I know how stupid it is

I just noticed on my blog stats Ive had a lot of hits for that phrase.  "I know how stupid it is"

To add fuel to the fire... Here's another one.


I know how stuipid it is, but I have about 13.5 weeks before Oct 21 which happens to be the date of a marathon Im about to sign up for. I hope I have enough time. Mr Higdon and I are going to be close friends for a while. Ill do my first ever Half Marathon 15 days before I do my first Full. Is that how your supposed to do it?


Half Marathon High Trestle Trail Half
Full Marathon DesMoines IMT

***UPDATE***
High Trestle Trail was cancelled.  So I wont be doing a half marathon this weekend.  

From Woodward City council Mayor Pro TempThank you for your interest in participating in the High Trestle Trail Marathon on October 6^th.  A third party company was responsible for the event’s organization, registration, and execution. This company is not affiliated with the Community of Woodward, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, or the High Trestle Trail Authority. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, that company is no longer able to host the marathon, and the race has thus been cancelled.
 On behalf of the High Trestle Trail managers, I apologize for the event’s cancellation, and I want to assure you that you will be receiving a full refund of your entry fee via Active.com. Please allow 1 to 4 weeks for this refund to arrive.
 With that being said, the High Trestle Trail managers were excited about the idea of a trail marathon and even more thrilled by the response that it received. They are considering hosting a marathon in 2013 so please keep your eyes and ears open for future updates on that potential event.

2012 Shore to Shore 10K - Race Report

This race I thought was going to be a great fun race.  I turned out to be one of the most horrible runs Ive ever done.  It was harder than anything I had previously done.  this was my first official 10K race.  Id run 10k before in training of course so the distance was no surprise to me.   Many things played a huge roll in my DLF.

Yup I finished Dead Last.  Well I was still alive.  Not only was this humiliating and a huge blow to my ego but it was back home in my local hometown.   Which made me feel like DNS>DLF.

I know I wasnt fully prepared for the race overall but I was capable of running the distance and I knew and expected to finish in under 1 hour.  When I got there as I was driving into the park i got a very ugly feeling of what was ahead of me.  The race would be run on the roads inside the state park and they were much hillier than I had remembered.

I thought going into this I would fare pretty well.  Low numbers for the 10k Lots of 5k runners.   AS the start time approached.  It got muggier 90% humidity mid 80's  I was OK as the race started and kept pretty good pace through the 3 mile mark when we hit the first Big hill. I was pacing at about 9:45 and I felt pretty good about it.  I felt like I could maintain, but the heat and the hills caught up to me quick.  At 2.25 We begin the first big hill climb.  It was over a 100' of climb in a half a mile.  I believe this hill and the the following hill were what drained my tank and stole all my energy and motivation.  After getting to the top I felt a little bit relieved and head back down.  I was slower and the people I had been pacing with were 100 yards ahead of me now.  I knew I was slowing but I had some down hill and flat to catch up to them.  I made slight progress until I hit the next hill, 120' of climb in .6 miles.  This was where I stopped to walk the first time.  This hill seemed to never end and walking killed my motivation.   So disappointed.  From here on out it was hill after hill and I just never regained my legs or my drive.   I knew as I was in the last mile that I was maybe one of the last ones and I was pretty sure there was no 10K racers behind me.  That only added to the de-motivation.

I was the last one to cross and despite the feeling of accomplishment of finishing my first 10k race I was angry at myself for letting my fitness level go so far that I was this slow and this out of shape to not even finish under 11 min avg. pace.

I hung around for awards just to give props to the other racers I ran with and embarrassingly placed in my age category.    I hate that feeling.  Not a good showing at all and Im not sure Ill run the race again...Or maybe I will just to redeem myself.

2012 Iowa Speedway "Where the Rubber Meets the Road 8k"

Race Results

Todd and I

I had mentioned I was going to do this race and Todd said he run it the year before so we convinced one another to run it this year.   I was late and paid the idiot fee.  so I waited till the day before to register but I knew Todd would be there so I couldn't back out.  When I first got there I had no idea where to go and all the parking lots were empty.  No signage or directiosn to direct racers where to go.  I finally realized that we were supposed to drive our vehicles down into the infield of the race track.    Kind of cool driving my crappy car where high end race machines have driven. :)

I picked up my race packet.  Im Bib # 206 Yay even numbers!


