Duluth Clinic Indoor Triathlon

All the talk of my brother, Tim, preparing for a triathlon kind of got me into a bit of excitement. I used to do a few triathlons in my day. Whoa! What do I mean in my day. Well, I thought I would give a triathlon a try. Ignore the fact that it has been about two years (at least) since I have had to do any swimming for any extended period of time. The Duluth Clinic Indoor Triathlon presented a nice way to do a triathlon. Each leg of the triathlon involved spending a half hour per section. So that meant I had to swim, bike, and run for a half hour each. The swimming was to be done in a pool doing laps, but the bike and running sessions were on a stationary bike and a treadmill, respectively. Given this layout to the race, I can't say that the individuals I saw wearing big GPS watches had a lot of advantage. The goal of the triathlon was to go as far as you possibly could in each leg of the race. The winner was the one that went the farthest total distance. My goal was to slug through the swimming as best I could knowing I would probably lose a little time in the swim. I was able to log .82 miles over the half hour. I am not even sure if that is good, but I can tell you my arms were pretty tired. I have not had to swim that far on my own for years. The biking went slightly better for me, as I was able to log 19.5 miles in thirty minutes. Not too bad, but I learned that you can wear biking shoes which clip into the pedals if you wish. I wore running shoes and had my shoes come out four times during the race. In addition, the bikes penalized you for being too fast. If you went over 140 rpm, the computer stopped logging distance and nothing would be recorded during that time. The best distances were gathered by those who were best able to maintain a controlled pace of as high as possible, but not more than 140 rpm. The fastest I saw was a 20.8 mile trip on the day. The final event was a run on a treadmill and that went pretty well. I logged the third furthest distance over the course of a half hour. I finished 6th out of 39 triathletes, but find that the biking was the part where I lost the most time. I think the use of biking shoes would have probably helped me achieve at least 0.5 mile further. My total distance was 24.64 miles for the day. I was only 0.13 miles from 4th place. and the top triathlete had a distance of 25.66 miles. Certainly within reason to improve upon in the future. Angela got some pretty good pictures. She took the first swimming photo to be shown on my blog. She also took pictures of me biking (I was so serious I kept my goggles on for a while). Kaia seemed to be bored so she decided coloring was more interested than watching her dad. This was a fun event which I have never done before (an indoor triathlon). Even with the weather as nice as it has been this spring, it was a well-run event held in a nice indoor facility.

Stomp the Swamp

My family and I arrived at the hallowed grounds of Nine Mile Forest for one of the best races of the year, the Stomp the Swamp race. Unfortunately, we didn't plan to allow for a lot of extra time. I signed up for the 12K race which is my normal choice. But we had a fun alternative. As I brought Kaia to the car to allow me to change into my race gear (my wife was inside sitting in a medical boot on her left foot that she needed because she had earned a stress fracture on her foot from last week's Book Across the Bay), Angela called me on my cell phone and said they had kid's races. Well, it was time to stall dressing for now and instead move Kaia out to try to be part of the race for the kids. Kaia had a chance to run with the giant dog (also known as David Sykora). Angela got a couple of shots with her. This was her first race ever that she did herself. Well, I should admit that given her age she didn't do the half mile race, but did perhaps a couple of hundred yards. Technically she cut some major distance, but they are fine with that in kid's races (especially if you are not quite two years old). Kaia earned her first official medal, and she wouldn't take it off for the rest of the day. I think that we now have a little racer in our family. Back to my preparations for the race. . .or lack of it. I did my first official race without remembering to put on a race bib. The reason for this was a last minute blister appearing during warm up on my right foot required me to place duct tape on the outer edge of my right foot to prevent abrasion of the shoe on my toes. I forgot my race bib. In a small race like this, I did the only other thing I could think of to mark my position. I took my shoe off and pulled a piece of duct tape off and gave it to the race coordinators and told them this would have to be my race number for now. You can do this kind of thing in small-town races. Could you do this in the Chicago Marathon? Probably not. Because I forgot my race bib, I am sure this must have created less wind resistance as I ran the route. Although I have run the route faster in the past, at least I was faster than the previous year. My time was 1:03:23, which was 5th out of 14 in the field of snowshoers. Not a blazing fast time, but I was happy with the opportunity to run a race the same day as my daughter's first race. Kaia and I both earned a medal for our efforts on the day.

