Saturday, November 21, 2009

North Central College won D3 XC Nationals!

Congrats to the North Central College Cardinals, Al Carius, and everyone associated with the program.  After a long hiatus atop the podium (10 years already, wow), North Central College dominated, putting all 7 of their runners in front of Williams College's (#2 team) 2nd runner.  Ouch.  Recap here, as well.

Today's Training (11.21.09)
AM Rowing 8K (30:20.3), 32 spm, AHR125/MHR132 (oops)...
...Running 8M treadmill (1:14:59), i=8, Climb=3379', AHR123/MHR129
PM Running 3.35M (36:40) w/ RG @ Pella Crossing in Hygiene (?). Nice trails around several ponds / small lakes. Beautiful Colorado day, and a great run with my daughter.  Watched several parachuters dropping from the sky.

Friday, November 20, 2009

11.19.09 & 11.20.09

I e-mailed the Erie Review and they let me know that they'll be publishing my letter re: the Eerie Erie in next week's issue.  I did have a couple of additional thoughts about the issue - so far JL hasn't gotten tired of this one, so she seems to have taken at least a little interest in the topic. 
  • One way to solve this "issue" is to do something that I believe all races, or at least all "local" races (I guess all races are local, though, really) should do: offer a prize to the top male and female Erie runner.  While I've never won such an award, it's a nice "claim to fame" for those runners, nice recognition of the hometown runners, and a nice motivator for next year.  Even without the reward, I remember some informal competition between GZ and I as we were just getting to know one another.  I seem to recall one year when we both showed up for the Eerie Erie, and I didn't know which race he was running until he turned right at the first turn (5K) and I turned left (10K).  That was probably 1999, and I seem to recall that we were both 1st Erie in our respective races.  Good thing Adam Goucher never ran the Eerie Erie...Anyway, the Top Erie Runner category should be added (I know - "everyone's a winner" all over again - but we're talking about 2 additional prizes. 
  • The 2nd point, and I've danced all around this one, but the Eerie Erie is a race.  Despite the fact that some of us may criticize a good runner for "cherry picking" a race that we think is "beneath them," I've found "cherry picking" is not always as easy as it sounds.  One can look at last year's results and say "man, there's a race I could win" and show up on race day to find out that a few other good runners thought the same thing.  The bottom line is that no one should have to apologize for running too fast, for being too good, or for racing too welll.  That's the point - IT'S A RACE!
Today's Training (11.19.09)
AM Running 15M treadmill (1:39:59), i=1, AHR121/MHR126
PM Rowing 8K (30:13.2), 32 spm, AHR124/MHR129

It was nice to a) get in a nice longish run this morning at a nice clip, and b) to see my rowing times dropping over 8K.  I'm getting close to 30:00 while maintaining my MAF HR. 

Today's Training (11.20.09)
AM Rowing 8K (30:15.7), 33 spm, AHR125/MHR129...
...Running 5M treadmill (43:07), i=6, Climb=1583', AHR116/MHR123
PM Running 7M treadmill (1:01:37), i=7, Climb=2586', AHR120/MHR127

My left hamstring had been bothering me since my return to running (tightness/soreness), and my left groin had started getting sore the last couple of days.  So I decided to slow it down a bit, but climb instead to keep the HR up. 

Running Totals: 70M week (103M/L7) / 161M month
Rowing Totals: 48K week / 269K month
Elliptical Totals: 23M month

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

11.14.09 - 11.18.09

My highlights over the past few days were:

a) I'm still running, and my left foot hasn't fallen off yet.  It actually feels OK.
b) 20M run on Sunday that went pretty well.
c) Last night's incline step down run (started at 10% for a mile, then ran a mile at 9%, 8%, etc.) - fun, as the incline went down, the pace sped up. 

