Top 10 Music for 2011

It's time for the 2011 edition of my top 10 albums. Music has always been a big part of my life and every year I put together my top 10 list and share it with my friends. Last year I decided to do a top 10 songs of the year as I truly did not feel like there was 10 solid albums I got that year. I am happy to report that 2011 did not fall short. I feel like I have a solid list to share with you all. Here we go....

10.) Blitzen Trapper-American Goldwing

9.) The Decemberists-The King is Dead

8.) Blink 182- Neighborhoods

7.) Radiohead- The King of Limbs

6.) R.E.M.- Collapse Into Now

5.) Dawes- Nothing is Wrong

4.)The Black Keys- El Camino

3.) Coldplay- Mylo Xyloto

2.) Wilco- The Whole Love

1.) Ryan Adams- Ashes & Fire

I saw the comeback of Blink 182. More solid records from bands like The Decemberists, Coldplay, Blitzen Trapper, The Black Keys and Dawes. Radiohead? what can you say they always bring it for me. Wilco seems to get better every time I see them live. Sadly the end of a all time favorite in R.E.M. They went out on a super note. Then we have maybe the greatest songwriter of his generation Ryan Adams made a masterpiece. His show at the State Theater was a thing a beauty. Happy New Years people and talk to you soon in 2012!

2 weeks out

Hey there. Well it has been two weeks since the 50 miler and I am happy to say I am feeling super good! I have been taking it easy with a few off days here and there followed by a 8 miler or so. Today I did my longest run with a solid 15 miles with a bunch of the guys. I was super happy that I felt crisp. Just trying to not be stupid and over do it. I am planning on one more easy week then I will start the training for the next race Sylamore 50k in Arkansas on Feb 18th. It has been 7 years since the last time I ran there. I look forward to challenge of what is ahead of me.

On a non running note I was Super lucky to be suprized by my wife and got to go see Ryan Adams play at the State Theater last Tuesday night. I have been a fan for a long long time and had never seen him. He did not disappoint that is for sure as I loved it!!

In the mean time enjoy this video from the Salomon people from North Face San Fransisco.

North Face 50 mile report

( Like 5 min's drive from hostel )

Where to start I ask? I guess I will just give you the full meal deal and break it all down for you. So go get that drink and settle in as here we go....

It was 9:30am on Friday December 2nd and I find myself sitting on the plane heading to San Fransisco for the weekend and the North Face 50 mile. It was to be my first and last ultra race for the year. I will admit I was a bit nervous as it was a big deal to me to give it my best effort. I knew that I had a pretty solid training block behind me. Not the best training block ever but still pretty good and I was happy. I thought to pass the plane time and to pump myself up I would listen to some Ultra Running podcast to draw some inspiration from. Boom 3+ hours went by and we where there and I felt even more excited about what was about to happen.

( Look at the size of these trees! )

After checking out Muir woods then going to the hostel where we stayed, we headed into San Fransisco for the movie premiere of Unbreakable. It was fun to watch this great 2 hour movie with 350 other ultra runners while eating some pasta. After the movie Anton, Goeff and Hal three of the four movie's main players talked a little. It was pretty sweet. It was time to head back and get ready to go to bed and run.

( Sunset from our front yard )

Believe it or not I slept pretty darn good, something that does not always happens for me. After a little food and pre race prep it was off to the start and what was sure to be a super run.

( 100 yard walk to the race start/end )

As the start horn sounded I felt to huge amount of excitement rush through me. I was here doing this. My road to get back to racing was a long one but I was back. The first 3 miles of this race set the stage for what was ahead of me. Section after section of 1-2 miles uphill followed by 1-2 miles of downhill. It was a up/down race. Once the sun came up which was like 2 hours into the race I think the views where beyond belief. If you where not next to the ocean you where running in the huge redwoods of the area.

I felt good and in control for the all the way to the turn around of the short out and back section(mile 26ish?) not to fast but not to slow I thought. It was not until heading on the long downhill into Stinson Beach did my stomach start to be a problem. I started taking some salt and drinking coke at each station and that seemed to help some. On the climb up the Dipsea trail and mile 30 is when I could tell that my legs on the downhills where not so good. I guess it was time to hammer the power hiking up hills and try to keep a good pace on all the other sections.

My buddy Nick caught up to me at like 33 or 34 miles. He was having a great race I thought and this was a chance to challenge myself and try to stay with him. Over the next 8 miles Nick kept putting the hammer on me and I was proud that I kept fighting back. When we got to the beach aid station at like mile 42 we started this crazy big climb. It was at this point I pulled away from Nick as it seemed like I was climbing a bit better at this point of the day. Over the next 8+ miles I just kept pushing the uphills as hard as I could and try to do my best to not fall apart on the downhills to much. To think running downhill was harder at this point, kind of funny huh.

