5k a Day

I looked around the pre-race crowd and saw a lot of familiar faces.  It would have been a perfect social opportunity to say hello to friends I don't see very often-except that we were all warming up, stretching, and had our game faces on.  The Park Ridge Charity classic is a relatively small 5k (about 500 runners), but it's on the CARA circuit, which means it draws a pretty competitive crowd.  These were, for the most part, serious runners, who were there to race.

Most of the races I run these days, I tend to take semi-seriously.  I usually try to run well, but there aren't many I really train specifically for.  This, however, is a race that got the competitive juices flowing a little bit for myself and my regular training partners.

So we did a good warm-up and lined up at the starting line.  I set a goal of going out in the first mile at 6:30 and building on that.  I hoped to break 20 minutes on what is a very fast course.  Unfortunately, I tried relax too much, and pulled a little too hard on the reins in that first mile and was out in about 6:40.  So I started pushing a little, and managed a 6:30 for the second mile, but as I did the math in my head, I realized it was going to take a really fast third mile to break 20 minutes.  

So I put my head down and gave it what I had, managing about a 6:20 for that last mile, with a push to the finish.  I was afraid to look at my watch, but I couldn't avoid the big clock at the finish line. I missed breaking 20 minutes by 20 seconds.  That was dissappointing, but I felt ok about my effort.  I was spent at the finish!

My friend/training partner Tom is just getting back into shape after a summer filled with a lot of golf, and he was pleased with his run.  Our friend Rick was using this race as a warm-up to next week's national masters championships in Syracuse.  He ran a very strong race, finishing in 18:03 and winning his age group.  My effort might have earned an age group 'top 3' award in some smaller races.  At Park Ridge, it got me 18th place in my age group!

I love 5k's.  You don't really have to get all worked up about them, and figure out a major race strategy, other than going out hard and trying to maintain that pace.  You can't really over-think a 5k.  And, unlike the marathon, the 5k distance happens to fit my running strengths pretty well.

So I didn't really have to give it much thought when the folks at 'A Safe Haven' asked me to help host their 5k run the next day.  They invited me to run, and that's all I needed to hear.  It's also a great organization, and an important cause.  My wife decided to run as well and we brought our girls along for the kids race.

It was a much more relaxed atmosphere than the day before.  A lot of people who were there aren't serious runners, but wanted to support the charity. Organizers had a big concert after the run, and plenty of the participants planned to walk the course, rather than run.

My only goal at the starting line was to finish in time to do a live shot for the ABC-7 Sunday morning show.  Little did I realize, that was actually going to take a pretty good effort!  Because of my emcee duties, I did no warm-up or stretching before the starting gun.  Thanks to a few minor delays, the race started at 8:26 am, and I had to be on the air at 8:50.  That's 24 minutes, with little time to catch my breath or collect my thoughts.  Suffice to say it would not be cool if Stacey and Ben tossed to my live shot and I was still out on the course running.

I managed to finish in a few seconds over 21 minutes, which left me just enough time to run to the live truck, grab the microphone, get in front of the camera.  After it was over, I got some water!  Here's a link to the live shot: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=resources/lifestyle_community&id=8366327

The really fun part was after the race when the kids did a 400 yard run.  My four girls took part, including my 2 1/2 year old daughter Jayda, who was doing her first race.  She clearly enjoyed it!

But wait there's more!  A little later that morning I made it over to Piper's Alley where Fleet Feet Sports hosted a pre-marathon panel discussion called 'Breaking Through the Wall', to help prepare marathon runners for the big race in two weeks downtown.  I was honored to be included in the group with Fleet Feet's Dave Zimmer, Nutricionist Monique Ryan, Chicago Endurance Sports coach and co-owner Mike Norman, and Bank of America Chicago marathon director Carey Pinkowski.  They offered some great tips, and I tried to keep quiet and listen a lot!  If you'd like to hear it, Fleet Feet has made it available online at http://ffcheer.posterous.com/breaking-through-the-wall

 I'll see you on the roads.......

It's a Runner's World

We were going to have to push it a little if we were going to catch her, but I was confident we could manage.  Fortunately, we weren't trying to catch Lance Armstrong as we turned back on our 'shake-out' 3 mile run.  It was his ex-wife, Kristin, who was ahead running with the group that had turned around a little earlier than us.  And if I wanted to talk to her for this blog entry, catching her during the run was my only chance.  Fortunately, she often writes about how running is a social experience, and she enjoys running an easy pace in a group of friends.  That's what she was doing, so we were able to catch up pretty quickly.

I'm fairly certain Kristin Armstrong would prefer to be known on her own merits, as she should.  She is a very talented and accomplished author, mother, and runner.  Her writing is inspirational, particularly to women, and speaks to the universal experiences we runners emjoy.  I am the wrong gender to be in the intended audience for much of what she writes, but regardless, I find her writing to be entertaining and refreshing and wish I could write nearly as well.

