http://www2.brightroom.com/email/97740/1001/133999225

Finisher’s Certificate, Fargo Marathon, May 19, 2012

“Slow and low, that is the tempo…”

MCA was watching out for me yesterday in Fargo, as I had to keep reminding myself that a fast time wasn’t worth blowing the chance to run New York in November. The knee pop injury I suffered on Thursday at the TC 1 Mile had me seriously doubting my ability to finish marathon number twenty, but I was going to at least try.

During packet pickup at the Fargodome, I talked to Kris from Sweaty Bands, who recommended I visit the KT Band booth and get my knee taped up. She said all the high school track kids are using it and if I didn’t like it, I could just pull it off. I don’t like trying new things so close to a race, but I decided it was worth a shot.

The guy at the booth had about six people waiting in line, but it didn’t take long. He was very knowledgable, asking where it hurt and describing what was involved in that region. After a little shave, my pink band was in place and it felt good. I don’t know the science behind this, but I do think it helped me finish the race. Oh, and did I mention it was free? Thank you KT Band!

The whole setup at the Fargodome was pretty awesome – Thursday and Friday it hosts the expo, while on Saturday all of that was gone and the main floor transformed into finish line central: the actual finish, food and refreshments, bag pickup and lots of places to sit and meet family members. Colleen said this was by far the best race ever for spectators, with ample free parking right next to the dome and good seating in the stands around the finish. Lots of bathrooms and open refreshment stands too.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Fargo, which was quite a ways from the Fargodome, but right across the street from West Acres Mall, where multiple race shuttles picked up runners. The hotel had a nice pool area for the kids and the rate was decent ($135/night), but the walls were paper thin – not a good thing with a crying baby next door.

The whole Fargo area had lots of signs up welcoming runners, including our choice for pre-race pasta, Happy Joe’s on University. The baked spaghetti was just what I wanted. We went looking for Jigg’s Diner in West Fargo after the race, but it’s apparently now called TNT Diner (and was good too).

I took an early shuttle to the race and ended up sitting around for about two hours. The 10K started first, followed by the half, then the full. There was a brief thunderstorm that moved through while I was inside the dome, and it dropped temps much more than I expected. It was in the mid 90Fs on Friday and the forecasted low was 67F, but I saw a bank sign that said 53F – perfect! It stayed cloudy most of the race with a decent wind, but it never rained and the sun did peek out for a few minutes.

The course was flat (as advertised) and there were spirited spectators along the way, but quite a bit fewer than any other race I’ve been to (with maybe the exception of Eau Claire). The finish line made up for that, though, as I felt like an Olympian coming down the chute to the cheers of the Fargodome crowd for my slow, barely sub-5 finish (official chip time of 4:57:49).

This is billed as a music race, but I think some of the bands must have skipped it due to the weather forecast. With me running slow, though, maybe I just missed them. The marathon course itself was mostly residential, but did pass through downtown and across the Red River into Minnesota for a half mile or so. Several miles run parallel on the same streets, which I would have liked more if I was running faster.

Speaking of pace, I ran without a watch and just planned to listen to my knee. I wanted to stay at ten minute miles or slower if I could, despite a competitive urge to speed things up. The first mile was uncomfortable and I was doubting my ability to finish. I bought the damn poster, though, so I needed to finish. The knee actually felt quite good around miles 6-10, but I had to listen to MCA and keep it slow the rest of the way.

Looking at my official splits, I did stay in the 10:00 range for most of the race – 5K in 32:04, 10K in 1:03:57 and the half in 2:19:09. I did feel a little more pain in the second half and slowed the pace down accordingly (although I never did take any extending walk breaks). Stopped twice for bathroom visits (unusual for me), and roughly hit every other water station. Couldn’t resist a sprint at the end when I saw the clock – so glad the knee didn’t pop during that moment of indiscretion.

