WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Weatherford, Texas
WHEN?
Saturday, Sept. 29
WHY?
8-Hour Run from the Ducks
NO REALLY, WHY?
It's time to renew my ultra card. Rocky Raccoon is too far away for this race to be considered training, but I haven't run longer than 20 miles since Old Dominion so this will make sure I don't forget what it's like.
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
Should be about 35 runners in all.
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
It'll be about 65 degrees at the start. After that, no one seems to know yet. It might rain. It might rain a LOT, or not at all. It might only get into the upper 70s, or it might make it to the upper 80s. On the same date a year ago it was 100. At least we won't have that.
HOW DO WE WIN?
My output will be quite dependent on how warm it gets and how well I'm able to stave off blisters if it's wet. I think I'll be upset if I don't hit 37 laps (39.96 miles; only full laps count), almost no matter what happens. Beyond that, I have no idea. Forty laps (43.2 miles) seems like an appropriate target.
Monday, September 24, 2012
What has this guy ever done?
PRs are an easy way to measure your best races at certain distances, but they still leave the question of which race is your best ever. That marathon PR may actually be less impressive than your 3rd-best 5K.
So we turn to the same method used to compare races between folks of different ages or genders: age grading. There are different scales and calculators and such; I use this one, although it bugs me that it doesn't work for ultras (not that it would matter for me, yet; my ultra times have all been unimpressive). I decided to take all my results from 4 1/2 years of racing and run the numbers to determine just what my best races ever have been:
So we turn to the same method used to compare races between folks of different ages or genders: age grading. There are different scales and calculators and such; I use this one, although it bugs me that it doesn't work for ultras (not that it would matter for me, yet; my ultra times have all been unimpressive). I decided to take all my results from 4 1/2 years of racing and run the numbers to determine just what my best races ever have been:
| Race | Location | Date | Time | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Get Ready to Rock 20M | White Bear Lake, MN | 9/8/12 | 2:22:09 | 79.6 |
| Run the Line HM | Texarkana, TX | 2/20/11 | 1:29:51 | 79.4 |
| Too Hot to Handle 15K | Dallas, TX | 7/15/12 | 1:02:51 | 79.2 |
| Texas Half | Dallas, TX | 1/29/11 | 1:30:06 | 79.2 |
| Dash Down Greenville 5K | Dallas, TX | 3/12/11 | 19:23 | 78.9 |
| Too Cold to Hold 15K | Dallas, TX | 1/23/11 | 1:02:57 | 78.7 |
| Boo Run HM | Cleburne, TX | 10/30/10 | 1:30:42 | 78.7 |
| Tour des Fleurs 20K | Dallas, TX | 9/15/12 | 1:27:08 | 78.0 |
| Plano Balloon Festival HM | Plano, TX | 9/23/12 | 1:32:16 | 78.0 |
| Rock 'n' Roll Dallas HM | Dallas, TX | 3/27/11 | 1:31:42 | 77.8 |
As you see, the 10K and marathon distances are not represented in my top 10. For the former, it's a matter of sample size. I've only run one 10K since January 2010 and it was on a hard course (thus yielding a soft PR that I should crush at my next 2 10Ks in November).
For the latter, well, I don't have an excuse, but I have hope. The 3 Texas races from 2012 on this list were all warm. The top race was cool. If I stay in good shape and run Houston at that level in January, I'll be going back to Boston in 2014.
Race review: Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon
ENOUGH WITH THE SMALL TALK. HOW'D IT GO?
This race was almost identical to last week's 20K, but with it coming on an easier course, I'm less enthused about the result. I ran a 1:32:16, tying the age-graded score from last week as my 8th best race (I'll post the top 10 sometime this week).
DID YOU WIN?
I picked up my 2nd age group award of the month, finishing 2nd of 35. I was 11th of 481 overall.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
It's worth mentioning that my plan to run 4 easy miles Saturday morning morphed into 5 less-easy miles Saturday afternoon. I thought I'd gotten to the point that a 5-mile run would be easily forgotten, but perhaps not.
