New week a few more runs

Not much to report this week. I got in a few nice run and felt pretty good overall. With the holiday and all it was a little more crazy than normal let just say.

I did get to run with a few good friends. Patrick "PR" Russell and I got in a short run. I met his part of the way during his run. It was great to see him and check in. I guess they have like 70 inches of snow up in the UP of Michigan already !! I only wish I was able to go longer so I had more time to talk. I guess next time. Maybe if all goes well I might head up to see him and get in some great snowshoe running.

I also got in a nice run with Paul down on the river bottoms. The trail was in pretty good shape and the screws in the shoes worked great. It was Paul's first run in some time as his foot get better. We had some post run coffee so that was nice as well. We figured hell normally we run 2+ hours every Sunday so we get that time even if we just run 4+ miles.

During coffee we talked about doing more weights and cross training this year. We that in mind I hope to start in on Monday with some of this.

Also got a Leadville 100 trail run entry in the mail yesterday. Is that a sign ? We will see.

A Start I Guess

SO I got out this morning for my first run. Man nothing like starting out once more when it is -8 and -28 windchill outside !!! I will have to say it was nice to be out there once more. Kind of like a supper nice Christmas present to myself. I did find it funny that It might have taken me longer to get all dressed as such than my run. I just ran the 1 mile down to the lake and back. I figured it was a good run to do since that is where I did my first run post surgery last year as well. It took me just over 15 mins to get in my 2 miles. Heck I felt like I was moving super slow and easy and still ended up at like 7:30 pace or so. I guess I might not have lost as much as I thought ? I think I will see for real when I try to go for a longer run. Day 1 down people !!!

Great girls xc race

So last weekend was the Foot Locker H.S. cross country champs. I love this race and look forward to it each year. It has been fun to see people like Ryan Hall, and Deena Kastor run this as a high school runner. This years girls race was great !!! Check it out.

It's a green light !!

Today I went to see the doctor for my first check up after surgery. It will be 2 weeks tomorrow since I went under the knife. I have been feeling pretty good each day. I am still pretty sore where I got cut but I am told that is normal. I guess I kind of remember feeling sore like this last year as well. I was thinking Saturday would be the first run of the comeback. Maybe a big old mile or two !!! But in true Kurt fashion I had something go wrong and ended up getting in a big 1/2 mile tonight in my jeans.

While picking up Evan at daycare which is like 1/4 mile from home Summer was sleeping in the car. I left it running so she would stay warm and then lock the doors to keep her safe while I got Evan inside with the idea of knocking on the window to have her let us in. Well one problem she was sound asleep with her ipod playing music in her ears. I knocked so many time on the window real hard I was thinking I was going to break the window. Sound sleeper huh.

So it was then I picked up Evan and ran with him in my arms to the house. At this point I left him with Sonya and ran back to the car with a spare key. When I opened the door Summer woke up !!! Man what a night. It was fun to feel like a runner even if it was only like a 1/2 mile or so.

Kurts Top albums of 2008

So since I have so much extra time on my hands I thought it was time to put together my top picks for 2008 in no particular order.

Blitzen Trapper- Furr
Kings of Leon- Only by the Night
The Hold Steady- Stay Positive
Ryan Adams- Cardinology
Mike Doughty- Golden Delicious
The Raconteurs- Consolers of the Lonley
Old 97's- Blame it on Gravity
R.E.M- Accelerate
Dead Confederate- Wrecking Ball
Mason Jennings- In the Ever
Metallica- Death Magnetic
Bloc Party- Intimacy

ok this is funny

So I really like watching SNL. I think the group they have going now is real good together. One thing I do when I do not get to watch it is go to there web page and watch there skit's online. Now I found this one very funny. Glad I miss it as I am sure my stitches would have come out after my surgery.



It is up there with this one...

To do or not to do ?

So one of the things I have been thinking about as of late is the great question of do I go back to Leadville 100 in 2009 or choose a different one and go back some other year. This is my dilemma.

One one hand I really would like to go back and try to rock this course out and in my mind get a little pay back. It is a great part of the country so that is a plus. The course is very pretty so that is cool. There is great history as far as the race goes.

One the other hand I do kind of feel that a race like the Leadville 100 for someone like me being from MN in a no win situation. You can train so hard and be in great shape and simple get out there and not perform at your best because of the great elevation difference of where I am from. I have read many posts on the web from other runners thinking the same thing as well. Maybe that is one reason when looking at the results each year like 80% of the top 100 or so are from Colorado. That is a tuff one to swallow knowing that you will most likely be beat to the finish by many people who are not as good of runner as you. So one thought is hell just wait and go back when all you care about is a finish and not racing to the fastest time possible.

So I know that I will do Leadville but the question is do it now or in the future ? I really feel torn. So let me know what you would do. Vote on the new poll I set up on the side bar and tell me what you think.

Alive and kind of kickin

Well I made it !! I know it had only been a year since last years surgery but man I forgot how much it can hurt in your mid-section. I am sure the good 4 inch incision has something to do with that. Plus get this I ended up having double hernia surgery. While in there to fix my left side sports hernia the good doctor found a normal hernia up inside me as well. So I got twice as much mesh as I thought I would get !! Better now that later. I am hoping to be done with all this hernia surgery stuff.

All in all I have been doing good with the help of my great wife Sonya, the world best nurse and some good post surgery drugs. I have been laying low, sleeping and watching many movies as I rest up. I am pretty sick of watching T.V. for now. In fact I have been spending my time thinking about how to attack next years running season. Nothing like having the thing you love taken away to spur you on to wanting to get after it in full force. Plus with this great snow falling each day it makes me want to get out there so bad. I love running in the fresh snow.

Well I just wanted to check in and say hi and tell you all to enjoy your running !! I hope to be at it soon.

Minnesota Music- Soul Asylum & Trip Shakespeare

Since I am not sure if I will be able to blog much for the next week or so and I am having so much fun going down memory lane and looking up some of my favorite local bands of the past. I for one will say the music scene in this state is great. I could go on forever about all the greats past and present like the Suburbs, Prince, Gear Daddies, Low, Arcwelder, Tapes and Tapes, Mason Jennings and on and on.

But for today I would like to talk about two great's that I for one had so much fun going to see them play live time after time during high school and the years after. I would have to guess between these two band I have seen them like 50+ times for sure. Heck I can think of one week back in 1989 that I saw Soul Asylum 3 times !!

Soul Asylum was a great live band that played hard every night out. To me they where like the next go around of bands like the Replacements and Husker Du. For most people they think of songs like Runaway Train, but for me I loved all the stuff before that time the most. Albums like Made to be Broken and Out of Time are classics. These guys are still playing around some which is cool. It has been years but I hope to see them once more in the future.



Trip Shakespeare was a fun kind of quirky band. I loved seeing these guys because they where so funny. Matt Wilson made me crack up all the time. After there first album Matt's brother Dan joined the band. Some know of Dan from the band Semesonic or his writing of songs with the Dixie Chicks. Dan is a great song writer as well but I always like Matt better during these years.

Last Call

Well this morning I got in my final run pre surgery. While I was a sad to knowing I could not run for a few weeks now I was reminded that this is a good thing as I ran every step of that run with this nice pain in my gut. Plus not to mention it was like 6 degrees outside windchill wise. I guess I will just have to wait to run in this " fun " weather a little while longer. I ended up with a good 5 mile run and a big 15 miles for the week on three runs. Thanks to Nick for meeting me for part of this run. It is always nice to get out and head to the lake knowing Nick will meet me just a few miles into the run. Got to love running with friends. Take care and see you all soon.

