Author Archive: GeorgeK

Martian Marathon – 10K in the books.

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This morning I did the Martian Marathon – 10K race portion. I had a good time for sure. Having never gone 6.2 miles before except once in training, did not know for sure how it would work out. I did not finish first… come on only been three months since I could even go 3 miles at a time…. but I was pleased with my stats.

  • There were 617 total finishers (do not know how many entrants)
  • I ended up 426th out of that 617
  • In my age group there were 43 runners
  • I ended up 30th out of that 43.
  • The official time was 1:03:01
  • That makes the pace 10:09, not burning up the pavement, but better than the 5K pace (10:30)  just a month ago, and twice the distance!
  • Then of all the runners, 69% finished ahead of me, while in the Shamrocks & Shenanigans 5K a full 77% finished ahead of me.

Click on the picture to see a larger image.

The numbers here confuse me a little, they are just slightly different than the spreadsheet data on the Gault Race Management web site. But the spreadsheet looks to be more correct to me.

If I hang in there it will be interesting to see what happens at the same races next year.

Will get I now have some photos posted, but finally got the main system is down for an upgrade right now  running enough to get this done.

Until the Martians make face to face contact,

Martian Marathon Invaded by Kazology Running Team!

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The count down has begun to the Martian Marathon, well in my case the Martian 10K, which is pretty much a marathon for me!
For the curious, it shows that I am officially signed up for the 10K race.

The race is less than two weeks away on Saturday April 5, 2008. ???? like ????? I think I can go the distance, probably not non-stop, but a short enough “breather” to still keep the time pretty reasonable. ???? ????? ???? 777 ???? ?????

Should be a fun race! I am hoping the weather does not decide to dump more snow the night before – or during the race! ????? ?? ?????? After the latest round on Friday the 21st, Ann Arbor broke all annual snowfall records that went back to 1880 when the first records were kept, so it would not surprise me since we sometimes get snow that late! Better get out and buy those YakTraxs to have on hand foot feet!

Until the last alien abduction is solved,

“Peeping Tom” the Gorilla.

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Be on the look out for a gorilla (in your dreams) that made a break from the secure storage area. Gorilla Head was last seen several (??) years ago “hanging around” outside of dorm rooms.

Like the Toe Jammer Team, Tom has been out of circulation for awhile, but is back again HOO-HAA.

Like the Toe-Jammer team, Tom has been out of circulation for quite awhile, but is back in the “swing” of things now. Watch out for random tapping on your windows.

Coconut Gorilla Head may just be the new mascot of the 2008 Toe-Jammer 5K team!

Keep reading to see where Peeping Tom may show up! (If anywhere….)

Until the final memento is unearthed,

Step 3 Done – Shamrocks & Shenanigans 5K

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I am sure everyone is waiting to see the final results of the inaugural 5K race, well not so much “race” as a fast trot…..

I guess the good news, I did not stop, I did not walk, I did finish, I did not finish last even! (Sam I am…) I did not have any unpleasant medical issues which is always a nice thing.
There was a total of sixteen runners in my age group, I managed a twelfth place. There were 899 finishers and I made a 696 overall. (It looked like about 1100 entries, so some either never showed up, or quit before they went through the timing gates.) I could whine about the crowded start, being almost two blocks behind before I even crossed the start line, but I’m not gonna. I am going to mark that up to lessons learned and future race strategy. I was hoping they would have a chip timed start but it was not, but rather a “gun start”. That’s okay, just makes it easier to improve in the next race.

The Infamous Purdue University Toe-JammersTM team lives on! After a recent resurgence in activity by the Toe-JammersTM they have worked to regain the old Esprit de corps, coming out of retirement to continue on the proud tradition.

Click on the picture to see a larger image.
Some other numbers, my average pace was a blistering 10:28/mile (Odd they run all races in metric but always give the times in miles, especially since you have to deal with that little nagging extra “.11 miles” somehow.
Total time was 32:34, which is a new PR! Like I said in the previous post… it is the first 5K I have ever run so it HAS to be a new PR.
Click on the picture to see a larger image.

The official photographer was on hand to capture a number of thrilling action shots which have been posted on the web site.

The motivations for entering this 5K were:

  1. have fun
  2. do something different
  3. see how I compare against other runners
  4. finish – not first, but not last so call it a personal challenge
  5. set a benchmark to gauge future efforts against

I feel good about the goals, and think I met all of them.
Now the big decision. I made the 5K okay by my current standards. Coming up is the Martian Meteor, which is a 10K. I have looked and I think my times will keep me at least within reason, certainly not gonna be first, but think I would not be last either.
Have to try a few more 6.2 mile runs before I commit though.

Okay, I think that is about it, looking at the picture above I think I am gonna head out to the running shop now and pick up some of those man-tights to wear. The old sweats are sorta baggy… they look like they belong in the original Toe-JammersTM locker room.

Until the final event goes into the books,

Step 2 Done – Shamrocks & Shenanigans 5K Race

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Okay, one step left – go to the race.
Click on the picture to see a larger image.

Saturday, 22 hours to go…. went and picked up pre-race package which included the official T-Shirt and number. Only thing left is to get there on time tomorrow and pick up the timing chip then get in line.