Rivertrail 15k Race Report

I was a little apprehensive going in to this race as I really didn't know what I could do. Ha, I probably said that in my 5k report too but its the truth. After little or no running from June through mid January, I really didn't know. I did know that the 9 miler I did last weekend was great and my fast lunch runs seemed to really be building my aerobic capacity back. I could finally breath again and run many miles without having to walk.

Getting up this morning the weather report had called for rain. At 6:30am it was 47 degrees and no rain which was perfect running weather. By the time Annette and I had gotten to the race site, it started to sprinkle. By 8am race time, the sprinkles had turned to solid rain. All I could think was that this is going to be a miserable race, but at least I knew I wasn't going to get too hot. One thing that probably saved me from mentally ruining the race was the fact that last year when training for Nashville, we ran a 20 miler in a pretty much flash flood. So after that, rain really doesn't bother me as much, and this was only 9.3 miles!

I had two goals for this race. 1) was to run a 1:30 and 2) was just to PR. Last year I ran this one in just over 1:33 and I was feeling much stronger than last year so I figured a 1:30 was realistic. And based on all the predictors out there, based on my 5k time I could do a 1:29 so it was pretty close. One thing I did do different was right before the race I programed my garmin to do the virtual partner and I set it for 1:30 for 9.3 miles.

The race started in the rain and we were off. I tried to stay slow at the beginning but I wasn't as slow as I thought I should be. So from there on I just tried to keep my pace below 10:00. I knew if I stayed below 10 I would PR so I thought maybe in the last couple miles if I had anything left I would just pick up the pace some. It went really well. I fell in to a rhythm and just ran a steady pace. Not slow for me but slow enough I wasn't breathing hard. I paced off a few people in the first few miles then saw some others later on that I ran behind and then passed. Annette was behind me all the way but I knew she wasn't too far. I tried to keep those good positive thoughts coming throughout the run, even when it was miserably wet and cold.

Just before the turn around I saw Bailey and a friend she was running with so I tried to catch up to her. She is a fast runner and we kid her about lolly gagging around. Well sure enough, they stopped in the middle of the race to look at what appeared to be a dead crawdad in the road! Irregardless, I never caught her. I gained on her a few times but then she saw Michele and she took off never to be seen by me again. I did catch Michele just past the boat ramp. She was pretty much done and was not feeling good. We ran together for a few then she told me to go on, she was going to wait on Annette. I did walk the 3rd water stop at about 5.5 so I could take my gel and get a drink. I didn't loose but maybe 20 seconds if that. By mile 8 my legs were getting pretty tired but I kept trying to push. Then just past mile 9 its the parking lots and you can see the finish line but you have to run around to get to it. Since I have ran this race the past two years I was mentally prepared for this but I was hoping that the finish line was different but it wasn't. I knew just when to turn it on and just before the turn to the finish line I started running faster. Baileys young male friend was right there so I really kicked it then passed him right at the finish line. Probably not the smartest thing to do with my foot but it was fun at the time!

Overall I was very pleased with my race and most of all the fact that I ran all miles under 10 other than one. Last year I think I had at least one mile where I ran a 10:46. Here are my stats and the final time is not official yet but it is what my garmin said at 9.3. I actually forgot to turn it off but the virtual partner stopped at 9.3 and gave me a time so that's what I'm using for now. The lap times are correct.

Final time - 9.3 miles - 1:31:39 (missed the big goal of 1:30 but still had a new PR.)
Avg pace - 9:51
Splits
1- 9:47
2- 9:47
3- 9:44
4- 9:46
5- 9:50
6- 10:06 (water stop)
7- 9:52
8- 9:56
9- 9:53
10- 9:48

It's not negative splits but that's a pretty steady pace all the way through. I have never done that on a long run before.

After the race we all went to the Hospitality House for the awards ceremony and also the 2008 Grand Prix awards. We found out there that two new state records were set for the 15k distance both in the male and female division. Talk about running with some talented people!

Here is a pic that Melisha's husband took of some of the Cabot Cruisers at the awards ceremony. The group racked up on the age group awards. The cups were the trophies for the race.




Tomorrows plan for me calls for a 2 hour bike ride. No running. Congrats to all that won awards and to those that stuck it out through the rain.

Valentines Day 5k

This was a great race held in Russellville. We had a very good turnout from Cabot with the men's team fielding 7 runners and the ladies close to 12.

As for my race, I did exactly what I planned to do and the plan worked, though I wish I would have pushed harder. It was very cool at the start, around 40 degrees and wind so it felt more like 32. Shorts and a tech t-shirt for me was right for running but not standing around. The race was suppose to start at 9am but got delayed 15 minutes because there were so many people still registering. The race itself is held on a walking trail though it is paved. There was close to 330 people running the race so being congested at the start was an understatement. They did ask for the faster runners to move up to the front and the others try to form based on pace but that never works. Someone slower always wants to get close to the front.

The race started and I just tried to keep Jane in sight which worked for about 3/4 of a mile but there were too many people for me to even run a straight line so I just eased into my run and tried to get it done. My goal as stated in yesterdays post was to be around 28 so I had it figured to try to stay around a 9 minute pace and that's what I did. After about 1.5 miles the course thinned out and it was not crowed anymore, though someone was always pretty close by. I just ran and tried to tell myself that I was doing great and to keep at it. I'd check my garmin every now and then to see if I was on pace and I would be. When I got tired or a little winded I would slow it down just a little, then pick it back up. I was really trying not to over stride and hurt my foot again. That was one of my biggest worries, other than just dying before the finish and having to walk which didn't happen.

No world speed records set but I was very happy at the finish. My garmin read 28:22 for 3.12 miles and a 9:05 average pace. My official time ended up being 28:25 which is close enough. They did have some timing problems so my garmin is probably correct but it makes no difference anyway. The other thing that made me happy was that I had negative splits and was very consistent with them. Mile 1 was 9:11, 2 was 9:06 and 3 was 9:04. Still missed my PR by just over a minute but considering my lack of training, it wasn't bad for me. The most miles I have had in a week since before Thanksgiving was 13.3 miles so as my miles go up, my speed should too. If I can get back to 20-25 miles a week with a little speed work I will shatter my old 5k PR.

