Today was the Rock & Roll Marathon in Phoenix, AZ. I did not run it, I was still here in cold Wisconsin. But I did have 3 friends that traveled down to run. All 3 ran really good considering what they were going through.
Chaz ran a 2:57:43, this is 6 minutes off his PR but he has been suffering from a heal problem for awhile. He did end up being the first finisher from Wisconsin in 110th place overall. Mike suffered a hamstring pull a few weeks ago and somehow was able to run a 3:24:35. And as usual, Paul ran well and finished in 3:40:27.
In an upset in the Half Marathon, Ryan Hall was defeated by Simon Bairu. While I think it sucks Hall lost (it was only a training run for him), I can't help but like that is was by Bairu who is a U of Wisconsin Grad and train in Oregon with Matt Tegankamp, Chris Solinski, and the rest of the former U of Wisconsin Track/Cross Country team that is doing so well in the running circuit.
As far as my training for the Icebreaker is going, I did a not so good run today. I ran 8 miles but had some issues at mile 5 that were not fun. I still finished it in about an 8:45 pace but was not happy with the run. I will do a few more short runs this week before the 39.3 miles over the weekend. And crazy Paul, yes the one who ran the Rock & Roll Marathon today, will also be doing the Gold Medal Challenge with me next weekend.
And finally, I spoke to the Principal at my girl's school today and we are a go for the 2nd Annual WELS Kid's Marathon. We have begun the planning already but with his go ahead, we will officially begin the work needed. It should be a lot easier this year since we know what we did right and what we did wrong and what we want to add and remove, etc.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
What is Your Pace? I Have No Idea
I am doing a favor for my friend Chris who is the race director for the Icebreaker Marathon and Half Marathon to be held at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee. I am creating a spreadsheet that lists lap time at Pettit and converts it to mile pace and marathon/half marathon pace.
In most of the marathons I have run, there are mile markers along the course that lets you know how far you have gone and allows you to see your splits (if you click your watch) along the way. Well, at the Icebreaker, there are no mile markers. If there were, they would be all over and you would be passing them all the time having no real clue how far you really have gone. What about wearing a Garmin? No dice! You can't get a signal through the metal exterior of the building. So what is a guy to do who wants to keep a specific pace? Create a spreadsheet.
Here is what I did. Chris gave me the official certified distance for 1 lap. Officially a lap at Pettit is 442.434264 meters. We all actually run a meter or 2 further each lap, but since we don't run right on the inside line the whole way (there is also a speed skater mat there), the distance is slightly more. This makes a marathon at Pettit 95.3701 laps. I then created a spreadsheet and created laps times from 90 seconds to 240 seconds. Letting Excel do the math, I then showed what each lap pace would mean for a marathon or half marathon time. Also since a lot of us marathon runners like to know our mile pace, I converted the lap time to a mile pace (1 mile =1609.344 Meters).
I know, a little over analytical! Well, that is me and I like to know my pace. So for me, if I want to break 4 hours in a marathon at Pettis, I need to run just under 2:31 per lap. 2:31 per laps would equal a 4:00:01 marathon. Want to run a 3:30 marathon at Pettit? 2:12 per lap would give you a time of 3:29:49. Want to run 3:00 laps, that will give you a 4:46:07 marathon. You get the picture.
They will take the spreadsheet and print it out for anyone who wants the info and it will be my little way of helping those who want a good time, to help achieve it.
Numbers aside, you still have to run the entire distance. 26.21876 miles. Sorry, couldn't resist.
In most of the marathons I have run, there are mile markers along the course that lets you know how far you have gone and allows you to see your splits (if you click your watch) along the way. Well, at the Icebreaker, there are no mile markers. If there were, they would be all over and you would be passing them all the time having no real clue how far you really have gone. What about wearing a Garmin? No dice! You can't get a signal through the metal exterior of the building. So what is a guy to do who wants to keep a specific pace? Create a spreadsheet.
Here is what I did. Chris gave me the official certified distance for 1 lap. Officially a lap at Pettit is 442.434264 meters. We all actually run a meter or 2 further each lap, but since we don't run right on the inside line the whole way (there is also a speed skater mat there), the distance is slightly more. This makes a marathon at Pettit 95.3701 laps. I then created a spreadsheet and created laps times from 90 seconds to 240 seconds. Letting Excel do the math, I then showed what each lap pace would mean for a marathon or half marathon time. Also since a lot of us marathon runners like to know our mile pace, I converted the lap time to a mile pace (1 mile =1609.344 Meters).
