What started as the story of an average Dave knocking things off his life to-do list is now a blog about distance running, triathlons, all things Chicago… complete with a Rock and Roll soundtrack.
‘‘It was as if the brain was playing a trick on the body, to save it,’’ says Timothy Noakes, head of the Cape Town group. ‘‘Which makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. In fatigue, it only feels like we’re going to die. The actual physiological risks that fatigue represents are essentially trivial.’’
The more I learn about endurance athletes and the ability of people to push themselves to the very end of our physical limits, the more I realize we are only starting to learn what that means. That being said, while you cannot help but be impressed by such displays of human accomplishment, at some point you find yourself asking, "is something wrong here?"
As I read the New York Times article on ultra-endurance athlete Jure Robic I couldn't help myself but be a little concerned. Not so much for Robic (although the "is something wrong here" red flag did appear), but for people I know who will have to push themselves to somewhat similar limits.
Then of course I realized there are lessons to be learned about this story. He has a very tightly controlled system with his crew, and his success in these races depends not so much on the turning of his legs, but the ability of his right hand men to make sure he is pushed to the limit and motivated in the way that works for him.
It is a very interesting article. Not only does it discuss Robic, but also just what exactly causes fatigue.
Note:
It does note in the article that Lance Armstrong has hinted that he might try RAAM. So I will add that to the list of things people speculate Armstrong will do. Other activities include open a bike shop (done), date every famous woman on earth (well on his way), Ironman triathlons, cure cancer, and run for president.
There is a BIG group of people I know running the Run for the Zoo on Sunday. I have friends, family, and a signficant other running in the 5k, 10k, and 5k Run/Walk. It should make for a fun day. All of the races are sold out, and the route looks really cool. They all start in Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo, and do a great job of spreading out around Lincoln Park's lakefront. The weather looks to be very nice on Sunday.
The line-up looks like this: 5k Run/Walk: Melissa, Mandi, Shea 5K: Ryan, Allison, Nate, Julie, 10k: Kevin, Jessie, Brittany, Tashy, Dave
I only have two 10k's on my list of results, so a PR should be pretty easy to get.
It should be a fun Chicago morning!
Full report after the race (including everyone's results).
Last night: Tashy came up to the hood for a run. We crashed a small 5k they were holding on the running trail. We gave the race a 7:30 minute start, and still beat a lot of people.
Runnng: 6.93 Miles, 57 Minutes (not including Tashy's chat break at the "finish" line), 8:19 min/mile, Ave HR 158, Max HR 168 (nice job keeping it under my AT)
Why be really good at one sport, when you can be mediocre at three? (A common runners joke about triathlon training. I heard it first from Dan Lee from the Chicago Triathlon Club)
Writing on all things triathlon, running, and general dream fulfilling, people tend to email me articles from time to time. I really appreciate the help, and they are typically either every informational articles or just downright amusing (see open water training video below).
Every once in a blue moon there is an article that gets enough press and speaks to my vast and loyal readership, that I receive it from multiple sources.
A good example of this is the article about triathlon training in the New York Times three weeks ago. I think four or five people emailed me that day to tell me about it. Take a read for yourself, but the article discusses how the training for triathletes is spread too thin to actually find a peak performance in any of the three disciplines.
Duh.
I think that quote from Dan Lee at the top really sums it up. Although it is well worth noting that I am in the middle of the peak of my triathlon training now, and I have set two PRs in the last week in my main discipline of running (half apology for the not so subtle brag) AND I am as good as a swimmer and biker as I have ever been.
Of course, I am working out a fair amount now. And the argument is that if I would just specialize in one of the three, I would be better in that sport. I agree with that. While I am nearing the best running shape of my life, if I solely concentrated on running I probably wouldn't be talking about a 1:43 last weekend in the half-marathon, but closer to a 1:38.
This was most definitely a concern of mine as I drove up to the race this weekend. I have spent a lot of time in the pool recently, and I was worried that I was not in good enough running shape to do the half well.
And furthermore, I am also starting to worry a bit about the Pikes Peak Ascent in August. While I am in good shape for running on flats, running up a mountain does take some specialized training. I tried some of that out last night, running on a treadmill with the incline jacked up to 15%. Not easy. In fact I was a little surprised on just how hard it was. I have plenty of time to adjust to the different actions associated with climbing, but it is nothing I would have typically done as a part of triathlon training (unless of course the triathlon was on a mountain).
