RACE: Hopedale Duathlon

DISTANCE: 2 mile, 12.6, 2 Mile

DATE: 05/15/09

PLACEMENT: 1st Overall

TIME: 59:51

I wanted to a tune-up. I thought well Brian will get out and ride one more time prior to having twins, and possibly Chris Sweet will come out, so Duathlons should give me a chance to shine. I have been riding very well, having rode the second fastest time trial this year, I knew I had a shot.

Showed up on yet another terribly windy, miserable day. It seemed we had our fair share again. The wind was severe out of the north, and I noticed that Rossi / Sweet did not show up, so this became a training ride. Race wheels put away for a sunny day, and I determined I would take it easy to get some  training in later. Little did I know easy on the bike included the massive headwind.

Took off without many in sight. I knew Doug Rosen would ride fairly well, and he always amazes me with what a strong runner he is. I took off conservatively, but felt like a decent effort would give me a nice lead on the bike.

2 mile split: 10:43 (1st overall)

I hopped on the bike, having looked back, and no one was around. I am a fairly aggressive rider in the first couple miles, and I wanted to ensure I did not see a soul. The effort was simply unreal with the wind.. .worst bike split of the year, simply terrible… 20.7 mph (1st overall)

I imagined I had a fairly substantial lead at this point, so I decided to take the first mile aggressive, and then just relax and come in easy. Well right about that time I realized (around 1.5 miles in), that my worthless bike split was going to put me near the one hour mark, so I picked it up…

2 mile split 11:37 (2nd overall… thanks doug)

Overall a fun race, and a pricey training ride. I cant imagine how Doug Rosen and others rode a disc in that weather…

Thanks for the support from Mitch and Ryan and the team. My gear worked well, and it was apparent the marathon training assisted in my strength this year.

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RACE: Quarryman 5K

LOCATION: Lemont, IL

DATE: 05/09/09

TIME: 17:45

PLACEMENT: 3rd Overall

I wanted to get back into racing, by picking an extremely challenging course. When I agreed to head up to Lemont, i thought I knew what a hilly course meant… wrong. The warm-up seemed like an eternity, winding through the worst hills I have encountered in my running career (including the Bix). There was just zero relief.

After a nice warm-up, I started to check out the competition. Lots of chicago natives, as this race was posted on the CARA website (Oddly, lots of Ironman hats, shirts, etc… which was wierd for a 5k)

My goal was to run as consistent as possible, regardless of the hills.

We took off, and immediately some darted off at a Sub 5 pace in the chase for the King of the Hill prize (the first mile is literally like climbing stairs). The leader at the top of the first hill won a prize. I stayed conservative, and watched as I slipped back to 6th overall. Within sight of the marker at the top of the hill, I had moved up to 5th overall. We cruised up the next hill / turn before heading down hill, uphill, etc to the first marker, crossed in 5:45, which honestly seemed rather fast. At this point a guy in front of me slippede, and I moved to 4th. I set my eyes on gaining ground, and not changing pace. We went around the next corner, and no doubt, hills, and 25mph winds… what a disgrace.

Second mile, surprising (and my most consistent 2 mile split in my life) 5:46

At this point I had to move, but we had plenty of hill remaining, and plenty of wind on the home stretch, I made my move to 3rd, and hung on. I could hear the pressure behind from another runner, and I had like a near out of body experience.. I dont recall running the last .1 …. Mile 3 , 5:45 -

Total 17:45, 5:45 average. I had a blast, and was extremely proud of the effort given my first race back. It was the smartest I have raced to date, and given the conditions, I think the best I have run in my career.

Thanks to Mitch / Ryan / and all of you guys for your advice, encouragement, etc, It means allot.

DATE: 04/11/09
TIME: 2:57:31 (6:4x) *PR*
TEMP: 36 8-13 West Wind
PLACEMENT: 32nd OA / 6th 25-29
Leading up to this race, and had the best training of my life, no argument. I was running well, mentally was tough as nails, regardless of my schedule of being a full-time graduate student, a full-time employee at State Farm, and the Tri-Shark Club President. It was easy to get run down, but at the beginning of 2009, I set the goal of running at least 1 mile every day. I actually had the same goal in 2008, and came down with walking pneumonia, the week of valentines day. I then threw in the towel and skipped 5 days, didnt care one bit. I am pleased to say that even to this day 04/20/09, I still have ran at least 1 mile every day. Emily was the best training partner I could ask for, in the process of completing 5 fantastic long runs (20,22,23,24,25.2) , Emily was always by my side for at least part of a long run. Seanan joined in several times, Dave Quinn as well, everyone chipped in to help me reach my goal.

