Haloween Run

It was sunny and around 32 degrees for the run today.  The last few days it has felt a lot colder here in Alaska.  We were in the mid to high 40's for most of October.  Click here to follow the bouncing Brad and Michelle on the player (upper right hand corner).  This was the first run we have done in a long time that has been in traffic and the noise and exhaust fumes were really noticeable.  We could not hear the beeper on Michelle's watch it was so noisy with traffic.  Running on Ft. Richardson has been great - very little traffic and very quiet.

Just testing...

Did the Monday run.  I thought I would run longer between walking breaks.  I noticed that after about ten minutes of running I could feel some pressure in my knees - just below the patella and behind my knee.  At ten minutes I would slow down my pace and it relieved the pressure on my knee.  I would speed up again and between five and ten minutes of running the pressure would build up again - then I slow down the pace and pressure would go away - interesting.

It is getting cooler here but sounds like not as cold as Provo.  I am hoping the good weather lasts for at least one more long run.  I am not sure how the long runs will go when the snow starts flying.  We will have to figure something out.

Latest Runs

I've upped my weekly regular runs to seven miles--going pretty well so far, no knee pain or anything anymore (so far), so hopefully it stays that way. On Saturday I did my first interval workout, and it went pretty well. I just found a mile stretch of the provo river parkway and ran that, walked around a bit, ran it again, and so forth. I did 4 one-mile intervals, each one between 6:30-6:50. So I felt pretty good about it. Next saturday I'll be going for 12 miles, and the saturday after that I'll be going for a 5-mile interval workout. We'll see...! It's going well so far, anyway.

Today I did my weekly mile time trial, and I'm down to 6:06. Just 6 seconds to go until I break 6 a six minute mile! Hopefully I can do it, I think these interval workouts will help. So I'm happy about how things are going.

It is getting pretty cold around here though...the last few days its been in the low 30's in the mornings (when I usually run), so I'm going to have to rethink my running schedule. I can only handle so much of waking up to a freezing house and then going outside on a freezing run. Maybe once we decide it is worth the money to turn our heat on in our house it will be easier. But today, at least, I ran in the afternoon after my "workday" on campus. It wasn't bad at all at that time, so that might be what I try to do for a while. We will see. Tomorrow it is supposed to be in the 20's in the morning and it is supposed to SNOW! Bleh.

A little sore today

Brad and I did 6 miles yesterday. I'm a little sore from that. I think my back will bother me more with the longer runs, but I'm going to try to be better about stretching and maybe that will help. Like Brad said, aerobically I was fine, but my muscles were sore.

I've been out of town a lot lately so I just feel pretty good that I've been able to keep up the running. Brad and I ran when we were in Seattle, and there was a treadmill at the hotel when I was in Utah so I ran twice down there.

I also ran the MM down there, and I did 10:13. I was a little disappointed I couldn't do it faster, but hopefully I can get closer to 9 minute miles as I improve.

Michelle

Six Miler at Ft. Richardson

I am interested to hear how everyone's six miler went.  We had a pretty good run - did this one on Saturday, October 24.  Temp was about 46 degrees but it was cloudy and a little humid.  It was sunny and warmer about an hour before we started the run.  I took a photo of Michelle borrowing my gloves at the north end of the landing strip on our run.  There is some new "termination dust" in background Chugach.

I fixed the link to the GPS site, click here to get to the site and see the map and stats.  On the top right you should see three buttons for Details, Splits, and Player.  Choose player, then at the left side, above the graph, click on the play button to watch the bouncing Brad and Michelle for six miles.  You can see different stats and graphs for the run too.  The stats have been fun to track the last couple of months and show a definite improvement.

The six miler went well - the last two miles were a little rough.  We both agreed that aerobically it was no problem.  However, some soreness set in after about four miles but we ran through it.  When you look at HR and Pace on the graph together you see a crazy sawtooth pattern which is a sign of a good heart (being able to respond and recover quickly) which is good - which is at least one thing that is working.

Total Stats

• Distance: 6.01 miles
• Time: 1:27:29.68
• Ave pace: 14:33 min/mile
• Ave speed: 4.1 mph
• Max speed: 5.5 mph
• Calories: 923
• Ave HR: 136
• Max HR: 15 bpm
• Acent: 736 ft
• Decent: 681 ft

Splits

1. 14:27
2. 13:57
3. 14:25
4. 15:24
5. 14:23
6. 14:44

Not quite negative splits, pretty even, we will have to work on those.  The second mile was a gradual uphill, not sure how we dreamed our way through that one.

