by Adam Hawkins

My New Year’s Resolution for 2011 was simple: I would participate in a race or a triathlon every month. Since I love trail running, I tried to find as many trail races as close to home as possible.  Luckily, there would be a trail race held in March in nearby Clinton.

This was the first year a 10 mile race was offered at Clinton Lake. It is held in conjunction with a 30 mile ultra on the same day. I knew a 30 miler was out of the question, but I figured I’d be okay doing a 10 mile race.

The past few weeks of training had not gone smoothly. I had been suffering a fever and chest congestion. In spite of being on vacation, my ailments did not allow for many good miles. Nevertheless, I had paid my fee, and I was going to race.

I took off for Clinton before dawn. I stopped at a Circle K in Forsyth to grab a few bananas. About 30 minutes later, I had arrived at the race start. The bad part…I had accidentally gone to the 30 mile race check-in. After traversing back to Route 54, I got to the proper check in and prepared myself.

Bus transportation from our area to the start/finish was mandatory. The bus left at 7am, our race was not set to start until 8am. That was a long time to be out on a cold morning. Everywhere I looked, people in tights were shivering. Some were hopping up and down in an effort to keep warm.  I can’t remember the last time I was so cold at a race.

After a few words of thanks and instructions, we were off. There weren’t a large number of runners. As usual, I started out slow. We were on asphalt for a bit, and then we turned into the woods.

The trails surrounding Clinton Lake were in great shape. I found myself in the middle of a 4-person pack. We were together for the first few miles. Knowing that my fitness was not where it needed to be, I took it easy, walking most of the uphills.

I felt pretty good through the first part of the race. There was an aid station just past mile 5. Since there was an ultra going on at the same time, the aid station had Success sports drink, fruit and salty snacks. I grabbed a quick drink, some fruit and headed back into the woods.

While I was feeling a bit tired, I kept concentrating on the next mile marker. I kept walking the uphills, but it seemed like my recovery time kept increasing after every one. I found myself walking more and more.

After mile 7, I found myself in quasi-survival mode. My lack of training was starting to become more apparent. Once I passed mile 8, I started hitting the water bottle. I passed mile 9 and felt my right calf starting to cramp. I paused to stretch, and thankfully, it never seized up on me.

I crossed the road and entered the parking lot, curving around the cars toward the finish line. I was going at a decent clip, and felt relieved that it was over. I had finished in 2:04.

I took some water and fruit and waited for the bus to take us back to our cars. The volunteers had made four kinds of homemade soup, and bread was available, too. There was also a pony keg of Murphy’s Stout beer.

The goodie bag included a LaSportiva technical shirt, a copy of Trail Runner magazine, a nice pen and two tubes of lib balm. Overall, a fine offering.

I was very impressed with the organization of this race. Mile markers on the course were great. The aid station was awesome, and the post-race offerings were top notch. The goodie bag was solid, and the race was close to home.

I recommend The Clinton Lake Trail Race to any trail running fan.

-Hawk

Adam Hawkins is the Creative Services Director for Neuhoff Media Radio.

by Peter Wise

I like symmetry in my world. If am doing my first half Ironman, then I might as well do the first half Ironman to be held in Branson, Mo. Mike Comerford raised the idea of the new Branson race last November. The discussion gained steam at his wife’s birthday party. By the end of the night, four of us, Comerford, Scott Harry, Diane Hillard Sembell and I had agreed to register. Diane must have been the most sober because she did not hit the send key.

With a date of Sept. 19th, I suspect that the race organizers visioned an early fall day with lows in the upper 50′s and highs in the upper 70′s. High pressure would dominate so there would be no wind and low humidity. Perfect weather for racing. Perfect weather for camping. Other than the absence of wind, this vision did not come to pass.

I did a little research on how the town of Branson was named. Turns out that Branson is an acronym for

• Ball busting hills
• Ridiculous hills
• Ass kicking hills
• Never ending hills
• Sick hills
• Ominous hills
• Narly hills (according to Missourians, narly is an acceptable spelling of gnarly)

I consider myself as having friends in the local multisport community. Right now I am wondering where these friends were when I started talking about doing Branson.  A true friend would have given me a gentle dope slap and would have pointed out that Branson is smack dab in the middle of the OZARK MOUNTAINS. One evening at the New City time trials was the only time anyone expressed any concern for my well-being. Dave Bagot gravely spoke to me about Branson’s hills, heat and humidity. Thanks Dave. I should have listened.

Camp Tony

We were not able to put three bikes on one vehicle so we struck out for Branson mid morning on the Friday before the race in two cars. The idea was to set up camp and relax knowing that Saturday would be a busy prelude to Sunday’s race.

We had an easy drive to Collinsville before Scott’s Oldsmobile van nearly expired on I 55. In quick succession the van lost power steering, electronics and began overheating. We limped to an exit, turned right for no particular reason and nearly ran into a GM dealership with a Mr. Goodwrench shop. The shop had the parts and manpower to fix the broken serpentine belt, water pump and other assorted problems. Mike and I continued on in his Jetta so that we could set up camp. Maybe we should have found a VW dealership as well because he had no AC.

We arrived at our campsite around 6:30. Scott made up some serious time and arrived shortly thereafter. Some might question our decision to camp given potential weather issues and the like. I like to camp because you don’t have to rely on restaurant food. But you are at the mercy of who is camping next to you. Right after Scott arrived an older black Lincoln Town Car pulled into the campsite next to us. Out spilled Tony who was more than happy to strike up a conversation with us and be our campground “friend”. Things were going from bad to worse as he hung up a coonskin cap, and buried a hatchet blade in a tree. He advised that he liked to play video games and planned to play all night. Then he cracked open the first of many malt beverages.

To deter Tony from any more attempts at discourse we busied ourselves with camp chores such as dinner. We ate like kings. We baked sweet potatoes, walleye fillets and wild King Salmon over open coals. In the end Tony was OK. He did keep us up for a while Friday night with the electronic pinging of his computer video games. Over the course of the weekend we asked him to watch over the thousands of dollars of gear we had at the campsite when we were away.

Saturday blew by. We were first in line at race check in at 10:00. We then dropped some serious coin at the expo on Branson 70.3 gear and stuff that we either forgot or convinced ourselves that we needed. After a good but lengthy race briefing we collected our gear to set up our transitions. This race was a two transition site race. T1 was at Moonshine beach, on Table Rock Lake, the swim venue, while T2 was in downtown Branson. Slogging through the Branson traffic in the heat was very tiring. After these tasks were accomplished we decided to drive the bike course. We nearly cried. I don’t know if the pictures do justice to the steepness and length of the hills of the OZARK MOUNTAIN High Road which made up about 75 percent of the bike course. Other parts of the course had shorter hills. But at least they were steeper.

Abigail, “Wake Up”

We ate an early dinner Saturday night. My wife’s eggplant lasagna was the main course of our pre race meal. The idea was to get to bed and sleep. But it was too damn hot to sleep. But a young lady named Abigail found a way to sleep. She over served herself. We had dozed off only to be wakened by a gaggle of Abbey’s drunk girlfriends giggling and pounding on a car window and pleading for Abbey to wake up. They must have stopped to use the bathrooms which were across from our campsite. Abbey had passed out with the keys locked in the car. We were sorely tempted to assist their drunken efforts with Tony’s hatchet.

The Swim

4:30 came very early. We ate quickly so we could cheat and park in the lot of the Chateau Hotel near the swim start. At the race briefing the race director forbade anyone from doing so. Too bad. We were not going to drive eight miles into Branson to stand in line for a shuttle when we were less than two miles from the hotel and swim start. As a precaution, Mark Lee gave us a room key so that we could assert that we were hotel guests if we were challenged. Thanks Mark. We slipped into the lot with no trouble.

Being a part of 1400 adrenalin charged triathletes milling about in the dark was a bit surreal. The sun did not come up until twenty five minutes before the start of the race. The swim waves started on time. The water was calm but not “crystal clear” as billed on the race website. The race was barely wetsuit legal. You had four to six feet of visibility. My wave of two hundred swimmers consisted of two age groups, 45 to 50 and 50 to 54. I was able to break out of the pack and find clear lanes to cruise to a 33 min swim. Comerford and Harry also had good swims. My transition was going smoothly until it was time to put on my right shoe. It was nowhere to be found. Panic. My transition neighbor must have had a bull in a china shop transition and kicked my stuff around. I found my shoe under his wet suit and towel. Not cool.

The Bike or Andy Schleck, I Know Your Pain

From the shore of Table Rock Lake there was only one way to reach the OZARK MOUNTAIN High Road. A seven mile rolling climb through the 100% humidity pea soup mist. The air temperature was also climbing. Climbing out the mist to the OZARK MOUNTAIN High Road we were rewarded with clear skies, a beautiful view and a sphincter shutting descent consisting of a very step pitch, a short section that leveled off somewhat, and then another steep pitch with a sweeping curve. The pavement was perfectly smooth, the road was closed to traffic and there was no wind. The drill was to get aero and fly. However, the fun came to an end when the road started back uphill. Looking at 9 MPH on the long uphill grinds was painful. After the race I was shocked to see my max speed for the day. My first lap on the OZARK MOUNTAIN High Road went well. I followed Dungan’s advice and did not attack the hills. The second lap was going equally well until I was coming off a downhill to an uphill section and I shifted to my small chainring. Disaster struck when I dropped my chain. I had ridden almost 1700 miles over the spring and summer without a single gear shift hiccup. Why now? Hey Andy, the Spaniard didn’t stop for me either. I pulled to the shoulder and put the chain back on. It took two or three attempts to develop enough momentum to stay upright and clip in. I had to stand to develop enough speed to climb the remainder of the hill. That is when the cramping started in my quads.

The next downhill allowed time for recovery. But not enough recovery. On the next uphill I perceived that I was close to irreversible cramping. I pedaled as lightly as possible and still move up the hill. This provided relief. Scott and Mike passed me and offered words of encouragement. The pain eased and I forged on. I was bummed that I could not hammer the rolling downhill stretch into Branson. Mike caught Scott on this stretch and they rode into T2 together. Their prototype Trek Looney Tunes tri bikes were the talk of the race. Once in transition I spent a few minutes stretching and I bathed my legs in Biofreeze. That did the trick and I was ?ne for the rest of the day.

This being my first 70.3 I am in no position to judge the bike course. So I will offer the assessment of Kelly Williamson, the pro who won the women’s race. “This bike course is probably the toughest bike course I have ever done,” said an exuberant Williamson after the race. “It was just one huge hill after another, they just never stopped.” Amen sister.

Helter Swelter

Coming off the bike I realized that I was soaked with sweat. T2, an asphalt parking lot, was cooking. The temperature had soared into the low 90′s. With my goal time in serious jeopardy, I promised myself that I would not walk at all during the run. I held to my promise for the first of the three shadeless loops. But on the second lap I began to feel lightheaded so I reminded myself that promises are made to be broken. The flat run course took us through the heart of the outdoor shopping mall known as the Branson Landing. This section of the run course was lined with crowds of spectators that were cheering their hearts out for racers they did not know. Children were reaching onto the course to give us high fives. I damn near cried. I did not walk on this section of the course. Running under the finishing arch is an indescribable feeling. It is a feeling that I want to experience again. The race finished at the fountain of the Branson light water and ?reworks show. The fountain is fed by the 55 degree spring fed water of the White River that runs along the Landing. Many finishers took a post race chill the fountain. AAHHHHHHHH!”

The Verdict

All of us had good races. On this day anyone who earned a finishing medal had a good race. Scott Harry finished in the top third overall. Mike Comerford put together a stellar swim, bike and run for his first 70.3. My swim was the seventh fastest in the 50-54 age group. Overall, I finished near the top third of the age group. I’ll take that for my first 70.3. I hope that my hyperbole about the bike course does not deter others from entering this race in the future. Judging from positive post race discussion in the blogosphere (Slowtwitch), the Branson 70.3 is here to stay. It was a well run and challenging race. A bit of advice. Train for the hills. I will be back for the downhills. That way I can put my head down and scream like the kid I am at heart. Aren’t all of us that like to swim and bike and run just kids at heart?

How do you measure a good weekend race experience? If rain and thunderstorms result in the cancellation of the youth race and then turn the transition area of the age group racing into a quagmire but you still had a good time, then that is a good race weekend. So it was with the 2010 Des Moines Hy Vee triathlon.

For years, my sister who lives in Des Moines has been suggesting that I do the Hy Vee triathlon. With the Branson 70.3 in my future, Des Moines was a good training race due the hilly terrain of West Des Moines.

The race website is first-rate. Check it out at hy-veetriathlon.com. After registering, I received a weekly newsletter which kept me informed about all manner of race information. One of the big draws of the weekend is the pro race. The Des Moines pro race has the largest purse of the year for the ITU circuit with 200K for the winner of the men’s and women’s race. Needless to say, the righteous Benjamins bring out some serious talent.

On Friday morning the 11th we left the heat and humidity of Springfield for the heat and humidity of Des Moines. While it is hardly possible Des Moines has had more rain this June than Springfield. Race weekend was no exception.

Having a place to stay other than a hotel or campsite makes an out-of-town race seem like home. My sister and her family were great hosts. They were as excited as Eric and I about the racing. My sister had scouted the website and venue and had maps and advice about routes and parking. After arriving, we drove to the race venue to check things out and check in Eric’s bike for the youth race on Saturday morning. Despite the heat, humidity and swamp like conditions, Raccoon River Park was a beehive of activity. Everywhere you turned there was a Hy-Vee race volunteer with a smile and an answer to your question. I was a kid in a candy store at the exposition area which featured all manner of clothing, bikes and other tri gear. Eric and I checked out the grandstand with its quarter-mile of blue carpet into the finishing area. Thinking that this was reserved for the pro racers, he expressed that it would be really cool to run into the finish area on the carpet. I told him, “look at your course map, this is how you finish.” He was totally fired up. After checking Eric in he wanted to leave so he could hang with his cousin. I returned to the race site to do a swim and then check in for Sunday’s race.

The swim venue was a small lake. Think a body of water about one-quarter the size of the main body of Lake Springfield. Visibility was no better. It was nice to have the opportunity to swim in the course and pick out some siting landmarks. The race check in was at a local high school only minutes from the race site. Racers were required to attend an informative race briefing before picking up a race packet. The briefings were held every twenty minutes, so there was not much standing around.

Eric’s race was scheduled for 7:30 Saturday morning. Given the limited parking at the park, shuttle points were established to ferry folks to the race. Separate shuttle points for races and spectators was a nice touch that kept things moving. Thunderstorms woke us up in the wee hours of the morning. We were up at 5:00 ready to go. A thirteen year old boy up at that hour is a testament to his excitement. Given the rain we checked the website. His race was delayed for three hours. We went back to bed. When we were up and out the door a couple of hours later the rain had stopped and the skies were clearing. That was short-lived. While waiting for a shuttle bus it started raining again. We were told that the race was canceled. Booo.

The free day allowed me to do a short run and then a bike ride. My sister’s husband gave me directions to a bike trail. The trail was washed out and muddy so I returned to the road and headed out-of-town. I had planned a fifteen mile ride. I was about to flip when I saw a water tower a couple of miles up the road. I rode to it only to find that I was in Grimes, IA. I knew that Grimes was not far from Dallas Center where my father grew up. I asked for directions and kept going. The energy gained by returning to my father’s roots more than made up for the extra distance. I ended putting in around thirty miles. Late in the day I checked in my bike, loaded up on my wife’s killer eggplant lasagna and we played a mean game of Monopoly.

Sunday morning dawned dry but you knew that would not last long. Once at the race site, I learned to my dismay that the race was shortened due to incoming weather. Turned out that was a good call. The race was now a sprint distance with a 400 yard swim, a twelve-mile bike and a 5K run. I was a bit late and had no chance to warm up my swim. I paid for that in the water. The bike felt pretty good. It began to rain just as I was finishing the bike. Then the skies opened up. Think biblical deluge. Think bolts of lighting and bone rattling thunder. At least it was not hot on the run.

I will most certainly return to do this race again. We did not stay for the pro race because we had to have Eric at Scout camp in Hettick, IL by dark. I want to see the pro race. If anyone is interested in racing in Des Moines my sister has plenty of room. She would like nothing better than to have her house turned into Hy-Vee race central.

- Peter

I guess this is the”official” third annual Capital City Biathlon (fourth year running). I have always loved this event, it was one of my first races I’ve ever competed in and it’s fun all around, plus it’s a local race with tons of friends around to “shoot the poop” with. Being lucky enough to be the previous winner for two years running I knew that it’s only a matter of time before my luck ran out. I was going into this race a little blind for my liking.  I didn’t have a chance to do my annual 5k prep race to see where my fitness was and TT practice on the bike was non-existent. On top of that, my running legs have been suffering a bit so I slowed up the training a bit going into this race.

I ran into Kyle Monroe at the Lincoln Half Marathon who was 3^rd place at the biathlon last year, he was in top-notch shape running the half in 1:14, but rumors were that he was injured and would not make the biathlon. I was also unsure of the 2^nd place Thomas Gerlach who was in premium shape as well, I decided not to remind him that the race was approaching in hopes that he would forget. So the chances that the day would be a “hell on earth” day for me were an unknown.

