First, I have to comment on the weather it is July 18th, it's supposed to be hot. At 9am the temp was 59° F and it was overcast. At 10 am it had gotten up to 61° F and was still overcast. This is summer not spring, not fall, 60° F is not summer even in Minnesota.
As to the day, we kept the normal Turtle Trot rotation, 5k run, 1/2 mile swim and 10 mile bike. This marked Karyn's and my fourth year participating in it. Ben kept the same agenda, course debrief, national anthem and a prayer. It is the right way to start things off.
The run went better than in the past. I ran a 27:12 5k, not anywhere near my best 5k time but it was my best Turtle Trot 5k time and it was my best 5k in over 5 years. Granted I only run one 5k a year but it still was nice to run at least a bit faster. I did have some ankle pain about 2 miles in which seemed to affect my push-off and I know it slowed me down in the last mile (along with just being tired). The achilles did not bother me which was very good. The course is an out and back with no real hills just a few gentle ups. I went out fairly hard and I hit the turnaround in 13:15 so no negative split but overall not a bad effort.
Next up was the swim, the lake water was down which wasn't a problem but the air temp was and I can say that the water temp did take my breath away. It took me a few minutes to deal with it, after that it was ok, I do think the water temp was close to the air temp, I figure it was a swimming ice bath. The nice thing with the Turtle Trot swim is that you can touch bottom, which allows you to walk and swim your way through the 1/2 mile. I tried to swim but probably only swam about 1/2 of it. It was a bit choppy and the return loop was against some small waves which made it a bit more difficult as they kept crashing into my head. I came out of the water at 45:09 and proceeded to get the shoes on for the bike.
I had used my Garmin for the run but I didn't think it would be good to take it into the lake. I put it back on for the bike and it was nice to see the mileage during the bike as my bike speedometer-odometer battery was dead. I headed out on the bike, adjusted my gloves and then sped my mountain bike around the course. I did have my cross tires on which helped but an investment in or rental of a road bike would be a big plus. I don't think I ever will get one but I do know it would help. I got done in something like 1 hour and 35 minutes, my Garmin had the bike at 47:01 and it had the distance at 11 miles. So I lost 3 minutes in the last transition which is probably about right as I had to dry off, get my shoes on, grab my bike and go and to be honest I didn't rush it.
So overall not a bad day, our thanks to Ben and Kirsten for asking us back one more year and all of the volunteers for again making it a great event. It is always a lot of fun.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Turtle Trot on Saturday, thoughts beyond........
Our annual triathlon, the Turtle Trot is coming up in just a couple of days. I was hoping this would be the PR year for me, where my 5k time would be back to the mid 20's (or lower where they once were), my 1/2 mile swim would be faster (can't remember how long it took in the past year), my 10 mile bike would be faster too (same recollection as to the swim). But injuries, lack of training and poor diet will probably take most of my attention resulting in just enjoying the day with some really nice folks.
After this event, my focus will be on training for the Surf the Murph 50, I have signed up, I am committed and I need to do it for myself.
This year has been a mixed year, I finished some events but I did not make the progress I expected. Now I know I have some reasons and I still have many months to get back on track but the bottom line is that at Run Toto Run the footing and lack of enough training did me in. At Chippewa, I thought it was the same issue, my training, in hindsight it was dehydration and injuries. The injuries that I sustained at Chippewa which I was able to ignore during the event as the dehydration had my focus have been a big part of my underachieving since. The reality is that I didn't think anything of the ankle rolls until afterward as yes I had some pain but I thought it was just my lack of will power and basic fitness that were the root cause of my poor time at Chippewa. I have learned since that I have an issue with my push-off that probably was the cause of some of my slow down there. But at Chippewa I was really questioning myself, so it does feel a bit better to know that I had some other issues going on. At Swan Lake the injuries were still an issue but I made it to the finish and then at Afton, the injuries allowed me the opportunity to drop at the 25k point. I hate a DNF and my guess is I am not alone with that thought but I do know it was the right call at Afton but I still didn't like dropping.
Which leads me back to the Turtle Trot, it will be fun, no matter what. I will do my best, enjoy the day and use it as a turnaround for the year.
As to Surf the Murph, the goal is simple train enough to maintain some fitness in the coming weeks, heal the injuries, get the diet going and then train, train, train and enjoy completing my first 50. I can't believe I am going to make the attempt. My hope is that it rejuvenates me to become focused on training and diet to where I can show the discipline again that I once had in training for marathons. If I do, it will be a far more successful day in terms of time but for this one, faster would be better but I just want to finish as I am not sure I can.
