WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Huntsville, Texas
WHEN?
Saturday, Feb. 2
WHY?
Rocky Raccoon 100
NO REALLY, WHY?
This is the one all the cool kids run, the biggest 100-mile race in this part of the world and a favorite of first-timers. I signed up the day registration opened 8 months ago, when I still would have been a first-timer.
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
At the moment there are 383 folks on the list for the 100 and 379 for the 50. I have more friends and acquaintances in this race than any I've done before -- I told you this is where the cool kids go -- and expect to meet a few more folks this weekend as well. The out-and-back-ish course layout, with some sections of two-way traffic, will make for plenty of chances to see familiar faces.
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
It's looking a little on the warm side by historical standards -- high around 70, low around 50 -- but I'm OK with that as long as it doesn't rain, and it's looking like after Tuesday we'll be in the clear.
HOW DO WE WIN?
Having only completed 1 100 in 3 attempts, my first goal is still just to finish, but getting the last one done under 24 hours (on an easier surface but with a little more elevation gain) obviously has me targeting the same result this time. The stretch goal is to go under 23. Improper recovery from Houston left me with a mild case of Achilles tendinitis, but with a couple weeks of aggressive rest, I should be OK.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Race review: Houston Marathon
ENOUGH WITH THE SMALL TALK. HOW'D IT GO?
I nearly coughed up a huge cushion under my Boston qualifying time but saved myself in the last mile, running a 3:09:42 to qualify by 18 seconds (and break my PR by 3:13).
DID YOU WIN?
Absolutely. I was less than fully confident about my training coming into this race, but it turned out to be enough. I'm really excited about proving to myself that my other BQ (Grandma's 2011) was not some wind-aided fluke (well, it might've been, but this race surely wasn't). I came in 225th place out of 6674 finishers, 195th of 4111 men and 41st of 638 in my division.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
I was extremely anxious about the weather heading into this race, which was the only one I had planned to try to qualify for Boston 2014. With forecasts calling for a better-than-even chance of thunderstorms on race morning, I was so worried about the race being black-flagged I started looking up backup plans (A2A, Fargo, even Big Cottonwood). My fears never came to pass, thankfully; there was no precipitation outside of a short shower 10 minutes before the race, a rainy first mile and some mist here and there.
My plan was to run with the 3:10 pacer, but he was just about the last guy to enter corral A, long after I was wedged in closer to the front. After crossing the starting line, I thought about hanging back and waiting for him before realizing what a mistake that would be (I'd have to make that time up later, assuming he would run a perfect 3:10:00). So I went off by myself.
I was well under control and on pace for the first mile, but the combination of coming over the Elysian Viaduct and merging courses with the half marathoners sped me up, and I went with it. Turning south at mile 5, I knew I'd have the wind at my back and should take advantage before having to repay the loan later in the race. My 5K splits dropped from 21:46 to 21:30 to 21:26.
Just before mile 11, I turned west by Rice University and started to feel the wind in my face. I slowed a little but was still churning out 7:00-ish miles, going further under 7:15 pace. I crossed the mat at 13.1 in 1:31:11, almost 4 minutes below where I needed to be. But the back half of a marathon is still a long way to go, so I tried to stifle any thoughts that I had this in the bag.
The climb over the bridge on Westpark (after mile 14) was a short but tough one, combining a steep grade with a wicked crosswind. I continued to slow down a little on the trek north through the Galleria area, but the losses were small, and I was buoyed knowing that I'd soon be heading back to the east and should have the wind out of my face the rest of the way.
Only, it didn't work out exactly that way. Running through Memorial Park often meant choosing between taking tangents and lessening the wind's effect (I stuck with the former). As the course snaked through the final miles, each little curve to the left brought a new shot of resistance and a little more of a struggle to keep my tiring legs moving forward at the same speed. I still had a couple minutes to spare, but my cushion was eroding quickly.
With a mile to go, I re-entered the downtown area and spotted my wife and daughter on the sidewalk cheering for me. I gave them a confident wave, but inside I was starting to panic. I was running as hard as I could, but the wind rushing between the skyscrapers was tossing me all over the place. On one block it would be at my back; the next, at my face. I made the last left turn at the convention center and hustled to the finish, finally able to throw two fists in the air as I crossed the line.
When I got a first look at my splits later, I realized how close I had cut it to 3:10 (aside, of course, from already knowing the final result). Each mile got slower from 19 through 25. If 26 had continued that trend, I wouldn't have made it.
WHAT ELSE?
Other than the weather, my biggest concern was my shoes. I've been transitioning to lower-drop shoes over the last year and am finally to the point that I'm logging most of my miles in zero-drop shoes, specifically the original Altra Instincts. I was less than confident about my ability to run a fast marathon in them because they're moderately heavy and I'd read thoughts from some folks who felt they just couldn't run as fast in zero-drop shoes as in ones with a little bit of a heel. But the only other shoes in my closet I'd even consider would be my New Balance 205 or Nike Zoom Streak racing flats that don't have enough cushion for me to wear past 13.1 (and they're really not intended to go that far). I went with the Instincts anyway; maybe I could've run a 3:08 in other shoes, but I did what needed to be done so I'll leave that question unanswered for now.
