"Off-Seasoning"

With my last big race of the year behind me and a fairly long gap before my first significant race of 2016 I’ve entered what I consider to be one of the most important times of the year, the so-called “offseason”.  This is the period of time which separates the dedicated runner from the casual one and when the snow melts it is always clear who has hit it hard and who has fallen off during the winter months.  Like many others I can certainly fall into the trap of slacking off during the winter, justifying my rest as “recovery” and blaming the weather for missing a speed session or two... and believe me once that snowball starts rolling it can be hard to stop.   To keep myself on track I’ve put a clear plan in place to cover these winter months and prep me for spring training which is only 8 weeks away. 

The running portion of my training will be covered by a variant on the 5K plan below… I put in optional cross training for the Monday and Wednesday recovery runs.  Going with a 5-K plan I’m able to drop my mileage significantly while keeping up with my speed work.  This will give my legs some much needed recovery while allowing me to dedicate more of my training time to swimming, biking and strength training.

For swimming I’m less specific, I scheduled workouts for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and each workout consists of mainly slower build swims, pulls and kicks… once I get my base built up in the coming weeks I’ll start adding in more speed work.  So far the swimming has been going great although since I’ll have to send my Garmin 920XT in for repairs this week I will be back to manually counting my laps for a couple weeks and that is going to suck!  I’ll have a post shortly reviewing some of the new gear I picked up for this year in case anyone is looking to upgrade or replace their current swim equipment.

As you may know biking is by far my least favorite activity in my winter triathlon training.  Don’t get me wrong, going for a nice bike ride in the country is a lot of fun however sitting on a trainer or spin bike at the Y is rough!  I’ve been doing a lot of my cycling during my lunches at the Y; I can get 30-40 minute ride at normally a pretty high intensity and that can really relieve some stress from the work day.   I’d like to get in the habit of getting to the 5:30 spin class at the Y but mornings have been hit or miss for me lately.  Right now I’m just trying to stay consistent and slowly build my time on the bike so when the spring hits I’m prepared to hit the roads hard.

The last piece of my program is the strength training, I’m primarily working on core strength and stabilizing my midsection, especially with my back problems this is a pretty big focus for the winter months.  I do strength training 2-3 days a week either on my lunch break or before work at the Y though I’ll mention I’ve been a little hit or miss here lately, I’m really got to nail down my days going into the new year, again planning and consistency are so important to keep the training on track. 

So that is my game plan for the next several weeks so that when my marathon training picks up in February I’m ready to rock it!!   Hope all your training is going well too, let me know if I can help in any way or feel free to give me suggestions! 

Happy Running!! - Cory

Marathon Redemption, Served up Southern Style!

2015 St. Jude’s Memphis Marathon (3:04:48)

I just got back from Memphis, Tennessee where I completed my last race of 2015, the St. Jude’s Memphis Marathon!  As you may know this was not a planned race in my schedule, rather I made the decision a few weeks ago to sign up and roll the dice after a somewhat disappointing finish at the Chicago Marathon in October.   As it turned out the decision was a good one and even though I went into this race fairly unprepared, it resulted in my second fastest marathon to date and another great learning experience but let’s start at the beginning…

The St. Jude’s Memphis Marathon was held on Saturday, December 5^th in downtown Memphis.   I hit the road on Friday morning around 6am with Jamie, the kids and the new puppy for the 12 hour drive to the Cook Convention center where I had to pick up my packet by expo closing time of 8pm.   It was a fairly uneventful trip down and we were able to get to Memphis around 6pm; after picking up my packet we drove about an hour outside of Memphis where we stayed the night at my in-laws house in Oakland.   By the time we got to my in-laws I only had time for a quick meal and hit the sack.  It’s worth mentioning my entire diet the day before the marathon consisted of fast food which is in no way ideal and I definitely paid for it a bit the next day.

