39:13
11/133 Overall
2/8 Age
Ok, whose stupid idea was it to race a 10K one week after a marathon??? Looking back, that was not the smartest idea. I ran only three times that week, all 40 minute easy easy runs. I felt pretty good day of show and was just hoping to break 40 minutes, which I was happy to do.
The weather was pretty good for a race day, with temperatures in the high 50’s.
I wish I knew how well I would have done had I trained properly for this race. Of course, I have not really trained for any of the ’short’ races this year (5Ks and the like) as I have been focsuing on my big races, the Martian half marathon and the Sunburst marathon. I suppose I could not think about those (or not run them) and actually train for the shorter distances.
Nah…. I enjoy the longer runs.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Saturday, June 3, 2006
2006 Sunburst Marathon Results (Or: How I Qualified for the Boston Marathon With 1 Attempt)
2:59:04 (6:50/mile pace)
15/567 Overall
3/54 Age
Let’s talk about the start. At 5:59, 1 minute before the scheduled start time the PA announcer comes on and says there is a ‘Haz Mat’ emergency somewhere along the route and we can’t start. He says we will get an UPDATE in 15 minutes letting us know if we can run at all. That was rough on my confidence. The good news is that we started 15 minutes late, no harm done.
The weather was perfect. I would not have changed a thing if I could. At the gun it was 54 degrees with no wind. By the end, it was only about 62 degrees. Partly cloudy the whole way.
My first mile was at 6:45, a little faster than I wanted (which was 7 flat) but I was glad I held back as much as I did. There were lots of people in front of me, but I didn’t let it get to me. My second and third miles were the same pace, 6:45. I felt comfortable and managed to hold that pace pretty much for the rest of the race, averaging 6:50 for the whole thing.
The course was kind of silly, with 2/3 of the run being on residential streets. There were two places where I had to turn left into parking lots and do a slow circle then get back on the main road. Annoying.
I had 3 car-boom packs with me, taking them at miles 10, 16 and 21. I think they helped. I made sure to consume them just before a water stop so I could wash them down. There was Gatorade and water at each stop (about every mile) and I drank Gatorade only once, spilling some on me which sucked. I drank a little bit of water at almost every station (two small drinks) and never got an upset stomach.
I carbo-loaded all week, eating lots of pasta. The pasta dinner provided on Friday night wasn’t that great, I had to force myself to get it down. When I woke up race morning (at 3:45) I had a big cup of tea, a snickers marathon energy bar, a oatmeal-to-go bar and even some energy beans (jelly beans meant for ‘energy’, tasty they were) Quite a bit to eat before a race now that I think back on it, but it helped. They were spaced out enough so my stomach was ok.
Once again I got very emotional on Friday night and race day before the start, but it was in spurts. After the pasta dinner, drinking my night tea and getting ready for bed, I was fine. I slept very peacefully, waking up refreshed. Waiting for the start it would come and go, come and go. Once the race started I was fine until after I passed the finish line, then when I realized the magnitude of the day, it hit me again.
In one of my running reads, it talks about having three goals for every race. An easy-to attain one, a realistic ‘good’ time, and the ‘if conditions are perfect’ goal. My easy-to-attain goal was to finish (it was my first marathon, ya know) My ‘good’ goal was to qualify for Boston (3:10) and my ‘perfect conditions’ (which today was, really) goal was 3:00. I achieved all three.
After I finished, I felt fine, and still feel fine, here 6 hours after I finished. One toe has too much blood in it (a common occurance for me on longs runs, I am used to it) and that is it. Muscles feel good, little stiffness. I actually feel better than I did after my half marathon April 1st.
Now I have to figure out what time to shoot for at my next marathon (probably Detroit) but on Monday morning I was start my plans for my trip to Boston April of 2007!
15/567 Overall
3/54 Age
Let’s talk about the start. At 5:59, 1 minute before the scheduled start time the PA announcer comes on and says there is a ‘Haz Mat’ emergency somewhere along the route and we can’t start. He says we will get an UPDATE in 15 minutes letting us know if we can run at all. That was rough on my confidence. The good news is that we started 15 minutes late, no harm done.
The weather was perfect. I would not have changed a thing if I could. At the gun it was 54 degrees with no wind. By the end, it was only about 62 degrees. Partly cloudy the whole way.
