So 2 years ago I ran the City Of Oaks Marathon. Definitely a very hard marathon. Raleigh is know for it's hills. The marathon and half start at NC State, run through downtown and Cameron Village, then over toward the fairgrounds. The marathon then splits from the half at about 8.5 miles, and goes up towards and into Umstead. It returns back to the half split and completes the same way the half does.
I remember the part of the marathon that is not shared with the half being the harder part. I also remember thinking that the part that is shared with the half wasn't that hard. Now that I've run just the half, I can honestly say I must have blocked it out of my mind back then. Holy crap is this course hard. I think the hardest part had to be going through the neighborhood around Cameron Village. I felt like the hills wouldn't stop. None of them were killer on their own, but all together is was about 3-4 miles of almost constant climbing. In general, this course has tons of hills scattered around. There really isn't a point where you can say that is easy. Though I think after the 8.5 mile turnaround the rest of the course gets easier. There are some hills, but only one that I can say really hurts, which is the part when you get back to Western Blvd.
Even though my weight has creeped up to around 200, I've had a very fast year. I've PR'd the 5K distance a couple of times in the last 2 months, and came close to PR'ing my 10 mile distance in September. Overall, I've really been impressed with my improvements this year. That being said, I didn't know what to expect for this race. I was targeting a PR, 2:05, but wasn't sure it was attainable. My prior PR for a half was on the Mistletoe Half in Winston Salem, which is a fairly nice course. I ran that in 2:06:53. That was almost 3 years ago and was my first half marathon, so I felt confident 2:05 was a good goal. I never expected to beat my goal by so much, though.
Here are my splits:
Mile 1: 9:28
Mile 2: 8:54
Mile 3: 9:12
Mile 4: 903
Mile 5: 9:15
Mile 6: 9:33
Mile 7: 9:39
Mile 8: 9:30
Mile 9: 9:22
Mile 10: 9:23
Mile 11: 9:04
Mile 12: 9:02
Mile 13: 9:07
Last .19: 1:28 (7:36 pace)
Final: 2:02:01
Overall, it was a great race.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Cary Road Race 10K 2010 Race Report
To PR or not-PR? That is the - wait. What is my PR for a 10K? I had no clue at the start of the race. I really had no expectations or plans on what I was going to do today. Right before the start, I decided that I'd try to run the first half in a 9:30 and see how I felt.
The course is one of the nicer ones in the area. It's a 5K loop starting next to the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. The finish is the arch that marks the entrance of Koka Booth. The first leg is an out and back on Regency Parkway that turns onto a trail around the lake behind the amphitheatre. It basically has one hill, that you hit twice since you run the loop twice. The rest of it is either flat or downhill. It's a pretty course as well as a good one to run.
I started a little fast knowing I had the hill early. It's the second half of Mile 1 and again at Mile 4. I took it easy on the hill the first time knowing that I needed to save energy for later. I didn't want to use too much on Mile 1. When I hit the turnaround, I was going about 9:15 average. As I was coming back down Regency, it's a slight downhill with some flat before you hit the downhill that is the reverse of the hill you came up. I took the downs pretty strong, so when I hit the lake, I was running about a 9:05. By time I hit the halfway mark I was averaging around 9:03 and was feeling good, so I tried to keep my pace the rest of the way.
When I hit the hill the second time, I came up it very strong. I was really feeling great. I guess my sub-10 pace 12 miler the weekend before did me some good. I'll have to thank Bill and Karyn for pushing me and putting up with my complaining about how fast they were running. I again took the downhill strong, so by the time I got to the lake the second time, I realized I was running a sub-9 pace on my watch. At that point, I just tried to finish strong.
I came in a little of 56 minutes. My watch time is exactly 56. Here are my final splits:
Mile 1: 9:18
Mile 2: 8:47
Mile 3: 8:59
Mile 4: 9:19
Mile 5: 8:36
Mile 6: 8:52
Last .25: 2:09
Total: 6.25 in 56:00 for an 8:58.
