Scheel's Med City Half Marathon - May 28, 2017

This was my first trip to Rochester, MN  for the Scheel's Med City Half Marathon.  The race is relatively close to home, but requires an overnight stay in Rochester the night before because of the early race start time (7:00am).  The Med City event sponsors three races - a full marathon, a half marathon and a 5k event.  The half marathon was my race of choice today, as I limit myself to only one marathon a year these days.

The race is a point-to-point half marathon that begins in Byron, MN, heading east to Rochester where it concludes.  They transport the runners by bus from Rochester to the start in Byron.  The Med City Half Marathon is a moderately sized race consisting of approximately 600 runners.  The course consists of long rolling hills across the first 6 miles, but is relatively flat after that.  Today was another chance to try to improve upon my half marathon times, which have slipped a bit since 2014.  My best time in the half over the past three years was 1:33:30, run last year.  It was a nice morning for a race.  Clear skies, 55-60 degrees, with a steady 8mph wind.    

As the race began, I was doing okay handling the rolling hills portion of the course until I reached the last hill about halfway through mile 5.  At that point I struggled to maintain my pace and started having some doubts creep into my mind with regard to my ability to improve upon my recent half marathon times.  However, coming down the backside of the last hill, I was able to get myself back on on target pace again.  This gave me a huge boost of mental confidence which I desperately needed at the time and it really helped propel me mentally through the remainder of the race.  I now felt like I was in control of my race again.  Although battling increasing fatigue as always, I now felt mentally strong and confident that I could maintain my pace and fight through it to the end.

As the miles wore down and I approached the finish line, I was able to finish strong.  My time was 1:32:20.  My best half marathon time in 3 years.  I finished 20th overall among 617 finishers and 1st among 16 in my age group.  I don't race again until July 29th (Urban Wildland Half), as there aren't many meaningful races held in the summer months outside of local neighborhood 5ks.    

Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?race=5395&rid=2138

Award Video:
https://goo.gl/photos/8BvuA281vyj9vEieA

Medtronic TC 1 Mile - May 11, 2017

This is just my second visit to the Medtronic TC 1 Mile event.  I originally ran it back in 2010, posting a time of 5:48.  I was planning to run it last year until calf cramping issues forced me to bypass the race completely.  These short one mile races seem to be just as scary as the longer races.  Sure, it's only one mile and takes less than 6 minutes to run it compared to 3+ hours for a marathon.  But the fatigue impact of a one mile race is very different from a marathon.  It hits you immediately in the first hundred yards.  It's also a bit scary trying to run a sub 6 minute pace at 60 years of age, when in high school you thought nothing of it.  It literally feels like an all out sprint from start to finish and you just hope you don't fall flat on your face from exhaustion in the last quarter mile.

This is another well organized and well run event by Twin Cities in Motion.  Their premier event being the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon of course.  The race is broken down into seven different heats of varying abilities, so you can run in a heat that best fits the time you expect to run.  There is also a professional heat that featured Ben Blankenship, who represented the U.S. in the 1500 Meter Finals at the Rio Olympics last year.  He set the TC 1 Mile record last year, running 3:56 and won it again this year posting a time of 4:01.

The course is in downtown Minneapolis near Gold Medal Park along the river.  It's a relatively flat course with only three turns.  So good times can be had if the weather cooperates.  Today's weather was fairly good.  62 degrees and sunny.  A 10mph wind was the only drawback, as the final one-third of the race finished directly into the wind.

At my age, the only goal I have for a one mile race is to run under 6 minutes for as long as I can.  I'm at a point now where running a sub 6 minute mile will be coming to an end in the not too distant future.  In preparing for this race I did no speed training whatsoever.  To prepare for shorter, faster races, I normally add two 7 minute tempo miles, along with quarter mile repeats to my weekly training.  But this is the only speed race on my calendar this year and I didn't want to risk injury.

