Race Report: Sunburst Half Marathon 2011

ORN: 13.1 miles, 1:55:43

If any race has become a tradition for me, it's Sunburst. This was my seventh consecutive year to run either the half or full marathon in this event. And, as in the past, each year has had it's significance. The winding course from downtown South Bend, Indiana to a magnificent finish on the turf of Notre Dame Stadium brings a unique emotional experience for me, given my many ties to Notre Dame.

Finish Line at ND Stadium

Race day went the way it usually goes. I backed out of my garage at 4:05am, was parked across from the start line at 6:10am and had time to pick up my bib, get dressed and get set for the race.

My objective this year, unlike previous years, was to try to run a "fast" half marathon...fast for me anyway; I really wanted to be under 2 hours and hoped to be under 1:56. After doing 6 marathons in 7 months from October 2010 to April 2011, I was set for a bit of a different challenge. My recent training was focused on this objective. Even though the forecast for the day was for a high near 90, I figured I'd be done well before the temps got into the 80s. It was in the low 70s by the time I went for an easy two mile warm up run. But I decided to stay with the objective. I stretched well and was ready when the gun fired at 7:30am.

The plan called for no walking, just a steady 8:40 mile continuous running pace until we hit the big hill in mile 12, slog up it and then hang on to the finish. The first 7 miles went as planned...I was comfortable, relaxed and rolling with steady miles between 8:38 and 8:42. I didn't carry any water (another big switch from the marathon routine), so had to decide when to drink. By the third water stop, it was evident the day would be warm. I was taking water each time and dumping another cup on my head.

By mile 8, the temps were warming, rapidly. I could feel the energy sapping. My splits leaked a bit, with three miles in a row coming in at 8:45-48. The usual mental battles began.

The Big Hill arose, just past the Mile 11 marker. Nephew John and I dubbed this hill "Mount South Bend" (those of you who have traveled the flatlands of Indiana see the humor) and in most previous races, I have walked this incline. But this year, I shortened my stride and ran the whole thing. Amazingly, it got over a lot quicker than I remembered and I felt better than anticipated.

At that point, there was 2+ miles to go and I just started running by feel. I didn't really notice the pace on my watch the rest of the way. I just ran and reflected. The running was a joy and quite automatic. The reflection was much on my Dad and the wonderful way Notre Dame had an impact on him in the late 1930s. I ran for Dad, to identify (in some distant way) with the effort he must have expended on that same campus playing football for the Fighting Irish back in the leather-helmet days. I'm so grateful for him...I couldn't quit smiling as I rolled along the west side of the Stadium. The turn into the tunnel down to the field is just a marvelous experience and it was then a dead sprint for the finish line. While I was sure I'd be under 2 hours, I was stunned and thrilled to see 1:55:43 on my watch. I'd hit the goal, even on a hot humid day.

Each year, I relish just walking around the famous football field for a while. As usual, it's a chance to talk with others, compare notes and encourage each others. It also is a time to reflect on my own roots, so strong is my appreciation for my Dad. I truly miss being able to call my Dad and share this with him each year. Yet, I'm truly thankful that when he died in 1993, we had a relationship which had nothing left to say...we were in great friendship.

I finished up and headed home. I discovered on Sunday that the weather conditions got more hot and humid and the organizers had to "Black Flag" the race and shut it down about an hour after I finished. On reflection, it did seem to me I saw more runners than normal who were hurting and feeling the heat. Somehow, it didn't bother me but sure did have an impact on many.

The official results were also amazing. Overall, I was 267th out of 1455 finishers, the 82nd percentile. I was stunned...in most big races, I'm lucky to be over the 40th percentile. Even more amazing was the age group results, where I was 4th of 51 guys age 55-59. Astounding. Things fell nicely for me in this one.

I have a 10K race in two weeks and am still working on my race schedule the rest of the year. That's fine, though..for the moment, I'm enjoying a good run in a fun race.

On the Field

Persevere. My dad sure did and I'm grateful for it.


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Commissioned. Graduated. Amazing

Off topic this post, yet really not for those of you long-time blog readers.

A week ago Sunday, May 8, was one of those days you remember. Our youngest son, Matt, finished his four years at Wheaton College, with quite a flourish.