When I got home, I had to check my race history. It's at that point I realized this race was a 10K PR for me. I beat my prior PR by almost 2 minutes and almost 4 minutes on this course. This was the first race longer than a 5K that I ran a sub-9. Overall, it was a great race...
The course is one of the nicer ones in the area. It's a 5K loop starting next to the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. The finish is the arch that marks the entrance of Koka Booth. The first leg is an out and back on Regency Parkway that turns onto a trail around the lake behind the amphitheatre. It basically has one hill, that you hit twice since you run the loop twice. The rest of it is either flat or downhill. It's a pretty course as well as a good one to run.
I started a little fast knowing I had the hill early. It's the second half of Mile 1 and again at Mile 4. I took it easy on the hill the first time knowing that I needed to save energy for later. I didn't want to use too much on Mile 1. When I hit the turnaround, I was going about 9:15 average. As I was coming back down Regency, it's a slight downhill with some flat before you hit the downhill that is the reverse of the hill you came up. I took the downs pretty strong, so when I hit the lake, I was running about a 9:05. By time I hit the halfway mark I was averaging around 9:03 and was feeling good, so I tried to keep my pace the rest of the way.
When I hit the hill the second time, I came up it very strong. I was really feeling great. I guess my sub-10 pace 12 miler the weekend before did me some good. I'll have to thank Bill and Karyn for pushing me and putting up with my complaining about how fast they were running. I again took the downhill strong, so by the time I got to the lake the second time, I realized I was running a sub-9 pace on my watch. At that point, I just tried to finish strong.
I came in a little of 56 minutes. My watch time is exactly 56. Here are my final splits:
Mile 1: 9:18
Mile 2: 8:47
Mile 3: 8:59
Mile 4: 9:19
Mile 5: 8:36
Mile 6: 8:52
Last .25: 2:09
Total: 6.25 in 56:00 for an 8:58.
When I got home, I had to check my race history. It's at that point I realized this race was a 10K PR for me. I beat my prior PR by almost 2 minutes and almost 4 minutes on this course. This was the first race longer than a 5K that I ran a sub-9. Overall, it was a great race...
Sunday, November 15, 2009
2009 Richmond Marathon Race Report
Friday night before the race, I tried to go to bed a little early to get a good night sleep. I woke up at midnight after my first dream. I dreamed that the marathon was in a house. Each lap around the house was a mile. I started strong and finished my 26 laps. When I looked up at the microwave, which was the mile marker, I had run 3.1 miles. A 5K! I felt so defeated, I quit and didn't finish. You can obviously tell that no matter how positive I was trying to be, subconsciously, I was not feeling too good.
I woke up around 6, thanks to the boys. I got dressed and ate a banana. I was contemplating if I should bring my fuel belt or not. I eventually figured that there were enough stops that I wouldn't need my own, so I stuffed one pocket full of Gu's and the other with my cell and a baggy of peanut butter crackers. I grabbed 2 cereal bars and headed out the a little before 7. I thought it would be good to be around the other runner and get my adrenaline going. I ate the cereal bars on the way to the starting area, which was only a couple of blocks from my hotel.
The 8K started right on time at 7, but I didn't see them off. The half marathon runners lined up. I was looking around for the pre-race water stop, but I couldn't find it. In hindsight, I don't think I had enough fluids to start the race. The half started right on time at 7:30. It took well over 6 minutes for the last of the runners in the back to cross the start. I knew I'd be starting pretty far back, so I'm not even going to consider my gun time. I'm just going to care about my watch and chip time. For the mile split times, I'll be going by watch time.