Lots of people here way more than I expected.   I wasnt at all prepared for this distance but I wanted to do it and it was good to get back into my running which this race forced me to do.  I really only prepared by running the previous 2 weeks I was slacking big time.

WE all lined up out on the track and bang we were off!

The course was the draw of the whole race.  You run around the race track one time then out into the parking area and down the interior roads that are part of the grounds then out on to the highway back into the parking area and around the track again.

I felt sluggish and icky as I started that morning.  I knew it was going to be one of those runs where you just feel heavy like each foot fall is a million pounds.  As we get out on the roads the first down hill begins.  Going down a hill is great until you realize that what goes down must eventually come up.  Similar to the law in physics this is the law of running and cycling.  Coincidentally I think this may also be the law of late night partying in college.

Anyway as I trudge up the first hill I begin to feel better and by the time I reach the pavement I'm picking up my pace.  Its a good thing my attitude improved because I was about to head straight into the hill that is Very long and steep.  Every one was walking it.  I refused.  I would not walk this hill I swore to myself that no matter how slow I had to go I would maintain a jog and keep shuffling if it killed me.  I passed lots of people walking this hill.  Some even better runners then myself.   It seemed to never end it just kept going and going and going.  Eventually it did crest and you could see the track again and see the Really fast people already down on the track.  I still had more than a mile left to run.

I kept my pace up and tried to regain some of the slowed time I lost on the uphill.  Making my way through the parking lot and down on to the track again I begin to lose steam and then I got passed by a really old lady who obviously had run a marathon based on the shirt she was wearing proudly.  Still what could I expect from my lack or preparation.   As I rounded turn 4 and headed up the straight away for the finish line I put all the gas I had left in my tank into finishing strong and finished with my head high and my lungs empty.

Looks like my form is horrible!

Overall I had a good time and it was good for me to get back to running.  Had a great time meeting Todd and his wife too.

Weight Gain

I hate where I'm am right now.  I feel so defeated with my weight and I know how stupid it is but it really is getting the best of me mentally.    I'm 15 lbs up from my low and essentially haven't made any progress since Mid January.  How is that possible?  How can I be eating in a deficit and not lose weight?  Scientific anomaly?

A few weeks ago I started hitting the free weights and I've been doing very basic workouts.  Upper body: Bench Press, Shoulder Press, Rows, Pendelay Rows, Barbell Curls, Preacher curls, French Press.  Lower body: Barbell Rack Squats,  Romanian Deadlifts, Barbell Rack Lunges, Calf Raises.

My body is sore all the time and I feel like I cant run. which is killing my run training.  But I know I need this badly.  Additionally this weightlifting seems to be the cause of my weight gain.  Which if its muscle then Yay!!! But if its not muscle then....

I really dont think I could have put on 6 lbs of muscle in 2 weeks.

I want to run and get my distance back up to over 10k but my ass hurts to even walk!

Running Form and why I changed

The Once and Future way to Run


Expensive shoes: A waste of money?

Late last year I read Born to Run - Christopher McDougall.  Not only was it an amazing story line but the theory and information presented by Christopher was incredibly well done.   I would strongly recommend reading the book.  But I wanted to share these two articles that are directly related to the book and have some fantastic info.

I started out a heel striker and last last year after reading I changed my running style to a mid/fore foot strike.  It improved my speed, distance, and endurance immediately.  After doing so I ran my first sub 30 min 5k.

I do not run barefoot but I might try it this summer.

New Shoes

A while back I got some new shoes.

Triathlon specific shoes.  For all of my running career I've used Asics mostly with one pair of Nike shoes.  Up until late Sept I had been a heel striker.  I made some changes to my running style based on reading a book called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.   I'm not going to debate heel striking vs Mid or fore foot or Shoe vs Barefoot.

I could see a pretty clear argument for a change to my running style not because one was right or one was wrong but because one was better for me and my application.   This isn't a book review however maybe I will do one :)  It was a great book.   The point is I took a chance on a sort of hybrid/minimalist style shoe and I'm not unhappy with it.   I've done about 6 treadmill runs with them and it is a little different feel.  I cant wait to get a chance to try them outside.

the shoe fits like a sock/slipper and is quite comfortable for running.  It is a very different feel and not somethign I would just jump into.