Overall, I thought this was a good event. I still like Twin Cities and Grandma’s the best, but you can really tell the community supports this event and I think they realize it’s an up and coming race on the national calendar (voted best value by Runner’s World). Fifty Staters will do well to pick this as their ND race (it was state number five for me) and those looking for a flat course will love it. I found the religious undertone a little odd (bible quotes on the race poster and medal, blessing before the national anthem), but everyone was very nice and welcoming. Even the governor and mayor showed up to wish us good luck.

Nothing else planned now until New York on November 4. I’ll take a few days off and see how the knee does in recovery mode.

And congrats to Courtenay (www.autopilotlegs.com), who ran her first ever half marathon – way to go Twitter friend!

http://www.mtecresults.com/race/show/671

Fargo Marathon finish line inside the Fargodome, Fargo, North Dakota

Argh – tonight’s TC 1 Mile race did not turn out the way I wanted. In fact, I don’t remember swearing to myself so much after any race in recent memory.

The goals were simple: 1) beat last year’s time of 6:20, 2) beat Megan and 3) don’t get hurt before the marathon. That last one “snapped” into effect half-way down Nicollet Mall, as I heard and felt a pop behind my left knee. I gimped my way to the finish (with one additional snap during the home stretch) and finished nine seconds slower than last year (but 13 seconds in front of Megan – sorry, kiddo).

I’m trying to tell myself that if it was serious, I wouldn’t have been able to do so much walking afterwards. It’s not really painful – just awkward and uncomfortable. I’ve got ice on it now and took some Advil, so we’ll see how it feels in the morning.

The evening was a little warm (upper 70s?) and there was a pretty strong southerly headwind the whole race, but overall it wasn’t bad. Megan and the Allina crew raced in the second wave, while I waited until the Masters wave. The start of the race seemed fine – no crowding, I skipped wearing a watch and tried to keep a relatively relaxed pace. I was breathing with little stress, but that changed by the midway point and was worsened by what seemed to be poor air quality conditions.

My quarter split was around 1:28 and I hit the midway point right around 3:00. The first snap happened shortly after that and I sort of hobbled by the 3/4 mark around 4:45. I came around the final turn, saw Megan cheering and tried to pick up the pace, which caused the second pop. I was actually quite amazed to be anywhere near 6:30, which at least gives me hope that sub-6 won’t be too far off.

Megan and I both felt like we had smoker’s cough for a while afterwards. We walked most of the way back to the start so we could get everyone’s stuff out of my car before returning back to The Local for post-race drinks. The outdoor dining scene was really hopping – too bad Megan wasn’t up for any of the food options.

Team Allina had a new member this year and she really kicked butt – Lauren Chucko placed 14th among women in 5:35 (one place in front of my former NWA co-worker Bonnie Sons). I saw a few other familiar names on the results page too (Hi Brady!), although it would be easier if Twitter names were listed for all of the MNrunnerds.

Fingers crossed that things will feel OK in the morning. Laundry and packing, then we hit the road to Fargo around noon…

2012 TC 1 Mile Searchable Results Page

They snuck up quickly, but tomorrow is the TC 1 Mile in downtown Minneapolis, followed by the Fargo Marathon on Saturday. Fargo sent me an email today with my bib number, which will be the very cool 1001. I hope the weather forecast gets cool too, but it’s not looking good (upper 70s and thunderstorms).

I’ll have to hustle from my last work meeting and drive straight to the starting line in Minneapolis tomorrow. Thankfully they have packet pickup on race day, but that will still be a hassle to get the stuff, run back to the car and get back in time. Looks like I’ll either do the masters wave at 7:24 or the open wave at 7:39. Two goals for this year: 1) beat last year’s time of 6:20 and 2) beat Megan. I’d really like to get a sub-6, but I don’t want to risk injury before the marathon.

The whole family is going to Fargo and we plan to get the kids out of school early and start driving around noon. Google says a little more than four hours to the Fargodome, where packet pickup is located. We have until 9 p.m. to get there, so we should be fine. We have reservations at the Fargo Holiday Inn, which has a big pool area for the family to hang out at until I get done running.