Someone mentioned course scenery recently and it occurred to me that I tend to pay little attention to my surroundings so the scenic aspect of many races is lost on me (unless I don't really care about my time). Thanks to the combination of puddles and extreme focus on the clock, this race probably saw me pay the least attention of all. I remember bits and pieces of the course, like the stadium at Rice or the Galleria, but enough to say whether it's really a good course? No idea. There are 6 or 7 overpasses or underpasses and the rest of it is totally flat, I can tell you that much, but what it gives you of Houston, I couldn't say.
The race is advertised as having huge crowd support, and while the raw conditions put a damper (get it?) on turnout, there was a pretty good sprinkling of folks along the route. I was pleased with the volunteers as well, especially the guy I slumped on at the finish who helped keep me upright for 50 yards or so. I really would've been impressed by anyone standing out in the rain at the first aid station, but those folks filled the cups and took cover (I have no problem with this; if it's not warm, you really don't need a water stop a mile and a half in). The rest of the aid stations were well organized and predictable, with several Gatorade tables followed by a gap and then several water tables. The aid stations on the joint marathon/half route stretched for 100 yards or more. These were done right.
The post-race food, on the other hand, was a lowlight -- not the quality so much as the availability. After collecting my medal, a bottle of water and a banana outside, I went into the convention center to find a line for hot food that was hundreds of people deep. All the three-hour half-marathoners got to help themselves alongside the front-of-the-pack marathoners. I try to be careful about coming off as a snob when it comes to how fast folks run, but this just wasn't right. The marathoners should have had a separate entry, or a jump-the-line pass, or just something to be able to go in and get some food. I didn't wait; I walked back to the hotel and got a sandwich in the time it would've taken me to get anything.
SPLITS?
7:19
6:49
6:53
6:51
6:54
6:48
6:54
6:52
6:55
6:56
6:51
6:58
7:03
7:03
7:11
7:01
7:24
7:24
7:13
7:24
7:30
7:34
7:40
7:44
7:53
7:36
8:08 pace last .37
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
The white cotton T for entrants will be donated, but the red tech T for finishers is decent (although I'd prefer long sleeves). I like the medal and mug, which is kind of odd given that I've pieced together a pretty good kitchen cabinet of glassware from races and never taken a sip out of any of them:
WHAT'S NEXT?
Rocky Raccoon 100, Feb. 2.
I nearly coughed up a huge cushion under my Boston qualifying time but saved myself in the last mile, running a 3:09:42 to qualify by 18 seconds (and break my PR by 3:13).
DID YOU WIN?
Absolutely. I was less than fully confident about my training coming into this race, but it turned out to be enough. I'm really excited about proving to myself that my other BQ (Grandma's 2011) was not some wind-aided fluke (well, it might've been, but this race surely wasn't). I came in 225th place out of 6674 finishers, 195th of 4111 men and 41st of 638 in my division.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
I was extremely anxious about the weather heading into this race, which was the only one I had planned to try to qualify for Boston 2014. With forecasts calling for a better-than-even chance of thunderstorms on race morning, I was so worried about the race being black-flagged I started looking up backup plans (A2A, Fargo, even Big Cottonwood). My fears never came to pass, thankfully; there was no precipitation outside of a short shower 10 minutes before the race, a rainy first mile and some mist here and there.
My plan was to run with the 3:10 pacer, but he was just about the last guy to enter corral A, long after I was wedged in closer to the front. After crossing the starting line, I thought about hanging back and waiting for him before realizing what a mistake that would be (I'd have to make that time up later, assuming he would run a perfect 3:10:00). So I went off by myself.
I was well under control and on pace for the first mile, but the combination of coming over the Elysian Viaduct and merging courses with the half marathoners sped me up, and I went with it. Turning south at mile 5, I knew I'd have the wind at my back and should take advantage before having to repay the loan later in the race. My 5K splits dropped from 21:46 to 21:30 to 21:26.
Just before mile 11, I turned west by Rice University and started to feel the wind in my face. I slowed a little but was still churning out 7:00-ish miles, going further under 7:15 pace. I crossed the mat at 13.1 in 1:31:11, almost 4 minutes below where I needed to be. But the back half of a marathon is still a long way to go, so I tried to stifle any thoughts that I had this in the bag.
The climb over the bridge on Westpark (after mile 14) was a short but tough one, combining a steep grade with a wicked crosswind. I continued to slow down a little on the trek north through the Galleria area, but the losses were small, and I was buoyed knowing that I'd soon be heading back to the east and should have the wind out of my face the rest of the way.
Only, it didn't work out exactly that way. Running through Memorial Park often meant choosing between taking tangents and lessening the wind's effect (I stuck with the former). As the course snaked through the final miles, each little curve to the left brought a new shot of resistance and a little more of a struggle to keep my tiring legs moving forward at the same speed. I still had a couple minutes to spare, but my cushion was eroding quickly.
