Get in the Pink 5k

This is the 2nd year of an event that’s a fund raiser for breast cancer, with the 10k being the “marquee” event. I’m coming off the 23 miles of relay last weekend so I decided to go for the shorter race. A surprising amount of people for this race, though I think most were not in it for the competition (definitely true by the finish times). Gun time was 8:15, 15 min after the 10k start. Heat was rough already, probably close to 80 degrees (high of 90 I think today). I warmed up about 2 miles, and was sweating already. I needed some water at the start but none to be found (car was too far away). Lined up first row – there were a few people in singlets that I know (including the dude that beat me to win the Healthy Capital 5k last month). These guys were 18:xx, but in their early 40’s,  so my goals were to sub 20 it and win my age group. A 49 yo woman (Sarah)  that I know and  used to be a top national masters runner was also there, trying to come back from injury.

The start was good and I ran in the first group for the first half mile, then tried to focus on hitting low 6 splits. The heat was already getting to me inthe first mile, so this did not bode well. Sarah was with me stride for stride, though I could tell she was laboring too. The 1 mile marker was way off – at about 0.8 miles – so that was disheartening. Hit the real first mile in 6:06, so pretty good pace. Crowd started to thin at this point. A group of 3 were about 50 meters ahead, and then me and another guy I wasnt familiar with. Sarah dropped back at this point and it was just me and the other guy the whole 2nd mile. At the end of the mile I started to pull ahead of him, – he told me “its going to be hard to break 19 today” . I’m not sure if this was to get in my head, but we were close to this pace at the time. Hit mile 2 at 6:16 pace. Around this time the lead runner from the 10k (begun 15 minutes earlier) caught up (he’s a running legend in SC and does about 32 minutes, so I knew thi swould happen ahead of time). Still, I was afraid it was someone in my race when I heard him. I was really, really hurting at this point. The course turned and made a slight incline into a very long straightaway, where I could see the finish way off in the distance. My breathing was getting so fast that I had to slow down slightly to make sure I didnt have to stop. Luckily the dude behind me was feeling it too, because I couldnt hear him behind me. I knew he was close though with the cheering from the few spectators. The last half mile or so was pure torture, and it was a supreme mental effort to keep going. Finished mile 3 in 6:36 and was able to muster a feeble kick to the line. Crossed in 19:44, 4th place overall and 1st in AG. The guy behind me finished 6 seconds later and is 39, so I was very glad I was able to fend him off, especially because this race had hardware only for 1st. Happy with the time, especially considering the heat. A little disappointed though because my pace was for a PR until that last mile, which is usually my strength. I may need to adjust my pacing with this heat becoming such a factor.

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

Thanks to Mr Sig for the support and organizing a cool relay event. I know we were a team that was kind of random and most of us met just before the race – I had no expectations of being competitive but it was thrilling how the team really came together and almost placed overall.

I had three legs to the relay: 8.8 miles, 6.6 miles and 7.5 miles each about 8 hours apart. I was runner #3 on the team and you can see the legs on the website. My goal was to try and maintain close to the calculated relay pace, which was 7:27 for me. This is also almost right at the pace I would need to qualify for Boston, so it would be interesting to see how I responded.

Right off the bat, though, I knew this was going to be tough. The high on both days was scheduled for high 80’s. I had my first leg at around noon, and it was already broiling. I was roaring to go on the first leg (8.8 mi) and did a ridiculous 1st mile for the conditions, around 6:45. Not a good idea. Not only was my leg full of hills but completely exposed with little or no shade. I basically hemmorhaged seconds each split as the heat really took its toll. Fell all the way to about 8 minutes/mile by mile 8, but was able to go sub 8 pace again in the last 0.8 with the van and exchange zone in sight. Just brutal conditions. To make matters worse, the runner on the team we were closest to blew by me halfway into the leg, pulling about 5ish pace (later found out he was a 2:30 marathoner). I was really spent after that leg and started to worry about how it would effect the other legs.

