Mackinaw Island 8 Miler

8 Miles - 54:07 - 6:46 Pace

Pretty good run today, the weather was perfect, the course was flat, and I ran a pretty good run.  I took 34th place out of about 1100 runners, got third in the division, so I got a nice little trophy, my first running hardware, so that was exciting.  The only thing you had to worry about on this course was the horse apples.......all over.

I had a good time for the run, but I didn't feel great, I was feeling it one mile in, which I thought was a little early.   I did start a little fast again, but not too bad, about 6:38 for the first mile, but I settled into a nice pace, and even picked it up the last 4 miles.  Think I will surely do this one again next year.

Traverse City Cherry Festival 15K

9.3 Miles - 1:04:23

Completely forgot how large the hill was on this course. I was on a pretty good pace of about 6:52 for the race, then we hit the hill, I remembered the large part, but there were 4 small hills that surrounded it, and a huge decline on the backside. Forgot about all of those. Ended up with a 6:56 pace, so not too bad, still happy with the run. This is the first race I have had a really great kick at the end, and some people to race. I caught two guys in the last quarter mile, passed one, and the other guy and I sprinted to a tie at the finish. Pretty exciting.

Even with the hill, this is a great course, you run along the bay for a large part of the run, which is great. Plus the finish has you running though downtown where everyone is sitting waiting for the parade.

Still have a long way to go before I am ready to qualify for Boston, but I am still improving by leaps and bounds.

Reeds Lake 10K

6.2 Miles - 41:42

The Reeds Lake 10K, another great race on this years tour. The weather was a bit questionable, it was very humid first thing in the morning. But other than that it was a beautiful day. And we had about 8 runners in our group, so that made it much more enjoyable this year.

I felt a bit stale in the morning, I thought it was from not running for 3 days. Once the race got going though, I felt much better. I went out a little fast which hurt me in the end, but with this new watch, I found myself checking my pace more often, instead of just running at a pace I felt good at. The hills on the course got to me, I think partially because I went out too fast, but maybe I haven't been hitting the hills hard enough either.

Bottom line, I shaved about 6 minutes off last years time, and exactly 3 minutes off my best 10K time earlier this year at Saugatuck. So I know the training is still working, I just have to stick with it. I ran under my goal of 42 minutes and 6:45 miles. All in all I was pretty happy with this race. Now it's off to the Cherry festival 15K in a few weeks.

Mackinaw Bridge Race

5.1 Miles - 34:03

Wasn't feeling good for this race, we got up to Mackinaw Island around 11 PM, had to get up around 4 AM to go get our packets for the race. I haven't been training after the 25K, haven't stayed with my diet.....I was just going to run this for fun.....

Oh man, I ran 6:43 miles, are you kidding me, and I didn't feel like I was running faster than I had in any other race. I just felt good. I will be going to Sedona to hike next week, then we I get back it's time to start training for the Marathon.

Oh yeah, and I received my new shoes, same shoes I have, just new. This race was the last time I will be wearing my old ones.

Fifth Third Riverbank Run 25K

15.5 Miles - 1:55:12

What an amazing race. This is by far the best race I have done thus far. Tons of runners, I think 14,000 0verall, even more exuberant spectators, all over the course, pep squads, cheer leaders, people just parking and cheering you on. It was great. Plus I had a lot of good friends running in the various races throughout the day.

As for the run itself......it's long...not too hilly....but long. My goal was to make the 2 hours club, which I did by almost 5 minutes. I was planning on running around 7:40 miles, I ended up running 7:26 miles, which blew me away. Didn't think I was going to be that strong today. My first mile was around 8:15 and I wasn't feeling too good. Thought I was in big trouble. Once I got though mile 2 I was feeling better, still not on pace, but gaining. I caught up with Pam and Hank around mile 3, Hank was packing Pam and he had a sign he was caring during the whole run (which is amazing) that said something like the Pam 2 hour club or something. After 4 miles I just took of at a good pace and was weaving around people. It was a pretty nice course, packed with runners though, I was running on the sidewalks and in the dirt to get around people.

At the halfway point I still felt really good, and at that point I knew I was running below 7:30 miles, but I kept at that pace with how I was feeling. Then the hills came, they weren't big, but after 8 miles, any hill is big. They slowed me down a bit, but I was always able to get back to pace after I made it to the top. It was at about mile 14 that I started to struggle a little, but when I made the last turn for the home stretch, and all those people were cheering, thousands of them, it was a great feeling. I was also able to out kick everyone I was running around at the end, which has not been the case in the past. All this turned into the best race of my life so far, but I feel like things will just keep getting better.

Striders Saturday Classic 10 Miler

10 Miles - 1:12:36

What a beautiful day for a run. It was about 57 this morning, cloudy, and very little wind. My first 10 Mile race today, the Striders Saturday Classic. The course was an out and back, it was said the first 2.5 Miles were fairly flat, and the second 2.5 were a bit hilly. This last statement was a little under emphasised. These were large hills, multiple one, steep ones, long one. So with the out and back, it made the middle 5 Miles and up and down affair. I more that certainly underestimated these hills. The way out was not too bad, and I felt really good, that would be because even though there was a lot of up and down, we were for the most part running down, so on the way back, man.

