Do I live in Michigan?

8 miles on the schedule today......done but I'm still trying to shake this cold.  Unfortunately, it feels like I'm getting an ear infection now.  Off to the doctor!

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On a positive note, check out this forecast.  Yes, we really are in Michigan in March!  Amazing!  Even the low's are awesome!  And check out Sunday's forecast for the ShamRock N Roll Run - 76 for a high!!!!!!!

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

Behind the scenes of ShamRock N Roll Run

5 miles on the schedule today.....done!  Another great morning for a run.  I'm sure you afternoon runners in Michigan will be enjoying an awesome run today as well.  This weather is crazy and I'm not complaining.

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Last night I was privileged to be invited to the last organizational meeting of the ShamRock N Roll Run.  As most of you know, I've been blogging about the race and it's amazing organization for the last few months.  The race is coming up on this Sunday, March 18th and the race staff is in the final stages of planning.  You still have time to sign up so hurry over to their WEBSITE and register now!  I had a chance to meet Alan Whitehead, the race director, in person, along with many of the people that help put together the ShamRock N Roll Run along with Kona Running Company's other races, the Solstice Run and the Wicked Halloween Run.

I can describe these people in one word----AMAZING!  Ok, I can't really just describe it in one word.  They are amazing, dedicated, committed, detailed, organized and hard working.  The amount of hours that goes into a race like this is mind boggling.  Many runners think that you show up to a race, run it and eat the food and that's it.  Of course, it's not quite that simple.  There is months and months of planning.  I just got a glimpse of the amount of work that goes into the race since much of the hard work and planning(except race day) is fairly complete.

Because of the amount of detail involved, it was important to go over everything one last time - the final wrap up.  This is to confirm there is nothing overlooked so things go well without a hitch on race day.  Final discussions revolved around the updated count of participants(over 3,100+ so far!), packet pick up, making sure volunteers are ready, confirming the course plan - a tremendous task with more details that you realize, aid stations, medals and age group award, first aid, water and food and finally entertainment.  They really care that the runners are safe and have a great time!  It's the reason people keep coming back to the Kona Running Company races each year.

It takes an army to plan races and starts with all the generals.  Here's a look at all the race staff:

The fearless race director, Alan Whitehead in the middle!

The majority of these people have many years of race experience in planning races.  For example, Bill Ewing is the Course Director for the ShamRock N Roll run but he's also the Operations Director for the Detroit Marathon.  This is the kind of experience that makes a huge difference, in my opinion, in how well the race goes since they already know what the challenges are in regards to the race and know how to handle them efficiently.  Also, many of the people have worked on other large races and some are helping plan other races currently.  If you are a runner in Michigan, I would bet that you have run a race that these people have been involved in the planning.

Here's a look at the map for the ShamRock N Roll Race:

See all those little colored dots on the map(click to enlarge).  They represent places where there will be water stations or marshalls on the course to help keep all the runners going in the correct direction.  This takes a tremendous amount of planning and volunteers.  In fact, there are over 100 volunteers that will be there for the race and that does not include the 25 course marshalls that will be there as well.  This will help keep the race running smoothly.  Without the volunteers, most races like this could not be done.  When you are at the race on Sunday or any race for that matter, don't forget to thank the volunteers for being out there.  They've given up their time to be there to make the race enjoyable for you!

Some of you might know this guy -- it's Coach Ken!  He's also on the race staff.

Check out the awesome shirt he is holding that is for the volunteers.  The shirt for runners will be slightly different.  It's a really nice tech shirt!  See what you get for volunteering?  Nice!  As some of you have met Ken, he'll be at the start and finish of the race cheering on runners and helping to keep things organized before the race.

I want to personally thank Alan Whitehead for allowing me into the organization to learn more about how races are run and allowing me to share it with all of you.  I think it helps give a new perspective on what race directors must do to be a success and hopefully all runners out there appreciate the kind of support we get from people like in this organization.  Of course, this is just a tip of what is actually done but gives you an idea of the work involved.  The amount of work needed to pull a race together like this is amazing.  I'm just glad there are people out there like on his race committee that have the expertise and time to help with races.  It gives us runners a fun time at a reasonable price with memories to last forever!

