Midnight Sun

What is there to say about a 5k that starts at midnight on a Friday night?  Sprinkle in some perfect weather, and my first attempt at this local classic was going to be fun. 

Pre-Run

I made it down to Canal Park around 10:00 pm so I could register. With two hours to spare, the only question was where to drink prior to the race. There was a big group meeting at Canal Park Brewery so James and I wandered over. Knowing I had to run, I went with the Jameson instead of a beer.  The low volume approach to my drinking so it wouldn't slosh in my gut...  We had a big group and it was clear we would be having a fun run. After one more Jameson, it was time to run. 

Let's Run

The course utilized the lakewalk, with the start on the dirt horse path, we had to be careful in the dark of the uneven footing. Once we turned onto the paved portion of the lakewalk, it was time to settle into my pace. Running in the dark was interesting, especially with about half of the street lights not functional. I managed not to trip and just focused on running hard. With about a mile left I was thinking, this is beer mile practice. I could feel the Jameson in my stomach, but I kept pushing the pace. When it was all said and done, I just missed breaking 20 minutes for the race. 

Post Run

With my solid time, I managed a second place in my age group, and with that came a prize of a growler of Brewhouse beer. Sweet!  

Garry Bjorklund 2015

Heading into Grandma's weekend this year I had put in some solid run training. With that in mind, a PR should have been in the bag. The hard half iron the week prior was the one caveat in the plan. Well that and the weather...  Leading into race day the weather forecast was for steady rain at the start and heavy rain during the run. 

Pre Race

With a 6:15 start, I set the alarm for 3:30. Damn is that early. I got up, had my toast for breakfast and rolled out. I had to pick up Serena at 4:30 prior to hitting the DECC. She would be running her first half, so I was hoping to make the pre race challenges a bit easier for her. As we approached the DECC we passed by the long line and swung into the parking lot by the Irvin with no wait at all. Score one for having done this before. We grabbed our clothes bag and final snacks and got ourselves in line for a bus. 

No drama on the ride and we were happy that it was not raining as of yet. We both had a throwaway warm shirt on the stay warm at the start, and snacked over the short ride. When they dropped us off, we slowly wandered towards the gear trucks where we dropped our bags. We looked for fellow DRC group runners and said hello to a few. We then hit the porta potty line and took care of business. 

We found a couple runners that she was planning on starting with, and I found Brian and Dave so we wished each other luck and went to our respective areas of the corral. Our plan was for 7:00 flat to start and see where it went. 

Race Time

Off we went and I tried to get in a groove quickly. Mile one went by in 6:50 so a bit quick, but not worried. At about mile 2.5, the light rain started. Not pouring, but rain none the less. We kept rolling along and soon we were approaching London Road. At the Lester River, I started to notice my legs feeling a bit tired. Last weekends race was coming back. I tried to keep steady and see what I could do over the next couple miles. 

As we approached Lemon Drop Hill I was starting to struggle. The uphills were real tough. I really focused on taking advantage of the downhill after Lemon Drop because I knew the small hill at Super One would be tough also. By now my mile splits were in the 7:10 range, but a PR was still an option if I could keep it together on the flats through downtown. 

After passing DRC I really focused on turnover. After we passed Wells Fargo and turned onto 5th Ave West it was just one mile to go. Muscle up the hill and use the downhill to get my speed back. Around the DECC, by the Irvin and onto the homestretch. A PR was going to happen, and I ran strong through the finish line. All in all, a good effort. 

Post Race

As it was still sprinkling, I grabbed my clothes bag and changed to stay warm. I was looking for friends to see how everybody's space went. I caught up with Kris, Skeeter, Tiffany, Noah and Halie who all seemed pleased. I was really looking for Serena as her sprained ankle was a big question mark for her. I finally saw her in the crowd and she gave me a big hug. I was so happy for her to be able to get a great time for her first half marathon. She even got that time running with a really sore ankle. 