As for the competition, it was fierce in this race. In my 50-54 age group alone there were 15 men that finished 22 minutes or under. I just think that's amazing. Wish I could run that fast. The Cruiser men did score with 4 out of 7 taking home trophies. Ladies had 5 or more that took home trophies. Afterwards Annette and I went to brunch with several of the Cruisers at IHOP. Made for a long day, we didn't even get home till after 2pm. It was great spending time with all of our running friends and getting back into racing.

My foot is a little sore but not to the point of limping or anything bad. I need a long run Sunday to prepare for the 15k next weekend so I am a little apprehensive but I think it will be fine. Going to try for 10 miles or so.

Hope everyone had a great Valentines Day!

Sara Low 5K

Saturday Annette and I traveled to Batesville for the Sara Low 5K. This was a great race, very challenging course and for a good cause. There was a special ceremony with music and speakers before the start which was very moving. Sara was a flight attendant on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11 and this was where she ran track when she was in school.

I knew there would be hills but I didn't expect there to be one a 1/4 mile into the race. It was a downhill first then a steep uphill. I ran pretty strong through the race though I never really turned the speed on in fear that it would hurt my foot. So my plan was just to maybe finish under 30:00. Well, that didn't happen but I felt good through the whole race and ran every hill except the last one. Really the only reason I didn't run that one was because sweat had gotten in my eyes and I was having to walk trying to wipe it out with my t-shirt. Sometimes I think my head is a river or something. I have yet to find the perfect solution for sweat. Some races I will use a bondi band and that works probably better than a hat, but just doesn't look as good. Not that I really care about that anyway. I like a hat sometimes to shield the sun.

As far as the run goes it was up one hill and down another pretty much till the finish. First mile was a 10:10 which I was happy with. I felt so good that I skipped the water stop. I figured I needed all the extra time I could get and it helped as my second mile was a 9:22. Probably faster than I should have been running and that was because some of the downhills. Third mile was a killer as there was a long up hill, probably 1/2 a mile at least then the race finished on the track. Third mile was a 10:24. As you finished on the track the announcer would call out your name and they even had you up live on the scoreboard screen. My final time was a 31:02 with a 9:55 average pace. About 4 minutes slower than my 5K PR this year but with the foot injury and only running less than 10 miles a week for 9 weeks I guess it was OK. Bottom line I still ended up with the same Grand Prix points I would have gotten if I would have run a 25:00 5k. My age group is very tough.

My foot was a little sore and stiff after the race. I think the downhills made it hurt more than the uphills. With the 1 mile warm up I ended up with 17.2 miles running for the week and today my foot feels great so I am happy! I'll report on Sunday's 66 mile bike ride later.

Going All Out

Have you ever had those races where no matter how small the race was or how unimportant it was, you just wanted to win? You decided before hand that you were going to give 110% and see what happens. Saturday was one of those races for me. It was the Guys vs. the Gals 5K and 10 mile bike race for our club. I had no illusion of doing anything other than crossing the finish line in the run, especially with the PF in my foot. But the bike was a different story. I knew that today, I had a shot. Even though a long one at just winning that leg of the race.

The whole Guys vs Gals race is a lot of fun. We started this last year and with a couple months of trash talking had the race. We probably had twice as many people show up last year but there was a Triathlon going on this year which caused a conflict and we had a lot of people out for that. Two of the three guys that I knew I couldn't beat on the bike were there so I knew I had a shot at a good placement if nothing else on the bike. For the run, the guys would be granted a 2 minute head start if they wore a running skirt and the girls a 1 minute head start if they wore one. This made the 5k interesting. When I got to the school for the start I figured most all the guys would have some type of skirt devised up. Nope. Coach Dennis had his wrapped around his head as he said, they didn't say "where" it had to be worn. After the girls picked at him about it he finally put it where it was suppose to be. Duane M. had his on and on back he had written in tape " I need the 2 Minutes". Well, that was my thinking! Robert borrowed and extra that someone had. Phil wore a long skirt which really made everyone laugh. Annette and Jackie have pictures but I hope the evidence gets erased somewhere along the line.

So, at the start of the 5k we had 5 or 6 guys getting a 2 minute head start. I told Josh (who wasn't wearing a skirt and is VERY fast) that this would be my only chance to be ahead of him in a race, even if it was only a few minutes. Josh is on the verge of breaking into the 16 minute 5k range. With the PF in my foot, my goal in the 5k was just make it through it, maybe run a 10-10:30 pace. Felt pretty decent at the start. The bad thing I haven't ran a lick in a week so this would be my only run in probably 10 days.

Josh passed me probably less than half a mile into the race. Man that guy is fast! I trudged on, pretty much running a 10-10:15 pace all the way. Endurance wise I felt better than what I expected. I really had no need to walk the whole race though I did take about 20 seconds a couple times just to slow down as I wanted to save it for the bike. My finishing time was 32 something, pretty bad considering I would have ran this in probably 26 something if I had been healthy.

Then it was on to the bike race. This was the fun stuff. My plan was to line up at the front and go out hard and fast, then see how long I could hang on. I figured if I could get a good breakaway at the beginning I could have a shot at winning this thing. The front line found me, Cindy C., Lisa F. and several others. It was pretty packed actually so I was concerned about just getting clipped in and getting going. We had an uphill start also right next to the stadium. It probably wasn't the best route especially since we didn't have any traffic control.

The race started and I went out standing up and pushing up the hill. I was all alone. As I looked back in my mirror I could see I blasted out pretty good. Had to slow down at the first intersection to check for on coming cars, I was good and took off down East Main. This was a hilly but fast road. I immediately dropped to my aero bars to gain all the speed I could. My quads started screaming at me early when I hit the hills. I kept watching my mirror and could see a small group of bikes working to catch me but they still had a ways to go. I knew that several working together could catch me pretty fast but there were hills they had to contend with. I made the right turn on to Stagecoach and kept hammering. A big incline here slowed me down and the pack would gain on me in the flats. I was probably averaging 20+ mph at this point. My quads continued to cry in pain as I pushed hard up the hills. I knew another major intersection was coming up and this was where they would catch me. As I got there, I had to stop for traffic. One guy went right so that he didn't loose momentum and then when the traffic cleared there were 5 of us right together. I figured I would tuck in and ride the draft here for a while and take a rest. I knew these guys had been pushing to catch me. All 5 of us were determined it seemed. The group was me, Cindy C., Bill K., Mark O. and Duane M. All through the ride I thought Duane was James B. because they had the same color bike and wore the same color clothing. James B wasn't even there!