I hope you also have enjoyed learning more about what goes on behind the scenes in a local race.  Next up, ShamRock N Roll Run!  Enjoy!

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

Race entry limitations...

8 miles on the schedule today....done!  It was worm city out there today.  I just could not avoid them.

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As races continue to become more and more popular, it seems that many of the biggest races have gone to four options:

1. Lottery System - give the participants a fair chance to get into the race.
2. FCFS - First come, first serve - you want in?  Get up and be ready to sign up the first day.  Hell, the first hour in some cases.
3. Qualification Times - You can participate if you are run "this" fast.
4. Charity - run for Charity.  Raise X amount of money and you're in.

Races that used to take days or weeks to sell out are now selling out in hours.  I supposed it's great for those race directors to have that kind of popularity for their race.  I'm curious what you all feel is the fair option.  Personally, I think option #1, #2 or #4 is the best way to go.  Of course, I'm a slower runner and many times would not qualify for a race such as Boston so I guess I'm bias.  Even New York, my qualifying time has to be 1:23 for the half marathon to get into NYC marathon.  1:23!!!  Ah....yeah, probably not going to happen.  New York used to have lower times and the half time was at 1:30.  Since I hit just under 1:39 last year, I thought that might be doable in the next year or two.  Then they changed it.  7 minutes faster?  Making up 16 minutes from my PR?  I don't see that in my reach for a half.  As for Boston's qualifications - not going to happen.

In regards to the Lottery System, at least this option is fair.  I think.  Of course, I'm not really sure how they pick the participants other than at random.  Also, is it really random?  How many entries does the race director hold back for people he/she knows?  For example, the miner last year who ran the NYC marathon because he was trapped in the mine.  Don't get me wrong - I understand why they have people like this run a marathon.  I hope it's random but I talked to someone who said he knew someone related to a race that had a qualifying standard and could get people in.  I hope that's not true but it probably was.  If I were to add one thing, it would be to add a rule that if you have already run the race in the past(say 5 years), your name gets bumped down the list for people that have not run it before.  I mean, should someone be able to run the NYC marathon every single year because their name got picked each year?  There needs to be a better way to get many more new runners into the race who want to do it.

Run for charity.  I think this is a great option.  At least it gives someone a chance to run in a race that they may never qualify for and at the same time give back to a great charity.  I think that I may do this for Boston one year.  I know that some of you disagree with this - especially those that may have qualified based on their efforts.  I used to think the same way - If I run this race for a charity, then someone who really worked hard to get there loses out.  I've changed my mind on this.  If I'm going to race $2-5,000 for a charity, in my opinion, this is much more important that someone getting in.  Of course, if I were the one being left out I might think differently but those monies go to great causes and will make a much more meaningful impact overall.

Qualification times - it seems to me that most of the races doing this, it's really only the fastest runners who can qualify.  I guess that's the point huh?  Haha!  Not much to say here.  Run fast, you're in.

The other way I think you "should" be able to get in.  Transfer of bibs - at market value.  I'm not looking for it to be a black market or something like that.  Just runners looking to get in that can use their buddy's race bib - legally.  I know some races allow this, for a fee.  I think that's fair as well.  If I get a bib and I cannot run it because I'm hurt, then nobody runs it?  Why does that make sense?  The race should charge a fee since there is time there to administer a change but why not allow it?  

What other ways could race directors use to limit the field but still make it fair for people to get in?  What do you feel is the best way?

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

Hyland Post #11 - Great week!

Rest day today!!!!  I know, it always seems like I'm resting but Monday is my typical rest day.

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Here's a recap of week #10 of 18 weeks of marathon training.

Miles Run:  41.44 miles
Days Run:  5 days
Cross Training:  10 miles on the bike and one weights workout
Time Training:  7 hours and 22 minutes(including cross training)

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This week was an unbelievable week for me.  If you recall, last week was really tough and this week was a complete 360 of last week.  I had good runs all week including my long run of 17 miles.  I can't say that I always have a great long run but everything just fit well this day.  It did not hurt that it was in 50's either.

As I mentioned yesterday, I think I saw Desi Davila running at the Metropark that I run at.  The Hanson's runners are always training there but I have not see Desi there in the past.  Very cool(if it was her).

