Irish Jig 5k 2018

It's time to end the Michigan winter hibernation, and get back to running.

OK, so I haven't exactly been hibernating. Even did a run up at Perrin Brewing back in January. But the Irish Jig 5k around St. Patrick's Day always feels like the turning point from winter to spring. This year the calendar cooperated so that the race fell squarely on the holiday.

Parking is a bit of a challenge any time there's a race in East Grand Rapids. I got there about an hour before race time, and got just about the very last spot in the parking structure that's right across the street from the race start. Any later and I'd have had to roam the side streets looking for a spot. Next year I might just go straight to the side streets, since it seems there's more and more people every year.

Good turnout again this year for the race - just under 4000 participants, according to the results page. It was pretty cold, down around freezing at race time, but that's far from the worst we've seen in West Michigan around this time of year. I remember running through a fairly heavy snowfall one year, and nearly slipping on ice another time. No snow, only minor wind, no icy spots...pretty good for mid-March in these parts.

The course around East Grand Rapids has a lot of up and down, but no really big hills. Still, for someone who has been running almost entirely on a treadmill for the last 4-5 months, it's a bit of a challenge. I purposely lined up quite a ways back from the front, as I figured I might be a little slower than normal, and ended up being near the front of the second wave of runners. That worked out nicely since it meant that I didn't have a whole lot of traffic for most of the way, though I did catch up to the tail end of the first wave on the second half of the course. I was pretty happy with my just-under-26-minute time, right about top third for my age group.

So that's the first race of the Triple Crown series done. Looking forward to the Diemer and Reeds Lake runs later on this year.

Great Pumpkin Runs 2017

The folks who organize The Great Pumpkin Run stay busy in the fall, organizing races in ten different cities this year. I went to two of them, near Lansing and Grand Rapids.

Both events took place at cider orchards. Early in September, I drove over to Uncle John's Cider Mill north of Lansing. And a few weeks later at the end of the month, I went up to Klackle Orchards in Greenville, north of Grand Rapids. It took me an hour or so in each case, since I live south of Grand Rapids.

Both of these cider orchards are popular family outing places even when there's not an event like The Great Pumpkin Run. Play areas for the kids, band stages, cider and donut vending, etc. Fortunately the races happen early in the morning before the rush of regular visitors arrive. I'm glad I signed up for the early race waves, because there were a ton of people showing up even as I was finished and leaving. Traffic was pretty heavy, especially at Klackle.

The race routes went through apple orchards, as you'd expect, as well as pumpkin fields and some forest trails (in the case of Uncle Johns). Part of the Klackle course even went through their corn maze. Probably not going to set any personal records on those courses, but they're a fun change of pace from road routes. My GPS said that both courses were a bit under five kilometers, which was probably intentional as there were a lot of twists and turns, plus the finish lines were uphill from the starting area.

For the adventuresome, runners could sign up to carry a pumpkin around the course. I have enough minor back pain without carrying extra weight while running, thank you, but I saw quite a few other people doing it. One guy had a huge pumpkin that he had balanced on one shoulder as he made his way around the course. Weird, but impressive.

Always nice to have a little cider at the end of a run, and the orchard routes are interesting as long as it's not raining. The Great Pumpkin Run was fun, though I probably won't do two of them in future years. One per year is plenty!

Grand Rapids Race to the Bar Crawl 2017

Here's a terrible idea: run 3-4 miles, stopping at five bars along the way to drink a beer at each. So of course I did it.

The Race to the Bar Crawl event is the last in the Grand Rapids Beer Flight Running Series that Trivium Racing started this year. I'd already run in the Growler Gallop Atwater 5k at the end of April, HopCat Extra Time 5k in May (no blog post on that one), and New Holland Pub on 8th 8k in June. Those first three were regular races, mostly about the running, though you did get to drink a beer at the end.

This time the event was much more about the beer. We went to five different bars around downtown Grand Rapids, and had a beer ticket for each. You didn't have to drink them all, or do it while running...some people went back afterward, some just walked between the bars, others didn't drink at all. But you did have to go to each bar, where a volunteer would give you a sticker to show that you'd made it to that checkpoint.

