2013 Madison Mini-Marathon Race Recap

I first have to say, what a well organized event!  Thank you to all the volunteers, police, medics, pacers, and fireman that came out to support this event.  The race started at 7:00am, holy hell it was early.

I got there super early for me (6:00am) because I heard that parking can be a pain in the butt downtown for this race.  I got right in my first pick parking spot with ease, but I think if I would have waited much longer it would have been a problem.  I did my normal warm-up routine, Kashi cereal at 5 (2 hours before), 1/2 Clif Mojo "Sweet & Salty Trail Mix Bar at 6 (1 hour before).  Then a couple Stinger gummies at the start line.  I think that prep fuel helped, but I might cut out the Kashi next time, or replace it with something a bit lighter.  I had a minor stomach cramp at mile 2.5.

The race started off by the union, I started in corral E.

Everyone was in high spirits, and the weather was absolutely perfect.  At the start it was about 64 degrees.  By chance alone I ran into my friend Glen from the Tuesday night Endurance House run group.  It was really cool, him and his family came out to support us!

The start happened really quick, but it was fun.  Like sheep we were herd into corrals, ready for the start. The first mile I tried so hard to not run fast, tried :-)  I really wanted to do a 9 minute first mile, ended up doing an 8. I looked for my friends Patrick and Cassi in the crowd but there were so many people, I missed them. I continued on, trying to catch-up to the 1:40 pacer.  The race continued to the farmers market on the capital square, then a straight shot down State St.  From there we went by the Kohl Center, and continued down by my work (yes I waved at the building).   After that we ran through the zoo park area, then through the arboretum.  During this point I saw my favorite signs.  1) "You paid for this", 2) "You got the runs", and 3) "There is cookies at the end".  The arboretum was also really beautiful, I wish I had a picture. The crowds were quite amazing, talk about positive energy! We continued on toward the water. To get to said water we ran 1 mile through parking lots with no shade, there was a heavy metal band though. When we hit the water I was so warm! We had to take a right to continue on but straight forward was a dock into the water.  I seriously thought about it for about 30 seconds, buuuut I didn't. Finally we shot up the trail along the water to the finish line right in front of the union.  The crowd was there, screaming cheers of joy, it was awesome!

My chip time was a 1:40:40.  That was an average pace of 7:42, way faster than anticipated.

We were greeted by awesome volunteers with metals, bananas, cookies (the sign was not a lie), water, cheesy popcorn (which I'm eating as I blog), and other treats. YUM!  I started walking down the finish area to meet up with people.  I was really excited my good friend Amelia came out to support me.  It really shows a lot that we can still be supportive of each other :)  I also met up with Kris and Glen from Endurance House Tuesday night run (you should come check it out some time).  Kris also ran it.  It was really great to have friends there, thanks again for coming!  We sat and hung out, listened to music, and just chatted about how we did.

le band

The After Party at the Union Terrace

Final thoughts: I had a lot of fun, and I would totally do this race again in a heartbeat. Very well organized with a great view of the city including: farmers market, state st, arboretum, the lake trail, and an after party at the union. No wonder why it was ranked the #14th best 1/2 marathon in the country (out of thousands). My shoes were also really great, I love Newtons.

Oh, and one more thing (totally took that from Steve Jobs), I got some PRs during this...

1. Longest distance ever: 13.1 miles
2. Fastest Half-Marathon : 1:40:40
3. Fastest 10K : 46:31
4. Fastest 5K : 23:07

Today was a good day!

My First 10K and Adapting to Newtons

I broke through my race wall this past weekend by finishing my first 10K race.  Fun fact, the best part about running a new distance is its a guaranteed PR.  The first couple miles were great, but I was running way too fast (7 min/mi pace instead of 8:30).  I hit the 5K mark at 24:03, which is a 5K PR for me, which got me all worried.  The hamster started running and I started doubting myself.  By mile 4 I started to slow.  This continued through the next mile when all of a sudden a voice said, "hey, how's it going?"  I looked to my left and saw a fellow running along side.  He just started talking about how he is running the 1/2 marathon tomorrow, and this is more of just a warm-up for him.  He was "taking it easy".   I kind of chuckled at that since I thought I was going to die at the moment.  He encouraged me through the next mile and a half to the finish.  What an awesome person, just what I needed to clear my head.  I told him thanks and started sprinting for the last .2 miles.  As I was running down the final stretch they called out my name, which was very exciting for me because every run before this I never heard it called.  I crossed the finish line and got my finishers metal.  