With a mile to go, I re-entered the downtown area and spotted my wife and daughter on the sidewalk cheering for me. I gave them a confident wave, but inside I was starting to panic. I was running as hard as I could, but the wind rushing between the skyscrapers was tossing me all over the place. On one block it would be at my back; the next, at my face. I made the last left turn at the convention center and hustled to the finish, finally able to throw two fists in the air as I crossed the line.
When I got a first look at my splits later, I realized how close I had cut it to 3:10 (aside, of course, from already knowing the final result). Each mile got slower from 19 through 25. If 26 had continued that trend, I wouldn't have made it.
WHAT ELSE?
Other than the weather, my biggest concern was my shoes. I've been transitioning to lower-drop shoes over the last year and am finally to the point that I'm logging most of my miles in zero-drop shoes, specifically the original Altra Instincts. I was less than confident about my ability to run a fast marathon in them because they're moderately heavy and I'd read thoughts from some folks who felt they just couldn't run as fast in zero-drop shoes as in ones with a little bit of a heel. But the only other shoes in my closet I'd even consider would be my New Balance 205 or Nike Zoom Streak racing flats that don't have enough cushion for me to wear past 13.1 (and they're really not intended to go that far). I went with the Instincts anyway; maybe I could've run a 3:08 in other shoes, but I did what needed to be done so I'll leave that question unanswered for now.
Someone mentioned course scenery recently and it occurred to me that I tend to pay little attention to my surroundings so the scenic aspect of many races is lost on me (unless I don't really care about my time). Thanks to the combination of puddles and extreme focus on the clock, this race probably saw me pay the least attention of all. I remember bits and pieces of the course, like the stadium at Rice or the Galleria, but enough to say whether it's really a good course? No idea. There are 6 or 7 overpasses or underpasses and the rest of it is totally flat, I can tell you that much, but what it gives you of Houston, I couldn't say.
The race is advertised as having huge crowd support, and while the raw conditions put a damper (get it?) on turnout, there was a pretty good sprinkling of folks along the route. I was pleased with the volunteers as well, especially the guy I slumped on at the finish who helped keep me upright for 50 yards or so. I really would've been impressed by anyone standing out in the rain at the first aid station, but those folks filled the cups and took cover (I have no problem with this; if it's not warm, you really don't need a water stop a mile and a half in). The rest of the aid stations were well organized and predictable, with several Gatorade tables followed by a gap and then several water tables. The aid stations on the joint marathon/half route stretched for 100 yards or more. These were done right.
The post-race food, on the other hand, was a lowlight -- not the quality so much as the availability. After collecting my medal, a bottle of water and a banana outside, I went into the convention center to find a line for hot food that was hundreds of people deep. All the three-hour half-marathoners got to help themselves alongside the front-of-the-pack marathoners. I try to be careful about coming off as a snob when it comes to how fast folks run, but this just wasn't right. The marathoners should have had a separate entry, or a jump-the-line pass, or just something to be able to go in and get some food. I didn't wait; I walked back to the hotel and got a sandwich in the time it would've taken me to get anything.
SPLITS?
7:19
6:49
6:53
6:51
6:54
6:48
6:54
6:52
6:55
6:56
6:51
6:58
7:03
7:03
7:11
7:01
7:24
7:24
7:13
7:24
7:30
7:34
7:40
7:44
7:53
7:36
8:08 pace last .37
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
The white cotton T for entrants will be donated, but the red tech T for finishers is decent (although I'd prefer long sleeves). I like the medal and mug, which is kind of odd given that I've pieced together a pretty good kitchen cabinet of glassware from races and never taken a sip out of any of them:
Rocky Raccoon 100, Feb. 2.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Race preview: Houston Marathon
WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Houston, Texas
WHEN?
Sunday, Jan. 13
WHY?
Chevron Houston Marathon
NO REALLY, WHY?
This is my one good crack at qualifying for Boston in 2014 (unless I don't make it and then I'll probably scramble to come up with something else, but I'll deal with that later if I have to).
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
They claim there are 13,000 marathoners and 12,000 half marathoners, but I see that last year there were only 7,600-some marathon finishers, so I guess the real number is somewhere in between. Nevertheless, the flat course, competitive field, big crowds and (usually) agreeable weather make this one of the biggest second-tier marathons in the country.
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
My first concern with race weather is usually the temperature, but it looks like we nailed it this time: should be right at 50 for the whole race. The other two legs of the stool are going to be awfully wobbly, though. Rain looks more likely than not, but more critically, a north wind of 15-20 mph appears looming. I'm not worried about the first 2 miles being into the wind; there will be plenty of folks in front of me to do the work. The other tricky section will be from miles 13-18, when the course stair-steps to the northwest. I'm hoping to have a little time in the bank from running south with a tailwind from miles 5-11, if the pacer sees it my way.