It all comes back to the great metaphor of the triathlon as the mistress. This is Donald's metaphor not mine, but I think it makes a lot of sense to me. I am a runner. I love running and what it does for me. I see myself running many more marathons and maybe trying to dabble in ultras. I love going out on a trail and getting lost for a few hours. There is nothing that clears my head better or calms me to a greater extent.
But triathlons are fun. They are intense. There is a TON of cool gear. Every day you get to do something new. And I am participating in sports where I have a lot of room to improve.
But in the end, like Donald, I see myself going back to running. She will be there for me. We have been together too long to leave her forever.
How does that relate to the New York Times article?
I may or may not keep hitting PRs in my runs this summer, but I am doing events that are interesting and new to me. I have never woke up in the morning and ran up a 14,000 ft mountain. I have never decided it would be a good idea to swim along some of the best architecture in the world. I had never ridden my bike 100 miles in a day. And I have never had the chance to have an artistic expression about things I am passionate about. But I will this summer, and I think that is pretty cool.
So thank you for the articles. Keep sending the blog fodder my way. I added an email link to the right to make it easier when ideas come up, but feel free to leave comments on the blog entries as well.
Tragedy Averted
I forgot to mention how I saw my life flash before my eyes on my way to Traverse City. Were we almost in a car accident? No, worse. My bike almost came loose from the car.
Luckily, it was pretty well strapped on to the carrier. While it was flying horizontal for a while, and it did scratch up her pretty little frame a bit, we didn't lose her. Oh, and Melissa was fine too.
[A note to Melissa's Mother: I am only kidding about my bike being more important than getting in a car accident. Obviously your daughter was the most important cargo that day, and every day she rides with me in the car. And I would also like to note that I am a very safe driver. I use my turn signals at least 87% of the time, and passed drivers education and all DOT and DMV (depending on the state) tests in my first attempts.]
Notes
Speaking of ultramarathoning, like triathlons they are increasing in popularity. It seems that we are all getting totally more extreme. My guess is most people that do ultras might not like its newfound popularity, but I doubt there is much that will stop it (see me thinking about it).
Speaking of running at altitude (tough segway there, I know) the 30th Bolder Boulder, the worlds largest 10k in Boulder CO, was last weekend. Running superstars Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor, who will both run for the US in the Olympic Marathon, are running. Kastor finished 7th (she has won it three times). There was no mention of Hall's place in the articles. The weather was very good for fast times. The lead pack of men averaged 4:32 per mile. Sick. Nasty sick.
OK team... my evolution into a triathlete continues. Last year at this time, I bought a bike and first got into the pool a month before I finished my first and only tri. This year, I started the masters swimming and swim lessons in January, started biking as soon as the weather allowed (and got on the trainer at a bike store a couple of times before that), and got my running legs under me (including hill and speed work).
Next step, I need a wetsuit. For the tri I did last year (Hy-Vee in Des Moines), I borrowed my brother in law’s suit, but the water was too warm, and they didn't allow wetsuits. So I have never actually used a wetsuit. I have been shopping around and understand the general differences (sleeves, no sleeves, one piece/two), but I really don’t understand which one to get.
It reminds me of when I bought my bike, there are so many brands/styles that I don’t really know where to start.
What am I looking for? Obviously I would like to swim in Lake Michigan. I tend to sink like a rock, so the more float the better. I would also like to shave about 20 minutes off my 1500 meter time, so if you know of a magical wet suit, I am all in.
So here are my questions: How much should I spend? I need a better understanding of the sleeves vs no sleeves (such as a temperature difference for using them). If you had to buy your first wet suit all over again, what would you do differently?
I next triathlon is in Batavia on June 8 (my sprint warm up tri), so I would like to have it for that (although it is only a 400, I want to practice with it, and I heard it is a chilly one).
If you have any hints, drop it in the comments section.
Notes:
My nice little Cubs Magic Number widget isn't working. So for the time being I will try to update it myself. They won tonight, so it is down to 110.
I saw this story about the US Olympic Swim Trials, discussing how they need to sell more tickets at the Quest Center in Omaha to break even. Then I saw that they didn't know how many seats the pool would displace there... so wait, does that mean they are building a pool for the Olympic Trials?
Yep, they are installing a temporary pool for the Olympic Trials, and the best place they could find for it was Omaha. If not having a pool wasn't an issue, I think they could have got a little more creative on where to have it.
