Looking toward the future....

During my last update (early July) I was just starting to log some miles again after being forced to take the month of June off with a knee injury following the Deadwood Marathon.

I was able to log some decent mileage in July, culminating in the Custer Gold Discovery Days 5k on Sunday, July 28th. I won this race last year, and knew that would be difficult to defend in just four weeks of actual running. A few Custer High School XC runners showed up and I was able to beat most of them but had to settle for 2nd as one of their stud seniors was just too tough and I couldn't manage to hang with him. Ran something around 18:50.... didn't wear a watch so I'm not positive what it was.

Won my age group.... yet another vile of gold... hooray!

In early August I think I may have gotten a little too ambitious, running a 15-miler (longest run since the marathon in early June) and then logging a 12-mile run just three days later. Seemed like a good idea at the time to push myself and maybe get in shape for a fall half - but a few days later I started to notice a little pain on top of my left foot just under the ankle.

Long story short, I have spent the better part of 6 weeks with some mild pain during and following any runs. I was hoping that some rest would take care of this but I still can't run without feeling some pain the following couple of days. I've put it off long enough and probably need to go visit a doctor soon and see whether it is a stress fracture or something else and see what needs to be done. I'd love to be training at full effort right now but I guess if I have to wear a boot or take some time off I'd rather it be leading into winter rather than in the spring.

My classroom running bulletin board. My students think it is pretty cool. Maybe it will even encourage them to try cross country or track someday?!

In the meantime, I have a new location - Belle Fourche - which is a nice little town but is TERRIBLE for running. There are hardly any trails or runner-friendly roads whatsoever here. A positive is that Spearfish is only 10 miles away so I am looking forward to venturing there a couple times per week for runs/workouts once I get my foot problem solved.

Hopefully I can get this injury issue figured out in short order and start training no later than December. I'd love to run a half and a full next spring. Goals would be to PR in a half (under 1:18) and also go under 3:00 in a full (current PR 3:18). I'd love to go back to Yankton for the River Rat 1/2 or Full in April and win one of those races - I've finished 4th, 2nd, and 3rd the past three years. I am a pretty big fan of the Deadwood race so that full or half would be enjoyable, especially since I live less than 20 miles away.

Long term goal is to qualify and run the 2015 Boston Marathon with Tyler Smit after he returns from his Peace Corp stint in Africa! Seems like a long ways off but in reality that is only 18 months away. Can't wait!

A 45-minute marathon PR!

On the morning of Sunday, June 2, I toed the line for the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon a little nervous and a very apprehensive. A little over 3 hours later, I was downing a pair of chocolate milks (liquid gold for me after a race) and more excited than ever for my running future, having just shaved 45 minutes off of my previous marathon time. More on that in a bit....

Since my last post I have had many ups and downs, the variety in running that keeps me motivated and coming back for more.

On Saturday, March 16th I competed in the annual Sioux Falls Irishman Road Races (5-mile, 5k & mile). I ran a little slower compared to last year but managed to finish 4th overall out of 200 Irishmen participants. Nothing to get too excited about... just races that I used as a workout.

A few weeks prior to this I signed up for the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon in early June. My only other previous full marathon was Deadwood in 2011 and it was a total disaster for me. I vowed to be much smarter about my training this time around - especially concerning the all important long run.

Most of my long runs were down during the winter and spring in and around Yankton with former teammate Jordan Pater. Jordan is the best distance runner in the history of Mount Marty College and easily the hardest worker that I have ever met. I was lucky enough that Jordan had qualified for the NAIA Nationals Marathon to be run just before Deadwood so we could do long runs together.

Even though Jordan is much faster than me, he is smart an realized that he should take it easy on his long runs during his first ever marathon build-up so it was a tremendous opportunity to have a partner to run and chat with on some downright miserable winter 2+ hour runs.

On Saturday, March 30th I competed in and won the Missouri Valley Christian Academy 10k in Yankton for the second year in a row. It is a pretty small race although Gregg Uecker from Freeman was not too far behind keeping my effort honest the whole way. It ended up being a solid speed workout which is exactly what I was hoping for.

Most of April was simply building mileage with a little (but not nearly enough) speed work mixed in, culminating with a 20-miler with Jordan on April 21st. I wouldn't call this run fun, but I did feel really good until about mile 18 and then the last couple were a struggle.... but thankfully Jordan was struggling right next to me and we got through it. We got thirsty about 2/3rds through the run but luckily there was some mostly clean looking snow in the ditch to munch on while we ran down some Nebraska blacktop.