HOW DO WE WIN?
3:10 or bust.
Houston, Texas
WHEN?
Sunday, Jan. 13
WHY?
Chevron Houston Marathon
NO REALLY, WHY?
This is my one good crack at qualifying for Boston in 2014 (unless I don't make it and then I'll probably scramble to come up with something else, but I'll deal with that later if I have to).
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
They claim there are 13,000 marathoners and 12,000 half marathoners, but I see that last year there were only 7,600-some marathon finishers, so I guess the real number is somewhere in between. Nevertheless, the flat course, competitive field, big crowds and (usually) agreeable weather make this one of the biggest second-tier marathons in the country.
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
My first concern with race weather is usually the temperature, but it looks like we nailed it this time: should be right at 50 for the whole race. The other two legs of the stool are going to be awfully wobbly, though. Rain looks more likely than not, but more critically, a north wind of 15-20 mph appears looming. I'm not worried about the first 2 miles being into the wind; there will be plenty of folks in front of me to do the work. The other tricky section will be from miles 13-18, when the course stair-steps to the northwest. I'm hoping to have a little time in the bank from running south with a tailwind from miles 5-11, if the pacer sees it my way.
HOW DO WE WIN?
3:10 or bust.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Year in review
Another year is behind me, my fifth as a runner. It was a big year off the pavement for me as I obtained my personal training and running coach certifications and turned my career attention to something I really enjoy for a change. And when I did put on some shoes to go run, things went pretty well.
I'll be around 1770 miles for the year, a couple hundred more than I logged last year. What did I get for those miles? Let's start with looking at how I did in reaching the goals I set a year ago:
SCORECARD: 3 5Ks, 2 10Ks, 2 15Ks, 1 20K, 2 half marathons, 1 30K, 1 20-mile, 4 marathons, 2 50Ks, 1 8-hour, 1 100 -- 431.22 race miles (about a marathon longer than last year, plus 140.45 miles in 2 DNFs)
PRs: 10K (40:30), 15K (1:02:51), half marathon (1:29:13), 8-hour (43.7 miles), 50 miles (unofficial, 9:19 split at Heartland), 100 miles (23:12:36). I was glad to finally bring the 10K time down closer to where it should be, but I think there is still a little fat to trim.
RUN OF THE YEAR: DRC Half. After 16 half marathons, I thought I'd done most all I could at that distance. The DRC course is not particularly easy and I was going into the race with an annoyance in my left foot, so I wanted to just chase the 1:30 pacers for as far as I could. By the halfway point, they were behind me, and I ended up shaving 38 seconds off my PR (on a day that several friends took minutes off of theirs).
DUD OF THE YEAR: 4 Pines 4 Ways 50K. I was probably a little worn out from running Boston and Big Sur in the preceding month and set my expectations too high, but I really should have done better than 5:15 on this rather tame grass course..
EVENT OF THE YEAR: Heartland 100. Kind of a layup choice in this category, but this really was the best production on my calendar. Great communication from the race directors and truly superior aid station support from the volunteers. Someone asked me last week if I would recommend this race and I was probably less enthusiastic than I should have been. For a first-timer, this is a perfect choice.
NON-EVENT OF THE YEAR: 8-Hour Run from the Ducks. You can't have kids counting laps. You just can't.
HOTEL OF THE YEAR: Park Plaza, Boston. If you're running Boston, you need to make your arrangements through Golden Adventures and stay at this place. The rooms themselves are nothing special but the location (near the finish line, the subway and many restaurants) is unbeatable.
BIG GOALS FOR NEXT YEAR: 3:10 at Houston. Sub-24 at Rocky Raccoon. 19:00 at Dash Down Greenville. 40:00 in a 10K. Break any ultra PR. 200 miles at the Ultracentric 72-hour.
I'll be around 1770 miles for the year, a couple hundred more than I logged last year. What did I get for those miles? Let's start with looking at how I did in reaching the goals I set a year ago:
- Run the New Year's Day marathon to complete the New Year's Double. Yes, I did run this race. Not well, mind you (4:15:51), but I ran it.
- Finish Rouge-Orleans alive. Didn't happen. Well, I lived, obviously, but I didn't finish the race. I stepped in a hole at about mile 15 that mildly sprained my ankle. It wasn't enough to end my race right there; rather, the swelling oh-so-slowly built up over the next many hours until I reached the point where I could hardly walk. Fifty miles after the misstep, I dropped.
- Break 19:00 at Dash Down Greenville. Not even close. The injury sidelined me for a couple of weeks and pretty much nixed any fast running I would have done in the 5 weeks between R-O and DDG. I managed only a 20:03.
- PR at Boston. It was in the upper 80s that day. I didn't even try.
- Run 6 marathons in 16 days in the fall to hit level 6 of Maniacs. This was pretty much in pencil to begin with, but when I couldn't make the logistics work, I scrapped it.
