Yeah, I'm still alive and kicking, in case you were wondering. I've just been really lazy about blogging. Maybe I should have made a resolution about that....
In any case, running is going reasonably well right now, although the number 80 seems to be cursed for me. My goal is to hit 80 miles per week unless it's a cutback week, but that number has proven to be elusive. The week before last, I got to 78, which is tantalizingly close and then last week I was on pace for 81, but then got sick on Thursday and missed out on 10 miles to finish with 71. So, the quest for 80 begins again this week (so far, so good).
I'm going to try and get back in the habit of recording my weekly runs on here, so here's how last week shook out:
Sunday - 8 miles. I had hoped to get 10, but about 4 miles in I was experiencing some significant soreness in my left hip, which I had also felt the day before on my long run. So, I turned around and headed in early, hoping to spare my hip any more damage.
Monday - 10 miles. This was a progression run. Started at about 8:30 pace the first mile and gradually took it down to 6:39 pace for the 8th mile and then ran 2 miles easy as a cooldown. The hip felt fine.
Tuesday - 10 miles. Just an easy 10, nothing spectacular.
Wednesday - 14 miles. As is typical of an early morning medium-long run, the first 7 or 8 miles felt pretty sluggish and then my body finally woke up and the last few miles ended up being the best.
Thursday - 2 miles. I woke up and immediately knew that something just didn't feel right. I didn't feel sick exactly, but my stomach felt....odd. I figured the only way to find out if I was indeed sick was to go running, so I did. The intention was to run 12 miles, but by the time I reached the half mile point I was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen and by the time I reached the one mile point I was wishing I had turned around and headed for home after a half mile. When I did get home after 2 very slow, miserable miles, I climbed back into bed and slept for 5 more hours. When I finally woke up, I had no idea if I'd actually run that morning or if it had just been a dream. But, my trusty old Garmin confirmed that I had indeed gone running, plus the fact that I still had my running shorts and socks on.
Friday - 8 miles. I still didn't feel all that spectacular, but again I decided the only way to find out how sick I was was to go running. This one went much better obviously.
Saturday - 18 miles. I headed out on a long loop that features a long, gradual uphill for the first 4 miles, a sharp downhill, some flat running and then a bunch of small uphills before a final downhill. In other words, it's a fairly hilly loop. My goal was to run close to an even split, knowing that I would have to push it a little toward the end to accomplish that thanks to the late uphills. I ended up feeling really good and managed a 20 second negative split, which is the first time I've ever done that on that loop (although I think I've only run it 3 times and this was the first time the wind wasn't a significant factor).
Total - 71 miles
In other news, I'm officially registered and my entry has been confirmed for the Bighorn Mountain Trail 50 mile in June. I ran the 50K at Bighorn last year as a training run for the Lean Horse 50 mile and had a blast. This year, I'm using the 50 mile as a training run for my ultimate goal of finishing the Lean Horse 100 in August.
Also, the 3 on 3 basketball league at the Spearfish Rec Center starts this evening. I'm on a team with some guys from work. We might suck, we might be decent. Hard to say. Depends on how many of the other teams are loaded with ex-Black Hills St. players. Either way, should make for some good cross training.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
Runner-up again and battling Mother Nature
Normally, finishing a football season with a 14-1 record would seem like a pretty successful season. But when that 1 in the loss column comes in the national championship game for the second straight year, it tends to put a damper on things. Call it egotistical, but just getting there is no longer good enough for Montana Grizzly fans. The Griz have gotten there 7 times, but only won it all twice, which just sucks. So, needless to say, my Christmas vacation got off to a rough start as I watched the Griz blow a 14-9 halftime lead and basically get dismantled by Villanova in the 2nd half. The final score was close, 23-21, but Nova did what Montana usually does to opponents, and totally dominated after halftime. Only a long TD pass for Montana with just over a minute left made the game appear as close as the score indicates. Well, it was fun while it lasted, I guess. Now, we get to find ourselves a new head coach (Bobby Hauck left for more money at UNLV a few days after the championship) and try to get back there next year (and maybe actually win).
As for running, I was hoping to get a bunch of it done during my week long Christmas vacation, but Mother Nature had other plans. I started off well enough, putting in 39 miles in the first 4 days of the week, but then it all went to hell in a handbasket. A winter storm warning turned into a blizzard warning and we were basically snowed in on Christmas day, bringing to an end my streak of running on Christmas (I'm not even sure how long that streak was, but at least 5 years). The blizzard extended into the 26th, closing down the gym and basically the city of Belle Fourche in general, so my solid running week turned south real quick with two straight unscheduled rest days. After digging out on the 27th, I was able to get back at it, but it looks as though my running will be restricted to the indoor track for awhile. There is way more snow on the city streets than there are places to pile it, which leaves little room for two cars to pass each other much less for a runner to fit in there. Not to mention that the semi-packed snow makes for absolutely crappy footing. It's times like this that make a move to San Diego sound pretty damn appealing.
Jeez, what a downer of a blog post, huh? I'll try to come up with something more upbeat for next time. Some unseasonably warm weather would help in that regard...
