Eating hills for lunch

Ran today down on the Cedar Lake/ Theo Wirth trails. I think this will become a major run for me. I love the mix of hills and flats. When I got into Theo Wirth which has the most hills I felt very strong. Each week I have run there I feel better and better. I got in like 8 miles today. I feel like I am turning a corner maybe.

Running with PR

Today was a great run with my buddy Patrick. I tok Pat down to the MN river bottoms. He had never run down there and thought this was a good call. I love running with Pat. He is one of the most talented runners I know. His spirt and drive to be his best is very cool. We had a great run. The weather was pretty good, the trail was great. We went like 15 to 16 miles. I felt good !!!!! What a nice feeling. Now if I can only get a few more days like this.

Get in Gear ??

Boy after todays run I need to get it in gear !!! The day started with going down to the "Get in Gear 10k" race. Sonya and a bunch of our friends from the store where running. I had the kids today and Sinya was running. It was a bit warmer that what we have been used to at this time of the day so it seemed to take a bit out of people. I thought all in all people ran super good. I was very proud of Sonya. It is not easy to go race when you know you are not at your best.

After the race Sonya took over with the kids and I got to go out for my run. I desided to go to one of my favorite places to run the MN river bottoms. It sure was warm at 2pm ! To make matters worse I was not smart and had not eaten at all or drank much water before hand. So guess what..... I felt like crap and cut it short at 5 miles. I need to be better than that.

Later that night Sonya had a great B-day party for me. Bunch of peopl came over and we hung out by the fire pit and drank lot's of beer and had cake !!! How's that for a way to end the day. Better luck tomarrow on the run.

Too much & no time

Man do you ever feel like there is not enuff hours in the day ? This is a daily feeling around our house. So as a results my runs sometimes take a hit. Today was one of those days. I got out this morning after droping off the van to get fixed. It was a nice morning temp wise. I felt pretty good and all. I just ran on the parkway and back home. I think I got about 4 miles or so. I could have gone farther but the thought of making it home in time to have some 15-20 mins to lay in bed with Sonya and Evan was to strong to fend off. I think it was a great choice !!

On a side note Sonya and the kids took me to Olive Garden for my b-day !!! Thanks guys.

Birthday run

So today is my birthday !!! Yea I love birthdays. It was a great day for me. It started out with morning rolls with me girls. Then Sonya brought me lunch at work. It was so good to eat luch with her. We do not get to do that very often. So to cap it all off we droped Evan off with my parents and Sonya and I got a good 7 mile run in on the Luce Line trail. It is soft and flat !!! Perfect for today. We did 5 1 min pick up towards the end. They felt pretty good and Sonya seemed to do pretty good with them. She is running Get in Gear 10k this weekend. I do not think it will be a super burnner of a race for her but I think she could be suprised. She has been sick but she is one tuff cookie. To cap off the day we saw the movie 300. It was pretty good !

Finding my grove

Today I ran after work with Sonya. We went to the great trails around Cedar lake and up and around Theo Wirth. I know I have said it before but these trails just feel so good to me. I am so free while running in places like that. I felt very good. Sonya also seemed to be feeling good. We ran like 58 min's. I think it was like 7+ miles. Good run !!!!

Day 2 back

So tonight i got out for my run after work. It was a long 10 hour day at the shop which is normaly not a good mix for a run after work. Today was different. I think being able to watch the London marathon on Ryan's lap top got me fired up to go. I ran from home down to the parkway and did a loop. I ran when i could on the grass/ dirt parts. Boy does that feel good. I felt pretty good out there. I even found myself picking up the pace at times !! It was a easy 5 mile loop for the day. Not bad I got to keep it up.

Back at it

So after one day of rest my body was feeling pretty good so I desided to get back into the groove and try going for a run. I knew it was not going to be much of a run but heck something was going to be better than nothing. After I got off work was planning on running some trails at Theo Wirth park but I got a call from Sonya. She was having a bad day and wanted to talk. So to kill two birds with one stone I went home and went for a run with Sonya. It was great to get out with her and talk. We did a little loop from home on the parkway to Lake Harriet and back home. It was only like 4 miles for me but I felt pretty good. Still a bit stiff and such but nothing different from what one might expect after a 50k trail race. Tomarrow I will try to go more around 6 or 7 miles I think. One step at a time !!

Day of rest

So today was a day of rest since it was the day after a 31 mile race. My body is feeling pretty good. I hope to be able to get a run in on Monday.

On a side note how about Ryan Hall in the London marathon today. A 2:08 marathon debut !!!! That puts him as the second fastest male marathoner in U.S. history. Nice job.

