Race report: Port Washington Fish Day

[Ryan]

The story of this race starts actually 9 days before the race. On Thursday the week before the race, two days after Firecracker 4, I came home from a fast run at Lapham Peak and I had an e-mail from Matt Tupta waiting for me. The InSport team has a team of 4 solid runners but needs 5 solid runners for a contending team. I can get free registration for Fish Day (a race I didn't know the distance of until I looked up the race and saw it was an 8k) if I run for the team. What the heck, I need to race, right? Here's a free entry. Why not? I told him I'd give it a shot Thursday evening and Friday morning, I was signed up.

Just to add to the fun, after not running fast for a very long time, I realized Thursday, only two days before the race, that I had run fast 5 of the past 9 days (1 race, 2 track workouts, 2 tempo runs) and followed that up with 14 miles at Lapham Peak Thursday. What the heck, who needs more than 1 easy day before a race, right?

Saturday, I felt about how I expected to feel. Pretty fit but not that well rested. I felt like I could run better than I did at Firecracker for a few main reasons. First, I would start more under control and not fry myself by the halfway point. Second, I now had a race behind me. My body would now remember the demands of racing and I would be more mentally prepared to race. Third, about 11 days worth of the hard training I had recently been doing should have set in and improved my fitness during the 11 days between races. Sure, that may not turn an average runner into an elite but it has to make some difference, right? Also on my mind was the difference of two days between a Saturday track workout that I suffered through and a Monday track workout that went great. If things can change that quickly over the course of two days, why can't I expect something good over 11 days?

I went into the race planning to hang with Matt Tupta, who beat me by 30 seconds at Firecracker, until I couldn't any more. I lined up right next to Matt and, after the gun went off, watched him to run away from me. So much for the plan. I started pretty deep, probably 20th-30th place. The first mile was fairly demanding. A long, gradual uphill for a while. Then, you turn and go up a steeper hill and seem to climb for the whole first mile. While still going up the gradual part, I catch up to Ted Shue and Rick Stefanovic. As I pulled up on Rick's shoulder, I said I must not be going out too hard, I'm with Rick. We traded a few words, went around that turn to the steeper hill, then I was focusing on keeping a quick tempo up the hill.

As I got to the first mile, I discovered I was definitely right. With a 5:57 time, I definitely didn't get out too hard. I had a hunch it was a bit long but not that much. I should be able to do better than this. By this point, the race had broken up into packs. A lead pack not too far ahead, a second pack just behind, then the third pack that I was near the front of. Time to work on catching the second pack.

As I worked through the second and third miles, I moved up to and through the second pack and set my sights on some stragglers off the lead pack. During the third mile, I saw Matt dropping off. I wanted to get up to him and try to help him get back into it, thinking we could work together to pick off a few members of the lead pack. Heck, the leaders still are within sight. If we can make a big charge together, maybe we could get ourselves up with them. I had closed the gap on Matt by the 3 mile mark and heard a split of 17:07 (didn't hear a second mile split, 11:10 for 2 miles/5:35 per mile).

Just after 3, I passed Matt and said one more guy and we're both top 5 (I had been counting the guys ahead of us to see where I stand, so I knew we were 5 and 6). I kept pressing for the next guy, a shorter guy wearing blue and white shorts and no top. I kept focusing on those blue and white shorts, closing the gap ever so slightly. From what I could tell, Matt was hanging with me but not in position to take the lead and help me out. If I was to catch the next guy, it was going to be with Matt's help pushing me from behind, not with sharing the lead. Well, Matt is my teammate so I want both of us to do well. I'm going for it and I hope I pull Matt through also.

Just before 4 miles, the course takes a quick right and left. At this point, I still could see the leaders make that first turn. I also heard someone telling some guys ahead of me 1 mile to go, every man for himself. I guess some guys were packing up until the 4 mile mark. The eventual winner must have really bolted at that time because I never saw the pace vehicle again and the winner was well ahead of me at the finish line. I was still gaining on the guy in the blue shorts, though. I think I can get him in the final mile. As I cruised through the 4 mile mark, I was still gaining. Very shortly after the 4 mile mark, I suddenly recognized the guy ahead of me. Is that Freddy Garcia? I think I remember him from college, I think I recall him being quite a bit better than me. Well, a lot of guys that were quite a bit better than me in college are now beatable and I'm about to make Freddy Garcia, if that's who he is, beatable. I ended up passing him a little later and tried to build a gap on him but he was holding tight. He's going to be hard to shake, especially as I'm starting to get really worn out. As we go down a hill at about a half mile to go, he went back by me. I just couldn't turn the legs over, even going downhill which is usually a strength for me, and he got a gap on me. I tried closing the gap when we hit the flat but I didn't have it left in me. I just ended up holding the gap. Down the final stretch, I was trying to pour it on and see if I could get him but nothing. Around the final turn and a very short sprint in, I finished somewhere between 28:15 and 28:20. I ended up just holding off someone else for 5th place and Matt was in 7th, a bit farther back.

