The White Mountains

I am blogging from the road...here in North Conway, New Hampshire. I did not have any ideas of what this area would be like, before traveling here. The town of North Conway, has a Wisconsin Dells type of feel, quite family oriented. The mountains and ski hills around here are large. I know it is not quite Colorado, but it is still much more hilly than anything you will find in the Midwest. We came upon a ski hill on our trip to Mount Washington, and it was HUGE! We got out of the car to explore the hill a bit more, and it turns out that from base to peak is a 2100 foot climb. The Mountain Champs are only a 1200 foot climb, and I am happy about that. 2100 feet seems like an unimaginable climb. So, after seeing that ski hill, we were off to the Cranmore Ski Resort, the site of the US Mountain Champs. And 1200 feet does not seem as daunting as 2100 feet, but it still looks like a huge climb. These ski areas make Afton Alps look like a bunny hill. We walked a little bit of the course, and the footing is a lot worse than I had imagined. The footing makes Afton Alps look like a golf course. Afton Alps may have be a good prep for this race, but you can't replicate the real thing. Now it is sit and wait until Sunday morning for the race to begin. This will be unlike anything I have ever run, and I am excited to see what this is all about!

Now for running this week...

Monday - 12 miles, ran pretty relaxed, but the sun, heat and humidity were a bit much. Towards the end of the run, it became "jog time" and I was just happy to be done with the run for the day. The day after a decent 5k, and battling the heat of the day, it seemed like a victory to get through 12 miles.

Tuesday - Ran with the group from the store. Right foot was starting to hurt. Not sure what the pain is...could be a foot bruise, and I am hoping its not a stress fracture, but I am not sure what one feels like, since I have never had one. I am thinking foot bruise from the racing flats I wore on Sunday.

Wednesday - Ran 10 miles after work, and later in the evening to avoid the heat. My foot is hurting quite a bit now. Not in panic mode yet, but worried about my ability to run fast this weekend.

Thursday - Ran 10 miles in the morning with Jeff. Right foot was hurting most of the way, and 2nd toe on right foot is now swollen. Still not in panic mode, but definitely worried about it at this point.

Friday - Ran for just over an hour in North Conway, NH with Kelly. We ran around the hotel area, and never really found a trail or road that we could run on for more than ten minutes. So it was an exploration run. Not a bad run, but just not a consistent run. Right foot is feeling better...didn't hurt nearly as bad. Thinking it will not affect me during the race on Sunday.

It is almost time to find out if mountain and/or trail running is my thing! I know this is probably not the ideal course to break into the mountain scene, but you have to start somewhere!

Song of the Day: Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson

The Northwoods Smell

It has been a week...exactly...since I last posted. I don't know what kept me from posting this past week. I must have just plum forgot.

A quick re-cap of running this week:

Mon 6/15: 10 miles - my legs still felt beat-up from the run in the Alps on Sunday

Tues 6/16: 12 miles (roughly) with the group from the store. I felt old with this group, the only person older than me, was Kelly. Quite a few recent college grads on this run in the rain. The pace was quick at times.

Wed 6/17: 14 miles after work. The same route I run nearly every Wednesday, but after running much faster the week before with Mike there is now a new standard for this course. But it took me what it normally takes me to run this route. Maybe next week??

Fri 6/19: 10 miles with strides. Nothing of note about this run. Morning run, a few strides, some exercises after. Pretty typical.

Sat 6/20: 6 miles from hotel by the Miller Hill Mall in Duluth to the Grandma's Marathon course, via Chester Bowl. I started this run at 6am, and by the time I reached mile 22/9 I was sweating. Not a good sign for the marathoners and half-marathoners.

Sun 6/21: Chad Greenway/MN Vikings Gridiron Gallop 5k at Lake Nokomis - 15:45, 1st place. 13 miles total for the day. Making 65 miles for the week.

Now for discussion:

I had two feelings watching Grandma's Marathon on Saturday. The first feeling was sympathy for what the runners/racers were experiencing with the weather. It was brutally warm when the lead marathoners reached London Road/Superior Street. Very few people looked like they were enjoying themselves or running with comfort. It was difficult to watch at times. The second feeling was relief and satisfaction on my decision to run Green Bay Marathon a month ago. My decision was based mostly on weather. I didn't want to experience another hot marathon. Green Bay was not warm, it was sunny, but not warm...I wore gloves the entire race. Grandma's was hot and sunny and humid. If I do run anything at Grandma's next year it will be the half-marathon.

