Tomorrow is February 29 - leap year!
I welcome each and every extra day while training for Boston and tomorrow is certainly one of those. And while it doesn't amount to much, every bit counts, especially the additional time added prior to the marathon.
Knee has not had a twinge in over two weeks now, allowing me to continue ramping up and working hard for what will hopefully be a good run in Boston. Funny how no matter what, I never know exactly what shape I'm in going into a race. I can only go by whether or not I've had any injuries (fortunately I've never had any that have kept me down very long), amount of days of actual training, and generally how I feel.
I definitely feel better than this time before New York. I knew I wasn't as fit as I wanted to be going into that race and sure enough I ran my all time slowest marathon - 2:55. Decent considering the training that had taken place. This time around I feel good, I'm feeling much more motivated, and if all goes according to plan I am thinking that I can sneak back under 2:50. Back to where I belong.
Over the weekend I ran with a few of the fellow Roosters at the Cherry Creek rez but since this was my drop back week I only ran 12, starting out easily and then picking it up over the course of the run ending in the last few miles being sub-7. Not a hard run by any means but I felt strong the entire way. Pushed the up hills and relaxed on the down hills. The wind from the west was ridiculous yet I never faltered.
The following day I helped David Rothenburger outline a race course for the Father's Day mile the Rocky Mountain Road Runners will be putting on the day prior to Father's Day. All-in-all I got 10 miles and a decently slow pace.
I've also been trying to do some speedwork every week. Month and half ago I signed up for the ROTG so I'm hoping to have a semi-decent showing, although it may not be as good as my earlier ROTG a few years back. Have been wanting to get back for a while and now I'm able to run it again. Hopefully my recent time off hasn't slowed me down too much.
I'm planning to do a weekly update like most other running bloggers do. I'm not exactly versed in the art of blogging at this time so it is definitely a work in progress.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
So far so good
I have not had any running related problems since my last post. My knee is holding up well and I am feeling stronger with the increased distances I've been running. I already had a series of 19.5, 20.2, and 21.5 mile long runs that have gotten better in terms of overall strength. The 21.5 miler was last Saturday and on Sunday I tested the speed aspect with a 7 mile run (1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down included) on the track. It wasn't an interval workout, just a workout to use the track to monitor how fast I was going per 400 meters. This certainly wasn't a difficult workout but it was fast enough to make sure my knee was OK with a faster pace for at least a shorter duration. Mile times were 6:45, 6:41, 6:39, 6:43, 6:29. The only issue I had with the run with the strong wind from the south. Other than that, no problems to report. This weekend I will do the same type workout on the track but for 8 miles instead of the 5. Sunday will be my drop back day for long runs after having three consecutive longer ones. I also want to get back on the track for an actual interval workout - if the snow doesn't have other ideas.
Runners Roost team meeting tomorrow evening. Excited to get some more information on what to expect. Should be a fun year.
Runners Roost team meeting tomorrow evening. Excited to get some more information on what to expect. Should be a fun year.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
After a three year hiatus
Embarrassingly enough, it's been over three years since I last logged in and wrote a single word on my blog. Time to get cracking and hopefully it won't be so pitiful in the future. As time goes on I'll look at modifying the look and make it is a little more readable.
Since the last post I've run a bunch of races but most notably a number of faster half and full marathons. As a masters runner I've managed to bring my time for the half down to 1:17:34 but the marathon arena has been more interesting. After my 2:47 (high) at the 2008 Chicago marathon I followed that up with another 2:47 (low) at the 2010 Arizona Rock n Roll marathon and then my best of 2:46 at the 2010 Boston marathon.
After that time I kept having a number of minor but irritating injuries that just kept pushing my training back to the point that I could never really get anything solid going. Just after Boston I stupidly entered the Steamboat marathon feeling stronger than ever but unfortunately I ended up pulling out of the race with a left calf strain. After that, in February 2011 I had another DNF at the El Paso marathon after developing a nasty blister covering a large portion of my right foot. That was the absolute worst blister I'd ever had in my entire life. I wanted to run the 2012 Boston marathon so I needed a qualifying time. At my age I needed something like 3:15 which was a pretty easy task but I wanted to at least get a good starting position. In 2010 I was in Wave 1, Corral 2, so basically right after the elite runners. I signed up for the Deseret News marathon outside Salt Lake (late July) that features 3200' elevation loss and almost 1000' elevation gain throughout the course, so a tough quad killer to say the least. Fortunately I got the DNF monkey off my back with a 2:52, which should get me at least in Corral 3.