I know, a little over analytical! Well, that is me and I like to know my pace. So for me, if I want to break 4 hours in a marathon at Pettis, I need to run just under 2:31 per lap. 2:31 per laps would equal a 4:00:01 marathon. Want to run a 3:30 marathon at Pettit? 2:12 per lap would give you a time of 3:29:49. Want to run 3:00 laps, that will give you a 4:46:07 marathon. You get the picture.
They will take the spreadsheet and print it out for anyone who wants the info and it will be my little way of helping those who want a good time, to help achieve it.
Numbers aside, you still have to run the entire distance. 26.21876 miles. Sorry, couldn't resist.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
(Most) Runners are Really Cool
Do you ever feel line you have run faster than it shows you have? Well, I felt that way today.
I woke up early and went to the Pettit to run for 2 hours on my last "somewhat" longer run in my training for the Icebreaker Marathon and Half Marathon which is in 2 weeks. I wanted to run a little faster than my previous slower runs at Pettit but not too fast. When I arrived, I started out doing laps at 2:30 seconds for the first 20 laps or so. Some faster, some slower. Not too long into the run, my friend (and Icebreaker Marathon Race Director) Chris showed up and we ran together talking for about 10 laps. He took off and ran with Dana'
Not long after that I found 2 ladies running that were running close to my pace. I sparked up a conversation with them since I have seen them at Pettit quite a few times. I had to pick it up slightly to keep with them but we chatted for about 5 laps. They were nice ladies who are training for Boston this spring and have similar marathon PR's to me. (3:45ish). Even though they run at Pettit often, they were amazed that I would even think of running a marathon there. i told them about the relay and it being open still and they might do it.
There are all kinds of runners at Pettit. Slow, fast, big, petite, smelly (see my post last weekend). There were all kinds there today. Some very nice like the ladies I ran with for a bit. Some jerks who think they own the track and don't listen to anyone. In particular are the slow runners who keep running in lane 1 instead of lane 2 (there are only 2 lanes). One particular guy today was running slow in lane 1 and was told several times that lane 1 was for passing and lane 2 was for running. He would have none of it and caused commotion his entire run, at least from what I see. I have met lots of runners at Pettit, it is easy to talk there as no matter what pace you run, you see the same people over and over.
(Most) runners are great people. I think we all know this. Most are very respectful. Most runners at Pettit even stop when they play the National Anthem for either the Speed Skaters or a Hockey game on the inner rinks. (Most) runners are very cool people. I know those of you who I have communicated with and have met via my or their blogs are very cool people and I know I would be good friends with them if we lived in the same area or met someday. it is the nature of us runners! So way to go runners! You are way cool!!!
Anyways, I felt like I ran faster than the 8:58 pace I ran. I may have forgotten to count a lap which would make me about 445 meter more faster. it is hard to keep track at Pettit, but the company is well worth it, even if there are a few rotten eggs.
I woke up early and went to the Pettit to run for 2 hours on my last "somewhat" longer run in my training for the Icebreaker Marathon and Half Marathon which is in 2 weeks. I wanted to run a little faster than my previous slower runs at Pettit but not too fast. When I arrived, I started out doing laps at 2:30 seconds for the first 20 laps or so. Some faster, some slower. Not too long into the run, my friend (and Icebreaker Marathon Race Director) Chris showed up and we ran together talking for about 10 laps. He took off and ran with Dana'
Not long after that I found 2 ladies running that were running close to my pace. I sparked up a conversation with them since I have seen them at Pettit quite a few times. I had to pick it up slightly to keep with them but we chatted for about 5 laps. They were nice ladies who are training for Boston this spring and have similar marathon PR's to me. (3:45ish). Even though they run at Pettit often, they were amazed that I would even think of running a marathon there. i told them about the relay and it being open still and they might do it.
There are all kinds of runners at Pettit. Slow, fast, big, petite, smelly (see my post last weekend). There were all kinds there today. Some very nice like the ladies I ran with for a bit. Some jerks who think they own the track and don't listen to anyone. In particular are the slow runners who keep running in lane 1 instead of lane 2 (there are only 2 lanes). One particular guy today was running slow in lane 1 and was told several times that lane 1 was for passing and lane 2 was for running. He would have none of it and caused commotion his entire run, at least from what I see. I have met lots of runners at Pettit, it is easy to talk there as no matter what pace you run, you see the same people over and over.
(Most) runners are great people. I think we all know this. Most are very respectful. Most runners at Pettit even stop when they play the National Anthem for either the Speed Skaters or a Hockey game on the inner rinks. (Most) runners are very cool people. I know those of you who I have communicated with and have met via my or their blogs are very cool people and I know I would be good friends with them if we lived in the same area or met someday. it is the nature of us runners! So way to go runners! You are way cool!!!
