Halloween Hustle 5K ... My Son's First Race!!!

Gage & me ... yeah, we kinda look alike!

Halloween Hustle 5K
Unity Village
Lees Summit, Missouri
October 29, 2011
Time: 33:06 (course was 3.4 miles)
Place: Gage won Second Place 20-24AG

• My son's first race ever ... awesome time running with him
• Michael dressed in "Running On Empty" costume
• Chilly 35 degree start to beautiful day
• Post-race pancakes
• Awesome finisher medal for 5K
• Gage's son, girlfriend, and her family came to watch
• Mile 3 of the race was my 2,500th of the year

World Famous Pre-race Dance
 Michael as "Running On Empty" , or is she ...
FLAVA-FLAAAAVVVV!!!

Wow .. what a fun morning in Lee's Summit, Missouri!!! We ran the 2011 Halloween Hustle 5K and had a blast.  And besides just having an awesome time, I got to check off two of my Lifetime Running Goals in one morning.  Mile 3 of the race was exactly my 2,500th of the year ... a goal of mine for sometime now.  But most importantly ... I RAN A RACE WITH MY SON!!!  And that's something I thought would never happen.

We woke up early as usual. Got dressed.  Ate a little something. And y'all know what came next ... The World Famous Michael & Jim PRE-RACE DANCE PARTY!!!  "Michael's sexy and she knows it ... wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!"

After that, Gage's son Ryder and his mom met us at the house and we all headed out for Unity Village in Lees Summit, MO.  It was a little chilly - about 35 degrees with an 8mph breeze, so we were bundled up a little for the first time this Fall.  Michael wanted to get there early because she was going to enter in the costume contest, which they ended up having after the race.  She dressed as "Running On Empty" ... which we thought was pretty creative.  But she kinda got a lot of blank stares.  I'm not sure people got it.  I thought she just looked like sexy runner girl!!!  And even though Halloween is TOTALLY NOT MY THING ... there actually were quite a few great costumes.  My favorite was Captain Crunch.

Two knuckleheads at the starting line,
Totally NOT posing like they were talking!

Gage is not a runner.  I think as preparation for this race he ran a total of two miles. But don't get me wrong, he is a really good athlete.  He's played A LOT of baseball, roller hockey, and football back in the day.  But lately with work, a baby, and "grown-up" life things, a lot of the athletics have passed by the wayside.  Plus, he's never really been much into "just running".  But I think after seeing his sister, who is not a natural athlete, do so well this year with running, he wanted to give it a shot.  Also, I think he ran partly for me.  And even though I've tried really hard not to "push" my kids in sports, it really meant a lot that he would do this with me.  Really cool!

The race was sponsored and organized by Bodies Personal Training, a personal training gym in Lee's Summit featuring various physical training disciplines.  They had a really seamless sign-up and packet pick-up at their gym a couple of days before the race.  And the pre-race and post race activities were really GREAT!!!  They had a DJ with music, a bunch of games and a blow-up bouncy house for kids, a pancake breakfast at the finish, a finisher medal, Halloween Costume Contest, some local vendors and a massage table!  Plus, we got a very nice short sleeve technical t-shirt!  Really awesome SWAG and activities for such a small local 5K race.

GO POPS!!! I'll be waiting here with these Cheerios!

There were only a couple of things that could be improved a little.  And to be fair, small races like this one many times simply just don't have the manpower or volunteers for all the little things required for a race ... and they do the best they can.  While all of the peripheral things about the race were GREAT, the race itself was a little long ... my Garmin read 3.4 at the end.  Plus, it was a two loop course for the 5K and four loops for the 10K.  At the half -mile out & back portion of the race, fast, slow, 5 & 10K runners were running into each other.  But those were really the only two thingsr that stuck out as "needing attention".  All-in-all it was a good event!

It was actually not a great day for Gage to be running a 5K.  He was moving into a new house on Saturday and had a lot going on.  But he had already signed up for the race, so he honored his commitment and ran anyway.  I really tried to make him take it easy with the pace. (as much as you can "make" a 21 year-old do anything I suppose)  I just didn't want him to run too fast and be totally dead the rest of the day for his move.  Plus, I honestly wasn't sure he could even run a full 3.1 miles since he hadn't trained at all.  In fact, he told me near the end of the race that he had a bet with a co-worker about being able to run the whole thing without stopping.  I think it was $10.

Michael & me

We started pretty slow ... on purpose.  And as we warmed up a little, he told  me he felt fine, but we didn't speed up.  There was only one little hill in this race, a half-mile 50 footer.  But to someone who never runs, it looked like a mountain.  We had been talking a little throughout the race, but a this point he got really quiet and later told me that he thought about walking at that point.  But he didn't.  He kept running the whole time.  He told me with about a quarter-mile left in the race that he was going to win his bet with his buddy about not stopping.  And at that point he began to run a lot faster.  I know with even a little training, he could have been fairly fast for a 5K.  The kid is a good athlete!  As he crossed the finish line, his time was 33:06.  And he hadn't walked at all!

Gage suckin' a little wind at the finish line

After the race, we met up with my grandson Ryder, who was waiting with Cheerios, collected our medals, and watched for Michael and Gage's girlfriend's brother who ran the 10K.  They both ran good races.  I think Michael even set another PR for 3.1 ... although her official time was not a PR since the course was a little long.  We all then headed over for some post-race pancakes.  As we were standing in the pancake line, the PA announcer who was reading the results said "In the 20-24 Age Group ... Second Place ... Gage Weatherly!"  Everyone kinda looked at each other like "What did he just say???"  And then Gage was like, "I just heard my name ...YESSS!!!"  He got Second Place in his age group at his first race, and even got a Second Place medal.  He was pretty proud!  He was laughing about it saying that the guy at work was gonna owe him a 50-spot for that!  He even called his sister ... who of course was also proud of her big brother!

Unity Village in Lees Summit is about eight miles from my house.  So after the race I ran home to give me an even 11 miles for the day, with a 20 miler scheduled on Sunday.  The last mile of the race had been exactly my 2,500th of the year.  I was pretty excited about that too, since it was one of my long term running goals.  I'll probably hit 3,000 by year's end, but 2,500 is a one year record for me.  And even though it really doesn't mean anything other than I stayed healthy all year, I thought it was pretty cool!