Then last fall after a busy fall with everything but running I ran in the NYC marathon and ran a pretty sad 2:55. Although I say sad, it was a decent run considering the shape I was in. The bright news is that I maintained a sub- 3:00 marathon career thus far. Hopefully Boston will be better, and hopefully I can get back under the 2:50 mark.
After falling on the ice during a training run in mid December I've only just got back into heavy training. If all goes according to plan I can still eek out six 20+ milers before the taper. I want to go back to what has work best for me and use the three week taper instead of the two I used for Deseret and New York. In a later post I will detail what I think I need most of (pretty much everything) to have a decent shot a good time at Boston.
This year I represent the Runners Roost team so I really need to buckle down and get back on track to having a successful year. Being responsible for helping a team look better by turning out good times in most races is a great motivator for pushing it back up the next level. There is no reason I shouldn't still be able to run faster this year than ever before as a masters runner.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the year transpires.
Since the last post I've run a bunch of races but most notably a number of faster half and full marathons. As a masters runner I've managed to bring my time for the half down to 1:17:34 but the marathon arena has been more interesting. After my 2:47 (high) at the 2008 Chicago marathon I followed that up with another 2:47 (low) at the 2010 Arizona Rock n Roll marathon and then my best of 2:46 at the 2010 Boston marathon.
After that time I kept having a number of minor but irritating injuries that just kept pushing my training back to the point that I could never really get anything solid going. Just after Boston I stupidly entered the Steamboat marathon feeling stronger than ever but unfortunately I ended up pulling out of the race with a left calf strain. After that, in February 2011 I had another DNF at the El Paso marathon after developing a nasty blister covering a large portion of my right foot. That was the absolute worst blister I'd ever had in my entire life. I wanted to run the 2012 Boston marathon so I needed a qualifying time. At my age I needed something like 3:15 which was a pretty easy task but I wanted to at least get a good starting position. In 2010 I was in Wave 1, Corral 2, so basically right after the elite runners. I signed up for the Deseret News marathon outside Salt Lake (late July) that features 3200' elevation loss and almost 1000' elevation gain throughout the course, so a tough quad killer to say the least. Fortunately I got the DNF monkey off my back with a 2:52, which should get me at least in Corral 3.
Then last fall after a busy fall with everything but running I ran in the NYC marathon and ran a pretty sad 2:55. Although I say sad, it was a decent run considering the shape I was in. The bright news is that I maintained a sub- 3:00 marathon career thus far. Hopefully Boston will be better, and hopefully I can get back under the 2:50 mark.
After falling on the ice during a training run in mid December I've only just got back into heavy training. If all goes according to plan I can still eek out six 20+ milers before the taper. I want to go back to what has work best for me and use the three week taper instead of the two I used for Deseret and New York. In a later post I will detail what I think I need most of (pretty much everything) to have a decent shot a good time at Boston.
This year I represent the Runners Roost team so I really need to buckle down and get back on track to having a successful year. Being responsible for helping a team look better by turning out good times in most races is a great motivator for pushing it back up the next level. There is no reason I shouldn't still be able to run faster this year than ever before as a masters runner.
I'm looking forward to seeing how the year transpires.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Last long run
9/27/08
Had a great trail run on Thursday evening with the DTR at South Valley (Ken Caryl) with me feeling very, very strong on the uphills and very strong up the long grinding path going from south to north between the 'hogbacks', out to main road leading into Ken Caryl.
Saturday morning Scott, David and I ran an easier 15 mile run along the Cherry Creek bike path. Started from the Bed Bath and Beyond in Cherry Creek and ran down to Parker Road (made slight mistake at about 6.5 miles and ended up running down to Iliff and then to Parker). David hasn't been running many long runs lately so wasn't feeling up to a fast pace so Scott and I broke away around 8.5 and ran harder back to the beginning of the run. Only ran an average of 7:17 overall with the last 2 miles around a 6:00 pace. Still felt pretty good, even after the run and later into the evening. Gonna be running at Buffalo Creek tomorrow morning. I've never run there so am looking forward to it but will be taking it fairly easy.
