As I do most years, I got myself together in time on New Year's Day to get over to Rossyln and run in the DC Road Runners Predictions and Resolutions 5K. My best time in this race was 30:51 back in 2005. I couldn't break 34 minutes in any 5K last year so I knew that time wasn't in any danger.
Quite a few runners made it out for the race and the race was even covered by a Washington Post reporter and photographer. The start was crowded as it always is on a Mt. Vernon Trail race but it quickly thinned out as we ran by Roosevelt Island. I was running at just over a 10 minute pace for the first mile but had to stop to walk at about 1.1 miles. According to my Garmin, my heart rate was at 142 at this point. I really should be able to run at that rate but it seems like that is when I start to feel pretty bad and I always try to err on the side of discretion.
My heart rate got above 142 8 times during the race and I took walk breaks every time. My highest heart rate was 149 just before the finish.
I finished the race is 36:45, 10 seconds slower than the day before on a flat course. This course has a very challenging hill at the end of the race (a bridge over the GW parkway) so relative to that race I'm somewhat satisfied. But I obviously have a LONG way to go to catch up with my times from just a few years ago. My hope is with consistent training, which is now possible being between work assignments, I'll be able to not only get stronger but also lose the 8 pounds or so that keep me from being in the proper BMI level. I do all of that I think I should certainly expect myself to be able to sustain a 10 minute per mile pace for up to a 10K distance. Let's see how the year goes.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Festival of Lights 5K
I dropped out of the King Street Mile due to its time restriction of 9 minutes or less and instead ran the Festival of Lights 5K on Christmas Eve. Man, was it ever cold and windy. Temperatures were in the mid to low 30's and winds were gusting to about 50MPH. Several trees were knocked down and in the road on the way to the race and a priest was killed in the area about the same time as the start of the race when a tree fell on him.
The race was run at Bull Run Park. I had always wanted to run there so this was my chance. Plus, with a 3PM start I could run and get back home in time to celebrate the New Year properly.
I wore my new Garmin Forerunner 305 that Dori gave me for Christmas for the first time in a race. I struggled with reading it while I ran but I think it will be a big help to my running once I figure out how to use it properly.
I ran the first 1.1 miles at a 10 minute/mile pace. That kept me in a pretty good sized pack of runners until I took a walk break at 1.1 miles. Though the course was pretty flat, the wind and cold took their toll on me. Plus, I was bundled up like the character from the Michelin tire commercials so it was a little tough moving around. Anyway, the most interesting aspect of the course was the shooting range just short of the turnaround. There were quite a few people out shooting. I guess that shouldn't surprise me. Nothing brings in a New Year like firing off a few rounds. :) Anyway, I flinched everytime they fired. It was loud! I wanted to get away from there as fast as I could but we actually spent a lot of time by them since that is where the turnaround was.
I took a number of walk breaks on the back half of the course, though I was only passed by one runner and I passed another runner during this half. I finished the 5K in 36:35. That's not very good but I'll take it given the conditions.
I hung around for the prizes afterwards, which I usually don't do, but I had a good feeling. So much for that feeling. I froze my tail off and I didn't win a darn thing. What a fitting end to a tough year. I finished with 51 races for the year, none of them particularly good. Bring on 2009.
The race was run at Bull Run Park. I had always wanted to run there so this was my chance. Plus, with a 3PM start I could run and get back home in time to celebrate the New Year properly.
I wore my new Garmin Forerunner 305 that Dori gave me for Christmas for the first time in a race. I struggled with reading it while I ran but I think it will be a big help to my running once I figure out how to use it properly.
I ran the first 1.1 miles at a 10 minute/mile pace. That kept me in a pretty good sized pack of runners until I took a walk break at 1.1 miles. Though the course was pretty flat, the wind and cold took their toll on me. Plus, I was bundled up like the character from the Michelin tire commercials so it was a little tough moving around. Anyway, the most interesting aspect of the course was the shooting range just short of the turnaround. There were quite a few people out shooting. I guess that shouldn't surprise me. Nothing brings in a New Year like firing off a few rounds. :) Anyway, I flinched everytime they fired. It was loud! I wanted to get away from there as fast as I could but we actually spent a lot of time by them since that is where the turnaround was.