The marathon started right on time at 8am. I didn't actually cross the start until at least 3-4 minutes after, which I thought was pretty good. I was expecting more. The first few miles went by pretty quickly. The first 2 weren't that pretty, but there were lots of people cheering, so it made for a good time. At the beginning of mile 3 was the turn onto Monument Ave, which was a really pretty street with old houses and statues at some of the intersections. This part of the course was flat and very hard to keep slow. Miles 5-7 went through some residential areas. Lots of cheering people lined the course. I think mile 7 was where the first party zone was. It's hard to tell where the official party zones were, since there were only 3, but I saw at least 6 or 7 bands throughout the day, not to mention 4-5 dj stations along the way. Mile 8 was the first of the two bridges. This was the easier of the 2. I honestly can't remember hitting many hills to this point. There were a couple, but they were over so quickly, I really can't say any were difficult. That's the beauty of training on the hills of Umstead. Mile 9 and part of 10 ran on River Road along the James River. People were commenting on how high the river was. The news in the morning was reporting that there might a detour if the river rose too much. We made it fine, but the water was rough and dirty looking, and there were no cheering people here, so this mile+ was boring. There were a number of runners here using the woods on the side for bathroom breaks. I contemplated it myself, but I tried to hold it out. In hindsight, I should have stopped here. Miles 11-15 were on a major street and were pretty uneventful except for the people lining the streets. The one thing to note here is that my bladder finally got the best of me. I think it was just after the mile 14 marker. Looking at my mile 15 split shows I wasted more than a minute of my time here. It was probably more, but I ran faster to make some time up. I have to say up to this point, I was feeling great. Mile 16 was the infamous Lee Bridge, and the whole time going up it, I kept thinking to myself that it wasn't bad. It was not steep at all. I know there was an incline, but it was so gradual that I'd describe it as a false flat. I think the thing that made the bridge easy, was that there was only a light wind. The next two miles, 17 and 18 were a little harder than 16. They were each a steady incline, so this last stretch was pretty much a 3 mile hill. All in all, I'm still feeling good, though I am starting to feel tired. Night and day between this and last year's two marathons where my quads were cramping at mile 16. Miles 19 and 20 continue through different types of neighborhoods. I'm pretty sure we've gone through everything from low-income to upscale neighborhoods, and throughout each one the locals have been really supportive. Mile 21 is where I think I started to feel like I was wearing down. It was all starting to get blurry. I remember passing the old Richmond Braves baseball stadium, Virginia Commonwealth University and some other school, but I couldn't tell you where at this point. Just as I started mile 25, I felt my quads starting to cramp. I thought to myself that's a lot better than mile 16, and I kept pushing. The only thing that has stopped me so far was fuel stops, and I wasn't about to give up now. I was determined to finish this running the whole way, even though I was starting to realize that I might miss my 4:45 goal. It was going to be close, so I needed to push if I had any chance. Mile 25 and 26 had a couple of rolling parts, but I only noticed because it was mile 25 and 26. If it was mile 1 and 2, it wouldn't have felt like anything. There was a point toward the end of mile 25 that my quads were cramping so bad that I slowed to a walking pace with high steps to try and loosen them up a bit. I didn't walk for more than 30 seconds though and started to run again. At about the 25.5 mark, you make a few turns then the last turn leads you to the final .5 mile downhill finish. This was my favorite part of the race. I just let gravity take me and sprinted down the hill. One of the coolest things about this marathon is that they have your first name printed on your race bib, just below your number. Throughout the day, I got a lot of "way to go, Frank" type cheers, but the whole half mile, person after person yells, "Go Frank" the whole way down and adrenaline takes over. My sprint was great. I think one person passed me, but I passed a bunch more people. Right before the finish I caught the site of Jen and the boys on my left and hearing them yell out go daddy broke me down. I was fighting back tears as I came into through the finish. I stopped over to the side to pretend to stretch, because I didn't want anyone see me getting teared up. The emotion got me more this time because I actually felt really proud of myself this time that I didn't quit. I fought through all my physical and emotional crap and finished as strong as I could.
Here are my splits according to my watch.
