Race Reports

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

Race day – looking for a personal record (PR) – likely ready for that PR. Running the Run/Walk to Irish Fest 5K. Had trouble getting to the starting area but I had built in a good deal of extra time – always do. Then I had parking issues – the QPS parking lot machine wouldn’t accept any cards, only cash and did not give any change. So, I left and found a free street parking location – two hour parking – plenty of time to leave before two hours.

I checked in for the race and pinned the race bib (with timing chip) on to my Hillrunner shirt. I got myself in a relaxed mood, hit the port-a-potty and then started on a two-mile warm-up run. It was very warm out there and 100% sunny. I kept it easy at about an 8:30 per mile pace. At the end of the warm-up I was drenched with sweat – it was dripping from me! I was thinking that this may be a tough race to PR after all. I did some light stretching staying loose and relaxed (in the shade.)

Started to line-up for the start – there was some sort of system to get people to line-up appropriately but it was not announced or made obvious. I saw Andy Ruffalo and made sure to wish him luck and to race well – kinda silly since he is a great runner and racer but I did so anyway. I also noticed a race bandit right next to me a lady with black and grey hair in a pony tail and a purple shirt. That peeved me a bit as nearly everyone else paid for the race and she was going to benefit off us.

Then we all heard a whispery "ready, set, go" most of us could not tell that was the start of the race but by two seconds – we all knew to get going. I started out strong keeping an eye on the Garmin – I did not want to get out too fast. I held a good pace through the first half mile while working my way around some folks going a hair slower than I was. Hit mile one in 6:08 and was feeling good, on pace for a strong PR. During that first mile as we ran along the lakefront right next to the Art Museum a lady was kinda trapped against the rail at the lake and she kept "oh my God, this is so cool" over and over again as a fast, thick crowed of runners was blasting past her. The next half mile I worked my way through a couple of runners and was still on pace although a bit slowed running that half mile in 3:09. I picked up the pace a hair to get back on track for that PR.

Then it ended. Less than a quarter mile later a muscle in my lower back just seized up quite painfully. I immediately pulled off to the left out of traffic before slowing down and made my way to a picnic table. I shut off my Garmin and I sat there for a minute or two trying to stretch and massage that area. I was not going to end up a DNF (did not finish) so I started walking and then jogging the course. I was embarrassed and disgusted about how I was running and took off my Hillrunner shirt – I did not want anyone seeing that name with how I was running.

Coming into the last quarter mile were a couple of boys not older than 10! I gave them encouraging words and one of the boys took off with a great kick towards the finish line. I kept telling the other one to "go get him" but I think he was done and just eyeing the finish line. I started to accelerate a tiny bit being mindful of how my back felt. I didn’t even look at the time clock as I crossed the line – just did some more light stretching and massaging of my back and drank some water.

I did not look at results until today. 78 out of 800 and 7th out of 75 in my age group. Both put me in the top 10% of each category but I had a terrible day. I was on pace to make 17th overall and 2nd in my age group. I know what I am capable of now if race day is "my day."

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

There’s something about this race that keeps me coming back. I always think I can conquer the course but I never seem to be able to. I always seem to run slower than I feel I’m capable of. This year, I planned a strategy that I thought would help me finally conquer the course and I decided to give it a shot.

Going into this race, I was a little unsure of my fitness. The racing year started off positive with a couple solid races in May and early June. Then I got sick in July and spent most of the month sick enough that my training was really thrown off. I was still getting in some training but I was, at best, treading water for at least 3 weeks. Finally, about 3 weeks before this race, I began feeling good enough to plunge back into full training. I put up a couple solid but not steallar weeks of training and my confidence was returning. With a solid race strategy for this course, was I back where I was in May and June, when I was already in sub-17 5K shape?

I set out on race day to go after that elusive (on this course) sub-17 5K. The first mile of the course is essentially flat, looping around the Miller Park parking lots. I got out fairly well and found myself settling into a large second pack while watching a lead pack of about 12 pull away. By about 3/4 of a mile, I worked my way to the lead of the chase pack and set out on closing the gap to the back of the lead pack, which was already breaking up a little. Some of that chase pack was going with me and I found myself in about 13th place with a couple of runners coming back. Through the mile in 5:28, I felt like I was on target. Now starts the challenging first half of the second mile, though. I wanted to push a bit but not bury myself. I was gaining on 12th place but, just before passing, got passed myself. So I was still in 13th. Then a few more guys passed me and I tried to hook on to their backs. I’ve never been a terribly strong uphill runner but I didn’t want to give up too much on this climb. Still, I just couldn’t hang with them as they slipped away from me.

