2015 PSRR Circuit Races

Okay, here's the list of the 2015 Circuit Races.

Race Date Race Name

1       1-Feb      Winterfest  (Kankakee) ***

2       8-Feb Frosty 5 Mile (Channahon) ***

3   7-Mar Manhattan Irish Fest 5k 

4       11-Apr Rockdale Ramblin' 10k ***

5   19-Apr Race to the Plate (Joliet) ***

6   16-May St. Mary Immaculate 5k (Plainfield) ***

7   20-Jun    Minooka Summerfest 5k   (Date not yet confirmed)

8    27-Jun PSRR Cross-Country Open (Plainfield) ***

9    3-Jul Liberty 5k (Morris) ***

10    23-Jul Sundowner 5k (Joliet) 

11    6-Aug Firefly 5k (Channahon) (Date not yet confirmed)

12    16-Aug DNA/PSRR Free 5k (Crest Hill) ***

13    5-Sep Shorewood Scoot 5k  (Date not yet confirmed)

14    6-Sep Ashley Can Half Marathon (Bourbonnais)  (Date not yet confirmed)

15    27-Sep Plainfield Harvest 5k 

16    17-Oct Forte 5k (Channahon) ***

17    25-Oct Joliet Junior College 5k *** (Date moved from May)

18    1-Nov Canal Connection 10k (Utica) 

19    15-Nov  Red Eye 8k (Joliet) ***

20    26-Nov Poultry & Pie Predictor 4 Mile (Joliet) 

The ones I am planning to run are the ones with three asterisks (***).  In general, I will be using these races as my speedwork throughout the year.  I've always felt that this was a fun way to get in some speed.  And since my main focus for this year is the ultras, I really don't need a lot of speedwork.  And to round out my training plan, I will be incorporating some hills and tempo runs.

Next time I will be laying out my whole race schedule for the year.

The PSRR Circuit

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, the PSRR Annual Banquet was on Saturday.  Among other things we establish and voted on this years circuit.  One of the things I have really liked doing, especially the last few years, is running many of the circuit races.  The primary aim of the circuit is to get people to participate.  An award is given if you participate in seven events.  This can include a marathon or half-marathon outside of the circuit and it can include volunteering at the various races.  So it is a combination of different wats to participate.  

But if you actually run at least seven events you can get a score.  The score is determined by where you place in relationship to other PSRR members who also run the race using an age-graded table.  If you finish as the first member you score 1; finishing second gives you a 2; finishing third gives you a 3; and so on.  Your best seven races are added up and lowest score wins.  I have to admit that I do like to see where I rank within the club.  Although I really doubt if I will ever finish in the top three even with the age-graded bonus, For 2014 I finished sixth.  For the coming year, the club is also going to have straight up competition in age groups to add a little more of a chance for people to achieve.  Age groups have been determined by the club demographics.  Here are the age groups for each gender.  They are based on age as of January 1, 2015.

Under 15

15-29

30-39

40-49

50-54

55-59

60-69

70 and over

They can change from year to year based on club demographics.  I will be in the 60-69 age group for this year which should make for some interesting competition.

Next post I will list this years circuit races and talk about which ones I am planning to run.

Banquet Time

Last night was the PSRR annual banquet.  Had great time.  Close to 100 people came.  Since I was being inducted in the Hall of Fame my family was there.  It was so nice celebrating with them.  Considering I've only been a little better than average runner most of my life, it was definitely a thrill and an honor.  Being part of the club for 35 years and staying semi-competitive in my respective age groups over the years seemed to do the job.  Longevity is the key.  All my contemporaries from my younger days are no longer around, but I've gained a new set of running companions which is pretty cool.  I'm sure being a lot more active in the club the last few years helped as well.  In fact, after last night, I am now VP of membership for this year.  That will keep me busier.

Overall, it was just a great time with good people.

Recovery Time

The weather lately has been pretty reasonable for a Chicago winter.  Highs in the lower 30s and lows in the 20s.  It has made it a lot easier getting in the running.  Not much snow either, although I wouldn't mind some accumulation.  All in all, the last couple of weeks I have been able to maintain my fitness and I still have several weeks of taking it fairly easy letting my body recover from pushing it the last two months of 2014.  As a result, I probably won't be making a lot of entries here until it is time to start my Starved Rock Marathon training.  I'll try to write at least a couple times a week just to stay in practice

Streaks!