As for running, I was hoping to get a bunch of it done during my week long Christmas vacation, but Mother Nature had other plans. I started off well enough, putting in 39 miles in the first 4 days of the week, but then it all went to hell in a handbasket. A winter storm warning turned into a blizzard warning and we were basically snowed in on Christmas day, bringing to an end my streak of running on Christmas (I'm not even sure how long that streak was, but at least 5 years). The blizzard extended into the 26th, closing down the gym and basically the city of Belle Fourche in general, so my solid running week turned south real quick with two straight unscheduled rest days. After digging out on the 27th, I was able to get back at it, but it looks as though my running will be restricted to the indoor track for awhile. There is way more snow on the city streets than there are places to pile it, which leaves little room for two cars to pass each other much less for a runner to fit in there. Not to mention that the semi-packed snow makes for absolutely crappy footing. It's times like this that make a move to San Diego sound pretty damn appealing.
Jeez, what a downer of a blog post, huh? I'll try to come up with something more upbeat for next time. Some unseasonably warm weather would help in that regard...
Monday, December 14, 2009
One for the ages
I'll warn you right now, little if anything about this post is going to deal with running. I've got football on the mind and, in particular, what may go down in University of Montana lore as "The Game of the Century".
On Saturday afternoon, the top-ranked and undefeated Montana Grizzlies played 5th ranked Appalachian St. in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs. As I mentioned in my last post, this game pitted the two most dominant FCS teams of the past decade against each other for only the 2nd time. The only other meeting was also in the semifinals in Missoula in 2000 and the Griz won 19-16 in overtime. This meeting was expected to be just as close and it did not disappoint.
The game started off well for the Grizzlies. After forcing a turnover on downs on App State's first drive, the Griz marched downfield and capped off their first drive with a great 39-yard run by Chase Reynolds to go up 7-0. After that, the Griz offense kind of stalled out, but the defense managed to make enough plays to keep App St. off the board. But, you can't keep a player like App St. quarterback Armanti Edwards off the scoreboard for long and before halftime App St. managed to punch in a TD and a FG to take a 10-7 lead.
The 2nd half started out much like the 1st half with one exception: the weather. It was cold but clear when the game started, but by halftime a winter storm had begun blowing in, bringing gusting winds, below zero windchill and snow. The Griz were unfazed, however, and took the opening drive of the 2nd half methodically downfield to take a 14-10 lead. Again, Edwards and App St. struck back and scored another TD for a 17-14 lead. As the weather worsened, so did the field conditions, making it difficult to pass efficiently into the wind or to kick field goals. This was evident as Montana blocked one FG attempt by App St. and their kicker missed another badly in the 2nd half. However, when it was the Grizzlies' turn to try for 3, kicker Brody McKnight punched a relatively short field goal straight through and the game was all knotted up at 17 midway through the 4th quarter.
The missed field goal attempt by App St. gave the Grizzlies the ball back with just under 4 minutes remaining. The Griz mounted a drive and were soon nearing FG range, although under the weather conditions, a field goal would have been a risky proposition. As the Griz penetrated further into App St. territory, they were set back by a 10 yard holding penalty that put them back at the 25 yard line facing a 1st and 20. Up to that point, they had largely been pounding at App St with the run (Chase Reynolds ended up with 193 yards rushing) but the Griz coaches decided to gamble on first down and dialed up a fly route into the end zone. Jabin Sambrano, perhaps the fastest guy on the Montana roster, streaked up the left sideline and Andrew Selle laid up an absolutely perfect pass that dropped right into Sambrano's arms (see picture below) as he slid through the end zone, dragging both feet inbounds before falling out of bounds. The play was reviewed by the replay official, but it was clearly a catch and the call on the field was upheld. Touchdown Grizzlies and with 1:30 left, they now held a 24-17 advantage. But, had they given Edwards too much time?
Well, Armanti Edwards hasn't achieved legendary status for no reason. After the kickoff, the Mountaineers were faced with 75 yards of frozen turf to cover in just under a minute and a half. They drove down field with Edwards finding receivers open as he scrambled around the backfield to avoid the Montana rush. Eventually, App St. faced a 4th and 10 at the Montana 24 yard line with 25 seconds left. Edwards connected with receiver Brian Quick, who was tackled right at the first down line. The officials measured and App St. was given a new set of downs, literally by the nose of the football. Edwards then dumped a pass off to his running back that took the ball down to the Montana 3 yard line with less than 10 seconds left. On the next play, Edwards had an open receiver in the end zone, but Montana linebacker Brandon Fisher (son of Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher) got a hand up to tip the ball and send it incomplete. This set up the final play of the game, with 2 seconds left from the 3 yard line. Edwards fired a pass to his left and hit his receiver just inside the end zone right in the hands, but as he dove to catch the pass it slipped through and fell to the ground, giving the Grizzlies one of the more dramatic victories in their history.
