Race Report: St. Patrick's Day 5k

Jen found a local 5k that was put on by Yuma Desert Runners and suggested I run it. We've been in Arizona a week now and a race sounded fun. With all the moving, driving, and bad eating the last few weeks I must admit I wasn't feeling in top PR shape. Even though I PR'd a week ago, I felt much different this week. On top of that my youngest got the stomach bug on Monday. And while I didn't throw up like he did, I definitely felt 'off' and was fighting the same bug. Fortunately I felt normal again Thursday morning. My last race I had the awesome advantage of having my Mom, stepdad, mother and father in law, and kids there to cheer me on! While I didn't have as big of a crowd I did have Jen and the kids there, which was perfect for me.

My only goal for his race was to run sub 20:00. If I was feeling better than I could try for more. I had already run 17 miles in the days before the race so my legs weren't as fresh as they could be. I was just going to have fun. Winning and running fast is fun, but I wasn't taking it too seriously.

Playing in the Colorado River before the race.

Pre-Race: The race started out in Gateway park along the Colorado river. The park had nice amenities and playground. It also had shade. This race was going to be about 50 people, no timing system, and very casual. I looked around to see if anyone else looked like a 'racer' and I only saw a few that looked fast (but looks can be deceiving!).

The registration table. It was a small crowd, but very family friendly and fun.

Mile 1: There were about 4-5 guys that got near the start line with me. When they said "go!" I took off and grabbed an early lead. For the first 400 meters I had 2-3 guys on my tail. By 800 meters it was down to me and one guy drafting me. 6:04

Mile 2: The race was an out-and-back along the river. At the turnaround, which was clearly marked (thank you!), I was about 25 seconds ahead of second place. We high-fived as we passed each other because runners are friendly. Unless I blew up I realized this was my race to win. I tried to push it enough to hold off a late run by Mr. 2nd place. But my mouth and throat were starting to burn.  6:19

Mile 3: At this point my mouth feels like I swallowed a tablespoon of cinnamon. It was dry. Saying it was dry does not communicate how dry it really was. It felt like I just ate a handful of sawdust. I've never experienced dry mouth quite like this. Not even when I wrestled in Jr. High. I tried to ignore the feeling and just press on. Water became my motivation to finish. 6:15

Coming in to the finish line.

Finish: I crossed the line in 19:04 good for first place! I wish I could have seen the time as I approached the finish because I'm pretty sure I could have chopped off 4 seconds to go under 19. My throat was burning with dryness. I grabbed some water and went and cheered in Mr. 2nd place. He finished about a minute behind me and ran a fantastic race by himself the whole way (3rd was probably another minute behind him).

The kids loved picking out which sub to eat.

I know it's blurry, but we were having fun.

After the race they had beer and firehouse subs. They had plenty of food so we just ate dinner there at the park. For my victory I got a gift card to firehouse subs and a t-shirt, not bad for such a small race!

While winning was fun, the highlight for me was seeing Jen and the kids cheer me on the final stretch and playing in the park before the race.

Race Report: Shamrock Shuffle 5k

To put this race in context we ran it during a cross country move. We stopped in Kansas for 5 days during our move from Virginia to Arizona. The upside of this decision is it made me feel better about taking some days off from running. The downside was, well...we were in an unsettled state which isn't exactly ideal for racing. A big bonus of this race is my good friend Brett ran it with us!

Goals: My 'A' goal for this race was to break my previous PR of 19:38. My 'B' goal was to run sub 19 minutes and my 'C' goal was to place in my age division. I felt fairly confident of setting a new PR because the course was a flat out and back and I have put in some good miles and speed work the past few months. I have been feeling faster .

Pre-race: The race HQ was inside a tavern. They had lots of food and indoor bathrooms which was nice (even if it was a bar bathroom). It was a bit chilly, mid 40's, but also sunny and there was no wind. There was maybe a few hundred runners total. The course runs along the Kansas river on the levee which is covered in fine gravel. It's actually a pretty good running surface. When they announced one minute to go I toed up on the starting line. I didn't notice anyone else besides me Jen and Brett who looked like they really wanted to race.

Mile 1: I took off! I was hoping to hold about a 5:50/mile pace for the race and I started the first 400 meters at about a 5:40 pace. 5 seconds into the race I was leading and I felt no one around me. This actually stunk. I had no one to help pace and share the pain. 800 meters in and there was still no one around me. I didn't chance a look behind me (can't show weakness!) but I also didn't hear anyone near me.

