Race Report
Sun, Jan 31/10
Miami Marathon
Marathon # 324
3:58:07 – 4AG
This will be a short and quick report. I wasn’t supposed to run this race and I was very disappointed and frustrated with my time and performance.
I had promised myself during the final 5K of the race last year (see RR Miami 01-09) that I wouldn’t run the race again in 2010. However when the Sports Manager and I decided to take a cruise that started in Miami on race day it only made sense to run this race rather than run in another city/state and fly into Miami on Sun for the cruise.
I had trained hard the whole month of Jan and even went on the wagon (no booze) in an effort to lose an extra 5 lbs and get down to competitive race weight. I had high expectations – to run a sub 3:45 or better – if the weather was good!
Unfortunately it didn’t happen as planned/hoped! On sat we drove down to Miami to pick up my race package and join Joe and Brenda Treige for pasta dinner. The Treige’s are old friends going back to our early career days in Ottawa, Canada and were joining us for a one-week cruise of the Western Caribbean after the race.
The weather was hot on Sat and forecast to be warm again on Sun. Not good news! Sadly the weather was warm (72 F) and humid at the 6 am start on Sun. The only good news was that it was overcast and cloudy so the temps never warmed up much above the mid 70s. I was assigned to the 3rd coral with about 1000 runners in front of me (a total of 18,000 runners in the marathon and half). It took 2 min just to reach the start line and I was boxed in for the 1st mile across the Macarthur Causeway. I passed mile 1 in a slow 9:06 (chip time) and mile 3 in 26:33. I was already behind my target pace for a sub 3:45 – and my legs were not moving smooth and easy? When I passed mile 10 in 1:26:46 and a split time of 8:45 I knew that I would not achieve my target! I passed the Half in 1:54:38. I naively thought that I might be able to hold that ‘slow’ pace to finish with a sub 3:50 but that dream/fantasy also disappeared when I passed mile 20 in 2:57:47 and a split of 9:50. I was fading and now it became a struggle and took lots of willpower just to hold a sub 10-min pace so I could cross the finish line in 3:58:07.
I was very disappointed/unhappy/frustrated with my time and performance. I had tried to key on this race and felt that I was in good shape and ready to run sub-3:45 and maybe even close to 3:30? I can’t explain why I fell apart except for the weather? I was even more discouraged when I researched the ‘unofficial’ results online to learn the top three in my Age Group finished under 3:15. Damn – the weather never affected them!!! However the ‘official’ results later indicated that the winner finished in 3:48 – I would have won my AG if I could have achieved my target!
No sense crying over spilt milk – it was time to begin our one-week cruise to celebrate the Sport Manager’s birthday – and also begin a special training program called “Gluttony & Sloth”. Since I trained so hard all month and sacrificed booze for the whole month I felt I deserved a week of “Gluttony and Sloth” – not caring about what I ate or drank or if I exercised!
We met the Treige’s on the ship – the Carnival Valor – and enjoyed a wonderful week exploring Cayman Islands, Honduras, Belize and Cozumel, Mexico. And we ate and drank and partied without concern.
It was a fun week. And as I mentioned in a pre-race report I sacrificed my body for the betterment of all my readers. After one week of “Gluttony and Sloth” I returned home with an additional 7 lbs and a head cold thanks to some butthead on the cruise. And I have to run another (international) marathon next weekend!
This race will definitely be a test of the “Gluttony & Sloth” program. If I finish the race successfully – and alive – it will be Good News for many of my readers who are quite familiar with the program because it will mean that they are pre-eminently qualified to run a marathon?
Stay tuned!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
RR - Disney Marathon
Race Report
Sun, Jan 10/10
Disney Marathon
Orlando, FL
Marathon #323
3:57:53 - 6AG
Not a great race for a number of reasons!
I added this marathon to my race schedule under duress a few months back. What do I mean – under duress? I hate this race for two reasons:
1) It is overpriced – registration is now $125! It is well organized but that entry fee is ridiculous.
2) The logistics of the race suck! The race starts at Epcot and runs around and through Epcot and Disney World. In order to get the race finished by noon so they can open the Park to regular guests Disney starts the race at 5:35am. Thus runners must be parked at Epcot by 4am, check their warm-up clothes by 4:30am and start walking .6M to the start line in the dark! Most years it is Cold while you wait for the race to start.
If I had known just how COLD it would be this year I would never have registered for the race! However when I checked race calendars it was the only race in FL that weekend and thus it was my cheapest option to run a race. Otherwise I would have to fly out of state, etc and that would greatly increase my costs. (And in hindsight it would have been even colder in nearby states!).
An added benefit was that a good friend and fellow Country Club member, Edson Sanches, would be running the marathon. Edson is one of about 30 runners who have run all previous 16 Disney Marathons and I knew he would not miss this one. We agreed to share a room.
As most of my readers know Canada and USA (and many other parts of the world) have been experiencing one of the coldest winters in history. Florida has broken cold temp records going back 140 years! The weather forecast for race day was not good (sub-freezing temps) and that would mean a cold race and a really miserable wait at the start! One good thing about running so many races was that I knew what to expect and how to prepare for the race. I pulled out my cold-weather running gear – polypro tights and top that trap body heat but allow sweat to wick away and for the COLD wait at the start I purchased a cheap sleeping bag at Walmart.
I met Edson at the hotel and we picked up our race packets. It was cold on Sat afternoon and we complained and worried about how cold it would be on Sun. I convinced Edson to buy some additional warm-up/race clothes because he had only brought shorts and a T-shirt!!! That evening we were joined by another old friend who lives in Orlando. Marty used to run with us back in the ‘good old’ days when all three of us were running our 1st circuit of the 50 States. We called ourselves the ‘tres amigos’ and competed fiercely (but friendly) against each other at races. Marty and his family joined us for dinner and we enjoyed a very nice evening and pasta dinner reminiscing about the old days.
Sun was “M’Day and I don’t believe there was one runner out of the 18,000 entered that was looking forward to the race? Even the Canucks and runners from the North were bitching about the cold! I felt sorry for them because they had booked this race to escape the Cold! It was 26F when I parked my car at Epcot at 4am. It was bitterly cold as I removed my warm-up clothes and made my final race preparations before checking my gear at the baggage tent at 4:30am. I used my sleeping bag like a cocoon as I walked to the start line. Most runners had blankets, garbage bags, etc to try to stay warm. I felt sorry for the few that had only race shorts and a singlet??? Everyone envied my sleeping bag – I had many offers to buy the bag. It wasn’t for sale – even for the $100 I was offered! I was as snug as a bug in a rug! I arrived at Coral A in the Red Wave and sat down in my warm cocoon to wait for the start of the race. There were two starts or waves – a Red and Blue- with several corals in each to handle the 18,000 runners. I lined up about 20 feet behind the start line and the elite athletes.
After the great race I enjoyed at Jacksonville three weeks ago I had hoped to set a target of sub 3:40 because I had completed some good speed work in the past few weeks. However I figured the cold temps and conditions were going to make it tough and I didn’t know what to expect? A few minutes before the start I had to reluctantly shed my cocoon - Damn! – it was cold even though I was still wearing 4 layers – a polypro top and T-shirt covered with a throw-away sweat shirt and garbage bag! My hands and feet froze before the gun went off to start the race!
Everyone was cold and stiff and started slowly. I shed the garbage bag at mile 2 and the sweatshirt and toque at mile 3 because I was starting to sweat. My hands and feet however were still frozen! We were boxed in until we completed the first loop of Epcot and the two waves merged at 3.4 miles. At the 2nd water station at 4 miles the volunteers shouted warnings to the runners to watch for ice on the road! Water that was sloshed and spilled from the cups had frozen on the road and it was like an ice rink. Runners had to be very careful while they attempted to break off a light crust of ice on the water in the cup to drink it. The water was definitely COLD! When I reached Mile 5 in 45:06 and an 8:47 split my legs were still tight and stiff. They couldn’t seem to warm or loosen up. It was taking much greater effort and energy than normal to make them move and I realized right then that it was not going to be a fast or easy race and I decided I would just try to hold a sub-9 min pace and finish under 4 hrs!
I passed mile 10 in 1:29:42 and through Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom. My hands were still cold! I had to remove my fingers from the gloves and bundle them into a fist to warm them up. My feet must have been warm - I couldn’t feel them? I passed the Half in the Animal kingdom in 1:57:43 and a split of 8:35. The sun was coming up. I had big hopes that maybe I would start to warm up and could run a negative split in the 2nd half? Didn’t happen! The only time I felt warm was when the course ran east into the sun and when the course was sheltered from the wind in one of the Theme Parks. When the course was on the service roads and overpasses around the parks and open to the wind my hands would freeze (again) and it was miserable! I don’t know what the wind chill temp was – except friggin COLD!Each water station continued to be an ice rink until the end of the race and I still had to break ice off the water in my cup to drink it!
I reached Mile 20 in 3:00:26 and a split of 9:21. I realized that I needed to lower the pace back to a 9:00 min pace if I wanted to finish under 4 hrs. I didn’t care how miserable it was or how cold it was – I was determined to finish under 4 hrs to salvage some respectability! I managed to get the pace down to 9:05s and as I reached Mile 23 in 3:28:35 I passed a young male runner who was struggling. I shouted at him to stay with me and we would finish under 4 hrs! He responded by staying with me and we crossed the finish line together in 3:57:53! He thanked me profusely and stated that he had given up and was about to walk when I shouted. He gutted it out to the finish line by convincing himself that he should be able to keep up with an ‘old man’! I considered his thanks a compliment!
After a quick finish line photo I retreated hastily back to the car. The temp was 33F as I drove back to the hotel. I filled the tub with the hottest water I could stand and submerged my frozen body until it thawed out. Edson arrived 1 hour later. He had suffered a bad day and race and finished exactly 1 hr behind me.
I checked the race results online later that day and was not surprised to learn that I had not placed well in my AG – 6th out of 25 runners. Even if I had finished in sub 3:40 that would not have placed me in the top 3! The top 2 finished under 3:30 so not all Old Farts had suffered the same problems as me!
I am a bit disappointed/ discouraged with my performance and time. I feel that I am in much better shape than a 3:57? If I don’t see any improvement in my next race (Miami in 3 weeks) I am going to become really discouraged and lose motivation to accept more pain and speed work to continue to improve! Maybe it is time to follow the advice of my good friend and mentor Wally Herman and just run for fun?
