This quote gives me and my Minnesota brethren hope! Well and I guess anyone who runs through the winter!
There is a great advantage in training under unfavorable conditions. It is better to train under bad conditions, for the difference is then a tremendous relief in a race. – Emil Zatopek
From Runner’s World’s Quote of the day (aka 101 Kicks in the Butt).
The quote is extra special on a day like today:
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You’ve read my thoughts about my race during the Twin Cities Marathon, but I thought I would share what other people have said.
First, here is a list of other bloggers:
Have you heard about Marathon Guide? They are a great resource I’ll have to right more about sometime, but for now, they let people comment on a race. Here are a couple highlights:
Outstanding race, year after year (about: 2008)
Course: 5 Organization: 4 Fans: 5
S. W. from St. Paul, Minnesota (10/14/08)
6-10 previous marathons | 4-5 Twin Cities MarathonsI love the Twin Cities Marathon and have now completed the marathon four times with this year (despite the rain and 48-degree weather), achieving a PR time. As is the case with Minnesota weather, you should be prepared for almost anything. In 2007, it was 80 degrees with 70% humidity, so if you do not train for varying conditions, the TCM can become a challenge very quickly. Overall, though, the fans were outstanding and seemed louder than ever, given that they must have been freezing while standing in the cold, rainy weather. The course was organized with plenty of volunteers at the water stops. Although, the event achieves a near-perfect mark in my opinion, I think the TCM fails miserably with post-race refreshments. Compared to Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, which is stockpiled with goodies, the TCM should look to get more food sponsors and thus give runners a real treat when finishing. It seems like this area of the organization continues to decline every year.
Course: 5 Organization: 4 Fans: 5
Ryan Nied from Plainfield, IL (10/9/08)
11-50 previous marathons | 1 Twin Cities MarathonTwin Cities 2008 was marathon #13 for me in 7 short years. I recommend you run this race.
I’ve read a number comments about the weather. I ran Chicago last year in 88-degree weather, so although I did fear hypothermia at one point, it was much better than last year.
The reason? The spectators were downright awesome. I couldn’t believe how many weathered the storm along with us runners.
The finisher’s shirt is great.
I set a 55-second PR despite the challenging conditions, and I am totally ecstatic about how the morning went. It was an extremely memorable, positive experience for me.
Couple of minor suggestions:
1. Aid stations need to be more frequent earlier on – not a fan of having to wait until almost mile 2.5 for a drink. Later on, they are in good frequency.
2. Check mile marker #3’s position for accuracy. Had an unusually fast mile – and it felt short.
Overall, great job by the organizers.
Holy Hannah! (about: 2008)
Course: 5 Organization: 5 Fans: 5
L. Y. from Southeast USA (10/7/08)
3 previous marathons | 1 Twin Cities MarathonWow, what can I say. The weather was AWFUL!!!!!!! But the race was fabulous!As everyone stated previously, the fans were amazing. Hats off to the guy dressed up as the televangelist with the “BELIEVE” sign. You definitely were the best out there!
I keep reading these comments about the hard hills from 21 to 25, and I’m thinking, “Really?” Seriously, they were not that bad. Very slow and gradual. Totally doable.
I have to agree with the comments about the porta-potties. There were definitely not enough. Sadly, I had to stop twice, and each time I did, it cost me about five minutes off my time. And since I’m a woman, I don’t exactly have a choice but to wait in line.
The post-race support was great and the food was adequate. I appreciate the simple things, so I was psyched when I saw the rolls!
Overall, no complaints about this race. The weather was terrible but the city, support, and beautiful route more than made up for it! Kudos to Minneapolis!
Course: 5 Organization: 5 Fans: 5
Gregory Ruthig from Iowa (10/7/08)
6-10 previous marathons | 1 Twin Cities MarathonPros:
1. The course is as nice as advertised. The lakes and neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul were pretty, even in the pouring rain. Running over the Mississippi was a cool experience.
2. Crowd support (considering the weather) was phenomenal. I never got tired of hearing: “Goooo!” being shouted with thick Minnesota accents.
3. Volunteers were equally as good. Not only were they friendly, but they were clearly well trained by the organizers. For a runner who only wants to think about running on race day, they really made everything run smoothly.
4. Despite never having visited the cities before, my wife was able to drive around town and see me five times along the course. I can’t imagine that this is possible at most urban marathons.
5. I was worried that with only two corrals that slower runners would clog up the front of the starting line. This was not the case at all. From what I could see, everybody in the first corral was very conscientious about starting with similarly paced runners.
6. Finisher’s shirt. I usually don’t care about this sort of thing, but putting on the dry finisher’s shirt after running in the cold rain was heavenly.Cons (these are very minor and more like constructive criticism):
1. The layout of the receptacles for the warm-up bags made dropping them off pretty chaotic. If they were placed in a long line, or just more spread out, it would have been easier.
2. Getting up to the first corral involved waiting in a slow-moving line that made me get a little panicky about the race starting while I was in line. In the end I was able to make it up there with several minutes to spare.Breaking my PR by three minutes may be affecting my comments, but after running six marathons in four states, this was among my favorites, despite the rainy weather. This race combines much of the excitement of the mega marathons, especially the fan support, but lacks many of the logistical headaches. This was my first trip to Minnesota and I found the people made the visit and the marathon a great experience.
Course: 5 Organization: 5 Fans: 5
J. W. from Savage, Minnesota (10/7/08)
1 previous marathon | 1 Twin Cities MarathonThis was my first marathon and I had a wonderful experience. The logistics of signing up for the race, to picking up my racing bib and chip at the expo the day before the race, to getting situated at the starting line all went extremely smoothly. Despite the pouring rain and 47-degree temperature, there was fan support for the entire length of course. I had an overall wonderful experience and plan on doing it again next year.
