Medtronic Twin Cities 10-Mile

 After a 4 year absence from racing, I'm back!  Well sort of.  Back for one last race.  I've continued running these past 4 years, but no more than 3 miles a day for roughly 5 days a week.  Just enough to keep me in heart health shape.  However this summer I realized that my running routine had become rather stale and unmotivated.  I needed something to make it interesting again.  So I decided to enter one last race, knowing this would be it.  My last race 4 years ago wasn't that way.  I didn't even consider the fact it might be my last.  So this race would have a very different feel.  I'd be going out on my terms.  The tricky part was I decided to enter the Medtronic Twin Cities 10-Mile on October 3rd, which is a lottery selected race.  So no guarantees that my number would be chosen.  It's one of the largest races in the state.  I wanted to run this race because it's part of Twin Cities Marathon Weekend (5k, 10k, 10 mile and marathon).  I wanted to run a popular race with a good vibe.  But I knew running a full marathon was too big a challenge for me to take at age 64 with two months to prepare.  I wanted to run a nice intermediate distance race and the 10-mile seemed a perfect fit for what I wanted to accomplish as a final race.   

I really didn't expect to be selected for this race because the number of participants were capped at a lower number than normal levels due to Covid-19.  All races were cancelled last year due to Covid-19, and with the 1 year absence I figured the number of runners applying for the race would be higher than normal too.  But on July 20th I was thrilled to receive an email confirming my official entry into the race.  Then things became real!  I had about 11 weeks to train and prepare.  It was exciting to dust off my old training and tracking records and lay out a new plan for this race knowing I hadn't completed a run of more than 3 miles since 2017.  My plan was to increase my weekday runs from 3 to 4 miles a day, with a longer run on Saturday's, starting with a 5 mile run and then adding 1 mile per week until I was running a full 10 miles.  This would give me the opportunity to run about five 10-mile runs before race day, running about 30 miles per week once my long runs were a full 10 miles.  My goal was to run the race in 1 hour and 20 minutes (an 8 minute mile pace).  This seemed realistic for me.  Slower than my other 10 mile races, but I'm older and won't have the same training foundation like the old days.  When I was still racing I ran between 35-50 miles a week depending on the distance of my next race.  So my training plan for this race was moderate in comparison as I just didn't want to injure myself and be unable to finish the race.  Injuries and other aches and pains that come with aging became the primary reason why I stopped racing 4 years ago and I didn't want injuries to mess up this last opportunity to race one more time.

Unfortunately my foolproof training plan had some holes in it.  First it was a right calf strain, then a left calf strain and finally an arthritis issue with my right hip.  All of these issues forced me to alter my training plan with unwanted rest days which lead to shorter mileage weeks than I had hoped for.  The injuries kept me from ramping up my Saturday long runs as quickly as I hoped and the injury problems tended to scream louder when I was out on a long run.  Eventually I was able to successfully heal my right calf strain and my right hip issue, but the left calf issue kept rearing it's ugly head at least once per week.  Despite all of this I eventually increased my long runs up to 10 miles and actually completed 5 of them leading up to the race as I hoped.  However only 1 of the 5 long runs were pain free.  The other 4 were all dealing with an injury issue - most notably my left calf.  So heading into my race I was not overflowing with confidence.  It seemed inevitable that at some point my left calf would seize up on me and potentially force me to back off my race pace and fall short of my time goal.  I tried every trick in the book to heal my injuries before the race, but likely the injuries need rest to heal and I didn't have that luxury with the race rapidly approaching.

Despite my discouraging injury history these past 2 months I was pumping with adrenaline leading into race day.  The race started bright at 7am, one hour before the marathon start.  Both races are run the same day and start and finish at the same locations (US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to the State Capital in St Paul).  The 10 mile race simply takes a more direct route to get there.  What also made this race very special to me was having my entire family there to watch and cheer me on.  I wasn't expecting my wife and kids to come and bring all their young children because of the early start, but they all wanted to come watch.  I have 4 additional grandchildren since I last raced.  A total of 9 now and they were all there to watch and cheer.  I felt guilty they had to get up so early and stand along the course before sunrise just to see me run, but so thankful they did!  All went well early on.  I had no trouble settling into my race pace thanks to lots of adrenaline pumping through me.  I didn't get to train much at race pace because when I did, my injuries flared up every time.  So it wasn't a big surprise when I felt a shooting pain in my left calf in mile 4.  I stopped to massage my left calf for a few seconds before jumping back into the race.  The brief massage of course didn't help alleviate the pain as I stopped for no more than 5 seconds.  My mind was all over the place and I simply panicked in the moment.

