This past Saturday I completed my last competition 5k race of the season. It was also the last race on the Muscatine Running Club's Grand Prix circuit. There are 9 races that make up this circuit and any runner interested in competing in this circuit needs to complete up to 6 of the 9 races. Points are acquired by comparing your time to the fastest runner of each race. Then your points are totaled for all the races (6 maximum). The fastest time is given 1,000 points and everyone else falls in below that number.
My time on this race was 21:57 and was good for 8th overall and 1st in the 50-59 age bracket.
For the season, the fastest time went to the 15-29 age bracket with 5,912 total points. I ended up with 4,350 points and came out on top for my age bracket of 55-59. My individual points for each of my 6 races was: 733, 659, 661, 759, 739, and 800. This accounted for 3-first place finishes, 2-2nd place finishes and 1-4th place finish.
I have one more race in November, the Turkey Trot where we predict our run time and the closest guess in each age bracket wins a turkey.
I hope to get back on my bicycle after spending most of my time running since I returned from my ride across the country. My last time out on the bike was August 28th.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
2010 Watermelon Stampede 5k
Yesterday I ran in my second Watermelon Stampede 5k in Muscatine. There was a huge turnout and the weather was fairly decent. Temp at race time was 72 and the humidity wasn't too bad.
I finished with a time of 22:11, which was 6 seconds faster than last year. Last year's time was good enough for first in my age bracket, but this year there was a new runner from Davenport that took that spot. I settled for 2nd place.
This race also has a 10k division that starts at the same time as the 5k, so the metal ceremony is kind of strung out and there is a lot of waiting by the earlier 5k runners for all the 10k runners to finish. Fifty watermelons were also given out by a drawing. Unfortunately, my number was never called and my grandson, Evan was very disappointed.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Du State Du Duathlon-Loud Thunder
Yesterday I participated in my 3rd Du State Du. The weather was nice, but still a little on the warm side for my taste. Temp was around 72-75, but the humidity was lower than my HNI 5k run the day before.
There was a record turnout for this race, 159 entries. The race consists of a 1.94 mile run, a 14.71 mile bike ride, followed by a 1.81 mile run.
I had a time of 1:14:51, which was faster than last year's race(1:15:55), but not as fast as two years ago(1:14:35). My pace for the three legs were 7:16/mile, 19.5 mph, 7:51/mile.
I ended up with 3rd place. I was satisfied with this effort as I didn't have a rest day before this race because of my participation in the HNI 5k. Doing two races back to back is hard to do when you reach my age without proper recovery time.
There was a record turnout for this race, 159 entries. The race consists of a 1.94 mile run, a 14.71 mile bike ride, followed by a 1.81 mile run.
I had a time of 1:14:51, which was faster than last year's race(1:15:55), but not as fast as two years ago(1:14:35). My pace for the three legs were 7:16/mile, 19.5 mph, 7:51/mile.
I ended up with 3rd place. I was satisfied with this effort as I didn't have a rest day before this race because of my participation in the HNI 5k. Doing two races back to back is hard to do when you reach my age without proper recovery time.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
HNI 5K Run
The Hon Industries 5k run was held yesterday (Sat.) in downtown Muscatine along the riverfront. It was one of those hot, sticky, dog days of August. The temperature at race time (8am) was 75 degrees and the heat index was already over 80. Needless to say I do not run or ride a bike well in hot weather.
There was a good turn out with 107 runners and several walkers. Last year I posted my best time ever in a 5k at this race doing it in 21:01. This year would be disappointing. My time was 22:28. I had a rest day the day before, but the heat really got to me. I couldn't keep my pace up and had several people pass me in the last 1/2 mile. I finished 27th overall. Last year I was 22nd overall.
Even though my pace was miserably slower than last year, I was still first in my age bracket (55-59).
There may have been a subliminal message going through my brain as I was running this race, "don't expend all of your energy on this race". The reason being I had a much bigger race the next day, I was doing a duathlon.
There was a good turn out with 107 runners and several walkers. Last year I posted my best time ever in a 5k at this race doing it in 21:01. This year would be disappointing. My time was 22:28. I had a rest day the day before, but the heat really got to me. I couldn't keep my pace up and had several people pass me in the last 1/2 mile. I finished 27th overall. Last year I was 22nd overall.
Even though my pace was miserably slower than last year, I was still first in my age bracket (55-59).
There may have been a subliminal message going through my brain as I was running this race, "don't expend all of your energy on this race". The reason being I had a much bigger race the next day, I was doing a duathlon.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Bike Ride Across The U.S.