Nearing the turnaround, I found myself leading a pack and somewhere around 15th place. The leaders began coming back and I was beginning to eye up how to make the turn. I moved out a little so I could take the turn wide and keep my pace up some. Someone was on my outside and another worked in to my inside. As I went around the turn, I had to go a little wide for the guy on my inside and the guy on my outside fell behind me. I did manage to keep my speed up fairly well but now it was time to hammer. The course levels out near the turnaround but I was soon to be going down the hill. Even though it was quite gradual, I had to take full advantage of this if I wanted a good time. First, though, I spotted a UW-Stout singlet worn by one of the lead women and had to give a quick Stout howl. Once it’s in your blood, you can’t get it out I guess. Down the hill, I just couldn’t get my legs going. A few more people passed me down that stretch and I found myself near 20th place. Then, with cones separating the "out" from the "back" of the out and back course, some lady heading out crossed the cones right into my path. Maybe it wasn’t as close as it seemed to me but I felt like I was barrelling down toward her at a pretty high speed and there she was right in front of me, seemingly with no concern about me rapidly approaching her. She did get back on her side of the road before I got there but not before I felt a little panic. I think that threw my breathing out of rhythm and I found myself gasping and making quite audible grunting sounds for at least the next half mile. Not what you want at around 2 miles of a 5K.

I went through 2 miles knowing that mile took a lot out of me and I was off my goal pace. I just knew I didn’t have it in my legs to take enough advantage of the downhill to make up for the uphill. I heard the time, somewhere around 11:20, and felt pretty deflated. Then I reminded myself one of my reasons to be out there, to get a good solid effort in before the important races come up. You can do a lot of good things in workouts but there is no workout that simulates pushing to your absolute limit in the last half mile of a race on dead tired legs. You only get that on race day. So I kept pushing, kept digging, kept fighting. One or two guys passed me early in mile 3, then I held my position. I kept digging to get back up to them but couldn’t. I could tell there were at least a couple of guys right behind me but I couldn’t separate from them. One of them got me toward the end but I held off the other. Looking at the results, I actually held off the others. It looks like I led a pack into the finish line.

Final result: 21st in 17:50. Not the time or place I was hoping for but the best possible effort I could give on that day. In retrospect, I don’t think I was fading when I gave up the net of 8 places between the 1 mile mark and the finish. I think, when I took the lead of that large chase pack and set out to run down the stragglers of the lead pack, a good portion of that chase pack went with me. As the pack broke up, some guys ran off the front and those were the guys who passed me.

Whatever the case, it was what it was. This course got the best of me again. It seems like nobody gets the time they expect there, though. Everyone seemed to be short of their target times or what I would expect of them. As an example, Andy Ruffalo always runs sub-16. Usually in the 15:40s it seems. Even on courses that, on paper, look more difficult than this one. He ran 16:21. There was some speculation from some that the course was long. I can’t say one way or the other. I know that long, grinding incline in mile 2 takes its toll on me all the time. Whatever the case, maybe I need to adjust my expectations on this course if I go back to this race in the future. It seems like it is just a slow course for whatever reason.

In the end, I got a good workout in and I got some good practice pushing hard on tired legs, even while dealing with some demotivating events. I’ll build myself up from this experience and move on. Next up: Stout Alumni. Looking forward to pulling out the spikes!

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

Last week was the KC Corporate Challenge Track meet. The meet runs in the evenings Monday – Thursday. On Tuesday, I ran the mile run and on Thursday, I ran the 1200m leg of the distance medley relay and the 800m run.

After the half marathon a few weeks ago, I knew going in that there was just one guy to beat. Joe had beaten me soundly in the half marathon, I thought that I might have a better chance in the short races, but I knew that he still had a fitness advantage.

The weather last week was perfect and the track had been resurfaced since I had last been there. It was very nice. In KCCC, they accept two people from each company in 10 year age groups and then allow then on race day, you compete in 5-year age groups. This helps to keep the numbers down a bit, but in the middle age groups there are still lots of competitors. In the 100m and 400m on other nights, they run heats of eight until they get everyone in, but in the mile and 800m runs they put everyone together except for the biggest age groups (30-34 & 35-39) which they break into two heats. Still, we had just one heat for my age group with 41 runners in both the 800m and mile.