As a high schooler, Matt decided he wanted to pursue being a part of the US Army. He worked towards and won an ROTC scholarship to Wheaton. He spent four amazing years growing in stature, understanding and leadership. All of that was culminated when he took his oath of office and became a Second Lieutenant. It was a very special moment.

Swearing In

The ceremony also included the traditional "First Salute", the first time an enlisted man or woman salutes the newly-minted officer. Matt asked his brother, our oldest son David, to offer the first salute. David, even though out of the Army for 2+ years now, dug out his dress uniform with full sergeant stripes and offered the salute.

After the commissioning at noon, Matt and his 10 fellow new officers had to hustle across campus to line up for commencement at 3pm. The 600 undergrads filled the stage and the event had all the pomp expected of such an occasion.

Commencement Stage

Matt graduated Magna Cum Laude, which was a marvelous honor as well. Gretchen, David and I sat there with truly thankful hearts; the match for Matt of this school was absolutely perfect. He grew so much through it.

After commencement, we got together; the smiles are genuine.

Afterwards

The only tough part of the day was that our third son, Nathan, was unable to get time off from his job in Portland to join us, despite his best efforts. We included him on several phone calls anyway. David's wife Susan was with us on Saturday but she had to drive back home early Sunday morning as the college where she teaches had its own commencement.

If you'd like to see more photos of our weekend, I've posted about 17 pix here.

Be glad with us. It's been an amazing thing and now three sons all through college and moving on to their lives. We love each of them and are grateful for the gifts and skills they each bring to their worlds.

And each of them continue to persevere. As do we.

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Race Report: Illinois Marathon 2011, 5K

ORN: 26.2 miles, 4:56:57, R4/W1 (till 24.5)

Quick Summary

What a terrific weekend at the Illinois Marathon!! A marvelous chance to run not one but two races with Darrell in mild spring weather. The 5K on Friday night was fun and "spontaneous". Saturday's marathon taught lessons (as usual); this one about preparation and training mileage. It was a great way to finish up a stretch of 6 marathons in 7 months.

The Gory Details

The weekend started mid-day on Friday. I had taken the day off and left about that time to Midway Airport in Chicago to pick up Darrell who had arisen at 4am in California to begin his journey east. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say we knew it would be tight to get him off the plane at 3pm and make it 140 miles south for a 6:30pm start for the 5K. (We actually planned ahead and wore our running shorts under our jeans.) Despite traffic in both Chicago and Champaign/Urbana, needing a friend to pick up our bibs/packets and one-way streets the wrong way in a strange town, we kept all four wheels of the car on the ground through all turns, ran the 1/3 mile from our car to the start line and had all of 60 seconds to spare before the gun went off.

The 5K was just fun. We ran easily, mindful of the fact we had a marathon the next day, finishing in a very relaxed 29:28. The finish, making a circuit of the U of Illinois' football stadium, was fun, with a big crowd and loud music. A couple of folks noticed I wore a Purdue shirt inside our rival's arena; alas nobody picked up on Darrell's California Cruisers Running Club shirt here in the Midwest.

5K Finish

We enjoyed the race pasta feed after the 5K, headed up the road 15 miles to the only hotel room I could find, laid out food and gear for Saturday's race and grabbed some winks.

The usual drill flowed on Saturday morning. Up at 4:20am, fix the oatmeal, dress, pack and out the door of the hotel by 5. The skies were clear and we watched the pre-dawn sky slowly lighten over the prairie, an unusual and pleasant sight for us both. I stashed four bananas at miles 18 and 23 and we scored a sweet parking spot before 6. We had time to relax a bit and get oriented, walked to a Marathon Maniac meet up and photo op at 6:30 and then strolled to the start area.


Maniac Meetup

The weather was true to its forecast; it was around 48 at the start but headed to the low 60s by the end...nice temps. The kicker was the wind, out of the south, at 15mph at the start and up to 30mph by the time we'd get done. So, we dressed in some layers and accepted some chilliness at the start.

At the start

Promptly at 7:00am, off we went and another marathon was underway.

