tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71338326862402262032024-03-12T23:18:39.877-05:00Mike's triathlon journeyRansickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-22608407405569426602015-04-15T21:01:00.000-05:002015-04-15T21:01:56.058-05:00Spring Break<p> We planned a trip to Arizona during our son's last high school spring break. It started out as a visit to Grand Parents and evolved into a day trip to the Grand Canyon and further to four wheeling in Sedona. We had a busy but fabulous trip. Anyway, here are a few pictures from the trip.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16385244763" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7642/16385244763_9e210d6c29.jpg" id="blogsy-1429149552457.1475" class="aligncenter" width="401" height="301" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16385231953" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8694/16385231953_db52fa6994.jpg" id="blogsy-1429149552430.7927" class="aligncenter" width="401" height="301" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16817089438" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8695/16817089438_d2507ddf10_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1429149552433.0244" class="aligncenter" width="400" height="533" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/17003872321" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8729/17003872321_aca58c31d6_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1429149552436.9927" class="aligncenter" width="403" height="537" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16818491369" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7620/16818491369_6e17de1f9d.jpg" id="blogsy-1429149552463.4604" class="aligncenter" width="400" height="400" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16798348057" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7623/16798348057_d33a592ebd.jpg" id="blogsy-1429149552522.6074" class="aligncenter" width="402" height="302" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16818328969" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7620/16818328969_7a64299810.jpg" id="blogsy-1429149552472.0872" class="aligncenter" width="402" height="302" alt=""></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16816803778" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7588/16816803778_574068f469.jpg" id="blogsy-1429149552448.595" class="aligncenter" width="401" height="401" alt=""></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/17003348352" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8703/17003348352_89f3a0a5a3_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1429149552517.3657" class="aligncenter" width="403" height="538" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/17004784105" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8748/17004784105_95b2927a77_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1429149552529.114" class="aligncenter" width="400" height="533" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16978747166" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8705/16978747166_a9113d35cb.jpg" id="blogsy-1429149552461.2532" class="aligncenter" width="401" height="302" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><p>Cheers!</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-16816126523508872442015-01-01T22:40:00.001-06:002015-01-01T22:40:12.360-06:00Telegraph Pass
<p> My son and I spent the past week visiting my parents in Yuma Arizona. It's been unseasonably cold this week but still warmer than St. Louis so we haven't done much swimming though we have been in the hot tub each day. Besides going to a dinner/dance with a bunch of retires that are full of life, seeing local tourist attractions, visiting and golfing, we got a chance to hike Telegraph Pass today. It was a very nice hike and I thought I would post a few pictures instead of spamming Instragram with them. Here you go...</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15983739668" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7558/15983739668_2a7a39982d_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431233.0352" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="385" height="514"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Selfie to start the climb :-)</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15983838870" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8610/15983838870_65885c7457_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431308.8738" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="397" height="530"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Grandma likes hiking too</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15983819960" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7461/15983819960_49c64132cc_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431295.6897" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="535"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Josh waiting for me</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15985347797" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7527/15985347797_3b684ebae8_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431281.7124" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="536"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> View looking back before we got very high</p>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16171127815" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7577/16171127815_f83f5fcfa3_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431261.068" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="539"></a>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16145324186" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7575/16145324186_c832090eb6_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431228.6294" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="532"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15985347797" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7527/15985347797_3b684ebae8_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431273.5786" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="531"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15985058729" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8643/15985058729_7e931b8860_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431281.0037" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="531"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Josh taking a break part way up.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16170350492" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7500/16170350492_ef41e39e79_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431223.0884" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="386" height="515"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Goof :-)</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15551321943" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7488/15551321943_0625a07775.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431247.8127" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> The other side of the pass</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16170334762" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8653/16170334762_b53533dcb8.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431247.5588" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16171064245" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7577/16171064245_a139c0380d_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1420173431299.6243" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="537"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> I always hike in a sweater :-)</p>
<p> We had a great time specially for a spur of the moment hike. If you are ever in Yuma and have a couple hours free I recommend it. It's fairly steep so bring appropriate footing, though I hiked it in Sperry boat shoes :-), plenty of water and appropriate clothing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-80595076422874337482014-12-29T22:37:00.001-06:002014-12-29T22:37:53.609-06:00Lil Woods Ultra<p> This is my second year doing the <a href="http://blog.ransick.org/2013/12/my-first-ultra.html" target="_self" title="">Lil Woods Ultra</a>. It is a "last man standing" format where we all ran 4.1 mile loops with each loop starting at the top of the hour. So the sooner you got in from your loop, the longer you had to recover, but also get cold and tighten up. Definitely some strategy there. The loops were nice in that it let people drop when they were ready.</p><p> I didn't train for the race again this year but my mileage for this year is slightly higher than my total mileage last year so I figured I could top last year and hit 50k.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16118171766/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8672/16118171766_e387a0f2c1.jpg" id="blogsy-1419914274176.2363" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="266"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Pretty happy on the first lap :-).</p><p>The temps were in the mid forties and we had significant rain the night before making the trails the sloppiest I'd ever seen them. By the second lap, my glutes were barking about all the work they were having to do dodging puddles, and keeping me upright whiled sliding around. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15957881309/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7554/15957881309_2065d23020.jpg" id="blogsy-1419914274135.6777" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="268"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Concentrating on staying vertical.</p><p> After lap two, it was obvious I wasn't going to make it eight laps. It was also obvious I have a weak core.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16142055481/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7548/16142055481_4cdc51f468.jpg" id="blogsy-1419914274159.1016" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="267"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> More concentration. :-) </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15521623394/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7473/15521623394_bd2c9e1d6c.jpg" id="blogsy-1419914274161.2488" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="268"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Nice shot of me sighing, yep, I was about done.</p><p>I bagged it after four laps. It just wasn't my day but that's ok. It's a very well done, free race with lots a great people. I sat around for an hour afterward cheering on other runners, chatting with other racers that dropped out and eating pierogis that the race director Travis made. They were delicious!</p><p>When I got home I was curious if it was just the bad conditions or if I wasn't as well trained even though I ran 100 more miles this year than last year. What I found surprised me. I didn't remember being so much more consistent last year than this year. Check out the weekly mileage from August through December last year vs. this year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16143209802/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7550/16143209802_4b1aea562a_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1419914274167.571" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="413"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Marathon training skewed the yearly total a bit.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16142058741/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7516/16142058741_685a7d347e_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1419914274200.011" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="417"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Over 20 miles per week (except for 3 weeks) last year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16142059231/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7556/16142059231_8ba01b849d_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1419914274134.9358" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="419"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> 100 mile months middle year loaded in 2014</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15956664960/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8673/15956664960_0a858104a7_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1419914274169.814" class="aligncenter" width="400" height="426" alt=""></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> 100 mile months were on the back half of the year last year.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Interesting how perception doesn't always match the graphs. The lower mileage the last three months probably explains the couple extra pounds I'm lugging around too. Maybe I'll train for real next year. Maybe...</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-7352295560618161632014-12-20T22:10:00.001-06:002014-12-20T22:10:39.400-06:00Jingle Bell Hell 2014<p> I think this is my third (maybe fourth) time doing XLMIC's <a href="http://didyougetanyofthat.blogspot.com/2014/11/jingle-bell-hellnot-just-another.html" target="_self" title="">Jingle Bell Hell</a> race (virtual version). I love the idea and love the fact that Marjorie even got to run it <a href="http://didyougetanyofthat.blogspot.com/2014/12/if-you-want-to-see-me-run-for-first.html" target="_self" title="">this year</a>.