Runners Vs. Cyclist

Though this was good.

Quote of the Day:

"Putting Life in your Years is just as important and putting Years in your Life"

-Tim Ferris
Author of the 4 Hour Work Week and 4 Hour Body

New Balance Minimus Road: Shoe Review

Video post reviewing the Men's New Balance, NB Minimus running MR10 11 M


Pros:

• Light weight
• Good feel
• Minimal shoe
• Durable
• Can be used for trainer and racing shoe

Cons:

• Will still take time to get used to it
• Not 100% zero drop shoe

Overall:
I think the New Balance Minimus is a very good shoe that will meet a lot of my needs for training, racing and I hope to get a lot of miles out of them. I would definitely recommend this to someone that has been running in a minimalist shoe for a while and is looking to continue or further they training in a minimal shoe.


Runner's World Review:


NEW BALANCE NB MINIMUS ROAD
Price: $100
WIDTHS: Standard
WEIGHT: 8.5 oz (M) 7.6 oz (W)
CONTACT: 800-253-7463; newbalance.com

WE SAY: With a stripped-down design, the lightweight Minimus Road boasts a snug fit, firm cushioning, and a thin sole (just 19.2 millimeters in the heel and 13.8 in the forefoot). The heel is only 5.4 millimeters higher than the forefoot (with most shoes, it's 12 to 14 millimeters), which encourages midfoot striking. Some testers found the forefoot hemmed in their toes a little. We recommend it as a speedwork shoe to use when doing strides, or as a foot-strengthening tool when walking.

WEAR-TESTER'S SAY
"The shoe fit well, but it had very little cushioning."
—Kate Galinus, 53, Allentown

"I liked how it forced me to land mid-foot, even though the toebox was off."
—Kim Aeschliman, 36, East Lansing

Grandma's Marathon:2011

Another Grandma's marathon has come and gone. This was the 35th annual running of the Grandma's marathon that saw a rebound in numbers from recent years. Despite the numbers being down and not selling out the marathon for the third year in a row now Grandma's still attracts elite competition. The winning time for this year overall winner was 2:12:15 by Christopher Kipyego, who narrowly edged second place finisher Teklu Deneke. Check out the finish line video to see how close it was.

I would be finishing just over an hour after these two sprinted for the finish line. Still recovering from a brutal Kettle Moraine 100 race two weeks ago I went into the race feeling fairly recovered, however, with only doing 4 workouts in between the two races there was not much to judge from. I was planning on running with a friend of mine for at least the first half of the race or at least until I felt good enough to take off or bad enough to fall behind, this year it would be the latter. The weather the morning of the race was cold and raining, the forecast said that it would let up a little but temps would remain in the high 40's or low 50's. As Ben (his blog) and I waited to be bused out to the starting line we got wet and cold. When we arrived however, the rain seemed to let up and the temps were right around 50 with a slight tail wind. In my mind this is just about perfect weather for a marathon.

During the warm up I could really feel my left foot and it was sore, probably from hobbling on it for the last 23 miles at Kettle. It didn't feel too bad but definitely noticeable and not a good sign during your warm ups. Other than that I felt ok and the shins, which had been killing the past two races, felt pretty good. All of the runners piled into the starting gate and got set. The race director blew the horn and we were off. Right from the start my left foot felt sore almost like a stress fracture, but I told myself you've never had a stress fracture so you don't really know what that feels like. I had no argument for that so decided to see how it felt after a few miles. My legs felt good and Ben and I were cruising along at about 6min 40 sec miles. Ben wanted to break 3 hours, a pace of 6:52, so we were doing pretty good. I didn't really feel bad but I didn't really feel like I should be going any faster, the pace seemed just slightly uncomfortable, which is good.

The first 4 miles went by before I even knew it, it was nice to run with Ben because we were at a comfortable enough pace to talk a bit back and forth. Miles 5-10 seems to go well and we were consistently hitting 6:40-6:50 mile splits and my foot seemed to be feeling better. Ben predicted that we would cross the halfway point at 1:28:15, we crossed at 1:28:07, not a bad guess. This was great for Ben's goal of a sub 3hour marathon, he has nearly 2 minute "in the bank" meaning he was 2 minute ahead of his pace.

