Archive for June, 2009

One for the U.S.A.

This happens so seldom I thought it deserved some play. Christopher Raabe posted a 2:15:13 at the Grandma’s Marathon to beat an elite field of Kenyans and Ethiopians. He is the first American to win the race since 1995.

Raabe didn’t exactly come out of nowhere. He finished 16th in the 2008 Olympic trials for the marathon, but his victory on an unexpectedly hot day in Duluth was a major upset.

Dad Bill is no slouch himself, finishing the half in 1:24:25.

Shriners Summer Solstice 8k Race Report

It was a beautiful day for the Shriners Summer Solstice 8k, which benefits the Shriners Hospital for Children here in Sacramento. My PR for this distance is 37:52, but I’m not in that kind of shape yet. I just wanted to beat last year’s time of 40:54, run under very hot conditions.

Before the race we had the national anthem and a sun dance performed by a troupe dressed as Aztecs. Afterward, the bottom 10 percent of the finishers had their still-beating hearts cut from their bodies and thrown down the steps of the parking garage. OK, there really wasn’t any human sacrifice, but there must be some motivation because the fastest runners in the area always turn out for this one.

There was no timing mat at the start, which meant I lost a few seconds, but I paced it perfectly.

Mile 1 – 8:16
Mile 2 – 8:09
Mile 3 – 8:05
Mile 4 – 8:03

After the first two miles, I found myself steadily passing other runners and feeling better as I went along. I hit the four-mile mark with a cumulative time of 32:33, which meant I would easily beat last year’s time. I thought to myself, “Hmmm, a 7:26 would bring me in under 40 minutes.”

I should have discarded that thought immediately, but what the hell. I started pushing the pace, and passing people in the last mile is really a motivator to keep pushing. There was a “400 meters to go” sign and it made me think of my track workouts so I started turning it over as fast as I could. I passed 7 or 8 runners in that last quarter-mile.

I could see the clock ticking down but I came up short. My last mile was a 7:35, giving me an unofficial finish of 40:08.

The real appeal of this 8k is the post-race strawberry pancakes. Yum!

So I’ve made pretty good progress in the last four weeks, but I still have a way to go to reach my best times. I’ve got a 15k race two weeks from today. Anything under 1:20 would be acceptable, but I’d really like a sub 1:17, which would put me right on my target marathon pace.

Skirt Chaser Race Series

The Skirt Chaser Race Series is an innovative spin on 5ks by SkirtSports, who sell women’s running apparel. Six races are held across the country in which the women, most of whom are wearing skirts, start three minutes ahead of the men, who chase them. The first one across the finish line, male or female, wins $500. So far, girls have beaten the guys seven out of 10 times. Here are some highlights of a recent race in Tempe, Arizona:

The next race, August 29 in Denver, also features a prize to the first couple who cross the finish line together. In other words, the man has to make up the three minute head start and both have to finish hand-in-hand. Some strategizing will be involved there.

There are post-race parties at each event and, inevitably, a fashion show with the sponsor’s products. The web site promises that winners will receive their “mullah,” which I sincerely hope is supposed to be “moolah,” unless they’re passing out these t-shirts.

Yasso I’m Out of Gasso

Yesterday I went for my second track workout, this time going 4 x 800 with 400 meter recoveries. And since I have only one running goal – a BQ – I can have only one goal for my 800 meter intervals: the corresponding Yasso 800 time.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with Yasso 800s, but for the uninitiated, the concept is that to reach a marathon goal expressed in hours and minutes, you should be able to run 800 meter intervals in that same time expressed in minutes and seconds. For example, if you want to run a 4:05 marathon, you should be able to consistently run 800 meters in 4 minutes, 5 seconds.

As with any predictor of marathon finishing times, Yasso 800s have severe limitations. But the goal is easily determined, easily remembered, and any other computation would be just as arbitrary.

To qualify for Boston, I need to go sub-3:36. So my aim is to work my way up to 10 x 800 at sub-3:36 pace. After my 8 x 400s last week, I knew I would fall short, but I still needed a benchmark. A one-mile warm-up and off I went.

Intervals: 4 x 800 meters
Goal pace: sub-3:36
Lap 1: 3:36.02  FAIL
Lap 2: 3:31.37
Lap 3: 3:37.87  FAIL
Lap 4: 3:47.29  FAIL
Average: 3:38.14
Total distance: 4 miles

Though the last one was worst, I’m proudest of it because I had absolutely nothing left before I started it. As I was completing my recovery lap, I was staring at that starting line with dread. As I puttered around the track, I was glad that people can’t read your mind while you’re running, because my brain was whimpering “waaaaaaahhh!” I was thrilled to come in under 4 minutes.

Anyway, I’ve got a long way to go, and this morning’s crummy six-miler in the heat didn’t build much confidence. But I have to say charging around those turns at the track makes me feel more like a real athlete than just trundling through the neighborhood. It was cool.