</p><p>Anyway, I ran it this year and it was hellish :-). Not sure which run I'm actually claiming as my JBH run. I've been running local single track every Saturday and Sunday now that it's winter, hellish I know. Last weekend was so warm I ran in shorts, hellish. This weekend I couldn't find my Santa hat, hellish. It's Christmas and there isn't any snow on the ground, hellish. </p><p>Anyway, here are a few recent trail pics.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16066261561/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7517/16066261561_1c53a88d04_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1419135040526.1177" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="383" height="511"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Lots of drab single track this time of year. Bring on the snow.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15880751908/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7516/15880751908_9a5d2e6531_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1419135040552.824" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="388" height="517"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> My favorite hat...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/16042396556/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7522/16042396556_917e2609b9_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1419135040562.1077" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="386" height="515"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Back seat of my car. More trail junk is in my trunk :-)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15880907700/" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7484/15880907700_ee74005430_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1419135040574.423" class="aligncenter" width="388" height="518" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><p>Thanks for the virtual hosting of JBH XL, maybe some day I'll mange to be out your way to run it in person.</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-29857741346799691862014-10-19T21:41:00.001-05:002014-10-19T21:41:19.708-05:00Fall<p> I took the week off running after the marathon last weekend. My first run in a week was today and started off with a bit of a scare. I figured I would go out for an easy six miles, but less than a half mile in I had sharp knee pain below my knee cap on my right knee. I figured my six mile run just turned in to a one mile walk but decided I would walk a bit and give it another shot. After a minute, no change. After a couple minutes, I started running again and no pain :-). After about five miles I was feeling strangely fatigued. I guess I'm still healing. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15555615916" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5601/15555615916_955bf33ebe_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1413772696998.874" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="536"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Gorgeous fall day.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p>I love fall. Pumpkin pie, crisp running weather, football and cooking squash.</p><p> For the cookout today, I made some home made veggie burgers, regular cheeseburgers, spaghetti squash and acorn squash.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15580137122" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3943/15580137122_c3319c1077_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1413772696986.0544" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="535"></a></div><p> For the spaghetti squash, I put butter, salt and fresh oregano on them, wrapped in foil and put in the coals on the grill. For the acorn squash, it was butter and brown sugar, wrapped in foil and on the coals.</p><p>For the veggie burgers, I followed this <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/homemade-black-bean-veggie-burgers/" target="_self" title="">recipe</a> and they turned out good.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15576604651" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5611/15576604651_00abd04009_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1413772697004.8247" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="396" height="529"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Veggie burgers</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15393647070" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5600/15393647070_d2a55ce261_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1413772697018.8687" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="533"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Real burgers</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15579240865" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5604/15579240865_1d31353407_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1413772697034.7656" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="539"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Spaghetti squash</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15392630909" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3934/15392630909_b30bc16247_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1413772697008.86" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="536"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Acorn squash</p><p> </p><p> Oh, and I signed up for an ultra December 27th. This is the same one I did <a href="http://blog.ransick.org/2013/12/my-first-ultra.html" target="_self" title="">last year</a>. It fills up quick since it's free. Shoot me a note if you want the link.</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-73386232119070074222014-10-13T10:10:00.000-05:002014-10-13T10:11:03.097-05:00Chicago Marathon Race Report<p> We took the train from Alton Illinois to Chicago on Friday so we wouldn't have to mess with a car in Chicago. They were doing track maintenance between Alton and Springfield so we had to leave our house at 5 am and they bussed us up to Springfield. I swear the bus driver took every back road imaginable and it took forever. Turns out we could have driven to Springfield and gotten two more hours of sleep. Live and learn :-).</p><p>Arrived in Chicago, got some lunch at a pub across the street, went to the expo then we met a college buddy of mine and his girlfriend for some dinner. It was delicious and a great time catching up as always.</p><p>Saturday DW and our boy went to the Shed Aquarium while I did a two mile shake out run and met a friend and his family for brunch. Once DW and our boy came back from the aquarium, we did an architectural boat tour. Perfect way to do something cool while staying off my feet.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15335413397" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3938/15335413397_3373d99d44_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1413209990013.8977" class="aligncenter" width="401" height="535" alt=""></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">Lots of cool views on the boat tour</p><p>Race day I woke up at 4 am and ate yogurt and a banana, had a cup of coffee, and went back to bed. Woke back up at 5:45 for more coffee and race prep. Waking up early to eat works great for not having to hit the porta potties a bunch of times right before the race. Good thing too since the lines went on forever. Falling back asleep is surprisingly easy too.</p><p>The start line was about a mile and a half from the hotel and I didn't know how long it would take to make it through security, so I left the hotel about 6:45 am and walked to the start to make sure I was there in time for the 7:45 corral closure. I was hungry, so I probably didn't eat enough at 4 am, lesson learned. I was well hydrated and the porta potty lines were so long I decided to hold it and stop on the course. It was 50 degrees with a 15 mph wind at the start and I get cold easily. I had a throw away jacket over a short sleeve shirt and under armor plus gloves and a head wrap for my ears plus shorts. I brought two of those chemical hand warmers so I was all set. I also had two of those space blankets as back up and gave those to the first two people I saw that were wearing shorts and tank tops and shivering uncontrollably. They were very grateful to say the least.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15335365439" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5610/15335365439_9e1c24a0ff_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1413209990006.4446" class="aligncenter" width="403" height="538" alt=""></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Moving toward the starting line</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15335519430" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5611/15335519430_2aa8711224_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1413209990027.635" class="aligncenter" width="386" height="515" alt=""></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Just a few people behind me in the start corral</p><p>Once our wave started, it took almost 15 minutes to cross the start line and we were under way. The first 5k was uneventful. Just warming up, dodging people and keeping my heart rate in check. I drank two cups of Gatorade and two cups of water at the aid station (and every aid station until sometime after mile 15). More of the same on the next 5k except I made the first of three hydration relief stops. I was definitely well hydrated :-). I just focused on keeping my hr under 155, staying hydrated and enjoying the race with lots of high fives. Had my second stop about mile 10 and decided I didn't want to stop every 5 miles or this was going to be a really long race but I wanted to keep hydrating, so I did. </p><p>About mile 15 I let my heart rate rise a little to work toward a negative split, but not too high since there was still a long way to go. I ran without tunes and just enjoyed the crowd. I thought the racers would start thinning by mile 18 or so, but they really didn't. I managed to hold off on pit stop number three until mile 21. With five miles left, my feet and calves were starting to hurt, but that's to be expected.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15498866096" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5603/15498866096_0b1a4191f8_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1413209989989.556" class="aligncenter" width="402" height="537" alt=""></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Can't remember what mile this was.</p><p>The last few miles, my calves felt like were about to cramp, so I kept drinking Gatorade and focused on keeping moving. I knew that if I started walking, it would be tough to get running again, so I kept running. The crowd support was great all day and really picked up the last two miles. I hadn't seen my family all day so it was nice to hear them cheering for me with about a mile to go. The last mile hurt, but I was happy to be running it in. </p><p>Once I crossed the finish line, it was a slow walk through the line for a space blanket, medal, banana, food, water and beer. It was too crowded to meet up with my family, so we met back at the hotel. I walked back to the hotel without too much trouble, showered then we went out for lunch.