I just have to get this off my chest. I want to write up my year recap, but this is really buggin me so it has to come first so I can move on with my life. Last Saturday 12/5/09 I did the mistletoe half marathon in Winston-Salem NC. After the race I got an email from active.com asking me to go rate the event, I waited a few days and decided to go out and write some comments. I followed the link to here http://www.active.com/running/winston-salem-nc/mistletoe-5k-and-half-marathon-2009 and read some of the comments. Most were positive, but I was surprised with the number of people wanting the race to be chip timed. The half marathon had about 800 finishers and the 5k had about 900. I was surprised at the turnout considering how bad the weather was, but also impressed that so many would show up even in those conditions. The chip time is not used for rankings or for official times but in larger races where it takes a long time to get to the start it is a nice benefit. I started mid pack of the half and it took me 2 seconds to get over the start line. We were able to use the whole road since we didn't have to be crammed into a start corral to make sure we went over a mat to start our chip time. I'm not sure of the actual dollar amount, but chip time also increases the cost to run a race. While that bothered me slightly it wasn't really what set me off. After I left my comments another runner 'lady Runner 1959' left hers and that is what got me down this path. She gave the race 2 stars out of 5 and complained about everything. The post race party, the music was too loud, the food was too spread out. She said the course was too difficult, the weather was terrible, she criticized the volunteers "They may not have wanted to be in the cold wet weather but they volunteered to work like we paid to run". She says we should have gotten an award for finishing, they were handing out ribbons, but I guess she finished too late or just didn't see them handing them out. Then she says "We should have gotten what we paid for."
You paid between 25 - 35 dollars for this race depending on if you were a YMCA member and how early you signed up. I looked up the Rock n Roll half in Virginia beach and it costs between 85 and 125. This race offered use of the YMCA locker rooms and showers before and after the race, the Rock n Roll offers port a johns. This race donates proceeds to local children's charities, I could not find anywhere that Rock n Roll donates any of it's entry fees. This race had on site child care if you called ahead, Rock n Roll has nothing like it. The course was well marked, there were arrows on the ground at every turn. They had the course maps available on the web so you could see the elevation gains before signing up to determine if it might be too hard for you. They had maps at sign in that you could have taken with you so you wouldn't get lost. They had better food and drinks after than most races in this price range which only offer bananas and water.
What do you think your $30 pays for? An escort in a golf cart that you can sit in when you get tired. It's a race, it's up to you to know the course and prepare yourself. All those things you are asking for, chip timing, finishers medals, more "workers" giving directions on course, they all cost money. If you want all that, pay your $110 and go race in Virginia beach with 10,000 other runners.
For $30 this race far exceeded any expectations I had for it.
The only thing you are entitled to is a big kick in the ASS!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Mistletoe Half Marathon Race Report
So before I begin let me say this race is well run. the YMCA does a great jog, the volunteers were awesome, they had someone at every mile yelling out the splits, there were even people out on the streets cheering us on in the cold rain. The course is not easy, but it is rolling and there is really only one tough climb mixed in with all the rest. You run through some nice neighborhoods, and Wake Forest University, but the best part is the last 5k is mostly downhill and then when you get back there are a ton of people to cheer you home. The Y also allows you to shower after and provides towels. This is the 26th year for this race and the community really supports it. I would definitely recommend it.
I wanted to get that out before my race report as it might appear that I had a bad race, but really I had one of the best races of my life, only it sucked. The reason why it was one of the best is because it sucked so bad and I still hung on to break my 2 hour goal by 1:12, and broke my old half marathon PR by 12 minutes. It gives me confidence to know I can overcome all that sucking and still perform. In better conditions I'm sure my time could have been 1 or 2 minutes faster, but I don't think that would be as satisfying in the end. ( at least that's what I keep telling myself ).
So without further adieu, on to the action.
Woke up early and had my normal Grape nuts and raisin breakfast at the Greensboro Sheraton. I had a 30 minute drive ahead of me so I decided to leave at 6:45 to arrive around 7:15 for the 8:15 race. When I got up it wasn't raining yet, but after watching the radar on the weather channel I knew it was only a matter of time. So waited for the normal bathroom activities and headed out. Arrived right on time and the rain started. Got my race packet, noticed it wasn't in the 20's like they kept saying all week, but in the upper 30's, so I changed out of my running pants and into shorts. Good idea. I left my jacket on with my long sleeve shirt, bad idea, but I was cold. I kept feeling like I needed to go to the bathroom again, but every time I tried, nothing, not a good sign as I would find out on mile 4. At 8 I headed out for a quick warm up then lined up for the start. I will try to look back at the plan I did at the beginning of last week to see how I did. But I can tell you that pre race plan I did saved my ass on this one.
splits:
mile 1: 9:07 - plan says hold back at the start and ease into the race ~9 min pace. Worked out perfectly, but I noticed I was too hot and starting to sweat. So off came the jacket and I found a spot on the return route by a tree where I could pick it up on the way back.
mile 2: 9:30 - 18:37 - this looked to be one of the hardest miles on the route and it probably was. The people were still going by me so it was hard to hold back, but I wanted to do btwn 9:15 - 9:30. Felt like I was doing 9:15, but ended up with a 9:30. But still I felt confident as I was on plan and running well now that the jacket was off.
mile 3: 8:52 - 27:30 - I wanted to do an 8:50 and then keep that till the end, so I was really happy with this mile and didn't freak out. Passed some nice houses and realized that the turn around was not at the end of this road as it appears on the map, but at a traffic control circle instead which explains the mileage discrepancies.
mile 4: 8:54 - 36:24 - Wanted to stay sub 9 and I did but my stomach was now starting to grumble and groan like I really needed to find a porta john. But we were in the middle of a subdivision and I didn't spot any, in fact I wouldn't see any until the finish. I was hoping the stomach would settle down if I slowed a bit.
mile 5: 9:07 - 45:31 - Went back to 2 hour pace in hopes of releasing some stress off the GI issues, but no luck. I was happy to see all the people coming out of their houses and cheering on the runners, but not happy about having to use a lot of energy holding in something that really wanted out.
mile 6: 8:54 - 54:26 - We cross over coliseum blvd here and the path flattens out and ends with a long downhill, didn't really pick up the pace, just the downhill allowed a quicker time. I was really just trying to keep it close to 9 min pace and not blow up. We ran on a nice trail here, it was all paved, but a not too wide so when the leaders ran by on the way back I could reach out and trip them. Did some cheerleading here for the leaders and that took my mind off the problem for a bit, but then mile 7...
mile 7: 9:42 - 1:04:09 - Worst mile for me, it started with an uphill coming off the trail and then a water stop. I decided to get some water and walk a bit hoping it would help. but once again, no luck. And when I started running again it just felt horrible. I remembered my prerace plan was to be under 64 minutes here, so I was only off by 9 seconds here, so I knew I still had a chance to break two hours if I would just keep it close and hang on and hope the pain would go away. Mean while the rain had finally stopped, but that meant it was going to get colder from here on in. I was soaked from the first hour and the wind started picking up and now to go along with the stomach, I was freezing and my jacket was all the way back at mile 1. This mile was the low point for me. I really wanted to stop and walk the whole way back. the only thing that kept me going was listening to the other people and watching everyone else struggle to keep pace. I kept repeating now over and over to myself, just keep it close.
