Raining outside, raining inside - A tale of two PRs

One of our reasons to visit Milan was running the Milano City Marathon.  Sharon is patient enough to allow us to schedule vacations around fun marathons... bless her heart.  This one was totally worth it.  The race started outside the city and winded its way downtown to the city center.  For me there perfect conditions.  Temperature in the 50s and non-stop rain (without rain I would have rather a temperature in the 40s).  

My previous PR was at Twin Cities in 2009, when it also rained.  Rain has a cooling effect on me.  It keeps me from overheating.  Sure, I rather run with dry shoes but all an all the wet shoes don;t bother me that much.  It is only 4 hours anyway.  Back in 2009, I broke (smashed) 4 hours by running the 26.2 in 3:51:49.  The next few (dry) marathons produced results just under 4 hours or well over that time.  As a result I thought that that was the best PR I was going to reach and decided to relax and run my races for fun, not trying to beat that time.

The cool/wet weather in Milan proved just the formula I needed.  The rain was constant but not drenching.  I made it to the half marathon mark with pretty dry shoes since I managed to avoid all puddles.  Unfortunately, the chip-timed race had a checkpoint right at the half-marathon mark that was completely under water (almost a foot deep) which made all my Italian counterparts shout things against "l'organizzazione!".  

Depending on the weather, I start feeling the weight of the race somewhere between mile 16 and mile 19.  By the time I reached mile 20 in Milan I felt great.  By mile 22 I already knew I was going to hit a PR, the question was by how much.  I crossed the finish line at 3:47:23, over 5 minutes better than my previous best time.  That seemed to confirm, if I want a good time, a PR, it needs to rain.    

Then came May.  Just under a month after Milan, I find myself running a new race.  This time it is the Lake Wobegon Marathon in St Joseph MN (just outside St Cloud).  At the start of the race, I already know I am not going to do well.  It is a bright sunny day (not only heat bothers me while running, I am not crazy about the sun either), temperature in the 60s (20 degrees over my ideal temp) and the course doe snot seem particularly interesting (rails to trail sort of course with long stretches and not much of a view).  

I start running with the 8:35 pace group.  I have done that before.  The plan is to keep up with them until the half mark or a little later and then start falling behind.  Since I run with my own Gatorade, I usually get a little ahead of the pacing groups at the water stations, but then let them catch up.

During this race, since I have low expectations, I am trying two new things.  One is shortening my stride a bit.  not during the entire race, but in little bursts here and there.  I select music with a quicker beat and try to match the beat with my pace by taking faster, shorter steps.

The second change is the amount of Gatorade I am going to drink.  I used to run a marathon on a single 20 oz bottle and in the last couple of years I upped that to two.  This time, sip by sip, I decided to drink more frequently (by the time I had crossed the finish line I had probably drank somewhere between 4 and 5 of them (through refills).

By the time I hit the half marathon mark I feel great.  In fact, me and the guy in the red shirt in the picture (who has been shadowing me for a while) start to peel off from the pacing group.  I am thinking they will probably end up catching up to me, but why not try.

Much to my surprise I hit mile 19, 20, 21 and I feel little no no exhaustion.  My legs are responding (although I can feel cramping building up), my lungs have a rhythmic pace, my back and neck are relaxed.  I am thinking I can keep running to the end (none of the usual walking breaks that start at mile 19 or 20).  By mile 24 I am dumfounded.  I am going to hit another PR!  On a hot day!  Without rain?!?  It has got to be the extra Gatorade, the rain inside!  

I cross the finish line at 3:41:22.  Over 6 minutes over over my earlier PR a month earlier that was already 5 minutes over the one before that I thought I'd never pass.  I am thrilled!  An awesome achievement I celebrate with four slices of pizza.  Yeah, the flat course helped, but there may be some magic on that course.  

Two things are clear, I will continue to try my two changes, and will not say anymore things like "oh yeah, I won;t hit that time again!"

Gold Medal Challenge - Part II

Last Sunday was part two of the Gold Medal Challenge part of the Icebreaker Half Marathon and Marathon at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, WI.  Earning the gold medal required running the half on Saturday and then the full on Sunday.  You also got the bronze for the half and the silver for the full, so running both races nets you three medals.  For those addicted to the metal as I am, a pretty good deal, even if it requires a 11 hour drive round trip (the last 3 hours in icy rain).

Anyway, having spent the last night having dinner at the very terrific Christie's Bar & Grill, I got up early and headed to the Olympic facility where the event takes place. The race started at 8:00AM after a beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner by a local singer.  

