july junket
without question, the highlight of the first third of july had to be our trip into michigan to visit my side of the family. running-wise, getting an opportunity to run a 10K in july with relatively cool conditions was a real treat. the effort gave me some hope that by the fall i’ll be back in shape and really ready to race.
7/1 – 5 miles (easy)
7/2 – off (drove to MI)
7/3 – 10.5 miles (10K – 41:03 + warm up and cool down)
7/4 – off (caught up on sleep and visited with family)
7/5 – 7 miles (around auburn hills before driving back to WI)
7/6 – 8 miles (glacial drumlin through bethesda park and back)
7/7 – 6 miles (happy birthday to me)
7/8 – 8 miles (glacial drumlin – saw a woman riding one of those old school bicycles with one 5 foot tall wheel in front and a little wheel behind)
7/9 – 8 miles (glacial drumlin/fox river trail)
7/10 – 5 miles (got caught in a downpour)
7/11 – 10 miles (got rained on three times)
MTD – 67.5 miles
YTD – 985.75 miles
Odometer – 30,493.75 miles
Volksläufe 10K – Frankenmuth, MI
friday morning, we loaded up our family mini-van and made our way to Frankenmuth, Michigan. we arrived in the evening and met my side of the family at Zehnders for a family style chicken dinner. after dinner, we walked across the covered bridge to the eastern side of town and waited for the fireworks. shortly after dusk, the show began which was a real thrill for most of the kids, although my 6 month old niece didn’t really dig the loud noise.
after the fireworks, we headed back to the hotel and got to bed at around midnight local time. i met my dad and brother-in-law in the hotel lobby the next morning at 6:30am and we piled into my dad’s car. i planned ahead for breakfast with an energy bar. they opted to stop at the McDonalds for an egg mcmuffin plus coffee & oj. (i’ll stick to the energy bar, thank you very much)
we arrived at the race about 45 minutes before the start and got ourselves registered. i headed out for a warm up run of about 15 minutes and felt really good. about ten minutes before the start, i found a hidden bathroom off the beaten path then made my way to the line as the national anthem was being played. after a prayer offered by the race announcer, a bugler played the traditional tune to call us to the line. shortly thereafter, we were off and running through a grass field then onto a gravel roadway until we made our way onto the paved road for a long uphill stretch.
i kept myself reined in with hopes of avoiding my nearly trademark habit of pulling a jackrabbit start. as we crested the long hill and turned into the rural countryside, my mentality gave way to being more assertive and i began to pick off runners who had put themselves out of breath too soon.
as we made our way out to the rural areas to the south of town, i began to consciously work to maintain higher knees versus my normal marathon shuffle. i kept telling myself to stride tall as i bounded along beside the corn fields.
passing the five kilometer mark, i took my first glance at my watch to find i was at 20:08. this was a very solid split considering my relative lack of training this year. knowing i needed to dig deep for the second half of the race, i bumped the volume up a bit on my ipod to minimize hearing my own huffing and puffing. as we made our way back into town, the course wound it’s way through the streets with residents outside their home clapping and offering a garden hose spray down for those who were overheated.
i carefully made my way over the slightly uneven surface of the covered bridge and wound my way up the last significant up hill. this left the last significant downhill to roll down on my way to the finish. by this time, my legs were a bit rubbery, but i leaned slightly forward to let gravity help me along. we then turned onto a gravel roadway which turned to a grass field to the finish line.
approaching the finish, i could already see the clock had rolled past forty minutes so i simply maintained my position and rolled across the finish line. the announcer was kind enough to call my name and where i was from as i finished. amazingly, he even pronounced Waukesha pretty well.
i caught my breath then slowly made my way back to the course and ran parallel to it, backwards, so i could meet up with my dad and brother-in-law. before long, i saw them up ahead running together and having a good time. i joined them and we made our way back over the bridge then up and down the last section of the course. nearing the finish, some runners from the local running store noticed my dad’s singlet reflecting their team’s name and called out “Go Hanson’s” – – which was a real kick.
the course was likely about a tenth of a mile long, which is fine by me. i was really most interested to see what sort of pace i could run and how my legs would react to the short distance.
there’s a great recap of the race on youtube. you can see me roll by about twenty seconds into the video on the left side of the screen. i’m sporting my usual Badgerland Striders singlet and hat. we’ll be back again, with the intent of collecting one of those steins.
orange shorts
i have a pair of shorts in with my running gear, that i don’t wear very often. it’s not that they don’t fit properly or the elastic in the waistband is no longer of any use. it’s because they’re orange. orange running shorts which bear a striking resemblance to those employed as a uniform by a national restaurant chain known for their…ummm…wings.
needing an extra bit of motivation for my evening constitutional, i dug deep into my gear drawer and fished out these beauties. i couldn’t quite find a white tank top to go with so i paired them up with a plain white shirt and headed out the door. as i began my run through the neighborhood, a group of four triathletes were doing (up) hill repeats along comanche avenue. noticing a few chuckles, i pointed down the hill and said “It’s faster going this way.” mind you, they’re clad in their spandex outfits giggling at my orange shorts. i plugged my headphones back in my ears and continued on my way.
before reaching the rural anonymity that the glacial drumlin trail offers, i think i turned a few more heads as motorists rolled by. no horns honking or cat calls but a few smirks were noted.
perhaps it was the lower humidity but i began clipping along on the drumlin and before i knew it i had made a 180 for home. as i returned, the sun set and my nearly florescent lower half was ever so slightly less noticeable. i returned home with seven miles elapsed in a few ticks more than fifty six minutes and hit the shower. no beverage refill or phone number requests were received but neither were any gratuities.
oh, and if Kristin Armstrong asks, i spent May 10th, 2008 in Wisconsin running the Ice Age Trail 50K. (my buddy Jeff can vouch for me)
MTD – 170.25 miles (24 runs in 30 days)
YTD – 918.25 miles
Odometer – 30,426 miles
one way
more often than not, my running routes usually take the shape of either a “loop” or an “out-and-back” effort. about a week back, our minivan needed new tires so i dropped it off at the shop and ran the five miles home. the next day, i ran from our house back up to the shop to pick up the van. it’s sort of nice to actually have a real purpose for a run, once and awhile.
6/17 6 miles
6/18 5 miles
6/19 8 miles
6/20 off
6/21 off
6/22 6 miles
6/23 7 miles
6/24 5.25 miles
6/25 5 miles
6/26 7 miles
6/27 8 miles
6/28 7 miles
6/29 7 miles
MTD – 163.25 miles (23 runs in 29 days)
YTD – 911.25 miles
Odometer – 30,419 miles
cross training
after a (long) weekend of home improvement, it begs the question – – does home improvement count as cross training? since my attention was focused on our downstairs bathroom, i recorded the big goose egg on not one but two successive days this past weekend but was as sore as if i had raced a marathon (or further). oh well. one fun experience i had back on the 10th of june was during my run through the Retzer Nature Center trails. while crashing down a rather overgrown trail at the back of the park, i came within ten feet of a racoon who was catching an early evening snooze in the tall grass. not wanting to test my fast twitch muscles, i opted to make a quick 180 and find another path to run on.
6/7 – 8 miles
6/8 – off
6/9 – 8 miles
6/10 – 7.25 miles
6/11 – 7 miles
6/12 – off
6/13 – off
6/14 – 7.75 miles
6/15 – 7 miles
6/16 – 7 miles
MTD – 92 miles
YTD – 840 miles
Odometer – 30,348 miles