Book Across the Bay

This year's Book Across the Bay was a little different for us in several different ways. We didn't spend the weekend in Ashland like we usually do. As a result, we typically have opportunities to bum around Ashland and Washburn before the race. Usually we have a chance to check out the Delta Diner which is a favorite of ours. The Book Across the Bay has done things differently in the last couple of years. They now start the skiers and the snowshoers at the same time. This is great way to do it so that everyone gets to start at the same time. Angela and I had a blast doing the race again. We both ran the event this year. Angela ran so fast that she developed not just one, but two stress fractures in her foot which required that she get a special boot to hold her foot from moving during the day. She now limps along for the next month. Angela completed the course in 1:12:56.2 and was 45th out of 816. I finished in 47:22.9 which was good enough for 5th place overall unofficially, but out of the male snowshoers I was 3rd overall. The guy who technically got third overall in the race decided he needed an advantage so he didn't wear snowshoes in the snowshoe race. I don't really understand why. He must have really wanted to cut some weight from his foot. It's always tough to tell, but assuming the race distance was actually 10K, this would have been my fastest time on the full course I have done. There might be some variation year to year based on available ice flows on the lake. The post race chili proved to be excellent as usual. We also got on the shuttle buses from Washburn to Ashland a little earlier this year, which meant we got a better parking spot. It didn't take long to get from the finisher's tent to our cars this year. Course conditions were beautiful for snowshoeing. I happended to see a few skiers that wiped out during the course, but I was surprised to see the amount of snow present on the lake.

Powder Keg Snowshoe Race

The Eau Claire Powder Keg was a race that has always been hosted at Lowes Creek which is a wonderful course. The route is a nice mix of singletrack and flat straightaways (with less of the singletrack this year as opposed to previous years). I loved the course and the race itself is held at a wonderful venue. The race ranks right up there with the top races in terms of course variety, quality of the warming house, the wonderful post race meal (which was pizza from Action City which is to die for), and proximity to me (less time driving to this race is definitely a plus). However, it is also a race of many unknowns. The race is a five mile race, but GPS estimates put the race at 5.4 miles (a previous year was reported as 5.8 miles) which didn't bother me much. I always figure a longer race gives you more for your money. Then came the timing system, which was way off. I finished the race in 2nd overall out of 31 with a time of roughly 46:30, but somehow I improved to a time of 45:11 in the final results. In fact, most people who finished around me had times that were incorrect. I am not sure where the errors came through, but it resulted in a long time to process the final results. This resulted in the final unknown of the day. Results were to be close to noon, but didn't happen until closer to 1 pm, which interferred with some racers ability to be at the award ceremony since they were either participating in the bike race to follow or left since they didn't want to wait that long for the results. I love the race, but the results processing needs to be sped up. My daughter has a wonderful attention span for someone so young, but with no postrace entertainment, the time following the race certainly drug on. My wife and Kaia worked to make Smores at the finish line of the race. I think she liked them quite a bit. I was hoping she would win the kid's snowshoe door prize. They would have been perfect for her. They are a lot more simple than my snowshoes. . .essentially a piece of plastic with a velcro strap to attach to your shoes. The same snowshoes would look cheap and dorky on any adult, but would be cute on a little 2 year old.