Trail Mix 50k

The first race of the year is over, yea !!! Today was the Trail Mix 50k race. I have run this race like 6 or 7 times. It is a great way to start out the year. The race also has a 25k solo option and 50k team relay that start after the 50k solo runners. That is nice because it gives you people to run with and/ or chase. Going into this race I knew I was not in bad shape but also not in super shape. My total volume was way down for the year so far. That being said I new I had to make sure I did not hammer to much at first. I was pround of myself for running pretty even. My lap splits where 58:41, 58:14, 1:01:02, and 1:06:10 for a time of 4:04:35. I belive I was 5th place overall. That last lap was a bunch of work and showed my lack of total volume, but I hung in there pretty good I thought. Still have alot of work to do but I am happy.

Day off

So today was a day off just as I planned. I did make a appointment with the doctor to get a physical on May 1st. I figure with all the up's and downs it would not be a bad thing to get the blood work done. Tomorrow is D-day at Trail Mix 50k. I need to run smart !!!

Not Good

So today after work I went to go out for a run. Sonya was home and was going to watch the kids so I could get out. Well about 1/2 mile from home I desided I felt like CRAP !!!! So with a bad attitude about it I went home and called it a day. I know I need to do something about that. You can not just go home everytime you feel crapy but today I just said F*** It !!! Better luck next time I guess. Tomarrow will be a rest day also since I normaly take the day before runs like this off.

What's with French Park ?

Ok so everytime this year that I have run at French park I have felt slow and slugish ? I do not get it at all. It was a great day to run. I was able to run with Sonya after work there. She is comming along well so that makes me feel better. But as for my self I was getting very frustrated by it all during the run. So midway through the run i decided I would stop by the car next time around and grab a Clif shot gel and see how I feel after that. Well I was glad to do that because I started to feel much better about 5-10 min's later. I guess it is that time of the year where I will have to allways have one or two gels in the car just incase. All in all it was a nice day and nice to run with Sonya !!! Better luck next time for me the that park. Oh yea I think it was like a 8 mile day or so.

Boston

As many of you know yesterday was the Boston marathon. I hold this race in a very special place in my heart. I have been lucky to have run it two times so far. It is such a special place and special race in so many ways. I love that you still can watch it on t.v. live !!! Thanks Verses. It was such a tuff one out there. Lot's of rain and wind. Not a good combo for running a marathon. Well congrat's to all that ran.

P.S. My chasing KIMbia guys did pretty good. 3rd, 4th, 6th place

Family time

After a long day of work I got to go for a run. Yea !! What made this run even better was that I was going to be able to run with Sonya and Evan for most of it. Since the store is like 1 mile west of Lake Harriet and our house is like 1 mile east it made sense for us to run toward the lake and then go from there. What a plan.

It was such a nice day and it was turning out to be a great night as well. As I took off I knew it was going to be a nice night for a run. Plus what was great was that I felt good !!! About time I say. When I got up with Sonya and Evan I was like 2 + miles into it. We made our way around the lake with Everyone seeming to have lot's of fun. Evan was asleep, Sonya was feeling good and I was good. When it was all said and done I ended up with 8+ miles. Not bad. So I sent in my Trail Mix 50k form. Should be crazy.

Not sure ?

So today I ran on the trails around Cedar lake and up in Theo Wirth park. I love these trails. This is two Mondays in a row here. The hills just do not stop, but I like it. I am not in top shape yet but when I am it feels so good to just roll up and down them over and over. It sure felt hot today. I guess part of it is because we just are not used to it yet. Maybe my body is just thinking there will be another 20' degree day yet to come ? I hope not. So I think all in all it was like a 8-9 mile day. It felt not great but not super bad either. So what to do about Trail Mix 50k this Saturday ? Do I just suck it up and do it ? Or do I just keep on training ? That is a tuff one. I think my gut says just do it. Treat it like a long run. I believe it is going to be messy out there. I will keep you all posted.

A better day

Today was much better. I got this morning with my friend Paul for a great run along the MN river bottoms trail. We both really love that trail. It is so great to be just like 5 min's outside of the airport and be along a great single track trail !! Not to mention it was such a nice day for a run. Paul was looking for like 1 1/2 hours so I figured that would be cool with me. Paul's dog Sunshine ran with us. She is such a good running dog. Just stays by you and never gets in the way. I was using my new pair of Montrail Nitrus trail shoes. I have run about 6 or 7 times in them now and I like them. Great pound out the miles shoe. I made sure going into this I ate good the night before and to be extra carefull I had my pre run pop tarts for good luck. Over all it was a great run. Always fun to talk with Paul and always great to run on the bottoms. I am guessing we got in like 13-14 miles. I maybe should have gone farther but I am ok with it.

