Chamber Challenge 5K

Mark: Yesterday we ran the Eden Prairie Chamber Challenge 5K, a smaller local race that was sponsored in part by Premier Sports and Spine, Kris's physical therapist . As a sponsor she received a number of comped entries and she offered two of them to us.


This was our third race in as many weeks, each at different distances, so it has been interesting managing our trainings during the week. Granted the weather has not been helping either, Thursday we went out to the Legends course intending to run the 10K route and just as we arrived at Deephaven Elementary school it started to rain. Normally I might have stuck it out but it was also 43 degrees, I'd rather avoid getting sick again, so going into this week's race we had not run since Monday and made it only to swim on Tuesday due to a little too much celebrating for my birthday. Kris:  Oops...ok two glasses of wine and two apple-tini's did me in but the birthday outing was totally worth it :)  Dinner at The Butcher Block and then we went to see Flanagan's Wake put on by the Actor's Theatre of Minnesota.  I HIGHLY recommend it!  Just don't forget your camera at dinner....like I did....sigh... 

Race morning we woke up to the sound of rain on the windows and from the beginning we had our doubts about what we be able to manage at the race but we got up, got dressed, grabbed a quick english muffin and got out the door, stopping only briefly fill our mugs with our favorite morning beverage, Caribou Coffee. We we arrived at Purgatory Creek reserve picked up our race packet and then retired to the car just to stay warm for the next 30+ minutes.


With a few minutes before the start of the race, Kris and I ran down the course about a half a mile to warm up a bit. To my surprise a lot more people had showed up and there was close to about 200 participants lined up for the start. As I looked around there were a few runner runners and a hand full of high schoolers so I thought I could potentially have a good race. After we got started I quickly found myself in second place, the guy out in front took off and I knew I could never touch him, and I was guessing that he was running sub-6:00, out of my league. But as I took quick glances behind me I was in good shape, or so I thought. Through almost 2 miles I was holding onto 2nd place and then I faded just a bit, not much but enough to get passed 5 times. Sigh..... Yes I did start out a bit fast but not to bad and I was able to hold onto my pace through out most of the race. As we turned to cross the lake, running into the wind took a bit more out of me and I had almost nothing for the final tenth of the race. It is a little bit frustrating to be able to read the clock as you are running to the finish line and you can tell there is nothing you can do as the clock approaches 21:00.

Final time 21:07 (6:48 pace). Unfortunately my Garmin and everyone else with a GPS was indicating that the coarse was long, I had 3.17 and I heard 3.2 several times. If I recalculate for an actual 3.11 5K my time should have been about 20:43 (6:40 pace) which would have been a new PR. Oh well!! But that brings up a pet peeve of mine, if you are a race director, there are a VERY FEW things that you CAN NOT screw up, TIMING and DISTANCE are two of the most important!!! Which is why Kris and I were taking extraordinary efforts to make sure that the Legends is correct.

Here is my Garmin Connect data from the race. Remember that that the race course was long (3.17 according to my GPS) and that I actually finished in 21:07, you can actually see that in the race map (I wander over to the snack line) and my HR suddenly slows down.




Aside for the distance being wrong and forgetting to stop my Garmin at the finish, oh and as Kris will tell you, I missed her finish 1st female overall, it was a good small race. I ended up finishing 7th overall, 2nd in my AG, remember the guy who took off at a sub-6:00 pace? He was first overall and of course he was in my age group as well.

