At long last, rain

At long last, rain.  We had our first honest-to-goodness thunderstorm of the summer on Saturday afternoon here in Hog Heaven.  Although amounts varied around the area, we received a welcome 1.90 inches here in northeast Bettendorf.   Along with the rain, a cold front dropped through bringing us a couple of delightful mornings.  It was 55 degrees when I headed out for my hill workout at 5:30 this morning.  Nice.  The forecast is for warmer temps for the remainder of the week but nothing like the unseasonal heat that we've had most of the summer.  Anyway, I'll be tapering (somewhat) this week and next in preparation for the August 18th Pikes Peak Ascent.  That means no long run this week and no more hard workouts after today.  I just hope that I've done enough.

Okay, so I was wrong.  American Shalane Flanagan didn't medal in Sunday's women's marathon at the Olympics.  But, she didn't do badly either.  Neither did her training partner Kara Goucher.  Running in a downpour, Gelana Tiki of Ethiopia won the marathon in an Olympic record 2:23:07.  In the most competitive women's marathon ever, Shalane finished only a couple of minutes back in tenth place.  Kara was eleventh.  Not a bad performance by the American women.  For a full re-cap, see here:  http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2012/espnw/story/_/id/8237764/2012-summer-olympics-marathon-misfire-trio-us-women

Britain's Mo Farah won the men's 10,000 meters over the weekend with American Galen Rupp in second.  And, in Sunday's 100 meters final, Jamaican Insane Bolt defended his title from Beijing in an Olympic record 9.63.  Silver went to fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake and American Justin Gatlin took Bronze.  (Okay, so it's Usain.  But, what he does on the track is without question insane!)

This week brings an orgy of track & field competition.  I'm especially looking forward to the men's marathon (Sunday), men's 5000 meters (Saturday), women's 5000 meters and 1500 meters (Friday), and the men's 1500 meters (Tuesday).  My favorite athlete among the remaining competitors is Monument, Colorado's Jenny Simpson.  Jenny will line up in the 1500 meters.

At long last, track

It's been another week of hot, dry weather and decent training here in Hog Heaven.  We finished July with 5 days of 100+ degree heat and less than .50 inches of rain.  Not good.  August has started the same.  My big run this week was a 24 mile effort on Wednesday morning for which I rose at 3:30 a.m. and was out the door and into the darkness by 4:00.  It's the last long run I'll do before the August 18 Pikes Peak Ascent.  With the North Face Endurance Challenge at Madison, Wisc. coming up one month after Pikes Peak, I'll likely do only an abbreviated taper over the next two weeks.   We'll see how that works.

Hooray!  Olympic track & field starts today.  Don't get me wrong.  I've enjoyed the swimming, gymnastics, and assorted other endeavors, but it's time for the meat and potatoes of Olympic competition.  All the way back to ancient Greece, running and jumping and throwing have been the centerpiece of Olympic competition.

Today's premier event on the track is the women's 10,000 meters.  Everyone seems to expect the Ethiopians and Kenyans to dominate the race.  The American trio of Amy Hastings, Lisa Uhl, and Janet Bawcom are given little chance to medal.   On the other hand, nobody was supposed to beat the Soviet ice hockey team in 1980!

The weekend brings lots more including the men's 10,000 meter final on Saturday, and the long-anticipated women's marathon on Sunday.  Stay tuned!

To get everyone in the right mood for Sunday's women's marathon, here's a pre-Olympics interview with U.S. marathoner Shalane Flanagan: http://www.irunfar.com/2012/07/shalane-flanagan-interview.html

And another with U.S. marathoner Kara Goucher:  http://www.irunfar.com/2012/07/kara-goucher-interview.html

Besides being rivals, Shalane and Kara are friends and training mates.  I'll be rooting for both at London.

