Riverside 5000

We went to a wedding just north of Tulsa this weekend and decided to find a run the morning of the wedding. A search came up with the Riverside 5000 - a flat fast 5k in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The run came at the end of a short week of running; I just got in two 10k runs on Tues/Wed, had a migraine after work Thursday so I didn't get to run. Friday was mostly driving and a two-hour delay at the hotel. I was VERY ready to run Saturday morning.

We got to the run around 7:20 and they were just about to start the "elite" division - guys who could easily run under 18:00 5k and women who were probably under 19:30 or so. There was prize money for this race, and they let the women leave 2 minutes earlier than the guys. Interesting.

We got our packets, did some warmup jogging and headed to the start. There were a few hundred people there, and a lot of high-school age kids. This race was two loops on Riverside. So you go straight ahead, come back toward the finish, turn around again and go out, turn once more and finish up. Good parts to this - it was pretty flat and there were three water stops... bad part - three hairpin loops and it was in the 80s.

Started out pretty fast and did the first mile in 5:46. Slowed down for the second a little bit and it went by in 5:56 or so. I was feeling great and passing people here and there. I got to see Erica three times during the race, which was a first. The third mile was tough - just pushing it as much as I could. Skipped the water stop at mile 3.0 and sprinted to the finish, passing one guy in the process but not quite getting by another. Was shooting for under 18:00 but ended up with 18:16 - still a PR! I was 7th overall and 1st in my age group.

After Erica finished we hopped in the car and went back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. It got to 104 degrees that day! Crazy!



Riverside 5000 Open * 5 km * August 14, 2010
River Parks, Tulsa, Okla.
295 finishers * Cloudy, low 80's, slight wind
USATF certified course, USATF sanctioned event
Administered by Glen's Racing Service
MALE OPEN RESULTS
DIV/TOT IS AGE DIVISION PLACE/NUMBER IN DIVISION: PACE IS MIN PER km
Place Div/Tot Div Name City St Age Time Pace
===== ======== ===== ===================== =============== == === ======= =====
1 1/41 M1619 Erik Alnes Tulsa OK 17 17:32 3:31
2 1/47 M1315 Michael Duke Tulsa OK 15 17:47 3:34
3 2/41 M1619 Kevin Diaz Tulsa OK 16 17:52 3:35
4 3/41 M1619 Josiah Soap Jenks OK 19 18:02 3:37
5 4/41 M1619 Quentin Fowler Jenks OK 16 18:13 3:39
6 1/2 M2024 Dan Matthews Tulsa OK 22 18:16 3:40
7 1/6 M2529 Nicholas Hanson Blair NE 28 18:16 3:40
8 5/41 M1619 Levi Garrett Tulsa OK 16 18:19 3:40
9 6/41 M1619 Brad Arnold Tulsa OK 17 18:19 3:40
10 2/47 M1315 Brandon Ellis Sapulpa OK 15 18:28 3:42

Lake Wehrspann 10k - 8.1.10

This was my first 10k of the year, and I was not training for it specifically at all.  I did no interval training, speedwork, mile repeats, etc.  I have just been running, and mostly on trails.  That being said, I was just out to break 40 minutes again.  That would suffice.

We got to the lake about 30 minutes before the start, had time to hit the bathroom, put on our numbers and timing chips, etc…   All the normal things you do before a race.  We jogged back to the car, put our t-shirts in the trunk and headed to the start.  We’d never done this race before, or even been to Lake Wehrspann.  Apparently it was the 23^rd year they had done the 10k though.  We lined up at the start and got race instructions – we were told that there would be three water stops and the course would be completely on hilly concrete pathways.

The course was very scenic and you could see the lake virtually the whole time.  I was around 5^th place, behind 3 males and 1 female, until the 5k point.  I felt warmed up by then and went for it.  I held the pace around 6:25 or so, and found the energy for a 6:00 sixth mile.  Caught up to the leader/pacer around 6.1 miles, passed and won – not the best time but it was under 40 minutes (39:45 – barely!)  Of course, I didn't know for sure that I won until I got the award, because the ribbon was not held up.  Oh well.

 Next race - the Riverside 5000 in OKLAHOMA!

Stampede For Steps 5k

Erica was the race director for this event and she did a great job.  She spent the last couple of months calling local business and asking for sponsorship – ended up getting support from Woodhouse, American Broadband, No Frills, Scheels, Fernando’s Mexican Food, Great Harvest Bread Company and RoadID.  I helped as much as I could, promoting the event, marking the course and finding a timing system to use.   We had close to thirty runners, with 7-8 signing up the day of the race. 

She even designed the shirt – and it looks AWESOME!

She called everybody to the start, gave some background about the Hall Steps Foundation and a little direction about the 5 kilometer course and we were off!  The course started off with a long downhill and was flat for a couple of blocks.  Then there was a sharp right turn and we went up a steep hill, then right back down.  I hung out in third for a while and moved into second at the first big hill.  From there it was flat for another block or two then there was a long gradual hill, with a steep hill at the top.  The water station was nested in a corner, right before another downhill segment.  That was pretty much how the whole course went, up and down hills.  Here is from an earlier time when I ran it:

SFS 5k route

There was around 400 feet of elevation change, which is a lot for a road 5k!  I never did catch up with the leader (Mr Craig Christians) and ended up second in 19:22. 