As I made my way up the final climb to the finish I was very proud of myself. Not because I had my best race time wise, not even close. But because I was back at it and that even though I was not at my best I kept on fighting. I know that with a year of solid training and racing I can come back and take off at least one and a half to two hours on my time. I guess we will have to see what happens. In the end for me it was not about time or place but about being apart of the sport I love with all my heart and soul.

( I am done!! )

Run= 51 miles in 9:48 with 11,604 feet of up and 11,591 of down!!

( Some of MN Race crew )

One week, It's Go Time

I can't believe I am just one week away from the North Face 50 mile EC in San Fransisco. When I set out those 16 weeks ago to train for this race as a good way to go out 2011 it seemed so far away. Even with a few weeks of training under me it was so scary as that self doubt that sets in after not racing for so long. Can I make it work? Can I run the way I used to run? I stand here now knowing that I did all I can and in the process made myself a better runner and found that love deep in my heart for the trails. I look forward to the race and what it will toss at me. I will do my best and use this as a springboard to my 2012 season. I am ready, Bring it!!

Building the Perfect Beast

Man what a great few weeks of training it has been since I last did a blog post. Have you ever had those times in your running life where with each run you can feel yourself getting stronger and stronger and you frankly just do not want to stop. Well after a long time passing with none of those feelings, I have finally come into a nice patch of those runs. Man what a feeling!

It has been so nice to go out on the run and just feel smooth with each step, strong on the uphills, fast on the downhills. It is a time where everything seems like it is in slow motion. I know that times like this do not always last forever so I will keep my fingers crossed and keep plugging forward as I know Dec 3rd and the North Face 50 mile is not to far away. No matter what happens the journey so far has been fun and it has been a great fall running lot's of new and old favorite trails with my buddies.

By the way who knew that Battle Creek Park in St Paul had so many trails and so so many hills! Thanks Aaron that was one hell of a last 20 miler in the training cycle. Happy Trails people.

On my way

Since I last wrote I have had quite a few good weeks of running and life. Running wise I had my longest trail run since March when I got in a solid 21 miles with Aaron out on the great trails of Lebanon Hills, man what a great park as it never disappoints me. What I like so much is the mix of rolling single track and some pretty good hills. It was great to have some company for this one and I was super happy with how relaxed and in control I felt. Aaron is in much better shape than me so I was glad to be able to hang with him. I have also had a few real good ski hill repeats sessions out at Hyland as well. I know running on as many hills I can will be key in 6 short weeks at North Face EC.

Last weekend was a down weekend with our trip up to Door County for the Fall 50 mile race (more on this later) with Sonya and the kids. I did have a solid 7 mile run on Sunday on the country roads where I was able to keep a real solid pace. This week has been highlighted with a super fun Monday night run on the river bottoms followed by some beer and burgers. What fun and I hope we can do more of this type of stuff.

Back to Door County and the Fall 50 mile. This was our 3rd time going up for this race. Sonya has run each time. Last year I was able to join her for it as she ran to the win and a real solid time. I think she was like 7:10? for 50 miles. Anyhow this year we knew she was in good shape but was maybe one more rest week away from being ready to really go after it given that she had run the Chicago marathon just 13 days before hand. She still wanted to give it her best shot so I was happy to come along to help her out. We even brought the kids with and with the TC Running RV had one hell of a weekend. We where greeted with great weather for the race and all was looking super at half way. Sonya was still on 7 hour pace and looking good. It was at like 32 or 33 miles things took a turn for the worst as after many potty stops her stomach started to go south and the vomiting started. Man that is one way to cover the last 15-16 mile. Needless to say she stuck with it jogged/ walked the way in. Now it took her more than 2 hours longer this year I was super proud of her for marching forward. Lots of faster runners like her would have stooped since it was not there day but she dug deep and got it done. I am real proud of her.

After many hours of resting we new we where not going home that night so we decided to make Sunday a nice day with the kids. We went to one of the state parks Whitefish Sand Dunes park and had a super time. It was nice to have the whole family together.

This weekend will be a big weekend for me as I get ready. In fact it will be my biggest weekend leading up to the race. I am real excited to going out to Murphy to do my long run and watch some of my friends running the different race that are part of Surf the Murph. I just want to keep having fun and keep remembering why I love to run the trails so much. Happy running everyone and talk to you soon.

Fun night time running

So I am into week number 4 of my training leading into the North Face 50 mile EC. So far so good overall I would say. I had a bit of a bump in the road the week of Twin Cities Marathon as I had a few real long days of work at the expo then marathon day watching Sonya in the 10 mile and hanging at mile 24 TC Running Company cheer zone all day long. Other than that things have been pretty good. I have been hitting the ski hill to get in some good climbing on my legs. I also have been making a good point of running allot of the hills in and around my home. They may be roads but a climb is a climb in my book.