There was no official course, just the start/finish location and five bars. There was a suggested route, but you were welcome to find your own path, as long as you obeyed the traffic laws. There were no streets closed, so we all had to watch out for cars! According to my GPS tracker, I ended up going a total of 5.9 km. I never really got lost, although I did nearly run past one of the bars since I ended up approaching it from the back instead of the front - fortunately they had a sign! I ended up jogging along the river for quite a bit of the run, which was nice.

Being a moron, I both ran and drank at all five bars along the way. That's four and a half pints (City Built Brewing had a smaller size glass) in 50 minutes, which is a lot by itself. Add in the running and I was certainly feeling a bit rough around the edges! I enjoyed it, though. They had plenty of water and snack food at the finish - both pretzels and similar bar food, and granola and bananas and other post-run food. I stayed there for more than an hour, talking with other participants and cheering the award winners, and by the time that was all done I felt fine.

All four of the Beer Flight Series races were a good time. I'll be keeping an eye out to see if they're doing again next year.

Reeds Lake Run 2017

This weekend was the 39th annual Reeds Lake Run in East Grand Rapids.

I like running in the Reeds Lake area. I've gone there several times to jog, when I get tired of the same old scenery around my neighborhood. Reeds Lake is fairly small and surrounded by quite a bit of private property, so there's only a fairly short stretch where you actually run by the lake. But the surrounding neighborhood streets are nice to run through also.

I've run in this race a few times in prior years, but always the 5k distance. This time I did the 10k distance. With warm and humid weather it was tiring, but I enjoyed it. The races are run at different times, so some people did both. One run for the morning was plenty for me, though. Took me just over 53 minutes, which is more or less what I expected and right about the middle of the pack for my age group.

Getting down to the event was less than ideal since I didn't think about the area being closed off for the 5k race. It was already underway by the time I arrived, so I ended up parking about a mile away and walking in. Might have to arrive a bit earlier next time, or at least pick up my registration packet the night before.

Parking troubles aside, this is a great event. Nice area to run through, well organized, and they include everyone with additional events like a kids run and handcycle races. I plan to be there next year for the 40th anniversary!

New Holland Pub on 8th 8k

I took a trip a bit east to Holland this weekend for the New Holland Pub on 8th 8k run.

Holland is about a 40 minute drive to the east for me, so I don't get out there regularly, but it's an easy trip. The New Holland Pub is right downtown on 8th Street (thus the 8k distance). Parking was amazingly easy, lots of places within a few blocks. Probably helped that it was a Sunday afternoon, not as busy as a Friday or Saturday would have been.

This was a fairly small event, probably a couple of hundred runners all told. As far as I know, this is the first year they've done it, so it'll probably grow in the future. There was both a 5k and 8k course, and from what I could tell there were about the same number of folks doing each distance. We all got a nice commemorative beer glass, the usual T-shirt, and a complimentary glass of New Holland Brewing beer after the run. (I had a Mad Hatter.)

I enjoyed the course, which ran out from downtown by the river, then back through a park and back to the brewery. A couple of spots did have distinctive odors, though - by the Heinz plant where you could smell the vinegar, and a swampy smell by the park entrance. But the wind was blowing in off the water and those smells didn't linger once I ran along a bit. There was a decent amount of up and down, but no really big hills to slow us down.

The weather was hot and fairly humid, and I felt it, especially in the early going. It's nicer to do these runs in the morning during the summer, but I suppose that would have been a difficult sell with the beer at the end. I felt better a mile or so in when we ran along the river for a while - it wasn't much cooler, but being along the water made it feel less oppressive. I ended up running just over 43 minutes - far from my quickest 8k time, but considering the heat I'm happy with it.

It was nice to make the trip out to Holland and take a run out by the river, and of course sample some New Holland Brewing beer. A race well worth keeping in mind for next year.

Diemer Run 5k 2017

The Brian Diemer run was held this weekend over in Cutlerville.

Just about every year the race sets a record for the number of runners, and this year was no exception. An email sent out earlier in the week said that they had passed 1280 registrations for the 5k. And there's a handcyclist race and some kids events as well.