(bib #1 - very exciting)

The kids’ run was a lot of fun to watch, and I ran it with my nephew.  It was his first race, at 2 years old!  He even got a finisher ribbon to show off.  Here we are lining up at the start:

at the finish:

and receiving his ribbon:

We ended up raising a few hundred dollars for the Hall Steps Foundation, and nobody was injured or rushed to the hospital!  

Week after the 50k

Well, the 50k is over.  It was a lot of fun, and I healed very quickly!  I did an easy 5k around the neighborhood after a full day of rest.  Also did two days of trail running about 6 miles each.  I didn't have a lot of time during the week for some reason.  I was planning on running a lot over the weekend but it just flew by.  Friday I didn't run because I was busy doing something very important...  Don't remember what though.  On Saturday I had to mow and wash the car to get it ready for sale - sold it successfully later that afternoon.  Saturday was very hot out, reaching close to 100 degrees and humid.  It didn't cool down later that night either.  Sunday was full of babysitting, shopping, birthday celebration and more heat/humidity.  Oh well.

Only ended up with 15 miles for the whole week - started this week out with a 14 mile run to our church softball game in Omaha (we lost...).

Found out that the Bobcat Trail Marathon in Glouster, Ohio is partnering with Vibram Five Fingers to implement a VFF category!  I am registering today-


Next race - Stampede for Steps 5k in Blair 7.31.10

After that - Lake Wehrspan 10k in Omaha 8.1.10

Psycho Psummer 50k

This Saturday was the fourth annual Psycho Psummer (Run Toto Run) 50k/15mile trail run at Wyandotte County Lake Park in Kansas City, KS.  I signed up for the 50k race, and my wife did the 15 mile race.  The race director, Bad Ben, made a change a few days before and instead of having all the runners start at the same time he had the 50k start at 8am and the 15mi start 30 minutes later to avoid trail congestion.  This worked out great, and I never felt like the trails were packed or that I couldn’t pass or be passed at any time. 

I decided not to wear my VFFs for this race, because after reading all of the reviews listed on the trail nerds site I found out there are a lot of rocky areas and mud – both of which aren’t the best conditions for VFFs.   I have been training a lot in them though - these pictures are from a recent 16 mile trail run in my Sprints:

I went with some simple cross country flats:

First Loop

It must have rained in the days prior to us arriving from Omaha, because the first couple of miles were pretty muddy.  I started slow, as it was my first time running past the marathon distance.  I got between two people who were running around 10:30 pace and decided to run with them for a while, chatting casually while running.  For all three of us it was our first 50k race so we were taking it easy and weren’t sure of what to expect.  Around the 4-5 mile mark I thought I would go ahead of the group I was in and run alone for a bit – my favorite part of trail running is being alone, not watching the feet in front of you.  I was alone for the next 4 miles or so and it was some of the most fun I’ve had running for a long time.  The aid stations were awesome – filled my water bottle for me, offered a delightful array of food – had everything from watermelon to oranges to pb&j’s to fruit snacks, etc…  I got out of the woods at the other end of the lake and there was some open running with long grass to get back into the woods and head back to the start – ran relatively hard here, around 7:30 pace; it was nice to stretch the legs a bit.  I saw the photographer a few times on the first loop – he is very sneaky but extremely nice.  

At the first aid station back on this area I caught up with a few guys around my age and decided to run with them for a few miles – they were moving pretty good at around 9:45 pace.  They lost me at the Boy Scout aid station – I wanted to hang out for a few minutes and eat!  I left there and made my way through the Wyandotte Triangle – got back and was told there was around 2.5 miles back to the start.  These were probably the slowest miles of each loop.  It was here where it got even muddier and rockier than at the very start.  It was a slow trip back from there but I made it to the halfway point at around 2:48.  My goal was around 3 hours per loop so I was right on track.  I didn’t wait at the halfway point too long- there were a few guys there changing socks, and regrouping but I figured I’d just move along (after eating some fruit snacks and drinking some soda of course!).

Second Loop

The second loop started out fine – the 15 mile runners actually packed down the mud and it was not as bad as the first time around.  I was trotting along, enjoying myself while drinking water and eating fruit snacks.  I got to the first aid station (again) and was told I was in 14^th place – not bad, I thought!  I was shooting for top ten so I thought there might be a chance for that.  I didn’t know how I would feel after 20+ miles though.  The weather was starting to heat up but fortunately most of the race is under complete tree cover so it was still very enjoyable.   One of the most fun parts of the course is the rope attached to the trees that you use to climb up a very steep slope.  There are no pictures of me doing this, but I’m pretty sure I had a huge grin on my face the whole time.  For miles 18-22 or so I was alone, and having a great time.  I passed a runner every now and then that was slowing down – I was feeling better and better for some reason – must be the fruit snacks.  I made a wrong turn around mile 26 which cost me a few minutes.  Got back to the Wyandotte Triangle and started catching up with the very last of the 15 mile runners who cheered me on.  The last 2.5 miles again were very slow, muddy and rocky.  Got out of the woods and ran through the half mile or so of grass to the finish in 5:45! 