Kris:  I was going into the race feeling very under prepared.  That's also been a common theme lately for me.  Our warm up run felt hard on my heart rate so I wasn't sure what was going to happen once the race got started.  I began at the front of the pack with Mark since it's a gun start.  I took off and because of the down slope and the pack of men I was surrounded by, I looked down at my first 1/4 mile and was running about 6:30 pace.....ok SLOW DOWN!  I knew I had to pull up a bit or I was never going to make it.   I slowed up to around a 7:30 and then realized something....everyone ahead of me was male.  I was the first female out of the gate.   I got a small peak behind me around the half way point and realized the next two women were about 50 yards behind me.   Trying not to care if they caught up, I just did my best to hold a fast pace and go for my own PR.   I think I held up fairly well and even 'chicked' two guys within the last half mile.   I knew I still had a decent lead and was going to come in as first place female.   It doesn't feel like a massive accomplishment since it was such a small race but still something to be proud of.  So as I was running to the finish line and people I didn't know were cheering, I was looking around......NO MARK.  Crossed the finish line....still NO MARK.   Where is he?  So I walked towards the food area and sure enough he was over there with a cookie and bottle of water.   I know he knows about how fast I run so he will never live down that he has now missed me coming in as first place female TWICE because he was parched and needed a sip of water.   Couldn't wait 3 minutes to see me finish first.   :-P    Sorry Honey, I love you but will be giving you grief about that for a long time ----<{@  

Final time: 24:08 (7:46 pace).   As Mark mentioned, the course was long so it may have been a new 5k PR for me as well if it was measured correctly.  Average Heart Rate - 187.   Leg/IT Band is definitely more sore today (Monday) after that hard 5k run and a long easy recovery 12 miler yesterday.  Going for a soak at the club over lunch today since I'm working from home.   Realized I am almost back to the distance where my injury occurred last year so I'm a bit nervous about the next few weeks.

Mark: It was probably the most profitable race we have ever ran, 2 free entries and between the two of us we brought home $75 in Scheels Gift Cards. Not a bad morning at all.

Next up - Walk on Waconia 10 Mile. Kris and I sat down last night and look at our remaining races as we approach Grandma's and decided that we are going to concentrate on the the equivalent paces the McMillan predicts that we can run, 10 mile, 1/2 marathon and 20 mile.

Goldy's Run - Check This Out!

Kris:  Two new PRs and a podium finish.  Yeah.....seriously!

I wasn't really sure what was going to come out of today.  Originally I wanted to try for a straight 8:15min/mi pace.  Then after our last long easy run that felt like maybe it would be too much so I decided to stay with the 8:30 pacers for 5 miles and then try to take off for the second half.  Then we found out the course was actually quite hilly.  Ah, wtf do I do??  Stick to the plan and hope for the best. Mark: After our last long run where we were testing out our pacing, I decided it might be best to stick with the 7:30 group and save some speed for the last couple of miles.

Kris: I was feeling pretty good by time we hit the start line since we had quite a few friends around us.   We found Don and Scott from MN Running Wild, Tina, Adam and Leah were pacers for the race, Steve, Tony (Gilby) was there for his first road race in his training for Grandma's and of course the ever awesome Brandon and Theresa (Team Baby Dinosaur) up from CO for the week. Mark: Last night I tweeked my hip and it was still bothering me when I woke up this morning so I was not sure what was going to happen. Luckily some Biofreeze and Ibuprofen made all this difference and by the start of the race I felt great. It really was a who's who of people who we know, in addition to our friends Kris already mentioned we also ran into Pete and saw several TNT'ers as well.

Tony and I ran the first half with the 8:30 pace group which was actually being led by Leah so it went by really fast since we were distracted chatting quite a bit.  Part of me wanted to take off before the 5 mile mark because I knew it was flat but I stuck to my plan.   It actually worked out great because shortly after the 5 mile mark was this wonderful LONG downhill that gave me a great recovery and lots of speed.  I had my Garmin lap set for 0.25mi and one of them going downhill was like 7:16 min/mi.   Geez!  Granted then I got my rear handed to me going up the LONG uphill.  I have this habit of trying to power up hills and then recover after.  It works but it gets my heart rate up .  I think I was around 190 at least twice on the course.

Mark: I started out with the 7:30 pacer and as much as I tried I could not stay at that pace, so after the first mile I settled into my own pace which was somewhere between 7:00 and 7:30 and slowly pulled ahead. This course was indeed hilly but for me that works to my strengths, I honestly like hills and I make most of my passes on climbs. Since I recently got a new Garmin I have been keeping an eye on my HR during training runs and now races. At the top of every climb I quickly checked and my HR was consistently at 161 with the last major hill peaking my HR at 162 so I was very happy with that.