Something else I have been trying to do is also get in some nighttime running to get used to running trails in the dark with my headlamp. The first few hours of North Face will be in the dark so i figure this should be a good idea. Last night was one of those nights. I made my way over to Lebanon Hills to run some sweet trails by headlamp in a light rain. Let me say the run did not disappoint as I had a blast making my way around the park. I will say running the trails can be a bit scary at times by yourself but hell it helped me keep the pace solid I thought. The first 4 to 5 miles went by fast but after that I somehow made a wrong turn. Needless to say I was a bit upset by this as the rain was picking up and the thought of being lost on the trails in the dark was not a good one. Lucky for me they have great trail maps out there and I was able to find my way back to my car with only adding on like 1.5 extra miles. In a weird way I think the whole finding my way stuff made the run a little extra fun. I will say I felt super out there as a night trail run in the rain was allot of fun. I will need to keep with this as I want to do everything possible to be ready to roll in just 8 more weeks.

I wish all my friends good luck who are running the Wild Duluth trail races this weekend. It is looking to be shaping up weather wise for a good weekend of trail running. I myself as thinking MN river bottoms one day and maybe Afton state park the other. At the end of the week I should have my biggest week miles wise in a few months. Yea!! Happy running people. I will have some new gear reviews soon on some stuff I have been using.

* Good video on the 2011 Leadville 100 mile, I will race there aging someday!

To Blog or not to Blog

So last week my friend and fellow blog man Chad wrote about how it seems like blogs are dieing off some. When I first read that I thought really? But than I started to think about it and maybe in a way they are but also I think the types of blog post are better than ever. When I first started this blog I wrote everyday about what my run was for that day. I guess that was ok at the time but as time went by I started to think more about what I was sharing. Do people need or want to know about every little thing? Most likely not. I mean I like reading people like Anton or Goeff's blogs but think it would not be a special if everyday there was something like "I ran 2 hours in the mountains today and felt good". It is more about telling a story about stuff more meaningful. So with that said I am sorry I have not written as much as of late but I hope that when I share a story or a video you find it more worth your time.

To update you on my training it has been ok. As many people know 2011 has been a very tuff year for me since I have yet to be able to run any trail/ultra races. Still have my sights set on the North Face 50 mile in Sand Fransisco. Think I need to decide on this today as it is almost full. Yikes!!

All in all the last few weeks have been good. It was funny that not just two days after my last post my my back got real sore once more and my left hamstring was going crazy. Maybe I jinks myself huh. But the last 2 weeks have been good. I have been trying to get in like 5-6 day a week and running like 40ish or so per week. I have got in a bunch of 7-9 mile single track trail runs and all has been well. I also started my run from home must do the tangletown hills pledge. You see I live in the center of all these great hills of what we call tangletown in south Mpls. For the rest of the year every run from home must end with a loop of those hills. Figure this will make me stronger. I guess it cant hurt. I hope for a 50+ mile week this next one as I keep on marching forward. Happy trails!!

With this all being said here is a nice little re-cap video of UTMB from some of the North Face runners.

Finding meaning in training

Finding meaning in training is the blog title. So what does that mean to me? Well as I have been on the journey the last few months coming back form injury I have had allot of time to think about that. At first I had the joy of just being able to run in our world once more. That was more than enough at first. But as that time went along it was becoming harder to believe it or not get out there as I found myself frustrated with how I felt and what my body was giving me, or for that matter not giving me. As the summer season continued I was becoming depressed about not being apart of all the races I love so much. But I kept at it and I would say that after the last few weeks I have gotten to a much better place. Each week I feel more like myself. I feel faster, can run farther. I guess I am back in a way. I have like not having a "schedule" in a way but feel like it is time to start pointing toward something. Training for a event is not the only thing that can give your running meaning. But I have found over the last 5+ months it is a big part of it all for me. I will always love the pure act of running but think I now know more than ever how having a event out there waiting for you can be just that extra glue to hold it all together.

Here is one more great video from Mr Matt Hart.

Fun new UltaRunning site

There is a fun new ultra running web site. It is called Ultra Running Podcast.com and I for one think it is a great new source of info for all you ultra running junkies like me. The podcast interviews are second to none. Check it out.

Hardrock 100

Ok so all I have to say is... If this video from the people over at Salomon about the Hardrock 100 mile does not make you feel like running trails I think you do not have a pulse. Wow is all I have to say.

As for my running there are some new things to report. Last Saturday I got in my longest run yet out on the trails of Hyland. I got in a whopping 9 miles!!! not bad I thought after a 7.5 mile run the day before. After that it has been more of the same. Runs of 4-7 miles where at times my knee hurts and at time it feels fine. I guess I just need to keep the nose to the grindstone.

Update & going back to Pittsburgh

This last week the Sonya and I took Krya and Evan back to Meadow Lands,PA which is like 35 min's or so outside of Pittsburgh. This is where Sonya lived till she was 13 and is where all of her family still lives. We go every 2 years back to see these special people. It is a small town that is very hilly with very narrow winding roads; ie: not the best place to be a runner with cars and all. That being said we love going back. I thought I would share a few pictures.