One of the laps around the ice
skating ring during the Marathon

There isn't much to add about the full that was not mentioned on the blog entry for the half.  Basically the same terrain and temperature controlled weather, just twice the length (96 laps).  I will add that this was my third (out of 17 marathons) in which I did not take a walking step.  Running end to end is easy when there are no uphills (no excuses).  I am also glad that the ankle that had been bothering me since New York did not affect me in the least.

When running by the projector you can check your lap count

I completed the full in 4:11:13 placing 57 out of 117.  A pretty average run for me.  I do have to say, I enjoy a run in which you get to see the lead runners several times over (even cheer for them as the y pass you).  Usually they take off before you and never get to see them from the corral.  By the time you finish, they are long gone (awards and all).

I also enjoyed the volunteers, who handed you your water bottle on request and provided lap counts when asked.  Really an awesome bunch.     

It is a tad for from home, but I think the event is definitely a fan one to attempt again.  Two technical T-shirts and three medals also help.

A marathon runner at an Olympic facility wearing the
silver and gold medals earned for the event

Gold Medal Challenge - Part I

Currently I am spending my weekend in Wisconsin. I am participating in the Icebreaker's Gold Medal Challenge. This interesting event has a number of races held at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee.

Running around the ice skating ring at Pettit National Ice Center

In addition to a 5K which I just found out took place on Friday afternoon or evening, the key events are a half marathon held on Saturday and a Marathon held on Sunday morning. Those running the half get a bronze medal. Those running the full get a silver medal. And those running both races get a gold medal.


Of course I am trying for both. Otherwise I am not sure I would have endured the 5 hour drive to get here.

This morning I run the half. Because of the number of participants on the 1/2 marathon,they actually hold two races on Saturday. Mine started at 7:00 AM and I have to say I had a ball.

The course is the outer track on the ice skating arena, right outside the ice ring. A half a marathon requires 47 and 1/2 laps. The very center of the arena has two ice squares; one for hockey and one for free ice skating. Almost right from the start we got to see a group of kids playing hockey and another group of kids doing pirouettes. The speed skating ring had a Zamboni running around that brought some excitement to the run.

1/2 Marathon Bronze medal

The track is very nice. The inner area is used for fast runners, so with the exception of my time passing, I spent most of my time on the outside. A group of volunteers hand you your water bottle on request and take it at the next lap, about 2:20 min later. The race is chipped and a large LCD projector displays runners and their lap count. You can also ask for your count and get it on the next pass.

About an hour into the race, the Zamboni was done preparing the speed ice ring and a small number of speed skaters in Flash Gordon-like outfits took on the course for additional entertainment.

The time went fast. I completed the first race in 1:50:05 (8:25 min/miles), finishing 71 out of 111 runners in this wave. My overall place will be higher, since the organizers requested that the faster runners participate on the first wave (and had to finish in under 2 hours). Leaving the second wave for those that either didn't want to get up early or run slower. (Note: final tally placed me #80 or 222, certainly a better number.)

Because of the venue, the indoor wheater conditions were great for running. The temperature and humidity controlled environment helped not just keep the ice solid, but also the runners form overheating. In fact, after I finished I decided to stick around to see the second wave start from the bleachers. I didn't last long. Between my wet clothes and the frigid temperatures I left after they had done no more than 4 or 5 laps.

Breakfast at The Broken Yolk

Following a tradition of mine. I asked a volunteer for a local breakfast establishment and was directed to The Broken Yolk, a little whole in the wall/college type of place where you order at the counter and can get breakfast all day. For just $12 I got chocolate milk and a large plate containing three eggs, hash browns, sausage, toast and a side of bacon that had no less than 6 strips. Yeah... I was hungry.

Now I am back at my very cheap hotel room icing my ankle (which has been bothering me a tad since the New York Marathon last November) and watching the South Carolina primary on CNN making time until tomorrow's marathon. I will make sure to follow up with a post soon after the race.

Race Report: New York Marathon

Let me start by saying that there is no place like New York.  I have not traveled extensively, but I have certainly seen a good part of the world and New York holds a very special place in my heart.  Being selected to run the New York Marathon (after two lottery attempts) it was one of the highlights of my running life.  Of all the lotteries you can win, this may not be the preferred one, but it ain't bad either.

We arrived the Thursday before the Marathon with plenty of time to go to pick up the race package at the (very large) expo and take a couple of days to do some sightseeing before the race.

