Year in review

2011 Summary

Classes:
Gen Bio I                           ->   A
Pre-calulus                        ->   A
Anatomy&Physiology I     ->   A
Anatomy&Physiology II    ->   A
Calculus I                          ->   A
Organic Chemistry I          ->  B

Organic Chem was my 1st B since starting school again.  I overloaded myself during the Fall 2011 semester and this B grade is the result.

I will be applying to dental school this summer and I feel like my chances are very good to get into the school of my choice.  The average GPA of students in the UIC dental program is 3.55.  My GPA is 3.9, so as long as my DAT score is average, or above, I should have no problems getting into dental school.


Running:

Total miles:  906
Races:          6

Siberian Express Trail Run 7.55 Miles 1:00:45

Bunny Dash 5k  22:44  2nd in AG

Human Race 5k 25:31

Stepping Up to Wellness 10k  48:30

Run for the Hills Half Marathon  1:50:21 2nd in AG

Turkey Trot 8k  36:18 PR  (Garmin was dead)


Due to my class and work schedule, I ran 600 miles less than last year.  I hope to rectify this situation in 2012 since I have learned from my mistakes of overloading on classes.  I have embraced running at night in the last 2 months.  It has turned out to be a very convenient time of day to run.  Running at midnight after work is peaceful and there are no obligations to get home.

Festival Foods Turkey Trot

This was my 4th turkey trot and the anniversary of my very first 5k in 2008. Since that first race I have run many races of all kinds of distance, but the turkey trot is always my favorite because the weather is always cold and the people are always extra nuts.

This race was a nice 8k and I ran it in 36:18. This time far exceeded my expectations and I am very happy with the result.
my Festival Foods Turkey Trot - Fox Cities 2011 - 5 Mile Run results



We were in Appleton to visit my brother-in-law for Thanksgiving, so I thought it would be great to continue my turkey trot tradition in another town.

I got to the race about 30 minutes before the start. I had to park about .25 mile from the start area, which actually worked out perfectly for a quarter mile warm up jog. Unfortunately my Garmin 305 was totally dead when I tried to turn it on so I had to run with out knowing pace or distance.

I ran at a comfortable pace based on my breathing rhythm. I felt like I was running about 7:45 minute miles, but there were no mile markers or clocks along the course so I had no idea how fast I was going or what mile we were on.

Coming up to the finish line I saw 36:10 and I thought the clock must be wrong, I did not feel like I was running it that fast. If I had known how close I was to the finish I would have pushed it a bit to make it under 36 minutes.



After the race I got a free 6 inch pumpkin pie. If I had run about 10 minutes faster I could have finished in the top 5 and won a free turkey. Maybe next year.

Run for the Hills Half Marathon

As per my modus operandi, I was under prepared for this race. I signed up for this race and proceeded on a half-assed 8 week plan to get ready for it



It is a race run entirely in the Moraine Hills State Park, a beautiful park that has had some crime troubles recently. There was a runner whose car was broken into while on the trail. Her wallet, keys and cell phone were all stolen. Apparently this is a popular spot for some transients during the summer months.

The race has limit of 300 runners due to the width of the trail. There was a staggered start. We started in groups of about 25, organized alphabetically. This led to solo running for most of the race since you do not start with people of your like speed.


2nd place medal

As the name implies, the course was hilly, but this is Illinois so the hills were very tame and I used them as an opportunity to pass while going up and down. I've found people are overly cautious on the down hills, I like to take advantage of gravity and just let my legs fly.


Pops coming around the last turn

Due to my questionable training regimen, I set a goal to finish under 2 hours. I started out nice and easy. The first 10 miles went by very easily, then I opened it up for the last couple miles when I knew I was in no danger of hitting the wall.

The scenery was great, this time of year in the mid-west is easily my favorite. I love the cool/cold weather and the fall colors are unbeatable.


landscape


My finish of 1:50:07 was well under my goal time and earned me 2nd place in my age group. This was very surprising to me since my age group is usually very competitive. I was walking to the refreshments table with my dad after he finished and I heard my name over the loud speaker, luckily I was still there to hear it.


