Persistence wins out

After years of running and countless races of every conceivable length, I have finally found the magic formula for winning.

Age + persistence = 1st

Out of the blue a couple of weeks ago I decided to enter a 10k this weekend. Don't know why, other than I had trained myself for one without really meaning to, so I decided to put the effort to use.

This was the second or third year for this event and as such the field was probably only about 1,000 people for bot the 5 and 10 k races. I think there were more people entered in the shorter race.

Where's the 10k turn?

As luck would have it, race day turned out to be the coldest day of the fall: it was about 24 with a light breeze at race time. I was wearing 4 layers of shirts (finished with a sweatshirt), ear protectors, a stocking cap, highly insulated running gloves with hand warmers inserted, thermal tights and double-thick cold weather running socks.

It was piercingly cold just waiting around for the race to start, so I sat in the car until 7:50, then ran slowly until the gun went off. Everything on me had warmed up by the end of the first mile but my face, and it was going numb, which was a blessing.

I went too fast in the first 5k, but because of the weather I felt pretty energetic and didn't worry about it. I just kind of regulated my pace the rest of the way.

The course was a single loop for the 5k runners, and a second loop over the same route for the 10k runners. You just had to peel off about a 10th of a mile before the finish of the 5k to continue on to the 10k.

Well, I missed the peel-off point and actually finished the 5k, crossing the finish line in 26:02. I had to stop and ask a couple of people where the turnoff was for the 10k, then run back there and resume my race.

The 10k finish

I ran a little harder for a while to kind of catch up, and then felt the need to walk for 45 seconds at the end of mile 5. I can't say I finished real strong because of my poor tactics, but I did cross the line in 53:09. The time would have been about 1 minute quicker had I not taken my detour.

As it turned out, that didn't matter much, because I still took first place in my division, beating the only other guy. I don't know yet how close we were together, since the results aren't on line yet.

So that's what I mean by age and persistence: if you keep running into your senior years, most of your competition is retired, at least from competing.

Since this was the first time I've ever placed, I felt I had to wait around for the awards. It was brutally cold standing around out there with wet clothes, but I hung around long enough to hear the winning time in my division for the 5k. It didn't count, but I won that race, too. They had some kind of glitch with the 10k results, so they eventually just bypassed the announcements and let us pick up our medals. I was glad to get out of there. It was so cold I was beginning to think it was a lot easier to finish out of the money. At least then you can just finish and go home. I guess I won't have to worry about that very often.

Colors on the run

After all the rain we've had this week, and all the running I've done on the treadmill, it sure was nice to get outside today. Cool, bright sunshine, slight breeze and, as a big bonus, fall colors at their height.
I decided to drive the 1.2 miles to the Line Creek Trail and start my run at the trailhead. Normally I would just run there from the house, but I wasn't much interested in running uphill out of the neighborhood. I wanted to start flat at worse.
The trail is finished now from the trail head at Gower Rd. all the way to Riverside, a distance of 3 miles. The

Yes, I actually stopped to take a picture. Line Creek Trail.

path itself is concrete, about 7 or 8 feet wide. I'd rather it be something softer, but I get the whole low-maintenance thing. Besides, the trail has everything else going for it, since it runs through the woods alongside Line Creek. It's always pleasant visually, but especially in the fall.
I planned to just take it easy all the way and enjoy the weather and surroundings, and my audiobook. I started with a 9:58 mile - and that was primarily downhill - and then spent the rest of the run at or a little below 9. I didn't feel like I was pushing it, though. I saved all that early burn by ducking the climb out of my subdivision, and that made it easy to get going a little faster without that much extra effort.
After the six miles on the south end of the trail, I needed a couple more miles for the 8 I planned on. I picked that up on the north end of the trail, which is also nice but maybe not quite as nice as the south end.
The run gave me 29.2 miles for the week. I averaged 9:04 per mile, doing the 8 miles in 1:12:32.
I'm in plenty good enough shape for any kind of race from 5 to 15 k, but I haven't signed up for anything. I'm trying to stick to my decision earlier this year to avoid formal training and just heal up from a debilitating foot injury I suffered this time last year. So far I've successfully avoided over training, which is how I tend to get hurt running. It's working, but I'm getting a little itchy for a race.

