2025 Tinman Olympic Triathlon

 It's been a while.  First race in years. I'm training for a full Iron Man next September, so as part of that this year I'm dong the 70.3 in Des Moines.  And as part of that the Tinman triathlon in Morris MN worked out to be a great tune up race.

The morning of the race I drove out with Connie and Ray, check in and setup of my gear was very rushed, but I got through it. Probably should have put more thought into setup and transitions. This is why tune up events are such a good idea, to learn what I've been overlooking.

The race went well, I feel I overperformed in all 3 disciplines.  the 1100 yard swim was done in under 21 minutes (1:54/100 yards).  The 19 mile bike leg on my new tri bike just flew by in 1:03 (18 mph) and the run went much better then expected.  I was dealing with a calf injury and had doubts about the run, but got the 10k done in 1:04 (10:22/mile)

Overall time with transitions was 2:34.  It was a great event, well run and hopefully I'll get a chance to do it again in the future

2011 Surf The Murph 50k

I've been targeting Surf the Murph as my end of the year race for a while.  Initially I was going to attempt the 50 miler, but based on how the summer had gone I adjusted my goal and decided that the 50k would be a smarter choice for me. Surf the Murph is a little unusual in that because the farthest distance is 50 miles, the other races they offer are a little off in their distances. The 50 mile course is 3 loops, the 50k course is 2 loops and the 25k course is 1 loop.  This means the 50k course is long by about 2.5 miles.  I mentioned the race to a couple of running friends, Maggie and Heather.  Maggie, the seasoned ultra runner was very interested in going down for the event.  Heather's interest surprised me a little. It was a bit out of her comfort zone, but I think that was the appeal of the event to her. Maggie wound up signing up to do the 50 miler along with another local ultra runner Tim. Heather and I both signed up for the 50k. Erin and Cory came along to crew for us, and as an added bonus, Rick came down to the cities for the weekend with one of his daughters.

The week before the race wasn't quite what I was hoping for.  I had planned on running some short hard runs to finish my taper and prepare for the race. Instead, I was sick with a cold and not getting much sleep, let alone doing any running at all.

The day before the race, Erin and I picked up Heather after work and drove down to the cities.  On the way down we stopped in Freeport at Charlie's Café for supper.  By the time we made it to the hotel it was around 9:00 and after checking in we headed to bed straight away.

The next morning we got up, got dressed and drove to the park.  It was a bit on the cold side with a very clear sky.  We picked up our packets and then met up with Maggie, Tim and Cory.  Maggie and Tim started an hour before Heather and I.  Heather and I had lots of time so we just talked with Tim and Maggie has they were getting ready.  I wandered off to use the bathroom and ran across Rick and brought him over to the group. Eventually we made our way to the starting area and watched Tim and Maggie set off into the dark.  As they ran off, we could see the headlamps bob through the trees for a short while before the forest swallowed them completely.

Heather and I then took some time to get our gear rounded up. It wasn't long before we were standing around listening to our final announcements before heading off.  Just before the race director started to give her talk I overheard her on her cell phone saying something about #8.  I thought this was an odd coincidence because I noticed Maggie's bib number was 8, but didn't think much more about this at the time. The race director described the course and how it was marked before we all lined up and took off. Heather and I started near the back of the pack, the advantage to this was being able to see the line of runners ahead of us with their headlamps on and have some idea of what was coming.  It didn't take too long before she was a good bit ahead of me I and I was in a group of 4 at the very back of the pack.

My pack of 4 stayed loosely together for the first couple of miles.  There were a couple of girls who had come to the race together dressed in mother nature costumes, another lady in white and myself. I would gain ground on the downhill, but lose some on the uphill. After around a half an hour the sun was coming up and the headlamps weren't doing much good anymore.  Around this time the pair of ladies in the mother nature costumes decided to go their separate ways with one of them picking up the pace.  The other paired up with the lady in white. Even though my average pace was basically the same as the 2 ladies, I didn't get much of a chance to talk with them because they kept a much more consistent pace.

Near mile 3 was the first aid station along the course.  When I arrived I looked over the spread of food they had and was relived at how good everything looked.  My initial plan was to carry most of my own calories, but after seeing what they had I quickly changed the plan to use the calories I was carrying as emergency rations and to do my fueling at the aid stations.  At the first stop I had part of a PB&J sandwich, some sort of chewy candy, some coke, and a couple of endurolytes.

The 2 ladies that had paired up beat me into the aid station, but as I left they were still chatting with the volunteers. I didn't feel rushed, but it was nice to have gained a little time through the aid station. I hadn't thought too much about the terrain up until that point because it was dark out, but now with the growing light I could see just how much up and down there would be on the course and I knew that it was more then I had planned on. The lead I had out of the aid station didn't last for long before the 2 ladies passed me again and I was once again at the back of the pack.  Normally this bothers me a little and I try to push myself harder so I'm not last, however today it didn't.  I had prepared to be out on the course for a long time and knew I had to pace correctly or I wouldn't finish. I took this opportunity to look around and enjoy just how beautiful this course was, before stumbling on a tree root.

After  more hills then I would have liked, I was making my way into the second aid station.  My feet were a bit banged up from kicking rocks and sticks along the trail, but although I stumbled I had not fallen. As I went into the second aid station, I saw the 2 ladies I had been following still there.  It was nice to see I wasn't terribly far behind.  I had some more coke, heed,  endurolytes, another chunk of PB&J and then I made the discovery that they had peeps and a smile crept across my face.  After putting down 5 or 6 of the pumpkin peeps I headed out again to the trail and again I had a lead on the 2 ladies who lingered just a bit longer at the aid station.

Again my lead didn't last for long, but since the course had flattened out I had more of an opportunity to talk to them as they passed.  Once mentioned that she had run the Fargo marathon and we talked a little about Trail Mix. Eventually we found a hill and I dropped back far enough that conversation was impossible. Despite falling back a little I was picking up the pace a little on this flat section.  There was a lake on the right of the trail and I thought I could make out people running on the other side of it. I figured the trail went around the perimeter of the lake and because of this was probably flat and I was right. I made a mental note to make up time in this section when I came back around for the second lap of the course.

After the lake there were a few more hills, but nothing like the first section of the course.  Before long I was rolling into the third rest area and again found the 2 ladies that I has been going back and forth with.  At this stop I finished off my Poweraid and had my bottle filled with heed.  I also had some more peeps, another bit of PB&J and some fun size snickers. As I looked up to head out I couldn't figure out what trail to take, none of them were marked for the race.  I asked a volunteer and that's when they pointed me to a small opening in the trees with an orange flag.  I came up with some comment about them being sadistic, but by then I had already set off and the comment never made it past my lips. The 'trail' we were on was barely wide enough for 1 person and had a few logs that needed to be either climbed over or under.  In reality this was fun, but a bit more demanding then what I was expecting from the first part of the course.  This section didn't last for very long and then I was out on the open trail again.  I began to think about what was coming, the race director had talked about a section of the course called 'smurf village' and I was getting excited for it. From the last aid station it should be about 2 miles. These next 2 miles passed slowly for me.  I had made it out of the aid station before the 2 ladies and I was expecting them to catch up again, but this time they didn't.  Instead the 25k runners started to overtake me.

Shortly after the leaders of the 25k race had gone by, I entered a section of the course that seemed like it was a field of tall reeds that had been pushed over.  The ground was dry but very spongy and it seemed like I was going against the grain of the reeds that had been knocked down. I decided that I would walk this section because the ground felt a bit unstable and I didn't want to jab myself with the reeds like I did a few weeks prior with some buck brush. This was probably my least favorite section of the course. After navigating the field the course returned to a normal trail for a bit before I finally arrived at smurf village.

Smurf Village was some very narrow single track game trails populated by homemade signs with smurfs on them. What was really neat about running through this area was how little of a trail there actually was.  I would run to the next flag and then have to look around to find out where the next flag was. It was a little like a treasure hunt. Near the end of the 'village' was a good sized hill with a sign that said something to the effect of "papa smurf says stop slacking". I guarantee no one was running up that hill.

Once I made it past smurf village I was on the normal park trails again for a bit until reaching the last aid station, which was just the back of the second aid station.  I grabbed some food and started eating and then I spotted some barbecue potato chips. I finished off half a bowl of the chips before setting out again. They were some of the best chips I have ever tasted.