So, now it's on to Chattanooga for the 2nd straight year where Montana will face the Villanova Wildcats in the national championship. Last year, the Griz came up short in the title game, losing 24-7 to Richmond. Hopefully, that experience will drive them to get some redemption this year. If nothing else, history is on their side. Montana has been to the championship game 6 times prior to this year. They have a 2-4 record with both wins coming in odd numbered years (1995 and 2001) and all four losses coming in even numbered years (1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008). Also, both times the Griz won the championship, their starting QB was a Montana native (Dave Dickenson from Great Falls in '95 and John Edwards from Billings in '00). In all four championship games they lost, the starting QB was from outside of Montana. So, being that 2009 is an odd numbered year and that Andrew Selle is from Billings (the same high school as John Edwards), it's virtually a lock that the Griz will win this one. May as well call up Vegas and put the paycheck on it. Plus the fact that they are a damn good team looking to erase last year's loss to Richmond from memory. Of course, Villanova is good too, or else they wouldn't be here. In fact, this is the first time since Montana played Marshall in the '96 championship that the #1 and #2 seeds will face each other in the title game. Just more proof that the BCS system is effed up and that they should implement a playoff like FCS. In any case, the Griz are playing their best football of the year right now and I think they ride that wave of momentum into Chattanooga and bring a 3rd trophy back to Missoula. Montana 27, Nova 13. GO GRIZ!!!
On Saturday afternoon, the top-ranked and undefeated Montana Grizzlies played 5th ranked Appalachian St. in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs. As I mentioned in my last post, this game pitted the two most dominant FCS teams of the past decade against each other for only the 2nd time. The only other meeting was also in the semifinals in Missoula in 2000 and the Griz won 19-16 in overtime. This meeting was expected to be just as close and it did not disappoint.
The game started off well for the Grizzlies. After forcing a turnover on downs on App State's first drive, the Griz marched downfield and capped off their first drive with a great 39-yard run by Chase Reynolds to go up 7-0. After that, the Griz offense kind of stalled out, but the defense managed to make enough plays to keep App St. off the board. But, you can't keep a player like App St. quarterback Armanti Edwards off the scoreboard for long and before halftime App St. managed to punch in a TD and a FG to take a 10-7 lead.
The 2nd half started out much like the 1st half with one exception: the weather. It was cold but clear when the game started, but by halftime a winter storm had begun blowing in, bringing gusting winds, below zero windchill and snow. The Griz were unfazed, however, and took the opening drive of the 2nd half methodically downfield to take a 14-10 lead. Again, Edwards and App St. struck back and scored another TD for a 17-14 lead. As the weather worsened, so did the field conditions, making it difficult to pass efficiently into the wind or to kick field goals. This was evident as Montana blocked one FG attempt by App St. and their kicker missed another badly in the 2nd half. However, when it was the Grizzlies' turn to try for 3, kicker Brody McKnight punched a relatively short field goal straight through and the game was all knotted up at 17 midway through the 4th quarter.
The missed field goal attempt by App St. gave the Grizzlies the ball back with just under 4 minutes remaining. The Griz mounted a drive and were soon nearing FG range, although under the weather conditions, a field goal would have been a risky proposition. As the Griz penetrated further into App St. territory, they were set back by a 10 yard holding penalty that put them back at the 25 yard line facing a 1st and 20. Up to that point, they had largely been pounding at App St with the run (Chase Reynolds ended up with 193 yards rushing) but the Griz coaches decided to gamble on first down and dialed up a fly route into the end zone. Jabin Sambrano, perhaps the fastest guy on the Montana roster, streaked up the left sideline and Andrew Selle laid up an absolutely perfect pass that dropped right into Sambrano's arms (see picture below) as he slid through the end zone, dragging both feet inbounds before falling out of bounds. The play was reviewed by the replay official, but it was clearly a catch and the call on the field was upheld. Touchdown Grizzlies and with 1:30 left, they now held a 24-17 advantage. But, had they given Edwards too much time?
Well, Armanti Edwards hasn't achieved legendary status for no reason. After the kickoff, the Mountaineers were faced with 75 yards of frozen turf to cover in just under a minute and a half. They drove down field with Edwards finding receivers open as he scrambled around the backfield to avoid the Montana rush. Eventually, App St. faced a 4th and 10 at the Montana 24 yard line with 25 seconds left. Edwards connected with receiver Brian Quick, who was tackled right at the first down line. The officials measured and App St. was given a new set of downs, literally by the nose of the football. Edwards then dumped a pass off to his running back that took the ball down to the Montana 3 yard line with less than 10 seconds left. On the next play, Edwards had an open receiver in the end zone, but Montana linebacker Brandon Fisher (son of Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher) got a hand up to tip the ball and send it incomplete. This set up the final play of the game, with 2 seconds left from the 3 yard line. Edwards fired a pass to his left and hit his receiver just inside the end zone right in the hands, but as he dove to catch the pass it slipped through and fell to the ground, giving the Grizzlies one of the more dramatic victories in their history.