Pops

Aside from the strange start procedure, the race was well organized and a good value. For $45 we got a nice long sleeved T-shirt, finisher medal and water bottle. I love long sleeved shirts.


Finisher medal

I hope to get back into PR shape after this semester, but for now I am happy with my fitness considering my schedule limitations.

Stepping up to wellness 10k

This was the first 10k I have done for about a year. For me, this is a difficult distance. I don't know why, but it is just not fun for me. 5k and half-marathons are my favorite, but the 10k is just too painful for too long.

Anyway, I only did this race because my dad wanted to run it and we decided it would be a good idea to ride our bikes to the race. Biking and running in the same day is always fun for me, plus it makes for a good warm up and cool down.



I am not in top running form, therefore, my goal for this race was to run at a tempo pace. These days that means about 8 min/mi. This is the result of Calculus and Biology and moving and work and this and that, whine whine whine. In other words:I have not been running as much.



I achieved my 8mm goal and ran this thing in 48:25 which works out to about 7:50 pace.

Garmin data

Overall it is a well organized race. Chip timing, clocks at mile markers and so forth. The only problem is that I cannot find the results on-line.



It was hot out on the course. Miles 3 and 4 were the hardest for me because by that point it was getting hot. We were in direct sun with no breeze. I even thought about walking.



The bike ride home was uneventful, my dad was pretty fatigued so the going was pretty slow. One of these days I am going to ride the DPRT from beginning to end. Maybe I'll even run it some day.

At the end of the day I ran 6.2 miles and rode 16 miles. Any way you cut it, that is a pretty good Sunday.

The rest of the summer I have no racing plans. Due to my class and work schedule I have no time to properly prepare and run a strong race of any distance. I hope to be able to continue to run a few times a week and not get too fat.

McHenry Human Race 5k

This was the 1st time this race was held. There was no chip timing and the course was just a lame out-and-back in a corporate park. Not to mention the weather. But we had a lot of fun anyway.



This photo illustrates the poor weather conditions and unimpressive start/finish area.

This was Matt's very first 5k and I signed up for the race to keep him company for his first race.



Pre-race jitters?

About a mile into the race I think Matt was regretting running with me, because I was talking almost constantly. We ran at a nice pace, I was just trying to stay even with Matt and not push the pace.



Our splits:

1-8:18
2-8:06
3-8:19
.1~0:48

I forgot to stop my watch at the finish, but the big clock said 25:35, our actual time was more like 25:31 because we didn't cross the start line until a few seconds after the start gun.





The 2 photos above show that Matt ran this 5k at the perfect pace. If you don't feel sick at the end of a 5k it means you didn't run fast enough. He did a great job and I'm sure he'll only get faster and faster.


Once Matt's HR fell below humming bird level, he started feeling better.

Garmin Data

Overall this was a fun race and I hope I made Matt's run a little more entertaining. As a general rule I do not run races that are not chip timed, so I will probably not run this one again next year.

I love to be able to bring new people into the world of running races. It is nice when people start to buy into a healthier lifestyle and start to see the fun and benefits of running.

Bunny Dash 5k

This is the 3rd year my dad and I have run this race. It is always a good time. They have an Easter egg hunt for the kids and even a petting zoo.


pops pre-race

I had low expectations for this race since my training has been sparse for the last 3 months. Between Calculus, Biology, work and family I am lucky to run 3 times a week.

I had planned to run 8 minute miles for the race, just to take it easy. That did not work out, I ended up running the first mile in 7:15. I was surprised how good I felt. Maybe I had not lost as much fitness as I thought.


Last year it was raining and there were about 400 runners, today it was sunny and cool and about 500 runners.

For the 2nd mile I ran 7:03 and felt pretty good.


My dad finishing up his run. He ended up with about 30:30. Good for 6th in his age group.