The hilliest part of the course seemed to be the section from the last aid station to the finish. I could feel myself getting tired and was looking forward to starting the second loop of the course. I knew the 'fun zone' was near the end of the course and kept waiting to get to that.  I was starting to feel a little out of it, like my head was cloudy, or underwater.  Somewhere around this point I thought I saw a polar bear, but it was just a stump.  I decided to take a 5 hour energy to see if it would help clear my head. When I reached the fun zone I found that it was properly named, it was fun but challenging. As I was traversing the run zone the 2 ladies I had left behind at the third aid station caught back up to me. Shortly after they passed me one of them went on ahead, so I stuck with the remaining one and chatted a bit. It was either the caffeine or the conversation that helped, but I felt a little more grounded in reality when I finally had to drop back a bit.  Just after we separated was the finish line area.  I had completed 1 loop! Rick and Erin were waiting for me. Erin filled my water bottle and got me some endurolytes while Rick helped me drop off some of my gear.  I told him about the odd feeling I was having and he suggested more electrolytes, so I took 2 more endurolytes and headed out for my second loop of the course.


After leaving the finishing area, I was a little surprised at myself.  What was I doing back out here? Oh, yeah... I signed up for the 50k.  I really should have signed up for the 25k, that would have been perfect. This didn't last too long before I remembered to look around and take a little time to enjoy what was happening.  The course was incredibly beautiful and I would have another shot at going through smurf village, now I just needed to get back to smurf village.  When I made it back to the first aid station they were serving 'lunch.' Either tomato soup or chicken noodle, and grilled cheese or hot ham and cheese. I had a couple of chunks of grilled cheese and wished to myself for a little mustard to go with them. I downed a couple of peeps for a little more sugar and took off again.  I was halfway through the hilly part at the start, I just needed to get to the next aid station and things would flatten out again.


 As I ran, I looked back on occasion to see if any of the faster people running the 50 miler would catch up.  Sure enough a little after the aid station a slim guy shot past me.  I was a little amazed that this guy would finish 50 miles in less time then I could do a 50k.  After that, I had some time to myself before I noticed a couple of people up ahead of me.  Not to disparage myself, but if I was catching up to someone on this day they were having problems.  When I pulled along side of them I chatted a bit, the guy wasn't very talkative, but the lady was.  It turns out she was just out there to help the guy who was having an issue with his knee. By the way he was moving down the hills I thought his day was done.  He could make it to the next aid station, and even through the flat part of the course, but I didn't think he could physically make it through the hills at the end.  I was a little sad for him as I picked up the pace and we parted ways. From there to the next aid station seemed to drag on forever.  It seems that my familiarity with the course was starting to work against me.  I knew what was coming up, but didn't clearly remember how far away it was. In addition to getting really tired my stomach was starting to tell me that I needed to make a pit stop which didn't make running down hills any more fun.


Eventually I made it to the second aid station and the horse camp and spotted Erin heading towards me.  I checked in at the aid station, tossed my handheld water bottle to Erin for a refill and headed to the bathroom.  Peeling off my sweaty clothes wasn't the most fun, and when I took care of business it hurt.  I felt like someone had rung out my insides and squeezed out everything.  I just attributed this to my body trying to adapt to some severe demands and went back over to the aid station to get some food down.  I was fortunate in getting the last 2 endurolytes they had. Erin told me that they were going to watch for Heather coming into the aid station on the other side and then head to the finish area. 


I left the aid station and tried to focus on gaining ground.  This was the flat part of the course and I knew this is where I would get the last of my running done. At this time of the day there were a number of people out on the trail with horses which was a bit unsettling for me.  I didn't want to spook them as I passed them, but I also wasn't going to dawdle around at their pace either.  I tried to give them as much space as I could when passing and I needed to be a little more alert for fresh crap on the trail. As I ran around the lake again there were a number of 50 milers that were starting to catch up to me.  I focused on getting to the next aid station because I knew after that I would get to run through smurf village again. Again the aid station seemed like it was further off then what I remembered, this might have been due to my slower pace the second time around the course. When I finally made it to the aid station I grabbed some more food and endurolytes and took stock of how things were going.  I felt better then I thought I would at this point in the event and felt that I had made good time to this point, but I also thought about what was coming up and wasn't sure I would be able to give what it took to get it done.  I opted to keep going with my mental strategy of focusing on the next landmark on the course and not look too much at the Garmin for details on how far I had gone, or how fast I was moving.


Leaving the aid station I took the game trail again and this time had much more difficulty going over and under the trees on the course.  I started to focus on the section of the course with the knocked over reeds.  It was my least favorite section and in just a bit I would be done with it.  Again it was further off then I remembered and it felt like an eternity to get there.  As I traversed the field there were a number of the 50 milers who were passing me. They seemed a bit more supportive then the 25k runners who had passed me earlier in the day. I started to wonder about when Maggie and Tim would catch me and if I would make it to to smurf village again before I saw either of them.  It was nice having something like this to push me and I felt like I made good time here.


The second pass through smurf village was a bit disappointing. By now the trail was much more well worn and my familiarity with the course took away the exploring excitement I had the first time. Oh well, at least it was a mental boost getting there.  When I left smurf village I was feeling a bit dehydrated.  The temperature had peaked for the day and I was out in one of the areas of the course without much for trees.  I wished for a closer aid station to get more water, but that wasn't going to change things so I rationed out the water I did have with me.  At this time the Garmin started complaining about a low battery.  This focused my attention on it and I looked over my data. I was hoping I would have come further then what I had.  I started to focus more on the Garmin data then what was coming up and it felt like I was making no progress.  I really started to think about dropping out at this point.  Even though the course was long, dropping out at the aid station would leave me short of a 50k.  I was still weighing the options as the aid station came into sight.  I limped down the hill leading into the aid station and turned the corner and spotted Maggie. "What the hell are you doing here?!"  I found out that her day was over before I even started mine.  Around mile 3 she had stepped into a hole and sprained her ankle.  Erin grabbed for my bottle and I told her I needed water.  I asked Heather if she still had her Garmin on her but she didn't. After Erin filled my bottle she said she had her Garmin in the truck and would go and get it.  I grabbed some food and looked at how far off Erin was.  I told Maggie that if I didn't leave now I wouldn't finish the event and headed back out on my own.


As I turned the corner and the last aid station was out of sight I felt some mixed emotions. I wasn't sure if my crew had evaluated how I was doing objectively, and I wasn't sure I had what it would take to finish. Since I wasn't going to head backwards and return to the aid station my only option was to press forward even though I didn't really want to. I could still run for little bursts, but the bursts were getting shorter, and the walking time between then was growing larger and larger, not that this section of the course lent itself to running.  It felt like I was constantly going up hill and making little progress.  After a while, I noticed that it was starting to cool down which worried me.  If the temperature dropped too fast I would be in trouble. I didn't have any of my cold weather gear with me anymore, and I wasn't moving fast enough to generate enough heat to stay very warm. I started to focus more on the trail markers and making sure I didn't make a wrong turn.  If I did find myself in trouble I should be able to use my phone to call for help and if I was still on the course it should be easy enough to find me. Even walking up the hills was getting very difficult. Several times I would have to walk up partway and rest for a bit before continuing. Eventually my occasional bit of running stopped for good, and I knew it was walking from here on out. In retrospect I failed to consider that I was recovering while walking and I may have felt better after a long enough rest. Even though I felt I was mentally broken by the course at this point I did have a sense that things would go better next time... There will be a next time. Somehow I lumbered through the fun zone and eventually saw my crew waiting for me on the trail.  It was nice to see some friendly faces, but it definitely brought out some whining from me. As I walked and complained I expected to see the finish line come into sight. I was wrong. They had walked a bit further along the trail than they thought they did.  At least I had company to share the burden with. I heard a little bit about how Heather's day had gone and I was happy to hear she had fun. This made the whole trip worth while for me. Finally the finish line came into sight and I 'jogged' to the end at a pace just a bit slower then someone using a walker in a nursing home.


Just past the finish area there was a chair. Just a simple folding chair.  It was the most comfortable piece of furniture I've sat in. Erin was kind enough to take care of my finishers block of wood while I sat.  Our whole crew was there: Cory, Maggie, Tim, Rick and Becky, Heather and Erin. I was very happy to see all of them and touched that everyone waited around for me. I found out that Tim dropped out around mile 37, so Heather and I were the only 2 finishers from our group of 4. I was humbled by being fortunate enough to finish what I had set out to do. Eventually, I found my way over to the pizza and that made me feel a little bit better. After that, the only thing left to do was make our way to our vehicles and go our separate ways.