London countdown

Another hot & humid week here in Hog Heaven.  Despite the humidity, we can't seem to squeeze out any moisture in the form of rain and most of the state is suffering moderate drought.  And, the long-term forecast for August thru October calls for above-average temps and below-average rainfall.  Not good for runners, but a disaster for farmers.

I've had a decent week of training that included a hard hill workout on Tuesday.  My most important run of the week is tomorrow's long run.  I need to do at least 18 miles, but if the conditions warrant, I'm going to try and stretch that to 20 or more.  Right now, the forecast is for an overnight low of 65 degrees.  That would be the coolest morning this week.  I plan to rise at 3:40 a.m. and be out the door by 4:10.  Stay tuned.  

Check your calendars.  One week from today, the 2012 Olympics open in London.  Having waited four years, I'm getting more excited by the day.  Of course, everybody doesn't share my enthusiasm for the Games.  German publication Der Spiegel, for example, predicts "an Olympic-sized fiasco" for London:  http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/london-and-the-2012-olympic-games-a-match-made-in-hell-a-844599.html

Distance-running insiders--like Bill Rodgers and Craig Virgin--handicap the distance events at the London Olympics:  http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=26566

Here's a nice piece on U.S. marathoner Shalane Flanagan.  I've been picking Shalane for a Olympic marathon medal since before she won the U.S. Olympics Marathon Trials back in January:  http://running.competitor.com/2012/07/news/rivals-are-key-to-flanagans-confidence_55538

And, here's another piece on Shalane from Outside magazine:  http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/running/road-running/Win-or-Die-Trying-20120801.html

Here's one of my early blog posts heralding Shalane's Olympics prospects:  http://runningthrutwenty12.blogspot.com/2012/01/training-for-colorado-and-thinking.html

Slouching toward Eugene

I completed another long run this morning.  This time, twenty-two miles.  The weather was cooperative--cool and dry--but my lower body was not.  Especially, my left ankle.  The ankle began to tweak around mile nineteen or so, but I continued to grind to the end.  Probably not the smartest thing.  We'll see how it's doing tomorrow. 

Anyway, barring any continuing problems, I'll do cross-training tomorrow and Saturday, a one-hour maintenance run on Friday and a trail run on Sunday. 

No long run next week--thankfully--but I do have a race scheduled for Saturday, the 23th.  It's the inaugural Run for the Hills 5K at Crow Creek Park in Bettendorf, Iowa--my hometown.  It should be fun. 

The U.S. Track & Field Trials for the London Olympics are coming up soon: June 22-July 1.  For a complete schedule of events, see here:  http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/microsite/article/0,8029,s6-239-569-0-14364-0,00.html

Everything you want to know about the Trials can be found here: http://www.runnersworld.com/olympic-trials

Here's commentator Roger Robinson on the rousing spectacle and high drama of the Trials: http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/microsite/article/0,8029,s6-239-569--12641-1-1X2-3,00.html

Excellent profile of marathoner Shalane Flanagan, who qualified for the U.S. team in the marathon back in January and will also try to make the team in the 10,000 meters at the Trials:  http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-239-567--13858-0,00.html 
Despite the predominance of the African women in the marathon, I wouldn't be surprised to see Shalane on the medal stand in London!

I'm getting excited and the Track & Field Trials is still a couple of weeks away.  I'm especially keen to see the 400, which I ran in high school, the 800, the 5000, and the hurdles.  Other than the 400, I can't explain why the others appeal to me.  Why the 800 but not the 1500?  Why the 5K but not the 10K?  Also, while I'm not excited about the 100 or 200--where's the drama if Usain is healthy?--I love watching the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 relays.  Sprints are like drag races-- full-speed-ahead, blink-and-you-miss-it--while relays are like carefully-choreographed ballets performed in traffic.  Anyway, I'm excited.