I wasn't running comfortably at this point and was favoring my left calf with each stride.  I was praying fervently that the pain would subside or at least not get worse and force me to withdraw.  I had to finish.  My family was all there and this was my last race!  I passed my family for the 2nd time just before the 5 mile mark.  Their cheers were encouraging but also calming.  The left calf pain was intense, but not getting worse.  Over the next few miles I focused on getting my form back and not altering my stride because of my left calf.  It seemed to help get me back on race pace which was encouraging, as miles 6 and 7 were mostly uphill.  The dreaded Summit Avenue climb I remember very well from the 5 times I ran the marathon.  After the climb I was still on my race pace and felt much better about things.  With 1 mile to go I pushed myself to the finish as hard as I could.  I finish with a time of 1:17:59, roughly 2 minutes faster than my goal.  I placed 660th place out of 6,516 finishers and 17th of 128 in my age group.  It was the 10th 10-mile race I've run, but also the slowest.  The competitive side of my mind immediately began wondering how fast I could have run had I been injury free.  Just 2 minutes faster and it wouldn't have been my slowest 10 mile race.  However, I need to and am very happy that I achieved my goal and experienced that race day high one last time.  It was well worth the pain that came with it!  Now it's time to truly let this injury heal.

My race results

https://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?race=12111&rid=12093

         

             

           

Lifetime Fitness Turkey Day 5k - November 23, 2017

The Lifetime Fitness Turkey Day 5k was my final race of the year.  I didn't run the Monster Dash 10 mile at the end of October due to bad weather.  I hate to skip races, but there is no (indoor) pre-race protection from the cold at the Monster Dash in St Paul and I knew I would be miserable by the start of the race.  I won't deny that I'm getting a bit soft in my old age and unwilling to always brave the elements like I did in my early 50's.  Yes, I feel a bit guilty skipping a race here and there because of the weather.  But if the weather is going to make the race miserable before it even starts, I likely won't run it at this stage of my life - particularly if it's a race I've previously run like Monster Dash.  I don't skip races often.  I think I've only skipped 3-4 races due to weather over the past 10 years.

This was the 3rd time I've run the Turkey Day 5k in downtown Minneapolis.  This is the perfect cold weather race because the race distance is short and they utilize Target Center as home base for the runners.  One can stay indoors to stretch and relax before heading outside to warm up and race.  If I continue to run Thanksgiving Day races, it will be this race.  The location is also great.  The race started at 8am and I was back home in my garage by 8:45am.  It was a beautiful morning for the race because the course was dry and there was virtually no wind.  It was only 24 degrees at the start of the race, but I can deal with the cold fairly well as log as the winds are calm and there's no precipitation.
 

This was my first and only 5k race this year.  The Lifetime Turkey Day is the largest Thanksgiving Day race in the Twin Cities.  With the dry and calm conditions, the race drew an extra large number of participants (over 7,000 runners).  The race is chip timed with overall and age group awards, but most of the runners are simply there to have a good time and don't take the race too seriously.  Many run the race together as a family.  With so many runners it's a little difficult to properly warm up for the race, as the streets are packed with people, leaving little space to carve out a pre-race warm-up run.

My goal today was to run a solid time, but I had no aspirations of a great time.  Late November in Minnesota is not the time of year to run great times.  If I can break 21 minutes today, I would be very happy.  Half of the 16 5k's I've run have been in the 20 minute range (plus change).  I've run just 6 5k's under 20 minutes and only 3 over 21 minutes.  I'm still dealing with 3 nagging injuries that have plagued me over the past 3 months.  My left Achilles tendon, Planter fasciitis in my right foot and discomfort in my upper right hamstring.  All 3 injuries have made it difficult to fully extend my stride - particularly in faster races like today's.  After this race I hope to fully heal these injuries by the first of the year and start 2018 training fresh and healthy.  However as I age, it is becoming more and more difficult to completely shed my body of these discomforts.  I know that if I can't heal properly, the 2016 Twin Cities Marathon will likely be my last full marathon.  To successfully run a full marathon in my 60's, I must be injury free.  If not, it's simply not worth it.     

Anyway, today's race went as well as I could have hoped for.  I finished with a time of 20:45, finishing 151st among 7,156 runners and 2nd in my age group of 146.  I also ran 2 seconds faster than my 2015 time in this race.  So now it's time to heal up in December and see where I am health wise come the first of the year. 

Turns out I actually won my age group, although the race results don't reflect this.  Got a call from the wife of the guy listed as my age group winner.  Turns out he never ran the race for some reason, but let his 29 year old son run in his place, using his BIB number.  When they received the first place award in the mail based on his son's time, she looked me up and called to apologize.  Said they had no idea there were age group awards in this race, or never would have allowed their son to run with dad's BIB number.  She then sent me the first place award via mail with a note, stating that I now have a story to tell. 

Finish Video:

Race Results:
https://www.athlinks.com/event/19140/results/Event/687108/Course/1110435/Bib/1152

Jeff Winter City of Lakes Half Marathon - September 10, 2017

The City of Lakes Half Marathon is a prize money race that always draws some of the top talent in the state among all age groups.  It is also the USATF Minnesota state half marathon championship.  Thus, a very competitive race where it's not uncommon to see several new state age group records broken, which happened again today.  The course consists of two full laps around Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis.  This race truly lets you know where you stand among your peers and among the top distance runners in the state.  