I recently finished my first segment of my bicycle ride across the U.S. I left on June 24th departing from Anacortes Washington and finished in Muscatine Iowa on August 1. I rode 2,743 miles during those 39 days.
It was a week ago today that I rode down the driveway of my home to a well planned welcome home party. Next year I plan to finish my cross-country route from Muscatine to Bar Harbor Maine.
It was great to be back home with family and I have integrated well back into the mainstream. I hung up my bike this past week and re-acquainted myself with running.
I have three races coming up in the next two weeks and need to prepare my running legs for the change of pace. I started out slowly and after resting two days from my bike ride have ran the last four days doing 2 to 3 miles each time.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
St. Malachy's Steeplechase Run
This is my second year doing this race. The distance is an in-betweener with 4.6 miles or roughly 7.5k. Most of it is on gravel and one of the roads had very large pieces of gravel and made running difficult. The weather was on the hot and sticky side even though the race started this morning at 8am.
Last year I finished 19th overall and 4th in my age group. The age groups for this race are in 10 yr. increments instead of the normal 5 yr. increments. So I was lumped together with the 50-54 younger set. This year I was 14th overall and 2nd in this age group. Due to lack of entries in the 60+ segment they just called our group 50+.
Last year my time was 37:35 and this year I improved almost two minutes with 35:37.
Since I spend most of my time on the bike, my running regimen is usually minimal and when I do get the chance to run it usually a 2 or 3 mile run. Last week in preparation for this ride I did 2 days of running at the 4-4.5 mile level. My first and only running at this long of distance for the year. Since I spent my high school track days doing sprints I have never been much into longer distances. So this race last year and again this year really strains my effort and all I can think about the last mile "is this race about over".
Last year I finished 19th overall and 4th in my age group. The age groups for this race are in 10 yr. increments instead of the normal 5 yr. increments. So I was lumped together with the 50-54 younger set. This year I was 14th overall and 2nd in this age group. Due to lack of entries in the 60+ segment they just called our group 50+.
Last year my time was 37:35 and this year I improved almost two minutes with 35:37.
Since I spend most of my time on the bike, my running regimen is usually minimal and when I do get the chance to run it usually a 2 or 3 mile run. Last week in preparation for this ride I did 2 days of running at the 4-4.5 mile level. My first and only running at this long of distance for the year. Since I spent my high school track days doing sprints I have never been much into longer distances. So this race last year and again this year really strains my effort and all I can think about the last mile "is this race about over".
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Cross Country Bike Ride-Northern Tier
After planning this ride for the last 6 months and working through all the details I am about 5 weeks away from my departure. The plan is to fly to Seattle on June 23 and make my way by shuttle to a friend's house in Bow, WA. Then I depart on June 24 and head east following the Northern Tier bike route and arrive back in Muscatine on August 1.
If you have pulled up my blog and aren't familiar with my upcoming bike ride here is how you can get to my journal: www.iowacyclist.crazyguyonabike.com
If you have pulled up my blog and aren't familiar with my upcoming bike ride here is how you can get to my journal: www.iowacyclist.crazyguyonabike.com
Monday, April 19, 2010
Hayes Hustle 5k
This past Saturday I ran my 2nd Hayes Hustle 5k in Muscatine. My running this year has been at a much reduced level compared to last year. I had 27 miles in since the first of the year compared to 50 miles in 2009. In late January I hurt my right knee and I reduced my cycling and running miles to let it heal.
I didn't think having half the training miles in would have a large impact on my time, but I ended up running a 22:52 compared to a 21:59 last year. It was still good enough for first place in my age group.
Most of the serious runners put in 25-35 miles per week of training, so my measly 27 miles for the first 15 months of the year seems rather insignificant. I guess the moral is; if I want to give up cycling and become a serious runner I might be a serious contender in all the area races.
I didn't think having half the training miles in would have a large impact on my time, but I ended up running a 22:52 compared to a 21:59 last year. It was still good enough for first place in my age group.
Most of the serious runners put in 25-35 miles per week of training, so my measly 27 miles for the first 15 months of the year seems rather insignificant. I guess the moral is; if I want to give up cycling and become a serious runner I might be a serious contender in all the area races.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Winter Is Still Here
This has to be the longest, coldest, snowiest winter that I can remember since 1978-1979. Living in the country has many benefits, but running outside with ice and snow on our trails and on the road out front is impossible. So this winter Patti and I have been enjoying snow shoeing. I try to get out almost every day and do 1.0 to 1.5 miles. In January I was also wearing a 40 pound pack while snow shoeing, but late last month I hurt my right knee and have been unable to do all the exercises I was doing before this happened.