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15335407397" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5604/15335407397_064b8a39d5_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1413209990059.3252" class="aligncenter" width="401" height="536" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><p> The numbers:</p><p>Chicago Marathon official numbers:</p><h2 style="margin-bottom: 3px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><font size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Splits</span></font></h2><table class="list-table names" style="width: 345px; border: 0px; clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px;"><thead><tr><th class="desc" style="font-weight: bold; border-right-width: 1px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(203, 214, 225); padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; vertical-align: top; width: 100px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Split</span></th><th class="time_day" style="font-weight: bold; border-right-width: 1px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(203, 214, 225); padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Time Of Day</span></th><th class="time" style="font-weight: bold; border-right-width: 1px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(203, 214, 225); padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; vertical-align: top; text-align: right; width: auto;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Time</span></th><th class="diff" style="font-weight: bold; border-right-width: 1px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(203, 214, 225); padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; vertical-align: top; text-align: right; width: auto;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Diff</span></th><th class="min_km" style="font-weight: bold; border-right-width: 1px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(203, 214, 225); padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">min/mile</span></th><th class="kmh last" style="font-weight: bold; border-right-width: 0px; padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">miles/h</span></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr class=" f-time_05 split"><td class="desc" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top; width: 100px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">05K</span></td><td class="time_day" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">08:46:05AM</span></td><td class="time" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">00:33:05</span></td><td class="diff" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">33:05</span></td><td class="min_km" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">10:39</span></td><td class="kmh last" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-width: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5.64</span></td></tr><tr class="list-highlight f-time_10 split"><td class="desc" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top; width: 100px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">10K</span></td><td class="time_day" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">09:22:02AM</span></td><td class="time" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">01:09:02</span></td><td class="diff" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">35:57</span></td><td class="min_km" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">11:35</span></td><td class="kmh last" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-width: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5.19</span></td></tr><tr class=" f-time_15 split"><td class="desc" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top; width: 100px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">15K</span></td><td class="time_day" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">09:53:27AM</span></td><td class="time" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">01:40:27</span></td><td class="diff" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">31:25</span></td><td class="min_km" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">10:07</span></td><td class="kmh last" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-width: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5.94</span></td></tr><tr class="list-highlight f-time_20 split"><td class="desc" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top; width: 100px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">20K</span></td><td class="time_day" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">10:28:27AM</span></td><td class="time" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">02:15:27</span></td><td class="diff" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">35:00</span></td><td class="min_km" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">11:16</span></td><td class="kmh last" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-width: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5.33</span></td></tr><tr class=" f-time_52 split"><td class="desc" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top; width: 100px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">HALF</span></td><td class="time_day" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">10:35:32AM</span></td><td class="time" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">02:22:32</span></td><td class="diff" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">07:05</span></td><td class="min_km" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">10:25</span></td><td class="kmh last" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-width: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5.77</span></td></tr><tr class="list-highlight f-time_25 split"><td class="desc" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top; width: 100px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">25K</span></td><td class="time_day" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">11:00:09AM</span></td><td class="time" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">02:47:09</span></td><td class="diff" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">24:37</span></td><td class="min_km" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">10:09</span></td><td class="kmh last" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-width: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5.91</span></td></tr><tr class=" f-time_30 split"><td class="desc" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top; width: 100px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">30K</span></td><td class="time_day" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">11:32:47AM</span></td><td class="time" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">03:19:47</span></td><td class="diff" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">32:38</span></td><td class="min_km" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">10:31</span></td><td class="kmh last" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-width: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5.71</span></td></tr><tr class="list-highlight f-time_35 split"><td class="desc" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top; width: 100px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">35K</span></td><td class="time_day" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">12:06:23PM</span></td><td class="time" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">03:53:23</span></td><td class="diff" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">33:36</span></td><td class="min_km" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">10:49</span></td><td class="kmh last" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-width: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5.55</span></td></tr><tr class=" f-time_40 split"><td class="desc" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top; width: 100px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">40K</span></td><td class="time_day" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">12:38:12PM</span></td><td class="time" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">04:25:12</span></td><td class="diff" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">31:49</span></td><td class="min_km" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">10:15</span></td><td class="kmh last" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-width: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5.86</span></td></tr><tr class="list-highlight f-time_finish_netto"><td class="desc" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top; width: 100px;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Finish</span></td><td class="time_day" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">12:51:59PM</span></td><td class="time" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">04:38:59</span></td><td class="diff" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">13:47</span></td><td class="min_km" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">10:07</span></td><td class="kmh last" style="padding: 2px 2px 2px 4px; border-right-width: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5.94</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>You can see the pits stops at 10k, 20k and 35k affected my time. You can also tell the lines got shorter each time. Having two pit stops in the first half and one I he second helped me negative split by about 4 minutes. My last 5k split was my third fastest of the day and my speed for the last 2.2k matched my fastest split for the day. I'd say I nailed my pacing for my current level of fitness.</p><p>My Garmin got confused in a few spots by the tall buildings and said I ran 27 miles. Looking at my Garmin map, it's clear I didn't run that far though I'm sure I ran farther than 26.2 due to dodging people, not always being able to take the best line through corners and veering off to grab fluid. Last time I did an LT test was four years ago. </p><table align="center" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(239, 239, 239);"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td class="messagecellbody" align="left" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1 - Recovery</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">121 - 155</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"></td></tr><tr><td class="messagecellbody" align="left" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">2 - Extensive Endurance</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">156 - 166</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"></td></tr><tr><td class="messagecellbody" align="left" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">3 - Intensive Endurance</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">167 - 174</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"></td></tr><tr><td class="messagecellbody" align="left" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">4 - Sub-Threshold</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">176 - 182</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"></td></tr><tr><td class="messagecellbody" align="left" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5a - SuperThreshold</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">183 - 187</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"></td></tr><tr><td class="messagecellbody" align="left" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5b - Anaerobic Endurance</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">188 - 193</span></font></td><td class="messagecellbody" align="center" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"></td></tr><tr><td class="messagecellbody" align="left" style="vertical-align: top; border-bottom-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-left-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); border-right-color: rgb(198, 198, 198); padding: 4px;"><font color="#000000" face="Arial" size="4"><span style="line-height: 23px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5c - Power<br></span></font><br></td></tr></tbody></table><br><div>I managed to keep my average HR under 155 for the first 15 miles in attempt to have enough left the run the entire way. Then I started to let it creep up to under 160 though mile 18 and 165 through mile 23. Then I tried to keep it under 170 for the rest of the race but my average for the last mile was 173 with a peak of 179, yikes! Guess if I didn't have a heart attack doing that, I'm good for another year :-).</div><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-72660823223369617052014-10-04T22:28:00.001-05:002014-10-04T22:31:47.957-05:00Chicago Marathon Taper Time
<p>I started tapering last weekend with my last double digit run (11 miles) and a 5 mile run. The taper continued this week with two missed weekday runs due to work and an 8 miler today. Not many miles left before the marathon a week from tomorrow.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15441435285" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2943/15441435285_70fdff448a.jpg" id="blogsy-1412479176890.9167" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="393" height="295"></a>
</div>
<p> It's starting to feel like fall, 47 degrees for my run this morning. Hoping for a nice cool day for the race. Right now, the forecast high is 60 with 80% chance of thunderstorms. Um, hold the storms please. Do people switch in to dry shoes at mile 18 or so? It seems like dry shoes and socks would feel like heaven about then.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15438223121" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3929/15438223121_2fbb85ba3b.jpg" id="blogsy-1412479176857.8706" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="408" height="306"></a></div>
<p>This marathon taper feels different than my half ironman tapers. Maybe it's because the overall training hours are less or the load is focused on a smaller set of muscles. I've had less niggles, which is what I call those twinges that feel like you have a new injury but it turns out it's just your body healing (at least that's my theory). I've had more achy ness and stiffness after sitting still. Tonight when I laid down, both legs were throbbing which is a new one. No pain or uncomfortable feeling, just lots of blood pumping, presumably healing. No weird race dreams yet. Maybe because a running race is less complicated than a triathlon or maybe because I'm more worried about the painful aftermath than logistics.</p>
