Under Nine Minutes per Mile

Saturday, September 15, 2012:

Only five of us showed up for the St. Croix Valley Runners this morning, probably because the rest of the group was running a 20-mile race as their long run prior to the upcoming Twin Cities Marathon.  Lisa, Jim, and I ran the five-mile Lake McKusick route, except that I made a mistake in the route that caused us to short it by two tenths of a mile.  So we ran 4.8 miles in 42:30, for a pace of 8:51, an easy jog for Jim and Lisa, but maybe the fastest five(ish) miles I’ve run in a year or more.  One week after my fastest marathon in a year, this is very good.  Maybe I’m starting to get some speed back.  No pains.

I’ve lost about five pounds since I announced my intention to lose some weight last April.  See the Weight Record. I’ve read (can’t recall where) the rule of thumb that we gain about one percent in speed for each one percent of weight loss.  For me, five pounds would be approximately three percent, so I should have gained about three percent in speed.  It seems like I’ve gained more, though, so something else good is happening.

Friday, September 14, 2012:

With rain last night, or much dew, the grass trails in the park were very inviting this morning.  I ran 30 seconds of each minute and finished 4.8 miles in 54 minutes, for a pace of 11:14.  Fast enough - I have another five-mile tomorrow with friends, probably much faster. No pains, lovely morning.

Happy Recovery Run

The Sioux Falls Marathon course took
us right through Falls Park and
past the falls.

Today was the third day after the marathon, so it was time to head out for a short recovery run.  We went to the park, sticking to the paved trails because the grass was wet from an overnight rain.  The temperature was 58, skies were cloudy, perfect for running. I intended to run three miles, and was really happy with my finish time, until I realized that the route I had run was only 2.51 miles.  Oh well, that was plenty good enough, and I felt just great.  Time was 28:13, pace 11:15.

Whining:  For the first mile, I felt a pain in the left tibia (bone), toward the inside and maybe six inches below the knee.  This has happened at least once before, though I didn’t log it because it disappeared after a mile or so, as it did today.  It’s probably nothing, but this time I’m logging it.  The other usual "whines," hernia repair and right knee, were silent.  Yay.

Sioux Falls Marathon

Sunday, September 9, 2012:

We added this marathon to our itinerary on a last-minute whim, one week ahead of the event.  The girls didn’t have a marathon or a half in South Dakota, and I was feeling fine and plenty happy to run a spare marathon as my “long run” for the upcoming marathon in Hampton, NH.  Now that it’s over, I’m very glad I ran it.  My totals now stand at 67 marathons in 47 states since the myeloma diagnosis.

My Race:

I finished under five hours for the first time since Missoula in July 2011, 13 races ago, and that occasion was the first since Kansas City in October 2010.  Time was 4:58:53, third of four in my age group.  One of those old guys finished under four hours, which is pretty fast.  But I finished eleven minutes faster than I did two weeks ago, despite the relatively short recovery time.  Two weeks ago I had to walk the last two miles because of cramps, and that probably accounts for at least half of the eleven minute difference.

Sioux Falls’ weather turned out to be quite nice, with a temperature of 45 for the start and 66 at my finish.  Runners were not blessed with much shade for the first half of the race, but  the sun compensated for the early low temperature and my Team Continuum t-shirt was enough.  Later, as the temperature rose, we ran on mostly-shaded city streets and bike trails.  It worked out fine.

Partial view of the Big Sioux River Falls

I took six Clif Shot mocha gels (50 mg caffeine each) along the way, at roughly four-mile intervals, and at least one Thermotab salt tablet at each of the other aid stations.  I ran about half of the time (hence more than half the distance), 30 seconds running and 30 walking, but walked more when going uphill and sometimes not at all going downhill.  I didn’t use my watch to pace those intervals, counting steps instead.  That becomes rather automatic, so the counting happens in the background of the mind, so to speak, leaving the foreground free to ponder the woes of the world and the vagaries of the race itself.

Whining:

The hernia repair was totally quiet!  The right knee with PFS gave a few warnings early, but quieted down.  The left hip flexors started to hurt at about the midpoint of the race, but didn’t get worse.  Two weeks ago it was the right hip flexors, but they were fine this time.  Maybe they’ll all be fine in the next marathon.  The left calf gave a little warning at mile four, but settled down until mile 25, where it started to cramp, slowing me a little.

The Sioux Falls Marathon:

We loved it.  I’ve never seen so many volunteers at a marathon, more volunteers than spectators it seemed, and the volunteers did a good job of encouraging runners.  Vehicle traffic was never an issue.  Much of the race was on bicycle trails.

