My Name is Rob

February 2010 Stats

2010-03-01T21:01:00.001-06:00

Photo of the Day

Too many indoor shots here. I need to get out more.

Running

After taking some time to recover from the Riddle Run, I actually got did pretty good running in February. I was quite happy to see my heart rate stay below 150 for several miles at 7:30 pace during medium and long runs. I'm actually feeling quite fit at the moment.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	109.05 Mile	10	10.905 Mile
February	76.18 Mile	8	9.5225 Mile
Total	185.23 Mile	18	10.2906 Mile

Cycling

On the bright side, I got my first (and only) outdoor training ride of the year in last weekend.

February 2010

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	18. Mile	5	3.6 Mile
Pocket Rocket	27.67 Mile	1	27.67 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	95. Mile	6	15.8333 Mile
Total	140.67 Mile	12	11.7225 Mile

January - February 2010

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	18. Mile	5	3.6 Mile
El Fuego	40.9 Mile	11	3.71818 Mile
Pocket Rocket	27.67 Mile	1	27.67 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	220.35 Mile	15	14.69 Mile
Total	306.92 Mile	32	9.59125 Mile

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	166.25 Mile	20	8.3125 Mile
February	140.67 Mile	12	11.7225 Mile
Total	306.92 Mile	32	9.59125 Mile

Cross Country Skiing

Snow is good for one thing, I suppose.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	6.07 Mile	2	3.035 Mile
February	19.73 Mile	5	3.946 Mile
Total	25.8 Mile	7	3.68571 Mile

Walking

I'm still not quite sure what got into me here. I ended up walking to work more times than I biked to work last month. I guess I'll blame the weather for the frequently-unsuitable-for-riding conditions.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	28.66 Mile	9	3.18444 Mile
February	51.45 Mile	16	3.21563 Mile
Total	80.11 Mile	25	3.2044 Mile

The Great Room Swap of '010

2010-02-28T20:00:00.001-06:00

For the past few months William has been getting up at night. A lot. Melissa heard from some of her friends who have babies Will's age that they sleep better in a separate room. He's been sleeping in our bedroom downstairs since he was born. We weren't quite ready to put him in his own room all the way upstairs. After a brief conversation Friday evening we decided that we should move the office downstairs and move our bedroom upstairs right next to his. This way Will could sleep in his own bedroom and we wouldn't be that far away. The problem is that our bed wouldn't fit in the office, so we had to move Will's room into the office and move our room into Will's room. We basically decided to completely rotate the three bedrooms.

Great, so how do we do this? Each of these rooms has furniture (some if it quite large), and numerous smaller items. Also, Melissa is injured and can't really carry anything. I arranged for my dad to come over on Sunday to help carry some of the largest items up/down stairs. But given the monumental size of this task I couldn't wait until Sunday to get it started. All Saturday morning I pondered the best strategy to proceed while Will was napping in the Baby Bjorn strapped around me (which was just the start of a rough day for my back). When he woke up I got going.

Since three rooms would need to be rotated I started with an empty space in one room, moved one piece of furniture in, replaced that piece in the second room with a piece from the third room, then replaced a piece in the third room with a piece from the first room. And so on. Over the next 6-8 hours I disassembled our queen sized bed, a futon, a crib, a dresser, a desk, a filing cabinet, etc. and carried these items up/down stairs by myself. By the end of Saturday I was exhausted and my back was aching, but the move was over half completed.

Today I woke up and ran 12 miles. I took a short break to watch the Olympics 50km Cross Country Ski race. Then my parents arrived and we got to work moving the remaining desk, dresser, filing cabinet, changing table, and numerous smaller items. We got everything moved into the correct rooms. We still have a fair amount of work to go to get all the slightly differently sized closets organized.

We really should have done this move before Will was born, but we thought it would be too much work. Now that it's (nearly) done I can say that it definitely was a lot of work, but I think it will be totally worth it.

January Stats

2010-02-01T22:13:00.001-06:00

Photo of the Day

Running

Lot of running. Lot of running. Exactly the same mileage as January 2009.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	109.05 Mile	10	10.905 Mile
Total	109.05 Mile	10	10.905 Mile

Cycling

I finally got my butt into gear and started riding on the trainer at night after Will (and usually Melissa) goes to bed. Riding on the trainer is not my favorite thing to do, but when it's dark and icy out the trainer is just about my only option.

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
El Fuego	40.9 Mile	11	3.71818 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	125.35 Mile	9	13.9278 Mile
Total	166.25 Mile	20	8.3125 Mile

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	166.25 Mile	20	8.3125 Mile
Total	166.25 Mile	20	8.3125 Mile

Cross Country Skiing

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	6.07 Mile	2	3.035 Mile
Total	6.07 Mile	2	3.035 Mile

Walking

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	28.66 Mile	9	3.18444 Mile
Total	28.66 Mile	9	3.18444 Mile

Riddle Run 11

2010-01-31T15:21:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I ran Riddle Run 11. This is a 28 mile ultramarathon held each January. You may recall that I was the first finisher at Riddle Run 10 last year, for which I was awarded the traveling trophy (a roll of toilet paper signed by the previous winners).

Last year I was in great shape, but the course was covered in 4" of mushy show. I must have ended up running twice the official distance just from my feet slipping around so much. I ran nice and easy, finishing in 4h56m. It just so happened that nobody else ran faster, so I was first.

This year I knew I wasn't in quite as good shape as last year, but we only had about 1" of snow on the ground (which, while not ideal, is much easier to run through than 4"). I was really disappointed with my run at Tecumseh last month, so I had something to prove to myself.

I started the run very easy. I picked a big group to run with and we talked and laughed the entire first (of seven) four-mile loop. I'm notorious for starting too fast and (like last year's Rockford marathon) I made damn sure not to make that mistake yesterday.

The second loop I picked up the pace a little bit, from 9:30 to 9:00 to 8:30. By the end of the second loop I was running slightly faster than 8:00 miles and I would stay at this pace for the next 12 miles or so. At the end of each loop I stopped by my car for 30-60 seconds to drink some gatorade and water and to grab a bite to eat.