Heather, Erin and I made a stop by the hotel for some much needed showers before hitting up the cheesecake factory for supper.  It was delicious.  We got some cheesecake to go for dessert and went back to the hotel to hit up the hot tub.  We all got changed and went downstairs to the pool area, only to find the hot tub closed. A pump had gone out that morning and they were waiting for parts to come in before it could be fixed. We were disappointed, but found solace in the cheesecake waiting for us in our room.  The next day we checked out and went to the Origional Pancake house for breakfast.  It was fantastic as always.  We then spent a little time at REI shopping and stretching out legs before starting to head home.  When we got to the outlet mall we stopped again for some shopping and to stretch out our legs.  From there we went home to end this little adventure.  I'm hoping next year we can get a good crew together again for this event.  It's a well organized race on an incredible course.

2011 FM Half Marathon

The morning of the race I woke up with some lingering knee pain.  I don't normally take anything before a run, but since it was still early enough I took a couple of ibuprofen.  I had a little bit of time to kill so I watched TV until Erin got up and I decided that a trip to Hardees for breakfast sounded good.  Her friend Sabrina was staying with us, so we got ready and informed her about the change of plans. She was a good sport and just rolled with the change.  I had some cinnamon and raisin biscuits at Hardees and then we headed over to the civic center to meet up with Erik.

We arrived a little bit early and to wait a bit, but Erik was right on time.  After we meet up we went over to the start line to watch the 5k and 10k races start.  One of the unusual things about this event is how late the half marathon starts.  Most of the 5k participants were finished with their race before the half marathoners started.  The starting time was a common complaint among those I talked to.  As we waited to start we met up and chatted with several of our running buddies.  Eventually the time came to get started and we lined up.  I finally too Rick's advice and line up at the very back of the pack. Once the race started I made sure I was the very last person across the starting line.

My goal for the race was to treat it more like a tempo run then a race.  My focus right now is on the 50k at Surph the Murph three weeks from now.  Even though I started last I quickly caught up to Erin, Erik and Chris.  I guess I still have to work on my starting pacing even if I start dead last.  Once I caught them I slowed a bit and settled in at my warm up pace.  I figured I'd slowly bring my average pace down to something comfortable the first 8 miles and then start to push it, if I still felt good at 10 miles I'd push the pace a little harder.

The first few miles passed quickly.  I was moving up the field of runners and could constantly focus on picking off the next person ahead of me.  A couple of miles in I spotted a solder running with a couple of packs on. I tried to catch him, but he was holding about the same pace I was. I continued to follow him for a couple more miles until I was finally able to move past. I held my lead long enough that I had forgotten about him when he came up behind me and said I was keeping a good pace and he was trying to catch up to me.  We chatted briefly and then he sped off. On our way back North I passed him a second time and I knew that he wouldn't be catching me again.  I had started off the race a bit faster then what I'd planned, but it was still a conservative pace.  Now it was late enough in the race that I didn't need to hold back anymore.

After crossing the bridge back in to Fargo the course kept going North for a bit.  I ran past the finish line and though about how nice it would be if I were done already. I continued on into oak grove where I heard Judy, my former piano teacher, shout my name.  She had already passed the turn around and was on her way back.  I felt like I had more to give and tried to gain ground on her. With around a mile left I passed Erin on her way out.  She told me that Judy was just ahead.  I continued to push hard and after turning a corner spotted Judy just ahead.  When I caught her she remarked about how quickly I had made up the distance since she spotted me.  She encouraged me to finish strong and I did. My finishing time was 2:15:25.  As I crossed the finish line Heather spotted my and came over to talk.  We chatted for a while before I went in to get my medal and some chocolate milk.  After I came back out we waited together for Erin to finish.  Erin's goal was under 2:30 which she was able to achieve by about 30 seconds. After the race, Heather, Erik, Sabrina, Erin and I headed over to Rhombus Guys pizza on main.  It was a great end to a good race.

2011 Bismarck Marathon Relay

Friday Erin was able to get off work a little early and we left town around 4:15.  I had made us some sandwiches for the road and we ate along the way.  When we arrived in Bismarck we began to finalize plans for the next day.  I called up Rick and we decided who would run each leg of the relay.  I would take the 6.25 first leg, Rick would take the 6 mile second leg, Kristy would run leg 3 which was 4.75 miles, Rick would run for a second time with the 5 mile 4th leg and Erin would finish up the last 4.2 miles of leg 5. After getting all of that squared away we then talked about how we'd get around.  The previous year buses were available to get us to each relay exchange point. However this year with the new route we would have to work out our own transportation.  We ultimately decided that Erin's dad Tony would drive and take us around to each relay exchange.  With all of that finally decided we headed to bed to get some rest before a very long day.

Saturday morning we woke up a little before 6:00 and got dressed for the race. We met up with Rick and Kristy on our way to the park to give them a parking pass before heading to the park.  We arrived just before traffic got really heavy.  We chatted in the parking lot for a bit before making our way to the starting line. I wandered around and found Heather getting ready to run.  She was running the full marathon while her twin sister was running the half marathon with a friend of hers.  I wished her luck and we parted ways so she could drop her stuff off in the bag check area. I meet back up with our group just before the race started so I could drop off my jacket.  When the race started I hung back a bit so that we would be towards the very back of the pack and hopefully not have to fight with congested trails.

The weather was a bit on the cold side with a stiff breeze and it misted just enough to barely keep the ground moist the entire morning.  The first leg of the relay loops around cottenwood park before heading south with the relay exchange at the top of the hill inside the university of mary.  The park was fun to run through, it was well maintained but did smell a little funny in a few places.  There was one spot along the trail that was lined by sandbags and had some pumps keeping the trail mostly dry.  I thanked the volunteer there and told him I hate running with wet feet.  From there the course was fairly flat and as I ran I kept an eye on my heart rate.  After the hard run the weekend before I wanted this to be a bit more relaxed, at least until I got to the hill.  As I approached the hill I was running with a couple of ladies and chatting with them. When we arrived at the base of the hill I told them that I was going to put some work in and started to pick up the pace by almost a minute a mile.  As I ran up the long hill I began to pass more and more people. One lady seemed almost shocked when she finally noticed me, I don't think she was expecting to be passed like that on the hill.  As I rounded the corner and headed into the university I thought the course would flatten out again, but I was wrong.  I kept climbing until I was at the relay exchange point and Rick took the timing chip from me.  I took a minute to catch my breath and then we headed back to the van to get to the next relay exchange.

As we drove to the second relay exchange point I was still quite warm, but when we arrived there and I had to go outside again a quickly became chilled.  We stood around for a little while waiting for Rick until Erin said she was going to walk over to the port-a-potties and Kristy decided to join her.  In keeping with our tradition from the previous year, Rick showed up when Kristy was in the bathroom. Eventually the exchange was made and we hopped back in the van to get to the next relay exchange.

At the next relay point we stayed in the van to try and keep warm.  We figured we had until around 10:30 until Kristy would be there.  Shortly after 10:00 Erin's dad came over and said that Kristy was almost there.  I filled Rick's water bottle from my own and he was off heading up the hill to the university.  When Kristy got in the van we tried to figure out why we were so off in our estimate.  Initially we just thought we couldn't do math until I asked her if she had run around the park before headed south.  It turns out that she had missed that loop because of how the volunteers worded the question when telling her where she needed to go.  She was about 2 miles short of what we were expecting her to run.  Since our goal for the day was just to have fun, no one was really upset about the mix up.

Rick's exchange to Erin would only be a few hundred feet from where we were so we didn't have far to go.  We spent most of the time waiting in the van to try and stay warm. When it was about time to get out and wait for the exchange I asked Erin how fast she was going to try and run.  It sounded like something I'd be capable of doing so I asked if she'd like company and she said yes.  We waited a bit more for Rick before Erin took the timing chip and we headed out. I was really cold starting out and opted to keep my jacket on, but after a mile the sweat was pouring off my face.  Neither Erin or I wanted to disappoint the other person so we both worked real hard the last 4 miles of the race.  A few full marathoners passed us, but we were doing well compared to other relay teams.  With a quarter mile left Erin and I caught and passed another relay runner that we had both seen take off a few minutes before we did.  It felt really good to pass her. Rick and Kristy joined up with us to cross the finish line.  Erin and I were working hard and I tried to motivate her a little more to get every last bit of effort she had.  After crossing the finish line I felt like throwing up, after a minute or so I asked Erin if she felt the same way and she confirmed she did.