Minnesota music- The Jayhawks

This week I wanted to share some video's of the great Jayhawks. Man these guys are good. While I like the rockin type of music alot I am a sucked for some great Singer/songwriter type of stuff as well. Now to me I would say there was two different times with the Jayhawks. The first being with singer Mark Olson in the band trading lines with Gary and the years after Mark left the band and Gary did all the singing. Both great but in some way different. I think with Mark the band had a more country type feel to it at times. I saw these guys many times over the years and every time I loved them. A few years ago for New Years Eve Sonya and I saw them at the 400 club play a great " suprize " show. I have even heard that they might all get back togeather soon ? I hope so. I would also suggest looking into there solo records as well.

First with Mark


Now the years after with Gary leading

Sunday with my honey

After the great Afton Fat Ass yesterday I got out today for a run with Sonya. I figured it might be my last chance to run with her for a few weeks so I jumped on the chance.

I was not sure how I would feel, but all in all I was good. Toward the end of our 1:35 / 12+ mile run I was a little stiff but nothing to much. It was funny to run on some snow after the nice dry trail run yesterday.

After the run I had the pleasure of setting up Evan's first BIG BOY bed !!! He loved it which was cool. It was a little sad taking down the crib though.

My week of running ended up something around 40-45 miles ? on 4 days of running.

I want to run free !!!

So as I sit here and think about why I run and what I hope to do in the future all I can think about is how free I can feel running. It is a great feeling and one where I feel one with the world around me. I am hopeful to be free once more after I heel up after the surgery. I thought I would share these video's of Karl Meltzer. They make me want to go run this very moment as I see them. Enjoy !!

Afton Fat Ass trail run

This morning I went out to Afton State Park for a little Fat Ass trail run with a few people. It was a great day weather wise outside for this late in November. What was nice also was that I got to meet a few new people as well as meet a few people I have talked to via blog land. As I ran/ hiked the crazy deer trails not the normal running ones I was happy to be feeling good. I was also reminded one of the biggest reason I run these things. It is for the relationships you can have with your fellow runners. It is truly a great thing !!! All in all it was a great 3 1/2 hours of running for the day. I am looking forward to next Friday and getting this sports hernia done with and get on the road to recovery.

P.S. the topper to the day was Sonya and I taking Evan to the Madagascar 2 movie. It was his first movie ever. Fun Fun !!!

Much to give thanks about

Well I do not know about you all but I am stuffed full of LOTS of food !!! Man I think I ate enough for like 3 people over the last few days. Did anyone say more pie ?

On a different note Sonya and I ran with all the kids down at the big downtown Turkey Trot 5k. I would say we all had fun with like 10,000+ of our fellow Minnesota folks. It was Summer's first 5k ever !! I was very proud of her given she runs like 1-2 days a week at most. She never goes more than like 1 1/2 miles at a time as well. Kyra who has done two other 5k run this fall decided to run with Summer which I thought was cool of her. Evan as well rode along for his first 5k. I think we got in just under 40 min's in like 39:40. Not bad with a few walk breaks mixed in.

I am very luck to have my family and I know it !!!

Minnesota music #2 "The Replacements "

So this weeks band is the Replacements. I know the last weeks band was just put up yesterday but heck it is Monday the start of a new week !!

Just like Husker Du, The Replacements are a band that broke ground for many future rock bands all around the country not just in MN. Paul Westerburg has gone on to have many good solo albums and Tommy Stinston believe it or not is in the "new" Guns and Roses. Chris Mars put out a few good albums as well. Bob died many many years ago. I have heard rumors that there could be a reunion tour sometime ? I will not hold my breath. I try to think about a time when both these guys and the Huskers where playing live every week in town. That must have been great.

Minnesota music part 1 " Husker Du "

So I wanted to start a weekly post on great bands from MN. I feel really lucky to live in a city that has such a great music seane. This weeks band is one of my all time favorites, Husker Du !! I would bet more people know of Bob Mould's solo stuff or his band Sugar from back in the 90's. But durning the 80's these guys laid the ground work for many of today's great rock bands.

Fun morning of trails

Got out this morning down on the MN river bottoms with Adam, Paul ( on bike ) and the dogs for a little time on the trails. So with deer hunting season still going on in the city for a week or so more we figured we would be safe down there. Paul who has been biking allot on his cycle cross bike since he is resting with a stress fractor in his foot has been on the river bottoms down in Shakapee towards Jordan and seen lots of hunters. Yikes !! I was not up for there.

Adam and I had on our great bright orange New Balance winter wind tops. I guess we both where thinking if we get shot in this they where trying to hit us. It was great to have Paul with us even though I new he was not going to be getting a killer workout biking with us running. It just feels good to have your friends out there with you.

As for the run itself I was really feeling the sports hernia today. Man it was sore from the get go. I am sure part of it was because I ran with Adam last night after work. It tends to hurt more when I put in back to back days. Exspecialy when I keep up a solid pace, which is what we did. I do like days like that so I will take the pain. Just 12 days till surgery !! I am looking forward to turning the page.

The week on a whole was much like the past 2 weeks. I got in like 35 miles in 5 days of running. Nothing big but something to keep me going. I think I am going to start getting back to my weights today and hope to keep them up all year long.

Races for 2009 ?

So I figure with this down time before my sports hernia surgery on Dec 5th I should start thinking about what I would like to do race wise in 2009. Maybe that would give me something to look forward to while I heel up for a few weeks. I hope things go like last time I had this done and I should be back at full strengh by Feb 1st 2009. That being said there was a few early races that are now gone off the list and I am going to lay off anything longer than 50k till like May or so.

This is a few of the races I am kicking around. Let me know what you think I should do. I know I can not do them all but I am looking at what to connect up for a good season of races. I plan to go back to my old training with much more speed work mixed in every week with some great LONG LONG runs !!!

One thing is certain. With the girls starting to run more and with Evan's skill with the headlap. I will have some good pacers out there with me.

March- Human Race 8k

April- The Chip 50k, Get in Gear 10k

May- Ice Age 50 mile, New Prague 1/2 marathon, Brian Kraft 5k

June- Kettle Moraine 100k, Fans 12 or 24 hour run, Grandma's marathon

July- Afton 50k, Half Voyageur marathon, Lumberjack Days 10 mile, Voyageur 50 miler

August- Leadville 100 mile, Mdra 15k, Trans Rockies stage race

September- City of lakes 25k, Victory 10k

October- Twin Cities marathon, Fall 50 miler

November- Surf the murph 50k, JFK 50 miler, New York City marathon

December- Sunmart 50 miler

Lawn fun with Evan

So looking at my blog today I can see I was asleep writing it. Sorry !! Not that I am the best writer to start with but man that was bad.

Yesterday was leaf pick up day at the Deckers. Evan was great. Man that kid loves to help out. It was lot's of fun with him out there. But as you will also see all that work made him very sleepy. He slept while I got his coat etc on and all 10 miles of our run plus 30 more min's after in side. The boy sleeps like me also. He sleeps hard !!

Edge Beer cup / take #2

** Take two. You could tell looking at my first post on this I was half asleep. Sorry !! I think this should read better. Also for those wanting to know what my Edge beer cup is it is a relay with two runners. Each person alternates drinking a beer then running a 1/4 mile till each person has done 4 beers and run 1 mile. It is crazy fun.