A month out from the race, a new pair of shoes , and an overly ambitious workout schedule brought me down with an Achilles tear. I was in a great deal of pain, trying magic oils, massages, combinations of heat, miracle erbs, and nearly every essential amino acid, branch chain amino acid, supplement, etc I could find. No avail, my average mileage hovering in the high 40’s, dropped to 7 miles 2 weeks out from the marathon, as I simply could only muster 1 mile a day to try and heal. An excessively long taper - lost performance, and I gained weight. Granted my muscle mass was the higest its been, but a tank makes a ton of power… its not proportionally fast. (I could go on 737 Airplanes, 1970 LS-6 454 Chevelle, etc)

I wanted the confidence to run with someone I knew was capable breaking 2:50, so I asked Chris Friedman (2:39 PR) for assistance. Chris always willing to help said sure. So i trained, and trained, and trained for this day (only to have a bum achilles).

Race Morning I was nervous more about my achilles, but had confidence in my goals. I had recently PR’d in a 5k without speedwork, so I knew I was in the best shape I have been in. That was a month ago however (and even that race I felt bad).

The goal was to run a slight positive split, approximately by a minute, so we would plan on running in the 1:24’s for the half. Emily tucked in behind us in her quest for domination. Chris and I ran side by side, until about 5 miles in when I had to stop for a porta - he kept going - bad move. Mistake 1 - running a sub 6 mile to catch-up (at an early mile). Granted we were on pace, but that cost me… BIG, as I had to recover for 2 miles just to get my HR down.

I threw out several sanity checks along the course, but in reality the fear set in at mile 18, when we went past the water stop. My achilles barked loud, and started to seize. Chris said to relax, and slow down, so we did. I noticed it go away, which was incredible. We again went back to pace, and it came back. My day was suddenly coming down, not due to bonking, dehydration, etc, but because my achilles was done. Chris asked me what I wanted to do, drop out, push on and see how long it goes until it snaps, etc. I really just wanted to finish.

We trudged along , at a terrible pace for the last 10K (about 46 minutes), as I really could not go faster without it twinging. It was not worth the risk of it seizing, so I held back. Chris gave me constant encouragement, but inside my head, I knew the implications on me, another lofty goal , another lofty failure.

Lessons Learned

1. Never catch-up early in a race
2. Never consider goals reasonable when you are rebounding an injury
3. I do not need 16 weeks to train for a marathon. I can train hard, and tolerate the pain, 10 weeks will be for Chicago
4. I need more long threshold work - 12-16 miles

What a great team out there! Seeing everyone on the course (especially Mile 23 crew) really meant allot, but being the emotionally unstable person I am , all i could think of was embarassment. I knew I wasnt moving slowly, hopefully I didnt look like I was run over by a truck though.

Congrats to everyone racing, Carol unreal… Rossi, way to shoot for a tough section! Seanan, another race under your belt! I got about 100 compliments on my matching outfit and Green Adistar Comp +4’s , at least I was styling. And for those of you that constantly remind me “A PR is a PR” true, and I am thankful for that. A Sub 3 was a great feeling, but I didnt even hit my contingency goal of a Boston Corral 1 (Sub 2:56) Bib. I did finish however.

Running Sunday was the most painful event of my life.

Now its time to get serious about running a quality 5K.
3 Mile
18:48.6

6 Mile
38:03.5  (19:14.9)

9 Mile
57:17.3 (19:13.8)

12 Mile
1:17:07 (19:49.8)

15 Mile
1:36:52 (19:45.2)

18 Mile
1:56:47 (19:55)
20 Mile
2:10:5x

Final
2:57:31

RACE: St.Pats 5K
LOCATION: Bloomington, IL
DATE: 03/15/09
TEMP: 59
WIND: 7MPh E, SE
PLACE: 2nd Overall, 1st 25-29
TIME: 17:03 (5:30/mi)
CATEGORIES: Race Report, rcase

Still in Marathon mode, only a mere 5 weeks out from the Illinois Marathon on April 11th, I wanted to benchmark my fitness

level with a 5K. I have (later to find out too fast) been performing some excellent workouts on the track, and on long runs.

My hope was that even though I had little to no specific training for speed / 5K’s, as well as a lack of hard workouts on my

bike, that I somehow would still run a good time.

