Ultra Loony Completed

Another Ultra Loony completed, this one was the most interesting of them all although each one has been a great adventure. I went into the event with 3 weeks of not quite normal training after 6 weeks of not being able to run.  Up until the first race started I wasn't sure if I had should even attempt trying to do the races. I had run every Ultra Loony and although I finished the slowest or all Ultra Loony finishers last year I still finished (last year was another race running through an injury). Part of my mindset for this years race was although the pain was far more difficult to absorb than the previous year, I had manage it during the 3 weeks I worked to get to marathon pace and I hadn't tore it again so maybe it would hold or I could deal with it. Plus, I had tapered a week, so my injury might even have healed and then you add in the normal marathon magic and I just had to go for it.

The weather forecast was great for Saturday and ok for Sunday for temp but rain was in the forecast. They ended up right.

 The first event was the 10k which I again was running with my wife (Karyn) and besides the hip adductor pretty much wouldn't allow me to run hard at all but I wasn't sure if I could hold her pace or not. The good news was that Karyn didn't push it hard (thank you) and had decided to do a 10-1 run-walk method which I went along with. It kept it mentally easy for me and the only complication was when I talked to an old friend at the water station at mile 5 and then I had to push it to catch back up to her. That was not easy but I made it and did no damage. So in some ways although I did have moderate pain, I was able to endure it and get to the finish line. Although, coming down the hill to the finish line was a problem as every step radiated in the hip but I manage it.

The next event was the 5k and this year my daughter (Katie) and her husband (Andrew) decided to run so I decided to just go my own pace and let them go at their own pace. I knew with my run-walk method especially in a 5k, it might not be easy to stay with them. As it turned out, I got a bit swept up in race excitement and really was enjoying the new course, they took us down Selby and then looped over to Summit versus the normal up Summit, turnaround and back down Summit. A nice change. I was able to actually run a bit faster than I had planned and other than the downhill to the finish I was quite pleased. That radiated a little more than it did in the 10k. I finished with no damage and then my daughter and her husband finished shortly after me.

The highlight of the Saturday events though was watching my granddaughter (Maddie - age 2 1/2) run the 1/2 mile. She had a smile on her face the whole time and watching her zigzag the course with her parents was a delight. She even fell down and popped right up and kept on going. When she came over to high five my wife and myself, we were thrilled.

The marathon, the big and final test as during my 3 week ramp I had not been able to go over 10 miles without experiencing serious pain. Originally my youngest daughter (Kristin) had signed up but her work schedule had kept her from getting in the runs she needed to be able to do the race and as it turned out was out of town for the weekend.
I had rested the week leading up to the marathon and had not had any change in pain on Saturday so I was hoping I would hold up. I have run so many events injured that whether I like it or not, I have to face the fact that for whatever reason, I am comfortable to embrace and manage running in pain. I am sure the psycho babble folks could explain it and probably tell me of my character flaws, I just know I can do it so I do and I don't think I am the worse for doing so, in many ways I think it has helped me to have greater confidence and belief in myself as continuing to push through pain has given me satisfaction. Don't misunderstand, being injury free and trained so I can run hard and finish strong is even more satisfying.

For the marathon, my only goal was to finish ahead of the cutoff and with that in mind my plan was to try and run around 13 min/mile pace through the first 10, then 15, then 20 and then get to the finish. Oh with this in mind I did have one other goal, run mile 21 to 22 faster than the previous 20 miles average pace. If I did this then I would win a free pair of Brook Leviates. The concept of winning those shoes kept me thinking about going slow and to take it a mile at a time.

The day ended up having more than a few twists. The plan was again for Karyn to drive me to the light rail station in Bloomington and then pick me up at the finish line. The first twist, Karyn woke up with the flu, so I drove myself to Bloomington thinking she might recover enough and still make it or my daughter was coming so maybe I would get a ride from her.

At the start line, I met some friends for a work picture as my company had formed a TCM marathon corporate team. We met at the Viking ship, as a Bears fan, it was awkward and what's up with "skol". I also looked for my Marathon Maniacs group as we too talked about meeting up at the boat for a picture but with the rain disrupting the morning, I did not see any maniacs. The race started without any issues and the first 5 miles went great, my pace was around 12:50, not 13 but not 12:00 or 12:30's so I was doing good and the pace had felt easy and the hip pain was mostly negligible. I was basically doing 30-30 galloway but would add extra walking time to keep the mile from getting too quick.

As I cross the road to go around Calhoun, my left knee flipped out and I had excruciating pain (this is my knee with almost no medial meniscus left and the one that I had a cyst in it a while back right on the joint line). I tried to hop/skip/run/walk through it which didn't work and then I had to go to a very slow awkward walk as it was still hurting. As I started to freak out, I just kept walking and telling myself, it's ok, give it time, you are doing fine, you are still moving forward. I just needed to chill and relax and see if it goes away. Thankfully after a little more than a quarter mile it did and I was able to resume my pace. The knee was a bit tender going around Calhoun and Harriet but it was manageable and it took the focus off the hip.