Marathon morning I slept in and missed my standard pre-race meal I eat around 3:30am, also forgot to eat breakfast so I hit a gas station for a quick banana on the way into town.  At this point I was starting to get nervous.  My lack of good pre-race nutrition and meal planning already had my stomach in a knot and the feeling was compounded by the thought that I really had put in one good week of training in the weeks following the Chicago Marathon.   I sunk into the backseat of the car feeling the impending doom of the inevitable “Chicago 2.0” I feared was ahead.   Right then I received a message from my buddy Shannon wishing me luck and added the phrase “Run it for those that may never get to run again”... boy I can’t tell you how much I needed that to really put things in perspective, Shannon has a great way of snapping me back to reality when I’m feeling sorry for myself hahaha.  Here I am worrying about everything that could go horribly wrong in this race when I should be focusing on the simple fact I get to run for over 3 hours for a great cause and man I love to run!

Once at the race my luck streak continued as minutes before race start I finally got through the 20 minute wait for the Porta-Potty only to find there was no T.P. left… I’ll spare you the details but after some quick witted improvising I managed to finished up and got into my corral just in time for the race announcements.  The Memphis mayor gave a nice speech and they announced the total amount donated to the St. Jude’s hospital from marathon proceeds topped 8.2 million dollars this year!  They flashed some videos on the big screen of some of the patients and it was another eye opening moment where my “race day struggles” just didn’t seem to matter in the grand scheme of things… before I knew it the gun went off and I was on my way!

“Remember Chicago!” I screamed at myself as I once again jumped out the gate like Thomas chasing a sub sandwich.  Pacing and smart racing was going to be key if I wanted to finish this race, let alone get a decent time.  I forced myself to take the first mile out about 40 seconds slower than my first mile at Chicago and it still didn’t feel great, it’s hard to describe other than I just didn’t feel like racing for some reason.  I tried to push the negative thoughts from my mind but the first 6 miles went by horribly slow;  luckily on mile 7 we ran through the St. Jude’s campus and I got to high five some patients that were cheering on the race and that really lifted my spirits.  The next couple miles went pretty well until I started getting a bad stomach ache about mile 10.  I have no doubt the McDonalds, Wendy’s combination I ate the night before the race was reminding me how important of a role nutrition plays in marathon racing.   A few minutes late I had nearly convinced myself to drop down to the half marathon before the split at mile 11.  However I then reflected on what Shannon said that morning about  those that may never run again and I thought of all the kids I ran by on the hospital campus who’s problems were way bigger than a self-induced garbage food stomach ache…  I kept on at the split with the full marathon group and told myself if I was going to continue I was going to do it right and enjoy the race...

Now considering how rough the first part of the race was, when I made that decision to keep on going at mile 11 a switch flipped in my head and it’s like someone finally turned on the lights!  My stomach ache faded out of mind along with the burden I had felt of the many miles ahead.  I was now running in the moment, enjoying each step and feeling a powerful surge of energy pushing me ahead.  I turned my watch to heart rate and would not look at my pace or time again for the remaining 15 miles of the race, time really didn’t matter anymore as I was just having a good time doing what I loved most.  Miles now started FLYING by, before I knew it I was past the 25K mark, then mile 16 and 17.  At this point I overheard a runner ahead of me state the next two miles were the hardest of the course gaining about 250 feet over a short span... I smiled to myself as I almost made a comment about being from Dubuque but I figured they would have never heard of our crazy hilly Iowa town so I just surged past in silence while the guy commented, “better pace yourself”… I again cracked a smile as ironically, for maybe the first time, I was!! J

I kept on trucking and as the race closed in on the final mile I turned the corner and had to do a double take as I spotted the 3:05 pacer only a couple hundred feet ahead.  Up to this point I was thinking I was on track to hit somewhere around a 3:08 which I was perfectly fine with but I forgot to take into account the start delay for the elite corral… a very pleasant surprise to say the least!  Luckily since I had been pacing myself well I had plenty of gas in the tank so the last half mile I turned up the heat and caught the pacers to finish just under my BQ time!  

