ACL Fest Highlights

Phoenix played on a gorgeous Friday when the grass was still new and green.

On Sunday, the grounds were a muddy & disgusting mess, but I had a fantastic time watching Girl Talk (and the thousands of folks dancing along). I don't like listening to Girl Talk at home, but I highly recommend seeing his show live. (I couldn't really dance with my gimp left calf, but I did the best I could dancing with all the weight on one leg.)

Reality

After the really big weekend a few weeks ago, I strained my calf. No "official" diagnosis, but it fits all the symptoms and duration. It's 100% my fault - running on concrete for the race, no stretching/cool down after the race, no massage/yoga the week after, no warm-up & running fast to catch up with the group and then sprinting downhill on asphalt. All these things added up to the injury.

I kept hoping that somehow I'd miraculously recover after not running and somehow I'd be able to run Marine Corp. I tried running a few times - and they were all disastrous and resulted in more pain/limping the next day. Reality finally hit me earlier this week, and I deferred my Marine Corp registration to 2010. I think it's the right decision. I didn't have pain walking downstairs this morning, so I tried running. I got about 100 yards before I felt a twinge in my calf.

The marathon will still be there next year. I'm super-bummed that I won't be able to run it with some of my friends this year, but I'll have company next year.

Run Far Time Trial

A couple of days ago, I bought a used PowerTap 2.4 SL system (plus wheels) from one of the girls. It worked out perfectly since she also rides 650c wheels. I spent some time on the trainer yesterday testing my thresholds (way below my peak from this year), and I really wanted to use it on the road. I took it out to the RunFar Time Trial. Results from 2007 (the only other time I've done it) and this evening:

2007-05-17 24:37.6 19.5 mph

2009-09-29 21:59.6 21.8 mph

The second one was measured on my handy Timex watch since I couldn't find my timing chip and since I spent all my cash on Diet Dr. Pepper at work today. I haven't been riding much since CDA, so I'm amazed at the time. Totally psyched is probably more accurate.

So I don't forget later:

• First loop was supposed to be warm-up, but I took off kinda fast. Before the turnaround, I remembered to warm-up and sat up to slow down. After the turnaround, some guys passed me, and I decided to hang on. I maxed out at 450 watts (!!!) catching their wheel. After a while, the guy in front of me lost his wheel, so I rode at redline trying to pull him back. No luck, I cracked and hung onto the other guy's wheel to get to the end. Clocked in at 23:13 and thought there was no way I could match it since I drafted and took a killer pull.
• Second loop. Took off, I tried to save something in the tank but got passed by the same guys from before. I used them as a carrot until the turnaround. After the turnaround, I used various folks as carrots until the end. (I don't remember much of the loop except wanting to puke towards the end.)

Big Weekend

Through sheer lack of planning, we over-scheduled our weekend and ended up having a lot of fun and good food. Here's my rundown:

• Thursday: Flew from Austin to Chicago. Lou Manati's pizza for dinner.
• Friday: Ran from Ed & Michele's in Lake View to Rick Bayless' new restaurant Xoco in the morning. Ordered the breakfast menu for takeout. It opened on Tuesday, so there was a bit of a wait. Used this time to figure out how to get back. Lunch at my favorite Korean fried chicken, Crisp. Late, late dinner at Topolobampo (Rick Bayless' premier restaurant & one of Obama's favorites here). I had an excellent five-course tasting menu, and Pete had the Top Chef tasting menu. Last folks in the restaurant around 1 AM. Took the red-line back to Ed & Michele's - full of college students and other folks coming in or going to parties. Felt old.
• Saturday: Woke up full. So glad I decided to put off my long run. Went back to Xoco to try the lunch menu. Glad we got there when we did - line soon extended outside the restaurant. Went to Pete's cousin's wedding and reception. Good times, but left early to go to U2 show at Soldier Field. Amazing. Ended around 11 pm, but it took us about 2 hours to get out of Soldier Field and get back on the L. More party people.
• Sunday: Woke up at 5:15 AM and cursed that I decided to put off my long run. Got dressed, ate some cereal and walked out to the bus stop. Got off at Millenium Station and boarded the Metra train to Jackson Park - a surreal experience with thousands of other runners headed towards the Chicago Half Marathon. Started off at a decent clip, steadily dropped pace until the sun came out and roasted us on Lakeshore Drive. Don't know how, but I managed to PR and get in under the 2-hour mark (1:56:54). Found my friend Vinh from high school and his fiance (she ran the race) and got dim sum at Mayflower. Went back and crashed from sheer exhaustion. Dinner at Michele's parents in the burbs (so nice to have a good home-cooked/grilled dinner). Whitecastle on the way back.
• Monday: Worked from Ed & Michele's and Pete's parents house. Lunch at Portillo's.