What a great feeling of accomplishment.  I looked back and saw my 5.5 mile coach finish and we walked the cool down together.  They provided water and pizza at the finish so we sat down, stretched, and just chatted for a bit.  It was a really cool run through the campus of UW-Madison.  The worst part for me was Observatory drive where it is a wicked hill climb of 89 feet in .25 miles.  However it was also the best part because as you rise over the crest of the 1/2 way point you get an amazing view of Lake Mendota.  So that was my race, I'm looking for the next one to come about.  I think I am going to sign up for the Madison Mini Marathon (a 1/2 marathon) that is in August.  It might be super hot but I wanna do it, its a perfect setup as its 12 weeks out.  That is a normal allotted time to train for said event.  Anyone else have any running plans this year?

I went to pickup my race packet at the Monona Terrace, little did I know there was a running expo going on.  I browsed around a bit, and noticed Endurance House (my favorite triathlon/running store) had a big tent setup.  I noted they had 35% off there shoes (which were all last year models).  I tried on a couple of pairs, but what really stuck out were these Newton mv2s.  

They are a mid-strike shoe and they felt really weird.  They feel like you have a pivot point on the ball of your foot.  At first I was hesitant, but the guy said if you want to go the minimal route this would be a good shoe to get started with.  I have heard that minimalist type running is better on your knees, which has been a problem for me in the past.  I thought, "heck, they give you a 30 day back no questions so why not? Especially with this great deal ($85 instead of $140)."  I took them out for a 2 mile casual run today and they felt great!  It kind of makes me feel like I am running like a velociraptor.  In case you don't know what I mean by that:

I ran a bit faster and there is more spring in my step.  I am planning an changing over completely to these shoes but not just yet.  I did some research and you are actually not supposed to just switch, but more use both shoes until your muscles can adjust.  Here is Newton's transition video:

#knowledge

So that is where I'm at with running.

On a last note, I found this quote and wanted to share:

    "Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life." - Omar Khayyam

Netflix vs. Hulu; Fight!

Netflix is a 2 part business.  The first part is a DVD by mail system that many people use instead of going to Blockbuster.  The cost is around $8 per month for 1 DVD at a time.  This is becoming a smaller part of there business as the world moves to streaming media as a primary source of entertainment.  Which brings me to there second piece of business, online streaming.  For $8 per month you get unlimited streaming.  There library is vast with shows/movies you have never heard of.  They also have shows that are mainstream, but not the most recent season.  The best thing about Netflix Streaming is no commercials, I repeat, NO COMMERCIALS!  It makes sense, I mean, you pay for that via the $8 per month ;)  Don't get me wrong about there library, it has a TON of great shows/movies, but its flooded with stuff that is less than desirable to the masses.  I personally only have streaming, and I use it everyday to watch shows.  To me not having the latest season is okay since I'm so behind in every show. #TooManyGoodShows

Netflix is also really good about being on every device you have.  From your PC, to your Mac, to your Smart TV, to your smart phone, they have all bases covered.

Hulu kind of went in a different direction.  Its free, they only provide a streaming service, they have commercials, and you can only stream on your computer.  What they lack in service, they make up for the latest content.  A lot of shows are available the next day after they are on the air.  Hulu is good for people that want to keep up to date on shows that like to watch on there computer, and they don't mind commercials.  HuluPlus is another story.  Its a $8 per month service that gives you more content and less commercials, but still has commercials.  It also allows you to watch on all your devices.  I also feel that Hulu is lacking when it comes to movies.



My Conclusion

Netflix > Hulu for me.  I am so far behind in shows that I'm okay with not having the latest season.  Its a trade off; commercials and latest seasons vs. no commercials and one season behind.  To me having no commercials saves me time, so I can watch 3 episodes of Lost on Netflix in the time it would take to watch 2 on Hulu.  The great thing about both of them is you can unsubscribe at anytime.  So if you were a new streaming goer (yes, that is a word) I would suggest Netflix to catch up on all the shows/movies, then switch to Hulu if you get bored with Netflix.  I watch so many shows, by the time I get done with them all a new season is available.

