We had a fun trip. I had insisted on driving down to Arkansas, as flying with little kids stresses me out. We packed 5 people and too much junk into our aging minivan (the "busboos") and drove south.
Arkansas is beautiful! Who knew? I guess I knew about the Ozarks, but still. Coming from brown Wisocnsin to green Arkansas in March is definitely cool. We drove up to the race headquarters at Blanchard Springs on Thursday night to check in. The campground is surrounded by little mountains in all directions and trails shoot off in all directions.
Since most people come here via the Girl's blog, they know that I ran the 50K and the 20K and did come in first in both. Now, there were plenty people signed up to run just those two races (ie. skip the middle 50 miler) but they tended to be the less serious runners.
The 50K was fun. I ran the first half with Nick Lewis, the eventual overall winner and Brad Bishop, who ended up taking 5th overall (I think; the results are not up yet). Every time I run an ultra, I am surprised by how everyone has a similar frame of reference. Only first names are spoken, and you are expected to know who they are talking about (as in, "Hal really shouldn't have sold Tony those short-shorts in a women's small"). It turned out Nick Lewis had taken second at Leadville (that race probably has a real name, but one should never call it anything else than Leadville in ultra circles). He more or less floated both up and down hills, making me feel old and stiff.
After halfway, Nick slowed down a little and told me to go ahead. I did, and essentially spent the next two hours worried about getting lost. The course markings were so sparse that I ran miles without seeing any ribbons. I wouldn't say the course was not well-marked, because each intersection was marked adequately. But I am the type who needs to see a ribbon at least every half mile or so. If not, I start playing head games, and several times I did turn around to wait for Nick to show up in the distance. I ran the 50K in 4:13.
The Girl ran the 50K in some good time I can't remember. She took second, which was surprising to both of us.
I got to watch the 50 miler from the sidelies, which was fun. The Girl dug very deep, as she got passed at the end and tried to keep up. Everyone now knows how she passed out in the shower. She lay in bed for an hour and was so sick that I had to keep it a secret from her mom. Her mom would have called 911 immediately, had she seen how pale the Girl looked. I was really worried: not about the Girl, but since we have no health insurance, I was freaking out about the ambulance bill.
Amazingly, she bounced back and took second among the overall contenders on day 3.
Having "only" run a 50K on Friday, I was able to win the 20K. A few days ago, I would consider that to be some serious recovery, but everything is relative.
Of course, I felt pretty good in my skin. My training has been going well, and things are clicking. Next up is a 5K in two weeks and then maybe the Mad City 50K.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
No PR - off to Syllamo
I really wanted that PR. I tried running on the local track and kept PR pace for the first kilometer, but it was really windy and I didn't feel good. Instead, I ran to the YMCA and the more predictable treadmill. A 16:18 (standing start, 1% grade) will mark the end of this training period and, at least, provide some measure of comparison for the future.
Syllamo will be fun. The Girl's parents are coming. Since I'll be skipping the 50 miler, it feels like I will be running two fun runs. Sure, I would like to do well, but the times will mean nothing and I have no control of whether someone faster than me shows up, so all I can do is enjoy the races. The Girl is semi-injured but will do the whole race (as of now).
Syllamo will be fun. The Girl's parents are coming. Since I'll be skipping the 50 miler, it feels like I will be running two fun runs. Sure, I would like to do well, but the times will mean nothing and I have no control of whether someone faster than me shows up, so all I can do is enjoy the races. The Girl is semi-injured but will do the whole race (as of now).
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Good and bad
This turned out to be a very low-key race. Like, no-one-warmed-except-me low-key.
Strangely, the local TV station was there. The camera man sat in the back of the lead-out ATV. Talk about an awkward moment; after a half mile, he said something to the driver (like, "I didn't come here to shoot some old albino in tights"). The driver slowed down and he jumped off the ATV and probably started to film the more photogenic mid-packers. He even gave me an apologetic look, which conveyed something like, "I'm sure you understand, buddy, but you ain't making the evening news".
I felt great and had a hunch that I was on my way to a PR. The weather wasn't as bad as advertised and the legs were absolutely golden. I was hoping for a sub-5 mile split, but as I looked down, my watch said... 5:38!