Mile 1 - 10:45
Mile 2 - 10:40
Mile 3 - 10:44
Mile 4 - 10:32
Mile 5 - 10:39
Mile 6 - 11:00
Mile 7 - 10:29
Mile 8 - 10:45
Mile 9 - 10:44
Mile 10 - 10:55
Mile 11 - 11:08
Mile 12 - 10:40
Mile 13 - 10:48
Mile 14 - 10:34
Mile 15 - 12:09
Mile 16 - 10:51
Mile 17 - 11:18
Mile 18 - 10:38
Mile 19 - 10:30
Mile 20 - 10:45
Mile 21 - 10:58
Mile 22 - 10:55
Mile 23 - 11:06
Mile 24 - 11:02
Mile 25 - 11:18
Mile 26 - 11:12
Remaining .43 - 3:56 (9:13 pace)
Official times were:
Half split - 2:22:11
20 mile split - 3:38:07
Finish - 4:46:58
Gun time - 4:50:48
I woke up around 6, thanks to the boys. I got dressed and ate a banana. I was contemplating if I should bring my fuel belt or not. I eventually figured that there were enough stops that I wouldn't need my own, so I stuffed one pocket full of Gu's and the other with my cell and a baggy of peanut butter crackers. I grabbed 2 cereal bars and headed out the a little before 7. I thought it would be good to be around the other runner and get my adrenaline going. I ate the cereal bars on the way to the starting area, which was only a couple of blocks from my hotel.
The 8K started right on time at 7, but I didn't see them off. The half marathon runners lined up. I was looking around for the pre-race water stop, but I couldn't find it. In hindsight, I don't think I had enough fluids to start the race. The half started right on time at 7:30. It took well over 6 minutes for the last of the runners in the back to cross the start. I knew I'd be starting pretty far back, so I'm not even going to consider my gun time. I'm just going to care about my watch and chip time. For the mile split times, I'll be going by watch time.
The marathon started right on time at 8am. I didn't actually cross the start until at least 3-4 minutes after, which I thought was pretty good. I was expecting more. The first few miles went by pretty quickly. The first 2 weren't that pretty, but there were lots of people cheering, so it made for a good time. At the beginning of mile 3 was the turn onto Monument Ave, which was a really pretty street with old houses and statues at some of the intersections. This part of the course was flat and very hard to keep slow. Miles 5-7 went through some residential areas. Lots of cheering people lined the course. I think mile 7 was where the first party zone was. It's hard to tell where the official party zones were, since there were only 3, but I saw at least 6 or 7 bands throughout the day, not to mention 4-5 dj stations along the way. Mile 8 was the first of the two bridges. This was the easier of the 2. I honestly can't remember hitting many hills to this point. There were a couple, but they were over so quickly, I really can't say any were difficult. That's the beauty of training on the hills of Umstead. Mile 9 and part of 10 ran on River Road along the James River. People were commenting on how high the river was. The news in the morning was reporting that there might a detour if the river rose too much. We made it fine, but the water was rough and dirty looking, and there were no cheering people here, so this mile+ was boring. There were a number of runners here using the woods on the side for bathroom breaks. I contemplated it myself, but I tried to hold it out. In hindsight, I should have stopped here. Miles 11-15 were on a major street and were pretty uneventful except for the people lining the streets. The one thing to note here is that my bladder finally got the best of me. I think it was just after the mile 14 marker. Looking at my mile 15 split shows I wasted more than a minute of my time here. It was probably more, but I ran faster to make some time up. I have to say up to this point, I was feeling great. Mile 16 was the infamous Lee Bridge, and the whole time going up it, I kept thinking to myself that it wasn't bad. It was not steep at all. I know there was an incline, but it was so gradual that I'd describe it as a false flat. I think the thing that made the bridge easy, was that there was only a light wind. The next two miles, 17 and 18 were a little harder than 16. They were each a steady incline, so this last stretch was pretty much a 3 mile hill. All in all, I'm still feeling good, though I am starting to feel tired. Night and day between this and last year's two marathons where my quads were cramping at mile 16. Miles 19 and 20 continue through different types of neighborhoods. I'm pretty sure we've gone through everything from low-income to upscale neighborhoods, and throughout each one the locals have been really supportive. Mile 21 is where I think I started to feel like I was wearing down. It was all starting to get blurry. I remember passing the old Richmond Braves baseball stadium, Virginia Commonwealth University and some other school, but