1) Always have a lot of hills
2) Tall grass clings to my shoes, forcing me to work harder
3) Grass hides ruts in the ground
4) Uneven running surface requires constantly changing running line to avoid roots and holes.
I could go on but you get the point.
June 12 - MCRRC Gaithersburg XC 5K
This was my first MCRRC race for this year so I got there early so I could renew my membership. I'm glad I did as they didn't have any member ship forms there and they were a little befuddled on what to do with me. Fortunately, Christina was there and she sorted things out for me.
The race was run at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood. It was an evening race so it was pretty warm, though not unbearable. The course was run on tall grass or uneven trails. The race started and ended on uphills. Thanks for that!
I tried to go slow at the beginning but I still found myself pretty well in front of Christina after just a couple of minutes. But she caught me quickly when I stopped to walk after just 8 minutes. I felt beat, even though the heart rate data shows a max of only 141 beats per minute at this point. I had a late lunch that day and struggled with indegestation throughout the race but I think the main thing is I have a mental issue with cross country races.
Anyway, I followed Christina for a while and was just about to yell out to her that we had just passed 1 mile when she stumbled and fell. She sat on the path for a few seconds and looked a little dazed as I approached but she said she was OK and she started to run again. I ran with her for awhile jsut to make sure she was OK but I had to stop and walk when we reached a steep hill. I encouraged her to catch the 2 young women in front of her and she was off. She did catch them about 5 minutes later but I see in the results that they ended up beating her by about 35 seconds at the end. Oh well...she lost about that much time due to the fall so I call it a dead heat.
A few minutes later, a Mom and her 2 young kids passed me about 2 miles into the race. I learned later it was the Duelge family. They ended beating me by about 2 1/2 minutes as I struggled to complete that last 1.1 miles. I ultimately finished in 43:57...a painfully slow time. I'm actually shocked that I beat anyone but I did actually beat 2 men and 5 women. I think that helps show how tough a course it was. Jeanette Novak was my closest pursuer as she finished in 46:27.
Christina and I walked back together to the refreshment area and shared our mutual disappointment in our times and our frustration with cross country courses. I was in no mood to chit chat with others so I grabbed a few cookies and headed home quickly. I hope I don't have any more XC races anytime soon.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
It's the little things.
June 7 - HCS Oakland Hills 2 Miler
I was still hurting abit from the 3 races the day before but I decided to make the trek up to Columbia and get in what I hoped to be an uneventful 2 miler. It actually proved to be anything but.
I almost didn't get there in time. The 14th street bridge was again backed up to Crystal City. I did a little strategic speeding and arrived with about 3 minutes to spare. No stretching for me. I saw Joe Broderick at the start line and he said I might pay him back for yesterday as he was feeling pretty tight. I told him I just arrived so I was pretty tight too. But knowing that he wasn't feeling great helped me a little. My goal at the start line was to beat Joe.
I fell in right behind Joe for the first 1/4 mile. Then we hit a little uphill and also a little congestion. (We were running on a sidewalk). I felt the pace slow so I decided to make an early surge. I put about 20 yards between Joe and I pretty quickly. He never got any closer during the race.
I paid a price for the surge though. My heart rate was 167 after 5 and a half minutes of running. I walked for 1 minute but had to get going again sooner than I would have liked because Joe was gaining on me. I ran hard for another 2 minutes with my heart rate getting up to 163 before having to take another walk break. Then, for the next 3/4 of a mile I tried to run a slower pace that would allow me to keep my heart rate down. I succeeded for the most part, as my heart rate stayed between 140 and 156 during this segment of the race.
It was at this point that Adam McNeil passed me. With about 1/2 mile to go, Adam got in front of me and decided that the only thing that mattered that day was to finish in front of me. He was constantly turning around and checking on where I was. If I took a walk break, he took a walk break. From this I knew that he was tired too. That was all the edge that I needed. I controlled the rest of the race from behind Adam. I wanted to stay within 40 yards of him while resting just enough so that I could give my max effort over the last 250 yards. I figured that I could out kick him given his fatigue. Thats exactly what I did. I took a 10 second walk break with 300 yards to the finish line just to allow my heart to drop from 160 to 154 and then I took off. he didn't see me start to run again until I had already closed half of his lead. He weved back and forth on the path making it difficult to pass but the final 75 yards was on a driveway and I had room to get by him. He gave it a valiant try but he wobbled a little bit with about 20 yards left and I blew by him. The official time showed me crossing in 22:31.4 while Adam finished in 22:31.9. I came in 32nd out of 45 finishers and I was more than 10 minutes behind the 1st place finisher but I felt like a winner. Joe finished in 38th with a time of 23:08.
Oh, did I mention that Adam is about 10 years old? Dori said I really shouldn't mention that but I promised to be truthful in this blog. Yes, I'm excited about barely beating a 10 year old. So what... a win is a win I say. :)
I was still hurting abit from the 3 races the day before but I decided to make the trek up to Columbia and get in what I hoped to be an uneventful 2 miler. It actually proved to be anything but.
I almost didn't get there in time. The 14th street bridge was again backed up to Crystal City. I did a little strategic speeding and arrived with about 3 minutes to spare. No stretching for me. I saw Joe Broderick at the start line and he said I might pay him back for yesterday as he was feeling pretty tight. I told him I just arrived so I was pretty tight too. But knowing that he wasn't feeling great helped me a little. My goal at the start line was to beat Joe.