My first mile was at 6:45, a little faster than I wanted (which was 7 flat) but I was glad I held back as much as I did. There were lots of people in front of me, but I didn’t let it get to me. My second and third miles were the same pace, 6:45. I felt comfortable and managed to hold that pace pretty much for the rest of the race, averaging 6:50 for the whole thing.
The course was kind of silly, with 2/3 of the run being on residential streets. There were two places where I had to turn left into parking lots and do a slow circle then get back on the main road. Annoying.
I had 3 car-boom packs with me, taking them at miles 10, 16 and 21. I think they helped. I made sure to consume them just before a water stop so I could wash them down. There was Gatorade and water at each stop (about every mile) and I drank Gatorade only once, spilling some on me which sucked. I drank a little bit of water at almost every station (two small drinks) and never got an upset stomach.
I carbo-loaded all week, eating lots of pasta. The pasta dinner provided on Friday night wasn’t that great, I had to force myself to get it down. When I woke up race morning (at 3:45) I had a big cup of tea, a snickers marathon energy bar, a oatmeal-to-go bar and even some energy beans (jelly beans meant for ‘energy’, tasty they were) Quite a bit to eat before a race now that I think back on it, but it helped. They were spaced out enough so my stomach was ok.
Once again I got very emotional on Friday night and race day before the start, but it was in spurts. After the pasta dinner, drinking my night tea and getting ready for bed, I was fine. I slept very peacefully, waking up refreshed. Waiting for the start it would come and go, come and go. Once the race started I was fine until after I passed the finish line, then when I realized the magnitude of the day, it hit me again.
In one of my running reads, it talks about having three goals for every race. An easy-to attain one, a realistic ‘good’ time, and the ‘if conditions are perfect’ goal. My easy-to-attain goal was to finish (it was my first marathon, ya know) My ‘good’ goal was to qualify for Boston (3:10) and my ‘perfect conditions’ (which today was, really) goal was 3:00. I achieved all three.
After I finished, I felt fine, and still feel fine, here 6 hours after I finished. One toe has too much blood in it (a common occurance for me on longs runs, I am used to it) and that is it. Muscles feel good, little stiffness. I actually feel better than I did after my half marathon April 1st.
Now I have to figure out what time to shoot for at my next marathon (probably Detroit) but on Monday morning I was start my plans for my trip to Boston April of 2007!
Sunday, May 28, 2006
2006 Mad City 5K (at the marathon) Results
21:02
13/449 Overall
1st in age
I know what you are thinking, how could I run so freaking slow? Well, I was back in my home town, Madison, MI and I have a 12 year old nephew who is becoming a pretty good runner. I decided to enter him into a 5K and run with him (at his pace) for his first competition. He did a darn fine job, placing first in his age group, which was age 1-19! His pace varied a little bit, but he never walked, and this was his very first race at this distance. The age group awards are engraved plaques (which will get mailed later) so that is cool.
This race was slow. Had I run a ‘normal’ 5K pace for me, I would have finished in 4th or 5th place overall, way high for 449 runners. Granted it was a little on the hot side. In fact they shut down the marathon a little early because it go so hot.
There were 4 races going on this day, a marathon (780 finishers) a half marathon (2038 runners) and also a 10K (511) in addition to our 5K. Maybe all the fast people were running the marathon, who knows.
This was great prep for next week, though. My nephew and I were there for the start of the marathon, so I got into the whole feel of the beginning. It was very very emotional. I felt just like I did the 20 minutes before my my half marathon back in April, just very emtional, to the brink of crying. Wierd. Now there is nothing between me and Sunburst. I know I will feel that way again, and I just have to hold on. Once I start and get 800m down the course, I will be just fine. It was good though to feel that again, so I can prepare for it.
Time to focus…
13/449 Overall
1st in age
I know what you are thinking, how could I run so freaking slow? Well, I was back in my home town, Madison, MI and I have a 12 year old nephew who is becoming a pretty good runner. I decided to enter him into a 5K and run with him (at his pace) for his first competition. He did a darn fine job, placing first in his age group, which was age 1-19! His pace varied a little bit, but he never walked, and this was his very first race at this distance. The age group awards are engraved plaques (which will get mailed later) so that is cool.This race was slow. Had I run a ‘normal’ 5K pace for me, I would have finished in 4th or 5th place overall, way high for 449 runners. Granted it was a little on the hot side. In fact they shut down the marathon a little early because it go so hot.
