2020: Holland Haven Marathon

Posted on
20200913_190900__img_0726

Had 2020 unfolded as any of the most previous years, I would have run the Illinois Marathon (April) as my target race in Spring and continued to train towards Marquette Marathon (September) with a handful of road and trail running events spread in between. But 2020 has been a year unlike any that I (or most of us) have experienced so far and COVID-19 has led to the postponement (if not cancellation) of a vast majority of races around the world including

  1. the Summer Olympics in Japan and
  2. the World Marathon Majors events
    1. Tokyo – elites-only event in March,
    2. Boston – moved from April to September as a virtual event,
    3. London – moved from April to October as an elites-only event and virtual for non-elites,
    4. Berlin – scheduled for September but cancelled,
    5. Chicago – virtual event in October, and
    6. New York City – virtual event in November.

I was/am fully cognizant of the fact that there are more important things in life than training for and running a race. Having friends whose livelihood depends on timing such events made me realize the value of such events beyond just getting another medal or even earning a new PR.

Continue reading … “2020: Holland Haven Marathon”

2020: Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee

Posted on
20200706_163426__img_3592

With my running goals (as of late April 2020) focused primarily towards road running events (and the need for sustaining a specific pace for a considerable distance), I knew the chances of participating in an event organized by Lazarus Lake (or just Laz for us cool kids) – assuming that I actually qualified for one – were pretty slim, if not non-existent. For those of us not yet familiar with the notoriety of Laz (I mean this in a good way), he is most famously associated with The Barkley Marathons held in the Frozen Head State Park and the Big’s Backyard Ultra (or The Last Human Standing Running) held in Bell Buckle – both in Tennessee. With most races around the globe either cancelled or postponed or turned into a virtual event as a result of COVID-19, a rare win-win opportunity came along: I’d get to continue working towards my long-term goals while simultaneously participating in a Laz-organized event, albeit virtually. Needless to say, I jumped on it!

Continue reading … “2020: Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee”

2020: (Virtual) Illinois and Grandma’s Marathons

Posted on

20200906_183000__img_0535
If not for the ongoing global pandemic, COVID-19, the Illinois Marathon would have happened on 25th April 2020 and the Grandma’s Marathon would be happening on 20th June 2020. Organizers of the Grandma’s Marathon had sent out the cancellation notice at the end of March. In mid-March, organizers of the Illinois Marathon had only postponed the event to later parts of 2020. But the uncertainties being what they are, they too decided to cancel the 2020 edition. In the grander scheme of things, I believe cancellation aligns well with the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest possible time philosophy, and I sure hope that I get to meet my friends I was supposed to meet at these events again and again. Both events offered a deferment to or registration discount towards a subsequent edition as well as virtual run option. Having had a sneak peak at behind-the-scenes actions in my community’s events, it was an easy decision to go with the virtual run option.

Continue reading … “2020: (Virtual) Illinois and Grandma’s Marathons”

2020: Great Bear Chase

Posted on

20200307_085000__img_095358
Being a hometown event and the last officially timed nordic skiing race for the 2019-20 winter, this was an event that I could ill afford to miss. Given that it’s week #13 of a 20-week training plan towards a Spring Marathon called for a 20-mile LSD run, the only decision was the distance combination pending weather conditions: 25 km skiing + 10 km running OR 10 km skiing + 25 km running. In light of the 2020 American Birkebeiner experience and a tentative plan for its 2021 edition, I chose to stick with the 25 km skiing (race effort) + 10 km running (easy/recovery jog) combination irrespective of prevailing weather conditions.

Continue reading … “2020: Great Bear Chase”

2020: Noquemanon Ski Marathon

Posted on

20200123_220135__img_9724
Currently in week #07 of a 20-week training plan towards 2020 Spring Marathon, this too was an event I had deemed I am not going to participate during 2019-20 winter. Little did I know (or even remember) that I had signed up for the 24 km version loooooong ago – like in April 2019 – to take advantage of the early bird pricing. It’s only when I registered for the 12 km version and tried creating a label in Gmail (you know, to easily search for registration confirmation during packet pickup) that I realized the said label already existed. Fortunately, I had just enough time to cancel the 12 km registration.

Continue reading … “2020: Noquemanon Ski Marathon”

2020: SISU Ski Fest

Posted on

20200111_172026__img_9609
Currently in week #05 of a 20-week training plan towards 2020 Spring Marathon, this was an event I had deemed I am not going to participate during 2019-20 winter. I was sticking with my claim until a handful of hours before the registration closed. Inquiries/Nudging by good friends and all the inspiration derived from watching world-class skiers during the recently concluded 2020 US Cross Country Ski National Championships should take the credit for changing my mind.

Continue reading … “2020: SISU Ski Fest”

2019: Bridges & Bluffs Half Marathon

Posted on

20190928_132344__img_7477
I would have never known that this event even existed if not for a conversation with Jan Haase in last week of August. Opting to race it required re-arranging the week #09 schedule of my training towards Fall marathons: Thursday’s 9 tempo miles would be run during this event. A good portion, if not all, of Friday’s easy 10 miler would be repackaged as a recovery run on Sunday. Saturday’s 20 miler was swapped with last week’s 13 miler. Assuming that the weather angels and the course cooperated well, the plan was to start slow-ish through mile #3, and reach and hold the tempo-like ponderous pace rest of the way. I expected the by-product of a proper execution of this plan to help me earn a new PR for this distance (below 1:32:22) … preferably at or below the 1:29:59 mark that seems to be within reach.

Continue reading … “2019: Bridges & Bluffs Half Marathon”

2019: Marquette Half Marathon

Posted on

20190831_104614__img_7019
Currently in week #05 of a training cycle towards a Fall marathon, my original plan for this event (like, when I first registered in December 2018) was to run the full distance as a supported long training run. Over the last 2-3 weeks (and even as late as Tuesday of this week), I flirted with the idea of sticking to the full distance at a fairly good pace … assuming the weather angels blessed us all with a day made for racing. As much as I believe in pushing the limits, I believe that I am a stronger believer in the process and its transformational power. Coupled with the advice Stephen Eles offered halfway through week #04, I decided to run just half the distance but almost entirely in an unwieldy zone. Doing so would have the added benefit of having plenty more time to cheer on John Farquhar as he punches his ticket to 2020 Boston and Bill Sved completes his 300th (yes, three hundred) marathon!

Continue reading … “2019: Marquette Half Marathon”