After dropping off the timing chip we walked over and picked up some food for the finishers and Erin got her medal.  I picked up some snacks for later and drank some chocolate milk as we looked for Erin's dad and Rick and Kristy's daughters.  When we assembled our group again we decided that we'd head over to Famous Dave's like we did the previous year and get something to eat.  After we ate we said our goodbyes and Erin and I headed back to her parents house to clean up before heading back to Fargo later then we were originally planning.

When we got back to Fargo I had a little bit of time to relax before getting ready for my third run of the day.  Connie needed to do a 20 mile run this weekend and I had said I would tag along for it. The overcast skys had followed us back from Bismarck but it wasn't misting.  The wind was a bit stronger then in Bismarck and it almost caused me to dress warmer then I what I knew I should wear. I met up with Connie in our usual location and we started to head south out of town.  We had found a gravel frontage road a week or so behind walmart that we wanted to try out and this was as good a time as any.  It was a little boring running down a perfectly flat straight road, but still fun since it was the first time we'd been out that way.  It got dark out shortly after we got going but I brought head lamps for both of us.  A few times as we ran that night we'd see the reflection of the light off of eyes in fields, but couldn't figure out what they belonged to.  It was creepy.  When we made it out to the wild rice exit on I29 we looked back at the lights of the city and marveled at how far out of town we were.  

We started to hear some loud sounds in the distance but couldn't figure out what it was.  It didn't quite sound like thunder, but we couldn't rule it out.  We also saw some flashing in the sky and figured a storm was moving in. We continued on towards University drive and just after we passed the wild rice grill and bar a vehicle came up behind us and began to slow down.  Rick had seen some fireworks and decided to drive out and check it out.  Since he was already out south of town he figured he's swing by and check up on us since he knew what our route was going to be. Connie and I felt better knowing that there wasn't a storm moving in and started to head back into town on University.

Around this time I told Connie that I was starting to struggle and she did her best to distract me with conversation.  Our plan was to turn onto 76th avenue and head towards Davies on our way back.  When I remembered that we were going to turn I thought we had already gone by it, but just ahead I caught a glimpse of a street sign. We needed to run across the road to read it, and luckily enough it was where we needed to turn.  We headed west again toward 25th street.  I was still struggling on occasion, the long day was starting to get to me, but Connie helped me stay positive and we kept moving forward.  After going by Davies we headed toward 52nd Ave.  When we arrived at the intersection of 25th and 52nd we walked and ate our hourly snack. This is when I finished my water and we decided that we were going to cut our run short.  Somehow Connie mentioned that her husband would be bringing her son's girlfriend home in a few minutes and I jokingly suggested we just get a ride back.  A few minutes later we recognized her car drive by and make a U turn.  We ran to the side of the road and pretended to pull up out short to show some leg.  When the car pulled we we found out it was her son driving with her younger son in back with his girlfriend.  Connie was a little embarrassed, but we had a good laugh about it.  Since there wasn't enough room for both of us right then we waited a bit as they went and dropped off Matt's girlfriend. On their way back they picked us up and gave us a ride home.  I finished the run about 5 miles short, but for the day I put in around 26.  It was a productive day of training and I had a blast doing it.

2011 Dick Beardsley Half Marathon

The night before the race Erin and I were out babysitting rather late. When we got home I set the alarm clock for a few hours later and we got what sleep we could. After the alarm clock went off Erin and I feel into the usual routine of getting ready for a race.  Checking the weather, finding my favorite clothes to run in, putting together a bag of stuff for after the race, deciding if I want the hydration pack or just the hand held bottle. After getting my stuff together we headed over to pick up Heather who was riding down with us to Detroit Lakes for the race.

We were one of the first few people at the park that morning, which seemed to suit us just fine.  We picked up our packets and had some time to relax and talk to other runners that we knew.  Eventually we headed back to the car to drop of our stuff and make our way to the starting line. I had forgotten to bring a hat to keep the sun out of my eyes but Erin was able to pick up a cheap one for me just a short distance from where the starting line was.

When the race started Heather quickly raced off.  I wasn't planning on going for a PR so I was a bit more relaxed as I began.  I was primarily looking at my heart rate data instead of looking at pace.  I wanted to ease into things and save something for the finish.  The first 2 miles passed quickly, by keeping a close eye on my heart rate I was able to slow down a bit on the hills in the first section of the course and keep my effort fairly even. When I passed Erin at mile 2 I remarked that it was already hot and it was going to be an ugly day.

After I passed Erin I noticed my heart rate climbing a bit faster then I would have liked and made an effort to slow down and keep it under control.  The trees on this side of the lake were still providing a little shade and I tried to make the most of it. I was trying to drink plenty of water and Gatorade  when it was available at the aid stations. When I reached the halfway point I ate the honey stinger waffle I had with me and hoped it would be enough to get me to the finish. I had also forgotten to bring endurolytes with and probably could have used then at the point in the race.

After the halfway point the race started to go poorly.  My heart rate was higher then I liked and it didn't come down much when I walked.  I was feeling uncomfortably warm and just not having a very good time.  As the miles pasted the walk breaks became longer and the running periods got shorter.  With a little over a mile left to go Connie caught up to me.  It was great being able to talk with her.  After running for a bit I said that I wanted to walk for a while but Connie was having none of that.  She insisted that we keep running, but we could go as slow as I wanted.  I reluctantly agreed and we kept running.  Eventually rounded the last turn and I saw another runner I knew up ahead.  I told Connie I was going to try to catch this runner and finish strong. As I took off I could hear Connie cheering for me as if I was in contention to win the race.  I ran as hard as I could and passed the person I was aiming for within 30 feet of the finish line.  After crossing the finish line I began to pay for that last burst of speed.  I felt crappy, my heart was pounding and I was gasping for breath.  I collected my medal and found a spot on the grass to sit down.  After a minute or so I was still feeling awful, but I wanted to find Connie and thank her for the mental boost she was able to give me at the end.  I staggered back to my feet, found Connie and gave her a hug.  Shortly after that Erin and the rest of the gang found me and asked about the race.  I told them it how badly things had gone and asked about getting some ice cream.

When we got to where the line for ice cream was Nicky, Amber and Talon said they would head over to Zorbaz and find some seats while we picked up ice cream.  Once I had picked up the ice cream I plopped down on the grass again to eat it and to give my heart rate a chance to go down.  Erin said that I should just eat it on the way and she didn't want to keep the rest of the group waiting.  I still felt crappy but I complied headed off to Zorbaz.  When we arrived it took a little while to find out group.  I found a bar stool to perch on while Erin wandered in search of our party.  Mike Almquist saw Heather and I and chatted with us for a bit until Erin came back to get us.  After we sat down at our table my heart rate finally dropped out of the "working hard" range.  Erin went and ordered for us and came back with some cups for our drinks.  She asked what I wanted but I thought I should get up and get it myself to keep moving and not let things tighten up so bad.  When I stood up I felt light headed and got tunnel vision briefly. As we waited for our food I started feeling even worse.  I couldn't seem to get comfortable in the chair and felt increasingly nauseous. When our pizza finally arrived I felt so bad that I needed to head outside the restaurant.  I found a place to sit on the ground a little ways down the street from Zorbaz and let my head spin for a while.  Erin came out and found me a few minutes later.  She suggested that I not sit in the sun and we crossed the street to find some shade.  The little bit of a breeze that had kicked up felt good.  I lay down on my back and told Erin about how I felt. After a few minutes I got up and headed back into Zorbaz with her.  I ate a piece of pizza and drank a little pop before I told her I needed to head back outside again.  After laying down for about 10 minutes I heard some familiar voices behind me.  Ken and Monica were outside the restaurant chatting with some people.  I felt good enough to walk over and talk with them for a bit before Erin came up to look for me again.  We talked with Ken and Monica for a bit longer before I decided that my stomach had settled enough to try food again. This time I was able to eat more normally. Color had returned to my face and the people we were sitting with remarked how much better I looked.

On the drive back to Fargo I sat in the back seat.  I had trouble finding a comfortable position and felt like my body temperature couldn't find an equilibrium.  I constantly shifted from too cold to to warm. When we got home I jumped in the shower and that seemed to help things a bit.  After that I headed downstairs to watch TV for a bit and try to relax.  Later in the day I showed Erin how my legs were twitching on there own. The next day I felt almost normal, just a bit on the weak side.  Since it was the NFLs opening weekend I figured I'd take a rest day and I spent most of the day watching football.  It will be interesting to see how my body responds tomorrow when I get back out and try to run again.