I  ran into a buddy from work around mile 9, he provided me a great pick me up as provided some very positive comments and after chatting with him I started believing I would be able to do it and the positive energy was just awesome and it lee me to thinking, enjoy this, you will give it your all, it's one step at a time, just stay focused in the moment. I started to process the race by just looking at the next milestone in front of me, like get to Nokomis, get to Minnehaha Falls, get to the river, get to the beer stop (normally the Hash House Harriers provide it before the Franklin bridge), cross the river, get through Alarc wall, get to St. Thomas hill, get to the real beer stop, get to Summit, get to the hill, Finish. But for now, just keep moving forward and focus on where you are not how far you have to go and enjoy every minute as you are doing what you love.

As I neared the 1/2 way point, I saw my Katie, Andrew and Maddie, what a great pick me up. They said to keep going and they would see me for sure at St. Thomas. I have had unbelievable support from my family for my running and I so appreciate what they have allowed me to be able to do. Thank you!!

After Nokomis on the way to Minnehaha Falls, I saw a legendary ultra runner named John Taylor (he is a 100 miler finishing machine and always is so positive) who was watching the race. I yelled his name expecting him to just wave or something (probably thinking who was that guy as we have chatted in the past but it has now been years since I have been able to run trails or we have talked), yet he recognized me which again gave me a huge mental boost. I do so miss the trail running community and the trails.

As I got through the Falls, the rain started picking up, we had some off and on rain earlier but nothing sustained. Now I do love running in the rain, I don't like to have to go out the door into the rain but rain during a run, I enjoy. As I went down West River Road, I was hurting but I knew I was on pace to finish and I kept telling myself, you are doing this, you hip has held up through 15, just get to 18, enjoy the rain, you know you will not stop so keep the pace so later if everything blows up, you can walk to the finish. I was hobbling during this section but so were a lot of other runners. As I neared the Franklin bridge, I was almost freaking out again but this time with an overwhelming amount of positive energy that I was going to make it. I crossed over the river and my focus turned to maintain the pace so that you can win the shoes. I had decided before the start that if I could run the pace I should that I would go for the shoes and run mile 21 up the hill as hard as I could, if my hip blew, I would walk it in. This strategy worked great during the race as it kept me moving at my planned pace with no urgency to go faster as that might take away my chance for shoes (and blow out the hip).

Mile 21 came and I went for it and I did it! Here is a copy of what I received from Brooks after the race:

Dear Runner,

Congratulations! You successfully conquered the Brooks Infinite Energy Mile during the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. You have won a free pair of BrooksLevitates as a result of your tremendous accomplishment. 

As a reminder, the Brooks Infinite Energy Mile was between mile markers 21 and 22 on the course, and you won by having a faster split time for that mile than your average pace from the start of the race to the beginning of 21. That is not easy, and we commend you!

As I got up the hill I saw Katie, Andrew and Maddie again, what a great pick me up as the weather was not good for spectators. I asked her if she had talked to her Mom and she said she was not feeling any better. After I went by them, I thought that they must have brought 2 cars, wow what dedication to supporting me as I knew her husband had to go in to work around 2. I was hurting a bit as I continued past St. Thomas, part of the pain was normal based on my limited running coming into the event, part of it was the hip was still not happy with me for running up the hill (or probably at all) to go for the shoes. The pain was manageable as I knew I could still make the cutoff by walking it in but I wanted to finish this up as quickly as I could as the rain was starting to affect many runners around me and I thought it might get me as well. So I just tried to stay in the moment and worked to keep the run-walk thing happening. I again have to give credit to Jeff Galloway's Run-Walk program, as it again was working for me so unbelievably well that I was almost in shock that I was able to do this race thus far so consistently. Thank you Jeff!.

Before too long, I was on John Ireland and headed to the hill. As expected it hurt but it was still a good hurt as I was about to finish my 12th Twin Cities Marathon and complete my 4th Ultra Loony Challenge (and maintain the charter streak :-)

I saw Katie and Maddie as I came into the finish and stopped and chatted, she said she would be getting a ride home as her husband did have to go to work. I thought to myself, that might be a problem. After the finish, I picked up my clothes (a dry shirt and jacket were so needed and felt so good) and medals and I told Katie that no problem getting a ride except my car was at 28th street station. We checked with Karyn (not doing well enough to drive) and discussed options (Uber, etc...) but decided to take the light rail from St. Paul to US West to pick up the light rail to where my car was (Green Line to Blue Line - approximately an 1 hr and a half but free for those that were running today). This was working great and Maddie was enjoying the train ride  except our timing wasn't good as we arrived at US Bank Stadium coincided with the Viking game ending so it was a packed train to our stop (it was the most purple I have ever seen). It all worked out just fine, Maddie was a hit with the Viking fans and they were interested in hearing about the marathon. And I would be remiss to not say the Fans were very nice, almost made me think good things of the Vikings and yes I had told them I was a Bears fan.