mile 8: 9:13 - 1:13:22 - backed off from the sub 9 pace and it seemed to workout. Of course now we are on wake forest campus and on the flatter section of the course. I knew I was supposed to go for an 8:40 here, but really this was the best I could do. I tried to latch on to some other runners here, but I was unable to find a steady runner, it was always pass them going up the hill and they would pass me going down, or I would never see them again. I got some inspiration from an older guy, 70 something I think still out there running and he was talking to a friend and said they last time it rained during this race was in 96, and that was his first year doing it. 9:13 was close so it kept me going into mile 9.
mile 9: 9:11 - 1:22:34 Now when the stomach cramps would leave me I would pick up the pace and try to make up some time, unfortunately, they always came back and I knew the next mile was going to be tough. I was hoping to get a gel, but I knew that would just be suicide, so it was just water at the aid stations. my core muscles were tired now from constant activation but I dared not let them out. I did back off a bit at the end of this mile because I knew mile 10 would be tough and I needed to keep it low 9's if I wanted to get my goal.
mile 10: 9:11 - 1:31:46 - no holding back on this one, started off going down to the trail back, but then a long uphill, I knew it was make or break on this one and I needed to get down under 1:33. If I could leave myself with a 27 minute 5k, I knew with the downhill finish that I would have a chance. The last half of this mile was uphill, with the steepest hill, IMO, on the course. I passed a ton of people on that hill which fueled my confidence. My legs were not feeling bad and my stomach issues seemed to be subsiding. At the top of the hill I felt the best I had the whole race so far. I made it at 1:31:46, so I knew a 28 minute 5k was all I needed. I thought I can do that no problem, I just ran a 24:40 5k a month ago so 28 is a piece of cake.
mile 11: 8:51 - 1:40:37 - my whole attitude changed here, I started talking to people again, cheering them on, saying weird things that people say to each other after running 10 miles. It became fun again. the stomach problem came back only 1 more time on this mile, but after that it was gone forever. 8:51, fastest split so far, and now with 2.1 miles remaining I only had to do 9 minute pace and I was in.
mile 12: 8:33 - 1:49:10 - This mile is just about all downhill. I was now passing people left and right, I knew most of them at this point were all trying to break 2 hours. I would encourage as many as possible and had some tag along with me for a while, but my legs were starting to respond. I actually had to hold back. I had nothing to eat since 6 am and we were going on 10 now so I didn't want to bonk at the end after having my goal in the bag. At the end of this mile came upon my jacket. I told myself to leave it if the goal was too close, but with 1.1 miles and 10:50 seconds I thought no problem. I bent down to get the jacket and my hamstrings were this close to cramping up. That was a close one, next time leave it.
mile 13: 8:40 - 1:57:51 - This was actually a tough mile for me. I wanted to ease up to a 9 minute pace, but I was too nervous and the Adrenalin was kicking in. I could hear the cheers from a half mile away, but I was seriously on the verge of bonking. I was getting light headed, started having the numb feeling in my legs, but I was not going to let this slip away from me so I keep my pace steady, kept picking off runners, but let others go by. I did not need to chase, just finish my race.
mile 13.1: 0:56 - 1:58:47 - Now it was definitely in the bag, I wanted to pick it up here, but realized it was as up as it was going to get and cruised across the line. Walked a bit to cool down, then went to the car to get some dry clothes to change into. I was really frozen and felt like I was going to die. The guy next to me in the locker room must have agreed with me since at one point he looked at me and said "Are you ok?" I said sure, he said "You're not going to get sick are you?", I laughed at him and said, "oh no, I've been much worse than this, but this has to be the coldest and most miserable I can remember being". He says "so you didn't have a good race then?" and I replied, "I think it was on of my best". I think it was then that he knew I was nuts...
Total Time: Watch - 1:58:47 / Official - 1:58:48
I wanted to get that out before my race report as it might appear that I had a bad race, but really I had one of the best races of my life, only it sucked. The reason why it was one of the best is because it sucked so bad and I still hung on to break my 2 hour goal by 1:12, and broke my old half marathon PR by 12 minutes. It gives me confidence to know I can overcome all that sucking and still perform. In better conditions I'm sure my time could have been 1 or 2 minutes faster, but I don't think that would be as satisfying in the end. ( at least that's what I keep telling myself ).
So without further adieu, on to the action.
Woke up early and had my normal Grape nuts and raisin breakfast at the Greensboro Sheraton. I had a 30 minute drive ahead of me so I decided to leave at 6:45 to arrive around 7:15 for the 8:15 race. When I got up it wasn't raining yet, but after watching the radar on the weather channel I knew it was only a matter of time. So waited for the normal bathroom activities and headed out. Arrived right on time and the rain started. Got my race packet, noticed it wasn't in the 20's like they kept saying all week, but in the upper 30's, so I changed out of my running pants and into shorts. Good idea. I left my jacket on with my long sleeve shirt, bad idea, but I was cold. I kept feeling like I needed to go to the bathroom again, but every time I tried, nothing, not a good sign as I would find out on mile 4. At 8 I headed out for a quick warm up then lined up for the start. I will try to look back at the plan I did at the beginning of last week to see how I did. But I can tell you that pre race plan I did saved my ass on this one.
splits:
mile 1: 9:07 - plan says hold back at the start and ease into the race ~9 min pace. Worked out perfectly, but I noticed I was too hot and starting to sweat. So off came the jacket and I found a spot on the return route by a tree where I could pick it up on the way back.
mile 2: 9:30 - 18:37 - this looked to be one of the hardest miles on the route and it probably was. The people were still going by me so it was hard to hold back, but I wanted to do btwn 9:15 - 9:30. Felt like I was doing 9:15, but ended up with a 9:30. But still I felt confident as I was on plan and running well now that the jacket was off.
mile 3: 8:52 - 27:30 - I wanted to do an 8:50 and then keep that till the end, so I was really happy with this mile and didn't freak out. Passed some nice houses and realized that the turn around was not at the end of this road as it appears on the map, but at a traffic control circle instead which explains the mileage discrepancies.
mile 4: 8:54 - 36:24 - Wanted to stay sub 9 and I did but my stomach was now starting to grumble and groan like I really needed to find a porta john. But we were in the middle of a subdivision and I didn't spot any, in fact I wouldn't see any until the finish. I was hoping the stomach would settle down if I slowed a bit.
mile 5: 9:07 - 45:31 - Went back to 2 hour pace in hopes of releasing some stress off the GI issues, but no luck. I was happy to see all the people coming out of their houses and cheering on the runners, but not happy about having to use a lot of energy holding in something that really wanted out.
mile 6: 8:54 - 54:26 - We cross over coliseum blvd here and the path flattens out and ends with a long downhill, didn't really pick up the pace, just the downhill allowed a quicker time. I was really just trying to keep it close to 9 min pace and not blow up. We ran on a nice trail here, it was all paved, but a not too wide so when the leaders ran by on the way back I could reach out and trip them. Did some cheerleading here for the leaders and that took my mind off the problem for a bit, but then mile 7...