There were 4 races going on this day, a marathon (780 finishers) a half marathon (2038 runners) and also a 10K (511) in addition to our 5K. Maybe all the fast people were running the marathon, who knows.
This was great prep for next week, though. My nephew and I were there for the start of the marathon, so I got into the whole feel of the beginning. It was very very emotional. I felt just like I did the 20 minutes before my my half marathon back in April, just very emtional, to the brink of crying. Wierd. Now there is nothing between me and Sunburst. I know I will feel that way again, and I just have to hold on. Once I start and get 800m down the course, I will be just fine. It was good though to feel that again, so I can prepare for it.
Time to focus…
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Family Service & Children’s Aid 5K results
18:58.2
2/50 Overall
A very nice day for a run, a bit on the cool side. I started out the race in the lead for the first half mile. My 1 mile split was 6:01, 2nd mile split 11:59. That's what we call a ‘negative split’ which doesn't happen for me too often.
Again, since marathon day is fast approaching, I couldn't take a day off from training, so this was my tempo run for the week. Unlike my last race, I did my long run (18 miles) for the week on Wednesday so as to have three days rest. I was hoping for a sub-19 time, and got it.
It looks like this might be my final race before the big one. Ugh. Now I really start stressing…
2/50 Overall
A very nice day for a run, a bit on the cool side. I started out the race in the lead for the first half mile. My 1 mile split was 6:01, 2nd mile split 11:59. That's what we call a ‘negative split’ which doesn't happen for me too often.
Again, since marathon day is fast approaching, I couldn't take a day off from training, so this was my tempo run for the week. Unlike my last race, I did my long run (18 miles) for the week on Wednesday so as to have three days rest. I was hoping for a sub-19 time, and got it.
It looks like this might be my final race before the big one. Ugh. Now I really start stressing…
Saturday, April 15, 2006
2006 Orthopediac Rehab 8K Results
31:44
15/190 Overall
3/? Age
The day was absolutely perfect for a run. About 50 degrees, no wind, and blue sky. I started out solid (first mile at 5:50) but then slowed down. I could feel the 15 miles I put on two days ago as the race went on.
As my first marathon is mere weeks away, I cannot ‘give up’ any training days for races, so I did my long run of the week on thursday, and the race was my ‘tempo’ run of the week. I will do the same for the next two races for the same reason. Those are both 5Ks.
When I put my time for the race into the cool distance calculator, I still get a sub 3:10 marathon, so I am still on pace. Focus focus focus…
15/190 Overall
3/? Age
The day was absolutely perfect for a run. About 50 degrees, no wind, and blue sky. I started out solid (first mile at 5:50) but then slowed down. I could feel the 15 miles I put on two days ago as the race went on.
As my first marathon is mere weeks away, I cannot ‘give up’ any training days for races, so I did my long run of the week on thursday, and the race was my ‘tempo’ run of the week. I will do the same for the next two races for the same reason. Those are both 5Ks.
When I put my time for the race into the cool distance calculator, I still get a sub 3:10 marathon, so I am still on pace. Focus focus focus…
Thursday, April 6, 2006
How Running Has Changed My Life In Short Order
So I started running seriously again last fall and once I realized I was going to stay with it this time for a while, I tried to start improving the rest of my life to help my running. I started to eat a little better, cut back on fatty
foods, party a little less, lose some weight, etc. I was making improvements, but they were small.
Then I decided to start training for a marathon, and actually ran in a half marathon. Last Saturday was a turning point. With great success in that race I realized that I actually have a shot to qualify for Boston, almost every distance runners dream. With that as a legitimate goal, my focus has sharpened even more. My motivation for eating better, having a better lifestyle, being more kind to people (keeps stress low) seems to have increased 3 fold because of that race.
I feel absolutely fantastic, and am getting better everyday. Ahh, life is good.
Remember, there is no finish line.
foods, party a little less, lose some weight, etc. I was making improvements, but they were small.