Stay tuned!
Sun, Jan 10/10
Disney Marathon
Orlando, FL
Marathon #323
3:57:53 - 6AG
Not a great race for a number of reasons!
I added this marathon to my race schedule under duress a few months back. What do I mean – under duress? I hate this race for two reasons:
1) It is overpriced – registration is now $125! It is well organized but that entry fee is ridiculous.
2) The logistics of the race suck! The race starts at Epcot and runs around and through Epcot and Disney World. In order to get the race finished by noon so they can open the Park to regular guests Disney starts the race at 5:35am. Thus runners must be parked at Epcot by 4am, check their warm-up clothes by 4:30am and start walking .6M to the start line in the dark! Most years it is Cold while you wait for the race to start.
If I had known just how COLD it would be this year I would never have registered for the race! However when I checked race calendars it was the only race in FL that weekend and thus it was my cheapest option to run a race. Otherwise I would have to fly out of state, etc and that would greatly increase my costs. (And in hindsight it would have been even colder in nearby states!).
An added benefit was that a good friend and fellow Country Club member, Edson Sanches, would be running the marathon. Edson is one of about 30 runners who have run all previous 16 Disney Marathons and I knew he would not miss this one. We agreed to share a room.
As most of my readers know Canada and USA (and many other parts of the world) have been experiencing one of the coldest winters in history. Florida has broken cold temp records going back 140 years! The weather forecast for race day was not good (sub-freezing temps) and that would mean a cold race and a really miserable wait at the start! One good thing about running so many races was that I knew what to expect and how to prepare for the race. I pulled out my cold-weather running gear – polypro tights and top that trap body heat but allow sweat to wick away and for the COLD wait at the start I purchased a cheap sleeping bag at Walmart.
I met Edson at the hotel and we picked up our race packets. It was cold on Sat afternoon and we complained and worried about how cold it would be on Sun. I convinced Edson to buy some additional warm-up/race clothes because he had only brought shorts and a T-shirt!!! That evening we were joined by another old friend who lives in Orlando. Marty used to run with us back in the ‘good old’ days when all three of us were running our 1st circuit of the 50 States. We called ourselves the ‘tres amigos’ and competed fiercely (but friendly) against each other at races. Marty and his family joined us for dinner and we enjoyed a very nice evening and pasta dinner reminiscing about the old days.
Sun was “M’Day and I don’t believe there was one runner out of the 18,000 entered that was looking forward to the race? Even the Canucks and runners from the North were bitching about the cold! I felt sorry for them because they had booked this race to escape the Cold! It was 26F when I parked my car at Epcot at 4am. It was bitterly cold as I removed my warm-up clothes and made my final race preparations before checking my gear at the baggage tent at 4:30am. I used my sleeping bag like a cocoon as I walked to the start line. Most runners had blankets, garbage bags, etc to try to stay warm. I felt sorry for the few that had only race shorts and a singlet??? Everyone envied my sleeping bag – I had many offers to buy the bag. It wasn’t for sale – even for the $100 I was offered! I was as snug as a bug in a rug! I arrived at Coral A in the Red Wave and sat down in my warm cocoon to wait for the start of the race. There were two starts or waves – a Red and Blue- with several corals in each to handle the 18,000 runners. I lined up about 20 feet behind the start line and the elite athletes.
After the great race I enjoyed at Jacksonville three weeks ago I had hoped to set a target of sub 3:40 because I had completed some good speed work in the past few weeks. However I figured the cold temps and conditions were going to make it tough and I didn’t know what to expect? A few minutes before the start I had to reluctantly shed my cocoon - Damn! – it was cold even though I was still wearing 4 layers – a polypro top and T-shirt covered with a throw-away sweat shirt and garbage bag! My hands and feet froze before the gun went off to start the race!
Everyone was cold and stiff and started slowly. I shed the garbage bag at mile 2 and the sweatshirt and toque at mile 3 because I was starting to sweat. My hands and feet however were still frozen! We were boxed in until we completed the first loop of Epcot and the two waves merged at 3.4 miles. At the 2nd water station at 4 miles the volunteers shouted warnings to the runners to watch for ice on the road! Water that was sloshed and spilled from the cups had frozen on the road and it was like an ice rink. Runners had to be very careful while they attempted to break off a light crust of ice on the water in the cup to drink it. The water was definitely COLD! When I reached Mile 5 in 45:06 and an 8:47 split my legs were still tight and stiff. They couldn’t seem to warm or loosen up. It was taking much greater effort and energy than normal to make them move and I realized right then that it was not going to be a fast or easy race and I decided I would just try to hold a sub-9 min pace and finish under 4 hrs!
I passed mile 10 in 1:29:42 and through Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom. My hands were still cold! I had to remove my fingers from the gloves and bundle them into a fist to warm them up. My feet must have been warm - I couldn’t feel them? I passed the Half in the Animal kingdom in 1:57:43 and a split of 8:35. The sun was coming up. I had big hopes that maybe I would start to warm up and could run a negative split in the 2nd half? Didn’t happen! The only time I felt warm was when the course ran east into the sun and when the course was sheltered from the wind in one of the Theme Parks. When the course was on the service roads and overpasses around the parks and open to the wind my hands would freeze (again) and it was miserable! I don’t know what the wind chill temp was – except friggin COLD!Each water station continued to be an ice rink until the end of the race and I still had to break ice off the water in my cup to drink it!
I reached Mile 20 in 3:00:26 and a split of 9:21. I realized that I needed to lower the pace back to a 9:00 min pace if I wanted to finish under 4 hrs. I didn’t care how miserable it was or how cold it was – I was determined to finish under 4 hrs to salvage some respectability! I managed to get the pace down to 9:05s and as I reached Mile 23 in 3:28:35 I passed a young male runner who was struggling. I shouted at him to stay with me and we would finish under 4 hrs! He responded by staying with me and we crossed the finish line together in 3:57:53! He thanked me profusely and stated that he had given up and was about to walk when I shouted. He gutted it out to the finish line by convincing himself that he should be able to keep up with an ‘old man’! I considered his thanks a compliment!
After a quick finish line photo I retreated hastily back to the car. The temp was 33F as I drove back to the hotel. I filled the tub with the hottest water I could stand and submerged my frozen body until it thawed out. Edson arrived 1 hour later. He had suffered a bad day and race and finished exactly 1 hr behind me.
I checked the race results online later that day and was not surprised to learn that I had not placed well in my AG – 6th out of 25 runners. Even if I had finished in sub 3:40 that would not have placed me in the top 3! The top 2 finished under 3:30 so not all Old Farts had suffered the same problems as me!
I am a bit disappointed/ discouraged with my performance and time. I feel that I am in much better shape than a 3:57? If I don’t see any improvement in my next race (Miami in 3 weeks) I am going to become really discouraged and lose motivation to accept more pain and speed work to continue to improve! Maybe it is time to follow the advice of my good friend and mentor Wally Herman and just run for fun?
Stay tuned!
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Country Club List
Country Club List. (Dec 10/10)
A list of members who have completed a marathon or ultra in a minimum of 30 different countries.
Note: A country may only be counted ONCE and a marathon that passes through more than one country (such as Monaco) may only count for ONE country. All members in the top five rating must verify their stats.
Runner Country # Countries
John Wallace USA 106
Wally Herman Canada 99
Edson Sanches USA 71
William Govi Italy 64
Tad Lancucki UK 57
Jaap Van de Berg Netherlands 56
Stefan Schlett Germany 55
Horst Preisler Germany 54
Roger Biggs UK 46
Peter Maier Germany 46
Don Lang USA 41
Dieter Elster Germany 37
Sudyong Toprasert Thailand 36
KG Nystrom Sweden 32
Helmut Lizbichler Austria 31
Antonius Steinberg Germany 30
Karsten Koehler Germany 30
Andy Kotulski USA 75*
Hajime Nishi Japan 72*
(* - stats not verified)
A list of members who have completed a marathon or ultra in a minimum of 30 different countries.
Note: A country may only be counted ONCE and a marathon that passes through more than one country (such as Monaco) may only count for ONE country. All members in the top five rating must verify their stats.
Runner Country # Countries
John Wallace USA 106
Wally Herman Canada 99
Edson Sanches USA 71
William Govi Italy 64
Tad Lancucki UK 57
Jaap Van de Berg Netherlands 56
Stefan Schlett Germany 55
Horst Preisler Germany 54
Roger Biggs UK 46
Peter Maier Germany 46
Don Lang USA 41
Dieter Elster Germany 37
Sudyong Toprasert Thailand 36
KG Nystrom Sweden 32
Helmut Lizbichler Austria 31
Antonius Steinberg Germany 30
Karsten Koehler Germany 30
Andy Kotulski USA 75*
Hajime Nishi Japan 72*
(* - stats not verified)
Monday, December 21, 2009
RR Jacksonville
Race Report
Sun, Dec 20/09
Jacksonville Marathon
Jacksonville, FL
Marathon #322
3:43:32 – 2AG
Oh – what a difference two weeks and forty degrees in temperature can make – exactly One Hour!
I had added this race to my calendar as a ‘required’ fast training run because I figured Singapore would be a long, slow run. However when Singapore turned out to be such a disaster it really shook my confidence. I wondered/worried if Singapore was just an exceptionally bad day or was my training program and conditioning also bad? Thus I was lacking a lot of confidence and motivation as I made the 5-hr drive up to Jacksonville on Sat.
I picked up my race packet and as I was checking into the host hotel I met a group of runners whom I knew from the Bradenton Running Club (neighboring city to Sarasota). They invited me to join them for pasta dinner which turned out to be a blessing since it was an enjoyable meal with great company and provided a distraction from my concerns.
Sun was M- day! The weather forecast called for COLD temps and high winds. It was fairly accurate. The skies were cloudy with a temp of 40 F and gusty winds at the 7 am start. It was very chilly with the wind so I wore a throw-away shirt and garbage bag over my race T-shirt and shorts to stay warm at the start of the race. It never warmed above 50 F during the race. On the bus ride over to the Bolles School where the race started I kept thinking “What am I doing here – I don’t feel like running a marathon”? I had little confidence and no motivation! But then I reminded myself that I had faced similar situations and feelings many times before and in most cases ended up running great races.