I was hoping that mile was just long and the course as a whole was accurate, but my finishing time was 16:40. There was a general consensus that the course was long, which was disappointing. It felt so fast that I may go back with my Garmin just to see, but of course that won't really mean anything.
So on the plus side, I feel like I am ready to bust out a really fast race (I may even have done that today). There is a 5K in three weeks put on by UW-La Crosse, so most likely some fast guys will show up. OTOH, we are running 3 Days of Syllamo next weekend, which may take a little pep out of my step. Syllamo is 100 miles over 3 days, but I'll skip the middle day (the 50 miler). I just feel in such good "fast shape" that I don't want to chance it with a 50 miler. As if a 50K and a half marathon in three days isn't enough...
Part of me wants to head over to the local track and just run a quick 5000. That's actually not a bad idea; maybe I'll do that Tuesday.
Strangely, the local TV station was there. The camera man sat in the back of the lead-out ATV. Talk about an awkward moment; after a half mile, he said something to the driver (like, "I didn't come here to shoot some old albino in tights"). The driver slowed down and he jumped off the ATV and probably started to film the more photogenic mid-packers. He even gave me an apologetic look, which conveyed something like, "I'm sure you understand, buddy, but you ain't making the evening news".
I felt great and had a hunch that I was on my way to a PR. The weather wasn't as bad as advertised and the legs were absolutely golden. I was hoping for a sub-5 mile split, but as I looked down, my watch said... 5:38!
I was hoping that mile was just long and the course as a whole was accurate, but my finishing time was 16:40. There was a general consensus that the course was long, which was disappointing. It felt so fast that I may go back with my Garmin just to see, but of course that won't really mean anything.
So on the plus side, I feel like I am ready to bust out a really fast race (I may even have done that today). There is a 5K in three weeks put on by UW-La Crosse, so most likely some fast guys will show up. OTOH, we are running 3 Days of Syllamo next weekend, which may take a little pep out of my step. Syllamo is 100 miles over 3 days, but I'll skip the middle day (the 50 miler). I just feel in such good "fast shape" that I don't want to chance it with a 50 miler. As if a 50K and a half marathon in three days isn't enough...
Part of me wants to head over to the local track and just run a quick 5000. That's actually not a bad idea; maybe I'll do that Tuesday.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
I'll whisper it: PR on Saturday?
We're running a small 5k this Saturday. It's flat, I'm in shape, and I'm going for it.
For over a month now, I've been running well. My bread-and-butter workout has been 3 2-mile grade pyramids. My times have gotten faster abd faster and, perhaps more importantly, I've lost weight. I'm down to 64-65kg, which is low for me.
I'm going for a PR that, at 10 years, is almost as old as my daughter, Natali. My 5K PR of 15:57 was set in the spring of 2001 at the opening track meet of the season. I was in decent shape and was lucky enough to find myself in a race with a guy, who was a little stronger than me. back then, I had a very good kick and basically always raced the same way: draft, draft, draft, kick. That early spring night, the 5000 was the last race of the night, and we raced under the lights, which was the first time for me.
I don't remember anything about the other runners, but this one guy ran just slightly faster than me. There was a fairly strong headwind down the home straight, so I was able to tuck in behind him and relax a little. But on every back straight, it was a battle to hold on, as the advantage of drafting disappeared. I drafted off him until one lap to go and then kicked on the last lap. That night was far from the fastest I have ever felt, but I have never been in such a favorable race and been in good shape at the same time since.
I remember thinking that if I could run sub-16 in March, I should be able to run mid-15s in June. But then came med school finals and a long summer of brats and burges in Northern Wisconsin and subsequent weight gain.
In 2007, I ran low-16s in a race with good competition, but didn't have the speed.
In 2008, I ran two 16:20s in small road races without competition.
In 2009, I ran 16:09 on a night that should have been a PR, but a big storm came in and ruined it.
