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Race report: Run the Bay 5K

May 19, 2013 / Race Reports / 6 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

The story of this race actually starts 8 days pre-race. On the Friday of the week before the race, I hit the training wall a little earlier and harder than intended. As a result, I started my cutback/taper week 3 days earlier than planned and cut back more than originally planned. I also put plans to run the race on hold. I’d only run the race if I felt like I was recovering well enough to race well and to do so without compromising my next phase of training.

Fortunately, after 3 very easy days of training, I came back fairly well on Monday and Tuesday. A workout Tuesday left me a little more drained than it should have but I hit good splits on the workout and a few more very easy days left me ready to race…or so I hoped. So off to the races I go. I made a few comments to people about seeing what my cranky legs would allow me to do, which is really how I felt. My legs were being cranky for a little over a week. Would they treat me well or make me regret the decision to race?

Before warmup, I heard someone say the course is long, their Garmin measured it out as 3.3 miles. To me, this was a good sign. The course wasn’t short. Knowing how Garmins work and how courses are measured, I figured this was a sign that the course was accurate.

On the warmup, I started very slow, which isn’t a bad thing of course. As I went on, I loosened up some but not as much as I had hoped I would. I did a few strides that felt good but not great, then we lined up for the race.

I wanted to get out good in this one, with a 90 degree left turn about a block from the start. As the horn sounded, though, my legs just weren’t cooperating. I found myself with probably about 7-8 guys in a lead pack ahead of me. Is this going to be the story of my race? Do my legs just not have it today? Well, after about 1/4 mile, my legs snap out of it and I find myself picking up the pace. I reel the pack in, just as I notice one guy slipping out of the front of the pack. By probably around 1/2 mile, I find myself at the front of the pack with the one guy out front. I figured it was time to see if I could chase him down so I pushed the pace. My pushing the pace broke up the pack and, by 1 mile, it was down to myself and 2 other guys chasing the leader. One was falling off a bit but the other was breathing down my neck, it seemed literally. At this point, the leader was getting away so I was more focused on ensuring this guy breathing down my neck didn’t remain there. How to do that, though, seemed to be to continue trying to chase down the leader. While I wasn’t chasing him down, I could hear the labored breathing of this guy breathing down my neck. The only problem was that my breathing was also labored. Who was hurting more? Who would be willing to hurt more? One thing I knew for sure, this guy had the backing of the locals. It seemed like, throughout the course, I kept hearing "Go Cam!" This guy appeared to be a recent grad of the high school. Before the race, I saw him and picked him out as potential competition. He was wearing Whitefish Bay T&F warmup pants and a college T&F warmup shirt. Is he a collegiate runner just coming off his season and doing an early post season race to support his high school alma mater? If so, I could be a sitting duck but why wasn’t he trying to chase down the leader? Why was he letting me do all the work unless he was either waiting to out kick me or hurting so badly he felt he couldn’t take the effort of leading me?

A little before 2 miles, it sounded like Cam was falling back a step or two. When I first noticed this, I tried to push the pace a bit. I thought this was my chance to break him. It didn’t work. He was still hanging around. Through 2 miles, he was still right there. Into the last mile, it still seemed like he was not right on my back like before but he was still around. I kept pushing, thinking I don’t want to let a college age guy hang with me to the kick or I’m in big trouble. Somewhere just past 2.5 miles, I still heard people cheering for Cam but I couldn’t hear him directly behind me. I had to push. If he comes back on me, I don’t have a lot of fight left after pushing so hard for essentially the whole race. Push now or regret it later. I kept pushing and pushing. Around the last turn, with probably just over 1/4 mile ago but already able to see the finish sign, I was giving it all I had. Closer and closer, he isn’t coming back but every block I go I get more concerned that he could be coming. I’m pushing as hard as I can and just hoping he doesn’t come back on me. Finally, I can see the clock at the finish line. I watch it tick through the 16:40s. I’m going to be very close to 17 flat. Can I get under? I try to sprint, not just to go under 17 flat but also to preempt any last second attempt Cam may make at passing me at the end. I see the finish chute right there for me in the mid-16:50s but I know it’s still too far to make in time. I push with everything I have even though I know I’m going to be just over 17 minutes. I’m not going to miss sub-17 by this little and get passed in the final steps. I see 17:03 on the clock as I go past it.