The Katy trail

Two years ago at this time it was 100 ultra-hilly miles on asphalt in two days, and now this year it was 244 miles in 4 days on crushed limestone and about the flattest course you can imagine: the Katy Trail.

Eight of us from our running club planned this challenge almost a year ago, and after months of preparation - not that much actual training, unfortunately - we hit the trail at its starting point in Clinton, Mo.

The Magnificent 8 at the start in Clinton.
I'm 3rd from the left.

The first day was Clinton to Pilot Grove, a 64-mile stretch without too many natural wonders to view. While the route would have to be considered flat, it actually has several long grades that over the course of the day tended to steal our energy. The day started cool, but we got a late start and did the distance in pretty much the hottest hours between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The high that day was in the mid 80s, so we were dusty, sweaty and pooped by the time we checked in at Polly's B&B in Pilot Grove.

Typical scenery, especially in the second
half of the ride.

Happily, the two main features of Pilot Grove - at least what we saw - are a grill and bar with an attached laundromat. We tossed all our riding clothes into one machine and adjourned to the bar for beers and sandwiches. Our waitress, who was also the bar tender, cook and table busser, prepared some pretty good food and took good care of us (if you're going, it's Deon's Bar and Grill). Dinner and laundry done, we adjourned to the sack for the night.

The next morning Polly fed us a fine breakfast of eggs. bacon, biscuits, fruit and drinks. Afterward, as we we prepared for the day's ride, my bike tipped over with the pump attached to the tire and my hand still attached to the pump. The result was instant deflation as the valve stem was ripped almost
completely off the tire. I had to remove my bags, turn over the bike, remove the wheel and replace the tube. I also discovered that a spoke had broken in the fall, so I knew that that to be replace as soon as possible.

We finally got under way on another nice, but warmish day. We stayed loosely grouped, and at times there were riders quite a ways back of the main group. One of those times it was Jody and me who, for whatever reason, had temporarily lost contact with everyone else. Normally, that's not a problem because the slower riders would catch up at the trail heads, which were usually not more than 10 miles apart.

Tunnel at Rocheport the second day.
Everyone has their photo taken here.

This time, though, Jody got a flat and no one knew it but him and me. I tried to call, but there was no
service in the area, so we were on our own. We didn't have a pump, but Jody had CO2, which neigher of us knew how to use. We wasted most of both canisters just figuring it out.


Out of options, I hopped on my bike and tried to catch the group at the next trail head. I raced a good 3 miles, but still hadn't caught up, and then finally connected via phone. They handed a pump off to a rider coming toward us (Ed), and I rode back to Jody. We were going to be in good shape.

The bad news was the pump Ed delivered didn't fit Jody's stem. The good news was Ed had a pump of his own that did work. I showed Ed my frame pump and he told me something I should have known:

Somehow it was still mostly uphill from here
on the first day.

it is convertible and I could have used it on Jody's bike. My 6-mile race had been totally unnecessary.
We eventually caught up with the group and rode into Hartsburg together. Accommodations that night were at the Globe Hotel B&B and dinner at the Grand next door.

It started raining that night and by morning we were right in the middle of a weather system that looked like it was going to stay with us for quite a while. We waited to leave until about 9 a.m., then waterproofed ourselves as well as possible, and took off.

The rain was pretty steady all day, and the trail was soft to mushy, making the going tough. Jody and I both needed to get to a bike shop, him for equipment and me for a new spoke, so we branched off after 10 miles and headed into Jefferson City. We hated to add miles on such a miserable day, but had no choice. What we got to see that no one else did was the impressive 6-level ramp from the trail up to the highway bridge into town, and the capitol building, which we rode right up to before turning off to the bike shop. The ride in was about 3.5 miles.