<div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-91454656000377302282014-09-07T19:38:00.000-05:002014-09-07T19:38:15.267-05:00Week 13 - Chicago Marathon Training<p>Another solid week of training. The plan was another big week 0-5-10-5-0-10-20. Actual was 13-0-6-6-0-20-4. Yep, biggest training week ever. Yep, my body is tired and sore and hungry. It's the kind of tired you get from training for a long endurance event like a marathon. It feels like I'm tired to the bone and have a hunger that can't be fufilled. Bacon cheeseburgers do help though :-).</p><p>The weather broke for my long run Saturday. It was wonderful, 65 degrees and a light rain. It was humid, but not like it has been lately. I felt pretty good until about mile 16 when I started to fatigue. By mile 20, I was ready to be done but I managed to keep all 20 miles under 11 minutes. Stairs were not my friend for the rest of the day but I really didn't feel that bad.</p><p>Sunday I was going to go out for 10 miles but by 2.5 miles my knees were barking so I shut it down and walked home. Better to live to fight another day for sure. It was a beautiful day for a walk for sure.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15170148271" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3856/15170148271_5770933f74_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1410136540955.418" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="536"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> As seen on my walk home Sunday.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14986579217" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5590/14986579217_97685bf11c_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1410136540925.7832" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="538"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Yum!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15172758372" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3854/15172758372_70dd943511_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1410136540957.8633" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="535"></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"> Everything is better with bacon :-).</p><p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-91707656506583459362014-09-01T16:44:00.000-05:002014-09-01T16:44:27.012-05:00Week 12 - Chicago Marathon Training
<p> This week was a recovery week. Planned was 0-5-6-5-0-6-12, actual was 0-5-0-5-0-0-6. I moved the long run to Monday since it's a holiday and we had company for a few days. I hit 161 miles for the month of August which is the biggest monther ever by far. I'll skip the boring graph :-).</p>
<p>My sister and her family came to town from Boston Wednesday night. My parents came to town Wednesday as well to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Thursday they all went to the zoo then the arch while I worked. Thursday night, we met at Fitz's for dinner and root beer floats. Friday I took the day off and we all went to Grant's Farm and did the Clydesdale tour then did family pictures. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14909644188" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3882/14909644188_f80927fe65_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409607701120.8965" class="aligncenter" width="402" height="537" alt=""></a></div>
<p> Can't remember the names of these two horses but they have been in at least one of the Budweiser commercials. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15095862202" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3847/15095862202_c0e2975484_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409607701088.376" class="aligncenter" width="404" height="539" alt=""></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> My niece and nephews.</p>
<p>Saturday we went to the Science center then had a cookout. We had a great long weekend hanging out.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14909550210" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3891/14909550210_6143a6eb1c_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409607701094.7456" class="aligncenter" width="400" height="534" alt=""></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> My grilling helpers.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14909541480" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5561/14909541480_167c57074e_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409607701090.4585" class="aligncenter" width="403" height="538" alt=""></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Slight rain delay.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14909608708" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5560/14909608708_5bd601debc_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409607701087.7405" class="aligncenter" width="402" height="537" alt=""></a></div>
<p> One of three grills I had going. One other one was half full of chicken and the third had asparagus, green beans and garlic in foil pouches.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15095808462" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5566/15095808462_6be2a7a404_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409607701145.473" class="aligncenter" width="404" height="539" alt=""></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Garlic, asparagus and green beans.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-4932537833127076362014-08-25T19:24:00.000-05:002014-08-25T19:26:43.185-05:00Chicago Marathon Training (week 11)
<p style="text-align: left;"> This week was supposed to be one of three peak weeks for me. The Hal Higdon Intermediate 2 plan called for 0-5-10-5-0-10-20, yep that's 50 miles (and yep, I started a plan for someone who has run multiple marathons). Actual was 0-6-6-6-0-10-18, yep that's my biggest weekly mileage ever on my way to my biggest monthly total ever. On top of that, it was very hot and humid this week with a heat advisory posted on several of the days, including my long runs. So, I kept good track of my hr, took along plenty of fluids and took routes where I could refill.</p>
<p>Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I ran at night since I gave up on becoming a morning person after just one week of my current attempt (attempt three or four, maybe five). With Saturday and Sunday being the hottest days and being my longest runs, I sucked it up and got up early both days. Saturday I got up at 5:30 and was out the door at 6:15. It was 77 degrees and 93% humidity, so it didn't take long to be in a full sweat. I brought my normal 16 ounce frozen water bottle (the cheap ones you buy by the case) I hold in my hand and a 20 ounce waist belt water bottle (Camelback Delaney) with ice and Gatorade and set off. I was feeling good until about mile seven when I started a 3 mile stretch with no shade and temperatures already in the mid eighties (heat indices in the low nineties). I decided I would make a call on 15 or 18+ Miles when I got to the gas station I planned to refuel at (mile 11). There was a water station about a mile before the gas station and I stopped to cool off. I was already totally soaked, squishy shoes and all before I poured water over my head. Right there I decided to call it at 10 miles, called the SAG wagon (DW) and walked to the gas station. I didn't feel that bad but knew if I ran much more, I was going to hurt myself. I walked in the gas station and the attendant was like "wow! You are soaked all the way through". I felt bad I was dripping sweat everywhere, but bought two bottles of Gatorade and paid with dry money I keep in a ziplock bag. Then I went outside and waited for my ride. I actually didn't feel too bad the rest of the day, went on a lunch date, took a nap then grilled out.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15024325145" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3852/15024325145_5826e98483_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409012412957.01" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="536"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> My view walking to my pick up point.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.3em; text-align: center;">That evening I grilled some garlic (in foil), red potatoes (in foil), corn, peppers stuffed with black beans, black eyed peas and cheese. Oh, and I made some poppers for appetizers. Yum!</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15024308375" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5585/15024308375_20ff8fa734_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409012412939.5115" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="536"></a></div>
<p> For the red potatoes, I diced them, put a bunch of Old Bay seasoning on them, and added to butter. Roast on medium heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Delicious! My son said they tasted like the red potatoes we eat in New Orleans.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14837779937" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3889/14837779937_13090986b0_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409012412939.1458" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="539"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">Potatoes prepped for grilling.</p>
<p> Along with the veggies, I grilled some BBQ chicken. I used some Yuengling based BBQ sauce we picked up on vacation.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14837648430" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3857/14837648430_3a76a61750_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409012412986.3708" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="536"></a></div>
<p>Sunday I managed to get up at 5:15 am and be out the door by 5:45 am. Who is this guy? Morning person? Nahhhh :-). It was dark when I left the house, but light enough I got away without bringing a head lamp. Same route as Saturday, same plan. Getting to the three mile stretch with no shade a little earlier made all the difference. The sun hadn't burned all the way through the morning haze yet so it didn't feel like my skin was cooking. Made it to the gas station where the attendant said I looked just as soaked as yesterday. We chit chatted, I refueled and kept going. I took the 15 mile loop turn off instead of the 18 mile loop turn off figuring I could re-evaluate at mile 14 (a park 3/4 mile from my house). The park has a faucet with cold running water you can run on your head and I love stopping there to cool off. When I arrived at the park, I didn't feel horrible, so I cooled off and came up with a new plan. Run a mile out and back and cool off at mile 16 and re-evaluate, repeat at 18 and if I made it to 20, walk home. Mile 15-16 were getting even slower than my usual slow MAF pace, but I didn't feel too bad. At mile 17 my stomach started getting that dull, don't drink anymore feeling because I'm no longer thirsty, so I decided my 18 mile cool off would be my last and I walked home from there. By that time, the temp was in the upper 80's with heat index of 95 so probably a wise move. While walking somewhere during mile 15, a lady walking her dog asked me "how far have you gone? You are a sweaty mess". I should have showed her the road ID I wear and asked if she had a cell phone for when I stroked out :-).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15023932522" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3869/15023932522_c0680692f2_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409012412896.0334" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="537"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Somewhere around mile 14.</p>
<p> The rest of the day I was a bit sore (ok really sore after sitting for a bit) but overall didn't feel too bad so I did the normal lunch date, nap and a cookout. I love roasting garlic then eating an entire head of it on bread. I cut the bottom off, add some olive oil, salt and pepper then wrap in foil and roast on indirect heat for 45 minutes to an hour.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14837748277" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5555/14837748277_cc7d5d653f_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409012412972.238" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="531"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Garlic prepped for grilling.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">For the rib eyes, I put salt, pepper and fresh minced garlic. Yep, I love my garlic.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/15021204531" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5565/15021204531_f57b040bb4_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409012412958.2585" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="535"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Rib eyes prepped for grilling.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14850575119" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3867/14850575119_a7a4881dd0_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1409012412900.6248" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="538"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<p> Grilled half the steaks for a neighbor and some additional pork kabobs for us. Also grilled some Brussels spouts in foil.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14850857908" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3862/14850857908_b8977b8c73.jpg" id="blogsy-1409012412972.2773" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="379"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<p> Writing this post is making me hungry :-).</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-29253251382321750362014-08-17T22:28:00.000-05:002014-08-17T22:28:34.625-05:00Chicago Marathon Training (week 10)
