almost there
rolling 30,000 miles on my “odometer” is just a little more than twelve miles away. i’m guessing it’ll be saturday afternoon/evening when i pass the milestone.
lately, much of my running has been in the evening after the kids go to bed. our youngest has been teething which makes for some rather sleepless nights – – and a corresponding lack of motivation to be up at 4:30AM to go running.
4/11 – 7 miles
4/12 – off
4/13 – 6 miles
4/14 – 6 miles
MTD -65.75 miles
YTD – 479.75 miles
Odometer – 29,987.75 miles
darwin award
i suppose i very nearly earned myself a darwin award earlier this week. after the kids were in bed, i went for an evening run while it was raining. it’s no big deal running in the rain, but i also had my GPS strapped to my wrist and my ipod shuffle in a pocket with the headphones draped down my back. my route ended up being a 5K loop around the neighborhood. after the first loop, the rain was still rather light so i opted to roll a second.
shortly thereafter, i noted flashes of light, and after a long pause the rumbling of thunder. not minding much, i continued on my way. about a mile from home, the lightning began flashing much more rapidly and the thunder followed along with it. not only that, but the rain started coming down in buckets. not wanting to win that dubious award, i picked up the pace and hustled my rear end home.
looking back over the first ten days of april, i’ve mustered just under 47 miles in 7 runs which averages out to a little under 7 miles. i haven’t had the chance to fit in a longer run and really need to make the time later this month for ’em.
MTD – 46.75 miles
YTD – 460.75 miles
Odometer – 29,968.75 miles (50K short of 30,000 miles)
march forward
looking back over the month of march, i mustered a total of 149 miles over 20 runs…which averages out slightly more than seven miles per run. i also fit in in two longer runs and a half marathon race. that said, i do need to work on minimizing my off days to less than six per month and extend my long runs so i work of some poundage.
year-to-date i’m on pace for roughly 1700 miles for the year. i’m hoping i can make more time for training as i’d like to be over 2000 miles by 12/31. at this point, it’s looking like i’ll be rolling 30,000 miles on my odometer by the middle of April.
MTD – 149 miles
YTD – 414 miles
Odometer – 29,922 miles
Trailbreaker Half Marathon
you could say i’ve got “history” with the Trailbreaker event here in my (adopted) hometown. this year’s edition was the 18th running of the event and i’ve participated in twelve of ’em. (Marathon – 4 times; Half Marathon – 7 times ; 5K – just once)
i arrived only thirty minutes before the half marathon was to start and hurriedly picked up my race number. my warm up run was limited to the run to the registration and back to my car to drop off the technical shirt i received from the entry fee. with temperatures in the upper 30’s and a swirling wind, i opted for a long sleeved compression top with a short sleeved shirt over the top. longer cut compression shorts were selected to keep the quads/hammies warm.
while the pre-race announcements were going on, i had the chance to greet Marc (AKA “Woody”) who i hadn’t seen in a while. he was sporting a chicago blackhawks hat, but i didn’t hold it against him. after the national anthem was sung by bonnie clarey, we were off and running through frame park. rather than jackrabbitting – as is my habit – i dialed it back to slightly above seven minute pace and positioned myself behind other runners to partially shield myself from the wind.
after winding our way through the downtown, we made our way to the glacial drumlin trail which is where i regularly train. there is a great deal to be said for knowing not only the route but the elevation changes on a course. we rolled past the city limits and made our way toward the turnaround point for the half marathon course. not long before turning around, i could begin seeing the race leaders rolling past me in the other direction. occasionally i’d shout out a word of encouragement to someone i knew but for the most part i was counting how many folks were ahead of me to get an idea of where i stood.
i made my 180 degree turn and was a bit surprised that the buffeting wind wasn’t subsiding after the turn. heading eastbound along the glacial drumlin, i did my best to focus on the task at hand and turned the volume up slightly on my ipod to drown out the sound of the wind. i passed the ten mile mark at roughly 71 minutes which was on track for the initial pace i had set out on, which was encouraging.
admittedly, my lack of fitness began to show over the last five kilometers and i could feel my form deteriorating a bit. a kind word from a volunteer as i turned north toward bethesda park brought a smile to my face. regular checks to my GPS watch confirmed i was making progress towards the finish line. after winding my way through the downtown area i was back in frame park and within view of the finish. a few more glances to my watch told me i had a chance at avoiding my slowest time at the Trailbreaker half so i gave what i could and narrowly avoided that personal worst by a mere seventeen seconds.
time: 1:33:09
overall: 36th/357
M35-39: 3rd/26
after collecting my finishers medal, i got changed out of my clothes and got some food/drink. since my wife & kids were out running errands, i opted to hand around a bit and socialize with Nic, Jeff and a few other folks. eventually, i made my way home for a much needed shower.
march madness
my attention must have been more focused on my brackets versus updating my blog. regardless, i mustered the following over the past week…
3/15 – 7 miles
3/16 – off
3/17 – 6 miles
3/18 – 8 miles
3/19 – 6 miles
3/20 – off
3/21 – 10 miles
Next up: Trailbreaker Half Marathon – Waukesha, WI – Saturday March 27th
MTD – 106 miles
YTD – 371 miles
Odometer – 29,879 miles