As the wife and I were driving around the lake in route to the race I spotted a rider getting a warm up ride in from their house, sure enough it was Kyle Monroe, damn! With subtle encouragement I almost nicked him with my side mirror. After passing I knew I should have, I just like him too much to do that, darn nice guys. The pre race was the normal hustle and bustle, trying to keep the nerves under control. Finding out that Thomas was a no-show was a little bit of a relief. I was excited to slip on the new Hardy Breed tri kit for the first time, I do wish it was a Speedo though.

Trying to keep myself cool at the start was a struggle, I knew my work was cut out for me. Before long the gun went off, by the looks of it you would think we were do a track workout. Kyle shot off the front with speed and power just like a pro, and damn did he looked slick in that Pearl Izumi tri kit, I was convinced I needed one. Trying to run my own pace I kept a close eye on Kyle, his first mile 5 minutes flat, mine 5:24, not going so good, lets hope this doesn’t keep up. Kyle was around 8 minutes at the turn around and I flipped about 8:35. I was on pace to be a low 17 which is where I thought I would be. Mile two and Kyle was gone, I was alone and falling off pace just a little. At this point of the run (and fairly normal for me) was the time where my mind wonders off, and I mean wonders! I was thinking of everything but the race, work, what I was going to have for lunch, what I was going to do on Sunday, should I go to the pool. By the time I hit the bridge I think I figured out that I really didn’t want to run that hard, I was comfortable with my fading pace. And a fading pace it was. I refused to look at my watch knowing that I wouldn’t be happy, I glanced down right before T1 and sure enough it wasn’t what I wanted, 17:35 is what I saw and I still had a few steps to go, 17:40 was my official run time (slower than last year), “oh well” I told myself out loud as I entered T1.

Grabbing my normal bike crap I took off, clipped in, and started the bike leg. My super hot wife was volunteering (looking mighty sexy I might add) on one of the first turns and as I passed I just shook my head, she knew I was in a bad spot and way down. I was certain I needed to make up at least a minute (1:26 to be exact) so I just put my head down and tried not to go out too hard. Keeping it at 27-28 mph is what I did in hopes of catching someone. South on Pawnee Rd is where I spotted Steve Schein who was part of a team (teams started 3 minutes earlier on the run). I was closing fast which surprised me a bit but I just used him as a target. I didn’t pass him until we hit New City Rd.  We’re good friends and he shouted some good words at me (unsure what they were but I’m certain he wasn’t rude, I know where he lives). I crested a roller and spotted another rider, “thank God” (actually spoken out loud). Then I could see two riders, I knew there was another team rider but couldn’t tell if Kyle was the first or second rider, I had to wait for the turn around to find out. The first rider passed after the turn around and it was a team rider, a smile grew across my face, I was probably around 30 seconds back from Kyle. I knew I just closed a huge gap but there was a lot more to go. We made eye contact when he flipped; he knows I’m hunting him down.

After the turn around I assumed that there would be a tail wind of some sort, maybe, just a little, NO. Who really knows which direction the wind was blowing but it felt like a head wind the whole way? I continued to close the gap little by little on New City Rd. Once we turned back north on Pawnee Rd my mind faded once again. This has to be some sort of medical condition, I now made up my mind on what to eat for lunch and how the rest of my long weekend was going to play out, no joke, this is really what I was thinking about. I hit Lake Shore Dr and realized that I made up no ground on Kyle while on Pawnee Rd.  I told myself I had to catch him so I put in a surge for about a minute, that’s all I could muster, I tried to keep the momentum but it didn’t hold. I was doing a good job at convincing myself that 2^nd place is still good and I should be happy with that, and I was. Lake Shore is a windy road so it was hard for me to tell how far back I was even though I could see Kyle in front of me. As we approached the final left hand turn off of Lake Shore and on to the final last stretch it dawned on me that I might be close enough to attack one last time, and I would be disappointed in myself if I didn’t at least give it another shot, so I did. I figured I had around 20 yards to close in a quarter-mile, so I buckled down for a lot of pain. I clamped down so hard I knocked the nose of my seat down. I passed the hottie volunteering and heard the piercing sound of her scream “catch himmmmmmmm”.  I pushed as hard as I could, I flew up behind and all I could think about was how he might see my shadow before I get there and he’ll sprint. Two seconds are not long enough to make a game plan so when I closed the gap all I had time to do was shift, stand, and sprint. As I let out a terrible scream across the finish line I knew I did something that I didn’t think I could do. I won.

Good thing Bob was there at the finish, I couldn’t get off my bike. That was pain you don’t feel everyday and frankly I don’t want to feel every day. I went straight for the grass and laid there for about five minutes without moving. After I got a small cool down run in with Dan (podium spot) and Scott Harry (old man yogurt) I was better. I got around to talking with Kyle and had to apologize for stealing the win, I truly felt bad. Kyle is an amazing athlete that deserves to win, that’s just how I feel, and he will win this race next year. And Kyle I hope your taking care of your body with all your crazy 12 hour races you’re doing, my wife is concerned, (yeah, I don’t understand that either). All in all it was a good race, you couldn’t ask for better groups of people out there. Hardy Breed Racing had a great show as well as the Springfield Tri Club with their new colors. Someone even tapped a couple of kegs, who could want more (maybe Kyle). Thanks to all who helped put this event on, keep it up.

- John

By Adam Hawkins

The St. Patrick’s Day 5K was held on March 14, 2010 in Bloomington, Illinois. This was my second consecutive year running this race.

I stopped to get gas in Forsyth on my way north to Bloomington and realized something…it was COLD! Was it this cold in Illiopolis? It didn’t feel like it when I walked to the car. Am I gonna freeze? Crap.

My GPS got me to the VFW Hall in Bloomington, (the race’s headquarters) about 12:15pm. The lot was almost full! I watched in envy as folks in running tights trotted by my car. I had left my vest on the back porch.

I made my way into the VFW Hall and back to packet pick-up. I was handed a beautiful long-sleeved, green tech shirt. Wow, nice!

I retreated back to my car to pin my number to my racing belt. I sipped my Aztec Wonder Juice aka iskiate (chia seeds and sports drink) and turned the heater on low. I can’t believe I forgot my vest.

Finally, I stripped off my sweats and shell and headed for the starting line. I did my best to keep myself warm. Am I really shivering? Ugh.

Logic told me that I’d be a bit warm in this long sleeve shirt, but I didn’t want to just leave it along the side of the road. Then, I spotted a buddy who was there as a spectator and he agreed to keep it for me.

So, there I was in shorts, bandana, a t-shirt and my work gloves! (Thankfully, I had those in the car.) We all crept toward the front of the starting line. Like last year, no megaphone, no sound system, just one guy yelling out instructions. Bang! And, we’re off!

Again, like last year, this was my first race of the calendar year. I have been working on form more than speed, and I had not timed myself in I don’t know how long. I was strictly running on feel.

The course took us through a residential neighborhood in Bloomington. There were no mile markers. I wanted to run a 23 minute race, so I had to run 7:24 miles. ‘Seven thirty-five’ was the first split. I knew I was in trouble. At least I wasn’t cold anymore.

I tried to pick up the pace for mile number two. As I rounded the corner I heard, ‘Fifteen minutes!’ Okay, that’s better, but I’m really going to have to haul to get there.

We all turned the last corner for the final straightaway, and I looked at my watch. It had been stopped at 1.4 seconds. Great! I tried to get that ‘finishing kick’, but my body was telling me we were doing just fine as is.

I crossed the finish line with 23-something on the clock. I knew I didn’t reach my goal.

After getting my shirt back from my buddy, it was time to redeem that free drink ticket back at the VFW Hall. Like last year, I was pleasantly surprised to see the results already hanging up in the doorway! The official time was 23:28. I was 28 seconds too slow.

I drank my green Miller Lite, and passed on the sugar cookies with green sprinkles.

Overall, this is a nice event. The tech shirt was a nice bonus this year, plus it’s chip timed and you get a FREE BEER at the end! For $18, I’d say that’s a pretty fair deal.

My final race stats: 14th in my age group (out of 40), 113th overall (596 participants)

- Adam

Let the fun begin

I am not sure where or how this adventure began or where the thought really came from.  The blame was partly put on Jeremy, but it is all a blur now.  I do believe the idea of doing the Goofy Race and a Half in Disney World in 2010 started with a simple conversation in late 2008 at the Memphis half marathon.  Just to be clear the Goofy Race and a Half consists of a half marathon on day 1 and a full marathon on day 2.  There were four of us: Amy Dolbeare, David Drennan, Nick Fogleman, and Jeremy “Many Names” Peck.  I remember talking about the race, but it was simply just talk. That changed, however, the day I received a text message from Jeremy “WTF” early in Jan of 09, and it read, “Goofy race is open and I am signed up.”  WTF!  Well we can’t let one friend go down in flames alone so I had to ask Amy and Nick “what are your thoughts on this, because it looks like mad man Jeremy already sign up.”  It wasn’t long after that all four of us were signed up for the race, which was going to take place Jan 9^th and 10^th of 2010.  We had a year to prepare, oh boy!  The year itself went on as normal with doing the local SRRC events and races.  It seemed that once Abe’s Amble and Shoreline were over, the reality of the event coming up started to sink in.  It was time to start focusing on the Goofy race and begin the training.  The first 3 or 4 weeks were put together with lower mile runs. Then, as we started increasing mileage, we put together a chart to keep us on track.  Looking back now, if I had to guess, I would say part of October and all of November and December we were never under 35-45 miles a week and 2 or 3 weeks with 50-60 miles a week.  For Amy and Nick, it was not only the Goofy Challenge, but also their first marathon.  The last few weeks before it was time to taper were the most important.  The first big weekend was the weekend of the Frostbite Festival. (I have to say a big thanks to Barry House and the Frost Toes or else there would have been some boring training days & non training days!!) The Saturday before was a 12-miler, then the day of the Frostbite we did a warm up of 10 miles, then the 10-mile race.  Everyone finished and faster than expected which was a good thing!  The next weekend had us down for a 14-mile run Saturday, and a 21-mile run Sunday.  Again everyone survived and felt pretty good.  After that, it was ice baths and lots of chocolate milk!!  We had hit our peak and now it was time to taper and rest up for FL.  The race was 3 weeks away and we all were confident we could at least finish.  Just to lead into the next section, I would like to mention that living in Springfield and training Sept-Jan, you deal with very different weather.  We ran in rain, snow, sleet, 70 degrees, 10 degrees and everything in between.  We experienced it all, but the majority was low 40s and 30s so we were a little concerned about what weather we will get in FL, will it be too HOT?! Hmmmm.

Race Time

During the week leading up to leaving, we had been checking the weather and it looked like highs of 40s! YES! We wouldn’t get overly hot in the FL heat.  The day before we left, a snow storm was scheduled to hit the Springfield/Bloomington area and our flight was out of Bloomington. Nick and Amanda left the day before so they were there safe; Amy, Megan and I decided to go to Bloomington the night before the flight so we weren’t driving the next morning in crappy weather.  Jeremy “Waffle Time” decided to be a mad man again and drive the morning of the flight.  Bloomington ended up with about 5-7 inches of snow, but there were no flight delays and we all made it to the airport in plenty of time.  However, I was in vacation mode and packed my shoes and opted for sandals because it was supposed to be warm in FL and also it would be faster at the airport security.  Well, thanks to the garbage bags I put on my feet, I managed to keep them dry until I got to the airport.  However, having a rear wheel drive car doesn’t help and I got stuck in the parking lot of the airport, “beached up” on some snow, as Jeremy called it.  I made it halfway in the spot and called it good. “I AM ON VACATION.”  The cold front that swept through the Midwest would also follow us down to FL.  The forecast had changed and now, on the day of the half marathon, it was expected to sleet and snow and the highs while we were in FL were in the upper 30s low 40s!  The expo was pretty nice and once again sucked me in to buying things I really didn’t need. What I was trying to find was a coat because I was freezing along with everyone else.  We are in FL and we wish we brought our winter coat, which is not a fun thought!  While picking up our packets at the Goofy check-in, we would hear a bell ring every once in a while; when we asked what that was, the lady said it was for someone who had run the Goofy all 5 years (which is how many years the race had been going).  Very impressive for those people and the list was longer than I expected. Some people must love torture.  Friday night before the half marathon, we decided to relax by experiencing Epcot at night during the magical hours! Probably not the best move since we had to be up at 3:30am to get on the bus to head to the race, but we were all nervous so I don’t think there was much sleeping anyway.  We made it up and got ready in our room only to step outside and feel the cold 30 degree FL weather!  Brrrrr!  Now off to the bus and race start. Once we checked our bags, we all headed to the Johnny on the Spot lines that took up an entire parking lot.  Even though our faces were numb, you could feel the sleet/snow mix hitting you.  Jeremy “Wild Man” found some trash bags we could wear to stay warm and dry until the race started at 5:40 am! They really didn’t help keep us warm, but mentally I think it did. Plus it had style!  While in the starting corral, we were picking up sweatshirts and blankets from people that were shedding them to stay warm until our wave went off.  Nick scored an amazing Bass Pro Shop sweatshirt!! Once we crossed the start line, it was game time. We started shedding our free clothes and trash bags and it was time to run! By mile 2 or 3, we started to warm up, but it was pitch black out.  The half marathon had about 17,000 people in it.  It was a mass of people most of the race and started getting light out about mile 9 or 10.  The half marathon was pretty boring, we were on highways up to magic kingdom, did a lap through there, and headed back to Epcot. The half went well for everyone, I pushed it a little too hard the last couple miles because the race mentality took over and I forgot we had a full marathon the next day. Whoops.  Finish times for the half were Amy Dolbeare –  2:13:58; Jeremy “Spice Rack” Peck – 2:14:02; Nick Fogelman – 2:14:01; David Drennan – 2:04:47.

We soon learned that surviving the race was only half the battle, now that we were wet and cold, we had to brave bag check (which was almost an all out brawl and we were FREEZING.)  After that, we had to wait in another line just to get on a bus to get back to the resort. Once we all made it back, showered, and ate, it was nap time.  Also time to put on the recovery socks, drink the Endurox, and prepare for the big day tomorrow.  Which again would be starting at 3:30am with a 5:40am race start time, booo!

Day Two, Marathon Day!

Again we are up and at’em but it was 30 out and felt like 0.  We headed to the bus and this time Nick’s wife Amanda came with us to take our bags so we could avoid bag check!  Thank God for her braving the cold so we could avoid the bag check. It made things a lot easier.  With about 30 minutes until race start, we are again in the massive sea of people waiting to use the bathroom.  Actually as I recall, Amy, Nick, and I were huddled up waiting for Jeremy “Morning Coffee” to use the bathroom!  We headed to the race start with sore legs, freezing, and new-found blankets on the side of the road.  All is fair in the starting corral or at least the guy peeing on the side made it seem so.  We slowly made our way up to the start line, ditched our homeless gear and started the marathon!!  It’s now 26.2 miles until the finish and the completion of the Goofy challenge which was the plan over a year ago, not to mention a first marathon for Amy and Nick!  The marathon course wraps around Epcot, heads up to Magic Kingdom, wraps back around down into Animal Kingdom, over to Hollywood Studios, across Boardwalk and back into Epcot. There were a lot more sites to see along this course, not to mention all the Disney characters that came out to cheer us on!  The marathon had about 16,000 people in it. A lot of people were getting off the course to wait in a line to have their pics taken with the characters, which is crazy, I would have cramped up!  This was not a race to PR; this was a race to have fun, and minus the weather and suffering, we did just that!  At mile three, we were headed out of Epcot. Then we headed into Magic Kingdom around the halfway point and it was nice to actually see things in the light! Once we made it down into Animal Kingdom, it was a relief knowing that we had only 9 miles left to go.  Nine miles seemed short compared to what we were doing in the overall picture, at least that is what I told myself.  The miles did not seem to fly by as fast as they did for the first half, but they were still moving.  It wasn’t until about mile 13 or 14 when we could actually get cups of water that weren’t frozen and most of the ice had melted. We all stayed together for the first half then Amy and I lost Nick and Jeremy about mile 14 at a water stop.

Amy had leg pains setting in so we took it slow for a few miles, took in some water, GU, and a banana to recover. Around mile 17, Amy and I got split apart so I went to find Jeremy “GU Master” and Nick.  I finally found them by mile 20 thanks to the neon yellow shirts Jeremy ordered for us!  I did a fly by move on Jeremy “Banana Thief” while he was looking to grab a banana. We were down to the last 10k so it was time to give it your all and make it to the finish.  Once you made it through Hollywood Studios, it was 3 miles to go and the emotions started kicking in.  The last 3 miles looped around Boardwalk and around the back part of Epcot!  There is nothing sweeter than looking over and seeing the finish line!! YES!  WE MADE IT!!  WE HAVE NOT ONLY COMPLETED A MARATHON, but COMPLETED THE GOOFY CHALLENGE!! (woot woot)!  Finishing times were Amy Dolbeare – 4:54:46; Nick Fogelman 4:47:31; Jeremy “Rock Star” 4:47:30; and David Drennan 4:38:45.  There has been nothing like it and once you have all three medals, it is bitter sweet. (Even if you can’t walk right for 3 days after!)  It was a tough battle for everyone, but we all survived and everyone had a negative split for the marathon!!  After we all met up and grabbed a little food, we headed to the bus and back to the resort!  It was still freezing out!  Hello shower, recovery socks, nap, and food!!  I do have to throw in here that I usually have a nice cold beer after a hard race (recovery purposes), but it really didn’t sound good until about 2 or 3 days after!

