I decided last year I would start my seasons off with Fitgers because its mid April, and a lot of runners run this event. It is a good one to get you into the running spirits. well this year a perfectly timed snowstorm decided to add to the fun. I ran a 22:22 which is a minute and a half slower than last years time, but due to the conditions, and my late start at training this year I was OK with that. My main goal was to not slip and just get this event behind me. After Fitgers I thought why wait so long to start running, when I can get equally nice conditions at events in January and February! So maybe next year I will get motivated sooner and run one of those Mid-winter runs. Maybe.

My next two planned races were going to be the Cardinal Fiesta run in Hibbing and the Atomic Dash in Eveleth, but they have been scheduled on the same day this year. Being only an hour and fifteen minutes apart for the starts I decided its too close to try and do both so I will stick to the Evelth Atomic Dash. I figure its closer to my house, it starts at 9:15 instead of 8, and Kris yelled see you in Eveleth when I ran by at Fitgers. So Eveleth wins all the votes. Now I would like to find a nice 10K some where inbetween that and Grandmas and I think I should be good for my spring races.

Well Whistlestop is over and after running, this is the first time I am actually bummed about my results, and am very anxious to get out there and do another Marathon.

I felt good at the start and though I forgot my Forerunner in the hotel room, I feel I was on pace the first half. The running felt great, and my breathing was excellent. I was around 1:47 at the half, which was perfect for a under 3:40 time I was aiming for! After about 5 more miles I started feeling some pains and spasms but not a lot yet, but by 20 miles my muscles were getting very tight, and cramps were starting to happen. Just like last year, I was hoping this would not happen but it did, This caused my last 5-6 miles to be run till I cramp, walk till it goes away, and then run tilll I cramp again. I knew my pace was lost and I just hoped to get under 4 hours at this point.

This same thing happened last year, but being my first Marathon I figured it was a normal thing to newbies, but after running Grandmas with no cramps I thought I was past this, but Whistlestop was a repeat of last year. It makes me wonder if the softer trail is the cause because I train on only blacktop. I wonder if the extra foot movement stretches my muscle more or something. Or it could be my over-tapering, or maybe lack of potassium or hydration. I do not know for sure but I did finish in 4:01:51 which is just over 2 minutes faster than last year, so at least I beat that. Also it is a beautiful course so the slower pace at the end allowed me to enjoy it more. Like the 71 year old man on the bus told me, he plans on running it in 6 hours, so he gets more for his money than I do!  Now I am very eager to get out there and get my goal time, possible Grandmas in June.

Also I heard about about using Mustard to aleviate cramps. Has anyone else heard of this, or used this before?

I ran my final long run of 20 miles this week, which gets me on track to start tapering! Tapering is my favorite part of training for Marathons, all the real hard work is behind me so now I will be able to enjoy shorter runs up till race day! I am feeling good so far, but I just started getting a cold yesterday, although the timing is not bad. I should be able to kick this cold and finish my training in the next 3 weeks and be ready to enjoy the Whistlestop Run in Ashland Oct 9th. 

I just ran the Norse Course run today in Virginia, Mn, it will be my last run before Whistlestop. it was a bit chilly at first but after a mile or so it warmed up and I was feeling good. I finished with a time of 19:45, which I was very happy with. Cant wait for Whistlestop now!

Last weekend I ran the Tower Lard Loop, it was a bit different being that it had runners, walkers, bikers, and rollerbladers. Actually only one person rollerbladed and he dominated all the categories. It was a nice run around the town of Tower, and some how that is actually 6.2 miles!

The run is run in honor of Ballard Turnbull, a resident who impacted the community during his life there. From what I have heard and read about him, he was a pretty great person. It felt good running in the name of someone who left such a great impression on so many people in his lifetime.

The race started with the bikes and rollerblades, and after a couple minutes the runners followed by walkers took off. It was a nice run, similar to the one in Hoyt Lakes the weekend before, trees mainly on both sides, very peaceful! There were some pretty good hills to climb which added a nice twist, but the weather was pretty perfect around 65 i would guess!

I finished 6th overall with a time of 43:16 which beats my previous 10k best of 43:45 so that was awesome. I also received a medal for first in my age group, but technically Matt Zak was first. They gave medals for the top three men and women, which Matt recieved 3rd and like many events they took the top runners names from the age group categories, so first fell to me. I really do not agree with that rule, but many races do it. I feel he should have received the 3rd overall and the first in the age category. Anyway Congrats Matt, and also Adam Staniger and Mike Wagner for 1st and 2nd respectively!

This past weekend I attended the Hoyt Lakes Water Carnival, and ran the 5k Saturday morning. For this area it is a decent size event, attracting around 200 people to participate! A lot of kids from the local high school Cross country teams run this one, which I thought was pretty cool. Most runs around here seem to have very few younger kids.

The course started in the Hoyt Lakes arena parking lot and ran up through Fishermans Point camp ground to the tip of the peninsula and back. The course is mostly surrounded by woods on both side, and it was very nice and relaxing! The second mile had some ups and downs, but the rest of the run was pretty flat, I ended up really liking this run!

I started the run feeling pretty good, and around half way I was feeling even better, I ended up passing a few of the younger kids on the second half. I finished 9th over-all, but do to my increasing age and the young runners leading the pack, I was first in my age group, which felt great! Even better was the fact that I beat 20 minutes for the second time in a row, and set a new PR of 19:39 shaving 17 seconds off my original under 20 time of a couple weeks ago! I think I have to blame my Garmin Forerunner for my increased speed! It has really been a great investment, allowingme to monitor my pace while running, and got me to push my self harder and faster during training runs!

I am doing my first 10k of the year this Saturday, the Tower Lard Loop, and I am hoping to beat my PR from last years of 43:45!