After we crossed the halfway point I could start to feel my shins starting to act up and my legs started to get heavy. At mile 14 I had to stop and get a rock out of my shoe, Ben ran on but I kept him in sight, about 200 yards in front of me, for about another mile. At this point I really started to deteriorate quickly. There was no way that I was going to keep up a sub 7 minute pace for much longer and I didn't. Miles 17-24 were pretty tough (as you can see from me Garmin readout below) I started to run 7-8 minute or higher. I did have to stop and walk a few times, which is something I really really do not like to do in a marathon, but I was struggling my shins really tightened up and walking seemed to loosen them up a bit.

The last few miles of the course run though the heart of Duluth's downtown and there is a ton of great crowd support. I think this picked my spirits up a bit because I was able to pick up the pace for the last two miles. I crossed the line with a time of 3:15:11 not a bad time but a bit off of my normal pace. Normally I would head for the cool waters of Lake Superior to cool down my legs by wading out into the cool water, but on a 50 degree rainy day I opted for a hot shower instead. My legs felt sore and tired but I still enjoyed the race and had a great time.

The two other friends that I knew running both set PR's Ben crossed the line with a 2:56:03 and Edward another friend of mine that does a lot of trail ultras (his blog) set a PR with a time of 3:43:37. A big congrats to both of them, I guess I'm just getting slow in my old age.

Finish Line Video

Results

Sorry I didn't really get any good pictures from the race, but here are the ones that the official race photography company took. Yeah that's right I was rocking the arm warmers.

Last Name:Hanlon
Bib #: 4704
Event: Grandma's Marathon 2011

Photos

Grandma's Marathon:2011

I'm off to another Grandma's Marathon tomorrow. It is the 35th Annual race that is full a history and has produce some great races. It seems like quite a long time ago that I toed the line for my first marathon 5 years ago with the goal of finishing and not dieing. A lot has changed since then in my running world but the one thing that is the same is the Grandma's marathon, it is still an awesome race. It is extremely well organized, well supported, great fan support the entire way, the course is beautiful and very fast and with all of the activities surrounding the race it makes for an amazing weekend each year.

I am going into this race with some mixed feelings as to how I want to approach the race. I have actually recovered quite well from my 100 miler in Kettle Moraine and now that I am not running the Black Hills 100 miler next weekend I don't really have to save myself for that race. I'd like to run a sub 3 hour time as long as my shins hold up again. I haven't had any issues with them lately so hopefully they are on the road to recovery. I also have a few friends running the race and one of them Ben, his blog, is trying for a PR. His current PR is 3:06 I believe, so I might try and pace him for the race, though I'm pretty bad at keeping a consistent pace so I might do more damage then good. It is always hard from me not to give it my all when I'm out on the course, I don't think its pride or the need to "always do my best" but rather that I get caught up in the moment and it is just so enjoyable to just, as my friend Evan would say "Drop the Plow" and go. So we'll see what happens this weekend, I will not guarantee any results other than I'm sure it will be another great Grandma's marathon weekend.

I'll be sure to post my results and you can even watch a live feed of the finish line below.

Link to Live Video Feed: Click Here

Frequently Asked Questions: Ultra Running

Since I've started running marathons and now especially ultra marathons I seem to get a lot of questions about why I do it and a how. I have compiled some of the most frequently asked questions that people ask me.


Q: Why? This by far is the most commonly asked question I get.
A: This is a question for a separate blog post.


Q: Do you stop and sleep during the 50 or 100 mile races?
A: Nope, you do stop at aid stations for a few minutes to refill water bottles and grab some food, but only for a few minutes. There are certain ultra races that happen over several days but the ones that I do you go straight through.


Q: How much do you run normally?
A: Actually I run less miles weekly than I did when training for a marathon. On average I run about 50-70 miles a week, most of the miles coming from the 1-2 longs runs of 20+ miles.

Q: What do you eat when you running?
A: During training I normally just eat Clif Bar Shot Blocks and gels. I prefer the black cherry shot blocks and Powerbar Tangerine gels. I'll drink mostly water but sometimes on really long runs I'll drink Gatorade, EnduroMax or coconut water.