Relax and Head Home

We all survived the race and it was a short but eventful trip!  The race was a blast, but the weather was not so much fun! We all had a good time together, but I think we had a little too much time on Disney buses.  The way home from any big race and vacation is always a bummer, but we had lots of memories, pics, and hardware to bring with us. Not to mention that Chick-fil-a at the ATL airport coming home was amazing!  Now I just have to figure out how to un “beach” my stuck car from the snow at the airport in Bloomington.

- David

View a slideshow of photos | Results | More about the Event

The Pere Marquette Endurance Trail Race is 7.6 miles of brutality and it is one of the funnest races around. Somewhat difficult to get into due to the cap on the number of runners, I was able to run this year by using a transfer of a runner that could not make the race.

The day was mid 30′s, very gray and a little drizzly at times. Fortunately the rain and sleet held off until I was on my way home.

The race is run in the State Park bearing the race name outside of Grafton, IL. The race is scenic with beautiful vistas and overviews and long, looping trails in the depths of the woods, not that I see too much other than the trail in front of me and other runners. Rocks, roots, leaves and ice were the order of the day. I witnessed a few spills but none of them serious. I did see a couple of runners being aided by the staff, hopefully their’s were minor injuries & they will running very soon.

The trail starts and ends on a short section of level trail, everything else is up or down. Most of the trail is either steep or steeper. There are enough breaks along the way to give some rest but after mile 6, a section of stairs make for tough going. I don’t see how the fast guys cover some of the areas. It seems somewhat impossible to me, but then again, I am only a mid-packer and I do not possess some of the superhuman strength that the elites do.

As I was running down the final descent the thought crossed my mind that I was about to complete a trail run without an injury but realized I still have about 3/4 mile to go so I put that thought out of my mind so I could avoid any injury, like tripping and falling right in front of the finish line.

I did finish without any problems other than some muscle fatigue and a little sweat and mud. I’m thrilled that blood was not part of my race this time. My finish time was acceptable, slightly slower than last time I ran the course. I was originally attributing the slower pace to all of the ice but as I looked at the results page I noticed several age group records were set. I’ll work on a different reason.

Overall, very satisfactory and very fun. Highly recommended but difficult to get into. Good luck and I’ll see you there next year.

Find out more about Larry on his blog: Wide Spot in the Road

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

They say the hardest part of competing in an Ironman is finding the courage to sign up for one. It took a lot of thought, planning, and commitment but I sat by the computer one year ago anxiously waited for the registration to open for the 2009 Arizona Ironman. I had the computer all loaded and ready. I even took the day off from work to be sure I was available since all of the Ford Ironmans close shortly after opening. As soon as the registration opened it was very frustrating. I kept getting messages saying the website was full please try again or I would get into the site only to be kicked out a minute later. Persistence pays off though because after about 10 minutes I was finally able to make it all the way through the registration. As soon as it flashed the message “Congratulations” a cold chill went down my spine. What the hell did I just get myself into? As much as I tried to hit the cancel or back button it was no use, I was signed up for the 2009 Arizona Ironman! I think I went out and did a hard work out since I took the day off and realized there were on 364 days left to train.

The winter was a good time to build a base of swimming, running and biking. I don’t mind running in the winter because I am such a big heat producer and a big time sweater. The running apparel is very good with all the new under armour and polyesters. Gone are the days of the old heavy nonwicking cotton sweat pants. Thank God. Thank you Springfield Running Center. I remember a lot of winter runs where my hat was one big ice cube. Biking in the cold is a challenge to stay warm and stay motivated but winter is a good time to do LSD(Long Slow Distance). Being on the trainer in winter is so boring despite all of the available media options. The best thing to do in winter is to go to Bike Tek and see what is new. Of course if I am going to make this commitment to an Ironman, I have to have a quality bike. Right? The boys at the Tek set me up with a cervelo p3c. Wow, what a sweet ride!

I read Joe Friels book on “Going Long” and picked up a lot of good information. Joe says that triathletes do more reading and research than any other athlete. I think I would have to agree with him. I tried to read and review all that I could. I wanted to do my homework and try to learn as much as I could. After contemplating online coaching I decided to use a free online program. Online coaches can be very expensive. I basically used the Beginner triathlete 20 week program. It was based on the goal of “just to finish.” The workouts were twice a day with long days, short intense days, and rest days. There were build weeks and recover weeks. I have to honestly say it was a moderate program but I was unable to follow all of the workouts. There was simply not enough time in the day to get them all done and still be a father, husband, and income producer. I did however do a lot of the workouts, was gone a lot, and tired most of the time. Just ask my wife. I think at times she felt like the triathlete widow. The training was good and I have to honestly say I enjoyed the workouts. It was a feel good hurt if you know what I mean. I never did lose much weight though only about 7-8 pounds but I will say my body did transform, more lean and more muscle definition with less bulk. None the less I am still a “footpounder, heavyweight, cyldesdale, or fat boy as they say.

I arrived in Tempe on Wednesday and started to settle in. The weather in Tempe is simply outstanding!!! High of 78, low of 47, no humidity, no clouds, perfect beautiful sunshine. I met up with the other Springfield participants Jon Erikson. Amy Doehring, Kelly Dixon, and Connie Dicenso. Jon and Amy got married a week before the race. Congratulations! We did the practice swims on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The water was cold, approximately 60 degrees with the air temp being about 50 degrees at 8 am. The water clarity was not too bad,a little clearer than Lake Springfield and certainly no leptospirosis.

Saturday was a day of complete rest and trying to settle the nerves. All day I pictured how I was going to tackle the race. I replayed the race strategy scenario in my head over and over. Questions kept popping up in my head. How fast do I need to be on the bike? How fast is fast enough but not so fast that I trash my legs for the run? How fast should I run? When should I start to do the race walk concept? How much do I eat and drink? When do I eat and drink? What is the temperature gong to be? How will the transitions turn out? All of these questions would soon be answered.

After a surprisingly good night of sleep it was time to wake up at 4:45 am and make my way the the transition area. It was dark and cold. A lot of people had headlights and flashlights. Darn, did not think of that one. I had to get all five of my bags to the the specified areas, get marked, and make my way to the swim start. The swim start was a mass deep water start. It was very crowded and a very anxious moment. I think I was in the water less that 10 minutes before the cannon went off. I could not believe it, me doing an Ironman. I started this whole triathlon business when my cousin Tim Healy and Bret Carney got a group of people together(we called ourselves the “Splinter Tri Group”-a less serious more casual group than the old ironhorse team) to workout and have a race to train for. My first Tri was the Stoneman in 2004. I have to be honest, I had no idea what I was doing. The white caps were coming off the lake and guys were struggling asking for help in the middle of the water. It freaked me out. Do I stop? Will they drown me? Fortunately everybody survived the swim. I finished the Stoneman in 1hr 22min. At the time it was an amazing accomplishment. I had never run 3 miles before in my life. Why would anybody do that? Running is so hard and so stupid. Little did I know where all this would eventually take me.

An Ironman swim start is an amazing spectacle. You are in the water with 2500 of your friends all trying to make your way to the finish. I thought the swim was brutal. The course was very tight. I never could find a good swim line. I was constantly getting kicked or punched was constantly kicking and hitting people. I don’t think I took more than 20 strokes at any one time before I was getting whacked or slapped. Overall the swim was not that hard. It was just very frustrating not being able to swim smooth. I finished the swim in 1:21. I was thinking I could go 1:15 but with all the traffic, I was pleased with my time. After getting out of the water I was not prepared for the next event to take place. I unzipped my wetsuit down to my waist and then some students from Arizona State University tell you get on the ground and lay on your back. They grab your wetsuit and in less that one second they peel you like a banana. It was over before I really realized what had just happened. On to the race. If I thought the swim was a cluster, I did not realize that the transition area would be just as bad. There were guys running around yelling barking out orders, naked bodies, volunteers running around, everybody trying to get out as fast as possible. I had a slow transition but very methodical. I knew I wanted to be ready for the long bike ride and I wanted to be sure I was set and ready to go before taking off. I even had to wait in line for the bathroom. No peeing on the bike for me, too gross.

The training plan for the bike was “Don’t push hard, don’t push hard, and above all do not push hard.” I kept this in my mind the whole time. I wore my heart rate monitor and kept my rate below 120. It was painful at times to go so slow but I knew that the marathon run would be very draining. In USAT triathons there is not suppose to be any drafting but let me tell you I saw some peletons that would make Lance and the Tour deFrance look like neighborhood kids with training wheels and streamers from their handlebars roaming the neighborhood. Drafting is very real, you just have to be good and not get caught. Overall the ride went as well as I expected. I ate and drank what I had planned and actually felt pretty good getting off the bike but now the real race begins- the marathon. Yuck!!

I started running and actually had what is a good marathon pace for me 9:30. I stopped at every water stop which was every mile. I made sure I was good on hydration and used it to bring my heart rate down and rest the legs before heading out. The first 10 to 13 miles were decent but then the back half of the race was very challenging. The course was a 3 loop 8.7 mile setup and had only one significant hill. The pain and suffering really started to take hold at mile 18 to 23. Those were some really tough miles. The heat of the day is peaking and it is really starting to be a long day. Your body goes through some serious physiological changes with such a long race and your mind goes crazy with all the emotions, strategies, calculations racing through your head. It is very confusing. Am i drinking too much or not enough? Am I eating enough or too much? What should I be eating/drinking? Several experienced Ironmen told me that the chicken broth was really good and helped a lot. Not so for me. It made me nauseated. I discovered the purple grapes and orange slices to be the best food for me. They tasted good, settled in my stomach, and seemed to satisfy my mind and my body. At mile 20 my feet and legs were really hurting. Blisters were settling in and my legs were just simply tired. I knew I would finish so I just kept pressing on and by mile 23 I refused to not stop anymore. I just wanted to be done, plain and simple. I found some energy somewhere and was back to race pace. It actually felt pretty good. The last 0.2 mile of the marathon was amazing. The people lining the chute were cheering, clapping, and throwing out high fives like it was candy in a parade. The finish was awesome, to hear the words “Randy Held you are an Ironman” was tremendous. In 2004 when I did my first Stoneman I would have never dreamed of finishing an Ironman. Thanks Tim and Bret and the Splinter Triathlon training group.

I finished in 13 hrs and 12 minutes. My first goal was to simply finish and my second goal was to go between 13 and 13.5 hrs. I was disappointed to find out that they did not have a heavyweight or clydesdale division this year. In looking back at years prior, my time would have been a top ten time for the fat boys. My age group place is unimpressive but at 6’2″ and 210 lbs I have a hard time competing with the typical triathlete. In my mind I was satisfied. I finished, met my goal, did not crash, did not get injured, and overall had a good time.

In looking back it was an amazing journey. All the workouts, the fellowship between area athletes, and all the support I received from family and friends was tremendous. Will I do it again? I would like to do it again now that I have one under my belt. I really do enjoy the training, staying in shape, and being outside. I enjoy the multisport aspect of triathlons, never doing the same thing over and over, cross training and mixing it up. It takes a lot of time and dedication and if you are short on time like most mortals you have to have quality workouts, stay out of the gray zone. If you have the slightest inkling, I say go for it!

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

After leaving Burger King in Moab after a bite to eat, we pulled into tent city after dark. It was crazy!!!! Almost like a city with running water and electricity had sprung up in the middle of the desert. It was truly a sight to behold. Got a campsite (wherever you decide you want to stay), got things set up and headed to bed around 11 to wait for the day ahead. Next day camp starts to buzz with people getting bikes set up and making sure everything is prepped and ready. Breakfast was potatoes with veggies, and lots of water. Pre-race meeting at 10:30 and the excitement was starting to build. Race starts at noon and goes to noon the next day.

1st lap – Lined up for the Le Mans style start with 400 or so other people… It was a crazy feeling, everybody just waiting to explode with energy, the musak was blaring, my heartbeat actually increased while I was waiting. It was really cool. They shot the cannon to start us and it was really freaking loud!!!! I was just pacing myself, I thought I may be toward the back, but once I got down to the turn-around at the bush, I could see that there were a lot of people still behind me.

My plan was to pace myself on the run and the entire first lap…. Like you can really pace yourself when you are riding in a pack 400 large on a dirt road…… Especially as a roadie…. Once I got my bike and got clipped in and took off, I was passing people left and right. I love riding on dirt roads, it plays into my strengths. I probably passed close to 50 people in the first couple miles of dirt road, and then as a mass of people we hit the first singletrack. I was still trying to pace myself, not pushing myself too hard, (lots of time left….. like 23 hours….. the first section of singletrack was dusty, sandy, and technical. Feeling fresh yet, I was able to ride up many of the sections that I would later walk, yet when we did have to hike it, was like you were hiking a bike with 30-40 other people. All the while the guys on teams (majority of people) were super competitive and trying to keep on passing. The middle of the course featured a couple mile dirt road section where I was able to open it up to around 25-30 mph and pass a ton of people.

Soon we came up to the NOSE-DIVE, I had seen somebody ride this section on You-Tube, and it didn’t look so bad, but coming up to it, there was no way in hell I would ever even attempt to ride it. Plus at the bottom was super deep sand, so you would still have to get off your bike and hike up the other side. Once over that, a few more technical uphills and gullys with some nice drops. A couple sandy downhills, and the course spit you out onto some more dirt road. On this Jeep road I was able to open it up again to about 25 or so, and was able to catch some nice drafts off of other people. Coming off the dirt road section was a section of slickrock that had a few nice drops, and spit you out into a gully where it was super fast through deep sand down, and back up, no effort required if you got enough speed. Back onto the Jeep road after this for a couple more miles, then a couple more decently steep downhills that were really sandy and tricky if you were afraid of too much speed.

The one thing I quickly figured out is that in the deep sand speed is truly your friend. What goes down must come back up, after the last couple downhills you take a left and get ready to ride back into camp. But first you must climb about a 2.5 mile dirt/sandy climb. My first lap I was able to do this in the middle ring and pretty much hold my position all the way up it. There was a super deep sandy section close to the top that I never made it through, and never saw anyone else make it either. Once over the top of the climb, I was flying back down toward camp. It was an awesome descent complete with several deep sandy sections that as long as you hit them at about 25 mph you could cruise through them with little effort, any slower and you would probably get buried, and have to get off your bike. Right at the bottom of the hill, a little less than a mile from the finish tent was a huge deep section of sand. I didn’t make it through and had to once again get off and walk. 5 minutes later I was back at the tent excited to have lap 1 under my belt with a time of 1:19. One hour down, 23 to go, and I was feeling invincible!!!!

Above is a picture of a rider walking the Nose Dive. What you can’t really tell from the pic is that there is about a 4 foot drop at the bottom of it all. This section was crazy!

Lap 2 – Started off fast, after stopping by camp to fill the Camelbak and stuff my face. While there Torrey and Natalie recommended I wipe all the salt off my face (should have paid this more attention)…. Lap 2 was different from Lap 1 for the first several miles in that it was all rolling singletrack through the desert. Hit the first technical climb and was powering away, just riding up and over everything in my way. The 29″ wheels were destroying the trail in front of me, and just steadily eating up the miles. About 5 miles into the second lap and BAM!!!! my left leg just locks up. (OH Sh**) I say to myself not the cramps already…. just 20 miles in…. Got off my bike and walked a bit until I felt I could get back on and ride. Every climb after that, anytime I put too much pressure on my legs, the one leg would completely lock up. I started chugging water and sucking down the energy gels. TOO LATE!!!! I probably cramped 3 times on that 2nd lap and after each would get off and walk my bike for a bit, super upset that I was cramping already. I thought it would go away if I could just make it back to camp and get some food with some sodium. Little did I know that I was already in a HUGE sodium deficit, and how long it takes to get out of that. Finished lap 2 in about 1:35.

The picture above is basically what all but the last climb consisted of rocky, technical climbing.

Lap 3 – Before I left camp I ate a couple of bananas, and drank a bottle of gatorade, and filled the Camelbak again. On the first climb about 3-4 miles into the 3rd lap, WHAM! both legs are locked up and I almost fell off my bike. Again, every time I put too much force on my legs, or tried to go to fast, my legs would lock up, only now it was both legs, and if I would stretch to get rid of the cramp, my hamstring would lock up. GREAT….. so now I have cramping in both legs, front and back! I have thoughts of Natalie’s brother Patrick flashing through my mind thinking that I may have to forfeit due to cramping…. Somehow I made it back to camp for the end of Lap 3. Lap 3 was about 1:40.

Above is the last climb up a sandy dirt road leading back to the base camp.