By far one of the highlights of the trip was the visit to Ellis Island.  A place that we never have visited before despite of our multiple trips to New York in the first few years of our marriage.  Ellis Island is a must visit location and I'd dare to say that renting the audio tour is also a must.  The stories of hope and despair told (often first person accounts of immigrants that came through Ellis Island) are nothing shorts of amazing.  

Also worth noting from our sobering visit was the 9/11 Memorial and our (accidental) and very brief visit to the Occupy Wall Street gang, both pictured below.

New 9/11 Memorial

Occupy Wall Street protester

And now let's get back to the business of the race report.  Let me tell you... this guys really know how to throw a party.  Getting there took some time, but I think that added to the excitement.  The 47,000 participants were broken into three or four waves.  I was part of the second one starting at 10:10 AM.  To get there I left the apartment at 6:45 AM and walked to the subway, took the subway for about 30 minutes to the Staten Island Ferry, where I boarded the Ferry for about 25 minutes and then took a bus to the starting "villages."

Runners walking into the Staten Island Ferry Terminal

These villages are very appropriately named given their significant size.  They have music, security and a contingent of UPS trucks taking the participant bags with clothes for after the race.  The mood was great.  Lots of smiles, people listening to music or simply laying in the sun waiting for their wave to start.  I didn't plan for such a long commute to get there, so I was rather late to drop my bag (at least based on the recommended time).  

The organizers did an awesome job setting things up.  There were port-potties everywhere (including inside the corrals).  I gave in to my nerves and visited three or four times before the start.  

John F Kennedy, the name of our ferry

When the time came to get started, I was trying really hard to play it cool.  I mean, my best runs are never races, but training runs.  So, as much as possible, I am trying to ignore everything around me.  Just think of it as another run close to home.  The last of wave one starts while we are still in the corral and we hear the national anthem being sang for them.  I am still cool.  Then it is our turn.  We get America the Beautiful and I am still cool.  As soon as the horn sounds and we start running, they blast New York, New York through the speakers.  And I could not possibly ignore that.  At that point I was running way to fast ad with a big smile on my face.  This was no training run.  Get used to it.  The theme repeated throughout the race.  So many cool sights that it was nearly impossible to ignore that I was running one of the coolest races of my life.   

At the ferry on the way to the start

We start crossing the bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn.  Since we are running on the lower deck, my GPS loses its satellite signal almost immediately.  I don't get it back until mile 10 (resulting in a strange route on the Garmin site).  I don't care much.  I can calculate my pace by looking at the watch at every mile marker.  I know I am going too fast, but I am having fun.  There will be plenty of time to regret it later.

Wave two corral, right before the start

The temperature on the lower deck of the bridge is a good 15 degrees cooler than on the streets.  I also noticed much lower temperatures in Manhattan than in Brooklyn and Queens.  I can't really say much for Staten Island and the Bronx since you leave the former immediately after the race starts and are in the latter for less than a mile.

A small portion of the 47,000 runners

Two and a half million people are lining the streets of the course and they are loud.  Several times during the race I have to stop my iPod because I can't hear anything coming from it anyway.  The running crowd is large, but never so bad that requires a lot of zig-zagging.  All and all it doe snot get in the ay of a good race.

I finish in 4:06:19.  As usual I would have liked to break four hours again, but am happy with this time.  I take with me a medal (not particularly pretty) and a few good memories including these:

• Along with the several bands playing Rock & Roll, I saw at least two groups of people playing bag pipes (very cool)
  
• Running the long Queensboro Bridge, again on the lower deck ;-( is tough.  This is almost at mile 16.  The temperature is cold under the bridge.  I am getting tired.  There are no people cheering on the bridge.  Seems lonely even among all these runners.  Then at the end of the bridge there are three signs: 1) If 10 miles to go seems easier... 2) Then welcome to easier 3) Welcome to Manhattan.  That puts a smile on my face.

• Manhattan really welcomes you.  From run on the empty, cold bridge, you appear on 1st Ave, which is packed, and I mean packed with people, three and four thick on the sides of the road.  They are loud too.  That gives me a second wind.
  
• Lots of police on the median while running through the six lane avenues in Brooklyn.  Several clapping, high-fiving and cheering, but all very attentive and visible on guard.
  
• Cool signs along the road including:
• Worst Parade Ever! (seen that one before, but it always makes me smile)
• You are the Sh*t! (far cooler when there are 15 or 20 people together holding these signs) 
• And my favorite, a guy holding large sign the read Way to Go Complete Stranger!
  