mile 7: 9:42 - 1:04:09 - Worst mile for me, it started with an uphill coming off the trail and then a water stop. I decided to get some water and walk a bit hoping it would help. but once again, no luck. And when I started running again it just felt horrible. I remembered my prerace plan was to be under 64 minutes here, so I was only off by 9 seconds here, so I knew I still had a chance to break two hours if I would just keep it close and hang on and hope the pain would go away. Mean while the rain had finally stopped, but that meant it was going to get colder from here on in. I was soaked from the first hour and the wind started picking up and now to go along with the stomach, I was freezing and my jacket was all the way back at mile 1. This mile was the low point for me. I really wanted to stop and walk the whole way back. the only thing that kept me going was listening to the other people and watching everyone else struggle to keep pace. I kept repeating now over and over to myself, just keep it close.
mile 8: 9:13 - 1:13:22 - backed off from the sub 9 pace and it seemed to workout. Of course now we are on wake forest campus and on the flatter section of the course. I knew I was supposed to go for an 8:40 here, but really this was the best I could do. I tried to latch on to some other runners here, but I was unable to find a steady runner, it was always pass them going up the hill and they would pass me going down, or I would never see them again. I got some inspiration from an older guy, 70 something I think still out there running and he was talking to a friend and said they last time it rained during this race was in 96, and that was his first year doing it. 9:13 was close so it kept me going into mile 9.
mile 9: 9:11 - 1:22:34 Now when the stomach cramps would leave me I would pick up the pace and try to make up some time, unfortunately, they always came back and I knew the next mile was going to be tough. I was hoping to get a gel, but I knew that would just be suicide, so it was just water at the aid stations. my core muscles were tired now from constant activation but I dared not let them out. I did back off a bit at the end of this mile because I knew mile 10 would be tough and I needed to keep it low 9's if I wanted to get my goal.
mile 10: 9:11 - 1:31:46 - no holding back on this one, started off going down to the trail back, but then a long uphill, I knew it was make or break on this one and I needed to get down under 1:33. If I could leave myself with a 27 minute 5k, I knew with the downhill finish that I would have a chance. The last half of this mile was uphill, with the steepest hill, IMO, on the course. I passed a ton of people on that hill which fueled my confidence. My legs were not feeling bad and my stomach issues seemed to be subsiding. At the top of the hill I felt the best I had the whole race so far. I made it at 1:31:46, so I knew a 28 minute 5k was all I needed. I thought I can do that no problem, I just ran a 24:40 5k a month ago so 28 is a piece of cake.
mile 11: 8:51 - 1:40:37 - my whole attitude changed here, I started talking to people again, cheering them on, saying weird things that people say to each other after running 10 miles. It became fun again. the stomach problem came back only 1 more time on this mile, but after that it was gone forever. 8:51, fastest split so far, and now with 2.1 miles remaining I only had to do 9 minute pace and I was in.
mile 12: 8:33 - 1:49:10 - This mile is just about all downhill. I was now passing people left and right, I knew most of them at this point were all trying to break 2 hours. I would encourage as many as possible and had some tag along with me for a while, but my legs were starting to respond. I actually had to hold back. I had nothing to eat since 6 am and we were going on 10 now so I didn't want to bonk at the end after having my goal in the bag. At the end of this mile came upon my jacket. I told myself to leave it if the goal was too close, but with 1.1 miles and 10:50 seconds I thought no problem. I bent down to get the jacket and my hamstrings were this close to cramping up. That was a close one, next time leave it.
mile 13: 8:40 - 1:57:51 - This was actually a tough mile for me. I wanted to ease up to a 9 minute pace, but I was too nervous and the Adrenalin was kicking in. I could hear the cheers from a half mile away, but I was seriously on the verge of bonking. I was getting light headed, started having the numb feeling in my legs, but I was not going to let this slip away from me so I keep my pace steady, kept picking off runners, but let others go by. I did not need to chase, just finish my race.
mile 13.1: 0:56 - 1:58:47 - Now it was definitely in the bag, I wanted to pick it up here, but realized it was as up as it was going to get and cruised across the line. Walked a bit to cool down, then went to the car to get some dry clothes to change into. I was really frozen and felt like I was going to die. The guy next to me in the locker room must have agreed with me since at one point he looked at me and said "Are you ok?" I said sure, he said "You're not going to get sick are you?", I laughed at him and said, "oh no, I've been much worse than this, but this has to be the coldest and most miserable I can remember being". He says "so you didn't have a good race then?" and I replied, "I think it was on of my best". I think it was then that he knew I was nuts...
Total Time: Watch - 1:58:47 / Official - 1:58:48
Monday, November 30, 2009
Mistletoe Half Marathon race plan
So I was running with Cindy on Saturday and telling her that she should map out her half marathon on the usatf map site( http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/ ) or another that allows you to see the elevation and do it mile by mile so you can get a sense of the elevation changes. I also told her I used to write out a plan for each mile and review it each day leading up to the race so mentally I knew what was coming on each mile. I haven't done the writing it out part in a while because I've gotten better at the visualization so I now can just map out the route and save it and just go back and view it each day. I've decided that I would write out again and do it as blog post so I can go back and look at it after the race and compare the plan to what I actually did to see if/how it helped. I just noticed the Hybrid functionality will allow you to see the satellite image and street names at the same time, making the visualization even better. Note, while mapping this, the mile markers on the mapping site do not line up with the markers on the race map, but here goes...
Mile 1: Looks fairly flat, starts outside the YMCA bldg. Remember to hold back a bit and not get caught up in the adrenaline of the start. Want to do a 9:00 minute pace here to make sure I'm warmed up before getting to any bigger hills. Elevation goes up about 70 feet with a small bump at the .5 mile mark.
Mile 2: This mile is mostly uphill, about a 125 feet of elevation change up with only two small downs to recover. Looks like we will be running by some nice houses to help distract from the climb. Want to remember to not push too hard this early in the race on the hills, so a 9:15 - 9:30 would be good here.
Mile 3: Is a rolling out and back so after recovering a bit, need to get into race pace. If I can hold an 8:50 for this mile I should be able to keep that up the rest of the way, if not I need to remember to be more conservative. Remember the goal is to break 2:00 for the half and that takes a 9:08 +- a second or two so if you're not feeling it, don't push it.
Mile 4: Another rolling mile, but not a lot of elevation change. Should be able to hold a sub 9 here. Looks like a hill is starting at the end of this mile as we approach the turn onto Forest Drive. Warwick and Arbor would be a good place to drop any extra clothes so I can pick it up on the way back.
Mile 5: Oaklawn is a very long straight road for the first .75 of this mile, looks fairly flat with a false flat up, then a quick down up down over the last half mile. Might be a good place for a gel if they have a water stop somewhere on this mile.
Mile 6: Looks like we are entering Wake Forest University here. If I didn't get my gel on mile 5, definitely do it here as this mile so far appears to be the easiest of the bunch, a slight up, followed by a long gradual down. Should be on sub 9 mile pace now if feeling good, otw, stay at 9 - 9:05.