Now it's 2012 and I'm in shape. I'm fired up, I know the route and have been visualizing the race all week. I'm so used to running marathons and ultras, i've gotten used to running without pain. Well, there's definitely pain in ultras, but it's a different kind of pain; a more predictable, less scary kind of pain. Hopefully, on Saturday, I'll be able to start out fast. Hopefully with a 5-minute mile. I'll expect the feeling of lactic acid building up in my legs and arms. I used to know that feeling well, but it's been a while now. At this point, I'm unable to speed up or slow down much. I lose my sense of how fast I am going and I tend to lose interest in the race. I look forward to being done and stop caring about the time. Surprisingly, those second, heavy-limbed miles are not as slow as they feel and typically I am able to wake up a little and speed up toward the end.
Wow, it's been a while since I was this excited about a race. If only this big storm everyone is talking about drops rain and not snow...
For over a month now, I've been running well. My bread-and-butter workout has been 3 2-mile grade pyramids. My times have gotten faster abd faster and, perhaps more importantly, I've lost weight. I'm down to 64-65kg, which is low for me.
I'm going for a PR that, at 10 years, is almost as old as my daughter, Natali. My 5K PR of 15:57 was set in the spring of 2001 at the opening track meet of the season. I was in decent shape and was lucky enough to find myself in a race with a guy, who was a little stronger than me. back then, I had a very good kick and basically always raced the same way: draft, draft, draft, kick. That early spring night, the 5000 was the last race of the night, and we raced under the lights, which was the first time for me.
I don't remember anything about the other runners, but this one guy ran just slightly faster than me. There was a fairly strong headwind down the home straight, so I was able to tuck in behind him and relax a little. But on every back straight, it was a battle to hold on, as the advantage of drafting disappeared. I drafted off him until one lap to go and then kicked on the last lap. That night was far from the fastest I have ever felt, but I have never been in such a favorable race and been in good shape at the same time since.
I remember thinking that if I could run sub-16 in March, I should be able to run mid-15s in June. But then came med school finals and a long summer of brats and burges in Northern Wisconsin and subsequent weight gain.
In 2007, I ran low-16s in a race with good competition, but didn't have the speed.
In 2008, I ran two 16:20s in small road races without competition.
In 2009, I ran 16:09 on a night that should have been a PR, but a big storm came in and ruined it.
Now it's 2012 and I'm in shape. I'm fired up, I know the route and have been visualizing the race all week. I'm so used to running marathons and ultras, i've gotten used to running without pain. Well, there's definitely pain in ultras, but it's a different kind of pain; a more predictable, less scary kind of pain. Hopefully, on Saturday, I'll be able to start out fast. Hopefully with a 5-minute mile. I'll expect the feeling of lactic acid building up in my legs and arms. I used to know that feeling well, but it's been a while now. At this point, I'm unable to speed up or slow down much. I lose my sense of how fast I am going and I tend to lose interest in the race. I look forward to being done and stop caring about the time. Surprisingly, those second, heavy-limbed miles are not as slow as they feel and typically I am able to wake up a little and speed up toward the end.
Wow, it's been a while since I was this excited about a race. If only this big storm everyone is talking about drops rain and not snow...
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Big and small differences
I love the topic of how Denmark and the US are different. I don't know where I feel more at home. Sometimes, the glass is half full and sometimes it's half empty. Here's a list of differences the reader may or may not be aware of.
Some obvious ones are:
Equality vs Inequality. That's the biggest difference; the one I will never get used to. In Denmark, the entire middle 95% have essentially the same quality of life. Success isn't rewarded like it is here, and yet this doesn't really bother Danes. Surprisingly, the "poor" (who make more money than the median US household income, mind you) still bitch and moan about how the "system" is out to get them. And boy, I would never even be able to say something like this in Denmark without getting funny looks. So it sounds like I would prefer the US system, but I don't. The inequality is everywhere. Unfairness is everywhere, every day in the ER.
Religion. Americans don't realize this. Scandinavians notice it immediately.
Politics. Just two parties and nasty us-versus-them partisanism. It seems like Danes love discussing politics, whereas Americans get tight sphincters if you ask them who they voted for. Probably a product of the two-party system in America, which few people seem to question.