I fell in right behind Joe for the first 1/4 mile. Then we hit a little uphill and also a little congestion. (We were running on a sidewalk). I felt the pace slow so I decided to make an early surge. I put about 20 yards between Joe and I pretty quickly. He never got any closer during the race.
I paid a price for the surge though. My heart rate was 167 after 5 and a half minutes of running. I walked for 1 minute but had to get going again sooner than I would have liked because Joe was gaining on me. I ran hard for another 2 minutes with my heart rate getting up to 163 before having to take another walk break. Then, for the next 3/4 of a mile I tried to run a slower pace that would allow me to keep my heart rate down. I succeeded for the most part, as my heart rate stayed between 140 and 156 during this segment of the race.
It was at this point that Adam McNeil passed me. With about 1/2 mile to go, Adam got in front of me and decided that the only thing that mattered that day was to finish in front of me. He was constantly turning around and checking on where I was. If I took a walk break, he took a walk break. From this I knew that he was tired too. That was all the edge that I needed. I controlled the rest of the race from behind Adam. I wanted to stay within 40 yards of him while resting just enough so that I could give my max effort over the last 250 yards. I figured that I could out kick him given his fatigue. Thats exactly what I did. I took a 10 second walk break with 300 yards to the finish line just to allow my heart to drop from 160 to 154 and then I took off. he didn't see me start to run again until I had already closed half of his lead. He weved back and forth on the path making it difficult to pass but the final 75 yards was on a driveway and I had room to get by him. He gave it a valiant try but he wobbled a little bit with about 20 yards left and I blew by him. The official time showed me crossing in 22:31.4 while Adam finished in 22:31.9. I came in 32nd out of 45 finishers and I was more than 10 minutes behind the 1st place finisher but I felt like a winner. Joe finished in 38th with a time of 23:08.
Oh, did I mention that Adam is about 10 years old? Dori said I really shouldn't mention that but I promised to be truthful in this blog. Yes, I'm excited about barely beating a 10 year old. So what... a win is a win I say. :)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Racehorse - no; donkey - maybe
June 6 brought the annual running of the DCRRC Triple Crown Races. Its a series of 3 races run right after one another and the distances are the same distances the horses run in their triple crown races. James Scarborough is the Race Director every year and I have volunteered the past 2 years. Its a very low key race with no more than 25 racers. The race is held at Ft. Hunt where 1 loop around the park is about 1 1/4 miles.
We almost didn't run this day as a Park Ranger showed up just before the start of the race and started hassling us about a lot of little things. He was taking pictures and telling us we had to do all stand and run on one side of the road. When he told us we had to run with traffic instead of against traffic we had a problem though. First, thats not safe. Second, the course was measured to go clockwise around the park. It would have taken too long to remeasure the course for a counter clockwise run. Eventually though, calmier minds prevailed and we ran on the usual course.
Kentucky Derby 1 1/4 miles
Joe Broderick and Christina Caravoulias were both running today. We talked before the race and we knew we would be at the back of the pack. Now in years past, I have beaten both of them more than they have beaten me. However, this year is different. I'm struggling to run 11 minutes miles and I'm a good 4-5 minutes slower in my 5K's than I was just a year ago. Perhaps its the diabetes. Perhaps its the after effects of my broken foot. Whatever it is, I'm SLOW. So I knew this would be a challenge.
Christina said that she was hurting a bit as she did some speed work the day before. I figured that meant I needed to target Joe. So, when us horses were released I pulled in behind Joe and ran with him for the first 1/2 of the race. But then I walked for 45 seconds. This is where Christina passed me. In looking at the heart monitor data, it looks like I wimped out. My heart rate never got above 146 and it only averaged 135. Joe ended up beating Christina to the line by 10 seconds. I finished 30 seconds later with a time of 13:31. At least it was better than 11 minutes per mile pace. But I was beat! And I still had 2 more races t run!
Preakness 1 3/16 miles
The faster runners get a nice chance to cool down after their run as they have to wait for the last runner to finish (me) before we can start the next race. I, however, only have a couple of minutes to get it together. Thats not enough for me after a hard run. And it showed. We started out in the same order but Christina passed me quickly this time. She encouraged me to run with her but I was shot. I needed to walk. I watched her chase down Joe and they went back and forth for about .2 miles before she passed him for good. Obviously, the Derby took a lot out of him as well. Christina finished in 12:27 with Joe following at 13:30. I just couldn't muster up the energy to catch a clearly fading Joe and I finished in 14:33.
Belmont 1 1/2 miles
You don't appreciate how much longer the Belmont is until you actually run it like we did. It seems like we walk forever to get to the starting line for this race. Christina again tried to encourage me but PR's were not on my mind for this race...I just wanted to live to finish! I felt lousy but the heart monitor doesn't show it...my average heart rate for the race was 126 and my max was only 141. I finished in 20:08... my worse time for this race by far. But on the plus side, I did get a free t-shirt when I finished and I was able to enjoy a doughnut with my gatorade as Jim gave out the prizes. And I think these races will help me with future races as I push myself to more miles.