• As well organize as the race was, they made the very poor decision of having a picture wall right after the finish line.  They managed to get 47,000 people running without making it feel crowded until everybody wants to have their picture taken right afar the finish line.  Not very clever.
  
• And, by far, my favorite memory.  After crossing the finish line we are handed thermal blankets with the word Finisher on the back (still have mine).  Then we have to walk almost a mile (I checked it out on Google maps, it was exactly .9) to pick up our clothes.  The sun is out, but we are all a bit cold from the run.  We all walk in the same direction following the instructions of the organizers sitting on high chairs and talking into the megaphones (You guys are beautiful!  You guys made it!  Please keep moving, you are almost there!).  Some are limping, some are clearly in pain, but most are quietly walking and wondering how much longer it will be.  I took the picture below to remember that feeling forever.

Finishers walking to get their bags
Note the woman with the megaphone sitting on the high chair

2011 TCM mini-report

Just finished my 5th Twin Cities Marathon (15th overall) with an official chip time of 4:09:01.  Very much within my range lately.  I was very happy with the time.  While the weather was not too warm the sun was out for nearly the entire race and that tends to slow me down.  It does not seem it had much effect this time around.

I set my Garmin's virtual partner to a 9:00 min/mile pace and expected to fall behind not to late after the 1/2.  Instead I was able to stay ahead of that pace until mile 21.  Very much a surprise.  Then the Summit hill, the sun and overall exertion took over and I slowed down consideranly breaking into more than a few mini walks.  The overall pace was 9:30.  Again, I am happy overall.

Thanks go to Tim and Joy who gave me encouragement twice during the race (I am sure than more than that, I just didn't see them) and to Hugh and Mary, who were at the Franklin bridge (mile 19) and took the picture below.

Gold Medal Challenge

Well, I didn't make it this year to the Zoom! Yah! Yah! Marathon.  This is the very fun and very fast indoor Marathon that is held at St Olaf College in Northfield, MN.  There are only 44 spots and a lottery is used to draw up runners.  Not only I didn't make it, but I got spot 20 of 21 runners in the wait list.  Pretty much no chance of running it this year.  Pitty...

My friend Scott was trying to convince me to run the Sandbox Indoor Trail Marathon on February 13.  I am just not sure that it will be held...  Their website is still showing data for last year and the race director did not reply to my email regarding next year registration.

So looking for alternatives I stunbled across the Gold Medal Challenge.  This event included a 1/2 marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday (Jan 21-22).  Both are held at the  Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee.  Seems like a good replacement for Zoom! Yah! Yah!

It will also be good training in preparation for the Milano City Marathon in Milan, Italy, for which I already signed up and around which Sharon and I will be building our vacation next year.

I was disappointed about not making the list for the Zoom! Yah! Yah!, but it seems are already looking up!

50x50

Do I dare to post a long term running goal online?  Once it is out it seems I am on the hook to try to make it...  OK, here it goes.  My goal is to complete 50 marathons by the age of 50.  I don't need to do it by the time my birthday comes, but I must have 50 under my belt, before the year of that birthday is up.

I have 14 so far (plus another two planned for 2011) and am turning 43 this year.  That means I will need to run 5 marathons a year for the next 7 years and not miss more than one.

Can I do it?  Well, with the two remaining I will complete 5 in 2011 and did 5 in 2008 and 4 in 2010.  I did just two in 2009 because I started branching into triathlons (it didn't take), but now that I am set on just doing marathons I think I can keep up with that goal as long as my body holds up.

A Windy 26.2 - The Eau Claire Marathon Report

If it wasn't because of the high wind, this might have been just as good a forecast as I could have hoped for a marathon.  Cloudy and between high 30's and low 40's.  With up to 24 mph winds, the windchill was in the low 20's.  Still not bad if you have appropriate clothing, until you head into the wind, that is.

The start was a little hectic for me.  I got up at 4:00 AM the morning of the race and was out the door by 5:30 AM.  Drove for 1:45 to make it to Carson Park in Eau Claire with 45 minutes to spare.  Seems like plenty of time, but the parking area was about 1/2 mile from the start line and the lines at the porta-potties were long.  By the time I was ready to rock and roll, it was just under 5 minutes to the gun.  I like to have more time than that to get into 'the zone', so as soon as we got started, stress got the best off me and I started a tad too fast.