Mile 7: This appears to start off on a trail similar to the umstead fire roads before reconnecting to streets on the other side of WFU. Starts with a long climb then a short down and finally flat. Stay strong on this hill as the downhill after will allow plenty of time to recover. Do a time check here, should be less than 64 minutes, if not, time to pick it up. Also looks like we will be crossing with the leaders who will be on their way back at this point so remember to cheer them on.
Mile 8: This is an out and back on Faculty Rd. the out is gradual up, the back is gradual down. Good time to gauge how I am feeling and try an 8:40 if feeling good or if just holding on, stay with a 9 to save it for the end.
Mile 9: Heading into the meat of the university, take some time and look around to distract from the pain that will start any time now. Once again this mile starts with a hard uphill, but followed by a long gradual down, if stomach allows take a gel here, stay strong on the first part, try to pass some people if possible.
Mile 10: This is an important mile, really pay attention to how the body is feeling during this mile. It starts with a nice downhill, then ends with a long uphill. We are now back on the trail and the return trip to the start. If you see the trailing runners keep cheering them on. At the end of this mile do another time check to see what kind of 5k is needed to get your goal.
Mile 11: at the start of this mile we have a 5k to go. Anything under 1:33 minutes is good, meaning we have a 27 minute 5k to break 2 hours. If I'm feeling good, pick up the pace, if bad, just keep it steady and hang on. After the long uphill end to mile ten we have an easy downhill to recover once again. Then we leave WFU and head back into the city.
Mile 12: This mile looks nice. a couple climbs, but mostly downhill. Time to pick up the pace. Near the end of this mile keep an eye out for the sweatshirt I dropped at mile 4. If time looks tight, don't stop for it, just keep going. With two miles to go should be able to keep at least an 8:45 pace.
Mile 13: Last mile before the finish, adrenaline should be kicking in now, but don't start to sprint yet, control the pace, pick it up, but don't over do it, there is still a mile to go. This mile is mostly downhill, so an 8:30 or better is in order. That is, if the legs are feeling good still of course.
Mile 13.1: Looks like there is a little bit of a hill before the end, push up this hill, make it a goal to pass some people here then when you see the finish line give it all you got.
When I mapped it out, http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=338503, it came out to 13.4 miles and the mile markers didn't quite line up with what was on the event websites map, so I'm a bit nervous about that part, but it is registered as an official half marathon on usatf site, so I'm hoping the mapping software is just off.
The McMillan running calculator, ( http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm ) says that based on my 5k and 8k times I should be able to break 1:55, but my original goal was 2 hours so that is still my goal. I will adjust my race, before and during based on weather and race day events but since I have a 5 minute cushion I feel very confident that I will break 2 hours finally for the half marathon and should beat it by even more.
Current half marathon PR = 2:10:16, back in 2007 so I'm psyched to get yet another PR broken this year.
Mile 1: Looks fairly flat, starts outside the YMCA bldg. Remember to hold back a bit and not get caught up in the adrenaline of the start. Want to do a 9:00 minute pace here to make sure I'm warmed up before getting to any bigger hills. Elevation goes up about 70 feet with a small bump at the .5 mile mark.
Mile 2: This mile is mostly uphill, about a 125 feet of elevation change up with only two small downs to recover. Looks like we will be running by some nice houses to help distract from the climb. Want to remember to not push too hard this early in the race on the hills, so a 9:15 - 9:30 would be good here.
Mile 3: Is a rolling out and back so after recovering a bit, need to get into race pace. If I can hold an 8:50 for this mile I should be able to keep that up the rest of the way, if not I need to remember to be more conservative. Remember the goal is to break 2:00 for the half and that takes a 9:08 +- a second or two so if you're not feeling it, don't push it.
Mile 4: Another rolling mile, but not a lot of elevation change. Should be able to hold a sub 9 here. Looks like a hill is starting at the end of this mile as we approach the turn onto Forest Drive. Warwick and Arbor would be a good place to drop any extra clothes so I can pick it up on the way back.
Mile 5: Oaklawn is a very long straight road for the first .75 of this mile, looks fairly flat with a false flat up, then a quick down up down over the last half mile. Might be a good place for a gel if they have a water stop somewhere on this mile.
Mile 6: Looks like we are entering Wake Forest University here. If I didn't get my gel on mile 5, definitely do it here as this mile so far appears to be the easiest of the bunch, a slight up, followed by a long gradual down. Should be on sub 9 mile pace now if feeling good, otw, stay at 9 - 9:05.
Mile 7: This appears to start off on a trail similar to the umstead fire roads before reconnecting to streets on the other side of WFU. Starts with a long climb then a short down and finally flat. Stay strong on this hill as the downhill after will allow plenty of time to recover. Do a time check here, should be less than 64 minutes, if not, time to pick it up. Also looks like we will be crossing with the leaders who will be on their way back at this point so remember to cheer them on.
Mile 8: This is an out and back on Faculty Rd. the out is gradual up, the back is gradual down. Good time to gauge how I am feeling and try an 8:40 if feeling good or if just holding on, stay with a 9 to save it for the end.
Mile 9: Heading into the meat of the university, take some time and look around to distract from the pain that will start any time now. Once again this mile starts with a hard uphill, but followed by a long gradual down, if stomach allows take a gel here, stay strong on the first part, try to pass some people if possible.
Mile 10: This is an important mile, really pay attention to how the body is feeling during this mile. It starts with a nice downhill, then ends with a long uphill. We are now back on the trail and the return trip to the start. If you see the trailing runners keep cheering them on. At the end of this mile do another time check to see what kind of 5k is needed to get your goal.
Mile 11: at the start of this mile we have a 5k to go. Anything under 1:33 minutes is good, meaning we have a 27 minute 5k to break 2 hours. If I'm feeling good, pick up the pace, if bad, just keep it steady and hang on. After the long uphill end to mile ten we have an easy downhill to recover once again. Then we leave WFU and head back into the city.
Mile 12: This mile looks nice. a couple climbs, but mostly downhill. Time to pick up the pace. Near the end of this mile keep an eye out for the sweatshirt I dropped at mile 4. If time looks tight, don't stop for it, just keep going. With two miles to go should be able to keep at least an 8:45 pace.
Mile 13: Last mile before the finish, adrenaline should be kicking in now, but don't start to sprint yet, control the pace, pick it up, but don't over do it, there is still a mile to go. This mile is mostly downhill, so an 8:30 or better is in order. That is, if the legs are feeling good still of course.
Mile 13.1: Looks like there is a little bit of a hill before the end, push up this hill, make it a goal to pass some people here then when you see the finish line give it all you got.
When I mapped it out, http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=338503, it came out to 13.4 miles and the mile markers didn't quite line up with what was on the event websites map, so I'm a bit nervous about that part, but it is registered as an official half marathon on usatf site, so I'm hoping the mapping software is just off.
The McMillan running calculator, ( http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm ) says that based on my 5k and 8k times I should be able to break 1:55, but my original goal was 2 hours so that is still my goal. I will adjust my race, before and during based on weather and race day events but since I have a 5 minute cushion I feel very confident that I will break 2 hours finally for the half marathon and should beat it by even more.