The Greenway/Vikings 5k around Lake Nokomis this morning was a tune-up race for next weekend. I wanted to red-line it a bit to remember what it feels like to really hurt, since the last time I have raced hard was Get in Gear. I ran 15:45, and won by a minute or so. But I found it difficult to push myself to that red-line point. I felt within myself and composed the entire way, which is a strange feeling for a 5k. It was fairly humid, and a bit warm, but there was no sun shining, and that made a big difference. This race was great though! What a great event. Especially if you have kids who happen to be Vikings fans. Maybe it is just the Vikings fan in me, but I thought it was a great low-key event. A few Vikings players were on hand to put on the race, and hang-out with the kids. The door prizes are pretty darn good too. The gave away 4 sets of Vikings tickets. Didn't win any of those, but I was hoping! They gave away a bunch of signed jerseys and balls, and even Vikings ties. Below is a photo of the award. Probably the greatest race award I have won.
Song of the Day: Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot

2 bedrooms or 1.5 bedrooms

The week that was:

When was the last time I posted? Monday? Oh...what has happened since then? Any life changes? No. Anything out of the ordinary? I can't remember, so that must mean no? How about running? May as well talk about that!

On Tuesday I ran a track workout at Macalester. 8x400 with a 400 meter jog in between. Ran a 67 on the first one, then 68's for the remaining seven. Started the workout with 2x200 meter strides in 32 seconds. A pretty good workout for the first speed workout in a while. Ran the workout with Kelly.

On Wednesday I ran a 14 mile route from the store, that I tend to run on Wednesdays when there is no snow or ice on the ground. Mike must be feeling pretty good, because we ran the course faster than I have run in the past, with the exception of the day I ran a tempo workout on the course. We even took a slight detour when we ran upon construction on one of the bike paths. So we ran about 1/4 mile on railroad tracks. Good thing it was only for a quarter mile, because there was a fast moving train on the horizon, and I don't think it would have had the ability, or desire, to stop. After the run we went to watch the Nature Valley Bike Race Criterium in downtown St. Paul. Pretty cool atmosphere. A lot of people out watching, having some drinks, and enjoying a pleasant Wednesday evening. I wasn't watching for anyone in particular, but I was amazed by the speed and positioning of the pack, and they speed at which they take corners.

On Thursday I ran at Willow River with Finch, Tony, Mike and Wyn. We ran about 12 miles. The pace was pretty relaxed until we didn't wait for Mike when he stopped at the bathroom. He caught us in a timely manner, and then blew by us in an equally impressive fashion. The pace got a bit more up-tempo from there. It was a good run, it felt like we were absolutely flying at certain points.

On Friday, I ran after work with Jeff. We ran our morning 10 mile route, and I tagged on an extra mile at the end to make it 11.

On Saturday, I ran my 10 mile route that goes up the Highland Pkwy Hill. Ran 4 block long strides at the end. A more relaxed pace than many of the runs during the week.

Today I convinced Kelly to run the Afton Alps Mountain Bike Trails. We parked at the state park, and ran down to the base of the ski hill. Ran two loops, and it was warm! Today was my best day for sweating yet! I led the first loop, and tried to let myself "fall" down the hills. We took a quick break before starting the 2nd loop, and Kelly led for the first part. It was much more difficult to follow than lead. When we came up on the first big, steep hill I went around him and that was the last time I saw Kelly on the run. I was happy that I ran the same time for both loops (about 45 minutes), even though I felt a bit tired during the 2nd loop. After the run, I drove to Stillwater and watched the final race in the Nature Valley Series. Much easier to watch than the race in St. Paul on Wednesday. That might be because of the watching point. My dad and I watched at the top of the final hill on the criterium. Those guys are impressive. To crest that hill and then start hammering...something I couldn't do on a bike.

Song of the Day: House of the Rising Sun - The Animals

Solid Gold

Grand Old Day in my experience is the warm-up for the festival season. I like to call Grand Old Day, the opening day and the state fair is the playoffs. Painfully cold temps kept Grand Avenue in the PG-13 realm on Sunday. Last year it seemed pretty skanked out. This year was tolerable. The good part of the day is that I got to experience one of the local groups that I have been listening to the past few months...Solid Gold. They played about a 40 minute set on the Dixie's Stage. Most of it was good, some duds, but that's what live shows are all about. The other good part of Grand Old Day, is being able to walk a half-mile away from my place and consume a foot-long corn dog, a bag of mini-donuts, and a coffee. Pretty darn good!

As far as running goes...On Friday I met Jeff for a 6am run. Ran 11 miles, pretty uneventful.

On Saturday I woke up early enough to get a run in, but did some computer work and sent out emails instead, so I ran after work. Ran a relaxed 10 miles with alternating on/offs from Lexington Ave to Dale Street on Summit Ave.