We almost didn't run this day as a Park Ranger showed up just before the start of the race and started hassling us about a lot of little things. He was taking pictures and telling us we had to do all stand and run on one side of the road. When he told us we had to run with traffic instead of against traffic we had a problem though. First, thats not safe. Second, the course was measured to go clockwise around the park. It would have taken too long to remeasure the course for a counter clockwise run. Eventually though, calmier minds prevailed and we ran on the usual course.
Kentucky Derby 1 1/4 miles
Joe Broderick and Christina Caravoulias were both running today. We talked before the race and we knew we would be at the back of the pack. Now in years past, I have beaten both of them more than they have beaten me. However, this year is different. I'm struggling to run 11 minutes miles and I'm a good 4-5 minutes slower in my 5K's than I was just a year ago. Perhaps its the diabetes. Perhaps its the after effects of my broken foot. Whatever it is, I'm SLOW. So I knew this would be a challenge.
Christina said that she was hurting a bit as she did some speed work the day before. I figured that meant I needed to target Joe. So, when us horses were released I pulled in behind Joe and ran with him for the first 1/2 of the race. But then I walked for 45 seconds. This is where Christina passed me. In looking at the heart monitor data, it looks like I wimped out. My heart rate never got above 146 and it only averaged 135. Joe ended up beating Christina to the line by 10 seconds. I finished 30 seconds later with a time of 13:31. At least it was better than 11 minutes per mile pace. But I was beat! And I still had 2 more races t run!
Preakness 1 3/16 miles
The faster runners get a nice chance to cool down after their run as they have to wait for the last runner to finish (me) before we can start the next race. I, however, only have a couple of minutes to get it together. Thats not enough for me after a hard run. And it showed. We started out in the same order but Christina passed me quickly this time. She encouraged me to run with her but I was shot. I needed to walk. I watched her chase down Joe and they went back and forth for about .2 miles before she passed him for good. Obviously, the Derby took a lot out of him as well. Christina finished in 12:27 with Joe following at 13:30. I just couldn't muster up the energy to catch a clearly fading Joe and I finished in 14:33.
Belmont 1 1/2 miles
You don't appreciate how much longer the Belmont is until you actually run it like we did. It seems like we walk forever to get to the starting line for this race. Christina again tried to encourage me but PR's were not on my mind for this race...I just wanted to live to finish! I felt lousy but the heart monitor doesn't show it...my average heart rate for the race was 126 and my max was only 141. I finished in 20:08... my worse time for this race by far. But on the plus side, I did get a free t-shirt when I finished and I was able to enjoy a doughnut with my gatorade as Jim gave out the prizes. And I think these races will help me with future races as I push myself to more miles.
Tears of Tim
OK, stay with me on this. The title was a bit of a stretch. Tears of Tim is a take-off on Tears of Jupiter. Tears of Jupiter was sung by Train. A train has a caboose. Which leads me to the Clifton Caboose 5K, held on May 30.
I have run this race a few times before. In fact, one year I ran the 1 mile race that preceeds the 5K, as well as the 5K itself. I'm no where near in good enough shape to try for the double (as you'll see in my next post!) so I opted for just the 5K this year.
This is an evening race and like most evening races this time of year it was rather warm. But it was bearable. It's an out and back course with a pretty decent uphill leading to the turnaround. I tried to save myself for the hill and then I hoped I could could kind of roll downhill for the return.
This is a pretty big local race held on a 2 lane road, meaning the beginning of the race is pretty crowded and with children. I was able to clear most of them within a minute or two and I focused on keeping a slow even pace. Unfortunately, my watch died 5 minutes into the race so I didn't have any data to help me get through the race other than just how I felt.
I was doing OK for the first 1 1/4 miles but really struggled going up the hill I mentioned earlier. As always, it was bigger than I remembered. As I was climbing the hill someone who had made the turn and was heading down the hill shouted over in my direction something to the effect of " Way to go, Mom to be". Now I know I have a belly. I even know I have a small pair of man boobs. But I really don't think I look like a preganant woman so I looked around. Sure enough, passing me on my left was a couple and the woman was about 5 months pregnant.
Now I know she could have been in great shape before the pregnancy and I know that this is about my adventures as a slow runner but I was not going to be beaten by a woman carrying a child in their belly! I'm sorry. It just wasn't going to happen! So once I got to the water stop immediately after the turnaround I picked up the pace. I passed her pretty quickly but that wasn't enough. I knew that I tire late in races so I needed a cushion and this hill was the place to build it. I ran at a pretty good clip for about 1/2 mile before having to stop to walk. I was starting to get a side stitch but I pushed through it for the most part. I passed a gentleman around here and I decided I wouldn't let anyone pass me for the rest of the race. So, for the rest of the race I kept an ear out behind me for footsteps. If anyone got close I would push the pace forward. It worked as I ran a pretty big negative split (19:30/18:25) for a 37:55. I finished 18th out of 20 in my 10 year age group. I wish I had the heart monitor working for this race as I think it would probably show some big numbers.
After the race I went to the festival and enjoyed a free beer and a few pretzels. The ground was damp though so I didnt want to sit on the grass. So I only stayed long enough to drink my beer before heading home for a nice shower.
I have run this race a few times before. In fact, one year I ran the 1 mile race that preceeds the 5K, as well as the 5K itself. I'm no where near in good enough shape to try for the double (as you'll see in my next post!) so I opted for just the 5K this year.