<p> Another week done. The plan for this week called for 0-4-9-4-0-9-19. Actual was 0-4-6-6-0-19-9. Monday through Wednesday I actually got up early and went for a walk Monday and ran Tuesday and Wednesday. Then Thursday and Friday I went back to staying up too late and not getting up early. I enjoy getting up early and getting my exercise in but I also enjoy staying up late. I wish I needed less sleep.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14946252485" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5564/14946252485_73a5490d3c_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1408332388947.4207" class="alignnone" alt="" width="405" height="541"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<p>My 19 mile run was a challenge to say the least. It was raining for the first half and 19 miles is just a long way to run. Since it was raining and I knew I was going to be running for 3+ hours, I was concerned about chaffing and blisters. Besides the normal band aids on my nipples and Body Glide on areas known to chaff, I put a little Aquaphor on my toes and balls of my feet. No blisters so at the least, it didn't hurt. I did have some chaffing on the left side of my back from my heart rate strap and/or shirt. It was bad enough that my shirt turned pink from blood. Lesson learned there. I took pictures but decided to spare you all. You're welcome :-).</p>
<p>I did cheat a bit on my MAF training and let my heart rate go into the mis 150's instead of the mid 140's that I usually try to maintain. I figured that in the race, I'll be letting my hr go up so I might as well do it on my long runs. 3+ hours is a long time to run. Long enough that I started getting sore during the run. That's no fun and made me question why I'm even doing this. I suppose that is normal thinking when running the furthest I've ever run on pavement, logging my biggest mileage week ever and being on pace to have my biggest running month ever.</p>
<p>That said, I'm hungry, like all the time...</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14954070805" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5596/14954070805_096c26ce33_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1408332388930.241" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="380" height="507"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Grill two, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, amd corn. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14767398210" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3872/14767398210_933962e65e_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1408332388948.1108" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="395" height="527"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Grill one. Bacon pork kabobs.</p>
<p> </p>
<div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-68143489257065035062014-08-10T21:18:00.000-05:002014-08-10T21:18:44.205-05:00Week 9 - Marathon Training
<p> This week was our yearly beach vacation in Navarre Florida. Not the best time of year or location for running, but I made the best if it. I got up at 6 am every day and either ran or walked, logging 41 running miles in 6 days. Most ever on vacation.</p>
<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The plan this week was 0-4-9-4-0-0-13 and actual was 9-0-9-0-6-0-13. The first 9 was a carry over from the week before. The last 6 was planned to be 9 but I shut the run down after 6 miles due to heat and humidity. </span><br></p>
<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Vacation was fun with my daughter bringing two friends as well as my son bringing two friends.</span></p>
<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14693680730" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5585/14693680730_22ac8bf803.jpg" id="blogsy-1407723320029.7354" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="302"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Our daughter and two of her friends.</p>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14693684929" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3877/14693684929_e968327bfd.jpg" id="blogsy-1407723320075.1929" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="301"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Our son (on the right) and two of his friends</p>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14877892244" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3842/14877892244_f2ec1ff8a0_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1407723319997.3823" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="536"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> I couldn't stay away from helping the kids with a castle.</p>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14690943008" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3905/14690943008_566f3ca7b3_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1407723319990.662" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="536"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> The view the last night from the sound side of our condo. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14875185434" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3915/14875185434_1260ee1da6_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1407723320036.854" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="539"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">Sign that cracked me up (middle school humor :-)) on my runs</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14690961888" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5568/14690961888_676b0e896b_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1407723320038.8574" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="400" height="534"></a><span style="line-height: 1.3em; text-align: left;"> </span>
</div>
<p style="text-align: center;">Normal morning view before heading down to the beach. </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> </p>
<p> Until next week....</p>
<div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-70026663554796441272014-08-03T20:07:00.000-05:002014-08-03T20:07:58.388-05:00Week 8 - Marathon Training
<p> So the weeks just keep rolling along. Week 8 of 18 wasn't perfect since I worked 12+ hour days again. The plan this week was 0-4-8-4-0-8-17 and actual was 0-0-7-0-0-17. The last two days would have been17-8 but I drove 11 hours to Navarre Beach Florida for our yearly beach vacation. This is my view while typing this.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14635486079" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3887/14635486079_40b57cd5db.jpg" id="blogsy-1407113409830.2385" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="398" height="299"></a></div>
<p>If you follow me on Instagram, you already know I got up at 6 am this morning and ran the 17 miles I was supposed to yesterday. This is impressive for me on a couple fronts. First, I'm not a morning person, so for me to get up at 6 am while on vacation, it's something to write about :-). Second, it's humid here. Luckily the temps aren't as hot as it's been in previous years. At 6:45 when I hit the street, it was 77 degrees and 92% humidity. I set off with a bottle of water in my hand and Gatorade in the bottle on my fuel belt. I ran out to the edge of town toward Pensacola,</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14821522322" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2925/14821522322_dda9cf6329_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1407113409893.9421" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="381" height="509"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Looking away from town. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14821879905" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2938/14821879905_368b6bce5c_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1407113409818.8296" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="536"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Looking toward town.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>then turned around and ran back past our condo and stopped at the gas station to buy another bottle of water and some ice. The checkout lady was super nice and said for 11 cents more I could have a second bottle if I had time to drink it. I told her I'd be back later and she said no problem, just grab your second bottle then. So I ran across the bridge to Navarre and back, then through the public park area, then stopped at the gas station for more ice, my second bottle of water and I bought a bottle of Gatorade. I felt kind of bad handing her sweaty money so note to self, put money in a ziplock bag next time. On my way, I ran out to the edge of town and back again, capping of 17 miles.</p>
<p>Funny how it's hard to do simple math when you are over heated and tired. After my second water stop, I ran past our condo for the second time, saw 11.3 miles on my watch and calculated that I should turn around when I hit mile 14. At some point I figured out that was wrong and turned around at 14.25. Yep, another miss calculation had me run past the condo a third time to pick up that last tenth of a mile :-). When I got to the condo, I took the elevator to the tenth floor where we are staying. Sorry next person to ride the elevator, I usually take the stairs, but I was beat.</p>
<p>Should be a fun trip. My son brought a friend and had another meet us. My daughter is driving down today and is bringing two more friends, so we'll have eight of us total in the condo. Luckily we rented a big one again.</p>
<p>I may use this trip to make another attempt at becoming a morning person. Stay tuned...</p>
<p> </p>
<div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-45752028911698531502014-07-27T20:13:00.000-05:002014-07-27T20:13:26.186-05:00Week 7 - Marathon Training
<p> <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The plan this week was 0-4-8-4-0-8-16, actual was 0-0-4-7-0-16-8. I worked late every night this week again. My 7 miler finished up in the dark with a bat escort. It was really cool running along the path with what seemed like dozens of bats 5 to10 feet above my head shielding me from Mosquitos :-). It was similar to the section of trail below, but dark.</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14575102150" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3871/14575102150_b930ae9f00_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1406509854341.4644" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="535"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<p>The mileage is getting up there and it was hot and humid this weekend. The runs were fine but slow so I could keep my HR down. Here are some pics from my runs.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14751955972" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3917/14751955972_e8233209f7.jpg" id="blogsy-1406509854341.5889" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="394" height="295"></a></div>
<p><br></p>
<p>The pic below was a brutal 3 mile stretch with no shade. It was in the mid 80's with humidity in the mid 70's. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14749077281" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3909/14749077281_b7671cb2d9_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1406509854387.6475" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="399" height="533"></a></div>
<p><br></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14575139329" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2898/14575139329_f7e8316002_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1406509854386.5283" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="403" height="538"></a></div>
<p><br></p>
<p> Made the best lamb chops yet after the 16 miler. It was just my son and I for dinner, so not much food.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14781663923" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2899/14781663923_8b3b8e5cc3_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1406509854363.4558" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="401" height="535"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<p>Haven't looked at my plan for next week yet. Stay tuned! </p>