The weather was warm and humid, though a bit less so than last year. Still, plenty of heat, and there were warnings to beware of dehydration. The race officials had plenty of water available, and I didn't see anyone having problems.

I felt fairly good throughout the run, although the heat did take a toll. I was pretty beat by the end - certainly glad this was a 5k and not 10! It helps that the course is nice and flat, along suburban streets with no narrow chokepoints. Finished right around the top third of both my age group and overall, which is about what I expected.

As is the custom, there were several bands set up along the race course. One of them was a bit late and was still tuning up when I passed, but the rest were ready to go. I bring my own music to listen to, but it's nice to have a serenade along the course as well!

Always good to get out in the early summer for a run, especially at an event like this that supports good causes. I certainly plan to be back next year!

2017 Hard Cider Run at Sietsema Orchards

This weekend I went up to Sietsema Orchards for the Hard Cider Run. It's a 5k race through the orchard and surrounding area, with cider waiting at the end.

I did this same race last year, when the weather was terrible. This year, it was a whole lot nicer. There were some clouds in the sky, but no rain, and it hadn't been raining in the past few days either. That kept the trails (mostly) dry. So unlike last year, I wasn't spending a lot of energy simply trying to stay upright on slippery, muddy trails.

That doesn't mean it's an easy course, though. The trails are pretty narrow and the hills are steep. I saw one person trip over a tree root and nearly fall, but fortunately she was able to catch herself on her hands and keep going. According to the GPS on my phone, the course goes up and down more than 100 meters overall. It certainly seemed like we were pretty much constantly going up or down!

The race was much better attended this year. Last year's total was only around 600, while this year we had over 1000. That's good for the race, but it did make things a little more difficult out on the trails. There were several bottlenecks where there wasn't room to pass anyone, even if you set aside the initial starting spot that's always crowded. Plus there were some people who didn't get the memo about there being a race...I ran past a few hikers and an entire scout troop, who had clearly come into the forest elsewhere and wandered into the race course.

Crowding aside, I thought the event went very well. Plenty of volunteers taking care of handing out race materials, enough parking (though it got a bit tight as the morning went on), and even the line for the portable bathrooms wasn't too bad. And of course, there's the cider and doughnuts when you're done, always a good way to end a morning.

Fifth Third River Bank Run 2017

What a difference a couple of weeks makes. Downtown GR was cold and wet the last time I was there for a run, but it was beautiful this weekend for the Fifth Third River Bank Run.

I've not participated in the River Bank Run the last few years, largely because it's such a huge event. The organizers do a good job, but with so many people crowded lines and race courses are inevitable. The last time I ran, I did the 5k, and it felt like I was constantly having to dodge people who were slightly faster or slower.

I went downtown early on Friday afternoon to pick up my race packet at DeVos Hall, and even during that low-volume time it was really busy! I had to park several blocks away to avoid waiting in long traffic lines near the hall. They had plenty of volunteers on hand, though, so there wasn't much waiting involved once I got inside.

This year, I ran the 10k and the crowding during the race was much less of an issue. There were still plenty of people - 3200+ according to the results page - but the field spread out pretty quickly. There were a few times where I felt the crowding, but not nearly as much as a few years ago.

The course is fairly easy, without too many big hills. The biggest one is about 1.5 miles from the finish, which isn't ideal placement, but on the bright side it's pretty much flat to the finish once you're over it! According to the results site, I finished in just under 53 minutes, putting me well inside the top half of finishers.

There's a nice after-party area at the end where folks can hang out while the 25k race finishes and results are announced. I didn't stay for that, but it's nice for those that want to stick around. I was pretty happy to eat some fruit, drink some water, and head home for a shower.

Growler Gallop 5k

Downtown Grand Rapids was very damp on Sunday, but that didn't stop the organizers and about 200 participants of the Growler Gallop 5k run.

The weather forecast was for rain all day with possible thunderstorms. We were fortunate to avoid the latter, but it was still damp, chilly, and windy. I didn't think it was too bad once the run started, though. Moving around the course warmed me up, and there were only a couple of short stretches where we were running directly against the wind.