I love the thought of the mental battle I will have to go through to complete this event, let's hope I am up to it. Because if I do, then even I will have to consider myself an ultrarunner. Now that is a cool thought.
After this event, my focus will be on training for the Surf the Murph 50, I have signed up, I am committed and I need to do it for myself.
This year has been a mixed year, I finished some events but I did not make the progress I expected. Now I know I have some reasons and I still have many months to get back on track but the bottom line is that at Run Toto Run the footing and lack of enough training did me in. At Chippewa, I thought it was the same issue, my training, in hindsight it was dehydration and injuries. The injuries that I sustained at Chippewa which I was able to ignore during the event as the dehydration had my focus have been a big part of my underachieving since. The reality is that I didn't think anything of the ankle rolls until afterward as yes I had some pain but I thought it was just my lack of will power and basic fitness that were the root cause of my poor time at Chippewa. I have learned since that I have an issue with my push-off that probably was the cause of some of my slow down there. But at Chippewa I was really questioning myself, so it does feel a bit better to know that I had some other issues going on. At Swan Lake the injuries were still an issue but I made it to the finish and then at Afton, the injuries allowed me the opportunity to drop at the 25k point. I hate a DNF and my guess is I am not alone with that thought but I do know it was the right call at Afton but I still didn't like dropping.
Which leads me back to the Turtle Trot, it will be fun, no matter what. I will do my best, enjoy the day and use it as a turnaround for the year.
As to Surf the Murph, the goal is simple train enough to maintain some fitness in the coming weeks, heal the injuries, get the diet going and then train, train, train and enjoy completing my first 50. I can't believe I am going to make the attempt. My hope is that it rejuvenates me to become focused on training and diet to where I can show the discipline again that I once had in training for marathons. If I do, it will be a far more successful day in terms of time but for this one, faster would be better but I just want to finish as I am not sure I can.
I love the thought of the mental battle I will have to go through to complete this event, let's hope I am up to it. Because if I do, then even I will have to consider myself an ultrarunner. Now that is a cool thought.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The week in review
I took Monday through Wednesday off of running, did self massage and had the left ankle wrapped all week with the hope of recovering quickly.
I tried to run before softball on Thursday, my thinking was that it would provide a way to stretch out before the games and I really did want to run. I only went a mile as I still had some pain. On Friday I figured I better be smart so I didn't run which was hard to miss another day as it was a beautiful day.
Although I did get some good news on Friday, my new pair of shoes arrived. New shoes when injured? Of course, it's what I do as I am usually convinced my shoes are aggravating my injury or the root cause as it can't be my training. Occasionally I have been right, usually I am not as the injuries stick around. I ordered a pair of Salomon XA Comp 3's from Sierra Trading Post.
They were priced fairly inexpensively ($49.95) and I got an additional 20% since my order was over $75. So with the additional discount the Salomon's ended up costing just $39.95. I also ordered a pair of Sugio Ready running shorts and a Laken Futura aluminum water bottle. The Ready shorts are my second pair, I love the first pair and have worn them for a few months. They are long (~9 inseam) and softer than normal running shorts, they don't rub or cling which is nice. As to the water bottle, I normally refill "the single use" plastic bottles 10, 20 or 30 times. Probably not wise based on the research.
Saturday, I decided I needed to feel ok as I had new shoes and I had to give them a go. So I grabbed the Garmin and headed to Lebanon Hills. The Garmin synced with the satellites and then I noticed the low battery warning. When was the last time I charged it? I figured it would last as this was going to be a fairly short run somewhere between 4-7 miles depending on how I felt, the Garmin died almost right away. I ran a trail I know well that didn't feature hills and it was fairly smooth so as to not aggravate anything. The shoes felt great, my left ankle seemed to like them, my achilles was tight but the good news was no jolts from either so I ended up running the 6 mile loop. I can already say that based on this first run, the speed laces on these shoes I really like, not sure how they will wear but they sure make it easy to get the shoes on and adjusted.
Today, I ran the river bottoms with Karyn, we did our normal 12.5 mile loop. I again wore the Salomon's. Great news, the ankle was good for 8 or 9 miles and not terrible for the last 3 or so miles. The achilles held together and was manageable for most of the run but was definitely tightening up over the last few miles. So maybe the shoes helped, maybe it was the rest, the shorter distance, the level ground or maybe it's all in my head. I even soaked both feet in cold water when we got home and now I have both feet wrapped up again so I am trying to take care of these injuries.
I am pretty sure that my left foot is improving and my achilles is manageable. Of course, it's what I want to believe but I really do think I am making progress.
I tried to run before softball on Thursday, my thinking was that it would provide a way to stretch out before the games and I really did want to run. I only went a mile as I still had some pain. On Friday I figured I better be smart so I didn't run which was hard to miss another day as it was a beautiful day.