- Go sub-24 at Old Dominion 100 or Cajun Coyote 100. This one gets an asterisk. I had an outside chance at getting there at Old Dominion, but I hadn't practiced power-walking or, more importantly, fighting through emotional low points. It got dark, I got to the hard part of the course (mile 75), and I quit. I opted to run Heartland instead of Cajun Coyote and got my sub-24 finish.
So, I guess you could say I missed most of my goals, but there were extenuating circumstances for some of them. The year was more of a success than not, certainly. Some superlatives:
SCORECARD: 3 5Ks, 2 10Ks, 2 15Ks, 1 20K, 2 half marathons, 1 30K, 1 20-mile, 4 marathons, 2 50Ks, 1 8-hour, 1 100 -- 431.22 race miles (about a marathon longer than last year, plus 140.45 miles in 2 DNFs)
PRs: 10K (40:30), 15K (1:02:51), half marathon (1:29:13), 8-hour (43.7 miles), 50 miles (unofficial, 9:19 split at Heartland), 100 miles (23:12:36). I was glad to finally bring the 10K time down closer to where it should be, but I think there is still a little fat to trim.
RUN OF THE YEAR: DRC Half. After 16 half marathons, I thought I'd done most all I could at that distance. The DRC course is not particularly easy and I was going into the race with an annoyance in my left foot, so I wanted to just chase the 1:30 pacers for as far as I could. By the halfway point, they were behind me, and I ended up shaving 38 seconds off my PR (on a day that several friends took minutes off of theirs).
DUD OF THE YEAR: 4 Pines 4 Ways 50K. I was probably a little worn out from running Boston and Big Sur in the preceding month and set my expectations too high, but I really should have done better than 5:15 on this rather tame grass course..
EVENT OF THE YEAR: Heartland 100. Kind of a layup choice in this category, but this really was the best production on my calendar. Great communication from the race directors and truly superior aid station support from the volunteers. Someone asked me last week if I would recommend this race and I was probably less enthusiastic than I should have been. For a first-timer, this is a perfect choice.
NON-EVENT OF THE YEAR: 8-Hour Run from the Ducks. You can't have kids counting laps. You just can't.
HOTEL OF THE YEAR: Park Plaza, Boston. If you're running Boston, you need to make your arrangements through Golden Adventures and stay at this place. The rooms themselves are nothing special but the location (near the finish line, the subway and many restaurants) is unbeatable.
BIG GOALS FOR NEXT YEAR: 3:10 at Houston. Sub-24 at Rocky Raccoon. 19:00 at Dash Down Greenville. 40:00 in a 10K. Break any ultra PR. 200 miles at the Ultracentric 72-hour.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Race review: Isle du Bois 54K
ENOUGH WITH THE SMALL TALK. HOW'D IT GO?
I stayed more or less upright for 33.89 miles and 6 hours, 33 minutes, 33 seconds, finishing my longest run on almost entirely rocky single-track trail to date without shedding any blood.
DID YOU WIN?
I'm considering it a win that I didn't fall to the ground at any point (although I came close with increasing regularity as the day went on). In the official standings I was 23rd of 57 overall, 21st of 34 men. Not bad for someone with so few trail miles under his belt.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
I pieced together a few trail miles over the last couple of weeks but certainly not enough to determine what level of effort I could sustain over several hours. So my plan was pretty much just to go as hard as I could for as long as I could and see how much farther I had to go after that.
I ran easily down the opening paved section and joined the trail at about 1.25 miles. A few of us were still bunched up, but running at about the effort I would have been going anyway. The guy in front of me remarked that he was almost exclusively a road runner, which made 2 of us. There were many more rocks than I'd expected, and a few sections of sand weren't much fun either. I had a couple of meaningful stumbles but managed to catch myself on a tree and a trail marker. I felt great as I finished the first loop (just shy of 11 miles) in 8th place in 1:38:52.
Then things really got fun. For the last two loops, most of the paved section was swapped out for a longer section of the rocky stuff. I kept running -- or maintaining some kind of motion intended to emulate running -- but my pace slowed noticeably, about 2 minutes per mile compared to the first loop. A few folks passed me here and there, and a little before the end of the second loop I finally had to break down and start walking a bit. The second loop was done in 3:44:56 and I was down to 15th place. I crunched the numbers and figured if I tailed off the same amount from loop 2 to 3 as I did from 1 to 2, I'd be finished in 6:15, right at my pre-race goal.
That fuzzy math didn't hold up, though, as my woeful level of undertraining went on full display on the final loop. I ran when I could but those stretches rarely lasted more than a couple of minutes and were usually much shorter. My worn-out legs couldn't pick my feet off the ground enough to keep from stumbling nearly a dozen times. I might've started swearing. When I finally made it back to the last paved section, I wanted to break out in a sprint, but my stride was so short I almost couldn't even keep up with myself. Stretching after the race felt especially satisfying.
WHAT ELSE?