Q: What is your normal diet?
A: I don't really follow a specific diet and over the past few years I have really experimented with my diet to see what will be the best fit for me. Right now I follow something close to the Paleo diet and the Slow-Carb Diet. I follow them fairly loosely but they are my general guidelines as of now, my search for the optimal diet is still a work in progress.

I have tried numerous things from a Raw Food Diet, to Vegetarian, High Protein Diet, High Carbohydrate Diet, Low Carb Diet, Standard American Diet (SAD) and even an all Liquid Diet.
As of now I'm settled on a hybrid of the Slow Carb and Paleo diets.


Q: Don't your knees hurt or aren't you afraid that you'll do long-term damage to your knees?
A: No, running is like anything if done properly you should not have any long-term issue with your knees or legs. The problem is that there are a lot of people that have very poor running form which leads to injuries and long-term damage.

My knees are very strong and I have never had any issues with them, I'm probably doing more damage to them by sitting at a desk 8-10 hours a day than any running that I'm doing. Generally people with bad knees are people that play sports like basketball, football, soccer ect. Yes, there are runners that have bad knees, but that is more often the exception not the rule.


Q: Is it healthy to run a marathon, 50miles, 100mile.

A: Short answer No, No and No. The human body is designed to go up to about 20 miles and anything longer than that is really taxing on the body from a nutritional, structurally stressing and muscular stand point. However, the unique feature of the human body is that if you stress it and allow it to properly recover it will become stronger. That is the simplistic basis of all training programs for marathons or longer. So no it is not healthy to run these distances, but the overall net health gains by eating and training for these types of events is generally a net gain from those who do not participate in other physical activities.


Q: You are probably a natural runner or generically inclined towards running right?

A: This is a classic nature vs. nurture argument. My response is that I do not believe that I have any more physical or genetic inclination or advantage as a runner than the average person. I would say that my desire and passion towards running is much higher than the average person. I was born with cold weather and exercise induced asthma which does not lend itself well for distance runners. Standing at a intimidating 5ft 8 inches, most of which is my torso, my limb ratio is not bad, but it is certainly not advantageous for me as a runner. I have never been tested for my VO2 max or lactic thresholds, so I do not know if I have any genetic advantage there or not.

My personal opinion is that there is certainly genetic or nature characteristics that help athletes, such as Lance Armstrong's lactic threshold is off the charts. I believe that most people have the necessary physical ability to become very very good at any sport, skill or activity if they put the necessary time and effort. The genetic features come into play certainly and when you put the time and effort and have the necessary natural abilities that is when you get a world-class athlete or performer.


Q: Don't you get bored? Do you use an ipod when running?

A: I don't really get bored when running. I personally think that it is very meditative when I'm doing my longer easier runs and when I'm doing tempo or speed work I'm concentrating on my pace too much to get bored. Long runs are great times to workout any problems that you have, I have yet to have a problem that after a 3 hour run I didn't feel better about. Another plus is that elevating your heart rate in any activity releases a lot of endorphins similar to the ones that are in antidepressants (runner's high effect I suppose).

I generally don't use an ipod when running, but sometimes during the winter on my long runs and when I run on the treadmill I will use one. When I started running I never had one, so I guess I have always been used to not having one.


Q: What do you think about when you are out running?

A: I think about the same thing I do every time I run. I think about way to try and take over the world.


Q: Did you just drop a Pinky and the Brain reference?

A: Yes, yes I did.


Q: What do you think is the most important keys to running well.

A: I think that the number one thing for almost all level of distance runners to focus on in injury prevention. At most levels whether you are a serious competitor or just running for fun if you can avoid injuries you will be able to not only enjoy running more but you will also be able to progress as a runner a lot more effectively.


Q: How many shoes do you go through?

A: Thankfully I can usually get about 500-600 miles out of most of my training shoes. I have been slowly transitioning into a more and more minimalist shoe which has allowed me to get the most out of my shoes. With normal mileage I will generally buy a new pair of shoes every few months, but I also buy different trail running shoes and racing flats for road races so I spend plenty on shoes each year.


I hope that will provide some good info for those of you wondering about running these types of events. If you have any other questions feel free to post them in the comments below and I'll certainly do my best to answer them.

