pfriese
Cool Runner |
 posted Sep-08-2007 05:54 PM
   
Background/Intro: I ran this race last year as a tune-up race for the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington DC, had such a great time that I wanted to run it again this year. From their web page:The Devil Dog Run is a nationally recognized running event that started in 1994 and is hosted by the United States Marine Corps Artillery Detachment aboard Fort Sill, OK. This event includes both a 5K Fun Run/Walk and a 10K Run. Both races are open to the public for anyone interested in participating and families are welcome. All proceeds from this event will go to the Wilbur S. Bigfoot Brown chapter of the United States Field Artillery Association (a non-profit organization) to benefit the morale and welfare of the individual Marines and families of the Marine Artillery Detachment. Pre-race: Opie, aka karlrysted, was also planning on running in this race. I had talked with him earlier in the week and we had pre-arranged to carpool down. I met him on the south edge of the metro at 6:00am for the 1 hour ride down. It was raining pretty hard as we left, but as we got close to Ft Sill, the rain quit and everything dried up. On the ride down, we caught up on our summer running, training, and racing. We arrived at 7:00 and took care of registration details. In addtition to the race, there is a cadence calling competition among several platoons. These young soldiers were all lined up practicing, marching, warming-up, etc. on the parade ground next to the start area. As I mentioned, the rain had moved out of the area already, but it had left behind 100% humidity and the temps were still in the upper 70's (just the way I like it  ). Karl and I did a light warm-up jog, then lined up at the start for the pre-race presentation of the flag, National Anthem, and prayer. A young soldier then filled us in on some course info (this young man had the thickest Canadian accent I ever heard, hard to believe he was in the USMC, eh). While this was going on Patriotsr1 found us, so we got to meet another coolrunning boomer and we visitied with him briefly. Course description: An out and back type course through the east side of Ft. Sill. The first 1.5K is fairly flat, then a steep down into a low-water bridge creek crossing, a steep back up out of the crossing. From there, it was a slow uphill for a couple of kilometers, another 0.5K moderate climb to the top and then a nice slow decline back to the low-water bridge crossing. And then flat back into the finish after crossing the creek. The Race: The race is started by a nice LOUD howitzer cannon and we were off. I had planned on a 8:30/mile pace for the race, but as usual I took off like a rabbit. Patriotsr1 came up along side me about 200 meters into the race, wished me well, and took off. I looked down at my Garmin at this point and it said I was at a 7:15/mile pace, time to slow down a bit. I got my pace under control and made it through the low-water bridge steep down/up. From there, it was maintain my pace and head up the long hill. Going up the hill, I was able to pass a few runners and not get passed myself. At the top of the hill (around 4.5K), I took some water from the aid station and headed back down. Two things on this long downhill stretch, 1) I was still passing both runners & walkers that had run out of gas going up the hill and 2) that I was having a hard time keeping a consistent pace. Looking at my Garmin (I know, I'm not supposed to during a race), it was fluctuating between 7:15 to 9:30/ mile. I don't know if it was the downhill or just that I'd never noticied the Garming fluctuating so much. However, I just ignored it as I felt good and the run was going great. Finally got back to the low-water bridge. It was a lot steeper going down than I remembered on the outbound part. A young soldier came barreling by me, don't know how he kept from falling. This was the only time I got passed since near the start. I was able to pass him back coming up out of the creek. From there it was a flat 2K run back to the finish. I was able to pass 3 more runners on the way in. Patriotsr1 had already finished and had come out about 150 yards from the finish to cheer (me) in, so I gave it a little kick to the finish. Splits: Actually the splits were much more even than I thought they'd be. Just goes to show you that instant pace on the Garmin is a little off and you should pay attention to your pace average. 1K 4:59
2K 5:11
3K 5:13
4K 5:38 (main part of the hill)
5K 5:15
6K 5:05
7K 5:05
8K 5:16
9K 5:14
10K 5:03 Finish time: 52:16 Post-race: Visited with Patriotsr1 while waiting on Karl to finish, he informed me that it was not a small hill on the course. Karl came in a little behind me and we visited (and cooled down/rehydrated) while waiting on race results to be posted. Results were slow to come in, Patriotsr1's results were up first and he finished 2cd in his AG. About 15 minutes later the rest of the results were posted and amazingly, I also finished 2cd in my age group (of course there were only 4 runners in my age group, but hardware is hardware ). So all-in-all, not a bad day Patriotsr1 and I with hardware and Karl with a PR for 10K. Thanks for reading, Paul edited to fix a formatting mistake [This message has been edited by pfriese (edited Sep-08-2007).] OK, another edit. First, Karl and I also got to meet Patriotsr1's wife. She was lovely and I very much enjoyed visiting with her about SW Oklahoma. It's always nice to meet other coolrunners spouses. Second, I forgot the fashion report. 2006 MCM souveneir running hat, 2006 souveneir WhiteRock marathon tech shirt, black Adidas shorts, Thorlos socks, Mizuno Nirvana 3 shoes (the old pair as I expected rain), and a Garmin 305. [This message has been edited by pfriese (edited Sep-08-2007).]
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