So this weekend was a good one. On Saturday morning Sonya and Evan went out to the Chaska Cross Country Turkey Day 5k race with Kyra. Paul sat with Evan while Sonya and Paul's daughter Amy ran with Kyra. She did it in like 30:30 for her second 5k race ever. I meant so much to Kyra to have Amy run with her !!!

Saturday was also the 4th Edge Beer cup relays at our house. Dave Help was by numbers sake the first runner done, but many of us thought of Sonya and Josh Moen of team usa MN won. Sonya's team was second overall ( Dave ran as a solo with Liz doing the drinking of the partner and Sean doing the running ) but the first real team with two runners. My hat's off to Dave and Liz/Sean but it is still not the same. Nick and I where next,which was great with us !!! Here are a few pictures and the results.

( A total of 8 beers and two miles run for each team )
1st A. Dave and Liz/Sean 17:54
1st B. Sonya and Josh 18:04
2nd Nick and Me 18:35
3rd Karl and Ward 31:42
4th Kevin and Jeff 31:54

So since I last wrote on here I have found out that yes indeed I have to have sports hernia surgery. This time on my left side. Last Thursday I was given the good news. So Dec 5th I get to get cut up once more. I can only hope it goes as well as last year. At first I was a bit pissed off as I new my year was done for the most part. But in the last day or so I have gotten back to my know that this is going to be the best option. That option being this will help me move forward in my running. I have had a ok week since. I belive I got in like 35- 40 miles for the week. I hope to keep it easy over all till the surgery, but continue to run 5 or 6 days a week. So wish me luck !!!

2008 ING New York City Marathon

So last weekend was the NYC marathon. My buddy and boss Adam Lindahl ran a 2:50 marathon PR off just 8 weeks of running coming from 0 miles per week before !! Also our friends Katie McGreggor and Jason Lehmkuhle ran good as well. Jason was 6th place and Katie was 10 place woman. You can watch the entire race on Universal Sports here. Enjoy !!!

Monday I was able to get into my doctor to look more into what I am thinking it the starting of a sports hernia. Dr. Lang checked me out and going along with what I thought would happen he said I should make a appointment with the doctor who did my other sports hernia surgery last year Dr. Pierce. Go figure I knew this. But the best part is I have to take off some time from work pay the $20 co-pay just to now know I need to do what I wanted to do in the first place. This is one way we all could save on medical cost that is for sure. So Monday I will be calling Dr Pierce and see when I can get in.

I am happy to report that I have been feeling better down there as of late. Now I have not pushed it real hard which is when it flairs up the worst. I guess I will just have to wait and see.

I have gotten out each day so far this week. Getting in some runs with Sonya and with Nick as well. We are heading down to Chicago with the family tomorrow to meet up with Family from Pittsburgh. Should be fun.

Where to start

So it has been a few weeks since my last blog post. There has been much going on in my life. For one life is always crazy and changing for all the parents out there. That is for sure the case for Sonya and I with the 3 kids. Sonya and I like to think of it " organize cahoas ". My running has been pretty good overall with a few days in there where I really felt like I was making a nice jump in fitness, but more on that later. We also had a great Halloween and Sonya had a good time at the Surf the Murph 50k. She was the second woman in I think like 5:25 ?? Not to bad I thought since she does not like running downhills, ex specially ones with all the fallen leaves on them to hide the rocks, etc. I actually thought it was a big steep forward for her to want to try something like this that was going to take her out of her comfort zone so much. Nice job Sonya !!! Also nice job to the people who put on the race as it was first class and one I hope is around for a long time to come.

Now back to fill you in on my running. Like I said it has been pretty good overall. I have had many more good days than bad. I have felt pretty good running between 60 and 70 miles per week the last 2 weeks. I have had a few good 20 mile runs in that time and a few great hilly tempo runs. One thing that has been a problem as of late has been that I feel like might be getting a sports hernia now on my left side. One year ago this week I had the surgery on my right side and that worked great. At the time they felt like my left side was pretty good so we left it alone. Well now I sit here 1 year later maybe in the same boat. Man I am upset about this !! I am going to make a appointment with my doctor this week to see what they think. In the mean time I will continue to do what I have been doing till I know what I will next be doing.

I hope to get better at blogging more often but life on the computer has been a slow going as of late. When I only have a short window each night I seem to rather look up what everyone else is doing that write about me. Keep enjoying the great weather people !!! I love the fall.

Team USA MN video

For those who would like to see a nice video on a few of the Team USA MN guys doing there last hard workout before TCM Go to the link. I found it great to see.

Week in Review

So I thought I would do a little week in review from last week. Overall it was a good week. I had a few real good runs. I have been feeling pretty solid overall with most of my runs feeling at a solid pace. Other than that not much to report.

Monday 10/6- Ran from home before work. I ran in the Newtons and boy did I feel fast. Maybe it was just good to get out. 5 miles

Tuesday 10/7- Ran after work down by the lakes and up the parkway. Once more felt good/ easy and fast. I wear my heart monitor everyday so I do not over do it. I kept it at like 140 bpm for most of the run. I like to keep it around that most days. I think I will go in the winter and have my MAX Vo2 and such tested. That is something Paul and I have been talking about both doing. Towards the end of the run I did a quick stop by Kyra's soccer game. Go Kenny Park !!! 8 miles

Wednesday 10/8- Ran before work out at Hyland. I felt real good and the weather was great. Fall running is so great !!! I wanted to run the hills hard and felt like I did that. Solid loop. 9 miles

Thursday 10/9- I got out after Evan's daycare pot luck dinner. It was great to see all the kids and parents from St John's and have some food. Evan liked showing us more of his friends. Plus the book fair was big for him. I did Nick and my tangeltown hill loop. I was doing good on the climbs !! 8 miles

Friday 10/10- Ran in the morning with Sonya and Evan. It was a nice and easy loop around Lake Harriet. 5 miles

Saturday 10/11- Ran before work from home. Did the normal lakes loop. I felt pretty good. Saw Katie McGreggor and some other Team USA gal's out on their run. 7 miles

Sunday 10/12- I met Paul out at Hyland for a early 6am start time run. We got in a good 9 miles + loop before Sonya hooked up with us. From there we did one more loop for a solid 18-19 miles day. I felt very good. It was great to run with Paul and Sonya !! After the run we went to a special memorial spin class for Sonya's mom. Man two hours of spinning after that run was tuff. I was very cashed out the rest of the day. 18+ miles running & 2 hours of spinning for the day.

Week totals where pretty good= 62 miles

Congrat's to MATTY G

Just wanted to say way to go to my buddy Matt Gabrielson who was second at last weekend Twin Cities Marathon !!! Also nice job to Josh and Lundo as well with there top 20 races as well.

I also want to say creat job to my wife Sonya who ran 3:08 once aging. I know she was bumbed about this but giving everything else I was proud of her !!

Man has it been awhile

So I know it has been awhile since the last post. Sorry blogging has not been on the top of my list as of late. More on that later. Now let me catch you up on things with me I guess......

Well where I left things like over a week and a half ago was good. Two weekends ago was a great weekend of running. I got in a super great hard cranking run agter work at Hyland Park. Now I knew I had a long run the next morning with Paul but it just felt to good to fly on the trails. I was attacking them. It has been some time since I felt like I was attacking the run. I got in a 56 min loop which normaly takes me like 1 hour 10 mins or so on a good day. My great tunes help cary me on this run. Man nothing like a little Rage against the machine to fuel the fire !!!!

