Running – The Average Guy Network: Recent Episodes
Running – The Average Guy Network
A Sunday morning race at Quarry Oaks Golf Course in Ashland, NE. Beautiful morning with temps in the 40s at race start. This race is never an easy one. With a combo of hills, streams, golf greens and lots of runners, its not a race you will ever finish for time. It was a good run and the post run activities were great. I think this is one I will add to my “do it every year race from here on out! http://www.beerandbagel.com/bbnebraska Event results at http://onlineraceresults.com/event/view_event.php?event_id=18544
A beautiful Sunday morning in Omaha on September 25th for the annual running of the Omaha Corporate Cup. This year I had not trained at all and was going to walk the 2 mile. Competition got the best of me and I ended up run/walking the 10K in just over an hour. My worst time ever in a 10K, but might have been the most fun I have had running in a while. Might have to try more of that! In the news: http://www.omaha.com/multimedia/corporate-cup-k/collection_b7e53f66-833d-11e6-8823-af4bc6530e0e.html http://www.wowt.com/content/news/Corporate-Cup-2016—the-feet-the-feat-and-the-fete-394723051.html
On a chilly Sunday morning, late in October, the 1st annual GOATz 5/10.5/20/30 mile Trail run had it’s first edition. The race was well run and laid out very well. http://www.goatz50k.com/
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 Trek up the Tower [8:47] [7:56] [7:35] Leprechaun Chase 10K [52:56] 10K [51:25] 10K State Farm 10 Mile [1:28:59] 10M [1:27:33] Fish Fry 5K [26:03] Novartis Run [53:30] Lincoln [2:05] [1:52] Offutt Runway Run [57:49] Papillion Half [1:55:24] Omaha Corporate Cup [1:11:26] [59:02] Beer and Bagel [51:58] 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 TLC Groundhog [49:21] 10K [50:39] 10K Trek up the Tower [7:44] [7:36].25 [7:14] [7:25] [8:24] Frozen Burrito [38:35] 4.7M Leprechaun Chase [53:59] 10K [57:54] 10K [48:26] 10K Ni-Bthaska-Ke Trail [1:32:45] 12K State Farm [1:33:21] 10M [1:35:59] 10M [1:24] 10M Novartis Run [52:20]
September 23, 2012 – Just coming off the Corporate Cup last week and a quick decision to run Omaha Half this weekend made for a crazy week. I also spent a big chunk on the week traveling. Wednesday in Iowa City and Thursday and Friday in Madison, WI for some Gallup recruiting. Needless to say, the race came up fast! On Thursday morning, I did get to spend some incredible time with a 6 mile lake run in Madison. The temp was cool, the air was clear, the wind was zero and the timing was right. Ran right from the
September 16, 2012 – This was the second year in a row that I have come off of the Lincoln Marathon with an awful summer of training. For the record, its been a long, hot summer and running was the last thing on my mind. I had good intentions for a summer of training, but when the best moment in the day was when I decided to not workout, there is a problem. June – Aug…not great. September…much better. In a weird twist, my time for 2012 was the exact same time as 2011, [51:58]. To the exact second. With
June 16, 2012 A record number of runners (somewhere in the neighborhood of 150) turned out this morning for fairly flat and fast 5 mile fun run at Bennington Elementary School in Bennington, Nebraska. It was a fund raiser for the St. John’s Outreach there in town. Bennington is in the northwest corner of the Omaha metro and was very easy to get to from Bellevue. It was a nicely run event. First off, I LOVE small town runs! Just cannot get enough of them. Would run them every weekend if I could. This race was $10 for the run,
May 6, 2012 – I had spent the last 6 months getting ready for this race. With a goal for the 4th time of a sub 4 hour marathon in site, I was ready to get after this course. Dave and I had logged some 500 miles of training from January 2012 to the end of April 2012. We ran in the cold, the fog, the rain, the sun and some really beautiful winter mornings and evenings. It had to be the best winter for running ever in Nebraska. I think I ran on the treadmill only once. It was
March 31, 2012 – For the second year in a row I have used the State Farm 10 mile as a 20 mile training run in preparation for the Lincoln Marathon. The last two years have been terrible weather. It rained two years ago (2010) and snowed last year (2011). This year, the weather couldn’t have been much better. We are off to an early spring here in Nebraska and the morning temps were in the 50s this morning with overcast skies. It was wonderful. I have been training with Dave Cihal now for the last 6 months. He is
February 25 brought the next edition of Trek Up the Tower. I ran this race for the first time last year and was looking forward the the 2012 version. This event is always well run, limited in numbers and well supported by the community. Last year I climbed the 40 flights in [7:25]. This year was a bit slower. One, I ran alone (last year I ran with Jamie) and two, Dave and I had scheduled a 13 mile run after the climb. Below are the results as well as the link to last year. http://theaverageguy.me/2011/02/26/2011-trek-up-the-towerclimbing-my-life-away-with-results/ Trek Results from
Due to some problems with my web hosting service, this post was originally lost. I was able to piece some of it back together. Here is what I was able to find.
