I woke up at 6:30 Saturday morning to get ready for the Fitger's 5k. I had to get there early to pick up my race packet because I forgot all about it on Friday.
Breakfast consisted of an English muffin with peanut butter. You should already have enough energy stored in your liver and muscles to go 3 miles. I just needed something in my stomach. The chili pasta I had last night should be more than enough energy.
I started packing. I didn't know what the weather would be like on the bottom of the hill, so I grabbed 2 pairs of shoes (one water proof, one pair of light shoes) tights, shorts, a warm shirt, and a long sleeve tight fitting running shirt. My plan was to get down there and figure out what to wear when I was picking up my race packet.
The race is close to where I work and workout, so I parked my car there and jogged down the hill to where I could pickup the packet. I found that I was sweating and that it was not as cold and because the wind was blowing from the north, not as windy either. Shorts weather.
Once I picked up my packet, I trotted back up the hill and started to get ready. The 40 minute wait for the race to start seemed like forever. The plan was to stay cool and dry until 10 minutes before race start, get dressed, then jog down the hill and warm up and get in line to start the race. 30 minutes before the race started, I ate a cliff bar. That would put sugar in my blood to be available for the race start. Eat it too soon and insulin will start forming. Eat it too late and you could get a tummy ache.
I called Emmie so she could wish me luck, and with 10 minutes to go, I got dressed and jogged down the hill. Once I got to Superior Street, I did a warm-up run of about a quarter mile doing eccentric exercises (butt kicks, knee lifts etc) on the way back. When I got to the line the race director was warning everyone they had to get behind the line because there was only a few minutes before the start. Perfect timing.
The thing about this race is that the first mile is the fastest, it is down hill, the second mile is flat, and the last mile as a pretty good climb back to the start, so the strategy is to start out fast and then slow down for the second mile, but save some in reserve to get up the hill and push to the finish.
Shorts ended up being just fine, and I thought that perhaps with my warm running shirt I was perhaps over dressed. There was slush on the road and pools of water. I was thinking maybe I should have warn my heavier shoes, but I wanted a good time and knew I couldn't do that with those shoes. The alternative was wet feet. Strategy: stay out of the puddles!
My first mile went well, We eventually formed a single file line with few people willing to step out into the slush and get wet feet. I think I had an advantage because I trusted my forefoot strikes more in the slippery up-hill. I passed quite a few people. At the bottom of the hill the first mile was over. When I go to the official, he said "6 minutes."
I felt that I was having trouble getting enough oxygen, so I relaxed a bit and tried to catch my breath. For the second mile I just kind of rode it out and tried to maintain my pace. I got passed by a few people. The official at the second mile said "12 45" I was a bit bumbed because I know I had slowed some, but there really isn't much you can do when you're feeling oxygen starved. If you push yourself to hard in that state, you go anaerobic and then you are done. I tried to strike a balance between painful lungs and easy breathing.
One guy that passed me got some encouragement from a runner coming down the back stretch (there is a button hook at that part of the race) and he picked it up. I lengthened my stride to keep up. That seemed to work. I was strong again climbing the hill and managed to keep up. Half mile left.
The wind was in my face coming back on Superior Street, but that was okay, it cooled me off. My lungs were hurting, but my breathing was keeping up. My legs felt fine. I was gaining on the two people ahead of me. At the three mile mark the official said "20 minutes" That was a bit disheartening, because I wanted to finish the race under 20. The guy ahead of me was struggling. When I caught up to him, I told him "It's okay, I'm already ahead of you" and that seemed to stop him from trying to stay in front. I don't know if I started ahead or not, but it got him out of my way. Then I heard someone coming from behind with fast foot-falls. This is why I race.
He got side by side with me and was swinging out on my left and really moving. Fortunately, at this point there was less than a tenth of a mile left and I practice going all out at the end of all my short runs. I kicked it into high gear and stayed in front. It was a great feeling. I had no oxygen left at the end. I think the sign said 20:25 when I crossed, but I am not sure. Those last seconds are hard to judge.
Last year was 21:36...
