Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Registered for the 2013 Chicago Marathon

I have registered for the 2013 Chicago Marathon.  It is on October 13, 2013.

I also registered my son  Zach, who ran a 3:07 in Denver 2012.

I didn't have a marathon last year, so I jumped in in 2013 early with a Chicago registration.  7 Months to train.  Hope I don't burn out. :)

The web site was swamped and Active.com had a lot of technical issues, like 40,000 people trying to register on the same day.  It took me a few tries but I got us both registered.  The suspended the registration after I got in and said they have 15,000 spots left and will re-open it in 2 days.  It's crazy how quickly the big city Marathons are filling up.  I remember you used to have months to decide and register and now it's days.

Anyway, I'm in with a BQ qualifier as a goal, not that I will do Boston again, but that's a good goal with the faster qualifier times.  3:25

Snowing hard in Denver now, as I blog this.  Might have to adjust my training schedule this week for the snow storm.  Makes me long for the summer long runs at  5:30 am before it gets too hot.  Those will come soon enough.


Monday, February 18, 2013

Snowman Stampede 10 Mile Race

I ran the Snowman Stampede 10 Mile Race in Littleton, CO on Saturday February 16th.

Same course as 4 weeks ago in the Frosty's Frozen.  Weather was really good for it also, 50's with sun, only negative was a headwind of 10-15 on the way out for 5 miles.

I ran an 1:11:27, improving my time over 4 weeks ago by 85 seconds.  I was happy with that.  I tried to hold a 7:05 pace for the race.  I did that for the most part, but felt it around mile 8 so last a little pace on the last 2 miles.  I passed quite a few runners in the middle miles, so that felt good, although only 2 in the last 2 miles, everyone was spread out.  About 500 total runners, so a decent showing for the 10 mile.


Snowman Stampede 10 Mile race, heading up a slight hill about mile 4.  I felt good and tried to smile it does look a bit like a wince though.

I was 4th in my age group again and 39th overall.  This was a Colorado 10 mile championship race so some faster runners showed up .  SHHS coach Manley won the 45-49 age group again.  I think he won all 3 races and the series.  Also saw Coach Brianna, Rachel and Anna from my Yoga class there.  No other runners from my group made it this time.

2013 Snowman Stampede Results


So now I have 4 weeks to go before Moab, the plan is to train hard for the next 3, do the Running of the Green 7k for a tuneup race and taper the 4th week before the race.  I'm also on track to get my weight down to 145 before Moab, if I just stick on plan.




Monday, February 4, 2013

January - A good start

I had a good month running in January.  The weather in Denver, overall was really good for running outside.

I ran 175 miles, not as many as when I was training for Boston in 2010, but still a lot for this time of year.
I did weekly long runs of 13 and 2 15s at the highline Canal , and mixed in some 10 mile runs during the week, also did weekly tempo runs and speed work at the track.  I am getting some speed back,

I ran the Frosty Frozen 10 mile race in Littleton, CO on January 19th.  A fun race on a pretty fast flat course along the Platte River, out and back from Hudson Gardens.  It was a nice day in the 50's with sun, so I ran in shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  I ran better than I thought 1:12:50, a 7:17 pace.  4th in my age group behind Coach Manley (SHHS) and Patrick Ruddy (Pickled Prostate teammate).  I was hoping to break 1:15 so I felt good about it.  I plan to run the Snowman in February with a goal to take 2 minutes off that time for the same course.

Results from the Frosty's Frozen
http://winterdistanceseries.com/Frosty/results-photos-and-media/2013-results-10m/

Frosty's Frozen Jan 19,2013
The lady behind me and I played leapfrog several times

No injuries or issues.  My knees have been a bit sore, but with the extra miles, it comes with the territory.

I have gotten my weight down to 151, by the end of January, lost 8 pounds for the month.  Targeting 145 before Moab.

On the last day of the month, we ran an old fashioned middle 3, the wash park route.  Nice day, it was fun.  I felt good and ran a 19:01 for 3 miles.

So a good finish to a month that was a good start for the year.  6 weeks to Moab.