<div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-47564504856945450762014-07-20T21:52:00.000-05:002014-07-20T22:03:03.931-05:00Week 6 - Marathon Training<p> <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The plan this week was 0-3-7-3-0-7-10, actual was 0-0-6-0-0-11-7. I worked late every night this week (12+ hour days) and didn't start my mid-week run until after 8 pm. </span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">In other news, my kids are back from Europe! My daughter was there for 5 months studying and traveling. My son went over for the last three and a half weeks to travel with her. They had a blast! </span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Both had eventful trips on the way there. In February, the first leg of my daughters flight was cancelled due to the winter storm in DC. She cancelled her flight and booked a different one going through Chicago. Made it to Chicago, then Zurich, then when flying from Zurich to Hannover, her plane lost an engine and they had to return to Zurich. She then had to take two more flights to get to Hannover and her luggage showed up four days later.</span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">My son was supposed to fly St. Louis to Chicago to Frankfort to Berlin but his first flight was cancelled. American Airlines put him on a flight to Dallas with no guaranteed seats past Dallas. He then flew standby to Dusseldorf and standby to Berlin where my daughter met him. Nice solo travel adventure for a boy that is going to be a senior in high school :-).</span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">My daughter made a cool video of their trip. It's really nice having them back.</span></p><div class="separator" style="text-align: center;"><iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="401" height="244" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0L2xEqizld0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-4915691361335083442014-07-13T21:54:00.000-05:002014-07-13T22:26:02.587-05:00Week 5 - Marathon Training
<p> The plan this week was 0-3-7-3-0-7-14 actual was 0-0-7-0-0-14-7. I worked late Tuesday and traveled Thursday but got my medium and long runs in. I guess if you are going to miss two runs, it might as well be the two short ones. </p>
<p>Besides the mileage, I had a couple mental toughness runs this week. Wednesday I was in Solon Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland) at my remote office and set out for a run after work. The hourly weather forecast said 0 % chance of rain but there were rain showers popping up in the area. About 2 miles from the hotel, it started sprinkling which then turned into a moderate rain. No lightning and no SAG support so I kept going. A half mile later I turned around and started to head back playing the rationalization game in my head of "5 miles is close enough to 7". Then about 15 minutes later it stopped raining so I added 2 miles back on and hit the 7 on the plan. <br></p>
<p>Saturday I set out for my 14 miler about 10 am and it was already in the mid 80's with humidity just over 70% putting the heat index around 90. By mile 3 I was pretty much drenched in sweat and by mile 6 I was a little dizzy and started the rationalization game again. This time i was working on convincing myself that if I did 11 and followed up with 11 more on Sunday it would be the same as the planned 14 and 7. When I got to my first water refill point at mile 8, I poured a bunch of water over my head and started to perk up a little.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14460023760" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2903/14460023760_70c241229c_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1405284223725.2446" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="537"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">Broken water fountain :-(</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Luckily there is another fountain at this park. After cooling off, I figured I could make it the ~2 miles to the next park, do the water over the head trick.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14458765988" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3888/14458765988_0edd11d745_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1405284223765.8525" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="387" height="516"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">Ahhhh</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">That felt so good. Now I was just past 10 miles and the heat index was in the upper 90's. Now I figured I could make it ~2 miles to the next water fountain and cool off again then make it home.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Shortly before setting off on my last 4 miles, my wife showed up on her bike to bring me cold water! How awesome is that? I email her a link to Garmin Live Track before every run mostly so that if I die of a heart attack, she'll know where to send the meat wagon even if some animals drag me into the woods :-). Anyway, 14 miles in the books.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The plan for Sunday was "just" 7 miles. It was a little cooler, but not much so I planned my route to end at the park with the cold water, then walk the 3/4 mile home to finish "cooling off".</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14458767548" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2930/14458767548_1c471b7be8_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1405284223734.426" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="384" height="512"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Broke out the visor for the first time this year.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anyway, week 5 is in the books. Week 6 is a slight cutback week.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>My friend <a href="http://runwithjill.blogspot.com" target="_self" title="">Jill</a> commented on my last post asking how training is going. The short answer is slow. Still trying the Maffetone thing and with all the variables, I can't really tell if it's working. The long answer will be a future post :-).</p>
<p> </p>
<div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-71724565784049637272014-07-07T07:32:00.000-05:002014-07-07T07:32:14.198-05:00Week 4 - Marathon Training
<p> Technically last week was week four though actually it was week three since I was fishing most of week one. I've decided to loosely follow the <a href="http://halhigdon.com/training/51140/Marathon-Intermediate-2-Training-Program" target="_self" title="">Hal Higdon Novice 2 plan</a>. By loose I mean skipping one of the three weekday runs when I'm busy and biking instead of running for the shorter weekend run when tired.</p>
<p> Here are a couple pics from my fishing trip.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14526311251" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3865/14526311251_73ccd90a2a_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1404736301844.555" class="aligncenter" width="404" height="539" alt=""></a></div>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14528686682" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3862/14528686682_bd1e53fd2a_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1404736301802.25" class="aligncenter" width="405" height="540" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14529687355" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2916/14529687355_6b87c61fc0_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1404736301874.5476" class="aligncenter" width="400" height="534" alt=""></a></div>
<p> I'm not a good fishermen, but being out in nature is relaxing, except for the boat vs. boat competiveness :-). I don't have a carbon fiber bike yet, but I now have a carbon fiber reel and it's sweet.</p>
<p>Fourth of July we had about 20 people over for a cookout before some neighbors did an impressive firework display (allegedly since fireworks are illegal in Illinois). I made steak kabobs using beef tendorloin and veggie kabobs. About 30 beef and 20 veggies. It turned out well (no left overs). </p>
<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14591031214" target="_self" style=""><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2916/14591031214_ae735e0275_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1404736301811.0925" class="alignnone" width="401" height="535" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14569882936" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2917/14569882936_bb42bfe437_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1404736301859.7773" class="aligncenter" width="406" height="542" alt=""></a></div>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/14406311968" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5585/14406311968_7849e1b9ee_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1404736301852.9895" class="aligncenter" width="389" height="518" alt=""></a></div>
<p> </p>
<p> So, back to marathon training. The plan for last week (starting Monday) was 0-3-6-3-0-6-13. I did 0-3-6-0-0-13-6. Thursday was the day before the 4th so I went to happy hour with a couple friends instead of running 3 miles. I switched the long run to Saturday since it was cooler and more convenient. I woke up Sunday to those heavy sore legs that could use a spin,but ran instead. It wasn't pretty,but I loved being able to be out running given my Achilles has been acting up.</p>
<p> </p>
<div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-81045858643041307792014-04-17T20:32:00.001-05:002014-04-17T20:32:26.086-05:00Have a Goal - Need a Plan<p> If you follow me on <a href="http://instagram.com/ransick">Instagram</a>, you may have seen that I made it into the Chicago marathon. If all goes well, I'll run my first marathon October 12th, 2014. Now I just need a plan and I have a few questions. Should I run four or five times a week? Should I do strength training and if so, what kind? Should I build up to one, two or three 20 milers? <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.3em;">I know a lot depends on my goals. For now my goal is to finish strong and have fun.</span></p><p>After five 100 mile months in a row, a combination of bad weather, work travel and lack of mojo caused a bit of a set back, but I should go into marathon training with a base of about 20-25 miles per week. I looked at my weekly mileage and was surprised by the weekly variation.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/13893986941" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7392/13893986941_6798aed154_z.jpg" id="blogsy-1397783564185.625" class="aligncenter" width="401" height="417" alt=""></a></div><p> </p><p><span style="line-height: 1.3em; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p> At least I'll have something to blog about again :-).</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-34689429980612138392014-02-01T16:24:00.000-06:002014-02-01T16:28:50.207-06:00All Streaks Must Come To An End<p>My hundred miles per month streak came to an end after six months. A combination of being busy at work, crappy weather, water in our basement and recovering from an <a href="http://blog.ransick.org/2013/12/my-first-ultra.html" target="_self" title="">ultra</a> meant less running than usual. Like those excuses? That's exactly what they are. The truth is, I haven't been working that much extra, I have a treadmill I could use in bad weather, we hired out most of the basement work, and I only needed about a week off after my ultra. Laying out excuses makes me think of one of Jim's recent <a href="http://50after40.blogspot.com/2014/01/are-you-unable-or-unwilling.html#comment-form" target="_self" title="">posts</a>.</p>
<p>I never posted a report card for 2013 so here it is. I only had three goals </p>
<ul>
<li>Do a plank a day for a year</li>
<li>Maintain my weight</li>
<li>Run 1000 miles</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>My plank streak lasted until my fishing trip and I quit and never really got going again. I should really start back up. Having a strong core helps my running and helps keep lower back pain away.</p>
<p>I was able to maintain my weight even traveling and eating out 100+ days and nights. Portion control helped out here a lot. Restaurants serve way to much food so I typically only eat about two thirds of it. I also eat salad for lunch quite a bit.</p>
<p>I did hit 1100 miles for the year and I'm pretty happy about that, specially with all the traveling.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/12256383866" target="_blank" style=""><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5526/12256383866_6263889cb7.jpg" id="blogsy-1391293532917.2417" class="alignnone" alt="" width="402" height="395"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<p> Time to start a new 100 mile/month streak :-).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/12257474035" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5475/12257474035_0c7be40c92_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1391293532888.3853" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="402" height="536"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> There is almost always a pair of my shoes and gloves drying in front of the fire. There are two more pair on the mantle ready to go.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/12257905824" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7378/12257905824_16c8e33813_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1391293532911.2751" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="404" height="607"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Had to delete some photos to take that last one :-)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p>Number of races scheduled = 0</p>