I couldn't tell you where at this point. Just as I started mile 25, I felt my quads starting to cramp. I thought to myself that's a lot better than mile 16, and I kept pushing. The only thing that has stopped me so far was fuel stops, and I wasn't about to give up now. I was determined to finish this running the whole way, even though I was starting to realize that I might miss my 4:45 goal. It was going to be close, so I needed to push if I had any chance. Mile 25 and 26 had a couple of rolling parts, but I only noticed because it was mile 25 and 26. If it was mile 1 and 2, it wouldn't have felt like anything. There was a point toward the end of mile 25 that my quads were cramping so bad that I slowed to a walking pace with high steps to try and loosen them up a bit. I didn't walk for more than 30 seconds though and started to run again. At about the 25.5 mark, you make a few turns then the last turn leads you to the final .5 mile downhill finish. This was my favorite part of the race. I just let gravity take me and sprinted down the hill. One of the coolest things about this marathon is that they have your first name printed on your race bib, just below your number. Throughout the day, I got a lot of "way to go, Frank" type cheers, but the whole half mile, person after person yells, "Go Frank" the whole way down and adrenaline takes over. My sprint was great. I think one person passed me, but I passed a bunch more people. Right before the finish I caught the site of Jen and the boys on my left and hearing them yell out go daddy broke me down. I was fighting back tears as I came into through the finish. I stopped over to the side to pretend to stretch, because I didn't want anyone see me getting teared up. The emotion got me more this time because I actually felt really proud of myself this time that I didn't quit. I fought through all my physical and emotional crap and finished as strong as I could.
Here are my splits according to my watch.
Mile 1 - 10:45
Mile 2 - 10:40
Mile 3 - 10:44
Mile 4 - 10:32
Mile 5 - 10:39
Mile 6 - 11:00
Mile 7 - 10:29
Mile 8 - 10:45
Mile 9 - 10:44
Mile 10 - 10:55
Mile 11 - 11:08
Mile 12 - 10:40
Mile 13 - 10:48
Mile 14 - 10:34
Mile 15 - 12:09
Mile 16 - 10:51
Mile 17 - 11:18
Mile 18 - 10:38
Mile 19 - 10:30
Mile 20 - 10:45
Mile 21 - 10:58
Mile 22 - 10:55
Mile 23 - 11:06
Mile 24 - 11:02
Mile 25 - 11:18
Mile 26 - 11:12
Remaining .43 - 3:56 (9:13 pace)
Official times were:
Half split - 2:22:11
20 mile split - 3:38:07
Finish - 4:46:58
Gun time - 4:50:48
Monday, April 6, 2009
Cary Road Race 10K Race Report
When I first moved to Cary two years ago, I was trying to get my runner's legs back, and my shape, since I had gained about 30 pounds at my stressful NYC job, so I decided I'd ease back in with a 5K. Just about two months into living here came the Cary Road Race. They have a 5K and a 10K. There was no way I was ready for a 10K, but a 5K was doable. I finished that race in 30:31 for a 9:49 pace. Nothing ground breaking, but ok considering my shape at the time.
I missed this race last year, but I decided to do the 10K this year, especially since SAS sponsors employees for it. That means they pay $10, so it only cost me $8. Can beat that for a 10K. I forgot the course, but basically, the 10K is the 5K twice. It's a pretty nice course. It starts at the Kokobooth Amphitheater. You run up onto a road lined with large businesses and communities. It's actually a fairly nice tree lined street. This is, however, where the one major challenging hill is. It's not killer, but very solid.
Prior to race, I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to run. I did something to my right hamstring on Thursday's run. It didn't bother much on Thursday, but by Friday, my hamstring was very tight and sore. It didn't feel like a pull, but then again, I've never pulled a hamstring, so it may very well have been a pull. It just felt like it was really tight. I decided to go and see if I can warm up and loosen it up. If not, then I would not run. I tried some light jogging in the parking lot, followed by stretching. I did this a few times. At first it hurt to extend my leg, but as I stretched, I started feeling much better. By the start of the race, I felt great and decided to stay. The pre-race crowd observations were fun. Usually for anything more than a 5K you see mostly runners. This crowd was still mixed. You had the serious runners and the "I run, but I'm not going to win" runners. But strangely, you had the "I'm in shape, so I'm going to run, but look at me with all my make up and matching clothes" kind of people. Not the mention the "I'm big an muscular and fit, so I can run even though I've never run" kind of people. I usually only note seeing them at 5Ks, but here they are.
Anyway, the race starts pretty flat for a bit along side of the amphitheatre parking lot. It's pretty uneventful until about the .5 mile mark when you hit the pseudo-big hill. I had forgotten about it, so I hit it in stride and handled it pretty well. After the hill, you get a stretch of light rolling to the turnaround point, and the light rolling back to the hill, which is of course now a nice downhill until you get to the lake. The course then turns onto the trail that goes around the lake and behind the amphitheater. This is probably a little more than a mile stretch. It's fairly flat around the lake and it's really pretty. Once off the lake trail, you head back toward the starting line and a turnaround to repeat the course again. The only problem with this is that now I'm thinking about the hill. Again, it wasn't killer, but definitely tough. I unfortunately let it get me mentally, and I took a walking break about half way up the hill. I only stopped for about 30 seconds and started up again. Once I got up the hill, I knew I was in the clear. I was feeling good to the turn around and back down the hill. The lake trail was surprising hard the second time around. It felt flatter the first time, but now I'm thinking it might have been a false flat. I was passed the 5 mile mark now and starting to feel tired, but I kept pushing. The race finishes back toward the start line, but then turns into the parking lot and then turns onto a trail that finishes just inside the amphitheatre grounds. I was running out of steam at this point, but I pushed as hard as I could to get to the finish strong.
My official time was 59:51 (9:37 pace,) which wasn't great, but considering how my year started with my heart stuff, I'd have to say, I'm pretty satisfied. I didn't go in with a goal, but I'd say a 9:37 pace would have been a pretty good one.
The best part of this race, though, is that my favorite bread place, Great Harvest, is a sponsor and has a table. I grabbed a piece of their cinnimon bread with some honey. That was definitely the best part ;)
I missed this race last year, but I decided to do the 10K this year, especially since SAS sponsors employees for it. That means they pay $10, so it only cost me $8. Can beat that for a 10K. I forgot the course, but basically, the 10K is the 5K twice. It's a pretty nice course. It starts at the Kokobooth Amphitheater. You run up onto a road lined with large businesses and communities. It's actually a fairly nice tree lined street. This is, however, where the one major challenging hill is. It's not killer, but very solid.
Prior to race, I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to run. I did something to my right hamstring on Thursday's run. It didn't bother much on Thursday, but by Friday, my hamstring was very tight and sore. It didn't feel like a pull, but then again, I've never pulled a hamstring, so it may very well have been a pull. It just felt like it was really tight. I decided to go and see if I can warm up and loosen it up. If not, then I would not run. I tried some light jogging in the parking lot, followed by stretching. I did this a few times. At first it hurt to extend my leg, but as I stretched, I started feeling much better. By the start of the race, I felt great and decided to stay. The pre-race crowd observations were fun. Usually for anything more than a 5K you see mostly runners. This crowd was still mixed. You had the serious runners and the "I run, but I'm not going to win" runners. But strangely, you had the "I'm in shape, so I'm going to run, but look at me with all my make up and matching clothes" kind of people. Not the mention the "I'm big an muscular and fit, so I can run even though I've never run" kind of people. I usually only note seeing them at 5Ks, but here they are.
Anyway, the race starts pretty flat for a bit along side of the amphitheatre parking lot. It's pretty uneventful until about the .5 mile mark when you hit the pseudo-big hill. I had forgotten about it, so I hit it in stride and handled it pretty well. After the hill, you get a stretch of light rolling to the turnaround point, and the light rolling back to the hill, which is of course now a nice downhill until you get to the lake. The course then turns onto the trail that goes around the lake and behind the amphitheater. This is probably a little more than a mile stretch. It's fairly flat around the lake and it's really pretty. Once off the lake trail, you head back toward the starting line and a turnaround to repeat the course again. The only problem with this is that now I'm thinking about the hill. Again, it wasn't killer, but definitely tough. I unfortunately let it get me mentally, and I took a walking break about half way up the hill. I only stopped for about 30 seconds and started up again. Once I got up the hill, I knew I was in the clear. I was feeling good to the turn around and back down the hill. The lake trail was surprising hard the second time around. It felt flatter the first time, but now I'm thinking it might have been a false flat. I was passed the 5 mile mark now and starting to feel tired, but I kept pushing. The race finishes back toward the start line, but then turns into the parking lot and then turns onto a trail that finishes just inside the amphitheatre grounds. I was running out of steam at this point, but I pushed as hard as I could to get to the finish strong.