We had one more issue in getting home, I don't have a car seat in my car so the last complication was driving home to get Karyn's car and then heading to the MOA to pick up Katie and Maddie.

The good news is it all worked out just fine.

To sum up this event, I ran a conservative (slow pace) and was able to maintain it most of the way. I am pretty sure it allowed me to win the Brooks shoes as mile 21-22 was my fastest mile of the first 22. The hip did better than I thought and although we had 10 miles of rain, it was mostly light. The temp was good and I am quite happy to have made it through the events.

I love being able to enjoy the events of Twin Cities Marathon weekend with the family and this year watching Maddie finish her first race was a blast, with her huge smile and determination to finish, she epitomized the fun of running, what a great event and what great memories from it.

Ultra Loony update - "ok to go"?

On this morning's run, for whatever reason I kept thinking about should I run the Ultra Loony, can I do it, can I endure it, and then I started thinking differently, I kept saying to myself,  I am ok to go, ok to go, ok to go and then this movie popped into my head and I simply laughed to myself:



I am becoming optimistic that I will be able to make it through the weekend, the Saturday events are for sure good now, the question will be what happens during the marathon. As a reference, I ran 4 miles today on the Greenway and was able to maintain what I had hoped would have been my marathon pace, now it's probably my 10k pace. When I did try to push the pace further, the hip twinged and I throttled back as it started to throb. I have run this route quite a few times so I decided to check my times in Strava, you can see that today's run was the slowest, oddly enough the fastest was from the week before the injury, oh well.

I will be going on a few more runs between now and the marathon as part of my taper, a longish run over the weekend (10 to 13 miles) and then a handful of 3 to 5 mile runs. I hope to see continued improvement in the hip and I still need to decide which shoes will give me the best chance of finishing or do my shoes matter? Will I be able to do it? Can I manage the pain? What else can go wrong?

Regardless of all of this, the bottom line is that I am just happy to be where I am..............

Ultra Loony update

Well, the training so to speak is in the bag and it's taper time for TCM weekend, I got through 17 miles yesterday and I have a chance. Here are my weekly totals for the last 7 weeks:

6

0

0

0

2

32

30

I have made progress especially considering just 2 weeks ago I could only walk and that was a slow walk (to put it in perspective, 9 miles of the 32 miles from last week were a walk on labor day, a few days later I was able to do a run-walk and so it began). I still have no speed or turnover and if I do try to stretch it out, the pain is increased. The good news is I am able to do the run-walk and I know it can work and I am hoping that the 2 week taper will get me to the starting line just a little bit healthier and increase my odds further. Regardless, I intend to give it a go. What do I have to lose? I have had a DNF, I can live with another one if I have to but I don't want a DNS.

Back to my long run for this marathon journey, I felt good for about 12 or 13 miles but then I slowed down as the pain increased and I ended up having to walk the last 2 miles and could not have run through it. That said, I am close to being able to get to a marathon pace and if I can have a little marathon majic it will happen. It has before.

When I am faced with these go/no go decisions, I think why do I do this? The answer is fairly simple, because I can and it's what I signed up for. Yes, this adductor tear is not fun but I have healed enough to get through the 10k and 5k and possibly the marathon. Would I rather abort the Loony and just do the marathon, no. I want it all and if I can heal a bit more and manage the pain, I can do it. Last year I had the knee issue which made for a very, very long day but I got through it, was it fun, yes at times and at other times, it was not, as matter of fact, I do remember pausing and taking a deep breath and was close to dropping but then I leaned in and I embraced it and savored it all the way to the finish.

It's about putting your mind to it and then shutting out the negatives. I will be slow and it will be an extremely long day again but I want to try, no I have to try, it is who I am. In so many ways, knowing I feel every step means I am alive, to run without pain would be and is a great experience, I so look forward to having those kind of runs again. For this Ultra Loony though,  I do know that managing the pain will be the journey and I will embrace it and do what I can, which what I have on the day. I will ask myself to start and command, plead my way to the finish (I do love the internal debate I will have) and if it's meant to be, I will do it. If it is not then I will welcome the journey and go as long as I can.

Ultra Loony update - training is overrated

I tried to run today as I was hoping to get things back on track, it was my first attempt since I tore the adductor muscle a month ago, well it didn't go well, had pain on each step which I kind of expected as it is still sore. I did figure out that I might be able to do a fast walk though so some progress and possibly what I will need to do to get to the start line. I didn't push to walk as I still felt some discomfort, so instead I went into the pool and found out I can now swim with no pain and pool run, so the cross training can expand.