The finish was inside the downtown baseball stadium and it was pretty cool running onto the field to finish around 2^nd base, although climbing the steps to leave proved to be a bit of a challenge.  I got a finish photo quick with one of the many Elvis impersonators and headed on my jolly way with a big smile on my face and a great feeling of accomplishment I hadn’t had in a while!  It was a roller coaster of a race which is reminiscent of my 2015 in general but it really was the perfect last chapter to this year’s story.  It really has been a heck of a year and I'm grateful for all the races both good and bad that continue to make me a stronger and happier runner.... and as this year comes to a close I am just itching to start writing the first chapter of what is sure to be an exciting 2016!!

Happy Running!! - Cory

 

Looking forward to 2016

I’m about 10 days out from my last marathon of the year and while I’m looking forward to knocking out one more good race in Memphis, I’m really much more excited about 2016 training!   In fact not only do I have my 2016 training spreadsheet finished (see last post), I also have my 2016 running miles and workouts entered all the way through June!  Now while I’d like to take full credit for that one, the credit is really due to Bill who found the plans and will be working through them with me.  I’m very excited to have the structure in place and a solid plan to work though, and it makes it even better I’ll have Bill to train with this year!  I did a large portion of my training solo last year and I tend to overdo it when not kept in check, Bill does a great job of talking sense into me.  

The first plan we are working through has a considerable drop in weekly mileage compared to what I am used to and I’m going to use that to my advantage.  With the compounding injuries over the last year, the drop in mileage is hopefully going to take care of many of those lingering issues.  Along with the mileage drop I’ll also have much more time to spend on cross training and specifically strength training and core work.   I’m really going to make it a focus over the winter months to spend a lot more time in the gym preparing my body for the pounding it will take once the mileage ramps up.  As a bonus I’ll also get to work in more biking and swimming in anticipation of triathlon season next year… even though last year I only got two tris in I would like to fit at least 4 of them in to the 2016 schedule if at all possible.

I’ll go into a quick overview of my plan to date.   First I will finish off my last race at the Memphis Marathon on December 5^th, depending on how I feel there I will take anywhere from 3-10 days off for recovery.  At that point I’ll hop onto a 5K training plan with Bill that will go until the end of January finishing at the Iowa Games Winter 5K in Dubuque.  There will be a two week “break” which mileage is yet to be determined and then I’ll start up the spring marathon plan that will last from Mid-February until June of this year where myself and about 30 others from Dubuque will run Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, MN.

2016 is certainly looking to be a very fun year and I’ll keep you posted as things move along!

2016 TRAINING LOG

Good Morning!

I designed a new training log in Excel for 2016, feel free to use and edit for your own purposes to hit the ground running next year!  Just keep in mind all totals and averages will auto populate after information is entered...  let me know if you have any questions... happy running! - Cory

BLANK VERSION OF 2016 TRAINING SPREADSHEET

More catching up to do...

Sorry, I know it’s been a while since I checked in, its been a crazy fall!... A lot has happened since my last post “Satan’s 800’s” in September so I’ll do a quick recap…

Boston Marathon 2016 -First of all as you probably know my Boston Qualifying time of 3:02:58 was 26 seconds shy of the 2016 Boston cutoff due to a record breaking year of entries.  It was quite the bummer considering I didn’t even entertain the possibility of my time not getting in since it would have been 30 seconds under the hardest Boston cutoff in 119 years.  I took it pretty hard at first as it’s tough not to feel like I got a raw deal however I’m one of many runners in the same situation and there is nothing I can do at this point but move on so that is what I did…  many more races out there and I know getting to Boston is just a matter of time and it certainly won’t be long now.

RECAP - 2015 Chicago Marathon – 3:08:30

I had pretty mixed feelings about the Chicago Marathon this year.  I had a really fun time in the city and it was an incredible race event however due to a combination of high heat and a little too quick of a start I ended up cramping up horribly at mile 22 and dropped my expected finish time from a 2:58 to a 3:08 in a matter of 4 miles… it was the second marathon I’ve finished in the heat where I had a bad crash at the end and had to watch my time slip away.  It was certainly enough evidence to me to rethink my marathon calendar and in the future I will not to running any races of that distance quite so early in the year.   Although the race ended poorly I had incredible data from the race showing I clearly have the fitness level to PR and finish under 3 hours, a few more tweaks and a nice race day and I’m certain I’m not far off from my goal! J