Pondering the looming
all-day ride in the rain.

The entire off-trail trip took about 2 hours, and once we were back on the Katy we drove as hard as we could to catch up with the main group. As long as we were riding we stayed warm, but since we were wet and the temp was in the 50s, any stop longer than a couple of minutes meant we were shivering. We kept the breaks to a minimum.

Meanwhile, the main group had a flat to deal with, dallied at lunch for over an hour, and extended a rest break in the hopes that we would catch up. We finally did at Mokane. It felt good to be hooked up again, but even so, we weren't looking forward to the next 20-plus miles.

This was where one of the more experience guys had a brilliant idea: a pace line. The seven of us (one guy dropped out and went home) rode single file, wheel to wheel, and took turns leading the pack. The leader would drop off every mile and join the line at the rear. The drafting that this produces makes the pedaling job noticeably easier, and the group effort is a psychological boost. Riding this way the trip into McKittrick seemed to go by pretty fast.

Overnight accommodations in McKittrick were at Joey's Birdhouse B&B. Half of us stayed upstairs in Joey's

Everyone's bike, and
body, looked like this
at the end of the third
day.

mercantile (the downstairs is the mercantile and restaurant); and the other four in two rooms in a next-door building. After cleaning the mud off our bikes and bodies - there we were out in the cold and rain hosing each other down - and showering, Joey's boyfriend, Rich, shuttled us into Hermann, where we ate among the young crazies at the Concert Hall. It was Octoberfest in Hermann, and the college kids were there in force.

The next morning Joey cooked the best breakfast we had on the trip. Perfectly done scrambled eggs, fried seasoned breakfast potatoes, sliced baked apples, heavy homemade bread and biscuits, homemade apple butter and strawberry jam. Tons of it and fantastic.

It was a cold morning with the temp in the mid 40s on its way to 63, so we bundled up. The sky was mostly clear, and the trail thoroughly drained and pointed pretty much down hill for 62 miles to St. Charles. It was a perfect day for a long ride, and since we had to eat up the miles and get to the finish by 4, we used the pace line all the way. Lunch and several blown tires slowed us down some, but in between the miles melted away. We didn't make many tourist stops, but the scenery was pretty good in this stretch, with high, rocky bluffs on one side and the river on the other. We had lunch at Augusta at the Augusta Brewing Company and Beer Garden.

We continued to have problems with flats on this stretch, and one of the riders had a couple of spokes that needed to be replaced, so we had several delays. Eventually, we had to move our arrival time to 5 p.m., which meant we had to reschedule our transportation from St. Charles back to Clinton. We actually arrived in St. Charles about 4:45 p.m., and our shuttle driver showed up about 5:30.

The seven who finished the ride. I'm
second from the left.

All in all, it was a great 4-day ride. We all learned a lot about preparing for such a ride (if we ever do anything like it again), and enjoyed tons of good company and teamwork along the way.

I don't know how everyone else felt physically at the end, but I felt fine, although my legs were tired and energy-starved. The day after the ride reminded me how I usually felt about 3 days after a marathon - heavy, unresponsive legs. I went for a 5 mile run the day after the ride. I had to go pretty slowly, and eventually I loosened up a little. I think I'll recover quickly, though (update: fully recovered by Wednesday).

The bike went into the shop for a tuneup and degrease. In addition, the mechanic said my chain and brake pads were worn out and had to be replaced. The bike was his; I was ready for a break.

Sidewalks for dogs, streets for runners

You want to know why runners don't like to run on the sidewalk, why the street is normally the better choice despite the many ignorant drivers out there? Uneven surfaces, cars blocking the way, low-hanging trees, hoses, people backing out, children playing.

And then this morning ...

Narrow sidewalk. Just a connector from one trail to another for a couple of minutes. I'm approaching a young woman on a walk with her dog. A pit bull. On a leash connected to a sturdy full-body collar. The animal is young, good looking and muscular. It doesn't look mean, but is obviously interested, maybe concerned, about me.