Great sunset while driving

Sonya and cousins Eric and Lindsey

If running does not workout I am killer at corn hole

Kids pool time at a family picnic

Feeling the love!!!

As for a update on my running, well what do I say? It is nice to be able to run some, but it has also been very upsetting that my darn right knee has been such a bother and now my groin on the right side has been acting up as well. Dam right side of my body! But I guess I am happy to be running some. I have been at 30 miles per week the last 3 weeks off of 5-6 days of running. I have to just keep the faith and hope all works out. This week I am going to try and make my longest run up to 8.5 or 9 miles. Have I said yet how much I want to race even just once this year? Fight on I say, Fight on!!

The Super Bowl of American Ultra running

Here is a great short video of Kilian and the super bowl of American ultra trail running, Western States 100. The history is second to none. Enjoy!!!

Progress

Yes progress is the title of this blog post. Why you might ask? Well on many fronts I would say. For starters my body is feeling better and better over this last week. When I found out I had a stress fracture they said like 8 weeks off and then most likely 4-6 weeks more till I felt like my old self. Last Friday was 3 weeks post time off. I ended off the week with 2 very good runs, and tonight started off this week with my longest run yet. Is a 5.7 mile run long? For now I will take it.

I ask myself what is different? For one I have been getting great treatment from people and two my body is just getting better and stronger each day. I also would like to think some of it mental. I think we all as runners have seen how the mental side of the sport is big, real big. For those who know me good know how I am a student of the sport of running, all running. You want to know a race results of a track race in Europe or what is the next race of Ryan Hall there is a good chance I might know. I love the sport that much. Running is me. Call me a running geek. So this being said I like to study great runners attitudes about things. Weather that be people like my buddies Chris Lunstrom and Tony Kocanda or guys like Western States 100 champ Goeff Roes, I learn stuff all the time. With people like Goeff when I read his blog it helps me see how to just pull back from the "racing" attitude and just run. Love what is around me. Lately this seems to be helping me allot. No 5.7 miles is not something I would normally be jumping up and down about. But hell that is 5.7 more miles than before. I am looking at it as time in my environment doing what I love. This will sometime down the road become say a 30 mile run. But in the end it is still time doing what I love. Here are two videos that ground me. Both done by Joel Wolpert.

Good Luck this weekend Goeff at Western States 100!!!

This brings me to this upcoming weekend. First off Good luck to all my friends running the Black Hills 100 mile, 100k and 50 mile trail races. There are so many going there and I was hoping to be on that starting line for you but I will be there in spirit. Then go get em Arley out at the big dance Western States 100 miler. If that is not enough the USA track championships are this weekend. You can find info on the different races at www.usatf.com.

And lastly great job to all who ran last weekends Grandma's Races. It was so fun watching you all out there!! Now rest, and yes that is you Matty Champ Mr. 2:13 as well as my wife Sonya miss 3:03.

Two steps forward One step back

Kyra and Evan striding out by the rose gardens

The title of the blog today says it all. Well maybe last week if seemed like the other way around. Man after a good run on National Running Day I went into the crapper. My back was so tight and sore and my sciatic nerve down my left leg was on fire. It was a dark day in my head for a few days. Then Saturday came and I went down to see my friends running Fans 12&24 hour race. Being down there snapped my head back around to remembering I am part of a great running community in MN. I looked at my friends and thought how can I help you? In doing so I stopd feeling bad for myself and then aloud myself to think about myself in a different light. Thanks everyone.

I am happy to report that I had a super 3.5 mile run on the trails around Cedar Lake and Brownie pond last night. Heck even thought it was like 98 degrees out when I ran I felt blessed to be out there. Now on to the rest of the week. Happy Running!!

Running on National Running Day

So last Thursday night was the very first time I had run in 2 months. I had the pleasure of having my super supportive wife Sonya with me along for the ride. What I found out that night was that even when working super hard in the pool your muscles fall asleep and go away when not used for that long. I was so stiff, sore and so so slow. That being said it was nice to loop the lake once more. I also knew after that run it was going some more time till I was running like before.

Almost a week has passed and in that time I have tried to run 2 more time and each time I got only 1.5 miles and was very discouraged about things. I thought over and over what the hell has happen to me? Either way I kept on aqua jogging and figured I just need to keep waiting.