Hyland trails & more

Today I got out for a run at Hyland Park trails in Bloomington. I got in a solid 9 miles. It had been awhile since I ran out there and thought with Trail Mix coming up next week I should get a run in and see how the trail was looking. There was lot's of people out there today. Not surprising since it was like 50' and sunny today. It felt good to be on the trail and it was very pretty. The only problem was that I felt so crappy during the run. I had no energy what so ever. Now part of that was self inflicted since I had nothing much to eat last night and nothing at all in the morning. My bad !!!

Later in the day I got out for a second run at French park with Sonya. It was nice because my Mom took the kids on a walk at the park and Sonya and I got to get out for a 4+ mile run on the trails. I still felt crappy but I am happy to have been able to share that time with Sonya.


This is on the HURT 100 trail in Hawaii

This is more like it

Today it is so nice out !! Got out for a easy run today with Sonya and Evan. We got in like 4+ miles. I am looking foward to a good weekend on the trails so a nice easy day was the ticket. Sonya was feeling better since yesterday. You all know how it is. Each day get better and better. It is so great to get Evan outside. I think it is so important for your kids to spend time out in the fresh air. Lucky for us Evan seems to like the baby jogger.

I have added some video clips on the blog from www.chasingkimba.com Please check them out !!!! It will make you feel good

Double header

Now today was quite the day of running for me. Not only was it nice once more, but I got to run twice today. First off what a nice feeling to run in shorts and much sunshine !! I ran after work today with Greg Sorenson from his place. Greg lives close to the store which works out very good in order for us to get runs in. Greg was looking for a easy 7 miles and I was just looking for someone to run with, so it was perfect. Now sometimes it seems like I tend to push the pace when I run with people like Greg or Jason Minnick or such. I think it is inside of me that they are faster than me so there easy is faster than mine ? Either way I need to chill out. We did get in our nice 7+ mile run around the Lakes and back to his pace no problem.

It was funny during the run because we talked about if people think about what they would say if they won a race while still running in the race and leading. I have not been in a spot like that many in my life. That being said 2 of the few times I have been leading a race I have fallen into that trap and go figure both times I ended up getting beat to the finish at the end !! One time was in a 50 mile trail race and I lead like 47 or 48 of the 50 miles. That sucked. Note to Kurt: DO NOT do that ever do that !! Well anyway it was a funny thing to talk about and made the time go by fast.

So for the second part of the double header Evan and I got to run with Sonya for her first run since the race. It was so good to be out with her. I think she was a tad stiff but seemed to feel better as the run went on. We got in a solid 28 min's so I figure like 3 miles or such. So heck I ended up with a 10 mile day, not bad.

Easy going

So far so good in the post 100k crazyness for Sonya. She seems to be doing better. The rest has been hard for her to take. She is a runner to the core and hates to miss a day. Most years she only will take off like 3 or 4 days period !! Lot's of aquajogging and some biking so far. I think this weekend will be her time to hit some running. Look out !!

Running with Hibbs

So today I got out with my best friend Steve Hibbs. Steve is the one who got me running so many years ago. I was a burned out soccer player looking for something and Steve told me about how much he like cross country running. So after some talk I went out and the rest is history. It was one of the best things I have done in my life. Life changing really when you think about it.

Steve met me over at my parents house since he lives in the area and with my folks watching the kids that works good. Steve also brought over Charlie his 8 1/2 month old son so my parents could see him. Plus it is always fun getting the two boys togeather even if it was just for a short while.

We desided to go for like a 7 mile run. It was crazy to be running while it was lightly snowing in April. For the last time I am sick of this weather !! The run was great per normal with Steve. Being best friends we can always talk up a storm. Tonight the topic was about why it would be so great if pro players did not always take the most $$ and stay with there life long teams. The pace always gets faster as we get yaping. So every so often we have to calm down so we do not kill ourselves. Funny how as we get older this has happen. Back in the old days we would not say anything and just hammer ourselves into the ground.

I did a few running drills after the run. I need to do more of that. All in all I felt good. So far it has been a good week.

I have attached a picture from the U2/ Pearl Jam show Steve and I saw in Hawaii in December. Front row baby !!!

What a day

So last night I was looking at some pictures on my computer and came across this one. It is from the MN cross country running championships last season which was the last team race for the Runners' Edge racing team ever !! It was a sad day for me but also a great day. I saw and felt that day something that was so special to me. I saw that through running I was so luck to have made all these great friends. People came out from all over for this race. Some in shape, some not so in shape. We all where wearing different old Edge uni's. It was great !! People do not ever take for granted the moment that you are living in. But remember that even when the moment fades it will never go away.

Faster than a speeding bullet

Got out this morning for my run for two reason. 1) I am most likely not to get out if I wait till after work 2) It is supposed to snow/rain later. It was a good call. Ran from home down to Lake's and back home. I felt pretty good. I started slow but got running harder as I got going. The dirt felt good. It was a good 6+ mile run. I always feel better during the day when I run in the AM. I need to do more of this.