But the biggest and coolest thing I got to check off of my career "To Do" list is running a race with my son.  It was really awesome!  And at the end of the day, it was really more about just hanging out together.  Neither one of us are ever going to set any land speed records.  But over the past few years, he's been a lot busier with his life and we really don't have much time to do stuff like this anymore - so it was simply awesome!  To be honest, I was really surprised that he made it the whole 3.1 miles without walking.  I was really proud of him ... and I know he was proud of himself.  It was a great day ... hopefully we can do it again sometime!
...be great today!

Cerner Kansas City 15K Race Report

Michael & me at the Inaugural Cerner Kansas City 15K

Cerner Kansas City 15K
Kansas City, Kansas
September 24, 2011
Time: 1:04:14, 6:54/mile
Finish: 36th out of 975
Place: 1st Place - Male 40-44

• Felt strong & healthy after marathon 13 days before
• Mile 9 of this race was 65th training mile this week
• First 15K race ... so Yee-Ha ... new PR!!!
• Very encouraging 4th Age Group win of the year
• Got to run the race with Michael ... AWESOME!!!
• Michael had her best running day ever ... which was way better than anything I was lucky enough to do!!!
• Double cheeseburger, fries, & Dr. Pepper for pre-race meal???  Yes please!!!
• Race finished in LiveStrong Sporting Park - home of the MLS Sporting Kansas City Soccer Club

What an unbelievable Saturday morning in Kansas City!!!  Michael and I ran the first ever Cerner Kansas City 15K, and it could not have been more beautiful ... 52 degrees, sunny, no wind ... perfect!!!

The race was held near the Legends Shopping Center in Kansas City, Kansas, which is adjacent to NASCAR's Kansas Speedway & also LiveStrong Sporting Park, the home of Major League Soccer's Sporting Kansas City - KC's pro soccer club.  The race also finished on the floor of the stadium which was really cool.  I'm  not a big soccer fan, but this stadium, which is only about a year old, is unbelievable ... so beautiful!!!

It was also the first time either of us had ran a 15K race (9.35 miles), which was sponsored by Cerner, a Kansas City based international health care information technology corporation.  It seemed like the perfect race for both of us since I typically run about 10-12 miles per day with the exception of long runs on the weekend, and Michael was about at the 9-10 mile point in her marathon training.

Inside the Sporting Kansas City Stadium

However, the weekend didn't start great for me.  All day on Friday, and most of the week, I had some pain in my right ankle - enough that I started to wonder if it would affect the race on Saturday. I really thought that I was beginning to see some of the wear & tear from pushing myself a little too hard during my training.  And it kinda got me a little down.  I was bummed because I had looked forward to this KC 15K for a while and really wanted to finish under 1 hour.  But as the race got closer, my body just wasn't up to it.  So on Friday night for my pre-race meal ... I said "screw-it" and had a double cheeseburger, waffle fries, and a Dr. Pepper from BackYard Burger.  I followed that up with a Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich, and cookies at home. Great thinking from this idiot!!! I mean that's the universal pre-game meal of champions right?

Michael & me ... yes I wore my Boston tech-tee as a
warm-up again, I earned it ... sue me!

I decided to just "wait & see" how it felt on Saturday morning.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to run my fastest race, but if I didn't have any pain while running - I would just turn it into a "quicker than average paced" Tempo Training Run. But on Saturday morning, there was still a little pain and I told Michael before we left home that I wasn't going to kill myself with this race.  My legs just didn't feel race ready - which I guess was understandable since I just ran my 3rd fastest marathon 13 days ago, and I had ran 56 miles so far this week.  The bigger goal was back-to-back  marathons in three weeks and I didn't want to injure myself before those.  So I would "dial it down a notch or two" today.

When we arrived at the LiveStrong Sporting Park, my stomach was already churning a little.  It "might" have been all the crap I ate the night before, but I can't be 100% certain about that.  After visiting the outdoor potties, I was ready to go!  I noticed from walking around that my ankle was beginning to loosen up quite bit, but I still had every intention of slowing it down a little today.  There was no need to run this race like a fool and mess something up for a few weeks down the road.

It was perfect running weather, and when the race started, my legs actually felt better than anticipated, with a little bounce and not quite as dead as they were at home.  During the first few miles, I really held myself back quite a bit, trying not to get too wrapped in race adrenaline ... but it was tough.  Every few steps, people were flying by me on both sides.  This race was a little hilly - but not a killer ... just a lot of long gradual rolling hills that took a little focus.  Throughout the race, I felt smooth and fluent and never really had any pain except for my right hip ... which came out of nowhere???  That went away though.  Thankfully my right ankle, which was a nuisance earlier in the week, was not an issue at all.

2011 Cerner Kansas City 15K Elevation ... Total Elevation Gain 450'

Jack really wanted to run with us

About six miles in, I felt GREAT!!!  I seemed to be passing quite a few people as my pace picked up a little... and most of them were really laboring on the hills.  Fortunately I wasn't having too much trouble.  And I started really feeling like I was running a decent race - even though it wasn't a MAX effort.  I had crossed the starting line earlier knowing that there was NO WAY I would place in my age group - but as I gradually picked off runners, I started trying to remember how many "older guys" I had seen in front of me.  At mile 8, I came across one of the last guys my age - but he was running pretty fast.  At that point my competitive juices finally really kicked in and I sped up a little and was able to pass him at about 8.5 ... turns out he was 40 and finished right behind me in our age group.

The only time I really pushed it a little was during the last 1.35 miles.  I ran mile 9 at about 6:20, and the last .35 mile at 5:58 ... but really felt fine at that pace.  The only problem was my stomach was really churning from my genius sabotage plan the night before with the burger and fries.

As I crossed the finish line I was very satisfied with my run.  I hadn't killed myself.  I had held back a little.  And I didn't feel like I had over-stressed anything at all!  All in all it was a success, but I knew there was no way I placed in my age group based on my effort, which was fine!