Sundays run did prove to be harder after the run the day before but it was also so sweat. I ran with Paul and his dog Sunshine for a 23 miler down on the river bottoms. Nick ran the first 4.5 miles with us which was nice as well. On this run Paul and I kept the pace hot. On the way back we knew this was going to be a very solid run in both distance and in pace. Hell at one point on the longest climb on the trail I even got my heart rate up to 170. All in all a good run as I ended up with like 63 miles for the week.

Last week was very different. As I was doing my best to help Sonya get ready for TCM I knew I might need to scale back some. Plus after last week that might be a good idea. But much to my unhappiness about it all I found myself in one more of my weeks from hell running wise. One of the weeks where I feel depressed about my running and having the feeling of just not wanting to do it at all. As much as I hate feeling like this I wonder if I might be better for it in the end ? I do know that my Leadville run is just part of my problem. I feel like I need to find a way to get back to being that guy who just like 3 years ago ran 3:42 at Trail mix and a 16:08 100 miler at Fans just 5 days after running a solid sub 17 min 5k. What I need to do I do not know just yet but I look foward to never giving up and trying to find out what that "thing" is. In the end I thing I got in like 30 miles of running in like 4 runs.

Speeding along the parkway

Today I got out in the morning with Sonya and Evan in the jogger. Sonya had to do a easy run with 10x 1min on and 1 min off in the middle of it. She is in the taper mode for the upcoming Twin Cities Marathon so she is trying to stay fresh and get in a little quick turnover. Evan and I decided to join in with her. We ran down to the parkway and then headed towards Lake Nakomis. After a 20 min warm up we started in on the pick ups. I felt really good since I was pushing the jogger for them. I was using my Newton shoes once more today. I have never done any speed work in them. They felt good since they got me so much up on the forefoot. I think both Sonya and I felt good about the run. We ended u running like 7 miles in 54 mins and I kept my ave heart rate at 122. This has been a nice few days of running.

Tuesday with Sonya

After a very easy day of just 2 1/2 miles with my step-daughter Kyra after work in a light rain I was more than ready for more favorite things in the world to do. That thing would be get to run with my wife Sonya !! With her having Tuesdays off from work and with me not starting till noon we tend to get a run in together more days than not on Tuesdays. Today's run started a bit later as Sonya wanted to go to a parents meeting in the morning at our son Evan's daycare. Once we got a going we headed for the lakes like normal. We decide to take the cut trough in the rose gardens since Evan likes seeing all the pretty flowers. It is so cute to hear him say pretty flowers. From there it was up kings highway and then down to Lake Calhoun. Once we got to Calhoun it was funny because we where saying how it sure would be nice to have a breeze to feel cooler. Not 2 min's later man did the wind pick up. We both could not help but laugh about that. From this point it was a easy loop around both lakes and back home so I could go to work. At the end of the run Sonya had some stride outs to do so Evan and I joined in on the fun. Man was that tuff pushing the jogger and sprinting. I guess it will make tomorrows run with 10x1 min pick ups feel good. Over all a great run. We got in like 9 miles and I had a ave heart rate of 128.

Clicking Along

I would say it was a pretty good weekend of running. I was not sure what the weekend would bring after cranking my ankle so bad on Friday but it worked out pretty good.

The run on Saturday was not exactly what I was hoping in all ways but turned out to be great in a different way. I was thinking I would go run the river bottoms early in the morning and then go straight to work and shower there. Well when the alarm went off it was mighty hard to get up. Plus Sonya was going to run the Bolder Dash 5k and for some reason Evan was up much earier than normal. I knew Kyra was going to be with him so I wanted to help get things in line. This gave me less time then planned so I turned to plan B. I put on a new pair of the Nike Lunar trainer shoes I just got and went out for a 6 mile "up tempo" run. I started out easy the first mile till I got to the parkway then picked it up little by little. Once I made it the two miles to the lake I picked it up some more. Man I felt fast and easy all at the same time. I have not run a run like this for awhile. It was good to crank it out !! On the way back to the house I took it easy the last mile. I think I ended up with like 4 miles of tempo work. The ankle felt good also !!

Sundays run seem to come much earlier than the 7:30am start I had with Paul. We went to Lebanon Hills park to run for a change. Man what a park !!! I do not know why we have not run more there this year ? My ankle was very tight the first 30 min's of the run, but then got much better. For awhile I thought I would have to shut it down early. I am sure the uneven trail did not help much. One thing that was nice today was that Paul and I kept the pace nice and solid. It felt good to work things out on the trail like that with my buddy. We ened up doing just over 2 1/2 hours for what I thought was a solid 20 miles. What was best was the fact we only crossed over parts of the same trails. Great run !! Today's run was in my new Inov-8 f-lite 300 shoes. Pretty nice.

I ened up with 52 miles on 6 days. Not bad as I work my way back to normal weeks of 70 miles every week. To do this I will need to get rid of these 5 and 6 mile days and get back to like 7-8 miles each run with a good 10-13 mile midweek run. Just got to keep cracking the whip.

Looking towards the weekend

* More Pictures from our trip to Leadville,CO.

It is looking like we are going to have a good weather weekend for some trail running in the Twin Cities, that makes me very excited to get after it. I had a good run this morning with Joe Z and the boys out at Hyland Park. It had been a long time since I was able to drag myself out of bed to make it there by the 6am start time. After getting a no run day yesterday I was ready to roll. I had hoped to not miss yesterday but I guess that happens with 3 kids huh. One thing I forgot going into today's run was that it is still very dark at 6am. Thank god I had my Petzal Tika headlamp in the car. As we got going I was up in the front talking with a few guys as we made our way up to the top of the ski hill. On the top of the hill they have recently put down some new gravel. It is great to run on but as my right ankle found out there can sometimes be some big rocks hanging out as well. I could not believe how bad it hurt. I felt my ankle bone hit the outside of the ground to give you a idea how bad it rolled over. I walked/ jogged it off for a little while. I was not sure if I should keep going but decided I would give it a shot. After a mile or so I could feel my ankle start to losses up a little so I was able to finish up the run with the guys. In some ways I think pushing on might have helped it out some ? Kept it loose ? Either way it was nice to run with the guys and trade stories. It sounds like a few of them might run the new Surf the Murph 50k as well. I think all in all it was like a 1:07 run so I am guessing like 8 miles or so ?

Midweek update 9/16/08

** I love this picture of Evan and his crazy dog Finny.


Well the first 3 days of this week have been different. Coming off such a good weekend of running I had the hardest time on my run Monday morning. I had a few hours before I had to be at work after dropping Summer off at school. With that time I thought I would kill a hour or so at Hyland. Man the first 15 minuets was great then it came to a quick stop. I am not sure what happen but it was like I was a plug in machine and the power plug gets pulled from the wall. All I could do was walk. As I walked I tried to think about what I did. Now one thing might be the fact that I was coming off my longest run by like a hour the day before in my post Leadville life. The other I thought was the fact I had my huge coffee while driving Summer to school. Either way it was very tuff. I ended up being able to run part of the way back to get in a big old 4 miles.

Tuesday was a much better day. Not only do I get to spend time with Sonya in the morning these days since she is off work this day every week. But we get to normally run together. We went out with Evan pushing the jogger around the lakes and parkway. What a difference a day makes. I felt super good. I also was running for the second time in my new Newton shoes. They are great !!! I think all said in done I got in like a solid 7 miles in 52 min's. I was so happy with things since I felt so much better.

