Recently in Races Category

Time: 2:04:30 - Pace: 9:30/mi - Overall: 1455/3492 - AG: 154/247

Well, some background first. I was feeling great on Wednesday. I just passed my recital hearing and training went well, so I was really excited about this race. Then came Thursday. I woke up with a cold and wasn't feeling so great. Then I barely slept through the night and could hardly get off the couch on Friday. But I had trained too hard (and spent too much on the registration), and had too many people who knew I was running not to, so I went for it anyway. I felt better this morning, but still had a bit of a cough. Ok, enough background. Here's me before the race.

Notice the naive happiness. Now onto the splits.

Mile 1: 9:53 - Feeling great!
Mile 2: 9:03 - A little downhill
Mile 3: 10:02 - Liberty Memorial Hill sucks!
Mile 4: 8:53 - Trying to catch my 2:00 pacer
Mile 5: 8:23 - Too fast, left big toe really hurting
Mile 6: 8:58 - Crash eminent, revising goal
Mile 7: 9:52 - Lots of abdominal pain
Mile 8: 9:31 - Looking back, I don't know how I managed this split
Mile 9: 9:58 - So, that long gradual hill that didn't seem too bad, was
Mile 10: 10:02 - Hill still sucks, definitely want to quite
Mile 11: 9:42 - Downhill, but am really having a hard time
Miles 12-13: 19:21 - Forgot to push the lap button
Last .1: 0:49 - Actually managed a kick, 7:20/mi

Me bookin' into the the finish:

That was easily the hardest thing I've ever done. The sickness just zapped my energy and I really struggled from mile 6 on. I also got a nasty, nasty blood blister under my big left toe. I knew it would be bad, but it still shocked me when I first saw it. The best part was that we had to walk nearly a mile from the finish to the start. Oh, and the finish sucked. I had to wait in line about 10 minutes until I finally got some carbs and water, which I was in desperate need of.

Still, I was proud of my time given the conditions and tough course. I felt horrible afterwards, but after some pizza and a nap, I was already replaying it in my mind and thinking about next time. It was cool running with so many other people, and can't wait to try again when I'm feeling better. I am thinking, though, that maybe I should only race these occasionally and run them slower so that I can enjoy them more often.

As always, a big, big thank you goes to Carrie for getting up way too freakin' early just to come watch me run in 40° weather. She rules! I'll also post more race pictures once them come online.

So when can I do this again?

Time: 23:47 - Pace: 7:39/mi - Overall: 42/211 - AG: 3/6

I'll update those stats once the race website updates.

Good race for me today. It was fun to have a larger cheering section this time around, and I ran with Brandon, Katie, and Becky. The weather was perfect, just a shade above 60°, and I ran a much smarter race this time around. My first mile split was right at 8:00, the next mile at 7:45 and the last 1.1 miles at a 7:18 pace. Whew. After the first half mile or so, only one guy passed me, and I stuck with him all the way to the end. I thought I might be able to catch him at the end, but my kick (which I did manage to have), wasn't quite enough. The most exciting thing, though, was that I got some hardware! I was 3rd in my age group, though I was announced as 2nd because the dude who won the whole thing (with a blazing 15:45 time) was in my AG and thus didn't count, I guess. Regardless, I actually managed a place, which is pretty exciting.

Time: 24:10 - Pace: 7:47/mi - Overall: 43/180 - M25-29: 5/11

Before getting into the race, I should mention that I was running this for my nephew. The race benefited the KU's children's cancer ward and neonatal ICU. My nephew Jeremy (May 16, 2006 - September 21, 2006) spent quite a bit of time in an ICU, and after seeing what those doctor's and nurses do, as well as what parent's have to go through, I knew this would be a good cause. This was for you, Jeremy.

Well, this was quite a race. First of all, it was hot. Hot hot hot. It was 80 at start time, with matching humidity. That's not good. I was sweating pretty well just from warming up. I also am not sure why they waited to start until 8:00 am. An hour might have spared us some of that sun and heat, but probably not much.

Based on time in the previous two years, I actually had a good chance to get an age group medal. I hadn't run much in the last two weeks, though, and was more hoping for a good race. Based on my 10K race on July 4, I knew I could aim for just under an 8:00/mi pace, so I started out pretty hard.

At the end of the first mile, my time was 7:24. Not good. With the heat and lack of preparation, I knew those last 2+ miles would be fun. I was right.

About midway through the second mile I just wanted to slow down and/or walk. My breathing was still too hard and my second mile split came in at 15:20. Ouch. I was just barely under 8 minutes for that mile and wondered if I'd even be able to maintain that pace.

In the end, I was just barely able to maintain that pace and even give just a little bit of kick at the finish. Still, I wasn't able to catch the three guys not far in front of me--two of whom where in my age group. So while I was right in the middle of my AG, I wasn't more than about 10 seconds from a third place finish.

The race was well organized, and I even won a small stuffed cow from Chick-Fil-A. Unfortunately, a timing error meant that we don't have official times. I'm going off of seeing my time at the finish and subtracting the 2 seconds it took me to get to the start. I was sad not to get an AG medal, but I think I ran better than I deserved to. I know I can smoke 24:00 for the 5K now, and maybe I'll even get down to that 21:00 time I did in high school. We'll see. :)

Time: 50:56 - Pace: 8:12/mile - Overall Place: 149/321 - Male Division: 111/212 - Men 25-29: 11/14

Well, I have to say that I am very pleased with this morning's race. This was my second time running this 10K (and for that matter, the second time running a 10K), and I was hoping to at least beat last years time of 53:27. My goal was 52:00, which would put me right around an 8:20/mi pace.

To achieve this, I knew that I need to run smarter than I had before. Last year I ended up taking two 30-second walk breaks at miles 3 and 4, and I hoped that I wouldn't feel the need to again this year. Instead, I thought I'd try to have two 1-minute jogging breaks, where I just slowed my pace to 9:30-10:00/mi, at miles 2 and 4. That would give me a bit of a break but wouldn't cost me as much time. Moreover, I knew that I had to start slow. I figured I'd run those first two miles around an 8:40 pace, or even slower if necessary. I wanted them to feel pretty easy, and then hopefully I could save myself for a push in the last two miles.

The weather was much better this year, staying in the mid-60's for the race. It was even chilly when we left the house at 6:00 am. Unfortunately, we did not have the cloud cover of last year, but on the whole I'd say conditions were favorable.

The course itself consists of 2 loops, with an extra out-and-back on the 2nd one for us 10K folks. It's pretty flat, save on the back leg of the loop which has two gradual inclines. These weren't too bad the first time around, but were pretty brutal in that last full mile.

Ok, onto race comments...

I started closer to the start this time, but still found myself passing quite a few people at the beginning. The advantage to this, though, is that I was forced to ease into the pace for that first mile (I jogged for about 10 minutes for a warm-up with a couple of accelerations to race pace). I kind of allowed my early pace to be dictated by the crowd, and didn't want to waste too much energy going back and forth to pass people.

The first two miles went great. If I remember correctly, the splits were about 8:45 and 8:25. At this point I took my minute jogging break and then continued on the hilly part of the loop. After a while, all those 5K folks split off and we were on our own. At this point I paced myself against another runner for the next two miles, with each of us pushing the other at times (thanks runner #553!). The splits on these miles were in the low 8's, and maybe upper 7's. All I know is that at the mile 4 marker I was starting to get below where I needed to be for 52:00. That was a good thing, as I was not looking forward to pushing myself really hard in the last mile as it was the only hilly stretch.

At this point, I did not take my jogging break. I was still pacing myself with runner #553 and was feeling pretty good, so I pushed on. Around mile 4.5 I started to get some distance from my pacer and began to pass a fair number of people. (Practicing negative splits every day pays off!!) At the mile 5 marker, I was right around 41:00, which gave me a full 11 minutes to run the last 1.2 miles and make my goal. Of course, that meant I could beat that goal solidly, so I pushed harder.

Sadly, that last 1.2 miles was by far the hardest of the course, and that I was able to maintain about an 8:15/mi pace is pretty good. Moreover, I was able to really push over that last hill and toward the finish. My left calf was bothering me, but I just kept on a-truckin'. I even managed to pass up two more runners in the last 100m or so. I couldn't believe I had enough in me for a final sprint, especially since last year I couldn't hold my position in the last few hundred meters. My official time was 51:21, and my Nike+ (which I started when I crossed the starting line), put me at 50:56. I couldn't be happier with the result.

The only problem that I can see, is that now I've got to shoot for a sub-50 10K!

Oh, and how I'm gonna walk the rest of the day... that too.

Time: 53:27 - Pace: 8:36 - Overall Male Div: 122/201 - Men 25-29: 12/20

Well, this was my first 10K, and it went pretty well. The course was pretty flat, although the last half mile or so was all uphill, which kinda sucked, I have to admit. It was also pretty hot outside, despite the 7:00 am start time, so by the time I was finished I was pretty soaked.

I figured I should have probably been able to run the whole thing straight through, without the little walk breaks I'd been taking, but that was a mistake. I think on a cool day I'd be ok, but the heat/humidity was getting to me by the end of the first mile, so I took two 30 sec walk breaks after miles 3 and 4.

I was still pleased with my final time, besting my personal goal of 55 minutes. I had run just over an hour in training, so I had hoped to shave a minute per mile in the race.

Probably the best part of the race came afterwards, when two older ladies stopped me as I was walking back to my car, and asked about the race - how long it was, how it went, did I feel the heat, etc. They were decked out in patriotic apparel, and every time Carrie and I started to walk away a bit, they asked another question. It was kind of fun that they wanted to chat so much.

Oh, and of course, a big, big thank you to Carrie for waking up with me at 5:00 am to cheer me on. Thanks babe!

Time - 25:28, Pace - 8:12, Overall 209/778, Division 27/52

Woooooooohooo! This morning I ran my first 5K since high school and it was a lot of fun. The conditions were great, with a cool morning and overcast skies, and the course was quite fast. There were only three small hills and an overall drop of about 100ft. There were many enthusiastic volunteers, one of whom said of me, "Now there's a guy who needs to lose some weight." :) It was very well organized and a blast to run.

I was shooting for 27:00, based on my training runs which tend to be over 10:00/mi, so I was most surprised to see that I managed a 25:28!

Perhaps the coolest part, though, was the 6-year-old girl who finished the 5K on her birthday. Everyone joined in singing, which was pretty cool. (Don't worry, I beat her.) I got a cool medal for my efforts, along with a hat, t-shirt, water bottle, and various other goodies.

On the whole, it was a lot of fun (even Carrie agreed that the early wake-up call was worth it), and I can't wait for my next race!