Finisher Glass & the awesome Age Group Medal

After getting a really cool pint glass for completing the race, I rounded up some water, an orange, and a bagel and waited for Michael to cross the finish line.  I also stopped by the results table to find out if my Garmin matched their results.  When I got the results, sure enough, they both said 1:04:14 ... but the printed out sheet they gave me also indicated I was third in the 40-44 Age Group ... I was friggin' thrilled!!!  I had actually placed!!!

After Michael finished, we waited around for the Awards Ceremony to get my "bronze medal".  The race official announced the third place winner ... it wasn't me.  "That's odd", I thought.  He then announced the second place finisher ... it wasn't me.  In fact, it was the 40 year old I had passed at mile 8.5.  Michael then looked at me and said, "That means you won!!!"  And sure enough ... the race guy then said, "First Place ... from Lees Summit, Missouri ... Jim Weatherly!!!"   I was shocked ... but it was awesome!!!  Turns out the results table was wrong and I had actually won my age group.  It was an awesome surprise!

Now, I'm not naive enough to think I'm a super-fast runner or anything - I just I was lucky that there weren't a lot of super-fast people in my age group.  But it was pretty cool getting first place, even it was pretty lucky.  And out of the other races this year that I have been fortunate enough to win my age group - I think this one was the most satisfying.  I had stayed withing myself and ran my game plan, and for some strange reason was fast enough on Saturday.

Michael's Day

I was a surprised dork on stage (I wasn't snubbing her)

I won't reveal too much about Michael's run today ... you can read the full story on her blog, Slowly Tri-Ing ... but I can tell you that she's never ran better than she did today!!!

I was so unbelievably proud of her ... and her day overshadowed anything success I was fortunate enough to experience.  She ran like a champion and set not one ... not two ... but three PR's in the same race!  Amazing!!!

After I finished I sat in the stands waiting for her with an approximate time of when I thought she would finish.  I was just chillin' when all of the sudden, here comes Michael into the stadium ... ABOUT 10 MINUTES SOONER THAN I EXPECTED HER!!!

I  quickly fumbled for my camera and I got a really grainy picture of her crossing the finish line, but it wasn't great since it was from my iPhone from a long ways away ... but you can definitely tell it's her.  After the race I couldn't stop telling her how proud I was of her.  She of course asked how I did and I told her, okay ... but I couldn't contain my excitement for her.  She has worked so hard and fought through some injuries to do what she did today ... and it was really her day!!!  I couldn't be prouder!!!

Michael with her finishers glass ... and a huge smile!!!

These past few years, I've been very blessed to experience some great fun, and a little success along the way with running.  It has brought me a lot of joy and became a huge part of my life.  And it's taken my family and I all over the country just doing what we love.  But from start to finish, few days compare to this one.  It was amazing!  Watching Michael cross the finish line as fast as she did was so awesome.  She was literally beaming, and had a smile and bounce in her step I could see all the way from seat in the stands.

It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen, but when she crossed the finish line, she threw her hands in the air, and just kept running for about 50 more yards ... like she had energy to burn.  SHE DIDN'T STOP!!!  Everyone else was bent over tugging their shorts or walking slowly with their hands on their hips ... but this girl still had a bounce in her step!!!  Just smiling, laughing, and enjoying her greatest running moment ever!

We spent the rest of the day just enjoying our time together and shared little details about our race with each other.  Frankly, I couldn't care less if we talked about my race at all ... I was just happy to hear all about hers.





As we drove home from the race, we were both a little tired.  I was obviously very thrilled with the race I had run ... but more importantly, it was one more day of doing what I enjoy with the love of my life ... and that's tough to beat! She had worked so hard and was so proud.  And it was so amazing to see the rewards of her training ... and she earned her 3 PR's on Saturday!  I'm so proud of you baby!  It's funny, I hadn't really gone into Saturday thinking this would be such a wonderful day, but it will be one we both will remember forever.  The weather was perfect!  I was with my beautiful wife!  And we were fortunate enough to spend some time together doing what we love.  Today was a great day!  Hope yours was too!
... be great today!

Sioux Falls Performance Review

Sioux Falls Marathon 

September 11, 2011

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

13th Marathon Completed

Official Time: 3:21:15

Avg Pace: 7:41

Avg HR: 168

Finish: Overall 40th out of 354, 5th out of 45 40-44 Age Group

Weather: Starting Line - 62 degrees, 88% humidity, 3mph wind ...
Finish Line - 78 degrees

Comments: Good run, 3rd fastest marathon to date ... a little disappointed, really planned on a PR

Garmin Connect Link:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/113815167

Overview
I went into this marathon not just hoping, but planning to PR.  I had trained pretty hard all summer and was looking forward to a nice cool & fairly flat marathon to set my personal record at.  In fact I was so confident, that I announced on a blog post two days before the run ... "PR WILL HAPPEN"!  But I missed that projection by about 40 seconds.  I ran a good race, just not as fast or strong as I had hoped to run ... all in all, it was a good run and my 3rd fastest marathon to date.

Race Weight, Nutrition, & Conditioning
I felt fairly fit for this race, but not in the best shape I had ever been.  Lately my upper body workouts had went away almost completely, but my legs were strong and healthy. I had been running twice a day, two days a week and mixing in evening leg workouts two days a week.  Plus, on weekends, I had mixed in several back to back long runs to prep for my up coming back to back marathons in October.  Plus, with the heat of summer, I had tried to maintain a fast pace, pushing through the heat and humidity.  So overall, my legs felt strong and ready.

My race day weight was about 177 or 178 which is fine, but really about 5 pounds heavier than I want to be for running a fast race.  And recently, my diet had been marginal at best.  It seems like I had combined one or two good days of nutrition with a bad one - but not disastrous.  I just could have been a lot better. 

As far as ab & core work goes, I had been fine, with about 400 crunches/week with 24 min of total planks and about 300 push ups.  But those had been really sporadic, and not consistent like in the past.  But overall, I felt good as far as my core goes.

Pre-Race
I drove to Sioux Falls on Saturday morning and arrived at packet pick-up at about noon.  It was a pretty small event with no Expo, so I was in and out in just a few minutes.  I usually drive the course at this point, but with most of the course being a closed bike path, I knew that was not possible.  So I went to see a movie, "The Debt" ... which was pretty relaxing.  After that, I just went back to the room and relaxed and felt fresh and ready.