We ran past the airport, Main Street downtown, the actual Sioux Falls on the Big Sioux River (amazing and beautiful), old historic residences, the wooded bike trails along the Big Sioux, and finally into Sertoma Park - sertoma means service to humankind.  I recommend this marathon to anyone who can finish within the required 6 hour 15 minute time limit.

Sioux falls News Stories about yours truly:

Argus Leader: Print story by Harriman
KSFY ABC:   TV news broadcast

Splits: 11:04, 10:49, 11:27, 10:09, 15:05 (natural break), 10:53, 13:01, (natural break), 11:27, 11:14, 11:06, 11:10, 10:47, 11:43, 10:44, 11:32, 10:25, 11:09, 10:21, 11:53, 11:19, 11:39, 10:53, 11:27, 11:28, 11:29, 12:12, 2:28, total 4:58:53, pace 11:24.

Last Taper Run

Two days from the Sioux Falls Marathon, we ran on the paved trails in the park again.  I went 2.5 miles at a pace slightly above the planned marathon pace, finishing in 27:12, for an average of 10:50.  No pains, no whining.  Ready for the marathon.

All organic but the fork

Wednesday’s pace is out of whack.  It’s the same as the pace for the 10k race on Monday, and I’m sure that I ran harder on Monday.  Further, it’s way faster than today’s pace, and I ran just about as hard today as I did Wednesday.  I suspect that the time on my watch on Wednesday was 34:02 rather than 32:02, and I wrote it down wrong.  34:02 would calculate to a pace of 10:37, which is closer to what I would expect it to be.  Anyway, who cares?  I guess I do, but I probably shouldn’t and we’ll never know.

This morning was cool, 59 degrees, with no wind and only occasional sun.  Perfect!

Easy Taper Run

With four days to go, this was the next-to-last run before the marathon.  I ran on the paved trails, fairly easily, running 30 seconds and walking about 25.  I did run a little more at one place, up a long hill for about 2 ½ minutes straight, and a bit more at the end.  Time 32:02 for 3.19 miles, pace 10:03.  Plenty fast enough for today, and I feel great.

Whining: Absolutely none.

MDRA Victory 10k

This wonderful late-summer race is a long tradition in Minnesota.  The best runners come from all over the state, even out of state, 500+ strong, to compete on flat, smooth, wide, straight Minneapolis streets entirely closed to traffic.

Yours truly in the last mile

I had three goals: (1) Meet up with my running buddies, the men and women I’ve competed with for ten years.  I haven’t run any other local races this year, so it was fun to reconnect; (2) Run a fairly intense six miles, but without risking injury; and (3) Get a final test of the hernia surgery that was almost six months ago.

The race was fine - I enjoyed it a lot. Mostly I ran 60 seconds and walked 20, resulting in a pace that increased slightly in the last three miles and averaged out to exactly 10 minutes/mile.  The results have me 11th of 14 in my 70-74 age group, and I think it’s amazing and wonderful that there are 14 "young" men and two women in that age group who still enjoy racing each other.  Seven more finishers were age 75 and over, including two women, and including two men in their 80's.  These people love life.

Whining: None!  I hereby pronounce the hernia surgery a success.  Victory over the hernia at the Victory 10K. YAY!

I ran a marathon a week ago, and a fairly intense (for me) 10K today.  Before the surgery that combo would have hurt a lot, but not today.  That’s a very good signal.  There is still some paresthesia (skin pain) around the incision, but that may continue for months or years and it’s barely a minor annoyance.  Bottom line: the hernia appears to be cured.

Nothing else hurt today either.  I’m ready for the Sioux Falls Marathon six days from now.  Can’t wait!

Splits: 10:06, 10:14, 10:07, 9:51, 10:00, 11:51 (1.21371 mi), total 1:02:08, pace 10:00.  Huh.  It’ll do just fine for now.  Life is good.

St Croix Valley Runners

You can see the oatmeal this time,
with raisins in it.  All organic.

We three took a grandchild and his dog to run with the St Croix Valley Runners today.  I especially wanted to hear Mary’s stories about running a marathon in Mongolia, and was able to run at her speed for much of the five miles, though I did have to drop back in the last mile or so.  I finished in 47 or 48 minutes, I think - I forgot to click my watch at the end.

The run felt good - legs were a little tired, but that’s no surprise just a week after a marathon.  Nothing hurt.  It’s a masterpiece.