"Ultras are just eating and drinking contests, with a little exercise and scenery thrown in."

-Sunny Blende, nutritionist (from Born to Run)

Over the course of 28 miles I ended up eating four mini Clif Bars, a banana, two flasks of chia gel, a bottle of Gatorade, a bottle of water, and six Enduralytes (electrolyte pills)... and it still wasn't enough. My stomach was growling the last eight miles.

During the middle part of the run the miles just flew by. Each time I finished a lap I thought to myself, I was just here a few minutes ago. I was flying and the miles were coming so easily, but it wouldn't last forever.

I started to tire around mile 20. I quickly realized could no longer maintain sub-8:00 miles and I started to question whether I would finish at all. After eating I started my 6th loop much slower and I felt a lot better. I could definitely finish by running closer to 9:00 pace.

The last two laps were a bit of a slog, but I kept shuffling along, and I never stopped to walk (a feat I've only accomplished one other time, at Rockford). Three miles from the end a fellow runner Jason and his friend absolutely flew past me. I had last seen them exactly 20 miles earlier when I had just started to pick up the pace. It was amazing how strong they were finishing. I crossed the 26.2 mile mark at 3h46m, making this my third fastest marathon ever. On a trail. Covered in snow.

Last year I finished the run with mile 28 being my fastest. This year it was my slowest (the second slowest this year was the first mile). I dragged myself across the finish line in 4h04m, my fastest Riddle Run by more than a half hour, and a full 50 minutes faster than last year (almost two minutes per mile!).

Jason and his friend had gained six minutes on me in the last three miles, and they finished first. Matt and another guy were in between us. It's rather amazing to me that the first five of us finished within six minutes of each other after such a long run.

So that was my fourth Riddle Run, my fifth ultra-distance run, my seventh trail marathon/ultra, and my 11th marathon or beyond. Of all those runs, this one was the third fastest, yet at the same time probably the easiest for me. Considering I didn't do any training specifically for this run, and I didn't taper at all, I guess I'd have to say that I'm in a little better shape than I thought I was. That's a good sign.

More shortlist

2010-01-17T18:37:00.001-06:00

In case it wasn't clear from my last post, I included a link to all of the photos in my shortlist (not just my top four). Here are the others (click the thumbnails for larger versions):

Shortlist

2010-01-16T22:31:00.001-06:00

So there's a "Photographic Print Competition" next month at Lincoln Square Mall. Both my wife and my father have suggested to me that I enter the competition, and they're both pretty smart so I better do what they say.

I noticed the competition is sponsored by the Champaign County Camera Club, a club I had never heard of before, but sounded somewhat appealing to me. I checked out their website last Monday, just in time to notice one of their bi-monthly meetings was happening that evening on campus. I decided to go check it out. It was indeed interesting.

One of the odd things I learned at the meeting was the club members are not allowed to enter this competition for some reason. I'm still not exactly clear why this is the case. I mean, Second Wind Running Club puts on races in which club members are encouraged to participate. The same thing happens with events put on by Wild Card Cycling or Prairie Cycle Club.

Anyway, I didn't join the club yet... and now I'm going to hold off doing so until after the competition. Speaking of which, I put together a shortlist of photos from 2009 I'm thinking about entering. Participants are allowed a maximum of three entries. There are multiple categories into which these photos might fit, most of which are fairly strictly defined:

Architecture
Animals
People
Nature (absolutely nothing human-made)
General
~~Manipulated~~ (does not interest me)
~~Youth division~~ (ineligible)

Here are the photos currently at the top of my list:

Nature, Animals, General

Architecture, General

People, General

I'd really appreciate any feedback on which photos people think are the best. I'm sure with this audience any picture of Will will probably get an automatic vote, but try to keep in mind that photo contest judges may not be as interested in Will as many of you.

Little guy

2010-01-09T20:19:00.001-06:00

This little guy decided to join us inside at some point (in the last few days?). Well it was pretty weak and barely moving by today. We trapped it under a glass long enough for me to take a few photos then I let it go outside. With the 0˚F temperature, I'm not sure whether this was better or worse for the Yellowjacket wasp than just letting it die inside. We'll never know.

For what it's worth, here's how I took the photos. The little guy was crawling around on a piece of paper with an upside-down glass covering him. I had my trusty Canon 50D on a tripod just barely above that level with the lens about 8" away. I used my 60 mm EF-S macro lens at f/18 for a relatively large depth of field. I had a studio strobe with a soft box at 3/4 power just off my right shoulder, providing ample light for the fast shutter speed (1/125 second), small aperture (f/18), and low ISO speed (100).

The little guy was crawling around, so I waited until he was in a good position. I then focused on it, briefly tiled the glass back (for an unobstructed shot), quickly pressed the shutter, then set the glass back down (so the thing would fly away). The final images here are cropped to roughly half the width and height of the original 15 megapixel images.

Commuteski

2010-01-07T23:07:00.001-06:00

We got a fair amount of snow last night and into the day today. I skied the 1.8 miles into work, which in these conditions was A) faster than walking and B) safer than cycling.

Most of my trip follows Kirby/Florida Ave which has a lot of grass off to the side, perfect for skiing. It gets a little tough around the Assembly Hall where there's a whole lot of pavement and not much grass.

I expected to be pretty sweaty by the time I arrived at work, but I wasn't that bad. I had a brutal headwind the whole way there.

Mistaken Identities

2010-01-07T08:50:00.001-06:00

A commenter on Flickr recently suggested I look a little like German electronic music artist Paul Kalkbrenner (who I had never actually heard of before this comment). Perhaps a little.

Other random celebrities I've been compared to in the past 15 years include Chris O'Donnell, Kevin Spacey, Ewan MacGregor, and Ivan Basso.

Who do you look like?

Lights and such

2010-01-04T21:08:00.001-06:00

I decided to take the plunge and invest a pair of inexpensive studio lights. The whole kit cost less than my portable Canon 580 EX II hot shoe flash (I italicized portable because that flash by itself is twice the size of most point-and-shoot cameras).