Onward and Upward

Memorial Day has come and gone.  Fortunately, so has the record-breaking heat that accompanied it.  The unseasonal temps hung around all weekend, but Sunday was the worst with an all-time high of 94 degrees.  With the humidity, it felt more like a July 4th holiday than Memorial Day Weekend.  I followed my 18-mile long run on Friday with cross-training on Saturday, a one-hour maintenance run on Sunday, cross training on Memorial Day, and a hill workout today.

With the weather forecast to cool off all week, I've decided to add another long run (18-20 miles) for Friday or Saturday.  Before then, I'll have another maintenance run and some cross training.

It's 12 weeks until the Pikes Peak Ascent and 16 weeks until the North Face Endurance Challenge.  Time to get serious! 

Frequent readers of this blog know that I'm a Shalane Flanagan fan.  Back in early January, I picked her to win the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trails.  After the Trials, I picked her to be competitive for a medal in London.  Here's a recent interview that's encouraging and informative:  http://news.runnersworld.com/2012/05/22/brief-chat-shalane-flanagans-june-agenda/

The Western States 100 (coming up in June) is THE iconic trail ultra.  Here's an homage to the race by one of its most successful runners:  http://www.irunfar.com/2012/05/home-on-the-western-states-trail.html

Pete Larson of the popular running-shoe review blog runblogger.com updates his guide to minimalist running shoes here: http://www.runblogger.com/2010/07/runbloggers-guide-to-minimalist-running.html

The Beat Goes On

Yes, it does.  But, not for long.  Another nine days and I'll be lining up along with 1000 of my new best friends at the start for the Colorado Marathon.

After a day of cross training yesterday, I did a one-hour maintenance run today.  And, I'm happy to report that the tweak in my right calf seems to be gone.  With luck, it will not appear again.  The schedule calls for a day of cross training and a 7-mile run over the weekend.  After that, it's all downhill to the marathon: 2/3 slow, easy, and short runs next week to complete my taper.  Then, I'll cross my fingers and hope for better marathon weather than the Weather Service is forecasting today. 

If you're as old as I am, you remember Superbowl III.  And, Broadway Joe Namath.   Brash and irreverent, Namath guaranteed that his underdog New York Jets from the upstart American Football League would beat the mighty Baltimore Colts from the established NFL.  Everybody smiled.  That was Joe being Joe.  But Joe delivered a stunning upset on game day.  Now, here are the confident Kenyan women predicting a sweep of the marathon medals at the London Olympics this summer: http://www.nation.co.ke/sports/athletics/Women+marathon+team+promises+clean+sweep/-/1100/1393978/-/69p0jdz/-/index.html

The Kenyan women (and men for that matter) are very good and have to be the favorites.  So, sweeping the medals wouldn't be the upset that Namath's Jets pulled off.  But, I'm sticking with my prediction that American Sharlane Flanagan will knock one of those Kenyans off the medal stand.

Here's another example of the Kenyans' marathon supremacy:  Sports Illustrated in its April 16, 2012 story on the late Kenyan marathoner Sammy Wanjiru offered this remarkable fact: "Sixteen American men have broken 2:10 in the marathon; 38 Kenyans did it in October [2011]." 

More Potpourri

We had thunderstorms overnight and woke up to cool temps and cloudy skies this morning.  Following three days of maintenance runs, I did a brisk hike this morning for cross training.  That moves my long run (24 miles) to Saturday morning.  The weather should be cooperative.  The Weather Service is calling for a cool overnight low of 42 degrees and an afternoon high of 70 under sunny skies.  Winds should be light to moderate at 8-13 mph.  So, if I bonk again, I can't blame the weather.  Stay tuned.

I check out the Colorado Springs Gazette website most mornings.  I've spent quite a bit of time in Colorado Springs and I'm considering moving there within a couple of years.  I noticed a brief piece on their website this morning about the disappearance of ultrarunner Micah True while running in the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico:  http://www.outtherecolorado.com/201203309667/Running/boulder-ultrarunner-missing-after-going-for-run-at-new-mexico-resort.html 

He's only been missing for 24 hours so there's hope.  True is best known as Caballo Blanco, the gringo who lived among the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico and is featured in Chris McDougall's best-selling Born to Run. 