Seattle Green Lake - Bonus Run

We did this run on October 22, 2009 as a "lets find something to do in Seattle" activity.  I had to take Michelle to Green Lake in Seattle, the home of some of my most memorable runs.  We just purchased new shoes at Super Jock and Jill and had to give them a test drive too (we ran pretty slow on purpose on this one).  A few years ago during one of my runs on this trail I had a strange experience.  There are usually a lot of people running around the lake and you can run in both directions and it semed like I could recognize every single person running in the opposite direction.  "Look, there is Wells Stephensen - oh, that is President Pettijohn, humm, what is Sigorney Weaver doing running around Green lake???  Hey look is that ELVIS!?!?!"  Anyway it started to get crazy with all the people I pseudo-recognized.  This same run I finished at Gasworks Park from Ten Things I hate About You fame.  When I arrived at the park I had a runners high to the max.  There was some practice going on there were there were people playing about 20 different drums, a bunch of people walking around on stilts, and some people juggling.  I had no idea what was going on but with the runners high I was freaking out a little bit.  Anyway our run around Green Lake was fun, saw a few faces I pseudo-recognized...

• Distance: 2.83 miles
  
• Time 42:51.93
• Ave pace: 15:07 min/mile
  
• Ave Speed: 4 mph
• Max Speed: 7.4 mph
• Calories: 494
• Ave HR: 124 bpm
• Max HR: 150 bpm
  

University of Washington run

This was a real nice run in Seattle on October 21.  Michelle and I did a run that I have done many times before, the Burke Gilman rail to trail.  This is a long trail that I have never got to the end.  We started at our hotel on the edge of the campus and went out about 20 minutes and back.  Good run, not a lot of other runners.  Only had to cross two streets with traffic, all other road crossings were on bridges.  You can see Husky Stadium in the lower left of the map.

• Distance: 3.02 miles
• Time: 37:18.50
• Ave Pace: 12:20
• Ave Speed: 4.9 mph
• Max speed: 8.2 mph
• Calories: 621
• Ave HR: 150 bpm
• Max HR: 168 bpm
  

Fast Run!!

So I have been feeling like I could be going a bit faster during my 30 minute runs so I upped it a tad today. It actually ended up not being as much of an increase as I thought, but it was still good. I usually run 2.5 miles in 30 minutes (sometimes 31 or 32) and today I ran 2.8 in 27...so, haha after realizing how small of an improvement it was I didn't think I was as cool but thought I would still share. I do think some of the time is taken up because of the stop lights I have to wait at. PROVO SUCKS!!! Your trip can be 1 minute or 5 depending on which greens you get. And for these short runs I don't feel like driving somewhere to run them without the lights, and we are surrounded by crappy crappy lights. There is my rant. But I ran hard especially at the end, for me at least, and it felt good.

Brad...how much do these socks cost that you are talking about? I'm going broke here! :)

Also, don't forget anyone to register this month for the cheapest price (this is more of a reminder to Chris and I...)

Monday run - still not cold yet...

Had a good run after work.  Just wandered around the roads of Eagle River.  I was in shorts and t shirt and I will have to admit, I stopped to talk with a neighbor and got pretty cold.  Running was fine though.  It was fun to wander the back roads, trails, parks, and yards of Eagle River.

• Distance: 2.76 miles
• Time: 37:20.50
• Ave pace: 13:32
• Ave speed: 4.4 mph
• Max speed: 8.2 mph
• Calories: 520
• Ave HR: 149 bpm
• Max HR: 160 bpm
  

Socks and Water

Socks
I was thinking about a couple of things during my run yesterday.  I have done a lot of research on socks for running, hiking, biking, etc. over the last ten years and have found out a few interesting things.  I rarely get blisters but I have got a few.  I noticed that the training not only gets your aerobic and lactic acid thresholds in shape it also conditions your bones, connective tissue, and skin to running long distances.

The only blisters I ever got was during the marathon that Michelle and I ran/walked with no training at all prior to the marathon.  I was beat to a pulp - aerobically I was OK because I was biking but physically I had sore joints and blisters among other things.  However,when you train and put the miles in you should do a lot better.  I ran the second marathon in the rain and I brought a spare pair of socks to change into about half way through.  I was doing OK when I thought I would stop and change them - so I continued on and did not get blisters.  My feet were getting wet though.  I think it is a good idea to get a second pair of socks to change into if you get blisters easy or if it is wet.