So it's time to focus on cross training and then hope that I can run by next week or next weekend, I am thinking that my experience and running base can get me through the weekend events it if I can get to the start line of each race pain free or relatively so.

The question I will need to ponder though is will I pull the plug if I can't run soon, great question, not sure how I will answer.

Ultra Loony in jeopardy?

Ugh, it seems like every August I end up with an injury not usually caused by running, well the cycle repeats.

Back on the 5th of August, I chose to relive my youth and paid a price. The price a strain of my right hip. How did it happen, well I was doing something that I have done for about 50 years and apparently it wasn't a good idea. We were at a friends cabin in Northern Minnesota and decided to go water skiing, I have slalom skied most of my life but couldn't get up, besides my age and apparently lack of strength, the boat seemed to pause then accelerate and the rope just seemed to jerk out of my hands so I decided to go for 2 skis, something I haven't done as much but the last time at their cabin it's what I did. So I donned the second ski,was headed up, the boat jerked again but with 2 skis no problem, right? Very wrong! I felt a tearing in my right hip, let go of the rope and knew I had done something bad.

After the injury I refused ice and ibuprofen as I wanted to deny it. The denial didn't go so well as although I could walk certain movements (bending, standing, sitting, turning, you get the point) caused significant pain. I had some bruising appear but then a week after I had a lot more bruising, see picture below, the interesting part to me is the point of initial pain was about 12 to 16 inches further up towards my hip.

I had to go to Atlanta for work this past week and since I had convinced myself that it was getting better, I tried to run, Suffice to say that was stupid, way too painful. So after my failed run I debated going to the Dr, just to make sure I knew what I had done and could do to get back to running ASAP. Well, last Friday I went and got it diagnosed, his prognosis was an adductor strain, grade 2 and I might not be running by Twin Cities Marathon, meaning it could derail me for another 6 weeks, double ugh!!.

So I am facing my current reality, no running, this week, if it seems better I might try this weekend, if not try over labor day. Mentally this is a tough one, the only thing I can do is walk carefully and potentially bike. I tried elliptical, no go, swimming, no go, I did do the exercise bike and that kind of worked, no significant pain but I noticed I was doing some compensation so not sure what I will do.

Right now, I am hoping to use the training plan below as my ramp to get to the start line of the Ultra Loony. It might not be a great idea but as a charter member, I have to right? I should add that I have done three marathons this year, the last being Grandma's so I had some base but will probably continue to lose it while not running.

-	3	3	-	3	5	7	21		Sun, Sep 3, 17
5	2	3	2	2	6	13	33		Sun, Sep 10, 17
-	2	3	2	2	5	18	32	September	Sun, Sep 17, 17
-	2	3	2	2	5	13	27		Sun, Sep 24, 17
-	2	3	2	-	9.3	26.2	43		Sun, Oct 1, 17

Stay tuned, as I have been meaning to post more often and who knows maybe I will as it's good for my mind to capture my thoughts as I work through this.

Another update (yes long overdue)

The UltraLoony was completed and I thoroughly enjoyed running each event with my family. What a thrill for me to run the 10k with my wife, the 5k with my eldest daughter and then to run (ok start) the marathon with my youngest daughter and watching the granddaughter run in the toddler trot.

It was a great weekend and the joy of seeing the smiles from each member as they enjoyed their experience, I will never forget.

They all did great and I got through them all. It was not my wisest choice and I have held off on posting as I wanted to understand if I had done any longer term damage and what the solution for me knee is. Long story short, each race hurt and TCM was not pleasant after the 1/2 way point especially but I hobbled through.

Back to the knee, well since I started this after TCM and it's now April, I guess I gave it time, right?

Anyway, the knee is kind of ok, I did some PT as I debated surgery, injections and other things that didn't thrill me. Well the PT helped along with throttling back and I am hopeful to avoid anything. I am now ramping up my mileage for the Flying Pig, then Med City, then Grandma's. So all is well, I have pain but as long as I stay on roads it's manageable. I still hope to get back to trails later this year but am happy to just be able to run.

I have a lot of posts, I need to write to catch up the blog and will see if I can, one thing I will give an update on is shoes. I finally found some Hoka's that seem to work for me. I bought them from Running Warehouse at pretty extreme discounts. The first pair are the Infinite and the second pair are Clayton's. I also picked up a pair of Brooks PureCadence 5's and another pair of Altra Provisions.

More posts will follow,................

Time to catch up - 2015 stats

Well, I am long overdue in posting so I will do a short summary of my fall and then add in my 2015 stats.