For the mile, I knew that Joe would be tough, so I planned just to stay close and hope that I could kick. Before I’d run the half marathon, I had thought ahead to the mile run and had hoped to break 5:00, but now, I just wanted to compete well. The track meet was running well behind schedule. I was glad that I had chosen to start my warm up after the relays completed instead of according to the time printed on the schedule. Joe mentioned that he had started his warm up too early, but I doubted that it would affect him too negatively. I was right. When the gun went off, I found myself unprepared for what happened. Joe took off at a much faster pace than I’d anticipated and I just tried to hang on. He went through the first 409 meters in around 66 and I was a second or two behind. I let him get away a bit and similar to in the half marathon, I hoped that he would come back to me later. His lead expanded a over the middle two laps, but then I began an attempt to reel him in. I did not make much progress and finished the race about 6 seconds back (4:57 to his 4:51). Third place finished in 5:34. I found out later that Joe was making some effort to pursue the record for our age group which remains at 4:40 (currently held by Mark Curp). Talking to him after the race, I learned that he would not be running in the distance medley relay on Thursday because he felt that he had a better shot at the 800m record of 2:09. His company has a lot more depth in distance runners and would only give up a second or two by running a younger runner who Joe had beaten at tryouts. That evening, I was understandably down about my chances on Thursday. The way Joe had taken off from the gun had hit me like a physical blow — affecting me both physically and mentally. The other thought that I pursued that night was that I want that weapon (hammering from the gun) in my repertoire. I’ve generally been the type of runner to run as easy as possible. Back in the day, I had the fitness and a nice kick to pull it off. That does not seem to be the case any more. Despite some disappointment, I felt that I had put forth a good effort. It just was not enough for the win that day.

Race time arrived on Thursday a bit earlier than on Tuesday since I had to run a relay before the individual 800m. I did not know who in my company would be running the other legs, but I was unaware of any particularly fast people being available and assumed that I would get the baton with a disadvantage. I did not give myself much time to warm up and did some of my warm up in the homestretch while waiting my turn with the baton. My goal was to pass at least two other teams. Anything less and I would feel that I would have been better off skipping the relay to give a better effort in the 800m. In the relay, our 800m runner performed fairly well finishing somewhere in the middle, but our two 400m runners gave up some ground. I do not know if I got the baton in last or second to last. There were 3 teams who had lapped us and some other teams who handed off just before us. I caught all of the latter in the first lap. Then I ran the next lap chasing the next person ahead of me. It turns out that they had lapped us and on my third and final lap there was no one in front of me. I maintained a good effort until about 150m to go. At that point, I glanced over my shoulder and saw that there was no one especially close, so I cruised into the finish in an attempt to save a bit for the 800m. One race down and I had achieved my goal.

Does anyone else remember a day when two races in the same evening were no big deal? As I waited for the 800m, my legs felt fatigued. I was still committed to get after it in the 800m and not to give Joe anything, but I was a bit concerned. After they got through all of the divisions of relays, I did a light warm up while they ran the older age groups in the men’s 800m. Then I headed to the starting line. Talking to Joe before the race, he mentioned overhearing a guy talking about Tuesday, "I thought I might have a chance in the mile, but two guys just took off …" I knew that unless there was a 400m/800m runner who was stepping up to give us some competition, that this race would be the same. The only such runner that I knew of I had spoken to on Tuesday and he said that he’s "semi-retired" and just running the relays this year provided that his knees hold out. Since he was there on Thursday, I knew that his knees must have held up. They started the race in a double water fall start. I decided to start on the inside of the outer waterfall. I am not always good about getting out quickly and have been cut off before, so I like to start a bit more outside. I almost wished that I had stared on the outside of the second waterfall. One guy got out very quick and could have cut me off, but he left me some room on the inside and I charged through. Joe had started in the inside waterfall and when I cut in, I settled right behind him. I was surprisingly comfortable with the pace, but after the first lap, I knew that I would not hold it and again Joe got away from me. In the end, Joe finished just off the record in 2:10 and I was again 6 seconds back in 2:16. Third place crossed the line in 2:20. Again, I felt that I had put forth a very good effort. As I came out of the last turn, I heard some cheering that I did not think was for me and I pushed hard to the line to hold off anyone who might be coming.

Though I had hoped to win my KCCC races, I enjoyed competing with Joe — probably more than I would have enjoyed winning a relatively easy race. These races have also served to provide motivation. I do not have any racing planned, but I do have a renewed desired to train. I don’t always need races to look forward to in order to enjoy training. Though it is still distant, it may be that next year’s KCCC is enough to look forward to.