For my first marathon I used a new technology sock that was like two socks sewn together sock within a sock) and had some Teflon thing between the layers that made it so nothing was rubbing on your skin.  Worked for me but I rarely get blisters.  I have not seen them around recently so I am not sure if that technology is still viable.

Wool is known as the best material for keeping warm, dry, and preventing blisters.  However, traditional wool socks can be uncomfortable.  Sometime ago some companies started making socks out of Marino wool which when using new technology gives you all the benefits of wool with no itching or irritation.  I have been using these socks (mostly from SmartWool) and they have been great.  The SmartWool PhD socks are great (warm, smooth, fit well, stay dry, etc) and are what I have been using a lot lately in running and biking.  MY FAVORITE

When Daniel took us shopping at the Beaverton Nike Store I bought some socks there that I have really liked also.  They are running socks that are actually made for left and right feet.  They are white with orange and gray panels.  These socks are very comfortable and I like running in them a lot.  I think I will reserve the PhDs for racing though.  Out of the Nike socks these are the ones I like the best.

It would be good to try out different socks when you run to see what will work best for you.

Water
So, as we get running the longer distances and using Camelbacks - there is one thing I did that seemed to work well.  I used water in my camelback until I got to about 13 mile runs.  Then started adding Gatorade powder (slightly less than full strength to avoid hypertonic effects...). After I started adding the powder I noticed that the water never tasted the same again.  There was always a sticky sweet taste which might be OK for most people.  No mater how much I cleaned the bladder it would not go away.  So I got a second bladder for water and sed the older one for the mix.  The SLC Marathon will be supplying Gatorade Endurance Formula drink at the water stations and I would recommend trying it out on some of the long runs and see how it meshes with your GI system.  When I ran through the water stations I would grab one glass of water and another glass of sports drink and drank both to dilute the hyper osmosicity that lead some people to get GI problems on long runs.

-Tundra Bob

10-miler

Ran 10 miles yesterday! With my galloway-"mod", I've been running something similar to this MM whatever stuff every monday, so I decided to go for another longer run today. The program I'm doing for myself is sort of a hybrid between galloway's "race" program (as opposed to his "finish" program) and some other things i have read about marathon training on the internet. Next saturday, instead of doing a long run, I plan on running a few mile-long intervals.

The run was great! No knee pain at all, which was great--hopefully none of that flares up again. I did the run 10 minutes walk 1 again, and it seemed to work pretty well. I was REALLY tired by the end of the run, but it felt good. I think I had my own little runner's high afterwards, as well...!

I was surprised at how much liquid I needed to drink to keep myself hydrated AFTER the run, for the rest of the day. I had my camelback during the run, which was great, and of course drank some liquid before the run, and usually after every run I will drink around 50 oz of gatorade/water...which I did this time, too, but was still feeling dehydrated, I had to drink water almost constantly (it seemed) to keep hydrated the rest of the day. Pretty crazy. I haven't felt that way after any of my other long runs, but this one I did. It was a bit warmer yesterday, in the high 60's, so I'm sure that is part of it, but still. It was interesting.

But it was a pretty good run! I'm surprised how much the walking 1 minute in every 10 HASN'T slowed down my pace (much). That is encouraging.

This also is probably the longest run I've ever done--I think I'm getting into that territory now. I did one really long run over the summer that killed me, but I think that was actually just a little over 9 miles. So, longest run ever yesterday! And apparently its only going up from here...

MM 2.5 BH - I hate to be a whiner but...

I just finished the 2.5 MM (actually I did 3.25 miles).  It seems like all I have done is whine in this blog about aches and pains.  I will have to stop doing that – in a minute.  I postponed my Wednesday run till Thursday because my pneumonia is getting worse and complicated by some asthma sx.  Then I was feeling even worse on Thursday so I did not run at all.  Not much better today but I ran anyway.  It was good that I did because all that hard breathing seemed to clear out my lungs.  I feel much better now.  Even better news – no shin pain or back pain – NONE AT ALL!!!  That is very good – I feel a lot better running even with the pneumonia and asthma…  It was such a nice day today for a run – temps about 44 degrees, sunny, quiet and peaceful.  I did a slow run from home to the track at Gruening, which is almost exactly one mile, so it served as a good warm up.  As soon as the GPS started the second mile I started the MM.  The GPS is right on with the distance measurements almost to the exact tick every lap.  I have my watch beep and record the mile pace for each mile I run and the mile seemed to go pretty quick.  The lungs seemed to slow me down – I did not have to use PEEP breathing for the first time.  I did the MM in 11:57.15 which was faster than I expected considering my lungs are currently hamburger.  It was a good run – I will have to bring water next time though.