I'm on alert. Woman and dog stop and move to one side so I can pass. And that's my plan: stay on the sidewalk and pass on the right. Isn't the sidewalk primarily for humans? Animals can give way. Owners should see that their animals give way. Some do, and some don't, but she did., and I was going to take my piece of the sidewalk.

As I came within speaking range, the woman spoke. She was pleasant, but firm.

"He does not want to play."

Oh, I said.

OH! I thought as I realized what she was saying. Come too close and risk losing a leg. I get it.

Deftly and in stride I veered onto the grass and donated the whole sidewalk to animal this morning.

I should have been in the street anyway.

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For the week I had 34.1 miles

A race, sort of

The Star was a sponsor for Sunday's Susan Komen Race for the Cure, and as such had several comps to hand out. I know I said I wasn't going to race anything this year, but I like the idea of this event, and it was free to me, so I signed up for the non-competitive 5k. That meant I didn't get a chip and wouldn't figure in the official results.

I got downtown early and went for an easy 4 mile run to loosen up prior to the race, and to get in the mileage I wanted to start the week with. Those miles were done at a 10:32 pace.

Untimed and timed runners were allowed to start together, so I lined up in the 9-minute pace group with "real" runners all around me. I thought if I could come in at 27 min. it would be just fine with me. I like the idea that I wasn't being timed and was under no pressure to truly race.

The Komen race is always crowded at the start, so if  you're serious about time, you have to start at the front. Otherwise, you'll be trapped in the middle of the herd for a good half mile. That's where I was, and actually it allowed me to ease into the race and gradually build my speed.

The first mile is mostly downhill, and I did it in 8:45. The next mile is all up hill, and it's kind of a grind, but I was able to do it in 8:10. The last mile is about 50-50 up and down hill, but none of it steep, and I finished with a 7:42 mile. My self-computed time was 25:33, for an 8:10 pace.

The results for this year's race aren't posted yet, but I would have placed 4th in the same age group a couple of years ago with 25:33.

Racing again was kind of fun, but I still have no plans to do it again this year. Maybe I'll throw in a nearby turkey trot later in the year.

Moving up in the age group

I needed some way to mark my 63rd birthday, which is today.

People who golf want to shoot their age, but 63 would only get me two-thirds of the way around the course.
I could spend $63, but where's the challenge in that?
I considered running 63 miles, but thought I might not make it to work on time (next week).

So, I ran 6.3 miles. That was easy enough to do, but it got me to thinking that if I'm still running when I'm 90, that 9.0-mile run might be a little tough.I'll probably be retired by then, so at least I'll have all day to do it.

I'll have to check this out, but I think I burned a few extra calories today just because my Garmin watch knew I'd gone from 62 to 63 years old.
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Last week, almost by accident, I recorded my highest weekly mileage of the year: 34 miles. It happened because I ran 8 miles on Sunday instead of my usual 4-6, then ran every day but one because I was unable to throw in more than one day of riding.

I haven't run any distance real fast yet, but I have had a couple outings averaging under 9 min. per mile. My rehab'ed foot sometimes gets a little puffy after longer or faster runs, but it's nothing that a little ice can't handle.

Back to work

It's back to the routine now that my little 10-day break from work is over. I didn't get as much riding in as I thought I would during the break, but did get out a couple of times, once for 41 miles.

The highlight of the period was a run along the Lake Superior waterfront in Grand Marais, Minn. on a cool Saturday morning. Beaches, lighthouses, sailboats, water. Not too hard to take.

I continue to run at a maintenance level - around 25 miles a week. In the last couple of weeks I've finally reached a level of conditioning that allows for much easier hill climbs. In the early weeks after resuming running, those relatively little hills were really tough. Just about the time I thought I was never going to turn that corner, it all improved. You just gotta hang in there, I guess. Still have no plans to run any races this year, at least not until after the Katy ride.

Got out for a 6-mile run early this morning. It was already 78 at 5:45 am, but the sun was behind the clouds and it didn't feel all that bad.