2011 Children’s TLC Groundhog Run / Jim’s Final Results

January 30, 2011 – It was a very early AM wake up for the 2011 Groundhog Run down in Kansas City.  It was the second year in a row that I attend this race and had high hope for a new 10K Personal Record (PR).  See, the race is all indoors (in a cave really) and very flat.  Last year’s time was 50:39 and I wasn’t in half the shape I was this year.  Still, coming in at 49:21 is nothing to shake a stick at, but nowhere close to the sub 47 I was looking for.  It was a good day of training and I will take anything under 50 any day of the week! 

A full set of results can be found here HERE

Jim’s Audio and Video Podcast is found HERE

Here is where I fit in:

215th over all (out of 1160).  22nd out of 72 in my age category (this is usually a very tough bracket) with a first mile of 7:43 and an average pace of 7:57.  As my trainer Ryan Wolf would say, good day of training!

We, Dan Svoboda, Carrie Adams and myself, left at 5:00 AM for the 3 hour trek south.  With some healthily options for breakfast loaded with us, the trip when very fast both ways.  We heard a bunch about clean eating from Carrie and I got to know Dan a little bit better. 

We also ran into some faithful Mud Mafia Members, Trish Adele, Tony Hartzell and Melissa Fabina.  They were running a little late an almost missed the race!  Good work guys!

I captured some Live Audio and Video of the Event that will be available over at the Blog and Podcast site.  http://theaverageguy.tv.  Might be worth viewing if you have a very minutes.

It’s a short month until the Trek up the Tower here in Omaha and another tough event.  More info on that as we get closer.  You can check out all the details that event at http://trekupthetower.org/

Cheers!

The Anatomy of a Marathon Training Plan

I have had a few questions about how I plan to train for my next marathon.  With the permission of my trainer, I will post it below.  Nothing is set in stone and I end up changing things based on my schedule, but it is a good start.  Just in case you were wondering…and so I have it documented.

I am already in week 2.  Already changed my long run this week from Saturday to Thursday and reduced it from 14 to 10 based on the fact that I am running the Groundhog 10K this weekend.  Not always important when, but that it gets done.

What is your workout plan?

First Race of the 2011 Season and a Look Back at a Year of Firsts!

It’s that time of the year again where we start thinking about better weather and the races that come with them.  This year is no different, with the exception that the distances get farther and the times get shorter.  In 2010, I had a bunch of firsts.   I finished two Marathons (Lincoln in May and Omaha in September) improving with each one.  I set a new personal best at the half Marathon distance in Papillion with a time of 1:47 and ran more 10Ks than I care to count.  I also came out of the year lighter than I started, losing 15 pounds along the way!  I was really glad that I recorded it all in this blog, to review and encourage when needed.  Thanks for coming along on this journey with me!

Next Sunday marks the start of the 2011 race season with the Children’s TLC Groundhog Run in Kansas City.

The Children’s TLC Groundhog Run is believed to be the only 5k/10k race in the nation that is totally underground.  With a consistent temperature of 65 to 68 degrees, the Hunt Midwest SubTropolis is the ideal venue for the 3,500 runners to compete in this annual winter event!

The race is already full, so no jumping on the bandwagon now, but you can follow the results right here after the race.  I will not only post my time, but a link to full results as well.  This year I am shooting for a solid 45 min 10K.  That would be 7 minutes better than last but not out of reach.  All training this leading in that direction.

This is also the first year that the Mud Mafia Team (Facebook link) will send some of it’s members to this race together.  This social experiment, known now as a running team, got it’s start last year and represented well at the 2010 Beer and Bagel Run back in November.  The group was founded by none other than Carrie Adams and is sporting some 30 members at the moment.  Should be a bunch of fun for the “family” as we make the 3 hour trek south to KC.  Good luck to all runners!

This will also be the first time that the Fitness Tech Podcast (now the official Podcast of the Mud Mafia) and host, yours truly, will attempt some live podcasting from the event.  If you are interesting in following all the events of the day, but can’t make it down, you can follow my tweeting at http://twitter.com/#!/jcollison and there will be some segments that we will do LIVE at http://theaverageguy.tv/live.  Of course, commentary and results can be found after the race right here.  If you have any question on the live event, feel free to send me an email at podcast@theaverageguy.tv.

Upcoming Events

Just to get you thinking about what is ahead, here are some of the upcoming events on the 2011 schedule.

February 26	http://www.trekupthetower.org/	Omaha’s Trek Up the Tower – FULL
March 6	http://www.raceit.com/search/event.aspx?event=6825880b-e64c-46d7-8b2b-2aa21282ac7b.aspx	1st Annual Frozen Burrito Race – New for 2011
March 12	http://www.lc10k.com/info/	Leprechaun Chase – St Patty’s Day 10K – 2nd Year
March 26	http://www.lincolnrun.org	State Farm 10 Mile
April 2	www.trailrun.digbro.com	5th Annual Ni-Bthaska-K Trail Run – 12 K & 4 mile
May 1	http://www.lincolnrun.org/marathon.htm	Lincoln Marathon & Half Marathon
May 8	http://www.bellevuenebraska.com/featured-event.aspx?27	Offutt Runway Run
May 15	http://www.papillion.org/recreation_marathon_fun_walk.cfm	Papillion Half Marathon and 10K
June 12	http://www.gardentenmile.com/	Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run – Colorado Springs
June 18	http://www.racingunderground.com/mtevans/index.html	Mt. Evans Ascent
July 10	http://www.summerroundup.com/	Summer Roundup Trail Run 12K – Colorado Springs
August 20-21	http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/index.htm	Pikes Peak Ascent
September 25	http://www.omahamarathon.com/	Omaha Marathon

 

If you know of any more you would like to add to my calendar, let me know.  jim@theaverageguy.tv

Good Luck in 2011 and see you running!

So What is Driving You?

 

Some do it for fitness, some because they love the competition, some for the glory and some just because they have to!  What is your reason? 

Thanks to the guys over at Yurbuds for providing the video!

Now get after it, however you want!