As we made our way down Campground, we jockeyed back and forth for position. Cindy would be in the lead then Mark, then me, then Duane, then Bill. It was each person for themselves at that point but we were smart enough to draft when we weren't in the front. Campground was fast, 32 mph at one point. Then a right on Dogwood. The pace slowed a little here. More hills and more pain. If you missed a gear someone would go right by you. I seemed to have it going good on the hills but I was almost to the point I couldn't stand up anymore. My legs were screaming. I knew the way they felt I was giving it all I had. This was fun though! I was racing with some extremely good bikers and no one was winning at that point. It would have come down to a Tour de France sprint if we had all stayed together. Now that would have been fun!

When we turned on to 321 Mark got ahead of everyone. After the first hill we pretty much dropped Bill so it was me, Cindy and Duane trying to chase down Mark. Duane got ahead of me and Cindy a little so I told her "we have to catch James, we can't let him beat us". I said this as I passed her going uphill and she said something but I didn't hear. I'm sure it was "thats not James!" I wish I had known it was Duane and not James, i would have probably just backed off and settled in but no.....I had to push it even more. After about the second or third hill on 321 I could feel my right calf twitching a little. I started thinking, uh oh, a cramp is coming. I had NEVER had a cramp on the bike. Even in 100 milers, never! Was this little 10 miler going to be my first? I backed off a little, tried to take a drink and wonder what was going on. Two bikes in front of me and I was gaining on Duane. Mark was way ahead at this point. Cindy was pretty close. I turned on to Dietrich in pursuit of Duane and Mark. About a block down Dietrich it started. I felt my right leg starting to cramp up in my calf. I slowed down and Cindy passed me. Another block and I was in a full blown cramp. My right leg was locked up and I tried to stretch it to make it stop. It wouldn't. I tried to pedal and I couldn't the pain was so bad. I stood up in the pedals and tried pointing my toes down and then up. I was just coasting at that point. I could not even move my leg it was cramping so bad. I was thinking I am going to have to stop, get off the bike and lay down or something to stretch it out. I was approaching the intersection of Campground and Dietrich so I knew I would have to stop for traffic. Maybe that would help. I stopped, stretched it and then started across the road just as Bill passed me. I knew I wasn't going to be able to hammer anymore. I looked back in my mirror and only saw two bikes coming so I thought maybe, just maybe I could hold them off and make it in. I'd pedal some and then have to back off and stretch the calf. They were gaining on me at that point. I pushed harder, thinking I can't let them pass me.

I held them off all the way to East Main and there at the intersection with Honeysuckle they pass was made. It was Andrea and Lisa M. Andrea asked me if I was ok as she could see I was in pain. I said yeah, my calf was cramping. As we went up the hill to turn on Bellamy I got a second wind. I was not going to let them pass me that easy. I hammered as hard as my leg would allow, just hoping I could make it in without another painful cramp. I did manage to pass Lisa about halfway down Bellamy and was gaining on Andrea but ran out of race course. I had to settle for a 6th place finish. Not bad but I could have been at least 2nd I think.

After talking to some of the others I found out that Mark had also gotten a cramp towards the end and got passed. I think Duane ended up being first, not sure who was second through 4th. I know Andrea was 5th. It was fun, I had a good race going until the cramp. And I'll have to say, I was giving it 110% up till that point. There is always another race.

Loving the bike!

That Dam Night Run

Saturday evening we headed to Lake Degray for the Dam Night Run. Temps were 101 when we left Cabot just after 5pm. My plan was just to have fun and not race this one as was Annette's, Brenda's and Bailey's. Brenda is also suffering from PF like I am. Annette and Bailey are running the San Francisco Marathon next weekend on August 3rd so they couldn't afford an injury in a 5k.

This is a really fun race but it's always hot. Everyone parks at the boat launching ramp and then gets trucked up to the starting line of the race. Last year we rode on the back of lumber trucks and this year we lucked out and got in a bus. There had to be close to 700 people racing this so getting everyone to the start line was quite the chore. The race was suppose to start at 8, but after getting there around 7:30pm, we waited and waited. Truckload after truckload of runners came in. Needless to say, the race didn't start on time. It was 8:30pm or a little after before we got started. Thats a long warm up if your an elite runner.

Since I hadn't really ran any in three weeks it seemed somewhat hard but we tried to run slow. I tried to run slow but I wanted to take off. That really made it hard for me. I knew I had to stay around a 10 minute mile or slower so not to hurt the foot. Brenda, Annette, Bailey, Ty and myself ran pretty close together for the first mile. We talked and dodged in and out of the slower people. A couple times I would look at my garmin and we would be running in the 9 minute range so I would slow it down. We were all dying of thirst by the time we got to the water stop at about 1.5. I walked the water stop and the water was so cold. Annette and Brenda didn't waste no time and they were gone. On one of the hills I decided to walk just to slow myself down and give the foot a break. Plus it was still at least 90 degrees. I think I walked one more time before the finish which is on a nice downhill. I really had to hold back here as I knew a fast downhill would hurt my foot even more. Going in to the finish I was running next to Ty, Bailey's husband. He doesn't like running but I figured I would see if he was going to be competitive. I started running a little faster and he stayed right with me. Then I made a move like I was going to sprint and he took off. I didn't sprint, but it was fun giving him that chance to beat me, knowing all the time that if I hadn't been hurt it wouldn't happen. I was also hoping that maybe that would spark his interest in running a little more. Beating someone thats normally faster than you is always fun!

I ended with my worst 5k time in 2 years. 32:52. Last year I ran this race around 29:32 and I know I could have been in the 26 minute range this year. Oh well, maybe next year.

After the race everyone had a big tailgate party with food & fellowship. Then we watched the awards. Several of our ladies won age group awards. The awards this year were classic rock and roll vinyl albums. Pretty cool! Especially if you grew up in the 70's.

I think we ended up getting home just after 12am, hot, tired, and drained. Sunday plans called for a 9am bike ride which I will write about later.

I copied this pre-race photo from Marianne's blog. Thats me, Annette and Brenda

This was post race, Gabrielle, Annette, Michele, Me, Marianne, Brenda. Do we look drained or what?