Running results:
Incredible job by Boulder's Tera Moody, placing 12th overall at the 8K championship held during the Road Runner Akron Marathon venue. Time? 26:56! Other Colorado runners faired very well.
1. Sara Slattery - 25:54
8. Elva Dryer - 26:28
16. Nicole Aish - 27:30
18. Carrie Messner-Vickers - 27:49
22. Lucinda Hull - 28:15
9/20/08
The Chicago marathon is three weeks away so today was my last long run of any real distance. Met Ryan and Scott at the Goodsen Rec center and ran the Highline Canal - 22 miles. Sure it get a little montonous running there week after week but I love the fact that I can use the mile markers to see how I'm progressing. Two weeks ago I ran there, alone, in the afternoon when it was pretty warm. The pace I set seemed difficult to maintain and I had to continue pushing it just to keep consistent throughout the entire distance. It's amazing how much easier it seems when you have other guys to run with that are your pace or faster.
Ryan is still a tad sore from last week's hard 20-miler but I felt completely recovered by today. Scott and I were planning on just running a 7:30 pace which Ryan agreed with since his legs were still feeling the effects of last week. But wouldn't you know it? We kept flirting with a low 7:00 minute pace the entire time and it felt easy. At least it did for me. The other guys were OK running it so I figured we'd just continue as we were, and so we did. Made the turn around and came back the same pace as we had on the way out, but the last 1.5 miles were run at 6:00 pace just to push the last portion of the distance. Worked out pretty well and I ended up only taking two gels. One at :45, and the other at 1:31. I was going to take another at 2:15 but since we didn't have that far to go beyond that I decided not to eat the last one and see how my body would handle the workout. Fortunately I had no issues at all and I didn't need to eat the last one.
Came home, ate lunch, iced my legs, and threw laundry in the washer. Legs feel pretty good so I'm feeling positive about events yet to unfold.
Had a great trail run on Thursday evening with the DTR at South Valley (Ken Caryl) with me feeling very, very strong on the uphills and very strong up the long grinding path going from south to north between the 'hogbacks', out to main road leading into Ken Caryl.
Saturday morning Scott, David and I ran an easier 15 mile run along the Cherry Creek bike path. Started from the Bed Bath and Beyond in Cherry Creek and ran down to Parker Road (made slight mistake at about 6.5 miles and ended up running down to Iliff and then to Parker). David hasn't been running many long runs lately so wasn't feeling up to a fast pace so Scott and I broke away around 8.5 and ran harder back to the beginning of the run. Only ran an average of 7:17 overall with the last 2 miles around a 6:00 pace. Still felt pretty good, even after the run and later into the evening. Gonna be running at Buffalo Creek tomorrow morning. I've never run there so am looking forward to it but will be taking it fairly easy.
Running results:
Incredible job by Boulder's Tera Moody, placing 12th overall at the 8K championship held during the Road Runner Akron Marathon venue. Time? 26:56! Other Colorado runners faired very well.
1. Sara Slattery - 25:54
8. Elva Dryer - 26:28
16. Nicole Aish - 27:30
18. Carrie Messner-Vickers - 27:49
22. Lucinda Hull - 28:15
9/20/08
The Chicago marathon is three weeks away so today was my last long run of any real distance. Met Ryan and Scott at the Goodsen Rec center and ran the Highline Canal - 22 miles. Sure it get a little montonous running there week after week but I love the fact that I can use the mile markers to see how I'm progressing. Two weeks ago I ran there, alone, in the afternoon when it was pretty warm. The pace I set seemed difficult to maintain and I had to continue pushing it just to keep consistent throughout the entire distance. It's amazing how much easier it seems when you have other guys to run with that are your pace or faster.