I got an abbreviated warm-up in as there was hardly any space in which to do so. The road was fenced off a couple hundred yards past the start line until right before the start, and the area behind the start was filled with balloon-gazers.
I lined up in front and rather quickly settled into the 8th spot as the lead group fanned out. Turning onto Los Rios just past the 1-mile mark, I was treated to a great view of the morning balloon launch, with 10 or so balloons rising over the trees to my right. This kept me at ease while climbing the only 2 hills of consequence on the course. It's good to know that after 2.8 miles, the hardest work is done.
At the top of the 2nd hill, I turned sharply back toward the nature preserve (one of 4 sharp turns on the course). I got a look at the runner whose footsteps I'd been hearing just about 4 seconds behind me. I would hear those footsteps for another 5 miles before he finally overtook me at another turnaround point. I don't know if it was getting passed that took the wind out of my sails, or the sudden stop and start of the turnaround, or fatigue from running the day before, but my race was not the same after that. After another runner passed me, I hoped I could hang on to a spot in the top 10, but that was lost with about half a mile to go.
WHAT ELSE?
I commend the organizers for doing their best to put together an attractive course. There is good use of park trails and the nature preserve to keep things scenic. But 4 turns of basically 180 degrees are stressful, and beyond that, there were hardly any views of the balloons after that early stretch on Los Rios.
Also, the finish area was way too congested. The last 100 yards or so had the half marathoners merging with swarms of 5K runners, with no barrier to separate them along a narrow path. And with volunteers handing out medals just steps beyond the finish line, also in a narrow fenced-in area, there was little room to move.
On the positive side, the post-race breakfast of bacon, eggs, muffins, yogurt and OJ was quite strong. When you see a race with any ties at all to Central Market, consider that a plus.
SPLITS?
6:48
6:55
6:50
6:50
6:56
6:49
6:46
6:59
7:07
7:13
7:26
7:20
7:20
6:31 pace last .15
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
The finisher's medal is a substantial piece of hardware on which you could serve a small stack. The age-group award, on the other hand, is a small, plastic budgetary afterthought:
WHAT'S NEXT?
8-Hour Run from the Ducks, Saturday.
This race was almost identical to last week's 20K, but with it coming on an easier course, I'm less enthused about the result. I ran a 1:32:16, tying the age-graded score from last week as my 8th best race (I'll post the top 10 sometime this week).
DID YOU WIN?
I picked up my 2nd age group award of the month, finishing 2nd of 35. I was 11th of 481 overall.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
It's worth mentioning that my plan to run 4 easy miles Saturday morning morphed into 5 less-easy miles Saturday afternoon. I thought I'd gotten to the point that a 5-mile run would be easily forgotten, but perhaps not.
I got an abbreviated warm-up in as there was hardly any space in which to do so. The road was fenced off a couple hundred yards past the start line until right before the start, and the area behind the start was filled with balloon-gazers.
I lined up in front and rather quickly settled into the 8th spot as the lead group fanned out. Turning onto Los Rios just past the 1-mile mark, I was treated to a great view of the morning balloon launch, with 10 or so balloons rising over the trees to my right. This kept me at ease while climbing the only 2 hills of consequence on the course. It's good to know that after 2.8 miles, the hardest work is done.
At the top of the 2nd hill, I turned sharply back toward the nature preserve (one of 4 sharp turns on the course). I got a look at the runner whose footsteps I'd been hearing just about 4 seconds behind me. I would hear those footsteps for another 5 miles before he finally overtook me at another turnaround point. I don't know if it was getting passed that took the wind out of my sails, or the sudden stop and start of the turnaround, or fatigue from running the day before, but my race was not the same after that. After another runner passed me, I hoped I could hang on to a spot in the top 10, but that was lost with about half a mile to go.
WHAT ELSE?
I commend the organizers for doing their best to put together an attractive course. There is good use of park trails and the nature preserve to keep things scenic. But 4 turns of basically 180 degrees are stressful, and beyond that, there were hardly any views of the balloons after that early stretch on Los Rios.