Mentally, I feel ready for both of these. My running log has been a little light this month, but the 2012 year to date totals haven’t been awful. I’ve done a fair amount of cross training this month too, so I should be fine. No pressure on the Fargo time, so I’ll just see what the weather dictates. In fact, I don’t think I’ll even run with a watch this time…

http://www.bloomsdayrun.org/

Echo Point Road, Tower, Minnesota

Today was the 35th running of Minnesota’s Annual Rite of Spring, the Get in Gear 10K (and 5K, 2K and half marathon). I’ve done the last eleven races and I’m starting to see a trend when it comes to the weather. Today was cold, windy, wet and even had a few ice pellets thrown in for good measure.

Before the race, I had the chance to meet a few local Twitter runners in person (@autopilotlegs and @lifeisfunner), which was very nice. Every year there are about 8,000 people at Minnehaha Park for this event, but I never seem to find any of the people I know are there running.

I couldn’t find my watch this week, so I was running without knowing pace. My 10K PR is 44:47 and the more I think about it, the more I wonder if that’s going to be it for me. Last year I stayed sub-50, but wasn’t even close at 48:23. The race organizers (who are awesome, by the way) had people yelling splits at every mile marker, which helped. I think I was roughly 7:25, 15-something, 22:30, 30:00 and 37:25.

During the race, the rain never picked up too much and I didn’t have any problems clothing wise (very glad I wore winter tights and a shell, though). I was a little sore the first two miles, but the pace (and runner spacing) was good throughout. It was a little disappointing not getting a 45-something, but overall I’m happy with the 46:03 (7:25 pace – official MTEC results page).

Up next: the TC 1 Mile on May 17, followed by the Fargo Marathon two days later…

If this was the award for winning, I’d train much harder. Get in Gear check-in, Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Dinner at The Bachelor Farmer
• Pizza Ranch fried chicken
• Eat at Tilia in Linden Hills
• Lindey’s Prime Steak House
• Order the Depot’s Diamond Dog
• Breakfast at SAP’s Colossal Cafe
• Give Pizzeria Lola a second chance?
• Fries (no onion) from the Amsterdam Bar and Hall
• Happy Hour at La Belle Vie
• Golf Virginia, Eveleth and Wolfridge
• Tour the Root Beer Lady Museum
• Ride the Lake Vermilion Mailboat
• Gamble at White Oak, Palace and Northern Lights
• PR at least one race (any distance)
• Take Beaudry to Black Bear, Lutsen and Brainerd

http://www.baa.org/

Get in Gear gloves (one of six door prizes), free course tour runs, Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota

Minnesota’s Annual Rite of Spring, Get in Gear 10K, 5K, 2K and Half Marathon, Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minnehaha Creek, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Summit Avenue (near Governor’s Mansion), Saint Paul, Minnesota

Last night I pulled the trigger on registering for the next long race I plan to run – the Fargo Marathon, which will be held on Saturday, May 19 at 8:15AM. The fast, flat course starts and ends at the Fargodome and has received good reviews on MarathonGuide.com.

The 2012 edition will be the eighth running and it sounds like the marathon field is much smaller than half, which should be interesting. Still need to book a hotel room for Friday – the whole family will come with and we’ll probably leave right after school.

So I’m now officially back in training mode. I plan to up my minimum treadmill runs during the week from 5K to 8K (or 10K if I can stand it) and will start regular weekend long runs in Minneapolis again. If the weather continues to cooperate, I may try to do more outdoor running in the Northland too.

This week is also tech training week, as we have three days of kiosk training scheduled Tuesday-Thursday with a vendor from Las Vegas (the “kiosk whisperer”). Our formal meeting rooms were all booked, so we actually have some tables set up in a back storage area. Classy, no?

http://www.fargomarathon.com/

Mizuno tights and shirt, Runner’s Gate, Lakeville, Minnesota

Confirmation number for the 2012 New York City Marathon lottery – third time’s the charm?