After the race, a good portion of the participants headed down to the Atwater Brewery. Normally we'd have stayed out in the race area to cool down and hear the results, but with the wet weather, we all crammed into the brewery. Tight fit, but it was only for about an hour. Apologies to any non-race customers who had to put up with all of us filling up the place!

Part of the race entry fee included a beer afterward, so I had a Corktown Rye IPA. Not my favorite beer type, but it was what they had available for us, and it was pretty good as far as IPAs go. Under normal circumstances I might have tried something else also, but sitting in my sweaty running stuff didn't really sound appealing. I'll have to make a return trip sometime!

World Run Day at Pretty Lake Camp

Thanks to the folks at Gazelle Sports, I discovered that Pretty Lake Camp near Kalamazoo was hosting a World Run Day event on November 6. I signed up for the 10k trail run.

It's a decent drive down to the camp, about an hour. (Even had to go through Texas!) Long drives aren't ideal before or after runs, but this wasn't too bad. Got there early enough to stretch out after sitting in the car, and stayed around for a little while afterward to cool down a bit before the ride home.

Pretty Lake Camp doesn't have a particularly imaginative name, but it is an accurate one. You can see the lake from the area near the main buildings, and there are some nice views of the water from the trails also. Proceeds from the race went to support the camp, which among other things provides free camp experiences to low-income youth from Kalamazoo County.

The run itself is almost entirely through a wooded area, on dirt trails (and occasionally some sandy areas). We were fortunate that the weather was beautiful, upper 50s with no rain. There's a lot of fairly steep hills along the trail, but the footing was decent and I didn't have much trouble with balance (unlike when I did the Hard Cider Run). Making sure I didn't trip over a root or step in a hole still slowed me down a bit more than running on pavement, but not too much.

The event was fairly small - I'd guess around 200 runners. A few dozen of us ran the 10k, which started first, then the rest did 5k. Which was still enough to make the trail feel crowded at the beginning, but after the first mile or so there was plenty of room. The trail was well marked, which I appreciated - no fun getting lost in the woods! I had to get around some of the slower 5k folks since the 10k route looped around the same trails twice, but everyone was nice about giving room on the trail.

According to Runkeeper on my phone, I finished in 57:26, which is about what I'm used to for 10k on my regular runs. It also said the trail was only 9.45 kilometers, though. Given all the up and down on the hills, maybe the organizers included some elevation change in the distance when they laid out the course. In any event, I felt pretty good about the run, hills and all.

I'm glad I went down for this event, although it's a bit further afield than I usually go. If there's not a World Run Day event in the Grand Rapids area next year, I may do it again.

Bee Brave 5K 2016

This weekend was the 9th annual Bee Brave 5K run and walk here in West Michigan, supporting breast cancer research at the Van Andel Institute. This was my first year at the event. I had heard of it before, but never got organized and actually signed up until this year.

The location in Alto MI is great for me, not even a 10 minute drive from home. The race didn't start until 9 AM, but they warned us to be there early since the race course included the road leading into the parking area. Show up too late and you can't get in! Didn't look like anyone had any trouble.

It was a fairly chilly morning, though not quite at frost level at this point in the year. Most everyone (including me) was wearing a couple of layers, although there's always a few crazy people dressed as if it's the height of summer. I spent a half hour or so sitting in the car after checking in, rather than standing around in the cold. It had started to warm up a bit by the time we started running, though, and after the first half-mile or so I barely noticed it.

There were about 300 runners, and a good-sized group of walkers as well. The start was a little disorganized since everyone was bunched up together. It would have been nice if the walkers had been separated to the back, but it was all sorted out after the first few minutes. The course was almost entirely along country roads, with a final lap around a field to the finish. You walk up a hill to get to the start, so there's more downhill than up, but there are still a couple of fairly steep climbs. That field at the end is all flat, though, which I appreciated.

I felt decent during the run, which is a bit of a surprise considering that I've been a bit under the weather for the last week. Fortunately the worst of it was over a few days before the race, and it might have even worked to my advantage since I'd been getting more rest than usual. There were only 8 guys in the 40-44 men's age group, and I was second among them (55th overall). I was hoping to be under 25 minutes, but I'll take 25:30 considering how I'd been feeling the week before.