Also, the finish area was way too congested. The last 100 yards or so had the half marathoners merging with swarms of 5K runners, with no barrier to separate them along a narrow path. And with volunteers handing out medals just steps beyond the finish line, also in a narrow fenced-in area, there was little room to move.
On the positive side, the post-race breakfast of bacon, eggs, muffins, yogurt and OJ was quite strong. When you see a race with any ties at all to Central Market, consider that a plus.
SPLITS?
6:48
6:55
6:50
6:50
6:56
6:49
6:46
6:59
7:07
7:13
7:26
7:20
7:20
6:31 pace last .15
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
The finisher's medal is a substantial piece of hardware on which you could serve a small stack. The age-group award, on the other hand, is a small, plastic budgetary afterthought:
WHAT'S NEXT?
8-Hour Run from the Ducks, Saturday.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Race preview: Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon
WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Plano, Texas
WHEN?
Sunday, Sept. 23
WHY?
Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon
NO REALLY, WHY?
This is another race with no concrete motivation to take part in, other than it's there. If my toddler is in a good mood Sunday morning, she'll probably enjoy watching the balloons and moseying around the festival with my wife. If not, I'll head off solo again.
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
The race is sold out. My detective work suggests there are 500 entrants (400 announced at registration open, 100 added at the end of August).
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
A cold front is due to come through Saturday night so it might be just 60 degrees at the start, but it should warm up quickly as the sun goes up, so hurry up and finish before that happens.
HOW DO WE WIN?
I'm dropping my mileage a bit this week so if it is indeed cool at the start, it's possible that my 1:29:51 PR is in play since I've been racing well this month and the course is generally flat. I'll predict a finish of 1:31-something. Last year, a mere 1:41 would've won the age group (and 1:35 was good for 3rd overall), but with the size of the field doubling this year (and the race now on a different weekend than Tour des Fleurs), that won't happen again.
Plano, Texas
WHEN?
Sunday, Sept. 23
WHY?
Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon
NO REALLY, WHY?
This is another race with no concrete motivation to take part in, other than it's there. If my toddler is in a good mood Sunday morning, she'll probably enjoy watching the balloons and moseying around the festival with my wife. If not, I'll head off solo again.
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
The race is sold out. My detective work suggests there are 500 entrants (400 announced at registration open, 100 added at the end of August).
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
A cold front is due to come through Saturday night so it might be just 60 degrees at the start, but it should warm up quickly as the sun goes up, so hurry up and finish before that happens.
HOW DO WE WIN?
I'm dropping my mileage a bit this week so if it is indeed cool at the start, it's possible that my 1:29:51 PR is in play since I've been racing well this month and the course is generally flat. I'll predict a finish of 1:31-something. Last year, a mere 1:41 would've won the age group (and 1:35 was good for 3rd overall), but with the size of the field doubling this year (and the race now on a different weekend than Tour des Fleurs), that won't happen again.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Race review: Tour des Fleurs 20K
ENOUGH WITH THE SMALL TALK. HOW'D IT GO?
My streak of strong runs continued with a 1:27:08, a minute shy of my goal time but perfectly fine given that I didn't think about the hills when I set my goal.
DID YOU WIN?
I don't know if the weather was much better this year -- I think it was just a little better -- or a lot more speedsters showed up, but a time that would've earned me 4th place in my age group last year was only good for 11th this time (out of 59). Overall I was 55th of 739, 49th of 381 men.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
The race was pretty standard White Rock fare until the 6-mile mark, when we turned off into the residential area and started hitting the hills. I crossed the 10K mat in 43:01 for a 6:55 average pace, just as planned.
The rest of the way, though, was a different story. It's just one hill after another through that Lakewood section, and I worked my butt off to get up each of them to try to sail down the other side. Somewhere along the way, maybe around mile 8 or so, I caught sight of esteemed masters runner Laura Nelson and made it my goal to catch her. I very gradually inched closer and really seemed to be gaining steam once I got back to the lake trail. I was within 100 yards as we hit mile marker 11.