Early Tri Season Recap

Tri Season Kick Off

I signed up for my first ever indoor tri this year at the Essentia Health Indoor tri. This race runs with an equal time format where you spend 30 minutes at each discipline. For the swimming and running, this would be pretty basic. For the bike, the exercise bikes we would ride rewarded high rpm spinning. Not my forte, and with total distance being the goal I was pretty sure I had no chance at the overall. 

For the swim, I had a goal of 1600 meters and I ended up hitting it exactly. That was a solid start and I worked to change quickly and get to the bike as they only gave us five minutes. When the bike time started, I gave it my best shot. I held close to 125 rpm for most of the time which was very uncomfortable for me. However, the wide seats lead to some even more uncomfortable chafing. After thirty minutes of torture, it was down to the treadmill. At this point, I was .5 miles behind my buddy Ryan Dewey for our personal bet for breakfast after the race. With this in mind, I set the treadmill to 6:15 miles and off I went. 

When it was all said and done, I could not make up the last .2 miles. Although my 4.7 miles ended up being the best run effort, and my swim was third for overall distance. Not a bad start to the season. 

GW Du 

I had been doing some good run training so I was curious to put it to good use at Gear West. I had not been out cycling as much as I had wanted, but still felt I could ride hard. With this in mind I challenged tri studette Lisa Lendway to a heads up beer challenge. With her swim, I figured a duathlon would be my best chance against her. She has rocked some great times early this season, so I hoped the fact that I have raced this course would help me out. 

Mother Nature thought a good dose of rain as we setup would make for a fun race course. I chatted with buddies Nick and Mike (IM Wisconsin race mates) and we all predicted our finish times for a beer. Soon we were off on the soggy cross country run. I ran fast, but a touch reserved as I knew the second run would be tough. On the approach to the final sharp hill I saw Lisa (started a couple minutes back with the ladies wave) and made a mental note for the second run. 

On the bike, the gusty winds made for some mildly sketchy moments. First time this year with the disc cover and I need to remember to keep the power down and relax. I felt confident with my effort, but was unsure if I had ridden hard enough. When I hit T2, I moved quickly into my shoes and onto the run. I was able to get into my goal pace and roll. I saw Lisa about the same place on the second run and was not sure if that was good or bad. In the end, she got me by less than a minute!  Nice effort all day by her. 

I did manage to be within 40 seconds of my time prediction, but Mike was less than 15 seconds form his prediction for the win!  So in recap, a solid effort but two beer payouts when it is all said and done. 

Buffalo

We had a huge Duluth contingent heading to Buffalo for a season opening effort. Ryan Dewey and I cruised down together and bumped into Tiffany at packet pickup. Nick, Mike, Ryan Dewey, Skeeter, Clint, Kris, Tiffany and Michelle were all racing, so this was going to be fun. We put together teams for a beer bet and everybody put down a finish time estimate for another beer to the winner. 

Everyone was amped to get the season underway and we had perfect race weather. After swimming in Pike Lake on Tuesday, Buffalo Lake felt absolutely toasty. I got rolling and turned left into the waves after the fountain. On this stretch I took a few gulps of lake water, but had a solid draft for a good chunk of the leg. Around the farthest buoy and heading back to shore and I felt pretty good. As I stood up and started taking my wetsuit off, I looked down to see Kris swimming in. Only losing a couple minutes to her was a good sign. 

I made my way through T1 quickly and onto the bike. It turns out I should have left my shoes on the bike as the wet grass in T1 got in my cleats a bit and made clipping in a challenge. Once I got clipped in, I went to work. For the first 15 or so miles we would be going over rolling hills and into the wind. I worked hard and managed to pass Tiff early, and with her running ability I needed to bike hard to keep her behind me. As I turned onto the out and bike I passed Clint and Michelle in quick succession. I then caught Ryan Dewey and figured that was it for race buddies I would actually catch up to. When we turned for the final stretch with the wind, I actually ran out of gears. With the tail wind and flats to slight downhills I really could have used a 53 front chain ring. 