Thanks to the Bee Brave organizers and volunteers for a fun little race, supporting a good cause and close to home. I enjoyed it, and hope to be back in future years.

Silent Running

Since my phone died, my jogging outings have been sans audio distraction. Hasn't been as problematic as I'd expected.

It's not really silent, of course. Lots of stuff going on in the world, after all. But I'm used to having either music or podcasts going while I'm out exercising, so it feels very quiet. Except when I have to go along a busy road, when the traffic noise is pretty overwhelming. I avoid that as much as possible. Fortunately, the area around my place is pretty quiet, and I can range across a pretty wide area with minimal distance spent alongside heavy traffic.

Having something to listen to has always seemed like a requirement for exercise. Figured that I'd get too focused on being tired/sore/etc if I didn't have something to distract me. But it turns out that as long as I'm constantly busy, it doesn't bother me to be without something else to focus on. I think I'd have a bit more trouble if I was doing weight training or something else that requires downtime as part of the process. For the constant effort of jogging, though, I find that I do all right with the silence.

The thing I miss most about not having the phone while running isn't the audio, but the distance and time tracking. I've been trying to go about 10k on each outing, and I know it takes me around an hour. It's easy to lose track of your pace with no guide, though. I know more or less what routes to take, so I'm still somewhere in the neighborhood on distance. Time is harder to gauge, though I have some idea based on my pace. I'm certainly looking forward to having a GPS-capable device again for more accurate tracking.

About that dead phone...I actually ordered a new phone from Amazon, and got it in the mail. Opened it up only to discover that it wouldn't recognize a SIM card. A bit of online searching showed that other people had seen the same issue and had to get a replacement phone. So I'm doing that, at no cost to myself thanks for Amazon's easy return/replace policy, but it does delay the new phone timeline. Annoying, but I knew it was a possibility going in...the disadvantage to going cheap on technology. I still think it's the right move, since I really need very little from a phone and paying for features I won't use seems silly. Just going to take a bit longer to get set up.

I suspect things will be different when the weather turns colder, and I have to resort to running on the treadmill in the exercise room. Then I will definitely need something to listen to. I certainly plan to have the phone issue resolved before then, though.

Mitchell's Run in Rockford

This weekend was the 18th annual Mitchell's Run in Rockford, MI.

Mitchell's Run supports Parent Project MD, a non-profit dedicated to muscular dystrophy research. The name comes from a young man named Mitchell suffering from the disease, who attends the race and calls out the start. His parents started the event 18 years ago, and over that time it has raised a million dollars - that milestone was reached this year.

I've done this run several times over the last few years. It's a few hundred runners, so not too crowded, and they set up a nice course up in Rockford. Plenty of space to run and not too much in the way of hills. It was cloudy, but the rain held off so the run was dry. Pretty happy with my 26:08 time this year - put me in the top half of my age group.

There's other stuff going on around the race, too. There's a farmer's market just down the road, they have a silent auction with a bunch of donated items to raise additional funds for PPMD, and there's a kids run. They had a bunch of people dressed up as superheroes leading the kids this year, which was pretty funny.

Every time I've done Mitchell's Run, it's been a good time, and this year was no exception. Glad to be able to go out for a nice run and support a good cause.

Hard Cider Run in Grand Rapids

I went out this weekend to Sietsema Orchards for the Hard Cider Run. It's a 5k race through the orchard and surrounding area, with cider waiting at the end.

Thanks to the weather, this ended up being about equal parts run and balance challenge. The first two miles of the course are largely on dirt trails with lots of up and down. It had rained heavily the night before, and was raining again during the event. All those dirt trails were really muddy and slippery. Keeping my balance has never been a strength of mine, so I did quite a bit of very slow jogging and walking - and even so I almost fell a couple of times. Traded places with a few of the other runners multiple times, in fact, as I was faster on the stable stretches but they had better balance in the mud.