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

The story of this race again starts well before race day. I again pushed harder than I should have in training and, about a week before the race, crashed. I had a 13 mile run that was a significant struggle exactly a week before the race, then I completely crashed. It took me almost 45 minutes to run 5 miles 6 days before the race. Another slow 5 miles on Monday and I took Tuesday off. Other than relaxed strides Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I didn’t do anything hard this week until race day. I simply needed to get my legs back under me.

This is the race that has become a family event. By taking a pass on the shirts, for $20, I was able to register myself for the 5 mile, Lisa for the 2 mile and Shayla for the 1/3 mile kids fun run. What a family bargain. Also, they stagger the races sufficiently to allow me to finish my cooldown with enough time to let Lisa get ready for her run.

As a family event, we all piled into the car early this morning to head up to Fond du Lac. We arrived at the park a little later than I normally would. I headed off to pick up our packets while Lisa and Shayla stopped off at a picnic table to eat breakfast. The instructions in our packets clearly stated make sure your age and gender are correct on the bibs. Ours weren’t even filled in so I went off to find a pen and fill in Lisa’s and mine. Shayla’s was filled in but it didn’t matter because she was running a non-competitive event anyway.

I took a little time to relax, then it was time to get ready to warm up. No sign of Lisa and Shayla yet so I did what I had to do, then started walking out to run. I saw them coming so I let them know where I had our stuff and took off to run. The warmup started a few minutes later than I would have liked due to waiting for them but no big deal. I warmed up, with the legs feeling pretty grumpy at first but loosening up fairly well as I went on. I did my range of motion exercises, put my racing flats on, stripped down to my racing uniform and was off. A few strides at the start line, dropping my sunglasses with Lisa because they were fogging up and I was ready to go.

Lined up just to my right was bib number 1, last year’s winner. Oh, great. I’ll get blown away right off the line. Oh well, it is what it is.

As the race started, I did get blown away by bib number 1, as well as a few others around me. I must have picked a good position on the line to start because it seemed like all the fast guys were all around me. I quickly found myself in about 15th place but, like the last race, part of the reason for that was because my legs just didn’t want to go right off the line. It again took them about 1/4 mile to really start firing.

Once my legs did get going, I quickly worked my way up through the chase pack, separated, then was staring down the lead pack of 7. In front of that pack was bib number 1, wearing a white singlet. I saw 3 blue Fond du Lac Running Club (FDLRC) jerseys and a few other guys. Pretty quickly, 3 guys fell off the lead pack and formed a chase pack. Now, the race was 4/3/me. I figured my only hope of moving up was picking off guys who fall off through attrition. I did try bringing in that pack but it just wasn’t happening so my new goal became to keep as close to that pack as possible so, if anyone fell off, I’d be there to pick them off. Before I knew it, the chase pack grew to 5 as the battle for first became a 2 man race. That didn’t change what I was doing, though. My focus was on the now larger pack and watching for weakness up there.

Through mile 2, there weren’t any signs of weakness. Generally, that pack was running shoulder to shoulder. One guy dropped behind but didn’t fall back. The rest were still running 4 wide. Just after the 2 mile mark, we went around the turn and the pack fell into a single file line. Still, though, no signs of weakness. Then, it started happening. At about 2.5 miles, one of the blue FDLRC jerseys lost a couple steps. Then 5 yards. I was like a shark smelling blood in the water. He still had a good lead on me but he was hurting. He couldn’t hold the pace. I pushed a little harder, knowing this was my chance. By the 3 mile mark, I had cut the gap fairly significantly and he was maybe 20 yards ahead. Just after the 3 mile mark, we had a 90 degree turn and I saw him look back. I thought "Yeah, that’s right, you’re mine" and found a surge of energy. About 1/4 mile later, I went by him and he had no response at all. I kept pouring it on. He wasn’t responding now but, if he could hang close, he’s a young guy who probably has a kick and I didn’t have a kick even when I was his age. I didn’t want him anywhere near me with a half mile to go.