On a side note, I got my new Running Times in the mail yesterday. I like the Q & A in the back with Matt Carpenter and Bill Roe talking about what USATF does for the mountain, ultra, trail part of running. Pretty funny stuff. Check it out.

Dirt sweet dirt

Today I went out to the trail along Cedar Lake and up and around Theo Wirth park. I got in a good 8 miles. It felt so good to be out there. This was just the way to get a pick me up for the week. The trails there are just so nice. You would never think you are just a few miles outside of downtown Mpls. There are many hills which is a great workout. The trails are still a bit soft in a few spots, but not to bad. They say we have some snow comming ? I hope not !!! With Trail Mix 50k in 2 weeks I do not want it to be so super soft out there. I wore the new Montrail Nitrus shoes. They where pretty good. They felt way better running than when I first tried them on. They felt stiff but after running in them I would give them a good vote. I remember thinking the same thing about the Montrail Leona Divide and then after running like 3 or 4 times in them they became my favorites.

Hey Evan how big are you ? SOOOOO BIG

Not so good

This weekend we where down in Madison,WI for the USATF 100k running championships. It was going to be Sonya's 1st ultra like this. A few years ago she took part in a 50k trail race with me but did not consider it running since the trail was so rocky she felt like she was walking she was going so slow. That being said she has training so good and was ready to run ! We also had our friend Patrick Russell running as well. Pat has been on the last two USA teams at the world 100k champs.

Come race morning it was as we had hoped it would not be. Cold and windy ! I believe it was like 6' wind chill at the start. Not good ! This was going to be a crazy day. It was up to Evan and I to make the best of it for the next few hours. As Mom started out and ran by we cheerd out the van window. It was great to see her off and running. As the day went on the runners where trying to make the best of it all. Pat was hanging in a solid 2nd the whole way, only like 20 feet behind the leader. They went past 50k in like 3:20 or so. Pretty fast for such a bad day. When Sonya came by she was in like 3rd or 4th in like 4:04. Solid 50k time ! Not long after that we found out Pat's race was over. A pulled muscle had done him in. Many runners where dropping out at that point. At 50 miles Sonya was at like 6:50 or so. Not bad and only a little while to go. It was looking good, or so we thought. When she came by at the 90k mark she said she had just gotten so cold. I gave her a jacket and she was wanting to walk it out. Not long after that she was brought back to the finish area with hypothermia. Her body temp was like 92' ! Her day was done just 5 miles short of 100k and a 4th place finish.

Much was learned that day. We found out how quickly things can change in a race. But we also saw that Sonya had trained so well and when wanting can become very very good at these things. Will she run this aging ? We will see but she made me proud.

Madison here we come

Today is the day we leave for the USATF 100k championships. Sonya is ready to roll big time. The weather is not looking good but we will have to deal with what is ever there. I got in a good short 3+ mile run along the creek. I love that the dirt crow track paths are open.

Nice and easy

So we are just a few days away from the big race day for Sonya so we are got out for a easy run from my Mom and Dad's house. Mom and Dad are always great help with the kids so we can get out for our runs. It was a little cool but not bad. We went for a easy 5 miles. It felt good to me. I know Sonya is really going crazy with this cutting back on miles but it will be worth it.

Running with Greg

Today I got out for a run with my friend Greg Sorenson. We deside to run a loop of his from his house. It is always fun to run different places. I find sometimes I run alot of the same places, so change was good. I always have a good time running with Greg as we like to talk about alot of the same things. Greg has been training so good this year and has had two preety good races this spring. He just WON the Fools 5 mile race last weekend in some tuff wind.

The run was good. It felt good to run with someone and I got to run on the dirt path for a bunch of the run. I LOVE the dirt ! We ran a good 7 miles. Now if I could just more runs like that.

Now that the snow is gone and with any luck the rain dies down I will be able to run more on the trails by the river bottoms. I like to wait a while in the spring so I do not mess up the trail to much early on.

Is it winter ?

Ok so after working a long 10+ hour day when it was time to go out for my run at 8pm I said no way. It was like 6' out with the windchill. I know I should be tuffer but It was just way to easy to go home to my warm house with my family there waiting to see me. Better luck next time I guess.

Ho hum

Just anouther day of running. I was pretty tired for the most part. Got a easy 5+ miles in. It was nice out today. Plus today was opening day for my Minnesaota Twins !!!! Twins Wins !!!!! My little guy Evan was excited.

Not bad

Got out today with Steve once more. Felt pretty good at times but real stiff at other times. Got in like 12+ miles. Oh well at least it was one more day of running.