Capitol Mile

For the second year in a row on New Year's Day, I ran the Capitol Mile. This is a one mile, out-and-back race in Wallace Marine Park in West Salem. Last year it was a little icy...I ran 5:15. This year, with how I was running, I thought I could be close to 5:00. Well, I've got a couple excuses...this year it was pretty windy and rainy and I felt like I got off to a bad start. I kind of got boxed in by a bunch of guys right from the start...at the time I felt like I would have started a little faster. I ended up running only 5:11...I was a little disappointed. All I could think afterwards was how quickly the whole thing was over and that I was really looking forward to the 13.1 miles of the Cascade Half Marathon.

The Pain Train Challenge

What's your prediction for the race?



I should have known better than to challenge the Pain Train in his own backyard...looks like I'll be wearing my PR shirt for the Cascade Half Marathon!

For more details on the Pain Train Challenge, check out these links...
The Pain Train
Kurtis Drake

Fall 5Ks

After the Fall 10Ks and the McDonald Forest 15K, there were a couple Fall 5Ks I planned to run. These races were folded into my training for the Cascade Half Marathon.

OSU Eat and Run 5K - 17:49 - It was the day after Halloween...let's just say, I ate too much candy...my stomach didn't feel real good that morning. I think I ran the first mile in about 5:33, but I was still probably at least 10 seconds behind the two frontrunners and not feeling very good...I slowed down quite a bit in the next two miles. I will say that the last mile of the course is a little tough in that there are quite a few sharp turns that really slow you down. I had run this race in 18:33 two years ago, so I was pretty happy with my time, but it was my first non-PR with the Lunaracers. I feel like I let my shoes down...but I did win a nice Beaver hat and gift certificate for lunch for my third place finish.


Oregon Mid-Valley Road Race - 21:16 - I've found that getting up early and running a race on Thanksgiving Day is really a great way to start the day. For the past 3 years I had run in the OAC Turkey Trot 5K in Corvallis. Unfortunately, they've had some trouble getting the course the right length...and based on this year's results, I'm guessing it was short again. Mainly for this reason, I decided to give the OMRR a shot. It was the first year for this event in Albany, and instead of the normal 5K/10K options, this race had a 3.75 mile and 5.2 mile race...there was no chance to get the distances wrong because they're based on the length of the roads! I do like the traditional distances because I do like to compare times from race to race...in the end, I decided to run the 3.75 mile race since it would fit in better as a tempo run for my Cascade Half Marathon training.

Everyone started together and I took the lead pretty much right from the start...I couldn't really tell how fast I was going because it was so cold. I did a good job of not looking back, but the race wasn't even half over and I was already running scared. I would say that I'm a frontrunner, but I felt a big difference being all alone in the front. Finally when I hit the turn-around, I could see that I was maybe 10-15 seconds ahead of several guys behind me, but I didn't know which race they were running. Although I ran the "easy" course, it was not exactly flat...there were some rolling hills and it felt like I was slowing down a little on the way back...I was afraid someone was going to catch me. Well, it turns out everyone that was close behind me at the turn-around was running the longer race because I ended up winning by over 3 minutes. The race organizers were good-naturedly giving me a hard time when I finished, saying I should have run the tougher course. The win felt pretty good...I even got my picture taken shaking hands with the main sponser of the race. The organizers of this race did a really nice job...I'd definitely go back next year...the question is, which race to run...defend my title or run the tougher course?

A couple sidenotes...I raced with headphones for the first time and didn't really like it...I think this was part of the reason why I couldn't tell how close the competition was. And a friend of mine who works for Albany Police was driving the tail car for the 5.2 mile race...so I got a police escort for my cooldown!


Beaver Fun Run 5K - 17:13 - I was feeling real good after a couple mile warm-up with the Pain Train. We ran most of the course for the warm-up, so I knew how it was marked. Early in the race, there were a couple spots where the marks went up onto the sidewalk and made some sharp turns...I was following them, but a few other guys near the front weren't...this pissed me off and really fueled me. I caught up to them, took the lead, and then proceeded to really mess with them...doing things like letting them catch up to me then putting on short bursts of speed to pull away...it was fun. Then we hit the first mile in 5:23...whoa...the only guy who was still with me started to put a gap between us...bottom line was I slowed down a bit and he didn't. But I did run the next two miles in about 5:40 and finished the race off feeling pretty darn good. Another PR...thanks Lunaracers! The Pain Train also PR'd in 17:42. Now the question was, could I beat him when there was a bet on the line?

McDonald Forest 15K

I've been running seriously for 6 years now, and the McDonald Forest 15K is the only race I've run every year. My performance has improved fairly steadily each year, except in 2004 when I nearly missed the race...the conditions were pretty bad too...very muddy. But even after racing this course 6 times, I'd still say I don't know exactly how to run this race.