But my last mile was a mess. I struggled to shift back into climbing mode for that one last hill by the spillway, and the turn back into the north headwind didn't help. I finished about 35 seconds behind Laura. I would've been another spot back in the standings, too, as another female runner sidled up to me with merely 30 yards to go. I couldn't pass the woman I was chasing but I was not about to get chicked here, so I dropped into a dead sprint and nosed this one out by less than a second.
WHAT ELSE?
I hadn't planned to, but I gave in and took the shuttle from Lakeside Baptist Church to the start. Many races in/near the lake sort of throw you to the wolves when it comes to parking, but TdF does a very good job of making sure you're where you need to be and you get to the start on time.
SPLITS?
7:01
6:46
6:55
6:57
6:51
6:50
7:12
7:00
7:02
7:09
6:47
7:24
7:11 pace last .47
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
You get a shirt. The money for any other goodies is devoted to prize money for top finishers and what I'm told are pretty nice awards for age-group winners, and I'm fine with that.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon, Sept. 23.
My streak of strong runs continued with a 1:27:08, a minute shy of my goal time but perfectly fine given that I didn't think about the hills when I set my goal.
DID YOU WIN?
I don't know if the weather was much better this year -- I think it was just a little better -- or a lot more speedsters showed up, but a time that would've earned me 4th place in my age group last year was only good for 11th this time (out of 59). Overall I was 55th of 739, 49th of 381 men.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
The race was pretty standard White Rock fare until the 6-mile mark, when we turned off into the residential area and started hitting the hills. I crossed the 10K mat in 43:01 for a 6:55 average pace, just as planned.
The rest of the way, though, was a different story. It's just one hill after another through that Lakewood section, and I worked my butt off to get up each of them to try to sail down the other side. Somewhere along the way, maybe around mile 8 or so, I caught sight of esteemed masters runner Laura Nelson and made it my goal to catch her. I very gradually inched closer and really seemed to be gaining steam once I got back to the lake trail. I was within 100 yards as we hit mile marker 11.
But my last mile was a mess. I struggled to shift back into climbing mode for that one last hill by the spillway, and the turn back into the north headwind didn't help. I finished about 35 seconds behind Laura. I would've been another spot back in the standings, too, as another female runner sidled up to me with merely 30 yards to go. I couldn't pass the woman I was chasing but I was not about to get chicked here, so I dropped into a dead sprint and nosed this one out by less than a second.
WHAT ELSE?
I hadn't planned to, but I gave in and took the shuttle from Lakeside Baptist Church to the start. Many races in/near the lake sort of throw you to the wolves when it comes to parking, but TdF does a very good job of making sure you're where you need to be and you get to the start on time.
SPLITS?
7:01
6:46
6:55
6:57
6:51
6:50
7:12
7:00
7:02
7:09
6:47
7:24
7:11 pace last .47
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
You get a shirt. The money for any other goodies is devoted to prize money for top finishers and what I'm told are pretty nice awards for age-group winners, and I'm fine with that.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon, Sept. 23.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Race preview: Tour des Fleurs 20K
WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Dallas
WHEN?
Saturday, Sept. 15
WHY?
Tour des Fleurs 20K
NO REALLY, WHY?
There's really no particular reason for me to run this race other than I've yet to run it (I did the 10K in '09).
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
The 20K will draw a little over 1000, with close to another 2000 in the 10K.
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
It looks like things are going to cool off again for the weekend, letting us get this race done in the middle to upper 60s.
HOW DO WE WIN?
I would like to follow up on a very strong run from this past weekend with another strong one. Beyond that, I'd like to go under 1:28. I should be under 1:26 but the weather might have something to say about that. Third place in my age group was a shade under 1:27 last year.
Dallas
WHEN?
Saturday, Sept. 15
WHY?
Tour des Fleurs 20K
NO REALLY, WHY?
There's really no particular reason for me to run this race other than I've yet to run it (I did the 10K in '09).
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
The 20K will draw a little over 1000, with close to another 2000 in the 10K.
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
It looks like things are going to cool off again for the weekend, letting us get this race done in the middle to upper 60s.
HOW DO WE WIN?