Ryan is still a tad sore from last week's hard 20-miler but I felt completely recovered by today. Scott and I were planning on just running a 7:30 pace which Ryan agreed with since his legs were still feeling the effects of last week. But wouldn't you know it? We kept flirting with a low 7:00 minute pace the entire time and it felt easy. At least it did for me. The other guys were OK running it so I figured we'd just continue as we were, and so we did. Made the turn around and came back the same pace as we had on the way out, but the last 1.5 miles were run at 6:00 pace just to push the last portion of the distance. Worked out pretty well and I ended up only taking two gels. One at :45, and the other at 1:31. I was going to take another at 2:15 but since we didn't have that far to go beyond that I decided not to eat the last one and see how my body would handle the workout. Fortunately I had no issues at all and I didn't need to eat the last one.
Came home, ate lunch, iced my legs, and threw laundry in the washer. Legs feel pretty good so I'm feeling positive about events yet to unfold.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Making up for lost time
Wow, what a slacker I've been in the realm of blogging. Just been soooo busy lately that getting onto the computer one more time seemed so unappealing but things are slowing a bit so I will do a quick post while I'm here.
A lot has transpired since my last entry. First of all was the Pike Peak Ascent and Marathon. I drove to the top of Pikes to cheer on friends who were running the race and as soon as I stepped outside from the bus I was immediately happy with the decision not to run. Having to stand in 30-40 mph wind blowing sleet into our faces horizontally while waiting for runners to finish was not fun. Was able to click a few photos before my camera froze. What the hell? At least I got a few at the finish and then down at the post race festivities.
Most impressive was this year's marathon. Matt Carpenter put his foot down very hard this year with an extremely convincing win over Dave Mackey. Dave still ran well despite the conditions but it's rare for Matt to disappoint. The other big surprise was fellow running bud, Justin Mock who tore the trail up in his debut to not only the race but for the first time setting foot on the mountain. I knew he'd run well since he'd put so many quality hard runs at altitude but I have to be honest when he did as well as he did. 7th overall is truly impressive and any top-10 finish is something to be proud of. He was the only friend that weekend to have a great run.
After that weekend I launched my own marathon training full force. Running with Scott Kukel on the weekend when schedules permitted really helped keep me motivated not only for putting in the distance for the long runs but kept me honest about pacing. Don't want to run too slowly but at the same time don't want them to turn into races either. Worked my way up to two 20-milers and a 22-miler, with one of the 20-milers being a Marathon Training Series (MTS) "race" put on by the Rocky Mountain Road Runners this past weekend. More on that later.
My mileage has climbed from the 50's to the high 70s over the past month and I've been very diligent about putting in the miles even when I don't feel like it. As I mentioned before, I had two 20-milers. The first one was a combo workout by running the Park-to-Park 10 mile race and then and additional 10.4 miles after the race around Wash Park. Little did I know but I had to get back to the starting area on foot so I jog/walked the 4 or so mile back to the starting area where I left my car. Race was decent especially for how hilly it was. Went out way faster than I should have, passing the first mile in 5:35 instead of my desired 5:50. But the race overall was OK and I raced a professional triathlete by the name of Kelly Liljebald for the last mile. We went back and forth but finally I was able to push past and beat her by a few seconds. That final mile was 5:58 which I was happy with. Final race results: 1:01:48.
The second 20-miler was just yesterday at the Mountain Training Series out in Westminster. About 20% concrete and the rest hard packed gravel. Someone forgot to notify Mother Nature that it should have been in the 50s for the who race but instead it was raining when we started. Had to run though some mucky, sticky sections where things got a little slower but overall not too terribly bad. Eventually the rain stopped and the weather wasn't bad at all. On the cool side which is how I prefer to run races.
