure too seriously and also have some fun along the way.  Hobbies are supposed to fun, right?
Happy Running!

May 30th is the day

So, I kick off my training plan on May 30th with a race around Lake Nokomis, the Brian Kraft 5K.  It's super flat and fast and looking forward to a sub 18:45 time.  That will mark the beginning of a 65-mile week and lots more miles to come.

I've reviewed my checklist of my top 10 improvements that I should do before training begins and I'm feeling good, both mentally and physically.  My diet has improved greatly, with almost ZERO refined sugar, very little alcohol, lots of whole grains and a big increase of fruits and veggies and errr, fiber.  I'm keeping up with the fish oil regimen and am taking a super potent daily vitamin supplement from GNC.  I've been really good about doing my conditioning 3 to 4 times per week.  I've added hillwork and running drills to my plan and believe it or not I've added cognitive therapy and visualization to the mix.  I bought some compression socks to aid in recovery and plan on adding ice baths to my routine.  (Not looking forward to those)  I have two-a-days planned and I've stuck with my strategy of running my easy runs easy and my hard runs hard.  However, I just realized today that there is one very important detail missing; I haven't signed up for the race yet!  It's definitely on my to do list now!  That would have been embarrassing if I forgot to sign up for the race.

I've also signed up to teach the marathon clinic at the running store I work at.  It's a beginner marathon plan and I'm looking forward to helping some people get the the finish line of their first marathon.  I run with the group once a week for 16 weeks and we cover miscellaneous running topics.  We also host a run club, which will be a good opportunity for me to get my two-a-days in.

Happy Running!

This week is the week...

Okay, so it's not really THE week.  It's actually the week leading up to THE week. (THE week eve)  It's kind of a no-man's land.   18 weeks from the Twin Cities Marathon is next Sunday and I have an  18-week plan, so what do I do with week 19.  I'm anxious to get started, but I'm a stickler for rules, so I must keep with the program.  I guess I'll just keep being a running vagabond for one more week.

Here are a few miscellaneous notes from the week:

I was kinda grumpy this morning and didn't feel much like running.  My MP3 player wasn't working and I was tired.  I skipped the tunes and headed out anyway.  I decided to keep it slow and ran along the railroad tracks for several miles.  I saw a little dirt path that veered off to the left and discovered a whole new set of trails and a campground in the middle of Eden Prairie.  I've lived in this area for over 10 years and it's always a cheap thrill to discover a new and unexplored trail.

I did my recovery run with my beautiful daughter this morning.  She is thinking about adding running to her long list of activities and I couldn 't be happier.  If she ever wanted to run competitively, I know she would be awesome.  Because of her gymnastics, she has a core strength that I can only dream about.  She has good running form and I told her that I could have her running sub-20 5 k's no problem by the fall.  The sky's the limit with this girl. 

I worked some extra hours at the running store this week-end.  Don't tell the management, but I would work there for free!  Our customers are mainly newbie and middle/back of the pack runners, the majority being female.  They aren't always the fastest, but they seem to have just the right balance of competiveness and joy of running.  It surprises me to see how much running means to some.  I've had several occasions where women have been tearing up when they talk about what running has done for them or how they were overwieght and are now fit.  It is certainly more than running fast; it's about pushing yourself beyond anything you may have thought possible at a certain point in you life.  I don't know if my schedule will allow, but I've been asked if I would like to head up the store's marathon clinic.  It's something I would love to do, but need to make sure that I can make the time.  I think it would be very fulfilling to help a group of people get to the finish line of their first marathon.

That's it for now. 

Happy Running!

Training Plan

I have about two weeks before my serious training begins.  Actually, lets scrap the word "serious" and change it to.... how 'bout "training into a whole new territory.  My plan, loosely based on a Pfitzinger 85 plan will have me hitting weekly mileage I've never ventured into before.  The increase will be pretty gradual and many of the miles will be relatively slow.  I'm sticking to th old runner's adage, " run your slow runs slow and your fast runs's fast."  Just to give you an idea of what I'll be doing this summer here are what a couple of my training weeks look like:
Week 8 - 82 miles
Monday - 6 miles am easy
Monday - 4 miles pm easy
Tuesday - 9 miles base
Wednesday - 15 miles easy
Thursday - 7 miles recovery - hill repeats
Friday - 12 miles, 6 miles at 6:44 and 6 miles easy
Saturday - 7 miles recovery
Sunday - 22 miles
Week 13 - 86 miles
Monday - 6 miles am easy
Monday - 4 miles pm easy
Tuesday - 12 miles - 6X1 mile at 6:05
Wednesday - 15 miles base
Thursday - 7 miles - hill repeats
Friday - 12 miles easy
Saturday - 7 miles recovery
Sunday - 20 miles with 14 at 6:52
If I survive this, I should be able to reach my goal.  Of course, the big question is whether or not I can stay healthy. 
I've got a 5k race coming up on Memorial Day.  It's flat and fast and I'm shooting for a 18:45.
Lastly, I've been enjoying the new Beastie Boys album during my runs this week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hbPDg8Lk0c
Happy Running!