This is an evening race and like most evening races this time of year it was rather warm. But it was bearable. It's an out and back course with a pretty decent uphill leading to the turnaround. I tried to save myself for the hill and then I hoped I could could kind of roll downhill for the return.
This is a pretty big local race held on a 2 lane road, meaning the beginning of the race is pretty crowded and with children. I was able to clear most of them within a minute or two and I focused on keeping a slow even pace. Unfortunately, my watch died 5 minutes into the race so I didn't have any data to help me get through the race other than just how I felt.
I was doing OK for the first 1 1/4 miles but really struggled going up the hill I mentioned earlier. As always, it was bigger than I remembered. As I was climbing the hill someone who had made the turn and was heading down the hill shouted over in my direction something to the effect of " Way to go, Mom to be". Now I know I have a belly. I even know I have a small pair of man boobs. But I really don't think I look like a preganant woman so I looked around. Sure enough, passing me on my left was a couple and the woman was about 5 months pregnant.
Now I know she could have been in great shape before the pregnancy and I know that this is about my adventures as a slow runner but I was not going to be beaten by a woman carrying a child in their belly! I'm sorry. It just wasn't going to happen! So once I got to the water stop immediately after the turnaround I picked up the pace. I passed her pretty quickly but that wasn't enough. I knew that I tire late in races so I needed a cushion and this hill was the place to build it. I ran at a pretty good clip for about 1/2 mile before having to stop to walk. I was starting to get a side stitch but I pushed through it for the most part. I passed a gentleman around here and I decided I wouldn't let anyone pass me for the rest of the race. So, for the rest of the race I kept an ear out behind me for footsteps. If anyone got close I would push the pace forward. It worked as I ran a pretty big negative split (19:30/18:25) for a 37:55. I finished 18th out of 20 in my 10 year age group. I wish I had the heart monitor working for this race as I think it would probably show some big numbers.
After the race I went to the festival and enjoyed a free beer and a few pretzels. The ground was damp though so I didnt want to sit on the grass. So I only stayed long enough to drink my beer before heading home for a nice shower.
Friday, June 19, 2009
A shameless shout-out and a 2009 PR!
May 20 - DCRRC Tidal Basin 3K
May 20th brought the end to a DC institution, of sorts. This race marked the last time that the DCRRC would be associated with the monthly Tidal Basin 3K. Challenges with the US Park Service forced the DC Road Runners to reconsider their involvement in the race and potentially put other races in jeopardy. While a bit angry with the club at first for "cutting us loose", after taking some time to get the history behind the decision, I now understand and support the move.
Before the race, Shirley Sameshima gently admonished me for being so behind on my posts. I need commenst like that to remind me that a couple of people do actually read this and its not just a diary of my running antics. I need to make sure I keep this clean!! Anyway, Shirley also asked if I could give her a big shout out when I wrote about this race. So here it is Shirley. Shirley Sameshima! Shirley Sameshima! Shirley Sameshima! Shirley finished this race with a time of 15:32. Shirley has also cut back on her races this year, running about 1 per week compared to the 3 per week she ran the last couple of years. My guess is the quality of her races will begin to improve with less wear and tear.
Now back to the race. It was a so-so turnout with 40 runners finishing the race. As usual, I pushed myself way too hard at the beginning of the race. I had to take a walk break after only 5 minutes (just after crossing the bridge) as my heart rate was already at 150. I walked for over 90 seconds, which allowed my heart rate to drop to 132. I probably should have only walked for 60 seconds. Then I ran again until my heart rate reached 146. This walk break was a little shorter and I began running again when I again reached 132 bpm. I did this process 2 more times...with very similar numbers. I stopped running when my heart rate got to 146 and 150. I felt comfortable running again when my heart rate dropped to 131 and 135. Good information to know.
As we came off of the last bridge an older gentleman(60) I now know was Miguel Gomez-Verdun had the audacity to pass me :) We stayed close and I pushed hard to the finish but he just had more than me at the end. He finished 20 seconds in front of me and I crossed the line in 20:10 (20:13 officially). Sad to say but thats my best 3K since August of last year. But its an improvement over what I've been doing so I'm pretty happy with it.
May 20th brought the end to a DC institution, of sorts. This race marked the last time that the DCRRC would be associated with the monthly Tidal Basin 3K. Challenges with the US Park Service forced the DC Road Runners to reconsider their involvement in the race and potentially put other races in jeopardy. While a bit angry with the club at first for "cutting us loose", after taking some time to get the history behind the decision, I now understand and support the move.
Before the race, Shirley Sameshima gently admonished me for being so behind on my posts. I need commenst like that to remind me that a couple of people do actually read this and its not just a diary of my running antics. I need to make sure I keep this clean!! Anyway, Shirley also asked if I could give her a big shout out when I wrote about this race. So here it is Shirley. Shirley Sameshima! Shirley Sameshima! Shirley Sameshima! Shirley finished this race with a time of 15:32. Shirley has also cut back on her races this year, running about 1 per week compared to the 3 per week she ran the last couple of years. My guess is the quality of her races will begin to improve with less wear and tear.