Lap 4 – Couple more bananas, ham and mayo sandwich, bottle of gatorade, headlights put on by my race support (Torrey), and a pocket full of energy gels and sport beans as well as electrolytes in my Camelbak and I am fully prepared for my 4th lap. The sun is starting to set and I can tell that soon I will have to turn on the lights and be riding in complete darkness (save for the lights from my NITERIDER lights). By this time I am hoping that I have enough food,sodium and potassium in my system to keep the cramps away. My stomach is so full, and somehow I am supposed to keep pedaling my bike through the night. Once again, on the first hill…. both legs CRAMP!!!! At this point I was so frustrated I just got off and started walking. In fact anytime I got to a hill, I would just get off and start walking, it was so pointless to even try to pedal, because both legs would just instantly lock up the second I put any kind of pressure on them. Then they started cramping just from walking, so I would have to stop and just wait until they were done spasming!!! About halfway through this lap the sun set and everyone turned on their lights. WOW!!! How cool, during the day I hadn’t even realized that you could see most of the course from different points on the course. It doubled back on itself many different times. At night when people had headlights on it was so AWESOME!! At any given time you could see anywhere from 2 lights to around 30 lights. It was one of the coolest sights I have ever seen, and would have even been cooler if I had been able to ride my bike instead of pushing it everywhere. Even though I could see all these lights and knew there were people all over the place, there were times when you would see no one else for up to 5 minutes or so. My issue was that I would completely cramp up, someone would ride past and ask if I was ok?, (everyone was super friendly and helpful), I would reply with ya, just cramping, and then…. silence for up to 5 minutes or so. Kinda freaky when you can’t move because the cramps are so debilitating. Somehow after all the cramping and walking, I made it to the top of the final climb and could see the camp down below. WOW what a wonderful feeling, all downhill to the camp and safety and warmth and food, and a chance to just sit around the fire that Torrey had made. I finished Lap 4 around 2 hours, got an extreme rush riding through camp in the middle of the night. Found our campsight, plopped down in a chair and just breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Break Time – I had made it. That was one hellish lap, and I was sure I could do no more if I couldn’t figure out how to get rid of the cramps. I sat for a while, eating constantly and drinking lots of gatorade and soda, and talking with Natalie about what to do next. I didn’t want to go back out because even just sitting in the chair I would just randomly cramp up severely. I knew if I went back out it would be the same thing as the previous lap, and I dreaded that. It was finally decided with some good guidance from the wife that the best and safest thing to do was get some rest and try to recover. (Several people had already been taken into town in ambulances because of crashes due to the technical nature of the course, and this was the last thing any of us wanted to happen, because I was too tired or cramped at the wrong time.) At this point Natalie headed off too bed, it was after 10:00pm. Torrey built up the fire a bit and I headed to the showers. It was an amazing feeling to take a shower!! Got back to camp and ate some cookies and had some soda. I also found some salt tablets that I decided to take, and then was feeling pretty good, almost like I could head back out. I cleaned my bike a bit and got it ready, then was unsure if I was done with the cramping or not and decided to sleep for a bit. Went to bed about 11:30 with the plan of waking up at 4:30 to be on the bike by 5:00.

Woke up at 4:30, Torrey went out to get the fire going, and I got up around 4:45, got dressed, made sure the bike was good to go, and stood by the fire with a lot of clothes on!!!! Reheated some potatoes from the previous day and ate those, along with some more gatorade. Everything was prepared by Torrey, who was awesome! I could not have done it without his and Natalie’s support.

Lap 5 – I was back on my bike and feeling amazing (save for about the first mile) at 5:10am. I had the headlights on and helmet light, and had plenty of light. This lap I did a much better job of pacing myself with just a steady effort throughout. No cramping at all. Completely recovered. I rode everything! I still had to walk some of the deep sand and steep rock parts that everyone else also walked, but otherwise, I was picking amazing lines and riding all the rock drops with extreme confidence. Every time around, I would get passed by people (mostly team riders) on the climbs cause I would just be spinning up in my granny gear, and then on the technical downhills and flats I would just fly past people mainly because I could ride everything that many others would get off and walk, and the flats I was just that much faster than everyone else. This lap was probably my 2nd fastest lap of all, I think it was about 1:25. About 3/4 of the way through this lap I turned my lights off, as it was full daybreak. I crested the final hill overlooking the camp and could see the tent city coming to life. As I cruised back in to the check-in, it was one of the coolest feelings. Having people still cheering for you “Thinking you had ridden through the night”…. and made it back to camp for the first lap of the new day. I pulled into camp bursting with confidence.

Toward the end of the race you just came to accept the deep, never ending, power sucking sand, that at the beginning of the race you were cursing because you couldn’t ride through it….

Lap 6 – Shed some layers, and I was starting to heat up. Had 2 egg sandwiches on bread and a couple of pieces of bacon. YUMMY!!! Drank a pepsi, refilled the Camelbak and took off for Lap 6. Again a repeat of Lap 5. Felt phenomenal, rode everything, picking sweet lines, riding some sweet drops, some big berms, and powering up some steep sandy climbs. Open it up on the flat jeep road and felt like I was riding my road bike. A team rider latched onto me and let me pull him for about 3-4 miles, we were just talking, and he was amazed at how fast I was riding for being a solo rider. (I told him I took a long nap) He and I had just passed 2 chicks, and had a sweet little roller right in front of us. I am full of newfound confidence and decided to do a little jump of this little roller…… All I can say is that I must have been tired and had no balance, because once my wheels left the ground, they never again touched…. the next thing I knew was that I was sliding on the hard dirt at about 20 mph…… The guy was like you ok? and kept going and the 2 chicks did the same thing….. DANGGIT!!!! Got a little cocky and made a fool of myself and crashed in front of people trying to show off a bit. Scratched my knee and elbow a bit, with a bit of bleeding, ripped my tights in the knee. But got right back up and took off again. Within 5 minutes I had passes the 2 girls back, but never caught back up to the guy I was riding with. Finished lap 6 in about 1:30-1:40.

Lap 7 - Ate a bunch of spaghetti and drank another soda and took off again. Still feeling good. Almost a repeat of Lap 6 minus the crash. Caught up with another solo rider with about 4 miles to go and had a little dialogue with him about whether we were going to try for another lap or not. Course closes at noon, and I was on pace to make it back about 11:45. My goal was 10 laps, I could see that was not going to happen anymore, and 8 laps was a whole lot of pain more, without really putting me at 10 laps. I spent this entire lap trying to figure out whether or not to ride another. This guy said no he wasn’t he had 8 laps and was going to call it quits cause he wife was waiting on him. With that I also decided to call it a day, deciding it wasn’t worth the pain for lap 8. If it was lap 10 I would have gone for it, but not lap 8. Finished this lap in about 1:30-1:40.

This picture I was obviously not feeling so good….. enjoying a little time off the bike seat

Best Feeling from the Race: (3) 1.Riding over the crest of the final hill and seeing the tent city. 2.Riding through the check-in tent and swiping your card to end one lap and begin another. Having the announcer announce that you were a solo rider and heading out for another lap.(3)Pulling into camp and having Natalie and Torrey waiting on me and getting me what I needed, Natalie getting me food and drink and taking care of me, and Torrey cleaning my bike and taking care of the drivetrain.

Worst Feeling from the Race: Cramping so early on in the afternoon, and feeling like I had let my support team down for coming to the race with me and doing all this work, and then I couldn’t even ride my bike!!!

Race Highlights: Riding all the obstacles and rock drops when others had to get off and walk. Being told almost every lap that I was picking awesome lines, and that it was fun to follow me because I knew what I was doing. Also being told “you must be a roadie” because I was able to go so strong on the flats.

Thoughts: This was an awesome experience. I would do it again, one downside is the costs, and the fact that it is so late in the season. I would def. have to start my season later, or have a longer break in the middle if I wanted to do it again sometime. Not next year for sure, but some other time. yes. I think w/out cramping I could have done 10-11 laps. Would be a blast to do solo with friends, and be able to ride and compete with each other.

Bike setup: NINER E.M.D. NINE. Hardtail…. Bike was perfect! No major issues!

Thanks to Natalie, my beautiful wife for supporting me and my dreams and for going along to care for me even despite the fact that she was pregnant, and would much rather stay in the comforts of home rather than the sandy desert and a sleeping pad.
Thanks to Torrey for working so hard to keep things going around camp, and for waking up at 430 in the morning to get a fire going so I could get motivated to get back out and ride, and for taking care of my bike, and setting up the lights.

Pics Here – I am in the red and blue MACK kit.

- Nick

More from Nick can be found on his blog: nsquaredweinercubed.blogspot.com

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

Life is like riding a bicycle – in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving. ~Albert Einstein

By Mike Comerford

It was a dark and stormy morning in Millstadt, IL. I helped Jeremy get onto the stretcher and loaded into the ambulance and knew that now would be my only chance to ask the question. “Jeremy, your bike is still rideable and mine is trashed, can I ride yours the rest of the way in?” His response was not really coherent, but his friend said, “go ahead”. I told the guy who couldn’t move his jaw and whose right eye was beginning to swell shut to make sure my bike got put on the truck and taken to the finish line. As I rode the rest of the 16 miles, I felt sorry for the people I passed as they had to look at the bloody mess I had made of my right shoulder, and leg.

My brother had called me Friday morning and told me to consider coming down to Belleville for this little Biathlon (no cross country skis and no rifles; 5 mile run followed by 22 miles on the bike). I didn’t have anything planned and thought it would be fun to go down and do the race with him. It rained the whole night before the race and we drove in a mist all the way to the race site. As we registered, the heavy stuff came through and we joked that this may be a triathlon after all as we may need to swim part of the course. My brother wondered if they would reverse the bike course because of two big hills that would be treacherous going down in the rain. We both put that in the back of our minds once the run started and the skies cleared overhead.

I felt really good on the run as I have been doing some faster, shorter runs to try and improve my incredibly slow pace. I came in right at 8:30/mile pace after 5 miles and jumped on my bike knowing I was going to feel good. The roads had dried and some of the faster bikers really took off. I kept pushing for 4 miles to settle into a good pace, and was just starting to relax my back. The mist started in again and I slowed down on the next few hills. As I rounded a tight curve and started down another hill, two bikes in front of me braked and hit the pavement hard. I knew as soon as I saw them crash that I was also going down; but I was able to control my wipe out in a Matrix-like moment as I was saying in my head “Don’t break your clavicle”. I was going too fast for the conditions, but was not totally out of control and slid on my back about 15 feet on the pavement and ended up in some leaves. 2 more bikers crashed within the next 30 or 40 seconds, but none of us hit each other.

I had some serious skid burns/road rash on my right leg and elbow and felt a lot of burning on my right upper back, but didn’t hit my head hard and didn’t feel any bony pain. I got my bike out of the way and went to look at the first two guys. The first biker that fell landed right on his hip and rolled over a few times as far as I can remember and when I went up to him the second biker was already with him and he said he couldn’t move his right leg at all. Bad sign. We did some crowd control and safety stuff right away with one of the race volunteers and had everyone go as slowly as possible down this slick hill with a curve. We knew this first biker would need help getting off the course and the race volunteer called for police and an ambulance. I found out the first biker’s name was Jeremy. We tried again to move him, but he really couldn’t do anything with his leg. The other biker who had fallen with Jeremy was a friend of his and stayed with him while I checked on the other two who had fallen after us. One had hurt his jaw and right eye but was able to talk and said he would be OK, the other biker said she just felt dazed and didn’t really want to move at that moment. Soon the first police car arrived and was very helpful with arranging for Jeremy to get off the course and to a hospital quickly. I then began to think about moving back onto the course as I didn’t feel nearly as bad as I looked. I went to get my bike and realized the rear tire was in the shape of a W. Well, so much for that idea. My brother then came by and saw me and asked if I was OK. I told him I was scraped up but nothing bad, but my bike was toast. I wanted him to continue on and he did. The ambulance soon arrived and took great care of everyone, but especially Jeremy, who needed to be put on a board just to get him onto the stretcher and into the ambulance.

I went to look at his bike at that point and realized both wheels still spun and the chain was intact. The handlebars were in fine shape and the frame was sound. I went back to the ambulance at that point and made my selfish request. The ambulance pulled away and I got onto the bike and SLOWLY went down the rest of that hill and rode the next 16 miles on a too small bike with pedals I couldn’t clip into. My brother was at the finish line waiting for me. Soon, Jeremy’s Mom showed up and asked us to help us load his bike onto her truck. She had talked to him and set he was just going in to get X-rays done, but he sounded OK. I told her to tell Jeremy thanks and I would be thinking of him.

My injuries were mostly skid marks and some sore muscles the next few days. I’ll have to fix my rear wheel, but can’t wait to get out and pound some more pavement. I’ll just make sure it’s drier and I take my hills more slowly.

- Mike

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

By Peter Wise

Rewind. August 2008. I had spent the summer swimming with the pleasant ladies at Colony West. Was I ready for Big Shoulders 2008? Tested myself with a Nelson Center workout. I had my ass handed to me by the Big Shoulders training crowd.

Fast forward. April 2009. Turned 50. Big Shoulders on the bucket list.

Late May at Nelson Center. Damn, this pool is long and lumpy. Tried to teach myself to breath bilaterally. I nearly drowned.

June, the Nelson Center water is butt spanking hot. Exhausting. Maddening. Chris Martin and I killed a rat that was skulking in the pool gutter. July 3rd. Great swim. 3000 meters. Feeling better, having fun and training hard with the lanes five and six crew: Kari,Ed, Burke,Tara,Chris,Paul,Scott, and Patty.

August. Borrowed a wetsuit from Dungan for my trip to Northern MI, Sleeping Bear Dunes. Three 3000 yard swims in Lake Michigan during the week. Felt great. Attacked by a water bird with a long bill. Defended my self with a well thrown rock.

Mid August. Decided to swim 2.5K at Big Shoulders. 5K seemed daunting. Sunday, Aug 16th. Swam a couple of 400’s even with Kari. She always swims hard. I am ready. Confession. I am an incorrigible gear head. Purchased a Blueseventy Point zero 3 swimskin. Much talk at the pool about the cold Lake Michigan temps. Still have Dungan’s wetsuit.

Open water training in Lake Springfield. Three 2.5K swims. All around 43 min. I want 40. Two weeks to go. Early morning swims in the dark at Nelson Center. Nicole says it is like running in the rain. It makes you go faster. I agree. You are cheating the daylight. Erin, Burke, Ed and Dan giving great advice on pace, sighting and drafting. Thanks for the 411.

Tuesday, Sept. 8th. No swimming. Light run planned. Stretching. Seismic rumbling in my right hip/low back. Pain. Are you shitting me? Frantic calls to Matt Nachtway. Ice. Heat. Vitamin I. Vodka.

Wednesday. Try to swim. Must get down on all fours to get into the pool. Swimming causes discomfort. Can’t kick. Words of encouragement from Paul. Wait a minute. He is swimming 5K with one arm. Time for me to man up.

Sept. 12th. Big Shoulders 2009. Decide to swim with wetsuit to help back. Much Biofreeze. Adrenalin is a great pain reliever. Feel pretty good.

8:25 start. Swimming over the weed bed after the start is cool. Water clear. Erin’s sighting technique works perfectly. Second leg. Find perfect person to draft. Effortless leg. Sweet. Lost cap rounding the mark. Go back for it. Lose my draft. Swim hard. Really need to burp but can’t. Sprint last 200 yards.

Finish at 9:06:26. Almost puked. 41.26. Eleventh place in the wetsuit division. Third best time in 50-54 age group. 56/233 overall. I’ll take it.

Great summer of swimming. Around 100,000 yards. Will never forget my lane five and six mates. 5K next year? Peace out.

- Peter

Big Shoulders 5k Swim [Results] [Photos]

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

Anticipation for the run was high. My first 8 hour ultra. On a 3.3 mile loop. I had put in mile after mile and many cross training workouts to prepare for the day. 7 am was upon us and the horn sounded. 250 runners ready for a long day.

Andy, the guy who got me into this, and I walked for 5-10 minutes to let the field clear abit. We took off running dodging and weaving through walkers and joggers.

The course consisted of mostly gravel, some grass and some asphalt. One killer hill about 80 meters long.

We hit our stride pretty quickly and we both felt pretty good after the first hour. I picked up my camera, we walked for a bit and I took video and pictures.

We dropped our shirts after 9 miles. Still feeling ok. We kept up a pretty good pace for the next hour. We drank and ate every 1.7 miles. At just under 20 miles we had slowed quite a bit walking more jogging less. We stopped for short breaks at the drink/eat stations at the start and mid-way.

At 4 hours I hit a wall mentally and started to feel tired. I kept going best I could, Andy pulled away from me around the 23rd mile and I let him. I completed the loop and could tell I was dehydrated (fingers swollen) I stopped and drank a bunch of water sat a bit and then the swelling reduced so I put my shirt on and I went out again. I got over the mental barrier now the physical one was about to hit.

Shortly after that my left knee started hurting it would flare about every 100 meters. I kept running and walking off and on until 1 pm when all I could do was walk. The knee pain was pretty intense when I jogged so I dared not push it. Walking was all I could do. By now it was 100 heat index. I finished the lap and decided that was enough for me. 9 full laps. 29.7miles.