2003 - 1:12:39 - Tonya's friends from grad school told me about the race...I had just run the Portland Marathon, my first marathon, earlier in the month. I obviously had a good experience because I've been back every year since.
2004 - 1:18:27 - Almost missed it...actually, probably should have skipped it, but I had already signed up. I had some trouble making it home from Boston...the Red Sox had just won their first World Series in 86 years and I decided I wanted to go see the victory parade! It was amazing! I was supposed to get home Saturday night, but I missed my connection to Portland in Chicago...the closest I could get to Portland that night was Seattle. I remember being pretty desparate to make it back in time for the race, so I flew into Seattle, rented a car, drove from Seattle to the Portland airport...that is a LONG drive, returned the rental car, picked up my car, and drove home...I got home about 4:00 AM. Needless to say, I was not in any shape to run a race.

2005 - 1:10:42 - Not a memorable year, I guess....
2006 - 1:09:20 - Got the Pain Train hooked....
2007 - 1:05:40 - Got my 5-year mug...thanks to Steve Storm for the pictures.

2008 - 1:04:32 - I was pretty excited about the race this year...I had some good 10Ks earlier in the month and it was shaping up to be a nice day with good trail conditions. I started off well behind the lead pack and was shocked when I hit the first mile in 5:48! I eased up a little in the next two miles before the big climb began. This was where I started to feel a little off...I think I might have hurt myself a little by running about 20 miles on the Friday before the race...I didn't feel like I had that spring in my step. Once the big climbs were out of the way, it was time for the sick downhill...if the mile markers were correct, I ran 4:40 for mile 8...I felt very much out of control. I ended up having a pretty good race...bettered my time from last year by over a minute...but I came away thinking I could still run the course faster. The question was, what parts did I need to work on.

Well, it just so happened that Sean Meissner had a great race that day and he posted his splits...so I thought I would do a comparison with my splits. It became pretty obvious I need to work on the Mile 5/6/7 split...I was losing almost a minute per mile on average to Sean here, and about 30 seconds per mile on average during the rest of the race. Great race, Sean...thanks for showing me how it's done!

Mile 1 - 5:48 --- 5:26 --- 0:22
Mile 2 - 6:24 --- 6:01 --- 0:23
Mile 3 - 6:34 --- 5:56 --- 0:38
Mile 4 - 7:08 --- 6:30 --- 0:38
Mile 5/6 - 17:53 --- 16:02 --- 1:51
Mile 7 - 6:59 --- 6:02 --- 0:57
Mile 8 - 4:40 --- 4:32 --- 0:08
Mile 9 - 7:37 --- 7:01 --- 0:36
Finish - 1:04:32 --- 58:50

Fall 10Ks

I love to race...all distances. And since I was a little burned out after the Oregon Trail Series, I planned to run some shorter distance races this fall.

NW Mountain Running Championship - 56:20 - This race was first up, about two weeks after McKenzie...it wasn't quite a 10K, but at 6 miles, it was close. The Pain Train talked me into running it...and I had to do it...there was prize money involved! Thinking we had a shot, we decided to form a team to go for the team prize money ($500), assuming that the normal X-Dog runners would show up. The Pain Train recruited Mark Robins and Mike Tyler...both fast and running very well. But when we got to Timberline we discovered that a little prize money attracts some serious runners...Max King, Eric and Kyle Skaggs, and Ian Torrence had made the trip and I found myself a little disheartened...I started thinking about the mid-pack prize money ($300)!

The race itself was brutal...see the video below...and for some reason I felt totally unprepared for the weather which was pretty bad...cold, foggy, rainy, windy...I didn't even bring gloves. We started off by heading down the paved road from Timberline Lodge and eventually turned and headed up the mountain underneath the ski lift. I'm not sure how long the uphill was, but it was very steep and seemed to go on forever. I can't say I'd call myself a "mountain runner"...I did a lot of walking up that mountain. At the top, we did a short traverse and then hit a crazy downhill...my legs felt like Jell-O and just staying on the trail was a challenge at times. By the time I hit the homestretch, the same road section we ran down at the start, I was dying...I wanted to walk up that hill so bad, but I knew there were a couple ladies not far behind me...have some pride!

Needless to say, the real mountain runners took home all the prize money...and it turns out I ran a few minutes too fast, so I missed the mid-pack prize money too! I do have to say, that's a race I would like to try again.

Fall Festival 10K - 38:50 - A week after mountain running, I was looking forward to seeing what I could do on flat ground. This race is an annual event in Corvallis, and I had run it once before in 2006. My pre-race preparation probably wasn't the best...I ran the course on Friday, ran a hard 12 miles in McDonald Forest on Saturday, and did not race well on Sunday. I should have run the 5K, because that's the point in the race I was wishing it was over. My first mile was about 5:45...whoa, I had never run a 10K at better than 6:05 per mile before. At this point I definitely slowed down, but in the next two miles I ran out of gas...a big group passed me...the group I should have been running with from the start. The second half of the race was not real fun...I had pretty much thrown in the towel...so much so that I didn't even beat my time from 2006...38:43. I was a little disappointed and planned to be smarter before the next 10K in two weeks.