My 3rd mile was 7:23, I was no longer feeling strong at this point. I ran hard to the finish and ended up with a time of 22:36. This is only 1:30 slower than my best time which is pretty darn good considering my lack of training.

Splits and map

Now the real fun starts-petting zoo, Easter egg hunt and Easter bunny picture.





Opening up all the eggs

After getting the kids as much candy as their baskets would hold I checked the results. Much to my surprise I came in 2nd in my age group. This was a total shock to me since normally a race of this size (800) has many people running sub 20:00. So we stuck around so I could get my medal. The medal this year is much nicer than the one from last year.

Hopefully next year I can be in better shape for this one, but if not, that's ok too. It will still be fun.

Grab Danville by the Balls!

We drove down on Friday, it took us over 4 hours because we stopped many many times. When we finally arrived at the Holiday Inn Express, we found a nice new hotel with a pool that looked like it had barely ever been used.

One of the stops we made was at Dick's sporting goods. I bought the kids a soccer ball and a indoor hockey set to play with in the hotel.

Friday night we took a swim and went to the Deluxe restaurant in Danville.

Jackie, Oliver and I at Danville's oldest and crappiest diner, the Deluxe.



Saturday we got up in morning and had a nice leisurely breakfast and then drove to the race at Kickapoo State Park. The park was about 17 minutes from our hotel, so we had plenty of time to get there.

On the recommendation of one of the other runners, post race we went to Jockos Pizza Inn. We also went to the pool Saturday afternoon for a nice post race soak in the hot tub.





Saturday night we went to a La Potocino for dinner. The food was pretty good, but we had to leave before we were ready because Oliver was not enjoying himself.


Sunday morning I got up early and drove back to Kickapoo to run the race course again. When I started, it was 4 degrees, coldy-wan-kenobi. It was nice to run on some legit trails for once. I am glad I made the effort to get up early because it was a beautiful morning and it is hard to find nice trails like this in the 'burbs.



When I got back to the hotel we hit the pool for the last time the ate some leftovers for lunch before heading back up north to the big city.

Siberian Express Trail run

Oliver was dressed just right for the 14*F run.



The race was a 7.45 mile trail in Kickapoo State Park in Illinois. This race takes place each January as part of a race series organized by the Kennekuk Road Runner's Club. They also do a race on this course every fall.


The trail is beautiful, this was the most fun race I have even been a part of.

The trail is rated "difficult" on some websites and I would have to concur. According to my pre-race intelligence, the second half of the race is more difficult than the first half. This being the case, I had planned to run the first half slightly more conservatively than the second half. I accomplished this inadvertently by starting in the back of the pack and slowly working my way forward to where I should be over the first 2 miles.



We arrived at the state park an hour before the race start. I picked up my number, no race packet, t-shirt, coupons. I liked this change of pace. I am not a fan of race expos and finisher medals, I like to keep things simple.

The start was at the top of a hill and proceeded to single track forest trails. This made it difficult to pass at all for the first mile, so I ran this first mile at 8:40, but I didn't care. The trail was so beautiful that it didn't matter if I came in last. I was just glad to be there.

The miles went by so fast:
Mile 1-8:41-----Stuck behind slow people, this cost me a shirt :(
Mile 2-7:43
Mile 3-7:38
Mile 4-7:22
Mile 5-9:06----Huge hill that everyone walked, so I had to walk
Mile 6-8:00----Stairway to seven
Mile 7-8:03----as you can see the 2nd half is a bit more difficult
last .45-4:08 (7:53 pace)

The stairway to seven is a hill that is so steep someone cut notches in it and installed wood planks to make it passable. Nice. Most of this race took place on some of the most beautifl single track I have seen since I lived in AZ



I took these 2 when I re-ran the course on Sunday.



I missed finishing in the top 50 men by about 45 seconds so I missed getting a free long sleeve shirt. But I got this nice schnazzzy fanny pack....



This is me at the finish