July 2, 2011 – I’m saying this right now, the Lincoln Marathon broke me! Going back to my last post almost 2 months ago, I think I made it sound like a good day. It wasn’t. I left the road beaten down and worn out. Month of preparation, hundreds of hours and miles of training and thought behind me and a perfect race day built up my expectation of a sub 4 hour marathon. I REALLY WANTED THIS ONE! It didn’t happen. The race beat me. I was broken. In the weeks since the May 1st race, I have avoided
It was setting up as one of the best race days of the year. A very cool start, cloud cover for most of the race and a light breeze blowing out for most of the course. With 10,000 runners ready to go at 7:00am and an enormous crowd that would support the run from beginning to end, it was looking to be a good day of running. I had hoped it would be a day that brought that sub 4 hour marathon time that I have been training to complete, but it would not be this day! The conditions did
It was only fitting, that on the eve of the Lincoln Marathon, I receive a package in the mail. It was from the organizers of the 3rd Annual Eagle Fun Run that contained the race t-shirt and my numbers from the race. The race was two weeks ago and had been on my calendar as a prep race for Lincoln, but it was very cold and windy that day and for the first time ever, I opted to stay home instead of run. It felt kind of strange to not show that day, but none the less, I missed it.
Here are some quick links for those who are looking Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ni-Bthaska-Ke-Trail-Run/176146602425914 Results: http://www.teamnebraska.com/new/?page_id=33 Race Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/teamnebraska/ April 2, 2011 – Tough course! Hands down hard! I thought it was going to be a hilly run, but nothing could get you ready for this. Nice course selection Ivan. You killed us! The day started out with a goal of doing 12 to 13 training miles that were on the schedule. Last week’s 19 were but a distant memory and next week’s 22 are looming, but for this week, a step-back week (marathon training term), there was just a half
March 26, 2011 – The 13th edition of the State Farm 10M / 5K / 1M was today in Lincoln. I have been to this race twice now in the last two years and both years have brought terrible weather. Last year was wet and muddy (See the post here) and a bit cold. This year it was even colder with threats of snow flurries and a stiff head wind on the way out. It snowed most of the second half of the race! This year, I used the race to get in a 20 mile long run in prep
March 12, 2011 Guys chase Girls! What could be better? The second annual Leprechaun chase that took place on Saturday at the Strategic Air and Space Museum just south of Ashland NE, did had just that offering. Gals got to start 5 minutes and 30 seconds before the guys. First gender to finish got there first post race beer for free! Lots of incentive to win. Sorry to say, this years race was won by the gals. Bitter sweet! There was a good showing by both the Mud Mafia and the Gallup gang of runners. No official count, but good
February 26, 2011 – It was another early AM wake up and arrival at the First National Bank Tower in Omaha Nebraska for the 5th Annual Trek up the Tower vertical stair race. Strait up 40 flights of stairs, it’s not just a physical challenge, but a huge mental one as well. I was able to record most of it with some audio and video coverage over at http://theaverageguy.me. I ran this year’s race with Jamie Eikmeier pushing me up the stairs (I now recommend you do the race with a training partner) and finished 10 seconds faster than last
One of the best things about winter (if that if even possible) is indoor workouts. The best possible indoor workout are stairs…and when I say stairs, I mean lots of stairs. On the 26th of February, 800 people will get that challenge as they slog their way up 40 flights of stairs at the First National Bank Building here in downtown Omaha. It’s always good fun. The link to the event site is listed below. As of this writing, the even if full. It sells out early each year and has become a very popular event. I will be doing
January 30, 2011 – It was a very early AM wake up for the 2011 Groundhog Run down in Kansas City. It was the second year in a row that I attend this race and had high hope for a new 10K Personal Record (PR). See, the race is all indoors (in a cave really) and very flat. Last year’s time was [50:39] and I wasn’t in half the shape I was this year. Still, coming in at [49:21] is nothing to shake a stick at, but nowhere close to the sub 47 I was looking for. It was a
I have had a few questions about how I plan to train for my next marathon. With the permission of my trainer, I will post it below. Nothing is set in stone and I end up changing things based on my schedule, but it is a good start. Just in case you were wondering…and so I have it documented. I am already in week 2. Already changed my long run this week from Saturday to Thursday and reduced it from 14 to 10 based on the fact that I am running the Groundhog 10K this weekend. Not always