Why do so many of us care about streaks?  How many days can we work without missing a day?  How many wins or losses in a row?  How many days in a row can we exercise?  How many days in a row can we run?  Some people put a lot of stock in streaks.  I think it is absolutely incredible how some people can put together years of running streaks.  I have run a lot of miles over the years, but have always had trouble putting together a consecutive day streak.  My best was during 2009 and part of 2010.  I managed 408 days.  Over my running career, however, my usual consecutive day streaks have been in the 100 to 150 range.  I do have one streak that I am a bit proud of though.  I have run over 2000 miles a year for 24 years in a row.  With my knee surgery last June I thought this one would have ended, but somehow with a strong November and December, I reached that magic number.  Can I make it 25?  We will see.

Nothing to do with running, but it looks like we sold the townhome today.  Yeah!!!  Had to come down on our price, but that was to be expected in this economy.  Now we just have to see if they will adjust the closing date so we don't have to pay an extra month's mortgage payment.

More on Training Races

Over the last week of posts I have talked about my long training races leading up to my 100 miler in September.  How they would be ways to get in my long runs with built in support.  But another purpose will be to measure where I am in my training and to check my level of fitness at each juncture.  I also plan on enjoying the company of running with others.  I have found that ultra runners are such great people, that you can't help but have a good time when you are around them.  This should be a nice change of pace since most of my training will most likely be solo.

August's Howl at the Moon

Yeah.  The weather's back to a more wintry normal.  Temps in the 20s.  Although some of the paths still had lots of snow, it was still nice getting out there for a nice 14 miler.

August's training race has been by far my favorite race over the years.  It is the Howl at the Moon 8-Hour Run which takes place at Kennekuk Cove County Park near Danville, IL.  It is so well run and is almost more party and get together than race.  The people are great and the atmosphere is just wonderful with camping both the night before and after.  It is a 3.29 mile loop that is mostly trail.  This will be my 17th running of the race.  Although I want to use this as my last long training run, it will be hard for me not to be competitive.  I have always done pretty well here finishing as high as 4th place overall and winning my age group several times.  Given that I have just entered a new age group by turning 60, I know that subconsciously I will be wanting to try for the age group win again.  But consciously, I have to not push too hard with the Hennepin Hundred only four weeks later.  What has made this race even more special the last few years is that some or all of my family has come down, camped out and spent the day with me.  And last year, my middle daughter, Lexie, entered and ran it with me.  She covered her first ultra distance of over 27 miles.  This year my oldest daughter, Jennifer, and Lexie both want to run it.  So it should be a terrific time.

Well that about wraps up my basic training race strategy for the Hennepin Hundred.  I will be running a number of shorter races (5Ks, 5 milers, 10Ks, etc.) throughout all this training (this will be my speed work).  More details will be forthcoming later on these when I have the PSRR circuit race schedule.

Cold, Again & July's Training Race

Dang!  It's been cold out there.  Have gotten out for a bit on these last two days.  But I swear it seemed my eyeballs were freezing when running into the wind (negative 20 to 30 windchills).  Tomorrow it is finally supposed to get back to the low teens and hopefully windchills in the positive single digits.

Back to racing/training plans.

July:  The big training race this month is Christmas in July at Lisle, IL.  It has a 5k, 10K, 6-Hour, 12-Hour & 24-Hour.  I will be doing the 6-Hour.  It is a about a one mile loop course that will make the logistics easy.  Planning on running it easy and hopefully reach about 30 miles.  What is really nice about the 6-Hour is that it starts at midnight, so it will give me a nice run in the dark.  I will definitely be doing nighttime running during the hundred.  

Next, August...

PSRR & Recognition

Short one tonight.  Yesterday I found out that I have been elected into the Prairie State Road Runners' Hall Of Fame.  Considering I am not anywhere near being an elite runner I feel very fortunate to be honored in this way.  It is not something I ever thought would happen.  But a combination of being in the club a long time, generally being competitive in my age groups, and doing my share of volunteering over all the years must have done the trick.  I join a great group of people who have already been inducted.  I am truly appreciative of the recognition.