Current half marathon PR = 2:10:16, back in 2007 so I'm psyched to get yet another PR broken this year.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Turkey Trot 8k Race Results
It's just not thanksgiving until the turkey trot is run. I was a little bummed as my nephew who has beaten me every time we've done the same race was not going to make it. I was ready to kick his butt this time. I've PR'd all my short course distances this year and the legs have been feeling good. The last race we did was a 5k back in July and he beat me by only 3 seconds. I ran this same race the last 2 years and I know the course well. It's hilly and hard with a tough climb on the last mile. I had entertained the thought of breaking 40, but then remembered how hilly it was and changed my goal to 41.
First up was the 1 mile fun run. Lined up with the girl, her two cousins ( 9 and 13 ), and her grandma and grandpa. When the gun went we all took off. I was just going to use this as a warmup and since I love to run with the girl was quite happy to do it. She ended up with a 13:10 which was a 40 second PR for her for the mile. She did much better this race than the last on Halloween too. I was so proud, especially of her finishing kick :-).
After we finished, I had 15 minutes to get ready for my race. I needed to use the facilities and they were about a 1/4 mile away so I ran over, got in line, and ran back with 2 minutes to spare. I was looking for Cindy and Frank, figured they were in line already and close to the front, so I squeezed in and tried to work my way forward. Didn't get very far, but I did see Eric W. ahead and new I had a good carrot to chase.
Mile 1. 7:56 - planned to run this about 8, so right on target. I was a bit too far back at the start, so I was weaving in and out to get a better position. I kept thinking I was going to pass Cindy and Frank as I thought they must be ahead of me, but I guess they ended up behind. Felt really good at the marker but knew that 2 and 3 were the toughest miles, so eased up a bit.
Mile 2. 8:24 - This is a hard mile and I felt really good about that pace. Jordan H, passed me here, he is the son of a good friend of mine and a freshman in college, I thought he was running well as he was able to talk to me as he flew by.
Mile 3. 8:26 - I saw Eric ahead at a turn around point here and he was still about the same distance ahead, I thought I might be able to catch him on the downhill of mile 4 but this was another tough mile. I picked up a few pacers here and was able to keep a good solid pace on the hills. At this point I was trying to do math to figure out what I needed to do to get my 41 and I figured an 8 for the next mile which is mostly downhill would leave me an 8:15 on the last mile to shoot for.
Mile 4. 8:02 - right on target, I was leap frogging now with a couple people but still feeling really good, even though I just ran an 8 minute mile it was mostly downhill and I was able to recover so my confidence was high that I could make the 8:15 for the last mile.
Mile 5. 7:53 - This mile starts with a tough uphill, before rolling to the finish. At the top of the hill I caught Jordan again, he looked like I felt, said hey and he said he was going to run with me for the last mile. I said cool, but I wouldn't be able to talk as I was in extreme pain. When we were about a quarter mile left I looked at my watch and knew I had to give it all I had left to make the 41 so I left him and started passing people. I made it to the final turn and heard my coach yelling for me, and the surprised tone of seeing me this early, I told her I was going for 41 but she thought low 42's was where I would end up, then I saw the finish line clock which said 40:40 and sprinted with all I had left to cross the line at 40:59. My watch time was 40:39 so I was super psyched and ready to die all at the same time. Jordan crossed right behind me so I congratulated him on his race and set off for some water.
This was a great race for me and I'm really excited about the half marathon I have coming up on the 5th of December. I am hoping I can finally break 2 hours for the half, and then take the rest of the year off before starting all over again next year.
First up was the 1 mile fun run. Lined up with the girl, her two cousins ( 9 and 13 ), and her grandma and grandpa. When the gun went we all took off. I was just going to use this as a warmup and since I love to run with the girl was quite happy to do it. She ended up with a 13:10 which was a 40 second PR for her for the mile. She did much better this race than the last on Halloween too. I was so proud, especially of her finishing kick :-).
After we finished, I had 15 minutes to get ready for my race. I needed to use the facilities and they were about a 1/4 mile away so I ran over, got in line, and ran back with 2 minutes to spare. I was looking for Cindy and Frank, figured they were in line already and close to the front, so I squeezed in and tried to work my way forward. Didn't get very far, but I did see Eric W. ahead and new I had a good carrot to chase.
Mile 1. 7:56 - planned to run this about 8, so right on target. I was a bit too far back at the start, so I was weaving in and out to get a better position. I kept thinking I was going to pass Cindy and Frank as I thought they must be ahead of me, but I guess they ended up behind. Felt really good at the marker but knew that 2 and 3 were the toughest miles, so eased up a bit.
Mile 2. 8:24 - This is a hard mile and I felt really good about that pace. Jordan H, passed me here, he is the son of a good friend of mine and a freshman in college, I thought he was running well as he was able to talk to me as he flew by.
Mile 3. 8:26 - I saw Eric ahead at a turn around point here and he was still about the same distance ahead, I thought I might be able to catch him on the downhill of mile 4 but this was another tough mile. I picked up a few pacers here and was able to keep a good solid pace on the hills. At this point I was trying to do math to figure out what I needed to do to get my 41 and I figured an 8 for the next mile which is mostly downhill would leave me an 8:15 on the last mile to shoot for.
Mile 4. 8:02 - right on target, I was leap frogging now with a couple people but still feeling really good, even though I just ran an 8 minute mile it was mostly downhill and I was able to recover so my confidence was high that I could make the 8:15 for the last mile.
Mile 5. 7:53 - This mile starts with a tough uphill, before rolling to the finish. At the top of the hill I caught Jordan again, he looked like I felt, said hey and he said he was going to run with me for the last mile. I said cool, but I wouldn't be able to talk as I was in extreme pain. When we were about a quarter mile left I looked at my watch and knew I had to give it all I had left to make the 41 so I left him and started passing people. I made it to the final turn and heard my coach yelling for me, and the surprised tone of seeing me this early, I told her I was going for 41 but she thought low 42's was where I would end up, then I saw the finish line clock which said 40:40 and sprinted with all I had left to cross the line at 40:59. My watch time was 40:39 so I was super psyched and ready to die all at the same time. Jordan crossed right behind me so I congratulated him on his race and set off for some water.
This was a great race for me and I'm really excited about the half marathon I have coming up on the 5th of December. I am hoping I can finally break 2 hours for the half, and then take the rest of the year off before starting all over again next year.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Born to Run
I stayed up late Wednesday night to finish the book "Born To Run" by Chris McDougal, I think that's how you spell it, because I wanted to return it to the library and because it was such a great read. If you are a runner, want to be a runner, think you can't be a runner, READ THIS BOOK. If you know someone who wants to run but always says I can't run because my knees/feet/ankles always get injured when I try. Get them to read this book. Really it's just that awesome.
It's been raining in the Raleigh area since Tuesday and I had a tough looking tempo run scheduled for Thursday. I was thinking I would have to do it on the treadmill since I didn't want to have to deal with the wind gusts up to 30 mph and rain and the flooding that always happens on my on "flat" route when we get this much rain. I ended up sleeping in until 6:15 Thursday morning and when I woke up I saw that the rain had subsided and was supposed to stay away until lunch. I decided I would just go out and run the neighborhood hills and try my best to make the times my coach said I should get. My workout was:
7 miles total-
Miles 1, 2 @ 10:00,
Mile 3 @ 9:30,
Mile 4 @ 9:00,
Mile 5, 6 @ Sub 9:00,
Mile 7- Cool down
Before heading out I went to the usatf website to remind myself of where the mile markers would be for the 5 mile loop I have mapped out. My plan was to do the loop, then do the 1 mile loop that is not as hilly for mile 6. I was most concerned about mile 5 as that features a very long hill. I was not terrible excited about this workout or running in the 48 degree windy overcast morning, but thought that if I didn't go now I wouldn't get the run in, so out the door I went.