So, now it's on to Chattanooga for the 2nd straight year where Montana will face the Villanova Wildcats in the national championship. Last year, the Griz came up short in the title game, losing 24-7 to Richmond. Hopefully, that experience will drive them to get some redemption this year. If nothing else, history is on their side. Montana has been to the championship game 6 times prior to this year. They have a 2-4 record with both wins coming in odd numbered years (1995 and 2001) and all four losses coming in even numbered years (1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008). Also, both times the Griz won the championship, their starting QB was a Montana native (Dave Dickenson from Great Falls in '95 and John Edwards from Billings in '00). In all four championship games they lost, the starting QB was from outside of Montana. So, being that 2009 is an odd numbered year and that Andrew Selle is from Billings (the same high school as John Edwards), it's virtually a lock that the Griz will win this one. May as well call up Vegas and put the paycheck on it. Plus the fact that they are a damn good team looking to erase last year's loss to Richmond from memory. Of course, Villanova is good too, or else they wouldn't be here. In fact, this is the first time since Montana played Marshall in the '96 championship that the #1 and #2 seeds will face each other in the title game. Just more proof that the BCS system is effed up and that they should implement a playoff like FCS. In any case, the Griz are playing their best football of the year right now and I think they ride that wave of momentum into Chattanooga and bring a 3rd trophy back to Missoula. Montana 27, Nova 13. GO GRIZ!!!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Frigid temps and the Final Four
Well, I've gotta hand it to Mother Nature: November was pretty sweet. After a cold snap in October that made it seem as though early winter was setting in, we actually got a solid month of fall weather in November with highs in the 50s many days. In other words, perfect running weather. To be doing long runs in late November in shorts and a t-shirt is pretty awesome. But, of course, winter couldn't stay away forever and as soon as December started, the cold air moved in. From highs in the 50s and 60s to highs in the single digits with negative windchill. Such is life in South Dakota.
Regardless, my running went fairly well last week. I had at least 3 runs where my mileage exceeded the temperature, but I wasn't really cold on those runs. The relative lack of wind helped a ton, along with some judicious use of layers. For example, for my long run yesterday it was 10 degrees with a windchill of around 0. I layered up and headed out and ended up logging 16 miles and was never once really cold. In fact, after wearing my facemask for the first mile I pulled it up and never put it back down again. This morning, I headed out for a 7 miler before work and it was all of -1 degree outside. I was cold for the first mile or so, but after that felt fine. If the damned wind stays away, the cold can be very bearable. It's actually got me wondering just how cold it could be and still be okay to run outside if the wind wasn't blowing. I don't really want to find out, but I'm still curious.
Okay, enough about running. Time for some football talk. It's been an interesting two weeks if you're a Montana Grizzly fan. The Division 1 FCS playoffs started on Nov. 28 with a 1st round game against South Dakota St. After spotting SDSU a 34-14 halftime lead and then proceeding to fall behind even further, 48-21 in the 3rd quarter, the Griz reeled off 40 unanswered points in the last 20 minutes of the game to pull of a miraculous comeback and win the game 61-48. That win earned the top-seeded Griz a berth in the quarterfinals where they were 9-1 all time and 9-0 when playing in Missoula. Stephen F. Austin University from east Texas rolled into Missoula and was greeted with temps in the 20s and windchills even lower. Apparently, SDSU had awoken the sleeping bear in that first playoff game, because SFA never stood a chance. The Griz capitalized on 10 turnovers to rout the Lumberjacks 51-0. Coming into this game, SFA was the highest scoring team in the nation. Not anymore. Since falling behind to SDSU 48-21 in that first game, the Griz have now outscored their opponents 91-0 in the last 5+ quarters of football.
The win over SFA sends the Griz into the Final Four of the FCS playoffs where they will play Appalachian St. in Missoula this coming Saturday afternoon. This is the matchup many people have been looking forward to. Montana and App. St. have been the two dominant programs at the FCS level for the last decade. They rank 1 and 2 respectively in games won and have won a combined 4 national championships (3 by App. St. in 2005, 2006, and 2007 and 1 by Montana in 2001) in that period (Montana also won a championship in 1995). Montana has also finished runner-up three times (2000, 2004 and 2008) in the last 10 years (and also in 1996). Despite all their success, the two teams have only played each other once before. In the 2000 semifinals, the Griz scored a TD in overtime to beat the Mountaineers 19-16 in Missoula. This year's game should be another barn burner. Montana brings in a perfect 13-0 record and seems to have hit their stride at the perfect time. App. St. brings an explosive offense led by QB Armanti Edwards, the 2008 Walter Payton Award winner (FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, he's also a finalist for this year's award). The winner will face either Villanova or William & Mary in the national championship.
Of course, I'm heavily biased but I really think the Griz will pull this one out playing at home. Very few visiting teams leave Washington-Grizzly Stadium with a win and the way the Griz have played over the last 5 quarters of football has been amazing. But it's gonna be close; App. St. is too good of a team to not put up a fight. I say the Griz force Edwards into a turnover or two and take advantage of the Mountaineer's relatively soft defense to win the game 31-27. And then it's on to Chattanooga for the championship! GO GRIZ!!!