Anyways, I felt like I ran faster than the 8:58 pace I ran. I may have forgotten to count a lap which would make me about 445 meter more faster. it is hard to keep track at Pettit, but the company is well worth it, even if there are a few rotten eggs.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Snow Fun
Well, we are getting snow again as I write. We are got about 5 inches throughout the day and expect 5 or so more before work tomorrow. Lucky for me, actually my back, it is the light, somewhat fluffy snow. That makes shovelling so much easier. frugal me still uses the old shovel instead of spending $300 to $500 on a snow blower. I will break down since my girls are still way too young to help. Helping to them was making snow angels in the yard as I cleared the driveway. They did have fun.
I did get in 4 miles yesterday with Mike and I plan on running 2 hours on Saturday morning with Paul at Pettit. Both of them along with my friend Chaz are running next weekend in Phoenix at the Rock & Roll Marathon. It will be interesting to see how the do. Chaz has a sore heal. Mike pulled his hammie a bit on a run but will still run. And Paul hasn't done many miles recently but always pulls a good time out of his ---. I wish the good luck down there. It should be a lot warmer there than here, and no snow.
Also good luck to everyone running at the Disney World Marathon this weekend. It might not be great weather for enjoying the parks, but it sounds like great marathon weather. Extra good luck for all the Goofs out there!
I did get in 4 miles yesterday with Mike and I plan on running 2 hours on Saturday morning with Paul at Pettit. Both of them along with my friend Chaz are running next weekend in Phoenix at the Rock & Roll Marathon. It will be interesting to see how the do. Chaz has a sore heal. Mike pulled his hammie a bit on a run but will still run. And Paul hasn't done many miles recently but always pulls a good time out of his ---. I wish the good luck down there. It should be a lot warmer there than here, and no snow.
Also good luck to everyone running at the Disney World Marathon this weekend. It might not be great weather for enjoying the parks, but it sounds like great marathon weather. Extra good luck for all the Goofs out there!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
2010 Year in Preview
I had a great run this evening. It was cold and Mike and I were planning on running 4 miles, 2 laps of a 2 mile circuit near our work. It was about 16F out and clear, no wind and getting dark when we started. We took off at a moderate pace while we talked about the day and about Mike's upcoming marathon, the Rock & Roll Phoenix Marathon. Lap 1 was 16:50, average 8:25.
On lap 2, we continued our moderate pace and averaged 8:24. We were close to finishing this circuit and I wanted to go another 2 miles (or 1 lap). I tried to convince Mike that I would pick up the pace for him since the pace we were going was pedestrian for him. He decided to do the lap with me and we pick it up. We pretty much stop talking as I am trying to push it faster and faster as we go on. The final 2 miles end up at14:20, or 7:10 average pace. This is why the run was a great one. We could have gone faster if it was warmer, but since it was cold, my quads were at about the fastest they could go without pulling something. It almost felt like they were on the verge near the end. So overall for the 6 miles, we averaged 8:00 pace so I am going to call this a tempo run.
So what do I have planned for 2010? I would like to increase my miles to about 1700 for the year, this is 220 more than last year. This should be doable if no major injuries occur. That is the key.
The next goal is to get my marathon time back down to 3:45. Of course a sub 4 will still feel good, but I would like it back down to where I know I can run, but just haven't in 2 years.
I want to get my 5K time back under 20 minutes. This could happen in the later spring or summer when I am back to running more tempo runs and track workouts. These would be the major goals for the year.
Now, what races do I have planned? Well, January 23rd and 24th is the Icebreaker Indoor Marathon and Half Marathon. The Half is on the 23rd and the Full is on the 24th. Ultimately I would love to go Sub 2/Sub 4, but realistically a goal of 4:15 is what I should shoot for in the Full.
I am taking the girls to see my parents in Panama City Beach, FL in early March (they are now officially snowbirds) and I found a nice smaller marathon to so on the way down. Saturday, March 6th I plan on running the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon in Albany, Georgia. I have read that this is a pretty fast one so I may try to go for a good time. The problem with this is that I will be driving 16 hours to get down there so I may be wiped out from the drive. I plan on taking 2 days for the drive, leave after school on Thursday, drive halfway, then drive the rest of the way on Friday to get to the Expo before it closes.
