« September 2006 | Main | November 2006 »
October 30, 2006
2006 Almond Bowl Race
Don't forget - the 2006 Almond Bowl Race is this Sunday, November 5th. Start time is at 9:00 AM, get all the details here. Also, very important - there is no race day registration - if you want to run, you have to either use Active.com or go down to Fleet Feet in Downtown Chico to get registered by Saturday.
I will be running the 10K race this year - I was hoping for a chance to have a rematch against my brother (who beat me the last race we ran together) but he is opting out this year. Some lame excuse about work getting in the way of his training.....
Every year I try to break 48 minutes in a 10K - and every year I am disappointed. Maybe this will be the year I succeed???
Posted by Dennis at 05:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 22, 2006
A FRIENDLY "CHALLENGE"
I just heard from my friends at Trailhead Adventures that they (along with Beyond Fitness) will be putting on a Run, Bike and Kayak Adventure Race in Paradise, on November 19th. The race will be at Paradise Lake, and should be a great race venue - no traffic, beautiful scenery, and sounds like there will even be a BBQ lunch afterwards. See the detailed map and race flyer
In the voice mail message they left me on Thursday, they said "AND THE PARADISE FIRE DEPARTMENT THINKS TOWN HALL IS A BUNCH OF WUSSIES, AND THAT THE ONLY REASON YOU BEAT THEM LAST TIME WAS BECAUSE THEY HAD A FLAT TIRE".
This was in reference to our "Challenge" we issued to both Paradise Police and Fire Departments in 2004, for the SportHaven Triathlon. Our team of Town Hall desk jockeys challenged the other departments to "put up or shut up".
Well, the silence the last two years has been deafening!!!!
Our town hall team smoked both the Police and Fire Department Teams in that race, beating both by a huge margin. We beat the Police Department team by over 15 minutes, and the Fire Department team by over 18 minutes.
Both departments have virtually disappeared from any organized competive events since then. Maybe this will be the year they make a comeback????
If only they had Barko Lounger and Dougnut Relay Races...............................................................................................
Stay tuned for more details as we start to sort out our teams.....
Posted by Dennis at 08:16 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 12, 2006
AAAARG!!!!!!
It all started innocently enough. I raced on Saturday, played tennis later that afternoon, then spent the day Sunday climbing up and down a ladder working on a painting project. Monday was a rest day, with only a 2 mile walk at lunch.
Tuesday morning I somehow forgot to set my alarm, to get up and go to the gym. I woke up about 5:00, mad at myself for getting up late. I decided to try to still get a short workout in. With my work schedule, I knew I would only have about 45 minutes to cram in a workout – so I figured 25 or 30 minutes on some basic weights, then I would hit the spinning bikes for 10 or 15 minutes. The Weights all felt good, mainly core work, upper body and some leg strength building. I’m doing “squats� now for the first time in my life – trying to improve my running and biking speed.
I finished the weights, and shifted to the spinning room. Beyond Fitness has a fairly small room, with about 15 bikes or so – but the bikes are all brand new GIANT brand bikes.
The first one I tried had some strange noises going on with the crank, so I moved over to the next bike. This bike worked fine, and I got it all adjusted – and realized that I had less than 10 minutes before I had to hit the showers.
So, I did what any normal, red blooded type “A� person would do – I cranked up the bike, and hit it hard. After about 3 or 4 minutes of spinning, I cranked up the tension, got out of the seat, and figured I’d get at least a few minutes of hill climbing in.
Finished my workout, and hit the showers – and no problems…. Yet.
About noon, I all of a sudden realized that my left knee felt strange. Somewhat like someone had smacked it with a 2x4… I couldn’t really identify a particular area of the knee, just the whole thing hurt.
By 5:00 PM, I was walking with an almost noticeable limp. When I got home I iced it, and tried to take it easy.
Wednesday, again it was really sore, and hard to walk without a limp. I iced it in the morning, hoping that would help me make it through the day. Of course, at work I ended up spending most the day at the various jobsites, with lots of walking over uneven surfaces, which was quite a challenge.
Finally, by Thursday evening, my knee started to feel better. I’m still not 100% sure what caused the injury – but I suspect it was the combination of a pretty hard race, followed by pushing myself on a spinning bike way too hard. This was the first time I had been on a spinning bike in about 6 months (since our last “winter that would not quit�).. Even thought I have been doing lots of cycling, it’s all been on a real bike – with real clip-in’s. The spinning bikes I have never really liked, as they seen to be very hard on my knees for some reason.