It’s that time of the year again where we start thinking about better weather and the races that come with them. This year is no different, with the exception that the distances get farther and the times get shorter. In 2010, I had a bunch of firsts. I finished two Marathons (Lincoln in May and Omaha in September) improving with each one. I set a new personal best at the half Marathon distance in Papillion with a time of [1:47] and ran more 10Ks than I care to count. I also came out of the year lighter than I started,
Carrie Adams asked me to summarize the last couple years of my fitness journey for her site, Leaving a Path… I took a few minutes this week to reflect (since that is what you do at the end of the year) and posted it to her blog. If you get a second, here it is – http://carriea81.blogspot.com/2010/12/stumbling-into-itthe-average-guys.html
November 7, 2010 – This morning was the 18th running of the Peak Performance Beer and Bagel Run at Quarry Oak Golf Course just west of the Omaha metro in Ashland. The course was 3.82 miles this year, but didn’t lack any challenge. Lots of hills, a creek to navigate and a combination of dirt, gravel and pavement running surfaces made it your not so typical race. The weather couldn’t have been any better! A bit chilly at the start, but it warmed up nicely by race time. Last year the race had some 500 runners. This year there were
My good friend Carrie (Leaving a Path…) is writing a blog that has been quite inspirational for me lately. In a recent post, she shared the story of Ben from the Ben Does Life blog. Ben promised his grandmother on Christmas Day, 2008, that he would “get a grip” on life and actively work on his obesity, depression and life. At the time, he weighed well over 300 lbs! Three years ago, I weighed about 240 lbs, struggled with high cholesterol and never considered myself to be a runner. Today I have finished 3 marathons, ran more than 20 races
October 3, 2010 – If I have one thing to say about the weather in Nebraska, it’s generally crappy. However, every race that I participated in this summer / fall sported excellent conditions. Race for the Cure was no different. A beautiful Sunday morning with 15,000 people, all dressed in pink, all out to support the fight against breast cancer. With it just being a 5K and just coming off of 26 miles the week before, the run seemed very short. I ran at a 10 minute pace, finishing the race in just under 30 minutes. A good day of
September 26, 2010 – There couldn’t have been a more perfect morning for a marathon. It was just short of 50 degrees at the start of race and almost no wind. After a long summer of 5 AM runs with warm and humid conditions, it felt great! This was going to be a good day of running. The Omaha Marathon starts down at Rick’s Boatyard, just a quarter mile or so from the Gallup parking lot. I arrived at Gallup by 5:45 am and beat most of the crowd and hunkered down in the Fitness center for the next 30
JUNE – Wow. It’s been a busy summer of running, both in races and lots of long distance training. It was a summer of some of the hottest conditions I have ever run in and it was a summer that included running across Nebraska (well, part of it), running across Grand Island and running not only across Omaha, but all the way from Omaha to Lincoln. Thought I would spend a few minutes recapping the major events and races of the summer of 2010 and get my times documented for future reference. Here we go! The summer really started on
I’m sure you had a busy week! I know I did. It was a holiday week with Monday being Memorial Day for us here in the US. Traditionally that means some down time or BBQ in the back yard. Not so much when you start training for a marathon. I have 17 weeks until the Omaha event and I want to hit that 4 hour goal that I have yet to make. That means running…a lot of running! It started Monday with the Boys Town 5 mile run. The weather was great and course was a challenge. It was the
Omaha Heart Walk It not often that I get two major fitness events in the same weekend. It couldn’t have been better! Saturday was the 2010 Omaha Heart Walk that raised money for the American Heart Association. I have never done a charity event like this before so it was kind of a new adventure. Our team raise over $1100 and had 8 walkers join us on the 4 mile trek from the Con Agra campus, through and around the Gallup campus and finish by looping back around the Qwest Center in downtown Omaha. There were a ton of walkers
If waking up late (like 45 minutes before the race) because you sleep through your alarm, is a new formula for running fast, I’ll be late for every race (thanks for the phone call Sara and Michelle). Despite cooler than normal temps and an early start (7:00 am), I had the race of my life today. At one point I thought I was still in bed dreaming. More on that in a second. This Bellevue Runway run may be the best kept secret in Nebraska running. This is the third year now for the event, and it is still only
It could not have been better conditions in Lincoln, NE today for the 33rd annual Lincoln Marathon! This was my second Marathon in less than a year and a chance to go coast to coast (run the entire race without walking) for the first time. It turned out to be an amazing day in more than just finishing! With the start temps in the 40s and no wind to speak of, we were set for a great race! In case you have never run a marathon, let me chronicle my experience for you. Hope you find it interesting. The morning