But here are some smaller differences.
Amateur sports. Open the locan paper in Næstved, Denmark, and the sports pages will be about the local adult amateur teams. Some of these teams are semi-pro, sure, most mostly it's regular working folk playing national level handball (olympic handball to you North Americans), soccer, tennis or badminton or what have you. Open the same size local paper here and there are almost identical articles about kids' sports. Danes are unable to comprehend how big kids' sports are here. If a local kids' team is excelling nationally in Denmark, it leads to some coverage in the paper or local TV news, but you can't compare it to the focus on kids' sports here. You could take any of the local high school track teams in La Crosse and they would probably be able to beat every single junior track team in Denmark (except maybe two or three). But then kids graduate from high school and college and it just drops off. A top Division 3 college sprinter can go from being, essentially, a full time athlete to an old man after outdoor nationals his senior year. This topic could fill 10 blog posts, so I'll leave it there.
Pro sports. Wisconsin has the Packers, Bucks, Brewers and... I dono't know, maybe a female basketball team,? There used to be semi-pro basketball league. In the summer there is minor league baseball in maybe 10 cities. Let's say around 10 pro sports teams. Denmark has, what, 200 pro teams in a number of sports. I don't get it. One could argue that college sports fill that role in Wisconsin, but it's still interesting. I should mention that both Wisconsin and Denmark have populations of about 6 million.
Public radio. I love public radio here as do most people I talk to. Wisconsin has Wisconsin Public Radio, whose programs are partly produced by NPR. Denmark has 5 public radio stations and at least two of those are far from popular. What gives?
The price of food. Not a subtle difference, but still. It blows my mind that I drive to work and my dinner is a 99 cent burrito from Taco Bell. 99 cents! And I get full from this burrito.
Hmm, there are more but the Girl is home...
Some obvious ones are:
Equality vs Inequality. That's the biggest difference; the one I will never get used to. In Denmark, the entire middle 95% have essentially the same quality of life. Success isn't rewarded like it is here, and yet this doesn't really bother Danes. Surprisingly, the "poor" (who make more money than the median US household income, mind you) still bitch and moan about how the "system" is out to get them. And boy, I would never even be able to say something like this in Denmark without getting funny looks. So it sounds like I would prefer the US system, but I don't. The inequality is everywhere. Unfairness is everywhere, every day in the ER.
Religion. Americans don't realize this. Scandinavians notice it immediately.
Politics. Just two parties and nasty us-versus-them partisanism. It seems like Danes love discussing politics, whereas Americans get tight sphincters if you ask them who they voted for. Probably a product of the two-party system in America, which few people seem to question.
But here are some smaller differences.
Amateur sports. Open the locan paper in Næstved, Denmark, and the sports pages will be about the local adult amateur teams. Some of these teams are semi-pro, sure, most mostly it's regular working folk playing national level handball (olympic handball to you North Americans), soccer, tennis or badminton or what have you. Open the same size local paper here and there are almost identical articles about kids' sports. Danes are unable to comprehend how big kids' sports are here. If a local kids' team is excelling nationally in Denmark, it leads to some coverage in the paper or local TV news, but you can't compare it to the focus on kids' sports here. You could take any of the local high school track teams in La Crosse and they would probably be able to beat every single junior track team in Denmark (except maybe two or three). But then kids graduate from high school and college and it just drops off. A top Division 3 college sprinter can go from being, essentially, a full time athlete to an old man after outdoor nationals his senior year. This topic could fill 10 blog posts, so I'll leave it there.
Pro sports. Wisconsin has the Packers, Bucks, Brewers and... I dono't know, maybe a female basketball team,? There used to be semi-pro basketball league. In the summer there is minor league baseball in maybe 10 cities. Let's say around 10 pro sports teams. Denmark has, what, 200 pro teams in a number of sports. I don't get it. One could argue that college sports fill that role in Wisconsin, but it's still interesting. I should mention that both Wisconsin and Denmark have populations of about 6 million.
Public radio. I love public radio here as do most people I talk to. Wisconsin has Wisconsin Public Radio, whose programs are partly produced by NPR. Denmark has 5 public radio stations and at least two of those are far from popular. What gives?
