Saturday, August 16

[Arrojo]

Double workout today: First - 6 miles on the roads, hot 70°.

Have a nice day.

[kevin871]

13 miles including:

50 minutes easy
50 minutes @ marathon pace

[caito]

6 miles moderate.

[Natasha]

3.2 trails at 8:00. Muggy and 80.

[cgraz]

Bike ride at 6 am...34 miles.

[Belgian Lace]

4.75

[Handsome Jack]

8 easy. Nice morning.

[Richard21142]

5K race this morning.  This course is very hilly and is a net uphill course.  The race starts uphill and I tried to stay under control.  Then you make a 90 degree turn for a long uphill (and not looking forward to coming back up the hill).  This is where I started running harder and staying with the field.  For the next two miles the course rolls and it turns you around to retrace the course.  With about a mile to go, I increased the effort and passed the runners that were near me.  I was doing really well until I hit the last long uphill.  My quads were tightening up and my stride was getting shorted.  As I approached the top of the hill, I started working my arms and got my stride back for a steep downhill to be followed by a very steep uphill to the finish.  My splits were 9:32, 9:33 and 10:12.  I finished 52nd out of 102 and was first in my age group.

For most of the race, I felt really good which is very encouraging as I have not completely recovered from smashing my knee into my daughter's car. 

[Plugging Along]

Half marathon race.

There will be no marathon this year. For some reason I just can't get out for 16 and 18 mile runs. Also my diet has been terrible and I haven't lost any weight despite averaging 105 miles the last 4 months. And I just don't have the drive, gumption, whatever it is. So ten milers and half marathons will be the goal for the rest of the year.

I really didn't feel like going to this race. I had a crappy week at work, and the weather forecast sucked. When the alarm went off at 6am I hit snooze and thought about it for 10 minutes. When it went off again I decided I would do the race. So, up and at em, race clothes on, race gear packed, out the door for an hour drive.

This time there was no detour so I got to the start line with 30 minutes to spare. Sign up, chip on, stretch, jog. The sky was overcast, which is normally good news. But the temps were near 70, and so was the humidity. I had bought a bottle of water at the gas station on the way over, and at the last minute I decided to carry it with me. I didn't have a fanny pack and would just carry it in my hands. It turns out I am a frickin genius. I have been doing a couple of runs per week with 1lb hand weights, so the water bottle was no problem. I also had ice in a cup and my lucky hat, so just before the start I put a bunch of ice under my hat.

My season best was a 1:56:43 training run 3 weeks ago, so I thought I should at least beat that, and maybe 1:54 or 1:53 was in the cards. So 8:54 per mile was the goal, but I thought I might be able to hold 8:40s.

To the start line, play the anthem, and we are off. The runners aren't crowded together, and I lined up in the right spot, so no problem with slower runners in the way. Mile 1 is in town with some downhill, 7:52. Pretty quick, but it is early and it was downhill and felt easy. But I was noticing how warm it felt. I focused on keeping an even, sustainable rhythm. Mile 2 in 8:24. More like it. Bringing the water bottle saved the day. I was already taking a sip and dumping some on my head every 3 minutes. Mile 3 in 8:18. It had some downhill, so I thought I had found my pace. Two minutes in the bank.

Mile 4 in 8:33. This was flat and had a water station. I had put time in the bank and was ahead of my goal pace by 150 seconds. But I was definitely warming up, a bad sign for an old, fat man. Mile 5 in 9:12. I took a 20 second walk at the steep part of an uphill, also did the sip and dowse thing. Some of the runners who passed me glanced at my water bottle with envy. Mile 6 in 9:23. This had a water station and I stopped and refilled my bottle with cold water. Yummy.

Mile 7 in 8:50. Relatively flat and I was putting the water bottle to good use every 2 or 3 minutes. Mile 8 in 9:34. This had some uphills and a water station where I stopped and filled my bottle again. Mile 9 in 9:08. This troubled me. It was mostly flat and I was using the bottle to try to stay cool, yet in an easy stretch I couldn't hold my target pace.  Mile 10 in 9:25. Another stop at a water station to fill my water bottle, but now my hammies were starting to hurt.

With each mile my time cushion was shrinking. It was getting to the point where I couldn't give back any more time. No more stops to refill the water bottle, but I wouldn't need it by then. When it was empty I would drop it at the last water station, about mile 12. Mile 11 in 9:15. Another flat section where I couldn't hold my pace. My right quad was now wanting to cramp. Mile 12 in 9:24. Further off pace, but this section had several uphills. I knew from here to the finish was flat to downhill. Time to start kicking, if I had anything left. Mile 13 in 8:24. So I did have some kick left. The finish line was in sight, but I was at exactly season best pace. I needed to pick it up if I wanted a new sb. Somehow I found a pretty good sprint over the last 170 meters. Clocked in at 1:56:29. Splits were 56:40 and 59:50. The heat and humidity took its toll.

14 seconds ahead of target. I'll take. 13th in my age group and top 60 overall. It was the best that I could do so I am happy.

The conditions were deceptively hard. It was overcast the whole race. No sun was nice, but the humidity was a big factor. It might have been low 70 degrees, but the heat was being pumped into your body like it was 80 degrees. In the last mile I passed three runners who had zoomed past me during mile 6. They were walking now.

The medic at the finish line thought I was in trouble. I had tried to lift my foot up on a stool so someone could cut the chip off, and my hammy started to cramp, which made me stagger and wobble. I had to explain to her that I looked like a drowned rat because I had been dumping water on my head the whole race, and that I had just finished a hard kick, and my hammy was wanting to cramp. She kept on eye on me for a few minutes, but then realized I was fine and went away.

I spent 10 minutes watching runners who looked like they should have been in front of me struggle to the finish line. With out the water bottle I would have probably locked up and limped home in about 2:05. I lost 2 minutes or so stopping to refill the bottle, but it saved me about 9 minutes by letting me keep running.

So, 4th half marathon of the year is in the books, and a season best to boot. And another shirt for the collection.

Good miles everybody.

Good race, Richard. Congrats on the hardware.

[RunSusanRun]

Congrats Richard and Plugging Along.

I had a sucky 5K this morning.  I think I pulled a muscle in my calf.  Started hurting about mid-way thru the race.  Thought about stopping, but also thought that I might workout whatever it was if I kept running...so I kept running.  Doing RICE since I got home.  Hope it doesn't keep me off the road for too long. 

[Arrojo]

Nice racing you guys.

Double workout today: First - 6 miles on the roads, hot 70°.

Later, 6 miles on the trails.

[Fionn mac Cumhail]

8 fast miles in 92 degrees...my times this fall better drop like a stone training in this shit!

[Ice Cream]

Great races!

9 miles

[siamesedream]

3 miles.

[Fast Eddie]

Congrats Richard and Plugging Amy.
 

.

Freudian slip?   

Ditton on the congrats.

30K Midsummer Night Run as the 3:15 Pace Fairy.  Had a good training run with it.  Fairy Tutu didn't chafe to any great extent.  Started in light drizzle, but it quickly went away and we had nice cool windy temps for the rest of the race.  Finished in a gun time of 3:14.30. 

Will post Pace Fairy Costume pics in Yammerland eventually.