2015 Memphis Marathon – December 5^th 2015

I decided to pick up one more marathon for the year in December. My in-laws live down in Tennessee and last year my father-in-law told me about this race and I had it marked down as a possible fall marathon.  As it turns out the date worked great this year to fit on my race schedule and Jamie and the kids can see the family too.   I’m going into this marathon with no expectations as I really haven’t done much training after Chicago but I hope to end the year on a high note by just having a good time and enjoying the distance and time on my feet.   Like many runners I am very competitive and although that is very positive in many ways, pushing me to train harder, conquer new challenges and generally just go that extra mile;  it can also cause me to lose sight of why I run which really is the enjoyment of the sport.  After a training session a few years ago, a running friend and training partner of mine told me he thinks of running and his training as a second job.   That has stuck with me ever since as I never want to have that mindset.  Running for me is the furthest thing from work, for me running means freedom and escape from the stresses in life.   That is why going into Memphis my only goal is just to enjoy the marathon experience.

I’ve got a whole lot more to fill everyone in on concerning my future training and race lineup for 2016 but I’ll end this one for now and follow up with that soon… happy running!

SATAN'S 800'S

Minutes after fleeing my air conditioned office today I found myself at the bank Mississippi River prepping for 800 sets with Bill.  The temperature on the floodwall was in the 90’s, zero wind and high humidity… perfect day for a…  SWIM… damn.   The heat waves rising from the asphalt engulfed the water bottles I set out and by the time I finished my “warm up” you could have cooked pasta in them!..  after a 4 mile warm-up I was so soaked that I stopped back at the car and changed out my shirt and hat for round two.  Bill arrived just then and we trotted down the half mile to our starting point feeling a bit like cows being lead to slaughter.

SATAN’S 800 #1  2:53

I take off… a little fast… but man I felt great that first ¼ mile... then it hits me, the full blast of sun shines down and is absorbed instantly.  I stare straight and focus hard, trying to block out the thought that steam may soon start piping out my ears!.. watch beeps… pace hit… one down…  Bill and I trot down the path and acknowledge the mutual feeling of pain.

SATAN’S 800 #2  2:59

I’m off… a little fast again… this may come back to bite me I think… this time the heat hits much harder as I’m running into the sun, I find myself longing for the feeling that steam would come out of my ears as now I’ve progressed to feeling much like a hot dog in the microwave!...  the only comfort I find is that no one is around to hear the high pitched squeak I make gasping for air on the last 100 yards… watch beeps, I collapse into myself never so happy to have a short recovery break.

SATAN’S 800 #3  2:59

“HOLY CRAP, this is only the third one?” I think to myself as I look down and find I’m only about 200 yards in and already melting into the ground...  I’d say the progression on the first three 800 sets was much like a steak being grilled for dinner, I’d gone from rare to medium to very well done in a matter of minutes, George Foreman would be proud!...  but as the last couple hundred yards close in I start having stomach cramps and as you may know I’m no stranger to losing my lunch and all indications pointed to this day being no different.  Just as I start thinking of throwing in the towel, ironically Bill throws me one… a frozen towel to be exact that he brought in a cooler.  Man that felt AWESOME!... I feel my skin steaming off heat as the frozen towel starts to lower my core temp… I feel revived and ready for the next round!!

SATAN’S 800 #4  3:01

Ok, maybe I spoke too soon haha… upon takeoff the awesome effects of frozen towel evaporated instantly like a drop of water on a frying pan, by 100 yards into my 4^th set I felt cramps and my skin started to goose bump… my head starts to throb and my mind goes fuzzy as I gasp for air and beg my watch to beep… it finally does and I collapse again, dry heaving into the grass a few times before I regain control and stumble along with Bill to our turn around point… both of us dead tired but determined to finish, a very proud but possibly not so intelligent moment haha

SATAN’S 800 #5  2:58

Last set, last set, last set… is my montra as I literally give it everything I have left.. running on fumes and pure stubbornness I feel the gauntlet of stomach cramps, dizziness and just overall fatigue pressing hard, my form starts to go to crap and I think I hear angels singing off into the distance… oh wait, no..  that is just me squealing again!… just as the everything begins to go dark my watch beeps one last time and all is right with the world again!

