Winter Classic 10K

Well the snow and ice was just about all melted by Friday afternoon up in the Mohawk Park area, so we went ahead and signed up for the Tulsa Running Club Winter Classic 10K race. The weather was chilly when we arrived, but had warmed to 43 degrees by race time with a light southerly wind and sunny skies, so we opted for just shorts and a t-shirt. As usual, a very high percentage of the folks we saw lined up at the start line were way overdressed, especially considering that some of them were running the 20K or 30K events.

This was Cameron's first race in 8 weeks, which is the longest he's gone between races in quite some time, and just before the start he appeared to come up with a sudden case of stage fright. He said that he "wanted to run with daddy" instead of running off and leaving me behind as he normally does. Now I am not in good enough shape at the moment to run a good 10K, so I didn't think this was such a good idea, but before I could talk him out of it, the gun sounded and we were off.

Suddenly my race strategy was not one I would highly recommend...it was to run much faster than I was capable of sustaining for a 10K for as long as I could before I had to drop back, and at that point I was hoping Cameron would decide to just go ahead and run off and leave me behind. We maintained about a 9-minute/mile pace until the 3K mark, which is when I absolutely could not sustain that pace anymore if I wanted to finish the 10K. So I told Cameron it was time to run off and leave me because I was not in shape to run a 10K at this pace. It didn't work however, so we spent the next 1/3 mile or so discussing why he did not want to run this race on his own as we slowed our pace considerably. I finally convinced him to go on, so shortly before the 4K marker, he took off and left me behind.

Cameron finished the 10K with a chip time of 56:24, which was good enough for 2nd out of 3 in his age group (12/under), 44th out of 90 males, and 54th out of 191 overall. As for me, the last 5K was a major struggle due to the fast start, and I limped home in 1:03:44, which was actually better than I thought I was capable of at this point in time. It got a little warm the last half of the race, making me very glad that we chose to run in the clothes we did.

After the race, Cameron finally told me that the reason he wanted to run with me was because he was afraid of getting lost. Of course, there was no chance of him getting lost on that course at Mohawk Park with around 335 runners among the three events running the same course. His time of 56:24 was only 8 seconds slower than his 10K race PR, and 39 seconds off his overall 10K PR. Needless to say, he'd have had a PR for sure if he had run on his own from the start. I do know that his second 5K today was somewhere between 60-90 seconds faster than his first 5K. He also described the race as "very easy." I wish I could say the same about my race.

We jogged a 1/2 mile warmup before the race, so Cameron's total distance run was 6.7 miles, bringing his monthly and yearly total to 37.2 miles.

Thursday

This evening found us at the ORU Aerobics Center for PB running practice. After a 750 meter warmup and some stretching, Cameron ran 8x200 meters with about a 60 second rest between each. After about a 5 minute rest, he ran another 6x200 meters with the same 60 second rest between each. Cameron's times for each repeat ranged from 46 to 51 seconds. A 1500 meter cooldown brought Cameron's daily mileage to 3.1 miles. His monthly and yearly total is now 30.5 miles.

The Tulsa Running Club Winter Classic is Saturday morning. Cameron says he wants to run the 30K...needless to say that will not be happening. As of now, we plan on running the 10K if the course is cleared of snow and ice by that time. I'll drive the course tomorrow afternoon, and then decide based on that. This sleet is tough to melt even with temperatures of 50 today and likely close to 60 tomorrow. I'm hoping it melts off tomorrow, so we can run this race Saturday, as temperatures will be unseasonably warm that day...probably reaching or exceeding 70. If we are not able to run the race Saturday, PB is having a rare Saturday morning practice, so we will just go there instead.

Turkey Mountain

This morning we braved the cold 27 degree temperature and met a small group of TATUR's for an 8 am run on the technical single-track trails of Turkey Mountain. The weather actually was not bad at all once we got going, as the winds were relatively light. We had a couple of beginners to trail running with us at first, so we stayed on the somewhat easier trails for the first 2.8 miles, before heading with Vicky to the more technical rocky trails for another 3 miles. Cameron loves running "in the woods" as he calls it, and especially likes the rockier trails...as for me, I can do without the rocks. When all was said and done, we had covered 5.8 miles in a total elapsed time of 1:19:30. This was the longest distance run for either of us since November, and our longest run by time since the 15K Tulsa Run back in late October. Cameron's distance of 5.8 miles brings his monthly and yearly total to 27.4 miles.

Thursday...time to start my week of midnight shifts

Midnight shifts start tonight...they come around every five weeks. Seven nights in a row upcoming, and it looks like I may get to forecast another ice storm for early next week on my first actual forecast shift back from receiving my award for my long-range prediction of the last major ice storm to hit Tulsa...kinda ironic...could it be deja vu? Let's hope not for everyone's sake.

This evening, we were back at the ORU Aerobics Center for the final PB practice of the week. After a 750 meter warmup and stretching, Cameron ran a 400 meter time trial in a very slow for him 1:44. I'm beginning to think that his limited running since Christmas break has caused him to lose some of his speed and endurance. The same thing happened last winter, and it all quickly returned by spring, so I'm not too worried about it. After a few minutes rest, Cameron then ran 6x200 meters with about a minute rest between each repeat. His times ranged from 45 to 49 seconds, which were faster than the times he ran Tuesday, which was good. Cameron's total distance run was 1.5 miles, bringing his monthly and yearly total to 21.6 miles.