5

Nicholas Hanson

340

28

M

16

2:48:36.3

4

2:56:59.4

5:45:35.7

This was one of the most fun races I’ve ever done – the fellow runners were nice, and the aid station volunteers were all awesome and very helpful.   Ben and Sophia put on a GREAT race!  And thanks for the free pictures!  Will definitely do it again next year if I can!  I’m even thinking about doing the Free State 100k…

After the race we got some Applebees and I promptly fell asleep:

Great day.

Update - here is the upload from my Garmin Forerunner 110:  Psycho Psummer 50k

Blair Downtown Mile

This was the fifth annual Blair Elite Downtown Mile race in Blair, Nebraska.  I got an email from the Omaha Running Club that they were going to be nice enough to allow community entrants into the race - normally it is invite-only.  I had never done a mile race before and it was only $10 so I thought - why not?  I didn't practice 200 meter repeats, or go to a track for workouts or anything... just thought I would wing it.

We all rode a bus from the YMCA to the start line, did some warmups and ran the course once (twice for some people).  We waited around a bit more and it got hotter and hotter...  for some reason they have the race a little after noon in JUNE when the temperature is close to 90 degrees.

Then we finally lined up at the start and the gun went off:

I ran pretty much as hard as I could - I saved a little for the end though.  Got passed at the last second (literally) by a high school kid - you can see me laughing in the picture.  He sure snuck up on me - I had passed him about 300 meters before that.  Oh well.  Congrats to him.  Ended up third place - 5:09:44.

I wish I had known that the community registrants weren't eligible for awards - there were some people there that ended up getting money and two awards.  At least I got some pizza!

BLAIR MILE
                         June 12, 2010 - Blair, NE

                          Community Mile Results

Place Sex/Tot  Name                         City                Age Sex   Time   
===== ======== ============================ =================== === === ======== 
    1   1/7    Kevin Bane                   Oakland IA           22 M    4:44.07 
    2   2/7    Mitchell Martin              Milford NE           15 M    5:09.32 
    3   3/7    Nicholas Hanson              Blair NE             27 M    5:09.44 
    4   4/7    Kyle Hoggi                   Milford NE           15 M    5:25.09 
    5   5/7    Sean Fredricksen             Milford NE           14 M    5:25.11 
    6   1/5    Bryli Troyer                 Milford NE           14 F    5:58.68 
    7   2/5    Michelle Hall                Omaha NE             18 F    5:58.82 
    8   3/5    Allison Spath                Milford NE           16 F    6:02.81 
    9   6/7    Jared Bledsoe                Blair NE             10 M    6:08.08 
   10   7/7    Ryan Dibben                  Blair NE             18 M    6:20.00 
   11   4/5    Brittany Gropp               Milford NE           14 F    6:26.76 
   12   5/5    Maria Bledsoe                Blair NE             45 F    6:46.48 

Ashland JWC 5k - first annual!

pictures from Ashland JWC shutterfly page:

ashlandjwc.shutterfly.com/

As the title states, this was the first annual Ashland NE Junior Woman’s Club 5k Fun Run.  Erica and I were tipped off to the event by a fellow member of our softball team.  Neither of us had been to Ashland, and we were free that morning so we gladly signed up.  The weather was nice – about 72 degrees and a bit humid, if I remember correctly…  I decided to wear my blue VFF Classics for the race, because for some reason I had the Velcro strap on my Sprints a bit tight at the CB ½ marathon and they rubbed the top of my feet raw.  They are healed now and I’m back running in the Sprints, which I prefer by far for running over the Classics.  Anyway, this was a very small race compared to the Boystown run on Monday.  I could see a few people looking at my shoes and then tapping the person next to them and pointing…  I’m used to it by now.  I jogged around a bit and did some strides to warm up and then went to wait at the start.  When the gun went off I was a little antsy and went right to the lead.  It felt like I was running pretty fast but it was just so fun that I figured I’d go with it.  After a couple minutes I looked down at my Garmin watch and noticed that I had pushed the wrong button at the start and that it was not calculating.  Rats.  I started the clock there – somewhere before the first mile.  There were two kids that had volunteered to lead everybody on their bicycles – thanks to them!  It was a nice town to run through and nice to do a 5k – I have been doing longer distances lately so 5k felt it went by really fast.  The two mile splits I got were around 6:06 and 6:16 – I finished first in 18:XX so the first mile must have been 5:40 or so.  Afterward the second finisher came up and talked to me – thought the “shoes” were cool.  He did very well, in my opinion, finishing in around 22 minutes while pushing his son in a stroller!  Impressive.  I’d say that’s good for a 2-3 minute handicap.  Overall very fun – they should do it again next year!

Update - Official time for the race was 18:31