Sterling September

When I started back to school I was concerned that finding time to work out was going to be a challenge. It appears I was wrong. Upon the advice of my wife I began to schedule runs into our calendar. Every Tuesday and every Thursday I would come home from school, grab Ezra, and head to Elver Park for a five or six mile run. On Saturdays I would go for a short run, mainly to loosen up, and then on Sunday I would leave the dog home and head to the trails for a long, slow and methodical run--twice going as far as 9 miles. It's been a great month.

On September 19th I also switched things up and ran in an organized run at Elver Park. Besides being a fund raiser for pancreatic cancer, it was also an opportunity for me to test my fitness level. Since it was at Elver, I was obviously comfortable with the trails and the hills. Probably my favorite part about the run was that each mile was marked--something I normally only guess at. So on this day, as I came over the first big hill I reached the first mile marker in about 9:40.  Usually my first mile is the slowest, and often coming in at about 10:00. I was happy ... yet worried that I was going to fast. My other concern was that my heart monitor was registering my heart rate at about 155 per minute...way above normal. My initial thought was to back off on the pace, yet the reality is that I was feeling great.

I hit the two mile mark in less than 19:30, my heart rate still running above 150, and still feeling great. Just before the two mile mark I really hit my stride, found a partner to run with, and spent the last miles flying through the course ... all the while having a conversation with a fellow runner. I finished the five mile run in 46:15 ... a 9:15 pace, far exceeding my expectations. When the results came out I learned that I finished 39th out of 137; 27th out of 57 males; and amazingly in 2nd place for the old guys (50 and older): Obviously a weak field of runners.

Fired up about how well things went, I came home and immediately signed up for a 12 km race at Indian Lake County Park (on October 16th). That 7.5 mile trail run will take place in one of the more beautiful parks in Dane County.

On Thursday September finished much like it began...me running through Elver with the dog at my side. The difference is I finished with my biggest month yet ... 75 miles...and a great deal of confidence in my fitness level, and in my ability to finish the Birkie.