A few miles later I calm down and finally get in the mood for a long run.  The wind is really not that bad and the hills are not too steep.  The altitude chart showed most of the hills (several u and down) in teh first 12 miles and then pretty much flat to the end, so by the time I was hitting mile 11 I felt I had it in my pocket.  Here I am nearly 10 minutes ahead of my time and feeling great.  This wind is really nothing.

And then I enter the wind tunnel. And a long one it was.  From mile 11 to mile 19, I basically run into the wind.  It was cold, a tiny bit of snow and it felt like running uphill non-stop.  The picture at right was taken by Lela, a co-worker who was going to run the race had it not been for a stress injury a few weeks before the race.  This is at mile 15 and you can see me leaning forward into the wind to try cut my way into it.

It was pretty miserable.  By mile 18, I wanted to quit pretty bad and it took all the mental toughness I could muster to keep going.  It also helped that between mile 18 and mile 23 I didn't see any easy way to drop out of the race and get a ride to the finish.   By mile 23 I have sufficiently payed my dues and it is really not worth quitting anymore, so I kept going.

My final official time was 4:13:42.  Really not bad given the weather.  Under normal conditions I usually estimate a 4:10 to 4:20 completion time, so right within my expectations.  I do wonder what my time would have been with good weather, but then again that is not here no there.  I can also winder what my time would have been had I been training longer, since I was younger or if I had longer legs ;-)

After the finish, I get a ride to my car by a young woman riding a very small YMCA bus.  I ask her for a good place to have breakfast close by and she recommends the Altoona Family Restaurant.  Before heading back to Minneapolis I make a brief stop there and reload carbs and protein in the for of Eggs Commodore (Eggs Benedict with sausage patties instead of ham) and hash-browns.  The breakfast really hits the spot and nearly makes me fall asleep on the drive back.

All an all a good race.  Glad I drove there and took a look at a new route.  Now I can rest until October.  I have a few other races before then, but no other Marathon until Twin Cities.   Time to kick back and relax for a few day...

I am in!

And that is all I have to say!

Tokyo Marathon - Race Report

I know... it's been a while since my last post.  I am back and have lot's of entries planned.  The first one, well overdue is the race report for the Tokyo Marathon.

The day before the race we went to pick up the race package at Tokyo Big Sight, where the Expo was held.  The expo was very crowded, most of the area was open only to runners only (which was inconvenient since we had some friends come along with us) and there wasn't anything particularly interesting to buy (like a cool running T with something in Kanji, since cool in Japan is having things in English).

On race day, weather was nearly perfect.  This was good for two reasons, we didn't bring cold weather running clothes (I say "we" because Sharon run the 10K).  The second reason is that we dodge a bullet.  The date after the race the weather turned bitter.  Cold, rainy, very windy and as the afternoon rolled we even saw some snow.

The course was very flat and sprinkled with great entertainment (different from what you se in the US anyway.   The picture to the left was taken with my mini-spy-cam (it was actually a frame from a video).  This must be around mile 10 very close to the Imperial Palace (if my memory doesn't fail me).  The drums were audible pretty far back and gave me time to pull the camera out and go through the 20 steps it requires to get it going.  There were also all kinds of dancers, musicians and even singing kids.

Also along the course was very interesting food (mostly from spectators), though I didn't try any more than a little bun almost at the end.  My favorite memories include the guy running in wooden clogs, the guy running in a full business suit (including briefcase and a newspaper he appeared to be reading, the warmth from the people who were particularly interested in giving me a high-five (probably since I was one of the few westerners running), the woman running dressed like a cheetah and seeing Edu, Emi, Michel and Sharon several times during the race.

There were 33,000 runners on the Marathon alone (not sure how many participated on the 10K.  Given the crowd (the picture at left was taken waiting for the start), it took us about 30 minutes from the gun time to get to the start line.  Surprisingly, it wasn't terribly crowded, although it did require some amount of zig-zagging for the first five to seven miles.  After that, just like any other race, the mass of people disperses and things thin out a bit.  The crowd was only visible again at Tokyo Big Sight as runners gathered to change clothes and rest for a bit.

My final time was 4:30:01, just as I was expecting (4:20 to 4:30).  The route looks cool mostly because of the tokyo map in the background.  This was my 13th marathon.  I throughly enjoyed it.  The time passed quickly because of the very cool buildings and entertainment along the course.  Definitely the right start for our vacation.

Doped

My ankle has been bothering me since last week.  I think I need to tweak my training schedule to ease the first long run after my last long run before a marathon.  At its current length, it puts too much stress on my joints.