Computer-a-tronic version of todays run

Here is a link to a computer animation of my ru today.  Press the "play" button to follow the bouncing Brad.  Click here.

Firehouse Loop in the HEAT

I did the firehouse loop for my Monday run and it was so much nicer than my previous runs on that hill.  It was pretty hot today - the thermometer in my truck said 70 degrees but that was probably in the sun.  I waited until the sun was going down to do the run so it would not be as hot.  No pain whatsoever in my back and no shin tightness at all.  My pace was over one minute per mile faster than my previous runs on that course.  In fact I had to slow down before I got home because I was going to finish faster than 30 minutes.  I am amazed at how much all that pain slowed me down.  I still have RUL pneumonia and I could feel that - I could never take a deep breath mostly shallow ones.  So anyway it was a great run.  It is supposed to be sunny and warm all week which will be nice.  I am still not sure how to do those MM Mile things, I guess that is what we have to do on Satruday - anyone figured it out yet?

uh...

by the way what is this buffetman stuff...? does that mean you are going to be in town in a few weeks Dad?

monday run

Did my 1-mile run time trial today, came up with 6:08--I'm pretty happy with that. I want to work back to a sub-6 minute mile, and I'm creeping my way there (last few weeks have been about 6:15, before that 6:24, before that 6:30...). I usually do my mile time trial at the BYU outdoor track, and around the 1300 meter mark my shoe-lace came untied, they were flying all over the place...but I didn't want to stop and there was hardly anyone else on the track so I just ran the rest of the mile hoping my shoe wouldn't fly off or that I wouldn't roll my ankle or anything...luckily nothing happened, and I ended up with a pretty good time. Then I ran another 3 miles or so after the time trial.

9 miler and others

This week I went a bit easier on my running because of my knee pain last week. On monday I did another mile run time trial and then another three miles after that. Tuesday I took off, and Wednesday and Thursday I did some 6 milers but at a slower pace than I've been doing. Friday I also took off, and then on Saturday I did my long run--9 miles!--but integrated some of the walk-jog principle and it seemed to help, I would run for about 10 minutes and then walk for a minute or so. My right knee didn't hurt at all yesterday (that is the one that was hurting last week), so that is good--hopefully that means it is healing. My left knee has started hurting though, just like my right one was, but not quite as bad (yet?). So I'm probably going to take it easy again next week and see what happens, and Rachel and I want to go buy some good shoes in the next week or so, I think that will also help.

My run yesterday was really good, there wasn't any point during the run where I didn't think I would make it, and at the end I felt like I could still keep going (if I had to, I WAS pretty tired though). I think putting some energy drink in the camelback might have helped, instead of just water.

I ran a little on the Provo River trail for my 9-miler (I've been running on it off and on lately), and then took to the streets. Here's the map:

Pretty good run!

I've also lost almost 10 lbs since I started running this summer...I know it didn't look like it to a lot of people, but I had gained weight this past winter semester! I was up to almost 195! You couldn't really tell (except in some of my latin ballroom costumes :-s), but it was definitely there. But now I'm back down to 182-ish. I wouldn't mind getting back down to the 170-175 area (thats where I was a year or so ago), but we'll see.

I've also started attempting to eat healthier (and less), believe it or not. I tend to eat a TON at meals, and snack a lot, so I'm cutting down the portions and so forth. I think the only thing that kept me thin was dancing for 3-5 hours a day back when I was competing heavily and on the ballroom team, but I think I can pinpoint when I started gaining weight to when I stopped practicing as much for competitions late last year--so my metabolism couldn't keep up with my intake any longer. So anyway...I'm attempting to establish better eating habits.

OK this post is getting much longer than I intended so...I'll end it. Sounds like everyone is doing great with their running...I wonder how Deja is doing?!

Karla in Training (With Mike)

It was with much difficulty that I finally figured out how to post this picture of my run today! I struggle with most of this technology stuff. Mike and I ran/walked from his house to mine which was 5.8 miles. I have been reading the Galloway walk/run info that is posted on the website (thanks Brad) and have decided to incorporate that into my running in hopes that my IT band injury will heal.
We ran 4 minutes then walked 1 minute the entire way and I felt great at the end. No knee pain at all. I still felt the tightness in my right hip and groin area, however. I'm also starting to ice my knee and hip after my runs and again before bed. I realize that I'm not going to be able to run any better or improve if my knee doesn't heal.
I can't believe it was warmer in Alaska than in Spokane (ouch)!! We had a high of 43 today, but lots of sunshine (almost like Colorado)! Overall, had a great run even though the pace was a very slow 11:13 minutes/mile.
I'm looking forward to the SLC 1/2 marathon (or marathon) after LV Rock N' Roll one!