Tuesday

We were back at the ORU Aerobics Center for an early 4:30 pm PB practice today. After about a 600 meter warmup and some stretching, Cameron ran 3 sets of 4x200 meters with about a 60 second rest between each repeat, and a 3 minute rest between each set. His times ranged from 47 to 51 seconds, which is a bit slower than usual for him. He stated afterwards that his stomach was hurting, so that explains the slightly slower times. A 750 meter cooldown brought Cameron's daily mileage to 2.3 miles. His monthly and yearly total is now 20.1 miles.

Zink Loop

My wife and I arrived back in Tulsa from Phoenix Saturday afternoon. Phoenix was wonderful, with afternoon temperatures in the 70s each day and little or no wind or clouds. We were very glad to miss the temperatures in the teens here in Tulsa on Thursday. My exercise for the week was a hike up Piestewa Peak right in the city of Phoenix...the climb to the summit is 1.2 miles long, with an elevation gain of 1208 feet.

With the beautiful afternoon weather here in Tulsa today. Cameron and I decided to go out for a 4.3 mile run around the Zink Loop on the Riverparks trails. Temperatures in the 50s and sunshine made for a pleasant run, but the northwest winds were a bit breezy. I have not run much at all for the past six weeks, and it really showed today. I had to take a few breaks along the way, and after my final break with about 3/4 mile left to run, I sent Cameron off to finish at his own pace and told him to wait for me at the finish. Well it turns out he decided to get a bit of bonus distance in as he turned back onto the pedestrian bridge and ran part of the way across it again before stopping. Cameron's running time for the 4.4 miles he ran was 42:52. It took me five seconds longer than that to run a tenth of a mile less. Cameron's distance of 4.4 miles brings his monthly and yearly total to 17.8 miles.

Time trials

PB time trials were held this evening at the ORU Aerobics Center. The events were the 800, 3200, 400, 40 yd, 1600, and 200. True to his word, Cameron ran every one of them except the 3200. After a 1000 meter warmup and some stretching, the festivities kicked off with the 800 meter run, which Cameron completed in 3:31. Next up for Cameron was the 400 meter dash, which he ran in 1:37. Then came the 40 yard sprint, which he ran in 7.6 seconds. The 1600 meter run was next, and Cameron finished in 7:20. The final event was the 200 meter dash, which he completed in 43 seconds. None of the times were PR's for Cameron, which was to be expected considering he wanted to do almost all of the events, but he had a good time which is what matters most. A 250 meter cooldown jog completed the evening of running. Cameron's total distance run was 2.7 miles, bringing his monthly and yearly total to 13.4 miles.

My wife and I are headed to Phoenix this coming week, where I will receive an award for my accurate long-range prediction of the Tulsa area ice storm back in December of 2007. The in-laws are coming to watch the kids during this time, so Cameron will likely have a week or slightly more off from running while we are gone.

Thursday

This evening we were back at the ORU Aerobics Center for another PB practice. After a 750 meter warmup and stretching, Cameron ran 3x500 meters with 90 seconds rest between each. His times were 2:11, 2:15, and 2:15. After a 5 minute rest, he then ran 3x250 meters with 60 seconds rest between each. His times were 1:02, 1:03, and 1:05. The workout concluded with 3x40 yards...Cameron's times were 7.1 seconds, 7.0 seconds, and 7.0 seconds. Cameron's total distance run was 1.9 miles, bringing his monthly and yearly total to 10.7 miles. Next up for Cameron is time trials Saturday evening...he says he's running every event but the 3200...we'll see if he actually follows through with that.

First post

OK I'm going to try something new here in 2009 with this blogging. This blog will document the running of my 7-year old son Cameron. After spending the Holidays up north visiting grandparents in both Wisconsin and Illinois, we returned back home to Tulsa Sunday, and Cameron ran for the first time in 19 days Monday evening. Just for some background info for those who don't know us, Cameron has been running now since the fall of 2006, shortly after he turned 5. He began running with the Jenks America Track Club (JATC) back then, and has run with them ever since. However, in December 2008, I decided that I didn't like running outside in the cold all winter, so Cameron has been running mainly with the Personal Best (PB) Running Club since early December, as they run indoors at the ORU Aerobics Center during the winter.



Now back to Monday, PB did not have practice on this evening, but since Cameron had not run for 19 days, we decided we needed to get a run in. So we headed to the Jenks High School track for the weekly JATC 400 meter repeat workout. It was a very cold night, with temperatures hovering just above the freezing mark, but at least the winds were light. After a 1-mile warmup and stretches, Cameron ran 12 400 meter repeats with a 60 second rest between each. The workout was done at a slower pace than usual, with his first repeat being the slowest at 2:03, and the last repeat his fastest at 1:50. A 1/2 mile cooldown followed, bringing the day's total to 4.5 miles.



Tuesday evening, it was back to ORU with PB and the nice climate controlled indoor 250 meter track. After a 1000 meter warmup, Cameron did 3 sets of 10 minutes running/5 minutes core work. His target running pace was 1:18-1:20 per 250 meter lap, and he was about right on, averaging 1:20 on the 1st set, 1:18 on the second set, and 1:21 on the 3rd set. Cameron's total distance run was 4.3 miles, bringing his monthly and yearly total to 8.8 miles.