The price of food. Not a subtle difference, but still. It blows my mind that I drive to work and my dinner is a 99 cent burrito from Taco Bell. 99 cents! And I get full from this burrito.
Hmm, there are more but the Girl is home...
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
February 2012 Running Log
1: 3x2 miles on treadmill. Felt good, forgot times.
2: Spinning with the Girl, then swimming.
3: Ran 1.5 hours with the Girl. Then proceded to run 3x2 miles with PR on the second one at 11:35.
5: 1 hour after work, slowly around town.
6: Three Rivers Trail to the Y. Surprisingly tired. Wanted to run 3x2 miles, but overheated and had to drop the last one. The second 2 miler quite fast at 11:38.
8-22nd: can't remember exactly. A lot of tempos on the treadmill, typically 3x2 miles as either easy or hard pyramids. A few longer (3 hours) with the Girl. Most tempo days, I ran an hour or so on the way to the Y.
24. Ran an hour with the Girl and then did three 2 milers on the treadmill.
27. Gpt off of work and went to the north Y. Ran 4x800m with half laps at 6.2 mph. Total 4 K in 14:50. Low pyramid 2 miles in 11:2x. Steep pyramid 2 miles in 12:12. All three were PRs. I'm in shape. PR on Saturday?
28: Swimminh and core stuff.
29: confusing day. Overslept and had to rush to the Y to pick up El Guapo. However, the Girl was kind enough to let me run on the treadmill. Two steep pyramids (2 miles) in 11:52 and 11:50, both big PRs.
2: Spinning with the Girl, then swimming.
3: Ran 1.5 hours with the Girl. Then proceded to run 3x2 miles with PR on the second one at 11:35.
5: 1 hour after work, slowly around town.
6: Three Rivers Trail to the Y. Surprisingly tired. Wanted to run 3x2 miles, but overheated and had to drop the last one. The second 2 miler quite fast at 11:38.
8-22nd: can't remember exactly. A lot of tempos on the treadmill, typically 3x2 miles as either easy or hard pyramids. A few longer (3 hours) with the Girl. Most tempo days, I ran an hour or so on the way to the Y.
24. Ran an hour with the Girl and then did three 2 milers on the treadmill.
27. Gpt off of work and went to the north Y. Ran 4x800m with half laps at 6.2 mph. Total 4 K in 14:50. Low pyramid 2 miles in 11:2x. Steep pyramid 2 miles in 12:12. All three were PRs. I'm in shape. PR on Saturday?
28: Swimminh and core stuff.
29: confusing day. Overslept and had to rush to the Y to pick up El Guapo. However, the Girl was kind enough to let me run on the treadmill. Two steep pyramids (2 miles) in 11:52 and 11:50, both big PRs.
January running log
Summary:
Not enough miles but lots of quality runs.
A week of altitude in Mammoth, where I ate too much and ran too little. Two decent runs Up to Twin Lakes and one amazing run from Olmsted Point towards th Yosemite Valley.
Luts of running on the treadmill. The two main workouts were 2x(4x800). Rest 200m@ 6.2 mph. Last 800 is actually a 1000, where the last 500 is at 0%. I believe the fastest time was 14:55.
The other workout is 3x2 miles with 4 minutes rest. The 2 miles are run at a "pyramid grade", where the grade is increased until 1.5 yards and then rapidly decreased (down to 0% the last half lap). Fastest times around 11:40.
Not enough miles but lots of quality runs.
A week of altitude in Mammoth, where I ate too much and ran too little. Two decent runs Up to Twin Lakes and one amazing run from Olmsted Point towards th Yosemite Valley.
Luts of running on the treadmill. The two main workouts were 2x(4x800). Rest 200m@ 6.2 mph. Last 800 is actually a 1000, where the last 500 is at 0%. I believe the fastest time was 14:55.
The other workout is 3x2 miles with 4 minutes rest. The 2 miles are run at a "pyramid grade", where the grade is increased until 1.5 yards and then rapidly decreased (down to 0% the last half lap). Fastest times around 11:40.
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