Kris: I had my headphones on for the race and honestly I think it helps me pass the time much better and not think so much about how tired I am.  I also would love to credit my new Newton's for some of my speed.  They are extremely comfortable for me.   Granted as you can see by the below picture, if I'm not concentrating (like when I flag down Steve Stenzel who's cheering and taking pictures), I am a horrible heel striker.

Of course here is Mark, not in Newtons, in a perfect stride as usual :-P



The race was very unique in that the finish was around the TCF Stadium and down onto the field, ending at the 50 yard line.  So the last 1/4 to 1/2 mile was flat, around the building and down the ramp. I do have to say it was a seriously awesome finish area.    (could probably use a few more post race treats though ;) Mark: After you loop around the stadium, you enter Gate D and run through the dark tunnel which is a stepped slope down to the field level, and if you're not careful you could loose your footing, luckily I was able to hit the field at a full out sprint and even passed a few more runner on the way to the 50 yard line. 

Tony, Kris and Mark

Kris: We all hung out at the finish, took some photos and then myself, Mark and Tony decided to further drag Brandon and Theresa into the awesome obsession of geocaching.   There was a creative hide on campus that we brought them over to and had them make the find.   And while enjoying a mocha treat at Caribou, without any prompting, Tony also told Brandon how ridiculously awesome it is that he's a pilot and could rapidly fill in the states map.   (See Brandon.....geocachers may be nerds but you would be a really cool nerd! :-P )

So the race was great and the company was really great.   Mark came out with a killer PR. Mark: Thanks Honey! My previous PR was over 3 years old and I thoroughly enjoyed testing my legs, I am definitely a better runner then I was in 2008, my first season. I improved my PR by 11:04! Now I just need to break 1:10, but I promise not to get obssed with a sub 1 hour 10 mile. ;)

Kris: And I took about 4 minutes off my previous 10 mile PR, managed about a 8:06 min/mi average (up for discussion as the course measurement seems to be about .20 different than our GPS watches).

The only REALLY unfortunate part of the race was that I got 3rd in my age group and could have been part of the awards ceremony but I had no idea and left!! AHH!  I age up in 2 months and will likely have little to no shot at a podium finish against 30-34 women so I was super bummed that I didn't know and we didn't stay.   (Hey Podium.....please make sure their is a REALLY obvious place to get your results immediately after the race.  We briefly looked for it before we left and didn't see it)   So I'm very excited to get my award in the mail but really bummed I wasn't part of the ceremony. Mark: Congrats Honey!! Your so much faster then you give yourself credit. You will have a chance at another podium real soon.

Kris: I have to be very relieved and happy though that I didn't ONCE think about my knee.  It didn't hurt or feel "wanky" at all during the race.  Tonight sitting here writing this it's tight and hot but that's OK.  I am feeling more and more confident that I'm successfully getting over this injury and can make a really push for Grandma's and Whistlestop this year.

Kris:  1:19:55  -  Mark 1:10:35 - (FULL RESULTS HERE)

Next up....Earth Day Half Marathon Relay.   6.65 Miles.....can I go sub-8??  Not going to get my hopes up....but it would be seriously sweet ;)



Grandma's Marathon - Caching Duluth and a Few State Parks

Kris: Last weekend we were up in Duluth to run the Irvin 5k on Friday night and then watch a handful of friends run the Grandma's Marathon the next morning.  Friday we walked through the expo and there was  a discount on registrations for the Rock 'n' Roll races so we are now officially signed up to get married at the Las Vegas R 'n' R Marathon!!

The 5k went ok but the weather was hot and very windy.   So we both missed our goal times but I managed a new PR and Mark won his age group (yay! my wonderful speedy man! :)  It was a ton of fun cheering on our friends along the marathon course.  Mark: After the 5K we drove about 14 miles to Fon Du Lac to attend a Geocaching get together, it was a nice chance to meet up north geocachers but at the same time we saw a few familiar faces. After the gettogether we found a very challanging cache, had to follow a trail deep into the woods and then navigate to the bottom of a rack wall/cliff.