I warmed up running the course in just a touch over 27 minutes, and listening to music to take my mind away from the scene. I

saw the group running in front of me, but really wanted to go solo.Headed back to car to switch out of warm-up clothing, and

to get ready to go. It felt great to have a pair of flats on it (forget how small they are..). I had 3 goals for this race

  a. Hit the 2 mile marker at / below 10:30
  b. Run Under 17 Minutes
  c. Finish at the same position I am in at the 2 Mile marker

Warmed up with some strides, and talked to Mike about the game plan. Aim for 5:05 through the fake mile, and hit mile 2 by

10:30. After a long delay we were squared away. I wanted to take off strong, but nerves got the better of me. By the first

turn I think I had a solid 10 bodies on Mike, which was a bad sign. I slowed down around the corner, and soon I heard the

quick foot steps behind me. We hit the corner in 5:05 - dead on. At this point , I realized taking off to fast was bad. Mike

and I ran side by side for a tick until the turnaround point. I clung on for dear life, and Mike was positive and encouraging

to me.

The next .7 miles were difficult , I continued to focus on being within rock throwing distance of mike - I heard him cross the

2 at 10:24, and knew I was there, 10:28. Goal A - Accomplished.

The next mile was an embarassment, and candidly, not worth mentioning. I knew from previous plotting of the course (As well as

careful examination of the time cut-off), that I needed to make the final turn by 13:59 if I wanted to run safely under 17. I

hit the corner in 14:xx , cant recall the time, just knew it wasnt 13:59. I knew it would be close, so I tried to stay focused

and count the telephone poles.

As approached, I recall giving it everything I possibly could, but it just wasnt enough - Watched goal B click by as I hit the

3 mile in about 16:30 - an embarassing 6 minute mile, and trudeged the last .1 in 33 seconds apparently. 6 minutes and 35

seconds for 1.1 miles. I finished in 2nd Overall, was not sure how back Kyle was - Goal C - Accomplished. With my 17:03 - Goal

B - Failed

Cooled down by running the course again, had an enjoyable talk. Was extremely proud to be part of the ORRT results, so many

great performances across the board. Every race is a success as long as you have take aways.

Lessons Learned:

 1. Focus on the importance of not starting to aggressive
 2. Working with a team mate makes a large impact on a race

RACE REPORT: Delevan Frostbite Classic
DISTANCE: Half Mary
DATE: 03/08/09
TEMP: 55
WIND: “Un-Freakin-Believable” aka, 40mph-45mph West, 60MPH W Gusts, aka, Wizard of Oz like
PLACE ? Overall, 2nd 25-29, 1st OA Female (Well that was the point)
I have been training extremely consistent this past 3 months of 2009 , and with that, have been very thankful for friends willing to tag along for legs of my long runs on sunday. Emily is the most notable in that regard, so I discussed helping her out with pacing, and seeing if perhaps she could run 1:24.

I have been training for well, and wanted to get a solid effort in, but nothing outside of my comfort zone, so I thought I would be a wind block, and get a solid tempo run in.

Enter Delavan, apparently the windiest city in Central, IL (well close to it on that day). I arrived early with a nice hitch from the Gieson family. Saw Chris Friedman, and went out for a couple miles easy to warm-up. The wind was pretty severe, but nothing like I would ever imagine when we left town. Came inside, talked with Carol about how we need to find new hobbies.

Fast forward, The goal was simple - just finish the race. It was nearly comical at the start. People took off (due to the tailwind) at paces many have never produced in a 1 mile track workout. I did my best to hold back, and Emily and I just chatted as I watched the speedy guys head away.

We continued on to the 40+ MPH Consistent West Wind, which I had quite the joy of being a windblock

Not wanting to lower my spirits, I simply plugged away what seemed to be an impossible end (due to the ugly splits).

Times stayed consistent, albeit slow. Nothing you can do when the weather cooperates like that. I threw on my trainers the second I got back, and headed out to cheer on some folks coming back in. It was great to see how focused Carol was, as well as some of the other locals that headed down.

RACE: Dog Days 5K
DATE: 07.12.08
PLACEMENT: 3rd Overall. 1st 25-29
TIME: 17:12 *** PR ***

First - Hats off to Mitch for yet another race that I look forward to every year. The guy can barely type an email, but somehow he has the organization to put a race together. Round of applause.

Being a 6pm race in July (which is Cruel by the way), I cannot throw away an entire day of training, so I had a tough Brick workout (http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/enrico%20contolini/Introduction_to_bricks.htm) this morning with 4x intervals of 10 minutes, and then a 1 mile threshold run. These tend to work you pretty well, so by the time I showed up for the race… I was about as enthusiastic as Old man Alyasiri.