Now back to the race. It was a so-so turnout with 40 runners finishing the race. As usual, I pushed myself way too hard at the beginning of the race. I had to take a walk break after only 5 minutes (just after crossing the bridge) as my heart rate was already at 150. I walked for over 90 seconds, which allowed my heart rate to drop to 132. I probably should have only walked for 60 seconds. Then I ran again until my heart rate reached 146. This walk break was a little shorter and I began running again when I again reached 132 bpm. I did this process 2 more times...with very similar numbers. I stopped running when my heart rate got to 146 and 150. I felt comfortable running again when my heart rate dropped to 131 and 135. Good information to know.
As we came off of the last bridge an older gentleman(60) I now know was Miguel Gomez-Verdun had the audacity to pass me :) We stayed close and I pushed hard to the finish but he just had more than me at the end. He finished 20 seconds in front of me and I crossed the line in 20:10 (20:13 officially). Sad to say but thats my best 3K since August of last year. But its an improvement over what I've been doing so I'm pretty happy with it.
Runnin late amd runnin slow
May 17 - HCS Longfellow 2 Mile
The drive from Alexandria to Columbia should take about 55 minutes. That means if I leave the hose at 12:45 I SHOULD make it for the 2PM start fairly easily. Registration takes all of 30 seconds (sign my name and drop 50 cents in a jar). Unfortunately, today I failed to consider the impact of construction on the 14th street bridge would have on my commute. The bridge was backed up to Crystal City and crept along for 45 minutes. The GPS in the car said I would be about 15 minutes late at that point. Nonetheless, I decided to step on it and hope that the start of the race was delayed.
I made it close. By speeding a bit in uncongested areas I was able to make up some time. I pulled up to Longfellow just in time to see the last place runner leaving the parking lot with a pack of runners in front of her. I jumped out of the car, tried to get my heart monitor working , and ran over to the start line. I verified that the runners I had seen were the 2 milers and I was off.
I was obviously out of my normal race mode of being in front of a few people. I had no one behind me and my closest competitor was probably 1/4 mile or so ahead of me when I began. There was no way on Earth I was going to start slow today.
My GPS couldn't figure out where I was since I kept moving. As a result I can't tell exactly what my pace was. But my heart monitor kicked in about 3 minutes into the race. I was already at 132 beats per minute and the last place runner was in sight. I ran hard until I passed her and then took a walk break to recover. I'm surprised to see that my heart rate was only 139 at that point. I felt a lot worse than a 139!
The rest of the race saw similar burst of energy, followed by 1 minute walk breaks. I REALLY wanted to catch up with some of the other runners. I finally caught up to the next to last racer (Karen Denmark) as we took the left hand turn back towards the school. I kept the hammer down all the way to the finish line, resulting in a heart rate at the end of 156. My average for period that was timed was 139 beats per minute. I finished 26th out of 28 finishers and was recorded with a time of 25:24. I estimate my "real" time on the course was about 23:10...maybe a tad faster. The lack of accurate information is frustrating and I now wear a regular watch as a backup in case I can't get my GPS to work properly.
The drive from Alexandria to Columbia should take about 55 minutes. That means if I leave the hose at 12:45 I SHOULD make it for the 2PM start fairly easily. Registration takes all of 30 seconds (sign my name and drop 50 cents in a jar). Unfortunately, today I failed to consider the impact of construction on the 14th street bridge would have on my commute. The bridge was backed up to Crystal City and crept along for 45 minutes. The GPS in the car said I would be about 15 minutes late at that point. Nonetheless, I decided to step on it and hope that the start of the race was delayed.
I made it close. By speeding a bit in uncongested areas I was able to make up some time. I pulled up to Longfellow just in time to see the last place runner leaving the parking lot with a pack of runners in front of her. I jumped out of the car, tried to get my heart monitor working , and ran over to the start line. I verified that the runners I had seen were the 2 milers and I was off.
I was obviously out of my normal race mode of being in front of a few people. I had no one behind me and my closest competitor was probably 1/4 mile or so ahead of me when I began. There was no way on Earth I was going to start slow today.
My GPS couldn't figure out where I was since I kept moving. As a result I can't tell exactly what my pace was. But my heart monitor kicked in about 3 minutes into the race. I was already at 132 beats per minute and the last place runner was in sight. I ran hard until I passed her and then took a walk break to recover. I'm surprised to see that my heart rate was only 139 at that point. I felt a lot worse than a 139!
The rest of the race saw similar burst of energy, followed by 1 minute walk breaks. I REALLY wanted to catch up with some of the other runners. I finally caught up to the next to last racer (Karen Denmark) as we took the left hand turn back towards the school. I kept the hammer down all the way to the finish line, resulting in a heart rate at the end of 156. My average for period that was timed was 139 beats per minute. I finished 26th out of 28 finishers and was recorded with a time of 25:24. I estimate my "real" time on the course was about 23:10...maybe a tad faster. The lack of accurate information is frustrating and I now wear a regular watch as a backup in case I can't get my GPS to work properly.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
8 races at once
OK...I admit it. I'm badly behind on my blogging. (Better than being behind on my flogging!) And I actually feel stressed about it. So...to remedy both situations I'm going to use this one blog to make a significant impact on my race reports. Quality will be less than normal but at this point I honestly don't remember a lot about each of these races anyway so short is the way to go.