Some may ask, why haven't you talked about sho.com or HBOgo?  Well, you have to have cable plus a subscription to showtime or HBO to get said services.  If you want to go that route then it will cost you, a lot (see Ground Zero for details on that).

Learning from the past, looking ahead at the future

Every year I read many posts about people doing new years resolutions.   Every year I come up with something, but then usually drop it with in the first couple of months, just like everyone else.  Last year was a little different, my goal was to be more in shape*, and I must say "I think it was a success, but I want more."

I started off by buying a folding bike, which was great when I could commute to work (2.5 miles each way).  I since moved to a new city where I could commute via bike, but it is too far for a everyday kind of activity (14.5 miles).  I also joined a gym for the first time in my life.  It was a small community center gym that had enough equipment to be satisfactory for the price.  I worked out 5 times a week for a while.  Later it dropped to 3 times a week, but I did more intense workouts.  I even ran a 5k, something I haven't done since high school x-country.

After moving to another state in May things changed slightly.  I was in a new environment and didn't know anywhere I wanted to go biking, and didn't have a good gym.  The bike quickly started picking up dust.  I tried doing workouts at the apartment complex gym, but the equipment selection is quite... lacking.  My wife and I started searching for good gym, we came across Princeton Club.  It sounds la-de-fucking-da, it kind of is.  For $30 per month (special pricing that they have all the time) you get a membership.  We jumped on it and I must say that I am happy with it.  They have a bunch of equipment, good FREE classes, and racquetball (something I loved doing in college).  I haven't partaken in any classes yet, but I plan to try out spinning next year.

After a month of dust collecting I thought I should start trying to utilize my bike on the weekends for casual rides.  I quickly found that the city I moved to is one of the top ten in the nation for bike trails.  I mapped out a course and set off one Saturday morning.  It was awesome.  I've never scene so many bikers out together.  There is so many people with a lot of money put in there bikes.  Kind of crazy.

One of many great things about the city is the lakes surrounding it.  There are many parks along the water that you can just go sit.  During my rides I like to find a 1/2 way point where you can just sit and rest for a while and enjoy the day.  Its pretty nice.

I have also been working out about 3 times per week which has really helped in the winter months.

This next year I have decided I want to "step it up".

I want to run a 1/2 marathon.  Most likely sometime in the summer, probably around June (searching in progress).

I have already kind of started training for it.  I will succeed where I failed before.  I have tried multiple times to do this, and always ended up injured during training.  The one problem I had was I didn't workout, I just ran.  This time I am going to have a plan where I workout most of the time, and slowly ramp up my running.  This way my body will be ready for the running part.

Think I can do it?  Want to join?

For now I'm going to do workouts 3 times per week, and try to do 2 runs per week.  We will see how it goes, I'll try to keep you posted but as always, no promises.  I'm going to use http://www.jefit.com/ to keep track of my workouts, and nikeplus.com to keep track of my running, and a new "workout" google calendar to keep a reminder in my calendar on what to do today.

What are your new years goals?

Last but not least I want to say goodbye to my Grandpa who passed during this holiday.  He was a Veteren of the military, a husband, a father, a grand father, and a great grand father.  He had a long life and he is no longer suffering from his illness.  God bless, and rest in peace.

* My initial goal was to run 5 5k's for charity events.  I only got to one, but 1/2 way through the year I realized it wasn't going to happen to I adjusted it to just be "be more in shape."

Formula One is great, but could it be better?

If you know me even a little bit you know I love a good motorsports race.  The sounds of the engines roaring past as people cheer on there favorite driver; its pure awesomeness.  There has been a lot of excitement in the past couple races and it struck an idea.

Photo Courtesy of Formula 1 Google+ page

On Friday night races at the local track I noticed qualifying first meant you started last.  An interesting concept that I think Formula 1 should adopt.  Think about it, give the driver some points for qualifying in the top 5, 5 for pole, 4 for second, etc...  Then on race day line them up in reverse order.  This way it would make qualifying another great way for teams to score points, and would spice up Sunday outings.  I had this idea as I was watching Mr. Vettel run from 24th up to 3rd.  I have had multiple people say how awesome that was to watch.  Why not make every race that exciting?  What about people that just drive slowly during qualifying so they get pole on race day you may ask?  Well, they have the 107% rule, if they fall behind it then they would have to start in the back regardless for "safety" reasons.