I would like to follow up on a very strong run from this past weekend with another strong one. Beyond that, I'd like to go under 1:28. I should be under 1:26 but the weather might have something to say about that. Third place in my age group was a shade under 1:27 last year.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Race review: Get Ready to Rock 20-Mile
ENOUGH WITH THE SMALL TALK. HOW'D IT GO?
This one gets an asterisk. I finished in 2:22:09, which would count as my highest age-graded score ever... but the course was almost surely short. My Garmin recorded 19.85 miles and though it's not official, my only Garmin experience has been that the mileage runs long vs. actuality.
DID YOU WIN?
On most days, in most races, on most planets, I would have been recognized as the 3rd-place finisher in my age group, since the actual fastest 30-something male was the overall winner and would have been pulled out of the age group standings. But no, I managed to find one of the extremely rare instances where the winner was allowed to double dip and claim the age group title as well. So officially, I was 4th of 35 in the 30-39 group and 9th of 202 overall.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
Ordinarily I would not have gone into this race 2 days after logging 14.5 miles, but this was not a true target race for me so I didn't worry about tapering. After running in ridiculous Texas heat all summer, the starting temperature in the low 50s was a welcome change, and I jumped out to a quick start before settling in for as many 7-ish-minute miles as I could.
About 5 miles in, I started to overtake some of the slower runners from one of the shorter races (5K or 10K, I'm not sure which). That gave me a little boost as I split off for two loops of Bald Eagle Lake. I was in 7th place.
At some point during the first half of the first loop, maybe 8 miles in, I chased down the guy in front of me, only to have a female runner zoom by. She went on to take 2nd overall and beat me by 10 minutes, which is a pretty remarkable combination of holding back in the beginning and/or hitting the gas, since I barely slowed down at the end.
I passed the 10-mile flag in 1:10:08, putting me well ahead of my 2:23 goal. Fatigue was creeping in and I just tried to hang on as long as I could. Halfway through the second loop I started to pass the back-of-the-pack folks running their first loop, which pushed me to leave all I could out on the course. With 2 miles to go I calculated that I needed only a couple of 7:43 miles to break 2:23, which put me at ease and probably led to me easing up a little (although I'm sure that was secondary to being really, really tired).
WHAT ELSE?
The lake loop was quite reminiscent of the familiar loop of White Rock Lake in that much of it was in the shade (but some stretches were totally exposed) and there was minimal elevation change, with just a couple of minor inclines (the total gain for the 20 miles was safely below 300 feet). This loop was shorter at 6.85 miles and much quieter. The views of the lake were pleasant and made one think of how great it would be to live around there... just not in the winter.
SPLITS?
6:54
7:03
7:14
7:04
7:06
7:04
7:04
7:14
7:05
7:01
7:02
7:15
7:22
7:13
7:19
7:06
7:15
7:01
7:28
7:24 pace last .86
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
I got a shirt. The overall winners got jackets from the race production company and the age group medalists got... medals (and $20 gift cards to some place I don't remember because I was bitter about not getting one).
WHAT'S NEXT?
Tour des Fleurs 20K, Saturday.
This one gets an asterisk. I finished in 2:22:09, which would count as my highest age-graded score ever... but the course was almost surely short. My Garmin recorded 19.85 miles and though it's not official, my only Garmin experience has been that the mileage runs long vs. actuality.
DID YOU WIN?
On most days, in most races, on most planets, I would have been recognized as the 3rd-place finisher in my age group, since the actual fastest 30-something male was the overall winner and would have been pulled out of the age group standings. But no, I managed to find one of the extremely rare instances where the winner was allowed to double dip and claim the age group title as well. So officially, I was 4th of 35 in the 30-39 group and 9th of 202 overall.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
Ordinarily I would not have gone into this race 2 days after logging 14.5 miles, but this was not a true target race for me so I didn't worry about tapering. After running in ridiculous Texas heat all summer, the starting temperature in the low 50s was a welcome change, and I jumped out to a quick start before settling in for as many 7-ish-minute miles as I could.
About 5 miles in, I started to overtake some of the slower runners from one of the shorter races (5K or 10K, I'm not sure which). That gave me a little boost as I split off for two loops of Bald Eagle Lake. I was in 7th place.