April 10 - Crystal City 5K
This is my 10th race of the year. I learned the course the previous week so I wanted to give this one my best effort. And I did just that! With an average heart rate of 146 I pushed myself to a time of 36:30. Pathetic I know but it still stands as a 2009 PR for the 5K distance. It earned me 395 place out of 431 finishers. Robert Wade won the overall with a time of 15:28. Briana Whaley was the top woman with a time of 17:38.
April 15 - DCRRC Tidal Basin 3K
Nasty weather reduced the turnout for this monthly race to only 31. Small races can be good or bad for me. They can be good if its largely female and also men outside of my age group. The bad thing is the slower runners generally don't come out on really miserable days. As a result, I came in dead last. But I came in 2nd in my 5 year age group :). Heart rate analysis shows I pushed myself early, getting my heart rate up to 150 in just 4 minutes and 15 seconds. With no one running near me I took several walk breaks to recover and averaged a heart rate of only 139. It really should be in the low 140's at least. I finished with a time of 21:18. Disappointing, even by my low standards.
April 17 - Crystal City 5K
I like this race series! Its not a particularly difficult course, its close to home, I used to walk these very streets years ago when I worked for USAir, and best of all, the 2 for 1 dinners at Noodles and Company after the race! As for the race itself...weak effort. I really struggled with a time of 37:52...nearly 90 seconds slower than the previous week. My heart rate average was 143...3bpm slower than the previous week. I went out slower this week and tried to manage my pace. As a result, I didnt top 150 bpm until 11 1/2 minutes into the race. But my recovery walks were a bit too long, allowing my heart rate to repeatedly drop to the low 130's. I should probably be resuming my running when it drops to about 135. I'm doing this all be feel as its difficult to read the watch while running but this is givving me good feedback on how I'm feeling. Anyway, I came in 451st out of 491 finishers. This race series is clearly a success!
April 18 - University Park Azalea Classic 5K
I laced up the shoes early the following morning and headed out to the Azalea Classic. I ran this race a couple of years ago and had a good time. I spoke to Jon Palks for a few minutes before the race. I enjoy chatting with him...good guy. Anyway, while this is a pretty race and its always fun to run through neighborhoods, it does have a few difficult hills. The other downside is it has quite a few inexperienced racers. This means slower people that start up front and runners who weave and stop unexpectedly. This makes for difficult starts to the race since I start at the back but tend to run well early.
Given these challenges and my time from the previous evening on a less challenging course, I was mildly pleased to finish with a time of 37:12. This put me in 210th position out of 263 finishers. I don't know them but Lea Diamond and Lisa Devlin helped pushed me to the finish line as I was able to nip each of them by a few seconds. Regarding my performance in this same race 2 years earlier when I had a time of 36:30...well I am 2 years older!
April 24 - Crystal City 5K
This was a special race as it was the first time I have ever run a race with my wife Dori. It did require a lot of arm twisting but her running partner Katie also wanted to run it so it was a date.
Now I know this seems impossible but Dori is even slower than I am. I knew that going in since I do some training runs with her. But I admire her for being able to keep a steady pace and not take walk breaks. I was interested in seeing what the lack of walk breaks would do to my time and how I would feel at the end. Well, the data is in and here are the results. I finished with a time of 45:53...about 9 minutes slower than my "average" on this course. But I felt GREAT afterwards. I was sweaty but I recovered very quickly and had no aches at all! This is clearly the sort of pace I should be using when I train instead of my usual race day speed. Its not that I don't try...I just have a lot of trouble slowing myself down. Dori forced me to slow my pace, which was great. My average heart rate was a mere 117 and my max heart rate only got to 126. That tells me that I can probably run even a teeny bit faster and still not feel whipped at the end. But how will I do that without my pacesetter?
Speaking of Dori, I am very proud of her. She finished a second in front of me. This was her 2nd 5K ever. While the pace was easy for me, she was a little tired at the end but she did it! There's no quit in my wife. Afterwards, we had a nice dinner with Katie over at Noodles & Company.
April 26 - Vienna Elementary PTA 5K
This was a last minute decision and it almost didnt happen. I arrived at the race about 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start. They had already packed up all of the registration materials. That surprised me a bit as it was a charity race and I thought they would want all of the money they could get. Fortunately, I found one woman working the race that felt that way and she got me a number just in time for the start of the race.
It was a simple out and back course with few turns but some mild rolling hills. It set up pretty well for me though as the start of the race was uphill meaning the finish (when I'm usually struggling) was downhill.
A little stitch in my side troubled me during the middle parts of this race which coincided with the steepest of the hills. At one point I let my heart rate drop all the way down to 121 while I was trying to push the air out of my stomach. I pushed myself pretty hard during the last mile though and just missed setting a 2009 PR for myself, settling with a time of 36:40. Interestingly, the tale of the tape tells me that I really didnt push myself as had as I thought at the end. My max heart rate was only 151 and my average for the race was only 133. Based on that I should have been able to suck it up and shave off at least 11 seconds. I admit it, I'm a wimp!
April 26 - HCS Jeffers Hill 2 Mile
Not quite satisfied with my performance that morning, I drove up to Columbia to run a 2 miler that afternoon. I had only run this course once before, back in 2007. Thanks to my records I can see that I ran it in 21:48. So that was my target time. Oops, I guess I can go hunting with Cheney because I missed my target too. I finished in 22:51. Showing just how old I've gotten, I don't remeber the race even though the results show that I was nipped at the wire by Jessica Stern by only 4/10th of a second! With that I finished 35th out of 49 finishers.