To make a long story short.  I got a new pair of shoes :)  SEE! *Points*

An accomplishment a long time coming

Friday morning I ran 5k in Madison WI. inspired by all the collegiate cross country kids in my hotel. Friday night I did 2 miles of sprint intervals and felt pretty good about myself.  My whole body was sore with DOMS by Sat afternoon from the effort I put into the sprints.  

Sunday I decided that I would run long.  My goal was to do 10k which I have never done.  I mostly run 5k and have been focusing on speed.  So my runs are generally 3-3.6 miles always in that range and always in a 28-33 min time frame.

Lately I have felt like I haven't really been pushing myself to my absolute limit and I feel like I'm cheating myself by not making progress.  Why or how I got into this rut I don't know but I'm set on getting out of it.  The sprints were one way and me pushing to do faster and faster miles and faster 5K times is another.  Sunday I got this crazy Idea that I had the ability to do 10K so I did.

I felt pretty good starting out a little sluggish mostly from poor diet.  After the first mile I had settled into a pretty good rhythm and was keeping a careful eye on my pace to make sure I wasn't trying to go to fast my first time.

I did start out a little fast but managed to get things slowed back down to my "safe speed".  I brought a water bottle with me and was glad I had.  Running 5Ks without water is fine but I didn't want to run twice the distance without anything.

At the halfway I was feeling awesome which was good but I figured by mile 4.5 or 5 is where I would feel the hammer.    I just kept spinning my legs with keeping my head up and tried to focus on my form so I didnt get tired from running inefficiently.   Mile 4 came and went without even a twinge of fatigue.  As Mile 5 ticked by I felt invigorated by the distance and the thought that I was actually going to get this done.  I did catch my pace slowing but I think it was more from not being "aware" of my slow down more then anything else.


As mile 6 clicked by I was beaming.  My smile must have freaked people out who were driving.  I felt awesome and actually considered continuing just to see how far my body would let me go but decided since I normally only go half that distance I didnt want to strain anything. 

I ran a total of 6.4 miles in 1:10:08  Actual 10K time was 1:08:01

Sept 17th, 2011 Jacob Krumm - 2011 Off the Beaten Path Trail Run

Jacob Krumm - Off the Beaten Path - News article about the winners

Sept 17th, 2011

I decided to do the 3K race even though I know the 6K would have been a breeze for me. I had my Triathlon the following weekend the so I didn't want to risk stressing my knee or my hip. So I stuck with the 3k ya short distance but I really wanted to see how much I improved from last year anyway.

I alos convinced my sweet daughter to run it with me. By "convinced" I mean forced. She whined about it the whole time..."Its so cold" It was a little cold.

We got her registered and then I took her out on the trail to show her the hill. She seemed unimpressed and cold. We wandered around mingling and talking to other racers a bit waiting for the race to start. I found there were about 3 other guys in my age group that would definitely give me some competition.

The race was getting ready to start so I grabbed a quick drink of water and got to the start line with my daughter.

Ready, Set, Go!

We start of carefully pacing and I watch my pace closely on my Garmin because going out to fast before the big hill ruins you. I had planned for us to be near the front but not in the front. So we were out in front with the majority of the crowd behind us. On our way up the hill we maintained a good steady pace and I had one of my direct competitors right beside my daughter and I. Man that hill just goes forever. We get to the top of the hill and I keep my pace the same and recover from the hill for about 100 meters before I increase my pace to a full min/mile faster. My Daughter pick right up with me like I didn't even make a change. We drop several people as we move out in front there really is only 1 or 2 guys in front of me as we merge with the 6K runners the path becomes filled with other runners we get passed and pass some others One Old man smokes my daughter and I man he was booking for a 6K pace. 7min/ mile maybe?