The studio lights arrived today. They run on AC power and put out more light than a typical flash, so I'll be able to work with faster shutter speeds and smaller apertures indoors.

I'm no expert at lighting, so it's going to take some practice.

Or maybe not.

Getting things done

2010-01-03T21:02:00.001-06:00

Stuff sure takes longer than it used to. I used to be be able to get things done in a timely fashion, but frequent interruptions are making that a little more difficult. I'm still not exactly sure how Melissa finished her dissertation with Will in the house. She's pretty hardcore.

Will doesn't like to sit still. If I'm trying to work on the computer while holding him I generally can't sit at the computer for more than 30 seconds before he becomes agitated. Then this morning, out of nowhere, he actually fell asleep while I was working. It was wonderful. I got a solid hour of uninterrupted computer work done. Sure, I had to do it one handed, but whatever.

Then after he woke up I was able to get him to sit in his Bumbo seat for a while. He didn't like it so much on the ground, but up on the desk it was okay for a few minutes. He was quite adorable until he started screaming. Then, like that, it was over.

The End of 2009

2010-01-01T22:48:00.001-06:00

Photo of the Day

My Photo of the Day project was a success for 2009. I took a photo every single day of the year and posted them all to Flickr. I created this nifty poster-sized image below, which is being printed as I type and will soon be hanging on my wall. It contains all 365 daily photos.

This project really took a lot more time and effort than I initially thought it would. On the bright side, I think I've improved tremendously as a photographer over the past year, and I have some really great photos that will last a lifetime.

I am tentatively planning to continue the project. My motivation has been to do so has not been great lately (and I've completely run out of ideas on a number of occasions), but I've recently found a few good sources for inspiration. So I do plan to continue for the foreseeable future.

Races

Date	Time	Place	Div
Tecumseh Trail Marathon
2009-12-05	04:20:06	80/595
FOLEPI River Trail Classic
2009-11-28	00:22:38	15/439	2
Allerton Trail Race
2009-10-25	00:35:38	5/462	2
Danville Memorial Day 5K
2009-05-25	00:17:54	5/398	1

Rockford Marathon
2009-05-17	*03:09:05	15/249	3

Twin Cities Twosome
2009-05-09	00:18:15		3

Masters Swimming 500 yd TT
2009-05-07	*00:06:48	1/2

Tri the Illini
2009-05-02	00:55:05	10/301	2

Illinois Marathon
2009-04-11	*03:22:15	151/1620	24

Hillsboro Roubaix Cat 4 RR
2009-04-04	01:57:31	19/100

Land Between the Lakes 23K
2009-03-14	01:46:32	6/61

Masters Swimming 500 yd TT
2009-02-25	*00:07:10	1/1

Riddle Run
2009-01-31	04:56:42	1/10
Siberian Express
2009-01-03	00:50:49	25/398


*personal best for the distance

Running

My running in 2009 was really one of extremes, both high and low. I started the year with some really strong races and a spectacular build-up to the Illinois Marathon, which ended in spectacular failure on my part. I bounced back quickly with a great run at the Rockford Marathon, only to notice a gradually worsening pain in my right knee (my good knee) less than a month later. This knee injury kept me from running for over 10 weeks, and severely cut back my cycling. Around Will's birth I finally started running again and slowly built up both my speed and my endurance. I had a couple of good (though not great) races this fall before the horrible experience for me that was the Tecumseh Trail Marathon.

Despite the significant time off, I still ended up running about 17 miles farther than in 2008. I guess training for three marathons and an ultra-marathon will do that. I took it easy running for a few weeks after Tecumseh to make sure I wouldn't injure myself again. I'm relatively healthy at the moment, but I'm far from peak condition. I really wanted to run the Siberian Express tomorrow morning, but a cold this week put a damper on that. Running is the one sport I have going for me at the moment, which isn't saying a whole lot.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	109.34 Mile	10	10.934 Mile
February	55.83 Mile	7	7.97571 Mile
March	108.792 Mile	10	10.8792 Mile
April	74.85 Mile	8	9.35625 Mile
May	64.5669 Mile	9	7.1741 Mile
June	7. Mile	1	7. Mile
July	0	0	0
August	16.3 Mile	5	3.26 Mile
September	39.78 Mile	7	5.68286 Mile
October	42.52 Mile	7	6.07429 Mile
November	112.5 Mile	11	10.2273 Mile
December	41.04 Mile	4	10.26 Mile
Total	672.518 Mile	79	8.51289 Mile

Cycling

Cycling was one of my disappointments for 2009. I started the year decent enough, but I was really concentrating a lot more on running for the Spring marathons. Once I injured my knee in June I cut way back on my cycling and never made up for it. I ended 2009 with less than half the miles on the bike as 2008. I only competed in one cycling race and one triathlon, despite my intention of focusing completely on these events after mid-May. Fortunately, both were fairly successful for me, so it wasn't a total loss.

Sadly, I don't think 2010 is looking that great for me. I'm horribly out of shape on the bike. I've struggled to keep up with my friends on the last few easy training rides I've done recently. I really need to get my act together here before it's too late. 2010 starts now.

December 2009

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	19.4 Mile	5	3.88 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	65.82 Mile	3	21.94 Mile
Total	85.22 Mile	8	10.6525 Mile

January - December 2009

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	611.15 Mile	139	4.39676 Mile
Big Red	12.07 Mile	4	3.0175 Mile
El Fuego	75.2 Mile	8	9.4 Mile
Pocket Rocket	329.78 Mile	44	7.495 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	1857.4 Mile	46	40.3783 Mile
Total	2885.6 Mile	241	11.9734 Mile

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	139.41 Mile	22	6.33682 Mile
February	232.35 Mile	23	10.1022 Mile
March	411.9 Mile	26	15.8423 Mile
April	372.18 Mile	27	13.7844 Mile
May	347.83 Mile	24	14.4929 Mile
June	209.21 Mile	23	9.09609 Mile
July	206.74 Mile	12	17.2283 Mile
August	275.94 Mile	22	12.5427 Mile
September	287.11 Mile	21	13.6719 Mile
October	219.2 Mile	23	9.53043 Mile
November	98.51 Mile	10	9.851 Mile
December	85.22 Mile	8	10.6525 Mile
Total	2885.6 Mile	241	11.9734 Mile