Wednesday was also a great day. I went to French Park and ran my normal hilly 6 mile loop. I was very strong on the uphills and got up to 6:10 pace on a few flats where I tried to open it up some and see how I felt. I knew I was running fast but was excited that it felt so easy. Now if I can keep this up a few more days till my long run on Sunday with Paul. I think we are doing like 3+ hours. Should be a good test to see what I race next. As of now I am leaning toward the new Surf the Murph 50k on Nov 1st. That will give me a extra week over Fall 50 miler and the North Face 50 miler. That seems like the best option since it is so close to home.

Great weekend of running

Man I had a nice weekend of running !! I was really hoping this would happen. I ran on Saturday after work from work. It was a nice day at the shop and after a whole day of raining it felt pretty good outside when it was time to run. I was also excited because I was going to be running in my new pair of Newton running shoes. We just got these into the store in the last month. We are one of like 40 stores in the whole country to get them to sell. For those who have not heard of Newton, they are the shoe company with extra forefoot padding to help get you up running more midfoot. You should check them out. Now back to the run..... It was a little different at first but I felt myself getting used to it about half way thru the run. I think these will be fun to run in over time. I ended up running like 6 miles in like 42 min's. After my run I headed home for a great night of fun with the family, and a little night time of watching SNL with Sonya.

Sundays run was even better than I could have hoped. My Mom was helping us out with the kids so Sonya was able to join Paul and I for a super nice trail run at Hyland Park. Paul and I were looking to move up to like 2 1/2 hours and I knew Sonya would be up for that. We made our way around the park and I felt pretty good. Other than a 10 min stretch I was happy with the run. I even added on like 15 more min's with Sonya as she was looking for 3 hours. Man is she tuff. I think I am going to try and hit the trails before work tomorrow for a easy 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Should be fun !!!

Bad Back/ Best way to blog ?

This week has been pretty much a wash running wise. Man I got up on Monday to take Evan to his daycare and as we where leaving I bent down to get something and my back went wacky on me. It really sucked all day Monday and seemed a bit better on Tuesday. On Tuesday night I got in a short easy 5 miles. It was funny how my back felt better running ? I guess that was good. Wednesday it felt a bit better but I ended up taking the day off anyway. Thursday and Friday I got in a hour each day which was good. I felt like I could run way farther but took the "taking it easy" route instead. The back is still a pain but I guess if it does not hurt running I will keep with it.

This last week I also have been thinking about my blog. Part of me thinks it makes a better blog when I write daily about what's going on and what I ran or did not run. Maybe it keeps me more honest ? Keeps me with keeping my nose to the grindstone. I guess I do not have the answer. All I know is that I like sharing my running life with people so I will keep it going one way or another.

Also I heard today that there is going to be a 25/50k trail race at Murphy on Nov 1st. That should be a fun and hilly run. Maybe something to check out. There will be info on the race on Ultrarunning web site.

Getting better in a way

I can not believe it has been 3 weeks since Leadville. I have been sticking with my plan of every other day with some back to back days. Most runs have been like 8-10 miles. For the most part it has been good like I was saying before in a post. I still have been a bit gun shy of going much farther than 1 1/2 hours. My right knee is still sore a bit.

I did not end up going up north to pace Adam out after thinking long and hard about what is best for my body. My mind wanted big time to do it but my mind also knew it would be good to keep taking it easy. I believe so many people fall into the trap of over doing it. They live very much in the moment with racing. I feel for myself feel like that can be a bad idea. I hope to race hard and good for many years. Heck so far I have been blessed with 23+ years of good running. I am hoping this decision will pay off with lot's of good racing ahead of me for many years. In the short term I hope to try a 2 hour run this week. If all goes well the next two weeks I might give the North Face 50 mile race down in Madison, WI a go at the end of October. If not I might look at Sunmart 50 mile in December. It would be good to have 1 more race in this year before there is a ton of snow.

My weekend was highlighted by getting to run on Saturday with my buddy Pat Russell one more time before he is off to the U.P. of Michigan next week, then I got to run with Paul and Evan down at the lakes and cheer on Sonya at the City of Lakes 25k. She was like 7th overall and 2nd master runner. She was not to happy since she was like 2+ min's slower than last year. I thought she looked pretty good !!! Next up for her is TC marathon.

Good job to all who ran also this weekend up at Superior 50 and 100 miler. Lot's of good times I hear but also sorry to Adam, Wynn, Duke, Carl, and the Quick man who saw there days end early.

Two weeks out, running update

So it has been two weeks since Leadville. In some ways it seems longer and in other ways not long enough. I have been taking it pretty easy all in all. Today I had my first run with Paul since Leadville. It was nice to run with him and talk about things with the race. I think he feels alot like me with this empty feeling. Like we need to do more because we did not do enough.

I felt pretty good over all on the run. We ran for 1 hour 20 min's at Hyland. It was great to hit the dirt. My right knee was still a bit sore but nothing to bad. Tomorrow I am running down on the Victory memorial drive while Sonya runs the 10k. Should be fun.

State Fair Fun

I took the kids to the state fair today. We as a family tend to like going to the fair each year. Many years we go more than once !! This year was a two timer for me and Evan. We went with Mom once then today took the girls (the baba's as Evan calls them) as well. We had a great day for a 6 hour day at the fair. Not to hot with a light breeze. We ate lot's of food and Evan got to see ton's of animals.

Thanks for the feedback

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the feedback from my Leadville 100 post race post. I always find it nice to hear different peoples viewpoints and such.

So for a running update I do not have much to report. I have run a few times and will say my body feels pretty good overall. My right knee has been a bit sore but I think everything will be ok. I have been running every other day for a week now. I have been getting 8-9 miles on each run. I look to step it up this weekend some maybe like 12-15 miles. My goal is to make it up north so I can help pace my buddy Adam Harmer at the SHT 100. It will be his first 100 mile race !! Adam is a great example of what the world of blogging can do. I first met him on this blog then got to know him as a great customer of TC Running Company.

Random pictures from trip

This is a few of my favorite pictures from our trip out to Leadville,CO this year. We went out via Mt. Rushmore, then on to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Leadville 100 2008, What ?

I have been back for 3 days so far and I am still trying to come to grips with my feelings about the race. For one I will say it is truly a classic in the world of ultra running, heck I would even say a classic in all running. When you ask people if they have ever heard of ultra running both Western States and Leadville will be what comes to mind for them. In doing Western States 100 mile trail run back in 2003 I was very focused on knocking Leadville off my list of things to do. Maybe that is what makes it so hard to except how it ended for me. This is my race story.

The day started at 3am. With a 4am start time I did not end up with a ton a sleep. We got to the start with temps in the low 30's and light rain. After we got going in the race for about 2 miles the rain stoped and heck it seemed very nice. It was fun running with my friends Steve and Paul. Paul and I had trained for this race all year together Knocking out many long runs and lot's of hill repeats along the way.

At the begging of the race I was feeling great !! We got to the first aid station and I was super happy to see my wife Sonya and my brothers. I got in and out very quickly and started off to the first big climb up Sugarloaf pass which is just over 11,000 feet.

Going up the mountain we got to run in some mix of rain and light snow. I have never run in snow in mid August. We next got into the aid station Fish Hatchery at mile 23.5 and it was pouring rain once more. Not what I was hoping for but I was dealing with it.