We are on the back side of the lake now and the rolling hills start short steep inclines one after the other. Nice run completely secluded by trees. I pick the pace up more and we settle in for the back half. I feel real good and My daughter is rocking it good too. I think she is hanging back with her Dad so she can run with him. We approach the last big hill and I slow down a little. My quads are burning Last year this is where I stopped and walked. Not this time!!! I did slow down though and I told my daughter not to wait on me Go ahead and push hard to the end. I told her to bring the speed now you have less than a 1K. She took off and left me in the dust. As I crested the Hill I see her making her way across the dam with only a few people ahead of her. She is moving pretty quick and looks good. I get up on the Dam and realize this is it. Its time to push hard I increase my pace to full speed, just as I see her cross the finish. I really power through the last 100 meters and finish hard. Coming in at a about a 6 min/mile pace. I cross the finish line and look at my Garmin...Im very happy.

As I wait for results I talk with my wife and daughter and the few other racers who have finished. Its a good sign when there arent many people at the finish line yet.


Results start getting posted.

Official time 16:49 w00t!!! 5Min and 10Sec improvement from last year.
My daughters official time 16:15

I took 2nd place in my AG and 3rd OA Male

My Awesome daughter took 1st in her AG and 1st OA Female

Male and Female OA Winners

No turning back now

I have lost my mind.  Since February, and my knee injury, I have been plagued with gettign back into a full swing of running.  I have struggled as you have seen on the pages of this blog.  But in the last 2 weeks I have had several good runs including 2 different 5+ milers that were further then my previous distances.  So I felt as if I was ready to actually do a race.  So this morning in a fit of idiocy I signed up for Hickory Grove Triathlon on August 28th.  

That's 24 days!!

I must be a fool.  I mean I know I have the ability to do this and I know I can finish that's no problem.  I just feel overwhelmed with incredible emotions of fear and failure.   Freaked out!  

On top of that I have verbally committed to doing the Des Moines IMT Half Marathon Oct. 16th.  Strangely I feel much more confident about the half marathon then I do about the Tri.  I have no idea why.  the furthest distance I have ever traveled a half marathon distance on foot was probably at the state fair while sucking down a corn dog over 8 hours.

I intend to work on my distance over the next 40 days leading up to the marathon and my swimming over the next 24.   

I felt I needed to pull the trigger on some races before I allowed a season to slip away.  The injusry set me back and has kept me from really making forward progress and I believe a hard date with no backing out will do that for me.   Plus I promised myself I would do the Tri this year.  The Half marathon is just a bonus!

I cant wait!

Uhh, did I just do that?

PR/NSV ....Earlier this afternoon I made a major breakthrough.  

Ive run lots of 5K distances since graduating C25k but When I injured my knee back in February the longest run I had ever done was 4.3 miles on Valentines day just before my injury.   Up until about 3-4 weeks ago I hadn't run at all since that day in Feb.  
Today despite my quads still being sore from Sat 30 mile Bike ride and the 3 miles I ran on Friday.  I decided to run again.   Im so glad I did!   I hit the 3 miles and I was like I can keep going 5 min...  I just kept saying that.   32 min turned into 58 min and I was feeling great I hit 5 miles in 58 min and the only reason I even stopped was because I was running out of time to workout.   I felt great.  After the 3 mile mark I kept bumping my pace a little and I think I finished running a 9:20 pace.  I think my avg pace was 11:20 or something which isnt fast but Im so excited and so happy.  My knee feels great and I just ran further then I ever have before.

5 miles, 58 min,  and no walking!

Over the holiday and through the woods

On July 3rd I ran 3.2 miles without stopping.  That's the first time Ive hit that mileage since my knee problem started in February.  I ran on the treadmill @ a 10:09 pace which I didn't think was too bad considering when I quit running in February I was just under 9 min.

The run went really well.  No pain or discomfort while running.  I did feel like I was really pushing myself to get to the end; however I know I ran a negative split as I was upping the pace about every 1000 meters.  I finished and felt really good.  I was really stoked about actually getting a 5k completed.  felt good later in the day and into the next day.

I took the 4th off and only did some light activity like walking, playing catch and a vigorous game of kick ball. :)

Tuesday I took the afternoon and drove over to a lake and ran the lake trail.  I really enjoy running trails.  I might note my knee felt just Ok so I backed it down to 2 miles.  Also the Canadian geese were none to happy with me.  It seems that when you only have 3 feet of trail around the lake the geese feel its their right to hang out in the middle.  Did you know that Canadian geese do not like humans moving toward them at a high rate of speed.   They make a weird hissing noise.   After I  got chased by the first batch I learned that when they start hissing you better slow up and back off moving cautiously forward until they have time to move out of the way.