I think what this week taught me is like anything in life, don't give up.  When things look hard, keep trying and you will push through it.  This is one thing to keep in mind for the newbies doing their first marathon.  You will have weeks that feel like you could never run the marathon and weeks where you "think" you can run farther.  Enjoy those weeks.  This is one of my higher mileage weeks in the marathon training cycle and I'll hit over 40 miles of running for several of those weeks.  In fact, I've only got 4 weeks in the 18 weeks of training that is over 40 miles.  It seems to work for me.  I'm not sure I'm ready for a 50+ week yet.  Next week will be even a bigger week with 44 miles on the schedule for the week and the highest miles for the entire cycle even though I don't have a 20 miler next week.

I've also got my first race this coming up on Sunday.  It's the Sham Rock N Roll Run 10k in Plymouth, Michigan.  I can't wait to get to it.  I'll adjust the schedule a little next week and run 12 miles on Saturday and then the 10k on Sunday to get in my 18 mile long run.  Ideal, no....but it works.

How's your training coming along?  I hope things are going well for you.  If you train in the North, we could not have asked for a better winter to train through.  The weather has been unbelievable!  Here's to spring coming soon.

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

Desi sighting? and awesome run!!!

Today I had a 17 miler on the schedule today.  I have to admit that in past training cycles for marathons, the 17, 18 mile range seemed to be pretty tough.  Not so today.  I had a great run.  In fact, it barely felt like I ran today.  Like I just did a 5 mile run.  I don't get these kinds of runs too often but I'll take them when I can.  I even ran the last mile in 8:29.  I think the main reason I felt so good was that we kept the pace average at about 9:30/mile.  Really a very relaxing pace to keep us feeling good.  It was a bonus that the temps were in the 40's to start and in the 50's to end along with sunny skies.  It was gorgeous at Stony Creek today.

We also saw the Hanson's runner's out there running this morning at Stony Creek.  I can't say with 100% certainty but I think Desi Davila was out there with them this morning(90% sure it was her).  I've never seen her out there before.  If you read this Desi, let me know if it was you?  Haha!  They passed us like we were standing still.  Ha!  Of course, I would have loved an autograph but then how do you do that?  That's like asking a basketball player for an autograph right in the middle of the game.  Anyway, they flew past us and didn't see them again and that was at about mile 1.  I'm still amazed by how fast they are.

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Last night my son and I went to a basketball game.  Here's a picture of the inside of the palace.  Had a great time with him at the game.  We got to go down on the floor and he got to high five all the players as they came out of the tunnel.  It was a great experience for him.  Unfortunately, our seats were way up high but it was still lots of fun.

From our seats

From the floor

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

Tick tock...

Rest day on the schedule today...sort of.  Last night I decided to do my cross training so I did 10 miles on the bike and weights.  It's been over a MONTH since I've done a workout besides running.  Felt good.  It was also nice to sleep in this morning too.

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First, a reminder to set your clocks forward one hour tonight before you go to bed.  Yup.  We lose an hour.  Darn.

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Also a reminder that there are only 425 spots left for the Sham Rock N Roll Run 10k in Plymouth so hurry on over to sign up.  Plenty of spots left for the 5k and 1 mile if you so choose to run that race.  You only have until 3/14(Tuesday) to get in your registration(assuming spots are left) to guaranty yourself a shirt.  Click HERE to sign up.  One more week!  I can't wait to blog about the fun!

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You can also still sign up for my virtual race.  The 2nd annual "I just felt like Running!" virtual race.  Click HERE to sign up.  We've got prizes from 1BandID and Headsweats to give out.  Good luck!

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Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

This and that...

8 miles on the schedule today.....done.  How can we move 30 degrees colder in one day?  Insane.  Good run overall - had a freak snow storm for mile 1-3 but things got better after.