My official time was 59:51 (9:37 pace,) which wasn't great, but considering how my year started with my heart stuff, I'd have to say, I'm pretty satisfied. I didn't go in with a goal, but I'd say a 9:37 pace would have been a pretty good one.
The best part of this race, though, is that my favorite bread place, Great Harvest, is a sponsor and has a table. I grabbed a piece of their cinnimon bread with some honey. That was definitely the best part ;)
Saturday, January 24, 2009
I miss running
Since I had my procedure this week, I haven't been able to run for obvious reasons. The hardest thing about all this is that I won't be able to run for the next two weeks. I can start exercising on Monday, but I'll have to limit it to the elliptical trainer and spin bike for a bit.
I'm going to have to put off Coach Bubba, but I'm going to see what spring half marathons there are in the area that I can start training for once my hiatus is over...
I'm going to have to put off Coach Bubba, but I'm going to see what spring half marathons there are in the area that I can start training for once my hiatus is over...
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
City of Oaks Marathon
Race day is here. I got up at 5:00am, which wasn't too big of a deal since we turned back the clocks last night. I headed out around 5:20, so I could get good parking. More on that later. It was fucking cold. Somewhere in the 40's. I was dressed well, but could have used some gloves. It wasn't too bad since it warmed up quite nicely later on. We started off promptly at 7:00. It took a couple of minutes to get to the start with all the runners. It's not a big marathon, but the half is very popular since it's an easy course. The marathon course if very challenging even though they made it a little easier than last year.
I came out pretty strong. I was keeping a solid 10:30-ish pace most of the first half of the race. I befriended two woman at the start of Ebenezer. We ran together for a bit, so it helped pass the time, especially on Ebenezer, which I think is the hardest part of the course. It starts down hill, but then you have a few miles uphill that are not super steep, but are fairly long with a few flats mixed in. This is followed by a nice flat entry into Umstead and a nice downhill for about a mile. I made it all the way down that hill, which takes you to about mile 16, and that's where I started to lose it. So now we have two marathons, and I get hit at mile 16 with the same affliction. Quad cramps! I've never had this problem on any of my training runs. For whatever reason, it hits me race day. I did everything right. I had gels. I had some food. I had plenty of water and gaterade.
So now, I'm in the same boat as last time. My quads are twitching, and I have 10 miles to go. At least this time, I wasn't relegated to walking the rest of the way. I did have to stop and stretch, and I did take walk breaks, but I was able to run a lot more than I did before. So I just tried to keep moving forward. It was hard. There were a few times that my quads were giving out. Stretching helped a bit, but not enough at times. I think I realized at about mile 22 that I wasn't going to make my 5 hour goal, so at this point my goal is to finish as fast I can. The last couple of miles were not as flat as I was expecting, but I made it, and I finished with a chip time of 5:05:55, which is the one that I count for myself. Officially (gun time) I finished 5:08:21.
Overall, I feel good about this. I was off my goal but happy that I fought through and finished as strong as I could. Not once did I think about giving up.
I have to say this was a really good marathon. It was very well organized, and Raleighans were very supportive. The coolest thing about the race, though, was the inspirational marine. He ran the whole marathon with a flag pole down his shirt holding an American flag. This was not a small flag/pole. The pole probably spanned from the bottom of his back and well above his head. The longest part of the flag almost touched the ground. I saw him after and asked to shake his hand. He was truly inspiring.
Now on to my post race parking drama. After all the running and walking around for massage and food, I could not find my car. I knew I parked in a deck, but it was dark. I tried the one I thought was it, but it was empty. I asked around and found another, but no car. I'm so fucking tired at this point, and I want to go home. I wandered around some more and found out that I had the right deck in the first place, but the entrance to the other half of it was on the back end of it.