Regardless, my running went fairly well last week. I had at least 3 runs where my mileage exceeded the temperature, but I wasn't really cold on those runs. The relative lack of wind helped a ton, along with some judicious use of layers. For example, for my long run yesterday it was 10 degrees with a windchill of around 0. I layered up and headed out and ended up logging 16 miles and was never once really cold. In fact, after wearing my facemask for the first mile I pulled it up and never put it back down again. This morning, I headed out for a 7 miler before work and it was all of -1 degree outside. I was cold for the first mile or so, but after that felt fine. If the damned wind stays away, the cold can be very bearable. It's actually got me wondering just how cold it could be and still be okay to run outside if the wind wasn't blowing. I don't really want to find out, but I'm still curious.
Okay, enough about running. Time for some football talk. It's been an interesting two weeks if you're a Montana Grizzly fan. The Division 1 FCS playoffs started on Nov. 28 with a 1st round game against South Dakota St. After spotting SDSU a 34-14 halftime lead and then proceeding to fall behind even further, 48-21 in the 3rd quarter, the Griz reeled off 40 unanswered points in the last 20 minutes of the game to pull of a miraculous comeback and win the game 61-48. That win earned the top-seeded Griz a berth in the quarterfinals where they were 9-1 all time and 9-0 when playing in Missoula. Stephen F. Austin University from east Texas rolled into Missoula and was greeted with temps in the 20s and windchills even lower. Apparently, SDSU had awoken the sleeping bear in that first playoff game, because SFA never stood a chance. The Griz capitalized on 10 turnovers to rout the Lumberjacks 51-0. Coming into this game, SFA was the highest scoring team in the nation. Not anymore. Since falling behind to SDSU 48-21 in that first game, the Griz have now outscored their opponents 91-0 in the last 5+ quarters of football.
The win over SFA sends the Griz into the Final Four of the FCS playoffs where they will play Appalachian St. in Missoula this coming Saturday afternoon. This is the matchup many people have been looking forward to. Montana and App. St. have been the two dominant programs at the FCS level for the last decade. They rank 1 and 2 respectively in games won and have won a combined 4 national championships (3 by App. St. in 2005, 2006, and 2007 and 1 by Montana in 2001) in that period (Montana also won a championship in 1995). Montana has also finished runner-up three times (2000, 2004 and 2008) in the last 10 years (and also in 1996). Despite all their success, the two teams have only played each other once before. In the 2000 semifinals, the Griz scored a TD in overtime to beat the Mountaineers 19-16 in Missoula. This year's game should be another barn burner. Montana brings in a perfect 13-0 record and seems to have hit their stride at the perfect time. App. St. brings an explosive offense led by QB Armanti Edwards, the 2008 Walter Payton Award winner (FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, he's also a finalist for this year's award). The winner will face either Villanova or William & Mary in the national championship.
Of course, I'm heavily biased but I really think the Griz will pull this one out playing at home. Very few visiting teams leave Washington-Grizzly Stadium with a win and the way the Griz have played over the last 5 quarters of football has been amazing. But it's gonna be close; App. St. is too good of a team to not put up a fight. I say the Griz force Edwards into a turnover or two and take advantage of the Mountaineer's relatively soft defense to win the game 31-27. And then it's on to Chattanooga for the championship! GO GRIZ!!!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Slacking
Man, I really am a first class slacker, when it comes to blogging at least. Really, I've been running quite a bit, just not writing about it. Over the last three weeks, I've logged 71, 73 and 77 miles and felt mostly great doing it (except for a crappy mid-week 13 miler in that third week). Best of all, I've started throwing in some tempo work or a track workout once a week and I think it's woken my legs up from their ultra-training slumber. Since I started doing these workouts, my paces in other "easy" runs has quickened. Also, my last three long runs (16, 18, and 20 miles) have felt awesome. There's nothing quite like reaching the end of a 20 mile run and feeling as fresh as a daisy (well, relatively speaking).
As for racing, I haven't done any since the trail series ended and don't really plan on any serious racing for quite some time. I am running the Turkey Trot 5K in Rapid City on Thanksgiving but it'll be more of a fun run than anything else. I'll be pushing the kids in the double stroller so my wife can run solo (aren't I nice....plus it gives me an excuse to go slower). Really, the main reason I'm running it is to get my name in the hat for the post-race pie raffle.
My biggest non-running obsession right now is college football. More specifically, Montana Grizzly football. The Griz finished their regular season last weekend by beating the hated Montana St. Bobcats 33-19. That win capped off an 11-0 regular season for the Griz and gave them their 12th straight Big Sky conference title and 17th straight playoff appearance. They also earned the top seed in the FCS (that's Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision, as opposed to the more familiar Bowl Subdivision) playoffs. In the first round they face the South Dakota St. Jackrabbits. By earning the #1 seed, the Griz have homefield advantage all the way up to the championship in Chattanooga, should they make it that far again (last year they lost the championship to Richmond). I'll be glued to my computer/TV the whole way. GO GRIZ!!!