Last taper run for Megan before Disney World, Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Email from the New York Road Runners announcing the 2012 NYC Marathon lottery.

http://www.marathonguide.com/

45F and sunny, December 18th, Lake Harriet, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Inspired by the idea behind Megan’s clever blog Forty by Thirty, I’ve been trying to think of a theme I could do to spice up my running goals for 2012 and beyond. I’ve seen people running with “50 Marathons in 50 States” shirts and Megan has talked about it in the past, but I never really considered it before.

I’ve only finished four so far, so 46 more before I turn fifty probably isn’t logistically (or financially) feasible. Fifty marathons before fifty is probably more realistic. I do like the idea of researching and planning all of those trips, though, especially since I haven’t been able to travel for fun much the past three years.

When I started writing the list of states, there really aren’t a lot that jump out. Hawaii, Oregon, New York, Texas and Massachusetts are easy; some of the others will take more research (see the full list after the jump).

With Boston moving the goal posts again, it will probably take me a few more years to get a qualifying time. If I started running more than 2-3 a year, though, it might happen quicker. It will be tough to not run Grandma’s and Twin Cities every year, but I’d probably have to save that money for other races. We’ll see…

Since I’m still grandfathered in for the New York City lottery, I’ll be running that in 2012 or 2013 and I’m thinking maybe I’ll try Fargo in May. Here is the list, with states in bold already completed:

1. Alabama
2. Alaska – Mayor’s (June)
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California – Los Angeles (March) or Big Sur (April)
6. Colorado
7. Connecticut
8. Delaware
9. Florida – Walt Disney World
10. Georgia
11. Hawaii – Honolulu (December)
12. Idaho
13. Illinois – Chicago
14. Indiana – Indianapolis (October)
15. Iowa
16. Kansas
17. Kentucky
18. Louisiana
19. Maine
20. Maryland
21. Massachusetts – Boston (April)
22. Michigan
23. Minnesota – Grandma’s, Twin Cities
24. Mississippi
25. Missouri
26. Montana
27. Nebraska
28. Nevada – Las Vegas (December)
29. New Hampshire
30. New Jersey
31. New Mexico
32. New York – New York City (November)
33. North Carolina
34. North Dakota – Fargo (May)
35. Ohio – Flying Pig (May)
36. Oklahoma
37. Oregon – Portland (October)
38. Pennsylvania
39. Rhode Island – Ocean State (October)
40. South Carolina
41. South Dakota
42. Tennessee
43. Texas – Houston (January)
44. Utah
45. Vermont
46. Virginia
47. Washington
48. West Virginia
49. Wisconsin – Eau Claire
50. Wyoming

I’ll continue to update this post as I find additional races that sound good.

Any suggestions?

http://jog.fm/

http://autopilotlegs.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/introducing-kristi/

http://getingear10k.com/registration.html

Exercise Bike and Treadmill, Fortune Bay Resort Casino, Tower, Minnesota

Limited Edition Mizuno Wave Rider 15s, Size 9 1/2

Twin Cities in Motion postcard (Organizers of the Twin Cities Marathon and many other fine races)

http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2011/05/skinny-fat/

http://sarinaslimsdown.tumblr.com/

http://itsracetime.com/AthleteStats.aspx?ID=182041

I feel great. To finish with a PR and I had to stop and throw up, I am very happy with…

Exercise Room Treadmill, Fortune Bay Resort Casino, Tower, Minnesota

http://ifeinsteinran.com/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Community&utm_campaign=A%252BBrilliant%252BRun

As I mentioned in my recent iPhone post, I regularly use an app called Weightbot to track my weight. The two graphs above came from that app – the first was my best year (2009), while the second is the current year (which is somewhat incomplete, as I don’t have a scale during the week at work).