When I last posted I was heading to run the Mankato marathon. I decided to DNS and instead I got a Doctor's appointment. We discussed my options, and agreed that the best option was for me to go in for PT. I did and was pleasantly surprised to get the probable cause for my Posterior Tib Tendonitis. The root cause, a pathetically weak core. I flunked all of the hip stability and strength tests. She provided me with some simple exercises (Clam shell, Bridge with leg lifts plus a few more) and she recommended more supportive and higher heel drop shoes to take any pressure off of the tendon. The initial assessment is it is working, I am running pain free for the first time and like forever. I have a long ways to go but am on track.


As far as 2015 goes, I endured 6 marathons for the year (Lake Wobegon, MedCity, Minneapolis, Grandmas, Walker and the TCM Ultra Loony Challenge, the Turtle Trot Tri and the Gobble Gait 8k) and that's my year. I say endure as every step of each race hurt to some degree and the more steps I took the more pain I got to endure.

I found this cartoon of Sylvester the cat and I think he has nicely captured what I have done to myself. My continuing to run through injury after injury has proven to be an unwise choice and what's funny my core has been weak since I popped something and had a lot of hip flexor issues.

Anyway, I am on track for a better 2016. I have my first race scheduled for next Sunday, the Zoom Yah! Yah! indoor marathon in Northfield, MN. My only issue is very poor training in late December where a combination of weather, sickness and work had me miss out on my final 2 or 3 long runs. Add in the normal poor December diet habits and well it could be a challenge and possibly a stupid way to start the year. So is it a good idea to try a marathon with a couple of long runs of 13 miles?

As to 2015, here are the stats:

Miles - 1140 miles

High mileage month - May, 148 miles

Low mileage month - February, 66 miles 

Weekly Avg. - 2192 miles
Longest run - 26.2 miles
Average run - 5.38 miles
Consecutive days - 8
Max days run in a week - 7
Average days run/week - 4.08
Total days run this year - 212
Weekday runs - 46.3% of available days
Weekend runs - 85.6% of available days

Events Participated in

Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon - Sat 5/9th - Completed
Race for the Cure 5k - Sun, 5/10th - Completed

Med-City Marathon - 5/24th - Completed 

Minneapolis Marathon - 5/31st - Completed
FANS 12 hr - Sat 6/6th - Volunteered

Grandmas Marathon - 6/20th - 15th Grandmas in 2015 - Completed
Turtle Trot Triathlon - 7/18th - Completed

Walker/North Country Races - 9/19th - Completed

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon - Ultra Loony Challenge - Completed

Mankato Marathon - 10/18th - DNS

Surf the Murph 25k - Sat 10/24th - Volunteered 

Gobble Gait 8k - Thur 11/26th - Completed

Twin Cities Marathon - Ultra Loony Challege Weekend

I went into this year's Ultra Loony Weekend about like last years. Somewhat injured which made me think, why I am doing this. That's easy, because I enjoy it. Yes I would enjoy it a whole lot more if I had no injuries but I still enjoy myself.

Turned out, I took a bit longer to recover from Walker then I had planned, my legs felt great but my PTT had my foot/ankle hurting. My post Walker runs were not good but I was able to get through them and I figured I should still go for it as I made it last year and I was no worse than then.

I met Karyn at the expo again this year, she had decided to run the 10k which meant we could drive up together and run the 10k together. At the expo, I ran into quite a few people I know. I talked with Dane L. who was running backwards from the finish to the start and then back to the finish as training for Javelina, oh to be an ultrarunner again. I then ran into John Storkamp and to my surprise he knew my name, pretty much made my day. I suffer what many back of the packers probably do, I know about all of the runners by name but figure that they don't know who I am as why should they. I had a similar experience a few years back when Helen L. (now S.) knew my name when I weighed in at FANs. Anyway, it was nice, I also ran into a neighbor who was running the 10 miler and a former co-worker who was also doing the 10 miler. My other highlight of the expo was when I stopped by the Twin Cities in Motion booth and when they heard I was doing the Ultra Loony Challenge again, one of them said so that makes you a charter member which means I will be doing it again next year and the year after and so on, well you get the idea. I picked up my numbers and shirts  and Karyn got hers and we were out of there. When we got home though I noticed that Karyn had a 5k chip and shirt, oops back to the expo to get the right chip and shirt.

We got to the 10k in plenty of time, parking again at the same garage as last year which was free and close to the festivities, sure beats paying the $20 for the Sears lot. We ran the 10k together with no issues, I did my run-walk after the first mile and it went pretty well. A little slower (about a minute and a 1/2) than last year but the foot didn't bother me too much. For the 5k, it was chaos, as some walkers got too close to the start so runners were going around, add in all the young kids and I saw 4 or 5 runners get tripped up and hit the pavement. Once we got up the hill, things spaced out a bit and I was able to get into my run-walk routine, for the 5k my time was about a minute faster than the year before but the pace seemed fine and although the foot was sore I was still optimistic about the marathon.