I still think Brad has way more fun on his runs than I do on mine (which is evident in his postings)! Alice in Wonderland meet Brad and Speedy in Alaska.

When are we going to get the rest of the family involved? I'm trying to make running/walking a consistent lifestyle change for me (not just something I'm doing for the next few months).

Brad and Michelle- How is the "Biggest Loser" competition going? I really like watching the show.

Happy running everyone!

Karla

Five mile run leads Brad to a worm in a tree with a bong...

Had an excellent run today with speedy (aka Michelle).  We did 5 miles on the 4.2 mile running track they just put in at Ft. Richardson which is very scenic.  The temps were in the mid 60's which was a little too warm - luckily there was a light breeze that cooled things down.  Intermittent light rain with huge raindrops (about one large drop every few seconds) - Or was that a bird?  I have still been battling a URI that has progressed to pneumonia (I have had pneumonia enough to know what is going on).  I was worried at the start but with all the forceful breathing I was able to clear my lungs before the one mile mark.  The best news of all was NO BACK PAIN!!!  Finally!!! That helped a lot and ended up running faster because of it - in fact I could easily have gone longer than five miles.  I was trying to run negative splits and came close.  We saw lots of wildlife on the run - moose droppings, migrating geese, a white rabbit, a hole in the ground, a cat that was walking out of the dentist office, a bunch of poker cards dancing around, and at the very end there was this worm in a tree with a bong!!!  Sorry got a little carried away there with the runners high thing.  One other thing I forgot about during training that I will have to deal with on future runs is the "drive by shooting syndrome" which will start to effect me soon.
Here are the stats for this run:

• Distance: 5.01 miles
• Time: 1:10:47
• Ave. Pace: 14:08
• Ave Speed: 4.2 mph
  
• Max speed 6.5 mph
• Calories: 875
• Ave HR: 141 bpm
• Max HR: 159 bpm
• Ascent: 572 feet
• Decent: 557 feet

Map shows the course with each lap marked as a mile marker (click on the map to see bigger version).

Longest Run Ever!

Today was the 5 miler for Chelsea and I, and I don't know about her but this is officially the longest I have ever run. Ever. So, woot! :) We ran along the Provo River for a while which made for a great view and I felt great the whole time, took a couple walk breaks (and had to stop at stop lights getting there and back), but I felt good when I came home. Brad I totally understand your runners high now! Part of me felt like wow 5 might be my max, but the other part was like that was awesome, I could keep going! So yeah, I'm pretty excited.

Its a great day!

Ended up doing 30 minutes on the elliptical this afternoon.  Took a lot of stress off my back.  Starting to get URI symptoms which is worrisome.   I am not up for another battle with pneumonia.  However, I think the elliptical will be a good substitute for running on some days.  I am actually looking forward to the Saturday long runs.  We will be putting 1/4 inch sheet metal screws in the soles of our old running shoes.  I did that before and it is surprising how much traction you get on ice.  This also means that we will be off to Skinny Raven to find some new shoes sometime soon.  I have been doing a lot of reading about glucose and fat metabolism during running and it is very interesting.  It makes sense now why the first 1-2 miles is harder than the last part of the run.  I hope everyone has a good long slow distance (LSD) run on Saturday.

A few days off

I haven't run since Saturday because my knee and hip are still sore and ache. I haven't even been to the gym.. I guess I'm just a frustrated. Tomorrow I will run with my running group "The Flying Irish". We meet at a local Irish pub in downtown Spokane and run various courses which are usually about 3 - 4 miles. Hopefully that will get me motivated and inspired again.

First run

Today I had a two hour lunch break at school, so I thought I would take advantage of it and begin my training. I ran 5 miles in about 40 minutes, which I was happy with considering I haven't ran since June. Here I am sitting in class about an hour later, and my IT band is already hurting and sore. I'm probably going to look into getting a roller to help keep the scar tissue broken down and stretch it. Stupid bow legs! :)

~Nichole

New Alaska Club

I worked out this morning at the newly remodeled Alaska Club. It is beautiful! I can't believe it's the same place. It has an indoor track now and twice as many treadmills, etc. Anyway, I ran for 30 minutes and went 2.5 miles. I was running intervals of 6 minutes, then walking 2 minutes. I'm actually excited to go work out there again.