Dan and Ryan are the guys who've been in the top 1-2 for each of the other MTS but for this race Dan wanted to take it easier that day because he'll be running the Boulder half the following week and wants to run very hard. Even Ryan wanted to take it easy and ask me to pull him back if the pace got too quick. For me, I was actually pretty cold for the first 5 miles and it took me a while to warm up and sure enough, Ryan started to take off. I went ahead and let him go since we'd been planning on running 6:30 pace but he wasn't racing the following week like Dan, and this was his one and last chance to beat Dan at one of these races. At first Dan was content to stay back and run with me and Tristan Mitchell, chatting about training, etc. But after the turnaround at 5, he started to take off with Tristan to go catch Ryan. I didn't want to have anything to do with it since I really wasn't feeling it as well as having had 6:30 pace in my head for the past two weeks as planned. After 10 miles I was pretty much in no man's land about 2:30 back from Ryan. From then on, I kept calculating what my time should be for the next mile if I ran a 6:30 so I'd have something to key off. A few guys behind me were about a minute back so I wanted to hold them off too. Made the turn at 15 and saw that the guys behind were a little closer so I just tried to hold my pace as even as possible since this was more of a training run than a race. With a little more than 2 miles to go, one of the guys (new transplant from DC) passed me. He was running very strongly and I tried to stay with him but still didn't feel it. But finally, the last miles went by and I ended up in 5th place. 5:14 behind Ryan, 5:00 behind Dan, 2:00 behind Tristan, and about 1:00 behind the other guy. Not too bad considering how I felt. No stomach problems though.
Prelim results for the 20-miler:
1. Ryan - 2:04:01
2. Dan - 2:04:15
3. Tristan - 2:07 I believe
4. New guy - 2:08:15?
5 Mike Q - 2:09:15
I think Sean Sidelko was after me a few minutes back and then it was a while before the next finisher. Hopefully the results will be up soon. Pretty competitive for a training series and certainly the most competitive since they've held them. Good solid run for me and put me at a low 2:49 pace for the marathon at altitude. Of course I don't think I could have maintained that for another 10K but nonetheless it shows I'm in fairly good shape leading up to Chicago in a month. What made me happiest was my ability to run consistently throughout the race, mile after mile. My plan was 6:30 pace and I ended up with 6:27 pace. Didn't get crazy and caught up with anyone else's pace and held my own, despite running along for the vast majority of the race. Nice! Next week is another long run of about 22-23 with Ryan and Scott on the highline. We'll be looking for a 7:00/mile pace for that one.
Nice easy 8 miles today to shake out the legs, then Wash Park tomorrow with the group, Justin and Scott.
A lot has transpired since my last entry. First of all was the Pike Peak Ascent and Marathon. I drove to the top of Pikes to cheer on friends who were running the race and as soon as I stepped outside from the bus I was immediately happy with the decision not to run. Having to stand in 30-40 mph wind blowing sleet into our faces horizontally while waiting for runners to finish was not fun. Was able to click a few photos before my camera froze. What the hell? At least I got a few at the finish and then down at the post race festivities.
Most impressive was this year's marathon. Matt Carpenter put his foot down very hard this year with an extremely convincing win over Dave Mackey. Dave still ran well despite the conditions but it's rare for Matt to disappoint. The other big surprise was fellow running bud, Justin Mock who tore the trail up in his debut to not only the race but for the first time setting foot on the mountain. I knew he'd run well since he'd put so many quality hard runs at altitude but I have to be honest when he did as well as he did. 7th overall is truly impressive and any top-10 finish is something to be proud of. He was the only friend that weekend to have a great run.
After that weekend I launched my own marathon training full force. Running with Scott Kukel on the weekend when schedules permitted really helped keep me motivated not only for putting in the distance for the long runs but kept me honest about pacing. Don't want to run too slowly but at the same time don't want them to turn into races either. Worked my way up to two 20-milers and a 22-miler, with one of the 20-milers being a Marathon Training Series (MTS) "race" put on by the Rocky Mountain Road Runners this past weekend. More on that later.
My mileage has climbed from the 50's to the high 70s over the past month and I've been very diligent about putting in the miles even when I don't feel like it. As I mentioned before, I had two 20-milers. The first one was a combo workout by running the Park-to-Park 10 mile race and then and additional 10.4 miles after the race around Wash Park. Little did I know but I had to get back to the starting area on foot so I jog/walked the 4 or so mile back to the starting area where I left my car. Race was decent especially for how hilly it was. Went out way faster than I should have, passing the first mile in 5:35 instead of my desired 5:50. But the race overall was OK and I raced a professional triathlete by the name of Kelly Liljebald for the last mile. We went back and forth but finally I was able to push past and beat her by a few seconds. That final mile was 5:58 which I was happy with. Final race results: 1:01:48.