2011 Young Life Triathlon

After my disappointing half ironman at liberty this year I was left with a desire to finish a triathlon that was longer then a sprint.  Young life in Detroit Lakes offered me a chance to test myself with the Olympic distance.

The night before the event I drove out to DL with Ray who wanted to pick up packets early.  We left town right around 5:00 and fought some traffic on the way out.  After picking up our packets we stopped at the Lakeside Tavern for supper. We both ordered a patty melt and the food was very good. On the way back we chatted some more and made plans for meeting up the next day.

The morning of the event I woke up a little early.  I realized I was dreaming about getting ready when I noticed my Garmin on my wrist.  I figured I might as well get up and start getting ready for real. Most of my stuff was already packed and I just needed to throw some clothes on and grab my bike.  Erin and I stopped for gas and feed that cats that we're watching for some friends and then picked Ray up for the drive out. We were a little bit early picking Ray up, but I guess he's getting used to us being a little early.

After picking up Ray I realized I had forgotten my swim goggles.  We were already far enough down the road that it didn't make sense to drive back for them.  I hoped that the Walmart in DL was open 24x7.  When we got to DL we found that it was open and I was able to buy some goggles. It wasn't the way I wanted to start the day, but things could have been worse.  We found a good parking spot in the park, grabbed our gear and headed into the transition area.  We found a nice area by a tree that had a little extra room for our stuff and started setting up. We got ready rather leisurely and then headed down to the lake to check the water, which was pleasantly warm.

After some race announcements we were ready to begin.  I was in the first wave of the swimmers.  I quickly fell to the back of the pack in the swim.  Since the lake was fairly shallow from time to time I could stop and clear off my goggles which were having some fogging issues.  The course could have used more markers.  After the first turn I couldn't see the next buoy and had just take my best guess as to which of the swimmers ahead of me were going the right direction.  This was by far the best swim I've had this year.  I didn't have much problem with my breathing and was able to swim properly for large chunks.  When I finally finished the swim I was feeling light headed and struggled though my first few steps towards the transition area.

My transition went smoothly and I soon after I left the lake I was cruising on the bike. The course was well marked and had friendly volunteers at every turn. My first issue on the bike came around mile 9.  As I was starting up the biggest hill on the course my chain slipped off.  I didn't have enough momentum to stay clipped in and get the chain back on, so I had to stop and put it back on.  Then I was far enough up the hill that I couldn't get going again and get clipped in, so I had to run the bike up to the top.  It didn't kill my time too much, but it was frustrating.  I saw Erin after the first loop around the lake and showed her my greasy hand from putting the chain back on.  As I was getting close to the end of the second loop I noticed that my rear tire had gone flat. It was disappointing, but I had a spare tube with me and after a few minutes I had it changed.  Shortly after I had it changed I noticed it had gone flat again.  I'm not sure if I pinched it while changing it, or there was something sharp in the tire, but my race was over. A couple of women were out walking with strollers and I asked to borrow a cell phone. As I was calling Erin a car stopped by and asked if I needed a rider. It was another racer who had bike problems along the way.

When I got back to the park I started to pack my stuff up.  Erin told me that Ray was doing well and should be finishing soon.  We walked over to the finish line just in time to see him.  After we had everything packed up we went over to Zorbaz for some pizza and nachos.  It was a fun day, just disappointing with how the event went for me.

2011 Perham Harrier Half Marathon

This morning Erin and I got up early and drove out to Perham so I could run the second annual Perham Harrier Half Marathon.  When I signed up for the event I was hoping to break 2 hours, but training hasn't been going very well lately and I didn't keep up with my running over our vacation so this turned from an A level event to one where I was just going out to have fun.

Terry and I before the race, the DBRC twins

The alarm went off a little after 4:00 and we were both fairly tired.  Erin was at a bachelorette party the previous night, and even when she got home she was texting all night because her twin sister had gone into labor.  We stopped for gas on the way out of town and headed east.  We arrived in Perham a little ahead of schedule which was nice.  We drove to the park and I was able to pick up my packet.  We ran into some other runners from Fargo we knew: Terry, Mike and Paul and chatted with them for a bit as we got ready.  They went off to warm up but I just waited with Erin in the car.  I'd have plenty of time to warm up over the 13.1 mile run.  Just before the start of the race I went to the bathroom one last time and Erin and I walked over to the starting area.  Since it was the same as Turtlefest this year it was all familiar.

Look closely for the hydration pack, you'll see

I'm not exaggerating about being dead last

When the race started, I jumped out to an early lead with the pack trailing me by quite a bit...  Ok, maybe not. I was dead last for the first 4.3 miles.  I settled into my running rhythm within a mile and started to pick the pace up slowly.  Even though I was last there was still some crowd support along the way.  There was a residential area we ran through and there were a few driveways with people standing near the road cheering. It was nice of them to stay out until we all had gone by.  I was starting to embrace the roll of being last place.  I had a biker and police car following me and had the road to myself.  Where else am I going to be pampered like this on a run?  After 4 miles, I started to close in on the person ahead of me.  When I approached I saw he was a teenager that looked like he was in a little over his head.  I asked him how he was doing and received a grunt in reply.  I couldn't think of anything inspirational to say and my legs were feeling good and I quickly left him behind.  After I passed him I started to hear something in the distance that I couldn't quite make out.  After going along for a bit I was able to determine it was music.  Eventually I passed a volunteer in a suburban with the doors and back hatch open blasting music.  He was standing outside his truck with a cowbell playing along with the music.  It was greatly appreciated and I thanked him as I went by.

As the music faded, anther sound became noticeable: thunder. I could see some nasty looking clouds to the west and watched the lightning as the storm rolled in.  Eventually I turned east and it was rather eerie listening to the thunder grow closer behind me without being able to watch the clouds.  I started to catch up to another runner right about the time it started to rain and we ran along together for a while talking until the wind picked up and the heavy stuff started to fall.  When the storm intensified I pushed the pace a little.  The heavy rain and strong wind stung my skin but I wasn't too worried.  Last year I had gone running with Connie and we were caught in a similar storm. I had made it through that when we didn't have anywhere to take shelter, but here if I got concerned I could get a ride with the race volunteers. My clothes were completely soaked by the down pour and the leading edge of the storm had some impressive lightning.

As the rain started to let up I was expecting some more fireworks on the trailing edge of the storm and I was not let down.  I was passing what looked to be a radio tower as it was struck by lightning.  I'm guessing I was less then a quarter of a mile away when it happened.  Just a couple minutes after that a van pulled up beside me and stopped.  I gave the thumbs up sign and continued on only for it to pull up along side me again with the window rolled down.  The volunteer said they were pulling everyone from the course because of the lightning. I wanted to continue, but would have been on my own for the rest of the race.  I decided to take the ride back.  Even though I was disappointed, I could see that this was the right decision to make after seeing the lightning strike so close to me.  I rode back to the starting area and found Erin who was waiting in the car.

After changing out of my soaked clothes we went to the lakes cafe for breakfast.  I had some pancakes and bacon while she had cheesy hash browns with toast and bacon.  The food was very good. After breakfast we headed home.

Later in the day Erin's twin sister, Elisa, delivered her baby, our first niece. Emily Rae Eastburn, 6 pounds 13 ounces.  I think I'll concede to Elisa I had the easier day today.

Emily Rae

Fourth of July Weekend

Over the fourth Erin and I had a busy weekend. Saturday morning we got up and did a 10 mile run.  It was warmer and more humid that I would have liked but the miles went by quickly.  It was the longest run either of us had done since the marathon in May.  I tried out a hydration pack that Erin's dad had given us and let Erin use my regular Nathan pack.  There was a little rubbing with the new pack, but I was able to tuck a small towel under the strap and it worked out quite well.

Saturday night we babysat 4 children.  Two of them we normally watch and the other 2 were their cousins from California. It was a bit hectic with everyone wanting to do their own thing, but overall things went well.

Sunday we started organizing our anniversary run. I put together a map and sent it out, we started cleaning the house and then we looked into how we were going to make the medals for this years run.  Last year we went with sharpie on metal washers, but we wanted to do something a bit nicer this year.  We headed over to Micheals and spent a few hours wandering around kicking around various ideas before settling down on something we liked.