Through T2 and onto the run. The goal was to try running 7:00 pace and see what happens. Right away I was a bit slow as we were headed up a small hill. At the top a lady went by at a good clip and I figured let's see if I can match that pace. Between the down hill and my new pace setter I made good time to the short course turn. Now I started seeing the long course leaders and Mike came by looking good with Nick on his tail. After three ladies I saw another Duluth athlete Elaine Nelson. With only 2 miles to go I figured even her running ability would not be enough to win. As I approached the turn, I passed a guy in my age group and made a push to help it stick. 

On the way back, the heat was noticeable. Couple that with the hills and my pace was a bit slower but still pretty good. On the way back I saw Ryan Dewey, Michelle, Clint and Tiffany in order. Based on their pace, they would have a close finish between the four of them. I finished with a solid time and felt good for the first race of the year. I beat my prediction by a few minutes so I knew I would not win that beer, but I was cheering on the rest of my team for the group bet. Tiffany and Michelle raced well and finished strong, but our team lost by 26 seconds. So, I have now started the year with five straight losses in the side bet department...  I need to work on that. 

Liberty/Capitol City Double

One week later and my first big race of the season. I was using Liberty as a check on my prep for IM Canada and IM Wisconsin. The goal was a PR, and if things went well a sub 5:00. The race was also supposed to be a showdown with old race buddy Lou Hughes, but he pussed out and signed up for the Olympic race instead of the half. 

Race morning arrived to gray skies. The weather forecast was for clouds, but no rain and light winds with upper 60's as temps. Perfect for racing fast. Into the water and I tried to keep a nice steady pace. As I exited the lake, I felt like it was a bit slow, but focused on the trek to transition and getting the bike rolling. At this point I noticed it was raining.  Really, rain for the bike?!?  

Try to ignore the rain and got into my groove on the bike. I felt good and focused on keeping my effort level steady. The first loop went well and I was keeping a solid pace. For the second loop I was a bit slower to make sure I was ready for the run and also the last 9 miles which would be with the wind back to T2. As I turned onto the road heading back to Rockford, I made a point to pick up the effort a touch. I wanted to use the tailwind as much as possible. Once through Delano I knew I had about three miles left on the bike so I focused on getting mentally ready to run. At this point, I realized I needed to piss. This is not a normal issue for me in a half iron. Luckily, I racked next to the porta-potty in transition. Of course, wearing bib shorts and the rain made it a bit of a challenge. It is a lot harder than you think to get out of a singlet when you are wet. 

After a quick visit to the porta-potty was done, I grabbed my race number/hat/gel/mountain dew and headed out. I took the gel in the first mile and sipped the dew through the run. I checked my split at mile one and saw I was sub 7:30. Not quite sure I can hold that pace, but I felt good so I kept with it. As I ran I noticed that this run was going up or down a hill at all times. After mile one, the next two had a good chunk of down that would be a challenging finish to our run as it was an out and back. 

As I hit the turn around, I was still holding 7:30 or so every mile. With the clouds holding on, I was feeling pretty good still. I tried to stay steady and even reeled in another few runners in front of me. As I approached the final mile I started to try and pick my pace up a bit. With about a half mile to go, I saw one guy just ahead. I was catching him pretty easy, but would he pick it up as I approached/passed. At the .2 to go point I went by him. As I did, he noticed I was in his age group and he sprinted by me. I just held steady and bided my time. With about 100 yards left I picked up the pace to make my move. I was able to pass the guy again and make it stick this time. When it was all said and done, third in my age group with a half iron PR. Not bad. 

After a quick break, I packed up and cruised over to St Paul to register for the Capitol City tri. The legs were feeling good, so I figured why not. CC was a nice sprint distance and the weather was looking good. Plus I had the beer I owed Lisa from Gear West with me and she left Liberty long before I was done since I am a bit slow. With CC being a sprint I figured I could get her the beer before she had to head home this time. 

