Two Wheel Blogs

This is why I have been looking forward to the Labor Day weekend for so long. That the weather was absolutely perfect all weekend long was more than I could ask.

Sat 9.04 ~ Cross Races / Cross Training

I had planned on running the open race at the Granite City Invitational. That plan changed when SEMO changed its race schedule. Last year, they ran a warm-up race with SIU-Carbondale and Missouri on Friday. This year, they came up to Washington University's Kick-Off Meet in Forest Park. So we drove over to see my son run. As it turns out, SEMO took second to Wash. U. by one point.

I had considered entering the race. It was was 6K on essentially the same course I'd run back in early August. I had not idea what the field would be like, but I expected it would be a lot of fast college boys. I feared that I would look silly, the old man running by himself after everyone else had passed. And yes, there were some very fast college boys there, but there were some not-so-fast ones, too. As I looked at the results, there was a big gap between the runners who finished 198th and 199th. The 198th runner ran at a 7:40/mile pace; the 199th, an 8:00/mile pace. Based on my training and race paces, I believe I could have fit myself in between those two. I believe I could have finished 199th in the race. If SEMO runs that meet next year, I may enter it.

After the race, we drove over to Granite City to see how the Tigers did. The open race was in progess when we arrived. Sigh ... I had really hoped to run a sub-21:00 on that flat 3-mile course. The Tiger Boys team finished third behind O'Fallon and Springfield, but Edwardsville's star runner, junior Garrett Sweatt, set a new meet and course record with a time of 14:58. After the open race, we joined the team, coaches, and parents for a barbecue put on by the Booster Club. It's good to be part of the Edwardsville cross country family.

When we got home, my wife and son went down for naps. Having missed two chances to race, I needed to run, so I went out of a 5K on the Nickel Plate. It was sunny, but cool. When I finished my run, my running shorts were not soaked with sweat. This tells me that summer is over and fall is here. After the run, I got out the recumbent bike. I like the way the pedaling motion feels after a run. I rode the Watershed Trail out to the South Roxanna trailhead, then turned around and rode all the way back to the Troy spur, then headed home. I've not measured the distance, but I was in the seat for about two hours and fifteen minutes.

Sun 9.05 ~ Long Run / Short Ride

According to the half-marathon training schedule, today was the day for my long run. Not quite as long as I ended up running, but long. I thought I was supposed to do a 7-miler today, and I thought I knew the route I should run to cover that distance. As it runs out, I was wrong on both counts. According to the plan, I was supposed to run 5, not 7. And the 7-mile route I thought I was running turned out to be 8.25 instead. Oops! Next time, I check the schedule and the map before I head out. I felt pretty good, and I was pleased to find I was able to cover 8 miles at the pace I did.

After the run, it was time to ride. But it felt too windy for a satisfying ride on the rode bike. With cyclocross season just around the corner (the first race is 9.18), I figured I should spend some time on the VX bike. I rode out to SIU-E and did a lap on one of the single-track trails. As I was leaving the trail near the Cougar Lake apartments, I came across a family (father, mother, son, and daughter) studying the trail map. "Can I help you find someplace?" I asked. "Can you tell us how to get to the paved trails," the father replied. "Follow me," I said, "I'll show you." And I led them through the apartments area back to the paved trails. I felt like Clint Eastwood or some other cowboy star coming to the rescue of some stranded settlers in a Western movie. "Follow me. And stay close."

I rode to Whitesides and did three climbs on the shoulder of that beast. Then I headed over to my favorite area on campus, the canal that zig-zags to Cougar Lake and the rough area around it. I followed the canal, then did a couple laps on the rough roads that the University service vehicles use. The grass was longed and grabbed at my wheels like fingers, making riding slow and difficult. After about two hours, I headed for home -- and then Peel, the wood-fired pizza restaurant.

Mon 9.06 ~ Belk / Chasing Tigers / Long Way Home

This morning, I was up early to get the cooler ready and pack my wife's car. Every Labor Day, the Tiger cross country team does a 10-mile run. When our son, Devon, was in high school, we assisted the runners by providing water stops along the way. Even though he's graduated, we still do. We enjoy it. Last year, instead of handing out water with my wife, I "rode herd" on the runners, riding back and forth along the route to mark the progress of the leaders and the stragglers, and communicating with the coach as necessary. This year, I decided to do the same thing.

The runners meet at SIUE at 8:00 a.m. to stretch, warm up, etc. I knew they wouldn't start running until at least 8:30 a.m., at the earliest, so that gave me some time to ride. I left home at 7:00 a.m. and rode my usual loop to Belk Park. As I headed down Moreland, a strong wind out of the south was in my face. "So, it's going to be one of those kind of days," I said.

I got to SIUE a little after 8:00 a.m. Not to waste time while waiting for the team to start running, I started doing loops on Whitesides. After my third climb, I went to check on the progress on the runners. From then on, I spent the next hour or so riding back and forth along the route, checking on the progress of the runners. Garrett Sweatt was out to run the ten miles in less than an hour. That's right, ten sub-6:00 miles. I didn't get his finish time, but if we wasn't under an hour, he wan't much over it. That kid can fly. Once the last runner had finished, we headed over to Denny's for a post-run meal, another Labor Day tradition.

After eating, I could have ridden straight home in about ten, maybe fifteen minutes. But since I was suited up and since it was such a beautiful (albeit windy) day, I thought, "Why not? Take the long way home." So I set out to do the Marine Loop. I knew the wind was going to pound me, but I didn't care. I just wanted to ride.

I set out on the Goshen Trail, and initially I was heading south -- in other words, right into the wind. And it was brutal. I pushed along about at about 12 mph, peaking at 14 or 15 whenever I got help from a slight downhill or some wind protection. When I turned left and headed east, this put the wind at my side, and I was able to increase the pace. Fortunately, my route would have me travelling due east, then -- blessedly -- due north through Marine, then west on Fruit Road, and finally due south back to Edwardsville, but only for a short while.

The stretch east on Lower Marine Road wasn't bad. Occasionally, the south wind would get through and slow me down, but generally I was able to roll along somewhere in the mid-teens. Besides, I was living for the left turn onto Marine Road that would put the wind at my back. When it came, it was as if I had just entered the eye of a hurricane. My pace jumped to the low 20s and I was able to roll along with ease. I could hear the wind rustling the dry corn staks on both sides of me, but I couldn't feel it. All I felt was calm -- and speed. Once through Marine, I decided to go with the wind and pedal as fast as I felt I could. I soon found myself doing 27, 28, then 29 mph. I held this wind-created pace until I turned left onto Fruit.

I figured the wind might be slightly worse as I west than it had been earlier, when I headed east. But really, it was pretty much the same as before. The only real difference was that I had better protection from the wind during the east-bound leg than I did now. I was able to maintain a pace in the mid-teens, and soon I was making the right turn onto Main Street, putting the wind at my back for the final push to home.

When I rolled into my driveway I checked my CatEye: 80 miles in 5:11 at a pace of 15.5 mph. This was my longest ride of the year -- albeit one broken up by lunch at Denny's. And I was only 20 miles from a century. But when I got in the house, I didn't care if Alberto Contrador showed up offering to pull for me due north for the final twenty miles so I could hit the century mark, then have his team's SAG wagon bring us back: I was done. I was not getting back on the bike.

But in all, it was a very satisfying weekend of running and riding.