I ate Subway for lunch and Johnny Carinos Italian for dinner ... and that's about it.  I didn't want to have too much on my stomach, trying to eliminate stomach problems.  The Italian was really garlicy which kind of upset my stomach during the evening, so I'll probably stay away from garlic the night before a race.  Other than that though, I felt fine.

Race & Pace
This race was billed as a "relatively flat" course, which I would agree with completely.  There were no monster hills and MANY long flat straight miles.  However, there were a few more hills in total than I had really planned on, but they really didn't slow me down until the end a little.

The hills at the start of the race seemed to be a little more "up & down'ish" than I thought they would be, but nothing that was killer.  And the little climb at 18 kinda got to me a little, but after 21 is was pretty flat.  My quads were a little sorer the next day than I thought they would be.  I hammered the down hills pretty hard, which is why.

It was a little warmer than I had planned on, but nothing deadly.  It was about 62 degrees, with 88% humidity at the starting line, which felt great for walking around, but I noticed I was sweating a little too much, a little too soon into the race.  I think it was about 78 degrees at the end of the race, which is getting warm for a marathon. I really felt the heat hit me toward the end, but with what I had trained in all summer, it shouldn't have mattered.

I felt great the first couple of miles, with a ton of energy, really struggling to keep my pace down.  I ran the first 3 miles about 10 seconds faster each than I had planned, but that wasn't earth shattering.  I felt good, and my Heart Rate was in the high 140's to low 150's.  I really felt strong, like I could accelerate at any minute.

At about mile 6 I started in on my 7:30's.  They felt smooth and easy, and like I was still really struggling to keep my pace down.  I was ready for mile 10 when I was going to settle into my 7:20 pace.

For most races, I start really slow and then play catch up the whole time - a strategy that has worked well for me.  But I'm really thinking about modifying that a little, I think I might be leaving too much time on the clock to make up early in the race.

As I kept glancing down at my Garmin during these miles, I was running anywhere from 7:05 - 7:07.  I think I burned a little too much energy during this part of the race.  The overall pace for each mile being around 7:15 was fine, however I think if I would have kept the pace a little smoother, I would saved some energy for late in the race.

I had planned on starting 7:30's again at mile 20, but I was starting to really lose a lot of fluid and my pace began to slip a little.  I didn't walk, except for one water stop where I took a gel, and twice during the last two mile, but it was really tough to keep the pace.  When I would speed up, I noticed my heart rate jumping to mid 180's.  And anytime lately when I'm over 180, I seem to notice some stomach problems, so I would slow down to get my stomach under control so we didn't have an accident on our hands.  But truly, my legs still felt fairly strong, I think the deficiency was in my conditioning.

Motivation
At about mile 24, I started realizing that if I pushed really hard I might still be able to get a PR and another BQ.  And honestly, if I had never BQ'd before, I probably had it in me.  But with my upcoming back-to-back  marathons in about a month, and with no desire to BQ just for the sake of doing it again, I really fought with motivation.  Speaking of motivation, this has become a problem for me as of late.  I am still 100% motivated to complete all of my marathons.  And I still have PLENTY of shorter race speed goals to accomplish.  But at the end of races, I start asking myself "How important is a few more seconds?"  And that's when I dial it down a little.  I don't quit ... I NEVER QUIT!  But I really seem to lose a little interest in finishing fast when the pain in my gut hits me.  It's something I need to address and focus on a little more and decide just how important a PR is when I start a race.  I can't be something I just breeze through and don't have to work for.

At about 25.5 I still an outside shot at a PR, but I when you are that close, the clock really plays games with your mind.  You start to calculate over and over again just how fast you have to run to make it happen.  I thought I had it figure out.  And when I could see the finish line, I was about 1 minute under my PR, so I started to "sprint" giving everything I had left.  Problem ... the finish line was almost 2 minutes away.  But I finished strong.

I finished at 3:21:15 ... still a very good race for me, but not what I had set out to do.  But I was completely fine with that.  The bigger goal was my back-to-back marathons in October and I felt like I had run a pretty good race.

Summary
I had to go immediately to my car, shower, and get on the road back to KC as quick as possible.  I think I was on the road about 45 minutes after I crossed the finish line.  And as with all races, I examined my pace splits on the way home on my Garmin.  Could I have ran a little faster?  Did the higher temps & more hills than I anticipated play a role?  Maybe, but I will never blame course conditions on not meeting my goal.  I know I ran well that day and was not ashamed of my performance at all.  I had to "eat a little crow" after predicting a PR, but other than that ... I was a good race.

Sioux Falls Marathon Review

Falls Park (photo from www.siouxfallsparks.org)

2011 Sioux Falls Marathon
September 11, 2011
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
13th Marathon Completed
Overall Rating ... 2 out of 5


Spoiler Alert...

• Very small race ... 358 runners
• No race expo
• Sioux Falls very small, friendly, and easy to navigate
• Fairly easy, but very non-scenic course
• Almost no participation or support from local residents, but great volunteers
• Great starting area, with convenient shuttle service
• A little warm for a marathon ... 62 degrees w/90% humidity at start & almost 80 degrees at the finish
• Wonderful tribute to the 10 year anniversary of September 11, 2001 before the race
• Didn't run my planned ... and predicted PR race, but had fun!

Finisher Medal ...

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Located in the extreme Southeastern corner of the state, near the Northwestern tip of Iowa & the Southwestern corner of Minnesota, Sioux Falls is a small mid-western town with a proud Native American history.  It is the largest South Dakota city at about 150,000 people, and is famous for the falls that cascade from the Big Sioux River.  They are brilliantly on display in Falls Park on the North side of town.  It is also home to various Universities including The University of Sioux Falls and Augustana College.

Sioux Falls is very easy to navigate with clearly numbered east-west running streets, with named streets running north & south like many Northwestern cities.  Interstate Highway 90 runs directly North of the city, with Interstate 29 directly adjacent on the West side.  .

At first glance it appears that Sioux Falls is a highly industrial city with various quarrying and agricultural plants evident.  However, some of the cities largest employers are from the health care and financial industry with Sanford Health, Avera Health, John Morrell & Co, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup leading the way.