My Sports Doctor couldn't find any damage to the meniscus or tendons and thinks I have patella tendinitis. I have had this for 4 weeks and it is getting annoying. I quit the Power To The Petals program on my bike and now am doing a moderate rate for 5.0 to 10.0 miles 3-4 times per week. Some days my knee hardly bothers me, while at other times it is a constant pain. I was taking Advil to help with the inflammation, but I went off it yesterday to prevent any problems with my ulcer. Wearing a leg brace has helped and icing after exercising also has been helpful.
Will get away to San Antonio for a few days and lay off the exercise and see if this might give some improvement. The weather will be better than here, but cool for southern Texas (highs in low to mid-60's during the day and lows in the low 40's at night).
My Sports Doctor couldn't find any damage to the meniscus or tendons and thinks I have patella tendinitis. I have had this for 4 weeks and it is getting annoying. I quit the Power To The Petals program on my bike and now am doing a moderate rate for 5.0 to 10.0 miles 3-4 times per week. Some days my knee hardly bothers me, while at other times it is a constant pain. I was taking Advil to help with the inflammation, but I went off it yesterday to prevent any problems with my ulcer. Wearing a leg brace has helped and icing after exercising also has been helpful.
Will get away to San Antonio for a few days and lay off the exercise and see if this might give some improvement. The weather will be better than here, but cool for southern Texas (highs in low to mid-60's during the day and lows in the low 40's at night).
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
New Granddaughter
There was some excitement in the Cook household this past week. We have a new granddaughter, Adaline Marie born on January 14th.
2009 In Review
Here it is January 20th and my last posting was October 19th. What have I been doing for the last 3 months? Or more correctly what have I been neglecting the last 3 months?
After returning from my elk hunt in Colorado I aged one year on Oct. 20th. Now I am a size 58. In late October and November I took a break from my exercise routines.
Finally in mid-November I returned to the bike and began the Power To The Pedals training program. This is the same program that I used last winter. It is broken into a twice a week routine over a 12-week period. Since I was starting this program early enough I decided to double each week and make this a 24-week program. This week I at week 6 of the program.
I have also continued to do some running, but the snow that we have had on the ground for the past 4+ weeks has prevented me from running on our trails behind our house. So I have jogged on the treadmill some and yesterday our gravel road was melted enough for me to began running again outside.
With all the snow I have been enjoying snowshoeing in our woods. Last fall I expanded our trail system. I built upon the 1/2 mile trail that all ready existed and added another 1/2 mile of new trails. This makes for a great work-out on the snowshoes. Patti also enjoys snowshoeing. We wanted to be able to snoweshoe together so last week I purchased a 2nd set of snowshoes. When I go snowshoeing I carry a backpack with around 40 pounds of sand in it. This gives me a much better work-out and helps build-up my leg strength.
So now for a review of 2009:
Last year marked the 40th anniversary of my running career in high school. I graduated in 1969 from North Harrison High School in Eagleville Missouri. That spring I participated in my last track and field events: 100 yard high hurdles, 180 yard low hurdles, 4x100 relay and 4x220 relay. I participated 3 out of my 4 years in high school in track and field and all 4 years in basketball. One year I was unable to compete due to having my appendix out. You would think with that background that I would have included running or some form of exercise, but I entered college and then the workforce and left exercise out of my daily routine.
In 2000 Patti and I purchased a pair of mountain bikes and I biked 289 miles that year. Slowly over the next several years I began to re-sculpt my dormant muscles and get my aged body back into shape. I finally took up running again in July 2008 on a dare from a friend. Mark Lofgren and I had planned to do the team division of the Du State Du, which is a duathlon. Mark was going to do the running and I was to do the biking section. A few weeks before the event Mark informed me that he couldn't participate and said I needed to find another runner or do the running part myself. A day or two later I decided to go out and try running. I did one mile and it about killed me. I had forgotten what all of my biking friends had told me: the muscles you use for cycling are not the same muscles you use for running. Slowly over the next few weeks I built up my legs to handle a 2-3 mile run. I finished the Du State Du that year and finished 2nd and my performance on the running sections was better than the biking portions. So since then I have included running in my exercise regiment.