The Carnival of Running #34

Welcome to the 34th edition of The Carnival of Running!

This week’s video explains how to avoid running injuries.

Because last week’s carnival featured a list of the least motivational running songs, I wanted to give a tip of the hat to Zero to Boston, who posted a list of “songs to not run by” back in 2006.

If you enjoy watching major marathons on TV, there’s good news. NBC will increase its coverage of the New York City Marathon, both locally and nationally.

I gave you a heads-up last week about the agenda behind the Runner’s World Marathon Challenge, and evidently there is plenty of money to go around.

A Running Is Funny salute to Robert Matteson, who will be competing at the Green Mountain Senior Games in Burlington, Vermont, next week at age 93, to Frank Ruehl, who’ll be running Grandma’s Marathon on Saturday in Duluth, Minnesota, at age 90, and to Mike Fremont, who is waiting for confirmation that his sub-six-hour marathon at the Flying Pig set a world record for 87-year-olds.

A separate tip of the hat to Perry Romanowski, who may be Just Your Average Joggler, but he is singular enough to be worthy of a profile in the New York Times.

Tired of getting your carbs during a race from GU? Finally, someone realized what you really want is cold beer in a tube! Stuffing one of those in your shorts could lead to some commotion, however.

Astronaut Sunita Williams describes what it’s like to run on a treadmill in space and details the features of the new COLBERT treadmill, to be carried up to the International Space Station by the shuttle Discovery this August.

Maybe you’ll never get a chance to run in outer space, but how about running a race in cyberspace?

Or you could run in a state of nature at one of Oregon’s various clothing-optional races.

Reporter Julie Deardorff asks whether charity runners are being properly trained for their marathons, which prompted The Chronicle of Philanthropy to look into it from the charity’s point of view.

These high-heel races are really catching on.

The best part of running this site is coming across blogs I didn’t know about. Have a look at Runnin on Full and Going the Distance.

Nicole Adamson lists 10 celebrities who have run a marathon, and 5 who should.

Last week I posted dozens of examples of what running is like. Now you can add: running is like a job search.

Meet The Running Yogis! Considering my frequent injuries, I’m more qualified for The Running Boo Boos.

That’s all for this time, friends. Submit your posts to carnival@runningisfunny.com. Now run away!

Drag and Drop

Those of you complaining about the lack of one-mile races should mark this one down for your calendar next year: the Portland Drag Race. It’s a special event to coincide with the city’s Gay Pride parade. Joe Dudman, the winner of this year’s race, penned a race report for Run Oregon:

Colorful costumes (in every sense of the word) filled the streets and the roar of Harley Davidsons rattled the eardrums. There were men dressed as women, women dressed as men, and women dressed as men dressed as women (I think…). I even spotted a male toy dachshund wearing a skirt.

I felt pretty conspicuous as I pinned my number on my favorite racing shirt, standing out in the crowd in my plain dark blue running shorts. I weaved my way through the multitude, and set off up Broadway to survey the course and evaluate the extent of the climb. The crowds lining both sides of the street to watch the parade were almost as colorful and boisterous as those back at the formation area.

I scouted out the turn at Taylor and headed back down Broadway to the start. I waited with my clubmates among the approximately 80 runners for the race to begin, while female impersonators (I think…) fired up the crowd. Surveying the field, I didn’t recognize any ringers, and decided to run aggressively and go for the win. Finally we were called to the line, the custom red, yellow, and green “drag race” starting lights flashed, and we were off.

I can’t believe no one has yet posted photos or videos of the race.

Horsepower!

The annual Man vs. Horse Marathon was held in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. With more than 600 competitors sporting various numbers of legs, the race is far more popular than the Man vs. Whales Marathon.

The race, which covers only 22 miles, isn’t technically a marathon, but organizers received a waiver because the other 4.2 miles of the course is blocked by an overabundance of consonants.

A horse has won the race 28 of the 30 years it has been held. This year Duke’s Touch of Fun, ridden by Geoff Allen, from Budeleigh, Worcestershire, won the race in an official time of 2:11:43. Reports coming in indicate all of Worcestershire is celebrating in the streets with Bloody Marys and Micheladas.

Absent from the press reports is a hint of some controversy over the results. The race’s Wikipedia page has this new entry:

The 2009 race was marred by controversy, when the organizers in an apparent change to the rules, deducted time spent in the ‘vet checks’ from the horse times in addition to the 15 minutes for the delayed start of the horses. The deduction of this additional time enabled the horse to triumph by 8 minutes, instead of being defeated by 2. Whilst the organizers claimed this has always been the case, it is unclear whether this is actually so. The fastest runner, Martin Cox, refused to accept the winners trophy in protest at the decision.

Duke’s Touch of Fun was approached for comment, but appeared distraught, prompting the reporter to ask, “So, why the long face?”