I decided to stick to my original plan/strategy to run a fast training run. I would go out at an 8:30 pace and hold it as long as possible. If I crashed – I crashed – but at least I would have an answer to my concerns/questions! I lined up at the start line with 2500 other runners (1000 in the Full and 1500 in the Half). As I lined up a few rows from the start line I found myself (coincidentally) lined up with the 3:45 pace group. I asked myself “Why don’t I just stay with that pace group”? They would prevent me from going out too fast and were running the pace I wanted. I don’t normally like to run with a pace group because my old bod experiences several ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ in energy during a race and typically I like to let my body go with the flow and my pace may vary by 10 to 15 secs/mile as my body goes through these cycles whereas a pace group will run a consistent split/pace.
The pace group pulled me through Mile 3 in 25:21 and a split of 8:21 and I removed my garbage bag. When we passed Mile 5 in 42:13 and a split of 8:21 I removed the throw-away shirt since I had finally warmed up. There were a few times when I experienced ‘highs’ and wanted to surge ahead and a few times when I experienced ‘lows’ and struggled to stay with the pace group. But I forced myself to be patient and stay with the group. Another benefit was that I was able to tuck in and draft behind the group when the winds got nasty! I followed the pace group through the Half in 1:51:30 – slightly ahead of pace! The good news was that I felt good and found the pace very comfortable so I decided to stay with the pace group till at least 20 miles and then re-evaluate!
When we passed Mile 16 in 2:16:01 and a split of 8:27 I was concerned that over the next four miles I would face some difficulty with a severe ‘low’ that I usually experience during that section of every marathon? Sure enough, when we reached Mile 18 in 2:32:51 the group had lowered the pace to 8:20s and I started to suffer a ‘low’. I started to fall back but then resolved that I would stay with the group till 20 miles and I forced the old bod to catch up! We passed Mile 20 in 2:49:46 and the pace group started to slow down and break up. As most marathoners know/understand it was crunch time and the race was just starting! And luckily the old bod gave me a shot of adrenaline and a burst of energy and another ‘high’. Maddog wanted to surge ahead but I wisely told him to be patient and stay with the group. When we reached Mile 22 in 3:07:09 the split had slowed to 8:42 and the pace group (including the pacer) started to slow down and fall apart? At that point three of us surged ahead together and fed off each other until we reached Mile 24 in 3:24:29. I knew right then that a sub-3:45 was in the bag and that gave me a boost of confidence and energy and I finally let Maddog surge ahead and left the other two members of the group to cross the finish line on the school track in 3:43:32!
Needless to say I was very happy with both my time and performance. I had run consistently even splits throughout the entire race and other than a few normal ‘lows’ never experienced any serious problems/troubles! I had exceeded my expectations and regained confidence in my training program and conditioning! I stuck around the finish area long enough for a finish line photo and to check the preliminary results. The initial results only showed finish times to 3:35. I naively figured that the best anyone in my AG could finish would be just under 3:30 so I checked the results down to 3:25. Nada? Maybe I did win my AG?
Since I was in a hurry to get back home to attend a Christmas party with our running friends I rushed back to the hotel for a quick shower and then made the trip home in 4 hrs. When I arrived home I quickly searched the race website to see if results had been posted? I was surprised to discover that my time was only good enough for 2nd place in my AG. I was shocked to learn that the winner finished in 3:16! Damn - I could never catch that guy. No matter how much I trained there ain’t no 3:16 left in this old bod! I didn’t recognize the name but I tip my hat off to him because he is a World-class runner – definitely way out of my league!
Although disappointed in a 2nd place finish I am still happy with my time and performance. I will continue my training program with confidence and motivation and lower my target to sub 3:40 for my next race in three weeks.
Stay tuned!
Sun, Dec 20/09
Jacksonville Marathon
Jacksonville, FL
Marathon #322
3:43:32 – 2AG
Oh – what a difference two weeks and forty degrees in temperature can make – exactly One Hour!
I had added this race to my calendar as a ‘required’ fast training run because I figured Singapore would be a long, slow run. However when Singapore turned out to be such a disaster it really shook my confidence. I wondered/worried if Singapore was just an exceptionally bad day or was my training program and conditioning also bad? Thus I was lacking a lot of confidence and motivation as I made the 5-hr drive up to Jacksonville on Sat.
I picked up my race packet and as I was checking into the host hotel I met a group of runners whom I knew from the Bradenton Running Club (neighboring city to Sarasota). They invited me to join them for pasta dinner which turned out to be a blessing since it was an enjoyable meal with great company and provided a distraction from my concerns.
Sun was M- day! The weather forecast called for COLD temps and high winds. It was fairly accurate. The skies were cloudy with a temp of 40 F and gusty winds at the 7 am start. It was very chilly with the wind so I wore a throw-away shirt and garbage bag over my race T-shirt and shorts to stay warm at the start of the race. It never warmed above 50 F during the race. On the bus ride over to the Bolles School where the race started I kept thinking “What am I doing here – I don’t feel like running a marathon”? I had little confidence and no motivation! But then I reminded myself that I had faced similar situations and feelings many times before and in most cases ended up running great races.
I decided to stick to my original plan/strategy to run a fast training run. I would go out at an 8:30 pace and hold it as long as possible. If I crashed – I crashed – but at least I would have an answer to my concerns/questions! I lined up at the start line with 2500 other runners (1000 in the Full and 1500 in the Half). As I lined up a few rows from the start line I found myself (coincidentally) lined up with the 3:45 pace group. I asked myself “Why don’t I just stay with that pace group”? They would prevent me from going out too fast and were running the pace I wanted. I don’t normally like to run with a pace group because my old bod experiences several ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ in energy during a race and typically I like to let my body go with the flow and my pace may vary by 10 to 15 secs/mile as my body goes through these cycles whereas a pace group will run a consistent split/pace.
The pace group pulled me through Mile 3 in 25:21 and a split of 8:21 and I removed my garbage bag. When we passed Mile 5 in 42:13 and a split of 8:21 I removed the throw-away shirt since I had finally warmed up. There were a few times when I experienced ‘highs’ and wanted to surge ahead and a few times when I experienced ‘lows’ and struggled to stay with the pace group. But I forced myself to be patient and stay with the group. Another benefit was that I was able to tuck in and draft behind the group when the winds got nasty! I followed the pace group through the Half in 1:51:30 – slightly ahead of pace! The good news was that I felt good and found the pace very comfortable so I decided to stay with the pace group till at least 20 miles and then re-evaluate!
When we passed Mile 16 in 2:16:01 and a split of 8:27 I was concerned that over the next four miles I would face some difficulty with a severe ‘low’ that I usually experience during that section of every marathon? Sure enough, when we reached Mile 18 in 2:32:51 the group had lowered the pace to 8:20s and I started to suffer a ‘low’. I started to fall back but then resolved that I would stay with the group till 20 miles and I forced the old bod to catch up! We passed Mile 20 in 2:49:46 and the pace group started to slow down and break up. As most marathoners know/understand it was crunch time and the race was just starting! And luckily the old bod gave me a shot of adrenaline and a burst of energy and another ‘high’. Maddog wanted to surge ahead but I wisely told him to be patient and stay with the group. When we reached Mile 22 in 3:07:09 the split had slowed to 8:42 and the pace group (including the pacer) started to slow down and fall apart? At that point three of us surged ahead together and fed off each other until we reached Mile 24 in 3:24:29. I knew right then that a sub-3:45 was in the bag and that gave me a boost of confidence and energy and I finally let Maddog surge ahead and left the other two members of the group to cross the finish line on the school track in 3:43:32!
Needless to say I was very happy with both my time and performance. I had run consistently even splits throughout the entire race and other than a few normal ‘lows’ never experienced any serious problems/troubles! I had exceeded my expectations and regained confidence in my training program and conditioning! I stuck around the finish area long enough for a finish line photo and to check the preliminary results. The initial results only showed finish times to 3:35. I naively figured that the best anyone in my AG could finish would be just under 3:30 so I checked the results down to 3:25. Nada? Maybe I did win my AG?
Since I was in a hurry to get back home to attend a Christmas party with our running friends I rushed back to the hotel for a quick shower and then made the trip home in 4 hrs. When I arrived home I quickly searched the race website to see if results had been posted? I was surprised to discover that my time was only good enough for 2nd place in my AG. I was shocked to learn that the winner finished in 3:16! Damn - I could never catch that guy. No matter how much I trained there ain’t no 3:16 left in this old bod! I didn’t recognize the name but I tip my hat off to him because he is a World-class runner – definitely way out of my league!
Although disappointed in a 2nd place finish I am still happy with my time and performance. I will continue my training program with confidence and motivation and lower my target to sub 3:40 for my next race in three weeks.
Stay tuned!
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
TR - Singapore
Sun, Dec 6/09
Singapore Marathon
Singapore
Marathon # 321 - Country #101 (new World Record)
4:43:41- 3 AG
I can’t say that I was looking forward to this marathon except that I would finally move off the century mark and complete Country #101. I visited Singapore five years ago and knew that the weather would be brutally hot and humid! The Sports Manager did not want to go since she had visited Singapore many times and was still recovering from her hip surgery.
Thus I made the long, 30-hr journey by myself. The journey was extended a few hours and I arrived at my hotel at 3am on Fri morning. When I exited the taxi it was hot and humid at 3am – I was already NOT looking forward to the race! I let the poor old bod sleep as late as possible and then proceeded to the race expo to pick up my race packet. There were 50,000 runners registered in four events – about 18,000 in the marathon.
I was not pleased with the race organization even before I left home. They had been very inflexible, uninterested and non-caring to assist me in obtaining bib #101 for the race. If you are not an elite athlete who can win the race they are not interested in helping you! When I tried to check the age group results for past years I learned that not only were there no age group awards for the race but they didn’t even post results for age groups! Thus my evaluation or rating for the race is LOW! Do not run this race if you are hoping for a PR (weather) or if it is a special milestone like race #100, etc! They could care less!
Packet pick up was well organized but the expo was pathetic! For a race that size there were only two booths selling running gear – the rest were hawking medical services and nutritional items? Fortunately the race booklet was good because there was very little info available at the expo!
Since I had toured the city/country on a previous trip I decided to buy a ticket on the hop on/hop off tour bus on Sat to visit a few interesting sites such as the Merlion (the city symbol) at Esplanade Park, the Singapore Flyer (new) and to check out the logistics at the start/finish area. The race started on the Esplanade Bridge and finished in front of City Hall. Once I was familiar with the area I was free to enjoy the rest of the city, enjoy an early dinner and go to bed early.