On Sunday I ran a tempo run as part of the Grand Old Day 8k. Ran well through 4 miles, 21:23, but told myself not race today...and I didn't, but there were 2 guys near me at 4 miles, and I let off the pace a bit to keep from racing. That's alright though...I will take the run through 4 miles, and I felt really strong on the uphills. Pulling away from the other 2 guys easily going up both bigger hills. I don't know if this is a race that I would want to give an all out effort. Running on Grand Ave does not have the same feel as running on Summit.

Today I ran my Monday morning 12 mile route. Pushed the final 2 downhills. Starting to feel more natural running fast downhills. I will probably make one more trip out to Afton Alps before Grandma's weekend, plus a run in the park this Thursday. All in all, a pretty solid week of training, lets see if I can string together another two weeks like this past one.

Song of the Day: Didn't I - Darondo

Mountain Bike Trails

I live a pretty boring existence at times! I can't really give you any grand stories of what I did during the day, or even anything that remotely resembles a good story. It almost feels like a routine of wake-up, do your things, go to sleep. The "do your things" part is pretty vague, but you can group all your daily activities into that category. The most exciting thing I have done the past few days includes downloading new music, and booking a hotel for New Hampshire that has a moose as a mascot.

Now for the running thing! On Tuesday night...Kelly, Chris and I ran to the SPA track, but it was being used by a pretty large group. It is the only time in the past two years that I have seen that track in use by other people. So we ran to Macalester. There are usually people on that track, but it is usually not a big deal to use that track, except there were steeple barriers blocking the inside lanes. The easy solution for that, was to move the barriers. So the planned workout was to run 5x1200 meters at faster than 5 minute per mile pace. My first three reps were between 3:40-3:41, and 3:45 in 5 minute pace. My fourth rep was 3:45, with a bad middle lap. And for the grand finale I only ran 800 meters in 2:30. Now granted this is the first time in a while I have run "faster" reps on the track. So, you could call this workout, "feeling it out". The part I was pumped up about was starting the workout with two 200 stride repeats in 32 seconds.

On Wednesday was National Running Day, and I ran from the Highland Lifetime Fitness as part of Twin Cities Marathon. Ran 6-7 miles with the group from the club. A nice relaxed pace. My legs did not feel fresh...I had a hard time figuring that one out!

Today I drove to Afton State Park to run some hills, and check out the ski hills at Afton Alps. I was surprised there is no fence between the state park and the ski area. So my run in the state park last about 5 minutes, and I crossed the grass in the Alps. I started the run in the Alps by running straight up a ski hill, then I noticed a dirt path and some markings, so I followed the markings. It turns out there is a 6-7 mile mountain bike course at Afton Alps, that travels up and down the ski hill. I may have a new favorite run! After I completed the first loop, I stopped and wondered why I signed up for a mountain race. The second loop around, I didn't run as hard, especially on the downhills. It is a lot more difficult to make those steep downhill turns on questionable footing when you are getting tired. In all, I ran for 1:21, I think that might be 11 miles...not sure though. I will definitely head back out there before running mountain race. Maybe try to get in 3 loops on the mountain bike course. It is tough running, and you question why you are doing it at times, but it is also the type of running that I love, and one of the reasons that I am drawn to this sport.

Song of the Day: Fake Tales of San Francisco - Arctic Monkeys

This One's Optimistic

I am excited to watch Conan take over the Tonight Show in a few minutes. I wonder if he is going to change anything? I know Will Ferrell and Pearl Jam are on tonight. Just having Pearl Jam on the show is enough for me to watch.

When was the last time I posted? Saturday? Ok...what has happened since Saturday?

I decided to go watch the Minneapolis Marathon on Sunday. I also decided the best way to do that is to go for a longer run while watching. I started from my place at 7am and ran to the Lake Street Bridge. The leaders had not come by that point yet, so I ran along the course for a while. The race seemed a bit larger than the Stillwater Marathon, but I also didn't see very many of the half-marathoners at Stillwater. It is always tough for me to tell how fast people are running when you are watching them from the sidelines, and don't know them. I only received one comment about running the wrong way as well! So I stopped at my turnaround point and watched the lead half-marathoners pass by again, and then continued on my run. In all it was about 15-16 miles, giving me 65 for the week with a day off.

Today was the start of "typical" training. I ran my 12 mile route that takes me up the Highland Hill to Edgecumbe, and then down the Jefferson Hill to the steep hills leading up to my place. Ran pretty relaxed for the first hour. Didn't push anything, just enjoyed the nice morning. When I crested the Highland Hill I decided to push the remaining two longer downhills, and that lead to pushing the last uphill. And that's fine, but I don't want to get into this pattern all summer. Probably a good thing the mountain champs are at the end of June.

Well...5 minutes to Conan!

Song of the Day: Pumping On Your Stereo - Supergrass