Her latest book (her 6th) is called 'Mile Markers'.  It's a compilation of some of her most entertaining blog entries on the Runner's World website.  She writes about her experiences running with her friends in Austin, Texas.  She reveals a lot about herself, and her family and friends.  I feel like I know her friend Paige just from reading her blog.  http://milemarkers.runnersworld.com/

Once I managed to settle in next to her during the run, our brief conversation centered around one of the central topics of her writing.  Her kids.  Her three children are clearly her top priority.  And though I'm not a mother, I can relate.  My four are the center of my life as well.  One nugget I found interesting is that her oldest son Luke is starting junior high sports.  But rather than follow his famous parents into endurance sports, he's playing football!  

Ms. Armstrong was in town courtesy of the 'Runner's World Challenge' training program sponsored by the magazine.  About 100 or so runners who entered the race followed the training program and were treated to advice from Runner's World experts.  Many were attempting the distance for the first time.  Among the staffers who came out to run were Editor-in-Chief David Willey, and Armstrong who is a contributing editor.  They even brought their own photographer along to document the event (and let me use the photos in this space). 

They were among the group that gathered at the Puma store on State street (Puma sponsors the Challenge) for an easy saturday morning the Chicago half marathon the next day.  Peter Sagal, who writes for the magazine, and is also host of 'Wait, Don't Tell Me' on NPR lives in Chicago and also made it out. 

It was a pretty impressive group of runners and writers, and I could have spent all morning talking about my favorite sport with them.  I was able to spend some time with David on the phone the night before, but, we all had a busy saturday ahead, so I tried to make the most of the three miles were ran.

I'm pretty fortunate.  I get to work at a job I love, with great people at possibly the best local news station in the country, ABC-7.  It is the realization of goals and dreams I had in college, and I truly feel blessed every day.  But, if I had to pick a second most coveted job, it would probably be working for Runner's World magazine. 

I've been reading Runner's World for more than 30 years.  And while it has gone through many changes over the decades, it has always been the pre-eminent source of journalism and information for running.  I could have easily spent all morning talking about my favorite sport with them.  Fortunately, I was able to spend some time with David on the phone the night before.  And since we all had a busy saturday ahead, I tried to make the most of the three miles we ran.

 

43 year old David Willey also has three young children and a family life he has to balance with his running and his duties with Runner's World.  I told him I'm envious of his job, and I got the impression he hears that a lot.   "I'm so lucky", he told me.  "It's been a total blast for 8 years."

Willey played football in high school and college.  He started running for exercise during college, and became hooked.  Now he's on a quest familiar to many runners, trying to run a qualifying time for Boston.  He needs to break 3:20, and he's hoping to get it in November in Philadelphia.  I can also relate to that challenge.  It took quite a few tries before I managed to break 3:20 (barely) and realize the Boston goal.

Willey has lived in Chicago, and studied at Northwestern.  His last Chicago marathon effort, however, was in 2007, the year they stopped the race because of the heat.  But he likes coming back here, and he says the 'challenge' program gives the staff with a great opportunity to connect with readers.

On this day, that's what I was.  I was in full 'running geek' mode getting a chance to meet some of the folks I've been reading for years.  Many of them will be back in town in a few weeks for the Bank of America Chicago marathon.  If you get a chance, stop and say hello to them at the expo.  You're bound to pick up a few nuggets of wisdom, and, hopefully you won't have to chase them down duringa run to talk!

See you on the roads......

A Fitting Memorial

The tenth anniversary of September 11th was a somber anniversary to be sure.  But it was also a day to go on with life as planned, to move forward.  Sounds like a good theme for a run huh?  And so that was my plan early Sunday morning.  My alarm went off before 4am to get me up and ready for the hour drive north to the Great Lakes Naval Air station for the Fort 2 Base run.  Yes, it was early, but this was a day you don't even think about minor sacrifices like that.

We made good time getting to the base, then waited patiently to get inside as they searched every car at the security checkpoint.  I'm not one to worry a lot about those kinds of things, but I definitely felt secure being on a military base on this anniversary.

We parked at the base, then because this was a point-to-point race, we boarded buses for the 20 minute ride in the darkness to the start line at Fort Sheridan.   Once there, the sky started lighting up with the sunrise.  Race organizers predicted before the start that we would all be setting a P.R. on this day.  Not only was that due to the ideal temperature, but the fact that hardly anyone had ever run this distance in a race before.  It was ten nautical miles, which equals about 11.5 miles on roads.

Soon enough, we were off and running.  I was not looking for a race effort, but instead a good workout, and friendly conversation as I ran with my friend Dave Zimmer.  He's training for the New York marathon, and wanted to run about 8 minute/mile pace.  Sorry.  On this day, it was just too nice.  We started out a little under 7:45, and felt great.  So we kept that pace the entire time, finishing in about 1:29.  