Along come June 1st and National Running Day. We where luck to have the good people at Twin Cities in Motion ( the people who put on TC Marathon and all the other great races ) ask us to be apart of the day with us by hosting at the store. All I can say is wow; what fun! There where 5k runs each hour from 6am till 6pm with a ton of great prizes given away as well. The highlight of the day was going to be a appearance by Harry and Shelly for the little kids. My son Evan LOVES these guys and could not believe that they where going to be at Dad's running store. After running a half mile with Evan I thought to myself how much better I felt. Hmm maybe I should try to get out? At first it did not look good so I had to cancel a run with my buddy Nick. But just then things opened up so I jumped to it. I thought lets try something different. So I drove to a favorite trail of mine the MN river bottoms. The goal was to shoot for 2.5 miles and if lucky maybe even 3 miles. As I made my way down the trail I felt free and at home. I just took every step with all the joy in the world. I got to 1.5 miles and even though I was ok I turned around as I did not want to push my luck. As I got back to my car I thought about how I had hope once more. Hope to be back running where I love with people I love. I still have a long way to go but tonight was a huge steep.

3 weeks till Western States 100!!!

Up close with Goeff Roes

Meeting my Moment

I am so excited and yet at the same time so nervous about the up coming comeback to running. While aqua jogging last night with my new running pal Erik at the YMCA ( let me tell you crazy workout of 8x 5min hard with 1 min rest!!) I told him how I was feeling. Part of me feels like a nut case freaking like this but then part of me is like hell this is because I love this sport so much, and it means so much to me. What to do with myself?

Over the last 7 weeks I have been going over in my head what I was going to run and how I was going to go after it. It has made the aqua jogging go by faster; but then maybe I need to step back a bit? I mean it is good to set goals and push towards them but then maybe it is better to take life as it comes to you? The answer is probably a bit of both. I guess we never know what is around the corner.

I have a few idea's of races/ events to do this fall what do you think? I love feedback.

1) Superior trail 100 mile ( go after my fears on this trail? )

2) The North Face 50 mile race in San Francisco in Dec?

3) Go to the Grand Canyon in Oct for a little R2R2R?

4) Train for TCM in Oct?

5) Fall 50 mile road race ( try for a pr? )

6) SHT Fastest Know Time try?

Either way I know I will Cherish every mile I get to run and love every second.

Going outside for some fun

Yesterday Sonya, Evan and I had the great luck of being asked from one of my friends Brian to sit with him in his MN Twins seats for the afternoon game. As many know I love my Minnesota teams and have a 20 game pack to the Twins each year. I love my tickets!! But I will have to say sitting just 10 feet or so from the field was super cool. Plus it was a super day outside. Since I can't get any sun from running it was a joy to be out with my family. Thanks Brian!! Now back to the pool.

Evan flying around the field

Looking for Dirt

As I sit hear getting ready and trying to get pumped up to go do another aqua jogging session I thought I would share this great video by the Endurables from last weeks Miwok 100k. Enjoy!!!

Also Good luck to all running the Ice Age 50k and 50 mile races this weekend. Got to love it.

Aqua Man

Do I have gills? That was the question i was asking myself this morning 30 mins into my aqua jogging session. But when it was all said and done I got in one more hour and it was off to meet Sonya and the kids for a little mothers day fun.

I ended the week with a total of 7 1/2 hours in the pool in 6 days. I felt pretty good about that. I came across a pool running plan from Pete Pfitzinger on line which I started this week. It was a great help as he has some pretty solid and hard workouts. I have found with the workouts the time goes by much faster. I was also helped this week with company during the week by a new friend I made at the pool named Erik. Turns out he know a bunch of my teammates from Mankato since he also ran there back in the day. I also had Sonya join me yesterday!! It sure helps to have company.

I was also luck last week with a great B-day party by Sonya!! Thanks to all who came out and had a beer with me. Well happy mothers day to all the moms out there. One more week down and only 2-3 weeks till I get to try running some. Yea!

Got to love the boot

Rockin with Helen and Chris

Sonya, Mom, Dad and I

Sacral Stress Fracture

Yep that is what is going on with me. Shit is all I can say. After enduring the crazy long, shitty winter to now find myself not be able to run at all the last 3 1/2 weeks and later next week join my friends on our R2R2R running adventure. I am also out to run the Black Hills 100 miler in late June. It does not seem fair. But I guess Life is not always fair.

I have been aqua jogging the last 3 1/2 weeks and now looks like I have a bunch more pool time ahead of me. I just will have to try my best to buck up. I will see you on the trails people; I will just be watching. Happy trails!!

Human Race Re-Cap

Man oh man I am late with this one. Hard to believe it has been just over a week since the race. Sorry for being slow on this but lets just say it has been crazy at the store and home as of late.

So as many of you know the Human race 8k was my first race since last October and the Fall 50 mile. Not only has it been a long time since racing but hmm 50 miles and 5 miles are a bit different to say the least. But with the solid weeks of a little speed work and my solid weeks of long runs I thought I could pop a good one. I just needed to get my head around it all. I was pretty nervous about it going into race day.