Driving home tonight I thought once again about why I love to run like I do and I think it’s days like today strangely enough that keep me going strong.  To conquer a challenge that literally takes 100% of yourself both mind and body on a day where all cards are stacked against you is something almost indescribable.  Being a runner does that for you, it takes you to that point you thought was your limit and dares you to push past, creating a new goals and a better sense of self. 

…Day’s like this I feel proud to be a runner and to have a tough training partner that embraces the suck!

Happy Running!

-Cory

Feeling Inspired!

After months of feeling drained and dead on many of my runs, something has awakened inside me again and I’m feeling fired up as ever!! 

Yesterday morning started a little rough, I had not gotten much sleep as I was nervous I was going to sleep in and miss my early morning speed session, this resulted in maybe an hour or two of rest… lucky for me I don’t require much sleep to operate but my legs still felt a little dead.   I struggled to hit an 8 minute pace on my warm-up which was not a good sign and the thought of skipping out did creep in my mind more than once.   Moreover the new group I’m training with early mornings are FAST and I wasn’t about to get by on “half-assing” my morning run… darn accountability!! J  but everything changed once the workout began….

… before I get into the workout itself let me back up as I don’t think I’ve explained the “early morning crew” before.   A couple weeks ago Jessica Hruska asked me to join in a group of runners that are meeting early mornings throughout the week to train together.   The group consists of a number of very quick runners in town that are all gunning to hit about the same time goals; for me that goal is a sub 3 hour marathon.  I was a little concerned about running with people that could be faster than me (probably some fear of bruising my ego there) but I am very glad I joined in.  It really is a great supplement to all the other training I do solo and with the club and a chance to get to know a new group of awesome people and runners.   Last week we did mile repeats which went very well and this week we progressed to 1.5 mile repeats at the same pace (6:30 per mile).

So I will start by saying that 1.5 mile repeats are no walk in the park and nor did I expect them to be... but holy crap what difference it makes with a group!  The four of us ran as a pack, pushing each other throughout the run and we were flying!  We nailed every split progressively faster hitting 6:24, 6:23, 6:20 and a 6:14 to wrap it up... not only was the workout great on paper but there was an almost indescribable feeling I had of just floating along with the group during the run, I zoned out and just let my legs go, it felt amazing!

As the day progressed things just kept on clicking, I ran another 6 miles with some nice elevation with the club last night putting my days total up to about 14 miles.  I have not felt so powerful on hills in months!... it’s crazy but in the last few weeks as my mileage has climbed and workouts have gotten tougher I’ve been feeling stronger than ever, I can’t figure how exactly that would work but I’m going to enjoy every minute of it!

Sorry I didn’t intend for this to be a brag session on how great I feel but I have learned with running as with life itself that it’s a series of ups and downs and progression is never linear, this has never been so true as this year… I’ve struggled more with my training this year than I have in a long time, I’ve put in hours and hours of training with lackluster results and that has been tough to swallow at times.  Nevertheless I’ve been plugging away mile by mile regardless of results knowing it would all turnaround someday… days like yesterday reaffirm that I’m still on the right track!

Summer Recap...

Wow, time sure flies!!... I was just thinking I should get back on and check in but can’t believe it’s been a few months since my last post!  Well as you can see from my race list below I’ve been a little busy haha… not to mention I am selling my house and my mother in law stayed with us for the summer so that added to the craziness!... things are starting to get back to the normal routine so I’m doing my best to catch up on things… let’s get started!

Since I left you last I have ran a total of 15 races (listed below), those included three 5K races, five half marathons, two triathlons and a 25K among others….  Of those 13 running specific events 5 were on roads and 7 on trails (and crushed gravel).  I’ve really gravitated back to the trails this summer both in my training and racing, there is just something about the varied technical terrain of the trails that makes running both challenging and very rewarding.  I’m looking forward to hitting even more trail races for longer distances next year as my fall / spring marathon training rolls into ultra-distances late next spring.