The second 20-miler was just yesterday at the Mountain Training Series out in Westminster. About 20% concrete and the rest hard packed gravel. Someone forgot to notify Mother Nature that it should have been in the 50s for the who race but instead it was raining when we started. Had to run though some mucky, sticky sections where things got a little slower but overall not too terribly bad. Eventually the rain stopped and the weather wasn't bad at all. On the cool side which is how I prefer to run races.
Dan and Ryan are the guys who've been in the top 1-2 for each of the other MTS but for this race Dan wanted to take it easier that day because he'll be running the Boulder half the following week and wants to run very hard. Even Ryan wanted to take it easy and ask me to pull him back if the pace got too quick. For me, I was actually pretty cold for the first 5 miles and it took me a while to warm up and sure enough, Ryan started to take off. I went ahead and let him go since we'd been planning on running 6:30 pace but he wasn't racing the following week like Dan, and this was his one and last chance to beat Dan at one of these races. At first Dan was content to stay back and run with me and Tristan Mitchell, chatting about training, etc. But after the turnaround at 5, he started to take off with Tristan to go catch Ryan. I didn't want to have anything to do with it since I really wasn't feeling it as well as having had 6:30 pace in my head for the past two weeks as planned. After 10 miles I was pretty much in no man's land about 2:30 back from Ryan. From then on, I kept calculating what my time should be for the next mile if I ran a 6:30 so I'd have something to key off. A few guys behind me were about a minute back so I wanted to hold them off too. Made the turn at 15 and saw that the guys behind were a little closer so I just tried to hold my pace as even as possible since this was more of a training run than a race. With a little more than 2 miles to go, one of the guys (new transplant from DC) passed me. He was running very strongly and I tried to stay with him but still didn't feel it. But finally, the last miles went by and I ended up in 5th place. 5:14 behind Ryan, 5:00 behind Dan, 2:00 behind Tristan, and about 1:00 behind the other guy. Not too bad considering how I felt. No stomach problems though.
Prelim results for the 20-miler:
1. Ryan - 2:04:01
2. Dan - 2:04:15
3. Tristan - 2:07 I believe
4. New guy - 2:08:15?
5 Mike Q - 2:09:15
I think Sean Sidelko was after me a few minutes back and then it was a while before the next finisher. Hopefully the results will be up soon. Pretty competitive for a training series and certainly the most competitive since they've held them. Good solid run for me and put me at a low 2:49 pace for the marathon at altitude. Of course I don't think I could have maintained that for another 10K but nonetheless it shows I'm in fairly good shape leading up to Chicago in a month. What made me happiest was my ability to run consistently throughout the race, mile after mile. My plan was 6:30 pace and I ended up with 6:27 pace. Didn't get crazy and caught up with anyone else's pace and held my own, despite running along for the vast majority of the race. Nice! Next week is another long run of about 22-23 with Ryan and Scott on the highline. We'll be looking for a 7:00/mile pace for that one.
Nice easy 8 miles today to shake out the legs, then Wash Park tomorrow with the group, Justin and Scott.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon
It turned out to be a good day all around. First, the weather was almost perfect. Other than some stiff wind just before the 3 mile mark, the temp was ideal and things seemed to fall into place. Fellow competitor and friend, Scott Kukel and I decided to run together as long as possible, maybe even push each other to the end. He was a bit concerned with a bit of a tight calf but just before the start it really wasn't bothering him too much. I was feeling good for the most part, other than some stomach grumblings even though I'd already hit the porta-potties, so Scott and I made another quick pit stop in the trees so I figured things would be all right.