More running soon I hope

Tap it twice!

A quick post...

I ran.

Ok a little more. I ran this morning and only had slight discomfort early on as I ran it got better. I normally would have had pain all afternoon so I think my knee is definitely getting better Im hopeful that it continues to get better. I so miss the running these short 2 mile runs Im doing just tease me and make me wish I was back to 4 and 5+ miles.

lol I just tapped my space bar twice to end the last sentence with a period.

Have a great weekend Folks

New Shoes!

I got me some new runners on Sat. I'm glad I'm back to Asics. Why I strayed ill never know. I like the shoes and Ive run in them one time. I want to let my knee rest a little before I start back in hard. I did run Sunday for about a mile and I will say tha tI ran hard I did a 4 repetitions of 30 sec bursts at a 6:15 pace. Trying to stress my knee a little bit. I know that during the run I had no pain and after I had nothing. I'm not sure if its Physical therapy or if its the shoes but something is working. I plan to continue Physical therapy until I can run like I used to. Back in Feb I was up to 4.5 miles without trouble. I really want to get to that again and I have this urge to go further. Im Know if my knee could take it that I could run 10k no problem and Im pretty certain that I could do ok at 15k and I know for a fact that I could finish a half marathon No doubt in my mind at all.

So assuming the shoes and the therapy kick in and fix me, I have big plans. I think my fitness goal eyes maybe bigger then my fitness level... LOL I guess that's what makes some people great athletes. Always pushing for that next level that's just out of reach

See Dick. See Dick Run?

Thats right, I ran yesterday!

first run in about a month. Oh my it felt so good. Very short but so good. My knee felt really good during the run and after. 3-4 hours after running I had some very minor discomfort in my knee. I took some Vitamin I before bed and I have no pain or discomfort this monring! :)

I only ran 1.5 miles @10min/mile. But I wanted to take it easy and not go to hard. Im going to keep My weight training as my primary goals right now and wait 3-4 days before I run again.

I have to say...I had been missing running. But I didnt realize how much until I was done. The feeling of it is so awesome. That little run was like an appetizer I wanted so bad to run today!!!

There is this feeling of exhilaration. An oneness with yourself. A freedom of being able to run. I never thought a year an a half ago that I would love running like I do now. I never thought I would miss the feeling of my lungs filling with oxygen and my quads burning. (Hey, :( a month is a long time they did hurt a little)

I know i would have never thought I would crave this like I am. It has become something I cant live without. I need to run!

I miss the Sun!

Oh my we are having some incredible weather. Its such a relief from this bitter winter ick! I miss the Sun so much my Heart is broken!

The last 2 days have been like a bright sunny day in the middle of winter. I suck at simile!

So yesterday it was like 50°F and sunny. I had to get out and run. It was perfect. I picked a route that had some hills long and steep. Normally I try to avoid hills but I wanted to push myself. I pushed myself alright. I felt like a million bucks

Check my run out here

1st Victory! This is the longest distance I have ever run. 4.2 miles.
2nd Victory! Fastest 5k time 32:07 I completely expect to be sub 30 min easily in a race Im hoping for 28 min in my first race :)
3rd Victory! I realized at about 3.5 miles how much further I had before I got back home and how good I actually felt that I needed to start looking at 10K races.

So about the run. Over all went very well. At about 1.75 I turned a corner and headed back south and right into a head wind. It really put it too me. It took me several minutes to kind of get my speed back up and push through through it I know I was pushing it harder caus eI could feel it physically taking it out of me. The last big hill wasa struggle for me. The head wind and the distance and the hill all coming together to defeat me almost worked. Around the 5k mark I think I hit a mental wall cause I really felt like I wanted to give up and walk the rest of the way home. I pushed through and Im so glad I did. I got past the hill and turned the corner again. Slowed my pace a little unknowingly. I was able to finish at a faster pace than I expected so that was great.


Plus I lost another pound. Woohoo!