Local entertainment at one of the festivals in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota

The downtown area of Sioux Falls is a clean, small city environment.  While I was in town there were a couple of festivals going on ... both a Latin American Festival on the streets of Sioux Falls, and German Festival being held in beautiful Falls Park.  There were wonderful local vendors and various live entertainment which is always fun to watch.

Packet Pick-Up

Packet pick-up at Scheels All Sports

This was only the second year of the Sioux Falls Marathon, with only about 350 runners.  Thus, there was no Race Expo like you find at most big races ... but it wasn't really a big deal to me.  Most of the Race Expos are very similar with the same vendors and guest speakers.  At times you'll find new gear or some new gadget that is worth looking at and demo'ing, but mostly it's just table after table of cheap sunglasses, head-bands, nutrition bars, and discounted running apparel.  It was kind of nice not wading through tons of people. 

Packet pick-up was held at Scheels All Sports, which is my favorite big chain sporting goods store.  It was simple, quick, and effective.  The race organizers were very friendly with a couple of tables arranged in the center isle of Scheels.  You basically walked in, gave them your number, and then they gave you a race shirt, bib number, and timing chip.  No long lines.  No confusion.  Just quick and simple.  It almost had the feel of a small local 5K packet pick-up with just a few workers volunteering at a table top.

I couldn't help but think it was a pretty smart move by Scheels hosting the event.  There were only about 350 marathoners, but there were another 1,700 half-marathoners and 5k'ers.  Most of these people had probably been in Scheels before, but to have a 2,000 customer shot-in-the-arm probably brought in a lot of business on the Saturday before the race.  I'm a little surprised more businesses and sporting good stores don't do this before races.

This was the only S.W.A.G. handed out for marathoners - but it's one of the better technical tee's I've received for a race

Lodging & Meals

As usual, I stayed at the Hampton Inn while at the Sioux Falls Marathon.  I travel for my job so it's basically my home away from home.  I'm used to their excellent service and the room is always the same, so I know what to expect.  This Hampton was fairly new and was right next to the movie theater and several nice restaurants.

The afternoon before the race, I killed some time and saw "The Debt", which was pretty good.  After that I grabbed my pre-race pasta meal at John Carino's Italian.  I ate bow tie chicken pasta in a very "garlicy" sauce.  After that I went back to my room and began getting everything ready for the race.

It was the night before the 10 Anniversary of the 9/11 Tragedy.  So I spent the evening watching special news coverage, and an NBC rebroadcast of the September 11, 2001 morning news show.  I have to tell you - it was just like it happened yesterday.  Being a Midwesterner, my family and I were pretty insulated from the events of that morning ... at least in a physical sense.  But the lasting effects of how it altered all of our lives forever were brought back to the forefront and it was very emotional.  And I'm not too manly to tell you that I teared up a couple of times while watching.  It's amazing how much the world has changed since that day.

Race & Course

The race started at 6:45 am at Howard Wood Field, the sports complex for the Sioux Falls Public Schools.  I arrived at about 5:45 am and pulled up in a parking space about 30 feet from the front gate ... AWESOME!!!  There were only about 25 other people there at that time ... an HOUR BEFORE THE RACE!!!   Even though I prefer bigger races for the excitement and "pageantry" of it all, it was so cool to be able to sit in my car with all my stuff and just play Angry Birds to kill time while I waited for the race to start.  I noticed on my car temperature gauge that it was already 62 degrees.  This was about 10 degrees warmer than what had been forecasted about a week earlier ... but hey, that wasn't going to stop me!  I came to Sioux Falls to PR, and PR I was going to do!

In honoring the memory of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the race coordinators played some patriotic music while runners were arriving.  I was still a little emotional from watching the coverage the night before, but while I was stretching on the track, they played Ray Charles singing "America The Beautiful", which always gets me anyway.  I immediately was overcome again as a few tears streamed down my face.  But as I looked around, there were a few other runners struggling to keep their composure as well. 

As you approached the starting line, you could see a small replica of the Statue of Liberty holding a real flame.  And retired New York City Police Officer, William Dement was on hand as the official starter and also to share a few words.  Even though it was a small marathon, the organizers did a wonderful job of honoring the memory of 9/11/2001. 

Something that got a little confusing before the race started, was an instruction the PA announcer kept repeating.  About 10 minutes before the start of the race, he began saying "All runners must have an ankle bracelet to compete".  This was strange, because this was the first I'd heard about an ankle bracelet ... I mean, I had my timing chip, what more did I need.  Then he repeated, "ALL runners MUST have an ankle bracelet to compete".  I panicked a little since I had no idea what he was talking about.

I scrambled around and found a lady with a race badge by the gear check table and asked her what this was about.  She was very nice, but I could tell that she had answered the same question about 50 times, "That's a mistake, I'm calling him right now ... the ankle bracelets are for relay runners only".  Whew, that was a relief!  It was obviously a simple miscommunication.  But now there was only 5 minutes until the gun.  So I made my way over to the starting area.

At the sound of the gun, runners made their way around half of the track and then out to the parking lot of the stadium.  Since we started on a track, I think most of the runners I was grouped with thought it was a track meet.  They started very very fast!  I soon slowed my pace down and settled in to enjoy the sights and sounds of Sioux Falls.

A dork before the race on the football field,
yes, I'm wearing my Boston Marathon t-shirt
as a warm-up!  Get off me, I earned it!!!

In fairness to the race directors of the marathon and the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota ... you have to play the hand you're dealt!  When you are geographically a small town, there are simply not a lot of interesting things to pass by in a race.  I know the race directors undoubtedly did everything they could to create the best course possible, but to be honest, the race course was one of the least interesting I have ever ran.  Frankly, it was pretty lonely and boring.   I absolutely do not say that to disparage this wonderful city or the race directors in any way in any way.  But until the last few miles, it was  just a visually non-stimulating course.

The first few miles took runners on the West side of Interstate 29 through the outskirts of town.  We ran along the highway embankments by farm implement stores and some other small isolated business.  The most interesting part of this portion of the course was watching a beautiful sun rise.  It was amazing!  After that, runners made their way onto the Big Sioux River Levee.  The top of the flood retaining walls were paved with a 8-10 feet wide bike trail which we ran for miles and miles. I think the bike course was closed for the day, but as expected, there was the occasional passing biker that zoomed by runners.  Most were courteous, but a few refused to yield in any way and I'd be really surprised if there wasn't an accident somewhere along the course ... some of those riders were really close, going really fast.