High Heel Race

I thought this was interesting. We should organize one of these around here!!

Women run in a high heel race at Red Square in Moscow, Saturday, July 19, 2008. Participants of the high heel run were challenged to race in stilettos of at least 9 cm (2.54 inches) tall.











I wonder how many guys would come out to cheer them on!

Heat in The Street and a 2 mile PR

My weekend started with a trip to Arkadelphia Saturday morning to run the Heat in the Street 2 Miler, one of the Arkansas Grand Prix series races. Our Tuesday night running clinic was one of the harder speed workouts we had done all year and afterwards I felt it in my left heel so I basically took the rest of the week off so I would be ready for this race.

Cruisers discuss pre-race strategy
Annette, Jane, Joan, Curtis, Vicki, Vic's grandaughter

I wore my racing flats since a 2 mile race is pretty short and I needed all the advantage I could get. When we did our warm up I could tell I was going to be in pain after this race. The racing flats do not have as much cushioning as my regular running shoes but I just had to deal with it and race. The other thing was we were biking with some of the group after the race at the Lake Degray half Ironman bike course. I was looking forward more to the bike riding than the run. We had a decent group of runners, not as many as normal but a good solid group. Annette, Bailey, Joan, Vicki, Jane, Gary, Curtis, James B and myself. Jane and I were kidding Joan that we were going to pace off of her. At 67 years old she is an inspiration and I had yet to beat her in a race. My plan was to run with Jane and Joan as I knew we would all run about the same pace.

Warm up run

The race started with about a 2 block downhill, and as we started running Jane took off, so I followed. We took full advantage of the hill and I passed several grand prix runners that I had never beaten in a race before. So from here on I just chased Jane. I couldn't catch her, not sure if she knew I was back there or not but I stayed close. We were flying that first mile. I looked at my garmin when it beeped the first mile time and I couldn't believe it. 7:56. I had never ran a 7:56 mile. The thoughts in my head were that I was going to crash since I obviously went out too fast but I kept pushing and trying to keep up with Jane. It was a good run, I was running hard, but it felt good. I knew the end was coming soon so I knew I could finish the distance. As we ran I could tell Jane was slowing just a little. About 150 feet before the finish line I made my move, kicked it in high gear and sprinted to line passing Jane with about a 3 second lead. I couldn't believe it when I looked at my final time. 16:19. That is a new 2 mile PR by 38 seconds!! I had to write Coach Dennis later and tell him that his speed work training was working. Unfortunately as soon as I stopped I could feel my heel. It seems there is a price to pay for speed.

We ended up leaving before the awards were given out. Cindy was waiting at Lake Degray for us to bike so Annette, Gary, Curtis, James and I took off for our bike ride.

I'll try to write more tomorrow about our Iron Mountain ride.

It's Only One Hill

Saturday a small group of us headed to Havana, Arkansas to run the Mt. Magazine 15k which climbs 1960 feet for the 9.3 miles. Our group consisted of Annette, Bailey, Rock, Joan and myself. Joan was the only one of us that had ever done this race, which really isn't a race at all. It is more or less an endurance run to see who can get to the top. One of the cool things about this race is that every finisher gets a trophy. And the object is for the last person to get the biggest one. Old trophies are brought to the race each year and donated to be tagged for the next years race.

I set the clock for 3:35am and we met the rest of the group at South Side Elementary at 4:45am for the 125 mile drive to the race. Luckily we could all fit in one car so I ended up driving Annette's CRV. This gave us plenty of room and good gas mileage. We did make one pit stop in Russellville for a potty break. Another 35 miles later we were driving up at the Havana High School parking lot.

Joan, Annette, Me, Rock, Bailey pre-race

This was an old school and there were only maybe 6 or 7 cars in the parking lot. I thought then that this is going to be a small race. The temperature at 7:15 was already 75 degrees and about 85% humidity. After registering and getting ready, we started walking towards the starting line. The starting line was actually about a 1/4 mile up a gravel road. Interesting!

By 8:00am everyone had walked to the starting line or what we thought was the starting line and we waited for some official to say go. A couple minutes past 8 a pick up pulls up and the race director gets out, explains the course and water stops, then says lets get started. On your mark, get set, go. There was no crowding the start line. You could tell that no one was anxious to take off fast. Ha, they had run this race before and knew what was ahead of them. There were a lot of first timers and we were some of them.

We started off at a moderate pace with Joan blasting ahead like she was in a 5k. Rock and I stayed together with Annette and Bailey not far behind us. I had never raced on a gravel road before so this was a first. Just before we got to the high school the gravel turned to pavement. From here it was all paved.

This was probably around mile 2 - You can see the mountain ahead

The first two miles were semi-flat, slightly rolling but not much in the way of hills. Before we hit a mile we turned on the road that goes up to the mountain and you could see the mountain looming ahead. It was very beautiful. The weather sucked though, it was very warm already. Mile one and two went fast, running slower than my 5k pace trying to conserve energy for what was ahead but ended up with a 9:43 and 9:48 pace. I took a quick break at mile two to get a drink from my water bottle and kept running. I knew the mountain started somewhere around mile 3. Between 2 and 3 we had a couple hills with one downhill but not enough to run super fast. There was a water stop at mile 3 which we took advantage of. We were already sweating a ton.

Between mile 2 and 3 I think-beautiful country

Then the mountain started. It was a steady incline up and never ending. I would think I saw a crest or flat spot then only to be disappointed that it was a curve. The curves were hairpin curves that were really hard to run on because of the angle of the road. Rock was kind enough to run with me up to about mile 5. I kept telling her to go on and not to let me hold her back. I knew I was though but she was OK with it. We would run a little bit then walk. Run then walk. The further we went up the mountain the harder it seemed and the shorter my run distance would be. We got to the point where we would pick out signs and run to the sign, then walk to the next one. I walked a lot, but also learned a lot about walking fast. I was concerned about my IT flaring up and had wore my IT strap just in case. So I did take it easier than I could have. The hot temperatures really made it seem harder than it was. I would just run till my thighs started hurting then walk. It didn't take long for that to happen each time either. The only consolation I had was that there were a couple other Grand Prix runner guys around me that were doing the same thing and they were always faster than me in races. So I kept up with them anyway.

