Dam Run 10k

One of the bigger 10k’s in the Columbia area today and my first 6.2 miler. The race started at 7:30 am and temp was 65 degrees, so pretty nice for this time of year in SC. I decided I would shoot for about 7:30 pace and go from there. This was by far the longest distance that I’ve raced – I did a 15k earlier this month but ran it super easy. The course was very PR friendly – billed as being flat to downhill most of the way.

I got a little caught up with the surge at the beginning and found myself at about 7:18 in the first mile, but the weather and the completely flat terrain (crossing over the top of a dam bordering a lake) made it seem easier. I decided at that point to try to hold that pace instead. The course ran through a neighborhood after crossing the dam, and there were a few inclines, but nothing too bad. I hit the next three miles in almost identical splits, about 7:15 or so. With 2.2 miles left I felt pretty strong, so I focused on a couple of runners that I knew ahead of me and picked up the pace. Passed a bunch of people on the fifth mile, and the increased pace seemed to actually feel better on my legs. Reached the 5th mile marker at a 6:58 split. The last 1.2 was through a park, all flat. I finally caught up with a guy that I had been trying to reach the whole race – he’s in his late 40’s but usually runs about 30 sec to a minute behind me in 5ks. Unfortunately there was not a 6th mile marker. I was wearing my garmin but all the weaving I had done in the beginning had made the distance off. There was a sudden turn and the finish was just about 50 meters ahead. If I had known it was that close I could have kicked in the full sprint earlier. I flew past one of my age groupers in the last 20 meters and hit the tape at 45:05. I was kicking myself afterward for not being aware of where the finish was, as I could have broken 45 minutes easy.  Either way, I was very happy with the time, as I was shooting for 46-47 minutes. Finished 48th, 4th in age group.

Overall, I like the distance and I’m looking forward to a couple more 10ks in the next few months, as well as a 12k and a half.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/09dam.txt

I had a 5k this weekend, and it was finally a little cooler (70’s at race time) on a relatively flat course. About a 100 people there. There was another race in nearby Lexington, so the field was a little thinned by that. I have been experimenting with the “go out fast and hang on” philosophy for 5ks recently, so I hit the first mile in 6:30. Over the summer this method has produced some decent times, though that last mile can get pretty rough. I was afraid of a bad time this weekend because my legs felt dead all week as I tried to continue my typical mileage when I think I hadnt recovered adequately from the 15k on Labor Day. In this race, I noticed I was breathing better and able to keep from slowing the pace too much, though my lower legs still were complaining from all the abuse.  My second mile split was 6:55. I tried pushing the pace a bit in the last 1.1 because I felt much better than I normally do from a cardiovascular standpoint. I was able to pass a few people, and finished strong – third mile at 6:50, the last .17 at 6:11 pace. The course was usatf certified, so I think I just ran it inefficiently (I didnt memorize it before). Finished in 21:13, 8th place and 1st overall age group. I was pleased with the result and it was nice to take home some hardware (a commemorative glass).

Next up is a 10k on Sept 26. This will be fun for me, because I’m assured a PR. I skipped a 10k in April and there havent been any since. I’ll be happy with anything sub-50, though would prefer to be around 46.

I ran the Labor Day Fitness challenge 15k in Columbia yesterday. Its the state championship for that distance, so there was a pretty big crowd. There was also a 5k race, but it is run as sort of an afterthought and for those that arent able to do the 15k. I had run a trail 5k on Saturday to get my competitive race for the weekend, and I felt this was a chance to try a new distance and take it easy. This course is notorious for being one of the hilliest and most grueling of the road races in the COlumbia area. This fact, and the fact that my longest run ever has only been about 10 miles, led me to take an extremely conservative approach to the race. I decided to go out in 8:30 pace and see how I felt. It was difficult for me to go that slow, especially when all kinds of people were passing me in that first mile. ( A hit to my running ego, for sure- lol) Luckily the weather was amazing with temps in the mid 60’s. I started to speed up just a bit during the first few miles, shaving my splits down to the 8:15 range. After mile 5 there was a quarter mile mountain of a hill that was unlike anything I’ve encountered in racing. People were stopping and walking – there was even a first aid station at the top. I was thankful I had started slow, because I was able to motor up it and pass a ton of people. By the time I had reached 6.2 miles, I realized all I had was a 5k left, and I felt great, so I ramped up the speed significantly, moving to about 7:20-7:30 pace, which seems so much easier once youre that “warmed up”. There were a few more rough hills in the last 5k, and even a brief trail section at the end, with a finish after 2/3 lap on a track. I was pretty beat during that last .3 mile as the increased pace and cumulative mileage started to take its toll. Still, I was able to sprint the track part and finish in 1 hr 16 minutes, 75th overall, 5th in age group. I enjoyed the run a great deal and it gave me confidence I could do a half marathon. Best part =  instant PR! 
http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/09Labor.txt