Considering the weather, I was happy with my time of almost exactly 30 minutes. More importantly, I didn't injure myself. Turning an ankle, or falling flat on your face, would have been very easy. I didn't see anyone else with trouble either, fortunately.

The course was narrow in a lot of places, but that didn't matter a whole lot since there weren't many people running together. The event was broken up into a bunch of different start times, each a half hour apart. I was in the second one, and there were maybe 40-50 people. (My results page said there were only 545 total runners across the whole event.) That gave us plenty of space out on the trail, once everyone spread out after the start.

At the end of the run, there was (of course) hard cider for the runners. It tasted fine, although I'd want to go back and try it again to really form an opinion. Right after a run, I'm not sure my taste buds are at their best! Got a nice commemorative glass and shirt, too. Good fun, and I'll certainly consider doing this again next year.

Cookie 5K

Heat, humidity, cookies, milk, running a few miles - what could possibly go wrong?

Yep, that's some cookies. Not pictured - the giant stack of unopened cookie boxes!

No, really, it wasn't bad at all. Yes, it was hot and humid, but we ran starting at 8 AM so the heat wasn't too oppressive. Plenty of ice chests for the milk that was waiting at the finish line, and if the chocolate chips in the cookies were a bit soft, well, who cares?

The race info area.

The Cookie 5K is organized in support of Team Orphans, a group of folks who raise funds to support worldwide orphan services (such as Brittany's Hope). The Team Orphans members participate in other events as well, but this one is organized specifically for this charity. They had some signs set up along the course showing some of the children that their efforts had been able to help, which I thought was a nice touch.

Robinette's Apple Haus and Winery

This was a small event - I'd guess maybe a couple of hundred participants. That was good, because there wasn't a lot of room on the course. The race took place at Robinette's Apple Haus and Winery on the north side of Grand Rapids, with a course that wound through the orchards and woods in the area. It was a very pretty area to run through, but with narrow trails that weren't made for large numbers of people.

Finish line

Fortunately, most of us were in no hurry. There were a few spots early on where the crowding forced us to slow down and walk for a bit, but that was OK. The really fast folks were all up at the front anyhow. After about the first mile, everyone had spread out enough that crowding was no longer an issue. Over the rest of the course, there were lots of small but steep hills as we went though some woods and circled back to the finish line.

Cookie and milk table at the finish line. Chocolate milk tasted surprisingly good at the end of a run!

I ran almost exactly 30 minutes, which I was pretty happy with considering how slow that first mile was and all the little hills later on. At the end were those cookies, which I ate three of, completely undoing any calories that I might have expended on the run. Worth it, though! I even took some extra cookies home, since the organizers were basically begging everyone to take the extras home. When I left there were still several big boxes full, so I suspect a whole lot of cookies may have ended up being donated somewhere.

More of Robinette's.

I had fun at the Cookie 5K, and it helped to support a good cause. Well worth getting up early on a Saturday morning.

Diemer Run 5K 2016

Whew, that was humid. Good run, though.

Today was the Brian Diemer family of races, over in Cutlerville. It's a fairly small event, with about 1200 runners. (By comparison, the River Bank Run gets over 20000.) It takes place every June, and parts of the proceeds from the race go to various charities.

I like the course for the Diemer run in large part because it's so flat. There are no real hills, just a few gradual slopes. That's especially nice when it's as humid as it was today. The temperature was around 75° F at 9 AM when the race started, but it felt a whole lot warmer. By about halfway through the run, I felt like I'd been swimming...a far cry from the near-freezing conditions back in March!

A few bands had set up a various points around the course. One spot was playing a recording...maybe someone couldn't make it? But several others had folks playing live music. The music is a nice touch for a small event, and makes a nice distraction as you're pushing through the middle distance.

This weekend is also the Cutlerville Days weekend festival. There were some groups of people already set up to see the parade later on in the day, which added a few extra spectators. It also made parking a bit of a pain, but it wasn't too terrible. Not a big enough event to have real issues.

After the finish line, the usual tables of water and snacks were set up for the runners. They even had one table with a bunch of ice cream sundaes. I wasn't feeling quite that adventurous, but I did have a banana.

The Diemer Run is a nice small event, and I enjoy going out for it. Thanks to all the organizers and sponsors who make it happen!

