8 posts tagged “race”
I was a few days late doing this run so I was eager to get at the 13.1 miles this morning. I was so eager that I failed to check the weather report for the morning.
Course Conditions. It was wet... very wet. I ran the entire time in a light rain and had prune hands by the halfway point. The light rain and 72F made the run very enjoyable. One excellent result of the rain was the fact that the spiders that normally spin their webs across my path were unable to accomplish their duties. I put together two out-and-back courses that I regularly run from work to make up the 13.1 miles. The first seven miles is pretty flat, miles 7 to 10 slightly downhill, and the last miles run back up the slight incline. I've embeded a course map to the end of this post.
Miles 1-3 - I grabbed my two Amphipod water bottles, my favourite Canada running hat, fired up my iPod with the "Phedippidations 118: Cheers from the World" episode, remembered to press "start" on my Forerunner, and charged off into the darkness. In the first few yards I saw one of the guys that I normally run with from the Bataan team; he was starting his shift at work and told me to have a good run (I think he figured I was only going out for five or six miler). I worked hard to keep my pace in the right zone in the early miles. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel today so I didn't want to overdo it early. Average mile split for this section was 8:43
Miles 3-7 - I hit the first turn around point at roughly three miles. I was feeling pretty good and the newly risen sun was trying to fight through the rain clouds. I was sharing the road with folks that were heading into work, so I was doing lots of switching between the soft shoulder and asphalt road (although this is pretty much the story of all my morning runs). I could tell that I was slowing down a bit but I was having a good time listening to Steve's special event podcast and splashing through the puddles. Average mile split for this section was 8:53
Miles 7-10 - I downed a PowerGel at mile 7 and headed down the concrete walkway for the second half of the course. This part of the course parallels the highway so I was constantly greeted by the waving windshield wipers of cars, SVUs, and trucks. It was somewhere around mile 9 that I switched over from the podcast and over to my running playlist. The normally busy fishing spot at the second turn around point was quite deserted this morning on account of the rain. Average mile split for this section was 8:45
Miles 10-13.1 - Since I had come this far and was still feel very strong, I pushed up the pace a bit. Keeping at a good pace seemed to be easy as my iPod kept pumping out the perfect running tunes. I just kept running up the walkway; very happy with the way I was feeling. Average mile split for this section was 8:15 and I finished my run in 1:53:36.
Overall I am very happy with this morning's run. Not a Half Mary PR but I don't approach the Phedip Half Mary as a race; it's a special running experience rather than a contest. That being said, my result is so much better than last year (when the heat really handicapped my performance). I ran very strong throughout and even accomplished a negative split. I broke lots of the "rules of running" today and still survived; I forgot to apply BodyGlide, I neglected to eat anything before my run, and I didn't bother to check the weather forecast.
The whole family headed out this morning for the local Race for the Cure 5K/10K run and walk in support of Breast Cancer. My wife used to work for the World Conference on Breast Cancer Foundation so we have a special affinity to the cause. We all participated in this same race two years ago (although the youngest was still in the womb).
Our two boys have been waking up much earlier than we would like for the past two weeks so we did not expect any problems getting to the start line on time. It was 75F, 92% humidity and overcast. We arrived with plenty of time to register and prepare for the run/walk. Our oldest boy couldn't wait to go running and kept asking if everyone was here yet so that he could start.
My strategy was to keep in a fast-yet-comfortable pace for the first four miles and then "kick it up a notch" for the final two miles. I didn't follow the game plan. I didn't go out too fast but I found myself ahead the main pack and trailing only three runners. I recognized two of the speed demons ahead of me and realized that I would be crazy to attempt to pace off them for even a mile. I settled into a good pace and worked to trail a block behind the third place runner. The first 5K went quite good but I knew that I would tire on the second lap. I was hoping that the three guys ahead of me were only doing the 5K but as I came around for the second lap I realized that we were all headed onto the second loop. By this time I was probably a good 1/4 behind the guy in front of me. He was slowing down but I certainly wasn't gaining on him. Apart from the last mile, where I managed to pick up the pace a little, I ran a very consistent positive split for each mile of the course. The winner finished in 40mins and some change. While I ran my slowest 10K ever, I'm not feeling too bad about my result; a 47:46 finish and 1st place in my age-group, although I think I was the only one in the group ;-) It was also nice to find that my 5K split was faster than my 5K finish time two years ago.
My wife walked/jogged/slogged an excellent race. While pushing our two toddlers along in a non-jogging dual stroller, she finished in under 50 mins. I could hardly believe how fast she was going as I only caught up to her within a 1/4 miles of the finish. Luckily the two boys were on pretty good behaviour during the race and she was able to immerse herself in her music.