Swimming

I had a good start to the year swimming. My swims mysteriously stopped around August 12 for some reason. Anyway, I swam a personal best of 06:48 for 500 yards in May. I did swim 25% farther than I did in 2008. I really need to get back into this. Again, 2010 starts now.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	1.87452 Kilo Meter	3	0.62484 Kilo Meter
February	14.9504 Kilo Meter	6	2.49174 Kilo Meter
March	19.5224 Kilo Meter	7	2.78892 Kilo Meter
April	13.3502 Kilo Meter	6	2.22504 Kilo Meter
May	12.7806 Kilo Meter	7	1.82579 Kilo Meter
June	17.15 Kilo Meter	8	2.14375 Kilo Meter
July	15.55 Kilo Meter	6	2.59167 Kilo Meter
August	7.9 Kilo Meter	3	2.63333 Kilo Meter
September	0	0	0
October	0	0	0
November	0	0	0
December	0	0	0
Total	103.078 Kilo Meter	46	2.24083 Kilo Meter

Walking

I didn't plan to keep track of walking stats, but now I'm kind of glad I did (at least after my June knee injury).

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	0	0	0
February	3.75 Mile	2	1.875 Mile
March	0	0	0
April	8.51 Mile	4	2.1275 Mile
May	6.7 Mile	4	1.675 Mile
June	11. Mile	3	3.66667 Mile
July	29.52 Mile	10	2.952 Mile
August	35.02 Mile	14	2.50143 Mile
September	29.82 Mile	12	2.485 Mile
October	19.42 Mile	9	2.15778 Mile
November	41.17 Mile	12	3.43083 Mile
December	29.65 Mile	8	3.70625 Mile
Total	214.56 Mile	78	2.75077 Mile

Skiing

I'm certainly not good at skiing, but I enjoy it. There was just very little snow in 2009.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	26.67 Mile	6	4.445 Mile
February	0	0	0
March	0	0	0
April	0	0	0
May	0	0	0
June	0	0	0
July	0	0	0
August	0	0	0
September	0	0	0
October	0	0	0
November	0	0	0
December	10.36 Mile	2	5.18 Mile
Total	37.03 Mile	8	4.62875 Mile

Scooter

It sure seemed like more than that. Well, it was a transitional mode of transportation anyway.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	0	0	0
February	0	0	0
March	0	0	0
April	0	0	0
May	0	0	0
June	0	0	0
July	13.4 Mile	4	3.35 Mile
August	0	0	0
September	0	0	0
October	0	0	0
November	0	0	0
December	0	0	0
Total	13.4 Mile	4	3.35 Mile

Blog

I ended the year with roughly half as many blog posts as last year, with the rate of entries really dropping off in August. William has tried to pick up some of my slack with his blog.

Additionally, I assume you have noticed how all the titles of all my blog entries begin "The ...". It has been a lot more difficult to maintain this naming scheme than I originally thought it would be two years ago. In fact, there are a number of times when I thought about writing a short entry but never got around to it because I couldn't think of the right name. I think it has been holding me back a little. So it is with mixed emotions that I declare this will likely be the last entry to strictly follow that convention.

The William Hammock

2009-12-30T17:26:00.002-06:00

When Melissa and I lived in Nicaragua for a year, right outside our room at the hostel was this hammock. It had the name William knitted into the side of it in 8" letters. We always wondered what the story was behind this hammock--why William was sitting right outside our door.

I couldn't find a photo showing the William part of the hammock, but here's the rest of it. Lucy the squirrel is resting, perhaps waiting to jump on me.

It must have made more of an impression on Melissa than it did me. Perhaps it's not a coincidence that she chose the name William for our child...

The Chia Gel

2009-12-30T16:32:00.002-06:00

Iskiate is a refreshing energy gel consumed by the Tarahumara (running people) indigenous population in Mexico, and the Aztecs before them. I was fascinated by the description of this chia seed gel from the book Born To Run:

Months later, I'd learn that iskiate is otherwise known as chia fresca--"chilly chia." It's brewed up by dissolving chia seeds in water with a little sugar and a squirt of lime
...
As tiny as those seeds are, they're superpacked with omega-3S, omega-6S, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, and antioxidants. If you had to pick just one desert-island food, you couldn't do much better than chia, at least if you were interested in building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease; after a few months on the chia diet, you could probably swim home.

Okay, so there's probably a bit of hyperbole in there, but nonetheless, I had to try some. Local health food stores like Strawberry Fields and Common Ground Food Coop sell chia seeds (at a hefty price), and they're also available on the internet for a little bit cheaper. The good thing is that a small quantity of seeds goes a long way.

I turned to the internet to figure out how to make it and found the results quite lacking. I ended up using the basic directions on the chia seed packaging I got from TheRawFoodWorld (chia and water only). Then I added sugar and lemon or lime to my liking. Here's a brief instructional video I made.

I tried adding the sugar and lemon/lime both before and after the chia seeds. I think it works a little better adding the chia seeds before the sugar and lemon/lime. I've tried both lemon juice and lime juice for flavoring, and I prefer lemon.

I eat the gel sometimes with breakfast, and I've been eating it from a gel flask during my long weekend trail runs for about 6-8 weeks or so. I'm not sure it's a perfect replacement for traditional energy gels (like Hammer gel), but it's a very good compliment. I've really enjoyed my homemade chia gel during my long runs. It's a lot easier on my stomach than Hammer gel.

The Most Adorable Fit I've Ever Seen

2009-12-19T09:12:00.001-06:00

Last night was the neighborhood holiday party. We dressed Will up in the Santa outfit Uncle Brad gave him. Shortly thereafter he threw a little fit that, in that particular outfit, was rather adorable. I couldn't help but to preserve the moment.