Yet another trail run for me yesterday – a field of about 70 or so at a county park about a half hour from COlumbia in Chapin,SC. The field was notably missing the rail-thin, singlet-wearing types. The course was through woods and around an athletic complex – mostly grass and dirt with some paved areas. It was an out and back course so you could see where you stood in the field most of the race. I decided to go out fast, which is against my usual negative-split inclination. I guy flew by me in the first 400 meters and I never saw him again. There was a 4 wheeler that directed the lead runner, so there was litle direction for the rest of us. I was all alone as the lead runner for the rest of the pack for about 3/4 of the race. First mile split was in 6:27, which was ridiculous for this course, so I had to put on the brakes a bit. I paid for the first mile the rest of the race, but I was able to maintain about a 7:10 pace the rest of the way out. I was dying in the last .75 mile and got passed by two people, but managed to hold on to 4th place. The finish time was about 22:10, which was not bad considering the cross-country course and nearly continuous rolling hills. My Garmin had me at a little over 3.2 miles, which probably was more of me meandering off course trying to lead the rest of the group. That is something I’m definitely not used to. The winner finished in 18:58 or so, and the other two ahead of me were above 21 minutes. It was fun to run in a smaller, less competitive race. Now that I have some hardware for this weekend, I can concentrate on just finishing my 15k on Monday. It is known to be a grueling, hilly course, so I am going to take it slow and have fun.

I ran yet another trail 5k this past Saturday, at the state park a couple of miles from my house. I actually ran most of the way from my house to the race site as a warm-up, though I was running late (literally) and it ended up being nearly a 2 mile tempo, which  is not what I had in mind. I had 5 minutes to spare when I got there. The race was tied in with a high school CC meet, which made it a pretty big event. The open 5k was just 160 people though. The race was about 2 miles of sandy trail and the last 1.1 of twisting single file running through the forest. Despite the vigorous warm-up, I felt pretty strong. It helped the temperature was in the 70’s for the first time in months. I started out fairly slow for me, 7:15 in the first mile, and then decided to up the pace and try to overtake people one by one. It was difficult to run fast in the sandy trail – a good part of it was beach like and I was constantly looking for any packed down areas. Finished the second mile in 7:08.  After the 2 mile marker, I decided to pick up the pace further though it was hard to pass in this narrow, winding forest trail section. I was pretty spent at the end but was able to sprint the last 200 meters or so as the trail opened up onto a grassy section for the finish.

Finished in 21:30, a time I was very pleased with for a trail run. I havent downloaded the data from my Garmin, but the last mile was significantly sub-7 minutes. I was 4th in my age group, 25th overall,  so no hardware. Still, I think I’ve made some progress the last few weeks focusing on doing more speedwork and core exercises. http://sc.milesplit.us/meets/55811/results/94831

My 15k is coming up on Labor Day. I have no idea how this will turn out – I havent even raced a 10k before – but at least I’ll have an instant PR!

Ran a trail 5K yesterday , actually 3.2 miles – the race director and others acknowledged it to be long. They said no one was going to PR on this course anyway, and that was certainly the truth. There were a good number of the local high school cross country boys and girls teams out there, as it was a fundraiser for their program. The course was muddy, lots of twists and turns, lots of ditches and one small mountain of a hill. There was little opportunity to pass, and few were doing this anyway, as the humidity was about 90+ percent and the temp around 80.  I signed up the night before on a whim – I figured I was going to be doing a training run that morning anyway, might as well make it more interesting. Trail running certainly is a lot different than the roads – I was always having to watch right in front of me to avoid trees/roots/rocks/etc. It was a nice change of pace, both literally and figuratively. No way to keep up a sub-7 pace here.