Mile 1 starts off with a slight uphill and today it was into the wind. I was just not feeling it today and was not happy, but then I started thinking about the people that want to be able to run but can't and how they would give anything to be able to run and started to change my attitude. I remembered many times in the book how the author describes people running with a look of joy on their faces so I started to smile. I had no GPS, no Heart rate monitor, no IPod, just my clothes, shoes, and watch. Amazingly I started to feel good, I focused on keeping my form good and just ran comfortably. When I hit the mile 1 spot I was at 9:55. I thought that's odd, I've never done that mile this fast and waited until my watch hit 10 to hit the lap button.
Mile 2 starts off downhill before rolling during the middle and up at the end. At this point when the wind was really gusting I could feel some water pelting me in the face. It was cold, but I didn't care. My run was feeling so good I had to hold myself back to stay at 10 / min miles so I could save some for those last two sub 9 miles. I'm running uphill into the wind with some drizzle hitting me and I have this big smile on my face. I just had to laugh at how this must look to the people driving by me. I saw the mile 2 spot and saw I was at 9:30, this just made me smile even more. I decided to take a 15 second walk break and still had a 9:45.
Mile 3 is uphill first, then flat then down. At this point I'm feeling the runner's high big time and concentrating on my form and thinking about some of the lessons learned from the book and trying to run slow so I can get a 9:30 mile. I was still concerned about that 5th mile. The best I've ever done on this 5 mile loop is 48 something and when I did that I was dying. Other that that I've never broken the 50 minute mark. Mean while I'm about to finish mile 3 and the world is a better place. 9:04! I'm shocked, this mile felt so good, how could it be 9:04?
Mile 4 is supposed to be 9, but mile 3 was supposed to be 9:30 so I decided to switch them. This mile has a lot of downhill so I have to really concentrate on slowing down. This time it's easier because mile 5 is looming ahead. I am still feeling really good, I take time to evaluate the different spots that normally give me problems, feet good, ankles no pain, knees a little pain since I'm going downhill but I wouldn't notice if I wasn't paying attention, hips feel good. Now I am thinking about my foot strike. Keep the stride shorter and let the feet land under you and don't land on your heels after 100 of so yards of this my slight knee pain is gone again. The shoes I run in are not meant for my foot type, but they are the only shoes that I can run in and not hurt my knees. I remember in the book about a study they did with a group that wore shoes that cost over 95 dollars and another that were under 40 and found that the expensive shoe group had over a 2x injury rate. They claim that the cushioning in the high tech shoes cause you to run incorrectly by hiding the pain and if you run barefoot or in harder shoes your feet will tell you that you are running wrong and you will adjust. It's starting to make sense now, but enough of that for now here comes mile 5. Mile 4 - 9:33.
Mile 5 - I've run this mile many many times, it's part of the 5 mile loop and the 5k loop that start at my house. The first 3/4 miles of it are long steep up, short down, long gradual up, then the last 1/4 is gradual downhill. It's still cold, the rain is drizzling, the wind is gusting and the hill is rising ahead of me, but a quick reminder to myself of how the best runners in the book always smiled and enjoyed the hard parts got that smile back on my face and while the pain was there it still felt good, made the first hill and started to ease up to recover on the short down but then realized I didn't need to recover so I pushed down before starting back up again. I concentrated really hard and kept my pace up this next hill. When I made it to the downhill section I opened up the stride again and snuck a peak at my watch. I was at way ahead. This just made me smile even more and slow down a bit to save some for the last sub 9 mile, Mile 5 ended up 8:52, and my time for the 5 mile loop was under 46! And I still felt good.
Mile 6 - I've done this 1 mile loop many times as well since it's part of my day before race brick. It starts off gradual up, then a nice downhill/uphill combo before the gradual down to the finish. I've done this in the 8's before, but never after 5 miles, but now my confidence is so high with mile 5 done that I just decided to go for it. I noticed that while going uphill there was a part of my brain that was telling me I was feeling pain and I should go slower, instinctively I slowed, but then a quick check from my logical side found no pain, sure it was hard, but it didn't hurt, so back up to pace. When I got to the next and final hill I expected the pain signal, but when it came I just ignored it and half way up it went away, more eye opening and something to remember for later. Finished with that nice gradual downhill and an 8:14 mile.
I wanted to do the full 1 mile cool down, but I was already late for work and running slower I got cold faster so I called it a day at 6.5.
With my half marathon coming up on Dec 5, I only wish I can bottle up this run and take it with me for that day. I broke my GPS by swimming with it a while back and I think it was the best thing that could have happened. I am really enjoying running technology free, it makes you focus inwardly and really tune into your body. I can't say I won't ever get another GPS, but for now I'm good.
There is so much more in the book that I really didn't cover or even touch on, but I do want to say it was very eye opening and challenged a lot of what the shoe companies are trying to sell us. It also tells a really entertaining story about some great people. It inspired my run above and hopefully more to come.
It's been raining in the Raleigh area since Tuesday and I had a tough looking tempo run scheduled for Thursday. I was thinking I would have to do it on the treadmill since I didn't want to have to deal with the wind gusts up to 30 mph and rain and the flooding that always happens on my on "flat" route when we get this much rain. I ended up sleeping in until 6:15 Thursday morning and when I woke up I saw that the rain had subsided and was supposed to stay away until lunch. I decided I would just go out and run the neighborhood hills and try my best to make the times my coach said I should get. My workout was:
7 miles total-
Miles 1, 2 @ 10:00,
Mile 3 @ 9:30,
Mile 4 @ 9:00,
Mile 5, 6 @ Sub 9:00,
Mile 7- Cool down
Before heading out I went to the usatf website to remind myself of where the mile markers would be for the 5 mile loop I have mapped out. My plan was to do the loop, then do the 1 mile loop that is not as hilly for mile 6. I was most concerned about mile 5 as that features a very long hill. I was not terrible excited about this workout or running in the 48 degree windy overcast morning, but thought that if I didn't go now I wouldn't get the run in, so out the door I went.
Mile 1 starts off with a slight uphill and today it was into the wind. I was just not feeling it today and was not happy, but then I started thinking about the people that want to be able to run but can't and how they would give anything to be able to run and started to change my attitude. I remembered many times in the book how the author describes people running with a look of joy on their faces so I started to smile. I had no GPS, no Heart rate monitor, no IPod, just my clothes, shoes, and watch. Amazingly I started to feel good, I focused on keeping my form good and just ran comfortably. When I hit the mile 1 spot I was at 9:55. I thought that's odd, I've never done that mile this fast and waited until my watch hit 10 to hit the lap button.