With a nice short swim, I was just focusing on smooth swimming and sighting well. It went well, and I was back to T1 soon. I was not sure how my legs would feel after the hard effort the day prior, but with a closed course and 13 miles I figured a strategy of just hammering as hard as I could would work. I caught a couple guys early, and then went back and forth with two guys the rest of the way. As I hit T2 my legs were a bit sore, but I figured it would be good to see how hard I could push the tired legs for three miles. Straight out of transition there was a nice hill that really tested me. Once on top, I tried to get to a nice pace of just under 7:00 per mile. Outside of the hills, I held that pace pretty good and brought it home to a good overall time. 

Recap

Overall, I was pleased with how he season started. Specifically I felt I had strong efforts at Buffalo and Liberty. The PR and really good run at Liberty left me feeling good for the rest of the season. Now I need to get the miles in so Canada goes well in a month. 

Fall Running and 2015 Schedule Thoughts

With the tri season all wrapped up, my fall switched over to trail running. I made it out to all but one of the fall northland runner trail races this fall. I missed the Bull Run when I was out in Vegas playing Broomball.  

This past weekend was the final run of the season and was held at Hartley Park. I had not run this course before so it was all new as the run went on. When we hit the single track section less than a mile in, I tried to maintain a solid pace but not too fast. The previous week at Roughrider I went out too fast and faded at the end. So this week with the distance being similar I wanted to be a little smarter.  

Once on the single track I realized how slick the trail was going to be also. Maybe wearing my road shoes was not such a good idea...  Right about this time, Leslie passed me and I figured it would be worth trying to keep up with her. I know she is a good trail runner so I figured I could simply follow her and think less.  Now my biggest worry was the downhill off camber corners. I had to grab a tree or two to keep from slipping off the trail every now and the.  Some of the uphills I felt like a cartoon character running in place at times. 

In the middle of the run, we came upon a sharp but short uphill that was very slick. I was still trailing Leslie at this time and she almost did not make it up the hill, and I just about ran right over her. Luckily she made it over the hill without any help from me. 

The rest of the trail section was not too bad. I managed to not fall and did not fall off the pace either. At the end when we hit the wider trail, I even managed to pick up the pace as it was ever so slightly downhill. Overall I was pleased with my run and it was a great way to wrap up the trail running series. 

2015

So IM Wisconsin is the elephant in the room of my upcoming summer. Nick and Mike will be making their IM debut, and I will be returning to the scene of my only DNF ever.  I really expect both Nick and Mike to absolutely crush it. They both have some serious speed, and have knocked out a good half IM time. 

We have been trying to find some good prep events for Wisconsin. We are looking at Liberty as an early season half, and I know Mike is looking at Chisago Half in July. He has had good results there and wants to do it again. I am debating on another travel race: ironman Canada and the Honu Half are high on my list but I cannot decide right now. We have also talked about Burrito Union as they moved it up to mid August. It could be the perfect timing being four weeks prior to Wisconsin. 

All in all, 2015 is shaping up to be a fun year. I will be trying to put together a good training plan and execute a smart race at IM Wisconsin. If that works out, my goal of a PR should happen!

EMMA's

Made the trek to Gear West last night to attend the Oscars of the Minnesota Tri season. Clint had asked if I wanted to join him as Superior Man was once again up for race of the year. With Nick up for Rookie of the Year, I figured it would be fun.

The evening was fun, and Nick and Superior Man both brought home some hardware. Two years in a row as athletes choice race of the year for Superior Man. Watch out for Nick to make some waves next year on the regional race scene. No lead into T2 will be safe with his run speed, although I bet he is coming into T2 closer or even ahead of some of the fast guys next season. 

The evening was capped off by a beer chugging contest to settle the EMMA bingo winner. It was Matt Payne's only loss of the night...

Loony Challenge 2014

Similar to last year, I signed up for the loony challenge to get myself a guaranteed entry into the TC 10 miler. Last year I decided that after my late September romp through the Sierra Nevada mountains that running training was done. Instead I focused on finishing some important weatherproofing things on my house. So I showed up at the 10k Saturday morning not having done any exercise in two weeks. 