At some point during the first half of the first loop, maybe 8 miles in, I chased down the guy in front of me, only to have a female runner zoom by. She went on to take 2nd overall and beat me by 10 minutes, which is a pretty remarkable combination of holding back in the beginning and/or hitting the gas, since I barely slowed down at the end.
I passed the 10-mile flag in 1:10:08, putting me well ahead of my 2:23 goal. Fatigue was creeping in and I just tried to hang on as long as I could. Halfway through the second loop I started to pass the back-of-the-pack folks running their first loop, which pushed me to leave all I could out on the course. With 2 miles to go I calculated that I needed only a couple of 7:43 miles to break 2:23, which put me at ease and probably led to me easing up a little (although I'm sure that was secondary to being really, really tired).
WHAT ELSE?
The lake loop was quite reminiscent of the familiar loop of White Rock Lake in that much of it was in the shade (but some stretches were totally exposed) and there was minimal elevation change, with just a couple of minor inclines (the total gain for the 20 miles was safely below 300 feet). This loop was shorter at 6.85 miles and much quieter. The views of the lake were pleasant and made one think of how great it would be to live around there... just not in the winter.
SPLITS?
6:54
7:03
7:14
7:04
7:06
7:04
7:04
7:14
7:05
7:01
7:02
7:15
7:22
7:13
7:19
7:06
7:15
7:01
7:28
7:24 pace last .86
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
I got a shirt. The overall winners got jackets from the race production company and the age group medalists got... medals (and $20 gift cards to some place I don't remember because I was bitter about not getting one).
WHAT'S NEXT?
Tour des Fleurs 20K, Saturday.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Race preview: Get Ready to Rock 20-Mile
WHERE ARE WE GOING?
White Bear Lake, MN
WHEN?
Saturday, Sept. 8
WHY?
Get Ready to Rock 20-Mile
NO REALLY, WHY?
We're taking a family trip to visit my wife's sister and a friend of hers from medical school. I'm not going to let an escape from Texas heat go to waste.
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
Looks like something on the order of 200 runners for what is usually a tune-up for the Twin Cities Marathon, run 4 weeks later. There are 5K and 10K races also.
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
Glorious, just glorious. Low 50s at the start, low 60s at the finish. Fully 25 degrees cooler than my race yesterday. It will be magnificent.
HOW DO WE WIN?
I learned from yesterday's race not to make any guesses about where I might place in a race, because you never know who else might see last year's results and go cherry-picking. But I should be in the mix for an age group award -- 3rd, not 1st -- if tradition holds and I run around a 2:23 as I should. I'll be happy with anything under 2:27.
White Bear Lake, MN
WHEN?
Saturday, Sept. 8
WHY?
Get Ready to Rock 20-Mile
NO REALLY, WHY?
We're taking a family trip to visit my wife's sister and a friend of hers from medical school. I'm not going to let an escape from Texas heat go to waste.
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
Looks like something on the order of 200 runners for what is usually a tune-up for the Twin Cities Marathon, run 4 weeks later. There are 5K and 10K races also.
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
Glorious, just glorious. Low 50s at the start, low 60s at the finish. Fully 25 degrees cooler than my race yesterday. It will be magnificent.
HOW DO WE WIN?
I learned from yesterday's race not to make any guesses about where I might place in a race, because you never know who else might see last year's results and go cherry-picking. But I should be in the mix for an age group award -- 3rd, not 1st -- if tradition holds and I run around a 2:23 as I should. I'll be happy with anything under 2:27.
Race review: Labor Day 15K
ENOUGH
WITH THE SMALL TALK. HOW'D IT GO?
I faded late and finished in 1:04:41, a couple minutes shy of my July PR but still a couple minutes ahead of my time at this distance last summer.
DID YOU WIN?