Training Update (11.14.09 - 11.18.09)

11.14.09
AM Rowing 8K (30:53.5), 32 spm, AHR121/MHR127...
...Running 6M treadmill (47:11), i=5, Climb=1580', AHR123/MHR130
PM Running 7M treadmill (45:39), i=1, AHR121/MHR129

11.15.09
AM Running 20M treadmill (2:15:34), i=1, AHR119/MHR128

Running Totals: 53M week / 91M month
Rowing Totals: 71K week / 221K month
Elliptical Totals: 18M week / 23M month

11.16.09
AM Rowing 8K (30:34.5), 32 spm, AHR124/MHR129...
...Running 9M treadmill (59:37), i=1, AHR119/MHR127
PM Rowing 8K (30:35.3), 32 spm, AHR126/MHR131...
...Running 5M treadmill (32:45), i=1, AHR125/MHR129

11.17.09
PM Rowing 8K (30:22.7), 32 spm, AHR125/MHR130...
...Running 8M treadmill (52:08), i=1, AHr122/MHR128
PM Running 6M treadmill (56:10), i=10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 (1M each - avg 7.5%), Climb=2376', AHR125/MHR133, splits: 11:34(AHR119), 10:08(125), 9:22(127), 8:52(127), 8:25(127), 7:49(127)

11.18.09
AM Rowing 8K (30:30.7), 32 spm, AHR123/MHR129...
...Running 6M treadmill (39:35), i=1, AHR121/MHR125

Running Totals: 34M week / 125M month
Rowing Totals: 32K week / 253K month
Elliptical Totals: 23M month

My alma mater (North Central College) is heading into the NCAA D3 XC Nationals on a roll.  Last Saturday, they dominated the Regional meet with a mere 21 points, 84 better than their nearest competitor (UW LaCrosse)...who just happened to also be the #2 ranked team in the country.  Wow.  It's always nice when you can put 2 runners in front of another's 1st, and all of your scorers before their 2nd.  It's nice to see a big bounce back from this program.  They were 2nd last year, but that followed a couple of years when they were nowhere close to the podium.  Before that, in the history of D3 XC, they had only been off the podium once before. 

In other news, there was this letter to the editor in last week's Erie Review.  Hopefully, they'll print my response in today's edition.  Her reference to the separte elite category at the Bolder Boulder shows that she doesn't realize that the Bolder Boulder is a rare exception, and that someone like Amanda Lovato (the women's winner at the Eerie Erie) would have merely been running the A wave, and not the Pro race, as that one is VERY exclusive.  She seemed miffed by the "oxygen tank" thing, but she didn't do enough research to discover that it WASN'T an oxygen tank at all (see the 10/25 entry on Lovato's blog where she talks about a GI test).  I was curious, as I've never seen an elite runner carrying oxygen during a race.  And the whole thing smacks of the "everyone's a winner" attitude.  I'm completely fine with tweaking the age division breakdowns, and had even discussed that with my wife about the Eerie Erie.  Our issue was that it was tough for my daughter at age 7 to be competing with kids in middle school (7-12).  Or that the in the next division, 13 year olds were potentially competing against college kids (13-19).  But those are minor issues.  Patty Hagan (the letter writer) is asking for basically a separate tier of elite awards.  How would they decide who was elite?  If you ran "too" fast, would you enter another division?  Would they have to create elite divisions within each age division?  Good grief...

Friday, November 13, 2009

11.13.09 MIA Update

Where to start...

I was worried about the way my foot felt during/after my run on 11.01, and for good reason.  Apparently my neuroma wasn't dead after all (had a series of 6 alcohol shots to kill it back in the summer of '07).  If it ain't one thing, it's another - especially with my left foot. 

I'll update my workouts below, but basically this setback threw me into my usual unhealthy tailspin.  I think (and it isn't all rational, so thinking doesn't always explain things perfectly) that the running of the past few months had given me hope, and when the neuroma (my primary running nemesis over the past 16 years) returned, I felt that hope being ripped away again. 