The next major race ahead is the 2015 Chicago Marathon!!  I have never done Chicago before and am very excited to give it a go!  For my training plan this round is an 18 week Hal Higdon Advanced 1 marathon plan that was specifically designed for the 2015 Chicago Marathon.  So far the plan is going great, I’m on a 6 day per week running schedule with Friday’s off and a nice variety of workouts through the week.  Bill is also on the Advanced 1 plan training for Madison so we are able to do a lot of the workouts together which is awesome, so much better having someone there with you on those tougher runs.   As I’m typing this I’m about 11 weeks into the plan and hitting my first of a series of 20 mile runs this weekend which I’m looking forward to. 

Speaking of long runs I have to mention quick how happy I am to be healthy enough to be knocking them out again!  There is just something indescribable about the awesome feeling of accomplishment after a long run and especially when I’m not limping to the finish! J   As I’ve stated before running is very therapeutic for me… with how crazy things get in my head at times, running is the one thing that can quiet and focus my mind for a while; in that way the effect of a long run can be compared to a great night sleep(which I rarely get), I finish feeling relaxed, energized and better equipped to handle life’s challenges!

…well I’ll keep this post short as I know I’ll be back within the next few weeks with a lot to say once I am accepted and registered for the 2016 Boston Marathon!!! J   Registration opens mid-September!!!

4/4/2015	5K	Hempstead Bunny Hop 5K	Dubuque, IA
4/11/2015	50K	Hawkeye 50K & 25K	Cedar Rapids, IA
4/25/2015	5K	Steve's Old Time Chaser 5K	Quad Cities, IA
5/9/2015	5K/10K	MVRA Trail Run	Dubuque, IA
5/24/2015	1/2 M	Madison - 1/2 Marathon	Madison, WI
5/30/2015	1/2 M	Tromp and Chomp 1/2 Marathon	Kickapoo Reserve
6/6/2015	5K & 1K kids fun run	Rhubarb 5K/10K	Manchester, IA
6/7/2015	Sprint Triathlon	PigMan Sprint Tri	Palo, IA
6/13/2015	4 mile	Grandview Gallop	Dubuque, IA
6/14/2015	1/2 Marathon	Marion Rotary Marathon for Shoes	Marion, IA
6/20/2015	9.1 Mile	Blockhouse	Platteville, WI
6/27/2015	Marathon or M Relay	Run 4 Troops	Dyersville, IA
7/11/2015	1/2 M	Dances with Dirt	Baraboo, WI
8/2/2015	Sprint Triathlon	Camp Courageous Sprint Tri	Monticello, IA
8/8/2015	1/2 M	Mine of Spain 1/2	Dubuque, IA

MARCH 2015 - SPRING STRAINING!

I know it’s been a while and I apologize for my absence… I had a pretty busy spring and got away from my routine of checking in but I’ll get back on track from here…

My appropriately titled entry for today “March 2015 - Spring Straining” really of sums the challenging and very educational month of March I had this year, let me explain…

… so the first week of March we had our hardwood floors refinished and as I don’t particularly like asking for help, I attempted to move three full bedroom sets down and then back up 2 flights of stairs by myself.  Upon lifting and carrying the heaviest six foot long antique dresser on my back I slipped on the stairs and cracked a disc in my  lumbar vertebrae.  It has been healing (slowly) ever since but has had a noticeable effect on my left hip and knee and causing some stride issues to date.

The second week of March I was still recovering from the back issue when I caught a nasty flu virus which knocked me out of the 2015 Gaelic Gallop and sidelined my training for another few days... unfortunately I had to travel to NY for work during this time but I was determined to get back on track after missing time because of my back.  I struggled through the week in NY sick as hell running 20 miserable miles while feeling horribly run down and throwing up a few times per run and much more after… my body was screaming for rest but I ignored...

The third week in March I got back to Dubuque and while I had finally stopped throwing up from the flu but I was extremely dehydrated and overall very worn down from pushing my training instead of appropriately resting my body.  I continued to train on piling on the miles to get back on track while adding in more hills and speedwork, this combined with my still injured back and altered stride inevitably lead to me straining my right hamstring… lucky for me it is fairly minor and I’ve been able to continue to run (smart) while it heals.