For the marathon, like the year before I asked Karyn to drop me at the light rail station in Bloomington which worked great the year before. Of course this year, I screwed up and forgot my Garmin which led to us turning around when we were only about 5 minutes away but it had me muttering some words that shouldn't be said. Ok muttering might not be that accurate. Well it worked out ok as Karyn got me to the light rail and I made the train with 15 seconds to spare. Even if I had missed that one I would have been fine but I would have stressed a lot more.

The race started and my plan was to use the run-walk approach and if it went well, to finish in 5 1/2 hrs if the foot worked ok, maybe faster. It's funny for me to say that I use the run-walk approach as I can't run longer than a few minutes at a time.

Things got off a bit rocky when I looked at my Garmin after a few minutes of running and it showed a 15 minute/mile pace which caused instant stress. I was running and expected to see 10 min/mile pace. It turned out ok as I hit the 1 mile marker at just under 12 minutes with my Garmin showing the distance at .85 miles which explained the slower early pace. After that it was  accurate and I stayed focused and relaxed. I saw a co-worker at mile 4, ran into Scott Huston around mile 8 or so, we chatted briefly and then I continued.

It was shortly after that when my foot/ankle started causing me more issues. I tried to focus on my form which can help me ignore the pain but by mile 12 I knew the day might go longer than I hoped. I held things together until around mile 15 when I almost had to sit down as the pain was so intense. I hopped on it a bit and walked through it and then walked a bit more and it calmed down but the problem with the foot/ankle is that when it gets intense I walk slower and run slower as I can't push off and I lose time which causes stress. I accepted that my time goal might be lost and hobbled my way forward.

I just wanted to get to the Franklin bridge, and then the Medtronic water stop, Alarc wall, St. Thomas hill, have a beer somewhere on Summit and eventually get to the cathedral one more time. One thing that kept going through my head when I debated dropping before the bridge was that I can't as I am a charter member of the Ultra Loony so I had to keep going. I had my beer around mile 23 (thank you Growler) and then just kept going and although it seemed like forever it was over with before I knew it. My slowest Twin Cities ever (5:49:06) but it was a marathon and an Ultra Loony finish so I was happy to have it over.

This year everything worked out, the volunteers were fabulous, the weather was the best ever and the course is gorgeous. My thanks to the organization, sponsors and volunteers, great event. Can't wait until next year to do it all again.

2014 year in review

Back in December of 2013, I had a really good idea, ok at least it seemed like a really good idea. Run all of the Minnesota outdoor marathons in 2014. So I proceeded to sign-up for 11 of 12 in order to save some dollars with the intent to sign up for the 12th before it's price increase but a few things happened along the way.

In late February I mis-stepped and my knee went from being sore to painful. Diagnosis was a torn medical meniscus. I got through the first marathon (Run for the Lakes) after a cortisone shot by using the Galloway run-walk approach of running a minute, walking a minute. I was shocked how well it worked and ran possibly my most consistent marathon. I had pain but the run-walk approach worked.

Marathon 2 (Lake Wobegon Trail), I dropped with significant knee pain after 18 miles and the thought that continuing might damage it permanently. You see, my wife had had meniscus surgery and after removing the tear, her Surgeon diagnosed her with Osteoarthritis and yes that did way on my decision as I had been told in the past that running in pain could accelerate it.

I scheduled surgery but attempted the 1/2 at Med City with the hope that it would work, it did not as I had pain early and intense pain later. Had knee surgery 4 days later, 2 days after surgery Minneapolis canceled their marathon for fear of thunderstorms. 3 weeks later I ran Grandmas. That might not have been by best decision but it worked out. I skipped Eugene Curnow as I knew my knee was not stable enough to handle trails. Then at the end of July I tore my plantar fascia (basically a plantar rupture), 6 weeks off which meant no St. Paul Urban and Moose Mountain,  After 6 weeks, I resumed running and with 1 week of training I ran Walker, two weeks later, I completed the Ultra Loony Challenge which means Twins Cities Marathon. Two weeks later I was able to complete Mankato. I should admit that that running the marathon distance after the plantar tear did not allow it to heal completely and when I attempted the 50k at Surf the Murph, I am pretty sure I tore it again,

Here are my final running stats for 2014:

Miles - 866 miles

High mileage month - October, 116 miles

Low mileage month - August, 24 miles 

Weekly Avg. - 16.65 miles
Longest run - 26.2 miles
Average run - 5.89 miles
Consecutive days - 11
Max days run in a week - 7
Average days run/week - 2.77
Total days run this year - 147
Days not run because of injury - 103
Weekday runs - 28.3% of available days
Weekend runs - 71.2% of available days

Events Participated in

Run for the Lakes - Sat 4/26th

Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon - Sat 5/10th - DNF at mile 18