The past week

Well I behaved all last week and did nicely with my diet. I do feel like my losses are becoming more stagnant. I'm not sure If I'm shorting my cals or if I'm just not bringing it. I do feel like I'm not feeling soreness anymore I guess I'm not pushing myself hard enough but I should still be burning calories

So this past week I found a friend who was telling me about HIIT workouts and after doing some reading I thought I could easily implement a HIIT type workout into my running days. In fact I thought you know this will probably help with my speed.

So last night I did my first HIIT workout before my 3 mile run. I did 20 sec full speed sprints followed by 1 min of fast walking. I did that for 6 sets. As this was my first one I will probably change things up a little. Rather than walk I will being jogging slowly on the cool downs and I will do a little longer 30-45 sec. Additionally I'm going to try to do 10 sets.

So how did I feel. Well for starters I haven't dont much if any full sprints for a long time. YOu would think that my previously spry 300 lbs body would easily be able to sprint around all over the place. You would be incorrect. Ive never felt agile enough until recently and when I have tried they hurt my shins severely. Its been several months since I last tried. Last night I got right up on the balls and was leaning forward into the run really driving with my quads I could feel it burning as I pushed off. It felt great!! After the 6th set I could feel muscle soreness SO I quit at 6 I dint want to injure or over do it. I walked a couple of laps and then set off to finish burning.

I finished up with a 28 min run for 2.25 miles. I gotta say my legs weren't used to the sprinting before hand. I'm sure this is going to help me!

I did my Hundred push ups sets (I'm up to 75)when I got home.

This morning my shoulders and legs Sore Good!

Cold weather run

Well last night it was 25°F when I finished my run. It was my first cold outdoor run. I did one in November but it was not this cold.

So I wore my UA gloves, a long sleeve tshirt, Columbia softshell, base layer bottoms, Starter slicks, and a Stocking cap. Overall I think I was dressed pretty close to what I should have My bottom half was perfect. My head was sweating like a pig. Which coincidently is a common misnomer as pigs dont sweat. I was afraid my soft shell jacket would be too hot but I think it was about perfect. you can see the garmin stats below and scroll down on the right hand side. Click on Jan 30- 5k.

I ended up running just a little over 5K for my first real run back after my accident. I have to say I felt great. Im pretty sure I could have kept going for at least another 15 minutes under current conditions. Next time Ill alot more time to see how far I can go. It felt great and I pulled a 10:54 avg. Which I was happy about considering the weather and my lack of real running since November.

Additionally I wanted to give props to my killer new lights I got at Christmas I used my Zéfal Blinking Red LED for my back. It seems to be a top quality piece of lighting and I'm sure if I got hit with it on it would be deliberate. Or it put the driver into a seizure. Ill do a full review with pics and description later.

Workout/Injury update

Well on Sunday for the first time since my accident on Dec 14th I ran for an extended time and distance. Time and distance compared to what Ive been running. Before the accident I was running 5k without too much trouble and coming in regularly at around 30-35 minutes. So when I started running again in the beginning of this week I was really surprised that I could barely run even a mile without trouble.

I was very happy to say that on Sunday I ran 25 min without stopping at about 11 min pace. It felt so good! I miss running. The only reason I stopped was because I lost focus and my swinging arm caught my ear phone cord and ripped my iPhone off the treadmill.

So I'm feeling better and I think I can build back up without too much trouble. I'm really wanting to start pushing my distance beyond 5k and building speed.

Shin Splints?

A friend just gave me this great tip.

CURE SHIN SPLINTS!!!!
Sit down, couch or desk ---> Point your toes out --> Write out the alphabet with your toes -->
Do this three times a day
You WILL BE HEALED ! I promise

Finally ... a positive

No weight gains over thanksgiving!!!

Plus I ran 5k+ on sunday morning. It felt good first cold weather run I have done. I need to get gloves designed for cold weather running and I need to figure out how much clothing to wear. I wore a technical shirt, 2 tshirts, a hooded sweatshirt, and a Columbia fleece, gloves, a ball cap, shorts and a pair of sweat pants. My top half was HOT!!! Plus I felt just overly heavy.

My plan now is to find what is comfortable to run in at 40°-50°F, 20°-30°F, and 0°-15°F anything below that I will have to refrain from running in.

Anyone have any suggestions for cold weather running gear that you cant live without?