I’m feeling much better now as I type this in April but I certainly learned (and relearned) some important lessons last month and definitely had a great humbling experience..

Running 101 Lessons Learned – March 2015

1.)    Listen to your body - everyone is different and reacts differently to injury and stress -   I always have had a higher tolerance for pain and heal fairly quickly so I tend to ignore advice to rest and put that rest talk in the “Wuss” category.  I’ll be doing a better job of self-evaluation and treatment in the future and looking at the “W” word in a different light.

2.)    Don’t chase numbers –  I fell victim to this in March, when I started to fall behind because of missed days, I wanted to lump the miles on instead of correctly recognizing the issue, adjusting and moving forward… remember numbers and totals don’t define you as a runner.

3.)    Adjust your goals – Probably the hardest pill to swallow this spring was identifying and accepting I was not at where I should be in my training.  I had to make some important scheduling changes to my training and races to keep myself healthy and ready to rock in the fall.  

4.)    You Can’t Do it Alone – You would think I’d know this by now with how involved I am with group runs but there was a point this spring when I hopped on that bandwagon of thinking “I have to train alone to hit my correct paces for race training”.  Now it is true that some pace work you may have to do by yourself but don’t forget how important others are in your training, not only for comradely and a good push but also for sound advice.   I specifically remember the run I had with Bill when I got back from NY where in 12 miles he talked some much needed sense into me and completely changed my outlook from negative to positive; it was a real turning point which got me back on track and refocused on my goals.

In conclusion, if there was one take away you could get from this entry it is the following…   in running, training and life everyone makes poor decisions, fails and falls short of their expectations at times; believe me that has been much of my life in a nutshell... but know that those falls do not define you, it is what you do next that does…

…so dust yourself off, get your ass back up, and keep moving forward… you’ve got a lot more running to do! 

-Cory

"WINTER IS FINALLY HERE!"

As January comes to a close we have finally gotten the first big snow storm of the season with a little over 12” dropping on Dubuque Saturday/Sunday. We seized the opportunity to have a killer run at the Mines Sunday morning, the scenary was just awesome!   In case you are wondering, I’m still running in shorts and often catching critisim of my running buddies and others around town J… however I stand by my decision and the legs are feeling great... and made for some awesome pictures Sunday!

My training is still in a holding pattern, I’m sticking around 40 miles per week until I start up my 16 week marathon plan soon to train for Grandma’s in June.  I’m gunning to run a sub 3 hour marathon but most importantly would like to hit sub 3:02:58 to PR the distance again.  I’m really itching to get started upping the mileage as many of my running colleges are already doing but I keep reminding myself to have patience and stick to the plan, the last thing I want to do is charge out of the gate too fast and risk injury or burn out before my first big race of the year.

Other than training I’ve been having a blast with the MVRA prepping for 2015 as there are many great things to come.  First new project is a 4 race run series this year called “Dominate Dubuque” in which participants will compete in 4 race venues over the course of the year for extra merch and prizes… been hard at work on this one so really hoping it comes together nicely and everyone has a great time. (Logo drawn by one of my co-workers is below, looks great!). 

The DRC is also adding some great things for 2015. There is a new participation series in which members can earn points for prize raffles by attending events, running races, volenteering, etc… it is a great way to keep members involved and is sure to be a ton of fun!  Bill also added in a DRC Runner up section in which members are spotlighted on our site, a pretty cool way to get to know everybody!.. more to come soon too, it is really exciting.

So moving into 2015 I have nothing but excitement about the future of running in the Dubuque area!..  the MVRA and DRC are up and running on all cylinders and show no signs of slowing down, it’s going to be a great year to be a runner!!

Another Great Video of our Run by Shannon Wolfe!

"Cory's 2014 Race Summary"

This sure was one unforgettable year of racing... in 2014 I ran my first marathon (completed 3 this year), my first ultra-marathon 50K (31 Miles), my first Ironman Triathlon Event (70.3 Miles) and ended the year with my first Boston Qualifying marathon time!..  I'm also very grateful (and a little lucky haha) to get 7 overall wins which brought in enough cash and prizes to help pay for some of these events.