Sun was M-day! The marathon was the first race to start at 5:30am. It was HOT (high 70s) and humid (80%) at 5:30am as I lined up with 18,000 runners. There were only 3 race pens – sub 4 hrs, sub 5 hrs and 5 hrs+ with no controls. Thus I lined up a few rows behind the Kenyans and elite athletes to avoid getting boxed in. Because of the expected heat/humidity and no age groups or incentive to race I had decided to run ‘slow & easy’. I figured that I could run an easy 9-min pace for the 1st Half to take advantage of the ‘cooler’ weather and then slow to a 10-min pace in the 2nd Half. I ran the first 3 Km faster than wanted (15:55) because I was boxed in with fast runners. However at that point the course opened up and I was able to slow down. I passed 10Km in 55:30 but was already overheating? I slowed the pace to 9:30s in an effort to cool my body down.
However when I reached 15Km in 1:26:08 and a split of 6:08/km (9:45/mile) I knew that I was in trouble already. My body was burning up and I couldn’t cool off? I decided to let my old bod dictate the pace till the Half and started to stop at each water station located every 2 Km. I would drink one cup of water and dump two on me in an attempt to hydrate and stay cool. I passed the Half in 2:07:15. But the sun was up by then and the temps were in the 80s and I knew the 2nd Half would get ugly! When I passed 25km in 2:33:59 and a split of 6:36/km (10:33/mile) I knew I was in big trouble. My legs felt OK but I just couldn’t increase the pace – my body would not cool down and I had not yet made or had a need for a pit stop. I increased my water intake to two cups at each stop and dumped 3 or 4 cups on my body to try to cool off. I could barely run (jog) to the next water station w/o walking? It became a matter of survival. Run – or shuffle – for 2 Km, then stop for water in and on and repeat the cycle!
Around 37Km the marathon and Half merged to share the final 5Km and the course was clogged with walkers from the Half. Now I had to weave around thousands of walkers and that only exasperated the situation and the agony! I dearly wanted to join them in walking but needed to end the agony as quickly as possible. I continued to shuffle between each water station – then stop/walk - pour two in and 4 on- in a desperate attempt to stay cool and hydrated and finally crossed the finish line in 4:43:41.
I was so frustrated and disappointed with my performance and inability to recover and ‘run’ the race that I didn’t bother to stick around for any after-race festivities. I took a finish-line photo and returned to the hotel for a COLD shower just to cool off. I had planned to spend the afternoon exploring the city and taking a river cruise but the streets were so crowded with Sun/Xmas shoppers that I retreated to my hotel room to watch college football games from the USA and rest for the 30-hr return trip home on Mon.
The nice thing about ‘running’ so slow I have discovered is that my legs were not sore or tired after the run. I should be able to resume speed work in my training program sooner than expected to prepare for one more race in 2009. I decided to run a marathon in FL in two weeks. Hopefully I can run a faster race?
Stay tuned!
Singapore Marathon
Singapore
Marathon # 321 - Country #101 (new World Record)
4:43:41- 3 AG
I can’t say that I was looking forward to this marathon except that I would finally move off the century mark and complete Country #101. I visited Singapore five years ago and knew that the weather would be brutally hot and humid! The Sports Manager did not want to go since she had visited Singapore many times and was still recovering from her hip surgery.
Thus I made the long, 30-hr journey by myself. The journey was extended a few hours and I arrived at my hotel at 3am on Fri morning. When I exited the taxi it was hot and humid at 3am – I was already NOT looking forward to the race! I let the poor old bod sleep as late as possible and then proceeded to the race expo to pick up my race packet. There were 50,000 runners registered in four events – about 18,000 in the marathon.
I was not pleased with the race organization even before I left home. They had been very inflexible, uninterested and non-caring to assist me in obtaining bib #101 for the race. If you are not an elite athlete who can win the race they are not interested in helping you! When I tried to check the age group results for past years I learned that not only were there no age group awards for the race but they didn’t even post results for age groups! Thus my evaluation or rating for the race is LOW! Do not run this race if you are hoping for a PR (weather) or if it is a special milestone like race #100, etc! They could care less!
Packet pick up was well organized but the expo was pathetic! For a race that size there were only two booths selling running gear – the rest were hawking medical services and nutritional items? Fortunately the race booklet was good because there was very little info available at the expo!
Since I had toured the city/country on a previous trip I decided to buy a ticket on the hop on/hop off tour bus on Sat to visit a few interesting sites such as the Merlion (the city symbol) at Esplanade Park, the Singapore Flyer (new) and to check out the logistics at the start/finish area. The race started on the Esplanade Bridge and finished in front of City Hall. Once I was familiar with the area I was free to enjoy the rest of the city, enjoy an early dinner and go to bed early.
Sun was M-day! The marathon was the first race to start at 5:30am. It was HOT (high 70s) and humid (80%) at 5:30am as I lined up with 18,000 runners. There were only 3 race pens – sub 4 hrs, sub 5 hrs and 5 hrs+ with no controls. Thus I lined up a few rows behind the Kenyans and elite athletes to avoid getting boxed in. Because of the expected heat/humidity and no age groups or incentive to race I had decided to run ‘slow & easy’. I figured that I could run an easy 9-min pace for the 1st Half to take advantage of the ‘cooler’ weather and then slow to a 10-min pace in the 2nd Half. I ran the first 3 Km faster than wanted (15:55) because I was boxed in with fast runners. However at that point the course opened up and I was able to slow down. I passed 10Km in 55:30 but was already overheating? I slowed the pace to 9:30s in an effort to cool my body down.
However when I reached 15Km in 1:26:08 and a split of 6:08/km (9:45/mile) I knew that I was in trouble already. My body was burning up and I couldn’t cool off? I decided to let my old bod dictate the pace till the Half and started to stop at each water station located every 2 Km. I would drink one cup of water and dump two on me in an attempt to hydrate and stay cool. I passed the Half in 2:07:15. But the sun was up by then and the temps were in the 80s and I knew the 2nd Half would get ugly! When I passed 25km in 2:33:59 and a split of 6:36/km (10:33/mile) I knew I was in big trouble. My legs felt OK but I just couldn’t increase the pace – my body would not cool down and I had not yet made or had a need for a pit stop. I increased my water intake to two cups at each stop and dumped 3 or 4 cups on my body to try to cool off. I could barely run (jog) to the next water station w/o walking? It became a matter of survival. Run – or shuffle – for 2 Km, then stop for water in and on and repeat the cycle!
Around 37Km the marathon and Half merged to share the final 5Km and the course was clogged with walkers from the Half. Now I had to weave around thousands of walkers and that only exasperated the situation and the agony! I dearly wanted to join them in walking but needed to end the agony as quickly as possible. I continued to shuffle between each water station – then stop/walk - pour two in and 4 on- in a desperate attempt to stay cool and hydrated and finally crossed the finish line in 4:43:41.
I was so frustrated and disappointed with my performance and inability to recover and ‘run’ the race that I didn’t bother to stick around for any after-race festivities. I took a finish-line photo and returned to the hotel for a COLD shower just to cool off. I had planned to spend the afternoon exploring the city and taking a river cruise but the streets were so crowded with Sun/Xmas shoppers that I retreated to my hotel room to watch college football games from the USA and rest for the 30-hr return trip home on Mon.
The nice thing about ‘running’ so slow I have discovered is that my legs were not sore or tired after the run. I should be able to resume speed work in my training program sooner than expected to prepare for one more race in 2009. I decided to run a marathon in FL in two weeks. Hopefully I can run a faster race?
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
RR - Fort Worth
Sun, Nov 8/09
Fort Worth Marathon
Fort Worth, TX
Marathon #320
3:55:22 – 1 AG
As mentioned at the end of my previous race report (Ottawa Marathon) I figured that since no body parts had fallen off or hurt during that race I needed to schedule another marathon in Nov as part of my training program to regain my ‘marathon shape’. But where to go? Since the Boulder Marathon had been too hot and the Ottawa Marathon too cold and both courses too hilly I needed a location where the course would be flat and the weather pleasant? And the whole USA was open to me since I had a ‘free’ airline ticket! When I was forced to cancel Boston (Marathon) in April because of the mystery injuries US Airways kindly offered me (after heated negotiations) a full credit for future travel – with the caveat that I use it before Dec 09 - or lose it! I selected the Fort Worth Marathon for three reasons:
1) the race was in early Nov when the weather is normally nice in TX
2) the course was mainly on bike trails along the Trinity River and flat
3) my brother lives about 10 miles from the start/finish of the race. I could stay with him and he volunteered to be my temporary Sports Manager so my only expense for the race was the entry fee!
Thus I left Sarasota early on Fri so I could have some ‘Q’ time with my brother Doug and his wife Darlene. Race registration was only a few miles from his house so we picked up the race packet on the way home from the airport so I didn’t have to worry about anything until ‘M’ day on Sun.
The race started and finished at LaGrave Field – a sports stadium near downtown Fort Worth. There were 4 race events and the marathon started first at 7:30 am. I lined up with about 200 runners. The weather was pleasant as expected but a wee bit warmer than forecast with a temp of 58F. Fortunately the skies were cloudy and stayed overcast through the entire race so the temps never rose above the mid 60s! The course was a 13-mile out -and -back loop that left the stadium and dumped on to a series of paved and dirt bike trails along the Trinity River.
I had researched the race results from last year to learn that the winning time in my AG was 3:54. I decided before the race that I had three goals:
1) to finish under 4 hours. Since I had been able to complete two weeks of speed workouts since my last race I was confident that I could beat 4 hrs.
2) to run the first 20 miles as a time trial i.e. run those 20 miles as fast as I could remembering that I would still have to struggle through the final 10K.
3) to win my AG! I figured if I accomplished 1) & 2) then 3) should follow?