Sonya racing hard to be the 3rd masters runner

As race day came I figured I would just look to start out at 5:50ish pace and go from there. If I could run that I would be around 29 mins and I would be ok with that. Deep down though I hoped to run 28:30-28:45 or so. I hit the first mile in like 5:52 or so and felt pretty good. As we made our way to mile 2 I tried to bridge a gap up to a few runners ahead of me as I was pretty much all alone. I think my second mile was like 5:55 or so? The 3rd mile is always slow as you go around William Mitchell law school and you have 4 turns to do so. I think I was like 5:55 or so aging for that mile. I find mile 3-4 to be the trick one as you have a slight uphill for over half of it so you are working harder than you think. I was thinking to myself to be solid and get myself in a good spot for the final .98 of a mile since that is fast and starts with a good downhill. I closed good and ran the final mile in like 5:22ish? Sorry for not having the exact splits as I have had my watch all cleared out by now. I hit the line in 29:07 a 5:50 mile average.

Happy to be racing once more

At first I was a bit bumbed out about my time. Then I thought about it all and was pretty happy with it. Racing is something you need to do often if you want to run your best. It is about feel. What I mean is knowing the feel of if I am pushing hard enough or maybe to hard. I found myself many times in this race thinking about that. I know if I ran this race right now I could be faster just by knowing what it all feels like once more. All in all it was a good day. Next up is supposed to be Ron Daws 25k this weekend but I am not sure yet if it will all work out or not. But for sure I have Trail Mix 50k in just a few weeks. Running has been feeling good since then so I am really looking forward to it. Happy running!!!

Steady Man

One more week gone by and one more week closer to running on some dirt. With the weather we are going to be having all week I feel like my first run on the dirt is so close I can taste it. My good buddy Paul was down in Arkansas for a long weekend and got to run on some dirt trails, man so so jealous buddy.

So for this week I thought I would bring it down a bit like I said before. As much as I was rolling I needed to make sure I was got cranking it up to much to fast for the time of the year. So I ended up taking two days off during the week. It was nice to have the days to rest and know that I was not taking them because 1) I was being lazy or 2) I was totally fried. I still kept my solid indoor track workout in Tuesday night. One more week down and feeling fast, go figure.

When the weekend came I got in a solid pace 17 miler in with KJ down at the lakes. It has been great getting to know him more and have one more person to add to my super mix of running friends. Toward the end of the run we got to see the leaders of the Irish for a Day 10 miler go by!!! On Sunday lucky old me got to run another 17 miler with Sonya thanks to my Mom taking the kids. Thanks Mom. This week it was just Sonya and me so we got to talk about all the things we always want to talk about all week but never get to because we are doing like 1 million different things for the kids. This was great. Another great part of Sundays run was that I got to try my new Salomon Advance skin water vest for the first time. All I can say is wow!!! Man what a great fit as I never knew I had it on. I think this is going to be the ticket come Grand Canyon R2R2R and for the Black Hills 100 miler.

This week will also be down a bit as I get ready for the St. Patricks Human Race 8k on Sunday but I will keep things not to easy as I need to keep my eye on the prize at the end of June. I will leave you with these two great videos from last years Western States 100 done by local gal Audrey Weber. She did a super job!!!

Biggest week yet!!

One more week down and one more super solid week of training. I feel like I have hit a solid groove with everything. You know keep it simple. One solid day of speed training and one solid long run. As I have said before in other posts the filler days will get much easier once the snow is gone and I can get back on my dirt trails; until then just keep it day to day. This week was highlighted by 4 real good runs........

My Tuesday night speed sessions at the EP indoor track have been super. I have in 10 weeks in a row now which makes me very happy. I was joined this week but Pete Miller. It was Pete's first week doing this with me and since I had had two weeks in a row of faster longer stuff we did on and off laps. Each lap there is like 260 meters I believe so it is a solid workout as you do not get much rest. We did like 10 or 11 of them I think then got in some nice cool down running. It was great to have new company, thanks Pete.

I was also luck to be able to run Thursday night at the Dome with the help of Sonya. She was able to get some help for us with Evan so I was able to run some ice free/ in shorts miles. What was super nice was the fact that I even got to run my first 30 mins with Sonya !!! When it was all said and done I was happy to see that I got in 10 miles that felt real easy at a steady 6:40ish pace.

Saturday found me meeting up with KJ and Paul for a fun 9 miles from the shop. It was nice as always to run with Paul and get to run once more with KJ. Since he is back in the cities I hope to log a whole bunch more miles with him in the future. Per normal as conversation got going so did my pace. A big problem at times is that I get so fired up that I find myself picking up the pace. Sorry guys. After our opening 9 miles with looped back to the store to run a easy 6 or 7 more with Adam and John "Mr. Afton" Storkamp. I was sure to stay in the back as not to be the one to pick up the pace to much. All in all a great run with a super breakfast at Woody's grill after.