Sunday night we were invited back by the family we just babysat for a backyard cookout. We enjoyed some good food and good company with weather that was about as nice as one could ask for.

Monday morning we got up and headed over to the MSUM Firecracker run.  Erin and I had both signed up for the 10k which was two loops of the 5k course. The run itself was fairly miserable.  The course was out in the open without much to look at or much shade.  Along the way I was misdirected by a volunteer at a turn and put in a little bit of extra distance.  Also I'm not a fan of running all the way back to the start before heading back along the same route I've just run.  Overall I'd say the race could have been organized better, but I had fun because of all the friends I had there.

After the race Erin and I got started making the medals for our run until it was time to head over to Cassy's place for her annual fourth of July party.  The food was great and afterwards we sat around watching the kids light off small stuff.  As this was going on we watched some clouds in the distance get closer and closer.  Eventually the tornado sirens went off and we had to head home early.

2011 Averages Jo's Sprint Triathlon

Last year I participated in my first triathlon at Average Jo's and I was excited to head back there again this year. I had talked Erin into giving it a try because last year was so fun. This year was also fun, but in a more challenging way.

Erin and I got up early and drove out to Perham. On our way to the park we passed a familiar looking minivan traveling the opposite direction.  As they passed I recognized Cassie and wondered if she was having trouble finding the park.  Then I saw her turn around in our rear view mirror so I slowed down so she could catch up.  When we got to the park there were a few other people there, but not many.  We walked over to Cassie's van and said hello to her family before heading over to pick up our packets and to get marked for the race.

After getting our packets we grabbed our gear and headed for the transition area to setup in a good location.  We found a spot on the last rack right on the end towards the bike exit.  I've heard from other triathletes that it's easiest to be on that end so you don't have to fight getting your bike down the crowded rows during the race.  After racking the bikes we then leisurely unpacked all of our other gear.  Cassie setup right next to us and kind of followed along with what we were doing.  This was her first triathlon too. As we were setting up, I could see the race organizers setting up the buoys for the swim course. Last year the swim stayed near the shore so it was possible to touch the bottom of the lake almost the entire way.  This year the course was straight out into the lake.

As the start time got closer Erin and I decided to head into the water to get used to it while Cassie decided that she would stay out of the lake until the event started. We were told the water temperature was 66°, based on feel it was colder then it was the previous year and colder then the water at liberty where I was wearing a wet suit. Erin was shivering almost immediately, but I seemed to tolerate the cold fairly well.  After being in for a couple of minutes I was quite comfortable.

When the race started I made the decision to walk as far as I could into the lake to minimize the amount of swimming I would have to do.  I hoped I would be able to make it to the first buoy but that was overly optimistic. When I was forced to start swimming I did better mentally then I did during the 1.2 mile swim a few weeks prior.  Knowing that I made it through that definitely helped my confidence and I was relaxed enough to put my head in and swim properly for a while. When I finally emerged from the lake I was near the back of the pack, 150th out of 170 participants.

After jogging up the hill to the transition area I dried off as best I could before putting my biking shoes on.  I struggled to put on my spandex top and red Dick Beardsley shirt before heading out on the bike.  The bike course has a gravel road on a hill at the start and end. This year the gravel was very soft and made keeping momentum difficult and had me concerned about tipping over once I was clipped into the pedals.  Once I cleared the gravel I started to fly.  I was a bit tired from the swim, but it didn't seem to effect me too much.  Throughout the entire 12 miles I kept moving up the field and by the time the bike had finished I had passed 63 people.  On the way back up the hill I stalled out about halfway up and decided just to run the bike back to the transition area rather then risk tipping over.  I shed my bike shoes, put on my running shoes and Garmin  and headed out on the run.

As I started the run I was dripping sweat from the bike and out of breath.  The run starts down a hill and my legs had some difficulty remembering just what running felt like.  Once I had the downhill behind me I started to find a rhythm and build speed.  After going so fast on the bike it felt like I was crawling along, but I was holding a solid pace just under 10 minute miles.  I was able to hold this pace throughout the run until near the end when I came across a guy who looked like he was struggling.  He had started to walk which allowed me to catch him.  When I was along side of him I told him that we should run the downhill and could walk the uphill.  When we made it to the uphill I convinced him to push a little longer and get to the top.  I kept pushing him along in this fashion until we were close enough to sprint to the finish line.  I felt really good about getting him to the finish line a step in front of me.

2011 Perham Turtlefest 5k

Last year at Turtlefest I put together a great race and improved my PR by around seven minutes to 26:10. My goal for that race was to run under 30 minutes somehow I was able to beat that by a good margin. I was really looking forward to going back this year and trying to improve on that effort. I has hoping that I would be well recovered from the Chase Race and Hillsboro and that my hard effort in each of those races would leave me in better shape for Turtlefest.

Erin and I got up early Saturday morning to drive down to Perham.  When we got there we drove to the park where the race was last year.  On our way to the park we passed what looked like the finish area for the race which seemed odd.  When we got to the park it was empty so we headed back to where we saw the finish line. This year the race organizers had changed. The local cross county coach was running the race now and as part of the change the route had been moved a little.  After picking up our packets we had a little bit of time to kill.  As we waited we saw Jill and talked with her for a while.  Ray also showed up with his kids who were all running the race this year. Erin and I were a little disappointed that Connie didn't come with but we were happy to see the rest of the family with Ray.

Erin and I warmed up and headed over the where the race would start.  The race started on the road and would eventually move onto the bike path. There wasn't chip timing at this race so we both started a bit more forward in the crowd then we normally do.  Since my goal was to improve on my chase race time I had my splits memorized and figured I'd just try to beat each of them by a few seconds.  The first mile I was able to shave off 12 seconds and I was feeling really good.  I figured I would raise the intensity a bit for mile two and hope that I could hang on through the end of the race. I was able to make it through mile two, but I was really feeling the strain of the effort.  The last mile seemed to drag on forever.  I kept looking at the Garmin to figure out how much was left and each time I checked I didn't think I could hang on until the end.  Eventually the route moved out of the trees and I could see where the finish line was.  Somehow I picked the pace up a little knowing that I had a chance to go under 25 minutes. As I rounded the last turn I could see that the clock and gave it everything I had.  When I finished I wanted to throw up but felt good about the effort I was able to give. As I waited for Erin to finish I talked with Ray and Terry.  The congratulated me on my run and my new PR.

As Erin was finishing I shouted encouragement and she gave a strong finishing kick to finish right around the same time as the chase race. I thought she had beaten that time, but we needed to wait for the results to be posted to be sure. Erin wanted to sit for a while after the race to catch her breath.  We talked about how things had gone and she said the thought during the race that she wished she was running a marathon instead so she wouldn't have to be working so hard.  When she was feeling a bit better we got up and went over to check the results.  We confirmed that she had taken a second off her chase race time for a new PR.  I knew I had a good time, but didn't think I would be so high in the overall standings.  I had taken 61 seconds off my chase race time.  I knew it was a good race but I was blown away by how well I was able to do.

Ray's family had a good day with all of them placing in their age groups. Erin came in at 29:13, a new PR, and I had run 24:40 which was good enough for second place in my age group.

2011 Hillsboro Road Race 10k

Jarrod, Me, Erin, and Rick before the race

Two days after the YMCA Chase Race was the Hillsboro Road Race.  Erin and I both signed up for the 10k.  The day of the race Rick emailed me and asked if we wanted to ride with him in Eunice and I told him we'd love to.  After Erin got off work Rick came picked us up and we headed for Hillsboro. Erin and I were preregistered, but Rick still needed to register. We picked up our stuff while Rick registered and headed back to the camper to drop our shirts and for Rick to change.  Erin and I headed to the starting area while Rick was changing to try to meet up with a friend from the daily mile.  Eventually Jarrod found us which was good because we were having no luck finding him.  We chatted for a little while before Rick found us and it was time to start the race.  At the start there was a slight breeze and it was probably in the upper 70s, but the humidity didn't seem to be too high making for decent running conditions.