I used the big hill about half a mile into the race to pass a bunch of people and basically held my ground from there. I did pass one or two the rest of the way. Averaged about 7:30 pace or so and finished in 23:41. Everyone was about 2-3 minutes off their road 5k times, so I was OK with the time. I finished in 16th place, 3rd in age group. I was pretty happy with the place, as 8 of those ahead of me were high school cross country kids.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/RESULTS/09FOX.TXT

Hot Summer’s Night 5k   Columbia, SC RR

This is a sizable race that had 400 something entrants. Winner has always been in the 15 minute range. I knew I had no shot at an age group award, as I saw the last few years 3rd place in the 30-34 has been 18 minutes or better. This was a very aptly named race – temps were mid-80’s at race time and what had to be 90-100 percent humidity. However, I was familiar with the course and knew it to be pretty flat.

I had a good time before the race – my 3 and 5 year old were entered in the kids races and both got  finishers medals for the 200 and 400m runs. They were pretty excited to participate in what they see daddy doing all the time. My wife and 1 year old were also there to cheer us all on.

I wanted to PR in this race pretty badly, given the amount of training I’ve been doing and  the flat course. However, I had been on vacation the last week or so and had missed speed days the last two weeks. The heat/humidity combo also made a PR unlikely.

However, I still bolted out of the gate at the start, trying to get a clear running lane. It was pretty congested, and I had yielded a couple of rows to the super fast guys. Everything felt good at the start, which is usually not the case in my morning races. This one started at 7pm so no having to shake the cobwebs out. I did a little bit of dodging in the beginning , so I hit the mile mark on my garmin a few steps ahead of the race clock. First mile was in 6:36, and I still felt good.

Halfway through the second mile I started to really feel the heat, like someone had thrown a blanket over me. I was beginning to struggle maintaining the previous pace. I had to back down some and saw the split as 6:50 or so. I was still managing to pass people though, I guess because everyone else was feeling it too.

The last 1.1 was just torture. Breathing hard, desperately wanted to stop, trouble maintaining form. Luckily the last quarter to half mile is straight and the finish clock was visible, which at least provided the carrot on the stick to keep me going. I had to painfully watch the whole 20th minute tick away. Split for the third mile was 7:10. I didnt hit the lap on the Garmin at the end, so I didnt get a time on the last 0.1. Overall, I finished at 21:36. A respectable time for me, though I hated the way I felt at the end and the ugly positive splits. Also disappointed I havent been able to touch my PR since May, after making huge improvements over the first few months I was running. I am definitely looking forward for the heat to let up and for me to make a real PR attempt at the 5k when it gets cooler.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/09hot.txt

: I raced in my first non-5k yesterday – the “Born in the USA” 4 miler. It was a good day for racing – low 70’s at race time of 7:49. This is one of the more prominent races in my area – it tends to attract some pretty good competition and weeds out the casual runners because of the holiday. About 250 runners in all.

I was unsure about how to run this race, as everything in my running brain is geared towards the 5k. I was worried about bonking in the end given the longer distance. I knew the pace should be pretty close to 5k. I chose to play it safe and shoot for a 7:15 pace. I knew I wouldnt age group in this race given the competition, so I didnt have any pressure. Garmin was on board this time to help. There was also a 2 leg, 2 mile relay going on at the same time, so it was impossible to tell if you were getting passed by a relayer or not.

The course is a modified 5k course, so I was familiar with the layout – pretty flat for the most part.  I felt pretty tired before the race, having to get up at 5:45 or so, which is early for me. I jogged a half mile to warm up. Its always hard for me to get going in the morning, and I swear I always have a moment in the first mile of my morning races where I just want to stop

I laid back from the first few rows of runners and let the crowd be the governor on my running engine, as I always tend to start too fast. The first mile felt kind of rough, but I was concentrating on form and pace. The race had clocks at each mile, which was nice. I hit the first one at 7:14, right on pace.

The second mile felt slightly better, though I was worried because the pack I was running with had some regulars that were usually a couple minutes behind my 5k times. Hit mile 2 at 7:12, pretty consistent, especially since I hadnt hardly looked at the Garmin. I actually made use of the water station (which I never do in a 5k) and was able to choke a few sips down.

Third mile had some hills, but I was feeling increasingly strong. Passed a lot of people and left my pack behind. Mostly alone after a half mile. Hit the marker at 7:13. At this point, I saw the clock as about 21:40 and I felt really strong, so I decided to push the pace. I think my body finally had decided to wake up, and everything felt smoother.