I had alittle over an hour left on time but felt it best to just stop. I took a ‘shower’ from a hose and felt better. Looking back I could have rested then done the 1 mile loop they had set up once or twice. 5 people were taken by ambulance to the hospital and many more had IV’s in, setting in the shade when I left for home.

What a deal. I will do it again next year. I will know more about what to expect and plan better. This is a great run for those that really want to see how far they can push themselves.

We will camp and stay longer next year.

- Ren Bleem

Results: http://kennekuk.com/results/2008/2008_HOWL_OA.PDF

Photos: http://tmarriage.zenfolio.com/p580521484

More info: http://www.kennekuk.com/events.htm#Howl

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

By Matt Vortman

I decided to run this race several months ago after first reading about it online. Being an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan and knowing that this may be my only chance to be see the festivities that coincide with the baseball all-start game, I wanted to make an effort to be in St. Louis for this race. However, I have been struggling with various injuries this summer and didn’t really have the fitness that I normally have this time of the year. I knew I probably wasn’t going to have my best time.

I got up about 4:00 on Sunday morning and got myself ready to drive to St. Louis. I wanted to be there early so I would have plenty of time to park, get to packet pick-up, and just walk around and take in the All-Star festivities. I arrived in St. Louis a little after 6:00, so I knew I would have plenty of time to warm up and stretch. The race did not start until 7:30, so I spent some time taking in the sites. St. Louis did an awesome job preparing for the big game as it was definitely buzzing downtown!

The race started on the west side of Busch Stadium, near the Stan Musial statue. Vince Coleman, Brooks Robinson, Rollie Fingers, and Lou Brock were among the baseball greats that were there. Olympic gold medalist, Shawn Johnson, was there to support the cause of cancer research. She actually ran the race as well. Interestingly, the leaders from all three cancer foundations were there and each gave a heartfelt thanks to all the runners and walkers for their support. Over 8,000 runners and walkers participated in the inaugural event.

Lou Brock was the official starter for the race. It was VERY crowded on 8th and Spruce, and I was in line actually up past the steps near the stadium. Thankfully, the race was chip-timed, so I didn’t have to worry about getting to the starting line in a hurry. It took a couple of minutes for me to actually get to the starting line and when I did, I still couldn’t run. This was definitely going to be a “fun run”…or maybe a walk. I finally got to a full run about .3-.4of a mile into the race. I was able to maintain about an 8:30 minute/mile pace for the first mile, but as we headed up Olive and faced several hills, I slowed down to about 9 minute/mile pace. I definitely felt the loss of fitness on those hills, but kept my head down and ran as well as I could. The turnaround was on Locust, and I felt better knowing that we would be spending more time going downhill back towards the river and that the crowd had thinned. I finally got my second wind and as we headed towards the convention center, my pace was about 7:40 minutes/mile. The race ended at the Edwards Jones Dome and I finished with an overall time of 23:33. Vince Coleman and Brooks Robinson handed out finisher medals to all the participants and there were several stands to learn more about cancer research. I ran into a couple of good friends from high school and college, as well as a couple of co-workers who were there with their families.

All in all, The All-Star 5K was exactly what I expected. I knew I wasn’t going set any records in the race, but felt it would a unique experience. Major League Baseball and the City of St. Louis did an awesome job with this race. They had team mascots peppered throughout the course, plenty of water, and plenty of support. It was cool to see all the celebrities and the former baseball players that were there to support the cause. Zac Freudenburg from St. Louis, Missouri was the overall male winner with a time of 15:21. Vivian Wadeck from North Hollywood, California was the overall female winner with a time of 17:51. Hopefully, Major League Baseball will continue the charity 5K at future all-star games, it was a great experience and for me, it feels good to be back into the racing scene!

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

The All Star 5K Charity Run was held on Sunday, July 12th in downtown St. Louis. Since it was a Sunday race, I jumped at the chance to run. This race was a charity event, raising funds for three cancer organizations: Stand Up To Cancer, Susan G. Komen, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

As race time drew near, I made my way to one of the sparse porta potties scattered about the parking lot. I saw a few women walk in, then immediately turn around and walk out. Talk began in the line about the poor condition of our plastic toilet. Once I opened the door, I saw what the ‘stink’ was all about…the bowl was about to overflow. I have used many a portable loo, but I have NEVER seen one that full. Luckily for me, this was a ‘stand up’ job and I was back by the third base entrance rejoining the waiting pack.

The announcer from KMOX told everyone to get ready. There was the National Anthem to be sung, then way too much talking from MLB-types and the representatives of the cancer organizations. You could tell that the runners were getting impatient…WE WANT TO RUN! Finally, Lou Brock sounded the air horn and we were off. (10 minutes late)

I found myself frustrated from the very beginning. There were way too many people who were not there to ’race the race’ up front. I spent a lot of energy trying to weave around people to try and break free.

The heat and humidity started to hit me right away. I tried to look around and take in some of the sights, but still keep the hammer down and try to get a decent time.

I guess there might have been one somewhere, but I don’t remember any clocks or timekeepers. I had set my watch to time backwards to hit my goal. This didn’t help, as I reached the finish line and saw the race clock in the 27-minute mark. I slapped a ‘high 5’ with the Pittsburgh Pirates parrot mascot, and finished the race.

As I followed the chute, we were given really nice silver finishing medals. Plus, we got a nice Nike race shirt. (I’m a huge Nike fan, so I was really happy with the shirt.)

Overall, the race was a neat experience. I am a lifelong Cardinals fan, so to get a chance to see Lou Brock, Busch Stadium and the Fan Fest activities was pretty cool.

I finished with a very poor time of 24:10. I placed 49th in my age division and 485th out of 5151 finishers.

My reward was a great breakfast from the always awesome Uncle Bill’s Pancakes with my buddy, ‘Real Rock’ Terbrock from KSHE-95.

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

The Glenwood Springs Omnium. I was only doing the TT and the Crit, as doing the 85 mile road race may have been a bit long for me, and would have set me back another 50 bucks putting my total for the weekend around 150.00 with one day licenses included. Friday night was the time trial. I underestimated the amount of time I would need to get there, and as a result just barely was able to get my number, sign a release, and get in line for the start…. exactly how I wanted to start one of my A events for the year…. with no warm-up. I started in second position and my goal was to avg. over 26 mph as my previous best in a TT was 25.98 mph in Decatur. I really had no idea how strong my legs were, as the only group road rides I had done had been with 50+ year old men….. The course was rolling with one short, steep, hill immediately after the turn around. Cross tailwind on the way out, and cross head wind on the way back. I was not using my power meter for this event, as I really wanted a fast time and the power meter is a little heavier. So I just tried to push it as hard as I could without going anaerobic. I never saw the guy that started in front of me until the turnaround, and the guy that started 30 seconds behind me passed me immediately after the turnaround. YIKES! Got passed by my 30 second man after 5 and a half miles. I must have been going SLOW was my thought…. or he was just really fast. Expected the way back in to be fairly slow and to be struggling, but I was still doing 25, 26, 27, mph every time I looked at my computer. At the 1K to go sign, I really punched it and still had a little left for a sprint at the finish. (Which tells me I should have gone harder out on the course….) I finished with a time of 24:01 @ 26.98 mph!! Awesome! I achieved my goal, and exceeded my expectations by almost an entire mile per hour! Ended up finishing 13 of 28 in the cat 3′s. I was on a road bike with dish wheels and aero bars with a TT helmet. Maybe a little faster on a full TT bike, but I was extremely pleased with my effort.

After my cooldown, I came back to the starting line just in time to see a guy in full Astana kit take off. I asked someone who just took off and they were all excited and said it was Levi Leipheimer! HOLY COW!!! Lance was at the starting gate taking off next!!! How awesome was this! They were here because the course was only a short drive from Lance’s Aspen home, and Levi has been there training with him for the Tour. After they took off, I went back to the car to get Natalie and we went up the the finish line to wait for them and take some pics.

Lance after his cooldown, signing autographs and posing for pics! He is so freaking skinny!
Lance was in full TT kit, helmet and all. Levi only had the bike, no TT helmet. Lance beat Levi by about 25 seconds or so, but Levi thought his brakes were rubbing the entire way. It was their first Time Trial on these new TT bikes.

Levi was kind enough to let me take a picture with him. I think I am a little bigger and taller than he is….. It was a pretty awesome experience! They were both there with their families. It makes them seem so normal when they are around their kids and wives. Like, hey look, they are not super human after all, they are actually really normal people!

On sunday I had the Glenwood springs Crit. It was a figure 8 type course that suited a punchy powerful type of rider. Bottom line is that I got dropped 20 minutes in. I do not do enough rides on the road with people that are faster than I to be in the shape I need to be in to do well in a 50 minute max effort crit. I believe the reason I was so much stronger in the TT is because I do most of my road training on my own. No draft. Kind of like riding a time trial. Never thought I would be doing a Time trial with Levi and Lance, but it was a really cool opportunity to see them and meet them in person!

- Nick

More from Nick can be found on his blog: nsquaredweinercubed.blogspot.com

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

If you have ever seen me at one of the local races here in Springfield, you can see just by looking at me that I am a Green Bay Packers fan.  Over the last two or three years, on race day, I have dressed myself in the Packers color scheme of some sort for a couple reasons.  First being, that I am a huge fan.  Second, it makes it easy for my family and friends to spot me at a distance.

So naturally, when I decided to try my hand at marathoning two years ago, I picked the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon as the place I wanted to try to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  I figured why run a marathon without a goal…right?  As a selling point for this particular marathon, you are allowed to run on the paved ring on the outside of the grass, inside Lambeau Field.  This was most of the reasoning behind my choice of this race.  With all the great athletes that have occupied that small patch of grass inside of Lambeau Field.  This would be my personal way of doing something special on the same piece of hallowed ground that they once did.

This would be only my second marathon to date, 2008 was my first, which was also in Green Bay.  Why go back? I missed qualifying by a little more than 6 minutes last year.  So, I made it a point to go back this year and get my goal of qualifying on the Frozen Tundra!

As soon as I got back from the trip “up” there in 2008.  I tried, to the best of my knowledge, to tailor my training for one sole purpose, to be a more efficient marathoner.  Everyone knows that has run a marathon that doesn’t use coaching.  Which is most likely most of us.  How clueless you are the first time you run a marathon.  It is kind of an empty feeling because one doesn’t know what to expect on race day.  You try to put more emphasis on getting more miles in on your training runs.  But, before you know it the marathon is here, and you really aren’t so sure of how well you trained.  At least I was.  As they say, “you never forget your first marathon”.  I know I won’t!  To put it bluntly…it hurt like hell!

So, after a hard lesson learned last year.  I tried training harder, longer, and smarter.  I was putting on average about 40 miles a week in 2008.  This year I put in on average about 60 miles a week, with some speed work in there.  So, I knew from the get go, after reading many peoples training regimens online that I was in a much better position to accomplish my goal.

With that goal in mind…literally!  I say “literally” because, the night before the race I got about 4 hours of sleep.  Due to the amount of times my head kept going over all the possible ways to run this race as fast as I could while being efficient.  I just kept telling myself 6:50 – 7:00 minute miles.  I practiced that, time and time again on the LMHM course in Springfield, to pace myself.  I am usually the kind of runner that will try to lay it all out on the course and go as hard as you can the whole race.  As some might tell you, under certain circumstances, that isn’t always the smartest thing to do, even more so when running a marathon. This train of thought has definitely taken some time for my mind to adapt to.

When I finally toed the start line, after some stretching and a little Gatorade inside the Lambeau Field Atrium, the horn blared for us to start.  I hit start on my watch and away we went down Lombardi Avenue.  The start was cramped and hard to keep a pace through the first mile.  But when I hit that first mile, my watch said 6:55.   I told myself at that point; don’t get caught up in all the excitement.  Just keep this pace.

Every mile that went by after that, I would glance at my watch and do the math to figure where my pace was at.  I couldn’t believe how evenly paced I was running this race.  I was hitting pretty much every mile around the 6:55 mark.  I came through the half marathon right around 1:30.

After passing the half mark I told myself.  Just stay loose and put on the cruise control.  I told myself this for two reasons.  One, this is the part of the course where the race course leaves the confines of the tree covered suburbs, and gets into a bit of a desolate area between Green Bay and DePere.  DePere is actually south of Green Bay.  So this is where you have to run without much encouragement from the crowd and really try to focus.  Second, this is the half of the race where the dreaded “wall” seems to hit people, as many people are well aware.  It hit me last year pretty hard right around mile 20.  So like said before, I just tried to stay focused and loose.

While I was able to keep the 6:55 pace as the miles went by.  I was approaching mile 20 where there is a water stop called “the wall party”.  This is a spot where there were probably 150 people to help encourage you through the last 10K.  When passing here, unlike last year.  I thought, “I am a bit sore, but overall feel pretty good”.  I wasn’t hurting like the previous year, where it was hard to lift my feet an inch off the ground.

Having past mile 20 without a hitch, the excitement of my goal coming to fruition was a light at the end of the tunnel.  A 26.2 mile tunnel that is!  But, at this point, I told the guy I was holding a bit of a “Brett Favre” conversation with to help melt away some of the miles “I am going to give it all I got from here”.  I told him “good luck” and was on my way.

From here I told myself, “Why not try for a sub-three hour race, I feel good for the most part!”.  So I tried kicking it in high gear for the last 10K.  I say high gear, but high gear at that point was not high gear!  It felt like it though!  What felt so good this year about the last 10K, was that I was not agonizing through them and getting passed.  I was doing the exact opposite.  I was passing people who were having the same problem as me the previous year.

With my legs feeling pretty good Lambeau Field (the finish) finally came into my sights. I could hear the music and smell the brats from the race festivities.  As I approached the loading dock area where you enter Lambeau Field, I tried taking it in as much as possible.  This is what I was here for, to give myself a little bit of the Lambeau Field Mystique.  At this point I knew a sub-three hour marathon probably wasn’t going to happen.  So I let the nostalgia of Lambeau Field take its precedence.  I turned the corner from the loading dock and headed down the player’s tunnel that leads out to the field.  I made sure I stepped on the block of concrete that was retrofitted from the original player’s tunnel during the stadium renovation.  That all the Packers legends have trotted over for so many years.

After stepping where Vince (Lombardi) once stepped. I made my way out onto the field.  I found my family sitting up in the stands waiting for me and cheering me on.  I then made my way around the rest of the field, back down the player’s tunnel, and out into the parking lot.  I came around the small bend to the finish line and peered up at the clock, just to take in what I had set out to do a year prior.  I finished with a time of 3:01:25 and a place of 58th overall.  All the aches, sweat, and time being away from my wife and son training finally paid off.

- Jake

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

Tell us about your training, your come back, your favorite race or the newest piece of gear you puchased. Everyone loves an interesting story, so start writing…

A page or so is all we ask. Write it up in an email or Word document and attach a few picturers of you in action. We will then review, and post it on our site.

Then tell all your friend you are featured on HardyBreed.com

It is that easy to be a Wild Hare!

Are you interested? Email Dan and Jason your story or contact us for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

I signed up for the Pioneer Sprint Triathlon in Petersburg, IL on April 18^th. It consisted of a 300 yd pool swim, 13 mi bike, and a 3.2 mi run. This seemed manageable to me. I was going into this triathlon figuring on something going wrong, just because I was a newbie.

Most people have “day before a race” traditions, like eating a certain meal, getting a certain amount of sleep, laying everything out. I had to work the midnight shift the night before the race. So I packed all my gear up the evening before and hoped I didn’t forget anything.  I got home by 7 am, slept for 2 hrs, then had to get up and go to the race. I wanted to get there early to help calm the nerves and get a feel for the race before it started.

I arrived at 11 am and left all my stuff in the car while I went to pick up my packet and get body marked. This was the first time I got my body marked for a race, and it made me feel like an Olympian. The only other triathlon I’ve seen was the Olympic Tri in China on TV last August! I came out and saw that other people were already setting up their transition areas. I figured I’d better get my stuff out now and ‘mark my territory’ as I was taught in a triathlon swim class that I took. On my way to the transition area, I saw Lance and his son. That calmed me down a lot because I was walking in with someone that I knew!

I mounted my bike by the seat on the railing just like I was taught (do it on the handlebars and you may damage the brakes). I put down my bright orange and pink towel and folded into the smallest square possible that would fit all my other stuff. I don’t have a tri-suit yet, so I was stuck wearing my swimsuit. I do have a road bike, but I haven’t bought any accessories yet, so no clipless peddles. I planned on putting on my running shoes (complete with new yanks shoe laces) during T1 and using them for both the bike and run portions. So my transition had my shorts, socks, shoes, helmet, running visor, water bottle, and race number belt. I prayed that I didn’t forget anything.

When I got all done with that, I was surprised not to feel more nervous than I was. I think it was mostly that I only had 2 hours sleep and I was denying my fatigue. I hung out for a bit and talked to Nancy and Lance and watched all the other people set up their areas. For being such a newbie type race, as I was taught that the sprint distance mostly attracts, there was a lot of high tech gear! This made me feel a little intimidated, but Nancy and Lance assured me that I’d do fine.

