ThunderDome Athletes Roll at the Chicago Shamrock 8k

Over the weekend ThunderDome runners raced in the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago the world's largest 8k.  The 2012 edition of the Shamrock Shuffle was a deep year in terms of competition & fast race times so it was a great March test of fitness for everyone.  In the 34,000+ race field ThunderDome runner's Keith Mullholon (Lake Geneva, WI) & Marek Kotrly (Brookfield, WI) placed 2nd & 3rd respectively in the master's race field with times of 25:31 & 26:43.  Those times were good for 64th and 98th overall. Marek's time was a massive PR and both took advantage of the competition and awesome race weather. 

This was the fourth year the Shamrock Shuffle 8k had an Elite club team competition. The Elite club competition features teams from all over the United States made up of 4-5 runners with the top 4 runners finish times added up for overall placing.  For the first time ThunderDome Running sent a team to the competition and placed 11th overall.  It was a deep race field with the Hanson's Olympic Development team winning the overall team competition.  Thunderdome was led by Matt Thull racing to a time of 24:17 & placing 22nd overall.

Continue to follow what ThunderDome Runners are up to this spring as ThunderDome has runnners racing in Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Alabama, & in the Boston marathon over the next 2 months.

ThunderDome Running- Don't Call it a Comeback-Uphill Battles

The running world is full of beginners, veterans, and Olympians and they all want to and do make it to the starting line in different ways facing varying challenges and obstacles.  That training & self awareness journey is the awesome part about running and somehow we all end up not only on the starting line--but rolling through the finish tape.

Just wanted to share a story of a ThunderDome runner I worked with this past summer and fall from Connecticut. Frank was one of the hardest workers I have had the opportunity to work with and this is a summary by Frank of his journey as his season wrapped up with his key 5k race.
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What a great Sunday and what a great way to end my season.  After not racing consistently since 2006 I vowed that 2011 was going to be a comeback year and I'm glad to say with the completion of today's Saybrook Point 5K the mission was successfully accomplished.  Since my hamstring injury on July 4th my goal was to run a 5K race schedule for the remainder of the year with every race being faster than the last and to ultimately run one or more of those races under 20 minutes.  I'm glad to say all of the above took place capped off with today's 5K in a time of 19:39.  In my last two races I finished in the top 10 (9th two weeks ago and 6th today) and today I won my age group.  I couldn't think of a better way to end things.

A quick race report today before I get into my thank you's.  Cold and windy down by the shore this morning, low 50's but by race time things warmed up.  Off right at 8:30 am on a real flat course.  Started off about 10th and before the first mile settled in to the 6th position which was my final finishing spot. 6:13 for the first mile about 12 seconds faster than I had hoped for so I backed off a bit in order to have plenty left at the end.  Mile 2 was done in 6:24 which told me right there I would have enough left to finish strong.  As usual I forgot to hit the lap button on my watch at mile 3 but the last 1.1 was done at a 6:19 pace.  I had just enough left at the end for one last 1/2 mile kick to bring me in at 19:38.  I don't have all my race records from years past but I'm pretty sure this is one of my top three 5K performances.

I sent a text to Matt (my coach/trainer) right after the race with my results and the text he sent back was just what I needed.  Here it is:

"Frank that is awesome. You had to have been rolling out there--no let up ever for 19:39. You put in all the work--enjoy it.  In a way this is just the beginning.  U freakin started this with a run/walk!"

What Matt is referring to is how I started back running on March 29th, 2011.  My first workouts were 15 minutes of just a run/walk combo.  From then until now I've lost 30 pounds and logged over 535 miles.  A lot of work but well worth it in the end with today's result.  "Only the beginning" refers to the long range plan of running the Boston Marathon in 2013.  A plan that originally scheduled for 2012 but my hamstring injury delayed that.

Now to the thank you's.

To my trainer Matt.  I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am I found your services on the internet way back in March.  I have had a number of online trainers during my time as a runner but none of them has been more attentive to my needs and written better training programs than you.  I know you always say I'm the one putting in the work but honestly without you there planning it for me and helping me through some really tough times this year there is no way this season would have been as successful as it was.  What I've written here just doesn't seem to be enough to truly thank you but please know I have appreciated everything you have done for me.  I'm taking a little time off but can't wait for us to start all over again next month.  

Let's Play A Game

Do you ever get to the point where you feel that you cannot work any harder in your runs, workouts or races?  A lot of times outside of improving your actual training plan-nutrition is the hardest and many times the worst habit runners have working to improve.   I am not going to get into any hardcore nutrition habits changes for example not eating processed foods, eating only whole grains, or staying away from high fructose corn syrup; we can all tackle the nutrition game beginning slowly so start with an individual mini-challenge.

I started a little game with my running & nutrition two weeks ago. I stepped onto the scale and was motivated to be faster by being way more healthy with my diet. I took out 3 things that I was eating/drinking that I knew I was not supposed to be doing....but really enjoyed eating/drinking. Deep into mile repeat workouts I felt I could not push any harder, and there was something holding me back at that point to hit my goal times so I came up with a big 3 list.  I put soda, ice cream, and those addicting Reese's peanut butter eggs on a do not eat list.  The Reese's eggs are the most tricky because they change with the seasons. Those things are Christmas trees, Valentine's hearts, and Easter eggs so that junk food vices does not go away from the stores ever.  By giving up those 3 big food vices for me, I finally made a positive baby step with some nutrition stuff.