I was still feeling good as we next made our way back up to like 10,500 feet before drooping down to 9,500 at the Twin Lakes aid station, mile 39.5. At that point I was doing great, feeling great and was in 57th place. We got into our cold weather stuff as we were told in would be cold on top of the next mountain, Hope pass which tops out at 12,600 feet !!!

I can not tell you what it feels like to make your way up this beast. To make things worse we got pounded with hail and snow on the way up. At the top you can't believe you eyes. It is so crazy to look around. I tried not to do much looking around as I was very light headed at the time. I believe this had more to do with needing more food in my body. Coming down on the back side is not much easier as you can imagine trying to run down something so steep.

As I got to the 50 mile mark and the turn around point of the race I was happy to see my family, but thinking I might feel like stopping as I was now off my goal time pace. I cam into the Winfield station at 11 hours 33 min's. About 1+ hour slower than I was shooting for. Not to mention I was now 103rd place. I had 46 people pass me on the last 10 miles during that climb. That sucked. But lucky for me Sonya jumped in to help me over the top of the mountain. Thank God !!

The next 10 miles up and back over Hope Pass was not to bad now that I had Sonya with me. I was feeling better and happy to have her with me. Even though I still wanted to stop by the end of this section I was enjoying my time with my wife. Maybe things would turn for me ?

Durning the next 10 miles from Twin Lakes back to Halfmoon things sure did turn. It got dark, cold and started to rain more !! Things went from bad to worse as I could see Sonya was getting very cold. Once we made it to Halfmoon we got Sonya into the medical tent to be treated for hypothermia. While there I saw that Paul had also been in the tent and was done. At this point it became the perfect storm of what to do for me. I could go home with them in the warm car, or go walk/run 30 more miles in the cold rain by myself ? I choose the going home option.

This was not easy but is what I have done. I still am mad at myself for not pushing on but in a way know that I needed to live to fight another day. I could sit around forever thinking of what I could have done differently but that will not change things. The fact is that I was way off what I wanted and know I am able to do. Sometimes life just goes that way. I am glad to not be hurt and am looking forward to the fall. I do not know if I will be back next year at Leadville. But if I was a betting man I would put money on it. Plus as bad as I feel about myself all I have had to do is sit back and watch these runners at the Olympics and think they have to wait another 4 years to try and right a wrong. I guess it could be worse huh.

Happy Birthday Honey !!!

Today is my wife Sonya's b-day !!! I am looking forward to our b-day trail run together today. I am very luck to have her in my life.

24 hours till take off !!

Well I am so close I can taste it. I am so ready to get in the van with the family and head off for our vacation. Just need to finish off packing everything.

I have been feeling ok this week running. Nothing great but nothing bad. Sonya seems to think I am running better than I think. When we have been running this week I feel like we are going pretty easy but she thinks differently. Maybe she is on to something ? I guess we will see. I am just looking to test myself on a great race course. The weather looks wet for race week and race day. Could be muddy !!! I look forward to showing everyone some pictures and sharing some good stories when I am back. See you in like 12 days. Happy trails !!!

P.S thanks to everyone for the well wishes, I appreciate it !!!

Just 2 weeks !!!

So it is less than 2 weeks till the big day !! I am at the stage now where I am starting to pack the stuff I will need just so it is done. Me and the family are going out that way this coming Saturday night. I am thinking of driving Thu the night to make it easy on the kids. Heck them sleeping might be best for me as well.

The running leading up to the race has just been there, nothing special. I always feel this way when resting the last few weeks before a big run. I think last week I got in like 50-55 miles ? I have just been running to stay loose. I did get in one more day on the ski hill with Paul. We knocked out 20 strong repeats. What was nice was that we got to run the last few with Bob Stavig and Greg Allen. Bob has been like a ultra running mentor to Paul and I over the years. This guy has run them all. I think he has like 12+ finishes in Leadville alone, with a few being sub 24 hours. Nothing like seeing the master before heading out of town.

Also this last weekend I was down at Lake Calhoun for the ultra Pat and I where putting on. As you could guess it was a hot one !! Very humid as well. We had 3 50k finishes. Patrick was hoping to shoot for a 100k time to get on this years USA world championships team but today was not the day. My wife Sonya was also in the back of her mind hoping it would be a day to go 62 miles. In the end I think they both did the correct thing and save themselves. I know it was not a easy thing to do for both of them. Keith was also rocking the five fingers for 50k !! I have no idea how he did it but great job. This is all I got for now, I am off to Hyland for a nice trail run tonight !!

1st Annual Twin Cities Ultra Festival

100k
No Finishers :(

50k
Patrick Russell 3:30:49
Sonya Anderson-Decker 4:10:58
Keith Krone 5:08:58

45.27k
Mark Hanson 4:37:25

What a week

This last week was not quite what I was thinking it would be when I started it. After another good week the week before I was quickly set back. I was hounded all week with this crazy kink in my neck. It littery was " a pain in the neck " if I do not say so myself in so many ways. Not only did it make running hard, it just made all week suck at times since I felt like I had a board tied to my neck. I got in some running but not as much as I was looking for. Oh well I guess it was not a bad week to take some down time since I leave for Colorado in 2 weeks !!!

I did end the week on a good note wit a super run on the ski hill doing some repeats. I ran after work since I choose to sleep in some with my little buddy. Plus we got to play with some of his new toys !! Back to the running. I was saying how I ran after work. Well at the start of the run I was a bit down since it was pretty hot and muggy and well I just wanted to go home. I decided to try some hill repeats and see how it goes. It had been some time since I was on the ski hill just doing repeats. After I got a few in I started to feel great and very strong. I just kept going. I stoped at 20 half mile repeats. I felt like I could do many more !! But I am glad to have stopped. What the saying, " Hay is in the barn " ? I like it. All in all it was what it was. I am hoping for a good few weeks of easy running and seeing how it goes. It should be fun.

Happy Birthday Buddy

Today is my son Evan's 2nd birthday. I am super lucky to have this little guy in my life. Not a day goes by that I do not look at him with such awe. I LOVE you Evan !!!

Not bad, I will take it

So I came a bit short of my total miles for the weekend goal, but all in all I am very happy with how things went and where I feel I am as a runner. Going into the weekend I believe I said I was looking for like 50 miles or so over the two days. I ended up with like 48 miles over the two days. But I will say they all felt like solid quality miles.

On Saturday I went down to the MN river bottoms. I had some extra time on my hands with Sonya and the kids being at a soccer tournament for Kyra. So I slept a bit later than my normal 6 or 7am get up time then headed down to the bottoms. It seemed like a very nice morning given how it has been feeling with the heat and humidity we have been dealing with. At first I thought I would run down to where the pull bridge is and then head back. But when I got there and saw that the bridge was back in it gave me a second wind. I went down a few more miles till I looped back. Being I slept a bit longer than normal there was more bikes than what I normally see, oh well. I did find myself starting to keep the pace pretty good after the first 15 min's or so of the run. It felt good and solid. I ended up with 15 miles give or take in 1 hour 48 mins. I ran the return trip like 9 min's faster than the our section !! My new Montrail Streaks where great.