<p>Number of goals = 0</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That's all for now... </p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-76907025834794533162013-12-30T14:01:00.000-06:002013-12-30T20:57:40.109-06:00My First Ultra<p>Since I'm not on Facebook, I just happened to hear about this free, self supported race. I was heading out to run some local single track late Novemebr and a couple members of the our local tri club had just returned from a run and they told me about it and how to sign up. I promptly signed up that day, since it sounded like fun.</p>
<p>The format sounded perfect for someone who has never run an ultra or a marathon. It was a "last man standing" format where we all ran 4.1 mile loops with each loop starting at the top of the hour. So the sooner you got in from your loop, the longer you had to recover, but also get cold and tighten up. Definitely some strategy there. The loops were nice in that it let people drop when they were ready.</p>
<p>Having not trained or raced at all this year, I wasn't sure how to train for an ultra when signing up just a month and four days before the race. I decided that it was best not to change anything for it since the risk of injury ramping up mileage in such a short time wasn't worth it. Instead, I would rely on my base training which has been a consistent ~25 miles/week and 100+ miles per month for the last six months. Not exactly ultra training levels, but there is no fixing that in a month.</p>
<p>I hadn't practiced nutrition either, so I put some of everything in the back seat of my car hoping something would sound good and I would be able to keep it down. I also put several pairs of socks, shoes and clothes in the trunk so I could switch out of wet clothes when needed. As I was packing my car, I noticed some extra carpet in the garage and cut a couple squares to put on the ground for sock and shoe changes. It worked great!</p>
<p>The night before the race I did nothing different than usual. I had a couple beers and Chinese food with friends. I did drink more water than usual and went to bed early (before 11pm). Race morning I got up at four a.m. and ate some peanut butter toast and had a cup of coffee. With no porta potties at the race, I wanted to get things out of the way before heading to the race. I was able to fall back asleep and even had one of those goofy but stressful race dreams. The alarm woke me up from a dead sleep at 5:45 and I went about getting ready. I turned on the gas fireplace to warm up the family room and the flames came out the fireplace, which they sometimes do for a couple seconds before going up the flu, but this time they stayed out long enough to set off the fire alarm. Not the way you want to start race day. I got that taken care of and set off to pick up <a href="http://kate-my-mind.blogspot.com" target="_self" title="">SuperKate</a> and head to the race site which is a convenient two miles from my house.</p>
<p> Kate and I were talking about goals on the way to the race. My first goal was to run 5 loops or 20.5 miles which would be my longest run to date. My previous long run was in the same woods at <a href="http://blog.ransick.org/2012/11/running-mental-scale.html?m=1" target="_self" title="">Patrick's 12 hour run</a> and I ran 18 miles in four hours and called it good. My second goal was 8 loops or 32.8 miles. Running 50k is one of those trail running bench marks. Anyway, we arrived at the race site an hour before the race started and visited with ~60 other runners and the race organizer. The race was free, self supported and yet had amazing volunteers and an extremely well stocked aid station that all the runner's contributed to.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11652570774" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2856/11652570774_6373e84c8d.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614370.3564" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="333"></a></div>
<p>At 8 am we all lined up and were off. Pacing is the key and I luckily latched on to a group that wasn't running to fast, but fast enough to get back with about 5 minutes to change and eat. Here is what I remember of the loops.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11627388084" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; " title=""><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5521/11627388084_a4417a2350_c.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614385.6226" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pre-race meeting </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11627794456" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5521/11627794456_86ff41064d.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614442.7068" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11627799246" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7399/11627799246_3b5cec91f3.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614448.3523" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11627024985" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5539/11627024985_8a9f6cf628.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614431.3965" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<p>Loop 1 - Uneventful. The trail was in good shape, temperature was in the low 30's and we kept a nice easy pace. At the end of loop one, I drank a half a bottle of Gatorade which was a bad choice.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11652458153" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3784/11652458153_b2a13cd241.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614448.7385" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="333"></a> </div>
<p>Loop 2 - My stomach was sloshing and cramping a little but cleared up after a little while. When I'm cold, my index fingers turn white and go numb, so each loop started with me blowing warm air through my cotton gardening gloves for about the first mile until I warmed back up. After loop 2 I ate half of a banana, drank half a bottle of water and took a salt pill. My stomach was much happier. After loop 2 I also changed my sweaty base layer out (top only, I lubbed the under carraige after every loop using body glide).</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11652963946" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5532/11652963946_f705ce685b.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614418.7686" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="500" height="333"></a></div>
<p>Loop 3 - For the most part uneventful but fatigue and soreness started setting in. I was a bit surprised it started so early but I guess if you run the furthest you have in months, it shouldn't be that surprising. I did start worrying that I would not make five loops if the rate of fatigue continued. After loop three, I changed shoes and socks which felt good. I had another half a banana, half bottle of water and a salt pill.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11652972996" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5473/11652972996_37e03cb0fe.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614382.4165" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="333" height="500"></a></div>
<p>Loop 4 - The soreness and fatigue persisted, but did not increase. Phew! I started evaluating how far I was going to go then kept reminding myself to worry about right now. Keep my footing since by now the temps were in the mid to upper forties and spots on the trail were getting sloppy. At the end of loop four, I changed base layer, ate half a banana, drank half a bottle of water and took a salt tab. I started worrying that a half of a banana wasn't enough calories, but it's all I could stomach.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11652973986" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7316/11652973986_76563d6d72.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614380.2795" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="333" height="500"></a> </div>
<p>Loop 5 - I was excited starting loop five knowing I was probably going to hit my prime goal. Concentrated on staying with someone keeping a good pace and staying in the moment. My lower back started barking a bit and I started worrying that this would be my last loop. At the end of that loop, the volunteer recording loop count and times commented that my loop times were the most consistent he had seen. I gave the credit to badass adventure racer <a href="http://silkychrome.blogspot.com" target="_self" title="">Emily</a> (who I met in real life for the first time during loop 2) I'd been in a group she ended up pacing most of the loops. At the end of loop five, I changed shoes and socks, ate half a banana, drank half a bottle of water and took a salt pill. I also laid the two carpet squares on the ground, laid down and stretched my back out. It really worked well.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11652573714" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5503/11652573714_6b00bed670.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614457.071" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="333" height="500"></a></div>
<p>Loop 6 - I lost a good pace group and started a little too fast. I let some folks pass and tried to pace myself using my Garmin. I definitely need some work there. I was hurting on this lap and thinking I could probably do one, maybe two more loops. At the end of loop six, I changed base layer, ate half a banana, drank half a bottle of water and took a salt tab.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11652572754" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7451/11652572754_e4a48ea153.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614417.3816" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="333" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">Sporting the Christmas/ultra goatee </p>
<p>Loop 7 - I was hurting when I took off for this loop. I almost turned back and called it quits, but I kept going. There is lots of talking with other runners on a trail run like this. When I hit 26.2 miles, there were three of us running together and I told them that was my first marathon. After some high fives, the guy in front of me said I should go for one more lap to hit 50k. I told him I was hurting and this was my last lap. He said I was running strong enough that I could do it. I didn't catch his name, but I'm sure he (or any of the other experienced racers still going) would have paced me in, but I decided to call it.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11652204965" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3684/11652204965_cf69fe3cbc.jpg" id="blogsy-1388458614395.1694" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="333" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Still smiling after 45k :-)</p>
<p>My Garmin read 28.9 miles and I had been at it for just under seven hours. I was happy to exceed my main goal and increase my longest run ever by over 10 miles. I'm proud of that run and really enjoyed running with a bunch of other ultra runners. Everybody was very friendly and encouraging. It really is a great community to be a part of.</p>
<p>Today I'm sore, but in a different way than a road race. Trail running is so much easier on your body than road running that I think I'm less sore after this ultra than I was half after my last half marathon. Probably due to the trails in part and the level of effort. The soreness isn't so much in the quads and back of the calves, it's more in the glutes, and sides of the calves, knees and quads.</p>
