Earth Day Half Marathon

Well, I had the first half marathon of the year! It was my firs time running the Earth Day Half Marathon in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The weather was supposed to be around 60 degrees and sunny. Instead it was cloudy and in the high 40's. Once again, I ran with Mike on route to the Grandma's Marathon. The field was around 2000 people and I ended up in the middle of the mix. Made it through the race injury-free and pulled in at just under 2 hours. I was somewhat disappointed with the time but I did finish in 1:58:19.

I am still experimenting with Chi Running. The principles make sense and the exercises feel pretty good but I am still having trouble putting it all together. There is no rush but the sooner the better!

As of now, next race will be at the end of May! Stay tuned!

Irish for a Day 10 Mile & Training updates!

I figured it was time for an update! I am two months into marathon training for Grandma's in Duluth, MN on June 21! I started off following the Marathoning for Mortals program and switched a few weeks ago to the Runner's World program. Right now the long run is 12 miles and I have been relatively pain free. I feel the IT band acting up at times but I have spent more time stretching and running safe. I have started following Chi Running principles to address poor technique which I think was causing pain. So far, it seems to be helping!

With the nice weather, race season has officially started! On March 15, 2008, with the Irish for a Day 10 mile. Mike and I ran the race as a training race to break up the monotony of weekly long runs. The temperature was cold and the road around Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun were glazed over with ice. The race went well but it was much slower than expected because of the road. The next race is the Earth Day Half Marathon on April 19 in St. Cloud.

Celebrating after the race!

It looks just a little cold in that picture!

Let the training begin....

To those of you who don't know, I registered for Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota on June 21, 2008. My brother will also be joining me on this awesome journey! The race is 26.2 miles from Two Harbors to Duluth. If anyone is interested in details check out the website at www.grandmasmarathon.com. The plan is to follow a training plan from Marathoning for Mortals by John Bingham. The plan seems adequete but not was demanding on some of the other plans I have used for the half marathons. The goal is not time but to finish the first one without injury along the way. I have learned alot about my body over the last year and realize what I can or cannot handle. Tenatively I am planning a on a 10 mile race in March and another 13.1 mile race in April. More details to come! Check back often because I am pumped and can't wait to start training next week!

St. Jude's Half Marathon (Memphis)

Well, I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Memphis across the street from Graceland fighting off periods of cramping and fatigue. Is it worth it? I couldn't be happier! Jessie and I came to Memphis on Tuesday to spend some time with her dad (whom was convinced to train for and run his first 5k this weekend) and our future chihuahua puppies. Had a great few days in Memphis and was looking forward to the 13.1 miles that were waiting for me today.

We woke up at 5:45 to get Jessie to the walking 5k (I think she is starting to buy into running...YAY!!)! The 5k went very well for her and she made it in time to earn her first medal!

Checkout the hardware we all got!!

The temperature at the start of the race was 45 degrees and sunny. It was interesting that the entire 13 miles was also run with the marathon field so there were a TON of people at the starting line. I started with the 8:30-8:59 per mile coral group and set a goal between 1:50 and 1:55.

The race started well and it took us around the Lorraine Motel (where MLK was killed), down by the Mississippi and up to Beale Street. Beale Street was an amazing experience. There were people 5 deep on both sides of the street and music blaring from all directions! I kept pushing and felt awesome around mile 4 but took the energy shot as planned. The next 4 miles were there a nice victorian area and through a large memphis park. I was lagging around mile 8 and had my slowest mile of 8:50. Took another gel shot and figured I am going to push through. Miles 9, 10 and 11 flew by with the small rolling hills of the Mississippi valley. At mile 11 I kicked it up a notch and posted an 8:13 mile and split from the marathoners at Sun Studios (where Johnny Cash and Elvis recorded their first cds). I could see Autozone Park in the distance and new the finish line was close. I kicked it up another notch and ran the last mile at 8:10.

Crossing the finish line for a new PR!

Upon entering the outfield of Autozone Park (AAA Baseball Park), I sprinted down the foul line of first pace and heard a butchered version of my name over the PA system. I crossed the finish line at an time of 1:53:57! I beat my last half time by exactly 6 minutes! After crossing the chute I got draped with foil (keep in body heat) and had an awesome volunteer put the medal around my neck. They had, by far, the best post run food. There were soups, pizza and yes they had beer and after 13 miles it tasted awesome!

Still feeling a little tight but a lot better then the last half! Thanks for all the well wishes from everyone!

Couldn't have gone any better! Great race and no pain!

Freedom 10 mile and a shattered PR!!!

I haven't been posting on here like I have wanted to lately. Life happens right? Well, right now I am training for the St. Jude's Half Marathon with a goal of 1:55 for my time. My long runs are up to 10 miles right now so when I noticed the Freedom 10 mile in White Bear Lake today I jumped on the chance.

This is actually the same course as Bear Water Run and I ran it in 1:33:40 in 2006 and 1:31:50 in 2007. Slight increase in times over a year. Progress is always good. The weather was beautiful today. At the start of the race the temperature was around 45 and crept up to 50 by the end of the run. My goal today was to run the race at the half marathon pace which was just under 9 min/mile. I felt good and paced myself with others around me and tried to keep up with them.

The first five miles were run in 42 minutes and I was flying until my energy reserves were gone. I slowed from there and kept pushing. I tried my first gel shot today around mile 7 and believe that it actually helped. I kept trudging on at a pretty decent pace and as I neared the finished line began to realize that I would do more then set a new PR...I would shatter my PR! I sprinted through the end and finished at a time of 1:25:57! I beat my old time 5 min and 53 seconds! It was by far the fastest, hardest, and most testing run I have ever done.

I have no idea how I gained almost 6 minutes on my time in the last two months but I am amazed I did! I have dropped 6lbs since the last race in September and have run quite regularly in preparation for the half. This is definitely going down as my best run yet! I can't wait for
Memphis!

Jessie and I at the finish line of the race!!

Post race pics with the parents!