Quote of the Day:

"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."

-Vince Lombardi

Old Video: Minneapolis Marathon 2010 Finish Line

Here is an old finish line video from the 2010 Minneapolis Marathon. I was hurting pretty bad from about mile 20 and the last hill to the finish.

You can tell I'm struggling a bit.

Video

Kettle Moraine 100 Mile: Race Report 2011

(You can hear me groan in the beginning as I am trying to sit in the chair)

I have finished my second 100 mile race and it was another tough one. I did feel like I was a lot more prepared for this race than for the Zumbro 100 I still had a tough time. The Kettle Moraine races take place mostly on the Ice Age Trail which is a gorgeous path that runs through Wisconsin. The part that we were on is mostly cross country skiing paths so the overall course has a lot of runable areas. The Kettle Moraine 100 mile and 100K is the second race in the Gnarly Bandit Race Series, which is part of the Upper Midwest Trail Runners.

On a scale of 1-5 the course was about a 2.5 there was not a lot of elevation or climbing but you were constantly going up and down. The trail was a combination of single track and cross country ski trails so there were only a few sections that were really technical.

I was not going to make the same mistake as last time at Zumbro. I pre-taped my toes this time.

I also used the Injinji toe socks to help with blisters

This was my first solo ultra, so I tried to be as prepared as possible knowing that if I didn't bring something with me that I'd just have to go without it. I pulled into Whitewater, Wisconsin around 4:30pm on Friday and checked into my hotel room. I dropped off my stuff and headed down the road about 9 miles to La Grange were the packet pick up and the Start/Finish area are. I grabbed my packet, talked to the race director briefly and then headed back to Whitewater. After having a nice meal at Randy's in Whitewater I organized my drop bags and gear for the next morning and tried to get to bed early, but didn't really work. I eventually fell asleep around 11pm, the race started at 6am and so I set my alarm for 4:35am. I actually woke up at about 4am and just laid there for about 30 minutes. I packed my things and was out the door, I pulled into the Start/Finish area and there was a pretty big crowd. Kettle Moraine offers a 100 mile, 100k, 100mile relay and 38 mile Night Fun Run that starts at 9pm. The race director was giving out instructions and I was still messing around getting things situated. I dropped my drop bags and head towards the start area with about 2 minutes to 6am. Luckily someone was yelling out "Don't forget your timing chips!" I hustled over and grabbed mine and put it on just as the race started. The nice thing about ultras is they are long and if you're a minute or two late it probably won't make much of a difference.

It was a bit weird running with so many people and it took a long time to really get thinned out. The trail was pretty wide because we were on cross country skiing trails but still much too congested for a trail ultra in my mind. The first 20 miles were nice I was purposely trying to stay in the mid to mid back of the pack to ensure that I would not go out too fast and kill myself again. I found a few runners to run with and we chatted quite a bit. I ran with a runner Scott from Illinois for about 10-15 miles. He had run Kettle Moraine several times so it was nice to be able to ask him questions about the trail and race.

I also ran about 10 miles with another runner Paul Schaefer from Rochester who was doing his first 100 mile and was about 50 years old (Paul ended up beating me by about 1hr 20 min) At about 3 hours into the race I started noticing that my shins were starting to ache. I was concerned about this because I had run the Fargo Marathon 2 week before and probably ran it too hard and really hurt both of my shins, it felt like I had shin splints. I started to take some ibuprofen to help manage the pain. One thing I learned from Zumbro was to start on top of pain management, don't wait till something starts hurting. By this time it was starting to get pretty hot, when I check the weather forecast before I left it said sunny and a high of 83. It ended up being in the low 90s for a lot of the day and you could tell that the heat was taking a toll on everyone. I had two 22oz handheld water bottles that I was carrying with me and I was trying to drink as much as I could and was taking a salt tablet, S-Caps every hour. I don't think that dehydration was ever really a big issue for me, thankfully. Though I did see a girl running the 100 mile that did not carry any sort of water bottle or camel pack with her, how she didn't die is amazing. How she ended up beating me by 20 mins is impressive.