As for racing, I haven't done any since the trail series ended and don't really plan on any serious racing for quite some time. I am running the Turkey Trot 5K in Rapid City on Thanksgiving but it'll be more of a fun run than anything else. I'll be pushing the kids in the double stroller so my wife can run solo (aren't I nice....plus it gives me an excuse to go slower). Really, the main reason I'm running it is to get my name in the hat for the post-race pie raffle.
My biggest non-running obsession right now is college football. More specifically, Montana Grizzly football. The Griz finished their regular season last weekend by beating the hated Montana St. Bobcats 33-19. That win capped off an 11-0 regular season for the Griz and gave them their 12th straight Big Sky conference title and 17th straight playoff appearance. They also earned the top seed in the FCS (that's Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision, as opposed to the more familiar Bowl Subdivision) playoffs. In the first round they face the South Dakota St. Jackrabbits. By earning the #1 seed, the Griz have homefield advantage all the way up to the championship in Chattanooga, should they make it that far again (last year they lost the championship to Richmond). I'll be glued to my computer/TV the whole way. GO GRIZ!!!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Wrapping up the trail series
Wow, I've been slacking....here it is Friday and I still haven't updated this thing. I actually have something somewhat interesting to talk about too. Last Saturday was the unofficial and unsanctioned South Dakota Trail Running Championship on the Flume Trail outside of Rockerville. This was the final race in the 2009 Black Hills Trail Series. Doing some simple math (the kind I'm best at), I realized that in order to finish in 1st place in the men's open (39 and under) division, all I needed to do was earn 3 points (8th place). And that was only if the guy in 2nd place, who hadn't shown up for the previous two races, showed up at this race and won, earning 10 points. Well, as it turns out, he didn't show up, which means that I didn't really need to be there either, but I didn't drive all the way to Rockerville just for shits and giggles, plus the race was free, so I signed up for the 16K (there was also a 10K) and hit the trails.
A 16K works out to 9.6 miles in American. But before we started the race director told us that the 10K course was actually a little short and the 16K course was actually a little long, which I guess means that they balance each other out. In any case, the 16K course was kind of like a figure 8 with a short out and back section between the two loops. We took off in a mass and as soon as we hit the trail, I realized that maybe I had probably lined up a little further back than I should have, but in reality maybe it was a good thing because it forced me to run a little more under control for the first half mile or so until the trail widened out and I could start passing some people. Consequently, the front runners in the 16K got out ahead of me quickly and I had no idea how many of them there were, not to mention that I had no idea who was running 10K and who was running 16K. So, I just cruised along on some fast section of trail for the first couple miles before we hit a hill. The hill didn't even seem all that bad at first, but suddenly my pace went from 7:30ish to 11:20ish and I found myself powerhiking to try to get my heart to stop hammering against my ribcage. The biggest hill was right after the 10K and 16K courses split, which really made me wonder if maybe it would have been smarter to run the 10K, but I pressed on and was soon rewarded with a long downhill stretch. But, of course, this was the section of trail that was an out and back, so I knew that every step downhill now was a step I would have to take uphill on the way back. The downhill did help me get my running legs back though and I was able to cruise through the second loop at a decent clip but by that time all of the 16K runners ahead of me had pulled away and I had pulled away from all of those behind me. I basically ran the last 7 miles of the race without seeing a single other runner. I did see some dude hiking, who managed to point me in the right direction when I spaced out and veered slightly off the leaf-covered trail and a few bowhunters who were probably pissed off at the number of runners traipsing through the woods and scaring every deer within a 16K+ figure eight area. Eventually, I made it back to the big hill in between the two loops (it didn't seem so bad going back over) and then headed down the other side toward the finish. As my Garmin clicked past 10 miles and it still didn't seem like I was very close to the finish, I realized that this 16K course wasn't just a little long. Turns out, it was almost a full mile long as my Garmin read 10.5 miles (a little over 17K) by the time I got back to the trailhead (and no, I didn't get lost....that I'm aware of...and if you don't know you're lost, are you really lost?). Time was being recorded on the honor system and as I wrote my time down next to my name I counted the 16K runners who had already finished and saw that I had taken 8th place. Just what I needed (but not really)!
So, over the course of 7 months and 5 races (I missed the July race because I was running the Missoula Marathon that day and there wasn't a race in August), I managed to amass enough points to win the men's open division of the trail series. I've described the series before as being like NASCAR....sometimes the guy who wins the most individual races doesn't always win the overall championship. I didn't win any races, but I showed up to most of them and managed a few top 3s and top 5s here and there and that was good enough. Overall, it was about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on (seriously) and I'm looking forward to doing it again in 2010 (that rhymes). My reward for winning the division was a cool hunk of rock with a 1st place plate on it and free entry to one of the series races next year. Maybe not quite as nice as what the NASCAR Sprint Cup champion gets, but still pretty cool.
Oh, and besides all that, I had a great week of running. I logged 71 miles for the week, my first time over 70 since before Lean Horse. There seems to be some physiological response when I run 70-80 miles....that mileage range just seems ideal for me and I have some of my best runs in that weekly range. So, I plan on keeping that up for awhile.