I started fairly fast and dropped in behind a small group of runners that included a lovely young lass (half my age or less?) with a firm bod and cute butt. Heh – what better view and motivation can one have for 26 miles? But alas – when she dragged me through 3 miles in 24:43 I had to accept the cold,hard truth. There was no way in Hell I could follow that cute butt at that pace (8:15/mile) for 26 miles! So reluctantly I had to let that cute YOUNG butt leave my sorry OLD ass behind in the dust! (That would never have happened in the good old days!) I slowed my pace and settled into a smooth/comfortable 8:45min/mile pace by the time I passed mile 5 in 42:58. I had run many sections of the trail/course on previous visits to my brothers’ so the course felt familiar which helps. There was only one hill on the course – around 7 and 18 miles. After climbing the hill I passed mile 10 in 1:25:42 and reached the turn-around at the Half in 1:53:17. Oh-oh – a wee bit too fast and I considered slowing the pace but I had noted an old fart on the return leg and he had about a 3-minute lead on me. I decided that I needed to hold my pace as long as I could and hope that the old fart faded or crashed before I did? I did OK until I climbed the one hill again at 18 miles where my legs started to feel very heavy and tired and I knew trouble was not too far ahead! I passed mile 18 in 2:36:42 but my split had slowed to 9:01! I was determined to achieve goal #2 so I continued to push the pace as hard as I could and reached mile 20 in 2:55:25 – but a split of 9:27! And I was in trouble! My legs were tired and sore! I was forced to start playing mind games.
All runners know what I mean. The final 10K of a marathon is 90% mind games and willpower! At first I tried denial – denial that I was in trouble! I was just a ‘wee bit tired’ and if I slowed down just a wee bit for the next few miles the legs would have a chance to rest and recover and I could hammer the final 5K. Right!!! I plodded/struggled along at a 9:25 pace and passed mile 23 in 3:24:08 and a 9:52 split. At that point I played the anger game – pissed off at myself for being such a wimp! That worked for a few minutes and then I struggled to reach mile 24 in 3:33:37 and there was nothing left in my legs and the game changed to ‘survival’! Now I had to convince myself to keep the old, wasted legs moving – “one step at a time” to the next mile marker. When I passed mile 25 in 3:43:44 and a split of 10:06 – my worst split of the race - I had had enough of the whining and feeling sorry for myself. Maddog screamed at me “any old fool can hurt for one measly mile”! He was right! I sucked it up – ignored the pain and screams from my legs – and pushed as hard as I could for the final mile to cross the finish line in 3:55:22!
The screams stopped as soon as I crossed the finish line – but not the pain! My legs immediately tightened and were very sore - I can’t remember how long it has been since my legs were that stiff and sore at a finish line? We stayed around long enough to confirm my finish time and place (while watching the medical staff try to revive a man who suffered a heart attack after finishing the 20-mile run - sadly he died on the way to the hospital). The ‘unofficial’ time posted was 3:54:06. That did not match my watch time and I later confirmed my ‘official’ time was 3:55:22 and 1st place in my AG. The old fart who beat me by 5 minutes was a youngster (only 60 years old!).
I was very satisfied with both my time and performance. I had accomplished all three goals and it had been a very good/valuable training run. I ran a fast/successful 20-mile time trial and then (re)taught the old bod how to cope with pain and exhaustion through the final 10K – both necessary ingredients for that fast and complete race that lies ahead in my future. Once again no body parts fell off or hurt (injury-wise) during the race. And I got a good reading of the gauge or level of my marathon fitness – OK – but not great – and certainly not competitive with the top runners in my AG! Any improvements in time from this point on will come in small amounts with large amounts of pain! But I am willing to expend the effort and hard work and accept the pain to get to the next level. My biggest concern is that I now have to be cautious and manage a very fine line between speed and injury to get my finish time below 3:45. After that I will re-evaluate my goals!
I have already decided the race strategy for my next marathon. It will be a long, SLOW training run because the weather will be brutally hot and humid in S. Asia in Dec!
Stay tuned!
Fort Worth Marathon
Fort Worth, TX
Marathon #320
3:55:22 – 1 AG
As mentioned at the end of my previous race report (Ottawa Marathon) I figured that since no body parts had fallen off or hurt during that race I needed to schedule another marathon in Nov as part of my training program to regain my ‘marathon shape’. But where to go? Since the Boulder Marathon had been too hot and the Ottawa Marathon too cold and both courses too hilly I needed a location where the course would be flat and the weather pleasant? And the whole USA was open to me since I had a ‘free’ airline ticket! When I was forced to cancel Boston (Marathon) in April because of the mystery injuries US Airways kindly offered me (after heated negotiations) a full credit for future travel – with the caveat that I use it before Dec 09 - or lose it! I selected the Fort Worth Marathon for three reasons:
1) the race was in early Nov when the weather is normally nice in TX
2) the course was mainly on bike trails along the Trinity River and flat
3) my brother lives about 10 miles from the start/finish of the race. I could stay with him and he volunteered to be my temporary Sports Manager so my only expense for the race was the entry fee!
Thus I left Sarasota early on Fri so I could have some ‘Q’ time with my brother Doug and his wife Darlene. Race registration was only a few miles from his house so we picked up the race packet on the way home from the airport so I didn’t have to worry about anything until ‘M’ day on Sun.
The race started and finished at LaGrave Field – a sports stadium near downtown Fort Worth. There were 4 race events and the marathon started first at 7:30 am. I lined up with about 200 runners. The weather was pleasant as expected but a wee bit warmer than forecast with a temp of 58F. Fortunately the skies were cloudy and stayed overcast through the entire race so the temps never rose above the mid 60s! The course was a 13-mile out -and -back loop that left the stadium and dumped on to a series of paved and dirt bike trails along the Trinity River.
I had researched the race results from last year to learn that the winning time in my AG was 3:54. I decided before the race that I had three goals:
1) to finish under 4 hours. Since I had been able to complete two weeks of speed workouts since my last race I was confident that I could beat 4 hrs.
2) to run the first 20 miles as a time trial i.e. run those 20 miles as fast as I could remembering that I would still have to struggle through the final 10K.
3) to win my AG! I figured if I accomplished 1) & 2) then 3) should follow?
I started fairly fast and dropped in behind a small group of runners that included a lovely young lass (half my age or less?) with a firm bod and cute butt. Heh – what better view and motivation can one have for 26 miles? But alas – when she dragged me through 3 miles in 24:43 I had to accept the cold,hard truth. There was no way in Hell I could follow that cute butt at that pace (8:15/mile) for 26 miles! So reluctantly I had to let that cute YOUNG butt leave my sorry OLD ass behind in the dust! (That would never have happened in the good old days!) I slowed my pace and settled into a smooth/comfortable 8:45min/mile pace by the time I passed mile 5 in 42:58. I had run many sections of the trail/course on previous visits to my brothers’ so the course felt familiar which helps. There was only one hill on the course – around 7 and 18 miles. After climbing the hill I passed mile 10 in 1:25:42 and reached the turn-around at the Half in 1:53:17. Oh-oh – a wee bit too fast and I considered slowing the pace but I had noted an old fart on the return leg and he had about a 3-minute lead on me. I decided that I needed to hold my pace as long as I could and hope that the old fart faded or crashed before I did? I did OK until I climbed the one hill again at 18 miles where my legs started to feel very heavy and tired and I knew trouble was not too far ahead! I passed mile 18 in 2:36:42 but my split had slowed to 9:01! I was determined to achieve goal #2 so I continued to push the pace as hard as I could and reached mile 20 in 2:55:25 – but a split of 9:27! And I was in trouble! My legs were tired and sore! I was forced to start playing mind games.
All runners know what I mean. The final 10K of a marathon is 90% mind games and willpower! At first I tried denial – denial that I was in trouble! I was just a ‘wee bit tired’ and if I slowed down just a wee bit for the next few miles the legs would have a chance to rest and recover and I could hammer the final 5K. Right!!! I plodded/struggled along at a 9:25 pace and passed mile 23 in 3:24:08 and a 9:52 split. At that point I played the anger game – pissed off at myself for being such a wimp! That worked for a few minutes and then I struggled to reach mile 24 in 3:33:37 and there was nothing left in my legs and the game changed to ‘survival’! Now I had to convince myself to keep the old, wasted legs moving – “one step at a time” to the next mile marker. When I passed mile 25 in 3:43:44 and a split of 10:06 – my worst split of the race - I had had enough of the whining and feeling sorry for myself. Maddog screamed at me “any old fool can hurt for one measly mile”! He was right! I sucked it up – ignored the pain and screams from my legs – and pushed as hard as I could for the final mile to cross the finish line in 3:55:22!
The screams stopped as soon as I crossed the finish line – but not the pain! My legs immediately tightened and were very sore - I can’t remember how long it has been since my legs were that stiff and sore at a finish line? We stayed around long enough to confirm my finish time and place (while watching the medical staff try to revive a man who suffered a heart attack after finishing the 20-mile run - sadly he died on the way to the hospital). The ‘unofficial’ time posted was 3:54:06. That did not match my watch time and I later confirmed my ‘official’ time was 3:55:22 and 1st place in my AG. The old fart who beat me by 5 minutes was a youngster (only 60 years old!).
I was very satisfied with both my time and performance. I had accomplished all three goals and it had been a very good/valuable training run. I ran a fast/successful 20-mile time trial and then (re)taught the old bod how to cope with pain and exhaustion through the final 10K – both necessary ingredients for that fast and complete race that lies ahead in my future. Once again no body parts fell off or hurt (injury-wise) during the race. And I got a good reading of the gauge or level of my marathon fitness – OK – but not great – and certainly not competitive with the top runners in my AG! Any improvements in time from this point on will come in small amounts with large amounts of pain! But I am willing to expend the effort and hard work and accept the pain to get to the next level. My biggest concern is that I now have to be cautious and manage a very fine line between speed and injury to get my finish time below 3:45. After that I will re-evaluate my goals!
I have already decided the race strategy for my next marathon. It will be a long, SLOW training run because the weather will be brutally hot and humid in S. Asia in Dec!
Stay tuned!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
TR - Ottawa
Sun, Oct 11/09
Ottawa Fall Colours Marathon
Ottawa, Canada
Marathon #319
4:00:40 – 1AG
As mentioned in my last report this marathon was just the result of lucky timing. When I was booking flights for a family wedding and reunion in the fall I happened to notice that there was a marathon in Ottawa the weekend after our family events. I extended our trip to Tundra Land (aka Canada) for a few days in the hopes that I would be healthy enough to run the race?
I really didn’t commit to running the marathon until I finished the Boulder Marathon in late Sept w/o any body parts falling off or hurting. Only then did I call my good friend and mentor Wally Herman to inform him that I would run the marathon with him. Unfortunately by that time the Sport’s Manager’s hip was really hurting and she had to shorten her visit to return to FL to prepare for surgery.