Great Pumpkin 10K - 36:56 - I spent the weekend between the Fall Festival 10K and the Great Pumpkin 10K trying to find some new road and trail shoes. I still had a gift certificate from my birthday for Gallagher Fitness Resources, so I went up to Salem...they didn't really have any trail shoes I was interested in, so I decided to get a pair of road shoes. For road shoes, I have been stuck on the Nike Air Max 360 for some time now...only problem is they're pretty expensive and I was in the mood for something different. At the store, I noticed they had the relatively new LunarLite shoes that Nike had released this past summer...I had read about these shoes and was definitely interested. And if I hadn't read this post by Sean Meissner, I probably would have bought the trainer model...Sean gave a glowing review of the Lunaracer...that was good enough for me. I bought a pair of them. I needed road and trail shoes and only came home with racing shoes!

Needless to say, I was very excited to try out my new shoes...and my pre-race preparation was better in the sense that I came into this race fresh. At the start, I noticed that Penny McDermott was running this 10K too...she had run the Fall Festival 10K and was in the big group that passed me about 3 miles into the race...my plan was to not run ahead of her this time. This definitely helped me start off under control...the first mile was right around 6:00...and so were most of the other miles. I ended up keeping her in sight the whole way and finished in under 37:00! Based on my race at the 4th of July 10K this past summer, I figured I could run in the low 37:00 range eventually, so I was a little surprised that sub-37:00 seemed to come so quickly...could it be the shoes?

It's all about the shoes

Run Like Hell 10K - 36:09 - This race was not in my original plans, but I decided to try it for a couple reasons...I wanted to run with Kristin and Carlos again and FMR was the post-race entertainment! I was pretty satisfied with my performance at the Great Pumpkin 10K, so I didn't exactly take preparation for this race too seriously. I only ran a few times between the two races, so I was pretty fresh...a couple of those runs were on the McDonald Forest 15K course in preparation for that race. Since this race was in Portland, my plan was to stay with Kristin and Carlos on Saturday night...I made a few stops on my way up there. First, I went over to my parent's house to watch Game 6 of the ALCS with my dad...I had a couple burgers for dinner...not my normal pre-race dinner. Once the game was over, I stopped by my friend Josh's because he was having some friends over to watch a UFC fight...we ended up going out and I had a few beers...not my normal pre-race hydration strategy. I didn't get up to Portland until after midnight...and the race started at 7:30 AM!

I guess you could say I'm a big fan of 'running how you feel' because there was no way I went into this race thinking I would do that well...I felt so good through almost the entire race...I'd say it wasn't until about mile 5 that I started to feel a little uncomfortable...I was just cruising. After I finished, I was on such a high...I was walking around looking for anyone I knew to talk to...I ended up seeing a couple people. I talked to Mark Robins before and after the race...he ran the half marathon in under 1:21:00...and I talked to Darin Swanson...he was pacing a friend in the 5K. I also got to see Kristin and Carlos finish. After they finished we all went back to the car to get our warm clothes on...it was really cold. Then it was time for beer, buffalo wings, and FMR...but it was so cold that I didn't last too long, and unfortunately, by the time I got home, I was feeling very sick. I had planned to go back up to my parents to watch Game 7 of the ALCS that evening, but I could barely move off the couch. I did my best to make it through the game...but in the end, the Red Sox made me throw up...literally.

2008 Oregon Trail Series Recap

First of all, I'd like to say...I train with the champ! The Pain Train has really made a name for himself this year. Here's a quick recap of the 2008 Oregon Trail Series...

Hagg Lake 50K - 4:21:03 - Possibly the best trail conditions ever at Hagg Lake in February...this race is known for mud and there was very little of it this year. Thanks to Jasmine Nahorniak for the pictures.

Peterson Ridge Rumble 30K - 2:50:52 - I ran the 30K instead of the 60K since it was about one week before the Boston Marathon. I wanted to run it in just under 3:00:00 since that was my goal at Boston and that would keep me from going too fast, but my Garmin was DOA...dead battery just prior to the start of the race, so I had no watch at all! I ran about half the race with Carlos, Kristin, and Amy. Then I took off...definitely faster than I wanted to, but I had no watch...psychologically I wanted to make sure I broke 3:00:00. It was a really nice day...and fun hanging out after the 30K watching all the 60K runners finishing. I'd like to try running the 60K one of these days, but the Boston Marathon has priority for at least one more year.