A 16K works out to 9.6 miles in American. But before we started the race director told us that the 10K course was actually a little short and the 16K course was actually a little long, which I guess means that they balance each other out. In any case, the 16K course was kind of like a figure 8 with a short out and back section between the two loops. We took off in a mass and as soon as we hit the trail, I realized that maybe I had probably lined up a little further back than I should have, but in reality maybe it was a good thing because it forced me to run a little more under control for the first half mile or so until the trail widened out and I could start passing some people. Consequently, the front runners in the 16K got out ahead of me quickly and I had no idea how many of them there were, not to mention that I had no idea who was running 10K and who was running 16K. So, I just cruised along on some fast section of trail for the first couple miles before we hit a hill. The hill didn't even seem all that bad at first, but suddenly my pace went from 7:30ish to 11:20ish and I found myself powerhiking to try to get my heart to stop hammering against my ribcage. The biggest hill was right after the 10K and 16K courses split, which really made me wonder if maybe it would have been smarter to run the 10K, but I pressed on and was soon rewarded with a long downhill stretch. But, of course, this was the section of trail that was an out and back, so I knew that every step downhill now was a step I would have to take uphill on the way back. The downhill did help me get my running legs back though and I was able to cruise through the second loop at a decent clip but by that time all of the 16K runners ahead of me had pulled away and I had pulled away from all of those behind me. I basically ran the last 7 miles of the race without seeing a single other runner. I did see some dude hiking, who managed to point me in the right direction when I spaced out and veered slightly off the leaf-covered trail and a few bowhunters who were probably pissed off at the number of runners traipsing through the woods and scaring every deer within a 16K+ figure eight area. Eventually, I made it back to the big hill in between the two loops (it didn't seem so bad going back over) and then headed down the other side toward the finish. As my Garmin clicked past 10 miles and it still didn't seem like I was very close to the finish, I realized that this 16K course wasn't just a little long. Turns out, it was almost a full mile long as my Garmin read 10.5 miles (a little over 17K) by the time I got back to the trailhead (and no, I didn't get lost....that I'm aware of...and if you don't know you're lost, are you really lost?). Time was being recorded on the honor system and as I wrote my time down next to my name I counted the 16K runners who had already finished and saw that I had taken 8th place. Just what I needed (but not really)!
So, over the course of 7 months and 5 races (I missed the July race because I was running the Missoula Marathon that day and there wasn't a race in August), I managed to amass enough points to win the men's open division of the trail series. I've described the series before as being like NASCAR....sometimes the guy who wins the most individual races doesn't always win the overall championship. I didn't win any races, but I showed up to most of them and managed a few top 3s and top 5s here and there and that was good enough. Overall, it was about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on (seriously) and I'm looking forward to doing it again in 2010 (that rhymes). My reward for winning the division was a cool hunk of rock with a 1st place plate on it and free entry to one of the series races next year. Maybe not quite as nice as what the NASCAR Sprint Cup champion gets, but still pretty cool.
Oh, and besides all that, I had a great week of running. I logged 71 miles for the week, my first time over 70 since before Lean Horse. There seems to be some physiological response when I run 70-80 miles....that mileage range just seems ideal for me and I have some of my best runs in that weekly range. So, I plan on keeping that up for awhile.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Slogging along
This wasn't the greatest running week I've ever had. Being sick last weekend left me feeling pretty crappy for the first few runs this week and feeling crappy makes getting motivated to actually go running pretty tough. The good news is that I had planned on cutting back my mileage this week anyhow, so I actually ended up close to my target mileage for the week and showed some signs of life toward the end.
Monday - Rest. Still sick and actually used sick leave because of it for only the 2nd time that I can remember.
Tuesday - 5 miles. Between my throat burning and regular coughing fits and just a general lack of energy, this run pretty much sucked the big one.
Wednesday - 6.3 miles. Throat still burns, still coughing, but not as bad. So it just sucked the little one. I also played basketball at lunchtime, which left me totally winded.
Thursday - 8.5 miles. Felt much better than the last two days, but still not great.
Friday - 9 miles. I woke up at 4 AM to run, said to hell with this and went back to bed. Ended up running after work and had a decent run, although it was tougher than 9 miles really should be.
Saturday - 6 miles. Since I ran Friday afternoon and then got up early on Saturday to do this run (we went to Rapid so Shannon could run a race and then the Grizzly game was in the afternoon, so it was the only time I could do it), it was almost like a double. My legs were still feeling Friday's run.
Sunday - 16 miles. The first two miles went great. Must've still been pumped up from watching Meb win NYC (more on that later). It was all downhill after that. Not precipitously downhill, just a steady decline. I neglected to take a gel with me and I think I paid for it because the last few miles were pretty rough and I felt like I was starting to bonk.
