Grand Canyon Post #1 - A short video

The adventure to the Grand Canyon this past weekend was indescribable!  I have yet to find time to gather my thoughts and stories into words, but I did throw together a short video for starters with the little footage I had.  

I had full intentions of making this a sweet video and taking time to get some great shots. But then reality set in and I found myself not caring anymore once the going got tough.  Sorry it's a little choppy..enjoy!

I'll be back with the written version in a few days...in the meantime, check out Chad's blog for his perspective and some great pictures.

Chippewa 50K

So since the next adventure begins tomorrow as we depart for AZ and the Grand Canyon, I guess I should finally get around to some thoughts on the last one - Chippewa 50k.  

This race represents sort of the “beginning of running as I know it” for me.  Two years ago, I ran Chippewa as my first 50K and second trail race. At the time I really didn’t have a clue what I was doing, didn’t know anyone, had never heard of an S Cap, didn’t have one of these fancy handheld water bottles, and didn’t have one of these high-tech watches that would tell me how fast and far I was going…or any watch at all for that matter. Although I met a couple guys there at that race in 2009 who seemed pretty cool and were way better runners than me. They must’ve felt sorry for me or something, because they invited me to come and run with them once in a while. Since most good things in life start with just showing up, I took them up on it!

Fast forward a couple years to now, I guess I still don’t really know what I’m doing, but I run a lot more now, get to train, travel, and race with a great group, and have a whole lot more fun. So, I couldn’t think of a better way to start the trail season than a trip back to Chippewa!

Race In a Nutshell
Hard to believe, but this was my first trail race in over 7 months! The game plan for this one was to be real steady, start off feeling comfortable, and then try to finish strong and negative split it by a few minutes. As it turned out, I succeeded in running pretty steady, but felt a little too sluggish on the last half to pick it up at all. That course doesn’t seem like it should be that hard, but it just chews you up with all the constant rolling hills and is just technical enough that it’s hard to put it on cruise control and settle in. I was real happy with how it shook out though in the end, and ended up holding on for first place with a time of 3:59:39.

Here’s the Garmin Data of how it all went down mile-by-mile.

Getting ready at the start.
Picture is from the Chippewa Facebook Album.

Out

After valiantly overcoming multiple sabotage attempts by Joe Z in the first 30 seconds or so, I settled in for the first mile with a good group of six or so runners – Joe, Storkamp, and a couple other guys I just met right then. Once we hit some single track, I pulled out in front a bit and settled in to run the first half almost all on my own pretty consistently in 7:30s or so. I was expecting the course to be super muddy since it rained all day/night before the race, but it was surprisingly in pretty good shape! 

I must’ve got a bit lazy near the halfway point or they got faster, because Craig H, John S, and one other caught up right before the turnaround. I did take a wrong turn around there, but only lost less than a minute I’m guessing (good news is that I’m getting much better at admitting it when I’m lost!). In hindsight, I wish I would have just run with those guys the whole first half so I would’ve had people to talk to.

And Back
The four of us hit the turn-around aid station together, and Craig and I left together. We ran together or real close for the first five or so miles of the second half and it was good to get to know him. He is going to be hard to beat by the end of the summer (or end of spring for that matter).

The way back on an out-and-back is always fun to see all the familiar faces on the trail. After that though, I guess the last 10 or so miles were pretty uneventful. I was cruising along pretty steady, trying to get used to eating a lot, and just loving the beautiful course. There must be a dozen lakes that the course goes along and the weather was perfect for running. When I got to the mile 5 sign, I had about 40 minutes left to sneak in under 4 hours. This was easier said than done with some tough climbs and the killer hill at the very end, but ended up coming in with a whopping 21 seconds to spare!

Post-Race
Jeff Allen and Randy Fulton with FrontRunner put on a great event. This race was almost cancelled last year, and then revived by Jeff and company. There were over 200 runners that were pretty thankful they did it on Saturday. It’s a great addition to the local trail race scene, awesome course, fun atmosphere, and they even had soup, sandwiches, cookies and plenty of cold Lienie’s to enjoy as friends came into the finish! I’m definitely hoping I can make it back next year.  All in all a great way to start the trail season.  

Joe, John and I at the finish.  I think Jeff Allen took this picture...thanks Jeff!

Next up is the double-crossing of the Grand Canyon on Friday!  This one's going to be tough, which hopefully means there will be some good stories to tell.