Tonight's Workout:
Chicago Blue Dolphins Practice in the 50 meter pool at UIC. 2300 Meters. Mostly in 50s and 200s.
The blossoming cherry trees of Old Mission Peninsula
Cherry Trees, Vineyards, and Running
And the race reports just keep on coming! After we ran the Hustle Up the Hancock this February (see here), my Honorable Uncle Tom proposed that we come up to Traverse City for Memorial Day Weekend and join him for the Bayshore Half Marathon. Well you don't have to ask me twice to go to Traverse, and to run a race up there... the whole thing sounded perfect.
Growing up my family would drive from Iowa to Traverse City every summer to meet up with my mother's family there. My aunt and uncle had lived there for all of my life, and my grandparents built a house next door to my aunt and uncle's place when I was very young. It was (is) a great summer town, and a wonderful place to escape to for a weekend.
So low and behold, three months later, Melissa and I leave one shore of Lake Michigan for another. We arrived around 11 pm local time at my aunt and uncles, just in time for a quick nap. My alarm went off at 5:10 AM so we could leave the house for TC Central High at 5:50.
The Traverse City Track Club has put on the Bayshore Marathon for 26 years now. The Half-Marathon is relatively new (three years), but a very popular event. They both filled up pretty quickly. I believe they capped the races at 1700 apiece.
The course is about as nice as you could put together. It runs along the east shore of the Old Mission Peninsula just North of downtown Traverse City. It is very flat and has some stunning views. The run the half-marathon as a point to point, busing us out to the start 13.1 miles up the peninsula. The marathon starts near the high school (the finish line), and is an out an back. The fun part (for the half runners), is they start at the same time! Thus you start seeing the marathon runners about half way through your race, and give you the further incentive to run hard as you don't want to get beat by a marathon runner.
As I put my racing schedule together this year, I did pick this as an "A" race, a race where I am looking to get a personal record (PR). I was hoping to run this race under 1 hour 45 minutes, which translates to an 8 minute per mile 13.1 miles. My fastest 1/2 marathon thus far was in Nashville last year for the Country Music Half Marathon. I ran a 1:46:36 there (and was very pleased with that run at the time).
We arrived at the high school around 6, quickly picked up my packet and headed to the bus. The trip was short, but I enjoyed my conversation with some runners from the area. Once off the bus we walked to a starting area complete with a tent and plenty of port-0-potties. The weather was cool, in the 40s, but in the sun it actually felt ok.
I stripped the pants and long sleeves off, I decided I didn't need the gloves so I checked them as well. Once I checked my stuff, I realized I had lost my uncle, and that I needed to make one more stop at the john before I hit the road. Despite the fact it was 5 minutes before the race start time of 7 AM, I convinced myself it was ok because it was a chip race and the race was pretty small.
I actually made it to the start line to hear the gun go off, but I was well to the back of the race. So I spent the first mile somewhat concerned about my pace and trying to pass people as quickly as possible.
Another thing this race does well was post mile markers. Since the marathon was an out and back, and due to the location of the start and the turn around, their mile markers were about a .1 of a mile before ours. This was a good little "heads up" for me to know where I was. While that first mile was a lot more crowded than I expected, I finished the first mile in 7:45. I decided I would try to keep every mile under 8 minutes, that way I would have some cushion in time should I hit a wall at the end of the race.
And then there was the course...
Near Mile 5 on Bluff Rd
I had planned on taking my camera on this race so I could be more like my blogging mentor Donald and have cool race reports, but Melissa convinced me that would be dumb as I was trying for a PR. Of course she is right. Donald is running ultras and stopping to take a few photos won't mess up his time as much as it would mine.
Speaking of times, here are my mile splits: Mile 1: 7:45 Mile 2: 7:51 Mile 3: 7:57 Mile 4: 7:54 Mile 5: 7:58 Mile 6: 8:17
Mile 6 was kind of annoying, and proved Melissa's point about stopping messing up the times. My shoe lace came undone that mile, so I stopped to tie it and there was a knot that in my labored state could not undo. I guess I lost 15 seconds there just tying my shoe. I was very upset that I had a mile over 8 minutes.
Mile 7: 7:57 Mile 8: 7:59 Mile 9: 8:06
Mile 9 I did not tie my shoe, was just getting tired. In talking with my cousin's husband after the race, that was also the tough mile for him. I knew I would see Melissa at my aunt and uncle's house at the end of the mile, but I did struggle a bit getting there.