In the final results, I was 2nd in 17:04. A guy I was talking with before the race was shooting for 19 minutes after having some piriformis issues and not racing for 9 months. He got across the line in 18:45 so it was a successful day for him. I was also taking this as a success. We cooled down together and had a great talk. He’s a local high school coach and a former college teammate of a guy who went to the same high school as me about 10 years earlier.

I hung around for quite a while after the race. As I was about to go, I was informed by a race official that the course is indeed a little long. So I guess I already technically got my sub-17 5K for the 18th consecutive year. I don’t want this streak to continue on a technicality, though. I’m still shooting to cross a 5K finish line with the clock reading 16-something.

Slow, but consistent.

May 17, 2013 / Miscellaneous / 2 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by RandyS at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

In a couple of days it will be 3 years since I last had a day without a run. I wasn’t planning that; it just happened. For the past 15 years I’ve been nothing but consistent. Usually missing a few days a year, often going 16 or 18 months between days off.

This streak owes more to the fact that I switched my weekday runs to the early morning than to any other factor (perhaps luck, life hasn’t gotten in the way either). Little stops me from going for a workout at 5 or 6 in the morning!

At 55 I’ve come to accept that my PB’s are in the past. Yet, I step out the door every morning, without racing goals, able to enjoy the act of running for its own sake. It took a long time to accept that! I struggled as I slowed; thought of giving up on the sport.

In a way I did give up on the sport; I haven’t raced in 3 years, but I didn’t give up on the activity (logging 2-3 thousand miles a year without a goal race in sight). And after struggling with the frustration of slowing as I age; I’m starting to feel motivated to race again, my new age group means new pb’s. I may race again I may not, but I’ll still get out the door every morning.

Randy

Minimalist shoes and the boom/bust cycle

May 16, 2013 / Training / 4 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Earlier this week, it was reported sales of minimalist shoes "plummetted" by more than 10% in the first quarter of 2013. It’s being reported that the "fad" is over. People are realizing that minimalist shoes are getting them injured and going back to stability and support shoes. So is this really what’s happening?

I’d argue that, in a way, this is what’s happening but it’s more complex than just that. As with many things (low fat diets followed by low carb diets, for example) the pendulum swung. Through the 1990s and early 2000s, the attitude toward shoes was the bigger the better. Those of us who didn’t want a whole lot of foam and rubber between our feet and the ground were forced to choose from an ever-decreasing list of choices. Eventually, we were down to a handful of "lightweight trainers" or racing flats.

Then came Born to Run. I have some issues with the book (I have been thinking of tackling one big issue I have yet to find an answer to in a blog post but I always feel like I’d just be tilting at windmills when I think of typing something up). However, one benefit is that it swung the pendulum. People began thinking maybe bigger isn’t always better. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the pendulum swung too far, too fast. People went from wearing Brooks Beasts and other similar shoes to Vibram FiveFingers without a proper transition down the line. As I’ve often stated, you can’t go from having your shoe do all the work for you to having it do no work for you overnight without problems. It can take years to go from a fairly moderate traditional trainer to a fairly moderate "minimalist" shoe or racing flat. To go from one extreme to the other in days, weeks or even months is just asking for problems. Even if you don’t need all that shoe, you can’t just ditch it overnight after you’ve become used to it and, to some extent, dependent on it. Worse yet, the message for a while was that minimalism or even barefooting is right for everyone. It will cure every injury, it will make you more efficient and faster. There are no down sides, only benefits.

Not surprisingly, the correction came along. People got hurt, either because they tried to change too fast or because they simply aren’t cut out to run in minimal shoes. People gave up on minimalism. Some people stuck to it because it worked for them but some left. This is what we’re seeing now. Of course, in the marketplace, the manufacturers are usually behind on trends like this. Just like you couldn’t get enough shoes labeled "minimal" a few years ago and they sold at outrageous prices, you’re now seeing a wide selection and prices are dropping rapidly.