IRIS 5K Turkey Trot

Angela and I visited some family in Faribault, Minnesota this Thanksgiving. We had to find a way to keep the tradition of a 5K Turkey Trot alive. Fortunately, there was one in the town we just happened to be in for the holidays. IRIS stands for Infants Remembered In Silence. This is the third year that this race has been held. Angela and I went with her cousin Benjamin and her aunt Anne. We all were running in honor of those we know who have lost babies either during pregnancy or shortly after. It was certainly a wonderful cause. It was also an event that was wonderfully attended, as their race website advertises there were over 850 participants if you include all the kids races and the walk. The race started with a prayer in honor of the run and the lost babies. From what I hear there are a number of different races held in Faribault every year and the area churches all have clergy who come to say a prayer before the race. That is also a nice thing.

A Thanksgiving Day 5K is an opportunity to work hard running before you eat. My interpretation is that it gives you more reason to eat more. I think that even if I didn't do a run I would eat a lot anyway. The gun went off and I was amazed that one guy took off like he had a jalepeno up his butt. It seemed like 10 seconds into the race, he had a half blok lead. It wasn't that bad, but I was amazed by how quickly he jumped ahead of everyone else. Well, he started out fast which was possibly to his detriment as he didn't win (but he finished 2nd). I crossed the first mile marker at a time of 6:40, which seemed slow considering I felt that the pace was pretty quick. At the first mile marker I was in fifth, but quickly was about to be overtaken. Within a couple of blocks I was seventh and almost moved into eighth place. However, with a look behind me I saw that there were a few other runners not far behind. Although I was nowhere near a personal PR, I thought a reasonable goal would be to try for a high finish in the race and try to hold off some of the other runners. It became a tough push. About a half mile before the finish I was still in seventh and decided it was time to make a move. I was on the only hill of the course and it was an upward grind. The perfect place to shake things up and it wouldn't be expected. I raised the pace significantly and quickly passed the sixth place runner. However, the one in fifth place was tougher. He had got quite a lead on me so it took me a couple of blocks of uphill running at a tough pace before I caught the guy. The look on his face made it all worth it. I rounded the corner and saw the 3 mile marker sign. Normally that would be good except for the course was incorrectly marked and the last 0.1 mile was actually about twice as long. I still had to hold the rapid pace I had and not give it up otherwise I would be passed by one hungry runner ready to devour his Thanksgiving meal and his competition (me). I held on for the fifth place finish out of 541 runners with a time of 19:30. Angela finished in 35:10, but was passed up by her cousin in the final block of the race and he edged her out by just seconds. Angela's aunt later came through and we circled back to cross with her. Angela's cousin, Carly, got her pictures taken by some cheerleaders for the Minnesota Vikings. The race gave the cheerleaders something to cheer about in a year full of tough games for the Vikings.

Halloween Hustle

The Halloween Hustle is one of my favorite races of the year. It is an opportunity to run with a costume and it is considered normal, compared to other runs where I still might run with a costume and I am the only one who does it. I picked up my costume about 12 hours before the race at a costume shop in Duluth. I found an orange jumpsuit that said "Cell Block Psycho" on the front and the back. I topped it off with a wig and a black hat. The only thing that would have been better was to have someone in a police officer outfit chasing after me. I was amazed at how hot it was to wear this costume. I thought it wouldn't be too hot, but I was really overheating wearing this. It shouldn't have been too bad. I looked like I was preparing for the flood since the pants legs didn't go all the way to my ankles (see the picture of me running). I can't imagine how warm my wife must have been in her green M & M costume. I was able to improve on my overall placing from 6th last year to 5th this year. Unfortunately, my overall time was slower. I guess that is what I get for not being as consistent with my running this sumer and fall. I was able to cross the line in 19:17, only two seconds from the next place guy (who was dressed as a cheerleader) who I almost caught. At about a mile into the race a girl passed me and then at about two miles another girl passed me. I was able to dig down and push the speed in the final half mile to catch and pass these runners which gave me motivation to improve on my placing in this year's race. I was second in my age group and 5th place overall out of 162 runners. Angela finished in 30:34, and was 94th overall. The winning costume this year was a man-eating shark, which was a shark costume with shoes sticking out of the mouth. Pretty cool. The awards for top age-group finishes were pretty cool too.