The start of the race

Rick and I passing Eunice near the halfway point

Based on the McMillan running calculator and the results of the chase race I knew I could run around an 8:35 pace.  I decided I wanted to be a little more conservative than this and decided I'd shoot for somewhere between 8:45 and 8:50.  My goal was to get the race done under and hour so even if things went poorly at my conservative pace I could still slow down and reach my goal.  Rick's plan was to start off with me to warm up and then start pushing harder.  As we started running he was pushing the pace just a little faster then what I was shooting for, but I figured I'd keep up with him for a while.  Near the 1 mile mark Jarrod passed us and shortly after that Rick started to speed up as well.  I started to look more at my heart rate than pace and tired to find a level where I was working hard but could keep it up for the entire race. As I neared the halfway point I started to develop a side ache that lasted a mile or so before it went away. As the course twisted and turned around town the direction of the wind was always very obvious.  When it was at your back you immediately heated up but when you turned into it you cooled down.  Somewhere between miles 4 and 5, I caught back up to Jarrod who wished me luck on the rest of the race.  I wanted to talk to him more, but was working hard enough that I couldn't talk all that well.  The rest of the race I focused on catching up to the next person and passing them.  As I neared the finish line there was a good sized group of walkers coming in from the 5k.  I avoided them as best I could and crossed the finish line.  After kneeling for a while to let my heart rate drop a little I got up and found some Popsicles that were available to race participants.  With as warm as I was it was the best tasting popsicle I think I've had.  I talked with Rick a little while before Erin finished.

Erin, Jon and Rick after the race

After the race we stood around and talked while door prizes were given out.  When the door prizes were all given out Jarrod headed out but some of the rest of us hung out a little while longer while the winners were announced. As things were winding down we went over to check the official results. I had come in at 53:35 and Erin finished just under 1:05.  Both of us had set PRs.

2011 YMCA Chase Race 5k

The day after my attempt at the Liberty Half Ironman I was very sore.  My legs felt heavy and my lower back was hurting. I was able to do some light biking at the gym to recover. The biking seemed to help and I was able to bounce back quickly and felt fairly good heading into the chase race.

The day of the race there were some storms moving into the area in the evening.  There wasn't supposed to be much lightning, but there was a potential for some very heavy rain and it was warm and humid. My goal was to try and better my 5k PR of 26:10 from just about a year ago at Turtlefest. Erin was hoping to break the 30 minute mark. We headed towards the downtown Y and on the way realized Erin forgot her Garmin so we had to head back to the house to get it.

When we got to the Y we did a quick search of the crowd for people we knew.  We saw a few acquaintances, but none of the people we hoped to see.  While the kids races were going on Erin and I did a mile to warm up and when we got back to the starting area it had started to rain.  Many of the participants huddled under a tent that had been set up for the race to avoid the rain.  Erin and I headed just across the street to the parking ramp to get out of the rain and avoid the crowd.

A couple of minutes later the announcement was given to line up and we took up a position toward the back of the pack.  Once the race started I hung back before crossing the starting line.  It was chip timing and I wanted to have some room to run once I got going. It didn't take me long to catch back up to Erin and settling down into my planned pace.  The route went south along seventh street and I started to pass a few people.  I wondered if I was heading out too fast, but decided to stick to my plan.  As I crossed 13th Ave. a guy had gotten out of his truck and was yelling at the volunteer blocking traffic.  I think I heard him whine something to the effect of why does the route have to go here.  I laughed with some of the other runners near me before continuing on.

When I passed the halfway point I thought to myself, "only a mile and a half left, I should be done in 20 minutes" It took a few seconds before I realized if this was the halfway point I could just look at how long I had been running and see how much longer it would take.  I was relived when I saw I would only be running for another 12 minutes or so.  I was huffing and puffing, but was still holding my pace.  I wanted to slow down, but kept thinking about how soon this would all be over.  When the route reached island park again I was happy to have some downhill to help keep the pace up, but I knew I would have to pay for it with some uphill just before the finish.

As I approached the last uphill there was a guy in front of me who looked like he was in good shape.  He definitely wasn't breathing as hard as I was and I thought he would easily finish before me.  As we went up the hill I kept gaining on him and moved off to the side to pass him.  I thought for sure he would pass me just after turning the last corner, but he didn't.  I looked up to see 25 minutes still on the clock and I dug deep to finish strong.  As I passed the finish line I stopped the Garmin and staggered over to where volunteers were removing chips.  After they cut mine off I grabbed some water and headed back along the course a little ways to wait for Erin. From where I was standing I had a good view of the course and of the clock.  Right on schedule I saw her turn the corner and I let out a yell.  As she ran past I gave another shout of encouragement and followed her to drop off her chip.

We had both met our goals, I had finished in 25:41 and Erin had come in around 29:14. Now we just need to recover before running the Hilsboro 10k on Thursday.

2011 Liberty Half Ironman

Last year, I participated in my first triathlon at Average Jo's in Perham.  It was a sprint triathlon and I had a lot of fun.  I figured if I could do that last year then this year I could step it up and do something a bit longer so I registered for the half ironman option at Liberty. A half ironman is a 1.2 mile swim followed by a 56 mile bike ride and finishing with a half marathon (13.1 miles).

With all my long distance running events this spring, training for the bike and swim portions of the triathlon was largely done as cross training between my focused workouts on running. I've accumulated about 1000 miles of biking during the past 6 months but most of those miles have been short easy rides.  I had been swimming regularly until recently when finding pool time has been a bit harder with my event schedule.  I'm a stronger swimmer then I was last year, but going into the event I've lost a bit of my swimming fitness that I had a few months ago.

One of our running friends, Ray, was also doing Liberty this year.  We decided to drive together which worked out great for me because I could talk to him about all of the small details along the way.  Friday after I got off work, I packed up all my gear and drove over to pick up Ray.  As I waited for him to get all of his things together, I chatted with his wife Connie who I had run the twin cities marathon with last fall.  It was great catching up with her and hopefully we'll have a chance to run together this summer.  Once we had Ray's stuff packed up we headed back to our place to pick Erin up and were on our way out of town.

Finding the hotel was easy and as we walked in packet pickup for the race was in full swing.  Erin and I checked into the hotel first and then picked up my packet.  I quickly looked through it and saw some familiar and unfamiliar things. I recognized the timing chip and strap from other races as well as the bib number.  In addition to this I also found a bright pink sticker and a sheet of paper with my number on it that looked like it was meant to be folded over and stuck to itself.  I asked Ray about these items and he said the sticker was for my helmet and the other sheet of paper was for the bike.  Did I mention it was nice having someone there who had gone through all of this before?  We dropped our stuff off in the hotel and waited a few minutes for Ray's buddy to show up before heading out to get a bite to eat.  Since no one had a strong preference for where to eat, we decided to go to the restaurant right next to the hotel.  After supper, Ray and Ryan left to visit a local triathlon supply store and Erin and I headed back to our room. We decided to meet up with Ray at 5:00am the next morning to find a place to grab breakfast.

Neither Erin or I slept very well and I was up before the alarm went off.  I quickly packed up my stuff and loaded up our truck.  On my way out, I discovered that instead of the hotels normal 7:00am start to their breakfast they had it ready before 5:00am.  I called Ray and we decided just to eat here instead of finding a restaurant. As far as hotel breakfasts go, this one was good.  I had some premade french toast warmed up in the toaster with some sausage before heading back and making myself a waffle.  The breakfast area was packed when we got there, but quickly cleared out as the other athletes left for the park. We decided it was time for us to get going as well and followed Ryan to the park.

Ray and I before the start of the race in the transition area

When we got to the park we were directed to a parking lot and started to unload our gear to setup in the transition area.  We had to walk about a quarter of a mile from the truck to the transition area.  On our way into the transition area, volunteers were marking participants.  On our right arm, left shoulder, and front and back of our right leg was our race number.  Also on the right leg was an X indicating Ray and I were both doing the long course.  On back of our left leg was our age.  After getting marked we entered the transition area and Ray picked out a spot along the fence.  Erin was allowed to enter the area to drop off the stuff she was carrying, but after that she had to leave.  Since Ray picked out a spot by the fence Erin just hung out on the other side and could chat with us as we got ready.  We lined up our gear on the ground and put some sunscreen on before it was time to put on the wet suits.  This was only the second time I had mine on and it would be the first time I've used it in the water. We walked down to the lake and had a chance to get in the water.  It was much warmer than I thought it would be.  Ray and I swam out a while and I was happy with how the wet suit felt. I got out of the water for the prerace announcements.  When I got out of the water I ran into our old neighbor JJ.  We chatted for a bit before the announcements and then headed over to the start area to wait for the race to begin.