We started the race comfortably and told each other that we didn't want to go out too hard because of the rolling hills in Georgetown before we got back onto the main road leading down to Idaho Springs. We decided about a 12:30 pace for the first 2 miles would be adequate and then from there start picking it up (much like Justin Mock had suggested). I'd run the race two years prior and started way too slowly and didn't want to get caught up in the mass of humanity, so the pace we went out at was nice. Second mile was passed in 12:35 so not far off our plan. After mile two, we were joined by Keith Johnson, a top masters running in the area who has been battling plantar fasciitis lately and not being able to run as well as usual. But his slow running is faster than our fast running so I figured I'd try keeping up with him as long as possible. I found I could keep up without too much issue and we were then joined by a younger guy wearing a long sleeve shirt. Amazing he wasn't overheating. With each down hill I pushed the pace and of course Keith was able to keep up, but this is where Scott started to slow a bit. Turned out Scott's calf was beginning to bother him. So, along we went, up and down, and up and down, until my stomach started cramping up. My fears were starting to come true. I'd never had to take a pit stop during a race before but this time it was inevitable. Around 4.5 miles I spotted a porta-potty and jumped in. Tried my best to finish quickly but even that took at least a minute. Damn!
Oh well, what can you do. I was now behind a bunch of people I'd passed over the past few miles but I was bound and determined to pass them again. And quickly. Fortunately there was a very long stretch of road ahead of me so I could see everyone, including Keith and the other guy way up there. I must have caught a second wind because within less that 3 miles I had caught everyone, including Patty Rogers, who is an incredible woman runner, as well as Keith. It took another mile or so to actually pass him and the other guy but by doing so helped me bring a bunch of other people into sight. One by one I picked them off feeling better and better about my run but also wondering how I would have done had I not stopped (or at least had to). About a mile and half I pulled along side, then past Steven Sellers, a masters runner in the 45-49 age group. I didn't recognized him but knew he was a masters so I figured I had my work cut out for me. I didn't know where I was in relation to the rest of my age group, but based on previous years, my age group figured to be very competive again. I had set my sights on a sub-1:20 today but with that pit stop, it was certainly a lost cause. Or was it?
Steven latched on to my back, running step for step for the next half mile. If I pushed a hill, he did the same, if I crossed the road, he did the same. It was now a real race. It was at the 12 mile mark that I wanted to make him earn his place. Again, not knowing where I was in AG, and who he was, I wanted to be sure to push then entire way to the finish, and hopefully a sub 1:21 effort since I'd hit 40:31 for the mid-way split. I saw some guys up ahead and decided to try to catch them, but they were too far up. Was able to run the last mile in 5:50, which is normally difficult for me to do, even in 5K. Hit the 13 mile marker, made the turn for the finish, and sprinted. And the crowed roared. No, really, it did! Then I saw the time on the clock ahead. 1:19:20, :21, :22... I gave it all I had and ended up officially crossing the finish line in 1:19:31.8, nicely below the 1:20 goal and a nice negative split. Dropped Steven by about 15 seconds too. Of course if I'd not had a bathroom break I could have been in the 1:18:30 range. That is actually a sub-6:00/mile pace. Not bad at all. I'm sure I could have done it. Had quite a few sub-6 minutes miles during the latter half.
Finished and waited for my running buddies to finish. Scott ended up having to take a pit stop as well, and combined with his calf ran a slower race than he'd wanted. I'm sure he would have been sub-1:22, which was what he wanted. David Rothenburger had a pretty decent race, finishing in 1:26, as did Rachel Viele, finishing a little faster than David. Turns out that David was 3rd in his age group of 35-39, and Rachel and I had both won our age groups. Yep, thats right, no one else we had expected had shown up for my age group, making me not only win my AG, but I was the first masters overall, and 14th finisher overall. Jason Saitta had just barely missed beating Jason Delaney, with only 3 seconds separated them.
Went and soaked in the creek for about 2o minutes and then went and ate at a local pizza shop. Great lasagna! And that was the day.
The only negative was a slightly strained inner knee which I'm hoping will go away soon. I don't plan on running tomorrow to give it some rest. Keep your fingers crossed.
Looks like track practice is really starting to pay off.