Anyway the holiday party was a success. Will received a great deal of attention from the mostly-grandparent-aged crowd. We left just a couple of songs into the singalong so we could get Will home to bed, but we were there long enough for everyone to enjoy themselves.

The Strangest Marathon

2009-12-07T22:03:00.001-06:00

I was moving along at an easy pace. The guy in front of me had just taken a downhill section of the trail very gingerly and nearly tip-toed across a creek crossing. I passed him on the uphill section on the other side of the creek and began to pull away. Then, out of nowhere, I hit the wall. Well, not exactly. I'm not talking about the glycogen depletion "wall" where my fuel reserves have run dry. This was something entirely different and unfamiliar to me. This small incline got my heart beating so fast I was gasping for air only to find I was physically unable to maintain my modest pace. My worst fears had come true. I stopped to walk up the hill. By the time I reached the top I was seriously contemplating dropping out of the marathon.

This was at mile four.

One week prior I was in great spirits, having wrapped up my long training runs and raced fairly well at the FOLEPI River Trail Classic. I showed up at work on Monday feeling as good as possible and left work that evening with a sore throat. My throat got worse through the night and was a full blown illness by Tuesday morning. I went to work (even though I clearly shouldn't have) only to discover my coworkers were already sick.

By Wednesday my throat started to get better, but the snot and sinus pain got worse. By Thursday evening I was finally starting to feel like I was getting over the sickness. I still wanted to race. I trained really hard for Tecumseh and I wasn't going to let the sniffles take that away from me.

Friday I travelled to the Nashville, IN area with fellow Buffalo Ken, Brian, and Jen. We stayed at the same paintball/cabin place as last year (though with far fewer people this time). Despite feeling back to normal that morning, by Friday night I felt terrible again. Ugh.

I awoke Saturday morning before the race feeling as fresh as a daisy. Whatever I had seemed to finally work its way out of my system. I thought. We drove to the race finish area, picked up our packets, and loaded up onto the buses to the starting line miles and miles away.

Last year I started way faster than I wanted to, but it was kind of necessary because of the congestion on the single track trail that started 2-3 miles into the race. I vowed to start off slower this year. I ran nice and easy the first mile only to look down when my GPS beeped to read 7:20. The exact same time as last year (and faster than my first mile at the Rockford Marathon where I ran my PR in May). That was the bad news. The good news was that I felt spectacular. Even though that pace felt super easy I made a conscious effort to slow down anyway. For the trail was not nearly as congested as it had been the previous year at this point. Despite the superior weather conditions (sunny rather than snow storm) everyone else was moving slower.

I hit the second mile at 7:29. So much for slowing down. It still felt really easy. I was barely exerting any effort. Still, I decided (once again) to consciously slow down. I hit the third mile in 7:23. Oh, come on. This was too easy. That would be the best I felt all day. We entered the single track trail through the woods, ran down a hill, over a creek, and started back up the other side when my world began to fall apart. This was not going to be my day.

After the first miserable uphill I walked I tried to shake it off and continue on like nothing had happened. I got back up to a comfortable pace on the flat sections of the course, but on the next uphill I found myself gasping for air and walking once again. If after four miles I wanted to quit, then after six miles I really wanted to quit. At this point I decided to stop racing. At the current rate I couldn't possibly have finished. Instead I slowed down (a lot) in the hope of just dragging myself to the finish line, regardless of time or place. Tecumseh was now a training run. Or so I told myself.

I ran super slow the next four miles, frequently stepping aside to let people pass me on the trail. At the 10.6 mile aid station Ken passed me. Prior to the race I was voted by the others the mostly likely to finish the fastest of our group, and as such I was entrusted with the only key to Ken's car. Here, 16 miles from the finish and still slowing down, I quickly whipped out the key from my back pocket and handed it to Ken, who kept it for the remainder of the race.

I ate a banana at this aid station and it actually started to bring me back to life. For the first time in many miles I didn't feel like I was about to die. Ken pulled quite some distance ahead as I walked up the next few hills. Once I got to the flat and downhill sections I just ran a comfortable pace and I actually caught back up with his pack. The thought entered my mind that I might actually be able to keep up with him until the end. Of course, the next uphill section would put that thought out of my mind and I fell behind again. But what goes up must come down and before I knew it we were together again (briefly) at the 15.8 mile aid station. We were running different races, but by not keeping up with him I had just kept up with him for five miles. We ascended once more, and once more I was alone.

Prior to this point I just felt bad for much of the race, but around miles 16-17 I actually started to get tired. I wasn't picking my feet up, and as a result I stumbled a few times. I almost went down around mile 17, though I was able (with great determination) to stay upright. But this came at the cost of both calves, both hamstrings, and my right hip cramping at the same time while I tried to catch myself. Shaken, I walked for a bit with my head hung low. After a couple minutes I heard someone yell at me from behind, "Hey, you missed the turn."

You have to pay attention.

I got back on the trail and started running, fighting cramping muscles. There was a big hill at mile 19, a moderate hill at mile 21, then it was mostly downhill to the finish. I got another banana in me and, again, it brought me partly back to life. I was able to pick up the pace a little and before I knew it I had caught up with and passed Ken... just in time to trip and go down. I remained on the ground long enough to work out the cramp in my calf. Then I was back up and moving quickly again.

I had to concentrate really hard through a short, beautiful section of pine forest where the tree roots stuck up really far from the trail. As much as I had been dragging my feet I thought for sure I was going to hit the deck again. I didn't.

My pace continued to increase. I wasn't running for a faster time. I was running to get to the finish faster so I could stop running sooner. People often joke about doing exactly this, but I'm completely serious here. I took a short break to walk up the final hill with less than a mile remaining then ran all the way through the finish. Heading into the chute I caught up with a young woman who heard me cough right behind her and took off that last few meters. I congratulated her on the fast finish after the race at which point she informed me she thought my cough sounded like a woman and she really wanted to keep her top 10 finishing place. Ha!

I finished in 4:20, my slowest marathon yet (by a mere two minutes). Last year, on the same course, in the snow storm, I ran 3:54. That was a really great race for me. I knew I didn't have the fitness for the same performance again this year, but (given the better conditions) I thought for sure I would be able to equal that time. No dice.