While it's hard to imagine 2015 will be able live up to this year's accomplishments, I look forward to training hard, having fun and taking on some new challenges in the upcoming year!

Below is a snapshot of my 2014 Race Year, I believe I may be missing 1 or 2... if anyone notices which ones let me know...

Race	Date	Distance	Event	Time	Pace	Age Place	Overall Place	Shoes
1	1/26/2014	5K	Iowa Winter Games	0:21:36	6:58	1	5	Saucony - Kinvara 4
2	2/23/2014	4 Mile	Chili Chase	0:25:22	6:19	3	7	Saucony - Kinvara 4
3	3/15/2014	8K	Gaelic Gallop	0:30:52	6:06	3	6	Saucony - Type A5
4	4/5/2014	5K	Opening Doors	0:18:59	6:07	1	1	Saucony - Type A5
5	4/13/2014	1/2 Marathon	Marion 1/2 Marathon	1:25:50	6:33	3	10	Saucony - Type A5
6	4/19/2014	5K	Bunny Hop	0:18:23	5:55	1	1	Saucony - Type A5
7	4/26/2014	5K	Steve's 5K	0:18:03	5:49	1	1	Saucony - Type A5
8	5/10/2014	5K	MVRA Trail Run	0:17:52	5:45	1	1	Saucony - Type A5
9	5/27/2014	Sprint Triathlon	Galena Triathlon	1:47:03	-	7	70	Saucony - Virrata
10	5/24/2014	10K	Madison - Twilight 10K	-	-	-	-	Saucony - Type A5
11	5/25/2014	1/2 Marathon	Madison - 1/2 Marathon	1:24:46	6:28	9	17	Saucony - Type A5
12	5/26/2014	5K	Grey Ribbon Race	0:19:15	6:11	1	?	Saucony - Type A5
13	6/7/2014	5K	Rhubarb 5K/10K	0:18:52	6:04	1	1	Saucony - Type A5
14	6/14/2014	4 Mile	Grandview Gallop	0:23:08	5:47	1	8	Saucony - Type A5
15	6/21/2014	Marathon	Grandma's Marathon	3:28:00	7:55	416	832	Saucony - Kinvara 4
16	6/28/2014	Marathon Relay	Run 4 Troops	2:54:38	6:18	2	2	Saucony - Type A5
17	7/4/2014	5K	Firecracker 5K	0:17:53	5:45	1	1	Saucony - Type A5
18	7/20/2014	70.3 Mile Triathlon	Ironman Racine	5:23:24	-	279	1782	Saucony - Virrata
19	7/26/2014	7 Mile	The Bix	0:43:20	6:10	16	199	Saucony - Type A5
20	8/3/2014	Sprint Triathlon	Monticello Sprint Tri	1:18:00	-	4	16	Saucony - Virrata
21	8/9/2014	1/2 Marathon	Mine of Spain 1/2	1:42:46	7:35	5	6	Saucony - Kinvara TR
22	8/16/2014	5K	Alzheimers 5K	0:18:03	5:49	1	2	Saucony - Type A5
23	9/1/2014	1/2 Marathon	Benefit Classic	1:23:28	6:22	1	6	Saucony - Type A5
24	9/28/2014	Marathon Relay	Quad Cities Marathon	3:05:47	7:05	1	18	Saucony - Kinvara 4
25	10/11/2014	50K Ultra-Marathon	The Running Village 50K	4:10:15	8:26	8	10	Saucony - Kinvara TR2
26	10/18/2014	5K	Melon Sisters	0:18:33	5:58	1	2	Saucony - Type A5
27	10/25/2014	5K	Halloween 5K	0:18:22	5:55	1	1	Saucony - Type A5
28	11/9/2014	Marathon	Madison Marathon	3:02:58	6:57	6	32	Saucony - K4 ViziGlo
29	11/29/2014	5K	Festival of Lights	0:18:32	5:59	1	6	Saucony - Type A5