2nd leg (6.6 miles)was thankfully at night, just after 8:30 or so. I knew our team was doing well, just a few minutes behind our projected pace despite the terrible heat. Temps had cooled to the 60’s and I was feeling better, though still not 100 percent. Had to run in a crazy get up – reflective vest, headlamp and 2 blinking red lights, in a completely dark rural area with little but a straight road, which thankfully was nearly flat. I decided to go all out and reclaim some of that lost time from my first leg. Felt really good after I got going – just started knocking off 6:50ish and 7:0X splits. Passed a few people, but 2:30 marathon guy caught me again in the 3rd mile. At 6.6 miles by Garmin I still couldnt see a finish and I was close to panicking that I had missed a turn. Finally saw the exchange zone and Garmin read 6.96 miles at 7:08 pace. I was happy with that, but started worrying immediately about that last leg. I was pretty cashed at that point, having done almost 16 miles of hard race effort.

We had a hotel room to crash for a little bit after the last runner in our van did his leg at 11:00 pm or so. No one was really sleeping though so we headed for the next exchange zone to try and sleep while the other van ran their legs. Got maybe 2 hours of very interrupted sleep in our van. Woke up feeling completely wrecked – sore and exhausted.  Our other van (with Mr Sig) had kept up the good pace, and I was determined to try and continue that. My last leg was 7.5 miles, again flat and straight, at about 5:30 in the morning. My toes were killing me from doing the first 2 legs in my racing flats, and my quads were already really sore. I switched to my trainers for the last leg, which was probably a mistake. I again took off in the first mile, doing 7:15, but I knew I was in trouble pretty fast. Just felt terrible physically and the lack of sleep made the mental effort even tougher. Was able to hold it together through the first 4 miles at OK pace mid to high 7’s, but the wheels came off at about mile 5. I started seeing spots and the headlamp light was disorienting me a bit. After being unable to shake it, I just stopped and walked for about 10-15 seconds, and was able to recover enough to keep going. The last miles were brutal – I was more concerned about actually completing the leg and not being a medical issue more than maintaining any kind of pace. Somehow I was able to keep an 8:30ish pace, probably because I was so intent to finish. Passed a guy that looked as bad as I felt, but was walking, tried to offer some encouragement. Actually was able to get a second wind and do 7:50 in the last half mile, and man was I glad to get that leg over.

After my finish I felt much better and coffee and a sausage biscuit totally reenergized me. I was sorer than I’ve ever been, but it was great to follow the remaining 9 runners all the way to Folly Beach, including a group finish with Mr Sig for the last 100 meters.

In all, a unique and cool experience. I had a really nice and supportive team, so that made the painful parts much more bearable. Was so excited that a team of newbies like ourselves could have placed so well.

Healthy Capital 5k

Local 5k, competing with a trail 10k on the same morning. Got there super early to do my warmup 2 miles. I like running the last mile of the course backwards then forwards to get a good feel for the finish. Registered on site because I had missed the early discounted rate 2 weeks ago. I ran this race last year, and it was fun because there are a lot of high school students there and the band plays, so the energy is good. I ran another half mile when a friend showed up. We looked around at the start and saw a few familiar faces but no one we knew that was faster than us. This was kind of initimidating, because all of a sudden an overall win became a reality. One singlet guy next to me was a wild card. My Garmin crapped out on me before the race – thought it was charged up but one of my kids must of knocked it off.
The course was pretty simple – one loop, with a shared quarter mile hill at the start and finish. Unfortunately the start was the downhill.

With the gun there was a mass stampede effect going down the hill. A large group of students sprinted down only to drop off after a quarter mile. Hard to gauge pace. I kept up near the front and started inching upward at about the half mile mark. Passed 2 guys and now was running 2nd, with the leader (singlet guy) fairly far ahead but definitely in sight. Passed by the mile marker and my friend (who was running in a small pack in 3rd -6th) shouted out a 5:50ish pace. This made me panic somewhat, because I was already breathing pretty hard.  Somehow I was able to settle into a manageable pace after about a mile and a half. After a while the pack behind me was no longer audible and I tried to set my sights on the leader. I was definitely making up ground but just not quick enough. I didnt have any splits other than the first, and no one was around me, so I just tried to red line it the best I could. I was really closing in on leader guy toward the end of the third mile, but then the quarter mile hill hit. This pretty much neutralized any chance  I had at kicking it past this guy. He was able to hold his position so I just gave it all I could up this brutal hill. There was a turn and a steeper hill for the last .10  – I took a quick look back and there was no one in sight. I saw the clock turn over to 19 minutes and struggled across the line in 19:20. Very excited about the time and the overall finish. My friend was able to kick it on the hill and finished 3rd. Had to wait forever for the awards. Turned out they only did first overall awards and the rest age group. Took home first in age group obviously, but was crushed when I heard 1st got 50 bucks! Oh well – still an awesome race for me. Time to adjust my 2010 goals again!