I ran twice on the treadmill on Monday 11.02, taping my toes in attempt to alleviate the problem during the second run.  It didn't seem to help, so I decided to stop running until it felt better, at first solely using the rowing machine for my workouts, and then adding in the elliptical machine. 

After a couple of days of no running (without improvement), I made an appointment to see Dr. Thomas, my podiatrist in Ft.Collins.   I saw him this Tuesdaay (11.10), and he agreed that it seemed to be the neuroma again.  He gave me a cortisone shot after some discussion about limiting cortisone shots to 3/year, and the potential side effects.  I've had a number of cortisone shots for this neuroma over the years, but never "too many" in too short of a period.  But everything has side effects, so hopefully I haven't screwed up my foot further.  Initially it felt numb, and then later on Tuesday and throughout Wednesday it felt worse than before the shot!  I was not a happy camper.  But on Thursday, it felt better, and by last night I realized I wasn't feeling any pain.  So I hit the treadmill to test it out, which went fine.  And I ran again this morning - also fine. 

We'll see...

Training Update (11.02.09 - 11.08.09)

11.02.09
AM Rowing 15K (58:44), 31 spm, AHR117/MHR121...
...Running 8M treadmill (51:24), i=1, AHR118/MHR126
PM Rowing 10K (38:28.7), 31 spm, AHR122/MHR127
PM Running 5M treadmill (33:25), i=1, AHR117/MHR123

11.03.09
PM Rowing 20K (1:19:01.7), 31 spm, AHR118/MHR122

11.04.09
PM Rowing 20K (1:17:22.4), 31 spm, AHR125/MHR130

11.05.09
AM Rowing 20K (1:17:11.9), 31 spm, AHR123/MHR128

11.06.09
AM Rowing 20K (1:17:13.9), 31 spm, AHR126/MHR132

11.07.09
AM Rowing 20K (1:17:11.1), 31 spm, AHR126/MHR132

11.08.09
AM Rowing 25K (1:36:38), 31 spm, AHR126/MHR131
PM Elliptical 5M (48:48), L=10, CR=10, AHR119/MHR122

Running Totals: 13M week / 38M month
Rowing Totals: 150K week / 150K month
Elliptical Totals: 5M week / 5M month

Training Update (11.09.09 - 11.13.09)

11.09.09
AM Rowing 20K (1:19:02.4), 31 spm, AHR117/MHR122...
...Elliptical 4M (37:50), L=10, CR=10, AHR114/MHR119
PM Elliptical 10M (1:32:46), L=10, CR=10, AHR120/MHR127

11.10.09
AM Elliptical 4M (38:40), L=10, CR=10, AHR111/MHR115
PM Rowing 20K (1:19:56.4), 31 spm, AHR118/MHR121

11.11.09
AM Rowing 15K (57:51.5), 32 spm, AHR120/MHR124

11.12.09
AM Elliptical 6M (56:01), L=10, CR=10, AHR116/MHR125
PM Running 5M treadmill (36:58), i=1, AHR119/MHR125

11.13.09
AM Running 10M treadmill (1:07:14), i=1, AHR120/MHR124
PM Running 5M treadmill (39:58), i=5, Climb=1320', AHR121/MHR129...
...Rowing 8K (30:44.2), 32 spm, AHR125/MHR128

Running Totals: 20M week / 58M month
Rowing Totals: 63K week / 213K month
Elliptical Totals: 24M week / 29M month

Sunday, November 1, 2009

10.31.09 & 11.01.09 - End of Month & New Month

Today's Training (10.31.09)
AM Rowing 10K (38:34.7), 31 spm, AHR123/MHR129

AM Running 5K (27:42)

Eerie Erie Race Report
Ran with RG for Eerie Erie 5K.  I made the decision to escort her during the race vs. entering the race - I didn't enter the chute, didn't partake in any aid or post-race food, and only knocked a couple of runners over (I was wearing headphones, pushing a jogging stroller, and running with an off-leash dog).