Chicago Marathon (Race #100)

The Chicago Marathon marked my 100th official race. This has been a feat that I have been working on since my first kayaking race in 2005. Little did I know that this would be an achievement I would reach. My brother Tim had asked me about six months prior to the event about doing a marathon together. Actually, it was not the first time he asked me to do this, but I told him if he gave me enough notice I would seriously consider it. I looked at this race as a celebration of my love for running. Tim and I planned to do our own training and plan for completing the marathon at about a 4 hour pace. The Chicago Marathon is truly a first class presentation. We registered in the open wave and began with the most crowded race start of any I have done. We crawled over the metal fences to get in the starting gate because there were so many people crammed into the starting corral. It was a little close for comfort, and there were so many people ahead of us that it took about 10 minutes from the gun going off before we actually crossed the official start line. The first 1/3 of the race was difficult. There were thousands of fans. Last year's estimate was that 1.7 million watched the marathon and they predicted there would be more this year. It was very tough for the first 8 miles or so because although I was trying to enjoy the scenery and take in the sights and sounds with Tim, we had to watch our footing so as not to trip over other people's feet. I actually did bump into others a few times and almost tripped over one guy who tried crossing in front of me early in the race. After the first 1/3 of the race, the event became more enjoyable in that you could let your guard down a little and not worry so much about the crowding. The crowds stayed consistently thick through the race. The aid stations were awesome and being a day that started out at about 66 degrees at the race start I consumed 2-3 drinks at each aid station. That equates to well over a gallon of liquid consumed. Who knows how much spilled on me during attempts to drink and also water dumped over my head to cool me during the race. I treated this race as truly a celebration and from the perspective of all the races I have done I tried to relax and take in the whole experience and not worry about time. I loved coming to the corners. Whereas the normal strategy for most runners was to hug the corner so as to minimize the total distance run during the race, I purposely took the outer edge of the corners which added distance but also gave me plenty of opportunities to high five fans without having to compete with other runners for attention from the crowd. Often times I would pump my fists in the air and try signaling for the crowd to cheer for us (not that a lack of cheering was a problem as it certainly was not). This was something that I never get a chance to do. Most races I have done are not approached with this same strategy. I think I got a little carried away at times with stirring up the crowd, but I had a great time doing this. At the end of the race I was the one who ran short of energy and Tim pulled me the final few miles to a finish which was a personal record for Tim. I needed help and motivation to continue on. Perhaps it was the heat that got to me but I felt a little dehydrated the last three miles. At mile 23 I reached a point where I felt if I were to continue pusing the pace we were, that I was not going to do well. I was getting some leg cramping and for a short time felt a little shaky at that same point. I have never felt that during a race before. Tim stayed with me although I know he could have finished stronger than I felt. We were on a sub 4 hour pace through 23 miles, but I was frustrated to see the 4 hour pace group pass us, but I knew that I would not be able to stay with them. I encouraged Tim to go on and finish under 4 hours since he had never done this before, but he finished the same way we started. . .together. Tim finished a second faster than I did and we crossed the line together. My time was 4:03.16. I was 9,345th overall out of 35755 runners, which meant I finished near the top quarter of racers. I was very hapy with that and extremely happy Tim and I were finally able to do a race together. Looking back over the last 100 races, I have been fortunate to have many varied experiences. From finishing almost last in my second race of my life at the Northshore Inline Marathon, I have stepped it up. In the 100 races I have done, I have had been fortunate to find much running success and have developed a passion for this as a lifelong sport. Running continues to motivate me to enjoy pushing myself to the limits and challenging myself personally against the clock. The most important aspect I have found about running is to always try my hardest and feel good with myself no matter what the position or time. It is important for me to remain motivated to push myself and I am blessed with family and friends who support me and help motivate me as well.