I saw this piece about the overwhelming odds that a Kenyan will win the 2012 Olympic Marathon gold medal on competitor.com:  http://running.competitor.com/2012/03/news/kenya-poised-to-dominate-olympic-marathon_50025  Short take: Of the top 20 marathons times in 2011, 20 were run by Kenyans including Patrick Makau's world record 2:03:38 at Berlin and Geoffrey Mutai's (even faster) 2:03:02 at Boston.  Mutai's mark is not a world record because of technical factors:  tail wind and elevation loss. 

So, the American men have scant chance to win marathon goal (or any medal) at London.  But, I'm already out on a proverbial limb in predicting a medal for American Shalane Flanagan, winner of the women's Olympic Trials Marathon back in January.

I also recently came upon this:  http://www.trackwomenoforegon.com/
It's a documentary about the University of Oregon women's track program focusing on the 1985 and 2011 squads.  The '85 team won the NCAA championship and the 2011 team was runner-up to Texas A&M.  The documentary, entitled We Grew Wings, will have its world premiere in Eugene, Oregon, at the Olympic Track & Field Trials on June 30. 

Training for Colorado and thinking about London

Got up early this morning so that I could run before the latest snow storm arrived.  No such luck.  The snow began before I had gone a mile and picked up in intensity as I went.  By the time I finished (4.5 mile maintenance run plus a one-mile cool-down walk), the snow had begun to accumulate on the streets.  But, I got the run in without slipping and sliding and that's always a good thing.  Winter is one day closer to being over and Ft. Collins (Colorado Marathon) is one day closer!

Tomorrow is cross training, i.e. a brisk 4/5 mile walk.  My next long run--17 miles this time--is Sunday. Right now the Weather Service is forecasting mid-30s for Sunday.  Hooray!

I got an email this morning from a friend who was visiting Houston last weekend and saw the Marathon Trials.  She reported that the enthusiastic spectators--estimated at 500,000--were rewarded with two competitive and entertaining races.  Awesome, indeed.

My biggest takeaway from the trials is the upside potential of women's winner Shalane Flanagan.  In only her second marathon, Shalane ran an event record time of 2:25:38.  Given her background at 5000 and 10000 meters and six months to prepare for London, she has a chance to surprise.  And, surprise in a big way.  A big golden way.  As in gold medal.

Congrats to Meb Keflezighi, two-time winner of the Quad-City Times Bix 7 and local Hog Heaven favorite, on his win in the men's race.  Despite Meb's win, the U.S.'s best hope among the men to medal at London is likely Ryan Hall, who finished second at the trials.  Meb is now 36-years-old and his marathon PR is 2:09:08.  Consider that Kenyan Patrick Makau ran 2:03:38 last September in Berlin.  Berlin is known as a fast venue, but still . . .

What to watch for in London this summer besides the men's and women's marathons: 1) I'll be watching to see how Michael Phelps, the undisputed king of the Beijing Games does.  He's four years older and his competition is stiffer.  Has fame, fortune, and the occasional toke slowed MP down? 2) In the pool on the women's side, I'll be rooting for Centennial, Colorado, high school student Missy Franklin, a sixteen-year-old phenom.  If you've seen Missy interviewed, you already know that she's a breath of fresh air. 3) Has motherhood slowed the queens of the sand: Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, 2004 and 2008 Gold medalists in Beach Volleyball.  Following the Beijing Games, Kerri took some time off to give birth.  Twice.  I'm not much of a fan of beach volleyball, but during the Beijing Games, I found that I couldn't not watch these two dynamos. Okay.  The bikinis didn't hurt.  4) Can anyone stay with Usain Bolt?  Gold medalist in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4x100 meters at Beijing, Usain holds world and Olympic records in all three events including a ridiculous 9.58 in the 100.