This was a very strange race for many reasons, perhaps the strangest I've ever run. I felt great, then crappy, then okay, the crappy, then just fine (and so on). I ran fast, then slow, then moderate, then slow, then fast (etc). I was freezing, then comfortable, then hot, then cold, then hot, then cold. I actually ran about 8 miles wearing a single glove because my left hand was cold but my right hand was not.

The really strange thing, though, is that none of these dichotomies coincided with each other. I ran fast while feeling good. I ran fast while feeling bad. I ran slow while feeling good. I ran slow while feeling bad. I was hot while running slow. I was cold while running fast. And every other permutation of the aforementioned states.

Anyway, I wasn't thrilled with the outcome of this race, but I did finish and I did learn some valuable lessons. Namely, you can't run as fast when you're sick as you can when you're healthy, AND trying to do so will make for a fairly unpleasant experience.

The End of November

2009-12-01T23:31:00.001-06:00

Photo of the Day

Running

I ran farther in November than any other month this year, averaging over 10 miles per run. This is mostly due to my long weekend trail runs. I also had a pretty good race at FOLEPI.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	109.34 Mile	10	10.934 Mile
February	55.83 Mile	7	7.97571 Mile
March	108.792 Mile	10	10.8792 Mile
April	74.85 Mile	8	9.35625 Mile
May	64.5669 Mile	9	7.1741 Mile
June	7. Mile	1	7. Mile
July	0	0	0
August	16.3 Mile	5	3.26 Mile
September	39.78 Mile	7	5.68286 Mile
October	42.52 Mile	7	6.07429 Mile
November	112.5 Mile	11	10.2273 Mile
Total	637.258 Mile	76	8.38498 Mile

Cycling

The only thing worth noting about my cycling is just how out of shape I am on the bike. Just three long rides were enough to make me ponder how my cycling can suck so bad when I'm in such great shape for running...

November 2009

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	61.2 Mile	16	3.825 Mile
El Fuego	20.78 Mile	1	20.78 Mile
Pocket Rocket	45.25 Mile	4	11.3125 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	91.97 Mile	2	45.985 Mile
Total	219.2 Mile	23	9.53043 Mile

January - November 2009

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	595.35 Mile	135	4.41 Mile
Big Red	12.07 Mile	4	3.0175 Mile
El Fuego	75.2 Mile	8	9.4 Mile
Pocket Rocket	329.78 Mile	44	7.495 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	1791.58 Mile	43	41.6647 Mile
Total	2803.98 Mile	234	11.9828 Mile

Walking

I supplemented my short marathon training schedule with many hours of walking, mostly to and from work, but also around the neighborhood with Will. I really think getting all these extra miles in my legs has helped tremendously.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	0	0	0
February	3.75 Mile	2	1.875 Mile
March	0	0	0
April	8.51 Mile	4	2.1275 Mile
May	6.7 Mile	4	1.675 Mile
June	11. Mile	3	3.66667 Mile
July	29.52 Mile	10	2.952 Mile
August	35.02 Mile	14	2.50143 Mile
September	29.82 Mile	12	2.485 Mile
October	19.42 Mile	9	2.15778 Mile
November	41.17 Mile	12	3.43083 Mile
Total	184.91 Mile	70	2.64157 Mile

The FOLEPI River Trail Classic

2009-11-30T23:16:00.001-06:00

On Saturday morning I ran the FOLEPI River Trail Classic 4-mile race in East Peoria. This is a race that I had run once before (in 2003) and I liked it. This race is quite unique in that it is a point-to-point race which is almost entirely downhill (at railroad grade so it's not steep at all, just fast Fast FAST). Since we were in Peoria for Thanksgiving I decided to give it another shot.

As Melissa pointed out to me before the race, yes, I am running a marathon next weekend. I've done very little speed work this fall, instead focusing on long distance. Still, what's the worst that could happen?

Will and Rob pre-race

In my warm-up confusion I somehow caught the very last bus to leave the finish/registration area to head to the start. We arrived after the designated start time, though fortunately they waited. I hurried to the start line just in time to... stand around. After several minutes of waiting with little-to-no instructions a young woman (parade queen?) very softly said "Ready, set, go" at which point, I assume, the race started. I wasn't really sure. My GPS had turned off during the long wait, so it was just as caught off guard as I was. I eventually got it going about 50 seconds into the race.

Every race has a handful of people who want to start at the very front who really have no business starting at the very front, and this race was no exception. In fact there seemed to be a greater number than usual, as it took me quite a while to pick my way through. I thought this would do well to slow me down, but it didn't so much. The first mile was completely flat (the only flat part of the course) and I kept reeling in the fast starters. I crossed the 1-mile mark in 5:32. Hey, that's the fastest mile I've run in probably six years. And I still had nearly an entire 5K race left to go.

On the one hand I thought I was probably going too fast. On the other hand I knew the next three miles were all downhill. That would help, but would it be enough? Instead of easing back I pushed on. I reeled in a few more fast starters with a 5:38 second mile. I hadn't slowed down as much as I expected, but it took a lot out of me.

The third mile was much the same, slowing down a little bit to 5:43. As soon as I crossed the 3-mile mark a couple guys I passed earlier passed me back. Uh-oh. I was slowing down and the trail was starting to flatten out a bit. It was all I could do to not completely crack in the last mile. It wasn't pretty, but I eked out a 5:51 4th mile. There were a few more runners hot on my heels by the finish, but nobody else passed me.

So, I'm guessing my final time was somewhere in the ballpark of 22:44. Sure, it was mostly downhill, but still not bad for very little speed work. We left for Thanksgiving with my family right after the race ended, and the results haven't been posted yet, so I don't know my placing. Melissa and I both estimated somewhere around 15th place or so. In 2003 I ran 22:24 for 6th place, so the competition was much stronger this year. Anyway, I like this race for the sheer novelty of running three miles downhill, if nothing else.

Update: The results have been posted. I finished 15th overall (good estimate) and 2nd in the 30-34 age group.