The final results were 5th of 423 in 28:18. Matt ran a 28:30 and the consensus was that he was ready for a 27:30 today. The heat was just that significant out there. We were guessing that it was around 80 degrees with a dewpoint in the 70 degree range. I took water wherever it was offered to pour over my head. Quite a few people had garden hoses with sprinklers for us and running through those was great. The heat was bad. Well, if Matt is in 27:30 shape, which I definitely believe, I must be in sub-27:30 shape. That's a good sign but obviously not where I want to be this fall. Things are better than I was thinking 11 days ago but I still have my work cut out for me.

Overall, while the time wasn't that great, I'm very happy with this race. The competition was strong and I still pulled out a top 5 finish and I ran a race that, given the conditions, had to be worth a low to mid 27 run.

Results can be found here.

[Chris]

Nice report....took me like 10 minutes for me to read it but good

[cameron]

nice running ryan.  what's your goal for the remainder of 2006?  a fall marathon?

my favorite memory from the fish day five was sitting in the portapottie with 10 minutes to go before the start...then hearing the gun go off.  some local politician didn't understand that 8AM was the start time and had started the race!

[Zeke]

Nice job.  I see a former Blugold in 19th.

[Ryan]

Thanks guys. Cameron, no marathons for me in 2006. I know this puts a serious crimp in one of my long term goals but I just feel burned out on the marathon. I need to get back to shorter races. It doesn't matter how many marathons I run. If my head isn't in the right place, I'm going to underachieve. I feel my head getting back in the right place with the fun of these shorter races.

One goal for this fall is a fast Al's Run. I've always liked that 8k distance and there's a pretty significant milestone not too far beyond my PR. I know it's going to be a tall order to get myself even near PR shape by mid-September but no guts no glory, right? If I don't get the milestone there and I'm not ready to climb back on the marathon horse, there's always another chance to take a shot at the milestone at Crazylegs in the spring.

[Double]

Ryan,

Great run.  I am motivated to train now.  Will you be hitting the track this summer?

[Ryan]

Double, thanks.

Actually, I just began hitting the track about a week ago. Mondays, I'm usually at the Pewaukee track at about 5:00 for warmup. Saturdays, I'm doing morning workouts on weekends I don't race. If you want to join me for a workout, let me know. If South High works better for a Monday evening, I could easily swing out there. The Pewaukee track is in better condition and usually has less traffic but a track is a track in the end.

I'm on a bit of a strange schedule this year because I'm trying to work with Lisa's school schedule. With her not home on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, it doesn't make much sense for me to be home on one or more of those evenings and then gone on Tuesdays.

[Anne]

I read your report yesterday Ryan but didn't get a chance to respond. Great report and very nice race! Congratulations on placing 5th, that is some tough competition.  Interesting to read how you view the race and break it down,  the competitive spirit you show. I'll remember some of that next time I race.
Two races under your belt, now all you need is some decent weather to see what you can do.

Tell me about your track workouts,do you mix it up?  it's kind of fun to be back on the track. Very hard, very intense but when you complete a workout it's so rewarding.

[Ryan]

Anne, thanks. I do try to capture what I'm thinking of and going through in races, as I always know it's interesting to see what others, both faster and slower than me, are thinking of and going through. It's a great insight and you can actually pick up some good tips.

As for workouts, I am trying to mix things up quite a bit this time around. On Saturdays when I don't race, the plan is a ladder workout. I've done one of these so far that consisted of a 2400, a 1600, 2x800, 4x200 but I was having a bad day when I did that workout. Ideally, I'd be doing a 3200, a 1600, 2x800, 2x400, 4x200. Mondays right now are 800s. Yesterday, the workout was doomed to failure before I even started (I really should have postponed the workout until today, guess I'm too stubborn) but last week, I got in 10x800. Wednesdays are tempo runs of 30-35 minutes. Eventually, as my fitness improves, I may build the 800s up to 1600s or longer and switch the tempo runs over to fartlek type workouts.

This is quite a bit different than what I've done in the past but I've decided to give something new a shot. I have essentially 8 weeks to really pour on the intensity before I taper into Al's Run and see how far this relatively short period of real intense training can take me. I have a good feeling about it but the ultimate test of this philosophy will come in about 60 days.