I then went in to check out the pool area so that I could visualize the race. I saw the mats that led from the pool out the door so I followed them back outside and walked back to my transition because I wanted to see exactly how many rows to walk down to get to my bike. I stood there a second and looked at my stuff and imagined putting on my shorts, then my socks, shoes, race number belt, and finally my helmet. I then walked over to the bike out area and saw the mounting line where I would be able to start riding. The dismount line was at the same spot, so I imagined coming back in and walked again back over to my transition area. I looked down and saw my running visor and imagined taking off my helmet and grabbing the visor. Then I walked over to the run out area and saw the start/finish for the run portion. Ok, I think I’m ready.

As I was walking inside to use the restroom, I saw GerriAnne from my tri swim class! I totally forgot that she was signed up for this race! I ended up sticking to her like glue the whole time since she was a veteran triathlete. I watched her set up her transition area and saw her pull out food. Oh crap! I didn’t eat anything today! I completely forgot to eat! She kindly offered me a protein bar and I gladly accepted! Disaster averted! We chowed as we were being ushered out of the transition so that the mini race could start. This was very cool to see, it made visualizing my race that much easier! I loved cheering on the kids, who absolutely amazed me with their triathlon talents! This is where I saw Dan from Hardybreed and I proudly showed off my new Hardybreed shirt! Lots of people came up to read my shirt because they couldn’t understand why I was so proudly wearing a shirt that said ‘I heart smoking’ to a triathlon (‘the competition’ of course).

Now it was time for me to get ready to start. They called all the sprint distance folks into the pool area for the prerace meeting. I took off my extra clothes and threw them in my bag, grabbed my swim cap and goggles, and headed inside. This is where they gave us our timing chips. GerriAnne reminded me and those around us to put it on our left leg, so that it didn’t get caught in the chain on our bike. Smart thinking! I seeded myself towards the back because I know my talents in the pool, or lack there of. I can swim without overexerting myself, but I cannot swim fast by any means. I was able to cheer on Dan and GerriAnne as they swam.

As I got up there toward the start line the nerves had really built up in me, but as soon as I got in the water, everything went calm again. Ahh, this I can do. I can swim 300 nice and easy. I finished the swim in 6:17. I trotted out to T1 and did everything in the order that I practiced. It went very smooth for my first one.

My goal for the bike was to just keep an even cadence and never stop peddling. I don’t know much about cycling, so this is all that made sense to me. I was having a blast! I was smiling, and cheering people on that were on their way back already. I saw GerriAnne and she was doing great! I started to notice that my feet were going numb, but just kept going. The hills started to hurt a little on the way back, but it went flat again just in time. My feet were very numb by the time I was heading into T2 and I just prayed that I didn’t fall down when I got off my bike. I wasn’t sure what caused it, but I loosened my shoe laces during T2 and hoped for the best. The bike portion took me 46:05.

I started running out of transition and notice that weird feeling that everyone talks about when you go from biking to running. I had practiced this a couple of times, but never had numb feet while doing it. It was a little awkward. I was not out to set a PR in the 5K portion, so I just trotted out. This was definitely my favorite part of the race because there were people to encourage us along the way! I caught up with GerriAnne and talked for a second, and before I knew it my feet were not numb anymore. I ended up talking to an older gentleman for a little bit. He was very encouraging! I was starting to get very fatigued as I was about to head up the last hill. Then I saw Lance and his son again! That was perfect timing! They cheered me on and Lance told me to just focus on the guy in front of me, and that’s all! I could do that! I picked up the pace and passed him on the hill with a huge smile on my face. Then I entered back into the high school parking lot and came into a sprinting finish!

Wow, what a blast! That was the most fun I’ve ever had during a race! Everything went so smooth for a first timer! I couldn’t believe it. I did it!

GerriAnne and I got massages and some food afterward. Then I was getting ready to leave and I saw they had posted the results per age group, so I went to check it out. Holy crap, I got second in my age group! No way! I actually won something! Unbelievable! Well, I HAD to stay for the awards now!

I planned on scooting out of there to get home and get a couple more hours sleep before having to go back into work that night, but I couldn’t pass up an award! This entire triathlon was put on so well! It was so organized and well thought out! I couldn’t give it more praise. And, maybe that doesn’t mean much to some because this was my first one and I don’t have anything to compare it to, but as a newbie, I felt very comfortable, encouraged, and well aware of what was expected of me as a racer. My hats off to the directors and volunteers! Thanks for a great first race!

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan  for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

Due to my work schedule, Sunday races are normally the only races I can run. I found out about the St. Patrick’s Day run via the Lake Run Club’s website, and decided to bite the bullet and send in an application several weeks before the race.

I had trained all winter, bundling up in the cold, and hitting my junky treadmill when the wind chills were dangerously low. I even turned my Fila’s into, ‘screwed shoes’ to brave the ice. My mileage had been pretty steady for the year, but was I ready for a race?

2008 had been an incredible year for me, running-wise. I set new p.r.’s in the 5K,10K and half marathon. So, the pressure was definitely on, not to embarrass myself in my first race of the year!

The weather on race day (3/15) was really nice! It was sunny, with a stiff wind, but nice conditions for a race. The temperature was somewhere in the high 50′s/low 60′s.  I got to the VFW Hall in plenty of time to get my shirt, and race packet. I was surprised to find out this would be a chip-timed event! I was impressed.

I stopped for a pre-race break at the porta-potty, and made my way to the blow-up finish thingie. Everybody got in their last minute stretches. We strained to hear the instructions from the starter, who just cupped his hands over his mouth and barked them out.

So, we were off. The fast guys took off in a flash, and us middle-of-the -packers headed out at a moderate pace. My main focus was to find a comfortable pace, relax and see what I could do.

We hit the first mile and the timekeeper yelled out ‘Seven thirty.’ I didn’t know what to expect, but I was pretty happy. The second mile came after running through more streets in the neighborhood. This timekeeper yelled out ‘Fourteen fifty-five.’ So, at least I was consistent!

I tried to keep something in the tank as the finish line came into view. I began my finishing kick, and my official time was 23:14. I waited for the volunteer to remove my chip, I then made it to the post-race festivities.

As I walked back to the VFW, I saw a guy running with some results in his hand. By the time I got my water and green frosted sugar cookies, the results for most of us were already posted! That was impressive, too! I didn’t think too much about my time until Lance Cull e-mailed me with the fact that I wasn’t too far off my 5K p.r.! Thanks, Lance!

Overall, I would give this race a ‘thumbs up’. It was nothing fancy, but it was flat and fast. It was pretty well organized and being chipped timed is a plus. The long-sleeved shirt is nice addition to my collection.

- Adam

Illiopolis native, Adam Hawkins, is the midday announcer at 104.5 WFMB in Springfield. He has been a runner for 5 years.

The race was the Castlewood Cup 10 mile trail run on Feb. 28th. I was coming off of straining my knee a couple of weeks before so I didn’t have high expectations for this; I just wanted to enjoy a good trail run.

This was only my second trail run/race, the first ended in a knee injury so it scared me to do another. I went down on Friday to meet up with my good friend Ben. After a night of sushi, sake, beer, and shots we were good to go. It was a cold day and some snow flurries were coming down. I’ve never been out to Castlewood before so I didn’t know what to expect, just what Ben’s told me “it’s brutal”.

We arrived a little early so we drove around to try and scout out some of the course. I quickly realized that I wasn’t prepared for this race and definitely didn’t train for this. Oh well, time to wing it, at least I wasn’t fighting a hangover like Ben was.

The estimated number of participants was 350, it was a sold out event. They changed up the course a week or so before the race, the trail is real tight so they wanted to spread out the field a little by making us charge up a huge hill within the first mile. Snow flurries were falling and the man-pres were out.

The start of the race was flat cross country style running that only lasted about a half mile and then hill number one was in your face. My plan was to sandbag the hills so I don’t hurt my knee, and that’s what I did. Hill one was rough, steep, and long. I wasn’t sure how many of these hills were even on this course, I figured probably four or so, but I was hoping for only one, especially after that first climb.

The downhills were fast and dangerous, roots, rocks, and tree grabbing switchbacks.

The second climb started about mile 3, we crossed a road and were greeted by the race director saying “breath deep boys your about to climb”. On those encouraging notes we started the long haul uphill two. This stretch seemed to never end, back and forth slow climb. The field was spread pretty thin where I was so it was getting kind of lonely, everyone was about 20-30 yards apart and running close to the same pace. My legs were feeling great but I still didn’t want to push it up the hills. The halfway point had a water station, the only indication on where I was during the race. I hate drinking water when its 36 degrees out, and I was glad I didn’t, strait to a steep climb. Drinking water and climbing up a hill always sucks, and I had conformation of that from the guy behind me who was cursing the situation. I decided to slow up even slower to wait for the cursing water drinker so I wouldn’t have to run by myself, not sure if he wanted any company but he didn’t have a choice. We made conversation from time to time when the tail flattened out. It helped me relax and enjoy the run but I think he was pushing petty hard.

A few more ups and downs later (I started to lose track of where I was and how many hills I’ve climbed) we rounded a corner to the creek. After seeing some of the pictures of the race I realized that this was about 15 feet wide and close to a foot deep in the middle. Not fun, but oh so fun.

Right after the creek a guy passed us both and I quickly responded knowing we were nearing the end. Picking up the pace felt great, I started pulling away from my water buddy, the trail was smoothing out a little, and then it happened. I planted my left foot and the ankle rolled. My whole body hit the cold ground in pain. I grabbed my ankle and screamed some unknown sayings. Water buddy slowed to see if I was alright and quickly noticed I wasn’t. I crawled to a nearby log and sat down.

The slightest touch of the ground with my foot was unbearable. Two guys came running down the trail to rescue me, Jeff Bockhorn (team 180) and the race director. Thankfully we were only about a quarter mile from the tree line were there was a road. Being tall and lanky didn’t help when it came down to hauling me out but they were able to get me to the road and pick me up with a car and drive me to mine.

Dealing with any injury is no fun at all, especially when it’s at the beginning of the season and you’re unsure how long it will take to heal. Day by day is the way I’m dealing with this and it’s hard to hold yourself back from doing anything at all. But rest assure that there are people out there that have been though it and will encourage you all the way.

A special thanks to the 180 team that flooded my phone and e-mail with concern and support, it was well received. Two for two on trail runs with getting hurt, I think I’ll stay away from those for a while.

- John

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

On Sunday, January 18, 2009, I ran my first Marathon. The Marathon of choice was the 6th Annual P.F. Chang’s Arizona Rock-n-Roll Marathon/Half Marathon held in sunny Phoenix, AZ. The Marathon and Half Marathon routes are run on different courses but both start in downtown Phoenix and run through Scottsdale before finishing up in Tempe on the Campus of Arizona State University.

Kristi and I arrived a few days early so I acclimate myself to the weather. The temps were supposed to be mid 40’s to mid/upper 70’s. Friday morning, we headed to the Phoenix Convention Center which was the site of the Expo. I thought to myself “Now this is an Expo”. There were over 100 vendors and free clinics were being offered throughout the day. We headed to main floor, through the souvenir area, after packet pick-up with our pockets a little lighter. We strolled for a couple of hours, listened to some of the guest speakers, and headed for some lunch at Alice Cooperstown. This is a must when visiting Phoenix. Another must is the TGI Friday’s located at Chase Field (Diamondbacks Stadium). It overlooks the field and is a pretty cool experience.

Saturday was spent walking the streets of the college in Tempe. We met up with Kristi’s Aunt and Uncle around 2:30 and headed to Applebee’s to watch the Illinois/ Michigan St. game. The beers that Kristi and Howard were drinking looked good compared to the water I was sipping. Unfortunately, the Illini lost. That evening, we headed to P.F. Chang’s at the Waterfront for dinner. After filling myself with garlic noodles and a HUGE salad, it was back to Grandma’s for a good night’s sleep (I actually slept awesome).

I woke at 3:40 AM in order to eat some oatmeal and drink a shake and some water. I was feeling VERY nervous even though I knew I had trained right and was both mentally and physically prepared. I caught the shuttle from the finish line to the start line and arrived at the start at 6:10 AM. After mingling for a bit, I finished dressing, took my gear to the bag drop, relieved myself one last time, and headed to Corral 5 where I was to meet Scott at the 4:00 pace group. The temp at the start was about 50 degrees… absolutely gorgeous. At 7:40 AM, we were off. The plan was run with the pacer until mile 13/14 and see how we felt. Unfortunately, the pacer was all over the place so we left her at about mile 5 and went out on our own. This is when I first noticed the inside of my right ankle starting to hurt. Unfortunately, the pain stayed for the final 21.2 miles. Our 10K split was 55:36. I think it was a little fast but nothing too crazy.

The miles were rolling by and we both felt pretty good. At about mile 10, my stomach started cramping. I dealt with it for as long as I could. We passed the halfway point at 1:57:41. I had to make a quick pit stop at Starbucks sometime during mile 14 but felt 100% better. We made up the stop in a matter of 3 miles. Around mile 18, I started to prepare mentally for the last 10K. We ran through the 20 mile mark at 2:59:08. This was my last GU stop. I had taken 1 15 minutes before the race and at every 5 miles.

Miles 20-26.2 were by far the toughest thing I have ever done. At mile 22, every joint and muscle in my legs hurt. I could feel myself wanting to give up. Thank God, I had Scott right there. He kept me chugging along. He was EXTREMELY strong on this Sunday. Today, I still feel like I held him back just a touch but I guess that is why they are called training partners. I can honestly say that I would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed. Although my split for mile 26 was my worst, I mentally and physically thought mile 24 was my worst. Scott kept up his encouragements and before I knew it, I saw the mile 26 sign… and Kristi. I can only imagine what I looked like but I do remember mumbling “I’m hurtin’” as I passed them. Scott sprinted home (where did that energy come from) and I did everything I could to muster a sprint but my body said ‘NO WAY”. I crossed the line with a clock time of 3:58:02. I was elated that I ran a sub 4:00 for my first Marathon. My chip time ended up being 3:55:58 and Scott’s time was 3:55:44. We missed an even split by 36 seconds. 18 weeks ago we started this journey, and at approximately 11:40, we finished this journey together.

After receiving my medal, going through the food line, and retrieving my bag from the gear drop, I met up with Kristi, Howard, and Donna. After a couple of hours, I started to feel REALLY bad. A comment was made that I actually looked a little green. The crew dropped me at the hotel so I could shower and change. Kristi brought back a pizza and it was the best tasting pizza I had ever eaten. I scarfed down like 5 pieces in about 10 minutes. Mexican was the course for the evening meal.

This was such an incredible experience… from the training to the actual race. It was awesome training with Scott H, Mike and Chris B, and on one occasion Tom B. If you ever have the opportunity to train with these guys, don’t pass it up. This race is a must do. Not only is the weather superb, the environment, the bands, and the scenery were just as good. Total number of entrants between the Marathon/Half topped out at a little over 34, 800 making it the largest combined Marathon/Half in the world.

The difference between my Garmin and my official results was 6 seconds. Below is a list of the splits.

Miles 1-5… 8:51, 8:50, 9:03, 8:57, & 8:49
Miles 6-10… 8:55, 8:57, 9:03, 8:53, & 9:02
Miles 11-15… 9:05, 8:51, 8:54, 9:42, & 8:27
Miles 16-20… 8:51, 8:50, 8:45, 8:46, and 8:50
Miles 21-26.2… 9:05, 8:47, 9:06, 9:12, 9:02, 9:24, and the last .35 was at 8:59

On a side note, Scott somehow came up with these stats… At the halfway point, we were roughly 2,555 people back. In the second half of the race, we picked up roughly 850 spots. Of those 850 spots, we picked up roughly 390 of them in the last 6.2 miles.

And if your wondering if another marathon is in my future, I’m contemplating one the second half of the year.

- Lance

“Wild Hares – Guest Star Blog” is written by our favorite rabbits. We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers. Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

Some friends and I made plans about six months ago to participate in the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Antonio, TX on November 16, 2008. For me and my running partner, it was our first marathon. For our friends Jeff and Traci, marathon veterans, it was a chance to qualify for Boston. There were four of us running, and we had twelve supporters from St. Louis/ Springfield, who came down to watch.

First, San Antonio is amazing…a beautiful city. We arrived on Saturday and the race was on Sunday. We stayed close to the Riverwalk and quickly learned that if you fall into the River, not only do you get wet, but it is a $500 ticket. Yikes! We couldn’t wait to try out the Texas margaritas on Sunday night.

Race day was colder than normal for the area, or so I am told. We woke up to 30 degree temperatures! Very cold for standing around, but great for running. I lost my running partner at about mile 12, when she stopped to go to the bathroom…but it didn’t seem to matter. I ran the first 22 miles with very little pain or suffering, and I actually enjoyed the run. The race was well-organized and the bands were awesome motivation. Then, I hit the wall. Having never run a full marathon before, I didn’t really understand what “the wall” was, but I believed somehow that “the wall” would not impact me. Yeah, I was wrong about this one. I even had a mental battle with myself about turning around…which really would have been stupid…where would I have gone?? I ended up basically speed walking for about two miles, which really wrecked my time.