Mile 2: Now I hear footsteps. Someone is gaining on me fast. I've eased off to a 5:50 pace. Very quickly he comes up on me says "hows it going?", I say "good" and then jets past me. I briefly contemplate latching on to him and trying to hold his pace but I'm about maxed out and he's burning it up at about a 5:30 pace. We are all alone. Racing alone is hard. Mr. Speedy is about 15 seconds ahead of me and he approaches a water station or what appears to be the turn around. This water station is a truck parked on the path when a few volunteers with water cups. I see him ask where the turn around is and he actually stops and puts his hands out like "where is it?". Then he turns around right at the water spot and starts his run back. I come up on the same spot and turn around where he did. However, it seemed short. My GPS watch said I still needed to run about 0.08 of a mile more. Oh well.

Mile 3: Mr. Speedy is about 20 seconds ahead. I get the feeling he is putting out enough effort to just keep me comfortably behind him. I have not doubt he could dust me if I tried to make a move. I would love to make a move on him, but I am close to red lining holding a 5:50 pace. Because of the race being an out and back I get to see how close 3rd place is to me. He's probably 45 seconds behind me and I feel confident that I can hold 2nd if I don't blow up. As I start to run past people who haven't turned around yet many people hold out their hands for me to give them a high five and say "good job", "go get him" ect. It was a very friendly and nice gesture. And they all probably think I'm a jerk because I can't high five you while running this fast in the opposite direction. I can't barely keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Finish: Crossed the finish line in an amazing 18:06! My time was good enough for 2nd overall and 1st in my age division. Definitely a new PR by a LOT! My watch says the course was short by 0.15 so I'm a bit confused on my time. One on hand, wow! A huge PR! On the other hand, I feel like the race was short.

GPS watches are not always accurate and they can lose signal when running under trees or overpasses (like the highway we ran under in this race). This can cause them to 'plot' points that are inaccurate. If the satellite doesn't ping at the exact point of the turn around, you can loose considerable distance as well. So was the course short or was my watch off? I don't know. The race isn't new, it's been going on for years so that speaks of them getting it right. But it was also an amateur fest. At the end of the day my time is my time. I feel confident that I can run close to that time again. I guess that means I just have to do more races!

Brett, Me, and Jen after the race.

Moving, 5k, and Training

Life's been busy for us. We are moving across the country in two weeks and I'm training my replacement at work, working on moving details like setting up utilities, and purging our attic by making runs to the county dump. So how do you workout when moving 2,500 miles with three kids? We don't know! We may not get a chance to do much while on the road. Our tentative plan is to alternate running (one watch the kids while the other goes out) and use the exercise room at our hotels at night. I made sure to book hotels that have an indoor pool so the kids will get to burn some energy each day. We will survive just fine even if I can't run the miles I want or eat as healthy as I'd like. Although it may feel like it, it's not the end of the world if I have to go two weeks without doing much.

To keep things interesting me and Jen signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle, a 5k in Kansas on March 5th! We'll be in Kansas for a few days seeing family and resting up before making the second leg of our cross country move. Are we crazy to run a race midway through a cross country move? Maybe! But it just sounded fun.


The race is a small local race (>500 people) and it's a flat out-and-back. It should make for a good course to set a PR. I'm actually excited to run this race. I feel like my fitness is at a very high level and, Lord willing, I can run my best 5k ever.

For training I've been doing two new things. First, I'm doing one long run a week. This run is at an easy pace and is about 10 miles long. The purpose of this run is to simply build my aerobic capacity. Second, I'm doing speed work. This has taken many forms. Most recently I did a 2 mile warm up, 6 x 400 with a 60 second recovery, and a 2 mile cool down. The purpose of this is to get my body used to a fast pace and to develop my fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Over the past few months I've also increased my weekly base to 37 miles per week. Over the past 8 weeks I've run, 32, 31, 33, 27 (8k race week), 33, 34, 37, and 37 miles per week. I have really noticed a difference in my speed and ability by running more miles per week and doing some speed work. Last Monday I ran 10 miles at 7:29/mile. This was comfortable for me and I felt like I could have kept going for another 3 or even gone much faster if it had been a race. In November this pace would have been my goal HM pace. Now, due to logging more miles, it was just a good ordinary run. It's been encouraging to see the work pay off. I've always read that if you want to run faster just log more miles. I'm here to say, it's true!

Lastly, I bought a pair of racing flats. Apparently, if you're looking to set a PR this is what you want to wear for a short distance race. Racing flats are ultra lightweight shoes designed to make you go fast. They are not meant for your weekly mileage. They don't have the cushion for that. I got the Mizuno Wave Ekiden 9. They were less than $40! The are extremely light. Wearing kind feels like taking a weight vest off my feet.

I did my last speed workout day with these on. I logged a total of 6 miles which was probably 3 too many. My calves were sore for a few days and my arch was a bit tender on my left foot. I'm hoping this soreness goes away soon. I definitely felt faster with them on. I think they will help with a 5k but I won't wear them unless it's a race, not enough support for my size 12 feet. So far, I'd say they are a good investment.

