Home from RAGBRAI

Returned home from riding the bike a few miles...237 miles for me as I missed the first few days and then drove between overnights on another.

Too much to write about and some of it best left untold!

A few pictures to just share a glimpse of the party and riding that makes RAGBRAI the event that it is.

My son, Cory, in photo taken by the Des Moines Register

Stood behind this guy while getting coffee from "The Farm Boys" stand.  He makes spoke bracelets and sells them at $6.

The team stickers were showing up all over the place.

Driving Me Batty

Recovering a bit from yesterday's race and beginning to prepare for several days of biking.  I'm scheduled to ride the last part of RAGBRAI with my son who's riding the entire route.  I'll pick up from Webster City on.  we have his dog for the week and I've been taking her out for walks.  My wife will inherit that duty while I ride. I didn't get out to ride as much as would have liked because I was prepping to race on Saturday and didn't want my rear to get any sorer than it already was!

I've been neglecting to carry my camera recently because it seemed I hadn't been noticing anything different or interesting.  I wish I would have had it today.  While Piper and I were at the bridge, I saw a Little Brown Bat flying above the water.  I thought perhaps it was catching insects that sometimes swarm above the pool but then noticed that it regularly swooped down and skimmed the surface to take a drink!

(borrowed image)

5 miles in the AM and another hike at dusk.

That makes for 61 miles for the week and 23.1 miles on the bike

Old Roundhouse Trail Days 5K

First race as a 60-year-old and it was a fun one.  The small town (population around 600) of Elma, Iowa has an annual festival and, with a dedicated race director, and good sponsors and volunteers, puts on a well-run, well-attended race.  There were 300 entrants in this year's run/walk.

The course is a straight shot into town from a nearby park and is entirely on an old railroad bed, now reused as a blacktopped biking/hiking trail.  So the start is understandably narrow.  The race organizers are aware of this and are adamant about having runners line up according to expected pace.  I lined up beside one of the few acquaintances that I recognized while warming up, Torey Stallsmith from Charles City and former NIACC runner. I met Torey when we were both drivers and chaperoned for one of NIACC's summer camps in Colorado.  There were around 20 runners ahead of us at the line.  Torey  went on to win the event overall.

I started at a pace that I hoped could get me in around 22 minutes or better.  However, the first mile seemed a bit more difficult than I wanted and as the race continued I settled into a more comfortable pace.  There were only minor shifts in overall place as I moved into about 10th with an initial 6:36, passed a couple runners then was passed by others, and ended up 15th with a second and third mile in the 7:20's each for a final time of 22:02 (you can bet I began to kick to see if I could somehow get under 22).  That gave me 1st for the 60's and would have given me 2nd in each of the 30's, 40's, or 50's!

All results here.

A free pancake breakfast and more events in Elma for anyone wanting to stay the day.  A good race on a good day.  Temps moderated from the recent hot, humid 80's and 90's to upper 60's or low 70's during the race.

My knees were only an issue during the first mile and I didn't think about them after that.  Post race, the legs are fine but my right heel hurts a bunch...fought plantar fasciitis in the past and by using racing flats without orthotics (have quit using my orthotics for nearly a year now) the flare-up can perhaps be understood on blacktop.  Hoping that Lucho's Vitamin I (buprofen) and  IPA treatment will help me feel better tonight.

Trying To Reload

I've been grousing about the weather and not feeling very sharp...maybe part of it is a normal let-down following all the training for a peak effort....maybe part of it is that I'm just getting older and it takes longer to recover and become revitalized.

But regardless, I am excited to have reached a new age category and get a chance to race again this weekend.  The woods in summer are a lot more boring than in winter or spring and the dryness and hot daytime temps only add to the monotony.  So I purposely took it easy today to reload for the race.  I also wanted to be out a bit longer because with the cutback in time on the trails, I have less time to finish listening to all the podcasts I've begun to follow. 

It has been interesting to watch my heart rate while using my cycle computer when riding...so today I rigged a makeshift wrist band to use the bike computer while running!  Pleasantly surprised by where I could hold my pulse at a comfortable pace.

6 miles this AM and a hike yet tonight.

Feeling Low

Sometimes the schedule just seems to beat you down.  A very busy day today with water sampling for my consulting job, returning the numerous deposit cans and bottles, waiting for my internet provider to replace a defective modem, and finally out to the trails for a run...or not to run.

The miles seemed sluggish and I felt quite lethargic.  So I made it a hike and turned back after the first podcast to finish!  With some extra sleep tonight and hoping for a break in the weather, I'm anxious for the little 5K this weekend.

4 miles this afternoon and tonight's hike is debatable.

Another Dose of Turnover

Still hotter than.... but got out for a good, brisk 20 mile bike ride in the morning while watching my heart rate and cadence...fun to have the feed-back.  Then some errands and light lunch.  

But my main emphasis today was on another session of repeats.  I used the same section of  Lime Creek as last week but cut back a bit on number due to the race this weekend and the blasted heat.

4 X 400 with a recovery 400 walked between.  1:17,3:50;1:14,3:52;1:12,3:52;1:12,4:01....combined with the 2 mile loosen-up prior and 2 mile cool-down after meant a 6 mile workout.

Will hike yet tonight for additional recovery/circulation for the legs.

Back to Playing Around

With the impetus of the ultra behind me, I find myself playing around on the workouts again.  If I see something that interests me, I stop and explore.  Today I spent quite a bit of time recovering deposit cans from the "swimming hole" upstream of Ernie's Bridge.  So much so that I was nearly completely immersed!  Good thing I thought ahead enough to take my socks, shoes, camera, and Ipod off before trying to retrieve the cans from the water.

The pool in January. It's much shallower today.

But I also settled down and ran some significant stretches.  The heat and dry conditions are becoming troublesome.  I hope we get some good rains soon.

5.5 miles this AM and a 4 mile hike tonight.