At least for today, I can still call myself a sub 6 minute miler, finishing with a time of 5:53:3.  Just 5 seconds slower than I ran 7 years ago.  I did run a 5:38 mile two years ago in a different race, but I'm happy to finish under 6 minutes - particularly having done no speed training in preparation.  Overall I finished 302 among 1,972 finishers and 3rd among 42 in my age group.  Last year my time would have won my age group, but I'm surrounded by some speedy runners who are also joining the 60-65 age group with me this year.

My next race is the Med City Half Marathon on May 28th in Rochester MN.  I've always wanted to get down to Rochester for this race, but until this year, it's never worked out with my schedule.  So this should be fun running it for the first time later this month.        

Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?race=5255&rid=1108

Scheel's Earth Day Half Marathon - April 22, 2017

This was my third trip to St Cloud for the Earth Day Half Marathon, having previously run it in 2008 and 2011.  This half marathon has always been a well run event, even though participation levels have dropped over the years.  In 2008 there were 1,800 runners and 1,500 in 2011.  About 1,100 runners participated today.  Not really sure why participation numbers have dropped, as I think they run a first class event from start to finish.

I had a bit of an issue the evening before last.  I slipped on the stairs in our home and injured my left foot.  Thought it might be a broken bone at the time, but after running on it the next morning I figured it was more likely a tendon/ligament issue.  It was sore this morning, but felt I could give it a go today, hoping it wouldn't get worse.

 
My confidence level these days heading into a race is not what it used to be several years back.  Calf problems derailed my year last year.  So far this year my calf muscles have been a non-issue.  But my feet are becoming a problem.  One that I probably won't be able to overcome with time.  Arthritis in my toes, particularly my left toe, continues to worsen over time.  My running is not causing the problem, as I had minor issues with arthritis 10 years ago before I began running again.  It's age and I can't reverse that clock.

Today's race weather was virtually perfect.  Sunny and 45 degrees at the start, 55 degrees at the finish, with a mild NW breeze.  A great day to run a great time.  However my left foot was problematic throughout the race.  The injury from my fall two days earlier only bothered me when we made left hand turns.  It was my left big toe joint connected to the ball of my foot that throbbed painfully every time it struck the ground.  So much so that it was hard to relax and focus on my stride because the pain was ever-present.

I did maintain a 7 minute mile pace over the first 8 miles, but struggled after that.  Fatigue certainly factored in as it always does, but I wondered how much the foot pain issues accelerated my fatigue.  My stride was compromised and I wasn't able to run relaxed.  Going into the race I felt I should be able to run under 1:35 today with such good weather conditions, but was really hoping to run 1:33 or better.  However the combination of pain and fatigue got the best of me in 3 of the final 5 miles - the hill miles.

I did finish just under 1:35 with a time of 1:34:54 today.  But I'm really seeing some slippage in my race times compared to several years ago.  In my mind, I still feel like I should be able to run closer to a 1:30 half marathon, but maybe I've hit a wall and I need to be satisfied with the fact that my times are going to slip a bit from here on.  I just don't want to accept it, or believe it yet.  So my time today was not satisfying.  If everything goes right, on a good weather day and fast track, a 1:30, 1:31, or even a 1:32 still seems like a reasonable expectation.  I have 3 more half marathons on my race calendar this year.  So one way or the other, I will find out if my personal expectations are legitimate, or if I'm simply fooling myself with these goals.

          
As far as today's race results go.  I finished 50th overall among 1,052 finishers and 2nd of 16 in my age group.

My next race is the Medtronic TC 1 Mile on May 11th.  The only "short" race on my calendar this year with the exception of a traditional Thanksgiving morning 5k I do each year.  I had planned to run the TC 1 Mile last year, but pulled out due to the calf issues I previously mentioned, which developed during my short distance, faster races early last season.  Hoping I can run a solid/fast time next month without further complicating my battle with "Father Time."

Results and Finish video:

http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?race=5236&email=1&rid=197