Once I reached my aunt and uncle's house, I was surprised that Melissa wasn't there at all. I have to say, I was more than a little bummed out. Then I hear, "Hey Babe!" Turns out my aunt and uncle's neighbor was throwing a party for the race and my cousin had come over and got Melissa for it. Thus two houses later I saw Meliss and my cousin (and maybe 10 other people). I was glad to see Melissa was taken care of, and as always when ever I see someone I know on the side of the road it left me feeling a little refreshed.
Mile 10: 7:58
There are a lot of mind game I use in a races, and I think that is true of all endurance athletes. When I ran marathons I started to break up races into the "pace-yourself" section and the "leave-it-on-the-course" section. This is a pretty natural thing to do in the marathon due to it's "mental half-way point." Half-way in a marathon is of course 13.1 miles, but mentally half-way point is 20 miles. There is a lot of talk about how the marathon is two races, the first 20 miles when you try to pace yourself, and the last 10k when you try to survive.
Since my marathons, I have taken that approach to breaking the race up to my other distances. In the half-marathon, I used to think of it as 10 mile and a 5k (because I really like the 10 mile distance), but for this race I decided to take a different approach. I thought I would keep it under 8 minute miles (on pace) for 11, and then see what we had left in the tank after that. This approach seemed to work.
Another mind game I play when I race is I think of a phrase to motivate myself. Something simple that I can focus on while I run. For the Bayshore I decided I would focus on something Kevin had texted me the night before, "dig deep."
Thus, combining my two little mind tricks, I kept telling myself that if I could just hit the 8 minute mark, I would be fine AND not to go all the way to think about "digging deep" until I needed it late in the race. Once I hit that 10 mile mark, I decided I would make it to the end if I picked up the pace a little and started focusing on "digging deep" and leaving what I had left on the course. I didn't really want to be able to sprint to the end of this one.
Mile 11: 7:39 Mile 12: 7:53 (running out of gas) Mile 13.1: 8:20 (with the extra .1 mile)
Total time, 1:43:40 on watch, 1:43:37 on chip. Under my goal of 1:45 (and another thing off The List), 3 minutes faster than my previous PR, and I felt pretty good.
My uncle ran a great race (see him finishing above in the blue on the left). And my cousin's husband Than just came in behind me despite not sleeping for the last few months with a new born and not really training!
Post race Melissa and I went the farmers market in TC, then a little wine tasting tour on the peninsula. Traverse City is known as the "Cherry Capital of the World," but I couldn't help but notice many of the cherry farms were new vineyards.
Regardless, I had a great weekend. My hats off to the people of Traverse City Track Club. I highly recommend running in the Bayshore races, but don't tell anyone about it as the size of the race is part of it's charm.
Notes:
Next race: June 1, Run for the Zoo. A local 10k/5k with the Chicago crew.
Since I didn't take my camera with me on the run, I took it with me on my bike ride the next day. It was a very pleasent 27.6 miles along a lot of the same miles as the run.
Since it seems that people have actually liked some of my music recommendations, I am going to keep them coming. We listened to Death Cab for Cutie's new album Narrow Stairs on this trip. There are a couple of songs I really like, I will leave you to sample Bixby Canyon Bridge. It is the first song on the album. Enjoy!
Driving back from Traverse City on Monday, the girlfriend formerly known as WND Gal (see this post for why she was cool enough to actually get a pseudonym in the first place) made her last ditch effort to get her name changed on the blog. [This dialogue may be slightly paraphrased, I can't remember word-for-word the conversation.]
"Seriously, will you please just call me by my name. Everyone knows it's me anyway."
"Sugar plum, you just don't understand how blogs work. It is very important that remains anonymous, otherwise I loose all of my web-cred."
"You have web-cred?"
"Sure I do lovie-dovie. My millions of readers from India to Marion, IA will no longer think of me as a ‘cool’ blogger. I will just be another guy who posts his photos of his vacations for his family to see."
"I thought you said no one reads your blog but my mom and your two friends from college. Plus, we don't get vacations; we just go to your races."
"Races in exotic places."
"Like Des Moines?"
"Yes, and Chicago, and Traverse City, and Colorado Springs!"
"We live in Chicago. Anyway, everyone else in your blog get to use their name."
"They are not as important of characters as you are, my sweet pretty princess."
"You mention how Kevin beats you in every race. He is in like every blog entry. And who really wants to hear any more about Charlie?"