Easiest 6 miles of my life...

I've covered a lot of ground in the past few years on the paths around the Minneapolis Riverfront area, but I can safely say that none have been more memorable than last Wednesday afternoon.  I went with all my co-workers on a Segway Tour!  I'm pretty sure the hardest work I did the whole time was to step on and off the Segway when we stopped for breaks and some history lessons.

I learned a few fun facts about Segways from Bill the owner when we were there.  First of all, I was quite impressed by their top pace of 5:00 per mile!  Secondly, I guess they really really struggle after about mile 22...I mean really struggle.  Lastly, they wouldn't be very good on technical trail.  Bottom line here is they're fast, but they wouldn't stand a chance against an ultra runner.

This cast of characters in the video is the 8-person full time staff of Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF).  Our staff is sort of a spectacle when we go anywhere together anyway, but I'm sure that was escalated by the fact we were scooting around on these Segways.  Believe it or not, this year alone we will work with 500 student volunteer leaders who will organize cross-country service trips called Pay it Forward Tours and Leadership Camps for 4,000 student participants!  I loved how the Segway Tour guide couldn't believe how we were the whole staff since we were all so young.  You can probably tell that I have one of the greatest jobs in the world...

I've since resorted back to running as my means of logging miles.  Even had the first real trail run of the year at Hyland this morning...good to be back!

Spring Training

Well, it's taken a while to arrive, but the warmer weather is just making me want to run more.  I've never been one to take anything for granted, but I'm hoping a good spring of training will be a solid foundation for some good races this summer - that is as long as I don't screw it all up and injure myself or anything. 

I've been working pretty hard the past five or so weeks and legs feel really good.  It's been mostly just a whole lot of miles, but this year I'm also trying to hang on to enough speed not to slip into a rut.  The last four weeks I've been alternating weekend long runs between steady ultra distance one weekend, and 20+ with a road race in the middle the next weekend.  Seems to have been a good variety of training so far and keeps the legs fresh.

Today was so much fun!
This morning was one of the most fun times I've had on a run in a really long time, and it was my longest run in almost 6 months.  I set out to get to at least 40 miles on this one, although I was feeling pretty sluggish mid-week so wasn't sure how it would go.  Turned out it was just a great day and ended up with about 41.5.  The weather was perfect, and I think the aid station I brought in my car helped too, in particular these bite sized chocolate chip cookies from Target.  I'm pretty sure I consumed at least 2,000 calories by 11:30 in the morning...don't worry, not all in cookies but I had my fair share!

Most of the run was a pretty steady pace around 7:50s (give or take 30 seconds or so), with some hill repeats at the U and on 50th Street thrown in to mix it up a bit.  Then I got through mile 36 and found myself on my own since the other guys either called it good or didn't have the time....so decided to pick it up a notch.  Ended up hitting miles 37 - 41 around Calhoun and the Isles at 6:52, 6:57, 6:36, 6:19, and 5:55 pace.  It was so much fun to be feeling good enough to tick off some faster miles that deep into a run.  Definitely encouraging for now...just have to keep it rolling.

Coolest thing about today is that I was pretty lucky to have run with several guys on the longest run of their lives!  So cool to see guys still feeling good after running more miles than they ever have...definitely remember that feeling not very long ago when I was first getting into ultras...every extra mile is sort of a new accomplishment!  Only thing that could have made today better was if it were on the trails out at Afton, but that would have been a pretty slow slog through snow and mud still...one more week I think.

MDRA 7 Mile Recap
Last weekend was the annual rite of spring at the MDRA 7 Mile.  Nick, Joe, and I did this one last year as part of our long run with around 7 before and 7 after.  So since Joe was back in town we did it again, but had a bunch more guys from the group out there this time.  It's a good hilly course and just a good spring test of fitness.

A 7 mile road race probably isn't my strongest event, but all things considered I think I ran the race about the best I am capable of.  The course was a bit short and had 6.85 miles on the Garmin...finished in 38:01, which was a little over a minute faster than last year (although not taking any wrong turns this year helped greatly).  It's a really informal race that no one took very seriously at all, but was fun and a great workout on a long run.

I am now longing for the trails...very soon!