Unfortunately, as we head into winter, the spin bikes are about the only game in town unless you want to ride in the rain and in the dark. Hopefully I did not do any permanent damage, and will be able to crank up my mileage a little bit between now and November 5th, for the Thirty Second annual ALMOND BOWL race in Chico.
Posted by Dennis at 07:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 08, 2006
Beyond Fitness Great Apple Fun Run Race Report
This was the first time I have done this race. I figured it would be a pretty small group, and it was - about 30 runners total. I have to hand it to the folks at Beyond Fitness - they did a great job organizing the race. It started on time, they had lots of people where they needed them, and lots of water and snacks.
This run went pretty well, considering my low level of run training. I spent most of the summer working on my swimming and biking for the Tahoe Triathlon, which I just completed about 3 weeks ago. My running mileage really slipped during that phase of my training, and then with a week or so of "taking it easy" after the race, my mileage really was light.
I started out at the front (both the 3 and 6 milers started together). Lots of kids (6-12 years old) and it was fun watching them sprint the first 300 yards and then fade once the course headed uphill. After about 5 minutes into the run, it was me and three other runners stacked together - then one guy (wearing a CDF shirt) took off and really picked up the pace. I commented to the others that "there's no way he can hold that pace, he will blow up about mile 3".
By mile 2, I could still see the CDF guy - but just barely. I was now in 5th place, after being passed to two other people. I was pushing pretty hard, but afraid that if I pushed any harder, I would spike my heart rate and then the wheels would come off. The course was only about a 3.4 to 4.5 percent grade, but being a retired railroad grade, it is constant - which doesn't give any chance for heartrate recovery.
Finally, the turn-around point at mile three. My plan all along was to take it a little easy on the uphill, then crank up on the downill portion. The nearest runner I could pass was a young lady about a 1/4 mile ahead of me - I figured what the hell, lets see if I can catch her in 3 miles.
I cranked it up a notch or two, but I think she had the same plan. No matter how hard I pushed, I couldn't seem to really gain any ground. Finally about mile 4.5 I noticed I was getting a little closer. When she had to stop and wait for a car to cross one of the side streets, she took a little too long to get going again - and her pace had slowed considerably. Finally, about five hundred yards from the finish I pulled in behind her (about 50 feet back).
Suddenly, she heard my footsteps (or was that my labored breathing??) looked back, and panicked when she realized that I was going to make a run at passing her. She yelled something about "what the hell, where did you come from" and turned around and started to crank up the speed.
I had decided two things in the moments coming up behind her.
1) I still had "something left" and I wanted to use it completely up by the finish line.
2) I really wanted to pass her.
So I picked up the pace to almost a sprint, and pulled in right behind her. We were passing a bunch of walkers from the 5k, and I didn't have room to pass so I held back right on her tail. Finally, about 100 feet from the finish the trail opened up, and went uphill for the rest of the way to the finish. I knew that I probably had more brute force to power up the last hill, which I did. I kicked into a full-on sprint, and passed her by a pretty good margin by the time I went thru the chute.
By my watch, my time was 48 minutes and 32 seconds. My "official race time" was 47 minutes and 30 seconds. While I would love to have run that fast, I do not believe there is any way I did a 6 mile run in the hills under 8 minutes per mile - I will stick with my timex time.
The first 30 seconds or so after the finish were tough - as I really sprinted out the last couple of hundred yards. I was pretty much gasping for air, and trying to keep from falling over. Once I caught my breath it was all good again, I walked around, had some water and another cup of coffee.
I stuck around for the awards ceremony - top three in each race received a nicely imprinted coffee cup, and an Exchange Club raffle ticket for a corvette. Overall a very well ran race, that I will do again!!!
The "CDF" guy ended up winning the race - with a very respectable time in the 42 minute range I believe. The second spot went to a guy PUSHING A BABY IN A STROLLER - wow, congratulations to him. Third place went to Brad Foster, a local legend in Paradise sports. Unfortunately, my fourth place did not put me in the winners bracket - I guess there is always next year!!!
Posted by Dennis at 05:56 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack