Year of Races

Ok, so for those that don’t know me, I’m kind of competitive and intense.  It’s been eating at me that I wasn’t able to get my sub-50 like I had intended at this weekend’s Jog for a Cause 10k.  As more and more reviews trickle in, I realize that I’m not the only one who thought the course was a bit long.  It turns out that almost everyone who was measuring with a GPS device had it at 6.4+ miles.  That got me thinking…  Was I really feeling bad that morning or was it just an excuse after the race to justify missing my goal?  Without the added distance could I have made my sub-50 goal?   I decided to dig a bit deeper.  Why?  Because I’m annoying like that.

10 kilometers = 6.2137 miles

Here are my splits:

• Mile 1 – 7:41
• Mile 2 – 8:02
• Mile 3 – 8:03
• Mile 4 – 8:05
• Mile 5 – 8:14
• Mile 6 – 8:07
• Remaining .45 – 3:26 (206 seconds)

Total time of 51:38

Adding up the first 6 miles, I’m at 48:12.  I’ve got 1:47 to spare to get under 50…

So, if a regulation 10k is 6.2137 miles, then let’s take a percentage of the remaining distance to figure out what kind of time I could have had.  .2137/.45 = 47.49%

47.49% of 206 seconds is 98 seconds or 1:38.

48:12 + 1:38 = 49:50.  I want my dang PR.  :)

Berry Shirt & Medal

UPDATED: Photos are here

I ran the Berry Half Marathon yesterday in Rome, GA at beautiful Berry College.  It was my first half marathon, and I didn’t feel adequately prepared.  I hadn’t been diligent enough on my long runs and never built up the mileage I should have.  It worked out ok for me this time, but next time I’ll need to do a little bit more training…

Rome’s about an hour drive from my house in Woodstock, so I got up dark and early at 4:30.  Took some time to relax with some coffee and eat a couple waffles.  Maybe not the breakfast of champions, but it sounded good to me.  Left the house about 5:30 and arrived at Berry College a few minutes past 6:30.  I wanted to get there early enough to park on campus and not rely on the shuttle, and I made it just in time.

Once there, I met up with my pal, Reid, and we proceeded to the registration tent to get our bibs and stuff.  We got our shirts and bags of goodies and decided to head toward the dining hall to hang out inside where it was warmer.  The morning was very chilly at about 30°.  We got to the dining hall, put our race bibs on and thawed out for about 20 minutes.  With about 30 minutes until race time we went back out in the cold and checked our bags.  We did a quick loop around the big field where all the sponsor tents were to get warmed up.  It was go time.

Reid and I decided to start near the 2 hour start group.  We figured we’d shoot for 9-minute miles and see how long we could last.  The race started and we were off.   The race didn’t have actual pace groups, so we were left on our own to determine how fast we were going.  I relied on my Garmin Forerunner 305 to keep me up to date on our pace.  It worked really well, and I’m really loving this little guy.

The Berry College campus is so beautiful.  The morning was cold but sunny and everything looked so peaceful.  During our first mile or two, as we headed down the straightaway towards upper campus, we had no less than 10-15 deer running through the fields on either side of us.  It was really cool and a great way to start the race and appreciate nature’s beauty.

I really don’t have much drama to report on the race.  I kept a steady 9-minute mile pace (with some slight variations here and there) for the entire time.  Reid stopped to re-fuel with some Gu at about mile 5, so I ended up running ahead of him for most of the race.  I stopped around mile 9 for some Gu, which, by the way, reminds me of eating toothpaste.  It was my first time trying it — not too bad.

Around the 10-mile mark I really started feeling it.  My pace never really slowed down too much, but I was really hating it there between miles 10-13.  This also happens to be, in my opinion, the worst part of the course.  It’s not hilly, it’s just flat and straight and boring.  You’re running on part of the Viking Trail and there aren’t really any volunteers out there and it just seems to drag on forever.  I was VERY happy to see the end of that part and get back onto the lower campus.

So, with about .3 miles to go, Reid catches me.  At the exact moment he’s passing me by, I get a quick little calf cramp.  I’ve been prone to calf cramps when playing racquetball and tennis, so I’m kind of used to the feeling.  I’m glad it came late in the race and I’m really glad it was just a quick lock up and release.  I was able to keep going without slowing down too much, but Reid had pulled ahead of me.  On the final stretch to the finish line, I decided to give it all I had and catch him.  I pulled up beside him just as we both crossed the finish line.  Officially we both had chip times of 1:58:16.

He and I were both ecstatic to have broken 2 hours, and I thought it was all the better to have finished with a good friend.  We grabbed our finisher’s medals and I had to sit down to let my heart rate slow back down.  Sprinting (or running as fast as you can after 13 miles) took a lot out of me at the end.   My legs were so tight after the race that I was seriously wondering if I could drive home or not.  After a banana or two and chilling out for a bit, I started to feel a bit better.