Saturday, April 27th saw me compete in the RiverRat 1/2 Marathon in Yankton for the third year in a row. After finishes of 4th (2011) and 2nd (2012) the past two years I was hopeful for a victory but had to settle for third after Bruce Allen from Flandreau literally ran away with the race for the 2nd year in a row and Uecker sped by me in the second half of the race. My time was 1:28:02... 6:44 pace.... something that I was not thrilled with but my mileage and workouts were geared for a longer race so in hindsight I am a little less upset. In my running log I simply wrote, "Felt like sh*t - need more speed work!"

I did manage to win my age group however. I also convinced former teammate Kaylee Fly, who was redshirting her outdoor track season, to run the 5k and she completely dominated. This is us with our awards...

Collecting some spring racing hardware :)

The beginning of May brought a move out near Custer to work at camp once again, and along with that some training opportunities at elevation (approx. 5000 ft)

I spent the first few days getting used to running up and down the hills and up at a mile in the air and did my final long run of my training progression on May 4th, 4 weeks before race day.

A week later I made a pretty dumb mistake and wiped out on some gravel on a friend's scooter at camp. I scraped up my right knee, arm, hand and hip which hurt a good bit but also messed up something in my right knee which took the brunt of the fall. I ran 7 miles the next day but my knee got very sore halfway through the run and was extremely painful during the final couple of miles.

I ended up taking most of the next week off (2 weeks before the race) due to knee pain - only running about 10 miles total - all in Boulder while on a little trip.

I really didn't have to worry about a taper for the race since I was only able to log about 3-4 miles on most days due to my knee getting extremely sore after about 10 minutes of running. I had thoughts of maybe calling it quits and throwing in the towel for the marathon but two things kept me from doing that. 1) The entry fee was expensive and I didn't want to throw it away. 2) All those long runs were not going to be wasted.

My plan was to go into the race with a small medicine cabinet of ibuprofen in my pocket and to just take it easy early and see now the race unfolded.

The Deadwood race route can be a killer for those who run it foolishly, as the first 13 miles are all uphill - gradually - before the course descends just before mile 14. Normally I wear a watch and am a stickler with my pace but I decided to run without any type of watch and to just go by feel and take the first half very cautiously. I also popped a few ibuprofen just before the start and kept taking one pill at each water/aid station - about every two miles. I was also taking small amounts of the offered Powerade at each aid station.

I settled into what I felt was a decent groove early in the race and just rode along for a solid 10 miles. Eventually I caught a pair of guys - seen shirtless and in the neon green in the picture below - and just stayed in their shadows for a few miles. Even though it wasn't windy and I wasn't exactly drafting I still felt good about the pace they were holding and it helped me to relax.

On the ascent up the first half of the race, somewhere around mile 11

Just before the halfway point one of the guys moved over and slowed slightly, obviously wanting me to get out of his footprint - not that I can blame him. I took a short lead on them and they ran just off my shoulder for the next mile. Right at the halfway point curiosity got the best of me and I asked them what our race time was since they were wearing watches. We hit the halfway point in 1:40 - a 3:20 finish pace and very respectable. I was very aware however that 13.1 miles into a 26.2 mile race might as well be 1 mile into the race and really doesn't mean a whole lot.

Just before we hit the peak of the course and started the descent half of the race one of the gentlemen stopped momentarily and a small gap appeared between us that grew quite quickly without me trying to put any more effort in.

After coasting downhill for a couple miles - and very much enjoying the easy effort to maintain what I thought was the same pace I caught and passed another couple of runners who were already paying for starting too hard. I caught another marathoner at mile 16 whom I had run just behind very early in the race and we ran and chatted together for the next couple of miles while I felt our pace slowly increase.

Eventually we reached the one point in the course at mile 19-20 where the course levels off and climbs in elevation ever so gently. At this point in the race the flat part feels hard enough of the elevation gain is very difficult. The guy I was running with dropped off and I kept plugging away at close to the same pace although at an obviously harder effort.

I should mention that I took my first ever energy gel packet around mile 15. I had never take a gel before and never practiced and to do so in a race for the first time is a cardinal sin of running, BUT I could feel my energy draining and felt it was worth the risk.

It ended up being a great decision and gave me a needed boost without affect my stomach at all.

The final six miles were difficult but a number of half-marathoners whom I was passing and spectators gave me encouragement as a marathoner near the front of the pack and this gave me energy to keep moving. I felt like my pace was decreasing but I was able to keep going at a fairly good clip I thought.

The final mile seemed to go on FOREVER but finally the finish line cam into view and the awesome spectators cheered me in to the chute. I looked up at the clock not really knowing what to expect and was pumped to see that I had run a negative split (2nd half of a race faster than the first) and set a 45-minute marathon PR (personal record) with a time of 3:18.