Another thought I had was heat races.  The best part of F1 races are the first 5 laps, then there may be a couple more close moments or good battles if you will.  Most races end with massive gaps between the cars.  What if each Sunday was 2 race events (kind of like GP2) where they were 1/2 the time with still the required 1 pit stop requirement (per event)?  What it would do is create more tense moments for the race fans.  Right about the time a normal race would be time to take a snooze, the first race would be over and they would line up again (after refueling and tire changes of course).

The way things are right now are great, but they could be better.  What are your thoughts?  Keep them the same (Bernie would like that) or change to something new?  Does anyone else have any other ideas about this?


On another note I'm totally geeked for Formula E, are you?

Finally, congrats to Tesla for getting the car of the year award, well deserved.  I would totally get one if I could afford it.

How I Stay Motivated

Now that I'm back into the staying fit game I thought I would document how I'm staying motivated.  It is compressed of four different things that I'm doing.

Nike+ GPS Watch
My beautiful wife just got me the Nike+ GPS watch which I think will boost my confidence and consistency.   In the past I have been using my phone, but I really had a lot of weird software issues with it.  I really wanted an independent device that was easily accessible during my run and this watch got really good reviews.  It was a hard decision between Nike and Garmin, but since the Nike has a non-GPS feature (running indoor or on treadmill) it wins :-), especially since both sync with Endomondo (more on that later).

Nikeplus.com
There Nikeplus.com website is great so far.  There are a lot of negative reviews about it but those are most about the flash site that has recently been replaced by HTML5.   I have found it very easy to navigate so far and uploads are a breeze.

Endomondo.com
I have been using endomondo for about 2 years now.  There phone application used to be great, however since 8.0 there has been so many issues with my phone and the GPS.  Even with the application woohs I still really liked there website.  Mostly for the social feature as a lot of people at work are using it.  Also they just started syncing with Nike+, so I can still use it with the watch to stay social.

EarndIt.com
Earned It is an interesting website.  You sync your workout website (both endomondo and nike+ are supported) and it gives you points for working out.  After you build up points you can cash them in for giftcards to workout type places.  There are restrictions on what will give you points.  For example: manual inputed runs in endomondo don't count, however if you have a GPS based workout it does count. For Nike+ it looks like both GPS based and foot sensor based get points.  I just hit 300 points and got $20 off a purchase at endomondo's online store.  Got a cool running shirt.  It really didn't take much time to get up to 300.  You can also use your points to help out people in need, which is what I'll be striving for next.  During my runs I'll be thinking, "for the children in Kenya", ha.

Summary
Some people use websites, others use a friend's encouragement.  When it comes down to it, only you can get up off the sofa and go for a run.  These things help, but you are the one steering the boat.  Enjoy!

Minor Setbacks and Looking Forward

Background

This past spring I had a knee injury on a treadmill that prevented me from running as much as I would like.  Its really easy to fall off (training, not the treadmill) when these types of things happen.  I found that using a knee brace worked well.  I used it while training, and never felt better.  My confidence would be high and I would remove the brace, then it would hurt, and I would have to stop due to pain.  Getting frustrated, I think, "well you just have to run with a brace".  So then I would start with the brace again, and all would be well.  I continued on this cycle expecting different results, each time realizing that its not going to work.  I think Einstein would think I was crazy ;)

A New Path

So I decided to take advantage of my awesome healthcare (thanks to my awesome wife) and go get it checked out.  Scared that I was going to have to have surgery or they would simply say "well, your getting old".  So I went in, got a look over and got some handouts on knee related injuries and stretches.  I, of course, didn't do the stretching and went back to my old routine.  A couple weeks later I was stuck on the IR list again.

A New Path : Attempt Two

So I made an appointment with a PT doctor to try and get good stretches to do before/after my runs.  I think they will help a lot (trying to be positive).  I also got some good advice with something that I've been doing wrong.  So my whole running career (that sounds fancier than it should) I stretched first, ran, then I was done.  My PT doc threw the red flag on that one.  Turns out you should stretch before, run, then long static stretch after to help your muscles stretch back out after working them.  In theory it makes sense, now to practice that.

My goal is still to make it to a 26.2 mile race (full marathon) and finish.  Hopefully this is a start of something good and new.  The key to success for me is saying I can.

Wish me luck, I'll let you know how it goes.