The last of my super days this week was my Sunday long run with Sonya. My Dad helped us out so we could run together as we needed to get in 30 miles and it would have taking up the whole day if we would have had to run separate. We went back to French Park a place by my parent that we have done this before at. French works out great as I have a loop around the lake that is 9.9 miles so all we had to do is 3 laps and then a little add on at the end. This is also a good loop as we can re-fill our water and grab some more gels every 10 miles. Plus the lake path is clear for the most part. Adam Schwartz-Lowe joined us for the first 12+ miles which was nice. After that it was just Sonya and I. The weather worked out real well for a run like this. Not to windy and temps in the mid 20's I think. It was great to be able to spend this time with her. She is one tuff person and if this run was any preview she will do great at the upcoming Mad City 100k in a few weeks. After getting done we saw that we got faster each lap!! We ended with a total time of 4:05ish for 30 miles. Nice day to say the least. I do wonder what the people who live around the lake think when they see us go by 3 times over that many hours?

till spring comes I guess old Kilian video's will have to do

I ended the week with a solid 78 miles on 6 days of running which was great. Now this week I think I will take a bit of a down week since I have had like 70+ weeks like 4 in a row? My running log has not been kept up so I am not sure but either way a week of some rest will be good.

Hard Works Pays Off

So this last weekend was the Tokyo marathon. A little known Japanese runner was 3rd in 2:08:37. At first look at his pr's at 5k and 10k one would not think this could happen. What is even better is that he works full time and is not part of the normal professional running scene. For those not in the know over in Japan they are distance running crazy. The pro runners rare on corporate sponsored teams. This guy broke that mold and went it alone. Very cool story!! Here are a few links about the guy and such check them out.

Photo by Photo Run

Story by Japan Running News

Lets Run .com message board talk

This leads me to a wrap up of my weekend of running. Yesterday I got in a super long run on the Minnetonka LRT trail with Sonya, Paul and Helen. I was so happy that we picked there to run as the light snow covered crushed limestone path was super for a 25 mile run. We all started together from Lunds parking lot and headed west. It is never lost on me how luck I am to have my great wife and friends to train with. They push me and keep the runs light with great conversation. I am very lucky I know.

Back to the run; we knew Helen was good for like 12-14 miles so we did a little 6 mile out and back then went thru Hopkins and then west toward Eden Prairie. After Helen turned around Sonya and Paul and I kept going a few more miles before we turned to get Sonya back at 20 miles. The whole run I kept thinking to myself how good I was feeling and how happy I was with how training has been going overall as of late. After Paul stopped at 22 miles I hammered through the last 3 miles. It was then that I had that feeling of man I need to race soon. It was not that I think I have my best race in me ready to pop, but more of I want to test myself and see where I am at so I can keep plotting my course towards the Black Hills 100 mile in late June. I think next weekend I will test myself a bit by doing a 30 miler and look to run hard the last 10 miles. This should tell me allot about my fitness. Of course I need to keep the track work up. Tomorrow will be 10 weeks straight baby!

So now to tie both my weekend running story together with that of the cool Japanese runner. I think in running we all get caught up in a "certain" way of doing things. Sometimes if not always we need to do what "we" need to do, and in doing so believe in what we are doing. Like for me I know there are lots of people running more miles than me. I have stopped freaking out about how many miles and more about what kind of miles I am doing. I know my volume will go up once spring is hear and running is much easier. It is just what "I" need to do. Never give up, Just run!!

*Updated 3/1 Video of the last 6.5k of his run. A must watch from 5mins on

Dreaming of Dirt

Man oh man we got kicked in the nuts once more with snow. I love snow and everything but I am more than ready for it to go and my dirt trails to be back. I do not know why but I am chomping at the bit to run some dirt. Oh well I guess. Maybe this video will help?

( 2010 UTMB race )

I am happy to report one more weekend done and one more solid long run in the books. I got out for a very fun run Sunday morning with Sonya, Paul and Helen down and around the Mpls lakes area. After a nice 10 mile loop with Helen the rest of us headed out towards Lake of the Isles before coming back to Harriet to end up at 20 miles. As we ran we kept talking about how the weather was holding off and we where wondering if it was missing us? We all know how that ended now with 20" of fresh snow. When we where like 19 miles in the snow started and by the time we dropped Paul at 20 it was in full force. By the time we got to my stopping point at 23 miles it was coming down pretty strong. As you might guess my strong ass wife kept going to get in her 30 miles!!! Wow what a run. I am feeling stronger each week and am really looking forward to the racing season that is not to far away.

2010 Masters runner of the year

I guess we all know how important mindset is in the game of training. I feel better each week about mine. As I was finishing my run last night on the snowy dark roads I just found myself cruising along and living that moment. Even after 25 years or so of running it is important to have moments like that. Happy running!!!

TC Running Company with team awards

I like to move it, move it

The last week has been quite a good week of running and such for me. Maybe it has sometime to do with the good weather all last week. After my Tuesday indoor track work two weeks ago I decided to try and pick up the pace ( running volume wise ) for the next weekend.