I currently have a goal weight of 160 pounds, which seems to be eluding me by about ten pounds. I got close in 2009 by running 1000+ miles, but right now I’m having trouble getting back in the 160s. My mileage total so far this year is just under 700 miles, but I’ve done a lot more cross-training (mainly biking). Diet is probably the remaining reason, but that’s a lot tougher for me to change.

All ten of those remaining pounds can be found primarily around my midsection. My pant size has remained steady at 32 inches, but the “beer belly” region is the one thing I wish I could re-shape. Effective exercises targeting this area seem elusive, but I keep trying. I’m now to the point where I’m relatively happy standing in front of the mirror, but it would be nice to have a little more definition in my core.

Looking at those graphs again, I have to question the body-mass index definition of “overweight” outlined at the 170 pound mark for a male who is 5’9″ tall. I don’t really feel overweight now – especially after coming down from a peak weight of nearly 200 pounds. I think the “normal” range for that height goes down to 150 pounds, which seems ridiculous to me. Still, I’d really love to see that 160 number appear on the scale someday soon…

http://www.active.com/donate/2012mmrfBSIM/BSBGervai

http://www.weightinvain.com/?p=2505

My Favorite Running Landmark, East Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis, Minnesota

http://www.susanruns.com/

http://www2.brightroom.com/email/80175/1960/114061448

I had three levels of goals for today’s Twin Cities Marathon: 1) set a new PR, 2) break 4 hours and 3) set a new TCM PR. My chip time of 3:46:58 (8:40 pace) met all three goals, but I have to say, it feels like a disappointment. The official online results can be found here.

As you can see from the detailed breakdown, I was running at a 3:30 pace when I hit the halfway point, but I regressed big time for the final 13.1. That’s not unusual for me, but this time it didn’t seem like I was slowing down that much. Here are the splits:

• First half – 8:03, 7:53, 8:18, 7:57, 8:01, 8:04, 7:48, 8:01, 7:58, 7:59, 8:00, 8:14, 8:19
• Second half – 8:46, 7:57, 8:40, 8:52, 9:01, 9:08, 9:16, 9:18, 10:13, 10:04, 9:46, 10:11, 9:21

Those ten minute miles in the last 10K were especially disconcerting, as I didn’t take any bathroom breaks or really have anything else to deal with. It did get hot and sunny towards the end, but it wasn’t Disney World hot by any stretch.

I’m not really sure where to go from here – I’m not currently registered for anything right now and we are about to start the cold off season in Minnesota soon. With Boston-qualifying times bumping down another five minutes next year, trying to shave an additional 30 minutes off my PR seems impossible (without training full-time).

My friend Megan is running a few races the next few months and I’d love to join her if I had more money (this one is $80 and this one is $350). There is also a chance I get selected for the 2012 New York lottery too, so I guess we’ll see…

2011 TC Marathon Searchable Results
2011 TC 10 Mile Searchable Results

The thirtieth running of the Twin Cities Marathon is only three weeks away, yet I feel like I’m the most prepared I’ve ever been. Today was my last long run, which I’ve pushed up to 22.5 miles this time around (never did longer than 17 before this year). Almost all of my mileage this summer has occurred on Lake Vermilion or around the Minneapolis lakes, which is a nice change from boring suburban routes. And a big shout out to Megan for helping me build up to those longer distances (and getting faster).

Ah, to be in my twenties again…

I recently switched my mileage log over to a custom-built database running on this site after using the Runner’s World run log for several years. As of today, my 2011 total is “only” 564 miles (after a high of 1001 in 2009). This is still ahead of last year and 2008, but not as high as I’d like. I attribute part of that to doing more cross training (particularly mountain biking) and the rest to my weekly commute schedule. I’ll start my taper now, so September mileage won’t get too much higher.