"Yeah, but WND Brother-in-law just doesn't have a ring to it."
At the end of the day, I just ran out of good arguments. Therefore, WND Gal is, and will be referenced to in the future as, Melissa, my much, much better (and smarter) half.
Last night I ran the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge in Chicago It is a 3.5 mile race that over 23,000 people ran last night including 44 people from my company, Sg2.
Running with me was my brother in law Kevin, who has tagged along with us for this even the last two years. We started near the front, with a couple other runners from my team. The course leaves a lot to be desired, much of it is run in the “lower” streets (Lower Randolph for example). The with the exception of the first mile, it is actually about the ugliest route you can find in Chicago, but it is the best for cutting off traffic as it’s an evening race during the week.
Kevin and I ran together for about the first half mile, at which time I told him I was going to try and save myself for the ½ Marathon I am running tomorrow in Traverse City. Later Kev. He ran a nice sub 22 minute race (6:16 pace).
Despite trying to “save myself”, I couldn’t really turn off the competitive juices. I did slow down for the second mile (although not as much as the splits indicate because I think the first mile marker was short). But then I wanted to finish with a sub 7 split.
Here are my mile splits: Mile 1: 6:28 Mile 2: 7:28 (I think the first mile marker was short) Mile 3: 6:49 Mile 3.5: 3:01 Total 23:47, 6:47 pace, and a PR (Personal Record) at 3.5 miles (which I have only run twice before).
Let’s hope I didn’t blow it by running too hard and I can get two PRs in one week.
Other Notes:
My friend Jen has returned from checking something off of her Life To-Do List. Inspired by WND friend Charlie Wittmack, she participated in a Mt Everest base camp hike. Despite a serious of challenges, Jen made it to base camp and has a ton of cool stories. She has agreed to do an interview for WND. Look for that next week!
My fascination with the open water 10k swim in at the Olympics continues. Strangely, the Wall Street Journal continues to be fascinated with it too. Here is the latest story, which is about the US’s first qualifier in the event.
In kind of a bummer of Olympic news, it looks like Paula Radcliffe’s injury is somewhat serious. My have been a big fan of hers ever since she destroyed the world record in the women’s marathon at the Chicago Marathon in 2002. I didn’t see her finish because I was still at mile 14 or so. In less than 2 years she dropped that world record over 3.5 minutes! Still, she really struggles with her public image in her home of England due to her dropping out of the Olympic Marathon in Greece in 2004. She was coming back from a serious of injuries, and actually won the NYC Marathon last fall (8 mo after giving birth to her daughter). Reports are now that she has as stress fracture in her femur. Not good. She is going to try to run in the Games, but it sounds like a very difficult task. I wish her the best of luck, but either way I am a fan.
As a side note to the note, Paula’s husband and coach, Gary Lough, went to Iowa State.
The New York Times has an article on shoes specific to triathlons. It is interesting. The tester said for each perk of each shoe there was a drawback and she wouldn’t give up her favorite shoes anytime soon. I wish they had tried Newton’s in the test as well.
[Sorry for the hiatus. Been a busy week and a half. I am trying to ramp up the training and it is totally cutting into the blogging time. I plan to catch up a little over the weekend. Lots of good stuff next week.]
Day off today... Woke up this morning and went to my masters swim practice. At practice on Monday night, they told me I probably needed to start working out with the level 1 group. Yep, I graduated from the guppies. I am trying to go to three practices a week plus my Saturday lesson, but I just couldn't get my lazy butt out of bed on Wednesday, thus only two practices this week.
Fridays are sprint days, so Fitz had us doing repeat 100s today. After the warmup, we did 4 100s on the 2 minute. I held them pretty well, but was spent after the fourth. Then we did a 100 non freestyle for a rest, then 2 more 100s on the 2:15. Rinse, wash, repeat twice more. All in all we swam some 2100 yards. Pretty good for me.
For fun, let's compare my workout with one my buddy Chuck did this week. As I have mentioned before, Charlie is swimming the English Channel this August, and his workouts are just plain silly.
Today I swam 1920 meters (thanks to Google for the yards to meters conversation tool). Chuck's workout on Tuesday was 12,000m! SIX TIMES as far as I swam! He warmed up doing a mile (1600m) in 23 minutes, then he knocked out another 10k worth (that is 6 more miles), THEN he decided he wanted to do some 100 repeats at the end. Today I am proud of myself for swimming 10 100s and trying to do them in 1:40 each. Chuck was doing them in 1:10, AFTER he swam 11,000m (or seven miles).