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

Palmetto Half Marathon

Inaugural race, run right through my neighborhood. Capped out at 1200 runners per the website, though there was a 5k too, and I dont know if this number included that race. Absolutely perfect race weather – clear, light wind, high 40’s at 7:00 am race start. I lined up front and center with this one because of the number of people. I had tapered the last 2 weeks (28 miles last week and only 16 this week before the race). Took the last 72 hours off. I had a group that we had planned to do 1:35. Felt this to be aggressive, but I have very little as a point of reference given I’ve only run one half (a 1:45 in Nov 2009). I knew I could cut a large chunk off that, but how much was anyone’s guess. Out and back course with rolling hills.

Hit the first mile in 6:58 with all the adrenaline. Felt very good with all the recent downtime. I had already unintentionally ditched my group. At this point I decided to revise my plan and just go for it, and try to keep the pace around 7 minutes as long as I could. First 10k was super fast for me, as they had a race clock at mile 6 and I hit it right at 42 minutes, very close to my 10k PR pace. Splits in the early going were 6:58, 7:11, 6:51, 7:00, 7:05 and 6:52. My Garmin was a few seconds ahead of the actual markers though. Hit a hilly section on miles 6 and 7 but came back to a flat stretch for miles 8-10. My wife and kids were at the front of our cul-de-sac cheering me on at mile 8, whcih was awesome. Mile 8 (which included a large hill) was 7:26, so I picked up the pace again on the flat stretch and did brought it down to 7:08 the next mile. At mile 10 I knew there was only a 5k to go, and the official clock was at about 1:10:20. Decided to run it hard as I could all the way from there – 6:50, 6:58, 6:56 on miles 10-13. Was really laboring that last mile but the finish line was a huge motivator. Saw 1:31’s as I approached the finish and sprinted to the end, finished in 1:31:55. Extremely excited about the time. A PR by 13 and a half minutes! Finished 22nd overall and got 2nd in my AG. So happy all this training is paying off.

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

Resurrection 5k

Csab – nice to meet you at this race and congrats on the huge PR!

Csab already reported on this race above. Basically a pretty small 5k (67 finishers) on a reasonably fast course, though definitely rolling. The first mile is mostly downhill and the rest is up and down. I felt pretty bad this am before the race – stomach wasnt happy with the pizza and beer combo the night before. I was a little queasy driving to the race and wondered if I would actually race it. I got to the race site and did 2 10 minute pace miles, and felt better. Though this race is small, it actually attracted a fair number of good runners from the area.

I started this race pretty slow – I think part of it was being unsure about how my stomach was going to react, plus I hadnt done any speedwork this week (mostly recovery from a ridiculous nearly 17 mile run I got pushed into on Sunday done at 7:58 pace), so the sudden shift to sub 7 pace was a shock to the system. As csab noted, he blew past me in the first quarter mile and had a pretty good gap on me by the end of the first mile. First mile was in 6:36, so I knew I was going to have to kick it up a notch to have a shot at a third sub 20. I noticed that my breathing was actually unusually calm, it was just leg fatigue that was causing me trouble. Mile 2 found me starting to get into a good groove, and I started making major headway on the pack. Passed csab on a hill. He was confusing to me because he said he was hoping for sub 21, when I knew his pace was way under that. I hit the second mile at 6:22, and felt I had a lot more in the tank than I usually do at that point. Passed what I thought was the last 35er right at 2 miles and suddenly found myself completely alone. The elite pack was no longer in sight so I was running purely on feel and self motivation. Since I obsess about races all week and always wish I had pushed myself a little more, I tried to really pour it on. Once I hit the midpoint of the third mile I knew it was all flat and downhill, and I was able to push the pace to slightly sub 6.  Hit mile 3 at 6:10 and burned it on the downhill last tenth. Was able to cruise in at 19:40, and felt really strong at the end.