In early April, I plan on running the Trailbreaker Marathon here in Wisconsin. It starts only 11 miles from my house. I put a race report on this one in the spring last year and one of the organizers wanted more of my opinions so I wrote him some of the things I liked and what I thought needed improving. I would like to see if they took my advise or not. This one would be run strictly as a training run, slow and steady. they have not update their website recently so I hope they have not decided to scrap the race like they did in 2008.
There are 2 5K I like to do, 1 in April and the other on the 4th of July. I hope to run both of these again. There also is a short Triathlon in late April I may attempt. If not this one, maybe one in the summer.
In May, I plan on running the Door County Half Marathon again. I really liked this race and it was organized very well. If things go well, perhaps I can PR once again and break 1:40 here. there is also a possibility of running another full marathon in May or early June.
The summer should be major training months with maybe some short 5K's or 10K's and then in the fall, run 2 full marathons. I have not decided on any full marathons so if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.
So that is the plan so far. It will change many times during the year, but it is good to start with something set in pencil.
What are your plans?
On lap 2, we continued our moderate pace and averaged 8:24. We were close to finishing this circuit and I wanted to go another 2 miles (or 1 lap). I tried to convince Mike that I would pick up the pace for him since the pace we were going was pedestrian for him. He decided to do the lap with me and we pick it up. We pretty much stop talking as I am trying to push it faster and faster as we go on. The final 2 miles end up at14:20, or 7:10 average pace. This is why the run was a great one. We could have gone faster if it was warmer, but since it was cold, my quads were at about the fastest they could go without pulling something. It almost felt like they were on the verge near the end. So overall for the 6 miles, we averaged 8:00 pace so I am going to call this a tempo run.
So what do I have planned for 2010? I would like to increase my miles to about 1700 for the year, this is 220 more than last year. This should be doable if no major injuries occur. That is the key.
The next goal is to get my marathon time back down to 3:45. Of course a sub 4 will still feel good, but I would like it back down to where I know I can run, but just haven't in 2 years.
I want to get my 5K time back under 20 minutes. This could happen in the later spring or summer when I am back to running more tempo runs and track workouts. These would be the major goals for the year.
Now, what races do I have planned? Well, January 23rd and 24th is the Icebreaker Indoor Marathon and Half Marathon. The Half is on the 23rd and the Full is on the 24th. Ultimately I would love to go Sub 2/Sub 4, but realistically a goal of 4:15 is what I should shoot for in the Full.
I am taking the girls to see my parents in Panama City Beach, FL in early March (they are now officially snowbirds) and I found a nice smaller marathon to so on the way down. Saturday, March 6th I plan on running the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon in Albany, Georgia. I have read that this is a pretty fast one so I may try to go for a good time. The problem with this is that I will be driving 16 hours to get down there so I may be wiped out from the drive. I plan on taking 2 days for the drive, leave after school on Thursday, drive halfway, then drive the rest of the way on Friday to get to the Expo before it closes.
In early April, I plan on running the Trailbreaker Marathon here in Wisconsin. It starts only 11 miles from my house. I put a race report on this one in the spring last year and one of the organizers wanted more of my opinions so I wrote him some of the things I liked and what I thought needed improving. I would like to see if they took my advise or not. This one would be run strictly as a training run, slow and steady. they have not update their website recently so I hope they have not decided to scrap the race like they did in 2008.
There are 2 5K I like to do, 1 in April and the other on the 4th of July. I hope to run both of these again. There also is a short Triathlon in late April I may attempt. If not this one, maybe one in the summer.
In May, I plan on running the Door County Half Marathon again. I really liked this race and it was organized very well. If things go well, perhaps I can PR once again and break 1:40 here. there is also a possibility of running another full marathon in May or early June.
The summer should be major training months with maybe some short 5K's or 10K's and then in the fall, run 2 full marathons. I have not decided on any full marathons so if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.
So that is the plan so far. It will change many times during the year, but it is good to start with something set in pencil.
What are your plans?
Sunday, January 3, 2010
2009 in Review
2009 was a pretty good year as far as running was concerned. It wasn't a good year in terms of race times though. I had my ups and I had my downs. I was mainly healthy the entire year but yet had some festering problems that continue into 2010. I have met some cool runner blog friends (cyberly that is) and even follow more people via their blogs. I have put on a lot of miles and intend to put on even more this year. So here are some stats from my year:
- I ran a total of 1481 miles in 2009, that is 244 more miles than I did in 2008.
- I ran 20 or more miles in a single run 13 times.
- I ran 15 or more miles in a single run 21 times.
- I ran 6 marathons in 2009, a new high for me. I am up to 19 total.