Much of the race was on the Green Bay trail that winds through the north shore nearl the lake.  It was scenic and peaceful.  Once we entered the base, we were greeted by some family and friends along with lots of personnel from the base, who manned the water stations.  We hit a huge downhill section around ten miles into it, which was nice except for the realization that we would have to go back up again before finishing.  And we did.  The steep uphill was nearly a quarter mile long, and came at about the 11 mile mark.  It was a little bit of a shock to the system, to say the least, and it made the finish line a few minutes later all the more welcome.  

The finish area was complete with a band on stage, and lots of good food and drink from race sponsors.  Hats off to race organizers and volunteers for a nice morning. Complete results are here:  http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventLinkageID=138313  

Fort 2 Base actually wrapped up a great running weekend for me.  Saturday I got to meet and run with many of the folks from Runner's World magazine who were in town to run the Chicago Half Marathon (which was also Sunday).  They had a large group of runners they trained for the race as part of the Runner's World Challenge.  Among the folks I got to meet were Kristin Armstrong (author and Lance's ex), and David Willey (Runner's World Editor-in-Chief).  They are some pretty inspiring runners, and I want to tell you all about it, in my next entry.  In the meantime, here is a link to the story of their race:  http://challengeblog.runnersworld.com/2011/09/chicago-half-marathon-race-recap.html

Til then, see you on the roads........

 

Early to Rise

The sun was still on the other side of the earth.  It was early saturday morning and it was dark out.  What am I doing up at this time of the morning?  More to the point, what are all these other people, dressed in running clothes, doing up?  Silly question.  They are marathon training, and they are getting started early to get the miles in before starting the rest of the day.

But back to one of my earlier questions.  Why am I here?  I'm not training for a marathon.  And last time I checked, there is no advantage to getting your miles in earlier in the morning.  11 miles still counts in the training log whether you start at 6am or 9am.  And since I work Friday nights, I have only made rare appearances at these 6am runs with the Elmhurst running club.

When I first moved out here a couple years ago, I assumed it was just some crazy suburban thing that prompted them to run so early.  Or, sarcastically, I thought perhaps it was because there's little out here to do to keep you up late, so they just run early because they have nothing better to do.

Well, I was wrong.  They have lots to do, most of it with their kids and families who all have busy weekends planned.  So they run early to get it out of the way before taking the kids to soccer or swimming or dance class (or all the above).  But I work Friday nights, which means I rarely get to bed before midnight.  I am not a morning person in the first place, but I'm especially grouchy on five hours of sleep. And my kids are young, and haven't been jammed with activities on weekends, so there has been no urgency for me to run that early. 

Nevertheless, I occasionally join them early because I like running with them.  They are not only my neighbors, but a great group of talented runners.  Most are also dedicated parents.  A good deal of the talk during their runs is about children.

This last weekend, with no race on my calendar, I figured it was a good time to go through a little sleep deprivation and join them.  Then my wife handed me my oldest daughter's cheerleading schedule, which said she had a game on Saturday at 8am.  Oops.  Suddenly, I could relate to all my Elmhurst friends and their weekend schedules.  It has now begun for me too.

Amazingly, considering how I felt when the alarm went off at 5 am, I found I enjoyed the run.  The Prairie Path where we do most of our longer stuff is a very easy place to run. It's a soft surface, and it's flat.  The miles are clearly marked, and there is plenty of water out along the course.  And clipping along at 7:30-7:45 pace, it was fun to catch up with friends.

It was a stark contrast to the weekend before when I ran along the lakefront path a little later in the morning.  It was jammed with runners and bikers everywhere.  This is where I did most of my training until we moved a few years ago.  And don't get me wrong, that can be a fun atmosphere to run in also, but it's very different.

On this morning one of my friends met me with the group after he'd already run ten miles. He was planning on doing 20, and he started at 4:30 am!  Now that's crazy.  He says the only other creatures he saw at that time of morning were a couple of skunk families! That'll stop you dead in your tracks.  Fortunately they ignored him.

So I was finished with my run by 7:30, the time I normally start.  I was home in plenty of time to make it to the Cheerleading.  And I admit to feeling slightly smug looking around knowing I had already been up for several hours and had gotten my long workout in before coffee!  And the cheerleaders were very cute.  Though at the age of 6, I'm pretty sure most of it is lost on my daughter.  When I asked her if she knew who won the game later, she had no idea.  Regardless, I'm glad I was able to go.  There is always another run.  These times with your kids are unforgettable.

Next weekend cheerleading is once again on Saturday at 8.  Fortunately though, I've got a Sunday race!  While many of you will be doing the Chicago half marathon in Hyde Park, I will be heading up north to Great Lakes Naval base to run the Fort 2 Base race.  It's ten nautical miles which equates to a little more than 11 land miles.  And I can think of no better place to honor those we lost on 9/11 than a military base.  If you're interested, you can get information on their website:  http://www.fort2base.com/  

See you on the roads......