The plan for the day was simple. Darrell wanted to stay conservative and plan for a target race in July. So, he went with my run/walk ratio of 4 minutes running, 1 minute walking, with the run pace at about 10:00/mile. Doing the math (and Purdue engineers ALWAYS do the math) this works out to a 4:50ish marathon.

Other than some unneeded over-thinking of the busy opening pack on my part, the race quickly fell into a very nice groove. We ran 4, walked 1. We talked with each other, many other runners, the many residents who were out to cheer us on (or, in some cases, to scratch their heads as to why seemingly normal people would be running this early on a Saturday). We had a steady stream of miles in the 10:30 to 10:50 range. Once moving, the temps we perfect to run in and we enjoyed ourselves a lot.

Darrell

Joe

Once around the big loop from miles 18 to 23, the usual challenges began. In this case, Darrell just felt his legs' energy dropping off. But we were still enjoying ourselves. At mile 24.5, we noted the 5 hour pacing group leader passed us. We had truly hoped to come in under 5.

And Darrell was a true friend at that point.

He looked at me and said "Joe, I'm not moving that fast. I'll get done. But you go on ahead and see if you can't get in under 5 hours." I could tell in his eyes he was sincere. I thanked him, shook his hand and took off. I ran the remaining 1.7 miles without interruption and actually had my fastest mile of day on mile 26 at 9:12. The run into the stadium was fun and special. Final chip time was 4:56:57. Marathon #22 was done and I still felt good.

Darrell was fine...he held to the 4/1 all the way in and finished 5 minutes later. We enjoyed the atmosphere, picked up a third medal for the weekend as a bonus for running BOTH the 5K and the marathon.

We also some neat people. On the right, below, was Carrie. I spotted her wearing a World Vision shirt, an organization I have admired for many years. She was running to raise funds for needy kids in Africa. She was headed for South Africa later this summer. Since Darrell is heading to Zimbabwe himself in August and my wife and I lived in and around South Africa for six years, we had a good chance to compare notes.

with Lorraine and Carrie

Between Darrell and me is Lorraine Moller. Lorraine represented New Zealand four times in the Olympics, winning the marathon bronze in 1988 in Barcelona. We heard her speak alongside Frank Shorter at the pasta feed on Friday evening. I had a chance to talk with her for quite a while on the floor of the stadium, discussing, among other things, how those of us who are introspective (as are many runners) can be more extroverted. What a country...you can have a chat with a sub-Saharan development expert about third-world education and a 4 time Olympian about human behavior all in one spot. I guess as marathoners there is a certain "acceptance" of others who have run 26.2.

Darrell and I headed up the long steps from the field to the concourse where we could sit down and get some water and food. I was surprised at how good simple cooked penne and marainara sauce could taste minutes after a marathon--thanks to the organizers for having fresh Italian food! It restored both of us. We were able to take a shower at the fabulous U of I intramural sports facility and then drove back to Chicago, when Darrell flew home on Sunday. He and I had a marvelous time. I'm grateful for Darrell's friendship. We have much in common and the conversation flows easily and seamlessly across multiple topics.

What did I learn from this marathon? Familiar topics were more deeply cemented in my mind:
-Weather matters. Temps below 60 always make for a much better race.
-Training mileage matters. The increased miles I have put in over the past few weeks helped.

Now we shift gears to summer running...more speed work, shorter distances. It'll be good too.

Thanks for listening. And persevere!


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Taper Mileage experiment

ORN:  15.8 miles, 2:49:21, 10:44/mile, R4/W1

Nearing the end of this series of four marathons/ultras in four months, I'm tooling somewhat with conventional wisdom about tapers.  To my own peril??  We'll see, in two weeks, when I run the Illinois Marathon for the third year in a row.  Here's my thinking...I welcome your scrutiny.

Going into the Illinois Fat Ass 50K in January, I ran the previous four weeks with 25, 34, 20 and 27 miles.  That race went OK...I had endurance, even at the 31st mile.  

Six weeks later was the Austin Marathon...the five weeks in-between were 8, 23,34, 20 and 18.  Only one decent week.  The race went OK, though ITB issues at 24 diminished the glow just a bit. 