Coming to the finish line

This placed me 12h in the men's division and 13th overall out of 325 runners. I was stoked that I improved my time by so much despite missing about 3 weeks of quality training heading into the race. Also, I am certain that I could have come near or surpassed a Boston Qualifying standard (3:05) on a flat course near sea level.

The less than great news.... I ran out of pills in the final few miles and my right knee was starting to hurt pretty badly. It eased up the final few miles thankfully but pretty much locked up on me after I was done running. I could barely get out of bed for the next couple of days and walking without a limp was impossible.

Thanks to lots of ice and rest it gradually got better but still hurt a good bit for the next few weeks. I am just now getting back to the point where I can think about serious training again so most of my summer racing plans are no more but I still feel good about starting a new build up for a fall race.

I'm not sure what race I want to do next but I fully expect to run under 3:00 next time I hit the course for a marathon - hopefully sometime this fall.

Batman ran the race too. We hung out post race. As you can see form my shoes the course was very muddy, especially during the second half. Luckily, when you are sore and tired all over, splashing through some mud puddles is really no big deal.

Fall/Winter Update!

Once again, a long overdue post....

My resolution is to be better at updating this. Much better.

When I last posted back in August I had just returned home from a summer of working at camp and was just about to embark on a Fall of student teaching at Freeman High School while also working as the assistant coach for Mount Marty's cross country team.

Before my student teaching began I had a couple of weeks of training camp with the cross country team where we focused on doing two runs per day before the fall term started. Having just come down from elevation (5,000 ft) and getting plenty of rest each day, this two-week stretch consisted of some of the best workouts that I have ever done.

Student teaching began for me during the last week of August but we gradually add sections of teaching one at a time so it was not a big time commitment at the front end, so still easy to hit some hard workouts with the team.

On Friday, August 31, I joined the team in running the Augustana Twilight Meet at the Yankton Trail's soccer complex in Sioux Falls. This meet is held at night with the soccer lighting and glow sticks used to mark the course. I was a little tentative in the race - a 4-miler as opposed to a normal men's 8k (5 miles - but I did finish rather strong and passed a lot of people in the final 1-2 miles. I ended up finishing 76th out of 147 runners in 21:51.

The following weekend was the SF Half-Marathon Sunday, Sept. 9. I knew I was in fairy good shape but this was by far the best I have ever felt in a race. I ran 5:55/mile-6:05/mile pace for the entire race - struggled a little bit around miles 5-8 but really had a great second wind for the final 5 miles to push to the finish. I ended up finishing 10th (1st South Dakotan!) out of 1079 runners in a 3-minute PR of 1:18:48 - an average of 6:00 minutes per mile for 13 miles.

Running this half really got me excited about my future as my mileage still was not all that high in the months prior to the race, so I feel as if I can ever really nail down some high mileage along with the quality workouts I can really drop my time.

Six days later I competed with the team at the DSU Invite at the Madison golf course. I knew that I wouldn't be recovered from the half yet but after spending a year at DSU and running countless miles on the golf course for practice I wanted to give this race a shot.

I ended up finishing the 8k race in 29:29 - a PR, even though I didn't feel that great about the race or my time - and placed 12th overall, earning my first-ever college racing shirt!

The top 15 from the DSU Invite on Sept. 15. I am fourth from left (12th place)

My training really suffered following the DSU race, as my student teaching load continued to increase and I was putting in quite a few hours at the newspaper. I really had no energy for the type or workouts I was doing before and I took 2 weeks in October completely off from running. It has been a long road back from this layoff and light stretch of running but I am glad that I took the time off so that I can better appreciate the fitness level that I did attain and how much patience it takes to get that back.

I did run the NAIA qualifier half-marathon on December 3rd in Fremont with some female teammates as they attempted to qualify for nationals. We ran the half in 1:35. Not really a struggle, more of a long run for me.

On Saturday, Feb. 2 I ran the Beresford Frostbite 4 for the 3rd consecutive year. I won my age group (and the accompanying penguin statue) for the 3rd time - running 25:04 and placing 3rd out of 264 runners. The leaders were within reach but I just didn't have any speed work under me and couldn't hang on with them during the final half-mile. It ended up being a very cold and windy day but I'm glad that I ran the race because there is no way I would have been able to run that quality of a workout on my own.

That is the summary of what has been going on. I have been logging some long runs during the past 6 weeks in hopes of running a marathon this Spring/Summer. I am also signed up for tomorrow's (Today's) St. Patrick's Day Irishman (5-mile, 5k and mile) for the third year in a row. I am also planning on running the RiverRat Half-Marathon in late April yet again this Spring.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the run! If you don't run but want to, DO IT! If you need some basic advice or training plans feel free to drop me a line at cr7sprinter@yahoo.com

Nothing is as empowering as the feeling one gets after completing a run or workout once thought impossible!

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