Shoe Replacement

I'm finally getting over my recent cold. Felt well enough to go out into the nice weather for a bit of a run the other day, and it went fairly well, but my feet hurt enough afterward that I decided it was about time to do something about my running shoes.

My default approach when it comes to clothing is "wear it until it falls apart." Works nicely for a lot of things, but running shoes, not so much. Once the padding wears down, the shoes lose their ability to support the arch of the foot, leading to all kinds of unfortunate injury possibilities. Particularly if you run on hard surfaces, such as the asphalt on the streets in my neighborhood.

To be honest, I'd already let this go longer than I should. Most of last year, I noticed increased pain in my calves. That's a warning sign that you aren't getting enough support from your shoes. So I probably should have done this a while ago, but better late than never.

I went over to Gazelle Sports to find my new shoes. There are cheaper options, but I like having someone who knows what they're doing help me make the right choice. Having the right shoes means less wear on my body, which is worth the extra cost to me. Plus I tend to have some trouble finding the right sizes. Helps to go somewhere that can offer some non-standard sizes, particularly extra wide.

At Gazelle, a nice young lady named Micah recommended a few different options for running shoes with good padding. She very patiently helped me go through about a half-dozen pairs of shoes, most of which were either too narrow (but the right length) or too long (but wide enough). Finally, we found a pair of Nike Air Zoom Structures that fit well enough.

Took a jog around the neighborhood earlier today, about 3 miles. No calf or foot pain, so I'm pretty happy with the new pair. Should last me a year or so. And this time, I'll pay more attention to the warning signs to get replacements before my feet pay the price.

2016 Irish Jig

Each year immediately after St. Patrick's Day, Spectrum Health sponsors a 5k run here in Grand Rapids called the Irish Jig. I've run it several times in the past, and decided to go out again this year.

I don't do a lot of running, but I like doing middle-distances like 5k and 10k to keep myself from totally going to seed on the couch. I'm not fast enough to sprint in short distance races, and don't have the cardiovascular fitness to do marathons, but the middle works well for me. Some minor knee issues have put me on the elliptical trainer and stationary bike more than doing actual running over the last couple of years, but it's nothing serious and doesn't bother me as long as I don't go overboard.

Irish music entertainment pre-race. The poor guy in front is a workout trainer who got "volunteered" by his co-workers to guest-sing.

There's no reason I can't run on my own, of course, but it's nice to do an organized race every month or so (during the warm months) to keep myself honest. It's worth the $30 to have a set date to work toward, and besides, you get a nice shirt. Hard to skip workouts when you know there's going to be a race coming in a few weeks. Not that I'm in any danger of winning any prizes, but I still want to feel like I kept a decent pace.

Starting out. That banner you can barely see is the start line. Lots of folks slowly making their way toward it.

The Irish Jig is pretty early in the running season. You can find people running at all times of the year (even crazy ones out at the New Year) but I prefer a nice warm workout room when it's cold out. In past years, I've been snowed on at the Irish Jig, but this year was precipitation-free. Still pretty chilly, though, just above freezing. Of course that didn't stop some insane people from running in shorts and short sleeves. At least I didn't see anyone going shirtless. I'm not entirely sure why the race organizers have this set to start at 9 AM rather than waiting until the afternoon when it might be a little warmer. Anyway, it felt fine after getting through the first mile or so.

Finish line! From the rear, after I finished, which is why you see everyone just standing around.

This year I started way in the back, largely because I stayed inside as long as possible before venturing out in the cold. That meant I went a little slower than I usually would as I maneuvered around people going at a slower pace. Not a big deal, as I still ended up finishing in almost exactly 30 minutes. I'd prefer to be around 25, but considering the weather, other racers, and my general laziness this time of year, I'm pretty happy with 30. The results web site tells me that I was just under the median point for my age group, which I can live with.

Water and minor snacks at the end.

I may do a few more of these races over the summer. My recent trip up to Rockford made me think about the last time I did Mitchell's Run, and there's always several small events around Caledonia. They're fun, and a good reason to keep on a regular exercise schedule.