The Super Secret Storage Room

2009-11-25T11:51:00.001-06:00

When Melissa & I were looking for a house we were intrigued by the "bonus storage room" listed for the house we eventually bought. This is an unfinished room above the garage that happens to be quite large (24' x 8'). The terminology for this room has evolved from bonus storage room to extra bonus storage room to extra secret storage room to super secret storage room and all other permutations of these words. In fact, I'm not sure we've ever used the same name twice.

Anyway, it's a great room, in that we can store lots of stuff in there. Conversely, it's a horrible room that allows us to accumulate lots of stuff and cram it in there with no organization whatsoever. Hoping to allow for better organization I started building shelves in this room about nine months ago.

This morning I finished.

What, it's not like I haven't been busy.

Anyway, the shelves are 24' long and stretch all the way down one side of the room, and they include an 8' work bench.

The Thorn

2009-11-23T12:03:00.001-06:00

If you don't have answers to your problems after a four-hour run, you ain't getting them. -Born to Run

The Tecumseh Trail Marathon is coming up on December 5. Rather than the typical 16-week training program I would follow for a big road marathon, I adopted the less conventional 5-week crash course training program for this race.

I ran this race last year and it was incredibly difficult. The course is very hilly, with thousands of feet of ascents and even more of descents (it's a point to point course with a net loss in elevation).

I'm not terribly worried, for a few reasons.

I feel no pressure. This isn't like the 2001 Chicago Marathon or 2009 Illinois Marathon, where I worried about the race for months and choked on race day. This is more like the 2008 Tecumseh Marathon or 2009 Rockford Marathon where I didn't concern myself with place or time and just went for a run. Those were two of the best races of my life.

I feel better on the long runs than I ever have before. This is fairly surprising given that I took the summer off from running and ran only short distances in the early fall. By mid-October I decided to push myself and run 11 miles (the farthest I had run in 5 months) on the Allerton trails and I was sore for a week. Somehow things just magically came together.

Since the Allerton Trail Race I've alternated long runs at Lake Mingo and Forest Glen, running 14.2 at Mingo, then 16 at F.G., then 21.3 at Mingo, then 16 at F.G. These are 2-3.5 hour long runs on fairly challenging trails, yet the miles have passed so easily for me... easier than they ever have before.

Forest Glen 11 mile loop and 5 mile loop

Lake Mingo 7.1 mile loop

The past month or so I've been paying a lot more attention to my diet, eating a lot more higher quality, natural, unprocessed food--lots and lots of vegetables and fruits. My blood pressure has dropped noticeably, I've shed a couple of excess pounds, and I don't feel like crap after meals.

I've drawn a tremendous amount of inspiration from reading the book Born to Run. It's incredibly well written and covers everything from history and science to tips on form/training/nutrition/life, all while building up to the story of the "greatest race the world has never seen." I couldn't put the book down and when I finished I read it again. I haven't felt this hungry to be out on the trails since I was in high school.

The only thorn in my plans so far has been, literally, a thorn in my foot. 9 miles into my 21 mile run last weekend I stepped on a thorn, which isn't all that rare. This thorn, however, went all the way through my shoe and into my left foot. I felt the pain and immediately hopped on my right foot until I could slow down and stop. At first I thought it was just poking me so I gave it a tug and the thorn broke off flush with the bottom of my shoe. Then I tried to take my shoe off, but that required sliding my foot out, which I couldn't do because the thorn was still stick in both my foot and my shoe.

After about five minutes of trying to get a grip on the fraction of a millimeter of the thorn still sticking out I eventually just shoved a stick in my shoe (like a shoe horn) and pried my foot away from the shoe enough to get the thorn out and slide my shoe off. It was fairly unpleasant. With the shoe off though I was able to pull the thorn out of it and continue on down the trail. I didn't know whether I'd be able to walk, let alone run. It was tender for a couple hundred meters then I forgot all about it. I ended up running 12 more miles before calling it a day.

I thought my problems were all over, but after the 45 minute drive home I couldn't even walk on it my foot hurt so bad. I limped all day Monday and even stayed home from work on Tuesday. By Wednesday I could walk short distances, and by Thursday it felt just barely not-horrible-enough to walk to work. By Friday the pain was virtually gone.

Now that this scare is over I'm headed full steam ahead. It's still early to tell what's going to happen at Tecumseh, but I feel pretty good about it.

"Don't fight the trail," Caballo called back over his shoulder. "Take what it gives you." -Born to Run

The Gift of Brownies

2009-11-10T21:53:00.001-06:00

Simpsons episode CABF14, Trilogy of Error:
Homer: Oooo! Can I have a brownie?
Marge: They're for after dinner.
Homer: Oooo! Can I have dinner?

I am a brownie fiend. You all know it. I was fortunate to receive a very unique gift for my birthday a couple weeks ago, a gift certificate to an online gourmet brownie store (Vermont Brownie Company). I ordered a box of their Signature Brownies and a box of Peanut Butter Brownies.

Oh. My. Goodness. Are they ever delicious.

The first couple I ate cold, directly from the fridge, and they were good. But then I started to microwave them for 25-30 seconds, which is so much better.

Anyway, I love the brownies. Thanks so much to Michelle, Mark, & Logan!

The Foliage

2009-11-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

or as Marge Simpson would say, foilage.

The End of October

2009-11-03T23:16:00.001-06:00

Photo of the Day

Running

My running finally appears to be getting back on track. I had a decent race at Allerton. It's only three days into November and I've already run half of my total October mileage. I might as well run another marathon, right? Don't worry, it's a trail marathon (Tecumseh, December 5th) so it won't beat me up as badly. At least, that's the theory under which I am presently working.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	109.34 Mile	10	10.934 Mile
February	55.83 Mile	7	7.97571 Mile
March	108.792 Mile	10	10.8792 Mile
April	74.85 Mile	8	9.35625 Mile
May	64.5669 Mile	9	7.1741 Mile
June	7. Mile	1	7. Mile
July	0	0	0
August	16.3 Mile	5	3.26 Mile
September	39.78 Mile	7	5.68286 Mile
October	42.52 Mile	7	6.07429 Mile
Total	540.568 Mile	66	8.19043 Mile

Cycling

Yikes! 10 months into 2009 and I still have less than half the mileage on the bike as I did in 2008. I need to get on the ball here.