We attended the wedding of our niece (my baby sister’s daughter) on Sat and then Nicole had to return to Ottawa for a family reunion on her side while I stayed in Carleton Place to begin the Wallace reunion. The Wallace family has seven siblings and we meet every two years at a different place hosted by one of the four brothers. Our reunion was fun as usual and since it was held in our hometown/birthplace many relatives and cousins were able to join us for a party/dinner.
The weather was not great – cool and rain most days – but it did co-operate with sun for both the wedding and the family golf match. Each morning I would run out into the country past the old family homestead/farm that had been in the Wallace family for more than 150 years! I fondly remember running the three miles into town often when I was a young kid (is that where it all started?). By race day I had logged more than 60 miles on those country roads!
When the reunion was over and we said our goodbyes I drove to Ottawa to stay with Nicole's sister and brother-in law to be closer to the race. I also wanted to visit Wally before the race. Wally is 83 years young and still runs 10 to 12 marathons every year (OK – what’s your excuse). Ottawa was marathon #714 for Wally and # 322 for Maddog so we represent a total of 1036 marathons and 199 countries! The local paper wrote a nice article about Wally and Maddog before the race - http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Marathon+veterans+keep+reaching+milestones/2064518/story.html
I visited Wally and Marie on Sat before we drove out to Cumberland (a small village 20 miles east of Ottawa) to pick up our race packets. Wally planned to start at 6am (3 hrs early) so he would finish under the 5-hr time limit. The weather was cool – much cooler than had been forecast two weeks earlier when I packed for the race! Now maybe you can understand why I jokingly (but lovingly) refer to my native homeland as Tundra Land! The race started and finished at the Heritage Village Museum in Cumberland. The course consisted of two loops on country roads around Cumberland. It was hillier than anticipated but scenic with the fall colors in the leaves. On Sun morning the weather was COLD – temps in the low 30s and a wind blowing at 20mph/30Kmh! Since I had not packed cold weather gear I was dressed in shorts and T-shirt with a throw-away long sleeve T-shirt and gloves and stayed in the car until the last minute before the 9am start. When I jumped out of the car and headed toward the start line I was surprised to find my baby sister Mary Lou and Tim looking for me. That was a nice surprise! But short since I had to jump into the crowd of 200 runners (a small race) to start the race.
I had researched the results for the past two years to learn that the winning time in my AG was around 4:05 so I figured 4 hrs should win the race? I wasn’t sure if I could run that fast but if I don’t set a target I can’t push the old bod. It was so cold –especially with the wind - that I didn’t even remove my garbage bag/wind jacket until I passed 5K in 26:47. The first 10K had a LOT of hills – more than I had anticipated – so I was surprised when I reached 10K in 55:04! I had settled into a 5:30/km (8:50/mile) pace and decided to hold that pace as long as I could. The hills continued till 16K and finally we dropped for the next 5K back to the start line. I reached the Half in 1:57:28 – a wee bit faster than expected. I hoped that I hadn’t gone out too fast?? The legs felt OK – much better than they had 3 weeks ago in Boulder so I decided to push the pace as long as possible. I really did not have much confidence that I would run the entire course – I was hoping that I could make it to 37K before the old legs crashed?
The 2nd loop followed the same loop for 10.5K – which meant 10.5K of climbing hills – and then looped back down the hills to the finish line. It had warmed up a wee bit and I contemplated finally removing my warm-up shirt - but when we started up the hills for the 2nd time the 20mph wind was directly in our faces and COLD so I never did remove my warm-ups! I also decided that the wisest strategy would be to slow down and try to conserve energy going up those hills and into the headwind in the hopes of having some energy left to push the pace on the return loop down the hills with a tailwind. I reached 25K in 2:19:31 and caught up to a fellow Country Club runner, Hajime Nishi, from Japan (he started 1 hr early). I slowed and ran with Hajime for a few minutes to catch up on his stats. He confirmed that he has now completed 72 countries which moves him up into 4th place on the CC list. I then pushed on and passed 27K in 2:31:56. A quick calculation – 15K to go in 88 minutes if I wanted to break 4 hrs! It would be very close since I still had 4K of uphill to run. I had to run a sub -6min/Km pace? That was very difficult on the uphill into a headwind but hopefully I could lower the pace to 5:30/Km on the return loop downhill with a tailwind?
I met Wally for the 1st time near 30Km as he was on the return loop and finally I reached the turn-around at 31.5K. I sucked it up and pushed the pace down to 5:30/5:40. I passed Wally again at 37K – the old legs were still churning and I knew right then that I would be able to keep them churning to the finish line. However when I reached 39K in 3:41:52 the course became flat and turned back into the wind which was then gusting at 40Kmh. I had 18 minutes for 3.2Km. It was going to be real close! But that wind was too tough! I just couldn’t keep the old legs churning fast enough to make up the minute I would need for the final 200 meters! However Maddog was not willing to give up and he dragged my tired/sorry ass the final 3.2k to cross the finish line in 4:00:40! I was not disappointed! In fact I was very pleased that I had been able to run the entire race and I soon learned that my time had indeed won 1st place in my Age Group. And no body parts fell off or hurt during the race!
The weather seemed to get COLDER as soon as I finished so I retreated immediately to the car to add more warm-up clothes and get my camera before returning to the finish line to cheer Wally across the finish. He finished in 7:13. After a few finish line photos we both beat a hasty retreat to the warmth of our cars! I hope to see Wally again in the winter and run a few more marathons together in FL?
I am back in FL now. The Sports Manager has successfully completed surgery to replace her hip and begins the recovery process under the careful care of Nurse Maddog!
Cooler weather finally arrived in FL this weekend (Oct 17) so I can start adding some intensity and speed work to my training program in the hopes of getting my marathon times below 4hrs again!
As part of my program I plan to run another ‘training’ marathon in Nov in Fort Worth, TX.
Stay tuned!
Ottawa Fall Colours Marathon
Ottawa, Canada
Marathon #319
4:00:40 – 1AG
As mentioned in my last report this marathon was just the result of lucky timing. When I was booking flights for a family wedding and reunion in the fall I happened to notice that there was a marathon in Ottawa the weekend after our family events. I extended our trip to Tundra Land (aka Canada) for a few days in the hopes that I would be healthy enough to run the race?
I really didn’t commit to running the marathon until I finished the Boulder Marathon in late Sept w/o any body parts falling off or hurting. Only then did I call my good friend and mentor Wally Herman to inform him that I would run the marathon with him. Unfortunately by that time the Sport’s Manager’s hip was really hurting and she had to shorten her visit to return to FL to prepare for surgery.
We attended the wedding of our niece (my baby sister’s daughter) on Sat and then Nicole had to return to Ottawa for a family reunion on her side while I stayed in Carleton Place to begin the Wallace reunion. The Wallace family has seven siblings and we meet every two years at a different place hosted by one of the four brothers. Our reunion was fun as usual and since it was held in our hometown/birthplace many relatives and cousins were able to join us for a party/dinner.
The weather was not great – cool and rain most days – but it did co-operate with sun for both the wedding and the family golf match. Each morning I would run out into the country past the old family homestead/farm that had been in the Wallace family for more than 150 years! I fondly remember running the three miles into town often when I was a young kid (is that where it all started?). By race day I had logged more than 60 miles on those country roads!
When the reunion was over and we said our goodbyes I drove to Ottawa to stay with Nicole's sister and brother-in law to be closer to the race. I also wanted to visit Wally before the race. Wally is 83 years young and still runs 10 to 12 marathons every year (OK – what’s your excuse). Ottawa was marathon #714 for Wally and # 322 for Maddog so we represent a total of 1036 marathons and 199 countries! The local paper wrote a nice article about Wally and Maddog before the race - http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Marathon+veterans+keep+reaching+milestones/2064518/story.html
I visited Wally and Marie on Sat before we drove out to Cumberland (a small village 20 miles east of Ottawa) to pick up our race packets. Wally planned to start at 6am (3 hrs early) so he would finish under the 5-hr time limit. The weather was cool – much cooler than had been forecast two weeks earlier when I packed for the race! Now maybe you can understand why I jokingly (but lovingly) refer to my native homeland as Tundra Land! The race started and finished at the Heritage Village Museum in Cumberland. The course consisted of two loops on country roads around Cumberland. It was hillier than anticipated but scenic with the fall colors in the leaves. On Sun morning the weather was COLD – temps in the low 30s and a wind blowing at 20mph/30Kmh! Since I had not packed cold weather gear I was dressed in shorts and T-shirt with a throw-away long sleeve T-shirt and gloves and stayed in the car until the last minute before the 9am start. When I jumped out of the car and headed toward the start line I was surprised to find my baby sister Mary Lou and Tim looking for me. That was a nice surprise! But short since I had to jump into the crowd of 200 runners (a small race) to start the race.
I had researched the results for the past two years to learn that the winning time in my AG was around 4:05 so I figured 4 hrs should win the race? I wasn’t sure if I could run that fast but if I don’t set a target I can’t push the old bod. It was so cold –especially with the wind - that I didn’t even remove my garbage bag/wind jacket until I passed 5K in 26:47. The first 10K had a LOT of hills – more than I had anticipated – so I was surprised when I reached 10K in 55:04! I had settled into a 5:30/km (8:50/mile) pace and decided to hold that pace as long as I could. The hills continued till 16K and finally we dropped for the next 5K back to the start line. I reached the Half in 1:57:28 – a wee bit faster than expected. I hoped that I hadn’t gone out too fast?? The legs felt OK – much better than they had 3 weeks ago in Boulder so I decided to push the pace as long as possible. I really did not have much confidence that I would run the entire course – I was hoping that I could make it to 37K before the old legs crashed?
The 2nd loop followed the same loop for 10.5K – which meant 10.5K of climbing hills – and then looped back down the hills to the finish line. It had warmed up a wee bit and I contemplated finally removing my warm-up shirt - but when we started up the hills for the 2nd time the 20mph wind was directly in our faces and COLD so I never did remove my warm-ups! I also decided that the wisest strategy would be to slow down and try to conserve energy going up those hills and into the headwind in the hopes of having some energy left to push the pace on the return loop down the hills with a tailwind. I reached 25K in 2:19:31 and caught up to a fellow Country Club runner, Hajime Nishi, from Japan (he started 1 hr early). I slowed and ran with Hajime for a few minutes to catch up on his stats. He confirmed that he has now completed 72 countries which moves him up into 4th place on the CC list. I then pushed on and passed 27K in 2:31:56. A quick calculation – 15K to go in 88 minutes if I wanted to break 4 hrs! It would be very close since I still had 4K of uphill to run. I had to run a sub -6min/Km pace? That was very difficult on the uphill into a headwind but hopefully I could lower the pace to 5:30/Km on the return loop downhill with a tailwind?