Irish for a Day

When I signed up for the 100% Irish for a Day 10 Mile back in the middle of February, I had just got back from New Orleans and it was 50 degrees out.  At the time, I was pretty excited for a fun spring race and to take a crack at a good time in my first 10 mile.  Turns out I was definitely fooled about the "spring" part, which sort of did a number on the "good time" part.  I must have forgotten this is Minnesota.

As it turned out on race day, it was about 20 degrees with around 30 mile hour winds, and just enough snow and ice to make the footing pretty miserable.  Not going to lie, I was less than excited about this one (even my skier friends are saying its been a long winter).  But then again its a race and everyone's running in the same conditions...and the positive thing I've learned about racing in bad weather is the worse the weather is, the more memorable the race is.

Matt Trok and I met up to run for an hour or so before the race, and got some extra miles in while scouting out a good chunk of the course.  It really didn't seem so bad as we trotted along slowly, but it was pretty clear there would be sections into the wind that would be pretty ridiculous in the race.

I was a bit surprised at the pace at the start of the race when there were probably 8 or 9 guys that ran about a 5:35 first mile...seemed pretty fast on a tough day.  The group started spreading out quite a bit by mile 2-3 as we came north up the east side of Lake Harriet, running on snow into the northwest wind coming across the lake.  There were two fast guys up front that I sort of gave up hope on by mile 3 or so, and a third who was steadily pulling away.  This is where the shorter distance is so different than a marathon or ultra...in a 10 mile or less you probably won't ever catch guys that you lose sight of, where in a longer race there's a decent chance you might see them again.

By mile 4 or 5, I was feeling pretty terrible around the windy side of Lake Calhoun, and had slipped back to 6th place and running about 6:00 pace.  Thankfully, right around mile 5 is where the course turned south, the footing was much better, and the wind was mostly at the back for the next 3-4 miles.  I had a Gu and eased my way back into a rhythm a bit around here and started feeling pretty good.  There were quite a number of 5K runners who made the last few miles around Lake Harriet a bit of an obstacle course, and the last mile or two was pretty brutal back on snow and into the wind, but all things considered it felt like a pretty steady second half.  The official results put me in third place, but it was really fourth since one of the guys far in front of me apparently took a wrong turn right before the finish.  My time was 58:45.

My 10 mile PR is now almost 2 minutes slower than my first and second 10 miles of the marathon four weeks ago, but that probably sounds about right with the combination of tough winter conditions and non-tapered legs.  All in all it made for a great workout in the middle of a 22 mile training run.

Next race is the MDRA 7 Mile in two weeks (hoping for a fun spring run...but planning for snow and ice).  Then on to the trails!

Canyon on my mind...

So I think I have declared that it is the "last coldest day of the winter" about 9 times so far...but now that its March, one of these days I'll actually be right.  I feel like once spring does come it always goes by quick, which means the big trip for the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim in May is really just around the corner!  I am so excited...never been there before, but I'm very glad that I will be able to see it for the first time by running it.

It seems like the majority of my travel these days has been related to running.  Most of the time though, the big event is a race, and not just running for fun.  Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy races...but I'm really looking forward to just enjoying the run, taking in the scenery, not worrying about how fast we're moving, taking pictures, and just appreciating it all.  Sometimes it's easy to forget in the day-to-day, but I have a feeling it will be one of those experiences that will remind me how lucky I am to be a runner.

While some of the guys have been busy reading this recommended reading for the trip, I took a different route to learn about how to survive 44 miles in the Grand Canyon.  A few weeks ago, I watched this really bad movie called "The Canyon".  Here is a list of things I am now well aware of:

• Don't go on a mule ride with a crazy random local guy.
• It is a bad idea to go off the trail...you could get lost.
• Rattlesnakes can kill you.
• Cell phones don't work very well in the Canyon.
• It can be quite hot down there.
• It's sort of a good idea to bring lots of water.
• Don't try to climb vertical rock walls without any experience or equipment.  
• If you break your leg in the canyon, you will probably be attacked by wolves.
• If you are a guy there on your Honeymoon, whatever you do don't trust your wife.

Sorry if this ruins it for all of you who have been itching to see this movie.  

Seriously, though, I really can't wait to get there and experience it for myself.  Maybe it's because I'm from MN and do not get to see places like that very often, but I've already decided it'll be one of the coolest running experiences I'll ever have.  And nothing beats a trip with the guys...will be a ton of stories and memories for sure.