Most of you don't realize how insane this is, but imagine me without arms... because that is what would happen if I tried to that... and it would take me 3 days.
Moral of the story, Chuck is a stud. We will have to interview him for the blog and catch up with his training later this summer. He is planning for the swim in late August.
Back to My Day
After practice met my brother-in-law Kevin for a quick 4.5 mile jog along the lake. It is sunny and high 60s here in Chicago today. You couldn't have painted a nicer scene than was on display along the lake today.
After the run, quick shower, picked up my favorite quick breakfast at the bagel shop, and I am hammering out a little work before I walk the four blocks to Murphy's Bleachers for a pregame meeting with the sister, Kevin, and the WND Gal (not to mention about 15 of our friends). Today our good friends are doing the national anthem at Wrigley, so we have had this game on the books for a while.
Thus I have a pretty good day planned. Fun times in the sun, with family and friends, drinking Old Style, and watching Cubs put up their 7th win vs the Bucs.
Did I mention I am watching my cleaning lady take care of business now? I just wish I knew what she and her sister were talking about [Polish.]
I have been enamored with the rock band The Raconteurs for some time now. I have been trying to figure out how I can work a Raconteurs post into this web log, but it really hasn’t fit in well with running, swimming, and race car driving. Lucky for me this my blog and my Life-to-Do list, so I am adding a new “To-Do:” Play in a real rock and roll concert.
Yes, I want to be a rock star. I don’t need to make a living out of it. I just want to learn to play music at a level that is tolerable to other people. And rock and roll simply because I do like a good bluesy rock and roll.
Plus my new to-do gives me the liberty of talking about music, which is an obvious interest of mine, and staying within the theme of my blog.
Which Brings Me to the Talented Mr. White
I have been fascinated with Jack White’s projects for a while now. Many will know him from his duo The White Stripes, but the discussion today is around his new pseudo-superband, The Raconteurs.
They released their second album, Consolers of the Lonely, in March, one week after they announced they were going to. Give it a few listens before you judge it, as it may be an acquired taste, but it is become one of my favorites. They are now on tour supporting the album, which is where this next story comes from.
The blog The Modren Age alerted the person who runs the Facebook fan group of the Raconteurs to this great story. The story also ran in the Kansas City Star.
To quote The Modern Age:
Imagine you’re a girl, and you love the Raconteurs. You go see them at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City, and your having a grand time, when all of a sudden you faint.
The crowd pushes your body to the front, and instead of a bouncer coming to your rescue, Jack White himself leaps off the stage and carries your weary body to safety. He then (as you are told later), continues on with “Carolina” like nothing happened.
There is even a photo of “Super Jack.” Classic rock story.
Wait, you are interested in this “Carolina” song? Ok, here you go. It is a good one.
A good example of why they call themselves The Raconteurs.
I knew it would come for me eventually. I have always had some issues with my IT Band and running. If I don't do the right precautionary things (stretching, drugging, icing), it is only a matter of time before the hip pain kicks in...
And it found me Saturday. So sometime this week I am going to devote a post to IT band injuries, preventions, and remedies.
In the meantime here is my route that caused the pain:
Running:
9.85 miles, 1:24 minutes, 8:43/mile
And that was all after an hour swim class with the Chicago Blue Dolphins (more on my new class later as well).
I apologize this report is running so late with this report. It has been a busy couple of weeks around the house.
Why This Run?
I should probably start in how I picked this race to run. Originally I was was planning o running the Country Music Half-Marathon in Nashville. I ran it last year. It is a very well run race, and despite a hilly course I managed my personal record in the half. I had a fun time with my friends in Nashville, but I have to leave right after the race and didn’t get to fully honky-tonk it up (I had to get back to for a friend’s wedding).
This year I decided I wanted to lead a CARA pace group in training for a “spring” half marathon. I knew it would get me into shape a little sooner, and I really enjoyed running with groups. Well what I didn’t know is how bad this winter would be in Chicago. It was brutal, and the Winter Training Group for CARA was not very popular this year.