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So I'm reading my new Outdoor Athlete magazine and I see an add for a race in Michigan I have not heard of.  It's called the Third Coast Relay.  This is a 200+ mile relay with 12 runners that spans from Holland to Traverse City all on/near the coast line of Lake Michigan.  There are 36 legs of the race!  Oh my oh my!  I wish I had heard about this earlier before I've committed to so many races.  This would have been a great race to run.  Of course, I'd need 11 friends to run it with me.  I'm not sure I've got 11 "runner" friends that would be interested.  How about you?  Would you do this race?  It seems like a "Hood to Coast" type race but in Michigan only.  Overnight race, two vans, 12 people, loads of fun.  I might need to organize a team next year for this.  Only $996 per team(plus costs) - not too bad.

Interested?  Check it out HERE.

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Here's a preview of a couple reviews to come!  I'm always looking for great socks to wear, especially for winter, so I'm excited to try these and review them.

Drymax socks for cold weather and also warm weather

Also, as you know, I run 4 of 5 days in the dark so I'll be reviewing two headlamps that Petzl sells.  It's an important part of running in the dark not only so you can see but so cars can see you coming.

Two headlamps from Petzl

Stay tuned for those reviews in the next month or so!

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

So little to do and so much time

Reverse that!

I actually decided to run last night for a double yesterday.  I got another 4 miles in so no run this morning.  It was warm and dry but crazy windy!  Not looking too nice this morning so glad I did it yesterday evening.

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So I just received some things today that are going to occupy my time for a little while.

My monthly Runner's World

my supplement to RW
aka running items for sale at Dick's

This is one I've never seen before, Outdoor Athlete.  It's got races for the year in here.  Actually a pretty nice magazine for free.

Free from Hanson's(LRS)

Also free! and a great read too!
You can read this online as well.

Of course, I can't miss my issue of Michigan Runner - especially since Desi is on the cover!  This is a great running magazine for Michigan Runner's - of course.  Do you have one in your State?  If not, you are missing out on a great magazine!  This shows all the local races for the year along with others in the vicinity outside Michigan from advertisements.  It also discusses many of the track high school, college track events as well.  If you want to know what's going on in Michigan for running(other than Detroit Runner, of course), buy this!

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!!

That's it, I'm stumped....

4 miles on the schedule today....done!  It's going to be in the upper 50's in Michigan today!  Yeah!

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Ok, you got me....for what you say?  I'm stumped.  Of course, for one that writes on their blog daily, what more could you expect?  I mean really....can you really talk about running EVERY day?  Ok, maybe some of you can but I can't.  Not that I have not tried.

I'm in that stage.  The stage of waiting for my first race to start.  I'm ready.  I'm more than ready.  Bring it on!

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

Less than two week for my first race -- join me!

8 miles on the schedule today.....done!  Now I remember why I don't like eight miles before work.  Boy, I'm tired.  It makes for a long day but I do feel accomplished completing it.  I'm just glad I don't have to do those runs for very long.  The other thing I did was really try and slow things down so I can get in the miles I need to this week without feeling too sore.

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It's less than two weeks before my first race, the ShamRock N Roll Run in Plymouth, Michigan!  I can't wait.  I always feel like I have something to look forward to for the next seven months.

As most of you following know, I'm also sponsoring a virtual race the same day so you can join me in spirit if you can't join me in person.  Go HERE to sign up for the ShamRock N Roll Run and go HERE for the virtual race.  I hope you join me in both but if you want to run the ShamRock, you better hurry as spots are filling fast!

For those joining me in the virtual race as well, Joe over at 1BandID was awesome enough to donate one of their ID bands for a prize and Headsweats is also donating one of their summer hats for a prize so sign up today for a chance to win!

Thank you sponsors!

What's your first race this season?

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

Hyland Post #10 - were half way home!

Rest Day today!

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Here's a recap of week #9 of 18 weeks of marathon training.

Miles Run:  33.16 miles
Days Run:  5 days
Cross Training:  None this week
Time Training:  4 hours and 54 minutes

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The last week was really a struggle for me - and it was a cutback week.  First I had a cold the entire week and am still getting over it.  Second, I ran 5 miles in cold, pouring rain while sick -- not too smart, huh?  Third, I ran at 4am(normally 4:45am) and it was just too early for me.  Fourth, my right achilles has been bothering me a little since Friday's run although it is feeling better now.  Now doesn't that make you want to run a marathon?  Haha!  Sorry, we all have bad weeks when training.  I'm hoping this is my only one.