Med-City Marathon - 5/25th - Completed 1/2 Marathon

Minneapolis Marathon - 6/1st - DNS - Knee Surgery & Race Cancelled
FANS 12 hr - Sat 6/7th - Volunteered

Grandmas Marathon - 6/21st - 14th Grandmas in 2014
Warrior 196 Memorial 5k - 9/13th

Walker/North Country Races - 9/20th

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon - Ultra Loony Challenge 

Mankato Marathon - 10/19th - Completed

Surf the Murph 25k - Sat 10/26th - Did a single loop, need to regroup for next year, 

Gobble Gait 8k - Thur 11/26th

 All things considered I am happy with what I was able to work through in 2014 and I hope for better results in 2015. One thing I have changed is I have only signed up for 6 marathons early and then plan to add a few more after I complete the initial ones. I am looking forward to working my way to pain free running this year. So, I am running smarter, cross training and am going to avoid things that aggravate my past injuries like softball and for the short term (I hope) trail running.

Twin Cities Marathon and the Ultra Loony Challenge

I went into the Twin Cities Marathon event weekend with some trepidation, ok make that a lot. My first decision was, do I run the Ultra Loony Challenge (which means, run the 10k and 5k on Saturday and then the marathon on Sunday) as planned or do I focus all of my efforts on the marathon? To be honest, I wasn't sure I could do them all, heck I had doubts about the marathon.

On Thursday I decided I had to go for the Loony as my legs seemed good enough and my injuries seemed manageable and it's what I signed up to do. With the decisions made I needed to figure out my approach and since I just wanted to finish the marathon, my plan was to run it between 12 1/2 and 13 minute miles for as long as I could and hopefully beat the time limit. I knew I would be doing a Galloway run-walk of 45 seconds running, 45 seconds walking and that this pace should be doable. So with that in mind I figured I would run the 10k at around 13 1/2 to 14 minute miles and then do the same for the 5k.

On Friday, Karyn and I went to packet pick-up and she decided to sign-up for the 5k. It felt good to walk around the TCM expo again, quite a few vendors and I even won a coffee mug at the Caribou challenge so it had to be my weekend, right :-), thank you Caribou and all other sponsors of the events.

On Saturday, Karyn and I decided to drive separately since the 10k started an hour and a half ahead of the 5k so I got to the capital with about a 1/2 hour to get to the start line. The one thing I liked about doing this event is that it got me oriented to the capital, where to park, how things were set-up and so on. For the 10k, I figured I would do the Galloway run-walk but slow things down to not let me push myself too hard. Well that lasted about a 1/10th of a mile when I looked at my watch and saw that  my pace was sub 11, so I chose to walk a bit longer than planned with the hope that I get things back on track. Once I resumed the run-walk it became apparent that I was going faster then I wanted so I said to myself, whatever, take what you got just don't push it. Even though I stopped twice to talk to some friends along the course, my average mile pace was 11:39. Oops.

I had planned on running the 5k with Karyn and figured that I would be able to hold her pace, Not sure where I got that idea as she went faster than I thought, our average mile pace was 11:16. Oops, again. So I knew that I had blown it a little bit and might pay a price in the marathon but everything felt good so, what was I to do? I didn't push the pace in any of the events it's just where things seemed to go.

On Sunday, Karyn dropped me at the light rail in Bloomington and I was off to the marathon start. We thought it would work logistically to take the light rail and it did, there were a handful of runners on the train. There was a beautiful orange glow across the horizon as the sun was coming up, it was shaping up to be a great day for running. As the train arrived it was almost surreal to see the Metrodome gone and the emerging skeleton of the new stadium starting to form. I wasn't sure how the logistics would work without the dome so after I found the porta pots, I started trying to figure out where the start was. The temp was in the low 30's and I had decided to forego a drop bag and put the extra top I had into my Nathan. It seemed like a good plan as it allowed me to carry everything I would need. As I was heading to find corral 3, a friend found me and we walked over together. She is the girl (women) who I finished Grandmas with and had come into Twin Cities with minimal training mileage as well. We talked about starting together but after she went to drop her bag and find a porta pot we never saw each other again. I chatted with some runners as I stood beside a building to block the wind and started to think through how I would approach the day. I had my run-walk app on my phone ready to go and was going use my bluetooth headphones for the first time in a long distance event. I had decided that at the start I would use my Garmin to figure out the run-walk sequence as I wasn't sure I would hear the app.