Sunday brought great company for the run, but much much warmer weather. I met Paul at Hyland at 7am. We ran like 30 min's then Sonya joined us. Today was very wet and sticky. I even changed shirts half way and both got very wet. I felt like we went swimming. Even with all this being said I did feel pretty good after the opening 20 min's or so. I believe I ended up with just over 4 hours and 32+ miles !! That is one more great weekend of running for me. Looking at the weeks I think I can have a big one next weekend then it is time to start resting alot. I am feeling good about many things as of now. I am happy with my shoe choice the Montrail Streaks for the race, I am pretty set on using my camel back style pack for a bunch of the race. I think I have some good drinks and gels to use as well. This is a good feeling people !!!

Looking foward to a big weekend, 5 more weeks to go

As I sit here looking at a calender I have two more weekends to get big runs in then it will be time for a nice 3 week taper to get all rested. I am hoping to get in big days both Saturday and Sunday. I know Sunday am am going to be lucky enough to get to run with Sonya and Paul out at Hyland. As for what Saturday brings I am not sure. I would like to run at either Afton or Lebanon hills.

The week so far has been good for the most part. I got in great runs both Monday and Tuesday nights out at Hyland. I was feeling the effects of being back on the AltoLab this week. I was dragging on Tuesday and Wednesday big time. But was much better today even with pushing Evan in the baby jogger. With any luck I will feel pretty good this weekend. I am going to be running in my new second pair of Montrail Streaks !! I wanted to have a 2nd pair all ready for Leadville as back up.

My motto this week has been "what would Kyle do " ? For those un-geeky type guys like myself who pay way to much attention to the sport of running, hell all sport with me. Kyle is the one and only Kyle Skaggs. He is one of the guys I like to point to when talking about how ultrarunning getting faster and better !!! There is a slew of young bucks who in my mind are pushing our sport forward. Kyle just set the Hardrock 100 mile record last weekend. He ran like 23 hours 23 mins to take like 3 hours off Scott Jureks record !!! He also set the course record at Wasatch Front 100 last year. It was his 1st hundred mile race ever !!! With any luck thinking about what would Kyle do will help we along the next few weeks.

The weeks keep getting better

I guess if I had to pick a time to feel like I was rounding into shape now is the time. We are like a little less than 5 weeks from Leadville. So I figure I have like 3 more weeks of top training then I will begin a 3 week taper. I have done to weeks in the past but feel like this is best.

After the great week last week ending with Afton I kept the ball rolling. On Monday I got a great run at Hyland in the pouring rain !! I would have kept running but cut it short with the lightning I saw. It was best in the long run I figure. I also had a great 9 mile run the next day out there at Hyland. This place has for sure become a local stomping ground for me being that it is between home and work.

Wednesday and Friday believe it or not I ran on the roads. Now I like the roads but I think before this it had been like 3-4 weeks of no roads, all trail for me. ZI like the trails !!!

On Saturday I ran with Sonya at the MN Voyageur trail marathon. I was fun to spend the day with her on this pretty trail. The type of trail is not good for her but she hung in there and did her best. I am very proud of her !!

Sunday brought much fun with the boys out at Hyland. They all went 40 miles for the day, but I got in like 15-16 miles. I figured this was a good day after 27 miles the day before. I felt GREAT. I wanted to go 1 more loop and get in over 20 miles for the day but cut it back so I could spend time with Sonya and Evan before I went to work. A good call. I look forward to next week !!! Keep em coming trail gods.

Ending on a up note

Last week was not the best week for me running wise. After having a crappy run last Sunday I did rebound with a great Monday night run out at Hyland park. After that the rest of the week was a loss. I ran everyday on some trails at either Hyland or French Park. I never felt good any of those days the rest of the week. Coming into Afton today that was a bit of a concern for me to say the least. As we got closer to the end of the week and the race came closer I just kept telling myself to run smart easy and get a good workout out of it as Leadville 100 in August is the big prize to think about.

As race morning came I woke up felling pretty happy as excited to be going to the race. Not bad I figured since it was 3:45am when I got up !! Paul picked me up then we got Erik and we where off to the race. We made great time getting there, I guess there is not much traffic at this time of day ? It was great to see the park as it had been like 2 years since I had gone for a run from there. All the normal pre-race stuff of talking to people was in full effect. I was ready to race.

John the race director gave the pre run talk and then we where off and running. Let me say I could not believe how many guys took off like it was a 10k race. I just settled in to a very comfy pace with Paul and Erik. We all race together for like 8 miles or so then Paul fell back a bit and Erik and I kept going. As we got a few more miles into the run we passed like 5 or 6 guys. I was feeling great. I felt like I was very within myself. As we got to the start of the 2nd loop I click my lap on my watch. Just looking at my watch now it looks like we got back out after 2:16. Not a bad split I thought. As we started the second loop you could feel the heat cranking up. Erik and I continued to run together till the second aid station. At this point he pulled ahead and I was on my own. I could tell also at this point I needed to get some more food into me asap. I spent the next 15 min's pounding the food as I made my way down the trail. As I got into the next aid station I was SUPER happy to see Sonya and Evan there !!! I got two kisses and I was off. That was a BIG pick me up let me tell you. For the rest of the race I felt pretty good. I felt strong on the hills and smooth on the rest. I think I passed like 1 or 2 more 50k runners on the way into the finish. I split 2:18 the second loop for a solid time of 4:34. I will say this was a good thing for me as I get into the last weeks of training for Leadville.

I know I still have much more work to do but I felt like I am making progress even when I maybe have thought to myself I was not. I just need more weeks of hills and long long runs.

I have to thanks John and all the crew that put on this great race !! It is funny to think after all these years I had never done that race before. I will say I plan to never miss it from now on if possible.

** On a side note one thing I have never tried, that I did before Afton 50k was using the Hammer Liquid Endurance drink. It is supposed to help with heat tolerance. You drink 3 bottles per day the 3 days before you run. I do believe it seemed to work !! Not that it did not feel hot to me out there. But I felt like I did pretty good never feeling totally crappy in the heat of the day. Now I am sure taking my E-caps, Nuun drink, and Hammer gel alot during the run had alot to do with this as well. Also can't leave out my Montrail Streak shoes !!!

Alto2 Lab

I have had a few people ask me what this Alto2 Lab altitude simulator I have been using is all about. This is the link to the company with all the info.

Mixed Bag

So this weekends runs where the ultimate mixed bag. I was feeling pretty run down all around in Friday's run so I was not going into the weekend on a high note.

When I woke on Saturday for the run ( after hitting snooze for 1 hour ) I set off for Elm Creek park in Maple Grove. I have loved running there in the past but it had been like a year since I last ran there. I figured with Summer having a soccer tournament not to far away in Rogers this would make the most sense. Well the park did not disappoint that was for sure. The weather was great, the trail where very nice, and I felt pretty good the whole run. I was rocking the ipod which was a great way to roll on the trails. I got in a solid 20 mile trail run ( 1 big loop ) in 2:38 !! I was very pleased with how things went considering how I felt before the run. I love the fact you can do a big outer loop there and not have to double back. Someday I would like to put a race on there.

Sundays run was lets say the complete opposite from the day before. I felt crappy the same as I woke up but when I got to the trail my mind and body where having none on it. I think things would have worked out a bit better if I had my trail buddy Paul to run with but in the end I think my body was just saying it was done. Now I do not know if this has anything to also do with it but I am at my last few days of the AltoLab altitude simulator. When I have been using it the last week or so I have been feeling so so tired. I guess you are supposed to feels this way but I will be happy when I get a break from it in the next day or so. Maybe I will feel better on the Monday night run with the guys ?