That’s enough random thoughts. Did I miss your post? Let me know in the comments and I’ll add it to the list.
[tags] Twin Cities Marathon, Twin Cities, Marathon[/tags]
The Green Microgym image from NY Times
A lot of people talk about changing the environment, ending global warming, and other related issues. But few people take dramatic action to do anything about it. We have joined to masses who use the environmentally friendly lightbulbs and I usually ride the bus or ride my bike to work. These are little things but they do add up, eventually!
Running is an interesting sport because at its most basic levels it is quite simple. Technically we just need a pair of shorts and a shirt to go running (barefoot running is a niche part of the community). Runners have created a large industry around the sport, which isn’t always as environmentally friendly. A large chunk of our shoes are made of rubber or some other oil derived product, we create large amounts of trash during races and training – which includes plastic bottles. As runners we are also keenly aware of our environment and the direct impact it can have on our running. Smog especially can play havoc with our lungs.
Companies such as Brooks are begining to create products which have less of a negative affect on the environment. The BioMoGo is currently in stores and their full line will use this product by the end of next year. Races such as the Urban Wildland races are starting to think about the impact they have.
Take everything I just talked about and throw it inside a building and you get a gym/fitness center with Personal trainers in Washington DC. One can only imagine the energy required to run a gym, not to mention the amount of water used, sewage produced, and overall negative impact on the envrionment. Yet for many runners they are a vital part of the routine – especially in cold weather states like Minnesota.
Enter the Eco-Gym. A newer style gym that relates to the environment in a different way. Some like the Green Microgym capture the energy output from exercise machines to partially power the facility. They also use solar panels to generate more of their electricity. Their website lists ways they are trying to be “Green” here are a few examples:
As you can tell some are more drastic than others! I imagine most gyms have an automated payment system. The Green Microgym is priced at $49 a month which seems pretty comparable to most places I’ve looked at in the past.
What do you think of this idea? Would you be willing to pay a little more if your gym went eco-friendly?
HT: NY Times
[tags] Environment, Running, Eco-Gym, Green [/tags]
Image via Wikipedia
Are you tired of hearing about the marathon yet? Well after Twin Cities I am pretty much pain free by now!!! YAY!! Thanks for all the congratulations, comments, and insights about my race. They are appreciated. Below are a few charts I’ve pulled out from SportTracks. They give a nice visual reference for the 26.2 mile journey called a marathon. In case you missed the more detailed race reviews, look back at Grading the Race Plan and Race Review.
You can get a better glimpse of the images by clicking on them.
First up is the pace chart, you can clearly see the 4 walk breaks and I would say some early inaccuracies (pace dips at beginning). There is no way I ever ran at 4 minute pace, even for a split second!
This next chart shows my pace per mile. For some reason SportTracks really thinks I ran a 6:40 mile, but I showed you yesterday that it was more like 7:27. I should also note that the miles it shows at the bottom (1.08, 2.11, etc) that is based on the splits I took after passing each mile marker.
This is the first time I’ve ever viewed this chart before. It shows the pace per mile in comparison to the overall average pace. My average pace was 7:51.
In the past the elevation chart has tended to be the most inaccurate part of the Garmin data. You can look at the marathon’s official elevation chart here (PDF)
Is this too much data? I’m really intrigued by the discrepancies within the data. I’ve never noticed it before. What do you think?
[tags] Twin Cities, Marathon, Twin Cities Marathon, Garmin, GPS[/tags]
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| Image from Flckr |
There are hundreds of miles of trails – maybe even thousands across the greater Twin Cities metro area. Some have no real purpose other than winding around, enjoying nature. Some serve as vital arteries of transportation and commerce. The Midtown Greenway falls into the latter category.
Cutting East-West through the heart of South Minneapolis, the Greenway is a major commuter artery connecting the Western Suburbs to the Mississippi River. It is also a three lane recreational mecca of sorts easily connecting with the chain of lakes, Midtown Global Market, West River Parkway, and a variety of other bike trails.
Officially the “Midtown Greenway” is only 5.5 miles long but the trail continues on after leaving Minneapolis and Hennepin County. The Star-Tribune recently reported that for the the quarter ending on June 30th that overall trail usage was up 30% and three-fold since 2003. From a running standpoint this means the trail is quite busy. I would argue that this facility maintained and advocated for by the Midtown Greenway Coalition is invaluable as a paved trail for those who need paved surfaces to recreate.
Living only 4 blocks from the Greenway and 6 from an entrance/exit I use the trail for many of my runs and bike commuting to work. From a running standpoint it is extremely nice to be away from cars and to have a flat surface to run on – although it does get a little boring and repetitive. The trail occasionally has a dirt shoulder that I can run on to avoid the pounding pavement but you can’t count on being able to run there. I said flat, but the newest addition – Martin Olav Sabo bike-pedestrian bridge over Hiawatha Ave – provides a pretty steep incline for both the runner and biker. However, it can provide some pretty sweet views of downtown at the right times of day.
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| Image from Flckr |
In the winter the Greenway is extremely useful because it gets plowed on a regular basis and you don’t need to worry about cars sliding around and hitting you – just a bicycle!
I have really enjoyed being able to utilize the Greenway so much. It wasn’t until I started training for the marathon that I really started branching off and running different routes from my house. The Greenway is just so convienent!
Hope to see you out there!
[tags] Midtown Greenway, Bike Trails, Minneapolis, Recreation [/tags]