Breakfast consisted of an English muffin with peanut butter. You should already have enough energy stored in your liver and muscles to go 3 miles. I just needed something in my stomach. The chili pasta I had last night should be more than enough energy.
I started packing. I didn't know what the weather would be like on the bottom of the hill, so I grabbed 2 pairs of shoes (one water proof, one pair of light shoes) tights, shorts, a warm shirt, and a long sleeve tight fitting running shirt. My plan was to get down there and figure out what to wear when I was picking up my race packet.
The race is close to where I work and workout, so I parked my car there and jogged down the hill to where I could pickup the packet. I found that I was sweating and that it was not as cold and because the wind was blowing from the north, not as windy either. Shorts weather.
Once I picked up my packet, I trotted back up the hill and started to get ready. The 40 minute wait for the race to start seemed like forever. The plan was to stay cool and dry until 10 minutes before race start, get dressed, then jog down the hill and warm up and get in line to start the race. 30 minutes before the race started, I ate a cliff bar. That would put sugar in my blood to be available for the race start. Eat it too soon and insulin will start forming. Eat it too late and you could get a tummy ache.
I called Emmie so she could wish me luck, and with 10 minutes to go, I got dressed and jogged down the hill. Once I got to Superior Street, I did a warm-up run of about a quarter mile doing eccentric exercises (butt kicks, knee lifts etc) on the way back. When I got to the line the race director was warning everyone they had to get behind the line because there was only a few minutes before the start. Perfect timing.
The thing about this race is that the first mile is the fastest, it is down hill, the second mile is flat, and the last mile as a pretty good climb back to the start, so the strategy is to start out fast and then slow down for the second mile, but save some in reserve to get up the hill and push to the finish.
Shorts ended up being just fine, and I thought that perhaps with my warm running shirt I was perhaps over dressed. There was slush on the road and pools of water. I was thinking maybe I should have warn my heavier shoes, but I wanted a good time and knew I couldn't do that with those shoes. The alternative was wet feet. Strategy: stay out of the puddles!
My first mile went well, We eventually formed a single file line with few people willing to step out into the slush and get wet feet. I think I had an advantage because I trusted my forefoot strikes more in the slippery up-hill. I passed quite a few people. At the bottom of the hill the first mile was over. When I go to the official, he said "6 minutes."
I felt that I was having trouble getting enough oxygen, so I relaxed a bit and tried to catch my breath. For the second mile I just kind of rode it out and tried to maintain my pace. I got passed by a few people. The official at the second mile said "12 45" I was a bit bumbed because I know I had slowed some, but there really isn't much you can do when you're feeling oxygen starved. If you push yourself to hard in that state, you go anaerobic and then you are done. I tried to strike a balance between painful lungs and easy breathing.
One guy that passed me got some encouragement from a runner coming down the back stretch (there is a button hook at that part of the race) and he picked it up. I lengthened my stride to keep up. That seemed to work. I was strong again climbing the hill and managed to keep up. Half mile left.
The wind was in my face coming back on Superior Street, but that was okay, it cooled me off. My lungs were hurting, but my breathing was keeping up. My legs felt fine. I was gaining on the two people ahead of me. At the three mile mark the official said "20 minutes" That was a bit disheartening, because I wanted to finish the race under 20. The guy ahead of me was struggling. When I caught up to him, I told him "It's okay, I'm already ahead of you" and that seemed to stop him from trying to stay in front. I don't know if I started ahead or not, but it got him out of my way. Then I heard someone coming from behind with fast foot-falls. This is why I race.
He got side by side with me and was swinging out on my left and really moving. Fortunately, at this point there was less than a tenth of a mile left and I practice going all out at the end of all my short runs. I kicked it into high gear and stayed in front. It was a great feeling. I had no oxygen left at the end. I think the sign said 20:25 when I crossed, but I am not sure. Those last seconds are hard to judge.
Last year was 21:36...
http://www.mtecresults.com/race/show/281
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This gives you a vdot of 48.8 with a predicted 1/2 mari time of 1hr 34min. Does that seem accurate? How about a full mari time of 3:14. My predicted 1/2 mari time is 1:59 and a full of 3:52. I still have a long way to go :(
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