This race fills a key spot in the pecking order of trail races. It's not easy, and you won't be coddled... but it's also not so hard that you emerge from the woods as a mess of blood and broken bones. I appreciate the heavy emphasis on local sponsorship... especially the Mexican restaurant down the road that provided the post-race burritos. And it's cup-free, so a handheld is a necessity.
SPLITS?
8:19
10:19
9:33
9:21
9:25
9:45
9:58
9:48
9:33
9:56
9:32
10:01
11:13
10:39
10:49
11:49
11:50
11:57
12:04
11:58
14:15
12:27
13:54
16:22
16:28
15:48
16:10
15:55
16:42
16:57
15:20
13:43
10:12 pace last .18
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
You get a comfy long-sleeve bamboo shirt for entering. No medal for finishing; instead it's a small medallion and a bottle of local honey:
WHAT'S NEXT?
Houston Marathon, Jan. 13.
I stayed more or less upright for 33.89 miles and 6 hours, 33 minutes, 33 seconds, finishing my longest run on almost entirely rocky single-track trail to date without shedding any blood.
DID YOU WIN?
I'm considering it a win that I didn't fall to the ground at any point (although I came close with increasing regularity as the day went on). In the official standings I was 23rd of 57 overall, 21st of 34 men. Not bad for someone with so few trail miles under his belt.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
I pieced together a few trail miles over the last couple of weeks but certainly not enough to determine what level of effort I could sustain over several hours. So my plan was pretty much just to go as hard as I could for as long as I could and see how much farther I had to go after that.
I ran easily down the opening paved section and joined the trail at about 1.25 miles. A few of us were still bunched up, but running at about the effort I would have been going anyway. The guy in front of me remarked that he was almost exclusively a road runner, which made 2 of us. There were many more rocks than I'd expected, and a few sections of sand weren't much fun either. I had a couple of meaningful stumbles but managed to catch myself on a tree and a trail marker. I felt great as I finished the first loop (just shy of 11 miles) in 8th place in 1:38:52.
Then things really got fun. For the last two loops, most of the paved section was swapped out for a longer section of the rocky stuff. I kept running -- or maintaining some kind of motion intended to emulate running -- but my pace slowed noticeably, about 2 minutes per mile compared to the first loop. A few folks passed me here and there, and a little before the end of the second loop I finally had to break down and start walking a bit. The second loop was done in 3:44:56 and I was down to 15th place. I crunched the numbers and figured if I tailed off the same amount from loop 2 to 3 as I did from 1 to 2, I'd be finished in 6:15, right at my pre-race goal.
That fuzzy math didn't hold up, though, as my woeful level of undertraining went on full display on the final loop. I ran when I could but those stretches rarely lasted more than a couple of minutes and were usually much shorter. My worn-out legs couldn't pick my feet off the ground enough to keep from stumbling nearly a dozen times. I might've started swearing. When I finally made it back to the last paved section, I wanted to break out in a sprint, but my stride was so short I almost couldn't even keep up with myself. Stretching after the race felt especially satisfying.
WHAT ELSE?
This race fills a key spot in the pecking order of trail races. It's not easy, and you won't be coddled... but it's also not so hard that you emerge from the woods as a mess of blood and broken bones. I appreciate the heavy emphasis on local sponsorship... especially the Mexican restaurant down the road that provided the post-race burritos. And it's cup-free, so a handheld is a necessity.
SPLITS?
8:19
10:19
9:33
9:21
9:25
9:45
9:58
9:48
9:33
9:56
9:32
10:01
11:13
10:39
10:49
11:49
11:50
11:57
12:04
11:58
14:15
12:27
13:54
16:22
16:28
15:48
16:10
15:55
16:42
16:57
15:20
13:43
10:12 pace last .18
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
You get a comfy long-sleeve bamboo shirt for entering. No medal for finishing; instead it's a small medallion and a bottle of local honey:
Houston Marathon, Jan. 13.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Race preview: Isle du Bois 54K
WHERE ARE WE GOING?
Pilot Point, Texas
WHEN?
Saturday, Dec. 8
WHY?
Isle du Bois 54K
NO REALLY, WHY?
I don't know... maybe to count as Rocky Raccoon training? It's certainly an oddball race on my schedule; I couldn't really tell you why I'm doing this and not White Rock.
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
As of now there are 90 entrants in the 54K and 152 in the 18K. Some of these are folks I am familiar with but haven't met in person yet. Come say hi; I'll be number 524 and I'm thinking I'll go with the Marathon Maniacs singlet this time.
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
We'll be starting in the low 50s and trying to finish before it gets too warm; it could easily by 75 by the time I'm done. And humid? You bet.
HOW DO WE WIN?
A while back I threw out a prediction of 5:40 that I almost immediately regretted (and still do). I still struggle to get it through my head how much slower I am on trails than roads (everyone is, of course, but me, especially so). I'll put 6:15 out there as a target -- about an 11-minute pace.
Pilot Point, Texas
WHEN?
Saturday, Dec. 8
WHY?
Isle du Bois 54K
NO REALLY, WHY?