Rest for a week didn't do much, so, while it does not bother me walking, after a mile running I start feeling some pressure and then a sharp pain develops.  With less than a week t go to my next race (none other than the Tokyo Marathon), I decide to go to the doctor.  Two co-pays later, I have seen my family physician and a specialist.  The X-Rays show no fracture, so I end up with a cortisone shot to the ankle.

Last night, just a few hours after the shot, I am limping.  This morning I am better, but I can certainly feel some pressure.  At this point I am giving myself no more than a 5% chance of finishing Tokyo without pain and at most 20% chance of finishing at all.  he 12 hour flight will be even longer with this over my head...

BTW, I did check and cortisone shots are not banned by the Olympic Committee.  Not that out of a field of 33,000 runners I'd be anywhere close to a qualifying finishing time to see a pee cup, but still, I didn't want to cheat.

Tokyo ready...

We are all packed up and ready to go... Well, not quite, but last week we got the registration materials for the Tokyo Marathon (and the 10K for Sharon). Excitement is building up. A few more days and we will be airborne...

Pushing my luck, after having won the last two marathon lotteries (Zoom! Yah! Yah! and Tokyo), I decided to attempt New York again. I tried two years ago with no luck, but I am on a winning streak.

Will three times be a charm? Stay tune to find out...

ZYY Race Report

Two weeks ago today I finished the very awesome Zoom! Yah! Yah! Marathon. It's taken me a couple of weeks to report since I went immediately after the run on a trip to Cancun. But that will be the theme of an entirely different post in this blog.

Zoom! Yah! Yah! is an indoor marathon held on the suspended track of St Olaf College, just a little over an hour south of the Twin Cities. The race is limited to 45 participants and requires a lottery to be selected to participate.

The picture below shows the track that runners need to run 150 times for just a tad over the intended 26.2 miles (and that is if you get to run all on the inside track, an impossibility if you plan on passing anybody). The continuous turns are known to have brought some extra stress to the runners ankles, but knowing that in advance there are ways to take the turns to minimize the effect.

Also to minimize the potential for injuries, runners change direction every 30 minutes. When that tie comes, the organizers place a cone on the track and participants run around the cone.

To this point, to the readers of this blog (and anybody who hears about this race) this may appear like a very boring race. Au contraire mon ami, this turned out to be one of my favorite races. Here is why... Given the limited number of runners, the fact that every runner has their name on a tag on their back and that, thanks to the changes in directions every 30 minutes, it doesn't take you very long to know every runner. So you are constantly getting support or giving it to the runners.

It is also obvious that with this track, there are no hills and the weather is nearly perfect (a tad warm in my opinion, but definitely bearable). This is also advertised as the marathon with the most water stops (150), but it fact it has up to 600. Each corner of the track has a set of tables where runners are permitted to setup their very own refueling stations with anything they may need. I just used one of them. Used to carrying my own gatorade bottle, it was pretty awesome to be running for 4 hours and never be more than 90 seconds away from a bottle of water, a bottle of gatorade, GU, body glide, nipple guards, an orange and even chapstick. You missed in on the last lap? never mind, take in on the next one 90 seconds later.

150 is a high number, but they go really fast. More so given what I think is the best feature of this race: the lap counters. Each runner is assigned a lap counter. Somebody who not only keeps track of each and every one of your laps (and records all 150 splits), but will also provide support in the form of cheers (often very loud ones) and keeps you going when you need it most. These volunteers don't come from heaven (although it felt that way at times), but are students of the St Olaf College who are also enrolled in the Track and Field program.

Mine, pictured at the right was Kristen. Kristen, a 5:40 miler, was pretty awesome during the entire race. She dutifully kept track of every lap writing the time on the finisher certificate. She also reminded me to take GU and let me know every few laps if I was running ahead or behind of my planned time.

In the meantime, she also managed to take a few shots with my camera to be able to add pictures to this post. More so, Kristen, petite as she was, had the biggest lungs of all the lap counters. She shouted at the top of her lungs on every single one of my laps to get me going.

Prior to the race, in talking with another one of the runners who had completed this race before, he mentioned that you do better at this race than you do in others in part because of the lap counters. You don't want to slow down not to disappoint them.

Before the start, when we were discussing the details of the race, Kristen told me she would have to leave around 10:30 AM (4 hours after the start) to go to work. Her coach would take over her duties since I was expecting to finish about 20 minutes after that time. When I had 18 laps left, I was aching to take a little walk. Just a lap. Knowing that I was going to be a little faster than planned, I suspected that Kristen would stretch her time at the track to see me finish. What really kept me going without taking a walking step was not wanting to make Kristen too late for work.