Michelle

Todays "Monday Monday" run without Mr. Phillips

Did my Monday run which was hard to fit in today with everything going on (work, builders, Austin's birthday, etc.).  It was raining pretty hard this morning so I packed my indoor clothes for a treadmill run at the gym at Ft. Richardson.  When I got off work there was no rain and pretty sunny - a little cool for the light weight shirt and shorts I had so I continued my plan for an indoor run.  It went OK, back still hurting some.  I did it though - 30 whole minutes.  I am sure I will get better times once I get more miles and less inches under my belt.  Michelle and I started a "Biggest Looser" competition today which will be some good motivation.

• Time: 30 min
• Distance: 2.25 miles
• Calories: 390
  

My first Marathon - Dead Runner's Society

I ran across my write-up for my first marathon.  I have been a member of the Dead Runners Society since 1993 and used them for motivation while I was training alone.  When you finish a big run you post it to the group (similar to what we are doing with this Blog).  I have pasted below my post following my first marathon in 2000.

Date:    Thu, 22 Jun 2000 22:11:06 -0800

From:    Husberg

Subject: Midnight Sun Marathon Report - Anchorage,Alaska 1/2

Talofa maliu aiga (greetings dead family)

Short version:  39 year old clydesdale with acute injury finishes his first marathon in 5:32:25

Long version:  First I would like to thank everyone who responded to the report I gave on one of my training runs in May.  I received a lot of good feedback and encouragement from many deads.  I also have been receiving some good tips and info from John The Runner here in Anchorage – everyone has been very helpful.  I left town for a vacation up north to Denali National Park just after the race and just returned, so sorry for the late post/report.

I felt very comfortable going into the Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon here in Anchorage.  I have been training pretty hard since November with a determined goal of finishing this race.  The weeks before the marathon I was beginning to get concerned about getting sick or injured just before or during the race.  However, I had a good plan and felt prepared.  Actually, being my first marathon, my main goal was to FINISH.

The morning of the race (6/17/00) I woke at 5:00am and felt great.  I had some shorts with pockets and I had my camera ready to carry.  I wanted to get one photo every mile of the course.  Shortly after I woke up I stubbed my toe on a door jamb which, of course, hurt.  The pain diminished after a few minutes and I continued to get ready.

My wife Michelle drove me to the start, Bartlett High School, at 6:40am.  My home is only about eight miles from the start.  The walkers were getting ready for their 7:00am start and we watched them start.  The temperature was

~46 degrees F and there must have been a light rain shower earlier in the morning the pavement was slightly wet.  However the clouds were pretty high, just above the mountains and it looked like there was good potential for some clearing.  The swimming pool building was open for stretching and keeping warm.  As time for the start came closer (8:00am for the marathon) the woods around the school became a beehive of activity.  I realized that there were almost 5,000 people that had the same idea that I had.  This is one of the Leukemia Society Team in Training races and there were many people from out of the state.  Five minutes before the start, I went to line up at the back of the pack.  There turned out to be quite a few people.  I took a photo of the start, with my camera, and the next thing I knew the Mayor was counting down and fired the start pistol.

It took me a little over a minute to cross the start and about another minute before the pace picked up to a run.  I was still feeling pretty good.

One of the U.S. Army Ranger Companies (Charlie) form Ft. Richardson (local Army Post) was lined up with me in the back.  They were running in formation keeping pace with their jodies.  Everyone found the jodies very amusing.

The Team in Training runners had purple singlets on, usually with their home state identified.  The Rangers would look to see where a runner was from, then come up with a jodie for their state.  Pretty creative and very amusing.  After about a mile the course went from a looping two lane road to a 12 foot wide paved foot path.  It got pretty crowded but there was still room to pass other runners.  At mile 4, I noticed that I was about four minutes slower than where I wanted to be for this distance in the race.  At this point the course widened again to a two lane road and running conditions improved quite a bit.  I went through a body systems check and everything was cool, in fact, I still felt great.  At mile 7 the course went from paved to a dirt surface.

I was looking forward to the scenery on the back woods trail and noticed that the sun was beginning to come out occasionally between the darker clouds leaving quite a lighting contrast on the scenery.  I passed a runner that was dragging her feet, very loud, in the dirt.  It looked like she was going to wear out pretty quick running that way.  I moved over to start a conversation, the first thing to pop in my mind to say was “So, is this your first marathon?”  I thought about that before I opened my mouth and changed it to a question about the scenery.

continued with part 2

------------------------------

Date:    Thu, 22 Jun 2000 22:53:29 -0800

From:    Husberg

Subject: Midnight Sun Marathon Report - Anchorage,Alaska 2/2

continued...