Nearing the 4 mile mark, I saw another guy falling off the pack. He wasn’t fading quickly, though, and I didn’t have much time left. Was it enough time? I pushed but I didn’t have enough in me to really move. I kept pushing, thinking chasing him would help me build a gap on the FDLRC guy I had passed not all that long ago. With just less than a mile to go, we went around a turn. I thought about looking back, then thought about that turn a mile earlier. I didn’t want anyone behind me thinking I was his to pass. I kept pushing, assuming someone was there even though I was pretty sure nobody was. With 3/4 of a mile to go, another turn. I didn’t even think of looking back. I just kept pushing. I knew I wasn’t going to catch the guy ahead of me but I wasn’t going to let someone come up behind me. With 1/2 mile to go, another turn. I stole a quick glance but couldn’t see much. All I knew is there was nobody within the first 10 yards behind me. What if someone further back saw me? He’s thinking I’m not going to have a finish. I push as hard as I possibly can to make it clear I’m not fading, just in case. With 1/4 mile to go, I try to pick up the pace again. I’m not sure I did. Around the last big turn and I’m going with everything I have, which isn’t much. One more gentle curve and I see the clock just over 28 minutes. I try to sprint but my legs have nothing left. I go as hard as I can, which is basically the same pace I had been running, and cross in just over 28:20.

Final result was 7th place overall, 1st in the 30-39 age group. 6th place was 42 seconds ahead of me. 8th place was 36 seconds behind me. I’m very happy with this result. Even before this past week’s struggles, I was thinking 5:40 pace or right around 28:20 would be a very strong run. With how the past week went, I was very worried that things could turn out far worse. My legs bounced back, though, and I ran about as perfectly on the original target as possible.

Official results

Lisa ran her 2 mile. She’s not exactly thrilled with her run but she says she now has something to improve upon. Shayla ran her run and was excited to finish ahead of mom (who ran with her) and at a faster pace than mom ran in her race. Then it was off to the festival for a few hours of run. A good day all around.

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

On June 2nd I raced in the Silver Lining 5K for the Boys and Girls Club of Washington County. My wife and children came to this race with me. I love having them at the races in which I participate. As always, I get a bit anxious before a race but the pre race warm-up always settles that issue. I was anxious because I had spent seven of the last eleven days with an injury and not running. Coach Hill told me that any lost physicality should be made up for in the rest that my legs had gotten. I was trying to keep that in mind.

Check-in was a breeze, I got my race bib pinned on and headed over to the van to drop of the race packet. I was sizing up some of the competition as I walked through the area. I saw a few I knew would beat me (including and especially Ruffalo) but I was feeling good. I headed off for the pre-race warm-up and was feeling loose and relaxed. I warmed up about two miles at an eight minute per mile pace. Then I did some light stretching, especially in my calves down to the Achilles’ tendons, which is where I had my recent issues. I then did three strides trying to hit 9.6 MPH (around the pace I wanted to run the first mile) and I did ok – got a feel for the pace.

We lined up for the race and in a couple of minutes – we were off and running. The course starts uphill (into the wind which was quite noticeable) and curves slowly to the north. Ruffalo and about 30 others were ahead of me at the 1/4-mile mark I checked my Garmin and I was going out too fast, I was at 10.6 MPH – oops. I backed off a bit and was suddenly hit with the worst dry-mouth I had ever experienced. I could hardly open my mouth it was so dry and sticky. I thought I was done at that point – just on my way to the half-mile point. I tried to get saliva into my mouth and keep it there without swallowing – breathing through my nose alone. This slowed me down a bit but by the 3/4 mile point cured the dry mouth issue.

I hit the one-mile mark in 6:15. Somehow, I managed to hit the pace I wanted for the first mile. This is a hilly course and can be punishing so I worked my way up through people who were either not ready for the course or went out to fast. I tried to work the course to my advantage slowly picking people off one by one. I was struggling through the 2nd mile, with the thought of throwing in the towel, but worked through a number of people. I hit the second mile in 12:36 and I knew I had to somehow pick it back up and keep passing people. I noticed at about the 2.3-mile point I was clearly separated from the chase pack and was the trailing member of the lead pack. This was a bad mental thought to have.

I tried to reel in the guy in front of me and I slowly caught him and passed him then someone else caught me and I recognized him as the guy that beat me in my age group last year. I made the comment "there goes my age group win" and he stated he would be willing to tie. I told him; if you can beat me, beat me. I wanted to earn whatever award I could earn. Little did we realize someone else in our age group was way ahead of us. He then moved on ahead and I worked hard to keep the ground I had on anyone behind me. I was thinking that since this is chip timed the guy behind me might actually be on a shorter chip time than me so I worked that last .125 miles hard, it was uphill and into the wind but hey, everyone would have that same finish so I told myself "gut it out." I ran that .125 miles as best I could.

I did not PR and I did not win my age group. I dropped to third in my age group but I did move up to 14th overall. Only one person older than me beat me and I beat plenty of younger people. As I reflect on that race; given the conditions, my recent injury with off time, I am content with the outcome.

However, I am not done yet . . .