I met Wally for the 1st time near 30Km as he was on the return loop and finally I reached the turn-around at 31.5K. I sucked it up and pushed the pace down to 5:30/5:40. I passed Wally again at 37K – the old legs were still churning and I knew right then that I would be able to keep them churning to the finish line. However when I reached 39K in 3:41:52 the course became flat and turned back into the wind which was then gusting at 40Kmh. I had 18 minutes for 3.2Km. It was going to be real close! But that wind was too tough! I just couldn’t keep the old legs churning fast enough to make up the minute I would need for the final 200 meters! However Maddog was not willing to give up and he dragged my tired/sorry ass the final 3.2k to cross the finish line in 4:00:40! I was not disappointed! In fact I was very pleased that I had been able to run the entire race and I soon learned that my time had indeed won 1st place in my Age Group. And no body parts fell off or hurt during the race!
The weather seemed to get COLDER as soon as I finished so I retreated immediately to the car to add more warm-up clothes and get my camera before returning to the finish line to cheer Wally across the finish. He finished in 7:13. After a few finish line photos we both beat a hasty retreat to the warmth of our cars! I hope to see Wally again in the winter and run a few more marathons together in FL?
I am back in FL now. The Sports Manager has successfully completed surgery to replace her hip and begins the recovery process under the careful care of Nurse Maddog!
Cooler weather finally arrived in FL this weekend (Oct 17) so I can start adding some intensity and speed work to my training program in the hopes of getting my marathon times below 4hrs again!
As part of my program I plan to run another ‘training’ marathon in Nov in Fort Worth, TX.
Stay tuned!
Monday, September 21, 2009
RR - Boulder Marathon
Race Report
Sun, Sept 20/09
Boulder Marathon
Boulder, CO
Marathon #318
4:30:04 - 1AG
I’m Baaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After a 7-month sabbatical from marathoning – 5 months of rest/recovery and physical therapy to heal those mystery back and leg injuries and only 10 weeks of training I decided to run the Boulder Marathon as a long training run.
With two 20-mile training runs under my belt I felt confident that I could finish the race but was not so confident that the final 10K would not involve a lot of walking??
A bonus for choosing this race was that two of my good mates from the UK – Roger Biggs and Jack Brookes were also running the race. They planned to arrive late Sat night, run the race and continue on to CA to run the triple marathon in Lake Tahoe next weekend. Roger is on a quest to run at least one marathon every weekend in 2009.
We always have a ‘friendly’ competition when we race together but I figured my goose might be cooked in this race. It was going to be a contest to see if my advantage of altitude and jet lag could overcome their superior marathon conditioning?
I drove over to Boulder on Sat and picked up our race packets since Roger and Jack would not arrive from London until 6 pm. Since I had the afternoon to kill I decided to check out the racecourse. The race started and finished at the Boulder Reservoir northeast of the city. The entire course was located in the foothills of the Flat Irons (a mountain range west of Boulder). The lowest elevation was 5100 ft – the highest 5600 ft! About 20 miles of the course were dirt roads and the rest paved roads – all in a rural setting. There were lots of rolling hills but no shade on the course. I didn’t consider the course to be as difficult as Steamboat Springs where we had all raced together a few years ago and felt comfortable with the target I had proclaimed a few days before the race – to finish with a BQ time of 4:15!
My mates arrived on time and we enjoyed a nice pasta dinner while I described the course and we caught up on ‘war’ stories. The marathon started at 8am on Sun. The weather forecast had called for temps of 52F at the start and a high in the low 70s. They lied – or were wrong because a warm front blew into the region in advance of a severe cold front that was supposed to bring snow on Mon? The front included strong gusts of wind from the west – a tailwind for the 1st Half and a headwind for the 2nd Half!
It was sunny and 54F at the 8am start as we lined up with 3000 runners. I have to commend the race committee for great organization. They had lots of portable toilets – it is the first race I have never had to line up – even 10 minutes before the race – to use a toilet. And the race started on time! I figured Roger was determined to beat me and get revenge for my victory in Israel in Jan – and I was right. He took off and Jack and I tried to keep him in sight.
Jack and I passed Mile 1 in 9:30 and stayed together until Mile 5 (45:55) where Jack started to pull ahead. I started to get my answer about which was more important – conditioning or altitude acclimation? With the long straight stretches of country roads I was able to keep both Roger and Jack in sight. Miles 6 to 8 were uphill and I managed to close the gap a little and then we turned on to a paved road that dropped for 2 miles and I closed the gap some more. When I passed Mile 10 in 1:30:57 I was concerned that I was pushing the pace too hard to keep my mates in sight and hoped that I wouldn’t suffer for it later? I passed Jack at the Half in 2:00.45. I felt OK but was now very concerned that I was running over my head. And by then the sun was beating down on us and the temps had soared! It didn’t take long to confirm my fear. When I passed Mile 16 in 2:28:46 my legs were starting to tire rapidly. I hoped that I could hold the pace to 20 miles and then worry about walking? As I approached a turn at Mile 17 I was surprised to find that Roger was only about 1000 ft ahead of me? I figured if I could hold my pace I might catch him in the hills around 22 miles? Wishful thinking! Roger later told me that he faded and started walking at 18 miles – but he didn’t fade as much as I did.
By mile 18 I knew I was in trouble and tried to hold on until mile 20 before the inevitable walking started – but I couldn’t do it. As I reached mile 19 in 3:00:39 my legs were completely out of energy and I had no option but to start walking. The next mile was my worst/slowest of the race – a split of 13:22 as I tried desperately to keep my wasted legs moving. Finally I decided it would be better just to walk slowly and take a short rest at the water stop before mile 20 to give my legs a much-needed rest in hopes that they would start to recover? I knew that the final 10K was going to be ugly and painful and thus I figured the smartest strategy would be to use the ‘Galloway method’ – walk for 1 minute and run for 4 minutes. That worked OK until I got into a series of rolling hills near 22 miles and then it became ‘walk up the hills and jog down’. By the time I got through the hills my legs had recovered a wee bit and I was able to walk/jog a 12-min pace. During the final 5K I was both frustrated and happy that I was able to run a sub 12-min pace. Each time I tried to push the pace down to 10 min my legs would protest and quit moving. I calculated that a 12-min pace would get me to the finish line in 4:30 – and that would just have to be good enough!
I crossed the finish line in 4:30:04. Roger finished in 4:21 and Jack in 4:34. We checked the results. Roger and Jack had placed 3rd in their Age Groups and I had finished 1st place in my AG. I wasn’t surprised because I had checked results from 2008 and learned that 1st place in my AG was more than 5 hours. We collected our awards and said our farewells. Roger may come to Sarasota next spring to give me an opportunity to beat him and reclaim my title? I can’t say I was happy with my time or performance but I am not disappointed either because I finished as expected. The Good news was that no body parts fell off or hurt during the race. And one benefit of running so slow is that my legs were not sore after the race. The Bad news however is that I confirmed that I am in poor/pathetic marathon shape and I have a lot of hard/painful training to do to get back into peak/competitive shape. But it can be done if I can just stay healthy and injury-free!
I now have one day to pack and close up the house since we leave for FL tomorrow. We will only be home for one week and then we leave for Tundra Land – aka – Canada for a family wedding and reunion. By chance I will be there during the Ottawa Fall Colors Marathon and have decided to join my good friend and mentor Wally Herman to run his hometown race!
Stay tuned!
Sun, Sept 20/09
Boulder Marathon
Boulder, CO
Marathon #318
4:30:04 - 1AG
I’m Baaaaaaaaaaaaaccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After a 7-month sabbatical from marathoning – 5 months of rest/recovery and physical therapy to heal those mystery back and leg injuries and only 10 weeks of training I decided to run the Boulder Marathon as a long training run.
With two 20-mile training runs under my belt I felt confident that I could finish the race but was not so confident that the final 10K would not involve a lot of walking??
A bonus for choosing this race was that two of my good mates from the UK – Roger Biggs and Jack Brookes were also running the race. They planned to arrive late Sat night, run the race and continue on to CA to run the triple marathon in Lake Tahoe next weekend. Roger is on a quest to run at least one marathon every weekend in 2009.
We always have a ‘friendly’ competition when we race together but I figured my goose might be cooked in this race. It was going to be a contest to see if my advantage of altitude and jet lag could overcome their superior marathon conditioning?
I drove over to Boulder on Sat and picked up our race packets since Roger and Jack would not arrive from London until 6 pm. Since I had the afternoon to kill I decided to check out the racecourse. The race started and finished at the Boulder Reservoir northeast of the city. The entire course was located in the foothills of the Flat Irons (a mountain range west of Boulder). The lowest elevation was 5100 ft – the highest 5600 ft! About 20 miles of the course were dirt roads and the rest paved roads – all in a rural setting. There were lots of rolling hills but no shade on the course. I didn’t consider the course to be as difficult as Steamboat Springs where we had all raced together a few years ago and felt comfortable with the target I had proclaimed a few days before the race – to finish with a BQ time of 4:15!
My mates arrived on time and we enjoyed a nice pasta dinner while I described the course and we caught up on ‘war’ stories. The marathon started at 8am on Sun. The weather forecast had called for temps of 52F at the start and a high in the low 70s. They lied – or were wrong because a warm front blew into the region in advance of a severe cold front that was supposed to bring snow on Mon? The front included strong gusts of wind from the west – a tailwind for the 1st Half and a headwind for the 2nd Half!
It was sunny and 54F at the 8am start as we lined up with 3000 runners. I have to commend the race committee for great organization. They had lots of portable toilets – it is the first race I have never had to line up – even 10 minutes before the race – to use a toilet. And the race started on time! I figured Roger was determined to beat me and get revenge for my victory in Israel in Jan – and I was right. He took off and Jack and I tried to keep him in sight.