I took a number of walk breaks on the back half of the course, though I was only passed by one runner and I passed another runner during this half. I finished the 5K in 36:35. That's not very good but I'll take it given the conditions.
I hung around for the prizes afterwards, which I usually don't do, but I had a good feeling. So much for that feeling. I froze my tail off and I didn't win a darn thing. What a fitting end to a tough year. I finished with 51 races for the year, none of them particularly good. Bring on 2009.
Monday, December 29, 2008
50 at 49
So much for not coming in last! On Saturday, December 27th I ran in my 50th race of the year. I'm pretty proud of making it to 50 given all of my injuries and other health issues this year. I essentially took 4 months off during the year for these various concerns so I crammed a lot in to my productive months. Hopefully, 2009 will be less eventful.
Anyway, Saturday's race was hosted by Karsten Brown, one of my favorite members of the 50+ club. He's funny as Hell, an awesome runner, and always supportive. He's always there to cheer me on at the finish, even though he finished long before I arrived at the finish line. And he is frequently at the finish line taking pictures of those who come in after him. Anyway, on Saturday he hosted a race out in his neck of the woods in response to a total absence of races in the area on that day. He called it a non-race race with few ammenities. It was basically sign the waiver and go.
Karsten gave us instructions before the start of the race. He described it as an out and back course on rolling hills. Rolling hills my arse! They were rolling mountains! He also advised us that he didn't think there were any dogs to worry about but to keep an eye out. He also mentioned that it was hunting season so wear orange (too late for that). Toto...this definately wasn't the DC suburbs.
After the instructions, Karsten said the G word (that's actually what he said) and we were off. Several runners I know took off quickly in front of me, including Jim Moreland, Bill Stahr, Jon Palks, Bob Gurtler, and John Winkert. Shirley Sameshima, who was nice enough to comment on my weight loss before the start of the race, passed me after a couple of hundred yards never to be seen again. It really was a very hilly course and I knew it was going to be a tough day on the first hill. I usually start struggling in a race when my heart and/or lungs start screaming at me. Rarely do my legs fail me. But everything failed me on that very first hill. I blame this on the 2 track workouts I did on Friday. I didn't expect to run this race as I had planned on joing my wife in a trip to Pittsburgh to visit her family on Saturday. However, while I was running my 2nd track workout she decided that I really didn't need to go and she gave me a pass. That made it possible to run the race but certainly not as rested as I would have liked. Such is life.
Anyway, 1 woman passed me on this hill and that left me in last place. She and I stayed very close for the first 2 miles as we both walked the uphills and ran the downhills. There weren't many flat sections but we ran those as well. She started to pull away from me at about 2 1/4 miles. I was about a minute back at the turnaround and I tried to keep her in sight but it just wasn't meant to be. At about 4 miles I closed to a couple of hundred yards but she was on top of a big hill and I was just starting to climb it. I never got any closer. She ended up beating me by about 3 minutes. I finished in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 19 seconds. Pretty pitiful for a 5 mile run but I'll give myself a break since I'm an old 49 (I turn 50 next week).
When I crossed the finish line I was given an authentic Hawaiin lei but Bob Gurtler's friend (they just got back from Hawaii) and I was also given a Capitals hockey baseball cap...I think I got it for coming in last. I had a nice cup of cold water which was badly needed. Then I walked back to the parking lot with John Winkert who had just finished his 48th race of the year. It seems like he always makes a late charge and finishes with 50 races on the nose. Looks like he'll do it again this year.
I'm going to run one more race this year which will get me to 51. I think I'm going to withdraw from the King Street Mile and run the MADD race at George Mason instead. Pacer's sent a pretty detailed e-mail about the time restrictions around the Mile race and I'm concerned about getting swept off of the course. And while I want to run as fast as I can, I don't want to hurt myself running faster than I'm capable of at this time. So I'll check back in in a few days and report on my New Years Eve. Have a great New Years Eve everyone. Happy Running!