Amy, Carlos, Kevin, and Kristin before the start of the 30K


Carlos crusing down the trail


The Pain Train running the 60K


Kristin and Amy coming into an aid station


Photo finish on the track


Hanging out after the race

McDonald Forest 50K - 4:46:37

Siskiyou Out Back 50K - I didn't run this race, but would certainly like to one of these days.

Mt. Hood PCT 50M - I didn't run this race, but my son Will and I went over to cheer the runners on. Our plan was to meet the Pain Train at Timberline, the half-way point, then follow him back down. He had a great race...a training run turns into a 6th place finish in 7:40:26...and Will and I had a lot of fun going from aid station to aid station to cheer all the runners on.

The Pain Train arriving at Timberline


Headed back up and then down to Timothy Lake


Dennis Gamroth arriving at Timberline


Will doing some trail running


Waiting for the Pain Train at the Frog Lake aid station


Will doing some more trail running


At the Little Crater Lake aid station


The Pain Train on the homestretch

Where's Waldo 100K - 14:52:49

McKenzie River 50K - 4:21:56

Next year is looking like more of the same for me...I'd like to run the 50 miler and Waldo before trying to tackle a 100 miler in 2010.

McKenzie River 50K

After Waldo, I was seriously considering a DNS for this race. Then I ran HTC, did really well, and decided to go for 4:15! What a difference a week makes. I came up with some splits based on one year of experience running this race...really there was no basis for them. I didn't really stick to them...definitely ran too fast from aid station 1 to 2...and missed 4:15 by about 7 minutes...4:21:56.

5.7 miles, 47:54, 8:24 pace
5.5 miles, 41:05, 7:28 pace
5.5 miles, 46:10, 8:24 pace
5.1 miles, 45:06, 8:51 pace
3.3 miles, 29:08, 8:50 pace
5.9 miles, 52:33, 8:54 pace

I rode over to the race with the Pain Train, Dennis Gamroth, and Mike Tyler...needless to say, it was fun ride. Big props to Dennis for running a great race even though he was sick...4:49:57. Here's how my race went...

It really felt like I was running hard from the start to the first aid station...I had the debate going on in my head...am I going too fast? No Garmin to know for sure. There was a guy right behind me for most of the way up...I felt like I was letting him push me a little too hard. When I got to the first aid station, I wasn't sure if the split was right there or after the short out and back. I hit it after the out and back and was actually about a minute behind where I wanted to be!

So naturally I pushed a little harder on the next section. I saw the Pain Train on my way back down the trail and was pretty surprised he was so far back...I wasn't really sure what he had planned for this race since he already had the Trail Series wrapped up. A short time later I caught up to Will Kalenius because he had made a pit stop off the trail...when he got back out on the trail, just ahead of me, he really put the hammer down...or at least it felt to me like he did...I decided I would try and stick with him, but I knew I was going too fast. This was confirmed a mile or two later when up ahead I could see a group of Rogue Valley Runners! It's one thing to try and run with them...it's quite another to catch up to them...so at this point I slowed down and let Will go. Needless to say, I was several minutes ahead of my split time for this section. By the way, Will ran an awesome race...4:05:07...it was nice to get to talk to him a little after the race.

The next section was the technical section...lots of lava rock...this was definitely not factored into my splits. I made it through OK...no trips. After this section I was still a little ahead of the pace for 4:15.

Surprisingly, I had trouble on the next section. I was running along on a nice flat/soft section of trail and must have missed a root, as in, I didn't see it...I went flying...landed face down on the trail and when I hit, my water bottle went flying out of my hand and over the cliff, down into the river! It only took a split second for me to realize it was gone for good, so I just got back up and took off. Luckily, someone at the next aid station had a bottle I could use for the rest of the race...thank-you! When I got to this aid station, I was pretty sure 4:15 was out of the question.

The next short section went by pretty quick...but the whole time I was dreading the final long section to the finish. I was pretty much spent by this point and really just trying to hang on. A mile or two into the last section, Jeff Phillips went flying by me...literally...he was out of sight real fast. And a mile or two after that Mike Tyler caught up to me. I got the impression he was kind of hurting too...he didn't seem to want to pass me, so we ran the rest of the way together...I have to say, he really pushed me...I would not have been going that fast otherwise. So we finished, and before I can even catch my breath, here comes the Pain Train! I have to admit, I was a little surprised...he may not be real happy with the race he ran, but I was impressed. This guy has incredible patience...it really serves him well in these long distance races.

Below are a couple pictures of me from the race...thanks to Tom Riley for the pictures.

My lower legs, right below my calf muscles, were really hurting for days after the race. I hate to blame a pair of shoes, but I've had some trouble with the Montrail Streaks...I hadn't ever had this kind of problem with other trail shoes. I also don't think they have enough cushioning for me...I need to find some new shoes.