It put a smile on my face to see soo many team members, everyone in high spirits, we are a kick ass team everyone…. dont forget it. (And our jerseys look 1000 times better than that team from the little shop in peoria.

Brandon was warming up, so we can safely say, we are fighting for the overall 2nd place win… hooray. My goal was very simple, run with Chris until I felt I was out of my comfort range, and then run at that level until AT hits.

Gun goes off…. well no , actually mitch gave a 3 second warning, which included, “GO” … We took off, and an 8 year old girl led Tom Smith, Friedman and Basketball shorts guy. (Brandon was well gone…) First half mile felt extremely slow, basketball shorts guy finally moved, and Chris led the way. Came up on mile 1 comfortably at 5:09.. .a bit fast for someone at my pace, I know. Alas, my gameplan was simple. I continued to stay as close to chris (Rock throwing distance I once mentioned), and we hit the turnaround where Carol’s mom did a hell of a job of standing :).

Mile 2 came by in… well there wasnt a mile marker (Mitch ???), but we all know where they are. By this point chris starting pulling away, and I looked back hoping for someone to fly by me. Unfortunately, no one. I ran a crap last mile, but due to a solid first 2, came home in 17:12, a PR , still not where I want to be, but given the workout, I still feel my goal of a 16:59 this year is possible.

I was that guy wearing the wrong jersey by the way.. for future reference, men where green, women wear blue… case closed.

Thank you Mitch for not biting my head off about the outfit, thank you for the support, and thank you Adidas for helping a newbie runner with a chance.

I loved seeing everyone, thanks to everyone for rubbing my head for good luck (some better than others….).  Congrats to those that ran, thanks to those that helped out, what a group.

Had a nice cool down with carol and melisa, and enjoyed every moment of it. I thank god I am alive every day.

Sub 17 club, here I come…

Jubilee Trail Race

Jubilee College State Park

June 28, 2008

10 kilometers

39:13

3^rd overall

1^st Master

Results: http://www.ivs.org/Results/2008/Jubilee%20Trail%20Race%2010k.htm

You can push the time to be just free

Shake your body feel the beat

Take your shoes off and feel free

- Cheeky Girls

I arrived early to a cool, quiet, sunny Jubilee State Park.  The race director took me on a virtual tour of the course via the posted map.  Bike trails, single track, creek crossings, jeep trails, open fields, narrow paths, roller coaster hills.  I live for this stuff.

My only pre-race decision was whether to wear my trail shoes or my spikes.  I took a couple test drives through the woods and opted for the spikes since the recent rains had left the trails pretty sloppy.  I’d worn them only once, way back in February at the IWU indoor track meet.  I hoped they would be okay for a 10-km trail race.

This was race #3 in the Central Illinois Trail Running Association (CITRA) series.  Wunning won run one.  (Say that 3 times fast.)  Back from med school, he was coming off a 52-minute 6^th place performance at Steamboat.  I had won race #2 – Wunning did not run that one.

Nice to see Carol and Mitch arrive following an early morning orienteering session on their way to the start area.

Twenty-five meters into the race we enter the trails and Adam White was already pulling away.  I’m in 2^nd followed closely by Wunning and some other guy.  Soon Wunning passes and then Other Guy passes.  They begin pulling away but I come back and lock in to them.  We’ve got a nice rhythm going when at about a mile or so my shoe gets sucked off in the mud.  Appropriate time for a four-letter word and I don’t hesitate on that.  I run back thinking I’d just slip on the spike and go.  But it takes me FOREVER to get my shoe back on.  It was seriously like one of those painful dialing the phone dreams and I stand there bent over in the middle of the trail with my thumb in my shoe for eternity, being incapable of (1) getting my shoe on or even (2) extracting my thumb.  I swear I stood there for 45 seconds with my thumb up my shoe.  It was horrible.

Finally the shoe was on.  Wunning and Other Guy were gone.  I run alone through the trails.  About a mile later I’m actually catching Other Guy.  I can’t believe it!  I pass Other Guy and see Wunning a ways up ahead.  We cross the Kickapoo Creek, which is about the size of the Mackinaw River – over knee deep and about 15 steps across.  Soon we come to the second creek crossing and Wunning is just exiting the river (oops, I mean creek) as I am entering it.  Three steps into the creek and my shoe gets sucked off again.  I don’t even remember what I said this time.