Ths was pretty much the view for almost 7 miles - uphill and curves

Mile 5 had a water stop with cookies, banana's, oranges and drinks. At mile 7 there was another stop. They really did a good job for this race. By the time I hit mile 8 I started wondering if I could finish in under two hours. I started calculating and figured if I could run just over a 10 minute mile I could do it. After a couple fast tries I gave up on that theory. There was no sprinting up the mountain for me. As I rounded the last big curve at mile 9 I could see the finish line on top of the mountain. There was still one more hill to go up to get there. I did pick the pace up at the end and let one guy pass me. He told me as he passed that he didn't want to make me mad and he wasn't racing me. I told him that was OK, I would help push him to the top and I did. Plus I was thinking I got a bigger trophy!

The finish line is at the top of this hill(mountain) what a welcome sight!

Final times: Rock was the king of our group finishing in 1:54:57. She just barely caught Joan at the last mile. Joan finished in 1:55:15. Did I mention that Joan is like 66 years old? I think she still holds the 15k record for her age group in the state too. My final time was 2:06:24 and I know I could have done better but the unknown slowed me down a little plus the heat and humidity. Annette and Bailey ran the whole race together and finished at 2:13:34 and 2:13:35.

After everyone finished we had cookies, watermelon, more cookies and more cookies! When the last finisher crossed they started giving out awards based on your male or female finishing position. I was amazed that one young girl won overall with like a 1:08 something. Unbelievable! She would probably break the state record on a flat course. The trophies were really cool and some were kind of weird. Mine actually had a coach on it and had my finishing position. 29Th Male. I think there was 48 males total and around 20 females so it was a pretty small race but hey, none of us were last!

This was the top of the mountain and we had run from down there.

Annette, Bailey, Joan, Rock

I will have to say this was a very fun race and it was different. It was nice not having to compete as the main goal was just finishing. Next year I can set a goal for this race since I now have a time to beat. And the t-shirt was the best part of all. On the back it reads "Only One Hill" but it climbs 1960 feet in 9.3 miles!

This was my odd little trophy

This was Annette's trophy, a gymnist I think



The super cool T-shirt - "Only One Hill"

The Du is Done

If you are a runner and also bike some, all I can say is that you have to do a duathlon sometime. It brings a whole new strategy to being competitive. Today a bunch of us raced the Du For The Parks Duathlon in Hot Springs. This was really my 2nd first Du. Last year I had a flat on the bike portion of this race and had a DNF. It did allow me to see how much fun these races can be. Since I will probably never do a Triathlon, the duathlon is more for me. I just don't like the swim that much.

Annette and I rode to the race with Bailey and Michele who were going to do a female team. Bailey is recovering from a stress fracture so she couldn't run but she had been biking. Michele is a strong runner but doesn't do the bike. This made for a perfect team for them.

We arrived a little over an hour before race start. We had to register and with bikes and transition areas to set up, it just takes more time. And you always have that chance of something mechanical at the last minute on the bike. This worked out pretty good for us as some of us started our warm up just 20 minutes or so before the start.

We had a pretty big group of cruisers racing this one. Annette, myself, Bailey, Michele, Gary, Curtis, James B., Vicki, Lisa, & Jane. Annette, Bailey and Michele had never done a Du before and I had never finished one.

The first 2 mile run started at 8:30am. We were towards the back of the pack as it appeared obvious that some really good athletes had turned out for this one. I realized just before the start that I had no idea what pace I was going to run or what I needed to run. I couldn't even remember my 2 mile PR. So when the race started, I just ran. And I ran hard. I jumped ahead of Michele and Annette but I knew they would be trying to chase me down. I saw Vicki up ahead and passed her pretty quick. About 1/2 a mile out I saw Jane and started trying to reel her in. It took me till the one mile turn around to catch her. I was pretty hot and winded by that time and decided that I'd slow my pace just a little. Little did I know that I had just set a new one mile PR! Later I found out I ran an 8:12 first mile which is 6 seconds faster than my last timed mile.

I slowed some on mile 2 but kept pushing. It was nice seeing the bikes waiting. I crossed the mat to the transition area with a 2 mile time of 16:57. Again, I really didn't know my time till later but this too was a new 2 mile PR. I beat my old PR by 20 seconds. Probably no wonder I felt like dying when I started putting my bike shoes on. Running shoes off, bike shoes on, helmet on, then run the bike to the mat, cross and then get on the bike. I lost a little time messing with my garmin switching it to bike mode.

Once I got out of the parking lot I grabbed a drink from my water bottle and started hammering. There is a very nice downhill shortly after the bike start and I planned on taking advantage of it. I flew down that hill passing a couple bikes and making a sharp left turn onto Hwy 70 for about another block then a sharp right turn. From here it was an out and back, pretty straight but up and down hills. The down hills were awesome and I hit up to 32 mph+ on some of them. Then you would have a big uphill that took you down to 12mph or sometimes 7.

I really tried to push the pace on the bike as I thought this would be where I could make up the most time. I didn't even want to look at my average speed at this point because I was afraid I would be disappointed so I just wanted to hammer. Not very many people passed me. I made a lot of my passes on the uphills. I can only remember maybe 5 bikes passing me the whole race but I passed a bunch, too many to count.

Up to the turn around point the route felt like more downhills than uphills. I realized before the turnaround that I had to go back up all those nice downhills. Yuck. I think they were bigger going back or my legs were getting tireder. A lot of the bikes were slowing way down on the hills and I'd take them out. I tried to go aero as much as I could but staying in the aero bars just wears me down so I have to come up. My neck starts hurting and I know its just because I haven't trained enough which is true. After the zigzag on 70 and back right, there was one last uphill. A girl on a tri bike had passed me but she had slowed on the hill pretty bad. I had to drop to my lowest gear and spin fast to get around her but I did. I felt like I was sprinting! When I hit the top of the hill I could see the Depot so I gave it all I had to finish. I was rolling into the parking lot at about 20 mph and stopped just at the line where you have to get off the bike. Unclip and jog across the mat, then find my spot on the rack. I had to switch back to my running shoes which was more of a pain than going to the bike shoes. Plus I was so hot from the sun and heat. I took one last drink from my water bottle and headed out to the last run, grabbing a water at the mat and then pouring it on my head to cool me down. I did feel pretty good about the bike, I knew I did good, just not sure what everyone else had done. My bike time ended up being 41:51 for 12 miles with an average pace of 17.2 mph.

