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.

Woolly Mammoth Classic

This was the 10th annual Woolly Mammoth event. This year, the organizers decided to mix up the event a little. They no longer held the competitive 5K and 10K runs, which were the main attractions of the event. Instead, the focus was on trying to build up the Nordic Walking event. Being a fan of the Woolly Mammoth event in the past, I wanted to be involved in some way, but I had never done any Nordic walking. I told my wife several weeks before that I was thinking of doing the walk and she thought that I was crazy. She didn't know how I would be interested in doing a walk when I have always did the running event (I should clarify that the organizers did hold a noncompetitive 5K which runners could sign up for and they did not charge for entry, but the number of competitors was rather small). The day before and the morning of I was on YouTube trying to watch videos of Nordic walking to learn about the event, but there is no substitute for practice. I showed up at the start line of the race and looked around and thought "this is it!" I was one of two male Nordic walkers and there were three female walkers. This was by far the smallest race I had ever been in. The other male in the race was named Jeff Koppa of Aniwa, Wisconsin. He had won the race last year and taken second the year before by mere seconds. He also had taken second at the National Nordic Walking Championship race in Oregon (there were about 20 or so people willing to walk 26.2 miles). Jeff had some great experience and as I approached the line one of the females told me that "Jeff is going to whoop your butt!" I guess he must have a following, but I didn't know what to expect. I had only practiced for a few minutes prior to the event. My advantage was that I had a much larger stride than Jeff. Looking at the pictures from the event, the action doesn't unfold in a walking race the same way as it does in a running race. Things in general happen much more slowly. I watched my sole competition closely. I figured I would try to keep pace with Jeff closely to see what his technique was. I figured I would try to learn from one of the best and then try to see how I could hold up. I waited until about two kilometers in and then figured I had seen enough to try going off on my own. I threw in a surge in an attempt try shaking things up and Jeff matched my increase in pace. I waited another couple of minutes and tried again but Jeff matched my attack. By this time we had reached the turn around point and my watch was at 17:30. I was happy because I was still with Jeff which meant I was staying competitive with him. I figured that if my attempts at attacks were unsuccessful so far, I would have to work hard to get him early. I continued throwing attack after attack at Jeff and could not shake this guy. The problem was that every time an attack as thrown, the average pace after the attack was also elevated. It became frustrating and apparent that Jeff didn't want to give up this race. It was like watching Lance Armstrong in the mountain stages of the Tour de France. Everyone else would throw attack after attack at him but he would hang on and match their efforts. I continued throwing attacks more and more regularly trying to shake him with no luck. Finally, at about 0.7 km from the finish, I threw in a surge which Jeff couldn't match. However, the problem was now I had to keep this elevated pace up as if I tired Jeff would be able to pass me for the victory. I knew he wouldn't be far behind. My focus remained on maintaining composure and my newly learned technique while not giving Jeff the chance to catch up. This surge must have come after Jeff had been weakened as I built a gap on Jeff which held up. I was able to cross the line in 32:41 versus Jeff's 33:51. I threw the hammer down in the surge and got a huge gap on Jeff. Afterward, I talked with Jeff and he told me knew he wouldn't catch me after the final surge so he let off his pace and just figured he would be more relaxed on his final few minutes in. So I brought home the trophy for first place in the state of Wisconsin. My wife and her mother were home when I got back and I am not sure if they were impressed by my victory or not. I think my wife was thinking something to the effect of "all right, you placed first out of two people in a walking contest. Real impressive Jon." I am not sure her real thoughts on this race, but I told her that the race organizers wanted to send me to Oregon to the National race in Oregon in a few weeks. It is a common joke among us that any race that sends us a race reminder in the mail is interpretted in my mind as a recruiting attempt. I will tell my wife that a race that sends out race information to us is working to recruit us, so I always talk this up saying "look Angela, they are trying to recruit me for the race." Here again she probably agrees to comfort me and not offend me. Oh well. I'll take advantage of this boost of confidence.

Spooner Jack Pine Savage Run

No pictures available to report on the run here. The only thing I can say about this race was it was amazing so many people showed up on such a hot day for this race. My wife and I were confused as to the actual location of the run. Usually I like to get to a race with plenty of time to spare. Not in this case. We arrived at the school for the start of the race just in time to register. . . and that's about it. We pulled in to the parking lot at 7 minutes to race time. Oh, I had enough time to use the bathroom prior to the start. When I left the bathroom, I heard the race organizer announce for everyone to move to the start for the announcements of the race route. Then the gun went off and all of us crazy runners were released to run through the searing streets of Spooner. On a day like this, we worried about keeping our daughter out too long because it was too hot. I was sweating bullets upon the completion of the run. The nice advantage of the school allowed runners to shower afterwards in the school locker rooms if they chose to. Usually I wouldn't complain about a hot shower, but that is the only temperature the shower could be adjusted to. There was no cool setting. If you have ever showered in your house on such a hot and humid day and then left the shower and dried off and within minutes you felt just as sweaty and grose as before your run, that's what I felt like after my first hot shower. I told Angela that I was going to jump back in the shower. I went for round two. No offense, but after a hard workout and massive sweating, a cool shower is sometimes a wonderful thing to help cool off. I finished in 32:35, which was only 15 seconds from my PR for this distance. Given the hot temperatures and lack of a warm up, I was pretty happy with my finish. I was fourth overall and first in my age group. The winner of the race won for the 8th consecutive time. After the race, my wife and daughter and I went to the car and I placed my medal on the top of the car and put Kaia in the car seat before leaving. We then left and drove a mile away to the craft show downtown. Then I wondered where I had placed the medal. I realized it was on the top of the car and had not moved from where I had put it.

RCU Charity Classic 2011

The RCU Charity Classic provided a first for my wife and I. We had completed an inline marathon together several years ago. However, we had never run a race together. I decided that it would be fun to run the race with Angela. We ran side by side and I pushed our beautiful daughter in our running stroller. We had a great time. Angela kept up a wonderful pace and we completed the race together. My time was 59:18 (239 out of 441). Angela finished a place and a second ahead of me. I think this might have been a record for her in the 10K and I was there to be there with her for it. Kaia just had a blast on the run and had the easiest time with the run. I love outfitting the stroller with a race number. It is so fun to have Kaia be such an active member of the race. I am not sure where she finished in the stroller division (there really isn't a stroller division), but she was tops in my eyes. It was another hot day for the RCU Charity Classic. After finishing, I decided to do subject myself to round two in the two mile race. Angela snapped a couple of great pictures during this race, including one of me looking back at the next closest runner on the bridge in the final seconds of the race. Perhaps this gave me some encouragement in the final seconds of the race to pass another runner or two. I finished in 12:04 (12th out of 310 and 3rd in my age group to medal on this hot morning). Angela snapped a few pictures of me as I found a sprinkler to cool off in the moments after finishing the race.