On the bright side, I bought a new bike frame for racing in triathlons and time trials. It's titanium and it weighs three pounds. Now all I have to do is buy the remaining components, assemble the bike, sell my old Litespeed (which you'll notice does not even appear in the table below, meaning I haven't ridden it a single time this year). Oh, and train so I don't totally embarrass myself.

October 2009

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	61.2 Mile	16	3.825 Mile
El Fuego	20.78 Mile	1	20.78 Mile
Pocket Rocket	45.25 Mile	4	11.3125 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	91.97 Mile	2	45.985 Mile
Total	219.2 Mile	23	9.53043 Mile

January - October 2009

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	566.35 Mile	129	4.39031 Mile
Big Red	12.07 Mile	4	3.0175 Mile
El Fuego	75.2 Mile	8	9.4 Mile
Pocket Rocket	326.18 Mile	43	7.58558 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	1730.17 Mile	41	42.1993 Mile
Total	2709.97 Mile	225	12.0443 Mile

Walking

Unfortunately, the cold weather has kept me from walking as much with Will as I did during the summer. I have started walking to work a couple times per week in order to get a few extra non-running miles into my legs before this trail marathon.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	0	0	0
February	3.75 Mile	2	1.875 Mile
March	0	0	0
April	8.51 Mile	4	2.1275 Mile
May	6.7 Mile	4	1.675 Mile
June	11. Mile	3	3.66667 Mile
July	29.52 Mile	10	2.952 Mile
August	35.02 Mile	14	2.50143 Mile
September	29.82 Mile	12	2.485 Mile
October	19.42 Mile	9	2.15778 Mile
Total	147.74 Mile	59	2.50407 Mile

The Tale of Two Trails

2009-10-25T23:56:00.003-05:00

The Allerton Trail Race was this morning. As you may recall, I've been scouting the course the past two weekends.

On the 11th the course was flooded pretty badly in four places. Everywhere else the trail was muddy, but runnable. The water came right up to the edge of the trail.

On the 18th the water was a couple feet lower and there was no real flooding.

On the 25th (race day) the right height was, well, this chart speaks for itself.

The water was 3.5 feet higher than it was when there was serious flooding. Half the trail was literally under water. Fortunately, the race organizers changed the course to keep this a running race rather than a swimming race. The new course used some parts of the old trail, but added a few new parts that have never been used before.

Despite my best intentions of starting out easy, I started out fast. I quickly settled into 10th place before the end of the first mile. We crossed the big meadow where the finish line is located, but we were just getting started. The big rolling hills slowed me down, but they slowed everyone else down too. We ran back into the woods towards the minotaur before heading down a large set of stairs, only to immediately turn around and run right back up them.

A short distance later we hit water. This wasn't a crossing, it was knee deep standing water on the trail. For 200 meters. I leaped through it only to find the trail very uneven and root-covered under the water (where I couldn't see it). After a couple hundred meters the people in front of me finally decided it was better to run through moderately dense brush beside the trail than to brave the water any longer. I followed suit, as I'm sure did everyone behind.

With the frigid water behind my wet calves were now numb and I was running even slower. As we approached the Sun Singer I noticed the leader was heading back down the trail towards me, having already circumnavigated the Sun Singer. I thought this was peculiar because some of the race volunteers informed me that the new route included a half mile section of road... but the only road around was straight ahead (i.e. not the direction the leader was running). This meant one of two things, either my good friends gave me incorrect information, or the leader was off the course. Ugh.

As I reached the Sun Singer I witnessed a bit of chaos. A few people had run all the way around it and were now wondering where to go. The volunteers did not know. When I got half way around I noticed painted arrows on the road indicating a turn which none of the first 5-6 runners took. I was in a group of 4 who all made that turn.

Further chaos ensued about a half mile later when the 3 new leaders (who were not the original 3 leaders) continued down the road past another painted arrow on the road indicating a turn. Again, the group of 4 I was in made the turn. Suddenly I was in the lead pack. One of the runners from the lead pack (who had been off the course twice at this point) turned around and quickly caught up to us, while the others disappeared.

Here's a (time-accurate) comparison of my 2008 (red) vs. 2009 (blue) Allerton trail race. Something funky happened with my GPS in the last half mile of the 2009 race. I didn't cut the course, I swear!

I finished the race reasonably well. I almost caught up to the guy I had been chasing (10 meters behind) since the half mile mark. I barely edged out (by split second) a challenger from behind. I finished 5th place. I probably deserved 10th.

I have mixed feelings about the results. On the one hand, from the sportsmanship point of view, other racers deserved to finish ahead of me. On the other hand, trail racing is not like track or road racing. You really have to pay attention to the course markings. All of the turns the lead runners missed were marked. Granted, the course was new and nobody had run it before.

I won a hat for finishing 2nd in my age group. Fig seemed to like it.

The Five Stages of a Fit

2009-10-24T11:39:00.001-05:00

My Name is Rob

February 2010 Stats

Photo of the Day

Running

Cycling

Cross Country Skiing

Walking

The Great Room Swap of '010

January Stats

Photo of the Day

Running

Cycling

Cross Country Skiing

Walking

Riddle Run 11

More shortlist

Shortlist

Little guy

Commuteski

Mistaken Identities

Lights and such

Getting things done

The End of 2009

Photo of the Day

Races

Running

Cycling

Swimming

Walking

Skiing

Scooter

Blog

The William Hammock

The Chia Gel

The Most Adorable Fit I've Ever Seen

The Strangest Marathon

The End of November

Photo of the Day

Running

Cycling

Walking

The FOLEPI River Trail Classic

The Super Secret Storage Room

The Thorn

The Gift of Brownies

The Foliage

The End of October

Photo of the Day

Running

Cycling

Walking

The Tale of Two Trails

The Five Stages of a Fit

Mistaken Identities