Chicago Winters

We're in the midst of another typical Chicago winter here.  We are having a stretch of below zero temps the last few days culminating with three inches of snow last night.  The snow was kind of nice this morning, but 3 degrees is just too cold.  Tomorrow's high temp is only supposed to be -2 and over night down to -15 with windchills as low as -35.  This is the type of weather that makes training at this time of year so tough.  I really do not like the cold weather.  In fact, I hate being cold.  So, getting myself out the door on days like these truly takes a major effort.  And it seems to get harder as the years pass by.  But, hopefully, this will just make me stronger.

Give me heat any day.  My best marathon had temps in the 80s.  And I have always done well in the heat.  This is the reason I would have such a hard time with a major spring race.  I wouldn't be able to get the training I feel I need during the cold months.  Training through a whole summer is what gives me the confidence that I can have a very successful fall season.  But it is important that I get out often enough in January and February to maintain a solid base going into my formal training.

So here's to our good ole' Chicago's winters!

Training Races in June

June is the month that I haven't really found a long race to do for training.  But I will keep looking.  But I do have two shorter trail races lined up.  One is another Kennekuk race, the Lake Mingo Trail Run (7.1 miles around Lake Mingo in the Kennekuk Cove County Park) and the second is the Dew It! 13.1 Mile Trail Run in Griffith, IN.  If I can't find a long one to fit in, I will just run extra miles each of these days after the races.  These two races should give me some work on a bit more technical trails that what I have around home.  Plus most of my home training will inevitably be on the roads.

Next - July

Races as Training

With the Hennepin Hundred on the schedule, I wanted to find some races that would fit into a training plan leading up to the 100.  After some searching, I found what I was looking for.  Three races that should fit the bill, each one progressively giving me more time on my feet.  

The first one will be in May.  I signed up for the Starved Rock Marathon in Ottawa, IL.  I ran the inaugural one last year.  It was a well-organized race with a really nice course that I struggled to finish in a bit over 4 hours.  This was during my left knee problems before my meniscus surgery, so the result was not really unexpected.  It wasn't that the time was slow, it just was a hard last few miles.  I am figuring that four to four and a half hours will actually be a good training run for this year.  With my training starting in February, I should be ready for this.

Tomorrow - Race #2

My First Siberian Express Trail Race

My first Siberian Express was today.  It is 7.45 mile trail race at the Kickapoo State Recreation Area in Illinois put on by the Kennekuk Road and Trail Runners club (KRR).  It is always at the beginning of January, so the weather is a big question mark.  And it is about a two and a half hour drive from home.  So it has always been tough for me to decide to do it.  But this year they had a special reduced price and I decided to go for it.

We had icy rain/snow during the night which turned to rain in the morning and throughout most of the day with temps in the mid-30s which made for a very muddy and slippery course.  But it was a lot of fun running through the slop through the woods.  But being my first time, I really didn't know what I was getting myself into.  The first half was pretty easy as long as you didn't mind the mud and puddles.  Once your feet got wet it didn't matter how many more puddles you had to run through.  But, oh, the second half!  A couple of monster slippery hills and slanted trails made staying upright a large task.  Needless to say I went down a couple of times and by the finish I was carrying a lot of Kickapoo mud with and on me.  But it was great time nonetheless and a great challenge.  And as always, KRR puts on a fantastic race!

Plans for the New Year

So what are my plans for the new year.  Over the last month I have been putting together my calendar of races for the year.  My 'A' race is a new 100 mile, the Hennepin Hundred.  Reasons I picked this one are several.

1.  Easier to get into because of the newness (although because of a website glitch, I couldn't sign up for the first hour)

2.  The course is along the Hennepin Canal Towpath (non-technical & flat limestone path)

3.  Point-to-point (have not run one before)

4.  Almost impossible to get lost

5.  Second weekend of September (still should be warm and have all summer to prepare)

More tomorrow...

A New Year Begins

Start of a new year. After a bit of a down year with my knee surgery las June 30th, I wasn't able to achieve my running goals. Had to walk most of Howl, only finished 50K of my Run Woodstock 100K (which originally was supposed to be a 100 Miler), and ran most of the shorter end of year races slower than I wanted to. I did manage to get over 2000 miles for the year, however, with a consistent mix of running and walking. This was significant because it extended my streak of 24 years in a row achieving this yearly total. Still feeling the knee at times, but overall feeling pretty fit to start the year. I will write about my goals for this year over the next couple of days' entries.