Five weeks later, I ran the 33.5 mile Ultra in Michigan.  The four weeks of "taper" were really tapered, with totals of only 13, 27, 20 and 20.  Those are weeks, not days.  No where near enough miles for an ultra.  Useful to note, though, I still felt good at 26.2 that day.

With another five week gap to the Illinois Marathon, I decided to up the mileage a bit in-between to see if I can't add some endurance.  So, after taking one week calmly with only 8 miles, I've done 33 and 32 miles the last two weeks and will do 23 next week, then it will be race week.  Will it add to my strength or break me down??  We'll see.  

Looking ahead to the rest of the year now, there will be some fun.  Will go for some speed work through the summer, as well as likely volunteering at a new marathon near Indy.  I've never done that and sure owe some folks who have helped in all the races I've run the past few years.   The fall schedule is taking shape but is not clear yet.  

Persevere.

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Race Report: Kal-Haven 33.5 Mile Trail Race 2011

ORN: 33.5 miles, 7:17:51

Quick Summary

Every marathon has a lesson. This one??

Systems are helpful but raw miles in training are necessary.

A terrific event, which I enjoyed, despite a very difficult final four miles.


The Gory Details


The Race

Kal-Haven Trail Sign

The Kal-Haven Trail Race is in its 20th year. It’s a terrific, local event, put on by local runners, volunteering to help others do something we all enjoy. Compared with big city marathons, it really shines. Simple and straight-forward, the race caters to both long-distance enthusiasts, offering a solo race and a two person relay (17 miles each), as well as less adventurous runners, with a six-person relay (with legs of 3-6 miles each).

And value?? Oh my!! For a mere $30 entry fee, we got a great race, full support, not one but TWO tech shirts (one for finishing, one for entering!)! Race Directors Terry and Julie were very visible at the start and finish, answered my questions via email before the race, understood runners and worked liked crazy. The volunteers were magnificent…I truly felt encouraged and supported. They even provided boiled potatoes and PB&J finger food at the last aid station…just for the solo runners!

The Course
The Kal-Haven trail is part of an extensive network of rail trails in Michigan. It was a marvelous running surface. The flat, gravel surface was smooth, well-drained (despite heavy rains earlier in the week) and visually enjoyable as we spent the full day almost always in wooded areas. In fact, I usually find one or both of my heels to be sore/bruised after a road marathon. The day after this race, my heels were just fine, thank you.

Typical section of Kal-Haven Trail

The race is point to point, originating in Kalamazoo and heading west to South Haven, right on Lake Michigan. I actually discovered it about four years ago when we vacationed in South Haven. I ran its last three miles for a couple of days, enjoyed it and then looked at the map at the trail head. I noted Kal-Haven was 33 miles long and said to myself “Self, that’s a perfect distance for a race. I’ll bet somebody else has thought of this!” When I got home, I googled it and discovered this event. I’ve wanted to run it the past two years but other events interfered. This year was a go.

The Performance

I took advantage the offer of an early start and hit the trail at 7:23am, 37 minutes ahead of the official start. Man, it was cold…the bank thermometer said 16F as I drove in and it felt it. Mercifully, there was hardly any wind and we were sheltered by trees. The sun had not yet fully arisen over our right shoulder and so I was able to enjoy the beauty of the changing light over the frosty new day. My run evolved into a three-act play.

Act One was pure joy. I had no time objective for this race and resolved to simply run comfortably. As usual in a new place and surface, it took me a couple of miles to find some sort of rhythm and a little longer to even feel moderately warmed up. But the rhythm fell into place around mile five or so and I hit the 10 mile mark in 1:47, averaging just under 10:30/mile, using my usual 4/1 run/walk ratio. I ran about 6 of these miles with Amy, a baker from Ann Arbor, who gave me an appreciation for gluten breakdown.

I got to the halfway mark in the bucolic village of Bloomingdale feeling good. As near as I could tell, my midway split was about 3:05, with which I was quite pleased. I refilled the water bottles for the second time and discovered how wonderfully pleasant a Dixie cup of pretzels could be.

