Better than yesterday
Cool Runner |
 posted Oct-20-2007 11:50 AM
  
Please Note: I made a commitment to not try to read and reply to Race Reports due to the amount of time required...that being said, if you feel like continuing, go right ahead; if not, I completely understand.Short Version: 21:42. 6:45 / 7:08 / 7:49 (1.1) = 7:00 avg mile pace OA: 25 / ~89
M40-49: 5th/10
(M40-44: 2/?) Longer Version: Everything that is under my control or at least everything that I can fool myself into thinking that I can control, went well over the past 24 hours. I slept for eight hours yet again last night, in contrast to the 3 or 4 hours I'd been getting for a week or so, and the fractured sleep of the last few nights until Wednesday night. So two nights of ~8 hours sleep going into a race - it just doesn't get any better than that! I had a nice race-day-eve 3 miler on Friday, and finally got rid of some general malaise that has been bugging me for about two weeks. I also had a taco salad with just a bit of mild salsa and chili for dinner last night instead of the Chinese take-out that my family ate (Read this: No stomach upset or bloatedness) ok, I did sneak a half of an egg roll. And a spoonful of Snowpeas from the Chicken & Snowpeas. And a cup of fried rice. But when I got up this morning I could slide my wedding ring on and off of my finger, so I know I didn't overdo it. I woke up without the alarm at 5:45, fully rested. Boiled up water for the coffee (french press) and for the oatmeal (mmmmm...Oatmeal), and was done eating breakfast and drinking my coffee and 32 oz of water by 6:45 - 2 hours before my pre-race warm up was to begin. The race starts just 1-mile from my home, and I was showered, dressed and out the door just in time to hit the registration desk at 8:40 and return to my car to drop off the race shirt at 8:45. I know...Mr. Save The World drove his car 3/4 of a mile to a community fund raiser 5k. My new bike tube won't hold air, and there was too much that could go wrong, timing-wise, if I jogged to the registration desk from home.  I jogged easily over to the start line - about 1/2 mile in all from the desk, to the car, to the start, and then jogged the 5k course at a nice easy 9:30 - 10:00 pace. I was very happy to see that the out and back course was laid out so that mile one was at the same point as mile 2, and to hear that there would be someone calling out times at that point throughout the race, particularly because I haven't replaced my watch since I ruined it during a bicycle commute in the rain two months ago. I can't remember ever being in a 5k where they called out the mile 2 splits. I tried to find someone who planned on running the first mile in 7:00 to pace off of, but the closest I could find was a 6:30 and a 7:30, so I planned to hit the 1 mile mark while about 100 - 150 yards behind the 6:30 pacer. Unfortunately she went out a bit faster than that, in spite of it being a gradual uphill, and I heard "6:43 - 6:44 - 6:45...". Well, at least that explained why I was already breathing too heavily. I tried something in this race that I've never tried before. I noticed that the group of guys who were around my age and running just in front of me were tightening up at about the 1.25 mile mark. I decided that that was a good time to try a surge of about 15 seconds. It "worked" well enough that I passed four people, and held them all off until the mile 2 marker. Two guys - I know at least one of them had been in that group - passed me with just about a mile to go. I had decided, pre-race, that I would try going into a "kick", using a lengthened stride, at about the 2.6 mile point. I started just before that, thinking I could go with the one guy and we could try to catch the one about 50 yards ahead of us. I said, "Let's go get him". He said, "You go right ahead". I tried for about 70 - 100 yards, but it just didn't seem like I was reeling the one guy in, or getting any further ahead of the other. In fact, I started to tighten up, and the guy who "couldn't" go with me  , passed me. I said, "Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn't" as he went by. About 1/8 mile from the finish, I began to hear the cheering of the crowd at the finish line. I couldn't see the clock, as there was a hard right turn into a parking lot 20 yards from the finish. I really had no idea what my time was at this point, but knew that I really wanted to hold off the other 40-somethings that I had passed during that surge. I'm not sure what was different this time, except maybe that the fear of being passed is a better motivator for me than the desire to catch someone ahead of me - I was able to find that gear I couldn't find earlier and at least hold my position. I'm going to have to check my running log. I think this is about the 5th time that I have run a 5k between 21:40 and 21:42. I was a good 20 seconds away from my PR of 21:18 from last year's SEFCU Labor Day 5k race, but I'm pleased that at 43, I'm (at least) not slowing down. Next month at the Thanksgiving Day race on my calendar I have an opportunity to push that PR closer to 21:00, I think. Fashion Report: Navy Blue running shorts, navy blue Empire State Games singlet (emblem is pretty much faded, so I'm not show-boating), silver Saucony Grid Fusion with navy blue lines. Conditions: Around 60F. Humidity around 80%. Cloudy skies which turned to sunshine for the awards cermony. Editorial: This is the 3rd time recently that I've run in a local race that used to award hardware for the top 3 in 5-year age categories that has switched to 10-year ag's. It's also the 3rd time that I would have gotten hardware going by 5-yr ag's. Oh well. Brian
IP: Logged |
Better than yesterday
Cool Runner |
posted Oct-22-2007 02:21 PM
Thanks All.Official results are posted, and while my time didn't change, I was moved up to 24th/89 OA, and am now 5/15 in M40-49 which sounds better than 5/10. And for my imaginary M40-44 AG, I was 2nd/9. The tantalizing aspect of reviewing the results is finding that the difference between 5th and 1st in the M40-49 AG is just over a minute - if I would just go ahead and run that sub-21, I'd be in hardware land. But to reiterate what Tammy said...this doesn't get any easier as I get older around here. If I was running in the M50-59, I also would have taken 5th. In fact, the first 3 guys in the 50-59 AG finished ahead of the 1st 40-49 guy. You even had to run =/< 8:00 pace to get 3rd in the M60-69 AG. And this is just a little community fun run with less than 90 runners in it! bty
IP: Logged |
I am surprised at you too that you didn't run the mile to this race and that you took a shower first. 