Kris: Mark did one of his infamous "in action" photos when he went out on the course to run a few steps and snap a picture with his buddy Steve.



After the marathon was over and the marathoners were showering and napping, we took off to cache out to the Minnesota Point and back.   It's such a beautiful little hike.  We were snapping nature photos along the way.

 

There was also an abandon building and remains of a lighthouse that we stopped to take photos of.  

 

Mark: Technically we are not supposed to be able to get to the lighthouse, there is a chain link fence surrounding the ruins but someone at some point tore down a big hole in the fence and it looks like people have been in and around the light house for years. Take a look at the names that have been scratched in the bricks.

Truth be told, I have been wanting to get back to see this lighthouse (remians) for several years. Last time I was here was not as good as an experience. ;)

Kris: There was a cache at this location called "Ah, sweet relief".  Yes folks, that's an old outhouse :-P

We picked up a virtual and an earthcache that I didn't have before leaving town and also snapped a photo of our friend Steve by the Grandma's Marathon logo stamped on the ground by the finish.

Congrats again Steve on becoming a Marathoner! :)

On the way home we picked up our Passport Club, Hiking Club and Safari Challenge caches at 3 more state parks.

The first park we stopped at was Jay Cooke and this is probably one of my two current favorite parks!  Granted we were there hiking and TIRED after about 3 hours but the paths were great, the scenery was beautiful and they had this great swing bridge.  There was the park multi, a traditional and an earthcache that we picked up. Mark: I loved this park! Everyone should take the time to stop on there way to or from Duluth and spend some time at Jay Cooke.

 

Kris: Second park was Moose Lake.  This was a simple park but well taken care of.  Unfortunately I think we picked up a tick or two here (hate them!!  freak out over them actually.....).    Took a couple pretty pictures and unfortunately missed the Virtual Cache since the office was closed but we got the multi. Mark: I think we have started a new tradition of taking a picture with every state park sign. We have gotten really good at balancing the camera on the car to take these pictures.

Kris: Last park was Banning and we did NOT like this park at all. It's the first one we've been too that we were very disappointed by.   We got stage one of the multi and couldn't figure out how to get to stage two without going through a largely muddy, tick-infested area.   After Mark pulled about 20 off himself and the same off of me, I was thoroughly unhappy and we decided that I would go for the Hiking Club word while he braved the trail to the second stage.   Both of us ended up going along muddy, wet trails that had tall grass growing on them.   And the second stage of the multi was in the absolute opposite direction of the high points of the park.   I just couldn't wait to get out of the park. Mark: I honestly think that this was a case of the park ranger really did not understand the point of the Safari caches (Family friendly) and really didn't care either. The final stage was .8 miles from the first stage and was at the intersection of two trails, laying on the ground with just some birch bark laying on top of the cache "hiding" it. Very disappointing and a gurentee that we will not be visiting Banning again.

Kris: Luckily as I was stomping my way back to the car, there was a deer on the trail that actually let me walk up to within about 10 feet of him (or her...not sure).   That was the high point of the trip through Banning.   I took a picture, thanked the deer for brightning my horrible experience in this park and got the hell out of there.

We stopped for dinner and I was having a horrible time NOT freaking out as Mark plucked another 5+ ticks off of me and another 4 that were in my hair and probably 10 off of himself. 

DON'T GO TO BANNING STATE PARK!!  I'm hoping the complaints in the Geocaching.com log will get them to change their coordinates.  That is not family friendly nor does it highlight the parks better features at all!

On another topic, we finally found a few moments last night to plan our veggie garden...

BEFORE

 

AFTER :)

So that's all I can think of for now.  Tonight we have a meeting with our Ragnar team and then tomorrow morning are competing with my boss, our friend Jeff in the Tri-Loppet.  Jeff is paddling, I'm running, Mark is biking.  And then on Sunday we are doing the Lake Waconia Tri as a relay too.   I am swimming, Mark's brother Michael is biking and Mark is running.  

Should be a fun-filled, tiring weekend :)