The day has come (well, its really tomorrow!) and I thought it would be fun to post some quick pictures and thoughts going into tomorrow’s race. (Some local news on the race) I headed down to Lincoln to meet with my trainer, Ryan Wolf and a bunch of others from Gallup to pick up race packets and take part in the Pasta-thon. In case you have never done a race like this before, race packets usually contain timing chips, bib numbers, race instructions, the coveted T-shirt (interesting choice of colors this year) and marketing material. This race also provided
It was an early start this morning and a 45 minute drive out to Eagle Nebraska for the 2nd Annual Eagle 10K/5K/1M run. This is a small town race run by the local PTA to benefit the public school. They had a little over 100 for both the 5 and 10K. I didn’t stay for the one mile kids run. The course was your typical flat Nebraska run out on the MOPAC just east of Lincoln. It had rained a good part of the night but the trail was still in very good shape. The conditions were fast. I finished
The outdoor running / racing season has begun (at least for me!) here in Nebraska! Today we traveled down to Lincoln to run the 12th Annual State Farm 1M/5K/10M. I have to admit, the weather wasn’t all that great. It rained for most of the morning before the race and the conditions on the trail were very sloppy and wet. My shoes were destroyed! They announced that they had 1900 runners this year. I think only 1500 showed due to the rain. It was still a very well run race. Nice Job guys! 10 miles is kind of an odd
Believed to be the biggest organized run in America which takes place completely underground, the Groundhog Run will take place at the Hunt Midwest Subtropolis. Hunt Midwest has partnered with Children’s TLC to hold the run since its inception, and the Subtropolis provides an ideal venue for competitive running in the cold Kansas City winter! The races are sanctioned by the Mid America Running Association. http://www.childrenstlc.org/Events_GroundhogRun.html This year we are taking a group from Gallup down for the run. Should be a great day of running and fun! I’m looking forward to it. 2010 would be a great year for
It’s a day later and I was able to get out of bed this morning, so things are good after completing the longest race of my life! It was really the story of two races. The first 16 miles and the last 10. I went into the race with about as much prep as I could handle. I ran progressively longer runs each weekend as suggested and finished a 20 miles run just 3 weeks ago. On Saturday morning, I felt ready and I felt good. A 4 hour time didn’t seem impossible with the right things going my way.
The official results are in and I couldn’t be more happy with my time. It’s not a PR ([1:53] in the Papillion Half) but the Omaha Half was just supposed to be a training race for the Kansas City Full on October 16th. I’ll take it! The Omaha Marathon doesn’t have the best reputation with runners here in Omaha. Some say it’s too hilly. Other say it’s not supported well by the community. Others complain about the lack of organization. All could be true. The course does give you some elevation, although not as much as you might think. I
This year’s Omaha Corporate Cup was the second largest in it’s history and featured nearly 100 folks from Gallup! Nice job Gallup. The incredible trainers at Gallup, Ryan (his blog) and Jamie, did a great job this year of getting people moving and preparing for the race. Numbers were up from the 60 that ran it last year. Congratulations to the both of them. Spirits were high and the team came together nicely just before the race. Ryan finished with a record sub 40 minute performance and set a nice PR for himself. I ran, with
My trainer at Gallup, Ryan Wolf, posted his official entry into the Kansas City Marathon (to his Running with Ryan Blog) on Monday. I had registered back in July, but couldn’t be out done by him. Here is mine. Bib #: 1020 FULL MARATHON~Individual Entry – $80.00 Jim Collison Gender: Male Age On Race Day: 41 Mailing Address: Bellevue, NE 68005-3337 US T-Shirt: Adult Extra LargeHave you run the KC Marathon previously?: NoIs this your first marathon?: YesHow many marathons have you completed?: 0Is this your first half marathon?: NoHow many half marathons have you completed?: 1Why are you running
The idea originally started as a 10 mile run followed by a 30 mile bike ride to help me celebrate the last day of my 40th year. It was an idea that Ryan (my Gallup trainer) and I concocted one day after a really good work out. Sounded good at the time! The half marathon that I completed the weekend before did a number on my left knee. Running 10 miles didn’t seem like the best thing to do for it. So we reduced the event to a short 50 mile ride instead. (Needless to say, never been that far
I normally don’t blog about personal stuff, but I had to get this documented somewhere. Today I finished my first ever half marathon! I ran 13.1 miles in 1 hour and 53 minutes. My goal had been under 2 hours. The knees are paying for it right now, but it feels really good to have it done. Special thanks to one of the best trainers in the known world, Ryan Wolf. He works for Gallup and makes sure we all live healthy and happy lives. I could not have done it without him! Thanks Ry!