Turned the last corner and saw the clock flip to 28 minutes, sprinted the last 100 meters (at 3:58 pace per my Garmin – lol) and finished in 28:24 . My last split was 6:43.  Finished 39th of 260, didnt place in my age group (though would have finished 2nd if I was 5 years younger, strangely). Overall I was pleased with the time, and guaranteed PR!
http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/09BUSA.txt

I guess I need to be more aggressive in my pacing, though this distance is pretty rare. It was fun to try a different distance, and I’m looking forward to my first 10k (September).

Yesterday’s run was pretty brutal. I showed up at about 6:30 pm for the 7 pm start, and it was 92 degrees according to my car. Typical SC summer high humidity too. The race was at a horse racetrack in Camden,SC (Home of the Carolina Cup). The first thing I notice, as I’m walking around (this would have to qualify for warming up, because I was sweating just doing this) is that the course is all grass, and its about shoe to ankle height. I was thinking it would be a dirt track like Churchill Downs. I really started to worry about the race then, because just walking through this grass required some effort.

A horse led the field and we were off on schedule. Right away I could feel I had to adjust my gait just to get through this race. I started lifting my knees more and overstriding just to wade through the grass. This seemed to work as I passed a lot of people on the first mile. I was wearing my Garmin for the first time, and it was very nice for this race that had few landmarks. The mile markers were pretty in sync with my watch. First mile was in 7:18, which felt pretty fast for these conditions, though I felt pretty good.

Caught up with a pack of 3 and surged past them in the second mile, though we were all starting to slow a bit with the heat. Caught another guy at the end of mile 2 as he was just spent. All this passing by running a blistering 7:52 split.

I really started to feel the heat in the third mile, and really started to worry about it becoming overwhelming and having to stop. I was running free and clear of everyone until I started hearing footsteps behind me as I neared the 3 mile marker.  Split was 7:49.

The guy behind me caught up to me right at mile 3 and he surged ahead. I told him he had it, but about 20 seconds later I saw him start to slow. I decided to kick it with everything I could muster. He heard me as we were within about 20 meters of the finish and sped up. We hit the line almost in tandem, but I thought I might have just pushed past him with that last lunge.

Finished in 23:45, almost 3 minutes slower than my PR, but I was happy with the run considering the conditions. The results showed 8th place, identical time as the guy who finished with me but I did apparently outkick him by a fraction of a second, as they had him 9th. This was good for 2nd place in my age group, though they only had awards for the winners. This was OK with me since this was an inaugural race and there were only about 60 runners (20 or so walkers).  Times were super slow across the board, even some regulars had to walk some. The winning female finished in 26 minutes.

http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/09Springdale.txt

My race today was through the streets of my childhood neighborhood, and my parents (who still live there) came out for support, so that was fun. My memory of the area was apparently pretty spotty though, because I had the idea it was pretty flat. This was definitely not the case. Mostly rolling hills, though only a couple of significant inclines.

The race was much bigger than I had assumed, with about 200 participants. There were cash awards too, so this brought out the local “elites”. This included some of my age groupers, so I knew an AG award would be difficult at best.

I lined up behind the known sub 20’ers, and did my best to lay off the sprint everyone seems to engage in after the gun. It worked well- I didnt get passed the whole race after the initial 100 yards, and ended up passing several people in the first mile. I ran most of the race fairly isolated, which tends to be the case recently. I seem to have improved past the main group of casual runners, but not good enough to join the truly competitive. It at least allowed me to run my own race, though I didnt feel that push to go faster from competition. I did catch a 13 yr old kid in the last mile, which sounds dubious, but he actually has finished with some low 20:xx times this year, so I felt good about that. I kept my eye on one of the top females as a pacer, knowing she usually also runs in the low 20:xx range. Unfortunately she was slower today than usual!

The course ended with an unpleasant hill, so I couldnt muster a  good kick, plus I was all by myself and didnt feel the pressure to really put on the afterburners. This was particularly true after I realized I couldnt PR when I saw the clock.  Because of my separation from the pack, the event photographer took a ton of ridiculous pics of me dying across the finish – see here and push the next button for the full inglorious montage:
http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=1K10001Z000207&po=207

I finished in 21:36 , which I was OK with. Not as good as last week, but I’m pleased I can consistently get below 7 minute pace. Missed my age group – there were 3 sub 20 times for 30-34 yr olds. I did finish 4th though. My last race for about a month now – the summer is starting to kick in, and the heat has and will continue to be a factor now. (almost 80 degrees by race end today)
Results:
http://www.strictlyrunning.com/results/09extra.txt