All of the sudden at mile 24, I heard someone call out my name—and my friends Jeff and Traci (who had finished the marathon in 3:09 and 3:31 respectively—both qualifying for Boston), came to run with me. Tossing my pride aside, knowing that they had finished and were now going to run EXTRA miles, I knew it was exactly what I needed to finish the race! My adrenaline was pumping again, and I crossed the finish line. By this point it was 70 degrees and sunny…we hung out outside and listened to the finish line band at the Alamodome.

It took me about 4:50 to finish the marathon. I was disappointed in my time, but I finished my first marathon injury free, and I can work on my time for the next one. In fact, all of us finished—and two people PR’ed and qualified for Boston. It was a great experience, and as an FYI, the margaritas in San Antonio taste great when celebrating at the finish line!

- Julie

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The Quad Cities Marathon was held September 28th, 2008. In conjunction with the full 26.2 mile marathon, they have a marathon relay, half marathon, and 5K. I chose to run a half marathon about a month ago. I actually ran the Quad Cities Marathon in 2005, my first. It was a miserable experience. The weather was hot and humid and I got stopped by a train; not once…TWICE! Apparently the race director was P.O’d that the railroad was operating that day and decided to park his SUV on tracks to stop the train for the elite runners. I got stopped at miles 22 and 24 and just never recovered. Needless to say, the Quad Cities Marathon left a bad taste in my mouth.

In March of this year, I headed downtown to sign up for the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon, here in Springfield. I had the opportunity to meet the director of the Quad Cities Marathon and he mentioned that I should try the course again. He stated they changed the course and had added several features to make the race unique. I told him I was planning to run the Chicago Marathon, but would keep it in mind.

Well…I never signed up for the Chicago Marathon. In August, I got the itch to start training for a race of some distance. I pulled out the brochure for the Quad Cities Marathon and decided to try the half. My training for the half marathon was less than stellar. I did get several ten-mile runs in, but never one that I felt was great. My longest run was 12 miles, but I bonked during that. However, I knew I could run 13.1 flat miles if the weather was cool and nothing out of the ordinary took place.

The weekend of the half marathon, I took off for the Quad Cities on Saturday afternoon. After hanging out with a good friend that evening enjoying some pre-race Whitey’s Ice Cream, I got to bed early to rest up for the race. On Sunday, the 28th, the weather was absolutely perfect. It was overcast with slight breeze out of the northwest and temperatures in the lower 50’s. I was excited because the last time I did this race it rained as we lined up, got sunny and humid as the temperature got up into the 80’s! I arrived at the John Deer Commons in Moline, Illinois early to do some stretching and light jogging.

The race started at 8am. They start all the races at one time, so you have to be careful to “run your own race”. I felt good from the start. My goal for this race was 1 hour and 50 minutes. I was shooting for a pace of about 8 minutes/mile. The first mile or so, I was going too fast and had a pace of about 7:10 minutes/mile. However, by the time we hit the I-74 Bridge, I had settled into my 8 minute/mile pace. I was able to maintain this pace pretty much for the whole race. As we headed east on Lincoln Road in Bettendorf Iowa, I got passed by a pace leader with a goofy hat that read “Pace 1:45”. She literally left me in her dust as we headed down towards the river on 18th street in Bettendorf. However, I tried to keep her in eyesight, knowing that if I kept up with her group, I was going to meet my goal of 1:50.

At the half-way point for the marathon in Davenport Iowa, I was still feeling good. At 6.55 miles, my time was 50:30. The half-marathoners departed the marathoners at mile 8 and we headed onto Arsenal Island in Rock Island, Illinois. At this point, my left hip really started to hurt. I’m not sure why, but when I run long distances, I always have problems with my left hip. I did everything I could think of to shake it. I didn’t stop; but I wanted to.

After 10.1 miles, my time was 1:19. I knew I was on pace to finish in under 1:50. With just under a 5K to go, I kept my focus on the goofy lady and her goofy hat. According to my Garmin, I was still running at a pace of 8 minutes/mile. Somehow, somewhere on Arsenal Island, I forgot about my hip hurting. I got passed up by a group of Army men and women running the relay and tried my best to cheer them on.

Then at 12.13 miles it happened; I got passed by the runner leading the marathon. It is amazing to watch somebody run that well after running so far. I believe he was 7 miles ahead of us and he still had some out-and-backs to run before he would get to the same finish line. I had less than a mile to go and as I left Arsenal Island, I knew I was within my goal. However, I could still see the crazy hat lady and thought “why not shoot for 1:45”. I looked down at my Garmin and my pace had dropped to 8:40 minutes/mile. At that point, I picked up the pace and shot down River Drive to the finish line. I finished with a time of 1 hour 46 minutes and 49 seconds.

I was proud of my finish overall. I felt I ran a good race. It was fun to run through four cities, an island, and two states. I got a chance to meet several runners who were familiar with Hardybreed.com. I also met a couple of my old friends from Iowa. The Schnucks-Miller Lite Post Race Party was fun. I had three beer tickets on my racing bib that I took full advantage of. They also had plenty of Happy Joe’s Pizza and were cooking hot dogs and brats. Jynocel Basweti of Kenya won the marathon with a time of 2:18.04, after two runners ahead of him pulled out with injuries. Vince Temu won the half marathon with a time of 1:12.49.

- Matt Vortman

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I thought I’d do a writeup of the Monster Adventure experience, covering not just the race, but also the teammate – Dan B. – one of the two great minds behind Hardy Breed. To the other – Jason – a tribute.  Jason was Dan’s original partner but could not make it for the race. For Jason, there’s a song for every occasion, so I’ve added links to music that is relevant, if only by their name. [The music is mostly hard and fast - just like Jason's racing - listener discretion is advised ]

While Dan was showering, one of his gadgets beeped. I sifted through them. Which one was it? Was it the XM Satellite radio? No. Was it the Heart Rate Monitor? No. Radar Detector? No. Garmin? No. IPhone? Yeah, that was it! It was a text message from Jason, who was scheduled to meet us at the race to serve as our support. It read: “Diarrhea, vomiting, fever. I’m not coming. Sorry.” He really must have been Infected with something nasty. I thought about Jason, and how I got called up from the minors to fill in due to his injury, and I realized it was a really good thing he broke his collar bone, because if Jason got sick the morning of the race, Dan would have killed him right then.

I relayed the message to Dan, who replied with a text message of his own. I think it read, “2 Bad. L8R.” Kids today.

South Park Start
A crisp Autumn air greeted us and the sun began to Illuminate the darkness as we departed the hotel and made our way to the South Park Pavilion. We were handed a map with various destinations and highlighted, suggested routes to take. We memorized the street names as well as wrote them down on a cheat sheet, neither of which, as it turns out, did us much good. A short time later, we approached the starting point on our bikes. With one shoe clipped into the pedal, I was raring to go. But alas, it was not to be. A quick change of plans, says the organizer. We immediately hop off the bikes and run down a hill and find and retrieve a specific tag, which would be needed later. Huh? “Welcome to adventure racing,” I thought.

“The Wilderness” – You’re Not Kidding
It was in The Wilderness that I was reunited with my first love – the trails. But oh, we were off to a rocky start. Like all relationships, there were some twists and turns, ups and downs, and the occasional mud flinging. A younger fella caught us during the trail run, but was kind enough not to take the lead so that Dan and I could take turns eating the spider webs and falling in the mud holes. “Young Freshie” was no dummy.

We pressed on. It was as if the course was designed to Destroy the Runner. At one point I was stumbling through a creek, sinking about 2-5 inches into silt with every step, when all of a sudden, two inches became two feet.  I was in mud past my knee. I struggled to get my leg out, cognizant of the fact that my foot better still have a shoe on it when I pulled it free of the muck and mire.

We transferred from run to bike. The Freshman was now out front. Nice guy, really, and it made for some friendly competition. After a creek crossing, with a mixture of mud and sand coating both us and our bikes, we realized the futility of attempting to bike any further. We carried our bikes, along with the the additional 10 pounds of earth that had accumulated on them, through a quarter mile of loamy, swampy ground, until finally, I could set my Cannondale Scalpel down and carve some trail.

After awhile, the Fresh Faced youngster, who was blazing the trail ahead of us, had turned around and was coming at us with a look on his face that made us think he lost his Nerve. Turns out he had feared he missed a checkpoint. We assured him it was still ahead, and off we went, down a patch of flat road, and into a steep climb. We dropped down into granny gear and spun up the hill at a high cadence. It was time to test him – could the Fresh Prince hang in the high hills of Quincy? We glance left, and there he is, off his bike, walking alongside us, keeping pace. Outstanding!

At long last, we depart the trails. Dan examines the map for our next checkpoint, and locates A Better Way than the route suggested by the race organizers. We take it, and it proves to be a wise move as we shave off what appears to be a mile of road, thanks to Dan’s keen mapology. And it was a good thing too – we would need every second of time made up here for the ensuing debacle.

Kayaking in Moorman Park
We arrived at Moorman Park, and after some confusion, we were eventually directed to the appropriate location to drop bikes, run to the kayak, and plunge it into the water. It was nice to be off the legs for awhile. We proceeded to methodically paddle to each hole punch, strung atop stakes protruding from the pond – all that is except one. Think giant floating puzzle, with one piece missing. What happened to it? Was it gone? Was it Sabotage? By the second lap around the pond in search for the missing hole punch, we were paddling hard enough to pull a skier. Finally we found it, hidden on the other side of a small island. At last, we could get out of the water, make our way through some obstacles, and get back on the bike for our first real urban assault through intersections and traffic. No mistakes here, just some good road riding. Next stop: The Veterans Run.

Me ‘n Sandy
What’s worse than carrying forty pounds of sand on your back for two miles? NOTHING! Except perhaps a single axle trailer dropping onto your foot just before you’re to carry a sandbag for two miles. That’s just what happened when I set my sandbag atop the trailer to remove excess sand from it. It teetered like a see-saw with the weight of my sandbag, and crashed upon my foot.  I thought my toes were Broken. Other than that, the sandbag carry was wonderful. Sometimes when I’m bored, I’ll go buy a bag of Sacrete at Lowes and just walk around town with it. On training races, I’m told Dan tosses one in his camel back for the extra challenge. When we emerged from the creek, we were informed it was time to take Sandy for a walk around the park. Yes, we were spending so much time together I felt it was time to give that ol’ bag a name. It was one park lap I won’t soon forget. With some of the looks we got, I felt as if we were in a Two Man Parade. 

When I got done, I felt as if a tremendous weight was lifted off my shoulders.

I’ll never forget you, Sandy. Nor will my lower back.

Up next – more obstacles, one of which consisted of two 5 gallon buckets attached to a string suspended by a pulley system hung on a branch of a large oak tree. The bucket on the ground had at least 10 lbs of sand in it, and the other was suspended in the air, about 5 feet above our heads. We were to toss bags of sand into that bucket until it outweighed the bucket on the ground and dropped. The biggest trick I quickly learned was to avoid getting bonked on the head by a missed shot from your teammate (I am pretty sure he wasn’t aiming for me).

Final Run
We were A Mile Away from victory, and now was a good time to look back at a great race that wrapped up a fun season. We let up our pace just a bit and used this time to relax and compare notes. Dan was a great teammate; his experience and tenacity made him the best partner one could ask for. I was thankful to have done the race, and to have done it with him instead of against him. We crossed the finish line, and I looked up at that clock, ticking away: 05:09:04…05:09:05…05:09:06…

5 hours. The Older I Get, the more I’m aware of that clock’s tick. We can’t control it; rather, it controls us. It is what we do with the time we’re given that matters most. My kids, born just yesterday it seems, are now doing their own bike races. It won’t be long before they’re able to dust their old man. (Not that I will go down without a fight.) While racing for me is something I’ve loved since my Big Wheel days 35 years ago, the trick will always be to properly balance it with the more important things in life, things such as those represented by the final link in this article, below.

So that’s the story of my first adventure race. I wondered to myself, will this be my last, or the first of many? Time will tell. But with the race over, my only immediate concerns were to replenish, rehydrate, and relax. Now, where can I get something to eat?

Andy
1 Timothy 4:8

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A few days ago, I mailed my 2008 St. Jude Marathon registration application. I’m really looking forward to completing the St. Jude Memphis Marathon; it will be my second lifetime marathon. Also, I have to return a medal to my friend. I’ll explain why later.

Completing the St. Jude Marathon is a goal that I set for myself three years ago.

To give you a little background, I had registered for the marathon in 2006. I had been training most of the spring and summer that year in hopes of running and completing what would have been my second marathon. In fact, I had completed a twenty mile run a few weeks prior to the marathon scheduled in early December.

Having turned 50 that year, my doctor scheduled me for a routine colonoscopy the middle of November. When the examination was complete, the colon surgeon indicated he found a mass in my colon and would need to perform a biopsy. The results of the biopsy showed the mass was cancerous. He said any plans to run a marathon would have to be put on hold for the time being.

Very quickly my plans changed from running the St. Jude Memphis Marathon and visiting sites around Memphis, including Beale Street and Graceland, to a visit to the operating room with months of recovery.

The surgery was successful, but because the tumor had invaded my blood system, my oncologist recommended that I undergo six months of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy was difficult, but up until the last couple of months I tried to continue running on a greatly scaled back training regimen. Finally in June 2007, chemotherapy was over. I began to train for a sprint triathlon. I planned to compete with my daughter. I also had hopes of completing the St. Jude Marathon as well. I completed the sprint triathlon as planned. My daughter finished as well. She passed me on the bike portion and I didn’t see her again until the finish line.

In October 2007, blood test results indicated my CEA levels (a tumor marker) had increased. A CT scan in November validated the reason for the elevated CEA levels. The news was bad. Four cancer legions were found in my liver. Luckily, I was a good candidate for liver surgery, but would have to spend Christmas in a St. Louis hospital recuperating from a liver resection. The surgery was successful, but the recuperating period would be a little longer this time. Also, my oncologist said the recurrence rate was so high he recommended chemotherapy continuing indefinitely. I decided to forgo the recommended treatment.

Months later and with encouragement from friends, I began to run again, slowly at first, but gradually increasing my speed and distance. A couple of weeks ago, I made the decision to try to run the St. Jude Marathon in 2008.

I had trained for the 2006 St. Jude Marathon with a good friend Gary Durchholz. We had plans to take our wives and enjoy the sites of Memphis before running the marathon. Needless to say, I had to cancel. Gary and his wife traveled to Memphis. Gary completed the marathon and received a marathon medal. A couple of weeks after my surgery, Gary came over to see how well I was recuperating. Gary handed me his marathon medal and said he wanted me to keep it because I was unable to make the run. The only requirement was that I would some day run the St. Jude Marathon and receive a medal. At that time, I could return the medal he had given me.

The marathon application has been mailed. It is now time to do some serious marathon training. My goal now is to complete my second lifetime marathon, and return the 2006 medal to my friend.

- Bill

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The Lewis and Clark Marathon/ Half Marathon are held on Sunday, September 14th and are run through St. Charles County. The race starts at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and finishes up in Frontier Park, the site of the Lewis and Clark Statue. Both the Marathon and Half marathon run the same course for the first 13.1 miles and then the Marathon continues with an out-and-back along the Katy Trail. The course is pretty flat with only 1 major incline (I think) that hits between miles 7 and 8. There was supposed to be in upwards of 5,500+ attending the race.

We had to pick up our packets from the expo on Saturday. The expo was quite small. I think there were 4 or 5 tables and an area for Fleet Feet. I think we spent a total of 15 minutes at the expo (went around twice to make sure we didn’t miss anything). The shirt is pretty nice. It is a moisture-wicking, long sleeve red shirt with logo on front and sponsors on back. I also picked up a souvenir sweatshirt with a logo for the upcoming cooler weather.

I woke at 0400 to the sound of thunder which was not a good sign. After fixing breakfast and coffee, I turned on TWC to get the forecast. The forecast called for temps in the mid 60’s, heavy rains, and winds gusting at 20-30 mph (might have been an understatement but I’m no meteorologist). At this point, I wasn’t looking forward to running but I proceeded to get ready and out the door we left at 0535. The pre-race flyer asked that we arrive at 0545 so 10 minutes would have been plenty of time since we stayed at a hotel in Westport Plaza…NOT!!! We turned onto I-70 and we were immediately halted by 3 lanes of traffic backed up about a mile from the exit. We still needed to go about another mile from the exit. At this point I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the starting line for a 0645 start.

I FINALLY made it to the start line at about 0730 and the rain/wind still hadn’t let up. There wasn’t anyone at the start line so I asked if the race had been cancelled. I was told that there were about 4,000+ already out on the course. I removed the plastic bags from my shoes and body, relieved myself, did some light stretching, said adios to my dad and I was off.

At this point, I think the rain was coming down harder or maybe it was the fact that I was running into it. It felt like I was being stuck with little pins with each rain drop. I remember grimacing at one point as it was hitting my legs. I remembered my hat and sun glasses to make sure my head and eyes were protected. Out of the ten miles we ran, I would guess at least half were against the wind.

