2012: A Hot Summer!

My last post was at the end of March.... way too long ago. One thing I remember from then was how unbelievably hot it was - 90+ degrees on some days already! Apparently it was a sign of things to come as this summer ended up being one of the warmest and driest on record all throughout the US. I spent mid-May through mid-August working @ Outlaw Ranch once again in the Black Hills.


Normally the Black Hills are a runner's paradise - once you get over the elevation and hilly terrain - with cool summer temps and downright cold weather at night. Not this summer! It seemed like the temperature did not reach 80-90 degrees only a few days throughout the whole summer! That made daytime workouts tough, but luckily I was able to get quite a bit of quality morning and evening training time in.


Here is a recap of my racing from last Spring through the summer:

On Saturday, April 7 I ran the Missouri Valley Christian Academy Race for Christ 10k on the bike trails in Yankton. It is a small fundraiser for a local Christian school and was the first official 10k road race that I have ever entered. The race went over the Meridian Bridge before going out and back on the Brokaw Trail through Yankton. It was extremely windy on this day, but I took an early lead and just pressed on as hard as I could until the turn-around point. I ended up winning by quite a bit with clocking of 38:15 - a PR since it was my first 10k :)


I was planning on running the 5k at the Sioux City Relays on Saturday, April 14. I was pretty excited since I was almost sure I would get a PR and hadn't raced on the track in 2 years. Unfortunately severe weather moved in about an hour before the race and the meet was cancelled.


Saturday, April 21 saw me compete in my second ever Steeplechase event at the Northwestern Invite in   Orange City. I felt horrible throughout the race, had no rhythm, and barely got over water pit barrier on most laps. I had never so badly wanted to drop out of a race but I wouldn't let myself quit and finished. Not even sure what my time was.... but I know it wasn't good!


On Friday, April 27 I drove to Brookings EARLY in the morning to run the Arbor Day 5k. This race is the first of the year for the Brookings-based Prairie Striders Running Club yearly calendar. The PSRC does something really neat by tracking results from all of the races that they sponsor and assigning points based on your finish. Then, if you run at least three of their races, you are eligible for year-end prizes. I decided that I wanted to run as many of these races as possible in 2012 so I drove up to run it.

I finished in 19:00 on an windy and cold morning (one thing I learned from my year at SDSU is that the wind can really blow in Brookings - especially around that campus which is on the edge of town!). This got me second place overall, behind the biggest runner I've ever seen! The guy who won had to be at least 6-7 or taller! He had just run the Boston Marathon the week previously so I guess beating me in a little 5k was his cooldown :)


The next day, Saturday, April 28 I competed in the RiverRat 1/2 Marathon in Yankton for the second year in a row. Usually I wouldn't recommend running a 1/2 the day after a hard 5k but I went into this race treating it as a long run/tempo workout. Well, that plan went out the window as soon as I found myself out front all alone about a mile into the race.

I stayed alone out front until mile six, when another runner caught me and ran in my footprints for the next 4 miles, until he took off and left me. It ended up being Bruce Allen, a talented runner from Flandreau who I recognized from previous races. Bruce had a strong push to the finish and won by about 90 seconds. I ended up in second, in 1:23:43, a new PR. After talking with Bruce I found out that he too had just run Boston the week before! I didn't feel so bad then considering I had just run a hard race the day before and he had a full winter of marathon training to fall back on.

The second week in May was a little bit crazy with lots of packing, traveling, and running. Once again I ran a 5k the day before a half-marathon. Friday, May 11th saw me travel up to Brookings to run the Scotty Roberts 5k, part of the Prairie Striders series. I did my best to "jog" through the race since I was running the Brookings 1/2 the next morning but my competitive side took over and I ended up pushing to a 4th place finish in 18:16. Some family camp friends, the Abrahams were gracious enough to let me sleep in their basement Friday night in preparation for the Saturday 1/2.

Saturday, May 12th brought the annual Brookings Marathon and Half-Marathon. I have never competed or witnessed this event but it annually gets rave reviews online from participants. Not to mention, my college coach, Randy Fischer, was 5-time winner of the Brookings Marathon and still holds the race record from 1979!

It was a perfect chilly morning to race. My hands were numb the first few miles and then in gradually warmed up but never got too hot. I felt great the first 5 or 6 miles, then miles 7-11 were a bit of a struggle but I felt great again the last couple miles on the way to the finish. I ended up finishing 5th in 1:23:24.... another new PR, 19 seconds faster than I ran the RiverRat race 14 days earlier. It was an interesting race for me as I settled into the 5th position about a half-mile into the race and eventually by about mile 3 there was so much distance between the runners ahead of me and behind me that I did not see any other competitors the entire rest of the race. The fan support was great however; lots of cow bells! I can see why this race gets such great reviews. The organization and support and volunteers were all superb. I definitely want to go back and run the marathon in the near future.