Before I knew it, we were off, again my plan was to run 12 1/2 to 13 minute miles and I knew it was critical to do so early in the race. My first mile was 11:43, mile 2 - 11:52, mile 3 - 11:23, mile 4 - 11:48, I think you get the drift. I was running totally within myself and thought I can maintain this, the run-walk was working great up to Lake Harriet. As I came through the water stop my headphones started beeping and I thought what's going on? So I pulled them off and looked at my phone, my battery was being drained fast. So I shutoff the Bluetooth and figured I would just carry the phone and keep looking at the timer. That worked well and I felt great until I got near Nokomis and saw my phone flashing a low battery warning. I knew I might need to call Karyn when I got done so we could figure out where to meet, so with that in mind I shut off the phone but more importantly my run-walk app.

Now I had to use my Garmin as I had no other watch and the way my Garmin has always been set I can't see seconds once the time is over an hour which wasn't good for a 45 second interval. So I decided to use distance which effectively meant run for .1 mile, walk for .06 mile (I had figured out this ratio during my training). It was working ok except it meant every 30 seconds I was looking at my distance which meant I was also observing where I was on the course. It went something like this, 15.1, oh I still have 11 miles to go, 15.16, still 11 miles, 15.26, still 11 miles. I think you get how this wasn't really a good thing.

So I ignored my watch and went by feel, that was ok but not good, then I tried light poles, same thing, ok but not good, it all kind of worked but I was slowing down. Part of the issue was the mental energy I was expending but I was also having pain. My knee had twinged a couple of times but the foot was going from feeling every step to hurting on every step.

So I continued to lose time but I kept moving forward. I was smiling and chatting with people and just happy to be out there, I had seen this picture before and the thought of it kept coming into my head. I was doing TCM, I was out here, I was enjoying myself, I was feeling like a runner. I was enjoying every moment of my day. I continued my journey down Summit and was just soaking it in. I saw Karyn at mile 24 and we chatted a bit and then I continued on to the finish. My thanks to TCM, all the volunteers and spectators for making my 10th TCM a great memory.

One thing that I ended up liking about the Ultra Loony Challenge was the bling you get, I had tpo pay an extra $95 and this is what I got for it, 2 additional races, 3 additional shirts (I really like the Brooks pullover), 3 additional medals and a pair of TCM socks from FitSok plus of course my TCM finishers shirt, medal and another pair of socks. So is it worth the extra money? For me, yes but more for the extra fun it allowed me to have. I really enjoyed running the 10k and 5k and yes I enjoyed chatting with a few folks about doing the Ultra Loony Challenge during the marathon, they were like you are one of them, of course I told them, yes but probably the slowest of them.

Lessons learned and corrected, I now know how to change screens on my Garmin so I can see seconds after the first hour and I have placed an old set of head phones in my Nathan. Now it's on to Mankato where hopefully things hold together.

2014 Goals Confirmed

I haven't done a very good job of posting to my blog, I think it reflects that after the injuries a few years back I got off track and basically lost my motivation. I had met my goals up to a point and couldn't get my motivation up to push through the injuries to finish up my ultra goals. Now I think that had as much to do with work and other things but the bottom line is I wasn't putting in the time. It also had a lot to do with the concept of running 100 miles is still hard for me to comprehend, so this year I decided on a different approach. Not to resume my 50 state quest which may need to extend beyond age 60 but a much simpler goal.

So to help me out this year I set a conceptual easy goal, run all of the outdoor marathons in Minnesota. The easy part is getting done now, I have signed up for the first 5 (of 11) marathons. I signed up on 12/31 in order to save a few dollars but went ahead and signed up for Grandmas and Twin Cities. Grandma's price goes up at the end of January but by signing up in December we had the chance to win a free hotel for this year's race. Well no notification thus far so it probably isn't going to happen. For Twin Cities, I wanted to do the Ultra Loony Challenge so decided to ahead and sign up in case it fills up quickly (it's limited to the first 500), so I went ahead and signed up for that. For those not familiar with the Loony Challenge, it just means I am going to run the 5k and 10k the day before the marathon, kind of a Minnesota version of the Goofy for Disney.

So as of today, I have signed up for the following events:

Date	Event
04/26/14	Brainerd Jaycees Run for the Lakes
05/10/14	Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon
05/25/14	Med-City Marathon
06/21/14	Grandmas Marathon
10/05/14	Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon

I will probably sign up for the Minneapolis Marathon next followed by Mankato when registration opens on January 20th, Moose Mountain after registration opens on March 15th, then Walker before April 1st, Bemidji before May 1st and whenever Eugene Curnow opens I will sign up for it.

Beyond the 11 marathons I am sure we will do the annual Gobble Gait run on Thanksgiving and I am faily sure I will do something at Surf the Murph and maybe run the 25k or volunteer again at Afton. I may not get in a new state this year but that's ok as I still have a lot of fun races to do.

Since the commitment to enter races is underway, it's time for my commitment to training to begin as well. I have a lot of runs and a few pounds to lose before the end of April gets here. The good news is regardless of my outside distractions I am looking forward to the training for the first time in years.

Should be a fun year.