Because of the weather, I had decided that I was going to run it as I would a long run just at a slightly faster pace. I knew that with these conditions, there was no way I was going to run what I wanted to run. I was busy looking at the surroundings, reading peoples shirts, and dodging in and out of the walkers. I remember reading one kids shirt that said “Beating cancer one mile at a time” and couldn’t help to think if he was the one who was trying to beat it. I gave him a high five and a “Good Job” as I went by.

I was feeling pretty good around mile 8 as we exited 370 heading into downtown St. Charles. I remember thinking to myself that I thought we missed a turn. At the 9 mile mark, I saw Gary W. (a local runner who was trying to qualify for Boston). He informed me that the race was only going to go 10 miles for everyone due to flooding between miles 8-11 (we did miss a turn) and the Katy Trail. I pushed the last 1 mile and finished with a Garmin time of 1:20 (clock time of 1:45).

The post race was full of food, water and BEER. I grabbed an Ultra Amber, some snacks, and grabbed a shuttle to take me back to the start area and the car. There was supposed to be a band but due to the weather…

I don’t think I will soon forget this racing experience. There are times in our running careers when we have a defining moment. For me, that was this race experience. I learned that runners are a different breed…a “Hardy Breed” in fact. How many other people would have ventured out in these conditions? I am definitely going to run this course next year. Under any other conditions, this would have been a good time.

And to the other 5,000+ insanely awesome “Hardy Breed” runners at the Lewis and Clark, I say “Job well done!!!!”

A special thanks goes out to ALL the volunteers. These were horrendous conditions but you all stuck with us. Hats off to all of you!

- Lance

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[View the race photos] [Results] The Big Shoulders (www.bigshoulders.org) open water swim classic is an annual event held in Chicago every September. This year’s race featured 603 swimmers from all over the country. The weather always seems to be an issue for one reason or another. One year they’ll have 3 foot swells and athletes get sea-sickness from the motion of the waves, and another year the water is an absurdly cold 63 degrees and swimmers are faced with the possibility of hypothermia.

This year was, however, nearly ideal. The water temperature going into the race on Saturday was an idyllic 79 degrees. Then Hurricane Gustav hammered Chicago Wednesday night through most of Thursday night and by Saturday the temperature of the water had dropped 10 degrees. 69 degrees is not threatening, but definitely not comfortable either.

The featured race is a non-wetsuit 5k. In case you missed that… I did write 5k for the distance of the swim race. I was there merely to support my wife and all of the other 12 or so swimmers from Springfield and to report back for hardybreed.

Let me tell you, standing at the starting line on Ohio Beach in Downtown Chicago looking out onto Lake Michigan at those buoys… It’s a long, long way to swim.

It reminded me of the first time I did the old Ironhorse Triathlon so many years ago. Ironhorse had a mile and a half swim. I was 19 standing at the starting line looking out onto Lake Springfield. I remember distinctly looking out at this long line of never ending orange buoys. I asked a fellow racer standing next to me, pointing to my far right, if that was the turn around and he said, “yep, then you turn left and go all the way over to that one.” My stomach just sank.

You’re standing there on the starting line in Chicago and the buoys are a long way away. The buoys make one large triangle. And just in case the triangle doesn’t seem big enough, the swimmers in the 5k race get to do it twice.

The race consists of about 8 waves of swimmers set off in 5 minute intervals. It had the look and feel of triathlon in just about every way except for the transition area (or rather, lack thereof). The course is set up so that the final stretch is along the Lake Shore Drive bike/run path. This proved to be a great way to watch the racers.

They swim about 50 meters away from the path for a little more than a half mile. Spectators could walk alongside and watch the race as it happened.

After the first lap, two guys had clearly made a gap from the chasing group and these guys were moving. They had this entire lake to swim in, and they were shoulder to shoulder and stroke for stroke. If you look closely in the photos I took, you can see one of them (the guy that won) actually look back towards the rest of the field. The two continued their lead, then one of them pulled away from the other.

The winner finished in a time of 56:38! Amazing.

The finish involves running up onto the beach and crossing the chip timing mat. Apparently, when you swim that far and you kick so much it really fatigues the legs. Most of swimmers coming out of the water had a really tough time making it up to the finish line. It was a little bit of sympathy for how tired they really were, and a little bit of comic relief. Some looked like drunken sailors.

All in all, everyone from Springfield had a great time and most had personal bests. The race was followed that night by a great dinner for 22 of the Springfield group. A much earned celebration for all.

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By Dan Dungan

I made the decision early in the season to support the local Petersburg lads and have a go at their event. I’ ll give them massive kudos for this undertaking.  It’s often overlooked by race participants, the sheer volume of work required to pull off a triathlon.

Steve O’Connor, Dave Cox and countless other volunteer were up to the task.  As with any first time event there are little things that just fall through the cracks.  With so many race events competing for our time I was confident the Petersburg crew could pull off an outstanding venue.

This is race consisted of swim in Lake Petersburg, a bike leg west to Jim Edgar State Park (Site M) and a run course mapped through New Salem.  And yes the long course includes a run up the monster climb at the entrance to the park.

Now for my race day.  I’ve race north of 80 triathlons over the past years and have had only ONE flat ever.  You can say I am lucky for sure but luck ran a foul and you guessed it a flat.  The kind of flat we all dread, a tire shredding side wall blow out.

I had worked my way up to second place overall when on my exit from Site-M the sound of cannon fire pierced the air.  No cannon at Site-M today just the air in my 140psi rear tire exiting at sound barrier popping speed.

As I changed my tubular tire in under 5:16 seconds I found myself in ninth position.  I told myself to stay steady and TT the remaining 9 mile return at New City TT pace.

Job done as I passed two before T2 and past another in T2.

On to the run course where I was the hunter on a HOT humid run course.  I found it a bit confusing as the short course runners where mixed with the long course runners and I had no idea who was who.  I decided to run steady and hoped for the best.

I finished fourth overall and first in my AG. – Dan

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The Bix 7, a seven mile road race held each year in Davenport, Iowa is hands-down my favorite road race to participate in. The race is named after a famous jazz musician, Bix Beiderbecke who was born in Davenport. I was introduced to this race while at St. Ambrose University in 2002 and have done it ever since.

There are several events that surround the race each year. The Wells Fargo Street Festival, Alcoa’s Annual Junior Bix 7, and the Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival are held each year in conjunction with the actual road race. RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) is also held during the week leading up to the Bix. So if you like running, biking, music, eating and drinking; this race is for you!

The Bix 7 is famous for the hill at the start of the race called Brady Street. It’s 0.43 miles long starting down by the Mississippi River and heading up into Davenport. There are numerous hills throughout the course, but Brady is what the Bix is known for. The course itself is an out-and-back heading towards Bettendorf and then ending back down on 4th street in Davenport. Usually held on the last Saturday of July, the Bix 7 is known to be tough, hot, and crowded.

Each year, I come with new goals. How fast can I make it up Brady Street? Will I have to stop and walk at KAB Hill? Will I die on Kirkwood Boulevard? Can I set a PR? This year, my goal was to finish under 56 minutes. It’s a power race, not a fast race and I thought I could manage 8 minute miles. I had not trained specifically for this race. It’s funny, six years ago I trained for this race and thought seven miles was an eternity. Running had always been punishment for missing free throws in basketball practice. Now, it’s a way of life for me!

This year, I was lucky to start right behind the “elite runners”. For six years, I have paced myself up Brady Street, working through the crowd and saving my legs for the other hills. This year, I decided I was going to see if I could actually run up it! So when the gun went off at 8:02, I charged up Brady Street! I actually felt pretty good at the start, but by the time I got up to Brady’s peak, my legs were burning. Ok, burning was an understatement!! I felt like I had just run a half marathon and needed to sit down. As Brady Street flattened out and we turned over onto Kirkwood, I slowly felt my legs come back to me. Note to self: pace yourself up Brady next year! So, as I continued down Kirkwood, I started to feel better and kept a 7:43 pace for the first mile.

By the second mile, I was back to my old self. I actually got to run with Bill Rodgers for most of the second mile. Bill Rodgers won several (4, I believe) New York City and Boston Marathons. Along with Joan Samuelson, he is Bix 7 legend. It was interesting to hear everybody cheer him on and root for him. He was very appreciative to the applause and waved as much as he could. I tried to take that in as long as I could, but even though he’s 60, I couldn’t keep up with Bill Rodgers! I finished the second mile with a pace of 7:04.

During miles three and four, I felt pretty good. There are two steep, quick kills (KAB) that tend to slow most runners down, but overall I was able to manage 7:43 and 8:23 during the third and fourth mile respectively. At the turnaround, I stopped and grabbed some water. I have yet to manage the ability to slam water or Gatorade while running. How is that done? Mile five and six are the toughest part of the Bix, in my opinion.

This is where you head back up Kirkwood Boulevard from the Mississippi River, back towards Brady Street. It’s a very slow, miserable incline the entire way. The hill at Brady Street is famous, but the incline at Kirkwood will make you cry. I’ve seen several runners get sick, pass out, cry and/or quit on this hill during the years.

Fortunately, is was pleasant and cool this year. The heat was not a factor in this race like it usually is. Also, the crowds and bands are great at this part of the race. They do their best to cheer on all the runners, offering them water and ice. I managed an 8:20 pace during mile 5 and 8:31 pace during mile six. I was pleased with this time. I usually shoot for 10 minute miles heading back up Kirkwood, so when I looked down at my Garmin and saw my pace, I knew I was running a good race.

Finally, mile seven ends the race and you have to go back down Brady Street. Some say it’s harder to go down Brady than it is to run up it; to me going down Brady Street is so much fun. I usually just let myself go and fly down towards the turn at 4th Street. I could see where if you had knee trouble, going down Brady Street wouldn’t be much fun. I finished the last mile with a 7:40 pace and finished with a time of 55:18. It wasn’t a PR, but I finished under 56, which was my goal.

After the race, I looked for members of the Cutting Edge Running Club, from my hometown of Winchester, Illinois. I also looked for old classmates. The Schnucks Post-Race Party is actually a lot of fun! Often times, it’s a great chance to catch up with old friends and compared how the race turned out. This year, 13,711 runners took part in the Bix 7. This was the fewest runners they’ve had since 1990. Unfortunately, flooding and gas prices, kept some away.

I plan on running the Bix as long as my body will let me. It’s just tradition. I’ve never met a runner, who’s done the Bix once. It’s a well organized race, and almost everybody comes back to do it again. For me, it’s part competition and part nostalgia. Being in my upper 20’s, its fun to compare my times now to when I was in my early 20’s and just starting to run.

It’s fun to strategize and think of different ways run the course. I also love to hang out with old friends and meet new ones. Its also a chance to head to Whitey’s and grab some ice cream, head to Rookies and order my favorite beer, and visit all the other places I used to go when I was in graduate school. Davenport is my home away from home, and the Bix 7 is my favorite race of the year.

- Matt Vortman

“Wild Hares - Guest Star Blog”  is written by our favorite rabbits.  We will display a new blog post, every week or so from one of our viewers.   Email Dan for more information on how you can be a “Wild Hare.”

(From www.SteepleChics.com with permission from Ann Gaffigan. Photo by Eric Naslund)

Saying Goodbye to Running and Hello to…Running

I know I’m supposed to believe in myself. I know I’m supposed to have positive thoughts and really believe that I can achieve my dreams. But I’ve also learned that you have to have a backup plan. Because the reality of it is, only a small fraction of athletes achieve their goal of making the Olympic Team. There were only 3 spots available on the steeplechase squad, and I wasn’t the only one who thought she had a right to one of those spots. I wasn’t the only one who had made sacrifices, who had worked hard, who had tried to do everything right. I wasn’t the only one who believed in herself. I wasn’t the only one with great support from family and friends. So while I did everything I could to get mentally prepared for the final of the women’s steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Trials on July 3, 2008, I made one mental note that acknowledged the possibility that I might not make the team: if things are not going your way, you better at least give it your absolute all.

Why?
Because people are watching you.
Because people invested in you.
Because they gathered at a sports bar in your hometown to watch the race live and see if you could make it.
Because they stayed up late to watch the race on TV.
Because they, without being asked, put work on hold for you until you returned from the trip.
Because they wanted to interview you about your experience, whether you made the Team or not.
Because they saw what you did in 2004 and wanted to see if you could repeat it, this time with the Olympics including the steeplechase.
Because they cared.
Because they traveled across the country and wore pink leis during the final to match your uniform and spent a lot of money on flights and hotels and rental cars and tickets.
Because they barely got to see you while they were there.
Because they dragged you out on your runs a year ago when you had hit rock bottom and didn’t know if you wanted to keep running anymore.
Because they coached you without pay, staying late for your workouts and driving you all over town for tempo runs, cold runs when you needed the wind at your back, and hill workouts.
Because people you are close to and people you don’t even know wrote you letters and e-mails of encouragement.

For these reasons, I made a mental note to not give up and pout if the race wasn’t going well. Nope, you’d better RUN.

By about the 5th lap, reality had set in. The leaders were pulling away and I was not able to keep up with them. That was the reality. No positive mental attitude was going to propel me to their level on that day. I wasn’t in their league, physically. I watched the three spots on the Olympic team run away towards record-setting times. It would have been so easy to just “finish” the race. But I yelled at myself in my mind:

“You’d better keep running and you’d better run hard. You did not stick around for the last 4 years to come here and feel sorry for yourself.”

So I ran. Every time I ran by section U, I could feel my family watching me, begging me to finish with dignity so I wouldn’t have any regrets. Begging me to not fall apart so I wouldn’t be embarrassed. Wanting me to know they loved me no matter what. When I ran by section K, near the water pit, I heard my roommates and friends and sister-in-law screaming their heads off, bare abs of steel painted with “GO ANN!”, willing me to accelerate into the water jump, to run hard and finish well, even if it didn’t mean making the team, wanting me to know they loved me no matter what. I could feel my coach clicking off my splits, finding the positives, which were that I was holding it together better than I had been recently, that I was running one of the best races I’d run in years. Hoping I wouldn’t be too upset with the result. Wanting me to be happy. Knowing I have high expectations and am not easily satisfied. Knowing I’d shown signs of my old self this season and wishing it could have been my day to prove it.

I finished and was spent. I think I laid on the track. I think someone helped me up. I hope I congratulated some of my competitors. I think I looked up and saw my dad leaning over the rail in section U. I blew him a kiss, which felt right in the moment but is not a normal action for me, especially with my dad. Or did I do that before the race? I know I saw my sister as soon as I stepped off the track. She always finds me somehow. She gave me a big hug. She told me she loved me. She handed me her phone and I heard my brother’s voice. He told me he loved me. I held back tears. A crowd waited patiently for me to get off the phone so the official could walk me to the mixed zone and they could let the spectators pass. I didn’t realize I was holding everyone up because no one complained. They just looked at me patiently with….Respect? Pity? Empathy? All of the above? It was touching.

I walked through the mixed zone, not expecting anyone to want to talk to the 10t- place finisher. But Amil from the Husker athletic department wanted to. I don’t know what he said, but I know I choked up when I answered. I talked to Bryan Burwell from the St Louis Post-Dispatch. I don’t remember what he asked me, but I remember his kind smile and his compliments on the SteepleChics site. I thought that would be it, but then Ryan from Flotrack stopped me. By now, I wasn’t as choked up. He started asking me questions and as I talked, I started to feel better. It wasn’t the end of the world that I didn’t make the team! Wow, I thought it would be! But it wasn’t. I had done everything I thought was right. I kept going even when it seemed pointless. I came back from a terrible season in 2007. I don’t have any regrets. And now I can say I tried. The interview went on for almost 8 minutes because my endorphin high was kicking in and I wouldn’t shut up. Mark, founder of Flotrack, came over asking if this was the longest interview ever. He said, “Where were you last year at this time?” I said “Not competing because my season had gone so terribly.” He said “Yeah, see? You’ve come a long way.”

I left the mixed zone with a smile on my face. I had come a long way, in more ways than one. I had learned so much about life in the process. I am proud of myself, not because of what I achieved, but because of how I faced the challenges along the way. I feel like I want and deserve a mental break from “Running” as I’ve known it: the Running that meant planning trips around workouts; agonizing over the decision to stay home or have a little fun on birthdays, New Year’s Eve, or the 4th of July; experiencing both my greatest triumphs and most devastating disappointments; constant self-evaluation and perfectionism; and last but not least, the feeling that I was attempting to do something extraordinary. I now am getting to know, for the first time in my life, the Running that means spending time with a good friend, talking for a solid hour (and solving all of our problems) as we run the in-town MOPAC trail; putting in just enough mileage to keep mood swings at bay while allowing for enough energy to be leftover for things like sand volleyball, mowing my lawn, and painting my living room; feeling extra-motivated one day and adding in some sprints, lunges and squats without the fear of overdoing it and getting too sore before my next hard workout; choosing (guilt-free) not to run when it’s thunder-storming or the heat index is too high; having no particular goal in mind at all.

For once, I’m not going to try to do something extraordinary.

I’m interested to see how long this lasts…

HardyBreed would like to Congratulate Ann and thank her for her story.
You can find out more about Ann Gaffigan on her website www.SteepleChics.com.

Listen to her interview from after the Trials below: