This is the renewal of Strictly Running’s track Summer track series, which I last  ran in 2009, but didnt happen last year. They charge 5 bucks to run all three events (3200, 400 and 1600), and the series is held on the USC track, so a pretty good deal. Last time I ran this I raced the 2 mile all out (13:07 I think) and then had zero left for the next two events (1:12 in the 400 and a death march 6:58 in the mile). I had hoped to post strong times in both the 400 and the mile this time around, as my fitness was certainly a lot better and I had never done either of these events since. My goal was to hover around 60 seconds for the 400 and sub 5:30 in the mile.

Unfortunately, Columbia’s summer was not cooperating. The high was 100 that day and humidity was close to 100 percent – weather channel had a 110 heat index even at the time of the meet at 6:30.  I “warmed up” for mile and was already drenched in sweat, just felt awful. The 3200 was interesting as a high schooler Omar Sharif from Eau Claire/RU running club went at it with Matt Komatsu, a 30 something guy that I’ve seen run 17’s in 5ks this year. They ran together the entire way until Sharif threw down a crazy kick and edged Komatsu by several meters, 10:41 to 10:47.

About 10 minutes later they started the 400. I had never run an all out quarter, though I do them all the time in intervals in speedwork. The intervals usually range 1:15 to 1:28 or so. I picked lane 1, which was probably not the best idea, since the curve is sharper and harder to generate speed off the turns. I had no idea how punishing this race is – I was really struggling at about 200 meters but was able to push hard in the last straightaway. Eric Mcmichael, who has been an age group rival in other races on the Tour de Columbia, completely blew this race away in 54 seconds. I was second, an embarrassing 9 seconds behind at 65 seconds (though I swear it was more like 63 or 64).

Here’s a link to Angel Manuel’s video of the 400:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8tezHE9nyE

I thought the 400 would be a good prep for the mile, which was about 10-15 minutes later, but it turned out the quarter would be my undoing. I still felt wobbly and a little queasy at the start, so I knew this wasnt going to be good. As soon as the race started I felt weak, and started getting passed. I rounded the first 400 at 1:30 (6 min pace) and by the 800 was at 3:20 . I was about one step from dropping out when I decided to try and gut it out the best I could. I managed to just avoid getting lapped by Komatsu and Randy Huff in lap 3, who apparently had a photo finish at 4:58. I finally found a little push in the last quarter but the damage was already done, finished in 6:17. This was a tough pill to swallow, because I really wanted to see how well I could do at an intermediate distance, which I feel would be my strength. This mile was slower than my 5k Pr pace (6:11) and far slower than my fastest 5k split at 5:55. I was happy I didnt take the easy way out and drop though.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/11SummerTrack1.txt

This was a race I decided to run purely for fun, as its not on the Tour de Columbia or Palmetto Grand Prix. There was a 5k and a half marathon available, and the race brought out  a surprising amount of people for a very hot Sunday morning. Some of this was supplemented by runners who had traveled here from all over the US to continue to gather Xterra series points. I had run 10 miles the day before with my training group, and I was aware from experience how tough some of the Harbison trails were, so I opted for the 5k. Prices had jumped 10 bucks on race day (20/40) to (30/50), but I was already across town at 630, so I signed up anyway. Half started a little late but pretty close to 710 am, 5kers started a few minutes afterwards. Temps were in the high 70’s- low 80’s already and the humidity had to be close to 100 percent.

At the start I knew this was going to be tough. The 10 miles from Saturday were making themselves known right from the start with about a quarter mile of open dirt road that was definitely uphill. There were a bunch of high school kids from Dutch Fork who blasted out of the gates, a few told me they had their sights on breaking 18 minutes. After the first quarter or so, it was mostly single track trail. Very winding, constantly going up and down. Really hard to build up any momentum. As with most technical trails, you’re always looking right in front of you and this makes everything seem longer (not to mention I was going about a minute and a half slower per mile than my 5k race pace).  We had a good pack going for much of the first half which helped push me along. I was able to stay within the chain of runners from the front, so this helped navigating the twisty course I was mostly unfamiliar with. The heat was just suffocating. The trees seemed to block all the wind and the humidity felt like a warm wet blanket. I had left my Garmin at home, so I had no idea how fast I was going, but I was trying to push the effort as much as I could. With about a mile to go I recognized the home stretch from the half marathon (Ruldolph’s Rampage) that I did here back in December, so that motivated me to push ever harder. Unfortunately this involved navigating 2 separate long hills that about killed me. I did manage to pass a few people, including someone I thought was an age grouper (cant stop being competitive, apparently).  The end brought you back into a field, which I sprinted as hard as I could to finish in 23:48 (7:40 pace). This was more than 3 minutes slower than my road 5k times, but was at least as hard as those efforts. Just completely dead at the finish.

I found out later that they were awarding only the top 3 male and female finishers (I finished 10th), but I stuck around to see some of my friends finish the half. A major problem unfortunately occurred about 45 minutes in, as I saw 3 of the fastest runners in SC come bounding out of the woods completely off course. Somehow a number of people got lost on the 13.1 course, and even some doing the 5k. My race appeared well marked, but then again I was always following someone. There were a lot of upset people and several of the top half runners dropped out. I left early because the half was taking a very long time. I later checked the results and talked to a few who did the half, and all said it was just a brutal course, made especially tough with the heat/humidity. I hope the race comes back next year – im sure they can work out the course snafus. I’d actually like to see what that half course is all about too.

http://www.xterraplanet.com/xduro/pdf/2011XTERRAHarbison5KResults.pdf

http://www.xterraplanet.com/xduro/pdf/2011XTERRAHarbisonHalfResults.pdf

This is one of Strictly Running’s races, held the weekend of the 4th of July. I last ran the 4 miler in 2009, but have really enjoyed the team aspects of relays since doing the Palmetto 200 last year. Myself and Tyler “Trophy” McGaha decided to run the relay last year for fun and to try and set a new 2 mile PR. As is the case with a lot of relays, most competitive runners opt for individual glory in the regular race. Plus a lot of beginners do the relay to avoid going the whole distance. So, everything came together last year and we won the 2010 relay, and fifty bucks! We felt compelled to defend our title this year, despite the unlikeliness of the stars aligning again. Our team name: “Trophy Hunting” for our unrelenting pursuit of trophies or money, usually in the most obscure rural race we can find, the “undercard” shorter race, or these relays.

I was coming off a week at Folly Beach, during which I caught a nasty virus, so I was definitely less than 100 percent at this race. The heat and humidity were terrible as well. I knew we had no chance of winning this year, as I saw Angel Manuel and Eric McMichael were also signed up. I figured we were about even with Eric but Angel would destroy us by a few minutes, which turned out to be true. I had pulled an 11:50 split last year on the second leg, but decided to give Tyler the anchor this year. I started off thinking I could try to match that split, but I soon realized the hill on Trenholm road was absolutely brutal trying to pull sub six pace. I was so winded at the top I started getting passed by quite a few people doing the whole 4 miles – including Darrell Brown and Amy McDonaugh.  I was able to get my breath back a little on the downhill, but the clock at the mile was 6:08 or so. I just felt terrible at this point as the course went uphill again. Just couldnt get my breathing right, though my legs felt fairly strong (the virus had kept me off the roads over the weekend). I finally got into a little but of a rhythm towards the last half mile, but I knew there probably a couple of relayers ahead, including Eric and Sarah Allers. Finished with an almost identical mile split for a 12:15 total, 25 seconds slower than last year. I had managed to edge Eric M. by 20 seconds or so, but Tyler said Angel overtook him fairly quickly. I cooled down by running the second leg slowly, getting to cheer on a few friends on the way, which was cool. What we hadnt counted on was a complete unknown team that ended up winning – I didnt recognize either one of them. Tyler ran a strong leg and we finished 4th overall. No prize this year, but SR put on a good race and post race spread.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/11BUSA.txt

This is a new race on the Tour this year, using an old certified course in my favorite neighborhood, Shandon. Columbia is known for its terribly hot summers, and this day was no exception, but this race was held in the evening (7 pm). As luck would have it, a pretty nasty storm approached but did not directly hit the area, which caused a sudden cooldown just as the race started. Ended up in the 70’s at the start. Course was almost flat. There was a nice crowd for this race and a pretty competitive field. I had no idea what to expect at this race, as I had been running some of the best times of my running life in the spring, but the heat had really killed me at my last race at the Lickety Split in Hartsville, where I had nearly died en route to a 20:09.

I decided to start out fast in this race, as this strategy seems to always work best for me in 5ks. It felt surprisingly good with the breeze from the storm and the lower temps. Plus, since I usually run in the afternoon, it was nice not to still be waking up at race time. I knew I was blasting it pretty hard, but was still surprised to look down at my 1st mile split at 6:03. There were quite a few ahead of me, so I guess the weather was working to everyone’s advantage. I didnt see Darrell Brown, who is my main rival in my age group, so I didnt know what was up. He finally passed me at abut 1.25 miles, and thought he was on his way to trouncing me as usual. However, he started slowing pretty soon thereafter, and I actually overtook him again near the 2 mile mark. At about the same time, Robbie McLendon aka the OG, passed me. I was really spent at the 2 mile, but saw my pace still was around 6:15 or so. The rest of the race I was sucking some serious wind. I was trying to chase down the OG, with the possible ghost of Darrell chasing me down from behind. At the last bend with less than a tenth to go, I saw the mythical 18’s still on the clock. I started sprinting as hard as I could and pulled up just behind the OG, but his kick is legendary and he just edged me at the line. 19:10 finish time and a new PR by 7 seconds! Finished 2nd in my age group behind Angel Manuel. Darrell said he had some breathing problems and actually stopped to walk briefly.  The race had a great afterparty at Publick House with beer, wings, veggies and dip. I missed the awards because I made a bee line for the bar as soon as I finished. Gotta have priorities. Ended up being a great night, as the Gamecocks were on the TV there, and won their game en route to their second championship.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/RESULTS/11TWILIGHT.TXT

Race to Read 8k
This was on Saturday, its a part of my running club “Tour de Columbia” series but had fairly limited attendance – a week ago was a major race (Ray Tanner 12k/5k) and there were 2 other races in the area same day. About 45 runners, though a decent crowd was there overall as there was a sizable walk and kids run. Weather was unusually cold for SC in October – high 30’s at the start – I forgot my running gloves and I was pretty chilly in a long sleeve tech shirt and shorts. Looking around at the start there were a few familiar faces but none of the local elites. One guy, Greg, who is a friend of mine, runs slightly faster at the 10k than me and slightly slower at 5k. There was a thin, fast looking guy with a college singlet wearing Vibram 5 fingers shoes, so I assumed he would probably trounce the field. I didnt know him though. I wasnt sure how to do the 8k distance, so I averaged my low 6:20 and low 6:40 5k and 10k paces and decided to shoot for 6:30ish. My PR in the only other 8k I’ve done (in Nov 2009) is 34:08 (6:50 pace), and this was a very good race for me at the time.

With the gun, college guy goes out like a rocket along with three kids, with myself and Greg lagging behind them. The kids faded in the first half mile, and pretty soon it was Greg and I running side by side with college dude about 30 meters ahead. I told Greg that I thought college guy would win this race by several minutes, but he pointed out that the guy was breathing hard. Sure enough, the cold allowed you to see a lot of huffing and puffing going on way up front. We reached mile 1 at 6:36, right on pace. The course had an initial hill but much of mile 2 was downhill, which I knew we would have to make up given the loop course. We continued to gain on college guy, and by mile 2 we were running as a 3 person pack. Second split was also 6:30s. Greg and college guy then picked up the pace and gapped me by about 10 meters as the course started rolling and becoming more difficult. As mile 3 approached, Greg surged ahead of college guy and I ended up passing him as well right before the marker , which was about 6:40. I was starting to breathe harder but what was hurting me the most was a sense of lactic acid in my legs, burning around my calves. Thankfully as the 4th mile started, it was flat and then a long downhill before a ferocious hill in the distance. Greg had gapped me by about 20-30 meters at this point and I was really frustrated with this, as we should be pretty even at this distance. The extended downhill really helped me clear the lactic acid burn, and the gap held steady to the mile 4 marker, split was also high 6:30’s. At this point i knew there was 0.96 to the finish, a majority up the brutal hill. I know I’m both good at hills and at finishing strong, so I decided that this was my chance. The temptation of an overall win was too great too pass up, even though it was going to hurt. I really ramped the pace up the hill and made a huge gain on Greg, who seemed to be fading. At the top of the hill I was only about 10 feet back as we entered a quarter mile “nature trail” before  a flat paved finish. I was just behind Greg as we were finishing the trail when I looked down and saw we had only .25 left. I then launched into an absolute sprint, even though I was hurting pretty bad by this time. Passed Greg as we hit the paved section and ran like a maniac. I had to suppress a dry heave on the last turn, but I could see I was leading by over 30 feet and coasted in with a 32:37 and my first overall win. Felt amazing, almost as good as my first sub 20 5k. It was a small race and  not very competitive, but it was great to have to dig down deep and fight for it. PR’d by a minute and a half too!

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/RESULTS/10READ.TXT

Ray Tanner Home Run 5k/12k

Race for Life 5k RR
This is the first year for this event, and it was tacked on to a huge (6000) “Walk for Life” to support breast cancer research. Despite its first year, there were 430+ runners. Course was totally new to me and I didnt have a chance to do a dry run on it. Temps were almost perfect, high 50’s – low 60’s at race time. Ran only about a mile in warmup with a few strides. I saw a few local elites but turnout was scarce among the top guys in our area.

My strategy was to go out in 6:15 and see what happened. I also wanted to make sure and beat my main competitor (eric)  in my age group, who was also there. The first mile felt pretty good. The field quickly thinned out and the course was decently flat. A few rolling hills but nothing to seriously slow you down. Eric went out super fast, as he often does, and I had to remember not to try and follow too closely because he always severely positive splits his races. I was helping the top local masters female pace herself in the first mile, as she has been trying to get back under 20 again after coming back from an illness this year. I hit the first mile almost exactly – 6:16 per the Garmin. My breathing was surprisingly contained at this point and my legs still felt pretty strong, so I was pleased with that. I decided to just try and hold the pace. I was already quickly gaining on Eric. The woman I was pacing fell off a little bit and I didnt see her again. We made the turnback on the loop course and all of a sudden hit a substantial steep hill. I decided to really bust it up the hill, which helped me pass several people (including Eric) but unfortunately it took more out of me than I had hoped. I was sucking a lot of wind at the top and never completely recovred, though the relatively flat mile and a half to follow helped some. I hit mile 2 at 6:24/12:40, which I was OK with given the hill had really slowed me down for a good quarter mile. I tried to nudge up the pace a little on mile 3, but my legs were starting to complain a little and my breathing was too ragged to really push it too much. I knew the last 2 tenths or so were screaming downhill, so I was trying to save some for that too. I started to gain on a pack in front of me, and towards the end of the mile we were pretty much together with me in the back. There was a mild hill near 2.7 or so, and then the downhill started right over the crest. The front guy pulled away some, and as I let the hammer down I was able to push past the other guy in the mini pack. Breathing pretty hard by then but I knew the finish was so close. Let the hill pretty much destroy my quads as I was desperately trying to hold off the other guy. There was a sharp turn midway down the huge hill as we entered a grassy area in a park with the finish about 100 yards in. Kicked it as hard as I could, but then realized there were two mats with the second for the runners finish. I eased a little bit in between the mats (maybe 20 feet) and the guy behind me almost clipped me at the line. Luckily he didnt – must have been a few microseconds. The lead guy in our pack faded a bit, and I almost caught him during my kick but came up just short. Official time was 19:47, 6th overall, 1st in age group. I was happy with the result, though hopefully I can be smarter next time about the course. Thought I might PR about halfway through. Still, I’ll never complain about a sub 20 or getting 1st in AG.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/RESULTS/10LIFE.TXT

Dam run to Irmo 10k
This is a large 10k that has been around for 24 years, usually draws a very competitive crowd. The course is point to point and a net downhill, so pretty PR friendly. It does have one loop through a neighborhood that is fairly hilly, however. Race time temps were 70 degrees and high humidity, not very pleasant given some recent cool temps we’ve had. I had given myself 2 days off in an attempt to really kill my PR (43:18).

The 2 miles are flat across a large dam and then downhill into a neighborhood area. From the gun, I tried to pace myself with two women that run very similar 5k times to me. I had thought I should probably be in the 6:35-40 range for the 10k, though it had been greater than 6 months since my last. With the rest and the pancake flat first mile, everything felt pretty good. They had time callers at each mile, and the guy yells out a 6:18. I thought he was mistaken, but Garmin confirmed it, and that was where I sealed my fate. I was still going pretty strong until pretty near the second mile marker. I had tried to rein it back in and go a little slower, hit mile 2 at 6:38, though the timer told me 13 flat for the two miles. After the second mile marker was that hilly neighborhood area. It really is probably only a half mile loop. The inclines there hit me pretty hard, and the wind sucking commenced. After that loop we came out onto a straight road with a few rolling inclines, but nothing major. I was getting real nervous, because I was laboring a lot worse than I should  not even halfway into a race. Not only was I breathing hard but I was feeling a lot of leg fatigue too. Hit mile 3 in the high 19’s, Garmin shows me a 6:52 now, though I didnt look during the race. I realized by then that I was in trouble, and was hurting pretty bad. I focused on just trying to get to the next mile marker and not think about how far I had to go. All I can say that I am eternally thankful the rest of the race was pretty flat or downhill. It was all suffering from there and I really didnt enjoy any part of the last 3 miles. Hit successive splits of 6:53, 6:48, 6:52. I am really surprised they were this fast. I’m used to negative splits on my races so they felt a lot slower. I did get to 5 miles at 34 minutes flat, so I knew if I could just hold on I would still get a PR. In my last mile I got passed by a few people, including some I regularly beat in 5ks, which added to me basically hating life at that point. Was so thankful to see the finish, saw the 41’s disappearing before me and no chance to break 42 ( which has been a goal for 2010), just zero in the tank to mount any kind of kick. Crossed at 42:11. 30th overall, something like 6th or 7th in my AG. I feel bad feeling this crappy about a good time and a PR of over a minute, but I think I had convinced myself that I could do 40:xx or better. Oh well, I guess this was a good learning experience in what was only my 6th 10k ever. Those two women I talked about finished 38:57 and 39:15 respectively – they clearly are better at the longer distances!

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/10Dam.txt

Dry Run 5k
This is a small local 5k that is fairly flat with a few small inclines. One of the better courses to PR on in my area. Turnout was about 70, with a fair amount of decent runners since there was prize money involved. It might have been bigger but the Gamecocks played Georgia at noon, so I’m sure this took some of the crowd. Temps were OK, probably low 70’s, humidity not too bad. I arrived an hour early, as is my routine, but hit a snag when they said I hadnt preregistered. I was almost sure I had, but I guess the online transaction didnt go through. Luckily the race was in the middle of Columbia, so I was able to hit an ATM without too much trouble. Didnt like the stress though.  I only did a mile warmup instead of my 2 miles because of the time. I was kind of nervous at the start because seemingly every decent 35-39er showed up for this one. One of the guys I knew I couldnt beat (Eric A), another (Darrell) has been my target for much of the past 6 months as the gap between us has shrunk significantly. He used to beat me by almost 2 minutes for most of 09.