JJ and I before the race

Waving to Erin before we start

Ray and I were both in the third wave for the swim and JJ and Ryan were in the second.  There was 5 waves of participants for the long course and 4 for the Olympic distance.  Each wave was 3 minutes apart with the first Olympic wave waiting a few extra minutes after the last wave from the long course.  When it was time for my wave to start, I ran out into the water until it was about waist deep and dove forward to swim.  I got a few strokes in before getting hit by some splashing when I was trying to breathe.  This was one thing I was not prepared for.  When I did my training in the pool, I didn't have to contend with this level of traffic.  I tried to collect myself and started swimming again. My breathing wasn't as deep as it should have been and I felt a little panicked but I struggled along as best I could.  After I managed to start swimming and put my head in the water, I figured I should probably look up to make sure I was still on course.  I felt like I had been going straight the entire time, but when I looked up I had been heading off to the right by quite a bit and had attracted the attention of one of the kayakers. I tried to correct my course and when I looked up again it seemed like I hadn't made any progress.  I was feeling a lot of anxiety about the rest of the swim and thought  about dropping out even though I wasn't even a quarter of the way through the swim.  I was breathing quick and shallow and knew I needed to turn things around if I was going to finish the swim. A guy on a kayak came over and asked if I needed to rest.  I took him up on the offer and grabbed on.  The rules state that you can rest by using aid like this, but you can't move forward along the course while you're getting aid.  I took a few seconds to collect myself and tried to relax my breathing before heading out again. I decided that I was more comfortable keeping my head out of the water and being able to keep an eye on the buoys. After reaching the next buoy, I looked ahead and thought that this was going to be impossible for me.  The turn around for the Olympic course was still way out there and I needed to go past where that was. The field was starting to thin out as people from the waves that started after I did continued to pass me.  I was using my legs to propel me much more than I had intended to. Because I wasn't putting my head in the water to swim properly, I needed to use my legs if I was going to get anywhere.  I rolled onto my back and did the backstroke for a while before rolling back on my stomach and sighting the buoys again.  Even on my back, I was still pulling to the right and couldn't seem to stay on course.  Somehow I made it out to the buoys indicating the Olympic turn around and was able to finally get a good look at how much further I would need to go before I could turn around.  The swimmers I could see around me all looked like they were struggling as well which helped my confidence a little. Maybe I wasn't doing as poorly as I thought I was.


When I reached the turn-around I was feeling quite proud.  I had just gone what seemed like an impossible distance.  Now I just needed to turn around and do it again.  For some reason, once I turned it felt like I was hardly moving so I put my head in the water and tried to work hard to get going again.  I was still having problems breathing because of the waves, but I managed to feel like I was making progress again.  I stopped for another rest at another kayak and the guy gave me some words of encouragement.  He talked about how far he had gone paddling to this point and I had gone further than this since I was on my way back. The rest and kind words seemed to help and soon I was on my way again.  When I made it back to the Olympic turn around I met up with the bulk of the swimmers participating in that event.  In some ways it was comforting to have more people around again, but the trade off was more waves and the occasional bumping into people.  There was one guy who seemed like he was trying to occupy the same space I was and I had to take a few moments to spit water out and collect myself after our encounter.  I tried some more of the backstroke, but with more swimmers around me it didn't work too well.  I remember turning over to my stomach at one point and it felt like my brain did an extra turn.  I was feeling a little light headed and I wasn't quite sure why.  Fortunately, I was getting close to the end of the swim and tried to keep focused on moving forward.  As I neared the shore, I tried to see if I could start walking but wasn't close enough yet.  I put my head down and pushed hard again and soon enough I was able to start to see the bottom.  It felt great once I was able to stand up again and walk toward the shore.  As I left the lake, I felt a lot like how I imagine it feels being born.  I was lightheaded and dizzy, wet, and I had no idea what was going on.  I struggled to walk up the hill to the transition area thinking I should maybe be running at this point.  Then I realized running was not going to happen in the condition I was in and kept lumbering up the hill. I had given everything I had in the water and wasn't sure I could do much at all on the bike. I found Erin waiting for me and I asked how long I had been in the water.  She told me I was right around an hour and I felt a little encouraged.  I felt like it had been a lot longer and was happy that I was close to being on schedule.

Getting out of the wet suit took a little more effort then I would have liked.  I remembered to take my timing chip off first, but had trouble reaching the strap attached to the zipper.  Eventually I found it and started to pull the suit off.  My balance wasn't the greatest at this point and I stumbled a bit.  My plan was to eat a nutty bar and take a 5 hour energy, but I forgot all about the 5 hour energy with as tired as I was.  I made sure I put my helmet on first so I didn't forget it and get disqualified.  I started to walk my bike to where I could mount up.  The bike course begins with a hill climb and I took it easy to start off with.  Knowing that my time in the swim was close to what I was expecting, I thought I had a good chance to make the cutoff for the run if things went well.  I figured I'd hold back for the first loop of the course on the bike and then try to pick up the pace the second time through when I had a better idea of how much time I'd need to make up.

Heading out on the bike

The course was well marked and most intersections had people stopping traffic so slowing down was unnecessary.  The hills were more then what we have around here, but for the most part the terrain was friendly.  The up and down did make it a little hard to figure out how well I was pacing.  I could look at my overall average pace, or my average for the current 5 mile section, but it didn't help much as the up and down hill would wildly swing my current pace. There was a good amount of other participants around me on the first loop. A few people were doing the long course with me, but most were doing the Olympic distance and only needed to do one loop.  Near the end of the first loop there is a steep hill.  At the top of the hill you turn right on your first loop and left on your second.  As I approached a volunteer asked me which loop I was on and I told him.  He told me to go right and said he would see me in just a little bit for the second loop.  I thought he was a bit optimistic but appreciated the encouragement and pushed on into loop two.

I picked up the pace a little on my second trip around the bike course.  At this point there weren't too many other riders around me, but most of the time I could see at least 1 other rider.  I started to pass people and felt good about my chances of making the cutoff.  The first half of the second loop continued to go well for me.  After getting halfway on the second loop I started to fade.  I had gone through the water that I had with me and was anxiously awaiting the next bottle exchange.  Unfortunately, I knew it would be a while before I would get there and started to back off on the effort I was putting in.  In addition to being behind on hydration, I was getting very sore from the swim and being on my bike for so long.  I could feel a little bit of cramping near my hips but it didn't get too severe.  As I continued my ride, I ran across other bikers who were just out for a ride on a beautiful day.  Most of them wished me good luck as they passed me and it was nice to hear some positive words when I was hurting so much. The further I went the more and more I needed to get off the saddle to climb hills.  As I climbed, my legs burned but the downhill gave me a chance to rest and the burning subsided. When I reached the steep hill, I dropped it all the way down to first gear and did everything I could to keep going forward and keep the bike upright. At the top of the hill I made the turn to do the out and back part of the course.  I was thinking I was way behind everyone, but going head to head was a little encouraging to see other people who were a few miles ahead of me.  I was looking at my watch and doing a little bit of math and I started to realize that I would miss the cutoff. I rode the rest of the course without the volunteers at the intersections as they were pulled at the cutoff time. I pushed through the rest of the bike and arrived back at the transition area.  Erin was there to greet me and I asked her if she had seen volunteers pulling people off the course when they got back. She hadn't seen them doing this, so I had a little dilemma about whether to continue or not. Based on the condition I was in, I decided that calling it a day would be the safest option.  If support was pulled from the run course, I would not be able to make it and even with support, I was behind on my hydration and could easily get myself into trouble.

Coming in after 56 miles

After deciding that I was done for the day, I changed into some more comfortable clothes before heading over to the finish line to drop off my timing chip.  After that, I headed over to where they were serving food.  Erin told me about how she's been smelling them grilling for hours.  I wolfed down a couple of mini burgers before heading back for a couple more. It was amazing how delicious they were.  We then went back to the finish line to wait for Ray.  As we waited, we saw JJ finish.  I went over and congratulated him and chatted briefly about how it went.  A few minutes after he left we cheered as Ray finished.  When he saw me his first words were "I'm sorry."  We met him at the end of the finish chute with his jacket.  It was a little cold in the park and I figured he'd want it right away.  We went over the food area and I talked a little about how it went for me.  I was a little disappointed in my DNF, but it was hard to feel too bad about what I had accomplished.  I'm amazed that I was able to complete the swim and after all of that exertion, bike 56 miles.  I need to come back to this event and finish the half iron man, but I'm sure it will happen.  I learned a lot this year and will be able to improve next time I try.