Anyway, Saturday's race was hosted by Karsten Brown, one of my favorite members of the 50+ club. He's funny as Hell, an awesome runner, and always supportive. He's always there to cheer me on at the finish, even though he finished long before I arrived at the finish line. And he is frequently at the finish line taking pictures of those who come in after him. Anyway, on Saturday he hosted a race out in his neck of the woods in response to a total absence of races in the area on that day. He called it a non-race race with few ammenities. It was basically sign the waiver and go.
Karsten gave us instructions before the start of the race. He described it as an out and back course on rolling hills. Rolling hills my arse! They were rolling mountains! He also advised us that he didn't think there were any dogs to worry about but to keep an eye out. He also mentioned that it was hunting season so wear orange (too late for that). Toto...this definately wasn't the DC suburbs.
After the instructions, Karsten said the G word (that's actually what he said) and we were off. Several runners I know took off quickly in front of me, including Jim Moreland, Bill Stahr, Jon Palks, Bob Gurtler, and John Winkert. Shirley Sameshima, who was nice enough to comment on my weight loss before the start of the race, passed me after a couple of hundred yards never to be seen again. It really was a very hilly course and I knew it was going to be a tough day on the first hill. I usually start struggling in a race when my heart and/or lungs start screaming at me. Rarely do my legs fail me. But everything failed me on that very first hill. I blame this on the 2 track workouts I did on Friday. I didn't expect to run this race as I had planned on joing my wife in a trip to Pittsburgh to visit her family on Saturday. However, while I was running my 2nd track workout she decided that I really didn't need to go and she gave me a pass. That made it possible to run the race but certainly not as rested as I would have liked. Such is life.
Anyway, 1 woman passed me on this hill and that left me in last place. She and I stayed very close for the first 2 miles as we both walked the uphills and ran the downhills. There weren't many flat sections but we ran those as well. She started to pull away from me at about 2 1/4 miles. I was about a minute back at the turnaround and I tried to keep her in sight but it just wasn't meant to be. At about 4 miles I closed to a couple of hundred yards but she was on top of a big hill and I was just starting to climb it. I never got any closer. She ended up beating me by about 3 minutes. I finished in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 19 seconds. Pretty pitiful for a 5 mile run but I'll give myself a break since I'm an old 49 (I turn 50 next week).
When I crossed the finish line I was given an authentic Hawaiin lei but Bob Gurtler's friend (they just got back from Hawaii) and I was also given a Capitals hockey baseball cap...I think I got it for coming in last. I had a nice cup of cold water which was badly needed. Then I walked back to the parking lot with John Winkert who had just finished his 48th race of the year. It seems like he always makes a late charge and finishes with 50 races on the nose. Looks like he'll do it again this year.
I'm going to run one more race this year which will get me to 51. I think I'm going to withdraw from the King Street Mile and run the MADD race at George Mason instead. Pacer's sent a pretty detailed e-mail about the time restrictions around the Mile race and I'm concerned about getting swept off of the course. And while I want to run as fast as I can, I don't want to hurt myself running faster than I'm capable of at this time. So I'll check back in in a few days and report on my New Years Eve. Have a great New Years Eve everyone. Happy Running!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Return of the turtle
Hi everyone. After a break that seemed like forever, I'm back running again. My blood pressure is back under control and while it could be better, my blood sugar is also improving. I hope to get that entirely under control within the next month or so as I work on diet, as well as losing about 10 pounds as a result of running again.
Since my last blog, I have run 11 races! That has all been in less than 4 weeks. Due to the challenges I have had this year, I put myself in a hole as far as breaking 50 races run for the year (damn you Jim Moreland :) ). So, without proper training, I have run a bunch of races in a short period of time. I'm suffering from shin splints - a sure sign that I haven't put in enough base miles before increasing mileage associated with these races. But so be it. Today I ran the final Tidal Basin 3K of 2008 and it was my 49th race of the year. My times aren't very good but I haven't come in last in any of these races ( I hate coming in last and feeling like I'm holding everyone up).
Here are the races I have run during the past month...
