Good Time to Be a Runner
Last weekend, we enjoyed nearly perfect weather at the Depot to Depot 5 mile run in Black Earth. I say nearly perfect because we had to run through a brief downpour at the beginning of the race. But the rain clouds quickly disappeared and we had sunny skies at the finish line in Mazomanie.
This was the first time I had ever run Dept to Depot. I’ve heard other runners talk about it and I’m glad my friends and I ran it. The course does a loop in Black Earth before taking County KP to Mazomanie. But before you hit the finish line, you veer off of KP onto the grass and run on a nice dirt path that goes through a thicket of trees. When you come out of the trees you can suddenly see the finish line and you’re there. It’s a fun course.
This is an exciting time for running right now with track at the Olympics getting under way and the cross country season about to start again. Today, or actually last night, Shalane Flanagan won the bronze medal in the women’s 10,000. When she finished, she wasn’t even sure if she had taken third. But she did and even if she DNFs in the 5,000, she has had a great Olympics.
Saturday night (Sunday morning in Beijing) the women’s marathon will take place. Of course, it will be great to see how Deena Kastor and the rest of the Americans handle the competition and humidity and smog in Beijing.
If anything, seeing these great athletes gut it out at the Olympic games, definitely gets you pumped up about your own running. What a great time to be a runner!
Posted Friday August 15, 2008
Banking on Experience
While today may tick by as just another day at the office, it is significant in at least one way for me and at least 2,499 other people.
Exactly two months from today the Lakefront Marathon will take place. It seems hard to believe but the harsh reality is that only two months separate August and October. By this time in our training we should be hitting some longer runs and building up our mileage.
My long runs aren’t quite as long as I hoped at this point but they will get there. I think what will be most helpful to me will probably be my experience from my first marathon. At the Madison Marathon this spring, I really didn’t drink or take in any GU or other energy until it was too late. I was surprised to hear Deena Kastor say that she takes in water about every 20 minutes of the marathon! I don’t think I will be doing that but I will definitely drink something before it’s too late.
Maybe I won’t have quite the miles behind me that I did for Madison but I think I will make up for it in other ways. In the meantime, I’m keeping myself occupied with a couple local road races. I know I probably really shouldn’t be racing too much but I don’t care. It’s summer, it’s time to run!
I’m planning on checking out the Lodi Library Run this Saturday. I’ve heard there’s a big hill at the start and good competition. Plus registration is a few dollars less than the standard $20-25. Should be fun!
Posted Tuesday August 5, 2008
72 Days until the Lakefront Marathon!
Unless you keep your eye on things like the calendar, dates can sometimes sneak up on you. That’s probably why I find myself checking out the Lakefront Marathon web site from time to time.
With 72 days left, I wouldn’t say that I’m where I should be at in my training. I haven’t done a long run since May and last week was one of the first full weeks of running I’ve gotten in since May. I’ve been slowed down with a nagging tightness in my IT band and a severe case of burnout after training for my last marathon.
To get myself of on the right track, I bought a new pair of shoes Monday from my favorite running shoe store. Rolando was patient as he let me try on virtually every neutral shoe in stock. Ultimately, I settled on the Puma Complete Tenos. I have never worn Pumas in my life but I love them. With two runs in on them, they feel great on the road and didn’t bother my stressed out IT bands.
This weekend I’m going to test myself further by running either the 5K or 10-mile at Waunafest. It will be the first race I’ve run since the Madison Marathon in May. I’m looking forward to racing again. It’s been awhile.
Posted Thursday July 24, 2008
Cinder Track!
To many of you I doubt this is news but I was pleasantly surprised to come across a 400-meter cinder track on my run yesterday. After a recent kickball game (we lost) at Demetral Fields I noticed someone running around some green space next to Demetral Fields.
Since the road was lower than the track I couldn’t see what the person was running on but I had an instinct that it could have been a track. All the right elements were there: location near a high school (Madison East), football field and runner apparently circling the football field.
Yesterday, I finally made it over there to investigate and was rewarded with my discovery. Early this spring, I had been looking for a track to do the occasional speed workout on but was dismayed by the lack of tracks in the area and basically gave up and regulated my speed work to the mile markers around Lake Wingra. So I’m pretty excited at finding a cinder track about two miles from my apartment!
I’ve never run on cinder a track before and, after turning out a test mile on it, I have a new respect for the blazing times that the pioneers of track and field ran on these things. Given, it has probably been a few years, or decades, since the track has been groomed, the cinder track surface definitely gives a lot more than a rubberized track. But I love it. The cinders are easy on the legs and there is something satisfying about hearing the crunch, crunch sound of your feet hitting the cinders.
I’ll be going back soon.
Posted Wednesday July 23, 2008
The (Magic) Stick
Hopefully the popular New York rapper named after a denomination of money won’t mind the title of this post. But having come off a recent injury, I truly have discovered a magic stick. Otherwise known as “The Stick” it is a simple handheld massage device that you roll over any muscle, tendon or ligament you want to stretch and it gently stretches it out. Magic!