In 2009 I entered two duathlons and six running events. On the two duathlons I finished 2nd and 5th. Five of the running events were 5K's (3 miles) and I finished 1st twice, 2nd once and 3rd twice. The last running event was a 4.5 mile run and I finished 4th.
After returning from my elk hunt in Colorado I aged one year on Oct. 20th. Now I am a size 58. In late October and November I took a break from my exercise routines.
Finally in mid-November I returned to the bike and began the Power To The Pedals training program. This is the same program that I used last winter. It is broken into a twice a week routine over a 12-week period. Since I was starting this program early enough I decided to double each week and make this a 24-week program. This week I at week 6 of the program.
I have also continued to do some running, but the snow that we have had on the ground for the past 4+ weeks has prevented me from running on our trails behind our house. So I have jogged on the treadmill some and yesterday our gravel road was melted enough for me to began running again outside.
With all the snow I have been enjoying snowshoeing in our woods. Last fall I expanded our trail system. I built upon the 1/2 mile trail that all ready existed and added another 1/2 mile of new trails. This makes for a great work-out on the snowshoes. Patti also enjoys snowshoeing. We wanted to be able to snoweshoe together so last week I purchased a 2nd set of snowshoes. When I go snowshoeing I carry a backpack with around 40 pounds of sand in it. This gives me a much better work-out and helps build-up my leg strength.
So now for a review of 2009:
Last year marked the 40th anniversary of my running career in high school. I graduated in 1969 from North Harrison High School in Eagleville Missouri. That spring I participated in my last track and field events: 100 yard high hurdles, 180 yard low hurdles, 4x100 relay and 4x220 relay. I participated 3 out of my 4 years in high school in track and field and all 4 years in basketball. One year I was unable to compete due to having my appendix out. You would think with that background that I would have included running or some form of exercise, but I entered college and then the workforce and left exercise out of my daily routine.
In 2000 Patti and I purchased a pair of mountain bikes and I biked 289 miles that year. Slowly over the next several years I began to re-sculpt my dormant muscles and get my aged body back into shape. I finally took up running again in July 2008 on a dare from a friend. Mark Lofgren and I had planned to do the team division of the Du State Du, which is a duathlon. Mark was going to do the running and I was to do the biking section. A few weeks before the event Mark informed me that he couldn't participate and said I needed to find another runner or do the running part myself. A day or two later I decided to go out and try running. I did one mile and it about killed me. I had forgotten what all of my biking friends had told me: the muscles you use for cycling are not the same muscles you use for running. Slowly over the next few weeks I built up my legs to handle a 2-3 mile run. I finished the Du State Du that year and finished 2nd and my performance on the running sections was better than the biking portions. So since then I have included running in my exercise regiment.
In 2009 I entered two duathlons and six running events. On the two duathlons I finished 2nd and 5th. Five of the running events were 5K's (3 miles) and I finished 1st twice, 2nd once and 3rd twice. The last running event was a 4.5 mile run and I finished 4th.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Elk Hunting-2009
After returning from California I unpacked and began packing for my next adventure-elk hunting in Colorado.
This year I asked a friend, Ralph to join me. Ralph enjoys the Colorado mountains, but due to knee joint issues is unable to hunt anymore. This turned out to be a real benefit for us as Ralph was our cook and what a great cook he was.
Ralph and I left the Cedar Rapids airport on Thursday afternoon and touched down in Montrose later that night.
Friday was spent getting acquainted with my sister and her family and sighting in our rifles. After lunch on the ranch we headed up to our home for the next 5 days, a cabin at 8,700 feet. On this trip, my brother-in-law, Robert and his sons, Jason and Nathan would join us. Nathan would stay back in the cabin with Ralph to keep him company, while Jason, Robert and I would hunt.
The next 5 days our routine never deviated much from this template: up at 4:00-4:30 with Ralph getting up first to start breakfast. At 5:45 we made our way out to where we would sit for our hunt that day. Usually we would sit for 3 hours in one spot to watch for any elk in that park (meadow) or at a watering hole. Then we would "still hunt", walking slowly for the next few hours. Robert and Jason would return to the cabin each day for lunch and then go back out hunting in the afternoon. I packed a lunch and stayed out hunting each day except for one day. Then we hunted until dark (7:00) and returned to the cabin for a late supper. After supper it we spent time reading or playing cards for 30-60 minutes and then it was time for lights out at 9:00.
The weather was unseasonably warm for this area in early October. The 7,000+ acre ranch had several sightings of elk in the weeks leading up to the 1st season, but during our 5 days hunting we never saw any elk and didn't really see any fresh sign.