We started the race comfortably and told each other that we didn't want to go out too hard because of the rolling hills in Georgetown before we got back onto the main road leading down to Idaho Springs. We decided about a 12:30 pace for the first 2 miles would be adequate and then from there start picking it up (much like Justin Mock had suggested). I'd run the race two years prior and started way too slowly and didn't want to get caught up in the mass of humanity, so the pace we went out at was nice. Second mile was passed in 12:35 so not far off our plan. After mile two, we were joined by Keith Johnson, a top masters running in the area who has been battling plantar fasciitis lately and not being able to run as well as usual. But his slow running is faster than our fast running so I figured I'd try keeping up with him as long as possible. I found I could keep up without too much issue and we were then joined by a younger guy wearing a long sleeve shirt. Amazing he wasn't overheating. With each down hill I pushed the pace and of course Keith was able to keep up, but this is where Scott started to slow a bit. Turned out Scott's calf was beginning to bother him. So, along we went, up and down, and up and down, until my stomach started cramping up. My fears were starting to come true. I'd never had to take a pit stop during a race before but this time it was inevitable. Around 4.5 miles I spotted a porta-potty and jumped in. Tried my best to finish quickly but even that took at least a minute. Damn!
Oh well, what can you do. I was now behind a bunch of people I'd passed over the past few miles but I was bound and determined to pass them again. And quickly. Fortunately there was a very long stretch of road ahead of me so I could see everyone, including Keith and the other guy way up there. I must have caught a second wind because within less that 3 miles I had caught everyone, including Patty Rogers, who is an incredible woman runner, as well as Keith. It took another mile or so to actually pass him and the other guy but by doing so helped me bring a bunch of other people into sight. One by one I picked them off feeling better and better about my run but also wondering how I would have done had I not stopped (or at least had to). About a mile and half I pulled along side, then past Steven Sellers, a masters runner in the 45-49 age group. I didn't recognized him but knew he was a masters so I figured I had my work cut out for me. I didn't know where I was in relation to the rest of my age group, but based on previous years, my age group figured to be very competive again. I had set my sights on a sub-1:20 today but with that pit stop, it was certainly a lost cause. Or was it?
Steven latched on to my back, running step for step for the next half mile. If I pushed a hill, he did the same, if I crossed the road, he did the same. It was now a real race. It was at the 12 mile mark that I wanted to make him earn his place. Again, not knowing where I was in AG, and who he was, I wanted to be sure to push then entire way to the finish, and hopefully a sub 1:21 effort since I'd hit 40:31 for the mid-way split. I saw some guys up ahead and decided to try to catch them, but they were too far up. Was able to run the last mile in 5:50, which is normally difficult for me to do, even in 5K. Hit the 13 mile marker, made the turn for the finish, and sprinted. And the crowed roared. No, really, it did! Then I saw the time on the clock ahead. 1:19:20, :21, :22... I gave it all I had and ended up officially crossing the finish line in 1:19:31.8, nicely below the 1:20 goal and a nice negative split. Dropped Steven by about 15 seconds too. Of course if I'd not had a bathroom break I could have been in the 1:18:30 range. That is actually a sub-6:00/mile pace. Not bad at all. I'm sure I could have done it. Had quite a few sub-6 minutes miles during the latter half.
Finished and waited for my running buddies to finish. Scott ended up having to take a pit stop as well, and combined with his calf ran a slower race than he'd wanted. I'm sure he would have been sub-1:22, which was what he wanted. David Rothenburger had a pretty decent race, finishing in 1:26, as did Rachel Viele, finishing a little faster than David. Turns out that David was 3rd in his age group of 35-39, and Rachel and I had both won our age groups. Yep, thats right, no one else we had expected had shown up for my age group, making me not only win my AG, but I was the first masters overall, and 14th finisher overall. Jason Saitta had just barely missed beating Jason Delaney, with only 3 seconds separated them.
Went and soaked in the creek for about 2o minutes and then went and ate at a local pizza shop. Great lasagna! And that was the day.
The only negative was a slightly strained inner knee which I'm hoping will go away soon. I don't plan on running tomorrow to give it some rest. Keep your fingers crossed.
Looks like track practice is really starting to pay off.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
2008 Summer Olympics
Well, we're very close to the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics! Regardless of the hype about the pollution and everything thing else, every athlete competing will be competing in the same conditions as his/her competitors so it's a matter of who can tolerate the conditions better. We can only hope for the best weather and temperatures for each and and every event.
Best of luck to the entire athletic contingent representing the good U.S. of A., but in particular the ones closest to us here in the beautiful state of Colorado!
Best of luck to the entire athletic contingent representing the good U.S. of A., but in particular the ones closest to us here in the beautiful state of Colorado!
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