I ran the course again as a cool down, and thought I had 1st in AG all sewn up. Unfortunately, 2 guys completely unknown to me finished ahead of me in the 18’s. Oh well, still got a 3rd place and finished 8th overall.  Very happy with the time after the way things started. This is the most negatively split race I’ve ever run.

http://www.runningtime.info/040310R.htm

Will be shooting for 1:35-1:40 at the Palmetto Half next weekend!

Get to the Green 5k

This is the 5k associated with the 5 points St Pats day festival in COlumbia, and has turned into a huge event. 1600+ runners. Weather was awesome, almost too warm, probably mid 60’s at race time, and sunny. Course has an incline for much of the first mile, but is mostly flat thereafter. I PR’d here last year at 22:25 and its definitely a PR friendly course.  I lined up 2nd row behind the singlet wearing dudes and the pace was super fast from the gun. There was a bottleneck around the festival gate about a quarter mile from the start, so went out in crazy speed to avoid the stampede. Made it through unscathed. I was the unofficial pacer for a couple of guys looking to go sub 20, though of course I’ve only done it once, and with only 2 seconds to spare.

I ended up being a bad pacer, as I was way fast on the first split after the hill, 6:16 by my Garmin. Felt OK, though I was definitely breathing hard. One of the guys was right on my shoulder, the other somewhere behind me probably cursing me for taking on a crazy pace. I was definitely pushing it pretty hard after the first mile, and luckily I finally settled into a nice cadence that wasnt killing me. They had an official clock at the 2 mile mark and saw around 12:40, so I knew I was definitely in range for the sub 20. Felt pretty rough at this point, but I was bouyed by the fact that the last mile is completely flat with a little decline right at the end. I lost the other guy I was pacing behind me. My breathing was definitely getting ragged at this point, and to say I was hurting is putting it mildly. You could see the finish from about .50 – .75 miles out, but it felt like torture because it was taking so long to get closer to it. I had one guy pass me right at the 2 mile mark, but I was mostly alone for much of the last mile. As I approached the clock, I saw it turn to 19 minutes. I tried to muster a kick, but there was little left in the tank. One of my friends ended up passing me in the last tenth, but I was surprised to be anywhere near him at the finish (he’s a 55 year old perennial age group winner). Saw 19:20’s as I approached the finish, and gave it all I could, finished in 19:31.

Totally thrilled with the time. No way I would have predicted anywhere near that fast – I was hoping just to shave a few seconds off my 19:58. Missed an age group award (3rd was 18:30ish) , though frustratingly if I was 2 weeks younger would have gotten 3rd in the 30-34. Still 34th overall in a 1600 person race feels amazing.

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

March for Meals 5k

This is a cool race that is run in and around Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. Unfortunately it doesnt go by the animal exhibits but does go up into the botanical gardens. The botanical gardens have a single track trail which winds up a 300 ft mini mountain. This part of the course really slows you down, though theoretically you could take some of it back on the crazy steep downslope. I ran it last year in a PR  23:30 and won my age group on a fluke, but that was enough to spiral me into an obsession which continues today. I had a chance to meet Mr (and Mrs) Sig before the race – great to meet you guys! This was my first race as a 35-39er. Race temps were low 30’s – I did 2 miles to warm up in the zoo parking lot (its a huge lot), and felt pretty good after that. My goal was to run the first mile in about 6:30 pace and try to hang on from there. The main issue with this race is being in a good position once you hit the single track and the mountain, because its hard to pass during that stretch.