<p>I'm pretty proud of that run. Next year I might just half to sign up for (and train for) a 50k :-).</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-90935632467259824612013-12-15T20:47:00.001-06:002013-12-15T20:51:32.491-06:00Jingle Bell Hell 2013<span style="font-size: medium;"> I decided to do <a href="http://didyougetanyofthat.blogspot.com/" target="_self" title="">XLMIC's</a> Jingle Bell Hell again this year and actually post a race report :-). I did it <a href="http://didyougetanyofthat.blogspot.com/2012/12/virtual-jingle-bell-hell-final-results.html" target="_self" title="">last year</a> and just never got around to posting about it, but still managed to win the Weasel-Your-Way-Into-The-Donuts prize :-). I did it in <a href="http://blog.ransick.org/2011/12/jingle-bell-hell-race-report.html" target="_self" title="">2012</a> and was pleasantly surprised to receive a gift and a hand written note. That was probably the first thing I received from a blogger friend and it was pretty cool.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">The rules:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Must be at least 5K in total length...no maximum.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"> - I ran 5.4 miles Saturday (and 6.4 miles Sunday).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Must be done on a challenging course (and if you hate treadmills, that means it could be on a treadmill) because the idea is "Hell" ... that is the important part.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"> - I ran on some local single track after 4 inches of heavy snow. It was awesome, but made my pace hellishly slow.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Must be done between Dec. 14-22, 2013... any time of day or night. This gives you two entire weekends to choose from.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"> - check, ran on opening day 12/14</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">You must laugh at least once... can be an evil laugh, a laugh of futility, any kind of laugh but laughter is a MUST.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"> - laughed at myself for worrying about mountain lions after reading there was one sighted not to far from here :-).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"> So, on to the actual race report :-). I feel like the last runner on earth to get a Garmin and Brooks Cascadia trail shoes,but Santa brought both early, so JBH was the break in run for both.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11386447776" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="500" id="blogsy-1387161738995.5735" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7372/11386447776_7a9d03ec9b.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I got to put the first set of tracks down :-)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11386586433" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="500" id="blogsy-1387161738994.2053" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3749/11386586433_81033a3620.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Just put down those tracks</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Besides the slow pace, I had a "hellish" hair day. I've always had thick hair and get my hair cut every four weeks. I missed my last hair cut due to travel and my ear wrap bunched my hair up making it look like I had put my hair up in a small bun :-). Serious hair hell for sure.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11386460175" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="500" id="blogsy-1387161738984.9836" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7297/11386460175_f424c1a15d.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Bun head"</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11386494974" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="500" id="blogsy-1387161739033.2307" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2848/11386494974_b25f3253b2.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
No mountain lion tracks :-)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11386499834" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="500" id="blogsy-1387161739046.135" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7311/11386499834_9c688424db.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Breaking in some new shoes</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11386474045" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="500" id="blogsy-1387161738974.085" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/11386474045_df14024b72.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Post race cookout :-)</div>
<br />
Hopefully Patrick doesn't read this so I can reclaim the only male virtual racer prize title I took two years ago :-).<br />
<div id="blogsy_footer" style="clear: both; font-size: small; text-align: right;">
<a href="http://blogsyapp.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Posted with Blogsy" height="20" src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" style="margin-right: 5px; vertical-align: middle;" width="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>
Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-57095744264861675432013-12-08T11:40:00.001-06:002013-12-08T11:40:44.959-06:00100+<p> What is 100+?</p>
<p>A) The number of nights I've been away from home this year.</p>
<p>B) The number of miles I ran in November.</p>
<p>C) <a href="http://patrick-trailanderror.blogspot.com/p/100-project.html" target="_self" title="">Patrick's</a> asthma awareness efforts.</p>
<p>D) All of the above.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The correct answer is D. I've been in a hotel, condo, cabin, or friend's house about 110 nights so far this year. Crazy.</p>
<p>I hit 100 miles running again in November. That makes five months in a row of 100+ miles!</p>
<p>Besides traveling and running, I have been able to keep my cookouts going strong. I have to admit I'm starting to get the urge to cycle again. I'm thinking about signing up for my first century and if I do <a href="http://bigshark.com/about/2014-vino-fondo-gran-fondo-pg796.htm" target="_self" title="">this one</a>, it will be a serious challenge. We'll see.</p>
<p>In other news, we got a dusting of snow in St. Louis and the temperature has dropped below freezing. Perfect for trail running!</p>
<p><br>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11263554875" target="_blank" style="text-align: center; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; "><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2829/11263554875_636b150f6e.jpg" id="blogsy-1386524382119.5662" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a> </p>
<p> Hope you all enjoy the Christmas season!</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/11273603863" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3789/11273603863_52bc478975.jpg" id="blogsy-1386524382106.072" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-24656877078775651982013-11-07T20:48:00.001-06:002013-11-07T20:48:13.494-06:00October Recap<p> Guess if I'm going to do an October recap, it's time. October was another good running month for me. I ran over 100 miles for the fourth month in a row. First time I've ever done that! Besides running, I've enjoyed the fall weather and colors as well as grilling and smoking. If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably already seen these, sorry.</p>
<p>Not much else knew that I can talk bout here so I'll get to some pics.</p>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10735192134" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5486/10735192134_df837b752b.jpg" id="blogsy-1383878625730.0647" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> I hadn't smoked any meat for quite a while since it's pretty much an all day affair and I've been pretty busy. Since it takes so much effort, I like to load the smoker up when I do smoke.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10735186176" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5512/10735186176_946c913852.jpg" id="blogsy-1383878625657.8193" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Tried green beans and almonds in a foil pouch on the grill and they turned out amazing. They have joined the regular rotation :-).</p>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10735187074" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5540/10735187074_a1d10ecb31.jpg" id="blogsy-1383878625670.5735" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Grilled trout, salmon, and tuna one night. It was fabulous.</p>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10735184734" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7404/10735184734_d1ec526b70.jpg" id="blogsy-1383878625719.6836" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Jalapeños and pork kabobs, yum! In foil are mushrooms and green beans.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10735077275" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7338/10735077275_2210a2e7e9.jpg" id="blogsy-1383878625715.4417" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> I started using an instant read thermometer and it helps cook lobster perfectly. Once the temp hits 140 degrees, pull it.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10735174706" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2844/10735174706_9cd5b7a980.jpg" id="blogsy-1383878625654.3853" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Loving the fall colors. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10735169206" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5503/10735169206_24649e988c.jpg" id="blogsy-1383878625741.4207" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> Love this shot.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Going to try to hit 100 miles again in November. It's going to be tough with the so going down early and the weather getting colder, it's going to be tough.</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-56142645549152383892013-10-05T18:22:00.001-05:002013-10-05T18:22:49.547-05:00As seen on my run<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10103882336" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5528/10103882336_5256c2660d.jpg" id="blogsy-1381013553955.36" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">I was a slow getting my camera out to snap a pic of this three foot black snack.</span><br>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10103834125" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3692/10103834125_d7debcd292.jpg" id="blogsy-1381013553934.0796" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">Kind of a dreary day</span><br>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10103789364" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7362/10103789364_5f57a8a1f8.jpg" id="blogsy-1381013553957.692" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">Trail construction meant I had the trail to myself.</span><br>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10103815045" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2863/10103815045_0a1c81c2e7.jpg" id="blogsy-1381013553914.3684" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">They scrapped the asphalt off all the train bridges down to the original wood. You could really smell the tar.</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10103875533" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7292/10103875533_39ae4f4b7a.jpg" id="blogsy-1381013553962.596" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/10103803455" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5469/10103803455_09dd0d1059.jpg" id="blogsy-1381013553908.9792" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "> This one was a little tougher to get by :)</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Knocked out a little over 11 miles. Longest run in about a year. I think Ineed some core work before I go much further.</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7133832686240226203.post-34498578414528025542013-09-26T21:10:00.001-05:002013-09-26T21:10:15.290-05:00It's been a while<p> Things have been good and busy, I just haven't had much to blog about. Given that I don't blog about work, religion, politics, or family, that leaves training and cooking. With no races on the schedule, traveling a ton, and only running, there isn't much to talk about except that I've run over 100 miles for three months in a row and I'm on track to run 1000 miles this year which is about a 50% increase over last year. I'm probably in the best running shape of my life and am considering signing up for a half marathon in October. The only thing holding me back is the memory of how much my 5 minute half marathon PR hurt last October :-).</p>
<p>As far as cooking goes, I've been cooking out every Sunday and Saturdays I don't run church sound. I've been posting pictures on Instagram. You can see them here but I'll post a couple below anyway.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/9959225475" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7342/9959225475_9c60059479.jpg" id="blogsy-1380247746825.0027" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/9959359633" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2880/9959359633_4a075acde2.jpg" id="blogsy-1380247746881.971" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/9959243874" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5339/9959243874_5fc06cd27b.jpg" id="blogsy-1380247746893.2458" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/9959211145" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5325/9959211145_d6db65b94a.jpg" id="blogsy-1380247746892.7979" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p>Last Sunday we drove up the river road along the Mississippi and took the ferry to a little town called Brussels that has a population of 150. We stopped by the visitor center and learned about the quilts of Calhoun county. Pretty sure we made the old lady's day letting her tell us all about it plus going on a tour of the dilapidated building :-). After picking up some pumpkins, we went to the Finn Inn where I had the best catfish ever. I'm not a huge catfish fan but this was deep fried, amazing goodness. If you are ever in Grafton Illinois, check it out. It's the first time we've done something as a family in quite a while.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/9959248974" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/9959248974_14fcffaa68.jpg" id="blogsy-1380247746870.5144" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80303014@N05/9959251414" target="_blank" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5484/9959251414_89eee57f3f.jpg" id="blogsy-1380247746921.1455" class="aligncenter" alt="" width="375" height="500"></a></div>
<p> </p>
<p>That's about it. As I type this, I'm in an airplane traveling from Cleveland to St. Louis wondered what I get when I exceed the point scale with Hilton hotel points :-).</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Ransickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14084824367872613487noreply@blogger.com12