I ended up seeing quite a few people that I knew following the race so it was fun to chat with them and wait for the awards ceremony. Then I got in my car and made the 6+ hour trip from Brookings to Custer to get to camp just in time for supper :)


On Sunday, June 3rd I returned to the site of my worst running experience, the Deadwood Marathon. This was my first, and only to date, marathon experience and it went pretty horribly. I ran the 1/2 instead this year, which starts at the halfway point of the marathon and let's just say that I experienced 13 miles of race course that I had almost no memory of from the year before. I was a little more lucid this time around!

The majority of the Deadwood race is on the crushed-gravel Mickelson Trail.
It is a beautiful course lined with pines, aspens, and birch trees.

The 1/2 course is mostly downhill and flat with a little uphill mixed in towards the middle of the race. I ended up running alongside another runner that I was visiting with (really, it's pretty easy to visit at half-marathon pace compared to shorter interval training) and got in a little over my head for the uphill section. I backed off but then felt much stronger towards the end and finished in 9th overall (out of over 1900 runners) with a clocking of 1:23:16.... my third consecutive PR, this time by a whopping 8 seconds!

Randy and Andy Fett, friends from family camp, also ran the Deadwood Half
in preparation for Grandma's Marathon a few weeks later.

Following Deadwood, my third half-marathon in 5 weeks, my legs got a nice break as I just logged some easy training runs near camp with a couple of runs up Harney Peak mixed in. On Saturday, July 14th, I traveled to Spearfish to run the Spearfish Canyon Half-Marathon for the second consecutive year. A couple of other friends from camp also competed in the race following their week at family camp.

We ended up running late, as I usually am when it comes to getting to races, and we got to the start line BARELY before the race began. At the start it was already around 80 degrees and rising. Of course, I forgot to pack a short sleeve running shirt so like a champion I put on my long sleeve Irishman technical t-shirt and got my sweat on.

It was about 85 degrees by this point, and I was
perspiring pretty heavily in my long sleeve shirt :)

Apparently it did not hurt me too much as I was clicking off mile splits at a pace that I had never maintained in a 13-mile race before and was feeling better and better as the race went on. I ended up feeling pretty awesome the entire run, finishing in 1:21:24, an almost 2-minute PR! That is 6:10/mile pace for the 13.1 miles and placed me 6th out of 260 runners. It just ended up being one of those rare days when you feel pretty invincible on a race day.

Outlaw crew post-race

At this point there was only one more race that I had my eye on, the Custer Gold Discovery Days 5k. It fell on Sunday, July 29th this year. Last year it was the day after the Spearfish 1/2 and my legs were absolutely shot as I finished runner-up to someone that I knew I should have beaten.

This year was also less than ideal as I came back to SF to attend the Joe Walsh concert at JazzFest on Saturday night with some friends from camp. We left for Custer about 12:30am Sunday morning and got back to camp around 6. I took an hour nap, the only sleep I had in a 24-hour stretch and woke up at 7 to shower and head into Custer for the race.

At the start a few Custer High School XC runners started pretty hard so I just decided to hang on their backs and see what happened. Around the mile mark they started to slow down so I really tried to drop the hammer and passed all four within about 200 meters and just kept trying to push harder and harder. I was definitely in the pain cave at the turn-around point but I saw how much distance I was gaining on the trailing runners so I just kept pressing. I ended up cramping a little bit towards the end but really never consciously let off and won pretty handily in 18:03, not a PR but definitely the best 5k time I've recorded at elevation (Custer is at about 5000 feet). The Rose Quartz trophy that eluded me the year before was finally mine!! :)

What the heck do I do with this?!?

Speaking of ridiculous trophies.... this summer I gained a solid amount of running awards and medal to my stash. It really is making me wonder what I am going to do with all this stuff? I'm a little too modest to walk around Yankton wearing 10 different marathon and half-marathon finisher and place-winning medals. Maybe my future kids will want this stuff someday. Or I guess they can fill up a table with it all next to the sandwich bar at my funeral someday. Just don't bury me with all this crap!

So there it is... a pretty solid summer of racing and training. Coming back to eastern SD a little over a week ago makes a runner feel pretty darn near invincible after running on hilly and high ground for three consecutive months.

I have been lucky enough to get the assistant cross country coaching position at Mount Marty for this semester while I student teach. It's an exciting opportunity but will definitely put a dent in my fall racing plans. I am planning on running unattached in some of the meets to run with our freshmen and hopefully hit a road race and half-marathon or two before winter arrives.