In only her 2nd road race, RG surprised me again.  We had done a few recent 3M runs - 31:46, 32 something, and I figured that she could run faster than that in a race, but that a 30:00 5K was probably pushing it.  I never saw any mile marks (someone said they saw the 1M mark later in the race), but I knew we were running at least a little quicker than in "training."  The course was a little different from the last time I ran the race (due to changes in the downtown roads - mainly Briggs), but as we started getting closer to the finish, I started realizing we didn't have that much time left, and that RG was running pretty darn fast.  It's new enough to her that as she ran the last couple of minutes of the race, and the fatigue started really setting in, she started getting upset - and I needed to up the motivation, as did a couple of nice nearby runners.  She finished strong in 27:42.  Wow.  As the Eerie Erie's youngest age group was 12 & Under, she finished out of the medals in 4th, behind two 11 year olds & a 12 year old.  She definitely got plenty of positive reinforcement from family, friends, and nearby runners, but it would have been neat for her to get a medal at the awards ceremony, which (per tradition) is still going on...

Ewen North won the men's 5K (16:31), and Nick Cady won the men's 10K (34:31).  However, our Andy Ames officially ran 35:16, but apparently started well after everyone else, as I believe he was using the facilities when the gun went off.  That's on top of riding his bike to the race.  Good job Andy - and good talking with you after the race. 

PM Running 7.9M tread (51:15), i=1, AHR121/MHR129


Running Totals: 11M day / 82M week (107M/L7) / 470M month - new high (last 2 months combined = 906M / 2410.1M year
Rowing Totals: 10K day / 70K week / 236K month

Today's Training (11.01.09)
AM Running 16.8M (1:57:42), AHR124/MHR131
(GZ will love this one) 20 laps of the .84M trail around Erie Lake. I managed to build through this run and gradually bring the pace down to 7:00/M.  This trail is dead flat except for a brief section of up & down as you cross the dam at one end.  I changed direction after each 5 laps (4.2M), with the following splits per 5 lap grouping: 29:59, 29:41, 29:02, 29:00.  My left forefoot bothered me some - more like some of the neuroma related problems I had in the past - something to watch...

PM Running 8.2M treadmill (55:06), i=1, AHR118/MHR125

Running Totals: 25M day / 107M week / 25M month

One very annoying aspect of this morning's 20 loop run (and no, it wasn't the repetitive nature of the run - I run a LOT on a treadmill, so this wasn't monotonous) had to do with my water bottle. Nice benefits to such a run is that I don't have to carry anything, there's a porta-potty, I can drop clothing, etc.  So I had a large Accelerade filled water bottle (one of the pretty nice Ultimate bottles) that I was picking up every couple of laps - when I was done drinking from it, I would drop it carefully alongside the edge of the trail.  When I started the run, there was no one else out there, and there were at most a few people on the trail at a time.  So after about 1/2 way into the run, the bottle disappeared, and I never (still) saw it again - despite looking for it every time I went by the area where I'd last dropped it.  I talked briefly with another guy who was out there running, and he said that he saw it ("did it have red stuff in it?" - yes) earlier where I'd dropped it.  So in addition to missing the fuel for the 2nd 1/2 of the run, I was frustrated as to why it disappeared.  After the run, I checked the nearby garbage cans (nope), and scoured the edges of the trail & lake (nothing).  This is a lake that was taking me less than 6:00 to get around, a lake where I can see the entire trail from any point on the trail, and somehow the bottle went missing.  Did someone take it?  And if so, why?  I'd think if someone saw it there and said "this doesn't belong," they'd at least look around briefly for the likely owner.  Oh, how 'bout that guy incessantly running relatively quick laps around the lake?  Did an animal take it?  Did the wind blow it somewhere I couldn't find it?  Surprisingly irritating - still, 12 hours later.