rainy day

It rained most of the day today, much like it has the better part of October. I had some time to for final preparations for this Saturday's Boss Cross #3, get some stuff done at the Liberty store, and hang out with Levi while Kathy ran some evening errands. This weekend's race looks like it could be a muddy one, but I doubt it will anything as bad as last years race. Barring another 3+ inches of rain tomorrow the entire course will be ridable.

I'm working on an excel spreadsheet to get full results posted for the Boss Cross series so we can let people know where they stand. I'll have results from the first two races and series points posted at the race on Saturday.

If you've never been to a cross race, A: wake up, and B: Come check it out.
Platte Ridge Park is a gem of a park developed and maintained by Platte County. The race is easy to get to, it's supposed to be 55 and sunny, and I can guarantee good times and mediocre food.

I hope to see all of you out there supporting the sport.

Rock Creek 15 mile trail run

So apparently I've got the running bug again. I put in over 70 miles in less than two weeks (in only 4 runs!). I've been trying not to neglect my many bikes, but it's so easy just to go for a run. This past weekend I did the Rock Creek heavy half marathon at Lake Perry. It was somewhere between 14 and 15 miles, but I like to round up!
It was a really cool event. Super relaxed, kind of reminded me of a cross race. I started out at a pace that I thought I could maintain for 2+ hours. There was a 50k running at the same time, so I knew they would be pacing themselves, so I fell in w/ a couple pretty good groups. There were 3 aid stations spaced at mile 4.2, 8.8, and 11.3. Nice volunteers and some good snacks. I hadn't been running on the trails in 5 years since I did a trail half marathon in Florida some time back. It did a number on my ankles, calves and knees, but I recovered pretty quickly. I ran right at a 2:30 flat. Not a screaming fast pace, but w/ nearly 1500 feet of climbing and a heavy bed of wet leaves on the ground, I was pleased.
There will be some more running races in my near future. First the Gobbler grind (I'm leaning toward the half at this point in time), then this little beauty out a WY CO park. I don't know if I'll be ready for a 50k trail run by February, but I figure I can at least knock out a 20 miler.
I've got a few cross races between now and then to do, and maybe even a trip up to Lincoln on the Saturday before the half.
This weekend is Boss Cross #3. I'll get some more info on here in the next couple days. Soon I will post my 2010 racing Calendar (barring any major catastrophes).
Until next time.

Kansas City Marathon

So it's been a good 2 1/2 years since my last marathon, but I thought I'd give it a try anyways. In all these years I hadn't done the KC marathon. So after 5 solid weeks of training (I managed two 15 mile runs), I showed up ready to run. I knew it would hurt, but I didn't know it would be that bad. As always, the first few miles felt fine, not too fast, and I had a nice group to chat with. I realized it was a little quicker than I could maintain at around mile 6 so I backed it off. I ran with another group until about mile 13 then had to back it off even more for fear of a dnf. By mile 19 my run had become a very painful amble. At one point in time I was actually on pace for a 3:20 (albeit 10 minutes slower than my pr), but by this time I was barely limping along at 9:00 minute miles. I saw my dad out on the course on his new Moots (check em out!) around mile 22 for a nice pick-me-up. Then I saw Kathy and Levi about a mile later. Kathy ran with me for a mile and it was everything I had just to try to keep up with her while she was pushing Levi.
The last few miles hurt like no run ever has. I've done 10 marathons in 7 different states and this was by far my worst; 3.47:57. Nothing a little training can't help for the next one.
Tonight I'm gonna go spin my legs out at a little local cross race...we'll see how that goes.
Until next time (which won't be so long, I promise!)