- I added 2 new states in my quest for all 50. Texas and Indiana. I have 8 total.
- I ran my first Indoor Marathon in January.
- I ran one last 5K race pushing my youngest daughter. This may be the last race with the jog stroller.
Here are some of the highlights for me in 2009:
- The Heart of Texas Challenge. In February, my friend Paul and I travelled to Texas and ran the Surfside Marathon followed the next day by running the Austin Marathon. 2 marathons in 2 days was quite a challenge. They were not fast by any means but I did finish both of them.
- I ran the Whistle Stop Marathon in October in 3:55. My first sub 4 in 2 years.
- In May, I ran the Door County Half Marathon in 1:40:02, a PR for me for a half marathon by itself.
- In the Spring, I started to organize and was the race director for a Kid's Marathon in Milwaukee which finished in September. We had 197 kids participate and received many compliments. We are planning a second Kid's Marathon in 2010 and anticipate double the participation.
Not everything went well, here are some of the low-lights for 2009:
- Of the 3 marathons where I was running for a good time, 2 of them were "crash and burns". Those were the Icebreaker Marathon and the Indianapolis Monumental Marathons. Funny thing is that even though I ran poorly in these races, it had nothing to do with the course, weather, or marathon itself. I highly recommend both of these.
- I had a persistent ankle issue since March. I have learned to deal with it but will work with the Chiropractor in 2010 to try to solve it.
- I am a better short distance runner than a long distance runner so I was disappointed that in the 2 5K races I ran, I did not break 20 minutes. This is a time I plan on breaking once again in 2010.
There are other running memories I have from 2009 that were fun such as running an 8K race in Naples, FL, doing a 20 mile run in Door County, WI, watching friend run PR's in their marathons and even some breaking 3 hours for the first time. I ran lots of time with my friends Mike and Chaz over many miles and many hills. I traveled to quite a few destinations for races which is always fun.
Now it is time to plan for a great 2010. I will share some of those plans in the next post or 2.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
2010 - Off and Running
I am working on my 2009 review. I need to write a few notes first or I will definitely forget some things.
I did get back to the Pettit this morning for 18.25 miles (or 66 laps, you pick). I did it a little faster that I wanted to, I averaged 9:15 per mile but there were a lot of runners there and I was getting passed and passing lots of people so that kind of makes you go faster even though you don't want to. It was a good run though. I felt like I could continue at this pace for quite a few more laps (A full marathon? I don't know) and this after running 13 1/4 miles on Thursday at 8:28 pace in the cold.
They finally had some speed skaters racing time trials on the Oval during the run. I always like to see these racers, except for the starters pistol going off, especially when I am right next to it.
These was one annoying thing during the run. There were 2 guys running faster that me and passing me every 7 or 8 laps. One of the guys had a really bad stink on him. It followed him like perfume or cologne and all the runners had to choke on it until he was about 40 meters ahead. I know I was not the only one annoyed by this because right after he passed me one time, 2 ladies ahead of us saw him coming and ran off the track until after he passed. As I ran ahead, the ladies were giggling and commenting on him. And when I waved my hand across my face/nose while I was ahead of them, I heard them laugh even louder. I know that I must build up a stench when I run like most of us, but this was ridiculous. But I digress as it is all over with now.
Happy New Year to all of you! May 2010 be an even better running year for you that 2009 was!
I did get back to the Pettit this morning for 18.25 miles (or 66 laps, you pick). I did it a little faster that I wanted to, I averaged 9:15 per mile but there were a lot of runners there and I was getting passed and passing lots of people so that kind of makes you go faster even though you don't want to. It was a good run though. I felt like I could continue at this pace for quite a few more laps (A full marathon? I don't know) and this after running 13 1/4 miles on Thursday at 8:28 pace in the cold.
They finally had some speed skaters racing time trials on the Oval during the run. I always like to see these racers, except for the starters pistol going off, especially when I am right next to it.
These was one annoying thing during the run. There were 2 guys running faster that me and passing me every 7 or 8 laps. One of the guys had a really bad stink on him. It followed him like perfume or cologne and all the runners had to choke on it until he was about 40 meters ahead. I know I was not the only one annoyed by this because right after he passed me one time, 2 ladies ahead of us saw him coming and ran off the track until after he passed. As I ran ahead, the ladies were giggling and commenting on him. And when I waved my hand across my face/nose while I was ahead of them, I heard them laugh even louder. I know that I must build up a stench when I run like most of us, but this was ridiculous. But I digress as it is all over with now.
Happy New Year to all of you! May 2010 be an even better running year for you that 2009 was!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