The last week and a half has been some pretty intense mileage and training with our XC "training camp" before school starts and my legs and feeling it. It's a good kind of soreness and fatigue though, the kind that comes along with knowing that you are pushing your body and getting better. Today we ran a 4-mile time trial on the bike trail in Yankton and I finished second among the men's team. It felt pretty good to have Coach Fischer tell me he wished that I still had eligibility left to run.

Being in shape is fun, and knowing that my potential is still largely untapped is even more fun! These are exciting times. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the run!

The Best Spring Ever!!

The amazing spring continues with warm temps every day! I keep waiting for things to get back to normal but it stays 20-30 degrees above average every day. I love warm weather.... the hotter the better, so no complaints from me.

Saturday, March 17th brought a St. Patrick's Day that I will remember for a long time. Granted, last year I spent St. Patrick's Day in France so that is also memorable, but for other reasons. This year, St. Patrick's Day fell on a Saturday which is pretty neat, but even better was the fact that the temps were in the 50's-70's all day long when it seems to generally be either cold/windy/rainy or all three this time of year.

For the second year in a row I competed in the Irishman road races in Sioux Falls.

Info Here

The Irishman costs of a 5-mile run @ 9am, a 5k @ 11:30am, and a mile @ 2pm. Each race is timed seperately and you can choose to run one, two, or all three events. If you run all three, they combined your times and call that your "Irishman." You also get a free drink at a local pub if you do the Irishman but I'm not a fan of beer so I gave my drink ticket away.

Last year, the Irishman was run the Saturday before St. Patty's Day, which was the day before I left for France, so I was able to compete in the races. It was around 30 degrees with huge gusts of wind (I'm sure the wind-chill was around 0) and there were numerous spots of ice still on the ground. Not so this year as it was a beautiful day in spite of a fairly strong breeze out of the south.

Here is how my day of racing went: *Note, the 5-mile and 5k courses are out and back while the mile is a point to point race*

5-mile: I ran fairly conservative the first 2.5 miles so that I could draft off of other people as that first half was all into the wind. A couple people took exception to my drafting, but hey, that's what you get for going out so hard! At the halfway point I tried to surge ahead a little and keep a solid rhythm going and managed to pass a few runners without anyone passing me. I finished in 11th place out of 422 runners with a time of 30:48. Last year I ran 33:55 for the 5-mile so an almost 3 minute improvement! My goal for the 5-mile was to break 32 so goal accomplished.

5k: This race ran with the wind for the first half so I really didn't pace myself off of others but rather I tried to run as steady and hard as possible. My legs felt remarkably strong although the wind did create some struggles on the way back. The last 1/2 mile before the turnaround was uphill so I was glad that I constantly train on the large hill just west of Yankton on highway 52. I managed to finish 9th out of 940 competitors in this race with a time of 18:47. Last year I ran 20:15 for the 5k so another substantial improvement. My goal was to break 18 so that didn't quite happen but I was still happy considering the wind and the fact that I had just run a 5-mile race 2 hours before.

Mile: This race starts at 17th & Phillips Ave. and runs straight down Phillips to the Falls Park entrance. It is entirely downhill (only about 50-60 feet of net drop but still helpful) and was entirely with the wind this year as well. It is run just before the parade starts so with the beautiful day both sides of the street were absolutely packed with people five or six deep. They were definitely in the holiday spirit and cheered all of the runners on with great enthusiasm. I can see how a big-city marathon is appealing due to the crowd factor I felt in this race. I went out hard and aggressive but by about halfway I could tell my legs were not entirely pleased with me from the day's events of multiple races so I have to admit I coasted into the finish a little bit. Placed 8th out of 343 runners in 5:14. Last year I ran 5:23 so yet another improvement. My goal was to break 5:15. I accomplished that but went away feeling like I could have squeezed another 5 or 6 seconds out of my legs.

Irishman: My Irishman time was 54:49, a huge 4:44 improvement over last year's 59:33. I know part of that is due to much better conditions but I also feel like I am in better shape than this point last year. I placed 7th out of 243 total Irishman participants. My former roommate, teammate, and coach Chris Heezen won the Irishman (He won the 5-mile and 5k and placed 2nd in the mile) in 48:01.... aka - hauling the mail pace.

A group of fierce competitors, post-5k

One thing that was apparent was how the recent beautiful weather brought out scores of runners that would have most likely stayed home otherwise (I'm sure the event being on a Saturday also didn't hurt). Last year the 5-mile had 213 participants while this year in nearly doubled to 422. The 5k grew from 626 to 940 while the mile was up from 141 runners to 243 this year. The Irishman saw 243 runners tackle all three races while last year only 141 did. It's always fun to run in a bigger field.