The second run was nothing short of terrible. It wasn't the fact that my legs felt weird from the bike, it was just the fact that the heat had beat me down with two all out efforts and now I was trying for a third. Well, it wasn't happening. I ran maybe 200 meters and I had to take a walk break. I was already winded. Then I took off again. I ran maybe a 1/4 mile and took another walk break. Before the one mile mark I noticed that everyone in front of me seemed to be doing the same. It reminded me of the Nashville Marathon around mile 23. I was not that exhausted but getting everything to keep going felt about the same. I guess I had burnt up all my glycogen on the bike and the first run. I was running on empty. Or maybe it was mental, or maybe it was just the 85 degree heat. Whatever it was, I had to run/walk it in for 2 miles. I was not happy about this but I did finish. Final 2 miles - 21:32 - 10:46 pace.

My overall time for the event was 1:24:03. I beat the people I wanted to beat and after it was over I really felt like I had done something different. Not quite the same as a marathon but still had that awesome feeling afterwards.

As for the rest of the crew. Annette had an AWESOME bike and awesome time overall. She averaged 14.6 mph which is very good for someone that has only biked for less than a month. Bailey and Michele won 1st place in the female team competition. Bailey also had an awesome bike with just over a 15 mph average. She too is a new biker. Jane won first place in her age group, Gary won 2nd grandmasters, Vicki won 2nd grandmasters, Curtis won 3rd in his age group and Lisa won a 2nd in hers. The only thing I won was a PR and a lot of new found knowledge about duathlons. These are a lot of fun and they really bring out the athlete in you!

Busy Busy Weekend

It started Friday night. I had the best intentions to get to bed early as we were having to get up at 3:00am and drive to Fort Smith to race the Survivors Challenge 5k. Well, by the time we had gotten everything settled and ready it was after 10:00pm. I was already beginning to dread Saturday.

Then just past 11:00pm my fire department pager goes off and we have a car fire at Cupids. For those that don't know what Cupids is, its an adult entertainment/lingerie store. You can figure it out from there. Dispatch said the vehicle was 15 feet from the building so that was enough to get the adrenalin going good. I should be really good at duathlon/triathlon transitions because I can go from a dead sleep to fully dressed in about a minute. This was one of those calls where I had the feeling it could be bad, and since I needed the sleep, it usually would be.

So off I headed to the station, arriving to find my crew getting turned out. I had a driver so I took my Captain's seat which meant I was responsible for all the men on the engine plus have command at the scene. As we got close to the scene we didn't see any smoke so we all were a little calmer. When we turned in the parking lot it was almost funny. There were guys bailing out of that place like crazy. I guess the red lights were scaring them off. We found the vehicle with the apparent fire but it was out. Evidently the owner had a gas line come loose and set his under hood area on fire but he got it put out with a fire extinguisher before we got there. All my guys were disappointed as they really wanted to go inside!! I think I made it back home just after midnight. Then I couldn't get to sleep. I had that shot of adrenalin and didn't get to use it.
So I tossed and turned, then finally got to sleep about 1.

Just over two hours later I was up and drinking coffee getting ready for the 5k. It is about a 2.5+ hour drive to Fort Smith so I was not looking forward to that. Gary, Curtis and Rock were also headed out so along with Annette we had 5 total going from our club.

We arrived at the race in classic Cruiser style, one hour ahead of the start. This gave us time to get registered and check things out. It looked to me like it was going to be a fairly small race so I was hoping the other clubs would not field a team. No such luck. We needed one more male and one more female for us to make a team but we didn't have it. So the best we could do was get individual points.

After registering we took off for a warm up run getting about 1.2 miles in. There were lots of volunteers so it appeared that this would be a well supported race and it was. My goal was just to PR which meant I needed a 27:19, about a 8:48 pace. I really wanted to break into the 26 area but that meant an 8:41 average pace. So my main goal was to start out slower around an 8:50 then speed up the next two miles.

It was really a great race course but it wasn't flat. There were a few rolling hills, not real big but big enough to slow you down. I managed to force myself to run slower on the first mile and my split was an 8:53. Pretty much what I wanted for the first mile. I kept pushing through mile 2, dropping down to an 8:47 pace. Going into mile 3 is when I started losing it. I guess my lack of sleep, the hills, and the start of the heat had its affect. My 3rd mile dropped to an 8:54. One good thing was that after the first mile, no one passed me. I slowly picked off other runners one at a time. It was weird though, there was almost no one walking and usually you will see several people walking by mile 2 or so. Not today. I will have to admit that on the last hill I was feeling pretty winded so I did walk just maybe 30 seconds or less, but then I fired off again. The runners that passed me while I took that break I soon took out. The finish was on a slight downhill and if I had known I was as close as I was I would have started my sprint sooner. It's so hard in a 5k to time that just right. I did sprint it in though and passed three people before I crossed the finish line. My final time - 27:25. I had missed my PR by 5 seconds!!

I was a little annoyed at that but after talking to Gary, Curtis, Rock and Annette, I soon found that all of them seemed to slow down on that 3rd mile. We all had good times, but none of us really did what we wanted. Such is the way racing goes. It's really a constant learning process for me. Oh, and I did try something different. I hadn't used an Ipod in a race in over a year but I did today. I had hopes that it might give me something extra mentally or give me some extra push. It didn't.

Gary did win 3rd place masters and Rock won 1st place in her age group so the day was not a total loss. Afterwards we all stopped on the way home at Cracker Barrel in Russellville for a late breakfast. Then Annette and I hit the Starbucks in Conway to help us get home.

It was about 1:00pm by the time we got home. Annette and I both were pretty tired by then so it wasn't long and we were both napping. We already had evening plans. Jackie was having a big birthday party at Cregeen's Irish Pub in North Little Rock and there was probably 25+ Cruiser friends going to be there. 6:30 for dinner and then some were going to the Piano Bar at the Rivermarket. Well, we had already decided we would do dinner and come home since we had a 6:00am Brick workout scheduled for Sunday morning.

We rode with Bailey and Jane which was nice since I had already driven almost 6 hours. Dinner was great, we had a lot of fun celebrating Jackie's birthday with all our runner friends. I really would have liked to have went to the Piano Bar but I knew I would not have been able to bike/run Sunday.