    

As for me, my season began to sputter in August.  Various injuries and setbacks prevented me from ramping up my training mileage in August to prepare for October's Twin Cities Marathon.  As a result, I reluctantly decided not to run the marathon this year.  This is just the second time I've had to bypass a marathon in the 10 years I've been racing.  2012 was the other year when injuries also sidetracked marathon plans.  Even today's race has been a big question mark for me.  I'm running the race injured.  Long story short, I'm dealing with four different injuries this past month that have made training and now racing very challenging.  I know I need to ease up on my training and let my ailments heal properly.  I thought if I bypassed the heavy training mileage needed for the marathon and simply trained for my other scheduled races, it would be fine.  However, my injuries have actually escalated a bit.  It's just so hard to do the right thing and rest during the racing season.  You put so much time and energy into the training itself, that you feel like a "quitter" if you don't try to push through it.  So against my better judgement, I'm running my fourth and last half marathon on my race schedule this year.            

 

Woke up to a good race day for the most part.  A bit warmer (upper 60's) and windier than I would prefer, but still relatively good racing weather.  The parkway around the two lakes is a narrow road, making the start of the race a bit treacherous until runners begin to spread out along the course.  Most of my injury issues center around on my feet.  Planter Fasciitis, Achilles Tendon, with arthritis complications.  These injuries are most painful after non-activity (simply walking around the house).  But if I warm up properly, the pain is not as intense and I can usually manage through it on my runs.on training runs.  However uptempo racing places more of a strain on these issues, so I began the race hoping to hold it all together to the finish line.  

    

I went out today with a plan to run the early miles at a 7 minute/mile pace and see where it takes me.  The first mile began slowly with so many runners in close proximity.  The risk of tripping and getting trampled upon on the narrow parkway is definitely high until runners begin to spread out a bit.  This took about a half mile before I was able to get back on a 7 minute goal pace.  I maintained my goal pace over the first 7 miles of the race, but then my pace began to slip a bit as we made the counterclockwise turn around the north end of Calhoun and ran south into the wind.  I was experiencing some discomfort related to my injuries, but was able to forge on as fatigue began to make itself known.

    

Miles 8-10 were my most difficult miles of the race with regard to pace.  I slowed to a 7:20 pace across these miles.  With just over 3 miles left, I was in a small group of runners and noticed one of them was a guy in my age group.  I had no idea where I was place-wise in my age group in this race, but when I find myself running close to a fellow 60 year old, I become very aware of them and try not to lose touch with them.  This turned out to be a good thing, as it gave me key motivation at a time when I was ready to just go through the motions and finish the race.  Without this motivation, my best case scenario would maybe be maintaining a 7:20 pace to the finish, or likely see my pace deteriorate further.  But now I had some motivation.  A new goal to focus on.

    

My fellow age group runner began to push the pace a bit and I had to go with him.  This helped improve my pace from 7:20 down to 7:08 over the next two miles.  It also helped me stop thinking about the pain in my feet and focus on a new goal of staying with him.  I began thinking about the finish - a slightly downhill 80 meters to the finish.  The downhill finish provides a great opportunity to kick it into high gear if necessary.  I still believe I have some speed for my age over short distances, although sprinting to the finish is something I try to avoid having to do if at all possible.  Sprinting at the end of a half marathon is not much of a sprint of course due to fatigue.  But I still believe I can outrun someone head to head over the final 75 to 100 meters.  With about a half mile to go, I tried to break away from him, but he came with me and even passed me.  The last quarter of a mile is an uphill stretch that connects Calhoun to Harriet.  Uphills late in a race are really tough of course, but I had to stay with him.  Once the hill had been climbed, we made the final turn and could see the finish line about 80 meters ahead.  I threw it into high gear for one last surge which carried me across the finish line just ahead of him.  I covered my last mile in 6:59 and the final sprint at a 6:02 pace.  Goal accomplished.  

    

I finished with a time of 1:33:28.  My second fasted half marathon among the four I ran this year.  Coincidentally, I finished 2 seconds faster than my time last year.  Overall I finished 167 among 1,176 finishers and 4th among 29 in my age group.  Speaking of my age group, my time would have been fast enough to win my 60-65 age group last year.  But as I've mention before, there are a few fantastic runners my age who graduated into the 60's age group with me.  In fact the guy who won my age group set a new state half marathon age group record, running 1:24:14.  A fantastic time.  Congrats to him on a new state record.

Overall Results:
http://www.raceberryjam.com/indexrr.html

Overall, I'm happy with my performance considering my injury status.  Skipping the marathon means my next race (Monster Dash 10 Mile) wont be until late October.  I'm going to immediately modify my training program to follow the book I've been reading "Train Smart Run Forever".  The book is written by two runners who are now in their mid 60's.  It's a 7 day workout program, but only 3 of the workouts involve actual running.  Lot's of cross training, strength training and stretching.  The philosophy is quality training vs. quantity.  I know my "running only" approach is no longer working for me.  It doesn't allow me to maintain the overall strength and health of my body.  I want to believe that if I diligently apply myself to this training program, it will make me a stronger runner, a healthier runner injury wise and even a faster runner again.  I'm not ready to completely give up the idea of running marathons in my 60's, although the book strongly recommends that once you reach your 60's, you should focus on races up to half marathon distance and ignore full marathons.  We shall see!!!