Since my last blog, I have run 11 races! That has all been in less than 4 weeks. Due to the challenges I have had this year, I put myself in a hole as far as breaking 50 races run for the year (damn you Jim Moreland :) ). So, without proper training, I have run a bunch of races in a short period of time. I'm suffering from shin splints - a sure sign that I haven't put in enough base miles before increasing mileage associated with these races. But so be it. Today I ran the final Tidal Basin 3K of 2008 and it was my 49th race of the year. My times aren't very good but I haven't come in last in any of these races ( I hate coming in last and feeling like I'm holding everyone up).
Here are the races I have run during the past month...
- PVTC Cranberry Crawl 5K 38:01
- HCS Swansfield 1 Mile 9:46
- Arlington Turkey Trot 5K 38:09
- MCRRC Turkey Burn Off 5 Miler 62:21
- HCS Longfellow 2 Mile 23:47
- MCRRC Frozen Slopes 6K 60:57 (Brutal Hills!)
- Fells Point Figgy Pudding 5K 35:23 (pleased given that much of it was on cobblestone)
- Jingle all the way 10K 80:16 (saving myself for later)
- DCRRC Bread Run 2 Mile 24:55
- HCS Elkhorn 2 Mile 25:56 (3rd race of the day. Also had a show blowout)
- DCRRC Tidal Basin 3K 20:32 (Thanks to Joe Broderick for pushing me along)
It looks like my next race will be the PVTC Christmas Caper 5K this Saturday. That will give me 50 for the year. I considered driving up to Baltimore fo the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler but I really don't need another fleece pullover. I may run Tami's race on Sunday but its doubtful as we have a party Saturday evening. I am signed up for the King Street Mile on New Years Eve but I don't have a prayer of completing it in under 8 minutes. I hope to do the first half mile in 4 minutes and then move over to the sidewalk.
That's all for now. I'll give my more detailed race recaps going forward.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Last blog for awhile
I don't know how many people actually read this thing but in case anyone does (clearly you don't have enough things to do) I thought I should give a quick update since I haven't written for awhile.
It looks like I'm done with running for awhile; perhaps for the rest of 2008. After suffering from bronchitis for about 6 weeks I have now been diagnosed with an enlarged heart. It appeared on an X-Ray done while checking on my lungs. I met with my cardiologist yesterday and described how I've been feeling for the last few months (excessive sweating, shortness of breath, fatigue) and he is concerned that I may have a blockage in an artery. I totally nailed a stress test just 10 months ago and he said such a change in such a short period of time is "significant". So I'll be having a nuclear stress test performed in a couple of weeks. If a blockage is found I'll have the old baloon an stent thing done. If thats not it, and we hope it isn't, then the likely other culprit is my high blood pressure. It was 150/90 yesterday and I have been really good about taking my blood pressure medicine. So, I went a new drug yesterday and we'll see how I do with that.
So this has been a particularly trying 52 weeks or so. It was around this time last year that I fell and broke my foot during the DCRRC Predicted time 5 Miler. I limped through another 10 races to get over 100 for the year which didnt help the healing process. Then I has shoulder surgery in April preceeded and followed by rather intense physical therapy. Add in not 1 but 2 bouts of bronchitis and its been quite a difficult year. And that doesn't even include the stress of working at Freddie Mac, knowing I'll be out of work starting in November, and dealing with the challenges of trying to get my parents into an assisted living facility. Man, no wonder I'm tired all the time! At least I can be pretty certain that things can't get a whole lot worse.
Until next time, happy running!
It looks like I'm done with running for awhile; perhaps for the rest of 2008. After suffering from bronchitis for about 6 weeks I have now been diagnosed with an enlarged heart. It appeared on an X-Ray done while checking on my lungs. I met with my cardiologist yesterday and described how I've been feeling for the last few months (excessive sweating, shortness of breath, fatigue) and he is concerned that I may have a blockage in an artery. I totally nailed a stress test just 10 months ago and he said such a change in such a short period of time is "significant". So I'll be having a nuclear stress test performed in a couple of weeks. If a blockage is found I'll have the old baloon an stent thing done. If thats not it, and we hope it isn't, then the likely other culprit is my high blood pressure. It was 150/90 yesterday and I have been really good about taking my blood pressure medicine. So, I went a new drug yesterday and we'll see how I do with that.