The result was a finish time of 4:03:45 (Kristen was hardly late by a few minutes). Thanks, Kristen! You really made the race! I hope one day I get to return the favor.

The picture on the left was taken by Kristen as I finished the last few steps of my last lap. At this point, every lap counter (all 45 or however many remained after some runners finished), chant your name in unison as you run the final lap. The very awesome medal shows a runner with the head spinning due to the many, many laps run in circles. In addition to the medal, runners get a T-shirt with every finisher name and their time on the back. That should be coming in the mail soon.

To top it all, Kevin Helliker, a Pulitzer Price winner writer of the Wall Street Journal was at the race to write an article about indoor marathon running. Whoddathunk it that my one and only (and very unexpected) appearance in the Wall Street Journal would have been due to me running a marathon! The article includes some shots and a short video. You can see me very briefly in the video (Starting in second 6, you see me with a white sleeveless shirt and red shorts taking a corner, also at 1:50 you can see a close up on my legs in the red shorts running in front of the camera. I know, not much, but what did the Wall Street Journal say about you?)

Kudos go to Dick and Dennis for organizing a terrific race and for being on top of everything, including providing excellent response when one of the runners collapsed during the race and had to be airlifted to the Twin Cities (he is doing fine now).

Scott and Tim, if you are reading this, we GOTTA do this next year. You are going to love it.

R2T Food Critique

The Rails to Trails Marathon package includes a food voucher. Given that this is a food blog too, I thought I’d give it an appropriate critique. The place has the charm of an outdoor picnic/shelter with wooden benches and tables by a park. The service is however terrible. You have to stand in line like a McDonalds to get your food. A line that took about 20 minutes.

The delay if due to Agnes (not her real name), a 90-year old woman who is in charged of the beverages at the end of the serving line and who apparently feels she should savor every remaining minute of her life and has never experienced standing in line with cramping legs.

The food itself includes:

• Grilled chicken that is nicely charred on the skin, but unfortunately dry.

• Store-bought potato salad (I am not even talking Whole Foods or Byerly’s).

• A piece of bread, that even though it was cleverly disguised by cutting it in half and folding it, it didn’t fool me. It was sliced sandwich bread.

• A mini cupcake (to add insult to injury, mine has the frosting smeared)

• Chocolate milk (at least for those that came before me, since they run out). My guess is that Agnes was over-pouring.

In summary, if you are planning on taking the 3½ hour road trip and running the marathon just to get the food, I’d probably reconsider. Of course I had no way of knowing since neither Michelin nor Zagat have made it there just yet. What until they do, they are in for a surprise!

Lost on the Trail - The R2T Race Report

There I am, ready to go at the starting line of the Rails to Trails Marathon and I hear the megaphone saying: “Runners, two minutes to the start!” I check my shoes, make sure my Gatorade is open and look at my watch, my trusted Garmin Forerunner® 405, a GPS watch that will tell me how far I have gone and what my pace is. But my watch is not on my wrist. Where is it?!? That’s right, it is at home, plugged to my Mac to charge. That way I won’t risk theft of accidental loss. I won’t even deplete the batteries. That’s it. I am lost on the trail!

I have not run without it, or it’s previous incarnation, the Forerunner® 205 (dubbed “the server” given it’s gigantic size) for years. I don’t know how fast I am going, if I should slow down to conserve energy, how far I have gone…

Thanks to this oversight, I don’t even know when I am supposed to take my GU energy gels (every 45 minutes, if you have a watch). I try taking them when I see other do it, thinking they may have a time-based plan similar to mine. Soon I realize that if I do that I will take all five of mine within 30 minutes. Finally I decide to take them based on mileage, so now I have to make very complicated head calculations on when I will hit each mile. Something I can do easily at rest, but for some reason, when I run I can’t. Must be related to having my blood and oxygen focused on my legs and not my brain.

The first four or five miles where exhausting. I run out of breath and felt it was not going very well. Was I going too fast? I soon realize it is all stress-based. I have to make peace with not having my 405 and move on. After that things ease quite a bit. I get in my groove and plow ahead. Still, every time I cross somebody that is wearing a GPS, I am dying to casually ask ‘em: “What would you say your overall pace is so far? Do you think you can still break 4 hours?” However, I decide not to.

Temperature is good at the start. Something around 41 degrees, wind at 6-8 mph, low humidity and a nice bright sun. By the end of the race the sun will be a tad much and the temperature will rise all the way to about 61. This will most definitely affect my performance.