Mardi Gras Marathon - Race Report

The long winter of training finally culminated in a race on Sunday in New Orleans.  I’ve been really dialed in on this one for a long time, and couldn’t have asked for much more – fast course, legs felt great, absolutely perfect weather.  I had a whole lot of respect for the marathon distance before this race, and after 2:31:13, I crossed the finish line with a whole lot more.  All in all, I gave it a valiant effort at cracking the 2:30 mark, and real happy to come away with a good race, many lessons learned, and knocked 5+ minutes off the old PR.  And of course have a good goal for next time!

It’s funny how 99% of the work in this sport is done outside of competition.  Good thing for me, I am lucky to have the best and smartest runner I know in Chris Lundstrom as my friend and coach.  I was telling Chris on Saturday that if I screwed it all up in the race, it surely wouldn’t be his fault.  He got me through the best stretch of training I’ve ever had and did it feeling really good.  I’m definitely thankful to him for getting me to the start line in a position to give it a shot.

On to the Race!
When I woke up at 5 on Sunday morning, I found it ironic that the temperature in Minneapolis was about the same as in New Orleans – a nice crisp 39 degrees or so at the start.  After checking in my gear bag, I made my way to the front coral and anxiously awaited the gun.  I was glad to meet fellow trail runner Nick Clark right before the race and run the first mile or so together.  The general plan was to start off a bit conservative for the first 10k, then start cruising a bit through the middle of the race to give myself an outside chance at grinding it out in the end for 2:29.

I ran most of the first 5 or so miles with a half marathoner up until the courses split.  Things were smooth sailing through here and felt like I could run that pace all day…just the way it should be on tapered legs.  After the split, I was just a bit ahead of Nick, and already out of sight of the 7 guys ahead of me.  I came through the first 10K averaging 5:49s, and was sort of proud of myself for holding back a bit as planned (the goal average pace was 5:43).  I had my first of three GUs around here, and started ticking off some faster miles.

I came through the halfway point exactly where I wanted to be in 1:14:52.  I knew I’d be cutting it real close and it would take a near perfect split race to pull it off, but that’s the way a marathon is supposed to be run.  I was cruising here through some great parts of town and feeling good – the course went from Audubon Park down St. Charles Ave, to Decatur and the French Quarter, then up Esplanade to City Park and the Lake.  I was still holding on to the pace I wanted, but it started requiring a bit more effort around 18 or 19.  I came through mile 20 in 1:53:54.  It was slightly encouraging that my second 10 miles was a little faster than the first 10, but I knew I was tiring when I was getting real close to passing a guy, and just couldn’t quite close the gap.  The course took a couple 180 degree turns up by the lake before coming back down south along City Park into the finish for the last 4 or 5 miles.

This is where things slowly started to slip a bit more…just couldn’t quite hang on to the pace.  I don’t think I looked at my watch more than once or twice for the last five miles, mostly because I was afraid of the numbers that it would be showing and wanted to just run.  By this time I knew I wasn’t going to be breaking 2:30, so just kept it rolling and as steady as I could to finish with a solid time that I was still real happy with.

In hindsight, I’d love to go back in time to mile 20 of that race and see if I could be just a little bit tougher, but I guess that’s what the next race is for.  It was definitely a great experience and I learned a lot as always.  I really liked the course, was a perfect day, and had a fun few days in a cool city…not too bad of a long weekend out of MN in February.  And I'm convinced this whole marathon training adventure should leave me with a great base for ultras this summer.
 
Post Race
After the race, I had a chance to visit more with Nick about summer plans…definitely looking for him to tear up the trail at Western States again this year, among many other races for sure.  Also had a chance to congratulate the winner – Fred Joslyn – who qualified for his first Olympic Trials with a 2:18:48.  Great guy and real excited for him.

After getting my stuff again, I met up with my friend Ryan and his friend Sally (both ran their first half and I think are hooked!), and Ryan’s girlfriend Stephanie and his buddy Brian.  We enjoyed a couple of the best tasting beers I’ve ever had before heading out for some of the best tasting pizza I’ve ever had.

Next Up…
I signed up on Saturday for Cascade Crest 100 in August, so as far as races are concerned that’s the next big one for me.  There will be plenty of adventures before then though.  And this 40+ degree weather I came home to has me thinking about the trails.
_ _ _ _

And here is the Garmin data for any of you numbers and splits enthusiasts.  The Garmin runs a few seconds per mile faster than actual.