So this has been a particularly trying 52 weeks or so. It was around this time last year that I fell and broke my foot during the DCRRC Predicted time 5 Miler. I limped through another 10 races to get over 100 for the year which didnt help the healing process. Then I has shoulder surgery in April preceeded and followed by rather intense physical therapy. Add in not 1 but 2 bouts of bronchitis and its been quite a difficult year. And that doesn't even include the stress of working at Freddie Mac, knowing I'll be out of work starting in November, and dealing with the challenges of trying to get my parents into an assisted living facility. Man, no wonder I'm tired all the time! At least I can be pretty certain that things can't get a whole lot worse.
Until next time, happy running!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Dr., Dr., give me the news...
I've got a bad case of the running blues.
I decided to pay a return visit to the Dr. after I left work yesterday. I apparently still have my bronchitis, which didn't surprise me given my ongoing cough and trouble breathing. I was a little surprised however to learn that I may have another bug that could be more problematic. I was prescribed a couple of different antibiotics and told to come back in on Saturday. Not the way I want to spend the weekend.
I write all of this to partially explain my troubles recently and to also preface my recounting of today's Tidal Basin 5K. Yes, I ran today's race knowing I had bronchitis. I also knew I felt like crap and I had barely slept the last 2 nights. But I identify myself as a runner and it's what I do. So I got myself down to the Tidal Basin with about 5 minutes to spare. I saw several people I usually speak to before the race...Peter Blank, Shirley Sameshima, Kirk Gordon, James Moreland...but I just didn't feel like talking to anyone today. After I signed in, I walked across the street to the bus stop and sat on a bench by myself until the start of the race.
It was a wonderful day weather wise which certainly helped me today. It was 71 degrees under clear skies. Perfect would have been about 15 degrees cooler but this was pretty darn good.
I did something different today...I started slow. This was partially by design and partially by necessity. I slipped in behind John Winkert and Bob Weimer (who was suffering from a bad back) with the Joggler, Barry Goldmeir, in close pursuit.
Barry passed me as we crossed the first bridge. He can't really juggle here so he can show of his non-jugling speed here. He exchaned places a few times with Bob and John over the next .4 miles, slipping behind whenever he dropped a ball.
I finally stopped for a walk break after crossing the 2nd bridge, which is also the 1 mile mark, which I reached in 10:15. Not bad, but I needed an extended break at this point...about 90 seconds. By the time I started running again, the 3 guys were almost out of sight. I only ran for a couple of minutes before needing another short walk. Then I hit the downhill by the Jefferson and fell back into my slow trot. I ran to the 3rd bridge where I took another short walk before the final K. I ran all the way in from here, getting encouragement from a few runners that were heading back to work, including Kirk.
I crossed the line in 20:14 by my watch. Surprisingly, I wasn't too displeased by this even though it was over a minute slower than last month. It was a second slower than my time from just a couple of months ago and I obviously had a lot more issues to deal with today.
Bob Platt announced before the start of the race that another 3K will be held at the Tidal Basin this Friday at Noon. Unfortunately, I have a meeting here in Tyson's until Noon that day so I won't be able to make it. Probably for the best anyway. Today was race number 38 for the year. Number 39 will just to wait another day (Navy 5K?) or two.
I decided to pay a return visit to the Dr. after I left work yesterday. I apparently still have my bronchitis, which didn't surprise me given my ongoing cough and trouble breathing. I was a little surprised however to learn that I may have another bug that could be more problematic. I was prescribed a couple of different antibiotics and told to come back in on Saturday. Not the way I want to spend the weekend.
I write all of this to partially explain my troubles recently and to also preface my recounting of today's Tidal Basin 5K. Yes, I ran today's race knowing I had bronchitis. I also knew I felt like crap and I had barely slept the last 2 nights. But I identify myself as a runner and it's what I do. So I got myself down to the Tidal Basin with about 5 minutes to spare. I saw several people I usually speak to before the race...Peter Blank, Shirley Sameshima, Kirk Gordon, James Moreland...but I just didn't feel like talking to anyone today. After I signed in, I walked across the street to the bus stop and sat on a bench by myself until the start of the race.
