pre-race thoughts
well, i ran an easy 5 miler on wednesday and was geared for another on thursday but a rainy downpour sent me back to bed for a bit more shuteye. thursday night i picked up my race packet at Laacke & Joys which included a nice short sleeved technical shirt and a pair of running socks. i browsed their store for a bit and scored a waterproof/breathable jacket on clearance for $50. it’ll come in handy for the early morning running in january & february.
as far as the event itself, we’ve been getting buckets of rain yesterday and today so there is a great deal of potential for some really slick trails. judging by the weather forecast, it looks like it’ll be in the mid-40’s and no rain during the race itself. i’m planning on packing a drop bag with a near complete change of clothes to be kept at the 22M aid station. we’ll see what tomorrow brings.
easy does it
i’m signed up to run the North Face 50K trail run on saturday the 24th so i’ve eased back on the training to let the legs rest up before hitting the trails. honestly, i really don’t have big performance expectations for the race and am really just looking forward to a morning in the woods.
10/12 – off
10/13 – 6 miles
10/14 – 6 miles
10/15 – off
10/16 – off
10/17 – 6 miles
10/18 – 5 miles
MTD – 70.5 miles
YTD – 1177.8 miles
Odometer – 29,285.5 miles
sunday afternoon stroll
i geared up in the late afternoon and headed west on the glacial drumlin. temps were in the upper forties and the sunshine made it feel fairly comfortable. along the way, i caught the scent of burning leaves which when paired with a brisk wind confirmed that it is indeed fall.
after 7 miles in 59:30, i did a 180 and headed for home. admittedly, i was a bit low on energy as i had last eaten more than four hours before. thankfully, the route home is pretty much downhill until the last mile so i just put it on cruise control. pulling into my driveway, i stopped my watch with 1:54:39 elapsed which meant my return trip took me 55 minutes and change. i grabbed a faygo grape soda from the fridge and walked around the block a bit, stopping to talk to a neighbor who is a lions fan as well. (they lost today – – again) regardless, fourteen miles on a memorable fall afternoon.
MTD – 47.5 miles
YTD – 1154.8 miles
Odometer – 29,262 miles
Al’s Run – Milwaukee, WI – 8K (5 miles)
one of the things i really like about Al’s Run is that the start isn’t until 10:30, which allows for a little more sleep. i made it downtown, found a parking spot near the start and made my way to pick up my number. i found the team captain (ryan) and met some of the other guys on the roster for Instep/Hillrunner.com. we did a twelve minute warm up together, stretched a bit then headed for the starting line.
the first mile is mainly downhill, which can pull you out way too fast and make the rest of the race a real struggle. pete, another team member, and i decided to take it out “controlled” at 6:15-ish. as the race started, we made our way down wisconsin avenue and gingerly stepped over a section of cobblestones in front of the grand avenue mall. (how quaint.)
we passed the first mile in 6:00 or so, which felt reasonably controlled – – with a tailwind pushing us along. as we headed north, a spectator recognized me and said “go jerry” but i didn’t have the opportunity to see who it was. pete and i rolled through the second mile in around 12:25. shortly thereafter a group of bagpipers were playing which is much more motivating to me than anything found on my ipod. pete moved forward as we made our way down lafayette hill and onto lincoln memorial drive.
once onto lincoln memorial drive, i passed the 3 mile mark in 18:52. i kept pete’s orange shirt in sight but admittedly struggled with the wind on this section of the course. by four miles i was at 25:20 and was figuratively just hanging on. passing by the art museum, i tidied up my form for the cameras taking pictures of us as we passed. we then zig-zagged our way through the fifth mile and after making the last left turn i could see the finish line with the clock reading 31:20-something. i picked up the pace one last time and watched the clock roll through 31:30’s then 31:40’s as i neared the line. it rolled to 31:50 and i started counting the seconds in my head as i strained to get to the line.
by my count, i was in at 31:58 however the chip on my shoe failed to register as i crossed the line. i walked a bit to catch my breath and made my way over to talk with ryan, pete and a few other guys. after a drink of water, i realized it was getting a bit cold so ryan, pete and i made our way back to our cars.
looking at the results it looks like our team won the team competition. pete and i were the sixth and seventh runners respectively and didn’t “score”. regardless, we both made it into the top 100 finishers which isn’t too bad, all things considered.
off & on
10/1 – off
10/2 – off
10/3 – 5 miles
10/4 – off
10/5 – 7 miles
10/6 – off (stayed up too late the night before watching monday night football)
10/7 – 7 miles
10/8 – 7 miles
admittedly, i’ve been in a bit of a rut with the training. spending some time at the Smokey Bear kids run and watching the Lakefront Marathon did spark some motivation to get back on the wagon again. regardless, next up is Al’s Run (8K) on saturday morning and hopefully a two hour run on sunday.
congrats to my dad on finishing his 13th marathon at the Lakefront Marathon this past sunday.
Tom Cameron - Marathon Finish #13
also, congrats to my friends Dave, Jeff, Dana and Chris on their Lakefront Marathon efforts. Chris was able to set a new personal record and go under 3 hours for 26.2 with a 2:59:58.