After the race, we hooked up with some friends from church — Tim & Maureen.  Tim had just set land speed records with a blazing 1:42.  Really proud of him for that time.  That’s amazing.  It was really great to see Maureen out cheering us on during the race.  My wife, Alysia, ended up not being able to make it because of my son’s basketball tournament, so having at least one person there saying “Go Tony!” was cool.  Thanks Maureen!

I ended up getting home ok and taking some Advil.  I’m feeling better now and already thinking about how I can improve on my time for the next half marathon.

Items of note:

• Here are the official results.  I finished 31 in my age group and 221 overall.
• Don’t have any photos, but if I find any I’ll put a link up
• All the volunteers were amazing.  They really raised my spirits during some of the more hilly areas of the course.
• Post-race food was the best I’ve seen:  cookies, mini-muffins, bagels, bananas, etc.
• Here is a link to my Garmin stats.  I ended up averaging a 9:02 minute mile.  Really proud of staying on track with that.
• One of the more challenging components of the race was the different terrain.  We ran on asphalt, dirt road & gravel.  I found this to be pretty tough.  It takes a bit more out of you physically & mentally to run on rocky dirt roads & gravel.  You really need to pay attention to your footing.  I’m looking forward to running some trails this Spring, so I’ll learn all about this I’m sure.
• The shirt is a short-sleeved technical shirt.  It’s not the light weight technical shirt that I got at the Tartan Trot or Resolution Run.  It’s a bit heavier.  Not sure I’d actually run in it, but I’ll definitely wear it around.
• The winner was at 1:07.  How someone can run 13 miles at that kind of pace is really beyond me.  Truly amazing.
• Never stopped to walk except to take about 30 seconds to re-fuel with Gu & water.
• Reviews from Active.com

Overall, I couldn’t have asked for a better first half marathon.  Finished under 2 hours, didn’t kill myself, had a good friend with me, admired the beauty of Berry College, and enjoyed the sunny day.  I hope the next one is just as good.

This week I’ll be doing another 10k.  The Jog for a Cause 10k/5k in Alpharetta, GA.  My sister, Christina, will be running the 5k.  Anyone else doing this event?

Chattahoochee Challenge Shirt

The Chattahoochee Challenge 10k was advertised as a flat, fast course.  I would agree with that.  I set a new PR this morning, running the race in 50:09.  I had a lot of fun as usual and hope to get a chance to run this event again next year.

I arrived at the Chattahoochee Nature Center around 6:30am.  I wanted to get there early to secure a parking spot near the Nature Center so I wouldn’t have to park a mile away.  Waking up at 5:30 this morning to make my parking dreams happen was no treat, but it worked.  I went inside, registered, and got my race bib and timing strip.  Now, I had about an hour and a half to kill until the start of the race and it was 44° and damp.  I came prepared however.  I went back to my car and read some more of the latest Dan Brown novel.

Around 7:45 I ventured out and made my way down to the starting line on Willeo Rd.  It was a well organized start with a mat to trigger my timing strip.  We all took off a bit after 8 and I noticed that they had a few pace groups running.  I’ve never run a race with pace groups, but I wanted to give it a shot.  One of the groups was running a 49:00 race.  This was ideal as I really wanted to break 50 minutes.  I spent about the first 2 miles catching up to the guy carrying the orange flag.

For most of the remainder of the race I stayed right with the pace group.  Never really laboring and actually enjoying the company.  We chit-chatted back and forth and eventually some folks dropped back.  Around mile 5 it was really just me, another woman, and the pacer.  I didn’t pay much attention to my splits, although the mile markers were clear and the digital times were presented at each marker.  I was with the pacer, so as long as I kept up with him, I was in under 50.

At mile 6, I realized that whatever device the guy was using was wrong.  We weren’t on pace for 49:00.  I decided to finish hard the last .2 miles to salvage whatever I could from what I thought was going to be a successful run.  Like I said, I finished at 50:09 and I think the pacer came in at 50:18 or so.  I’m kind of disappointed because I know I could have broken 50, but I REALLY enjoyed running with that little group.  I’m considering investing in my own GPS device so that I’ll be able to keep my own pace as well.  We’ll see.

All in all, a great, well organized event.  Probably the best one so far in 2010.