It was a wonderful day weather wise which certainly helped me today. It was 71 degrees under clear skies. Perfect would have been about 15 degrees cooler but this was pretty darn good.
I did something different today...I started slow. This was partially by design and partially by necessity. I slipped in behind John Winkert and Bob Weimer (who was suffering from a bad back) with the Joggler, Barry Goldmeir, in close pursuit.
Barry passed me as we crossed the first bridge. He can't really juggle here so he can show of his non-jugling speed here. He exchaned places a few times with Bob and John over the next .4 miles, slipping behind whenever he dropped a ball.
I finally stopped for a walk break after crossing the 2nd bridge, which is also the 1 mile mark, which I reached in 10:15. Not bad, but I needed an extended break at this point...about 90 seconds. By the time I started running again, the 3 guys were almost out of sight. I only ran for a couple of minutes before needing another short walk. Then I hit the downhill by the Jefferson and fell back into my slow trot. I ran to the 3rd bridge where I took another short walk before the final K. I ran all the way in from here, getting encouragement from a few runners that were heading back to work, including Kirk.
I crossed the line in 20:14 by my watch. Surprisingly, I wasn't too displeased by this even though it was over a minute slower than last month. It was a second slower than my time from just a couple of months ago and I obviously had a lot more issues to deal with today.
Bob Platt announced before the start of the race that another 3K will be held at the Tidal Basin this Friday at Noon. Unfortunately, I have a meeting here in Tyson's until Noon that day so I won't be able to make it. Probably for the best anyway. Today was race number 38 for the year. Number 39 will just to wait another day (Navy 5K?) or two.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Certainly not Im-PRESS-ive
After battling bronchitis for the last 2 weeks, I attempted the Press Club 5K on Saturday, September 13. The race is an out and back course that essentially runs between the Press Club and the Capital. It's a pretty flat course and I had one of my best races of the year last year in this race. And then there are the pancakes! They have a great post race party in the Press Club after the race featuring a pancake breakfast. I wasn't going to miss that!
I ran 1.3 miles two days before the race just to see if I could even run. I managed to run it at about 10 minute pace so I thought I might do OK. Nonetheless, a 2 week illness and layoff had me worried. At the starting line I was thinking a 37 minute 5K might be the target.
I got through the first mile in 10:24. That was a comfortable pace and included a 1 minute walk break. However, after a mile I just didn't feel very good. My heart felt like it was running fast and any running at this point was difficult. I walked up the hill by the Capital, made the turn, had a couple of cups of water and ran down the hill I just climbed. The 2 mile mark was at the bottom of the hill...it took me 13:57 to complete that second mile! Doing some quick math in my head I realized that I needed to run at a 10 minute pace for the entire rest of the race just to come in under 36 minutes. Well that wasn't going to happen. Given my difficulty breathing from the bronchitis, my elevated heart rate, and pain in my left foot which I have to think is a stress fracture, I decided to shut it down for the day. I walked the final 1.1 miles in 16:58. My final time was 41:18....probably my worst 5K time in years.
I hope I get better soon. These times are just dePRESSing!
I ran 1.3 miles two days before the race just to see if I could even run. I managed to run it at about 10 minute pace so I thought I might do OK. Nonetheless, a 2 week illness and layoff had me worried. At the starting line I was thinking a 37 minute 5K might be the target.
I got through the first mile in 10:24. That was a comfortable pace and included a 1 minute walk break. However, after a mile I just didn't feel very good. My heart felt like it was running fast and any running at this point was difficult. I walked up the hill by the Capital, made the turn, had a couple of cups of water and ran down the hill I just climbed. The 2 mile mark was at the bottom of the hill...it took me 13:57 to complete that second mile! Doing some quick math in my head I realized that I needed to run at a 10 minute pace for the entire rest of the race just to come in under 36 minutes. Well that wasn't going to happen. Given my difficulty breathing from the bronchitis, my elevated heart rate, and pain in my left foot which I have to think is a stress fracture, I decided to shut it down for the day. I walked the final 1.1 miles in 16:58. My final time was 41:18....probably my worst 5K time in years.
I hope I get better soon. These times are just dePRESSing!
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