I collected a trophy for finishing 3rd in my age group (of 11) and 8th overall (of 164). I threw out the bold prediction that I'd have a shot at winning based on my time from Too Hot to Handle and the winning time at this race last year, but even with a PR I'd have only placed 1 spot higher. Clearly those other 6 dudes read my blog.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
I tried to hang back a little over the first mile, since that worked so well last time, but soon I had sped up a little too much. I was through 5K in 20:56, 18 seconds faster than Too Hot to Handle. After that point, the small race field made it hard to track anyone down (or hear any footsteps). I went about my business until the guy in front of me missed the turnaround and I slipped in front of him. (He only lost about 15-20 seconds and passed me in the last mile, so it all evened out.)
On the way back I started feeling some fatigue around mile 7. The late fade I escaped in my last race made an unwelcome reappearance, and the segment along Mockingbird to the finish was a struggle (the hill a mile from the finish was a short but firm ass-kicker). To top things off, my left shoelaces came untied with half a mile to go. That was a first.
WHAT ELSE?
For a couple weeks, my 2-year-old daughter had been waking us up at random points in the middle of the night, generally within arm's reach of 2:30. We got her a new pillow, and that stopped (probably a coincidence). But now she's on a kick of getting up at 5:30, so my wife decided that the two of them would come along and cheer me on since they were up anyway. It's a fun thing to push hard to the finish when they're out there rooting for me.
SPLITS?
6:48
6:43
6:37
6:47
6:54
6:46
6:47
7:09
7:21
6:54 pace last .41
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
OK, I hate to be the guy who complains about the quality of awards at a low-key race, but here I go. The problem with the awards is this: Everyone in the 15K gets a medal, but the awards run so deep that by my very rough math, 63 percent of finishers got trophies. Ditch the finisher medals and upgrade the trophies, or give everyone a medal but only give trophies to age-group winners. Going 5 deep for trophies is goofy when some age groups don't even have 5 finishers.
But for reference, here are the medal and trophy (apologies for the fuzziness; my usual picture-taker is temporarily out of service):
WHAT'S NEXT?
Get Ready to Rock 20-Mile, Saturday.
I faded late and finished in 1:04:41, a couple minutes shy of my July PR but still a couple minutes ahead of my time at this distance last summer.
DID YOU WIN?
I collected a trophy for finishing 3rd in my age group (of 11) and 8th overall (of 164). I threw out the bold prediction that I'd have a shot at winning based on my time from Too Hot to Handle and the winning time at this race last year, but even with a PR I'd have only placed 1 spot higher. Clearly those other 6 dudes read my blog.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
I tried to hang back a little over the first mile, since that worked so well last time, but soon I had sped up a little too much. I was through 5K in 20:56, 18 seconds faster than Too Hot to Handle. After that point, the small race field made it hard to track anyone down (or hear any footsteps). I went about my business until the guy in front of me missed the turnaround and I slipped in front of him. (He only lost about 15-20 seconds and passed me in the last mile, so it all evened out.)
On the way back I started feeling some fatigue around mile 7. The late fade I escaped in my last race made an unwelcome reappearance, and the segment along Mockingbird to the finish was a struggle (the hill a mile from the finish was a short but firm ass-kicker). To top things off, my left shoelaces came untied with half a mile to go. That was a first.
WHAT ELSE?
For a couple weeks, my 2-year-old daughter had been waking us up at random points in the middle of the night, generally within arm's reach of 2:30. We got her a new pillow, and that stopped (probably a coincidence). But now she's on a kick of getting up at 5:30, so my wife decided that the two of them would come along and cheer me on since they were up anyway. It's a fun thing to push hard to the finish when they're out there rooting for me.
SPLITS?
6:48
6:43
6:37
6:47
6:54
6:46
6:47
7:09
7:21
6:54 pace last .41
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
OK, I hate to be the guy who complains about the quality of awards at a low-key race, but here I go. The problem with the awards is this: Everyone in the 15K gets a medal, but the awards run so deep that by my very rough math, 63 percent of finishers got trophies. Ditch the finisher medals and upgrade the trophies, or give everyone a medal but only give trophies to age-group winners. Going 5 deep for trophies is goofy when some age groups don't even have 5 finishers.
But for reference, here are the medal and trophy (apologies for the fuzziness; my usual picture-taker is temporarily out of service):
WHAT'S NEXT?
Get Ready to Rock 20-Mile, Saturday.
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