Around noon there is a long stretch of trail that cuts across an open prairie which is nice for running but in the heat of the day was not a lot of fun. Thankfully I was feeling pretty good on this section and manage to move my way up a few places. I hit the first turn around at mile 31 around 6:37:54 not too bad of a pace.

On the trail after the 31 mile turnaround

I was still feeling good despite the heat and the ibprofen seem to be helping me to manage the shin pain. The only issue was on some of the technical parts of the trail my shoes were cramping my toes and potentially would cause blisters again. At Emma Carlin Aid station at mile 47 I changed shoes into my old La Sportiva Cross Lites, these are more of a trail shoe which I liked but still were cramping my toes a bit. Now we were headed back through the open prairie and it was even hotter out now. When I left the aid station they told me it was 91 degrees out, but the heat still was really affecting me.

At Aid Station at mile 47.4

Out in the open again I felt pretty good so I started to run through most of the open prairie area and again caught and passed about 2-3 more people. Though after we got back on to the trail I was hurting a bit, my feet were starting to get sore and my shins were aching again. I discovered that the ibprofen works for about 5 hours but if I took one at 5 hours it would take about 45 minutes to kick in so there would be 45 minutes of pain. I quickly learned to start taking them early as to no have a lapse in pain relief.

I was mentally feeling strong and physically still doing ok, I ran with a few of the 100k runners from Emma Carlin(mile 47) to the Start/Finish area turnaround at mile 63. They reminded me not to spend too much time there as it would be tempting to call it quits and stay there. I took their advice and got in, changed shoes again to my Saucony Kinvaras, talked briefly to Adam Schwartz-Lowe a much better ultra runner than I and winner of the Zumbro 100. He decided to pull out at the 100K mark and not kill himself like I did. I left the Start/Finish area right around 9pm and it was about dusk. I had all of my night time gear with me so I was ready to take on the night, without a pacer this time. Luckily there was plenty of runners out on the course, especially since the 38 mile Fun Runners just started.

I was just under 2/3 of the way done and still feeling ok, especially now that the temps were cooling down. I ran through the night and only had a few freak out moments when I started thinking about the Blair Witch Project. Not a good idea when you are tied, probably dehydrated and alone running in the woods. The only real problem I had at night was that because I was still carrying two handheld bottles I could only use my head lamp for light and not my flashlight as well. This resulted in me kicking rocks and roots on several occasions and feeling like I broke a toe or two. Thankfully I didn't but a few times I had to stop and really walk for a while before I could get going again, plus it is a big demoralizer, especially at this point in the race. At about mile 70 things started to fall apart, I could feel that I was not catching anyone anymore and some people were catching up to me. At this point my shins were starting to hurt again and though I kept on schedule with my ibprofen they still seemed to be hurting. It also didn't help that I kicked two big roots with each of my feet that really hurt and slowed me down.

When I pulled into the Hwy 12 aid station at mile 77, I was hurting. The next aid station, the Rice Lake turnaround, was 4 miles away and the final turnaround point, but this was the most difficult part of the course. The next 8 miles took me about 3hrs and 15 minutes and they were painful. My right shin really started to acted up and there was nothing else I could. About a mile from the Hwy 12 AS (8 miles later) I was reduced to limping on one foot, I was pretty sure that this would be my last stop and that I'd have to drop out.

Not wanting to leave the aid station at Rice Lake

When I got into the Hwy 12 aid station I sat down in a chair, something that I never have done before for fear of not getting back up. I got some chicken noodle soup and and snacked on some chips. I talked to the aid station medical person and told him about my shin pain. He told me that I had a pretty good knot in my shin and that the good news was that I won't hurt it anymore by running on it. What I really wanted him to say was "you need to stop running," he didn't though he said its going to hurt but that I could make it. Easy for you to say you don't have to run 14 mile on one leg. He did rub some type of ointment on it that seemed to help and so I got up and hobbled down the trail. He told me that I'd have to limp the rest of the way and favor the right leg, so for the next 14 miles even when I was "running" it was still with a pretty significant limp.