I lined up second row behind 2 people I knew would go sub 20. Bolted out and tried to maintain a strong pace to get into a good position. I was in pretty good shape at the bottleneck of the start of the trail, but I was a little boxed in by a couple of guys I knew I should beat. Hit the first mile in 6:30, right on my race plan. Luckily the trail opened up just a bit right before the mountain and I surged ahead. The mountain was tough, just a ridculous incline, though only about a quarter mile in length. The two in front of me were really laboring and I had to slow down to an almost 10 min pace and was breathing down their neck. I was surprised because one was the overall female winner and the other a local elite grand master 50 something that ran a 19 something at my sub 20 breakthrough. At the top of the hill, I caught my breath than decided to really burn it the rest of the way out.  Second mile was 7:09. Passed the two ahead of me and went careening down the slope at sub 6 pace. The rest of the race was flat. I started laboring pretty bad with about a half mile to go, but I wanted to at least be in 20:xx range and win my age group. I also knew I was fairly close to the front, figuring only about 6-7 people in front of me. I gave it all I had the last half mile, just totally red lining it, and feeling a little pukish to be honest. Long straightaway at the end and saw low 20’s as the clock came into the view. Pushed it and finished in about 20:30.

Won first in my new age group and I was very happy with the time, knowing the difficulty of the course.  My 3rd mile split ended up being 6:09, which explained why I was so cashed at the end. Great feeling though!  Mr Sig got 3rd in AG, I think a PR? He’ll have to chime in on that.  Cooled down by running the course again at a leisurely 9 minute pace. I’ll post the results when they come out.

Results:

http://www.seniorresourcesinc.org/images/MFM%20Photos/MFM%202010%20Overall%20Results.pdf

Not chip timed, so they gave me some extra seconds.

Lexington Race against hunger 10k

Big race in the Columbia area, established for 10 years. 880 entrants. I hadnt had a chance to preview the course because its about 40 minutes from my house. It has been billed as pretty tough with lots of hills. I hadnt run a road 10k since late summer last year, PR was set on a flat to downhill course at 45:05. No idea how this would turn out. I know my fitness had improved substantially but the course description and reputation was scaring me. Its an out and back course with two loops into neighborhoods off the main highway. Basically first mile and last 1.2 are fairly flat. The middle 4 miles are up and down big hills. I had planned to go out in 7:00 pace the first mile and see what happened. This is the second race for the crazy blue super light racer shoes.

First mile felt pretty good, I was fighting the urge to go faster as the 7 minute pace felt leisurely compared to the sub 20 attempt 5k last week. Did some maneuvering through the crowd and settled in with a few friends that had also agreed on the 7 min pace. Hit the first mile right on schedule at 6:57. Right at the mile point started the crazy hills. Constant rolling the whole 2nd mile with an apparent net decline in the last quarter. This inspired fear, because I knew we would have to make up the decline at some point. Sure enough, at 1.9 came a monster hill, long and steep. I was starting to get pretty winded, and looking at my 2nd mile split told me why – 6:38. Way too fast. Slowed down some to get my breath back and to stay with my plan. Next mile was just more of the same, big hills that were hard to make up on the decline because of the steepness. Splits were 7:15 and 7:32 for the next two miles. Seeing the 7:32 apparently lit a fire somewhere because I was getting mad at myself for hemorraging so much time. At this point the hills started to even out more as we prepared to get back on the flat section. With this in mind I just decided to go for it. Picked up the pace to just below 5kish, got back some seconds on the 5th mile with a 6:53 split. I felt a great second wind at this point for some reason – maybe because I knew the hills were over and was totally warmed up (race temps in the 30’s -low 40’s). Ramped up the pace further and started flying, passed several people. The sense of speed was magnified by a lane of 5k walkers  parallel to the 10k course. Felt fantastic at this point, hit the 6 mile at 6:36 and kept it up the last 0.2.

Finished in 43:19, PR by 1 minute and 46 seconds! No age group placement though – 3rd was 39 minutes and change. Very competitive race. Just an awesome feeling at the end. Hope I can continue the hot streak! I’ll post the results when they come out.

…Results just got posted:
http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/10LRAH.txt

A second faster than I remembered – woo hoo. Still only placed 34th in a super competitive race.