Jack and I passed Mile 1 in 9:30 and stayed together until Mile 5 (45:55) where Jack started to pull ahead. I started to get my answer about which was more important – conditioning or altitude acclimation? With the long straight stretches of country roads I was able to keep both Roger and Jack in sight. Miles 6 to 8 were uphill and I managed to close the gap a little and then we turned on to a paved road that dropped for 2 miles and I closed the gap some more. When I passed Mile 10 in 1:30:57 I was concerned that I was pushing the pace too hard to keep my mates in sight and hoped that I wouldn’t suffer for it later? I passed Jack at the Half in 2:00.45. I felt OK but was now very concerned that I was running over my head. And by then the sun was beating down on us and the temps had soared! It didn’t take long to confirm my fear. When I passed Mile 16 in 2:28:46 my legs were starting to tire rapidly. I hoped that I could hold the pace to 20 miles and then worry about walking? As I approached a turn at Mile 17 I was surprised to find that Roger was only about 1000 ft ahead of me? I figured if I could hold my pace I might catch him in the hills around 22 miles? Wishful thinking! Roger later told me that he faded and started walking at 18 miles – but he didn’t fade as much as I did.
By mile 18 I knew I was in trouble and tried to hold on until mile 20 before the inevitable walking started – but I couldn’t do it. As I reached mile 19 in 3:00:39 my legs were completely out of energy and I had no option but to start walking. The next mile was my worst/slowest of the race – a split of 13:22 as I tried desperately to keep my wasted legs moving. Finally I decided it would be better just to walk slowly and take a short rest at the water stop before mile 20 to give my legs a much-needed rest in hopes that they would start to recover? I knew that the final 10K was going to be ugly and painful and thus I figured the smartest strategy would be to use the ‘Galloway method’ – walk for 1 minute and run for 4 minutes. That worked OK until I got into a series of rolling hills near 22 miles and then it became ‘walk up the hills and jog down’. By the time I got through the hills my legs had recovered a wee bit and I was able to walk/jog a 12-min pace. During the final 5K I was both frustrated and happy that I was able to run a sub 12-min pace. Each time I tried to push the pace down to 10 min my legs would protest and quit moving. I calculated that a 12-min pace would get me to the finish line in 4:30 – and that would just have to be good enough!
I crossed the finish line in 4:30:04. Roger finished in 4:21 and Jack in 4:34. We checked the results. Roger and Jack had placed 3rd in their Age Groups and I had finished 1st place in my AG. I wasn’t surprised because I had checked results from 2008 and learned that 1st place in my AG was more than 5 hours. We collected our awards and said our farewells. Roger may come to Sarasota next spring to give me an opportunity to beat him and reclaim my title? I can’t say I was happy with my time or performance but I am not disappointed either because I finished as expected. The Good news was that no body parts fell off or hurt during the race. And one benefit of running so slow is that my legs were not sore after the race. The Bad news however is that I confirmed that I am in poor/pathetic marathon shape and I have a lot of hard/painful training to do to get back into peak/competitive shape. But it can be done if I can just stay healthy and injury-free!
I now have one day to pack and close up the house since we leave for FL tomorrow. We will only be home for one week and then we leave for Tundra Land – aka – Canada for a family wedding and reunion. By chance I will be there during the Ottawa Fall Colors Marathon and have decided to join my good friend and mentor Wally Herman to run his hometown race!
Stay tuned!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
RR - US Half Marathon
Race Report
US Half Marathon
Copper Mountain, CO
Sat, Aug 22/09
2:10:55 – 3 AG
Well, this was to be a BIG test – my first race since the Sarasota Marathon in Feb! After 5 months of rest/recovery and PT for the mystery injuries to my back and leg and 5 weeks of training I wanted to test my conditioning.
I had won this tough grueling race the past two years and set the course record (for OLD farts) but had no delusions that either were a possibility this year. I decided I would be happy if I could finish in 2:10 (a 10 min pace).
The race starts in the Copper Mountain Resort at 9500 ft. The weather was great – sunny and low 50s at the 9am start. The 1st mile climbs and then drops about 100 ft to the East Village. I thought I started slow as planned and couldn’t understand why I was hacking and sucking for air until I passed Mile 1 in 7:59! Too fast for the shape I am in! I immediately threw out an anchor and slowed down and passed Mile 2 in 16:51 – more reasonable! The next 2 miles we traversed and climbed a trail across a ski hill and I struggled to reach Mile 4 in 37:01. And we were just starting the tough part of the course since it climbs from 9400 ft to 10,600 ft over the next 5 miles!
I normally average a 10:15 min pace over those 5 miles but really struggled just to keep running up the mountain to reach Mile 9 in 1:32:12. I figured I could easily lower the pace to sub 9 min on the descent but what I didn’t figure on was missing the turn around shortly after 9 miles (for the past 2 years it was located at the top of Vail Pass)? There was no race volunteer, sign, etc at the turn so I continued to climb another 1/3 mile and 200 vertical ft to the top of Vail Pass before a kind person informed me that I had missed the turn! I was pissed off and immediately lost any incentive or motivation to push or hurt myself on the descent. I reached mile 10 in a 16:12 split and decided at that point just to jog the final 3 miles to the finish line!
I crossed the finish line in an official time of 2:17:55 but if I subtract the estimated 7 min for the extra 2/3 mile I figure I finished the HALF in 2:10:55? I was OK/happy with that time but immediately hunted down the race director and gave him royal shit for a poorly organized race and course!
Officially I finished in 3rd place in my AG and am not sure if the extra 7 min made any difference?
Since I didn’t expect to win I wasn’t disappointed and I still achieved my goal of running a long/hard training run w/o any (injury) problems so I was happy.
I followed that hard training run with another challenging training run (very) early Sun morning. I woke at 2am to drive to Leadville and arrive at the final check-in point at the 86.5- mile mark of the Leadville 100 Ultra Race at 3:30am. I had promised to pace a fellow runner/friend from FL (Adam Bright) through the final (13.5 mile leg) of the race. Adam arrived at the checkpoint at 5 am. We had 5 hours to finish the race under the 30-hour limit to earn the coveted Silver Belt Buckle. It was dark but unusually warm for this time of the year. We needed headlamps for the 1st hour through the forest along Turquoise Lake with a few sections of rocky and treacherous trails. However by 6am there was enough light to see the trails and by 7 am it was sunny and warming up. Adam was able to run and walk till the final 4 miles and then it was mostly walk and I had to play mind games with him to keep him moving. I know how bad I feel sometimes in a marathon – I could only imagine the pain and complete exhaustion he felt! But he used willpower, guts and determination to keep his wasted legs moving and crossed the finish line in 29:06!
As I watched him and others struggle and overcome their complete exhaustion to finish I confirmed my long-standing decision and wisdom to NEVER- EVER run an ULTRA!
Since both training runs went well I now have confidence to sign up for the Boulder Marathon in mid-Sept even though my longest run since Feb has been 15 miles?
Stay tuned!
US Half Marathon
Copper Mountain, CO
Sat, Aug 22/09
2:10:55 – 3 AG
Well, this was to be a BIG test – my first race since the Sarasota Marathon in Feb! After 5 months of rest/recovery and PT for the mystery injuries to my back and leg and 5 weeks of training I wanted to test my conditioning.
I had won this tough grueling race the past two years and set the course record (for OLD farts) but had no delusions that either were a possibility this year. I decided I would be happy if I could finish in 2:10 (a 10 min pace).
The race starts in the Copper Mountain Resort at 9500 ft. The weather was great – sunny and low 50s at the 9am start. The 1st mile climbs and then drops about 100 ft to the East Village. I thought I started slow as planned and couldn’t understand why I was hacking and sucking for air until I passed Mile 1 in 7:59! Too fast for the shape I am in! I immediately threw out an anchor and slowed down and passed Mile 2 in 16:51 – more reasonable! The next 2 miles we traversed and climbed a trail across a ski hill and I struggled to reach Mile 4 in 37:01. And we were just starting the tough part of the course since it climbs from 9400 ft to 10,600 ft over the next 5 miles!
I normally average a 10:15 min pace over those 5 miles but really struggled just to keep running up the mountain to reach Mile 9 in 1:32:12. I figured I could easily lower the pace to sub 9 min on the descent but what I didn’t figure on was missing the turn around shortly after 9 miles (for the past 2 years it was located at the top of Vail Pass)? There was no race volunteer, sign, etc at the turn so I continued to climb another 1/3 mile and 200 vertical ft to the top of Vail Pass before a kind person informed me that I had missed the turn! I was pissed off and immediately lost any incentive or motivation to push or hurt myself on the descent. I reached mile 10 in a 16:12 split and decided at that point just to jog the final 3 miles to the finish line!
I crossed the finish line in an official time of 2:17:55 but if I subtract the estimated 7 min for the extra 2/3 mile I figure I finished the HALF in 2:10:55? I was OK/happy with that time but immediately hunted down the race director and gave him royal shit for a poorly organized race and course!
Officially I finished in 3rd place in my AG and am not sure if the extra 7 min made any difference?
Since I didn’t expect to win I wasn’t disappointed and I still achieved my goal of running a long/hard training run w/o any (injury) problems so I was happy.
I followed that hard training run with another challenging training run (very) early Sun morning. I woke at 2am to drive to Leadville and arrive at the final check-in point at the 86.5- mile mark of the Leadville 100 Ultra Race at 3:30am. I had promised to pace a fellow runner/friend from FL (Adam Bright) through the final (13.5 mile leg) of the race. Adam arrived at the checkpoint at 5 am. We had 5 hours to finish the race under the 30-hour limit to earn the coveted Silver Belt Buckle. It was dark but unusually warm for this time of the year. We needed headlamps for the 1st hour through the forest along Turquoise Lake with a few sections of rocky and treacherous trails. However by 6am there was enough light to see the trails and by 7 am it was sunny and warming up. Adam was able to run and walk till the final 4 miles and then it was mostly walk and I had to play mind games with him to keep him moving. I know how bad I feel sometimes in a marathon – I could only imagine the pain and complete exhaustion he felt! But he used willpower, guts and determination to keep his wasted legs moving and crossed the finish line in 29:06!
As I watched him and others struggle and overcome their complete exhaustion to finish I confirmed my long-standing decision and wisdom to NEVER- EVER run an ULTRA!
Since both training runs went well I now have confidence to sign up for the Boulder Marathon in mid-Sept even though my longest run since Feb has been 15 miles?
Stay tuned!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)