Fortunately, I ended the week pretty well.  Yesterday, my running buddy and I ran 13.1 miles, a half marathon distance, for our training run.  We decided to take it to the trails which were only slightly covered in snow.  Overall a pretty good run with no pain or soreness so I'll take it as a win for the week.  The past week was a cut back week.  Can you believe it?  I'm half way through the marathon training.  The miles are going to get serious now.

Half way there - 9 weeks until Marathon time!

This week coming up is back to higher mileage.  I've got two eight milers planned and two four milers planned for the week and will finish up with a 17 mile long run for a total of 41 miles for the week - hopefully!  The eight milers are really tough to do before work, at least for me.  I really struggle with this distance before work and then having to work all day.  By the time I get home in the evening, I'm toast!  These longer runs though are needed to keep me going so I'm ready come May.  I'd also like to get back to cross training but just can't get motivated to start again.

How's you're training coming?  Are you ready for some big miles?



Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

Camera...?

13 miles on the schedule today.  We decided to take our run over to Paint Creek Trail.  It amazing we can even run here given it usually has too much snow to run on it.  Overall I felt pretty good today compared to Friday's struggle.  There was several large trees down blocking the trail and tons of branches.  I guess the high winds yesterday really blew things around.

I saw this on someone's Facebook page and thought it was really cool.  What's the chances?  What do you think?

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The rest of this post is not related to running.  I need some advice from some of you photographers.  I've been thinking of investing in a Digital SLR camera and have been researching them.  I'm pretty sure I want to go with a Nikon D5100 but there are other Nikon's that are good and also lots of Canon cameras that are also good.  Costco has a great deal on the nikon right now which includes an extra zoom lense, a camera bag, memory card and other accessories for $999.  A lot of money to invest in a camera but it also gets you lots of stuff with it too.

Nikon D5100

What do any of you use?  Anyone have a DSLR out there?  I'd use it for the blog but I'm also planning on taking some photography courses with my daughter so we can both learn how to take better pictures.

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

February Re-cap

Rest day today.  I ended up doing my 7 miles last night and based on the wind, I'm glad that I did.  I'm still not feeling 100% but the weather was perfect last night when I ran so that helped keep me going.  Only 13 planned for Sunday and I really glad it's a cut back week!  I can't imagine what it's like over at Stony Creek where Coach Ken is training his dedicated TNT runners this morning.  That run will today will surely test your commitment!

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I have not done this every month but here's a recap of my training for February.  I really need to be more consistent and post these after every month.  Here's what the last year has looked like:

Before someone comments, it looks like I did a ton of miles in February and while I did do more miles, the number is a little off for February because I have two runs that I did on vacation when the cruise ship was moving.  I based those runs by time so taking that into account, you would need to subtract about 30 miles for an actual mileage of 135.

This number makes sense too since I've been upping my mileage for the Flying Pig Marathon coming in May.  If you take a look back at last March, you will see that my miles were 135 and last year's marathon was in the end of May vs. the beginning of May for Flying Pig so it make sense.

Year to date, I'm at about 250 miles.  I've really be struggling through the last couple weeks and I've been through this a couple times already!  It's making me question if I should bump up to the next level on Higdon's plan - I have a plan already done for summer with even higher mileage.  I'm thinking perhaps I might stay under the same plan again.  What I do know is that I have enough experience running to not change anything at this point.

For those of you running your first marathon, I know you question each week if you can keep up and can you run longer than you did last weekend.  You can do it.  The body is an amazing thing - it's the mind that gets in the way!  Even for us folks that have already run the distance.

Have a great day and.....Keep Running!!!!

Under the weather

No run this morning.  I slept right through my alarm.  If I did not have to go to work today, I'd probably sleep all morning.  I've been fighting a cold all week and cannot shake it.  Funny enough but running makes be feel better but only during it and for a few hours after.  I may try to get my run in after work today or just do it tomorrow morning instead.

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

Feet art!

 4 miles on the schedule today....done but up at 4am to start.  I've got a long day ahead of me!

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I saw these while in Costa Maya, Mexico and felt they were fitting for the blog.  What do you think?

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!