Although I did get some good news on Friday, my new pair of shoes arrived. New shoes when injured? Of course, it's what I do as I am usually convinced my shoes are aggravating my injury or the root cause as it can't be my training. Occasionally I have been right, usually I am not as the injuries stick around. I ordered a pair of Salomon XA Comp 3's from Sierra Trading Post.
They were priced fairly inexpensively ($49.95) and I got an additional 20% since my order was over $75. So with the additional discount the Salomon's ended up costing just $39.95. I also ordered a pair of Sugio Ready running shorts and a Laken Futura aluminum water bottle. The Ready shorts are my second pair, I love the first pair and have worn them for a few months. They are long (~9 inseam) and softer than normal running shorts, they don't rub or cling which is nice. As to the water bottle, I normally refill "the single use" plastic bottles 10, 20 or 30 times. Probably not wise based on the research.Saturday, I decided I needed to feel ok as I had new shoes and I had to give them a go. So I grabbed the Garmin and headed to Lebanon Hills. The Garmin synced with the satellites and then I noticed the low battery warning. When was the last time I charged it? I figured it would last as this was going to be a fairly short run somewhere between 4-7 miles depending on how I felt, the Garmin died almost right away. I ran a trail I know well that didn't feature hills and it was fairly smooth so as to not aggravate anything. The shoes felt great, my left ankle seemed to like them, my achilles was tight but the good news was no jolts from either so I ended up running the 6 mile loop. I can already say that based on this first run, the speed laces on these shoes I really like, not sure how they will wear but they sure make it easy to get the shoes on and adjusted.
Today, I ran the river bottoms with Karyn, we did our normal 12.5 mile loop. I again wore the Salomon's. Great news, the ankle was good for 8 or 9 miles and not terrible for the last 3 or so miles. The achilles held together and was manageable for most of the run but was definitely tightening up over the last few miles. So maybe the shoes helped, maybe it was the rest, the shorter distance, the level ground or maybe it's all in my head. I even soaked both feet in cold water when we got home and now I have both feet wrapped up again so I am trying to take care of these injuries.
I am pretty sure that my left foot is improving and my achilles is manageable. Of course, it's what I want to believe but I really do think I am making progress.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Changes at Lebanon Hills
Things change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not and most times it's all about whose perspective you view the change in. Take the changes in Lebanon Hills, over the years they have been mostly favorable at least in my eyes, the mountain bike folks taught them how to cut good singletrack trails that held up over time. Which led to some great mountain bike trails and eventually spilled over into other sections of the park which led to improved and more single or double track trails for runners and hikers. So for the last few years, I have really enjoyed these new trails to run on however their most recent change is decidedly not a good one, at least from my perspective.
They have changed one of my most favorite loops in Lebanon Hills, the Jensen Lake south loop. It's only a mile and change but it is a section that I almost always started and ended with. What have they done, well, they brought in the bulldozer and they have smoothed it out, the rocks are covered, the roots aren't exposed, some bridges have been added where I used to be able to get my feet wet or at least muddy. I loved this section as portions of it demanded your attention or you would roll the ankle and go down or clip a root and play superman.
Now if you are a family out for a leisurely stroll, these changes are great. Oh well the damage is done, the trail has been smoothed and it will get more use from the general public, some would say this is good, I would say that I liked my trail before. Here is a picture I took with my phone last year while on this loop. This was from one of the smooth sections, when they open the loop again I will take another picture and post it again with the before and after and you will see how the path has been changed.
On a different note, I got the email from Cindy and Les, Surf the Murph (25k, Marathon, 50k and 50 miler) registration is now open. You can sign up on the Surf the Murph website.
They have changed one of my most favorite loops in Lebanon Hills, the Jensen Lake south loop. It's only a mile and change but it is a section that I almost always started and ended with. What have they done, well, they brought in the bulldozer and they have smoothed it out, the rocks are covered, the roots aren't exposed, some bridges have been added where I used to be able to get my feet wet or at least muddy. I loved this section as portions of it demanded your attention or you would roll the ankle and go down or clip a root and play superman.
Now if you are a family out for a leisurely stroll, these changes are great. Oh well the damage is done, the trail has been smoothed and it will get more use from the general public, some would say this is good, I would say that I liked my trail before. Here is a picture I took with my phone last year while on this loop. This was from one of the smooth sections, when they open the loop again I will take another picture and post it again with the before and after and you will see how the path has been changed.
On a different note, I got the email from Cindy and Les, Surf the Murph (25k, Marathon, 50k and 50 miler) registration is now open. You can sign up on the Surf the Murph website.
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