Mentally, the bike trail portion of the race was really tough for me.  I just couldn't stay focused.  Unfortunately, I need people or interesting landscapes to hold my attention in a marathon, but for most of the trail, the only view were corn fields on the left and a small, still river on the right.  I wouldn't call this course "hilly" at all, but it was definitely a little "hillier" than I thought it would be.  But at this point my pace was great and I felt really good.

The unpaved levee trails along the Big Sioux River
(the marathon course trails was paved,
but this is exactly how it looked)

As we made our way back into town past the train tracks, UPS Distribution Center, and local airport we started approaching homes and some of the landmark sites of Sioux Falls.  What really struck me as we ran through a couple of neighborhoods was there was almost no one out on the streets in front of their houses like you find in most marathons.  It was like the whole town didn't know there was a race going on.  The volunteers were great though!  They were very supportive and always cheered you on as you ran by!  Speaking of volunteers, the local police officers (who hopefully didn't have to volunteer and were on overtime) were AWESOME!  They did an incredible job with traffic and there were no runner v. car incidents that I saw.  My hat is off to them and the wonderful volunteers who did everything they could to make the race a success!

The last few miles of the race were by far the best.  Although there were still no cheering crowds or supporters other than those who volunteered for the race, runners did get to see some of the beautiful sights of Sioux Falls.  My favorite of course was Falls Park, where we ran past the beautiful waterfalls that this city is know for.  Unfortunately at this point though, I had felt the temperature begin to rise and my pace was beginning to slow little.  I was really fighting it from about mile 18 until the finish.

Balls

In the last few miles, I think around 21 or 22, I do remember a giant replica statue of Michelangelo's "David" by Augustana College.  As I ran past the water stop that was directly adjacent to the statue, I said to the group of volunteers "Hey, that guy's balls are showing!"  I think the water stop might have been sponsored by a church or something, because a few people snickered, but for the most part I was met with eye rolls and daggers.  I'm sorry if I offended anyone ... please keep in mind that I couldn't feel my lower extremities at that point and I was probably a little delirious.  I thought it was funny though!

As I approached the final two miles, I glanced at my watch.  I knew I had to run the last 2.5 miles under 8:00 to PR, so I began to push it.  But I worried as my heart rate began to climb to about 187 bpm.  Anytime I get over 180, I really feel it in my gut.  And more than any other sensation, I feel like I need to pull over at a port-o-pottie, or tree!  So I slowed a little to lower my heart rate ... I never wanna be "that guy"!  At 25.5 I knew I was close to a PR, but I just didn't have enough gas in the tank.  I began sprinting when I saw the finish line, but I came up about 40 seconds short of my personal best.  Also, I was about 15 seconds short of another BQ. 

In the finish area, as I looked at how close I had come to a PR, I was obviously a little disappointed, but not devastated.  I mean, I had "guaranteed" a PR publicly a few days before, but I had come up a little short.  But I can tell you that I didn't give up and ran with everything I had that day ... I was just a little slower than I needed to be.  And that was okay!  It was my third fastest marathon to date ... and believe me when I tell you ... I will set a new marathon PR!

Nice finish line area

I had a long trip back to Kansas City, so I quickly gathered a bottle of water, a banana, and began looking for the buses that were supposed to take us back to the starting line to our cars.  They were right on time and very convenient!  I hurried back to my hotel, showered, and got in my car for an 8 hour drive back to KC.  I think I was on the road literally about 45 minutes after I completed the race ... and I don't recommend it!   I stopped several times along the way to stretch, but my legs got pretty stiff on the way home.  I ran out some of the lactic acid build up the next morning with a 6 mile run.  After that they were fine!

Summary
I try very hard to never "run down" a race in way.  I know the race directors work incredibly hard for a long time to make their race a success.  The last thing they need is some jerk on a blog somewhere putting down all of their efforts and labor.  That being said, this probably ranks last on my marathon experiences so far.  But it's mostly because of the course. It wasn't a bad experience by any means, it just wasn't my favorite.  There were a few minor adjustments that the race officials could make to improve the race, but overall, it was an enjoyable experience.  The people of South Dakota were very friendly and I'm thankful for the time I spent there!  It was a great day, and wonderful way to spend time thinking about 9/11/2001 and how blessed I am to live in this wonderful country with a wonderful family.
... be great today!

Kansas City Royals 5K Report

3rd Annual Kansas City Royals 5K

Kansas City, Missouri
August 28, 2011
Time: 19:09
Finish: 13th out of 1479
Place: 1st Place ... Male 40-44

• Great day with my kids
• Beautiful day at the Stadium doing what we love
• 3 out 4 of us PR'd
• 3rd Age Group win of 2011
• I'm the fastest 80 year old!!!

All in all it was a great day at "The K" ... Kauffman Stadium, the home of the MIGHTY Kansas City Royals!  I got to combine my three favorite loves in life ... family, running, and FRIGGIN' BASEBALL!!! I ran the 3rd Annual Kansas City Royals 5K, benefiting Royals Charities, with my daughter Madison and her boyfriend, Nate.  My son, Gage also came out the stadium and watched his sister and ol' man run ... which was AWESOME to have him there!  Michael didn't run with us ... she had a previously scheduled 10K at the Northface Endurance Challenge with Dean Karnazes in downtown KC.  She also did a great job and PR'd, which you can read about here ... Slowly Tri-ing!

Great 5K race bag ... 2 T-Shirts, whistle, cup, pasta, 20% coupon to our favorite pizza shoppe, free ticket to Royals Game!

There were four of us running on Sunday in two different races, and I had hoped to write a race wrap-up about how all of us PR'd ... but I can't!  Three of us PR'd, but "someone" kinda let the group down ... that someone was me!  I was the only one who didn't.  Gotta get faster to keep up with these peeps I guess!