Total - 50.8 miles
Sunday morning was the 40th running of the New York City Marathon. An American hadn't won the men's race since Alberto Salazar did it in 1982. I was 4 years old. Going in, it was expected that an American might have a shot, but if you woulda asked a 100 people who that American would be, I'm guessing at least 95 would've said Ryan Hall (myself included). Instead, it was Meb Keflezighi who shocked the world and claimed the victory. Even better, American men took 6 of the top 10 spots (Hall finished 4th), signaling that the recent east African dominance of the sport might be coming to an end. Meb's story is a great one. He had never won a major marathon before, although he did win a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics. After failing to qualify for the US Olympic team in the marathon and 10,000m in 2008 and then suffering a stress fracture in his hip, many people thought his career was over and he actually considered retiring. But, he fought back and proved everyone wrong. A great win for Meb and a great moment in American running.
I've also gotta brag about my Montana Grizzlies. Their biggest game of the year (so far) was this past weekend against Weber St. Last year, Weber beat Montana in the regular season and the two ended up tied for the Big Sky Conference championship. The Griz got revenge in the quarterfinals of the playoffs and went on to the national championship game. This year, Weber and Montana were again favored to duke it out for the conference title. Montana entered the game ranked #2 in the FCS, Weber was #14. Both have prolific offenses and less than prolific defenses, so it was looking like an old fashioned shootout was in the works. What happened in reality was far from that. The Griz dominated from the start and the defense, which has been suspect all year, finally played up to potential. In the end, the Griz used 4 interceptions (one returned for a TD) and 241 yards from stud running back Chase Reynolds to win easily, 31-10. This basically ensures that the Griz will go to the playoffs for the 17th straight year (an FCS record) and that they'll win their 12th straight Big Sky title (also a record). Of their remaining three games, two are against two of the worst teams in the conference (Idaho St. and Northern Colorado) and the last one is against hated Montana St., who the Griz beat much more often than not. An 11-0 regular season and homefield advantage in the playoffs is looking like a definite possibility. The homefield thing is huge...there's nothing more fun than watching some team from the south come up to Missoula for a playoff game in December. Go GRIZ!!!
Monday - Rest. Still sick and actually used sick leave because of it for only the 2nd time that I can remember.
Tuesday - 5 miles. Between my throat burning and regular coughing fits and just a general lack of energy, this run pretty much sucked the big one.
Wednesday - 6.3 miles. Throat still burns, still coughing, but not as bad. So it just sucked the little one. I also played basketball at lunchtime, which left me totally winded.
Thursday - 8.5 miles. Felt much better than the last two days, but still not great.
Friday - 9 miles. I woke up at 4 AM to run, said to hell with this and went back to bed. Ended up running after work and had a decent run, although it was tougher than 9 miles really should be.
Saturday - 6 miles. Since I ran Friday afternoon and then got up early on Saturday to do this run (we went to Rapid so Shannon could run a race and then the Grizzly game was in the afternoon, so it was the only time I could do it), it was almost like a double. My legs were still feeling Friday's run.
Sunday - 16 miles. The first two miles went great. Must've still been pumped up from watching Meb win NYC (more on that later). It was all downhill after that. Not precipitously downhill, just a steady decline. I neglected to take a gel with me and I think I paid for it because the last few miles were pretty rough and I felt like I was starting to bonk.
Total - 50.8 miles
Sunday morning was the 40th running of the New York City Marathon. An American hadn't won the men's race since Alberto Salazar did it in 1982. I was 4 years old. Going in, it was expected that an American might have a shot, but if you woulda asked a 100 people who that American would be, I'm guessing at least 95 would've said Ryan Hall (myself included). Instead, it was Meb Keflezighi who shocked the world and claimed the victory. Even better, American men took 6 of the top 10 spots (Hall finished 4th), signaling that the recent east African dominance of the sport might be coming to an end. Meb's story is a great one. He had never won a major marathon before, although he did win a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics. After failing to qualify for the US Olympic team in the marathon and 10,000m in 2008 and then suffering a stress fracture in his hip, many people thought his career was over and he actually considered retiring. But, he fought back and proved everyone wrong. A great win for Meb and a great moment in American running.
I've also gotta brag about my Montana Grizzlies. Their biggest game of the year (so far) was this past weekend against Weber St. Last year, Weber beat Montana in the regular season and the two ended up tied for the Big Sky Conference championship. The Griz got revenge in the quarterfinals of the playoffs and went on to the national championship game. This year, Weber and Montana were again favored to duke it out for the conference title. Montana entered the game ranked #2 in the FCS, Weber was #14. Both have prolific offenses and less than prolific defenses, so it was looking like an old fashioned shootout was in the works. What happened in reality was far from that. The Griz dominated from the start and the defense, which has been suspect all year, finally played up to potential. In the end, the Griz used 4 interceptions (one returned for a TD) and 241 yards from stud running back Chase Reynolds to win easily, 31-10. This basically ensures that the Griz will go to the playoffs for the 17th straight year (an FCS record) and that they'll win their 12th straight Big Sky title (also a record). Of their remaining three games, two are against two of the worst teams in the conference (Idaho St. and Northern Colorado) and the last one is against hated Montana St., who the Griz beat much more often than not. An 11-0 regular season and homefield advantage in the playoffs is looking like a definite possibility. The homefield thing is huge...there's nothing more fun than watching some team from the south come up to Missoula for a playoff game in December. Go GRIZ!!!
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