Bloomingdale

Act Two started a bit beyond the half-way point and was a time of comfortable but determined effort. Involuntarily, the mile splits were now in the low 11s. I still felt fine while realizing we still had a long way to go. Yet, as I looked at the elapsed mileage on my Garmin, it was cool to see it flip over 20 and realize I would soon be at the marathon distance. I kept the 4/1 ratio going, stayed hydrated, worked on my fourth banana of the day (I started with 2 and stashed 3 more in Bloomingdale early before the race) and kept moving. I turned on my MP3 player along here as well and the music was a lift.

It was truly fun to approach the marathon mark. To someone for whom a marathon was itself a mere dream in 2006, the distance of 26.2 remains magical. And here I was again. I found myself smiling and grinning as the display got to 25.5, then 26.0 and then picking out the spot ahead where I imagined the marathon line would be. I hit the lap button as the Garmin ticked to 26.2 and noted later it was a running time of 5:01:59. I let out a whoop and grinned ear to ear (which raises the philosophical question: “If a marathoner whoops in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does he make any noise?”). To still be running comfortably past the marathon distance was a significant psychological lift. I pressed on, though with splits dropping to the lower 12 minute range.

Act Three extended from mile 28 to the finish and was an ever-slowing slog. The wheels gradually came off the wagon. Fatigue set in and the battle began as to how best to keep going. I knew I had done 31 miles in colder weather just 11 weeks ago, which was helpful. I throttled back at mile 27.5 to a 2/1 run/walk ratio and that helped for several miles. Boiled potatoes at an aid station were a treat. But eventually, running just was not going to happen. I pulled the forearms parallel to the ground and “power walked” for about a mile and a half, falling in with Tom for a good bit of that time. We got into the part of the trail I had run before. I knew there was only about 2.5 miles to go but I couldn’t keep up with Tom, so thanked him for the pleasant conversation and sent him on his way.

The last two miles were just plain tough. My legs were done. There was no sharp pain and I found some strange pleasure from that, realizing I likely had no injury. Yet it was as if they had simply gone on strike. The 33rd mile took all of 20 minutes. Yet, it was familiar territory; under I-196, under the Blue Star Highway, a left turn, past some nice houses on the water, up the hill and done. Marathon Distance or higher race #21, done, in an official time of 7:17:51.

Mileage from the race start

Post Race was a true joy. Unlike last year’s Chicago Marathon, (when I also walked the last 3 miles, cramped miserably and was not quite with it for a good hour or more) I really felt fine from the waist up. I was cracking jokes with the time keepers about my slowness, then found race-director Julie who had already noted on her trusty clipboard the fact I needed a ride back to Kalamazoo. She had a volunteer ready and less than five minutes after I walked over the finish line, she had me and others in a car headed back to the start. Wow, that is really impressive organization! Volunteer driver Cristi dropped me off at my car after a delightful conversation all the way back to Kalamazoo. The cooler in my trunk held the much-awaited bottle of chocolate milk (my now-favorite post-race treat). I found a fast-food rest-room in which to change into dry clothes and wash my face, and headed home, listening to a fabulous basketball game with Butler beating Florida. Not Purdue or Notre Dame, but at least Butler is in Indiana!

The Lesson

I’m a systems geek, as those of you who know me are painfully aware. And running has plenty of room for systems. They all worked in this race, from my chart describing what to wear at each temperature to the two watches I wear for pace and time splits to the view on heart-rate monitoring to the electrolyte tabs I put in my water which prevented any cramping to the nutrition I downed before and during the race to the music I loaded on my MP3 player to the KT Tape I put on my left knee which avoided ITB pain to the paper tape on the balls of my feet. And there is more…you get the point.

Yet, as the logician would say, these systems are necessary but not sufficient.

To comfortably finish a race of 33.5 miles, one has to have more miles done in training than I did.

Weekly Miles-6 months up to Kal-Haven 33.5 mile ultra


Here is my chart of weekly mileage for the six months up to and including this race (and, yes, this too is a system, thanks to Running Ahead’s on-line running log). I averaged around 23-25 miles per week. It seems to get me through marathons OK but to do an ultra, I need to amp this up to an average of 40 miles per week.

Do I have the time or inclination to do that? I’m not sure right now. And that’s the lesson. All the clever systems in the world don’t replace a training base appropriate for the race.

