Day-to-Day

Yikes! It's been a while on this site since an update, so I figured I'd post something while I've got the chance (I got up early to run, but the howling wind and chilly temps cancelled that--I'm soft that way).

Chippewa 50k is back on, apparently...which means it's back on my schedule as well. This probably means the Navarino 26.2 won't happen this year for me (it's the following weekend) in all likelihood, and I'm sure a lot of the familiar faces won't be at Chippewa either (they'll be at Zumbro), but I really want another photo as a race reward, so I'm thinking I'll be there! It may be a "camping" trip at the Chippewa Moraine parking lot in the Suburban...and we'll see what happens with the weather--Early April can be a tricky time of year.

What's also official is that a marathon is coming to Elkhart Lake, along with a bunch of other events in what will be a great weekend! I would love to break 3 hours at that run, but after seeing the course map, I'm not sure it's possible because the RD has included several gut buster hills on the course. Then again, with a couple hilly 50k's in my future, anything's possible!

I'm also considering the Ice Age 50K (why not, right?) this spring...pending spousal approval. It would be a great chance to see a bunch of friends--both local and from blogger world--and it would set up a pretty epic spring for me:

February -- Run Toto Run 50k
March -- Trailbreaker Marathon (still no website)
April -- Chippewa 50k
May -- Ice Age 50k
May -- Great Midwest Marathon

I'm afraid to tell my family about this schedule--they already think I'm nuts. Ellie's is pretty much on board, as she's seen first hand the difference in me with and without running. The only caveat from her is that my schedule can't interfere with our Bradley Class schedule, and so far I'm good to go!

Speaking of Ellie and the Lil' Giebler, things have continued to go great! Last week was our ultrasound appointment, and based on Lil' G's size, we're looking at mid May--I'm not giving the specific date as we've got a pretty big "guess the arrival date" contest going on at my office. We're also not finding out the gender...that'll be a surprise too. Ellie's belly button has completely flattened out and she's feeling the baby's acrobatics more and more...what an absolute treasure this time is!


I also spent last week in Winter Park, CO having a blast skiing! A friend took a killer spill into about 4 feet of powder...

...and I had a blast skiing terrain way above my ability level...

Looking Ahead to 2010

Just when I thought my life was getting busy, enter fatherhood :)

With the baby due in May, I'm definitely leaving my fall running plans in the "Tentative" category. As for the spring, things are coming together. A couple new marathons in Wisconsin will highlight my spring. Thus far, I've got the following on the schedule:

February 13 - Run Toto Run 50K. I'm looking forward to this little weekend getaway to Kansas City, and then St. Louis for Saturday night. When I signed up for the event, I had big plans on breaking 5 hours, but the training has slowed down a bunch, so now I'm just looking forward to run. If I break 5 hours, that'd be great, too.

March 27 - Trailbreaker Marathon. This will be my third running of the Trailbreaker, assuming it actually takes place this year (no website that I can find as of yet). It's just a unique and fun event, and the time of year fits well with my training, too!

April 17 - Navarino Eco-Marathon. This event, which used to be a 15k, is actually pretty close to home for me, and the fact it's a TRAIL MARATHON has me excited for it! I'm hoping to run well at this event...but what is "well" in a trail marathon? Right now, I'd say 3:10 would be a pretty lofty goal.

May 29 - Possible Elkhart Lake Marathon? I've heard about a marathon in my backyard, but I'm not sure of the logistics yet, so we'll see what happens. Oh yeah, I'll also have a 1 or 2 week old baby at this point too :)

Moving on the fall, I'm DEFINITELY running the Glacial Trail 50K (or 50 mile). The North Face moved up their event, from late October to Middle September, and also expanded the event and distances to TWO days worth, so this one is definitely on my list as great training opportunity for Glacial Trail. I've always got The Fall 50 floating around in my head too. Ellie wants to run the Fall 50 with me and our baby--perhaps pushing the baby in a stroller the entire way.

Sounds like a blast! We'll have to work on the diaper-changing pitstops, though. And I'm not sure how Ellie will handle the nursing along route :)

2009 Review

In one final tribute to Glaven, I'm summarizing my 2009 using bullet points.

• In January, I ran an indoor marathon and finished 7th...and probably wouldn't ever do it again. (Who am I kidding, if I wouldn't be skiing the weekend of the event, I'd be there again, doing the Gold Medal Challenge)
• In February, I took a couple weeks off from running, and at one point, hit my dog in the head with a frozen tennis ball from 100 yards. I love that dog.
• In March, I had a GREAT training run on the IAT, and also ran pretty darn well in a local 13.1.
• In April (best month so far), I bonked big time at the Trailbreaker Marathon, impaled myself through my running shoes (of which I've now replaced with the MT100's), dreamed about Boston AGAIN, saying that I'd be there in 2010, which I won't, and then had the most fun I've ever had at an event. I'm still upset it's been cancelled.
• In May, I ran a PR of 3:02 at Journey's Marathon.
• In June, I ran my first ever 5 Mile Race, and then got my butt kicked by Grandma.
• In July, I enjoyed a lot of summer trail running...and a growing work load!
• In August, We moved into our house, I ran part of the North Face course in 95 degree weather and was carried off by deerflies, and I followed that up with my longest training run ever--over 30 miles! (Helen ran 32 that day. Show off.)
• In September, I set a new PR in Fox Cities (3:00:07) and dealt with bad stomach issues and missing my goal by 8 seconds, and after a great weekend vacation to Salt Lake City, it was time to focus on Twin Cities and the elusive Sub-3!
• In October, I showed off my "arm panties," then ran sub-3 pace through 22 miles at Twin Cities but couldn't finish the job, but followed that up with a GREAT PR in the trail 50k of 4:26 at North Face, which sealed the deal on my future in trail running. I ended October with a great run at Devil's Lake State Park, and now need to get down there again!
• November saw a new PR in the 10K (under 40 minutes) and a drastice decrease in mileage.
• And the year ended with only 2 posts, one being a tribute to Good Ol' Glaven. The highlight of December was that MARCY...YES MARCY!!!! posted on my site!
  
  Sorry for the lack of posting. Next post will outline some of the events I'm looking at for next spring. All bets are off for running (and posting) after the baby arrives in May. Ellie has started to experience "quickening" so I better get out and run some and see if any of it has rubbed off!