I figured this year could only go better as I was running a reasonable amount this fall. Should have been more, but it was better than zero. Included in this training I was showing up for the weekly trail runs that NMTC was putting on. On the Wednesday prior to the loony challenge, the weekly run was at Bagley Nature Center by UMD. Just to make life interesting, I found a way to roll my ankle at the race. 

So, limping around on Friday collecting my packet had me a little worried about the weekend events. Since it was paid for already, I figured I would show up and see how things rolled.

10K

At the start line I figured I would take it easy at the start to see how it felt. I also knew that running uphill or downhill was rougher than flats and the race started with a good climb. After a nice easy first mile I started ramping it up. The foot felt ok, and I finished in a decent time overall. 

5K

Less than 45 minutes to wait for the next go round gave me enough time to get something to drink and re-assess my race wear. I then decided to head back to the start line and get ready to run again. Waiting to start I bumped into Stacie from the DRC running group. We chatted about our goals and got ready to go. She was shooting to go a touch faster than I wanted to so she went a couple rows ahead of me just before the gun. I took the start a touch faster than the 10k, but still a touch easier than I might really have been able to. At the top of the hill I once again picked up the pace and held it through the finish. 

Recovery

Last year I did not do a good job recovering from the Saturday runs in preparation for Sunday. This year I made a point of getting my legs ready. I rode the exercise bike at the hotel for a bit to get some lactic acid out, and then used my compression socks for a bit too. 

10 Miler

So this year I stayed at the Courtyard at the corner of Washington Ave and 35W. This was about 3/4 mile from the start line. With no Metrodome this year, I figured I would simply jog over from the hotel as a warm up and arrive with 20 minutes before the race started. Perfect plan. I packed up my clothes for after the race, got into my race clothes and jogged over. I then threw my bag onto the UPS truck (best race sponsor ever; UPS as the bag transfer folks!  Genius!). I then bumped into Tiffany and Leslie, two killer fast ladies from the Duluth area also running the ten miler. They were looking ready to rock, and when I talked to them after the race they both had nailed good times and seemed happy with their race. 

I headed over to the start line and got ready to roll. With the road construction, the first three miles were going to be all new until we joined back up to the standard course at the three mile mark. When we hit the flag markin one mile, my watch said 0.86 miles. Based on the reaction of everyone around me, I was not the only one thinking it was short. We proceeded over to the east bank or the river and the U of M campus. It was pretty with the leaves, campus and the river. When we met up with the standard course at mile three, my watch still read over 0.1 miles short. 

At this point we were on the only real sustained flat portion of the course so I tried to maintain a nice even pace and assess how my foot and legs were feeling. The ankle/foot was doing ok as long as I did not step on uneven ground. The legs were doing pretty good also. I think the clown shoes (Hoka's) I wore for all three races were helping out in that regard. 

Back to the hills with the long slow climb up Summit and I was trying to stay focused. I was able to stay pretty consistent and soon enough I was on the flat portion of mile 9 getting ready for the big downhill to the finish. I kept a smooth and relatively good pace down the hill and the foot still felt ok. Through the finish and I was happy with my time and the weekend of races overall. 

TBW'15

So a couple Tri buddies were talking about IM Wisconsin as a possible race road trip for 2015. These are the same guys I road tripped to Spicer MN to race the Green Lake Tri with this past summer. You know, an Olympic distance race that is about two hours of fun. Now they are talking about an Ironman...  

A little back story here, IM Wisconsin and I have a little history with each other. It is the site of my only DNF ever. It is also the site of my only puke and rally episode in a race also (my personal worst Ironman time was in this race). In over 100 Tri races, I have never failed to finish what I started except for IM Wisconsin 2009. After collecting an IV in the med tent, I pretty much swore off the race and seriously doubted I would ever try an Ironman again.  Well, since I got back on the proverbial Ironman horse last year at Lake Tahoe... Why not take another swing at IM Moo.

So, if I am going to race there I want to exact a little revenge on that course. I plan on nailing a good race, with a PR being the result. There is absolutely no reason not to go sub 12 hours. There, I said it. Well, wrote it at least.