After using it for a couple days, I’m now back in the running saddle again and building back into my marathon training.
Of course, it was just more than a slim plastic stick that got me back on my feet, I also did some dynamic stretches I picked up while under the tutelage of John Zupanc at UWO. That and just running while being conscious of your body, seemed to help as well. If I started tightening up, I stopped and stretched, something I’ve never done any other time in my running, ever.
So, to say the least, I’ve learned a couple things from my latest setback. And, to be honest, I think it is a good thing. If I had started my training any earlier, I most likely would have burned out by the time the marathon (October 5) rolls around. As I learned from my last marathon, the training process takes a lot of focus and determination to just keep going.
On a side note, I have an interview with the one and only Kurt Knueve in the pipeline. Kurt is a former All-American at Hillsdale College in Michigan and also a very nice person. But then again, aren’t all runners?
Posted Friday July 18, 2008
For Old Time's Sake
Last night, like a great number of track fans in the Madison area, I made a 20 minute round trip to watch a three and a half minute race.
It was well worth it, it isn’t everyday you get to see a couple Olympians duke it out over 1500-meters here in Madison. Matt Tegenkamp, Paul Riley, Chris Solinsky and Sean Quigley ran a metric mile at Don McClimon track on Tuesday night in an attempt to break the Wisconsin record of 3:40 or something like that.
They did so easily. Tegenkamp won in 3:37 with Riley at 3:39, Solinsky at 3:40 and Quigley at 3:43. I think the coolest part was after the race when Tegenkamp gave out high fives to spectators that lined the track.
It will probably be the last time the Tegenkamp, Solinsky, Riley trio will ever race in Madison. It looks like after the Olympics, the trio will be moving out to Oregon, along with former Badger CC coach Jerry Schumacher. If it was the last race, they couldn’t have gone out any better!
Posted Wednesday July 16, 2008
Playing the Waiting Game
Back in February, when we had snowdrifts that towered over your average-sized SUV, I was counting down the days until summer.
Now the snow is gone and its summer and I can’t run. For the last two weeks I’ve had a nagging pain in my left leg, somewhere in my hamstring and IT band. It doesn’t feel like anything serious. I think it just needs some time to heal.
But sitting at home while I watch runners, walkers and bikers revel in the snow-free outdoors has been hard. But if I’ve learned anything from running, it’s that patience can just as important as hard work.
Still, it’s been tough going. Last weekend, my ever-eager training partner Matt cranked out 22 miles in preparation for the Lakefront Marathon, which I’m running with him. There’s nothing wrong with getting in 22 miles during marathon training but the thing is the Lakefront Marathon isn’t until October.
I did my best to stay right with Matt in our training for the Madison Marathon but I think for this go-around, I’m going to take it little easier. I’ll probably max out with a 20-22 mile run instead of 28. And I’m already ahead of myself by not training like crazy five months out from the marathon.
In preparation for the Madison Marathon, which was at the end of May, Matt and I were in peak shape by the third week of January. Trying to maintain peak fitness for five months is hard and stupid. By the time May rolled around, I was so sick of running that I barely got out at all. On the positive side, I didn’t have to worry about not tapering.
So a little pain in my leg is slowing me down in my training for Lakefront, so what? If it still hurts in August, I might start to get a little concerned but for now, it’s giving me a nice little break. Come October, I’ll be ready to go.
Posted Tuesday July 8, 2008
Solinsky Frustrated with Olympic Trials Race
I know I’m a couple days late on this post so you’ve probably already heard that former Badger Chris Solinsky just missed out on making the Olympic team in the 5,000.
And when I say just missed out, I mean it! Going into the last lap he had the lead and he even was in contention the whole way until the final couple hundred meters. He finished in fifth place, only 3 seconds off third place.
The good news is his former college teammate and training partner Matt Tegenkamp placed second and will be representing the US in Beijing. Jonathon Riley, a former Stanford standout, who has been training in Madison with Tegenkamp and Solinsky placed 13th. He represented the US in the 5,000 in 2004 Olympics.
The Capital Times published this interesting article yesterday. Apparently Tegenkamp and Solinsky had a strategy for the last 1,200 meters of the race that involved Tegenkamp taking the lead with one lap to go. Tegenkamp did not take the lead and Solinsky was forced to lead two laps instead of one. Leading this extra lap may have possibly taken away valuable energy that might have helped with his kick at the end of the race. Who knows?
Reading the article, it sounds like Solinsky learned some important lessons from the race. Either way, he ran a great time and will no doubt be a top contender in 2012 (Yes, there's already a homepage for the 2012 Olympics).
Posted Wednesday July 2, 2008
Wait, there's more! Archived posts:
June/May 2008