Other items of note:

• Official times were online super fast.  Huge plus in my book.
• The shirt is a short-sleeve cotton deal.  I actually prefer the technical shirts, but if they saved money on the shirts to give more to the Nature Center, then I’m definitely cool with that.
• One of the women running in our pace group beat me at the Polar Bear 5k.  Not this time, friend.
• I finished 27th out of 100 in my age group.  Not too bad.  Still wish I could have seen 49 on my time instead of 50.
• Lots of goodies handed out after the race.  I love the swag you get at these things.
• The course was really flat.  Here’s the course on mapmyrun.com.
• Didn’t see anyone puking at the race, but did see the usual number of snot rockets which are just as disgusting.
• Although it was a cold, dreary morning again, I enjoyed running by the river.  Very peaceful other than the 1000 runners, volunteers, photographers, cops, etc. 
• True Speed Photo was at the event.  I’ll update the post with any links to pictures of me that I find.  UPDATE: pic of me being a goofball
• I always enjoy reading what others thought of the race.  Here are some mixed reviews.

Next week, I’ll be in the heart of Marietta for the Mardi Gras 5k.  Anyone else running this one?

Tartan Trot 10k Shirt

Throw out the excuses.  I guess I didn’t need them after all.  My first 10k went well this morning and exceeded all of my expectations.  It was a nice event even though the weather was kind of yucky.

I got to St. Luke’s a little later than I usually arrive.  Parking was full and I had to park a block away on the street.  I hustled in to check in and got my race bib, timing chip and shirt.  I got the timing chip attached to my shoe, but was stressed when I realized I didn’t have any safety pins in my packet.  They were all out!  Luckily a guy saw me looking through my stuff and, after asking me if I needed anything, he graciously gave me his two bottom safety pins.  This was really cool and I thanked him heartily.

I headed out to the starting line and prepared for the start of the race.  It was about 35° and drizzly.  Thankfully the rain held off.  It was really just a constant mist.  I did some stretching and bouncing around trying to stay warm.  A couple minutes later we were off!

I started out fairly slow.  Probably around a 9:15/mile pace.  I wasn’t sure though because I had forgotten my iPod Nano, so I didn’t have my Nike+ rocking.  I ended up running at a fairly consistent pace for the first couple of miles.  The 5k folks veered off and it was just us 10k racers left.  I think it was about this point that this woman shuffled past me quite easily.  She had obviously been here before, but it was a little disheartening.  I trudged on.

At about mile 3, I realized that I was feeling pretty good.  I had gotten into a decent rhythm.  At about this same time, we approached the killer section of the course.  A steep incline that went on for a half mile.  I never stopped to walk, but passed quite a few runners who did.  I powered right up the hill and still felt good.  This was going much better than I had expected, and I knew at this point I could finish this sucker with no problem.

I guess because it was a 10k and didn’t have too many participants, the pack really thinned out.  I found myself running alone or with only 1 or 2 guys around me.  This was nice and, even though it was cold and rainy, I really appreciated the morning run through the Dunwoody neighborhood.  The cops and volunteers did a fantastic job keeping the traffic at bay.  It was one of the first times where I realized I actually enjoyed being outside running.  It wasn’t just exercise; it was something more.

So, around mile 4 I started picking up my pace.  I felt so good, I really wanted to get under 55 minutes and knew I had a good shot at it.  About a mile from the finish, I noticed a pack of runners about 60 yards ahead of me.  There were 4 of them, and lo and behold, they were led by the shuffling woman who had passed me early on.  I decided to make it my goal to push hard and pass every one of those guys.  I started really moving and ended up picking them off one by one.  It was down to me and the woman.  I turned the corner and it was a sprint to the finish.  I ended up blowing by her right at the end and beating her by a couple of seconds.  I sensed she was kind of miffed about this.  I read somewhere (I wish I could find it – UPDATE:  found one) that some folks don’t care for runners who sprint to the finish.  I personally don’t see the issue.  If I want to finish hard, then why not?  It’s not like I’m running anyone over.  Anyway, I finished with a time of 53:14 according to my watch.  I don’t have the official time yet, but I’ll update the post as soon as I get it.  (UPDATE: official times are here.  Finished 15th in my age group.)

Overall, I’m really pleased with my finish.  I was stronger at the end and passed quite a few folks struggling on the hills.  I took time to appreciate the fact that I’m healthy enough to run a 10k in 35° weather on a dreary Saturday morning.  Not everyone has the opportunity and I’m grateful for it.

Tidbits from the Tartan Trot 10k:

• The shirt may be my favorite one yet.  Another nice technical long sleeve shirt.  I’ve worn it all day.   I’m such a dork.
• There weren’t any mile markers or volunteers yelling out times.  Without a GPS device, I was kind of clueless to where I was on the course.  It was just me and my Timex.
• Quite a few runners in kilts.  They were giving an award for fastest time in a kilt.
• I don’t see how so many people can run in pants/tights.  I ran in shorts again.  I really think I’d roast in long pants.
• Again, just like last week, I didn’t see a starting mat to trigger the chip system.  Maybe I missed it, but I kind of just guessed when I thought I was crossing the starting line.
• This was another Run & See Georgia Grand Prix Series event.  Hopefully I finished in the top 20 in my age group so I can earn some points.
• I didn’t stick around for the awards ceremony this time, so I don’t know what the podium runners’ times were in my age group.  I’ll find out as soon as I get my eyes on the official results.
• Here are some reviews of the race.