At mile 11, I began to notice a sharp pain in my lower right back area that was aggravated going up hills.  I had some ibuprophen in one of my pockets that I could not take since I just passed a water station – I would have to wait until mile 13.  I was also beginning to notice a warm rubbing feeling in my toe, the one I “stubbed” earlier in the morning.  When I ran up or down the steeper hills it bothered my toe quite a bit, the flat or gradual slopes did not seem to bother my toe as much.  By the time I got to the mile

13 water station my toe was on fire, I downed the ibuprophen.  In about 15 minutes I noticed both my back and toe feeling better.  By mile 15 I was feeling great again – even better knowing the rest of the course was mostly downhill.

At Mile 17 I unexpectedly saw my sister and I think she unexpectedly saw me.

By this point in the course I was running about 20 minutes ahead of my predicted pace – she was not ready to see me yet.  I walked with her through the water station at 17.8 and told her that I felt great.  I gave her my

camera and she got a few photos.   Another body system check and everything

was green except for a yellow alert on the toe and back.

At mile 20 I was revisited by the toe saga.  My foot felt like it was on fire.  I stopped and took my shoe off and there was a big purple sausage where my little toe used to be.  Not fun.  I was able to get some tape from an innocent bystander and buddy tape it to my other toe.  I put the shoe on and continued running – a little slower.

Prior to mile 20, the course goes around University Lake.  I found out that later in the day a course marker had been moved and the leader went the wrong (long way) around the lake.  His pursuers were local and arrived at the same point and knew that the course went the other way.  On the opposite side of the lake there was a big surprise for the former leader and former pursuers as the later emerged in front.  What a nightmare!  The closest pursuer ended up winning the race with the leader before the lake took third or forth.  From reading the article in the paper it sounded like someone had purposely vandalized the course.

I continued on past mile 20 and began to wear down at mile 21 with a throbbing toe.  The pain in my toe seemed to spread to most of my foot.  I knew I only had five more miles to go (pretty good encouragement).  I also felt like I needed another sugar boost.  My youngest son gave me some lollipops to take on the trail and I began to suck on one.  One of the water stations was giving out candy also and it seemed to have an immediate effect.  Mile 23 came and went and I knew I was that much closer.

The longest race I had run before this was a 10K.  During the 10K I was wearing a DRS shirt and I had a few people ask me what the “Dead Runners Society” was and what “Carpe Viam” ment.  But, on this race people would not leave me alone.  It was a great conversation starter and I had a lot of responses.  One spectator commented “Dead Runners Society, oooh, now that’s scary.”  The comments and responses were pretty interesting.  I was wondering what other Deads said when asked “what is the Dead Runner’s Society?” Or, “What does Carpe Viam mean?”  Any takers???

Mile 24, only 2 more miles.  I thought to myself that I can easily run two more miles – no problem.  I began to think in a little different mode by choosing someone ahead of me and concentrating on passing them, after I would pass them I would choose someone else.  This worked pretty well until I reached “insult hill.”  The last hill about ½ mile before the finish.  The hill stressed my sausage/toe out too much and I walked up the first (steep) half and ran up the more gradual part of the hill.  Once again I began picking off people in front of me and there was one person I wanted to pass before the finish.  I speed up and passed him with about 100 feet to go.

The chip in my shoe triggered the beeps from the mat and I still am not sure of my official time (my unofficial watch time was 5:32:25)

I later found out that I had broken my toe when I stubbed it in the morning.

My wife and family were amazed at the sight when I pulled my shoe and sock off to cool down the foot.  The finish area was very nice, there were pools to soak feet in, massages, lots of food and drink – I was impressed.  The temperature was in the low 60’s at the finish with partly cloudy skies.  My back never bothered me again and I recovered very quickly.  I did take one Karl’s Kap every hour and alternated between water and Gatorade at each water station which, from my training, was the best thing for me.

I was very impressed by the number of spectators on the course.  Even on the trails there seemed to be people cheering which I found very helpful especially for someone who has done most of my training runs alone.  The marathon was hard but It did not seem as difficult as some of my training runs (especially the 20 miler).  I can see how slowly increasing the long runs in training made a difference.  Besides the spectators the water stations and other course support was very nice.  A lot of variety and plenty of drinks/food at the stations.  I felt good for the Leukemia Team in Training Runners, I saw quite a few spectators holding signs along the side of the course saying they were a leukemia survivor.