The race is a dirt trail, fairly straight and flat typical of courses that made the transition from railroad to trail. It goes under three or four concrete bridges (more like road overpasses) that break the monotony.

The fun part is the perfectly straight ¾ mile railroad tunnel. Since the race is out‑and‑back, you run it twice at about miles 6 and 21 (don’t quote me on that on that).

The tunnel is pitch black, so 12 gas lamps are sprinkled throughout (which does not help much). At the entrance, if you don’t have a headlamp you are given a flashlight (that is, a $2 Wal-Mart kind of flashlight) that you return at the other end. Well, that doesn’t help much. In fact, my headlamp is on my hat, which by the time I enter the tunnel is hanging from my belt to keep my temperature low, and I still forgo the flashlight opting for simply following other people’s lights and the gas lamps. I don’t think I do any worse than they do. In fact I pass a few in the tunnel.

Two other things are interesting in the tunnel. Just like a cave, it is very cold. I’d guess a good 10 to 12 degrees cooler than the outside. Also, there is significant seepage. As you run through the cold tunnel, you feel big fat drops of water falling on you. At one point, you pass an area that sound like it has a little waterfall running by the wall. I came out of the other side refreshed and with lots of energy.

Along the run I take a few pictures with my Spy Camera. A tiny little camera I bought just for this. The clip that came with it to hang it from my belt breaks on the first use. Luckily it is detachable, so I get rid of it and simply put the cam on my belt pouch, which is now crammed with GU I don’t know when I am supposed to take because I don’t have a watch.

Miles come and go fairly easily. The temperature rises slowly and heat and exhaustion take a toll around mile 18 or 19 (don’t ask me what time it was). Seeing the tunnel on the way back is exciting. You know you have a fun stretch and just a few miles to the finish line. This time it is not quite as cold and I decide to use my headlamp. For some reason, I seem to pass a lot of people there. I think it is a combination of the cooler temp and the fun of that stretch. Later I realize that those ¾ mile allowed me to pass and put some distance on the two or three runners that I have been jockeying for position along the last few miles. This will be enough to seal their fate. From this point on it will be nothing but footprints for them.

From mile 25 you can see the silos near the finish line. I switch to Eric Clapton’s San Francisco Bay Blues (something that is becoming a tradition for my last mile) and cross the finish line in 4:14:24. My overall place is 158 of just over 300, just right in the middle. A far cry from last year’s 3:59:43, but still a good finish for me. Don’t ask to see the Garmin Connect page with the course; you will have to trust me on this run. I was there.

The reward is just about the ugliest T-shirt offered on any race. The logo for Rails to Trails looks like a bloated bill that has passed through the US Congress. My guess is that it was designed by a large committee of people and that each one of them was able to negotiate an addition. It obviously has the tunnel, a black squirrel (Norwalk is the Black Squirrel Capital, something you may remember from school when you studied the different color squirrel capitals), it has a trail-like path coming out of the tunnel and a rail (Rails to Trails, get it?), some trees to convey a sense of nature and finally the silhouette of a runner (on account if it being a race). To top that T-shirt, the logo is not small, but covers the entire front of the garment. Definitely a must have.

I am off....

It is Sunday, November 7 and it is 4:35 AM. I am off to run Rails to Trails. My next post should be a race report...

Tokyo here I come

Last night I received confirmation indicating I was selected in the lottery to participate in the 2011 Tokyo Marathon. A privilege extended to no more than 35,000 people. Clearly a very exclusive club. Here are the first few lines of the message.

Dear Mr. Diego Ramallo

Congratulations!
You have been selected to run the 2011 Tokyo Marathon.

What's more, Sharon was also selected to run the 10K, so that pretty much seals our plans to travel to Tokyo on late February. I was sad to learn, however that my brother-in-law, Edu, was not selected. Edu, who is temporarily living in Tokyo, run a number of Marathons in his youth, some decades ago. Since I run the Madrid Marathon with his 16 year old son (his first), I though it'd be a great idea to bring back Edu from running retirement and run Tokyo together. It wasn't meant to be. He lives in Tokyo, so there is always 2012 for him :-(

The news of my selection puts me on a wining streak. I am 2-0 for recent lotteries. Just a couple of months back I was selected to run the Zoom! Yah! Yah! indoor Marathon in St Olaf College. Maybe it is time I try signing up for New York again. My attempt a few years back was met with a rejection. The tide seems to be turning my way.