Well it worked as I ended up with 39+ miles over the two days! In allot of ways it was classic old Kurt running. I got out early last Saturday with the group (Tony, Joe,etc) for a brisk but fun 20 miler around lakes/Wirth/ Victory parkway area. I ran allot of that run with Dylan which was nice as I got to hear all about how things where going for him with his new little 1 1/2 month old. Boy I remember those days big time. The next day found Sonya and I with a chance to run together for a change. Yea!!! We hooked up with Helen and Chris for the first 10 miles then Sonya and I added on the last 9+ miles on our own. Once more great conversation about so many things. Before I knew it I had my best weekend of running in a long time. Best part is that I felt great both days!

I have kept the ball rolling all this week as well. Had a super track workout on Tuesday where I did mile repeats and felt fast. Then a nice run at the dome and a great Friday morning group run and boom I am at the weekend once aging looking for good miles once more. Now I will not be doing back to back 20 milers but would like to hit 35+ for the weekend. I guess we will see but I will give it a shot.

Sonya at TC10 miler

Just to add to the excitement I get to go to the USATF-MN awards tomorrow night where Sonya will be getting Masters runner of the year for the 3rd time in 4 years. I am so proud of her and how hard she works everyday!!! Congrat's Sonya.

Time is moving slowly

So is it just me or is this winter time just moving so slowly or what? I have enjoyed my winter trail runs do not get me wrong but I also am finding these cold days making this winter see like forever. Maybe it has more to do with the fact that I can't wait for my May trip with the guys to run the R2R2R Grand Canyon run. Either way I will be happy when spring get's here.

So not much to report running wise for me. Been running between 45-65 miles per week for the last 8-10 weeks or so with maybe a few 70's type weeks tossed in there. Mostly just run's nothing special. I have been hitting the indoor track the last 6 weeks doing one night of fast stuff and that has been fun. I am looking at February as the time to start moving up the total volume into the 65-80 mile weeks then I guess go from there. I just have not had much to what I consider to be exciting to report so that is the reason for a big lack of blog posts, sorry. With spring almost here though I have been getting allot of fun new shoes to run in so look for some fun shoe reviews from me soon.

I have updated my race schedule. I have added the Get in Gear 10k in April as this will be my first race as a masters(40+) runner so that should be fun. I have also changed Chip 50k for Trail Mix 50k. I did this for a few reasons. First this allows me to do the 10k race and second this will be better on the pocket book as I do not have to travel as well as I can go work at the shop after the race like last year. Other than that No new races to add. I plan to add a fall marathon to the list but still not sure which one. Would like to do TCM but not sure with work and all I will be able to pull it off yet. Well that's all folks. Happy running.

Here is a great profile on MN's own Scott Jurek from CNN

Grand Canyon R2R2R

Well this year is going to be the year I finally get to run the Grand Canyon R2R2R run. My good buddy Paul has been trying to get me to do this for years. So for my first "event" as a 40 year old masters runner I will be going to do this run with Paul and like 10 others from our running group in May. I can not wait till then and I am super excited to do this run I have always dreamed of doing. As I have always said my running can take me to many beautiful places in this world. I know this will also be a great training trip for my upcoming Black Hills 100 mile in late June. Now if May could just get hear a bit quicker!!!

A little update on training. So far 2011 has been a good one. I have run 10 of the 11 days so far. I have been feeling pretty good as well. I have run two speed sessions which have been good and fun. It is just fun to turn the legs over a bit in shorts after slogging away in the snow day in day out. I also had a great long run with the guys last Saturday morning. Man we had like 14 guys running 20 miles ( some longer) at a dark and cold 6am start!! How cool. I also have been enjoying running some fun mt bike and snow shoe trails as well. There is nothing like making your way through the snowy woods on a packed down snow trail. Funny how the trail looks so different than in the summer. You see things you do not see just because of the snow. Enjoy the miles people.

Top Songs of 2010

Ok so I know that I have been real tardy with the blog posting as of late. Sorry!! I guess with all the holiday craziness mixed in with car shopping and my sons and step-daughters being in a all weekend play I have been short on time.

So every year I love to post my top 10 albums of the year here. Well this year I am going to do something different and post my top 10 songs and then my top 3 albums. As anyone who has seen me out on the trail/road would know I am big into running with my ipod. Lets just say I have lots of time to think about what songs are making me groove down the path. So here they are.

Songs:

10. O.N.E- Yeasayre

9. That Western Skyline- Dawes

8. Rolling in the Deep- Adele

7. Howlin for You- The Black Keys

6. Xxxo- MIA

5. Jawbreaker- The Dead Weather

4. Your Hands (together)- The New Pornographers

3. Down by the Water- The Decemberists

2. The Cave- Mumford & Sons

1. The Catalyst- Linkin Park ( man my pace goes like 30+ sec per mile faster )per

Albums:

3. Brothers- The Black Keys

2. The Suburbs- Arcade Fire

1. A Thousand Suns- Linkin Park ( love every song, plus some different type songs for them!! )