Shamrock Shuffle 2012

This year the whole family participated in the Madison Shamrock Shuffle.  It landed right on St. Patrick's Day this year.

Zack just wasn't ready to committ to a 5k, but he has wanted a green shirt since Chad ran the 10k last year.  So he signed up for the 2 mile walk, and I signed up along with him.  Kevin signed up for the 5k once it looked like the weather was going to be warm.  He even went on some training runs before the date of the Shuffle.

The weather on Saturday was wonderful.  It was short sleeve and shorts weather, so the long sleeved green shirt that came with the entry was unseasonable.  The online instructions for the run said runners should be cautious and on the look out for ice on the course.  Not this year.  The high for Saturday was to be 80 degrees.  No ice in sight.

We parked close to the finish and headed up to the Overture Center to check out the crowd and look for bathrooms.  Finding huge lines, Chad suggested we go the last few blocks to the State Capitol to use the bathrooms.  It was a nice walk, and the Capitol was almost vacant, so no line at the bathroom.

The Shuffle was filled this year, and the announcements said over 4,000 runners and walkers were heading out Saturday morning.

By the time we headed back down State Street, Chad and Kevin lined up in the street for the start of their run.  Zack and I headed out 5 minutes later.

The course headed down State Street, and over past the Memorial Union.  Then up the Observatory Drive hill and past the Carillon Tower.  The 5k was an out and back that went to the Natatorium and back.  Zack and I turned at Babcock Drive and headed to the Lakeshore Path where we joined up with the 10k route.  Zack enjoyed walking along the Lake.  He did great, just needing a little encouragement in the last half mile.

Chad and Kevin finished in 36:09, a good job for Kevin's first run.  And the best part, Kevin wants to run more.  He will probably run the Monona 5k with me in a couple months.

Science Olymiad Regionals

On Saturday, Kevin competed in Science Olympiad regional competitions in Madison.  He competed in four events, two of which he took on in the last couple of weeks.  He had a geocaching event, a tower building event, a levitating magnetic vehicle event, and timed gravity vehicle event.

His team won a silver medal in Gravity Vehicle, where they needed to send a vehicle down a ramp, and try to stop it at a specified location.  He also won a bronze medal in Mag Lev, where the vehicle moves down a ramp on fans while it is levitating with magnets.  The vehicle also pulls a sled with weight on it.

Kevin and his high school team are now on to the state competition.  Way to go!

Merrell Kids Trail Glove Review

Zack has been waiting a long time for these shoes, the Merrell Trail Glove Kids.  He has been searching stores for several months, and he finally found them at REI last weekend. He chose the flashier blue color over the gray.  So excited about his purchase, he of course needed to wear them to school yesterday.

 
As soon as he got in the Jeep after school, he handed out his review.  "They are really light and the bottom is flat, so it makes you run fast.  The bottom is shaped like your feet, so it's like running with no shoes.  They are like wearing socks"  Sounded like he put them to the test at school.  He raced another kid across the playground to show how fast his shoes were.  Zack lost, but he said the other kid was breathing really hard when he crossed the line, which according to Zack was because the other kid's shoes were so heavy.

Summary:  Zack thinks the shoes are awesome.

Madison Winter Festival

Satuday the 18th was the day for running races at the Madison Winter Festival.  Zack and I were both signed up to run and my mom came along to supervise us and take pictures. Zack ran first and I went along with at his request. He ran a good race pushing hard until the end. If I'm lucky the new shoes he is reviewing, post coming soon, will have him interested in the 5k next month. I ran a good race even with a sore foot, 22:36 is the fastest I've run a 5k so far.

                                              Zack and I nearing the finish of the kids race.

                              That is Zack's award, a squishy penguin, not the medal he was expecting.

Zack and I before the 5k race.

Thanks mom for coming along and standing in the cold.

Snow Biking

Quick afternoon ride at Blue Mounds State Park, video is pretty shaky guess I need a helmet cam.

Last Run of 2011

Ended the year with a 10 mile run down the bike trail. Looking at my totals for the year I ran 897.76 miles and cycled 1172. My bike mileage is a bit pathetic compared to the past but I was hating road riding this year. Wish I had seen I was just short of 900 miles running, I could have gone longer this morning. 2012 mileage will only be zero until I get out tomorrow.

Snow Running

Fresh snow on the ground for my long run this week. At first I wasn't excited but it turned out to be a great run. Shoveling the driveway made it clear it was going to be slippery running especially where the snow was cleared. While getting ready I decided to try adding screws to my old Saucony Kinvavas, 6  #6 by 3/8" per shoe and I was ready. With no route in mind I ended up on the bike trail heading west towards Blue Mounds. I'm prone to telling myself I'll turn around up ahead, and up ahead just keeps getting pushed further and further out of town. Finally just before 5 miles out from home I soaked one shoe in hidden slush, I still pushed it out to the full 5 so as to not have to make it up back in town.

157 days until my second marathon http://www.madisonfestivals.com/marathon/ Between now and then I plan to run a few shorter races. Up first a 5k in February http://www.winter-fest.com/site_pages/Information/fun-to-participate/Frosty-5K-Run-Walk.html . The March race will be the http://www.shamrock-shuffle.org/, unknown distance until Zack commits or bails on his 5k plan. He really wants the t-shirt and right now the plan is to run walk the course with him. The final pre-marathon race will be a 20k http://www.lakemonona20k.com/, this will be my third time around the lake. After the marathon it will be back to trail races, possibly the weekend after but no details are posted yet http://wisconsintrailruns.com/

No I haven't given up cycling, I'm debating trying to fit in a 165 mile trail ride the weekend before the Lake Monona race. Seems unlikely at this point