This is my "why did I wear shorts?" face

This week the weather turned cold, like really cold. For some reason I brought shorts to run in this past Wednesday during my lunch break. It was 28 degrees with 15 mph wind. Mistake. Oh well, live and learn. I'm not letting the cold bother me though because in two weeks we will be living in permanent summer in the sunny Arizona desert.

It's Science

Ever wonder why you run faster during a race? Or why you just seem to fly off the starting line during a 5k even though you told yourself before the start to 'take it easy'? Well it turns out it's science. A recent article in the Physiology & Behavior journal looked at "the influence of the presence and absence of competitors on pacing, overall running performance, and mood state during a self-paced run". Basically they compared how amateur runners (like me) ran 3 km alone verse being in a group. The results are not particularly surprising. The runners ran faster overall, faster during the first 500 m, and perceived the effort/fatigue level at the end as less than when running alone.

I'm on the far right in the green. There's nothing like the pre race jitters.

The findings of this study suggest "that the presence of competitors induces a fast start, which results in an improved overall performance and reduced post-exercise vigor scores, compared to an individual run." There is something going on in the brain that makes us able to run faster, do better, and feel less tired about the whole experience when we have competition. In other words if you want to become a faster runner it's a good idea to run more races!

Look at these silly boys madly charging up the hill as the gun goes off.

For shorter distances, like a 5k, it's not always beneficial to fight the "run-fast" urge at the start. Going out fast against competition doesn't necessarily mean you will run slower overall. In fact the study indicated that running the first 500 m fast is part of how you end up with a faster overall time. Everyone seems to talk about how beneficial negative splits are. They certainly are the goal for longer races but not necessarily for the 5k. Other studies have shown that running the first mile of a 5k 3% faster than goal pace is the optimal pacing strategy. Forget trying to achieve a negative split, just run fast the first mile....but not too fast. How fast is too fast? If the first mile is run more than 6% faster than the goal pace you are likely to crash and burn. So if you're running a 5k, don't feel so bad about going out fast, you just might end up with PR.

In other news: I am enjoying enduring my taper week. Not running is actually harder than it sounds. I also have the strong urge to go pick up heavy metal things and put them back down in an attempt to build muscle, but I am resisting that urge so my body is rested, recovered, and ready for the Half Marathon on Sunday.

Race Report - Wounded Warrior 5k

I was hoping to post this report with a nice photo or two. The event organizers of this 5k took photos and assured me that they would post them on their FB page. However, the way the race was organized....I'm not holding my breath. 

This race was not for the Wounded Warrior Project (which you should research before giving money to), but for  Wounded Warrior Safe Harbor.

With that out of the way here's the report: The weather was off-and-on misting and it was about 70 degrees. The race had quite a lot of goodies; t-shirt, finisher medal, dog-tag with the wounded warrior logo on it and lots of snacks and drinks. Very impressive for a tiny 5k! They even had signs telling you where to line up based on your predicted finish time. 

I was feeling tired because I had run 18 miles in the previous three days, but I optimistically lined up with the under 20:00 crowd. There start line was not really defined,  which I found strange, it was just 'under' an inflatable rainbow-thingy with no real 'line'. They started us off and there was even a truck with a timer on it ahead of us so we could see the official time the whole race. I ran out with the lead group (about 8 of us) and knew I was in trouble. I was fairly certain my legs were made of lead and, though the course was completely flat, I wasn't going to be able to keep up with the top guys. My first mile I clocked a blazing 5:59 and promptly started to decline. 

At the 1.5 mile mark I found myself in 'no-mans-land'. There were 8 guys in front of me with the closest about 80 feet away and the nearest guy behind me was about 100 feet away. This stunk. I was already feeling like I was dying and now I was going to die alone. 

Slowing considerably I pressed on towards the end of my pain, or my life, whichever came first. I as rounded a corner into the last 400 yards I heard a guy trying to push past me. I chanced a brief look and saw it was a guy pushing a jogging stroller looking like a steam engine that's about to explode. I thought I had nothing left as a kicker until I saw him. I couldn't let stroller man beat me. I somehow increased my pace just enough to keep him in my rear-view and finished in 19:38 a new PR! I went up to stroller man after the race and told him how impressed I was with him for running while pushing a kid. Though I beat stroller man, he's a winner in my books.

 

My pace looks like the decent of an airplane.

Somehow I set a new PR. I wasn't really thinking that would happen due to my fatigue level. This makes me excited to try for a new PR when I am fully rested! 

The race, which seemed so organized, didn't track or record times. When I asked about it I was told that it wasn't for 'time'. This puzzled me greatly because that is EXACTLY what a race is; it's running a set distance for time. Someone else asked about this in the group's FB page and someone had the nerve to say that we should run to support them not so someone can track our time. But it's not one or the other. You can run a race for support AND want your time tracked. This race is an example of an organization deciding to hold an event without ever talking to a runner. They had the swag and the bling but not the race results. I'd take official results any day over a t-shirt I'll never wear again.