This past Saturday morning (March 24) there was a Meals on Wheels Fundraiser 5k just down the road from my apartment on the bike trail. It was just a fun run and was not timed but I thought it would make a nice little tempo run. I ended up winning in around 18 minutes according to the older lady who "timed" the race on her watch :)

Up next will be the MVCA 10k in Yankton on April 7 and the RiverRat 1/2 Marathon in Yankton on April 28.

Of Goals and Race Plans

Holy cow, what an amazing finish to the mildest winter we've ever had as long as I've been alive. 70's and 80's every day lately. The only thing that scares me is going back to a normal winter of cold and wind :(

Can't say I really miss this

Since my last race on Feb. 4th I have just been building mileage with a little bit of tempo and speed work mixed in. This past Saturday, March 10th I ran a half-marathon with some female teammates in Fremont, NE in hopes of helping them qualify for the NAIA Nationals. Unfortunately, there was a nasty side wind and nobody qualified. I did end up running 14 miles that day so it ended up being a solid long run. I finished last week with my highest mileage week since October 2009. My body is feeling a little banged up but nothing bad, and it's to be expected with mileage increases.

This Saturday is the Irishman in Sioux Falls. It consists of a 5-mile, 5k, and mile race all a couple of hours apart near downtown. They add your total times together to get your Irishman time. Last year it was extremely windy and cold and fairly miserable. I think my total time was around 59 minutes. This year my goal is to run under 56 minutes.

Speaking of goals.... I have a few short term goals for the races I am planning on running coming up this spring:

-Irishman (March 17/Sioux Falls): 56 minutes

-5-mile: 32:00

-5k: 18:00

-mile: 5:15

-MVCA road race (April 7/Yankton): 10k - 37 minutes

-RiverRat 1/2 Marathon (April 28/Yankton): 1:23

-Brookings 1/2 Marathon (May 12/Brookings): 1:20

-Deadwood 1/2 Marathon (June 3/Deadwood): 1:18

Update from the Irishman to come next week!

February Update

I haven't had much info to update with since my last post in October; just general training and base building.

I did a couple of fall races in November:

Nov. 11 - I ran an 11k fun run @ the Avera Fitness Center on the bike trail towards downtown and back. 11k comes out to about 6.9 miles. I ran 44:23 - 6:26 mile pace. I was out ahead by myself the whole time and definitely lifted off a little bit the second half as my stomach was cramping.

Two weeks later on Friday Nov. 25 was the Jingle Bell 5k in downtown SF just before the Parade of Lights. It was a beautiful night, near 50 degrees. 431 runners finished the 5k, which I am sure was a record. I ended up finishing 7th overall in 15:56. *The course is actually 2.8 miles, not 3.1 so it is not an actual 5k - my pace according to the results was 5:08 but my actual pace according to my garmin for the correct distance was 5:51. Tyler Smit ran as well and finished 3rd. The winner was Bill Kogel, former Roosevelt grad who was an All-American at the D1 Cross Nationals just 4 days before this race for the University of Oklahoma. He's a little out of our range! RESULTS

The next 2+ months would consist of basic mileage including many beautiful unseasonably warm winter days so for the most part I was able to avoid that nasty treadmill!

Saturday, February 4th brought the annual Frostbite 4 in Beresford. Dubbed "South Dakota's premier winter road race," the Frostbite 4 is a fundraiser for the Beresford club and they have turned it into an awesome event when there is little else for winter road race options in this area. I competed in the "4" for the first time last year and finished in 5th place with a time of 24:27.

I have been able to get a little more quality training in this year due to the mild weather so I was expecting better results. We were bused out north of town to be able to run with the wind at our backs. I went out with the lead pack at the gun and came through the first mile in 5:30. I knew this pace would be tough to sustain and by mile 2 I was experiencing some pretty bad stomach cramps. From that point on my goal was to maintain the best pace possible and to finish the race. I ended up finishing in 6th place; 23:48; 5:57/mile. It would have been good enough for 2nd place last year but that is the way it goes sometimes. I did end up winning the 20-29 age group and won a small moose statue to go along with my snowman statue from winning the same age group last year. RESULTS

Tyler Shultz and I post-race. Tyler

finished 8th in 24:50.

The plan now is to continue building a strong base for this coming spring and to mix in some decent speed work and races. Right now my future racing plan includes:

-Irishman (5-mile, 5k, & mile) in Sioux Falls on March 17

-RiverRat 1/2 Marathon in Yankton on April 28

-Brookings 1/2 Marathon in Brookings on May 12

-Deadwood 1/2 Marathon in Deadwood on June 3