More to follow on Sunday's activities!

Racing Weekend

I did a 10K Saturday and a 1/2 Marathon Sunday. The Capitol City Classic was the 10k. I ran a 58:01. After racing that we turned around and drove three and a half hours to run the Hogeye 1/2 Marathon in Fayetteville. 2:18:16 was my official time there. Very, very hilly course.

Back to back PR's for me so I am pretty excited, especially on the 1/2 marathon as I was not even racing it. I'll try to get more posted about these races tomorrow.

Spring Fling Success

All I can say is WOW! What a great event, especially considering how it started this morning.

I volunteered for the set up crew and got to the High School at 6am. It had started sprinkling rain when I parked on the lot. I had flashbacks from last years race where we ran the last part of the race in a downpour. Well, it got worse than that. Luckily this year the school allowed us to set up in the field house which was very nice. Some of the guys and I set up some tables and pretty much waited for orders on what to do next. Several of us had parked in the main parking lot and decided that while we were waiting we would move our vehicles closer to the field house. I was no more than in my truck when the bottom dropped out! It was raining so hard I couldn't even see the drive way.

At this point everything was waiting on the weather. The race was scheduled to start at 8am and by 7am only a hand full of runners had showed up. I was thinking this might be good. If none of the fast bunch shows up we could win more awards! Ha....wishing and getting are two different things. I pulled up the radar on my phone and gave Brenda reports. At about 7:30 the decision was made to move the start time up till 8:30. No big deal and it was a very good decision.

By 7:45 the field house was packed. Around 8 I took the water stop crew to their location on the course and as we were leaving the bottom dropped out again. At that point it looked like we were going to get very wet running. No sooner than it started it stopped again. This time for good thank goodness. I made a quick run down to the track to see if the finish line crew needed anything else, made a bathroom break and ran back to my truck to get ready. As I got my warm up pants off everyone started heading to the start line. The race was on!

I really didn't have a set plan for this race till this morning. I had had a stressful week at work and really had not had time to figure out my times for this race. I found my previous PR and picked a goal time. I don't remember what time I picked but the average pace had me figured at an 8:49 per mile pace.

It was very cool at the start. I had shorts, a tech t-shirt and my Cabot singlet on top of that. I forgot my gloves and I was already chilled from being in and out of the rain. I knew once the race started I would feel great as it was almost the perfect running temp for a 5k.

We took off and I felt really good. It seemed like everyone was going out fast as usual. After maybe a 1/4 mile I looked at my pace and I was running low 8's. I thought man, this is too fast for mile one. I need to slow down. I had picked an older gentleman to somewhat pace by. I knew he was faster than me but I figured if I could keep up with him I would at least have a good time. Before I got all the way past the elementary school, Bailey comes running by. She was flying! I asked her, why did you start way back there? She didn't hear me. Then another girl ran up beside me and it was Josh's wife Kellie. We ended up running side by side quite a bit during this race. I hate that I didn't really get to carry on a conversation but at the speeds we were going it was hard to talk! I did offer words of encouragement several times as I knew she was somewhat of a new runner.

I hit mile one at 8:30. I thought wow, I am way too fast. I should have been running about a 9:00 and then pick it up later. It actually felt pretty good and I could have gone faster but not very long. After making the loop and turnaround I wanted to slow down. I had to make myself a little as I knew I couldn't hold what I was running. By mile 2 my average pace had dropped some and I was down to about 8:40. Thats when my left brain started messing with me. I knew that around 2.6 or so I had an uphill. I wanted to run that hard. So, I took a quick walk/shuffle to catch my breath. I guess it helped. When I stopped Kellie kept going and I figured that would be the last I saw of her. But when I started back I was able to catch back up to her. I ran up the hill and passed some people. Thats when I heard Kevin S. behind me. It kind of freaked me out because I knew Kevin was a very fast runner and there was no way he could be behind me. I actually slowed to a walk to let them catch up. It was him and some of his friends. I guess he was waiting till the end to sprint it in or something. We talked a little and I stayed with them for a few hundred yards. Again I was right there with Kellie. I had commented to her earlier to chop down that hill. Thats one of the things we learned at the clinic.

Finally we were at the downhill that led in to the stadium. I was really wanting this to be over at that point. All I could think about was I can't walk now! As I got to the turn in to the parking lot I could hear my name. Since the Cruisers were manning the course, they were all yelling encouragement to me. It was actually pumping me up. I ran on to the track and then all I could think of was man, I still have almost 400 meters to go. But, after this weeks speed work, I knew what running 400 meters was like and I knew I could make it with no problem.

At some point I had passed a father and his 6 or 7 year old son but as I started to round the corner heading to the finish line, I could hear the father yelling to the son, pick it up, pick it up. Well, there was no way I was going to let them pass me. I was behind Kellie again and I told her to keep pushing. I didn't try to pass her, I probably couldn't have anyway but I sure didn't want the father son to take us out. As we made the last sprint to the finish, I was pumping my arms and trying to do everything that Dennis had taught us. I can honestly say that after I finished I had given all I had at the end.

Net effect. A new PR! I finished with a 27:20 official time/8:49 pace which was 18 seconds faster than my previous 5k PR set in October. My race time on this exact course last year was 30:11. Old guys can get faster!! All I can say is that I am very happy. My goal this year is to PR in every race and so far it has happened. I really didn't expect it to happen today. I had a little bit of a cold and I just really wasn't feeling it but there is something about races that bring out the best in me. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe its the competition. I know I can always run better and faster when I am with other people. Some people hate races but I love them. We always have fun before and after with the group. I guess this is what makes it so special. We do have some really great friends. Thank you all so much for your encouragement. Without you guys I would not have the motivation to do this.

1.5 Days till the 1/2

About a day and a half till the Little Rock 1/2 Marathon and Marathon. I have my goals and expectations set, not really sure how it will turn out. Last year was my first ever 1/2 Marathon and I ran a 2:28. This year I would really like to run between 2:12 and 2:15 which I think is realistic. A 2:18 would be my bottom number. I'll be highly disappointed if I get anything below that. I am not too worried about this one as much as I was last year. Once you have done a full marathon, a 1/2 is more like a fun run which I hope this one will be.