I don't know... maybe to count as Rocky Raccoon training? It's certainly an oddball race on my schedule; I couldn't really tell you why I'm doing this and not White Rock.
WHO ELSE IS GOING?
As of now there are 90 entrants in the 54K and 152 in the 18K. Some of these are folks I am familiar with but haven't met in person yet. Come say hi; I'll be number 524 and I'm thinking I'll go with the Marathon Maniacs singlet this time.
WHAT'S THE FORECAST?
We'll be starting in the low 50s and trying to finish before it gets too warm; it could easily by 75 by the time I'm done. And humid? You bet.
HOW DO WE WIN?
A while back I threw out a prediction of 5:40 that I almost immediately regretted (and still do). I still struggle to get it through my head how much slower I am on trails than roads (everyone is, of course, but me, especially so). I'll put 6:15 out there as a target -- about an 11-minute pace.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Race review: North Texas Turkey Trot 10K
ENOUGH WITH THE SMALL TALK. HOW'D IT GO?
I finally put together a 10K in line with what I'm capable of, overcoming a stiffer-than-expected breeze and a horrendous on-course traffic jam to finish in 40:32, a good 1:48 below my previous PR.
DID YOU WIN?
I was pretty sure I was 5th overall, but the results have me at 7th (out of 573). The results are wrong in a huge way that I will get into later, but either way I won my age group for the 2nd race in a row, out of 59 this time. I was the 6th male of 286, supposedly.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
The 1-mile run that was supposed to start at 8 was 10 minutes late, setting off a chain reaction of confusion and agitation. We finally got sent off 15 minutes past our scheduled time, and I paired the ensuing bitterness with a tailwind for most of the first 2 miles that ensured the struggles of a couple weeks earlier would not be repeated. I was in 8th place at the first turnaround at the 2-mile mark.
Turning back south, I was confronted with the familiar wind that was blowing a good bit stronger than the 10 mph I expected. The 5th through 7th runners were smartly tucked in, single file, behind the guy in 4th, but I was a couple seconds behind them and couldn't risk speeding up into the wind to try to catch them. Besides, they were way out on the outside curve of the road so I was doing just fine to stay to the inside and save a few paces. This came in handy when I picked a couple of them off half a mile later. I crossed the 5K mat in 20:01.
Everything was humming along just fine until mile 3.6 or so, when I hit the wall. No, I didn't bonk; I hit a wall of humanity as the 10K course rejoined the 5K course right as the thickest crowd of mid-packers were coming through (the 5K started 15 minutes after the 10K, or was scheduled to, anyway). The two 10K runners in front of me jumped onto the sidewalk, but I plowed right on through the crowd, dodging folks like Adrian Peterson. We caught a brief break when the courses split again, but then the last 2 full miles were again clogged with hundreds of other runners.
I bumped a few folks and called out for the 5K runners to stay to the right, but it was pointless. Things thinned out as I caught up to the speedier 5Kers, but at the expense of nearly throwing up twice from a combination of the added effort to get around people and being generally pissed off at the whole mess.
WHAT ELSE?
I'll say the nice things first. My wife came along (she's associated with one of the race sponsors) and brought our little girl, who just loves to watch her daddy run. Seeing them on the course a few times was a big lift and helped me relax a bit.
Now, as for the need to relax.... This was the 2nd running of this event and the 1st time a 10K was offered in addition to the 5K. It is not difficult at all to sit down and do some quick math to determine if you're going to have runners colliding on overlapping courses. Clearly, no one did that in this case. If anyone wants to call me to fix this, I can have it done in minutes. This race got a positive mention on one of the local newscasts in part because of its huge growth (doubled in size from last year), which is only going to make things worse next time.
And about the results.... I was certain I was 5th. The results show 2 runners just a couple seconds in front of me. No one passed me until the very last short stretch before the finish line, and I believe those were 5K runners in their final sprints. I checked the names on Athlinks and while it's feasible their times were legitimate (though at least one would be a big PR), I still have little faith in the accuracy of the results. Part of that comes from another runner a couple spots behind me who also told me he was listed too low. And part of it comes from the handling of the 5K "winner".
A runner (who shall remain nameless to protect the possibly innocent) appeared to sign up for the 5K, start with the 10K and run the 5K course. She finished in 31:02, a believable time for 5K but not 10K. The first printing of the results had her listed as the 10K winner. I pointed out this impossibility to the timer, who said he had "forced" her into the 10K results, I guess because her chip went live with the 10K start but she wasn't entered in the event (maybe he was thinking she switched events that morning). I told him that either way, she didn't run the 10K course so she didn't win the 10K. This was corroborated by the actual 10K winner.
So the timer took the runner out of the 10K results and put her in the 5K results. But in doing so, he changed the start time of her chip as if she had started with the 5K group 15 minutes later, giving her a 5K time of 16:02 (again, no) and the win. She did not step forward at the results ceremony (because she reasonably assumed she hadn't won anything) so sometime next week, an envelope with a medal and a Sports Authority gift card is going to show up in a Carrollton mailbox to a giant question mark over someone's head.