Next week is the 9th Annual Chattahoochee Challenge 10k.  Really looking forward to it, but, of course, you can expect more from me on that one later this week.

Polar Bear Shirt 5k

Wow!  What a fun run!  I had a blast running the Johnson Ferry Baptist Church Polar Bear 5k.  Let’s jump right into the details…

First of all, the weather was cold and windy.  Temperatures were in the 40s and, with the wind, it felt even colder.  This would normally be a big downer, but luckily all the check-in tables were set up in the gym, so we got to hang out in the warmth of the gym until we were ready to start.  I got my number quickly and was happy to see that it had the timing strip on the back.  This typically makes the post-race awards ceremony get started much quicker.

They had the starting line set up out on Johnson Ferry Rd.  Now, those of you that aren’t familiar with the area, Johnson Ferry is a busy 4 lane road.  We were set up in the 2 lanes heading south.  Obviously they can’t hold traffic for the entire race, so immediately after crossing the starting line we were herded into just the right lane.  This was pretty tight and I know from a lot of the Active.com comments that the racers in the middle to back of the pack were severely hindered by this.

I’m not sure why, but I decided to try a little bit different strategy for this race.  I normally line up near the back of the pack, but today I went up close to the front.  I decided I would go out fast and see how long I could last.  This strategy really ended up paying off because I wasn’t as affected by the crowds getting pushed into 1 lane.  The real problem I had with the start though other than the tight grouping was that they didn’t have a starting mat to trigger my bib timing system.  So, even though the race advertised the timing system, we were still measured by the finish time only.  Luckily, I chose to start closer to the front and only was behind by a few seconds.

I took off faster than usual but felt pretty good and found some similar runners to pace myself by.  My splits were: 7:25, 14:49, 22:58.  I never stopped to walk and kept up a pretty fast pace for me.  I’m definitely improving as a runner and I’m thrilled with my time!  The course was fast and flat with just a couple rolling hills.  After last week’s Etowah Soccer 5k, I felt like I was running at the beach it was so flat.  I finished up and had my bib scanned with the wand to record my time.  So, with the seconds it took me to cross the start and the time it took me to slow down enough for them to scan my bib with the wand, my official time was 23:06.  I bettered my previous P.R. by >2 minutes!  Even though I ran a 22:58 by my watch, I’ll use the 23:06 as my new P.R.  Besides, I plan on beating that again soon…

They had lots of food available at the end.  All the volunteers were really nice and helpful.  I stuck around for the awards presentation (also in the gym) to see what kind of times the winners in my age group ran.  This race was pretty popular and had around 1500 entrants, so I knew I hadn’t placed, but I was curious.  The third place guy in my group ran an 18:11.  Dang.  I’ve got lots more work to do.

A couple of interesting things:

• My pace was 7:27/mi and I got passed by a woman pushing a stroller somewhere after the 2 mile mark.  Awesome.
• For the second week in a row, saw someone puking after the race – this time a woman.
• Finished 15th in my age group out of 87 guys.  Pretty proud of that and I hope I got a few points in the Run & See Georgia Grand Prix Series.
• The shirt is really nice.  Technical long sleeve shirt with the polar bear logo.
• The race director said the course was 260 ft short of a full 5k.  This clearly helped my time, but I still would have P.R.’d.
• UPDATE:  Here are 2 pics of me from the race.  Pic 1, Pic 2

Next weekend is the Tartan Trot 10k.  This will be my first ever 10k.  Kind of nervous about it.  I’ll have more about that race later.

Frostbite 5k shirt & medal

I ran the Frostbite 5k in Acworth, GA this morning.  Due to the icy streets, they postponed the race an hour.  It didn’t really do much for the ice, but it did give me more time to talk myself into going.  The race started at a little after 10am.  Not a big turnout at all, so it was just a handful of us winter warriors out there.  I actually think this helped me a bit because I didn’t have to spend so much time weaving in and out of slower runners.  I was able to quickly get into a rhythm and ended up posting a P.R. of 25:12.

It was definitely cold and miserable, but I felt so good afterward.  I didn’t want to go, but ended up forcing myself to get out the door.  Then, to set a new P.R. and finish 2nd in my age group made it all worthwhile.  Yes, you read that right, I finished 2nd in my age group.  Please ignore the fact that there were only 3 runners in my age group.  That doesn’t matter. 

The official results are here.