Then I decided to start training for a marathon, and actually ran in a half marathon. Last Saturday was a turning point. With great success in that race I realized that I actually have a shot to qualify for Boston, almost every distance runners dream. With that as a legitimate goal, my focus has sharpened even more. My motivation for eating better, having a better lifestyle, being more kind to people (keeps stress low) seems to have increased 3 fold because of that race.
I feel absolutely fantastic, and am getting better everyday. Ahh, life is good.
Remember, there is no finish line.
Saturday, April 1, 2006
2006 Martian Half Marathon Results
1:26:24
28/2012 Overall
7/188 Age
Well, the Martian half marathon was my test to see if I will be able to run a full marathon.
My goal was to do it in less than 1.5 hours, which means I _should_ be able to run a full marathon in less than 3:10 (Boston qualifying time, which is my ultimate goal)
This week I have been trying very hard to stay relaxed, watching closely what I eat, and forcing myself to take my runs easy. Yesterday I played 9 holes of golf which helped as well. All that ‘work’ paid off today.
The marathon and half marathon started at the same time, but I was near the front, crossing the start line about 10 seconds after the gun. My first mile was 6:00 min exactly, which happens to be my 5K race pace. After ~ 5 miles I had a 3 minute ‘lead’ on my 1:30 goal pace and tried very hard to keep that for the remainder of the race, which I did. I kept it so solid, that I could not ‘kick’ at the end, because I had been running so long at one speed. That is a good thing, though.
After the race was done, I felt fantastic. My legs (shins splints, ankles, heel, all of which have been hurting me in the last 3 weeks) feel fine. Small blisters were starting to form on my toes, so next time I need to remember to put some body glide in between my toes. I did eat too much food after the race, so my stomach got upset and I am a little tired, but feel great.
Tips for my next (long) race, which should be the Sunburst Marathon in June:
1. Go to the bathroom early. The line right before the start is going to be VERY long.
2. Hold your pace, no matter what people around you are doing. You are racing against the clock.
3. Body glide on thighs and toes
4. Golf the day before
5. Taper. Really. It was hard to do this week, forcing myself to do short workouts, but it paid off.
6. Don’t drink to much water during the race unless its hot. I was plenty hydrated from my morning tea, but I had a little water at each aid station, and I didn’t need to.
7. I had a carb-boom gel pack at mile 8.5 Not sure if it helped or not, but probably did. I will need those for the marathon for sure.
28/2012 Overall
7/188 Age
Well, the Martian half marathon was my test to see if I will be able to run a full marathon.
My goal was to do it in less than 1.5 hours, which means I _should_ be able to run a full marathon in less than 3:10 (Boston qualifying time, which is my ultimate goal)
This week I have been trying very hard to stay relaxed, watching closely what I eat, and forcing myself to take my runs easy. Yesterday I played 9 holes of golf which helped as well. All that ‘work’ paid off today.
The marathon and half marathon started at the same time, but I was near the front, crossing the start line about 10 seconds after the gun. My first mile was 6:00 min exactly, which happens to be my 5K race pace. After ~ 5 miles I had a 3 minute ‘lead’ on my 1:30 goal pace and tried very hard to keep that for the remainder of the race, which I did. I kept it so solid, that I could not ‘kick’ at the end, because I had been running so long at one speed. That is a good thing, though.
After the race was done, I felt fantastic. My legs (shins splints, ankles, heel, all of which have been hurting me in the last 3 weeks) feel fine. Small blisters were starting to form on my toes, so next time I need to remember to put some body glide in between my toes. I did eat too much food after the race, so my stomach got upset and I am a little tired, but feel great.
Tips for my next (long) race, which should be the Sunburst Marathon in June:
1. Go to the bathroom early. The line right before the start is going to be VERY long.
2. Hold your pace, no matter what people around you are doing. You are racing against the clock.
3. Body glide on thighs and toes
4. Golf the day before
5. Taper. Really. It was hard to do this week, forcing myself to do short workouts, but it paid off.
6. Don’t drink to much water during the race unless its hot. I was plenty hydrated from my morning tea, but I had a little water at each aid station, and I didn’t need to.
7. I had a carb-boom gel pack at mile 8.5 Not sure if it helped or not, but probably did. I will need those for the marathon for sure.
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