Oh, good. Cold, too? Great!

Both Tami & I are running a road race tomorrow morning. It's the Jack 15, which is 15.2 miles of lonely county roads. Tami's running in a 5x3 relay, and I'm running the whole thing. Naturally, I've been watching the weather forecast closely, and it's been steadily getting worse each day. Tonight I checked the National Weather Service, and they've finally gone all the way, saying the chance of rain is 100%.

[Update]

The weather turned out to be just about perfect. It rained early, but had mostly stopped by the time the race started. The temperature was just right, and the wind was from the north. Just over half of the race runs due south.

Tami's team won the 5x3 co-ed division.

Just before the race, I talked to a local long-time runner (let's call him "Bob." Because that's his name.) He ran his first Jack 15 in 1969, at the age of 42. I told him that I'd read that fact in the record book, and it inspired me to run my first this year at the same age. I said I wanted to be like Bob. He's now 80 (yes, that doesn't add up, but back then, the race was run earlier in the year). He told me that after running the 15.2 miles, which went pretty well, he told himself that a marathon was just 11 miles more, so he ran one that fall. He found out the hard way that there's no such thing as "just" 11 miles more.

That sure corroborates my experience. Not that I've run a full marathon, but my half-marathon 13 days ago went so well that I thought a full 26.2 miles was coming sooner rather than later. After today's run, I know better. The first 10 miles flew by, but the last five were really tough. I don't know if today's race just came too soon after my half, or if my training just wasn't good enough, but I know for sure that I'm not close to being ready for a marathon.

Road race: 2005 Jack 15

On Saturday, for the sixth year in a row, I ran the Jack 15 road race on a relay team. The conditions were almost perfect -- cool temps and low wind. It had rained earlier in the day, but the rain stopped shortly before the start.

Our team managed to win our division (co-ed 5x3 relay), which we hadn't done before, except for the crazy 15x1 in 2002. That year we had only one team to beat, and they were walkers. We also had our best time this year (again, except for 2002).

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Weather.com claims that the high temperature here yesterday was 84°F. Well, I was out running at about 1:30, and I don't believe it. I was on the fitness trail along I-29, and where the trail dips down just southeast of Rainbow Play Systems, it was an oven. I could see the flag at Rainbow flying straight out from the wind, but at the bottom of that little hill, there wasn't the slightest breeze. It had to be near 100°F. Normally, I'm pretty slow, but today I may have set a new standard.

Sheena Dauer Doubles at Independent Nationals

South Dakota State University's Sheena Dauer won the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters at the Division I Independent Track & Field Championships. She was co-athlete of the meet. She won the 5,000 by a comfortable 3 seconds (though how comfortable can 17:31 be?), and ran away from the field in the 10,000.

The SDSU Jackrabbit women finished 4th; the men finished 3rd despite having only one first-place individual: Brad Lowery in the 1500.

I was was lucky enough to run with Sheena in last year's Jack 15 relay. Well, what she did was running; what the rest of us did was not quite the same thing.

Brookings Marathon 2005

The Brookings Marathon was yesterday, and as I have for four years, I ran the last leg, from mile 20, on a relay team. Like last year, the weather was poor, with a strong, cold wind coming out of the northwest.

The featured speaker on Friday night was Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge SD, the only American ever to win the 10,000 meters at the Olympics. He won at Tokyo in 1964 as an unknown in a huge upset over the world record holder Ron Clarke. The come-from-behind finish in the last few meters was very exciting. That was my first summer on the planet, so I obviously don't have any memories of it, but I've read about it quite a bit, have seen the race on video, saw the movie about his life, and have seen that great photo of the finish countless times. It was a real thrill to hear him speak. I was able to speak very briefly with him on Friday night. Just before the start on Saturday, I looked up and there he was walking towards me. I was a little startled, and just said "Good morning, Mr. Mills," and shook his hand. I wish I had told him how much I enjoyed his speech.

As I said, the race conditions were poor, and the cold wind was just about exactly wrong for my part of the route. My leg was about 10 km, the same distance Billy Mills ran in 1964. I was about three-quarters through, and the wind was wearing me down. I had given up hope of meeting my time goal. As I was about to turn a corner to face that wind again, there on the side of the road in a small crowd of people was Billy Mills, cheering on the runners.

If that couldn't motivate me to a strong finish for my 10,000 meters, I don't know what would. I felt like I was floating for the next kilometer or so, and ran the last quarter of my leg with a big smile on my face.

Brookings Marathon

I'm on a relay team in the Brookings Marathon again this year, on 14 May 2005. It's a fundraiser for Easter Seals South Dakota. If you would like to sponsor our team, click on the "Donate" button on the right side of the page. Your donation will be matched by the Larson Foundation. Last year, the marathon raised $8,000.

The program this year includes a speech by Billy Mills, the only American ever to win Olympic gold at 10,000 meters. Last year's speaker was Dick Beardsley.

Here are some photos from last year.

Dad
Dad, Mary, and Mary's brother
Vern and Mary's brother (I really should ask Mary for his name. I think it's Don...)
Becky
Keith

Brookings Marathon

As usual, we fielded a relay team for the newly-renamed Brookings Marathon, formerly known as the Longest Day Marathon. Race director Andy Stockholm, the Prairie Striders Running Club, and lots of volunteers made it a great event, despite the bad weather. It was a bit cool, which is great for running, but about the time my leg of the relay started, it rained. It wasn't really that bad while I ran, but once I stopped I was chilled to the bone.

Our team finished 3rd in the relay division. I think we were in first until the anchor leg (me). Two runners whizzed by me, and I'm pretty sure they were on the two top teams. I managed to pass about five marathoners.

The night before the race, Dick Beardsley spoke. Most famous for his duel with Salazar at Boston in 1982, he has led an interesting life. He had a short stay at SDSU here in Brookings. He finished fourth on Saturday.

I'm about to run the Gold Bar 5K. I'm curious to see how I'll feel; I haven't run a single step since last Sunday's Sioux Falls Half Marathon. Tami's on a trail ride for the weekend -- I'm not making that up.