Nate, Madison, and me before the race at "The K"

It was a beautiful day, but a little warm for really fast performances.  And as a result, all of the times were a little slower than last year.  It was about 75 degrees with 75% humidity at the beginning of the race.  And about 2 miles into the run, the humidity kicked in and slowed everyone down a little.  I don't remember seeing any of the top runners stop and walk in a 5K before today, but I passed three different guys at the end who had stopped to walk.  Believe me, I wanted to join them a couple of times, but I just slowed my pace a little and kept going.

I had originally planned to run with Michael at the Northface race, but when Madi & Nate decided to run the Royals 5K a few weeks ago ... I changed my plans to run with them.  My thinking was that Madi is going to be getting married and having babies in the next few years.  As her life gets a lot more hectic, I don't know how many opportunities I'll have to run with her.  I really missed running with Michael but she understood, and we all had a great time at our own races.  Plus, I had ran in the two previous Royals 5K's, so I was excited to keep the tradition going, and try to set my 5K PR ... more on that later.

The Kansas City Royals 5K is a smaller race but is gaining in popularity and size every year.  As far as the course goes, its pretty uneventful other than the finish.  The Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs Stadiums are located right next to each other and share the same parking lot.  The race starts out in front of Kauffman Stadium, then circles Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs.  After that, it's pretty plain until the finish.  The course basically takes runners around the back of Kauffman Stadium, and then loops the parking lot. But if you're a baseball nut like me, the finish is AWESOME ... because runners finish on the field of Kauffman Stadium!!!  The last tenth of a mile is a loop around the warning track in the Royals outfield, and the finish line is at third base.  I'm like a kid when it comes to actually being on the floor of the stadium ... it's awesome!


Awesome spread after the Royals 5K

The organization of the race is getting better too.  But probably the best thing about the race, other than finishing on the field, is the post-race food.  They have everything!  Hot dogs, nachos, and beer ... and of course the traditional post-race food as well.  This is always the best post-race buffet of any race I run.  Pretty cool!

Madi's Awesome Run!
As far as the running goes ... like I said, everyone set a PR except for this guy!  It was Madi's second 5K ever, and she topped her previous 5K PR by more than 2 minutes at 27:58 ... a 9:02/mile!!!  Gage and I got to watch her from the stands as she circled the outfield and she was FLYING!!! She was passing people right & left with a great final kick to the finish line.   I can't believe how well she is running ... this kid is awesome!  Gage even said, "It's pretty awesome to watch your little sister kick butt like that!"  You're awesome Mad, we love you!

Nate's Big Day!
It was her boyfriend Nate's first 5K ever and he also ran a great race.  The only problem was, his timing chip in his bib didn't register ... (mine didn't either - more on that later.)  He finished a few minutes ahead of Madison, but at this point we don't have any idea on an exact time.  He was a little bummed, which is understandable.  They must have been having trouble with some of the chips, because two out of our three didn't register.  Nate's fairly new to running and ran a great race too!  Plus, he's a pretty cool dude ... "I guess!" I have a "verrrrrrrrry strong suspicion he's gonna be around for a while" ... and we couldn't be happier!

Gage & Madi playing a little catch after the race

Big Talk ... No Results!
Which brings me to my race ... big fat flippin' fail!  I won my age group, which was cool ... but I REALLY wanted to PR, and I didn't!  I had written posts over the past few weeks about how some of my training times had been around 5:30/mile - and I honestly thought I was gonna shatter my 6:03/mile 5K PR pace, but I just didn't have it in me on Sunday.

Basically, it was very confusing.  My legs felt fresh and light.  My energy level was great.  My race plan was solid.  And the whole time I was running, I never felt like I was pushing to hard or anything ... but I just couldn't get my speed down to where it needed to be???  A couple of times I felt like I had really kicked it in and that my time was finally down around a 5:30ish pace ... but when I glanced at my Garmin - it was only 6:00ish???  It was humid, but I've put up much faster times in much "muggier" conditions.  So I dunno???

After the race, we waited around at the awards ceremony.  I was 13th overall so I thought I might have placed in my age group.  But when they announced the winners ... no Jim.  Huh, that was odd ... because I had passed the winner in my age group at about 2.5 so I know I finished before him.  Plus his time was 19:15 ... and I my Garmin read faster than that.  My initial thought was that I had been DQ'd because I wore headphones.

Fastest REALLY OLD GUY on Sunday

After the ceremony, I talked to the official results guy and asked him if I had been DQ'd - he said no, they wouldn't have disqualified me for that.  We went over to the Ultramax timing guys who were awesome.  I told them what had happened and they pulled out a tape of all the finishers and found me crossing at about 19:09. They were very apologetic and said for some reason my chip didn't read?  They actually went and found the medal lady and asked her to give me a first place medal - awesome!  Problem, they had already given away the first place medal that read Male 40-44, and the only first place medal they had left was one that read Male 80 & Over!!!   AWESOME!!!  That was hilarious!!!  So basically, I was the fastest 80 year old on Sunday ... which I'll take!

There is no way not PR'ing could have ruined the day on Sunday.  I was with my two awesome kids and my future son-in-law (more on that later) ... and nothing could have put a damper on that.  Of course, I'm always a little bummed when I try to run my best and don't ... but the day was much more than that!   I was with the people I love and watching them have a great time and do well was a million times more important than an "over-competitive" old man not accomplishing his goal.  They ran great, but more importantly, we were together and it was awesome! It was a beautiful day that we'll never forget!

Look how happy the Royals were about our great day at Kauffman Stadium ... thanks Bret Saberhagen!

... be great today!

Missoula Marathon Performance Review

Can't stop heal-striking!!!

Missoula Marathon 

July 10, 2011

Missoula, Montana

12th Marathon Completed

Official Time: 3:22:32

Avg Pace: 7:44

Avg HR: 165

Finish: Overall 98 out of 1,000 (top 10%), 40-44 Age Group 13 out of 82 (top 16%)

Weather: 60 degrees, 62% humidity, 3mph wind

Comments: Great run overall, 3rd fastest marathon to date ... no soreness/tightness afterwards

Garmin Connect Link:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/98787663

Overview
I went into this race with no particular pace plan or strategy, but rather just wanted to have fun and enjoy the beauty of Montana.  And I did just that!  However, even though the idea was just to run a smooth, somewhat "slower race" ... similar to the Austin  Livestrong Marathon ... I found myself running fairly fast (for me anyway) at about mile 16 and decided to push it a little.  I didn't PR, but this was one of the more enjoyable races I have ran to date with NO real stress on my body.  Coming away from it, I really feel like I'm probably in better shape than ever based on my finishing time and the way I felt the few days after the race!