Mile 2 starts off downhill before rolling during the middle and up at the end. At this point when the wind was really gusting I could feel some water pelting me in the face. It was cold, but I didn't care. My run was feeling so good I had to hold myself back to stay at 10 / min miles so I could save some for those last two sub 9 miles. I'm running uphill into the wind with some drizzle hitting me and I have this big smile on my face. I just had to laugh at how this must look to the people driving by me. I saw the mile 2 spot and saw I was at 9:30, this just made me smile even more. I decided to take a 15 second walk break and still had a 9:45.
Mile 3 is uphill first, then flat then down. At this point I'm feeling the runner's high big time and concentrating on my form and thinking about some of the lessons learned from the book and trying to run slow so I can get a 9:30 mile. I was still concerned about that 5th mile. The best I've ever done on this 5 mile loop is 48 something and when I did that I was dying. Other that that I've never broken the 50 minute mark. Mean while I'm about to finish mile 3 and the world is a better place. 9:04! I'm shocked, this mile felt so good, how could it be 9:04?
Mile 4 is supposed to be 9, but mile 3 was supposed to be 9:30 so I decided to switch them. This mile has a lot of downhill so I have to really concentrate on slowing down. This time it's easier because mile 5 is looming ahead. I am still feeling really good, I take time to evaluate the different spots that normally give me problems, feet good, ankles no pain, knees a little pain since I'm going downhill but I wouldn't notice if I wasn't paying attention, hips feel good. Now I am thinking about my foot strike. Keep the stride shorter and let the feet land under you and don't land on your heels after 100 of so yards of this my slight knee pain is gone again. The shoes I run in are not meant for my foot type, but they are the only shoes that I can run in and not hurt my knees. I remember in the book about a study they did with a group that wore shoes that cost over 95 dollars and another that were under 40 and found that the expensive shoe group had over a 2x injury rate. They claim that the cushioning in the high tech shoes cause you to run incorrectly by hiding the pain and if you run barefoot or in harder shoes your feet will tell you that you are running wrong and you will adjust. It's starting to make sense now, but enough of that for now here comes mile 5. Mile 4 - 9:33.
Mile 5 - I've run this mile many many times, it's part of the 5 mile loop and the 5k loop that start at my house. The first 3/4 miles of it are long steep up, short down, long gradual up, then the last 1/4 is gradual downhill. It's still cold, the rain is drizzling, the wind is gusting and the hill is rising ahead of me, but a quick reminder to myself of how the best runners in the book always smiled and enjoyed the hard parts got that smile back on my face and while the pain was there it still felt good, made the first hill and started to ease up to recover on the short down but then realized I didn't need to recover so I pushed down before starting back up again. I concentrated really hard and kept my pace up this next hill. When I made it to the downhill section I opened up the stride again and snuck a peak at my watch. I was at way ahead. This just made me smile even more and slow down a bit to save some for the last sub 9 mile, Mile 5 ended up 8:52, and my time for the 5 mile loop was under 46! And I still felt good.
Mile 6 - I've done this 1 mile loop many times as well since it's part of my day before race brick. It starts off gradual up, then a nice downhill/uphill combo before the gradual down to the finish. I've done this in the 8's before, but never after 5 miles, but now my confidence is so high with mile 5 done that I just decided to go for it. I noticed that while going uphill there was a part of my brain that was telling me I was feeling pain and I should go slower, instinctively I slowed, but then a quick check from my logical side found no pain, sure it was hard, but it didn't hurt, so back up to pace. When I got to the next and final hill I expected the pain signal, but when it came I just ignored it and half way up it went away, more eye opening and something to remember for later. Finished with that nice gradual downhill and an 8:14 mile.
I wanted to do the full 1 mile cool down, but I was already late for work and running slower I got cold faster so I called it a day at 6.5.
With my half marathon coming up on Dec 5, I only wish I can bottle up this run and take it with me for that day. I broke my GPS by swimming with it a while back and I think it was the best thing that could have happened. I am really enjoying running technology free, it makes you focus inwardly and really tune into your body. I can't say I won't ever get another GPS, but for now I'm good.
There is so much more in the book that I really didn't cover or even touch on, but I do want to say it was very eye opening and challenged a lot of what the shoe companies are trying to sell us. It also tells a really entertaining story about some great people. It inspired my run above and hopefully more to come.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
5k for Healthier Babies race report
What a difference the weather makes. Last race 78 with 90% humidity. Today 54 with 70% humidity. Really wanted to break 25 in a 5k this year and this was my last best chance to do it.
Day started at 3am when I woke up and realized the AC i turned on at 11 because it was too hot was still running. Had to go outside and throw the breaker so it would turn off. Then got back in bed and woke up at 4:45. Not the best night of sleep, but since I slept well yesterday I wasn't too concerned. Got out of bed around 5:30 and ate breakfast, then tried to fix the Heat pump again, but the blower just didn't want to turn off. Gave up around 7 and got ready for the race.
Got there nice and early and it felt cold, picked up the race packet and chip and dropped it off at the car. It was 30 minutes to race start and I was cold so decided to do my warmup. ran 1.5 miles and then back to the car to drop off the sweat shirt and then back to the start to do my strides. A bunch of people were now headed to the start so I joined in. Was expecting Cindy to just show up right before the gun as usual, and was not disappointed. With about 3 minutes to the gun I see her walking over.
We were fairly close to the front so I was hoping for a nice clean start, but as usual of late there were a bunch of people sprinting out at the gun, then at about a half mile they just died. I was trying to find some clear road and had to run around a bunch before I could find a good spot and then got into my rhythm. I felt like I was running a bit slower than last time, but when we hit the one mile marker the guy yelled 7:45, a bit fast, but I felt good, still I decided to dial it back a bit since I didn't want to die at the end. A couple people ran by me and I fell in their draft. I ran up next to one guy who was constantly checking his garmin and asked how we were doing. 7:52 pace he said. Then he said, "I'm an 8:20 runner so it's a bit fast for me". I told him I just wanted to get under an 8 minute pace so it was perfect for me. I lost him at the next hill. Mile 2 was harder than 1, but I still felt good and was running strong on the hills. Passed mile 2 at 15:55, so an 8:10 pace, but still under 8 for the 2 miles. I had been following two pre high school girls for a while and at this point, one of them just stopped dead in her tracks and told her friend to go on without her. I ended up running next to her and she started talking to me about how her nose was running and her eyes would water when the wind blowed. It was a nice distraction, but then someone she knew flew by us and she went off with her. A few other people passed me on this downhill part, but I knew there was an uphill coming so I just kept my pace steady. We turned into the Lenovo parking lot and started going up. It wasn't steep, but it was a long gradual uphill. Those people that just passed were now getting passed by me. I caught up to one guy just as the hill was ending and went by him. I guess he wasn't happy about it as he looked at me and then passed me back, ok with me, I'll just sit back here in your draft for a while. When we hit the final turn and passed the 3 mile marker it was right on 24:00 for an 8:05 mile 3 and 8 minute / mile. With just .1 to go I sprinted by my draft partner and managed to stay ahead of him to the finish and a 24:39 ( watch time, 24:44 official time ), 5K. That's about 40 seconds faster than two weeks ago and a new PR. But the best part of it was that when I as done I still felt good where as last week I was about to pass out. Did my 1.5 mile cool down and just hung out and people watched for a while until they posted the results.