You just never know till race day how things will turn out, especially for marathons and half marathons. Sunday, race day is calling for warmer weather than what we have been training in. Right now, 8am race start will have temperatures of about 53 degrees which will be nice. Humidity may be a little higher than normal. For the full marathoners temps will get into the upper 60's to near 70. Not so good. Not being accustomed to warm weather running will hurt some times. We might get lucky in the 1/2 but it looks like shorts and short sleeve tech shirt weather for sure.

Speaking of weather, last night I ran 4 miles in Magness Creek and it was HOT. The temp was about 62 degrees at 6pm and I'll have to say this was probably one of the worst runs I have done in a while. I don't know if it was the temperatures or just the fact my legs were tired and I was running alone. In either case, I had to push myself just to get my 4 miles in. My left foot was hurting me some which I probably should have taped it and I didn't. Come race day I will be taking all the proper precautions. I really don't know how I ended up with the times I had last night as I walked probably two times in each mile after the first one. I just felt sluggish and really couldn't push it. Here are my times:
Total miles - 4.0
Time - 42:41
Avg. Pace - 10:40
1-10:17
2-10:45
3-10:48
4-10:49

Wednesday night I ran with Annette, Brenda and Michelle in Blooming Ridge. They all wanted a slow easy run. I usually laugh when they say this because it never happens. Or maybe their slow and mine are different. Either way we had a great run. I did feel good on this one and ended up with 5.1 miles. I did a few fartleks during this run, i'd let the girls get ahead and then I would run hard to catch up. I did this right before mile 5 and almost wiped out when a car blinded me and I ran up on the curb. I was really having fun with this at that time, probably running a low 7 pace catching up to the girls. The great thing about this run was there was little or no wind. Temps were in the upper 40's so it was nice. We have run in bad wind so much lately it just wears you down after a while. I would love to run this same pace through the half Sunday. Here are my times:
Total Miles - 5.1
Avg. Pace - 10:01
1-10:00
2-9:55
3-10:10
4-10:25
5-9:49

I love the fact that mile 5 was the fastest mile.

Tomorrow we will be going to watch the "Little Rockers" kids do their final mile of their marathon in Little Rock. Then a bunch of us are going to the Expo and then out for some carb loading at Corino's. It's going to be a weekend full of running activities it looks like.

Saturday is Race Day

Thats right. My first official race of the season. Tomorrow I will be running in the River Trail 15K which is part of the ARRCA Grand Prix Series. I'm wondering if I am nuts for even attempting this. This was my second race last year and I finished it in 1:45:07 with an 11:17 pace. That was also with running 4 miles of the race into about a 25 mph head wind. That was one of the most miserable races I have ever ran. Prior to last years race I ran a 9.3 and a 10 miler which was my longest runs ever at that time.

Now this year I see no reason that I can't PR on this course. I did 10 miles Sunday at a 10:44 pace so hopefully I can at least hold that pace. I really haven't gotten all the long runs I need for this but 9.3 miles is no longer a big distance to me.

Again the weather looks to be a factor. 8am race time is calling for a 76% chance of rain and temperatures around 43 degrees. This should be a fun one. This will cut back the number of people racing so maybe some of the guys in my age group won't show up, ha, I wish! The Grand Prix series is very tough and the best runners in the state will be running this. I am running for the Cabot Cruisers mens team so hopefully we will have enough guys show up so that we can gain some good team points. I know Gary, Curtis and myself will be there. We need 4 for a team. If not I'll gain some individual points.

For me, I am trying to look at this race as a training run for the Little Rock 1/2 Marathon. My main goal is just to run a decent race and feel good about it and of course, beat last years time. It sounds like we may get rained on so this should be interesting. Can't say that I'm looking forward to this one but it is what it is. I'll be there and give it everything I have anyway. I'll give an update after drying out on Saturday.

Thoughts of 2008

I guess I should be looking back at accomplishments for 2007 but all I can think of is whats coming up in 2008. The 2007 racing season is basically over. I won't be running any more races this year. I would like to be able to run a few miles before the first of the year and hopefully I will be able to. The leg feels pretty good, not 100% but at least 80% right now.

So today I worked up a running/biking calendar for 2008. The Grand Prix season kicks off on January 27th with the One Hour Track Run at Russellville. Thats pretty much it for January. February comes in with the Valentines 5k on the 9th and then the River Trail 15K on the 16th. Last year the River Trail 15K was one of my training runs for the Little Rock 1/2. Not sure yet if I am doing the half or the full. It all depends on the injury and if I can con some other runners into doing the full. It's just so much easier training with a group or at least one or two people doing the same event. I really want that Little Rock medal. It is the biggest marathon medal in the world they say. And it is big!

March has the Little Rock Marathon on the 2nd and then the Chase Race 2 miler on the 8th. The Cabot Spring Fling 5K is on the 29th. April will be somewhat challenging. On the 5th there is the Capitol City Classic 10K and then the next day is the Hogeye 1/2 Marathon in Fayetteville. Then the big question in our running group is which full marathon to run. Several have run Little Rock before so they are not as interested as I am. Nashville has the Country Music Marathon on the 26th of April and Oklahoma City is the 27th. So for now these two are a toss up. I'm sure a decision will be made soon. I have plenty of time to train for either of these and I could do the full in Little Rock and then one of these since they are way over a month apart. Of course that all depends on so many factors. I can't even run right now and I'm planning almost back to back marathons. Oh well, its fun to dream anyway! I'll talk about other upcoming races later.

Injury update

Today my walking strides are a little longer and it doesn't feel like my leg is going to come out from under me so I guess it's a little better but not much. I tried to get a Dr's appointment today but guess what? They are all closed! I guess no one better get sick or injured during a holiday week. Today was the first day I have been out of the house since coming home from work on Wednesday night so that was nice. I even got to use our whirlpool tub which seemed to help loosen the calf up some. I'm really not that concerned with running at this point, I just want to walk half way normal again. Being stuck in the house has allowed me some time to organize some of our race photos so I guess it's not all bad. Tomorrow I have to figure out a way to at least do an upper body workout or something.

A bunch of the Cruiser's are running the Great Duck Race tomorrow in Stuttgart. It's a small 10K race that Annette ran last year. It's a flat and fast course and most of them are just running it as a training run for the Memphis 1/2 Marathon on December 1st. Wish I could be there! Good luck guys!!