Race Weight, Nutrition, & Conditioning
I was 176 lbs for this race, which is a little thin for "walking around", but felt good running.  But I felt really strong at the starting line.  My ab work leading up to the race had been pretty good and I felt like I had a strong core.  My morning core work had been 100 crunches, 6:00 total planks (2 on each side & center), and 2 x 30 reps of push ups ... 5 days a week before my runs.  Also, I had been able to incorporate fairly consistent two or three evenings per week at the gym where I would do additional ab work and light upper body work.  But usually at the gym I focused primarily on full leg workouts.  The result was strong healthy legs that weren't overcome by the typical post race soreness.  A few days after the run, I was a little tight in my left calf, but that was it ... which was an awesome feeling!

My diet had been fairly decent leading up to the race too.  Like most people, I eat a little less in the summer.  I think I was probably only getting about 2,500 calories per day which is a little low, but I always seemed to have enough energy for workouts.  I also had made the decision to eat WAY LESS CARBS for this race to avoid the late-marathon stomach issues.  In previous marathons, around mile 22 and beyond, if my heart rate went above 180bpm, I seem to get really bad stomach cramping.  It's so bad in some races that it makes me stop and walk to avoid becoming one of those horrible internet race photos featuring a "bad accident".  Eating less carbs seemed to do the trick.  My stomach cramped a little at Missoula around mile 24, but not near much as normal.  I think I'll go even less carbs for the next race.

Pre-Race
Missuola's 5am starting area was perfect.  It was 45 degrees, about 60% humidity, and 3mph winds.  Much better than the 75-80 degrees & 90% I had been training in.  I kept a long sleeve shirt and jacket on until about 5 minutes before the race and even got a little chilly at that.  The gear bag boxes were literally about 10 ft from the 6am starting line, which was great.

About 2 hours before the race I took my typical 2 ibuprofen.  I hope to ween myself off of this, but the last few races it has really seemed to help with leg soreness late in the race and later in the day.  About 30 minutes before the race I downed the usual PowerBar carb bar and a Vivarin for a caffeine blast.  Vivarin is not something I would recommend, but it seems to work for me ... probably more psycological at this point.

Race & Pace

Missoula Marathon Splits

The elevation for Missoula was about 3,200 ft which didn't seem to phase me. (Actually, I don't think most people begin to notice much elevation heart rate change until about 5,000 ft) But during the first two miles, I noticed my heart rate start to hit 210 bpm, which is WAY over my max heart rate - but never felt like I was working that hard.  So I think my Garmin was most likely picking up other heart rate monitors from people who were running close to me.  My overall heart rate was 165 bpm for the 26.2, which is about average for a marathon.  I would like to get to where I can bump the average up a little, thus running a little faster, but for now it's fine.

Even though the race was mostly uphill, there were no significant elevation increases until about miles 12-15, where we climbed a very manageable 190 ft, with most it of coming at mile 14 with 131 ft.  The rest of the course was a very slight up-hill, but mostly flat.  The big thing I noticed was that there weren't any down-hills other than at mile 16.  It would have been nice to get a couple long downhills to gain both time and energy back, but overall the course was fairly easy.

Usually when the mile markers seem a little off, I blame it not running the tangets effectively.  But for this race, I think they were definitely off a little.  My Garmin measured a few miles at 1.2, but others at .9 and .87 ... which didn't really seem right.  I mean, I think I stayed on the course the whole time, but maybe I cut it short ... but not .1 or .13 short.  The final tally for the race was 26.23.  So regardless of the mis-marked miles, it still ended up okay.

After running several marathons and about 70  miles per week, I have a pretty good idea now days where my splits should be without writing them down.  Typically during a marathon, I carry a mileage split chart with me so I know where my pace should be at any point in the race. It's kind of my security blanket.  But I didn't carry one for this run.  I decided that I wasn't going to PR, so I would just "stay close" to my typical splits, but with no pressure to be at certain times at certain miles.  It made the marathon much more relaxing and seemed to work okay.  I even stopped for about 50 seconds to pee at mile 5 and didn't worry about making up the time later in the race, which was nice!

I have "mental check points" for myself during a marathon at miles 8, 14, 18, & 22.  At these miles I do a "mental" evaluation to determine how I'm feeling and how my body is responding.  I really felt great at each "check point" at Missoula.  Part of it was the amazing weather ... but also I felt really good about my conditioning.  After I get to mile 22 I just "gut it out" for the last 4 miles.  The last 4 mile stretch can get a little long, so I'm thinking about changing to mile 23 for my final check.  Focusing on 3 miles at the end of the race is better than 4.

I think if I would have prepared a little better and focused a lot more on this race, it would have been an "easy" PR.  Even though I was running fairly consistent and really strong ... it seemed like I was just kinda screwin' around the first 15 miles.  At about mile 16 I looked at my pace and thought I had a chance to PR if I pushed it a little.  For the 6 miles from 16 to 22 I averaged a 7:19 mile, with my heart rate climbing from about 165 to 177.  I kept pushing it, but I knew the record time was slipping slowly out of reach - I had started a little too slow for a PR today. At about mile 24 I figured I had to run a couple of 7:00 miles to come close to PR and I'm not even sure that would do it.  I began to push it a little doing the marathon pace math in my head.  I ran mile 25 in 7:37 which wasn't near fast enough for a PR, so I slowed down and ran the last mile at 7:53 just enjoying the finish!

Summary
I think I'll probably run faster races later this year, but Missoula was unbelievably satisfying.  The finish time was respectable.  The course was easy.  And best of all, my legs felt amazing the following week.  Usually I'm a little sore for a couple of days depending on how hard I push myself.  But I'm really happy with my physical progress, and that I'm getting in good enough shape to run a 3:22 marathon ... and then run 33 miles the following week with absolutely no pain. I think this is probably the strongest my legs have ever been at this point.  Missoula was a great race and great experience!  Every race won't be a PR, but I have no complaints with this one ... mission accomplished!
...be great today!