If all that was too long to read, just take the entirety of the results of this race with a grain of salt.
SPLITS?
6:19
6:23
6:34
6:36
6:38
6:34
6:34 pace last .22
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
You get a shirt. The winners, like I said, get a cash card to Sports Authority and a medal:
WHAT'S NEXT?
Isle du Bois 54K, Dec. 8.
I finally put together a 10K in line with what I'm capable of, overcoming a stiffer-than-expected breeze and a horrendous on-course traffic jam to finish in 40:32, a good 1:48 below my previous PR.
DID YOU WIN?
I was pretty sure I was 5th overall, but the results have me at 7th (out of 573). The results are wrong in a huge way that I will get into later, but either way I won my age group for the 2nd race in a row, out of 59 this time. I was the 6th male of 286, supposedly.
HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?
The 1-mile run that was supposed to start at 8 was 10 minutes late, setting off a chain reaction of confusion and agitation. We finally got sent off 15 minutes past our scheduled time, and I paired the ensuing bitterness with a tailwind for most of the first 2 miles that ensured the struggles of a couple weeks earlier would not be repeated. I was in 8th place at the first turnaround at the 2-mile mark.
Turning back south, I was confronted with the familiar wind that was blowing a good bit stronger than the 10 mph I expected. The 5th through 7th runners were smartly tucked in, single file, behind the guy in 4th, but I was a couple seconds behind them and couldn't risk speeding up into the wind to try to catch them. Besides, they were way out on the outside curve of the road so I was doing just fine to stay to the inside and save a few paces. This came in handy when I picked a couple of them off half a mile later. I crossed the 5K mat in 20:01.
Everything was humming along just fine until mile 3.6 or so, when I hit the wall. No, I didn't bonk; I hit a wall of humanity as the 10K course rejoined the 5K course right as the thickest crowd of mid-packers were coming through (the 5K started 15 minutes after the 10K, or was scheduled to, anyway). The two 10K runners in front of me jumped onto the sidewalk, but I plowed right on through the crowd, dodging folks like Adrian Peterson. We caught a brief break when the courses split again, but then the last 2 full miles were again clogged with hundreds of other runners.
I bumped a few folks and called out for the 5K runners to stay to the right, but it was pointless. Things thinned out as I caught up to the speedier 5Kers, but at the expense of nearly throwing up twice from a combination of the added effort to get around people and being generally pissed off at the whole mess.
WHAT ELSE?
I'll say the nice things first. My wife came along (she's associated with one of the race sponsors) and brought our little girl, who just loves to watch her daddy run. Seeing them on the course a few times was a big lift and helped me relax a bit.
Now, as for the need to relax.... This was the 2nd running of this event and the 1st time a 10K was offered in addition to the 5K. It is not difficult at all to sit down and do some quick math to determine if you're going to have runners colliding on overlapping courses. Clearly, no one did that in this case. If anyone wants to call me to fix this, I can have it done in minutes. This race got a positive mention on one of the local newscasts in part because of its huge growth (doubled in size from last year), which is only going to make things worse next time.
And about the results.... I was certain I was 5th. The results show 2 runners just a couple seconds in front of me. No one passed me until the very last short stretch before the finish line, and I believe those were 5K runners in their final sprints. I checked the names on Athlinks and while it's feasible their times were legitimate (though at least one would be a big PR), I still have little faith in the accuracy of the results. Part of that comes from another runner a couple spots behind me who also told me he was listed too low. And part of it comes from the handling of the 5K "winner".
A runner (who shall remain nameless to protect the possibly innocent) appeared to sign up for the 5K, start with the 10K and run the 5K course. She finished in 31:02, a believable time for 5K but not 10K. The first printing of the results had her listed as the 10K winner. I pointed out this impossibility to the timer, who said he had "forced" her into the 10K results, I guess because her chip went live with the 10K start but she wasn't entered in the event (maybe he was thinking she switched events that morning). I told him that either way, she didn't run the 10K course so she didn't win the 10K. This was corroborated by the actual 10K winner.
So the timer took the runner out of the 10K results and put her in the 5K results. But in doing so, he changed the start time of her chip as if she had started with the 5K group 15 minutes later, giving her a 5K time of 16:02 (again, no) and the win. She did not step forward at the results ceremony (because she reasonably assumed she hadn't won anything) so sometime next week, an envelope with a medal and a Sports Authority gift card is going to show up in a Carrollton mailbox to a giant question mark over someone's head.
If all that was too long to read, just take the entirety of the results of this race with a grain of salt.
SPLITS?
6:19
6:23
6:34
6:36
6:38
6:34
6:34 pace last .22
OK, WHAT ABOUT THE REAL REASON WE ALL RUN, THE STUFF?
You get a shirt. The winners, like I said, get a cash card to Sports Authority and a medal:
Isle du Bois 54K, Dec. 8.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)