My 2009 Monster Half time of 1:39 gets me into the first wave for TCM again, so I’m hoping to break my marathon PR of 3:47 this year. The next best goal would be to run sub-four (which I’ve never done at this race) and finally, just set a new TCM PR (4:13). My body has held up OK on these longer training runs, but I definitely got slower at the end today. Hopefully three weeks of shorter runs will be just what I need to fully recover before October 2. Fingers crossed for good weather too.

Crossing over to “TMI” territory, I’ve had some painful bleeding problems twice in the past month. I used Glide today and was OK, but the weather was also pretty dry. I should be OK for the race as long as it doesn’t rain or get too humid. If that happens, I’ll just make sure not to wear a white shirt (ick).

The new GMC sports vitamins I’ve been taking have helped with joint pain, but today my ankles and hips hurt a little more than usual. I plan to increase my upper body and core workouts the next three weeks to offset the decrease in miles and help out with the hills and my kick at the finish of the TCM course.

This is the last race I’m currently registered for, but there are several I’d like to do if I can come up with the money. Team Ortho’s Monster Half is moving to St. Paul this year and I really like the course, but $75 is pushing it for me when it comes to a half. Megan is registered for the Goofy Challenge in January and asked if I wanted to run it also, but airfare and the $350 entry fee make that highly unlikely (even with a free lodging and park admission offer from my brother). I’m also holding off on the 2012 Grandma’s for now, as there’s still a chance I will get picked for New York next year. Lots of other wish list races too…

As I write this, there is still a day and a half left of the 2011 Minnesota State Fair. As a huge fair fan who has attended the event every year of my life, it’s hard not to think about sneaking in one last visit. This year I’ve gone three times, though, so it’s probably better if I save what’s left of my money and do something else with the rest of the long holiday weekend.

Visit #1 was to run the State Fair Milk Run 5K, which I’ve done with kid one the past several years. This year the rest of the family decided to sign up and walk it too, which was cool. Kid one decided she didn’t want to run with me, so I was free to attempt a PR. The course winds through the hills of Saint Anthony Park and those said hills kicked my butt a little. I ran the first mile in 6:52, but slowed to a 7:24 in the second (really hilly) mile. I ran a 6:48 third mile, though, and was able to finish in 21:42 (6:59 overall pace). That beat my old 5K PR by about a minute and a half and was good enough for 7th in my age group and 69th overall (in a field of about 1400).

My dad had purchased Twins single game tickets at the beginning of the baseball season and happened to pick Milk Run day as the game to take me to for my first visit to Target Field (which I liked more than I thought I would). It was an afternoon game, so we spent a few hours at the fair after the race, then he picked us up on Como for the drive to Minneapolis. We decided to return to the fair after the game, which worked out well – plus it was a rare August 2011 Twins win too.

Visit #2 was unplanned – my mom had tickets to see Garrison Keillor perform his Prairie Home Companion show at the grandstand, but didn’t feel up to going. My dad and sister had the other two tickets, so I met them there. The seats were amazing (third row center) and the show had the added benefit of four songs by the Jayhawks (Closer to Your Side, She Walks in So Many Ways, Blue and Over My Shoulder). Sara Watkins was really good and I enjoy seeing all the regular cast members as well (Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Tom Keith, etc.). Also got to visit with an old high school friend for a bit before the show (and saw an old co-worker who plays in a band near the beer garden afterwards).

Last night we all went back as a family to see Weezer at the grandstand. Since we missed machinery hill the first day, we decided to get there around 1:30 and cover that half of the fairgrounds. It was crowded everywhere, but the afternoon went by quickly and a cold westerly wind kicked up. By the time the opening act started to play (Motion City Soundtrack), I was really wishing I had worn something other than shorts and a T-shirt. Weezer was very entertaining (Star Tribune review) and fireworks both nights seemed better than usual. Here’s the Weezer set list:

• Surf Wax America (Blue Album)
• We Are All on Drugs (Make Believe)
• Troublemaker (Red Album)
• El Scorcho (Pinkerton)
• Say It Ain’t So (Blue Album)
• Hash Pipe (Green Album)
• My Name Is Jonas (Blue Album)
• Dope Nose (Maladroit)
• Pumped Up Kicks (Foster the People cover)
• Island in the Sun (Green Album)
• Perfect Situation (Make Believe)
• (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To (Raditude)
• Undone (The Sweater Song) (Blue Album)
• Pork and Beans (Red Album)
• Beverly Hills (Make Believe)
• ENCORE:
• Paranoid Android (Radiohead cover)
• Buddy Holly (Blue Album)

Contrary to my normal eating pattern, I actually tried two new foods this year: pretzel dogs (hot dog on a stick, wrapped by a large soft pretzel) and sweet corn ice cream. The former was located in a booth near the horse barn and came with optional butter and a side of melted cheese for dipping. Aside from the pretzel slipping off of the hot dog, it was really good. As for the sweet corn ice cream, I don’t think I’ll be needing to order that again. $5 lesson learned, I guess.

Kid one gets to return with her aunt tomorrow to see Train and Maroon 5. She will also be old enough to work at the corn roast booth next year, so we all have that to look forward to. Mark your calendars now: August 23 – September 3, 2012!

The forecast didn’t look that great, but the 35th running of Grandma’s Marathon turned out to be almost ideal. I took the train to the start for the first time and it rained the entire trip. As soon as people starting exiting the cars, though, it stopped. There were a few drops during the first hour, but mainly it was a nice, cool, overcast morning with a northeast tailwind coming off the lake.

This race continues to be one of the best-run events in the country. It’s the talk of the town everywhere you go all weekend and the local media really cover it well (both print and TV). I spent a lot more time in Duluth this trip than usual and really got to soak in the atmosphere. The expo seemed a little smaller this time, but the 35th anniversary gear was nice and I picked up my traditional race poster with the bib packet on Thursday night.

We spent some time visiting with my sister (and stayed at her apartment), including a first-time visit to the Duluth Grill. Speaking of food, we also hit Gordy’s Hi-Hat in Cloquet and the pasta dinner at the DECC on Friday night (followed by a late screening of The Hangover 2). We also stopped in at the wonderful Duluth Pack store, where work was kind enough to pay for a new laptop backpack.

This was marathon number 18 for me (and seventh Grandma’s). As I wrote on Twitter, I had three goal levels: good – new Grandma’s PR (4:21), better – under four hours and best – overall marathon PR (3:47). I’d been running a fair amount this spring and was relatively healthy (unlike last year’s broken toe). Still, I didn’t really know what to expect for this one. As usual, my body would tell me what it would do once the race started.

I lined up behind the 3:50 pacer, but went in front of him almost right away. I felt decent and ended up with the 3:40 pacer for the first half of the race. I passed them briefly, but that didn’t last very long. They slowly pulled away and I ended up getting passed by the 3:50 guy with a few miles to go. Thankfully I never saw the 4:00 balloons…

My half split was 1:48:28 and I had to take a bathroom break at mile 20. I usually don’t have this problem, but the train didn’t give me enough time to wait in line at the start. I was feeling it in my knees and ankles the last six miles and my splits reflected that:

• 8:31
• 8:05
• 8:05
• 7:55
• 7:59
• 8:08
• 8:05
• 8:29
• 8:26
• 8:19
• 8:22
• 8:24
• 8:30
• 8:32
• 8:42
• 8:50
• 9:12
• 9:07
• 9:13
• 9:29
• 10:40 (bathroom)
• 9:37
• 9:47
• 9:56
• 9:54
• 9:47

With the great weather conditions, it’s a little disappointing I didn’t get an overall PR, but I’m still happy with the 3:52. Take off 1:30 for the bathroom break and it would have been a little closer. Twin Cities in October should be interesting…

Full Marathon Results
Marathon Photo Pix

P.S. – Congrats to my friend Jake, running his first marathon in 4:15:37 and to my high school classmate Cindy, who finished her third marathon in 5:00:02.

