Urban Wildland Half Marathon - July 29, 2017

Today was my 4th running of the Urban Wildland Half Marathon in Richfield, MN.  I've grown to really like this race over the years even though it's one of the more difficult half marathon courses I've run.  It's also a warm weather summer half marathon, which can definitely accelerate the fatigue factor.  But it's a well run race that has an admirable theme/objective.  Reminding all of us to keep our world "green".  What I like about this race is also what makes it difficult. A two mile stretch (miles 3-4) which take us off the asphalt and onto dirt trails.  I'm not a big fan of running dirt trails, as the footing can be treacherous and uneven at times.  But it's the only race I run that utilizes both man-made and natural surfaces.  So I guess I like that challenge.  The two mile trail section has lots of narrow twists and turns which make it difficult to pass runners and difficult to maintain a steady pace.  It's important to use the first two miles to properly position oneself, so as not to get stuck behind slower traffic when heading into the trail section.      

I also like the size of this race (just over 750 finishers).  Participation is down considerably since I first ran it in 2011 when almost 1,500 runners participated.  But less runners is a good thing.  The trail section is too narrow and too early in the race to adequately support 1,500 runners at one time.  Current participation levels are far more optimal and still provides a large race "feel".

Race conditions were as good as one could hope for this time of year.  Sunny, calm and 70 degrees for a 7am start.  I got up at 4:45 this morning to start my race preparations.  At 60 years old, it takes my body a while to work out the kinks after I roll out of bed.  As this stage in my life I deal with lower back stiffness when I wake up each morning, coupled with a few other kinks in the armor, depending on the day.  Waking more than two hours before the race, allows me enough time to limber up before the horn sounds.

This is my 3rd half marathon so far this year, with one more to follow in early September.  Coming off my 1:32 performance in Rochester, I would be thrilled to run something close to that again.  However, this race represents 2 of my 5 slowest half marathons among the 23 half marathons I've completed.  So running 1:32 today may be wishful thinking, but a good goal to focus on.  

As the race began, I positioned myself where I wanted to be as the two trail miles approached, but my overall pace was about 10-15 seconds/mile slower than what I needed to challenge 1:32.  Coming out of the trail section and moving back onto the asphalt in mile 5, I realized my motivation wasn't at peak levels.  Not surprising, since my pace was slower than hoped.  But I slogged on as the miles clicked by.

The good news was despite my slower than desired pace, I was maintaining my pace as each mile passed.  This actually provided me some much needed encouragement in that other runners were not passing me by.  In fact, I was slowly but surely catching and passing one runner after another over the final 4 miles of the race.  This provided me the determination and motivation to push as hard as I could through the final miles.  Although I didn't improve my pace, I was successfully able to maintain a steady race pace from start to finish.  Any time I can do that, I feel good about my race in general.  

I finished with a time of 1:34:15.  Almost two minutes slower than my Rochester race, but I did run about 40 seconds faster than my April performance earlier this year in St. Cloud.  I'm also happy with my placement, finishing 40th overall among 767 finishers and first in my age group of 20 finishers. "Father Time" continues to tap my shoulder and remind me that I'm getting old.  Of the 24 half marathons I've now completed in my 10 year career, today's race ranks 20th overall time-wise.  That doesn't sound too good to me, but it's the reality of where I'm at as I enter my 60's.  Truth is, my effort is the same as it's always been, but slower times are unavoidable as the years go by.

My next race is the City of Lakes Half Marathon on September 10th in Minneapolis.  It also represents the 100th overall race of my career!    

Race Results:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?race=5114&rid=170

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