My group (8:30 pace group) consisted of the other group leader, Ellen, and Rob. Yep, there were three of us. Others sometimes joined us for a run, but for the most part it was just the three of us. Well my group was pretty small, and only Rob was planning on running in Nashville, and I couldn’t convince my other friends to get in gear to train for it. I also realized how expensive it would be to either fly or drive down and hotel it in Nashville. Then I found out they ran a half-marathon for the Drake Relays on the Road that same weekend, and it would be the perfect excuse to go see my parents and my friends in Des Moines (where I grew up).
This was actually the 40th running of the Drake Relays on the Road. It started as the Drake Relays Marathon, but was shortened to a half in 1994. They have also run 8 and 10ks as well.
Whenever You're Ready… The Race Report?
Right. WND Gal and I drove to Des Moines from Chicago Friday night. Up early on Saturday, my dad drove me to the start area at 6:50 for a 8 AM start. I got there, registered (only $30), looked for the gear check (there wasn’t one, used a bush in the parking lot), and tried to find the rest room.
I have run a few of these races in Des Moines on my “vacations” home at my parents’ house. They are a refreshing break from the gigantic races in Chicago. This race had 1900 participants, half of which ran the 8k that had the same start. No chip, no crowd, just a bunch of people out for a run.
Not that everything went smoothly. I did not feel well from before I went to bed, and didn’t shake whatever it was when I got up. I was tired and had stomach issues. It was a about 37 degrees with a decent wind. The hour before the race I was really wondering if I should really go out and run it.
And that feeling didn’t go away…
The start was right in front of the Drake Stadium, where they were holding the rest of the Drake Relays. The first couple of miles did not feel good. My legs felt heavy and it was cold. Maybe it was just that I was not awake yet and cranky, but I was not having a good time.
Then comes the 8k turn-around. No, I didn’t do it, but I sure thought about it.
About a half mile later, around mile three, I saw my sister, father, and WND Gal. I decided I was warming up enough that I could lose the pants. At that time I told my dad that I wasn’t feeling well and that it was going to be a long day.
“Well you are on pace, so keep going.”
Yep, sure enough. OK Pops.I felt a lot better in shorts. I also knew the roads for the next mile or so (having gone to high school in that neighborhood). Oh, and it was also the downhill portion of the run.
I also met a nice guy from Northeastern Iowa running in a distinctive cowboy hat. Turns out this was my kind of fellow. He had done some pretty cool ultra runs and we were about the same pace. We ran for a couple of miles together and swapped cool running stories to pass the time.
Of course, what goes down must go up, and once we started back up the hills around mile 6. I wasn’t really in the condition to keep up much a conversation, but still was not too overwhelmed by the hills. I kept thinking of the bike ride I had done the week before where the trend had been to work hard up the hills and coast to get your breath going down.
WND Gal and her two chaperones for the day (my sister Patricia and my father) did show up at miles 6 and 9. It is always nice having support like that on these runs. I keep thinking with all the training and races I do, that one day WND Gal will get sick of it, but she seems hanging around (as long as I don’t make her run them).
I had read some stuff on the internet about a big hill near the end of the race, so I knew right after I saw Team Dave at mile 9 (see photo with the three other guys) that I would have to do one major hill then I would be home free. As we ran up a hill at Beaver Rd towards Forest Ave, I assumed was the big hill everyone talked about near the end. Of course, it wasn’t. It came right after mile 10 going up Forest towards 46th Street. Not only was it a pretty good size hill, but it came with a pretty strong head wind.
But by this time I knew I had enough gas in the tank to get home. My game plan for the day was to run a strong 10 mile race, and then see what I had left for the last 3.1 miles. I wanted to run an 80 minute 10 mile run, and at the 10 mile mark I was just under 1:22. So I was pleased. So while I was tired, I tried to push the last 3 miles to see how I could finish.
I finished with a pretty quick mile. It was nice to see WND Gal at the end. Right after I finished I went into a pretty big coughing fit, but after I caught my breath I was fine.
I finished the race in 1:46:47, which is only 10 slower than my PR in Nashville last year. I still think I have a lot of room to improve, and I think the Bayshore Half in Traverse City on Memorial Day weekend will be the perfect time for a quick PR.
Later that night we had dinner at my parents house with my folks, sister, WND Gal and my best friend Charlie, his wife Catie, and their newborn James. It was really a great evening and fun weekend overall.
Total time, 1:43:40 on watch, 1:43:37 on chip. Under my goal of 1:45 (and another thing off The List), 3 minutes faster than my previous PR, and I felt pretty good. 
Then comes the 8k turn-around. No, I didn’t do it, but I sure thought about it. 