Both the boys thought my medal was very cool and they took turns wearing it all day long. Our oldest informed us that he wanted to get his own. I guess we'll let him run (and then walk) a 1 mile Fun Run sometime soon.
Embedded is the course for the 5K. The 10K was simply twice around the course.
Generally had a good running week. Since I'm running longer now and our Bataan group is running at 6am, I'm having a hell of a time figuring out my 'start of day' schedule. I am used to getting up at 6am, which happens to correspond to the same time my sons normally awaken, and then drive to work in order to start my morning run by 7am. In order to run at 6am, I need to get up at around 5am with extreme stealthiness so not to wake up the family. My success record this week was about 50%.
My new ancillary hard copy running log, a 18 month Moleskine planner, arrived today. I'm now busy updating the log with my various running info. I also need to find time to rebuild my SportTracks running log from my last back-up file from last December. Precautionary note to all... DON'T DELAY. BACK-UP TODAY!
Monday - 6 miles with four of these miles along with other of our Bataan Death March team to kick-off our training for next March's event.
Tuesday - 6 X 1/2 mile interval workout. I ran this workout off the track again this week with my Forerunner 'driving' the workout.
Thursday - A really nice 11 mile run. On these longer runs I'm still testing out my hydration pack. I'm quickly getting used to running with it but I definitely want to invest in a pack designed for running. I'm looking seriously at purchasing the Nathan HPL 020 or the North Face Thresher.
Friday - 4 miles with the Bataan guys and then some kick-ball with the folks from work.
Saturday - Summer Sprint 5K.
Total - 29.5 miles for the week. This is three or so miles shorter than planned but the 5K wasn't planned for.
Ran the Summer Sprint 5K at the PC Naval Support Activity this morning. I almost ran equal 7mins/mile splits to finish in an official time of 21:32. This was 30 seconds faster than last year and good enough to win me a nifty souvenir US Navy glass as second place in my age group.
The conditions were great; 75F and overcast with even a few sprinkles just before the race.
Like many running men out there, I tend to have a problem with nipple chafing while out on a long run. There are a number of solutions out there to combat this problem: running shirtless, running with a tech fibre shirt, applying Vaseline, using Micropore medical tape, sticking on some NipGuards, or simply using some bandaids (I hear Curad makes a small round waterproof bandage that works greats and will stay on for an entire marathon). The solution that I use is BodyGlide Skin Formula.
I've been running with BodyGlide for about two years now and I think it works great. BodyGlide comes packaged exactly like stick deodorant and is applied in the same way. It's easy to use and not messy. I've used it in sub-freezing temperatures, in +80F weather, in rainy conditions and have only once had a problem, which I attribute to my inattention when applying the stuff. Furthermore, I find that I also have a few other areas that tend to chafe when I'm running over 15 miles. I simply apply this stuff in those locations and I'm good to go.
Apparently this stuff is also great if applied to the feet as it protects against movement of the feet within the socks and the subsequent hot spots and/or blisters. I have not really experienced any blister problems recently so I have not tried this out.
BodyGlide also now has a Sun Formula, which is the same as the Skin Formula but with added SPF 25 sunscreen, and a Muscle Formula for temporary relief of pain and soreness.
I recommend buying the large stick rather than the little one and it's probably a good idea to buy two (and 'no,' I do not work for BodyGlide). The large stick is the economical choice and if you buy two sticks you will not find yourself in trouble when you find the first stick empty just before your next 18 miler.
- Monday - 4 miles
- Tuesday - 4 miles
- Wednesday - 4 miles
- Thursday - 18 miles
- Saturday - local 5K "Midnight" roadrace
- Total mileage - 33 miles
Ran early this week for my long run (5am) to ensure the temperature wasn't too crazy for the run. Had a good strong run.
Last night's (or was it this morning?) roadrace was a lots of fun. I didn't hit my goal time but I wasn't too far off. Being that high school cross country season is already in full swing down here, there were a number of local teams in attendance; these kids are fast. As a middle-of-the-pack runner, I am used to seeing folks go out way too fast and then I end up passing them because they blew themselves out. I thought that this would happen last night when I saw these kids take off at the start... I only passed two of these kids and many of these kids were able to keep up a ~5:30 min/mile pace!
Ran the Summer Sprint 5K race down at the Panama City Naval Support Activity this morning. Even with the race starting at 7:30am, the race was a warm one (85F & 85% Humidity).
I managed the run in 22:02; while definitely not my fastest time, it wasn't too bad seeing the conditions. I had horrible positive split times thru the entire course. I shouldn't be too worried about it as this run was really only a speedwork training session.