With that said, my goal was to run 7:20 miles, this is based of an estimation of where I should be on this race for me to run under 2 hours in the 25K in may. My mile times were right around 7:16, just 4 seconds slower than my 10K times last week....I was pretty pumped. Now my official time was a 1:12:44 or something, but we didn't use RFID chips, and I started in the back of the herd. So I used the time on my watch, which was pretty accurate because they had a painted while line on the road for the start and finish, so it was easy to get it right.

Lets see.....oh yeah, lets talk pain....hardest run I have ever done. I actually got dizzy around mile 8 or 9, I am not sure. Am my legs went numb. When I finished, I had a hard time seeing straight. Pretty tough run for me, but worth it.

Unfortunately no one ran with me on this race, I did see my friend Pam Nauta again, her and her boyfriend Hank are at all the races, and they usually both win their divisions, with Hank always finishing the the top 10 overall. Good runners. And of course my good friends Markiel and Analou Schoonmaker made it to see me finish... Real good kids, Mark would have ran but his knee was hurting. Made it more enjoyable having them there.

So next is the Fifth Third 25K....well.....after a lot more training.

Saugatuck Town Crier 10K

6.2 Miles - 44:41

First 10K of the year today, the Saugatuck Town Crier. It was another chilly race day, around 40 degrees, but it was also raining, which made it tough. It wasn't a big race as far as competitors, seemed like most of the people that were there do it every year.....except for the crew I came with.

Again, I started the race way too fast, under a 7 minute mile. I also felt tired immediately, which had me a little nervous. Mile 2 ended with a large hill, which I never mind, but I just didn't feel as powerful going up that hill as I usually do. Normally that's where I gain ground on the field. I think around Mile 3 my hands warmed up, and I didn't notice the rain so much any more. Mile 3 and 4 were my slowest miles of the race, I think that early mile did me in. Mile 5 I picked it up a bit, and I was surprised that I got a second wind for Mile 6 and picked up the pace a little more. I even had a decent kick on the home stretch, mostly motivated by not wanting to get passed in the last 3 minutes of another race by a senior citizen.

My mile times average 7:12, and according to my 5K speed, I should have ran this race just under 46 minutes, so the training is definitely working. I also shaved about 1:30 off of my best and only 10K time from last year. All in all it was a good time, we had a group of 6 of us there, proving to me once again that running with a herd is much more fun that going to races on your own.

I will have 4 runs this week, one of which will be an Interval workout, then rest of for the Striders 10 Miler next Saturday.

1st Race of the Year - Irish Jig 5K

3.15 Miles - 22:00

I felt better this morning so I decided to give the race a try. The Spectrum Health Irish Jig. It was chilly, 30 degrees I think. I didn't bring a hat or gloves thinking that I would stay warm running, nevermind the hour I had to wait for the race to start.......guess I forgot about that. Again, I felt so good at the start of this race, I decided to just take off and break all kinds of records......Mile 1, about a 7 Minute pace. So mile 2 was tough, Between that fast start and the flu, I didn't have a lot left. Mile two had a small hill in it, and I normally do well on hills, well, this on was tough on me today. So mile three I was wondering if I was going to finish.....

But I think in the end I was just phsycing myself of, being my first race and all. I finished with my best 5K time ever, 22 minutes flat which is a 7:05 minute mile average. So all in all, I would have to say a good start to the season.

Feelin Good - Traverse City 15K

Wow, ran my fisrt 15K at the Cherry Festival in Traverse City yesterday. We got off to a bit of a rough start, when I arrived, it was pouring, then the race was delayed 25 minutes due to technical difficulties. But once we got going the weather cleared up and things went great. I felt really good on this run. Even the large and steep hill around mile 5 didn't slow me down, I was passing people running up it. I finished in 71:18, which is about 15 minutes ealier than I was hoping to. I was running around 7:45 miles until around mile 8 when I decided I could run faster and still finish, so I picked it up a bit and finished with a good time.

The majority of this course was along Lake Michigan, I have to say it was easy to forget about the pain when I looked to the right and saw the water and beach. It was easy to get into a zone, this has gotten me even more excited about running a marathon in Cali. This race has also shown me that following the marathon training plan I am on is really working, I had much more endurance in the race and was able to keep up a good pace.

Also, thanks a bunch to uncle Rog and Aunt Pam for housing me this weekend and showing me a good time. Thanks a lot guys.

Reeds Lake 10K

The Reeds Lake 10K, my first race of the year, and my first 10k. My goal was to run it under 50 minutes so I did accomplish that, I ran a 47:12. The weather was great, I even ran past Little Phil's band playing on the side of the road. I did wake up Sunday morning with a strange ache right around my right kidney, not sure what that is all about. I also got passed on the last third of a mile by a guys about twice my age.......