Good day, but man, I am shot. My legs are killing me...
I came out pretty strong. I was keeping a solid 10:30-ish pace most of the first half of the race. I befriended two woman at the start of Ebenezer. We ran together for a bit, so it helped pass the time, especially on Ebenezer, which I think is the hardest part of the course. It starts down hill, but then you have a few miles uphill that are not super steep, but are fairly long with a few flats mixed in. This is followed by a nice flat entry into Umstead and a nice downhill for about a mile. I made it all the way down that hill, which takes you to about mile 16, and that's where I started to lose it. So now we have two marathons, and I get hit at mile 16 with the same affliction. Quad cramps! I've never had this problem on any of my training runs. For whatever reason, it hits me race day. I did everything right. I had gels. I had some food. I had plenty of water and gaterade.
So now, I'm in the same boat as last time. My quads are twitching, and I have 10 miles to go. At least this time, I wasn't relegated to walking the rest of the way. I did have to stop and stretch, and I did take walk breaks, but I was able to run a lot more than I did before. So I just tried to keep moving forward. It was hard. There were a few times that my quads were giving out. Stretching helped a bit, but not enough at times. I think I realized at about mile 22 that I wasn't going to make my 5 hour goal, so at this point my goal is to finish as fast I can. The last couple of miles were not as flat as I was expecting, but I made it, and I finished with a chip time of 5:05:55, which is the one that I count for myself. Officially (gun time) I finished 5:08:21.
Overall, I feel good about this. I was off my goal but happy that I fought through and finished as strong as I could. Not once did I think about giving up.
I have to say this was a really good marathon. It was very well organized, and Raleighans were very supportive. The coolest thing about the race, though, was the inspirational marine. He ran the whole marathon with a flag pole down his shirt holding an American flag. This was not a small flag/pole. The pole probably spanned from the bottom of his back and well above his head. The longest part of the flag almost touched the ground. I saw him after and asked to shake his hand. He was truly inspiring.
Now on to my post race parking drama. After all the running and walking around for massage and food, I could not find my car. I knew I parked in a deck, but it was dark. I tried the one I thought was it, but it was empty. I asked around and found another, but no car. I'm so fucking tired at this point, and I want to go home. I wandered around some more and found out that I had the right deck in the first place, but the entrance to the other half of it was on the back end of it.
Good day, but man, I am shot. My legs are killing me...
City of Oaks, Race Week Training
I can't believe that race week is finally here. I'll have a separate blog about the actual race on Sunday, but I still want to get my training for the week logged.
Tuesday's run was a break from the normal track stuff. We ran a 2 mile tempo with a warm up and cool down. We started out Research and down Harrison to Black Creek, and then up the trail parallel to Montibello. The numbers were 1.02 mile warm up at 10:43 pace, a 2.01 mile tempo run at 9:09 pace, and a 1.23 mile cool down at 11:07 pace. The over run was 4.25 miles in 42:43, which is a 10:03 pace. Definitely a good run.
Thursday's run was supposed to be a lite 3 miler, just to keep the legs moving. I ran in the morning by the house in case I got a chance to early vote, which I didn't. I ran 2.94 miles in 27:31, which is a 9:22 pace.
This is it. 3 days to go...
Tuesday's run was a break from the normal track stuff. We ran a 2 mile tempo with a warm up and cool down. We started out Research and down Harrison to Black Creek, and then up the trail parallel to Montibello. The numbers were 1.02 mile warm up at 10:43 pace, a 2.01 mile tempo run at 9:09 pace, and a 1.23 mile cool down at 11:07 pace. The over run was 4.25 miles in 42:43, which is a 10:03 pace. Definitely a good run.
Thursday's run was supposed to be a lite 3 miler, just to keep the legs moving. I ran in the morning by the house in case I got a chance to early vote, which I didn't. I ran 2.94 miles in 27:31, which is a 9:22 pace.
This is it. 3 days to go...
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