May 10 - HCS Elkhorn 2 Mile
After a week in Vegas and 2 roadtrips to see a couple of Springsteen shows, it was time to get back to racing!
Now the last time I ran this course was back in December when I was scrambling to try to reach 50 races for the year and it was my 3rd race of the day. I finished with a poor time of 25:56. I was sure I could do better today.
And better I did. I finished with a time of 23:34. That doesn't look like much but the GPS data says I did fairly well considering. My heart rate never got below 137 and I maxed at 156. I averaged 140 which is right about where I think I need to be. So I'm not displeased by this effort, even though I only beat 3 people and finished 37th.
April 10 - Crystal City 5K
This is my 10th race of the year. I learned the course the previous week so I wanted to give this one my best effort. And I did just that! With an average heart rate of 146 I pushed myself to a time of 36:30. Pathetic I know but it still stands as a 2009 PR for the 5K distance. It earned me 395 place out of 431 finishers. Robert Wade won the overall with a time of 15:28. Briana Whaley was the top woman with a time of 17:38.
April 15 - DCRRC Tidal Basin 3K
Nasty weather reduced the turnout for this monthly race to only 31. Small races can be good or bad for me. They can be good if its largely female and also men outside of my age group. The bad thing is the slower runners generally don't come out on really miserable days. As a result, I came in dead last. But I came in 2nd in my 5 year age group :). Heart rate analysis shows I pushed myself early, getting my heart rate up to 150 in just 4 minutes and 15 seconds. With no one running near me I took several walk breaks to recover and averaged a heart rate of only 139. It really should be in the low 140's at least. I finished with a time of 21:18. Disappointing, even by my low standards.
April 17 - Crystal City 5K
I like this race series! Its not a particularly difficult course, its close to home, I used to walk these very streets years ago when I worked for USAir, and best of all, the 2 for 1 dinners at Noodles and Company after the race! As for the race itself...weak effort. I really struggled with a time of 37:52...nearly 90 seconds slower than the previous week. My heart rate average was 143...3bpm slower than the previous week. I went out slower this week and tried to manage my pace. As a result, I didnt top 150 bpm until 11 1/2 minutes into the race. But my recovery walks were a bit too long, allowing my heart rate to repeatedly drop to the low 130's. I should probably be resuming my running when it drops to about 135. I'm doing this all be feel as its difficult to read the watch while running but this is givving me good feedback on how I'm feeling. Anyway, I came in 451st out of 491 finishers. This race series is clearly a success!
April 18 - University Park Azalea Classic 5K
I laced up the shoes early the following morning and headed out to the Azalea Classic. I ran this race a couple of years ago and had a good time. I spoke to Jon Palks for a few minutes before the race. I enjoy chatting with him...good guy. Anyway, while this is a pretty race and its always fun to run through neighborhoods, it does have a few difficult hills. The other downside is it has quite a few inexperienced racers. This means slower people that start up front and runners who weave and stop unexpectedly. This makes for difficult starts to the race since I start at the back but tend to run well early.
Given these challenges and my time from the previous evening on a less challenging course, I was mildly pleased to finish with a time of 37:12. This put me in 210th position out of 263 finishers. I don't know them but Lea Diamond and Lisa Devlin helped pushed me to the finish line as I was able to nip each of them by a few seconds. Regarding my performance in this same race 2 years earlier when I had a time of 36:30...well I am 2 years older!
April 24 - Crystal City 5K
This was a special race as it was the first time I have ever run a race with my wife Dori. It did require a lot of arm twisting but her running partner Katie also wanted to run it so it was a date.
Now I know this seems impossible but Dori is even slower than I am. I knew that going in since I do some training runs with her. But I admire her for being able to keep a steady pace and not take walk breaks. I was interested in seeing what the lack of walk breaks would do to my time and how I would feel at the end. Well, the data is in and here are the results. I finished with a time of 45:53...about 9 minutes slower than my "average" on this course. But I felt GREAT afterwards. I was sweaty but I recovered very quickly and had no aches at all! This is clearly the sort of pace I should be using when I train instead of my usual race day speed. Its not that I don't try...I just have a lot of trouble slowing myself down. Dori forced me to slow my pace, which was great. My average heart rate was a mere 117 and my max heart rate only got to 126. That tells me that I can probably run even a teeny bit faster and still not feel whipped at the end. But how will I do that without my pacesetter?
Speaking of Dori, I am very proud of her. She finished a second in front of me. This was her 2nd 5K ever. While the pace was easy for me, she was a little tired at the end but she did it! There's no quit in my wife. Afterwards, we had a nice dinner with Katie over at Noodles & Company.
April 26 - Vienna Elementary PTA 5K
This was a last minute decision and it almost didnt happen. I arrived at the race about 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start. They had already packed up all of the registration materials. That surprised me a bit as it was a charity race and I thought they would want all of the money they could get. Fortunately, I found one woman working the race that felt that way and she got me a number just in time for the start of the race.
It was a simple out and back course with few turns but some mild rolling hills. It set up pretty well for me though as the start of the race was uphill meaning the finish (when I'm usually struggling) was downhill.