I go back and spend a minute looking for it.  No luck.  So I cross the water and climb the mucky hill with a shoe on one foot and a sock on the other.  This isn’t working too well, so I stop and take off my other shoe.  Okay, now I’m running through the trails in my stocking feet carrying one shoe and debating whether to toss the shoe and get it after the race rather than lugging it along for 3½ miles.  20 seconds later I realize that running in socks is not going to cut it.  I stop again and am glad I still have one shoe.  With a bit of a struggle I get it back on.

I’ve lost about 2 minutes now.  Wunning is long gone and I hear runners close behind.  I admit that at some point during this episode I did consider calling it quits, but that only lasted a few seconds.  For one thing I was in the middle of nowhere and the quickest way out was running.  For another thing, I’d paid the entry fee, I was here, and I might as well hold on for some CITRA series points.  Surely the entire field won’t pass me.

My right leg is doing most of the work while my left foot is taking a beating.  The muddy trails help cushion the impact, while the hard-packed surfaces are taking their toll.  My heel is starting to bruise by 4½ miles.  Not many sticks or rocks, but my mid-sole does find a couple sharp objects and now my heel pain has company.  I’ve gotten somewhat used to the off-kilter stride.  I’m just hoping not to slip down a hill or around a corner in my stocking foot, but still prefer the mud to the occasional hard-packed stuff.

We enter an open field and Wunning is in sight but way ahead.  Back into the trails and I finally get up the courage to look at my watch.  36-something is good news: a mile or less to go.  Through the roller coaster and all of a sudden I catch a glimpse of Wunning…and he’s not that far up!  I round a corner, see his hat on the ground, and power up the last hell (I mis-typed that but think I’ll leave it) to finish 3^rd, only 12 seconds behind Wunning.

Adam White and I drove out a ways, found the trails, and ran through the hills, mud and creek.  We searched in vain for the missing shoe.  It was probably a few miles downstream by now.  But it was a nice cool down as we talked about everything from Hood to Coast to our musical backgrounds.  Did you know Adam is an accomplished pianist and cello player?  This was only the second time I’d met the dude, and as soon as I finished (which was nearly 4 minutes after he did) he offered to go wade around in the water in search of my golden shoe.  Runners are great people.

Towards the end of our cool down a strange glow suddenly enveloped the world…as I began to bonk.  By the time we got back to the finish area I was ravenous and scarfed down two giant cinnamon rolls and a cookie.

Wunning & I each have one outright win and one age group win, so we are virtually tied for the lead in the series.  We’re back at Jubilee on July 12 for the Swamp Dogs 10-km, which Wunning is organizing, so I’m sure he’ll have an edge on knowing the course.  I just hope the final outcome of the series doesn’t come down to some sort of tiebreaker situation where they look at head-to-head competition to determine the winner.  He got me at race #1 the day after I ran a 1:15 at the Springfield Half; and had I kept my shoes on here at race #3, I’m fairly certain that I could have taken him.  But so far I’m 0-2 vs. the guy.

Mike Heffron

Often Running Racing Team

Tri-shark Triathlon
June 7th, 2008
7th Elite/10th overall
53:22

So this will be a short one since my first triathlon of the season became a duathlon after a great deal of rain and delays.  The tri portion was cancelled due to weather and replaced with a 1.5 mile run - 13 mile bike - 1.5 mile run.  Tried to stay steady for the first run…not real sure where I came in but knew I would catch a few on the bike.  Out on the bike I stayed comfortable trying to make sure I could still run the coming 1.5 (I was really stressing about it…not).   I got passed by one guy on the bike, but caught him in the run and got passed by one of the many bikers I passed on the run.  I felt pretty good the whole way…which probably means I could have gone faster but seeing how it really just turned into a fun day, it was all good.

So I headed out Sunday for a 50min bike ride followed by a 13 mile run …it sucked, but I think it was a good training  day for me.  Took a lot out of me, but I felt better that I had accomplished the workout afterwards.  Mental strength is as good as physical strength most of the time.

As for Steamboat, sorry I couldn’t make it.  I missed being there, I just love that race.  Congrats to everyone…you guys rock. I had a slight mishap with a friend’s dog on Friday night.  His dog (who doesn’t do well around people) attacked me when I was leaving his house.  He bit me on the knee and then mauled my thumb.  If it was just the thumb I probably would have tried to run, but my knee was pretty swollen and it took a while to stop the bleeding.

All is well though, the thumb and had are still quite sore, but better than Saturday and the knee is doing very well.  I hope to be back running by Tuesday and able to ride by Thursday.  Swimming will be out for awhile, but hopefully not too long.

Next Race:
July 4th - Park to Park
July 5th - Decatur Triathlon

Next Race: Decatur Triathlon, July 6th