Last week I decided to give it another go at a distance I find really difficult – the one mile. I’ve only attempted one other mile race since high school and I almost passed out at the finish line of that one (the former Grandma’s 1 Mile at the Minnesota State Fair grounds). In that race, I thought I could still run in the fives and went out way too fast. I seem to recall hitting the midway point around 2:30 and then proceeded to hit a wall on the home stretch before finishing with a 6:34. This time I wanted to even out the pace better and shoot for a six minute mile (or at least a PR).

My friend Megan was running for Allina in the corporate wave of the TC 1 Mile and talked me into joining her. This was the seventh year of the event, but the first for both of us. The course is a straight shot down Nicollet Mall, starting near Washington and ending around the bend near Loring Park. It’s basically flat or downhill and the wind was helping most of the way. I could have done without the misty drizzle, but the cool temps were appreciated.

This race is really well organized – the multiple waves were timed so that runners missed the light rail trains and traffic was only minimally delayed. Megan and most of the thirty or so people from Allina ran in the second wave. I decided to run in the masters wave (along with Megan’s friend Susan), which was the fourth one out. The last two waves were the elite women and men and we stuck around to watch those amazing athletes smash the time bounties of 4:32 for women and 4:00 for men.

As for my race, I don’t think I was really prepared. I’ve run a fair amount this spring and had done some speed work on the treadmill the week before the race (7:00/6:40/6:20 reps), but I could tell right away it was going to be tough to get to six. My arms felt weird (I haven’t done a lot of upper body work yet this year) and my breathing wasn’t very smooth. I had hoped to do four 90 second quarter splits, but hit the first one at 1:22 and the midway point right at 3:00. I don’t really remember the third split and had no kick left whatsoever at the end (despite Megan cheering me on and seeing the clock two blocks away).

So 6:20 it was. That was still a PR, though, and I guess overall I’m happy with that. Megan also had a PR (6:38) and probably would have beat me if we ran in the same wave (make sure and check out her awesome new blog, Forty By Thirty). We all hit the Local afterwards for post-race drinks, which was really fun.

Watch out Minneapolis, I’ll keep coming back until I see a “5:” on that timer…

2011 TC 1 Mile Online Results

The seemingly endless stretch of bad weather for Get in Gear continued again this year, with drenching rain and wind. At least it wasn’t too cold – near 50F at the start. I wore two layers on my core with running pants and was about as comfortable as could be expected.

The 2010 Get in Gear was a PR for me (44:47), but I didn’t feel like my training this year would get me anywhere close to that. My mileage totals haven’t been terrible, but pace has been slower all year. I was just hoping to get a sub-50 time and stay under an eight minute pace. Here’s how the race splits played out:

• Mile 1 – 7:48
• Mile 2 – 7:29
• Mile 3 – 7:55
• Mile 4 – 7:56
• Mile 5 – 7:54
• Mile 6 – 7:52

There were a lot of people at the beginning, but it cleared out quickly and I was able to run at my own comfort level for most of the race. There was a strong headwind coming across the Lake Street bridge and I tried to draft off of other runners to save energy. The hills on this course, including the killer from the TCM course, don’t seem so bad when the race is shorter.

The 5K runners merged in with the 10K pack with 0.2 miles left to go and it got a little congested. The rain picked up as I crossed the finish line, but at least there was no line for food (bananas, salted nuts rolls, bread, milk and yogurt). I always park on the St. Paul side of the river, so I started walking back across the Ford bridge.

My friend Megan was running the half, so I waited a bit at the point where that course reconnects with the 10K course. It was cold and windy there, though, so I started walking backwards along the half course. I found her just after the 11 mile mark and she asked if I’d run the rest with her. She finished with a personal best time of 1:50:30 – congrats!

Next up (for both Megan and I): the TC 1 Mile on May 12 in Minneapolis.

2011 Get in Gear Online Results