A little stitch in my side troubled me during the middle parts of this race which coincided with the steepest of the hills. At one point I let my heart rate drop all the way down to 121 while I was trying to push the air out of my stomach. I pushed myself pretty hard during the last mile though and just missed setting a 2009 PR for myself, settling with a time of 36:40. Interestingly, the tale of the tape tells me that I really didnt push myself as had as I thought at the end. My max heart rate was only 151 and my average for the race was only 133. Based on that I should have been able to suck it up and shave off at least 11 seconds. I admit it, I'm a wimp!
April 26 - HCS Jeffers Hill 2 Mile
Not quite satisfied with my performance that morning, I drove up to Columbia to run a 2 miler that afternoon. I had only run this course once before, back in 2007. Thanks to my records I can see that I ran it in 21:48. So that was my target time. Oops, I guess I can go hunting with Cheney because I missed my target too. I finished in 22:51. Showing just how old I've gotten, I don't remeber the race even though the results show that I was nipped at the wire by Jessica Stern by only 4/10th of a second! With that I finished 35th out of 49 finishers.
May 10 - HCS Elkhorn 2 Mile
After a week in Vegas and 2 roadtrips to see a couple of Springsteen shows, it was time to get back to racing!
Now the last time I ran this course was back in December when I was scrambling to try to reach 50 races for the year and it was my 3rd race of the day. I finished with a poor time of 25:56. I was sure I could do better today.
And better I did. I finished with a time of 23:34. That doesn't look like much but the GPS data says I did fairly well considering. My heart rate never got below 137 and I maxed at 156. I averaged 140 which is right about where I think I need to be. So I'm not displeased by this effort, even though I only beat 3 people and finished 37th.
Friday, June 12, 2009
The first Crystal City run
This Spring Pacer's held a weekly 5K series in Crystal City. The first race was on April 3. It was overcast and the sky was threatening but the rain held off and we were able to get in a dry race.
This was a race where I felt pretty good at the start but I bonked about half way thru the race. I ran the first mile in 10:15, which is too fast for me right now. I needed a 2 minute walk to recover and bring my heart rate down from 150. Then I ran again to the 1/2 way point. I reached that in 16:45. I had visions of setting my 5K record for the year but I knew it was going to be a struggle as I just couldn't keep my heart rate under 150. 7 times it crossed over 150 and 7 times I took a walk to recover. I was pretty good about keeping the walk breaks short as my heart rate never got lower than 132 and most of my restarts began with a heart rate of about 138 or so. My average heart rate for the race was 142 and I maxed out at 154 at the finish.
I finished with a time of 36:34, good for 3rd in my age group (yes, there were only 3 in my age group if you had to know!). Overall, I came in 301st out of 338 finishers. After the race, Noodle and Company were giving 2 for 1 dinners to runners so I picked up a Friday night dinner for Dori and I. All in all a very good time.
This was a race where I felt pretty good at the start but I bonked about half way thru the race. I ran the first mile in 10:15, which is too fast for me right now. I needed a 2 minute walk to recover and bring my heart rate down from 150. Then I ran again to the 1/2 way point. I reached that in 16:45. I had visions of setting my 5K record for the year but I knew it was going to be a struggle as I just couldn't keep my heart rate under 150. 7 times it crossed over 150 and 7 times I took a walk to recover. I was pretty good about keeping the walk breaks short as my heart rate never got lower than 132 and most of my restarts began with a heart rate of about 138 or so. My average heart rate for the race was 142 and I maxed out at 154 at the finish.
I finished with a time of 36:34, good for 3rd in my age group (yes, there were only 3 in my age group if you had to know!). Overall, I came in 301st out of 338 finishers. After the race, Noodle and Company were giving 2 for 1 dinners to runners so I picked up a Friday night dinner for Dori and I. All in all a very good time.
Honestly, I'm just going to move to Columbia
I ran in my 3rd straight race in Columbia on March 22. This was the 2 Mile race run from Longfellow. I must be honest...the race was so long ago I don't really remember it. However, from my Garmin data I can tell that I went out a little fast and struggled with the hills. No news there! It looks like I took 5 walk breaks....pretty scary for a mere 2 mile race. It just seems like I didn't push myself very hard until we got close to the finish. I took my first walk break after only 5 minutes and my heart rate was only 140. More striking is that I waited to start running until my heart rate dropped to 119. My preference is to slow to a walk when I get a heart rate of about 147 and return to running when it drops to about 132. So, in other words, I was a wimp this day.
I must have realized that I had been slacking late in the race as I then started to push myself. My heart rate maxed at 157 as I hit the finish line in 22:24. That was good enough for 38th place out of 47 runners. Surprisingly, that is also my best 2 mile time this year.
Notable finishers were Dave Berardi, the winner with a time of 11:37; Nina McFadden, who beat me by 11 seconds; and Julia Clearman, who I beat by 3 seconds (ah ha, now we now why I pushed myself at the end!).
I must have realized that I had been slacking late in the race as I then started to push myself. My heart rate maxed at 157 as I hit the finish line in 22:24. That was good enough for 38th place out of 47 runners. Surprisingly, that is also my best 2 mile time this year.
Notable finishers were Dave Berardi, the winner with a time of 11:37; Nina McFadden, who beat me by 11 seconds; and Julia Clearman, who I beat by 3 seconds (ah ha, now we now why I pushed myself at the end!).
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