Day started at 3am when I woke up and realized the AC i turned on at 11 because it was too hot was still running. Had to go outside and throw the breaker so it would turn off. Then got back in bed and woke up at 4:45. Not the best night of sleep, but since I slept well yesterday I wasn't too concerned. Got out of bed around 5:30 and ate breakfast, then tried to fix the Heat pump again, but the blower just didn't want to turn off. Gave up around 7 and got ready for the race.
Got there nice and early and it felt cold, picked up the race packet and chip and dropped it off at the car. It was 30 minutes to race start and I was cold so decided to do my warmup. ran 1.5 miles and then back to the car to drop off the sweat shirt and then back to the start to do my strides. A bunch of people were now headed to the start so I joined in. Was expecting Cindy to just show up right before the gun as usual, and was not disappointed. With about 3 minutes to the gun I see her walking over.
We were fairly close to the front so I was hoping for a nice clean start, but as usual of late there were a bunch of people sprinting out at the gun, then at about a half mile they just died. I was trying to find some clear road and had to run around a bunch before I could find a good spot and then got into my rhythm. I felt like I was running a bit slower than last time, but when we hit the one mile marker the guy yelled 7:45, a bit fast, but I felt good, still I decided to dial it back a bit since I didn't want to die at the end. A couple people ran by me and I fell in their draft. I ran up next to one guy who was constantly checking his garmin and asked how we were doing. 7:52 pace he said. Then he said, "I'm an 8:20 runner so it's a bit fast for me". I told him I just wanted to get under an 8 minute pace so it was perfect for me. I lost him at the next hill. Mile 2 was harder than 1, but I still felt good and was running strong on the hills. Passed mile 2 at 15:55, so an 8:10 pace, but still under 8 for the 2 miles. I had been following two pre high school girls for a while and at this point, one of them just stopped dead in her tracks and told her friend to go on without her. I ended up running next to her and she started talking to me about how her nose was running and her eyes would water when the wind blowed. It was a nice distraction, but then someone she knew flew by us and she went off with her. A few other people passed me on this downhill part, but I knew there was an uphill coming so I just kept my pace steady. We turned into the Lenovo parking lot and started going up. It wasn't steep, but it was a long gradual uphill. Those people that just passed were now getting passed by me. I caught up to one guy just as the hill was ending and went by him. I guess he wasn't happy about it as he looked at me and then passed me back, ok with me, I'll just sit back here in your draft for a while. When we hit the final turn and passed the 3 mile marker it was right on 24:00 for an 8:05 mile 3 and 8 minute / mile. With just .1 to go I sprinted by my draft partner and managed to stay ahead of him to the finish and a 24:39 ( watch time, 24:44 official time ), 5K. That's about 40 seconds faster than two weeks ago and a new PR. But the best part of it was that when I as done I still felt good where as last week I was about to pass out. Did my 1.5 mile cool down and just hung out and people watched for a while until they posted the results.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
5k run/walk for Autism race report
This race was last week, but life has kept me busy so I am going to try to fit this in while the wife is in the shower and the kid is occupied with Sponge Bob before we have to go out grocery shopping.
Had big goals for this race, break 25 minutes for the first time ever. My current 5k pr is 25:17 and that was on the 4th of July this year in Virgina on a hilly ass course, and my track workouts of late have been right on, so I was very confident going into this one. To ruin the suspense, I finished in 25:21. That being said I don't feel like I could have run any faster. The fall arrived here in September and we haven't had a really warm/humid morning in a long time. Not to go into too much history, but I don't do well in warm and humid. My only DNF ever was on a hot humid day where I passed out on mile 3 of the half marathon part of the half ironman I was doing. So when I work up Saturday morning in the it was 75 degrees at 5 am with 90% humidity I was less than pleased. I decided to race anyway ;-). Arrived at the race site and got ready, then did my warmup. I put the weather out of my head, after all it was just a 5k and I would only have to suffer for 24:59 anyway. Race started and I was feeling good, did the first mile right on 8 minutes, then started downhill. This race was supposed to be flat, but this downhill was lasting way too long and eventually it would turn up. when it did I was still pushing the pace but could feel the heat and my legs were starting to slow. Got to mile to at 16:18, that's not good, but I need an 8:03 average and I'm still at 8:09 so I told myself to just keep going as hard as I can. Finally made it to the top of the hill and had a 1/2 mile downhill to the finish. Had no idea where I was on time and didn't want to look at my watch, just wanted to push as hard as I could and have no regrets. When I saw the clock at the end it was just turning to 25 minutes. That meant I had 9 seconds to get there, I tried to sprint, but I was already sprinting. And the clock seemed to be going too fast. Finally after what seemed like 10 seconds I crossed at 25:30 with a chip time of 25:21. I was disappointed, but really there was nothing else I could have done. I started feeling the first signs of the "I'm going to pass out now" feeling so I told Cindy I needed water and to walk away from the crowd. Luckily I got away quick enough and after 5 minutes began to feel better again. We walked a bit more before doing a 1 mile cool down. There will be other 5k s, in fact next week end, and I'm sure I break that 25 in one of them, but for now, it's onward with no regrets.
Had big goals for this race, break 25 minutes for the first time ever. My current 5k pr is 25:17 and that was on the 4th of July this year in Virgina on a hilly ass course, and my track workouts of late have been right on, so I was very confident going into this one. To ruin the suspense, I finished in 25:21. That being said I don't feel like I could have run any faster. The fall arrived here in September and we haven't had a really warm/humid morning in a long time. Not to go into too much history, but I don't do well in warm and humid. My only DNF ever was on a hot humid day where I passed out on mile 3 of the half marathon part of the half ironman I was doing. So when I work up Saturday morning in the it was 75 degrees at 5 am with 90% humidity I was less than pleased. I decided to race anyway ;-). Arrived at the race site and got ready, then did my warmup. I put the weather out of my head, after all it was just a 5k and I would only have to suffer for 24:59 anyway. Race started and I was feeling good, did the first mile right on 8 minutes, then started downhill. This race was supposed to be flat, but this downhill was lasting way too long and eventually it would turn up. when it did I was still pushing the pace but could feel the heat and my legs were starting to slow. Got to mile to at 16:18, that's not good, but I need an 8:03 average and I'm still at 8:09 so I told myself to just keep going as hard as I can. Finally made it to the top of the hill and had a 1/2 mile downhill to the finish. Had no idea where I was on time and didn't want to look at my watch, just wanted to push as hard as I could and have no regrets. When I saw the clock at the end it was just turning to 25 minutes. That meant I had 9 seconds to get there, I tried to sprint, but I was already sprinting. And the clock seemed to be going too fast. Finally after what seemed like 10 seconds I crossed at 25:30 with a chip time of 25:21. I was disappointed, but really there was nothing else I could have done. I started feeling the first signs of the "I'm going to pass out now" feeling so I told Cindy I needed water and to walk away from the crowd. Luckily I got away quick enough and after 5 minutes began to feel better again. We walked a bit more before doing a 1 mile cool down. There will be other 5k s, in fact next week end, and I'm sure I break that 25 in one of them, but for now, it's onward with no regrets.
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