I love this photo of Sonya and Adam running at Fans 12 hour !!! Thanks Adam for sending it to me.

My picks to make the Olympic team

With the Olympic track trials strating tonight it is time to put out my picks to make the team.
Womens
800 meters: Alysia Johnson, Heather Dorniden, Nicole Teter
1500 meters: Shannon Rowbury, Christin Wurth, Jenelle Deatherage
Steepleshase: Jennifer Barringer, Anna Willard, Lisa Galaviz
5000 meters: Lauren Fleshman, Shalane Flanagan, Jennifer Rhines
10000 meters: Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher, Katie McGregor

Mens
800 meters: Khadevis Robinson, Andrew Wheating, Nicholas Symmonds
1500 meters: Bernard Lagat, Leonel Manzano, Lopez Lomong
Steeplechase: Anthony Famiglietti, Brian Olinger, Steve Slattery
5000 meters: Bernard Lagat, Matt Tegenkamp, Chris Solinsky
10000 meters: Abdi Abdirahman, Galen Rupp, Scott Bauhs

You can watch the races on T.V. on USA and NBC.
TV Schedule

All times are Eastern; subject to change; check local listings

Date Times Network
June 28 12:00-1:00 a.m. USA
June 28 8:00-9:00 p.m. NBC
June 29 7:00-8:00 p.m. NBC
June 30 11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. USA
July 3 11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. USA
July 4 11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. USA
July 5 5:00-6:00 p.m. NBC
July 6 7:00-9:00 p.m. NBC

Western States Canceled

I am very sad today seeing that the great Western States 100 mile run is canceled for the first time in 35 years. I guess with all the wild fires and bad air because of the fires they pulled the plug. I feel so bad for all the runners who have worked so hard to get ready for this one day. Heck I also feel for the workers of the race who also saw a years worth of planning go out the window. A sad day for me and many other ultra runners. There is more info at the Western Sates 100 web site.

Monday Night Magic and beyond

I met Joe and the guys this Monday night once more for the Monday night hills run. I think this is like the 4th time I have gone with them to do this workout. Now with me also doing hills every Sunday this makes for a crazy back to back hill session. That being said I also think it is one of the reason I feel like I am getting much stronger week by week. This week after my great weekend of running I was not going to go. I was so so tired and a bit sore. But I talked myself into it and was so happy I did so. There is such a great group of guys running this. I figure any time I can get in a great run/workout with such a group of first class people I should do it. In the end I think I was at like 10 miles or so. Solid run !!!!

The next morning I drug myself out of bed and down to the MN river bottoms. I was very happy I did so and was very happy with how I ran. I ended up with another 10 mile day which was great. I was feeling more like the " old Kurt " and just slugging it out mile after mile. I think Wednesday will be a rest day. Hell In the last 5 days I have run like 78 miles I think !!!

Great Weekend of running

Man what a weekend. I have been oh so happy with how things have been going and after this weekend I am happy to report it is still going this way.

The weekend started with a super nice run on Friday morning with Evan and Sonya. We got in a great 11 mile run down by the lakes. I think we all where feeling good and happy to be out there. Evan loved all the fish we could see in the lake and all baby ducks we saw. It was a good city wildlife day.

On Saturday morning my Mom helped us out with the kids so Sonya was able to come running with Paul and I on the MN river bottoms. It had been awhile since all three of us had been able to run together so it was fun. The weather was OK for the most part since we where in the shade of the trees. I remember saying I was glad to be not running Grandma's Marathon that day since there is little to no shade on that course. As much as I like that event it is hard to get to excited since the weather has been shitty for more than a few years in a row. We ended up running like 19 miles in all. I felt super good !! I love the bottoms.

Sunday was hill day. Paul and I have been hitting the hill pretty hard the last few weeks and this week we were looking at 40 hills. We started at 6am to try and miss the heat for a bunch of it, thank God we did as it was pretty hot by the time we got done. We kept all the 1/2 mile round trip hills at a solid 4:35-4:41 mins. That was a great pace for 40 let me tell you. Even though I was cashed out at the end I was super happy with how it went. All in all it was a 22 mile day and I got in just over 6000 feet of climbing. This weekend gave me much confidence !!

It all starts with Fathers Day

This past Sunday was a great day for me. First off it was Fathers Day which is a special one for me. Not only do I love my Dad so much, but I LOVE being a daddy to my kids. I am the one who says thanks to them each day for letting me be apart of there world. Thanks kids !!!!

Fathers day morning I met Paul for a great run on the ski hill. I will have to say it was the best I have felt in some time now on the hill. Maybe the AltoLab altitude simulator is working ? I guess I will see as time goes by. I just can only hope to feel that way every weekend for the next 8 weeks. Paul and I got in 30 hills in a average time of 4 min 30 sec. That was solid !!!

Following Sunday I met up with the guys Monday night alot at the Hyland ski hill for a great 11 mile hill workout. It was better than the two weeks before that is for sure. It is much fun to roll with those guys up and down the ski hill. I look to keep this up for a few more weeks.

Other than that I have also had a good run on the MN river bottoms and some nice runs from home down at the Lakes. If this keeps up I will have a solid week !!! Fingers crossed.

FANS 12 HR

So I guess I never did write much on Sonya's race at last weekends FANS 12 hour. Reading Steve Quick's blog made me realize this, bad husband.

I feel like I need to start this by giving people who do not know Sonya or her history with ultra's a bit of background on her. Well if I do not say so myself she is one heck of a runner. She has run 2:51 for the marathon a few times. Run many fast times at shorter distance races over the years. Heck last year just the summer after having our son Evan she set 1 MN age record at the Lumberjack 10 miler and was 5th masters runner at TCM and won the MN master runner of the year award !! I was super proud to say the least. Last year was also the year she decided after watch me many times over the years run ultra's to give it a try for herself. I would say all in all she did very good but was a bit snake bitten at times with her stomach. At the 2007 MadCity 100k she was doing great splitting a 50 mile time of 6:58 when at 57 miles the 18 degree weather got the best of her and she had to drop out. Then 2 weeks after TCM she ran the Fall 50 miler in a solid 7:20ish ?? after having the craps and being sick to her stomach for the last 8-10 miles. Then at this years MadCity 100k had the same darn thing happen !!! Well after that race she got hurt and had to take off 6 weeks of running and then got to run 2 weeks.

This brings us to FANS. She for some reason wanted to give it a shot just to be apart of the day with everyone. I was not super pumped at first but felt like she knows herself and I will be there to try and help. When you love someone you do what ever you can to help them you know. But I will say it would not be the build up I would have liked.

As the race got started it was so nice to see her so happy out there. She was running great. She said all felt good and I was happy. As I chased our kids around I could see she was running smooth and strong. After a few hours I decided to take the kids to my parents so I could be of as much help as possible. When I got back it was like 7 1/2 hours into the run. She was at like 45 miles but that's when her stomach started in full force to cause some problems. We walked and she puked. That became the theme for the next 4 to 5 hours !!! I felt real bad for her, because she has all the ability in those legs but that darn tummy keeps getting her in some way. But like the trooper she is she did not give up and stuck it out till the end of 12 hours. I think she had like 55 miles or so at the end ? Either way I am very proud of her and wish I could have just a slice of her toughness.

One thing she did say was she loved to run with and meet all the nice people I talk about. Thanks people !!!

Running with my Buddies

So I went running with my buddies today. I got out with Sonya and Evan. We have so much fun when we go running !!!!