New Prague Half Marathon Race Report

I raced the New Prague Half Marathon this morning and I wasn't expecting much.  It was a beautiful morning, about 55 degrees and a light wind.  I wasn't feeling particular good; I had a bit of an upset stomach, but nothing too bad.

• Mile 1 - went out easy and my 6:55 pace felt pretty comfortable
• Mile 2 - chatted with a fellow runner through mile two - nice and easy at 6:55
• Mile 3 enjoyed the Polka band - managed the rolling hills and slight headwind - 6:50
• Mile 4 - finally get a break from the wind, but more rolling hills - 6:52
• Mile 5 - feeling really good, so I decide to open it up a bit - 6:45
• Mile 6 - this is where the race report gets a little corny.  I've talked to people who dedicate a mile of each race to someone or something.  I thought I would give it a try.  Mile 6 was for my son Niklas.  He's on the road to recovery and this hilly mile was all for him. 6:47
• Mile 7 - this was for my daughter.  She's been struggling with motivation and I did a "fast" mile for her. - 6:41
• Mile 8 - this was for my wife, Kristen.  I LOVE YOU!  Happy Mother's Day!  6:42
• Mile 9 - I finally caught and passed the 1:30 pacer.  This was for my brother-in-law Herb, who recently had hip replacement surgery.  Good luck to you Herb on your recovery! - 6:47
• Mile 10 - this was for my Mother-in Law, Henny.  Happy Mother's Day! - 6:47
• Mile 11 - dedicated to my 81 year old Mother-in-law's boyfriend, Don, who just had knee replacement surgery.
• Mile 12 - I focused on a problem and frustration I've been dealing with.  Relieved some anger and stress and opened up the pace a bit - 6:37
• Mile 13 - for my Mom.  She has beat breast cancer twice, multiple Myeloma, and a major hip reconstruction over the past decade and is still going strong.  At 81, she certainly is the epitome of perseverance.  Happy Mother's Day Mom!
• FINAL TIME - 1:28:10/6:44 pace

It was a fun race and I passed a lot of people in the last 3 miles.  It was no PR, but one of the best times I had running in quite some time.  A guy I passed at mile 10 came up to me at the finish and told me "he was in awe" of how many people I passed in the last 3 miles.  That made my day.
Happy Running!

Fitness Test Number 3

Right on the heels of the Get in Gear 10k is another Grand Prix race, the New Prague Half Marathon.  I'm not going to kid myself into thinking that I am in shape enough to really race this thing, but I need to run at least 10 of the 13 races to even have a chance of winning my age group, so I refuse to take a mulligan.  I think I can run a sub 1:30 or at least I can use as a real serious tempo run.  New Prague is nice, but the course is rather boring.  Out and back, mostly on county highways with little scenery.  So, here's the plan.  I'll go out slow for the first mile or two and than mile 3 settle into 3 hour marathon pace and see how long I can hold on.
I realized that I still need 5 more "lifestyle/training changes" to make before I hit the magic number of 10.  The first five were easy (see earlier post) but I'm really having trouble coming up with anything significant.  I've been sticking with my first 5 pretty well and have noticed a differecne in my energy level.

• #6 - since I am getting a good headstart on the fall marathon training, I can commit to more mileage.  Each my last attempts have improved dramatically with an increase in mileage.  3:07 was done with a 16-week plan with average weekly mileage around 60.  I'll be peaking this go-around with 88 and an average of 65 to 70. 
• #7 - this goes with the higher mileage, but I think I'll throw in some two-a-days.  Our new work office (we move in next week) has a shower, so I can go out during lunch for a quick 4 or 5 miler.
• #8 - Fiber

An old friend wanted me to comment on my musical playlists while I run.  I really don't have a playlist.  I pretty much download two records, usually one old and one new and put on shuffle.  My selections for yesterday and today were Deftones' Adrenaline (old) and Airborne Toxic Event's All at Once.  Here is a sample of each, they make an interesting combo on shuffle!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBMnE3sWaFA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAgg5OvCWFo
Happy Running!