Pay the price to reap the reward of striding strong across the finish line. I didn’t do it for this race. So I walked across the finish line instead. To run across, I need to run more.

A useful lesson in a very enjoyable event. Thanks for listening.

Persevere.

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Trail race set for this Saturday

ORN:  Rest day

You know you are a runner who lives in Indiana when you can utilize a race to make sense of a negative basketball event.  

When the NCAA Brackets came out a couple of weeks ago, a wonderful possibility quickly appeared to me.  If the seeds held, my own Purdue Boilermakers would play my family favorite Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Sweet Sixteen.  Very cool!!  I promptly plunked the necessary choices to make this happen by my prognostication.

But, last weekend, I began to investigate and faced a conundrum.  The Sweet Sixteen games are played on both Thursday night and on Friday night and the potential Purdue-ND game would be played late Friday evening.  And I was already signed up for an early start in  the Kal-Haven 33.5 Mile Trail Race on Saturday morning.  

Do you see the dilemma??  I had to stay up and watch such a crucial game.  Yet I also had to get up at oh-dark-thirty the next morning to run 7+ hours in the woods the next day.  Oh no!!!

All of this was predicated, of course, on Purdue winning two games last weekend.  No problem with St. Peters, but VCU proved to be too much for our local lads.  And, as the Boilermaker defense became more and more porous in the 2nd half, I half-smiled, consoling myself that I was increasing my chances of getting a good nights sleep before the ultra.  I then went to bed, waking up in the morning to learn the Irish had lost later the same evening, removing any need to watch hoops till midnight this Friday. 

I'll drive to Michigan Friday afternoon, get up early, stash bananas at the mid point of the course, take an early start at 7am Saturday morning and see how it goes on the rail trail, point to point race.  It's gonna be cold, likely just 20F at the start.  I had hoped for more warmth by late March, but I guess not.  If this all works, it will be my longest single run ever.  

I'll post updates on Friday on FB, with photos and a blog post later.  I'll persevere. 

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On Blogging

ORN:  5.2 miles total, with 3 x 1 mile repeats, average 7:47

I've been blogging for a long time, with my first post in 2002 on my still-existent professional blog.  This running blog emerged in late 2004 with, surprise, surprise, a race report on what was then my longest run ever, a whopping 12 mile trail run.  I like to write and, even more, enjoy reading what others have to say on areas of interst.  Blogging is real, personal, and bypasses the professional editing that tends to water down useful ideas.  

Yet, blogging has really faded.  I lamented this in my reflections on 2010.  I've also wondered just what to do with blogging.  Do I just give up and force all my thinking into two sentences on FB updates that scroll by in a matter of hours?   Surely there's a better approach but I couldn't give voice to it.  Then I read this post from Seth Godin, one of the clearest thinkers on marketing out there.  I copy here in its entirety.   

Bring me stuff that's dead, please

 

from Seth's Blog by Seth Godin

100+ people liked this

RSS is dead. Blogs are dead. The web is dead.

Good.

Dead means that they are no longer interesting to the drive-by technorati. Dead means that the curiosity factor has been satisfied, that people have gotten the joke.

These people rarely do anything of much value, though.

Great music wasn't created by the first people to grab an electric guitar or a synthesizer. Great snowboarding moves didn't come from the guy who invented the snowboard... No one thinks Gutenberg was a great author, and some of the best books will be written long after books are truly dead.

Only when an innovation is dead can the real work begin. That's when people who are seeking leverage get to work, when we can focus on what we're saying, not how (or where) we're saying it.

The drive-by technorati are well-informed, curious and always probing. They're also hiding... hiding from the real work of creating work that matters, connections with impact and art that lasts. I love to hear about the next big thing, but I'm far more interested in what you're doing with the old big thing.

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Blogging is much more than showing off my miles.  It's far more an exchange of ideas, observations, mulling, plans.  A way to connect.  And if that's now for a more select audience, fine.  If you are reading this, THANK YOU!   To read a blog is to listen.  To post a FB update is merely to talk.  And I think we can stand for more listening than talking.  

Persevere...and keep blogging!

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