On the next to the last day of the hunt the three of us made it up to BLM ground southeast of Buckhorn Lake and found an area that looked promising. I returned to this area on the last day and saw a lot of fresh sign and sighted (1) bull elk. It was perhaps an accidental sighting as I had a sage hen burst up in front of me and land in a tree nearby. After I stopped to get over the scare and watch the sage hen in the tree, I noticed something that caught my eye off to my left perhaps 200 yards away. I used my binoculars and discovered that an elk's 'butt" was sticking out from a clump of trees. Because of the dense cover I couldn't see the rest of the elk and I waited for about 5 minutes hoping it would move a little, but it didn't. So I decided to move slowly to my right about 5 feet so I could perhaps see the rest of the elk-body. When I did that the elk took off running and I could see it had antlers, but couldn't see how many points.
I waited another 5 minutes for the elk to settle down and blew my elk-cow call. Thinking the elk had left the immediate area I then slowly started walking ahead to see if I could make contact again with the elk. After about 5 steps I saw the butt of the elk running away from me in the distance and that was the last time I would see that elk.
Later the next day (the day after the season was over), we took a drive down to Telluride and on the way back we saw one group of (5) elk and later a large herd of around (50) elk. In the larger herd there were several bulls and (1) very large herd bull in the center of the cows. It looked like this herd bull was a 7x7.
Ralph and I had a great time and on our flight back home Thursday afternoon we recalled the last 6 days of our adventure and the experiences we lived.
This year I asked a friend, Ralph to join me. Ralph enjoys the Colorado mountains, but due to knee joint issues is unable to hunt anymore. This turned out to be a real benefit for us as Ralph was our cook and what a great cook he was.
Ralph and I left the Cedar Rapids airport on Thursday afternoon and touched down in Montrose later that night.
Friday was spent getting acquainted with my sister and her family and sighting in our rifles. After lunch on the ranch we headed up to our home for the next 5 days, a cabin at 8,700 feet. On this trip, my brother-in-law, Robert and his sons, Jason and Nathan would join us. Nathan would stay back in the cabin with Ralph to keep him company, while Jason, Robert and I would hunt.
The next 5 days our routine never deviated much from this template: up at 4:00-4:30 with Ralph getting up first to start breakfast. At 5:45 we made our way out to where we would sit for our hunt that day. Usually we would sit for 3 hours in one spot to watch for any elk in that park (meadow) or at a watering hole. Then we would "still hunt", walking slowly for the next few hours. Robert and Jason would return to the cabin each day for lunch and then go back out hunting in the afternoon. I packed a lunch and stayed out hunting each day except for one day. Then we hunted until dark (7:00) and returned to the cabin for a late supper. After supper it we spent time reading or playing cards for 30-60 minutes and then it was time for lights out at 9:00.
The weather was unseasonably warm for this area in early October. The 7,000+ acre ranch had several sightings of elk in the weeks leading up to the 1st season, but during our 5 days hunting we never saw any elk and didn't really see any fresh sign.
On the next to the last day of the hunt the three of us made it up to BLM ground southeast of Buckhorn Lake and found an area that looked promising. I returned to this area on the last day and saw a lot of fresh sign and sighted (1) bull elk. It was perhaps an accidental sighting as I had a sage hen burst up in front of me and land in a tree nearby. After I stopped to get over the scare and watch the sage hen in the tree, I noticed something that caught my eye off to my left perhaps 200 yards away. I used my binoculars and discovered that an elk's 'butt" was sticking out from a clump of trees. Because of the dense cover I couldn't see the rest of the elk and I waited for about 5 minutes hoping it would move a little, but it didn't. So I decided to move slowly to my right about 5 feet so I could perhaps see the rest of the elk-body. When I did that the elk took off running and I could see it had antlers, but couldn't see how many points.
I waited another 5 minutes for the elk to settle down and blew my elk-cow call. Thinking the elk had left the immediate area I then slowly started walking ahead to see if I could make contact again with the elk. After about 5 steps I saw the butt of the elk running away from me in the distance and that was the last time I would see that elk.
Later the next day (the day after the season was over), we took a drive down to Telluride and on the way back we saw one group of (5) elk and later a large herd of around (50) elk. In the larger herd there were several bulls and (1) very large herd bull in the center of the cows. It looked like this herd bull was a 7x7.
Ralph and I had a great time and on our flight back home Thursday afternoon we recalled the last 6 days of our adventure and the experiences we lived.
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