What do these market changes mean? Well, there are now more people wearing "minimal" shoes than there were several years ago. I think manufacturers will to some extent keep making shoes for this market. It may be a niche market but it’s large enough that I don’t think Nike, Saucony, Brooks and others want to ignore it. In the meantime, hopefully that pendulum swing will settle to a more reasonable middle ground. People who need more shoe shouldn’t be shamed into getting less shoe than they need to stay healthy. At the same time, people who don’t need so much shoe shouldn’t be ridiculed for wearing racing flats or "minimal" shoes if that’s what works for them.

I’d love to see people settle into a state of saying "I want to wear as much shoe as I need but no more, whatever that means". If you don’t need the 17 ounce shoe, try the 15 ounce shoe. If that still seems like more than you need, try the 13 ounce shoe. Eventually, you’ll find your sweet spot. That’s where you want to be. More isn’t always better but less also isn’t always better. Some people will still be wearing the 17 ounce shoe because that is what they need. Others will keep wearing FiveFingers because that is the shoe that works for them.

In the meantime, I’ll keep sticking with my roughly 7 ounce moderately cushioned shoes. In April, I even bought my first pair of "minimal" shoes (see the picture at the top of the post to see what I will be wearing as I head out to run today). They cost me less than the racing flats I usually get and, structurally, are extremely similar. I like the current market. The price points are very nice.

A full week and a 5k!

May 4, 2013 / Race Reports / 3 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Charlene at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

My week does not end until Sunday but I already got all my workouts in for the week and with a 8 or 10 mile easy run tomorrow I will be up over 60 miles for the week.

I had a good tempo run on Monday, a fast finish 15 miler in 80 degree temps on Wednesday, and a race on Saturday. The 5k was a last minute decision. It was one of those little town races that are more of a charity walk anyway. The course was flat and traffic free and it’s only drawback was about 13 turns which is a tad bit excessive for a 5k. It ended up to be an almost solo effort with the 1st place man almost a minute ahead of me and the 2nd place man over a minute behind me. The 1st half I felt great and was wondering if I would accomplish great things. I cannot say I felt bad the second half but a tad bit unmotivated to push to the limit. I have this fear that I will crash and burn and that fear can hold me back from really taking off. This is a good fear to have in a half marathon but not a good fear during a 5k. I also misjudged how many blocks I had left near the end due to all the turns and ended up closer to the finish line than I wanted to be before starting to kick. But anyway I finished in 19:06 which is an alright time for me for a 5k. I always prefer to be under 19 but as long as I am under 19:20 I am happy. My PR is 18:44 for 5k. I have ran this PR 3 different times over the past 5 years. I am quite optimistic that this will be the summer that I finally lower that PR. I have a fast 5k in June and another in July and I think that those will be very good places to attempt to push myself to the limit.

Just 2 weeks until Green Bay and I admit that my only plan is to latch on to whatever pace my rhythm falls into that morning. Hopefully it will be a pleasant surprise. Like when you have to force yourself to slow down at the start as the "way too fast pace" feels too easy and you settle in right where you want to be. This would be much better than when you start out right at goal pace and it feels hard already. I am kind of hoping to just stay within the 6:40s.

The running community is amazing

May 1, 2013 / Miscellaneous / 2 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

I just had to drop a quick note on how great the running community is. I was out yesterday doing some half mile repeats. Late in repeat 6 of 8, a couple of runners were approaching me and I recognized one as Dan Held. As we approached each other, he began jumping and yelling at the top of his lungs "COME ON RYAN! COME ON MAN!" You’d think he was cheering for his own kid at the state championship track meet the way he was getting into it.

Here I am, just some average Joe doing repeats at a pace that is pedestrian by his standards and a guy who has run in World Championship races, who was 7th in the Olympic Trials my freshman year of college, is going ballistic cheering for me. Yes, the running community is amazing.

By the way, on the one in a million chance that he reads this, thanks Dan for getting me through it. I was hurting and at that turning point I’m sure we’ve all experienced in hard workouts where you either battle through to a great workout or give in to the fatigue and figure it was still a good workout. I believe I still would have battled it out but that lift just at the right time definitely helped assure that result.