Can't wait to get home and relax. Maybe eat some salad and pho this next week.

Marathon Chart

Runner	Time	Pace
Al Gore	4:58:25	11:23
Me	4:39:46	10:40
Oprah	4:29:30	10:17
P. Diddy	4:14:54	9:43
Sarah Palin	3:59:36	9:09
Will Ferrell	3:56:12	9:01
George W. Bush	3:44:52	8:35
Boston Qualifier	3:40:59	8:25
John Edwards	3:30:18	8:01
Carrie Sapp	3:29:06	7:59
Lance Armstrong	2:59:36	6:51
Gilbert Tuhabonye	2:23:07	5:28
Paula Radcliffe	2:15:25	5:10
Paul Tegat	2:04:55	4:46
Haile Gebrselassie	2:03:59	4:44

Zilker Relays

I don't like races. I don't like night races even more. It gives me the entire day to get antsy and worked up about it. I get nervous since I don't race enough since I get nervous before my races. It's a vicious cycle.

Some things about me were reinforced during the relay this year:

1) I am a crappy pacer. I looked down at my watch at the mile marker and saw that I ran a personal best mile of 7:18. I did the math: the next 1.44 miles were done at an 8:24 pace. (I'm very happy that I was able to drop my mile time, but I also feel stupid for going out too fast.)

2) I don't have the mental game if I'm running by myself. Due to the poor pacing of the first mile, I ran by myself when I lost contact with the pack. I talked myself out of regaining contact and couldn't push through the pain. I even walked the second water stop because I wanted a break so badly.

The good news is that I have fantastic friends to run with. My friends are faster than me, but I don't like to run alone, so I run faster. It's a virtuous cycle.

Joe Prusaitis's Capt Karl Report

This is the first piece of individual hardware I've taken home in sports. I was always more of a mathlete than an athlete.

I had to look it up, but I ran this faster than my first 10K in March 2007.

*****

Capt'n Karl's Timber Knoll
Pedernales SP
15 Aug 2009

The Texas heat continues to pound on us, yet we continue to run, and we continue to race. It was just another typical 100 degree burner, just like all the other ones, but this format took us to Pedernales SP for another set of 10km, 30km, and 60km trails races. The only real difference at this race was no rain.

The 30km runners would start first, running an out-n-back of 1.6 miles so that the next two laps of 8.5 miles each would add up to 18.6 miles. Eric Herzog went out fast and held strong to win in 2:23:02. John Reynolds was 2nd male in 2:59, and Hugo Walker was 3rd in 3:02:35. Christine Tokarz went out fast but was tracked closely by Amanda McIntosh, who went by her on the final loop to take the women's win in 2:43:46, and also finishing 2nd overall. Christine held on as 2nd woman in 2:55:51 and also 3rd overall. Cheryl Tulkoff finished 3rd woman in 3:05:42 and also 6th overall. The women might be serving notice to the men today, taking 6 of the top 10 spots in this race.

The 10km started 30 minutes later, running a different route than the 30km. We would walk them out 0.47mi so that they could run an even 10km loop from the correct spot. Lou Riesch won the 10km in 45:32, with Jason Voges 2nd in 54:45, and Jason McGhee 3rd in 56:55. The women's 10km was won by Staci Holstine in 59:57, followed by Kristy Arnim 1:07:24, and Jane Bui in 1:10:39.

The 60km started much later, after the 30km and 10km was done and gone. They would use the same 8.5mi loop that the 30km used earlier, so that meant 4 loops plus 3.2 miles of out-n-back to net the required 37.2 miles. This was a fun race to watch, with Ryan Beard and Elizabeth Howard running with each other the entire race, coming in after each loop together and leaving together. I only wondered who would round the final turn in front. It only took 6:11 to see this unfold, as Ryan rounded the final turn in full stride while looking back over his shoulder for Liza who was right behind him. Ryan did win the race in 6:11:29, while Liza was first woman and 2nd overall just 7 seconds back in 6:11:36. It was an exciting race from start to finish, best told by their split time checks...
1 Ryan Beard 1:46:21 1:26:37 1:31:31 1:27:00 6:11:29
2 Elizabeth Howard 1:46:21 1:26:05 1:32:09 1:27:01 6:11:36
Mind that their first split is 8.5mi plus the 3.2 mile out-n-back, while all the others at exactly 8.5 miles. Woody Stallings came in 2nd male in 6:44:25, with Larry King in 3rd at 7:04:46. The 2nd and 3rd place women were Blair Gilbert in 8:33:03, and Rochelle Frazier in 8:36:36