The day after the marathon I recovered quickly (except for the toe which limited my desire to walk) and took the family up to Denali National Park.

Alaska is a big place and I was amazed at all the people I saw wearing their Mayor’s Marathon sweatshirts and medals around anchorage and Denali.  The day I wore my shirt I received comments like “I was there, I ran that one too,” or “where are all these shirts coming from.”  Pretty interesting.

Brad Husberg

Eagle River, Alaska

SLC Marathon Elevation (hills) graph

SLC Marathon Course Map

Running inside on the treadmill

I ran inside on the treadmill today hoping that would help my knee pain and it would be easier to stop and cross train if it started hurting. I ran 3 miles in just under 27 minutes, walked a mile then ran another 9 minute mile. My knee felt okay. I stretched really good before and after the run which was easier to do being inside. I'm training to do the Las Vegas 1/2 marathon on Dec. 6th. Nichole is also running that with me as is Mike (my boyfriend). Mike is actually going to do the full marathon. He is definately an athlete as running comes pretty easy for him. He ran 12 miles today in 1:49:44 (approx 8:39 minute/mile). I think it sounds like fun to also do the SLC marathon or 1/2 marathon.

Our four miler which was great! Except for the little elf who kept punchin me in the back during every stride.

So, I will have to admit the 4 miler was good. This is the minimum distance for my usual "runners high" to kick in - and it did. We went to the new track at Ft. Richardson again. We figured that one lap is just over 4 miles. It rained until we started running then it stopped which was great. The bummer part was my back pain that started on the run last Saturday... I went to the doctor yesterday - they thought it might be a kidney stone so did a CT and labs which ruled out the kidney stone about 90%. It sounds like a muscle thing so they gave me some vitamin P and V. I tried the V at the beginning of the run and it took the edge off but at mile 2 on felt like someone was riding on my back punching me in the back with every stride (was not sure if it was an elf - could have been a dwarf or Hobbit. I know it was not Jar Jar Binks fo sure). [Sorry - this is the runners high thing kikin in not the Vitamin V, that would have worn off by now, or my usual mentality]. So my back is still hurtin but not as bad as the Wednesday run. Once again Michelle kicked my butt and probably did 4.5 miles. Here are the stats:

• Distance: 4.01 miles
• Time: 1:00:28.48
• Ave pace: 15:05 min/mile
• Ave speed: 4.0 mph
• Max speed: 5.4 mph
• Calories: 6.15
• Ave HR: 133 bpm
• Max HR: 150 bpm
• Ascent: 376 ft
• Decent 349 ft

SLC Marathon registration

By the way, registration for the SLC Marathon 2010 is open...it's only 75$ if we register in October...!

SLC Marathon

8 mile run!

Ran my 8-miler today before Conference--8.1 miles, technically. Pretty early on, around mile 2, my right knee started hurting--which has never happened DURING a run, just after sometimes. So that wasn't so good. I tried to run on asphalt and grass as much as I could after that, I think the concrete may be to blame for the hurting (I usually try and stay away from it on all my runs, but on the 6-mile course I've been running a lot of it is concrete). It calmed down after a few hundred meters or so, slightly flared up again around mile 5, and then went down again. It seems to be doing ok now, I can feel it hurt a little bit when I move it around a lot or go down stairs/hills. Tomorrow will be a much needed day off.

As far as the actual running goes, I was pretty steady the whole time. I ran it all in about 68 minutes, or 8.4 minute miles. I didn't feel like I hit a wall or anything, but it definitely wasn't as breezy as my 6-milers have been the last few days. I also used my new camelbak for the first time (I went with the 70 oz. version--Rogue), and I'm sure the hydration was helpful. It's a good pack, I'm glad I got it! I filled it about halfway with water this time, I think I'll try an energy drink next time and see how that makes a difference during the run.

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend...!

3 more 6-milers and more body pains

Wed, Thur, and today were three more 6-mile runs, each coming out between 45-46 minutes each. After Wednesday's run my right knee was hurting, and the same thing yesterday. It doesn't feel as bad today so I'm taking that as a good sign, hopefully it doesn't act up too much in the future. It is just a slight pain around the top of my kneecap, and really only hurts when I walk downhill or down stairs...

Tomorrow will be an 8-mile run for me, the longest one I've done yet (I did a 10-miler over the summer but that one killed me, so hopefully this one will be easier now that I'm working up to it).