With the gun, a fellow age grouper, Eric M, went out like a bolt of lightning and gapped me by probably 15 seconds very quickly. I went out fast too, and was just trying to keep Eric within a reasonable distance. Darrell was out even faster than Eric. I was concerned about my pace until I looked down at mile 1 and saw 6:11. That’s one of my faster 5k splits, so I knew I wasnt going too slow. Felt OK, though was already breathing hard. Pretty soon Eric M just completely bonked and I passed him easily, I imagine he might of done a sub 6 first mile. Darrell was still way ahead of me. Started to feel the hurt in the 2nd mile, but I knew there was a nice sized pack right on my heels. It felt like I was about to be trampled at any second. Hearing all those footsteps behind me definitely made me keep up the pace. Second mile slowed a little, but still at 6:26. I was really hurting in that third mile, but knowing I only have 1.1 left is a huge motivator for me. The course had a small half mile loop at its end, and this is where I decided to absolutely redline it. Passed the one guy near me and then saw Darrell up ahead. I pushed it as hard as I could and I knew he was fading, but he had just enough of a gap on me. He got me by 4 seconds, and I crossed at 19:40. Finished 6th overall, but had to settle for 3rd in age group. Got a nice glass as an award. Did 4 miles with some friends (including Darrell) as a cool down, 8 and change total for the day. I wanted to make a PR attempt but I’m always happy with any time starting with a 19. Went home and crashed on the couch, and thoroughly enjoyed watching the Gamecocks whip the Bulldogs.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/RESULTS/10DRY.TXT

Crooked 5k – Chapin, SC

This is a small 5k tied in with the Labor Day festival in the small town of Chapin, SC. It usually competes with a very large 15k on the same weekend, so turnout is usually sparse. I placed 4th last year out of 50 some-odd runners with a 22:04 time. I expected quite a few more this year though, because the 15k was cancelled for 2010. Turnout was actually was about the same though, about 50-70 people. This race is hurt by being old school – stamp and mail entry only and no chip timing. Weather was OK, about 70 degrees and sunny. Course winds through a county park – a fair amount of small inclines on paved trail and 3 sections of open grassy field. I was not feeling well yesterday, and this continued today. Dealing with a head cold, cough and some muscle aches yesterday. I felt a little better today but tired. I saw 2 people ahead of time that would beat me for sure and there were 3 military guys (ended up being a group of guys fresh out of west point who ran cross country for them) that looked like they would crush me too. So despite the small group, I knew I had no chance of placing overall. The top female from our running club was also there (amy) whom I’ve been trading places with all year, usually right together with our times.

The first and last half miles were in an open grassy field. With the start the west point guys and the 2 others I mentioned quickly jumped out to the lead, and I was in fifth. By the end of the field I was already breathing hard, so I knew this was going to be a rough one. After the field we plunged into the winding trail portion. I got passed by an older guy near the first mile marker, and I was really gassed as I passed it in 6:22. I actually considered dropping out soon thereafter – I just felt bad and my legs were feeling a lot weaker than usual. Sicne I had driven all that way and had never dropped out before, I instead decided to back off the pace a little. I let Amy pass me as she had been drafting and I knew she was going to beat me today. Backing off the pace just a little seemd to help a lot, and I felt I could make it after that. Second mile featured a long lap around some baseball fields and some tricky footing with gravel, dirt and grass. There were two very small open loops toward the end of the second mile which gave me a chance to assess the field. My friend Tyler and another guy were closer than I would have liked but I still had a decent gap. Hit mile 2 at 6:36. Older guy that passed me in mile 1 started fading a little and I was soon right behind him. I drafted him for about a quarter mile, then passed him as we headed back out into the open field starting area. Saw military guys cross the line (they finished together at 17:57)  as I began the last grueling stretch, where you can see the finish line but have to complete a lap to get there. I was really hurting by this time, not much left in the tank. A third military guy passed me around the 2.75 mile point, which was rough because I always pride myself on finishing strong and never letting any passes in the final mile. I was closing in on Amy but there just wasnt enough room to catch her. As i hit the final tenth, I heard footsteps and I knew it was older guy. I burned it as hard as I could to the finish and finished maybe a step ahead of him. 20:30ish, I think, maybe faster – I really couldnt tell because I was dead set on making sure this guy didnt outkick me. Finished 7th overall and 1st in age group. Happy with the result, especially given the way I was feeling and the cross country-esque course. Won a coffee mug – which was a nice break from medals. Did a 2 mile cooldown on the course with some friends.

….
They also finally posted the Chapin 5k results. I was at a full on sprint the last tenth with that dude on my heels (thigpen)  so I never saw the finish time. It was actually better than I thought – 20:15.
http://www.athlinks.com/time.aspx?eventid=137483