As I mentioned earlier there is a ton more we all can do by just cutting out the garbage foods from our diets but you have to begin somewhere small.  In my case I have been losing 1 pound per week since starting this little game...the duration of the game for me is 35 days which wraps up with the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k in Chicago on March 25. From that point the hope is to just be smart about things after I get some of these better eating habits in place leading up to a big race.

Outside of running little "thing"

There are so many little outside of running "things" runners all can be doing to help stay healthy and become better runners.  The outside of running exercises, injury prevention work, and mental focus activities should all be on the runners' checklist at the beginning of the day, it is just a matter of if you end up getting any of them checked off with your busy daily schedule.

I wanted to share with everyone this little youtube video to help keep the knee area healthy, loose, and happy.  I can do without the music in the demo but, the video makes sense and it just one of those things that takes 2-3 minutes out of a day and can be done anytime & anywhere. The benefits are 10x the actual effort put in. 

Enjoy.
KNEE MASSAGE video

Race for the Bacon 5k/10k--awesome new Wisconsin race. Check it out

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Chris Ponteri, Race Director at 262-758-9226 or chris@longrunathletics.com

Race for the Bacon Coming to Milwaukee

In what promises to be one of the most unique and entertaining fitness events of the summer, organizers have announced the inaugural Race for the Bacon 5k and 10k race to be held at Wisconsin State Fair Park on Thursday, June 14 at 7 p.m.

The race is just the appetizer for a night of bacon-themed fun. Event organizers are lining up an all-star roster of local food and drink companies and chefs to produce bacon-inspired dishes.  And the winners of the race will receive bacon, giving new meaning to the phrase “bringing home the bacon”.

“Contrary to what many people think, runners aren’t all about eating healthy,” said event organizer Chris Ponteri.  “We like to indulge in guilty pleasures, and I can’t think of any food that fits that description more than bacon.”

Ponteri, who also organizes the Icebreaker Indoor Marathon at the Pettit Center, came up with the idea for the Race for the Bacon early last year and approached Wisconsin State Fair Park officials with his idea over the summer.  “They were immediately sold,” he said.  “It goes well with the fair and some of the other events they do there.”

The race will start and finish right outside the Cousin’s Amphitheater in the center of the park grounds. The course will go through the grounds and also feature a lap on the famed Milwaukee Mile race track for the 5k runners and two laps for 10k runners.  The Mile is the oldest auto racing track in the United States.

The post-race party and awards ceremony will be held at the Cousin’s Amphitheater immediately following the race.  Organizers are in the process of lining up food vendors and will be working with a well-known local caterer to coordinate the party.  Live music will also be featured on the amphitheater stage.

The Race for Bacon has selected MS Run the US to be its charity partner.  A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to MS Run the US, which is a non-profit founded by Ashley Kumlien of Brookfield.  For more information on MS Run the US, visit its website at www.msruntheus.com.

Sponsors on board so far include Performance Running Outfitters, Fit Milwaukee, ThunderDome Running, and Running in the USA.  Additional sponsors will be announced when they become available.

Registration for the Race for the Bacon will open on Friday, February 24 at http://baconrace.zapevent.com.  The race website is www.baconrace.com.  More information can be found on the Race for Bacon Facebook page.

ThunderDome Running Race Team Action (Records & Medal Performances)

2012 has gotten off to a blazing start for the ThunderDome Running race team. Through mid-February the race team already has one race record in the books and two top 5 individual race performances in USATF National meets.

The ThunderDome Running team of Eamon McKenna (Milwaukee), Cal Kromm (Oshkosh), Aaron Nodolf (Menomonee Falls), and Matt Thull (Milwaukee) set the Ice Breaker Indoor Marathon relay record placing first in the 110 team relay field in a time of 2:12:44.The race took place on Jan 21 at the Pettit National Ice Center in West Allis, WI.

Over this past weekend Keith Mulhollon, fresh off his 5th place finish at the USATF National Master's 1/2 marathon champs in Florida the previous weekend, raced to a 3rd place finish at the Master's 8k Cross Country National champs in St Louis. A crazy double for Keith a week apart coming from the 70 degree race temps & high humidity of Florida to St Louis where on race day it was 18 degrees and 25 MPH winds.  Keith took control of the 8k cc race early on and pushed the pace working to take the kick out the the field but just came up a bit short finishing 3rd in a time of 26:15. A national USATF medal stand performance and an awesome way to wrap the week.

Next up for the ThunderDome team is the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k (the worlds largest 8k) in Chicago on Sunday March 25 and the Martian Invasion of races in Dearborn, MI. If you ever wanted to see first hand one of the most organized and well run races in the entire Midwest check out the Martian Invasion of races on April 14 this year.

The 2012 ThunderDome Running Race team is out of the gates

This past Sunday the United States Master's road race 1/2 marathon championships took place in Melbourne, Florida.  ThunderDome Running's Keith Mulhollon (Lake Geneva, WI) raced to a 5th place finish in 71:29 in some pretty tough race temps and humidity.  Big congrats to Keith especially going from the 30 degree temps here to the hotbox that was Florida over the weekend. The overall master's 1/2 marathon champ was Mbarak Hussein of Albuquerque, New Mexico finishing in 69:39.  Keith's next race has him hitting the United States Master's 8k cross country championships this upcoming weekend in Saint Louis.

New for 2012 the ThunderDome Running Race team is a USATF registered club. We are accepting individual runner team applications for the 2012 race season---so please inquire about our new racing team & individualized coaching opportunities through ThunderDome Running.