Race Judicata

Almost skipped this one today with a head and chest cold still wreaking its havoc. Absolutely beautiful today in Columbia – low 60’s and sunny with a nice late race time of 10 am. The course was mostly flat, some small rolling inclines. Pretty good turnout today,about 150 people. I did two separate 1 mile warmups, did not feel particularly good on the first but the second seemed better after I shed the warmup sweats and put on my new racing shoes (Adidas Adizero Adios). Decided at the last minute to give it a full effort, as I had been contemplating making it a tempo with the junk still in my lungs.

The first half mile of this race felt like crap, my lungs were trying to get rid of some gunk, and finally at about the half mile point I was able to cough a good bit of it out. Yummy. After that I felt MUCH better, and I was no longer coughing. Legs felt surprisingly good. I dont know whether it was psychological, but the light racers certainly make you feel faster.  I hit the first mile at 6:25 and decided to really give mile 2 a good go, as I have a habit of letting up too much in that mile. I killed the first half of mile 2 , lost one of my friends pacing with me and passed a ton of people. The last part of the mile was the first time I started breathing hard, but the legs were still with me. Hit the second mile in 6:27. After seeing the split, I basically decided to go all out, as hard as I could, because the carrot of the sub-20 5k has been killing me for months. This was my first realistic chance after 2 miles to get it. I was definitely starting to hurt at this point, but i kept telling myself it was only 1.1 left. It was just me and the course for mile 3 – there was a small group ahead of me but no one around me. There was definitely some rough going during that mile, but I kept the thought of that 19:xx on the clock to keep me going. I turned the last corner and there was about a half mile of straightaway to the finish. I could not make out the clock but the sight of the finish line was an incredible motivator. At the last cross street before the finish, I could make out 19:37 or so. I was absolutely cashed at this point but threw every last bit of energy into a finishing kick. Crossed the line in 19:58 with a feeling of overwhelming relief and joy. I established the sub 20 goal in the middle of  ’09, and had a hard time with a plateau in the 21’s, but finally things are starting to break through again.
Today is a good day!

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/10RaceJ3.txt

Race for the Place 5k

First 5k of 2010, seemingly attended by most of the competitive runners in Columbia. My first 5k since a disaster of a sub 20 attempt on 12/26/09 (finished in 20:53 but felt absolutely terrible).  Temps were right around 40 degrees and cloudy. I showed up an hour ahead of the 8:30 start and decided to jog the whole course. My mileage has been consistently in the 30’s for over a month, so I felt comfortable doing this as a warmup. Jogged it in about 28 minutes, felt good.

Since there were a lot of familiar faces around, it made it easy to assess my approximate pace at any point in time. I went out pretty fast with the gun, and I was amazed how crowded it was at low 6 pace the whole first mile. This race was even more competitive than I thought. I ran close to two friends of mine, one almost with the same 5k times, the other about 30 seconds slower. The course was slightly rolling but mostly flat, with no real hills to change your pace much. Hit the first mile in 6:15 by a volunteer’s watch, but my Garmin had it at 6:22, which seemed more accurate. I was excited to be at sub 20 pace and tried to keep it up. At about 1.5 miles in I started struggling a little bit keeping a good rhythm to my breathing and pace, so I might of backed off a little. I got passed by 2 guys, but I was able to maintain their pace behind them and not get gapped. Hit mile 2 at 13 minutes flat, a 6:47 Garmin split. I was pretty bummed with this. Tried to push it in the last mile. I did feel better for the first half of mile 3 as I finally got into a good rhythm. I ended up leaving the two frinds I was running with behind and stayed with a group ahead of me. Those guys started to die towards the end but were persistent on holding their position. I got kind of boxed in and didnt have the strength myself to go around them. At 3 miles I was definitely sub 20 but I couldnt see the clock. Rounded a turn with about maybe 30 meters to go and saw the clock at about 20:10ish. Dissapointed with that, but pushed it as much as I could behind the pack in front of me, which limited me a little. I dont have the official time yet but it was right at about 20:20, which is still a PR!  Unfortunately the field was so strong that the 30-34 group 3rd place was around mid 19’s. Oh well, I’ll be 35 on March 3, so maybe that will help some. I am happy with the time, though getting closer to sub 20 makes it even more agonizing not to get it. Plus, I would at least hope to get some age group schwag for my efforts, but when all the studs show up, it makes it difficult.

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