This was a long stretch, it was 4.1 miles to the next un-maned aid station then 2.2 miles to the next staffed aid station. I was trying to maintain sub 20 minute miles, which is about a brisk walk, but I was in so much pain that any sort of walk was painful. I did decide that it was only slightly more painful to jog than it was to walk to I tried to jog as much as I could but this was again a limp more than a jog. As I approached the next maned aid station I was certain again that I'd have to drop out the pain was just too much and I was certainly not having fun anymore. I was even contemplating not running any more racing for the rest of the year. I was at the lowest of my lows and had there been a press conference right there I may have announced my retirement, but...I made it to the next aid station. There I talked to the staff again, sat down and had some more soup. One of the staff there iced down my shin and seemed to numb it up. The one encouraging point was that I thought I was 10 miles from the Finish and I was really only 7 miles. That was encouraging and I managed to head out again, the staff told me the next maned station was only 2.2 miles away then 5 miles to the finish.

I set out and it only took about 20 minutes for my shin to de-numb and start hurting again. It was pretty light out at this time and so I could clearly see everything and didn't need my light. Thankfully the last 14 miles were pretty flat and runable, so it was just a matter of getting to the finish. That 2.2 miles seemed to take forever, but I made it to the final aid stations, sat down again got some soup and iced down my shin. I didn't stay too long because I knew I was close, but I had a feeling that these last 5 miles would feel like an eternity. They did. This part of the course was pretty nice but I was down to my last ounce of strength and had to pretty much walk the entire time.

I remember telling myself to try and run to the next trail market sign, they were about every 30-50 yards. A few times I would have to stop and work up the strength to run, but I felt that I had to keep trying to run. I didn't care about my time or place I just need to finish this race. The last 20 miles I must have averaged about 25 minute miles, mostly walking. The sun was really starting to come up and it was starting to get hot out. A few more people passed me the last 5 miles but I didn't care one bit. The last 5 miles had mile markers and every time I would reach one I nearly stopped to hug the sign I was so happy. When I finally got to the 1 mile marker even started running, I thought I would run the entire last mile. That lasted for about a half mile, then I had to walk again. When the trail finally opened up and I could see the finish line I was ecstatic. I did manage to run the last 100 yards and crossed the finish. I was sooo relieved to be finished with the race. Adam was still at the start and I talked to him for a while and the race directors. I had to wait around a little bit for my drop bags to get back but I didn't stick around long. I was ready to get out of my shoes, shower, eat and get to bed.

After the finish, kettle in hand.

As I said goodbye to some of the runners and Adam he said "I'll see you in three weeks," referring to the Black Hills 100 milers, I told him, "I hope so." This race definitely took a toll on me and I'm still assessing if I'll be able to race Grandma's marathon and/or the Black Hills 100 both later on this month.

I think that if it weren't for the heat and my shins I would have had pretty fast time and a much less painful race, but I guess that's ultra running for you. This was a really really well run race with a lot of great runners and a great bunch of volunteers. I don't know that I would have finished if not for the help and encouragement of the volunteers and fellow runners, so thank you all for a most memorable race.

Place: 29th Overall (122 started and 46 finishers)
Division: 15th
Time: 27 hours 24 mins 34 sec

				Split Calculations
Checkpoint	Mileage	Time	Pace	Distance	Time	Pace
Nordic Center Start	0.000	26.3 seconds
Emma Carlin Outbound	15.800	3:05:28.7	11:44.4
Scuppernong Turnaround	31.600	6:37:54.2	12:35.5	15.80	3:32:25.4	13:26.7
Emma Carlin Inbound	47.400	10:26:11.8	13:12.7	15.80	3:48:17.7	14:26.9
Nordic Center 100K	63.200	14:29:29.9	13:45.5	15.80	4:03:18.1	15:23.9
Hwy 12 - Outbound	77.500	19:05:39.5	14:47.0	14.30	4:36:09.6	19:18.7
Rice Lake Turnaround	81.900	20:52:04.4	15:17.3	4.40	1:46:24.9	24:11.1
Hwy 12 - Inbound	86.300	22:56:33.0	15:57.0	4.40	2:04:28.6	28:17.4
Nordic Center Finish	100.600	27:24:34.5	16:20.9	14.30	4:28:01.6	18:44.6

Post race recovery burrito.

Now if that isn't worth running 100 mile in 90 degree weather, I don't know what is.